Part Four:
As more people become exposed to the practice of the Dhuni, the View & “goal” that lies behind this ritual require some review.
For some, sitting still and facing an object of meditation for longer than 10 minutes is difficult. This can explain a lot about the energetics of our given situation. Each person steps onto the path of yoga at a different stage of development. Few, if any, are initially capable of handling the highly concentrated space that the Dhuni invites without practice and training. The ability to sit and focus takes time and patience and yet the universal results of such an endeavor are worth observing. After all, the end game is self-mastery — that is, to be able to direct one’s awareness and prana in a given direction for a consistent period of time using the totality of one’s faculties. The result of this is obvious. One gains the ability to channel their personal Will towards a given goal until the vibrational reality of that goal is made manifest. The implications of such a result can expand to countless real life examples, which brings what can be a seemingly esoteric attainment out of its highly ecstatic, indivisible state and onto a ground that all can share & experience. Because what does it mean to be able to consciously direct our attention and will? We develop the capacity to channel our life force energy towards a chosen reality, as opposed to being victims to our karmic predilections. Ultimately this is the goal of yoga sadhana and the Dhuni provides the means whereby we can practice this. In the end, it is a practice & a process, and we develop along a curve according to our own personal disposition.
There certainly is use in studying the underlying teaching methodology which frames the Dhuni, but these subjects require time and care. The subtleties in yogic & Tantric practice are rich and complex and are cultivated over years of steady effort. I for one have only been practicing for 10 years, 9 of which have involved the Dhuni, and I must say that there is a lot I do not know. But I have learned some things, and of those things that I’ve learned & digested & assimilated into me are what I hope to share and transmit to others on the path. What I’d like to say about the study of yoga is that it is wise to gain an understanding over the View of the Path, as this will shape a person’s approach to its tremendously powerful technology. These wisdom sciences are designed for one thing — the achievement of the Ultimate Reality. The flowering and actualized potential of human consciousness. The realization of our immutable Divinity. Or, as one yoga teacher of mine had said: the ability to differentiate between everything that IS Soul with everything that IS NOT Soul.
The framework of Yoga and the metaphysical expositions of Samkhya, both of which Tantra develops by further methodology & philosophy, are the dharma which hold the Dhuni. The consciousness we are tapping into in this ritual is the same universal consciousness plumbed to its depths by the ancient seers and sages of old. Consciousness is consciousness. The path of the mystic accepts and acknowledges this fundamental truth and works with what they’ve been shown in their own spiritual unfoldment to move towards greater harmony and alignment with the One Great Reality. What yoga has done so beautifully for us is offer a sophisticated map of the ascent of human consciousness from our limited perception of space-and-time and “I, me, mine” to the Ultimate. However, merely having the map is an entirely different experience than traversing the map. One is wise to contemplate this as they progress, for the yogis made it a point to emphasize the importance of direct experience. A word of caution here: what we think we “know” is easily replaced during the ascension process by the fire of fierce grace that rips from us our limited ideas about life. Thus, whilst it is great that we have a map, our wisdom and discernment helps us clarify for ourselves the one true goal.
We are talking about a subjective experience of the objective, “supreme” reality. How could anyone say for you what THAT is? When the experience of Yoga arises, it is a somatic & felt sense of knowing that emerges from within the heart of the aspirant. Cosmic intelligence, which has no apparent personality, floods a person and overtakes their individuality temporarily. The experience can be terrifying but with time and practice, it becomes ‘ordinary’. As the personality adapts to ‘hold’ or contain these higher frequencies of light, it (the persona) begins to change. There is a process of alchemy occurring. What I believe to be happening is that the capacity for the organism to channel more light (Shakti) increases, and the nadis become purified. The flow of light through us is optimized, as are our expressions of this light. The persona becomes more of a transparent covering for the One Great Light; it doesn’t go away, it merely becomes more “see through”. Less and less is the light coursing through us obstructed by our preferences, our likes or dislikes. As purification takes place we end up as a servant of the Divine in a very real, tangible way and are less engaged in the sort of selfish negotiation between us and life that happens at the level of egoic consciousness. The final result, as we have seen through countless examples of saints and sages and realized masters, is a completely purified “human” who is made entirely fit as a vessel for Spirit. The expression through each is unique to the individual in question and the time/environment one find’s oneself, but the generosity & creativity of Spirit is apparent.
For those on the path of self-realization and self-mastery, this purification process is inevitable. The destiny that we are each meant to live out is not so much of a “figuring it out with the mind” but rather a stripping back of all that is not true in our psyche , so that the One Light can shine through and make itself known to us. For anyone who is wishing this for themselves, there are tools and technologies available to us to support this process. The Dhuni is one such example, but there are others. Just be sure to be clear about your own situation and the result you’re after. If you are clear about the View, the map will make more sense, and where & how you need to walk will become apparent.