Amrita - The Divine Nectar
By Tristan Dorling
Q:
I have started to feel a sweet liquid which trickles down the back of my throat, which seems to be connected to my spiritual practices. It tastes really amazing and is sweet, but bitter at the same time. Do you know what it is?
A:
This is a substance called amrita. The word means “nectar” and also “immortal” in Sanskrit. It is a substance which is produced by the human body once the flow of kundalini through the central channel becomes strong.
Sexual fluids and essences are drawn up into the bladder through a process called “natural vajroli”. From here prana from these essences rises up to the manipura chakra and mixes with other pranas there. This is the reason that the manipura chakra is sometimes called “the cauldron” in other traditions.
A substance called soma is produced as a result of this mixing of the pranas and this is drawn up through the body into the head. Soma is also an etheric substance (non-physical), so it travels through the system of subtle energetic pathways which comprise the pranic body. Once it reaches the head it is transformed into amrita. The amrita can then trickle down into the mouth where it can be tasted.
Amrita can also bubble up through the higher chakras, especially the crown, the third eye and a chakra on the top back of the head, called the bindu chakra. When the amrita comes out of the higher chakras it will then trickle down the head and face. It feels like drops of oil, or honey, as it comes down. The amrita is then reabsorbed into the subtle neurobiology to be reused. It is a very blissful and intoxicating experience and is one of the fruits of yoga.
Brahmacharya is an important aspect in the production of amrita, as the loss of sexual fluids and energy though sexual activity can inhibit its production.
Note: A related Podcast by Tristan on Amrita can be found on YouTube here. It is also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Note: See lesson 51 and lesson 133 from the main AYP lessons by Yogani, for more on amrita, soma and the nectar cycle. See also this Q&A