Brains of Buddhist monks scanned in meditation study

By Matt Danzico BBC News, New York

Study peers into brains of monks

In a laboratory tucked away off a noisy New York City street, a soft-spoken neuroscientist has been placing Tibetan Buddhist monks into a car-sized brain scanner to better understand the ancient practice of meditation.

But could this unusual research not only unravel the secrets of leading a harmonious life but also shed light on some of the world's more mysterious diseases?

Zoran Josipovic, a research scientist and adjunct professor at New York University, says he has been peering into the brains of monks while they meditate in an attempt to understand how their brains reorganise themselves during the exercise.

Since 2008, the researcher has been placing the minds and bodies of prominent Buddhist figures into a five-tonne (5,000kg) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. 
The scanner tracks blood flow within the monks' heads as they meditate inside its clunky walls, which echoes a musical rhythm when the machine is operating.

Dr Josipovic, who also moonlights as a Buddhist monk, says he is hoping to find how some meditators achieve a state of "nonduality" or "oneness" with the world, a unifying consciousness between a person and their environment. 

The study specifically looks at the default network in the brain, which controls self-reflective thoughts

"One thing that meditation does for those who practise it a lot is that it cultivates attentional skills," Dr Josipovic says, adding that those harnessed skills can help lead to a more tranquil and happier way of being.

"Meditation research, particularly in the last 10 years or so, has shown to be very promising because it points to an ability of the brain to change and optimise in a way we didn't know previously was possible."

When one relaxes into a state of oneness, the neural networks in experienced practitioners change as they lower the psychological wall between themselves and their environments, Dr Josipovic says.

And this reorganisation in the brain may lead to what some meditators claim to be a deep harmony between themselves and their surroundings.

Shifting attention

Dr Josipovic's research is part of a larger effort better to understand what scientists have dubbed the default network in the brain.

He says the brain appears to be organised into two networks: the extrinsic network and the intrinsic, or default, network. 

Dr Josipovic has scanned the brains of more than 20 experienced meditators during the study

The extrinsic portion of the brain becomes active when individuals are focused on external tasks, like playing sports or pouring a cup of coffee.

The default network churns when people reflect on matters that involve themselves and their emotions.

But the networks are rarely fully active at the same time.  And like a seesaw, when one rises, the other one dips down.

This neural set-up allows individuals to concentrate more easily on one task at any given time, without being consumed by distractions like daydreaming.

"What we're trying to do is basically track the changes in the networks in the brain as the person shifts between these modes of attention," Dr Josipovic says.

Dr Josipovic has found that some Buddhist monks and other experienced meditators have the ability to keep both neural networks active at the same time during meditation - that is to say, they have found a way to lift both sides of the seesaw simultaneously.

And Dr Josipovic believes this ability to churn both the internal and external networks in the brain concurrently may lead the monks to experience a harmonious feeling of oneness with their environment.

Self-reflection

Scientists previously believed the self-reflective, default network in the brain was simply one that was active when a person had no task on which to focus their attention.  But researchers have found in the past decade that this section of the brain swells with activity when the subject thinks about the self.

The default network came to light in 2001 when Dr Marcus Raichle, a neurologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in the US state of Missouri, began scanning the brains of individuals who were not given tasks to perform.

The patients quickly became bored, and Dr Raichle noticed a second network, that had previously gone unnoticed, danced with activity.  But the researcher was unclear why this activity was occurring.

Other scientists were quick to suggest that Dr Raichle's subjects could have actually been thinking about themselves.

Soon other neuroscientists, who conducted studies using movies to stimulate the brain, found that when there was a lull of activity in a film, the default network began to flash - signalling that research subjects may have begun to think about themselves out of boredom.

But Dr Raichle says the default network is important for more than just thinking about what one had for dinner last night.

"Researchers have wrestled with this idea of how we know we are who we are.  The default mode network says something about how that might have come to be," he says.

And Dr Raichle adds that those studying the default network may also help in uncovering the secrets surrounding some psychological disorders, like depression, autism and even Alzheimer's disease.

"If you look at Alzheimer's Disease, and you look at whether it attacks a particular part of the brain, what's amazing is that it actually attacks the default mode network," says Dr Raichle, adding that intrinsic network research, like Dr Josipovic's, could assist in explaining why that is.

Cindy Lustig, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Michigan, agrees.

"It's a major and understudied network in the brain that seems to be very involved in a lot of neurological disorders, including autism and Alzheimer's, and understanding how that network interacts with the task-oriented [extrinsic] network is important," she says.  "It is sort of the other piece of the puzzle that's been ignored for too long."

Dr Josipovic has scanned the brains of more than 20 experienced meditators, both monks and nuns who primarily study the Tibetan Buddhist style of meditation, to better understand this mysterious network.

He says his research, which will soon be published, will for the moment continue to concentrate on explaining the neurological implications of oneness and tranquillity - though improving understanding of autism or Alzheimer's along the way would certainly be quite a bonus.

Meditation Can 'Turn Off' Regions of the Brain

Brain imaging shows experienced meditators can prevent their minds from wandering

By Robert Preidt

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

 

(HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that people skilled at meditation seem able to turn off areas of the brain associated with daydreaming and psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

Learning more about how meditation works could help advance research into a number of diseases, according to lead author Dr. Judson Brewer, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Yale University.

He and his colleagues used functional MRI to assess brain activity in experienced and novice meditators as they performed three different meditation techniques. 
Regardless of the type of meditation, skilled meditators had decreased activity in the brain's default mode network, which has been linked to attention lapses and disorders such as anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and the buildup of beta amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers also found that when the default mode network (which consists of the medial prefrontal and posterior cingulate cortex) was active, brain regions associated with self-monitoring and cognitive control were also activated in experienced meditators, but not novices.

This suggests that skilled meditators constantly monitor and suppress the emergence of "me" thoughts and mind wandering.  If they become too strong, these two states of mind are associated with diseases such as autism and schizophrenia.

The experienced meditators were able to co-activate the two brain regions both during meditation and while resting, which suggests they have developed a "new" default mode that's more present-centered and less self-centered, the researchers said.

"Meditation's ability to help people stay in the moment has been part of philosophical and contemplative practices for thousands of years," Brewer said in a Yale news release.  "Conversely, the hallmark of many forms of mental illness is a preoccupation with one's own thoughts, a condition meditation seems to affect.  This gives us some nice cues as to the neural mechanisms of how it might be working clinically."

The study appears Nov. 21 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

SOURCE: Yale University, news release, Nov. 18, 2011

HealthDay 

Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can

From CNN's Dan Gilgoff:

Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior,  just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with exercise? 


Richard Davidson, who for decades has practiced Buddhist-style meditation – a form of mental exercise, he says – insists that we can.


And Davidson, who has been meditating since visiting India as a Harvard grad student in the 1970s, has credibility on the subject beyond his own experience.


A trained psychologist based at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, he has become the leader of a relatively new field called contemplative neuroscience - the brain science of meditation.


Over the last decade, Davidson and his colleagues have produced scientific evidence for the theory that meditation - the ancient eastern practice of sitting, usually accompanied by focusing on certain objects - permanently changes the brain for the better.


“We all know that if you engage in certain kinds of exercise on a regular basis you can strengthen certain muscle groups in predictable ways,” Davidson says in his office at the University of Wisconsin, where his research team has hosted scores of Buddhist monks and other meditators for brain scans.


“Strengthening neural systems is not fundamentally different,” he says.  “It’s basically replacing certain habits of mind with other habits.”


Contemplative neuroscientists say that making a habit of meditation can strengthen brain circuits responsible for maintaining concentration and generating empathy.


One recent study by Davidson’s team found that novice meditators stimulated their limbic systems - the brain’s emotional network - during the practice of compassion meditation, an ancient Tibetan Buddhist practice.


That’s no great surprise, given that compassion meditation aims to produce a specific emotional state of intense empathy, sometimes call “lovingkindness.”


But the study also found that expert meditators - monks with more than 10,000 hours of practice - showed significantly greater activation of their limbic systems.  The monks appeared to have permanently changed their brains to be more empathetic.


An earlier study by some of the same researchers found that committed meditators experienced sustained changes in baseline brain function, meaning that they had changed the way their brains operated even outside of meditation.


These changes included ramped-up activation of a brain region thought to be responsible for generating positive emotions, called the left-sided anterior region.  The researchers found this change in novice meditators who’d enrolled in a course in mindfulness meditation - a technique that borrows heavily from Buddhism - that lasted just eight weeks.


But most brain research around meditation is still preliminary, waiting to be corroborated by other scientists.  Meditation’s psychological benefits and its use in treatments for conditions as diverse as depression and chronic pain are more widely acknowledged. 


Serious brain science around meditation has emerged only in about the last decade, since the birth of functional MRI allowed scientists to begin watching the brain and monitoring its changes in relatively real time.


Beginning in the late 1990s, a University of Pennsylvania-based researcher named Andrew Newberg said that his brain scans of experienced meditators showed the prefrontal cortex - the area of the brain that houses attention - surging into overdrive during meditation while the brain region governing our orientation in time and space, called the superior parietal lobe, went dark.  (One of his scans is pictured, above.)


Newberg said his findings explained why meditators are able to cultivate intense concentration while also describing feelings of transcendence during meditation. 


But some scientists said Newberg was over-interpreting his brain scans.  Others said he failed to specify the kind of meditation he was studying, making his studies impossible to reproduce.  His popular books, like Why God Won’t Go Away, caused more eye-rolling among neuroscientists, who said he hyped his findings to goose sales.


“It caused mainstream scientists to say that the only work that has been done in the field is of terrible quality,” says Alasdair Coles, a lecturer in neurology at England’s University of Cambridge.


Newberg, now at Thomas Jefferson University and Hospital in Philadelphia, stands by his research.


And contemplative neuroscience had gained more credibility in the scientific community since his early scans.


One sign of that is increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, which has helped establish new contemplative science research centers at Stanford University, Emory University, and the University of Wisconsin, where the world’s first brain imaging lab with a meditation room next door is now under construction.


The NIH could not provide numbers on how much it gives specifically to meditation brain research but its grants in complementary and alternative medicine - which encompass many meditation studies - have risen from around $300 million in 2007 to an estimated $541 million in 2011.


“The original investigations by people like Davidson in the 1990s were seen as intriguing, but it took some time to be convinced that brain processes were really changing during meditation,” says Josephine Briggs, Director of the NIH’s National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.


Most studies so far have examined so-called focused-attention meditation, in which the practitioner concentrates on a particular subject, such as the breath.  The meditator monitors the quality of attention and, when it drifts, returns attention to the object. 


Over time, practitioners are supposed to find it easier to sustain attention during and outside of meditation.


In a 2007 study, Davidson compared the attentional abilities of novice meditators to experts in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.  Participants in both groups were asked to practice focused-attention meditation on a fixed dot on a screen while researchers ran fMRI scans of their brains.


To challenge the participants’ attentional abilities, the scientists interrupted the meditations with distracting sounds.


The brain scans found that both experienced and novice meditators activated a network of attention-related regions of the brain during meditation.  But the experienced meditators showed more activation in some of those regions.


The inexperienced meditators, meanwhile, showed increased activation in brain regions that have been shown to negatively correlate with sustaining attention.  Experienced meditators were better able to activate their attentional networks to maintain concentration on the dot.  They had, the study suggested, changed their brains.


The fMRI scans also showed that experienced meditators had less neural response to the distracting noises that interrupted the meditation.


In fact, the more hours of experience a meditator had, the scans found, the less active his or her emotional networks were during the distracting sounds, which meant the easier it was to focus.


More recently, contemplative neuroscience has turned toward compassion meditation, which involves generating empathy through objectless awareness; practitioners call it non-referential compassion meditation.


New neuroscientific interest in the practice comes largely at the urging of the Dalai Lama, the spiritual and politial leader of Tibetan Buddhists, for whom compassion meditation is a time-worn tradition.


The Dalai Lama has arranged for Tibetan monks to travel to American universities for brain scans and has spoken at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, the world’s largest gathering of brain scientists.


A religious leader, the Dalai Lama has said he supports contemplative neuroscience even though scientists are stripping meditation of its Buddhist roots, treating it purely as a mental exercise that more or less anyone can do.


“This is not a project about religion,” says Davidson.  “Meditation is mental activity that could be understood in secular terms.”


Still, the nascent field faces challenges.  Scientists have scanned just a few hundred brains on meditation do date, which makes for a pretty small research sample.  And some scientists say researchers are over eager to use brain science to prove the that meditation “works.”


“This is a field that has been populated by true believers,” says Emory University scientist Charles Raison, who has studied meditation’s effect on the immune system.  “Many of the people doing this research are trying to prove scientifically what they already know from experience, which is a major flaw."


But Davidson says that other types of scientists also have deep personal interest in what they’re studying.  And he argues that that’s a good thing.


“There’s a cadre of grad students and post docs who’ve found personal value in meditation and have been inspired to study it scientifically,” Davidson says.  “These are people at the very best universities and they want to do this for a career.


“In ten years,” he says, “we’ll find that meditation research has become mainstream.”

Dan Gilgoff - CNN Belief Blog Co-Editor

Are Ghosts Hallucinations?

Are ghosts always hallucinations?  What is an hallucination?  In the case of hallucinations, there is no defect in optics, the defect is in ocularity -- that is, the ocular vision is influenced by different thought-waves.  These hallucinations may be of two types, positive and negative.  In a positive hallucination, there is no physical defect in the ocular vision.  Rather, one's vision is affected by the thought-waves which want to see something different.   

And what is a negative hallucination?  Here also there is no defect in the ocular vision, but due to excessive pressure of the thought-waves -- we say "auto-suggestion" -- the ocular vision becomes negative; that is, the thought-waves do not want to see something which is actually present in the ocular vision.   

Many scholars are of the opinion that so-called ghosts are positive hallucinations, and sometimes people are also misguided by negative hallucinations.  They say that in this case the ocular vision -- the optic nerves -- is deceiving them, but actually the main role here is played by the thought-waves, not by any physical organ, or psychic cells, or psycho-physical cells (ectoplasm).   

It is said, Abhibha'van'a't citta'n'usrs't'apretadarshanam ["The sight of ghosts is created by the citta'n'u (mind-stuff) in concentrated thought"].  Abhibha'van'a means "cellular suggestion" -- that which affects not only the mind but also the nerve cells, so that due to the defective functioning of the nerve cells one sees something which is not present, or does not see something which is actually physically present.  Cellular suggestion is of two types: auto-suggestion and outer-suggestion.  Auto-suggestion takes place within the jurisdiction of one's own mind, in the individual mind, whereas outer-suggestion is the transmission of suggestion from another's mind, from another, stronger, mind.  When a weaker mind is greatly influenced by a stronger mind, as a result something is not seen or nothing is seen.   

You know, philosophically, whatever we see in this universe is, we may say, a positive hallucination created by the Supreme Consciousness (Parama Purus'a*).  Whatever He thinks is seen by the nerve cells of the individual mind.  The difference between this practical world and ghosts is that in the case of ghosts the suggestion comes from the individual mind; one's own thought is projected outside.   

But when people see so-called ghosts and apparitions, are they always positive hallucinations?  No, they are not.  Whatever we observe in this physical world is made of the five fundamental factors (solid, liquid, luminous, aerial and ethereal), created in such a way that it automatically functions.  Its inherent capacity for action is derived from this physical world under the inspiration of the Supreme Consciousness.   

There may be some entities that do not require food and drink.  Any entity composed of solid and liquid factors will certainly require food and drink, because food is mainly composed of the solid factor, and drink is mainly composed of the liquid factor.  But if any entity is composed only of the other three factors -- luminous, aerial, and ethereal -- without any solid or liquid, then that entity is called a "luminous body".   

By means of nerve cells, the mind operates the physical body: by creating vibrations such as smell, form, touch, taste, etc., the nerve cells either receive tanma'tras (inferential essences) or projects them externally.  But luminous bodies have no nerves, because nerve cells and nerve fibres are all physical; thus they cannot function properly.  Only, as in auto-suggestion, they may create a vibration within, and experience some type of feeling.   

These luminous bodies are not ghosts or apparitions; they have nothing to do with them.  Neither are they related to auto-suggestion or outer-suggestion.  Under some circumstances, if someone happens to see this kind of luminous body, one may think one is seeing a ghost.  But actually there is no ghost at all -- it is only a luminous body.  It is not possible to see luminous bodies in broad daylight; it may be possible during the darkness of night, but then not everywhere.   

It is said that there are seven kinds of luminous bodies: yaks'a, siddha, gandharva, kinnara, vidya'dhara, prakrtiliina and videhaliina.  They are categorized according to their respective psychologies.   

Suppose there is a very elevated person who often ideates on the Supreme Consciousness, but who has some greed for wealth.  He or she does not, however, express it openly to the Supreme, nor does he or she even think of it directly.  He or she thinks indirectly, "Oh, since I am a devotee of the Supreme Consciousness, He will certainly give me enormous wealth and make me immensely rich." Those who harbour this sort of covert desire are reborn as yaks'as.  Thus sometimes we refer to "the wealth of the yaks'as".   

I will explain something about siddhas a bit later.   

The third is vidya'dhara.  Those who have vanity of knowledge, although they do not expressly beseech this from the Supreme, but rather think inwardly that the Supreme should bestow an enormous wealth of knowledge upon them -- this type of person is reborn as vidya'dhara.  Vidya'dhara is also a luminous body.   

The next is gandharva.  Those who have a great talent for higher music (people should cultivate music to the maximum to give pleasure to the Supreme Consciousness) and mentally think, "Oh, Parama Purus'a, I want knowledge of the science of music, not You" -- they are reborn as gandharvas.  (In Sanskrit the science of music is called ga'ndharva vidya'.) They are also luminous bodies; they are not ghosts at all.  They are also not visible in daylight, just as other luminous bodies are invisible.   

The next is kinnara.  Those who are vain about their physical beauty, or those who pray to the Supreme to give them more and more physical charm, are reborn as kinnaras.  They are also luminous bodies.   

Then siddha.  Those human beings who are doing sa'dhana'**, who have great love for Parama Purus'a, but in their heart of hearts are proud of their occult powers or pray to Parama Purus'a to grant them still more occult powers -- these people after death are reborn as siddhas.  Of all the categories of luminous bodies, the siddhas are the most elevated.  They often help sa'dhakas in their sa'dhana'.   

All these luminous bodies are collectively called devayoni.  Besides the above, there are videhaliina and prakrtiliina.  Those who wrongly worship Parama Purus'a in the form of clay, iron or other material substances, are ultimately transformed into prakrtiliina.   

The next is videhaliina: those who run after occult powers and think, "I will attain such great occult power that with it, I will move from place to place." These are all luminous bodies; they are not ghosts, nor are they positive or negative hallucinations.   

Thus ghosts are not positive hallucinations, or negative hallucinations, or siddhas or devayonis.  Then is there any such things as ghosts?  Not exactly ghosts, but there is something like that.   

After death, when the mind dissociates from the body, the accumulation of unfulfilled sam'ska'ras*** or reactive momenta remains, although the body with the five fundamental factors no longer exists.  Thus, the mind cannot function, but it remains in potential form.  Now, in some circumstances, if the ectoplasm of a living person is associated with that disembodied potential mind, then that disembodied mind gets a mental body temporarily, for a very short time.  Then that mental body can start functioning with the help of the nerve cells and nerve fibres of that living person, but only for a few minutes.   

What is this called?  It is neither a positive hallucination or a negative hallucination, nor is it a luminous body (devayoni).  Then what is it?  A living person's ectoplasmic cells become the mental body of a dead person for a few minutes until -- after a few minutes -- that mental body again dies.  This mental body I will call pres'itama'nas -- "re-created mind."  
Some people may do good works or get good works done with the help of these pres'itama'nas, but only those who have perfect control over their minds and over the nerve cells and nerve fibres of their bodies can do this. 

Those who are bad people can do evil deeds with the help of these pres'itama'nas.  They can hurl stones into others' houses, throw bones, or overturn tables and cots -- all these things can be done for only a few minutes.   

So we see that what we call a "ghost" is not always a positive or a negative hallucination, nor is it always a siddha or a pres'itama'nas.  In fact, we cannot prove the existence of a pres'itama'nas or siddha, and insofar as positive hallucination is concerned, it does not have any actual existence at all.  If you see a positive hallucination, it is a mental disease.   

If anything of this sort (pres'itama'nas or luminous body) comes before you, there is only one remedy to remove it: that is, do kiirtana or devotional chanting.  Do kiirtana for one minute or repeat your guru mantra, and that "ghost" will instantly vanish into thin air.  So under no circumstances should you be afraid.   

Footnotes

Parama Purus'a*  Universal Mind, Supreme Consciousness, the psyche and substance within which all things exist, with an emphasis towards subtlest realms of being, a threshold attainable by humans through sa'dhana'   

sa'dhana'**   Intuitional science carrying the practitioner progressively into subtler realms through appropriately designed processes positively affecting every realm of life and mind, and leading toward merger [yoga] back into Universal Consciousness. 

sam'ska'ra***   The reactive momentum resulting from one's thoughts, words or deeds -- too often misnamed "karma", which is the proactive engagement in the manifest universe with ideation upon the whole of the universe and the centricity from which it generates, operates and into which each and every being returns from its individuation.  The term "karma" is all too often misappropriatedly used when sam'ska'ra is the proper term.  "Karma", properly used, means action performed with the ideation of the Supreme Consciousness at all times throughout an action.  "Kriya", properly used, means performing action without cosmic ideation, and consequently racks up sam'ska'ras. 

 

Glands and SubGlands

There are many underdeveloped creatures which have no nerve cells or nerve fibres and behave according to their instincts only.  Human beings possess nerve cells and nerve fibres, but they also behave according to their instincts.  For example, very young children smile and keep their hands closed because of their instincts.  They are not goaded by intellect or by any intellectual inclination in this respect.

The innumerable nerve cells and nerve fibres in the human body can be divided into two types:  one connecting the brain to the spinal cord [the central nervous system], and the other from the spinal cord to the skin and going within the body [the peripheral nervous system].  There is also a collection of nerve cells in the cranium that is made up of fat [that is, the hypothalamus], which has a special power, an inborn power or a vibrational speciality, which is sometimes synthetic [sympathetic] and sometimes apathetic [parasympathetic].

In Sanskrit the region across the top of the head above the ears is called sna'yupet'aka, which means "a basket of nerves".  A vibration from any part of the body takes one two-hundredths of a second to reach the cranium.  Suppose an insect bites your hand.  The sensation will travel through your afferent nerves to the brain.  Immediately an order, which will travel through the efferent nerves, will be given to remove the insect.  The terms "afferent nerves" and "efferent nerves" are derived from Latin words and mean "sensory nerves" and "motor nerves" respectively.  The corresponding Sanskrit terms are sam'jina' na'd'ii and a'jina' na'd'ii.

The nerve cells are active and work directly in the conscious (ja'grata), subconscious (svapna) and unconscious (sus'upta) states of mind, although the Sanskrit and English terms for these three states are not exactly synonymous.  When the nerves do not work properly, sometimes people experience a condition which may be described as feeling unnerved.  For example, if a person is hit on the head and the balance between their afferent and efferent nerves is lost, the person may forget everything, lose his or her discrimination and be unable to decide what to do.  The same condition may occur after a nightmare.  If a man dreams that he is being chased by a ghost and falls down and knocks his head, he may suddenly wake up covered in perspiration, suffering from the same symptoms as if he had actually been hit on the head while awake.  In such a condition we say he is feeling unnerved.

The midpoint of the last vertebra of the spinal column is a nerve centre.  This is the central point of the mu'la'dha'ra cakra.  The whole body is balanced on this cakra [plexus].  It has four vrttis [propensities]:  dharma [psycho-spiritual longing], artha [psychic longing], ka'ma [physical longing] and moks'a [spiritual longing].

The sva'dhis't'ha'na cakra is situated on the spinal cord directly behind the root of the genital organ.  It has six propensities:  avajina' [belittlement of others], mu'rccha' [psychic stupor, lack of common sense], prashraya [indulgence], avishva'sa [lack of confidence], sarvana'sha [thought of sure annihilation] and krurata' [cruelty].

Next comes the man'ipura cakra.  This cakra is located at the navel.  It controls ten propensities: lajja' [shyness, shame], pishunata' [sadistic tendency], iirs'a' [envy], sus'upti [staticity, sleepiness], vis'a'da [melancholia], kas'a'ya [peevishness], trs'n'a' [yearning for acquisition], moha [infatuation], ghrn'a' [hatred, revulsion] and bhaya [fear].

Then the ana'hata cakra, situated in the centre of the chest, which controls twelve propensities:  a'sha' [hope], cinta' [worry], ces't'a' [effort], mamata' [attachment], dambha [vanity], viveka [conscience], vikalata' [mental numbness due to fear], aham'ka'ra [ego], lolata' [avarice], kapat'ata' [hypocrisy], vitarka [argumentativeness to point of wild exaggeration] and anuta'pa [repentance].

Next is the vishuddha cakra, located in the region of the throat, which controls sixteen propensities:  s'ad'aja [sound of peacock], rs'abha [sound of bull or ox], ga'ndha'ra [sound of goat], madhyama [sound of deer], paincama [sound of cuckoo], dhaevata [sound of donkey], nis'a'da [sound of elephant], onm [acoustic root of creation, preservation, dissolution], hummm [sound of arousing kulakun'd'alinii], phat' [practication, i.e., putting a theory into practice], vaos'at' [expression of mundane knowledge], vas'at' [welfare in the subtler sphere], sva'ha' [performing noble actions], namah [surrender to the Supreme], vis'a [repulsive expression] and amrta [sweet expression].  When any theory is put into effect the process of practication is made effective by chanting the sounds hummm, phat', vaos'at', vas'at', sva'ha' and namah.

Finally, there is the a'jina' cakra, located between the eyebrows, which controls two propensities:  apara' [mundane knowledge] and para' [spiritual knowledge].

Cakra is a Sanskrit term while "plexus" is the Latin term.  Besides the main nerve centres at the point of each cakra, there are also sub-centres where sub-glands are located.  These sub-glands influence [and control] the propensities attached to each cakra.  This science is largely unknown today.

By performing a'sanas [postures for physico-psychic well-being] regularly, human beings can control the propensities attached to each cakra, and hence the thoughts which arise in their minds and their behaviour.  This is because a'sanas have a profound effect on the glands and sub-glands.  How?  All a'sanas have either a pressurizing or depressurizing effect on the glands and sub-glands.  For example, mayu'ra'sana [peacock posture] has a pressurizing effect on the man'ipura cakra.  The secretions of the glands and sub-glands of the man'ipura cakra and the propensities associated with them will become more balanced if this a'sana is practised regularly.  If someone has a great fear of public speaking, it means his or her man'ipura cakra is weak.  Through the regular practice of mayu'ra'sana, this propensity will be controlled and fear will be eliminated.  Other a'sanas may have a depressurizing effect on the man'ipura cakra, and if these a'sanas are performed regularly the glands and sub-glands associated with the cakra will become less active.  Increased glandular secretions generally make the propensities more active and vice versa.  By practising a'sanas regularly, one can control the propensities and either increase or decrease their activity.  So spiritual aspirants should select the a'sanas they perform very carefully.  This effect of a'sanas on glands and sub-glands has never been revealed before.

Extreme fear causes excessive tension and pressure on the man'ipura cakra.  Normally when people experience fear, the afferent and efferent nerves are able to work properly.  The tension in the nerves caused by the fear travels through the nervous system and reaches the brain, so excessive pressure does not occur.  However, when a person becomes extremely afraid the balance between the afferent and efferent nerves is lost, and there is a build-up of tension and pressure around the man'ipura cakra.  If the information carried by the efferent nerves from the brain to the man'ipura cakra is prevented from reaching its destination, the imbalance can cause a blockage in the region of the ana'hata cakra which is a very complicated and sensitive part of the human body.  A disturbance in this region can cause palpitations, excessive pressure on the heart, the inability to act decisively, and even a heart attack.

In human beings the thyroid and parathyroid glands are more developed than the lymphatic glands.  Previously the lymphatic glands were more developed than they are today, but as human beings evolved, the thyroid and parathyroid glands became more active and the role of the lymphatic glands diminished.  In monkeys, the opposite is the case: the lymphatic glands are more developed than the thyroid and parathyroid glands.  The thyroid and parathyroid glands are concerned with psychic development and intellectual elevation, while the lymphatic glands are more concerned with physical activity, hence monkeys can jump higher and swing further than human beings.  One of the reasons why human beings are more evolved than monkeys is that their thyroid and parathyroid glands are more active.

Semen and lymph are not the same thing.  When males are sexually aroused, the nerves in the testes get stimulated and lymph is converted into semen.

Joint hair grows near the lymphatic glands in the armpits and leg joints.  If this hair is removed, then the lymphatic glands tend to overheat, causing over-secretion, and this in turn decreases the function of the thyroid and parathyroid glands.  There is an inverse relation between the lymphatic glands and the thyroid and parathyroid glands:  if one is more active then the other is less developed and it becomes weak.  For this reason, the joint hair should not be removed.

The process of controlling all the cakras and propensities was invented by Astavakra over two thousand years ago.  He wrote the book As't'a'vakra Sam'hita'.  He was a great saint and called this process Ra'jadhira'ja Yoga.  He first taught this system of yoga to Alarka at Vakreswar in Bengal.

The human body is a biological machine.  No body deviates from this rule -- all physical bodies are biological machines.  The different types of lessons in Ananda Marga sa'dhana' [spiritual practices] are designed to strengthen the different cakras and control the propensities.  Guru dhya'na [meditation on the guru] strengthens the sahasra'ra cakra. If there is control over the sahasra'ra cakra, then the body and mind can be controlled completely.

When a great man gives you a blessing, he generally does it by placing his hand on the sahasra'ra cakra, which has a positive effect on all the other cakras.  The higher propensities will be increased and the lower propensities will be decreased.  This kind of effect is not only produced by touch; it can also be caused by sound.  When you do sa's't'a'unga pran'a'ma [prostration] to a great personality and are verbally blessed as well, the sound of the blessing will have a positive effect on your whole being.  Both the touch of the hand on the sahasra'ra cakra and the verbal blessing will increase your spiritual elevation.

You can only bless those you like.  If you accept salutations from those you dislike, negative sentiments may arise in your mind, increasing the lower propensities and decreasing the higher propensities in those seeking your blessing.  So you do not have the right to accept salutations from all people, and you should not automatically bless everyone.

The cranium of females is usually slightly smaller than that of males, consequently women have less nerve cells in the brain than men.  But the fact is that men use a very small number of the nerve cells in their brains, and the same applies to women.  Spiritual practices and higher pursuits utilize more and more nerve cells.  Suppose a man and a woman learn sa'dhana' at the same time, practise with the same sincerity and progress with the same speed -- they will both achieve spiritual elevation.  Now, suppose they both enjoy divine bliss after performing sa'dhana' for the same number of years.  If all or say ninety-nine per cent of the nerve cells in the brain of the woman are utilized, a lower percentage will be utilized by the man because he has more nerve cells in his brain.

Women have some propensities which are very strongly developed.  In particular, women normally have great love and affection for their children.  This is natural.  But if the expression of a particular propensity is excessive, it may have adverse consequences.  For instance, most stepmothers love their own children more strongly than their stepchildren, and if the intensity of this affection is not controlled, it may create tensions and divisions in the family.  Also, because of the affection women have for their children, they may not like to go outside the home, and if this is taken to extremes, it may lead to harmful isolation.  Similarly, if a large number of people living in a particular region only stay in their own region out of blind love for their locality, it will be detrimental to the progress of society as a whole.  Good relations with other regions will not be encouraged, and the trade and economic development of their region may be adversely affected.

Love and affection are very good attributes, but to protect oneself and society from their possible extreme expressions, the best path to follow is to channelize all one's love and affection towards Parama Purus'a [Supreme Consciousness].  This will expand the arena of one's love and accelerate one's march towards the Great.  A person who has developed universal love will be able to do very great work in a very short time.

 

Some Questions and Answers About Meditation, Yoga, and Tantra

Questions and Answers about Meditation 

Below are several questions probing the depths of Tantra, perhaps you may have questions also fathoming a deeper understanding of what meditation, tantra and yoga are about -- post them here. 

1.  Question:  What is the definition of yoga?

Answer:  Yoga can be defined according to the following three definitions. 

The first is:  Yogashcitta vrttinirodha.  That is, "The suspension of all psychic propensities is called yoga." Those who follow this type of yoga suppress the propensities of the mind through psychic pressure, but once the psychic pressure is removed, the old propensities of the mind are revived and they resume their original state.  Hence this type of yoga cannot lead to spiritual progress. 

The second definition is:  Sarva'cinta'paritya'go niscinta yoga ucyate.  That is, "If the mind's propensities are suspended, then all thought processes will automatically stop." But will this lead to supreme attainment?  Certainly not. 

The third definition is:  Sam'yogo yogo ityukto jiiva'tma' Parama'tma'nah -- "When the unit consciousness and the Supreme Consciousness are fused into one, that is real yoga." This takes place when the spiritual aspirant establishes a relationship of sweet love with Parama Purus'a [Supreme Consciousness].

2.  Question:  What is tra't'aka?
Answer:  Tra't'aka yoga is controlling the ocular vision.  It may lead to some supernatural vision.

3.  Question:  What is dhruva'smrti?
Answer: The reproduction in the mind of something which was perceived before is called "memory" or smrti.  When the memory becomes permanent it is called "infallible, eternal memory" or dhruva'smrti.

4.  Question:  What is the definition of a'sanas?

Answer:  Sthirasukham a'sanam (Patanjali).  A'sanas are calm, quiet and easy postures which are held with proper inhalation and exhalation.  They exercise the nerves, tissues, glands and organs of the human body.  While practising a'sanas one enjoys physical comfort and mental composure. 
The regular practice of a'sanas keeps the body healthy and cures many diseases.  A'sanas control the glands, the glands control the secretion of hormones, and the secretion of hormones controls the propensities.  So a'sanas help a sa'dhaka [spiritual aspirant] to balance the body and concentrate the mind.

5.  Question:  Why do we practise a'sanas?

Answer:  We perform a'sanas for the following reasons:
1.  To increase the flexibility of the body.
2.  To rectify glandular defects and balance hormonal secretions in order to control the vrttis [propensities]. 
3.  To balance the body and mind.
4.  To withdraw the mind from undesirable thinking.
5.  To prepare the mind for subtler and higher sa'dhana' [spiritual practices].

6.  Question:  How do we name a'sanas?

Answer:  We name a'sanas as follows:
(1) Some a'sanas are similar to animal movements so they are named after those animals; for example, matsyamudra' [fish posture], garud'a'sana [bird posture], etc.
(2) Some a'sanas have the characteristics of animal structures, so they are also named after those animals; for example, ku'rmaka'sana [tortoise posture], etc.
(3) Some a'sanas are named by the qualities of the a'sana; for example, sarva'unga'sana [shoulder stand; literally "all-limbs posture"].  The entire body is benefited by this a'sana.

7.  Question:  How many types of a'sanas are there?

Answer:  There are mainly two types of a'sanas:  sva'sthya'sanas and dhya'na'sanas.  Sva'sthya'sanas are practised primarily for physical health and secondarily for spiritual elevation.  Dhya'na'sanas are practised primarily for concentration of mind and meditation.  Dhya'na'sanas include padma'sana [lotus posture], baddha padma'sana [bound-lotus posture], siddha'sana [siddha posture, the posture of a perfected one] and viira'sana [hero posture].

8.  Question:  What is the difference between sarva'unga'sana and vipariitakaranii mudra'?

Answer:  While practising sarva'unga'sana the mind is fixed at the point between the tip of the two big toes, whereas in vipariitakaranii mudra' the mind is fixed at the tip of the nose or at the navel.

9.  Question:  What are mudra's, bandhas and vedhas?

Answer:  Mudra's are postures which exercise the nerves and muscles.  Mudra' literally means "externalization of internal bha'va [ideation]".  There are only a few spiritual mudra's where the internal ideation is not externalized. 
The practitioner of mudra' may or may not enjoy physical comfort and mental composure.  During the practice of mudra's one has to continue one's conscious endeavour to remain in that posture, but in the case of a'sanas one need not. 

Bandhas are also postures of a special type which exercise the nerves only.  The practitioner may or may not derive physical comfort and mental composure.  In bandha also one has to continue one's conscious endeavour to remain in the particular posture.  Bandhas also influence the va'yus [vital-energy currents] in the body.
Vedhas are almost the same as bandhas.  Vedhas exert some influence on both the nerves and the vital airs [vital-energy currents].

10.  Question:  What is pratya'ha'ra?

Answer:  Pratya'ha'ra is derived:  prati - a' - hr + ghain.  The word a'ha'ra literally means "assimilating" or "taking something within".  As a yogic practice, pratya'ha'ra means "withdrawal of the mind from external objectivity and goading the withdrawn mind toward Parama Purus'a".

11.  Question:  What is pra'n'a'ya'ma?

Answer:  Pra'n'a'ya'ma is defined as:  Tasmin sati shva'sa prashva'sayoh gativicchedah pra'n'a'ya'ma.  That is, "Pra'n'a'ya'ma is the process of breath control along with the imposition of the ideation of Supreme Consciousness." It helps the mind in concentration and meditation.

12.  Question:  What is the spirit of pra'n'a'ya'ma?
Answer:  Pra'na'n yamayati es'ah pra'n'a'ya'mah.  That is, the word pra'n'a'ya'ma literally means "controlling the  pra'n'a'h [vital energy]".  The psycho-philosophy behind the practice of pra'n'a'ya'ma is that the spiritual aspirant tries to let the pra'n'endriya [ten vital-energy currents] remain in a state of pause so that the paused unit mind will merge into the ocean of consciousness.

13.  Question:  How many types of pra'n'a'ya'ma are there?

Answer:  There are two main types of pra'n'a'ya'ma:  hat'ha yaogika pra'n'a'ya'ma and Yudhis't'hira pra'n'a'ya'ma.  When pra'n'a'ya'ma is done without fixing the mind on a particular point of concentration, and without imbibing Cosmic ideation, it is called hat'ha yaogika pra'n'a'ya'ma.  But when pra'n'a'ya'ma is performed with the mind fixed at a particular point along with Cosmic ideation, it is called Yudhis't'hira pra'n'a'ya'ma.  [The eldest Pandava, Yudhisthira, was the first person to propularize pra'n'a'ya'ma according to this method.]

14.  Question:  What is the meaning of recaka?

Answer:  Recaka means "emptying".  When one exhales completely and keeps the breath out during the process of breathing, it is called recaka.

15.  Question:  What are the differences among recaka, pu'raka, and kumbhaka?

Answer:  At the time of pra'n'a'ya'ma, when one exhales the breath completely, it is called recaka; when one inhales completely, it is called pu'raka; and when one retains air inside the body, it is called kumbhaka.

16.  Question:  What is dha'ran'a'?

Answer:  Dha'ran'a' is defined as:  Deshabandhashcittasya dha'ran'a'.  Dha'ran'a' literally means "locating the mind firmly in an area or region of the body".  This involves concentrating upon the respective controlling points of the fundamental factors located within the human body.  That is, the mind is to be fixed on specific cakras [plexi] and engaged in Cosmic ideation.

17.  Question:  What is shodhana?

Answer:  The word shodhana literally means "refinement" or "purification".  In spiritual meditation shodhana is concentration on the cakras.  It is a part of Ananda Marga sa'dhana' which is not included in as't'a'm'ga yoga [the eight-fold path of yoga].

18.  Question:  What is dhya'na?

Answer:  Patanjali defined dhya'na as:  Tatra pratyatyaekata'nata' dhya'nam -- "Dhya'na means 'the unbroken flow of mind towards the supreme goal." So dhya'na is meditation on the Supreme Entity so that there is an incessant upward movement of the mind towards Parama Purus'a.

19.  Question:  What is the macro-pineal plexus?  What is its utility in the course of spiritual practices?

Answer:  The inner side of the pineal plexus is called the macro-pineal plexus.  In spiritual practices it has immense importance because it is at this plexus, the Guru cakra, that dhya'na is practised.

20.  Question:  Is the outer side of the macro-pineal plexus within the corporal structure or without the corporal structure?

Answer:  The outer side of the macro-pineal plexus is outside the corporal structure; that is, it is outside the body.

21.  Question:  What is sama'dhi?

Answer:  Sama'dhi is the merger of the unit consciousness in Cosmic Consciousness.  It is not a particular lesson; it is the result of all the above spiritual practices.

22.  Question:  What is diiks'a'?

Answer:  Diiks'a' is defined as:
Diipa jina'nam' yato dadya't kurya't pa'paks'ayam tatah;
Tasma'tdiiks'eti sa' prokta' sarvatantrasya sammata'.
"Diiks'a' is the process of initiation.  It brings about spiritual illumination and burns up accumulated sam'ska'ras [mental reactive momenta]."

23.  Question:  What is Vaedikii diiks'a'?

Answer:  When someone is initiated with only a prayer mantra [words or sounds repeated orally] without the shuddhis [visualizations for the systematic withdrawal of the mind], it is called Vaedikii diiks'a'.  Vaedikii diiks'a' is not a spiritual cult or practical process.  Its primary goal is to request Parama Purus'a to show the path of spiritual progress.

24.  Question:  What is Ta'ntrikii diiks'a'?

Answer:  When someone is initiated into the Tantric cult elaborately with all shuddhis, it is called Ta'ntrikii diiks'a'.  Ta'ntrikii diiks'a' is a practical spiritual cult.  Is't'a mantra [a personal mantra repeated in meditation] and Is't'a cakra [the cakra of meditation] are prescribed.  The role of the guru is very important because the guru gives blessings to the spiritual aspirant.  The goal is to become one with Parama Purus'a.

25.  Question:  What is onm'ka'ra?

Answer:  Onm'ka'ra is the combined acoustic sound of the entire process of creation, preservation and destruction.

26.  Question:  What is the starting point of onm'ka'ra?

Answer:  The divine sound onm'ka'ra starts from the starting point of creation (Shambhu'liunga).

27.  Question:  What is the difference between the attributional and the non-attributional stances?

Answer:  Bhu'ma'vya'pte mahati aham'cittayorpran'a'she sagun'a'sthitih savikalpasama'dhih va' ["When the aham and the citta merge into the Macrocosmic Mahat, the merger is called sagun'a'sthiti or savikalpa sama'dhi"].
A'tmani mahadpran'a'she nirgun'a'sthitih nirvikalpasama'dhi va' ["When the mahat merges into the A'tman, it is called nirgun'a'sthiti (state of objectlessness) or nirvikalpa sama'dhi (the trance of indeterminate absorption, or total suspension, of the mind)"].

28.  Question:  Should a monk or hermit take intoxicating liquor?

Answer:  No, because it increases the production of semen from lymph, and consequently the brain will not get sufficient lymph as food to practise sa'dhana' properly.  Intoxicating liquor will affect the semen and lymph, which in turn will affect all the other glands.  The entire nervous system will get agitated, and as a result mental concentration will be lost and sa'dhana' will be impaired.


You can find this article and explore further the subtleties of Tantra at this address:  http://TantraPsychology.net/  Our forum and events announcements can be found here:  http://TantraPsychologyMeetUp.has.it/ 

Researching Subtler Realms

Researching Subtler Realms

Occasionally some few allopathic medical practitioners, somewheres in the world, have a little mind expansion and bequeath an interest in subtler realms of mind beyond academic volleys of speculative vanity-surfing anchored in and trumped by their academic, occupational, industrial and other unwieldy conceits about subtler realms of mind and body in the spectrum of human potential -- as if no one else has ever done these things, performed such talents, or have never studied such capabilities using "scientific methods". Even animals use scientific method, trial-and-error, and pass on such knowledge and results to their comrades and posterity. So much more so do intuitives use scientific methods to confirm whether they are projecting or receiving perceptions and endeavor to isolate each into each's unadulterated realms and what factors influence receptive and projective skills and results.

Intuitives and Subtle Mind Scientists Should Set the Experiments for Allopaths Exploring Subtle Human Potentials.

While allopaths may search for subtle capabilities, all too often their comprehension and their experiments are limited by their deanimated and materialistic values and states of mind in both the designs of such experiments and their comprehension of the results obtained. A more mature approach in proving intuitive capabilities, subtle science possibilities, and more psychic-centered potentialities should begin with interviewing people both with such capabilities and those who know the intuitional sciences, their continuum and the architectures of such capabilities across all disciplines. Such people can also foreshadow the future of civilization as their revelations and direction through their knowledge of these supramundane and spiritual sciences can portend both physical, metaphysical, spiritual and extrasocial potentialities of humanity.

For example, the constituent factors of mind constructing the capabilities of remote viewing, in both past, future and alternative locations will also have the same construction for what will -- or may already have been proven to be -- the capability to physically time-travel, into the past or future, or to relocate to a remote spot in present time at far greater speed than that of light. Just a hint of some of the points along the continuum of such capabilities can save jillions of hours of research and speculation and many jillions more of dollars overspent in a dawdling, and all too often featherbeddingly stumbling through cluelessness.

Would you be available to work with me in defining what allopaths and other inanimate material scientists should be exploring and in developing the experiments in proving the factuality of intuitional science, psychic capabilities and the future of medical and physical sciences? I welcome your insights and anticipate hearing from you in positive ways.

Chlorophyll Benefits Spiritual Progress

Chlorophyll Benefits

I can attest to the efficacy of eating massive doses of green vegies in pursuit of enlightenment!  If you have an electric juicer, and you most certainly should so long as you have access to vegetables and electricity, then it should be added to your daily regimen to further your spiritual progress.

Yogis give great credence to the pineal gland in optimizing thresholds of excellence in human evolution, achieving enlightenment, and chlorophyll and its influence upon the pineal gland in achieving such results.  The pineal gland is both physically and evolutionarily the top gland in human evolution, contributing to and controlling all the glands below. 

As the gravitational pull increases during the waxing moon, this attraction, reflected especially with liquid media, facilitates bringing forth nectar [amr'ta, in Sanskrit] which can flow down either of two energy channels along the spinal column, the Ida Nadii, on the left side and associated with the left nostril.  The right channel affects the general functionality of the body, and may be associated with the sun.  It begins at the base chakra, the muladhara, going up to the sixth chakra, the agnya or third eye, then crosses over to the left brain.  The left channel is similarly constructed on the left side of the body, diverging at the agnya cakra and is associated with the right brain. 

In the days before the full moon, amr'ta, nectar, may drip from the pineal gland, which usually travels along the right channel and gets burnt along the way.  A person contemplating the Universe lovingly may have the nectar, amr'ta, flow down the left channel, reaching the ana'hata cakra, the fourth cakra at the heart, after which Anindyanarasa Samadhi may ensue, with immense love resplendent throughout their life, and myriad skills subsequent in the wakefulness of this extraordinary bliss.   

 

For those true in their endeavors to acheive unqualified devotion, merge with this sublime Universe, attain enlightenment, arrive at sainthood, take the opportunity to spend days, weeks drinking freshly juiced vegetables throughout your day, especially the yellow, green and blue ones, broad leafies such as collard greens, bundles of joy such as broccoli and squash.  You can and will experience the difference chlorophyll will make, I guarantee it.  Add to this carrots and beets.  If you take these two together, and make a big plus by adding plenty of greens, your "realms of perception" will increase many times over, for the beets have subtle pro-spiritual psychotropic influences that will not result from eating them raw or processed.

Here's some information giving great credence to chlorophyll and its influence upon the pineal gland and implicit for the lives of humans: 

"What is the initial stuff in the manufacture of lymph? Lymph is produced from the energy and vitality acquired from the different quinquelemental factors of this universe, such as water, air and light. They are the initial stuff. The final stuff is shukra [which has three stages: lymph, spermatozoa and seminal fluid]. It is the most developed stuff the cream of all creams. Chlorophyll accelerates the speed of the production of lymph, but it does not act as the initial stuff."

....

"Chlorophyll and sun rays are not the same thing. Sun rays are light energy, which as per the rule, may be converted into electrical energy, sound energy, magnetic energy and so many energies known and unknown to the world. They are interchangeable and inter-transmutable. But the position of matter is not such.

Chlorophyll is helped, is moved, by sun rays. It is the inherent wont of energy to create movement. Rather, energy and movement are inseparable. They are inseparable from each other. Chlorophyll is conveyed, is carried, by sun rays -- and not only sun rays, but by the different rays of different celestial bodies. And this movement of different bodies through the media of energies does not pass in a straight line; that is, the movement is of systolic character, of pulsative nature.

Where this movement in the plane of inferences of cosmic nature, that is, in the cosmic arena, creates a reflection only, there the reflected energy creates a sort of sentient reaction. And where there are reflections as well as refractions, these are of mutative character, creating mutations of various nature. And where there is no reflection, only refractions, they are of static nature. There is staticity in them. So matter is not bottled-up energy -- it is `known I' in the cosmic arena, in the arena of the cosmos."

....

"Vegetarians produce more lymph because they get chlorophyll from grass and other green vegetation, and that is why their brains are more developed than those of non-vegetarians. Those who consume animal protein [neglecting green vegetation] suffer from want of lymph because animal protein contains very little chlorophyll. Tigers and cats are carnivores, which is why they produce less milk. Cows and buffaloes produce much more milk because they take chlorophyll from green grass and green vegetation."

....

"Maximum lymph is produced from food which contains a lot of chlorophyll, such as green vegetables and especially the tips of the stems of creepers. Granivorous animals produce much milk, while carnivorous animals, such as dogs, give very little milk.

Lymph is produced from animal protein also, but because animal protein produces a lot of heat in the human body, the lymph is quickly converted into semen. Monkeys and deer produce much lymph, but it is not converted into semen because it is utilised in running and jumping."

....

"Although carnivores may be more clever or cunning than granivores, they are generally less intellectual. It will be very difficult for a tiger, a cat or a dog to perform spiritual practices. A monkey or a cow may perform spiritual practices because they get much chlorophyll from grass and other green vegetation. Granivorous animals produce more lymph than carnivores, and that is why their brains are more developed."

....

"Greens (Sha'k) There are various green leafy vegetables called sha'k in Bengali, including lal sha'k (tampala or Amaranthus tricolor)

pui (spinach)¬ palak sha'k or palang sha'k (beetroot, Beta vulgaris) summer sha'k (known as "Gandhari tandularak" in Sam'skrta)etc. Green leafy vegetables contain many vitamins and minerals, but are most important as a rich source of chlorophyll.

Summer sha'k grows very well wherever rice water is thrown onto the soil. Other varieties of sha'k should be sown wherever there is enough water, such as beside water pumps¬ to utilise the water and every inch of land."

Tantra Salons

Tantra Salons are available, occassionally or by request, presenting the "Secrets" of Tantra in your own personal "What the *Bleep*!" presentation.

When you consider the full scope of the unlimited potential offered in this Tantra Salon, your insights -- motivating action to make these progressive skills and awareness integral to your endeavors with greater inner strength and certainty -- bring more positive outcomes for your progressive efforts. 

Tantra is the oldest extant intuitional science on Earth with several thousand years of precedence and millions of exploring participants preening it into the archetypal intuitional science it is today.  Some of the most sublime insights and inventions came to people through methods that can become more readily normal in personal and collective life through Tantrika practices. 

At some of the most critical times in human history, many of the people making extraordinary contributions to human progress have been Tantrikas, knowingly or unknowingly.  As the methodology for attaining personal liberation, Tantra is also the methodology assuring success in bringing about timely revolutionary success in society as well, with maximum utilization and rational distribution of all resources, from mundane to sublime, for the wellbeing of all -- without predation or predatory ideologies.

As you explore these concepts they will resonate with your inner wisdom as you recognize their import and efficacy in bringing about a healthier you and a more progressive society. 

Be prepared to be amazed that the power of the Universe is within you too, all accessible through the ethical practices of Tantra.  Contact us for schedule or to organize a Tantra Salon for your organization or event.  

Your Very Own Tantra Instructor!

Your Very Own Tantra Instructor!

Have you been "on a path" for many years, harboring love for humanity, animals, plants, contemplating infinite possibilities, and want that something more that will cut right through, slice through with your sharpened mind to "get to the other side", cut through the matrix of illusion and into the effulgent subtleties of this sublime Universe?

Bring the center of the Universe to anchor within your own being.  Become more effective in everything you do through the intuitional science of Tantra Sadhana.  Yours is a life of sublime incarnation, your presence at the zenith of evolution, your own transpersonal progress.  

Don't be tethered to the rat race or shackled by dogma anymore.  Your own personal Tantra Instructor in Los Angeles area available for personal instruction to those who come prepared:
 
 "Help all beings in every way promptly."
 
"Not inflict pain or misfortune on anyone through thoughts, words or deeds."


Contact us here:  Tantra Instructor for You
 

Company Yogic Fitness Program

Company fitness programs have proven among the most valuable resources provided by companies to their employees, improving not only the health of participants, also employees' disposition, vigor at work, satisfaction with their job, and, of course, positively affecting the bottom line for the company, a plus for any business leader's satisfaction.  

We provide yoga fitness instruction, including physical exercises, breath control for fitness, mental ease, and meditative practices for greater concentration and peace of mind, beneficial for both corporate leaders as well as all employees involved with company success.  

For more information contact us Business Fitness Programs <