18) Vaktralakṣmī-parīvāha-calanmīnābha-locanā
Her eyes are forever moving like fish with the flow of the river. They are like fish floating and gliding in the river of prosperity, well being and happiness that is Lakṣmī. Her looks bring Lakṣmī to the devotee, to be made his own in identity with Viṣṇu, the space like universal consciousness. This name has very deep implications to sādhana. This name prescribes a procedure for bringing the roving sense of sight under control, to make Lakṣmī one's own.
Sādhana
The movements of a fish in a flowing river are always streamlined. Every movement is a study in grace and elegance of execution, which minimises the effort required to produce the required result. In other words, every movement is a yogic movement, because yoga is perfect felicity in action, that is, an action which maximises the result and minimises the action itself. The highest stage of yoga is to get results without action at all.
The principle of least action is well known in physics, it is the controlling law behind the dynamical nature. If we want to gain control over nature, we have to study its own movements, and control it without violating it. We must somehow see to it that nature supplies its own energy to move, but it moves as we wish it to move. The fish in the river does not always go along with the flow of the river; sometimes it goes against the flow. But even when it is going against the flow, it manages to get most of the energy for its movements from the flow itself. What does this imply for the sādhana?
An aspirant must avoid jerky movements and practice deliberate, continuous, steady movements so that every movement becomes a dance movement. Yoga applied to martial arts teaches how to use the strength off the opponent against himself. It teaches how not to get angry when hurt. In meditation the application of the principle of least action means that one should not jump from one subject to another at random, but one must, if necessary, build thought bridges from one thought to another, so that thinking becomes one continuous process, instead of the random process it is now. Yoga consists of eight stages. 1) Yama, 2) Niyāma, 3) Āsana, 4) Prāṇāyāma, 5) Pratyāhāra, 6) Dhāraṇa, 7) Dhyāna, 8) Samādhi.
Yama. This consists of development of the following qualities: non-violence, non-stealing, truthfulness in speech, dwelling always in joy (brahmacaryām means mind dwells in Brahman, whose nature is joy and bliss), non-acquisition.
Niyāma. This consists of cleanliness (hygiene), development of willpower, happiness and contentment, learning, worshipfulness (attentivity).
Āsana. This is any posture which is convenient, joyful, and enables one to be unmoving for a long time, typically three to four hours. For men and women the siddhāsana is the most highly recommended, as its name itself points to the fact that many people attained siddhi in this posture.
For males, the simplest form of siddhāsana consists of sitting with the left knee bent, heel near the testes, lifting the penis up, placing the right heel on top of the left heel and pressing into the joint of testes and the root of the penis, so that the penis can rest on top of the right heel. It is natural in this position to experience a mild erection of the penis, which helps the mind to settle down to blissful thoughts.
For females, the position of the left leg is about the same, but the right heel presses mildly into the junction of the clitoris and the vulva. Here again, a mild erection of the clitoris helps the mind to settle down to blissful thoughts whether or not they are related to sexual ecstasy.
The other highly recommended posture, especially for sanyāsins is the padmāsana, the crosslegged posture that is well known.
- Prāṇāyāma. This refers to one breathing cycle of breathing in, retaining the breath, and breathing out. The three periods being in the ratios of 1:4:2. Since a normal unstrained breathing cycle takes about 4 seconds, the times are respectively 0.6 seconds, 2.4 seconds, and 1.2 seconds. The life of an individual is measured as so many breathing cycles; some yogis therefore extend these breathing times proportionately to extend their life span. For instance, if one makes every breathing cycle 12 seconds long instead of the normal 4 seconds, one lives for three times the normal life span because the biological clock has been slowed down by a factor of 3.
The four steps enumerated above relate to the tuning of the physical body to a fine state of fitness. The next four steps relate specifically to meditative actions, and hence to mental activities.
Pratyāhāra. This means withdrawal from the immediate environment one happens to be in. The technique of withdrawal consists in engaging in some thought sequence about a well defined theme. Examples of good themes for withdrawal are: a trip into a forest (mentally of course), going to the top of a mountain, walking on a rainbow, swimming like a fish, going into a remote temple, giving bath to an idol which suddenly comes alive in your hands, and so on and on. A rich and varied imagination often helps in withdrawing fast into a dream world of your own making. In the beginning there is a lot of effort involved in getting any semblence of reality into the sequence, but as one gets into the deep of things, reality is very much there.
Dhāraṇa. Pratyāhāra involves a mental joy ride which evolves soon into some particularly interesting thought structure, finds happiness there and settles down to it. This settling down to a single thought instead of trying to evolve it further is called dhāraṇa, or holding on. But the nature of mind being what it is, it tries to move away from it. But, since the witness in you is finding happiness in concentrating there, you will make an effort to hang onto that subject. You will do this by coming back to the thought whenever you discover that you have wandered away from the joyful idea.
Dhyāna. Then dhāraṇa deepens, there is no effort needed to hold on. Then it is said that one has entered the stage of dhyāna. In dhyāna, you are seeing the object, it is giving joy to you (otherwise you cannot even enter the stage of dhāraṇa with that idea, let alone dhyāna), and there is the distinction of you the seer, and the object the seen.
Samādhi. After some time in dhyāna, the object moves into you, you have merged into the object, you have become the pure joy contained in the object, you are no more seeing the object because you have become the object, you have lost your address as such and such, you are joy itself; that is called samādhi or nirvāṇa or liberation. Liberation from what? Liberation from your sense of I-ness. This is exactly what happens in an orgasm. You force yourself out of the body and escape as a liquid drop containing your own life! This is why samādhi is considered as an unending orgasm, while death is considered as an unending sleep. The distinction between a person who has entered a mahāsamādhi and dies there and the death of an unrealised person is that in the case of samādhi followed by death, death is a continuation of the bliss of an orgasm is there, but the bliss of all peak experiences; so the bliss of samādhi is a millionfold that of an orgasm. In such a state the fulfilment of yoga is known directly as the union of yourself with God; no wonder then, every realized person exclaims, I am God, aham brahmāsmi. He has found himself, truly. This mukti, or liberation is the birth right of every living soul, why waste time getting there?
Gamblers spend cents expecting millions in return in gambling. Here is a case for a perfect gambler, there is nothing to lose and everything to gain. Even if you are a drunkard or a gambler or a womaniser or a sinner, uttering the name of Lalitā is sufficient to wash away all your sins, so lose not hope, hang onto the blissful feet of the Supreme Mother, your own consciousness, meditate, and be blessed by knowing and being God first hand. So settle for nothing less than that. Ask not for boons from God; be the God that can give boons to everyone. Your very looks must be the looks of Lalitā, which inspire yoga into whomever you see. Don't you see the love pouring out of Her eyes? Why not do the same to the world of your creation, my friend?
Source: Śrī Amṛtānandanātha Saraswatī "Sudhā Syandinī Bhāṣyaṃ" Typed Manuscript
(an incomplete commentary on Lalitā Sahasranāma)
