The Serpent Power — Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe) (1924)
1 Yogo bhogāyate sākshāt dushkritam sukritāyate
Mokshāyate hi sangsārah kauladharme kuleshvari.
(Kulārnava Tantra.)
2 Sanghāramudrā, the gesture which signifies dissolution, “Now I am about to die”.
and die. In the first place, the full discipline is one of difficulty and risk, and can only be pursued under the guidance of a skilled Guru. As the Goraksha Sanghitā says, unaided and unsuccessful practice may lead not only to disease, but death. He who seeks to conquer the Lord of Death incurs the risk on failure of a more speedy conquest by Him. All who attempt this Yoga do not, of course, succeed, or meet with the same measure of success. Those who fail, not only incur the infirmities of ordinary men, but others brought on by practices which have been ill pursued, or for which they are not fit. Those, again, who do succeed, do so in varying degree. One may prolong his life to the sacred age of 84, others to 100, others yet further. In theory, at least, those who are perfected (Siddha) go from this plane when they will. All have not the same capacity or opportunity through want of will, bodily strength, or circumstance. All may not be willing or able to follow the strict rules necessary for success. Nor does modern life offer in general the opportunities for so complete a physical culture. All men may not desire such a life, or may think the attainment of it not worth the trouble involved. Some may wish to be rid of their body, and that as speedily as possible. It is therefore said that it is easier to gain liberation than deathlessness. The former may be had by unselfishness, detachment from the world, moral and mental discipline. But to conquer death is harder than this; for these qualities and acts will not alone avail. He who does so conquer holds life in the hollow of one hand, and if he be a successful (Siddha) Yogī, liberation in the other. He has enjoyment and liberation. He is the Emperor who is master of the world and the possessor of the bliss which is beyond all worlds. Therefore it is claimed by the Hathayogī that every Sādhanā is inferior to Hathayoga.
1 See my “Shakti and Shākta”.
2 The statements in the Tantras that this union is liberation (Mukti) is mere Stuti—that is, praise in the Indian fashion of the subject in hand, which goes beyond the actual fact. The European reader who takes such statements au pied de la lettre and ridicules them makes himself (to the knowing) ridiculous. What actually happens in such case is a fugitive bliss, which, like all bliss, emanates from the Great Bliss, but is a pale reflection of it which nowise, in itself, secures immunity from future rebirth. It is the bliss of this lower Sādhanā, as the union of Kundalinī Shakti with Shiva is that of the higher.
3 As the Parāpraveshikā beautifully calls Her. Yoginīhridaya
Tantra says, “She is the heart, for from Her all things issue.”
4 This, as the Yoginī Tantra says, is the coition (Maithuna) of those who are Yati (who have controlled their passions).
5 This term indicates the enjoyment which arises from the union of male and female, which may be either of bodies or of their inner principles.
1 Yogo bhogāyate sākshāt dushkritam sukritāyate
Mokshāyate hi sangsārah kauladharme kuleshvari.
(Kulārnava Tantra.)
2 Sanghāramudrā, the gesture which signifies dissolution, “Now I am about to die”.
and die. In the first place, the full discipline is one of difficulty and risk, and can only be pursued under the guidance of a skilled Guru. As the Goraksha Sanghitā says, unaided and unsuccessful practice may lead not only to disease, but death. He who seeks to conquer the Lord of Death incurs the risk on failure of a more speedy conquest by Him. All who attempt this Yoga do not, of course, succeed, or meet with the same measure of success. Those who fail, not only incur the infirmities of ordinary men, but others brought on by practices which have been ill pursued, or for which they are not fit. Those, again, who do succeed, do so in varying degree. One may prolong his life to the sacred age of 84, others to 100, others yet further. In theory, at least, those who are perfected (Siddha) go from this plane when they will. All have not the same capacity or opportunity through want of will, bodily strength, or circumstance. All may not be willing or able to follow the strict rules necessary for success. Nor does modern life offer in general the opportunities for so complete a physical culture. All men may not desire such a life, or may think the attainment of it not worth the trouble involved. Some may wish to be rid of their body, and that as speedily as possible. It is therefore said that it is easier to gain liberation than deathlessness. The former may be had by unselfishness, detachment from the world, moral and mental discipline. But to conquer death is harder than this; for these qualities and acts will not alone avail. He who does so conquer holds life in the hollow of one hand, and if he be a successful (Siddha) Yogī, liberation in the other. He has enjoyment and liberation. He is the Emperor who is master of the world and the possessor of the bliss which is beyond all worlds. Therefore it is claimed by the Hathayogī that every Sādhanā is inferior to Hathayoga.
1 See my “Shakti and Shākta”.
2 The statements in the Tantras that this union is liberation (Mukti) is mere Stuti—that is, praise in the Indian fashion of the subject in hand, which goes beyond the actual fact. The European reader who takes such statements au pied de la lettre and ridicules them makes himself (to the knowing) ridiculous. What actually happens in such case is a fugitive bliss, which, like all bliss, emanates from the Great Bliss, but is a pale reflection of it which nowise, in itself, secures immunity from future rebirth. It is the bliss of this lower Sādhanā, as the union of Kundalinī Shakti with Shiva is that of the higher.
3 As the Parāpraveshikā beautifully calls Her. Yoginīhridaya
Tantra says, “She is the heart, for from Her all things issue.”
4 This, as the Yoginī Tantra says, is the coition (Maithuna) of those who are Yati (who have controlled their passions).
5 This term indicates the enjoyment which arises from the union of male and female, which may be either of bodies or of their inner principles.
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