Ajna Cha

Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

 Ajna Chakra

With kind regards, and prem

 Ajna Chakra

Rishi Nityabodhananda

Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, India

 - -

Dedication
In humility we offer this dedication to
Swami Sivananda Saraswati, who initiated
Swami Satyananda Saraswati into the secrets of yoga.
 Contents

Prologue ix
Introduction 1
1. Science is Catching Up 5
2. Science and Religion 18
3. Philosophical Background 27
4. The Guru Chakra 39
5. Kundalini Yoga in Brief 47
6. Ajna Chakra in the Tantras 58
7. Psycho-Physiological Aspects 63
8. Psychic and Mystic Concepts 76
9. Yoga Practices for Awakening Ajna Chakra 89
Appendix
Sat Chakra Nirupanam 108
Bibliography 134
Glossary 136

v ii
 Prologue

Karmas are what we have done, do and will do, and life is
an endless series of karmas. We move through life acting out
our karmas in the hope that life will improve. Life is never
perfect and our hopes are for the future. We collect ideas to
relieve our plight and embark on a path in the hope that we
can either solve our problems or escape into a new domain
free from the trammels of present day life. Just look at what
we are doing, endlessly making more and more plans for the
future to relieve our plight. Even when we have the best
available of everything, still we make plans to escape from
the agony of life. The agony is within and there is a root
cause. The great thirteenth century Sufi poet, Rumi, calls it
the lament: the lament of the reed flute plucked from the
riverbed of reeds; it laments with the agony of being separated
from its source, and the player of this reed flute also laments
with his separation from his source.
And what is this source from which we come? Well it
seems we don’t know, or rather we have forgotten. According
to our great traditions and teachings, we were once part of
that source and it was a perfect seamless consciousness.
According to Sufi traditions it is pure love. The love that is so
pure that there are no barriers or distinctions between the
lover and the beloved. It is all one; and just as the drop in the
ocean is a part of the ocean and at the same time is the whole
ocean, in the same way our origins are that drop, a part of

IX
the whole, and this is the ecstatic state of being. It is pure, it
is boundless, it is unchanging and it is beyond description,
yet its expression is an inspiration to ecstasy, a transport to
transcendental bliss.
We know that the path is from the particular to the
general, from worldly actions to inner truth, but where is this
path? Is it just in the mantra and the meditation? Is it just in
the karma yoga and the kirtan? After these things don’t we
remain with the same understandings and identifications as
before? We read and we know everything, yet we have learnt
that hope in external efforts is bound to end with dis­
appointment. The successful man flying first class to Los
Angeles is driven by the will to escape his longing to reunite
and the subsistence farmer is driven by the same longing.
We suppress our original lament. The lament is the sorrowful
tune doled out in our hearts, for we have separated from our
source just like the reed flute that plays its mournful tune.
Every church, synagogue, mosque, gurudwara and temple
has but one altar, an altar to that one perfection, and everyone
bom into this world of hope takes a position or stand either
acknowledging or denying its validity. Yet who has come
close to it through an intellectual analysis? This draws us
into a debate on faith and conviction. Faith surely holds the
upper hand, the hand of experienced knowledge, knowledge
gained not by intellectual conclusion but by a truth, a vision
or an experience. Then we, the knower of that experience,
know what is true. When a truth is so obviously definite, then
faith is bom and a conviction is also. Seeing the truth, or
seeing the dawning of an idea which is so obviously and
definitely true because it has been seen in the form of spiritual
experience, is seeing through the eye of intuition, ajna chakra.

x
 Introduction

remember an old man from Austria who lost his father

I during early childhood. He attended the funeral ceremony
which was a most solemn occasion, and he was so pained by the
sadness of the occasion that he never visited his father’s grave
again. The old man had fought in the Austrian army in the
First World War and stayed in his mother country undl Hitler’s
army forced him out in 1939, when he went to England. He
fought with the British army and at the end of the Second
World War migrated to Australia where he finally settled
down to become firmly established in that country. In 1965,
sixty years after the death of his father, he made the pilgrimage
back to his motherland. The pangs of his conscience were
strongly telling him to visit his father’s grave so that he could
pay his respects to the memory of his dead father.
After some enquiries with relatives he found the cemetery,
but alas, the records were incomplete and no trace of the
whereabouts of his father’s grave could be found in the files.
His country had been ravaged by two world wars and little
indeed was left from the pre-First World War era. So he set
out with strong determination to systematically examine each
gravestone of the huge cemetery. He started his quest in the
morning and by late afternoon, in spite of his persistent
efforts, he had no success. Dejected, fatigued and exhausted
he sat down, and his body fell so that it was supported by his
arms with his hands covering his face.

1
 In a flash he was not an old man any more, but a young
boy walking behind his father’s coffin. He could see his
brothers, the inscription on the coffin, the coffin bearers and
all the other mourners which m ade up the procession. This
young boy followed in the procession until it came to a hole
in the ground. Then, as if coming out of a dream, he returned
to waking consciousness and there he was, looking down at
the gravestone which bore the inscription of his father. We
can understand that this experience had exploded from the
unconscious mind, but the eye which had witnessed the
experience and coordinated all the movements in the physical
body was his third eye or ajna chakra.
I take up this task of rewritingy4/na Chakra (first published
in 1973) as an offering to my guru, Swami Satyananda
Saraswati. Originally, around 1972, he told me to write an
article and arm ed with some one-sided paper, a pencil and
some books on kundalini yoga I just wrote down whatever I
could and gave him the result. At the time he said, “I asked
you to write an article and you have written a book!” At a first
reading of my old work I am quite astounded at the quality
of my effort then and I can only attribute this to the high
level of enthusiasm I carried in my early years as a swami, the
result of living with the greatest man I have ever met.
Ajna chakra is most significant amongst the whole gamut
of chakras and nadis for those taking to the path o f kundalini
yoga. Kundalini shakti rises and energizes those parts of the
personality we develop, and it is through this intuitive third
eye that we can perceive the wisdom of renouncing fame, name,
wealth and other worldly and passionate pursuits. Knowledge
of the external world is gained through the senses; however,
it is through our sixth sense, namely ajna chakra, that other
knowledge is gained. T here are so many things we know to be
true, yet there is no evidence for it, we just know it.
We take to the path of yoga without much knowledge
and in search of this knowledge we come across many
traditions of spirituality, which are in essence yoga. Yoga
may mean union: a unification of the individual with the

2
superconsciousness. Some traditions are self-reliant and do
not seek help from a saviour. These paths, such as Buddhism
and Jainism, are paths o f rigorous inner cleansing, processes
of replacement of all selfish drives, ambitions and desires for
selfless ones. Only by getting out of our limited selves can we
expand through caring for others. It is not desire that binds
us, but desire for our own limited self that leads to the things
that bind us to worldly life. T he process of expansion leads
to enlightenment, free from any limitation.
Any discussion on ajna chakra lies within the realm of
tantra, and kundalini yoga is a tantra. T antra is dependent
upon the female aspect of consciousness; she is the divine
m other and it is to h er that we turn to propitiate our link
with divinity and to pray for progress in any tantric pursuit.
We pray that we may make progress in our endeavours to
awaken the shakti within and walk towards the ultimate goal.
Kundalini shakti, the primal dorm ant potential energy
which can be awakened, resides in m ooladhara chakra, the
base of the subtle system of chakras. Shiva, consciousness,
resides in sahasrara chakra. In the tantric macrocosmic model
every part of Shiva is imbued with Shakti and every part of
Shakti is imbued with Shiva. T he definable phenom enal
universe is Shakti and she has many energy states. H er
higher energies are most subtle and her lower energy states
are physical. O ur state o f devolution has rested in such a low
state that we identify with the gross material and physical
m atter and have separated from the ethereal and divine.
Now we see the divine as something far off to reach for and
we struggle to understand it. T he physical reality comes and
goes, takes birth and dies, yet we look at it as if it is the reality.
Kundalini shakti sleeps in the form of a coiled serpent
wound around the Shiva lingam three and a half times. We
have m anaged to differentiate m atter from consciousness,
we have taken the spirit out of physical life and so the spirit
has become dorm ant and an awakened shakti becomes our
potential. O ur consciousness has become unconscious; it is
sleeping and this is our predicament.

3
 With awakening o f kundalini comes the dawn of our
hidden powers, abilities and inner knowledge, and without
some training we become lost in a sea of doubts and confusions.
O ur own unconscious haunts us with new images and drives;
guilt, fear and violence have forced us to suppress so much
and with the awakening of kundalini shakti these experiences
are revived. How do we face our own internal horrors? Such
awakenings are accompanied by guilt, fear and anger, and
this is hard to manage in a timid and polite society.
It is for this reason that many teachers in the kundalini
tradition lead their students to first take up the practices for
awakening ajna chakra, the third eye, the eye o f intuition.
T hen we can see through the confusion to the way ahead.

4
 1
Science is Catching Up

ncient knowledge of the laws of the universe, movement

A .a n d position of stars and planets, of the macrocosmic
process of creation and its correlation with the early science
o f creation, has been clouded by doubt. Religions and
philosophers have had much to say on these subjects and
their explanations have been varied, leaving the common
enquirer at a loss. Meditation throws light on the problem
and we can come to an u n d e rstan d in g th at a p p are n t
anomalies are nothing but stages in understanding or in
development of the truth.
T he nature of ultimate reality may be described as the
original source from which everything, including ourselves,
is created. This reality is both indescribable and the essence
of everything that is manifest and knowable. Logic demands
a manifest creative energy, taking its forms of creation from
an unmanifest cosmic energy. Yet many over the ages have
reported an unm anifest ultimate experience of just con­
sciousness alone being the only reality. This is known as a
non-dual experience in the Adwaita school o f philosophy.
N on-dualism em phasizes the unreality o f anything but
absolute consciousness, whereas monism can and does accept
the existence of this manifest dimension as well as holding
that there is only one absolute unmanifest dimension of
consciousness out of which the universe and life has sprung.
Monism has led to problems, where those fiercely holding

5
on to their belief look at others of varying faiths and begin to
fight for the validity o f their faith and the falsity of others.
Non-dualism cannot lead to faith in a false God or false
consciousness because there is only one consciousness, and
faith in anything must be in that only reality simply because
it cannot be anything else.
For the o rd in ary person this is all intellectual; if
confronted with the proposal that life and this universe are
an effect without a cause, then he throws his hands up in
despair. Only materialists have no problem in accepting the
creation of a universe without a cause. So we have a minefield
of introspection and speculation without any real evidence,
barring individual experiences.
Rumi summed up this apparent anomaly with his poem,
saying that the evidence is within us - it is that void within
aching to reunite with our real selves. T he mournful lament
of the reed flute after it has been plucked from its source, the
reed bed, is a symbol o f the soul’s sorrow at being parted
from the beloved Divine.
Just as Adi Shankaracharya said that there is only one
reality and different ways of describing it, in the same way
Rumi also understood the apparent anomalies poetically:

T he Elephant in the Dark,

On the R econciliation o f Contrarieties
Not far from Ghur once stood a city tall
Whose denizens were sightless one and all.
A certain Sultan once, when passing nigh,
Had pitched his camp upon the plain hard by,
Wherein, to prove his splendour, rank, and state,
Was kept an elephant most huge and great.
Then in the townsmen's minds arose desire
To know the nature of this creature dire.
Blind delegates by blind electorate
Were therefore chosen to investigate
The beast, and each, by feeling trunk or limb,

6
 Strove to acquire an image clear of him.
Thus each conceived a visionary whole,
And to the phantom clung with heart and soul.
When to the city they were come again,
The eager townsmen flocked to them amain.
Each one of them —wrong and misguided all —
Was eager his impressions to recall.
Asked to describe the creature's size and shape,
They spoke, while round about them, all agape,
Stamping impatiently, their comrades swarm
To hear about the monster’s shape and form.
Now, for his knowledge each inquiring wight
Must trust to touch, being devoid of sight,
So he who’d only felt the creature’s ear,
On being asked: ‘How doth its heart appear?’
‘Mighty and terrible, ’ at once replied,
‘Like to a carpet, hard and flat and wide!’
Then he who on its trunk had laid his hand
Broke in: ‘Nay, nay! I better understand!
’Tis like a water-pipe, I tell you true,
Hollow, yet deadly and destructive too.’
While he who’d had but leisure to explore
The sturdy limbs which the great beast upbore,
Exclaimed: ‘No, no! To all men be it known
’Tis like a column tapered to a cone!’
Each had but known one part, and no man all;
Hence into deadly error each did fall.
No way to know the Al man’s heart can find:
Can knowledge e’er accompany the blind?

Science and creation

In the face of confusion in truths couched in poetic forms
and with the evolution of logical and rational minds, scientific
knowledge has now become respected because it has either
been proved or is presented as a theory o r hypothesis.
Einstein’s relativity is a theory not a law, until now unproved,
yet it is commonly accepted as fact. This theory is the product

7
of intuition. Albert Einstein had given priority to his curiosity
and imagination, and out of that came his famous theories,
later validated by rational processes of mathematical logic.
T he first clues to a scientific understanding of creation came
with the work of Roger Penrose, mathemadcian, University
of Oxford, and Stephen Hawking, who researched black
holes and pulsars. They found that m atter was disappearing
into nothing and inadvertently stumbled into the back door
of creation. They proposed that if m atter can disappear into
nothing, then by the reverse process, creation, m atter can
appear out of nothing.
Penrose was sp eak in g on ‘C om pass’, a religious and
spiritual production shown on ABC television in Australia. On
this program, dtled ‘Testing God’, Penrose said that there are
conditions in the universe where Einstein’s theories no longer
hold true. In black holes and in other mysterious phenom ena
where the threshold limits of time and space are reached, we
come to a state where time and space are extinguished, and
physicists are now coming to the conclusion that it is from this
point of nothing that creation emerged. Science is proposing
and is in the throes of proving that creation em erged from a
‘n othin g ’ and it describes ‘n othin g ’ as p ure cosmic energy
in d e p e n d e n t o f any creato r. Scientists say th a t creatio n
occurred out of a collision of the waveforms of this energy, and
the first definable elem ent created is described as a big bubble
o f nothing (in yoga called akasha tattwa or space). C u rrent
findings by scientists correlate with ancient sam khya and
tantric philosophies of creation of the elements or tattwas.
How did Einstein come to his famous theory? T hrough
a flash of information coming to his m ind that he intuitively
knew was correct: Subsequently he validated this intuitive
knowledge with mathematics, a labour which took him ten
years before he could present his theory to fellow scientists.
How did Mahatma Gandhi know how to oppose British rule
in India? Through ideas coming to his mind that he intuitively
knew were the way, and history has validated the correctness
of his intuitive knowledge.

8
 When an idea flashes into the m ind and we know it is
right, it comes as intuition. When the idea is to do with the
nature of the superconscious, it is called intuitive wisdom or
revelation, and is the result of an intense search into the
nature of God. T he deep inner certainty it conveys is absolute.
It comes not as a ‘conclusion’ to some process o f thinking or
reasoning, but fully developed, like the goddess Athena from
the brow of Zeus. Being completely absorbed in a search for
meaning, a quest for knowledge, or a sustained continuous
effort to complete a task, opens the channels for intuitional
knowledge to flow. When the energy level is raised through
total absorption, the rational and logical m ind tires o f
understanding and its influence recedes.
As the com m entator from ‘Testing G od’ said, “Now
scientists have been looking to the heavens with the pointed
stick of empirical knowledge, and God, or transcendental
consciousness if you prefer, is under attack and as a result of
th eir sustained efforts they are com ing u p with some
rem arkable findings.” Not surprisingly, they have found
that God does not exist within the realms of empirical
knowledge and creation is the product o f cosmic wave
collisions. They have also come to the conclusion that this
universe would not be here but for us who witness it.
Ancient seers using the eye of intuition have seen the
answer, th at the m acrocosm ic picture is twofold: one
consciousness, which is all pervasive, all knowing and inactive,
and one cosmic energy, which is all pervasive, all-powerful
and active; or one consciousness as the only reality, and the
universe and manifestations as the product o f an illusory
force. Neither view is arguing with the other and saying,
“Mine is the way.” No, this is what they saw and what they
experienced and their reports have come to us, and now
physicists are busy validating these intuited experiences.
Awakening of ajna chakra is opening the channel to
experience the answers to those questions haunting every
seeker. When the query is in the realm of the superconscious
or spiritual matters, the experience of this knowledge is not

9
only enlightening, it is memorable, it is ecstatic, blissful, and
rewards the seeker with elements of wisdom.
T he wisdom of the ancient sages has been passed to us
through written records. These records are testaments to
their spiritual experience related to us through dramatization,
a conversation between student and teacher, o r as an epic
dram a where experienced truths are related through the
minds of characters within these dramas and sometimes as a
straightforward, powerful description in poetic rhyme. These
eloquent masterpieces, often voluminous, give evidence that
ancient sages had a gift of language and a wealth of spiritual
experience far in advance of any m odem day sage.
T ruth is in the dom ain of a higher m ind beyond the
scope of intellect, which only gives order and classification to
the experienced truths. T he place of the mind in the scheme
of creation was clearly understood and by definition was a
collection of knowledge gained by the senses and memorized.
This lower mind and ordinary intellect was clearly understood
to have nothing to do with experienced truth channelled
through an awakened ajna chakra. Rather the norm was the
opposite of today’s emphasis on the intellect in the search
for truth. Ancient literature is clear that the barriers to truth
are created in the ordinary mind. Overcoming barriers was
the path and the goal was not understanding but experience
of the truth.

Big bang theory

What Penrose first calculated by reversing the equations of
black hole frequency were the ‘big bang’ equations of the
beginning of creation. Stephen Hawking subsequently verified
these equations, and then in 1965 the sound of the roar of the
big bang was heard. Immediately the question arose - what
was God’s role in all this? Physicists had shown and observed
that just as m atter can collapse in on itself and disappear into
nothing, so also can m atter spring out of nothing.
But scientists were imm ediately pressed by ano th er
problem: why had the big bang happened at all?

10
 Creation has always been a m atter for speculation. T he
Indian philosophies of T antra and Samkhya are quite definite
about creation. These philosophies state that there are two
apparent realities: the manifest reality, which is subject to
time and space, and the unmanifest reality, which is not.
Time and space have been created out of the unmanifest,
known as the transcendental or cosmic reality. Cosmic reality
is indescribable and is composed of pure cosmic energy and
cosmic consciousness in harmony and balance. Cosmic energy
has three potentials: dynamism, balance and stagnadon.
These are known as the gunas.
Physicists have recently calculated the existence of a
m ultitude o f universes, calling them parallel universes.
Universes are created by the collision of cosmic energy
vibrations, and scientists are now involved in creating
universes in laboratories. Two or more waveforms collide,
creating an explosion of energy and a universe is created,
and that universe will operate under its own unique laws.
T he unanswered question is how our universe with its laws of
time and motion and gyavity was formed out of all the
billions of possibilities as if is to support life as we know it.
Physicists have calculated the series of events culminating
in the creation of our universe and they agree that the
universe was started by a big bang. They also theorize that
before the big bang there was nothing except pure cosmic
energy. T here was no ‘before the big bang’ as neither time
nor space existed. We can glimpse into the instant of big
bang events in black holes and other astronomical phenom ­
ena, but scientists have not been able to calculate the exact
nature of the big bang event. They have, however, deter­
m ined that it was an instantaneous event and that four
picoseconds (four millionths of a millionth of a second or 4
x 10'12 seconds) later the first quality of nature evolved. It
was space, akasha tattwa.
T h e findings o f these scientists stim ulates acknowl­
edgem ent of the yogic knowledge we have studied from our
ancient m asters. Scientists have shaken the beliefs of

11
Christian teachings, particularly in the last fifty years, yet
the teachings of yoga, both ancient and m odem , have not
been affected.
God’s role as creator has been under question ever since
science has wondered about the source of the universe, and
G od’s firm position as the foundation and source of all
things has been eroding ever since. Since the beginning of
thought and the quest for understanding, natural events
have been attributed to God. T hunder was God’s anger until
we understood the nature of static electricity; pestilence was
God’s punishm ent until we understood the cause of disease.
Ultimately the last rem aining gap in knowledge was creation.
T he breakthroughs m ade by scientists and physicists began
to make it seem that scientific enquiry, not the word of God,
gave a true explanation of the creation of the universe.
In the 1960s and 70s astronomy m ade great advances in
discovering pulsars and black holes. When pulsars were
discovered, the signal was nothing like anything that had
been heard before and deeper investigation provided the
first clue as to where our universe had come from. Pulsars
were stars with more mass than the sun, but smaller in size
than the moon. Every second or so they gave a precise light
pulse. What was amazing was their fantastic density: one
teaspoon of m atter on one of these stars was calculated to be
one billion tons in weight and the gravity force involved
opened up a whole new world of physics.
It seem ed the universe was capable o f things even
Einstein had not suspected. Roger Penrose was convinced
that pulsars were only the beginning, that there were things
in the universe that the known laws of physics could not
explain. He found singularities of infinite density known
today as black holes. Black holes have enough gravity to
draw in light, space and time.
In a black hole Einstein’s equations run out and one
reaches a singularity, the end of physics. Physicists have
shown that on the way back to the beginning of time there is
this singular state, and that is the Big Bang singularity.

12
 Penrose and Hawkins’ work was a revolution; they had
proved that theory could explain even the beginning of the
universe. So science had calculated the beginning of time and
space and creation; the next task was to find the physical proof.
Scientists at Bell Laboratories, USA, were the first to
hear the frequency, a lost whisper in the roar o f the universe,
a whisper of the m om ent of creation. They found that their
microwave antennae had a persistent hiss. At first they thought
it was pigeons living in the antennae; however, when they
saw the frequency of the sound, they realized that this hiss
was exactly the frequency predicted for the big bang.
Finding the microwave cosmic background, or the heat
or hiss left over, certainly made astronomers much more
confident that they understood the big bang and a fifteen
billion year swathe of universal history. For some, this sound
of the background radiation was the sound of G od’s absence.
Science had produced a vision of a creation without a creator
- scientifically there is no need to have a creator to start the
creation off.
As the commentator in ‘Testing God’ says, “In this m odem
age, physics has become the satanic tempter, prom ising to
rid us of God and answer all our questions, asking us - why
prefer superstition over knowledge? Why blind faith over
enquiry?”

Why but to awe, why but to keep you low and ignorant, his
worshippers. Your eyes see so clear and yet are dim, perfectly
be opened and cleared and you shall be as gods.
(Satan’s tempting verse from John Milton’s
Paradise Lost, Book IX)
But has the very certainty of science robbed us of what
we most desire, a purpose for our lives and a reason for the
universe?
It was believed that just 6,000 years ago God created the
universe and put us on this planet Earth in the middle of it
and everything rotated around us. Physics leaves us on the

13
fringes of creation. We are not at the centre o f our solar
system and our galaxy is not at the centre of the universe. If
the universe exists on the basis of the laws of nature and we
are here riding along in the expansion of the universe for a
few billion years until the sun bum s out, there does not seem
to be any special m eaning to that.
But do we really have to accept this godless universe? O r
is science’s claim to victory over God prem ature?
Originally the big bang was considered simply an event
without a cause. One could say nothing at all about what had
set the event off in the first place. In order to discount God
entirely scientists needed to investigate what the universe
was like when it began. As the universe was very hot and
opaque for the first 300,000 years it was not possible to see
with a large telescope back to the instant of creation. To do
that, scientists had to create the conditions at the time of the
big bang.
Scientists resorted to the use of sub-atomic particle
accelerators in the laboratory. Both m atter and anti-matter
were equally present at the time of the big bang, and there
is such an accelerator at Fermilab in America where super
cooled magnets are used to accelerate m atter and anti­
m atter to the speed o f light. Particles are collided in this
vast particle-detecting machine. When collisions occur in
the detector, it is n o t fragm ents o f particles th at are
produced, it is pure energy.
T he machine at Fermilab produces energies that were
present four picoseconds after the big bang, where the
tem perature was millions of degrees. T h e num bers are
beyond everyday experience. At such extreme temperatures,
in line with the strange laws of quantum mechanics, the
energy takes on the form of the primordial particle of the
big bang. In effect the scientists are forcing into existence
the very first elements o f time, space and object which existed
in our universe. If the scientists can create conditions like the
big bang in which m atter appeared out of nothing, God the
creator is not needed for the explanation o f the random

14
nature of quantum physics. T he particle accelerator experi­
m ent effectively replaces the role of God as the creator and
the initiator of the big bang.

Quantum physics
Science realized that the void from which creation sprang is
itself governed by the same principles as quantum physics.
T he picture of nothing is very different in the twenty-first
century from the picture of nothing before the advent of
quantum physics. O ne of the basic principles of quantum
physics is the principal of uncertainty. Heisenberg’s uncer­
tainty principle says that it is impossible to measure both the
position and the m om entum or speed of a particle at a given
m om ent because the ‘particle’ is both a wave and a particle.
Because of the uncertainty principle, energy can be violated
for a brief instant of time: it is possible for a particle and
anti-particle to manifest out of the nothing, exist for a brief
instant, violating the law of conservation of energy, then
annihilating, return back into the nothing.
Scientists explain this by saying that if you could see
nature on a microscopic scale, you would not see a quiescent
space but quantum foam, a frothing of particles and anti­
particles popping up and then annihilating again. So nothing
really exists as a manifest element; creation is a series of
momentary manifestations separated by a series of absences,
and it is only a sh ort and logical step to the Adwaita
philosophy of Sri Adi Shankaracharya that nothing really
exists and we believe in a non-existent material reality.
Physicists working at laboratories like Fermilab conclude
that before the big bang there was nothing, no space, no
time and no universe. T hen because of quantum uncertainty,
an expanding bubble o f vacuum grew to enorm ous size, and
that is the entire universe that we see. T he expanding bubble
of nothing is the creation of space out of nothing but cosmic
energy (shakti).
What particle accelerators did dem onstrate is that the
big bang did not need a supernatural cause. T he void from

15
which our universe sprang is in fact m ade of energy, positive
and negative, in perfect balance, and why the big bang
would have violated this balance is because nature at the
quantum level can and does suffer the uncertainty of random
events. More starding is that the scientists said that nothing
could precede that moment. So the big bang, the m oment
of creation, was one random event in a timeless nothing.
Stephen Hawking says, “What lies north o f the North
Pole?” T here is nothing, not because there is some mysterious
land of nothing there, but because there is no such place as
north of the North Pole, and in the same way there is no
such time as before the big bang.
T he big bang was the emergence of time itself. Scientists
are now saying that we have the picture in the back of our
mind of time smoothly flowing, but if the big bang was really
the emergence of the universe, it is also the very beginning
of time itself. We could also ask ourselves - where were we
before we were bom ? Well, the body bit we can understand
in a physical sense, but what about us, the indweller of
the body?
Both scientists and yogis hold that the origins of the
universe are explainable and observable. In the case of yogis
such observations are not only possible but capable of being
experienced by everyone. Resordng to the supernatural to
explain a gap in knowledge is invalid and indefensible. As
strange as quantum physics seems, scientists have been able
to check everything with practical observations and nothing
was needed to set the universe going, no ignition switch for
God to press.

H um an con sciousn ess

Quantum physics replaces the God who rested on the seventh
day, but science asks how a random universe could deliver
everything with just the right conditions to produce hum an
consciousness.
Intricate and am azing mathematical laws govern the
universe and we do not know why the laws are as they are.

16
Were they there by chance or by design? So the problem of
God as the creator has now been replaced with a deeper
problem: namely, why do we exist and ponder on the nature
of consciousness and why it is so?
T he standard model of particle physics has been used for
almost forty years for calculations in particle accelerators.
This describes how quarks and leptons - a class of particles
that includes electrons, muons and neutrinos - interact
through three of the four fundam ental forces: namely,
electromagnetism plus the strong and weak nuclear forces.
However, the model contains seventeen param eters that
must be inserted ‘by h an d ’, and physicists believe that it is
only an approxim ation to a m ore fundam ental theory.
Moreover, the fourth fundamental force, gravity, has not yet
been incorporated into the model. Models are now being
proposed to replace the standard model with nineteen
parameters, in continued efforts to understand the basic
calculations on which the universe is governed.
For many scientists, what these param eters were was all
that mattered. What they might have been is irrelevant. This is
really metaphysics because the whole area is a little bit
dubious. But a few realized that these are the questions
physics had to answer.
Frank Tippler, a professor in mathematical physics, has
written several scientifically controversial books on the
existence of consciousness and spirit. He said that an answer
had to be found an d physics had to discover how the
fundamentals of the universe were so finely tuned.
When such things as the proton mass are varied by a
factor of two, the universe is not as we know it. T h e structure
of long burning stars, such as the sun, cannot exist if the
basics are changed very much. So the question arises - why
do the constants have the values they do? This deceptively
simple question rocked physics. It m eant that science had
to explain why the universe was the way it was.

17
 2
Science and Religion

ll people, physicists included, ponder upon the miracle

A l. of life and the wonder of the universe with conditions
just right to support hum an and all other life forms. Physicists
have been looking at why the laws are as they are and whether
there is a possibility o f other laws and of other universes.
They have found rather a long list of special things.
For example, if gravity was just a litde bit stronger, or
electromagnetism a little bit weaker, or the mass of the
electron just a tiny bit more, or the mass of the proton a little
bit less, the universe we would see would be dramatically
transformed. T here probably would not be complex struc­
tures, there would not be life and we would not be sitting
around pondering on the significance of it all. Only in a
universe in which the values are very finely tuned can
intelligent life arise.
In explaining the fine-tuning of an apparently designed
universe without invoking a designer, scientists realized two
other possible explanations. First of all, the overriding law of
physics which is not yet discovered, called the ‘theory of
everything’, would say there is only one logically possible
universe. When this is understood, this theory o f everything,
then it would be understood that these fundamental constants
are not fundamental at all, but that they have specific values
coming from the logical structure of the theory, and there is
no other possible physical theory. T he theory o f everything

18
would not need arbitrary constants and functions; everything
would flow logically and simply from a mathematical principle.
In the last few years physicists have discovered the
cosmological constant: a num ber at the heart o f the universe
that is so strange, so ridiculously tiny, that even the most
hard-core theorists fear it will never be explained. And without
an explanation they will never have a theory o f everything.
Instead of a theory o f everything, physicists then came up
with a new idea to explain why this universe was created as it
is. The theory put forward was that it wasn’t the only universe,
there were trillions of them called parallel universes. This
theory says there are universes that have all sorts of values,
but we have only one universe that has just the right mix of
values that allows beings like ourselves to evolve. If we could
step back, we could see many universes of enormous size, many
bubbles of enormous size that are universes in their own right.
So it would be a multiverse. T here would be as many universes
as there are mixes of constants, and then it is not so remarkable
that there is a universe to support hum an life.
This is the theory that physics currently puts up as the
explanation of the designer-free universe. Another expla­
nation is that there is only one universe and God fixed these
particular constants for a purpose.
Jo h n Polkinghom was for twenty-five years professor of
mathematical physics at Cambridge University before he
was ordained as a minister of the church. He found theology
m ore interesting because potentially it is asking deeper and
m ore interesting questions than science addresses. T he
fundamental difference between theology and physics is that
theology answers the questions, “where do the laws of
quantum mechanics come from?” and “where do all the
other laws come from?” He thinks that looking at the world
as a creation is a much m ore economic and satisfactory
argum ent than simply supposing there are lots and lots of
different universes.
Theoretical physics looks to see whether it is possible
not to invoke a creator to set off creation. To an extent it has

19
succeeded; all the technology around us is the result of
physics, and this dem onstrates that physicists can make
progress without thinking about a divine creator deciding
on a creation.
So despite agreeing that this universe is special, science
and religion still stand apart. N either can produce the
ultimate proof and each sees the other explanation as more
irrational than their own. T he whole effort of the investigation
is to get an agreem ent on the explanation of everything.
B ertran d Russell, renow ned British p h ilo so p h er, is
credited with the following story. A lecturer is recounting
how the world came about and a woman interrupts him and
says, “You might be very clever, but I know how the world was
put together.” T he lecturer asks, “Well, how?” She answers,
“T he world is sitting on an elephant and the elephant is
standing on a turtle,” and the lecturer replies, “What is the
turtle standing on?” And the woman replies, “Oh, you can’t
trick me, it’s turdes all the way down.”

T he dilem m a
This explains the dilemma that we are up against. Creation
depends on something, or creation is an effect which has a
cause and that cause is an effect of a previous cause, and
finally we have to come up with a basic something, a basic
cause on which everything finally rests. Either we have an
infinite regression, or otherwise we have a sort o f levitating
super-turtle on which everything rests. However, until
science has found a complete explanation it will not rest,
and to have some unexplained starting point for the creation
of the universe is a religious belief and not science.
Science has to have a sort of starting point; either it is a
creator, or it is a set of facts that are there because they are
there, and if this universe that we know came into existence,
why not other universes as well?
Proposing an infinite num ber of universes had a starding
consequence: it meant inescapably that our universe had a
chance set of laws. T he only reason scientists were studying

20
them was that our universe had by chance created them. If
God had not defined our universe, what those scientists are
saying is that the universe is defined by our presence in it.
T he implications of this are profound. For this is a scientific
retreat from a theory that explains everything, to a position
where the starting point for creation or the levitating super­
turtle is us: I am the creator of this universe. How does this
sit with our ancient knowledge?
Samkhya is a philosophy based on experience. Its original
author, Rishi Kapila, gave us an explanation for the creation
and evolution of the elements of the universe based on cause
and effect. Subsequent commentators such as Gaudapada
and Vachaspati Mishra have given reason to this philosophy,
which can withstand sharp intellectual analysis.
Samkhya is a dualistic philosophy, and it holds that the
foundation of creation lies in two primary elements: purusha,
the all-knowing, unchanging soul m ade up of all individual
souls, which is powerless to act; and prakriti, the pure cosmic
energy in an eternal state of flux or change.
Purusha and prakriti are the cause for all subsequent
events. Purusha is infinite and unchanging, whilst prakriti is
infinite yet constantly changing. Purusha has the capacity to
see whilst prakriti has the capacity to act, and creation has
been described in Samkhya as the lame purusha helping the
blind prakriti. In their primal form both purusha and prakriti
are unm anifest, beyond tim e and space, an d the p re ­
dominance of rajas, or the dynamic aspect of energy, flowing
in prakriti causes the process of creation. T h e essence of
our existence is the expression of our individual purusha
and the sum total of creation is the expression of the sum
total of all individual purushas. T he starting point of creation
is the individual soul.
Science gives up the chance of explaining why everything
exists by just assuming it. Physics killed the old creator by
revealing how creatio n occurred w ithout him , but in
attem pting to explain away the coincidence of the fine-tuned
design the old physics killed itself too, and in doing so it

21
opened the door to a new more subde understanding of
physics and of God.
Physicists now say that the important thing is not distance
and it is not mass; it is consciousness that seems to have
evolved on this planet. Science has put us back to the point
that religion has always said we were, at the centre of the
universe. T he miracle of creation is not that the universe
exists, but that we are in it to witness it.

T he study o f personal experiences

To come to an understanding of the universe and its laws,
and creation is the pursuit and domain of physicists. Biologists,
psychologists and psychiatrists also pursue the validity of
consciousness th ro u g h the study o f the m icrocosm ic
perspective within our own being. C urrent biological science
now ponders on the reality of ancient revelations.
According to the scriptures, Christ’s followers asked for
a sign of God’s existence to which Christ said, “An evil and
adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be
given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly, so
shall the son of m an be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth.” {Holy Bible, Matthew 12:40)
T he people wanted proof, or at least a sign showing
God’s existence. Just as Jonah was resurrected out of the
belly of a whale after three days, Christ was resurrected after
crucifixion after three days in the tomb. But ju st as scepdcs
boldly pronounce this story as a fable due to lack of proof,
are they capable of disproving it?
Ajna is the telescope capable of viewing future and past
events. Time itself is a creation, and a personality of the
stature o f Christ surely had the capacity to view future
events.
Andy Clark is a cognitive scientist trying to understand
the nature of intelligence. He has a different certainty; that
God is a by-product of activity in the hum an brain and that
we carry in our brain an established pattern, which answers

22
the inexplicable wonders of the hum an being and life itself
by attributing the answers to these questions that do not
make sense as being, “It was done by God.”
For most of our lives the answer to whether God exists
can be deferred, but as we grow older, the question becomes
m ore pressing. According to Andy Clark there is nothing
m ore horrific than knowing we are going to die, for when we
die, we fall into a black hole and cease to be. This takes the
m eaning out of life, and for science death is certainly the
end and anything that argues against it can be nothing more
than a comforting story.
T here are people whose faith in something beyond death
is based not on religious teachings but on something which
they feel is an undeniable experience. Over the years there
have been countless num bers of people who have been
reported as clinically dead and after some minutes they have
re tu rn e d to life. Science prefers the term ‘near-death
experience’ and countless ‘out of body after death’ exper­
iences have been reported where people have experienced
beings both seen and the presence of a being yet unseen,
and fiirther report experiences of overwhelming compassion,
light and knowledge.
They witness souls hanging on to their earthly existence,
continuing in their thought patterns of old. Stockbrokers
still full of tension continue to play a stock m arket that only
exists in the realm of their own minds. Drinkers, gamblers
and fighters continue with their habits, not realizing that
they have lost the physical body. They report higher realms
of study, of literature and poetry, and the highest realms of
light, beauty, clarity and love for all mankind.
Often these experiences are in hospital, and during these
experiences the person is seen to have died and after three
minutes or ten minutes they return and make ‘miraculous’
recoveries. Further, they report that the experiences of
overwhelming compassion and love stay with them for the
rest of their lives, changing them forever. Reported so-called
near-death experiences cover the whole gamut of experience

23
from the most base earthly to the most heavenly and divine.
By far the most common experience reported is that of the
bright white light, a constant reassuring secure companion;
the white light of ajna.
Some researchers have concluded that these experiences
are illusions and must occur either when the person is losing
consciousness or regaining it, but definitely not when clinically
dead. However, many researchers are of the opinion that
domains of consciousness, other than those perceivable by
the ordinary senses, are a possible reality and near-death
experiences are not ju st illusions.
Peter Fenwick is one such person. He is a n e u ro ­
psychiatrist at the Institute o f Psychiatry who has been
studying near-death experiences for over twenty years. He
thinks there are problems with the conventional explanation.
He reports that EEG measurements of the brain activity
during stages of losing consciousness shows that this decay
of consciousness is very rapid and could not have sufficient
time for such experiences, and when the EEG is flat, none of
the cortical structures o f the brain function and, according
to o u r science, this precludes the possibility o f such
experiences. T herefore, mainstream medicine thinks the
experiences must be during recovery. However, Fenwick
disagrees. He says that during arousal, while the brain is
receiving oxygen, there is very confused thinking and such
a brain would not be able to experience the clarity of such
experiences reported.
Peter Fenwick knows that it would be unscientific to ignore
the fact that thousands o f unconnected people from different
cultures right through the ages have had the same exper­
iences, and he concludes that it is a fact that these are the
range of phenom ena that you can experience, and you have
to look at these experiences and see what value you are
going to put on them. Fenwick concludes that these values
could be of two types: either they are cultural, o r they define
other dimensions of reality, and science will have to accept
the validity of other dimensions of reality.

24
 It is not just near-death experiences which persuade
Fenwick that so-called subjective experiences might have
more reality than science recognizes. T here is also what he
considers to be tantalizing evidence coming from prayer
studies as well. He says that he is now finding that subjective
experience can directly affect the world. If one looks at a
person praying for something to happen, direct mental intent
at a distance, this type o f prayer does have an effect.
In the Vatican City such reports of healing through prayer
do not come as a surprise. In a centuries old vault are kept
the records of what they call miracles, astonishing cures that
have no scientific explanation and which they attribute to
the power of prayer. In order to arrive at the decision that a
case is indeed a miracle, one must totally exclude any
possibility of hum an intervention or hum an explanation of
the case. Therefore, these cases of miracles have to be studied
by scientists involved in that particular specialization of
medicine. T he cure, beyond any shadow of a doubt, has to be
perm anent and scientifically inexplicable.
Anybody who has practised pranic healing techniques
will know the importance of ajna in transferring and supplying
healing prana to others. This may be initiated through prayer
or by m antra or through direct manipulation o f prana.
Fenwick is not trying to validate the role o f God in the
same sense as the Vatican, but he has m onitored several
clinical studies in America, which appear to show that hospital
patients being prayed for recover more quickly than those
not being prayed for, regardless of their beliefs. Fenwick
points out that the evidence for hastened healing through
prayer is undeniable, yet science is making no progress
because the fundamental science is flawed when it comes to
research into subtle out-of-body experiences.

Subjective ex p erien ce
Yogis have disciplined an d con cen trated th e ir m inds to
experience intuitive subtle states, and in these states they have
experienced five dimensions of consciousness called koshas.

25
They have experienced, recorded and categorized all the
elements of creation from the unmanifest indefinable cosmic
consciousness and the unmanifest indefinable cosmic energy
to gross solid matter, beyond which there is no further creation.
T he experiences have been subjectively recorded and in
turn, over the ages, thousands have discovered the ancient
knowledge for themselves. This metaphysical data need not
be ignored on the grounds that it cannot be verified by the
science of today. Science cannot accept the immeasurable
and indefinable, yet scientists see the clear evidence of
particles em erging from nothing; they see a reality that
transcends hum an existence, and this reality exists when the
brain is clinically dead.
It is time for science to change its approach to gaining
knowledge. So far, disproving hypotheses has m ade great
gains. Newton, Galileo and many others disproved earlier
hypotheses to establish their own laws, which resisted further
attempts to disprove them.
However, when researching into the source o f everything,
the subtlest of the subtle, the unmanifest and indefinable,
which is immortal consciousness beyond time and beyond
space, the basic attitude must be of acceptance, and when
this acceptance takes place, the scientist becomes a yogi. By
accepting the validity o f other dimensions of consciousness
beyond objective ex tern al reality, we can witness and
experience such dimensions. T hen the scientist makes his
body a laboratory, his m ind the instrum ent of research and
his experience the result and conclusion. T he conclusion is
that there is a theory o f everything, the macroscopic creation
is a reflection of that dom ain called superconsciousness in
which we know everything, and all this is known through
the quality of our subde eye, otherwise known as ajna. Only
then can the experience stand the test of intellectual analysis.

26
 3
Philosophical Background

jn a chakra is part o f the psychic physiology described in

A l. kundalini tantra, amongst the teachings o f tantra, an
integral division of Indian philosophy. Indian philosophies
in general and tantra in particular have not been authored
by thinkers, but by those who have transcended the con­
straints of the ordinary mind and experienced higher levels
of consciousness and energy.
The books on those experiences tell us that beyond the
ordinary intellect there is another source of knowledge. They
call it a higher state o f consciousness. This consciousness
transcends the ordinary conscious mind and is term ed cosmic
or superconsciousness.
Original texts emphasize that the ordinary state of mind
or waking consciousness is pale in comparison. Since ancient
times highly evolved souls have experienced the awakening
of kundalini. Seekers have followed the paths laid down and
have seen and experienced subtle aspects of the body, mind,
chakras and universe, and then subsequently reported them
to us. These reported experiences give us a clear vision of
our psychic physiology and internal symbols associated with
each level of consciousness.
The reports are in the form of manuscripts called tantras
and in total make up the tantra shastras. Descriptions are
lucid and there is a concordance amongst the vast array of
tantras on any one subject by different authors. For example,

27
there are num erous descriptions of ajna chakra and the
symbols seen within it. Most of the kundalini tantras agree
that in ajna or bhru chakra resides a goddess nam ed Hakini
who has four arms and drinks ambrosia. Experiences of
higher consciousness and kundalini descriptions have been
written down in a variety of texts spanning thousands of
years, yet they are basically the same with varying terminology.
Therefore, we can rely on the instructions, methods and
mantras written down by those who have walked the path
before us. No doubt the experiences they report are spiritual
and beyond the realm o f the senses. T he validity of spiritual
experiences cannot be measured by the logic of worldly,
material or sensorial experiences because they are of different
realms. Material experiences are dependent on an object
perceived by the senses whereas spiritual experiences are
beyond the senses. It is pointless to argue the validity of
spiritual experiences from a materialistic point of view.
In space things are not what they appear to be: straight
lines become curved, space is curved, and mass and time are
a function of the speed in relation to the speed of light. In
the same way, we have to accept the validity of spiritual
experiences. Because everyone does not encounter spiritual
reality does not m ean that it is not there; it ju st means the
few who have broken the bonds with worldly existence have
experienced the spiritual reality, in the same way that the
few who have broken away from the pull of earth’s gravity
know what it is like to be in space.
Mandukya Upanishad tells us that objective reality, the
reality that we know in our ordinary waking state, has
manifested from a higher energy state, an unmanifest reality.
Just as the apple tree is the manifestation of the essence of
the apple seed, this creation is a manifestation of higher
reality. All these things have been seen and experienced in
lucid encounters with higher reality. Higher reality is often
described in poetic and often dramatized passages. These
passages are ultimately written and subsequendy categorized
in volumes that make u p the Indian philosophical systems.

28
 Mandukya Upanishad describes the experience from the
microcosm o f individual consciousness, yet it describes the
whole creation m anifesting from the macrocosmic su per­
conscious state. It is here that we come to understand that the
universal macrocosm is the same as the individual microcosm,
and that individual consciousness is not an ultim ate reality.
T he ultimate consciousness, called turiya, is not that which
is conscious of the inner (subjective) world, nor that which is
conscious of the outer (objective) world, nor that which is
conscious of both, nor that which is a mass of consciousness.
It is unperceived, unrelated, incomprehensible, uninferable,
unthinkable and indescribable. T h e essence o f the con­
sciousness manifesting as the self (in the three states), it is the
cessation of all phenom ena; it is all peace, all bliss and non­
dual. This is what is known as the fourth; this is atman (self),
and this has to be realized.
We must note at this point that the word philosophy is
English for the Sanskrit word darshan. Darshan means that
which is revealed or seen; a vision of the divine o r sacred or
truth. Often darshan is the vision of a manifest divine. T he
vision of Christ three days after his crucifixion is called
darshan, and the sacred texts are considered as darshan
because their content has been seen.
Adepts sitting steady for long periods using m antras and
concentration techniques, transcend body and m ind to access
the turiya state and then darshan or revelations of that state
are experienced. T he revelations outlined the path and gave
aspirants purpose and inspiration. In turn others have
experienced these revealed truths.
Kundalini tantra is the truth about the complex psychic
hum an physiology, about its dorm ant potential as well as the
means to awaken kundalini shakti, the store of energy, and
the levels of awakening according to the chakras. Descriptions
of the chakras detail multi-petalled flowers with yantras,
mantras, colours and deities, and these descriptions have
made an indelible m ark in the psyche of all those who have
come across such information.

29
Sanatana dharma
In ancient times, before the idea of categorizing people into
different religious groups, communities around the Indus
River were organized in such a way as to guide people towards
in n er spiritual ex p erience. W ealth an d greatn ess were
measured in terms of spiritual attainm ent and materialistic
goals were understood to support materialistic needs. Spiritual
life was balanced with worldly life, and life was divided into
four stages. T he first stage was childhood and youth dedicated
to education and learning, known as brahmacharya.
Education was broad; it included language, mathematics
and social sciences, as well as spiritual lore. Very litde was
written; however, the Rig Veda, one of the oldest records of
those times, sings praises of the mighty river Indus that
watered fertile flood plains, providing food for so many.
Records o f Indus script found on thousands of tablets
rem ain a mystery. However, archaeological excavations have
u n e a rth e d a clear p ictu re o f o rg anized com m unities
systematically housed according to precise planning, com­
plete with streets and roads, drainage, bathing and common
facilities. With the passing of time the Indus dried up and
the communities m igrated to the Ganges and other plains;
however, their traditions were etched into society.
Memory was the basis of learning: thousands of books
were rem em bered so well that when writing came into vogue
some thousands of years later, the same recitations from
different parts of India varied in just one or two lines over
some hundreds of thousands of verses. Writing vedas and
upanishads and other great texts were scribed when it was
foreseen that subsequent civilizations would forget the
teachings and memory would become dim.
The second stage in life was for m arriage and family.
This division, term ed grihastha or householder, was society’s
provider. From the age of twenty-five to fifty years people
p u rsu ed this window o f o p p o rtu n ity to ex p lo re th eir
ambitions and desires, knowing it would soon end and that
all would be passed on to the next generation. However, the

30
education gave adherents the stability to know that the
highest goal, pursuit o f inner experience, rem ained a part
of their existence, and emphasis on this goal was to grow in
subsequent stages.
T he third stage o f twenty-five years, vanaprastha, was
training for renunciation of all worldly desires and external
pursuits. Husband and wife would move to a hut in the forest
and perform devotions and meditations away from emotional
and material support o f friends and family.
T he fourth and final stage of life, term ed sannyasa, was
taken from the age of seventy-five years. This stage was a life
of simplicity, austerity and contemplation combined with
total renunciation of all family and friends so that all bonds
could be broken.
Society was structured to turn its members away from the
comforts o f wealth and worldly achievem ent and toward
spiritual perfection . T h is lifestyle, which en co u rag ed
evolution, was nam ed sanatoria dharma, m eaning eternal cul­
ture. Sanatana dharm a was the basic philosophy of life and
now it is incorrectly described as the Hindu religion.
According to Encyclopaedia Britannica the British intro­
duced the term ‘H induism ’ during the 1800s in order to
separate Buddhists and Sikhs from Hindus as all three faiths
are based on sanatana dharm a. T he term Hindu originated
from the Indus river and Hindus were those people whose
lifestyle had originated around the Indus valley, even though
the river had disappeared many thousands of years before
and all that rem ained were the archaeological digs in the
deserts of India and Pakistan, somewhat north o f what is now
known as Mumbai.
This sanatana culture produced a plethora of ascetic
seers, as well as rishis who had families and renunciate
saints. These great souls (mahatmas) were given the highest
status; often they were advisers to kings and their influence
on society was enormous. T he work of saints was funded
with the patronage of kings and thus the messages of these
great souls are still available today.

31
 Just as a flower has attractiveness and scent, in the same
way saints have that quality of the divine, which is beautiful
and attractive. It is to these advanced souls that the highest
respect was given. T heir advice was sought in all matters of
state as well as in personal problems. They bequeathed
m ankind a large wealth of records for our guidance. Literally
thousands of texts on every facet of sacred lore are available.
These records were in the form of poetic verse, illustrating
the experience of the absolute through dram a and question
and answer. T he richness of language and beauty of de­
scription composed in rhym ing verse is evidence o f the
supreme level of mental evolution that these masters of the
past had reached. This is why we hear the ring of truth in their
writings; this is why we reach sublime depths of peaceful
contemplation after we chant their mantras and this is why we
aspire for their experience, knowing their truth to be the
truth just by a whisper o f acknowledgement from within us,
a vibration nodding in agreem ent with what they have
presented to us.
Thus the sanatana dharm a tradition was born: teachings
in the form of vedas, upanishads, epics such as the Maha-
bharata and the Ramayana, philosophies such as T antra,
Vedanta and Samkhya, and practical instructions in the
form of kundalini yoga, hatha yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga,
m antra yoga and laya yoga.
This system for society was based on one principle: hum an
spirit is who we are in reality. This was the experience of
sages throughout history and in identifying with the body,
senses, possessions and materialistic gains, we forget who we
are - the spirit.

Search for truth

Loss of memory of who we really are is illustrated beautifully
in chapter four of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Narada relates
this story to the sorrowful King Prachinabarhis, who is in
search of the way to truth. “I will tell you a story,” began
Narada, “which illustrates in allegory what I wish to teach.

32
 “T here lived a well-known king, named Puranjana. He
had an intimate friend, but none knew his nam e or his
occupation. Puranjana roamed all over the earth, hoping to
find a suitable place to live in. But he m et only with
disappointment. He thought to himself, I have seen many
cities, but none appears good to me. I want to live in a city
where all my desires may be satisfied, but none of these
would be sufficient for the purpose.
“At last he came to a city in Bharatavarsha, south of the
Himalayas. This magnificent city, with its nine gates, its
stately palaces, its beautiful gardens and crystal lakes,
appeared to have all the advantages he had been seeking.
He felt that his wanderings were over, for here all his desires
could be gratified.
“Then, one day soon after, Puranjana saw a beautiful
young girl with her attendants, walking in a garden. T heir
paths met, they fell in love and within a short time they were
married. They continued to live in the city of nine gates, and
it was by passing through these gates that Puranjana found
he could indulge his many desires, although, strange to say,
he never found any real sausfaction in so doing. H e loved his
wife deeply and was happy only in her presence. He made
her wishes his, and when she wept he wept, when she smiled
he smiled. Thus slavishly responsive to her every whim and
mood, he was on the way to losing the last vestige of his
independence.
“For many years he stayed on in that beautiful city,
gratifying his every desire but never obtaining any lasting
pleasure or comfort from his way of life.
“Now it happened that while King Puranjana, immersed
in pleasures, was forgetful of everything else, a mighty general
attacked the city where he dwelt. This general possessed a
certain magical charm by means of which he had the power
to work great havoc. So it was that he demolished the beautiful
city of nine gates. Puranjana himself could not escape. He
found himself bereft of everything, even of that last stronghold
of consciousness, his memory. He forgot well nigh all his

33
past, his kingship and his magnificent city. O ne memory
alone was left: the thought of his beautiful wife. This thought
possessed his m ind with such intensity that he did not
notice his loss of memory for the rest of the world. His
whole nature became obsessed by her image, and like a
madman, who losing his own identity becomes the being
whose im age possesses him, P uranjana found him self
transformed into a lovely young girl like his wife.
“The young girl he had now become forgot her previous
identity to such an extent that when she m et with King
Malayadhvaja, she fell in love with him and m arried him.
When in the course of time the king passed away and she was
left alone, lamenting his death and her bereavement, an
unknown brahm in came to her and said:
“O my beloved friend, why are you grieving? Do you not
know me, your dear friend? Try to rem em ber who and what
you are. I have been your friend always, but you neglected
me and forgetting me entirely went away in search of pleasure
and enjoyment. You and I are friends, united in eternal
bonds. Though you forgot me, I have been with you all the
time. You entered into a city of nine gates and became so
deeply attached to a woman that you forgot your real self.
T hen later you became forgetful of your past and believed
yourself to be the wife of this man. You are neither the
husband nor the wife. T here is no sex in you. You and I are
not separate. Know yourself as me. Just as one sees oneself as
two when reflected in a mirror, so do you appear as you and
me, but in reality we are one.”
Prachinabarhis requested Narada to explain the allegory,
and Narada, assenting, thus spoke on: “O King, Puranjana
in the story stands for the purusha, the divine self. He is
called Puranjana because the divine self is the manifestor of
pura, or the body. T he unknown friend that I have mentioned
is Brahman, or God. None knows Him, for no deeds or
attributes can express o r reveal Him.
“The puras, or bodies, are of various kinds. O f these the
hum an body is a suitable instrument for the enjoyment of all

34
desires. This hum an body is the city with nine gates, such as
eyes, ears, nose etc., through which the divine self or
Puranjana goes out, as it were, to enjoy the objects of the
senses. T he wife is the intellect, united with whom man
enjoys the world and worldly goods. In thus identifying itself
with the intellect or ego, the divine self forgets its true nature
and becomes immersed in ignorance and vanity. T he great
general is all-destructive time whose charms are disease and
death; disease and death ultimately destroy this body.
“Man is divine and free and blissful. Being deluded, he
superimposes the attributes of the non-self upon the self.
H unger and thirst belong to the prana, lust or desire belongs
to the senses and the mind; but all these are attributed to the
self in man, who is by nature free.
“Forgetful of his true divine nature, identifying himself
with the false ego, m an becomes attached to the world and
the pleasures of the world. He then is bound by his deeds. As
are his deeds, so is his birth.”
This is the story of King Prachinabarhis and it is everyone’s
story. Spiritual aspirants are by definition dissatisfied with
pleasures and worldly objectives. Thus they search for truth,
a meaningful, satisfying, non-decaying truth, a truth we feel
is there, yet we have lost our memory of it. Even if God
comes to us in the form of experience, we will not recognize
Him because our memory is dim.

Kundalini yoga
T he Srimad Bhagavatam tells us in chapter two of the yogi
who aspires to return to the memory of purusha by kundalini
yoga. “A true yogi, realizing the approach o f death, sits
calmly in a yoga posture, and with his heart purified and
m ind u n d e r perfect control, becomes absorbed in the
consciousness of Brahman. Thus he lives in a state of perfect
tranquillity.
“Time, the great destroyer, which lords it over everything
in the universe, is annihilated. T he universe itself melts into
nothingness. T he yogi is no longer aware of his physical self.

35
T he worshipful Lord Vishnu alone is in his heart. All to him
is God. Such is his blissful state.
“Desiring to give up the body, he allows the vital energy
to pass through the different centres of consciousness. First,
the energy is concentrated in the solar plexus, called manipura.
From there the energy rises to anahata, the heart. It then
passes to the centre near the throat, called vishuddhi. From
there it ascends to ajnar the centre between the eyebrows.
“At this point one o f two things may come to pass. If the
yogi has reached the state of desirelessness, he realizes the
absolute Brahman and the vital energy ascends to sahasrara,
the thousand-petalled lotus centre in the brain, called the
doorway to Brahman. T hen the yogi, realizing his unity with
Brahman, completes the separation of him self from the
senses, the sense organs, the mind and the body and passes
away. He attains what is known as absolute freedom. This is
called immediate liberation.
“If, on the other hand, having raised his vital energy to
the centre between the eyebrows, the yogi still has some
desires left in him, he does not realize the absolute unity,
but passes away still associating himself with the m ind and
the senses. He then ascends to higher and higher lokas and
ultimately reaches the brahm a loka. T here he becomes freed
from all desires and realizes his unity with Brahman; and
thus, having attained absolute freedom, there is for him no
more return. This is called the gradual liberation.
“Be ye therefore, O King, a yogi, for by worshipping the
lord of love one has all desires fulfilled and in the end attains
freedom. Even hearing of God stimulates the higher con­
sciousness and brings about detachm ent from the fleeting
world. So should a m an follow the path of freedom, the path
of love.”

Ajna chakra
Ajna is the fulcrum about which our spiritual and material
lives are balanced. By identification with external values,
our vision is blind to the greater truths within and this

36
process continues until we have seen through the host of
beliefs we have adopted in our hope for enjoyment and
satisfaction in our materialistic lifestyle.
According to the vedantic theory of yoga and the
experience of people who have perfected it, ajna chakra is
the place where the greater mind manifests in the form of a
desire. T hat desire, which is the first manifestation of the
greater mind, is known as ichcha shakti. The greater m ind
next manifests in the form of willpower known as sankalpa
shakti. Then it manifests as a creative process known as kriya
shakti. T hat creative process of the supreme intelligence is
later on perceived at the level of the different chakras.
Ajna chakra is a point where the higher intelligence, the
unmanifest and the manifest intelligence, are both experi­
enced. Therefore, the yogic traditions have called ajna chakra
the seat of intuition, the seat of the guru or the seat of the
sixth sense. T he five senses belong to the manifest dimension,
the manifest experience. T he sixth sense, or the intuitive
experience, is the transcendental m anifestation of the
supreme intelligence. It is here that we have to focus our
creativity, willpower and desire to either be a receiver of, or a
receptacle for, the manifest or unmanifest experiences.
Ajna works like a radar; what is received depends on the
direction of focus. If you focus downwards, you will receive
the experiences contained in vishuddhi, anahata, manipura,
swadhisthana and mooladhara. T he purpose o f awakening
ajna is to become aware of these different levels in ajna when
it is focused downwards.
When you reverse the focus of ajna, then it becomes the
practice of ajna dharana, which is a re-focusing o f the antenna
which receives information and vibrations from above. There
has to be a focus for that antenna in order to channel the
supreme consciousness in the form of a beam and direct it
to ajna, so that the information can be received as a tran­
scendental input into the hum an frame.
We have the choice either to direct our focus toward
inner or transcendental knowledge, or to increase our

37
knowledge of the aspects attributed to the qualities of the
lower chakras. Once ajna is awake, we can clearly see, but
without this clear sight there is no choice and we are driven
by the force of our minds and our karmas. O ur vision is so
limited and our memory of the truth is so rem ote that we
resort to books and other indirect sources to search for
higher knowledge that we somehow know is there, but cannot
see that it is there.
Today’s mind is basically rational and dem ands proof.
Knowledge based on experience is not demonstrable nor is
it repeatable, and therefore science has searched the universe
for the knowledge of creation. Surprisingly enough scientists
have come up with correlations between what has been written
in ancient texts and what is understood to be the forefront of
metaphysics. T he ancient knowledge was perceived through
the intuitive eye of ajna, whilst the current run of science is
perceived in huge laboratories.

38
 4
The Guru Chakra

I nBhagavatam
the previous chapter the story from the epic Srimad
was told. T he great sage King Puranjana was
dissatisfied, yet he was united with the absolute consciousness.
He sought identification with the body and its senses as a
source of pleasure. He was deluded by an idea, an idea bom
on the urging of tamas to seek out a pleasant life. T he sway
of tamas was so great that in identifying with the body and its
endless wishes, he obliterated the memory of being one with
the nameless universal consciousness.
From the viewpoint of an ordinary seeker in the twenty-
first century, on first examination this story is a contradiction
in terms. It flies in the face of reason for pursuit of spiritual
life. T he very reason we pursue a spiritual path is to reach
the ultimate state of bliss and contentment, a state where
there is no dissatisfaction. King Puranjana was at one with
absolute consciousness, he was one with everything; he would
have realized the illusory nature of the lower self and he
would have seen illusion shrouding the truth. H e would have
had the innate quality that comes with a fully awakened ajna
chakra. He would have seen the mind, and the ramifications
of such an action as identification with the body would have
been plainly obvious.
Just as we would say no to an ordinary sweet from the
local com er shop when we could have a box of the finest
Belgian chocolate, we would expect King Puranjana to say

39
no to lower forms of identification, yet he went ahead and
ignored his identification with the ultimate, and instead
identified with the body.
It is from this story that we can get an idea of why
creation happened at all. This logical argum ent falls down
only because we are missing vital information. T he fact is
that creation did occur, and according to science it occurred
four billion years ago. It is just that together with this creation
the unmanifest transformed, becoming both manifest and
unmanifest. This has been spelt out in the first verse of the
Ishavasya Upanishad. This creation manifested and its source
was the unmanifest, just as rain is sourced from the ocean
but the ocean does not diminish. T he unmanifest remains
unchanged and we have both manifest and unmanifest.
From the revelations of ancient rishis who have accessed
the source of all knowledge, we know that in the ultimate
unmanifest reality time stands still and there is 110 creation.
Shiva, the absolute almighty om nipresent consciousness, is
in perfect harmony with Shakti, the cosmic energy; both are
unmanifest, in perfect balance and equipoise. Shakti is not a
placid cosmic high energy state described by physicists as
The Nothing.

Tantra - consciousness and energy

Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, in her book Sri Vijnana
Bhairava Tantra (SVBT), writes: “Tantric philosophy postu­
lates that the universe o f matter and energy has evolved out
of primordial nature, o r Shakti, who represents pure energy.
H er cosmic counterpart and co-creator is Shiva, or pure
consciousness, who exists as conscious intelligence distinct
from her and her derivatives. In the original state Shiva is
forever immanent and eternal but inactive as opposed to
Shakti, who is forever im m anent and eternal but active.
“Although Shiva and Shakti separate momentarily, giving
rise to the individual consciousness, in th e ir cosmic
manifestation they forever exist side by side. So there are
both cosmic and individual aspects of Shiva and Shakti.”

40
 Now this begs the question: why did the momentary
separation happen or why did creation and the fate of King
Puranjana eventuate? C ontinuing with Swami Satsangi’s
passage on creation:
“Shiva and Shakti together give rise to the avyakta or
unmanifest cosmos, as well as the vyakta or manifest creation.
T he first manifestations of creation are known as nada, bindu
and kalaa. Nada literally means ‘vibration’. As a part of the
unmanifest creation, it exists as the cosmic vibration or
spandan. In the vyakta o r manifest creation, it exists as sound
of varying frequencies. Bindu represents a point or nucleus,
and kalaa is a ray or force which emanates from the nucleus,
or bindu, due to the vibrations created by nada.”
So here we have the seed of the answer to the whole
creation question. Why do we identify with external values,
knowing that truth is within? Just as water always runs
downhill, our consciousness, if left to the forces of nature,
moves away from ultimate wisdom towards ignorance. To
move towards tru th , we need a rep resen tativ e o f the
unmanifest reality pointing the way and this representative
communicates with us through the guru chakra, ajna.
Out of the interplay of these qualities the limited dim en­
sion manifests, and this limited manifest dimension inherits
the qualities of which it came from, namely nada, bindu,
and kalaa. Atomic physics partly concurs. H eisenberg’s
uncertainty principle states that a subatomic particle behaves
both as a particle and a wave because the energy from
which subatomic particles manifested had those potentials.
T he energy of such particles is measured as discrete packets
called quanta. Why does this manifestation always move
from an undefinable subtle state to a limited dimension
and why has it been happening for millions o f years? This
is one of the great mysteries that continue to baffle our
reasonable minds because the answer is unreasonable, yet
we dem and an answer for such a haunting question as to
why creation and us, both you and me, came into existence
at all.

41
 Just as my body is the manifest expression of my parents’
desire, my being is the manifest expression of my desire, and
creation is the manifest expression of a universal desire. T he
unmanifest is not at equipoise; it is energy having different
qualities and at any one time one quality predominates, then
at other times another o f the three predominates.
Yogis following the path of tantra raised the energy within
the framework of their individual awareness and uniting
with universal consciousness brought enlightenm ent within.
This was their experience and they had direct knowledge of
the nature of cosmic energy. Yogis experience pure cosmic
energy and have reported their experiences to us. In SVBT
Swami Satsangi translates the original sloka (verse four) telling
us of the nada, bindu and anahata nada, the sound that is
experienced out of an invisible source, the unstruck sound.
SVBT tells us that energy is the face of consciousness.
God is faceless, invisible and unm anifest, yet we can
experience or reach the experience of consciousness by
relating with the forms of energy, be they gross material
forms (apara shakti), m ental or visualized form (parapara
shakti) or supreme primal transcendent energy (para shakti).
SVBT tells us that kalaa, bindu and nada are the first evolutes
of primal energy (spandan) in the process of creation and
since nothing comes from nothing, the potential for these
evolutes must be inherent in the nature of pure energy itself.
T antra postulates that Shakti and Shiva are one. Every
p art of consciousness is replete with energy and the highest
state of consciousness is a very high state of energy. At the
m om ent of creation, or four picoseconds after the instant of
creation, space was created and began to expand (described
as an expanding bubble o f vacuum). Now scientists have further
calculated that this expanding bubble of universal proportion
is still expanding, yet the rate of expansion is decreasing and
is coming to a halt. T hen it will begin to turn in on itself and
shrink to an incredibly dense ball, tend in g toward zero
dimension. This is the course of nature, indicating that the
pursuit of the manifest dimension brings no ultimate reward.

42
M anifest dim ension
Thinking humans know that worldly pursuits can only bring
ongoing duties and responsibilities, and ultimately there is
no joy in material gain, yet the attraction is irresistible.
Maya is the illusory force of nature that makes us find worldly
objects and attainments so attractive. Ajna is the eye that
can reveal the way to a lasting satisfied bliss free from the
need of objects.
Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati tells the story of Maya,
the goddess of illusion, and Bhakti, the goddess of devotion,
leading us to the ultimate truth. He tells us that originally
Maya was dressed in un attractiv e rags and Bhakti was
resplendent in fine clothes and jewels. One day Maya and
Bhakti were at the pond and while Bhakti was busy bathing,
Maya crept ashore and stole Bhakti’s clothes, leaving her own
rags behind for Bhakti to wear. Since then Maya’s attraction
is unparalleled, whilst Bhakti’s beauty is concealed in rags.
So nature, the female aspect, manifests and after a time
this manifestation shrinks to non-existence in the manifest
dimension, yet the unmanifest dimension remains unaffected,
unchanged throughout the process of creation and destruction.
In the unmanifest dimension we have cosmic energy with the
potential to vibrate, to behave like a point and to act like a
wave, and it is a very high energy state. Just as high voltage
electrical energy in clouds is naturally released as lightning,
creation of the manifest dimension is a natural event.
T he manifest quality o f Shakti is nature, everything
around us, and it is constandy changing: air, trees, rivers,
earth, rocks, mountains and the absorbing blue of the sky.
We are also that nature and we are also ever changing.
Tantra, Samkhya and Vedanta philosophies tell us that the
change in nature is due to the gunas, or three qualities of
nature, namely, sattwa, rajas and tamas. Sattwa is bom of the
equipoise of rajas and tamas and is our highest and purest
state. Just as pure unmanifest cosmic energy has its three
qualities of nada, kala and bindu, manifest energy has these
three qualities of the gunas.

43
 Dominance of sattwa over the other two is our refuge from
a life overwhelmed by events. Sattwa is the poetry of truth, of
beauty, a love o f purity, free from the trammels o f worldly
responsibilities and the travails of the ordinary day. Sattwa can
be achieved through fasting, pilgrimages to sacred sites and
th ro u g h ex ten d ed a n d continual yoga practices such as
pranayama and meditation. These are well known techniques,
yet the technique we use most often, but remain ignorant of,
is plain hard work. Lifting rocks and stones, carrying them
some distance and then digging them in to make a wall requires
determination and muscles. This kind of work leads quickly
to exhaustion, especially if the loads are heavy, and so we stop
to rest. T hen we see a bird, a leaf, an ant, or the sky and at this
m om ent we need nothing; the blueness of the sky or the
m ovem ent o f the ant occupies our total attention and we
become momentarily enraptured in the beauty of the moment.
This is the experience of sattwic energy, a momentary equanim­
ity or enrapture in the beauty of the moment.
Dominance of rajas manifests as our will and dynamism,
as our ambition to succeed, achieve and acquire. T he very
core of our being, the essential consciousness, may be
indefinable, all knowing, yet the energy of our being is the
knowable aspect and this has the nature of the macrocosmic
energy of creation from which we are manifest. Thus the
dynamism of our being is a mark of our personality.
Tamas is the quality of nature that, predominating, leads
to nature’s own destruction. Within our own individual
microcosm we have preferred solid objects to mental ideas.
Prior to the creation o f the body and senses we possessed,
and still possess, the same faculties in the subtle dimension.
In place of sight we preferred to have eyes that have the
sight and then we could say, ‘these are my eyes and I see’,
and the same goes for all the sense organs and all the organs
of action. W hen we exam ine the com plete process of
m anifestation o f creation from both m acrocosmic and
microcosmic points of view, we come to understand that
each manifestation is a process of tamas predom inating.

44
 It is little wonder that we are helplessly dragged along in
the current of natural energy flow and the helpless dragging
is not done by an external force. It is our own belief that pursuit
of worldly actions will bring relief to the anguish of life. From
birth we have been trained for worldly pursuit by our parents
and peers, but this does not validate it as a spiritual path.
We took birth for a purpose: we came because we wanted
to and our individual set of desires will never be exhausted
until we act. According to the law of karma such unfulfilled
desires can never be eliminated through superimposition of
higher spiritual values and actions, and in fact pursuit of
higher spiritual actions, denying the demands o f our worldly
ambitions and hopes, will lead to frustration on both paths,
worldly and spiritual.

Role of guru
Gurus make great strides towards evolving their personality;
they have disciplined minds that do not dwell on worldly
directions and achievements; they have m ade the leap to
spiritual directions and are firmly established on that path.
We strive to evolve toward perfecting all our faculties and to
exclude identification with our worldliness.
It is only through the continued influence of the guru for
many years that we rem ain on our spiritual path whilst
attending to our residual worldly needs. It is partly through
the senses that we absorb guru’s guidance and this sensory
information is m ade up o f the whole gam ut of worldly
influences as well. This influence comes through external
means and through influence in conscious thought as well as
dream, and it is these subtle communications that come to us
via ajna. Inform ation received through the five sensory
channels has to compete with all worldly trends. The sacrifice
of selfish and worldly gain is a part of spiritual life and the
guru’s influence is necessary to sustain selfless pursuit.
Guru communicates through ajna to mind, to manas.
Guru communicates directly with m ind itself and we receive
this guidance as if we are thinking it ourselves, as if we are

45
having the idea. Just as the nose is the channel through
which a particular p art of the mind receives smell, in the
same way manas receives super sensory information from
the mind itself. The part of the m ind that receives information
is connected to ajna and the capacity to receive super sensory
information depends on the awakening of ajna or the faculties
associated with ajna.
There are no psychic or personal barriers between humans
when there is love between them . Such super sensory
communication is an everyday occurrence with mothers and
their babies and with guru and disciple. This is why there is
such high praise for guru. Aspirants for spiritual life take
initiation from a guru and establish a relation with that guru
that is second to none. T h e guru’s attitude toward the disciple
can be rem ote, dismissive or autocratic; however, this
behaviour is effected only after guru and disciple both have
achieved such a connection that the disciple adores the guru
no m atter how he appears. No m atter if the guru appears
angry, unjust, biased, or mistaken, the disciple accepts his
guru as he is. We chant Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru
Maheshwara (guru is the God of creation, guru is the God of
preservation and guru is the God of destruction) and for the
disciple if the guru appears unjust, then so be it; God is
unjust also. To not accept behavioural anomalies in the guru
is a separation from him and a separation from his teachings
and a separation from the guru within.
The m other who finds fault in her baby distances herself
from her baby at the cost of psychic communication. T he
husband who finds fault with his wife suffers the same distance,
losing psychic com m unication. T h e same relationship
capabilities are available to all hum anity an d it is this
relationship between guru and disciple that opens the path.
A disciple accepts everything in the guru’s personality to
keep the communication of the intuitive psychic centre.

46
 5
Kundalini Yoga in Brief

antra describes the awakening of kundalini as the

T awakening of our dorm ant potential, the enorm ous
potential within us that has not been developed. Psychologists
would say that these potentials lie within the unconscious
mind and can be developed. In our daily life we cultivate
external skills in dealing with others, through the develop­
ment of internal potentials, by means of intuition and being
motivated through compassion: recognition o f the need of
others as if it were our need. This psychological approach to
awakening kundalini is pursued in karm a yoga and is
recognized as an essential part of every sadhaka’s life.
As the awakening takes place there is a parallel process
occurring in the psychic dimension of the personality. T he
description of this psychic process and the pursuit of the
awakening of dorm ant energy is kundalini yoga; and this is
described throughout the sacred Indian texts.
Ancient seers first reported their experiences in verse
form, known as darshan, revelations. Kundalini yoga is
described in many of these darshans, including the tantras,
puranas, upanishads and classic texts such as Devi Bhagavatam.
Whilst the general principles of kundalini are common to all
texts, m inor points do vary since darshan is a subjective
experience observed within each seer’s personality.
T he religiously devout, the Vedantins, Buddhists and the
monotheists have all described the awakening of kundalini

47
in their own terms. Adi Shankaracharya himself has stated
that in order to realize the highest consciousness we must
first awaken kundalini shakti. In Saundarya Lahari he
poetically described this awakening:
Thou art diverting thyself in secrecy
with thy Lord in the thousand-petalled lotus.
Having pierced through the earth, situated in the mooladhara,
the water in swadhisthana, the fire abiding in the manipura,
the air in the heart (anahata), the ether above (vishuddhi),
and manas between the eyebrows (ajna),
and thus broken through the entire kula path (sushumna).
Adi Shankaracharya was an ardent and fundam ental
seer of Adwaita philosophy and whilst he was known for
upholding that the only truth was the one fundam ental
consciousness, that anything else was false and illusory, he
yet worshipped the m other as nature in all h er infinite
forms as the great consort of Shiva himself. From our point
of view kundalini is in conflict with Adwaita Vedanta; that is
to say that if there is only one truth and that is formless
consciousness, then to worship anything else with form or
name is false. Buddha held a similar vision of the truth, yet
in his tradition the m other is worshipped and kundalini
yoga has been practised extensively. Indeed, at a recent
Goddess Exhibition in Sydney of the female divine art forms,
Buddhist and Hindu representations stood side by side and
were almost indistinguishable. So we, the seekers, are left
with the problem of reconciliation of the truth as formless
or with form.
Fortunately we are helped by way o f a few quotes.
Shankaracharya says, “T here is only one truth and many
ways of seeing it,” and in the opening verses o f the twelfth
chapter of the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains that
both paths are valid and that the path of the formless is
difficult. R am akrishna Param aham sa was a renow ned
worshipper of the female goddess Kali and he also gave
testimony to the need o f kundalini yoga.

48
 We can conclude that kundalini is not an exclusive
spiritual path and the practitioners of kundalini yoga do not
exclude other practices, nor do they cling to the belief that
their practice is superior to other spiritual pursuits.
Kundalini yoga states that as we evolve we do more than
awaken unconscious thoughts and understanding of our
situation in the world; we also awaken a power that brings
abilities and capacities to the personality. A student may
study m edicine for m any years and achieve very high
qualifications, yet if he has not awakened feelings for the
sufferings of those who come before him, he will be incapable
of feeling any more than a technical relationship for the
problems of his patients, and so he will be ineffective as a
doctor; he will have no genuine driving force to become a
doctor. Maybe there are more personal needs to provide for
his family, needs that are the basic driving forces, which are
not highly evolved and are common to all but the most
primitive of our species.

Awakening o f shakti
The awakening of shakti brings power to the personality in
various ways according to the traits developing. This shakti
has to travel on certain paths around the body. It is said
there are 76,000 paths or nadis in the body, yet these are
subtle and not physical. Fourteen are principal nadis, of
which the three most im portant are ida,pingala and sushumna.
These nadis extend from the area of the female cervix or the
male perineum up to the top of the spine at the back of the
head behind the eyebrow centre.
Ida nadi flows from the left of the base of the body, swings
in again to cross over the base of the spine at the coccyx, then
continues to flow over to the right and come in again to the
spine behind the navel, continues on the left side up to the
centre of the chest, then flows on the right side to the base of
the neck and then on the left and into the top o f the spine at
the level of the eyebrow centre. Pingala nadi is the m irror image
of ida, and sushumna flows in the centre of the spinal column.

49
 Ida, Píngala, Sushumna and the Chakras

T h e chakras manifest from the flow of pran a in the nadis

and form at each o f the points of confluence o f the three
main nadis (as well as the flows o f thousands of others).
T hese intricate m anifold flow paths are said to awaken when
the blockages are first rem oved and the flow is then activated.
O ne way this can be do ne is through repeated perform ance
of the approp riate capacity until it is perfected an d is said to
be a talent. T h ro u g h lifetimes of practice o f skills such as
music, dancing, writing, communicating, healing and m anag­
ing, we develop these skills. Actually we are developing the
m ental capacity so that we become talented an d kundalini

50
shakti flows to that region of the mind, and the appropriate
chakra. Another way is by direcdy concentrating on sushumna
nadi and drawing prana up from the base chakra. This is the
process of awakening shakti: first the path must be purified
and awakened and then shakti is free to ascend and supply
the personality with energy to perform superhum an deeds.
Throughout the body these subtle chakras and nadis are
described as having various colours, as seen by clairvoyants.
These psychic systems have their physical manifestations in
the body: ida functions through the parasympathetic nervous
system and pingala through the sympathetic nervous system.
T he three im portant nadis are linked with the breath in the
nostrils. W hen the left nostril is flowing freely, ida is
functioning. In this state we are ready for m ental and
imaginary work - this is the moon or female aspect in us.
When the right nostril is flowing pingala is functioning and
we are charged with vitality and ready for action and physical
work - this is the sun o r male aspect in us. Ida has a cooling
effect, whereas pingala has a heating effect.
Kundalini tantra explains that in the unevolved person­
ality, shakti, the divine energy, sleeps and this dorm ant
energy has the psychic form of a coiled serpent lying in the
base chakra, mooladhara.
The chakras are connected to aspects of the personality
as well as to regions of the brain. Together with the awakening
of unconscious potential, prana flows along nadis to the
appropriate chakra and in turn the chakra expands, giving
its characteristic light and colour. Life’s lessons are a gradual
process of awakening kundalini in the chakras. By learning
to live life simply and happily without the need for luxuries,
we can overcome fear of poverty and gain security thus
initiating an increased flow of prana to m ooladhara chakra
and the characteristic four-petalled red lotus expands. We
can also use the techniques of meditation, m antra and kriya
to awaken mooladhara. This will awaken the unconscious
fears and insecurities, which must be dealt with so that they
are expressed without judgm ent. This requires training,

51
 Arousal o f D ifferent Brain Centres

preparation an d guidance from an experienced guide or

guru. Similarly, for the awakening of swadhisthana we must
live a life o f selflessness an d celibacy to awaken a whole
gam ut o f unconscious impressions to do with o u r emotional
needs. For m anipura we must live a life of striving to develop
our will; for anahata we must expand ou r circle of care from
the im m ediate family to all those in need; and for vishuddhi
we must develop our capacity for beautiful artistic expression
through speech, word an d form.
Ajna is the chakra o f the m ind whereas the lower chakras
are the chakras of the five elements or panchabhootas. T hese
elements are earth for m ooladhara, water for swadhisthana,
fire for m anipura, air for anahata an d ether for vishuddhi.
Each o f the chakras is a m anifestation o f o u r psychic
personality. T h e physical body with its organs, flesh, blood,

52
motor nerves and sensory nerves is composed of, and is the
subsequent m anifestations of, these elem ents. Between
mooladhara and vishuddhi the whole gamut o f individual
experiences are stored in the mind in the form of samskaras
or latent impressions. Through awakening o f any of the
lower chakras we awaken individual experiences with which
we identify.
Unconscious insecurities an d fears awaken th ro u g h
concentration on m ooladhara and these are basic to the
preservation of life. These fears are a driving unconscious
force in life and are responsible for our extreme efforts to
preserve our individual status quo, be it wealth, material
standing in society, insurance for the present and plans for
preservation into the future. These qualities o f m ind that
manifest in m ooladhara are basic qualities to do with material
gain and consequently come under the classification of the
earth element or prithvi tattwa.
T he water element o r apas tattwa is the classification of that
area of the personality represented by swadhisthana and is
the emotional aspect o f mind. Purification of this portion of
the personality will release unconscious traumatic or shocking
experiences of the past. Concentration on manipura, anahata
and vishuddhi also releases unconscious experiences that we
identify with. T he experiences released in each o f the chakras
are discussed in depth in Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda
Saraswati an d in Practical Yoga Psychology by Dr Rishi
Vivekananda. According to these authors the experiences are
pleasant or unpleasant or a mixture of both.
The experiences in the lower chakras between mooladhara
and vishuddhi are something that we observe happening to
us. In other words they include an aspect of the experiencer;
they are dualistic or include the ego and are difficult to
traverse. Most unconscious experiences are unconscious
because we prefer not to experience them; the pain, horror,
fear, guilt or other form of rejection that we associate with
those experiences m eans that we have suppressed the
experience from coming into the light of the mind.

53
Awakening ajna
Awakening ajna is a mental experience beyond the ego. Swami
Satyananda writes in Kundalini Tantra, “When the mind is
concentrated at this conjunction (where ida, pingala and
sushumna merge at the eyebrow centre and flow as one stream
to sahasrara) transformation of individual consciousness is
brought about by the m erging of the three great forces.
Individual consciousness is mainly comprised of ego, and it is
on account of ego that we are aware of dualities. As long as
there is duality there cannot be samadhi; as long as you
rem em ber yourself you cannot get out of yourself.
“Although there are experiences of trance in the other
chakras, there is no m erger of the individual ego with the
cosmic ego. All throughout you are trying to assert yourself
behind all the experiences you are having, but when ida and
pingala unite with sushumna in ajna chakra, you lose yourself
completely. By this I do not mean that you become uncon­
scious; your awareness expands and becomes homogeneous.
T he individual awareness falls flat and you completely
transcend the realm of duality. Therefore, ajna chakra is a
very important centre which you must experience in order
to bring about purification of the mind. Once the m ind is
purified, the experience and awakening of other chakras
can proceed.”
Manas (mind) is purified by tapas (austerity) and tapas is
the plane or loka of ajna. When we reach the point in our life
where there is nothing m ore to achieve on this worldly plane,
yet we desire higher o r transcendental experience, we find
the highest bliss in exploring new experiences within the
mind. Knowledge, ideas and visions unsupported by any
external stimulus are sufficient for contentm ent and the
preservation of this ecstatic state. Progress in opening up yet
further unexplored regions of the m ind is achieved by
continued sadhana, practice, and tapasya, otherwise known
as austerities or extending the limitations of hum an existence.
Through tapasya we raise the energetic vibration of the
m ind and purify the m ind, igniting the fire o f m ental

54
purification. T he right tapasya at the right time for each
individual must be carefully performed. The first rule of
tapasya is that it should be joyful and not a torture, and it
should bring a sense of achievement in conquering the habits
and customs of ordinary human behaviour. Overcoming
cold, heat, hunger and thirst are common austerities. It is
difficult for the ordinary person to appreciate that suffering
these can be a joy, yet there comes a time in life when it is
right to perform such tapasya. The high energy state of bliss
associated with this and the level of happiness and content­
m ent is rem embered long after performance o f tapasya has
been completed.
By perform ing tapas this chakra can be awakened so that
the new planes and dimensions of consciousness are opened
up. Ajna is spiritually, psychically and practically the most
important chakra because of its overall effects on the psychic
hum an personality. Ajna is the place where divine knowledge,
knowledge of the universe, becomes known.
Psychic vision begins with a tiny internal spark or a tiny
star. By holding the hands over the eyes or by simply closing
the eyes and by becoming aware of the area around the
eyebrow centre, sparks of light like the twinkling of stars, a
large pulsating white light or a circle of coloured light can be
seen. In sleep we see dreams; in meditation we see visions.
Sometimes the most wonderful poetry seems to pour through
the mind. When we have been working and working on a
problem until completely fatigued and resigned to failure,
with a flash, and with the power of the sun, the solution
strikes. All these phenom ena involve the function of subtle
states o f m ind beyond the level o f everyday waking
consciousness. T he link between our conscious self and these
types of phenom ena is through awakening ajna chakra.
The physical aspects of ajna chakra are the pharyngeal
plexus and the pineal gland. Ajna means command. It is
variously named trikuti,jnana netra, bhrumadhya, triveni, mukta
triveni, shiva netra and brahmara guha. It is through this centre
that the guru may be communicated with, and is hence often

55
called the guru chakra; however, this is a misnomer as guru
chakra is beyond ajna and will be discussed later.
Extra sensory perception phenom ena are also perceived
th ro u g h ajna chakra. As soon as we becom e a d e p t at
communicating through an awakened ajna we gain the ability
to influence others by our thoughts and this is where ethics
and personal discipline become paramount. It is egotistically
very appealing to be able to direct your own thoughts and
wishes into the personality of others without their being
conscious of it. We can send a wish to som eone’s eyebrow
centre or into their drink or food without their knowledge.
However, these actions do have their consequences and when
someone else fulfils your wish, you are also a partner to this
and you in fact become their possession to the detrim ent of
your liberty and independence. Therefore, the intent must
be beneficial, harmless and selfless to all concerned.
W hen the power of m ind is expressed through an
awakened ajna, thoughts initiate a process culminating in
appropriate results, such is the power o f an awakened
kundalini and mind. T he sankalpa in yoga nidra is just one
exam ple of this manifestation, where a thought can be
translated into one’s life purpose or direction, and when we
are convinced something will happen, it can and does. Many
have stumbled onto this fact and begin to teach others about
such things as wealth creation, success and happiness through
the security of knowing you can have whatever you want.
Students often use affirmations or positive statements, and
absorb the ideas without developing the power of mind to
fulfil them. They become slaves to the techniques and to the
ideals of such success.
As students of yoga we know that these efforts are not at all
liberating and in fact transform life into a struggle for
achievement. T he outcomes for students of these harbingers
of success and good fortune are tensions and worries com­
pounded by a newly ignited hope and greed. Therefore, the
wise choose to udlise their powers of m ind selflessly or for the
guru’s mission, as the guru ensures there is no selfish reward.

56
 It is during deep meditation on this chakra that it can be
perceived in a form that various yogis have described
similarly. During the practice of kundalini yoga the awakening
of latent psychic energy occurs and the full glory of the
colours, forms, structures and functions of the chakras is
experienced together with the associated states o f m ind and
levels of energy and perceptive abilities.

57
 6
Ajna Chakra in the Tantras

zcording to the tantras, ajna is the sixth chakra o f the

six-chakra system; however, there are m ore than six
chakras. By includinghrit chakra as an individual eight-petalled
chakra not separate from anahata, as well as talu chakra above
vishuddhi in the throat, ajna becomes the eighth chakra.
Tantric terms for ajna include: ajnapatra (ajna with petals),
ajna-pura (ajna centre), ajna-puri (ajna centre), ajnambuja
(ajna lotus), ajna-parikaja (-lotus), jnana-padma (the lotus that
gives knowledge), dwidala (the two-petalled), dwidalambhuja
(the two-petalled lotus), dwidala kamala (the two-petalled
lotus), dwipatra (the two-petalled), bhrusaroruha (lotus in the
eyebrow centre), triveni kamala (lotus at the confluence of the
three nadis), netra padma (two-petalled lotus), netra patra
(two-petalled), bhru-mandala (eyebrow abode), bhrumadhya
(eyebrow centre), bhrumadhyaga-padma (chakra in the eyebrow
centre), bhrumadhya chakra (chakra in the eyebrow centre)
and bhrumoola (the basis of the eyebrows).
The attainm ent of the union called yoga by the awakening
of nadis, chakras and shakti using the techniques of kundalini
yoga has its most ancient origins in tantra. Many tantras
reveal descriptions of the kundalini experiences of their
authors. Pursuit in other paths of yoga does not preclude
kundalini type experiences, rather the opposite is true.
Upanishadic seers have reported and emphasized the
necessity of withdrawing the prana from the nadis of worldly

58
existence and centralizing the flow in sushumna in order to
transcend the m undane empirical experience o f time and
space. Various upanishads also reveal elements o f the chakra
system; however, the pursuit of kundalini yoga within the
tantric system must have proved more efficacious as the
tantras are more complete in their descriptions.
It is from these upanishadic seers that we can deduce
that the pursuit of classic yoga paths such as raja yoga is also
a process of kundalini yoga. Raja yoga teaches the sadhaka
to sit and withdraw from the senses (pratyahara), thus
introverting the awareness and pursuing an internal object
or process of concentration. During this process there is a
simultaneous change in the flows of prana. Most noticeably,
the equalization of breath flowing in both nostrils indicates
that the pranic flow is centralized in sushumna.
Kundalini yoga had remained relatively unknown other
than to some Sanskrit scholars and pandits until Sir Jo h n
Woodroffe, a former chief justice of Calcutta High Court,
published his translation and commentary of Acharya Swami
Poom ananda’s Sat Chakra Nirupana. Using the nom de plume
Arthur Avalon, he published The Serpent Power in 1919 and
today this text still stands out as a landmark volume, turning
the tide of interest toward the relatively easier paths for
evolution of the hum an personality.
Tantra had for many years suffered bad press. It had
been exploited for worldly selfish gain to m eet a need or
hunger for greed, success, fame and lust, until Arthur Avalon’s
books threw light on the subjects of tantra and kundalini.
T antra was regarded as a refuge for the immoral. Publication
of The Serpent Power brought respect, decency and repute,
making the subject available to the West.
Today in the West, tantra and kundalini yoga are in their
ascendancy. Acceptance that the Divine can have a multitude
of faces and forms, including that of an increasingly popular
goddess of varying forms, can be attributed to our opening
new horizons in a search for divine relations with the female
personification of God. This goddess is an appealing and

59
fascinating m ixture o f power and knowledge capable of
perform ing the most sublime as well as the most terrifying
deeds, necessary for the growth of her followers. She is well
known as Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Kali, and in the
context of kundalini yoga she comes in a host of names
and forms.
The awakening of kundalini shakti is experienced in the
form o f an aw akening serpen t o r lightning flashes in
mooladhara, and this marks the beginning of the journey to
limitless existence unconstrained by the dom inant fears,
desires and unconscious forces of the ordinary person.
Ajna is usually considered to be a single chakra; however,
there are numerous references to a series of chakras, consisting
o f ajna, manas, indu an d nirvana chakras, an d then the
awakening continues on tosahasrara. Initially it is very difficult
to become aware of ajna chakra and so we concentrate on ajna
kshetram (the eyebrow centre), which is directly connected to
ajna chakra. T hat is why it has always been an Indian custom
to place a coloured paste or powder there. This paste is made
of varying substances, including sandalwood, chalk and one
of particular interest, sindoor, which contains mercury. By
applying sindoor to the eyebrow centre a constant pressure is
exerted on the nerve that runs from the eyebrow centre
(bhrumadhya) to the medulla oblongata at the top of the spine.
It should also be m entioned here that the pineal gland is
the physical adjunct to ajna chakra, just as the pituitary
gland is the physical adjunct to sahasrara chakra. Until ajna
is awakened the qualities of sahasrara are dorm ant, and in
the same way the circadian rhythms and adult sensual and
sexual secretions of the pituitary gland are not secreted until
the degeneration of the pineal gland in pre-pubescent years.
According to Sat Chakra Nirupana, ajna is symbolized by a
two-petalled lotus which is white like the m oon. Swami
Satyananda in his book Kundalini Tantra adds to this by
saying “according to scriptures it is a pale colour, light grey
like a rainy day. Some say it is white like the moon, or silver,
but actually it is an intangible colour.”

60
 T he position of ajna is in sushumna at the level of the
eyebrow centre. T he two-petalled lotus has the Shakti Hakini
in the pericarp of ajna and above Hakini is the Itara lingam,
the shining black symbol of Shiva.

Sat Chakra Nirupanam

In the tantric texts much has been written about the chakras,
th e ir descriptions a n d the techniques used for th eir
awakening. The following seven verses taken from the Sat
Chakra Nirupanam. (description of six chakras) give a most
beautiful description o f ajna chakra. Sat Chakra Nirupanam
describes ajna as being white like the moon with even whiter
letters on the petals.
In order to facilitate an initial appreciation o f these seven
verses, only a simple and direct translation is given here only.
Please refer to the Appendix for transliteration o f each verse,
a m ore detailed tran slatio n as well as com m entaries on
each verse.

Verses 32-38
T he ajna lotus emits a cool white light. T he letters Ham (5 )
and Ksham (fti) radiate from the two petals. It shines with
the glory resultant of deepest meditation. Within is Shakti
Hakini with faces like six moons. She has six arms; two
portraying the freeing of fear and giving of boons, one
holding a book, one a skull, one a damaru and one a japa
mala. Her mind is pure. (32)
Within the lotus is the chitta. In the central triangle are the
shiva lingam and the yoni, formed by lines o f flashing
light. Here Om ($0 ) can be known, illuminating the
chitrini nadi. T he sadhaka should meditate on these with
a steady heart. (33)
The best sadhaka, who continuously meditates on this
lotus, can quickly enter another’s body, think perfectly
and attain omniscience. He becomes an expert on the

61
scriptures and a benefactor to all. He sees the oneness of
Brahman and acquires many siddhis. He can become the
master of creation, preservation and destruction. (34)
T h e triangle in the m iddle o f the chakra holds the
combination of letters forming the pranava. This atman,
which is buddhi, radiates like a flame. Above is the crescent
moon, above this is ma-kara and above this is nada which
is whiter than the moon. (35)
Within the lotus the m editator dwells detached, as in a
house hanging without support. T he m ethod is learned
through service to a param guru. When the m editation on
Om ($o) is dissolved, he sees fiery sparks above the
triangle. (36)
T hen he sees the light like a flaming lamp. It has lustre like
the m orning sun, shining between m ooladhara and
sahasrara and throughout the whole universe. H ere
Bhagavan manifests all His might. He is the perm anent
and omniscient witness, residing here in the region of fire,
moon and sun. (37)
This is the blissful abode of Vishnu. At the time of death
the perfect yogi places his prana here. After death he
enters the blissful, eternal primeval deva, the purusha,
who is known in the vedas. (38)

62
 7
Psycho-Physiological Aspects

he pineal gland is the physical concomitant of ajna

T chakra. With ajna awakening comes the dawning of
control over the effects of the lower chakras on the mind
T here is a parallel here with the function of the pineal gland
- the pineal acts to limit the stimulating effect of other
horm ones (including those related to all other chakras,
including sahasrara), thus m irroring ajna’s impact on the
mind.
For more than 2,000 years the pineal gland has been the
subject of intense philosophical speculation. It has often been
described as the receiver of subtle vibrations and telepathic
phenomena. Now, however, in the light of the most recent
medical discoveries, there is little doubt about the role the
pineal gland plays in the psychic faculties of man.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, as the sub­
continent of Australia and its surrounding territory came to
be explored, there was a flurry of interest centred upon a
lizard native to the area, the tuatara (sphenodon punctatum).
This animal is related to the extinct dinosaurs that once
roam ed the ancient continent of Gondawana when Australia,
New Zealand, the Indonesian archipelago and Tasmania
were all one land, and has survived on a few rem ote islands
near New Zealand.
T he tuatara is known for a perfectly formed third eye in
the middle of its head. In addition to two ordinary eyes

63
located on either side o f its head, the third eye buried in the
skull was revealed through an aperture in the bone, covered
by a transparent membrane, and surrounded by a rosette of
scales. It was unmistakeably a third eye, and upon dissection
contained all the anatomical parts of an eye, including the
lens and retina, yet did not fiinction as an organ of sight.
Another remarkable fact is that this lizard did not reproduce
before twenty years of age and the male of the species did
not have a penis.
Contemporary students, keen for mainstream science to
verify their spiritual convictions, may leap at the speculation
that this unusually developed ancient pineal is a feature of
ancient civilizations based on wisdom and inner knowledge.
They may also note the coincidence of total control over
sexual drives being a characteristic of high levels o f melatonin
production, the horm one produced by the pineal. However,
this has not been verified at present.
T he presence of this eye in the tuatara still poses a
puzzle to present-day evolutionists; almost all vertebrates
possess a similar structure in the centre of their skull. It is
present in many fish, all reptiles, birds and mammals,
including man. O f all the organs in the body, no other
organ has been subject to as many changes and develop­
ments in the course of evolution as the pineal gland.
Research on fossils reveals that it acted as a third physical
eye, which was sensitive to light and dark. This is evident in
extinct species such as the brontosaurus and other ancient
amphibian vertebrates.
Even in animals today, such as the frog, the pineal gland
senses light. In the course of evolution from reptiles to birds
to animals and finally to man, the eight sensory cells of the
pineal have been replaced by a much more functionally
intricate cell (parenchyma cell). In the highest vertebrates,
such as man, no light receptive cells remain in the pineal
gland, yet the function of the pineal is sensitive to the rising
and setting of the sun.

64
Pineal gland and horm one production
For some time it has been known that the production of
pineal hormones, such as melatonin, increases after dark and
production peaks between m idnight and brahm am uhurta
(two hours before sunrise). T he daily commencement and
cessation o f horm one production at times linked to the
movement of the sun is term ed circadian rhythm. Amongst
yogis and meditation practitioners, brahm am uhurta has long
been recognized as the preferred time for meditation, and so
the concurrence of peak flows of melatonin at the preferred
time of meditation is not a surprise.
The pineal is situated in the epithalamus at the centre of
the brain and receives sympathetic enervation from the
superior cervical ganglia via the conarian nerves. Simply
put, the pineal gland is found buried nearly in the centre of
the brain of any mammal. It is a white structure shaped like
a pine cone. In man it is roughly a quarter of an inch long
and weights about 100 milligrams. It is the only unpaired
organ in the brain. After puberty this gland hardens by a
process of calcification, which does not affect its fimcdoning.
Early scientists found that young boys with tumours
around the pineal gland exhibited precocious growth of
the genital organs, whereas boys with pineal tumours showed
delayed developm ent of puberty characteristics. This is
because the pineal gland’s function is inhibited by tumours
around it, but when the gland itself is tumoral, it is overactive
and thus delays pubic growth. Julius Axelrod, a world-
renowned biochemist, has shown in the laboratory that the
pineal gland is a sensidve biological clock, which uses daily
rhythms of nervous energy to stimulate endocrinal secre-
dons. This pineal stimulating nervous activity is generated
by light.
Additionally, he has discovered that the pineal gland
produces the horm one melatonin, which is not produced by
any other physical organ. He notes that melatonin decreases
the size of the ovaries in women and increases the length of
the menstrual cycle. Generally speaking, it depresses the

65
sexual function in man. It is not connected to the brain but
to the sympathetic nervous system.
In darkness, the pineal gland produces melatonin only.
After six hours of darkness the size of the pineal gland increases
and it is activated into the production of melatonin. When
light returns, the melatonin production falls off. This is similar
to the function of the pituitary gland which produces ACTH
(adrenocorticotrophic hormone), a supra-renal gland activa­
tor, between the hours of 3.00 am and 6.00 am. T he pineal
gland, which in m odern times has ceased functioning as a
light-sensing organ, is now controlled by light and darkness
through the eyes, which affect the sympathetic nervous system,
which in turn activates or deactivates the pineal gland.
In addition the pineal gland has been found to synthesize
another hormone called serotonin. This horm one is produced
during conditions of light. U nder conditions of constant
light the pineal gland ceases to produce m elatonin and
consistently produces large quantities o f serotonin. In
constant darkness, such as a darkened room , serotonin
production continues at its maximum in the daytime and its
minimum in the night, even though for the whole time it is
dark. Furthermore, it has been found that removing the eyes
of rats or severing the sympathetic nervous system has the
same effect as plunging the rat into constant darkness. T he
daily rhythm of serotonin production continues normally
under these conditions.
T he daily light cycle also plays an im portant part in the
glandular cycles of many lower animals. T he increase of
sunlight during springtime triggers the gonadal growth and
breeding cycles of many birds and mammals which breed
yearly. T he daily cycle of light and darkness synchronizes a
variety of daily rhythms in mammals such as the cycle of
adrenal sex steroid secretions. This correlates with the sun-
moon theory in yoga philosophy: the centre of the moon is
ajna and the centre o f the sun is manipura. These chakras
correspond to the physical pineal and adrenal glands
respectively.

66
Effects o f m editation
It is believed by many experienced practitioners of medita­
tion that the pineal gland and the higher nervous system
with which it is intimately connected go through a functional
change after long-term practice of meditation. This has been
recently borne out by scientific investigators doing research
on the electrical impulses of the brain. They have found that
when a person is in an ordinary waking conscious state, the
electrical waves, known as beta waves, produced by the
cerebral cortex of the brain are characteristically small and
rapid. When he closes his eyes, however, and maintains a
relaxed but aware state of mind as is done through the yoga
practices of jap a and antar mouna, there is an immediate
change in these wave formations, which become larger and
slower. These waves are known as alpha waves and their
presence has been noted in both beginners and advanced
practitioners of meditation.
Yogis, Zen B uddhist monks and o th er experienced
meditators have been found to experience an even larger,
slower type of wave which is called the theta wave. It is
interesting to note that these theta waves are normally found
only in epileptics at the time when they are having grande
mal seizures. One possible explanation for this is that when
there are epileptic fits, the lower nervous system takes over
complete control of the body, and the higher m ind remains
completely relaxed, as it is during states of deep meditation.
T he state of meditation also brings about many other
physiological changes which are measured side by side with
the EEG brain wave measurements. The influence of a state
of meditational consciousness emitting alpha waves is to lower
the heartbeat, decrease oxygen consumption by the body
cells, reduce carbon dioxide elimination, slow down metabo­
lism and relax the activity of the sympathetic nervous system.
T h e blood lactate falls m ost dram atically, and this is
characteristically high in people suffering from nervous tension
and neurosis. In meditation, that is, in the state during which
the m ind emits alpha waves, a process which opposes the

67
mechanisms of the adrenaline secretory system comes about.
This enables the body to operate in a less tense manner.
A nother group of researchers have been investigating
psychic ph enom ena in m an, particularly the relationship
between extra sensory perception and alpha wave activity. An
experim ent was run where many people had to guess which
card was inside a closed box. Psychologists found, using
statistical tests, that when a person closes his eyes and con­
centrates on any object his alpha waves increase, and those
people who emit more alpha waves were able to recognize, more
often, the cards inside the box. When alpha wave emission was
low, however, as it is normally with many people or when the
eyes are opened, the card guessing was just chance.
T he subjects of the experiment described their state of
mind when alpha activity was predom inant. They all agreed
that it was a rather pleasant feeling with the m ind vacant and
they e x p erien ced an a ttitu d e o f se p ara tio n from the
surroundings. When the subjects happened to open their
eyes under these conditions they could see that environmental
objects were disconnected from themselves. This describes
the yogic meditational state oipratyahara or sense withdrawal,
and the increase in the psychic capacities shown under these
conditions correlates with the capacities of a person who has
awakened ajna, who has the capacity to see distant objects
with his divine third eye.
The panacea for most m odern diseases is the alpha brain
wave, which restores the body and m ind to a peaceful
condition and opposes the anachronistic emergency reactions
which are still going on in our bodies. In the m odem society,
life is no more subjected to attack by wild animals or by
savage tribes; however, the ancient adrenaline secretory
mechanism which guards the body against such emergencies
reacts to m odem dangers in the same old way.
Today, m an’s dangers are usually in the form of fear of
financial crisis, fear o f loss of position and family troubles
etc. Though these tensions of m odem society are unreal
dangers to life, to the tense mind they appear to be real. As

68
these m odem day dangers are limidess and never ending
many people’s bodies react continuously, and in so doing
drain energy, pipe up tensions and cause physiological and
mental diseases. In addition, through over use, m an’s greatest
defence mechanism is becoming worn out, and many people
find themselves unable to cope when a really dangerous
situation occurs. This fact is evident from the rising num ber
of victims of shock brought about by having to suddenly face
truly dangerous, unaccustomed situations. What the doctors
and scientists are now saying is that meditation is the only
cure for these conditions.
From ancient times, rishis, munis and yogis have been
saying that meditation leads to peace of mind, and it has
always been associated with the spiritual quest. Yogis, who
are scientists of the subtle mind, have always spoken of
telepathy as a siddhi, a psychic power for thought com­
munication and clairaudience. T he medium of such siddhis
is ajna, and its physical terminus is the pineal gland, which is
connected to the brain.
It has been stated by great yogis such as Swami Sivananda
that the pineal gland is the receptor and sender of the subtle
vibrations which carry thoughts and psychic phenom ena
throughout the cosmos. T he pineal gland converts brain
waves into subtle electrical signals travelling faster than the
speed of light, which are stored in the individual brain.
Persons who have developed such faculties as subtle hearing
and sight have done so by virtue of ajna’s transmutation of
their increased alpha wave activity.
M odem man is intellectual and prefers to base his life on
scientific facts rather than beliefs in ancient culture, ancient
scriptures and teachings by pandits, monks, rabbis and priests
of religions. Today, the only accepted fact is a scientific fact,
and the scientific experim ent described earlier proves that it
is not coincidence but actual fact that some people, who have
a meditative mind, whose brain waves are predominantly
alpha, can predict and have knowledge of outer and inner
events which are beyond the reach of the senses.

69
 T he psychic powers which so many people strive to attain
through the various practices of meditation such as m antra
repetition and other types of sadhana are the very first
signs of a spiritual aspirant moving on the path. Although
the pure spiritual aspirant denies himself the use of these
powers, lest they lead to his downfall, these inner faculties
are in each and every one of us. We only have to do the
practices for awakening the higher centres in the brain which
are associated with ajna in order to open these doorways to
new experiences.
Thus, ajna and the pineal gland act as the channels
through which the subtle vibrations are sent out into the
cosmos, or are received. Ajna is the best known and most
respected chakra; it has always been held in high esteem and
probably the best known practices of meditation are designed
to awaken ajna and increase the activity of the pineal gland.
Persons who enjoy excessive sexual stimulation will have
more difficulty in attaining siddhis and may have trouble in
maintaining the siddhis they have attained. This fact is well
known amongst all spiritual aspirants and is in harmony
with the effect of the pineal gland regulating the activity of
the sexual function.
However, nothing in life is absolute and sexual abstinence
for those idealists who are not sufficiendy pure may actually
be more harmful than helpful in their progress in meditation.
Often such aspirants find the effort required to halt sexual
activity to be so difficult or indeed impossible that under­
standable lapses occur yet are fraught with tensions and
guilt. Therefore, one should abstain when abstinence would
not be a struggle.

Research on the pineal gland

Serena Roney-Dougal is a parapsychologist who has written
many papers on the function of the pineal gland in the
chakra system. A three part series, ‘On a Possible Psycho­
physiology of the Yogic Chakra System’ was republished in
the Sivananda Math journal, YOGA (May, July, September

70
2000). H er work validates the role of m elatonin during
meditative states.
Roney-Dougal writes that the main function of the pineal
gland is to make neuro-hormones, which affect both the brain
and the body. T he pineal works with the pituitary through
the hypothalamus, controlling the endocrine system. It is one
of the regulators of our circadian rhythm, is implicated in our
emotional state, reproductive function, possibly dream sleep
and in certain psychoses. Melatonin is the best studied of the
pineal neuro-hormones and was first isolated from cattle in
1963. Before this the pineal was generally considered in the
West to be vestigial: Amphibians and reptiles have light
sensitive cells in the pineal gland, which for them is literally
a light sensitive third eye at the top of the brain. In humans,
fibres from the inferior accessory optic tract go to the pineal;
these are separate from the main optic tract bundle, which
suggests that the light sensitivity of the pineal is not necessarily
related to sight (Eichler, 1985).
T he pineal gland is shaped like a tiny pinecone and is
thus aptly named. O lder texts describe this vestigial organ as
a relic from our reptilian past. Serena Roney-Dougal is unique
in her description of the physical aspects of ajna as a bilobed
(two lobes or two petals) and a joining of the two glands,
pituitary and pineal; the established system is to ascribe the
physical concomitant o f sahasrara to the pituitary and that of
ajna to the pineal.
Most people have heard of the pituitary gland, often
known as the ‘master gland’ in that the hormones it makes
exert a controlling effect on the endocrine organs. We can
think of the pituitary as being an ‘on switch’ and the pineal
as being an ‘off switch’ (the mistress gland) in that it works
with the pituitary by switching off the endocrine organs.
The form of ajna is traditionally depicted as bilobed and
we can understand this to be the joining of the two glands,
pituitary and pineal, which makes very good sense from a
neuro-endocrinological point of view. This makes much better
sense than assigning the pituitary to sahasrara, the crown

71
chakra, as some systems do, since sahasrara is better under­
stood as the culminadon of everything, the whole rather
than any of the parts. Just as mooladhara is considered to be
the top chakra of animals and the bottom of humans, so
sahasrara can be understood as the top chakra of humanity
and the bottom chakra of the divine order of being.
T here is a large body of scientific evidence suggesting that
the pineal gland produces a chemical in the brain that enhances
psychic paranorm al or meditative states. Roney-Dougal says,
“Neurochemical and anthropological evidence suggests that
the pineal gland may produce a n e u ro -m o d u lato r that
enhances a psi-conducive state of consciousness.” An abstract
o f this research was presented at the Parapsychological
Association Convention in 1985 (Roney-Dougal, 1986). For
full details of this research see Roney-Dougal (1988, 1989,
1990, 1991, 1993). In brief, the pineal gland has been found
to synthesize various beta-carbolines and peptides, and to
contain enzymes that produce psycho-active compounds such
as 5-methoxy dimethyltryptamine (5MeODMT). “T he two
precursors that are most likely to be involved in the synthesis
of such compounds are serotonin (5-hydroxy tryptamine, 5HT)
and tryptamine. These have wide-ranging effects throughout
our brain and body, affecting the gonads, adrenals, pancreas,
thyroid, and o th er em otional and endocrine activities.”
(Strassman, 1990)
At this stage of the discussion it is appropriate to view a
historical perspective on the developm ent o f scientific
knowledge of the functioning of the pineal gland. It was first
found that melatonin was a horm one manufactured by the
pineal gland in 1959 by Dr Aaron Lerner at Yale University.
He concluded that melatonin must have been the result of
the reaction of certain enzymes upon serotonin, which must
have pre-existed in the pineal gland. Serotonin is not an
unusual chemical in nature; it is found in many places,
including plants such as bananas, figs and plums.
Professor E.J. Gaddum at the University of Edinburgh was
the first to note a connection between serotonin and mental

72
states of being. In a paper published in 1953 he pointed out
that LSD-25 was a potent antagonist to serotonin. LSD-25 was
said to be the drug for altering the mind and inducing mental
states free from the mentally limiting encumbrance of social
and environmental patterns. T he experience was term ed
transcendental and likened to the death of the ego as portrayed
by Dr Timothy Leary and others who were the leaders of the
‘hippy culture’ of the 1970s.
Subsequently, it was found that LSD occupies serotonin
receptor sites, for a brief time suppressing the action of
serotonin. This is followed by a surge in serotonin concen­
trations, giving rise to the so-called LSD experience, which is
the psi experience. This is in agreem ent with the reported
experience some 20-30 minutes after ingesting LSD. T he
initial ‘high’ is reported to be peaceful, totally relaxed as if
bathed in golden light and certainly out of this world, and is
followed by a trip through the unconscious with a myriad of
patterns and images. T h e LSD practitioner is likely to experi­
ence the ordinary m ind of everyday hum drum conditioned
existence as something shallow, unreal and separate from
them, and with this there is the realization that within lies a
glorious and deep existence, which is the truth. From this the
alternative hippy culture sprang and many am ong their ranks
took to spiritual disciplines so that the experience of the truth
could live with them.
Julius Axelrod has studied the roles of melatonin and its
precursor serotonin, and found that melatonin suppresses
physiological sexuality in mammals. Test animals were stimu­
lated to manufacture excessive amounts of melatonin, which
resulted in their gonads and ovaries shrinking, atrophying.
The oestrous or fertility cycle in females could likewise be
altered experimentally by doses of melatonin.
Axelrod also discovered that the pineal gland produces
chemicals to a circadian rhythm; by altering light conditions
he could extend, contract, or even stabilize the chemical
production rhythms o f the pineal. So the pineal gland
research to date has uncovered three basic points:

73
1. The pineal produces melatonin, which is associated with
the internal unconscious and subconscious experiences
similar to the experiences of meditation.
2. Melatonin suppresses sexuality and the functionality of
the sexual organs, creating a balance with the sexually
stimulating effect o f other horm ones and o f external
conscious or worldly life. T h e literature o f religious
mysticism in all ages and all societies has viewed carnal
passion as the antagonist of the ecstasy o f spiritual
experience.
3. The production of melatonin is regulated by light; in the
absence of light at night production is at its highest.
T he fact that the pineal responds to light, even if this
response is indirect via the central nervous system, has some
fascinating and far-reaching conceptual applications. There
are many behavioural changes which overtake animals as the
seasons change, and which can be produced out of season in
the laboratory by simulating the appropriate span of artificial
daylight. This poses the question, “Do such seasonal changes
in mood and behaviour persist in humans?”
Greg Tooley is a researcher on the effects o f meditation
on melatonin levels in the blood. He works at the School of
Psychology, La T ro b e University, B undoora, Victoria,
Australia. During the proceedings of the 1996 World Yoga
Convention held in Sydney, he reported that his research
showed that:
• Melatonin production peaked at around midnight.
• T he production level of m elatonin increases with the
num ber of years of meditation practice of each subject.
In a subsequent research paper (G.A. Tooley et al, 2000,
Biological Psychology, 53, 69-78, 71), Tooley describes some of
the health benefits o f m elatonin and reports on previous
research (Panzer and Viljoen, 1997), on immunoaugmentation
(Maestronietal, 1986), and anti-ageing (Maestronietal, 1989):
“Although these properties have not yet been clearly
established in humans, the fact that m elatonin has been
found to be an extremely potent antioxidant and free-radical

74
scavenger (Reiter et al, 1997) suggests that it may have an
important role in reducing the cellular damage associated
with the wear and tear of normal day to day life. In this
context it is interesting to note that anti-cancer (Solberg et
al, 1995; Meares, 1979), immunoaugmenting (Wallace, 1989),
anti-ageing (Wallace et al,1982) and anti-stress (Jevning et
al, 1978a,b; MacLean et al, 1997) properties have also been
claimed in relation to meditation. While the validity of the
anti-cancer and anti-ageing claims in particular are debatable,
the parallels with those made for melatonin are intriguing,
and invite speculation that one of the mechanisms by which
meditation might achieve some of its health benefits may be
through an effect on circulating melatonin levels. With the
above in mind, the following investigations were undertaken
in order to test whether a period of meditation could acutely
affect plasma melatonin levels.”
In simple language this means that melatonin has the
effect of anti-ageing, anti-stress, boosting the immune system
and can be helpful in the treatm ent of cancer as well as
repairing the cellular dam age caused by the stresses and
strains of worldly life. These benefits run parallel to the benefits
of meditation and replicate the conclusions drawn in a much
earlier book by H erbert Benson titled Relaxation Response. In
this book the effects of meditation were measured by fourteen
physiological functions such as heart rate, blood pressure,
lactic acid content, electrical conductivity of the skin, etc. At
the time of the book (1976) the benefits of melatonin were
not known; however, the benefits of m editation were just
starting to come into the view of medical research.

75
 8
Psychic and Mystic Concepts

n recent years it has come to light that about one person

Iclothes,
in fifty cannot recall faces. Often if a person changes
pulls their hair back or puts a hat on, they become
unrecognizable to those who suffer from this problem .
Research has revealed that such people do not look at the
eyebrow centre when trying to recognize people. Further it
has been found that by training people to concentrate on
the eyebrow centre, the incapacity diminishes remarkably.
O ne can now speculate w hether it is the features we
recognize or w hether we connect m ore subtle features
through ajna.
Ajna is the comm and centre of the psychic body and it
lies in the exact centre o f the brain. It is most readily perceived
directly behind the eyebrow centre in the region of the
frontal sinuses, and its second centre of perception is in the
medulla oblongata at the top of the spinal column. Sahasrara
lies in the metacortex, or higher brain. Connecting these
two centres is the mahanada, which arises out of the dissolution
of the three nadis: ida, pingala and sushumna, through which
subtle currents flow. When a sadhaka enters into meditation,
the force of willpower brings the subtle energies into motion
and when contacted with the m ind’s awareness, they appear
in the form of light.
This light in m editation is first seen in a circular form
and sometimes like the flame of a candle and is a sign of the

76
aspirant advancing on the path. Often people interpret the
vision of light in ajna as a very significant sign, bestowing
wisdom, knowledge, bliss and greatness; but this interpre­
tation is incorrect. The true light of knowledge, called samadhi,
is beyond all experience. It is of the highest spiritual order
and is the aim of all true yogis. In this state there is no
beginning or end, just infinite truth, consciousness and bliss.
T he light of ajna, however, is an experience that marks the
beginning of psychic life, and the light of knowledge, once
dawned, is an experience from which there is no return.
When it comes about, the sadhaka is advised to practise
meditation, with awareness on this point, until his con­
sciousness merges with the light.
T he m ore accomplished sadhaka often sees the two
charged particles of ajna as two petals of the ajna padma
(lotus). T he reason for the appearance of the two petals
surrounding a circular form is that this chakra is the meeting
point of the three principal nadis: ida, pingala and sushumna.
These three nadis terminate near the brahmarandhra at the
top of the skull, a little above ajna.

N adis and prana

These nadis are the psychic equivalents of the sympathetic
(SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) nervous systems, which
control all the involuntary functions such as heartbeat,
digestion, glandular secretion and peristalsis. In general the
PNS is the inhibitor of these functions, slowing down
metabolism, and the SNS is the sdmulator, speeding these
functions up. When a greater amount of air flows through
the right nostril, pingala tends to be stimulated. This has a
heating effect on the body, with the SNS speeding up
metabolism. When m ore air flows through the left nostril,
ida tends to be stimulated with a resultant cooling effect and
metabolic slowdown.
Pingala is related to the physical aspect of existence and
ida to the mental aspect. In most people there is a daily cycle
of alternate stimulation of ida and pingala, with each cycle

77
lasting anywhere between one and four hours. In well-
balanced individuals there is an equal flow in both during a
day and the changes correspond to daily cycles of moods
and activities. Sick or mentally disturbed persons generally
have this system out of balance, as can be noted in the case of
high-strung neurotics whose right nostrils are always more
open, or of severely depressed persons whose left nostrils
tend to flow.
T he connecting link between the breath, the mind and
the psychic body is the olfactory bulb and the limbic formation
of the brain, which is connected to the pineal gland. This
olfactory bulb, which is also the organ of smell, senses which
nostril is flowing and relays this information to the rest of
the brain. It is a very complex organ, with thousands of
nerve connections leading to all parts of the nervous system,
for which neurologists cannot find any functional purpose.
It has two lobes, one directly over each nostril.
The science of swarayoga deals direcdy with this alternating
flow of forces. In its practice the flow is noted by the aspirant,
who is able to balance it o r change it from ida to pi ngala or vice
versa, often by exerting physical pressure at a point directly
below the arm pit. T his is often done in conjunction with
pranayama practices in which the breath alternates between
the two nostrils in certain prescribed ratios based on the time
unit (matra) of approxim ately one second. An advanced
example of a pranayama ratio is given in chapter 9.
It is through these nadis that the prana can be drawn up
from m anipura to ajna and then distributed to any part of
the body or to other bodies. It is through them that the vital
energy flows, which is so necessary for mental and physical
work. Through the practices of pranayama and ajapa japa
these nadis are purified and prana flows easily. By virtue of
special sadhanas, spiritual aspirants can awaken prana shakti
in the body and it is on this energy alone that they can find
strength to combat disease, to live on poor diets, to maintain
long hours of sadhana and to work hard for years and years
without a rest.

78
 Yogis who have tapped this source of energy never suffer
from a lack of it and perform miraculous feats of healing.
T heir work and efforts are selfless; it is all for others. T heir
tireless efforts, involving continual mental and physical selfless
work for the whole of their very long lives, ensure expansion
in every aspect of their being. Sadhana and service is the way
to expand out of the limited self to the unlimited selfless self.
T he energy that lifts the jum bo je t into the air, the
energy we use to carry loads, the energy to move stool through
the intesunes, to inhale and exhale, or to pum p blood around
the body is all the same energy. This energy is prana. Mind
is the controller of prana, body is the motor and prana is its
driving force.
The prana in the body is stored in m anipura and the seat
of the cosmic mind is ajna. In psychic healing processes, prana
is drawn up from m anipura to ajna and then directed to the
required point. It is through the power of will that the mind
has the capacity to direct the prana. T he prana store is always
replenished by an involuntary and spontaneous process. As
prana is connected with the sun and mind with the moon,
action on the physical plane which fimcdons under volition is
lunar and action which functions reflexively is solar.

Nectar o f im mortality
Sun is said to be in the navel region, with face downwards,
emitting poisons leading to mortality. By yoga practices we
come to discover a flower in the throat (vishuddhi) and this
flower can be turned upward to emit soma, the nectar of
immortality. Soma rises up to ajna, the seat o f the moon,
where it is converted into astral fluid.
This is described in the Yoga Shikha Upanishad (5:32-33):
“The potential energy of the universe is the energy which
has its aspect in man. T he fire in the sky, which is the sun,
corresponds to the fire in the navel region of man. In the
navel the sun is poison, but when it is directed upwards, it
begins to produce nectar. The moon is at the root of the
palate, which drops nectar downwards.”

79
 Further, in Gheranda Samhita (3:28-31) it is said: “Sun is
located in the root of the navel and moon is located in the
root of the palate. T he nectar coming out of the moon is
absorbed by the sun and so do men die. Direct the sun
upwards and bring the moon downwards. This is vipareeta
karani mudra, the secret of all tantras. Place the head on the
ground along with both the arms. Direct the legs upward
keeping the head fixed on the floor. It is vipareeta karani
m udra as opined by the yogins. Daily practice of vipareeta
karani m udra keeps death and old age away, and even
disturbances of nature never affect him. He becomes a siddha
of all worlds.”
T he physical secretions of the thyroid, pituitary, pineal
and adrenal glands are controlled through this practice.
Soma is the most precious bodily product and yogis practise
khechari m udra as well as vipareeta karani m udra in order
to preserve the secretion. Yogis, who make the fluid drop
down the nasal roof by raising the tongue in the palatal
cavity above the soft palate, thus tasting it, are immune to
poisons and snake bites. Soma is usually referred to as amrit
and amrit is translated as nectar of immortality. A direct
translation is ‘not m ortal’, meaning immortal.
Actually the m oon centre is above the palate, which
corresponds to the physiological site of the glands. T he
secretion coming out o f the palatal gland is absorbed and
dried by the heat of the glands in the lower region. If the
secretion coming out o f the palate is preserved somehow,
the tissues of the body will not undergo a speedy decay.
Mind, soma and astral fluid are all associated with the
moon centre of ajna. Soma and astral fluid give strength to
the mind; this strength is required for bearing the austerities
of spiritual life. By conversion of the precious fluids from
m anipura into soma, the nectar can be tasted in the back of
the mouth from the root of the palate. This effect changes
the entire structure o f the body. Many yogis who have
perfected this practice reach very high levels of consciousness,
attain many siddhis and live very long. They enjoy perfect

80
health and great strength to bear and enjoy the severe
austerities of ascetic life. These yogis often live high in the
mountains, under severe conditions of cold without clothing,
living quarters or fire for warmth, eating only two or three
rods (round flat bread) and some dal and water daily. Many
yogis living in isolation, under these conditions, have reached
ages of 200 and 300 years.

Power o f ajna
These practices that preserve the secretion o f soma are
difficult to perfect quickly and must be practised regularly
over a period of time in order to achieve perfection. These
practices must be done in conjunction with other kinds of
sadhana. The combined effect of these sadhanas will keep
the mind fresh and alert so that much energy can be directed
towards ajna. The awakened chakra supplements the other
sadhanas; the mental power of such a mind is great, and
progress in sadhana is fast. The light of ajna is awakened
and bum s with increasing brilliance until it acquires the
brilliance of a thousand suns.
The white light of ajna is infinitely powerful. By force of
will one can take one’s consciousness to distant places and
thus obtain knowledge of other objects. This is the divine
light through which religious seekers see visions of their
God. By awakening ajna the actual form of the astral bodies
can be perceived. Telepathy, clairvoyance, dairaudience and
intuition all function through this chakra. By meditation on
ajna one gets the siddhis to satisfy any desire and the
command made through ajna must be fulfilled. For this
reason it is called ajna, meaning command.
T he light arising from ajna during meditation, which
arises from the power of mind, is known as prana loka.
Simultaneously, will arises from chitta and enters the intellect
and' the desire for knowledge follows. Thus, from ajna, will
sends its vibrations out into the cosmos and comes into
contact with the required object, giving satisfaction to the
desire through ajna. This is the power of positive thinking

81
and the postulation of a principle that ‘thoughts create things’
- the universe will surely reward you in harmony with your
own will. Those who have opened this passage by awakening
ajna and combine this with a trained mind will achieve great
deeds and are recognized as truly great people who can
build missions or even empires.
Ajna is the channel o f sankalpa shakti, power o f resolution.
Here yogis make their sankalpa and achieve their aims;
great yogis can give blessings to humanity, send out messages
for universal peace and goodwill. T heir success is not born
out of extraordinarily strong willpower, but because ajna is
awakened, offering a channel for the will to o p erate
throughout the universe.
This power can be used destructively as well as creatively.
The performance of many of the black tantric rituals can
bring sickness, death, destruction of crops due to floods or
hailstorms, financial ruin and so on. This is the same power
that operates through ajna.

Pineal gland
Early research on the pineal gland in m an showed that the
pineal cells were ocular in nature. As man evolved, the third
eye ceased to function as a physical eye and the brain
developed aro un d it. Early m an was not intellectually
developed and his livelihood depended mainly on instinct
and intuition, both o f which operate through ajna. T he
pineal gland is connected with the SNS, which controlled
most of early m an’s movements, as his central nervous system
(CNS) had not been adequately developed. Thus the SNS
and the life of early m an were largely affected by surgings of
the astral body. As m an evolved, the functions of the SNS
become subordinate and the CNS developed. In this way the
astral body became subordinate, although it still continues
to function by sending its impulses through the physical
terminal of the pineal gland into the brain.
Modern man can now, with his well-proportioned brain
and evolved state, be ready to take advantage of the astral

82
knowledge. Because the intellectual processes and the CNS
became dominant, the psychic functioning of m an suffered,
or underwent a process of involution.
T he pineal gland serves as a physical organ for the
transmission of thought form from one brain to another or
from higher levels to the brain. But the awareness of this
knowledge and the awareness of its mode of communication
is often lacking, because most people are not aware of these
higher levels of consciousness and their faculties are engaged
with mental processes and emotions. Many people are sensitive
to the phenom ena of higher planes, but their lack of awareness
is due to the absence o f the connecting links with the SNS. A
person may be awake on the astral plane and functioning
actively thereon, but if the connections between the physical
and the astral systems have not been made, there is a break in
consciousness. However vivid may be the consciousness on
the astral plane it cannot, until the links are functioning,
bring through and impress on the physical brain the memory
of higher consciousness experiences.
T he evidence of the third eye used as a psychic eye is not
rare, but is universally accepted by most cultures ancient and
modern. Most prom inent significance must be attributed to
Hindus who perform a ritual, at least once a day, which includes
placing a spot of coloured powder (tilaka) at the eyebrow
centre. Many H indu wom en wear this m ark to indicate
marriage. Hindu sadhus often mark their eyebrow centre
with the trident of Lord Shiva, indicating that this is the place
of confluence of the three great energies, ida, pingala and
sushumna, and the hom e of Shiva, the symbol of cosmic
consciousness in man. Ajna is the trikuti (e.g. the meeting
point of three lines) of Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, three
sacred rivers in India, symbolic of ida, pingala and sushumna.
When Roman Catholics genuflect before the cross, they
make the sign of the cross with their fingers; the top of the
cross is at ajna. Buddhists signify their reverence to ajna by
placing a precious jewel or ornam ent at the eyebrow centre
on statues of Lord Buddha. T he intricate arrangem ent of

83
head-dress worn by the American Indians consists of multi­
coloured feathers attached to an ornam ented headband. T he
arrangem ent and ornam entation of the band is symmetric
above the eyebrow centre. Those members of the community
who develop greater psychic faculties are entitled to wear
larger head-dresses with more dazzling arrangements. T he
colours represent the aura that emanates from this chakra.
T he ancient Egyptian head-dress has an upraised serpent at
the site of the eyebrow centre. T he serpent itself has a spiritual
significance, which is emphasized by its position.

Correlations between psychology and yoga

According to yogis, the ability to have knowledge about
objects that cannot usually be perceived is a siddhi and
indeed, not only yogis but also many people are capable of
extra sensory perception (ESP). Many people have dreams
about future events in their life and pick up the thoughts of
those around them or, from their unconscious higher selves,
receive messages of philosophical or spiritual content which,
at the time of receiving, are pregnant with deeper meaning.
Many people are highly intuitive by way o f intuitive
flashes coming across the m ind or, without thinking, by
automatically doing the right thing at the right time. T he
yogi has not developed his science so that he can explore
and develop these psychic phenomena, but rather, so that
he can systematically and accurately gain the scientific
knowledge of body and mind, a necessary precursor for a
higher life.
Alpha wave predom inance in the brain relates to the ESP
capacity of the individual. During meditation the mind is
turned inward away from the senses and the sense objects,
and a state of tranquillity is reached where the m ind is
relaxed and its attention is fixed on an internal object. By
pursuing this practice the scope of the m ind expands beyond
the physical barriers, its power or radiations are channelled
through ajna and supersensory knowledge comes to the
mind of the practitioner.

84
 Scientists have used delicate electronic instruments to
measure the conditions of meditation on ESP, whereas yogis
have developed and refined their own mental capacities,
and are thus able to experience and observe the same
conditions for m editation on ESP. T he only difference
between the scientific and yogic points o f view is the
terminology.
T he solar plexus is thus named because this centre is
responsible for heat in the body. It is through this plexus in
the autonom ic nervous system (ANS) that the digestive
process is stimulated. T he SNS (pingala) and PNS (ida) meet
in the eyebrow centre and flow out through the nostrils.
When the right nostril is flowing, pingala is flowing and the
physical or masculine aspect of m an is functioning. T he
common characteristic of the physical aspect is action. For
digestion, excretion, hard physical effort and rapid heartbeat,
pingala nadi gives best efficiency w hereas to a ttem p t
meditation under these conditions is extremely difficult. On
the other hand, when the left nostril is flowing, ida is flowing,
the female aspect of life is predom inant and meditation or
mental activities are preferred.
When we are agitated, excited or in a state of fear,
adrenaline is pum ped into the bloodstream, increasing the
heartbeat, breathing rate, and in general creating great
physical stren gth , tension and instinctive reactions to
situations. This is the ‘poison’ which many people constantly
run their lives on. Always seeking thrills and excitement,
always fearing the possible losses and defeats in life, they
have no time for a mental life or for meditational practices.
This ‘poison’, recorded in scriptures 5,000 years ago, is
m odern m an’s num ber one killer and is the root cause of
heart attack.
T he adrenaline system functioned in early man on an
instinctive level so that when his life was being threatened,
he had this speedy secretion of adrenaline horm one to give
him the necessary strength to fight or flee. In m odem society,
such threats are an anachronism. However, m an is so attached

85
to the symbols of his status within society that any threat to
his position can set the adrenaline pum ping into his blood
stream for weeks and months at a time. On the short term
basis, this state of tension produces toxins in the body, and
the need for frequent release of tension and removal of
toxins is marked by the necessity of m odem m an to have
frequent sexual intercourse.
T he characteristics of soma are the exact opposite to that
of adrenaline; it has the characteristic of the moon, the
mental or cooling aspect. It has been described how, through
the practices of yoga, the poisons going into the body may be
averted and the astral fluid may be converted into mind-
stuff. Actually there is no scientific evidence for the presence
of soma; however, the carefully m easured physiological
changes brought about by meditation and certain asanas
that have been studied in detail show that the bodily changes
tend toward moon characteristics in humans and exactly
counter the effects of the adrenaline system. In yoga, this
cooling condition is created by moving the prana from its
central storehouse at m anipura to ajna, where it is turned
into mental energy. T he techniques will be described in
chapter 9.
This is why millions of people all around the world are
finding a new pleasure in freedom from disease and
relaxation of mental and physical tensions by the practice of
yoga. In order to ensure good health m odem m an does not
have to give up his work, his business and seek a peaceful life
in health resorts, forests and lovely places. With this latest
knowledge of yoga he can confidendy, with a few simple
daily practices, offset the tension of apparent threats which
buffet him every day.

Brahmamuhurta
Brahmamuhurta is that time in the early morning, which is
best for yoga practices. It is a Sanskrit word m eaning the
im portant time for Brahman. Brahman refers to the highest
cosmic consciousness, which is that all pervading awareness

86
to which all beings are evolving either consciously or
unconsciously - that infinite all pervading consciousness that
is the same within and without every being and everything.
Yoga practices are designed to raise m an’s consciousness
above the world so that he can transcend this objective
universe and his mind can remain within his subtle spheres
of consciousness. Muhurta means auspicious time.
In India people say that between 4.00 am and 6.00 am is
brahm amuhurta, which is why many Hindus and all yogis
get up around 3 am, evacuate their bowels, clean their mouth,
throat, pharynx, nasal tract, tongue and then do some asanas,
pranayam a and m ed itatio n . T hese peo ple develop a
wonderful tem peram ent and their daily life is lived with
vitality and awareness. They are not bothered by ill health,
tiredness or weakness.
Previously it was mentioned that at the time of brahm a­
m uhurta the pineal gland is active. Having swelled to its
maximum size, the secretions of melatonin are taken into
the blood and absorbed by the gonads, which in turn inhibits
the sexual function, allowing the aspirant to keep his mind
in the subtle planes o f consciousness. This is a time of
tranquillity and perfect relaxation of mental and physical
tensions when g reat benefits can be gained. D uring
brahm am uhurta the pituitary gland has its daily cycle of
ACTH secretion, ACTH being one of the hormones of the
pituitary gland. This horm one passes through the blood
and stimulates the adrenal gland which, in turn, secretes
sufficient adrenaline to the body so that it becomes filled
with vital energy for the day’s work. People who sleep
through these precious hours merely bum up the valuable
secretions and eliminate the energy through the physical
body.
Arising early and practising yoga or just being awake and
singing devotional songs is sufficient to charge the mind to
the point where the excess energies, otherwise wasted through
the physical system, are sublimated. These excess energies
are evident as physical tension, very strong sexual desires,

87
overheating of the body and frequent fever. It also manifests
in the personality in the form of greed, compulsive eating,
restlessness and sleeplessness.
T he East has been aware for thousands o f years of the
spiritual and psychic importance of brahm am uhurta, and now
the West has completed the picture with the discovery of the
physical importance of the time from 3.30 am to 6.00 am .T et
the people of the world arise at this magical hour, take a bath
or shake off their tiredness, then go for a brisk walk, being
constantly aware of their own movements, their breath and
the passing scenery, sounds and smells. Everyone wanting a
clear mind should get up at brahmamuhurta.

88
 9
Yoga Practices for Awakening
Ajna Chakra

nong the thousands of meditation techniques in yoga

there are many practices for awakening this important
ajna chakra. In all these meditation techniques it is required
that one moves the awareness from the outer objective
environment to the inner. T he inner awareness is not different
to the outer; the mind and senses have merely been withdrawn
or partially withdrawn from the external environment. This
inner awareness is always there, but the mind does not notice
inner events when it is functioning with the outer objects.
T he complete withdrawal of the mind and the senses from
the outer objects is called pratyahara.
By simply attem pting to control the mind it is very difficult
to withdraw it from the senses, but by using some inner
form, sound or symbol, the mind will gradually turn inward
and o u ter awareness will dim inish. W hen the state o f
pratyahara is complete, when outer awareness has diminished
to a point and then disappeared, the practitioner will not
function on the external plane at all. He can be tapped with
a stick, his name can be called, a sweet can be placed on his
tongue, incense can be burnt, but he will not know about any
of these events. This is an advanced stage of pratyahara and
beginners will not be able to completely withdraw their
awareness; however, this does not prevent them from
proceeding with the meditation practices.

89
 In fact, it is only by doing daily practice with strict
regularity that the m ind is trained so that, as the months
pass by, the inner awareness gradually increases as the outer
awareness diminishes. A beginner is advised to select his
practices and perform them over a length of time that can
be easily repeated day after day. Many beginners start out
adventurously by sitting for one hour every morning, but
soon the mind becomes tired and the joy of practising yoga
turns into a burden and many days are missed. It is far
better to do just a fifteen minute sitting every m orning and
night, with meticulous regularity, than a one hour sitting
four days a week.
It is written in the upanishads that the state of mind
while practising mediation is like boiling hot water; when
the fire is withdrawn for a short time, it takes much longer to
boil the water again after replacing the fire. Many gurus who
know about the path o f meditation say that to miss one
practice in the daily routine is to revert right back to the
beginning. In this way, months and years of effort can be lost
in one day.
Actually, progress in the practices is not at all regular.
Some days the mind goes very deep and some days it is so
distracted by thoughts and feelings that the aspirant feels
like stopping the practice because he thinks he is not suited.
This is a misconception, for success comes to all who persist,
but they must cling to their resolve to regularly do the
practices with tenacity and zeal. The m ind is like all other
things in man, every day a little different.
T he path of meditation practice is like the mountain
path; the peaks are dazzling and illum inating, yet the
d epressions are fogged up with the vacillations an d
vicissitudes of the mind. On some days the m ind is your
friend and on other days it will lead you astray. It will tell you
tales that will sound so convincing that definitely you will
think it right, proper and just to give up the practices. If you
are observant, you will not have to deny the m ind; just watch
it like a silent witness, silent in the knowledge that you will

90
continue your practices. However, if you are not aware of the
nature of the mind, you will have to proceed by the strength
of resolve to daily continue the practice.
Note: To learn these yogic techniques correctly and in
order to actually feel the individual effect of each instruction,
it is recom m ended that the practices be learnt from an
experienced teacher.

1. Jala N eti (nasal cleansing with water)

T he first practice is a physical one, although its effects are
psychic. This isjala neti, a process of passing water from the
left nostril to the right and vice versa, using a small pot fitted
with a stem which functions like a teapot. T he end of the
stem is cone shaped for a snug fit in the nostril. The water
should be slightly salty and warm. Hold the head on the side
with the neck bent slightly forward and, with the pot in the
left hand, slowly pass water into the left nostril and let it run
up to the sinuses and down the right nostril. After about lA
litre of water has passed, repeat on the opposite side by
passing water into the right nostril and out the left. While
the water is passing, one has to be careful to keep the mouth
open and to breathe through the mouth, taking special care
not to breathe through the nose. Afterwards, the nostrils
should be dried by rapid inhalation and exhalation through
one nostril at a time, then both nostrils together, until the
last drop of water has dried up.
Ja la neti is prim arily a hatha yoga practice, which
massages the nerves around the trikuti (eyebrow centre)
and stimulates the activity of this centre, facilitating the
practices described later to awaken ajna. T he nasal tracts
are thoroughly cleaned, making it easy for the breath to
pass freely through the nostrils.
Jala neti is easily done, but to ensure success it should be
done at least once in the presence of a yoga teacher.

91
 2. Asanas for M editation
By practising the following postures, you will find which
asana suits you best for meditation. The instructions and
precautions in Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha should be
carefully observed.
Padmasana (lotus pose): Padma means lotus. During deep
states of meditation the mind loses connection with the body
and on such occasions padmasana (or siddhasana) holds the
body steady, preventing it from falling. In deep meditation
the hands should be placed on the knees.
T he technique is perform ed from a sitting position. The
right foot should be placed on the left thigh and the left foot
on the right thigh. T he hands may be placed on the knees in
jnan a or chin mudra.
Ardhapadmasana (halflotuspose):Ardha means half; therefore
this asana is the half lotus pose.
Place one foot u n der or against the opposite thigh and
the other foot on top o f the opposite thigh. Keep the back,
neck and head straight.
Siddhasana (accomplished pose for men): Siddha m eans
perfection; a siddha is a sage or a seer. This is a favourite pose
of advanced yogis and adepts. It is probably the best asana for
meditation because, when done correctly, it regulates the
genito-urinary nerve flow and creates an excellent mood
for meditation.
Place the right heel against the perineum and the sole
against the left thigh. Bend the left leg and place the heel
against the pubic bone. T he ankles are situated one above
the other. Insert the toes of the left foot between the thigh
and calf of the right leg. T he toes of the right foot are pulled
up between the thigh and calf of the left leg. Place the hands
on the knees in chin o r jn an a mudra.
Siddha Yoni Asana (accomplished pose for women): Siddha
yoni asana is the female form of siddhasana. Bend the right
leg, placing the sole o f the foot flat against the inner left
thigh and the heel firmly against the groin. Bend the left leg
and place the foot on top of the right thigh, pulling the right

92
toes up into the space between the left calf and thigh. T he
left heel is above the right heel.
By performing siddhasana or siddha yoni asana, moola
bandha and vajroli m udra take place automatically, for in
these poses the two heels cut off the genital nerve flow and
direct the sexual energy impulses upward.
Sukhasana (easy pose): Sukha means easy; it is the easiest
and most comfortable posture for jap a and meditation.
Place the right foot un der the left thigh, and the left foot
under the right thigh. T he hands are placed on the knees
and the head, neck and back are straight but relaxed. Those
who are extremely stiff may practise this asana by tying a
cloth around the lower back and the knees.

3. Omkara or Om Chanting
This practice prepares the mind for the more advanced and
powerful practices. Omkara is the name for the m antra Om.
Om is the universal cosmic sound often described as the sacred
trinity: creation, preservation and destruction in its three
syllables. It is the sound made by opening the mouth wide
and making the centre o f sound vibration begin at the back of
the throat and then progressing forward and simultaneously
closing the mouth until the centre reaches the closed lips at
the front with the sound ‘mmm’. It is said to represent the
fullness or completeness of universal consciousness, because
this ch an tin g from the back o f the m outh to the lips
encompasses the full gamut of all possible sound. Om is the
most powerful m antra and is suitable for all people. It renders
the m ind peaceful and tranquil.
Sit in a meditation asana and draw in the breath until the
lungs are comfortably full. Chant Om softly with full awareness
of the sound and imagine that it is emanating from the eyebrow
centre. The chanting o f each Om should be long, steady and
of even pitch. This practice can be continued for up to two
hours m orning and night. One can begin with five minutes
and gradually work up to longer times so that the daily practice
becomes powerful and effective in awakening ajna.

93
 T he next technique not only makes the m ind tranquil,
but also increases the power of the m ind’s concentration on
the point of ajna. Chant Om rapidly so that each lasts for no
longer than 1V2 seconds; in one minute 40 Om mantras may
be chanted. The m antra should be directed towards the
eyebrow centre as if a spear were being directed towards this
point, repeated with regularity and an even beat with the
precise timing of a clock. T he mantras should be so continu­
ous that each m antra runs into the next, being careful not to
change the sound to ‘mo’. This practice is even m ore powerful
when done by a group of enthusiasts. T hen the chanting
should be in unison.
An alternate site for directing the force of the m antra is
the lower point of ajna at the top of the spine, near the
inferior brain. This point can be found by following the
technique for discovering ajna chakra through contraction
of mooladhara, described in Kundalini Tantra.

4. Jap a
Ja p a is a practice followed by many religions. In the science
of yoga, the guru gives the m antra to the disciple, knowing
the science of m antra an d its effect on the mind. T he function
of the m antra is to penetrate the deeper layers o f the mind.
T he different vibrations each mantra gives by its repetition
affect centres in the brain and thus bring about an awakening
of these centres.
T he immediate benefit of the m antra is to bring peace to
the mind by positively modifying the condition of the brain
through release of mental tensions. This having been effected,
the mind is sated and will not be an obstacle to further and
deeper awakening. T he ultimate aim is to bring about a
psychic and spiritual awakening.
This tantric system of awakening is so powerful that
prem ature progress can cause much damage, for when ajna
is awakened the m ind is open to great amounts of energy so
that thoughts become very powerful. To the untrained mind
a small troubling thought which cannot be controlled will

94
 develop into such vast dimensions that a mental holocaust
can result. Until the guru initiates the disciple with a special
mantra, Om should be used because it is universal and suits
every temperament.
A mala of 108 beads is used with m antra repetition. Hold
the mala between the third and fourth fingers and the thumb
of the right hand and rotate the beads one by one with the
rhythm of the mantra. T he sumeru (terminal bead) should
never be crossed; when it is reached, turn the mala and
reverse the direction o f rotation. T he mala can be made
from tulsi (holy basil) wood, crystal, lotus seed o r rudraksha
nuts. T he m antra is powerful and, when used in conjunction
with a mala, the mala becomes charged with its vibradon.
For this reason it is best to keep the mala in a silk bag when
out of use and not to let other people use it because of their
different vibradons.
T he first technique, called baikhari, is to repeat the m antra
aloud. After some tim e, the second technique may be
introduced, called upanshu, where the m antra is whispered
so that only the practitioner can hear it. T he third technique,
called manasic, is to repeat the m antra mentally without
movement of the lips. Manasic jap a is more powerful than
baikhari or upanshu. T h e most powerful process o f repetition
just goes on by itself without the conscious willing of the
pracutioner; this is called ajapajapa.
First baikhari jap a should be practised by repeating the
mantra aloud continuously. When the breath is exhausted,
continue mentally together with the rotation of the mala as
the breath is being inhaled. Each m antra should move with
its own force and vibration towards bhrumadhya, the eyebrow
centre, or to the contact point at the top o f the spine.
Gradually progress to the same technique with upanshu and
finally with manasic japa.
The practice ofjapa with awareness on ajna has a purifying
effect on the chakra. This practice is called chakra shodhanam,
a tantric practice in which a certain num ber o f malas are
practised on each chakra in turn. T he experiences during

95
this practice at ajna can be quite enthralling because of the
psychic nature of this chakra. Many psychic adventures can
be experienced; for example, the whole body (actually the
psychic body) can appear to hover over the asana, the weight
of the body seemingly reduced to nothing. Often lights
appear, or the characteristic white light of ajna. An eye may
be seen, maybe your own eye looking at you from the eyebrow
centre. The vibrations of the m antra pulse through the chakra
and then all over the body up and down the spine and
throughout the brain.
Needless to say, ajna shodhanam is a very im portant
practice in the awakening of this chakra. It is the precursor
to success with the tantric techniques using specialized
mantras, yantras and mandalas.

5. Kaya Sthairyam
Kaya sthairyam means body steadiness and is the First stage in
all meditation practices. In order to create a basis for con­
centration in which the faculties of the m ind can be withdrawn
from the body, it must be under perfect control. It is very
difficult for even an advanced yogi to control the mind, but it
is possible, even for a beginner, to control the body; and
through control over the steadiness of the physical body and
awareness of it, the m ind automatically becomes relaxed.
Sit in a meditation asana, with the eyes closed, spine
straight, the head erect and the hands on the knees in chin
mudra. Systematically relax the body, starting with the right
foot, ankle, calf muscle, thigh, hip, left foot, ankle, calf
muscle and so on through every part of the body. Extend the
awareness to the whole of the body so that it can be felt or
seen with the mind, be aware of every part of the body as one
object. Simultaneously mentally repeat, “the whole body, the
whole body” until the whole body is felt as one. This stage
will take about two or three minutes.
Then focus on body steadiness. First check the position,
ensuring that the spine is absolutely straight, the head is erect
and the body is relaxed. Mentally repeat, “for the next five

96
minutes, I will be steady, I will be still, I will not move a muscle
or limb.” Do not allow any unconscious movements of the
fingers or toes and, no m atter how strong the urge to move or
adjust the position, relieve a small pain or scratch an itch, do
not move. Often with beginners, the body starts to twitch,
vibrate, or shake. If this happens, apply willpower and keep
saying, “I will be steady, I will be sdll.” Sit like a statue, absolutely
calm, absolutely quiet, absolutely still like a rock. This is the
idea to imprint on the mind in order to be successful.
Having gained initial control over the body, continue the
practice until a change comes. T he body will appear to
change so that all the body seems to be within the mind. The
weight of the body apparently decreases and it may feel as if
the body is not sitting heavily on the floor as before, but
floating a few inches above it. T he body begins to get a
stiffness and stillness so that even if there is a desire to move,
the reaction is not coordinated. This is called psychic
stiffening of the body, and the stage of stiffening is necessary
for more advanced practices.
By doing this practice for half an hour, daily progress
will be very fast. In the beginning start in a very disciplined
m anner for about five minutes and gradually increase the
length of sitting. Kaya sthairyam is a sadhana in itself and if
practised for three or so hours, with perfect control over the
body, will culminate in samadhi, the goal of yoga. However,
in this context we are interested in the quick achievement of
psychic stiffening, which is the basis for the next lesson.

6. Trataka
Trataka is the first of the practices in the series that require
and develop concentration. T he power of the m ind is great
but dissipated through so many desires and energy wasting
pastimes. By consolidating the widely spread mental shakti
and applying it to one purpose, be it spiritual or worldly,
power is restored.
In order to concentrate on an object, either internal or
external, the mind must either be under control so that

97
distractions are kept away, or the m ind should enjoy or get
some feeling of bliss o r comfort by concentrating on this
object. To do this the object has to be selected on an individual
basis. Some people can get bliss and good concentration by
becoming aware of the picture of their guru, the form of the
mantra Om, a flower, the rising sun, the moon in an open sky
or the flame of a candle. O f all these, the candle flame is the
most convenient and practical object to take up for beginners.
Trataka on an outer object is the best practice of concen­
tration in the beginning because it is easier for the untrained
mind. The mind has the habit of attaching itself to outside
objects, whereas when we close our eyes to concentrate on an
inner symbol or point the m ind constantly wavers. The mind,
when operating through the medium of the senses, actually
loses energy and when concentrating on an inner object,
withdrawn from the senses, gains energy. This process of
gaining energy always requires some sort of effort of will.
However, on the outer object, the mind can happily dwell on
the object, for it is as natural for the mind to do this as it is
for rivers to flow from the mountains to the sea. The candle
flame is an ideal object to begin with because of its fine shape
and colour. T here is a natural attraction for the flame, and
all enjoy its beauty, radiance and aura.
T he place to practise trataka is in •a dark room. The
doors and windows should be closed and the curtains drawn
so that the room is completely dark except for the solitary
light of the candle. T here should be no wind or draught, so
that the candle flame will be perfectly steady. Sit in a
meditation asana and place the candle directly in front of
the nose so the flame is not higher than the eyebrow centre
or lower than the chin. The candle should be about two feet
from the eyes or at a distance at which the eyes can focus on
the candle comfortably without strain. T he distance will vary
according to the individual.
Closing the eyes, practise kaya sthairyam until the whole
body has reached the point of psychic stiffening, then open
the eyes and focus on the candle flame. Concentrate on one

98
point in the flame, just above the wick, where the colour
changes, at the one point where the tinge of colour of the
flame is different, maybe red or blue or bright yellow. Gaze
at the point with full attention, ideally without blinking, for
about three minutes without straining. T he body must not
move, nor should the eyes.
Close the eyes and be aware of the inner image remaining;
it is a small seed-shaped light, maybe yellow, green or red.
Maybe, in the first practices, if there is tension, the seed of
light will not appear; however, with persistence it will come
into the inner view. Maintain constant steadiness of the body
and constant awareness of the seed. After a short time the
image may move up into chidakasha, in the region of the
forehead, or in some other direction. However it moves,
follow the movement until it disappears out of sight. Continue
internal image awareness until it ceases to reappear, at which
time open the eyes and repeat the practice. Between each
round of trataka adjust the position if needed, but stillness
and steadiness of the body must be re-established.
This practice of outer trataka is excellent for preparing
for inner trataka and meditation on ajna. T h e eyesight is
stren g th en ed , the m ind is calm ed and the faculty of
visualization is aided. Trataka brings the practitioner to a
point in sadhana where control of the psychic realm is
required, which hitherto has just been an experience.
In the next stage of trataka the internal image is observed
very carefully, and as soon as it starts to move it is brought
back to the eyebrow centre. This advanced technique requires
willpower; for it is only by willing that the image can be held
steady. In the final stage of outer trataka, visualize the whole
candle when the eyes are closed; the flame, the wick, the
candle and the stand on which the candle rests. Do not just
imagine it, but actually try to see or visualize the whole
image internally.
To be able to achieve clear visualization of an outer
object indicates an advanced ability in concentration and
this practice should be repeated without tension until success

99
is achieved. This outer trataka is called in Sanskrit bahiranga
trataka and is a necessary precursor of the next practice,
antar trataka, or inner trataka.

7. Antar Trataka
This is the first fully psychic practice, where one becomes
aware of not an outer object but an inner object o r point. This
practice requires peace of mind and steadiness o f the body.
First practise kaya sthairyam up to the point of psychic
stiffening, then become aware of the breath in the throat;
just be constantly aware of the psychic breath flowing in and
out. This psychic breathing is a powerful tool for pacifying
the mind. Each breath should be perfectly natural, sometimes
a little longer and sometimes a little shorter, but simply
observe or feel it going in and out. On inhalation the psychic
breath moves up the trunk, and on exhalation it moves
down. As tensions are relaxed the breath speed will slow
down until it is hardly moving, and all that is felt is the subtle
breath drifting through the throat area.
When the breath has been followed for about fifteen
minutes, move the awareness to the eyebrow centre and
become aware of a tiny star. Visualize the star and keep it in
constant view. Maybe, in the beginning, it will only flash for
an instant, but that is enough for the beginning and from
there the faculty of visualization will develop.

8. Shambhavi Mudra
Shambhavi is sometimes called bhrumadhya drishti. Shambhavi
was a princess who practised this m udra for Shiva, her beloved
lord, and joined with him. By the practice of shambhavi
m udra we can also join with Shiva. In the trinity Shiva is the
destroyer of created things and also the destroyer of obstacles
that prevent man from progressing mentally, morally and
spiritually.
Sit in a meditation asana with the spine and head erect.
First look at one point directly in front, then, without moving
the head and by rolling the eyes up, look up as high as

100
possible and concentrate, with eyes open, on the point
between the eyebrows. As an aid the thumb can be held in
front of the nose with the arm stretched out; the eyes are
focused on the thumb, which should be raised until the eyes
cannot follow its movement any further. It is at this point
that the eyes are focused on the eyebrow centre. This practice
can be continued for as long as possible or until strain is felt
in the muscles of the eyes. T hen the eyes are closed and
relaxed, and after a short time, keeping the body still,
shambhavi m udra is repeated up to ten times.
Shambhavi m udra is beneficial in directing the m ind to
bhrumadhya, and it awakens the m ind’s natural ability to
concentrate while directing the mental, psychic and pranic
forces to this point. Shambhavi m udra is a necessary precursor
of later practices designed to awaken ajna and should be
combined with khechari m udra for enhanced effectiveness.

9. Khechari Mudra
This practice is given because it enhances the effectiveness of
shambhavi mudra. Khe means ‘sky’ and charya means ‘one
who moves’. The nam e of this practice is such because it
produces a state of m ind in which the astral body, the body
of feelings, becomes detached from the physical body. T he
consciousness dwells in akasha, the space between the astral
and physical worlds. This practice should only be attempted
in close relationship with a guru.
Sitting in a m editation asana, roll the tongue back against
the upper palate whilst keeping the teeth closed. In full
khechari m udra the tongue is rolled back and up into the
space between the eyebrows, but for this simple practice it is
sufficient that the tongue is rolled back so that the tip is
embedded into the soft palate behind the bony structure in
the roof of the mouth. When the tongue reaches the upper
passage of the nose, sweet liquid produced by the salivary
glands is tasted.
One who masters this technique is able to practise
kumbhaka (breath retention) for as long as he wishes. Yogis

101
who have had themselves buried alive for days and even
weeks utilize khechari m udra to sustain themselves. This
m udra activates the nectar glands, which are related to ajna.
Khechari m udra awakens kundalini shakti and preserves
vital energies. In khechari m udra thejaw muscles may become
tired after some time. When this point is reached, the tongue
should be relaxed, the excess saliva swallowed, and after a
short time khechari reapplied.
These practices should be combined by first performing
khechari m udra, followed by sham bhavi m u dra, then
releasing shambhavi m udra before khechari mudra.

10. Anuloma Vilom a

T he meaning of this Sanskrit term is up-down. In this practice
the up and down movement of the breath is followed by the
awareness. Practise kaya sthairyam until psychic stiffening is
reached and then become aware of the breath in the nostrils.
Feel the breath moving in and out of the left nostril, then the
right nostril and then be aware of the breath as it flows in
and out of both nostrils together.
In this practice the flow of the breath in each nostril is
mentally controlled by consciously inhaling through the left,
exhaling through the right, inhaling through the right and
exhaling through the left. This is one round. In this way
practise four rounds and then breathe in and out of both
nostrils simultaneously. This is the fifth round. Continue in
this m an ner while counting rounds from 100 to zero.
Maintain accuracy in the counting and, if an erro r is made,
begin again.
For the awakening of ajna th ere is one im p o rtan t
additional point in the technique. On inhalation the whole
consciousness should move with the breath from the end of
the nose up to the eyebrow centre, and on exhalation the
whole consciousness should flow out from the eyebrow centre
to the end of the nose together with the breath.
It is very im portant to keep count of the breath because
anulom a viloma is so powerful that, w ithout counting,

102
awareness may be swallowed up by the unconscious sphere,
and it is the aim of this practice to stimulate ajna on the
psychic or subconscious level only. In the unconscious sphere
there is awareness only of the vast store of impressions in the
unconscious m ind and not of the practice. Awareness of the
practice is essential for the development of m ind control
and concentration on ajna.

11. Maha Mudra

Maha m udra is a technique described in detail in the tantric
texts. When it is practised, the energy of the breath is directed
towards the eyebrow centre. Sit in siddhasana / siddha yoni
asana or padmasana with the hands resting on the knees.
Breathe in and imagine or feel the breath filling the stomach
and chest from the navel upwards. When capacity has been
reached, perform jalandhara and moola bandha.
Jaland hara bandha is perform ed by pushing up the
shoulders with straightened arms and bending the head
forward until the chin touches the chest. Moola bandha acts
on mooladhara, located in the perineum in males and the
cervix in females, and is perform ed by contracting this area,
though actually it is a psychic contraction. To initiate this
psychic contraction, however, the physical contraction must
be performed.
Once the bandhas have been perform ed, move the
awareness to trikuti (eyebrow centre) and feel the psychic
pressure created at this point. Continue for as long as the
breath can be held comfortably. Mentally repeat, “Trikuti,
trikuti, trikuti,” until retention cannot be maintained. At this
time, release jalandhara bandha before exhaling, feeling as
if the breath was going down to the navel. People who suffer
from heart disease or epilepsy should not do this practice.

12. Trikuti Nadi Shodhanam

In trikuti there is a pulsating nadi on the rhythm of which
Om is felt pulsating. Practise kaya sthairyam until psychic
stiffness is achieved, then move the consciousness to trikuti,

103
and there try to feel the pulsating nadi. If you do not have
success, you will have to persist until you find the beating
nadi. If it cannot be found, then move the consciousness
back a little in a straight line to a point approximately
between the ears and search for it again. If still there is no
success, then use the imagination and mentally start the
pulsating of the nadi. It is like the steady simple beating of a
small drum in trikuti.
When fully established with the beating pulse, feel the
m antra Om with the rhythm of the pulsating nadi and
continue the awareness of pulsation and m antra for at least
15 minutes. Then, without moving or changing the asana,
proceed on to the next practice directly.

13. Guru Chakra Bheda

In guru chakra bheda the force of the m antra is coupled with
the force of the psychic breath, so that the m antra pierces its
way into the chakra. Continuing from the previous practice
of trikuti nadi shodhanam, with inhalation the awareness
travels from trikuti to the rear centre of ajna at the top of the
spine. With exhalation, the awareness returns to trikuti. T he
breath for this practice should be short and gentle.
Once established in the movement of the psychic breath,
backward to the spinal top and forward to the eyebrow
centre, add the m antra Om with the rhythm of the breath, so
that the outgoing forward moving breath together with the
m antra breaks into the trikuti centre.
This practice involves a psychic breathing passage, this
being different to the path of the gross breath. T he gross
breath moves through the physical respiratory system and
the psychic breath moves in harmony with the gross breath,
there being many paths for the psychic breath in the body.
In the beginning the psychic breath is moved with imagi­
nation, but as experience is gained, its natural flow is
discovered. In other words, in the beginning, the psychic
breath is just imagination, but after some practice it becomes
a real experience.

104
 T he Om m antra should be felt going backwards and
forwards and an attem pt should be made to deepen the
experience, even though this will come about by itself.

14. Ajapa Japa

Ajapa jap a is a practice that must be taught by a teacher or
guru in order to obtain good results. This subject has been
discussed by Swami Satyananda Saraswati in the books
Mechanics of Meditation, Dynamics of Yoga and Meditation from
the Tantras, and has been exhaustively treated by Swami
Niranjanananda Saraswati in Dharana Darshan.
T h e tongue is placed in khechari m u d ra and ujjayi
pranayama is perform ed, so that the m antra So Ham is in
harmony with the natural breath: So for the ingoing breath
and Ham for the outgoing breath. T he psychic path of the
breath is in the spinal column between m ooladhara and ajna.
So, the inhaled breath, moves from m ooladhara to ajna and
Ham, the exhaled breath, moves from ajna to mooladhara.

15. M editation on Trikuti

This is the last and most powerful practice for awakening
ajna. T hough this m ethod is simple the m ind must be
prepared for meditation.
The first step is to sit in kaya sthairyam until stiffness is
attained. T hen move the awareness to trikuti, the eyebrow
centre, and hold it there with constant awareness, without
wavering. From this point one can transcend the body and
dive deep into ajna, deep into the psychic lands of multi­
coloured, multi-variable vibrational experiences.

105
A ppendix
 Sat Chakra N irupanam

Sat Chakra Nirupanam (description of six chakras) is a text on

kundalini yoga. T his A ppendix contains the transliteration
o f verses 32-38 on ajna chakra as well as a detailed translation
and com m entary by A rthur Avalon (in The Serpent Power,
1919) on the original text by Acharya Swami Poornananda,
Bengal (circa 1500 AD) in 1919. Sat Chakra Nirupanam is not
an exhaustive treatise on kundalini and we have to reach for
oth er texts to reveal the whole gam ut o f recorded experiences
in kundalini yoga. S.S. Goswami in his book Laya Yoga (1980)
has stud ied an d analyzed h u n d re d s o f texts, including
m anuscripts from private collections, and has ad d ed many
details and created a reference for the avid student.
Verse 32
Aajnaanaamaambujam taddhimakarasadrisham dhyaanadhaama-
prakaasham; hakshaabhyaam vai kalaabhyaam parilasitava-
purnetrapatram sushubhram. Tanmadhye haakinee saa
shashisamadhavalaa vaktrashatkam dadhaanaa; vidyaam mudraam
kapaalam damarujapavateem bibhratee shuddhachittaa.

Translation
The lotus named ajna is like the moon (beautifully white).
On its two petals are the letters Ha and Ksha, which are also
white and enhance its beauty. It shines with the glory of
dhyana (the state of m ind acquired by meditation). Inside is
Shakti Hakini, whose six faces are like so many moons. She
has six arms, in one o f which she holds a book; two others
are lifted up in the gestures of dispelling fear and granting
boons, and with the rest she holds a skull, a small drum
(damaru), and a rosary. H er m ind is pure (shuddha chitta).

Commentary (Avalon)
T he author describes ajna chakra between the eyebrows in
the seven verses beginning with this:
‘The lotus nam ed ajna’ (ajna nama): “Ajna o f the guru is
communicated here, hence it is called ajna.” H ere between
the eyebrows is the ajna (command), which is communicated,
from above, hence it is called ajna. This lotus which is well
known is here. It is here that ajna of the guru is communicated
This lotus is between the eyebrows, as the following shows.
“Going upwards after entering the throat and palate, the
white and auspicious lotus between the eyebrows is reached
by kundali. It has two petals on which are the letters Ha and
Ksha, and it is the place of mind (manas)."
T he following are descriptions of the lotus:
‘Like the moon, beautifully white (hima-kara-sadrisham).'
This comparison with chandra (hima-kara) may also mean
that this lotus is cool like moonbeams (the moon being the
receptacle o f amrita, or nectar, whose characteristic is
coolness), and that it is also beautifully white.

109
 It has been said in Ishvara-Kartikeya-Samvada: “Ajna chakra
is above it; it is white and has two petals; the letters Ha and
Ksha, variegated in colour, also enhance its beauty. It is the
seat of mind (manas)."
‘Two petals’ (netra-patra): the petals of the lotus.
‘T he letters Ha and Ksha, which are also white’ (ha-
kshabhyam kalaa-bhyamparilasilavapuh su-shubhram): These two
letters are by their very nature white, and by their being on
the white petals the whiteness thereof is made m ore charming
by this very excess of whiteness. (Or the m eaning may be
that the ajna chakra has rays cool like the ambrosial rays of
the moon and like the moon beautifully white.) T he letters
are called kalaas because they are bijas of kalaas.
‘It shines with the glory of d hyana’ (dhyana-dhama-
prakasham): T hat is, its body shines like the glory of dhyana
shakti.
‘Hakini’: He next speaks of the presence of Shakti Hakini.
The force of the pronoun saa (she) in addition to her name is
that she is the well-known Hakini.
‘T he gestures of dispelling fear and granting boons’
(mudra): T here should be six weapons in her hands as she
has six hands. T here are some who read vidya and m udra as
one word, vidya-mudra, and interpret it to m ean vyakhya-
mudra - the gesture that conveys learning or knowledge -
and speak o f h er as possessed of four arm s. Different
manuscripts give different readings. T he wise reader should
judge for himself.
In a dhyana in another place she is thus described:
“Meditate upon Her, the divine Hakini. She abides in the
marrow and is white. In her hands are the damaru, the
rudraksha rosary, the skull, the vidya (the sign of the book),
the m udra (gesture of granting boons and dispelling fear).
She has six red-coloured faces with three eyes in each. She is
fond of food cooked with turmini, and is elated by drinking
ambrosia. She is well seated on a white lotus, and her mind is
exalted by the drink of the king of the devas gathered from
the ocean.”

110
Other commentary
S.S. Goswami makes reference to Kalicharana’s interpretation
of Sat Cliakra Nirupana. Here ‘like the m oon’ means ‘m oon­
like white colour’, adding that it may also mean that as the
moon has nectarous cool rays, so ajna chakra is cool rayed.
Also the commentator Ramawallabha says it is like the colour
of the moon, and Vishwanatha explains that it causes moisture
(from nectar) like the moon. In Rudrayamala we learn that in
the hollow of ajna chakra is an excellent fluid, indicating
there is nectar in ajna as there is in the moon.
Supporting the fact that ajna has two petals, Goswami
cites some 25 texts, including manuscripts, upanishads and
tantras. He also gives references to support descriptions that
the petals are white and further references to the petals
having lightning-like colour. Also, as has been m entioned in
chapter 6, Swami Satyananda has described it as an ‘intangible
colour’, meaning it cannot be easily defined, formulated or
grasped.
So we have various descriptions of the same experience.
As Shankaracharya said, “T here is only one truth and the
wise describe it in different ways.”
In Kalika Parana (55.30), as reported by S.S. Goswami, at
the point of confluence of the three nadis, ida, pingala and
sushumna, is a six-comered red hexagon magnified to four
fingers breadth, and this is what is called ajna chakra by the
yogis. Rudrayamala part 2 (20:6-7) states that within ajna is the
beautiful harm chakra (desire chakra) and inside this is the very
subtle prashna chakra and inside that the phala chakra. Goswami
suggests these are for very special concentration.
About Hakini, Goswami cites the following references. In
Kalicharana, Hakini is white with six red faces, each with
three eyes, and six items in her hands. In Kankalamalini
Tantra, Hakini’s colour is a mixture of white, black and red;
she is two-armed; her face is moonlike with beautiful rolling
eyes like a moving black bee; she shines with the vermillion
mark on her forehead; she has curled hair and is clad in red
raiment and her upper garm ent is white.

Ill
 In Kulamava Tantra, Hakini is dark blue and has one,
two, three, four, five and six faces (according to the type of
concentration) which glitter like the stars. She holds a skull
spear, shield and abhaya m udra: O ne face indicates
concentration in which 4I-ness’ has been dissolved; two faces
indicate concentration in which I-ness remains; three faces
represent the three primary attributes; four faces represent
gross sensory knowledge, super sensory knowledge, pre-
sensory knowledge and non-sensory knowledge; five faces
represent knowledge of the attributes of the five chakras
below; six faces represent perceptual knowledge, thoughts
and attention.
In Kaulavalitantra, she is white, has three eyes, holds a
rudraksha mala, drum, skull, book, bow and the m udra of
dispelling fear or granting boons.
Goswami concludes that concentration on Hakini gives
the practitioner all the powers to continue work in ajna
chakra. T he six faces representing the five principles of the
lower chakras plus manas. The third eye is concentration-
light and the other eyes indicate perceptual knowledge,
thoughts, attention and concentration-knowledge of three
forms: dharana, dhyana and samadhi. If her faces are red in
colour, it indicates kundalini knowledge and the white colour
indicates a highly rarefied form of sattwa. Dark blue indicates
sattwa ready to proceed to a formless state, red colour
indicates fully aroused kundalini in form and a mixture of
white, red and black indicates harmonious balance of the
three attributes.

Verse 33
Etatpadmaantaraale nivasati cha manah sookshmaroopam
prasiddham; yonau tatkamikaayaamitarashivapadam lingachihna-
prakaasham. Vidyunmaalaavilaasam paramakulapadam brahma-
sootraprabodham; vedaanaamaadibeejam sthiratarahridayash-
chintayettatkramena.

112
Translation
Within this lotus dwells the subtle m ind (manas). It is well-
known. Inside the yoni in the pericarp is the Shiva called
Itara in His phallic form. He here shines like a chain of
lightning flashes. T he first bija of the vedas (Om), which is
the abode of the most excellent Shakti and which by its lustre
makes visible the Brahmasutra, is also there. T he sadhaka
with steady m ind should meditate upon these according to
the order (prescribed).

Commentary (Avalon)
He speaks of the presence of manas in this lotus.
‘Subtle’ (sukshma roopa): Manas is beyond the scope of the
senses; that being so, it may be asked, what is the proof of its
existence? T he answer is it is well-known o r universally
accepted (prasiddha) and handed down from anadi-purusha,
generation after generation as a thing realized, and is hence
well-known. T he evidence of the shastras, also, is that this
manas selects and rejects. Here is the place of manas. The
presence of manas is above the first bija of the vedas as will
appear from what is about to be spoken of.
‘Phallic form’ (linga-chihna-prakasham): He next speaks of
the presence of the Shivalinga in the yoni which is within the
pericarp. The Itara-Shiva who is there is in his phallic form,
and within the yoni. Within the triangle in the pericarp
dwells Itara-Shivapada, i.e. the Shiva known by the name of
Itara. This linga is in the phallic form and white. As has been
said in the Bhuta-Shuddhi-Tantra: “Inside it is the linga Itara,
crystalline and with three eyes.” Linga resembles continuous
streaks of lightning flashes (vidyun-mala-vilasam).
‘First bija of the vedas’ (vedanam-adibeejam): He then speaks
of the presence of the Pranava (Om) in the pericarp of this
lotus. In the pericarp there is also the first bija, i.e. Pranava
( 3*»).
‘Which is the abode of the most excellent Shakti’ (parama-
kulapada)'. Kxda = Shakti, which is here of a triangular form.
Parama means most excellent, by reason of its resembling

113
lightning and like luminous substances; and pada means
place, i.e. the triangular space. Hence this bija, namely the
Pranava, we perceive is within the triangle. This is clearly
stated as follows:
“Within the pericarp and placed in the triangle is Atma
in the form of the Pranava, and above it, like the flame of a
lamp, is the charming nada and bindu, which is makara, and
above it is the abode o f manas.”
Now, if the parama-kulapada is the container (adhara) of
and therefore inseparate from the Pranava, how is it that it is
separately mentioned as one of the sixteen adharas spoken of
in the following passage? For it has been said that “the sixteen
adharas hard of attainm ent by the yogi are mooladhara,
swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddha, ajna, bindu,
kalapada, nibhodhika, arddhendu, nada, nadanta, unmani,
vishnu-vaktra, dhruvamandala and Shiva.”
The answer is that the second kulapada is not the one in
ajna chakra; it is in the vacant space above m ahanada which
is spoken of later. This will become clear when dealing with
the subject of mahanada.
‘Which makes manifest the Brahma-sutra’ (brahma-sutra-
prabodha): Brahma-sutra = chitrini-nadi. This nadi is made
visible by the lustre of the Pranava. In verse 3 this nadi has
been described as ‘lustrous with the lustre of the Pranava’.
The sadhaka should with a steady mind meditate upon all
these, viz., Hakini, Manas, Itara linga and Pranava in the order
prescribed. This is different from the order in which they are
placed in the text by the author. But the arrangement of words
according to their import is to be preferred to their positions in
the text. The order as shown here should prevail. Thus, first
Hakini in the pericarp; in the triangle above her Itara-linga; in
the triangle above him the Pranava; and last of all, above the
Pranava itself, manas should be meditated upon.

Other commentary
In verse 33 of Laya Yoga, Goswami says that subtle manas has
a centre of operation beyond the ordinary senses and antarala

114
 Sushumna

W ithin sushumna nadi are

concentric nadis

Sushumna - Tamas
Vajra - Rajas
Chitrini - Sattwa
Brahma - Consciousness

(within) indicates th ere is a sub-centre within ajna where

manas is.
Goswami further refers to the ord er as per Kalicharana’s
com m entary on Sat Chakra Nirupana, saying n o t to take the
ord er given, but the o rd e r o f im portance, i.e. 1. Hakini, 2.
Itaralingam, 3. Pranava and 4. Manas.
Brahm a sutra is B rahm a nadi according to Shankara,
V ishw anatha, B h u w a n am o h an a a n d R am avallabha, bu t
K alicharana says th a t it m eans ch itrin i n ad i, w hich is
concurred with by Avalon.
Antarala (first word o f the verse): According to Goswami
the use of this word explains that within ajna is a subsystem
of chakras leading up to sahasrara.
Goswami’s translation is: It is well known that the seat of the
subde manas is at an intermediate point of this lotus; inside the
pericarp of this is a triangle (yoni), which is the seat of Itarashiva
(Shiva endowed with the power of full control over desires) who
is revealed in his linga form (absorptive concentration form,
linga chihna prakasha). H ere is also the seat of the supreme
power of kundalini (pararnakida). Like the streaks of lightning
flashes causing the rousing of the Brahma nadi and manifesting
as the first bija of the vedas, that is the first m antra (Om) on
which a practitioner should do thought concentration according
to the order (prescribed by the guru).

115
Verse 34
Dhyaanaatmaa saadhakendro bhavati parapure sheeghragaamee
muneendrah; sarvajnah sarvadarshee sakalahitakarah
sarvashaastraarthavetta. Advaitaachaaravaadee vilasati
paramaapoorvasiddhiprashiddho; deerghaayuh so’p i kartaa
tribhuvanabhavane samhritau paalane cha.

Translation
T h e excellent sadhaka, whose Atma is n o th in g but a
meditation on this lotus, is able quickly to enter another’s
body at will, and becomes the most excellent am ong munis,
and all-knowing and all-seeing. He becomes the benefactor
of all, and versed in all the shastras. He realizes his unity
with the Brahman and acquires excellent and unknown
powers (siddhis). Full of fame and long-lived, he ever becomes
the creator, destroyer and preserver of the three worlds.

Commentary (Avalon)
In this verse he speaks of the good to be gained by the dhyana
of this lotus.
‘Most excellent am ong munis’ (munindra): A muni is one
who is accomplished in dhyana and yoga and other excellent
acquirements. T he suffix ‘indra’ means king or chieftain and
is added to names to signify excellence.
‘Versed in all the shastras’ (sarva-shastrarthavetta): Such a
one becom es proficient in the shastras a n d in divine
knowledge and thus he becomes all-seeing (sarva-darshi), i.e.
able to look at things from all points by reason of his being
possessed of wisdom and knowledge which harmonizes with
shastras, manners and customs.
‘He realizes . . .’ (advaitachara-vadi): He knows that this
universe and all material existence is the Brahman, from
such sayings of Shruti as, “The worlds are its pada (that is
amshas)”; “All that exists is the Brahman”; and “I am the
deva and no one else; I am the very Brahman, and sorrow is
not my share.” He knows that the Brahman alone is the Real
(Sat) and everything else is unreal (asat), and that they all

116
shine by the light of the Brahman. T he man who by such
knowledge is able to realize the identity of the individual
with the Suprem e Spirit (jivatman and paramatman) and
preaches it, is an Advaitavadi.
‘Excellent and unknown powers’ (paramapoorua-siddhi):
that is, most exalted and excellent powers.
‘Full of fame’ (prasiddha): i.e. famous by reason of his
excellence.
‘He ever becomes . . .’ (so’p i karta tribhuvana-bhavane
samhritau palane cha): This is prashamsha-vada, i.e. praise, or
it may mean that such a sadhaka becomes absorbed in the
Supreme on the dissolution of the body, and thus becomes
the source of creation, preservation and destruction.

Verse 35
Tadantashchakre 'sminnivasati satatavi shuddhabuddhyantaraatmaa;
pradeepaabhajyotihpranavavirachanaaroopavamaprakaashah.
Tadoordhve chandraardhastadupari vilasadbinduroopee makaara-
stadoordhve naado’sau baladhavalasudhaadhaarasantaanahaasee.

Translation
Within the triangle in this chakra ever dwells the combination
of letters (AUM, or Om, which form the Pranava or m antra
3S>). It is the inner Atma as pure mind (buddhi) and resembles
a flame in its radiance. Above it is the crescent moon and
above this again is ma-kara, shining in its form of bindu.
Above this is nada, whose whiteness equals that of Balarama
and diffuses the rays o f the moon.

Commentary (Avalon)
T he author desires to speak of the presence of the Pranava
in ajna and says that in this chakra, and within the triangle
which has already been spoken of, ever dwells the combination
of the letters A and U, which by the rules of sandhi (union)
make the thirteenth vowel O. This combination of letters is
shuddha-buddhyantaratma, i.e. the innermost spirit manifesting
as pure intelligence (buddhi).

117
 T he question may be asked if the thirteenth vowel (O) is
that. To obviate this, the author (Poornananda) qualifies it
by saying ‘above it is the half moon etc.’ It is by adding the
half moon (nada) and bindu to O that the Pranava is formed.
He next gives its attributes: ‘Resembles a flame in its
radiance’ (pradipabliajyotih): But how can this thirteenth vowel
by itself be shuddha-buddhyantaratma? He therefore says,
“Above it is the crescent moon (tadoordhve chandrardhah).
And above this again is ma-kara, shining in its form of bindu
(tadupari vilasad-bindu-roopi makarah)." It is thus shown that
by the placing of the crescent moon and the bindu over the
thirteenth vowel the Pranava is completely formed.
‘Above this is nada’ (tadoordhve nado’sau), i.e. above the
Pranava is the avantara (final or second) nada, which
challenges as it were the whiteness of Baladeva and the
moon (bala-dhavala-sudha-dhara-santana hasee). By this he
means to say that it is extremely white, excelling in whiteness
both Baladeva and the rays of the moon.
Some read tadadye nado’sau (in the place o f tadoordhve
nado’sau) and interpret it as, “Below bindu-roopi ma-kara is
nada”, but that is incorrect. T he text says, “Above this, again,
is ma-kara, shining in its form of bindu,” and there is nada
below it; that being so, it is useless to repeat that nada
is below.
Besides, this nada is beyond the nada, which forms part
of the Pranava, and is part of the differentiating (bhidyamana)
Para-bindu placed above the Pranava. If, however, it be
urged that it is necessary to state the details in describing the
special Pranava (vishishta-pranava), and it is asked, “Why do
you say a second nada is inappropriate?” then the reading
tadadye nado’sau may be accepted.
But read thus it should be interpreted in the following
manner: “This nada shown below the bindu-roopi ma-kara is
bala-dhavala-sudha-dhara-samthana-hasee, and the nada first
spoken of is also so described. Such repetition is free from
blame on the authority of the maxim that “the great are
subject to no limitations.”

118
Commentary (general)
Balarama was born as the brother of Krishna. Balarama is a
symbol of strength, an obedient son, an ideal brother and
husband, an ideal m an and god. He is a protector from
desires, the divinity of strength of the divine, symbolizing
duty, honesty and simplicity. Vishnu incarnated as Balarama
when Indra and the other gods came to Lord Vishnu and
asked for release from the dem on son Kamsa, King of
Mathura. Vishnu took one black and one white hair from
his head and promised that these two would come to fight
against the demons. This way, first Balarama (the white
hair) then Krishna (the black hair) incarnated in the womb
of Devaki.
Goswami states that about the Pranava it has been said
that there is the bija in akshara form which is explained in
Soubhajnalakshmyupanishad as a splendorous consciousness­
like light on which concentration should be done.
Yogarajopanishad says that circular light indicates luminous
coils of kundalini.

Verse 36
Ilia sthaane leene susukhasadane chetasi puram niraalambaam
badhvaa paramagurusevaasuviditaam.Tadabhyaasaad yogee
pavanasuhridaam pashyati kanaan tatastanmadhyaantah
pravilasitaroopaanapi sadaa.

Translation
When the yogi closes the house which hangs without support,
the knowledge where of he has gained by the service of
Param guru, and when the chetas by rep eated practice
becomes dissolved in this place which is the abode of
uninterrupted bliss, he then sees in the middle of, and in the
space above (the triangle) sparks of fire distinctly shining.

Commentary (Avalon)
Having described the Pranava, he now speaks of its union
(with chetas), i.e. Pranava yoga.

119
 T he yogi should close the house (puram baddhva), i.e. he
should, with his mind set on the act, close the inner house or,
in other words, he should make yoni m udra in the m anner
prescribed and thus effectually close the inner house. T he
use of the word pur shows that the yoni m udra is meant.
Then, when his chetas by repeated practice (abhyasa) or
meditation on the Pranava becomes dissolved (lina) in this
place (ajna), he sees, within and in the space above the
triangle wherein the Pranava is, sparks of fire (pavana-suhridam
kanan). Or, to put it plainly, he sees sparks of light resembling
sparks of fire appear before his mental vision above the
triangle on which the Pranava rests.
It is by yoni m udra that the inner self (antah-pur) is
restrained and detached from the outside world, the region
of material sense. Manas cannot be purified and steadied
unless it is completely detached from the material sphere. It
is therefore that the m ind (manas) should be completely
detached by yoni mudra.
Yoni mudra, which detaches manas from the outside world,
is thus described in Sarada Tilaka, “Place the left heel against
the anus and the right heel on the left foot, sit erect with your
body, neck and head in a straight line. Then, with your lips
formed to resemble a crow’s beak (kaki mudra) draw in air and
fill there with your belly. Next, close tightly your ear holes with
the thumbs, with your index fingers the eyes, the nostrils by
your middle fingers, and your mouth by the rem aining fingers.
Retain the air within you (kumbhaka), and with the senses
controlled meditate on the m antra whereby you realize the
unity (ekatvam) of prana and manas (i.e. recite the hamsa or
ajapa mantra). This is yoga, the favourite of yogis.”
T hat steadiness of m ind is produced by restraint of breath
through the help of m udra has been said by Shruti: “T he
mind under the influence of hamsa (thejivatm a manifesting
as prana) moves to and fro, over different subjects; by
restraining hamsa the m ind is restrained.”
‘Closes the house’ (puram baddhva): This may also mean
khechari mudra. This latter also produces steadiness of mind.

120
As has been said, “As by this the chitta roams in the Brahman
(kha) and as the sound of uttered word (tongue) also roams the
ether (kha), therefore is khechari mudra honoured by all the
siddhas.” The chitta is khechara (what moves about in the sky or
ether) when, disunited from manas and devoid of all worldly
things, it becomes unmani. As has been said, “The yogi is
united with unmani; without unmani there is no yogi.” Niralamba
means that which has no support - that from which the m ind’s
connection with the world has been removed.
‘T he knowledge whereof he gained by the service of his
Param aguru’ (parama-guru-seva suviditam): Parama is excel­
lence in the sense that he has attained excellence in yoga
practice (by instructions) handed down along a series of
spiritual preceptors (gurus) and not as a result of book
learning. ‘Serving the guru’: Such knowledge is obtained
from the guru by pleasing him by personal services (seva);
compare. “It can be attained by the instructions of the guru
and not by ten million shastras.”
‘The abode of uninterrupted bliss’ (susukha-sadane) : This is
the place where one enjoys happiness that nothing can interrupt.
This word qualifies place (Via sthane, i.e. ajna chakra).
‘Sparks o f fire distinctly sh in in g ’ (pavana-suhridam
pravilasitaroopan kanan): These sparks of fire shine quite
distinctly.
Elsewhere it is clearly stated that the Pranava is sur­
rounded by sparks of light: “Above it is the flame-like Atma,
auspicious and in shape like the Pranava; on all sides
surrounded by sparks o f light.”
About verse 40 Avalon says that where the ‘manas-ness’
(manastva) of manas ceases to be, that is called unmani, the
attainm ent of which is the secret teaching of the tantras. In
q u o tin g the resp ected co m m en tato r V ishw anatha on
Svacchanda Samgraha, which speaks of unm ani as above
samana, he says that in unm ani there is no cognition of, and
no distinction is made, between kaala and kalaa; no body
and no devatas and no cessation of continuity. It is the pure
and sweet mouth of Rudra.

121
Commentary (general)
A description of khechari m udra is given in Hatha Yoga
Pradipika (3:40-41): “O ne who knows khechari m udra is
unafflicted by disease, unaffected by the laws o f cause and
effect (karma) and free from the bonds of time (death). Mind
moves in Brahman (khe) because the tongue moves in space
(khe). Therefore, the perfected ones have nam ed this m udra
khechari, moving in space or Brahman.”
The commentary by Swami Muktibodhananda on these
two verses is: “One who knows khechari m udra is one who
has experienced and perfected it. T he Sanskrit word vetti,
meaning knowledge, refers to knowledge through experience,
not knowledge through an intellectual concept.
“The benefits attributed to khechari m udra are those
th at result from experience o f supra-consciousness or
samadhi. Here we are told that khechari is so powerful that
the practitioner can reach a state beyond karma (cause and
effect), time, death and disease. These are all aspects of the
influence of shakti or maya. T he state of supra-consciousness
is that of universal awareness, beyond duality and the finite
mind. It is called kaivalya, nirvana, moksha, samadhi or
Brahma. These are all synonymous terms indicating the
final stage or accomplishment of raja yoga.
“Time and space are concepts of the finite m ind and per­
ception. In yoga and tantra they are said to be the tools of maya,
prakriti or shakti. They are the laws of nature and finite m ind
is the product of nature. If you can expand the consciousness
beyond the awareness o f finite mind and natural phenom ena,
the consciousness will enter the realm of the infinite.”
In his commentary, Avalon is suggesting that use of the
word ‘p u r’, meaning city, means the practidoner at this stage
of experience should practise yoni mudra. Use of the word
‘pu r’ indicates this body which has nine gates. It does not
necessarily signify the practice of yoni m udra that Avalon
describes in detail.
Yoni m udra is a yogic technique for closing the nine
gates (eyes, ears, nostrils, mouth, urinary tract and anus) to

122
experience the mind, as it is disconnected from any external
experience. However, an adept would, by concentration
alone, experience this without having to practise yoni mudra.
It is clear that Avalon’s comments relate to manas chakra,
the place where mind is experienced without any external
support (the house without support).
T he bindu of the Pranava which is within the triangle is
the lower bindu. Beyond this bindu lies the nada, blazing
white, which is manas chakra, which is discussed separately.
So, manas chakra is the seat of chitta. It is the blazing
white nada above the triangle and above the Pranava on it.
Manas has two aspects, the lower and the higher. Lower
manas is the product o f the senses and receives the sensations
via the brain and conveys them to chitta (called chetas in
Avalon’s text).
A possible mechanism for the creation of chitta by manas
and subsequent detachm ent of chitta from manas, enabling
m anas to be ‘as a house w ithout s u p p o rt’ o r m ind
unsupported by any external experience could be as follows.
Sense impressions are impulses that trigger brain functions,
which are transformed into subtle prana vayu movements
and conveyed to each chakra according to the sense in­
volved. Thus odours trigger a pranic flow to mooladhara,
tastes to swadhisthana, sights or form to manipura, touch
to anahata and sound to vishuddhi (see ‘Creation of Chitta’
diagram on page 125).
In turn these pranic signals are transferred to lower
manas or that aspect of mind dependent on sense stimulation.
These external experiences are stored in chitta as experiences
that we recall and recognize. It is here that our sense of ‘I’
ness identifies with the process of cognition and thus we say
‘I see’ or ‘I smell’. Thus we can recall an experience of smell
or form or colour as well as our feelings of pleasure or pain,
tasteful or distasteful, desirable or undesirable. When we
sleep or enter into unconsciousness, the flow of sensations to
the brain ceases and thus the related petal of manas chakra
is black. According to S.S. Goswami, the colours of the petals

123
in manas chakra are yellow for smell, white for taste, red for
form, ash (silver white) for touch, white for sound and black
for unconsciousness.
In this verse from Sat Chakra Nirupana it is stated that
manas is the place where chitta is absorbed, and since our
attachment to the objects of chitta is always there, liberation
of manas from the external experience by dissolution of
chitta is only possible through the service of a Paramguru.
Param guru’s role is to liberate manas from its involvement
with the external guru and achieves this th ro u g h u n ­
derstanding this process and appropriately training disciples
in non-attachment and teaching the secrets of dissociating
from chitta.
Manas chakra is white and has six petals. Each petal is
said to represent a sense modality as well as having a
representative colour. T he petal representing sense of smell
is yellow, sense of taste is white, sense of sight is red, sense of
touch is ash, sense of sound is white and the petal representing
sleep is black.
When we examine the tantric process of creation, we
come to understand that creation is the evolution of the
tattwas or elements. Since nothing comes from nothing, our
consciousness plus the elements must have their essence or
source in the more subtle aspects out of which they have
evolved. According to tantra the five senses and the material
objects evolved out of the composite mind, otherwise known
as antah harana (manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara). T he
antah karana is the subtle source of the five karmendriyas
(motor senses), the five jnanendriyas (sensory senses) and the
pancha tattwa (five elements, being earth, water, fire, air and
ether, out of which is composed the physical body and the
material universe). We would therefore expect to find the
subtle seeds of manifest reality in time and space in the more
subtle forms of reality beyond time and space.

124
 Creation o f Chitta

Each sensation flows via

manas in ajna to its chakra

Subtle impression o f each

sensation flow s from its
chakra to form chitta within
ajna and manas

Sensation Organ Chakra

Smell Nose Mooladhara
Taste Tongue Swadhisthana
Sight Eyes Manipura
Touch Skin Anahata
Sound Ears Vishuddhi

Verse 37
Jvaladdeepaakaaram tadanu cha naveenaarkabahulaprakaasham
jyotirvaa gaganadharaneemadhyamilitam. Iha sthaane saakshaad
bhavati bhagavaan poornavibhavo ‘vyayah saakshee vahneh
shashimihirayormandala iva.

T ranslation
He then also sees the light (jyoti), which is in th e form o f a
flaming lamp. It is lustrous like the clearly shining m orning
sun, and glows between the sky and the earth. It is here that
the Bhagavan manifests H im self in the fullness o f his might.
He knows no decay, a n d witnesses all, and is h ere as he is in
the region of fire, m oon and sun.

125
Commentary (Avalon)
Yogis such as these see other visions beside the sparks of
light; after seeing the fiery sparks they see the light.
‘Glows between the sky and the earth’ (gagana-dharani
madhya milita): This compound adjective qualifies jyo/i/i (light).
Gagana is the sky or empty space above shankhini nadi.
Shankhini nadi lies beyond ajna and all else as it is the
highest nadi. yet beyond this lies the vacant space and beyond
that lies unmani and nothing is beyond that. Dharani (earth)
is the dhara-mandala in mooladhara. This light also extends
from mooladhara to sahasrara.
He next speaks of the presence of Parama-Shiva in ajna.
‘It is here’ (ilia sthane): i.e. in ajna; Parama-Shiva is here,
as in sahasrara. Bhagavan is Parama-Shiva.
‘In the fullness o f his m ight’ (pooma-vibhava): This
compound word, which qualifies Bhagavan, is capable of
various interpretations:
Pooma may mean complete in himself, and vibhava, infi­
nite powers, such as the power of creation etc. In that case
the word would mean: “One who has in him such powers,
who is the absolute creator, destroyer and supporter of the
universe.”
Vibhava again may mean ‘the diversified and limitless
creation’, and pooma, ‘all-spreading’. In this sense pooma-
vibhava means: “He from whom this all-spreading and endless
(vast) creation has em an ated.” C om pare with Taittireya
Upanishad (3.1.1): “From whom all these originated, and in
whom having originated they live, to whom they go and into
whom they enter.”
Vibhava again may mean omnipresence, and pooma, all­
spreading. It would then mean: “He who in his omnipresence
pervades all things.”
Pooma may also mean the quality of one whose wish is
not moved by the result and is not attached to any object.
Pooma-vibhava would then mean one who is possessed of
that quality.

126
 All things except Atma pass away (the omnipresence of
the ethereal region, ahasha, etc is not ever-existent). The
Nirvana Tantra (ch.IX) speaks of the presence of Parama-
Shiva in the ajna chakra in detail: “Above this (i.e. vishuddhi)
lotus is jnan a lotus, which is very difficult to achieve; it is
the region of the full moon, and has two petals.” And, “Inside
it, in the form of Hamsah, is the bija of Sham bhu.” And,
“Thus is Hamsah in mani-dvipa (the isle of gems in the
realm of ambrosia), and in its lap is Parama-Shiva, with
Siddfia-Kali (a form of Shakti) on his left. She is the very self
of eternal bliss.” By lap is m eant the space within the bindus
which form the visarga at the end of Hamsah.
So it has been said in describing sahasrara: “There are
the two bindus which make the imperishable visarga. In the
space within is Parama-Shiva.” As it is in sahasrara so it is
represented here (i.e. Parabindu is represented in ajna by
the bindu of Omkara).
We are to understand that these two, Shiva and Shakti,
are here in union (bandhana) in the form of Parabindu, as the
letter ‘Ma’ (makaratma), and that they are surrounded
(acchhadana) by Maya. “She the eternal one stays here (ajna)
in the form of a grain o f gram and creates beings (bhutani)."
Here the Parama-Shiva dwells in the form of a gram and,
according to the Utkaladimata, also creates.
‘As he is in the region of fire, moon and sun’ (vahneh
shashimihirayor mandalamiva): As the presence o f Bhagavan
in these regions is well known, so is He here. O r perhaps the
author means that as He, in the shape of a grain of gram,
dwells in the regions o f fire, moon and sun, in sahasrara, so
does He dwell here also.
In peetha-pooja, the pooja of Paramatma and jnanatm a
should be performed on the mandalas of sun (Arka), moon
(Indu), and fire (Agni). Paramatma is Parama-Shiva and
jnanatma is jnana-shakti. T he bindu should be meditated
upon like the grain o f gram, consisting of the inseparable
couple, namely Shiva and Shakti.

127
Verse 38
Iha sthaane vishnoratulaparamaamodamadhure samaaropya
praanam pramuditamanaah praananidhane. Pararn nityam devant
purushamajamaadhyam trijagataam puraanam yogeendrah
pravishati cha vedaantaviditam.

Translation
This is the incom parable and delightful abode of Vishnu.
T he excellent yogi at the time of death joyfully places his
vital b reath (prana) h e re and enters (after death) that
supreme, eternal, birthless, primeval deva, the purusha, who
was before the three worlds, and who is known by the Vedanta.

Commentary (Avalon)
He now speaks of the good to be gained by giving up the
prana by yoga in ajna chakra.
This verse means that the excellent yogi (yogindra) at the
time of death (prana-nidhane) joyfully (pramudita-manah) places
his prana (pranam samaropya) in the abode of Vishnu in ajna
(iha sthane vishnoh), and passes away, and then enters the
supreme Purusha. He describes Purusha as eternal (nityam),
indestructible (vinasarahitam), birthless (aja), prim eval
(purana). Deva means he whose play is creation, existence
and destruction.
‘Joyfully’: Glad in m ind in the enjoyment o f the blissful
union with Atma (atmanandena hrishta-chittah).
‘Who was before the three worlds’ (tri-jagatam adyam)
(bhuh, bhuvah, svah): By this the implication is that He is
the cause of all as He preceded all.
‘Known by the Vedanta’ (vedanta-vidita): Vedanta are sacred
texts dealing with the inquiry concerning the Brahman. He
is known by knowledge (jnana) of these.
The way the prana is placed (pranaropana-prakara) in the
place of Vishnu is described: Knowing that the time for the
prana to depart is approaching, and glad that he is about to
be absorbed into the Brahman, the yogi sits in yogasana and
restrains his breath by kumbhaka. He then leads the jivatma

128
 in the heart to m ooladhara and by contracting the anus
(ashwini mudra) and following other prescribed processes,
rouses kundalini. He next meditates upon the lightning-
like, blissful nada, which is thread-like and whose substance
is kundali (kundalini-maya).
He then merges the Hamsa, which is the Paramatma, in
the form of prana in the nada, and leads it along with the
jiva through the different chakras according to the rules of
chakra-bheda to ajna. He there dissolves all the diverse
elements from the gross to the subtle, beginning with prithvi,
in kundalini. Last of all, he unifies her and the jivatma with
the bindu whose substance is Shiva and Shakti (Shiva-Sliakti-
maya). Having done this, he pierces the brahm arandhra,
leaves the body and becomes merged in the Brahman.

W ithin the ajna system

Within ajna is examined thoroughly by Goswami. He has
concluded that the nada above Om is manas chakra, usually
referred to in current texts on kundalini yoga as the ‘raif or
the nada that is the first trace of sound consciousness.
Referring to verse 35, Avalon commented: “Above this is
nada”, i.e. above the Pranava is the avantara (final or second)
nada, which challenges as it were the whiteness of Baladeva
and the moon. By this he means to say that it is extremely
white, excelling in whiteness both Baladeva and the rays of
the moon.”
Some read tadaadye naado’sau (in the place o f tadoordhve
naado’sau) and interpret it as, “Below bindu-roopi ma-kara is
nada,” but that is incorrect. T he text says, “Above this, again,
is ma-kara, shining in its form of bindu,” and there is nada
below it; that being so, it is useless to repeat that nada is below.
Besides, this nada is beyond the nada which forms part of
the Pranava, and is part of the differentiating Para-bindu placed
above the Pranava. If, however, it be urged that it is necessary
to state the details in describing the special Pranava, and it is
asked, “Why do you say a second nada is inappropriate?” then
the reading tadadye nado’sau may be accepted.

129
 But read thus it should be interpreted in the following
manner: “This nada shown below the bindu-roopi ma-kara
is bala-dhavala-sudha-dhara-samthana-hasee, and the nada
first spoken of is also so described. Such repetition is free
from blame on the authority of the maxim that “the great
are subject to no limitations”.
Whilst the maxim does hold true, in the same way that
the manifest universe is an expression of the unmanifest
cosmic consciousness and both manifest and unmanifest
together are all pervading, total and limitless, it is also true
that Goswami’s comment based on his readings o f the tantras
does have merit.
Regarding the nada m entioned in verse 35 (the nada
above Om), Goswami comments that various tantric texts
state that manas mandala (manas chakra) is in the eye brow
centre and (in Yogashikhopanishad) is in the form of a nada.
These tantras are a record of the experiences o f those who
have walked the path o f kundalini sadhana and cannot be
ignored.
From the first m o m en t consciousness dawns after
unconscious sleep, that is to say from the m om ent we wake
from unconscious sleep, we are inundated with the five
external senses and sleep, and how tem pting it is to fall back
into sleep or to follow one of the other signals. It is only firm
resolve and personal training that can help us to explore our
inner depths on the higher side of manas, exploring and
releasing the memories within chitta and awakening the
pathways to the higher realms of consciousness.
So manas is seated in ajna and by a separation from the
lowest aspect of manas (processor of sensorial information
and sleep), the other aspects of manas become accessible.
These other aspects are antah karana (manas (higher), buddhi,
chitta and ahamkara).
T hat Acharya Swami Poom ananda limited his work to a
description of the six chakras does not indicate more chakras
within ajna are a myth or that he did not know about them.
Acharya Swami P o o rn a n an d a did in fact indicate the

130
 Manas Chakra

experience o f manas, an d his work has always been very re-

speced, studied and com m ented upon by m any p rom in ent
scholars.
Above m anas c h a k ra lies th e six te e n -p e ta lle d in d u or
shitan g sh u chakra. B oth indu an d shitangshu m e a n m oon.
Above indu chakra lies nirvana chakra. Nirvana chakra is the
last chakra in chitrini nadi and is the highest chakra in the ajna
system. Evolution o f consciousness from nirvana chakra is the
awakening of guru chakra, a sub-centre o f sahasrara. Kundalini
culminates in sahasrara proper.
Summarizing, the sense nadis convey their impulses to
the five lower chakras an d above them within ajna is manas.
Manas has two aspects: a lower one connected with the
senses a n d a h ig h e r o n e lead in g to d ivine o r h ig h e r
experiences. Ajna is the chakra o f the m ind and by training,
self-control and m editation, we can transcend the attraction

131
of the lower senses and become absorbed in m ind or manas
itself without any support from external stimuli. T he manas
here is the whole manas or antah karana.
After indu comes nirvana chakra, and this is the last chakra
within chitrini nadi, which lies within vajra and sushumna
nadis, m arking the end of the nadis and com pleting the
experiences within ajna. Beyond is guru chakra, sahasrara
and ultim ate highest consciousness o f Shiva united with
Shakti, who has ascended as Ma Kundalini from mooladhara.
Nirvana chakra is the centre associated with concentration
and the dissolution of the sense o f ‘I’. Thus the journey to the
divine is beyond all duality, since there is only one and that is
the experience. Swami Satyananda describes the experience
in ajna as follows: “Transformation of individual consciousness
is brought about by the merging of the three great forces.
Individual consciousness is mainly comprised of ego, and it is
on account of ego that we are aware of dualities. As long as
there is duality there cannot be samadhi; as long as you
remember yourself you cannot get out of yourself.
“Although there are experiences of trance in the other
chakras, there is no m erger of the individual ego with the
cosmic ego. All throughout you are trying to assert yourself
behind all the experiences you are having, but when ida and
pingala unite with sushumna in ajna chakra, you lose yourself
completely.”
T he consciousness associated with the senses in chitta
persists as we continue with concentration; however, the
association with the senses is replaced with a superconscious
state known as ‘Dhi’. T he bija m antra for nirvana chakra is
Gam or 7f. In nirvana chakra concentration is done on
lustrous Shiva.
Sat Chakra Nirupana states in verse 39: “When the actions
of the yogi are, through the services of the lotus feet of the
guru, in all respects good, then he will see above it (ajna) the
form of the mahanada, and will ever hold in the lotus of his
hand the siddhi of speech. T he mahanada, which is the
place of the dissolution of vayu and is half of Shiva and like

132
the plough in shape, is tranquil and grants boons and dispels
fear and makes manifest pure intelligence (buddhi).
Mahanada is the place of the dissolution of all lower
nadis and their source. In other words dissolution is the
reverse of creation and the nadis were formed from the
mahanada. It is half Shiva or Ardhanarishwara, the other half
being Shakti, and there are countless art pieces depicting
this divine state. One may question the relationship of the
form o f a plough to A rdhanarishw ara, but we should
rem em ber the m eaning of symbols is obvious in such divine
states. T he other interpretation favoured by Avalon is that
Shiva has the m antra ‘H a’ or (?) and by removing the top
part of this letter we are left with a form resembling a simple
plough as drawn by a pair of oxen.

133
 Bibliography

Goswami, S.S., Laya Yoga, Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1980
Muktibodhananda, Swami, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Yoga Publications
Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2002
Roney-Dougal, Serena, ‘On a Possible Psycho-physiology of the
Yogic Chakra System’, YOGA, Vol 11 (3,4,5), Sivananda Math,
Munger, Bihar, 2000
Saraswati, Swami Niranjanananda, Dharana Darshan, Yoga
Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2003
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha, 4th
(revised) edn, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2008
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda, Dynamics of Yoga: The Foundations of
Bihar Yoga, 2nd edn, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar,
2002
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda, Kundalini Tantra, Yoga Publications
Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2002
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda, Mechanics of Meditation, 2nd edn,
Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, 1973
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda, Meditations from the Tantras, 2nd
edn, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2000
Saraswati, Swami Satyasangananda, Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra,
The Ascent, Yoga Publications Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2003
Tooley, G. A. et al, Biological Psychology, 53, 69-78, 71, 2000
Vivekananda, Dr Rishi, Practical Yoga Psychology, Yoga Publications
Trust, Munger, Bihar, 2003
Woodroffe, Sir John (Arthur Avalon), The Serpent Power, Ganesh 8c
Company, Madras, 2001

135
 Glossary

Adwaita - non-dual, the concept of oneness

Agni - fire
Ajapa - involuntary unconscious repetition, especially of the mantra
or sound ‘soham’ and ‘hamso’ made naturally with the ingoing
and outgoing breath
Ajna - psychic command centre; the sixth chakra manifesting in
the region of the midbrain
Akasha - sky matter; ether, the first of the material elements or condi­
tions of matter; the space between the astral and physical worlds
Amrita - the nectar of immortality; another name for soma
Anahata - the fourth chakra related to the physical region of the heart
Ananda Lahari - ‘Waves of Bliss’; name of a tantric text by Adi
Shankaracharya
Anatma - non-self
Antah karana - internal instrument or tool of consciousness,
referring to the entire mind with all its functions
Antar mouna - meditative technique of awareness of inner silence
and inner ‘noise’
Antar trataka - inner trataka; gazing within with the eyes closed
Anuloma vilom a - mental nadi shodhana; awareness of the breath
movement alternatively through the two nostrils, combined
with concentration on the nosetip and trikuti
Anusthana - a fixed course of sadhana, usually practised from
early morning to late night
Arani - wood used in kindling fire by friction during yajna
Ardhanarishwara - Shiva and his Shakti united in one form
Asana - seat; posture

136
Asat - false
Ashwini - horse; a mudra where the sphincter muscles of the anus
are repeatedly contracted
Atman - the self, beyond body and mind
Aum/Om - bija mantra of ajna chakra; universal cosmic mantra
Avidya - ignorance, the root of the five kleshas
Bahiranga trataka - outer trataka, with the eyes open
Baikhari japa - audible repetition of a mantra; preliminary form
of japa
Bheda - to pierce, particularly relating to the piercing of a chakra
Bija mantra - seed sound
Bindu - drop or point; dot denoting the *n’ or ‘m’ vowel sounds in
Sanskrit; chakra manifesting in the upper posterior of the
head; most important psychic centre in nada
Brahma - God as creator
Brahma sutra - chitrini-nadi
Brahmamuhurta - the auspicious time of Brahma, most suitable
for meditation; the three hours preceding dawn when the
atmosphere is most sattwic
Brahmarandhra - a concealed aperture in the top of the head
where the kundalini leaves the body at the time of mahasamadhi
Brahmara guha - the hidden residence of Brahman; another
name for ajna chakra
Bhrumadhya - eyebrow centre
Buddhi - higher intelligence, concerned with real wisdom
Chakra - wheel; centre of energy or psychic centre of the astral body
Chandra - moon; representing mental energy
Chetas - consciousness, reality
Chidakasha - inner space visualized in meditation behind the
closed eyes
Chin mudra - psychic gesture of consciousness, a hand position
with palm upwards on the knee and the index finger locked
into the base of the thumb knees
Chitrini nadi - the main nadi of the astral body manifesting along
the spinal cord; another name for sushumna
Chit - pure knowledge, beyond the division of subject and object
Chitta - empirical mind; individual consciousness; storehouse of
memory; one of four aspects of antah karana; seat of
consciousness, including the conscious, subconscious, un­
conscious and superconscious

137
Dama - control of the body and senses
Damaru - small hand drum
Darshan - sight, vision; philosophical system of the vedic tradition
Devata - a form of divinity; divine being having subordinate functions
Devi - female deity, goddess
Dharma - duty; code of harmonious living
Dharana - concentration or complete attention
Dhyana - spontaneous state of meditation, arising out of perfection
of dharana
Drishti - seeing, viewing
Gunas - the three qualities of matter or prakriti
Guru - dispeller of the darkness of ignorance
Hakini - the goddess in ajna chakra
Hamsa mantra - mantra 'soham’or ajapa mantra
Ichchha - will; desire set by the will
Ida - psychic channel conducting pranic energy located on the left
side of the psychic body; mental, lunar force; the 4tha* of hatha
yoga
Idam - this; all this, as distinguished from that, or what is beyond
Indriya - an organ of sense or action
Ishta deva - the incarnate or embodied being for whom we feel an
attraction and who represents the manifestation of the supreme
being
Ishwara - higher reality; unmanifest existence
Itara lingam - the consolidated black shivalingam seen in ajna
chakra, symbolizing the astral or subtle body
Japa - mantra repetition
Jivatma - individual self
Jnana - wisdom, higher knowledge
Jnanendriya - five subtle organs of perception: eyes, eras, skin,
tongue and nose
Jyoti - inner light
Kaivalya - final liberation; highest state of consciousness beyond
duality
Kaala - time
Kalaa - ray or force that manifests from the nucleus of bindu due
to vibrations caused by nada
Kama - desire for material pleasures
Karma - action and result; work; law of cause and effect that
shapes the destiny of each individual

138
Karma yoga - action performed unselfishly for the welfare of
others and the fulfilment of dharma
Karmaphala - the fruit or result of action
Karmendriya - five organs of action
Kaya sthairyam - practice of absolute steadiness of the body
Khechari mudra - the attitude of moving in space; tongue lock;
hatha yoga practice
Kleshas - five causes of afflictions
Koshas - sheaths or bodies
Kriya - activity associated with knowledge, leading to perfection;
practices of kundalini yoga
Kula - family, lineage
Kula kundalini - primordial cosmic energy
Kumbhaka - retention of breath
Kunda - vessel, pit; starting place of kundalini
Kundalini - divine cosmic energy lying dormant in mooladhara
chakra; evolutionary potential
Linga - a symbol representing Shiva, the male aspect of creation
Mahadeva - the great god; Shiva
Maha nadi - the main nadi of the astral body, otherwise called
sushumna or chitrini
Maha shakti - great power
Makara - the letter ‘M\ the mystic syllable *M\ the third letter that
concludes Aum or the pranava nada (original sound)
Mala - a bead rosary used for japa
Manas - mind; the lower aspect is connected with the senses and
the higher aspect leads to higher experiences; antah karana
Manas chakra - seat of chitta
Mandala - diagram within a circumference symbolizing the deeper
aspects of consciousness
Manipura - third chakra situated behind the navel in the spinal
column, associated with vitality and energy
Mantra - subtle sound vibration; tan trie tool which liberates energy
and expands the consciousness
Mantra anusthana - an intensive day and night practice of japa
Matra - unit of time; time interval in pronouncing a sound
Maya - cause of the phenomenal world
Moha - infatuation, delusion
Moksha - liberation from the cycle of birth and death
Mooladhara - the lowest and first chakra and the seat of kundalini

139
Mudra - psychic attitude, often accomplished by a physical gesture,
movement or posture, which affects the flow of psychic energy
in the body
Mukta triveni - confluence of the three nadis, ida, pingala and
sushumna, through which liberation is attained; another name
for ajna chakra
Mukti - liberation from the wheel of births and deaths
Nada - subtle sound vibration heard in meditation; inner sound;
prolongation of the sound in mantras such as Om; primal
sound or first vibration; Omkara
N adis - psychic channels of prana in the astral body
Nirvana - final liberation
Om/Aum - bija mantra of ajna chakra; universal cosmic mantra
Padma - lotus
Para - beyond; superior, higher
Paramatma - cosmic soul or consciousness
Parananda - celestial joy
Pingala - psychic channel conducting pranic energy located on
the right side of the psychic body; solar force; the ‘ha’ of hatha
yoga
Pooja - worship
Prakasha - brilliance, light of consciousness
Prakriti - manifest and unmanifest nature
Prana - vital energy force
Pranava - another word for the sacred syllable Aum / Om; primal
sound vibration
Pranayama - yogic practices using the breath to control the flow of
prana in the body
Pratyahara - sense withdrawal; the point in yoga sadhana at which
the mind turns inward and progress becomes automatic
Prithvi - earth
Purusha - pure consciousness
Raga - attachment
Rajas - dynamism; one of the three gunas of prakriti
Sadhaka - one who practises sadhana; spiritual aspirant
Sadhana - spiritual discipline or practice
Sahasrara - thousand-petalled lotus or chakra manifesting at the
top of the head; abode of Shiva or superconsciousness
Samadhi - culmination of meditation; state of unity with universal
consciousness

140
Samana-one of the five vital airs, operating in the region of the navel
Samkhya - one of the six systems of Indian philosophy
Samskaras - unconscious memories
Sandhi - union
Sandhya - ritual worship conducted at dawn, noon and evening
Sankalpa shakti - the power of will
Sannyasa - dedication; complete renunciation of mundane
experiences as goals in life
Sat - true; that which really exists; attribute of the ultimate reality,
or Brahman
Sattwa - luminosity, harmony; one of the three gunas of prakriti
Saundarya Lahari - a tantric prayer by Adi Shankaracharya
Shakti - primal energy; power; female aspect of creation
Shama - calming or controlling the mind
Shankara - a name of the supreme; Shiva
Shankaracharya - celebrated teacher of the Adwaita Vedanta
philosophy and founder of the Dashnami order of sannyasa
Shiva - ‘auspicious one*; eternal transcendental consciousness;
counterpart of Shakti
Shiva lingam - oval symbol of Shiva’s causal form
Shodhana - purification, of six kinds
Shoonya - void
Shruti - revealed sounds of knowledge heard in a higher state of
consciousness
Siddhi - accomplishment, perfection and power
Soham - ‘That am I\ ‘so’ representing cosmic consciousness and
‘ham’ representing individual consciousness; mantra used in
ajapa japa, said to be the unconscious repetitive prayer produced
by the breath
Soma - amrit; divine nectar; plant used by the ancient rishis for
spiritual awakening and immortality
Sthirata - steadiness
Sukha - pleasure; happiness
Sukshma sharira - subtle body
Swadhisthana - the second chakra corresponding to the region of
the pubic area, which is characterised by a drowsy state
Swara - breathing cycle; sound or tone
Tamas - darkness, inertia; one of the three gunas of prakriti
Tantras - scriptures devoted to spiritual techniques in the form of
a dialogue between Shiva and Shakti, forming a set of rules for

141
 ritual, worship, discipline, meditation and the attainment of
powers for all types of people
Tapas - austerity; purification
Tattwa - ‘thatness’; truth; element
Trikuti - another name for ajna chakra
Unmani - centre beyond mind and thought
Upanishads - philosophical dialogues between guru and disciple
in Sanskrit
Upanshu japa - whispered repetition of a mantra
Vedas - sacred knowledge; the most ancient and authentic
scriptures of sanatana dharma composed before 5,000 BC,
revealed to sages and seers and expressing knowledge of the
whole universe
Vedanta - philosophy of realization of Brahman; Vedanta teaches
the ultimate aim and scope of the vedas
Vidya - inner knowledge
Vijnana - intuitive ability of mind
Visarga - in the Devanagri script used for Sanskrit, it is half of the
‘ha* sound and is represented by Y
Vishuddhi - the fifth chakra, manifesting in the throat region
Viveka - discrimination, especially between the real and the limited
Yajna - sacrifice; offering oblations to the fire
Yantra - a symbolic design used for concentration and meditation;
the visual form of a mantra
Yoga nidra - psychic sleep
Yoni - womb, source
Yoni mudra - closing the ears, eyes, nostrils and lips with the
fingers, and directing the mind inwards to listen to the inner
sounds. Also known as shanmukhi mudra.

142
Notes

143
Rishi Nityabodhananda gradu­
ated in M etallurgy from the
University of N ew South
Wales, Sydney, Australia, in
1967. He joined the Bihar
School o f Yoga in Munger,
and on Basant Panchami,
1970, he was initiated into
poom a sannyasa by Swami
Satyananda.

He currently lives in Australia

where he conducts yoga
seminars and satsangs, and
ruminates on the meaning o f
life and the source o f it all.
O n the 21st February 1999,
he was initiated into rishi
sannyasa by Swami Niranjarv
ananda.
 fA T V A N A N D A Y O v A
» IM A * VSHVA

W h ile know ledge o f th e e x te rn a l w o rld is gained th ro u g h th e senses,

it is thro u g h o u r sixth se n se , ajna chakra. also know n as th e third
eye o r th e eye o f intuition, th a t higher intelligence, b o th unm anifest
and manifest, is e x p e rie n c e d . Awakening ajna chakra is opening th e
channel t o e x p e rie n c e a n s w e rs t o w h a t lies beyond e x te rn a l reality,
qu e stio n s haunting every seeker.

This n ew edition o f Ajna Chakra by Rishi N ityabodhananda has

b e e n revised and up d ated . Included a re discussions o n kundalini
yoga, ajna chakra in th e ta n tric tex ts, yogic practices t o awaken ajna
chakra, a tte m p ts by science to validate dim ensions o f con scio u sn e ss
beyond objective e x te rn a l reality, and rese a rc h into t h e role of th e
pineal gland and its relationship w ith ajna chakra.

9788186336809
 Dr. Marco Paret

The Magnetic
Gaze
What is and how to acquire it
Applications of Fascination to Hypnotic Practice
Self Fascination and other techniques

ISBN13 978-0-935410-65-5
© 2011 – International Academic Productions
 Preface
Can we not see that a stronger force is exercised by the
human eyes which, through a mere look, almost bring about
life or death, cause blood to flow away and come back, wrest
away strength and restitute it, and, even more remarkably,
corrupt the judgment of human minds”
(Sonnet by Lorenzo de’ Medici, known as “Il Magnifico” 1)

Who would not like to prove attractive and to fascinate?

To «fascinate» bears the connotation of “producing a
spellbinding effect or enchanting through one’s look or
speech”.
The present book is devoted to the power of the eye and the
secrets which are correlated to it.
By means of this organ, in fact, astonishing results can be
achieved. The influence exercised by man over another
member of the species is no doubt the product of a multiplicity
of causes, yet no one of those underlying causes is comparable,
in terms of its potency, to the one possessed by the look. Our
thought, too, is influenced by the look. The very phrase “vision
of the world” is traceable back precisely to that reality. After
all, even in the most mundane aspects of human life, we are
accustomed to judge on the basis of the outward appearance.
We create a certain opinion of one person firstly on the basis of
his physiognomy and, secondly, on the basis of what dress he
is wearing. For sure, speech helps fashion ideas and beliefs,
but what happens when such action is not validated by one’s
look? When one listens to a person without seeing him, the
content of what he is saying is only understood by creating

1 Cf. “Works” by Lorenzo de’ Medici known as “Il Magnifico”,

Volume 4, at p. 109.

3
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

some mental images, imaginary mental images. Words gain in

potency when they are backed up by the look.
A proficient orator deliberately trains the way he looks at
the audience in order to lend greater force and persuasive
efficacy to his verbalizations.
In the course of this book, we shall discover how such a
force is susceptible of being developed by recourse to a self-
disciplining method. Indeed, already when we limit ourselves
to looking around without any specific purpose, even without
any specific instructions, we are in fact communicating a
myriad of different messages.
If, however, we develop conscious awareness of what we do,
we will manage to ultimately learn how to subjugate these
energies possessed by the look. Indeed, in extreme
circumstances, the ability we will have gained thereby is going
to extend, in the sphere of interpersonal relationships, to the
power to “enchant” whoever watches us, to create “an
instantaneous hypnosis”; at the same time, from the viewpoint
of the receptive side of looks, we will understand and perceive
many more things than those we would otherwise regard as
possible.
The present work is the world’s most profoundly
comprehensive text on this subject. It has its roots both in
practical experience and in the attentive study of all the
relevant literature we have been able to lay our hands on. We
have accordingly referred, in the course of our footnotes, to
hundreds of varied historical, scientific and experiential
sources.

An other result, one more closely connected to everyday life,

is to learn to use the power of the eye so as to develop your
Presence, Status, Prestige, Charm, Self-caring, Charisma, and
Leadership, up to the point that you literally become capable
oh hypnotizing and magnetizing whichever person is watching
you.

4
 Attractive charm, according to the ancient way of looking at
things, is in fact “a far-reaching power that is exercised by a
look over another look, one charged with such a force that
whoever was subjected to it was unable to extricate his self
from it, and was accordingly compelled to be fascinated by it”.
We are able, in this context, to record an age-long
uninterrupted sequence, running across centuries, of
witnesses’ first-hand descriptions of how such force would
materialize. This ongoing chain of consistent records spans the
medieval, Roman and pre-Roman ages without exception.
The most recondite aspects of such tradition appear to have
been incessantly transmitted in Italy more than in any other
part of the world, though such transmission took place within
the most exclusive elites of special affiliates.
This ancient mode of looking at things has in fact always
been practiced on the basis of a direct transmission from
master to disciple, without resorting to written texts, other
than, at the most, some allusive documents carrying meanings
which were concealed from non-adepts, and odd systems of
arcane symbols.
In order to lend efficacy to this force, it is essential for us to
develop awareness of the strength inherent in our look, as well
as to develop a different vision. Though this is a practically
orientated tradition, in order to understand and, even more, to
put this art into practice, what is indeed required is an
approach to reality which opens up to different and all-
encompassing dimensions. They have to differ, in other words,
from the linear and limited dimension of modern man. For
modern man, the eye is a mere passive organ. If we, however,
desire to appropriate the power inherent in the eye, we have to
actively employ it and draw close to quantistic physics, which
teaches us precisely that “the observer influences the
observed”.
In fascination we detect transformation, both the
transformation of the one who actively inspires it and the one

5
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

who is the passive recipient thereof. Fascination is additionally

able to confer a scientific basis on the otherwise inexplicable
thereapeutic ability possessed by several healers.

The original sources of our interest in the subject

Everything originated at first in our odd encounter with
“the last of the fascinators”: Virgilio T. 2, who currently lives in
a state of deliberate obscurity by the valleys of Piedmont. He
appears to be the last custodian of one part of the secrets of
this most ancient school.
During a series of subsequent meetings, spread over a
period in excess of twenty years, he has gradually introduced
us to the strange and arcane power of the gaze, and has passed
onto us increasingly more mysterious and secret exercises.
The first one to meet him was actually a friend of mine,
Max, who, having approached him in order to seek
information on what hypnotism was, received a very practical
reply to his inquiry.
Virgilio T., who at that stage worked as a barber, asked
those who were present at the barber’s shop whether they
agreed to take part in an experiment. Once he received a
positive reply to his said request, he closed the door of the
shop and firmly fized his gaze on one of the customers, who
had moreover assumed a somewhat defiant look. His defiant
posturing only lasted for a very short period. Within a few
seconds, in fact, that customer took on a livid appearance.
Virgilio told him that the cigarette was bad. The customer thus
addressed began to cough so much that Virgilio was forced to
slap him in the face a few times in order to bring him back to
his senses.

2 The surname is abbrievated at the relevant person’s specific

behest, since he (now aged 80) only desires to be visited by friends.

6
 When it came to the second customer, he did not even utter
a single word to him. He fixed him closely, and this other
customer’s look turned pallid and diaphanous as if it was made
of wax. At that point, Virgilio carried out a facetious probative
exercise: Faced with the question on what his name was, such
customer answered by mentioning a woman’s name which had
not even been verbally suggested (to him by Virgilio), only
through the power of thought.
Virgilio thereupon woke him up.
Moved by his curiosity, Max took to Virgilio a number of his
friends, and witnessed similar events on several other
occasions.
Even I succeeded in experiencing on my own skin the power
of this seemingly quiet person who, besides the ability I have
just described, had also developed a special sensitivity to
energies, to such an extent that he was a capable medical
diviner equipped with the talent to retrieve an object concealed
inside a room.

Where does all of this originate?

Having intuitively realized that recourse to such technique
might have stretched even beyond what we had been witnesses
to, and that this power might be used for the additional
purpose of making people feel better, we resolved on
becomingVirgilio’s students and intimate associates, to whom
he could have confided his secrets. We then realized that, in
order to attain such power, what is needed is a disciplined
work upon one’s own self, which is also grounded on a series of
techniques and exercises encompassing self-control as well as
self-development and self-improvement.
Virgilio is not, however, the only exponent of such school
which we owe our knowledge of the subject to.

7
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

A contribution to the completion of this work was also made

by the late Prof. Erminio from Pisa 3. He used to refer to
fascination by the term of “instantaneous hypnosis”.
In spite of the fact that both Virgilio T. and Erminio from
Pisa were consummate masters in this art, the former, albeit
capable of producing rapid results, operates only by leaving a
superficial and short-term imprint, at a time that the work
carried out by the latter pushes this technique onto a different
level, one that has a deep effect and succeeds in healing
plentiful pathologies on an enduring basis. In so doing, it
traces itself back to a long tradition of therapeutic fascination.
After all, Virgilio, fully aware as he was of his limits, made
use of his brand of hypnosis, never mind how spectacular, only
as a game or for theatrical effect, whereas Prof. Erminio from
Pisa was accustomed to assiduously cure dozens of people on a
weekly basis, within his study, as part of his regular
professional activity. Most of these persons would get cured in
a single session lasting ten seconds or so. Even those who were
most amenable to recurrent relapses, needed no more than 2
to 3 sessions before the beneficial effects of fascination
accomplished through the look embedded themselves firmly in
their organisms. Prof. Erminio was a person marked by a
forceful personality. In his work methodology, as was the case
with the ancient people, he always strove to be in a state of
balance with the universal harmony, which he used to discern
as a result of his astrological studies.
It is thus from him that we have learnt how to employ this
art for healing purposes. This is a technique that we are going
to lay out in the second part of the book.
Prof. Erminio, too, had been directly introduced to this
discipline by an existing master: Prof. Caravelli. The latter was
a masterful expert in the so-called art of “bi-location”, so much

3 He is the author of a manual on “Practical Hypnomagnetism”

published by the Meb.

8
so that he could be simultaneously perceived in two different
places.
That is how we have made our acquaintance with this
technique, which is as ancient as it is beneficial.
These keys had remained hidden up to now. Indeed,
although, since the days of the most remote past, testimonies
had been adduced of people who were able to exercise a
powerful influence with the look, the true method of bringing
that about had in fact always been kept secret, or at least
transmitted only on condition of maintaining a high degree of
confidentiality.
Even a very committed devotee of this type of subjects such
as William Atkinson, who is one of the few people to have
consecrated an entire book to the subject, one that bears the
title of “Mental Fascination” 4, deals with it from the outside,
in the process mentioning that he had interviewed some
people, while clarifying the fact that had not been personally
initiated to the technique.
Likewise, Seligmann, a German ophthalmologist who
authoured in this regard a monumental work comprising more
than 2500 literary sources he had quoted therein, had never
been let in the art from inside. Accordingly, as with many
authors in the field, he offers us a puzzle without however
being able to provide us with a true solution to it.
It does not end here, however. Though we have been
introduced to the technique, we can personally attest to the
fact that there are still many obscure points in need of
clarification, as regards the degree of potency of this hidden
and extraordinary power.

4 Cf. William Atkinson, “Mental Fascination”. The Italian title of

the book is “La Fascinazione Mentale”, Ed. Bocca. The book is

additionally available in a free of charge online format from our
school, simply by requesting it at the address
info@neurolinguistic.com.

9
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Fields of utilization of fascination

“Fascination is actualized by a lucid and subtle virtue which
the heat of the heart gives birth to as one equipped with a
purer blood. This heat is emanated in the form of rays which,
emitted by open eyes fixing their gaze with strong
imaginative power, ultimately produce a wound in the object
of their look, touch the heart, and succeed in afflicting the
other person’s heart and spirit, either with love or hatred,
with envy, melancholia, or some other kindred emotional
force. Feeling the attraction of love is a phenomenon which
takes place when two people frequently eye one another
through a direct, intense look. In that case, visual rays,
mutually radiating, meet one another, and light is wedded to
light. It is at that point that spirits are conjoined together,
and that the superior light, by indoctrinating the lower one,
shimmers through the eyes, and races to penetrate into the
inner spirit, the one that is rooted in the heart; it is in that
fashion that an amorous conflagration is stirred into being.
If, however, you do not want to fall into the spell of
fascination, you must be extremely cautious, and guard your
eyes specifically, as the eyes are largely the only windows of
the soul when it comes to love. That is the reason behind the
famous saying: “Averte, averte oculos tuos!” 5. Let this
instruction suffice for now!”
[Giordano Bruno 6].

“Fascination” is the technical term which is used to indicate

the capacity of captivating people through the eyes. The image
of the Medusa which petrifies by the look is certainly the
metaphorical transposition of such a reality. It is the

5 Literally, “deflect, deflect your eyes away!”.

6 Cf. Giordano Bruno – “Opera”, p. 27.

10
equivalent of the action we were able to notice in Virgilio T., as
he literally “turned” his subjects “into statues”.
Though it might be deemed strange that merely through the
use of the sight it is possible to freeze a person by placing him
in a state of “incantation”, the action exercised by this on the
brain is given greater intelligibility if we were simply to pay
notice to what happens after all to simple animals when they
are dazzled by light. They stop dead in their tracks, as if
immobilized in a state of astonishment, no longer able to
decipher the situation they find themselves in. Mosquitoes go
as far as incinerating themselves, a typical feature which is
exploited by people in order to spend their summer without
suffering too many bites.
A possible way of explaining the phenomenon is that a
direct look produces a restriction of the attention field in
respect of the recipient of it, whence the gamut of different
uses of the technique as applied in daily actions of persuasion.
So long as, therefore, you keep some person under the grip
of your look, you will learn that he will gain a greater capacity
to perceive emotions and feelings. You will, at the same time,
increasingly reduce the force of his subjective judgment and
will 7.

7 That is due to some experimental proofs which show how

refraining from deflecting one’s eyes (and thereby keeping one’s look
firm) diminishes a person’s critical ability. See in this connection
http://www.psychology.stir.ac.uk/staff/lcalderwood/GazeAversionR
esearch.htm. You can further refer to "Physiological Aspects of
Communication via Mutual Gaze", by Allan Mazur, Eugene Rosa, at
http://www.jstor.org/pss/2778851: This series of experiments
evinces 1) how reciprocal looks occasion responses at a physiological
level, 2) the fact that a person can bring about changes in somebody
else’s physiology through his look, and 3) the truth that look is linked
to facets of domination accruing to one side to a conversation in the
course thereof.

11
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

In order for the eye to be endowed with an effective

strength, however, it is necessary to educate it through a
specific training, and to attain an alert cognizance of its power.
You ought to train yourselves, fundamentally, on how to
acquire a fixed, interested, sweetly penetrating and expressive
look. Once you have succeeded in doing so, you will be able to
hold the first key among those which, provided they are used
correctly, are going to open for you new doors in life.
It is imperative that your vision should be simultaneously
panoramic and incisive, such that it can encompass both the
totality and the detailed particulars. This state occurs to many
people during moments of enthusiasm. In order for you to
bring it about at will, however, self-training is a mandatory
duty.
The practical benefits of that are manifold. In the field of
persuasion, for instance, the eyes can produce an irresistible
effect, and practical experience teaches us that such effect will
be even stronger if we learn how to keep them open in a
motionless state, studiously avoiding to deflect our look, albeit
for a split second, away from the base of the other person’s
nose, and simultaneously having a clear idea of what we desire
to achieve.
The exercises, apart from having the capacity to powerfully
develop your eyes, will additionally sharpen your attention and
evolve other indispensable faculties in life.
An essential requirement is that you should learn to achieve
firm power over your own selves. The first level of exercises
which help develop this power properly is in fact based on
mastering one’s own body and its impulses, emotions, violent
desires, and the mental plane with its characteristic
digressions and instability. The aim behind it is that all of the
aforesaid should submit to the higher self and should
transform into a positive instrument that guides our strengths
and our eye in a conscious fashion, one which is not

12
abandoned to dependence on mere instinctiveness. The ability
to enchant, indeed, is not only human, yet only man is capable
of steering it toward positive and delopment-bound purposes.
Animals capture prey through the look as well, but only in an
unconscious manner. There have always been tales of snakes
gifted with special faculties to cast their charm upon their
victim and thereby disable it from shunning its spires; their
power reaches such an extreme degree that they cause birds to
step down, draw closer, and let themselves be grabbed without
being able to offer any resistance in an attempt at self-
protection. A similar narration had also been reported to us by
our master. The protagonists of that story consisted in a fox
and some hens 8. A friend of his owned a hen house, and was
astounded by the fact that some of the hens would go missing.
Imagine how much did his astonishment escalate when he
realized that such hens used to climb over a branch, while
underneath, on the ground, a fox used to look at them and
wave its head in the process. It appears as if, on their own
initiative, the hens would then throw themselves underneath,
where they would be devoured by the fox.
Fascination is also the historical basis of the classical “give
me your eyes, please” of the hypnotizers of yesteryear. Though
such a personage is still alive in popular perceptions, he has
effectively become extinct by now, given that the techniques of
hypnosis which are currently utilized on a preponderant basis
are both lengthy and based on the use of words. They mostly
derive from a practice strand of American origin which is
disconnected from the ancient tradition 9. No one among

8 We are unaware of whether Virgilio used to recount it for the

purpose of teaching us something, in other words, as something of

metaphorical value, or for merely narrative reasons. Virgilio is in fact
fond of spinning stories as opposed to relating concepts directly.
9 Most of the hypnotic techniques that are currently practiced

base themselves, according to the Americans, on the works of L

13
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

present-day professional hypnotists, not even among the most

celebrious ones, is really capable of making use of the look.
Nevertheless, look might, if and when it is understood,
function as a valuable aid to any hypnotic influence, due to the
fact that it engenders by itself a suspension of certain critical
faculties, and does so in a totally natural manner.

Summary of the methods of utilization of the technique

1. In everyday life and in the sphere or relationships: The
reason why a certain person makes an impact on us, and seems
to us “alive”, lies in the self-confident mastery exuded by a look
which seduces, attracts, enchants. Our eye can be educated in
this respect and guided to the attainment of those effects.
2. Within the therapeutic field: Since ancient times,
healing power has been attributed to the look. Both
Hippocrates 10 and Dioscorides 11, as well as Theophrastus 12,
forcefully maintain that healing power could be exercised
through the look, gestures and specific rituals. Our own master
Erminio from Pisa 13, therefore, perpetuated such tradition by
causing the instant healing of pains of the muscles and the
skeleton, tinnitus, and several other disorders. A theory that
might provide justification for such results is the one set out
here under: The mind is sometimes caught in the grips of what
is usually referred to as «fixed ideas». We keep on thinking the
same things, and we let ourselves be constantly chased by the

Milton Erickson, Dave Elman and other individuals, and essentially

rest on the use of verbalizations.

10 Cf. Hippocrates, “De Sacro Morbo de Magis”.

11 Cf. Dioscorides, Book ii, chapter 10.
12 Cf. J Theophrastus, “De Histor. Plant”, Book IX, chapter 4.
13 At our institute, we keep a very beautiful video which shows

how, within the space of a few seconds, he was able to remove pains
and a wide array of blocks.

14
phantom of old thoughts and go round and round the same set
of concepts. The charming attraction of the look, therefore,
smashes such deeply engrained ideas. It is as if through the
means of fascination, moreover, we succeeded in “entering the
other person”. Every person’s world is fenced off by a limiting
boundary consisting in the narrow space of what his sight
encompasses and reaches up to. Accordingly, by meeting such
person’s look we simultaneously penetrate inside the
interpersonal reality of our interlocutor, and we are then able
to help him “from within”. Even the phase of concentration
and meditation techniques that one passes through with the
aim of strengthening the eye contains within itself a practical
usefulness in the field of personality reinforcement.
3. Within the arena of personal growth: We must possess
awareness of the look. The exercises that are utilized for the
sake of fascination might additionally prove to be of great avail
if one seeks to acquire a clearer, neater and more magnetic
personality, as well as to attain greater "Presence".
4. To induce a «hypnotic trance» in a natural way.
Fascination might represent the key to develop a specific form
of instant hypnosis. Besides, all hypnotic techniques are
speeded up by prior recourse to the use of fascination.

Fascination in the relationship between the two sexes

Fascination is also a fundamental component of the forms
which the relationship between man and woman take. What is
it that, ultimately, makes a man distinguish a woman from
thousands of unknown members of her sex who cross his way
in the streets? Why is it that this man who, notwithstanding
the fact that he has witnessed countless eyes staring at his,
directs his look only to these particular eyes? It was but a flash,
and yet that flash has unveiled to him an ocean of happiness
and mystery. The relevant man, spellbound and enraptured, is
forced to retrace his steps so as to meet again that look which

15
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

has made his restless, which has unleashed into his soul a
storm that is unable to subside unless he can again look out
from the thresholds of this divine enigma. The reverse is
likewise true: Man, with his look, captivates the woman, gazes
at her, and she, in turn, lowers her gaze in order to attract him
14.

The modern world is saturated with a plethora of social

conventions, and no one can really attempt to make a loud
confession of the feelings that are dearest to his heart, or give
voice to the aspirations buried in his innermost being. Even
though a person might wish to love and be loved, he can often
do nothing other than reconciling himself to a state of wait.
There is, however, a magical tool of communication, a hidden
accomplice: The look, the silent lamp in one’s eyes. The eye
caresses, the eye invites, the eye promises, exasperates desire
and vanity, and is capable of throwing one into despair or
suddenly thrusting one back to the pinnacle of human joy.
Through the look, we communicate ourselves and our
idiosyncractic reality. It is in our look that the person facing us
discerns the truth of who we are and where we are heading for.

Eye in the Tradition

The eye has always been at the heart of human culture,
transmuted into a symbol, at the center of ritual ceremonies,
and a protagonist in metaphors.
It is the most precious sensory organ in the human body: It
allows us to become aware of the surrounding environment,
and assists us in creating the three-dimensional perception of
space.
The eye has been perennially linked to “knowledge”, owning
the world and dominating it.

14 Inspired by “Occhi Fascinatori”, a book authored by an

anonymous writer, 1920, Hermes, Milan.

16
 The eye is, moreover, the sensory organ that is most closely
related to light, which is an element that is fundamental to life
15. The eye is an essential organ of man, both as regards his life

and his distinct individuality.

We can discern both the following in the traditions that
relate to this organ:
• An attention that is extended to each one of the two
eyes, which are related to pairs of opposite principles (sun and
moon, male and female, etc);
• An attention which is focused on the point between the
two eyes, seen as a central locus and as the point in which
intuitive faculties might be developed.
In the practice of fascination through the look, both these
elements are of significance, due to the fact that the median
point between the eyes is one of the points which were
traditionally used in order to observe this point itself.
We are now going to pay notice to how we are capable of
coming across these very same elements in different
civilizations.
According to the ancient Egyptians, for instance, the eye of
Horus might be both the right eye and the left eye.
Traditionally, the right eye is linked to the sun, while the left
one is connected to the moon 16.

15 The sun is also the irradiating eye of heaven, the eye of Jupiter,

Zeus, Wotan, (among Germanic nations), Osiris and Horus (in

ancient Egypt), Mitra, Varuna and Agni (India), Ahura-Mazda (in
Persia), Maui (in New Zealand), Ama-terasu Oho-mikami (in Japan),
P’an-ku (in China), etc.
16 In terms of an ancient Egyptian legend, the sun and the moon

were the eyes of a large divinity, Hor-jerti, i.e. “Horus of the two
eyes”. This pair of eyes is similarly linked to two snakes as part of a
tradition reminiscent of the Indian tradition which is part of
kundalini, and in accordance with which ida and pingala are the
names of the two lateral channels around the sushunna. This
tradition about the two lateral parts of the body sill goes on even in

17
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

In the East, Shiva is often depicted with three eyes: Two

such eyes, which correspond to the sun and the moon, are
directed towards the outside world, towards the things, which
accordingly seem to exist in a state of “duality”. There is yet a
third eye, centrally located, a unifying eye which faces a
different dimension, one of self-consciousnes and self-
intuition, which is symbolized by a spiral in the drawing set
out here under.

From an anatomical point of view, we can notice how in

man the location of the right eye and the left eye corresponds
to the two hemispheres of the brain, and are often related to
rational value (linked to the masculine principle) and
emotional value (which is more feminine).
The eye in the middle or third eye, therefore, is neither
masculine nor feminine.
At a physiological level, this point corresponds to the
epiphysis, which is where the pineal gland regulating man’s
day / night cycle, and which secretes melatonin, is situated.
Such pineal gland has a relation with intuition.
The eye lying on the median point between sun and moon
might bring to mind the importance of a higher vision and the
possibility of attaining thereby a superior vision.
A concept which is shared by plentiful traditions is “the
reawakening by the third eye”, which signifies an opening that
gradually leads to an amplification of consciousness.

the fascination school of Virgilio T., as it confers special importance

on the two hemispheres.

18
 A link might be established between such phenomenology
and factors which are both physiological and purely connected
to percepton.
A French researcher, Dr. Lefebure 17, used to observe the
fact that this central point of the “third eye” corresponded to a
certain physiological position where the normal three-
dimensional vision was suspended. In theory, we could then
simultaneously discern an object placed on that point from
every side. Dr. Lefebure’s hypothesis was that such a
suspension of the ordinary mode of perception might have a
significant impact on the brain, by steering it “beyond space”.
According to many traditions, such a third eye is also
portrayed as being contained inside a triangle which functions
as a symbol of fire as well. Fire is in fact the element endowed
with the highest level of vibration 18.
This link between the triangle and the eye is similarly
present, in Europe, in both medieval and renaissance
iconography, in terms of which the eye, often inserted within a
triangle, was after all seen as an explicit image of the trinity.
We find a similar symbolism in the East, where Buddha
(often called "the eye of the world") is represented in the form
of a triangle known as Tiratna or threefold gem.
It is important to understand that such an intuitive center
or third eye, though already quite present as perceptive centre
in man, and recognized by for instance the Indians as ajna
chakra, is nevertheless in a state of slumber in most cases.
Being in a stage of embryonic development, it has to be
fashioned through development and opening itself up in

17Cf. Lefebure, “Initiatic Techniques”.

18 An illustrating example of that is the eye depicted even on US
dollars. The eye as represented in it, moreover, is placed in such a
manner as to form the summit of a pyramid, almost as if to complete
it and symbolically allude thereby at the fact that the building is
incomplete without such a superior vision.

19
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

consonance with the appropriate rhythm, which varies from

person to person.
Our own interpretation is that, essentially speaking, it is as
if this physiological point was “occupied”, at least
physiologically, by the task of delineating a specific identity
and mental constitution, engaged, that is, by the
conceptualizations which engross the mind, and by the
dualistic vision of the world.
It is only when this type of “mental block” is released, that
intuition is able to wake up again and be harmoniously
reactivated, thereby enabling a correct development of
consciousness.
In this connection, we can observe the fact the various
hypnotic pratices 19 resort to the method of touching that area,
due to its capacity of facilitating the task of letting go of oneself
and precipitating into a state of hypnosis, as the process is in
fact disturbed in that manner.
The full reawakening on the part of the third eye is
connected to a development of one’s consciousness that is
achieved over a period of time, as the consequential fruit of
individual effort and working on oneself.
The more one progresses in the practice of fascination, the
more one can discern a greater sensibility in that area.
Finally, as far as the level at which the eye operates is
concerned, the Kabbalists are of the view that it acts on an
ethereal plane, “the universally shared book, where all the

19 In an even more ancient epoch, Abbot Faria used to inter alia

resort to touching that area as a hypnogenous method. More

recently, we have personally been able to notice how Jerry Kein, an
American hypnotist, used to repeatedly touch that point so as to
facilitate the inducement of a hypnotic state. Various French
hypnotists and magnetizers at the start of the 20th century (cf.
Moutin, “Le Magnétisme Humain”) make mention of this point as an
important one to press in order to “let go of the personality” and
thereby ease the fostering of a hypnotic condition.

20
instances of man’s conduct are recorded in writing, namely,
the ether. In it, all the units of human behaviour are inscribed,
including the look of the eyes, or whatever nice or evil is said”
20.

It is odd that this theory antedates the more recent one of

Rupert Sheldrake (1998-1999-2000) that concerns “morphic
fields”, i.e. the theory of resonance fields which are not directly
perceptible but which have a tendency to “thrust” forms into a
particular direction 21.
In terms of an ancient Egyptian legend, the sun and the
moon were the eyes of a large divinity, Hor-jerti, i.e. “Horus of
the two eyes”. This pair of eyes is similarly linked to two snakes
as part of a tradition reminiscent of the Indian tradition which
is included in the kundalini, and in accordance with which ida
and pingala are the names of the two lateral channels around
the sushunna. This tradition about the two lateral parts of the
body sill goes on even in the fascination school of Virgilio T., as
it confers special importance on the two hemispheres.

20 Cf. Esarah Maimeroth, 49.

21 Cf. Rupert Sheldrake, “The sense of being stared at”. This book
also quotes many interesting experiments where people react to a
look even when they are stared at from behind. Refer in particular to
the following articles – Sheldrake, R. (1998): ‘The sense of being
stared at: Experiments in schools’, in JSPR 62, 311-323; (1999) ‘The
sense of being stared at confirmed by simple experiments’, in Biology
Forum 92, 53-76; (2000a) ‘The sense of being stared at does not
depend on known sensory clues’, in Biology Forum 93, 209-224;
(2000b) ‘Research on the feeling of beng stared at’ (submitted to
Skeptical Inquirer).

21
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

The art of conferring fascination on the

eyes
Let us now talk about the practical art of making eyes
strong, attractive and regaled with charming attraction. This in
fact represents the central phase of the method. As several
elements need to be coordinated, this part of our work is
divided into 3 sections:
1. Fixity of the look;
2. Rapidity of the look;
3. Expression of the look.
It is recommended that our prescriptions should be
scrupulously followed, as they will quickly lead you to a truly
surprising result. In no other work than this text of ours are
you in fact going to come across so many exercises with so
much power at the same time.

I. – FIXITY OF THE LOOK

As we know very well, the capacity to maintain a fixed look
is one of the main prerequisites of a proficient fascinator. In
addition to developing the fixity of your look, these exercises
will also gift you a resolutely decisively and potent will.

Exercise 1
While in front of a mirror, you should fix your gaze on the
third eye without batting your eyelids. You should pursue this
exercise gradually, until you can manage to extend its
duration. Refer in this regard to the instructions applicable to
the next exercise.

22
 Exercise 2
Take a business card and, at the back thereof, sketch the
contour of a large coin. Thereafter, blacken the whole of the
inside with some China ink leaving a strong mark, save for a
minuscule little circle in the middle you are going to leave it
white. Thereupon, affix the small cardboard piece onto the wall
at your eyes’ level, while you remain seated. You should set
your self at a distance of some half a metre, which will then
need to be increasingly reduced. Focus your look firmly upon
the central white spot for a minute. During this period, no
effort should be spared to avoid lowering the pupils of your
eyes. In the event that you are gripped by an irresistible desire
to lower them, you ought to engage in the opposite muscular
effort, that is, striving to lift the pupils. Once you have
mastered how to effortlessly stare at the disk for half a minute,
you should then gradually extend the session until you can
manage to fix your gaze on the disk for 15 to 20 minutes. It
must be clearly understood that the eyes should not limit
themselves to look at the small white dot, but should actually
see it; throughout such period, your mind must refrain from
wandering absent-mindedly, and must rather concentrate,
with the greatest possible energy, on the thought that you are
carrying out this exercise for the purpose of strengthening your
eyes.

By pursuing this exercise on an ongoing basis, you will discern

a series of effects:

a) After a while, the strain will diminish, and you will feel a
surge of calm and tranquil stillness inside your self;
b) The white dot might disappear, it will turn grey, it will
undergo a change, and it will stretch into the black area;
c) The black space is going to acquire a distinct splendour, and
you might go as far as feeling a kind of fine sand under the
eyelids;

23
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

d) You will experience a most potent inducement to close

your eyes, but that is something you must studiously avoid to
do at any cost.

Exercise 3 – The exercise of the luminous ball

Get yourself a crystal ball of the type that stationery shops
sell as paperweight. If you cannot find such a ball, you can
settle for a round crystal container filled with clear water.
Thereafter, place the ball or the round container on the table,
in such a manner that the surrounding light is going to
concentrate on a precisely demarcated and shining spot.
Thereupon, as you are comfortably seated in front of the
object, half a metre away from it, you should fix the luminous
point, at first for one minute, and then for a progressively
longer period that eventually reaches up to a quarter of an
hour.

Exercise 1 – The glass

Create in yourself a state of relaxation and calmness. You
might even look at the aforesaid crystal ball, or alternatively at
a glass. Take that object and, as you look inside it, issue the
following instruction to your self: “My look is getting strong”.

24
 Exercise 2 – The mirror
Implement now the very same exercise in front of a mirror.
Keep in mind, as you proceed with it, that you should always
retain self-consciousness. 22

Exercise 3. The oblique disk

Affix the cardboard disk onto a mirror. After you have sat
down in front of the cardboard, you should slowly turn your
chair (it would be even better for you to use a swivel chair)
without taking your eye off the central white spot, all the way
until you succeed in seeing it clearly. At that point, you ought
to keep on staring at the disk for increasingly longer periods.
After you have originally turned the chair to your right, do so
to your left as well.
NB: It is the chair that must turn under you, as opposed to
your body or head, which must in fact remain throughout in
the right position against the back of the chair. 23

22 It is necessary to look at a mirror in a state of self-

consciousness, lest some people “might lose themselves in the

mirror”, as it occurred to Narcissus. As stated by Baron Karl von
Reichenbach (1788-1869), who carried out a number of experiments
in this regard, “there are some people on whom looking at
themselves in the mirror confers ... an imppression of weakness ...
Such people do not usually look at themselves in the mirror, and in
fact cannot even stand their own look” (Cf. Reichenbach, “Briefe”, p.
6). In several German and Hungarian traditions, it is believed that
children below the age of 1 year should abstain from looking at
themselves in a mirror (Cf. Seligmann, p. 285).
23 The exercise might even be carried out by affixing the small

piece of cardboard onto the wall. The purpose of this exercise is to

develop lateral vision, as that makes one’s look even stronger.

25
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Exercise 4
While you look at the spot which lies between your eyes,
draw closer and more distant as you incessantly look at the
same spot. This exercise develops a person’s magnetic look
even if he is in motion.24
Exercise 5. The oblique luminous ball
It consists in repeating the motion-related exercise in its
different positions, with the sole variation of replacing the
black disk with the shining ball.
Exercise 6 The needle of the watch
Place in front of your self, no more than 40 centimetres
away, your pocket watch, and then begin to fix your look on the
needle that indicates the seconds, following its head as it
rotates clockwise, without your sight letting go of it. By means
of this exercise, you will become capable of maintaining
automatic control over the increasing resistance of your look.
Exercise 7. The wall
Sit comfortably in the middle of a room in such a way that
you are freely capable of observing the four corners of the wall
in front of you. Once that preliminary step has been taken (and
while you unerringly keep your self still), you must then begin
to stare for a minute at the top left corner. You follow that up
by staring at the top right corner, whereafter, once more for
the duration of one minute in each instance, you should fix
your look on the bottom right corner and the bottom left
corner respectively.

This exercise, too, which avails a far-reaching extension of

the shape of the eyes and the strengthening of the orbicular
muscles of the eye, must be progressively stretched time-wise.

24 The present exercise might additionally be done together with

the “close-far” exercise which is going to be described a bit later.

26
 Exercise 8. The rotation of the look
This exercise ought to be carried out in some open space by
the countryside, or else in a place boasting a vast horizon. As
you unflinchingly keep your head motionless, you should then
begin, starting from either a real or an imaginary point in front
of you, to trace with your look a gradually expanding spiral,
until you are eventually able to encompass the largest possible
portion of earth and sky, to your right and to your left, above
and below you.

Once you have accomplished that, you should move back to

the central point and then begin to trace a new spiral, though
in an opposite direction compared to the first one. We can
discern that all the exercises requiring us to move the pupil of
the eye possess a mental benefit alongside their mental
usefulness.

The different positions of the eye, in fact, tend to

correspond to different points of access to the brain. 25 By
motioning the eyes in every direction, we accordingly confer on
the brain a global stimulation.

Exercise 9. The central point

Using a pen, draw a small black dot at the base of your nose
which is situated between the eyelashes, whereafter you should
place yourselves in front of a mirror, comfortably seated, and

25 Refer, for instance, to Bandler, Dilts, Grinde, “Programmazione

Neurolinguistica”, edited by Astrolabio, or else to the EMDR
technique followed by Shapiro. Many problems are solved by means
of ocular movements. Dr. Lefebure, too, makes mention of an
exercise based on motioning the head, which is aimed at more
thoroughly activitating one’s cerebral faculties. Cf. “L’initation de
Pietro”.

27
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

intensely fix your gaze on that point for growingly longer time
periods.
Exercise 10. The oblique mirror
Turn your right shoulder in the direction of the mirror and,
as you keep your head straight ahead of you in a motionless
state, you must then attempt, by turning the eyes, to meet your
own look. If you fail to bring that about, turn your head as little
as possible, until you have managed to meet your look. At that
point, you should stare at your eyes intensely for progressively
more extended time spans. Repeat the exercise by your left
side. Lift the mirror or sit in a low position, so that, for you to
meet your own look, you will be required to lift up your eyes as
high as you can.
In front of the mirror, you should analyse the various
possible blends of combinations, in such a way that the pupils
respectively turn to the right top, the right bottom, the left top,
and the left bottom. The exercise is implemented more
comfortably in the event that you have at your disposal a
revolving mirror which turns around a fulcrum, or, better still,
a “psyche” (which consists in the combination of three
different mirrors that cast their reflections from different
angles).
Exercise 11. The exercise of the line
Stare at the corner of a table, and then go through one of its
edges with your look, all the way until you reach the opposite
corner, whereupon you move backward. You then keep
following this process.
The ocular itinerary must be gone through in a gradually
slower manner, «by being careful neither to let your sight halt
at any one specific point nor to jump any one point with your
look». The most thorough consistency is an imperative must.
Repeat then the exercise verticall,y along the seam of a
wardrobe, window, tent and so on.

28
 Exercise 12. The exercise of the book
Take a book and begin to run through its lines with your
sight, in such a way as to cover every alternate page in an
opposite sense, as was the case with the ancient Greek script.
In other words, once you have run through the first line
normally (from left to right), you should proceed in the
contrary direction with the next line, i.e. from right to left, and
so on and so forth. While doing that, you ought to lower your
look constantly. Repeat this exercise by covering an
increasingly larger number of lines.
N. B. What is of course required is not to understand what
one is reading through.
Exercise 13. The policeman’s look
This exercise, which is the consequential fruit of all the
previous ones, is so called because it tends to bestow on
policemen the special prerogative of watching objects from
right to left, while making as if they are not actually seeing
them.
You must thus walk along the road while you keep your
head down, as if a stiff neck precluded you from turning it in
any direction.
As you keep still in the said fashion, you should strive to see
and recognize the people walking to your right or to your left,
read the posters, count the windows and the trees, etc.
This exercise is of a capital importance, and it should be
adopted as an invariable norm. It is after all the secret of the
mobility and variety of one’s look.
Exercise 14. The farewell look
While on the road, a bus, a train compartment, a railway,
stare at any object that has popped up in front of you (ahead of
you, to your right or to your left), and, while you unceasingly
keep your head motionless, begin to fix it as the vehicle draws
you close to such object. When you are about to move past it,
you should not let go of the object with your sight. Rather, you

29
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

should follow it all the way until some intervening hindrance

wrests it away from your sight. It will be good if you can
alternate the exercise by fixing objects on your right as well as
on your left, so as to train both eyes.
Another option is for you to implement the exercise by
staring at the objects moving around on the road while you
yourself keep still.

II. – THE RAPIDITY OF THE LOOK

. Repeat now, this time at the highest possible

speed, the previously mentioned exercises that are
based on motion.

Such exercises, which are taught in order to train the fixity

of one’s look, must be carried out afresh, save that this time
they will aim at achieving a quite different objective, namely,
training the rapidity of the look.

Here is how it should be done: In the exercise of the wall,

the look will be required to race as fast as possible from one
corner of the wall to the other; as regards the exercise of the
rotation of the look, the spiral will need to be traced at an ever
growing velocity; when it comes to the exercise of the line,
such line will still have to be followed backward and forward,
but no longer with increasing slowness, rather, at a constantly
accelerated pace; and finally, as far as the exercise of the book
is concerned, the lines must be covered very quickly, as if in a
the flash of a lightning.

30
 Exercise 15. The restless eyes
As we emulate – we would be tempted to say – a suspicious
individual, you should move your eyes continuously and
restlessly, thrusting your look upwardly, to the right and to the
left, indeed, in every possible direction, and you should do so
as rapidly as you can possibly manage, for a time span of 5 to
10 minutes.
It is however imperative that the look should really settle on
the objects which it turns to for a sufficiently long period to
enable it to recognize them, whereupon you should detach
your look from any such object at once in order to direct it
firmly, in the selfsame manner, on some object situated on the
opposite side.

III. – EXPRESSION OF THE LOOK

It is by now an empirically demonstrated fact that the

intense and constant desire to perfect some demarcated
sensory organ or specific faculty is truly capable of
substantially improving it.
If such reality might seem to be dubious with regard to the
lower senses, it is nevertheless indisputable and even
intelligible when it comes to the sight, and even more when we
turn to the expression of the eye.
The expression of our eyes reflects, in a precise and
unconscious manner, the state of our inner cores, exactly as a
placid surface of water reflects the condition of the sky above.
As a result, whereas the lip is capable of a lie, it is quite
difficult for the eyes to lie.
When we fix our gaze on something that is ardently desired
or vehemently loathed, our eyes naturally become expressive.

31
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

It is at this juncture that the problem emerges: How can we

possibly perpetuate the expressiveness of our eyes?
To a great extent, this question is solved by the exercises
that we have been listing up to now. A pair of healthy, vigorous
and fast-moving eyes is full of charm on that ground alone.
This is nonetheless insufficient. We want to regale our eyes
with that inward fire which is a telling indicator of a fervent
soul.
It is here that the problem defines itself. It is clear that a
young lady might not desire a dominant, Napoleonic look for
herself, at the same time that a soldier or a businessman will
certainly have no inclination to possess a normally voluptuous
look. Every one should accordingly pose the following question
to his or her own self:
— Which expression am I going to bestow upon my eyes?
The said question might in turn be subsumed under the one
set out hereunder:
— Which is the expression of the look that accords best with
my physiognomy, my profession, my condition, the purpose I
am seeking to accomplish?
Each one of us can easily solve such problem, whereupon
his efforts will be fully concentrated on acquiring the desired
expression.
What is particularly helpful in that regard is self-persuasion
by one’s suggestive will.
Persuading oneself bears the connotation of counselling
oneself, giving oneself to believe that one is found in the
specific physical or mental state that is desired by such a
person, and then acting accordingly. We plead with our
readers to reflect properly about the import of that definition.
The one who, for instance, desires to persuade himself in
order for him to acquire a shiningly radiant and expressive
look, ought to begin by deeming himself already in possession
of such a look.

32
 But how can self-persuasion be accomplished? The
following exercise will help you.
Exercise 16. Suggestive persuasion
Here is the simplest system to actualize it. Self-persuasion
might take place at any time of the day, but the most
propitious moment is in the evening, as one is lying in bed
prior to catching sleep. We are thus going to start by you
forcing your thought into a state of tranquillity, by making sure
that you forget the events and worries of that particular day.
When you eventually feel you are immersed in a state of
perfect calm, you will have to focus your mind on the thought
that your look becomes exquisite, luminous, glowingly bright,
and that in future other people cannot but concur that what
you are busy thinking in that connection is actually true.
You will have, in other words, to perceive yourself as
already endowed with a particular look, whichever one you
might happen to crave for.
Take care to fall asleep with this thought. In the morning,
when you wake up, you will undoubtedly still recall the self-
persuasion of the previous night. You are encouraged in that
instance to confirm it to your own self, in the invariable sense
we have alluded at, i.e. not merely desiring for yourselves, but
rather believing yourselves to be already factually endowed
with the look you prefer, and thus imagining its manifold
effects, agreeable consequences, etc.

33
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Exercise 17. Always keep the eyes wide open 26

While following the said advice — especially at home — one
must make sure that the eyes are not opened widely with an
astonished look. On the contrary, the sight must be sharp and
expressive. The purpose behind the exercise is to automatically
enlarge the shape of the eye. While keeping the eyes open,
therefore, take care not to cross the eyebrows, and to leave
them instead in their normal position.27
Exercise 18. The spot on the mirror
This is an adaptation of the preceding exercise, which is
however carried out for a different reason. By resorting to a
pen or a pencil, you should draw a large black spot over the
surface of a mirror. Place then yourself in front of the mirror,
in such a manner as to perceive that spot by the base of your
nose rather than on the mirror.

26 As we have remarked in a previous footnote, Tommaso

Campanella used to take notice of how the impact by the eyes

manifested more easily in wonderment and love for a person or a
thing. Tommaso Campanella accordingly advised to keep the
eyebrows lifted up and the eyes opened, so that the spirit might flow
out (Campanella, “De sensu rerum”, Book IV, chapter XV, 326).
Other writers, too, had discerned that truth, as well as the fact that,
for instance, people in love tended to enlarge both the spirit and the
eyes (Cf. Fracastor, “Sympath.”, Chapter XXIII, 139). In our own
practice, we have always noticed that the greater is the white part of
the eyes, the greater is the influence that is perceived. A larger
opening of the eyes, moreover, enables more elements in the pupil to
get reflected.
27 Each person has a specific configuration of eyelids and

eyelashes. Every one among us, accordingly, possesses a position of

the eyes which best suits the beauty of his eyes, comparatively with
all other positions. You have to devise clever ways to discover such
position, and turn it into one which is instinctive and familiar to your
own person.

34
 You ought to simultaneously inject your look with an
intense expression, in so doing striving to be truly permeated
by that feeling which you want your eyes to give expression to.
Exercise 19. With one eye only
Repeat now the immediately preceding exercise, only that
this time you shall carry it out by using one eye only, covering
with your hand, alternatively bandaging, the right eye or the
left one at alternate times.
Exercise 20 – Gather your attention in the middle
Take a makeup mirror, and fix the black spot within the
white circle with such an intensity that it is as if through it you
were looking at the brain. Do that with each eye in turn for
four seconds, whereafter you will stare at the median point
situated between your eyelids.
Exercise 21. The vowel “eee”
This particular exercise lends the sight a magical strength.
It is sufficient if you were to calmly look at yourself in the
mirror and then breathe deeply and slowly, until you
eventually feel calm and harmonious, at which point you
pronounce the vowel "eee"28 so long as there is air in your
lungs. You must feel the sensation that your whole head is
oscillating at once. This exercise massages the nerves of your
eyes and the whole skull in a very powerful manner.29
Exercise 22. The look of the glands
Erase the spot you had previously drawn on the mirror, and
fix the look on your own self, moving ever more closely
forward. In doing so, you should look at yourself by the corners
of your lachrymal glands.

28 Eee should be pronounced ih or as the “I” at the begin of italy

29 See in regard to this exercise Peter Livers, “Deine
Wesensaustrahlung”. Unlike the previous exercises, the origin of this
specific one is found in Yoga.

35
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

This is the very same method in terms of which you are later
going to look at people you deal with.
Looking at the pupils, as every one is aware, will tire you
very quickly. By contrast, looking at the point we have
demarcated can be prolonged indefinitely (the more so if one
keeps on shifting the look from one gland to the other), and
that has the effect of compelling your interlocutor to
unfailingly lower his own eyes and feel perturbed by yours,
without being able to understand why that is so.
Exercise 23. Exercises combining rapidity with
massage
An alternative practice is to shut your eyes as firmly as you
can, in order for you to open them widely to the maximum
possible extent while you squeeze your temples with the palms
of your hands by pulling toward the ears, as indicated in the
illustration here below.

36
 You must alternate your looks between your right and your
left as much as it is feasible. Repeat the action 12 or more
times.
Look down as much as possible, while you squeeze your
temples in the above-illustrated manner.

37
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Look up as much as you can manage as you keep on

squeezing the temples.
Lift your eyes to your right to the greatest possible extent,
and then let them trace a full circle. As you engage in this
motion, the palms of your hands, similarly to the preceding
exercise, must press firmly against your temples.

38
 Exercise 24. The look on the road
We are going now to teach a rule aimed at impressing
whoever happens to approach you on the road.
If you want to make him take notice of the power of your
look, you cannot begin by fixing your gaze on him from afar.
You should rather figure out the most appropriate point at
which you will start fixing the look of your eyes on his person.
This point coincides with the moment in which your pupils
are bound, in order to meet his pupils, to cover the largest
space in their motion. This is something which confers on the
eye a special and unforgettable glow.
Accordingly, if the relevant individual were to stand right in
front of us, we would only lift up our eyes to his person, in a
flash, precisely when he is close to us. If, on the other hand, he
happened to accost us from the side, we might safely begin to
fix our look upon him a little earlier, but only on condition that
you have first turned your head in the opposite direction. The
look will thus be projected out twice: Firstly in order to reach

39
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

the other person’s eyes, and secondly in a persistent manner,

while turning the head slightly, for the purpose of watching
him further in a more comfortable and intense fashion.

40
Comprehending ocular expressions
The eyes provide a clear idea of the feelings ensconced in
our heart and soul. By looking into the eyes, we can discern the
most intimate emotions, the eye appears to be in a direct
relationship with the soul, and it appears as if it touches the
soul and shares all its impulses. It is on account of such reason
that Galen termed the eyes divine organs. In his view, the head
was made exclusively for them. Pliny deemed the eye to be the
residence of the soul and its natural dwelling, whereas others
defined it as “the wrist of the reasonable soul”.
In love, eyes open up along their median line: The white
part remains still, and the pupil sparkles. When desire grips
the eyes, they light up, become more lively and comely, and the
pupil spurts out fire – as it is normally put –. If they are
steeped in intimacy, shame, or reticence, the eyes are lowered;
whereas the pupil is stirred up by a disquieting motion in a
state of joy and satisfaction. As for moments of merriment or
when one is laughing, the eye, too, is worried, sad, it does not
shine, it is as if switched off, and it fixes the ground, nearly
shut, or else looks ahead without really seeing. In anger, when
eyes redden, the agitated pupil is set into motion in every 30
sense.

The position of the eyelid

We have spoken about the importance, for the sake of

exercising a captivating charm, of keeping the eyes open. There
are essentially three ocular postures which are the most
significant, and which are shaped by the position assumed by
the eyelid vis-à-vis the eye:

30 Refer also to the booklet published in the 20’s by the Milan-

based publishing house Hermes, titled “Fisionomia”.

41
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

• At the eye’s level: It normally indicates a pensive state. It is

quite common among the majority of people. It is indeed
the condition of the average person
• By the edges of the iris: It is characteristic of emotional
liveliness, and it is useful even in respect of a “glance”
• Above the iris: It indicates a strong emotional involvement,
and it is one of the pointers of fascination

The eyelid
The pupil, too, corresponds to a large extent to the attitude
of a person, thereby identifying his approach to the world.
• Contracted Pupil (needle’s eye). It is typical of the act of
observing, be it detached or attentive, as well as of the
electrical profile of the person concerned. The person is
imposing his own reality.
• Enlarged Pupil (mydriatic profile). It is characteristically
representative of the attention to the here and now. It
typifies a magnetic and attractive profile. The person
concerned is entering the world of the other human being.
In the image set out here below, the woman evinces a clear
mydriatic profile, which is precisely what makes her eyes
particularly “magnetic”.

Methodical study of the expression of the eyes

Look consists therefore in a two-fold reality: It is the way of

laying one’s sight upon a subject, but it is also a vehicle of
expression which, independently of any act of seeing confers
life on the totality of the face, under the influence of some
feeling, thought or state of being. It is in the eyes that one
instinctively attempts to read, to guess the thoughts, the state
of being and the intentions of the people in whose presence he

42
happens to be. That is so because of the fact that it is in the
eyes that the reflection of one’s inner life, feelings, passions,
signs of approval or disapproval, attraction or repulsion,
exteriorize. The eyes speak.

In order to acquire firmer possession of the impression we

transmit outwardly, and with a view to practically attaining
that goal, we are now going to utilize a series of images. This
study, which is pregnant with most rapidly achievable results31,
has to be conducted by adhering to the following instructions:

a) You ought to hide every image other than the one you
are studying at any given time;

b) You should sit yourself in a comfortable position, as well

as in a thoroughly serene state of being;

c) You must have a mirror in front of your person, so that

you can control the expression you eventually manage to
attain;

d) You are required to analyse in detail each image we are

going to provide and its relevant explanation, whereupon, as
you stop looking at it, you should strive to reproduce the same
expression by putting yourself in the spiritual condition
indicated by the title which accompanies the pertinent image;

31 This study is taken from the book “Occhi Fascinatori” by the

anonymous Italian author who has been mentioned by us in the

historical notes on the images, as well as, in other respects, from
Luzy’s work titled “La puissance du renard”. As regards our master
Virgilio T., it should be remarked that he was a painter who had
amply studied the expressions which a look can take.

43
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

e) Every exercise will have to be repeated until you feel you

have achieved the perfect imitation of the original;

f) It is necessarily incumbent to repeat these exercises

systematically, until such a point where each and every
expression detailed in them is capable of being instantly
reproduced.

Scrutinizing look.

Eyebrow following a normal line, eyes opened half-way, pupils

turned upwardly through an angle.

Fluffy look.

Eyebrows slightly lowered, eyes half-shut a little, pupils

centralized.

44
 Pensive look.

Eyebrows following a normal line, eyes opened, pupils lifted

up.

Haughty look.

Eyebrows lifted up, the pupils fix their glance ahead of

themselves without actually seeing any specific point.

45
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Investigative look.

Eyebrows slightly raised upwardly, eyes half-open, very fixed

and energetic look.

Shining look.

Eyebrows slightly upwards, eyes half-opened, pupils set in an

angular position.

Absorbed look.

46
Eyebrows shaping a normal line, eyes open, fixed but
indeterminate look.

Meditative look.

Eyebrows lifted up, straight look fixated on one particular

point.

Reflective look.

Normal eyebrows, lowered pupils, look turned to the ground.

47
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Sarcastic look.

Eyebrows lifted up, pupils turned upwardly at an angular

shape.

Pure look.

Eyebrows turned upwardly, pupils in a normal position, look

spreading out.

The sketch here above encapsulates its essential features.

48
 Infantile look.

Eyebrows raised upwardly, eyes most enlarged, straight look.

When that is combined with a slight movement of the eyes,

as in the sketch here above, it might even inspire tenderness.

Ironic look.

Eyebrows forming a normal line, eyes half-closed.

49
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Astonished look.

Eyebrows lifted up very much and spread out, pupils tracing a

normal line. The sketch which is provided hereunder
emphasizes some of the essential aspects in a different variant
which we might define as “flabbergasted”.

Proud look.

Eyebrows raised upwardly, pupils turned up in a slightly

angular shape.

50
 Protective look.

Eyebrows slightly turned up, look cascading from on top.

Contemplative look.

Eyebrows set in an upward position, pupils turned upwardly.

Desirous look.

Eyebrows forming a normal line, drawn slightly together,

pupils turned upwardly.

51
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Voluptuous look.

Eyebrows following a normal line, slightly drawn together,

pupils turned upwardly.

Imperious look.

Eyebrows tracing a slightly arched line, angular look lifted

upwardly.

Dejected look.

52
Eyebrows shaping a normal line, straight pupils slightly turned
upwardly. Japanese people bestow a special attention on this
type of look, by virtue of which it is possible to notice the white
part of the eye both laterally and from underneath. They call it
sanpaku, a term which might be literally translated as “three
(san) whites (paku)”. This look accordingly evidences an
imbalance.32

Another illustrating example of this type of look can be

found in the above sketch.

Lustful look.

Eyebrows slightly lowered, pupils slightly upwards.

32 Cf. Marshall Evan, “The eyes have it”.

53
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Ironic look.

Eyebrows in a normal line, eyes crushed, straight look.

Additional Exercises
The one who has the good fortune of having, within his
retinue of elite associates, some person gifted with
extraordinarily expressive eyes, should never tire of fixing him
in his eyes, so as to try and emulate their expression, steal, so
to speak, their secret.
The eye belongs to the soul more than any other organ of
the body. The eyes are in fact the window through which the
soul looks at the world. 33 Even when you are in a road or at
some other place, if you meet two beautiful eyes you should
not neglect to carefully analyse their specific expression, while
firmly holding inside that suggestive will which urges us, too,
to acquire an equally lovely look, as previously laid out by us.
Besides, by adhering to the norms clarified in this work, we
might perfect the study of expression by collecting models
(photos, postcards, etc).

33 Cf. Buffon, quoted by Luzy in “La puissance du regard”.

54
Utilization of Fascination in Therapeutic
practices:
Therapeutic treatment by the look
Let God bless my eye,
And my eye will bless all I see;
I will bless my neighbor
And my neighbor will bless me
(Incantation from the Isle of Skye) 34

Look is a natural form of hypnotic inducement (Shore) 35.

One of our masters, Prof. Erminio from Pisa, was able

to heal diseases and overcome physical problems even
through the look alone.
He was gifted with an unbelievable rapidity, so that,
within the space of a few seconds, he would succeed in
extirpating every symptom of such disorders.
He had been left as the only surviving practitioner of
such a bewildering technique in the whole of Italy.
Moved by curiosity, we have then discovered a
particular form of utilization of fascination in the
therapeutic field: “Therapeutic treatment by resorting to
the look”.

34 Cf. Mackenzie 1895, at p. 39. Gaelic Incantation of the Island of

Skye in the Hebrides, which is to be recited in the morning while

washing oneself.
35 It is natural beacause the foundational basis of the attachement

(Shore 1996) quoted in Wolinsky’s work "Trances people live", is

biological in character.

55
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

During the Middle Ages, the word “bewitcher” was

used to refer to a person who was acquainted with the
technique of magnetism and fascination. In those days,
the expressions “looking upon favourably” and “treating
well” or “giving a gift” were interchangeable synonyms.
They literally meant “to look with the intention of doing
some good".36 The eye can also perform healing deeds.

The various concentration levels

The techniques of hypnotic healing which are presently
in greatest use consist in concentration techniques. They
channel attention into a specific direction which has a
more positive impact on the patient. Besides them, there
are also non-prescriptive techniques, such as the
techniques developed by Milton H. Erickson, which
endeavour to steer attention in such a manner as to lead
the subject into a naturally therapeutic condition.

36 Quoted by the knighted author Brice in “La revue du

Magnétisme”.

56
 Concentration in India
If we turn our look to the East, we will notice that in
Yoga, too, one works on the aspect of concentration.
There are three distinct levels of concentration. The first
level is called dharana, and it consists in directing one’s
concentration to an inflexible point. This initial phase is
then succeeded by the one termed dhyana, being a phase
in which concentration becomes a single continuum.
Lastly, we have the so-called phase of samadhi, the one in
which the object-subject relationship finally ceases to
exist. This last state presents a number of nuances,
although its defining characteristic is the fact that the
individual loses every inclination to be identified with the
contents of the mind, and he then enters a state of
“freedom”.

Comparison with Western methodologies

The work that is carried by several modern hypnotists
is similar to the phase called dharana, that is, the mind’s
first concentration level, whereas the phase of dhyana
bears a closer resemblance to the first level of therapeutic
practices.
Lastly, in what is referred to as the state of Samadhi,
one gets a sense of flux, a sense of perceptions which
come and go. Milton H. Erickson used to call that state
“being in the middle of nothing”.
These states are obtained through the eye far more
easily than through words. By means of the eye, we can
gain access to a pre-verbal dimension of man and reach

57
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

into deeper dimensions. The opportunity of utilizing

fascination in the field of self-improvement is in fact the
result of a paradoxical consideration: The more we
gather the fire of attention, the more we can, once a
certain point is attained, expand our perspective and
access unconscious dimensions. The phenomenon is
comparable with what occurs to a person who is
meditating on a koan or a mantra: At some point, the
mind opens up.37

Beyond daily “trances”

When we implement a certain therapeutic technique
which makes use of the eye, many problems seem to be
solved at once, almost in a miraculous fashion. The
reason behind it is the fact that, through the attractive
hypnotic moment, we end up retrieving a state which is
identical to the one during which the imprint of
obedience to mental conditioning was first created,

37 Moreover, in the ancient Western symbolism which was utilized

to indicate processes of magnetism, this was symbolyzed, as

previously mentioned in the chapter devoted to alchemy, by the four
succesive operations: 1) “Coagulation” (which the ancient alchemists
used to symbolically represent by the sign of the Taurus
), that
might be viewed as the equivalent of the first concentration of the
look; 2) “Fixation” (depicted by the old alchemists, in a symbolical
fashion, by the use of the sign of the Gemini ), which denotes the
moment when our attention “flows”; 3) Dissolution (alluded to by the
ancient alchemists by the sign of the Cancer , which additionally
corresponds to the stomach). It stands for the state of “trance”, for
the enlargement of attention; 4) “Digestion”, which the ancient
alchemists used to equate to the heart and the sign of the Leo (). At
that point, transformation is complete.

58
whereafter we had fallen asleep, imprisoned by our
thoughts.
If we happen to be either healers or counsellors, on the
strength of this technique we can wrest our patients out
of the “trances” which they had stumbled into in the past
and which now rule their lives, and empower them to
transcend the emotional states which accompany or
invade existence at certain defined moments.
We in fact often think of being awake, whereas, in
reality, we go through life as if piloted by our automatic
reactions. Even the psychosomatic states of tensions
escorting our daily life, the ones characterized by specific
forms of muscular rigidity, or by inward reactions we are
unable to loosen on our own, represent “trances”.

59
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Instant Fascination
One of the most spectacular manifestations is provided
by “instant fascination”. This technique has the ability to
immediately eradicate physical pains, muscular tensions,
headaches, tinnitus, and a whole assortment of additional
ailments.
We owe this methodology to Erminio from Pisa, who
was accustomed to call it “Instant Hypnosis”. He was its
sole practitioner throughout Italy. Once, he gave us an
astounding demonstration of it in the presence of three
hundred people in Milan. He did so by working on each
of those persons in attendance for some twenty seconds,
thereby producing results which in most cases endured
through the following days, while in other instances they
actually proved conclusive in their effect. In certain cases,
a single intervention is enough to engender a permanent
result. In other instances, it is necessary to apply the
technique twice or thrice in a row, whereupon a more
than highly satisfactory overall percentage of 98% of
healed people will be actualized. At our institute, we keep
a number of videos which corroborate what we have
stated in this connection.
The methodology is rather simple. After we have
caused the patient to indicate to you where he is
experiencing pain, we fix him intensely so as to fascinate
him, for the explicit purpose of taking him “beyond the
point”, that is, beyond rigid positions and mental habits
which represent the sum-total of his personal problems.

60
 At some stage, one feels intuitively that the patient’s
pain has vanished. He is then woken up by a simple rapid
knock of the hand over his shoulder.
The most positive aspect of it all is that the person is
feeling better!
That seems impossible to the person who is merely
watching. From a technical point of view, it is on the
contrary very natural. The pains and the other problems
we have referred to represent “fixed realities”. The
moment we look at the subject, we settle his attention
upon some other space. We would say that we are now in
direct contact with the unconscious, if we wished to
borrow Erickson’s terminology. The unconscious, indeed,
always works for the person’s wellbeing and in his
interest.
We are not dealing here with some mere hypnotic
suggestion, so much so that on some occasions (albeit
rarely) it is necessary to operate two or three times before
“the right moment can be grabbed”. If it had been no
more than a suggestion, the third attempt would be
bound to emulate what happened to the previous ones. As
that is not the case, however, it means we have actually
guided our patient to a new life dimension.

Our further studies

Our own Nice-based school has scientifically examined
the phenomenon.
A key aspect of the look-centred therapy is letting
ourselves be observed and observing in turn the patient
while we give him a chance to recollect the state that
caused him problems. Thereupon, we shall lead the

61
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

person into a state of fascination without any recourse to

words. Such method, indeed, allows us to transport him
into a state of “non-thinking” where the symptom
disappears. It is the equivalent of resetting the mind.
Within that context, for a period of time that might last
longer or otherwise, the fascinated person attains a state
which is devoid of consciousness of the “ego”, that is, the
totality of our mind and our automatic mental programs.
The person concerned would then be “beyond the
trance”. The Fascination which is carried out on a
person is indisputably something that acts at an ocular
level, by creating a kind of “trance” for the subject on
whom one is operating.
However, we are in a state of trance even in other
situations. We might for example be captivated by objects
or by persons, or even by our thoughts in which we
drown. The majority of people is indeed totally gripped,
“fascinated" by their own mental mechanisms. This is the
reason why the same mechanisms are invariably
reiterated, and why the problem is preserved and
perpetuated.
By means of the look, we thus intervene in the very
mechanisms which produce the “fascination” by means of
ideas or concepts that beset the subject via these
mechanisms themselves.
There is yet another way of proceeding: This second
method consists in contacting the symptoms
directly.
The process is termed by some people “curing through
the symptom”. Through the patient’s total concentration
on his symptom, in fact, we can carve out a path allowing

62
us to talk with that part of the brain which generates such
symptom. We thereby give effect to a mechanism which
some healers have already resorted to, namely,
"utilizing the crisis as a cure".38 What at that point
helps the efficacy and, in particular, the rapidity of the
process, is the re-enactment of the problem itself. As
stated by Rossi (1986), "by asking the patient to
experience the symptom (alternatively, even by
increasing it, as was for instance Erickson’s wont), we are
probably switching on certain processes in the right
hemisphere which are gifted with a more immediate
access to the encoding of the problem that is related to
the state itself ".39
A further scientific support for this theory and the
useful benefit of re-enacting the symptom, to be
immediately followed by a state of “void” where such
symptom is no longer extant, being a result that can be
achieved through fascination by the look, is provided by a
research in the US we are going to make mention of. It is
proven in this research that it is indeed possible to
eradicate traumas without needing to intervene through a

38 This was the methodology used by for instance Franz Anton

Mesmer (Cf. “Théorie du Monde”). Even the celebrated American
hypnotist Milton Erickson, who used hypnosis as a therapeutic
instrument, was accustomed to rely on a similar system.
39 Rossi says: “By asking the patient to experience the
symptom, we are presumably turning on right hemispheric processes
that have a readier access to a state-dependent encoding of the
problem”.

63
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

drug, opting instead to “write once more” over such trace

of the memory and erase it.40
Published in the Nature magazine, the successful
realization of that research has been achieved by
Elizabeth Phelps of New York University. In an earlier
study, she had successfully tested the method on a
number of small mice.
It has been shown in the experiment that all one needs
in order to wipe out an awfully frightening memory is by
first recalling it. Thereafter, within a six hours’ time
window, one writes over it a memory other than a scary
one, exactly as it would happen if we were to tape over an
existing recorded base. The important thing is to do it
within six hours from the moment when the memory is
recalled, as it is within such a time span that fear
becomes entrenched again.
Anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress are linked
to bad experiences which become rooted in the mind.
Whenever a certain stimulus reminds one of the
experience which he had gone through, fear resurfaces
and anxiety grows, even though the stimulus is not
dangerous per se.
Let as illustrate it with an example: If a man from
Abruzzo in Italy, who had experienced the earthquake
which shook that region, senses some minor
readjustment shakes, it is highly probable, in spite of the
fact that such negligible shakes pose no danger, that he is
going to feel panic and hasten to take shelter in a tent,

40 We have drawn on parts of the relevant news from ANSA

(http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/scienza/2009/12/09/vis
ualizza_new.html_1644482542.html).

64
merely through his recollection of the tragic night of the
past 6th of April.
Muscular tensions, too, are purely reminiscences of
significant events which have become “embedded” in the
body, in the light of the fact that a tension of the body
might correspond to any mental tension.
The said study has been carried out by inducing a state
of fear in some volunteers who chose to be tested. That
state of fear was engineered by showing them some
coloured squares and by associating with them a light
electrical shock by their wrists, a shock which was merely
annoying without being painful.
The subsequent day, fear was recalled to any such
patient’s mind by showing him the coloured squares once
more. Thereafter, within the space of a few hours from
the creation of the said stimulus, the researchers showed
them the squares quite a number of times, but now
without accompanying them by the electrical shock. At
the end of this training, fear is removed.
The disappearance of the symptom only takes place if
the action which is engaged in so as to extirpate it takes
place within a short period from the moment when the
patient is presented again with the scary symptom; if
such symptom is not reintroduced, or if the ‘fear-erasing’
training is conducted many hours later, the volunteering
patients retain a trace of the fear. Put it in other words,
they retain their fear of having to see the squares again.
According to the researchers, this fact is explainable on
the basis that when the fear is recreated, the memory
associated with it crystallizes once more, precisely at that

65
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

very moment where the memory is fragile and can be

removed.
It is important to observe the fact that the
transcending of the ego which activates the fascination is
an even more powerful tool, as it not only frees and
eliminates a symptom, but, in several cases, makes room
for a total rebalancing. If we want to express it in simpler
terms, we might define the therapy of the look as “the
positive fascination which chases away the negative
fascination derived from life experiences”.

The origin of problems

It is the fears and anxieties which are intrinsic to man
that create the “negative fascination”. Man in fact
possesses an ancestral fear of the unknown, which thing
pushes him into creating thought mechanisms aimed at
concealing and overcoming this fear. The fear, however,
is still there in his underlying being. Essentially put,
therefore, man, in order to try and release himself from
fear, becomes captivated by external concepts.
Usually, the moments in which such fascination is born
are interpersonal moments. The human personality is
made up of a fear to lose the objects of its own
fascination.
The personality of the average man is a blend that is
founded on the fear to lose one’s beloved, money, the
house, etc. All the psychological categories we are able to
discern grow out of some fundamental fear.
Through the medium of fascination, therefore, we give
birth to a state of void in which a spontaneous self-
reorganization can occur, one that is facilitated by no

66
longer concentrating on the outside, but rather on the
inside and on the operator who then turns into a
resource.

Further comparisons with Eastern techniques

The usefulness of being detached from involvement
and from external “fascination” is something evidenced
even by the comparison between the technique of
fascination and some techniques of Trataka (that is, the
prolonged staring at an object without flapping one’s
eyelids) which are practiced in the East in order to
engender a mental void. We can observe that sometimes,
in the course of such practices, an image gets crystallized,
thereby allowing one to appropriate its qualities.
These practices have the further result of distancing
one even physically from being involved with the outside.
One of these techniques, for example, consists in fixing
the so-called third eye. Another, preparatory technique, is
based on staring at one’s nose. It has been noticed by
some people that, given the excessive closeness of the
point thus fixed, adjustment generally proves insufficient
to enable a clear vision, notwithstanding the contraction.
The surrounding objects end up occupying only the
peripheral part of the retina, due to the central part
thereof being occupied. Peripheral sensations are weaker
than those that are felt at the centre. In those conditions,
the subject turns almost blind to the outside world, and
the more the internal deflection of the eyes is increased,
the more the process gains effectiveness.

67
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

The void
One might be tempted to ask why so much effort
should be put on casting the outside objects out of one’s
focus. It is however possible to detect a useful aspect in
that endeavour. It paralyzes one’s will. It also paralyzes
the attention which, if it happens to settle on one object
only, is inclined to forget the others.
Through the assistance of ocular concentration, the
yogi is not just able to remove the vision of external
objects, but also to empty his thoughts, whereupon it
becomes easy for him to meditate in the void.
In an analogous manner, when fascination is resorted
to, the subject enters a state of void where an automatic
rebalancing might occur, and where one can rid himself
of limiting thoughts. The process is as mental as it is
physical, so much so that one can fascinate even while he
is standing quite far from a person.

Mental attitude
This type of therapy encompasses an inward
dimension as well. In order to achieve the best possible
results, it is imperative that first and foremost your inner
being should be open. Your intention plays a very
important role. Life, indeed, offers countless occasions in
which you can practice this ability.
Exercise 25
Try and calm down a raging person with your look, or make
someone who is sad laugh, etc.
Undoubtedly, the best exercise is represented by lightening
the pain of some one who is suffering.

68
 Exercise 26
When you meet a sick person or one who is suffering either
physically or mentally, direct your look in such a manner as to
alleviate his pain. In order to accomplish that, address him
mentally, by making use of calm and stimulating words.

69
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Change of the Vision in Hypnotic States

and Related Therapy
We can enhance the results of the therapy founded on
the look through the concept of “presence”.
We might get a clearer understanding of how the two
methodologies are interconnected by paying heed to the
story of Franz Anton Mesmer.
Mesmer’s first therapeutic method consisted in
passages making use of the hand, passages which might
be localized or general depending on the problem. He
simultaneously consolidated these steps by fixedly staring
at (= fascinating) the subject. Mesner used to assert that
in that manner he was capable of restoring tonic force to
the nervous system, suppressing pains and manias,
anomalous movements and tensions, and re-establishing
the sound functioning of the mind. Spurred on by his
successful accomplishments, he began to devote himself
to general diseases and to the specific ones affecting the
sensory organs. This first method is very similar to the
one we have described at the stage of mentioning instant
hypnosis within the field of providing solutions to a series
of symptomatic signs.
There is, nevertheless, an even more complete system,
one which is accessible to one who works on himself. As
regards Mesmer, after he moved to France he further
expanded his working methodology. In order for him to
achieve that, he pursued a program of working on his
own self which he implemented for a period of three
months, and which he described as "thinking without

70
words". That way, by abandoning conceptualizations, he
discovered how senses become sharper and “the form of
objects renews itself”, and he felt “a powerful calm and
the conviction of having been successful”. It is precisely
here in France that he began to talk of “sixth sense”,
mentioning in the process the fact that such sense could
only be understood by experiencing it.41
If we want to translate it into modern terms, we would
assert that he reached a different state of consciousness
in his work, such that his patients were able to detect it in
his look and access it themselves in turn.
There is always, in fact, a close rapport between
consciousness and vision. Some scholars have put
forward the theory that the actual ocular pathologies
which we can observe are often the reflection of our
models of thinking. Kellum, for instance, says: The eye
responds to the way in which we live.

The Varieties of daily Trance

The sight, as with all the other senses, is susceptible of
erring. Errors of observation happen frequently, since a
person’s look perceives merely one side of the things,
and, by blending with imagination, it ensures that we
focus on some aspects of reality rather than others, such
aspects being guided by modes of interpretation adopted
by the reality of our mind.
Some examples of these illusions are indeed very clear.
That is the case, for instance, of the illusions which might
befall a night traveller when he finds himself by some

41 Cf. Durville, “Le regard magnétique”.

71
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

isolated place, one where uncertainty, and possibly fright,

bring about in him the thought that he is seeing some
people moving, though in truth there are only trees, or
which might seize a nocturnal fisherman who, in the mist,
might perceive the lunar rays turning into ghosts.

In the course of hypnotic demonstrations, one might

produce some visual aberrations which make the subject
believe that, out there, there are some beings and objects
that are non-existent in the view of everyone else. It is for
instance possible to persuade a subject that ahead of him
runs a river where he can thus fish, whereupon he will
automatically adopt the attitude that is congruent with
such belief.
Yet perceptive aberration is not solely confined to
hypnotic demonstrations. Several modifications of our
perception of reality are less quotidian in their incidence
and thus less pervasive, even if we might fail to realize
them.
Take, for example, the so-called “projection” as defined
by psychology, as it is precisely one such illusion. The
possible consequence thereof is that a person, instead of
seeing a traffic cop in front of him, that is, a human
person exactly like him, might well be seeing the image of
his father. He accordingly reacts by acquiescing in a fine
exactly as he used to be the recipient of some shouting
when he was small.
Another frequent occurrence which psychologists have
noticed is, for example, the fact than an anorexic person
does not perceive herself to be what she is, and in fact,

72
even when she is in front of a mirror, she has the
impression of being fat.
These are but a few illustrations from the numerous
examples of how imagination pervades everyday life,
whereupon we do not perceive reality but only our
personal image thereof.
Exactly as in the example we have mentioned earlier of
the nocturnal traveller who saw the trees as being
dangerous persons ready to assail him, there might be the
human type who sees any person he meets as a danger.
This person, therefore, is not perceiving reality: He is
perceiving his own image of reality.
Every person, as he wakes up in the morning, is
convinced that he is awake. The truth is however
different. It is the fact that imagination mixes with our
mental mechanisms that keeps us in a state which is as if
a dreamy one, and in which we only discern what we
want to see.
Most people are captured by their own mental
mechanisms, their own pensive reflections, and the inner
atmosphere of incessant self-talk. Some people have
indeed contended that each one of us churns out fifty-
thousand thoughts on a daily basis. Every one of those
thoughts that we formulate influences us, and alters our
mental images as well as our peculiar perception of
reality.
What would happen, moreover, if these thoughts are
negative? The reality is that a subject who is worried is
less aware of the surrounding environment. Even if
positive elements are found in it, he is often oblivious to
their existence. He is in a state of “trance with his own

73
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

self”, immersed in what might be described as an

"intrapersonal trance", a trance, that is, which is
internal to his own person (intra = inside). It is as if this
state interposed itself between his person and the
environment in which he moves. In an essential way,
such interposing trance acts like a veiling cloak, with the
result that he does not directly react to the environment,
but rather filters its input and finally responds to it on the
strength of models he has learnt in the past.
Let us for instance observe an anguished person: He
does not seem to pay attention to the external
environment, so caught as he is in his private anxieties.
Average man fears the unknown and prefers to live
inside a prison cell rather than opening himself up to the
uncertainty of what is novel.
Such a person will then live cocooned inside his own
world which, though often disagreeable, is at least
familiar. There is an intrinsic tendency in man which
urges him to escape chaos, the unknown. The reason why
people, therefore, walk into a state of "intrapersonal
trance" is essentially related to self-defence from the
outside environment and the desire to avoid facing
reality.
This “dream” inclines to self-manifestation, on account
of the fact that by shunning the task of confronting reality
we are also barred from changing. In an essential sense,
we go on behaving in conformity with schemes which
have been learnt in the past. An example of that might
consist in a child who learns how to relate to his parents
in a specific manner, and who, as he grows up, insists on

74
behaving himself with all and sundry in the same
manner.
Assuming for instance that his parents were
accustomed to shout at him and that he used to react by
entering a state of block, he might then display an
identical reaction vis-à-vis a traffic policeman who wants
to issue him with a fine for a road-related infringement.
Traditional psychology sometimes refers to this form
of conduct by the term “projection”. In the example we
have just mentioned, such variety of psychology would
contend that the subject “projects” onto the member of
the traffic cops the image he had of his own parents.
We can observe that the initial comportment is born
within an “interpersonal” ambit, or, said it in another
manner, it is as if a model of perceiving reality were to
“become solidly enrooted” in the relevant person.
When we are small, we have a greater tendency to be in
reality than at a more adult age. Our patterns of
behaviour often originate in the shape of interpersonal
trances, and later transmute into intrapersonal
trances. In other words, we learn behavioural modes
and reactions from other people and from the
surrounding milieu in which we grow, and we
subsequently appropriate them as part of our own modus
operandi.
If, at this later stage, we have become divested of
control over such trances and unable to prevent their
occurrence, we can safely affirm that they are now
unfolding themselves automatically.

75
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

The effectiveness of the look-based therapy

The therapy which is founded on the look accordingly
represents a tool to cause the subject to retrace his steps
from an intrapersonal trance to an interpersonal
one, i.e. one which is piloted by the operator.
We put this therapy into practice by observing the
patient as he clues us with his personal situations, while
we simultaneously encourage him to gaze at us.
By letting our patients describe their symptoms while
they keep on «breathing and looking at the operator», we
succeed in interrupting their internal trance, and we
convoy them to an interpersonal trance. This
development brings about a change in the context of the
problem, and adds to the picture the operator (=
we ourselves as we are busy talking to him) in his
capacity as a resource. If we want to express it
basically, we would say that we “enter” the mental scene
of our patients. The most effective therapeutic processes
use that resource in an unconscious manner (by adding
the healer as a resource). What simply occurs during the
therapy based on the look is that such concept is made
even more concrete via the recourse to the sensory faculty
of sight.
An undoubted efficacy is indeed ensconced in relating
our problems to a third person, which is something that
takes place in every type of therapeutic approach. What
might nevertheless still happen is that the subject “sneaks
out” mentally and detaches himself at the crucial
moment.
This is something which often materializes through
pensive reflection, the creation, that is, of one’s own

76
mental thoughts. It has a physiological correspondence in
the motions of the eye. When we step inside our thoughts,
in fact, we perform certain movements of the pupils in
specific directions, whereas, in other cases, we de-
focalize.42
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, for instance, notices
that when a person bends his pupils toward the top left
side, he is often accessing constructed images, whereas, if
he performs that motion to his left, he is accessing some
reiterated patterns. In an analogous fashion, horizontal
movements stand for hearing-based constructs, while
downward motions denote gaining access to our own
inner dialogue or possibly to our own sensations.
When the eye adopts such positions, the client is then
“inside his own self” and is recreating the problem.
By requesting from our client a direct and sustained
eye contact, we actively intervene and melt away those
parts of automatic “trances” which serve as defence
mechanisms within the depth of his being. We thereby
transcend the reactions which help our client defend
himself from the intensity of interpersonal contact, and
which allow him to recreate the symptom.

Acting on the symptom

By establishing eye contact while our client lives out
his state, moreover, we place ourselves in a position to
operate in another manner as well. We can in fact

42This type of motions are those which are for instance observed
by Neuro-Linguistic Programming. Cf. Bandler, Grinder”
“Programmazione Neuro-linguistica”, edited by Astrolabio.

77
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

increase the symptom in order to develop at that stage a

two-phase process, one which first begins with an
escalation and is subsequently followed by a change in
the state of consciousness.
Intensifying the dynamics which give birth to the
relevant cluster of symptoms, in fact, is paradoxically of
assistance in leading the person to a more expanded
state. In other words, the more we restrict the fire of
attention in the course of a therapeutic trance, the
more we rise to a level from which we are later capable of
enlarging the perspective. It is the as if the mechanisms
which guide attention, taken to some extreme level, were
to “give up” and thereby enable the actualization of an
expanded, vaster attention. 43
The process concerned resembles what happens at a
muscular level when a tension is followed by a relaxation,
which normally occurs at a higher intensity level than
what would have been the case had we simply initiated a
phase of relaxation without its being preceded by an
earlier contraction.
In terms of the praxis, this expanded state corresponds
to a moment in which we move beyond the dualistic

43 The phenomenon has been noticed by other disciplines as

well. Within the camp of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, for
instance, Steve and Connireae Andreas mention the concept of
“breaking through the threshold”. According to our way of looking at
things, however, the vision they provide, while being valid, is marked
by incompleteness, insofar as the process is interpreted by them as a
form of “no longer recognizing the stimulus”. In cases of extreme
concentration, that might be more correctly defined as “transcending
the conceptualization of the stimulus”.

78
distinction between things, in which we transcend, that
is, the distinction “between this and that”.
This phenomenon is a common feature of various
quantic therapies, and it is already implied in the process
of the Gestalt. It is a similar phenomenon to the one we
can ascertain during a meditation on a Japanese koan or
a kindred one on some mantra.
The Japanese “koan” is a statement, often bearing a
paradoxical meaning, to which the mind seeks to provide
an intelligible connotation, e.g. “what is the sound
produced by a single clapping hand?”. Reflecting over the
paradox, in fact, makes the conscious mind weary.
The effect of the “mantra” is analogous. The “mantra”
is a constantly repeated word. Here, too, a similar
phenomenon involving the weariness of some cerebral
mechanisms is produced.
In the instances described above, the koan or the
mantra is utilized as single point of the contemplative
«focus». Step by step, this type of concentration turns
into an automatic process. The moment the mind
concentrates, we can reach a specific instant in which our
mind “releases itself”, whereupon we experience a
“collapse on the part of the previous system of thoughts”,
or possibly even a “moment of deep change”. When that
point is reached, the mind is ready for a spontaneous
experience of accomplishment, that is, it is ready to
perceive non-duality.
To recapitulate, a trance is accordingly a daily
phenomenon, in spite of the possibility that we might fail
to realize that, due to the fact that, normally, our
conscious mind denies the reality of such phenomenon.

79
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

The daily trance

As stated earlier, hypnosis is part and parcel of the
normal process of daily communication. The only
difference between self-hypnosis and daily hypnosis is
that, when you carry out some procedure of self-hypnosis,
or you voluntarily empower a trained hypnotist to
hypnotize you, it is your person who chooses the ideas
which you allow your mind to react to, whereas, during
“daily hypnosis”, by virtue of the sheer quantity and
multiplicity of the sources from which the messages
reaching you originate, you enter a state of trance in
respect of something where your control over the quality
and amplitude of the ideas that pervade your minds is
inferior.

We refer, by the term "daily trance", to the

phenomenon whereby, at some moments in our life, our
perception of reality is altered by our internal filters,
whereupon we no longer perceive reality, but only our
specific vision of the same.
There is a close link between “trance” and hypnotic
phenomena. Let us provide an example to clarify the
understanding of the concept. Let us take the
phenomenology relating to amnesia. In the course of a
hypnotic show, one can get a demonstration when a
participating subject might be asked, say, about his name
or a particular number. Thereafter, that person, on being
posed the question “what is your name?”, might not know
what to say in reply. The circumstance is seemingly

80
amazing, but in actual reality it is no more than the
simple elucidation of a natural human mechanism. This
type of spectacular phenomenon is essentially possible
because it also occurs daily in a very subtle manner: We
meet for instance an obese lady, with a habit of eating a
lot, who utters the promise that, from the following day,
she is no longer going to eat chocolate sweets. This obese
female appears to be persuasive when she articulates that
promise. Nevertheless, two seconds later she walks in
front of a confectionery, moves in, takes two such sweets,
and eats them. How is that possible?
Such a kink of phenomenon is a "behavioural
occurrence of daily trance". 44 If we were to examine it in
detail, we would actually unveil the truth that, rather than
being merely a single trance, the aforesaid example
evinces the existence of a series of micro-trances. The
first trance that takes place is part of a phenomenology of
amnesia. Our subject, despite having told us a short while
earlier that she would have restrained herself, no longer
remembers the promise she made. The second “trance”
consists in a time regression to an earlier age: Why, in
fact, does she eat the sweet? She is behaving like a child
facing a table fully laid out with food, and so on. Our life,
which we believe to be “fully conscious”, is saturated with
such kinds of phenomena.
Some people, in order to indicate this concept, are
accustomed to state that most of human beings “are
asleep” instead of being inside reality.

44 Cf. Rossi, Wolinsky and Milton Erickson.

81
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

For the purpose of defining the selfsame phenomenon,

other scientific disciplines, such as Neuro-Linguistic
Programming, refer to the idea that we do not perceive
reality, but only a map thereof, which has been
constructed in conformity with the concepts of
“distortion, generalization and cancellation”.
In terms of our specific approach, however, we are
going to resort to another viewpoint which is equally
useful for analysing the phenomenon of fascination. In
accordance with that approach, we shall view these
phenomena as “trances”.

What is, then, a trance?

What we mean by the word “trance” is an overall state
in which we are plunged, even though we fail to realize
that.
In fact, each one of the phenomenological realities we
are now going to examine possesses, over and above the
objective aspect (cancellation or modification of reality),
a specific subjective aspect as well.
In that way, through the comparison with the
corresponding hypnotic phenomena, we might become
more capable of understanding the situation.

Recapitulation of the most frequent “trances”

The following can be enumerated as among the most
frequent alterations of reality happening on a quotidian
basis: 45

45 The abovementioned classification is the one derived from that

which was adopted by Stephen Wolinsky in “Trances People Live”.

82
1. Dissociation. In a state of dissociation, we detach
ourselves from one part of us. We might, for instance,
be unable to feel our own sensations. An example
from daily life of a person in such a condition is one
who cannot experience emotions at all.
2. Positive hallucination, which might for instance
cause us to perceive people around us being different
from what they really are. In that event, such
phenomenon will coincide with the one which is
termed "transference".
3. Progression in the future, to wit, one which, in its
pathological varieties, corresponds to imaginations
distancing us from reality.
4. Daily imaginations, being the type which keeps us
fixed in another dimension. It is the hypnotic dream
preventing us from being in the here and now: The
relevant person is “lost in the clouds”.
5. Hypermnesia, i.e. focusing in an excessive manner
on past moments. This occurs for instance in cases of
traumas when a person declares himself “unable to
forget”.
6. Temporal distortion, which makes us lose
awareness of the fact that time passes, and which
precludes us from accomplishing our objectives. It
seems to us as if time “is flying away too quickly”.
7. Sensory distortion, which is present in several
compulsive habits wherein the subject “does not
realize” the consequences of his actions upon his own
self.

The latter, in turn, is drawn from the most fashionable forms of

classification which are utilized when talk is made of hypnosis.

83
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

8. Amnesia, meaning to shelve aside or cancel certain

elements of our past. We can for instance be unaware
of our mistakes and keep on repeating them.

The role of language

Due to the fact that our mental reality is conditioned
by language, language itself might act as a tool that
facilitates these processes.
There are for example some people who always use
conditional verbs when they talk, such as ‘I would do’, ‘I
would like’, but who never act.
Once we understand that, we might easily produce
hypnotic reactions through the use of the conjunctive or
the conditional forms, given that they, in their nature as
potentialities, are able to take our interlocutor, or even
our own selves, to fantasize and perceive possibilities as
opposed to reality. You can observe that the majority of
these trances go along with a change of look.

Exercise 27: Changes in the way of looking

Let us observe our interlocutor’s reaction to such a
statement as “how lovely it would be if ...”. Thereafter, as we
keep on using a nice and exciting phrase, we are going to
frequently notice how his pupils tend to become enlarged and
his look to disperse around.

84
Relation between the vision of the world
and hypnotic states

Regression in time (look BEFORE)

Most frequent effects when this condition is excessive:
Infantile streaks of conduct, fears, emotional blocks,
anxieties bereft of any clear origin

Regression in time to a younger age is a common

phenomenon. The subject “behaves like a child”. If we
were to pay attention, we would notice that, when he is
engaging us in speech, he is not looking at us. It is as if
his look is staring at some point in space which lies
between him and us. He in fact focuses his attention on
memories of the past, and reacts in a way which is similar
to the one he has learnt in the past. In certain instances,
we might even discern a phenomenon of “daily trance”
acting as a pointer to such an extreme form of retracing
his steps to the past that the voice of the relevant
individual is replaced by the voice of the “child”
personality.
Exercise 28: Paying attention to the voice
Pay attention to your interlocutors, as well as to the times at
which they change voice and their ways of doing so. You would
then notice that there are specific response models which steer
the phenomenon.

Focalization characteristics: The person concerned is not

focused on the present. When he reminisces about past
episodes, he is gazing with his look at some point in space, one

85
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

where he sees the moments of the past re-enacted again. Such

point is spatially located BEFORE the objects that surround
him.
Treatment
In order to help him, we should ask the patient to
recollect the past moment, and, at that point, we should
request him to look at us. In order to give effect to such
re-enactment by the memory, we might even resort to the
use of some linguistic formulas which are capable of
conjuring up the memory of the image. Examples of such
verbal expressions would be, ‘Are there any past events
which justify this behaviour?’. Even if the subject is
unable to remember them, his unconscious will be
reignited, and at that moment he will also meet your look.
By fixing our look on him, we become at such stage an
integral part of the process 46, and we, too, are included
among the resources. We might then proceed to act in
one of several manners:
• We might stare at him and lead him, through the
use of words, to extend his visual field by noticing
other elements in the picture which have an
intrinsic ability to alter his automatic reaction. We
would then say to him, ‘Extend your look, can’t
you see around elements that might instead lend
you tranquillity or stability?’. Note: This type of
technique might even be practiced independently,
on one’s own. We might bring back to mind, as a
form of re-enactment, a particular scene which

46 We cause our patient to shift from an intrapersonal trance

(existing inside him) to an interpersonal trance (which he experience
with us).

86
 instils fear in us, and we then extend our look
widely. Oftentimes, in fact, we merely concentrate
on a few significant elements, for example, the
faces of the people who used to talk to us. By
expanding one’s look, everything takes on a
different perspective.
• We might identify a certain symbol or carry out a
certain action that proves to be particularly
effective, owing to the degree of concentration we
have managed to establish. A gesture, too, is
included within what is meant by symbol, for
example, a movement which is implemented with
the hands as a gesture that signifies distancing the
negative state away.
• We might also compartmentalize: Discovering the
point where the emotion is felt more strongly,
paying heed to such point alone, and further
enhancing the symptom in that area, if need be
repeating the process until we can switch to a
different perception mode. This last-mentioned
process, however, is rather complex and as such
recommended for use by expert operators only.

Progression in time (temporal pseudo-

orientation) (look BEYOND)
Most frequent effects when such progression in time is
pervasive: Lack of a concrete approach to reality,
anxiety, fear of the future, and fear of the possibility of
improving one’s volitional resolution and action

87
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

The person who is immersed in a constant “temporal

progression" is the eternal dreamer, who at the end of the
day might fail to accomplish any practical result in the
present. His look, in extreme forms of this trance, is lost
in a void, as if he was busy observing a distant point. It is
the look of the “dreamer”. He speak by making recourse
to a vocabulary consisting of such expressions as, ‘I am
going to do’, ‘I am going to be’, etc ... The risk faced by
such a personality type is to live too much in the future,
without being however able to relate it to actions and to
the reality of the present time, and without actually
embarking on any practical steps in the present which
aim at realizing his dreams.
When we succeed in unravelling the underlying
mechanism, we might be able to help the person suffering
from such a modification of reality be more firmly
anchored in the present, and, accordingly, effectively
manage to accomplish some things in life. The look-
centred therapy represents a powerful tool to take him
back to the present and enable him to re-establish contact
with it. This therapy empowers the switch from
“dreaming” to “being active and orientated toward the
future”.
Daydreaming is not negative per se. On the contrary, it
might even be useful: A positive image, for instance,
occasions positive emotions 47. It is the first stage of the

47 Such a trance might even be intentionally self-generated. There

are in fact occasions in which, by utilizing the future time, we might

in fact facilitate a "progression in time” to a subsequent age of our life
(pseudo-orientation in time), and replace the present time with an
imaginary future.

88
mechanism by which motivational urge is brought about.
A young lad, for example, might presage the taste of the
moment in which he is going to graduate.
Future visual impression (the person, e.g. imagines his
graduation)
positive sensation.
The problem is that it is befitting, in order for the
person thus motivated to engage in tangible action, that
this first step should be conjoined to an additional
second step: This is the practice which invariably uses
the present as its departure point.
By means of fascination, we as the operators might
prove to be an important resource of the present for our
patient, one that is indeed capable of activating the said
link 48.
Technical characteristics of this state: We can often
notice in it a hyperopic attitude, which is focused on what
is distant. The visionary gazes at some distant point 49.
Treatment
The standard application of the relevant technique is
extremely simple: We should fix our look on the patient
and, at the moment in which we have reached the stage of
fascination, we are going to conjoin the future state to the
present one by uttering some encouraging words and by
asserting that the subject shall henceforth work towards
accomplishing his own goal. One might say for instance,

48 He will be motivated due to the fact that: Dissociation from

the future imagine
lack of positive sensation
desire to gain

renewed access to it.
49 Hyperopia means to look beyond, to see what lies at a distance,

to move beyond one’s own head with a forward thrust.

89
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

‘From now on you will act with confidence. Every day you
should take a new step towards your ultimate objective.’
What would otherwise happen is that this type of
persons will fail to act in the present, and will only live
out their particular dreams.
Treatment in the event of fear of the future (anxiety)
Even what is called “anxiety” is linked to time 50. The
anxious person is in fact always bent on creating for
himself negative images of the future.
A technique which yields almost immediate results
consists in making the subject imagine the future in a
positive guise, by saying to him, while we stare at him,
‘Feel yourself achieving whatever you wish to achieve, feel
it as something which is already real.’ In doing so, we will
lead him to experience the feelings associated with a
successfully actualized result. For the sake of increasing
the efficacy of such technique, the “accomplished” result
might be depicted in the form of a symbol. This symbol
might be absorbed by the patient while he is accordingly
brought back to the present, where the look retains an
ongoing awareness of it.

50 Additionally termed “pseudo-orientation in time”.

90
 Dissociation and Hyper-association
(Small Pupil and large Pupil)
Most frequent effects when the state of dissociation is
pervasive: Frigidity, absence of emotions, muscular
stiffness, difficult interpersonal relationships, imaginary
pains, “gelid eyes”
In the state of dissociation, the person “shelves aside”
one part of experience. A very frequent example of this
state is represented by the person who is only marginally
alert to his own physical perceptions. We in fact come
across some people who are for example unable to feel
one part of themselves, such as their own emotions. They
often have small pupils, and their look is then described
as being “ice-cold”. They are the individuals who in
common parlance are referred to as “cold”. Emotions
flow out through the body and, frequently, the inability to
experience feelings reflects a denial of the sensations
experienced by the body. Some exemplars of this human
category are so detached from their own selves that they
are even unable to experience such primary feelings as
hunger or pain.
It is indeed significant that our current society
nurtures the quality of coldness, and that at times it
fosters in that regard an urge to be hyper-rational, i.e.
dissociated from feelings and associated with thoughts
(rationality).
We also get the opposite of dissociation, which is
sometimes simultaneously present with it, and that is

91
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

hyper-association 51. Indeed, we find in the personal

history of “cold” persons that there are moments in the
past where they have suffered traumas which they still
experience at a physical level. When they recover their
spark, their look undergoes a transformation, and the
pupil widens. Those persons who feel a certain pain more
intensely than usual are defined as being hyper-
associated: Hyper-association materializes when a person
focuses a lot on a negative sensation in one specific area
of the body and is oblivious to the rest of his body.
A similar phenomenon to this one is found in other
states where we encounter discrepancies in how different
parts of our bodies are perceived. We might for instance
detect cases of dissociation from inward states or from
certain parts of the body. This occurs in those persons
who, for example, have highly negative attitudes. It is as if
they were unable to realize the impact that such attitudes
have on the body.

Technical characteristics of the state: When a person

is too focused on what is logical (when, in other words, he
is excessively rational), we can notice how such
physiological state is characterized by restrictions of the
visual field and by a limited foveal vision. A small,
myopia-style pupil, but not only that ... Myopia is indeed
often associated with an excessive focus on rationality
and the desire to catalogue things. Priority is thus
conferred on the vision of what lies near. In states of
dissociation, it is sometimes possible to get a tunnel
51 It is the selfsame phenomenon, save that in this case it is viewed

from another visual angle.

92
(foveal) vision escorted by an imaginary impression of
distancing (probable dilatation of the pupil).

Treatment of dissociation and hyper-rationality

based on the look

A method of dealing with Hyper-rationality

1) Gradually teach the subject to get in touch with

his body. Practice some relaxation techniques
which result in the fire of attention being
enlarged to the whole of his self. In this
manner, even the body becomes bit by bit an
integral part of the life experience. Note: This is
a method which can even be practiced on your
own. When you relax yourself, try and nurture
an attention which is spread to the entire body.
Let go of yourself deeply.

2) A practical method which can be resorted to in

the field of therapy is to stare at the patient and
simultaneously touch him with the left hand on
his shoulder, by laying the thumb and index
fingers close to the junction of the shoulder
blades. You might even request him to keep on
rationalizing whilst he is in such a state, under
observation. What will be ensured by this is
that, paradoxically, he will tire out one part of
his mind and enter a state of increasing
abandon, which happens, however, within an
interpersonal context (involving him with the

93
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

operator). Shortly afterwards, he will be unable

to sustain the situation any longer and will
spontaneously fall into your arms.

3) There is, lastly, another methodology, which

consists in “catching the subject suddenly”. In
that instance, we will inquire from the patient
how he is feeling, and at that very moment we
will look at him with intensity. After a short
while, we will reach a so-called “threshold
point”. When that stage is attained, the subject
will automatically switch to a state of hyper-
association and will release himself.

Excessive attention to sensations

There is also a contrary situation. Oftentimes, in fact,
excessive focus on inward sensations makes sure that the
relevant person feels his emotions more intensely. It is
then easy for such a person to fall into emotional bursts,
reactions, and other related phenomena. The pupil is
expanded. At that moment, the person is “hot”. If,
however, the emotions such a person is associated with
are negative in nature, he lives in a world of suffering. In
order to transcend it, one can resort to expanding the
context. In cases of hyper-association with a bodily
sensation (meaning that the person is “victim” of the
attentive focus on one part of the body), an effective
method is to cause such sensation to spread throughout
the body. We will initially fix our gaze upon the patient,
and we will recommend the expanding of such sensation.
Thereafter, we are going to act in accordance with a

94
methodology of magnetic steps, whereupon the lateral
vision will grow, and there will no longer be a tunnel
vision, as that is in fact going to be replaced by an
enlarged vision.
It is possible to pursue, in this regard, the same path
which is treaded in relation to regression into a past age
in the event that images were to appear. By solving the
regressions, in fact, we would bring the subject back to
reality.

Post-hypnotic suggestions (incongruence)

Most frequent effects when such suggestions are
pervasive: Mental rigidity, finding it difficult to change
and adapt, asymmetrical movements of the body
We call by this name the automatic reactions which
many people have learnt in their young age. Many post-
hypnotic suggestions are in fact linked to the parents’
behaviour and correspond to what Freud had described
as the super ego, that is, those inner voices which tell us
what to do and what not to do. In this case, the child had
been asked to see reality from the viewpoint of the
parent. The parent had imparted peremptory
“injunctions” to him, such as “do this”, “you must”, or “it
is obligatory”. In due course, these automatic reactions
act as blocks to the mind and to one’s own spontaneous
responses.
Technical characteristics of this state: One hypothesis
which has been put forward in this respect is that what
enables a suggestion to “endure” in the mind is the
circumstance that it is not adequately processed. What

95
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

essentially occurs is that the mind receives an idea, and

such idea becomes rooted in it. This kind of phenomenon
is often the spin-off of traumatic events. Due to the fact
that the information is not processed, it is as if it remains
blocked in one area of the brain. Some people speak in
this connection of compartmentalized “parts”. In the field
of interpersonal contexts, what happens is that one eye is
utilized in order to perceive reality directly, while through
the other eye the other person’s way of seeing reality is
imagined. This explains why various schools of thought
often relate each of the two eyes to a specific parent (the
right eye, moreover, is frequently linked to the concept of
«doing»).
Treatment and technique aimed at imparting
suggestions:
One available method is to cause the injunctive
statement to be processed by both hemispheres of the
brain, thereby bringing the interrupted process to
completion. Stephen Wolinsky 52 is the one who
developed a certain technique in terms of which the
operator looks first at one eye and then at the other, so as
to impart post-hypnotic suggestions which are equally
pronounced for the two eyes. This technique might be
particularly effective in respect of verbal expressions
which include the use of a «non».
We might accordingly unleash a «non» upon one eye,
while letting the verbal expressions go ahead on the other
eye.

52 Cf. Stephen Wolinsky, “Trance people live”.

96
 Erminio from Pisa, once he had placed the relevant
individual in a state of passive consciousness, would then
lead him back to the past, whereupon he would impart
direct suggestions, thereby playing the role of a
“resource” for the fascinated subject.

Amnesia (large look)

and Hypermnesia (fixed look)

Most frequent effects when the pair of them is

pervasive in nature: As regards amnesia, memory gaps
and erasures of reality; and as regards hypermnesia,
hyper-excitation.

Amnesia technically means “not to remember”.

Hypermnesia, by contrast, bears the connotation of
“remembering everything”.
This pair of conditions is connected to the need to
know. If this need is excessive, such states might further
be modified by acting on the related sensations of fear.
Sometimes a person might display amnesia vis-à-vis
traumatic episodes, whereupon the person “does not
want to remember”. Through recourse to fascination, it is
indeed possible to cause a subject to retrieve the material
he had removed, until he is able to see it again with the
most thorough attention to detail. Fascination, in fact,
has the effect of creating a “trance” which is similar to
that amnesia, inasmuch as fascination is normally
characterized by hyper-vigilance followed by amnesia.
Fascination is accordingly in a position to act directly on
the above-described phenomenology of daily trance,

97
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

thereby yielding excellent therapeutic results. It is enough

to fix the look on the subject and ask him to revert to that
past episode. What the subject would normally be unable
to accomplish in a normal state might then be actualized
by whim while in a state of fascination.

Negative hallucination
(deflection of the look)
Most frequent effects when it is negatively pervasive:
Finding it difficult to identify resources in one’s own life.
An illustrating example of this state might be
encountered in a depressed person who says, ‘I have
never been happy!’, even though we saw him laughing
only on the day before. How is it possible that he does not
remember? What he says probably originates in a
“cancellation” of a part of reality. Indeed, this
phenomenology is also termed "cancellation" by Neuro-
Linguistic Programming, and consists in failing to
perceive one part of reality.
Technical characteristics: It is often as if a small filter
(time regression-like) were to drop down before the eyes
of a person, who, as a result thereof, is thus prevented
from accurately focusing upon the scene. Even the short-
sighted attitude of the one affected by myopia might be
related to the concept of negative hallucinations, as do
some phenomena of astigmatism.
Treatment: A modus operandi that might be resorted
to in this context consists in suggesting variations to the
type of mist surrounding the person. Possibly divide that
mist into quadrants. All of this should take place as the

98
patient is urged not to drop his look. It has the effect of
changing the structure of the phenomenon which the
patient is suffering, and of altering the entrenched state
of trance.
Passages the treatment should go through:
1 – Encouraging the negative hallucination to reach its
maximum potential (while it is in a state of
entrenchment)
2 – Causing it to turn even stronger
3 – Modifying the structure thereof
4 – Suggesting positive hallucinations
5 – Expanding it further, in order to encompass even
things which were either not perceived (because they lay
beyond the original visual field) or whose contours were
vaguely indecisive

Positive hallucination
(mydriasis – large pupil)
The concept of projection is strongly linked to the
concept of positive hallucination.
Technical characteristics: A phenomenon of positive
hallucination we have often come across might be
observed by focusing the eyes on the spot that is located
immediately after the person we are looking at (as if we
were looking behind him). It might even be carried out
before a mirror with a view to “lending voice to the
unconscious”.
Note on the treatment: In order to avoid transference
phenomena in the event of positive hallucinations, we
might request the patient to observe something enabling
him to distinguish the operator from his past memory.

99
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Temporal distortion (Long time and short

time)
(Tension and Retention)
It appears that longer time is escorted by muscular
resistance and the retention of one’s breath. It often goes
along with a narrowing of the attention field. One can
further notice that it is accompanied by a lack of
conceptualization: An unexpected route seems to be
longer than a previously known road.

Confusion
(strabismus)
One can discern, under this heading, phenomena of
confusion, by observing a person through the medium of
diverging strabismus. That is accomplished by looking at
two spots behind or beside the relevant person. Divergent
strabismus produces confusion, in that one needs to
combine two distinct images.
Treatment
In order to overcome confusion, it might prove
beneficial to individually separate and clarify the single
parts of the experience.

100
 SELF-FASCINATION
We use the term "self-fascination" to describe that type
of hypnotic fascination which is done on our own selves
by looking into a mirror.
It is an extremely potent system of self-development,
and, at the same time, it is one that is very easy to
implement. Through the medium of your own
concentration by the mirror, you might be able to give
yourselves a series of useful suggestions.
Exercise 29: Simple self-fascination
As you face a mirror, focus on your own image. Place
yourself at a distance of around forty centimetres, and then
look at where the nose is attached to the front. Stare at your
own self. Try not to flap your eyelids.
Exercise 30: Mental suggestions
Concentrate on your own image while in front of a mirror,
and simultaneously impart some mental suggestions to your
own self (‘come forward’, ‘move backward’, ‘the arm is lifting
up’, etc.). You then realize that you will come to reply to
yourselves unconsciously.
Exercise 31: Positive suggestions
Carry out the two immediately preceding exercises (i.e.
simple self-fascination and “mental suggestions”). Thereafter,
in front of a mirror, and after implementing the two previous
exercises, you should impart to yourselves a series of positive
suggestions.

It is important that, as you put this sequence of

exercises into effect, you should adopt the suitable kind of
“mental voice”. You must be direct and commanding, and

101
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

the tone of your voice ought to ooze confidence. If you so

wish, you might make use of the following exercise in
order to improve the tone of your voice.
Exercise 32: Aimed at attaining confidence in one’s
tone of voice
Say something which you are utterly certain of (for
example, ‘I am ... (your own name)’, or else, ‘I live in (your
street)’. Take notice of the tone of voice which you are mentally
going to use.
By working on your own selves, you will be able to
discern the different impact which the look might
exercise. Slowly, you will develop a better understanding
of the dynamics of fascination even as they apply to other
persons in whose company you happen to be, since you
will become aware of the different states through which
you are going to pass, and are accordingly going to
comprehend that such states might belong to the people
you are going to captivate.

The three-stage dynamics of persuading

yourselves through self-fascination
One way which has been indicated to us by our master
Virgilio includes the method of giving oneself a series of
mental suggestions by facing a mirror and making use of
the so-called “three-phase dynamics":

• On the first occasion, give yourselves

suggestions by utilizing the pronoun “I”

102
 • During the second stage, give yourselves
suggestions by making use of the
pronoun “you”

• In the third and last instance, give

yourselves suggestions by using the
pronoun “he”

This sequence of passages from a perceptive

position to another might occasion a much more
immediate absorption of the suggestions you send
out.

103
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Use of the light

Let us mention at last a particularly pleasant exercise
which is called “taking the sun into the Saturn”.
This exercise is going to augment your presence and
will have the effect of making you more stable, calm and
able to act.
What we mean in this context by “Saturn” is the top
part of the head (the higher chakra in the Indians’
nomenclature). The ancient researchers, in fact, had
detected a correspondence between such point and the
related region of the skull. The mythological aim is to
enable Saturn to be reborn as god of “the golden epoch”53,
that is, for your body to be enlivened by a sensation of
inner light.
Exercise 33
Look at some light. Close your eyes and then gaze firmly at
the top area of the skull, at the same time bringing the eyes
into a position of ocular convergence. Through experience, you
will discover that there is a point where, aside from the
residual luminous trace, you can at some stage discern the
development of a sensation of inward luminosity, as well as a
profound inner calm.

Meditation carried out on a source of light, followed by

visualizing its image while we are in a state of ocular
convergence, assists the distribution of the luminous
spectrum across the body, thereby energizing the
different areas thereof. It further engenders harmony

53 Cf. Evola, “The Hermetic Tradition”.

104
between body, mind and soul, since both the hemispheres
are energized. In the course of our meditation on the
light, we should think that light is magnetic, and that it
represents a source of power. It ensues from it that
working with a source of light is both energizing and
tranquillizing 54.

54 The concept of light as an element which fortifies magnetism

is encountered in Maxwell: “Spiritus vitalis in consideratus partes
heterogeneas non habet, sed totus ubique lucis instar sibi simillimus.
c. 11 concl. 10”.

105
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

APPLICATIONS OF FASCINATION TO
HYPNOTIC PRACTICE

Hypnotic fascination and Instant Hypnosis

Through the use of fascination, one can produce a high
state of receptiveness which is geared towards a
subsequent actualization of hypnotic phenomena or
towards paving the way for some lethargy-type hypnosis
where the subject appears “to be sleeping”
That is not all, however. Some people believe, in so
doing following Braid’s view, that the eyes represent no
more than two shining points which entice the subject’s
attention. The truth is that the effect produced by the
eyes is far more extensive than the mere observation of a
physical object. What one is in fact dealing with is a state
on its own.
In the past, the state of fascination, which is not
recognized as being a distinct state by many authors, has
been also referred to by the phrases “state of credulity”
and “suggestions while the eyes are wide open”. If we
proceed to analyze it, nevertheless, we will realize that we
are dealing with a phenomenology which is quite
detached from the idea of hypnosis that is ordinarily
linked to sleep and which, in the view of some people, is a
“cultural construct”.

Energy
The most widespread hypnotic techniques in use at
present are verbal. If, by contrast, you choose to utilize

106
fascination in hypnosis, you will not be restricted to
operating at a psychological level in a traditional way, but
you will further operate through the medium of energy
and through presencing. "Hypnotic fascination"
establishes a link with the power of the present moment,
and with the energy we might be able to perceive in the
moment of the now.
Exercise 34 Being in the present.
Try and be in the present. Apply a sensory methodology: Be
consciously aware of your body and your sensations. FEEL
your being in the particular environment you find yourself in.
If you do as we have suggested, you will notice that, as you
pursue such a practice, you will develop a specific energetic
sensation.
The practice further shows that, even in order to effectively
practice hypnotic fascination, believing in the idea of energy or
fluid might prove beneficial. At the beginning, this consists
mainly in having a receptive frame of mind. As one delves
deeper into it, this mode of thinking opens itself up to the
possibility of a communication which additionally takes place
at levels differing from the immediately perceptible ones.
Exercise 35 Create an energetic image.
Observe one point on the wall and imagine yourself capable
of hurling small arrows in the direction of that point (Do not
move your eyelids). You will eventually discern that this
exercise helps you intensify your volition.
What is essentially necessary is the idea that our thought
and our speech might impact on those around us, and in any
event exercise an influence on the flow of their thoughts. As a
way of helping you evolve such a state of being, it would be
useful to observe that, irrespective of anything else, this
concept likewise represents simple healthy psychology.

107
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Indeed, thinking that we are able to transmit some energy

places our whole body and spirit in a state of favourable
mental predisposition.
Quantic dynamics might offer an explanation for that.
If we adopt such a vision, in fact, we realize how it is
perfectly possible for a correspondence between our
mental images and the reality which surrounds us
to exist.
Let us now make mention of some practical exercises
wherein fascination is conjoined to hypnosis. The first
such exercise might be carried out before any one else. It
is also given the name of “establishing a contact on the
subject”. 55
Exercise 36
Keep standing up in front of the subject who is seated, and
look at his eyes fixedly and yet with sweetness: Your feet will
have to graze his, and your knees will have to touch his. You
will hold his wrists with your hands. Eventually, your will has
to turn active: «I establish my ascendancy on this person, I
saturate him with my only influence; I want him to perceive
my influence distinctly; he will have to obey my injunctions,
etc». It is not a case of whispering these formulas, which have
nothing intrinsically «Kabbalistic» about them, and which do
not possess any power per se. Rather, it is an issue of forcibly
exalting your spirit by representing to yourself whatever the
words you have pronounced signify. Depict in your mind an
image of the subject being pervaded by an irresistible
hegemonic force. Have an anticipated perception of how the
subject is eventually going to be, once he has turned into a

55 Cf. “Practical hypnotism”, published by Hermes. It is a booklet

from the 30’s which can be obtained from the author of this book.

108
passive recipient of your suggestions. Firmly retain this mental
representation.

If we desire this exercise to have positive results, you

ought to resolve on the fact that since the beginning of
your experiences, you are going to exert yourself in an
energy-related effort, and you are going to accompany the
external procedures by an intense inner will56. All of that
should by no means impact on your outside: You should
on the contrary retain your calmness, fully in charge of
your own self. When the will truly originates in the depth
of consciousness, it not only avoids being translated into
restless agitation, but also manifests along with an
impeccable self-control.

Fascination and hypnotic Attraction

It is possible to operate purely through the look by
leading your subject to emulate your gestures,
alternatively to remain glued to your eyes. Thus is the
phenomenon of the “invincible hypnotic attraction”. As
an ancient author says:
“As you look at the subject brusquely and from a very
close distance, you should advise him to stare at you as
fixedly as possible. In that manner, you shall attain the
so-called appropriation of the gaze. Very soon, the look of
the person who is susceptible of being captivated attaches
itself to yours and no longer moves away from it. The
subject then follows your look everywhere: By you

56 Refer to what has already been stated with regard to the energy

of the Aries . This is in fact the attitude one should have.

109
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

stepping back, he moves forward, and by you stepping

ahead, he moves back. If you bend lower, he lowers his
position, just as he rises the moment you stand up. Some
people will imitate the whole range of your gestures, and
execute all the suggestions you would like to impose on
them without them retaining any memory that it is you
who issued those suggestions. By repeated attempts
which you are going to make on the sane subject, the
state of fascination will alight at him with growing
intensity, and susceptibility to suggestions will be
enhanced. In order to bring this state to an end, all you
need to do is to blow into the eyes of the subject. By
placing one hand in front of the eyes of a charmed person
and by directing him onto another individual, the subject
is going to attach himself ineluctably to the look of such
third party.
In order to achieve the state of fascination more easily,
the operator might keep his own hands horizontally and
let the subject lay his hands over them, coupled with the
recommendation to the subject to press as strongly as he
possibly can”57.

Other Methods
Virgilio’s Method: The essential element is to observe
the person. The facial tension reveals the effort one
makes in the process of transmission. The whole body
gets into a state of tension, into a total effort of
57 Cf. Jean Filiatre, “L’Ipnotismo Illustrato”, which we have
made available to the public at the following website address:
http://www.pnl-
nlp.org/courses/ebooks/page.php?pid=46&bid=46&pageid=617

110
transmission, until one’s breathing nearly comes to a
halt.
Asymmetrical hypnosis by looking through one eye
only. Lastly, it is possible to deepen hypnosis by exerting
pressure on the ocular globes, inasmuch as such
movement directly acts on the vagus nerve and on the
parasympathetic nervous system. The compression of the
ocular globe generates a slowing of the wrist, due to an
ocular-cardiac reflection. If, therefore, we press on one
eye while we stare at the subject from the other eye, we
will occasion the so-called “asymmetrical hypnosis”,
namely, a state of hypnosis which is different for the two
halves of the body.

111
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Various methods of staring at the

subject for the sake of hypnosis

Methods based on a fixed look

The central look: Among the methods of fixing one’s
look on the subject, the most common one is the look
directed to the centre, between the eyes 58.
Look through one eye only: As for the Baron of
Reichenbach, he had noticed how fixing the left eye on
the operator’s right eye was particularly effective 59. The
very same method is suggested by Eliphas Levi. Ormond
Mc Gill, too, reports a similar methodology 60.
Backward look: Yet another efficacious method
consists in staring at the back of a person61.

Methods that adopt a look in motion

The methods using motion are of very ancient origin.
The eyes might even tremble, which is a phenomenon the
ancient people termed “equi effigie” (image of a horse) so
as to indicate the rapid motion like the one which a horse

58 This is the most common method.

59 In Reichenbach’s view, the right eye was charged with negative
Od (which was Reichenbach’s own name for energy), while the left
eye was charged with positive Od (Cf. Reichenbach, “Odische Briefe”,
at pp. 158-9).
60 Cf. Ormond Mac Gill, “Secret of stage hypnotism”.
61 By doing so, they accordingly become divergent in relation to

the face. We likewise have a vast literature on divergent eyes. This is

Atkinson’s method, which is called “Mental Fascination”.

112
engages in 62. Pliny, indeed, recounts the fact that some
nations hypnotize whilst having an “image of a horse” in
their pupils. Such an interpretation is corroborated by
Seligmann 63, who was a professional ophthalmologist.
Seligmann observes that, in Greek, “Hyppos”, i.e. the
word for “horse”, was in fact the noun by which the
ancient Greeks used to call the nystagmus. Even among
the Assyrians, the power of the eyes was linked to their
motion 64.
Rotational look: Erminio from Pisa used to rotate the
eyes in connection with divergent strabismus.
Look based on a horizontal movement: Prof. Hoehn
advices the operator to look to the right and the left of the
subject’s nose “depending on what is most suitable”.

The way the eyes should be kept

An effective method is to keep one eye more open than
the other 65.

62 There were however some people who, due to translation-

induced problems, believed that the image of a horse was truly

present.
63 Cf. Seligmann, op. cit.
64 The Assyrian word to denote “evil eye” is “i-nu li-mut-tu”. Its

literal translation means “the rotational movement of the eyes” (Cf.

Lehmann, “Abergl”, 41, 1898 edition, as quoted by Seligmann on
page 231).
65 This is Virgilio’s method. Eyes have in fact different powers.

After all, the concept of different degrees of ocular opening is present

in many traditions. According to Naphtali Katz, a scholar of the
Talmud, an eye desiring to make an impact must necessarily be
closed. If the eyes are both open, in fact, there is balance and man is

113
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Pupil
Even the dilated pupil (mydriasis) is quite effective
when it comes to the purposes sought to be achieved by
fascination. This method, too, is an ancient one that is
probably quoted by Pliny, who refers however to people
with a “double pupil”. Given that having a “double pupil”
is a most rare genetic anomaly, we deem it more correct
to refer such expression to the size of the pupil.
Normally, it is possible to notice that, by focusing on
the detail, the pupil turns smaller, and that, when strong
emotions are experienced, the pupil widens.

White part of the eyes

The amplitude of the white part of the eyes is likewise
an element which facilitates fascination. Eyes are often
enlarged during emotional situations.

Other aids
The finger: It is very useful to indicate a person with a
pointed finger. From a mental point of view, you have to
think as if the finger is perforating the subject.
Motion of the head: It resembles the way a snake
approaches its prey. A method utilized by Virgilio T.
consisted in bringing the subject’s face close. By contrast,

an image of god, whereas closing one eye alters the balance. This
might be the origin of the fear of one-eyed people, which is
widespread among several peoples (Arabs or Bulgarians, though
similar traditions are present in Veneto as well – Cf. Seligmann, op.
cit., at p. 232). Petrarca, too, narrates that as he was staring intensely
at his beloved Laura, an arrow was thrown by his right eye.

114
at the time of imparting advices, the head then moves
away 66.
The spiral: Our master Virgilio often looks toward a
person and rotates one finger at the level of the third eye.
Such practice helps the operator create a bit of confusion,
but at the same time it assists one in hypnotizing. In fact
Virgilio, who is particularly adept at mental imagination,
conjures up in his mind the idea that there is a true spiral
rotating in front of him.
Exercise 37
Point your finger towards the front of the person you want
to hypnotize. Turn that finger clockwise, in so doing imagining
that a spiral is rotating as you turn the finger. Thereafter, you
should stare at the centre, between the eyes of your subject. As
you engage in that, you ought to give one intense look. You will
moreover feel that a change has occurred in your subject’s
perception.
This method is further endowed with a physiological value.
Special receptors located in the visual cortex (at the back of the
brain), which are called “detectors”, are thus stimulated up to a
straining degree. For example, the detectors in charge of the
clockwise movement will get tired, and, when you turn to look
from a distance at the detectors which are responsible for the
opposite (= anti-clockwise) motion, the latter will get into
action and thereby create the illusion of an expanding world
(or else the illusion of an aura). By virtue of this phenomenon,

66 This is probably the source of the Sicilian tradition

according to which the person with a long neck possesses a greater
power of fascination (Cf. Seligmann, op. cit.). By drawing close, the
subject’s visual field becomes occupied by the charmer’s face, while
the outside elements are set at a greater distance due to an ocular
effect.

115
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

we encourage consciousness to expand, in an aware fashion,

beyond the physical form 67.

The same kind of rotation can be carried out at the

level of the various plexuses: The throat, the heart and
the epigastrium, with different effects depending on the
points that are aimed at. In the field of magnetism, this is
considered to be an effective way of assuming control
over these areas of the body. Even the so-called “circular
magnetic steps” are linked to it.

67 Cf. “Chakra & Kundalini workbook: Psycho-spiritual techniques

for health”, by Jonn Mumford.

116
 Gypsy Hypnosis
It us related that the great esoteric practitioner Hanussen,
who lived during the age of the Nazi regime, had succeeded in
avoiding incarceration simply by looking their jail wardens in
their eyes and causing them to turn stupefied 68.
At times, fascination might also be utilized for negative and
illegal purposes. In Italy, testimonies in that sense date back to
the medieval period 69.
A similar phenomenon which is widespread nowadays is
called “robberies through hypnosis”. In the course of such
robberies, the subject is left in a state of passive consciousness,
while the fascinator acts without any obstacle.
We have gathered various testimonies in that regard. Such
phenomenon consists in a specific form of application of
fascination. A very peculiar method is what has been reported

68 Herschmann Chaim Steinschneider (1889-1933) acted in the

theaters of a large number of European countries (as well as in the

Middle East and the United States) under the pseudonym of Erik Jan
Hanussen. He enjoyed widespread fame in the 1920’s and 1930’s. A
controversial figure, a Jew affiliated to the Nazi party who later
converted to catholicism, he personally knew Hitler, who had a good
opinion of him, though he foretold the fall of the Third Reich, which
was seemingly the reason why he was eventually disposed of. Works
of his which have been published in Italian are “Manuale di lettura
del pensiero” and “Il mago di Hitler”.
69 Bartolus di Sassoferrato (+1357), one of the most celebrious

jurists of the Middle Ages, talks of a witch from Orta di Riparia

within the diocesis of Novara, in the process asserting that “this
womam was able, with her eye, to cause damage to humans or
animals and to kill them”. This represents the first testimony
attempting to carry out a juristic analaysis of the effects of the look,
one which additionally reveals the existence of an uninterrupted
historical continuity as regards the occurrence in some localities of a
certain category of events.

117
 THE MAGNETIC GAZE

by the researches conducted by Dr. Tira, which we might

legitimately catalogue under the name of “the gypsy woman of
Castellamonte”, as they are based on a whole number of
testimonies adduced in respect of such character. She would
lead a person she targeted, in the space of a few seconds, into a
very deep state which she would then exploit in a negative
fashion.
Her modus operandi consists in drawing close to the
subject, seating him in the same way as she sits in front of him,
and saying to him, ‘If you so desire, I can read for you your
future ... Give me your hand …’.
Meanwhile, as she utters those words, she shakes the hand
of the person backward and forward, until his hand is left in a
raised position (Essentially, therefore, she produces a form of
“catalepsy of the arm”, as it would be defined by recourse to
hypnotic terms).
At the same time, she says the following, ‘Think of
something you want to see actualized, either for yourself or for
your children …’, followed soon thereafter by the other
statement, ‘ Look at me in the eye if you want it to actually
occur.’ As she is busy uttering that, the gypsy woman, with the
other hand, makes some gestures aimed at drawing attention
to her own eyes.
At that point, she proceeds by saying, ‘Concentrate’, soon
after which she gets up and declares, ‘In the meantime, I am
going to get up. As for you, keep on dreaming what you wish to
see happening to your children.’
The subject does not stop staring into the void, now plunged
into a state of full passive consciousness. This is what allows
the gypsy woman to get up and start acting undetected, while
she leaves the subject in a state of complete incantation.

118
 Utilizing the Lexicon of hypnotic
fascination:
The most classical form of mental fascination is also
endowed with its specific lexical quality which is based on
mental words and imagery:

Modal verbs which are limited to one possible

form, such as I ought to. They correspond to a single image.
These verbs facilitate the process of charming attraction. In a
similar vein, all generalizations help that process. Modal verbs
such as «I can», on the other hand, correspond to a plurality of
mental images, and they can prove useful in order to break the
charming pull of a concept. Leaders have always possessed an
ability to make use of such words as «it is necessary» or «we
must» in order to arouse a crowd, while they punctuate such
process by the escorting use of suitable generalizations.
Words of presence: NOW, HERE

119
THE MAGNETIC GAZE

120
 Index
PREFACE................................................................................................. 3
FIELDS OF UTILIZATION OF FASCINATION...................................................... 10
THE ART OF CONFERRING FASCINATION ON THE EYES ..................................... 22
I. – FIXITY OF THE LOOK ................................................................ 22
II. – THE RAPIDITY OF THE LOOK ................................................... 30
III. – EXPRESSION OF THE LOOK .................................................... 31
COMPREHENDING OCULAR EXPRESSIONS..................................................... 41
The eyelid ...................................................................................... 42
Methodical study of the expression of the eyes............................ 42
Additional Exercises ...................................................................... 54
UTILIZATION OF FASCINATION IN THERAPEUTIC PRACTICES: THERAPEUTIC
TREATMENT BY THE LOOK ............................................................................... 55
The various concentration levels .................................................. 56
CONCENTRATION IN INDIA ....................................................................... 57
Comparison with Western methodologies.................................... 57
Beyond daily “trances” ................................................................. 58
INSTANT FASCINATION ............................................................................ 60
Our further studies ........................................................................ 61
The origin of problems .................................................................. 66
Further comparisons with Eastern techniques.............................. 67
The void ........................................................................................ 68
Mental attitude............................................................................. 68
CHANGE OF THE VISION IN HYPNOTIC STATES AND RELATED THERAPY .............. 70
The Varieties of daily Trance......................................................... 71
The effectiveness of the look-based therapy ................................ 76
Acting on the symptom ................................................................. 77
THE DAILY TRANCE.................................................................................. 80
What is, then, a trance?................................................................ 82
Recapitulation of the most frequent “trances”............................. 82
The role of language ..................................................................... 84
RELATION BETWEEN THE VISION OF THE WORLD AND HYPNOTIC STATES ............ 85
Regression in time (look BEFORE) ................................................. 85

121
THE MAGNETIC GAZE

Progression in time (temporal pseudo-orientation) (look BEYOND)

............................................................................................................ 87
DISSOCIATION AND HYPER-ASSOCIATION (SMALL PUPIL AND LARGE PUPIL) ...... 91
A method of dealing with Hyper-rationality ................................. 93
Excessive attention to sensations ................................................. 94
Post-hypnotic suggestions (incongruence) ................................... 95
Amnesia (large look) and Hypermnesia (fixed look) .................... 97
Most frequent effects when the pair of them is pervasive in
nature: As regards amnesia, memory gaps and erasures of reality;
and as regards hypermnesia, hyper-excitation. ................................. 97
Negative hallucination (deflection of the look)............................ 98
Positive hallucination (mydriasis – large pupil) ............................ 99
Temporal distortion (Long time and short time) (Tension and
Retention) ......................................................................................... 100
Confusion (strabismus) .............................................................. 100
SELF-FASCINATION .......................................................................... 101
The three-stage dynamics of persuading yourselves through self-
fascination ........................................................................................ 102
USE OF THE LIGHT ................................................................................ 104
APPLICATIONS OF FASCINATION TO HYPNOTIC PRACTICE .............. 106
Hypnotic fascination and Instant Hypnosis ................................ 106
Energy ......................................................................................... 106
Fascination and hypnotic Attraction........................................... 109
Other Methods............................................................................ 110
VARIOUS METHODS OF STARING AT THE SUBJECT FOR THE SAKE OF HYPNOSIS ... 112
Methods based on a fixed look ................................................... 112
Methods that adopt a look in motion ......................................... 112
The way the eyes should be kept ................................................ 113
Pupil ............................................................................................ 114
White part of the eyes ................................................................ 114
Other aids ................................................................................... 114
GYPSY HYPNOSIS ................................................................................. 117
UTILIZING THE LEXICON OF HYPNOTIC FASCINATION: ................................... 119
INDEX ................................................................................................ 121
WHERE TO LEARN MORE? ...................................................................... 123

122
 Where to learn more?
You can participate in our free course on fascination
disponible on our website www.mesmerismus.info
Our school organizes periodically training in Mesmerism
and Fascination techniques. We do both personal coaching as
group training.
We call our teaching “Mesmerismus ©”. We invite you to
visit us and discover, from the source, this ancient technique.
Come Learn real Hypnotism Fascination and Mesmerism in
France! What we want to teach you is a large system which
connects the inner preparation of the hypnotists and
mesmerist to inner rejuvenation techniques that work for
strengthening the character.

Write us at
info@neurolinguistic.com

Website:
http://www.hypnotisme.com

English page at
http://www.hypnotisme.com/hypnotisme/hypnotism-
mesmerism.htm
and
www.mesmerismus.info

123
124