The Three Granthis

Primary Blockages for Spiritual Ascension

The Granthis - The 3 Main Blocks within each of us that prevent us from spiritual ascension, Kundalini Awakening.

1. Brahma Granthi - Located at the Muladhara (Root) Chakra, concerned navigating the material realm. It is attached to physical pleasures, material objects and excessive selfishness. It is manifestation of the power of Tamas (darkness, one of three gunas / modes of energy in material existence) of negativity, lethargy, and ignorance. 2. Vishnu Granthi - Located at the Anahata (Heart) Chakra, concerned with ego and attachment. It is the bondage of emotional attachment to people, inner psychic visions and connected with the guna Rajas (passion), which has tendency towards passion, ambition, and assertiveness. 3. Rudra Granthi - (also known as Shiva Granthi) Located at the Ajna (Third-Eye) Chakra, concerned with unifying with cosmic consciousness, enlightenment. It is attached to siddhis (psychic and super natural powers associated with awakening), psychic phenomenon and the concept with ourselves as individuals. Untying Rudra Granthi liberates us by allowing us to surrender the individual ego and transcend all duality.

A very informative passage from the book Enthusiasm, by Swami Chidvilasananda:

"What are these blocks? Where do they come from? The yogic texts call them granthis, the knots. There are three Main granthis, and they cause a person to be contracted, to be bound in limited ideas. Because of these knots, a person lives in a finite world of appearances where everything is perishable. As Vedanta would say, you consider that which is perishable to be imperishable, and therefore you constantly experience sorrow. The granthis fool people into thinking they understand the world, when in fact they are basing all their judgments on appearances, on the effects only, without ever understanding the cause. These granthis keep a person revolving in his or her own self-created world of delusions. So when you ask what is it that keeps a person from experiencing his own ananda shakti, the source of enthusiasm within him, the answer is the granthis, the knots that impede the rise of kundalini to the state of union.

When these granthis or knots become undone, you do experience discomfort in the body. Sometimes you feel feverish. At other times the body moves, either gently or very forcefully. Sometimes you may have an outburst of feeling and you don't know where it has come from. Memories and impressions may come to the surface.”

The Granthis can be combated through Bandhas (energy Locks) 1. Mula bandha, Root lock for Brahma granthi 2. Udiyana bandha, naval lock for vishnu granthi 3. Jalandhara bandha, throat lock for shiva granthi

The purge of impurities through awakening can be a volatile process. That is why it is important to trust the process, surrender completely, and have trustworthy people to turn to when things go beyond your comprehension.

A more thorough description on performing the three bandhas can be found here. If you would like to get live instruction, you can sign up for the next online available class under "Book Online".