# The Union of Sun and Moon **1) The last three of the eight limbs of yoga are treated in the third chapter of the Yoga Sutra. Name and describe these three briefly, and then explain their combined role in the goal of yoga: creating the perfect body.** Focus is the ability to put the mind on a single point or object. Fixation is the ability to keep it there over a period of time. Perfect meditation, as the last of the eight limbs, refers to the ability to see the “clear light” or emptiness of this object as we focus and fix on it: the ability to see, and see eventually directly, that the object is not coming from its own side. Realizing that our own body and mind do not come from their own side, do not have any nature of their own, but are rather a projection of the seeds we have collected according to whether or not we have taken care of others, is the single most important step in gaining the perfect body. **2) Master Patanjali explains “the clear light” to mean that nothing has any nature of its own. But is that true? Doesn’t fire, for example, have its own nature of being, naturally, hot and burning?** Fire does have a nature of being hot and burning, but it’s not true that this nature belongs to it. That is, the quality of being hot does not reside within a fire. Rather, we perceive this quality within a fire only because of our own mental seeds, which come from our own past seeds. With different mental seeds it would be possible for us to experience fire as cool, and to be able to pick it up in our hands. **3) In the third chapter of the Yoga Sutra, Master Patanjali refers to the idea of voidness, or emptiness. Describe the voidness of a maple-covered donut, and how this relates to the purpose of all yoga: to become whole, or happy. Along the way, explain the Sanskrit word for voidness and give some related English words.** We use the maple-covered donut as an example of something that we like very much, something which is difficult for us to share with others (especially if it’s the last one in the case at the pastry shop). We normally believe that a donut which we see in a shop has been made or created in the kitchen at the shop, and that whether we can get it or not only depends upon our having enough money to do so. In reality though the donut is void or empty of any such existence. It exists in the case at the shop only because we have given a donut to someone in the past. We perceive it only because of seeds of perception planted within our own mind when we shared a donut with someone. Obviously then the words voidness and emptiness do not at all mean that there is no donut there, or that in some way it is less than real. The Sanskrit word for voidness or emptiness here is shunyata zUNyta or tongpa-nyi in Tibetan. The word shunyata contains two parts, shunya and ta. The ta is a suffix that means the condition of something, and is related to the English suffix tion as found in creation or situation. Shunya comes from the root √shu zU, which means to swell, in the way that a bubble swells with an empty middle. Related English words, where the typical change of a Sanskrit s to an English c  is observed, are cave (an empty space); cumulus (swelling clouds); and even church (which originally meant swollen with power). **4) Describe the location and physical appearance of the channel of the sun; relate this to its most common Sanskrit name in later classical yoga texts; and give a related English word. Describe also the main negative thought that travels, linked with the inner winds or prana, through this channel.** The channel of the sun runs down close to the spine, to our right of it, stretching from the side of our nostril under the skull up to the tip of the head, and then curving back down until it reaches the tip of the sexual organ. The color of the channel of the sun is said to be an opaque or “flat,” dark red color, since a preponderance of the “red element” passes through it. This element has a gross physical counterpart, the menstrual blood. The Sanskrit name used most often in the later classical yoga texts for the channel of the sun is pingala ip<gl, which literally means a rusty, reddish color. A related English word is pink. Another name for the channel of the sun is “the channel of what is held.” Our misunderstanding of the objects around us (as opposed to our misunderstanding of the subject states of mind that hold to these objects) runs through this channel. If we can still the winds of this channel, then we gain an understanding of the external world: the earth. **5) Describe the location and physical appearance of the channel of the moon. Give its most common Sanskrit name in the later classical texts on yoga, then give some related English words. Describe also the main negative thought that travels through this channel. Finally give the main negative thought that travels linked with the winds within this channel.** The channel of the moon begins up the outside of the left nostril of the nose, continues to the tip of the head, and then descends down the left side of the spine to the groin, terminating at the tip of the penis or vagina. It is a dull, milky white color, due to the predominance of the element related to semen. The word most used for this channel in later classical yoga texts is ida #f, referring here to a milky beverage.  Possibly related are the English udder and exuberant, which come from words indicating a breast or teat.  Related to these are the English daughter (literally duhitir, the milkmaid of the family) and dugs (in the sense of teats), as well as female, “giver of milk,” from an Indo-European root √dhei, meaning to suck milk. Through the channel of the moon run the thoughts we have which misunderstand the nature of subjects (as opposed to objects): misunderstanding for example our own minds or ourselves—conscious things—as opposed to the things around us. (It should be noted though that some texts reverse the primary negative thoughts which run through the sun and moon channels: they say that misunderstanding subjects runs through the sun channel, and misunderstanding objects runs through the moon channel.) **6) Explain how the channels of the sun and moon relate to the word hatha, and to the idea of hatha yoga.** The Sanskrit word hatha hQ comes from two parts, ha and tha. The word ha here refers to the sun (note the h in the old Indo-European root we had before). Tha refers to a disk or planet shape, but more specifically to the moon. The “sun” here is the channel of the sun, and the “moon” the channel of the moon. When we talk about hatha yoga, we are referring to practices which join (the basic meaning of the word yoga) the channels of the sun and the moon, in the sense of drying up or squeezing out the prana which runs in them, bringing this energy into the central channel—which then triggers the body of light and the ability to serve all living beings at the same moment. **7) Speak a little bit about where our sense of duality comes from, being sure to distinguish between “good” and “bad” versions of this tendency. Then give a real-life example about how we can deal with the false sense of duality.** The two side channels—the channels of the sun and moon—are directly responsible for our sense of duality, especially our tendency to think of “me”and “you” in a negative way. It’s not wrong to think of “me” and “you,” certainly they do exist, and the difference can actually provide a basis for reaching our final goal. As always though it’s important to focus the combined effort of stillness and wisdom upon this distinction: to realize that the difference between “me” and “you” is fluid, and artificial; not something which is absolute, but which is rather springing from seeds within our own minds. We can consciously affect this distinction, wrapping our sense of “me” around people outside of ourselves, thereby affecting the very source of seeds themselves. A typical type of duality would be just about any kind of decision-making which we ever engage in; for example, deciding how we will react to being threatened by terrorism. Our two side channels force us into thinking that we only have two choices in reacting to violence: we can either react passively (which sometimes seems to work, but sometimes also seems to cause others to take advantage of us, with more violence); or else we can react with violence (which also sometimes seems to work, but also sometimes backfires again with more violence). The reason that neither approach seems to work consistently is that we have been forced into a false sense of duality. We are approaching each choice as if it existed from its own side. To avoid this false duality, we use our combined effort to see that we can only affect events by planting the appropriate seeds for the future—by gardening—and not by attempting to manipulate current, self-existent objects. **8) Describe the physical appearance and location of the central channel. Then give the primary name that is used for it in most of the later classical texts on yoga, the meaning of this name, and some related English words. Finally, describe the types of thoughts which travel through this channel, linked with its inner winds.** The central channel is a translucent golden red (as opposed to the opaque red and white of the two side channels). It is also slightly larger in diameter than the side channels (about the width of a straw). It extends from the spot between the eyebrows up under the skull to the tip of the head, and then down along the inside of the spine to the groin, then up to the tip of the penis or vagina. The most common name for the central channel in later classical yoga texts is sushumna, or the sunray channel. This is a reference to the fact that sushumna can refer to the component in sunlight which illuminates and warms the moon: so that, in a sense, the central channel is contributing to the interaction and ultimate joining of the channels of the sun and the moon (ha-tha yoga). The word sushumna has three parts: su, and then again su, and then finally mna or manas. Su means good; it comes from an old Indo-European root √esu, with the same meaning. Coming into Greek, the s  drops out, and it becomes simply eu. This is the eu found in euphemism (a good way to say something), euthanasia (a supposedly good way to die), and eurhythmics (good beat). Manas means mind, and is found in the English words mind, mental, and man (the thinking beast). Together, su and manas means benevolent, kind, or pleased. Adding the second su before this pair makes it even more strongly positive, emphasizing the goodness of the thoughts within the central channel. By the rules of Sanskrit letter combination, the second su changes the original su into shu. It’s interesting to note that the word hymn or sacred song is thought to derive from the same root as the mna in sushumna, the channel through which the sacred sound of Sanskrit passes. Within this channel run all our good and pure thoughts—and especially all of our wisdom, all of our understanding where things actually come from. **9) Explain what the word chakra literally means; mention some related English words; and then relate this name to the structure of the inner channels.** The word chakra c³ literally means wheel. As our inner body first forms in the womb, the two side channels are already twisted around the central channel: we are already misunderstanding ourselves and our environment. Secondary channels break out from these chokepoints horizontally, spreading out like the spokes of a wheel. Looking down the central channel from the top of the head then, we see the shapes of wheels. The word chakra is an example of reduplication, or where a root is repeated to give the sense that its action is repeated or intensified. In this case the root is √kir k«, meaning to do or create, and the original reduplication was something like kirkir, which evolved into chakra. The idea is that a wheel repeatedly performs its function, doing the same thing over and over again. Related English words are of course create, cereal (an important food which is grown), and crescent (a growing moon). **10) Explain the role of the navel chakra in the formation of the inner channels, clarifying as well whether there is any actual connection between the channels of the sun and moon, and the sun and moon in the sky.** There is a direct relation between the inner channels of the sun and moon, and the sun and moon in the sky. Both are caused by the same seeds within us. We can picture the outside sun and moon as a reflection then of the inner channels of the sun and moon. Our own bodies—the structure of our blood vessels, nervous system, and skeleton—form around the inner channels as we grow in the womb. These channels themselves start spreading at the area of the navel chakra; our bones and nerves and veins accrete upon these channels like ice forming in layers around a twig of wood, taking on all its contours. The outer world too then forms around these same layers, so that the very sun and moon provide a map that we can use to understand our inner structure. If you live in New York, for example, then it’s no exaggeration to say that the West-Side Highway, the FDR Drive to the east, and Fifth Avenue running down the center of town are actually a direct reflection of your own inner body. **11) Explain the idea of working at a crucial point (ne du nunpa in the Tibetan), in order to turn a chakra from a chokepoint into a center of radiance and high spiritual realizations. Include the analogy of a tree.** The chakras can be either chokepoints or the release points of extraordinary spiritual power, if we can only release the stranglehold of the two side channels. One way to do this is to “work at a crucial point” by concentrating our attention and our understanding of how things work at a particular chakra, also working from the outside with the yoga asanas and sending breath into the point. It is important to emphasize that if this is done incorrectly it can actually have the opposite effect, of tying up the knot tighter. We must utilize a deep understanding of where things come from: which means that we would automatically then be using the Four Infinite Thoughts of kindness and the rest, since taking care of others is the source of all good seeds and the things they create. The example given in scripture is that we can chop away at a large tree trunk for days or even weeks before making any noticeable progress, simply exhausting ourselves. This is like doing yoga asanas for example over a long period of time without using love and wisdom from the inside. If we do focus though our combined effort and compassion on a chakra, it’s like a person who has an intimate knowledge of the root system of a tree. They can simply drive a wedge into a carefully determined point into the roots of the tree, and when they return in a few days the tree will have died and fallen down on its own: no need for frantic, ineffective efforts. This wedge is our combined effort of stillness, wisdom, and also compassion. **12) What happens when the heart chakra opens completely?** When the heart chakra opens completely, we have an experience of ultimate love which refers to the true desire to become a perfected being who can stand on a billion worlds and help all living beings. This again is a kind of “mind” that we can know if we turn our combined effort upon the heart chakra. This experience occurs only for a few minutes the first time that it happens. It feels as though a clear-colored, crystal light is shooting forth from the chest, and touching every living being.  At the same moment we see, directly, the face of every living being in the universe, and we see that we will be the one to help them reach ultimate happiness. **13) When we do finally succeed in bringing the inner winds to stay and dissolve in the central channel, we become a perfected being who can help people on any of a billion worlds. This being has four forms, or bodies; name them in English and in Sanskrit, and describe briefly.** (a) The Reality Body (Svabhava Kaya, SvÉav kay) In a way, we already posses the first part of a perfected being, and we always have. It is the simple fact that we are not what we are: you are not the person they give that word, your name. Rather, the name—the seed picture—came first, and then made you you. Since you are not you any other way, you are available to become something else—a perfected being. And you always have been. This availability is your first body. It is sometimes described as the emptiness of the other three bodies. (b) The Knowledge Body (Jnyana Dharma Kaya, }an xmR kay) When you do become a perfect being, you possess omniscience: a direct perception of all events and all places—past, present, and future. This should not be confused though with omnipotence, which is the power to do all things. Not even perfect beings can act outside of the rule that everyone makes their own world, by how they treat other people. This “body” is essentially then your perfected state of mind. (c) The Paradise Body (Sambhoga Kaya, sMÉaeg kay) This is your “home” body, the central body in paradise in which you reside. A perfected physical form. (d) The Emanation Body (Nirmana Kaya, inmaR[ kay) These are the countless physical forms that we send out to help others, on countless planets, the millisecond after our attainment of perfection.