Fatehpur Sikri is the historical city constructed by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the beginning of 1570 in the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. It served as the empire’s capital from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned. Fatehpur Sikri is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the surviving palace and mosque are a tourist attraction.
It has a versatile and prolific Indo-Muslim composite style of Architecture and resembles a fusion of the composite cultures of indigenous and foreign origins. Fatehpur Sikri Mosque is said to be a copy of the mosque in Mecca and has designs, derived from the Persian & Hindu architecture.

History

Akbar shifted his court and residence from Agra to Sikri for a period of 13 years, from 1572 to 1585. The Sufi Saint Sheikh Salim Chishti had blessed him with a son who was named Salim in 1569. After the death of his two sons, the Sufi saint predicted that Akbar would have another son. Akbar’s son was named Salim to honour the saint and would later rule the empire as Emperor Jahangir.

To honour the saint, Akbar created this great city with magnificent palaces and institutions and gave it the name of Fatehabad, which later came to be known as “Fatehpur Sikri”. Fateh is a word of Arabic origin and means “victory”.

Fatehpur Sikri shared its imperial duties as a capital city with Agra, where a bulk of the arsenal, treasure hoards, and other reserves were kept at its Red Fort for security. During a crisis, the court, harem, and treasury could be removed to Agra, only 26 miles away, less than a day’s march.

It is at Fatehpur Sikri that the legends of Akbar and his famed courtiers, the nine jewels or Navaratnas, were born. Innovations in land revenue, coinage, military organisation, and provincial administration emerged during the Fatehpur Sikri years. Fatehpur Sikri was the first planned city of the Mughals. Its efficient drainage system and water-supply system suggest a very intelligent town-planning by Akbar.

Fatehpur Sikri was abandoned in 1585 and the capital moved to Lahore. The reasons for this remain obscure; it is possible that water sources dried up or that Akbar needed to be closer to invading Persian and Afghan armies.

Important buildings & Places To Visit

The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarati and Bengali. This was because indigenous craftsmen from various regions were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jain architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements.

Jama Masjid or the Friday Mosque: It is notable for its Hindu and Persian elements of design. It is also known as the Dargah Mosque and is said to be a copy of the main mosque at Mecca. The tomb of Salim Chisti called “Salim Chisti Ka Mazar” was built within the grounds of Jama Mosque.

Buland Darwaza – the ‘Gate of Magnificence’: It is a 54 m high main entrance gate to the Jama Masjid. It is a stupendous piece of architecture from the outside and gradually makes a transition to a human scale in the inside. It was erected in 1602 AD to commemorate Akbar’s victory over Deccan. It is the highest and grandest gateway in India and ranks among the biggest in the world. A Koranic Inscription upon it says – “The world is a bridge, pass over it but built no house upon it. He who hopes for an hour, hopes for Eternity, for the world is but an hour”.

Tomb of Shaikh Salim Chisti: It was built in 1570 and is believed by many seekers to fulfil their wishes. Its Carved Marble Lattice Screens (Jalis) are a noticeable feature.
Palace of Jodha Bai: It was the principal harem wing for the Hindu wives of Akbar. The mother of Salim (Emperor Jahangir) Jodha Bai presided imperiously from her spacious purdah (screened salon). The architecture is a blend of styles with Hindu columns and Muslim cupolas.

Birbal Bhawan: This palace belonged to Raja Birbal, Akbar’s brilliant prime minister. He was one of the “Nine Jewels of Akbar’s court”. The building combines Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture.

Karawan Serai and Hiran Minar: The Karawan Sarai was a large courtyard used by visiting merchants. The Hiran or Deer Minar has been erected over the grave of Akbar’s favourite elephant.

Diwan-i-Aam – Hall of Public Audience: a building typology found in many Mughal cities where the ruler meets the general public. It is designed for large public gatherings.

Diwan-i-Khas – Hall of Private Audience: famous for its central pillar with thirty-six vaulted brackets supporting a circular platform for Akbar. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths. It is Fatehpur Sikri’s architectural gem and unique for its interior decoration.

Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure and an architectural marvel. The bottom floor has 176 intricately carved columns. It was Akbar’s personal citadel of pleasure, where he would spend his evenings with the ladies of the harem.

Fatehpur Sikri is one of the finest examples of Mughal architectural splendour at its height. Indeed, its numerous palaces, halls, and masjids satisfy his creative and aesthetic impulses, typical of Mughals. Though the city is in ruins, it is a place to visit if one comes to Agra. The sunset over the ruins is a sight to cherish.
Fatehpur Sikri is regarded as Emperor Akbar’s crowning architectural legacy. It is the best example of the culmination of Hindu and Muslim architecture. It is one of the greatest accomplishments of Mughal architecture, some say it’s only surpassed in beauty by the Taj Mahal.

New Delhi, March 21, the capital city New Delhi was greeted with a fusion of traditional Japanese music, pop-inflected Western idioms and electronic wizardry as Grammy and Golden Globe winner Kitaro brought his Love and Peace World Tour 2009 to India.
One of the world’s leading new-age musicians and composers, Kitaro: who has already won the hearts of millions world over with his mesmerizing instrumental music, played 17 instruments, including the Sitar, Tambura, Sarangi and Tabla. He won a Golden Globe for his music in Oliver Stone’s 1993 film ‘Heaven on Earth’ and bagged a Grammy for his new-age music album ‘Thinking of You’ in 2000.

The US-based musician of Japanese origin last visited Delhi nearly 17 years ago. He came here from Bhutan, performed at two live concerts and then toured other places in the country.

Kitaro performed at the Ashoka Hotel on 21st and 22nd March. The concert was open with a 30-minute performance by sitar-funk artist Niladri Kumar and his group followed by the performance by the maestro Kitaro himself.

After the concert, correspondent from Soul Curry spoke to Kitaro about his musical journey and the aim of his Love and Peace tour and what brings him to India who himself was quoted saying: “It was certainly a different experience when I attended his Live Concert. There was an aroma of reverence for Kitaro, and unlike other concerts, the crowd silently greeted his performance that lasted for almost two hours leaving behind the memories of Love, Peace and of course Good Music.

SOUL CURRY: What inspires you to do such good yet very different kind of Music?

KITARO: I get inspired by the sounds of nature and three different schools of far eastern theosophy – Buddhism, Shintoism and Zen. ‘Religion and spirituality are at the heart of my music. The rhythm comes from the heart. That’s the most important thing. I really do not know. I am just playing. It’s a gift. This is a magic. Music is a magic.

SC: Where did you get your training in Music?

K: I never had any formal training in music. ‘When I was in high school, my classmates introduced me to music. We formed Western style rhythm and blues band Albatross, playing American black music and rock ‘n’ roll. I began with the guitar and then switched to keyboards. I was inspired by the R&B music of Otis Redding and a 70s psychedelic band Vanilla Fudge. ‘My first reaction was, ‘It is so good!’. I then taught myself to play the guitar.’

You’re quoted as saying, “I never had education in music; I just learned to trust my ears and my feelings.” You’ve also stated, ‘Whose song is this? ‘I write my songs, but they are not my songs.” Where does music come from?

It’s all about nature and mother earth for me. I learned playing the guitar and now perform more with keyboards, so that allows me to think about music from two varying sides of creation. We must respect the earth. That’s the inspiration for me, always.

SC: What according to you is the relationship between Music and God?

K: I feel that I am just a tool of God. The message that I get is that I am just like a bird of God “so keep playing. Just keep playing good music”. My music comes from a power beyond – from heaven to be exact – and that it flows through my body and out of his fingers when I compose. I don’t read or write music and never practice – and it is therefore at times hard for some to fathom how those beautiful out-of-this-world sounds come from.

SC: Is all music essentially spiritual?

K: For me, absolutely.

SC: What is the aim of your love and peace tour?

K: This world needs to have Love and Peace right now. Today, we have so many wars going on. Love and Peace is the final destination. And if people can listen to music, they would not need to fight. I pray that there will be less war in the world and that peace will eventually prevail on this earth.

SC: Your Japanese nickname translates to “a much happy man”. Are you truly a happy man and are you content with your life?

K: I am so lucky and peaceful, so busy… so happy! I hope that answers your question in short.

SC: If you couldn’t play music any longer what do you think you would spend your time doing?

K: Photography is my second love; definitely photography.

SC: How has your tour to India been so far?

K: It’s amazing and I would like to come back. I came here 17 years back. But today I am all the more happy coming back and perform. I would certainly like to come back again.

“If dreams were made out of stone, it would be Hampi”

Hampi the erstwhile capital of Vijayanagara kingdom (14th century empire) in India is full of delightful surprises. It is Situated on the banks of the river tungabhadra in karnataka.

Hampi is known for its architecture and art wonders. It is a world famous heritage tourism destination and one of the 16 UNESCO recognised World Heritage Sites in India.
The genesis of the place known today as Hampi dates back to the age of the Hindu epic Ramayana when it was the site of Kishkinda, a monkey kingdom. It was the kingdom of Bali, Sugriva’s brother.
Hampi is time travel. It offers to the tourist a reminder of the greatest land in the whole world. Every rock, every path and every monument at Hampi speak the same language; a language of glory and beauty.
Vijaynagar
Vijaynagar empire was the capital of the largest empire in the post-mogul India and covered many states. It stretched over at least 3 states – Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It also became renowned for re-establishment of Indian culture, its support for music, art and literature. With the prime purpose of caring for the people and their welfare, this empire stretched physically covering Karnataka, Andhra and Maharashtra and became a by-word for golden rule.
“A Forgotten Empire” by Robert Sewell is an interesting book which describes the rise and fall of Vijayanagar empire. It seems at one point of time, diamonds were sold on the streets of this empire.
The Moghul Invaders destroyed a large part of Vijaynagar in 1565. It is in ruins today, but this capital city once boasted riches that were known far beyond the shores of India.

Hampi overview

Set amidst an awesome boulder-strewn landscape along the banks of the Tungabhadra river 12km away from the sleepy town of Hospet in Bellary district, Hampi was the magnificent capital of the mighty Vijayanagar kingdom. Hampi is situated at 74 kms from the city Bellary and 13 km from Hospet city in Karnataka.

Hampi formed one of the cores of the capital of the Vijayanagara empire from 1336 to 1565. Hampi was chosen because of its strategic location, bounded by the torrential Tungabhadra river on one side and surrounded by defensible hills on the other three sides.
The ruins of Hampi lie scattered in about 26 sq. km area. The area is simply stunning and you will be in awe of the millions of boulders surrounding the area. However, within this arid landscape lies a little oasis with lush palm, banana and mango trees nestled near the river.
The site is of great importance in terms of architecture and historical significance. The demography is abundant with large stones which have been utilized to make larger than life statues of Hindu deities. One can see a structure of historic importance every quarter of a mile.
The name is derived from Pampa, which is the old name of the Riverton whose banks the city is built. The name “Hampi” is an anglicized version of the Kannada Hampe (derived from Pampa). Over the years, it has also been referred to as Vijayanagara and Virupakshapura

Sites of Interest

Hampi is a visual delight, especially due to its stark contrast from most other places. Rocks are all you see whichever direction you look at. Vegetation is visible in the wet months; but again it never dominates the landscape. It is an ideal spot for people who are interested in history and/or nature.
There are many sites of interest in and around Hampi. The must-visits are Virupaksha Temple, Hampi Bazaar, Monolith Bull, Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Hemakuta Hill temples, Big Shivlinga, Vithala Temple (the famous Stone Chariot is located here), Hazara Rama Temple, Royal Enclosures, Queen’s Bath, Zanana Enclosure (which also houses the Lotus Mahal), Elephant Stables, Achyut Raya temple, Statue of Ugra Narsimha, Virupaksha Temple, Mahanavmi Dibba, the Stepped Bath and the Matanga Hill (from where one can see the most beautiful sun set ever).
The splendid remains of palaces and gateways of the broken city tell a tale of men infinite talent and power of creativity together with his capacity for senseless destruction.

Virupaksha Temple

The Virupaksha Temple rises majestically at the western end of the famous Hampi Bazaar. The temple has a 120 feet tall tower on its eastern entrance.
It is also known as the Pampapathi temple, it is a Shiva temple situated in the Hampi Bazaar. It predates the founding of the Vijayanagar empire. The temple has a 160-foot (49 m) high tower at its entrance. The temple contains the shrines of Shiva, Pampa and Bhuvaneswari.
The Hampi Bazaar,

35 yards wide and nearly 800 yards long was known to be a “very beautiful street with very beautiful houses”.
Vithala Temple Complex
 The most splendid monument of Hampi is undoubtedly the Vithala Temple Complex with its 56 musical pillars. To the east of the hall is the famous Stone Chariot with stone wheels that actually revolve.
House of Victory
It was built when Krishnadeva Raya came back from his victorious expedition against the King of Orissa. The kings of Vijayanagar used to sit on a grand throne in the House of Victory and witness the nine-day Dushara festival.
King’s Balance

Hampi is also full of surprises: like the King’s Balance where kings were weighed against grain, gold or money which was then distributed to the poor, the Queen’s Bath, a swimming pool, 50 ft. long and 6 ft. deep, with its arched corridors, projecting balconies and lotus-shaped fountains that once sprouted perfumed water.

Local Festivals:
The Vijayanagar Festival organized by the Government of Karnataka in November-December recreates the grandeur of the bygone era.
Best time to visit:

 October to March. You could use Hospet as your base to visit Hampi. The nearest railway station is Hospet Junction (IR station code : HPT), 13 km away. The nearest airport is at Bellary.

Located near the city of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, India; the famous Ajanta and Ellora are the world heritage sites famous for the cave shrines that are cut out of rock, all by hand. Every structure of this cave site has been cut out of solid rock. They are the greatest specimens of rock-cut architecture and Buddhist culture.

The Ajanta and Ellora caves are one of the most well known popular tourist attractions in India and are easily accessible from various parts of the country. They are situated roughly 300 kilometers northeast of Mumbai (Bombay). They are some of the most astounding examples of cave architecture in the world.

Ajanta has 29 caves and Ellora has 34 caves. They remained shrouded in mystery for over a millennium, till John Smith, a British Army Officer, accidentally rediscovered them while on a hunting expedition. These caves aren’t natural caves, but they have been built by generations of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain Monks who lived and worshipped in the caves, and slowly carved out elaborate pillars, statues and meditation rooms.

The Ajanta and Ellora caves are listed among the World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. This has been done to preserve their artistic legacy, so that they can continue to inspire the lives of generations to come and enrich them deeply.

Ajanta Caves

Ajanta is 100 kms from Aurangabad and the caves were discovered in 1819. They depict “Buddhist religious art” and “universal pictorial art” and are known all over the world for their unique style. They portray very beautifully the story of Buddhism, spanning from a period from 200 BC to 650 AD.

The 29 Ajanta caves were used as the shelter of the Buddhist monks who were teachers in various Buddhist rituals. They performed rituals in the Chaityas and Viharas and these were the nerve-centers of the Buddhist cultural movement.

An amazing feature is that the Buddhist monks carved out impressive figures that adorn the walls of these structures, using simple tools like hammer and chisel. They portray tales of the several incarnations of the Buddha and many stories from the Jatakas.

Ellora Caves

The Ellora caves, 34 in number, are carved into the sides of a basaltic hill. They are just 30 Kms from the main city of Aurangabad. Ellora Caves are devoted to Buddhist, Jain and Hindu faiths; they have an amazing wealth of sculpture. They were carved during the 350 AD to 700 AD period. 

Unlike the Ajanta caves, the Ellora Cave temples are home to various monuments, carvings and sculptures relating to Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. They consist of magnificent sculptures and monuments dedicated to Lord Buddha, Lord Vishwakarma, dwarfs, dancing girls, yakshas and musicians.

The Ellora Caves are the finest specimens of cave-temple architecture. The 17 caves in the centre are dedicated to Hinduism, the 12 caves to the south are Buddhist and 5 caves to the north are Jain. The sculptures accurately convey the grace, nobility and serenity inherent in the Buddha.

Although all the caves in Ellora are marvelous architectural feats, the Kailash Cave Temple is the most famous temple which consists of magnificent sculptures of Lord Shiva and can be called as the jewel in the crown.

It is the largest monolithic structure in the world and has been carved totally from a single rock. It represents Mt. Kailasa, the home of the god Shiva in the Himalayas. It is believed to have taken 7,000 laborers 150 years to complete the project. It shows Man’s determination when his mind, heart and hands work in unison towards the fulfillment of a supreme ideal.

Visiting Ajanta and Ellora

Ajanta and Ellora Caves are one of India’s greatest architectural treasures. They attract thousands of visitors and tourists annually. The sites are open daily from 9 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., with guides available for hire. Entry is free to all caves at Ellora except the Kailasa Temple.

Both Ajanta and Ellora caves are open for public viewing throughout week with exception of weekly holiday of Monday for Ajanta and Tuesday for Ellora. Both caves are open on national holidays. 

India, the country, where culture echoes, traditions speak and diversity delights is a land of magnificent monuments and where Taj Mahal, is only one of the historical wonders. Situated in the city of Agra in India, on the banks of the river Yamuna, the Taj is enclosed in a garden amongst fountains and ornamental trees.
Taj Mahal is a monument that depicts one of the most marvelous architectures of the ancient world. It is India’s Pride and it has made it to the Seven Wonders of the World.

Home of Taj Mahal: Agra

Situated in the city of Agra in India, on the banks of the river Yamuna, the Taj is enclosed in a garden amongst fountains and ornamental trees. Agra is situated about 200 km south of New Delhi, was the Capital of the Mughals (Moguls) – the Muslim Emperors who ruled Northern India between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Agra is well connected by air, rail and road. It is an ancient centre of Shiva worship. Agra is globally renowned as the city of the Taj Mahal, a monument of love and imagination that represents India to the world.

Agra was from 1526 to 1658 the capital of the Mughal emperors – the Muslim rulers of India, who left a splendid architectural heritage. It is home to the finest examples of Mughal architecture in India, of which the Taj is simply the most famous.

Taj Mahal: An Epitome of Love

The very first sight of the Taj Mahal, the epitome of love and romance leaves one mesmerized. It is truly a spectacular symbol of love, art and craftsmanship combined.
Shah Jahan was the fourth Mogul emperor of India. He ordered the Taj Mahal built in memory of his favorite wife Mumtaz Mahal. She was the second wife of Shah Jahan. Inflated through the ages into an almost impossibly beautiful, virtuous and brave woman, despite a fairly scanty historical record, Mumtaz Mahal accompanied him to war, and bore him 14 children, the last birth killing her at the age of 39.

When Mumtaz Mahal was still alive, she extracted four promises from the emperor – first, that he build the Taj; second, that he should marry again; third, that he be kind to their children; and fourth, that he visit the tomb on her death anniversary.
In 1631, when Mumtaz Mahal died in childbirth, Shah Jahan brought to Agra the most skilled craftsmen from all Asia and even Europe, to build the white marble mausoleum that is the Taj Mahal.

Shah Jahan had sought perfect symmetry in the Taj, and placed the tomb of Mumtaz (actually a marble cenotaph; her body is buried below) squarely at the center, forming a perfect sightline out the entrance.

The body of Mumtaz Mahal was ceremoniously interred into the tomb. The name Taj Mahal is derived from her nick-name Mumtaz Mahal: pearl or crown of the palace.

Many people believe that Shah Jahan had planned to build another Taj Mahal in black marble, which was to be his own tomb on the opposite bank of the River Yamuna and connect the two by a bridge.

Emperor Shah Jahan himself described the Taj in these words:

Should guilty seek asylum here,
Like one pardoned, he becomes free from sin.
Should a sinner make his way to this mansion,
All his past sins are to be washed away.
The sight of this mansion creates sorrowing sighs;
And the sun and the moon shed tears from their eyes.
In this world this edifice has been made;
To display thereby the creator’s glory.
The Taj Mahal still continues to enamor visitors with its charismatic architecture and narrates the mystical tale of eternal love. It is recognized worldwide as a symbol of eternal love.

Taj Mahal: The Building
Building the mausoleum took 21 years and 20,000 workers. Without doubt, The Taj Mahal ranks as amongst the most perfect buildings in the world, flawlessly proportionate, built entirely out of marble. The building itself is 186 feet square.
The term ‘Mahal’ has never been used for a building in any of the Muslim countries, from Afghanistan to Algeria. Had the Taj been an Islamic building it should have faced the west.
The Taj Mahal was constructed using materials from all over India and Asia. Over 1,000 elephants were used to transport building materials during the construction. The translucent white marble was brought from Rajasthan, the jasper from Punjab, jade and crystal from China. The turquoise was from Tibet and the Lapis lazuli from Afghanistan, while the sapphire came from Sri Lanka and the carnelian from Arabia. In all, twenty eight types of precious and semi-precious stones were inlaid into the white marble.

The finest of skilled artisans were brought in to inlay the white marble edifice with precious stones and to conjure filigreed marble screens around the cenotaphs of the emperor and his beloved queen. It is believed that the name “Taj Mahal” was derived from the name of Shah Jahan wife Mumtaz Mahal and means “Crown Palace”.

The Taj is a tribute to the beauty of a woman and the enduring and eternal love. The Taj Mahal reveals its subtle beauty when you view it without being in a hurry. The rectangular base symbolizes the different sides from which to view a beautiful woman.
The main gate symbolizes the veil to a woman’s face, which should be lifted delicately, without haste and very gently on the wedding night. It is an aspect of the Indian Tradition, where the veil is lifted gently to reveal the beauty of the bride.

Taj Mahal: The Heritage
The almost supernatural beauty of the Taj Mahal and its grounds transcends culture and history, and speaks with a voice of its own to visitors from all over the world of feelings that are common to all humanity. In 1983, The Taj Mahal was given recognition as a UNESCO World heritage site and hence was universally acknowledged as one of the best heritage sites throughout the world. It is one of the wonders of the world and the supreme example of Mughal architecture in India.

Estimates of the cost of the construction of Taj Mahal vary due to difficulties in estimating construction costs across time. The total cost of construction has been estimated to be about 32 million Rupees at that time which now runs into trillions of Dollars if converted to present currency rates!

The Taj Mahal attracts from 2 to 4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas. Most tourists visit in the cooler months of October, November and February. Polluting traffic is not allowed near the complex and tourists must either walk from parking lots or catch an electric bus.

The grounds are open from 6 am to 7 pm weekdays, except for Friday when the complex is open for prayers at the mosque between 12 noon and 2 pm. The complex is open for night viewing on the day of the full moon and two days before and after, excluding Fridays and the month of Ramzan. For security reasons only five items – water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies’ purses – are allowed inside the Taj Mahal.

Taj Mahal: The Magnificent Architecture

The Taj Mahal is generally considered the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements of Persian, Turkish, Indian, and Islamic architectural styles. It incorporates and expands on many design traditions, particularly Hindu, Persian and earlier Mughal architecture.

Although Islamic architecture is difficult to define collectively, the Taj Mahal seems to represent its essence and strongest characteristic — the ability of the Islamic religion and its leaders to exploit into foreign regions and mould the best features of that place with its own to create unique works of architecture.
In a country that may be one of the most intriguing travel destinations on the planet, the Taj Mahal is the one site no tourist visiting India can miss. The Taj Mahal is truly a spectacular symbol of love, art and craftsmanship combined.

Meditation is not meditating upon something but just being with oneself. There is no movement, no flickering – only being fully in the moment, in the NOW! When a person meditates, he loses all restlessness, his thinking stops and in that moment, he is a pool of energy. He becomes tremendously powerful. Meditation relieves you of all these pressures and artificial living. You begin to see the world with clarity and wisdom. When you see how fickle the world is and understand – impermanence, it opens up new avenues for you. The peace experienced during meditation works as a balm, soothing the mind. Remember, no one gives you pain – it is you who have induced pain on yourself. See life retrospectively – how you have lived and what mistakes you made unknowingly. Once you do, then it will become much easier for you to make the transition from living ignorantly to living consciously. Meditation is being with our true self; being able to control all activities of the mind and senses a well as making the right choices. It is an antidote to the mounting stress and tension. The tremendous transformation that meditation can bring to you can be derived only by delving into its experiences with the child-like innocence.

Mind is always restless, always in a state of flux. It is difficult for us to sit in the silent mode, to be in a relaxed state of mind. What to say about meditation, even simple relaxation is difficult. We need to undergo catharsis to remove all the repressions, all the emotional clouds, all the useless chattering that goes on in the mind. When we achieve this state, we’ll be able to relax totally. Meditation is the quietening of the mind. The power to heal comes from meditation. Meditation gives right knowledge and the right training to handle life. A blind man needs a stick to walk safely, but if we can cure his blindness, then he can do without that stick. Most of us are metaphorically blind. The eyes of our mind are shut. We need to open up our inner eyes – the eyes of our awareness and then we’ll be able to enjoy the every-flowing bliss of life. And then everything will be clear – meditation gives pristine clarity towards our life. True happiness can be experienced when our mind is peaceful. Even when we are presented with adverse conditions if our mind is calm then we can be happy all the time. The mind can be trained through meditation to achieve this state. One is no longer disturbed by external situations.

Urja Meditation or Dynamic Meditation is based on ancient methodology of a special breathing technique called Kapalbhati which involves strong and forceful exhalations.
It is powerful and easy method to get free from all the suffering, tensions, and garbage of mind. It refreshes our body, mind and intellect. Urja should be practiced by all of them who want to live their life with lots of energy, joy and calmness. It works as a great de-stressing tool and even helps the mind to clear off the negative thoughts.

This technique should be done on an empty stomach or at least three hours after eating. Sit comfortably in any meditative posture. Sit erect. Breathe normally for about five minutes. Once composed, you can begin. In Kapalbhati more attention is to be given on forceful exhalation while the inhalation remains passive. Exhale through both nostrils, contracting the middle and lower abdomen portions. Release the contractions quickly and immediately follow with another forceful exhalation. Inhale passively and effortlessly. Gradually increase the frequency. This technique increases exchange of gases in the lungs manifold. There is large-scale elimination of carbon dioxide and a huge absorption of oxygen. This process brings about catharsis which cleanses the inner recesses of the mind – and then mindfulness becomes easy. This exercise can give excellent results if done with conviction. You will glide into a state where mind will be totally at peace, relaxed and energized. Layers upon layers will get clearer and once all these are cleared and there is emptiness, then there will come this bright light of consciousness.
Regular practice will lead you to higher level of consciousness.

All meditation techniques of Anandmurti Gurumaa are backed with soulful music which is especially composed for the particular method. With easy-to-follow instructions, meditation becomes a joyful journey.

Desire for sex is natural. It is neither right to fight your body and mind, nor should you feel depressed about the sex urge. Nature has created this body and its glandular systems. These glands start functioning around teenage and they release chemicals called hormones. In the brain, the hypothalamus and the pituitary control the functioning of these glands. The male hormone testosterone is produced by the testes and the female hormones progesterone and estrogen are produced by the ovaries.
The sex hormones help the body of a boy grow into a young man, and that of a girl grow into a young woman. This leads to an attraction for the opposite sex, and happens only after the release of these chemicals. Before this stage, boys and girls have no such feelings in their mind. As children approach the age of 12 or 13, the sex glands begin to get active. Nowadays, due to exposure to media and television, these glands have started functioning earlier – sometimes as early as the age of 9.
Even a highly sexual and pornographic mind, such as of those people who engage in mental visualisations and fantasies, or of a totally addicted person, loses the sexual urge if we inject a special type of hormone in the body. This happens because the body clock is taken back to the stage when there were no secretions of the sex hormones.
Whenever there is an excess secretion of these chemicals – for whatever reason, it leads to addiction. Any addiction, whether it is for tea, coffee or sex, is just an addiction. You cannot say that one addiction is better than the other – that an addiction to cigarettes is better than an addiction to liquor. Addiction means a stage of dependence in which one cannot survive without the fulfilment of the addiction. It is a stage when one thinks and dreams about the object of one’s addiction and when one lives with it and for it.
The first thing to understand is that our mind is connected to our body and to our brain. Changes in our body and mind affect us. For example, if you have not slept well at night, there will be a deficiency of melatonin and serotonin, the two chemicals released during sleep. These chemicals relax the body and the brain, and their deficiency will make you feel tense. Your mind will begin to oscillate, your circulatory system will get affected and blood pressure will be raised. The restlessness will affect you to such an extent, that you will need to take some drug to balance the paucity of the chemicals.
This is how those people who drink more and more liquor, provide the chemicals the body needs, although alcohol does not supply melatonin and serotonin. The chemicals in the liquor have a drug like effect and they soothe the nerves and numb the brain; somehow this is experienced as relaxation by many people. Any form of drug, cigarette and liquor soothes the nerves. It is a different story that these are all poisons that destroy the body systems. This is the additional effect of these drugs which no company is ever going to advertise; they will just talk about how good you are going to feel. Thumbs up! How cheerful you will be when you consume the poison of this drug!
Similarly, during the sex act, chemicals are released by the brain and this gives you a high feeling – a good feeling. Some tests have been done on rats and mice, in which the areas of the brain which are activated at the time of sex were injected and made numb. Once those portions were numbed, the rats and mice lost interest in copulation; they were just not interested any more.
So basically what our body seeks is to experience the good feeling. Some feel good with food, but for others sex remains the only medium which gives them a high; nothing else does. For sex, one is dependant on another person. As I had said earlier, these days you can not only order a pizza and a burger at home, but also sex! Even that is provided!
The question is, what does sex give? It gives a feeling of elation and a feeling of being appreciated – although the person doing the appreciating may be doing it for your money, for the security you provide or for the gifts which you will shower on that person! So the process of give and take goes on. Dependency does exist.
No wonder husbands and wives blackmail and exploit one another; they know that the other person is dependent on them for sexual release.  Actually, if you take away the sex, there won’t be a husband and wife relationship left. Most couples are together because of the children or society; or because they don’t know how to live alone. They benefit greatly from the relationship, and so do not want to lose out on services like house maintenance, laundry, cooking and entertainment etc. All these things provided by the spouse make you further bind with the spouse.
The question is, if sex could give real enjoyment, a real high, then it should last for a few days atleast. But it does not endure for even a few hours! It is an unending process. Again and again a person is entrapped.
First and foremost, never condemn yourself for having a sexual urge. Through all your physical and mental experiences, you gain something – or maybe you will gain something. Those who never get a chance to explore these things may still harbour the seeds of desire in their subconscious mind. They just dream, repress and suppress their feelings.  At the same time, exploring this territory should be done with an understanding of what you will get out of it. Ask yourself: Am I getting the happiness which I hope for?  How long will this happiness last? Will I get dependent on the other person? Will I lose my freedom? Is this the only way to feel a high? Is this the only door through which I will get physical and mental relaxation? Most husbands the world over have sex to release their tension and not for love.
I would like to point out that a man who is really in love with his wife, will need less sex, because his satisfaction will then come from a higher plane. Attention, appreciation and companionship are more important than carnal pleasure. I am not saying that there is something wrong with sex, that it is sinful or that it is something one should not indulge in.
If sex had been ugly, or even worse – if it were a sin or something to be guilty of, then our temples would not have sculptures of couples copulating. Have you ever seen the expression on their faces? Have you ever visited the Khajuraho or Konark temples? Outside the periphery of these temples, there are hundreds of such images on the domes; they are carved so meticulously and with so much time consuming labour. A huge amount of the kings’ money went into the making of these temples. Dharma, artha, kama, moksha – all four are a part of life. It cannot be said that artha is important and kama is not. If we deny these facts then we are just being hypocritical.
All that happens in society – all the money, the wealth, the businesses, the jobs, the education – just  go to the core of it and see what everyone is striving for. You will end up with just one answer – sex. If you have wealth, you can have the most beautiful girl or the most handsome man. Your very being, your physical being is because of sex. Can you deny that?
But your parents are not guilty of sex. They might be guilty of sex in general but not of your birth. Are you guilty of your daughter? You are joyful for your daughters. You are joyful for your sons. You are full of joy for your children and even more joyful for your grand children. They are all offsprings of the sexual act. You cannot say that it is bad, ugly or sinful. This point has to be understood very clearly.
Society at large is under the sheets; behind the wall everyone is in it, and outside the wall everyone condemns it. They condemn it and yet they are in it!  The more they are in it, the more vehemently they condemn it – this is a vicious cycle. Throw away the attitude that sex is bad, ugly and sinful. What is bad about it? It is your body and if you wish to explore it in any way, just go ahead and do so.
The only suggestion I would like to make is that you should know what you will gain, what will you lose and why you are indulging in it?  It is true that the body chemicals – the hormones, are active and therefore there is attraction between the sexes. The stimulants are there right in your head – the sex organ is none other than the brain – that is the real sex organ!
So this means that you need to make some changes in the brain if you wish to make some changes in your lifestyle. How can that be done?  There are many ways:
First, you have to balance your body and brain, so that you do the act when needed and you don’t think about it all the time. When you are hungry you eat food – you are never guilty of eating food, are you? If you have an itch in the throat, you cough – you never feel guilty about it. But if you have an urge for sex and you satisfy it, you feel guilty later on – whether you recognise the guilt or not is a different story.
When a husband and wife are in the sex act, all the scriptures, mahatmas and sadhus’ voices keep ringing at the back of their mind, telling them that what they are doing is bad. But the urge of the body is so strong that they cannot stop. It is somewhat like schizophrenia – based on all the discourses of mahatmas and books that you have read, the brain says don’t do it, but the body speaks a different language. Mind you, whenever there is a fight between the body and the brain, the body will win because animal instincts are more powerful than abstract thoughts and ideas.
Celibacy is just an idea which the mahatmas have given to people. That is not your experience; your experience is that when your body wants something, you have to get it. When a person is thirsty he will drink water from the most polluted pond – it has happened!  In difficult times, as during a war, what else to do?  When there is thirst and the body asks for water, people have been known to have drunk water from the ponds in which corpses were floating! The suffering from thirst, the pain was so great, that inspite of seeing the floating dead bodies, they just cupped their hands and drank the water!
The urges of the body are very strong. When hunger troubles you, when your body asks for food, no gyan will work – you need food by any means, anyhow. Normally you eat when you are hungry, you drink when you are thirsty, when you are exhausted you go to sleep and you are never guilty about it. But if you continuously think about food, then something is wrong. If you keep on eating and filling your stomach the whole day, then it is a disease. If a person washes his hands when they are dirty, it is ok for that is routine hygiene. But if he keeps on washing his hand a hundred or two hundred times, then it is an illness. It is a psychological disease if a person feels he is dirty, or the phobia of germs is prevalent in his mind; this needs to be treated. Similarly, healthy married couples do feel the real urge for sex.
Now this is something to be noted – distinguishing between the real and the unreal urge. The real urge comes from the body, and if you fulfil it, it is definitely as natural as a hungry man eating his food. But this urge can also be an unreal one. How does that happen? The society in which you live, your friends, associates, the woman you are seeing, the men whom you meet, the books which you read, the magazines which you flip through, every channel, every movie – all of them – titillate your senses and excite your mind. When the urge arises because of this titillation and excitement, I call it an unreal desire – it is not a natural desire.
You will have to see when it is a natural urge and when it is an unnatural one. When you have a natural urge, go ahead without the feeling of guilt or sin.  Marriage is a licence which society has given you; have sex as many times as you want to, but the moment you stray from your licensed spouse, the whole of society looks down upon you. This is bad, this is wrong, this is immoral! In a polygamous society, it is not considered wrong to stray, but as per Hindu law, and in monogamous relationships which are popular and widely practised today, it is considered wrong. I believe that if a man or a woman has an extra marital affair, it is not because they don’t get sex, but because they don’t get true love.
Understand that sex can never fulfil your mind – love can. Love should be the foundation of marriage. The more deeply you are in love with your spouse, the lesser is the need to stray. When a man and a woman do not appreciate one another, do not attend to each other’s needs, do not gel at the mental level, do not have similar choices, then there is sure to be trouble. Some people simply live with their situation; others move away. But this damages the institution of marriage.
There are many things to be considered. First: identify the real and natural urge. How to do that? Well, you need to discipline your brain and body, and to do that, yogic asanas are the perfect solution. When you do sarvangasana – the shoulder stand, blood rushes to your brain as your feet are up and head is down. Due to gravity, the blood rushes to the brain. The most important gland which is the master computer of the body, the hypothalamus, is in the brain. With this asana, fresh supply of blood and oxygen is carried to the brain nourishing the hypothalamus and the pituitary. The hypothalamus begins to work properly and it orders the right amount of chemicals to be released. Once this happens, you feel the sex urge only when needed and not otherwise.
Second: the way to balance the glandular system is to do pranayama. When you practice pranayama, your mind will be soothed, relaxed and cool. You won’t feel excited even on seeing an attractive woman; you won’t be titillated; titillation will have an effect only when you are ready for it. Sometimes, if you tickle a person, they are in peels of laughter, but there are others who roll on the ground at the mere sight of a tickling gesture. Just moving the fingers is enough for them to say, “don’t do it”!
Often people play with young children; they tickle them and walk holding their two fingers. They walk their fingers on the baby’s arms saying, “Here I am coming”, and even before you reach the forearm the child is laughing and pleading with you to stop. But as the child grows older, the same act will not have the same effect and could well evoke the response: “Papa! Grow up! What are you doing?”
The same rules apply to scantily clothed girls who show their bodies in such a way that it turns any man’s mind- just as a woman’s mind may be affected on seeing a half naked man who has a beautiful and muscular body. But this titillation can happen only when you are ready to be titillated. Let me say this very clearly: I do not condemn even titillation, but it has to have some objective.
In the sexual act, it is not that you lose just semen in ejaculation, but you also lose something more than that called ojas -  energy. It is not the semen which creates the baby, but the ojas in the semen which creates the baby.  This ojas can be used to make progress in your spiritual development.
Every food you eat carries a hidden energy in it. Our body has to digest the food and our intestines have to absorb the nutrients which go to the liver and from there to the blood and thence to the entire body. Our seers who understood this phenomenon, suggested that this energy should not be wasted for whimsical reasons, but should be conserved. The more you conserve it, the more energetic you grow and your capacity to do sadhana also increases. This energy also enhances your concentration and attention levels. The reason why the rishis suggested sexual abstinence was to conserve ojas, and not in order to suppress the sexual urge. The idea was not to suppress sexual energy but to sublimate it.
It is important to understand the sexual energy in order to manage it well. Deep down if the mind is insecure, then this insecurity can become a reason for excessive sexual behaviour. If you did not receive real love and comfort from your mother in childhood, then this can give rise to excessive sexual behaviour of the mind. If you have any kind of inferiority complex, it can also give rise to an overly sexual behaviour. If you were exploited or tortured during childhood, even this can lead to excessive sexual behaviour. There are multiple reasons and that is why we need to understand our mind; we need to go deep into our mind.
Every time the urge arises, do not condemn yourself, rather try to understand from where it is rising.
Our mind is a deep, dark and mysterious cave where millions of ghosts reside – the ghosts of our past memories. We are not very comfortable facing these ghosts, and that is why we watch television, we spend time with friends but do not like to invest any effort in studying the mind. We just do not want to face the complexities of our mind; this compounds the problem.
Now, how to manage the sex urge, whether natural or unnatural, real or unreal?  One way is to indulge in sexual intercourse; the second way is to masturbate; the third way is to suppress the urge by chiding yourself, taking a cold shower or going to a temple and expressing regret for having fallen again. Then there is a fourth way also – it is a particular technique given by Tantra to all aspirants who wish to work on controlling the sexual urge – the Ashwini mudra with kumbhak.
Ashwa means horse. Ashwini mudra is actually taken from a natural act performed by horses. Have you ever ridden on horseback?  Have you seen a horse defecating?  It moves its anus – actually it pushes out its rectum and you can see a layer of pinkish muscle. The horse pushes its rectum out of the body once it has defecated; when it has thrown the faeces out of the body, it pushes out the rectum, moves it and then pulls it in. This is called Ashwini mudra.
So with the practice of Ashwini mudra, you can develop control over the muscles in the lower regions of the body around the anus. The exercise is done as follows: you squeeze your anus, contract it, and then relax it in the first part of the mudra. In the second part you repeat the exercise with breath control – when you inhale you relax and when you exhale you contract – proficiency comes with practice.
Initially you should concentrate on the first part which is rather easy, and once you have mastered it then practice with the breath. Remember that you contract while exhaling and relax when inhaling. When you inhale, relax; contract with breathing out.
In the third part, you contract the anus while exhaling and hold your breath for a count of 3 and then relax. Inhale and exhale, contracting while exhaling. When you breathe out, hold your breath out – one, two, three. With time and practice, you can increase the retention period and can even take it to a count of 5 and then 10 – but it should be done very comfortably with no stress or strain.
This ability to retain your breath and contract your anus muscle will control the urge for sex – this is the golden mantra. Whenever  the urge arises – whether real or unreal – at that time if you begin to focus and start doing  the exercises in sequence, within 15 minutes, not only will your urge be gone but you will feel like meditating more – you will feel like sitting for some more time. Your mind gets relaxed and so does the body.
We should not ever fight with the body or the mind. If there is an urge for sex, it is no big issue, for every issue has a solution which can be learned and focussed on. So at the level of our mind we need to understand and respect it. Actually, the more you resist it, the more you get trapped in it, because anything that makes you feel guilty also gives you the joy of breaking the rules of society.
There is no fun in taking your wife out for dinner; it is more exciting to take your girlfriend out. Even the most lecherous person fears being seen, hence no one ever announces in the drawing room in the presence of friends and relatives that the last time he went to Singapore on a business trip, he had three prostitutes! No one ever announces this; no one ever boasts of this. Even the most lecherous and libidinous person will hide this.
We need to know and understand that sex is not the enemy; sex is not a sin; sex is not a shameful act that should lead to guilt. It needs to be appreciated that nature has given this to us and it is the reason for the entire procreation and recreation. Sex is not a means of releasing tension – for that you should do Yog-Nidra – it is indeed very relaxing! Sex should not be a means of releasing your frustrations either. It is and can be beautiful provided you know and understand what it is; provided you manage it with awareness; provided you are deeply in love with your spouse.
A loveless relationship is a sin. The problem is that in our society relationships are not based on love but on money, prestige and status – these three are most important – then comes the shakal [looks] and akal [intelligence] of the boy and girl. If the boy is a walking hippopotamus but has money, there are many girls who will not refuse him. Their attitude is that it is fine to marry someone like that, no problem at all; once married they plan to make the poor chap slim down. You too must have seen some weird matches – in fact they are no match at all, but the families get them married. Now after the marriage they are expected to love one another! How is that possible? I find it very weird!
But our ancestors had made a different system. They would get the boy and girl married at an early age but keep them apart. Immediately after the marriage ceremony the girl was taken to her parents home and then the entire society and family would pester and tease the boy reminding him that his spouse was at her parents’ home.  “Don’t you want to meet her?” Their bodies would be growing and their hormones raging. That is how psychologically they were made to like one another and to want to be with one another. This distance created the attraction. After another ceremony, when the girl was finally brought to her husband’s home, the boy was lusting and waiting for her.
Again, this is a drama which has been planned by society and families. I have nothing against arranged marriages but I do have some issues with it. Loveless marriages can never satisfy; love has to be there. If there is love in an arranged marriage then it is fine. Some amount of effort is needed on the part of the husband and wife to understand one another in order to seek and create room for compatibility – to be able to appreciate one another’s qualities, to ignore the errors and mistakes of the other person, to not condemn the spouse – appreciation will change the partner. These are important things. To manage the urges of the body and to be in a position to distinguish the real urge from the unreal one, yogasana and pranayama especially ashwini mudra with kumbhak, will pave the way for a very healthy married life.
Life with a dumb person can be hell – but marriage can be a great pleasure trip, an enjoyable experience once there is compatibility – for which one has to work for it won’t happen on its own. You have to work at it and the more you work with understanding and with an agenda, the more quickly will you see the results.

Breathing is life, but how little we know about it! For example, do you know that you use only one nostril at a time for breathing? At any point in time, either the right or the left nostril will be working. Test it out now. Place a finger half an inch below your left nostril for a few seconds and then under your right. You will now which one is working at that moment. Amazing, isn’t it?
And now read on and learn more. Do you know the active nostril changes at regular intervals (approximately every one and a half hours) during the day? And for a short time, both nostrils come into play together, for a period which is called the sandhi kaal, and this remains for ten to twelve breaths. Have you ever wondered why we have two nostrils instead of one? Breath can easily pass through one passage but we have two! The reasons are much deeper then of basic design alone.

As per the ancient scripture of Swar Yoga, there are three psychic channels in the human body, namely ida, pingala and sushumna. The right nostril is the channel of solar energy and the nadi that flows through it is called pingala, whereas the left is the channel for lunar energy and is called as ida. When both the nostrils have an equal flow, then for a very short time the central channel which is called sushumna awakens. Influencing the channels or nadis is the key technique of Swar Yoga. Swar Yoga teaches that the dominance of each nostril during breathing changes regularly. By inhaling strongly through the nose, one can find out which nostril is dominant at a particular time, as one will feel the cooling effect of the airflow inside that nostril. The nadis ida and pingala terminate in the left and right nostril respectively, and are activated when the corresponding nostril is dominant. The central sushumna is activated when both nostrils operate simultaneously, which usually happens only for a short while when the transition from one nostril to the other takes place and also at dawn and dusk. The periodic alternation of the nostrils balances the entire system. Ensuring that this balance is not disturbed is the basic objective of Swar Yoga. The dominance of the nostrils is strongly affected by the movements of the planets and especially by that of the moon.
Each nostril, when it operates independently, influences the body chemistry in a different way. When both nostrils operate simultaneously, the body chemistry also alters so as to make meditation rather than worldly activity appropriate to engage in. According to Swar Yoga, the right nostril, being solar or heating in character, increases acidic secretions, whereas the left nostril, being lunar or cooling, increases alkaline secretions. Both right and left nostrils are connected with the opposite sides of the cerebral hemispheres and the olfactory lobe. The nose is in direct contact with the hypothalamus by its link with the olfactory lobe of the brain. The hypothalamus is a part of the limbic system, associated with emotions and motivation.
The nostrils, by means of the process of respiration, are connected with the neuromotor responses, and thus with the autonomic nervous system. These neuromotor responses influence the hemispheres of the brain and the primary activity of the brain, which is chemical. Neurotransmitters are the brain’s chemical messengers. They influence all body functions. Through a network of sensory nerves in the nose, the nostrils are connected to subtle nerves. An EEG was done by Dr Khalsa in San Antonio USA, where the brain was wired with electrodes, and an ultra sound was also done to see if any changes occur when the flows are different. It was observed that when the flow is in the left nostril, the right side of the brain lights up, and when in the right, then the left part of the brain is more active.
One of the techniques of Swar Yoga is to check whether the nostril dominance is in accord with the planetary cycles, and if necessary to correct it accordingly. This would prevent psychological and physical problems. It is especially important to do this every day at sunrise, so that one starts the day in harmony with the planetary energy of that day. Another important aspect of Swar Yoga is to adapt special activities to nostril dominance or vice versa. Breathing through the left nostril influences the cortical activity on the right side of the brain more than the left and vice versa. The twin hemispheres of the brain have highly specialized functions. The right hemisphere, stimulated by left nostril dominance, is connected to feminine, lunar, emotional, visual and more peaceful activities. The left hemisphere, stimulated by right nostril dominance, is connected to masculine, solar, rational, verbal and more energetic activities.
The ancient yogis of India knew all this and much more. They knew the intimate connection between breath and mind. For example, when your mind is angry watch your breathing – it will be disturbed. And similarly, if you hold your breath for long, your mind will get agitated.  The yogis were trying to get some degree of control over the mind and body. Swar Yoga advises changing the dominant nostril at the first sign of any physical or mental disturbance. Thus the active side of the body is changed and glandular secretions re-establish balance.
For example, in fever one should plug the operating nostril with a cotton ball and keep it plugged until body temperature becomes normal again. Chronic indigestion can be cured by cultivating the habit of eating only when the right nostril is dominant. The same goes for eating and defecating in case of constipation. Stress created by hard work and physical labor can be cured by lying on the right side, and breathing through the left nostril for 25 to 30 minutes. If you want to alter an unwanted emotional state, just breathe through the congested nostril for a while. Swar Yoga techniques can also be used for healing others, for creating favorable conditions in life, to foretell death, and in determining the gender of an unborn child. The techniques of Swar Yoga have been tested and tried by yogis and their lineages for a very long time. If only you would be aware of the goodness and beneficiary changes that can be brought to your life, you could maneuver your life as per your needs and requirements.
The most powerful application of Swar Yoga lies in meditation and control over the mind. Since the mind is very subtle and near impossible to grasp, the yogis figured out how to use this connection between the breath and the mind. By controlling the breath, they were indirectly able to influence the mind. Swar Yoga can be practiced by one and all, but before you go deeper into it, you have to know the basics of Pranayama.
There is a lovely fable of a minister who was punished by the king with imprisonment in a tower. He called his faithful wife to help him escape, telling her to get a beetle, two drops of honey, a ball of slender and fine thread, a long twine and then a long rope. When the bewildered wife arrived with these things, he told her to moisten the antennae of the beetle with the honey, tie the fine thread to its body and to leave it at the bottom of the tower wall. Smelling the honey ahead, the beetle slowly crept up the wall until it reached the minister. He then got hold of the end of the thread and asked his wife to tie the twine to the other end. He then pulled up the twine and then the rope using which he escaped. The idea is to understand how to manage the links between the gross (rope, body), the subtle body (thread, breath), and the very subtle body (scent of honey, mind).
Understanding one’s breath opens up so many channels of growth and evolvement. When you need to work hard, teach, discipline, eat or defecate, check if the solar energy (pingala) is flowing. If yes, then the actions done will bear results. If you have to do brain work, then it your lunar energy (ida) that should be flowing – this will help you in all studious jobs, meditation, creative arts, music, dance, paintings, studying etc. The change from ida to pingala is very subtle, so if you can keep a check on your breathing, you will be able to observe it.
There are ways and means to change the breath by will, and this art can be learnt from a guru who is proficient in this art.

In Buddhism, the views on vegetarianism vary from school to school. In the schools of the Theravada and Vajrayana, the act of eating meat is not always prohibited; the Mahayana school generally recommends a vegetarian diet. This is based on the firm insistence by the Buddha in certain Mahayana sutras, that his followers should not eat meat or fish. Interestingly, the accepted legend of the Buddha’s death says that he died after accepting tainted meat (pork infected with Trichinosis) from his hosts while travelling. The meaning of the relevant word to describe this food, is however contested, for mamsa is not the usual term for meat. It is sukara-maddava, which translates as ‘pig’s delight’ and has been interpreted as meaning a kind of truffle favoured by pigs.
 There is a divergence of views within Buddhism as to whether vegetarianism is necessary, with some schools of Buddhism rejecting such a requirement. The first precept in Buddhism is usually translated as: I undertake the precept to refrain from taking life. Some Buddhists see this as implying that Buddhists should not eat meat, while others argue that this is not necessarily the case. Some Buddhists do strongly oppose meat-eating on the basis of emphatic scriptural injunctions against flesh-eating, issuing from the Buddha himself.
 In the Anguttara Nikaya 3.38 Sukhamala Sutra, Buddha describes his family as being wealthy enough to provide non-vegetarian meals even to the servants. After becoming Buddha, he accepted any food offered with respect as alms, including meat. But there is no reference to him eating meat during his seven years as an ascetic.
 On one occasion, according to the scriptures, a general sent a servant to purchase meat specifically to feed the Buddha. The Buddha declared that meat should not be eaten under three circumstances: when it is seen or heard or suspected that a living being has been purposely slaughtered for the eater. These Jivaka are the three circumstances in which meat should not be eaten. Jivaka! I declare there are three circumstances in which meat can be eaten: when it is not seen or heard or suspected that a living being has been purposely slaughtered for the eater.
 In this particular sutra, Buddha instructs a monk or nun to accept, without any discrimination, whatever food is offered as alms with good will, including meat. However, in the Vanijja Sutra, the Buddha declares the meat trade to be a wrong means of livelihood. Monks! Lay followers should not engage in five types of business. Which five? Business in weapons, business in human beings, business in meat, business in intoxicants and business in poison. These are the five types of businesses that a lay follower should not engage in.
 In the Nirvana sutra, a Mahayana Buddhist scripture purporting to give the Buddha’s final teachings, he insists that his followers should not eat any kind of meat or fish, and that even vegetarian food that has been touched by meat should be washed before being eaten. Also, it is not permissible for the monk or nun just to pick out the non-meat portions of a diet and leave the rest – the whole meal must be rejected.

Eating meat versus killing

Life is destroyed when farmers plough the ground or when food is cooked and insects are caught in the fire. Consequently, some Jain sources advocate avoidance of activities which are seen to have a more direct connection to killing, including all farming and eating of food, meat and root vegetables, which results in indirect destruction of animal and plant life. Some Jain monks are known to practice self-termination by starving themselves.
 In Buddhism, what is most important is to recognise that existence, by nature, is the cause of direct or indirect suffering and death (samsara). One should avoid gluttony and greedy consumption while maintaining a healthy diet, and a lifestyle which is conducive to attaining enlightenment. In the Pali canon which all Buddhist sects consider to be generally authentic, the Buddha, when asked, refused to institute vegetarianism in the monastic code.
 Mahayana Buddhism argues that if one pursues the path of the Bodhisattva for enlightenment, one should avoid meat eating to cultivate compassion for all living beings. Similarly, in Theravada Buddhism, avoiding meat eating for the purpose of cultivation of metta (loving kindness) is also seen to be in accord with Buddhist dharma. In most Buddhist branches, one may adopt vegetarianism if one so wishes, but it is not considered appropriate to attack another for eating meat.
 In Chinese Mahayana, vegetarianism is seen as a prerequisite for pursuing the path of the Bodhisattva. The argument for vegetarianism is made more forcefully, often to the extent of accusing those who eat meat of lacking compassion. Chinese Mahayanists do not accept the Pali sutras as definitive when they conflict with the Mahayana sutras, and consequently some do not accept that Gautama Buddha ever ate meat or permitted eating it, in accordance with the Lankavatara sutra.
 In the Pali canon, Buddha explicitly declared meat-eating to be karma neutral and once explicitly refused to institute vegetarianism in the monastic order. Theravada commentaries explain that the Buddha was making a distinction between the direct destruction of life and eating of already dead meat. Moreover, they point out that cultivation of vegetables also involves proxy killing. In fact, any act of consumption would cause some degree of proxy killing.
 Hence the Buddha advised his followers to avoid gluttony, or any other act of craving which leads to overconsumption.
 Certain Mahayana sutras do present the Buddha as very vigorously and unreservedly denouncing the eating of meat, mainly on the grounds that such an act is linked to the spreading of fear amongst sentient beings (who can allegedly sense the odour of death that lingers about the meat-eater, and who consequently fear for their own lives) and violates the Bodhisattva’s fundamental cultivation of compassion.
 Moreover, according to the Buddha, in the Angulimaliya sutra, since all beings share the same ‘dhatu’ (spiritual principle or essence) and are intimately related to one another, killing and eating other sentient creatures is tantamount to a form of self-killing and cannibalism. The sutras which inveigh against meat-eating include the Nirvana sutra, the Shurangama sutra, the Brahmajala sutra, the Angulimaliya sutra, the Mahamegha sutra and the Lankavatara sutra, as well as the Buddha’s comments on the negative karmic effects of meat consumption in the Karma sutra.
 In the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana sutra, which presents itself as the final elucidatory and definitive Mahayana teachings of the Buddha on the very eve of his death, the Buddha states that ‘the eating of meat extinguishes the seed of Great Kindness’, adding that all and every kind of meat and fish consumption (even of animals found already dead) is prohibited by him. He specifically rejects the idea that monks who go out begging and receive meat from a donor should eat it: “. . . it should be rejected . . . I say that even meat, fish, game, dried hooves and scraps of meat left over by others constitutes an infraction . . . I teach the harm arising from meat-eating.” The Buddha also predicts in this sutra, that later monks will ‘hold spurious writings to be the authentic Dharma’ and will concoct their own sutras and falsely claim that the Buddha allows the eating of meat, whereas he does not. A long passage in the Lankavatara sutra shows the Buddha speaking out very forcefully against meat consumption, and unequivocally in favor of vegetarianism, since the eating of the flesh of fellow sentient beings is said by him to be incompatible with the compassion that a Bodhisattva should strive to cultivate. In several other Mahayana scriptures too, (e.g., the Mahayana jatakas), the Buddha is seen clearly to indicate that meat-eating is undesirable and karmically unwholesome.
 In Tibetan Buddhism, a strong emphasis was placed on the number of esoteric sutras which were transmitted from Northern India. In these sutras, it is clearly stated that the practice of ‘Vajrayana’ would make vegetarianism unnecessary. A number of tantric texts frequently recommend alcohol and meat, though not all take such passages literally. Many traditions of the Ganachakra which is a type of Panchamakara puja, prescribe the offering and ingestion of meat and alcohol.
 

Buddhist views today

In the modern world, attitudes toward vegetarianism vary by location. In the Theravada countries of South East Asia and Sri Lanka, monks are allowed by the vinaya to accept almost any food that is offered to them including meat, unless they suspect the meat was slaughtered specifically for them; in China, Korea and Vietnam, monks are expected to eat no meat. In Taiwan, Buddhist monks, nuns and most lay followers eat no animal products or the fetid vegetables – traditionally garlic, Allium chinense, asafoetida, shallot, and Allium victorialis (victory onion or mountain leek) – although in modern times this rule is often interpreted to include other vegetables of the onion genus, as well as coriander. This is called Su vegetarianism. In Japan, some clergy practice vegetarianism, and most will do so at least when training at a monastery, but otherwise they typically do eat meat. In Tibet, where vegetables have been historically very scarce and the adopted vinaya was the Nikaya Sarvastivada, vegetarianism is very rare, although the Dalai Lama and other esteemed lamas invite their audiences to adopt vegetarianism when they can. Chatral Rinpoche in particular, has stated that anyone who wishes to be his student must be vegetarian.
 In the end, we can say that it should be left to your sensibilities and aesthetics to decide for yourself. So readers, use your conscience to know what you wish to do. Our attempt was to provide information in general and specifically in the Buddhist context.

Tantra teaches you that nothing is ugly or bad. Sex is definitely not bad as this was the cause of your birth. All those people who condemn sex condemn their parents and themselves. If sex is a sin, then you are born of sin. If sex is bad then you are bad. Husband and wife – a man and a woman have sex and as a result the man’s semen is released in the woman’s body. The meeting of the sperm and the ovum is the beginning of a new life, a new baby. Every saint and every sinner has got a physical body because of sex. How can one condemn sex? Our ancient seers respected life, and through their exploration Tantra was born. Tantra uses everything in its practice and talks about inclusion of food, sex, sensual experiences, imagination and mental creativity as media for the enhancement of spiritual life. If everything has come from a divine source, then how can anything be ugly? Many religious practitioners are waging a constant war and fighting against their own mind and body, whereas Tantra talks about acceptance and moving into the sensual materialistic world with a divine attitude, thus transiting through it smoothly. When you do not understand the body and the mind, then copulation is simply sex, but if you have an understanding of your body and mind, then the meeting of a man and a woman is not just sex – then the word in Sanskrit is ‘maithuna’. Maithuna means sex as a tool of not just seminal release and physical intimacy, but a ladder to evolve spiritually.
 Vajroli is the practice included in maithuna or yogic intercourse. Through the practice of vajroli, sexual energy, hormones and secretions are re-assimilated in the body. Its outcome is the union of the negative and positive poles of energy within the body. Vajroli is a mudra to be practiced by men and sahjoli by women; these mudras help to understand the muscular movements of the sexual organs so that one understands clearly what happens from the time of arousal to the time of ejaculation.  The purpose of this is to save the bindu, that is the semen, even in maithuna the objective is to use the body for a higher purpose even in sex, and definitely in spiritual practices. Vajra means ‘thunderbolt’ or ‘lightning’. It is also the name of Lord Indra’s weapon and means ‘the mighty one’. In this context vajra refers to the vajra nadi which governs the uro-genital system. It is the second innermost layer of the sushumna nadi. Vajra nadi is the energy flow within the spine and governs the sexual systems of the body. In mundane life it is responsible for sexual behaviour and this aspect has been termed called ‘libido’ by Dr. Freud, and as ‘orgone’ by Dr. Reich. In tantric sadhana this energy is not suppressed but is awakened and redirected. OH mudras (vajroli, sahajoli and amaroli) are those which specifically sublimate sexual energy into ojas (vitality) and kundalini shakti.
 According to the Shatkarma Sangraha there are seven practices in vajroli. This involves years of preparation which starts with the simple contraction of the uro-genital muscles, and later on the sucking up of liquids. Only after the sixth practice is perfected can the seventh be successfully attempted by the yogi. By and large, people have come to believe that these practices are unnatural or unhealthy. Many commentators of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika avoid discussing these slokas, dismissing them as obscene practices indulged in by low-caste tantrics. Obviously they have an incorrect understanding of the practice. People have concocted the notion that spiritual life is different from mundane life, and because of past religious conditioning the physical body has become perverted. These people must realize that spiritual life is neither anti-sex nor asexual, and sexual life is neither anti-spiritual nor aspiritual.
 Of course celibacy has its own rewards, but according to tantra it should arise spontaneously and not out of suppression. Suppression of sex will give rise to diseases in the mind and body. The sexual urges will be strong and if the control mechanism is just repression, then the urges will win and the person will sink deep into guilt. No wonder you find most sadhus so sad and dejected. Family life is a way of growing and understanding about life and its day to day practice. Spiritual life means developing awareness by applying the higher mind to the experiences of the body. Whatever we do should be a means to creating yoga in our being. Why should sexual life be excluded? According to this sloka, sexual life can be elevated from the sensual to the spiritual plane if it is practiced in a particular way, and for this vajroli mudra has been prescribed.
 A person who has perfect control of the body and mind is a yogi in every situation. A person who gorges on food, is just as ‘obscene’ as a person who indulges in uncontrolled sexual acts. Sexual life has three purposes, and this should be understood. For the tamasic person, it is progeny; for the rajasic person, it is pleasure; for a satwic person, it is enlightenment.
 The desire to release semen is an instinctive urge experienced throughout nature and not only by humans. Therefore, there should be no guilt or shame associated with it. Animal consciousness is not the end stage in the evolutionary destiny of a human being. Man’s potential for ‘bliss’ can be extended beyond the momentary experience which accompanies the release of semen. Semen and ova contain evolutionary potential and if these can be controlled, then not only the body but also the mind can be controlled.
 Nature has provided the mechanism of seminal release, but although it is generally not known, nature has also provided a means to control this mechanism through various practices of hatha yoga. If the release of semen can be controlled, a new range of experience dawns. Those experiences are also endowed by nature, even if only a few people have gained them. Therefore the techniques should not be considered against the natural order.
 Although medical science has generally failed to acknowledge the fact, uncontrolled release of semen throughout life does contribute to premature deterioration of the vital capacities of the brain, overburdens the heart and depletes the nervous system. Actually it is a matter of degree and there is no limit to perfection. Many men die prematurely of physical and mental exhaustion with their dreams unfulfilled and their goals unattained. However, if the process of seminal release can be arrested, so that energy and spermatozoa do not escape through the regenerative organ, but are redirected upwards into the higher brain centres, then a greater awakening can take place; a greater vision can be realized, and a greater vital power can be directed towards accomplishments in life.
 According to the sloka, if vajroli is well practised, even in an otherwise free lifestyle, that yogi’s attainments in life will be greater, and a greater source of vital and mental power becomes available to him. A few great yogis and masters had these experiences and have therefore instructed their disciples in the vajroli mudra – a hatha yoga technique.
 In mundane life, the climax of sexual experience is the one time when the mind becomes completely void of its own accord, and consciousness beyond the body can be glimpsed. However, that experience is short-lived because the energy is expressed through the lower energy centres. This energy which is normally lost can be used to awaken the dormant power of kundalini in the mooladhara. If the sperm can be withheld – the energy and not the sperm, as many have misunderstood – the energy can be channelized through the sushumna nadi and the central nervous system, to the dormant areas of the brain and to the sleeping consciousness.
 The sex act is the one means to totally concentrate and captivate the mind, but in tantra it should not be the ordinary experience; the experience has to be more than a gross or sensual one. Awareness and control have to be developed. The senses have to be developed. The senses have to be utilized, but only as the means of awakening the higher consciousness, not the animal consciousness, and for this vajroli mudra and various tantric rituals are to be perfected.
 Vajroli mudra is an important practice today in kali yuga when man’s ability and need to express himself in the material and sensual world is predominating. We have to act in the external world and simultaneously develop inner awareness. The purpose of life should be to attain a deeper and more fulfilling experience beyond the empirical sensory experience alone.
 Man has four basic desires known as purushartha the first of which is kama or sensual gratification, others being dharma, arth and mokhsha. This needs to be fulfilled to a certain extent but should not pull the consciousness down. It should be a means to accomplish a greater result.
 Every action, including the sex act, should be directed towards realizing the truth of existence. Then you are living a spiritual life. Spiritual life does not depend on living up to puritanical morality. If you can follow such puritanical ideals and attain enlightenment, then practice them, but do not condemn others who cannot. The moment you create rigid ideals that the spiritual path has to be ‘like this’ and cannot be ‘like that’ you are limiting your own ability to have a total experience.
 Spiritual unfoldment is the process of evolution. It can happen slowly through millions of years as the process of nature, or it can be accelerated through the practices of yoga. Vajroli mudra accelerates this rate of evolution. Practice of vajroli regulates the entire sexual system. Testosterone level and sperm production are influenced. Even if the yogi is a householder, he does not lose the semen. Therefore, whether one has sexual interactions or not, vajroli should be practised. The vajroli mudra can be learnt from a master, as it is very delicate methodology thus the details are not being given here for now. The deeper understanding of muscles in your genitals areas is needed and also the ability to differentiate the muscles which are used for urination and for seminal release have to be understood very deeply before you are given the method to practice. So gently and gradually as you grow in your practice, the vajroli mudra gets mastered and then you have the know how to protect your body from early degeneration and depletion of Ojas the life force.