The "Dark" & "Divine" Side Of Kundalini Yoga

In a darkened room, a man sits alone. His body is swept by muscular spasms. Indescribable sensations and sharp pains run from his feet up his legs and over his back and neck. His skull feels as if it will burst. Inside his head, he hears roaring sounds and high-pitched whistling. Then suddenly a sunburst floods his inner being. His hands burn. He feels his body tearing within. Suddenly, he starts laughing and is overcome with bliss. Does it look like a psychotic episode in a secluded cell in some psychiatric hospital? It certainly does look like it, says Dr. Lee Sanela, MD, except that he was describing an occurrence of kundalini awakening in an ascetic yogi. Dr. Sanela is the author of the book Kundalini Psychosis or Transcendence. He begins his book with an analogy of childbirth to describe the experience of kundalini awakening. In the initial stages, a kundalini awakening episode often shares the violence, pain, helplessness and imbalance that attend the birth of a new life. But if allowed to progress to completion, that process culminates in a deep spiritual and psychological transformation, the birth of an enlightened human being. But the line between psychic experiences and kundalini experiences is really thin. Kundalini yoga is the most dangerous form of yoga. It is dangerous because it is very powerful. If one is not able to control and contain the power, and if practiced without proper guidance and knowledge, kundalini awakening becomes self-destructive. Kundalini yoga, what it is? The term yoga has its root in the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to yoke together, to conjoin. Hence, yoga implies a spiritual union of the individual consciousness with the all-pervading universal consciousness or Brahma, according to Upanishads. In this way, yoga is the empirical part of religion, says Gopi Krishna in his work Kundalini, the secret of yoga. Of all the different yoga traditions and schools that developed in ancient Vedic times, kundalini yoga is considered to be the most powerful and therefore the most dangerous. It is part of the Shaivya Tantra system. Kundalini is considered to be a form of sacred feminine energy that lies dormant at the base of the human spine, called muladhara, like a serpent. This is pure, formless energy, which has immense potential if awakened. Shaivya tantra calls this energy or shakti, mother divine or formless aspect of the goddess. Swami Satyanand Saraswati, a great master of kundalini yoga and author of kundalini tantra, says that though you may be generally aware of what yoga is, you require some kind of awareness of what tantra is, in order to appreciate the mysterious working of kundalini yoga. Tantra says that the range of mental experience can be broadened. With the help of the senses, your mind can have an experience based on an object. There can be an experience within the framework of time, space and object. But there can also be an experience beyond the framework of time, space and object. The second form of experience can happen when the present mind expands beyond its given definitions and borders. And when this experience occurs, energy is released from yourself. This concept is the tantric base of kundalini yoga. Dr. Ivan Kaysen, who conducted case studies of kundalini awakening and related psychic and paranormal experiences of people from different walks of life, says that when this energy is awakened, people experience a sensation of energy rushing up the body, traveling upwards from the base of the spine to the brain. Associated with inner light, heat and inner sounds, it can bring about paranormal states of perception and ultimately mystical union. The awakening of kundalini is a But similar spiritual energy processes are described in other religions, in particular Taoism, Tibetan Buddhism, Christian mysticism, Judaism, Sufism and Shamanism. Kundalini energy is not a myth. Its practice is not based on faith and rituals. It is backed by science and its principles are corroborated by modern science and psychology. What is more important for us is that this miraculous power that lies within all of us can be awakened and controlled with the help of proper knowledge and guidance. Let us find out how. Kundalini, Etymology and Meaning In Sanskrit, kundal means a coil and so kundalini has been described as that which is coiled, a serpent. Swami Shivananda calls it the serpent power or the mystic fire and says it is an electric fiery occult power in serpentine form which underlies all organic and inorganic matter. This is the traditional belief but it has been incorrectly understood according to Swami Satyananda Saraswati, another great master of kundalini yoga. For him, the word kundalini actually comes from the word kunda, meaning a deeper place, pit or cavity. The fire used in is kindled in a pit called kunda. Similarly, the place where a dead body is burnt is kunda. If you dig a ditch or a hole, it is called kunda. Kunda refers to the concave cavity in which the brain, resembling a coiled and sleeping serpent, nestles. This is the true meaning of kundalini, the physiology of kundalini. The kundalini energy does not actually belong to the physical body even though it rests within it. Swami Satyananda gives a brief explanation of the physiology of kundalini this way. The serpent power is considered to arise from the unconscious state in muladhara. This unconscious awareness of man then has to pass through different phases and becomes one with the cosmic awareness in the highest realm of existence. The supreme awareness or Shiva is considered to be seated in sahasrara, the super-conscious or transcendental body at the crown of the head. In the Vedas as well as in the tantras, this supreme seat is called Hiranyagarbha, the womb of consciousness. It corresponds to the pituitary body, the master gland situated within the brain. The chakras, the dominant kundalini energy, when awakened, will rise in a spiraling motion up through different phases in the body, called chakras. The literal meaning of chakra is circle, but in the context of kundalini tantra, it also connotes a vortex-like motion. There are many chakras in a human body, but the principal ones within the body are six, and the highest one, the seventh, is at the crown of the head. The mind of a worldly man, with base desires and passions, moves in the muladhara and svadhisthana chakras, or centers situated near the anus and the reproductive organ, respectively. If one's mind becomes purified, the mind rises to the manipura chakra, or the center in the navel, and experiences some power and joy. If the mind becomes more purified, it rises to the anahata chakra, or the center in the heart, experiences bliss, and visualizes the effulgent form of the ishta devata, or the tutelary deity. When the mind gets highly purified, when meditation and devotion becomes intense and profound, the mind rises to the visuddha chakra, or the center in the throat, and experiences more and more powers and bliss. Even when the mind has reached this center, there is a possibility for it to come down to the lower centers. When the yogi reaches the ajna chakra, or the center between the two eyebrows, he attains samadhi, and realizes the supreme self, or brahma. There is a slight sense of separateness between the devotee and brahma. If he reaches the spiritual center in the brain, the yogi attains nirvikalpa samadhi, or the superconscious state. He becomes one with the non-dual brahma. All senses of separateness dissolves. This is the highest plane of consciousness, or supreme asampragnyata samadhi. Kundali unites with Shiva. THE PSYCHOLOGY OF KUNDALINI Gopi Krishna, the renowned master of kundalini experience, observed that the basic aim of yoga is to accelerate a natural process, already at work in the human organism. To mold the brain to a higher state of awareness, modern psychology has no inkling of this process, and therefore does not take it seriously into account in its treatment of the mind and its problems. Though the miraculous power of the human mind to unleash the kundalini energy and attain higher forms of consciousness has not been validated by western science and psychology, many great psychologists and medical practitioners in the west have been aware of the mysterious power of kundalini. In a seminar organized in 1932, the famous psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, a disciple of Freud and the exponent of the theory of the collective unconscious, observed that the awakening of the secret inner power of kundalini was indeed possible, though it has rarely been seen as happening in the west. Jung was fully aware of the psychological significance of kundalini power, says Dr. Lee Senela. She records how Jung spoke of a medieval monk who took a fantasy journey into a wild unknown forest. He lost his way. On trying to return, he finds his path blocked by a huge fierce dragon. So the monk has to turn again forward and continue his adventure in the unknown territory. Jung says that this beast is the symbol of the kundalini, the force that in psychological terms makes a person go on his or her greatest adventures. Jung says when you succeed in awakening the kundalini so that it starts to move out of its potentiality, you necessarily start a world which is totally different from your world. It is a world of eternity. AWAKENING THE KUNDALINI ENERGY The awakening of the kundalini could be the beginning of a process of enlightenment for the person who experiences it. Swami Shivananda rightly warns us that one should not attempt to awaken the kundalini with a view to gaining mysterious powers. One should become perfectly desireless and should be full of vairagya before attempting to awaken kundalini. It can be awakened only when a man rises above kama, krodha, lobha, moha, mada and other impurities. Kundalini can be awakened through rising above the desires of the senses. The yogi who has got a pure heart and a mind free from passions and desires will be benefited by awakening kundalini. Swami Shivananda points out that when kundalini is awakened, there will appear many temptations on the way and a sadhaka or practitioner without purity will not be able to resist the charm of this great power. Kundalini can be awakened by different means. It can be awakened by pranayama, asanas and mudras, by hat yogis, by concentration and training of the mind, by raja yogis, by devotion and perfect self-surrender, by bhaktas, by analytical will, by the jnanis, by mantras, by the tantrikas and by the grace of the guru, guru kripa, through touch, sight or mere sankalpa, says Swami Shivananda. For some people, any one of these methods will be sufficient. But for many, it may be necessary to combine different ways and practices. Ideally, the guru will be able to find which method is the most suitable for a sadhaka, depending upon his or her spiritual state. Whatever the method, the right practice with the right attitude will enable the person to attain the end of the kundalini awakening. In the final stage, in the sahasrara chakra. Sahasrara chakra is the abode of Lord Shiva. This is situated at the crown of the head. When kundalini is united with Lord Shiva at the sahasrara chakra, the yogi enjoys the supreme bliss, paramananda. When kundalini is taken to the center, the yogi attains the super-conscious state and the highest knowledge. He becomes a brahmavidhi varishta or a full-blown jnani. This is the ultimate end of awakening the kundalini energy. DANGERS AND RISKS IN THE KUNDALINI AWAKENING The possibility of the attainment of magical and mysterious powers by awakening the kundalini has misled many people through the wrong way of kundalini practice, often with dangerous consequences. Some common but wrong ways of trying to awaken the kundalini energy are taking the aid of drugs, practicing sexual acts as triggers, and in many cases going for the shortcut, quick provoking of the energy without taking the proper guidance and commitment. This kind of practice will in most cases result in some very serious damage to the person physical and mental. Sometimes it can cause serious physical impairment. Sometimes it may plunge the practitioner into irrecoverable psychosis and madness. It even can lead one to death. Hence, it is extremely important that one learns the proper way of conducting it, ideally from a guru. Like Swami Sivananda says, if a man with a lot of impurities in the mind awakens a kundalini energy by sheer force through asanas, pranayama and mudras, he will break his legs and stumble down. Kundalini yoga in itself is not dangerous, but wrong practice can elicit serious danger. Proper theoretical knowledge of kundalini yoga, proper guidance by a guru and a steady, committed and focused practice can lead one towards awakening this mysterious power within and achieving supreme happiness and contentment in this life. Benefits of Taming One's Kundalini The practice of kundalini yoga and awakening of kundalini energy results in a radical transformation of the person. It involves a change of the whole mental structure. Unleashing the power of the kundalini within, you can have very positive and miraculous consequences. If you are able to tame this power, you can tap into the depths of your potential as a human being. You can transform into the best possible version of yourself. With the awakening of kundalini, the greater intelligence is aroused from its sleep, and you can give birth to a new range of creativity. When kundalini awakens, not only are you blessed with visions and psychic experiences, you can become a prophet, saint, inspired artist or musician, a brilliant writer or poet, a clairvoyant or messiah, says Swami Satyananda. The awakening of the kundalini affects the whole area of the human mind and behavior. Kundalini as the Evolutionary Energy in Human Beings Kundalini can be best understood as the evolutionary instinct in man. It is a potent power lying dormant in a human being. Its awakening therefore can result in a miraculous metamorphosis for every person. Gopikrishna asserts that kundalini energy has been implanted in human beings with a divine purpose – to perfect human life by realizing its full potential. The practical benefits of kundalini yoga, like prolongation of life, vibrant health, preservation of youthful vigor in the body, personal magnetism and the like, are all part and parcel of the evolutionary perfection towards which man is bound to progress. Kundalini accelerates this process by bestowing a practitioner with the gifts of transcendence, genius and psychic powers. Parallels in Western Religion and Philosophy Many masters in the Indian kundalini yoga tradition, like Gopikrishna and Swami Sivananda, acknowledge that the idea of kundalini energy is not unique to Indian tradition. They cite the example of Christianity, where the concept of the Holy Spirit which descends upon Jesus Christ in the form of a dove is in fact nothing other than the kundalini energy in a different manifestation. In Western philosophy too, one can find parallel thinking when Hegel, the German idealist philosopher, talks about the evolution of the world towards an absolute spirit that is not very different from the concept of kundalini as the evolutionary energy. Thilardus Chardin, the French Darwinian scientist, theologian and philosopher, developed his own spiritual version of the theory of evolution. His theory of the omega point envisages a future when everything in the universe will ultimately, as the highest goal of evolution, spiral towards a final point of unification. It is insightful to see the connection between Chardin's omega point and the awakening of the kundalini energy. Conclusion The evolutionary future of humankind lies in the mystical path of kundalini. The technological advances of our age have practically shut our inner eyes. The complexity of our postmodern culture constantly takes our attention away from our own personhood to matters which are ephemeral and unreal. Hence, a turn back to our own inner self is a critical need. For humankind now, kundalini yoga can show us the path. Kundalini energy, the dormant treasure within all of us, can enable our consciousness to attain a higher dimension of existence, where reason yields to intuition, where revelation appears to guide the steps of humankind.