Kalarippayattu: The Actualisation of Power (Sakti) and the Yoga Paradigm
Most masters would agree
with Achutan Gurukkal's statement that only through correct practice
of poses and steps will the student reap the benefits of practice
and also begin to discover and eventually manifest power (sakti)
in practice. What, precisely, is meant by "power" (sakti),
and what are the signs of its presence. According to those masters
who assume a yoga-based paradigm, three essential features must
be realized: (1) precisely correcting the external physical form
and corresponding internal circulation of the wind or energy
(vayu or prana-vayu) so that alignment and movement are correct
and within the limits of a form; (2) ensuring that the student
is breathing properly, coordinating and releasing the breath properly,
and, therefore, circulating the wind or energy correctly; (3)
ensuring that the student develops correct external focus and
eventually realizes one-point focus internally.
Masters like Achutan Gurukkal stress that correct practice
also means breathing naturally and, therefore, having the breath
properly coordinated with performing the exercise or pose. Correct
breathing is understood to develop naturally over months of practice.
Nilakantan Namboodiripad told me that while doing all the preliminary
exercises, breathing should be automatic and effortless, which
comes from continuous practice. Inhalation and exhalation should
be the maximum possible, but there is no retention. Teachers
tell their students to breath through the nose; don't open your
mouth. Keeping the mouth closed, the hands raised, and the spinal
column firm in its natural alignment during leg exercises forces
the student to begin to develop natural, deep diaphragmatic breathing
from the navel region and prevents the natural tendency to take
shallow breaths from the chest.
In addition to the natural coordination of breath with
exercise some, but by no means all, masters also practice special
breath control techniques understood to help activate and circulate
the practitioner's internal energy (prana vayu) and, therefore,
contribute to the actualization of sakti to be used in fighting
and/or healing. There are two types of special exercises: (1)
pranayama techniques shared with yoga and taught by either kalarippayattu
or yoga masters, which require repetition of the fourfold pattern
of inhalation, retention/pause, exhalation, retention/pause and (2) special kalarippayattu breathing exercises, often simply called swasam, which require continuous deep inhalation
and exhalation without retention or pause. Some masters insist
that correct practice is only fully actualized by those who practice
these special exercises.
One master claims that practising
pranayama leads to control over the mind as well as the body's
metabolic functions and, therefore, to the development of correct
form of practice in the martial art. Neelakantan Namboodiripad
told me that yes" practising pranayama brings concentration and
eventually air strength (vayubalam) identical with the manifestation
of power (sakti) itself.
Another master explained the practical application of
pranayama in the martial art: In pranayama there are two retentions, one after inhalation
and one after exhalation. The one after exhalation is not strong.
Therefore, when you give a blow it comes with exhalation. But
strong defence comes with inhalation. This is the essence of kalarippayattu, but most people don't know it. Only those who have studied pranayama can understand it.
The third most important feature of correct practice leading
to actual ization of sakti is developing correct, i.e., one point
focus (ekagrata). There are numerous practical ways in which
internal one point focus is practised in the kalari. Visually
focussing on the teacher's eyes in weapons training continues
the student's development of one-point focus begun when the student
is first instructed to focus when he begins the leg exercises.
As Achuttan Gurukkal explained: We should never take our eyes
from those of our opponent. By ekagrata here I mean kannottam,
keeping the eyes on the opponent's. When doing practice you should
not see anything else going on around you. Master Achutan's comments
echo the well known example of Arjuna's actualization of one
point focus in the archery test which was administered by Drona
to all his students and at which only Arjuna was successful.
Practising Kalarippayattu is conducive to learning both
yoga and pranayama; they
all come together. Both produce sharpness and steadiness of mind,
both also give courage and patience, and both also help to give
good health.
What eventually results from practicing kalarippayattu is the discovery of the interior subtle body (suksma-sarira) traditionally associated
with yoga and meditation, and assumed to be encased within the
physical body. As Govindankutty Nayar put it, "Kalarippayattu is 80% per cent mental and
only the remainder is physical."
Also Read: Kalarippayattu - A Study,
Some Preliminary Thoughts,
The Source of Kalari,
The Circumstances & Alliance,
Dhanurvadic Tradition,
Power in Antiquity,
System & Techniques,
The Concept of Sakti,
Conclusion