CHAPTER 1
PURIFICATION: THE SIX ACTS (shat karma)
The six cleansing techniques bring about purification ...
Gheranda Samhita 1.10
Introduction
We usually think of the various behavioral “restraints” (yama and niyama) as the initial stage of Yoga, but in Gheranda’s version of Hatha Yoga–what he calls “pot-based Yoga”(ghatastha yoga, GS 1.9)–the first stage consists of the six purificatory “acts” (karma). Svatmarama covers the acts too, but after asana and as a preliminary to pranayama. Not all teachers are enthusiastic about these acts, and they’re usually recommended only for new students needing a good interior house cleaning. Svatmarama, for example, writes that these practices are only useful for those practitioners with “too much fat and phlegm” (HYP 2.21), and that ultimately “All impurities dry up by pranayama alone” (HYP 2.37). At the same time though, he says the acts are “honored by the best yogis” (HYP 2.23).
Why doesn’t Gheranda base his practice, as Patanjali does, on yamas and niyamas? Not important? Maybe, but one commentator speculates that these restraints are so basic to the practice, that Gheranda simply assumed that whoever came to him for instruction has already mastered them, and so thought it superfluous to even mention them.
Actually there are more than six acts, since one act, Cleaning, has 12 “sub-acts,” the enticingly named Bladder has two, Trataka also two, and Skull Brightener three (although Svatmarama mentions only one). All chapter-and-verse citations in parentheses (e.g., 1.19) following the Sanskrit names of the acts are from the Gheranda Samhita.
1. CLEANING (dhauti, from dhav, “to rinse, wash, cleanse, purify, make bright”). The dhautis clean the body; they’re to be kept secret and never revealed. There are four types of Cleaning:
A. Inner Cleaning (antar dhauti). There are four sub-types of Inner Cleaning:
a. Air Cleaning (vata sara dhauti; 1.15-16): Perform Crow Seal, slowly inhale, “move the stomach, and then expel the air through the lower passage [i.e. anus].” This act “cleans the body, destroys all diseases, and increases the body’s [abdominal or digestive] fire (jathara agni).”
b. Water Cleaning (vari sara dhauti; vari means “water pot, pitcher, jar; 1.17-18): Slowly drink water until “full up to the throat [NOT recommended here]. Move it through the stomach and expel it from the stomach downwards.” This practice is supposed to clean the physical body and lead to a “divine body (divya deha).”
c. Fire Cleaning (vahni sara dhauti, also called agni sara dhauti; vahni means “any draft animal; one who conveys or bears along; applied to a charioteer or rider, or to various gods; the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods, especially said of Agni, ‘fire’; the digestive fire; 1.19): “Move the navel plexus to the spinal column 100 times.” This cures intestinal diseases and increases the digestive fire.
d. Expelled Cleaning (bahish krita dhauti; 1.21-24): With Crow Seal, fill the stomach with air, hold for 90 minutes (and unless you can do this, don’t practice this Cleaning), and “move it through the lower passage (i.e. intestines).” Standing in navel-deep water, draw out the intestines (shakti nadi, NOT recommended here), wash them clean, and put them back inside the belly. This Cleaning creates a “divine body.”
B. Teeth Cleaning (danta dhauti). There are four sub-types of Teeth Cleaning:
a. Cleaning the Root of the Teeth (danta mula dhauti; 1.26): “Using acacia resin or clean earth, rub the base of the teeth until the impurities are removed.”
b. Tongue Cleaning (jihva dhauti, also called jihva shodhana; 1.28-31): “A long tongue can get rid of old age, death, disease, and the like. Join together the index, middle, and ring fingers, put them into the throat and rub clean the root of the tongue. By very gentle rubbing the yogi can prevent phlegm imbalances. After repeatedly pulling its tip with iron tongs, rub it with fresh butter and milk over and over again. Do this carefully every day at sunrise and sunset. When done regularly in this way, the tongue becomes long.”
c. Ear Cleaning (karna dhauti; 1.32): With the index fingertip, “rub clean the apertures of the ears. By regular practice the inner sound (nada) will manifest.”
d. Skull Cleaning (kapala dhauti; 1.33): “With the right thumb, rub the aperture at the roof of the mouth. By practicing thus one can prevent imbalances of kapha (phlegm). The nadis become clean and divine sight arises.” It should be practiced three times daily: on waking up, after eating, and before going to bed.
C. Heart Cleaning (hrid dhauti). There are three sub-types of Heart Cleaning:
a. Cleaning With a Stick (or Stalk) (danda dhauti; 1.36-37): “Insert a stick of plantain, turmeric, or cane into the gullet, move it about, and then slowly withdraw it.” This “ejects phlegm, bile, and slime through the upper passage,” and eliminates diseases of the throat.
b. Cleaning by Vomiting (vamana dhauti; 1.38): When finished eating, drink water until full up to the throat, then vomit the water. Regular practice “prevents imbalances of kapha (phlegm) and pitta (bile).” Cleaning by Vomiting is similar to a practice called Elephant Technique (gaja karani), described by Svatmarama (HYP 2.38): “Those who have the nadis under control from gradual practice raise the apana wind in the esophagus and vomit the stomach’s contents.”
c. Cleaning With a Cloth (vaso dhauti; 1.39-40): “Slowly swallow a piece of cloth four fingers wide [and 15 hands long] and then withdraw it.” This cures intestinal tumors, fever, diseases of the spleen, skin ailments, and imbalances of kapha and pitta.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.24-25) writes that this Cleaning cures coughing, asthma, enlargement of the spleen, leprosy, and twenty other phlegm diseases vanish.
D. Root Cleaning (mula shodhana; 1.41-43): “Until the yogi cleans his rectum he will have difficulties with wind (flatulence). ... With the help of either a stick of turmeric or the middle finger, carefully and repeatedly wash the rectum with water.” This prevents intestinal problems and the buildup of undigested matter, brings about “beauty and health, and kindles the digestive fire.”
2. BLADDER (vasti, also means “lower belly; injection syringe”; also written basti). There are two types:
A Wet Bladder (jala vasti; 1.45-46): Squat in navel-deep water with a special pipe inserted in the anus, then contract and dilate the anal sphincter. Prevents urinary diseases, constipation, and problems with wind (krura vayu, “cruel wind”). The practitioner “becomes like the God of Love (Kama, the Hindu Cupid), with a body of one’s own choosing.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.27-28) writes that Bladder “gives clarity to the bodily constituents, the senses, and the mind. It gives luster to the body, stimulates the gastric fire, and eliminates all defects.”
B. Dry Bladder (shushka vasti, also called sthala vasti; 1.47-48): Assume Intense-Stretch-of-West Pose (paschima uttanasana). Very gently move the belly and contract and dilate the anus with the Dawn Horse Seal (ashvini mudra). This prevents intestinal ailments, increases the digestive fire (jathara agni), and eliminates constipation and wind (flatulence).
3. NETI (no translation; 1.49-50): “Insert a thin thread nine inches long into the nostril and then draw it out of the mouth.” Neti leads to mastery of Space-Walking Seal (khechari mudra), cures phlegm imbalances, and gives divine sight. Svatmarama (HYP 2.30) calls neti “purifier of the skull and giver of divine sight,” and says the practice “quickly destroys the flood of diseases originating above the collarbone.”
4. TO-AND-FRO MOVEMENT (nauli, also called or lauli, lauliki, “rolling”; 1.51): Rotate the stomach quickly [with the speed of a strong whirlpool] on both sides. This cures all diseases and increase the “bodily fire.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.33-34) praises To-and-Fro as the “crown of Hatha practices. It kindles a weak gastric fire, restores all digestion, always brings happiness, and dries up all defects and diseases.”
5. TRATAKA (no translation; 1.52): Stare at a small object without blinking until tears begin to fall. There are two types:
A. External Trataka (bahya trataka): Stare with open eyes at some external object or image, called a “mark” (lakshya). Traditional texts suggest we stare at bodily places like the mid-brow (bhru madhya) or nose tip (nasika agra), while modern books give us plenty of other marks, often an object or symbol with some spiritually-charged significance like: the Sun (NOT recommended here), the full Moon, or a star; the tip of a needle hanging against a wall; a dot, a cross, or the mantra OM drawn with black ink on a white background; a picture of your favorite deity or a yantra (literally, “instrument for holding or restraining or fastening,” in this case, our attention; generally a yantra is a geometric representation of either universal or human energetic circuits); your own reflection in a mirror or pool of water; a crystal; complete darkness; or a lighted candle. Gheranda (GS 1.53) says this act cures diseases of the eyes, and gives you “divine sight.”
B. Internal Trataka (antara trataka): Stare “inward” with closed eyes, at some imagined object or image. It’s also possible to combine these two types in two ways: you can first stare outward at some object, then inward at the object’s after-image; or, paradoxically, you can stare outward and inward at the same time, a practice called Shiva’s Seal.
6. SKULL BRIGHTENER (kapalabhati, also called bhalabhati, Brow Brightening, mastakabhati, Head Brightening, and kapala shodhana, Skull Purifying; 1.54-59). There are three types:
A. Air process (vata krama; 1.55-56): Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Then reverse: inhale right, exhale left. Do this quickly and don’t hold the breath. Gheranda doesn’t say how many times to repeat.
B. Inversion process (vyut krama; 1.57): Sniff water in through the nostrils and spit it out through the mouth. This is supposed to cure diseases of phlegm.
C. Cooling process (shit krama; 1.58-59): Drink in water through the mouth and force it out through the nostrils. Gheranda says that by this practice you become like Kama, the Hindu “God of Love.”
Gheranda Samhita 1.10
Introduction
We usually think of the various behavioral “restraints” (yama and niyama) as the initial stage of Yoga, but in Gheranda’s version of Hatha Yoga–what he calls “pot-based Yoga”(ghatastha yoga, GS 1.9)–the first stage consists of the six purificatory “acts” (karma). Svatmarama covers the acts too, but after asana and as a preliminary to pranayama. Not all teachers are enthusiastic about these acts, and they’re usually recommended only for new students needing a good interior house cleaning. Svatmarama, for example, writes that these practices are only useful for those practitioners with “too much fat and phlegm” (HYP 2.21), and that ultimately “All impurities dry up by pranayama alone” (HYP 2.37). At the same time though, he says the acts are “honored by the best yogis” (HYP 2.23).
Why doesn’t Gheranda base his practice, as Patanjali does, on yamas and niyamas? Not important? Maybe, but one commentator speculates that these restraints are so basic to the practice, that Gheranda simply assumed that whoever came to him for instruction has already mastered them, and so thought it superfluous to even mention them.
Actually there are more than six acts, since one act, Cleaning, has 12 “sub-acts,” the enticingly named Bladder has two, Trataka also two, and Skull Brightener three (although Svatmarama mentions only one). All chapter-and-verse citations in parentheses (e.g., 1.19) following the Sanskrit names of the acts are from the Gheranda Samhita.
1. CLEANING (dhauti, from dhav, “to rinse, wash, cleanse, purify, make bright”). The dhautis clean the body; they’re to be kept secret and never revealed. There are four types of Cleaning:
A. Inner Cleaning (antar dhauti). There are four sub-types of Inner Cleaning:
a. Air Cleaning (vata sara dhauti; 1.15-16): Perform Crow Seal, slowly inhale, “move the stomach, and then expel the air through the lower passage [i.e. anus].” This act “cleans the body, destroys all diseases, and increases the body’s [abdominal or digestive] fire (jathara agni).”
b. Water Cleaning (vari sara dhauti; vari means “water pot, pitcher, jar; 1.17-18): Slowly drink water until “full up to the throat [NOT recommended here]. Move it through the stomach and expel it from the stomach downwards.” This practice is supposed to clean the physical body and lead to a “divine body (divya deha).”
c. Fire Cleaning (vahni sara dhauti, also called agni sara dhauti; vahni means “any draft animal; one who conveys or bears along; applied to a charioteer or rider, or to various gods; the conveyer or bearer of oblations to the gods, especially said of Agni, ‘fire’; the digestive fire; 1.19): “Move the navel plexus to the spinal column 100 times.” This cures intestinal diseases and increases the digestive fire.
d. Expelled Cleaning (bahish krita dhauti; 1.21-24): With Crow Seal, fill the stomach with air, hold for 90 minutes (and unless you can do this, don’t practice this Cleaning), and “move it through the lower passage (i.e. intestines).” Standing in navel-deep water, draw out the intestines (shakti nadi, NOT recommended here), wash them clean, and put them back inside the belly. This Cleaning creates a “divine body.”
B. Teeth Cleaning (danta dhauti). There are four sub-types of Teeth Cleaning:
a. Cleaning the Root of the Teeth (danta mula dhauti; 1.26): “Using acacia resin or clean earth, rub the base of the teeth until the impurities are removed.”
b. Tongue Cleaning (jihva dhauti, also called jihva shodhana; 1.28-31): “A long tongue can get rid of old age, death, disease, and the like. Join together the index, middle, and ring fingers, put them into the throat and rub clean the root of the tongue. By very gentle rubbing the yogi can prevent phlegm imbalances. After repeatedly pulling its tip with iron tongs, rub it with fresh butter and milk over and over again. Do this carefully every day at sunrise and sunset. When done regularly in this way, the tongue becomes long.”
c. Ear Cleaning (karna dhauti; 1.32): With the index fingertip, “rub clean the apertures of the ears. By regular practice the inner sound (nada) will manifest.”
d. Skull Cleaning (kapala dhauti; 1.33): “With the right thumb, rub the aperture at the roof of the mouth. By practicing thus one can prevent imbalances of kapha (phlegm). The nadis become clean and divine sight arises.” It should be practiced three times daily: on waking up, after eating, and before going to bed.
C. Heart Cleaning (hrid dhauti). There are three sub-types of Heart Cleaning:
a. Cleaning With a Stick (or Stalk) (danda dhauti; 1.36-37): “Insert a stick of plantain, turmeric, or cane into the gullet, move it about, and then slowly withdraw it.” This “ejects phlegm, bile, and slime through the upper passage,” and eliminates diseases of the throat.
b. Cleaning by Vomiting (vamana dhauti; 1.38): When finished eating, drink water until full up to the throat, then vomit the water. Regular practice “prevents imbalances of kapha (phlegm) and pitta (bile).” Cleaning by Vomiting is similar to a practice called Elephant Technique (gaja karani), described by Svatmarama (HYP 2.38): “Those who have the nadis under control from gradual practice raise the apana wind in the esophagus and vomit the stomach’s contents.”
c. Cleaning With a Cloth (vaso dhauti; 1.39-40): “Slowly swallow a piece of cloth four fingers wide [and 15 hands long] and then withdraw it.” This cures intestinal tumors, fever, diseases of the spleen, skin ailments, and imbalances of kapha and pitta.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.24-25) writes that this Cleaning cures coughing, asthma, enlargement of the spleen, leprosy, and twenty other phlegm diseases vanish.
D. Root Cleaning (mula shodhana; 1.41-43): “Until the yogi cleans his rectum he will have difficulties with wind (flatulence). ... With the help of either a stick of turmeric or the middle finger, carefully and repeatedly wash the rectum with water.” This prevents intestinal problems and the buildup of undigested matter, brings about “beauty and health, and kindles the digestive fire.”
2. BLADDER (vasti, also means “lower belly; injection syringe”; also written basti). There are two types:
A Wet Bladder (jala vasti; 1.45-46): Squat in navel-deep water with a special pipe inserted in the anus, then contract and dilate the anal sphincter. Prevents urinary diseases, constipation, and problems with wind (krura vayu, “cruel wind”). The practitioner “becomes like the God of Love (Kama, the Hindu Cupid), with a body of one’s own choosing.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.27-28) writes that Bladder “gives clarity to the bodily constituents, the senses, and the mind. It gives luster to the body, stimulates the gastric fire, and eliminates all defects.”
B. Dry Bladder (shushka vasti, also called sthala vasti; 1.47-48): Assume Intense-Stretch-of-West Pose (paschima uttanasana). Very gently move the belly and contract and dilate the anus with the Dawn Horse Seal (ashvini mudra). This prevents intestinal ailments, increases the digestive fire (jathara agni), and eliminates constipation and wind (flatulence).
3. NETI (no translation; 1.49-50): “Insert a thin thread nine inches long into the nostril and then draw it out of the mouth.” Neti leads to mastery of Space-Walking Seal (khechari mudra), cures phlegm imbalances, and gives divine sight. Svatmarama (HYP 2.30) calls neti “purifier of the skull and giver of divine sight,” and says the practice “quickly destroys the flood of diseases originating above the collarbone.”
4. TO-AND-FRO MOVEMENT (nauli, also called or lauli, lauliki, “rolling”; 1.51): Rotate the stomach quickly [with the speed of a strong whirlpool] on both sides. This cures all diseases and increase the “bodily fire.” Svatmarama (HYP 2.33-34) praises To-and-Fro as the “crown of Hatha practices. It kindles a weak gastric fire, restores all digestion, always brings happiness, and dries up all defects and diseases.”
5. TRATAKA (no translation; 1.52): Stare at a small object without blinking until tears begin to fall. There are two types:
A. External Trataka (bahya trataka): Stare with open eyes at some external object or image, called a “mark” (lakshya). Traditional texts suggest we stare at bodily places like the mid-brow (bhru madhya) or nose tip (nasika agra), while modern books give us plenty of other marks, often an object or symbol with some spiritually-charged significance like: the Sun (NOT recommended here), the full Moon, or a star; the tip of a needle hanging against a wall; a dot, a cross, or the mantra OM drawn with black ink on a white background; a picture of your favorite deity or a yantra (literally, “instrument for holding or restraining or fastening,” in this case, our attention; generally a yantra is a geometric representation of either universal or human energetic circuits); your own reflection in a mirror or pool of water; a crystal; complete darkness; or a lighted candle. Gheranda (GS 1.53) says this act cures diseases of the eyes, and gives you “divine sight.”
B. Internal Trataka (antara trataka): Stare “inward” with closed eyes, at some imagined object or image. It’s also possible to combine these two types in two ways: you can first stare outward at some object, then inward at the object’s after-image; or, paradoxically, you can stare outward and inward at the same time, a practice called Shiva’s Seal.
6. SKULL BRIGHTENER (kapalabhati, also called bhalabhati, Brow Brightening, mastakabhati, Head Brightening, and kapala shodhana, Skull Purifying; 1.54-59). There are three types:
A. Air process (vata krama; 1.55-56): Inhale through the left nostril, exhale through the right. Then reverse: inhale right, exhale left. Do this quickly and don’t hold the breath. Gheranda doesn’t say how many times to repeat.
B. Inversion process (vyut krama; 1.57): Sniff water in through the nostrils and spit it out through the mouth. This is supposed to cure diseases of phlegm.
C. Cooling process (shit krama; 1.58-59): Drink in water through the mouth and force it out through the nostrils. Gheranda says that by this practice you become like Kama, the Hindu “God of Love.”
