The Function Of Asanas
amir,
I agree to most of what you say.
I disagree when you claim that all chakras are located within sushmana.
Its only in One of the tantric text ie. Nigama Tattva sara which says that the three nadies are inside the meru. Some imply the three to be susumana,vajra and citrni and not ida and pringla and susumana.
The Nigma Tattva sara also says that Meru danda extends from feet to the Brahma randhra, which is against all tantric literature, thus making it unreliable.
As ida and pringla pass through the chakras, they can not be located inside meru danda.
Prasad,
There are thousands of chakras which are distributed in the subtle body, most of which are not located within the spinal cord. When I was speaking of the chakras which are connected with the sushumna, I was speaking of the seven from the muladhara to the sahasrara which are often involved in the processes of awakening kundalini.
"Its only in One of the tantric text ie. Nigama Tattva sara which says that the three nadies are inside the meru. Some imply the three to be susumana,vajra and citrni and not ida and pringla and susumana. The Nigma Tattva sara also says that Meru danda extends from feet to the Brahma randhra, which is against all tantric literature, thus making it unreliable. As ida and pringla pass through the chakras, they can not be located inside meru danda. "
There is a reason why there is much conflicting information throughout the yogic literature, some of which are saying things which are absolutely opposite to one another. Some texts will state that there are only 72,000 nadis in the subtle body, others will state that there are at least 300,000. Some texts have said that the kundalini is awakened within manipura, while most have been saying that it is through muladhara at the base of the spine. In Tibetan yoga, the chakras within the sushumna are five in number rather than the ordinary seven. Depending on where you look, the correspondences of the chakras are different. Some traditions will state that sahasrara is white in its color, others will state violet - some will state that ajna is blue, others will indicate orange, and so on. And you can go on and on about the various differences that are there in different traditions even within the vastness of the yogic sciences themselves.
As far as I am concerned, these are all just simply relative models to try and make certain subtle realities more accessible to the mind. Their value lies not in whether their truth, but whether they are effective or ineffective, in their skillful means. These are just strategies to assist you towards ones transformation. That is why you may chant the mantras in Sanskrit, Pali, or amongst the Sufis their mantras as in Arabic, amongst the Qabalists the mantras are in Hebrew - and if there is the right inner spirit which is flowing through the discipline, all of those methods work perfectly well. One thing which is absolutely necessary in using any model and any method is not to cling to them as though they have some absolute value in itself. That is the case with anything whatsoever, it is not something limited to spiritual sciences. The moment the mind becomes identified with anything which may arise in ones experience, one loses all clarity of vision - it is just a simple cause and effect situation. Even modern science, with all of its experimentation, formulas, and theories - even they are just using scientific models as aids to their work. They know perfectly well that these models are just representations of things which are well beyond their words and descriptions. The same is the case with the yogic sciences, all of these models are just skillful means. What is important is not whether they are “true” or not, but whether they are useful in assisting you towards your enlightenment.