Saivite Virtue

Seated in the lotus position, the brahmachari and brahmacharini who have taken their vrata may perform pranayama in the following way while sitting with spine erect, head gently balanced on top of the spine, both eyes crossed, looking at the nose, then rolled back into the head, gently stimulating the nerve currents of the inner eye.

To perform this pranayama, place the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril and your middle finger upon your left nostril. Without closing either nostril, simply breathe evenly for a few moments until your breathing is completely relaxed. Then close the left nostril, by gently pressing on the side of your nose with your middle finger, and breathe in through the right nostril. Slowly mentally repeat "AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM." Then press the thumb on the right nostril and breathe out through the left nostril to the count of five heartbeats, mentally repeating "AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM, AUM." Then breathe in through the left nostril, again to five heartbeats, while repeating AUM. Then close the left nostril and expel the breath through the right nostril. Inhale next through the same nostril, and so on, chanting AUM to five heartbeats each time you inhale or exhale. Perform pranayama in this way for ten to fifteen minutes and feel the pranic power begin to rise within you. The devotee seated thusly in meditation becomes strong and unshakable.

Later, after you have adjusted the physical body to breathing in this way and it is no longer an effort or strain, you may perform the next phase of this pranayama. This is the holding of the breath for five counts, mentally repeating Aum five times before you exhale. While you retain the breath these five counts, hold the two nostrils closed with your thumb and middle finger gently pressing upon them both. A lovely rhythm will be attained as awareness becomes centered in the inner mind.

Consciously relax your physical body. Breathe deeply and diaphragmatically. Let go of tensions in your solar plexus. Breathe as a baby breathes, not by moving the chest up and down, but by allowing the diaphragm to lower and expand naturally, moving the abdomen out and in. Think of the action of a bellows, which when expanded creates a vacuum and allows air to enter.

REVIEW

1. Perform the alternate nostril pranayama for greater balance of your energies.

2. Work to be relaxed and breath diaphragmatically during pranayama.

Regular introspection and religious study can be thought of as "mental maintenance." It is the setting aside of a period of time each day for making small adjustments, as well as for working through major difficulties--a time in which we face our present mental condition and apply our knowledge to keep the mechanism running smoothly. Regular mental maintenance assures good mental health. Mental health is a positive frame of mind in which all problems are regarded as challenges and are faced and handled on a day-to-day basis with the help of God, Gods and guru.

The body is a temple, the controlled mind the acolyte. Love is the puja. Know that! Through this device you'll find that naught is lacking. That is what the Vedas all declare.

SIVA YOGASWAMI

INNER KNOWING

You will find that knowledge awakened from within you is quite different from surface intellectual knowledge. It is more useful, for it is your own. You have earned it through controlling your mind and developing a sensitive nature. Knowledge awakened from within you is experiential knowledge. One such inner knowing is to realize from within yourself that Brahmachariya is the conduct by which one may attain prolonged experiences of Satchidananda, the all-pervasive presence of God Siva.

HELP FROM THE DEVAS

During your vigil each day, you are keeping an inner appointment with the devas. You are not alone. Often the devas hover around you and give you psychic protection through chanting "OM NAMASIVAYA" and sending colorful rays of blessing. Their service to you is to help you grow and advance spiritually, and in turn they, too, grow and advance themselves. They will lend more help and assistance if they are asked, in the same way that you are more inclined to lend your assistance to a friend in this physical world if he asks for your help. If he does not, you would assume that he is managing quite well on his own. Your prayerful thoughts are the permission the devas require to help you in more specific ways. The further along one is in brahmachariya, the easier it is for the devas to read his thought messages.

REVIEW

1. Daily mental maintenance is essential to peace of mind.

2. The devas want to help you, and will if you request their aid.

It is essential that each devotee make a firm decision as to which of the two paths he or she will follow in life. As you know, the two paths are that of the grihastha and that of the monastic. Both are secure dharmas, or patterns of life, within our Saivite tradition. When firmly grounded within one or the other, the individual is guided along through traditional training, pressures and responsibilities.

CHALLENGE IS THE GRIST OF THE MILL

Occasionally a devotee will try to remain between the two paths, unwilling or afraid to submit to the responsibilities and challenges that will have to be faced. Those who understand the laws of dharma, however, know that these inherent challenges are the grist of the mill of life which helps each devotee to grow and evolve spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

By avoiding the choice of dharmas, one only delays his progress and makes it difficult for the community of devotees to respond to him in the proper way. In addition, he denies himself many of the joys of a traditional life within the secure confines of one of the two paths. This is not to say that the devotee should rush headlong into a decision. But generally a direction should be set in early years so that the proper training can be obtained. As our Catechism states:

Most will choose married life, and they should be schooled-- the boys in technical skills and education and the girls in household arts and culture. If a young boy expresses a desire to become a monastic, the parents should not discourage that inclination. It is a great blessing for the family to have a son become a Saivite monastic.

If you are interested in monastic life, write to me, and together we will determine if it is your proper dharma to enter a Saivite monastery to serve Lord Siva and continue your spiritual unfoldment, having settled the patterns of your karma with your family and friends. Monastic life is an essential part of Hinduism, today as it always has been and always will be.

REVIEW

1. To make spiritual progress, following one of the two paths is essential.

2. Each dharma, monastic and householder, guides the individual along through traditional training, pressures and responsibilities.

Saivites have always recommended arranged marriages over any other kind. Arranged marriages are not old-fashioned, they are wise ways of mating people for long-term happiness and healthy, happy, intelligent children. In every country today, arranged marriages are found to be the best in the long term and free from many problems when arranged properly. Anyone who is going to follow the householder path should know that this is the proper way to proceed.

ASSURING COMPATIBILITY

Hindu Vedic astrology plays the most important part in arranging a marriage. The horoscopes of both the boy and girl have to be compatible. Both families also are involved. For a proper marriage, with the necessary support group to see it through the hard times, the blessings of both families are essential. A marriage is often looked at as a marriage of two families. The potential bride and groom must realize this and know that if they go against their parents' wishes, or if the two families do not accept each other and blend as one, the couple will be on their own to swim together or sink together. If one match is not agreeable, another should be sought. Another important factor is that both must be of the same religious sect for long life and a happy marriage. This may not seem important if both are not religiously active, but this may change in future years and can lead to separation and divorce.

The first and the last important factor in a good marriage is that both the boy and girl must be comfortable with each other. Love marriages that are not arranged by the parents are fully acceptable if the astrology is excellent and the parents on both sides agree and both the girl and the boy are of the same religious denomination. This seems a lot to ask or even hope for in this modern, fast-moving world, but it is the ideal. Most families begin early in finding the proper mate for their children from among the children of other families that they know. They consult astrologers regularly until a match is found. Sometimes the boy and girl are allowed to get to know each other long before they are aware that a marriage is being arranged for them. Of course, if they do not get along well, the matter is dropped and the search is on again.

REVIEW

1. Marriages wisely arranged are generally the most successful.

2. Compatibility of nature, astrology and religion is essential.

3. Most important is a natural affinity between the partners.

It is said that when man first killed a kinsman that great strength came into the nerve system of the animal body of all upon this planet. Normal, seasonal cycles of mating turned into promiscuity. The population increased and is increasing even now with this intensification of kundalini fire through the sexual nature of men and women.

Through the ancient traditions of Saivite monasticism, the inner laws of brahmachariya have been preserved down through the centuries to help guide humanity through the Kali Yuga.

This knowledge records the methods of how to preserve the vital energy within the body of men and women so that Saivism, the remembrance of Siva and His crystal clear shakti, can be passed through the darkness of the Kali Yuga in unbroken continuity. For only through the power of the tapas of brahmachariya can His shakti be passed on from one to another until the individual's shakti finally accrues enough intensity so that the brahmachari becomes as Lord Siva Himself.

Brahmachariya is holding the power of the divine within the core of the individual spine so that, as Lord Siva sends His power through the five great winds of the astral body within the physical body, the winds adjust among themselves and emanate a shakti strong enough to adjust the five great psychic fluids within everyone around. This power of brahmachariya is disseminated through sublimation then transmutation of the sexual force.

Transmutation occurs automatically through regular daily sadhana, the rigors of positive living and adherence to the ceremonial customs of our religion. It is when fear pervades a country or the planet that the impulses of the animal nerve system cause desires for mating to occur for the prolongation of the species. During intercourse, the astral bodies of the man and woman merge together and conception may occur, as a person in the Devaloka gains a body from the woman to enter this world.

REVIEW

1. The intensification of kundalini fire through the animal nature gives rise to fear and intensity in the sexual instincts of the population.

2. Brahmachariya is holding the power of the divine within the spine.

3. This same force, through conception, brings a soul into physical birth.

The connection formed between a man and a woman during intercourse makes a psychic, astral, umbilical cord-like tube in the lower astral plane world which lasts for twelve years or more. Providing no other connection with the same or other individual occurred in the meantime, the tube would slowly wear away during the ensuing years. This is provided that, at the same time, sadhana or tapas is performed and regular pilgrimages and visits to Saivite temples are made.

Brahmachariya sadhana begins once a vrata is taken by the virgin boy or girl. For others, brahmachariya sadhana begins after the last sexual encounter with a member of the opposite sex has occurred and when a conscious decision is made to begin the practice of brahmachariya.

All the energy of the body becomes directed in the channel of sex when the consciousness is coupled or coordinated with the will to release or dissipate this energy. The mental processes then become slow and sluggish, as does the body, if carried to excess. A remedy to this is the reverse. The mind will then become awakened, and the body will begin to glow.

RAJA YOGA

ASTRAL MAGNETISM AND TEMPTATION

While in the process of brahmachariya, those who have had sexual encounters with one or more members of the opposite sex experience times of trial. Great temptation may occur on the physical plane as the astral matter of the animal nerve system and systems of fluids and odors that attract the opposite sex store up in great abundance.

This causes a magnetism which attracts those of the opposite sex. Especially attracted will be those of a similar nature and deportment as those of past encounters.

REVIEW

1. Intercourse between a man and woman creates a psychic connecting tube in the astral world which lasts for twelve years.

2. The requisites for formal brahmachariya practice are the start of celibacy, knowledge of brahmachariya, and the performance of sadhana.

3. Those beginning brahmachariya may experience strong temptation because of magnetism and past habit patterns.

The force of kundalini flows as a river through men and women. Sexual intercourse gives that river an outlet, creates a channel, a psychic astral tube between their muladhara chakras. After the first intercourse, awareness is turned outward into the external world and the man or woman is more vulnerable to the forces of desire. The ramification of the intellect can now be experienced more than ever before. If the force is contained within the marriage convenant with blessings from the Devaloka and Sivaloka, rays similar to the astral tube established between the couple are established between each of them through the higher chakras with the Mahadevas and devas. A holy state of matrimony has been entered into. The Hindu Catechism states,

When a young virgin man and woman marry and share physical intimacy with each other, their union is very strong and their marriage stable. This is due to the subtle, psychic forces of the human nerve system. Their psychic forces, or nadis, grow together and they form a one body and a one mind. This is the truest marriage and the strongest, seldom ending in separation or divorce. Conversely, if the man or woman have had intercourse before the marriage, the emotional/psychic closeness of the marriage will suffer, and this in proportion to the extent of promiscuity. Through marriage a man and a woman each fulfill their dharma. A man and a woman are physically, emotionally and spiritually complete in marriage. He needs her tenderness, companionship and encouragement, while she needs his strength, love and understanding.

HIGHER RAYS AND LOWER ASTRAL TUBES

Higher rays and the lower astral-psychic tubes that are created between husband and wife can contain the forces of desire within them. They also control the instinctive curiosities of the intellect, allowing its full power to manifest and create a productive and abundant life for the family which has continuity and consistency. A life of dharma can be lived.

REVIEW

1. Sexual intercourse creates a psychic, energy channel.

2. These energies are contained and guided within a sanctified marriage.

when completed Discipline

1. Send a prayer to Lord Muruga at the Kadavul Hindu Temple on two occasions, requesting His aid and blessings in your brahmachariya practice.

2. Learn the pranayama practice in lesson 23.

3. Try to feel and inwardly observe the exchange of energies that occurs when you are speaking with a member of the opposite sex.

4. Go one week without engaging in lustfully watching any member of the opposite sex.

5. Inwardly observe a happily married couple and try to discern the quality of oneness and psychic protection which surrounds them.

6. Ponder one or two marriage matches that you know of and see if your conclusions agree with those of lesson 25.

7. Think deeply about your choice of dharmas for this life and if you have not already made this decision, take at least one small step closer to it in your mind.