THEOS BERNARD – A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

In 1947, Theos Bernard, initiated in Tibet as a reincarnation of Padma Sambhava, disappeared on his way to the Ki Monastery in Western Tibet. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance remain a mystery, although it was rumoured that he was murdered, along with his Moslem guides, by Hindus. Neither his body nor any of his possessions were ever recovered. This closed the final chapter on a fascinating journey, both inward and outward, of one of the most influential Western yogis of the twentieth century, whose guiding light was to know the Truth, free from the trappings and tapestries of illusion.

My introduction to Bernard’s writings was in the late 1960s. I had already started practising Hatha Yoga but it was Bernard’s clear and detailed descriptions of an intense yoga practice that won me over. His uncompromising search for the truth, regardless of the difficulties, his objective and totally grounded approach, tempered with an open mind free of preconceptions, convinced me of what Bernard described as a philosophy of life; an undertaking which required openness, skill and discipline.

ARIZONA

This story begins in the 1930s, when Bernard, then studying at law school, was suffering from a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism. In hospital he overheard the doctors say that he would not live. After weeks of suffering, his mother removed him, against the wishes of the doctors, and took on the task of nursing him back to health. Bernard was put on a strict vegetarian diet and spent time in the mountains of Arizona. Slowly he recovered, and during this time, from reading in his mother’s large library of books on Eastern philosophy, he first saw the possibility that yoga would be his way to gaining both inner and outer strength. Through family connections he had a visit from his first Indian guru who explained to him that the Tantras had been revealed for the liberation of man in this dark age of the Kali Yuga. The guru left him with two sets of exercises, one for physical and one for mental health. And so began Bernard’s daily practice of yoga. The first exercise he learnt was Uddiyana Bandha, because the healthy function of the internal organs achieved by this practice was considered of the greatest importance in Hatha Yoga. Bernard slowly and cautiously increased the number of rounds until he was doing fifteen hundred daily. He then started on Nauli, which be brought to the same level of proficiency. These exercises were supplemented with the headstand, which he was advised to practise three times a day for half an hour. This was only the beginning; eventually he should maintain the headstand for three hours. Along with Padmasana, these were considered the first fundamentals for the practice of yoga. He corresponded with his guru frequently, asking many questions. The guru never answered his questions directly, but would indicate if he was on the right path and draw his attention to certain aspects of his experiences. He now started on the purification practices known as the Shat Karmas and was advised to make a beginning on Kechari Mudra, as it would be important for future work. Every morning and evening after washing the root of the tongue, he would grasp it with a piece of cloth and pull and stretch it in all directions. He continued this until he was able to touch the tip of his nose with it. Eventually he could turn back the tongue and swallow it. He carried out all the purification practices except Basti, which he was allowed to replace with an enema for washing the colon. His guru had insisted that Bernard must complete all the practices given him before he could learn under his direct guidance. On finishing law school he had achieved this, and had gained an inner richness he knew could never be taken from him, but he was also aware that he was “still travelling in the shadow of Truth rather than in its Light”. He packed his bags and headed for India.

INDIA

Several days after arriving he was told his guru had just died. This was a great setback for him, but he was soon put in touch with a Tantric scholar who taught him much of the philosophy of Tantric yoga and fuelled his passion to reach to the true roots of yoga. As he states in his book “Heaven Lies Within Us”, “the systematic study of yoga had been in a state of decay these past several hundred years because of the idleness, ignorance, and unscrupulousness of its followers [...]. Corrupted rites, false ideas and dogmatic tenets lead men to corruption.” Bernard was taught the disciplines required for yoga practice, the guiding principle being moderation in all things, and the power of restraint which requires courage. Although Bernard had learnt a great deal about yoga, he was impatient to return to its practice. The Tantric scholar told him that before he could go any further he would need to be initiated by a Tantric guru. The higher Tantric teachings had fallen into disuse even in India, so that at that time the only available teachers were reported to be in Tibet, as were what remained of the manuscripts containing the ancient teachings. Bernard was fascinated by the idea of studying in Tibet, but he knew that huge obstacles lay in his path, and he could only dream of such an idea. Little did he know at the time how his dream would be realised. He was soon put in touch with a Tantric yogi who was prepared to initiate him in Tantric yoga and he moved to the ashram of this guru to begin intense yoga practice.

BENGAL

His daily routine began at 4am with the practice of Dhauti (swallowing a long piece of cloth to cleanse the stomach), followed by Neti. Then Uddiyana Bhanda, fifteen hundred times, followed by Nauli. He had to bring the cleansing practices up to maximum standard before he was allowed initiation. By 5.45am he started on the headstand, after which he began Pranayama. His first Pranayama was Bhastrika, and the aim was to increase Kumbhaka (breath retention) at the rate of one minute per week. His three hours of practice finished by 7am, which was considered the daily minimum. After study of theory he resumed his practice at 10.30am. Beginning with Kechari Mudra, headstand and Pranayama to warm the body, he then started on Asanas. He was given sixteen Asanas to develop and was to be able to hold Padmasana for at least three hours. His lunch was at 1pm and consisted of vegetables prepared in ghee and two glasses of milk. This was his only meal and eventually would be reduced to two glasses of ghee and several glasses of milk per day. Very soon he was taught Ashwini Mudra and Basti. His afternoon practice began at 4pm for another three hours. He was instructed to increase the duration of the headstand and Pranayama and reduce his diet and his sleep to four hours per night. After a month he added Pranayama from midnight to 1am. He was then taught all the major Mudras. After three months of rigid discipline Bernard was practising for three hours four times a day, took four hours of sleep, which had to be broken, and had reduced his diet to only liquids. He describes how he felt, “as fresh as a child”, was filled with an indescribable inner joy, and had tremendous health and vitality. By using Kechari Mudra he was able to hold his breath for up to eight minutes, although as he soberly points out, it was far from the standard required by the texts for attaining the supernatural powers (Siddhis) – to acquire such powers it is necessary to hold the breath an hour or more. Once Bernard had developed control over the body-consciousness he was ready to train for the discipline of the mind known as Dhyana. This included techniques such as Trataka and Chhaya Parsha Sadhana or cultivation of the shadow man. He was then told to direct all his discipline towards a supreme effort to awaken Kundalini, which would manifest at his ultimate initiation by the guru. During the initiation ceremony Bernard describes how he went mentally through the process of awakening Kundalini, leading it through the respective centres, until finally he completely lost awareness of all external surroundings, and with his eyes wide open he could see nothing but brilliant light and experienced an ecstatic condition impossible to describe. He was told that this was not Samadhi and to attain it he would have to continue his yoga practices. A detailed account of his yoga experiences is given in his book “Hatha Yoga, The Report of a Personal Experience”. The practices he undertook follow the classic texts of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, the Gheranda Samhita, and the Siva Samhita, and his book affords a rare and invaluable insight into these classic practices put into action. Bernard had a burning desire to learn more of what lies behind the practice of yoga and to secure the manuscripts known as the 64 Tantras. He was instructed by his guru to go to Tibet where he would receive further introductions. Immediately he made plans to leave for the border of Tibet where he was to continue his yoga discipline and learn the Tibetan language.

TIBET

After more intensive yoga study with a hermit in Sikkim, Bernard obtained permission to enter Tibet. Padma Sambhava was the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and reputed to be the greatest Tantric yogi of India in his time (8^th century AD). He travelled from India to Tibet carrying the secret doctrines of yoga. It was to these teachings that Bernard was attracted. On his arrival in Tibet it became clear that all was not well with what was the world’s most absolute theocracy. Many Tibetans doubted whether the present structure could continue, with its rich monasteries and abject poverty, its decadent upper classes, and its self-enforced isolation. It was predicted that the late thirteenth Dalai Lama would be the last on Tibetan soil. Bernard was soon recognised as the reincarnation of Padma Sambhava and afforded entry to methods and teachings that no other Westerner had hitherto attained. Moreover, the high lamas were enthusiastic that Bernard should return to the West with the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism. It was as though the lamas foresaw the difficulties on the horizon and were making preparations to save the ancient Buddhist traditions. His stay in Tibet culminated in being initiated into the highest teachings. Bernard returned to the USA a changed man. As he writes at the end of his account, described in “Penthouse of the Gods”, “Although my soul was old, my body was still very young, but notwithstanding the age of my soul it was required of me that I continue in the life given me [...] and having made contact with my inner self I should have the fortitude to withstand all the sorrows and adversities of life and be able to transmute them into blessings.”

On his return, Bernard was instrumental in sowing the seeds of Tibetan Buddhism in the West, as Padma Sambhava had done in Tibet twelve centuries earlier. And like Bernard, Padma Sambhava vanished without trace after he had communicated his teachings.

© Brian Cooper 2003