In our previous class we took time to introduce the concept of Dharana as a method of concentration, as well as to reiterate that this focal point is meant to merge us with a state of being that is beyond the focus of our eyes or mind. Each dharana is a stepping stone to our state of being. 

We took time to sit with Paul Reps’ translation of the first Dharana, which is always so succinct and useful for meditation. His translation seemed to emphasize the practice of keeping our focus in the heart as we noticed the inhale come down and in, and then the exhale go up and out. 

Radiant one, this experience may dawn between two breaths. After breath comes in (down) and just before turning up (out)—the beneficence.”

Let’s practice that now for a moment…

We will continue to work with each of Paul Reps’ translations of the Dharanas, but there is also rich soil to uncover in the less abridged translations of Jai Deva Singh, as well as the commentary’s of Swami Lakshmanjoo. These translations showed opened the door to a few subtle details to the text— for example, that the visarga, the “:” notation in Sanskrit that indicates the addition of breath after a vowel sound, actually represents the two focal points of our breath, the heart and the dvadashanta. 

The point the exhale ends is specifically called the dvadashanta, an invisible point in space meant to represent the distance your breath travels outside of you. You can find this point, the text tells us, by measuring 12 finger widths from the tip of the nose. Be sure to measure with the angle of your nose, slightly downward, and you’ll find that this point is 8 or so inches in front of our physical heart. When you breathe out with a little bit of force, you can easily feel this as the end point of your exhale. 

As the breath moves back and forth between these points, life is projected and created, which is why the word Visarga means projection or creation. As Shakti is literally the projected or created universe, this verse describes the nature of Shakti as the same as Visarga, as an ceaseless oscillation between these two points, specifically in the form of the inhale and exhale. 

“Para devi or Highest Sakti who is of the nature of visarga goes on (ceaselessly) expressing herself upward (ürdhve), from the centre of the body to dvdasanta (or a distance of twelve fingers), in the form of exhalation (präna) 

and downward (adhah), from dvadasanta to the centre of the body, in the form of inhalation (jiva or apâna).

By steady fixation of the mind (bharanat) at the two places of their origin (the center of the body in the case of prāna, and dvadasänta in the case of apâna) there is the situation of plenitude (bharitästhitih which is the state of parasakti or nature of Bhairava).”

Let’s try that practice now for a moment…

We will continue to explore this practice today, and describe its relationship to our breath meditation practice, Ham Sah. 

It should be noted that Swami Lakshmanjoo and Paul Reps were contemporaries, and that Jai Deva Singh was Swami Lakshmanjoo’s student. As the Zen saying goes, each one is best. Paul Reps, of course, was a dear friend of Sri Shambahvananda, our living teacher. Sri Shambhavananda also met with Swami Lakshmanjoo in India, and speaks highly of him as well. I mention this because it is so special to be able to study these texts and know that they are tied to the fabric of our lineage in a way— and that they are approved by Sri Shambhavananda for study. Today, this is a commonly overlooked aspect of spiritual practice, but for Shambhavananda Yogis, it is important to know the yogi behind the words you are reading. We open our hearts in this class, and trust these individuals in a very deep and subtle way— being able to trust the text is of paramount importance for my own work. 

“The outgoing breath is called prana,and the incoming breath is called apana. Apana is also called jiva, the individual soul, because only when the apana enters the body can it be said that the soul is in the body. If the prana goes out and the apana doesn't come back in, then the body is nothing but a corpse.” (I Am That)

The Dharana continues: By steady fixation of the mind at the two places of their origin (viz., centre of the body in the case of prāna and dvadasänta in the case of apâna) there is the situation of plenitude.

It can be misleading to think of these as two separate points, though, as if one were the beginning and the other the end. For the Yogi, inside and outside, Shiva and Shakti, are simultaneous, as light and a flame are simultaneous. We may begin our practice by moving back and forth between these two points, but the teachings of this lineage point to a another stage in the practice where the two points merge into one— an experience of the pulsation of our very being. As Swami Muktananda describes it:

As you watch the breath

coming in and going out,

you will become aware that when it comes in, 

it comes in to a distance of twelve fingers

and merges.

The place where it merges

is called hridaya, the heart.

The breath merges here,

and then it arises again

and goes out to a distance of twelve fingers

and merges in the space outside.

That outer space

is called dvadashanta, the external heart.

Here, the heart does not mean the physical organ. The heart is the place where the breath merges, inside and outside.

In reality, these two places are one.

But as we have seen in the preface, this experience takes practice— only when the inside and outside dissolve can “a sense of non-dualism” dawn in us. So we watch the inhale, then we watch the exhale, back and forth, trying to keep our awareness surrendered in order to feel these “two places as one”, to experience the greater pulsation that is occurring between them. This is the practice of breath awareness, and specifically the practice of Ham Sah. In the Dharana, Lakshmanjoo translates Shiva’s instructions:

“You have to take the breath [out] from the heart to dvādaśānta, and take it in from dvādaśānta to the heart again, and recite prāṇa and jīva. “Recite prāṇa” means, recite ‘sa’, the letter ‘sa’, and “recite jīva” means, recite the letter ‘ha’. 

And, in these two starting points, you have to recite visarga and ‘ṁ’-kāra. The visarga of ‘sa’ will be recited in the outward dvādaśānta, and the ‘ṁ’kāra of ‘ha’ will be recited in the heart. 

When you take your breath inside, the recitation of ‘ha’ will end in ‘ṁ’. When you take it out, [the recitation of ‘sa’] will end in visarga–‘saḥ’. And, in these two starting points, if you concentrate, you will become one with Bhairava because of its fullness.”

We see here a straight forward description of the practice as we know it— silently recite Ham as you inhale and Sah as you exhale. One interesting Spiritual Grammar note, though, was that the actual words themselves are Ha and Sa, and that the visarga is actually responsible for the HamSah mantra as we know it. When you repeat the words Ha and Sa with your breath, you find a natural “M” sound at the end of Ha and natural “H” sound at the end of Sa. 

The mantra itself means “I Am That”, Ham means “I Am” and Sah means “that”. But as Sri ShambhavAnanda recently taught in Satsang, the meaning of the “that” that we are can’t be understood by the mind, but only through practice. 

Swami Muktananda also describes the meaning of the mantra itself: 

“The syllable ham,

which comes in with the apana, is the seed mantra of the Self...

This aham, this I, has two forms.

One is the ordinary I-consciousness,

the ego sense,

which identifies itself with the body and senses,

which considers itself to be man or woman, American or Spanish or Indian,

black or white.

The other I is the true aham,

the pure I-consciousness,

and this I is God.

The ordinary I

is consciousness in bondage. The pure I

is consciousness in the state of liberation. As you repeat hamsa

with the understanding of the perfect aham, this realization dawns.”

Repeating the mantra with our breath allows our mind to focus on the breath without controlling the breath. In this way we are able to tune in to the experience of breathing as an expression of Shakti, as a pulsation of the universe in the form of Spanda, instead of as an individual inhale and exhale. This is the ‘ceaseless expression’ of Shakti we saw at the beginning of the Dharana— our true nature is ceaselessly expressing itself through our breath in the form of our inhale and exhale. Through the practice of Ham Sah we can witness this expression for ourselves. As Sri Shambhavananda teaches:

“Instead of forcibly trying to control your breath, develop the ability to experience and witness it. Follow your natural breath flow and attach it to the mantra “Ham Sah”. A person breathes approximately 26,000 times a day. If you can be aware of your inhalation and exhalation, you will make progress in meditation. When you can control your breath, you can control your mind. But first you have to become aware of the breath. 

Don’t use any forceful practices. Make friends with your breath and be aware of what it is doing in different situations. When you have a certain experience such as fear, anger, or bliss, you will find that your breath will concentrate in a certain area. If you start to pay attention, you will gain some wisdom.”