Avastha

Avastha

"state"

1. Three states of consciousness experienced by each person: jagrat, svapna, sushupti. In Yoga, the fourth and fifth states of consciousness are described as turya and turyatita. Getting to this state of consciousness is possible through successful yogic or tantric practice.

2. States that are achieved by pranayama or laya-yoga practices: arambha, ghata, paricaya and nishpati-avasthi. The last avastha is above all granthas.

"At the arambha stage, sadhaka becomes interested in pranayama. At first he is impatient, and because of the excessive efforts and speed with which he yearns for results, his body is in discomfort, shiver and sweat appear. But with continued practice, the tremor and perspiration disappear, and sadhaka reaches the second stage, the ghatavastha. "Ghat" means "a jug of water." Thus, the body is compared to a jug that is placed in an ocean where the water in the jug and outside is the same. Thus a perfect union takes place without opposing prana and apana, manas and buddhi, or jivatma and paramatma. This is called ghatavastha. After this integration sadhaka reaches a stage called parichayavastha where he attains a sacred knowledge of himself (atma-vidya). Kundalini-shakti permeates the six chakras, and yogi performs samyama on the five great elements, gaining control over them, he also controls the qualities (gunas) of his nature and is aware of the causes of his actions (karma). Next, sadhaka goes to nishpatti-avastha, the final stage that is perfection. His efforts reached maturity, the seeds of his karma are burned, he overcame the barrier of gunas and became gunatita (one who is above the gunas). He becomes a jivanmukta – a person who realized the freedom of the soul, living in this world. He is always in a state of ecstasy – ananda."

Magazine "Adesh" 5-6 "Pranayama"