Never does the world believe and accept truth. Initially, it is pursuit of truth. Later, colours, and more colours are added. In this process, they who pursued, get caught in colours. Just as a stone diminishes with every scrub, it gradually disappears with every coat of colour. Depth is necessary to sow a seed. Even that depth must be appropriate. Should you dig a well to sow a seed? On any road there will be a resting place, stones, grass, trees and shades. In any life there will be friendship, rivalry and relationship. Isn’t this natural? One, who does not seek truth, will not find his Master. Did Buddha announce to the world, before he went in search of Truth? If you care to glance through the pages of history and if you have an eye for the details you will find minute details, where truth has chosen to sparkle. Truth does not appear before you, as the sun does. It sparkles within you like a glow-worm. Hence it is difficult to cognise truth. A sailor may find his direction with the aid of the Sun, and also with that of distant star. A sailor in a country-boat does not count the stars. He picks up his star wherever it is and alters his course accordingly. Knowing Truth – that alone qualifies one to declare Truth. He who knows Truth proclaims it to the world in silence. Truth can only be the same wherever it is perceived and however it is spoken. The same applies to the evils of misinterpretations of Truth anywhere by anyone. Whatever you read, seek the Truth alone. Seek the Truth in whatever you read. The book is there, the eyes are given. But if there is no lamp in the dark room one cannot read. Carry the lamp in your heart. You can read only the Truth wherever it is. When you read in a dark room can you complain that the Truth is hidden? Rather, you are ill equipped for the job. Those who believe in the one Truth do not wait for interpretations. Those who know to swim well, well enough, do not wait for a boat in a crisis. If only they know what exists across the ocean they learn to walk on the water. They walk across water, waves. What waits beyond the ocean entices them. They lose themselves on the shore and hence they walk across the Ocean. You cannot swim with the rock and if you know that you are that rock, will you not cast yourself ashore and walk across. If only you know what is waiting beyond the Ocean, the faceless wonder which beckons you, which entices you by its wordless, tuneless, soundless song, will it not make you to shed yourself on the shore? Will you not walk across the Ocean and become that? Truth cannot be different from the one who declares it. That is why the Holy word is God himself. Truth cannot be different from the one who declared it. So you must know that the ‘Preceptor is the Prophet’. You must understand this alone, that the Preceptor is the Truth. It is better always to take a thing or a person as it is or as he is. Let us not give him or it Colours. It may sometimes even mean that you give colours so that you can like him better. That is not the right way.
Excerpts from Holy Gems and Holy Passage.
Mudhras and Bandhas are postures of body. These exercises help aspirants to progress in their path at a faster phase.We are going through only a few of them here. Even though there are many mudhras and bandhas practiced by aspirants of different systems, Doctor told us to practice only a few which are explained here.
kha means Akasa and chari means to move. The Yogi moves in the Akasa. The tongue and the mind remain in the Akasa. Hence this is known as Khechari Mudra.
Sitting in siddhasana turn the tongue upwards and backwards so as to touch the palate and close the posterior nasal openings with the reversed tongue and fix your gaze on the space between your eye-brows. Now leaving the Ida and Pingala, Prana will move in the Sushumna Nadi. The respiration will stop. The tongue is on the mouth of the well of nectar. This is Khechari Mudra.
By the practice of this Mudra the Yogi is free from fainting, hunger, thirst and laziness. He is free from diseases, decay, old age and death. This Mudra makes one an Oordhvaretas. As the body of the Yogi is filled with nectar, he will not die even by virulent poison. This Mudra gives Siddhis to Yogins. Khechari is the best of all Mudras.
Sambavi Mudhra is very closely associated with Kechari Muthra. Both are taught simultaneously or one after the other. Simply put, the Kechari mudhra and Sambavi mudhra are to be practiced together for better and faster results.
How is it done? There are two parts in Sambavi. First is more of physical nature. Without straining much, gentle furrowing of the brow (bring both eyebrows towards each other) to the point between the eyebrows. This is a physical gesture.
The second part is important. You have to turn your gaze inward to focus at the imaginary point behind the center of eyebrows. The gaze should be fixed there. By practice over a period of time, one can sit for hours without any physical strain. In this position one can be aware of the movement of Gathi or Vasi. Once an aspirant is firmly placed in this practice, the progress will be much faster. Everything will be happening automatically.
The place between the brows is called the third eye. What do one see through that eye? It is not actually an eye hidden behind. There is a chakra known as ajna. Chakra is known as energy center. Ajna means command or control. These two descriptions point to the importance of the energy dynamics that come up in our head as a result of advanced yoga practices.
Jesus said, "If your eye be single, your body will be filled with light". It is usually taken figuratively to mean if we are one-pointed in our devotion we will be filled with the grace of God. In a way it is true. However, in yogic parlance it has a different meaning.
Elsewhere, he has mentioned in Bible about narrow gate. Again, it can be taken to mean something different from what he really meant. By single eye, Jesus means the Ajna chakra and by narrow gate he means the minute passage behind eyebrows that remain blocked in the uninitiated.
Let us see what the Hatha Yoga Pradipika says about Sambavi mudhra. I quote from the E-text of Hatha Yoga Pradipika prepared from the 1914 edition, published by Sudhindra Nath Vasu, translated by Pancham sinh.
Susumna, Sunya, Padavi, Brahma Randhra, Maha Patha, Smasana, Sambhavi, Madhya Marga, are names of one and the same thing.
In order, therefore, to awaken this goddess, who is sleeping at the entrance of Brahma Dwara (the great door), mudras should be practiced well.
Generally speaking, these are the components of yoga which help a practitioner to progress in his path as smoothly as possible.
Credit: Details of Kechari and Sambavi mudhras are excerpts from the book Kundalini Yoga written by Swami Sivananda Saraswathi of Rishikesh. Pranams to the great spiritual Master.
