Yoga-Shikha
Upanishad
Om ! May He protect us both together; may
He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
First Chapter
“All the living beings are surrounded by the net of illusion, Oh God,
Parameshwara, Oh God of Gods, How will they attain salvation? Be kind
enough to tell.” Asked Lord Brahma to Lord Parameshwara and he replied
as follows: 1.1
Some people say that the only way out is Jnana (knowledge). To attain
occult powers, that alone will not suffice. How can Jnana without Yoga
lead to salvation? It is also true that Yoga alone without Jnana will
not lead to salvation. So the one who aims at salvation, should learn
Jnana and Yoga together. 1.2
Like a rope ties a bird, the minds of all living beings are tied.
Enquiries and researches do not affect the tie of this mind. So the only
way to win over this mind is through victory over Prana. There is no
other option to get victory over Prana except Yoga and there are no
methods except those shown by Siddhas. 1.3
So I am teaching you this Yoga Shika (head of all yogas). It is greater
than all Jnanas. After sitting in either Padmasana (lotus position) or
any other Asana, and after concentrating the sight to the tip of the
nose and after controlling both the hands and legs, meditate on the
letter ‘Om’ with a concentrated mind. If one continuously meditates on
Parameshwara, he would become an expert in yoga and the Parameshwara
would appear before him. 1.4
If we sit in an asana and continuously practice, the bindu will cease
from going down. Without Pooraka and Rechaka, the Prana would stand in
Kumbhaka for a very long time. You would hear different types of sound.
The nectar will start flowing from the place of the moon. Hunger and
thirst will cease. Mind would get concentrated on the ever flowing
bliss. The four steps for this are Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hatha Yoga
and Raja Yoga. The great Maha Yoga, which is one, has been divided in to
four and named as above. The prana goes out with sound “ham” and goes in
with the word “sa”, and all beings naturally chant the mantra “Hamsa,
Hamsa” (while exhaling and inhaling). This is chanted in the Sushumna
after being taught by the Guru in an inverted manner (Hamsa inverted is
soham). This chanting of the mantra “Soham, Soham (I am it)" is called
Mantra Yoga. Sun is the letter “Ha” and moon is the letter “Tha”. The
joining of sun and the moon is the Hatha Yoga. Due to Hatha Yoga, the
idiocy which is the cause of all doshas (draw backs) is swallowed. When
the merging of Jeevatma and Paramatma takes place, mind melts and
vanishes. And only air of Prana remains. This is called Laya Yoga.
Because of Laya Yoga that heavenly Swathmananda Sowkhya (the well being
of the joy of ones own soul) is attained. In the great temple of the
middle of yoni (the female organ) the principle of the Devi, which is
red like Hibiscus flower lives as Rajas in all beings. The merger of
this rajas with the male principle is called Raja Yoga. As a result of
Raja Yoga, the Yogi gets all the occult powers like Anima. You have to
understand that all these four types of Yogas are nothing but the merger
of Prana, Apana and Samana. 1.5
For all those who have a body, their body is the temple of Shiva. It can
give them occult powers. The triangular part in between the anus and
penis is called the mooladhara. This is the place where Shiva lives as a
life giving force. There the Parashakthi called Kundalani lives. From
there wind is produced. The fire is also produced from there. From there
only the sound ‘Hamsa’ and the mind are also produced. This place which
would give whatever is asked for is called Kamakhya peetam (the seat of
passion). In the edge of the anus is the Swadishtana Chakra with six
petals. Near the belly is the Mani Poora Chakra with its ten petals. In
the place near the heart the Anahatha Chakra with its 12 petals exists.
And, Hey Lord Brahma, this is called the Poorna Giri Peeta. In the
depression in the throat, Vishudhi Chakra with its 16 petals exists. Hey
lord of Lords, that is the Jalandara Chakra. In between the eyelids is
the Agna Chakra with its two petals. Over that is the Maha Peeta called
Udayana. 1.6
Second Chapter
This world functions because of the unclear foundation power which is
described as Maha Maya, Maha Lakshmi, Maha Devi and Maha Saraswathi.
That power shines in a micro form as a Bindu (dot) on the Peeta (seat).
That Bindu breaks the Peeta and emerges from there in the form of Nadha
(sound). That Nadha Brahma assumes three shapes viz., Macro, Micro and
external. The macro form is the big shape which is pervaded by the five
Brahmans. The micro form which arises from the Nadha with its three
Bheejas (roots) is the form of Hiranya Garbha. Para is the ever true
property of Satchitananda. By continuously chanting the Atma mantra, the
glitter will occur in Para Thathwa (the philosophy of the external). For
the Yogi who has stopped his mind, this appears in the micro form
similar to the flame of the lamp, moon’s crescent, like a fire fly, like
a streak of lightning and like the glitter of stars. There are no
greater mantras than Nadha (sound), no Gods greater than Atma, no
greater worship than the meditation and no pleasure greater than
satisfaction. My devotee who understands this would remain stable in his
happiness. To that great man who has great devotion to God as well as
similar great devotion to his teacher, all this would be understood
automatically.
Third Chapter
That great ever living Nadha (sound) is called Sabhda Brahman. It is the
strength residing in the Mooladhara. Para is the foundation for its own
self and is of the form of Bindhu. That Nadha coming out of Parashakthi
(similar to the germ coming out of the seed) is called Pasyanthi (we
see). The Yogis who are able to see using the Pasyanthi Shakthi,
understand that it is the whole world. That power produces sound like a
rain starting from the heart. Hey Lord of Lords, there it is called
Madhyama. It is called Vaikari when it merges in the sound form with
Prana and exists in the throat and jaw. It produces all the alphabets
from Aa to Ksha. From alphabet words arise and from words rise the
sentences and from them all the Vedas and Mantras. This Goddess
Saraswathi lives in the cave of intelligence in all beings. In
meditation when will power melts, you can reach this Para Thathwa.
Fourth Chapter
Because the divine power is single, there are no differences there. You
have to understand that the thought process of living beings is like
seeing a snake in a rope. When you do not know, it is a rope and then
for a small time the rope appears as a snake. The ordinary intelligence
is similar to this. We see everything as the world that we see. There is
no reason or basis for this world to be different from this Brahman. So
the World is only Brahman and not anything different. If you understand
the Para Thathwa like this, where is the cause for differentiation. 4.1
In Taittiriya Upanishad fear has been told as belonging to that foolish
person who finds difference between Jeevatma(soul) and Paramatma (God).
Though this world has been told as some thing to be experienced, in the
next moment it vanishes like a dream. There is no state of waking up in
a dream. There is no dream in the state of waking up. Both of them are
not there in Laya. Laya is not in both of them. All these three are
illusions created by the three characters. The one who sees this would
be above characteristics and would be forever. 4.2
The Chaithanya (activity) starts in the form of the world. All these are
Brahman. It is useless to differentiate it as Atma and Anatma when
dealing with wise people. The foolish man thinks that body is attached
to the soul. The belief that pot is mixed with the mud and the water is
mixed with mirage and similarly the belief that body is mixed up with
the soul is because of taking recourse to ignorance. 4.3
Fifth Chapter
That Yogi who has mastered yoga and who has complete control over his
senses would attain whatever he imagines. The Teacher (guru) is the
Brahma, He is Vishnu and He is the Lord of Lords Sadashiva and there is
nobody greater than the teacher in all the three worlds. We should
worship with devotion that Parameshwara, who is the great Soul who has
taught us the divine knowledge. The one who worships like that would get
the result of Jnana fully. Do not keep your aim because of the wavering
mind on occult powers. The one who knows this principle well, is the one
who has attained salvation. There is no doubt about it.
Sixth Chapter
That great light in which the Bhoo Loka, Bhuvar Loka and Suvar Loka
[Worlds] and the Sun, Moon and Fire Gods, are but a small part in the
letter “Om”. When mind wavers, the worldly life and when it is firm, the
salvation will result. So Lord Brahma, using great intelligence we have
to keep the mind not to waver. For desire to posses wealth, the mind is
the reason. When that is destroyed, the world would be destroyed. One
should with lot of effort start the treatment for that. When a man looks
after his mind using his mind and realizes that it has stopped running,
he would see the Parabrahman, which is very difficult to see. The Yogi
is able to get salvation by seeing his mind with his mind. We have to
see the mind with the mind and hanker for that mad state. We have to see
the mind with the mind and be stable in Yoga. 6.1
In any place where the wind moves, the mind also wavers. Mind is called
moon, sun, wind, sight and fire. The Bindu(dot), Nadha (sound) and the
Kala (crescent) are the Gods Vishnu, Brahma and Ishwara. By constant
practice of Nadha, the bad influences will vanish. That which is Nadha
becomes the Bindu and then becomes the mind. One has to clearly aim at
the unification of Nadha, Bindu and Chintha. Mind itself is the Bindu
and that is the reason for the state of creation of the world. Similar
to milk being produced by the cow, Bindu is produced by the mind. 6.2
The one who realizes well the six wheels (Agna chakras) enters the world
of pleasure. One has to enter it by controlling the airs in the body.
One has to send the air (Vayu) upwards. One has to practice Vayu, Bindu
Chakra and Chintha. Once the Yogi realizes Samadhi by one of them, he
feels that everything is nectar like. Similar to the fact that the fire
inside the wood cannot be brought out without churning it by another
wood, without practice, the lamp of wisdom can not be lit. Adopting his
teacher as the one who pilots the ship and by adopting his teachings as
the stable ship, with the power of constant practice, one crosses the
sea of this birth. Thus tells this Upanishad.
Om ! May He protect us both together; may He nourish us both together;
May we work conjointly with great energy,
May our study be vigorous and effective;
May we not mutually dispute (or may we not hate any).
Om ! Let there be Peace in me !
Let there be Peace in my environment !
Let there be Peace in the forces that act on me !
Here ends the Yoga-Sikhopanishad belonging to the Krishna-Yajur-Veda. |