Part 1.14 - Description of Hamsa Yoga

[Full title: Various Types of Yoga in the Yogopanishads (14) Hamsayoga]

The world 'Hamsa' is very mysterious and has manifold meanings according to different standpoints. It is composed of "Ham or har and 'Sa' (h) which means I (am) That." In its highest sense, it is Kalahamsa or Paramahamsa. It is also Brahma, when he has swan (Hamsa) as the vehicle (Hansa-vahana). When, having applied to the human breath, Hamsa is the manifestation of prana, as we are said to exhale with 'Ha' and so to inhale with 'Sa". It is also called AjapaGayatri i.e. the natural, spontaneous recitation, caused by inhalation and exhalation.45

110 Eligibility: The Hamsa-upanishad states that the knowledge of Hamsa (Hamsa-Vidya) is expounded to that person- (1) who is ever meditating on the form of the Hamsa, in the attitude 'Hamsa, Hamsa', (2) who is possessed of self-control i.e. who has subjudgated the groups of the organs of perception and action as well as inner sense. (3) who is intensely and sincerely devoted to the Guru who has imparted instruction about the Supreme End and aim of existence. The Brahmavidya-upanishad mentions the rule for the devotion to the Guru of Hamsa-Vidya (1) With superior wisdom, a practitioner should betake to service under the Guru who bestows the great lore, Hamsa-Vidya. (2) He should acquire the proficiency in Hamsa-Vidya by constant attendance on the Guru. (3) Having attained the direct knowledge - "The Atman is the Brahman only", he should renounce all other things. (4) He should renounce all relationship with the body, his kith & kin and the like along with the varnas and Asramas, the Vedas, the Sastras and all other things. (5) He should ever develop devotion to the Guru for attaining the great excellence. Place & Form: The Pashupata-brahma-upanishad mentions that the Hamsa moves inward and outward which is related to the Prana and Apana. The Hamsa, in the form of the Suparna who having gone to the interior of the body, finds little space. It kills the serpent of six foes - lust, anger, greed, delusion, infatuation and hatred as well as the objects of desire of the form of sound, touch, form, taste and smell strongly entrenched there. Further, it adds that the Hamsa, the Paramatman moves between the left arm and the right hip over the entire region of that portion of the body externally and internally, even as the sacrificial thread. This esoteric secret of the Brahman is not known anywhere else. According to the Brahmavidya-upanishad the Jiva is always reciting, as Japa, the letters 'Sa' and 'Ha'. This form of the Japa emanates out of the region of the navel. It is uncontaminated by connection with worldly concern by constantly going outward and back again inwards. Hence, one should know this as the impartible Brahman On meditating on That, standing in the heart, one should know the Hamsa seated in his heart with the sound of the Anahata Akasa, the self luminous consciousness. Further, it exposes the posture assumed by the Hamsa. The Hamsa alone stands in the form of the fire in the Muladhara Cakra, midway between the two 'Saktis viz. Kriyasakti and Jnana Sakti. The Khecarimudra posture is assumed at the tip of the nose and the two eyes. Thereafter, having taken the form of the sun, the Hamsa takes his stand at the centre of the navel, at the tip of the nose and the two eyebrows.

111 According to the Mahavakya-upanishad, Hamsa connected with the Ajapa-Gayatri has permeated the body through the Nadis. Reciting the Ajapa-mantra-'Ham-Sah' - 'That I am', the Hamsa has permeated the body through every act of inspiration and expiration naturally without effort. According to the Varaha-upanishad, the Jiva is the abode of the Hamsa, the non-differentiated innermost Atman. The Hamsa is the right place of Sakti. Hence, the Hamsa-upanishad expounds that even as fire stands pervading the fuel, as oil stands prevading the entire sesamum seeds, even so the Hamsa stands pervading the bodies of all being, from the Brahman down to a blade of grass, in the form of innermost Jiva and the transcendent Isvara. Hamsa-Vidya According to the Pashupata-brahma-upanishad, the Hamsa in the form of the Brahmasutra, is the index of the internal sacrifice. The parts of the sacrifice are the Matras of the Pranava. Of the mental (internal) sacrifice, the sacrificial thread is the Hamsa. The Pranava is the Brahmasutra which is out and out the Brahmayajna as well. The Hamisa that is inherent in the Pranava is the Brahmasutra That alone is full of Brahmayajna i.e. the knowledge of the unqualified Brahman. That alone is the right means to be employed for liberation. The sacrificial thread is the Pranava One who betakes himself to the observance of Brahmayajna is the Brahmana. Those that engage themselves in dwelling on the Brahman are the Gods. Internal sacrifices are observances meant for indicating the Hamsa. There is no difference between the Hamsa and the Pranava. There are three ways of approach for soliciting the Hamsa - Sravana, Manana and Nididhyasana. The three durations are the three letters AUM The maintenance of the three fires is the internal sacrifice. The application of the mind to the Hamsa implied by the Pranava whose characteristics, appearance and constituent parts and colours are the three fires, that is the internal sacrifice. The Hamsa is the form of the radiance of the internal sun. The internal sacrifice is the expedient for the attainment of the Brahman. Hence, those, in quest of It, meditate on the Brahman manifested within, only through the Pranava and the knowledge of the existence of the Brahman. In the heart, there are ninety-six beams of the sun of consciousness shining. The expirations, issuing through the nostrils out of the Cit-Sutras of the heart, are six digit-lengths and ten and eights i.e. ninety six kinds, corresponding to the ninetysix first principles.46 The Hamsa, known as the internal Pranavanada is described as of eight matras in the Naradaparivrajakopanisad. It is internal Hamsa who induces knowledge. The Hamsa which once assumed the form of the internal consciousness concealed in all beings, manifests itself outwardly as the Brahman as the sruti says "Satyam Jnanamanantam Brahma" Further, the Hamsarkapranava-dhyana should be known as the meditation on the Brahman. -

112 According to the Yogacudamani-upanishad, in the waking state, the Hamsa manifests between the two eyes. The 'Sa', which is the Khecari Bija, is known as the Khecari, hence it has been condusively taken to indicate the Tvam-padartha i.e. the inner most consciousness The 'Ha' i.e. the Paramatman in accordance with the Sruti - He who knows the Brahman becomes the Brahman. The Hamsopanishad deals with the esoteric nature of the Hamsa-Vidya leading to BrahmaVidya. The tretise on the aspect of the Hamsa, bestows the fruit of Bliss and salvation. Importance The Brahmavidya-upanishad expounds the importance of the Hamsa thus - The Hamsa, the unswering Brahman has his abode in the heart, in the middle of the body of all living beings. It alone is the Supreme Truth, the true existence. It alone has the sanction of the Vedas, the absolute Rudra. It transcends the transcendent. It alone is the Mahesvara that takes his stand amidst all the Gods. It alone is the fifty-one eternal varieties comencing from the Prthivi and ending with Siva. It alone the fifty-one letters commencing from 'A' and ending with the 'Ksa'. He is Brahman, Visnu and Rudra. One should obtain, from the mouth of the precepter, the path leading to the Hamsa that is directly cognised and faces in all directions. The Hamsa stands in this body of the Purusa even as the oil in the oil-seed and fragrance in the flower, He stands pervading the exterior and the interior. Hamsa - Yoga: According to the Hamsa-upanishad, Yoga is the prime means to attain the knowledge of the Hamsa. It is explained as follows: Pressing the anus, with the left heel and infilling the vital air through the nostrils or the mouth, the yogin performs Kumbhaka. Forcing the vital air upwards from the Muladhara, circumambulating the six-petalled svadhisthana, thrice, reaching the Manipuraka Cakra, breaking through the Anahata Cakra and the knot of Visnu, he meditates upon the Sutratman and attains the Nirvikalpa Samadhi there. Then reaching the Visuddhi Cakra, holding the vital airs under control, having entered in the Ajna, Cakra, he meditates upon the Bijatman and attains the Nirvikalpa Samadhi there. There, he drinks the nectar generated by the comingling of the moon, the sun and fire. The yogin, entering the Brahmarandhra meditates on the Turiya of three Matras. He always sees thus. He becomes either the Turiya of the three Matras with a slight external form or devoid of external form. That Turya-turya state is the Pranava-hamsa resembling a crore of suns by whose radiance this entire world is completely enveloped. Thus, by conceiving of the Hamsa in the lotus of the heart, the Turyatman is seen. For him, there are eight-fold functions.47 The mode of performing the Ajapa-hamsa mantra is as follows: Sage - Hamsa Metre Avyakta Gayatri Deity Paramahamsa -

Seed - Ham Sakti - Sa Nail Soham. These are six-fold Anganyasas. 113 Dividing the Ajapahamsa-mantra Japa into four parts (1) the first part to the sun, (2) the second part to the moon, (3) the third part to the non-attached; and (4) the fourth to the non-manifest; one should dissolve the bodiless, subtle and others phenomena. Thus, Anganyasas and the Karanyasas are to be performed. Having done so, one should meditate upon the Hamsatman in the heart. Now, the seeker after liberation should make the two kinds of meditation on the Hamsa - (1) The qualified (Saguna) Hamsa, and (2) The unqualified (nirguna) Hamsa. The meditation on the qualified Hamsa is as follows the Hamsa that has attained the state of the Viraj, the fire and the moon are the two arms; Omkara is the head; the three eyes are the Akara, Ukara and Makara along with the Bindu, Rudra is the face, Rudrani and Ganga form the two feet. Thereafter, the meditating yogin attains the ecstatic state of mind. This dissolution of the Ajapa in the Paramatman is known as the Ajapopasamhara Thus he meditates on the Hamsa in the attitude 'Soham' (I am He); the mind along with its functions is finally determined by the prepondarance of the Hamsa The Brahmavidya-upanishad describes that the Vaisvanara fire stands in 'A', 'U', & 'M' i.e. in the Muladhara, in the heart and in the middle of the eye-brows. One should kindle it with the power of the Prana. The Brahmagranthi is situated in 'A', the Visnugranti in 'U' and the Rudragranthi in 'M'. These three granthis, one should burst asunder with the air of the knowledge of that Hamsa generated by AUM. Hence the end of the Pranava is the Brahman. Having assumed the Siddhasana posture, after constricting the throat with the Jalandharamudra, when the root of the Kundalini-nadi is arrested with the help of the Kundalini-Sakti, Yogin's tongue is pressed very much, moving upwards into the ghantika recess. And with an attenuated form, it enters the cavern of the Brahman. Then the Trikuta, leading to the threefold directions of Golakha, Nikhara and Trisankha and the adamantine Omkara enter the orifice between the two eye-brows with the duct leading upwards. Through this, forcing the Kundalini and the vital airs, bursting through the region of the moon (Mandala) and performing the Vajra Kumbhakas, he should bind the nine orifices with a pure mind, mounted on vital air with an equipoised mind. In the seat of the Brahman, there will manifest Nada. The Candrakala known as Sankhini will shower nectar. Then, the knower of the

1 114 Brahman should discover the lamp of knowledge, the innermost radiance of the Brahman which lifts up the six centres of energy, having become one with it. One should always worship God, inherent in all living beings, after seeing with his own eyes and should utter the Hamsa-Vakya 'I am the Hamsa, the Hamsa alone am I". The Hamsa, abiding in the body of all living beings, is the Grantha of (knot) of the Prana and Apana vital airs which is styled as Ajapa. The Hamsa which always rises and falls 21,600 times a day, is known as 'Soham' i.e. I am the Hamsa. With the realization "I am He', the ascetic should always meditate on the Adholinga, (the Vairajatattva), in the Muladhara Cakra of the Susumna nadi; on the flame of fire in the Anahata, the innermost Atmalinga, at the end of the Susumnanadi, and on the Jyotirlinga in the middle of the eye-brows. Thus, the Hamsa yogin contemplates upon the real form of the Atman, and he is said to be the Purusa.48 Fruit According to the Hamsa-upanisad, by acrore of prayers of the mere Ajapa-HamsaMantra any a prayer alone, a practitioner experiences the Nada i.e. Brahman in the Anahata Cakra. That Nada is produced in ten different ways in the right ear of the seeker. Having given up the first nine, he should practise the tenth alone i.e the sound of a thunder cloud. It mentions the fruit resulting from experiencing the ten respective sound. 50 With the tenth, the Yogin will become the Para Brahman, in the presence of the Brahman and the Atman. When the mind is dissolved in the mind, when volition and misconception are last, when virtue & vice have been burnt, Sadasiva, having 09 qualities", shines himself. Further, it adds that having known that form of Hamsa simultaneously with the knowledge, the knower does not attain the delusion relating to the existence of anything apart from the Brahman. 49 The Pasupata-brahma-upanishad states that the real form of the Hamsa kills the delusion with the knowledge of the truth of the Atman. Those who know the Hamsa to be none other than the Paramatman, reap the fruit of immortality. That Hamsa does not manifest itself. Liberation is not within the reach of any but the person who has developed the faculty of meditating on the Pranava-Hamsa and the Hamsa within as indentical. Again, the Pranava is the Taraka and it is the radiance of Hamsa (Tarakahamsajyoti). According to the Brahmavidya-upanishad, when the sphere of the Susumna is not pierced through by the Ksiradanda of the subtle power of the Susumna, Hamsa, takes its residence at once in this body, without rest. It abides, moving restlessly therein, as long as the knowledge of the Atman is attained. With the outgoing of breath from the body, the Jiva attains the state of cessation of diverse aspects and is released from the bondage of the worldly existence. Further, it states that the attainment of the Paramesvara is only possible through Hamsa-Vidya After giving up recaka and Puraka, the Yogin, with a sharp intellect, takes his stand on Kumbhaka. Having attained equilibrium in the region of the

115 navel, he should bring under control the Prana and Apana vital airs. Then he drinks, eagerly, the nectar stationed in the head, in a state of mental abstraction. Bathing the great God shining like a lamp in the middle of the navel with that nectar alone, he should recite 'Hamsa', 'Hamsa'. Then, for him, there is no dotage, death, nor disease in this world. Having practised everyday, he attains the mystic powers such as Anima etc. By constant practice of this kind, he attains the state of Isvara. Many have attained the state of perpectual existence. For attaining the state of the perpectual existence. Then, there is no means to be adopted but the Hamsa-Vidya Through the knowledge obtained from Hamsa-Yoga, one becomes one with Brahman, one attains the oneness of the inner and the outer Atman even as water becomes one with water. By the practice of Hamsa-Yoga these good results flow and the Yogin becomes a Jivanmukta. The yogin becomes divorced from all sufferings and pain. Having practised Yogic meditation, he acquires wisdom simultaniously with the dawning of wisdom, and become merged with the Brahman. By the practice of Hamsa-mantra, one attains the knowledge and assumes the real form of the Hamsa, the transcendent Brahman.