-Translated from a discourse given by Sant Shri Asaramji Bapu
The person who masters the kevali kumbhak becomes worth worshipping. Not only is he capable in fulfilling his desires but the desires of those who worship him also get fulfilled. This is such a powerful key of Yoga that the spiritual aspirant who sincerely practises it for six months definitely observes positive changes in his life.
One cannot describe how fortunate is the spiritual aspirant who makes efforts to master this kevali kumbhak with full concentration. Each day he will experience his omnipresence even more. He will experience his greatness. He will find a total transition of his life.
What more can one say, even if he practises only for three days miracles will happen in his life. You will not remain the same as you were earlier. You'll be able to win over the bad qualities like sensuality, anger, greed, attraction etc.
Kak Bhushandi (a self realized soul) says: "The reason for my life to exist for ages & I being able to realize the true self is the art ofPrana."
The art of Prana is Pranayam. The method of Pranayam is as follows:
Sit straight with folded legs (padmasana) on a clean aasana (something non-conducting in nature to sit on, may be a small blanket) after going for bowels & taking bath. Let the forehead, neck & chest remain aligned in a straight line. Now close the right nostril with the thumb of your right hand & breathe in through your left nostril. Silently without opening your mouth keep repeating the sound of "Om" or "Hari Om". This is called Purak. Close both the nostrils with the thumb & middle finger. Hold the breath for a time period four times the time taken to breathe in the air. This is called Abhyantar Kumbhak. Finally remove the thumb from the right nostril and slowly breathe out the air. This is Rechak. The time taken to exhale (Rechak) should be twice that of inhaling (Purak) & the time taken for Kumbhakshould be four times that of Purak. Therefore the ratio of Purak:Kumbhak:Rechak is 1:4:2.
Exhale from the right nostril exhaustively. Close both the nostrils with the right thumb & middle finger. This is called Bahir Kumbhak. Inhale from the right nostril, then after Kumbhak exhale through the left nostril. This complete cycle is one Pranayam:
Purak... Kumbhak... Rechak... Kumbhak... Purak... Kumbhak... Rechak...
During the entire process keep repeating the sound of "Om" or "Hari Om" in your mind.
Another important thing is that before inhaling squeeze in the lungs area i.e, pull it upwards. This is Mool Bandh.
Now squeeze the area around the naval also upwards. This is Uddiyan Bhandh.
The third thing is that after inhaling the air completely press the chin against the hole in the neck (kanthakup). This is called Jallandhar Bandh.
If the pranayam is done along with these three things then it will be more beneficial & will produce miraculous results.
The state of holding the breath (i.e, after Purak) is called Abhyantar Kumbhak.The state of releasing air completely from the lungs & then closing both the nostrils (i.e, after Rechak) is called Bahir Kumbhak. One should do Abhyantar Kumbhak first and then Bahir Kumbhak.
The time taken for Bahir Kumbhak should be half of the time taken for Abhyantar Kumbhak.
The fruit of Pranayam is Bahir Kumbhak. The more does the time period for that increases the more will your life sparkle. Your body & mind will get rejuvenated. Your mind will no longer wander in unnecessary thoughts.
Another important thing for this whole process is that your eyes should not blink. The eyeballs should remain positioned at one place. Energy flows out of wide opened eyes & gets wasted but if the eyes are closed then the mind wanders in unnecessary thoughts. Therefore one should keep the eyes in a half opened state where it is neither closed nor fully open. This helps a lot.
Another method for increasing concentration is that do not let the tongue touch the upper or lower surface of the inner mouth. Let it stay stationary in the middle. The mind will remain busy in keeping the tongue at this position & it will not be able to wander else where. For improving concentration the position of half-opened eyes helps more than keeping the tongue as described.
Meditating on God or Guru at the time of doing Pranayam is also very fruitful in increasing concentration. Concentration also increases if one does Tratak after Pranayam. The mind becomes peaceful.
It is very beneficial to do meditation for half or one hour after doing pranayam.
Concentration is a big austerity. All the sins commited in the night are washed away with pranayam done in the morning. The spiritual aspirant becomes pure. The river of happiness starts over-flowing in his heart.
Japa (repetion of the holy name or mantra) happening on its own is a very positive sign. Remain immersed in the meaning of the mantra & while doing japa think of its meaning also. Sometimes become the observer of doing japa. 'The Prana & the voice do the japa. I'm the source of existence of all, I'm peaceful & I never die.' Become the observer of every action eating-drinking, sleeping-waking up... If this practice keeps increasing then Kevali Kumbhak will happen.
By doing pranayam regularly one will be able to master Kevali Kumbhak and thus the mind will eventually become peaceful. When the senses & mind are at peace then kumbhak starts happening without doing it consciously.
This state in which Kumbak occurs without making any efforts is called Kevali Kumbhak. It is safe to do the Kevali Kumbhakin the guidance & presence of SatGuru.
Strength increases when the mind gets submerged in the soul because it gets complete rest. Even when there is no visible action mind gets tired because the mind is still engaged in internal never-ending thought process.
In the initial stages of meditation the following visible changes will start appearing: face will become peaceful & happy, eyes will sparkle with positive energy, happiness will be experienced at the consciousness level, voice will become sweet etc. The person who does meditation sees white colored dots (Trasrenu). These Trasrenu keep increasing in size. When you start seeing these Trasrenu it means that real progress is happening.
There is another way to master Kevali Kumbhak. In the night concentrate your eyes without blinking on the moon. Otherwise focus your eyes without making them blink on the farthest point in the sky. Take care that you do not go off to sleep. Stay alert and then focus either on the moon or the distant sky.
Increase your willpower and then get seated in the soul. You will then become Brahma (the vedantic supreme soul). This is the ultimate fruit of the power of pledge & determination (Samkalpa).
The main obstacles in the spiritual journey are sleep, laziness, distraction of mind, constipation and desires for sensual pleasure. One can win over these with pledge & determination. The biggest obstacle of the spiritual journey is speaking. Spiritual energy is protected by observing silence. Doing spiritual pratices regularly with interest makes one successful. The unselfish social service is also very helpful but since social service requires the mind to concentrate in the material world therefore the motivation behind the social service eventually takes a selfish face.
It is impossible to be completely unselfish as long as one thinks of himself as the body.
After listening to the saints if we do not adopt their teachings, then we are just wasting their time. It is difficult for us to repay this loan which we are taking from them. It is better to take credit from saints than taking it from the rich men of the material world but it is better to realize the self than to keep borrowing from saints. If we contemplate on the words of the saints and do analysis of spiritual literature regularly then we can become capable of repaying their loan... |
