6. Devî is the feminine form of deva, which in some contexts could be translated as “angel.” The Goddess, however, is not some intermediary being but the ultimate Reality conceived as a feminine power.
7. The name Kamalâtmika is composed of kamala (“lotus”) and the feminine word atmikd (“formed”).
8. Adapted from the rendering given in S. Dâsgupta, Obscure Religious Cults (Calcutta: Firma KLM, repr. 1976), p. 57.
9. Translated by H. V. Guenther, The Royal Song of Sâraha: A Study in the History of Buddhist Thought (Berkeley, Calif.: Shambhala Publications, 1973), p. 70.
10. See N. Rastogi, Introduction to the Tantrâloka (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1987).
11. See J. Singh, The Yoga of Delight, Wonder, and Astonishment (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1991), which consists of an English rendering of the Vijnâna-Bhairava; Siva Sûtras: The Yoga of Supreme Identity (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1979); Spanda-Karikds: The Divine Creative Pulsation (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1980); and Pratyabhijndhrdayam: The Secret of Self-Recognition (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, rev. ed., 1980); see also J. Sing, Swami Lashmanjee, and B. Baumer, Abhinavagupta, Paratrisika-Vivarana: The Secret ofTantric Mysticism (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1988).
12. See D. F. Brooks, The Secret of the Three Cities (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1990), and Auspicious Wisdom: The Texts and Traditions ofSrividyâ Sakta Tantrism in South India (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1992).
13. See D. F. Brooks, Auspicious Wisdom, p. xv.
14. See M. Magee, Vâmakesvarimatam (Varanasi, India: Prachya Prâkâshan, 1986).
15. See Kdmakaldvilasa, edited and translated by A. Avalon (Madras: Ganesh & Co., 2d ed., 1953).
16. See M. S. G. Dyczkowski, The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjikâ Tantra of the Western Kaula Tradition (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1988), and P. E. Muller-Ortega, The Triadic Heart of Siva: Kaula Tantricism of Abhinavagupta in the Non-Dual Saivism of Kashmir (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1989). See also Dyczkowski’s The Doctrine of Vibration: An Analysis of the Doctrines and Practices of Kashmir Saivism (Albany, N.Y.: SUNY Press, 1987).
17. See nandalahari, edited and translated by A. Avalon (Madras: Ganesh & Co., 1961) and Saundatyalahari, edited and translated by W. N. Brown (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1958).
18. H. V. Guenther, Yuganaddha: The Tantric View of Life (Varanasi, India: Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office, 2d rev. ed., 1969), p. 8.
19. D. G. White, The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India (Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 1996), p. 1.
20. H. K. Schilling, The New Consciousness in Science and Religion (London: SCM Press, 1973), p. 113.
21. Bubba [Da] Free John, The Paradox of Instruction (San Francisco: Dawn Horse Press, 1977).
22. Ibid., p. 236.
23. See A. Avalon (alias John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shaba (New York: Dover Publications, repr. 1978), pp. 188ff.
24. G. Krishna, Kundalînî: Evolutionary Energy in Man (London: Robinson & Watkins, 1971), pp. 12-13.
25. See L. Sannella, The Kundalînî Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence? (Lower Lake, Calif.: Integral Publishing, 1987).
26. G. Krishna, Kundalînî: The Biological Basis of Religion and Genius (New Delhi: Kundalînî Research and Publication Trust, 1978), p. 88. The book has a long introduction by the German physicist, philosopher, and politician C. F. Freiherr von Weizsacker.
27. Swami Râma, R. Ballentine, and Swami Ajaya (Allan Weinstock), Yoga and Psychotherapy : The Evolution of Consciousness (Glenview, 111. : Himalayan Institute, 1976), p. 151.
28. See A. Bharati, The Tantric Tradition (London: Rider, 1965), pp. 11 Iff.
29. See J. Woodroffe, The Garland of Letters: Studies in the Mantra-Sastra (Madras: Ganesh & Co., 6th ed., 1974.)
30. See P. R. Shah, Tantra: Its Therapeutic Aspect (Calcutta: Punthi Pustak, 1987).
31. Swami Satyânanda Sâraswati, Sure Ways to Self Realization (Monghyr, India: Bihar School of Yoga, 1980), p. 45. 1978), p. 16, fh. 20.
32. Cited after the transliterated Sanskrit given in S. Chattopadhyâya, Reflections on the Tantras (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,
33. G. Krishna, Kundalînî: Evolutionary Energy in Man (London: Robinson & Watkins, 1971), p. 88.
34. In the Buddhist literature, this is known as “Deity Yoga” (devatâ-yoga).
35. Often the word animan is given in the nominative case as anima; similarly mahima and laghima. Tarcher, 1992).
36. See M. Murphy, The Future of the Body : Explorations Into the Further Evolution of Human Nature (Los Angeles: J. P.
37. In the present context the asuras are not demons or antigods but a group of deities, probably those who possess a more terrifying or wrath-ful character.
38. A crore—koti—denotes “ten million” and often, as here, connotes “countless.”
39. The word vipra denotes someone who is deeply moved by the Divine.
40. A candala is a member of one of the lowest castes, an offspring of a shudra and brahmin union.
Chapter 18: Yoga as Spiritual Alchemy: The Philosophy and Practice of Hatha-Yoga
1. F. Capra, The Tao of Physics (New York: Bantam Books, 1977), pp. 228-229.
2. This image is found in the Agni-Purâna (51.150- The whole passage reads: “An ascetic (yati) regards his body at best as an inflated bladder of skin, surrounded by muscles, sinew, and flesh, filled with ill-smelling urine, feces, and dirt, a dwelling-place of illness and suffering, and an easy victim of old age, sorrow, and death, more transient than a dew drop on a blade of grass, nothing more or less than the product of the five elements.”
3. M. Eliade, Yoga: Immortality and Freedom (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1973), p. 227.
4. K. V. Zvelebil, The Poets of the Powers (Lower Lake, Calif.: Integral Publishing, 1993), p. 125.
5. A. Bharati, The Tantric Tradition (London: Rider, 1965), p. 28.
6. K. V. Zvelebil, op. cit., pp. 29-30; 63.
7. Ibid., p. 87.
8. Some scholars place Matsyendra as early as the fifth century C.E.
9. According to the Indian scholar M. Singh, Goraksha’s real teaching was not Hatha-Yoga but a form of Mantra-Yoga called nâda-anusand- hana or “application to the (inner) sound,” and we must study the Samnyâsa-Upanishads (dealing with renunciation) for his views. This interpretation, however, is based on a misunderstanding of Hatha-Yoga, which definitely places considerable emphasis on the inner sound in the higher stages of practice, as is obvious from the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipikd.
10. G. W. Briggs, Gorakhnath and the Kânphata Yogis (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, repr. 1973), p. 23. This informative, if not always unbiased, ethnographic study was first published in 1938.
11. See A. N. Upadhye, “On Some Under-Currents of the Nâtha-Sampradaya, or The Carpâta-Sataka,” Journal of the Oriental Institute of Baroda, vol. 18, part 3 (1968-1969), pp. 198-206.
12. According to the Gheranda-Samhitâ (5.80), the hamsa—also referred to as the spontaneous gâyatrî-mantra—operates in the nostrils, at the heart, and in the mûlâdhâra-cakra at the base of the spine.
13. Some popular books on Yoga wrongly state that ha and tha are the actual words meaning “sun” and “moon” respectively, whereas they are in fact only syllables representing the two luminaries.
14. The boundaries of the new discipline of Yoga therapy are still being defined both relative to the medical profession and traditional Yoga.
15. Written paramâtman.
16. The meaning of the phrase dashadi is unclear because it can be read as either dasha-adi or dasha-adi. Dâsha means “state” or “condition,” whereas dasha means “ten.” In either case, we do not know what adi (“and so forth”) is meant to refer to.
17. A. Avalon [J. Woodroffe], The Serpent Power (London: Luzac, 1919), p. 269.
18. Written paramânanda.
19. Written svânanda.
20. Written paramâtman.
21. The name Maheshva
ra is composed of maha (“great”) and îshvara (“lord”).
22. Written siddhâsana. The same grammatical rule of euphonic combination applies to all the other postures mentioned in the following stanza, where the word âsana is preceded by an a sound.
23. The text wrongly reads dvi-laksha for tri-laksha, as is usual. The Siddha-Siddhânta-Paddhati (2.10) has tri-lakshya, meaning the “three signs”: antar-lakshya, bahir-lakshya, and madhyamâ-lakshya. These are visionary states.
24. Curiously, in their edition of the Goraksha-Shataka, which contains this stanza, Swami Kuvâlayânanda and S. A. Shukla chose the reading caturasram (“four-comered”) over trikonam (“triangular”), even though most of their manuscripts favored the latter.
25. Manipuraka is a variation of manipura (“jewel city”).
26. I read brahma-pâdam for the text’s brahma-dvâram, which makes no sense.
27. Written mitaharin.
28. I read bhujyate for the text’s muncate.
29. I read gudavarta (guda-avarta) for the text’s mudavarta.
30. Before a soft consonant, nabhas must be changed to nabho.
31. The phrase shâstrangamodgtranam is corrupt for shâstragamodiranam, “warding off of weapons.” See the Hatha-Yoga-Pradîpikâ (3.50) for the correct reading.
32. The Sanskrit text reads wrongly vitanute.
33. The repetition suggests that the Sanskrit text is corrupt here.
34. The compound marici-jala can mean “chimerical water” or “sparkling water.” It captures a yogic experience of unending luminosity.
35. The phrase apâna-mûlâ is probably wrong for adhdra-mûlâ, meaning the anal sphincter muscles which are contracted by means of mûlâ- bandha.
36. I read hutavaha for hutabaha.
37. The Yoga-Karnikâ (10.18) quotes this verse as reading shâshta-nâdîka instead of shâshti-nâdîbhih.
38. Stanza 101 seems to be an interpolation and has been omitted here.
39. There appears to be another work of this title, by Nitya Nâtha, which has a summary, entitled Siddha-Siddhânta-Samgraha, by Balabhadra. There is also the seventeenth-century Goraksha-Siddhânta-Samgraha, which draws from about sixty other works.
40. S. L. Katre, “nandasamuccaya: A Rare Work on Hatha-Yoga,” Journal of the Oriental Institute (Baroda), vol. 11 (1961-62), p. 409.
41. R C. Divanji, Yoga-Yajhavalkya: A Treatise on Yoga as Taught by Yogi Yajhavalkya (Bombay, 1954).
42. See S. Mayeda, A Thousand Teachings: The Upadesasahasri of Śankara (New York: SUNY Press, 1992), p. 6.
43. See P. V. Kane, History of Dharmasastra, vol. 1 (Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, 1930), p. 190.
44. Other works of the seventeenth century are the Shiva-Yoga-PradipiM (“Light on Shiva-Yoga”) of Sadâshiva Biahmendra, a Telegu brahmin, and the Yoga-Cintâmani (“Thought-Gem of Yoga”) of Shivânanda.
45. See K. S. Balasubramanian, Authorities Cited in the Hatha-Sanketa-Candrikâ of Sundaradeva, Yoga Research Center Studies Series, no. 3 (Lower Lake, Calif.: Yoga Research Center, forthcoming).
Western scholars have by and large tended to distrust native Indian chronologies (such as the dynastic lists of the Purânas), seeing in them little more than fanciful constructions of imaginative pundits. Some researchers, however, have studied this complicated subject in depth and have found that India’s historical traditions are far more credible than has generally been assumed.
For millennia, the Hindus transmitted their sacred knowledge orally, necessitating tremendous feats of memory. Even today, there are still brahmins who can flawlessly recite one, two, or even three of the Vedic scriptures and some of their commentaries comprising tens of thousands of verses. Others can recite the entire Mahâbhârata epic, which is seven times larger than the Iliad and Odyssey combined. Given this advanced mnemonic technology, why would we not also take their lists of kings and seers seriously? Admittedly, the Purânas are not counted among the revelatory literature (shruti) and therefore demonstrably have not been transmitted as faithfully as the Vedas. However, that the lists of Purânic kings should contain errors and omissions does not negate their value as chronicles.
The following chronology is based on recent research and thinking rather than the highly conservative ideas of scholarly textbooks. The academic establishment is only slowly beginning to accept that we must completely reconsider the history of ancient India. Needless to say, the present chronological reconstruction is certainly boldly conjectural for the earlier dates, but it has the advantage of giving the native Indian traditions proper weight and also taking into account the latest evidence. In particular, the discovery that the mighty, 1,800-mile-long Sârasvatî River, which once flowed through the heartland of the early Vedic civilization, had run dry by around 1900 B.C.E. represents a significant chronological marker. It helps us fix antecedent and subsequent cultural developments in a more plausible manner than has hitherto been possible.
Another potential chronological signpost is the recent identification of underwater ruins in the Gulf of utch as Dvârakâ, the God-man Krishna’s royal city. The ruins have been dated c. 1450 B.C.E. If we tentatively assign the Pândavas to this time and allow a very conservative twenty years per generation, we are now able to construct, with the help of these two dates together with the Purânic genealogies (as reconstructed by F. E. Pargiter), a plausible alternative chronology for ancient India.
B.C.E.
250.0 Earliest known human presence in India.
40.0 Painted rock shelters in Central India.
6500 Beginnings of the town of Mehrgarh (now in Afghanistan), showing a remarkable cultural continuity with the Indus- Sârasvatî civilization and later Hindu culture. By the fifth millennium B.C.E., Mehrgarh had grown into a settlement of around 20,000 people (the size of the twentieth-century university town of Stanford, California). Carbon dating has yielded dates going back to 8000 B.C.E.
4000-3000 Pre-Harappan phase of the Indus-Sârasvatî Civilization, as seen in the developments of such sites as Balakot, Amri, and Hakra.
4000-2000 Period indicated for the Rig-Veda by astronomical data given in the text itself. This can be considered the era during which the core hymns of the Rig-Veda (“Knowledge of Praise”) and also of the other three Vedic Samhitâs, and possibly also the original Purâna (“Ancient Lore”), were composed.
This must also have been the period of Manu Svayambhûva, the first Manu, as well as the next five Manus, unless we follow conventional scholarship and take these figures as purely fictional. Manu is credited with the authorship of the Manu-Smriti, though the extant text is placed between 300 B.C.E. and 200 C.E.
Contemporaries of the first Manu were the seven great seers Marici, Angiras, Atri, Pulaha, Kratu, Pulastya, and Vashishtha. Angiras is associated with the Atharva-Veda and is the name of later sages as well.
This is also the era of the first Bhrigu, a fierce sage, who is said to have taken birth again in the age of Manu Vaivasvata (see 3310 B.C.E.). His descendants (known as the Bhargavas) were a powerful religious force in Vedic times and were particularly associated with the Atharva-Veda.
During this time also lived the original Sage Nârada (of whom the Purânas know seven incarnations) and Daksha or Kan (the first of two incarnations by that name), whose daughter Sâtî was married to Shiva.
3310 Period of Manu Vaivasvata, the seventh Manu and the first ruler after the great flood reported in some Hindu scriptures, who lived ninety-three generations before the Pândavas. His son Ikshvâku founded the solar dynasty of Ayodhyâ, the lineage of North Indian kings to which the God-man Râma belonged (see 2050 B.C.E.). Manu’s grandson Candra, son of the sage Atri, founded the lunar dynasty to which the God- man Krishna belonged.
This is also the era of the seven great seers Vashishtha, Kashyapa, Atri, Jamadagni, Gautama, Vishvâmitra, and Bharadvâja.
3210 Time of the wicked King Vena, who was killed by the power of mantras, and his sage successor Prithu of Ayodhyâ, who was a great
visionary and benign ruler.
Feb. 18, 3102 Traditional but improbable Hindu date (according to the Purânas) for the beginning of the dark age (kali-yuga), which, according to some pundits, coincides with the end of the great war chronicled in the Mahâbhârata. This is the time of the God-man Krishna and Prince Arjuna. According to Greek sources, Heracles (= Krishna) lived 138 generations before Alexander the Great (c. 325 B.C.E.), but see 1450 B.C.E.
3000 Beginnings of the urban centers along the Indus River. These were part of the sprawling Indus-Sârasvatî Civilization, which extended over an area of approximately 300,000 square miles. Since the earliest archaeological layers of Mohenjo-Daro are inaccessible because of nearly forty feet of groundwater, the date of 2600 B.C.E. usually given for this town can safely be pushed back by several centuries.
2950 Beginning of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.
2600 -1900 The so-called “Harappan phase” of the Indus-Sârasvatî Civilization, named after the large town of Harappa. During this period there was extensive export of goods, notably wood, to Sumer and other Middle-Eastern cultures.
2600 -1500 Creation of the teachings that subsequently crystallized into the Brâhmanas (ritual texts). Their approximate chronological sequence is as follows; Panca-Vimsha (also called Tandya- or Praudha-Brâhmana; Sârasvatî and Drishadvati Rivers are still prominent; this text also does not yet refer to the united Kuru-Pancalas), Taittirîya (refers to the united Kuru-Pancalas), Jaiminiya, Kaushttaki (or Shânkhâyana), Aitareya, Shata-Patha, and Go-Patha. This is also the era of the beginnings of yur-Veda (Northern India’s medical tradition), deriving from teachings found in the Atharva-Veda.
2510 King Sâgara, of the solar dynasty, whose 60,000 sons are said to have been killed by Kapila (who presumably is not the same sage who is remembered as the originator of the Sâmkhya tradition).
This is also the era of Prâtardana, son of King Divodasa II, who was a sage philosopher credited in the Kaushîtaki-Upanishad (2.14) with advocating the then still novel idea of the “inner fire sacrifice” (antara-agni-hotra). Prâtardana built upon the earlier sacrificial philosophy of Mahidâsa and Gârgyayana.
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