Shiva and Shakti/ida and pingala -clarification

[Christi]

Hi Andreas,


 

quote:When Shiva = unmanifested God, What is Brahman? I know the trinity Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva, and they all are Brahmans offspring; is there a second understanding of "Shiva".

Yes, in this case Shiva is being used as unmanifest God and is synonymous with Brahman. There are other cases of this in Yoga. Krishna devotees often describe Krishna as the highest Godhead, synonymous to Brahman, even though he was also an incarnation (in human form on this earth) of the God Vishnu.
Worshippers of Devi, the divine mother, also describe her as being the mother of the universe, giving birth to all manifest creation, which would put her on a par with Brahman and above the Trinity.

 

quote:When Shiva is unmanifested, only consciousness, how then can "Shiva-energy" go down?

I think this refers to pure consciousness expanding into every cell of the body and beyond the body, merging with Shakti in the form of ecstatic love.

 

quote:

When Shiva is pure consciousness, why does ida,which is a channel for mental prana (manas shakti) correspond with the female principle and pingala which channels life-energy (prana shakti - see: Kundalini Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati) correspomd with the male principle (mind is closer to consciousness than the life-force of the astral body, which is denser)?

Normally the three lower bodies are the physical, the vital and the mental which together form the physical aspect of the human. Above these are the pranic and causal bodies, and of course the atman. So prana is more subtle than the mind, the causal is more subtle than prana etc.
 
I would not take any definitions about ida and pingala too seriously. They change from text to text, and some authors even of the major hatha yoga texts disagree.

Christi

[AustrianYogi]

Hello!

Everything is made up of prana, only the density is different. I do not agree with Christi :

The physical body, which is made up of flesh and bones, is the densest; then comes the etheric (bioplasmatic) body, then the astral body, then the mental and last not least the causal body. This is consensus in most yoga-books.

Maybe the key for a better understanding of Shiva and Shakti as guiding principles for two polar enrgies is to give up the labels "male" and "female" and to consider that Shiva (pure consciousness) can become energy and Shakti (pure enrgy) can become consciousness. Maybe the key is to understnad pure consciousness as very, very fine enrgy, different from Brahman, which is absolute without name, form or consciousness.

In this sense the mental prana circulating in ida could be understood as enrgy being closer to the fine enrgy of consciousness;  the life-energy in pingala is only denser. Prana Shakti in the root-chakra could be seen as very strong and dense energy.

Andreas

[Christi]

Hi Andreas,

I stand corrected. The mental body is more subtle than the pranic body. All the more reason to not take those ida/pingala definitions too seriously. Maybe one day we will be able to see directly how these nadis interact with the rest of the universe and then it will all make perfect sence!

Until then...

Christi

[rebeq11]

Hi! My comment may not be what you are looking for, but here goes.

On further inspection of my own character, I seem to be putting more emphasis on balances in my right and left sides (possible purity of the nadis in discussion). For example, I am right-side dominant in both physical endeavors as well as emotional. The right side is supposed to be more the "go-getter" in life. The one who achieves.The talker. While the left-side is more nuturing, receptive, and better at letting go or receiving information.

I have read that "the path" leads one to become fully human before full realization occurs. I believe by being in tough with both aspects of humanity (the male and female energies or duality) that we are more apt to live in Divine Love.

As for science, I use the word. In my humble understanding it is being in touch with the feelings/observations of the body that the sympathetic verses parasympathetic nervous systems feed. Most folks live in a constant sympathetic state (stress induced with neurotransmitter release) hence they are forcing their existence or holding on to it tightly. Living in an unneeded flight or fright response. This could also be constant mental activity. It also helps one focus: this is a very good thing too! As I mentioned in studing myself, the more I let go of the feelings that the sympathetic nervous system affords me, I balance myself in the parasympathetic (natural functioning of the body) and am able to feel more bliss, ecstasy, and be loving to others, with much less mental chatter.

beck