• You have completed the Introduction to Blending Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.
• Now we begin the Section specifically discussing the Yoga piece of the puzzle.

The process and practice of Yoga is highly systematic. Yoga deals systematically with the levels of Body, Breath, Mind, and Beyond. Yoga is the process of setting aside the kleshas, the colorings of attraction, aversion, fear, and false identities. Then the 'seer,' the True Self rests in its true nature. The critical skill of Yoga is attention, simply to observe. Yoga starts wherever you are in your current daily life.

What is Yoga? This is a traditional view on Yoga by Swami Rama

Traditional Hatha Yoga is intended to lead to Raja Yoga, the "Royal Yoga", the goal of which is the highest state of consciousness known as Samadhi.

Sankhya is the philosophical foundation of the practices outlined in the Yoga Sutras. A general understanding of Sankhya is extremely useful, if not essential to the practice of Yoga.

This file is an outline and commentary on the first five sutras of the Yoga Sutras. Understanding these introductory sutras gives a superb insight into the whole of the Yoga Sutras. One way of viewing this is that all of the other sutras are simply expansions of the solid ground in these five sutras.

The colorings, kleshas, of Yoga are Avidya (ignorance or forgetting of True Nature), Asmita (I-ness), Raga (attraction), Dveshya (aversion), and Abhinivesha (fear of loss of identity). This is like a metaphorical wave forgetting that it is one with the ocean, while actually being one with the ocean all along.

The key factor of Yoga practice is cultivating razor sharp attention to discern between not-self and True-Self. Otherwise, we fall asleep into our identities, turning verbs into nouns, turning actions into identities. Yoga is the process of awakening from all of these false identities.

The Yoga Sutras outlines 'how' to do the practices of self-awareness and discernment that we call Yoga. You have to do these practices for a long time, and have a proper, good, healthy attitude, the willingness to explore within, and no breaks, no vacation: Long time, good attitude, no vacation.

An important habit of attention to regulate is how inner attention moves in a 'field' that is predominantly left and right, and a little bit of up and down. The task here is to train attention to rest comfortably in one 'space' such as the heart center or the space between the eyebrows, not allowing the attention to wander either left and right, or up and down. Then other thoughts drifting through that field of mind will not be distracting or disturbing. This is not 'blocking' or 'getting rid of' those thoughts, pictures, or words, but simply maintaining a very gentle concentration of attention on that one little area or point. This leads one to a state of non-attachment, or vairagya.

Here is a simple, gentle experiment of training attention in an inner space. Just stay there with attention; no fight, no battle. You're not using 'words' here; it's gradually learning the skill that right now I don't have to move my body, and I don't have to talk. I don't have to force my mind. A few seconds of this experience can make the principle clear. In some sense 'I' am doing 'nothing' at the moment. Critical thinking skills are very useful, but we want to be able to decide when to turn it on, and when to turn it off.

Sushumna is the subtle energy in the subtle spine. This lecture introduces the basic concept of dealing with this subtle energy through energy and breath awareness in this subtle spine. The principles and practices with sushumna are an important part of blending Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.

This lecture talks about the interplay of the practices related to Viveka (discrimination or discernment), Vairagya (non-attachment), Ekagra (one-pointedness of attention), and Nirodhah (setting aside or letting go of attractions, aversions, and false identities). The interplay of these principles and practices brings excellent progress in the joy of meditation.

This is a brief description of Viveka (Discrimination or Discernment) from the Yoga Sutras. Discriminative knowledge is the key to the entire science of Yoga. This discernment is also central to Vedanta and Tantra.

Viveka, or discernment, is at the very heart of Yoga as expounded in the Yoga Sutras. The last principle in the Yoga Sutras, in the last three words of the last sutra, is the word 'shakti,' and shakti is also a central principle in Tantra.

• You have completed the Yoga section of Blending Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.
• Now we begin the section specifically discussing the Vedanta piece of the puzzle.

Witnessing and coordinating the Four Functions of Mind is a most useful aspect of sadhana, practices, leading to a great depth of direct experience in contemplation. These Four Functions of Mind are: 1) Manas, the sensory-motor aspect, 2) Chitta, the storage or memory bank, 3) Ahamkara, the ego or "I-maker,' and 4) Buddhi, the intelligence aspect which knows, decides, judges, and discriminates or discerns. We want to cultivate the skill of witnessing each of these individually, and as they function together.

Discriminating between the four functions: This is one of the most profound self-awareness practices of the ancient Himalayan sages. This Yoga practice is just as profoundly useful today as it was thousands of years ago. The process is one of self-observation, and gradually discriminating between these four aspects of the inner instrument, so as to attain the direct experience of the Center of Consciousness from which all of our thoughts, emotions, and experiences arise on various degrees and grades.

This lecture also has a related PDF file. Please click on Resources to review it.

Reality expresses or manifests itself in:

• Four Levels of Consciousness (rows 1, 2, 3, 4), and

• Three Domains of Consciousness (columns A, B, C):

Practical principles: These are practical principles used daily in Contemplation and Yoga Meditation, not merely abstract principles. For a dedicated seeker of Self-Realization who wishes to tread the Advanced path of Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra, these principles and associated practices of self-exploration and self-awareness are crucial.

Contemplation uses language, whereas meditation sets aside language. The two practices are different, but are companions on the inner journey. Or, in the spirit of blending Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra, we can say that meditation and contemplation are simply different aspects of the same one practice. Contemplation brings a great deal of insight making the mind happy.

We start at the gross level, move to a subtler, then to a still subtler level, and finally move to the Center of Consciousness. Here, we are using our reflective, intelligent mind for contemplation. In contemplation the narrative of mind is used as a tool, while in meditation that aspect of mind is set aside. Both approaches—meditation and contemplation—are used in the inner journey.

When doing contemplation we may do this one thing at a time: body, breath, personality, etc. 'Who am I? Am I my body? Am I my personality?' Gradually, however this contemplation expands to seeing the totality, wherein the realization is that 'I' am that one, nondual, universal essence.

Advaita is non dualism. Dualism says that two things are going. Non dualism says there is only one, but there is the appearance of two. It is extremely difficult to talk about one, so at some point the sages came to say that while we almost cannot talk about one, what we can say is that there is not two. Hence comes the concept of non dualism, advaita.

Clay is an ancient metaphor of advaita, non dualism or monism. You can have many pots, but they are all made of one underlying substance, clay. In a sense all there is is clay that keeps changing form into this or that pot. Similarly is the metaphor of gold, which can be shaped into many bracelets. The whole of our dualistic world operates in that way, both in terms of matter and consciousness. Although a simple concept on the surface, the depth of this understanding comes with lots of contemplation over a long period of time.

There are three general stages of contemplation in Vedanta: 1) Sravana, 2) Manana, 3) and Nidhidhyasana. Savanna means listening or 'taking in' the concepts for contemplation. Manana means chewing on it with internal dialogue. Nididhyasana is letting go of the narrative into wordless awareness, wherein the meaning is gradually known in direct intuitive experience; this is in silence.

Mahavakyas are the great contemplations of Vedanta. 'Maha' means 'great' and 'vakyas' are utterances. Seven traditional mahavakyas are presented here.

The Mahavakyas are the Great Sentences of contemplation. The Mahavakyas are the essence of Advaita Vedanta and Jnana Yoga, and are contained in the Upanishads. Maha is Great, and Vakyas are sentences, or utterances for contemplation. They provide perspective and insights that tie the texts together in a cohesive whole. The contemplations on the Mahavakyas also blend well with the practices of meditation, prayer, and mantra, which are companion practices in Yoga. The pinnacle of the wisdom and practices of the ancient sages is contained in the terse twelve verses of the Mandukya Upanishad, which outlines the philosophy and practices of the OM mantra.

Seven Mahavakyas are described in the first article. By focusing on these seven Mahavakyas, the rest of the principles of self-exploration described in Vedanta and the Upanishads are more easily accessible. Included with the descriptions are suggestions on what to do with these seven Mahavakyas.

The second file is a narrative on contemplation and the mahavakyas from his writings on the Mandukya Upanishad, which is about the levels of consciousness mapped out in the Om mantra.

• You have completed the Yoga and Vedanta sections of Blending Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.
• Now we begin the section specifically discussing the Tantra piece of the puzzle.

The Tantric way of accounting for the appearance of multiplicity is through the two principles of Shiva and Shakti. Shiva is the universal ground of pure potential. Shakti is the manifesting impetus that allows the appearance of diversity in the unity.

In the metaphor of the many parts of a computer, I am the electricity, not the hard drive, the programs, the microchip, or the monitor or keyboard. I am pure consciousness, Shakti, operating outward through levels of manifestation of the physical world.

There is one energy that keeps taking on new shapes and forms. In Tantra the name of that energy is Shakti, which is the manifesting, or feminine force that is actually one and the same with its only apparent companion Shiva, the latent, or masculine. Each time the energy takes on a new form, we give it a new name. Like a flowing river, a power generator, the electricity produced, and light and other objects using the electricity, there is only one energy used, and that is the power of the river. Similarly, that consciousness of Shakti manifests outward as all of the levels of our own being. In Tantra, we seek to follow the manifestations back to their original source where Shakti and Shiva are one and the same.

Shiva and Shakti are inseparable and coexist, like ink and the written word, which, though one and the same, are different. With one pen of ink, many different words or images can be manifested, although there remains only one container (pen) of ink. It is that creative process of manifestation that makes the ink appear to have different forms and meaning from one word to the next. When you write different words, or draw both a circle and a square, you have not created a single ink molecule, but have only rearranged the existing molecules, creating the appearance of different words or forms. It remains exactly what it was in the first place, which is ink.

In Tantra we are trying to follow Shakti back to the Source it came from. Sometimes Shakti is called 'her' or 'Divine Mother.' This is symbolic, and does not mean that there is an anthropomorphic deity who is a woman, although there is some beautiful art which has been created as symbols. Shakti is the manifesting force, hence, like creatures in nature, is conceptualized as feminine. Shiva, not being the manifesting power, is conceptualized therefore as masculine.

Tantra considers the universe to be a manifestation of pure consciousness. Through this process of manifesting, consciousness divides itself into two parts, which cannot exist without one another (though appearing to divide, they actually remain one and the same). One aspect remains as a static, formless quality (shiva), while the other is a dynamic, creative aspect (shakti). The two eternally coexist, like ink and the written word, which, though one and the same, are different. There are three 'schools' of Tantra, and those are discussed here in this lecture.

Here is a 9-page article on the three schools of Tantra: Kaula, Mishra, and Samaya.

When sushumna is awakened, energy is balanced; then the kundalini energy is prepared to awaken; then that kundalini is ready to arise; and then that kundalini can rejoin the shiva at the crown of the head, while the two were never really separate.

There is one very simple way to see that the subtle, inner energy is balanced, and that is the breath in the two nostrils flowing freely and evenly. This is called sushumna awakening, where that subtle stream of consciousness, shakti, or prana is flowing freely in the subtle spine.

Tripura is the one who dwells in the three cities. 'Tri' is 'three' and 'pura' means 'city.' Tripura is the one consciousness that dwells in, and is the source of the three states of Waking, Dreaming, and Deep Sleep. These three are also called Gross, Subtle, and Causal levels of manifestation. In Sanskrit these three levels are called Vaishvanara, Taijasa, Prajnana among other terms. In meditation on Tripura, one finds and meditates on that one who dwells in the three cities.

Afterthoughts: Integrating Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra

This last section is called Afterthoughts, and this section includes other lectures we think may complement what you have already done, and which will be both interesting and helpful to your sadhana (practices).

When you drink a cup of tea, heat, wetness, and flavor come together in one experience. Similarly, Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra come together in one experience.

Each of the three of Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra have as a goal the transcending of time, space, and causation, leading to the same point beyond which is the direct experience of the absolute, nondual reality. That point is called 'Bindu,' which has been conceptualized or symbolized as a pearl or a mustard seed.

Bindu means Point or Dot, is sometimes likened to a Pearl, and is often related to the principle of a Seed. This is not just a poetic choice of words or philosophy. There literally is a stage of meditation and contemplation in Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra in which all experiences collapse, so to speak, into a point from which all experiences arose in the first place. The Bindu is near the end of the subtlest aspect of mind itself, after which one travels beyond or transcends the mind and its contents. It is near the end of time, space, and causation, and is the doorway to the Absolute. To understand this principle is extremely useful, if not essential to Advanced Meditation.

Bindu: Pinnacle of the Three Streams of Yoga, Vedanta and Tantra
Piercing the Pearl of Non-Dual Wisdom
by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati

Beyond the piercing of the Bindu is the direct experience of the one, absolute, nondual reality, and this has been described as indescribable. The closest that can be said is that this experience of oneness is somewhat like existence, consciousness, and bliss, or sat, chit, ananda (or satchitananda).

All of the paths have emerged from the same one Source, and all paths ultimately lead back to that one common Source. It is nameless, but we refer to it with names like Brahman, Shiva, God, Truth, or Reality. Nothing is excluded from this Oneness.

When help is needed, help will come. This is the principle of guru. Guru is a universal process which, although it can manifest through a person, is not itself a person. Guru is that force field of consciousness that will pull one the rest of the way on the journey to the highest realization of the one, nondual reality. One has an impetus to move outward as a person, and there is also a natural energy trying to pull us in, to home, where we came from, and that energy is called guru.

The word guru is a compound of two words, gu and ru. Gu means darkness and ru means light. That which dispels the darkness of ignorance is called guru. The energy and action of removing darkness are guru. Guru is not a person, it is a force driven by grace. To put this another way, there is an intelligent momentum that pervades the universe that is moving all human beings toward the perfection is sometimes called God. Guru is that intelligence.

Kundalini is innate for all people: At the base of the spine, subtler than the physical body, lies the Kundalini energy, or spiritual energy, in a latent form. Regardless of what religious, spiritual, or meditation tradition one follows, the awakening of this energy, by whatever name you call it, is a most innate and essential part of spiritual advancement, unfoldment, or realization.

All Yoga is Kundalini Yoga: While some people use a specific terminology "Kundalini Yoga" for certain practices, all of Yoga actually leads to the activation of Kundalini. Thus, in a sense, all of Yoga is Kundalini Yoga, regardless of whether you use that specific name. Awakening kundalini and leading it to union with the Absolute is the goal of the Himalayan sages and the path of Yoga, Vedanta, and Tantra.

The OM Mantra is a roadmap for sadhana, spiritual practices (written as either AUM or OM). It is not for the person who seeks only the shallow waters of spiritual life, but rather for those who strive to realize in direct experience the depth of the Absolute Reality. There are four main levels of consciousness outlined in the OM Mantra, including three which are commonly experienced as waking, dreaming, and deep sleep, along with the fourth, which is pure consciousness. Each of these is experienced on the inner journey of meditation and contemplation.

Our wish for the very nice people we meet...