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Kundalini Yoga by Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa PDF
Kundalini Yoga by Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa PDF
Ku dali 1
The wer
Thanks to the 3HO Foundation for permission to use previously published material.
Approved by the Kundalini Research Institute. This book has received the KRI
seal of approval which is granted only to those product� which have been approved
through the Kundalini Research Institute review process for the accuracy and
integrity of those portions which embody the technology of Kundalini Yoga
and 3HO lifestyle as taught by Yogi Bhajan.
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11
D E DI CA T I ON
My Mother,
who taught me to smile
and gave me unshakable faith in God.
My Two Brothers,
who showed me that men can be
kind and wonderful.
Keeping Up!
DESIGN & LAYOUT
Guru Raj Kaur Khalsa
ILLUSTRATIONS
Shabad Kaur Khalsa
ILLUSTRATIVE CONSULTANT
Shiva Singh Khalsa
YOGA POSTURES
Photographs
Sat Simran Kaur Khalsa
Peraim Kaur Khalsa
Demonstrated by
Sadhana Kaur Khalsa
Siri Simran Kaur Khalsa
Nam Kaur Khalsa
Confgnfg
!!ocfion Ono
THING!! TO KNOW (and a few T hing!: to Try)
!!oction Two
THING!! TO DO
General Guidelines for the Practice of Kundalini Yoga 197 TA K� CAR� OF YOU��lF M! A WOMAN 269
The Magnificent Seven 270
MANTRA and M�DITATION A Conscious Act 272
Key to Pronunciation 201 Disease Prevention for Women 27 5
How to Chant 203 The Power of Foods 27 6
Invoking The Flow of Eternal Power: Yogic Tidbits For Women: Foods, Health 27�
ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO 205 GGM: Grace of God Meditation 280
The Seed Sound: SAT NAM 206
Raise the Kundalini: Chakra Meditation 207 R�CIP�
Meditation for Change: SA-TA-NA-MA 20� Yogi Tea-The Original 285
0 ne of the pillars of my faith is cal led seva. It means "selfless service." The
spirit of seva permeated the creation of this book. Many wonderfu l peo
ple gave generously of their expertise, ti me, and energy d u ring the fou r and a
half years it took to complete. I had made th ree earl ier attem pts to write this
book severa l years before the crucial December, 1991, Khalsa Cou ncil workshop
facil itated by Subagh Singh Khalsa that motivated me to focus and commit to
com pleti ng it. G u ruka Singh Khalsa and Siri Ved Kau r Khalsa gave val uable edi
torial in put to those earl ier versions.
Dr. Sat Kau r Kha lsa shared with me th ree usefu l-and for me i m perative
suggestions. If you're plann ing to write a book, I suggest you also fol low them.
They worked for me! 1) Make appointments with you rself for the actual ti me
you plan to work on the book, write them down, and honor them. Start at the
time you're com m itted to, and stop at the ti me you predetermined. Then write
down you r next appoi ntment and stick to it. 2) Chant and pray before each
writing session. 3) j ust write, before you try to edit. Get the whole th ing down
on paper (or in the com puter) before you start the ed iti ng process. Writi ng and
editing are two d ifferent modes.
I n the proofreading and editing department I had extremely usefu l com ments
from my designated readers, Harijot Kau r Khalsa, Sat Narayan S i m ran Kaur,
Shanti Kaur Kha lsa, Susan Liebman Ladd, and Ted Garon. (Ha rijot's a rtistic eye
also helped in selecti ng the i l l ustrations.) Gobind Ka u r Kha lsa not only held u p
under the marathon final proofread ing sessions to meet the printer's deadline,
but in the early stages hel ped organ ize the cha pters. G u ru preet Kau r Khalsa
jumped in at a moment's notice to proofread, as did Ek Ong Kar Kau r Khalsa,
THING� TO KNOW
and a F�w Thingg to Try
Before You Begin ...
Always consult your physician before beginning
this or any other exercise program. Nothing in
this book is to be construed as medical advice.
The benefits attributed to the practice of
Kundalini Yoga come from the centuries-old yogic
tradition. Results will vary with individuals.
YOU ARI: HI:RI:
I gen u inely love and val ue the teach i ngs I 'm about to share with you . I
want as many people as possible to benefit from them because I know that the
more people who p ractice Ku ndal i n i Yoga, the m ore happy people there
wil l be i n the worl d . The more happy people there a re in the world, the
better the world is going to be for me to l ive i n !
I hope you' l l read this book with a n open m i n d a n d a n open h ea rt, and
practice the exercises a n d meditations. They have transformed my l ife; I
know they can do the same for you .
You d o n 't h ave t o read this book i n exact order (tho u g h it's p refer
a ble) but I d o reco m m e n d that after you fi nish this that you rea d the first
five chapters i n sequ ence. They wil l g et you off to
�farling right now, you a good start. Then, if you wish, you can g o to the
CAN t!hange your life. Table of Contents, see what g ra bs you, a nd read
that next. The book is o rg a n ized i nto two sections:
You CAN be Bountiful, the fi rst part is Things To Know (an d a few thi ngs to
Bli��fuls Beautiful. try) and the secon d part is s pecific Things To Do.
This can 't be a step-by-step book, beca use it's a
In fal!f, you already are!
book about l ife a n d we l ive l ife o n m a ny d ifferent
Youju�f have to l evels going in m a ny d ifferent d irections a l l at the
experienl!e if. sam e ti me. We h ave a p hysical l ife, a m e ntal l ife,
a n d a spi ritual l ife h a p pe n i n g si m u ltan eously.
These pages conta i n a b l u ep ri nt for b u i l d i n g a
healthy, h a p py, a n d h o ly l ife. Yog i B haja n cal ls it the " 3 H O way of l ife . " It
is your birthright. This concept was one of the fi rst thi ngs Yog i B h ajan
tal ked a bout when I m et h i m in 1 968. The 3 H O Fou ndation was born as a
result of his i nspiration . N ow a world-wid e organ ization with 300 centers
in thirty-five countries, 3 H O is dedicated to shari n g these l ife affirmi n g
teach ings.
I h ave to pause h e re a n d exp l a i n what I m e a n by " ho ly, " othe rwise
you m ay g et the wro n g i m p ression . H oly d oes N OT m e a n to be " holier
than thou . " I t d oes n ot mean to be san cti monious. The 3 H O yog ic d efi
n ition of h oly is p retty straightfo rward . I t h as two p a rts: F i rst, " Do u nto
othe rs what you wan t them to do u n to you " (so u n d fam il i a r?), a n d sec
ond, " Receive each i n h al ation conscio usly, g ratefu l ly aware that each
b reath you receive is a g ift! "
2
Learn ing how the yog is define concepts gives us a welcome new perspec
tive on life. That's a nother featu re of this book, getti ng a new perspective on
everyth ing, including who you a re.
I refuse to clai m that reading this book and learning new terms wil l solve
all you r problems. But it will g ive you powerful, practical tools to meet the
challenges in you r l ife and consciously, courageously conquer them.
Starting rig ht now, you can change you r l ife! As Yogi B hajan says, "you can
be: Bou ntiful, Blissfu l, and Beautifu l . I n fact, you ALREADY ARE! You j ust have
to experience it.
'r;·
(
....._ ,_,, The owner's manual recommends procedu res to get maxi m u m
efficiency. It l ists checkpoi nts and times for period ic maintenance .
It tells you what to look for if it's not working pro perly a n d it sug
gests how to avoid futu re problems.
So where are the instructions for your care and maintenance? When you were
born you didn't come neatly packaged with a tag tied around you r big toe,
labeled "Care and Feeding." Though a human being is surely one
of the most com plicated mecha nisms ever created, stil l an instruc
tion manual isn't provided with each newborn baby. Perhaps the
Manufacturer assumed that mothers would study di rectly with the
experts to learn how to care for the new arriva l . And who are these "experts" ? Not
the psychologists and ped iatricians, not wel l-meaning friends and neighbors,
5
mothers and g randmothers (though the latter probably have learned a lot
through trial and error) .
The trained experts, the people who developed the finest methods to care
for, maintain, and get maxi m u m m ileage out of this human mechanism (not just
physical ly, but mental ly, emotionally, and spiritual ly), were the yogis.
Detai led i nformation on the care and feeding, maintenance and preservation
of a hu man bei ng was reveal ed to the yogis thousands of years ago. They have
been custodians of this tech nology ever since. They are the expert m echan ics,
scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers for the i ntricate human machine in all
its aspects: body, m ind, a nd sou l .
�\���
WHAT DOE!! KUNDALIN I YOGA DO?
The practice of Kundalini Yoga balances the glandular system, strengthens
the nervous system and enables us to harness the energy of the m i n d and
the emotions, so we can be i n control of ourselves, rather than bein g con-
, , \ ,1,1 'I' 1 11_/
::..-
trolled by our thoug hts and feel i ngs. ....�
...
Another pu rpose of this book is to d ispel the mystery, the myths and ·
._
THE GOAl
Ku ndal i n i Yoga is d esigned to g ive you "hands on" experie n ce of you r
highest consciousness. I t teaches a m ethod by wh ich you can achieve the
sacred p urpose of you r l ife. This can be described in m a ny ways, such as:
The practices enable you to merge with or "yoke" with the u n iversal Self.
Th is merging of individual consciousness with universal consciousness creates a
"divi ne u n ion" cal led "yoga . "
The p ractice that leads to this state of self-mastery i s also called "yoga. " So
the road and the destination have the same name, "yoga." There a re many d if
ferent kinds, or schools of yoga . (See Many Paths.) Those who practice yoga a re
ca l led yog is and those who master yoga are also called yogis.
The technology of Ku ndalini Yoga appl ies its science to our bodies a nd
minds, and is aimed at spi rit which has no boundaries, no d iscri mi nation.
Therefore it is for everyone. It is u niversal and nondenominationa l .
��CR�T� OF PO�R
To ful ly appre c iate the value of this g reat gift Yogi Bhajan has broug ht us, we
need to understand why, for thousands of years, the Yogis kept it secret. They
p reserved and careful ly guarded the knowledge of the i nner and outer worki ngs
of a human bei ng, very cautiously reveal i ng the technology, selectively passing it
d own verbally from Master to chosen disci ple. They were selective because
knowledge gives power, and power can corru pt. Traditional ly, d isciples had to
s pend many years proving their trustworthiness and ethical pu rity to receive the
sacred science of Kundalini Yoga. Only after the student demonstrated h u m i lity,
self-disci pline, and obedience wou ld the Teacher reveal the secret Kriyas. Yet Yogi
B hajan has taken it u pon h imself to share h is knowledge openly with everyone.
'
(See the chapter My Spiritual Teacher for more about this remarkable human being,
Master of Kundalini Yoga and White Tantric Yoga.) He has done this in order to pre
pare h umanity for the major changes that the planet is goi ng th roug h . The world
we knew even ten years ago has total ly changed-geog raphically, social ly, eco
nomically, morally. We have already crossed from the Piscean Age into the Age
of Aquarius. 3 As he has said, "What used to work, won't work anymore . " It's a
n ew Age already, and this ancient technology of Kundalini Yoga can give us the
awareness and the strength to m a ke our transition smoother.
. . , I�
,, �"'
· ', ·�
long before the scientists split the atom. It is prana that you receive /},.1 Ji I �\ \ �''
_
· ',
with every breath . It's mighty powerfu l stuff. Kundalini Yoga is the path
of d iscovery of the source of the prana in us and teaches us how to use it.
a re welcome! But be warned: If you gen u inely practice it, you wil l fi nd you rself
and your l ife changing. If you don't want to change, if you 're total ly content with
you rself and you r l ife as it is now, then don't go any fu rther. But if you want to
explore the possibilities of you r highest potential, then keep reading.
Kundalini Yoga is much more than j ust a system of physical exercises. It is a
dynam ic, powerfu l tool for expanding awareness. Approach it with respect, with
reverence, a nd with openness.
The purpose of this book is to get you to try it for you rself, so you can have
you r own experience of the benefits it has to offer.
"DOING I� B�liB'ING."
Let the words on these pages help you take the next step on you r personal
journey of self-discovery. You a re, i ndeed, a u nique a nd wonderfu l bei ng with a
very special destiny. Let Kundalini Yoga, the Yoga of Awareness, help you achieve
you r personal best!
10
Ong Goal
�piritual TravQJ
A I I th ings com e from God, everyth ing wil l eventually retu rn to God,
including you . H ow you get there is you r particular path . The Yog i
wants t o h ave that experience sooner a n d chooses a path to travel that best
suits his 1 tem pera ment and capabilities.
D ifferent paths s u it d ifferent people. Going for a h i ke? You
can m a ke the rugged, u ph i l l climb or fol l ow wel l-marked trails
a n d stro l l along at a leisurely pace. Want to go farther? You can
fly d irect to N ew York from Los Angeles, or m a ke stops along the
way. You can even change planes. If you h ave l ots of ti me, you
may decide to take a bus or a tra i n along the scenic route. Some
fol ks enjoy d riving across cou ntry. The c hoice of " h ow" to g et there is you rs.
The c hoice of "when" to get there is affected by the "how." The "where" is
p redetermined, because a lthoug h there a re m a ny paths back " Home," there's
no p lace else to go.
Kundalini Yoga m ight be cal led the d i rect, non-stop jet route. I t is a very
com prehensive technology, yet idea l ly suited to people who l ead active l ives
in today's world .
I n the back of this book you can read brief descrip
tions of some of the other paths of yoga . S ince
Ku ndal ini Yog a is what this book is a l l a bout, I ' m
going t o g ive i t a l ot m ore space than the others . I
th i n k that's fai r, don't you? 1 Anytime you see
"he" or "his" for a
K u n d a l i n i Yog a balances the g l a n d u la r system , stre n gthens the 72,000 non-specific person,
please assume I also
n e rves in the body, expands the l u n g capacity, and p u rifies the bloodstream .
include "she" and
I t b ri n g s balance to the body, m i nd, a n d sou l . I t teaches positive, self- "her." Let's save ink.
11
Kundalini Yoga: The Flow o f Eternal Power
THING!! TO KNOW
e m p owerin g attitud es of th i n k
i n g . It is on-the-job-tra i n i ng for
success a n d excellence i n l ife. It
b u i lds i n n e r stre ngth and self
aware n ess so you can fu lfi l l you r
h i g h est poten ti a l .
I n Kundalini Yoga we harness
the mental, physical, and nervous
energies of the body and put
them u nder the domain of the
wi l l, which is the instru ment of
the sou l . Ku ndalini Yoga perfects
the fi nite l ife whi le conn ecting it
to the I nfinite experience.
12
Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Hemal Power
CHAPUR 3 • TUNING IN
Tuning In
Wg alway!: tung in bgforg doing
a ny practicg of Kun da l in i Yoga .
W h e n you want to watch you r favorite tel evision show, you h ave to
select the rig ht c h a n n e l . If you want to watch the World Series,
you d o n 't tu rn to the Home-Shopping c h a n n e l . You g et what you wan t by
selecti n g the p a rticular wave l en gth that is b roadcastin g the p rog ram you
want to see.
The T.V. log h as d ozens of l isti ngs. Al l the T.V. stations b roadcast si m u l
tan eo usly. You r screen shows o n ly the p a rti c u l a r o n e you h ave selected .
Why? Because of the principle of attu n e m ent. You g et the station or c h a n n e l
you wan t b y tu n i ng t o t h e correct freq u e n cy. W h e n y o u use the rig ht "ca l l
l etters" y o u g et t h e channel y o u want. T h i s s a m e p ri nciple g overns
the scien ce of m antra.
MANTRA
We l ive i n a sea of energy. Energy vib rates. There's a particular vi bratory
frequency correspond in g to every sou n d i n the u n iverse. By vibratin g a par
tic u l a r com bi n atio n of sou n d s (syll a b l es), you tu ne-in to various l evels of
i ntel l i gence o r consciousness. You ' re c ho os i n g p rog ra m s a l l the ti m e,
whether you k n ow it o r not.
13
Here's how to tu rn the dial of you r m i n d a n d switch to the channel that wil l
give you the clearest reception for the tech nology of Ku ndalini Yoga, a n d the
elevated consciousness (vib ration) that com es with it. I ' m going to explain th is
in g reat detai l, because it's real ly i mportant that you get started correctly from
the very beg i n n i n g .
14
15
Ready? Read the fol lowing instructions first, then close you r eyes, keeping
them focused at the center of you r forehead and beg i n .
Take several long deep breaths, i n hali n g d eeply through you r n ose, then
exhaling com pletely out through the nose. Do this several times, then :
I nhale deeply th rough the nose, and vib rate the syllable ONG at the back of
the th roat and feel the sound going out th rough the nose.
Then slide into the sound NAMO (the NA is a short syllable, while the MO is
extended . See pronunciation g uide.) and com plete the rest of the mantra, raising
the pitch of the syllable DIN (wh ich rhymes with "save") about a third-tone
h ig her than the rest of the mantra .
Fin ish exh aling all the b reath as you chant the fi n a l NAMO.
If you ca n d o it, chant the e nti re m a n tra a l l in o n e b reath without a p a use.
If you fi n d you n eed to catch you r b reath s l i gh tly before chanti n g G'ROO
(rhymes with "who"), you ca n take a q u i ck s i p of a i r th rough th e m outh after
O n g N a m o, j ust as you do auto m atical ly when you a re speaki n g, but d o n 't
16
i n h a l e t h ro u g h the n ose d u ring the m antra. ( Note, the syl la ble GU in G u ru, is
extrem ely b rief.)
After each com plete round, i n ha le very deeply th roug h the nose before you
chant the enti re mantra again . Conti n ue this seq uence at least th ree ti mes,
breathi n g on ly throug h the nose. Continue chanting ONG NAMO GURU DIN NAMO
as many more ti mes as you wish u ntil you feel "co n nected . " It is l i ke letti ng the
phone ring u nti l someone picks up.
There is a basic melody we usually use, but the
melody is not so i m portant as the rhyth m and the
breath . This holds true for all mantras - the most i m por
tant factors are the rhyth m and the breath .
When you h ave fin ished chanting ONG NAMO GURU
DIN NAMO, i n hale deeply. Feel you rself bei ng fil led with
energy, l ife, l ight and joy! Hold the breath as long as you
can do so comfortably. Then exhale completely, feeling
the breath carryi ng away tension and fatigue. Feel you r
self getti ng rid of worry or disease. Take a few more of
these long deep breaths, using each breath as a self-heal
ing meditation. There are many powerfu l meditations,
but the re is noth ing more powerfu l tha n meditation on
the b reath .
Let m e repeat: Always rem e m ber to c h a nt ONG
NAMO GURU DIN NAMO at least th ree ti m es before you
beg i n each session of Ku n d a l i n i Yog a . Be conscious of
the i m p o rtant m ea n i ng of the m antra w h i l e you a re
chanti n g so that it d oes n ot becom e a m e re ritua l .
ONG NAMO GURU OW NAMO i s such a valuable mantra that Yogi Bhajan had
a forty-five min ute tape of it made with conti nuous cha ntin g by N irinja n Kau r.
We often meditate or chant along with it d u ring yoga classes, and it's used fre
quently for meditation in Wh ite Tantric Yoga vid eo cou rses. The beautifu l
melody on th is tape is d ifferent from the orig i n a l .
17
Brgafh of Life
IN!!PIRATION-A!!PIRATION: R�!!PIRATION !
Some of the m ost profound truths, the "secrets" of the u n iverse, are con
tained in the most simple, basic facts of life. B reathing is one of these secrets.
It is so fundamental, it seems so natu ral and effortless, we usually take it for
g ranted . We don't real ize its tremendous significan ce and potential power.
It is wel l known that you can go without food for wee ks . You can su rvive
without water for days. But a very few m i n utes without breath and you ' re
dead. We a l l know th is, so what's the point?
The point is that you r enti re futu re, you r l ife itself, total ly depends u pon
whether o r not you receive you r next i n halation . N oth ing is more im portant to
you tha n that next i n h alation .Yet there is a bsol utely no g u a ra ntee that you're
going to get it. You r guaranteed life expectancy is l iteral ly on ly one breath ! Al l
you r wealth, a l l you r possessions, a l l you r relationships, power, prestige, hopes,
and plans a re useless u n less you are b reath i n g .
That is why t h e first pri nciple i n Ku ndalini Yoga is:
19
�\\�
can 't see them, we feel the tension, we assu me they're u pset. When we want to
know if the baby is asleep, we l isten for slow, even breathi n g .
Yog i B haja n d i d n 't g ive me a ny tec h nical, d etailed i n structions. He just said
to lie straig ht, keep my a rms at my sides and breathe long and deep through
the n ose consciously. Conscious breathing m eans focusing you r attention
o n each i n h alation and exhalation. It's a very d ifferent experience fro m sim p ly
l ettin g the b reath " h appen" as we d o m ost of the tim e .
The most fu ndamental yog ic breathing technique is simp ly Long Deep
B reathi n g .
INHALJ; J;XHALJ;
health di�ea�e
dtength weakne��
enetgy fatigue
faith feat
�eace ten�ion
22
23
CORP!!£ PO!!£
You can do Long Deep B reathing (or a ny pranayam) lyin g flat on you r back,
keeping you r body in a straight l i ne, a rms down at you r sides, palms faci ng up.
Then you can tel l you r friends you mastered one of the H atha Yoga Asanas (pos
tu res)! It is cal l ed Corpse Pose. This position gives opti m u m support to the spi ne
(wh ich has all 72,000 nerves attached to the twenty-six main vertebrae) and
allows the free-flowing of energy th roughout the body.
"NAM" with every exhalation. Hear the syl lables in you r m i n d . (Su u u u u u u u ut. . .
rhymes with "but, " N aaaaaaaaam, rhymes with "calm .") M enta l ly create th ese
sou nds. Take you r ti me. Take ten long, deep, fu l l breaths, meditatin g on each
breath with the i nfin ite sou n d of !!AT NAM.
Why do we use those particu lar syl lables? !!AT NAM instantly attu nes us to
our highest Self. SAT NAM affirms that "Truth is our Identity." It tra nslates as:
"Truth is God's Name." We' l l ta l k m uch more a bout mantra later, meanwhi le, a
l ittle explanation a bout a big concept:
!:!AT NAM is a Bij Mantra, or "seed sou n d . " !!AT mea ns Truth, the u lti mate,
u nchanging, U n iversal Truth . NAM means name, or identity. When we say "!!AT
NAM" to each other, we a re acknowledging our m utua l d ivin e identity. And, at
least for that b rief moment, we a re u nited, "one in the spirit. " There a re no bar
riers, no walls of fear or separation between us. By using Sat Nam as a g reeti ng
24
(I even h ave it on my voice mail) we have attu ned ou rselves to our highest con
sciousness, at least for a moment. After that we can decide to disagree a bout
a nything we want! But at least we have established a basis of com m u nication
that is in total harmony and acceptance. I thi n k it's cal led love.
BRf:ATH OF FIR£
Here is a pranayam that wi l l not only i ncrease you r lung capacity (so you can
easily breathe slower and deeper) but it wi l l also:
This pranayam is cal l ed B reath of Fire. It is one of the fi rst things I teach my
beg i n n i ng students. I want to teach it to you rig ht now. So please "Tu n e I n" with
ONG NAMO GURU DW NAMO, and we'l l be ready to beg i n .
Let u s sit properly l i ke yogis, i n Su khasan, easy cross-l egged pose. If you
become too uncomfortable, try sitting on you r heels (Vaj ra Asan - Rock Pose),
or sit in a chair, or l ie on the floor. The main thing is you a re going to BREATH E
CONSCIOUSLY, with you r spine straig ht.
I nterlace you r fingers in you r lap. Ideally, apply "Venus Lock." Ven us Lock wi l l
h e l p you contain the i ncreased energy from the additional prana that you a re
going to bring into you r body when you d o B reath of Fire.
25
Look at the i l l ustration careful ly. Note that the th umbs a re not crossed. The
hand position is opposite for males and females. (Female lock illustrated.) The tip
of one th umb is pressing firm ly i nto the web
between the th u m b and forefi nger of the
other hand, wh ile the opposite th umb is
pressing the fleshy mound between the
th umb and the wrist. Make sure to alternate
the fingers. You don't wa nt to have two fin
gers from the same hand next to each other.
v�nm: lock
HOW TO DO BR�ATH OF FIR�
B reath of Fire is s i m p ly a rap i d a n d powerful b reath thro u g h the nose. To
l ea rn it, be s u re you r spine is stra i g ht, keep you r mouth closed, a n d b reathe
rapidly th roug h the n ose. I n ha lation and exha l atio n wil l be a bout equ a l . (It is
not the H atha Yoga b reath " Bastri ka" which e m p h asizes the exh a lation a n d
foc uses o n t h e l ower sto mach m u scles.)
Inhale and l ift your chest and hold it still. Exhale and pull in on your navel. Note
that the upper abdominals and the diaphragm move as the navel point pulls i n . The
breath is powered from the navel to the
li�tgn to thg �ound of your brgath.
diaphragm. In the beginning, you may find it
Imaging that you arg making thg �ound helpful to think primarily about the exhala
traek for a film �howing fwgnty-�gven tion which is synchron ized with the pulling
�team gngine� going uphill. in of the navel.
Start out slowly as you' re lea rn i ng, u ntil
�
.� you get used to the rhyth m and can easily coord i n ate the b reath with
the m ovement of you r n avel poi nt. Then pick u p speed u ntil you' re
'
��
breath ing approxi mately 1 20 to 1 80 times per m i n ute.
Listen to the sou n d of you r breath . I magine that you a re mak-
�
/� �· v� -_j �
• • -
ing the sou d track for a fi l m showin g twenty-seven steam engi nes
· · I� �.HY 4� go1ng . uphill.
On each exh alation, p u l l you r n avel point i n towa rd the back of you r
spine. O n each i n ha lation, rel ease it. Don't pause i n between . W h e n B reath of
F i re is d o n e correctly, it is a n easy b reath . The m uscles d a n ce i n rhyth m a n d
26
PHY!!ICAl �FF�CT!!
B reath of Fire is a clea nsing and pu rifying br� ath, so if you a re doing B reath
of Fire for the first tim e, you may notice some physical effects. Especial ly if you r
bloodstream i s holding a lot of toxins, you may feel slig htly giddy or d izzy i n the
process. Don't worry about it, j ust keep on breathi n g . It may be u ncomfortable
but it is not harmfu l . You a re simp ly feeling the poisons com i n g to the su rface
where they can be elimi nated .
I n a ny clea nsing p rocess (such as a very strict cleansing d iet or fast) you may
feel weak at first, possibly even a l ittle worse than before you started. By con
tin u ing, you wil l get rid of those toxins that wou ld otherwise stay locked u p
inside you r body u ntil some fine day they decide to reveal the mselves, when you
"get sick."
Other sym ptoms can occur when you start doing Breath of Fire . You may
feel heat or cold i nside you r nostrils. You may feel a pressu re at the root of the
nose. Some people feel "itchy" or tingly. Some people feel none of the a bove.
The various sensations a re i ncidental, tem porary adjustments made by you r
body. Ignore them . B reath of F i re generates a lot of heat s o i t warms u p the
28
body. (Try it on a cold day!) Since it usually increases you r circulation, women
should not practice B reath of Fire d u ring thei r month ly period .
� T NAM
You can make Breath of Fire even more powerfu l by adding the
mantra (menta l ly hearing the sounds), Wahe Guru, Wahe Guru, Wahe � T NAM
Guru... (pronounced Waa Hay G 'roo-see Pronunciation Guide) repeated �T NAM
rapidly over and over i n rhyth m with you r breath . Wah€! Guru means �T NAM
� T NAM
"Wow, God is G reat! " It is a mantra of ecstasy. Or you can silently repeat
the Bij Mantra, !!AT NAM, six times, "Sat Nom, Sat Nom, Sat Nom, Sat
�T NAM
Nom, Sat Nom, Sat Nom, then add : Wahe Guru! to each cycle.
WAH£ GURU
HOMf:WORK A!!!!IGNMf:NT
Be ki nd to you rself. Start practicing B reath of Fire on a reg u la r basis. Every
single day, sit down with a watch or a timer, and sim ply do it. G ive you rself five
minutes every day, starting with 30-second seg ments . Take a few long, deep
breaths in-between when you need to. Keep practicing! Work you r way u p to
longer segments each day and by the end of a week you wi l l be a ble to
do Breath of Fire comfortably for two m i nutes without stoppi n g . Of
cou rse, practice on an em pty stomac h ! You don't want to eat a ny
thing within one hou r before a ny session, and eat only very l ig htly
with in two hou rs prior to doing Kundalini Yoga .
B reath of Fire is a very i m portant factor i n many Kundalini Yoga
exercises, so PRACTICE, P RACTICE, P RACTICE! Discover how ener
gizing it is, and how good it makes you feel !
We've tal ked a bout the b reath a n d its relationsh i p to our state of m i n d .
We've learned the two m ost fu n d a m e ntal pra naya ms: B reath of Fi re, the
p ranayam that strengthens the nervou s system a n d expands you r l u n g capa
city, and Long Deep B reath i n g .
Now let's tal k about why you have two nostri ls and then learn how to use
them individually.
29
TWENTY-SIX long deep breaths through the left nostri l wi l l do the job. When
you are calm, then you can decide how to deal with whatever situation req u i res
you r action, because you won't be triggered into any emotional knee-jerk
response.
31
a nd exhale th rough the l eft. Conti n u e this b reath i n g pattern for th ree to five
m i n utes.
B reathe fu l ly on both i n h a lation a n d exhalatio n cycles. After th ree to five
m i n utes, i n ha l e d ee ply, h o l d the b reath in for a few seconds, then l ower the
h a n d a n d exhale th ro u g h both nostri ls. Relax a n d fee l g reat!
32
f=' R A N A
God is not off somewhere
Inaccessible and far.
Each inhalation confirms God's presence in you
Right here, right now, right where you are.
33
Mantra
"Magie Word�··
35
Claims for mantras may seem like mi racles, but mantras a re actua l ly form u
las that work accord i ng to physical and metaphysical laws.
" Repeati ng a mantra (aloud) restructu res the patterns i n the m ind that allow
experience. Silence makes you aware of the many experiences in the m in d . "2
GOOD VIBf� I
We l ive in a sea of energy. Energy vibrates. Everythi ng i n the m a nifest cre
ation is vibrating. Even seemingly solid, inanimate objects a re constantly vib rat
i n g . They a re simply vibrating at a slower or lower freq uency than a n i m ate
objects. Some vib rations a re audible, they a re sou nds we can hear with our ears.
Thoughts a re silent sou nds, electromag netic vib rations. The higher the fre
quency, the less dense and more etheric the quality of the vib rations we hear
and speak, the more our own vib rational freq uency is raised . Raisin g our own
vib ration brings us closer to experiencing and merging with the highest vibra
tion of all, GOD, the original cause of the creativity of the u niverse.
O u r e ntire u n iverse was b u i lt on sou nd, on
vi b ration . Puttin g it poetica l ly : G od spoke, a n d
t h e world cam e into bei n g . O r, m o re p recisely,
God vib rated, a n d a l l the u n iverses a n d worlds,
sol a r systems, ocea ns, l a n d, a n d s ky, a n d the
myriad of beings that i n h a b it the m a p pea red .
There's a vibratory freq u e n cy that corre
sponds to everyth i n g in the u n iverse. By vibrat
i n g a particu l a r com bination of sou n d s, you
tu n e in to va rio u s l evels of i ntel l i g en ce, or consc i o u s n ess.
S ituations, people, and events respond to the sig n a ls you send
out. The vib ratory fre q u ency of a m a n tra d raws to you whateve r
y o u a re vibratin g . You a re l i ke a m a g n et attracti n g vib rations to
you by what you sen d out.
Cha nti n g m a ntra s, either silently o r a l o u d, is a conscious
m ethod of contro l l i n g and d i recti n g you r m in d . H a p p i n ess o r sor
row, joy or reg ret a re vibrato ry freq u e n cies i n the m i n d . We ca n ca l l t h e m atti
tudes, or beliefs, but fu n d a m ental ly, they a re vibratory frequenci es or tho u g ht
36
waves. They d eterm i n e the k i n d of p rogram o u r m i n d "plays . " Wh ich scen a rio
we choose to hold o n to becom es our vi b ration, d efi nes h ow we fee l a n d
what w e p roject t o others . We c a n exercise o u r rig ht t o choose a t a ny ti m e .
When w e chant a mantra w e a re choosing to invoke t h e positive power con
tained in those particular syl lables. Whether it's for prosperity, peace of m i nd,
i ncreasing i ntu ition, or a ny of the other m u ltitude of possible benefits i n herent
i n mantras, simply by chanting them we a re setting vibrations into motion that
shall have an effect. It doesn't actually matter if we u nderstand the meaning of
the sou nds or not.
We are creating with every word we spea k, and even with every word we
thi n k. Words a re l i ke boomerangs, every vi bration we send out shall com e back
to us sooner or later. We get what we tune in to.
37
�
people can use like a s u rgeon's sca l pel to save a l ife, or a butcher knife to
"-..� kill .
It's been said, "The pen is m ightier than the sword ."5 Each word
we th i n k or say l iterally starts a creative p rocess i n the u niverse.
Don't u nderestimate you r power of the Word . Be carefu l what you
say. I n fact, be especial ly carefu l wh at you pray for, you're l iable to get it!
instead there is a sol ution, neu ro-transmission fluid. Different chemical liquids
a re secreted from all d ifferent parts of the brain . Messages are tra nsmitted very
fast from each part of the brain th rough the fl u ids which are cal led " N aad
Nam odam Rasaa. " Naad means com m u nication, namodam means add ressing
and rasaa means j uice ... " 6
39
TfCHNICAl TfRM�
(in eagQ you'rQ intQrQgfQd)
K I N D!! OF !!OUND
We usually thi n k of sou nd as audible but sound can also be subtle. It can be
vi brated with one part of you, or with you r whole self.
The yogis define several d isti nct kinds of sound or shabd .
• BHAKRH�: Using the tip of the tongue to form the syl lables aloud is cal led
• KHANT: This is the sound cu rrent that you hear in you r mind when you
read silently, without moving you r l i ps. It is subliminal vocal ization . The "sound"
is silent, but the syl lables vi brate at you r Th roat Chakra (Fifth Center of
Consciousness).
HARDAY: This is the sound cu rrent that vibrates in the heart. Th is is how a
•
mother can "hear" the voice of her wou nded son crying out from the battlefield
six thousand m iles away.
• ANAHAT: This sound cu rrent is sometim es cal led the "Unstruck M elody. "
It is when the mantra resou nds i n every atom and fiber of you r being; every
nerve is attu ned to it. Its vib ration becomes a part of you . It is a n in ner sou n d .
It i s created when the sound i s produ ced from the navel center (Nabhee) using
the tip of the tongue. Th is combination triggers the higher glands to prod uce
the "nectar of bliss, " a m rit.
Because of its power, the science of mantra was kept a carefu l ly guarded
secret in the Orient for thousands of years, but Yogi Bhajan has ope n ly taught
the "secret code" words and the techology to open the doors of our i n ner per
ception . His attitude is, "What is that Truth between God and man wh ich can
not be spoken aloud?"
In the Things To Do section you wil l find the mantras I 've selected to share
with you, with detailed instructions on how to chant them for the best results .
40
You can use the breath to control the mind, for the mind always follows the
breath and the body fol lows the m i n d . Self-mastery starts with the b reath . If you
haven 't a l ready done so, please go back
.,.Thg m i nd bgl!omg� a mon�tgr whgn and read the chapter on breath . And look
u p the Basic Breath Series that is especially
it bgl!omg� your ma�tgr. Thg m i nd recom mended to h e l p make the m i nd
i� an anggJ whg n it i� your �grvant. •• sharp and clear.
-Yogi Bh�an
C.ON!!CIOU!! M I N D!!
You actually have th ree m inds (no wonder sometimes it's so hard to
"make up you r m i nd"). Count 'em :
1 . The first mind is your p rotector, it acts as an alarm system . It is called
the N egative M i n d . It warns you of the d a nger or d isadvantage i n any
f?:J;f:::
u pcom in g situation or d ecision . It's val uable. You need it. It's the
;:
/ .. __ .
reveals to you the possible g a i n or a dvantage you can get out of a situation . It
should start com m u n icati ng with you with i n a few seconds, a l m ost i m m ed i
ately after the N egative M i n d h as g iven its i n p ut. By a l l m eans l isten to you r
Positive M i n d, but don't act yet. After you receive a l l the pros a n d cons, you
sti l l d o n 't know enough to m a ke a d ecision, u ntil you fin d out what you r th i rd
m i n d has to say.
3 . You r th i rd m i n d is you r N eutral M i n d . It is n ot clouded by fea r a n d i nse
cu rity. It's not fooled by wishfu l th i n k i n g . Its o n ly bias is to p rovid e the best,
m ost conscious, wise sol ution to a ny p roblem . This is the m i n d you can trust.
It has you r best interests at heart (an d in m ind).
42
!!UB-CON!!CIOU!! M I N D
I n addition to you r conscious m ind, you also have a very active su b-con
scious m i n d and deeper tha n that, a vast subterranean a rea of t h e unconscious.
The conscious mind is just the tip of the iceberg . Most of
what motivates us is below the surface. A h uge proportion of
our beh avior is d ictated by promptings we get from the sub
conscious m ind, wh ich doesn 't know fact from fiction. It is a
catch-al l for the verbal i n put and even the nonverbal in put
we receive constantly. It doesn't j udge what it receives, a nd
pretty m uch accepts everything as gospel, coloring our habits of th i n king,
speaki n g, and acting - with its l i m ited u nderstanding.
You can use the gullibility of the subconsc ious to heal yourself. If you repeat
"I am perfectly healthy" over and over, even while you're running a fever of 1 03°,
you r subconscious will believe it and you wil l heal faster.
Whatever the subconscious mind bel ieves, the body tends
to manifest. "As above, so below. " Another reason
why positive affirmation works! But u ntil we get rid
of the fea r and the neuroses in the subconscious we
are very handicapped in our l ives.
Th i n k a bout a n elephant. They say elephants
never forget (neither do people). H ave you ever wondered why a h uge two
thousand pound elephant wil l stand so obediently i n one place, tied to a short
stake i n the g round, held only by a thi n chain a round its a n kle? The elephant
doesn 't try to move, because he has been p rog ram med to believe he can 't.
43
How? Simple. The baby elephant is tied to the stake when he is very you n g .
Whenever he tries to move, t h e chain bites i nto h is leg . He can't get away,
because he's not strong enoug h . Every time he tries to move, he gets h u rt - a
lot. The elephant very q uickly catches on to the fact that movi ng is pai nfu l . I n
order to avoid getting h urt, h e gives u p tryin g . Even after h e has g rown to fu l l
size, a n d cou ld easily tear out the chain, a long with the post, a n d probably the
whole circus tent, this gigantic, powerfu l elephant doesn't even try to get free,
because he believes he can't.
Similarly, we let ou rselves suffer from low self-esteem, thi n k of ourselves as
"si n ners, " and accept defeat or fai l u re because our su bconscious m inds have
accepted these false concepts. We bel ieve thi ngs that we've been told, th i ngs
we may not even consciously remember heari n g .
You c a n go to a psychiatrist or psycholog ist and spend a lot of hou rs and a
lot of dollars to sort through and examine the self-defeating attitudes in the sub
conscious. Or you can use the techniques of meditation and mantra, d issolve the
pain, and just get rid of the garbage that is clogging u p you r su bconscious m i n d .
When you r desires don't work out, you feel u pset. When you don't h ave
intuition to guide you, mostly you won 't get you r desires fulfi lled . U nfu lfi l led
desire becomes neurosis, and that can d evelop into psychosis.
All thoug hts and feel ings go i nto the su bconscious. When that gets fi l led u p
to ove rflowing, the excess spills into the u n conscious, and that becom es the
sou rce of n ightmares for you . Once they fal l into the u nconscious, those atti
tudes, feelings, and habits a re extremely d ifficult to reach to change or modify,
44
m uch l ess eliminate. That is why it is so essential for san ity and survival to clear
out the su bconscious on a regular basis, to prevent that "overload" of thoughts
and feeli ngs going into the u nconscious.
FOC.U� O N MANTRA
When painful, negative thoughts and feelings come out, let them go on by.
Keep b ringing you r mind back to focus on the mantra you a re chanti n g . And
keep on chanting! This is su bstituting the positive thought wave of the mantra
for the negative thought waves in you r m i n d . The high vibration of mantra, l i ke
a good detergent, d issolves the g reasy, g ri my, painfu l thought waves. It's a
p rocess. Go th rough it.
Supposing you're just sitting and worrying, or you wake up with doubt or
fea r in you r mind. "You can, by you r free wil l, create the thought that 'God is
with me. God and me, me and God a re One.' To every thought that comes, if
you m eet it with th is thoug ht, you wil l be plus, not m i n us . . . . Because you a n d
G o d together wil l b e meeting t h e thoug ht, a n d y o u wi l l win ." 2
H OW TO WI N
Choose an affirmation or mantra (See Chapter on Mantra and also the Persian
Wheel Mantra) to use whenever you catch you r m i n d i n a negative mode. Use it
so m uch that it becomes "second n ature" to you . Let that sound cu rrent carry
away you r worry or confusion, doubt or fea r!
45
{"God i!: in every limb, every part, every fiber of my being. "}
46
7
M y�t�riou� Kundalini
-Yogi Bh�an
of consciousness. Whe n this energy retu rns d own the Ida a n d Pingala a n d
activates a n d bala n ces t h e various energy cente rs, there i s a major change i n
t h e person 's l ife. Altho u g h there a re cases of t h e ku ndali n i risi n g sponta
neously, without p u rposefu l spiritua l p ractice, you r reservoir of k u n d a l i n i ener
gy u s u a l ly rem a i ns d orma nt th roug hout you r enti re l ife. It's l i ke h avi n g a rac-
i n g car a n d n ever g etti n g out of fi rst gear!
49
The true te!:t of whether kundalini ha!: been rai!:od i!: in tho
con!:i!:tont character and noble behavior of an individual .
CR[ATIV[ POT[NTIAl
"What ig Kundalini? The energy of the glandular system combines with the
nervous system to become more sensitive so that the total ity of the b rain per
ceives signals and interprets them, so that the effect of the sequence of the
cause becomes very clear to the man . In other words, man becom es total ly,
wholesomely aware. That is why it is cal led the Yoga of Awareness. As all rivers
end u p in the same ocean, all yoga ends u p by raising the ku ndalini i n the m a n .
What is t h e ku ndalini? The creative potential of t h e man . " 4
PITUITARY
The pituitary gland, i n addition to bein g the master gland of the
body, also controls i ntuition . Sometim es called the "Th i rd Eye, " the
sixth energy center of the body (Agia or Ajna Chakra) i nvolves the
pituitary gland.
50
51
BALANC�
I n Ku ndal ini Yoga, balance is extremely i m po rtant. That is why we teach a
total l ifestyle, rather than just focusing on exercises to raise the ku ndalini ener
gy. Everyth ing we do in our l ives affects our ku ndalini energy, and o u r kundali
n i energy affects everyth ing we do in our l ives.
The vi brations of every word we speak, every thought we th i n k, i nstantly
raises or lowers our ku ndal i n i . It is as if we are reg isteri ng our thoughts, moods,
words, and actions on the most del icate and sensitive thermometer
ever invented . It responds instantly to the slightest change in our
vibration . Keeping the ku ndal ini thermometer u p requ i res monitoring
every thought and word, otherwise, our vibration or freq uency d rops,
or falls into the lower chakras. Al l the chakras are valuable, and we
need to use all of them, but when the ku ndalini energy is primari ly
focused in our lower chakras, and we do not exercise a ny control over
them, then we become slaves to our m inds and emotions.
Without the consistency of mainta i n i ng a h ig her perspective by using the
neutral m ind, (See Three Minds are Better Than One in Conquer the Mind) there
is seldom contentment. No matter what we achieve, what success i n the world
we have, it ends u p being hol low u n less we fu lfi l l the sou l's yearn ing to bring
higher consciousness into our daily l ives.
52
Chakra!:
{fngrgy �nfgrg)
··where are you at?''
U nti l Yogi Bhajan taught what the chakras actually are, and how they
i nfluence our l ives, I had no desire to explore the labyri nth of Sanskrit
terms and esoteric symbology in the yoga books I had seen. The bri lliantly col
ored lotus flowers, petals decorated with deities, ani mals or other sym bols por
traying the chakras were very pretty, but I d idn't u n dersta nd what con nection
they had to my life. Fortu nately, what he has taught us a bout the cha kras does
not req u i re a ny investigation i nto the occu lt. It's not myste-
rious at a l l . On the contrary, the nature of the chakras and
their fu nctions is simple and to the point.
The point being: wherever the majority
of you r ku ndalini energy is focused or
polarized affects the way you a re. The
chakras do play a vital role in the way
we h u ma n beings fu nction, so let me go
into a l ittle d etail and share with you the
understa n d i ng the master of Kunda l i n i Yoga
has given us.
Chakras a re centers of conscious
ness. They a re focal points of energy
which have a d irect, i m mediate and
profound effect on our daily l ives.
53
chakras.
54
After the ku ndal ini energy rises and becomes accustomed to flowing freely
through a l l the chakras, there is a defin ite change of consciousness, a noticeable
transformation i n the character of an i nd ividual. The person looks at l ife differ
ently, feels d ifferent and therefore acts d ifferently. The real "proof" that some
one's ku ndalini has risen l ies in the u pg rading of that person's attitude toward
l ife, h is relationships with other people, and with hi mself.
Raising the ku ndalini has
to do with spiritual elevation.
Cherdhi Kalaa. "high �pi rit�·· re�ult when
It is not to be confused with Kundalini returng down through Ida and
pinga 1 a an d openg a 11 th e ch a k ra�.I
hea ri n g s o u n d s or see i n g
visions. Whe n the ku ndalini is
a l l owed to rise th roug h the practice of Ku ndalini Yoga, it wil l not make a person
weird or u nbalanced. Note that the operative word here is "allowed . " Kundalini
Yoga does not force the kundalini to rise; it p repares the body to allow it to rise
so that you can experience you r higher consciousness. The object achieved is to
coord i nate and balance the fu nctions of the chakras that a re concerned with the
needs of daily l ife with the u n iversal consciousness and expansion that a re found
i n the higher chakras. When this balance occurs, you become em powered, you
a re able to be a com passionate, conscious, and capable h u man bei ng.
Some people think that merging with u niversal consciousness is a loss of
identity. O n the contrary, it is a loss of l i mitation. It is the discovery and experi
ence of one's g reater identity, which is i nfi n ite. Succi nctly put, "Sat N a m : Truth
is you r identity."
T H f f i G HT C.HAKRA!!
As my mother used to say, "There's a tim e and a p lace for everythi n g . " Each
chakra has an i mportant and necessary fu nction to perform for us. We need all
of them . N o one chakra is better or worse than a nother, no chakra is more
i m portant than another. By u nderstanding their pu rpose, we can make the best
use of their power. The energy of the fi rst five chakras corresponds to the five
elements, Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Ether. Thi n k a bout the characteristics of
55
these elements and you wi l l have some clues as to the properties of the chakras
associated with them .
56
LOVf
We guffer a great deal in our live!: becau!:e our kundalini energy
i!: !:tuck in our lower three chakra!: (the lower triangle), mogt of the
time. It i!: only when the heart chakra i!: !:timulated and
become!: active. that true love can be experienced.
57
What u s u a l ly passes for " love" i n o u r society is, at best, a busi n ess d ea l . It
wou l d be m o re accu rately d escri bed as possessiven ess o r l ust. "I'll l ove you
if. . . . " Tru e l ove has no bou n d a ri es, no demand s, a n d n o l i m its. I t is a total g iv
i n g . Total acceptance. Love is b l ind, it d oes n 't q uestion, a n d it d oesn 't fin d
fau lt. Very few of u s h ave ever experienced such true l ove, therefore w e d o n 't
u n d e rstan d it. The saints a n d masters who h ave offered it to h u m a n ity h ave
usua l ly been crucified .
� �
,� �
Here is where we can "see the u nseen, know the u n known . " It is from
•
the sixth chakra that we gain access to, and increase our faculty of, i ntu-
� · �"" ition . The sixth chakra is the direct pipeline to the i nfi n ite sou rce of u n i-
-
-
� versa! knowledge and wisdom in each of us. When we function from the
sixth chakra we can use our neutral or meditative m i n d; and tap into the
knowledge of the past, the present, and the futu re.
58
As you focus more and more on the sixth chakra, you r intuition becomes
more active, and you wi l l increasingly recogn ize and cherish breath, l ife, and
i ntuition as gifts you have received.
The sixth chakra is the place to set you r goals and assess the long-range
effects of your actions. It is the a rena of projection and sophistication .
The more we sti m ulate the pitu ita ry gland via the sixth chakra, the more it
will secrete, and the more powerfu l ly intuition will serve us. We will just know!
I ntuition is a higher faculty than i ntel lect. It is in a d ifferent real m than the
i ntel lect. Nor is being i ntuitive the same as being psychic. Psychic power uses
energy from, and fu nctions th rough, the th ird chakra, not the sixth . Psychic a bi l
ities can be very usefu l, but psychic powers have m a ny pitfalls. Being psychic is
very i n d ividual and subjective, and there is a broad marg i n for error. Also, there
can be a g reat tem ptation to use psych ic power to control other people.
59
d efeat. This eig hth chakra is you r protective sh ield . It changes in color, strength,
and size depend i ng u pon you r general physical health, a nd you r moment-to
moment thoug hts and feelings. Many people a re a ble to see the a u ra, many a re
not - but it's there. Kirlian photog raphy claims to capture the
image of the aura on fil m . It is one of the many tech n ical devices
people have used to explore ways to reg ister the changes in the a u ra
and subtle body. 2 We may not see a person's a u ra, but we can feel
it. We a re often attracted or repell ed by someone from our contact
with thei r electromag netic field.
BALANC�
Once the kundalini has risen u p the central col u m n of the spi n e and then
retu rns down the ida and the pingala nerve chan nels to be d istributed a nd bal
a nced in all the chakras, a person 's l ife takes on a new q ua lity. Not too strong,
a nd not too weak, but J U S T rig ht (i n perfect balance), is the way we want a l l
of our chakras to fu nction .
60
61
TO !!UMMARIZ�:
You ca n i m p rove you r mood, l ift you r spi rits, a n d b rig hten you r d ay sim
ply by raising you r ku ndalini e n e rgy. We suffer when we l et the fi rst th ree
c h a kras control us, instead of contro l l i n g a n d u s i n g their val u a b l e energ ies
for p ositive, constructive pu rposes. Each element has a positive a n d n eces
sary fu n ctio n in o u r l ives. Watch you rse lf. Are you sta rti n g to get a n g ry? (You
know that's bad for the d ig estive system !) Take a few long deep conscious
b reaths, b ri n g you r concentratio n up to you r s ixth c h ak ra, and with you r neu
tral m i n d, decide, d o you real ly want to l ose you r tem pe r? That fire energy
ca n be tra n s lated i nto enth usiasm, i n itiative, and cou rage. You can even
choose to ta ke th i rd c h ak ra e n e rgy a n d use it to ru n
a rou nd the block. Do you r card io-vascular system some
good . The point is to be able to c hoose a n d u se, i n stea d
of l iving i n self-abuse where y o u l ose contro l .
As you read t h e fol lowi n g cha pters, a nd try t h e vari
ous sets of exercises, you ' l l be auto matica l ly using the
energy of each cha kra to work for you, n ot against you .
!!at Kriya
62
�tre!:!:, �tamina
& Nerve!: of �feel
W hen I was a l ittle girl back in M innesota i n the early thi rties, appli
ances were built to last. I don't remember my mother ever buying
a new toaster or a new i ron . But period ically she wou ld show us a
frayed electric cord with the fabric wrapped around the cord worn
so thi n that the copper wires inside were exposed. She'd say it was
time to get a new cord, because a frayed cord was d a ngerous. She
explained that without insulation, bare wires coul d cause a short,
blow a fuse or even start a fire!
I can sti l l pictu re those frayed cords, with their frazzled ends
and the ba re wires exposed. When I think about the nerves in our bodies, I see
a network of 72,000 "wires" intertwin i ng and con necti ng, carryi ng messages
back and forth to the brain and throughout the nervous system . No matter
how good our intentions, if our nerves a re weak, frayed and frazzled, we can,
and often do, blow a fuse. However, when our nerves a re strong and wel l insu
lated, they give us physical and emotional endu ra nce. Strong nerves make it
possible for us to have patience. Othe rwise, when o u r nerves a re weak, we can
fly off the handle at the slightest provocation and easily lose our tem pers.
'
When anyone loses his tem pe r, it means he has lost self
control. Unfortu nately, yel l i ng a n d scream i ng in anger cre
ates a false sense of personal power. That rush of ad rena
line feels g reat-for the moment. But it doesn't last. When
a person gets angry, the adrenals kick i n to fuel the body's
automatic defense system . The s u rvival insti nct of "fight
or flig ht" triggers secretio n of the a d renal g l a n d s .
63
!!TR£!!!!
If our nerves a re not strong enough to withstan d the onslaught of l ife's daily
challenges, then we a re going to suffer from the n u m ber one kil ler d isease of
modern tim es : STRESS!
Every day bri ngs some stressfu l situation, som e test, big or small, wh ich we
have to face, to solve, to overcome. That's l ife, fol ks ! Life is a school, and earth
is a gia nt classroom and the tests a re going to conti n u e u nti l we g rad uate. The
outer events that occur, the daily challenges at h o m e, in the office, the super-
64
ROBOTIC. R[AC.T I O N
..Don't react-regurrect."
Th rough med itation, mantra, a n d pranayam, we
can tap i nto the a bsol utely cal m and tranquil i n ner -Yogi Bh�an
peace and stability that already exists inside us. With
strong nerves and a balanced glandular system, we won't j ust " react" to situa
tions. We wi ll be in such a stable and secu re mental a n d e motional cond ition
that whatever and whenever challenging events occur, we will be
com petent to evaluate our response and decide how we want to
handle them.
As aware yog is, we can stop bei ng reactive robots, and
becom e cal m and capable h u ma n beings, masters of our emo
tions and m inds. Strong nerves play a big part in helping us to
achieve a l l of the above.
65
Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Hemal Power
TO KNOW
66
67
68
10
Healing
Doctor� diagno�f!. hf!rb� & mf!dicinf!�
curg , hgaJ ing i� a g ift of God .
F: rom time i m memorial, there have been "healers, " people who seem to
have a special gift to ease pain, bring comfort, and cu re others . Yet no
person is real ly a healer however, everyBODY can be a healer, including you
and me.
Each of us can i ncrease o u r a bi lity to brin g m o re h ea l i n g e nergy to o u r
selves a n d to oth e rs . We can d o this by tap p i n g i nto the sou rce of a ll h ea l i n g
power, t h e O n e C reator who b reathes i n each o f u s, reg enerati ng u s with
each i n ha lation .
What d oes " heali n g " mean? H ea l i ng means b ri n g i n g l ife to a situation o r
condition that i s d eteriorati n g . H ea l i n g means rep a i ri ng, rej uvenati n g, regen
erati ng .
Th rough the practice of Ku ndalini Yoga kriyas, breathi n g tech niques, and
mantras, we increase the l ife force, the pra na, flowing th rough our bod ies . It
flows th roug h our hands, our eyes, even our voice. We can use these as tools
to heal ourselves and others.
Th rough the use of words vi brating i n the form of m antra : positive affir
mations and positive thi n king, we can hea l . Every word has its own wave
length, or frequency of vi bration . Every word is a sound cu rrent (even if inaudi
ble) which sets energy i nto motion . Th is energy goes out i n ri pples or waves
and (to switch analogies in mid-ocean) the vibrations eventu a l ly retu rn to us
like a boomerang, b ringing more of the same. There is power i n positive thi n k
ing and positive affi rmations! That power can work to expedite the heal ing
process for ourselves and others.
69
��lF- H �AliNG
Do y o u bel ieve it? C a n you accept the fact that no matter what t h e outer
ci rcu mstances in you r life may appear to be, you h ave
a rig ht to be, Healthy, Happy and Holy?
Even if you ' re feeling lousy, especi a l ly if you a re
fee l i n g lousy, a n d you' re ru n n i ng a fever of 1 0 3
·
deg rees; o r y o u just b ro ke you r a rm a n d l ost you r
job, the truth i s that there i s a l evel of you r bei n g
that is perfectly healthy, h a ppy, a n d
h oly a t a l l ti m es .
W h e n y o u affi rm (state a n d repeat )
that you a re " H ealthy, H a p py a n d
Holy," you l iteral ly change you r su bcon
scious perception of what is h appen i n g .
That perception accelerates the healing
p rocess.
We create whatever situation we
affi rm . Everyth i n g is "in the eye (or
ear?) of the beholder. " By m enta l ly cre
atin g h ealth, we set up favorable cir
cumstances for that condition to m a n i
fest physical ly.
I n the m ea ntim e, follow m ed ical p ro
ced u res. Don't th row away the pre
scription m edicine yet, but u nderstand
(stand-unde r) a n d know that God is
hea l i n g you rapid ly, and keep tell in g
yo u rself t h a t you a re now a l ready
vibra ntly healthy! Positive affi rm ation is
done in the p resent tense, because it is
happen i n g n ow in the sub-conscious.
H ow we view events and circum
stan ces d efin es the i m pact they h ave on
70
H£AU NG OTH£R!!
Everybody is a healer and n obody is a healer. There is o n ly one true heal
er, sometim es cal l ed God, or God Consciousness. It is o n ly th rough that O ne
Divin e Power that healing really takes place. Some people d evelop themselves
to be especially clear condu its for it. You r very p resence can heal othe rs when
you r vibration reflects and projects the d ivine rad iance of you r sou l .
Did you ever shake h a n d s with someone whose touch felt s o s l i my, you
cou l d n 't wait to go a n d wash you r hands? It's as if you ' d been holdi n g a dyin g
fish . O n t h e other h a n d (pardon the p u n), d i d you ever shake h a n ds with
som eo n e a n d feel the warmth of love, stren gth, and kin d n ess
flowing i nto you ?
11 f f
What y o u feel i n both cases is t h e othe r person 's e lectro
m ag n etic field . H is or her vib ration is bei n g tra n s mitted to you .
I t i s the vibrations people emanate that w e feel, especia l ly th rough
touch. When a person is i l l, their vibration lacks prana. We can, therefore, influ
ence someone else's conditio n by transm itti n g p rana th ro u g h our touch, o u r
words, a n d o u r thoughts.
One of the interesting th ings a bout h ea l i n g is that when we p ray to heal
som eo n e e lse, we often heal o u rselves. The way it works is that "What g oes
a ro u nd, comes a ro u n d . " "As you sow, so shall you reap . " The inju n ctio n to
"Do u nto othe rs as you wou l d h ave them do u nto you , " is a very p ractical
g uidel i n e for l ife.The more we g ive, the m o re we shall receive.
71
72
73
m onths of eatin g only g reen vegetables) over to take care of you . " And so he
did. She a rrived i n just a few min utes, and hel ped set up a place for me to lie
down on the couch. I knew I couldn't possi bly sleep i n my bed, and I didn't
expect to sleep m uch a nyway.
I phoned the Beverly Hilton, told the manager I had severely bu rned my
foot, so I wou l d not be able to come to work the next day. I lay down, closed
my eyes and settled in for a restless night. I slept fitful ly off and on, but lo and
be h o l d , when morn ing d awned,
there was not the slightest trace of a -'You'v� got to Ae-cent-U-At� th� Pogitiv�
burn . There was no d iscoloration of �-lim-in-at� th� N�gativ� and
the skin and n o pai n . I was amazed Lateh on to th� Affirmativ�.
and th rilled .
Don't m�gg with Mr. lnb�tw��n... "
76
77
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11
H ere a re som e cliches that are true (cl iches often a re):
For thousands of people, controlling their d iet is one of l ife's biggest chal
lenges. It's a daily battle of wil l power versus com pu lsion a n d h abit. Health
clu bs, gyms, and spas a re overflowing with bod ies stretching a n d strain
i ng, h uffi ng and p uffi ng, g runti ng and sweati ng to "get rid of ug ly,
u nwanted body fat" and achieve ideal body weig ht. Fat or thin, we can
be bad ly u ndernou rished, if we' re not getting the foods o u r bodies
need .
Dining on expensive gourmet food smothered i n rich g ravies and
exotic sauces seems to be considered a sign of "success" i n o u r society.
Of cou rse u lcers, gastritis, consti pation, and overweig ht, not to men
tion high blood pressure and heart d isease, can resu lt from
overeating or eating the wrong foods (and you don't have to
be rich to gorge on foods way too high i n fat content or
salt). Overweight is not only damaging p hysically but psy
chologically.
Dozens of d ifferent books promoting dozens of d ifferent
diets are spil l i ng over the bookstore shelves. Television ads
79
a bo u n d with weig ht-loss p rog rams. Each one claims to have the perfect solu
tion . However, being able to apply any sol ution req uires a change i n our ha bits,
including our habitual way of th i n king about ou rselves. Fortunately, the yog is
have g iven us methods to help us change our h abit patterns. (Please read the
chapter called Creatures of Habit, and refer to the "Meditation to Change Habit
Patterns.) Meanwh ile, let's tal k about food .
It is a lso recom mended to leave a gap of fou r to five hou rs between mea ls
for the same reason . Otherwise, the blood is kept so busy worki ng in the d iges
tive a rea that other parts of the body are cheated out of their blood supply. The
eyes, ears, nose, a n d throat pa rticu larly need good circu lation. When these areas
a re weak and u ndernourished because of poor circu lation, they a re vu l nerable
to attack from bacteria and vi ruses that cause colds, fl u, and i nfections. If you
need to eat more often, okay, but you don't have to eat a lot. Try a l ight snack
when you r blood sugar gets low.
A person with a hypoglycemic condition whose blood sugar level fluctuates
wildly because the pancreas is not able to do its job correctly, usua l ly needs to eat
someth ing every two hou rs. Do read Dr. Paavo Airola's book Hypoglycemia, A
Better Approach. You'd also be wise to read the book called Sugar Blues by Duffy.
You may be served the best, most delicious meal i n the world, but, as my
mother used to say, if it doesn't "agree with you," if you can't d igest and elim
i nate it properly, it's probably doing more harm than good . Food is supposed
to g ive us energy. It's supposed to be fuel for the body, feed the cel ls, and be
transformed into blood, bones, and tissue. Whatever we eat that is not used for
these p u rposes becomes waste matter, and needs to be elimi nated . If the body
can not eliminate it fast enough, it becomes toxic and we get sick. We have l it
era l ly poisoned ou rselves. Whatever we eat shou l d be digested and assi m i lated
with i n 1 8 hou rs for a female and 24 hours for a male.
There's a way to tel l if you're
digesting you r food properly or CH fW., CH fW, C H fW!
not, which cou l d be cal led the You d o n•t h ave teeth i n y o u r !!tom aeh !
"float test. " If most of what you
eat is being correctly uti lized by the body, and is servi ng to heal and nourish,
then what is left over as roughage wi l l be m i n i mal, and when you eliminate, it
wi l l float. If you r stool sinks to the bottom of the toilet, then you can bet
you have not gotten m uch rea l val ue out of you r food i ntake.
A major factor in proper digestion takes place in you r mouth . Food
has to be wel l chewed so the digestive enzymes in the sa liva can m ix thor
oug h ly with it. If you gobble your food in a h urry, you miss the crucial first
step in the digestive process. Then when the food reaches the stomach,
81
it's not prepared for proper digestion to take place. Take your time eati ng. Try
cou nting twenty to fifty chews per mouthful-it wil l real ly slow you down .
Another tip, if you're trying to cut down on portions: wait about five min utes
before taking seconds on anything. Usual ly that waiti ng period is enough for the
body to recognize it real ly has had enough . Otherwise, when you're eating too
fast, you often keep on eating when you're not actually h ungry any more.
�AT TO LIV�
O kay, so what is a healthy yogic d iet? Wel l, for one thing, it's not fanatic, or
wei rd, or tasteless. It is a balanced combination of:
• fruits
• n uts
• vegetables
• g rains
• legumes
• dairy p roducts
Despite what most airl ines th i n k, many veg etarians do eat dairy produ cts
a lthough we don't eat eggs. When you p ractice Kunda l i n i Yoga with B reath of
Fire, it tends to eliminate m ucous. Therefore, you want to replenish the system
82
with a certai n amount of mucous wh ich dairy products can stim ulate. M ucous
keeps the b reath ing passages l u bricated and protects the mem branes. If you a re
a l lergic to cow products, then try soy or goat substitutes. Everyone is d ifferent,
you h ave to fin d what works for you .
You may have noticed that meat, fish, pou ltry, and eggs are not on our list
of foods. You a re correct. Yog is don't eat them . You don't need them. You can
get a l l the prote ins, vitamins, and m inera ls you need from other foods. We do
our a rteries a big favor by avoid ing foods that clog them u p . A yogic d iet is a
vegetarian d iet. There a re excellent reasons for this. Here a re th ree of them .
�XC�ll�NT R�A!!ON # 1
When we eat meat we' re feeding ou rselves the poisonous ad renaline that
was secreted by the terrified animal just before it was slaug htered .
�.-.-/��-
�
God obviously i ntended to eat other animals, to keep the balance of natu re) a re
p rovided with fangs, claws, and a very short intesti nal tract. They 411 -4 -
� d -_ :!:J
_
can process flesh very qui ckly and eli inate it before it putrifies
. . .
and becomes tox1c. Our d1gest1ve tract 1s very long, so we can't.
If you're worried about being weak without eati ng meat, th i n k \ ,\\\ '�
-, � '\��
a bout the elephant. Th is g reat and powerfu l beast who feeds only ;;'}jl��
on plants - l ives very long, and is extremely inte l ligent.
£XC£ll£NT Rt:A!!ON # 3
M eat wil l leave a residue of u ric acid in the bloodstream . U ric acid is con
sidered by som e to be a carcinogen (cause of cancer) . U ric acid is a toxin that
makes it harder to reach the hig her, clearer meditative states because it is a n i rri
tant in the bloodstream .
83
POOR FI!!H I
What about fish? You've heard the expression, " poor fish ! "
Cau g ht by a cruel hook in its mouth, when i t i s d ragged painfu l ly
out of its home in the ocean, river, lake, or stream, it d ies a n ago
n izing death deprived of water. If fish is not put into water or ice
i m med iately, it begins to decay and stin k. Even after it is eaten, it sti l l demands
water. N otice how thirsty you get after eati ng fish? It is still demanding water.
Eati ng fish dehyd rates the body. That sagging flesh u nder the upper a rms can be
traced to eating fish. Any questions?
longer tha n any other g roup of people in the world, and they a re vegetarians.
We shouldn 't forget that we live on prana. We need to g et p rana from the
food we eat and the water we d ri n k as wel l as the air we b reathe. Some foods
g ive us more p rana tha n others, depending u pon their quality and condition .
I n the reci pe section of th is book you' l l find a few of my favorite recipes that
even you r non-vegetarian family and friends wil l enjoy. I 've a lso l isted the cook
books I personally recom mend to help you d iscover some creative and del icious
meals you can make that wi l l be kind to you r body and satisfy you r a ppetite.
For more information on meat eating, please refer to Diet For a New America by
john Robbins and What's Wrong With Eating Meat? by Barbara Parham.
GARliC
You may have heard that some ascetics wil l not eat garl ic
because it makes them more sexua l ly potent . Garlic does h e l p p rod uce more
semen (powerfu l creative energy) in the body. This i ncreased sexual energy is
85
control led and moreover uti lized by the practice of Ku ndalini Yoga. So we a re
not afraid of it. On the contrary, we want to i ncrease it so we can channel it
u pward for g reater spi ritual awareness.
Considered a sacred herb by the ancients, for its powerfu l therapeutic effect,
garlic oil has been found to battle effectively against many types of viruses and
bacteria. Garlic and garl ic extracts have been used agai nst gastrointestinal d is
orders, septic poison ing, typhus, and even cholera . In fact, garl ic was known in the
former Soviet Union as "Russian Penici llin" !
Best eaten raw, garlic can also be taken in capsule form (i n case you r friends
don't share you r enthusiasm for this frag rant herb). You can make a very palat
able spread for toast or crackers with finely chopped raw garlic mashed into avo
cado. A whole b u l b of baked garlic is delicious spread over toast. You j ust
sq ueeze out the individual cloves, after it's baked . Very gou rmet! Garlic is most
at home cooked in combi nation with on ions and g i nger.
O N ION!!
The on ion has a wel l earned reputation for being a u n iversal hea ling food.
It not o n ly attacks harmful bacteria and purifies the blood, but it helps build new
b lood . It has been recommended for such things as colds, fever, laryng itis, and
diarrhea (dri n k onion ju ice mixed with hot or col d m i nt tea) . And it has even
been said, "An onion a day keeps the cancer away. " If you ' re going to travel to
a ny foreig n cou ntry where you r body wi l l have to deal with strange a n d u nfa
m iliar bacteria, eating one raw onion every day for a cou ple of weeks before
you r trip, as wel l as while you're away from home, wi l l help you avoid dysen
tery. If you can't handle eating onions raw, at least eat them cooked . Get them
into you r system somehow. There is even the claim that eating raw on ions helps
mental clarity.
GI NG�R ROOT
G i nger root is both soothing and strengthening to the nerves when the
body is u nder stress. It helps strengthen the nerve cente rs in the spine by nour
ish ing the cerebrospinal fluid. You can make a delicious a n d revita l izing tea out
of g inger root very easily. j ust sl ice an inch or two of g i nger root (available in
most g rocery stores, supermarkets, and of cou rse in health food stores) and boil
86
it i n a q u a rt of water for a few min utes. For this recipe you don't even have to
peel the g i n ger. j ust strain the tea after it has boiled for a while, and it's ready
to d ri n k. You can add sweetener a nd/or m i l k if you wis h . Gi nger tea is particu
larly useful for women to dri n k during menstruation . It is g reat as a "pick-me
u p" if you' re feeling d roopy and debilitated . Try it. It strengthens the nerves
i nstead of d estroying them the way caffeine does.
TURM[RIC
Good for the skin and m ucuous membranes, especial ly the female repro
ductive o rgans, tu rmeric is one of the main ingred ients in cu rry powder. It adds
flavor and can be used i n many reci pes, casseroles, soups, g ravies, and sauces.
It's a standard i n g red ient in Kitcheree. The virtues of tu rmeric h ave been lavish
ly praised by Yog i Bhajan . One of its most i m portant properties is that it makes
the bones a n d joints more flexible. j ust a smal l amount has a positive effect. See
the reci pe section for Golden M i l k, a g reat beverage for you and you r children .
Turmeric is on the spice shelf of you r supermarket. Warni n g : be carefu l not to
spi l l it on you r clothes when you're cooking, because it stains when it's wet.
Ku ndalini Yoga teach ings recom mend eati ng the herb root tri nity, garl ic,
onion, a nd g inger dai ly. Also, it's a good idea to get some tu rmeric in you (not
on you) every day and d ri n k at least one cup of:
YOG I T[A
This section wou l d not be com plete (and as it is, it's only a ti ny
peek at the vast a mount of information and technology avai lable
about food . The Ancient Art of Self Healing by Yog i B h ajan descri bes
many more yog ic uses of food), without a major m ention of Yogi
Bhajan's famous YOG I TEA recipe. Yes, it's available now com mer
cial ly, i n b u l k or i n tea bags. I n 1 969 Yogi Bhajan tau g ht m e h ow to
make it from scratch. He told me how he used Yog i Tea when he
was out i n the field, commanding a batta l ion of the I ndian Army. A
serious epidemic of fl u broke out so all the troops were being sent home from
maneuvers. However, he kept h is men h ealthy and they stayed on d uty because
he had them fi l l their thermos bottles with Yogi Tea and d ri n k nothing else, not
even water. None of them got sick.
87
88
enjoy h e r meals without g ettin g sick. (Much more on the subject of the extra
power of women in the chapter on women.)
Speaking of cooking, I used to worry and agonize over h avi ng to prepare
m eals for a nyone, especially unexpected guests. I was never confident that
they'd l i ke what I made. What Yogi Bhaja n taught me a bout cooking was to "use
whatever you h ave, and chant while you prepa re the food . "
Vibration real ly makes a d ifference. And, of cou rse, Yog i B haja n is a fabu lous
cook. Many of his personal recipes were used i n the Golden Tem ple Conscious
Cookery Resta u ra nts th roughout the world and a re included i n the cook book
he wrote. (See the Cookbook section of the book list.)
89
I try not to add any sweetener at all to my Yogi Tea or other beverages. There
are other things to eat that can appease the desire for sweets, and that craving
diminishes when you're eating enough of the good stuff that you r body needs.
Applesauce cooked with cin namon in it tastes lovely. You can use
van i l la for flavor in yogu rt or milk shakes. I like to put a frozen banana
in the blender with milk (I use soy milk), a pinch of cinnamon, and a
dash of vanilla. It can be made thick like frozen yogurt to eat with a
� spoon, or thinner like a shake - tastes g reat. For baking, maple syrup,
maple sugar, or barley malt sweetener a re available. Honey, although
a very pure food, unfortunately is so concentrated that it can be hard on the pan
creas. Some people do fine with fructose, whereas some people do not. Watch
out for aspertaine. It's been reported to produce u nwelcome side-effects.
Did you ever notice how "hyper" children get after they have eaten the sugar
candy, ice cream, or cake treats we give them? One th ing I know for su re, refined
white sugar causes me to suffer, so I sim ply don't eat it. I can vouch for the d if
ference in my life, health, and behavior since I stopped eating sugar. Read labels
careful ly and proceed accordingly. Sugar can be hidden in unexpected places.
C.HOC.OlAT�
Chocol ate contains caffeine a nd theobromine. It is addic
tive. If you m ust have chocolate, at least try to get it sweetened with someth i ng
other than wh ite sugar. Sugar and chocolate seem to form a leth a l com binatio n .
More and more people a re becoming aware of t h e detrimental effects of sugar
and chocolate, and there a re a n u m ber of a lternative p roducts on the m arket.
Check them out. You m ay actually l i ke them, and they m ay l ike you, too!
The Surgeon General of the U n ited States issues warni n gs sayi n g that s mok
ing causes can cer, but sti l l, people s moke. So I don't expect my readers wi l l g ive
u p their chocolate h abits very easily. Some of us h ave weaned ourselves from
90
chocolate by training the taste buds to enjoy carob . Some people can tolerate
chocolate when it's sweetened with honey or maple syru p, but personally, I don't
want to get hooked on the taste of chocolate i n a ny form . One of the key i m pacts
of chocolate is that it sti m u lates neurochemicals in us that a re cortical mood
alte rers. It produces feel i ngs of con nection and intimacy. No wonder chocolate
is addictive! When you need consolation and comfort, you m i g ht try tal king to
you r soul, it's the g reatest chocolate kiss!
CAFF£1 N£
Caffeine depletes the pranas, and do I real ly have to say anything about what
caffeine does to the nervous system? A yogi usual ly avoids all sti m u la nts. ' N uff said.
AlCOHOl
For rubbing, if you need to take down a fever, alcohol can be useful . As a bev
erage, it acts as a sti m u lant - at first - and then a depressant. It causes the l iver
to deteriorate a n d damages the bra i n . Alcohol ics Anonymous can give you plen
ty of i nformation a bout alcohol as a n addiction .
91
MAKING A TRAN!!ITION
I became a vegetarian in 1 95 6, when it was suggested to me that if I
stopped eating meat, my health would i m prove. I d id, and it d i d . One approach
to vegetaria n ism is to slowly and g rad u a l ly su bstitute meatless main dishes i n
your mea ls and start eati ng more fresh fruits a n d vegetables. You cou l d try bei ng
a vegeta rian for one or two days a week at fi rst, then g rad u a l ly i ncrease the
n u m ber of days. Or there's the "cold tu rkey" (no pun i ntended) approach, such
as the transition d iet Yog i B haja n gave in 1 969. That d iet consisted of thi rty days
of eating just fru its, n uts, and vegetables. Many of the students who went on it
92
reported feeling ki nd of weak for the first few days, but they said after that the
energy level picked up amazingly. After th irty days you add g ra i ns and dairy
back i nto the pictu re, a nd, congratu lations, you have made a g raceful transition
to a vegetaria n d iet!
!!UM MARY
To conclude this chapter, I suggest that you decide what you wou ld like to
incorporate or change i n you r existi ng pattern of eati n g . I n any l ifestyle change,
it's i mportant to be moderate and sensible rather tha n fan atic. If you've always
been a big meat eater, don't try to become a vegetarian overn ig ht. On the other
hand, some people have successfu l ly done it just that way. Use you r own best
judg ment and com mon sense. And remember to:
93
�OU A R E WHA T YO U EA T!
Tigers have fangs and long sharp claws
If they devour a deer or a lamb, they're obeying natural laws
All carnivores whom God intended to be
Have short intestinal tracts -Not long ones, like you and me.
94
95
12
Creaturgg of Habit
T: ere is no doubt that we are a l l creatu res of habit. A h uge proportion of what
we do, how we feel, speak, relate, is si m ply habit. A saint h as saintly habits, a
cri m i na l has cri mi n a l habits. I don't want to use the word "si n ner. " Thi n king of
themselves as s i n ners has caused people too m uch damage a l ready. I don't s u b
scri be to the idea of sin, except as the Vedantists say, the sin of bein g ignorant of
your d ivine n ature.
Habits control us so strongly that it is said we can actua l ly change our destiny
by changing our h abits . According to ancient yogic wisdom, there a re six specific
areas of habitual behavior to be changed:
TWO KI N D� OF HABIT�1
"It has been seen i n our entire concept of life, that we are 1 5o/o slaves to a rou
tine, to habit. Man must have certain habits without which his l ife can not go on. But
he can attain liberation by changing the character of these minimu m-required habits.
"There are two kinds of habits : promoti ng habits and demoti ng habits.
Demoting habits make you u n happy physical ly, mental ly, a n d spiritua l ly. Promoti n g
habits make you happy physica lly, menta lly, and spiritua l ly. I n you r life, i f you h ave
a l l the habits which are promoting habits, you wil l end up as a l i berated, divine per
son . If you have demotin g habits, you wi l l a lways end u p as a p hysical wreck, men
tal ly insane, a nd/or spiritu a l ly defu nct.
97
1 2 0 day�-eve ryone wi l l know itl "There are two guiding i nsti ncts in man. He is
either improving his futu re or blocking h is future
im provement. If you are conscious of th is, and have an honest and sincere urge
rm
to im prove you r future, you wil l always have promoti ng habits. Oh man, if you
are to care not even for God, at least care for the future. When you ca re enough
� for your futu re to have promoting habits, you wil l become a l iberated person .
"A l i berated person is always a happy person . He does not lack in a ny material
comfort. He does not know any power on Earth which can insult him. He lives in
grace in this world and when he leaves the body he is respected for generations
to fol low. Everyone can be l i ke that.
"Yesterday's greatest sinner can be a sai nt this minute. The only thing required is a
decision : 'Am I to guard my futu re and choose to be a liberated person, or am I to block
my future and go by the material-physical aspect of the world?' . . . Maintain a positive
attitude with promoting habits for forty days, and you can change your desti ny. "
There is a fu ndamenta l meditation that works on changing habit patterns . It's cal led
the SA-T A - N A - M A med itation . You ' l l find the original form, in which Yog i B hajan first
taught it, in this book. Later he gave a beautifu l visualization technique to p ractice with
it. I 've incl uded that for you as an optional bonus-extra. I thi n k you wil l enjoy it.
You wil l also find a breath m editation designed to help control addictive behavior
(habits).
98
13
Drugg
nThg C.hi ng�g took opium a n d lo�t thgi r �ivi li zatio n . I nd i a n�
took marijuana and l o�t thg i r �ivi lization . Thg fgy ptia n �
u�gd pgyotg a n d othg r hgrb� a n d thgy lo�t thgi r �ivi l i zati o n .
Thg Grggk� and Roman� lo�t thg i r �ivi l ization with a l �o ho l .
Thg Unitgd �tatg� ha� thgm a l l ."
-Yogi Bh�an
W hy do people take d rugs? To get out of facing real ity. But d rugs take
you to non-real ity. The use of d rugs has become so widespread now,
it's even considered "fashionable." Yet thousands of people conti nue to die from
d rugs and thousands of l ives, careers, and marriages a re destroyed by d rug a buse.
Babies are born already addicted because their mothers were users. The n ew
"designer" d rugs a re even more lethal and dangerous than the d rugs com monly
used in the '60s. I n 1 994 a promising you n g actor, just twenty-two yea rs old,
River Phoenix, collapsed i n front of a club i n Beverly H i l ls and d ied shortly there
after, a nother victi m - of what? D rugs? Ignora n ce? Arrogance? ("It won't hap
pen to me.") Social pressu re?
When Yogi Bhajan a rrived i n Los Angeles in December of 1 968, the "drug cul
tu re" was a way of l ife for almost a n entire you n g generation . They had started
taking d rugs in order to fi nd God. They had rejected society's material values and
they wanted t o experience spi rit. Yes, they wanted to get " h ig h, " but for the
majority it was a si ncere spiritual q uest, not just thri l l-seeking.
U nfortunately, they didn't know the results of taki ng those d rugs. They didn't
know how much they would suffer from the side-effects. Out of twenty m i l lion
you ng people, millions died, were permanently damaged, or went insane.
For those of you who were not there and d o not remem ber the 60s (and for
those of you who were there and do not rem e m ber the 60s), the fol lowi ng q uote
from Yogi Bhajan wil l i l l ustrate the point:
99
"There is a possi bility that some of you m i g ht feel, once i n a whi le, to
rem e m ber the '60s. Some of you a re very i n n ocent. You do not u ndersta n d . I
was addressi ng one situation today. At one ti m e that person had taken so m uch
d rugs that the neu rons in the b ra i n were d amaged . You h ave seven p lates of
n e u rons. If a plate is damaged because of acceleration and contraction, you can
u nderstand the su btle damage. It is j ust l i ke a car wh ich has a very weak bat
tery. The caffeine, the sti m u lants, and a l l these thi ngs, at that moment m ay
h e l p you . But over a long tim e, they damage you . "
When the Siri S i n g h Sahib, then known si m ply a s "Yogiji," saw t h e condition
the young people were in from havi ng taken d rugs, his com passion was a roused
and i m pel led him to teach them Kundali n i Yoga . He knew it was the fastest way
to heal their bod ies and minds, and give them the spiritual awa kening they were
seeki n g . He decided to teach Ku ndal i n i Yoga publicly, in spite of the fact that
trad itional ly, because of the power it gives, it was forbidden to do so.
H e u nderstood thei r d rive to use d rugs was a n atte m pt to change their con
sciousness, to fi l l a n i n ner e m ptiness. They took d rugs because they h a d not
been taught any other way to take control of their in ner l ives . Drugs were a
rejection of in ner pain and stagnant menta l states. But d rugs did not provide a
way to build a ny real basis for a new consciousness. He knew that Ku n da l i n i
Yoga creates i m mediate, actual changes i n consciousness. Although many d rug
users thought of Kundalini Yoga as a nother way to get "high," it is a way to
becoming the higher self! It is getti ng out of pain, su bconscious turmoil, a n d
boredom. It does give you energy from withi n that can not b e given or created
by a ny outside substance.
Yog i Bhajan knew that by doing Ku ndali n i Yoga, the students wou l d n ot
only experience an even higher "high," but they would be repai ring their ner
vous system and brain. He said it wou ld take three years of doing Ku ndalini Yoga
and eati ng a healthy diet to repair the damage that d rugs had done. That was
the beg i n ning of the 3HO Drug Rehabilitation Program . We even sta mped a l l of
o u r 3 H O outgoing mail with the slog a n :
"'Mak� thi � a d rug-fr�� nati o n .
H�lp th� 3HO Fou ndati o n ."'
100
Yog i B haja n never tol d students o utrigh t to stop taking d ru gs, but h e
poi nted o u t t h e effects of takin g them, a n d h e g ave sim ple things t o d o as a n
alternative :
W h e n you feel t h e urge for some sti m u lant, take seven l o n g d e e p breaths,
hold ing each i nhalation to the maxi m u m . Or (if you ' re not out i n public, that
is), do B reath of Fire. It is the
most powerfu l remedy! WhQn y o u fQQI thQ urgQ for a gtim ul a nt
" If you do a half-hou r of takQ gevQn long deep breathg . holdi n g eaeh
Breath of Fire every day, there
i nhalation to the m axi m u m . O r ( if you're
are a lot of troubles that you
can keep miles away. 1 " not out i n p u b l i e . that ig ) . do Breath of
H e let people discover for Fire . I t i g the m ogt powerfu l remedy I
themselves they cou l d get
higher on Kundalini Yoga than on anything else. He poi nted out that it's a per
manent spi ritual experience. There a re no damaging side-effects. It's a lso legal
and less expensive than d rugs. Not only did every yoga class help heal past dam
age, but it gave a n i m mediate "up" experience.
Armed with Yogi Bhajan's masterful technology, a special ful l-care, d rugless
3HO Drug Rehabilitation facil ity in Tucson, Arizona, was beg u n . Staffed by q ual
ified professionals, it evolved i nto "Su perHealth, " a haven for anyone wanting to
relax, rej uvenate, and regenerate. Using Ku ndalini Yoga as the main featu re of
the program, g uests or clients were given massage, cou n seling, diet, and moti
vational techniq ues to i m prove the quality of their lives.
MARIJ UANA
N ot even marijuana is "safe." Marijuana attacks the nerve centers i n the
spine. Therefore, the entire nervous system, all 72, 000 nerves in the body, are
damaged . Another major effect of marijuana is damage to the memory fu nction .
101
The two hemispheres of the brain expand and contract depending u pon
the activity of the nostrils. What happens when a person smokes "pot" is that
wh ichever nostril is "open" expands the corresponding hemisphere of the
b rai n . This creates the euphoric experience and the distortion of space per
ception and vision, "spaciness. " The p roblem is that whenever the b rain is
affected by d rugs, its usual control factor of the expansion and contraction is
destroyed . From then onwa rd, whether the person is smoking "grass" or not,
that hemisphere can expand any time, a ny place. People get spaced out, for
get what they are doing from one moment to the n ext. My observation was
th at marij uana made the most i ntell igent people incom petent a n d u nde
pendable. Marijuana sti m u lates the brain cel ls and it constricts the spinal fluid.
Yog i B h ajan poi nted out to us that m a rij u a n a g rows wild i n I n d ia, but
n o body bothe rs to smoke it a nymo re, b ecause t h ey k now its d isastrous
effects.
!!l��PI NG Pi ll!!
Thi rty-five m i ll ion people in this cou ntry can n ot sleep at night. M a ny take
sleeping pills. Sleeping pills make you neu rotic, because they make the
body slee p, but they do not let the su bconscious sleep. Everythi ng gets
pushed i nto the u nconscious. And when things get put into the
� "
unconscious, man is a l iving "crazy. " H e has a bsolutely no
nervous control system . The parasym pathetic does n 't even
come throug h . And there's not yet a medicine wh ich can cure
this d isease, because they do not deal with the root cause.
They just cover the surface.
Yogiji taught us the yog ic procedu re for how to go to sleep at n ig ht with
out pi lls, sleep better and deeper, a n d wake up refreshed. You can read all
about it i n the chapter on Sleep.
CYCl�!! OF Uf�
H uman beings have three d istinct tim e periods, or cycles when major
changes take p lace. These a re in the real ms of consciousness (seven years),
intelligence (eleven years), and physical (eighteen years) .
102
D u ring the first eighteen yea rs of l ife, the body is g rowing, so it seems as if
we can get away with just about anything without noticing a ny i l l effects. Kids
can eat j u n k food, go without sleep, get no exercise, even smoke and d ri n k, and
sti l l feel pretty good . F rom eighteen to thirty-six the body goes on reserve and
so it stil l seems as if we can get away with u n h ealthy habits because the body is
using its strong recuperative power to adjust and adapt. But after the age of
thirty-six, look out! Al l the damage we have done, a l l the a buse a n d the neg lect
of the health of our physical body comes back to h a u nt us. We' re no longer on
reserve. The body starts to manifest the effects of all the past m isuse and abuse.
We get the aches and pains: bursitis, a rth ritis, and digestive problems that seem
to come with age. It's not age fol ks, it's deficiency.
Fortu nately, it's never too late to try to i m prove conditions. Even if you a re
over th irty-six, don't despair. By p racticing Ku ndalini Yoga you have al ready
begu n to mend and repair, heal, and strengthen you r body.
Ku ndali n i Yoga is not necessarily "easy" -because you h ave to DO it, you
don't j ust pop a pill in you r mouth, or stick a n eed le in you r a rm . Two of Yog i
Bhajan's earliest sayi ngs a re worth q uoting here. They a re true!
" I k now you m ay h ave taken LS D, you m ay h ave taken P C P, but you can
g et rid of the after-effects of these d rugs if you a re h o n est with sad h a n a, (reg
u l a r d a i ly s p i ritua l p ractice). This is h ow it works. These ki n d s of d rugs, sti m u
lan ts, u ppers, d owners (include sleepi n g p i l ls i n this category), n o m atter
what they a re, control the o pen i n g a n d clos i n g capacity of the worki n g of the
b ra i n 's m etabolis m . It is permissible to take a d ru g o n ly u n de r d i re m ed ical
e me rgency. Othe rwise, i n a ny normal fu n ction i ng b ra i n , when you take
d ru gs, you m a ke it fu n ction a bn o rm a l ly. A l ot of p eo p l e who stick to sad h a n a
(See chapter on Sadhana) h ave been fou n d t o be total ly c l e a r of t h e effects
a n d abnormalities c reated by the use of d rugs. An a bnormality i ncludes a ny
p hysical, m ental, o r s p i ritual abnormality. That is why sad h a n a has been d es
i g nated and d esi g n ed in th ree p a rts: one p a rt rel ates to the p hysical, the sec-
103
COCA I N �
Cocaine g ives a person a false sense of i nvincibility, a n d that, of cou rse, is
especial ly appea l i ng to young people. I guess they don't believe all the statistics
that d emonstrate that cocaine is an add iction that is usual ly fatal . Or maybe
they believe it but they thi n k it can 't happen to them. We a l l tend to thi n k that
d isasters happen to "other people, " not to us.
HABI T OR ADDICTION?
Behavior patterns a re the resu lt of the radi ance of the psych e a n d fre
quency of the m a g n etic field in rel ationshi p to the u niversal psych e a n d mag
n etic force. When I first heard Yog i Bhajan exp l a i n this, I h a d to write it d own
and read it over and over to u n derstan d it. What is i m po rtant to u n derstan d
i s that w e a l l h ave h abit patterns. We cou l d n ot fun ction without the m .
H owever, w e often outg row the patterns that we've created. We change, so
we wan t to change our patterns. O r, we want to change because we
know that by changing o u r h a bit patterns, we can change o u r
l ives!
Whether it's overeating, ta kin g d rugs, s moking, d ri n ki ng, o r
g a m bling, w e can get i n to h a b its that c a n b e very self
d estructive. H ow to change these patterns? I ncrease you r fre-
q uency. The tool for doing th is is the m antra !!A TA NA MA wh ich is the
n uclea r form of the seed sou n d, !!AT NAM. M antra means m i n d p rojectio n . It
is a tec h n ical d evice for regu latin g the mind. (See chapter on Mantra.) The !!A
TA NA MA m ed itation was i ntrod u ced i n the Let's Talk About Food chapter, a n d
104
..D iffi L! u lt th i ng g ta kQ a l o n g t i m Q :
T h Q i m pogg i b i Q ta kQg a l itti Q l o ng Q r .. "'3
105
BRfAKI N G ADD I CT I O N
B y Rgarranging Your �ubeongeioug M i nd
I n this meditation, the thumbs rest against the temples. The pressure
exerted by the thumbs triggers a rhythmic reflex cu rrent d irectly under
neath the stem of the pineal gland. It is imbalance in this obscure area that
makes mental and physical addiction seemingly u n breakable.
I m balance in the area below the pineal u psets the pulsating radiance
that regu lates the pituitary gland. Since the pituitary reg u lates the rest of
the glandular system, the entire body and mind go out of balance when
the pineal is dormant. This meditation corrects the problem. It is excellent
for everyone, but particularly effective for rehabilitation efforts in drug
dependence, mental illness, and phobic conditions.
Although this meditation wil l produce resu lts within 5 to 7 minutes,
work up to a maxi mum of 31 minutes a day. Human habit patterns are set
or broken in forty-day cycles. More deeply ingrained patterns may take
longer to correct.
Once the pineal gland has started secreting, it wil l give you rad iance. It
wil l free you from old patterns.
Sit in a comfortable pose. Straighten the spine and make sure the first six
lower vertebrae a re locked forward . Make fists of both hands and extend
the thumbs out straig ht. Place the thumbs on the tem ples where there is a
smal l indentation about an inch beyond the eyebrows. This is the lower
anterior portion of the frontal bone above the tem poral-sphenoidal suture.
Lock the back molars together and keep the l i ps closed. Vibrate the jaw
m uscles by alternating the pressure on the molars with the rhythm of �A
TA NA MA. A muscle wil l move under the thu m bs. Feel it massage the
th umbs and apply a firm pressure with the hands.
Keep the eyes closed and look toward the brow point. Silently vibrate
the syl lables �A TA NA MA there. Continue 5 to 7 min utes, working up to
3 1 minutes over a period of daily practice sessions.
106
H ave you ever had i nsom nia? H ave you ever had to take sleeping pills? Do
you som eti mes wake up in the morn i ng feeling as if you've been ru n over
by a ten-ton truck, or stepped on by a n elephant? Do you thi n k
you need more sleep? Do you wish you cou ld get along on less
sleep? This chapter is for you !
The pu rpose of sleep is to allow the body and the m i n d to
rest, recuperate, regenerate - and do some self-hea l i n g . You
should wake u p rested, refreshed, and alert, ready to face the d ay. Do you?
U nfortun ately, many of us go to bed so loaded with a nxiety that our minds
keep going over and over the same problems and concerns, l i ke a b roken
record . We even worry a bout whether we'l l be able to go to sleep or not, and
that keeps us awake. If we do fal l asleep, it's a restless sleep.
It's a vicious circle: if our sleep is restless, then our rate of b reathing becomes
erratic. If the breath is erratic, the mind is d isturbed . If we a re menta l ly d istu rbed
in sleep, the deep sleep stage may never be reached . Resu lt: We wake up more
ti red than when we went to bed .
�A�T-W��T I� B��T
For maxi m u m efficiency a n d benefit from sleep, place you r bed so that it is
positioned east/west. Yes, you want to sleep in a l i n e that cuts across the
earth's mag netic fie l d .
J ust a s t h e n eed le o f a com pass i s always p u l led toward the north,
you r personal e nergy wil l g et swallowed up by the p u l l of the earth's
m ag netic field u n less you sleep with you r electromag netic field at rig ht
angles to it. Positioning you r bed north/south cou l d be the reason you wake
up ti red and g rouchy in the morning.
Your entire nervous system is affected by the direction in which you sleep. It
doesn't matter which end your head
is at, the im portant thing is to have
the lines of force in your body going .. Two wo rgf Q n Q m i Qg of y o u r !: p i n Q a rQ
east-west. East-West is Best! a utomobi iQ!: a n d �OFT B fD� .'' WQ a l l
nQQd t o wa l k m o re a n d d rive le!:!: .
B� K I N D TO YOUR �PI N �
A soft bed may feel cozy, but to support you r spine prop
erly, and get the best night's sleep, you need a very firm sur
face to sleep on. This isn't meant to tortu re you . It's not nec
essary (or even desirable) to sleep on a bed of nails. But if
... IlLII ...... ........... you want to give maxi m u m relaxation to you r enti re nervous
system, you have to give maxi m u m support to you r spinal col u m n . All 72,000
nerves in you r body a re con nected to those twenty-six vertebrae in you r spine.
So, "Good-bye waterbed, " "So long, thick feather mattress! "
109
Get the firmest mattress you can fi n d . Or try a three-inch futo n or foam
pad . You need to get rid of soft, non-supportin g beds i n order to experience
the rest and relaxation you n eed and d eserve. M a ny people who can afford
every luxury sti l l choose to sleep with only a Persian rug a n d a s h eepskin for
padding on a carpeted floor!
Okay, n ow you know h ow to get you r bed ready. The re's more to do before
you get into it.
110
• Meditate
• Tu rn on you r auto-reverse tape recorder and play some beautifu l med itative
If you don't have anyone handy to give you a foot massage, you can do it
you rself. (Complete instructions in the Things To Do section.) By the way, if you want
your husband, wife, sweetheart, ch ild, parent, or sibl ing to total ly adore you, give
them a foot massage! It is the kindest, most sooth ing, comforting act of healing.
There's one more very i m portant thing to do before you go to sleep:
112
Juga rat (or h owever it is spelled) is the self with the sense of the i n ner
worl d : d reams, i ma g es, psych i c i mp ressions, the su bcon scious storages of self.
113
SL E E P Y T I M E S ON G
Shakespeare said t'was "Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care-"
I guess he never had insomnia, nor dreamed he was chased by a bear
114
15
How to Gt1t Up i n tht1 Morni ng
I You can, of course, set a n alarm, have a wake-u p service phone you, or
ask someone to cal l you . But ideal ly (if you're smart), you wi l l have conscious
ly set you r i nner alarm the n ig ht before by tel ling you r su b-conscious what time
you want to get up. The subconscious mind has a very accu rate sense of ti m e
and wi l l be happy to serve you !
A l wa y g com e o ut o f g J e e p g J o wl y a n d g ra d u a l ly .
N o g u d d e n m oveg ( Be k i n d to y o u r n e rvou g g y gte m .
If you leap out of bed when the a la rm rings, that a bru pt tra nsition from
sleep to waking is a shock that damages you r nervous system . I nstead of the
j u m ping-jack scenario, when it's ti m e to wake u p, try th is:
115
CAT �TR�TCH
Bend one knee u p to you r chest and swing it across the front of you r body
to touch the bed on the opposite side; then do the sam e thing
with the other knee. Twist and tu rn and bend to the maxi m u m .
This i s good for you r circu lation and for the nervous system . You
a re letti ng the electromag netic field balance itself.
Stretching first th ing in the m orn ing is a major factor in helping you go
th rough the day balanced and cal m . Be sure to do it.
116
!!TR�TCH PO!!�
Lyi ng on you r back, legs straig ht, b ri ng you r heels together and l ift you r
head and you r heels about six inches off the bed (twelve i nches, maxi m u m), bal
a ncing on you r buttocks, whi l e keeping you r eyes open and focusi ng steadily on
you r big toes (or the blan kets coveri ng the toes!). Hold the position for one
m i n ute with B reath of Fire. Arms a re held straight at you r sides, pal ms facing
you r thighs, but not touch i n g . (Sort of l i ke a sentry at Bucki ngham Palace,
except that you can smile.) If you r eyes water, that's OK, it's good l u brication for
them. If you r body shakes, that's okay. It ind icates the nervous system is adjust
ing. If you can't maintai n stretch pose for the
ful l minute, do it in seg ments, even if it's only
ten seconds at a time. J ust do the best you can,
and keep tryi ng! It's tim e wel l spent because:
N O� � TO KN � ��
After one minute of stretch pose, relax for about 15 seconds a nd then bend
you r knees to your chest, wrap you r a rms around them and hold them tight
against you r body, l ift you r head and put your nose rig ht in between your knees. I n
this position d o Breath of Fire for 3 0 seconds to one minute, pumping you r nave l .
This stimulates the apana (out-going l ife breath) a n d helps you r elim ina-
117
tion. j ust as prana is not breath itself, but carried on the i ncoming l ife breath,
apana is the eliminating force of the body, carried on the outgoing, or eliminating
breath . It is the cleansing breath of l ife that gets rid of the toxins. Add to the bene
fit of this exercise by metally repeating the mantra WA H [ G U R U or gAT N A M over
and over in your mind, synchronized with the breath . Hear it loud and clear as you
inhale and exhale. Then in hale deeply, exhale, and relax the breath as you . . .
HAV� A H�ART!
Keeping you r knees tightly clasped to you r chest, tu rn b riefly onto you r
right side and rest for a m i nute o r two. This postu re strengthens the heart.
TAK� A WAlK
Now you're ready to get out of bed and wal k to the bath room . Don't put
on you r slippers yet. It's better to go barefoot, so that you r body can d ischarg e
a ny excess electromagnetic energy you 've accum u lated overnight. T h e fi rst
stretching you did in bed was to b reak through the "cocoon " of you r i n d ivid ual
electromagnetic field and reesta bl ish contact with earth . Touching the wal ls a n d
touching t h e faucets with both h a n d s wi l l hel p conti n ue t h e process o f " g round
ing yourself" for the day ahead.
BATHROOM Al�RT
As we explain in the chapter cal l ed, " Let's Tal k About Food, " when you go
to the toi let first thing in the m orn i n g, you can verify how wel l you a re d igest
ing your food by looki ng to see if you r stool floats. If it does, it means you r body
has gotten the benefit of a l l the food value in whatever you ate, a n d it is just
eliminating what it cou l d n ot use to build blood, bone, and tissue. If you r stool
si n ks, then someth ing is wro n g, either with you r diet or with you r d ig estive sys
tem, and probably both . And, you can tel l by the color of you r u ri n e h ow you r
kidneys are doing. The color should not b e darker than gold.
118
'/;Iff
with a l ittle oil. Oil is more easily absorbed by the skin when it
;,� �. is m ixed with water-an d you won 't be g reasy afterwards.
(/�� ,' Al mond oil is h ig h ly reco m mended si nce the a lmond conta i ns
1 1
1
��l�
I ������
so many minerals, a n d it nou rishes the body throug h the pores
1 of you r ski n . Go for it! When the cold water hits the s u rface of
you r skin (wh ich has fou r l ayers) all the blood from way deep
i nside you r body rushes to the su rface i n self-d efense, vastly i m provi ng you r cir
cu lation on the spot. This is cal led hyd rotherapy. It strengthens you r enti re ner
vous system . People pay h uge sums of money for what is now cal led
119
" Hyd rothermal therapy, " when i n reality a l l you need is you r own two h ands,
col d water, and cou rage.
An added benefit is that you wil l probably become very holy the m oment
the cold water h its you r body, because it is very l i kely you wil l shout, "Oh my
God ! " You m ig ht try exclaimi ng, " Wahe Guru" ("Wow, God is G reat!") or "Ang
Sang Wahe Guru" ("God l ives in every l i m b of my bein g . ") Rememberi n g God
is a lways a blessin g .
Go i n and o u t o f t h e water fou r times, constantly massaging you r body u ntil
the water no longer feels cold . Be sure to get the arm-pits (major nerve centers)
a n d the i nsides of the thighs. You can even stand on one foot and m assage the
top of it with the other foot, but don't s l i p or trip! Women, be sure to massage
you r breasts.
Then, you r first victory of the day achieved, d ry off b riskly with a rou g h
towel til l the body real ly shines; put on loose, comfortable exercise clothing, and
you ' re ready to do you r sadhana, you r personal daily spiritual p ractice. (See
Sadhana: Your Spiritual Bank Account.) God bless you, you're boun d to h ave a
wonderfu l day!
Note, for women, there are exceptions to the shower ru le! One: Don't take
cold showers d u ring you r monthly period . Two: No cold showers after the seventh
month of pregnancy; take lukewarm, body-temperature showers instead . From the
one hundred-twentieth day (when the new soul enters the wom b) u ntil the
seventh month, give the baby a cold shower with a very good massage, but not
more than three minutes, and you wil l hel p build a very strong, d isease-free baby!
If you rea l ly l ove hot showers, won d e rfu l . Ta ke them at n i g ht, or some
ti m e when you ca n wra p up afterwa rds in lots of b la n kets and sweat for at
l east a n hour or two . But in the m o rn i n g, cold water is yo u r best frien d . The
m orn i n g shower is for you r c i rc u l ation, a n d sti m u l ation of you r n e rvou s a n d
g la n d u l a r systems.
120
16
�adhana: Your �pi ritual Bank Account
f n vy of thQ A n g eJ g
(AnggJg C.an"t Do �ad ha na )
I t has been said that even the a ng els envy us because it is o n ly when a being
has evolved i nto the h u ma n form (after 8.4 m i l lion l ifeti mes i n other
forms), that he/she can be l iberated from the cycle of birth and d eath . N o othe r
l ife form has this opportu nity. N ot even t h e angels.
To experience liberation we h ave to expand our awa reness beyond the l i m
itations of our i ndivid ual consciousness. O n ly then can we merge into the vast
ness of the U n iversal Self, which is our true identity. That expansion takes
cou rage and consistent effort. It takes work .
The power of you r sad hana is enhanced by doing it with other people. To
go from individual to u niversal consciousness, we have to go th rough g roup
consciousness. G ro u p sad h a n a
H ave you h ugged y o u r gou l tod a y ? develops g roup consciousness. You
wi l l fi nd that com m u nication and
deali ngs with the people who do sad hana with you is m uch easier than with
other people, because you have created an harmonious inner avenue of com
m u n ication .
122
0 N f: H 0 L Y M A N '!!
!! P f: C. I A L !! A D H A N A
O nce there was a very holy man who l ived i n a cave high i n the
mou ntains of the H i malayas. He p racticed austerities and penances for
many yea rs. Every morn i ng he would appear at the cave entrance j ust
before s u n rise, and stand waiti ng for the first rays of dawn to appear
over the horizon, i l l u m inati ng a spectacu lar panorama of h u n d reds and
h u n d reds of miles of l ush g reen forest. H e cou ld look down and see the
m irrored reflection of his own snowcapped mountain shimmeri ng i n
t h e crystal clea r river sparkling m i les below. Overwhel med with the
beauty of God's creation, he never tired of the exq u isite sig ht.
Awestruck at the wonder of God's creation that g reeted his eyes each
dawn, he watched the sun rise, clapped his hands in glee and shouted
at the top of his l u n gs, "Well done, God, wel l done!" This was his way
of g iving thanks to his Creator. This was his sadhana.
123
PR�PARATION
M o rn ing sad hana real ly starts the n i g ht before. It starts with h ow you go
to sleep at nig ht, so you can wake up early i n the morn i n g the yogi c way. O n e
o f the m ost essential steps i n that p reparation for morn i n g sad h a n a is a cold
s hower. Yes, col d . People pay thousands of dollars for hydrotherma l therapy,
but you can ach ieve the same results for o n ly a few cents a d ay i n you r own
col d s h ower. I can 't repeat often enough h ow val uable it is to take that cold
shower. That's where you can o pe n up you r cap i l la ries, i ncrease you r circu la
tion, wake up a n d strengthen you r entire n e rvous system i n a bout five m i n
utes. A l l y o u h ave to d o is m assag e you r body vigorously u nder c o l d water fi rst
thing in the morn i n g u ntil the water does n 't feel col d . After this "tun e-u p"
you ' re ready to tu ne-in for you r m o rn i ng sad hana. I'm going to d escribe i n
d etail t h e sadhana p rescribed b y Yog i B h ajan, a n d p racticed b y thousands of
3 H O students throughout the worl d . P l ease join us!
lOCAT I ON
It's best to do sad hana i n the sam e p lace every d ay. Ideal ly, you wil l fin d a
3 H O Yog a Center or Ash ram, a n d participate i n the g ro u p sad h a n a there .
Everyon e benefits from t h e com b i n ed energy. You can, o f cou rse, d o you r sad
hana at home. J ust sel ect a d ean, q u iet s pot where you wil l n ot be d is
turbed . You m ay want to set up an a ltar of some kin d with pic
tu res, flowers, statues, whatever sets a m ood of reverence for you .
This a lta r becom es a focal point for you r m ed itative energy.
After you tu n e i n by c h a ntin g ONG NAMO GURU OW NAMO (at
l east th ree tim es), do a set of K u n d a l i n i Yoga exercises (re m e m ber to
i nclude the relaxatio ns), then you ' re ready to beg i n c h a ntin g .
124
M ORN I NG MANTRA!!
Sit i n Easy Pose, on either wool o r cotton padd i n g of some sort. Some
people use shee pski n s, others p refer a fol d ed b l a n ket. You r fou nd atio n should
be solid so you can sit sti l l . You can chant sitti n g i n a chair o r eve n lyi n g i n
bed if you r p hysical condition requ i res it. B e s u re to kee p you r s p i n e a s straight
a s you can .
The words for a l l seven of the m o rn i n g sad h a n a mantras a re a t the e n d of
this chapter. The sequence beg i ns with seven m i n utes of c h a ntin g Lon g E k
O n g Kar's. This mantra opens a l l t h e chakras. (See the Things To Do section for
specific directions for chanting it.) Al l of the othe r m antras for the m o rn i n g m ay
be chanted to you r choice of melod ies, with o r without m usical acco m pa n i
m ent. There a re several a u d io tapes 3 available with d ifferent m usical versions
of a l l the "Aq uarian Sad h a na" m antras. Try them u nti l you fi n d one that s uits
you . O r, you can create you r own m elod ies . But be s u re to kee p the sam e com
parative length of syllables a n d m a i ntai n t h e sam e rhythm a s they wou l d b e
s poken if you were sim ply recitin g the m i n a m o n otone, with out a ny m usic.
This attention to rhyth m p reserves the " Naad, " wh ich is the i n ner sou nd, the
power, of the syl lables. Th is is very i m po rtant. N ot every tape that has been
p rod u ced is flawless i n th is regard , but as the scri ptu res say, " Mantram
Siddyam, Siddhyam Parameshwaram. " H e who m asters mantra, masters God
H i mself. Perfection can't be expected to be easily achieved . You wil l h ave to be
the best j udge of which morn i n g sad h a n a tape works best for you . O n e of the
m a ny adva ntages to g ro u p sad h a n a is that you can just s u rrender to the
p rocess, as someone else leads the exercises and the chanti n g . (Or, you can
l ead it and d o it "your way!")
fl'IEII
�
� lilt forming walls of negativity, wal ls that separate us from experienc-
-
. · rl!fi!'!!A
,i_
-
ing the God i nside us. It is this sense of separation that m a kes us
- u n happy. By contin u i n g to chant, you're replacing neg ative vib ra-
Tf'!lii ,_. BR
tions with positive ones, and the wal ls come tumbling d own !
If we don't clean u p the subconscious on a regular basis, negativity contin
ues to accum ulate. When it reaches a satu ration point, it spi lls over i nto the
u n conscious mind and then it's really hard to get rid of it.
To be tru ly l iberated and in control of our m inds a nd our l ives, we can 't be
pushed and pul led a round by i rrational com pu lsions from the sub-conscious.
Did you ever do someth ing
P ra y i n g ig ta l ki ng to God . me d i ta t i n g you really didn't want to do?
O r do somethi n g you n ow
i g l ett i n g G o d ta l k t o y o u . wish you had n't done? Wel l,
the desires a n d the com p u l
sions to action or lack of action, caused by fea r, come mostly from the s u b
conscious. If we don't get rid of what's bu ried there, we can be i n real trouble!
When you fin ish chanting for a n hour-and even d u ring that hour
remember to give than ks to you r Creator. This is a n excellent tim e to pray.
�
You have worked on you r physical body with Ku ndalini Yoga
((};;I exercises. You have worked on you r mind, cleaning out the s u b-
128
Any fool can sleep late and miss sun 's first rays
But blessed be the soul who wakes to the day!
Two and a half hours before the sun rises
Best time for sadhana-practiced by the wisest.
129
130
17
Woman ig �pt1llt1d
DoubJ g-Vou-0-Man
Thi� ehapter i � written primarily for women,
but I think man wil l find it worth readi ng .
!!hocking perhap�. but worth reading!
D u r pre mise in this book is that everyone has the right to be healthy,
happy, and holy. As women, there is a lot we can do to make this possi
ble. Obviously something has to change. Any change starts with a change of
attitude, a d ifferent idea, or concept. So I i nvite you to open you r mind to a d if
ferent way of viewing our l ives, identity, and pu rpose as women . You may fi nd
some of the thi ngs you are about to read u psetting, but twenty-seven yea rs of
l iving, cou nseling, and observing the results of these ideas h ave convi nced me
of lheir practica lity!
Yog i Bhajan p u l ls no punches. He strips away fantasy and teaches reality.
This is not always a popular thing to do. H e offers en lig htened and u n iversal
knowledge of the true natu re and characteristics of each gender. He has gone
i nto g reat d etail i n hundreds of lectu res and classes, explain ing how men and
women a re d ifferent. Men may be "from Mars" and women may be "from
Venus, " but we' re all here on Earth now, a n d we need to learn how to enjoy
being here together.
It's obvious that the cu rrent belief system of the "eq ual ity" of men and
women has not brought us happi ness and fulfi l lm ent. Discontent, d epression,
and frustration a re common. The d ivorce rate conti n u es to g row and the fabric
of society is torn by bitterness and resentment on both sides of the gender l i ne.
Thoug h i m po rtant, equal pay for eq ual jobs does not deal with the fu ndamen
tal issue of our u nique strengths and pu rpose as wom e n and our i m pact on
society.
131
all you r biochem ical action, doesn't have the mental lunar reflection, doesn't
have the sophistication and softness and doesn't have the nervous system to
deal with it, and he's sti l l alive!"2
I s it a ny won d e r that a wom a n 's i nflu ence and effect o n a man can be
e normous? Wom e n th roughout the ages h ave i ns p i red m e n to g reatness, or
led them to their d oo m . What we say to a m a n ca n either elevate, i nspire, a n d
enco u rage h i m, o r e mascu late, a ntagon ize, a n d som etim es destroy h i m . But,
what about the exp l oitation of wom e n ? Yes, it is true, wom a n has been p ut
d own, m is used, a bused, a n d b ruta l ly m istreated . But, this d oes n ot h ave to
conti n ue. When we acknowledge a n d accept o u r power as women, we can
clai m our rig htfu l status of d i g n ity, g race, and res pect i n society.
H istory shows that any society or civi l ization i n which woman is not respect
ed has u lti mately been destroyed .
":-.. :._.::.
--- ...__ ·
---
women . The fi rst Khalsa Women's Training Cam p, KWTC, (Khalsa
means "pure one") was held in 1 9 76, on land boug ht by Yog i
Bhajan i n Espanola, N ew Mexico. C a m p ra n for eight weeks, a nd
the women ran, too ! Everything from martia l a rts a n d march i ng,
to m usic and med itation was taught. Yogi Bhajan personally lectu red and led
Ku ndalini Yoga classes every day. He was determined to elevate and transform
woman in th is cou ntry from a "ch ick" to a n eagle! He em phasized the nobility
of woman.
He taught special med itations for women, shared ancient secrets on health
and diet for wom e n . He lectu red on virtually eve ry aspect of a woman's l ife
including love, romance (versus reality), marriage, and childraisi ng, always
building our self-esteem and rem inding us of the d ivi ne n atu re of Woman. H e
tol d us, "You a re t h e G race of God ."
Espanola sti l l hosts KWTC each summer for several weeks, and women can
even come for just a weekend of rej uvenation, inspiration, a n d education .
133
sand things that men d o or don't do, sim ply because they're men . When we
react emotional ly, remember we have sixteen tim es the i m pact, so when we
blow u p at them, or break into tears, men really don't want to, or can't, deal
with it. This is frustrati ng for them, so they can get ang ry, and then we have a
real fight on o u r hands.
But, you may be thi n ki ng, "Hold on a min ute, does that mean it is the
responsibility of the woman to adapt and adjust all the time? What about men
doing their share?" Good point. However, thi n k of it this way: J ust as a com puter
can only print out what has been progra m med in, men and women have been
program med to approach l ife d ifferently. We each cam e from the M a n ufacturer
with a special software package u n iquely desig ned . It's nobody's fau lt! If you
want to com plain, tal k to God, He's the Master Com puter who d esig ned us the
way we a re.
135
A CTIO N PL A N FOR WO M £N
(The following material is quoted directly from Yogi Bhajan 's lectures.)
DI�PO�ABL£
" Life leaves very deep i m prints on a woman. A l ot of men try to use women
as a toothpaste tube. They want her to be available when they want her, and
when they a re ti red of her they rep lace her with a n ew one. A woman should
understand her security before she i n d u lges i n relationships with men because
all tem pora ry relationsh i ps a re very deeply i m printed on wom e n . Men don't
have that faculty, they a re not affected the same way.
136
that wom e n a re far m o re com pl ex than men, a n d i n the long ru n, men wou l d
benefit m ore b y h is spending more tim e teac h i n g the wom e n h ow t o be suc
cessful wives a n d m others.
HOW TO A N N OY A WOMAN
"You m ust u nderstan d that woman is m uch sharper than a male. No woman
needs cou nseling . Her n atu re is to resist advice. If you want to a n n oy a woman,
cou nsel her. She a lso g ets angry more q uickly tha n a m a n . A creatu re wh ich can
turn its blood i nto m i l k to save and nourish its offspri ng can d o everyth ing else
also. A c h i ld can m a ke a man crazy in ten m i nutes a n d n ot d istu rb a woman in
twenty hours. The facu lty of a woman also extends to mental a n d spiritual
138
real ms. She h as a n i n born capacity to tackle everything. She l ives i n the center
of her bein g . Whereas by nature man either l ives in his testicles or in h is head .
H e does not h ave the n atura l tendency to l ive
i n the center of his bei n g . B ut woman always
l ives i n the center and works both u p and pow�r of a woman ."
down . There is a sayin g i n the Kama Shastra, - .. Ladiug Homu Journal" Magazinu !!logan
'When a woman is in bed, and sexual i nter-
course is perfect, and she is total ly blended with the man, even at that time she
can think that the tea may boil over."'
M A R R I A G �
TAK� I T LIGHTlY?
Tod ay many people take marriage lightly, "Oh, if it doesn't work out, we' l l
get a d ivorce." A n d even havin g children is a pathetical ly casual affai r. A s Yogi
Bhajan put it, "You take more care i n preparing to plant a rose bush �,tl. �
���
. .
CHi lD �TAR
I n her autobiog ra phy, Child Star, Shirley Tem ple Black, who was the most
famous child motion picture star of all ti me, writes that her m other p u rposely
went to museu ms, l istened to beautifu l music, read poetry, a n d even danced
and sang while she was carryi ng S h i rley, so that she would be s u re to give birth
to a talented, m usica l ly gifted child. In the Mahabharata5 it speaks of the future
warrior Arjuna being a ble to plan a successfu l battle strategy w h i le sti l l a you n g
boy, because he remembered a conversation his father h a d with h is m other
while Arj u na was in her wom b !
I n 3 HO, we have a b i g party to celebrate t h e mother's 1 20th Day. But it's
not a baby shower. People b ring g ifts-but they're not for the baby, they a re for
the woman who is bringing a n ew l ife into the world. We honor her especia l ly
on this day, for she is the veh icle th rough which the the world receives a child
who shall become a "sai nt, a h e ro, or a giver." That is the mother's assi g n ment,
to give the child spiritua l val ues, so he can becom e that. And, a l l the ti m e she
141
m ust remember that the child does not belong to her, but belongs o n ly to God.
A child is no one's p roperty.
142
POW�R OF A WO MAN
Guidad Mad itation for Woman
" . . . See you r power as a woman . Touch the heavens, squeeze it to you r
self. Make all the oceans into j ust a d rop. And out of this d ro p, you m ust
sq ueeze a l l the stars and suns and moon. Beyond that, there is a space
where you m ust exce l . The gods sha l l l isten to the cal l of the woma n .
"The sou n d i n t h e heavens, the m u rm u r of the leaves; t h e m usic of
the breeze; and the sound of the waves;
the clouds i n the skies and the d ust on the
earth - a l l in salutation to the cal l of the
woman . The a ngels, divines, the sages,
the saints a re the existence of the very
prayer of the woma n . The cal l i ng of the
woman can penetrate th rough heavens a nd beyond all spaces into the
i nfin ity of God, and that's the only one power p u re enough to manifest
God on Earth . . . "
" . . . This is the truth . And you h ave to experience it. Woman is the only force.
Living, vital, vi brating, her verbal sense is the on ly sense wh ich is creative,
which is consciousness . . . "
" . . . My dear ch ildren of God, there is a job to do. Put on you r a rmor, alert
you rself, and get going. The heavens sha l l bow to you . The angels wi l l come.
The dem igods shall obey, and the Al m ighty God shall l isten to you . Because
you are the only way. " 6 . .
143
18
Four Teal!herg
U nfortu nately, m ost parents, i ncluding you rs and m i ne, h ave to depend
u pon their instincts and the patterns they lea rned from their parents.
Most of them are not yog is. They
can only g u ide us with i n the l i m- You r fi rgt t�ach�r i n th i g gchool of l if� ig
its of their own knowledge a n d
experience. Even with t h e best of
you r moth� r. g�cond i g y o u r fath� r. th i rd
i ntentions, their own neu roses ig th� �nvi ron m�nt ( r� lativ�g , gchool
and biases color the way they t�ach� rg, fri�ndg), and fi na l l y , th�
teach us to deal with ou rselves
and the world.
fou rth ig you r �pi ritua l T�ach�r whog�
It is not only what parents job it ig to co rr�ct a n y m igconc� ptiong
say to us, but what they do and you r�c� iv�d fro m th� fi rgt th r�� .
what they are that deeply affects
us and forms our basic attitudes
toward ou rselves and everyone else. We in turn pass along this legacy to our
chi l d ren, consciously or u nconsciously.
MOTH�R
You r fi rst teacher is you r mother. From the 1 20th day fol lowi n g conception
(it is on the 1 20th day that the sou l actually enters the wom b) th rough the first
th ree yea rs of life, you r mother's i nfluence dominates. She is the p rimary, pow
erfu l, most com pel l i ng shaper of the attitudes, habits, p rejudices, relationshi ps,
145
and self-images that usually stay with you for the rest of you r l ife. For better or
for worse, you r mother's i nfl uence is almost i ndelible. The u m bi lical cord lasts
wel l beyond the wom b. The seeds of g rowing u p with fea r of fai l u re, or fea r of
success, a re planted d u ring these early yea rs.
FATH�R
You r second teacher is you r father. From age three to eight, his i m pact pre
dominates. He is the male fig u re (or absence thereof) who supplies the exam
ple, the role model for a son . Dad is the a rchetype to i m itate, to love, or to hate.
Father person ifies " m a n . " For a daug hter, Daddy or Poppa is the standard to
which she wil l com pare every other man she ever meets, for better o r for worse.
!!PIRITUAl T�ACH�R
The fou rth teacher is you r spi ritual teacher. M ost people born i n the West
don't real ly know what a "spi ritual teacher" is. We suffer from a col lective cul
tural deficiency, i .e., lack of education a bout the n ature a n d fu nctio n of a spiri
tual teacher and the n ecessity and i m portance of th is relations h i p in o u r l ives.
Who does he th i n k he is? It's not a matter of "th i n ki ng, " a gen u i ne spiritual
teacher KNOWS who he is. H e has had the actua l experience of confirming h is
identity beyon d q uestion. H is m ission i n l ife is to help other people achieve that
same experience. And when you r sou l leaves the body, he's there to help you
make the transition . He works more in the non-physical planes than on the
physical .
146
147
A spiritual teacher is l i ke a/forklift who has to come d own to earth, pick you
up and l ift you to the heights of h is level of consciousness. When he m eets you,
how you perceive h i m depends u pon you r degree of consciousness. He can play
whatever role you need in order for you to evolve.
148
19
My �piritual TQaehQr
YO G I BHAJAN
149
ping clerk i n a book store. Whe n he was i nvited to come to Los Angeles for a
weekend, he g ladly accepted . That's when I met h i m . After our conversation on
December 25th, I offered to d rive h i m to a n a ppoi ntment the next day. That is
when he gave me the mantra that changed my l ife.
H e explained to m e that n oth i n g i n this world is more powerfu l than the
p rayer of a m other for her son . He wrote d own the words �K ONG KAR �AT
NAM �IRI WHA GURU o n a little p iece of p a pe r. H e tol d m e that if I wou l d chant
this m antra powerfu l ly from the n avel point, a l l i n one b reath, for o n e h o u r
every d ay before s u n rise a n d p ray for my son, h e wou l d be a l l rig ht. (At the
ti m e I d i d n 't even k n ow whe re my son was, only that he h ad attem pted sui
cide a nd gone A.W. O . L. from the U n ited States Army.)
I a l ready had a spiritual routine I was doing dai ly, including several other
mantras. When Yogi Bhajan gave m e this one, I asked h i m, "What about all the
other th ings I ' m doing?" (Sufi chanting, Hopi I ndian mantra, and Vedanta med
itation.) He said, "Go a head and do everythi ng, but try this a lso."
That seemed reasonable to m e, so that's what I did . On the second day of
chanting, I had such a profound experience that I could barely wait u ntil I cou ld
phone h i m and say, " I don't have to do a nything else, this is it. " Now, twen
ty-seven years later, although we chant many other
mantras that Yog i Bhajan has taught us, those syl la
bles a re stil l "mine."
(I am happy to say that withi n ten days I heard
from my son . He had been " rescued" u p i n Berkeley,
which is a whole story in itself, with no space in th is
book for it! We were able to work things out with the
a rmy. I'm a lso happy to say that I saved the precious
p iece of paper on which Yog i Bhajan wrote those eight
magic words. It's carefu l ly preserved i n my scrapbook of the early days of 3 HO.)
Yogi Bhajan had told me d u ri n g my fi rst interview with h i m, "You h ave been
a student long enough, you shou l d be a teacher. " He said that he had come to
tra i n teachers, not to get d isciples. At the tim e I thoug ht to myself, "Oh, s ure,
fat chance." He said although I knew a lot, he cou ld " put it all together for me."
I thoug ht, "Who does he th i n k he is?"
151
or " Don't" do this or that, he gave alternatives. He taught th ree classes, six days
a week, and a meditation class on Sundays for over a year.
Mea nwhile, he was studying our cultu re, our attitudes, our personal histo
ries of abuse and neglect, betrayal, and a ba ndon ment. Out of his com passion
he began to create more opportu nities for us to heal a nd strengthen ourselves.
He created 3HO events such as Sum mer and Winter Solstice Sad h anas, and
Khalsa Women's Training Cam p (KWTC) . In 1 970, when he became the Mahan
Tantric, he put hi mself on the line even more, taki ng on more stress by al lowi ng
a nyone and everyone to participate i n the White Tantric Yoga g roup med itation
courses he taug ht. (See the chapter Tantric Yoga.)
Th rough the years he has given us many insig hts into his personal philoso
phy of l ife. Here's one such gem :
MAHAN TANTRIC
Yog i B hajan is u n iq ue among s p i ritual teachers beca use h e i s a lso the
M a h a n Ta ntric of this era . This m ea n s that he is the o n ly l ivi n g m a ster of
Wh ite Ta ntric Yoga i n the world, since there ca n o n ly be o n e on the p l a n et at
a ny g iven ti me. H e is a world teacher, a very special i nstru ment w h o m G od
has a p poi nted a n d a noi nted to awaken the m i l lions of sleeping sou ls o n this
plan et.
He is a Teacher of teachers. H is words h ave enormous power. H i s bei n g
vib rates i n h a rmony with t h e u n iversa l consciousness a n d h e feels everyth i n g
before it h a ppens. H e can n ot com prom ise t h e integ rity o f his responsibil ity a s
a teacher, so h e can not tel l a l l that h e knows. H is power is n ot h is own, a n d
h e knows it. H e says h i s power is his o w n i n n e r p rayer, w h i c h is cal m, q u i et,
a n d peacefu l . (Thoug h outwa rd ly, m ost students wi l l attest, his e n e rgy com es
across l i ke a tornado ! )
GO Cli MB A TR��?
Yog i Bhajan tel ls a g reat story a bout one of the ways Sant H azara S i n g h,
his Kunda l i n i Yoga teacher i n I nd ia (an d the M a h a n Ta ntric d u ri n g those
years), tested h i m . Wearin g his best sta rched clothes and s h ined s hoes, he was
traveling with his teacher to m eet som e d i g nitary. Sant H azara
Singh tol d the d river to stop the car, a n d i nstructed you n g
H a rbhajan S i n g h t o g et out. H e pointed t o a nearby tree a n d tol d
h i m t o c l i m b it, a n d t o stay there u nti l h e cam e back. A s a g oo d stu
dent, the boy d i d n 't ask why, he d i d n 't hesitate. He got out,
cl i m bed the tree a n d waited . H is teacher d rove off. Th ree d ays a n d
n ig hts went by. H e stayed u p i n that tree! W h e n h is teacher fi n a l ly cam e
back a n d released h im, h e n ever asked h i m h ow he h a d m a n aged, n ever con
g ratu lated him on h is obed ience and resou rcefu l n ess. The m atter was n ever
d iscussed . Of cou rse that was in I nd ia, w here they u n derstan d what it means
to serve a spiritual teacher, a n d what can be gai ned . Yog i B h ajan knew the
ru les of the relationsh i p : n ever ask why, n ever d eny, sim ply say "Yes, S i r, " and
d o it. God o n ly knows what o n e of us wou l d d o u nd er s i m i l a r circu m stan ces.
A spiritual teacher n ever settles for a nythi n g less tha n the best from a stu-
154
d ent. H is job is n ot to p raise us when we d o wel l, but to p resent the n ext l es
son i m med iately so we can conti n ue to g row. He can n ever be satisfied .
Yogi B hajan has told us many stories a bout his experiences as a student. One
of them is about a time when he was a young m i litary officer, al ready q uite a n
accomplished yogi . However, he wanted t o learn a particu lar kriya from a
teacher whom h e had never met. Every day he would go to pay h is respects,
hoping for a n audience. The teacher ignored him for months. Then he sent
word that he should persona l ly prepare and bring a carrot pudding as a n offer
ing every day. He also i nsisted that Harbhajan wal k the five m iles to get there.
This went on for months before the teacher would even tal k to him. The you ng
m i litary officer, i n h is i m macu late ly starched and pressed u niform had to leave
his car and his d river beh i nd, and m a ke the trek barefoot, carrying that carrot
pudding. He d id it. Wou ld you?
In the West, we have not been taught to respect the cosmic laws which gov
ern the student-teacher relationsh i p . I n fact, most people don't even know
what they a re. So, i n our ignora nce, we a re not able to take fu l l advantage of
the benefits and blessings a teacher can offer. It is also true that there has been
exploitation and abuse of the role of Spiritual Teacher by people claim i n g to be
"en lig htened. " Before you get i nvolved with a ny teacher, you s hou ld i nvestig ate
this a rea for yourself. Come to you r own concl usions. I learned about spiritual
teachers th rough read ing and th rough tria l and error d u ring fifteen years of
exploring various spiritual paths before I m et Yogi Bhajan . One th ing I know for
su re, watch out for a ny teacher who wants you to worship h i m . If you consider
someone you r spiritual teacher, he deserves you r utmost respect and reverence .
If he or s h e i s a genuine Teacher, and you want to excel, give you r obedience.
For those who a re desti ned to lead m ust fi rst l ea rn to fol low. But always remem
ber, the teacher is the g uide, not the desti nation.
T�ACH�R OF T�ACH�R!!
True to h is word, Yogi Bhajan has tra ined h undreds of teachers of Ku ndalini
Yoga. The 3HO Fou ndation, (Hea lthy, H a ppy, Holy Organ ization) which he
founded in 1 969, is a teacher train i n g organization with centers a l l over the
worl d . He told us:
155
" If you want to lea rn somethi ng, read about it. If you want to u nderstand
somethi ng, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it. " H e wants
us a l l to be masters. He tel ls us to be "ten times g reater" tha n he is. And he
means it.
He also warned all of us who were to become teachers that, "You will be
tested in three a reas: money, sex, or power-possi bly in a l l of them . " It is a g reat
responsibility and privi lege to teach Ku ndalini Yoga. It is said that if a teacher
betrays the sacred trust p laced i n h i m, he wi l l be reborn as a cockroac h !
BIOGRAPHY OF A YOG I
Born Aug ust 26, 1 929, in the vi l lage of Kot Harkaran, now i n Pakistan,
Harbhajan Singh P u ri was the son of a m ed ical doctor and a very d evout and
powerfu l mother. He mastered Kunda l i n i Yoga when he was sixteen . Stil l only a
teenager when I nd ia was partitioned, he took charge of leading a thousa n d peo
ple out of h is vil lage to safety near N ew Delh i . During his youth he stud ied with
many teachers, including h is revered g ra ndfather, Bhai Fateh Singh, a n d the
Mahan Tantric, Sant H azara S i n g h . He attended Punjab U n iversity where he
majored in Econom ics, was an a ll-aro u n d ath lete, and a champion debater. I
h ave his prize certificates i n my files. Capta i n of the soccer team, track star, he
used his Kundalini Yoga p ractice to get in shape for ath l etic events . H e was a
winner!
156
He married l nderjit Kau r, and they had th ree ch ildren (and now five g rand
children born in the U n ited States). He was a Command ing Officer i n the I ndian
Army, starting out i n the Motor Transport d ivision, and he served i n the I nd ia n
Govern ment for eighteen yea rs before coming to America.
H a rbhajan S i n g h Khalsa Yog ij i beca m e a U n ited States citizen in 1 9 7 6 a n d
earn ed his P h . D . i n psychology i n 1 980. H is d octoral d issertatio n is ca l l ed
" Co m m u n ication, Liberation o r Cond e m n atio n . "
i!: in a l l , big a n d !: m a i L
157
20
Communil!afion
A
Wh� n you a r� angry ,
Wh� n
fter yea rs of m i n isterial you a r� �motiona l .
Wh�n
cou nsel i ng I have come to you a r� hurt.
the conclusion that most prob Wh� n you a r� i ng�cu r� .
lems between people a re prob
lems in com m u n ication . Yes, of
O r wh�n y o u a r� i nto a n �go tri p -
course we a l l have our neu roses,
and trust is a major issue, but
Thaf"g wh�n you f��� you m ugf tal k .
when two people rea l ly com m u And thaf'g w h y y o u m�gg u p l
n icate with each other, a lot of
p roblems can be solved . Even B�caug� wh� n y o u tal k if ghould b� for
wars eventually have to go to the th� futur� . not for th� pagf or th�
negotiati n g ta ble to fi n a l ize
pr�g�nt. Com munication i g th� a rt of
peace. Why not start there?
There is a whole science to b u i l d i ng h�av�n in th� futur� :' 1
effective com m unication so that
you r words wil l be received and understood the way you intend them . Yogi
B haja n 's d octo ra l d issertation titled : " Co m m u n i cation, Li beration or
Condemnation, " is on this very su bject. It goes i nto g reat detail about the
use of the various chakras (energy centers) in comm u nication .
1 59
Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Eternal Power
THING!! TO KNOW
!!P�AKI N G O F !!P�AKI N G :
D i d you ever analyze how m uch of what you say is encouragi ng,
u pl ifting, and positive and how m uc h is not? M uch of our ordi
nary, every day conversatio n is negative and self-negati ng. We
barely notice the destructive n atu re of the words we use because
the "put-down" is so com mon i n our society.
Start l istening to you r words. If you real ly want to have a n
adventu re, tape record you rself for a w h o l e day and then l isten t o what you
h ave said . You 'l l be shocked, especia l ly when you rem e m ber you a re "creati ng"
160
whenever you speak. The old ad monition to "th i n k before you speak" is stil l
good advice. It's easier to d o that when you h ave you r nerves u nder control .
Nerves h ave to b e very strong so you don't automatical ly react to everything
that happens the min ute it happens, l i ke a robot responding to a button being
pushed . (/ hope you read the chapter called Stress, Stamina, and Nerves of Steel.)
Another fasci nating experiment i n self-awareness is to go on silence for a few
days. It can be qu ite a revelation . I 've done it. It was very h u m bling. If you real
ly do it, you ' l l probably d iscover as I d id, how m u ch conversation is not really
necessary or useful at a l l (including you r own !).
I n the Things To Do section you ' l l fi nd two meditations Yogi Bhajan taught
specifical ly to help us i m prove our com m un ication.
161
C HOOSE YO UR WOR DS
Be Careful
Be Courageous
Be Conscious
Be sure
Before you speak-
Will your words kill - or cure?
162
Words reveal
And words hide
True Identity
Divine inside
To belittle is common
To uplift is rare
Value your words
Use them with care
163
21
Happinm:g
166
22
THJ;: WORLD ACCORDI NG TO MJ;:. with a l ittla halp fro m
Lifg ig a Movi g
I �
n 1 94 3, when I was thi rteen, my mother a n d I moved to the enterta i n ment
capital ofi:he world, H OLLYWOOD, CALI FORN IA! It was the Golden Age of
�
fil m . E erybody went to the movies reg ularly. I sti l l d . I love to be �-:_ ;:.. �--- ..:- _
.��
_ -
entertamed, don't you? That's why we go to the mov1es, read books :-_:;
and plays, a n d watch television. We' re fasci nated, i ntrigued, inspired, �����r,r:;
frig htened, or a mused by the tales we hear o r see. We can experience 11!-1��3;��
a l l sorts of adventu res vicariously. The best teachers a n d p ublic speak
ers a re the ones who a re good story tel lers . They entertai n us. Here's a
good story for you :
"Once u pon a time, before time began . . . " accord i n g to Vedanta phi losophy,
God created this entire creation . It is said H e d id it for H is enterta i n ment, so this
whole creation is known as God's " Leela, " H is "play." Everything we see a rou nd
us is part of H is story, u nfolding for His enterta i n ment!
I fig u re that m ust be why we, His creatu res, made by H im, "in His i mage, "
enjoy stories (su bstitute "movies" here) so m uc h . It's because we' re "God-like" !
As I u n de rstand it, God was just kin d of sitti ng a round, not doing m uch of
a nyth ing, sim p ly existing as a vast, shoreless ocean of existence, absol utely silent
and sti l L Static. N o ripples, no movement, no activity. J ust a vast expanse of
"being" - a timeless, beg i nn i ngless, and e n d l ess ocean with no surface a n d no
bottom . I n othe r words, u nmanifest, i nfi n ite, u n li m ited i n a ny way. Then at one
u n m eas u rable point, God set i nto m otion with i n H i mself, a vibration that creat
ed rip ples a n d waves. In other words, God "spoke." With one mighty roa r, He
created the creation . He made H imself colder i n som e p laces, forming icebergs;
and hotter i n others, forming steam; H e laug hed a nd played, watching and
experiencin g the i nteraction of H imself with H i mself i n a tremendous variety of
167
shapes, and forms, and colors all taki ng p lace with in, and com posed of the
ocean of H is own Bei ng-ness . His story became manifest.
Descri bing or i mag ining God as an ocean is, of cou rse, just one of many
a nalog ies people have used to try to u nderstand what God is. At least for me,
the ocean analogy works. It makes it easier to u n derstand how God ca n be, and
is always, everything and everywhere. I repeat:
·'Aad �ul!h,
Jugaad �ul!h,
1-/ahhee �ul!h.
Nanak 1-/ogee Bhee �ul!h . . . "
True in the beginning.
True through all the agog,
True even now,
Nanak1 gayg Tru th ghall exigf forever.
168
we send out, and that's a fact. However, it m ay take many l ifetimes to get a l l the
resu lts - or reactions from the actions we have set i nto motion, u nti l every
th i n g gets fi nally balanced out.
Nobody rea l ly ever "gets away with" a nythi ng, even though it may seem
l i ke it. Karma has to be paid, if not now, later; perhaps in a next l ifetime. Sooner
or later "what goes a round comes a ro u n d . " However, with the blessing of God
and the g race of the G u ru, karma can be softened by Dharma (path of rig ht
eousness/sp i ritual path). You r spi ritual teacher can also help by taki ng on som e
o f t h e karma you r sou l agreed to pay o ff i n th is l ifeti me. He can counsel you and
guide you to make the decisions that wil l most effectively fulfi l l you r desti ny and
teach you the lessons you came to this planet to lea rn . The spiritual teacher can
save you lots of time and useless suffering if you're smart enough to l isten care
fu l ly to h i m . Another a nalogy: Life is a schoo l .
(f/j
who sel ls the popcorn !
169
--::--�' 1 1 ,-;:-: �;:;; Chakras) and not uti l izi ng our h ig her consciousness. If
_ '
,_-.... . , :-
�
we're l istening to our m inds instead of our i ntuition, if
we' re emotional and com m otional - riding the rol ler
coaster of emotional turmoil and reacting to situations
instead of resu rrecting, we're most l i kely not happy
cam pers!
Which leads us back to Kundali ni Yoga . It's a technology to enable us to con
trol our emotions and m inds (not suppress or deny them, but take charge of
them, rul i n g kind ly but firmly over them, rather than being a slave to them) so
we can enjoy the d ra ma, the comedy. We can go th roug h a ny tragedy in l ife
without letting it overwhelm us or destroy o u r happiness.
Happin ess, after all, real ly l ies within, n ot outside ourselves. My reality, my
h appiness or u nhappi ness, is what I choose to fee l withi n my own bei ng, and it
can 't be dependent u pon a ny outside i nfluence. The i nherent nature of the sou l
i s joyful . When I ' m i n tune with, in touch with, i n synch with my sou l, I ' m boun d
t o b e happy! Activating the Kundalini s o that i t c a n function i n the higher
chakras makes it m uch more conveniently possible to do that.
When circumstances a re not pleasant, I try to rem i n d myself that l ife is, after
all, a m ovie . I want to enjoy the fil m, whethe r it's a comedy or a tragedy. And I
want to remember that some day the l ig hts wi l l go on, the p rojector will be
turned off, and we'l l all go Home!
•
Al l the d istractions in our l ives a re maya. I n Sanskrit, "maya" literal ly means
"that which can be measured ." It is the polarity to the i nfin ite. M aya is under
�
·
stood i n Vedanta philosophy as the "apparent creation." All that
we can see and hear and touch and taste with our five senses,
anything measurable in any way, is maya. It can be fascin ati ng, . . ,·
173
1==' A S T L I VE S
Do we clash today
Because of wounds long ago?
Were we friends or lovers?
(Would it help to know?)
174
23
Oth1u Pafhg of Yoga
F or those readers who are not fam i l ia r with the various paths of yoga, here
a re some brief descriptions:
Hatha Yoga is the most wel l-known yoga . It is a beautifu l d iscipline for
strengthening the body, with emphasis on developing the wil l . It uti lizes eighty
fou r traditional yog ic postures (asanas) and uses various breathing tech niq ues
(pra n ayam). Practice of Hatha Yoga requ i res patience and emphasizes flexibility.
M astery takes many years.
Bhakti Yoga is the path of devotion, i n wh ich the student or devotee focuses
on a particular deity and offers a l l h is or her actions out of love to that " Beloved . "
Cha nti ng God's name, reciting hymns i n praise of God, remembering God, s u r
rendering, worsh ipping God in a personalized form is the way of the Bhakti yog i .
Karma Yoga i s the path of the man or woman of action . (Mahatma Gand h i
was a n ad herent of Karma Yoga .) It req u i res o n e to su rrender the fruits of one's
actions to God . The Karma Yogi a lways keeps i n m i n d that God is tru ly the Doer
of everythi n g . Therefore, the results of a ny action do, in fact,
belong to H i m (He/She/It: GOD) . Such non-attach ment to the
results of one's actions frees a person from creati ng more karma .
A n analogy often given for non-attachment is "to l ive i n t h e world
but not of it, " or to "be like the lotus i n the pond," whose beauti
fu l white blossom remains pure and u nstained a bove the water,
u naffected by the mud clinging to its roots below.
175
Gyan Yoga is considered the path of the i ntellect, wh ich is by nature a d ivi
sive i nstru ment, always separating and com pa ri n g . The Gyan Yogi m ight spend
his whole life looki ng at the Creator and the creation as separate, wh ich would
accou nt for the usual textbook descri ption " not th is, not that. " Peopl e some
tim es th i n k that Buddha denied the existence of God because he wou ld never
say what God is. I th ink Buddha j ust didn't want to l i m it God by trying to define
or d escribe H i m .
T h e intel lect i s a lim ited tool . Language can only take us s o far. Words can
motivate and inspire, uplift and create, but we have go beyond words, beyond
i ntel lectual u nderstanding, to have the direct person a l experience of merging
with God . That merger is someti mes cal led "Divin e U n ion." It is "Yoga . " You
not only get to New York, you become N ew York! By the way, I do not consid
er reaching N ew York the u ltimate goal of l ife. This is j ust an analogy. God
does, of course, l ive everywhere, including N ew York.
TRI-MARGA
The Bhagavad G ita (See the Recommended Reading List) cal ls Karma Yoga,
Bhakti Yoga and Gyan Yoga the "Tri-Marga" or Th reefold Path .
R� Yoga is the Royal path, whose m ethod has been preserved in the writ
ten aphorisms of Pata njal i . These aphorisms h ave been tra nslated a n d com
mented u pon in wonderfu l detail by Ch ristopher Isherwood and Swa m i
Prabhavananda in t h e book, How to Know God (hi g h on my reco mmended
read ing l ist). The eight steps on the path to l i beration or Samad h i beg i n with
eth ical precepts, the "do's" and "don'ts" by which the aspi rant g uides his l ife.
They a re cal led Yams and Niyams. Then Raj Yoga defines and describes the pos
tu res (Asanas); the place where the yogi sits, and how he sits.: breath ing tech
niqu es (Pranayam); becoming aware of a n d controlling the thought waves in
the mind (Pratyahar).
Pratyahar is the g reat-gra ndfather of positive th i n ki n g . It utilizes the tech
nique of su bstituti ng a positive vi bration in the m i n d for a negative one.
Concentration (Dharana); med itatio n (Dhyana); and a bsorption in God
(Liberation or Samadhl) are the final steps.
176
Pata njali a lso wrote about the natu re of the mind and the ego, the vari
ous types of pu rification needed to follow the path of Raj Yoga, and the pow
ers that can come along with its practice.
177
24
Tantrie Yoga
P
Thgy a rg dgfi nitgfy d iffgrgnt i n
teach you White Tantric Yoga, because the one a n d only person on the planet
em powered to do so is Yogi Bhajan. He is the desig n ated Mahan Tan tric of th is
ti me.
Clea ring out the deepest corridors of the su bconscious m ind, Wh ite Tantric
Yoga is a very powerful g roup meditative experience. It uses mantra and yog ic
breath ing techniq ues. You work with a partner. The Mahan Tantric con nects
with the students and guides the d iagonal tantric energy using his s u btle body.
You can learn more about the su btle body in the chapter called "Ten Bod ies."
White Tantric Yoga is not someth ing that you can go home and p ractice on
you r own . Th is prohibition m ust be very strongly emphasized .
Al l the participants sit i n rows, faci ng each other.
The tantric energy travels i n a zig-zag pattern u p and
down the rows. The students may med itate silently or
at other ti mes chant a loud, depending u pon the
instructions g ive n . Sometim es the eyes a re open,
someti mes closed . Various m u d ras (han d positions)
and postures a re give n . Although it is practiced with
a partner, White Tantric Yog a is not a "sexual" yoga.
On the contrary, it transm utes the sex energy from
the lower chakras (energy centers) to the higher
chakras.
I n just a few m i n utes of White Tantric Yoga med
itation you can accomplis h results that wou ld take
m·o nths to achieve with a ny other practice. Yogi
B haja n says, "Wh ite Tantra is not the car, but it is taki n g the car th rough the car
wash . Wax and clean and polish it, then kee p it goi n g . "
Each person's experience of Wh ite Tantric Yoga is d ifferent. Each gets what
he or she needs at that point in their jou rney along the path . It is a very deep
and transformational cleansing process, yet people with no prior tra i n i ng or
practice i n yoga can partici pate i n the Cou rses.
" F ro m our ch ild hood we have subconscious blocks and Wh ite Tantric Yoga
is nothi n g but a conscious penetration th rough those blocks . . . lt wi l l give you a
new start a n d a better l ife. It is neither a religion nor a philosophy, nor a n exer-
180
cise, noth i n g . It j ust works right there, in a cou ple of hou rs . " 1
We use the telephone to con nect with other people at a d istance, and we
don't th i n k that's u n usual. The way we con nect with the Mahan Tantric is very
similar. We con nect with him th rough h is su btle body. He uses it to guide the
d iagonal tantric � nergy which penetrates and breaks up the blocks of a nger,
g u ilt, and fea r b u ried i n our su bconscious. The Mahan Tantric does not have to
be physica l ly p resent to do his job. He has created Video cou rses i n wh ich he
teaches White Tantric Yoga. He has given the privilege of facil itating these cou rs
es to a few individ ua ls who travel with his video tapes on specific dates to spe
cific cities. I hope you wil l have the opportun ity to attend a Wh ite Tantric Yoga
Cou rse. There is noth i ng like it anywhere.
181
25
Th g Tg n Bodi g g
W e know that we have a physical body. We can see it, touch it, feel it
and so can other people (if we let them). But m ost of us a re not
aware that we h ave other bod ies, which a re eq ually real, if not more so. The
fun ny th ing is that we identify so strong ly with our physical bodies, that we
th i n k of ourselves primarily in physical terms. It seems as if the physical body
becomes the focus of our whole identity. As i mportant and val uable as the
p hysical body is, it is not who we a re, because who we a re, our essential self,
can never change. You certai n ly don't have the same physical body you were
born with, yet you know you' re sti l l you . Since th is is practica l ly the whole point
of this book, I'm going to keep repeati ng it over and over: "you " are not you r
body o r you r m i nd (s). You a re m uch more permanent than that. Sat Nam isn't
born weighing six pou nds-n ine ounces, g rowing to 1 20 pounds; Sat Nam
doesn't get the m easles, go th roug h menopause, or worry about dry s ki n . Sat
Nam is you r etern a l true identity. It is who you a re, who you were, and who
you wil l be, now and forever. Truth is you r identity.
You m ig ht visualize you r various bodies as layers of clothi ng, the
physical body bein g the overcoat you wear for a l ifeti me. D u ring you r
whole l ife, rain or shine, summer or winter, you never take i t off, s o you
don't see the beautiful jacket or suit underneath, m uch l ess the d ress or shirt
u nder that. U ntil you d evelop a special ki nd of "x-ray" vision, you defin itely
never see the body that is wearing all those garments, which is the:
183
1 . !!OU L BODY
The fi rst body is the Sou l Body. It is you r very best friend. It is God's light
which l ives in you r heart. The Soul Body never d ies. It goes with you forever.
It's a good idea to get acquainted with it as soon as possible and d evelop a n
ongoing com m u n ication. Best time to get the conversation going i s d u ring
morning sadhana. (See the chapter Sadhana: Your Spiritual Bank Account for a
detailed g u ide to sadhana.)
T H R t t M t N TA L BO D f t:S
Here's a brief summary of the three main aspects of the M i nd, the body that
many people mistaken ly identify with . You can read more about you r mind(s) i n
the chapter called Conquer the Mind, You Conquer the World.
2 . T H t N t:aATIVt M I N D protects you by warn ing you what could be the danger
or loss in any situation.
g. TH � POS ITIVI;: M I N D inspires you by telling you what is the possible gain, the
advantage to you, in any situation.
5. PHYS I CAL B O DY
The Physical Body was given to you so you cou l d participate fu l ly i n l ife on
this planet. It is a tem ple for God to l ive i n wh ile H e sees th rough you r eyes a n d
hears th rough you r ears. You were given t h e p hysical body s o G o d cou ld expe
rience and enjoy (!) H is creation . The physical is a balance point between heav
en and earth . The key to perfecti ng the Physical Body is balance: balance i n
d iet; balance i n exercise; balance i n work, i n p lay, a n d rest. It always m a kes
sense to avoid extremes. Don't be lazy a nd don't be fan atic.
184
6 . ARC BODY
The Arc Body is a l ine of energy that goes in an arc from ear tip to ear tip . It
is sometimes cal led your "halo. " This spiritua l body projects who you are to other
people without a word being spoken. It a lso protects you from negative energy
d irected towards you . Have you ever felt someth ing, and tu rned arou nd to find
someone was staring at you? That's one experience of your arcline in action .
7 . AURIC BODY
The Au ric Body is a sphere of electromagnetic energy that su rrounds the
physical body. It can extend u p to nine feet in every direction. This body pro
tects you and a lso gives you the ability to uplift yourself and others. Some peo
ple can see the a uric body as a field of flowing colored light. You may have expe
rienced the a u ric body when you were near someone and simply felt their ener
gy. Being in the aura of a spiritual and loving person is peaceful and healing. As
the energy field of their a u ra i nteracts with ou rs, it a utomatical ly elevates us.
(Remem ber, " S p i ritua l ity ca n n ot be ta u g h t, it h as to be caug ht, l i ke the
measles. You get it from someone who's got it. ")
8. PRA N IC BODY
The Prank Body controls the breath and takes in Prana, the l ife force energy of
the u niverse. The Pranic Body gives you energy, cou rage, control over your m ind,
and healing power. When you breathe, you are feeding your Prank Body. As you
practice pranayam, you' l l experience the expansion of strength of this body.
9. SUBTl£ B ODY
The Subtle Body gives you the opportun ity to u nderstand and master the
subtlety of l ife. It can hel p you understand what is going on a round you and
how th ings work. Those people who can tu ne i nto situations easily or pick u p
new skil ls a s i f b y magic, have developed the Subtle Body.
As the Mahan Tantric, Yogi Bhajan has explained that he always teaches with
h is Subtle Body. We have experienced the projection of h is powerfu l presence
d u ring his White Tantric Yoga video cou rses. Even though h is physical body may
not be there, his Subtle Body most defin itely is p resent and actively engaged
with us.
185
1 0. RADIANT BODY
The Radiant Body gives you spi ritual royalty and rad iance. The strength of
the Rad ia nt Body wi l l make you cou rageous i n the face of a ny and every obsta
cle. Good thi ngs a re drawn to you th roug h a developed and powerful Rad iant
Body. On a p ractical level, people with wel l d eveloped Radiant Bodi es a re said
to have "charisma." Their very presence works for them before they say one
word . They virtua l ly "sh i ne."
186
26
Going Home
187
the best death because you take a l l the pain on you r body. M artyrs take on their
body, and h umans take on their body and they pay their karma. It's a very
painfu l d eath . It's every day, l ittle by l ittle, sickness. You know you a re sin ki ng,
you know you a re going and that's the last time when you can consciously con
n ect with you r i nfi nity. You a re goi n g . Pain is there. H OW you a re goi ng, H OW
you wil l deal with that pai n .
H OW y o u c a n create con-
"D�ath i!: n o th i ng b ut a good g J � � p ."
q uering that pain ? If you can
conquer that pain, in you r
language-not i n m y language-you have a l ready fou n d the " heavens." I f you
surrender to that pain, you have a l ready fou n d you r hel l . There's nothing i n
between . A l l this meditation, all this spirituality, a l l this whole getting u p i n the
morn ing, th ree o'clock and cold water, two and a half hours, g ivi ng 1 /1 Oth of
the earnings, h avin g g reat tem ples made, and m i l l ions of people following you
means noth ing if you miss that 30 seconds. Period. All these practices a re
preparation towards death .
It doesn 't mean a th ing. It is a bsolutely a joke that a l l you do is to l ive. All
you r comforts a re to l ive. You have never prepared to die. It amazes me - a l l
over t h e world I go - that nobody u nderstands t h i s is t h e eventual u n-defyable
act. We all have to d ie. Whether you a re a Sikh o r a H i nd u, Ch ristian, you a re
short or tall, death is inevitable. And every day, med itatively you m ust die.
If you want no fea r of death i n the end, you h ave o n ly one th ing to do. You
m ust vol u ntarily d ie. It's called turiya jagat s u u pa nat . . . lt's cal led turiya stage. ' l
can d ie, a n d I can l ive again,' consciously. And p lease fin d some good yog i, o r
a good teacher who can teach you . I f you ' re a j ew, g o to som e Rabbi who
knows about it. If you ' re Ch ristian, find some Priest. If you' re a Sikh . . .
" Death com es five times to every person . F o u r tim es i t can b e avoided,
averted . Fifth tim e it h appens.
" Death is noth ing but a good sleep. A Sikh looks at d eath as u n ion with the
Beloved Creator. It is a time of joy because the sou l has longed for this moment
of utimate yoga (wh ich means u n ion). Sadness at th is tim e is a n experience of
one's i n d ividual l oss for the departed . Sikhs regard this tim e as an opportun ity
to love and accept God's wi l l and sing His Praises. "
189
seriously i l l for some ti me. Even so, I fou nd it hard to "let go." Cutti ng the u mbil
ical cord at a ny age is more d ifficu lt than I had real ized . By chanting AKML with
fou r friends at her death bed, I fou nd myself g reatly comforted and very g ratefu l
to know that I had done someth ing to hel p her on her way.
Death is a fact of l ife. The more often we rem i nd ourselves of the u lti mate
real ity, that a l l things come from God and a l l things go to God eventual ly,
including us, the easier it wil l be for us to handle that final jou rney home, for
ourselves and for those whom we love.
191
The cold and snowy route will take you Home where you belong
So when the time comes to turn left or right,
be sure to remember this song:
192
Th is "Sunshine Song 1 " is sung at the end of every 3HO event and every class
in Ku ndalini Yoga. It is a positive affi rmation bringing blessings to all.
193
THING� TO DO
GfNfRAL GUIDRIN�
• Use common sense. If you have med ical problems, consult with a
doctor and let you r Kundalini Yoga teacher know you r situation .
• Begin each session by chanting O N Q N A M O Q U R U D J;V N A M O .
• I dea l ly, stick to the prescribed ti mes ind icated in instructions. You may,
however, decrease the ti me you do a n exercise, if you need to, but do not
increase the time that is specified .
• I n general, it is advisable to relax briefly after each exercise, i.e., sit or
• Women, please take special note: d u ring the heaviest part of you r
197
Key to P ro n u n ciati o n
I m ust confess, some of the more common words that occur i n the various
mantras in this book h ave not been spelled according to the a bove key. For
instance, the word " G u ru" should probably be spelled G'roo,- but I don't l i ke
the way that looks, so I have to trust that you ' l l know how to pronou nce it cor
rectly wherever it a p pears! Similarly, "SAT NAM" wou ld be spe l led "Sat Naam"
phonetical ly (though I have ind icated near the begin n i n g of the book that it
rhymes with " but Mom"-un less you ' re from Can ada where "mom" sounds
l i ke " m u m "). Anyway, we'l l try to catch all the places where you m ig ht need a
c lue to pron u nciation, and spell phonetical ly for you . The best th ing, of cou rse,
is to get a tape, or fi nd a Kundali n i Yoga teacher so you can l isten and actually
hear the sou n ds for you rself.
Beyond the a bove simple vowel sounds (I hope they're sim ple for you),
some t's and d 's, th's and dh's are reflexive, som e a re aspirated, but that's a bit
more com plicated than we need to deal with here. My suggestion is that if
you're i nterested in a more detailed explanation of how to pronou nce
G u ru mukhi (the language in wh ich the sacred mantras were orig inally written)
you read Psyche of the Soul, which does a wonderfu l job of explaining. You ' l l
find i t l isted i n t h e Recommended Reading List o f books in t h e Sou rces and
Resources section of this book.
201
H o\N to Cha nt
203
" M a n has two parts i n the body which have to be worked on . . . That's the u pper
palate of the mouth and the frontal lobe of the forehead . If these two a reas a re
undeveloped in you r l ife, you don't have a chance, it doesn't matter, despite all
the education on this planet and everything else.
"You have to b reak the lead here (forehead) . You have to meditate that way.
That's why Ku ndalini Yoga is very easy and is for householders . It doesn't requ i re
a ny condition. It's j ust simple: Close you r eyes n i n e-tenths, look at the tip of you r
nose. Or close you r eyes, rol l them down, look th rough the c h i n . And with the
ti p of the tongue, utter six words:
"Sta rt practici ng to develop your intuition . Lock you r eyes at the tip of you r
nose a n d chant the mantra, "WA H E GURU." You r intu ition wil l get clear in 9 0 days.
Sit with a straight spine. Close you r eyes n i n e tenths of the way. Focus you r
eyes a t the ti p of the nose. B reathe long a n d deep. Listen to the tape, jai Ram, Siri
Ram 3 • After th ree m i n utes, inhale deep. Open you r eyes. Relax.
"Whenever you wil l meditate l i ke this, 4 this frontal lobe wil l become hard .
And the more you meditate, it wil l become l i ke lead . And the fun ny th ing is, one
day automatical ly it will not be lead. It's b roken . You will h ave i ntuition to see the
unseen, know the u n known, and hear the u nheard . And you r l ife wi l l not be the
same as you a re now. " 5
204
I nvoki n g thg
Flow of �fg rn a l Powg r
O NG N A M O G U RU DfV NAM O
The first step i n i nvoki ng the Flow Of Eternal Power i n you r l ife is to chant
Ong Namo Guru D(}v Namo. This mantra cal ls u pon the Creator, the Divine
Teacher, i nside every h u ma n being. It establishes a strong and clear con nection
so that you can receive the highest guidance, energy, and inspiration. Always
chant it before beg i n n i n g a ny practice of Kunda l i n i Yoga .
(Detailed instructions for chanting are given in the chapter o n Tuning In)
205
!!AT NAM
> Lin king the breath with �T NAM is one of the easiest ways to maintai n a
constant reinforcement of you r Self-awareness.
> Truth IS you r identity.
> I n hale SAT and exhale NAM whenever you can .
206
Ra i gg fhg Ku nda l i n i
CHAKRA M fD ITATI O N
I n this meditation, you successively focus on each of the eight p rojected centers
of consciousness, a p p lying the M u l Ban d h (Root Lock: See Energy Up! in this sec
tion) with each repetition of the mantra �AT NAM .
� Sittin g i n Easy Pose, spine straig ht, i n hale deeply, chant �AT NAM (long d rawn
out syl lable "Sat" a n d s hort "Nam" as you apply the M u l Bandh a n d concentrate
at the first chakra, the rectum) .
� Release the Root Lock, i n hale deep ly again, a n d chant �AT NAM, a pplyin g the
Root Lock and focusing at the second projected center of consciousness, the
sex organ.
� Rel ease the Root Lock, in hale deeply, apply the Root Lock, c h a nt �AT NAM as
you focus on the third center of consciousness, the navel p oint.
� Continue this same process, going next to the fourth chakra, the Heart Center,
at the center of the chest as you chant �AT NAM and apply the Root Lock.
� Then to the Th roat, next to the Third Eye (between the eyebrows and up about
1 /4 inch), then to the top of the head (the Crown Chakra) and with the eig hth rep
etition of the mantra, visualize the sound going into the Aura that surrounds you .
You can repeat this complete sequence over a n d over aga i n . Consciously bri n g
you r concentration successively u p th rough a l l the chakras e a c h time. B reathe
very d eeply before each repetition .
207
!!A-TA-NA-MA
Want to pull i n a l l the loose ends, focus, and concentrate? Here's a mantra
to help you consol idate and CHAN G E YOU R HABITS. This m antra is a catalyst for
change. So don't be su rprised if you r spi ritua l cleansing p rocess is vastly acceler
ated ! Be prepared, you r status quo is about to be s h ifted into high gear.
Here's what the syllables mea n :
�(A)
Sit with you r spine straight. Eyes a re
closed . With you r hands resting on you r
�
knees, press the tip of the thu m b of each
hand firm ly to each of the finger tips of
�B)
that hand in seq uence, starting with the
forefingers while chanti n g each syl lable in
(A)
turn . Be sure as you chant each syl lable to
(B)
!;!A th u m b and forefi nger press firm ly enough so that when you
release the p ressure, the tip of the finger is
TA th u m b and m i d d le finger
briefly wh ite . If you press too gently you ' l l
NA thu m b and ri n g fi nger (C)
p u t you rself t o sleep!
MA th u m b and l ittle fi nger (D)
Keep m ovin g you r fi ngers throug hout
the entire med itation .
208
Kundalini Yoga: The Flow of Hemal Power
MANTRA s. M�OITATION
I n hale deeply, l ift a rms straight u p i n the air, vigorously shake o u t the fingers
(ap proximately 1 m i n ute). Relax.
SA TA NA MA is someti mes cal led the panch shabd (five sou n d c urrent mantra).
The fifth syl lable is "A" wh ich is com mon to the other fou r.
qf2ll J SA
J J
TA NA MA
lll
P I CT U R� T H I � !
Although you d o n ot have to know the meaning of the syllables, you may
want to th i n k about the concepts as you chant the m . I n fact, at one time Yogi
Bhajan gave us some visual i mages to use wh ile chanti n g this m antra . For those
of you who wou l d enjoy VI SUALIZ I N G, th is is what he taug ht:
>- Each time you chant "SA" pictu re all the galaxies, planets, suns,
moons, and stars.
>- Each time you chant "TA" visualize tremendous rad iance, the bri l l iant,
dazzling l ight of a tri l l ion suns.
>- Each time you chant "NA" see a winter landscape. The b ranches of the
barren trees standing silent in the snow, all of n ature dormant.
>- Each ti me you chant "MA" pictu re thousands of spring flowers i n a
burst of glorious techn icolor, bri ll ia nt blooms joyfu lly blan keti n g the hil lside as
far as the eye can see!
209
Cha ngg of H a b it
The law of the u niverse is change. Everyth ing changes. However, with
every change in our l ife, one th ing seems not to change: the attachment to
our own ego. You can change, but you r ego d oes not let you see you r own
maturity or potential . Th is creates a cond ition of constant h assle in the m i n d .
T h e d ifference between your real ity and you r perception of it, th roug h the
ego, creates doubts and doubts create m isery. Dou bt steals th ree feet of you r
a u ric radiance. B u t the ego wil l n ot let you change easi ly. I t blocks comm u n i
cation . You m ust assess yourself to come out of the darkness.
U lti mately, to be happy throug h a l l change and to have the ful l radiance
of you r sou l, there m ust be surrender of you r self to you r h ig her Self. To aid
the process of self-evaluation and to probe the ego to change and u n block
su bconscious com m u nication, p racti c e this med itation each day. l
210
uThe kundalini experience does not mean you have gone into a deep breathless
trance and are beyond this world • • • It integrates you more fully with reality and giv1
you a broader vision and sensitivity so that you can act more efficiently. "
-Yogi Bhajan, Ph.D.
+ Poses and positions ranging from beginners to more advanced levels • Diet and lifestyle
• Breathing and stretching techniques • Chanting and meditation exercises
• General guidelines that help us gain the greatest benefit from yogic practice
Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa was the first woman to study with Yogi
Bhajan in the United States. He is the leader of the Sikh religion in
the West and the founder of 3 HO ( Healthy, Happy, Holy
Organization) , which has 300 Kundalini Yoga centers around the
world. Shakti has been teaching Kundalini Yoga for nearly 30 years,
and was ordained as a minister of the Sikh Dharma in 1 974.
51 695>
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9 780399 524202 I