Though Yoga is a very technical subject and its discussion is mostly restricted to teacher-student disciplines, any introduction to Tantra without the mention of Yoga is incomplete.
There are three major forms of Yoga, Mantra yoga, Laya yoga and Kunḍalini yoga. The aim of all the three is the same, though the methods vary slightly. ŚrīVidyā tantra involves all these three forms of yoga and integrates them.
MANTRA YOGA
Sound is produced through contact, vibration and obstruction. This is called āhata. However cosmic hiss if one can hear is eternal and existent. This is called Anāhata. It is not produced by us but only heard. A yogi can hear this. In sādhana one makes the sound oneself (by doing mantra japa), in a rhythm, resonant with the vibrations of his nādis and his breath. Through this one will be able to discover the deeper vibration. This way of merging individual with cosmic is called mantra yoga.
Mantra is said to be the sound-form of Devata (god-form). One realizes Devata through the chanting of mantra in mantra yoga. Mantra yoga concentrates on nada (sound) to strike rhythm between individual and cosmic vibration, to activate the right nādis, to expose one into the cidākāsa or daharākāsa (causal space). Śabda (sound) is the tanmatra (subtle attribute) of mahābhuta (primal element) ākasa (space). And through śabda one tries to turn his vision inwards from ākasa to daharākāsa, through chanting the mantra, by producing sound to slowly listening the anāhata sound without producing it. Eventually when mantra yoga is achieved, one achieves laya yoga also, since his consciousness is directed to daharākāsa where his devata resides.
Pancadāsi, the root mantra of ŚrīVidyā is said to be the sound-form of the Mother. The mantra is divided into three kūtas or parts with five syllables each. The first is called Vāgbhava Kuta, the Mother’s head. The second is called Madhya Kūta, the trunk – from neck to navel. The third is Śakti Kūta, the part below navel.
Saraswati Sūkta of the Rigveda says that Vāk or word is of four forms – parā (eternal), pasyanti (experienced by seer in a state of deep consciousness), madhyama (when it translates as idea in the intellect) and vaikhāri (when it is verbally expressed). Realizing parā Vāk or Nāda Brahman through a regulated chanting of mantra, first externally then mentally and then finally without producing it, is mantra yoga.
LAYA YOGA
Meditation is the means in laya yoga. One controls mind through the control of breath, so that full concentration is possible in meditation. Through meditation, one’s consciousness merges in the object of meditation and one realizes Atman. The state, in which the difference between the one who meditates the act of meditation and the object of meditation dissolves, is called samādhi or sāyujya.
One also observes during meditation one’s own being, the different sheaths of consciousness. There are five kosas or sheaths of consciousness of being – annaMāya (physical), prānaMāya (vital-life), manoMāya (mental), vijnānaMāya (intellect-knowledge) and ānandaMāya (causal – blissful). The first is gross, next three constitute subtle and the fifth causal being. The causal being is Īśvara who resides in all beings, along with Māya His consort. She veils the unmanifest form of the divine, Brahman. The Mother is MahāMāya, who covers the world with veil of ignorance and lifts the veil out of grace, causing the entire play of creation. This is the cosmic sport She does for the Lord, Her līla. Her play, action can be seen in karanākāsa the causal space. She is the moon of that space, and is called Cidākāsa candrika.
Gross (sthula), subtle (sūkshma), causal (kārana) and absolute (turiya) are the four states in which Brāhman manifests. Realizing eternal through meditation is laya yoga. In Laya yoga one, through meditation, identifies himself progressively with the inner sheaths, and finally with the inner most being – ātman. The Mother is said to reside in and beyond the five sheaths – Panca kosāntara sthita. Thus the seeker achieves oneness with the Mother through laya yoga.
KUNDALINI YOGA
In Kunḍalini yoga, one realizes divine consciousness through the activation of the hidden energy of Kunḍalini. There are six centers (cakras) in the spinal channel. Kunḍalini is said to be initially coiled up at mulādhara. She is the Mother. She passes through these six from mulādhara at the bottom of spine to ajna at the forehead, then to the crown of the head (sahasrāra) where individual consciousness fully unites with cosmic consciousness. There, the Mother is said to unite with the Lord. This involves the opening of three knots or granthis in the path, called Brahma granthi, Viṣṇu granthi and Rudra granthi. There is one granthi per two cakras. Mulādhara (pelvic) and swadhisthāna (navel) associate with Brahma granthi, manipura (heart center) and anāhata (midway between neck and solar plexus) associate with Viṣṇu granthi, visuddha (throat) and ajna (center of forehead) associate with Rudra granthi. These three are the triputi discussed above.
The worship of ŚrīCakra with nine levels is also a means to this in ŚrīVidyā. Kunḍalini is said to be completely activated, with the Mother uniting with the Lord at Sahasrāra, when the devotee reaches the bindu of ŚrīCakra.
The union of Mother Kunḍalini with the Lord is the liberation of seeker from Māya. This is possible with anugraha or grace as discussed above, and completes the cycle of births. This is the same as realizing Nada Brahman in mantra yoga, and sāyujya of laya yoga.
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