Sadhana, Aradhana, Pradhupati
Yoga has 2 aspects: the aspect of yoking, where through an ardent daily practice, the individual unit of consciousness (you) is yoked to / joined with the Universal Consciousness; and Union, where the apparent separate self is realized to have always been the Universal Consciousness, the True Self of all. As you continue your daily sadhana, something new will begin to emerge, which Yogi Bhajan calls Aradhana.
Aradhana:
The experience of sadhana seemed to take on a more etheric dimension, impurities that limit the flow of life are distilled, and you begin to experience a sublimation of the minds outward flow of attention to the changing polarities of the mind, as though there are periodic jumps in the overall atmospheric pressure of the energy consciousness in and through the neutral body (4th chakra), physical body (5th chakra), arc line (6th chakra) , auric body (pineal gland – crown chakra), pranic body, subtle body, radiant body (energy pulses down through the tenth gate and up through the crown expanding a golden hue radiance over 9 feet from the body).
The mind and body become radiant, a radiance that begins to suffuse every cell and organ and nerve of the body, until the encoding of images, impressions and sensations that define our identity dissolves and with it the body armor that gives the sense of separateness, and fear gives way to fearlessness, to calmness, to contentment to openness to hearing. The self effulgent all pervasive screen of Being Consciousness begins to simply blaze in and through you, as sensation at first as though the whole body from the feet to the hands to the legs and arms to the torso and head radiate deeper and deeper within, while expanding and pushing out from within the atoms of the body releasing the polarities and forces that bind them. Purity, virtue and goodness fill and surround you, a sense of delicateness, tenderness, carefulness, and utter beauty pervades the body, stilling and deepening the mind.
The idea of raising Kundalini from the base of the spine to the crown, begins to become an afterthought, as the overall satvic pressure seemed to open every system, from the Kandal to the ida and pingala and sushumna (silver cord), to the centers in the brain from the Ajna to the Sahasrara (gold cord), to the Hrdayam (the One Star) in the heart (1/8th to the right of sternum) and right major vagus nerve (mind nerve) to and through the Crown - as through there is a continuing influx or infilling of what one might call a feeling of inward pulling (like gravity) and expansive/pervasive light from inside and outside, even dissolving the notion of inside/outside. Subject without a seer. Action without a doer.
All this to say that you shouldn't feel surprised in your daily practice of Sadhana to begin to notice similarly a sense of the pure indwelling light of your own infinite being, quietly shining through the thoughts and images in your mind, as the sense of "I" disengages from attention.
Pradupati:
These words will become meaningful as one's Sadhana develops: As the dross is distilled from the mind and body through daily Sadhana, an inexorable process begins to unfold. You begin to find yourself abiding as single unconditioned pure living light, "the screen upon which moves the kaleidoscopic picture composed of mobile and immobile objects of the Universe" (from The Cream of Emancipation verse 144). You begin to experience what one might call the diamond body - "Pradhupati" or crystallization that Yogi Bhajan says over time prevails through the waking state (like an opaque diamond), then the dream state, as dream sleep becomes less (like a semi-precious gem), then the unconscious state, as you awaken to the ever present awake awareness of the Self of Its Creation (gem state), and then beyond, the Turya state - the purely crystallized consciousness, which Yogi Bhajan compares to a flawless diamond. With Pradupati, the yoga of yoking becomes Union.
In Kundalini Yoga, the Sadhana is comprised of various aspects that practiced properly will distill the dross of impurities, so that the light of one's true essence shines through, is reflected, recognized and recollected as one's True Identity (Sat Nam).
Hearing, Remembrance and Perfect Abiding:
Sunia (hearing / listening - sravana): Pradupati begins with "hearing" where the mind becomes so still and the body so deeply radiant that you begin to hear the "Word." The Word is the pure pulsing of the sense of "I," within which a radical relinquishing of thoughts, images and impressions takes hold of the center of your being, so that the "I" sense no longer identifies with or retains attention to the emerging thoughts and impressions that appear in what some call the mind's holographic imaging devise, the brain. Thus, there is no longer the thought "I am .... this and that image, this or that sensation, in relation to a separate world of people, things and events." Instead there is simply, purely and singly the dissolutionary force of "I" pulsing as "I" in the Harimandr (Temple) of the Heart (One Star).
Mania (reflection, recollection – Manana): This experience cannot be lost, because it is at the substratum of all experience. It is felt unconditionally as "I am the Truth." Without a sound there is the pervading sun of recollection, burning through the mist of the mind, as though coming out of a state of a stupor, or amnesia, where you recollect that This "I" is my Self, who I am and have always been, timeless, space-like, Absolute.....
Mamu kita bhau (Abiding in Perfect Love - Niddidyasana): Perfect abiding begins with the disengagement of even the sense of "I." Peace, silence, even beatitude have no meaning here, near and far, no meaning; space and time, ideas / notions held in abeyance with the inward pulsing of the "I" sense (yogis call samadhi with seed), have no meaning.
One's Prayer might be:
Blessed am I In freedom am I I am the Infinite in my Soul I can find no beginning No end All is my Self - All is my Self
Kundalini Yoga Sadhana and daily practice comprises the following
1. KY exercises and kriyas
Tappa - to generate heat and electricity on the body field
What we've called the Yoga of Light that elevates the mind's vibration above the frequency of thoughts and images, filling the nadi's with energy consciousness (Prana) that has an effect like the tightening of guitar strings so that the whole body resonates and radiates - Meditations on radiance through short Kundalini Yoga exercises with a dynamic aspect of posture, movement and breathing, followed by a static aspect of watchful awareness of the flow of expanding etheric radiance emerging from deep with in, penetrating through the body.
Meditation on the force of "will," which produces a powerful single sense of Self, as the mind and body are aligned under the persevering will of the spirit, resulting from the persevering and enduring of long periods of stress in maintaining a posture, movement and breathing, followed by an equally long period of feeling the sense of abiding as single Self Witness.
2. Chanting mantra
Jappa - to generate radiant/resonance that links the conscious mind to the pervasive Naad vibration of the universe
What we've called the Yoga of Sound that takes hold of the 72,000 charged nadis, releasing their energy into a crescendo of radiance exponentially greater than the vibration produced by the Yoga of Light
Tappa and Jappa together producing laya, i.e., expansive radiance that absorbs identity to thought and impressions
Producing a decoding of the habits and impressions stored and bound throughout the body field and
Substituting the re-imprinting of sacred sound of the mantra that links the body and mind to the unexcelled experience of simran/ Naad/ anahat (unstruck sound)
3. Slow controlled repetitive breath
Sanjam – attentive watching of the inward flow of air and outward flow, the full expansion of the lungs and complete contraction, suspension of breath retained and compressed out, the ever deepening sensation of movement of the life force, prana, through the nadis in silent focused stillness.
Different kinds of sanjam – slow repetitive breathing - focus on different aspects, such as: U Breath, Breath Awareness Exercise and others, that result in being able to also feel the still deepening flow of prana during Tappa and Jappa, which in turn expands the nadis increasing their voltage capacity.
Breath simran, the attunement to breath and breath's link to the flow of prana in and through the nadis, leading to the experience of such utter purity, stillness and singleness that we "hear" the soundless sound of the infinite being, our True Self
Sanjam practiced daily at the same time or at different times in relation to the daily Sadhana of Tappa and Jappa result in an exponential deepening and expansion that penetrates and breaks through the encoding or imprinting of thoughts and images of the mind throughout the body systems, dissolving their bondage effect on identity, leaving over pure reflected consciousness of the all pervasive Self.
Producing pratyahar - a singular stillness of "simran" from and within which thoughts and impressions are seen to rise and fall without the least trace or effort to grasp them or hold them within the mind's power of attention
4. Meditations
Specialized Kundalini Yoga Meditations that following or as part of a daily practice of Tappa, Jappa and Sanjam, open the mind to True Meditation, that starts with "hearing," Recollection," Abiding in one's True Being."
5. Study of scripture in relation to one's practice and experience
reading (without thought, conjecture or opinion, but just to "hear" (sunia / sravana) the sacred words of Saints and Saviors (Sat Gurus) describing their experience, recollection and abidance in and as the Self, that Light that lights each of us from and through the Heart (Hrdayam/One Star)
scripture, such as Jaap Ji, Jaap Sahib and other non-dual texts and Gitas
which results in the Self "hearing" Itself, relinquishing the not-self, and recollecting (as though coming out of an amnesia) and abiding in and as Its True Identity,
which we experience as our own Self
which we call the Nam
where hearing and recollection refer to the soundless sound of the "I" pulsing as "I" and abiding refers to cessation, final relinquishment, dissolution of ideas of seer and seen.
the reading words of Yogi Bhajan found in your TT Manual and other sources.
Through and listening to video and audio tapes and CDs of Yogi Bhajan, wherein just hearing the tones of his voice has a transformative effect that vibrates in and through the body like a powerful mantra.
Stages towards Perfection:
There is a need for the student and aspiring teacher to understand that, as with everything, there is a learning curve, and that everyone's advancement and experience of radiance and opening of centers will be different, because of the past lives latent tendencies and the encoding of impressions and images throughout the body systems, which make up our sense of identity through which we imagine and project a reality.
The practical aspects are these, that in the beginning one is learning the basics, such as the postures and movements, mantras and breathing, so the focus will often be to get these right. This is the stage of the apprentice, and is followed by the stage of the practitioner, who will begin to feel in an ever deepening and pervading way the gradual expansion and radiance of the awareness of their being.
Then comes the stage where one may reach a plateau, where one may feel that there is no more advancement, that the practice is not working, that one can develop a better practice on ones own, the stage of self doubt or a stage where one passes through deeper and deeper understanding of the depth of their being, each level feeling like a deep insight, a flash of intuition, sometimes so great that one gets off track becoming so enthralled with the discovery.
However this stage is experienced, all must pass through it and come to the stage of the expert, which is also a stage of gratitude and inward surrender to the teachings brought forth by Yogi Bhajan, the lectures, sets, kriyas, mantras and meditations, even for the simple understanding of their vastness and the total transformative effect each one has, especially as one becomes more advanced.
This stage is also the overriding and overwhelming recognition and experience of becoming connected to the Golden Chain, where one feels linked to those that have been and are on the same path, to one's inner teacher and to the Universal Consciousness. From the expert emerges one who knows and abides in their True Self, someone who is, simply put, Awake and Aware.
Kundalini Yoga Sadhana once taken up as a daily practice becomes inexorable in leading the student from aspirant / apprentice to Master. Subject without a seer. Action without a doer.
As your sensorial experience expands, these words read over from time to time will fill in with a new meaning and depth, and moreover that it is possible to become pure and in that purity "hear" the Truth.
Pieter
Sadhana, Aradhana, Paradhapati the PDF File
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