The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
1 This is necessary in order that the aptitude be attained. By repetition the act becomes natural, and its result in the end becomes permanent.
is exhausted, when he can achieve bodiless (Videha) or Kaivalya Mukti (supreme Liberation). “The revered Lord Preceptor”—that is, Shangkarāchāryya—in his celebrated Ānanda-Laharī thus hymns Her return (v. 53):
“Kuharini, Thou sprinklest all things with the stream of nectar which flows from the tips of Thy two feet; and as Thou returneth to Thine own place, Thou vivifieth and maketh visible all things that were aforetime invisible; and on reaching Thy abode Thou resumeth Thy snake-like coil and sleepeth.” That is, as Her passage upward was Layakrama (dissolution of the Tattvas), so Her return is Srishtikrama (re-creation of the Tattvas). V. 54 says that the Yogī who has practised Yama and Niyama and the like (that is, the other processes of Ashtāngayoga, including Dhyāna with its resulting Samādhi), and whose mind has been thus controlled, is never again reborn. Gladdened by the constant realisation of the Brahman, he is at peace.
Whether the method above described be or be not effectual or desirable, it must be obvious upon a perusal of the text, which gives an explanation of it, that the Yoga which the author affirms to be the cause of liberation is not merely material, but that it is the arousing of the Power (Jīvashakti) of the World-Consciousness (Jagachchaitanya) which makes man what he is. The Yogī thus does claim to secure the Bliss of liberation by making entry thereto through the doors of Karma and Jnānayoga.
A Brahmo Author¹ who is so little favourable to the Tantra as to describe the difference between it and the Veda as being “as great as that which exists between the Netherworld (Pātāla) and Heaven (Svarga)”² does not deny the efficiency of the Tantrik Shatchakra Sādhanā, but contrasts it with the Vaidika Gāyatrī Sādhanā in an account of the two methods which I here summarise in inverted commas.
1 Gāyatrīmūlaka Shatchakrer vyākhyāna o sādhanā (Mangala Ganga Mission Press).
2 The unorthodox author cited, quoting the saying that “to attain Siddhi (fruition) in Shruti (study and practice of ordinances of the Vedas) the Brāhmana should follow the Tantra,” asks, in conformity
“The Chakras (the existence of which is not disputed) are placed where the nerves and muscles unite.¹ The Ājnā is the place of the Command. This manifests in the operation of Buddhi. If the command is followed, the Sādhaka becomes pure of disposition (Bhāva) and speech. Speech displays itself in the throat, the region of the Vishuddha. The next lower Chakra is called Anāhata because of its connection with Nāda, which is self-produced in the heart. The Vāyu in Anāhata is Prānashakti. Here when free from sin one can see the Ātmā. Here the Yogī realises ‘I am He’. Fire is at the navel. The seat of desire is at the root of the Svādhishthāna. In the lowest lotus the Mūlādhāra are the three Shaktis of Jīva—namely, Ichchhā, Kriyā, and Jnāna—in an unconscious unenlivened state. The Sādhaka by the aid of the Parātmā as fire (Agni) and air (Vāyu)² awakens these three forces (Shaktis) and ultimately by the grace of the Parātmā he is united, with the Turīya Brahman.”
“In days of old Sādhanā commenced at the Mūlādhāra Chakra; that is, those who were not Sādhakas of the with his views on the latter Shāstra, “How can those who are divorced from Veda get Siddhi in Shruti?” This echoes a common reproach, that the Tantra is opposed to the Vedas which the Shāstra itself denies. The Kulārnava Tantra speaks of it, on the contrary, as Vedātmaka. Of course it is one question to claim to be based on Veda and another whether a particular Shāstra is in fact in accordance with it. On this the Indian schools dispute, just as the Christian sects differ as to the Bible which all claim as their basis.
1 This definition is inaccurate. As explained later, the physical ganglia are merely gross correspondences of the subtle vital Chakras which inform them.
2 The Author here refers to the processes subsequently described, whereby air is indrawn and the internal fires are set ablaze to rouse the sleeping Serpent. The Parātmā is the Supreme Ātmā.
1 This is necessary in order that the aptitude be attained. By repetition the act becomes natural, and its result in the end becomes permanent.
is exhausted, when he can achieve bodiless (Videha) or Kaivalya Mukti (supreme Liberation). “The revered Lord Preceptor”—that is, Shangkarāchāryya—in his celebrated Ānanda-Laharī thus hymns Her return (v. 53):
“Kuharini, Thou sprinklest all things with the stream of nectar which flows from the tips of Thy two feet; and as Thou returneth to Thine own place, Thou vivifieth and maketh visible all things that were aforetime invisible; and on reaching Thy abode Thou resumeth Thy snake-like coil and sleepeth.” That is, as Her passage upward was Layakrama (dissolution of the Tattvas), so Her return is Srishtikrama (re-creation of the Tattvas). V. 54 says that the Yogī who has practised Yama and Niyama and the like (that is, the other processes of Ashtāngayoga, including Dhyāna with its resulting Samādhi), and whose mind has been thus controlled, is never again reborn. Gladdened by the constant realisation of the Brahman, he is at peace.
Whether the method above described be or be not effectual or desirable, it must be obvious upon a perusal of the text, which gives an explanation of it, that the Yoga which the author affirms to be the cause of liberation is not merely material, but that it is the arousing of the Power (Jīvashakti) of the World-Consciousness (Jagachchaitanya) which makes man what he is. The Yogī thus does claim to secure the Bliss of liberation by making entry thereto through the doors of Karma and Jnānayoga.
A Brahmo Author¹ who is so little favourable to the Tantra as to describe the difference between it and the Veda as being “as great as that which exists between the Netherworld (Pātāla) and Heaven (Svarga)”² does not deny the efficiency of the Tantrik Shatchakra Sādhanā, but contrasts it with the Vaidika Gāyatrī Sādhanā in an account of the two methods which I here summarise in inverted commas.
1 Gāyatrīmūlaka Shatchakrer vyākhyāna o sādhanā (Mangala Ganga Mission Press).
2 The unorthodox author cited, quoting the saying that “to attain Siddhi (fruition) in Shruti (study and practice of ordinances of the Vedas) the Brāhmana should follow the Tantra,” asks, in conformity
“The Chakras (the existence of which is not disputed) are placed where the nerves and muscles unite.¹ The Ājnā is the place of the Command. This manifests in the operation of Buddhi. If the command is followed, the Sādhaka becomes pure of disposition (Bhāva) and speech. Speech displays itself in the throat, the region of the Vishuddha. The next lower Chakra is called Anāhata because of its connection with Nāda, which is self-produced in the heart. The Vāyu in Anāhata is Prānashakti. Here when free from sin one can see the Ātmā. Here the Yogī realises ‘I am He’. Fire is at the navel. The seat of desire is at the root of the Svādhishthāna. In the lowest lotus the Mūlādhāra are the three Shaktis of Jīva—namely, Ichchhā, Kriyā, and Jnāna—in an unconscious unenlivened state. The Sādhaka by the aid of the Parātmā as fire (Agni) and air (Vāyu)² awakens these three forces (Shaktis) and ultimately by the grace of the Parātmā he is united, with the Turīya Brahman.”
“In days of old Sādhanā commenced at the Mūlādhāra Chakra; that is, those who were not Sādhakas of the with his views on the latter Shāstra, “How can those who are divorced from Veda get Siddhi in Shruti?” This echoes a common reproach, that the Tantra is opposed to the Vedas which the Shāstra itself denies. The Kulārnava Tantra speaks of it, on the contrary, as Vedātmaka. Of course it is one question to claim to be based on Veda and another whether a particular Shāstra is in fact in accordance with it. On this the Indian schools dispute, just as the Christian sects differ as to the Bible which all claim as their basis.
1 This definition is inaccurate. As explained later, the physical ganglia are merely gross correspondences of the subtle vital Chakras which inform them.
2 The Author here refers to the processes subsequently described, whereby air is indrawn and the internal fires are set ablaze to rouse the sleeping Serpent. The Parātmā is the Supreme Ātmā.
No commentary for this page.