Khecarī mudrā

IAST|Khecarī Mudrā [For romanization of the Sanskrit term as "IAST|khecarī mudrā", see: Harvnb|White|1996|p=135] [Flood, p. 100] is a yoga practice which is carried out by placing the tongue above the soft palate and into the nasal cavity. In the beginning stages, the tongue is placed in contact with the uvula at the back of the mouth. [Kriyananda, p. 450-451] Variant spellings include Khechari Mudra, Kecharimudra, [Venkataratam, p. 4] and Kechari Mudra. [Yogananda, p. 173] "Mudrā" (Sanskrit, मुद्रा, literally "seal"), when used in yoga, is a position that is designed to awaken spiritual energies in the body. [Kriyananda, p. 450]

Bhattacharyya defines IAST|Khecarī Mudrā as "name of Yogic posture which bestows spiritual attainment and enables one to overcome disease and death." He explains that "Kha" denotes "brahman", and that power which moves ("cara") as the kinetic energy of "brahman" is known (as) Khecarī." [Bhattacharyya, p. 407] Singh defines IAST|Khecarī Mudrā as "the bliss of the vast expanse of spiritual consciousness, also known as divya mudrā or Śivāvasthā (the state of Śivā)." [Singh, p. 242] He further identifies it in a higher sense—with the end state of consciousness, and not just the physical posture used to achieve that end: "So Khecarī Mudrā in Śaiva āgama means a state of universal consciousness which is the state of Śiva." ["Khecarī Mudrā is of various sorts. Śaiva āgama does not set any store by mudrā in the sense of disposition of certain parts of the physical body. It interprets mudrā in a higher sense in three ways, viz. (1) mudam (harṣam) rati (dadāti) — that which give muda or joy, (2) muṃ drāvayati — that which dissolves mu or bondage (3) mudrayati iti — that which seals up (the universe into turīya).... That which enables living beings to acquire Self-realization in all the states of the embodied ones is Mudrā.... So Khecarī Mudrā in Śaiva āgama means a state of universal consciousness which is the state of Śiva". Singh, pp. 101-102]

The practice is mentioned in the "Hatha Yoga Pradipika" (III. 6-7). In recent times, it was taught by Paramahansa Yogananda as a part of Kriya Yoga practice. ["While practicing "Kriya", when the mind becomes enchanted in listening to "nada", the sound of "Aum", a divine nectar-like current flows from the "sahasrara". Through the performance of "Kechari Mudra",...that divine life-current..." Lal Ghosh, p. 279] ["This union can be achieved physically also, by what is known in yoga as kechari mudra — touching the tip of the tongue to nerves in the nasal passage, or to the uvula at the back of the mouth." Yogananda, p. 173] Yogananda stated that:

Through the performance of "Kechari Mudra", touching the tip of the tongue to the uvula, or "little tongue," (or placing it in the nasal cavity behind the uvula), that divine life-current draws the "prana" from the senses into the spine and draws it up through the "chakras" to "Vaishnavara" (Universal Spirit), uniting the consciousness with spirit. [Discourses of Paramahansa Yogananda. Lal Ghosh, p.279]

According to Swami Kriyananda, "The assumption of this mudra helps to hasten the advent of deep spiritual states of consciousness." [Kriyananda, p. 451] Swami Sivananda described IAST|Khecarī Mudrā as "the best of all Mudras." [Sivananda, p. 59]

See also

* Frenulum linguae

Notes

References

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