To: K-list
Recieved: 2004/07/11 16:26
Subject: RE: [K-list] Re: Aum
From: Gustaf Grefberg
On 2004/07/11 16:26, Gustaf Grefberg posted thus to the K-list:
Dear John
What would this yoga of the Aum be? Sounds like a quest for the holy grail
or something. =) Ok, every kind of yoga seems to have one or the other kind
of reference to Aum, in particulary mantra yoga, but also others. Maybe
some of this below may be of any help on where to look further. I don't know
of any particular yoga type, but a few tecniques that involve it, they must
have an origin somewhere..
Satyananda yoga teaches several kinds of meditations involving aum, for
example:
Shambhavi Mudra, which is a very old tecnique that's used both in hatha yoga
and kundalini/tantra yoga, and it works as follows.. You turn your eyes
upwards, trying to stare at the eyebrow center, while chanting aum fairly
quickly, repeatedly, after a while, you close the eyes, still looking up at
the eyebrow center, letting the chanting become slower and slower, and
visualising aum radiating through your entire body, then, after another
while, there is only one single aum for each breath, and the sound, the
vibrations reach out as far from you as you can imagine. This is shortly
explaining the tecnique of Shambhavi Mudra. I've tried it, and it's quite a
wonderful meditation tecnique
Another tecnique is classic Aum chanting, which is basically loud japa of
the mantra aum, and is often done in groups, for an amplified effect. Very
good for calming the mind.
Aum is considered to be the "universal mantra", if you don't want to take a
guru mantra, or can't or any other reason, Aum is recommended as mantra for
japa.
In Yoga Nidra, a tecnique created by Swami Satyananda (With it's roots in
tantra), a lot of visualizations are used. In one, you travel through many
different scenarios, travel down a well, and out on a golden shore where you
visualize yourself as a little child resting in a big white lotus flower on
the gentle waves of the sea, here the sound of Aum is visualized coming from
each and every direction, being in everything, rising with the sea (I love
this visualization, it's incredibly beautiful!)
A teacher of mine, who goes with the name Swami Omananda, is a warmhearted
spokesman for anything related to Aum, maybe thereof his name. He has
mentioned to me among other things that you can meditate on either the sound
or the symbol of Aum, and try to understand it's meaning by constantly
concentrating and reflecting on it, almost like a combination of dharana,
japa and jnana yoga. It's even possible to meditate on the mantra Aum by
taking on the sadhana of writing it.. Write the symbol of Aum as small as
you can, with as much beauty and detail as you can, and as many times as
possible, filling entire pages with it. It's said that with this sadhana,
understanding of the meaning of Aum can also arise.
Maybe Swami Omananda and other people recommending these sadhanas to
meditate on the mantra Aum is right? Maybe that has something to do with
the yoga of Aum? Meaning, that when you fully understand the meaning of
Aum, you will attain the state of Yoga, union, there of "Yoga of Aum"
Shambhavi mudra you can find out more about in "Kundalini Tantra" by Swami
Satyananda Saraswati. The topic of Aum is also discussed a lot in his
Satsang books "Teachings of Swami Satyananda", you should be able to find
them either on Amazon, or Satyananda yoga in the Uk, they do mail orders
Maybe this is not what you were looking for, but maybe it offers some
insight or idea. If you want to know more about Aum sadhanas, Shambhavi
Mudra or Om chanting, feel free to drop me a mail, I'll dig out any
information I can find. =)
Aum and love
Gustaf
I saw a slight reference to the Aum the other day but otherwise the
K-list
is silent.
I first heard the Great Sound whilst I was staying in an ashram in the
Kumon
Himalaya some forty years ago and it has been with me ever since;
sometimes
a murmur of a soft breeze and sometimes as a great crashing thunder.
I believe there is a yoga of the Aum, perhaps a Sikh knowledge but I
have
not been able to find it. When I did ask a Sikh about it he said that I
must
not talk about it and promptly kissed my feet!
Any pointers to the right direction would be greatly appreciated.
John
--
John Robinson, 50 Maserfield, OSWESTRY, Shropshire SY11 1SB
Telephone:01691 656556
DISCLAIMER!
Home | Archive Index | Search the archives | Subscribe
K. List FAQ | Kundalini FAQs | Signs and Symptoms | Awakening Experiences | K. list Polls | Member Essays | Meditations | List Topics | Art Gallery | Cybrary | Sitemap | Email the moderators.
symbol.