The True Cause Of Pain And Suffering

One thing i notice about pain its façade of illusion. Its grim face makes it appear real.  But it is not real. There is a duality to pain which distorts the Truth underlying everything. This duality is so entrenched, it has become a fact of life. Wherever pleasure comes, pain is lurking, waiting to cast its ominous shadow. Observe how quickly too much pleasure produces a bitter aftertaste which, if taken to extremes, provokes pain and suffering. Indeed, Sri Aurobindo calls pain and pleasure the “same thing”. They are just “differently reproduced in the sensations and emotions.”

How are they the same thing? Because they both mask the delight of Ananda, the Truth behind all existence. At the root of the malady lies our separation from the soul. We cannot find our essence and so cannot find our soul. The surface keeps pulling us out. We are masked from delight, which gets misinterpreted and rendered into the duality of pleasure and pain. Both states are only twisted from the true state of Oneness and bliss.

Until we find our soul, we will always fall prey to a variety of impacts and forces. The circuitry of our nature needs mastering by something much greater.

Intrusions will always knock on our door, but as long as the surface nature presides, there will be a faulty reception to them and it will lead to pain. The weakness of our consciousness manifesting in our nature is the cause of pain and suffering. The circuitry gets overloaded. Our nature is subject to division which creates “an egoistic and piecemeal instead of a universal reception of contacts by the individual.”

The orientation of our consciousness proves decisive. When turned upward, the Mother says, the pain vanishes. When turned downward, it is felt and even increases. “When one experiments… one sees that the bodily complaint has nothing to do with the pain. “ The difference lies in the “turn of the consciousness”. See for yourself.

This truth applies to all suffering. Psychological suffering is specifically due to “a wrong working of the mind.” Again, the surface circuitry is lacking.

Pain is a “schooling”. How else can we be goaded into climbing the peaks of delight? Each lesson teaches us only to “grow in rapture”. There are three stages to this schooling: “endurance first, next, equality of soul, last, ecstasy.” Pain is a signal that we have to organise ourselves; it is a reminder of our unfinished business. Each of us has to learn from it. It is a harsh lesson and one we normally try to avoid.

If a weed has to be destroyed, it is removed by the roots. The same applies with pain. We acknowledge its existence and try to understand what gives it nourishment. Observation is necessary. The symptoms may vary according to the leanings of the individual nature. But there is always a common factor behind pain: the weakness and falsity of human nature itself.  We need to understand our nature and find the courage to stand up to anything that needs to be put right. There is no other way if one wants to become whole. Otherwise, we opt for painkillers. Knowing the cause is the first step to truly eradicating pain.

James Anderson is coordinating editor of NAMAH, the Journal of Integral Health, published at Puducherry.

 

The Buddha's body was then cremated and the remains,

The main narrative of the Buddha's last days, death and the events following his death is contained in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16) and its various parallels in Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan.^[230] According to Analayo, these include the Chinese Dirgha Agama 2, "Sanskrit fragments of the Mahaparinirvanasutra", and "three discourses preserved as individual translations in Chinese".^[231]

The Mahaparinibbana sutta depicts the Buddha's last year as a time of war. It begins with Ajatasattu's decision to make war on the Vajjian federation, leading him to send a minister to ask the Buddha for advice.^[232] The Buddha responds by saying that the Vajjians can be expected to prosper as long as they do seven things, and he then applies these seven principles to the Buddhist Sangha, showing that he is concerned about its future welfare. The Buddha says that the Sangha will prosper as long as they "hold regular and frequent assemblies, meet in harmony, do not change the rules of training, honor their superiors who were ordained before them, do not fall prey to worldly desires, remain devoted to forest hermitages, and preserve their personal mindfulness." He then gives further lists of important virtues to be upheld by the Sangha. ^[233]

The early texts also depict how the Buddha's two chief disciples, Sariputta and Moggallana, died just before the Buddha's death.^[234] The Mahaparinibbana depicts the Buddha as experiencing illness during the last months of his life but initially recovering. It also depicts him as stating that he cannot promote anyone to be his successor. When Ānanda requested this, the Mahaparinibbana records his response as follows:^[235]

Ananda, why does the Order of monks expect this of me? I have taught the Dhamma, making no distinction of “inner” and “ outer”: the Tathagata has no “teacher’s fist” (in which certain truths are held back). If there is anyone who thinks: “I shall take charge of the Order”, or “the Order is under my leadership”, such a person would have to make arrangements about the Order. The Tathagata does not think in such terms. Why should the Tathagata make arrangements for the Order? I am now old, worn out . . . I have reached the term of life, I am turning eighty years of age. Just as an old cart is made to go by being held together with straps, so the Tathagata's body is kept going by being bandaged up . . . Therefore, Ananda, you should live as islands unto yourselves, being your own refuge, seeking no other refuge; with the Dhamma as an island, with the Dhamma as your refuge, seeking no other refuge. . . Those monks who in my time or afterwards live thus, seeking an island and a refuge in themselves and in the Dhamma and nowhere else, these zealous ones are truly my monks and will overcome the darkness (of rebirth).

After traveling and teaching some more, the Buddha ate his last meal, which he had received as an offering from a blacksmith named Cunda. Falling violently ill, Buddha instructed his attendant Ānanda to convince Cunda that the meal eaten at his place had nothing to do with his death and that his meal would be a source of the greatest merit as it provided the last meal for a Buddha.^[236] Mettanando and von Hinüber argue that the Buddha died of mesenteric infarction, a symptom of old age, rather than food poisoning.^[237][238]

The precise contents of the Buddha's final meal are not clear, due to variant scriptural traditions and ambiguity over the translation of certain significant terms. The Theravada tradition generally believes that the Buddha was offered some kind of pork, while the Mahayana tradition believes that the Buddha consumed some sort of truffle or other mushroom. These may reflect the different traditional views on Buddhist vegetarianism and the precepts for monks and nuns.^[239] Modern scholars also disagree on this topic, arguing both for pig's flesh or some kind of plant or mushroom that pigs like to eat.^{[note 13]} Whatever the case, none of the sources which mention the last meal attribute the Buddha's sickness to the meal itself.^[240]

As per the Mahaparinibbana sutta, after the meal with Cunda, the Buddha and his companions continued traveling until he was too weak to continue and had to stop at Kushinagar, where Ānanda had a resting place prepared in a grove of Sala trees.^[241][242] After announcing to the sangha at large that he would soon be passing away to final Nirvana, the Buddha ordained one last novice into the order personally, his name was Subhadda.^[241] He then repeated his final instructions to the sangha, which was that the Dhamma and Vinaya was to be their teacher after his death. Then he asked if anyone had any doubts about the teaching, but nobody did.^[243] The Buddha's final words are reported to have been: "All saṅkhāras decay. Strive for the goal with diligence (appamāda)" (Pali: 'vayadhammā saṅkhārā appamādena sampādethā').^[244][245]

He then entered his final meditation and died, reaching what is known as parinirvana (final nirvana, the end of rebirth and suffering achieved after the death of the body). The Mahaparinibbana reports that in his final meditation he entered the four dhyanas consecutively, then the four immaterial attainments and finally the meditative dwelling known as nirodha-samāpatti, before returning to the fourth dhyana right at the moment of death.^[246][247]

".

Posthumous events

According to the Mahaparinibbana sutta, the Mallians of Kushinagar spent the days following the Buddha's death honoring his body with flowers, music and scents.^[248] The sangha waited until the eminent elder Mahākassapa arrived to pay his respects before cremating the body.^[249]

The Buddha's body was then cremated and the remains, including his bones, were kept as relics and they were distributed among various north Indian kingdoms like Magadha, Shakya and Koliya.^[250] These relics were placed in monuments or mounds called stupas, a common funerary practice at the time. Centuries later they would be exhumed and enshrined by Ashoka into many new stupas around the Mauryan realm.^[251][252] Many supernatural legends surround the history of alleged relics as they accompanied the spread of Buddhism and gave legitimacy to rulers.

According to various Buddhist sources, the First Buddhist Council was held shortly after the Buddha's death to collect, recite and memorize the teachings. Mahākassapa was chosen by the sangha to be the chairman of the council. However, the historicity of the traditional accounts of the first council is disputed by modern scholars.

New era of Gautam Budhha

The sources which present a full and complete picture of the life of Siddhārtha Gautama are a variety of different, and sometimes conflicting, traditional biographies. These include the Buddhacarita, Lalitavistara Sūtra, Mahāvastu, and the Nidānakathā.^[87] Of these, the Buddhacarita^[88][89][90] is the earliest full biography, an epic poem written by the poet Aśvaghoṣa in the first century CE.^[91] The Lalitavistara Sūtra is the next oldest biography, a Mahāyāna/Sarvāstivāda biography dating to the 3rd century CE.^[92] The Mahāvastu from the Mahāsāṃghika Lokottaravāda tradition is another major biography, composed incrementally until perhaps the 4th century CE.^[92] The Dharmaguptaka biography of the Buddha is the most exhaustive, and is entitled the Abhiniṣkramaṇa Sūtra,^[93] and various Chinese translations of this date between the 3rd and 6th century CE. The Nidānakathā is from the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka and was composed in the 5th century by Buddhaghoṣa.^[94]

The earlier canonical sources include the Ariyapariyesana Sutta (MN 26), the Mahāparinibbāṇa Sutta (DN 16), the Mahāsaccaka-sutta (MN 36), the Mahapadana Sutta (DN 14), and the Achariyabhuta Sutta (MN 123), which include selective accounts that may be older, but are not full biographies. The Jātaka tales retell previous lives of Gautama as a bodhisattva, and the first collection of these can be dated among the earliest Buddhist texts.^[95] The Mahāpadāna Sutta and Achariyabhuta Sutta both recount miraculous events surrounding Gautama's birth, such as the bodhisattva's descent from the Tuṣita Heaven into his mother's womb.

gautam budhha

Besides "Buddha" and the name Siddhārtha Gautama (Pali: Siddhattha Gotama), he was also known by other names and titles, such as Shakyamuni ("Sage of the Shakyas").^{[16][note 5]}

In the early texts, the Buddha also often refers to himself as Tathāgata (Sanskrit: [tɐˈtʰaːɡɐtɐ]). The term is often thought to mean either "one who has thus gone" (tathā-gata) or "one who has thus come" (tathā-āgata), possibly referring to the transcendental nature of the Buddha's spiritual attainment.^[17]

A common list of epithets are commonly seen together in the canonical texts, and depict some of his spiritual qualities:^[18]

• Sammasambuddho – Perfectly self-awakened
• Vijja-carana-sampano – Endowed with higher knowledge and ideal conduct.
• Sugato – Well-gone or Well-spoken.
• Lokavidu – Knower of the many worlds.
• Anuttaro Purisa-damma-sarathi – Unexcelled trainer of untrained people.
• Satthadeva-Manussanam – Teacher of gods and humans.
• Bhagavathi – The Blessed one
• Araham – Worthy of homage. An Arahant is "one with taints destroyed, who has lived the holy life, done what had to be done, laid down the burden, reached the true goal, destroyed the fetters of being, and is completely liberated through final knowledge."

The Pali Canon also contains numerous other titles and epithets for the Buddha, including: All-seeing, All-transcending sage, Bull among men, The Caravan leader, Dispeller of darkness, The Eye, Foremost of charioteers, Foremost of those who can cross, King of the Dharma (Dharmaraja), Kinsman of the Sun, Helper of the World (Lokanatha), Lion (Siha), Lord of the Dhamma, Of excellent wisdom (Varapañña), Radiant One, Torchbearer of mankind, Unsurpassed doctor and surgeon, Victor in battle, and Wielder of power.^[19]

Historical person

Scholars are hesitant to make unqualified claims about the historical facts of the Buddha's life. Most people accept that the Buddha lived, taught, and founded a monastic order during the Mahajanapada era during the reign of Bimbisara (c. 558 – c. 491 BCE, or c. 400 BCE),^[20][21][22] the ruler of the Magadha empire, and died during the early years of the reign of Ajatasatru, who was the successor of Bimbisara, thus making him a younger contemporary of Mahavira, the Jain tirthankara.^[23][24] While the general sequence of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" is widely accepted,^[25] there is less consensus on the veracity of many details contained in traditional biographies.^[26][27]

The times of Gautama's birth and death are uncertain. Most historians in the early 20th century dated his lifetime as c. 563 BCE to 483 BCE.^[1][28] More recently his death is dated later, between 411 and 400 BCE, while at a symposium on this question held in 1988,^[29][30][31] the majority of those who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death.^{[1][32][note 4]} These alternative chronologies, however, have not been accepted by all historians.^{[37][38][note 6]}

Historical context

Ancient kingdoms and cities of India during the time of the Buddha (circa 500 BCE)

According to the Buddhist tradition, Gautama was born in Lumbini, now in modern-day Nepal, and raised in Kapilvastu, which may have been either in what is present-day Tilaurakot, Nepal or Piprahwa, India.^{[note 1]} According to Buddhist tradition, he obtained his enlightenment in Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon in Sarnath, and died in Kushinagar.

One of Gautama's usual names was "Sakamuni" or "Sakyamunī" ("Sage of the Shakyas"). This and the evidence of the early texts suggests that he was born into the Shakya clan, a community that was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE.^[59] The community was either a small republic, or an oligarchy. His father was an elected chieftain, or oligarch.^[59] Bronkhorst calls this eastern culture "Greater Magadha" and notes that "Buddhism and Jainism arose in a culture which was recognized as being non-Vedic".^[60]

The Shakyas were an eastern sub-Himalayan ethnic group who were considered outside of the Āryāvarta and of ‘mixed origin’ (saṃkīrṇa-yonayaḥ, possibly part Aryan and part indigenous). The laws of Manu treats them as being non Aryan. As noted by Levman, "The Baudhāyana-dharmaśāstra (1.1.2.13–4) lists all the tribes of Magadha as being outside the pale of the Āryāvarta; and just visiting them required a purificatory sacrifice as expiation" (In Manu 10.11, 22).^[61] This is confirmed by the Ambaṭṭha Sutta, where the Sakyans are said to be "rough-spoken", "of menial origin" and criticised because "they do not honour, respect, esteem, revere or pay homage to Brahmans." ^[62] Some of the non-Vedic practices of this tribe included incest (marrying their sisters), the worship of trees, tree spirits and nagas.^[63] According to Levman "while the Sakyans’ rough speech and Munda ancestors do not prove that they spoke a non-[Indo-Aryan] language, there is a lot of other evidence suggesting that they were indeed a separate ethnic (and probably linguistic) group."^[64] Christopher I. Beckwith identifies the Shakyas as Scythians.^[65]

Apart from the Vedic Brahmins, the Buddha's lifetime coincided with the flourishing of influential Śramaṇa schools of thought like Ājīvika, Cārvāka, Jainism, and Ajñana.^[66] Brahmajala Sutta records sixty-two such schools of thought. In this context, a śramaṇa refers to one who labors, toils, or exerts themselves (for some higher or religious purpose). It was also the age of influential thinkers like Mahavira,^[67] Pūraṇa Kassapa, Makkhali Gosāla, Ajita Kesakambalī, Pakudha Kaccāyana, and Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, as recorded in Samaññaphala Sutta, whose viewpoints the Buddha most certainly must have been acquainted with.^{[68][69][note 8]} Indeed, Sariputta and Moggallāna, two of the foremost disciples of the Buddha, were formerly the foremost disciples of Sañjaya Belaṭṭhaputta, the sceptic;^[71] and the Pali canon frequently depicts Buddha engaging in debate with the adherents of rival schools of thought. There is also philological evidence to suggest that the two masters, Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta, were indeed historical figures and they most probably taught Buddha two different forms of meditative techniques.^[72] Thus, Buddha was just one of the many śramaṇa philosophers of that time.^[73] In an era where holiness of person was judged by their level of asceticism,^[74] Buddha was a reformist within the śramaṇa movement, rather than a reactionary against Vedic Brahminism.^[75]

Historically, the life of the Buddha also coincided with the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley during the rule of Darius I from about 517/516 BCE.^[76] This Achaemenid occupation of the areas of Gandhara and Sindh, which was to last for about two centuries, was accompanied by the introduction of Achaemenid religions, reformed Mazdaism or early Zoroastrianism, to which Buddhism might have in part reacted.^[76] In particular, the ideas of the Buddha may have partly consisted of a rejection of the "absolutist" or "perfectionist" ideas contained in these Achaemenid religions.^[

Teaching of Gautam Buddha

The Buddha (also known as Siddhattha Gotama or Siddhārtha Gautama)^{[note 3]} was a philosopher, mendicant, meditator, spiritual teacher, and religious leader who lived in ancient India (c. 5th to 4th century BCE).^{[5][6][7][note 4]} He is revered as the founder of the world religion of Buddhism. ^[8] He taught for around 45 years and built a large following, both monastic and lay.^[9] His teaching is based on his insight into duḥkha (typically translated as "suffering") and the end of dukkha – the state called Nibbāna or Nirvana.

The Buddha was born into an aristocratic family, in the Shakya clan. He renounced lay life. According to Buddhist tradition, after several years of mendicancy, meditation, and asceticism, he awakened to understand the mechanism which keeps us trapped in the cycle of rebirth. After a couple of centuries he came thus to be known by the title Buddha, which means “Awakened One” or the "Enlightened One".^[10] The Buddha then traveled throughout the Ganges plain teaching and building a religious community. The Buddha taught a middle way between sensual indulgence and the severe asceticism found in the Indian śramaṇa movement.^[11] He taught a spiritual path that included ethical training and meditative practices such as jhana and mindfulness. The Buddha also critiqued the practices of brahmin priests, such as animal sacrifice.

After his death, the Buddhist community compiled his teachings. The Suttas contain his discourses. The Vinaya contain his codes for monastic practice. These were passed down in Middle-Indo Aryan dialects through an oral tradition.^[12][13] Later generations composed additional texts, such as systematic treatises known as Abhidharma, biographies of the Buddha, collections of stories about the Buddha's past lives known as Jataka tales, and additional discourses, i.e, the Mahayana sutras.

OUR TEACHING PHENOMENA FROM LORD GAUTAM BUDHHA

Sutta Pitaka consists of Buddha’s teachings in the form stories. Buddhist philosophy strongly highlights that the world is ever changing and transient in nature so nothing is permanent and eternal. Along with this, the entire world is soulless. Sorrows are part of human existence and life. All human beings have originated from the planet earth and then they bear children for the continuity of life.

Gautama Buddha or Siddhartha Gautama Buddha is known as ‘Buddha’ which means ‘awakened being’ or ‘enlightened being’. Base of Buddhism is the teachings of Gautama Buddha. He was born in a royal Hindu family in Shakya Clan and his birthday is celebrated as ‘Buddha Poornima’. Place of Gautama Buddha’s birth is not clear as it may be the present day Nepal, Odisha or Uttar Pradesh. He was destined to become either a great king or a great holy man. As his father wanted him to be great king so he kept Gautama Buddha away from the sufferings of life. But by the age of 29 he left his palace to find his true self. On the way he saw almost everyone suffering from one or other thing. He was depressed and tried to overcome all these by living a life of an ascetic. He during his journey to find answers had found that meditation is the only way to awaken oneself. Gautama then sat under the popular pipal tree that is known as the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India and arose only after he found the truth. His mediation continued for 49 days and after that he got enlightenment. Gautama then found the cause of sufferings and ways to end these.

Teachings of Gautama Buddha are the principles of life that had been given by him after attaining the enlightenment.

The Four Noble Truths
Suffering is common – Everyone suffers
Cause of Suffering – Self, greed, desires and ignorance
End of Suffering – Renunciation of greed and ignorance
Path to end Suffering – Correct way of living and following the eight fold path of life which is – Right Knowledge, Right Attitude, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Awareness, and Right Meditation.

In the state of Nirvana the soul reunites to its pure state and stop wandering in incarnations and karma.

The Supreme Power that controls the universe has no form or name.

Strong characters are built by doing good deeds and kind thoughts.

Before criticizing anyone it is better to see what you are doing.

Always do good and do not waste time and effort on things that lead to harm.

Be aware of your words and deeds.

The Five Percepts of life are the most important rules of life and these are – respect for life so no killing, respect for the property of others so no stealing, respect for pure nature so no sexual misconduct, respect for honesty so no lying and respect for a clear mind so no intoxicants.

Death is not the end of life. Energy changes into matter and matter again into energy like pale leaf fell on the ground mixes with soil, seed fell on earth to give rise to new plant and so on.

Three poisons i.e. greed, hatred and stupidity keep us in the wheel of life and death.

Be tolerant of all other religions. One should respect every spiritual person and this is a very good deed. It is just like lighting one candle from that of other. Now there won’t be the light of one candle but two candles which will illuminate you and your life.

The 7 Chakras in the Human Body

Q-Dear Dadashreeji, what are the seven chakras in the human body? Do they play any significant role in our spiritual growth? Are we supposed to have knowledge of these chakras in detail? Kindly enlighten us.

Dadashreeji:

Dear Friends!

Chakra meditation is an advanced form of a spiritual practice for self-realisation. One can practice this if advised by your Guide, if any, or if you feel you are ready for the next step to explore spirituality. A seeker requires proper knowledge of the subject and the right technique to absorb the maximum from this advanced form of meditation. The knowledge of the chakras was first revealed by Lord Shiva to Goddess Parvati. It was then shared further by sages verbally to the competent ones. It was much later that the knowledge was methodically documented in various Indian scriptures like the Upanishads for seekers to understand the astral design of the human body and as a way to channelise spiritual energy for attaining the Supreme Truth. One can see similar notations ambiguously mentioned in the Old Testament, Islamic religious books and Buddhism. These religious books indicate the presence of the seven chakras, the third eye and their importance in the awakening of the true self.

The Ancient masters clearly instruct us on who may qualify to practice chakra meditation. A seeker should mainly possess the three qualities of self-control, devotion to the Master and living a virtuous life. But, in today’s time, the reality has changed. These qualities are too much to demand from today’s man, who is busy and surrounded by materialistic forces. We cannot expect the above men-tioned pure qualities from anyone in the current time. Hence, one may still begin the chakra meditation under an authentic Guide if one wishes. As you progress on your spiritual path, you will notice changes in the surroundings and in your lifestyle as well. With time, under proper guidance and the right technique, it becomes easy and powerful.

There are many chakras in the human body, major as well as minor. They are present in the astral body. Generally, the practitioner is required to focus on seven major chakras. Each major chakra is respectively associated with many minor chakras in the body. Chakras are energy centres shaped in the form of a wheel. Each chakra releases energy vibrating at a specific frequency. They in turn release corresponding emotions defining the psychological and biological state of a person. All seven chakras operate at different levels of consciousness. Now, let us learn more about these chakras!

Spiritual energy travels through nādis in the human body. Nādis are thread-like structures within the entire human body running from head to toe. The earth energy enters the body through the feet and travels upwards to the head through the nādis. Each chakra further amplifies or diminishes the flow of the energy in the body based on the state of the chakra. Together the chakras and nādis keep circulating energies within a closed circuit in the human body.

Each chakra has a specific shape, location and state. Typically, chakras remain in three states in the body.

i) Impaired: lost shape and structure with minimal function,

ii) Active: proper shape and structure with optimum function

iii) Awakened: with all normal compositions, functioning with high spiritual vibrations. This state occurs when the body is filled with kundalini shakti (Serpent Power).

The seeker seeks to progress from the first state to the last in order to experience the higher states of the consciousness.

Each chakra has a specific one letter beej mantr and an associated element.

i) Moolādhara, Lang, earth

ii) Swādhisthana, Vang, water

iii) Manipur, Rang, fire

iv) Anāhata, Yang, air

v) Vishuddhi, Hang, space

vi) Agneya, Aum, consciousness

vii) Sahsrāra, ParaAum, Soul.

The mantra for the Sahsrāra will be bestowed upon you by the Awakened Guide.

The first or root chakra possesses the latent kundalini shakti, which is a coiled-like structure possessing spiritual power. The latent Shakti is feminine, eager to unite with Shiv, the masculine component present in the brain as ling. Awakening of the first six chakras with the upsurge of kundalini power coalesces towards the last seventh chakra. Awakening of the last chakra occurs only by the Divine will. All other six chakras may get activated and awakened at any time, and not necessarily in a sequence. The nature of kundalini differs from person to person. There is a systematic detailed mechanism of how the Shakti once awakened, spreads in the body and gushes upward till the region of Shiv (from the neck and above) is reached. Through Āgneya chakra, pineal gland gets awakened and through sahsrār chakra, the entire human brain is awakened to express the True Self. Here, you truly become an awakened, transformed being.

Having explained about the complex formation of chakras in brief, it is not at all mandatory for a seeker to have knowledge about the chakras. You may nevertheless still experience the higher spiritual states without practicing or knowing more about chakras. To breathe oxygen and to absorb it through the lungs, you don’t need to get familiarised with oxygen or have knowledge of it. Just breathe, that’s it! Chakras are a part of the human consciousness and they will remain so. You can’t manipulate and awaken the Shakti mentally. No one can pretend to be awakened at the chakra level. With the guidance and Grace of your Guide, you will experience the awakening of the kundalini power without meditating on it even once in your lifetime. Hence, keep patience, practice what you love and leave the rest to the Divine! Divine blessings will guide you.

Learn, understand and meditate to know the Supreme Truth!

Always there with you!

Love and Blessings!

Dadashreeji!