The Serpent Power. Arthur Avalon

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СКАЧАТЬ the division by “principles” more nearly adumbrates the truth. It is not easy to correlate with complete accuracy the Indian and Theosophical theories as to man’s principles. It has, however, been stated{114} that the physical body has two divisions, the “dense” and “etheric” body; that these correspond to the Annamaya and Prānamayakoshas, and that the “astral” body corresponds to the Kāmik side of the Manomayakosha. Assuming for argument the alleged correspondence, then the “etheric centers” or Chakra of Mr. Leadbeater’s account appear to be centers of energy of the Prāna vāyu. The lotuses are also this and centers of the universal consciousness. Kundalinī is the static form of the creative energy in bodies which is the source of all energies, including Prāna. According to Mr. Leadbeater’s theory, Kundalinī is some force which is distinct from Prāna, understanding this term to mean vitality or the life principle, which on entrance into the body shows itself in various manifestations of life which are the minor Prānas, of which inspiration is called by the general name of the force itself (Prāna). Verses 10 and 11 say of Kundalinī: “It is She who maintains all the beings (that is, Jīva-jīvātman) of the world by means of inspiration and expiration.” She is thus the Prāna Devatā, but, as She is (Comm., vv. 10 and 11) Srishti-sthitilayātmikā, all forces therefore are in Her. She is, in fact, the Shabdabrahman or “Logos” in bodies. The theory discussed appears to diverge from that of the Yogīs when we consider the nature of the Chakras and the question of their vivification. According to Mr. Leadbeater’s account, the Chakras are all vortices of “etheric matter,” apparently of the same kind and subject to the same external influence of the inrushing sevenfold force of the “Logos,” but differing in this, that in each of the Chakras one or other of their sevenfold forces is predominant. Again, if, as has been stated, the astral body corresponds with the Manomayakosha, then the vivification of the Chakras appears to be, according to Mr. Leadbeater, a rousing of the Kāmik side of the mental sheath. According to the Hindu doctrine, these Chakras are differing centers of consciousness, vitality, and Tāttvik energy. Each of the five lower Chakras is the center of energy of a gross Tattva—that is, of that form of Tattvik activity or Tanmātra which manifests the Mahābhūta or sensible matter. The sixth is the center of the subtle mental Tattva, and the Sahasrāra is not called a Chakra at all. Nor, as stated, is the splenic center included among the six Chakras which are dealt with in this account.

      In the Indian system the total number of the petals corresponds with the number of the letters of the Sanskrit Alphabet; and the number of the petals of any specific lotus is determined by the disposition of the Nādīs around it. These petals, further, bear subtle sound-powers, and are fifty in number, as are the letters of the Sanskrit Alphabet, which as representing all words and language is that by which all the ideation which creates the world manifests itself.

      This work also describes certain things which are gained by contemplation on each of the Chakras. Some of them are of a general character, such as long life, freedom from desire and sin, control of the senses, knowledge, power of speech, and fame. Some of these and other qualities are results common to concentration on more than one Chakra. Others are stated in connection with the contemplation upon one center only. But all such statements seem to be made, not with the intention of accurately recording the specific result, if any, which follows upon concentration upon a particular center, but by way of praise for increased self-control, or Stuti-vāda; as where it is said in v. 21 that contemplation on the Nābhi-padma gains for the Yogī power to destroy and create the world.

      It is also said that mastery of the centers may produce various Siddhis or powers in respect of the predominating elements there. And this is, in fact, alleged.{115} Pandit Ananta Shāstrī says:{116} “We can meet with several persons every day elbowing us in the streets or bazaars who in all sincerity attempted to reach the highest plane of bliss, but fell victims on the way to the illusions of the psychic world, and stopped at one or the other of the six Chakras. They are of varying degrees of attainment, and are seen to possess some power which is not found even in the best intellectual of the ordinary run of mankind. That this school of practical psychology was working very well in India at one time is evident from these living instances (not to speak of the numberless treatises on the subject) of men roaming about in all parts of the country.” The mere rousing of the Serpent power does not, from the spiritual Yoga standpoint, amount to much. Nothing, however, of real moment, from the higher Yogīs’ point of view, is achieved until the Ājnā Chakra is reached. Here, again, it is said that the Sādhaka whose Ātmā is nothing but a meditation on this lotus “becomes the creator, preserver, and destroyer, of the three worlds”; and yet, as the commentator points out (v. 34), “This is but the highest Prashangsā-vāda or Stutivāda—that is, compliment—which in Sanskrit literature is as often void of reality as it is in our ordinary life. Though much is here gained, it is not until the Tattvas of this center are also absorbed, and complete knowledge{117} of the Sahasrāra is gained, that the Yogī attains that which is both his aim and the motive of his labor, cessation from rebirth which follows on the control and concentration of the Chitta on the Shivasthānam, the Abode of Bliss. It is not to be supposed that simply because the Serpent Fire has been aroused that one has thereby become a Yogī or achieved the end of Yoga. There are other points of difference which the reader will discover for himself, but into which I do not enter, as my object in comparing the two accounts has been to establish a general contrast between this modern account and that of the Indian schools. I may, however, add that the differences are not only as to details. The style of thought differs in a way not easy shortly to describe, but which will be quickly recognized by those who have some familiarity with the Indian Scriptures and mode of thought. The latter is ever disposed to interpret all processes and their results from a subjective or idealistic standpoint, though for the purposes of Sādhana the objective aspect is not ignored. The Indian theory is highly philosophical. Thus, to take but one instance, whilst Mr. Leadbeater attributes the power of becoming large or small at will (Animā and Mahimā Siddhi) to a flexible tube or “microscopic snake” in the forehead, the Hindu says that all powers (Siddhi) are the attribute (Aishvaryya) of the Lord Ishvara, or creative consciousness, and that in the degree that the Jīva realizes that consciousness{118} he shares the powers inherent in the degree of his attainment.

      That which is the general characteristic of the Indian systems, and that which constitutes their real profundity, is the paramount importance attached to consciousness and its states. It is these states which create, sustain, and destroy, the worlds. Brahmā, Vishnu, and Shiva, are the names for functions of the one Universal Consciousness operating in ourselves. And whatever be the means employed, it is the transformation of the “lower” into “higher” states of consciousness which is the process and fruit of Yoga and the cause of all its experiences. In this and other matters, however, we must distinguish both practice and experience from theory. A similar experience may possibly be gained by various modes of practice, and an experience may be in fact a true one, though the theory which may be given to account for it is incorrect.

      The following sections will enable the reader to pursue the comparison for himself.

      As regards practice, I am told that Kundalinī cannot be roused except in the Mūlādhāra and by the means here indicated, though this may take place by accident when by chance a person has hit upon the necessary positions and conditions, but not otherwise. Thus the story is told of a man being found whose body was as cold as a corpse, though the top of the head was slightly warm. (This is the state in Kundalī Yoga Samādhi.) He was massaged with ghee (clarified butter), when the head got gradually warmer. The warmth descended to the neck, when the whole body regained its heat with a rush. The man came to consciousness, and then told the story of his condition. He said he had been going through some antics, imitating the posture of a Yogī, when suddenly “sleep” had come over him. It was surmised that his breath must have stopped, and that, being in the right position and conditions, he had unwittingly roused Kundalī, who had ascended to Her cerebral center. Not, however, being a Yogī, he could not bring her down again. This, further, can only be done when the Nādīs (v. post) are pure. I told the Pandit (who gave me this story), who was learned in this Yoga, and whose brother practiced it, of the case of a European friend of mine who was not acquainted with the Yoga processes here described, though he had read something about СКАЧАТЬ