Please note that the following practice of samanu is only for advanced students who have been initiated by their teacher. Beginners should only practise this cleansing of the psychic body under the guidance of an experienced teacher.
The practice of samanu is a cleansing practice which involves the repetition of bija (seed) mantras to remove resistance and impurities from the nadis in the psychic system. It is a purification technique combining several yoga practices, including pranayama, japa and chakra visualisation. Before the chakras open, resistance from the nervous system and all impurities from the sushumna nadi must be removed. Once the sushumna is purified, energy can be sent through it to all the chakras which then store and release energy.
In the practice there is repetition of the bija syllables of air, fire, moon (water) and earth—YAM, RAM, TAM and LAM respectively, at the same time as control of the breath. These four seed syllables remove the impurities from the psychic system.
Vayu means air or gas. There are two types of vayu; 1) physical vayu or physical air and 2) prana vayu or subtle vayu. When we practise kapalabhati we use the physical vayu (air and oxygen) to remove impurities from the respiratory system in the physical body. In samanu we use the subtle or prana vayu to cleanse the subtle body, to remove the impurities in the psychic system. Prana vayu is that which moves without restriction and it has YAM as its bija mantra. YAM is the original vibration of prana vayu. Name is nothing but a vibration. When I say ‘water’, you understand what I am saying, because although it is just a sound, it denotes a particular meaning. If it does not have a meaning for you, it does not create any wave at all in your mind, and you will not recognise it. When you recognise a name you convert that particular sound into a thought wave which your mind can grasp. If I say ‘vellum’, it will not create any reaction in you because you do not know what it means. In the language of south India, Malayalam, it means water. Similarly YAM is the vibration of prana vayu. By repeating YAM, the vibration ‘dries out’ the psychic impurities, the subtle impurities, which are very difficult to remove by physical methods alone.
Next comes RAM, the bija mantra for fire. RAM purifies and burns all the impurities that have been dislodged. Fire is the ultimate purifying agent. You can throw cow dung into fire, and it will turn into pure ash; and so too sandalwood. It doesn’t matter what you throw into fire, good or bad, everything dissolves to ash and ends up looking the same—white and pure. No germs, no worms—nothing can thrive in that ash. Fire removes all impurities, all odours, all qualities, and makes it pure, colourless, odourless. By repeating the bija mantra RAM, all the impurities of your psychic system are burnt up.
And then comes TAM. This is the bija mantra for the Moon, for the nectar. Moon represents the cooling agent, sun is hot, moon is cool. TAM cleanses the nadis with flowing nectar. So first the air dries, then the fire burns, then TAM releases the cooling nectar and washes the impurities out of the psychic system.
And now LAM. LAM is the bija mantra for earth. Earth is solid and strong like a rock, and can take a high voltage. By repetition of LAM the psychic system is strengthened.
We start by repeating the mantra YAM with the focus on the anahata chakra. Then RAM is repeated with the focus on the manipura chakra, followed by the repetition of TAM focussing on the chandra chakra, then finally the repetition of LAM while focussing on the muladhara chakra. The teacher will explain how exactly the practice is done.
When you practise, first do kapalabhati and then this practice. Kapalabhati is a cleansing with the physical air. Samanu is a cleansing with the subtle air—the prana vayu.