Not long after I met him, Vimalananda suggested changes in my eating habits to address the dysentery which tormented me periodically ever since I had been in Africa. Once I had adjusted to a strict regimen limited prima rily to milk-a diet which I was proud to share with the Masai- I realized that his purposes were not limited to the merely medical.
One day when he asked me how I was enjoying such fare I replied, “Just fine, thank you, and not so hungry as I was before."
He smiled knowingly. “Was that,” I went on, “part of the plan?” Smiling more knowingly, he nodded corroboration.
“There are many ways to apply pressure to Kundalini to encourage Her to move upward,” he began. “Certain asanas (Yoga postures), some of which
you knową”
He paused and I interjected: “__and practice”
He continued: “—can help, especially those in which the Muladhara Chakra is firmly pressed with the foot. You understand why, I think?”
“They prevent the downward movement of Apana.”
“Exactly: they help Apana to rise. Since Apana is that form of prana which is in charge of excretion, however, constipation is likely to occur, which may unbalance your system. Have you noticed this?"
“I have, when I overdo those asanas," I replied sheepishly.
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He smiled again. “Yes, like me you have a tendency to overdo things. To prevent disease, though, you must avoid doing anything that might aggra vate Apana while you are trying to make Kundalini rise, especially because of your history of dysentery. By reducing your food you reduce the volume of urine and feces, and therefore limit the harmful effects of the constipa tion. By reducing or eliminating sex you prevent the discharge of semen or vaginal fluid, both of which requires strong downward movement of Apana.” I was at that time sexually chaste.
“Reducing your sleep is also important. I had to learn the effects of sleep lessness when I was in training to become an Aghori. My guru sneered at me and said, ‘You think you can stand the strain? Try it.’ After two days without sleep bandha koshtha, the state of absolute constipation, began. I can’t describe the agony. I started to bleed, and fissures developed. But I was obstinate and went beyond it.
“Ordinary Kundalini Yoga is difficult enough, but an Aghori makes it even more intense. Do you know how you feel when you are full of lust? You can’t wait to enjoy sex; you will rip off your own clothes, and then rip the clothes off your partner. Likewise an Aghori, filled with the desire to experience Reality, rips the coverings, the clothes, off the universe when he wishes to love it. If you really want to progress at Kundalini Yoga you must forget your body, that thing which is clothing your consciousness, and to do that you must first forget food and water. After three days without water you begin to feel dizzy, your blood thickens, and so on. After five days you begin to gasp, and unless you are really dedicated you will decide you don’t want to die, and you’ll drink. Aghora is the fast, direct way, but it is too difficult for most people.
“If you don’t want to force yourself to quit eating, and want to progress by stratagem instead, which is the way of the clever sadhaka, you must first understand the nature of food. To do this you must first thoroughly under stand the nature of the Three Coverings of the universe, which are—?”
“The Three Gunas, the Six Tastes and the Five Great Elements.”
“The Six Tastes are within the body, not outside. Have they taught you this yet in the Ayurvedic college?”
“They have alluded to it.”
“Oh, they have alluded to it, have they? Anyway, if you want to do do with out food and drink entirely and live only on air you must manufacture all the tastes within the body; then there is no need to take them from outside. Amrita, che ’nectar of immortality,’ is a glandular substance created within the body which is necessary for this purpose.”
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That too had been alluded to in Ayurveda, with little explanation. “We exist only because of the Three Gunas: Satrva, Rajas, and Tamas. Most people do not know that Sattva and Tamas are two sides of the same coin. Sattva is Amrita, which is of the essence of the Fire Element. The Amrita in your head, this glandular substance, is a physical manifestation of pure Sattva. Tamas is Visha, deadly poison, which is of the essence of Water Elernent. The metabolic toxins in your body poison both it and your mind. When you remove the bad qualities from poison it becomes nectar, and if you add bad qualities to nectar it will become poison. Ayurveda is full of examples of how poisonous plants and minerals can be used for medicine, and of how improperly used medicines act as poisons. I believe I am cor rect?”
“Yes, you are.”
“Rajas is the bridge between the two. Rajas can transmute Tamas into Sat tva, and it can degrade Sattva into Tamas. Rajas is pure shakti, energy, the very incarnation of illusion, of Maha Maya. Rajas does not know what it is doing; it just does it, so it must be well controlled. When Rajas is properly controlled almost anything can be achieved. And the only being Who knows how to control Shakti is Shaktiman: Lord Shiva.
“The name Rudra, which is another name for Lord Shiva, indicates the shedding of tears. Rudra brings you nothing but tears, but there is a big dif ference in ordinary and extraordinary tears. Before the Rudra Granthi is pierced the sadhaka sheds tears of misery, of Maya, because he cannot be sure of himself, or of the existence of God. This doubt continues until that Knot is pierced, when all doubt is removed. The glands of the body then begin to secrete Amrita; they ‘shed tears.’ This Amrita causes the devotee to shed tears of joy.
“Shiva drinks poison, but He converts it into Amrita. In order to do this you must know the relation between visha, which is poison, and vishaya, which means sense object. The world of sense objects is the true poison because it is impermanent. People fleetingly regard it as permanent, and this leads to delusion. During sex, for instance, a man feels, ‘Oh! What bliss I am enjoying!’ But suddenly, pfssst!-emission. Then he realizes, ‘No, it is no longer there.’ His dream construction of heaven has evaporated.
“Everything Shiva takes in is converted into Amrita, which is called Amrita because it is permanent, not transitory. And that is why it is connected only with Lord Shiva, Who is your real Self, your soul. As long as you are in the world your consciousness is connected with sense objects; it is the state of transience, of ignorance. Only when you come to Shiva can you find Amrita.
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“To obtain Amrita the grace of your guru is also necessary, at the very end when you are just on the threshold of progress. It is like a Rishi’s goat sacri fice. The Rishi who kills the goat will send it into a higher womb, but the goat doesn’t know that and feels great pain at first. The sadhaka who wants to do without food also suffers, but a good guru is relentless, and finally the Amrita is obtained. The disciple goes beyond food and becomes a Siddha, an immortal.”
Which of course was a secret ambition of mine at the time, as Vimalananda knew. I listened more carefully.
“This is the fast way of doing things, but even if the disciple is not tough enough to become an Aghori and do fast and terrible sadhanas he can still learn to do without food. First the guru will allow the boy to eat whatever he likes for a short time. When his major cravings have been placated his diet will be restricted. Naturally the boy will still occasionally feel hungry in spite of himself. Since this is not his fault, though, the guru will make him fall asleep, even for a few moments, when this happens. The disciple will be overpowered with an irresistible urge to sleep, and the sleep will make him forget his hunger.”
Here he threw me such a mischievous sidelong glance that I burst out laughing. I have long been notorious for dozing off in any position, but dur ing this stage in my life it had become almost a daily affair, and observers had been kidding me about it. So he was behind it all!
Vimalananda began to chuckle too, and then continued as soon as the mirth died away: “A hungry man usually cannot sleep; hunger and sleep are opposites, and opposites can be very useful. After a few days of occasionally uncontrollable sleep the disciple’s system will adjust to the new diet. He will continue at that plateau for awhile until he is completely established in it, and then there will be further restrictions and further periods of adjust ment. Finally the goal is reached.”
I couldn’t resist: “Am I going to be falling asleep at lunchtime for several years now?”
“It might take that long, you know. Success at this method is still far off, for you or anyone else, especially nowadays during Kali Yuga when almost all of our prana comes from food. There is another way: you continue to eat, but you lose all your taste for food. This is the way of Aghora.
“Actually, to do this you must lose your taste for all sense objects, because sense objects can disturb your consciousness. Because we are living in Kali Yuga, the age in which almost all of our prana comes from food, you cannot expect your mind to be pure if your food is impure. Your consciousness is a
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chemical phenomenon which exists at the mercy of the chemical composi tion of your diet.
“The food you eat can definitely disturb your sadhana; so can the water you drink, and the air you breathe. This is why Tantra lays such stress on the purification of the Elements that make up your body. Even if you have to start out with materials which are polluted by the desires and attachments of others, you can still use them safely after they have been purged of all these negative influences. This is why an Aghori can use either sewage or Ganges water for his rituals; he converts both into the same pure substance. How else do you think Telang Swami could dare to worship Kashi Vish wanatha with his own urine and feces?”
Good question. Vimalananda had already told me some stories about Telang Swami, the Pride of Benaras; some of these appear in Aghora.
“Other things beside food affect us, I suppose?”
“Everything affects us. Take my Roshni. She is very lucky to be able to wear my mother’s bangles. My mother wore them for sixty-five years, during which all day long she would recite the mantra her guru had given her. It is no wonder that Roshni’s mind has become so clear since she began to wear them, since bangles are wom on the wrist where certain important nadis are present. If I were to make Roshni wear her own mother’s bangles you would see in a few days’ time how her mind would become prejudiced and dull. I would caution you therefore not to wear any jewelry unless you know its antecedents."
Point taken. “Of course, the fact that the bangles are gold has some effect, doesn’t it? I mean, if they had been made of steel she would not have got the same result, would she?"
“No,” he replied, “they would have had a different effect. Wearing iron or steel bangles prevents you from being possessed by certain classes of lower spirits, but they also dull your mind. Anything you wear will affect your con sciousness according to the innate qualities of the material it is composed of. But more important than the ornament itself are the vibrations attached to it. My mother recited mantras all day long, and the vibrations of those mantras penetrated her bangles through and through. That is why her ban gles are valuable, not because they are made out of gold. They would be valuable if they were made out of clay. This goes for any ornament, any arti cle of clothing, anything that you use, but the effect is more for food because the food goes inside you and becomes part of you.
“And that also applies to the place where the food is grown. Did you know that the very ground on which Bombay is built is cursed? Yes, the
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ground itself is cursed, which means that the very gravity of Bombay affects the minds of everyone who stays here. And since this curse is present in the ground, any food that is grown here and any water that is taken from here transmits those negative vibrations into anyone who consumes them. One effect of this curse is that everyone who comes to Bombay forgets all sense of morality and immediately thinks of how to earn money as fast as possible, even by selling his grandmother if necessary.”
A thought-provoking concept. “And this effect is independent of what you mentioned before about the pollution that comes from the desire and attachment of others?”