La práctica espiritual

Hay persona que identifican una práctica espiritual con un ambiente exótico y extraño a la gente, cuando esa parte interna de nuestro ser nos acompaña des del nacimiento y lo que revela es una visión mucho más enfocada y definida de la realidad que rodea nuestra vida cotidiana. No es algo que se pueda practicar una o dos veces por semana o pueda pretenderse aprender, porque es algo innato en el alma humana que eventualmente se puede manifestar en las persona que están cultivando ese aspecto. No es una cuestión de buscar algo insólito y confuso, sino más bien entrar en un eje de extrema realidad y comprensión. Por lo cual la practica espiritual no se puede definir por el ambiente externo y el decorado, sino por la intención con la que uno mismo  en su interior la desarrolla.
Es como si alguien cocina como un acto de amor o lo hace solamente para preparar algo para alimentarse, es la intención lo que define el acto.

Chakras: Energy Vortices from the book prana and pranayama 3/3

Vishuddhi chakra
Vishuddhi is the purification centre and is known as the fountain of youth. According to tantric philosophy, amrita or the nectar of life falls down from bindu into this chakra, generating vitality, health and longevity. In the yogic texts it is stated that with the awakening of this centre all diseased
states can be reversed, and even an old person can become young once again.
When vishuddhi is activated cool, sweet drops of nectar drip down into the throat, causing a feeling of blissful intoxication. The ability to neutralize poison, both internally and externally, is also associated with vishuddhi. At this level all the poisonous and negative experiences of life can be absorbed and transformed into a state of bliss.
Vishuddhi is associated with vijnanamaya kosha and initiates higher mental development. It is the centre for receiving sound vibrations and acts like a transistor radio, allowing one to tune into the thoughts of others, whether close by or far away. When vishuddhi is purified, the sense of hearing becomes very sharp, not only through the ears, but through the mind.
Vishuddhi is located behind the throat pit in the spine and is associated with the thyroid gland. The element is ether or akasha. By meditating on vishuddhi, the mind becomes free of thought, pure and empty, like space. Vishuddhi is seen as a violet lotus with sixteen petals. Its bija mantra is Ham.
Ajna chakra
Ajna literally means 'command' and is the monitoring centre, also known as the guru chakra. It is the point of confluence where the three main nadis, energy channels: ida, pingala and sushumna, merge into one stream of consciousness and flow up to sahasrara. During deep meditation, when all the senses have been withdrawn and one enters into the dimension of shoonya, or void, guru or the higher consciousness guides the aspirant from ajna to sahasrara by issuing commands through this centre.
Ajna is the centre of mind and represents a higher level of awareness. It is also known as the eye of Shiva, the third eye or the eye of intuition, which gazes inward rather than outward. It is often called divya chakshu, the divine eye, or jnana chakshu, the eye of wisdom, because the spiritual aspirant receives revelation and insight into the underlying nature of

existence through this centre. Ajna is the doorway through which one enters the psychic or astral dimension. When this centre is developed one acquires psychic powers. Direct mind-to-mind communication takes place at this level.
At ajna lies the rudra granthi, the knot of Shiva. This knot is symbolic of attachment to the psychic personality and to the siddhis which accompany the awakening of ajna chakra. It effectively blocks one's spiritual evolution until attach-ment to psychic phenomena is overcome and the knot is freed. The trigger point for ajna is located at the eyebrow centre. It is known as bhrumadhya and is an important focal point for the practice of meditation, concentration and visualization.
The development of ajna is very important for success in pranic science. Prana can never be experienced in the form of light unless ajna is developed to some extent. The vision of light is usually seen first at ajna or bhrumadhya, or in chidakasha, the space of consciousness, which is directly associated with ajna. In the practice of prana vidya, ajna acts as the control centre for the distribution of prana. If the vision of light at ajna is well developed, one will have no difficulty in visualizing the raising of prana and its movement throughout the body. Otherwise, the imagination must be used until the actual experience develops.
Ajna is associated with vijnanamaya kosha. It is located at the top of the spinal cord in the mid-brain and corresponds to the pineal gland. The tattwa or element is mind. This is the point where the mind changes from gross to subde, from outward to inward. Ajna is represented by a silver lotus with two petals. The bija mantra is Om.
Bindu
Bindu means 'point'. It is the point of creation where oneness first divides into multiplicity, the ultimate point from which all things manifest and into which all things return. Within bindu is contained the evolutionary potential for the myriad objects of the universe, the blueprint for creation. Bindu is

the gateway to shoonya. It is located at the top back of the head, at the point where Hindu brahmins keep a tuft of hair called shikha.
Bindu is represented by a crescent moon and a drop of white nectar. The tantric texts describe a small depression or pit within the higher centres of the brain which contains a minute secretion of fluid. In the centre of that tiny secretion is a small point of elevation, like an island in the middle of a lake. In the psycho-physiological framework, this tiny point is considered to be bindu.
The moon at bindu produces amrita, the life-giving nectar, and the sun at manipura consumes it. This means that during the course of life, the drop of nectar produced at bindu falls down to manipura, where it is consumed by the fire element. Due to this process one suffers from the three ailments of vyadhi, disease, jara, old age; and mrityu, death. Yoga and tantra employ techniques by which one is able to reverse this process, so that the amrita is retained at vishuddhi, or sent back up from manipura to vishuddhi, and then to bindu. In this way perfected yogis have experienced immortality.
The first manifestation of creation was nada or sound, and bindu is also the point where the original nada emanates. Bindu is associated with anandamaya kosha. When bindu is awakened, the transcendental sound of Om is heard. Bindu is very important in prana vidya and in many higher yogas.
Sahasrara
Sahasrara is the seat of supreme consciousness, located at the crown of the head. Actually it is not a psychic centre at all, because it is beyond the realm of the psyche. Sahasrara is the totality, the absolute, the highest point of human evolu-tion, which results from the merging of cosmic consciousness with cosmic prana. The experience of cosmic prana is the aim of the science of prana. Once mahaprana is experienced, one no longer needs to practise techniques. Transmission of energy will take place spontaneously with a thought, gesture, word or look.

Sahasrara is the master key that controls the awakening of all the chakras from mooladhara to ajna. The chakras are only switches; their potential power lies in sahasrara. When the kundalini shakti reaches sahasrara, self-realization or samadhi dawns. At this point, individual consciousness dies and universal consciousness is born. Sahasrara is infinite in dimension, like a huge radiant dome. It is visualized as a thousand-petalled lotus, unfolding from the crown of the head in all directions into eternity. Sahasrara is associated with anandamaya kosha.

Chakras: Energy Vortices from the book prana and pranayama 2/3

Swadhisthana chakra
Swadhisthana means 'one's own abode'. It is located at the coccyx, very near to mooladhara, and is also responsible for the awakening of prana shakti. This centre is the storehouse of all the latent samskaras and impressions, which are considered to be the substrata of individual existence. Therefore, it forms a karmic block, making it difficult for the awakened prana to pass through this area.
In psychological terms, swadhisthana is associated with the subconscious mind and is responsible for drowsiness and sleep. It is also related with the reproductive organs and the sense of taste. The desire for pleasure, especially in the form of food and sex, increases when this centre is activated. These desires can become an obstacle to the awakening of prana at this level. In order to pass through this centre one needs to develop willpower.
In relation to the three gunas, or qualities of nature, mooladhara and swadhisthana are predominantly influenced by tamas or lethargy, dullness and ignorance. Swadhisthana is associated with pranamaya kosha and the water element. It is represented by a lotus flower with six vermilion petals. The bija mantra for this centre is Vam.
Manipura chakra
Manipura literally means 'the city of jewels'. Located behind the navel in the spine, its development is very important for success in the pranic science, as it is the storehouse of prana. This centre is associated with heat, vitality, dynamism, generation and preservation. Manipura is often compared with the dazzling orb of the sun, without which there would be no life. As the sun radiates light and energy, so manipura radiates and distributes pranic energy throughout the body, regulating and fuelling life's processes.
Manipura is predominantly influenced by rajas - activity, dynamism, strength and will. This centre is associated with pranamaya kosha and its element is fire. It is represented by a bright yellow lotus with ten petals. Its bija mantra is Ram.

Anahata chakra
Anahata means 'unstruck' or 'unbeaten'. It is the seat of anahad nada, the cosmic sound, which is experienced only in the highest state of meditation. This sound is unstruck, because it is not caused by any external form of friction nor can it be heard by the ears, mind or psyche. It is transcen-dental sound, which can only be perceived by the pure consciousness.
Anahata is the heart centre and is responsible for the awakening of refined emotions. The person with a developed anahata is generally very sensitive to the feelings of others. This centre relates to the sense of touch and its awakening bestows the power to heal others either by touch or by radiating energy. Many people who perform miraculous healing do so through the agency of anahata.
The heart centre is the seat of divine love. It is here that emotion is channelled into devotion. Vishnu granthi, the second psychic knot, representing the bondage of emotional attachment, is located here. When this knot is opened, one becomes free of all selfish, egoistic and emotional attachment, and attains mental and emotional control, equilibrium and peace.
Anahata is associated with manomaya kosha, the mind and emotions. At this level one becomes free of fate and takes control of one's destiny. Hence, the symbol of kalpataru, the wish-fulfilling tree, is also found at this centre. When this tree starts to fructify, whatever one thinks or wishes for comes true. Anahata is located behind the heart in the spine. Its element is air and it is represented by a blue lotus with twelve petals. The bija mantra is Yam.

Chakras: Energy Vortices from the book prana and pranayama 1/3

Mooladhara chakra
Mooladhara is the root chakra and the seat of primal energy, kundalini shakti. In philosophical terms the concept of mooladhara is understood as moola prakriti, the transcendental basis of physical nature. All the objects and forms in this universe must have some basis from which they evolve and to which they return after dissolution. This basis is called moola prakriti, the original source of all evolution. Mooladhara, as moola prakriti, is therefore responsible for everything that manifests in the world of name and form.
In pranic science, mooladhara is the generating station for prana. The awakening of prana starts from mooladhara and ascends the spinal cord via the pingala nadi. Pingala is merely the channel; the energy comes from mooladhara. This centre is also the direct switch for awakening ajna chakra. Without the awakening of prana in mooladhara, there can be no corresponding awakening in ajna. Hence, the relationship between mooladhara and ajna is very important. Mooladhara is the generator and ajna is the distributor.
The location of mooladhara in men is at the perineum, midway between the genital organ and the anus, and about two centimetres inside. In women, it is located at the posterior side of the cervix, midway between the vagina and the uterus. Mooladhara is also the location of brahma granthi, the knot of Brahma. As long as this knot remains intact, the energy located in this area is blocked. Prana shakti awakens the moment this knot is undone. Infinite energy and spiritual experience emanate from mooladhara.
Mooladhara is associated with annamaya kosha and the earth element. In psychological terms mooladhara is
associated with the unconscious mind where the most primitive and deep-rooted instincts and fears lie. It is therefore the gateway to hell as well as to heaven; to the lower as well as the higher life.
Mooladhara chakra may be seen in a state of meditation as a deep red lotus flower with four petals. The red petals are seen in meditation because of electrical discharges, which emit light particles in this region. The pattern of the four-petalled lotus is formed due to the relative proximity of the discharges. Thus the chakras are also known as lotuses. Each chakra has a different number of petals, which indicate the level of pranic intensity in that particular region. The bija mantra, or master key, to mooladhara is Lam.

Swadhisthana chakra
Swadhisthana means 'one's own abode'. It is located at the coccyx, very near to mooladhara, and is also responsible for the awakening of prana shakti. This centre is the storehouse of all the latent samskaras and impressions, which are considered to be the substrata of individual existence. Therefore, it forms a karmic block, making it difficult for the awakened prana to pass through this area.
In psychological terms, swadhisthana is associated with the subconscious mind and is responsible for drowsiness and sleep. It is also related with the reproductive organs and the sense of taste. The desire for pleasure, especially in the form of food and sex, increases when this centre is activated. These desires can become an obstacle to the awakening of prana at this level. In order to pass through this centre one needs to develop willpower.
In relation to the three gunas, or qualities of nature, mooladhara and swadhisthana are predominantly influenced by tamas or lethargy, dullness and ignorance. Swadhisthana is associated with pranamaya kosha and the water element. It is represented by a lotus flower with six vermilion petals. The bija mantra for this centre is Vam.

Manipura chakra
Manipura literally means 'the city of jewels'. Located behind the navel in the spine, its development is very important for success in the pranic science, as it is the storehouse of prana. This centre is associated with heat, vitality, dynamism, generation and preservation. Manipura is often compared with the dazzling orb of the sun, without which there would be no life. As the sun radiates light and energy, so manipura radiates and distributes pranic energy throughout the body, regulating and fuelling life's processes.
Manipura is predominantly influenced by rajas - activity, dynamism, strength and will. This centre is associated with pranamaya kosha and its element is fire. It is represented by a bright yellow lotus with ten petals. Its bija mantra is Ram.

Pancha Kosha: Vital Sheaths from the book prana and pranayama

According to yoga, a human being is capable of experi-encing five dimensions of existence, which are called pancha kosha or five sheaths. These are the five spheres in which a human being lives at any given moment and they range from gross to subtle. The pancha kosha are: i) annamaya kosha, ii) pranamaya kosha, iii) manomaya kosha, iv) vijnanamaya kosha and v) anandamaya kosha.
The first sheath or level of experience is the physical body, or annamaya kosha. The word anna means 'food' and maya 'comprised of'. This is the gross level of existence and is referred to as the food sheath due to its dependence on food, water and air. This sheath is also dependent on prana. While it is possible to live without food for up to six weeks, water for six days, and air for six minutes, life ceases immediately the moment prana is withdrawn from it.
The second sheath is pranamaya kosha, the energy field of an individual. The level of experience here is more subtle than the physical body, which it pervades and supports. This sheath is supported in turn by the subtler koshas. Together, the physical and pranic bodies constitute the basic human structure, which is referred to as atmapuri, city of the soul. They form the vessel for the experience of the higher bodies.
The pranamaya kosha is the basis for the practices of pranayama and prana vidya. It is also described as the pranic,
astral and etheric counterpart of the physical body. It has almost the same shape and dimensions as its flesh and blood vehicle, although it is capable of expansion and contraction. It has been said in the Taittiriya Upanishad (Brahmandavalli:2):

Verily, besides this physical body, which is made of the essence of the food, there is another, inner self comprised of vital energy by which this physical self is filled. Just as the fleshly body is in the form of a person, accordingly this vital self is in the shape of a person.

Clairvoyants see the pranic body as a coloured, luminous cloud or aura around the body, radiating from within the physical body, like the sun flaring from behind the eclipsing moon. Researchers working with a Kirlian high voltage apparatus have obtained similar effects on film. The pranic body is subtler than the physical body and takes longer to disintegrate. This is why the energy field of an amputated limb can be felt for quite some time. As demonstrated in experiments with Kirlian photography, this matrix of energy also allows a damaged part to assume its original shape when healed.
The third sheath is manomaya kosha, the mental dimension. The level of experience is the conscious mind, which holds I he two grosser koshas, annamaya and pranamaya, together as an integrated whole. It is the bridge between the outer and inner worlds, conveying the experiences and sensations of the external world to the intuitive body, and the influences of the causal and intuitive bodies to the gross body.
The fourth sheath is vijnanamaya kosha, the psychic level of experience, which relates to the subconscious and un-conscious mind. This sphere pervades manomaya kosha, but is subtler than it. Vijnanamaya kosha is the link between (he individual and universal mind. Inner knowledge comes
21
astral and etheric counterpart of the physical body. It has almost the same shape and dimensions as its flesh and blood vehicle, although it is capable of expansion and contraction. It has been said in the Taittiriya Upanishad (Brahmandavalli:2):
to the conscious mind from this level. When this sheath is awakened, one begins to experience life at an intuitive level, to see the underlying reality behind outer appearances. This leads to wisdom.
The fifth sheath is anandamaya kosha, the level of bliss and beatitude. This is the causal or transcendental body, the abode of the most subtle prana.

More work in karandavasana

Clases en Tarragona

BKS Iyengar ligth on life quote

What most people want is the same. Most people simply want

physical and mental health, understanding and wisdom, and peace and

freedom. Often our means of pursuing these basic human needs come

apart at the seams, as we are pulled by the different and often competing

demands of human life. Yoga, as it was understood by its sages,

is designed to satisfy all these human needs in a comprehensive, seamless

whole. Its goal is nothing less than to attain the integrity of oneness-

oneness with ourselves and as a consequence oneness with all

that lies beyond ourselves. We become the harmonious microcosm in

the universal macrocosm. Oneness, what I often call integration, is the

foundation for wholeness, inner peace, and ultimate freedom.

Yoga Sutras, Patanjali. Chapter 4: Kaivalya Pāda

 


janma auṣadhi mantra tapaḥ samādhijāḥ siddhayaḥ
The mystic skills are produced
through taking birth in particular species,
or by taking drugs, or by reciting special sounds,
or by physical bodily austerities or
by the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher concentration force, object or person.

jātyantara pariṇāmaḥ prakṛtyāpūrāt
The transformation from one category to another
is by the saturation of the subtle material nature.

nimittaṁ aprayojakaṁ prakṛtīnāṁ
varaṇabhedaḥ tu tataḥ kṣetrikavat
The motivating force of the subtle material energy
is not used except for the disintegration of impediments,
hence it is compared to a farmer.

nirmāṇacittāni asmitāmātrāt
The formation of regions within the mento-emotional energy,
arises only from the sense of identity
which is developed in relation to material nature.

pravṛtti bhede prayojakaṁ cittam ekam anekeṣām
The one mento-emotional energy
is that which is very much used
in numberless different dispersals of energy.

tatra dhyānajam anāśayam
In that case, only subtle activities
which are produced from the effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher reality are without harmful emotions.

karma aśukla akṛṣnaṁ yoginaḥ trividham itareṣām
The cultural activity of the yogis
is neither rewarding nor penalizing,
but others have three types of such action.

tataḥ tadvipāka anuguṇānām
eva abhivyaktiḥ vāsanānām
Subsequently from those cultural activities
there is development according to corresponding features only, bringing about the manifestation of the tendencies
within the mento-emotional energy.

jāti deśa kāla vyavahitānām api ānantaryaṁ smṛti saṁskārayoḥ ekarūpatvāt
Even though circumstances are separated
by status, location and time,
still the impressions which form cultural activities
and the resulting memories, are of one form
and operate on a timeful sequence.

tāsām anāditvaṁ ca āśiṣaḥ nityatvāt
Those memories and impressions are primeval,
without a beginning.
The hope and desire energies are eternal as well.

hetu phala āśraya ālambanaiḥ saṅgṛhītatvāt
eṣām abhāve tad abhāvaḥ
They exist by what holds them together
in terms of cause and effect, supportive base and lifting influence. Otherwise if their causes are not there,
they have no existence whatsoever.

atīta anāgataṁ svarūpataḥ
asti adhvabhedāt dharmāṇām
There is a true form of the past and future,
which is denoted by the different courses of their characteristics.

te vyakta sūkṣmāḥ guṇātmānaḥ
They are gross or subtle, all depending on their inherent nature.

pariṇāma ekatvāt vastutattvam
The actual composition of an object
is based on the uniqueness of the transformation.

vastusāmye cittabhedāt tayoḥ vibhaktaḥ panthāḥ
Because of a difference
in the mento-emotional energy of two persons,
separate prejudices manifest
in their viewing of the very same object.

na ca ekacitta tantraṁ ced vastu
tat apramāṇakaṁ tadā kiṁ syāt
An object is not dependent
on one person’s mento-emotional perception.
Otherwise, what would happen
if it were not being perceived by that person?

taduparāga apekṣitvāt cittasya vastu jñāta ajñātam
An object is known or unknown,
all depending on the mood and expectation
of the particular mento-emotional energy of the person
in reference to it.

sadā jñātāḥ cittavṛttayaḥ tatprabhoḥ
puruṣasya apariṇāmitvāt
The operations of the mento-emotional energy
are always known to that governor
because of the changelessness of that spirit.

na tat svābhāsaṁ dṛśyatvāt
That mento-emotional energy is not self-illuminative
for it is rather only capable of being perceived.

ekasamaye ca ubhaya anavadhāraṇam
It cannot execute the focus of both at the same time.

cittāntaradṛśye buddhibuddheḥ
atiprasaṅgaḥ smṛtisaṅkaraḥ ca
In the perception of mento-emotional energy
by another such energy,
there would be an intellect
perceiving another intellect independently.
That would cause absurdity and confusion of memory.

citeḥ apratisaṁkramāyāḥ tadākārāpattau svabuddhisaṁvedanam
The perception of its own intellect occurs
when it assumes that form in which there is no movement
from one operation to another.

draṣṭṛ dṛśya uparaktaṁ cittaṁ sarvārtham
The mento-emotional energy which is prejudiced by the perceiver and the perceived, is all evaluating.

tat asaṅkhyeya vāsanābhiḥ citram
api parārthaṁ saṁhatyakāritvāt
Although the mento-emotional energy is diverse
by innumerable subtle impressions,
it acts for the sake of another power
because of its proximity to that other force.

viśeṣadarśinaḥ ātmabhāva bhāvanānivṛttiḥ
There is total stopping
of the operations of mento-emotional energy
for the person who perceives the distinction
between feelings and the spirit itself.

tadā hi vivekanimnaṁ kaivalya prāgbhāraṁ cittam
Then, indeed,
the mento-emotional force is inclined towards discrimination
and gravitates towards the total separation
from the mundane psychology.

tat cchidreṣu pratyayāntarāṇi saṁskārebhyaḥ
Besides that, in the relaxation of the focus,
other mind contents arise in the intervals.
These are based on subtle impressions.

hānam eṣāṁ kleśavat uktam
As authoritatively stated, the complete removal of these
is like the elimination of the mento-emotional afflictions.

prasaṁkhyāne api akusīdasya sarvathā
vivekakhyāteḥ dharmameghaḥ samādhiḥ
For one who sees no gains in material nature,
even while perceiving it in abstract meditation,
he has the super discrimination.
He attained the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to higher reality which is described
as knowing the mento-emotional clouds of energy
which compel a person to perform
according to nature’s way of acting for beneficial results.

tataḥ kleśa karma nivṛttiḥ
Subsequently there is stoppage of the operation
of the mento-emotional energy
in terms of generation of cultural activities
and their resulting afflictions.

tadā sarva āvaraṇa malāpetasya
jñānasya ānantyāt jñeyam alpam
Then, because of the removal of all mental darkness
and psychological impurities,
that which can be known through the mento-emotional energy, seems trivial in comparison to the unlimited knowledge available when separated from it.

tataḥ kṛtārthānāṁ pariṇāmakrama samāptir guṇānām
Thus, the subtle material nature, having fulfilled its purpose,
its progressive alterations end.

kṣaṇa pratiyogī pariṇāma
aparānta nirgrāhyaḥ kramaḥ
The process, of which moments are a counterpart,
and which causes the alterations,
comes to an end and is clearly perceived.

puruṣārtha śūnyānāṁ guṇānāṁ
pratiprasavaḥ kaivalyaṁ
svarūpapratiṣṭhā vā citiśaktiḥ iti
Separation of the spirit
from the mento-emotional energy (kaivalyam)
occurs when there is neutrality
in respect to the influence of material nature,
when the yogi’s psyche becomes devoid
of the general aims of a human being.
Thus at last, the spirit is established in its own form
as the force empowering the mento-emotional energy.

Yoga Journal Març-Abr. 2003 Richard Freeman

Matthew Sweeney Interview

Yoga sutras esquema 1

the nine distractions for the mind (Patanjali)

Obstacles are to be expected: There are a number of predictable obstacles (1.30) that arise on the inner journey, along with several consequences (1.31) that grow out of them. While these can be a challenge, there is a certain comfort in knowing that they are a natural, predictable part of the process. Knowing this can help to maintain the faith and conviction that were previously discussed as essential (1.20).

Predictable Obstacles (1.30)
Illness	Dullness		Doubt
Negligence	Laziness		Cravings
Misperceptions	Failure		Instability
Companions to those Obstacles (1.31)
Mental and physical pain		Sadness and frustration
Unsteadiness of the body		Irregular breath

One-pointedness is the solution: There is a single, underlying principle that is the antidote for these obstacles and their consequences, and that is the one-pointedness of mind (1.32). Although there are many forms in which this one-pointedness can be practiced, the principle is uniform. If the mind is focused, then it is far less likely to get entangled and lost in the mire of delusion that can come from these obstacles (1.4).
Remember one truth or object: Repeatedly remember one aspect of truth, or one object (1.32). It may be any object, including one of the several that are suggested in the coming sutras (1.33-1.39). It may be related to your religion, an aspect of your own being, a principle, or some other pleasing object. It may be a mantra, short prayer, or affirmation. While there is great breadth of choice in objects, a sincere aspirant will choose wisely the object for this practice, possibly along with the guidance of someone familiar with these practices.

Shri K. pattabhi Jois and Sharat performing Puja London 2002

Ashtanga en Indra

PATANJALI—PHILOSOPHER AND YOGIN Georg Feuerstein

Most yogins, like most ordinary people, do not have an intellectual bent. But yogins, unlike
ordinary people, turn this into an advantage by cultivating wisdom and the kind of psychic and
spiritual experiences that the rational mind tends to deny and prevent. And yet there always have been
those Yoga practitioners who were brilliant intellectuals as well. Thus, Shankara of the eighth century

C.E. is not only remembered as the greatest proponent of Hindu nondualist metaphysics, or Advaita
Vedânta, but also as a great adept of Yoga. The Buddhist teacher Nâgârjuna, who lived in the second
century C.E., was not only a celebrated Tantric alchemist and thaumaturgist (siddha) but also a
philosophical genius of the first order. In the sixteenth century C.E., Vijnâna Bhikshu wrote profound
commentaries on all the major schools of thought. He was a noted thinker who greatly impressed the
German pioneering indologist and founder of comparative mythology Max Muller. At the same time
he was a spiritual practitioner of the first order, following Vedântic Jnâna-Yoga.
Similarly, Patanjali, the author or compiler of the Yoga- Sûtra, was obviously a Yoga adept who
also had a great head on his shoulders. As Yoga researcher Christopher Chappie wrote:
Some have said that Patanjali has made no specific philosophical contribution in his presentation
of the yoga school. To the contrary, I suggest that his is a masterful contribution communicated
through nonjudgmentally presenting diverse practices, a methodology deeply rooted in the
culture and traditions of India.1
The Yoga of Patanjali represents the climax of a long development of yogic technology. Of all the
numerous schools that existed in the opening centuries of the Common Era, Patanjali’s school was the
one to become acknowledged as the authoritative system (darshana) of the Yoga tradition. There are
numerous parallels between Patanjali’s Yoga and Buddhism, and it is unknown whether these are
simply due to the synchronous development of Hindu and Buddhist Yoga or are the result of a special
interest in Buddhist teachings on the part of Patanjali. If Patanjali lived in the second century C.E., as
is proposed here, he may well have been exposed to the considerable influence of Buddhism at that
time. But perhaps both explanations apply.
Disappointingly, we know next to nothing about Patanjali. Hindu tradition identifies him with the
famous grammarian of the same name who lived in the second century B.C.E. and authored the Mahâ-
Bhâshya. The consensus of scholarly opinion, however, considers this unlikely. Both the contents and
the terminology of the Yoga-Sûtra suggest the second century C.E. as a probable date for Patanjali,
whoever he may have been.3
In addition to the grammarian, India knows of several other Patanjalis. The name is mentioned as a
clan (gotra) name of the Vedic priest Âsurâyana. The old Shata-Pata-Brâhmana mentions a Patancala
Kâpya, whom the nineteenth-century German scholar Albrecht Weber wrongly tried to connect with
Patanjali.4 Then there was a Sâmkhya teacher by this name whose views are mentioned in the Yukti-
Dîpikâ (late seventh or early eighth century C.E.). Possibly another Patanjali is credited with the
Yoga-Darpana (“Mirror of Yoga”), a manuscript of unknown date. Finally, there was a Yoga teacher
Patanjali who was part of the South Indian Shaiva tradition. His name may be referred to in the title of
Umâpati Shivâcârya’s fourteenth-century Pâtanjala- Sûtra, which is a work on liturgy at the Natarâja
temple of Cidambaram.
Hindu tradition has it that Patanjali was an incarnation of Ananta, or Shesha, the thousand-headed
ruler of the serpent race that is thought to guard the hidden treasures of the earth. The name Patanjali
is said to have been given to Ananta because he desired to teach Yoga on Earth and fell (pat) from
Heaven onto the palm (anjali) of a virtuous woman, named Gonikâ. Iconography often depicts Ananta
as the couch on which God Vishnu reclines. The serpent lord’s many heads symbolize infinity or
omnipresence. Ananta’s connection to Yoga is not difficult to uncover, since Yoga is the secret
treasure, or esoteric lore, par excellence. To this day, many yogins bow to Ananta before they begin
then- daily round of yogic exercises.
serpent lord, Ahîsha, is saluted as follows:
May He who rules to favor the world in many ways by giving up His original [unmanifest] form
—He who is beautifully coiled and many-mouthed, endowed with lethal poisons and yet
removing the host of afflictions (klesha), who is the source of all wisdom (jnâna), and whose
circle of attendant serpents constantly generates pleasure, who is the divine Lord of Serpents:
May He, the bestower of Yoga, yoked in Yoga, protect you with His pure white body.
Whatever we can say about Patanjali is purely speculative. It is reasonable to assume that he was a
great Yoga authority and most probably the head of a school in which study (svâdhyâya) was regarded
as an important aspect of spiritual practice. In composing his aphorisms (sûtra) he availed himself of
existing works. His own philosophical contribution, as far as it can be gauged from the Yoga-Sûtra
itself, was modest. He appears to have been a compiler and systematizer rather than an originator. It is
of course possible that he has written other works that have not survived.

Hiranyagarbha

Western Yoga enthusiasts often regard Patanjali as the father of Yoga, but this is misleading.
According to post-classical traditions, the originator of Yoga was Hiranyagarbha. Although some texts
speak of Hiranyagarbha as a Self-realized adept who lived in ancient times, this notion is doubtful.
The name means “Golden Germ” and in Vedânta cosmomythology refers to the womb of creation, to
the first being to emerge from the unmanifest ground of the world and the matrix of all the myriad
forms of creation. Thus, Hiranyagarbha is a primal cosmic force rather than an individual. To speak of
him—or it—as the originator of Yoga makes sense when one understands that Yoga essentially
consists in altered states of awareness through which the yogin tunes into nonordinary levels of
reality. In this sense, then, Yoga is always revelation. Hiranyagarbha is simply a symbol for the
power, or grace, by which the spiritual process is initiated and revealed.
Later Yoga commentators believed that there was an actual person called Hiranyagarbha who had
authored a treatise on Yoga. Such a work is indeed referred to by many other authorities, but this does
not necessarily say anything about Hiranyagarbha. The most detailed information about that scripture
is found in the twelfth chapter of the Ahirbudhnya-Samhitâ (“Collection of the Dragon of the Deep”),
which is a work of the medieval Vaishnava tradition. According to this scripture, Hiranyagarbha
composed two works on Yoga, one on nirodha-yoga (“Yoga of restriction”) and one on karma-yoga
(“Yoga of action”). The former apparently dealt with the higher stages of the spiritual process, notably
ecstatic states, whereas the latter is said to have been concerned with spiritual attitudes and forms of
behavior.
There may well have been a work on Yoga of this nature, and if it did exist, it might even have
antedated Patanjali’s compilation. In any case, Hiranyagarbha’s work is not remembered to have been
a Sûtra, though it is quite possible that other Sûtras on Yoga existed prior to Patanjali’s composition.
It is a fact, however, that Patanjali’s Yoga-Sûtra has eclipsed all earlier Sûtra works within the Yoga
tradition, perhaps because it was the most comprehensive or systematic.

THE CODIFICATION OF WISDOM—THE YOGA-SÛTRA
Patanjali gave the Yoga tradition its classical format, and hence his school is often referred to as
Classical Yoga. He composed his aphoristic work in the heyday of philosophical speculation and
debate in India, and it is to his credit that he supplied the Yoga tradition with a reasonably
homogeneous theoretical framework that could stand up against the many rival traditions, such as
Vedânta, Nyâya, and not least Buddhism. His composition is in principle a systematic treatise
concerned with defining the most important elements of Yoga theory and practice. Patanjali’s school
was at one time enormously influential, as can be deduced from the many references to the Yoga-
Sûtra, as well as the criticisms of it, in the scriptures of other philosophical systems.
Each school of Hinduism has produced its own Sûtra, with the Sanskrit word sûtra meaning literally
“thread.” A Sûtra composition consists of aphoristic statements that together furnish the reader with a
thread which strings together all the memorable ideas characteristic of that school of thought. A sûtra,
then, is a mnemonic device, rather like a knot in one’s handkerchief or a scribbled note in one’s diary
or appointment book. Just how concise the sûtra style of writing is can be gauged from the following
opening aphorisms of Patanjali’s scripture:
1.1: atha yogânushâsanam (atha yoga-anushâsanam) “Now [commences] the exposition of Yoga.”
1.2: yogashcittavrittinirodhah (yogash citta-vritti- nirodhah)
“Yoga is the restriction of the whirls of consciousness.”
1.3: tadâ drashthuh svarûpe’ vasthânam (tada drashthuh sva-rûpe’ vasthânam)
“Then [i.e., when that restriction has been accomplished] the ‘Seer’ [i.e., the transcendental Self]
appears.”
Of course, such terms as citta (consciousness), vritti (lit. “whirl”), and drashtri (“seer”) are
themselves highly condensed expressions for rather complex concepts. Even such a seemingly
straightforward word as atha (“now”), which opens most traditional Sanskrit treatises, is packed with
meanings, as is evident from the many pages of exegesis dedicated to it in some of the commentaries
on the Yoga-Sûtra.
In his monumental History of Indian Philosophy, Surendranath Dâsgupta made the following
observations about this style of writing:
The systematic treatises were written in short and pregnant half-sentences (sûtras) which did not
elaborate the subject in detail, but served only to hold before the reader the lost threads of
memory of elaborate disquisitions with which he was already thoroughly acquainted. It seems,
therefore, that these pithy half-sentences were like lecture hints, intended for those who had
direct elaborate oral instructions on the subject. It is indeed difficult to guess from the sutras the
extent of their significance, or how far the discussions which they gave rise to in later days were
originally intended by them Our knowledge of Pâtanjala-Yoga is primarily, though not entirely, based on the Yoga-Sûtra. As we
will see, many commentaries have been written on it that aid our understanding of this system. As
scholarship has demonstrated, however, these secondary works do not appear to have come forth from
Patanjali’s school itself, and therefore their expositions need to be taken with a good measure of
discrimination.
Turning to the Yoga-Sûtra itself, we find that it consists of 195 aphorisms or sutras, though some
editions have 196. A number of variant readings are known, but these are generally insignificant and
do not change the meaning of Patanjali’s work. The aphorisms are distributed over four chapters as
follows:
1. samâdhi-pâda, chapter on ecstasy
— 51 aphorisms
2. sâdhanâ-pâda, chapter on the path
— 55 aphorisms
3. vibhûti-pâda, chapter on the powers
— 55 aphorisms
4. kaivalya-pâda, chapter on liberation
— 34 aphorisms
This division is somewhat arbitrary and appears to be the result of an inadequate reediting of the
text. A close study of the Yoga-Sûtra shows that in its present form it cannot possibly be considered an
entirely uniform creation. For this reason various scholars have attempted to reconstruct the original
by dissecting the available text into several subtexts of supposedly independent origins. These efforts,
however, have not been very successful, because they leave us with inconclusive fragments. It is,
therefore, preferable to take a more generous view of Patanjali’s work and grant the possibility that it
is far more homogenous than Western scholarship has tended to assume.
As I have shown in my own detailed examination of the Yoga-Sûtra, this great scripture could well
be a composite of only two distinct Yoga lineages. On the one hand there is the Yoga of eight limbs or
ashta-anga- yoga (written ashtângayoga), and on the other, there is the Yoga of Action ( kriyâ-yoga). I
have suggested that the section dealing with the eight constituent practices may even be a quotation
rather than a later interpolation. If this were indeed correct, the widespread equation of Classical Yoga
with the eightfold path would be a historical curiosity, since the bulk of the Yoga-Sûtra deals with
kriyâ-yoga. But textual reconstructions of this kind are always tentative, and we must keep an open
mind about this as about so many other aspects of Yoga and Yoga history.
The advantage of the kind of methodological approach to the study of the Yoga-Sûtra that I have
proposed is that it presumes the text’s homogeneity or “textual innocence” and thus does not do a
priori violence to the text, as is the case with those textual analyses that set out to prove that a text is
in fact corrupt or composed of fragments and interpolations. At any rate, these scholarly quibbles do
not detract from the merit of the work as it is extant today. Now, as then, the Yoga practitioner can
benefit greatly from the study of Patanjali’s compilation.

En la escuela Indra

Yoga Sutras, Patanjali. Chapter 3: Vibhūti Pāda

deśa bandhaḥ cittasya dhāraṇā

Linking of the attention to a concentration force or person,
involves a restricted location in the mento-emotional energy.

tatra pratyayaḥ ekatānatā dhyānam
When in that location, there is one continuous threadlike flow
of one’s instinctive interest that is the effortless linking
of the attention to a higher concentration force or person.

tadeva arthamātranirbhāsaṁ
svarūpaśūnyam iva samādhiḥ
That same effortless linkage of the attention when experienced
as illumination of the higher concentration force or person,
while the yogi feels as if devoid of himself,
is samādhi or continuous effortless linkage of his attention
to the special person, object, or force.

trayam ekatra saṁyamaḥ
The three as one practice is the complete restraint.

tajjayāt prajñālokaḥ
From the mastery of that complete restraint
of the mento-emotional energy,
one develops the illuminating insight.

tasya bhūmiṣu viniyogaḥ
The practice of this complete restraint occurs in stages.

trayam antaraṅgaṁ pūrvebhyaḥ
In reference to the preliminary stages of yoga,
these three higher states concern the psychological organs.

tadapi bahiraṅgaṁ nirbījasya
But even that initial mastership
of the three higher stages of yoga,
is external in reference to meditation,
which is not motivated by the mento-emotional energy.

abhibhava prādurbhāvau nirodhakṣaṇa
cittānvayaḥ nirodhapariṇāmaḥ
When the connection
with the mento-emotional energy momentarily ceases
during the manifestation and disappearance phases
when there is expression or suppression of the impressions,
that is the restraint of the transforming mento-emotional energy.

tasya praśāntavāhita saṁskārāt
Concerning this practice of restraint,
the impressions derived cause a flow of spiritual peace.

sarvārthatā ekāgratayoḥ kṣaya udayau
cittasya samādhipariṇāmaḥ
The decrease of varying objectives
in the mento-emotional energy
and the increase of the one aspect within it,
is the change noticed
in the practice of continuous effortless linking of the attention
to higher concentration forces, objects or persons.

tataḥ punaḥśānta uditau tulya pratyayaḥu
cittasya ekāgratāpariṇāmaḥ
Then again, when the mind’s content is the same as it was
when it is subsiding and when it is emerging,
that is the transformation called
“having one aspect in front of, or before the attention”.

etena bhūtendriyeṣu dharma lakṣaṇa avasthā
pariṇāmāḥ vyākhyātāḥ
By this description of the changes, quality and shape,
the changing conditions of the various states of matter,
as well as of the sensual energy, was described.

śānta udita avyapadeśya dharma anupātī dharmī
When the collapsed, emergent and latent forces
reach full retrogression, that is the most basic condition.

karma anyatvaṁ pariṇāma anyatve hetuḥ
The cause of a difference in the transformation
is the difference in the sequential changes.

pariṇāmatraya saṁyamāt atīta anāgatajñānam
From the complete restrain of the mento-emotional energy
in terms of the three-fold transformations within it,
the yogi gets information about the past and future.

śabda artha pratyayānām itaretarādhyāsāt
saṅkaraḥ tatpravibhāga saṁyamāt
sarvabhūta rutajñānam
From the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
In relation to mental clarity,
regarding the intermixture resulting from the superimposition
one for the other, of sound, its meaning and the related mentality, knowledge about the language of all creatures is gained.

saṁskāra sākṣātkaraṇāt pūrvajātijñānam
From direct intuitive perception of the subtle impressions
stored in the memory, the yogi gains knowledge of previous lives.

pratyayasya paracittajñānam
A yogi can know the contents
of the mental and emotional energy
in the mind of others.

na ca tat sālambanaṁ tasya aviṣayī bhūtatvāt
And he does not check a factor
which is the support of that content,
for it is not the actual object in question.

kāya rūpa saṁyamāt tadgrāhyaśakti
stambhe cakṣuḥ prakāśa asaṁprayoge 'ntardhānam
From the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy in relation to the shape of the body, on the suspension of the receptive energy,
there is no contact between light and vision, which results in invisibility.

etena śabdādi antardhānam uktam
By this method,
sound and the related sensual pursuits, may be restrained, which results in the related non -perceptibility.

sopakramaṁ nirupakramaṁ ca karma
tatsaṁyamāt aparāntajñānam ariṣṭebhyaḥ vā
Complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to current and destined cultural activities
results in knowledge of entry into the hereafter.
Or the same result is gained
by the complete restraint in relation to portents.


maitryādiṣu balāni
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to friendliness, he develops that very same power.

baleṣu hasti balādīni
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to strength,
the yogin acquires strength of an elephant.
The same applies to other aspects.

pravṛitti āloka nyāsāt sūkṣma
vyavahita viprakṛṣṭajñānam
From the application of supernatural insight
to the force producing cultural activities,
a yogi gets information about what is subtle, concealed
and what is remote from him.

bhuvanajñānaṁ sūrye saṁyamāt
From the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to the sun god or the sun planet,
knowledge of the solar system is gained.

candre tārāvyūhajñānam
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy,
in reference to the moon or moon-god,
the yogi gets knowledge about the system of stars.

dhruve tadgatijñānam
By the complete restrain of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to the Pole Star,
a yogi can know of the course of planets and stars.

nābhicakre kāyavyūhajñānam
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in relation to the focusing on the navel energy-gyrating center,
the yogi gets knowledge about the layout of his body.

kaṇṭhakūpe kṣutpipāsā nivṛttiḥ
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in focusing on the gullet,
a yogi causes the suppression of hunger and thirst.

kūrmanāḍyāṃ sthairyam
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
in focusing on the kurmanadi subtle nerve,
a yogi acquires steadiness of his psyche.

mūrdhajyotiṣi siddhadarśanam
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
as it is focused on the shining light in the head of the subtle body,
a yogi gets views of the perfected beings.

prātibhāt vā sarvam
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy,
while focusing on the shining organ of divination
in the head of the subtle body,
the yogin gets the ability to know all reality.

hṛdaye cittasaṁvit
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
as it is focused on the causal body in the vicinity of the chest,
the yogi gets thorough insight
into the cause of the mental and emotional energy.

sattva puruṣayoḥ atyantāsaṁkīrṇayoḥ
pratyayaḥ aviśeṣaḥ bhogaḥ parārthatvāt
svārthasaṁyamāt puruṣajñānam
Experience results from the inability to distinguish
between the individual spirit
and the intelligence energy of material nature,
even though they are very distinct.
By complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
while focusing on self-interest distinct from the other interest,
a yogi gets knowledge of the individual spirit.

tataḥ prātibha śrāvaṇa vedana
ādarśa āsvāda vārtāḥ jāyante
From that focus is produced smelling, tasting, seeing,
touching and hearing, through the shining organ of divination.

te samādhau upasargāḥ vyutthāne siddhayaḥ
Those divination skills are obstacles
in the practice of continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to a higher concentration force, object or person.
But in expressing,
they are considered as mystic perfectional skills.

bandhakāraṇa śaithilyāt pracāra
saṁvedanāt ca cittasya paraśarīrāveśaḥ
The entrance into another body is possible
by slackening the cause of bondage
and by knowing the channels of the mento-emotional energy.

udānajayāt jala paṅka kaṇṭakādiṣu asaṇgaḥ utkrāntiḥ ca
By mastery over the air
which rises from the throat into the head,
a yogi can rise over or not have contact
with water, mud or sharp objects.

samānajayāt jvalanam
By conquest of the samana digestive force,
a yogi’s psyche blazes or shines with a fiery glow.

śrotra ākāśayoḥ saṁbandha saṁyamāt divyaṁ śrotram
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy,
while focusing on the hearing sense and space,
a yogin develops supernatural and divine hearing.

kāya ākāśayoḥ saṁbandha saṁyamāt
laghutūlasamāpatteḥ ca ākāśagamanam
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy,
while linking the mind
to the relationship between the body and the sky
and linking the attention to being as light as cotton fluff,
a yogi acquires the ability to pass through the atmosphere.

bahiḥ akalpitā vṛttiḥ mahāvidehā tataḥ
prakāśa āvaraṇakṣayaḥ
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy
which is external, which is not formed,
a yogi achieves the great bodiless state.
From that the great mental darkness which veils the light,
is dissipated.

sthūla svarūpa sūkṣma anvaya arthavatva
saṁyamāt bhūtajayaḥ
By the complete restraint of the mento-emotional energy,
while linking the attention to the gross forms, real nature,
subtle distribution and value of states of matter,
a yogi gets conquest over them.

tataḥ aṇimādi prādurbhāvaḥ kāyasaṁpat
taddharma anabhighātaḥ ca
From minuteness and other related mystic skills
come the perfection of the subtle body
and the non-obstructions of its functions.

rūpa lāvaṇya bala vajra saṁhananatvāni kāyasaṁpat
Beautiful form, charm, mystic force, diamond-like definition
come from the perfection of the subtle body.

grahaṇa svarūpa asmitā anvaya arthavattva
saṁyamāt indriyajayaḥ
From the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to sensual grasping, to the form of the sensual energy,
to its identifying powers, to its connection instinct
and to its actual worth,
a yogi acquires conquest over his relationship with it.

tataḥ manojavitvaṁ vikaraṇabhāvaḥ pradhānajayaḥ ca
Subsequently, there is conquest
over the influence of subtle matter
and over the parting away or dispersion
of the mento-emotional energy,
with the required swiftness of mind.

sattva puruṣa anyatā khyātimātrasya
sarvabhāva adhiṣṭhātṛtvaṁ sarvajñātṛtvaṁ ca
Only when there is distinct discrimination
between the clarifying perception of material nature
and the spiritual personality,
does the yogi attain complete disaffection
and all-applicative intuition.

tadvairāgyāt api doṣabījakṣaye kaivalyam
By a lack of interest, even to that
(discrimination between the clarifying mundane energy
and the self) when the cause of that defect is eliminated,
the absolute isolation of the self from the lower psyche of itself,
is achieved.

sthānyupanimantraṇe saṅgasmayākaraṇaṁ
punaraniṣṭa prasaṅgāt
On being invited by a person
from the place one would attain if his body died,
a yogi should be non-responsive, not desiring their association
and not being fascinated,
otherwise that would cause unwanted features of existence
to arise again.

kṣaṇa tatkramayoḥ saṁyamāt vivekajaṁ jñānam
By the continuous effortless linkage of the attention
to the moment and to the sequence of the moments,
the yogi has knowledge caused by the subtle discrimination.

jāti lakṣaṇa deśaiḥ anyatā anavacchedāt
tulyayoḥ tataḥ pratipattiḥ
Subsequently, the yogi has perception of two similar realties
which otherwise could not be sorted
due to a lack of definition in terms of their general category, individual characteristic and location.

tārakaṁ sarvaviṣayaṁ sarvathāviṣayaṁ
akramaṁ ca iti vivekajaṁ jñānam
The distinction caused by subtle discrimination
is the crossing over or transcending
of all subtle and gross mundane objects
in all ways they are presented,
without the yogi taking recourse
to any other sequential perceptions of mind reliance.

sattva puruṣayoḥ śuddhi sāmye kaivalyam iti
When there is equal purity between the intelligence energy
of material nature and the spirit,
then there is total separation
from the mundane psychology.

kaivalya ligth on life BKS Iyengar

“The realized yogi continues to function and act in the world, but in a way that is free. He is free from desires of motivation and free from the fruit or rewards of action. The yogi is utterly disinterested but paradoxically full of the engagement of compassion. He is in the world but of it.”

B.K.S Iyengar

Shiva, la carrera de un dios, A.Van Lysebeth 2/2

Descifremos la danza de Shiva
Entre las variantes de la danza de Shiva, la más conocida en el sur de la India es la Nadanta,
representada en el bronce de la página siguiente. Lo traje hace unos años de Tamil Nadu, donde su

culto está siempre vivo. Para facilitar su desciframiento, las principales «claves» figuran
sumariamente en el dibujo. Si bien para un indio estos símbolos son evidentes, nosotros
necesitamos indicaciones suplementarias.
En este bronce lo más asombroso son los cuatro brazos de Shiva.
El tambor que tiene en su mano derecha confirma su origen preario. Los drávidas son
formidables «tocadores» de tambor. Simbólicamente, el tambor, el clamara, es el sonido
primordial. El Unmai Villakam, versículo 36, dice: «La creación viene del tambor...». ¿Es una
sorprendente intuición del big-bang de la física moderna? La concordancia es, como mínimo,
perturbadora.
Con su mano derecha levantada en abhya mudra, Shiva dice: «Yo protejo».
El fuego, que transforma y destruye, surge de la mano que toca el anillo inflamado. Afrenta para
los brahmanes, Shiva reúne en sí mismo las tres funciones cósmicas: creación, protección,
disolución. Para ellos Brahma crea, Vishnu protege, ¡y sólo dejan a Shiva el poder poco glorioso de
destruir!
Por último, la mano que señala hacia el pie levantado libera a quien penetra en el mito
revelándole la esencia del cosmos.
El pie izquierdo aplasta a un enano maléfico: para los tántricos, es su ex suegro ario, responsable
de la muerte de la dulce Sati, pero «oficialmente» es el demonio Muyakala. El conjunto reposa
sobre un pedestal en forma de loto.
Su cabellera reúne varios símbolos. Joyas adornan sus cabellos trenzados cuyas mechas
inferiores giran indicando la impetuosidad de su danza, que mantiene al universo. Otra intuición
fantástica: en el grano de arena, a mis ojos insignificante e inmóvil, los electrones giran sobre sí
mismos «bailando un vals» alrededor del núcleo de los átomos a miles de km/seg. Si
repentinamente en el cosmos todos los electrones, así como la energía cósmica, se pararan en seco,
el universo se hundiría inmediatamente en la «nada dinámica» (akasba) de donde salió.
Una cobra se agarra a sus cabellos, sin hacerle daño.
¡El cráneo es el de Brahma! La ninfa dice que el Ganges surge de la cima de su cabeza. En fin,
hay que añadir la media Luna. Su cabeza está coronada por una guirnalda de Cassia, una planta
sagrada. En su oreja derecha un pendiente para hombre, en la izquierda un pendiente para mujer
indican que reúne en él los dos sexos.
Sus joyas acentúan su divinidad: lleva ricos collares en torno al cuello, su cinturón está recubierto
de piedras preciosas, sus muñecas adornadas con brazaletes, igual que sus tobillos y sus brazos, y
lleva anillos en los dedos de las manos y de los pies. Por toda vestimenta lleva un calzón ajustado
de piel de tigre y un echarpe. Para provocar a los brahmanes lleva también el cordón sagrado.
Todo el conjunto despide una impresión de graciosa impetuosidad, ligera y fácil: Shiva-Lila, es
un «juego». A pesar de su danza desmelenada, el rostro de Shiva permanece sereno. En la frente se
abre su tercer ojo, el de la intuición, que atraviesa las apariencias y trasciende lo sensorial.
A quien sabe ver y sobre todo percibir, la Danza de Shiva, en un resumen cautivador, revela al
Último. Así Shiva es Nataraja, el Rey de la Danza, y es éste el nombre que llevaba Nataraja Gurú:
¡todo un símbolo!
Otra danza de Shiva, muy popular, es la Tandava, donde Shiva-Bhairava danza salvajemente, por
la noche, en los lugares de cremación, acompañado por diablillos retozones. Esta danza, claramente
prearia, se dirige a un Shiva semidiós, semidemonio. Es representada en lugares tan alejados uno
del otro como Elephanta, Ellora y Bhubaneshwara.

Shiva, la carrera de un dios, A.Van Lysebeth 1/2

Desconocido para los arios, incluso despreciado por ellos, Shiva se ha convertido, con el correr
de los milenios, en una divinidad clave hindú y tántrica a la vez. Su ascensión a la jerarquía divina
hasta llegar a ser, junto con Brahma y Vishnu, miembro de la trinidad hindú, revela su dinámica

profunda.
A propósito de Shiva, un amplio consenso entre los indianistas occidentales y los indios hace
remontar su culto a la civilización dravídica, más que a los autóctonos:
«Desde el Himalaya al cabo Comorin, se busca en vano entre las tribus salvajes aborígenes la
más ínfima huella de una forma cualquiera de culto tántrico de Shiva o de Kālī, su esposa. Tampoco
se ha hallado nunca el emblema fálico, símbolo de Shiva» (N. Bose & Halder: Tantras, Their
Philosophy and Occults Secrets, p. 72).
Se ignora incluso su nombre, tan sagrado y secreto que se evita pronunciarlo. «Shiva», que lo
designa por todas partes en la India, es un simple adjetivo que significa «el benévolo», «el
favorable». Se vincula al culto solar: «El culto de Shiva deriva de un culto solar, muy difundido en
la humanidad primitiva; el nombre shivan dado al Sol es similar a la palabra tamil shivappu, rojo;
por ello shivan, el Rojo, es una palabra adecuada para designar al Sol naciente. Shivan se parece
también a los términos tamiles schemam y shemmai, que significan prosperidad, rectitud. Con el
tiempo, además de «el Rojo», shivan se enriquece con sentidos como «de buen augurio»,
«próspero», etc.» (V. Parjoti, Saiva Siddhanta, p. 13).
Se lo llama también Shambhu, Shamkara, el benéfico, lleno de gracia. Si Alain Daniélou cree que
su verdadero nombre es An o Ann, otros se inclinan por Han, es decir, Dios en sentido absoluto.
Shiva, dios enemigo, fue primero rechazado por los invasores arios. Sin embargo, después de
haber vencido y sometido a los drávidas, impresionados por ese culto tan universalmente expandido
entre sus siervos, poco a poco lo adoptaron y lo integraron a su cultura.
Es interesante, e incluso divertido, seguir el proceso de arianización de Shiva, a través de su
asimilación progresiva a Rudra, un dios védico muy menor.
Es probable que los rudras, como los maruts, fueran aborígenes tránsfugas, aliados a los arios
durante la guerra de conquista, en función de lo cual su jefe, Rudra, fue divinizado, «a disgusto, en
tanto dios de las lágrimas, el que causa el dolor. Lejos de ser adorado y respetado como Indra,
Varuna, Vāyu, etc., Rudra («el que grita») no tiene parte alguna en el sacrificio del fuego. En su
calidad de dios de las lágrimas, se aloja fuera del barrio residencial de los dioses, en o cerca de los
campos de cremación» (Bhattacharya, Saivism and the Phallic World, p. 216).
En el Shatarudrīya, se envía a Shiva-Rudra a acampar en las montañas y en los bosques, donde se
lo asocia a los cazadores, a los habitantes de los bosques, ¡pero también a los ladrones y a los
bandidos! Una hermosa reputación...
Fueron sin duda los brahmanes quienes, irritados por verlo seducir a los arios, lo presentaron al
principio tan poco simpático como les fue posible: incluso lo hicieron el dios de las enfermedades...
Al crear a Shiva, la encarnación del principio creador masculino, los drávidas actuaron como
dijo Voltaire: «Dios creó al hombre a su imagen, pero éste ha hecho lo mismo». Shiva, principio
creador masculino, es uno de los símbolos más potentes y más antiguos del tantra: aparece ya,
como Pasupati (padre y amo de los animales), en el sello del Indo que antecede, sentado y rodeado
de animales salvajes: el tigre, el búfalo, el elefante, el rinoceronte...
Sus cuernos simbolizan las fuerzas lunares o el toro, su vehículo y parangón de la fuerza sexual:
pensemos en los cuernos de los toros de los santuarios de Çatal Hüyük y en el dios cornudo de las
hechiceras, convertido en el diablo en la iconografía de la Iglesia. Sus tres caras revelan que
suscita, mantiene y disuelve el universo. Dios de los yoguis, su postura pone claramente en
evidencia sus atributos masculinos...
Introducido por la puerta de servicio en el panteón védico, escala poco a poco los escalones de la
jerarquía divina y se convierte en el igual de Vishnu y de Brahma, constituye con ellos la trilogía
hindú dominante. Sin embargo, lo logra «por la presión de la calle», como se diría hoy.
Favorito de los drávidas, Shiva encarna su resistencia al ocupante ario, y las leyendas sobre él
son innumerables. La siguiente expresa la enemistad entre las dos Indias, la de los ocupantes y la de
los ocupados. Comienza con un idilio entre Shiva y Sati, la hija del rey ario Daksha. Enamorada de
Shiva, Sati lo desposa contra la voluntad de su padre y se va a vivir con él en el monte Kailash, en
el Himalaya. Después de pasar muchos años lejos de su familia, un día Sati se entera de que su
padre organiza una fastuosa celebración. Aunque no haya sido invitada, quiere asistir, tan grande es
su deseo de volver a ver a los suyos.
Su divino marido se lo desaconseja, pero por primera vez ella no lo escucha. Cuando llega a la
ceremonia, la flor y nata aria está presente: los reyes, los príncipes, los nobles y sus esposas, todo el
mundo en traje de gala. Cuando su padre ve llegar a la tránsfuga por amor, vestida con harapos, se
siente deshonrado y, lívido de cólera, lanza las peores injurias hacia Shiva. Es demasiado para la
pobre Sati: se desvanece para no volver a despertar.
La triste noticia se difunde inmediatamente en la ciudad y Shiva, cuando se entera, se pone
furioso. Como un solo hombre, todos sus partidarios, es decir, el pueblo llano, se levantan y se
rebelan. En la ciudad cunde la revuelta. El resentimiento generalizado hacia la tiranía brahmánica,
que se incubaba desde hacía tiempo, estalla. El lugar de la ceremonia es profanado, saqueado, y
Daksha, el padre de Sari, es humillado. La muchedumbre exige que Shiva sea proclamado el igual
de los dioses arios. Para calmar su cólera, los brahmanes admiten a Shiva en el panteón hindú.
Esta leyenda, que expresa tan bien la revuelta, todavía es tan popular en la India que se han hecho
historietas con ella. La India —pensemos que de cada cinco seres humanos uno es indio— es un
volcán donde la presión sube bajo la cascara constituida por la estructura aria milenaria. Cuando la
India explote, el mundo temblará...
En la iconografía de Shiva, su arma favorita es el tridente junto con el lazo. «Oficialmente» su
tridente —que no es el de Neptuno— simboliza los tres gunas del Samkhya (sattiva, raja, tama
guna) y también los tres nadis (conductos sutiles de energía) del yoga: Ida, Píngala y Sushumna.
Pero para los que saben es diferente, pues el tridente era el arma preferida de los drávidas,
mientras que su homólogo ario tenía cuatro dientes. El Rig-Veda dice (152.7 y 8): «Con su arma de
cuatro dientes (Chaturashri) Mitra y Varuna matan a los portadores del tridente». El indio
Rajmohon Nath, en Rig-veda Summary, p. 83, comenta este versículo: «Esto da una indicación
relativa al viejo conflicto entre los dos campos, que continúa todavía en la India (actual)». ¡Son
pocos los que lo dicen! Sin embargo, como en materia de simbolismo cada uno es libre, nada
impide ver ahí también la versión oficial...

El lingam, símbolo absoluto "Tantra el culto a lo femenino" A.Van Lysebeth

El lingam es el símbolo más común en la India, donde es aceptado tanto por los hindúes como
por el tan-tra ya sea de Derecha o de Izquierda.
Katheríne Mayo, en Mother India, escribió en 1927: «Shiva, una de las divinidades del panteón

hindú, está representado en todas partes, a lo largo de los caminos, en pequeños altares, en los
templos, en los oratorios de las casas indias o en los amuletos personales. Cada día, a través de la
imagen del órgano de la generación, es adorado por sus devotos».
El lingam además es el único elemento común a prácticamente todos los templos hindúes, el
único también que puede ser mirado y tocado por cualquiera, sin importar su religión, su secta o su
casta. En todo rito tántrico tiene un papel central, tanto entre los shivaítas como entre los adeptos de
Shakti.
Lo característico del símbolo es que revela aspectos diferentes según la persona que lo percibe y
según las circunstancias: de ahí su riqueza, y el valor simbólico del lingam es extraordinario. Por
ser universal es aceptable para todos, tanto creyentes como ateos.
¿Se trata de una imagen fálica o priápica? Es lo que creían los primeros occidentales que viajaron
a la India. En 1670, un individuo llamado Stravorinus, capitán de la Compañía Holandesa de las
Indias Orientales, se indignaba por ello: «Aquí y allí, hay representaciones de una divinidad que
adoran bajo el nombre de lingam. Es el culto más escandaloso entre todas las abominaciones que la
superstición humana ha multiplicado en la superficie de la Tierra...»
Sin comentarios...
El tantra es el modo de acercamiento a las realidades últimas más accesible al conjunto de la
humanidad, cualesquiera que sean las diferencias, raciales u otras.
A primera vista, sin embargo, ¿qué hay más extraño que los conceptos, los ritos y las técnicas del
tantra, especialmente el culto del lingam? En nuestro inconsciente, sin embargo, despierta ecos
profundos desde que penetramos en su universo misterioso.
Para el tantra, el lingam es el conjunto formado por el órgano masculino engastado en el sexo
femenino, y no sólo el falo, aunque éste sea ya un símbolo muy potente, universalmente extendido,
incluso entre nosotros.
George Ryley Scott escribe: «Era natural que los antiguos bretones adoraran las piedras y los
pilares en cuanto emblemas del principio masculino, así como los antiguos hebreos, los griegos, los
romanos, los egipcios, los japoneses y tantos otros. Huellas de este culto han sido descubiertas en
numerosos lugares de Inglaterra, Escocia y el país de Gales, aunque sean notablemente escasas las
estatuas fálicas realistas. Tales ejemplares han existido, pero probablemente han sido demolidos, y
la mayor parte de las huellas escritas sobre los mismos han sido borradas con cuidado por el clero y
las demás autoridades».
El mismo autor cita aj. B. Hannay en Christianity: The Sources of its Teaching and Symbolism:
«Los pilares fálicos no eran raros en Bretaña. Tenemos una larga lista establecida según antiguos
escritos. Buen número de ellos fueron destruidos o derribados, mutilados en la punta o erosionados
por la intemperie; sin embargo, en las investigaciones, se descubren columnas fálicas tan perfectas
que un indio shivaíta se prosternaría ante ellas y las adoraría todavía hoy. Otros sólo representan el
glande, como las formas adoradas por los asirios».
En el emplazamiento prehistórico de Filitosa, en Córcega, se ven piedras erguidas, de un realismo
tal que se trata indudablemente de lingams, aunque los arqueólogos los califican púdicamente de
«guerreros». También en este caso podemos hacer una comparación entre el hombre viril
sexualmente y el hombre viril combativamente.
No sé qué hubiera pensado, pues, nuestro amigo Burgess si hubiera asistido a la escena relatada
por el Capitán Hamilton (A New Account of East lndies, Edimburgo, 1727, vol. 1, p. 152), que vio
un «sanctified rascal» (literalmente, un miembro de la chusma santificado), un truhán de siete pies
(más de dos metros), con los miembros bien proporcionados, de la secta de los jougies (sic)
«sentado a la sombra de un árbol, prácticamente desnudo, con un pudenda (en latín en el texto)
como un asno, con un anillo de oro pasado por el prepucio. Este gañán era muy reverenciado por un
gran número de mujeres jóvenes casadas, que se prosternaban ante el príapo viviente, lo tomaban
devotamente entre las manos, lo besaban, mientras que su propietario libertino les acariciaba las
necias cabezas murmurando plegarias obscenas, que supuestamente les aseguraban una
progenitura».
¡Se entiende, efectivamente, que este subdito de Su Muy Excelsa Majestad Británica haya sido
escandalizado por ese espectáculo! No comprendió que esas mujeres no adoraban el miembro viril
sino el lingam, signo de la potencia creadora de Shiva.
¡Estupefacción! ¡Escándalo! ¡Otro viajero vio a un asceta desnudo, sentado bajo un árbol,
poniendo collares de flores y otras ofrendas rituales a su propio miembro en erección! Para el
asceta, la erección manifestaba la fuerza creadora que hace surgir una nueva vida o las galaxias de
la nada, y es ese principio cósmico lo que reverenciaba... Estaba en condiciones de disociar su poloindividuo
(el yo consciente) de su polo-especie. Todo esto no puede trasladarse a Occidente,
evidentemente: ¡imagínese el lector la cara de los peatones en los Campos Elíseos!
En la India, el origen del culto del lingam se remonta a la prehistoria, a los antiguos ritos
sexuales de fecundidad, al culto de la Gran Diosa. Los hombres y las mujeres se unían cerca de los
campos, y los acoplamientos colectivos se consideraban beneficiosos para aumentar, por contagio,
la fecundidad de la tierra: seguramente era menos tóxico que nuestros pesticidas... Luego se
levantaban piedras para invocar a las fuerzas creadoras, piedras que todavía están allí...
Este culto es muy anterior a la invasión aria: el Rig-Veda atestigua que el lingam era, si no el
único, el principal símbolo preario, rechazado por los arios.
Los epítetos injuriosos dirigidos a los drávidas: akarman, sin ritos, ayajvan, que no hacen
sacrificios, shishna-devāh, literalmente «cuyo dios es el pene» (VIL21.5 y X.99-3), prueban que el
simbolismo profundo del lingam escapaba a los arios. Su culto, condenado, quedaba desterrado de
los rituales védicos.
Sin embargo se produciría un viraje. Sólidamente implantados en el país conquistado, su
pretendida integridad racial protegida por el estricto apartheid del sistema de las clases, los arios
podían darse el lujo de la tolerancia religiosa. Dejaban que sus siervos, los sudras, conservaran sus
antiguos dioses y cultos.
Mientras que habitualmente el vencedor impone su religión a los vencidos, en la India los arios
no sólo no deseaban en absoluto «brahmanizar» a sus siervos, sino que al contrario prohibían
estrictamente a los no arios (y a algunos arios) incluso que escucharan los Vedas. En caso de
transgresión, el Código de Manu castigaba ese «sacrilegio» con graves penas.
Sin embargo, poco a poco los «señores» se anexaron dioses, creencias, prácticas mágicas de los
vencidos y las integraron, «arianizadas», a su propio culto y panteón: el resultado de esta osmosis
es el hinduismo. Y es así como el lingam, al principio tan despreciado, se convirtió en el símbolo
más difundido en toda la India. Sin embargo, si los arios patriarcales lo aceptaron bastante
fácilmente, ¡fue porque veían en él sobre todo el miembro viril!
Todavía hoy el culto del lingam ha conservado su fervor original. Cito a Mircea Eliade
(L'épreuve du Labyrinthe, p. 68): «La segunda enseñanza que me ha aportado la India es el sentido
del símbolo. En Rumania no me atraía la vida religiosa, las iglesias me parecían atestadas de iconos.
Y por supuesto que no consideraba esos iconos como ídolos, pero en fin... Pues bien, en la India,
viví en un poblado de Bengala y vi mujeres y muchachas que tocaban y decoraban un lingam, un
símbolo fálico, más exactamente un falo de piedra anatómicamente muy exacto; por supuesto que,
al menos las mujeres casadas no podían ignorar su naturaleza, su función fisiológica. Comprendí,
pues, la posibilidad de «ver» el símbolo en el lingam. El lingam era el misterio de la vida, de la
creatividad, de la fertilidad que se manifiesta en todos los niveles cósmicos. Esta epifanía de vida
era Shiva, no era el miembro que nosotros conocemos. Entonces, esa posibilidad de ser
religiosamente conmovido por la imagen y por el símbolo, me reveló todo un mundo de valores
espirituales».
A primera vista el lingam parece ser un símbolo falocrático; sin embargo, cuando el órgano
masculino se pone erecto, ¡es a causa de la mujer! Según un dicho tántrico, «Shiva sin Shakti sólo
es un shava, un cadáver». La erección demuestra el poder femenino. Discúlpeme, señora, si evoco
el ejemplo bien conocido de los perro. Normalmente, no pasa nada, pero cuando una perra está en
celo, ¡a la arrebatiña todos los perros! Por tanto es la hembra quien despierta a los machos, y no a la
inversa.
El lingam pone así (¡aparentemente!) a todo el mundo de acuerdo: al falócrata que da la prioridad
al órgano masculino erecto, al tántrico que detrás de la unión de los órganos masculino y femenino
percibe los principios cósmicos así simbolizados. Si es fácil esculpir el órgano masculino, por el
contrario es técnicamente imposible esculpir el sexo femenino en relieve. Eso es lo que hace que,
en los lingams indios, el órgano femenino se limite a rodear la base del órgano masculino, y el resto
debe ser imaginado.
Una pregunta: ¿por qué los lingams son siempre de piedra, excepto los modelados en arcilla y
que se arrojan enseguida al Ganges, y por qué esta piedra en general es negra? La respuesta es
simple: ¡es a causa del color de la piel de los drávidas, cuyo dios era Shiva!
¿Y como es en realidad una linga-pūjā, una adoración del lingam, en un medio puritano como,
por ejemplo, el ashram de Rishikesh, al pie del Himalaya? El oficiante, a veces el swami
Chidananda, el asceta, acaricia en primer lugar largamente, casi amorosamente, el. lingam de piedra
pulida, lo adorna con guirnaldas y traza en él con pasta de sándalo amarillo los signos rituales y
simbólicos. Durante toda la celebración, el oficiante y los participantes cantan en coro, durante
horas, «Om Namah Shivayah», arrojando al mismo tiempo flores y pétalos de flores sobre el
lingam, que queda casi cubierto por ellos.
En el momento culminante, el oficiante vierte sobre el lingam un líquido blanco viscoso hecho de
leche y miel (cuyo simbolismo es evidente), que corre lentamente por la piedra y se derrama en el
arghya, para ser luego repartido entre los participantes, que lo beben con evidente devoción. Como
en la consagración durante una misa católica, para ellos en ese instante Shiva está presente en el
lingam.
Cuando se les menciona el carácter sexual evidente de ese ritual, se ofuscan y, con buena fe, lo
niegan absolutamente. He oído a una occidental, también ella de buena fe, seguir su ejemplo. Creía
incluso que aportaba una prueba tan sutil como innegable: decía que si se tratara verdaderamente de
un símbolo de unión sexual, el falo debería estar horizontal y no vertical. En la posición occidental
corriente, la del misionero, sería así, pero no en el maithuna tántrico, donde Shakti está a
horcajadas, o «cabalga» sobre Shiva y el órgano masculino está vertical. Los indios —¡que
ciertamente saben!— no hablan: se contentan con negar...
Los tántricos sienten que la eyaculación es el momento procreador por excelencia, cuando la
energía femenina se apodera del esperma para suscitar una nueva vida. Para ellos, todo acto creador
va acompañado de goce y la creación resulta de una unión cósmica permanente y orgiástica, que
proseguirá hasta el fin de los tiempos: cada galaxia es el fruto de un orgasmo cósmico. Toda
experiencia cósmica es necesariamente extática, como el éxtasis de los místicos occidentales, y eso
justifica los ritos sexuales de la Vía de la Izquierda, la vía más directa hacia el éxtasis. Para el
tantra, la libido cósmica (¡que Freud se alegre en su tumba!) es el dinamismo fundamental de la
creación: el universo nace del deseo, como todo ser viviente. Deseo y goce acompañan a todo acto
verdaderamente creador.
En los ritos sexuales del tantra, todo se organiza para despertar el deseo, para crear situaciones
eróticas intensas, para acceder así a la felicidad, al éxtasis, por una unión concreta ritualizada,
sacralizada. Además, esta unión sólo llega a ser espiritual si se percibe su carácter divino, sagrado.
Para el tantra todo goce puro es de orden espiritual. La unión sexual es el «signo» más concreto,
más simbólico que existe, y va acompañado también por la felicidad última que puede experimentar
el cuerpo humano. Todo esto supone una visión diferente de la ordinaria, que considera que el goce
y lo espiritual son incompatibles. Los siguientes extractos de escrituras sagradas confirman el
simbolismo del lingam: «La naturaleza manifiesta, la energía cósmica universal, está simbolizada
por el yoni, el órgano femenino que rodea al lingam. El yoni representa la energía que engendra el
mundo, matriz de todo lo que se ha manifestado» (Karapátri, Lingopapasana rahasya, Siddhanta,
vol. 2, p. 154).
«El Universo proviene de la relación de un yoni con un lingam. En consecuencia, todo lleva la
marca del lingam y del yoni. Es la divinidad que, bajo la forma de falos individuales, penetra en
cada matriz y procrea así a todos los seres» {id., p. 163).
La potencia física y mental se adquiere controlando el sexo, ritualizándolo y no reprimiéndolo.
Los órganos que intervienen son la expresión visible del poder creador, cuyo símbolo más concreto
son. Cuando los hindúes veneran el lingam no deifican un órgano físico, reconocen simplemente
una forma eterna y divina manifestada en el microcosmos. Porque la potencia creadora humana
reside en el sexo, éste es a la vez la sede y el emblema de lo divino, de la forma causal, eternamente
presente en todas las cosas: «Aquellos que no quieren reconocer la naturaleza divina del falo, los
que no comprenden la importancia del rito sexual, los que consideran el acto de amor como vil y
despreciable o como una simple función física, seguramente fracasarán en sus intentos de
realización material o espiritual. Ignorar el carácter sagrado del falo es peligroso, mientras que
venerándolo se obtiene el placer (bhukti) y la liberación (mukti)» (Lingpapāsana rahasya).
O también: «El que deja pasar la vida sin haber honrado el falo es en verdad despreciable,
culpable y condenado. Si se hace un balance, de un lado la adoración del falo y del otro la caridad,
el ayuno, los peregrinajes, los sacrificios y la virtud, gana la adoración del falo, fuente de placer y
de liberación, abrigo contra la adversidad» (Shiva Purana, 1, 21-23-24-26).
«El que venera el lingam, sabiendo que es la causa primera, la fuente, la conciencia, la sustancia
del universo, está más cerca de mí que ningún ser» (id).
Estas citas, provenientes de una escritura aria, requieren dos observaciones. En primer lugar,
estamos lejos del Rig-Veda y de sus imprecaciones contra los «adoradores del dios-pene».
Segundo, un malabarismo «falocrático» hace del lingam un simple falo, mientras que, para el
tantra, el lingam es el yoni indisociablemente unido al órgano viril: ¡es más que una cuestión de
matiz!
Para cerrar este capítulo escuchemos todavía a nuestro amigo sioux Tahca Ushte, tántrico sin
saberlo: «Para el hombre blanco, los símbolos son sólo una cosa agradable que permite dejarse
llevar por las especulaciones, un juego del espíritu. Para nosotros, son más que eso, mucho más.
Para nosotros se trata de vivirlos».
Por eso las especulaciones (¡por tanto mi texto...!) sólo son útiles y justificadas en la medida en
que nos abren a la riqueza de los símbolos, de los que entonces nuestro espíritu acepta servirse. Para
que lleguen a ser «más que eso», hay que olvidar las disertaciones y dejarlas actuar en las
profundidades del inconsciente, allí donde tenemos nuestras raíces, donde se está en contacto con
las fuerzas vivas del universo, donde «engendrar» adquiere todo su sentido.
Regresemos a Occidente: ¿es la cruz un lingam oculto? Esta pregunta corre el riesgo de disgustar
—sin motivo, por supuesto— a los católicos, para quienes evoca el sacrificio supremo del Hijo de
Dios para rescatar a la humanidad. Pero, ¿está prohibido ver también el símbolo de la unión de los
principios creadores últimos? Y ver en ella un símbolo eventual-mente fálico, ¿es un sacrilegio?
Aunque no soy ni padre de la Iglesia ni doctor en teología, sin embargo creo recordar que antes de
la cruz el signo crístico era el pez, símbolo indudablemente fálico. Todavía hoy, en el sur de Italia,
la misma palabra designa al pez y al órgano viril: quien lo dude que vaya a Nápoles e interrogue a
las vendedoras de pescado del puerto...