21 STAGES OF MEDITATION

Haumei Bandhana Kriya

September 1, 1978

POSTURE: Sit in Easy Pose or other meditative posture, with a straight spine, and
apply Neck Lock.

MUDRA: Make the hands into fists and extend the thumbs up. Bring the hands,
palms facing the body, in front of the Solar Plexus. Relax the elbows. Press the pads
of the thumbs together with a steady strong force.

EYES: Closed

MANTRA: Take a deep inhale and exhale completely as you chant, Whaa-hay
Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Guroo, 4 times on the breath, in a steady monotone:
Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Guroo
Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Guroo
Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Guroo
Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Whaa-hay Guroo

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The repetitions are chanted on one breath. With practice this can be extended to
8 repetitions. We are using 4 repetitions as our base, which makes a rhythm of 16
pulses. To practice this meditation most effectively, listen to the sound as you chant it.
Be conscious of the fact of speaking and listening. Speak each word distinctly so the
lips move on the “Whaa” and “Gu” sounds. The pace is moderately fast: the inhalation
and four repetitions take about 10-12 seconds. As your energy shifts and expands,
inhale intentionally and remain alert; keep the rhythm and pace steady, with precision.

TIME: 22 minutes. In practice this can be extended to 31 minutes.

TO END: Inhale deeply, suspend the breath and mentally repeat the mantra. Then
exhale. Repeat. Then inhale and stretch the arms up, open and close the fists. Exhale.
Shake the arms and hands until the fingers relax.

Hints for Practice and Mastery

If you’re feeling stuck, this meditation un-sticks you; it frees your spirit. It breaks
the normal, everyday bondage of your ego, which constrains the consciousness and
over time, limits your awareness and narrows your perspective. When bound to the
ego, your rasa reflects those emotions. Driven by wave after wave of attachment and
impulse, you gradually begin to think of yourself in those terms. The finite sense of
Self then obscures the unlimited possibility that is always within us—the infinite.

We acquire haumei, that sense of egocentricity, without any effort. Haumei means
reliance only on what we know, what we want, what we control and what we have.
This reliance on ego, on I-ness and My-ness, blocks the sense and experience of Thou.
We foolishly think we can walk, without the foundation of the earth to walk on, or that
we can breathe, without the spirit of the Infinite giving us breath. We do not trust our
own infinity; we do not know our own unknown. We falsely believe that we must know
how something works before we can rely on it. But of course this is impossible. We
rely on the unknown every day; our hubris simply blinds us to it. The ego believes we
are not connected to All; it feels we must rely only on our Self and not allow the hand
of God or the touch of the unknown. Yet, Spiritual Teacher after Spiritual Teacher has
told us that we can have a strong sense of Self and still be humble and delighted by
life.

A core spiritual insight is that every human being is inherently valuable and shares the
same Creator and inherits the same creation. No matter how accomplished we may
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be, our normal experience is limited, finite and narrow. We cannot know or sense the
infinite and be complete within our Self without some form of devotion, surrender
or love. The infinite within us competes with the finite within us. The ego battles to
make the infinite finite, for even in surrender we compete: who is the most devoted,
who has the greater surrender, who has sacrificed more. This basic blindness, error
and ego create so much suffering. We cultivate one rasa, one taste, over all the others
instead of finding the One Taste in all tastes; we experience the gross rasas but miss
out on the subtle, the bliss of the amrit. This meditation helps break that bondage.
Yogi Bhajan said:

“Nothing disturbs me, because all those negative things that you tell me do not
exist! I know this by experience. When you talk negative things to me, [I know
that] they do not exist in you, they exist in your ego, in a separate pocket. Ego is not
you; it was given to you to exist. Yet you have totally left your Self aside, and you
have totally put ego in the forefront, as you; that is a misplaced identity.

“We’ll talk under the concept of misplaced identity and the contract of consciousness
in conscious life. I am going to pursue this series slowly and gradually so that you
can understand through the virtue of knowledge that God is, God was and God is
what shall be.

“To get rid of haumei, the mantra for meditation is Wahe Guru. There are millions
of mantras. Nothing else can work for that.…Haumei Bandhana Kriya is a very,
very sacred thing that looks very simple but it’s very powerful. Well, the time has
come when the change of Time has to be recognized. We recognize that the change
of Time means that people will not survive with only the facets of their beliefs; they
need to live by the facets of their experience. In the Piscean Age, we knew it, we
lived it, and we believed it. Out of our beliefs we continued. Unfortunately that
era is over and now is the Age of Aquarius. The Gods have changed; the Heavens
have changed, and now life will go by the test of experience.”

In the Sikh tradition the concept of haumei is frequently addressed. It is seen as

the root of many human problems for without it we can easily find contentment,
confidence and courage. In the Sikh scriptures, the second of the ten masters, Guru
Angad, wrote about this:

“SECOND MEHL: This is the nature of ego (Haumei), that people perform
their actions in ego. This is the bondage of ego, that time and time again,
they are reborn. Where does ego come from? How can it be removed? This
ego exists by the Lord’s Order; people wander according to their past actions.

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Ego is a chronic disease, but it contains its own cure as well. If the Lord
grants His Grace, one acts according to the Teachings of the Guru’s Shabad.
Nanak says, listen, people: in this way, troubles depart. || 2 || PAUREE:
Those who serve are content. They meditate on the Truest of the True. They
do not place their feet in misdeeds, but do good deeds and live righteously
in Dharma. They burn away the bonds of the world, and eat a simple diet of
grain and water. You are the Great Forgiver; You give continually, more and
more each day. By His greatness, the Great Lord is obtained.” 38

In this same tradition, the Sufi saint, Kabir, reminds us that the hours of meditation,
and the efforts we put in to create a deep experience are essential. “Mere words
achieve nothing; one finds inner peace only as haumei flees.” 39

is normal and has within it a path to its own balance: recognize that the One
that gives you your Self and your bliss also gives you the ego. Go beyond the gifts and
the challenges to the infinite oneness, which is the giver of all.

Please see Witness Your Consciousness from Within Your Self on page 402 before
moving on to Stage 9.

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