Swami Muktananada's "blue pearl" is the title he gave to the nila-bindu (blue
point-essence) experienced at the ajna-chakra. Shankara does not talk about the
nila-bindu although in his Bha.Gita commentary on Bh.G. 8.10 he does discuss
the Ajna-chakra
prayaana-kaale: At the time of death, after first bringing the mind under
control in the lotus of the heart, and then lifting up the prana through the
nadi going upward - by gradually gaining control over the rudiments of nature
such as earth, etc.; and after that, samyak aasveshya: having fully fixed;
Praana: (life energy); madhye: between; the bhruvoh: eye-brows, without losing
attention; achalena manasaa: with an unwavering mind; he, the yogin possessed
of such wisdom, yuktah: imbued, united; bhaktyaa: with devotion, deep love; ca
eva: as also; yoga-balena: with the strength of yoga i.e. imbued with that
strength also, consisting in steadfastness of the mind arising from
accumulation of impressions resulting from samadhi; upaiti: reaches; tam: that;
divyam: resplendent; param: supreme; purusham: person - described as the
Omniscient, the Ancient, etc.
However, Shankara based his descriptions of yogic practice upon more than one
source. In fact he described a path of return which co-identifies the purusha
in the heart, the purusha in the right-eye and the purusha in the Sun
(hiranyagarbha) as manifestation of the same purusha, the source-being who is
transcendent over unmanifest maya.
Muktananada's lineage was a siddha lineage, just like the lineage of
Paramahansa Yogananada. Both contain practices focusing upon the nila-bindu,
but, (IMO) Yogananda's is more extensive in teaching a wide range of knowledge
and techniques and is also more balanced in understanding and weighing the
various aspect of the yogic knowledge that can be imparted to sadhakas. (One
example is the overwhelming importance he placed upon the meditator dwelling in
deep, silent awareness at the end of any meditative practice).
Disclaimer: Please note that I have received diksha from one of Yogananda's
disciples [brother Anandamoy] and have also received diksha from Swami
Prajnanananda - disciple of Swami Hariharananda, (guru-brother of Yogananada).
I have not received diksha from Muktananada or Swami Chidvilasananda, his
lineage heir. (You may therefore weigh my judgments as you please.)
The nila-bindu is the yogic archetype for the experience of the three worlds
(tri-lokya). Putting it into Buddhist term which you will understand -
1. the outer golden ring is the mano-prana mandala of kama-loka, which
terminates not in the Vaishwanara palace of Indra upon Mt. Meru but in
Hiranyagarbha, the golden embryo, the deity in the sun - (symbolized by the
Narmadeshvar lingam prior to the bifurcation of male/female into the
lingam/yoni).
2. the radiant, blue sky-like expanse (inside the golden aura) is the
vijnana-mandala of rupa-arupa loka, the realm of meditative dhyana-samapatti-s.
According to Shri Yukteshwar it is the karana-chitta, the casual realm of pure
ideation (not mere thinking but noetic-eidetic cognition).
3. the central bindu (described as being either in the form of the Guru, the
Ishta-devata (Yidam) or a five-pointed star) is the door to the divine realm
(not arupa-loka but lokuttara).
This descriptive model is not quite the same as the one used in the
Upanishads. It is a later yogic model arising from the yogic siddha tradition.
In contrast, Shankara uses the Upanishadic description of the sushumna
primarily as the nadi exiting from the heart (hrid) which ascends to the center
between the eye-brows (bhru-madya) and terminates at the peak (shiras) of the
head. This is the method which Shankara describes in the Bhag.Gita as the
Krama-mukti patha, the path of gradual realization of the conditioned Brahman.
It is not the same as the Shaiva (shivite) path of kundalini-yoga nor is it the
same as the Vaishnava (Vishnuite) path of return found in the Panchratra
lineages of yogic meditation equally profound.
This is all that I have time to do today and is probably more than you wanted
to know anyway.
Interesting question though.
tertonzeno <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
---How about the Blue Pearl? What does Shankara say about that?
In [email protected], billy jim <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>
> The problem here is in characterizing Shankara's views only in
terms of his commentary on the Brahma Sutras.
<snip>
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