AGHORA 11= — IN THE SERIES — AGHORA, At the Left Hand of God, Robert E. Svoboda AGHORA II: Kundalini, Robert E. Svoboda Kundalini Forthcoming: AGHORA III: The Law of Karma, Robert E. Svoboda 6 Robert E. Svoboda Foreword by Robert Masters, Ph.D. Illustrations, Captions and Appendix by Robert Beer Brotherhood of Life Publishing Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA ©1993 Robert E. Svoboda Illustrations, Motifs, Captions (St Appendix: with Thanks to and ©1993 Robert Beer First Printed 1993, Reprinted 1995 Published by Brotherhood of Life, Inc. 110 Dartmouth, SE Albuquerque, NM 87106-2218 www.brotherhoodoflife.com ISBN 0-914732-3 1-5 Co-published 1998 with She, the Eternal One, is the Supreme Knowledge, the cause of freedom from Sadhana Publications C) delusion and the cause of the bondage of manifestation. 1840 Iron Street, Suite C She indeed is sovereign over all sovereigns. Bellingham, WA 98225 (Devi Mahatmya, 1.57-58) ISBN 0-9656208-2-4 Dedicated to the Great Goddess, the Divine Mother of the Universe. All rights reserved. No part of this publication including illustrations may be the Kundalini Shakti. reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information or retrieval system, including the Internet, without permission in writing from Brotherhood of Life, Inc. or Sadhana Publications. Reviewers may quote brief passages. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOREWORD .13 INTRODUCTION.17 Chapter 1: AGNI.29 Chapter 2: KUNDALINI.51 Self-Identification.59 Coverings .62 Nadis and Chakras.64 The Nine Chakras.67 Raising Kundalini.72 Samadhi.76 Kula Kundalini.77 The Snake.82 The Chakras.83 Kula Kundalini.84 Chapter 3: PRELIMINARIES .87 Food.92 Panchamakara.95 Chapter 4: SADHANA.113 Khanda Manda Yoga.113 Name and Form. 115 The Soma Yaga.121 “Make Everything into a Sadhana”.124 The Sun, the Moon, and Fire.128 Gayatri.132 Chapter 5: MANTRA.139 Mantra Siddhi.141 Using Mantras. 144 The Five S’s .147 Secrecy.148 Pronunciation .151 Four Levels of Speech.152 The Four Classes.155 Chapter 6: TANTRA.163 USTRAHONS Time, Eclipses and Nights.163 Nyasa .169 Mental Worship .174 Ganesha.177 Chapter 7: MUSIC...181 NadaYoga.188 ShriYantra.12 Krishna and the Gopis.191 Design and Construction of Fire Pits (Homa Kunda).41 Krishna and Shiva .196 Dimensions of Fire Pits. 43 Chapter 8: IMMORTALS .203 The Nadis and Chakras .70 Siddhas.203 Kundalini Yantra.78 Rishis, Munis, Naths and Siddhas .209 Yantra of Shiva and Shakti .79 Notable Siddhas. 212 A Gayatri Yantra.134 Rishis.215 Treasure Vase.137 Time and Space.216 The Five Elements.138 Anasuya. 222 Shiva Linga.138 Avataras .225 The Panchamamsa Sacrament.167 Chapter 9: THE ESOTERIC RAMAYANA.235 Shiva Yantra & Ganesha Yantra.177 The Script.237 Peaceful Offering of the Five Senses .201 The Players.240 Wrathful Offering of the Five Sences.202 Anjaneya’s Role.242 Skulls & Skull Cups.234 Chapter 10: GURUS AND DISCIPLES .253 YANTRAS OE THE TEN MAHAYIDYA GODDESSES .251 & 252 APPENDIX.283 Kali Tara Yantras: A General Description.283 Chinnamasta Bhuvanesjari The Nine Nath Siddhas.284 Bangala Dhumavati GLOSSARY. 307 Kamala Matangi RIRLIOGRAPHY.319 Sodasi Bhairavi THE NATH SIDDHAS The Nath Siddha Matsyendranath .287 The Nath Siddha Gorakhnath.289 The Nath Siddha Caruangi.291 The Nath Siddha Jalandhara.293 The Nath Siddha Kanipa .295 The Nath Siddha Charpati. 297 THE SIDDHAS The Siddha Nalinapa .299 The Siddha Chang Dev Maharaj.300 The Siddha Bhadrapa. 301 Acknowledgements The Alchemist Siddha Nagaijuna.302 The Musician Siddha Vinapa .303 The Siddha Dengipa - The Rice Thresher 304 SHRIYANTRA. .316 YANTRA OF SMASHAN KALI. .318 With Thanks To... YANTRA OF SMASHAN TARA. .31 q Robert Beer, Tibetan Iconographer and Friend of the Dharma for provid¬ ing his exquisite artwork and indefatigable support for the Aghora volumes. Dr. Frederic M. Smith for providing the terms and definitions in the Glos¬ sary. Inner Traditions International for permission to re-draw several of the Sid¬ dha illustrations from Masters of Enchantment by K. Dowman & R. Beer Allied Publishers Limited, New Delhi, India for permission to reproduce the Sadashiva painting which graces the cover of this volume. About the cover: Vimalananda explains the concept thusly (from Chapter Two): “The purpose of Kundalini Yoga is to reunite Shiva and Shakti, to create the eternal form of Shiva, Sadashiva. Sadashiva’s left side is female and right side is male; the two principles have united but have not merged. If they were to merge that would be the end of the play, and that would be no fun at all. Sadashiva exists on the cosmic scale; in an indi¬ vidual this deity is called Ardhanarishvara (‘the Lord Who is Half Female’). In order to manifest Sadashiva the Kundalini must be made to rise fully, because the highest manifestation of Shiva in the human being is in the head, the highest part of the body. “In an ordinary person Kundalini is asleep at the base of the spine, and so Shiva is bereft of Shakti. Such a person is not Shiva but merely shava (corpse). 1 look at every¬ one 1 meet as a skeleton because that is what they are; until a person’s Kundalini Shakti awakens and begins to dance on Her Shiva, that person is as good as dead.” Aghora, described in this volume as “ super-tantra,” is a Path of Devotion to the Great Mother Goddess Kundalini, here manifesting with the Name and Image of the Goddess Tara. This Way is one of extraordinary extremes and intensities, even for tantra, and its aim is nothing less than to destroy the human limitations of the practitioner, so that he or she becomes a super¬ human—in fact, a kind of deity. A^iora II is the second volume of a trilogy describing and explicating this Shri Yantra Way as practiced by the Aghori Vimalananda, and as recounted by his stu¬ The sacred Shri Yantra is the most well known and fascinating of all yantras dent, the ayurvedic physician Robert Svoboda. The result is certainly one of because of its intriciate geometric harmony. It consists of nine interlocking the most unusual works to be encountered in the whole wonder-filled liter¬ triangles, the union of five downward pointing yoni triangles (shakti) with four ature of world religions. It is also a work very much of this time, shredding upward pointing fire triangles (Shiva), and is also known as the Navayoni (nine and trampling on universal and almost-universal prohibitions. The Aghori yoni) chakra. The configuration produces a pattern of forty-three triangles sets out to overcome human limitations by shattering internally every which represent the goddess Tripurasundari at the center surrounded by her restraint, no matter how ancient or powerful the taboo, and also by creating retinue of forty-two deities. These triangles are arranged in a series of five chakras that house one, eight, ten, ten and fourteen triangles progressively from a body/mind that is able to contain emotional, sensory and other experi¬ the center outwards. This structure is enclosed by two concentric lotus circles ences which would consume anyone not properly prepared. of eight and sixteen petals enclosed within a square Bhupura or ground plan, The Aghori, as presented by Vimalananda, must literally and systemati¬ (continues on page 316) cally create a body (and subtle bodies) with a nervous system and other sys¬ tems able to explore levels of consciousness and to tolerate kinds and (For a more thorough understanding of Yantras please refer to intensities of energies which would otherwise result in madness, terrible the Appendix beginning on page 283) suffering, destruction of gross and subtle body/mind organs, and death. Crucial to avoiding those outcomes are access to the necessary esoteric [ 13] AGHORA II: Kundalini Foreword teachings and trainings and, above all, to the Goddess. ment in the matter, then “subjective truth” is doubtless of greater value. As Vimalananda says again and again, in this present time the external Vimalananda also belongs in the tradition of spiritual teachers who deliber¬ forms of the spiritual disciplines are of much lesser importance than the ately speak and behave in such a manner as to shock, and often dismay, the inner work and, above all, the immediate and personal relationship to deity. observer. Such Teachers are to be found in many Traditions—for our own It is possible to relate to the Great Mother Goddess in such a way that most time, the very saintly Fourth Way Master G. 1. Gurdjieff is a wonderful exam¬ of the requirements, temporal and material, of a spiritual discipline may be ple. cast aside. However, what is dispensed with in the way of formalities must There are other Paths or Ways which have strong similarities to Aghora— be compensated for by duration and intensity of both Practice and Devo¬ most notably, ones associated with Kundalini and the Great Mother God¬ tion. Much present-day ritual and ceremony can be understood as aids or dess in some other religions and esoteric Traditions. I would particularly even crutches of a kind for those who lack the courage, dedication and mention as examples the ancient and still-enduring esoteric Schools of the devotion to proceed in unmediated interaction with Deity. Goddess Sekhmet in Egypt, the Goddess Hera in Greece, the Goddess Kapo In speaking of intensities involved in such practice, here reference is to in Hawaii, the Goddess Kali in India—there are also others. Each of these something going well beyond, for example, the “dionysiac element” in reli¬ powerful and authentic mystery Traditions offers Paths of equal intensity, gions as experienced in practice. Those intensities are almost always reserved equally demanding of dedication and devotion to the Great Mother.