Third Eye

[IcyCosmic]

Namaste all, I tried searching up on this on the forum and internet but didn't find much or anything of enough depth. Hence the reason for this post. I'm going to disclose somethings, which I found weird however the enlightened souls on here may or may not - aswell as some fundamental things I would like clarification regarding. Thanks.

First of all, I would like to know how I can begin to start opening my third eye? Also what effects will it have, other than opening up the spiritual plane.
Any resources or links would also be appreciated heavily! Alright so I heard that opening your third eye can take years, but I also know people who said it was extremely easy they just asked god to help them?...I guess it depends on the person.

So anyway I know this girl and she is probably one of the nicest people I've ever known speaking to her is like being in contact with a bundle of light. I wouldn't imagine she would lie but she told me some things that totally confused me, I would appreciate if you guys could tell me if these things are legitimate happenings within sanatana dharma!

So she said she saw my spirit and it had 'alot of blue around its auric field, aswell as red and violet/purple around my head'. Then she said my spirit showed her a glimpse of a past life I had in egypt, and apparently I was a good friend of tutankhamun but thats all irrelevant. I digress but she went really into depth and shes not the type of person to lie. So I'm really very confused about what to think.

What do you guys think? Also all information on third eye, and meditation techniques to help open it and so forth would be very appreciated!

[philosoraptor]

I don't listen to people simply because they are nice or because I think they would never lie.

I listen only if they speak what is in shAstra.

[IcyCosmic]

I don't listen to people simply because they are nice or because I think they would never lie.

I listen only if they speak what is in shAstra.

Okay. You didn't really answer my question at all though. It's a shame you limit someone to shastra :)

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Icy: More importantly than what we think is what you think. Certainly I believe in auras. Whether or not any individual is seeing them is subject to debate. There can be ego thing going on there and with a little reading about auras, anyone can 'fake' it. I have a 'dubious' person in my life who likes to tell me about my aura. I often feel he's quite off the mark. So as to the legitimacy of this person, one would have to truly be able to see auras and then compare what she said to what you saw, in order to know if she was lying or not. People trained in the area, or doing training in the area will compare notes, or the teacher will ask discreetly, "What colour did you see?" etc.

It really isn't that important of a skill, unless you're a spiritual teacher, although there are times I do think it would come in handy ... like the aforementioned honesty question, something like your own internal lie detector. You might stay safer if you saw streaks of darkish red (anger) in someone's aura. When you 'sense' stuff like that, you're actually already reading the aura, but you're not trained.

As far as shastra goes, I personally don't worry too much about whether or not something in in shastra, mainly because much shastra has been lost. The repetition of re-copying stuff on ola leaves has taken its toll on the overall body of shastra. In the effort to save the agamas from further loss, for example the recent photography of the leaves involved over a million photos. So who is to say what WAS included, and what was lost?

The third eye is in the area of developing siddhis, and it and some other stuff is often termed clairvoyance. Siddhis, generally speaking should be a natural outcome of spiritual progress, not something you shoot for.

Aum Namasivaya

[IcyCosmic]

Well, unfortunately its something I want to shoot for. I hope that won't hinder me. Thanks for the information. Any tips on how I can start to open my third eye?

[Eastern Mind]

Well, unfortunately its something I want to shoot for. I hope that won't hinder me. Thanks for the information. Any tips on how I can start to open my third eye?

Vannakkam Icy: If I remember correctly from my youth, in the Lobsang Rampa books, there was an event where in some sacred ceremony, they used hand drill of sorts, but I suspect you don't want to go there. :) I only read the one called 'The Third Eye' but a couple of my friends delved right into it.

So I have no hints. Even if I did, I wouldn't share them.

Aum Namasivaya

[Arjuni]

Namasté,

Simple math is a very familiar skill for me, but if you give me pages and pages of simple calculations - 5x2, 6x9, etc. - sooner or later I'll make a mistake, from misreading the question or simply being tired. Fortunately, others can check my work and easily point out my errors.
Even if the skills come naturally to some folks, though, past-life reading and aura reading both suffer from a lack of quality control against simple human error. If I misread something, repeatedly, without anyone correcting me, I'll never learn my mistake.

To paraphrase one of my favourite authors in Egyptology: "The number of people who believe they were Cleopatra is staggering. I notice that no-one ever claims to have been the man who emptied Ramesses III's chamber pots." At the height of the Egyptian empire, the total population of Egypt is estimated to have been no greater than 7 million. Now, you may well have been part of Tutankhamun's sparsely populated, dangerous court in the middle of nowhere. And your aura may well have the hues and shadings described. But does that knowledge advance you spiritually, or benefit you in any way?

Consider if the lady stands to benefit from telling you these things - either practically (i.e., if she works as a soul-healer or aura-reader, or represents a religion that accepts both these skills and new converts), or emotionally (does she have a crush on you, or insecurity, or a need for acceptance)? As you've said, she might not intend to lie at all. Sometimes folks have the best of intentions, and just make mistakes along the way. Sometimes we can be fooled by our own minds.

I am not sure what the Hindu stance on soul-readings or auras is, but as EM has written, siddhis are a distraction from the goal of the Divine. And the energy which travels up the spine is Divine. Kuṇḍalinī. Śakti. Trying to open yourself to this energy prematurely is to risk tremendous damage to the subtle body. It's not as simple as "opening the third eye," as if switching on a light bulb, but first cleansing and purifying the subtle channels within your body so that they are clear conduits of this energy, through working with every aspect of your physical and spiritual health. The work to open the chakras starts at the very beginning, at the root; to aim straight for the third eye is like trying to build a house by erecting the roof first. Swami Śivananda's book Kundalini Yoga, which is available free online, explains this better than I can, and may give you some practical ideas as well.

But if you wish to develop your spiritual energy, please do it from love of Devī and respect for the Divine Union between Śiva and Śakti which is the highest aim of this work. If you aim only to see pretty colours swirling around people, and other such parlour tricks, then you won't reach the real magic, which is the awakening of yourself as a divine, luminous being. And that, I think, would be even more tedious than being Ramesses III's latrine-cleaner. :)

(P.S. Tone does not communicate well on the Internet, so please don't read scolding or mockery in anything I've written. I mean only sincerity and, hopefully, help.)

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

[IcyCosmic]

Haha, no I don't want to do it to see pretty colors swirling around people. I can assure you of that. :P That is pretty cool though! Haha, no I kid. I want to do it out of my love for Shiva, I hope that is a legitimate enough reason. I heard you can communicate with god better through third eye, thats why.
No it didn't come across as mocking :) Thanks, the examples you gave was very helpful - a very informative post!

[philosoraptor]

Okay. You didn't really answer my question at all though. It's a shame you limit someone to shastra :)

It has some advantages. For example, I don't have to pay attention to people who claim they can see my "aura" or other weirdness.

[ShivaFan]

Namaste

I always take the advice of Eastern Mind. But I am also a rascal at times, and just for the sake of discussion I would imagine some would reference a Tantrik tradition, but I would mention something from a contrary view.

Brahmacharya.

Yes, I am serious. Sri Swami Sivananda has a "how to" book called "PRACTICE OF BRAHMACHARYA". No sex life, no lust. Lord Siva was in meditation when Kamadeva tried to bother Him. So Mahadeva opened His Third Eye and burned Manmatha. So when you reach the state that will burn all desires, your third eye can be opened. This can be reached by practicing Brahmacharya, which includes no sex, no lust. The first step is to began your day by getting up early in the morning based on your daily calendar, for example if you live by day then a good time to get up is 4 am. Praying to Lord Hanuman as Brahmachari Dev is a way to become strong in this path.

There is " another third eye" that "looks out" at others. An example of this would be the Living Goddess, the Kumari of Royal Nepal Authorization. This is not the same as what is your interest, but does tie indirectly back to Brahmacharya. The reason a girl who has "shed not even one drop of blood" is chosen is that, besides the girl having no lust, She is not even fully female in that sense. So She then wears the Third Eye, but this eye looks out, it looks at you rather than opening your own third eye. Sort of a convenience in some ways for the ones taking Darshan. But that is a little off subject other than again, purity from desires is a path to the Third Eye.

Of note, however, is that the objective of practicing Brahmacharya isn't to open the Third Eye. However, if that is an explicit goal, then strict Brahmacharya to burn away all desires of lust can open the Eye if that is the goal. Not a popular way, it's true. No sex, no lust, and the methods as outlined by Sivananda. So f.y.i.. Anyway, so I have been told for what it's worth. But don't tell Kamadev of your plans.

Om Namah Sivaya

[Shuddhasattva]

Auric teachings are not in the scriptures. I say this with reasonable certainty as my guru has challenged me to find evidence there.

The third eye, the eye of knowledge (jnana caksu) is, moreso than an outward-looking eye, an inward-looking eye. By gazing on the sun of the self the world is thus reflected with clarity, and so it sees outwards by gazing inwards. The lens of the Self is universal, the viewless sight beyond any particular viewpoint.

Yes, there are auras, they are seen through the third eye, and they can inform about people reliably. They are not attested in shastra. It is an oral teaching only, but a vital one.

To open the third eye reliably you need the help of a guru. You can have mystical experiences without a guru, without shaktipat, but generally they will be sporadic, and difficult to repeat or even remember concretely later.

However there is some practicable advice you can put into motion immediately.

Close your eyes and focus on the spot between your eyebrows. Wait. Do not accept anything your mind presents. It is all maya; neti. You do not have to feel volition or agency in regards to your thoughts. There is no need to accept or reject any of your thoughts, nor to involve in them. You are not obligated to shape them, or shape them towards anything, much less some expected outcome.

None of them define you and your experience. Nothing does define you or your experience. Your awareness, not fundamentally different from the nature of awareness itself, is not circumscribed by any conceptual boundary.

It is aditi, the unbounded, giving birthless (ajati) birth to all the gods which compose the cosmic being (purush) that you are - this sentence itself is meaningless, collapsing into the heap of its letters without finding any foundation.


--

In the sat chakra system of the Eastern Kaula tantriks, as presented by John Woodroffe in The Serpent Power, the presiding deity here (Ajna) is Ardhanarishvara; Shakti & Shiva together as one. Other chakra systems may have different deities associated with it, which is why I mention the origin of this attribution - other systems may appeal to you more, but information on them is less available. I suggest you take a look at the Serpent Power copy online (at bhagavadgitausa, which also has some useful diagrams made by the author of the site) at the section dealing with the Ajna and the chakras between it and the Sahasrar.

Some confuse lack of knowledge as evidence of devotion and will even advocate giving up study altogether, but this is as imbalanced as telling people that temple worship is as playing with dolls. It is good to have a basis in theory so that you can practice it. Theory and practice and intimately related and one does not thrive without the other. I would not listen seriously to advice which counsels ignorance.

Would your family support you coming to India for spiritual education? It is already extremely difficult to find a true guru in India, but in the UK it may be impossible.

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam: I have no idea what this means http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samudrika_Shastra but it may have some relevance to the discussion. Google is your friend, or maybe enemy. We'll see. :)

Aum Namasivaya

[Shuddhasattva]

Namaste

Unfortunately, the samudrika shastra in the Garuda puran is 'physiognomy.' I think any attempt to add auras to it is a recent fabrication/affectation by those who would take money for such 'services.'

[johans]

Namaste all, I tried searching up on this on the forum and internet but didn't find much or anything of enough depth. Hence the reason for this post. I'm going to disclose somethings, which I found weird however the enlightened souls on here may or may not - aswell as some fundamental things I would like clarification regarding. Thanks.

First of all, I would like to know how I can begin to start opening my third eye? Also what effects will it have, other than opening up the spiritual plane.
Any resources or links would also be appreciated heavily! Alright so I heard that opening your third eye can take years, but I also know people who said it was extremely easy they just asked god to help them?...I guess it depends on the person.

So anyway I know this girl and she is probably one of the nicest people I've ever known speaking to her is like being in contact with a bundle of light. I wouldn't imagine she would lie but she told me some things that totally confused me, I would appreciate if you guys could tell me if these things are legitimate happenings within sanatana dharma!

So she said she saw my spirit and it had 'alot of blue around its auric field, aswell as red and violet/purple around my head'. Then she said my spirit showed her a glimpse of a past life I had in egypt, and apparently I was a good friend of tutankhamun but thats all irrelevant. I digress but she went really into depth and shes not the type of person to lie. So I'm really very confused about what to think.

What do you guys think? Also all information on third eye, and meditation techniques to help open it and so forth would be very appreciated!


Your curiosity will take you to some very strange places, please be careful.

Be sure you can handle what comes your way, the third eye is more than a metaphor I'm afraid. Where you are is where you need to be, of course it is not the final stop for sure so don't despair.

Whatever the girl is seeing is most likely a figment of her own creation, it is not for me to say how "real" it is-

who am I?

Actually that may be a good place to start.

[Giza]

Namaste all, I tried searching up on this on the forum and internet but didn't find much or anything of enough depth. Hence the reason for this post. I'm going to disclose somethings, which I found weird however the enlightened souls on here may or may not - aswell as some fundamental things I would like clarification regarding. Thanks.

First of all, I would like to know how I can begin to start opening my third eye? Also what effects will it have, other than opening up the spiritual plane.
Any resources or links would also be appreciated heavily! Alright so I heard that opening your third eye can take years, but I also know people who said it was extremely easy they just asked god to help them?...I guess it depends on the person.

So anyway I know this girl and she is probably one of the nicest people I've ever known speaking to her is like being in contact with a bundle of light. I wouldn't imagine she would lie but she told me some things that totally confused me, I would appreciate if you guys could tell me if these things are legitimate happenings within sanatana dharma!

So she said she saw my spirit and it had 'alot of blue around its auric field, aswell as red and violet/purple around my head'. Then she said my spirit showed her a glimpse of a past life I had in egypt, and apparently I was a good friend of tutankhamun but thats all irrelevant. I digress but she went really into depth and shes not the type of person to lie. So I'm really very confused about what to think.

What do you guys think? Also all information on third eye, and meditation techniques to help open it and so forth would be very appreciated!

If you are serious, you will be willing to do some homework. I would suggest reading up on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika. Swami Satyananda Saraswati of the Bihar Yoga School has a good translation/commentary of the former titled "Four Chapters on Freedom", and his student Swami Muktibodhananda has an outstanding translation/commentary of the latter (just titled "Hatha Yoga Pradipika"). Other than that, I recommend just about anything by the Japanese scientist Hiroshi Motoyama very highly.