The Granthis

There are three main knots, known as granthis, that block the flow of the Kundalini Shakti. The creating, preserving and destroying propensities are attributable to their namesakes: the Gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Rudra (Siva).  The goal is to untie these knots through the practices of Patañjali’s eight-limbed system.

Brahma: God of Creation Source: http://www.vydic.org/pages/lord_bramah.htm

Brahma Granthi: Located at the base of the spine in the Muladhara chakra.  Brahma is the God of creation and all form is associated with this knot. Meditation is not possible if wrapped up in worldly attachment. Pratyahara releases the binds to the senses in order to still the mind.

Photos by Steve Jurvetson of statue of Krishna as Vishnu in his Vishwarupa (Universal form). Singapore. Creative Commons.

Vishnu Granthi:  Located in the heart region at the Anahata chakra (arguably at the Manipura chakra, or perhaps in between). Vishnu is the God of preservation and this knot unties karuna (compassion) in order to serve those who are suffering. Vishnu also applies to the devotion and love required to develop a true discriminatory faculty and aid in the acquisition of ultimate truth. This knot breaks free of the desire to preserve our identity, which includes society, family, and friends. These vows of renunciation are undertaken in the initiation of the sannyasin or swami, yet are not a requisite to untie the Vishnu granthi.

Rudra Granthi:  Rudra is also known as Shiva, the god of destruction, and is found at the third eye, the space between the eyebrows.  When the Rudra granthi is untied, we are liberated from the physical world becoming tattvatitas. In accordance with the Samkhya tradition, tattvas are seen as building blocks that evolve from the pure potential of prakriti’s first creative impulse, or first tattva, to twenty-four successive templates of form (tattvas) that comprise all worldly existence.  The tattvas include the five elements—earth, air, fire, ether, and water—and work with the gunas, or forces, in the creation and preservation of all forms within the universe, as well as their inevitable destruction. When the tattvas collapse back into the very elements which gave rise to our creation, they merge with our primordial nature in the Mahat tattva, located at the Ajna chakra. The Ida and Pingala nadis also unify at this chakra into the sushumna nadi, which releases the tattvatita from the shackles of space and time.

Photo taken by Deepak Gupta of Shiva Statue in Bangalore, India License: CC-BY-SA-2.0 amd GFDL

When the Kundalini Shakti breaks free of the Rudra granthi knot, it is able to pierce the Sahasrara chakra and rise the aspirant’s consciousness to an infinite dimension. However, we must not become attached to the siddhis, intuitive or psychic powers, that may present themselves at Ajna chakra.  Without detachment, we will be unable to release ourselves from the three gunas—the forces which give rise to prakriti, all elemental phenomena in the universe—and a enter a non-dual state of being with purusha: the emanating consciousness of which we all arise.