“Most people will tell you there are six chakras. An Aghori will tell you there are nine. To understand this statement you must at least know the dif ference between a nara (man) and a khara (donkey). If you think this is a joking matter, it is because you are a khara yourself.”
I had grinned at the comparison, and now I grinned at his affront. He snorted and went on.
“A khara believes only in the three lowest chakras, the chakras which are in charge of eating, procreating and excreting. The long penis of the donkey is a good symbol for those who have big appetites for worldly pleasure.
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MIRA,
“When I told my Roshni (his foster daughter) that she needed to get mar ried so that she could be well set in the world she told me in return, ‘How can you say such a thing to me when you know that the world is filled with kharas? Would you give your daughter away to a donkey? If you can find a nara for me then I will marry, otherwise the game is not worth the risk.’
“I was so pleased with her answer that I said, ‘All right, I will not even make you marry a nara; I will see that you marry Narayana directly.’
“A nara lives exclusively in the upper three chakras. Only a few naras exist in the world at any one time, and only a nara can become Narayana, God Himself, by going to the highest three chakras. The lower three chakras are for the mundane, the adhibhautika; the upper three are for the spiritual, the adhyatmika.
“The final three are for what is beyond both the physical and the spiritual. Some people call it the astral; in Sanskrit we call it the adhidaivika. These three chakras are within the head, and they permit the immortals to remain in their bodies, if they can retain Ma’s grace. These chakras are secret and cannot be described in the way the other six are. They are only experienced, and they can only be experienced after the Kundalini is fully awakened. Until then there is no use in even discussing them, but I will tell you their names: Golata, Lalata, and Lalana.
“The first of the six chakras which can be described is the Muladhara, in the perineum. Then comes the Svadhishthana in the pubic region, the Manipura at the navel, the Anahata near the heart, the Vishuddha in the throat, and the Ajna in the center of the forehead. From the Ajna one moves into the Sahasrara, which is not a chakra at all. You have heard all of this before, I believe?”
“Yes, I have."
“So you know that each chakra has the form of a lotus of a particular color with a particular number of petals. Have you ever thought to ask, ‘Why a
lotus? Why not another flower, or something besides a flower?’”
He had me there. “No, I have not.”
He smirked in triumph. “Well, the lotus is used as a symbol for purity because although it lives in mud it is not soiled by the mud but rises above it. Thus the analogy of the lotus of discrimination and the mud of Maya. But there is more.
“The lotus opens only when touched by the morning sun, and closes just as the sun sets. Likewise, the lotuses of the Six Chakras open only when the Kundalini Shakti is present within them; otherwise they remain closed. Also, even if the sun is shining a lotus will close if water is splashed on it.
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DALINI
You too must learn to be like the lotus in the water’; you must close your self to external influences to prevent the Three Gunas from disturbing you. Try this when you are full of shakti and see how hard it is.
“Each chakra has a different number of petals—four, six, ten, twelve, six teen and two, in ascending order–because of the different modes of dis crimination which pertain to that chakra. Each petal is a separate Bija Mantra (seed sound) for that particular chakra. By performing the appropri ate ritual with that Bija Mantra the knowledge of that mode of discrimina tion is obtained.
“The Sahasrara, the ‘Thousand-Petaled Lotus,’ is at the top of the head. Although it is a lotus it is not really a chakra because there is no plexus of nadis there; there is only one nadi, which connects the Sahasrara with the Ajna Chakra."
“Sort of like the stem of the lotus.”
“Indeed. The lotus of the Sahasrara has the largest number of petals. The next largest number of petals is in the Vishuddha Chakra, which has six teen. All of its Bijas are vowels, since vowels are the basis of vocalization, which has its origins in the throat, the location of the Vishuddha Chakra.
“Kundalini lies coiled like a snake in the Muladhara Chakra. She has three and a half coils: the three refers to the Three Gunas, and the one-half to the cobra’s mouth, the seat of ego. It is one-half because ego is Shakti, which is only half of Shiva, the Shaktiman or controller of Shakti. The purpose of Kundalini Yoga is to reunite Shiva and Shakti, to create the eternal form of Shiva, Sadashiva.
“Sadashiva’s left side is female and right side is male; the two principles have united but have not merged. If they were to merge that would be the end of the play, and that would be no fun at all. Sadashiva exists on the cos mic scale; in an individual this deity is called Ardhanarishvara (“the Lord Who is Half Female’). In order to manifest Sadashiva the Kundalini must be made to rise fully, because the highest manifestation of Shiva in the human being is in the head, the highest part of the body.
“In an ordinary person Kundalini is asleep at the base of the spine, and so Shiva is bereft of Shakti. Such a person is not Shiva but merely shava (corpse). I look at everyone I meet as a skeleton because that is what they are; until a person’s Kundalini Shakti awakens and begins to dance on Her Shiva, that person is as good as dead.”
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AGHORA II: Kundalini
222
AX
X
LEHELEE
MUHIMU
LIHAT
TUX
IT
DAH
VAXTI
- augus
ULLO
X
WA.
The Nadis and Chakras
1701KUNDALINI
Ascending through the center of the subtle body is the median Nadi of Sushumna (fire), to the left and right of which ascend the Chandra (moon) and Surya (sun) Nadis respectively. These channels are described as being a thousandth of the thickness of a hair. The lunar and solar nadis enter or unite with the Sushumna in the Muladhara chakra and ascend to the region of the Anja chakra where they then descend to the left and right nostrils, while the Sushumna rises to the Sahasrara chakra. From the two nostrils extend the channels of prana which carry the breath to the distance of twelve finger widths.
At the base of the Sushumna is the Muladhara chakra (perineum), in which Kundalini lies coiled and sleeping with her head sealing the bulb (Kanda) or entrance to the Sushumna. The Muladhara chakra is described as having four petals (plexus of nadis) and sealed with the square yellow element of earth. Above this is the Svadhisthana chakra (pubic region), having six petals and sealed with the white half-moon of the water element. At the navel is the Manipura chakra of ten petals and sealed with the red triangle of fire. Near the heart is the Anahata chakra of twelve petals and sealed with the blue hexagram of air. At the throat is the Vishudda chakra of sixteen petals and sealed with the white circle of the element space. At the center of the forehead is the Ajna chakra with two perals and sealed with none of the five gross elements, but with the subtle essence of Mind. At the crown of the head is Sahasrara, the brilliant thousand petalled lotus.
Each of the chakras is described as having various deities and bija syllables at their centers and on each of their petals. (It need hardly be said that it is not supposed that there are any actual lotuses or letters engraved thereon. These and other terms are employed to represent realities of yoga experience. —- Arthur Avalon).
The three secret chakras of Golata, Lalata and Lalana are said to be located on the uvula at the back of the throat, above the Ajna chakra, and within the soft upper palate. Their main inner yoga practice is in Khacari Mudra, although Vimalananda possibly refers to a practice even beyond this. In Khecari Mudra the linguæ under the tongue is progessively severed and the tongue is gradually lengthened by stretching until it can extend to a point between the eyes. The tongue is then turned inwards and upwards to press on and enter the duct of “the two headed snake and seal the tenth door” within the cranial cavity above the soft palate. The pressure of the tongue on the “Ama Kala”–the receptacle of lunar nectar, causes the lunar nectar (amrita; soma) to flow downwards abundantly and permeate the entire body with supreme bliss. Attainment of Khecari Siddhi confers a divine body of immortality which is free from aging, corruption and disease, endowed with the eight great magical siddhis.
The “two headed snake” is the channel that extends from the back of the throat to the “moon” just above the Ajna chakra. The “renth-door” is the tenth orifice or aperture of the body. The “Ama-Kala” is the true philosopher’s stone of immortality.
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AGHORA II: Kundalini