The Collection of Gheranda

INTRODUCTION

subtle meditation original: dhyāna, and the visualization of the serpent power original: Kuṇḍalinī; the dormant spiritual energy at the base of the spine. In the final chapter, Gheranda teaches six very different ways to reach deep absorption original: samādhi. Three seals original: mudrās; physical gestures used to seal energy—the Shambhavi, Khechari, and Yoni seals—lead to three types of absorption: meditation, bliss through sensation original: rasa; literally "taste" or "aesthetic essence", and dissolution original: laya; the resorption of the individual soul into the Ultimate Reality by means of the serpent power’s rise up the central channel (original: suṣumṇā). Bee breath control original: bhramarī prāṇāyāma, as noted above, leads to deep absorption through the inner sound original: nāda. The trance original: mūrcchā breath control also leads to deep absorption. Finally, we are told that absorption can arise through devotion original: bhakti, and this is another feature that sets this book apart from all other texts on Forceful Yoga original: Haṭha Yoga.

Nothing is known about Gheranda and Chanda. The name Gheranda is not found anywhere else in Sanskrit literature. Like many other works on Forceful Yoga, the work is framed as a dialogue, suggesting that it has been overheard and then written down. Thus the identity of the author (or whoever overheard Gheranda) is not revealed. Chanda’s full name, Chandakapali, means “fierce skullbearer.” The epithet skullbearer original: kapālī immediately brings to mind the sect of the Skullbearers original: Kāpālikas, skull-bearing followers of the god Shiva infamous for antinomian practices actions that go against conventional social or religious laws. Kapali and Kapalika are both mentioned as past masters of Forceful Yoga in the list given in the Light on Forceful Yoga original: Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā, verses 1.4-8. (In fact, some manuscripts of that text prefix the name Kapali with Chanda, rather than Khanda, which is the more common reading.) However, as we shall see below, the practices taught in this book are tame compared to some of those taught in other works on Forceful Yoga, and Gheranda