The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
The Āsanas, Kumbhakas, Bandhas, and Mudrās, are used to rouse Kundalinī, so that the Prāna withdrawn from Idā and Pinggalā may by the power of its Shakti, after entry into the Sushumnā or void (Shūnya), go upwards towards the Brahmarandhra.² The Yogī is then said to be free of the active Karma, and attains the natural state.³ The object, then, is to devitalise the rest of the body by getting the Prāna from Idā and Pinggalā into Sushumnā, which is for this reason regarded as the most important of all the Nādīs and “the delight of the Yogī,” and then to make it ascend through the lotuses which “bloom” on its approach. The body on each side of the spinal column is devitalised, and the whole current of Prāna thrown into that column. The Manonmanī state is said to arise with the Laya of Prāna, for on this ensues Laya of Manas. By daily practising restraint of Prāna in Sushumnā, the natural effort of the Prāna along its ordinary channels is weakened and the mind is steadied. For when there is movement (Parispanda) of Prāna there is movement of mind; that is, it feeds upon the objects (Vishaya) of the objective world.
1 See Lakshmīdhara’s Comm. on v. 9, Ānandalaharī. Dindima on v. 35, ib., says that the eight forms are the six (Mind to “Earth”), the Sun and Moon.
2 Hathayogapradīpikā, Ch. IV, v. 10.
3 Ib., v. 11; upon what follows refer also to Ch. IV, ib., passim.
But when Prāna is in Sushumnā “there is neither day nor night,” for “Sushumnā devours time”.¹ When there is movement of Prāna (Prānaspanda), there is no cessation of Vritti (mind functioning). And, as the Yogavāshishtha says, so long as Prāna does not cease to exist there is neither Tattvajnāna nor destruction of Vāsanā, the subtle cause of the will towards life which is the cause of rebirth. For Tattvajnāna, or supreme knowledge, is the destruction of both Chitta and Vāsanā.² Restraint of breath also renders the semen firm. For the semen fluctuates as long as Prāna does so. And when the semen is not steady the mind is not steady.³ The mind thus trained detaches itself from the world. These various results are said to be achieved by rousing Kundalinī, and by the subsequent processes for which She is the “key.” “As one forces open a door with a key, so the Yogī should force open the door of liberation by Kundalinī.”⁴ For it is She who sleeps in the Mūlādhāra, closing with Her mouth the channel (Sushumnā) by which ascent may be made to the
1 Ib., vv. 16 and 17, Commentary thereto.
2 Ib., vv. 19—21, and Commentary (Tattvajnānang manonāsho vāsanākshaya eva cha).
3 See ante, and Varāha-Up., Ch. V.
4 Ib., Ch. III, v. 106. See Bhūtashuddhi Tantra cited under v. 50, post.
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Brahmarandhra. This must be opened when the Prāna naturally enters into it. “She, the young widow, is to be despoiled forcibly.” It is prescribed that there shall be daily practice, with a view to acquire power to manipulate this Shakti.¹
It generally takes years from the commencement of the practice to lead the Shakti to the Sahasrāra, though in exceptional cases it may be done in a short time.² At first She can only be led to a certain point, and then gradually higher. He who has led Her to a particular centre can reach the same centre more easily at the next attempt. But to go higher requires further effort. At each centre a particular kind of bliss (Ānanda) is experienced, and particular powers, such as the conquest of the elementary forms of sensible matter (Bhūta) are gained, until at the Ājnā centre the whole universe is experienced. In the earlier stages, moreover, there is a natural tendency of the Shakti to return. In the continued practice facility and greater control are gained. Where the Nādīs are pure it is easy to lead Her down even from the Sahasrāra. In the perfection of practice the Yogī can stay as long as he will in the Sahasrāra, where the bliss is the same as that experienced in liberation (subject in this case to return), or he may transfer himself into another body, a practice known to both the Indian and Tibetan Tantras, in the latter of which it is called Phowa.
The principle of all the methods to attain Samādhi is to get the Prāna out of Idā and Pinggalā. When this is achieved these Nādīs become “dead, because vitality has gone out of them. The Prāna then enters the Sushumnā, and, after piercing by the aid of Kundalinī, the
1 Ib., Ch. III, v. 112 et seq.
2 As related by Yogī from a Girnar speaking of his own case.
The Āsanas, Kumbhakas, Bandhas, and Mudrās, are used to rouse Kundalinī, so that the Prāna withdrawn from Idā and Pinggalā may by the power of its Shakti, after entry into the Sushumnā or void (Shūnya), go upwards towards the Brahmarandhra.² The Yogī is then said to be free of the active Karma, and attains the natural state.³ The object, then, is to devitalise the rest of the body by getting the Prāna from Idā and Pinggalā into Sushumnā, which is for this reason regarded as the most important of all the Nādīs and “the delight of the Yogī,” and then to make it ascend through the lotuses which “bloom” on its approach. The body on each side of the spinal column is devitalised, and the whole current of Prāna thrown into that column. The Manonmanī state is said to arise with the Laya of Prāna, for on this ensues Laya of Manas. By daily practising restraint of Prāna in Sushumnā, the natural effort of the Prāna along its ordinary channels is weakened and the mind is steadied. For when there is movement (Parispanda) of Prāna there is movement of mind; that is, it feeds upon the objects (Vishaya) of the objective world.
1 See Lakshmīdhara’s Comm. on v. 9, Ānandalaharī. Dindima on v. 35, ib., says that the eight forms are the six (Mind to “Earth”), the Sun and Moon.
2 Hathayogapradīpikā, Ch. IV, v. 10.
3 Ib., v. 11; upon what follows refer also to Ch. IV, ib., passim.
But when Prāna is in Sushumnā “there is neither day nor night,” for “Sushumnā devours time”.¹ When there is movement of Prāna (Prānaspanda), there is no cessation of Vritti (mind functioning). And, as the Yogavāshishtha says, so long as Prāna does not cease to exist there is neither Tattvajnāna nor destruction of Vāsanā, the subtle cause of the will towards life which is the cause of rebirth. For Tattvajnāna, or supreme knowledge, is the destruction of both Chitta and Vāsanā.² Restraint of breath also renders the semen firm. For the semen fluctuates as long as Prāna does so. And when the semen is not steady the mind is not steady.³ The mind thus trained detaches itself from the world. These various results are said to be achieved by rousing Kundalinī, and by the subsequent processes for which She is the “key.” “As one forces open a door with a key, so the Yogī should force open the door of liberation by Kundalinī.”⁴ For it is She who sleeps in the Mūlādhāra, closing with Her mouth the channel (Sushumnā) by which ascent may be made to the
1 Ib., vv. 16 and 17, Commentary thereto.
2 Ib., vv. 19—21, and Commentary (Tattvajnānang manonāsho vāsanākshaya eva cha).
3 See ante, and Varāha-Up., Ch. V.
4 Ib., Ch. III, v. 106. See Bhūtashuddhi Tantra cited under v. 50, post.
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Brahmarandhra. This must be opened when the Prāna naturally enters into it. “She, the young widow, is to be despoiled forcibly.” It is prescribed that there shall be daily practice, with a view to acquire power to manipulate this Shakti.¹
It generally takes years from the commencement of the practice to lead the Shakti to the Sahasrāra, though in exceptional cases it may be done in a short time.² At first She can only be led to a certain point, and then gradually higher. He who has led Her to a particular centre can reach the same centre more easily at the next attempt. But to go higher requires further effort. At each centre a particular kind of bliss (Ānanda) is experienced, and particular powers, such as the conquest of the elementary forms of sensible matter (Bhūta) are gained, until at the Ājnā centre the whole universe is experienced. In the earlier stages, moreover, there is a natural tendency of the Shakti to return. In the continued practice facility and greater control are gained. Where the Nādīs are pure it is easy to lead Her down even from the Sahasrāra. In the perfection of practice the Yogī can stay as long as he will in the Sahasrāra, where the bliss is the same as that experienced in liberation (subject in this case to return), or he may transfer himself into another body, a practice known to both the Indian and Tibetan Tantras, in the latter of which it is called Phowa.
The principle of all the methods to attain Samādhi is to get the Prāna out of Idā and Pinggalā. When this is achieved these Nādīs become “dead, because vitality has gone out of them. The Prāna then enters the Sushumnā, and, after piercing by the aid of Kundalinī, the
1 Ib., Ch. III, v. 112 et seq.
2 As related by Yogī from a Girnar speaking of his own case.
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