The Three Upayas: Ways into Samadhi in the Netra Tantra
A talk in Hindi, with an English summary.
Talk in Hindi · 11 min · 18 August 2023 · प्रारंभिक शिक्षा — अष्टांग योग, नेत्र तंत्र
Summary
The Ashtanga Yoga of the Netra Tantra, Yogi Shri explains, is the teaching given by Amriteshvara Bhairava to Parvati. Although it can be read as a ladder from yama upward, its eight limbs are not practiced one after another: all eight are held in the practice at once.
The text describes three means (upaya) by which one can reach samadhi. The first uses supports — the breath, a mantra, the senses — so that the mind can hold the method; this is anava upaya, the smallest and most elementary. It may lead straight into samadhi, or first into an experience of energy (shakta), and from there onward. The third, shambhava upaya, needs no technique: there is no place where Shiva is not. He cautions that people who feel “superior” to techniques often cannot hold this idea at all; the mind cannot grasp it directly.
He also contrasts the order of practice. In Patanjali’s yoga, concentration comes first, then meditation, then samadhi — an individual effort. In the Netra Tantra it moves by grace: the experience comes first, as a glimpse, and practice is the holding of it.
Key points
- The eight limbs are practiced together, not step by step.
- Anava upaya uses supports: breath, mantra, the senses.
- Shakta upaya works through energy; shambhava upaya is direct.
- In Patanjali, effort comes first; here, grace — the glimpse comes first and is then held.