Waching daily Oct 1 2017

Kundalini is an ornament

that is worn by the women in the ears.

It is spiral in shape like the sleeping serpent.

In the ancient texts, they talk of only four labels of yoga:

raja yoga (Yogasutras of Patanjali),

hatha yoga, mantra yoga and laya yoga.

Hatha yoga also leads to the laya

or dissolution of the tattvas.

The fourth chapter of Hatha Yoga Pradipika

talks about the laya. Similarly,

mantra yoga also leads to laya or dissolution

so that one can realise one's own true nature.

Dissolution here refers to the

giving up the wrong identities

with our body, with our senses, with our mind, and with our ego.

When it is said that kundalini is awakened,

it means the prana gets centred.

What is meant by prana getting centred here

refers to the focus of our mind.

The mind instead of being scattered

gets focused which is represented by

prana in sushumna,

the central channel, instead of prana being

in the ida and pingala, the other two channels.

Towards this goal, certain asana practices

are also suggested in hatha yoga and,

for example, if you take pascimatanasana,

(seated forward bend)

it is suggested that the person stay

in this posture with long

deep extended exhalation and

suspension of the breath so that prana gets focused.

This posture, such a practice, is also useful for

the preparation of mahamudra,

the supreme mudra spoken

in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as well as Gheranda Samhita.

For more infomation >> What is Kundalini | A. G. Mohan - Duration: 3:44.

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Sleep is a thought process | A. G. Mohan - Duration: 4:04.

Welcome.

Now on to the next vrtti - sleep, the fourth one, sutra number 10. "Abhāva-pratyayālambanā tamo vŗittir nidrā. "

" Krishnamacharya added this word "tamas' here

to make it clear that in sleep the tamasic quality of the mind is very predominant.

In this context, there is a vast difference between samadhi and sleep.

Samadhi is a state where the sattvic quality of the mind is predominant and it's a state

of heightened perception.

We can even say mind is totally filled with sattva.

In the case of sleep, it is opposite.

It is [the mind] is in a state of darkness. In other words it's like being in a dark room

- objects are all there but, it is not seen.

Now, the question is 'how can sleep be considered as a vrtti?'

Vrtti is a thought, which is related to a knowledge. Patanjali stated a group of five

categories for nirodha, first is pramana - right knowledge, second is viparyaya - let's say

wrong knowledge, third is vikalpa - the knowledge that arises based on words without a corresponding

perceptible object, and now he has taken sleep.

On waking, there is a knowledge, or a vrtti, that arises about the state of, how the state

of our body and senses and our mind, were when we were asleep.

Therefore, we say when we wake up "I slept well, my mind is clear" if sattva is predominant.

"My mind was restless" if the rajas is predominant, "My mind is dull, my body is very heavy" we

say these types of statements when tamas is predominant.

Since sleep gives rise to these types of vrttis, which are related to body, senses and the

mind, sleep is also a vrtti for which nirodha should be done.

That is why the sutra here defines as - sleep is absence of waking and dream state.

In the waking state there is more sattva, in a dream state there is more rajas and in

the sleep state there is more tamas.

Nidra [sleep] that is mentioned here and yoganidra are completely different.

Yoganidra in a way is not a practice, yoganidra is a result.

Thank you.