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63-478: The mudra was described as "obscene" by the translator Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu, and as "obscure and repugnant" by another translator, Hans-Ulrich Rieker. The mudra is rarely practised in modern times. It was covered in the 1900s by the American sexologist Ida C. Craddock , the resulting legal proceedings against her leading to her imprisonment and suicide. The explorer Theos Bernard learnt and illustrated

126-412: A Buddhist origin for haṭha yoga. Only this unique divine stream [of teachings] ( amaraugha ) has the name Rājayoga . How is it conjoined with Laya and [other yogas] and taught as a fourfold [system]? — Amaraugha , verse 14 The Amaraugha is a 12th century Śaivite Sanskrit text on haṭha yoga , attributed to Gorakshanath . It was most likely written by someone in a siddha lineage who held

189-607: A classical set of ten arising in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika . Mudra is used in the iconography of Hindu and Buddhist art of the Indian subcontinent and described in the scriptures, such as Nātyaśāstra , which lists 24 asaṁyuta ("separated", meaning "one-hand") and 13 saṁyuta ("joined", meaning "two-hand") mudras. Mudra positions are usually formed by both the hand and the fingers. Along with āsanas ("seated postures"), they are employed statically in

252-536: A half verses from the Amaraugha , constituting almost everything it has to say about haṭha yoga. He supplemented these old practices with many additional practices including yoga postures or asanas , the six purifications or shatkarmas , the eight retentions of the breath or kumbhakas , and ten body seals or bandhas . The text of the Amaraugha defines haṭha yoga as the type of yoga , as distinct from laya yoga , mantra yoga, and rāja yoga , which manipulates

315-445: A householder" (a married man, not a yogic renunciate ) to be liberated. It calls for the man to draw up the rajas , the woman's sexual fluid, from her vagina. It explains that the loss of bindu , the vital force of the semen, causes death, while its retention causes life. The god Shiva says "I am bindu , the goddess ( Shakti ) is rajas ." The Shiva Samhita states in the same passage that Sahajoli and Amaroli are variations of

378-543: A posture with the head down and the feet up, using gravity to retain the prana. Gradually the time spent in the posture is increased until it can be held for "three hours". The practice is claimed by the Dattatreyayogashastra to destroy all diseases and to banish grey hair and wrinkles. Khecarī mudrā, the Khechari Seal, consists of turning back the tongue "into the hollow of the skull", sealing in

441-418: A set of physical methods contributing to liberation including purification techniques ( satkarmas ), non-seated postures ( asanas ), elaborate breath-control ( pranayama ), and physical techniques to manipulate vital energy, the mudras . Mudras are gestures of the body, used in hatha yoga to assist in the spiritual journey towards liberation. Mudras such as Khechari Mudra and Mula Bandha are used to seal in

504-598: A system involving delayed ejaculation to increase sexual pleasure within marriage. Further, she asserted that God was the third partner in such a marriage, "in what amounted to a sacred menage-a-trois ." Craddock's emphasis on yoga and her new "mystico-erotic religion" enraged the authorities; she was tried in New York for obscenity and blasphemy, and imprisoned for three months. Facing federal charges on her release, in 1902 she killed herself. The yoga scholar Andrea Jain notes that Craddock's "sacralization of sexual intercourse"

567-435: A vital fluid physically, but involves its recovery. The mudra requires the yogin to preserve his semen , either by learning not to release it, or if released by drawing it up through his urethra from the vagina of "a woman devoted to the practice of yoga". It is described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3.82–89. The Shiva Samhita 4.78–104 calls Vajroli mudra "the secret of all secrets" and claims that it enables "even

630-466: Is "rarely practiced by anyone at all." They state that the question is not whether these practices are right or wrong, but whether they are appropriate in a modern context. The practice is associated with bramacharya , dispassion towards sexual desire. The lack of discussion of Vajroli mudra is related to the more general historic denigration of hatha yoga as unscientific and dangerous. The translator Rai Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vasu translated texts such as

693-517: Is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism , Jainism and Buddhism . While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As well as being spiritual gestures employed in the iconography and spiritual practice of Indian religions , mudras have meaning in many forms of Indian dance , and yoga . The range of mudras used in each field (and religion) differs, but with some overlap. In addition, many of

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756-600: Is associated with the Walking Buddha , sometime also shown having both hands making a double abhaya mudra that is uniform. This mudra was probably used before the onset of Buddhism as a symbol of good intentions proposing friendship when approaching strangers. In Gandharan art , it is seen when showing the action of preaching. It was also used in China during the Wei and Sui eras of the 4th and 7th centuries. This gesture

819-579: Is essentially by retaining the generative fluid, semen - or bindu . Among early Shaivite haṭha yoga texts, celibacy and the semen-preserving practice of Vajroli mudra are described only in the Shiva Samhita ; its practice is omitted from the Amaraugha , the Yogabīja , and the Yogatārāvalī . The Amaraugha says that Vajroli is attained, presumably with samādhi, when the mind has become pure and

882-418: Is extensively used in the statues of Southeast Asia . The Vajra mudrā "thunder gesture" is the gesture of knowledge. The Vitarka mudrā "mudra of discussion" is the gesture of discussion and transmission of Buddhist teaching. It is done by joining the tips of the thumb and the index together, and keeping the other fingers straight very much like the abhaya and varada mudrās but with the thumbs touching

945-401: Is far from radical by modern standards, but it was "antisocial heterodoxy" in the 1900s, leading indeed to her "martyrdom". The British Orientalist John Woodroffe describes the ability of a yogi to draw air and fluid into the urethra and out, and says, "Apart from its suggested medical value as a lavement of the bladder it is a mudra (physical technique) used in sexual connection whereby

1008-440: Is no suggestion in the book that he followed the full practice. The yoga scholar Norman Sjoman criticises Krishnamacharya , otherwise known as the father of modern yoga , for including "material on yogic practices from these academic sources in his text without knowing an actual tradition of teaching connected with the practice." Sjoman explains that Krishnamacharya recommended for Vajroli mudra "a glass rod to be inserted into

1071-413: Is seated, the legs raised to about 45 degrees and held out straight, the body leaning back and the back rounded so that the palms can be placed on the ground below the raised thighs, the arms held straight. Bernard states that he was instructed to learn this once he could do lotus position (Padmasana) so that he would be strong enough to use it "in the more advanced stages" of his hatha yoga training; there

1134-591: Is subtly concealed in some Koryu kata, and in Buddhist statues, representing the sword of enlightenment. Amaraugha The Amaraugha and the Amaraugha Prabodha ( Sanskrit : अमरौघ, अमरौघप्रबोध) are recensions of a 12th century Sanskrit text on haṭha yoga , attributed to Gorakṣanātha . The Amaraugha Prabodha is the later recension, with the addition of verses from other texts and assorted other materials. The text's physical practices imply

1197-413: Is the earliest text that combines haṭha yoga with rāja yoga. Birch considers it likely that rather than being based on the doctrinally more complex Amritasiddhi , and for some reason cutting down on the theory it provides, both works may derive from some earlier source. The Amaraugha was used by Svātmārāma when he wrote the 15th century Haṭha Yoga Pradipika . Svātmārāma borrowed twenty-two and

1260-582: Is the mudra which expels demons and removes obstacles such as sickness or negative thoughts. It is made by raising the index and the little finger, and folding the other fingers. It is nearly the same as the Western " sign of the horns ", the difference is that in the Karana mudra the thumb does not hold down the middle and ring finger. This mudra is also known as tarjanī mudrā. In Indian classical dance and derived dances (such as Khmer , Thai or Balinese ),

1323-597: The Gheranda Samhita and the Shiva Samhita , starting in 1884, giving "stern warnings against the inherent perils of engaging in these practices". Vasu intentionally omitted Vajroli mudra from his translations, describing it as "an obscene practice indulged in by low class Tantrists". The yoga scholar Mark Singleton noted in 2010 that "the practice of vajroli has continued to be censored in modern editions of hatha yoga texts", giving as example Vishnudevananda 's omission of it from his Hatha Yoga Pradipika with

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1386-481: The bindu fluid so that it stops dripping down from the head and being lost, even when the yogi "embraces a passionate woman". To make the tongue long and flexible enough to be folded back in this way, the Khecharividya exhorts the yogi to make a cut a hair's breadth deep in the frenulum of the tongue once a week. Six months of this treatment destroys the frenulum, leaving the tongue able to fold back; then

1449-463: The Amaraugha seems to have modified a Buddhist method to create a technique "for moving kuṇḍalinī and attaining a Śaiva form of Rājayoga." If it was indeed written at Kadri, just at the time when Buddhist groups were switching to Śaivism, he writes, then the text captures the moment that both haṭha and rāja yoga take shape as Śaiva and Vajrayāna siddha traditions collide. In the process, the physical technique has survived basically unchanged, whereas

1512-657: The Northern Wei . It is heavily used in Southeast Asia in Theravada Buddhism ; however, the thumbs are placed against the palms. Dhyāna mudrā is also known as " samādhi mudrā" or "yoga mudrā", Chinese : 禅定印 ; pinyin : [Chán]dìng yìn ; Japanese pronunciation : jōin, jōkai jōin . The mida no jōin (弥陀定印) is the Japanese name of a variation of the dhyāna mudra, where

1575-929: The meditation and dynamically in the Nāṭya practice of Hinduism. Hindu and Buddhist iconography share some mudras. In some regions, for example in Laos and Thailand , these are distinct but share related iconographic conventions. According to Jamgön Kongtrül in his commentary on the Hevajra Tantra , the ornaments of wrathful deities and witches made of human bones (Skt: aṣṭhimudrā ; Wylie : rus pa'i rgyan phyag rgya ) are also known as mudra "seals". The word mudrā has Sanskrit roots. According to scholar Sir Monier Monier-Williams it means "seal" or "any other instrument used for sealing". A Buddha image can have one of several common mudras, combined with different asanas. The main mudras used represent specific moments in

1638-641: The perineum , forcing the prana to enter the central sushumna channel. Mahamudra, the Great Seal, similarly has one heel pressed into the perineum; the chin is pressed down to the chest in Jalandhara Bandha , the Throat Lock, and the breath is held with the body's upper and lower openings both sealed, again to force the prana into the sushumna channel. Viparita Karani, the Inverter, is

1701-549: The sushumna nadi , the central channel of the subtle body , has been unblocked to allow breath to flow freely. The Vivekamārtaṇḍa and the Gorakṣaśataka , both of which describe haṭha yoga techniques in detail, do not mention Vajroli mudra . Birch comments that the Amaraugha ' s haṭha yoga indicates a change from the older view that its method consisted of forcing generative fluids upwards, to getting kuṇḍalinī to move. James Mallinson and Mark Singleton note that

1764-487: The urethra an inch at a time." In Sjoman's view, this showed "that he has most certainly not experimented with this himself in the manner he recommends." The magazine of Satyananda Saraswati 's Bihar School of Yoga , noting the criticism of Vajroli mudra, defends the practice in a 1985 article. It states that the Shatkarma Sangraha describes seven Vajroli practices, starting with "the simple contraction of

1827-425: The urethra from the vagina of "a woman devoted to the practice of yoga". Some Asian martial arts forms contain positions (Japanese: in ) identical to these mudras. Tendai and Shingon Buddhism derived the supposedly powerful gestures from Mikkyo Buddhism, still to be found in many Ko-ryū ("old") martial arts Ryū (schools) founded before the 17th century. For example the "knife hand" or shuto gesture

1890-415: The Buddhist mudras are used outside South Asia , and have developed different local forms elsewhere. In hatha yoga , mudras are used in conjunction with pranayama (yogic breathing exercises), generally while in a seated posture, to stimulate different parts of the body involved with breathing and to affect the flow of prana . It is also associated with bindu , bodhicitta , amrita , or consciousness in

1953-491: The Hathayogi sucks into himself the forces of the woman without ejecting any of his force or substance—a practice which is to be condemned as injurious to the woman who 'withers' under such treatment" The explorer and author Theos Bernard illustrates himself in a posture named Vajroli mudra in his 1943 participant observer book Hatha Yoga: The Report of a Personal Experience . The posture, somewhat resembling Navasana ,

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2016-406: The arm crooked and the palm offered slightly turned up or in the case of the arm facing down the palm presented with the fingers upright or slightly bent. The Varada mudrā is rarely seen without another mudra used by the right hand, typically abhaya mudrā. It is often confused with vitarka mudrā, which it closely resembles. In China and Japan during the Northern Wei and Asuka periods , respectively,

2079-547: The belief that the teaching of the four yogas stemmed from Gorakshanath. It was composed in South India, probably at Kadri, Mangalore in Karnataka , since the text invokes the sage Siddhabuddha of Kadri, a disciple of the Buddhist and Hindu saint and yogi Matsyendranātha . The text's Shaivite point of view is demonstrated by mentions of the god Śiva , also named Śambhu, and the Śivaliṅga . Jason Birch comments that

2142-486: The body. Unlike older tantric mudras, hatha yogic mudras are generally internal actions, involving the pelvic floor, diaphragm, throat, eyes, tongue, anus, genitals, abdomen, and other parts of the body. Examples of this diversity of mudras are Mula Bandha , Mahamudra , Viparita Karani , Khecarī mudrā , and Vajroli mudra . These expanded in number from 3 in the Amritasiddhi , to 25 in the Gheranda Samhita , with

2205-467: The breath and the bindu . Birch notes that much of the content is shared between the two recensions, Amaraugha and Amaraughaprabodha , but that the latter adds an assortment of materials including verses from other texts. Verse 3 defines Rājayoga in terms reminiscent of the definition of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras . The method of reaching the state of meditative absorption, samādhi ,

2268-589: The chest in vitarka with the right palm forward and the left palm upwards, sometimes facing the chest. There are several variants such as in the Ajanta Caves frescoes, where the two hands are separated and the fingers do not touch. In the Indo-Greek style of Gandhara , the clenched fist of the right hand seemingly overlies the fingers joined to the thumb on the left hand. In pictorials of Hōryū-ji in Japan

2331-573: The earth goddess, appeared to be the witnesses for the Buddha's enlightenment. In East Asia, this mudra (also called the Maravijaya attitude ) may show Buddha's fingers not reaching as far as the ground, as is usual in Burmese or Indian depictions. The Bodhyangi mudrā , the "mudrā of the six elements," or the "fist of wisdom," is a gesture entailing the left-hand index finger being grasped with

2394-582: The entrance of Brahma 's door [at the base of the spine] should be constantly aroused with all effort, by performing mudra thoroughly. In the 20th and 21st centuries, the yoga teacher Satyananda Saraswati , founder of the Bihar School of Yoga , continued to emphasize the importance of mudras in his instructional text Asana, Pranayama, Mudrā, Bandha . Vajroli mudra, the Vajroli Seal, differs from other mudras in that it does not consist of sealing in

2457-417: The entrance of Brahma's door [at the base of the spine] should be constantly aroused with all effort, by performing mudra thoroughly." In the 20th and 21st centuries, the yoga teacher Satyananda Saraswati , founder of the Bihar School of Yoga , continued to emphasize the importance of mudras in his instructional text Asana, Pranayama, Mudrā, Bandha . There are numerous hand gesture mudras in yoga. Each of

2520-667: The explanation that "it falls outside the bounds of wholesome practice", " sattvic sadhana ", along with sahajoli and amaroli. Similarly, Singleton notes, the leader of Arya Maitreya Mandala in Europe, Hans-Ulrich Rieker called these three practices "obscure and repugnant" and omitted them from his 1957 translation of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika . Mudra A mudra ( / m u ˈ d r ɑː / ; Sanskrit : मुद्रा , IAST : mudrā , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; Tibetan : ཕྱག་རྒྱ་ , THL : chakgya )

2583-557: The fingers are stiff and then gradually begin to loosen as it developed over time, eventually leading to the Tang dynasty standard where the fingers are naturally curved. In India , varada mudra is used by both seated and standing figures, of Buddha and boddhisattvas and other figures, and in Hindu art is especially associated with Vishnu . It was used in images of Avalokiteśvara from Gupta art (4th and 5th centuries) onwards. Varada mudrā

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2646-410: The greatest number of combinations, the vocabulary adds up to c. 900. Sanyukta mudras use both hands and asanyukta mudras use one hand. In Thai dances, there are 9 mudras. The classical sources for the yogic seals are the Gheranda Samhita and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika . The Hatha Yoga Pradipika states the importance of mudras in yoga practice: "Therefore the [ Kundalini ] goddess sleeping at

2709-536: The hand gestures is based on the concept of the five elements as they relate to one's fingers. The yoga mudras are diverse in the parts of the body involved and in the procedures required, as in Mula Bandha , Mahamudra , Viparita Karani , Khecarī mudrā , and Vajroli mudra . Mula Bandha, the Root Lock, consists of pressing one heel into the anus, generally in a cross-legged seated asana, and contracting

2772-571: The hands and fingers form the shape of a triangle, which is symbolic of the spiritual fire or the Three Jewels . This mudra is used in representations of Gautama Buddha and Amitābha . Sometimes the dhyāna mudrā is used in certain representations of Bhaiṣajyaguru as the "Medicine Buddha", with a medicine bowl placed on the hands. It originated in India most likely in Gandhāra and in China during

2835-545: The index fingers are brought together with the thumbs. This was predominantly used in Japan in an effort to distinguish Amitābha (hence "mida" from Amida) from the Vairocana Buddha, and was rarely used elsewhere. The Varadamudrā "generosity gesture" signifies offering, welcome, charity, giving, compassion and sincerity. It is nearly always shown made with the left hand by a revered figure devoted to human salvation from greed, anger and delusion. It can be made with

2898-520: The index fingers. This mudra has a great number of variants in Mahayana Buddhism . In Tibetan Buddhism , it is the mystic gesture of Tārās and bodhisattvas with some differences by the deities in Yab-Yum . Vitarka mudrā is also known as Vyākhyāna mudrā ("mudra of explanation"). This is also called as chin-mudra. The Jñāna mudrā ("mudra of wisdom") is done by touching the tips of

2961-549: The intestinal shatkarma of basti . It might have also developed from a 1st millennium Tantric semen retention practice called asidharavrata . Among early Shaivite hatha yoga texts, celibacy and Vajroli are described only in the Shiva Samhita ; its practice is omitted from the Amaraugha , the Yogabīja , and the Yogatārāvalī . The Amaraugha says that Vajroli is attained, presumably with samadhi , when

3024-482: The life of the Buddha , and are shorthand depictions of these. The Abhayamudra "gesture of fearlessness" represents protection, peace, benevolence and the dispelling of fear. In Theravada Buddhism it is usually made while standing with the right arm bent and raised to shoulder height, the palm facing forward, the fingers closed, pointing upright and the left hand resting by the side. In Thailand and Laos, this mudra

3087-463: The mind has become pure and the sushumna nadi , the central channel, has been unblocked to allow breath to flow freely. The Vivekamārtaṇḍa and the Gorakṣaśataka , both of which describe hatha yoga techniques in detail, do not mention Vajroli mudra . Vajroli mudra is not often described in modern accounts, still less actually practised. The earliest Westerner to write about it was the American yoga scholar and sexologist Ida C. Craddock . Opposing

3150-406: The mudra. The yogin is instructed to practice by using his wind to hold back the urine while he is urinating, and then to release it little by little. After six months' practice he will in this way become able to hold back his bindu , "even if he enjoys a hundred women". The practice has been proposed to serve to clean the bladder by drawing liquids towards the urethra as an auto- enema , similar to

3213-492: The posture associated with the mudra. The pioneer of modern yoga , Krishnamacharya , gives impractical instructions for the mudra, demonstrating in Norman Sjoman 's opinion that he had never tried the practice. Hatha yoga is a branch of yoga that developed around the 11th century. Like earlier forms such as Patanjali's yoga , its ultimate goal was liberation, moksha , and its methods included meditation . It added

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3276-409: The predominant religious culture of her nation at the time, fundamentalist Protestant Christianity, Craddock was struck by the Shiva Samhita ' s account of Vajroli mudra, with "the idea that sexual union could facilitate divine realization". She took the Hindu tantra concept that the male body was able to transform the sucked-up sexual fluids into an immortal " diamond body ", and reworked it into

3339-539: The right hand is superimposed on the left. Certain figures of Amitābha are seen using this mudra before the 9th century in Japan. The dhyāna mudrā ("meditation mudra") is the gesture of meditation, of the concentration of the Good Law and the sangha . The two hands are placed on the lap, right hand on left with fingers fully stretched (four fingers resting on each other and the thumbs facing upwards towards one another diagonally), palms facing upwards; in this manner,

3402-641: The right hand. It is commonly seen on statues of the Vairocana Buddha. The Buddha preached his first sermon after his Enlightenment in Deer Park in Sarnath . The dharmachakra Pravartana or "turning of the wheel" mudrā represents that moment. In general, only Gautama Buddha is shown making this mudrā except Maitreya as the dispenser of the Law. Dharmachakra mudrā is two hands close together in front of

3465-520: The semen allows the energy to awaken kundalini , the energy supposedly coiled at the base of the spine, instead. Colin Hall and Sarah Garden, writing in Yoga International , note that, as with "yogic practices" like Khechari mudra , Mula bandha , and the various shatkarmas such as Dhauti (cleaning the gastro-intestinal tract by swallowing and pulling out lengths of cloth), Vajroli mudra

3528-405: The story from Buddhist legend of the moment when Buddha attained complete enlightenment , with Buddha sitting in meditation with his left hand, palm upright, in his lap, and his right hand touching the earth. In the legend, Buddha was challenged by the evil one, Mara , who argue for a witness to attest his right to achieve it. In response to Mara, Buddha touched the ground, and Phra Mae Thorani ,

3591-770: The term "Hasta Mudra" is used (although, there are terms used for mudras in derived dances). The Natya Shastra describes 24 mudras, while the Abhinaya Darpana of Nandikeshvara gives 28. In all their forms of Indian classical dance, the mudras are similar, though the names and uses vary. There are 28 (or 32) root mudras in Bharatanatyam , 24 in Kathakali and 20 in Odissi . These root mudras are combined in different ways, like one hand, two hands, arm movements, body and facial expressions. In Kathakali , which has

3654-429: The theory underlying it within esoteric Buddhism was dropped. This left early haṭha and rāja yoga rather simple in doctrine, unlike Buddhism. The Amaraugha is closely related to the 11th century Amritasiddhi , a Vajrayana tantric Buddhist work, describing the same physical yoga practices, but adding Shaivite philosophy, subsuming haṭha yoga under rāja yoga , and reducing the use of Vajrayana terms. The Amaraugha

3717-488: The thumb and the index together, forming a circle, and the hand is held with the palm inward towards the heart. The mudra represents spiritual enlightenment in the indian-origin religions . Sometimes sadhus chose to be buried alive in this samadhi position. A 2700 old skeleton arranged like this was found at Balathal in Rajasthan, suggesting that something like yoga may have existed at that time. The karana mudrā

3780-406: The uro-genital muscles and later the sucking up of liquids". It adds that only when the first six practices are completed can the last, "yogic intercourse", succeed. It notes also that sexual climax is the one moment in ordinary lives when "the mind becomes completely void of its own accord", but the moment is brief as the lowest chakras (energy centres in the subtle body ) are involved. Withholding

3843-431: The vital energy, which can take various forms such as prana (related to the breath) and bindu (related to the semen). The classical sources for the mudras in yoga are two medieval texts, the Gheranda Samhita and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika . However, many hatha yoga texts describe mudras. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika 3.5 states the importance of mudras in yoga practice: Therefore the [ Kundalini ] goddess sleeping at

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3906-456: The yogi is advised to practise stretching the tongue out, holding it with a cloth, to lengthen it, and to learn to touch each ear in turn, and the base of the chin. After six years of practice, which cannot be hurried, the tongue is said to become able to close the top end of the sushumna channel. Vajroli mudra, the Vajroli Seal, requires the yogi to preserve the semen , either by learning not to release it, or if released by drawing it up through

3969-506: Was used by the Buddha when attacked by an elephant, subduing it as shown in several frescoes and scripts. In Mahayana Buddhism , the deities are often portrayed as pairing the Abhaya Mudrā with another Mudrā using the other hand. The bhūmisparśa or "earth witness" mudra of Gautama Buddha is one of the most common iconic images of Buddhism. Other names include "Buddha calling the earth to witness", and "earth-touching". It depicts

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