vivekachUdAmani

[Harsha (Dr. Harsh K. Luthar)]

Ramakrishnan Balasubramanian wrote:

> >Harsha: Thank you for this gem. I will take the liberty to post on
> other
> >lists  and ask a question. In Yoga, they say that when Shakti Joins
> >Shiva at Sahasarara, this union results in liberation, and at death
> of the
> >body the Prana exits through the Sahasarara resulting in Maha
> Samadhi. The
> >exit through the Sahasarara is meant to be a sign of the final Mukti.
> >However, on the path of Jnana, the pranas do not exit but are
> absorbed into
> >the Heart that is the Self. How do we reconcile these two seemingly
> >divergent explanations?
>
> There is no reconciliation. While advaitins do not dispute that there
> are experiences like nirvikalpa samAdhi or uniting kuNDalini with
> shiva in the sahasrahAra etc, they explicitly deny that this is moxa.
> moxa is obtained by GYAna alone. All empirical realities are
> ultimately unreal. Therefore, things such as kuNDalini, etc are also
> unreal (however not like a hares' horn).  Practices like these are a
> _result_ of avidyA.  They cannot cancel out avidyA since they are not
> directly opposed to it. But, GYAna is directly opposed to avidyA and
> hence leads to moxa. So these _are_ divergent explanations and there
> is _no_ reconciliation.
>
> However, the usefulness of these practices as a preliminary to GYAna
> is not denied.
>
> Rama
>

Harsha: Thank you for your clear and eloquent response. I fully agree with
the spirit of it. But all spiritual practices are preliminary to GYAna
(and not just those involving Kundalini Yoga). Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa
was of the opinion that Kundalini Shakti must be roused for spiritual
evolution. Other Advaitin saints have emphasized Shakti practices and
spoken of them. Perhaps even within the Advaita philosophy there is room
for difference of opinion in practical matters involving spiritual
practices.

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