Kriya Yoga Teachings
In the beginning of creation and the advent of man, the Infinite
impregnated His intelligent creative Cosmic Energy, Maha Prakriti or Holy
Spirit with not only the power of repulsion, the individualizing of Cosmic
Consciousness into souls and a universe of matter, but also with the power of
recalling souls from their wandering in matter back to unity with spirit
(prodigal Son)
All things are made of, sustained by and resolved into this cosmic
intelligent Energy, into Spirit.
The outer ways of belief
are many; the final ascension from body consciousness to Spirit is the same for
everyone.
The withdrawal of life and consciousness from the senses upward through
the gates of light, dissolving the consciousness of matter (anamaya kosha) into life force
(pranamaya kosha), life force into mind (manomaya kosha), mind into soul, jnanamaya
kosha, soul into Spirit (anandamaya kosha).
We call the method of ascension Rajas Yoga.
Further Explanation:
These stages of expression are referred to in yoga as sheath or
koshas. All creation is encased in one or more of the five koshas. These are
screens of delusion, each of which, in descending order, obscures to a greater
degree the real cause and essence of creation, God.
The bliss sheath is that which covers and causes the causal world
and causal body of man.
The three sheath of intellect, mind and life are the coverings of
the astral universe and astral body of man.
The matter sheath manifests as the as the physical universe and
body of man.
Man being the microcosm of the universe, has within him all five
sheath – matter, life, mind, intelligence, and bliss.
He alone, of all forms of creation, has the ability to unfold all
of these sheaths and free his soul to become one with God.
Esoteric Interpretation
The first manifestation of Spirit is Cosmic Light. God vibrates
His cosmic consciousness as intelligent creative Cosmic Energy, or Cosmic
light.
This omnipresent Cosmic Energy or light exists in man as the
microcosmic sun in the spiritual eye, which becomes visible during meditation
when the devotee’s consciousness and the
dual current of the two physical eyes is concentrated at the point
between the eyebrows.
“The light in the body is in the eye: if therefore thine eye is
single, the whole body will be full of light”.
Matthew
6:22
All the intelligent creative power of omnipresent cosmic energy is
present microcosmically in the spiritual eye.
It is by looking through the spiritual eye that we can observe and
experience the vibrations of the astral and causal realm.
Om sound, golden orb, creative process;
blue light, consciousness; bright white light, Self.
Merging with the light and being one with it, provides the
experience in us.
Overview:
The physical world is in reality nothing more than inert matter.
The inherent life force and animation in all forms, from atom to man, comes
from the subtle forces of the astral world; which have evolved from the causal
or ideational world.
Man’s journey.
The outward projecting creative power of God that is imposed upon
the soul creates feelings (Chitta), which is that consciousness by which the
soul knows or experiences its existence. This is why we are encouraged, in the
initial state of meditation, to feel the energy (creative force).
The activities of feeling excite the thinking processes.
When this God sent energy becomes distorted by delusion, the ego
(ahamkara) evolves and a of feeling of separateness from the source occurs.
Along with the ego evolves its guiding intelligence (buddhi.
Intelligence manifests its nature in thinking and discrimination.
When deluded, (impure) the intelligence gives rise to the blind
mind (manas) or sense mind.
The mind is the coordinating instrument, the outward inclined
mediary between the sensory world and the ego with its discerning
intelligence.
There are four phases of the mind.
1) Sensory impressions,
2) Assertive discrimination (the activation of the organs of action by the will at the command of
intelligence.).
3) Wish (excitement or desire arising form contact with objects of
the senses), and
4) Imagination (the delusion that phenomena are reality).
Through these 4 channels, the dual (attractive and repulsive)
desires of the heart (feeling or chitta) and the ego are consummated.
These activities of the mind are the cause of human consciousness.
When the descending soul comes under the intelligence of the mind,
it becomes limited by identification with human consciousness in general.
This is termed the Manu state of the descending soul.
Manu means man, the processor of the thinking principle.
Energy becomes manifest as life force in the body.
Omnipresent Cosmic Energy is the source of the life force that
becomes manifest in the astral body of man through the instrument of the mind,
Manu.
Thus life force and mind are intimately associated, for in the
body of man one cannot exist without the other.
When they descend from Cosmic Consciousness and Cosmic Energy,
their manifestation is through the eye of intuition (causal phase of the
spiritual eye relating to the causal spinal channel of consciousness)
and hence into the austral eye (the astral phase of the spiritual eye,
corresponding to the three spinal channels as the astral body).
Sushumna, vajra, chitra.
Elaboration on nadis
Nadis are the astral tubes made up of astral matter that carry
psychic currents. The Sanskrit term ‘Nadi’ comes from the root ‘Nad’ which
means ‘motion’. It is through these Nadis (Sukshma, subtle passages), that the
vital force or Pranic current moves or flows. Since they are made up of subtle
matter they cannot be seen by the naked physical eyes and you cannot make any
test-tube experiments in the physical plane. These Yoga Nadis are not the
ordinary nerves, arteries and veins that are known to Anatomy and Physiology.
Yoga Nadis are quite different from these.
(Sukshma sharira is the energy body, the subtle body, the light
body).
Continued;
The sushumna contains within it the second spine, vajra which
provides the power of expansion, contraction and all activities of motion in
the astral body.
The activities of these three astral spines are controlled
primarily by the astral brain or sahasrara of a thousand rays.
The physical body is and primarily of flesh and the astral body of
prana, intelligent light, the causal of consciousness and ideas.
It is the presence of the forces of the causal body behind the
astral and physical bodies that causes and sustains their very existence and
makes man a conscious, sentient being.
The causal body has a spiritual brain of wisdom and a spiritual
spine called brahmanadi. The brahmanadi has no coverage of light, as has the
threefold astral spine; it is made of a strong current of consciousness.
Within the brahmanadi are seven spiritual centers of
consciousness, corresponding to the seven centers of light and power in the
astral body.
The physical, astral and causal bodies are knitted together at
these centers, uniting the three bodies to work together: a physical vehicle
empowered by astral life, with causal consciousness providing the power to
assimilate, will and feel.
The physical, astral and causal instruments of the soul exist and
function as an integral whole through the interaction between the various gross
and finer forces.
The causal brain is the reservoir of cosmic consciousness, the
ever excisting, ever conscious, ever new bliss of Spirit and of its
individualized expression, the soul.
Explain:
The physical body is directly created and sustained by the forces
of the astral body.
The astral body and powers are principally life current or prana.
The physical body has a brain, spinal cord with nerve pairs
forming the coccygeal, sacral, lumbar, dorsal and cervical regions and the
nervous system.
The astral body has an astral brain, the thousand pedal lotus, an
astral spine with subtle centres of light and energy, and an astral nervous
system,with channels called nadis.
The astral nervous system channels the flow of prana in its five
differentiated forms which in the physical body manifest as: crystallization,
circulation, assimilation, metabolism, and elimination.
Cosmic life force expressing through the soul, flows into the
mental field and physical body to assimilate them
Prana, regulates breathing,
Udana, directs the current upwards,
Samana, digestion, assimilation,
Apana, elimination of waste,
Vyana, vital forces movement.
When one or more of these aspects of life force are disturbed,
mental and physical discomfort can manifest.
Knowing this, yogis endeavor to manifest them in a condition of
balance. Some disturbing factors to the flow of life force or prana can be:
stress, wrong diet, insufficient sleep, mental discord, emotional
conflict, bodily injury, failure to achieve goals and more.
Note:
The practice of Kriya Pranayama directly influences the action of
the vital forces.
The main astral spine is the sushumna auxiliary to it are the ida
(moon) and the pingala (sun), which flow along the left and right side of the
spine. The left channel ida carries the negative current, feminine in
character, nourishing and cleansing.
When the flow of prana is dominant through ida, air flows through
the left nostril with greater force.
The right channel carries the positive current, masculine in
character and electrical. It increases energy and vitality. When the flow is
dominant through the pingala, air flows through the right nostril with greater
force.
Within the sushumna is the second astral spine the vajra which
provides the power of expansion, contraction and all activities of motion in
the astral body. Within the vajra is the chitra astral spine which controls the
spiritual activities (those related to consciousness).
The activities of these three astral spines are controlled by the
astral brain, the Sahasrara.
A greater understanding of the discussed principles will lead to a
healthier mental and physical life when we practice the teachings of Kriya
yoga.
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