{"id":4278,"date":"2018-03-05T22:21:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-06T03:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/?p=4278"},"modified":"2018-03-06T09:59:37","modified_gmt":"2018-03-06T14:59:37","slug":"echo-from-the-cave-72","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/2018\/03\/echo-from-the-cave-72\/","title":{"rendered":"Echo from The Cave: 72"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Monday March 5, 2018 \u00a0 \u00a0NYC<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4280\" style=\"width: 555px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4280\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4280\" src=\"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1950-500x291.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"545\" height=\"317\" srcset=\"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1950-500x291.jpg 500w, http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_1950.jpg 517w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 545px) 100vw, 545px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4280\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Asana by a Seeker of Truth<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nEditor\u2019s Note: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mahayogiyogamission.org\/subscription2017_2018\/article_2018vol39.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pranavadipa Volume 39\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><br \/>\nWhen the sleeping <\/em>Kundalini<em> is awakened by the grace of the <\/em>Guru<em>,<br \/>\nthen all the lotuses (the <\/em>chakra<em>) and the knots (<\/em>granthis<em>) are pierced.<br \/>\n<\/em>\u2014Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Ch.3, V.2<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>The great Goddess (<\/em>Kundalini<em>) sleeps closing with her mouth<br \/>\nthe entrance to the way (the <\/em>sushumna<em>)<br \/>\nby which the seat of Brahman (<\/em>Brahmarandhra<em>),<br \/>\nwhere there is no pain, is to be reached.<br \/>\nThe <\/em>Kundalini-shakti<em>,<br \/>\nwho sleeps above the <\/em>kanda<em>\u00a0(muladhara),<br \/>\ngives liberation to the <\/em>Yogi<em>\u2026<br \/>\nHe who knows her knows Yoga.<br \/>\nThe <\/em>Kundalini<em> is described as being coiled like a serpent.<br \/>\nHe who causes the <\/em>Shakti<em> to move (from the <\/em>muladhara<em> upwards)<br \/>\nbecomes free, without doubt.<br \/>\n<\/em>\u2014Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Ch3. V106-108<\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Kundalini<\/em>\u2026perhaps you have heard of it? It is the great force of <em>prana<\/em> that lies dormant at the base of <em>sushumna nadi<\/em>, the base of the spine. Although it is referenced a number of times in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, one of the classic Yoga scriptures, most likely the majority of people nowadays have heard about it in reference to some kind of fantastical spiritual experience, or at the very least, in relation to the opening or activation of the <em>chakra<\/em>, the various energetic centers that fall along the path of the spine.<\/p>\n<p>But even though talk of \u201cspiritual experiences\u201d is now often intertwined with talk of \u201c<em>kundalini<\/em>\u201d or \u201c<em>chakra<\/em>,\u201d how much do we really understand about what it all really is? And how often do we encounter a teacher who can truly guide us based on his or her own intimate experience of it?<\/p>\n<p>This month\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mahayogiyogamission.org\/subscription2017_2018\/article_2018vol39.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>Pranavadipa<\/em> (Vol. 39)<\/a> gives us a unique glimpse into this very topic. Shri Mahayogi graciously responds to the inquiries of a seeker as she strives to make sense of her own experience of changing <em>prana<\/em> and understanding of the rise of <em>kundalini<\/em>.\u00a0 Shri Mahayogi not only expounds on the more technical aspects of <em>prana<\/em>, <em>kundalini<\/em> and the <em>chakra<\/em>, but he also speaks about the actual likelihood of the true occurrence of <em>kundalini<\/em> rising, what blocks it from rising and then guides her to practice looking beyond this phenomenon towards the ultimate aim of Yoga.<\/p>\n<p>Again and again, Shri Mahayogi guides seekers to the most practical methods of true application of practice that lead towards the attainment of <em>Satori<\/em>, beyond all phenomena that are mentioned in various scriptures. This month\u2019s issue is centered on two such practical methods: the practice of humbleness and the practice of pure faith.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">***<\/p>\n<p>As we walk the path of Yoga, there are many opportunities for us to receive guidance. And one of the most important ways is through our fellow <em>gurubhai<\/em>. If we look to the practice of our fellow <em>gurubhai<\/em>, we can often find clues for how to concretely further our own practice, as well as fresh inspiration. And there is no doubt this is one of the three treasures described by Buddha: <em>Buddha<\/em>, <em>Dharma<\/em> and <em>Sangha<\/em>. In this month\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mahayogiyogamission.org\/subscription2017_2018\/article_2018vol39.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Testimony (Vol. 39<\/a>), which touches on the key to the breath in <em>asana<\/em>, Sadhya, a disciple from New York, writes about the inspiration she received from watching Yogadanda, a <em>gurubhai<\/em> who was visiting from Japan, practice <em>asana<\/em> in the class. Five years later she would go to Japan, and interestingly enough, having advanced in her <em>asana <\/em>practice, she was then asked to demonstrate during the class for the <em>gurubhai<\/em> there, including Yogadanda. Seeing her awe-striking demonstration took everyone\u2019s breath away. As a result, the <em>gurubhai<\/em> in Kyoto have become inspired by her practice, of course.<\/p>\n<p>The content of this month\u2019s Testimony reveals a glimpse of Sadhya\u2019s journey through the practice of <em>asana<\/em> and what she has recognized as the result of the depth of her practice as a true seeker. This also reveals what the <em>asana<\/em> practice taught by Shri Mahayogi is. She is definitely on the way to discover, with her understanding going deeper and deeper, what the true <em>asana<\/em> is that Shri Mahayogi is bestowing upon us.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4281\" style=\"width: 203px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4281\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4281\" src=\"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/IMG_2011.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"193\" height=\"285\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4281\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sadhya&#8217;s Asana in Kyoto, April 2017<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After the demonstration, she answered questions from the attendees.<br \/>\nEverybody was surprised to hear that she works as a high school teacher, no different from anyone else. There were new students in the class that day, and they too were inspired to continue to practice.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4279\" style=\"width: 348px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4279\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-4279\" src=\"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018-500x375.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"338\" height=\"253\" srcset=\"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018-500x375.jpg 500w, http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018-768x576.jpg 768w, http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018-1024x768.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018-624x468.jpg 624w, http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/Sadhya_Demo_Kyoto1_2018.jpg 1116w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 338px) 100vw, 338px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-4279\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sadhya&#8217;s Asana Demonstration in Kyoto, April 2017<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Jai Satguru Shri Mahayogi Paramahansa Ki, jai!!!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Monday March 5, 2018 \u00a0 \u00a0NYC Editor\u2019s Note: Pranavadipa Volume 39\u00a0 When the sleeping Kundalini is awakened by the grace of the Guru, then all the lotuses (the chakra) and the knots (granthis) are pierced. \u2014Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Ch.3, V.2 \u00a0The great Goddess (Kundalini) sleeps closing with her mouth the entrance to the way (the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4278"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4305,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4278\/revisions\/4305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/mahayogi.org\/sahasrara\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}