The Mind Er Meditation

The Mind Exists as a Servant of the Soul Basic Characteristics of the Mind The Three Minds The Cycle of the Intellect The Cycle of the Intellect Diagram Cosmic Law of Manifestion & Being (diagram) The Structure of a Thought Yogi Bhajan Describes the Balanced Mind Yogi Bhajan in Dialogue with his Mind Navigating the Inner Spaces of the Mind Benefits of Meditation Simran Meditation: A Simple Process (A lecture by Yogi Bhajan) Stopping the Mind? Prayer & Meditation 120 121 122 122 123 124 124 125 125 126 126 126 127 129 129 Pratyahar (A lecture by Yogi Bhajan) 130 Meditating with Silent Awareness or with Mantra 133 Simran: the Flow of the Meditative Mind 134 Samadhi-Enlightenment (The Beloved-A poem by Yogi Bhajan) 134 Preparing for Meditation 135 Keeping Steady During Meditation 135 Choosing a Meditation 135 Meditation Focus 136 Meditation Minutes 136 Meditation Sadhana 136 Using the Gong for Meditation 137 Using a Mala for Meditation 137 White Tantric Yoga 138 Yogi Bhajan on the Mahan Tantric & the Subtle Body 139 Celestial Communication 139 Sat Nam Rasayan 140 Venus Kriyas 140 Tratakum (Gazing) 141

Every human being who wants to excel and to develop the character and caliber that upholds the values of the soul, needs a direct, fundamental relationship to the mind. -YOGI BHAJAN By conquering your mind, you can conquer the world. -GURU NANAK The mind is meant to go for Infinity, unless you train it to desire Earth. -YOGI BHAJAN

The Three Functional Minds • Negative Mind Reactive, protective. • Positive Mind Constructive, risktaking, seeking fulfillment and possibilities. • Neutral Mind Assessing. Reflecting uniqueness of the soul. Ahangkar The ego-sense which claims the impressions of the mind for its own and reacts to them. Atman The essential Self. present within all creatures. Pure consciousness. The mind merely reflects that consciousness, so appears to be conscious. Buddhi The component of the mind which perceives reality, discriminates and classifies the impressions which the manas receives. Chitta The Universal Mind. Gunas The three conditions of matter: sativa-saintliness, pure essence; rajasimperial, active, creative or initiating energy; and tamas-inertia or decay. Manas The recording component of the mind, which receives impressions gathered by the senses from the outside world. Prakirti Matter. Primal Nature. Evolves under the influence of Purusha, so the Self may enjoy experience. Composed of the three gunas. Purusha Unmanifest spirit. Samskaras Tendencies, potentialities, and latent states which exist in the subconscious and unconscious areas of the mind. They are built up by the continued action of the thought-waves, and create new thought-waves. Our samskaras define our character.

The Mind Exists as a Servant to the Soul SUCCESS, HAPPINESS AND A FLOW OF PROSPERITY are the result of mastering the mind. The mind exists as a servant to the soul, the Atman. But the mind is also a vast mechanism with its own characteristics and its own momentum. When the mind is aligned with the soul, each thought that is stimulated from the intellect is perceived and acted on If the 81 facets can be controlled so that with each thought, the mind perceives it clearly and with clarity and reality. When the mind is full of unconscious identifications, emotions, projections, intentions, and attachments, the thought is perceived for other than what it is. This masked thought becomes the basis of many false judgements and fruitless commitments. Yogi Bhajan has outlined the art and science of the control of the 81 facets of the mind. Through the use of Kundalini Yoga, these 81 facets regulate the reaction of the personality, body and mind to each thought. If the 81 facets can be controlled so that the mind persurrenders to the intention of the soul, then inner and outer peace are granted. ceives each thought clearly and surrenders to the intention of the soul, then inner and outer peace are granted. THE QUALITIES BEHIND ALL THOUGHTS In classical yoga philosophy, the soul is accompanied on it’s journey from God through the creation by the mind. (See the diagram on next page.) The mind is part of Nature, Prakirti. Prakirti, which includes both material and mind, is governed by the three primary forces or qual ities called the gunas. The three gunas are sattva, rajas, and tamas. Sattva is subtle, sublime, clear, neutral, and pure. Tamas is heavy, confused, concealed, slow, unwavering, and persistent. Rajas is fiery, active, initiating and is the power of transformation. These three qualities constantly intertwine, intermingle, intermix, contrast, advance, and withdraw in various combinations with each other. It is these special combinations of quality that exist before the manifestation of thoughts. They are underneath or behind all things in creation. (See Yogic Philosophy chapter for more on the gunas.) CHITTA-THE BASIC MIND The three gunas operate to create the many functions of the Universal Mind, or chitta. The chitta is divided into three major functions that reflect the three gunas: � The sattva guna is reflected in the buddhi mind. The buddhi mind perceives reality, discerns what is real from unreal, assesses neutrally and judges in relation to Infinite identity. It represents the heavenly phenomena in activity of totality as totality. � The rajasic element reflects into ahangkar. Ahangkar is the part of the mind that grants identity and attachment. It gives the sense of self, of boundary, of containment, and the beginning of identity to the various blends of quality of the gunas. It represents, in its most positive sense, the heavenly activity of the coexistence of totality within a vacuum, for at this point it is unmanifested. Totality within a vacuum means that there are no boundaries or other defining aspects to contain the totality. Instead, all the qualities are mixed, and are defined by their own combinations among themselves.

The third guna, tamas. reflects into the aspect of the mind called manas. This is the lower mind, the sensory mind. It is the one most commonly dealt with by the psychologists in contemporary times. Along with the images, sounds, feelings, and smells of all the senses combining into reactive and creative sequences, manas also includes the subconscious reactions and commotions that are stored. Manas represents the heavenly activity of the coexistence of totality within the finite. The mind, or chitta, takes on a particular blend of qualities in association with each thought that passes through it. The blend of qualities is the result of the relative levels of activity of the bud

dhi. ahangkar. and manas capacities of the mind. The individual, through experience in the world, and through reaction to her or his own mental phenomena, creates various reactions that are recorded into the subconscious and superconscious mind. This accumulation of actions and reactions forms a momentum of the mind. If the thought from the intellect does not perfectly agree with the long established momentum of the mind, the mind reacts by projecting a particular blend of colors around the thought. That color then interacts with the personality, projections, and interactions of that individual.

The Three Minas Negative .. Positive .. Neutral There are three functional aspects to the mind:  The Negative (or Protective) Mind is given for survival. It is reactive, protective, and searches for potential danger. It is senstive to pain, and it shields you from the forces that may disrupt or destroy.  The Positive (or Expansive) Mina searches for pleasure, fulfillment, and possibil ity in how you can utilize things in your experience. It is constructive, risk taking, and active.  The Neutral (or Meditative) Mina is the mind that judges and assesses without attachment in relation to your own purpose and reality. The Neutral Mind observes the actions of both the Negative and Positive Mind, and judges both in relationship to your higher self. Each thought is filtered through the Negative, the Positive, and the Neutral minds. These aspects of the mind are developed differently in each individual. Some people have a stronger Negative Mind, or a stronger Positive Mind, or a stronger Neutral Mind. Occasionally, all three are strong, existing in balance. This is the enlightened mind. It is flexible and creative, and able to reflect the uniqueness of the soul. PatafliaWs Eight Limbs & the Three Minas  The Negative Mind is mastered with yamas and niyamas. � The Positive Mind is mastered with asanas and pranayam.  The Neutral Mind is mastered with pratyahar, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. THE MEDITATIVE MIND IS THE NEUTRAL MIND that runs your destiny. There are three ways to conduct your destiny: Through the law of karma-action and reaction; you can tune into the magnetic field of the Earth and just float with it as a freeloader; or. your life can be run by that magnetic, attractive, creative, meditative, Neutral Mind. That way you do very well. -YOGI BHAJAN

THE CYCLE OF THE INTELLECT Imagine the soul giving the radiant impulse to the mind to have manas, ahangkar, and buddhi activate the intel lect to produce a thought. When that thought is released through the intellect, which is part of the mind, it produces feelings, which produce emotions, which then result in desires, which lead to action. This sequence of manifestation is universal. (See diagram next page.) But there is a problem. When the intellect releases the thought, it is compelled to do so from the soul. The mind itself has gathered biases, attachments. and blends of actions and reactions in the subconscious, through experience. When the thought is released, the mind processes it via a complex blend of manas, ahangkar, buddhi, positive, negative and neutral forces. The Negative, Positive and Neutral Minds divide themselves into 81 blends-81 different combinations-of these six elements. That mental facet then surrounds the thought that is released from the intellect with a projected color. The color represents a ray in the aura; it also represents the activity of the chakras in the individual. So, the thought becomes clouded, fogged, or surrounded by a particular color. That color then progresses on to produce feelings, feelings go on to produce emotions, as if the thought were that other color. Now that the thought is surrounded by the colors, it is cloaked in such a way that the reactions and desires that follow in the cycle of the intellect are now reacting to the fogged color, rather than to the thought itself. Each of the 81 aspects of the mind produces a specific cloaking action on the thoughts released by the intellect. That cloaking produces a lack of clarity, a lack of accurate structure of the thought and the nature of the color that surrounds it, thus producing much pain from a person’s inappropriate actions. ENTER, THE WILL The universal release of thought from the intellect, which leads to feelings and then to emotions, desire and action, has two points at which the will-coming from the soul-can be applied:  Between emotion and desire. you can be attached or unattached to the specific thought that is going through the sequence. Much meditation is applied at that juncture, because to get emotion to become desire, the element of ahangkar and personal attachment must be added.  Exactly at the release point of intellect to thought, is the other place where will is effective. This is the same place at which the facets of the mind automatically apply themselves. If will is applied at that level, the mind is trained to surrender the cloud around the thought, and to bring the color around the thought to clear or to white, so that it can be perceived as it is. KUNDALINI YOGA The techniques that alter the 81 facets are described in detail in the technology of Kundalini Yoga. It is the process of engaging the conscious, the subconscious and the superconscious at the point of origin of the thoughts. This is most effectively done through Naad Yoga. The colors or rays that the 81 facets utilize are also represented and bal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cycle of the Intellect

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cosmic Law of Manifestation Er Being

The origin and seed of all we experience is unmanifest and subtle. First is consc iousness. then vibration, then separation into the three forces or gunas. Then the blending of elements and thoughts manifests in the world of the senses. emotions. and matter.

anced through the chakras. Starting with the First Chakra through the Seventh, the colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple or indigo, and white. White represents the complete balance of all the colors. So The techniques that alter the 81 facets are described when a thought is wrapped in white, represented through the Seventh Chakra, there is both neutrality and nurturance for in detail in the technology of the true nature of the internal structure of Kundalini Yoga. It is the process of engaging the conscious, the subconscious and the superconscious at the point of origin of the thoughts. that thought. The white light brings full radiance and blends many colors so the thought comes to fruition and reflects its true nature. This subtle process of evolution from the unmanifest unity to the embodied finite experience is represented within the design and structure of the body itself. just as the chakras are associated with different areas of functioning in the body, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, so too, each of the functions covered below is represented by areas and regions in the body. The macrocosm of the universe is reflected in the qualities and structure of the microcosm of the body. That is why the body is so often referred to as a sacred vessel or temple. � The region from the heartline up controls and relates to the sense of totality, to the sense of connectedness and merger. � The region from the heart down to the pelvic line, which interacts strongly with air, fire and water elements, is like the realm of the mind with all of its relativities and qualities, comparisons and possibilities. So, it represents the Infinity entering into the vacuum, entering into the identity that is distributed through actions across the experiences of the Cosmos. � The region from the navel down to the sole of the foot is associated with the faculty of the earth, the stationary, the finite, the embodied and the attached. The rise of kundalini integrates all these regions and produces the pure white light that releases the will to control the 81 aspects, freeing up the creativity of the intellect directed by the intelligence of the soul. It is the real task of each person and of all humanity to release the fragments that are caught in the subconscious-the unfulfilled desires, the daydreams, the nightmares and fears, phobias, as well as the possibilities. If all of these fears are released and the thoughts are unclouded, then through concentration and earnest prayer our dreams of happiness, peace, and prosperity in fact come true. Kundalini Yoga and meditation can facilitate an understanding of the working of the mind, and teach us how to plant the seed of peace, prosperity, and health into our thoughts. Compiled from The Mind: It’s 81 Facets and Projections. by Yogi Bhajan and Gurucharan Singh Khalsa.

Yogi Bhcfian Describes the Balanced Mind When your mind is balanced and refined, it serves your soul and consciousness and it mixes your tattuas to give you both divinity and dignity. The temperament of your soul is divinity. It is the desire to be good that makes you a human. It is living as good that makes you a sage. You live goodness when your personality is touched by the quality of divinity in you. You always have a choice with all these gifts. You can buy any bait for a price and fall apart, or you can be aware of and act from your own ultimate life. When you sense your own ultimate life and your mind supports you with all the tattuas, you have an automatic consolidated dignity. It is a quality that penetrates every action and word. If you can work out the projection and i nvolvement of your mind, it can take you anywhere. Yogi Bhcfian in Dialogue with His Mind This is how my mind and I speak to each other: “You are timeless, you are spaceless, you are nothing less. You are just my servant. Tell me how you can serve me. Intuitively show me through vision. If not, shut up. I don’t need you. I can do it myself!” ” No, no, no, I am your mind. I am in you. God gave me to you to serve you. I can tell you pros and cons, positive, negative, neutral. I am very good. I am the source of intuition. I am the source of thought. I am the source of ecstasy. I am the source of everything.” I just tell him, “I have found my source. You are part of me and you have gone berserk, idiot. so don’t talk to me with this garbage. Let me do devotion. I don’t want anything from you, my mind. Go somewhere else, serve someone else. I have seen it all, and now it is my time and my privilege to utter Wahe Guru.” ” No, no, no. I am your relative, I love you!” “Yes, everybody is my relative. You won’t hurt me. If you cannot see God in all, you cannot see God at all. Let us relay at the same level. Let me say, Wahe Guru. and let you say, “Wahe Guru.” Let us have a relationship at the same frequency. Let us have the same clarity. Let us have the same reality, because we have the same Guru, the same God.

Navigating the Inner Spaces of the Mind Four of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga practice deal with navigating the meditator through the inner space of the mind. They are pratyahar, dharana, dhyana. and samadhi. In Kundalini Yoga, we recognize the integrative nature of these states. Emphasis is on mastery through identifying and utilizing these states. Pratyahar To control and synchronize the mind to the Infinite. It is the science of finding the nucleus of every finite. which is Infinite. Oharana Concentration. Consistent penetration of thought. consistent projectivity. Holding the mind within a center of consciousness or on an object. Ohyana Meditation. Deep merger into the object of concentration. which causes a flow of thought waves. uninterrupted and continuous. to which the meditator does not react. One is aware of the thoughts, but not involved with them. Samadhi Total identification with spirit. The deep experience of “Me and God. God and Me, are One.”

Benefits of Meditation Meditation is the process of controlling and transcending the waves of the mind. allowing the flow of radiance from the soul. Meditation is for everyone. It uses the inherent self-sensory system, the m ind, a nd the body. Through the use of refined patterns, meditation creates a communication between you and your mind, and between your mind a nd your body. Meditations which use mantra. work on the upper palate of the mouth. which controls the auto nomic system and the impulsations of the old brain and limbic systems. Meditation … Develops the Neutral ( Meditative) Mind.  Takes us from a finite to an Infinite perception of reality, by connecting us to the clarity of the soul.  Promotes a sense of well-bein g. inner peace. stability. and calm.  Develops the intuition.  Releases reactions and unconscious habits. subconscious fears and blocks, and builds the spontaneous and intuitive link to awareness itself.  Encourages mastery over transforming emotion to devotion.  Promotes the ability to focus energy, enhancing effectiveness and efficiency.  Promotes clarity of mind, mental awareness. a nd the ability to be present.  Resolves core issues of stress-producing patterns.  Develops the frontal lobe of the forehead. which controls your personality. Simran The continuous experience of the meditative mind. Simran is a continuous, meditative, longingly creative feeling, in which life is experienced as a spiritual flow.

Meditation: A Simple Process

TEACHINGS OF THE MASTER FROM A LECTURE BY YOGI BHAJAM

TWO THINGS ARE SIMULTAN EOUSLY IMPOSSIBLE: Either we are not a creation of a Creator, and it is wrong that we are in the image of God, or there is no such thing as a sin. It is religious bigotry when we say we commit a sin. We can agree there is no sin and grant that there is ignorance. Some know more, and some know less. Emotion Becomes Commotion or Devotion. We can also agree that there can be tremendous differences in emotions. Emotions are essential, as life is essential. Everyone is emotional, but our emotion can become commotion. When emotion becomes commotion, then you enter a dangerous zone, because commotion can create a pattern, and then patterns start governing your life. As long as you are emotional, it is alright. It is a learning process. After all, in one second your intellect releases one thousand thoughts. Out of one thousand thoughts, you may not even pick one up. The intellect releases a lot of thoughts, but only a few thoughts become emotions-not all. As long as you are emotionEmotion can have two options. Either it becomes devotion, or commotion. If it becomes devotion and enters the subconscious mind, there is no pain. al, you are living, trying to live. Even when you become cornmotional it is alright, but it is just a matter of seriousness, because emotion can get into the subconscious mind. Emotion can have two options. Either it becomes devotion or commotion. If it becomes devotion and enters the subconscious mind, there is no pain. There is no sadness, there is no sacrifice which is not easily done. It is a kind of bewitchment of mind in which one is totally possessed. He is happy with what he is doing, his world is his own, his destination is his own, and he shall make it. That is the devotional part. But, suppose instead of devotion, the emotion becomes commotion and enters the subconscious mind. Then there is a problem. Then you have a pattern, a style of life. And then the pattern will govern you. Mectitation is the art of breaking habits, to purifY the mina ana to take care of aay-to-aay things. These commotions become our pattern. We call them habits. First we create a habit, then the habit creates us. There is hardly any person who doesn’t get into a habit. And it is very difficult to break a habit. If there is a wrong habit, you have a lot

f trouble. Life becomes unhappy. Don’t think that in the past people were saints and now we are devils. That’s not true. You don’t live as adults; you want to test all the neuroses of your childhood. I have analyzed people. The subconscious psychology is so heavy in America that most people do not have smooth relationships at all. In dating, in communication, in social life. we show each other how powerful we are. But don’t blame the ordinary person. Even yogis, swamis. ministers, and spiritual people have a big fa<;:ade to impress people. In our life there is one great weakness. We want to impress others. It is the salesmanship in our very genes, that makes us want to convince each other we are great. Had we taken the attitude that we would show how great we are through actions, our life would be very smooth and happy. We have not learned to win each other over through actions. We believe that through logic and reason, through arguments, we can convince each other and get away with our weaknesses; but the problem is those weaknesses will show up one day or the other. When I came to America at first I was not aware of the American traditions. I was so simple. And I wanted to be very simple. But I was surprised that a lot of promoters came to rne. “We want to promote you.” After all, I knew English and I knew the word ” promotion.” I sat down and thought, “Well, I arn a yogi. How can this guy promote me more than that? What can he do for me?” I talked to some people. They said, “We can spread you in the United States. We can set up a corporation, twelve billion dollars, fifteen billion dollars, as much as you ask.” I said, “And then what?” I heard all their proposals very peacefully and nicely, and then I sat back and I said, ” My God, this is what they think a spiritual rnan is?” That was phase one. You can’t learn anything with ego. You can’t know things because of curiosity. Learning won’t come to you until you keep yourself pure enough that you can receive it. You can know a lot. You can talk a lot. But when it comes to learning, you should be ready to receive. Then somebody will be ready to give to you. The Desire to Know the Unknown. In the spiritual realm, ego has no place. Diamonds have no place, and small houses have no place. This is the realm of the Earth. It is good to have things. You can have whatever you want to have, whatever you can afford minus taxes. But that is not all you are. There is a part of you, which is very steadily ingrained in you, and that is your desire to know the unknown .

Sometimes you wonder, what is this unknown of you? Look at yourself: You have no claws, no strong nails. As a human being, you have no defense mechanism. Have you been made defenseless? No. Your defense lies in your intuition. If you can intuitively know what is going to happen, then you will not enter the sequence and not end up with consequences. That’s all the defense you have. And what can give you that intuition? Your mind. How? If you have a meditative mind. How Oo You Meditate? It’s a very simple process. Most of the people in the world do not know what meditation is. They think if they can buy a manual for one-hundred fifty dollars and sit for fifteen minutes on a chair, that’s meditation. Some feel if they attend Yogi Bhajan’s class and learn a meditation, that’s meditation. Lots of people have lots of feelings about meditation. But they do not understand real meditation. Meditation is a process. When the dawn comes, the sun power, the ray energy, is more scattered, and the mind is not controllable. At any time which is peaceful-the best is early morning time, before the dawn-you’ll be surprised, that in a couple of minutes, a lot of thoughts will start coming to you-those thoughts which you do not want to touch-the X-rated thoughts, the ugly, angry thoughts, all those kinds This procedure of of thoughts. If you let those thoughts cleansing the mind, of pass by, this is meditation. All those not dumping a lot of thoughts that can pass at that moment thoughts into your subconscious mind, is called meditation. of your life can never enter your subconscious mind, and they will not bother you again. This procedure of cleansing the mind, of not dumping a lot of thoughts into your subconscious mind, is called meditation. It takes about three minutes to get those kind of thoughts. And sometimes they continue to bug you for about half an hour. But. if you physically don’t move, the mind becomes still. That is the foundation, or the beginning of the meditative mind. It is a purely physical process. It doesn’t need any mantra, or a teacher, or any technique, except that the place you sit should be cozy, comfortable and your body structure should be straight. Once your mind starts becoming still and not having any thoughts, you will feel cozy, and that coziness cannot be described even by me. All I can tell you is that it is very comfortable, it is very cozy, and you will want to do it again and again. But in the beginning you cannot do it for a long time. Gradually, as you develop that coziness. this thought-hitting process becomes shorter and shorter. When the mind is said to be intuitive and you develop it, it

is as good an investment as your hair-do, as your good clothes, or your good language. Then whenever you want the answer to something, you don’t have to call on anything but your own computer. just stop yourself. And, in a few moments. your own self will talk to you. You have to concentrate. It is the mind which can concentrate for you. The mind is given as a tool to you. The mind is not your master. The mind was given to serve you. You develop all other facilities of the world-air-conditioned rooms, good cars, electronic instruments-but the biggest computer which you have is your mind. You never developed it. Now people are trying to learn meditation, but the problem is there are a lot of groups and there are a lot of technologies, and everything is well branded. “This is my technique, this is your technique.” But let us talk about what the science of yoga says. The science of yoga says that whenever a mind can be developed to be under your control, when you do not have thoughts incoming, at that moment your mind is with you. When won’t the mind give you any thought? Don’t create a thought. Enjoy it. That is the first stage of the intuitive level. First the mind should be empty, and you should enjoy it. It is cozy. And you can hang in there with that cozy mind for a while. But you’ll not be in a position to hang in there for a long time. That, too, you have to develop. But if you can hold with your mind more than five minutes, you have set up your mind to compute for you. That is the beginning. If you can hang on with your empty mind, which is your mind, for eleven minutes, then you can use your mind for directions. You breathe fifteen breaths a minute. The reverse of it is, if you can have your mind with you for fifteen minutes, you can develop that time, you can compute every consequence of your life through any sequence with your own mind. Is that difficult? This mind is beyond Time and Space. It is part of the Universal Mind. It is given to you as an instrument to serve you. What happened? It became your master. you became the servant. The mind becomes a monster when it becomes your master. The mind is an angel when it is your servant. It is all in your mind. The meditative mind is a purely beautiful state of living. USing Mantra (or Meditation. Now I am going to discuss with you how you can develop the meditative mind very immediately. When you control your mind, a lot of thoughts come to younegative thoughts-all garbage, ambitions, thoughts, known and unknown, float around in a negative direction. Negative is like this: If you cut it in the center. what does it become? Positive. You keep chanting the mantra in a positive direction. So each

negative becomes positive. Within 108 seconds of that moment you achieve, you can see your own soul. After that you will become intuitive and will never be in trouble. So we pick up one mantra, which is a positive sound, a positive thought. Some psychologists have said if you only chant. “One, one, one,” that will work. That will work for his purposes. but it won’t work for great purposes. You have to have a mantra which must idealize your isht. lsht means something you have a great reverence for. If a Christian has a great reverence for jesus Christ, he can call, “jesus Christ, jesus Christ.” It can be his mantra. There is no big problem. Mantra is something which, according to vibratory thought level, must be in a position to tune into the subconscious. Everything cannot be a mantra. and not everybody can manufacture a mantra. But if the word can be tuned in at the thought-level basis into the subconscious, and it is the highest word of reverence for that person, that is the best mantra for the person. If that mantra is also repeated when those thoughts hit you, the minus becomes plus. In other words, we chant to make things positive and gain profit easily. It is to cut the time. Why does a mantra work for you? Because mantra is always that unknown of you. Some people receive a kind of mantra. I asked somebody Every body has a capacity. Every mind has a frequency. You have to bring the two together, and then you have to find out who you are. That is the easiest way to live happily. That is all you need. once. “What is your mantra?” He said, ” Nim.” I asked him what it meant. He said, “I don’t know. I was given it, I paid for it, and I have been chanting it for the last eight years.” ” Do you enjoy it?” He said, “Yeah. ” “What has it done for you?” He said, “I don’t know, but I like it.” Though the person was innocent, and didn’t understand the meaning of what it did for him, his reverence for that word was so powerful that it always set in his heart something very special. Life is not equal for all, and it is not equivalent for all. You have to fit in at the frequency of your mind and your body. I have seen that the majority of people do not know how much their body can take. They have never assessed it. Everybody feels a body can take whatever you can give it. That is not true. Every body has a capacity. Every mind has a frequency. You have to bring the two together. and then you have to find out who you are. That is the easiest way to live happily. Yoga is a science. It is the purest art by which to live. Everything about it can be explained wel l. It is meant for a human being. It is not meant for angels. There is no such thing as sin. If it is true God has created you, then God has created you for a purpose, and to live only for that purpose is Grace.

“”Stopping the Mind? A student asked Yogi Bhajan the following question: “My mind is always full of thoughts and arguments. A friend told me that if I meditate I should stop all my thoughts and control my mind so it is quiet. Is that possible with meditation? My mind is awfully noisy.” Yogi Bhc:Uan: “It is not meaitation that stops the mina. It is the surrenaer of the mina to the soul, ana the soul to Truth. It is when you prefer the wora of Truth to the wora of your own intellect.” Those who intellectualize a lot should know that yoga means union with the Supreme Consciousness. It is only at that time. at that moment of union, that the stream of thought stops. In Kundalini Yoga you are given a perfect key for the lock of consciousness. The incessant intellect acts like a file that rubs off the levers from the key. Intellectualizing the Truth to suit your own circumstances and to cater to your fears will never work. So hold and behold the Truth wherever you are. People will mark the way to you. No person is superior or inferior to another in his potential. When you earn that vision and character, one person will want to see what you behold, they will want to use those eyes, and another will not. In both cases, your mind will be peaceful in the service of the Infinite. Prayer a Meditation Prayer is when the mind is one-pointed and man talks to Infinity. Meditation is when the mind becomes totally clean and receptive, and Infinity talks to the man.

Pratyahar

MANY, MANY THOUSAN DS OF YEARS AGO, the sages sat down and divided the science of yoga into eight different aspects. I would like to talk to you about one part. It is called pratyahar. Pratyahar is a secret science to reach God. You won’t find it discussed fully in any books. All they say is, pratyahar means “to contract.” Contract what? They don’t explain it. In some places they say pratyahar is pratyahar and whosoever does pratyahar reaches God. How are you going to make any sense out of it? That is how these old sciences happen. It goes from teacher to student, teacher to student, and so is passed on. The most beautiful art of yoga and the most pure science of yoga is pratyahar. Pratyahar means, correctly in English, contract or synchronize. I will give you an example. Some of my students today sent me a birthday present. I should feel very grateful that the present has come, and they wanted me to participate by thanking them. But when I saw it, I couldn’t immediately thank them. Since at that time, I had been analyzing just what pratyahar is. It is a habit to synchronize towards God. So, immediately out of my mouth came, ” Blessed is Lord God, who has given them the heart.” I could have said, “Thank you, they are beautiful.” But nothing like that happened, and I started wondering why I could not say that. A gift is a source of happiness. But who provides the gift and who is the ultimate provider of the gift? If the consciousness does not synchronize immediately and focus on that point, you are not a yogi. Bowing to the Source. For twelve years a woman and her husband tried, but they were never blessed with a child. It took twelve years, but finally she got pregnant. A beautiful son came. All they did was start meditating, chanting, and praying. When That is called pratyahar: Under any time, space, and circumstance, under any pressure, depression or oppression, you do not forget that Infinite One. people came to them saying, “Well, God gave you a beautiful son. We’re so happy,” they said, “Yes, please sit down and meditate and chant with us.” For forty days I saw nothing but kirtan, chanting, and music outside that house. They were so happy, they would request of everybody, ” Please, if you really love us, please join with us. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord!” That is called pratyahar: Under any time, space, and circumstance, under any pressure, depression, or oppression, you do not forget that Infinite One.

Pratyahar is Also Called the Science of Dedicated Devotion. It is not simple devotion. Simple devotion is, “Thank you, God. ” That’s simple devotion. But it is also a dedication, because when anything comes, you say, “Thank you, God, for making me thank You.” It is of a very high caliber. It is a very simple process for getting away from sensuality and sexuality, when they bring you to the Earth. Thank God for the Earth, and then God won’t let you go down the tube. It is the power of the Word of God that you are not limited. The moment you are unlimited, you cannot fall apart. You will only fall apart because of ego. You can’t fall apart because of God. Ego confines you to limits, and your spirit then gets inflated. When your spirit gets inflated in Infinity, because you are in mental Infinity, then you are divine. But when your spirit gets inflated when you are confined, then you are like a balloon. Spiritual Ego-Devotion to Oneself Instead of God. In spiritual ity you will find spiritual ego. It is horrible. The majority of rel igious people are very miserable, because they walk on the path of spirituality with ego. They start building devotion towards themselves, develop pride, then freak out. Then they start showing off these siddhis- these powers: “I can fly; I can elevate three feet from the ground; I can do this to you.” This tattva siddhi is to tell another person, “I am superior to you.” They become a kind of semi-God-half-cooked, you know? Half-cooked food neither tastes raw, nor tastes cooked. I call them spiritual junkies. You’ll find a lot of swamis, yogis, ministers, and rabbis are spiritual junkies. They know a lot of junk. They know a lot of spiritual stuff, but, as humans, they are junkies. They are not grateful. They start showing you they are superior. That’s why you’ll find an uptight man of God is as dangerous as a cobra, a scorpion, or a lizard-these animals which give you fatal bites, or have their tongues going in and out. This is where you will go if you enter spiritual ego. A snake lives very long. All these spiritual teachers want to live very long-five hundred years-to keep that domain over other creatures of God. They want to enjoy that domain. Because if a man of God is not straightforward, is not truthful, and does not always talk about God, and rather brings his personal ity into the bargain, that’s what he gets. To practice pratyahar means one must synchronize, analyze, and totally shell out everything, and realize the praise of God out of everything. God never made anybody without sense, God never made anybody a sinner. God is not a sinner. How can you

be of God and be negative, a sinner. an egomaniac or jealous? There are two hundred fifty negative qualities, which you can count. that do not belong to God and with these qualities you do not belong to God. Be careful. There are two ways of devotion: One is divine, the other is devil. Those decorations are the features you possess. If you want to discipline yourself towards the Divine, then you have to get out of all this nonsense; and if you want to belong to the Divine, you have to master this nonsense. They don’t go together. The majority of us are a hodge-podge of half divine and half devil; sometimes divine, sometimes devil. When a person who practices pratyahar is a devil, then he’s God’s devil. When he’s divine, he’s God’s divine one. His dedication to devotion is always divine. Therefore. neither is he a devil nor is he divine. He is the Infinite divine because he can cut through the limits of Time and Space. The caliber of such people is beautiful. They don’t stop at anything-they don’t and they can’t. In Anand Sahib the science of pratyahar is explained in such a beautiful manner. This is where the Guru talks to the eyes, the Guru talks to the ears. the Guru talks to the breath, the Guru talks to the life. All these similes are nothing but the science of pratyahar, which is further than pranayam. In the entire Siri Guru Granth Sahib and in gurbani, wherever the mind has been addressed, it is pratyahar: Re man eh bidh jog kamaao. -Guru Gobind Singh Oh, my mind, practice yoga in this way. When a person directs his own mind analytically towards Infinity, that process is pratyahar. The science of spiritual ity is the science of union. Technically speaking, the science of mind is the source of happiness, and when you cannot do pratyahar, you cannot be grateful to God, that Infinite Source which continually gives to you. Then you can never learn to enjoy that thing. A thing which does not come to you from Infinity, cannot be with you to Infinity. Remember this law of cosmic consciousness. If material things come to you because of Infinity and you have the synchronization of dedication of your consciousness to feel that it comes from Infinity, then you have grace. The Cause of All is the Infinite. The science of pratyahar indicates the dedicated telescopic view of the Infinite in the presence of finite microscopic analysis. Whenever this finite microscopically looks into anything, out of that microscopic view he or she telescopically understands the cause of it as Infinity, and bows.

Nama sarab diaale, Nama sarab palay. -Guru Gobind Singh, jaap Sahib, 28 I bow to the One who is merciful to all. I bow to the One who nourishes all. The nama pauree of jaap Sahib is a most beautiful creation of Guru Gobind Singh through which pratyahar can be totally understood. In it, there is a sentence: Nama tantra tantrang. -Guru Gobind Singh, jaap Sahib, 57 I bow to that science which unites me to God. The exact meaning of the word tantra here can be understood by looking at a woven cloth-there is a length and there is a breadth. The length is called tana, the breadth is called peta. Tantra deals with the longitude and latitude of the entire cosmos. Tantra is a science of unison which teaches from the “multison” to the unison through the longitude and latitude of the entire cosmos. 1 want to educate you so that you may really understand what Guru Gobind Singh and all the Gurus gave to you as a science. 1 am afraid that this sweetness on the part of some Indians when they talk to you is diplomatic cleverness, and in your frankness and directness you can innocently be trapped by their approach. I remember in Amritsar, somebody started discussing with To practice pratyahar me, “Well, how do we know if they means one must are Sikhs or not?” I said, ” Well, I’ll show you whether they are Sikhs or not.” 1 said, ” Bhai Daya Singh, synchronize, analyze, and totally shell out everything, come. This Sardarji is an Indian-born and realize the praise Sikh. Sit down with him in padma of God out of asan (Lotus Pose), and both chant Wahe Guru together for two-and-aeverything. half hours without stopping.” I said, “OK, Sardarji, sit down with him and tune in.” After exactly forty minutes, that man fainted. At that time, Bhai Daya Singh was not very old, he was only sixteen. Can’t a person spend one-tenth of his time praising God with a single syllable word which represents Infinity? You do not understand one thing: You do not want to relate to your consciousness. You are not going to be judged after death; you are being judged now. Your caliber, your consciousness, your behavior, your environment, your projection, your standard, your faculty of faith-everything is the totality of you. You are being computerized for everything. Therefore, it is required of you that this automatic computer screens you in every activity and totally keeps your record. Therefore, you must answer for everything you

do, and answer to your own consciousness. Don’t answer to me, or anyone else. Nobody will judge you at the time of death but your own consciousness. When Buddha was given those mushrooms, he knew they were poison. But he also knew that they came as prasad (a blessing) from prayer. He took it. He died. Perfect. Guru Arjan Dev could have compromised-he never compromised. Men of Infinity are men of God. No, they are God themselves in the finite shell of a human. They don’t compromise. Infinity shall never compromise, because Infinity is a living Truth experienced through finite man. That is called divine. So the science of pratyahar is an analytical, stamtardizea, mental state of consciousness in which you analytically understand that the vetY depth ana source of any existence coming towards you or going away (rom youthe cause of all causes-is Infinity. Can you tell me what is the greatest gift on this Earth? Breath. Prana. The first gift is the breath. The second gift is the spiritual teacher. But these two gifts are caused only by what? Explain it to me. The Grace of God, gurprasad, God’s Will. It is also pratyahar when you cause or intend to cause a cause. You are told what the consequences or effect will be, and so you can have total, or infinite, understanding. I am trying to let you know that this universe is an electromagnetic field. It has longitude and latitude of magnetic wavelengths. This cosmic universe is very communicative-it talks. And in this talking, all personalities are built or marred. Therefore always speak very carefully, consciously, knowing what that shall mean unto Infinity. Remember the Word is God and God is the Word. You are what your words are. I THINK THIS SUBJ ECT IS VERY SCI ENTIFIC; I should not teach you more than this at this time, except to say that Infinity produces Infinity. You cannot have any shortcomings if you meditate on Infinity. Actually it is the job of the spiritual teacher to tear you apart and show you Infinity. That is the most rational thing

he does. It is like a car mechanic. He tears it apart, bangs it around. corrects it, cleans it up, and gives it to you. How you use it is your problem. A spiritual teacher is a workshop of creative Infinity. When you come in that garage that’s what happens to you. That is why you sometimes are not happy to come. because all you know is the mechanic’s workshop, uniform, language, and tools-chisels, hammers. screwdrivers. and everything-get all over you and you do not know why in the world you came. You know what I mean? Some come only for tuning; some come because of a serious accident. The Language of Pratyahar. The dialogue of the finite and Infinite becomes one when you merge with Infinity. It changes the language, it changes the scope, it changes the desire field, it changes every electromagnetic approach and frequency right away. I have met some people who have that frequency. I have talked to them and they don’t talk scriptures. I’ll tell you something. Once I came home from college and I met my grandpa. He received me, and all he said was. ” Blessed is this blessed time. God must be very present that He has given me the opportunity to see my grandson in a very joyful and divine way. ” I looked around. I said, ” Have I turned into an angel?” I moved my hands and arms up and down as if they were wings. He knew that I am very humorous, so he asked, “You are finding your wings?” I said, “Yes, Grandpa, I am just trying to look at myself. Perhaps my wings have grown and you might have seen them.” He said, “Yes, your radiance is so excellent. I am seeing the very excellence of His Grace through you and your presence. Come on, sit down, let us talk.” Can you believe this language? Just an ordinary meeting with a grandchild, that’s all. It is not that you have to sing slokas, take out the Rig Vedas. or always quote the Bible to prove you are very religious. If you can talk like Infinity, live like Infinity, feel like Infinity, and deal like Infinity, then you become a living Infinity. But first you have to totally synchronize-pratyahar.

Meditating with Silent Awareness or with Mantra We do many types of meditation in Kundalini Yoga. What is the advantage of using mantra either silently or aloud as opposed to sitting with silent awareness? The purpose of meditation is to cleanse the subconscious mind and align the mind with the vision of the soul. It is a mental shower to remove ill thought and attachments. The three basic forms of meditation are: Suspension Receptive or mindful. Void Focused with concentration. Anahat Through pratyahar. Meditation redirects a thought in three ways: with the Negative, Positive and Neutral Minds. The Negative Mind lets it go and rejects accepting the thought. It looks at all things without reaction. If only this approach is used it leads to the state of Suspension. The Positive Mind accepts it and amplifies it with focus and concentration. If only this is used all other thoughts are not seen. It leads to the state of Void. If the Neutral Mind is used by seeing the Infinite in each finite movement, and if an object is seen without barriers by synchronizing it between its finite and infinite aspects-pratyahar-it leads to the state of Anahat. In Kundalini Yoga we use all three forms of meditation. Many traditions concentrate on one or two. Silent Meditation allows the subconscious to dump. Silence makes you aware of the many experiences in the mind. It allows the subconscious to start dumping. You become aware of many thoughts, feelings, and processes that are just below consciousness but which constitute the base for much of our life experience. Watching the breath silently or watching all the objects of the mind is very soothing and gradually provokes awareness. However, it does not remove the deep samskaras, the deepest imprints in the unconscious.

Silence, Sound, and “llnstruck Sound» Silent meditation is one part of a three member team: silence, sound, and anahat-the “unstruck sound” of the heart. � Silence awakens you to what is in the subconscious. � Mantra transforms the content of the subconsciousness. � Merger through rhythm and naad takes you into anahat, which changes the structure of the consciousness itself. Taking the Support of a Mantra-Like a Thunderbolt To change the deepest subconscious a seed is needed. That seed, or bij, has three main functions: It acts as a focus for the mind. It acts like a fulcrum, over which other thoughts can be leveraged up to the Infinite. It acts as a template of the Infinite to form a new model or imprint in the mind. Yogi Bhajan describes the process this way: When you meditate deeply into an ecstatic self-hypnosis that joins together heavens, earth and self, the subconsciousness releases a flood of thoughts, wave after wave. Every thought has impact and results. To break old patterns, you must take the support of a thunderbolt, a mantra, to cut to the core of your negative thoughts and turn their energy to positive. The ideal seed is a mantra. The mantra is not just any sound or thought. In a sense, mantras pre-exist as the DNA of God. They are in each cell of the creation. Their sound has focus, and contains a provocative seed which provides a template for higher experience. Repeating a mantra restructures the patterns in the mind that filter experience. When you merge into anahat through the use of mantra and rhythm, you vibrate a seed, a template of Infinity, that resides in the center of every cell and atom of you like spiritual DNA. When every part of you vibrates, we call that state Ang Sung Wahe Guru. Ang means a part of you. Wahe Guru is a state of ecstasy. Sung means every. So every part of you vibrates as one in a merger in ecstasy of consciouness. You become the mantra and the entire universe meditates on you.

Simran: The Flow o( the Meditative Mind Simran is the goal of meditation. It is a continuous, meditative, longingly creative feeling. It is a feeling, it is a flow, it is a touch, it is a substance: Ang Sang Wahe Guru. (God is with my every limb. every millimeter. every situation of mine.) japa is the repetition of the Holy Nam. japa is not simran-japa gives the power of simran. Meditation is not simran. Meditation gives you the power of simran. Raj Yoga is not simran. Raj Yoga is a technology to achieve, receive and conceive simran. Sahej Yoga is not simran. Sahaj Yoga is a concept through which you can pursue simran. Prayer is not simran. Prayer gives you the power so that your mind can be set for simran. When the state of consciousness reaches simran, then you do not need to do anything; God follows you. At that stage the Almighty, the Infinite, the Omniscient, the Omnicompetent God, the Something which you are so proud of. and which you talk about, the scriptures talk about, and saints and sages sing about. that entire Universal Power is totally towards the teeny, tiny individual. Then there is a deep flow of spirituality. Spiritual flow is just like a river: anything can be taken out of it, it still continues. And that flow comes out of simran.

Samadhi-Enlightenment Yogi Bhajan describes the experience of samadhi. or enlightenment in the following poem from Furmaan Khalsa-Poems to Live By. THE BELOVED When I joined myself to Truth I got drenched with the color that never fades! The rhythm of my breath Became the very sound of God’s Name. And sitting perfectly in chardi kala,* The True Guru took me by the hand. My burning desires: My attachment, greed and pride all vanished. My lust and passion, my flaming anger, Were all destroyed When the True Guru held my hand. I perfected the Yoga of Sat Nam. Divine Radiance filled my Destiny. My Master showed me the invisible Path And, merged in Light. my Lotus bloomed. Light flowed everywhere … Effortlessly! I became the Beloved when I learned how to love. Oh People! I became majestic and God came to live within me. Beloved. I became the Beloved. It just happened. God did it. When I joined myself to Truth, I became filled with Light. Inside .. . Outside .. . Light and more Light! Drenched in Light. .. The True Guru held my hand.

Preparing tor Meditation Meditation is a personal, private experience, even when you are meditating in a group. Yet there are a few universal things that help set the stage for an optimum meditative experience. In a yoga class setting, the environment is already set for you. When practicing on your own, here are a few things that are important: � Environment Choose a setting in which you are most likely to be undisturbed. Quiet. beautiful, and sacred is ideal. Best is not too hot. nor too cold. Have something supportive but soft to sit on, such as a sheepskin or a blanket. If you cannot sit comfortably on the floor, sit in a chair. � When to meditate Any time is fine. However, yogis know that the best time is 4-7 a.m., or starting 2- 1 /2 hours before the rise of the sun. This is when all is quiet. and instead of dreaming, you consciously process your mind with meditation. Another optimal time of day is 4-7 p.m., when the sun is setting. Before going to sleep is also a good time to meditate, thus settling and clearing the mind in preparation for deep sleep. It’s best not to have a full stomach when meditating. Tune in with Ong Nama Guru Deu Nama.  Do yoga exercises and pranayam Doing yoga and breathing exercises in preparation for meditation is a key principle in the practice of Kundalini Yoga. The balancing effect on the nervous system and the stimulation of the more subtle energies of the mind and body, facilitates the process of meditation. Also, meditating at the end of a yoga set is the true completion of the process of Kundalini Yoga. It dedicates the energies of the mind, body, and soul to their true state of transcendence and grace.  Spine straight No matter how you are seated, it is important that the spine be straight. and the posture balanced. The spine acts as a central channel for the energy of the nervous system. (See Kriya. Mudra. Bandha chapter.) Maintain Neck Lock.  Clothing. Wear comfortable clothing. To fine tune your experience, cover your head and wear clothing of natural fibers.  Mudras. In Kundalini Yoga, hand positions or mudras, are an important part of meditation. A mudra is a position of the hands that locks and guides energy flow and reflexes to the brain. (See Kriya. Mudra. Bandha chapter.)  Slow down the breath. As you breathe deeply and rhythmically, scan the body for tension and let it go as you exhale. Begin inhaling vibrating the word Sat, exhaling Naam. You are now ready to get into the meditation of your choice.

Keeping Steady During Meditation There is a myth that when you sit down you should be able to quiet your mind. The mind generates thousands of thoughts per second. When you sit quietly and turn the focus inward, you become very aware of what is going on in the background of your mind. Distractions are the rule. just keep going back to the mantra or other points of focus. Do not evaluate or react to the extraneous thoughts. Let them be processed by the mantra. The mind never stops, but you can create a stillness, a calm, which will serve you all through your life. Have patience with yourself. Perhaps at first you will achieve only a minute or two of fully focused meditation. Trust the process. Choosing a Meditation The range and variety of meditation techniques in the Kundalini Yoga tradition is truly extraordinary. In the Sets & Meditations chapter of this manual you will find over 60 different meditations-a mere fraction of the hundreds of meditations that Yogi Bhajan has passed on. Yet in this compendium, you will find a comprehensive group of meditations, tailored to specific applications, which you can begin to teach to your students, or practice on your own. Included are meditations which use the breath, others that use mantra. There are group meditations. healing meditations, Venus Kriyas, and meditations for children. There are meditations that reduce stress, work on addictions, increase vitality, and clear the chakras. You can also read The Mind: It’s 81 Facets and Projections. and find over 40 meditations keyed to the various aspects of the mind’s structure. For a comprehensive approach to active walking meditation, see Breathwalk, by Yogi Bhajan and Gurucharan Singh Khalsa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Meditation Focus There are several different places to focus the eyes while meditating, depending on which meridians and parts of the brain are to be stimulated. At the Thira Eye Point (Shambaui Mudra) The Brow Point, the root of the nose. Here, the attention is on the brow and the eyes are gently raised. The sushmuna, the central nerve force, is stimulated. This stimulates the pituitary; intuition is developed. At the Tip of the Nose (Agiaa Chakra Bandh) This is the highest lock. It is referred to as Lotus Point Meditation. This controls the mind, which is locked in a triangle. When the optic nerve concentrates at the tip of the nose, the ida and pingala, then sushmuna get to a center of balance. This stimulates the pineal gland and the frontal lobe of the brain. New energy pathways are created in the brain patterns. At the Moon Center This is the tip of the chin, with the eyes closed and rolled down. This is cooling, calming. You see yourself clearly. At the Crown Chakra The Tenth Gate; the top of the head. Eyes are closed and rolled upwards, as if looking through the top of the head. This stimulates the pineal and the crown energy center. 1/loth Open The eyelids are light and relaxed. This stimulates the optic nerve slightly so your system doesn’t shut down. It makes you calm, and develops intuition. Eye focus may vary as indicated by Yogi Bhajan’s instructions. (You will often find instructions in Kundalini Yoga manuals to keep the eyes 9/ IOths shut. This is the same as 1 /IOth open, although eye focus and mental concentration will vary.)

Meditation Minutes Yogic science says that there are specific lengths of time needed for certain desired effects during meditation. Most meditations are done for II or 31 minutes. 3 minutes of meditation affects the electromagnetic field, the circulation and stability of the blood. 11 minutes of meditation begins to change the nerves and the glandular system. 22 minutes of meditation balances the three minds, and they begin to work together. 31 minutes of meditation allows the glands, breath, and concentration to affect all the cells and rhythms of the body. It lets the psyche of the meditation affect the 3 gunas, all 31 tattuas. * and all layers of the mind’s projections. 62 minutes changes the gray matter in the brain. The subconscious “shadow mind” and the outer projection are integrated. 2-1(2 hours changes the psyche in its co-relation with the surrounding magnetic field so that the subconsious mind is held firmly in the new pattern by the surrounding universal mind. * The 5 tattvas we hear about are the 5 most dense, or gross elements. (See Yogic Philosophy chapter.) Meditation Sadhana “There are two guiding instincts in man. He is either improving his future or blocking his future improvement. If you are conscious of this, and have an honest and sincere urge to improve the future, you will always have promoting habits. If you cannot care for God, at least care for the future.” -YOGI BHAJAN To master the effects of a meditation, practice it as a sadhana, a daily discipline. This will develop a life-promoting habit. Habit controls us so much that it is said that we can actually change our destiny by changing our habits. According to yogic science, the human mind works in cycles. We can use various cycles to help replace unwanted patterns of behavior (mental or emotional habits), with new, more positive ones. One commits to a particular meditation or kriya for a specific time:  It takes 40 aays to change a habit.  It takes 90 aays to confirm the habit.  In 120 aays, the new habit is who you are.  In 17000 aays, you have mastered the new habit. The duration of 40 days of practice lets the meditation provoke your subconscious to release any thoughts and emotional patterns that hinder you. A good meditation will break your old patterns, put in a seed for a new pattern, and clear the subconscious. Try to meditate at the same time each day. It is helpful to keep a journal of your daily practice.

USing the Gong tor Mectitation

USing a Mala tor Mectitation

USing the Gong tor Mectitation The sound of the gong creates deep relaxation. releasing us from the torrent of thoughts our mind releases. and it stimulates the glandular system to a higher level of functioning. When asked to explain the effects of gong meditation and how to use it. Yogi Bhajan responded: “The gong is very simple. It is an intervibratory system. It is the sound of Creativity itself. One who plays the gong plays the Universe. The gong is not an ordinary thing to play. Out of it came all music. all sounds, and all words. The sound of the gong is the nucleus of the Word. The gong is not a musical instrument. nor a drum. The gong is a beautiful reinforced vibration. It is like a multitude of strings, as if you played with a million strings. The gong is the only tool with which you can produce this combination of space vibrations.”

 

 

 

 

 

Emotional Transformation auring Gong Meditation Exercises. The gong impacts the body and its meridians. It releases blocks, reduces tension. and stimulates circulation. The result is a reorganization of the emotional energy and feelings that are tied into the body structure. Before playing a long, deep gong meditation. inform the students to relax the muscles and let the sound of the gong penetrate the body and guide the mind. If they tighten the muscles and try to fight the natural process of change that occurs. they may feel tired or irritated by the gong’s strong pulsations. During a gong meditation or during the relaxation afterwards some people may cry, feel weightless. or laugh uncontrollably. Relax. The release of feelings is a normal process in gong meditation. Play a meditation tape and give the person some water, a tissue. and a little conversation. The gong changes the feelings that are blocked by cutting the thoughts that sustain and recreate the feelings. This can be frightening, arousing, exciting, or delightful. That will depend on the individual. Playing the Gong. The sequences and rhythms for playing the gong are as varied as music and imagination. A teacher who wishes to learn how to use a gong can begin by viewing the video tapes of Yogi Bhajan when he uses the gong in meditation classes. Also available is a CD called Spirit Song. Then, look for courses offered on learning this art. It is inadvisable to play the gong for meditation without proper training.

USing a Mala tor Mectitation A mala is a simple. effective meditative tool which can help to reduce stress. and enhance wisdom. patience, and health. A mala consists of 1 08, 54. or 27 beads strung on silk thread with one larger bead, called the Guru bead, from which a tassel hangs. The tassel symbolises a thousand lotus petals. The Use of Different Fingers with the Mala. Each finger you use relates to a different part of the brain. By running the mala over the first segment of each finger. between the tip of the finger and the first knuckle, you create a different result.  Index finger Uupiter): wisdom, knowledge, and prosperity. M iddle finger (Saturn): patience. Ring finger (Sun): health. vitality, and strong nervous system.  Little finger (Mercury): communication skill, and intelligence. How to Use a Mala. A mala can be used with either hand. Always start with the bead next to the Guru bead. As you repeat the mantra. with the thumb. move each bead towards the body over the meridian point. Thus. the Guru bead descends and eventually ascends to be the last bead of your meditation. As you hold the Guru bead, repeat your mantra and make a prayer. To begin again turn the mala around without the help of the other hand. Move the beads towards you and continue. Using your Mala with a Mantra. When reciting the mantra Sat Naam move only one bead for both words. With the mantra Wahe Guru, move only one bead for the two words. You may also use the mantra Sat Naam. Wahe Guru. saying them both with the movement of one bead. You may use any affirmation or mantra of your choice. Generally, move one bead for each repetition of the mantra. The recitation of your mantra may be done silently, in a whisper. or out loud.

White Tantric Yoga WHITE TANTRIC YOGA IS AN I NTEGRAL PART OF the Kundalini Yoga experience. There is one essential difference from other Kundalini Yoga meditations. White Tantric Yoga cannot be practiced under any circumstances. without the guidance of the Mahan Tantric . White Tantric Yoga courses are being facilitated all over the world on a regular basis. (See Resources chapter.) In addition. there are the three-day White Tantric courses at the Winter and Summer Solstices in Florida and New Mexico and at the Yoga Festival in France. It is recommended that every student/teacher make White Tantric Yoga a regular part of his spiritual practice. These courses also offer opportunities for networking and community building. “Since ancient times humans have found that they have zillions of thoughts. billions of feelings, millions of emotions. thousands of desires, hundreds of fantasies. and multirealities, and personalities. Ultimately, our mind and thoughts rule us and bog us down. We try every method available to get rid of this pressure because it is eating us up inside. White Tantric Yoga enables you to break through those subconscious blocks. so you can enjoy life. In the shortest time. you can experience release from a lot of the burden and extra weight that you carry in your head. As you see and act on each moment with clarity, you will gain a deeper understanding of yourself and your life will change. Your mind. body, and soul will act together as one. This is the path to personal freedom and awareness. and will bring more success to every area of your life.” -YOGI BHAJAN What to Expect White Tantric Yoga is done in pairs as a group meditation. You will sit facing a partner and follow instructions for meditation given on video tape by the Mahan Tantric. Yogi Bhajan. Every course is facilitated, in person, by a representative of the Mahan Tantric. Each course consists of between six and eight kriyas each day. A kriya is a meditation incorporating a yoga posture or hand position. a mental focus and/or a mantra. Sometimes the meditations are accompanied by music. These kriyas vary in length from eleven to sixty-two minutes. There are breaks between each kriya. The environment is peaceful, and the atmosphere is friendly, supportive. and uplifting. Envision the energy of the universe as parallel or perpendicular in nature, like a cloth woven together. As a cloth becomes stronger when it is stretched on the diagonal. so does the White Tantric diagonal, or “Z” energy. strengthening the participants.This energy,

when directed by the Mahan Tantric, cuts through the blocks that are stuck in the subconscious mind. Using the diagonal “Z” energy, the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan. connects his subtle body to the subtle bodies of the participants through the course facilitator. About the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan Yogi Bhajan became a Master of Kundalini Yoga at the age of 16 in his native India. He came to the West in 1968. The authority to be the Mahan Tantric (Master of White Tantric Yoga) was bestowed on him in 1971, when the presiding Mahan Tantric. Lama Lilan Po of Tibet. passed from his body. There is only one Mahan Tantric at any given time. White Tantric Yoga was a tradition passed on from teacher to student in a mystical and selective way. As a pioneer of this Age, Yogi Bhajan decided to open the experience of White Tantric Yoga to anyone who wanted this powerful experience. Preparing for White Tantric Yoga There are no prerequisites for participating in White Tantric Yoga. Beginners will tune into their internal energies and enjoy a deep and sometimes challenging meditative experience. More advanced meditators will deepen their experience and make new inroads to their spiritual awareness. Wear loose comfortable white clothing. (White combines all colors and enhances the magnetic field and auric strength). Bring a white cotton head covering which will stay securely on your head during the exercises. Wear shoes that slip on and off easily. White Tantric Yoga is practiced with the feet uncovered. Bring a blanket or sheepskin to sit on and a light blanket to cover yourself with during relaxation periods. Because this is a cleansing process you will be asked to drink water. WHITE, not Red or Black White Tantric Yoga should not be confused with black or red tantric. These forms of yoga also transform energy, but in a different way and for different purposes. Black tantric directs the energy to manipulate another human being, and red tantric directs the energy solely for sexual purposes. In 1971 Yogi Bhajan offered the first White Tantric Yoga course in Los Angeles. Until 1986 he traveled throughout the world presenting as many as thirty White Tantric Yoga courses each year to thousands of students. In 1987. using his unique abilities as a Master. together with modern technology, he began to present White Tantric Yoga as a video-taped series. “The beauty of White Tantric Yoga is that it is subtle, it is exalting, and it works to give you the mastery of life. ” -YOGI BH.Z:UAN

Celestial Communication Celestial Communication is mudra in motion. A tool for mental relaxation. it is meditation with mantra and movement of the arms and upper body. The meaning of the mantra is expressed through movement. The mantra will move the spirit, and at the same time. the head and feelings will be heard. Yogi Bhajan describes its impact: ” Everything comes from stress. If you want to get rid of this inner-grown stress, here is one solution. There’s no power more than the power of the word. and when the word is formed through the body, the entire being is purified, relaxed … ” “Celestial communication is a sadhana in which you communicate with the Infinite God through your body, mind. and souL Y.ou interlock all three. The shabd is there. sound current is there. rhythm is there. projection is there. the mind is there, and the body is there. It is very subtle and effective … ” “This system is given to mankind to exceL It will work wonders with people of all religions and from all places. It is a methodology which will give you a tremendous amount of relief in your inner being …. ” “Creativity, when combined with physical. psychological concentration in meditation balances the human energy, and gives strength to the radiant body. This brings prosperity and success. Celestial Communication is our gift to the world. It relaxes the tense parts of the brain through the nerve connections of the tips of the fingers. activating the meridians. The fingers move with the prana to communicate. and this “cantaloupe” becomes a human brain. The tension of the neuro-pattern is relieved into a relaxed pattern of its own originality. It is a fantastic release. The brain comes out of its fatigue. And men can do it. It’s not only for ladies … ” ” In the last days of the journey of my life. all the knowledge which has been carried from the great Masters. l would like to leave on record to share with you. That is the best present l can give you. Y.ou will have something to pass on to those who follow you, and from then onward the generations shall benefit from it. But you have to practice it, experience it. understand it. share it. and enjoy it These songs and music are like time capsules for the coming generations to follow, sing, and enjoy. .

Sat Nam Rasayan “Deep Relaxation in the True Identity, SAT NAM RASAYAN MEANS “DEEP RELAXATION IN THE TRUE IDENTITY.” It is an ancient healing art. The purpose of Sat Nam Rasayan is to serve humanity. Sat Nam Rasayan works on a subtle level through the projective meditative mind. Sat Nam Rasayan al lows the healer to access and balance the five elements (air, earth, ether, fire, and water) and the pranic body. Sat Nam Rasayan is part of the Golden Chain. The experience and mastery of the Sacred Space, the meditative projective mind, was passed on by Yogi Bhajan to Guru Dev Singh Khalsa, who has developed the School of Sat Nam Rasayan, to codify and establish a modality for teaching this sacred healing art. You can find classes and practitioners of Sat Nam Rasayan in many cities worldwide, many with ties to Kundalini Yoga communities. Even if you do not plan to become a healer, Sat Nam Rasayan is a great tool to add to your Kundalini Yoga teaching skills. A Sat Nam Rasayan Course taught by Guru Dev Singh Khalsa typically includes Kundalini Yoga & meditation and awareness-increasing meditation practices. The exercises, done by healer and client, help participants experience directly their own capacity to open. stabilize and become aware of the sensitive space and ultimately the Sacred Space. Sat Nam Rasayan will enhance your awareness of your subtle body and expand the capacity of your meditative mind. This develops your ability to “hold the space” when you teach Kundalini Yoga classes and opens your compassionate awareness so you can be sensitized and present to each student in your class. Guru Dev Singh has said that if you are able to become nothing and reach the state Yogi Bhajan calls shuniya, God himself will grab you and you will become his servant. As a Sat Nam Rasayan healer/ practitioner you will learn the nature of surrender, and then the Sacred Space starts to serve you. The mind of the Sat Nam Rasayan practitioner can become transcendant and in the vastness of this consciousness healing can occur. This state is a pure meditative absorption between the practitioner and client, in the Divine. Guru Dev Singh: “In the Age of Pisces humans approached God, making an effort to cleanse and purify themselves in every way. Now. in the Age of Aquarius. it is God who approaches humankind and we need only be aware of it and al low it to happen. Spiritual practices are no longer as rigid or difficult as before, they are, however, more subtle. In this Age, it is not a question of trying to know but rather of recognizing that Knowledge is already within us.”

Venus Kriyas Venus Kriyas are Kundalini Yoga exercises done with a partner, usually a partner of the opposite sex. Although Venus Kriyas are less intense than Tantric Yoga, they fall into the category of a more advanced Kundalini Yoga practice, because they intensify the experience of the exercise through the polarities of the male-female interaction. Therefore. it is important to adhere closely to the following guidelines when teaching Venus Kriyas: Always tune in with Ong Namo Guru Dev Namo before practicing Venus Kriyas.  Do not line the students up in lines as in Tantric Yoga. Two people can sit together anywhere. If you line up, then the energy is shared diagonal ly. That is not the intention of Venus Kriyas. The energy is only intended to be shared between partners.  Venus Kriyas should never be done to sensually or sexually seduce one’s partner. Explain to the students the importance of approaching these exercises with neutrality and purity. If done with the wrong intention, they lose their effectiveness and in fact. it can be more damaging than helpful.  Limit the exercise to 3 minutes (unless specifically taught otherwise by Yogi Bhajan.) Yogi Bhajan has said that doing these kriyas correctly for 3 minutes, and no more than 3 minutes, is very lucky.  Do not teach Venus Kriyas in Beginners classes, or a class with even one or two beginner students. Reserve Venus Kriyas only for those with Kundalini Yoga experience. Use your judgement to assess when your students have the disicpline to practice Venus Kriyas without sexual connotation.  Do not create an entire class using Venus Kriyas. just use one or two along with a Kundalini Yoga kriya.  Venus Kriyas are NOT to be done by pregnant women.

Tratakum (Gazing) Meditation THIS FORM OF M EDITATION WHICH I NVOLVES GAZING. is a powerful technique to focus pranic energy and increase the ability to concentrate. The pranic energy gives life to the atom. all matter. and the mind. The general technique of gazing is called Tratakum. The stories around gazing are many, and the simple truths are well obscured. The eyes do not act simply like a camera. Instead they constantly scan and interpret the sense data. Patterns (for instance. mandalas) stabilize the eye movements. Tratakum is a powerful technique to focus pranic energy and increase the ability for concentration. Where there is such organization. the eyes stay in motion to establish order. They do not interact passively with the world of the senses. Also. the eyes reflect the internal world of your body and tensions. An iridologist can analyze your health and past record of diseases by looking at the structure and coloration of the iris. A spiritual man can tell how open and accomplished you are by the pranic glow from your eyes. As the different facets of an object of concentration present themselves to you. you actually experience different facets of your own self. The outer object is nothing but a gateway to the many facets of your self-experience. In a real sense. you become what you meditate on. In White Tantric Yoga. the eye into eye contact by partners is essential to completing the energy flow; but the practice is so powerful. it cannot be practiced without the presence of the Mahan Tantric who separates the energies of the individuals. Otherwise there is a chance in Tantric Tratakam that the mental merger is so complete that the individual identity may be confused. Guru Yoga In the yogic scriptures it says, ” Even a glance from the eyes of a holy man can cure mental and physical imbalances.” If you identify a new quality in an object of meditation. you have contacted and brought out that quality in yourself. For these reasons. pictures of saints and objects of inspiration have always been subjects of meditation. If you pick a saintly person and meditate to experience his qualities of humility, service, and healing,

you learn to express these qualities in yourself. But there is a level beyond this. Not all pictures have the same effect. even if the pictures are of the same person. One picture may show happiness. another sadness. and another contemplation. Meditation on each will provoke those qualities. It is extremely rare for any master to give a photo that shows neutrality and a direct stare from the eyes. This is the only type of picture suitable for Tratakum. Yogi Bhajan: ” People will enjoy beaming who have meditated on that picture of mine. Not all pictures do something. However weird that particular picture is-sometimes you don’t like it-that’s the only picture that works. All other pictures can do nothing. That’s the only one. What should I do? Some people complain to me. ‘Yogiji, your other pictures are more beautiful.’ But I say, ‘I can’t help it. Sometimes non-beautiful things are required. too.”‘ In such a photo it is impossible to get stuck on the level of personality. In fact. since it is neutral. the photo will be both impersonal and personal. It will reflect you better than a mirror. In a mirror you can fool yourself with your own face. In the Guru Yoga photo you cannot. In such a photo there must also be a light in the eyes of the teacher. A photo with the direct stare of neutrality can heal and give you the instant ability to contact your own higher guidance. We are fortunate to have such a picture of the Mahan Tantric. If it is meditated on properly and seriously, the karmas can be erased and individual destiny expanded. Teachers are connected by the Golden Chain, unto Infinity. Guru Yoga allows you to ascend the Golden Chain. It is an action done with humility. Nothing else has the value of this meditation. It is a must for any student or teacher of Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan to have an experience of this. The practice is cal led “mental beaming.” It gives the mind the ability to project to Infinity through the creative power of the imagination. For instructions on how to do the Tratakum Meditation, a full-size copy of Yogi Bhajan’s Tantric picture, as well as other Tratakum meditations, see the Meditations Without Mantra chapter. A glossy 8.5″x If” photo can be purchased from Ancient Healing Ways. See Resources chapter.