Chakras - Energy Centers of Transformation

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi,

I’ve just ordered this book:-
[B] Yoga and Kriya: A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques [Hardcover] [/B]

   [Swami Satyananda Saraswati](http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books-uk&field-author=Swami%20Satyananda%20Saraswati)

I’ve already got their ‘Kundalini Tantra’ & other titles.

But what do folk think of this book? :-

[B] Chakras - Energy Centers of Transformation [Paperback] [/B]

   [Harish Johari](http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=books-uk&field-author=Harish%20Johari)

I think it might talk (or might not) about always finshing and starting on Manpiura chakra which i think might be a buddhist thing.

#2

Haven’t read the Satyananda book. I just like the picture. So I change it.
Tell me what you think of the book when you get it…

Why would you start and finish with the city of jewels? (manipura)

#3

Hi Scales,

Will certainly let you know what’s actually in it;the dearer one.It said on amazon it was a 3 year programme with a chapter or lesson each month and combined all the yogas, or something like that.But i believe it’s got kriya yoga and tantra in it, just llike it says.

I’ve got most of their most prominent titles(bihar/satyananda).
Some stuff might be appear re-gurgitated(at least that’s what one amazon review said-it think it might though just look that way at times) but it’s still worth getting.One can never be short on info, i think.And these are all very sound and thouroughly researched guides.

I think it might have to do with manipura considered a central hub and a thus a balancer.Affects digestion etc.However that’s just speculation on my part.And, If you look at some of these subtle anatomy charts( of the nadis) it can look that way.

p.s-- like your new pic btw;it’s pretty cool. dr.death…lol

#4

hmmmmmm.

Well a good digestive system is certainly important.

I think it has to do with them thinking the Kundalini Stirs from there. I.E. manipura chakra.

Core I liked the Link you gave. I learned some things.

Alright SD. ParaBrahman. Brahman. GOD. Whats the DIff?

Up. Up. Up. We. GO.

AWESOME!!!

#5

Hi Scales i just got the book- Kriya & Yoga, in the post.

Wowwww…

What can i say?..Pretty impressive.

It’s even got a chapter on agnisara kriya and the different ways to do it as well as tips,as well as one hundred other thinngs.

It is like a bible.It’s even thick and weighty-looking.

It said something in it about not just sticking to one path. It said find a main path to follow but draw on a number of paths.i.e a broad ranging sadhana is best.

“a little food
alittle water
alittle meditation
alittle asana
a little pranayama”
(sivananda)

and so on

It is presented as a structured series of course lessons(though i don’t think you have to necessarlily strictly follow them as such if you have some background) which are developed and shows you how you can integrate different yogas together.Haviing learnt a certain amount and spurned on to deepen my practice through written communication,I’m pretty bowled over by this book.

It’s up there in a top-ten though it offers a pretty comprehensive,wide-ranging & dedicated sadhana.The first two books or parts prepare you for the 3rd which iintroduces the higher( kundalini )kriya practices.It’s pretty deep from a practical suggested sadhana or practices view-point.

#6

What does it say about celibacy and brahmacharya?

#7

Well i think a proper treatment of the full dimensions of tantra in relation to the wise use of sexual energies is even outside the scope of this practical manual.

It does’nt prescribe life-style options but it does have a nice little chapter titled tantra mainly theory,philosophy,textual origins. How it seeks to embrace all aspects and complications of life .All aspects clearly to me means brahmacharya and then i can’t how celibacy comes into play .I used to get the impression than celibacy was something classical orthodox yoga might have suggested.Celibacy sounds like denial to me which is’nt life-affiriming,And it’s denying the most primeval & one of the most powerful drives of them all;the instinct to procreate,reproduce.I see something fundamentally up with a path that does not promote sexual relations as both an option and powerful transformational tool… It may hold value when learning the ropes of self-discipline ,then a period enforced celibacy might have some value. But thereafter it can possibly open more & new doors, enable you to reach higher states.If celibabcy is enforced then it’s not really tantric.As tantra is about relaxing back into pure awareness and being accepting of all facets and features of llife.If you feel like having sex whther solo or couple then have some but the practice is not identifying with the sensual states or growing attached to them.If you trip up here ,then you bring back some discipline and so on. Continue to practice till you get the hang of it.

Says “tantra is a [I]sadhana shastra[/I],which means practice-oriented scripture, whose purpose is to give each & every spiritual illimination by any means that is suitable and available.It consists of a vast number of different practices to suit all types of people combined with the highest concepts realizeed by tantric sages throughout the ages in states of deep meditation.It is because of thiss combination that we have such high regard for tantra”.

Also Tnatra is universal system"
& “Tantra is mother, yoga is son.” which i quite like.

Avoiding sexual relations to me could be more negating and destructive than engaging with the world…

Finally that booksays tantra is for the modern life or man engaged in worldly affairs etc.In higher states of awarness celibacy to me seems neither here nor there.Although i think absolute control of the sex drive is probably quite difficult and may take a certain amount of sustained training and maturing into.I’ve experienced a transmutation of the sex impulse but that was negaged in practice. I used techniques that are certainly not in this book. You might i’m hazarding a guess findin a taoist or specialised sexual tantra agama or shastra but, I’m not familiar with the depth and richness of the literary corpus.I’ve just been led to experiment partly out of my own inclinations,curiosity and desire to experiment. Funny where that can and often does leads though.

It’s definitely mind-altered states of awarness and expanded levels of consciousness.For a man that often means retaining the seed and engaging in practices that alter the subtle & gross biologies.To engage in left-hand tantra(?) or to enjoy sexual tantra for spiritual purposes you’d possibly might have to join an esoteric group (or know someone who was into that)where both men & women had done this kind of training-mental,physical,energetic and spiritual.It is the union of shiva & shakti.Sexual tantric relations with other practioners is one component though i suspect a pretty powerful one and somehwat advanced if sufficiently mastered.Some men talk of retaining their seed for many months. I’ve only ever done this for certainly not longer for 3 months.I think there’s what i’ve heard the nectar cycle that you can get going to facilitate this but then there may also be re-absorpbtion and so on.Or individual chemistries might play some role. It can be done though if you’re sincere & dedicated enough.Some of the practices produce ojas which is i think like the king of energies.I know i was subsiting off 3hrs sleep and then meditating for another 3 sometimes on waking at 4am which strangely felt like 10 mins.Like boundless energy.And i felt like i had siddhis.What i mean is one felt almost super-human,like a God.

#8

Yeah, 3 months is my all time record too, and that was not often. I’ve heard people talk about sublimation and transmutation of sexual energy, but I’ve never seen any descriptions of specific practices.

#9

dear asuri,
as about brahmacharya, i invite you to look up 'prasana upanishad’
question1, verse 13 n 15.
this upanishad mainly concerns itself to study of prana and hence indirectly to yoga.
verse 13.
(as translated by dr s radhakrishanan)
day and night are, verily, the lord of creation. of this, day indeed is life and the night verily is matter. they who join in sexual intercourse by day spill their life; that they join in sexual intercourse by night is chastity(brahmacaryam) indeed.
verse15.
thus, those who practise this rule of the creation, produce couple. to them alone is this brahma world, in whom austerity, chastity and truth are established.
( note by dr s r : the seers of the upanishads were not blind to the natural innocence and beauty of sex life and parental love)

#10

Thank you, Prasad, for pointing this out to me. Actually, I’ve seen it before, and I understand it. But for men like myself, who remain unmarried, and not necessarily by choice, how to handle the natural forces can be a problem.

#11

So are the Kundalini kriyas the Same kriyas as in the Kundalini Tantra book also by satyananda.

#12

dear asuri,

at the time of ejaculation one feels timelessness and egolessness, a split second bliss same for a king and a popper. one wants to do it again and again. when a split second encounter gives such a pleasure what would it be like to be in such a perpetual state, when you are merged with him. the final emanicipation.
he has given us pointers every where.

#13

Yeah the same 20 or so.But provides alot of useful preliminary stuff so the kundalini kriyas a) either actually work & b) are safe,because of the prior preparation.It does’nt take much to start me talking or rather droning on about safety & yoga.

It provides quite a few missing links in the sadhana i had particularly the pranayama it tutors .It builds you up incrementally.Also much other stuff on the shatkarmas and proper methods & tips etc.

I would thoroughly recommed that book.My current sadhan is preety much dervied from the bihar library of books.This one in particular seems to tie alot of the practices i learnt from the other books and then integrate and strengthen them with additional ones.

A stonker.

I would thoroughly recommend this book,even for a beginner. You will never be lost without it. Though it will likely take you at least three years to learn, but well worth it.

I [U]cannot[/U] recommend it highly enough.All that remains then is to practice the techniques found within (ideally along the course suggested).It takes a systematic integral approach. And there’s nothing diluted about it.Alll lements of balnced and effective practice are followed principally asana ,pranayama ,meditation and other stuff- mudras,shatkarmas, bhakti & karma yoga, and philosophy.It ties much of the major components and yogas up nicely,into an integral whole…It give you a system you can follow,or try out for size, basically.This one does a lot to tie up the other books i have been following and integrate them.My basic pranayama i think was weak link for me.:cool:

#14

Sorry to intrude on your thread Core. I’ve seen other people also recommend this book.

#15

It’s like having resident swamis liviing in your house all giving you one-to-one.You are tutored along a progressive path.And the potency derives partly from the integral and systematic approach.

On Amazon perhaps Asuri or just though the grape-vine?.

I would thououghly recommend it even for those who may consider themselves as not having suitable experience or background as potentially it could take a raw begiiner or willing recruit and build them upfrom scracth. I will say that everyone probably responds to yoga in different ways particularly the same practices.That is why an integral approach is most potent. At the end of the day it’s your bhakti or spiritual desire that everything is dependent on.You need the fuell and the fire to keep going & practicing.It is especially useful identifying weak spots in sadhana that could remove blockages for you.

Having the tools(i.e more than just asana) does make a difference,sometimes it could make a big difference i am inclined to think.

As a side-note,there may be number of reasons why some yoga teachers may not teach much beyond asana from what i can see-- safety, difficulty to teach, inaccessibility, marketability etc.Asana may be a complete sadhana on it’s own,meditation in motion as they say, but some students may well need and profit from more than that.

#16

That is quite all right Asuri.

#17

On Amazon perhaps Asuri or just though the grape-vine?.

Here on the forum.

#18

Ahaaa.