Dhuni Reiki

India is the homeland of the wandering holy men and women who are
seeking moksha, enlightenment, by renouncing the ordinary world of village
and farm.
This reiki seeks to take you with them on their journey and to step up your
energy practise to greater freedom and peace and effectiveness.
The first step is to walk out of your ordinary life and join the people of the
roads. Imagine it beginning. The wind blows gently. The sky glows with the
sunrise. You have a sturdy staff, a metal water pot, and pilgrim robes. Where
will you go?
Let us head south.
South is the sacred mountain of Arunachala. It is very hot. Buffalo carts pass
by in the dust. Palm trees grow by the village pools.
Walk with freedom and peace in your feet. We are asked to simply watch
ourselves. Get back behind our eyes and watch the world move by. Watch
the birds flutter and the farmers behind their plows. Watch our thoughts.
Watch our feelings. Watch our breathing.

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Its very natural. Things rise and fall. The scenery changes slowly. And yet
there we are behind our eyes, gently compassionate and happy and curious.
As night draws close, we stop by the roadside and find a small fire. This is
called a dhuni, a holy fire tended by spiritual seekers. Put on some kindling
and logs, bow in sweet reverence and affection, and light it. Your dhuni will
become a living friend, swaying like a dancer, raging like a warrior,
grumbling like an old person you know well and love

Into a dhuni you can put things you do not want to carry any longer. Old
arguments, old creeds, old social restrictions that just dont bring you bliss
put them all into the flames and let the dhuni erase them from your new
path. The dhuni is the first degree of this reiki and to honor where you are, I
ask you to reach into the warm grey ashes and touch some to a place on your
forehead between your eyebrows. Say anything you wish, to the effect that
you are now a Spirtual Seeker on the Path. And so it is.
The sign of dhuni is the Cho Ku Rei symbol of reiki. Purity and strength are
its gifts.
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Let us head west.

West are the Indian Ocean waves and the deserts of Rajasthan. Here long
ago were the civilizations at Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. Here has been
found a stone seal with a carving of a strange being. He looks like a man
seated cross-legged. Horns grow from his head, and a third from his brow.
Animals face him. He is Pashupati, Lord of Animals. God of the forests and
hunters. The hill tribes still know him and dance in his honor. His is the
forest rapture, the innocent madness, the wild dance. In the west he would
become Dionysos. In the east he would become Rudra and then Shiva.

He sits because that is a good posture for contemplation. And we are now
asked to take a look at our water-pot. It needs filling. We dip it into a pure
spring and then add a flower. It is now amrit, nectar. Spiritual people need
filling also. We do this by sitting quietly. To still the mind is the path now.
Try watching your breathing. Let it in and out. Just let it be. As your mind
fetches restless thoughts, gently return to watch your breathing. You will
breathe slowly and you will feel calm.
There were women dancers at the temples in olden times, called devadasis.
They were filled with spirit. At times they kept a holy seeker company on

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the roads. To this day, ecstatic musicians of both sexes called Bauls wander
and praise god as a lover. This is the path of bhakti, devotion to a personal
idea of god. Chanting and postures are yoga. Deep thinking is jnana.
Now I am going to ask you to do a strange thing. I want you to rise to your
feet. I want you to keep that deep peacefulness inside, and yet move. Sway
gently. Let your arms move like a tree moves in the wind. Step gracefully
and spin and jump and sink down as you please. You can make sounds. Hum
or chant. Just keep the peaceful feeling in your heart.
This is being filled like a water pot. This is the degree of Kamandal. The
sign for this level is Sei Hei Ki. Compassion and naturalness are its gifts.

Let us go north.
The snowy peaks of the Himalayas tower above the jungles. Shadows lay
across the leafy trails. We see only peasant huts and piled up stone cairns. It
is considered polite to circle these, so we do. The world turns but the center
is still. The world churns with events and distractions, with things we crave
and things we fear, with family obligations and our jobs. Yet our center is
still.
We are beginning to awaken.
North is where the rudraksha tree grows. Its berries are dried and made into
rosaries, called malas in India,. To say a holy name of god, is called japa. To
say a holy string of syllables, is called mantra.
Let us take our rudraksha mala and slide the beads gently while saying
something that has meaning for us. Just a simple word or phrase. It could be
Peace or Love or Ram or Shiv. We are saying it with affection and
reverence. We are honoring both the diety and ourselves since we are part of
the same whole.
We can see fellow seekers crouching around small red campfires in the blue
dusk. They wave us over. It feels as if the nature spirits are drawing close
around us too.

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We accept food that has been offered to the god and the guru and the sacred
fire before coming our way. Its called Prasad. Its good luck to eat some.
The degree of this level is called damaru, the drum. And its sign is Hon sha
ze sho nen, since like the drum, this mark carries great distances. Its gifts are
energy healing and trance and the friendship of spirit helpers.
It also reminds us that while Shiva the male god meditates, it is Shakti his
goddess wife who keeps things lively with her dance and drum. Shakti runs
inside us along our subtle channels. Shiva steadies us.
The wandering beggars invented the art of yoga and breathwork and handpostures (mudras) and visualizing the gods and goddesses that would mark
Tibetan Buddhism much later, and would be carried to Japan as Shingon to
influence Reiki later still.

Let us go east now.

Mysterious river Ganges descends east to the plains and the ocean, so let us
follow it. We pass venerable cities such as Benares where stone steps allow

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pilgrims to bathe away their karma in the holy and forgiving water. Monkeys
play in the temple grounds. Cows wander the streets.
We stop suddenly. A seeker is hanging from a string and wood device. He
will not allow himself to sit down. Another man holds his arm up, and it
looks as if it is withered. The pain these people feel is given away in
devotion and detachment.

Just to confuse things, another seeker invites us to sit down and enjoy a
chillum pipe filled with hashish. Some of the scriptures recommend drinking
bhang, an intoxicating drink, in order to calm the mind and see angels! There
is a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood here in the gentle laughing and
talking.
What is going on here?
The original inhabitants of India were said to be the hill tribes along with the
builders of Mohenjo Daro. Later came cattle-raising tribes related to the
ancient Greeks and Celts. These were known as the Aryans. They rode
horses, loved to battle, sacrificed to priestly fires, ate meat, drank wine and

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kept to a caste system of priest warrior farmer slave. Their holy books
were the Vedas. Their priests were the Brahmins.
The holy wanderers who eventually appeared worshipped Pashupatti the
ecstatic mystic of the forests and animals. They chanted, sang, danced and
wore ashes to signify rebirth. They had staffs and waterpots. Often they were
naked. They were very happy.
As time went on, new ideas came. Vegetarianism, non-violence, abstaining
from wine and sex. The body as unclean. The spirit as hard to reach. Jains,
Buddhists and Brahmins accepted some of these things. Reluctantly the
mystics gave up their wild ways and settled down, and even learned to write
and read. The Upanishads scriptures appeared.
However, some wanderers rebelled. Sex is bliss they declared. Meat and
wine cannot harm one who is already detached, who treats the world like an
interesting dream. And the body is good and the spirit is near.
Just how near it is, some wanderers would show by dwelling in cemeteries
and using human skulls and bones in their devotions. Villagers became
afraid. Tales of secret cannibalism were whispered. Mantras were black
magic. Using a mantra was forbidden unless one was initiated into it by a
superior. The spirit path was seen as Right Hand and Left Hand. The safe
and the scary.

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Perhaps they were lucky to be left alone with their bones. For some Seekers
practicing bhakti, devotion, chose rival gods
The northerners chose Shiva and were known as Shaivites. They carried
trident-topped staffs and painted horizontal white lines on their foreheads.
Their malas were made from rudraksha beads. Nagas and Naths come from
this line.
Southerners chose Vishnu in the form of Krishna or Ram, or Hanuman, and
were known as Vaishnavites. They carried simple staffs and painted vertical
lines on their foreheads. Their malas came from tulsi wood (sacred basil).
When different groups met at religious festivals such as the Kumbha Mela,
they often battled with their staffs! And some got so skilled they hired out
as mercenaries to rajahs and towns. The Naga Babas formed themselves into
regiments. The Hanuman Wrestlers practised in gyms to be strong like their
monkey god. Some wanderers even began to discriminate by the caste rules
they should have left behind in the village.

But India was invaded by Moslems in the north and this shocked people
enough to remember their unity. Their beginnings.

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Incredible saints appeared. Beautiful poetry told of devotion to the mother

goddess. After the Moslems, came the British who were quite impressed by
the wise men and women they encountered.
And today everyone meets peacefully and enjoys the differences. Even
people from foreign lands have been accepted as students to the gurus.

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To see the striking beauty of the world or a holy person is called darshan. I
would suggest you think of some darshan moments in your life. Some peak
moments that joined you in the greater whole, or a personal revelation of
beauty or worth or confidence or creativity.

The name of this last degree is darshan and its sign is Dai Ko Myo. The
Light.
So our path is walked. Our reiki energy is blessed by our contemplations.
The holy wanderers of India I am sure wish us well on our own journeys.
Let us remember our beauty and who we are. Good luck!
Stewart

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Disclaimer: This information is not intended to replace medical care from a physician. It
is for spiritual growth and educational purposes. The reiki energy within it is for relaxing
and promoting wellness.

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