Should Hatha Yoga be done till Raja Yoga?
I was talking in a previous post about the small difference between a commentary book on Hatha Yoga Pradipika and my spiritual experience. It comes in that the practice of Hatha Yoga should be done only till the attainment of Raja Yoga. It is also written that if Siddhasana is perfected, then there is no use in wasting time on other asanas. At the time of book making, only spiritual culture dominated. People were not interested in materialism. Life was fleeting. Do you know when an epidemic will spread or a disease will occur? There were wars etc. That’s why people wanted to awaken Kundalini and attain salvation as soon as possible. Although it is written in Hatha Yoga Pradipika itself that different asanas provide protection from various diseases. But people were less concerned about health, but more concerned about awakening. But in today’s scientific age, the life span has become longer, and the standard of living has also improved, so people can wait long for awakening. Because nowadays the fear of deadly diseases is almost non-existent, so people are more enthusiastic than ever to keep their body fit and healthy. That is why I am of the opinion that even if Raja Yoga is achieved, one should continue doing Hatha Yoga. In one case, Yogi Swatmaram is also right. If a Kundalini is already formed in one’s mind, then why should it be harmed by extra or unnecessary effort of Hatha Yoga. The same happened with me as well. Due to the spiritual atmosphere of my home, Kundalini always remained in my mind. I think if I tried forcefully to raise her, she might have gotten annoyed. Because Kundalini is very delicate, subtle and shy. Many types of Kundalini do not even like hatha yoga, such as the Kundalini created as a living lover or girlfriend or friend. The happiest for Hatha Yoga is the Kundalini created in the form of a guru or deity. Many times, Kundalini gets the majority of strength from spiritual and diligent social life. Karma yoga also gives a lot of strength. In such a situation, if you do hatha yoga, then it will be a waste of time. If one remains healthy with Hatha Yoga, then he also remains healthy with balanced form of mental and physical work. Hatha Yoga is mostly useful for very material societies or forest-ashrams. One can also strike a balance between Hatha Yoga, Raja Yoga and Karma Yoga. It all depends on the time and circumstance. It should not happen that leaving the Kundalini preformed in the mind and falling into the trap of awakening another Kundalini, because more important than the momentary awakening of the Kundalini picture is to remain continuously in the mind of the Kundalini picture. Maybe this statement of Yogi Swatmaram is for everyday yoga. When the meditation of Kundalini is well established in the mind with Hatha Yoga during daily sadhana, then meditate with the method of Raja Yoga. It is natural that the man’s mind will again become unsteady due to the confusion of the day’s work. Due to this, it will not be able to be directly controlled by Raja Yoga the next day. Therefore, the next day it will have to be tamed again with the hatha yoga first. This sequence will continue every day. It may also be that Yogiraj has written this for those who do not have the entanglements of worldliness, and are devoted to yoga while living in solitude. When their mind is controlled by the practice of Hatha Yoga for a long time, then they leave it and do only Raja Yoga. Without the entanglements of the world, their mind would never be unsteady again. Even if it is a little unstable, it will still be controlled by Raja Yoga.
Hatha Yoga begins with life energy and Raja Yoga begins with meditation
Kundalini is also not explained in detail. It is written that by doing such asana or such pranayama, Kundalini awakens, or rises above the mooladhara and reaches Sahasrara. Similarly, it is said in the explanation that when Prana and Apana collide with each other in the Manipura Chakra, there is an energy explosion, whose energy ascends from Sushumna and reaches straight into Sahasrara. This means that the life energy itself is called Kundalini there. Because this energy remains asleep in the pool of Muladhara, hence it is called Kundalini. When this prana energy or kundalini awakens in the brain, then any image of the mind will also wake up with it. This means that in Hatha Yoga the vital energy is awakened first, but in Raja Yoga the image of the mind is awakened first. In Hatha Yoga, the image of the mind is awakened by the awakening of the life energy, but in Raja Yoga, the life energy is awakened by the awakening of the image of the mind. Meaning that in Raja Yoga, the image of the waking mind pulls the river of vital energy from the base through the back to fulfill its energy requirement. This means that in a way, Kundalini and Prana energy are synonymous. What I call Kundalini is a mixture of the Prana of Hatha Yoga and the meditation picture of Raja Yoga. In fact, this definition is the most accurate and practical, because a combination of Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga is the most practical and fruitful. I too had a short-term experience of Kundalini awakening from this mixture. If one simply takes a Raja Yoga meditation picture or meditation object, then due to lack of energy in it, it will not be able to be activated or awakened. Similarly, if only the life energy of hatha yoga is taken, it will be lacking in consciousness. Perhaps keeping this in view, Yogi Swatmaram has said that after the achievement of Raja Yoga, leave Hatha Yoga. His abandonment of Hatha Yoga would have meant that Hatha Yoga should not be practiced separately, but to practice it by combining it with Raja Yoga. In the initial practice of Hatha Yoga, the most effective picture or meditation picture of the mind predominates. It is fully revealed only after the practice is completed. This happens in about 2-3 months or within a maximum of 1 year. Then Raja Yoga begins. Although Hatha Yoga continues to be associated with Raja Yoga, but because Raja Yoga is more effective in it, it will be called Raja Yoga. I am telling a yoga seeker at the very beginning by describing the mixture of that mental picture and the energy that rises above the mooladhara as kundalini that it will happen later, so that he does not face any problem in sadhana. The mental picture is already awake, that is, conscious. Waking up with the help of that picture, it is only the vital energy located in the root, which remains asleep or unconscious in the normal state. Therefore it is also correct that the same energy is called Kundalini. The Kundalini only awakens, but the meditative picture becomes supremely awakened, because it becomes one with the soul. Meaning the meditation picture awakens more than the life energy. So why not call that meditation picture as Kundalini. Although Kundalini is a mixture of meditation picture and energy, yet the importance of meditation picture is more in it. This is because the meditation picture is equally important in Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. Expression of energy gives meditation the picture itself. Energy cannot be felt. Energy is experienced only in the form of a meditation picture. Most people believe that Hatha Yoga is only related to physical health, meditation has no place in it. I used to think something similar before. But people do not see those 2-3 sutras, in which it is shown as the initial ally of Raja Yoga, and it is said that Hatha Yoga culminates in Raja Yoga only. He has allowed the work of meditation yoga to remain with Raja Yoga only. Why would he take credit by copying another? This means that people still had a social sense of copyright type at that time, even more so than today. So why don’t we consider Hatha Yoga Pradipika as the first part of Patanjali’s Raja Yoga. This is also the truth. Yogi Swatmaram would have done the same with such emphasis if he had known that the coming generation would be confused in this way.
meditation image is kundalini
I will give proof of this from the saying of Hatha Yoga, according to which Kundalini flows upwards in the Sushumna Nadi. If meditation is not done on any chakra during the asanas and pranayamas, then only a thrill or wheezing will be felt in the brain, there will be no mental picture with it. That thrill can be felt in any part of the brain, right, left etc. But as soon as meditation is done on the chakras like Agya Chakra, Mooladhara, Swadhisthana etc., along with that thrill, at the same time the mental picture of meditation in the Sahasrara Chakra appears. Simultaneously, the thrill also comes in the vertical central line of the brain. In fact, by meditating on the chakras like Ajna etc., the Kundalini energy gets centralized and starts flowing in the Sushumna, due to which Kundalini manifests with it. This is actually due to the principle of Advaita arising out of the mixing of the right and left brains. The energy going to the brain in the form of thrill is always beneficial, whether it is accompanied by Kundalini or not. It refreshes the mind. But all the benefits accrue only with Kundalini.
It was actually Kundalini awakening by Lord Krishna to Arjuna to show his Vishwaroop or mega form
It was probably done by Shri Krishna through Shaktipat. That is why Arjuna tells Shri Krishna that he seems to him to be infinite forms. It means that Krishna’s beloved form had become one with Arjuna’s soul, that is, he was united with the eternal energy or Energy Continuum. Full Samadhi or Kundalini awakening is like this. I am a modest person. I had only a glimpse of ten seconds, that is why I do not speak much, but that experience of complete samadhi by the power of Shri Krishna remained in Arjuna for a prolonged time.
The frequency of the chakras decreases as you move down the body
Consciousness power and life force meet at the chakra. The lower chakras rotate at a lower frequency. Going up, the frequency of the cycles increases. Frequency means the speed of reaching the kundalini energy from the front chakra here to the back chakra and from there to the front chakra, that is, how many times this happens in a second. This is the definition of frequency in science also. I was also telling this in a previous post that if there is a lack of conscious energy in the brain, then by meditating on Advaita, the Kundalini picture is formed on the lower chakras, that means the lower energy chakras become active. Together it, I was telling that the Kundalini of undeveloped small creatures resides in the lower chakras. This means that their brain lacks conscious energy. As the brain develops, the Kundalini ascends upwards.
The chakras spin by the prana flowing in the nadi, just as the spinning wheel of a watermill spins by the water flowing in the river
Probably so called chakra because, just as the water-spinning wheel of a water mill to grind flour rotates in the middle of a small river or gully, in the same way the chakras rotate in the middle of the sushumna nadi. The word Nadi is derived from the river (nadi in Sanskrit) itself. These chakras also rotate from back to front like a turbine due to the upward movement of energy in the sushumna. With the flow of the nadi going down from the Agya chakra, they again move backwards. From back to front again, from front to back, in this way this cycle goes on. Let me explain to you by giving an example of Vishuddhi Chakra. In the middle of the neck is the circular turbine. Understand that it has propeller-like blades to convert the linear energy flow of the nadi into its rotational motion. When Muladhara is meditated along with this chakra, the Kundalini picture is formed in the center of the back of the neck. This means that there is pressure on the propeller blades. Then when the Ajna chakra is meditated with it, the Kundalini picture is formed with a contraction in the center of the front part of the neck. Meaning that from back the propeller blade rotates and reaches front, on which the next pressure of the energy flow going down from the command chakra is applied. Then by meditating on Muladhara, it again comes to the first position in the back part of the neck. With the attention of the command chakra, it again comes forward. In this way the cycle continues. You can assume that it has a single propeller blade, which keeps going back and forth as it spins. One can also assume that this turbine has a lot of blades, as there often are. It is also somewhat of a philosophical rumination. By meditating on the Vishuddhi Chakra, Ajna Chakra and Muladhara Chakra simultaneously, the Vishuddhi Chakra starts rotating rapidly. It does take some practice though. You can understand that prana energy from below rotates that chakra, and psyche energy from above. There is a good mix of both the types of energies on the chakra. The shrinkage felt on the chakra is in a way a push to the chakra by life or prana energy. The Kundalini picture that is felt on the chakra is a push on the chakra by the psychic energy descending down from brain. In fact, the force that pushes the chakras in front is also orana force, not mental or conscious or psychic force. Manas Shakti or mind force mixes with Prana Shakti when it is passing through the brain. It is like when passing of a river through a garden, the fragrance of flowers gets mixed in its water. That fragrance or Kundalini picture decreases downwards in the front channel. This happens because the energy in the front channel loses most of its fragrance while going down. When it turns from the mooladhara and climbs up from the back, there is very little Kundalini fragrance left in it. As soon as it reaches the brain, the Kundalini fragrance gets mixed again in it. She then descends from the front and spreads the fragrance of Kundalini all around through the chakras. In this way the cycle continues. Probably the “Sugandhim Pushtim Vardhanam” of the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra refers to this Kundalini fragrance. I was sharing a similar experience in a previous post that Sahasrara is taken as the vertex of the upper triangle, the line joining the front and rear chakras is taken as the base of the triangle, and the lower triangle starts from this same base and tapers to the muladhar chakra as tip of the inverted triangle. If this base line is meditated along with both vertices as Muladhara chakra and sahasrar chakra, then the middle chakras get very good attention or meditation. Now I am able to understand scientifically from my own experience that why this happens at all. In fact, from the upper triangle the manas energy comes down from the top, and the life energy from the lower triangle goes up. Both of them collide on the chakras located on the base line, creating an energy explosion, which causes the chakra to spin rapidly and the Kundalini becomes alive. The dense accumulation of energy in the pyramid shape is due to this same triangle principle. It is said that the chakras of the body are the energy centers of the body, this means that the Kundalini picture is strengthened on them. That Kundalini picture is very useful in a man’s life. That is how Kundalini romance is possible. From that one attains non-attachment and non-duality, attaining which a man never gets tired. Actually, only physical and mental strength is not enough for man to develop. If this was the case, then only the well-made people of a prosperous household would have hoisted the flag of progress in the world. But we see that in most of the cases the people who touch the heights rise above poverty and problems. Actually, the most important is the spiritual power, which comes from Kundalini. Due to this, man is saved from the darkness of ego, which is born by doing work and which hinders the work. Once I started making rounds of doctors and hospitals because I was not tired of work. Ordinary people go to the hospital because they get tired of their works quickly. But the opposite was happening with me. Kundalini was riding on me as a ghost. Kundalini is probably that ghost, whose description comes in a story that he never sat idle and used to do everything in the blink of an eye. When he did not get work, he started harassing the man himself. Then with the advice of someone, he gave him the task of burying and uprooting the pole continuously. Meaning the man was constantly busy in some work or the other. By the way, Kundalini is a good power, never does bad, like a holy ghost. Maybe the name Holy Ghost is derived from this. Still, Kundalini must be properly handled. I feel that for the blind material progress that is happening nowadays, it is the uncontrolled and misguided Kundalini.
When to meditate on Advaita
While concentrating on any chakra, if the subconscious feeling of non-dualism is also done, then the Kundalini manifests on that chakra with joy and contraction. If Advaita is meditated while paying attention to the thoughts of the mind or to the mind, then the Kundalini manifests in the brain with pressure and joy. Due to this, the brain gets tired soon.
sequence of asanas and pranayama in yoga
Then it is said that first asanas should be done. After that pranayama should be done. Finally, Kundalini meditation should be done. In Pranayama too Kapalbhati is done first. I also do it in exactly the same order from my own experience. Asanas open up some of the nadis. Therefore, through pranayama, the flow of Kundalini energy starts easily in them. Kapalbhati also gives a lot of strength to open the nadis, because in it, breathing moves with jerks. About 25-30 asanas are there in Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Some match the asanas I do, some don’t. It doesn’t matter. There should be a mixture of such asanas, which gives exercise to almost the whole body. Special attention should be paid to the back and the three main channels running in it. I also do 15-20 types of asanas according to my own accord. I do pranayama on the chair. Knees get tired by sitting for a long time in Siddhasana etc. It is good if the chair does not have arm rests, because they do not allow to sit properly. You can also put a cushion on the chair. The chair should be of proper height.
Nadishodhana Pranayama itself continues in the middle of the original Pranayama
After Kapalbhati in Pranayama, for some time, breathing with inhaling through the left nostril and exhaling through the right nostril and then doing Nadi Shodhana Pranayama to remove the suffocation of breath, means to keep inhales and exhales through the alternating nostrils. Then for some time again inhaling in the opposite order that’s inhaling through right nostril and exhaling through left one, and doing Nadi Shodhana Pranayama in the opposite order means to keep inhaling and exhaling through alternative nostrils, starting from the opposite nostril of previous nadishodhan pranayam. Then inhale and exhale simultaneously through both the nostrils. To remove the suffocation of breath, do Nadi Shodhana Pranayama of alternate breathing for some time starting from one side and for some time starting from the other side. Similarly, when breathing is withheld while doing Kundalini meditation, one should continue to do Nadi Shodhana Pranayama when there is breathlessness. In this way, Nadi Shodhana Pranayama itself continues. No need to devote time for that separately.
Demystifying Kundalini 