Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 chris how about the characters for ham sah? do you know what they look like? they are referred to in at least one visualization in the guru gita ... as HAM and SAH being to the right and left of the guru/ishta deva, within a triangle, within a lotus, within the moon, within either the heart or above the head. steve , "Chris Kirner" <chriskirner1956> wrote: > > > Steve, > > I'm sure there's a great many correspondences regarding the swan, but > the only one (other than that Brahma rides a swan) is that the swan is > said to be able to separate the milk from the water, taking only the > milk. This is in reference to maya, in which the pure and the impure > reside together in all things; the swan is able to separate the impure > from the pure. > > Chris > > , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...> wrote: > > > > > > anyone out there have a good interpretation of HAM SAH > > > > image of the swan ... nature and consciousness ... > > > > as referred to in the Guru Gita ... > > > > ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Hi Steve, I don't know how to recognize them. However, I may be able to provide a little more insight on the meaning of hamsa for you. In the dhyaanam hamsa is described as being embraced by two petals. This seems to suggest a location at ajna chakra, and indeed, I have seen it represented that way, one letter representing the lunar, in Ida nadi, and the other the solar, in Pingala nadi. The union of these two principles at ajna chakra, the subtlest manifestation of matter, is Union, or yoga. In the kundalini yoga system, one practices the mantra so ham to open shushumna nadi and lead the shakti up to ajna chakra, visualizing the process and timing the repetition in concert with the inhalation and exhalation. You may have noticed the similarity of the two mantras to one another, so ham, ham sa. While so ham (I am that) leads the consciousness to the highest subtlety of matter, I believe ham sa takes over from there as a natural progression, taking the consciousness beyond the activity of the three gunas, into sahasrara chakra. In the kundalini yoga version of bhuta shuddhi (purification of the elements) I learned, one uses so ham to awaken and purify ajna chakra, and ham sa to go beyond. The shakti each expresses validates their use here. If you remember, ham sa is also the final bija in the series for prana pratishtaa. In Swamiji's discussion of the Chandi Kavach, he mentions the progression from so ham to ham sa, and, if I remember correctly, at least infers what I have just said, repeating so ham so ham so ham ham sa ham sa ham sa, ham sa representing yoga. Verse 58 is interesting, in that it takes place in sahasrara chakra, where not just the "three lines" but everything, is unspeakable. Although, it just occurred to me that if the three lines represent the gunas, all of creation, then that pretty much is everything, isn't it? As I understand, circles usually represent unified consciousness and/or the moon, meaning bliss or devotion, and the triangles, the three gunas. If I were to venture an educated guess, since these all appear in sahasrara chakra, they must represent unmanifested creation, or Sadashiva (I hope I have that right - I'm not too good at remembering the details of laya). So, likely, we are remembering the guru as embodying Sadashiva, here. Pretty cool huh? Well, that just about taps-out my meager knowledge of hamsa. Take a look, if you don't recall it already, verse 11 of the Chandi Pathah Kavach. :-) Chris , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...> wrote: > > > chris > > how about the characters for ham sah? do you know what they look > like? they are referred to in at least one visualization in the guru > gita ... as HAM and SAH being to the right and left of the > guru/ishta deva, within a triangle, within a lotus, within the moon, > within either the heart or above the head. > > steve > > > > , "Chris Kirner" > <chriskirner1956> wrote: > > > > > > Steve, > > > > I'm sure there's a great many correspondences regarding the swan, > but > > the only one (other than that Brahma rides a swan) is that the > swan is > > said to be able to separate the milk from the water, taking only > the > > milk. This is in reference to maya, in which the pure and the > impure > > reside together in all things; the swan is able to separate the > impure > > from the pure. > > > > Chris > > > > , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...> > wrote: > > > > > > > > > anyone out there have a good interpretation of HAM SAH > > > > > > image of the swan ... nature and consciousness ... > > > > > > as referred to in the Guru Gita ... > > > > > > ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 awesome! super post! i will check out those pages. s , "Chris Kirner" <chriskirner1956> wrote: > > > Hi Steve, > > I don't know how to recognize them. However, I may be able to provide > a little more insight on the meaning of hamsa for you. > > In the dhyaanam hamsa is described as being embraced by two petals. > This seems to suggest a location at ajna chakra, and indeed, I have > seen it represented that way, one letter representing the lunar, in > Ida nadi, and the other the solar, in Pingala nadi. The union of these > two principles at ajna chakra, the subtlest manifestation of matter, > is Union, or yoga. > > In the kundalini yoga system, one practices the mantra so ham to open > shushumna nadi and lead the shakti up to ajna chakra, visualizing the > process and timing the repetition in concert with the inhalation and > exhalation. You may have noticed the similarity of the two mantras to > one another, so ham, ham sa. While so ham (I am that) leads the > consciousness to the highest subtlety of matter, I believe ham sa > takes over from there as a natural progression, taking the > consciousness beyond the activity of the three gunas, into sahasrara > chakra. > > In the kundalini yoga version of bhuta shuddhi (purification of the > elements) I learned, one uses so ham to awaken and purify ajna chakra, > and ham sa to go beyond. The shakti each expresses validates their use > here. If you remember, ham sa is also the final bija in the series for > prana pratishtaa. > > In Swamiji's discussion of the Chandi Kavach, he mentions the > progression from so ham to ham sa, and, if I remember correctly, at > least infers what I have just said, repeating so ham so ham so ham ham > sa ham sa ham sa, ham sa representing yoga. > > Verse 58 is interesting, in that it takes place in sahasrara chakra, > where not just the "three lines" but everything, is unspeakable. > Although, it just occurred to me that if the three lines represent the > gunas, all of creation, then that pretty much is everything, isn't it? > As I understand, circles usually represent unified consciousness > and/or the moon, meaning bliss or devotion, and the triangles, the > three gunas. If I were to venture an educated guess, since these all > appear in sahasrara chakra, they must represent unmanifested creation, > or Sadashiva (I hope I have that right - I'm not too good at > remembering the details of laya). So, likely, we are remembering the > guru as embodying Sadashiva, here. Pretty cool huh? > > Well, that just about taps-out my meager knowledge of hamsa. Take a > look, if you don't recall it already, verse 11 of the Chandi Pathah > Kavach. :-) > > Chris > > > > , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...> wrote: > > > > > > chris > > > > how about the characters for ham sah? do you know what they look > > like? they are referred to in at least one visualization in the guru > > gita ... as HAM and SAH being to the right and left of the > > guru/ishta deva, within a triangle, within a lotus, within the moon, > > within either the heart or above the head. > > > > steve > > > > > > > > , "Chris Kirner" > > <chriskirner1956> wrote: > > > > > > > > > Steve, > > > > > > I'm sure there's a great many correspondences regarding the swan, > > but > > > the only one (other than that Brahma rides a swan) is that the > > swan is > > > said to be able to separate the milk from the water, taking only > > the > > > milk. This is in reference to maya, in which the pure and the > > impure > > > reside together in all things; the swan is able to separate the > > impure > > > from the pure. > > > > > > Chris > > > > > > , "Steve Connor" <sconnor@a...> > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > > anyone out there have a good interpretation of HAM SAH > > > > > > > > image of the swan ... nature and consciousness ... > > > > > > > > as referred to in the Guru Gita ... > > > > > > > > ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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