Asian Traditions of Meditation

by Halvor Eifring

  Figure 4.3. First circuit: Trailokyamohana cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  In the first circuit of the Śrīcakra (see figure 4.3), there are three square enclosures, and the first line of the square is presided over by the ten forms of yogic accomplishments (siddhis): (1) the power to become small as an atom (aṇimā); (2) the power to attain weightlessness (laghimā); (3) the power to become large (mahimā); (4) the power of lordship (iśitva); (5) power over others (vaśitva); (6) assuming the form deserved (prākāmya); (7) the power to enjoy (bhukti); (8) attainment (prāpti); and (10) the power to fulfill all desires (sarvakāma). These ten accomplishments correspond to the ten aesthetic sentiments that propel our karmic actions, namely calmness (śānta), a sense of wonder (adbhuta), pity (karuṇā), valor (vīra), humor (hāsya), disgust (bibhatsa), anger (raudra), fear (bhayānaka), love (śṛṅgāra), and the natural state (niyati). In the second line of the square, the adept contemplates his own passions, such as anger, fear, lust, and so on, so as to overcome or conquer them. The eight psychological tendencies that are considered obstacles of the mind are also invoked, through the eight Mātṛkā Śaktis (goddesses) that either flank the four “doors” of the yantra or are invoked in the square band (bhūpura). Generally they are what we experience of the world through sense activity and the cravings of our egotism. Thus the first Mātṛkā Śakti, (1) Brāhmī, is associated with worldly desire, the passion that impels us to seek ephemeral joys; (2) Māheśvarī is representative of anger; (3) Kaumarī, of constant avarice and greed; (4) Vaishnavī fascinates and infatuates; (5) Vārāhī is symbolic of obstinacy and false pride; (6) Indrānī, of jealousy; (7) Cāmuṇḍā, of earthly rewards; and finally, (8) Mahālakṣmī, symbolizes our deficiencies and blameworthiness in general.

  Around the Mātṛkā Śakti, in the third line innermost of the square, preside the Mudrā Śaktis: (1) The Agitator of All (Sarvasaṅkṣobhinī); (2) The Chaser of All (Sarvavidrāvinī); (3) The Attractor of All (Sarvākarśinī); (4) The Subjugator of All (Sarvavaśaṅkarī); (5) The Intoxicator of All (Sarvonmādinī); (6) The Restrainer of All (Sarvamahānkuśa); (7), The Wanderer in Space (Sarvakhecarī) [as Consciousness] of All; (8) The Seed of All (Sarvabīja); (9) The Womb of All (Sarvayoni); and (10) The Triadic [Nature] of All (Trikhaṇḍā). These represent the ten cakras of the subtle body.

  Figure 4.4. Second circuit: Sarvāśāparipūraka cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  Now let us move to the second circuit (see figure 4.4). Our bodies are the locus of our sense experiences, our likes and dislikes, and our emotions, feelings, and responses. According to the teaching of the Śrīvidyā school, the physical being is composed of sixteen components: the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), ten sense organs of perception and action (ears, skin, eyes, tongue, nose, mouth, feet, hands, arms, and genitals), and the oscillating mind. These sixteen components are related to the sixteen petals of the Śrīyantra lotus. Each petal is presided over by a deity of attraction who stimulates our “sense consciousness” through our bodily faculties, which leaves us spellbound in infatuation with ourselves. These sixteen “attractions” veil our existence, blind our spiritual sight, keep us from knowledge, and chain us to the ceaseless cycle of life. Since they mirror our consciousness at the stage of false knowing, these Śaktis must be contemplated at the beginning of the spiritual journey.

  The eight-petaled lotus, the third circuit (see figure 4.5), governs speech, grasping, locomotion, evacuation, enjoyment, and the three attitudes of rejection, acceptance, and indifference. These petals are also each presided over by a Śakti.

  The two principal symbols of the subtle body are the subtle channels (nāḍīs) and the cakras symbolized as lotuses (see figure 4.6). Nāḍīs are subtle channels or nerves that act as conduits of prāṇic currents. They are pathways of life currents energized through the practice of Kuṇḍalinī yoga. Of the fourteen channels, there are three principle ones: Iḍā, the lunar channel on the left side of the cerebrospinal axis, the spinal column, Piṅgalā, the solar channel on the right side of the Suṣumnā, the central channel, which extends from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

  Figure 4.5. Third circuit: Sarvaśaṅkshobaṇa cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  Figure 4.6. Fourth circuit: Sarvasaubhāgyadāyaka cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  After transcending the limitations of the physical self, the meditator has to attain an understanding of the prāṇic structure of his subtle body, from the physical shell he must enter into his psychic self represented by the subtle nerves, etheric channels, and vital energy of the body-cosmos. Accordingly, the fourth, fifth, and sixth circuits of the Śrīyantra symbolically illustrate the subtle nerves and the modification of the vital energy (prāṇa) that regulates the vitality of the subtle body. The first of these, the fourteen-triangled circuit, corresponds with the fourteen energy channels in the subtle body: six run through the right side of the body, starting at the ankle and moving toward and through the right thigh, shoulder, and cheek and ultimately meeting at the center of the forehead; four are on the left, and the rest are along the axis of the subtle body (see figure 4.6).

  The fifth circuit of ten triangles shown in figure 4.7 exemplifies the dynamic life force called prāṇa, the essential link between mind and body. The triangles represent the tenfold functions of the universal prāṇic energy in the individual subtle body, the five vital currents (Prāṇa, which draws life force into the body; Apāna, which expels life force; Vyāna, which distributes and circulates energy; Samāna, which controls digestion; Udāna, which controls circulation), and the five medial currents (Nāga, Kūrma, Kṛkara, Devadatta, and Dhananjaya) that are linked with the functions of the five prāṇas that mirror them.

  Figure 4.7. Fifth circuit: Sarvārthasādhaka cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  The sixth circuit shown in figure 4.8 embodies the yogic functions of the prāṇa, life force that acts in conjunction with the fivefold digestive fire. In Āyurveda, fire is looked upon as the cleansing and transformative element. It is the task of fire (agni) in the body to break up solids, transform them, and nourish the body at the cellular level. There are ten recognized functions of fire mentioned in Bhāskararāya’s commentary. Agni acts as a corroder (kṣaraka), ejector (udgāraka), agitator (kṣobhaka), bloater (jṛmbhaka), and dissolver (mohaka). It facilitates active action in the form of food that is eaten, chewed, sucked, licked, and drunk.

  Figure 4.8. Sixth circuit: Sarvarakshakara cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  While the digestive fire is responsible for absorption and the elimination of waste at the physical level, on the symbolic plane, the element of fire represents spiritual transformation from the plane of darkness to the light of awareness, a wiping out of negative emotions and memory traits that separate the devotee from his true identity. The contemplation of the sixth circuit, presided over by goddesses, represents the symbolic transformation of consciousness through the conjunction of prāṇa and agni that brings about a perfect psycho-physical balance to enter the final, albeit unitive, state of consciousness represented by the next circuit.

  Conscious experience of the psychic spectrum becomes increasingly subtle as one moves to the Śrīyantra’s inner enclosures. The seventh, eight-triangled circuit (Sarvarogahara, see figure 4.9) represents the three constituent principles of material nature: sattva, associated with purity or the stuff of intelligence; rajas, denoting the force or energy activating and impelling creation; and tamas, mass or matter equated with inertia. These three qualities exist in individuals in varying degrees and are variously manifested: sattva is expressed psychologically as purity, tranquility, and calmness of mind; rajas as passion, egoism, and restlessness; and tamas as resistance to all change. The devotee can cultivate any of these qualities by his actions and thoughts; ideally, an aspirant will cultivate the sattva element of his nature over rajas or tamas. Ultimately, however, the devotee will strive to overcome e
ven the sattva element, as the ultimate essence is above and beyond all. The other five triangles of this circuit represent two sets of polarities—pleasure/pain, cold/heat—and the individual’s will or capacity to decide upon action. Decisiveness guides the psyche to balance the continuous flux of mental activity.

  Before reaching the finale of yantra meditation represented by the bindu, the adept is made to once again come face to face with mental fluctuations caused by the existential reality of the world at large. At this stage, the adept is once again confronted by the four symbols of the weapons of goddess Tripurasundarī, which she holds in her four hands. Although the weapons are not depicted in the diagram, they are visualized around the primal triangle (figure 4.10). The noose that the goddess holds in her lower right hand embodies the gross form of desire. The elephant hook that she holds in her lower left hand is a symbol of the negative traits, such as anger and hatred, that lie at the subliminal levels of the psyche. In her upper two arms, the goddess holds a bow and five arrows. The bow symbolizes the higher faculties of cognition that controls the five flowery arrows, symbols of the five gross and five subtle elements that attract our senses but leave us unfulfilled.

  Figure 4.9. Seventh circuit: Sarvarogahara cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  Figure 4.10. Eighth circuit: Sarvasiddhiprada cakra. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  As meditation nears the innermost triangle, a dramatic change takes place with the fading of the goddesses presiding over the previous circuits into the emptiness of the center. The innumerable Śaktis of the earlier phases are reduced to three principles of existence of impure creation: the unmanifest principle of creation (Avyakta), the cosmic principle of force (Mahat), and the principle of ego-formation (Ahamkāra) give rise to the experiences of subject and object through which the adept perceives the distinctions and diversity of external nature.

  The ninth cakra, the bindu (figure 4.11), is the symbol of final release. It is the summit of reality and represents the innermost center of the consciousness, the abode of the supreme goddess Tripurasundarī, whose mysterious presence is experienced in the depths of one’s being. The bindu marks the end of the spiritual pilgrimage. Where outer life ends, the inner life begins: there is no shape, no form; all is immersed in the void. According to the Prayogavidhi of Bhāskararāya, the internalization of the Śrīyantra is accomplished by chanting the appropriate mantras that invokes the aforesaid symbolism through the ritual of nyāsa. The contemplative ritual consists in touching specific spots on the body to infuse it with the energies of the deities who represent all of the symbolic categories described above. A more extreme but knowledge-centered meditative practice was propounded by Lakṣmīdhara (ca. 1200 AD) and is followed by the Samayācārins, who outright reject the use of any form of external aid or sacred symbol but retain the inner and mentally directed contemplations.

  The Śrīyantra’s nine circuits are thus nine levels separating the devotee from his primordial wholeness, or, conversely, nine steps that can lead him through the principles of spiritual evolution. When the highest stage of exaltation is reached, the yantra is internalized; it becomes a psychic complex. The truth of the cosmos, illuminated in the yantra, is the devotee himself illumined, and his body itself becomes the yantra.

  Figure 4.11. Ninth circuit: Sarvānandamaya cakra, as one’s innermost self. Image courtesy of Madhu Khanna.

  In another type of subtle and abstract meditation, the adept experiences the dynamic flow of evolution and involution through the Śrīyantra. In deep concentration, the adept mentally constructs the entire image of the Śrīyantra from the center, in the same fashion in which the cosmos is held to unfurl itself in the process of evolution. After the whole image has been visualized, the adept begins his meditation from the outermost periphery of the figure. Moving inward, enclosure after enclosure, he is symbolically involved in the “dissolution” of all of the cosmic principles projected by the nine Śiva-Śakti triangles. In such meditation, the adept lives through the whole drama of descent and ascent, as an act of purging his consciousness. He is summoned by and surrenders to initiatory death, through which he is reborn. When he has attained the sought-after identity, the extended universe (of the yantra) symbolically collapses into the bindu, which itself vanishes into the void.

  Kuṇḍalinī Dhyāna and Cakra Homologies

  In the Śākta Tantras, the human body acquires a unique role and is considered the most perfect and powerful of all vehicles of worship. The adept looks upon himself as an extension of divine consciousness expressing the fundamental unity of creation. His life, like the cosmos, is bound by a purpose; his biological rhythms are tuned by planetary phenomena. Human existence is ordained and regulated by the governing principles of nature. The external macrocosmic world and the microcosmic inner world are formed of the same “stuff” and are related by an indivisible web of mutually conditioned affinities.

  To illustrate the mutual correspondences between the microcosmic body and the cosmos, Śākta Tantra has created a complex map of psychic “crosspoints” in which the infinite world of time and space are seen reflected in the psycho-physical structure of the subtle body. The cosmos, according to the Tantras, consists of seven ascending planes of existence, starting from earthly, gross existence, and this hierarchy is mirrored in the psychic vortices functioning as invisible yantras in the human body. In the Hindu tradition, the seven major points of power in the subtle body function as yantras for inner meditative experience in Kuṇḍalinī yoga. They are visualized as geometrical figures, as wheels (cakras) or lotuses, spaced on the vertical axis of the subtle body, the Suṣumnā, which corresponds roughly to the spinal column and the brain. Since these cakras embrace the entire psycho-cosmos, each is associated with a sound vibration, element, color, deity, or animal symbol. The first cakra, known as the Mūlādhāra (Root) Cakra, is situated at the base of the spine and is the gathering point of the energy of the psychic body. Its symbol is a square with an inverted triangle. In the center of this yantra is the snake symbol of the latent microcosmic form of energy, Devī Kuṇḍalinī, coiled around a liṅga emblem. It is governed by the element earth, and its seed mantra is Laṃ.

  The second cakra, the Svādhiṣṭhāna Cakra, lies behind the genitals. It is vermilion, and its form is a circle with six petals, containing a white crescent moon. In the center is inscribed the mantra of the water element, Vaṃ.

  The third cakra, the Maṇipura Cakra, is the navel center, governed by the element fire. Its symbol is a lotus of ten petals. Within the lotus is a red triangle with three T-shaped swastika marks. Its seed mantra is Raṃ.

  The fourth cakra, the Anāhata Cakra, is located at the level of the heart, and is conceived as a lotus of twelve petals with a hexagon at the center. This cakra is the seat of the air element, and is a prime revealer of cosmic sound during meditation. Its seed mantra is Yaṃ.

  The fifth cakra is known as the Viśuddha Cakra and is situated at the level of the throat. It is of smoky purple hue, and its symbol is a sixteen-petaled lotus with a downward-pointing triangle. At its center is the symbol of the ether element, represented by a circle, with the seed mantra Haṃ.

  The sixth cakra, the Ājñā Cakra, is located between the eyebrows and commands the various levels of meditation. Its symbol is a circle with two petals and an inverted triangle bearing a liṅga emblem. Its seed mantra is the primordial vibration Om.

  The seventh cakra, the Sahasrāra Cakra, represents the apex of yogic meditation, the seat of the Absolute (Śiva-Śakti). It is visualized as measuring four fingers’ breadth above the crown of the head, and is represented by an inverted lotus of a thousand petals, symbolically showering the subtle body with spiritual radiance. The Sahasrāra neutralizes all colors and sounds, and is represented as colorless.

  These internal symbols in the subtle body mark the phases of the spiritual journey of the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, the energy that is aroused in meditation for the ascent of the path of the Suṣumnā t
o unite with the Sahasrāra Cakra. They indicate the seven stages of meditation through which the adept works out his identity with the cosmos. Each of the inner cakras may be meditated upon either independently or with the aid of an external yantra. A common practice is to equate the various circuits of the external yantras with each of the seven or nine cakras in the subtle body (see figure 4.12). In pyramidal-shaped yantras, each level of the hierarchy may be identified with each level of the cakras.

  The technique of Kuṇḍalinī yoga consists in using the vital energy (prāṇa) to awaken the consciousness-as-power (Śakti) in the root cakra (Mūlādhāra), located in the region of the perineum, and causing it to rise up the Suṣumnā, the central channel of the subtle body, energizing the cakras through which the Tantric universe can be absorbed into the body. Once the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti has ascended to Sahasrāra, the highest psychic center at the crown of the head, it is made to reverse its course and return to rest in the base center again.