feeling the shakti of sanskrit ebook

Feeling the Shaktiof

SanSkrit

Katy Poole, Ph.D.

The Primordial Sounds of Yoga

ii

Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit Copyright 2007-2011 Katy Katyayani Poole, Ph.D., Dr. Katy Poole, LLC., and Sanskrit For Yoga LLC.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or other-wise, without the written prior permission of the author.

Cover design: JVP Consulting eBook design and layout: JVP Consulting Original Sanskrit translations: Katy Katyayani Poole, Ph.D.

First Edition Printing: July 2007 Second Edition Printing: March 2008 Third Edition Printing: July 2011

Printed in the USA

Sanskrit for Yoga

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A Note on Sanskrit Transliteration For the ease of comprehension for beginning students of Sanskrit, I have briefly introduced and em-ployed the conventional academic transliteration of Sanskrit words . This should also help the English readers begin to recognize and understand whenever transliteration is used. In this way, the student, unfolds this knowledge in a natural manner as a recognition from with their consciousness, learning then takes place without any need for effort on the students part.

Style of Sanskrit Pronunciation:The way Sanskrit is pronounced varies across the many, diverse regions of India. Therefore, you may have heard the sounds recorded in Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit said differently by other teachers of Sanskrit and yoga. In all of my Sanskrit courses, I adhere to the rules of Sanskrit pronunciation espoused by the authoritative grammarian, Panini, in his treatise, Astadhyayi. His guidelines for pronouncing Sanskrit are not restricted to regional dialects

and are more universally applicable especially for non-Indian students.

A DisclaimerThe information presented in this volume is meant to make general comparisons of Sanskrit (as it is understood in the Vedic traditions) with linguistic and scientific theories. I acknowledge the com-plexities within contemporary linguistics and physics and that they are systems of knowledge under constant revision, refinement and discovery. My remarks, therefore, could be mistakenly regarded as overly simplistic, naive or open to debate. However, my intention here is to simply open a conversa-tion that widens the relevance of Sanskrit beyond the narrow confines of elite academia and to inspire yoga practitioners to receive it on a sacred and practical level.

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Also by Dr. Katy Poole Awakening with Sanskrit

Sanskrit for Yogis: Introduction to Nada

The Alphabet of the Body

Sanskrit & Yoga Mastery Program

For additional information send email or visit online locations:

Sanskrit For Yoga LLC:

[email protected]

www.SanskritForYoga.co m

www.SanskritCourses.com

Dr Katy Poole LLC:

[email protected]

www.DrKatyPoole.c om

www.VedicAstrologyLifeInsight.co m

vTestimonials

A must for all Yoga teachers who want to increase their professionalism and enjoy learning at the same time.~ Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., PT, (Yoga Teacher since 1971, Author of six books including A Year of Living Your Yoga)

I have gone through the materials, and want to say that I applaud your skill in presenting Sanskrit in a way that is both easy to work with and full of the rasa of traditional Sanskrit studyIt is a simple, profound, and user-friendly approach to Sanskrit, beautifully crafted for the needs of yoga students and teachers. ~ Sally Kempton, (Swami Durgananda, Meditation Teacher, Author of Meditation for the Love of It).

Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit provides an easy-to follow, but in-depth and sacred instruction in pronouncing and feeling the Sanskrit alphabet that is useful and practical for Yoga students and teachers... I so appreciate how you present Sanskrit in a sacred manner that gives a novice confidence and inspiration to begin the pathThis is a jewel in the lotus of educational material recommended to all. Om Aim Sarasvataye Namaha! ~ Shiva Rea, M.A., (yogini, au-thor, dancer, and Master Teacher)

I feel fortunate to have taken Dr. Pooles Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit course. Her teaching takes you back to the ancient land of the Vedas, and you can feel those primordial vibrations resonating in your nervous system and along your spinal column as you learn. Because of this, youll be chanting the Vedas beautifully in no time and experiencing the deep spirit at the source of Yogas tradition. ~ Francesca Jackson, Chiropractor, Yoga teacher, and Philanthropist

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Ive been studying Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit for 3 months and the program has deepened my understanding of the roots and foundation of the Yoga I teach. Its amazing how the Sanskrit words express in sound the movements of the poses. I downloaded the CDs into my iTunes, and then have them randomly come up in my music play. So while I am working, listening to my favorite tunes, Dr. Poole will come on sounding the Sanskrit alphabet...it is so musical it fits right in, and the Sanskrit is seeping into the fabric of my life. So now, when I pronounce the poses in Yoga class, the texture and shape of the sound supports the unfolding of the pose. I love yoga of sacred sound and I thank Dr. Poole for the long and devoted work to produce this teaching. ~ Ellin Todd, Yoga Teacher, Boulder, CO

I loved learning the art of healing mind and heart with sacred sound. I especially notice how vibrations and tones can affect the way we feel, and how learning Sanskrit is more about cultivating deep inner feeling, rather than learning another language. I now feel my body tingle when I say the Sanskrit sounds correctly. You are a great teacher. You gave me such a vaster understanding of not only Sanskrit, but also myself. ~ Judson Frost, Direc-tor, Mandala Yoga Center, Boulder, CO

What I have learned just from the audios has been very valuable both in my teaching and continual learning of Yoga and all that it encompasses. Your presentations and material help me to strive to learn more and continue my education of all that is connected to Yoga. I thank you for your patience and giving your time to this material and presenting it in a very digestible format. ~ Kathleen Bump, Yoga Teacher, AuraWorks Yoga, Mil-waukee, WI

I did not know what to expect when I enrolled in Dr. Pooles course, Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit. I assumed it would be a general overview of the language. Instead, it was an unexpected adventure into the roots of a rich and ancient culture. Through her mastery as a teacher and storyteller, Dr. Poole not only conveyed the historic and structural components of the language, but she made it virtually come alive! Shes created a learning program that is both exploratory and encouraging, which alleviated any and all apprehension. It was far more interactive and comprehensive then I had imagined it being, and at its conclusion I felt confident and inspired to continue my study. ~ Shanti Devi, Yoga Teacher and Healer, Denver, CO

What a wonderful program! Before taking Dr. Pooles Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, I did not fully understand the value of sacred sound, much less the importance of proper pronunciation and tone in the Sanskrit language. After hearing how beautiful and meaningful this language is, I look forward to spending more time mastering these sounds, cultivating my nervous system, and becoming a better yoga teacher. ~ Lori, Yoga Teacher-in-Training, Lahiri School of Yoga, Colorado Springs, CO

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I thought that learning the Sanskrit was a tedious and unnecessary part of yoga that I somehow had to know but didnt want to spend a lot of time learning a complicated language. But after listening to Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, I realize that theres so much more to it than that. I was amazed and very touched by the energy within each sound. Ill never think of Sanskrit as a boring academic language again. Thank you so much. Learning Sanskrit in this way has truly awakened me! ~ Jonni Carol, Yoga Teacher-in-Training, Lahiri School of Yoga, Colorado Springs, CO

I want to tell you that I enjoyed your program, Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, very much. I really didnt know there was that much to learn about Sanskrit until you showed us its depth. Now its like a door that had been in front of me for years has been opened and all I have to do is step though itThis simple program has changed the way I chant Om and the way I practice Yoga. I cant wait to start teaching what you taught us in my own classes. And I cant wait to learn more! ~ Nolan, Yoga Teacher in Training, Core Power Yoga, Boulder, CO

At the end of chanting the Sanskrit alphabet in the four ways you teach in Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, I opened my eyes and the objects in the room seemed to welcome me, and it was obvious that consciousness permeates all things. As I looked around, my energy became centered in my forehead and everything I rested my gaze upon gave me a sensation as if it were kissing my eyes. I felt a natural inclination to prostrate and pray. ~ Lauren, Yoga teacher, Boulder, CO

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Dedication

Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit is dedicated to the goddess of sacred speech and music, Sarasvati. May her inspiration flow through your

voice and connect you back to the source of pure Being.

Preface

The Union of the Mind with Pure Sound is the Highest Form of Yoga. ~ Hatha Yoga Pradipika .

Congratulations on taking the first step toward experiencing the enlivening and enlightening effects of Sanskrit, the language of yoga! Learning Sanskrit is a powerful way to integrate the inner core of yogas long-standing tradition

into your practice and teaching. Upon completing this Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit audio course, youll soon discover that chanting Sanskrit is the essential practice for accessing the higher limbs of the yoga system.

The practice of yoga is not meant to end at the physical body. Rather, its designed to deepen awareness of your subtle body and ultimately lead you to discover the pure source of your very being.

For centuries, yogis have relied upon the power of chanting Sanskrit to awaken and enliven the subtle nervous system, leading to greater awareness of meditative calm.

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Now with Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, we invite you to attain the goal of yoga in the same time-tested and effective method.

Each of the 50 syllables of the Sanskrit alphabet functions as a mantra, an audio means to increase the prana or life force in your body-mind.

As you pronounce the Sanskrit syllables, youll find that each one has a unique energy associated with it. That energy is its shakti, its power to open new channels of prana in the subtle body, leading to deeper and more relaxed states of mental clarity as well as cellular vitality.

This short guidebook accompanies the Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit audio course as a visual aide to assist you in your learning adventures. But please remember: the best way to approach Sanskrit is aurally without any notes. This is in following the traditional teacher-student manner as has been used to teach Sanskrit in Vedic culture from time immemorial.

Therefore we purposefully provide minimal instructions. Youre simply meant to listen to the sounds carefully, imitate them to the best of your ability, and innocently experience their effects on the body and mind.

(For more advanced instruction and comprehensive learning experience, we suggest you graduate on to our Sanskrit for Yogis program following your initial immersion in the more introductory Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit audio course.)

Youll find yourself drawn to listening to these tracks over and over again wherever you are. Some students have reported listening to Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit while preparing food, driving in their cars, as they wake up in the morning or to help their children fall asleep. Children especially are drawn to the rhythmic sounds of Sanskrit and find it very easy to mimic them.

Wherever you chose to engage in your study and experience of Sanskrit, you can be assured of a blissful and relaxed result!

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu!

(May All Beings Be Happy!)

Katy Poole, Ph.D. Sanskrit Scholar and Creator of the Sanskrit for Yoga Method

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ContentsA Note on Sanskrit Transliteration ............................................................................................................... iii

A Disclaimer ....................................................................................................................................................... iii

Also by Dr. Katy Poole ......................................................................................................................................iv

Testimonials ........................................................................................................................................................v

Dedication ............................................................................................................................................................ix

Preface ..................................................................................................................................................................xi

Introduction: My Discovery of Sanskrit, the Language of Yoga .................................................................. 1

Chapter One: The Story of Kalidasa, an Inspiration Before You Begin ..................................................... 7

Chapter Two: Sanskrit The Language of Yoga & Enlightenment .............................................................. 11

Chapter Three: Pronouncing the Sanskrit Alphabet to Preserve and Enliven Prana ............................. 15

Chapter Four: Suggestions for Learning & Practicing Sanskrit ................................................................ 21

Chapter Five: The 16 Vowels of Sanskrit ...................................................................................................... 25

Chapter Six: The 25 Consonants of Sanskrit ................................................................................................ 33

Chapter Seven: The Semi-Vowels of Sanskrit ............................................................................................... 37

Chapter Eight: The Sibilant Sounds of Sanskrit .......................................................................................... 39

Chapter Nine The Final Sounds of Sanskrit ................................................................................................. 41

Chapter Ten: Chanting the Complete Sanskrit Alphabet ........................................................................... 43

Chapter Eleven: Mantra and the Seven Layers of Your Being ................................................................... 49

Chapter Twelve: Chanting the Mantra Om .................................................................................................. 53

Conclusion: Future Sanskrit Studies ............................................................................................................... 57

Acknowledgements: .......................................................................................................................................... 59

About Dr. Katy Poole ........................................................................................................................................ 63

About Sanskrit For Yoga: Offerings: Books, Home-Study Courses, Programs and Live Events ......... 65

My Discovery of Sanskrit, the Language of YogaIntroduction

The essence of all these beings is the earth; the essence of the earth is water; the essence of water is plants; the essence of plants is a person; essence of a person is speech; the essence of speech is the Vedathe essence of the Veda is Om, the essence of Om is the Self.

~ From the Chandogya Upanisad

I first discovered Sanskrit as a young 19-year-old student whod traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal in search of enlightenment. While enrolled in a Nepali language immersion, my teacher invited me to live with his uncle (a Vedic priest) and family. I stayed with Krishna Uncle for several months absorbing the traditional life of the Vedic Hindu culture and experiencing the awakening power of Sanskrit.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRITThe Primordial Sounds of Yoga2

THE PRIMORDIAL SOUNDS OF YOGA

Offered a room to myself on the first floor of the home, a place of honor next to the family shrine room, every morning at 4:00 a.m. a loud cacophony of strange and rhythmic sounds awakened me. These beautiful, hypnotic, and nonsensical melodies put my mind at rest. My breathing became deep and full. I relaxed totally into the pleasant pulse of warm electricity coursing through my body. Letting go, I forgot the time. Not quite asleep and not quite awake, I entered a natural state of meditation.

My biorhythms quickly adjusted to this morning routine. I found it easy to awake much earlier than I was accustomed, eager to experience the music again and again. As soon as Krishna Uncle and his little boy, Babu, had settled in the shrine room, Id sneak over to the side of the doorway and seat myself in full lotus posture. As their voices grew stronger, faster, and yet precisely rhythmic, Id dissolve into the sweet sensations that led me to a vast open space within. It felt pure there. I experienced a wakeful awareness that contained no thought. The best way I found to express it was through a blissful smile spread across my face.

And thats what I did for many, many mornings before I ever learned that I was chanting in Sanskrit. All I knew was that these pure impulses of sound were what energized, enlivened, and awakened my yoga and meditation practice. After chanting, I became so acutely aware of the structures of my subtle body (marmas, nadis, and cakras) that pulsed with renewed prana (subtle life-force). Spontaneously, my body formed the shapes of the yoga asanas. And my mind and emotions became silent and still.

You like our adhyayanam? Krishna Uncle asked me one morning.

Is this what this is called? I wondered to myself. Adhyaa-yaa-num?

I dont know, I answered. Ive never heard this before.

It is teacher-disciple method, he explained. I sit. You sit. I chant. You listen. You repeat.

And thats what I did for many, many mornings before I ever learned that I was chanting in Sanskrit. All I knew was that these pure impulses of sound were what energized, enlivened, and awakened my yoga and meditation practice. After chanting, I became so acutely aware of the structures of my subtle body (marmas, nadis, and cakras) that pulsed with renewed prana (subtle life-force). Spontaneously, my body formed the shapes of the Yoga asanas. And my mind and emotions became silent and still.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT3My Discovery of Sanskrit, the Language of Yoga

Once Krishna Uncle was in a very revealing mood. We were sitting together on the roof of his house on low jute stools. It was kite-flying season in Kathmandu and the sky was full of flourish. For many months, I had asked him about enlightenment to no avail. Hed never answer a single one of my questions. Hed just shake his head slightly side to side with his eyes cast up, as if Id asked something very good, as if the question alone was sufficient. But that day on the roof, Krishna Uncle felt like talking.

You know Sanskrit is not a language, he explained. It is the very mind of God. This world is the spoken breath of God. Our breath is the breath of God. When we direct it back to the divine source with our holy chants, we merge with Him.

I nodded in agreement. Krishna Uncles words perfectly described what I experienced as I first heard and felt the sounds of Sanskrit. Is Sanskrit the secret behind enlightenment? I queried sincerely.

Yes, correct. Krishna Uncle responded. You become very intelligent by intoning these sounds. Your mind becomes very clear and open. Your heart becomes happy. The family relations improve. And your lifes duty is easily fulfilled.

I knew Id discovered the secret behind yogas power to achieve higher states of consciousness and enlightenment. I decided then and there I would dedicate myself to perfecting the art of Vedic chanting in Sanskrit to open myself more to this sweet experience of awakening.

After leaving Nepal, I decided to enroll in a formal, academic Sanskrit program offered in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Initially there were 25 students in my academic Sanskrit class, which even on the first day was brutally difficult. It reminded me of the day my father taught me to ski by pushing me down the hill! Nothing about the way Sanskrit was taught in the university remotely resembled my shrine room lessons at Krishna Uncles home. I felt like I accidently walked in on a theoretical physics class that demanded rigorous understanding of calculus as a pre-requisite. I checked my schedule. No, this was the right room. And this was Sanskrit class.

On the second day of class, only five students showed up. By the third day, attendance had dwindled to just three of us. The only reason I remained was because my teacher, Mrs. Nandini Iyer, pulled me aside whispering, Only those with good past-life merit are able to learn Sanskrit. She stoked my fire.



I certainly was going to be one of those with good past-life merit!

The grammatical structure of Sanskrit is so intricate, complex and difficult, its a miracle that I had the dedication and discipline to stick it out for five years. In fact, I performed well enough in my studies to be accepted into the masters and doctorate program in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Yet I longed to experience Sanskrit as it had been orally transmitted from teacher to student for thousands of years. Although I had gained proficiency in grammar and translation, I felt that the sacred status and enlightening power of Sanskrit had been totally lost by the academic, dead classical language approach. I wanted to immerse myself in the oral transmission of the sacred language from teacher to student as I had in Nepal and re-enliven it in my spiritual practice.

At that point, I had studied hard, labored in my understanding of grammar and syntax, and memorized multitudes of complex rules, paradigms, and declensions. I was quite confident I was going to become a great Sanskrit and yoga master! Fortunately, I received a grant to return to India for five years to study with traditional Sanskrit teachers. Receiving the grant was relatively easy. Finding a teacher whod accept a non-Brahmin, unmarried, American woman as a student was another matter.

I sent out over a hundred letters to potential teachers and not one was answered. I understood that it was uncustomary for a Brahmin male master of Sanskrit to impart the sacred transmission of Vedic chanting to an American woman. Krishna Uncle had made a great exception by teaching me, which I hadnt fully appreciated at the time. For all other traditional teachers, it appeared, I simply did not fulfill the purity and caste requirements that forbid anyone but a Brahmin male to chant the auspicious Vedas in Sanskrit.

I almost gave up in despair when a letter arrived from India. It was addressed to me by a Sanskrit pandita (scholar), Abhijit Chattopadyay, who informed me that he wasnt interested at first in accepting me as a student. But then he had two dreams that convinced him otherwise. In the first dream, his teacher appeared to him telling him that if this knowledge had been kept in the hands of women it would never be lost! And in the second dream, he envisioned a foreign woman teaching many women students of yoga Vedic chanting in Sanskrit. In his letter, he described them as oceans of ladies. So Id passed the first test and found a suitable teacher.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT5My Discovery of Sanskrit, the Language of Yoga

The traditional way of studying Sanskrit required that I live with my teacher and become part of his family as I had in Nepal with Krishna Uncles family. And thats what I did. When I arrived in the city of Calcutta, I hired a cycle rickshaw to take me to the home of my teacher. It was some time after my arrival that Panditji gave me my first lesson. Initially, I was expected to help clean his modest home, take care of guests, sweep the courtyard, and run errands. I was naturally frustrated, thinking that perhaps I was invited to be a servant and not a student like Id expected. I was still very arrogant about my academic accomplishments and my intelligence.

Finally after several weeks, Panditji asked if Id recite a simple line in Sanskrit. I thought, This is so easy. Im really going to make great progress. I can translate this. I can tell all the different parts of speech and analyze the grammar. With confidence, I pronounced the first word.

The sound had barely escaped my lips when my teacher blocked his ears and said, Oh, this is terrible! Its the worst Sanskrit Ive ever heard in my life! You must start at the beginning.

I thought, What does he mean? How can he not be impressed with me? Ive spent so much time studying Sanskrit. Surely, Im no beginner!

But beginner I became. For more than six months I was only permitted to chant the 50 syllables of the Sanskrit alphabet every day and nothing more advanced. I thought Id go insane. The repetition for eight hours or more per day was maddening. Just when I thought Id perfected a sound, Panditji would clap his hands and make me repeat it again and again, each time discovering a new flaw.

In India, its traditional that teachers dont tell you the reason why youre given certain tasks. If you ask why, youll be told, Yes, you will chant. And then if you ask again, But why do I have to chant the same sounds over and over again, every day for months and months? My teacher always answered simply, You will chant it. No problem.

I was so discouraged, humiliated, and full of despair. According to tradition, you cant just dump your teacher because you dont like his or her method. You have to persevere. You have to give up your ego in order to make any kind of progress in yoga and meditation. As a student you must realize that youre not in charge.

When I finally allowed myself to accept the method of learning imposed on me, I placed all my attention on mindfully experiencing the pure sounds of Sanskrit. I observed that they had a sublimely pleasant



effect on my nervous system. I discovered a deep bliss vibrating from the core of my being. And I came to love that simple practice of chanting the primordial sounds of Sanskrit without worrying about what they meant or how much progress I was making.

Eventually, I realized the method behind my teachers madness. By the continuous daily chanting of Sanskrit, I determined its supreme value in attaining the goal of yoga. It opens the channels of higher perception, increases the flow of prana, cultivates deep awareness and functioning of the subtle nervous system, and awakens the state of enlightened consciousness.

At the end of six months, my teacher finally said, Now your voice has shakti in it. Now your voice has energy and power in it. Now I can teach you.

That moment became a revelation for me. I knew then that Sanskrit is not an old, dead, classical language that only accomplished academics can decipher. Instead, it became for me a living technology for awakening higher states of consciousness, understanding the subtle laws of creation, and attaining advanced states of meditation leading to enlightenment.

I spent five years in India receiving the traditional transmission of Sanskrit as sacred sound and meeting many saints and masters of yoga. In my meetings and studies, I discovered that Sanskrit (at the basis of the formal practices of yoga) transmutes the body and mind from the identification with the ego as the separate I-sense to the dawning of a presence that fills the being with transcendental light.

Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit replicates the traditional way that Sanskrit is taught according to the teacher-student method I received from my Vedic teachers in Nepal and India. It allows you to experience the awakening power within the simple 50 Sanskrit syllables and enter the yoga of sacred sound.

The Story of Kalidasa, an Inspiration Before You BeginChapter One

So that I might attain right knowledge and understanding of words and their meanings, I worship the parents of the universe, Parvati and Paramesvara (Shiva), who are perfectly united just

like words and their meanings. ~ Kalidasa



Long ago in ancient India there lived a great poet by the name of Kalidasa. He wasnt always a great poet, however. In fact, he was born a mute. Although he could hear, he never uttered a single sound.In Vedic education, if a child cannot speak she cant be taught since the method requires listening and repeating patterns of sounds chanted by a teacher. So Kalidasas father gave up on the possibility of educating his son. As a result, Kalidasa spent many hours alone in the nearby forest observing nature and enjoying the innocent play of the animals who became his friends.

One day a hunter entered the forest intent on acquiring his dinner. He spotted a wild boar, tracked him, and shot him with a poison arrow. Squealing out in agony over his painful wound, the boar lay dying awaiting the hunters final blow.

Kalidasa heard the pleas of the injured animal calling out, ai, ai, ai! The boars desperate wailing broke his heart and filled him with deep compassion. As he listened more intently to the boars cries, Kalidasa opened his own mouth and mimicked the sounds in empathy, ai, ai, ai!

Just then, the goddess of speech, music and enlightenment, Sarasvati, appeared before the would-be poet. The sound ai is, in fact, her bija mantra (her entire essence embodied in a single syllable). Whenever someone intones this mantra with the fullness of feeling, she manifests herself. So when Kalidasa repeated the cry he heard from the boar, he inadvertently invoked goddess Sarasvati.

Standing before her invoker goddess Sarasvati tilted her crescent moon crown and poured her shakti into him as a blessing. From then on, Kalidasa composed the most exquisite Sanskrit poetry straight out of his deeply feeling heart. He is celebrated even today as Indias most beloved poet.

There are many Vedic priests who chant Sanskrit with no feeling. Its a rote practice for them, a habit that they conduct out of ancestral duty and not necessarily deep devotion. There are scholars who know how to read and translate Sanskrit with expert skill, but have spent little time experiencing the beauty and grace inherent in the sounds of Sanskrit themselves. And finally there are some who dont know proper Sanskrit pronunciation nor are they schooled in the rules of Vedic chanting, but who sing out from a heart full of love.

With Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, we invite you to follow the path of Kalidasa and culture an innocent appreciation for the simple sounds of Sanskrit without the obligations required of the Vedic priest

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT9The Story of Kalidasa, an Inspiration Before You Begin

vocation or the pressures and rigors of the academic approach.

Instead, be like Sarasvati -- who is also heralded as a river goddess. A river doesnt flow in a straight line. Likewise, sound flows more easily when we arent stiff with too many prescribed rules and regulations. This is not to say that there arent rules of precise pronunciation that we follow in Sanskrit chanting. Those will come later in your studies. In the beginning, however, its best to allow the Sanskrit syllables to flow through you and to culture a deep feeling appreciation for them.

Om Aim Hrim Srim Sarasvati Devyai Namah!

I salute the shakti within all things as the embodiment of Sarasvati, goddess of speech!

Dr. Poole taking a holy dip at Omkareshvara Narmada River

Sanskrit The Language of Yoga & EnlightenmentChapter Two

In the Tantric view, sound, as a vibration of undifferentiated Intelligence, is the catalyst that sets into motion the unfolding of the manifest cosmos. A primal shudder disturbs the slumbering equilibrium of Shaktito carry out the creation of the manifold universes. The causal vibrationis undifferentiated, soundless Sound. It is the wavelength experienced as God. ~ Swami Vishnu-Devananda



Theres something amazing about the Sanskrit language: Its the foundation of all Indo-European languages. That means if you speak English, French, German, Russian or any European language (with the exception of Hungarian) as well as many of the modern Indian languages and Persian, Sanskrit is at the root. At some point in history there may have been a common language, Sanskrit, spoken by a vast population of people spread out over a diverse geography. As a result, many, many of our words in English derive from Sanskrit roots. If when you come across Sanskrit words in yoga, you can make that connection, the meaning of the seemingly foreign words becomes familiar.

Sanskrit is the anglicized form of the word for the sacred language of yoga, Samskrta, consisting of two parts, sam and krta.

Sam sounds like our English word sum, and has the same meaning of total. Krta has the same meaning as our English word, created. Together, the word Samskrta means created or made out of the state of the total, or unity.

Samskrta is not just a word that has a symbolic meaning. Its an expression of the structure of the material world thats echoed in modern science. Quantum physics, for example, reveals in String Theory that everything in the objective, material universe is vibrating at its core. What seems solid and unchanging in our physical world is actually moving so quickly that it appears to be standing still. This implies that if you were subtle enough in your awareness, youd be able to hear and see those vibrations and replicate them with your voice.

The theory that distinguishable and varied vibrations form the core of all created matter lies at the basis of the Sanskrit language. Most importantly, it is a technology that achieves something remarkable: By replicating the subtle sounds of creation with the human voice, one becomes unified with all aspects of the physical and subtle universe.

The ancient sages of India (known as rishis or seers of ultimate truth) made this discovery of Sanskrit by their attainment of extraordinary states of intelligent perception through meditation, permitting them to see and hear the subtle strings of code at the basis of creation. They recorded these arrangements of sounds in their speech, committed them to memory, and passed them down to their disciples to preserve them for posterity. The sounds they heard were combinations of the 50 Sanskrit syllables, forming the corpus of the Veda.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT13Sanskrit: The Language of Yoga & Enlightenment

Veda comes from the same Sanskrit verbal root from which we get our English word, video. Just like a video is a projection of pixilations of light and sound, this world is nothing other than a diversified array of vibrations, distinguishing themselves only by different combinations of sounds and rhythms.

The rishis saw in their minds eye that these subtle sounds abide at the very source of all things manifest in nature -- like trees, rocks, plants, animals and human beings. They then recorded what they saw and heard in the form of rhythmic speech, or mantras, which make up what are sometimes called the hymns of the Veda. You could say that the chants of the Veda are recordings of the way the created world arises, mutates, and dissolves.

These mantras, or pure forms of sound, are likened to sonic building blocks that form the underlying architecture of both the visible and invisible or subtle universe. When you replicate these mantras exactly as they have been passed down orally in the Vedic tradition, they cultivate your subtle nervous system to that of the extraordinarily intelligent and perceptive rishis.

The oral transmission of natures vibrational code has been kept alive for thousands of generations in India through the sacred guru-disciple relationship. (Ive also attempted to maintain it authentically in my Sanskrit for Yogis method.) The teacher enlivens the liberating energy in the students body-mind through the constant repetition of Sanskrit. Beginning when a child is just four or five-years-old, she memorizes hundreds of thousands of rhythmic patterns by mimicking her teachers tone, pattern of breath, and pronunciation. This continues daily for twelve years, during which time the childs nervous system is cultured to perceive more subtle levels of reality from the physical to the vital inner core of all things. Purified by the continuous pulse of healing sound, her body itself effortlessly channels a higher light. And through the breaths regulation by proper pronunciation of the Sanskrit syllables, her mind is directed to a more clairvoyant and clairaudient perception of conscious thought.

When the child-disciple reaches physical maturity by the age of 16 or so, her very body has become a beacon of healing, vitalizing, and bliss-bestowing light by this ancient method of Sanskrit chanting. Such an enlightened individual is invaluable to everything within her vicinity. She instills an environment of peace by her very presence, fostering the growth of positive human values in the society at large. The plants and animals likewise respond in harmony with such a state of being.



For this reason, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika asserts that the union of the mind with pure sound is the highest and most subtle form of yoga. Chanting Sanskrit is an essential and complementary practice to yoga asana, pranayama, and meditation, the benefit of which is for a much larger field of influence beyond the physical body and mind.

Pronouncing the Sanskrit Alphabet to Preserve and Enliven PranaChapter Three

Prana is the vibratory nature of BeingWhen prana manifests, Being vibrates and in vibrating assumes the role of a particular pattern of breathing to produce a

specific pattern of individual life. ~ Maharishi Mahesh Yogi



Theres a noticeable difference between spending an hour speaking in English and an hour chanting in Sanskrit. In the former case, you find your energy depleted. Thats because we have no mechanism in our modern languages to recapture the life force that gets expelled with our exhalation as we speak. In the latter case of Sanskrit, however, the simple rules of pronunciation are designed to redirect the prana back into the physical and subtle body.

As you exhale through your mouth, youll notice that the breath passes over five distinct regions: the larynx, the soft palate, the hard palate, the teeth, and the lips. Each sound made in Sanskrit stimulates one of these regions, which are each a marma point that opens a pranic pathway, or nadi, that sends energy that would otherwise be exhaled back into the subtle body. Your speech in Sanskrit, therefore, serves as a powerful form of pranayama that preserves and enlivens your life force.

Unlike most modern languages, the arrangement of the Sanskrit alphabet follows the evolutionary scheme of nature. While its vowels correspond with the states of higher consciousness and what some religions have described as the angelic realms, the consonants replicate the myriad of Earths life forms, from the amphibian, insect, bird, rodent, to the mammal kingdoms. Since humans are the only creatures who can recreate all the sounds of nature through our unique organs of speech, the voice serves as a bridge, connecting heaven and earth. While our language often promotes misunderstanding and conflict, Sanskrit, when pronounced precisely, best achieves the ultimate goal of all yoga practice the total union of opposites.

Vowels form the core of Sanskrits alphabet. These sounds are made without the assistance of the organs of speech (the tongue, the teeth, or the lips). Babies in their most innocent state of consciousness intone vowel soundsaaah, eeeh, oooh. At some point in our early childhood (around the terrible twos), we realize our separation from our mother and say our first consonantsmaah and daah. (Or more often, me!) The duality of consonants (to sound together) expresses the psychology of our separation. As distinct individuals, we often find ourselves in life attempting to be understood, to connect with others and our world. This is why if we have a good conversation with someone, we say, I connected with so-and-so. Or, if not, We had a disconnect.

But the Sanskrit language recognizes that just as consonants are the sounds of separation, they also serve to re-connect us to the innocent state of unity we experienced as infants. For this reason, Sanskrit is called the mother of all languages, because it returns us to the source of life, which according to the Yogic point of view is silent, pure Being.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT17Pronouncing the Sanskrit Alphabet

This is how it works:

The Sanskrit vowels and consonants are found to be especially soothing to the mind and nervous system. They are most often natural sounds we make as we inhale and exhale, such as so (inhale) and ham (exhale). As the breath travels out of the body, we make language when the organs of our speech the larynx, the base of the tongue, the tip of the tongue, the teeth, and lips touch these five regions that connect mind with body. When precisely pronounced, the consonant sounds of Sanskrit penetrate these nerve centers in the head cavity like an acupuncture needle, directing prana to their corresponding body parts and nerve centers.

The 1. Guttural region is in the throat.

The 2. Palatal region is across the roof of the mouth or soft palate.

The 3. Retroflex region is located on the ridge or hard palate just before the teeth.

The 4. Dental region is when the tip of the tongue makes contact with directly with the upper teeth.

The 5. Labial region is through the lips.

Just as there are five regions and organs of speech, there are five energetic centers in the body, from the base of the spine to the throat. Each one of these centers resonates with the energies of the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), the five animal kingdoms (amphibian, insect, birds, rodents, and mammals), and the five classifications of Sanskrit consonants. By recreating the sounds of our world, we align ourselves with the rhythms and melodies of nature. We also do this when we practice yoga asanas, which also often mimic the animals of the natural world (cobra, frog, fish, eagle, elephant, and so on).

Every Sanskrit syllable, therefore, opens the marma points (gateways of prana) in your vocal cavity and along the surface of your body, to direct prana through the channels or nadis that connect the marmas to the deep internal energetic centers or cakras. They also establish a resonance between the vibrations of



your subtle body and the forms in nature that correspond with the Sanskrit syllables at their core.

As I mentioned earlier, the 16 vowel sounds connect your emotional states with the phases of the moon. The 25 consonants connect your five sense organs with the five regions of speech, the five ways of sensing, the five sense objects, and the five elements in nature. The four semi-vowels orient you to the four directions in nature and link the flow of your spinal fluid with the upward flow of sap in trees and plants. The three sibilant sounds enliven the three nerve channels along the central axis of the body: the ida, pingala and susumna nadis that intersect at the location of the seven cakras. The two final sounds allow your body, mind and breath to dissolve back into the primal state of unified consciousness at death.

Here is a simple chart of the arrangement of the Sanskrit syllables:

The Fifty (50) Sanskrit Letters of the Alphabet14 Vowel Sounds + Anusvara and Visarga = 16

5 Classes of Consonant Sounds of Which There are 5 Varieties = Total of 25

Guttural

Palatal

Retroflex

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT19Pronouncing the Sanskrit Alphabet

Dental

Labial

4 Semi-Vowels

3 Sibilants

2 Final Sounds

Suggestions for Learning & Practicing SanskritChapter Four

The Sanskrit letters must be spoken very lucidly. The sounds should not be blurred. The sound should not slip down or fade out. On the other hand, they should not be barked out. They should neither be loosely or casually mouthed nor spat out in staccato tones. The comparison is with a mother tiger. How does the tiger carry its youngThe teeth grip the cub firmly so that the cub does not slip and fall, but at the same time the teeth do not cause any hurt or pain. Likewise the syllables are to be pronounced delicately but firmly.

~ Swami Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, Shankaracharya of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham



As children, we learned best by listening and repeating. But as we became educated, we were encouraged to read and learn visually, thus handicapping our sense of hearing. And as we age, our capacity to listen minimizes each year. Were talking all the time, but barely listening and almost never being heard.

The eyes with which we read dominate our sense perceptions, allowing only a certain expression of intelligence to arise within us that represents our analytical, divisive mind. The ears, on the other hand, synthesize what we actually hear to increase intuitive and extra-sensory perception.

The guiding theory behind yoga as a system of self-realization is that youre already enlightened. You have the capacity for total knowledge of everything. You just have to awaken this inherent reality within you. Hearing and repeating the pure sounds of Sanskrit stimulates higher knowing, which is your natural condition.

Its expected that you might feel frustrated at first by the act of listening and repeating the Sanskrit syllables without a visual aid. In time, however, youll notice your hearing becomes more sensitive and refined and a new kind of intelligence arises in you. A higher perception of intuitive awareness will dawn and youll start hearing these sounds everywhere alive in nature.

To get the most out of this audio course, we offer the following suggestions:

Start your journey in Sanskrit, the yoga of sacred sound, by simply listening to the recordings 1. of Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit with your eyes closed.

Observe the differences in the sounds and notice where in the body they most resonate. 2.

Notice any changes in the pattern and depth of your breath and heart rate. 3.

Simply feel the deep relaxation the pure sounds of Sanskrit enable. 4.

The next time you listen to the audio tracks, youre ready to listen and repeat the sounds you hear. It doesnt matter if you get them right or not. Your intention is to develop your faculty of hearing. You may have to listen many times before you can distinguish all the fine nuances in the pronunciation of each syllable.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT23Suggestions for Learning & Practicing Sanskrit

Please dont be discouraged if you find making the sounds difficult at first. The perfection of pronunciation and the transformative feeling that accompanies it takes many years of practice. At this stage, youre simply encouraged to have fun! You can continue to deepen your studies later with the complete Sanskrit for Yogis home study program.

There are four patterns of repetition included in the audios:

The first pattern requires you to recite the alphabet straight through with no variant. 1.)

(Youll notice that the vowels , , , and are excluded for the sake of easy learning and recitation. Youll also notice the nasal sounds are omitted in the recitation as well. Thats because the nasal sound is accounted for properly with the anusvara vowel in each case.)

The second pattern requires you to recite the alphabet adding 2.) anusvara to each syllable.

The third pattern requires you to recite the alphabet adding 3.) visarga to each syllable and;

The fourth pattern requires you to add both 4.) anusvara and visarga to each syllable.

Dont worry if you dont quite understand what these terms anusvara and visarga mean. Once you listen to and repeat the patterns, youll catch on easily.

Also dont be in a rush to pronounce the sounds perfectly. Every time you listen to the lessons, youll discover new aspects that you didnt hear before.

Bear in mind that your vocal organs are muscles that few of us have engaged fully in our life. Most modern languages dont require use of all the organs of speech. (And if youre an American English speaker, you may be more accustomed to speaking through your nose!)

Pronouncing the Sanskrit syllables properly requires deep and full breathing, especially with the aspirated (maha prana) sounds. Youll find reciting the Sanskrit alphabet is a form of yogic pranayama, or breath retention. And youll notice as your breath deepens and your pronunciation improves, your ability to meditate will arise naturally and effortlessly.

After practicing with the audio lessons on Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, be sure to give yourself some time for meditation to fully experience the blissful affects of Sanskrit on the body, mind and spirit.

The 16 Vowels of SanskritChapter Five

There are 16 Vowels in the Sanskrit alphabet. The vowels are very easy sounds to make, requiring little effort. Youll notice that they fluctuate between short and long sounds as in a-. A a expands to Aa E i expands to I u u expands to U ? expands to @ ; expands to L

Theres also a class of vowels called diphthongs or combined vowel sounds.

Finally, there are two special sounds that form the 15th and 16th vowel sounds respectively. They are called anusvara (), which is made by bringing resonance to the nasal cavity or the space behind the forehead, and visarga (), which repeats the sound that precedes it.



Combined Vowels Diphthongs

A + E = Oa + i = e

A + u = A + = au

Youll first learn the pronunciation of each vowel sound by listening and repeating what you hear on the audio. Then youll add the anusvara sound to each vowel, the visarga sound, and then alternating anusvara and visarga for each vowel.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT27The 16 Vowels of Sanskrit

In the end of the vowel section, youll learn and practice four patterns of recitation:

The complete set of vowels on their own

Each vowel with anusvara added to it

Each vowel with visarga added to it

Each vowel alternating with anusvara and visarga

Vowels Simple

A Aa E Ia i

u U ? @u

; L



Vowels with Anusvara

A Aa E Ia i

u U ? @u

; L O O e ai

Aa Aao au


Vowels with Visarga

AH AaH EH IHa i

uH UH ?H @Hu

;H LH OH OH e ai

AaH AaHo au



Vowels Alternating Anusvara & Visarga

A AH Aa AaHa a

E EH I IHi i

u uH U UHu u

? ?H @ @H


; ;H L LH

O OH O OHe e ai ai

Aa AaH Aa AaHo o au au

The 25 Consonants of SanskritChapter Six

The 25 consonant sounds of Sanskrit are formed when the breath is exhaled through the mouth. As the breath is released, it touches five distinct regions of the vocal cavity: Guttural (pharynx)

Palatal (soft palate)

Retroflex (hard palate)

Dental (teeth)

Labial (lips)

In each of the five regions, there are five different ways to express the sound that arises there:

Unvoiced, which requires minimal vocal effort

Voiced, which requires maximum vocal effort

Unaspirated (alpa prana) -- which requires minimal breath

Aspirated (maha prana) -- which requires maximum breath

Nasal, which directs the sound made in the region of speech to the nasal cavity

Following is the first consonant of the Sanskrit alphabet, ka, which includes the vowels added to it as an example. (Please note the vowels , , , and have been omitted for the sake of easy apprehension. The energetics of the sounds, however, are not lost but replicated in their semi-vowel equivalents ra and la.)



Consonants GutturalVoiceless Unaspirated

kka

k ka ek ki k kka k ki k ku k

k k k< k> k k:ke kai ko kau ka ka

Following are the remaining consonants. By listening to the audio lessons, youll easily be able to recite them with the vowels added to them as in the example ka above.

Guttural Sounds:

k Ka ga Ga {ka kha ga gha a

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT35The 25 Consonants of Sanskrit

Palatal Sounds:

ca C ja Ja Waca cha ja jha a

Retroflex Sounds: (indicated by a dot under the letter)

X Y R Z Naa ha a ha a

Dental Sounds:

ta Ta d Da nata tha da dha na

Labial Sounds:

pa P ba Ba mapa pha ba bha ma

The Semi-Vowels of SanskritChapter Seven

There are four semi-vowel sounds in the Sanskrit alphabet. A semi-vowel is an in-between sound, neither a pure vowel nor consonant. The semi-vowels follow the same pathway of the breath as its exhaled, touch only four regions

of the vocal cavity:

Palatal

Retroflex

Dental

Labial

Following is the first semi-vowel, ya, which includes the vowels added to it.



Semi-Vowels - Palatal

yaya

ya yaa eya yai ya yaya y yi y yu y

y< y> ya< ya> ya yaHye yai yo yau ya ya

Following are the three remaining semi-vowels. By listening to the audio, you can easily add the vowel sounds to them for recitation.

r la vara la va

The Sibilant Sounds of SanskritChapter Eight

There are three sibilant sounds in the Sanskrit alphabet. A sibilant is a fancy way of describing an s sound.The sibilants follow the path of the breath on the exhalation, touching only three regions of

speech in the vocal cavity:

Palatal

Retroflex

Dental

Following is the first sibilant, a, with the vowels added to it: (Please note the slash above the letter indicates it is a palatal sound.



Saa

Sa Saa eSa Sai Sa Saa i u

S< S> Sa< Sa> Sa SaHe ai o au a a

Following are the two remaining sibilants. By listening to the audio, you can easily add the vowels to them for recitation.

\a saa sa

The Final Sounds of SanskritChapter Nine

There are two final sounds to the Sanskrit alphabet. They are simply ha and ka.h xaha ka

Following is the final letter, ha, with the vowels added to it. By listening to the audio, you can replicate the pattern with the letter ka as well.



Final LetterVoiced

hha

h ha eh hi h h

ha h hi h hu h

h h h< h> h hH

he hai ho hau ha ha

Chanting the Complete Sanskrit AlphabetChapter Ten

Now that youve learned the pronunciation of the 50 Sanskrit sounds, you can practice chanting the alphabet according to four patterns:The complete alphabet1.) : vowels, consonants with vowels, semi-vowels with vowels, sibilants

with vowels, and 2 final sounds with vowels;

The complete alphabet adding anusvara to each vowel2.) , consonant with vowels, semi-vowel with vowels, sibilants with vowels, and 2 final sounds with vowels;

The complete alphabet adding visarga to each vowel3.) , consonant with vowels, semi-vowels with vowels, sibilants with vowels, and 2 final sounds with vowels;

The complete alphabet alternating anusvara and visara with each vowel4.) , consonant with vowels, semi-vowels with vowels, sibilants with vowels, and 2 final sounds with vowels.



Vowels Simple

A Aa E Ia i

u U ? @u

; L

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT45Chanting the Complete Sanskrit Alphabet

Vowels with Anusvara

A Aa E Ia i

u U ? @u

; L O O e ai

Aa Aao au



Vowels with Visarga

AH AaH EH IHa i

uH UH ?H @Hu

;H LH OH OH e ai

AaH AaHo au


Vowels Alternating Anusvara & Visarga

A AH Aa AaHa a

E EH I IHi i

u uH U UHu u

? ?H @ @H

; ;H L LH

O OH O OHe e ai ai

Aa AaH Aa AaHo o au au



Consonants Alternating Anusvara & Visarga

k ka ek ki k kka k ki k ku k

k k k< k> k k:ke kai ko kau ka ka

k kH ka kaHka ka k k

ek ekH ki kiHki ki k k


k kH k kHku ku k k

k kH k kH ke ke kai kai

kHko ko kau kau

Mantra and the Seven Layers of Your BeingChapter Eleven

When the seers set in motion the first beginning of speech, giving names, their most pure and perfectly guarded secret was revealed through lovethey traced the path of speech and found it inside the sages. They held it and portioned it out to many; together the seven

singers praised it. ~ from Rig-Veda 10.71



Each Sanskrit syllable is a mantra that infuses your physical and subtle physiology with life-bestowing prana. Consisting of two parts man (mind) and tra (to expand) mantra is a technique to expand the mind/body.In the Samkhya theory that underlies classical Yoga, there are seven layers to your being: body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego, and Self.

The first three are the physical body, breath, and instinctual mind, known collectively as manas. This is the realm of sensory perception. The body feels. The breath responds. Youll notice a different rhythm to your breath in the presence of heat, wind, water and so on. And finally, the mind reacts to the senses spontaneously.

These three together form your automatic intelligence that allows the heart to beat, lungs to breathe, and food to digest. It is the unconscious mind that also accounts for your fight-or-flight responses.

Once sensory input has reached the unconscious mind, it becomes conscious. Then the next layer of your being arises the intellect or buddhi.

The buddhi decides whether it likes the sensory experience or doesnt. It labels the information hot, cold, scary, traumatic, pleasant, exciting, boring, and so on. Its the sorting mechanism of our mind.

Patanjali places special importance on the development of the buddhi or discriminative intelligence in the Yoga Sutras. The practice of yoga is, in fact, the refinement of discernment, leading ultimately to the perception of the real from the unreal. The buddhi is truly only capable of perceiving what is always changing (the unreal). It can only conclude that there must be a presence of something non-changing and permanent (the real), but it can never know it.

So even when you practice yoga asana, the buddhi is engaged. You learn not to react to the sensations in your body, but simply witness them arising. This helps you to recognize that you are not your feelings, thoughts, and preferences. Theres something more to you.

The next layer of the mind/body is the memory or smrti. Your memory is simply a storehouse of what the buddhi has sorted out and categorized from the sensory input of the manas. As the

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT53Mantra and the Seven Layers of Your Being

buddhi becomes more and more refined, memories become less fixed and binding. Enlightenment or the attainment of samadhi could be described as a process of divine forgetting.

Deeper than memory is the sense of I or ahamkara. Its the subjective part of your mind/body, known also as ego. Its the part of you that says, I feel. I think. I remember. I exist.

Beyond the pure I-sense lies the Self, described by Patanjali as Purusha or drastuh, the Seer.

Theres a part of you that is simply witnessing the cycle of the mind, which fluctuates from feeling, thinking, remembering, and asserting separation. It was there when you were born. Its with you now. And it will be there when you drop your body and individuated life. The Purusha is eternal, non-changing, being. Its realization is the goal of yoga.

When you recite a mantra, the sound penetrates all seven layers. First, your mechanical mind chews on the sound by repeating it over and over again. Your body may release aches and pains that werent present before you started your practice. Youll notice your breath starts to align rhythmically with the mantra. This is because the sound is purifying the layer of manas.

Then you may decide what you think about the mantra. This is boring. This is pointless. I wonder how long it will take to finish. The mantra is purifying the buddhi. This where a lot of beginning meditators feel most discouraged and declare that they cant meditate. Theyre disturbed by thoughts. Yet these thoughts arise simply so you can realize that you are not your thoughts. Theres something deeper in you that can even realize the separation between the mind and the Self, which is why the thoughts disturb you.

While repeating a mantra, your thoughts may drift to an old memory that seemingly arises out of nowhere. You may get lost in that remembrance, realize youve been lost, and come back to the mantra. The pure sound is actually purifying your memory and releasing you from its bondage.

Finally you may become aware of the simple sensation of I. I am reciting a mantra. That is a very subtle experience of your deep subjectivity or ego. Its so easy at that point to slip into a state that surpasses the I-sense. Youre free from the shackles of the mind. There is only presence, pure Being, Purusha.



You may only abide in that state for a moment and then the mind kicks back in. You shouldnt feel discouraged. Whats happened is that youve transcended your mind/body. When the mind reappears it has a different quality to it. Its lighter, freer, and more subtle in its awareness.

This is how mantra expands the mind/body. It travels through all seven layers to experience the witness state. When it returns to the surface, it carries with it the presence of the Self or Purusha. Enlightenment is the total saturation of the Self in all layers of the mind/body so that awareness of it is the permanent state of mind.

Its a continuous process, like dying a cloth. If you only dip the cloth once in the dye, the color will not last. It will fade out the first time you wash it. Likewise, you dont experience the full transformational effects of mantra if you only practice it once or rarely. Constant repetition of mantra establishes the continuous presence of the Self in samadhi on all the layers of your being.

This is why some accomplished yogis can stop their heart from beating or lungs from breathing for extended periods of time. They have supreme control over the layer of the mind responsible for the automatic functioning of the bodys organs from the level of the Self. If you tried to hold your breath, in contrast, you wouldnt be able to last long before gasping for air. But if the fluctuations of your mind both conscious and unconscious were brought under the control of the undivided, Pure Consciousness at the base of your Being, youd gain mastery over all aspects of the changing mind. Patanjali describes this state of mastery as jiva-mukti, freedom from the individual self.

Chanting the Mantra OmChapter Twelve

The sacred word designating Ishvara, the Self, is Pranava or the mystic syllable, O.

Yoga Sutras: 1.27



The mantra, O, is the best example to explain how the syllables of Sanskrit function to unite body, mind, and breath with the natural cycles of life. The Vedic seers believed that the world begins, sustains, and ends with the three syllables that make up the one sound of O--A, U, and M. The Mandukya Upaniad, an ancient yogic text of wisdom, declares that, AUM stands for the supreme Reality. It is a symbol for what was, what is, and what shall be.

Of all mantras, O is the most spiritually charged. It is called a seed mantra or bija, because just like the seed contains the potential for the whole tree, the seed syllable O contains the potential for the whole creation, its maintenance, and its dissolution.

O is not a symbol, meaning that it points to something outside itself. For example, if we see a nations flag it is a symbol for the nation. It is not the nation itself. But O itself embodies all the four aspects of creation, maintenance, dissolution, and silence within the sounds that make it up:

A = Creation, the Navel, the Creator god (Brahma), and the Waking State of Consciousness

U = Maintenance, the Heart and Lungs, the Sustainer god (Visnu), and the Dreaming State of Consciousness

M = Dissolution, The Third Eye, the Transformer god (Siva), and the Deep Sleep State of Consciousness

Sages (and now some scientists) believe O to be the primordial sound that created the universe. Yogis find when you intone AUM in your own body you reconnect with the source of creation. Because of its power to generate and rejuvenate life, O is called pranava (life force itself). But the energizing effects of O are better experienced than described.

Now experience the precise way O enlivens the energy in your body and connects you to the larger forces of natural law:

Take a deep breath in and exhale by slowly releasing the sound, aaaaah. If your breath is not shallow, you may notice a sensation in the abdomen. The sound resonates in the same

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT57Chanting the Mantra O

part of the body that is responsible for the creation of another life in women, the womb, and the digestion, which continuously replenishes our bodies with the life-giving nutrients in food throughout our lifetime. In Sanskrit, the vowel sound, a corresponds with the function of creation and the waking state of consciousness.

Now take another deep breath in and exhale the sound, uuuuuh. You may notice a sensation in the upper chest area. This is the location of the heart and lungs, the organs essential to the circulation of blood and nutrients as well as the breath throughout the body. Without the constant beating of the heart and the in and out flow of breath, we would soon find ourselves dead. Like these organs, the Sanskrit vowel, u resonates with the maintenance function of the body and the dreaming state of consciousness. Just as the blood and breath pervade the body, when we dream our thoughts pervade the environment.

With a last full breath, release the sound, mmmm. Feel how it vibrates in the head cavity, directly behind the center of the forehead. This is a very powerful region of the subtle physiology described as the third eye or the eye of wisdom. The final sound of O is the most significant sound in the Sanskrit alphabet. It instills the life force in the mantra.

Remember when you were a kid and Mom made something delicious to eat. You would close your eyes and exclaim, mmmm, good. Also when we come to the end of something, we often feel satisfied. According to Yoga philosophy, creation begins with thought (and sound) and ends in content silence. It is held that the soul enters the body through the top of the head and exits through the same entrance. The uppermost region of the body is associated with dissolution and corresponds with the Sanskrit vowel (also called anusvara, or nasalization) and the state of deep sleep.

Now put all three sounds together. As you breathe out, pronounce AUM. Feel each of the sounds resonating within the three distinct regions of the body. At the end of several repetitions, simply observe the sensations in the body. You may notice the mind is more silent. This sound of silence is said to be the source of creation and the fourth state of consciousness, which is peace.

The fourth state (turya) is the still point of the turning world. It was there before you were born, is with you now as the silent witness to your changing life, and will be present after youre



gone. This is samadhi, which Patanjali insists is the pre-requisite to yoga. You dont practice yoga, therefore, to attain enlightenment. Rather, it helps you to uncover what is already your natural state of being.

So as you chant O may the fourth be with you!

Future Sanskrit StudiesConclusion

Congratulations!Youve gained sufficient experience with the pure sounds of Sanskrit and the chanting patterns recorded in Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit.

Now that the shakti has entered your own voice by completing the Feeling the Shakti audio course, youre ready for our comprehensive Sanskrit for Yogis program.I gained so much benefit spiritually, psychologically, and even physically from the practice of Sanskrit that I knew I had to share it. I had to create an affordable and accessible program that could deliver the authentic transformative power that I was blessed to receive over the course of my studies in the university and with traditional teachers in India. And Sanskrit for Yogis is it.

Your body and mind are now open for a greater expression of Sanskrits transformative power. And Ive made it so easy for you. In the past, this kind of sacred knowledge was closely guarded and very difficult to access. Not any more. With Sanskrit for Yogis, youll learn everything that I learned sitting at the feet of masters of traditional Sanskrit in India without having to spend years and lots of expense to attain it.



By taking this next and important step on your Sanskrit journey, youll gain:

Advanced instruction in the principles of Sanskrit pronunciation, refining your expression of the syllables;

Skill in reading and writing the Sanskrit characters in the devanagari script;

Recognition of the connection between the natural world, the Sanskrit syllables, and the structures of your subtle body;

Profound experience in effortless meditation on the cakras with Sanskrit and;

Foundation in the Vedic system of Sanskrit chanting for yoga and meditation.

Weve designed the Sanskrit for Yogis program to fit into your busy schedule, allowing you to learn wherever you are, whenever you have free moments. When you enroll in this convenient home-study program, youll receive:

A comprehensive eBook guidebook that provides a visual map to the audio lessons.

PLUS...4 Jump-Start training teleclasses (either live or recorded) with Dr. Katy Poole, held over four consecutive weeks with a two-hour session each week, help to quickly familiarize you with the course materials and speed your learning process providing you with opportunities to address any personal question you may have.

A fun and easy-to-follow eBook workbook with exercises to master reading and writing the devanagari script, including Sanskrit alphabet flashcards for self-quizzing.

4 CD equivalents of downloadable MP3 audio content providing instruction and practice that covers over 10 hours of lessons you can listen to any time, over and over again.

Everything weve included in the Sanskrit for Yogis program the eBooks (guidebook and workbook), the instructional audios (4 CD equivalents), and the jump-start live & recorded teleclasses took me years and years

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT61Future Sanskrit Studies

in India and in the university to discover and master. Were delighted to share this beautiful and ancient technology for awakening higher consciousness, increasing your vitality, and expanding your joy. To order the Sanskrit for Yogis program go to http://www.SanskritCourses.com/SanskritForYogis.Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih.

May Peace Prevail!

Acknowledgements

I must first of all acknowledge my husband, Sri Jeff Poole, for his tireless and devoted efforts to bring-ing Vedic knowledge out into the world. A dedicated teacher and practitioner of meditation for over 37 years, he first encouraged me to step down from the ivory tower of academia to share my knowledge of Sanskrit with the yoga community. My gratitude to him is oceanic and my love beyond galactic. None of what I do would even be remotely possible without his technical expertise, spiritual energy, and exquisite intelligence.

I am eternally grateful to my spiritual Guru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who awakened my jyoti so that I could see far more than I ever imagined I could. I am grateful for the beautiful ashrama, Ved Vignan Mahavidyapeeth, he created in Bangalore as a safe haven for young Sanskrit students to preserve the traditional Vedic learning methods. I am grateful for all the years I spent in his presence and for giving me the courage and strength to stand on my feet and spread my light.

I owe a profound debt to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his brilliant articulation of the real value of Sanskrit in his Apaurusheya Bhashya, a commentary on the Vedas. Maharishi gifted the world by bridging physics and spirituality in his teachings on the Veda that he gained at the feet of his master, Gurudev Brahmananda Sarasvati. I am blessed to have touched Gurudevs holy sandals in May 2010 as they are housed at Jyotirmath in India. They remain inscribed on my heart as a living testament to the unbroken Vedic lineage of Adi Shankaracharya.

Special thanks to my academic teachers of Sanskrit Mrs. Nandini Iyer and Gerald J. Larson who no doubt may be in disagreement with some of the claims I make in this book, but to whom I am nonetheless indebted. I learned discipline and rigor from Professor Larson and that foundation has only served me in my life. To my traditional Sanskrit teachers Ive already mentioned in the chapters of my book, I feel incredibly blessed by your generosity and faith in me. Thanks to the late Swami Lokeswarananda of the Ramakrishna Mission in Calcutta for granting me access to the Sanskrit resources and teachers at the Institute



of Culture during the years I lived in that city. Thanks to my dear friend and research assistant, Dr. Babita Verma and her husband, Dr. Biswajit Mohanty, of Delhi University, for helping me to see the real heart of India. And I owe a special debt of gratitude to Pandit V. Shastryji who patiently and lovingly taught me the Sri Suktam one sultry Montreal summer and in doing so opened the door to the traditions of Tantra and Sri Vidya that Ive just barely stepped through.

I extend special thanks to my family, especially my mother, Karin Komenda, who helped me tremendously earn my doctoral degree. I thank my sister, Julieane Frost, for first introducing me to the people and cultures of India by bringing exchange students home when she worked in the Education Abroad Program at Clark University. I feel blessed to have had the help and support of my sister, Christine Komenda, throughout my life in all my creative endeavors. And Im grateful to my deceased father, John Komenda, for his childlike enthusiasm for all my adventures in Nepal and India. He loved hearing my stories when Id return home and often stayed up into the wee hours of the morning asking me many questions about how Indian people eat, farm, and pray. If youre entertained by my storytelling, its entirely due to my father who taught me well.

This book is a result of a simple course that I was asked to create for yoga teacher training by Heather Peterson of Core Power Yoga seven years ago. While the corporate officers of that yoga empire could not see the real value of Sanskrit, the thousands of students I taught in their many yoga teacher training programs certainly did. Their beautiful questions born from the beginners mind brought out knowledge I never knew I had in me. They forced me to speak in language they could understand. They brought me down from my academic high horse and taught me to share simply and profoundly.

I am also inspired by my dedicated Sanskrit students Francesca Jackson, Silke Schroeder, Jeanie Manchester, Selina Church, Becky Roskop, Amy Hansen, Lynne Minton, Shelley Cassidy, Candace Kirchner, Lori Pusateri, Jaimie Epstein, Randy Carlson, Katrina Gustafson, Lisa Schlelein, Shere Dayney, Sonja Picard, Shannon Dorato, Michelle Anderson, Shannon Earthtree, Jeri Steppat, Mindy Arbuckle, Eric Johnson, Smriti Ananda, Callae Gedrose, Kendall Wilson, Laura Riggs, Marley Vigdorth, Ellin Todd, Shaza Phillips, Judy Cannon, Yukiko Hunter, Jennifer Pierson, Pam Burgess, Clara Lazaroff, Brenda Campbell, Renay Oshop, and Louise Sanchez who are truly the first drops in the ocean of ladies (and men!) Im apparently destined to teach. There are many other students too numerous to mention who I also hold dear, but these students are truly the pioneers. Its easy to follow a trend, but much more courageous to forge one.

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT65Acknowledgements

I must also acknowledge the Boulder/Denver area yoga centers and their directors where I was invited to teach Awakening with Sanskrit in their yoga teacher training programs over these past years: Katrina Gustafson of Karma Yoga Center, Jeanie Manchester of Anjaneya Yoga Shala, Annie Freedom of Samadhi Center for Yoga, Shannon Paige Schneider of OmTime, Michelle Anderson of Studio Be, Rebecca Baack of Core Power Yoga, and Heather Peterson and Dave Porter of Core Power Yoga.

I also wish to thank Carlos Pomeda for sharing my work with his students in Europe and Lynne Minton for inviting me to share Sanskrit with her yoga students in Alaska. Finally, without the support of great friends Id be lost. Thanks especially to David Corell, Marise Cipriani, and Kabir Chalfin.

About Dr. Katy Poole

Yogini, Sanskrit scholar and Vedic Astrologer, Katy (Katyayani) Poole, Ph.D. is the author of multiple books, courses and educational programs regarding Sanskrit for Yoga that are revolutionary and convenient home-study courses designed especially for Yoga & Meditation practitioners: Awakening with Sanskrit, Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit, The Alphabet of the Body, Sanskrit for Yogis and Sanskrit & Yoga Mastery Program.

Dr. Poole holds a doctorate in Religious Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and is founder of Dr. Katy Poole: Vedic Astrology Life Insight Coaching (professional mentoring and coaching practice) and co-founder of Shruti Institute for Vedic Arts (Shruti Inc.) an educational institute dedicated to promoting, enlivening and preserving the ancient knowledge of Sanskrit (the Yoga of Sacred Sound), Jyotisha (Vedic Life Coaching), and Meditation (Vedic Mantras).

Websites: http://www.ShrutiInc.com/, http://www.SanskritForYoga.com/, http://www.VedicAstrologyLifeInsight.com/, http://www.DrKatyPoole.com/

Offerings: Books, Home-Study Courses, Programs and Live EventsAbout Sanskrit For Yoga

Programs offered by Dr. Katy Poole:

Awakening with Sanskrit

The Alphabet of the Body

Sanskrit for Yogis

Sanskrit & Yoga Mastery Program

For additional information send email or visit online locations:

Sanskrit For Yoga LLC:[email protected]

www.SanskritForYoga.co m

Dr Katy Poole LLC:

[email protected]

www.DrKatyPoole.co m

www.VedicAstrologyLifeInsight.co m



Sanskrit for Yoga aims to provide you with an excellent education in the most important and useful aspects of Sanskrit as they pertain to your growth and development as a yoga student or teacher. Using state-of-the-art systems and learning tools, Sanskrit for Yoga products will help you to: Master Perfect Pronunciation, Tone and Feeling of Sanskrit

Vitalize and Energize Your Body and Mind with Sacred Sound

Increase Your Professional Skills and Knowledge as a Yoga Teacher

Develop and Expand Your Yoga Practice with Chanting & Meditation

Enliven Your Inner Core with Sanskrit

At the heart of yoga for 5,000 years, its time you experience the power of Sanskrit. As you intone its 50 syllables, youll enliven, awaken and strengthen your inner core, making your body, mind, and spirit fit for the higher stages of yoga.

Enrich Your Yoga Practice with Sanskrit

Move beyond the mistaken notion that Sanskrit is a dead, classical language requiring a long and painful commitment to learn. In a short time, youll easily pronounce the names for the yoga postures, increase the depth of your breath, and cultivate new pathways for the flow of prana (life force) with the vibrations of Sanskrit.

Enlighten Mind, Body, & Spirit with Sanskrit

Yoga is not just a physical exercise. It achieves profound expansion of the mind and spirit through the technology of Sanskrit as sacred sound. The practice of Sanskrit recitation:

Increases Mental Alertness

Sensitizes Emotional Awareness

Enables Effortless Silent Meditation

FEELING THE SHAKTI OF SANSKRIT71About Sanskrit for Yoga: Offerings

The Sanskrit for Yoga Difference

No other Sanskrit programs available today offer instruction in this essential component of your yoga practice and teaching as well as the programs of Sanskrit for Yoga. Most currently available Sanskrit home-study programs burden you with academic rules of grammar and translation. These completely miss the true purpose and power of how Sanskrit functions and why it is so integral to yoga.

Sanskrit for Yoga programs directly immerse you in the practice of Sanskrit cherished by traditional yogis for thousands of years as a technology for awakening and expanding your life force.

What We Provide:

Our primary objective with Sanskrit for Yoga is to enliven, enrich and enlighten yoga practitioners regarding the knowledge, essential value, and proper understanding of the technology of Sanskrit, the sacred language of yoga.

Sanskrit for Yoga employs modern online systems to deliver exceptional training programs providing instruction in the proper use and application of Sanskrit as a technology of consciousness. This enables us to deliver these profoundly effective programs direct to you, anywhere you are, at any time you choose to enjoy your study.

No other Sanskrit programs offer instruction in these essential components at the foundations of yoga practice and teaching, as our Sanskrit for Yoga programs provide. Our programs immerse you in the practice of Sanskrit in an intimate fashion thats been cherished by traditional yogis for thousands of years as a technology for awakening and expanding your consciousness and prana (or life force). The practice of Sanskrit recitation increases mental alertness, sensitizes emotional awareness, improves listening, and enables effortless silent meditation.

Sanskrit For Yoga Offers the Following Programs:

Awakening with Sanskrit Introduction to the Sacred Language of Yoga. Our introductory mini-course will help you to gain a foundation for understanding the role of Sanskrit as a technology of sacred sound and its power to energize and awaken your vital life force.



Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit Experiencing the enlivening and enlightening effect of Sanskrit as the Language of Yoga. Our first level Sanskrit course teaches you to pronounce and recite the Sanskrit alphabet to increase mental alertness, sensitize emotional awareness and enable effortless silent meditation.

Sanskrit for Yogis: Introduction to Nada The Yoga of Sacred Sound. Our in-depth and comprehensive home-study program builds on the foundation of Sanskrit gained from Feeling the Shakti of Sanskrit course. Youll gain additional instruction in the rules of correct pronunciation and the connection between the Sanskrit syllables, forms in nature, and its vibrational affects on the architecture of your subtle body. Youll experience how pronouncing the syllables awakens and strengthens your inner core, making your body, mind and spirit fit for the higher stages of yoga. Youll learn to read and write the devanagari script of Sanskrit. And, finally youll be introduced to the art and science of Vedic chanting in Sanskrit as a powerful technology for meditation.

The Alphabet of the Body A Comprehensive Guide to Learning the Sanskrit Names of the Yoga Postures. This is a course in learning the Sanskrit names for the yoga postures and provides instruction in sacred sound and the subtle body. The course instructs you in relating the anatomy of the subtle body (the marmas, nadis and cakras) to the 50 sounds of Sanskrit. Youll also discover how the names of the yog

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