u/devi_aashraye

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How Can the Muladhara Chakra Be Closed?

1. The Downward Flow of Life Force

Life is energy, it is power. However, under normal circumstances, your life force flows downwards. Consequently, all your vital energy transforms into endless desire. The sexual center is your lowest chakra. Your energy drops down and gets accumulated entirely at the sex center, causing your entire power to turn into sexual lust.

A small experiment can be performed:

> Whenever sexual desire arises in your mind, sit down quietly. Forcefully throw your breath out—that is, **exhale**. Do not inhale/take the breath in, because the incoming breath drives the sexual energy downwards.

>

When all the air is thrown out, your abdomen and navel area become a vacuum, a void. Wherever a vacuum is created, the surrounding energy naturally begins to flow towards it.

2. The Pull of the Vacuum and Inner Transformation

The void pulls, because nature does not tolerate a vacuum; it seeks to fill it. Once a vacuum is created near your navel, the energy from the *Muladhara* (root chakra) instantly rises towards the navel. When you experience this for the first time, you will feel a profound surge of energy rising into the navel like an arrow. You will find your entire body filled with a deep sense of well-being.

Similarly, if the energy rises to the navel, you will experience immense joy. A sense of cheerfulness will surround you. The transformation of energy has begun; you will feel more powerful, more harmonious, more active, and deeply relaxed—just like waking up from a deep sleep. If you practice this continuously and turn it into a constant spiritual practice (*sadhana*), there will come a moment when the energy leaps upwards in a flash without anyone else noticing.

3. Practising in Daily Life

You can practice this whilst standing in a market, working in an office, or sitting at your shop. Sitting on a chair, you can silently pull your abdomen inwards, and no one will ever know.

If a person applies *Mula Bandha* (the root lock) even for a split second at least three hundred times a day, they will find after a few months that sexual desire has dissolved. Doing it three hundred times a day is not very difficult. This can be the easiest path to achieving celibacy (*brahmacharya*). There are other, more difficult paths, but they are not necessary. You only need to learn one thing: how to direct the energy to the navel. Whenever desire arises, keep accumulating the energy in the navel. As the energy in the navel increases, it will naturally begin to rise upwards.

4. Filling the Vessel and Rising to the Heart

Just as water rises in a bucket as more is poured in, the level of energy rises similarly. Once the leak at the bottom of the vessel (the root chakra) is sealed, the energy will accumulate, and the vessel will fill up on its own. If the *Muladhara* is closed, you will suddenly find one day that the energy is gradually rising above the navel.

The day your energy reaches the Heart Chakra (*Anahata*), you will find yourself filled with love. Others will also sense a change in you. You will no longer be the same; you will have tuned into a completely different frequency. A distinct wave will accompany you—one that makes the sad feel cheerful, helps the grieving forget their sorrow for a moment, calms the restless, and showers love upon whomever you touch. However, this only happens when the energy reaches the heart.

5. Rising to the Throat and the Eyes

As the energy increases and rises from the heart to the throat (*Vishuddha*), a sweetness will enter your voice, along with a certain melody and beauty. You will speak ordinary words, yet those words will hold poetry. You will speak just a couple of words to someone and leave them deeply satisfied. Even when you are silent, messages will be hidden within your silence. Even if you do not speak, your very existence will speak.

The energy continues to rise. A moment comes when the energy manifests at your eyes. It is then, for the first time, that you truly begin to see—even though you were not physically blind before. Previously, you were blind because you could only see forms, not the formless; yet the formless is the ultimate truth. The formless is hidden within all forms. Forms are visible only because of the energy bound at the *Muladhara*; otherwise, there is no form. The *Muladhara* is a blind chakra. That is why sexual lust is called blind; it has no eyes at all.

6. The Opening of the Third Eye

In truth, the eyes only open when the energy rises and manifests at the Third Eye (*Ajna* chakra). When the waves of your energy begin to strike the shores of the Third Eye, the capacity for true vision (*darshan*) awakens within you for the first time.

The capacity for vision and the capacity for thought are two entirely different things. Vision is the ability to see directly—it is a direct realization. When a *Sadguru* (true master) says something, they speak from direct vision. It is their own experience. Words that are not experienced hold no meaning; only experienced words carry true significance.

When energy enters the third eye, experience begins, and the words of such a person carry the weight of truth rather than mere logic. For someone who has known, who has experienced the Divine, and who has become one with the Divine, their words carry an innate authenticity. It is the words of such a person that we call scripture (*shastra*).

7. Reaching the Crown (Sahasrara)

Then, the energy rises even higher. It touches the *Sahasrara* (crown chakra). The lowest center is the *Muladhara* chakra (associated with *Mula Bandha*), and the ultimate chakra is the *Sahasrara*. It is called so because it is like a thousand-petalled lotus. It is incredibly beautiful, and when it blooms, it feels as though one's entire personality has become a thousand-petalled lotus.

When the energy strikes the *Sahasrara*, its petals begin to open. As soon as the *Sahasrara* blooms, a fountain of bliss begins to flow from one's personality. In that very moment, Meera begins to dance. In that very moment, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu dances in ecstatic wildness. Not only does the consciousness rejoice, but every single cell of the body becomes ecstatic.

8. Practical Technique to Redirect Sexual Energy

Whenever the mind is gripped by sexual desire, do not feel guilty; instead, perform this experiment. If the energy has already reached the sexual organ itself, bringing it back is incredibly difficult, if not impossible! Therefore, we must use this aroused energy internally for transformation rather than letting it escape outwardly. If we do not utilize it, it will run its natural course—meaning if it does not go upwards, it will go downwards; if not "creation" (spiritual growth), then "destruction" (loss of vital energy).

* **The Technique:** When gripped by desire, contract both the urinary tract and the anus inward, exactly as you would to hold back urination or a bowel movement.

* **Focus:** Direct your entire attention to the crown of your head, just as if you were sitting in a room looking up at the ceiling. Close your eyes and focus all your awareness on the head, where the final *Sahasrara* chakra resides.

* **Applying the Lock:** Contracting the urinary tract and anus in this manner is called applying *Mula Bandha* (the root lock). If you perform this with active meditation, it begins to happen naturally. By closing your eyes, centering your awareness in your head, and simply observing... within moments, the energy that arose at the sex center (*Muladhara*) will begin to travel up through the spine, moving through the chakras towards the *Sahasrara*—moving from indulgence (*bhoga*) towards liberation (*moksha*).

9. Practising Upon Waking

We can also practice this at a highly opportune time. When we sleep at night, our breathing becomes deep, touching the sex center below the navel. By morning, a vast amount of energy accumulates at this center. Upon getting out of bed, this energy often escapes through urination or downward dispersion.

Therefore, the moment you wake up in the morning, remain lying down. Keep your eyes closed and start this practice:

1. Contract the urinary tract and the anus inward (*Mula Bandha*).

2. Center your entire attention on the crown of your head.

Here, you will witness a miracle occur! Within moments, the energy will begin to flow upwards from the sex center through the spine, and the sex center will become relaxed and quiet. In this way, you redirect the outward-going energy inward. You will not even need to find extra time or energy for meditation.

It is said that a vessel fills drop by drop... but if there is a hole at the bottom of the vessel, it will never fill. Redirecting this outward-going energy inward is equivalent to sealing the leak in the vessel. Once redirected inward, this energy begins to flow toward your inner observer (*sakshi*), making your state of witnessing even more profound. By adopting these small practices, the entry of meditation into your life will become effortless.

Does Ageing Stop Beyond Gravity?

1. Einstein's Theory of Gravity and Time

Albert Einstein discovered that outside the pull of gravity, the process of ageing stops. If a person were to travel to a distant planet, taking thirty years to reach it and another thirty years to return, and if they were thirty years old when they left Earth, you might expect them to be ninety years old upon their return. But you would be wrong—they would still be thirty years old. All their friends and contemporaries would have passed away; perhaps only one or two would still be alive, with one foot in the grave. Yet, this traveler would remain just as young as they were when they left the Earth.

The moment you go beyond gravity, the ageing process halts. Your body is ageing due to a specific, constant pressure. The Earth is constantly pulling you down, and you are fighting against this pull. Your energy is constantly resisted and depleted by this struggle. However, once you are outside the Earth's gravitational pull, you remain exactly as you are. You will not find your contemporaries, nor the fashions you left behind; you will find that sixty years have passed on Earth whilst you remained unchanged.

2. Experiencing Zero Gravity in Meditation

If you observe any meditator, they will invariably look younger than their actual age. This is the secret behind Einstein's theory of gravity applied to the inner world. This sensation of being beyond gravity can be experienced in deep meditation. It does happen, and it often confuses many practitioners.

With your eyes closed, when you are in absolute silence, you are beyond gravity. However, it is only your *silence* that is beyond gravity, not your physical body. Yet, in that moment of absolute identification with your silence, you feel as though you are rising upwards. Without opening your eyes, you will feel as though your body is levitating beyond gravity. This is a real inner experience; however, because you are still identified with the body, you physically feel as though the body itself is rising. When you open your eyes, you will find you are sitting on the ground in the exact same posture.

Meditation is also a state of heightened awareness. The Earth's gravity pulls us down at all times; this constant pull determines the age of the body and gradually bends it downwards. The cause of this is our unconsciousness towards our body, whereas meditation makes us highly aware. Meditation breaks our deep slumber. Whatever we do throughout the day is done in a state of unconsciousness. If we become mindful of our actions, the energy that is wasted in the friction of movement will be saved. Instead, we will feel more energetic.

When we walk with full awareness, our steps do land on the ground, yet the Earth cannot drag us down. We feel as though we are floating on air. As a meditator's awareness grows, their work capacity increases, and they cease to feel fatigue.

Methods of Utilizing Energy in Sadhana: The Bandhas (Yogic Locks)

1. What is a Bandha?

The literal meaning of *Bandha* is a 'knot', a bond, or a lock. Through its practice, the vital life force (*prana*) is locked or directed into a specific part of the body. By doing this, a yogi controls the *pranas* and successfully awakens the *Kundalini*.

A *Bandha* is a yogic technique to channel and focus the vital energy force in the correct direction. Through a *Bandha*, you can direct energy to the area where it is needed most. Thus, these Yoga Energy Locks can be utilized as powerful tools in yoga therapy.

There are primarily five *Bandhas*:

1. **Mula Bandha** (Root Lock)

2. **Uddiyana Bandha** (Abdominal Lock)

3. **Jalandhara Bandha** (Throat Lock)

4. **Bandhatraya** (The Triple Lock)

5. **Maha Bandha** (The Great Lock - which is the combined power of the first three locks)

6. What is Mula Bandha (Root Lock)?

* **First Method:** Entirely closing or contracting the anal sphincter is called *Mula Bandha*. Apply *Ashwini Mudra*, exhale deeply and forcefully, and do not inhale. Holding the *Apana Vayu* (downward-flowing energy) upward is called *Mula Bandha*.

> Just as a horse (*Ashwa*) repeatedly contracts and relaxes its anal sphincter after passing waste, doing the same is called *Ashwini Mudra*. The secret behind a horse's immense strength and agility lies in this mudra.

>

* **Second Method:** Sitting in *Siddhasana* (Accomplished Pose), pressing the perineum with the heel, and repeatedly contracting the genital region while pulling the *Apana Vayu* upward is called *Mula Bandha*. Doing this causes the *Apana* energy to ascend.

Our *Apana Vayu* resides below the navel, while the *Prana Vayu* resides above the navel. The union of *Apana* and *Prana* is the ultimate goal of Yoga. *Mula Bandha* forces the *Apana Vayu* upwards, while *Jalandhara Bandha* directs the *Prana Vayu* downwards. Where the two meet, the *Kundalini* awakens.

3. What is Uddiyana Bandha (Abdominal Lock)?

*Uddiyana Bandha* is applied by pulling the upper and lower parts of the abdomen back toward the spine. Among all locks, *Uddiyana* is considered supreme. Applying *Mula Bandha* and *Uddiyana Bandha* together quickly awakens the *Muladhara* and *Svadhisthana* (sacral) chakras, forcing the vital energy towards the brain, allowing the practitioner to conquer even death.

4. What is Jalandhara Bandha (Throat Lock)?

Contracting the throat and firmly pressing the chin against the chest (at the jugular notch) is called *Jalandhara Bandha*. This lock wards off old age and decay. It cures throat-related ailments, regulates the network of nadis (energy channels), and prevents the divine nectar (*amrit*) dripping from the *Sahasrara* from being burnt up in the digestive fire of the navel.

5. What is Maha Bandha (The Great Lock)?

Applying all three locks simultaneously—first *Jalandhara Bandha*, then *Uddiyana Bandha*, and finally *Mula Bandha*—is called *Tribandha* (the triple lock) or *Maha Bandha*. During this practice, the gaze and focus should be kept at the third eye (*Trikuti*).

6. Step-by-Step Method of Practising the Bandhas

The Sequential Method

1. Inhale deeply, then exhale completely through the mouth.

2. Hold the breath out (external retention/bahir kumbhaka).

3. Place your hands firmly on your knees, raise your shoulders slightly, keep your spine straight, and bend your torso slightly forward.

4. Apply **Jalandhara Bandha** (Throat Lock) and focus on the *Vishuddhi* (throat) chakra.

5. Apply **Uddiyana Bandha** (Abdominal Lock) and focus on the *Manipura* (navel) chakra.

6. Finally, apply **Mula Bandha** (Root Lock) by firmly contracting the anal sphincter and focusing on the *Muladhara* chakra.

7. Maintain these three locks (*Tribandha*) for as long as you can comfortably hold your breath outside.

8. Release the locks in the exact reverse order: first release *Mula Bandha*, then *Uddiyana Bandha*, and finally *Jalandhara Bandha*.

9. Inhale deeply and return to the starting position. Repeat this practice 4 to 5 times.

The Siddhasana Method

* Sit in *Siddhasana* by pressing the perineum (the area between the anus and genitals) with the heel of your left foot, and place your right foot over your left thigh.

* Both knees must touch the ground, and your palms should rest on your knees.

* Now, whilst holding your breath, practice pulling the lower energy upwards by contracting the pelvic floor.

* In *Siddhasana*, this pressure is maintained naturally by the heel.

* Hold this lock comfortably. Along with this, keep *Jalandhara Bandha* applied.

* To finish, gently release the contraction of the perineum, slowly release *Jalandhara Bandha*, and gently exhale the breath.

Tantra accepts life in its total transparency—it accepts the bad, the inauspicious, and the darkness. This is not so that darkness remains darkness, or that evil remains evil, but because within the inauspicious lies the potential to be transformed into the auspicious. Even darkness can be refined into light. And that which we call "matter" is, in its ultimate depths, nothing other than the Divine.

Tantra is non-dual (*Advait*). It is the acceptance of the One. That which is bad is also a form of that One. That which is inauspicious is also a form of that One. In the mind of Tantra, there is no condemnation of anyone. Condemnation simply does not exist.

G.M.N. Tyrrell wrote a book called *Grades of Significance*. In the eyes of Tantra, the differences we see in life are merely differences in the "steps of significance." Yet, the first step is as much a part of the temple as the final step. If you remove the first step, there is no way to reach the sanctuary. The ugly roots hidden beneath the earth are the very life-breath of the flowers blooming in the sky. If those ugly, dark-soaked roots are cut away, the possibility of beautiful flowers vanishes. The misshapen stones buried in the foundation of the temple are what uphold the golden pinnacle (*Swarna-Kalash*) at the top. Deny them, and the golden pinnacle falls, crumbling into the dust.

Tantra accepts life in its entirety. It is essential to understand this first, because it is upon this foundation that Tantra developed the science of transforming sexual energy. In the view of Tantra, sexual energy is the "earthly manifestation" of divine energy. Sexual energy is the very first step toward the Brahman (the Ultimate Reality).

This does not mean Tantra wants a person to remain drowned in lust. It simply means that we must begin the journey from wherever we are standing; and if the ground where we stand is not connected to the destination we wish to reach, then travel is impossible. Man stands in lust.

Man exists in the realm of sexual desire. The point where we find ourselves placed by Nature is the point of sex. Nature has stationed us there. Any journey must begin from this point. Now, from here, we can take two kinds of journeys.

One is what people usually attempt—though they never succeed—which is to fight against their own situation. We become enemies of the ground we stand upon; essentially, we become our own enemies and split ourselves into two fragments. One part is that which we condemn (which is what we actually are), and the other is that which we praise (which we are not yet, but wish to be). We break ourselves into "what is" and "what should be."

Whenever a person splits themselves like this, they must understand that the part they are denying is exactly who they are, and the part they are accepting is exactly who they are not. Their entire life will then descend into an absurd struggle. They will try to believe "I am that which I am not," and deny "I am that which I am." Such people can only become neurotic. In the view of Tantra, this is internal strife.

If one wishes to reach celibacy (*Brahmacharya*), it cannot be done by fighting sex. Tantra says that by fighting oneself, one can get nowhere. Who is the fighter? And who is being fought? We are one. Fighting means dividing oneself into two fragments. That is schizophrenic. By breaking into fragments, a person becomes deranged; it creates a split personality. We simply scatter into pieces within.

Tantra says that sexual energy itself must be transformed into *Brahmacharya*; the very power of sex must be led to the Brahman. The same sexual energy that rushes toward "the other" must be brought back to "the self." The same energy that craves the other must be made to crave the depths of one's own being. The same energy that seeks trivial pleasure must be turned toward the vast, infinite bliss—toward the eternal, toward liberation. I call this perspective of Tantra the "Non-dual Perspective."

All those who view life through the language of conflict are dualists. They believe life consists of two opposing elements that must fight. The body must fight the soul; God must fight Nature; sex must fight meditation. The entire web of their thought spreads through this language of combat. Such people do not know the truth of life.

Tantra says: do not fight, transform. Transform what we have. Even modern science today agrees with Tantra. If science has declared any fundamental principles in the last three hundred years, one is that energy cannot be destroyed. There is no way to annihilate energy. We can only change its form. Even the greatest power of science cannot destroy the energy hidden within a tiny grain of sand. Yes, it can transform it; give it another shape. A different form, a different world—everything can be changed, but the energy remains. Science says nothing in this universe is ever destroyed.

There is another side to this: nothing in this universe is ever truly "created" anew. Nothing dies, nothing is born; only forms change. The seed was there; it becomes a tree. The seed "disappears," but only because of our lack of vision. The seed does not die; the energy hidden in the seed becomes the tree. Tomorrow, the tree dies and leaves behind thousands of seeds. Energy only changes its mask; it is never lost.

Therefore, those who think in the language of "creating and destroying" think unscientifically. Sex cannot be destroyed, but in one sense, sex can completely vanish—just as the seed vanished. Where is the seed that was there yesterday? Now it is a tree. If you look for the seed, you won't find it. One could say the seed is gone, but that language is incorrect. The seed didn't die; it was transformed. Because where the seed was, the tree now stands; what *was* the seed *is* now the tree.

*Brahmacharya* is not the destruction of sex. *Brahmacharya* exists now where sex was yesterday. Where yesterday the energy was rushing outward, today that same energy, as *Brahmacharya*, is rushing inward. The energy that was "exoteric" has now become "esoteric." The energy that ran from the centre to the periphery now runs from the periphery to the centre. But the energy is the same. Tantra gave this declaration to humanity long before the modern understanding of science.

Tantra warns: do not fall into the madness of trying to destroy any power, otherwise you will only break and scatter yourself. Therefore, those who fight sex do not achieve *Brahmacharya*; they only achieve perversion. Anyone who becomes embattled with their own sexuality develops a deep enmity—and most of us harbor this enmity.

The truth is, we only know how to nurture either enmity or friendship. We do not know how to remain in the middle. We either become friends like madmen or enemies like madmen, but our madness remains. We are never able to look with neutrality.

Tantra says: the first formula is to look at sex with neutrality. Do not look at it as a friend, nor as an enemy. Do not look at it as something to be enjoyed, nor as something to be renounced. Look at it as pure energy. That is the truth. Friendship and enmity are our perspectives, not facts. They are our interpretations. The fact is simply this: there is a vast energy that spreads outward, seeking the other, seeking the opposite. See this energy simply as energy. This is the first step of Tantra.

And the moment you see it as energy, your entire vision changes. Then we are neither eager to indulge nor eager to renounce. The one eager to renounce is merely a defeated, tired, or bored hedonist. It is the same hedonist who is now talking about renunciation. But if a man is bored with indulgence, how long will he last before he gets bored with renunciation too?

He who is bored with pleasure will soon be bored with penance. If one is weary of the "feast," how can they escape being weary of the "fast"? Renunciation is just the other side of indulgence; it is the same coin.

It is necessary to understand this, as it forms the essential foundation for the transformation of sexual energy. Every act has two sides. If you are hungry, you are desperate to eat. Once you have eaten, you forget the food entirely. If you overeat, you feel the urge to vomit the very food you were just craving. The very thing you were crazy for now creates disgust. Every impulse of the mind—hunger, thirst—has these two phases: the state of desire and the state of satiation.

Similarly, when sex demands attention, a man runs after it like a madman. It leads him to a peak where energy is spent, and then he falls back into a pit of sadness. In that pit, he thinks against sex. It is hard to find a hedonist who does not think in the language of renunciation after indulgence.

Renunciation is an idea born in the shadow of sex. It is the "repentance" of sex. It is the grief over lost power. All hedonists feel a sense of melancholy, indifference, or disdain after the gratification of lust. When a husband turns his back to his wife to sleep, that back is very telling. The wife understands the signal, which is why she often weeps behind that back. Only moments ago, this man was frantic; moments later, he has turned away. He is now as bored and exhausted as if this desire will never rise again. But in twenty-four or forty-eight hours, the energy will gather again, the mind of indulgence will stand back up, and he will forget all the repentance of yesterday.

Indulgence and renunciation are two sides of one coin. Every person swings constantly on this pendulum. Some catch the side of indulgence and rot in brothels. Others catch the side of repentance and sit in monasteries. But both are holding the same coin.

This is why the man who has fled to an ashram will still feel the waves of lust in his mind every day. The call comes from the other side—the side that wasn't dropped, only suppressed. You can drop the whole coin at once, but you can never drop just one side. At most, you can flip one side down and the other up. But if the coin is in your hand, both sides are in your hand. This is why the "renunciant" constantly feels the attraction of pleasure, and why he constantly speaks against it. He isn't convincing you; he is trying to convince himself.

This is why the world's "great renunciants" have insulted pleasure so much that one suspects they must have been deeply attracted to it; otherwise, such vitriol has no purpose. If pleasure were truly gone, there would be no interest in insulting it. But if you look at their scriptures, it is staggering. Just as the hedonist praises, the renunciant condemns.

Why does the hedonist praise? To wash away his guilt. He tells himself his repentance was just a moment of weakness. He says there is great juice, great heaven in it. And the renunciant does the opposite. He is trying to falsify the memories of the pleasure he once found. He says it is all wrong, it is hell. But his mind reminds him of heaven. Both are suppressing. The hedonist suppresses his guilt; the renunciant suppresses his desire. Both are "suppressive minds."

Tantra says: do not suppress. Look. Know. Identify. Escape this duality. Neither praise nor condemn. If you praise now, you will condemn in a little while. Like day follows night, praise follows condemnation in a circle. Tantra says: see that both are futile. See the energy as neutral. All energy is neutral. It is neither auspicious nor inauspicious. It is neither for "taking" nor for "leaving."

If a person can save their life-force from this double conflict and just look at it—what happens? Tantra says that as soon as you look at life-force just as energy, without valuation or judgment, the energy stops. It goes neither forward nor backward, neither outward nor inward. Because *we* are the ones who move the energy; we move it outward with praise and push it "inside" (suppress it) with condemnation.

We have seen the pendulum of a clock. When it goes to the left, it gathers the power to go to the right. By going to the right, it prepares to swing left. It keeps moving by gathering opposing forces. When you praise sexual energy, you are preparing to condemn it. This is the **Law of Reverse Effect**.

I have heard of a Hasidic mystic who wrote a revolutionary book. The orthodox Jews were very angry. He gave the book to a disciple and told him to gift it to the High Rabbi. The disciple was scared. The mystic said, "Do not react to his behavior. Just be a witness, so you can report back exactly what happened."

The disciple went. The Rabbi was in the garden. When he heard the mystic's name, he threw the book away in anger and shouted, "Keep it outside the door! Such irreligious books cannot enter this house!" The disciple stood still; he was a witness, not a participant. The Rabbi's wife said, "Why so much anger? There are thousands of books in the library, keep this one too. Why hurt this poor man?" The disciple felt like thanking the wife, but he remembered he was just a witness.

When he returned, the mystic asked what happened. The disciple said, "If I had reacted, I would have thought the Rabbi was an enemy and the wife was a friend. But as a witness, I can see the Rabbi might become a friend tomorrow, but there is no hope for the wife." Why? Because the Rabbi reacted with such passion that he will eventually have to read it and will likely repent. But the wife was so cold and indifferent ("just put it with the other thousand books") that she will never truly engage with it. The mystic laughed and said, "You have understood the principle of the pendulum."

Tantra says: energy is just energy. Do not look at it as something to use or something to lose. Just be a witness. And when you become a witness, the energy stops moving outward. It stands still. And in this universe, nothing can truly stay still. It must move. If it cannot go out, and you are not forcing it, it will naturally start flowing inward.

Inward and upward are synonyms in this journey. Outward and downward are synonyms. As the energy flows inward, "internal union" (*Antar-Maithun*) begins.

There is a union we seek with another—the opposite sex. But when the journey turns inward, unions begin to happen between our own internal centres. When the base centre (*Muladhara*) relates to another's base centre, sex happens. It is a moment of pleasure. But when the power flows from the base to the internal centres, a meeting happens within. This is the beginning of Tantra.

There are seven such centres (*Chakras*). At each level, one experiences deeper and deeper bliss. At the seventh centre, there is an explosion of supreme bliss (*Param-Anand*). Beyond that, the energy merges with the Brahman.

Tantra calls this "Maha-Sukha" (Great Bliss). The pleasure we get from others is fleeting; we don't even truly meet before we begin to part. But within yourself, there is no parting. The union becomes eternal. This Great Bliss is simply the transformation of sexual energy.

First, being a witness is necessary. A neutral vision is required. No enmity with sex, no "friendship" with it—just a natural state. Secondly, this moment of standing still requires great patience. Why? Because our experience of sex is a split second. Because of habit, even when the energy stops in Tantra, the mind tries to rush back to its old ways.

Our mind is mechanical. It lives by habit. It knows nothing else. In Tantra, the first experience at the first internal centre will feel like sexual climax. The mind will want to flee back to the familiar. At that moment, you need "patient awaiting." Don't rush back. You might fail ten times, but keep watching. To the mind, the "Great Bliss" will feel like death. It will be terrifying.

Actually, sex and death are deeply linked. In every sexual act, a man dies a little; his life-force is spent. Some animals die instantly after mating. An African spider mates while the female begins to eat him from the head down. By the time he finishes, half his body is gone. Yet, other spiders watch this and still enter the act. They think, "I am the exception."

Humans are the same. We see death on the road and think "Poor guy," but never "I am that man." Because we feel we are the exception. In the animal kingdom, sex and death often happen together. Where they don't, sex still brings death closer. That is why the guilt after sex is actually the grief over "dying" a little bit.

So, when energy hits the internal centres for the first time, you will feel the fear of death. You must be ready to say, "I welcome death." He who is ready to die there discovers he has entered Immortality (*Amrit*).

Outward union is an entry into death. Inward union is an entry into immortality. Every outward act is a "dying" act. Every inward act is a "tasting of nectar." When Kabir shouts that "Nectar is raining from the palate," it isn't raining outside. It is the taste of life-force rising through the internal centres.

Also, just as we give birth to another through external sex, we give birth to "ourselves" through internal union. A new person begins to be born within. This is what it truly means to be "Twice-Born" (*Dwija*). One birth is from parents; the second birth is from oneself. Behind all external births is death; behind the internal birth is immortality.

If this framework of Tantra is understood, there is no difficulty in leading sexual energy to *Brahmacharya*. But this vision is hard to grasp because our minds are poisoned with enmity toward sex. We insult it while indulging in it. We condemn it while moving toward it.

The person who wants to take this energy upward must realize: sexual energy is God's energy. Condemnation is futile; indulgence is futile. Knowing it is meaningful. Living it is meaningful. As the energy goes inward, it becomes vibrant. It fills the "emptiness" within. A man can finally say, "I am full. No space is left empty."