Yogi Matsyendranath - Satsang in latvia, 2012 feb, part 1, English subtitles

Certainly, this type of yoga is useful of course, if it is needed, but I think you will be able to sit like this for 30-60 minutes... I guess you can. Does anybody come here regularly for practicing? Audience: Yes How is this possible? He couldn't understand (the meaning) as I was speaking Russian. Real telepathy! Audience: He lectured about the mental particles, and apparently he practices what he preaches. Just so you know, we tape this lecture. Well... What I would like to tell about the practice... What is required for it, in general? I'll tell you about the easiest practice, the most basic one. I'll tell nothing extraordinary. I have already said out of the ordinary things, and it still needs to be explained. So I would like you to free your mind. What I want to tell about something worth practicing... Of course, you need to practice some asanas and some breathing techniques. It's all helpful, but it's crucial that your practice was not limited to these methods In order to lay down the path of yoga towards transcendental and spiritual context should always be in all of your actions. Why? Because yoga leads to samadhi, control of the mind and feelings, self-awareness. And while some yogic techniques such as asana and pranayama appear to be simple, they are actually necessary in a varying degree, if they are used as an instrument. Your body, your energetic condition will suggest you how much of a certain practices you need. In principle, yes, you should maintain the body. It's all right, but without going too far. Same with the mudras. The scriptures mention many of them. For instance, Gheranda samhita lists about 25 mudras, but, in reality, in order to achieve some desired states, so that your energy could purify in a more subtle form, one need only few mudras. Yogi Adyanath probably has told you a lot about this topic already, hasn't he? Yogi Adyanath: we have not even mentioned the techniques yet. Oh, they're unfortunate... and I heard they particularly like to listen about the techniques. They need it like a dose. Techniques nowadays are like drugs, everyone is hunting for techniques. Most of yoga-teachers are mad about them. It is understood... Because each person has the inner (intimate) world of his own, and he wants... with the help of some element, which he controls personally... in order to gain personal experience and personal realization. So I can understand... their motivation for "technique consumption". But i think that each technique should be handed over with a maximum... ...in great detail. so that a Guru could convey the technique in the most intelligible way for a disciple, in accordance with disciple's state. As traditional yoga is focused on disciple's personality, it is certainly much easier when you teach someone directly. Although, it may depend on the qualification of a yogi, qualification of a teacher. In fact, it is extremely hot topic, because in the western world there are too many arguments about "who is a Guru", "who is a real Guru, and who is not". I think the real Guru has to be an excellent yogi; he must already have a very deep personal experience, and a long road behind his back. On the other hand, it also depends on the perception of the disciple - the Guru can be of a very high grade, but the disciple might not be ready to understand everything. That's why there are different Gurus for different disciples. Those who are available at the moment. My Guru says, that if a Guru teaches you some rituals, then he is the Guru of karma-kanda for you. If a Guru teaches philosophy, then he is the Guru of philosophy, he teaches you siddhanta. If he is a Guru who teaches Hatha yoga he is the Guru of Hatha yoga and the Yogacharya, if teaches Ayurveda -- Ayurvedacharya, if Jyotish - Jyotishacharya. Or he may teach you Sanskrit. A Guru that leads you to samadhi and moksha, to liberation, is called Sadguru. Sometimes it takes a very long time before you find Sadguru. You will meet different teachers, then you meet more powerful teacher, who has higher realization in a sadhana, with deeper knowledge. Then your previous teachers should be considered as a reason for running across this Guru. At first there was a Guru and he became the cause and effect to get to know another Guru. This is extremely important. Because everything that happened in the the past is YOU (related to you), and by respecting your past, you may better understand yourselves. That's what I can say regarding the Guru. I've met many people in Russia; they write me letters from time to time. They want to grab some immortal Gurus, like Koschei (an immortal slavic sorcerer), some enchanters, but it's unlikely to spot such a miraculous show in public, because it is rather dangerous. They will be immediately escorted into a circus. They'll be given a salary from the budget and he will be flying through the hoop. I'm kidding of course. In fact, there are many different yogis in India and completely different teachers are called a "Guru". You can come across with them anywhere. Like railway station workers, shop assistants... and if Indians respect them, they call them "Guru". Everything in India is generally based on respecting. I.e. if you esteem somebody as master, you consider him to be the Guru. Regarding a tradition everything is quite simple over there, because they were born in that surrounding, with a vast information source and they get it since their childhood. Instant access. Also, the very fact that they are born in a certain gotra, they are initiated already from a child. They are already born "traditional", to some extent. But there are different traditions, and each tradition has its own "specialization" and some nuances. Of course, when one studies some system it is better to be initiated from a Guru who is realized in that tradition. There are many yogis who live totally inside a sadhana, and they do not accept new disciples, ...due to various reasons. They do a lot of inner work within themselves. The initiations which they obtained allow them to be a Guru, and usually in Indian society they are referred as "Guru". For such people, it is more than enough when he has, let's say, a purna-sanyasa, and he can be a Guru. According to the rules of Indian system if someone is a sanyasi, if he is a sadhu... Who are the sadhus? Sadhus are the ones who dedicate all their time to sadhana, to spiritual practice. This is not necessarily an unmarried person, though mostly unmarried. There are Sadhus in Nepal who live a family life. If you are able to dedicate all of your time yoga..., ...it means that you are Sadhu, regardless of how you interact with the outer world. The sadhu is not part of this world. He does not perceive himself as a part of this world; but as a pure consciousness, not attached to any changes of this world, they do not fascinate nor seize him. I talked a lot with them, and I realized that is not worth thinking about - whether he is a Guru or not. If he is a yogi, if he is a serious (ascetic) Sadhu, then we should adopt knowledge from such person. Knowledge does not mean "information"... I mean... ...knowledge that we get from the books, some verbal knowledge. Although it may be some kind of sacred scriptures, some authoritative sources. Usually, in tantras - Agamas, or it could be something in form of a sound, when the Guru shares his realization with the disciple. Knowledge - is not something that can be given. In truth, no one can give anything to anybody. Because the Guru awakens knowledge. By means of some auxiliary methods (elements), he enables the disciple to reveal all that he already contains. Therefore, an explanation that Guru gives some knowledge is not completely correct. It is all very varying concepts. True, he does something, says something, demonstrates something. A disciple grasps something, uses it somehow and gets some effects, asks again, more and he gets further effects. And this lasts about 12 years in our Tradition. An evolution of a disciple. Also, Guru is not just a physical body, although he is incarnated in a body. But if he was disembodied, there would be no source (channel), which provides... something bigger for our perception. Therefore, Guru means "something that manifests much more than just a body", i.e some supreme spiritual reality. As hindu say, Guru is even greater than God in some way. It sounds very... I'd say abnormal... ...not quite normal for an ordinary people. Ones mind may have significant inconsistencies within itself -- how can that be... but in reality, we do not really know God. The word "God" does not tell anything to us. We can read, hear something, but we need experience. The Guru "recognizes" the disciple, because the Guru is of a certain consciousness, and the Guru is needed so that disciples could obtain living knowledge, and Guru recognizes the qualities of the disciple. Suppose, here's a book, it's just a book. It just exists, and nothing more. One cannot communicate with a book. When one communicates with the Guru, and he uncovers some practices, guidelines; one practice some techniques, and a new perception opens up after a while. He starts to realize that this world is a reflection of his own consciousness. Everything that happens to him -- it is a reflection of his mind. I just thought - we talked recently about Jungian psychology. He has studied Oriental systems, by the way. He defined such images as archetypes, myths, collective unconscious, personal unconscious, With the help of these definitions he explained many of the world views, including Oriental, such concepts as Purusha, Prakriti, microcosm and macrocosm. He explained them via a concept of myths -- saying that there is some collective myth, and as a person accepts any value system, he begins to live by this myth, as though he encapsulates himself in a "clothing" of the collective unconscious: if he is a Chinese, he sees some Taoist energy channels in the body. If he is Hindu, depending on tradition, he sees the chakras, some gods, devatas, tattvas. The same if he is a Buddhist. If he is a Muslim, he sees the five prophets, Mohammed, Issa, Moses, etc. If he is a cabalist, he has his own myths. Every culture has some its own myths; that's how he calls it. Maybe this sound not spiritual enough, because in religion they take it very seriously - it is not just a myth but a certain world order. Besides, there are different myths, not necessarily religious. Even some habits, inherent to most of mankind. They manifest in some reflex reactions to something. In fact, most people can have some their own preferences. That is what one chooses, which of the systems one chooses and likes more. That choice is made depending on their religious inclinations. For the same reason in jyotish Ishta- devatas are chosen, kundali is studied, and then a Deity, which leads to moksha, is calculated. The moment of birth is particularly important because it shapes the character of a person, his karma. And in accordance with his character, he has craving for certain things in this world, to certain spheres. In Hinduism, these spheres are personified by some gods, or some doctrines. Therefore, the gods and different doctrines act as such methods, upayas, targeting and leading to liberation. I.e. we eliminate the source of rebirth in this world. We can go deeper into the subject of sincerity of one's choice, because we have many desires and sometimes they are very controversial. They can be very shallow, and, therefore, they do not come true. They come to us, and all our energy is scattered, by one desire, then another. When we try to accomplish something desirable, we do not have enough energy so that it was accomplished at once, it takes some time and efforts. As soon as we choose just one goal and begin to fully believe in it, even absolutely believe, then this wish is realized quite swiftly. Meaning, when one leaves all the rest and puts all the energy in a chosen intention, it can materialize in no time. But this is not typical to all people. Therefore, it is the matter of sincerity, of course. Something to leave, something to sacrifice. If we want to get something, then we need vairagya, if we want to jump over the chasm, we have to sacrifice the bags. We will not jump over with the bags. Therefore vairagya it is natural, and relinquishment it is natural. When the goals are very high, really- really high, when one truly understands that it is an ultimate goal, then relinquishments should be also very high. Therefore, if a person chooses moksha, he will have to leave a lot, to be more precise - to leave everything. Even so, it's not as tragic as it sounds, because, as a matter of fact, there is nothing to leave, you have no place to hide, in any case. Where will one go if he leaves everything? Into the void? But the void is something that contains everything. Therefore, leaving everything we get everything. Therefore, the "cheating" people know... that higher relinquishment have more benefits, more possibilities of obtaining. You know, when I told this in Israel, they grasped the idea regarding obtainment of something very quickly -- Well done! Immediately "get" the idea. Due to this, yoga and tantra are very closely related. Renunciation, withdrawal from the world and immersion into it... in various states we can withdraw from the world and in various states we can plunge into the world. One can come as an avatar into this world, but I'm not an avatar, so I will not talk a lot about this. Although this is certainly an interesting topic, and there is a lot to tell... So I'll talk about Gorakshanath and his practice. In our tradition avatar is Gorakshanath and through Gorakshanath we can accomplish many things. Gorakshanath is quite an extraordinary deity. Gorakshanath is a form of Shiva, such form of Shiva who abandoned everything belonging to this world, and, therefore, Alakh Niranjan is manifested through Gorakshanath... through emptiness. There are so many stories about Gorakshanath; I try to tell them somehow, translate some of them. He is a very unusual yogi, unusual form of Shiva. Probably, we can talk about Him for days. I think if you are quite interested, you will find a lot about Him for sure. Not only what is written about Him, but, as we believe in our tradition, if we meditate on Gorakshanath we can be given His darshan directly. Gorakshanath is Guru. Guru is someone who is very powerful. Because Shiva is the emptiness. I.e. Shiva -- it is Akash, Prakash, the great primordial emptiness, and Shakti - it is a time, this is what is constantly changing, because time is always running, this is what makes up existence. And Shakti is that whereby Shiva manifests itself. A Guru - is the one who has the power. Therefore, the Guru should have a Shakti, he should have that strength, and he should possess transcendent knowledge. What is transcendent knowledge? We perceive it by means of Jnana yoga. Jnana Yoga includes such practices as shravana - listening, when a Guru narrates some sutras, scriptures or mantras and a disciple listens to them. Manana - when a disciple, in addition to the physical body, also engages the subtle or mental body -- sukshma sharira. And nididhyasana - when karana sharira (causal body) is engaged, i.e. nididhyasana is an immersion into the essence of meditation, essence of what we have already understood from the scriptures. As I said earlier, all of these scriptures originated from Shiva and Shakti, they are bound to various amnayas and different faces of Shiva. Therefore, a meditation on chakras, when by means of chakras we comprehend some aspects of Kundalini, which manifest itself in chakras as such yogini as Dakini, Lakini, Rakini, Khakini, Yakini, it is Kula-kundalini. Kundalini is one, but it has different aspects in different chakras. Or when we receive knowledge about a teaching from the Guru, it is something equal and one, or when we revere the Guru, we receive knowledge even that very moment, when the Guru says nothing. It is called shaktipat, anugraha. There is such a concept as shaktipat; we can receive shaktipat from the deities, but since the Guru gives the mantra which was realized by himself, and once he realized it, the mantra becomes himself, in fact. Actually, the Guru gives such mantra as if he was delivering himself. So this is very sacral process, and when we receive the mantra from the Guru, along with it we receive energy of the Deity, thus we do not split these things. This is a single whole. Accordingly, the Guru-tattva is very crucial for yoga. And Gorakshanath is the Guru. I.e. there is no difference between Guru who gives the mantra and Gorakshanath, in fact, also between the disciple if the disciple adopts this mantra. He adopts this mantra, begins to meditate on it, begins to feel it and he gets a certain experience -- anubhava. Eventually, as I said before, the Guru tells something and the disciple comprehends. In fact, Jnana yoga, mantra yoga, - it is one and the same. I.e. by means of some external elements one increasingly directs his attention inside. Actually the nididhyasa, is a form of dhyana, when we obtain not just some information, but a jnana, knowledge. What kind of knowledge? Knowledge of the Atman - atmajnyana or brahmajnyana. If someone is a Buddhist, he obtains the knowledge of his own consciousness, pure consciousness - Riga. There is something in Tibetan Buddhism known as "kunjee" and "alayavijnana", in fact, its an analogy of the Atma and Paramatma, although they do not say so. But some Lamas say "well, actually, there is such a concept". In Buddhism, it is a tricky subject. I.e. it is a real experience of yours, whatever you practice - Mantra yoga or Hatha yoga. Because Hatha is the yoga of sun and moon. It is when one eliminates all contradictions associated with energy and consciousness within yourself. Raja Yoga -- it is when one practices control of his consciousness and the senses. Whatever types of yoga, they are, in fact, just one Yoga; so we do not separate it. In other words, there shouldn't be much confusion. When in each of such forms of yoga we begin to separate various types of practice, then we, eventually, start to face the problem of separation of one yoga and another. The less we divide, the more we notice essential elements of various types of yoga, the more we come to their unity, like all the rivers have the same source and become one in the ocean. Ultimately, there is the Yoga. It means unity. Therefore, yoga should be understood likewise -- as unity. And those divisions are necessary, in general, because the world is very sophisticated. There is too much separation in the world, way too much. Probably, there are as many forms of yoga as the number of objects, manifested forms of this world. If all of these forms and realities are meant for us in order to comprehend the unity, then all of them become upayas -- methods, leading to yoga, advaita, non-duality. What I can recommend, what should you practice? I'd recommend worshiping of Gorakshanath. Why worship Gorakshanath and what is Gorakshanath-upasana? This reverence, upasana is not necessarily should be in the form of prostrations. The reverence may be a form of prayer; it may just be dhyana -- all of these can be upasana. Why is it important for Yogis? Because in our Tradition, as well as in every Hindu tradition, reverence of the Guru has always been the first thing to do, because if there is no Guru, there will be nothing. There will be no methods, no teaching. So in all kinds of worshiping of yantras, devatas, the first move is reverence. Usually Ganesha is worshiped first. They read some short STOTRA of Ganesha in order to remove obstacles, this is traditional in India. Like we need some general purity first. Somebody may revere Ganesha for a long time, for several months. He eliminates various obstacles in the spiritual path. Though he gives sadhaka the access to other sadhanas, some major ones. Next is Guru, because Guru gives all sadhanas, and then Ishtadevata - the main deity, and then all the other devatas, whatever they are. At a certain stage of practice, if you revere some devatas, and your meditation is getting deeper, then, depending on the situation in your life, any deity can be Ishtadevata. This is an advanced level of practice, i.e. any deity can become your Ishtadevata for the present period. Somebody might not cope with it in their mind, like how can that be? Though, if your experience is deep enough and you understand, that jivanmukta cannot liberate people from misery forever, because there were many Gurus, but misery still remains. Even those who help living beings, they do, but DUKHA (suffering) still remains. Although it is said that Jesus Christ came and saved all the people, or the Buddha came and brought salvation. Yes, he gave the path, but it does not mean that everyone is saved straight away, and there is no more misery. Misery is in this world, and it will always be in the dual world, this is Maya. Therefore, it is very difficult to live in this world without interference with various issues; and these problems, all those obscurations which occur to the people -- they are natural, there's no getting away from them. Therefore, we need to sacralize them, and whenever they come, at any given moment of our life, we should do a certain practice associated with them. For example, if we awaken Kundalini. and if it is stuck in svadhisthana chakra, it wouldn't ascend any higher, people may experience *** desires, some passions. In this case, tantrics recommend practicing specifically panchamakarapuja. Even so, they practice these sacred rituals but consider them as methods in which a Deity itself resides, and this Deity transforms rough energy into spiritual one. This practice is needed only at such period of time, and if Kundalini goes higher, there is no need for panchamakaras. Sometimes it goes up, then, after a while, it goes back to the lower chakras. But if you are experienced practitioners, all these elements eventually are reduced to its minimum. Thus, we should not be hypocrites, we should understand all this. But such practice should not be a reason to turn them into some nonspiritual forms, forms of pop- rock, if they do not transform a person and do not invoke siddhis, there is no point in them. Then it is better (for such people) to just have sex and that is it - no problems. But if we are going to considerably transform some of our energies, then we have to understand that they are related to devatas, mantras -- these are certain forms of upasana. There is such a path. I do not take into account typical "yogis", who do fitness, I do not take into account Western Tantra which has become a mess like "New age". If they like it -- no problem, let them rock, maybe for someone it can be helpful. But for those who practice big serious sadhanas, such things are miserable, they are not meant for grown of a spiritual type. I.e. the world of your desires is transformed into aspiration of a bigger and more powerful type... more global Thus, as I've already mentioned Gorakshanath... There are Gurus. and there are Yogis who practiced austerities, tapasya. They moved into the woods to deepen their practice and experience. Also in the Buddhist traditions there were Bodhisattvas or Mahasiddhas. The deities in Buddhism are revered as Mahasiddhas and some of them were Nathas. The Hindu deities in Buddhism are sometimes regarded as samsaric, some of them are the gods of a higher plane, rather than ordinary people... Certainly, it is much higher level if someone was reincarnated in the worlds of devatas, upon some lokas, but actually this is far from moksha. Only enlightened beings, Siddhas, will get liberated. In our tradition we regard the deities, in a very similar way as in Buddhism, but Gorakshanath is mentioned in the first place because he is Yogi. Though he is Shiva, but he is the Yogi. Similarly, the grand Nava Nathas (Nine Nathas) are the same gods who received knowledge of yoga from Gorakshanath, and they are not focused at bhoga (pleasure). Because many gods can gain an enjoyment of a higher grade, because they belong to a higher tattva compared to humans. In fact, Gorakshanath and the Nine Nathas -- is the yoga-rupa, whereas such gods as Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, belong to bhoga-rupa, but they are one. I.e. we do not get immersed into the bhoga if we don't have a pure yogic state. Gorakshanath personifies the state of Shiva which is supremely higher than bhoga. Gorakshanath -- he is tapasvi, ascetic. If you revere Gorakshanath, it does not mean that you cannot worship other devatas. In case you revere them, you should experience these devatas in a pure way. One needs a Guru, so that he gave a proper sadhana. Gorakshanath represents the enlightened Mahasiddha, he personifies a Guru, everything that is essential, everything we shall begin with. And, in fact, we always begin, with what we are up to at the end. Gorakshanath is such a straight experience, straight anubhava. He personifies a path of yoga, not just a single yoga, the single practice, but all of them, of any kind. Therefore, he helps a lot. And when one performs anupasana to Gorakshanath, he might have some realizations, in the course of this practice. How to practice upasana for Gorakshanath? Quite simple. If you can train your body to such a condition that you can sit straight in one posture at least 15 minutes and more, producing lengthening in the back of the neck and spine, then you are ready. This means that there are no problems. If it's difficult for to sit, one can use more of a secondary (beginner's) practices of Hatha yoga. I think that you already have some guidelines, in general. Which asanas are used mostly for meditation? These are sukhasana -- turkish style posture. Guptasana - when we put one foot inside - there over the shin. Svastikasana - when one foot is laying on top. And also there is siddhasana - it is more complex, one need to slightly press on the perineum with the heel and very gently push through this heel. I'll try to show... Here is a technique. This is siddhasana. When we put some pressure on the kanda, the entire energy concentrates in the perineum and goes to the subhuman. But siddhasana in this form is difficult for most people. Thus, one may practice svastikasana or some other asana. It might be vajrasan - sitting on your heels. I will not go into details and subtleties; it does not really matter. If you just do some asanas, whatever style of yoga you are practicing, certainly you may use an ordinary mat for training asanas. However, if you practice predominantly pranayama, mantras, dhyana, you may have to use the asana specifically for sitting. It is not quite right if somebody but you puts his feet (body) on it because it contains your energetics, and every time you use the same asana for the practice, it will influence the whole process and it will support you spiritually and mentally. Mental energy is related to a certain asana. So, you sit down, recite the mantra for the asana, you may touch it with your hands like this... and recite such a short mantra: sat namo Adesh gurujI ko Adesh OM gurujI man mAru maidA karu karu chakanAcUr Aj~nA karetobaiTU Asana pUra shrI nathajI gurujI ko Adesh Adesh That's it. You have read it and formed a sphere where you will practice, so what's next? Then you can revere Ganesha. If you have any beads, you can use them. Usually the mantra to Ganesha is Gam Ganapataye namaha. This is the most common. As for beads: if you do use beads, it`s preferable to keep it in a bag. If it is difficult to hold up your hand in such position and chant a mantra while rotating the beads, then you need to keep the beads at least on your body, on the leg, for example. At least, spread some asana for the beads, because the beads -- it is a MURTI of a deity, and, therefore, it should be treated with great care. If one recites a mantra for a long time and realized its siddhi, then he can wear this mala (beads) around the neck. Many sadhus do so. Why? Because they realized the mantra of Shiva, respectively, they are Shiva. No problems, nobody can put the evil eye upon Shiva. But there is no point in wearing it right away. That's a point. And when you hold the beads within the limits of your body, it stays within your energetics. If you do not have any beads, you can just do as Guruji Vilasnath demonstrated -- a shankha mudra, hold it in front of you like this, such a shell is formed -- "shankha". When one holds hands like this, accordingly, all the energies are contained within the kanda. Kanda it is a place where all the energy channels are mixed through the ida and pingala -- two lateral channels. When we wear this natha's thread -- janeu, it is also a symbol of the kanda, because pavitri (the ring) touches the nabhi -- navel. 72,000 nadis join in the navel area, whereas three big ones, these are ida, pingala and sushumna. So, when one holds shankha-mudra like this, he concentrates all the energy in there. Nadi emerges from the word "nada", which means a flow; nada also stands for sound, chakra's petals, -- all these are energy channels "nadi". They are mixed (bound) with the letters of Sanskrit; Sanskrit letters are sounds. Nadi are also connected with different body cavities -- if we think roughly, these holes are the eyes, nose, mouth, ears etc. Cavities are related to the akasha element. So when you listen to the noise in the body, let's say while doing pranayama, these are the artifacts of some metabolic processes. First, you hear just the noise of circulation inside, then abandoning the rough ambience, you switch to more subtle noise. It is a certain practice. These are the sounds of nada. If you practice this mantra with shankha-mudra long enough, then after like six months you will hear(locate) these sounds. As I said, non-percussive sound is anahata-nada. Also, there is anahAt, as it is translated in Tradition of Gorakshanath, it is not just the non-percussive sound, but boundless sound. Translated as "anahAt". I.e. there is anahAta, even anAhata, with "T" at the end, and Gorakshanath mentions it with "D" at the end, which becomes (means) "boundless". Then your mind dissolves into infinity. When we should practice? We may practice in the morning and in the evening. You should have SNANA in the morning before you get to sit on the Asana. Once you're awake you should perform your morning ablutions. so that your state of mind was awaken and pure, that's why we do snana. If there is a deeper interest in these practices, there are special mantras for snana, mantras for awakening. But this is in case someone decides to practice more deeply. If you want something easier, you can have a snana, sit facing the east, usually we practice facing East with a straight spine. Narrate asana-mantra before stepping onto your asan. Take a moment and sit for a while. Then worship Ganesha, it may be the mantra Gam Ganapataye namaha, or some stotras, for example, this one: Vakratunda Mahakaya Surya Koti Samaprabha Nirvighnam Kurumeydeva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada Oh, Lord with the curved trunk and massive appearance, whose splendor is equal to that of a billion suns. Please bless me that I do not face any obstacles in any of my endeavors. There are other stotras, some of them long Ganesha-stotras, you may just chant japa "Gam Ganapataye namaha". After you have chanted a Ganesha- mantra, you can visualize a thousand- petalled lotus above your head, imagine the swan hamsa over there -- it is called hamsasana. Another eight-petalled lotus is on top of that swan. -- it is called parmasana. "Padma" means lotus. And up there in padmasana you may imagine (visualize) Guru. If you know some stotras, you can imagine the Guru who is sitting in the lotus. If someone doesn't have a Guru, he may imagine Gorakshanath, and read the stotra: akhaNDa maNDalA kAram vyAptam yena carAcaram tat padam darshitam yena tasmai shrI gurave namaH gurur brahmA gurur viShnuH gururdevo maheshvaraH guruH sAkShAt parabrahma tasmai shrI gurave namaH You can recite some mantras, Guru- mantras, Om Brihaspataye svaha, for example, or Om Guru hrim. You can use the beads. After you have recited the Guru-mantra, the stotras, next is pranayama. In our tradition we don't use nyasa. Do you know what nyasa is? Nyasa is when you touch different parts of the body while saying aNguShThAbhyAM namaH tarjanIbhyAM namaH madhyamAbhyAM namaH anAmikAbhYAM namaH kaniShThikAbhyAM namaH karatalakaramR^iShThAbhyAM namaH hR^idayAya namaH shirase svahA shikhAyai vaShaT kavacAya huM netratrayAya vauShaT astrAya phaT i.e. by nyasas, or rishi-nyasa, one touches different parts of the body and establishes a certain atmosphere with them, in which it is possible to practice mantras. Tantrics in India do this. Yogis replace nyasas with pranayam. One can perform nadi shodhana pranayama for 21 times, and it will be enough. Why yogis do not use nyasas? Because in nyasas the certain bijas are used -- bija-mantras. Bijas -- are contracted syllables, for instance hraM hR^idayAya namaHhrIM shirase svahA hruM shikhAyai vaShaT hraiM kavacAya huM hrauM netratrayAya vauShaT hraH astrAya phaT Exactly letters of Sanskrit have to be used, and since yogis in our tradition do not specifically belong to the Vedic or to the standard tantric system, they use Hindi, they can live and practice within, for instance, Islamic society, or Jain's - there is no Sanskrit there Accordingly, it is very difficult to use these systems. Sanskrit is needed for pandits; one has to be a Brahmin, and most of the yogis are beyond the castes, that is why most often for some prayers they use mixed languages, i.e. there can be both Hindi and many others. It is called SANDHA-BHASHA -- the "mixed" language. But this is another story. In order to avoid nyasas, we do pranayama. Pranayama is very simple -- you have to check which nostril breathes better -- right or left. If you see that the left is not blocked, accordingly, first fully exhale the air, then you close your right nostril. Say, my right nostril is active now. Take a deep breath, but smoothly, and initially you do alternate breathing, slowly-slowly. You can make such a mudra -- Vishnu- mudra. You are doing this alternating breathing to find balance between SWARAs and vibrations, air flow in the nostrils. Once they are balanced, then you can practice just kumbhaka -- you breathe in, fill your abdomen first, then the middle part of lungs is filled with the breath, the upper part, then hold your breath and squeeze the bottom of the pelvic floor. Then you do jalandhara-bandha -- you lower the chin and pull it up a little bit (long back of the neck and shorter front of the neck). Hold your breath. During breath-holding you look mentally -- I would suggest looking only mentally -- to the brahmarandha, up there. That results in such a gaze. Then release the upper lock, the root lock, and exhale. You do it until a state of balance and tranquility comes. Then you chant japa - chant Gorakshanath mantra. OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi Meditate on Gorakshanath. If you concentrate long enough, then from Gorakshanath himself and His form... -- I already mentioned that you can feel different changes in your psychophysics within sthula form, as well as sukshma and para forms. Then you concentrate on the chakras, and if the air flow inside the nostrils is equal, you repeat OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi and do such an uplifting movement. You do it so that the energy moved upwards, if only the single nostril is breathing better, then you just chant (mantra) -- because it is unlikely that it will pass through the chakras. In general, that is it -- the entire practice. Regarding anuloma viloma and nadi shodhana. When kumbhaka is introduced it is nadi shodhana, i.e. anuloma viloma is sequential nostril breathing, when you just switch nostrils. And when one breathes, he should breathe very carefully, without forcing, to prevent pauses and glitches... Not like this... but smoothly. Like dripping oil - it flows smoothly, not bits or portions... it should go with the flow. Likewise, the breath -- it should just descend smoothly if you inhale into the left nostril, and while exhaling thru the right it ascends likewise. You are sort of cleaning out the side channels. What's left unsaid regarding the practice? One can practice in the morning, evening and afternoon, but this is tough... Usually, most yogis in India practice in the morning and in the evening. If you have also some activity, you are involved in something, then you can practice only in the morning and in the evening. If you have to choose only one period of time, in case your time is limited, say, you can practice an hour or 40 minutes per day, but not more, then you practice only in the morning. In other words, morning time is the most important. Of course, it is better to practice before sunrise. Because Brahma muhurta is the auspicious time, but if that is not possible, as sometimes one may be traveling, like myself - occasional flights... so my Guru said: "When you woke up, then it is Brahma muhurta for yourself". Sometimes it happens that in the Brahma muhurta I only go to sleep. That means that the day and night are within the consciousness -- when you fell asleep, then the night has started for you, and when you woke up it's the beginning of your day. They can be considered as inner states. For example, as well as the doshas or climate. Doshas are related to the RITU - - the seasons, according to Ayurveda, and somebody recommends cooling pranayamas in the summer, and heating pranayamas in the winter, but it is difficult to tell specific climatic locations. In India, say, somewhere in Kashmir -- it is always cold, but somewhere in Tamil Nadu, Kerala - it is always hot, both in summer and winter. Therefore, the time is within ourselves. Most of these cooling and heating pranayamas are used depending on which dosha is dominant. i.e. one may have, say, vata dosha dominance, he should practice more of Surya bheda pranayama. If one has kapha dominance, he may practice ujjayi. If one has dominant pitta, he should do cooling shitali and sitkari pranayam. Bhastrika balances all doshas. If someone is in a more or less balanced condition, he can do just nadi shodhana. We can say the same about the day and night -- the day begins when you wake up. Generally speaking, the entire weather is within us. It is extremely important to practice dhyana right after awakening, then you will have an auspicious day. If you want to practice very deeply, you can practice also in the evening, for a longer period of time, in case you have some time. As my Guruji said, if you practice certain sadhana, then it is necessary to spend at least two hours for more or less serious practice. Because it takes one hour to "warm up" the place, and one hour for gaining the real experience. "Warming-up" makes a figurative sense -- it is required so that the space deeply responded to your practice. You need to practice japa or some puja for and hour or so. If you perform a puja in the morning -- you need to spend some time, say an hour. Or you can do japa for an hour, and in the evening you can just do japa. In case you practice more than 2 hours in the evening, say 3 or 4 hours, then your practice will transform into nadanusandhana very quickly. i.e. you can hear spontaneous internal sounds, you can meditate on them. One can, in principle, cease the mantra, and Mantra yoga can transform into Laya yoga. What can also happen - if you meditate on a mantra for a long time, then, actually, you morphed with the mantra, and eventually you will be able to repeat this mantra constantly. But this can only happen, when the mantra is just one. You have to feel it quite deeply. You can recite it even while you're asleep, and with the mantra you can control your dreams. But this is quite a serious level While asleep you may have some fantasies, vikalpas, and if you have identified with the mantra and the deity, having become this deity, not just the deity as a form, but having become the essence of this deity, because the essence can be manifested through the emptiness, through a sound, anahata-nada sound, subsequently this practice can become permanent -- ajapa japa. What is it? -- Let's make it a little bit clearer. There is such a thing as sushupti -- deep sleep. There is a sleep, when you see different vikalpas, fantasies, -- when you close your eyes, you see the pictures, it is not a deep sleep, you can just close your eyes, drowse a bit and see dreams. And there is a waking state -- JAGRAT. By means of one state you realize... Look what happens: you are awake, then you go to sleep, for example, you fall in a deep sleep. That is all -- you forget about yourself, you do not remember anything. When you wake up, you are judging upon your "just woke up" state and before (falling asleep) you were awake you realize that you were in deep sleep, you realize that you were in some unconsciousness. It turns out, that you comprehend one state through another state. With the help of these three states you comprehend the fourth, called turiya. "Turiya" comes from "chaturya" -- the fourth. That very fourth state is the Atman. Atman is a pure human soul, its true Self. There is the fifth state -- turyatita "that which is beyond the fourth", it is called Paramatma, when you realize that the turiya, the Atman, is everywhere, in all the objects. Since there is in fact no difference between the Atman and Paramatma, the majority of the texts just mention only turiya. Not because they just don't know, they might simply deem "what can be told about turiyatita if one needs to attain it". The reason is that it is impossible to give in words. Because some Gurus suppose that words can not give any adequate explanations what is turiyatita. Meaning, this knowledge is only directly transmitted, although there are some general explanations, like what I've told, for example. And eventually, through the practice of a mantra, one particular mantra, you can comprehend Turiya. But I would advise you to start with something simple, for the beginning you just practice meditation in the morning. In the course of time, this state will gradually increase, but you should not be in a hurry with this. You should not develop such states as in fitness-yoga "Hey man, nice shot, gotcha!" "Wow, I feel like spirituality". The Kundalini quest. Some rough states tend to suddenly appear and disappear. The less they are the more seriousness and spiritual experience in there. If they were true there would have been less contrast in there. Conversely, at some point, you can forget about your body, some feelings, there are fewer associations with a certain states. Look, one gets some experience, and then start to think that this is something serious, and one get stuck in these experiments, therefore, it is good to keep them in secret. In our Tradition it is considered that if you talk about your siddhas, manifest them, manifest them, firstly, you may loose it, and you can step aside from tradition. There are a lot of stories when some yogis developed some siddhis, they demonstrated them and eventually degraded and lost their abilities. You may have heard, that in some Indian temples, it is not accepted to let aliens in, although there is no something special. They do not let in because the atmosphere there is very pure, and people who have no idea of sadhana, they come there and just emanate some harsh energies. But it is their shrine. Ordinary Hindu come there for sincere prayer, and, therefore, all those who are not living the sadhana "lifestyle" are not allowed in there, even if the person is Krishna worshipper. For this reason, they are not allowed in some temples. For the same, perhaps even deeper reason, it is established not to say aloud publicly those mantras that you practice. Under publicly I mean among ordinary people... mostly those, who do not have any idea about sadhana. It is also not to say about one's own mystical experiences. In our Tradition sometimes yogis get even some penalty if they show a siddhi. There is a very famous story. Audience: that is in everyday life, and if they tell to Guru about their experiences? No, one may tell the Guru, that is even necessary. But usually the Guru notices if any significant changes have taken place. In principle, if the disciple will share some of his experience and clarify what he should do next, it is quite normal. But not with strangers. In Tradition it is not accepted that someone dig into your soul, into your practice. In principle there will not be any beginning to any practice without an initiation. But anyway they write a lot of books disclosing these mantras, i.e. they per se are not a secret, it is just something that gives siddhis, and if you have got any, you can use them, but very carefully. Ideally if no one has the slightest idea that you posses some. In fact, the topic of siddhis is very complicated, because when siddhis are manifested one can observe only what one already has, what is in his consciousness. It can be that some Gurus quietly manifest some siddhis; disciples do not have the faintest idea of what's happening. Because the disciple is within a different reality. It's not an eye that perceives (sees). Like, you can walk down the street thinking about something, a familiar person can pass by, and you do not notice him because you are lost in thoughts, though the eye was looking at him, but you were thinking of something else. Why? Because the consciousness was in a different sphere, physically - yes, you look at him, but mentally - no. Like if one looks in the book, but does not understand anything. Why? Because he is thinking of something else, because his past experience does not coincide with information, which is behind these letters. For example, one can hear like TV (I don't do it), or what people watch now -- Internet, Skype? Why? Because the person is in his thoughts, he does not perceive. So, it's neither eye that perceives nor ear that hears, but the consciousness. Therefore, even if not quite in full measure, but if some siddhis take place, anyway those who see them, are tuned, to some extent, on the wavelength of the one who shows them. Even the word "shows" is clearly not appropriate here. (One) just manifests it in reality... in our familiar "reality", where we're accustomed, and partially transforms it into another one. to which we are accustomed, and our reality as though is partially transformed into another. If there are some siddhis, some yogis really of a very high level, usually that is immediately evident. Say, sometimes before you had time to ask a question, even more -- the questions disappear by themselves. Why? Because the thought is not spinning in the head. My Guru says that there is no difference between me and you. Why? Because the aim of yoga is the attainment of Atman, and Atman is the same everywhere, just different bodies, but on a spiritual level there is no difference. So, if he is a yogi realized in attainment of the Atman, he has this experience, then by virtue of this experience, with the help of this state, he can awaken the same state in another person. Same with the siddhis: if the person has such potential... these siddhis are not limited to his body specifically; he can manifest them in any object. So when some abilities are demonstrated, for instance someone materialize rudraksha, ashes, in India they always follow a particular "route" -- these are tricks, as a rule. I usually tell them "materialize a helicopter for me", or a truck, for example. There is no such possibility in India, perhaps it could be in America. Audience: About sitting eastwards - is this sitting Audience: towards the real east or an internal east? Real, it is a physical east. Audience: shall we check with the compass and sit down? Yes, we should. Audience: Towards the East no matter in the morning or in the evening? Audience: Shouldn't we orient by the Sun? Usually yes, usually in the morning and in the evening. But this is not an easy topic, in the sense that each side of the world enables different results from the same mantra. If someone would like to be a religious person -- this is East. If someone desires to obtain mukti, some serenity, he can practice also towards north. If someone wishes to smash the enemies by this peaceful mantra, to calm them down or subdue etc., then he need to sit down towards south. If one wants to get wealth, he need to sit down facing west. Moreover, this can be even generally peaceful mantra, but if one sits with the face towards different sides of the world, a mantra will act differently (for different purposes). Audience: Which mantra exactly? Any mantra. You can chant, for example, fearsome mantra of Kali, but if you sit down with face to the north, it will be pacifying. On the other hand, one can revere gracious Gorakshanath sitting toward the south, and it will work for some external purposes. Generally, the topic of mantras isn't simple one. There are nyasas like bahir-matrika nyasa, Antar-matrika nyasa, when one touches different parts of the body and spread the Sanskrit letters over the whole body. The subtle body becomes sukshma -- body of Devata. Also there are matrikas that stay within chakras. For example, Shiva Goraksa mantra. We will repeat it like this: aM Shiva Goraksha aM AM Shiva Goraksha AM iM Shiva Goraksha iM IM Shiva Goraksha IM... And so on. Starting from vishuddha repeat this mantra downwards like this, and tune each petal of the chakras to specific mantra. In this way you proceed to muladhara and back to ajna. In fact, the entire chakra system will be tuned specifically to this mantra, and when you are chanting this mantra it will be entirely activated. Then, what else? There is another way, it is called arohan-avarohan or anuloma viloma, i.e. different sequences, different kramas. When you start from ajna, then you proceed directly to the muladhara chakra, going to vishuddha and finish in sahasrara chakra. Sometimes it is can be opposite: starting from vishuddha, going to the muladhara chakra, and finishing with ajna and sahasrara. Such ascending and descending energy. This is matrika nyasa. There is such practice. You can look the description of the chakras; these letters are on the petals of chakras. Each letter is narrated at the beginning of the mantra and in it's end. Hereby we get such internal nyasa. But this is for the six-chakra system. There are some other systems, e.g. five-chakra system. However, now they are less popular in Hinduism, such systems are very difficult to find now. Some chakras in some texts are described in a very simple way. Like, they say that in this chakra is such a Deity, such a pitha (sacred place), but, for instance, the petals are not described. For example, in Siddha siddhanta paddhati they are not described, because if the yogi lives, say, somewhere in Kashmir or Pakistan, he is within Muslim society there. He just knows chakra-kshetram - where the chakras are located, he doesn't align with Sankrit letters. He just visualizes chakras. There are some Nathas over there. They practice at home, never outdoors or in Hindu temples. Hindu temples are rare in those places. Audience: Can I ask something off this subject? When will we do some yoga? Audience: Maybe we will chant mantras? Let's chant the mantra. What time is it now? Audience: 9:17 PM. We may chant mantras. Let's try. Audience: one question before we begin - how to do shankha mudra? Like this, and put it down. Good. Let's do nadi-shodhana first. Exhale and diagnose your nostrils (which one is free) breath in one nostril, exhale into another, smoothly... Notice the smooth air flow, steady and slow. Imagine as the air goes down at one side, and relaxation comes in these parts of the body. We breathe relaxed, slowly. You can start with three breaths and, over time, you can make up to 21. Next is full breathing. Start with deep exhalation, then relax your abdomen muscles, ...gradually fill your lungs with air. After that, loosen, relax the abdomen, and exhale smoothly. Once again, breathe in, squeeze the perineum, point down the the chin and hold your breath... comfortable duration -- to the extent possible, individually. And, releasing the locks in reverse sequence, exhale. Direct your sight between the eyebrows during the delay, and then - up to the crown of the head. Gradually finish. Next -- the prayer to Ganapati. Vakratunda Mahakaya Surya Koti Samaprabha Nirvighnam Kurumeydeva Sarva Karyeshu Sarvada (Oh, Lord with curved trunk and massive appearance whose splendor is equal to that of a billion suns. Please bless me such that I do not face any obstacles in any of my endeavors, anytime.) Now imagine a lotus over the head, imagine Gorakshanath in the lotus, and read the mantra: akhaNDa maNDalA kAram vyAptam yena carAcaram tat padam darSitam yena tasmai Sri gurave namaH gurur brahmA gurur viShnuH gururdevo maheSvaraH guruH sAShAt parabrahma tasmai Sri gurave namaH... Now fold the palms in shankha mudra, and chant mantra of Gorakshanath. You may chant aloud, OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi OM Shiva Goraksha Yogi... Good. Now finish. You may practice this mantra.