Ananda Gandha Meditation

As you are already aware, the body has seven energy centers or chakras along its length, each corresponding to and controlling particular physical and mental activities and emotions. These chakras have no physical existence, but are the points where the physical, metaphysical and spiritual bodies meet. The functioning of these chakras can be influenced by meditation. The eighth chakra, Ananda Gandha, is the most delicate of them all. Translated literally, it means ‘The Space of Bliss’. It is meeting-point of jada (body) and chit (consciousness), of atman and Paramatman. This chakra is almost pure energy. Metaphysically, it can be described as the point where all other chakras collapse. A difficult concept to understand, right? Try imagining that your body is an inflated balloon, with the chakras marked at various spots on it surface. Now suppose you were to burst the balloon. Where do all the points (chakras) go? The point at which these chakras melt and merge is where the Ananda Gandha is located. Actually, the Ananda Gandha has no corresponding physical point on the body. But for easy visualization, you can imagine it as being somewhere between the Anahata (heart) and Manipuraka (navel) chakras. The Ananda Gandha is such a subtle chakra that it does not yield to ordinary meditation techniques. That's why so little is known about it. Opening the Ananda Gandha requires highly sophisticated, esoteric techniques that can only be passed on directly from master to disciple. The Ananda Gandha is the door to a tremendous and perennial source of energy. With its opening, something of tremendous and lasting significance takes place inside you: for the first time, the deepest layers of your being are opened to the continuous flow of divine power. You truly become fit to be a channel of the Divine. Initiation, the key to Enlightenment Initiation is no complicated process. All it requires from your side is an open mind. When initiating you, all I do is open your doorway to enlightenment, your Ananda Gandha chakra. You can try to open this chakra in to ways: by penetrating inward from the outside or by pushing outward from the inside. But there is a phenomenal difference between the two. Imagine a lake covered by a thick sheet of ice. The first method is like hacking at the ice with a small icepick; it could take you lifetimes to break through. The latter method is like drilling the ice from underneath with a powerful submarine drill. In an instant, the ice gives way and the water gushes out, melting the rest of the ice on the surface. The latter can happen only by the grace of an enlightened master, who enters the deepest layer of your being and drills outward till the ice of your chit (memories) breaks and energy floods your being. Once this energy is available to you, it can transform you physically, mentally and spiritually. During the initiation, do this check yourself. Close your eyes and simply call to mind my smiling face. You'll find that a deep source of joy opens up inside you and bliss gushes out into your being. If you allow yourself to sink deeper and deeper into this bliss, you will soon experience a strange feeling of 'boundarilessness', as if you are no longer limited by your physical body. But I wouldn't like you to take my word for it. This is such a deeply personal experience of the Divine that it cannot be understood second-hand; it will be impossible for you to believe completely until you have felt it yourself. So try this instead: when you feel the joy gushing upwards, just deny the experience with the whole strength of your mind. Tell yourself it is just your imagination. Every time you feel the surge of joy, push it aside, saying Na iti, na iti, this is not, this is not. Bring your deepest doubt into play. After a while, you realize that no matter how much you try wishing it away, the energy surges up from the same point. The Ananda Gandha is an energy resource beyond the mind's control. The beauty of the Ananda Gandha is that you cannot remain untouched; you simply surrender to the experience. Whether you know it or not, whether you like it or not, whether you believe it or not, the Truth is happening. You may not understand it now, but once your inner transformation happens, you will. At that time, both faith and doubt will disappear. You don't have to believe; you know.