[B]Siddha Mahayoga: A Simple Yoga Path of Offering Mind to Prana[/B]
In the end, Knowledge, Peace and Freedom are the residue of what Man really yearns for. Even Happiness as a goal gives way to Peace, since truthfully speaking, the former is contained in the latter.
Albert Einstein, one of the greatest scientists of modern times gifted us with an eye-opening finding that matter and energy are inter-convertible. It goes to prove that the Universe is in fact a complex devolution of a singular form of Energy, who would be Mother to all her devolved states.
Yogis have asserted this truth since ancient times and has called this Mother Energy [I][B]Maha Prana Shakti[/B][/I]. Her myriad and complex states of vibration are but Her children. It is these children, or in other words, Her states of vibration, who are variously reflected in the Individualized Consciousness that each one of us represents.
Mother Energy, coupled with Universal Consciousness is that undifferentiated state called [I][B]Anant Narayana[/B][/I], the supporter of Infinite. It is this Anant, or Infinite who asserts:
“I am Moment, I am Time, I am Day and also Night.”
“I am Fortnight, Month, Year and also all the Ages.”
“I am Creator, Caretaker and also Destroyer of All.”
“Millions of Suns, Moons and the Stars, all those are Me.”
“Hell and heaven are Me Alone.”
“On this earth, I am the Seven Oceans, the Mountains, the Rivers.”
“Each and every Tree is Me, as also all Heavenly Constellations.”
“I am Direction, I am Soil; each and every Atom is Me.”
Each one of us then, is a child of the same Mother Prana. Intuitively realizing this fact is the beginning of one’s journey towards attaining real knowledge, which is experiencing the reality of the Universe.
[I][B]Kundalini Shakti[/B][/I] is the name of this Mother Prana or life force within us, depicted as a two-headed serpent. One head represents our ordinary life resigned to living it out as ordained by our past karma. The other head “sleeps” at the opening of our channel of spiritual enlightenment. Hence ordinarily, all of us are spiritually asleep, but have the potential to transform our existence from inharmonious to harmonious; from imperfect to perfect and thus in other words, from ordinary to divine if this sleeping head awakens.
There are various ways of awakening one’s dormant Kundalini. Swami Satyanand Saraswati of The Bihar School of Yoga mentions many ways, such as by Mantra, or by Tapasya i.e. the practice of austerities, or through the use of specific herbs, or by following Raja Yoga, or by Pranayama, or by Kriya Yoga, or by Tantric Initiation, or by self-surrender. Needless to say, all these methods have to be practiced under an adept Guru.
He also mentions a way known as [I][B]Shaktipaat[/B][/I], in which the awakening is performed by the Guru, by virtue of his being at a spiritually higher potential. Shaktipaat or Kundalini awakening is effected by the Guru having authorization to do so in such a lineage or tradition.
He authenticates thus: “This Shaktipaat can be conducted in the physical presence, or from a distance. It can be transmitted by touch, by a handkerchief, a mala, a flower, a fruit or anything edible, depending upon the system the Guru has mastered. It can even be transmitted by letter, telegram, or telephone.”
Spiritual Awakening or Kundalini Awakening essentially is possible only when the mind becomes subservient to the primal energy referred to above. All the above mentioned methods involve doing something. This doer-ship means functioning through the mind and ego, the very elements which need to become subservient to another higher aspect within us. Needless to say, few can overcome this paradoxical situation.
Experiencing Prana is the first step one must take to believe and take to this. The Introductory Practice of [I][B]Siddha Mahayoga*[/B][/I], the ancient yoga way, demonstrates that such an experience is easily possible. The prime fact to appreciate is that one’s automatic breathing in reality is verily the movement of Mother Prana.
Hence, if for a few minutes every day, one lets go, or offers, or surrenders one’s body and mind to Mother Prana, then soon, the mind gets accustomed to merging with Prana for some time, leading to inner peace.
The wisest have declared that all attempts to control the mind in order to “achieve” peace are fruitless. Ego always gets in the way. The only way is to lead the mind into the lap of its mother, where it rests assured.
Anyone can be easily experience this by trying for a few days the simple practice devised by Mahayoga Spiritual Master H.H. Narayan kaka Dhekane Maharaj, which is outlined below:
[ul]
[li]1. Sit in any comfortable position, without supporting the back and relax the body as much as possible.[/li][li]2. If we close the eyes calmly and with deep devotion to Prana Shakti, we all can experience that Prana Shakti rises up and up through the backbone. Where will She rise? Right up to the top of the head. However, it is fruitless to just read. [B]Please! Close the eyes and experience for yourself.[/B][/li][li]3. Now that Prana Shakti has risen up, the next part of Mahayoga is to offer the mind to the AUTOMATIC movement of Prana i.e. AUTOMATIC breathing. First, let AUTOMATIC BREATHING TAKE PLACE. This is very important. DO NOT IMPOSE ANY TYPE OF BREATHING. Then, simply follow the INCOMING AND OUTGOING AIR. This is the way of offering the mind to the automatic breathing i.e. to Prana Shakti and is the most important part of Siddha Mahayoga. [B]Again, please actually try this and experience it personally. Let [I]Prana Shakti do the breathing[/I] [I]or cause any other movements for three to twenty one minutes.[/I][/B][/li][/ul]
At the ordinary level of awareness, i.e. because our consciousness has entered and stayed in the domain of body and mind, we operate only with the limited apparatus of the physical sense organs. Due to imperfect actions, born of inadequate knowledge that the sense organs can afford us, the soul gets endlessly enmeshed in Give and Take or Action and Reaction networks with the rest of the Prana-Consciousness Matrix, since Universal Pranic Energy balance must forever be maintained.
When mind rests in the lap of Mother Prana, all ego-driven activities give way to ego-free movements of Prana. These actions or yoga-kriyas are in fact, yogic culminations of deep rooted desires, slowly leading to total disentanglement from all give and take, which paves the way for Absolute Knowledge by experiencing one’s true self.
Most importantly, yogis have always held this disentanglement from all give and take, as the highest attainable freedom, also known as Moksha, which represents freedom from the necessity of incarnating physically.
Thus unfettered, one may freely roam the Universe.
Presented by: Anand Kulkarni, Pune, India. Siddha Mahayoga aspirant, initiated in the Loknath Tirth Tradition
- “Siddha” here means “ready”. Like in ready-to-eat, ready-to-serve and so on. Mahayoga is so called because this is a yoga path in which, actions specific to other yoga forms take place “on their own” depending upon the spiritual requirement of the aspirant. Most yoga practices aim at awakening the dormant Kundalini. Quite contrarily, Siddha MahaYoga is a ready-to-experience Yoga, in which the awakened Kundalini is the starting point of the aspirant’s journey of self-purification.
