31. LAMBIKĀ-YOGA

D: I have read that Śrī Vidyātīrtha spent his last days in lambikā-Yoga. Will Acharyal kindly explain what is meant by lambikā-Yoga?

A: During lambikā-yoga, nectar flows down from the sahasrāra-cakra situated in the head. That nectar causes hunger and thirst to disappear. Good health is had.

D: How should one practise lambikā-yoga?

A: According to haṭha-yoga texts, the tendon at the lower part of the tongue should be cut a little. Then, certain medicines should be applied to heal the wounded portion. The lower portion of the tongue should then be cut to a further extent. Simultaneously, the tongue should be stretched, little by little. Soon, the tongue becomes thin and elongated. When this elongated tongue is stretched, it should reach the region between the eyebrows. The tongue should now be folded back and thrust upwards. When meditation is practised after this, nectar flows down.

D: Does meditation of this nature cause physical pain and dumbness?

A: It cannot be guaranteed that there will be no pain but it is wrong to say that one will become dumb. The voice will be clear.

D: How will the nectar taste? Will one know by experience that it is flowing down?

A: There is no need to say that the nectar is tasty. It can surely be experienced as it flows down to the throat.

D: Will hunger and thirst disappear completely once the nectar is tasted?

A: It cannot be assumed that they disappear forever. They are normally not felt for some time, but reappear later. So long as the effect of the nectar lasts, the body is not in need of food and water and does not grow weak.

D: Has Acharyal seen anybody who has cut his tongue in the prescribed manner?

A: Yes. I have seen one person. He had a clear voice. He demonstrated lambikā-yoga by folding his tongue and pushing it upwards. He was making a peculiar sound. Finally, he succeeded in obtaining nectar.

D: Would any external sound or disturbance have caused harm?

A: Yes. Excessive disturbances could have been fatal.

D: Is there any other easier way of obtaining nectar than cutting the tongue?

A: Certainly, there is. What I told you now is just the haṭha-yoga method of obtaining the nectar. For some people, it descends during meditation due to the pertinent penance done by them in the previous birth. My Acharyal has told Me about the flow of nectar.

D: In which kind of meditation does nectar flow?

A: Usually during saguṇa-dhyāna.

D: Since the nectar is said to flow down from the head, can one come to the conclusion that nectar is stored there? Is it not surprising?

A: Whether it is surprising or not, is irrelevant. The existence and descent of nectar are directly experienced. Besides being tasty, the nectar also frees one from hunger and thirst. Hence, there is no room for doubt. However, neither the nectar present in the sahasrāra in the head, nor what flows down to the throat is detectable by others. It is not something gross.

D: If lambikā-yoga is taught to all, then countless people suffering from hunger can be benefited. Is it not?

A: Only extremely few will successfully obtain nectar and so the practice cannot be made universal. The effort required to succeed is tremendous and would act as a deterrent even to those assiduous strivers who may be very keen on tasting the nectar.

D: Has Acharyal noted any characteristic in persons who have experienced this flow of nectar?

A: Yes. For some people, a little quantity of water oozes from the crown of the head. But this is unrelated causally to the flow of nectar.

D: When would the water ooze from the head?

A: It may come any time. Even while taking food.

D: How much?

A: More or less one uddharaṇī full.

(An uddharaṇī is spoon-like and is used during anuṣṭhāna.)

D: Is what emerges water or any other fluid resembling water?

A: (Smiling) Water.

D: Will there be any inconvenience on account of the flow of water?

A: There is no inconvenience at all. The water that emerges needs to be removed with a cloth. Otherwise, it will flow down the face.

D: What is the reason for such flow of water?

A: It can flow. That is all.

D: Has Acharyal made effort to make nectar descend?

A: I neither pay attention to such siddhi-s nor do I make effort to obtain it. It just comes as it pleases. I do not make any effort to get it or to prevent it.

D: Acharyal pointed out that nectar could descend in some people even if the lower part of the tongue is not cut. What can such people do to initiate or facilitate the flow?

A: While practising saguṇa-dhyāna, they could keep the tongue folded back, with the tip at the rear of the upper palate. If the practice of their past births is suitable, this would be of some help.

D: Would it not be beneficial to spiritual aspirants to get over the need for food and water by recourse to lambikā-yoga?

A: No. The aim of those aspiring for liberation should only be the securing of the realisation of the Supreme and, thus, liberation. Turning attention to dealing in an extraordinary way with hunger and thirst is also a kind of distraction from the goal. Laṁbikā-yoga came naturally to sages like Śrī Vidyātīrtha and so they allowed it. However, if a beginner spends his time on this, he will be wasting his precious time. We should take care that the mind does not deviate from the goal.

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❑ Discourses of Acharyal

In a benedictory address to a mammoth gathering on December 21, 1982 at Paramahamsi-Ganga-Ashram in the state of Madhya Pradesh, Acharyal spoke of how people can achieve their various cherished ends by suitably concentrating on the Divine Mother.

Concerning the desire of people to have a long life, He cited an authoritative verse, meaning, “The life-span on earth of those who contemplate every day on You (Mother) as present within the lotus of the head and raining cool nectar becomes great.”

Acharyal then said, “The scripture and even our experience reveal that there is a lotus in the head; just as there is nectar in a common lotus, there is nectar in this (sahasrāra) lotus too. Its nectar is savoured in lambikā-yoga. This yoga involves making one’s tongue very thin and long, inserting it into the passage at the back of the mouth and taking it upwards to the head. When one remains with the tongue thrust up to the head, one tastes the nectar that flows there. Long life is acquired by those given to drinking nectar thus. This is a means taught in the yoga-śāstra.”

Acharyal went on to explain, in the light of the cited verse, a course that can be adopted by a devotee of the Mother who is unfamiliar with lambikā-yoga, but who seeks to transcend ephemeral existence or to have a long life. He said, “The Mother is meditated upon in the six cakra-s (mūlādhāra, svādhiṣṭhāna, maṇipūra, anāhata, viśuddha and ājñā) and in the sahasrāra. The sahasrāra is the topmost of these centres. ‘Mother, You are seated there. With both Your hands, You are pouring down nectar that is descending to and filling my stomach. The nectar is cool. You are indeed raining the ambrosia of the gods. I contemplate on You in this fashion.”

Having presented the meditation specified in the first half of the verse from a practitioner’s perspective, Acharyal did so in the form of a teaching. He said, “Close the eyes. Think of the sahasrāra lotus. Then, conceive of the Mother as seated there and pouring down nectar. Feel that the nectar is descending and filling the stomach. What is the fruit of contemplating thus? The life-span of those who meditate thus every day becomes great.”

Shortly after delivering the half-an-hour-long benedictory discourse, Acharyal told a disciple in private, “When I cited the verse concerned, I was reminded of the related experience that I had as a boy. That was one reason for My mentioning that the scripture as also experience reveal the presence of the sahasrāra lotus and the nectar there.”

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