Nectar from the moon from the book "The mirror of yoga" by Richard Freeman

One of the meanings of the word rasa is "relationship," referring to the
aesthetic pleasure coming from interfacing with another. The different rasas, or
flavors, of love correspond to a strong feeling of luminous, intense, pleasurable
joy, which seems to come from what is called the root of the palate. The
palate is located approximately at the pituitary gland, and is felt by releasing
the soft palate as if subtly smiling. The quintessence of all of the rasas
is called amrta, or nectar. its primary quality is compassion. The nectar
drips down through the petals of the sahasrara, the thousand-petaled lotus,
to the reservoir just above the root of the palate called the moon. When mula bandha
or yoni mudra, is done well it causes nectar to drip from this moon
and that nectar fills all of the nadis, transforming one’s body and every sensation
the experience of consciousness and joy.

From Hatha yoga pradipika with Hans Ulrich Rieker commentary -Quote 6

"There are 72,000 nadis in this cage [body]. Sushumna is the central nadi which contains the
shabhavi shakti. This has the property of bestowing bliss upon the yogi. All others are then useless.
−−Guide the prana into the sushumna and kindle the gastric fire and awaken the kundalini. Only

when prana fiows through the sushumna wilt there be samadhi. All other methods are futile. When
breath is suspended then [discursive] thinking also is suspended. He who has power over his mind
can also control prana.
[For] the two causes that activate the mind are prana [respiration] and the sources of karma
[vasanas, latent tendencies]. Death of one [of these] is the death of the other. When mind is
absorbed, breathing subsides: when prana is absorbed in the sushumna [not available to the body]
then mind also is absorbed."

The deepest sense of this yoga will be understood only by one who is convinced that from physical
process to psychological experience and religious phenomena there is one straight (if usually secret)
path, and that none of the three can exist and function by itself. He who is prepared to familiarize
himself with what naturally seems to be a strange terminology will find not only confirmation of the
most modern knowledge, but the possibility of new insights as well, for the problem of relationship
between the inner and outer worlds will always be a
topical one as long as the human race exists. The last word on it can never be expected, for each
culture, even each phase of individual life presents new perspectives. It is by the great visionary
works of antiquity that we are most deeply touched−− we who have become so clever.

"Mind and prana are related to each other like milk and water. If the one dries up the other one
also dries up. In whatever chakra the prana is concentrated mind becomes fixed, and where the mind
is fixed prana is conquered"

The fact that men's cultural levels differ so greatly is not simply a problem of society; nor does it
depend on ambition, or even on intelligence. It is really the chakras that cause stratification in
culture.
Genius is the product of the highest development potential of that chakra by which it lives. As long
as our mind is not nourished by that same chakra we only comprehend the lower levels. At the
highest level our understanding is no longer limited. There we need no intellectual hints; we perceive
the spirit everywhere, even in silence.
The chakra determines whatever level of development we are on, and this level determines the measure of our consciousness.

From Hatha yoga pradipika with Hans Ulrich Rieker commentary -Quote 5

"As one opens the door with a key, so the yogi should open the gate to liberation
[moksha] with the kundalini. The great goddess [kundalini] steeps, closing with her mouth the
opening through which one can ascend to the brahmarandhra (crown of the head), to that place
where there is neither pain nor suffering. The kundalini sleeps above the kanda [where the nadis
converge]. She gives liberation to the yogi and bondage to the fool. He who knows kundalini knows
yoga. −−The kundalini, it is said, is coiled like a serpent. He who can induce her to move [upward]
is liberated. There is no doubt about it. −−Between Ganga and Yamuna sits a young widow,
arousing compassion. One should despoil her, for this leads to the supreme seat of Vishnu [her
spouse in sahasrara]. The sacred Ganga is ida [nodi] and Yamuna if pin gala [nodi]. Between ida and pingala sits the young widow kundalini.
You should awaken the sleeping serpent by grasping its tad. The shakti, when aroused, moves upward."


Once more remember the churning of the ocean of milk. The demons seized the head of the snake,
the gods took hold of the tail, and thus the work was accomplished.
Here we have the same process. The physically manifested powers, prana and apana, pull on the
head; that is where the current flows into the sushumna, which is closed by the head of the serpent.
The spiritual forces, however, work from the tail. We will presently learn about the nature of these
spiritual forces

From Hatha yoga pradipika with Hans Ulrich Rieker commentary -Quote 4

"When the kundalini is sleeping it will be aroused by the grace of the guru.
Then all the chakrasand knots are pierced
and prana flows through the royal road of sushumna.
The mind is released from its work and the yogi
conquers death"

One thing is certain: kundalini is more than just a symbolic term for one of our known forces or
faculties. It is a potential of which normally we know nothing, and one that does not seem to exist for
the average man.
The chakras are occasionally perceptible in everyday life. In times of danger there is usually a
convulsive contraction of the muladhara chakra; in the case of acute danger, it intestifics as the
often−mentioned experience of "seeing the whole life flash through the mind." In sexual excitement
the svadishthana chakra is noticeable. Best known is the influence of the manipura chakra on crying
and laughter, which are related to the region of the diaphragm. One speaks of loving devotion as
coming from the heart; it really involves the neighboring anahata chakra. The well−known choking
sensation when a speaker is "blocked" relates to the vishuddha chakra. The index finger on the
brow−−"Eurekal'−− means that the ajna chakra has spoken, and the halo on the image of a saint has
its center in sahasrara chakra, to mention just a few minor characteristic signs of these unknown, yet
so important centers in man.

Sandilya Upanishad quotes

This body is ninety-six digits in length.

Prana extends twelve digits beyond the body. He who through,

the practice of yoga reduces his prana within his body to make

it equal to or not less than the fire in it becomes the greatest

of

the yogins. In men, the region of fire which is triangular in

form and brilliant as the molten gold is situated in the middle

of the body

Lying in the middle of the navel and

above it, is the seat of kundalini. The kundalini sakti is of the

form of eight prakrtis (matter) and coils itself eight ways or

(times). The movement of vayus (vital airs) checks duly the

food and drink all round by the side of skandha(the web of life)

It closes by

its head (the opening of) the brahmarandhra, and during the

time of (the practice of) yoga is awakened by the fire (in the

apana); then it shines with great brilliancy in the akas of the

heart in the shape of wisdom.

Situated at

the back of the anus, it is attached to the spinal column and

extends to the brahmarandhra of the head and is invisible

and subtle and is vaishnavi (or has the sakti force of Vishnu).

On the left of Sushumna is situated Ida and on the right is

Pingala. The moon moves in Ida and the sun in Pingala.

The moon is of the nature of tamas and the sun of rajas.

The poison share is of the sun and the nectar of the moon.

They both direct (or indicate) time and Sushumna, is the enjoyer

(or consumer) of time.

By the

contraction of the muscles of the neck and by the contraction

of the one below (viz.,) Apana, the Prana (breath) goes into the

Sushumna which is in the middle from the west nadi.

Drawing up the Apana and forcing down the Prana from the throat,

the yogin free from old age becomes a youth of sixteen.

Having by contraction opened the door of kundalini, one

should force open the door of moksha. Closing with her mouth

the door through which one ought to go, the kundalini sleeps

spiral in form and coiled up like a serpent. He who causes this

kundalini to move he is an emancipated person. If this kundalini

were to sleep in the upper part of the neck of any yogin, it goes

towards his emancipation. (If it were to sleep) in the lower part

(of the body), it is for the bondage of the ignorant. Leaving the

two nadis, Ida and the other (Pingala), it (prana) should move

in the Sushumna. That is the supreme seat of Vishnu.

Samadhi is the union of the Jivatma (individual self) and

the Paramatma (higher self) without ,the threefold state, (viz.,

the knower, the known, and the knowledge). It is of the nature

of extreme bliss and pure consciousness.

The nadis or psychic passages

Source
*A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya  Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The nadis are pathways along which prana or

bioplasmic energy travels. In acupuncture

these pathways are known as meridians (at

least in modern western terminology). Various

ancient yogis said that there are seventy two

thousand nadis in the psychic body. Others

said the number is in the region of three

hundred and twenty thousand. Whatever the

number, we can definitely say that they are

numerous.

Of these nadis three are particularly important.

They are known as the ida, pingala and

sushumna. The most important one is the

sushumna, which runs within the spine2. It

should not be confused with or identified with

the physical spine that we are normally aware

of. This nadi runs from the region of the

perineum (between the anus and sexual organs)

to the region of the brain. It connects the

mooladhara chakra (chakra meaning pranic

or psychic centre) in the perineum to ajna

(mid-brain) chakra at the top of the spine

passing through various other chakras enroute.

Again these chakras should not be

regarded as physical entities; they are part of

the bioplasmic or pranic body. As such they

are located within but are not of the physical

body.

Emanating from the left side of the mooladhara

chakra and passing through the

intervening chakras in turn in a curving, crisscrossing

path, finally ending up on the left

side of the ajna chakra, is the ida nadi. Emerging

from the right side of the mooladhara chakra

and passing in a similar but opposite sense to

that of the ida nadi, up to the right side of ajna,

is the pingala nadi.

The ida and pingala nadis are the pathways

of the two different aspects of prana. They

represent the two opposite poles of the same

energy. The ida is denoted as being negative

and is also known as the chandra (moon) nadi.

The pingala, on the other hand, is positive and

is often called the surya (sun) nadi. Associated

with these two nadis are various attributes or

qualities.

These two nadis are associated with the two

nostrils: pingala with the right and ida with the

left. The ancient yogis, with their detailed

awareness of the human body, found that the

flow of breath did not pass equally through

each nostril. In fact at any given time it was

more than likely that the flow of air through

one nostril would be greater than the other

nostril. This is an aspect of our body that even

physiologists have never seriously researched.

No one seems to have asked the question:

"Why have we got two nostrils?" There should

be a good reason and perhaps it is directly

related to ida and pingala. Incidentally, the

reader can test this for himself taking care to

remove all mucus from the nose. Merely block

each of the nostrils in turn and you should

find that the flow is greater through one than

the other. If you don't find this to be so, then

try at a later time for occasionally the flows are

equal.

The yogis of antiquity discovered that when

the left nostril had the predominant flow of air

then the pranic flow in ida nadi was also

predominant. And when the right nostril had

the greatest flow the pingala had the greatest

flow of prana. The flow of air through the

nostrils and consequently the pranic flow

continually alternates. Under normal conditions

the flow through the left nostril is

predominant for about an hour and then the

right flow becomes predominant for about an

hour. During changeover from one to the

other, flows are equal and the prana flows

through the sushumna nadi. This generally

lasts for a few minutes. These flows can also be

artificially altered in response to individual

needs. The study of these flows, their meaning

and implications in life is the subject of the

science of swara yoga.

Shiva samhita chapter IV,1-5

1. First with a strong inspiration fix the mind in the adhar lotus. Then engage in contracting the Yoni, which
is situated in the perineal space.
2. There let him contemplate that the God of love resides in that Brahma Yoni and that he is beautiful like
Bandhuk flower (Pentapetes pheanicia)-- brilliant as tens of millions of suns, and cool as tens of millions of
moons. Above this (Yoni) is a small and subtle flame, whose form is intelligence. Then let him imagine that

a union takes place there between himself and that flame (the Siva and Sakti).
3. (Then imagine that) – There go up through the sushumna vessel, three bodies in their due order (i.e., the
etheric, the astral and the mental bodies). There is emitted in every chakra the nectar, the characteristic of
which is great bliss. Its colour is whitish rosey (pink), full of splendor, showering down in jets the immortal
fluid. Let him drink this wine of immortality which is divine, and then again enter the Kula (i.e., perineal
space.)
Note. While these subtle bodies go up, they drink at every stage this nectar, called Kulamrita.
4. Then let him go again to the Kula through the practice of mantrayoga (i.e., pranayama). This Yoni has
been called by me in the Tantras as equal to life.
5. Again let him be absorbed in that Yoni, where dwells the fire of death – the nature of Shiva, &c. Thus has
been described by me the method of practicing the great Yoni-mudra. From success in its practice, there is
nothing which cannot be accomplished.

Shiva Samhita Chapter II, verses 13-23

13. In the body of man there are 3,500,000 nadis; of them the principal are fourteen;
14-15. Sushumna, Ida, Pingala, Gandhari, Hastijihvika, Kuhu, Saraswati, Pusa, Sankhini, Payaswani, Varuni,
Alumbusa, Vishwodari, and Yasaswani. Among these Ida, Pingala and Sushumna are the chief.
16. Among these three, sushumna alone is the highest and beloved of the Yogis. Other vessels are subordinate
to it in the body.
17. All these principal nadis (vessels) have their mouths downwards, and are like thin threads of lotus. They
are all supported by the vertebral column, and represent the sun, moon and fire.
18. The innermost of these three is chitra; it is my beloved. In that there is the subtlest of all hollows called

Brahmarandhra.
19. Brilliant with five colours, pure, moving in the middle of sushumna, this chitra is the vital part of body and
centre of sushumna.
20. This has been called in the Shastras the Heavenly Way; this is the giver of the joy of immortality; by
contemplating it, the greatYogi destroys all sins.
21. Two digits above the rectum and two digits below the linga (penis) is the adhara lotus, having a dimension
of four digits.
22. In the pericarp of the adhara lotus there is the triangular, beautiful yoni, hidden and kept secret in all the
Tantras.
23. In it is the supreme goddess Kundalini of the form of electricity, in a coil. It has three coils and a half (like
a serpent), and is in the mouth of sushumna.

Sat chakra nirupana By Purnananda Swami part Four (4/4)

50. He whose nature is purified by the practice of Yama, Niyama, and the like, learns from the mouth
of his Guru the process which opens the way to the discovery of the great Liberation. He whose whole
being is immersed in the Brahman then rouses the Devi by Hum-kara, pierces the centre of the Linga,
the mouth of which is closed, and is therefore invisible, and by means of the Air and Fire (within him)
places Her within the Brahmadvara.

Yama = moral disciplines which
are prerequisites to yoga
including abstention from
harming, stealing, lying, sex,
and greed.
Niyama = another class of moral
disciplines including purity,
contentment, austerity, study,
and devotion.
Brahmadvara = inside Chitrininadi.

51. The Devi who is Suddha-sattva pierces the three Lingas, and, having reached all the lotuses which
are known as the Brahma-nadi lotuses, shines therein in the fullness of Her lustre. Thereafter in Her
subtle state, lustrous like lightning and fine like the lotus fibre, She goes to the gleaming flame-like
Shiva, the Supreme Bliss and of a sudden produces the bliss of Liberation.

Suddha-sattva = a form of
embodied Caitanya.
Pierces = passes through an
obstruction.
Three Lingas = Svayambhu,
Bana, and Itara in the
Muladhara, Anahata, and Ajnachakras
respectively.

52. The wise and excellent Yogi rapt in ecstasy, and devoted to the Lotus feet of his Guru, should lead
Kula-Kundali [sic] along with Jiva to her Lord the Para-shiva in the abode of Liberation within the
pure Lotus, and meditate upon Her who grants all desires as the Caitanya-rupa-Bhagavati. When he
thus leads Kula-Kundalini, he should make all things absorb into Her.

Ecstasy = samadhi.
Caitanya-rupa-Bhagavati = the
Devi who is the cit in all bodies.

53. The beautiful Kundali [sic] drinks the excellent red nectar issuing from Para-Shiva, and returns
from there where shines Eternal and Transcendent Bliss in all its glory along the path of Kula, and
again enters the Muladhara. The Yogi who has gained steadiness of mind makes offering (Tarpana) to
the Ishta-devata and to the Devatas in the six centres (Chakra), Dakini and others, with that stream of
celestial nectar which is in the vessel of Brahmanda, the knowledge whereof he has gained through the
tradition of the Gurus.

Path of Kula = the channel in
the chitrini-nadi.
Vessel of Brahmanda =
Kundalini.

54. The Yogi who has after practice of Yama, Niyama, and the like, learnt this excellent method from
the two Lotus Feet of the auspicious Diksa-guru, which are the source of uninterrupted joy, and whose
mind (Manas) is controlled, is never born again in this world (Samsara). For him there is no dissolution
even at the time of Final Dissolution. Gladdened by constant realization of that which is the source of
Eternal Bliss, he becomes full of peace and foremost among all Yogis.

Diksa-guru = the guru who
initiated the yogi.
Final dissolution = samksaya=
pralaya.
Eternal bliss = nityananda =
Brahman.
Among all yogis = lit., "of the
good."

55. If the Yogi who is devoted to the Lotus Feet of his Guru, with heart unperturbed and concentrated
mind, reads this work which is the supreme source of the knowledge of Liberation, and which is
faultless, pure, and most secret, then of a very surety his mind dances at the Feet of his Ishta-devata.

Mind = cetas or citta.

Sat chakra nirupana By Purnananda Swami part one (1/4)
Sat chakra nirupana By Purnananda Swami part two (2/4)
Sat chakra nirupana By Purnananda Swami part Three (3/4)

Some verses from the Shiva Samhita II,1-5

1. In this body, the mount Meru – i.e., the vertebral column – is surrounded by seven islands; there are rivers,
seas, mountains, fields; and lords of the fields too.
2. There are in it seers and sages; all the stars and planets as well. There are sacred pilgrimages, shrines; and
presiding deities of the shrines.
3. The sun and moon, agents of creation and destruction, also move in it. Ether, air, water and earth are also
there.
4. All the beings that exist in the three worlds are also to be found in the body; surrounding the Meru they are
engaged in their respective functions.
5. (But ordinary men do not know it). He who knows all this is a Yogi; there is no doubt about it.

Shushumna nadi y los síntomas de las ansiedad

En la tradición del yoga sitúan shushumna nadi en el centro del cuerpo como un canal vacio en el cuerpo sutil, donde la energía kundalini al ser despertada asciende hasta más allá del séptimo chakra a través de los siete chackras y perforando los tres granthis (Brahma, Visnú, Shiva) o nudos que obstruyen los diferentes niveles de conciencia.
En el Hatha yoga Pradipika dice:
“When the Brahma granthi (in the heart) is pierced
through by Prânâyâma, then a sort of happiness is
experienced in the vacuum of the heart, and the anâhat
sounds, like various tinkling sounds of ornaments, are
heard in the body. In the ârambha, a Yogî's body becomes divine, glowing,
healthy, and emits a divine smell. The whole of his heart
becomes void. In the second stage, the airs are united into one and
begin moving in the middle channel. The Yogî's posture
becomes firm, and he becomes wise like a god. By this means the Visnu knot (in the throat) is pierced
which is indicated by highest pleasure experienced, And
then the Bherî sound (like the beating of a kettle drain)
is evolved in the vacuum in the throat. In the third stage, the sound of a drum is known to arise
in tie Sûnya between the eyebrows, and then the Vâyu
goes to the mahâśûnya, which is the home of all the
siddhîs. Conquering, then, the pleasures of the mind, ecstacy is
spontaneously produced which is devoid of evils, pains,
old age, disease, hunger and sleep. When the Rudra granthi is pierced and the air enters the
seat of the Lord (the space between the eyebrows), then
the perfect sound like that of a flute is produced. The union of the mind and the sound is called the
RâjaYoga. The (real) Yogî becomes the creator and
destroyer of the universe, like God.”
Tomando ahora en consideración la ansiedad como una alteración del prana producida por la oscilación de pensamientos irracionales atados a sensaciones o vivencias pasadas que provocan una extensa lista de manifestaciones físicas de ese proceso interna de inestabilidad. Hay una curiosa coincidencia con el mapeo del nadi central y los chackras.
En referencia a eso Osho comento que Buddha jamás había hablado de kundalini, chackras, porque sus canales energéticos internos era tan limpios que simplemente jamás lo sintió. En ese contexto, se puede interpretar que cuando puedes expresar físicamente la sensación de un chackra representa, tal vez, un

Toni Romero

bloqueo en la movilidad de este. Si situamos esta teoría paralelamente al recorrido de las expresiones ansiosas desde el suelo pélvico hasta la coronilla de la cabeza tenemos un curioso camino ascendente. Desde la simple incomodidad cuando uno está nervioso y va al wc diversas veces antes de salir de casa, no por necesidad física, sino por una sensación psicosomática en la zona genital-pélvica. Ese es un tejido muy sensible a las fluctuaciones del prana y el apana, ya que se sitúa como si fuera el tapón de salida y subida de la energía sutil. Otra sensación muy común en el dolor en la barriga, el corazón acelerado, sensación de nudo en la garganta-paladar, dolor de cabeza y lo que sería y en el último chackra pensamientos de pérdida de control o muerte. Si se observa el dibujo donde tradicionalmente se sitúa los siete chackras se verá una curiosa coincidencia con esa sintomatología.