Today we will deal with the Heart Path (Hridaya, Anahata Margah) and one of its fundamental practices called cleansing the heart’s petals. The center of the heart is recognized as a vessel of spiritual transformation as the cup of transmutation and transforming transfiguration. The path of the heart is now desirable as the religion of the heart, or as its own way of individual spiritual search. The spiritual teachings of all options speak a lot about the development of the heart and about waking up the heart. The issue of opening the heart flower is probably the one for which has been dedicated the most so-called spiritual literature. The sense of touch (feeling, intuition) and the element of wind dominate the issues of the heart, as are the many teachings of owning their Ideal, God, the True Self, Guru, just inside our own heart. So let’s look at how things look at their foundations so that one can effectively follow the path of the heart in its most realistic, basic dimension.
Traditionally, the center of the heart is considered as a lotus flower with twelve petals. We can say that the mystical vibration number twelve is attributed to it as a numerological – symbolic record of the spiritual potential and direction of development. The symbol of a flower is a guide to what is subtle, higher and sublime. The center of the sternum, and on the other hand the area between the shoulder blades, is the space for placing this symbolic archetype for contemplation, called the area of the heart.
In laya yoga, when we mean heart center, we always remember the flower symbol with twelve petals. We usually call this lotus with the term Hritpańkeruhapitha, which means ‘the place for the explosion of the spirit of cordiality’. It is this ‘spirit of cordiality’ and kindness that determines the place of contemplation. Flower archetypically means subtlety and beauty, and even subtle beauty. The heart is a vessel of subtlety and sensitivity to beauty, as well as a center for collecting touch sensations. All the vibrations and impressions that flow from the tactile sensations accumulate in the heart, even the sensations of what we call in methafor by “touch”. Depression and melancholy are obstacles on the path of blooming of the heart. The soul’s longing is a feeling of heart in which all depressions are transformed. The heart’s longing is full of subtle, joyful ecstasy. It does not give rise to depression or concern. A longing full of sadness and worry only suppresses the path of the heart. The beauty and harmony of shapes heal every heart. Symmetry gives the heart a balance. Especially creators should always remember this, otherwise their art will be destructive.
The twelve petals of the heart are the Holy Presence of the twelve Apostles, as well as the twelve companions of Muhammad and the twelve realized Bodhisattvas in the surroundings of Lord Buddha. The number of the heart is shortened to the vibration of the Trinity, even in the concepts of the Three Jewels or the Holy Trinity, Trimurti.
A pure heart sees purity and beauty everywhere. It cares for harmony, balance and symmetry. Pure view means pure heart. The mystical number of the heart, twelve, is the development of the sacred of the Triunity. It is good to inhale and exhale in the rhythm of twelve heartbeats. The flower of the heart is open up, like every flower, it opens its goblet to the sky blue of the heavens. The blue color of the heavens is probably the most healing for every heart. He also brings spiritualization to the hearts. The wind element, Vayu [Vāyu], is the one that produces the blue of the dome of the heavens. So symbolically, the heart is a vessel that produces heavenly consciousness in us and it is an internal guide that leads us to the heavenly way of life.
The shadow of the path of heart, especially when too one-sidedly and basically we rely only on our own intuition and inner guide, is the development of spiritual egoism, narcissism, counting only with ourselfs and with no one else. The institution of Guru – Spiritual Guide and Friend on the spiritual path, exists among other things to effectively protect Pilgrim (Parivrajaka) from falling into the shadows of the path of the heart. This ideal is known as Sadguruji or Ishvara. Guru’s councils, however, should not go beyond issues related to spiritual travel, alchemical processes of change, support and consolation. All meaningful decisions of life, the student of the spiritual path of the heart must undertake independently, through contemplation and prayer.
In the shadow of spiritual development, in the darkness of total eradication and even fall, there are various criminally-oriented sectarians who steal and kill for the satisfaction of the vanity of their own ego in the name of God, religious ideals or some ‘higher goals’. They betray the lack of harmony in their hearts through their non-harmonious, destructive for other lifes activities. The Guru is needed to stop this false direction of the pseudo development of those who have succumbed to the illusion that freedom consists in satisfying every primitive craving that only arises in the mind or in desires. The voice of intuition never suggests suicide or the destruction of others. Such diabolical, though sweet, voices are temptations that must be avoided on the path. Honesty and protection of all life are the hallmarks of the flowering of the consciousness of the true self in the heart.
Cleansing the heart’s petals will allow us to take a better look at the issues related to the aspects of the implementation of the twelve-degree heart path called raja yoga, as well as the path of sufis and rishis. Working on the purity of the twelve aspects of a developed and spiritually mature heart is like developing the potential of merit for the realization of the entire path in its deepest archetypes.
YAM syllable as mantric sound raises awareness of the higher self, soul, and all aspects of heavenly awareness related to the element of air. The phenomenon called symbolically the energies of the heart’s petals can be imagined as twelve streams of forces or internal powers that wake up in the heart area. Laya yoga describes them with a mandala of twelve syllables or vibrations, which, if you look at the flower as a clock, form a circle (starting from the first hour) of the following vibrations: KAM, KHAM, GAM, GHAM, ŃAM, ĆAM, CHAM, JAM, JHAM, NYAM, TAM, THAM. Traditionally, we are talking about twelve successive syllables or vibrations from Kam to Tham as the Preparatory Circle for the work of heart consciousness.
Petal of the vibration Kam begins the sequence of the left side of the heart, which ends with the syllable of Ćam. The right half of the clock’s circle starts with the syllable Cham on the right side of the breastbone, and ends with the Tham syllable on the right side of the spine. Each energy of the heart flower generally removes one of the following groups of impurities in our character, which are listed in the following table.
- KAM — removes lust, sensuality, covetousness, passion and all desires of selfish nature; it removes all attachments of sensual nature; cleans the conscience.
- KHAM — cleans from any inclination to cheating, dishonesty and self-deception, phantasms, delusions and illusions in general
- GAM — removes indecision, instability, inability to make decidings and making decisions
- GHAM — wipes out any tendency to regret, resentment, pity and bitterness
- ŃAM — takes us out the hope undergrowth with fear, which is illusory and false, cleans from this naivete
- ĆAM — removes all concern, anxiety, apprehension, fear, tendency to attention with fearfulness or phobia
- CHAM — it removes the effort of false and dishonest efforts, frustrations and depressions that result from them, and melancholy
- JAM — purifies from all selfishness, from deriving to oneself, from the sense of ‘my’ and ‘mine’, from all bias
- JHAM — cures from arrogance, insolence and audacity, and also destroys rebellious tendencies
- NYAM — cleanses you from feelings of incapacity, incompetence and inadequacy, vindictiveness and inclination to resentment
- TAM — removes the tendency to discriminate against people and different treatment of others based on origin, features, position etc.
- THAM — cleans all resistance and rebellion that appears as disrespect, provocative attitude, disobedience, opposition and shadows of doubt
We have a beautiful heart clock showing how to cultivate our hearts in the simplest way and allow them to develop more deeply. The basis of the whole work is the first vibration of the heart, described by the syllable KAM. The final job is to clean up the THAM aspect. The whole is barely the basic practice of purifying personality on the path of the heart. The achievement of deliverance from the prison of desire is called in yoga VAIRAGYA. This is the most basic and often the most incomprehensible work, teaching how to rise above small, selfish whims. The impurities of the KAM petal cause defilement of the whole sense of intuitive perception, whose voice is mixed with the feelings of one’s own desires and lusts that do not recognize what is right and in accordance with the aspiration of the spirit.
The work progress in the clock is causally linked. This means that a greater purification in the field related to the KHAM syllable depends on the progress in purifying the aspect determined by the activity of the previous syllable, i.e. KAM. The solar path of work on the purification of the nature of the heart suggests that we should work on the purity of each aspect through the cycle of one zodiac month throughout the year. You can start with the first day of spring or winter, or start on your birthday, which is the most recommended method. A simple prayer for the purification of the aforementioned pollutions will allow to awake deeper pure nature of the self of the heart, called the SOUL or HIGHER SELF, ISHVARA.
We build certain qualities and properties that are necessary in our personality to wander the path of the heart. Again, we have a group of twelve energies in which one stems from the other.
- KAM — impersonality and dispassion, over-desire state and independence of a higher type, sovereignty, vairagya
- KHAM — absolute integrity and honesty, truthfulness, actual and real perception of what is
- GAM — firmness and consistency in making decisions, determination, consistency in action, responsibility
- GHAM — an attitude of sincere repentance, a propensity for reparation, stability in the face of profit and loss
- ŃAM — hope based on trust, true faith, power, the power of faith and trust, holy trust
- ĆAM — bravery, courage, fearlessness, feeling of unity, association and joining together, willingness to be in community
- CHAM — a sense of true impulses and the will of the heart, a divine longing full of joy and bliss
- JAM — impartiality, balance, sincere altruism, prudence and thoughtfulness instead of judgment and criticism, the power to overcome obstacles, understanding of the causes
- JHAM — humility, commitment to help, humbleness, acting in accordance with dharma, with religious duty and dutifulness in general
- NYAM — adequacy, appropriateness, being always in the right place at the right time, idoneity, vitality
- TAM — respect for all, dignity, deep nature of being, love and affection for all, healing
- THAM — obedience, total devotion, protection of others and full safety for all life, purity of motive, fullness of intuition and power of concentration
It should be especially noted that the basis for work on the development of the religion of the heart is growth above all personal, tribal, national and racial egoisms. Personal passions and references must be dissolved in the process of laya. Our own point of view is gradually forgotten in favor of a universal point of view whose message only flows from competent, enlightened beings, from Guru.
However, the universal point of view can not be learned. He must wake up inside and be confirmed by the enlightened beings of the Spiritual Hierarchy. The spiritual path will be a challenge for lust, egoism and selfishness. Many begin the work of spiritual development, but do not want to rise above the smallness of their own affairs, their own views, jugments and opinions. The heart is a path to community, sincerity and impersonality. Many Pilgrims got lost on the roads of their own individualism – selfishness. Ego easily loses the lonely pilgrims who, confused, have the audacity to think that only they are for themselves the rudder, sailor and ship. The reluctance to accept external help means always aversion to further spiritual development, very difficult barrier to overcome that Ego puts on the path. Lord Siva, the founder of yoga, such individualists, read egoists, called directly atheists, godless people.
Lots of Blessings on the Path of Awakening and Realisation! Om Namaśśivaya!
Hum!
Aćarya Lalit Mohan G.K.
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