Hariharananda / On Having a Third Eye
Meditationtime Forum Post
Date: Posted 3 years before Aug 20, 2016
MiBeloved 3 years ago
Swami Hariharananda’s Meditation Advice:
This morning during the meditation session, Swami Hariharananda was present, mostly because one of his students is taking lessons in some elementary pranayama techniques mostly having to do with breath infusion to the base chakra and also breaking certain bad habits which are traceable to gurus like Sri Paramhamsa Yogananda.
This mahayogin was highly qualified to teach samyama meditation but he did so leaving aside the basic practices which he had to do in his youth when he was trained by Sri Yukteshwara. Somehow, Paramhamsa Guruji gave the idea that a person could sit to meditate without having to do any preliminary process but originally in India, this was not the case.
It began to some extent with Swami Vivekananda who gave lectures in halls to Westerners who sat in chairs and tried to concentrate internally. Actually none of that is yoga but it has come into Western usage as yoga. After Vivekananda, Swami Yogananda also taught meditation in large halls with hundreds of people as if yoga was taught like that in India originally. In fact Yogananda was taught Yoga individually by his guru with a one-on-one basis.
People feel that they can sit, meditate and focus on the brow chakra just like that without any preliminary preparation.
On the astral side during the meditation session, Swami Hariharananda was saying that the students have to work with what they already have, so that if a student does not have an active brow chakra, his imagination or visualization of that, will not do anything. The student should sit in the mind space and first make a log of what is in there and get a method from the guru to work with that.
The way to do this, he said is to find an able master of the kriya process. He said this:
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The teacher does not have to have a big name. Look, Sri Yukteshwara became known as a big guru only after he was deceased, and only indirectly mostly because of Paramhamsa Yogananda. Otherwise he would not be known in the West as he is now, and still he was a great guru.
Yes, find an able teacher. He does not have to be famous or known by anyone. The main thing is that he has practiced sufficiently and made enough progress so that he is ahead of the student and can share methods and point out pitfalls.
Once you locate such a teacher, then the next step is to do asanas and pranayama before sitting to meditate. This is called a warm-up. You do not just sit to meditate just like that like the great gurus did because they were passed the preliminary stages. Why do you want to do what a great guru does, a mahayogin? What sort of logic is that? Does the student want to do what the teacher does? How is that?
The student has to get help from the teacher about the business of learning at the kindergarten level. That is not the level of the teacher, but the student needs a teacher who is beyond that level and who would come to teach on the level of the student. If the guru sits to meditate, does that mean that is the student level?
No it is not. The teacher takes classes at the university but when he teaches in the kindergarten he has to teach on the student’s level. The student should not say, “Teach me what you are doing at the university. The student cannot begin there.”
Get a teacher like this and then you can make progress. Do not be envious and want to take the place of the teacher. Be a good son of a great father. The father sleeps in the same bed with the mother and Lord knows what they are doing during the night but does that mean that the son should sleep with the mother too. No. That is the not right. That will only corrupt the son and put him in an immoral way. He will be like a criminal then.
The student should not want to do what the master is doing. The student should go to learn on the student’s level.
Once you get the warm up, then you sit to meditate and you find out from the guru what to do with what you have in your mind. Do you have a third eye? Well if you do not then what do you have. Tell the guru about that and find out how you can use that to make progress. You cannot use a third eye if you do not have one to begin with. You will have to work with what is in your mind and overtime, perhaps one day, a third eye will be there for a few seconds or longer.
Question is what is in the mind? What is there?
Can you tell what is there?
Can you draw a picture and show what is there in your mind?
This is it.
Do that and get instruction from the guru about what to do with what you really have. Forget imagining that you have a third eye. If you do not have that it is alright. There is no need to fake it. Tell me what is in the mind when you sit to meditate and then I can advise on how you can use that, because you can only use what you really have.
Because Baba, Lahiri Baba, had a third eye does that mean that you have one? Not necessarily.
So the father is with the mother in bed at night and they are doing something there but does that mean that the son who is three years old has those urges. No! He cannot have that at his stage. He has not reached sexual maturity. So why is he thinking that he has that? Why?
Okay. I gave the instructions. No one should complain about this from now on!
Alfredo 3 years ago
If people, swamis, of the so-called stature of a Swami Vivekananda or Swami Yogananda, did what you wrote above, there is not much left to look up to around here. It comes down, really, to the personal practice and the interest of the practitioner.
Swami Hariharananda did the same, more or less. Mass initiations all over the world, with the staying rate of about 10% within the first month, the world Kundalini banned and not entertained. Initiated several failed Swamis that bullshitted their way around. Perhaps he needs to reincarnate ASAP and rectify that.
Swami Hariharananda’s Meditation Advice:
Yes, find an able teacher. He does not have to be famous or known by anyone. The main thing is that he has practiced sufficiently and made enough progress so that he is ahead of the student and can share methods and point out pitfalls.
Alfredo’s Reply:
I have found that teacher and the teacher is you. I moved on from Sri Aurobindo and Mother and started practicing your yoga by imitating some of your videos. Now I start to understand it under your personal guidance.
Can we keep Hariharananda out of it?
MiBeloved 3 years ago
There is a saying that a bad uncle is better than no uncle at all!
We can't get rid of family because family is already in history.
A neglectful father is a father no matter what anyone says.
Sometimes we see that when a father begets a child, the father neglects the child, refuses to get a job to support the infant and its mother, and goes about life in a very reckless way. Still the credit remains if only for the act of begetting.
What should the neglected, misled child do?
Keep quiet, sit and listen in corner.
Neo_Yogi 3 years ago
Alfredo said:
I have found that teacher and the teacher is you. I moved on from Sri Aurobindo and Mother and started practicing your yoga by imitating some of your videos. Now I start to understand it under your personal guidance.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
What videos are those? Are they for the public to watch?
I have to agree here with Alfredo when he says:
If people, swamis, of the so-called stature of a Swami Vivekananda or Swami Yogananda, did what you wrote above, there is not much left to look up to around here.
(…) Swami Hariharananda did the same, more or less. Mass initiations all over the world, with the staying rate of about 10% within the first month, the world Kundalini banned and not entertained. Initiated several failed Swamis that bullshitted their way around.
If those swamis were wrong in their teachings and in their ways, if they wronged the path, why can't we keep them aside?
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MiBeloved Wrote:
A neglectful father is a father no matter what anyone says.
Sometimes we see that when a father begets a child, the father neglects the child, refuses to get a job to support the infant and its mother, and goes about life in a very reckless way. Still the credit remains if only for the act of begetting.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
But begetting is easy, MiBeloved. What is not so easy is to be a responsible parent.
Alfredo 3 years ago
Neo_Yogi's Query: [What videos are those? Are they for the public to watch?]
They are all linked here, several, older, are available at this site:
Video Link: http://www.veoh.com/watch/v207109612W6t7wb2
Video Title: Kundalini Yoga_4 Posted by bhagiratha5
The last I videotaped myself 10 days ago in Miami, is already in You Tube:
Video Link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3JG8x2sH4s&feature=youtu.be
Video Title: CLIP0001
Look for one that will be produced next week, which will be also posted, that will include entry level asanas and exercises for those who are starting the practice.
Neo_Yogi 3 years ago
Thank you Alfredo!
Interesting videos; nice to see you MiBeloved in motion.
Michael, what you do in those videos, is any kind of dynamic yoga?
That quick breathing, Is it what you call Breath Infusion?
MiBeloved 3 years ago
Neo_Yogi's Query:
Michael, what you do in those videos, is any kind of dynamic yoga?
That quick breathing, Is it what you call Breath Infusion?
MiBeloved's Response:
That is a combination of asana postures and pranayama breath infusion using what is called bhastrika or kapala bhati.
This causes infusion of breath into the physical body and infusion of subtle energy into the astral body, being done simultaneously.
Asana is the 3rd part of yoga. Pranayama is the 4th part. In that practice the two systems are mixed into one practice.
The person who introduced that practice to the West was Yogi Harbhajan Singh (Yogi Bhajan).
Some of the postures which I do are unique and were not specifically taught by him but the general flow of it and the intention which is to raise kundalini and upgrade the energy in the subtle body was the thrust of the practice he introduced.
You can look through YouTube to find kapala-bhati and bhastrika which are similar types of pranayama and you will see different people demonstrate the breathing. The postures part is only to reach various parts of the body.
Alfredo 3 years ago
Neo:
The explanation by the Acharya is very accurate. Now hear from a neophyte who was bent on learning this since 4 months ago or so.
I had practiced Kriya Yoga of Lahiri Baba (and Babaji Maharaj) before, and was fortunate to had been initiated into Thokar Kriya by Swami Hariharananda himself.
In this link from youtube, I have posted 3 videos. The first, an initial attempt to imitate the Acharya and a sampler showing the 2nd Kriya Pranayama (Thokar Kriya): http://www.youtube.com/user/am444888?feature=watch
I was corrected here and the breathing I was doing was mostly Kapal Bhati, which is similar to Bhastrika, but less technical.
The second video called "rapid breathing" is a little better, as I imitated several asanas from the Acharya's videos. Notice also that I had lost at that time quite a bit of weight, which is a welcome addition that facilitates the practice. This video was also qualified by the Acharya and you can read the qualifications in this site.
The 3rd video you already know, was taped in my house's backyard a couple of weeks ago.
A person wanting to start could follow my example. Only a word of caution, as the Acharya told me in person: "This technique cannot be learned through videos". Why? It is very, very technical, and the proper use of locks is critical and requires specific and careful guidance. So, a person wanting to get proficiency will have, sooner or later, to get personal instructions.
I have been fortunate that the Acharya is staying temporarily about 25 miles from where I live in Miami, so I have been practicing with him, meaning he has been teaching me and at my level for the last 2 weeks or so. For this, I am very grateful.
Don't hesitate to ask any further questions you may have, and remember to check for another, and last, video, next week where the Acharya will be teaching me for about one hour at the entry level. I requested this video from him for the benefit of students interested in learning this type of breath infusion with asanas.
There are untold, many, benefits deriving from this practice, many of which will reflect on the physical body right away, although, it is indeed a practice designed for the subtle body (sukshma sarira).
Neo_Yogi 3 years ago
MiBeloved wrote:
Asana is the 3rd part of yoga. Pranayama is the 4th part. In that practice the two systems are mixed into one practice.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Now that you mention this, recently I read a comment/article by a swami saying that Hatha Yoga as we know it today was a 19th century invention and that when Patanjali talked about asana he meant a proper posture (straight spine basically) for meditation. Then I tried to search for old asanas statues, carvings, etc found in archaeological sites on internet, I could only find cross-legged sitting postures. What do you thing about this?
This kundalini yoga-compared to any other yoga system- is said to speed up one's psychic/spiritual development, right?
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Continued from above.......
Alfredo wrote:
A person wanting to start could follow my example. Only a word of caution, as the Acharya told me in person: "This technique cannot be learned through videos". Why? It is very, very technical, and the proper use of locks is critical and requires specific and careful guidance. So, a person wanting to get proficiency will have, sooner or later, to get personal instructions.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Yes, I noticed, they look a bit complicated from the outside since one can only see postures and the rapid breathing. Don't you get dizzy after a 25-minute session breathing this way?
The hatha yoga I know from books and videos are static postures performed slowly and always having one's mind focused on a chakra, the posture itself or the natural breathing. This kundalini yoga however is performed much more dynamically, it looks like a type of gymnastics. I guess you have to be counting breathings, locks, etc while performing them properly, right? So where are you supposed to focus your mind on?
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Alfredo wrote:
I have been fortunate that the Acharya is staying temporarily about 25 miles from where I live in Miami, so I have been practicing with him, meaning he has been teaching me and at my level for the last 2 weeks or so. For this, I am very grateful.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
It's said that when the student is ready, the master appears. Congratulations Alfredo, I'm very happy for you.
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Alfredo wrote:
Don't hesitate to ask any further questions you may have, and remember to check for another, and last, video, next week where the Acharya will be teaching me for about one hour at the entry level. I requested this video from him for the benefit of students interested in learning this type of breath infusion with asanas.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Yes, I'm waiting already for that video.
Michael, I see that you don't have any book on this postures, breathing technique, or you do? I couldn't find it in your amazon site. Where can I read more of this from a beginner level?
Alfredo 3 years ago
Neo wrote:
[Yes, I noticed, they look a bit complicated from the outside since one can only see postures and the rapid breathing. Don't you get dizzy after a 25-minute session breathing this way?]
Alfredo's Reply:
Most of this rapid breathing at the beginning targets the navel and muladhara chakra. It is there, at the navel level or lower belly area that a burning sensation will be felt at the beginning of the practice at the level of beginner (meaning for a while, perhaps months). This burning sensation is the result of concentrated CO2 in the blood in that area (physical) or apana energy (subtle). It goes away with time. As per getting dizzy, I suppose you are referring to the phenomenon of hyperventilation, it does not occur after a given time, as you mentioned, because the practice indeed temporarily breaks after each cycle, but it could occur after a specific cycle, especially during the process of applying the locks, and more often than not, when shifting from a kneeling posture to a standing one. This sensation of dizziness if also confounded with the arousal of the Kundalini energy that, after being energized at muladhara, is canalized through the use of locks (anus, sex, belly, throat and psychological locks) up Sushumna Nadi (spinal cord), which, when hitting brahmarandra or top chakra, either produces a black out or a gold out, being the former the most common.
Neo wrote:
[The hatha yoga I know from books and videos are static postures performed slowly and always having one's mind focused on a chakra, the posture itself or the natural breathing. This kundalini yoga however is performed much more dynamically, it looks like a type of gymnastics. I guess you have to be counting breathings, locks, etc while performing them properly, right? So where are you supposed to focus you mind on?]
Alfredo's Reply:
This Kundalini Yoga is indeed unique and quite esoteric.
Its precursors, here in the US, were Yogi Bhajan and Rishi Singh Gherwal. The Acharya lived temporarily in an ashram here of Yogi Bhajan and took classes and training there, but not much was disclosed. I would advance, that what we see is the result of 40 years of self-experimentation and getting advice from several Gurujis at the astral level. Come to think of it, the postures are innumerable, and many will insinuate to the practitioner as he/she practices. The dynamic aspect of this yoga practice is due to the need to infuse air or prana into hard-to-reach areas of the physical and subtle bodies, the asanas providing points of stress where the mind focuses for the energy to be distributed there. Problematic areas, for example, that requires long cleansing times, are the navel/muladhara chakra and the neck, among others.
You need not count breathing at all, but the locks are critical. Whereas at the beginning one must be attentive to the locks constantly, the application of them become automatic with time, and as that occurs, then the attention must shift to the interior, to the subtle body, to seeing the energy being distributed inside. This is a practice mainly conducted towards the subtle body.
Neo wrote:
[It's said that when the student is ready, the master appears. Congratulations Alfredo, I'm very happy for you.]
Alfredo's Reply:
This is correct, thank you very much. Moreover, the Acharya has said that our relationship comes from previous lives. In other words, I had practiced this before and had taken instructions from him before. Several people here are springboarding from previous lives' practices.
Neo wrote:
[Where can I read more of this from a beginner level?]
Alfredo's Reply:
There are several other books that have not been published and apparently never will. I have them but can only disclose them upon authorization. They are quite esoteric and mainly pertain to Kundalini Yoga, Kriya Yoga and the Yoga of Celibacy. See some of them here:
MiBeloved 3 years ago
Neo_Yogi wrote:
Now that you mention this, recently I read a comment/article by a swami saying that Hatha Yoga as we know it today was a 19th century invention and that when Patanjali talked about asana he meant a proper posture (straight spine basically) for meditation. Then I tried to search for old asanas statues, carvings, etc found in archaeological sites on internet, I could only find cross-legged sitting postures. What do you thing about this?
This kundalini yoga-compared to any other yoga system- is said to speed up one's psychic/spiritual development, right?
MiBeloved's Response:
If you want to find out about Hatha Yoga do a search on Gorakshnath Mahayogin. He wrote a few books long ago and the hatha yoga was initiated by him. You may also check the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. In the 19th century due to the British influence in India with Western gymnastics and athletics, the 3rd stage of yoga known as asanas became known as yoga so that in the West most people assumed that yoga was only its third stage of asanas or postures.
Yoga is defined by Patanjali and his description of it is also confirmed in the Puranas by Sri Krishna and others.
So here are the definitions:
Hatha Yoga = kundalini yoga + mastery of postures + pranayama (Source Gorakshnath)
Yoga = ashtanga yoga (Patanjali gave ashtanga which means astha (8) anga (parts).
Patanjali more or less gave meditation as samyama which he said was the three highest parts of yoga done into one sequential practice. So that
samyama = dharana+dhyana+samadhi.
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Patanjali listed asana as a part of yoga. He also spoke about samyama in an easy posture when doing meditation. This does not mean that asana is only one posture or one easy posture. Patanjali said that when you sit to meditate then you do an easy posture. This does not mean that there is only one posture but it means that you cannot meditate in fact if you do not assume an easy posture, otherwise it will cause mental distraction.
To study Patanjali you can see any of my three books. Here are links:
This is an excerpt from my Yoga sutras of Patanjali
Chapter 2 Verse 29
यमनियमासनप्राणायामप्रत्याहारधारणाध्यानसमाधयोऽष्टावङ्गानि॥२९॥
yama niyama āsana prāṇāyāma pratyāhāra
dhāraṇā dhyāna samādhayaḥ aṣṭau aṅgāni
yama – moral restraints; niyama – recommended behaviors; āsana – body postures; prāṇāyāma – breath infusion; pratyāhar – sensual energy withdrawal; dhāraṇā – linking of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons; dhyāna – effortless linkage of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons; samādhayaḥ – continuous effortless linkage of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons; aṣṭau – eight; aṅgāni – parts of a thing.
Moral restraints, recommended behaviors, body posture, breath infusion, sensual energy withdrawal, linking of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons, effortless linkage of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons, continuous effortless linkage of the attention to higher concentration forces or persons are the eight parts of the yoga system.
Commentary:
Śrī Gorakshnath in his writings gave six parts to yoga, leaving out the preliminary parts of yama, moral restraints and niyama, recommended behaviors. This is because those two are preliminary. A person who has not integrated those, must instill them in himself as he practices the advanced portions. I experienced many students who are not masterful at the preliminary stages. They should master these as they proceed or find that their lack of skill in cultural dealings causes impediments. According to the advisories and warnings issued by Śrī Krishna to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gītā, a person who does not have an exemption from cultural activities, cannot succeed fully in yoga. Actually the sooner that a yogi can realize this, the better and more advanced he will be. If he does not cooperate with the central person in the Universal Form, with Śrī Krishna, he will not be able to get to the samādhi stage. It will be impossible.
Śrī Gorakashnath did not want the hațha yogis, his students, to waste their time and energy in the moral field, in trying to perfect righteous living, but nevertheless, if one does not work his way cautiously through the cultural world, one will fail at yoga practice. We must understand that Śrī Gorakshnath is a birth taken by Śrī Skanda Kumara, the celibate son of Lord Shiva. As such he never advocates grhasta ashram but that does not mean that it has no value. We have to understand its value, just in case we require another human form. The moral restraints and recommended behaviors have their usage to keep us on the good side of King Dharma, the supernatural person who sponsors righteous life style.
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The cross legged postures are the best and are the most difficult ones to assume if you were not doing yoga from childhood years. These cross-legged postures can only be done to proficiency if you have already mastered the other postures.
Suppose I tell you that we only find jet engines on aircraft. You hear that from an authority, and then you run here and there saying that only jet engines are on aircraft.
You have no idea about how jet engines were developed and that before there were prop engines only. Because of ignorance you will give the idea that there can be jet engines without prop engines before as the background of the creation of the jet engines.
Therefore yes, cross legged postures are displayed, but those who mastered that had to do many other preliminary postures.
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Kundalini Yoga does speed up psychic development as you suggested but the main purpose for it is to energize and elevate the subtle body. It is for changing the subtle body so that the kundalini is no longer primarily interested in sexual expression. As it is, as we get this body by the grace of material nature, it is geared towards developing sexual maturity and then to using the sexual energy developed.
Kundalini Yoga tampers with this natural orientation to sex coupling and reproduction.
Alfredo 3 years ago
I just uploaded 3 books to the files section: Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, and Shiva Samhita.
MiBeloved 3 years ago
I do not have any books explaining in detail what is done during the breath infusion while doing bhastrika pranayama in various postures.
Perhaps Alfredo can be a big help to do something to satisfy that need.
All of my books are at the link below with explanations of what is in each book
Click on the topics to the right one by one all the way down.
Michael Beloved Books:
Prasanna 3 years ago
Alfredo Ji... I'm very happy for you for your association with Guru of your past-lives. Pls accept best wishes from a fellow seeker.
Micheal Ji - Thanks for all that you are doing to support us newbies. I've been around for more than a year now (although, only recently started posting my comments) and it really is very heartening to see you provide very detailed comments/explanations for all kinds of questions. My heartfelt thanks and best wishes on your journey towards perfection.
- Prasanna.
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Continued from above.......
Neo_Yogi 3 years ago
Hello Alfredo,
Thank you for your explanation.
Alfredo wrote:
(…) Moreover, the Acharya has said that our relationship comes from previous lives. In other words, I had practiced this before and had taken instructions from him before. Several people here are springboarding from previous lives' practices.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Lucky you that have found your teacher from previous lives. Many years ago a psychic lady told me that I lived once in the Himalayas with a yoga teacher... but who knows?
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Alfredo wrote:
There are several other books that have not been published and apparently never will. I have them but can only disclose them upon authorization. They are quite esoteric and mainly pertain to Kundalini Yoga, Kriya Yoga and the Yoga of Celibacy. See some of them here:
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Very interesting titles indeed.
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Alfredo wrote:
I just uploaded 3 books to the files section: Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, and Shiva Samhita.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
Thank you. I have downloaded them already. I'll comment on them soon.
Neo_Yogi 3 years ago
MiBeloved wrote:
If you want to find out about Hatha Yoga do a search on Gorakshnath Mahayogin. He wrote a few books long ago and the hatha yoga was initiated by him.
Neo_Yogi's Reply:
It seems that there's not much about him on the internet. I'll keep on searching though.
Thank you for your detailed explanation & information, Michael, on this and other topics. One can easily observe that they come from an expert master of the mind.
Namaste.
Alfredo 3 years ago
MBeloved wrote: Perhaps Alfredo can be a big help to do something to satisfy that need.
Alfredo's Reply:
I would like to help on this in the near future.
