The Nadis, part 1

We have done much work of late with the nadis here in Santa Fe.

I will spend some time discussing the basics.

We only have so much energy in this limited frame and in this mortal life. We have to be careful how we spend it. There are many channels that this energy can run through.

Our energy can either go towards the world or towards Self. The deeper method is to realize how to do both simultaneously. This is the secret of Tantra.

With this recognition, everything in our life becomes an adornment of Self and we can utilize everything that presents itself as an offering to Self.

If our energy only goes out, we become depleted. If it only goes in, we lose touch with relative reality and can actually increase the suffering of the world.

If we have the profound method of understanding, we live in the world but not bound to it. We act with love and compassion and can truly help others as we are always anchored in the real.

In this way, the Kundalini both ascends and descends. The goddess goes home to be with the Lord and the Lord returns to the world with Her to play in the world. It is a beautiful dance, a thing of wonder.

With this understanding we can begin to look at how energy works in our life, where is it taken, where does it ride? This is the starting point.

To see. To see clearly how we are living. Where does our energy go? Does it go in a conscious or unconscious way? Do we realize the forces that have control over us or are we always in control? As the upanishads say, the senses with the help of mind can be like the unruly horses which carry us in a haphazard way through the world. Do we truly have control? What does that mean?

The true choice that we have is either to live in harmony with universal flow or to resist it. Do we get in the river or continue to try paddling upstream? The true river is the Susumna, what is called by one name in the Hathapradipika as Shambhavi. Shambhavi means that which leads to Shambu, who is Siva or Self.

Shambhavi nadi (nadi means river) or Susumna nadi is our central axis, our central pathway, our central river or arroyo (for those not from NM, arroyos are dry river beds). Most of the time our peripheral tributaries, our knowledge and action organ pathways are only feeding the world. The Susumna runs dry. But when we free the tributaries of their blocks, free them of their one sided tendencies to only run outwardly, they begin to flow back in their natural course, they begin to feed the main river, the royal pathway to Shambu, to Self.

Energy becomes freed, liberated, the vasanas whither, conditioning is broken, large sections of who we thought we were drop away.

In that central river we meet our true Self.

More later, Happy Guru Purnima everyone.

May you all be blessed with a million petals of true Joy.