KUNDALINI YOGA PRACTICES!!!!

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PRAYER TO MOTHER KUNDALINI

 

Wake up Mother Kundalini.

Thou whose nature is Bliss Eternal & #8212;The Bliss of Brahman.

Thou dwelling like a serpent asleep at the lotus of Muladhara,

Sore, affected and distressed am I in body and mind,

Do thou bless me and leave thy place at the basic lotus.

Consort of Siva the Self-caused Lord of Universe,

Do thou take thy upward course through the central canal.

Leaving behind Svadhishthana, Manipuraka, Anahata, Vishuddha, and Ajna.

Be thou united with Siva, thy Lord the God.

At Sahasrara & #8212;the thousand-petalled-lotus in the brain.

Sport there freely, O Mother, Giver of Bliss Supreme.

Mother, who is Existence, Knowledge, Bliss Absolute.

Wake up, Mother Kundalini! Wake up.

 

EXPERIENCES ON AWAKENING OF KUNDALINI

 

During meditation you behold divine visions, experience divine smell,

divine taste, divine touch, hear divine Anahata sounds. You receive

instructions from God. These indicate that the Kundalini Shakti has

been awakened. When there is throbbing in Muladhara, when hairs stand

on their roots, when Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Mulabandha come

involuntarily, know that Kundalini has awakened.

 

When the breath stops without any effort, when Kevala Kumbhaka comes

by itself without any exertion, know that Kundalini Shakti has become

active. When you feel currents of Prana rising up to the Sahasrara,

when you experience bliss, when you repeat Om automatically, when

there are no thoughts of the world in the mind, know that Kundalini

Shakti has awakened.

 

When, in your meditation, the eyes become fixed on Trikuti, the middle

of the eyebrows, when the Shambhavi Mudra operates, know that

Kundalini has become active. When you feel vibrations of Prana in

different parts inside your body, when you experience jerks like the

shocks of electricity, know that Kundalini has become active. During

meditation when you feel as if there is no body, when your eyelids

become closed and do not open in spite of your exertion, when

electric-like currents flow up and down the nerves, know that

Kundalini has awakened.

 

When you meditate, when you get inspiration and insight, when the

nature unfolds its secrets to you, all doubts disappear, you

understand clearly the meaning of the Vedic texts, know that Kundalini

has become active. When your body becomes light like air, when you

have a balanced mind in perturbed condition, when you possess

inexhaustible energy for work, know that Kundalini has become active.

 

When you get divine intoxication, when you develop power of oration,

know that Kundalini has awakened. When you involuntarily perform

different Asanas or poses of Yoga without the least pain or fatigue,

know that Kundalini has become active. When you compose beautiful

sublime hymns and poetry involuntarily, know that Kundalini has become

active.

 

THE GRADATIONAL ASCENT OF THE MIND

 

The Chakras are centres of Shakti as vital force. In other words,

these are centres of Pranashakti manifested by Pranavayu in the living

body, the presiding Devatas of which are the names for the Universal

Consciousness as It manifests in the form of these centres. The

Chakras are not perceptible to the gross senses. Even if they were

perceptible in the living body which they help to organise, they

disappear with the disintegration of organism at death.

 

Purity of mind leads to perfection in Yoga. Regulate your conduct when

you deal with others. Have no feeling of jealousy towards others. Be

compassionate. Do not hate sinners. Be kind to all. Success in Yoga

will be rapid if you put your maximum energy in your Yogic practice.

You must have a keen longing for liberation and intense Vairagya also.

You must be sincere and earnest. Intense and constant meditation is

necessary for entering into Samadhi.

 

The mind of a worldly man with base desires and passions moves in the

Muladhara and Svadhishthana Chakras or centres situated near the anus

and the reproductive organ respectively.

 

If one & #8217;s mind becomes purified the mind rises to the Manipura Chakra

or the centre in the navel and experiences some power and joy.

 

If the mind becomes more purified, it rises to the Anahata Chakra or

centre in the heart, experiences bliss and visualises the effulgent

form of the Ishta Devata or the tutelary deity.

 

When the mind gets highly purified, when meditation and devotion

become intense and profound the mind rises to Visuddha Chakra or the

centre in the throat, and experiences more and more powers and bliss.

Even when the mind has reached this centre, there is a possibility for

it to come down to the lower centres.

 

When the Yogi reaches the Ajna Chakra or the centre between the two

eyebrows he attains Samadhi and realises the Supreme Self, or Brahman.

There is a slight sense of separateness between the devotee and Brahman.

 

If he reaches the spiritual centre in the brain, the Sahasrara Chakra,

the thousand-petalled lotus, the Yogi attains Nirvikalpa Samadhi or

superconscious state. He becomes one with the non-dual Brahman. All

sense of separateness dissolves. This is the highest plane of

consciousness or supreme Asamprajnata Samadhi. Kundalini unites with Siva.

 

The Yogi may come down to the centre in the throat to give

instructions to the students and do good to others (Lokasamgraha).

 

PRANAYAMA FOR AWAKENING KUNDALINI

 

When you practise the following, concentrate on the Muladhara Chakra

at the base of the spinal column, which is triangular in form and

which is the seat of the Kundalini Shakti. Close the right nostril

with your right thumb. Inhale through the left nostril till you count

3 Oms slowly. Imagine that you are drawing the Prana with the

atmospheric air. Then close the left nostril with your little and ring

fingers of the right hand. Then retain the breath for 12 Oms. Send the

current down the spinal column straight into the triangular lotus, the

Muladhara Chakra. Imagine that the nerve-current is striking against

the lotus and awakening the Kundalini. Then slowly exhale through the

right nostril counting 6 Oms. Repeat the process from the right

nostril as stated above, using the same units, and having the same

imagination and feeling. This Pranayama will awaken the Kundalini

quickly. Do it 3 times in the morning and 3 times in the evening.

Increase the number and time gradually and cautiously according to

your strength and capacity. In this Pranayama, concentration on the

Muladhara Chakra is the important thing. Kundalini will be awakened

quickly if the degree of concentration is intense and if the Pranayama

is practised regularly.

 

KUNDALINI PRANAYAMA

 

In this Pranayama, the Bhavana is more important than the ratio

between Puraka, Kumbhaka and Rechaka.

 

Sit in Padma or Siddha Asana, facing the East or the North.

 

After mentally prostrating to the lotus-feet of the Sat-guru and

reciting Stotras in praise of God and Guru, commence doing this

Pranayama which will easily lead to the awakening of the Kundalini.

 

Inhale deeply, without making any sound.

 

As you inhale, feel that the Kundalini lying dormant in the Muladhara

Chakra is awakened and is going up from Chakra to Chakra. At the

conclusion of the Puraka, have the Bhavana that the Kundalini has

reached the Sahasrara. The more vivid the visualisation of Chakra

after Chakra, the more rapid will be your progress in this Sadhana.

 

Retain the breath for a short while. Repeat the Pranava or your Ishta

Mantra. Concentrate on the Sahasrara Chakra. Feel that by the Grace of

Mother Kundalini, the darkness of ignorance enveloping your soul has

been dispelled. Feel that your whole being is pervaded by light, power

and wisdom.

 

Slowly exhale now. And, as you exhale feel that the Kundalini Shakti

is gradually descending from the Sahasrara, and from Chakra to Chakra,

to the Muladhara Chakra.

 

Now begin the process again.

 

It is impossible to extol this wonderful Pranayama adequately. It is

the magic wand for attaining perfection very quickly. Even a few days & #8217;

practice will convince you of its remarkable glory. Start from today,

this very moment.

 

May God bless you with joy, bliss and immortality.

 

KUNDALINI

 

The word Kundalini is a familiar one to all students of Yoga, as it is

well known as the power, in the form of a coiled serpent, residing in

Muladhara Chakra, the first of the seven Chakras, the other six being

Svadhishthana, Manipuraka, Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna and Sahasrara, in

order.

 

All Sadhanas in the form of Japa, meditation, Kirtan and prayer as

well as all development of virtues, and observance of austerities like

truth, non-violence and continence are at best calculated only to

awaken this serpent-power and make it to pass through all the

succeeding Chakras beginning from Svadhishthana to Sahasrara, the

latter otherwise called as the thousand-petalled lotus, the seat of

Sadasiva or the Parabrahman or the Absolute separated from whom the

Kundalini or the Shakti lies at the Muladhara, and to unite with whom

the Kundalini passes through all the Chakras, as explained above,

conferring liberation on the aspirant who assiduously practises Yoga

or the technique of uniting her with her Lord and gets success also in

his effort.

 

In worldly-minded people, given to enjoyment of sensual and sexual

pleasures, this Kundalini power is sleeping because of the absence of

any stimulus in the form of spiritual practices, as the power

generated through such practices alone awakens that serpent-power, and

not any other power derived through the possession of worldly riches

and affluence. When the aspirant seriously practises all the

disciplines as enjoined in the Shastras, and as instructed by the

preceptor, in whom the Kundalini would have already been awakened and

reached its abode or Sadasiva, acquiring which blessed achievement

alone a person becomes entitled to act as a Guru or spiritual

preceptor, guiding and helping others also to achieve the same end,

the veils or layers enmeshing Kundalini begin to be cleared and

finally are torn asunder and the serpent-power is pushed or driven, as

it were upwards.

 

Supersensual visions appear before the mental eye of the aspirant, new

worlds with indescribable wonders and charms unfold themselves before

the Yogi, planes after planes reveal their existence and grandeur to

the practitioner and the Yogi gets divine knowledge, power and bliss,

in increasing degrees, when Kundalini passes through Chakra after

Chakra, making them to bloom in all their glory which before the touch

of Kundalini, do not give out their powers, emanating their divine

light and fragrance and reveal the divine secrets and phenomena, which

lie concealed from the eyes of worldly-minded people who would refuse

to believe of their existence even.

 

When the Kundalini ascends one Chakra or Yogic centre, the Yogi also

ascends one step or rung upward in the Yogic ladder; one more page,

the next page, he reads in the divine book; the more the Kundalini

travels upwards, the Yogi also advances towards the goal or spiritual

perfection in relation to it. When the Kundalini reaches the sixth

centre or the Ajna Chakra, the Yogi gets the vision of Personal God or

Saguna Brahman, and when the serpent-power reaches the last, the top

centre, or Sahasrara Chakra, or the Thousand-petalled lotus, the Yogi

loses his individuality in the ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda or the

Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute and becomes one with the Lord or

Supreme Soul. He is no longer an ordinary man, not even a simple Yogi,

but a fully illumined sage, having conquered the eternal and unlimited

divine kingdom, a hero having won the battle against illusion, a Mukta

or liberated one having crossed the ocean of ignorance or the

transmigratory existence, and a superman having the authority and

capacity to save the other struggling souls of the relative world.

Scriptures hail him most, in the maximum possible glorifying way, and

his achievement. Celestial beings envy him, not excluding the Trinity

even, viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Siva.

Kundalini And Tantrik Sadhana

 

Kundalini Yoga actually belongs to Tantrik Sadhana, which gives a

detailed description about this serpent-power and the Chakras, as

mentioned above. Mother Divine, the active aspect of the

Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, resides in the body of men and

women in the form of Kundalini, and the entire Tantrik Sadhana aims at

awakening Her, and making Her to unite with the Lord, Sadasiva, in the

Sahasrara, as described in the beginning in detail. Methods adopted to

achieve this end in Tantrik Sadhana are Japa of the name of the

Mother, prayer and various rituals.

Kundalini And Hatha Yoga

 

Hatha Yoga also builds up its philosophy around this Kundalini and the

methods adopted in it are different from Tantrik Sadhana. Hatha Yoga

seeks to awaken this Kundalini through the discipline of the physical

body, purification of Nadis and controlling the Prana. Through a

number of physical poses called Yoga Asanas it tones up the entire

nervous system, and brings it under the conscious control of the Yogi,

through Bandhas and Mudras it controls the Prana, regulates its

movements and even blocks and seals it without allowing it to move,

through Kriyas it purifies the inner organs of physical body and,

finally, through Pranayama it brings the mind itself under the control

of the Yogi. Kundalini is made to go upwards towards Sahasrara through

these combined methods.

 

Kundalini And Raja Yoga

 

But Raja Yoga mentions nothing about this Kundalini, but propounds a

still subtle, higher path, philosophical and rational, and asks the

aspirant to control the mind, to withdraw all the senses and to plunge

in meditation. Unlike Hatha Yoga which is mechanical and mystical,

Raja Yoga teaches a technique with eight limbs, appealing to the heart

and intellect of aspirants. It advocates moral and ethical development

through its Yama and Niyama, helps the intellectual and cultural

development through Svadhyaya or study of holy Scriptures, satisfies

the emotional and devotional aspect of human nature by enjoining to

surrender oneself to the will of the Creator, has an element of

mysticism by including Pranayama also as one of the eight limbs and

finally, prepares the aspirant for unbroken meditation on the Absolute

through a penultimate step of concentration. Neither in philosophy nor

in its prescription of methods of Raja Yoga mentions about Kundalini,

but sets the human mind and Chitta as its targets to be destroyed as

they alone make the individual soul to forget its real nature and

brings on it birth and death and all the woes of phenomenal existence.

Kundalini And Vedanta

 

But when we come to Vedanta, there is no question about Kundalini or

any type of mystical and mechanical methods. It is all enquiry and

philosophical speculation. According to Vedanta the only thing to be

destroyed is ignorance about one & #8217;s real nature, and this ignorance

cannot be destroyed either by study, or by Pranayama, or by work, or

by any amount of physical twisting and torturing, but only by knowing

one & #8217;s real nature, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda or

Existence-Knowledge-Bliss. Man is divine, free and one with the

Supreme Spirit always, which he forgets and identifies himself with

matter, which itself is an illusory appearance and a superimposition

on the spirit. Liberation is freedom from ignorance and the aspirant

is advised to constantly dissociate himself from all limitations and

identify himself with the all-pervading, non-dual, blissful, peaceful,

homogeneous spirit or Brahman. When meditation becomes intensified, in

the ocean of Existence or rather the individuality is blotted or blown

out completely. Just as a drop of water let on a frying pan is

immediately sucked and vanishes from cognition, the individual

consciousness is sucked in by the Universal Consciousness and is

absorbed in it. According to Vedanta there cannot be real liberation

in a state of multiplicity, and the state of complete Oneness is the

goal to be aspired for, towards which alone the entire creation is

slowly moving on.

 

INTRODUCTION

 

Essence Of Kundalini Yoga

 

The word YOGA comes from the root Yuj which means to join, and in its

spiritual sense, it is that process by which the human spirit is

brought into near and conscious communion with, or is merged in, the

Divine Spirit, according as the nature of the human spirit is held to

be separate from (Dvaita, Visishtadvaita) or one with (Advaita) the

Divine Spirit. As, according to Vedanta, the latter proposition is

affirmed, Yoga is that process by which the identity of the two

(Jivatman and Paramatman) & #8212;which identity ever exists, in fact & #8212;is

realised by the Yogin or practitioner of Yoga. It is so realised

because the Spirit has then pierced through the veil of Maya which as

mind and matter obscures this knowledge from itself. The means by

which this is achieved is the Yoga process which liberates the Jiva

from Maya. So the Gheranda-Samhita says: & #8220;There is no bond equal in

strength to Maya, and no power greater to destroy that bond than

Yoga. & #8221; From an Advaitic or Monistic standpoint, Yoga in the sense of a

final union is inapplicable, for union implies a dualism of the Divine

and human spirit. In such case, it denotes the process rather than the

result. When the two are regarded as distinct, Yoga may apply to both.

A person who practises Yoga is called a Yogin. All are not competent

to attempt Yoga; only a very few are. One must, in this or in other

lives, have gone through Karma or selfless service and ritualistic

observances, without attachment to the actions or their fruits, and

Upasana or devotional worship, and obtained the fruit thereof, viz., a

pure mind (Chittasuddhi). This does not mean merely a mind free from

sexual impurity. The attainment of this and other qualities is the A B

C of Sadhana. A person may have a pure mind in this sense, and yet be

wholly incapable of Yoga. Chittasuddhi consists not merely in moral

purity of every kind, but in knowledge, detachment, capacity for pure

intellectual functioning, attention, meditation and so forth. When by

Karma Yoga and Upasana, the mind is brought to this point and when, in

the case of Jnana Yoga, there is dispassion and detachment from the

world and its desires, then the Yoga path is open for the realisation

of the ultimate Truth. Very few persons indeed are competent for Yoga

in its higher form. The majority should seek their advancement along

the path of Karma Yoga and devotion.

 

There are four main forms of Yoga, according to one school of thought,

namely Mantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga and Raja Yoga; Kundalini

Yoga is really Laya Yoga. There is another classification: Jnana Yoga,

Raja Yoga, Laya Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Mantra Yoga. This is based on the

idea that there are five aspects of spiritual life:-Dharma, Kriya,

Bhava, Jnana and Yoga; Mantra Yoga being said to be of two kinds

according as it is pursued along the path of Kriya or Bhava. There are

seven Sadhanas of Yoga, namely Sat-Karma, Asana, Mudra, Pratyahara,

Pranayama, Dhyana and Samadhi, which are cleansing of the body, seat

postures for Yoga purposes, the abstraction of the senses from their

objects, breath-control, meditation, and ecstasy which is of two

kinds & #8212;imperfect (Savikalpa) in which dualism is not wholly overcome,

and perfect (Nirvikalpa) which is complete Monistic experience & #8211;the

realisation of the Truth of the Mahavakya AHAM BRAHMASMI & #8212;a knowledge

in the sense of realisation which, it is to be observed, does not

produce Liberation (Moksha) but is Liberation itself. The Samadhi of

Laya Yoga is said to be Savikalpa Samadhi and that of complete Raja

Yoga is said to be Nirvikalpa Samadhi. The first four processes are

physical, last three mental and supramental. By these seven processes

respectively certain qualities are gained, namely, purity (Sodhana),

firmness and strength (Dridhata), fortitude (Sthirata), steadiness

(Dhairya), lightness (Laghava), realisation (Pratyaksha) and

detachment leading to Liberation (Nirliptatva).

 

What is known as the eight-limbed Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) contains five

of the above Sadhanas (Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhyana and

Samadhi) and three others, namely, Yama or self-control by way of

chastity, temperance, avoidance of harm (Ahimsa), and other virtues;

Niyama or religious observances, charity and so forth, with devotion

to the Lord (Isvara-Pranidhana); and Dharana, the fixing of the

internal organ on its object as directed in the Yoga-practice.

 

Man is a microcosm (Kshudra Brahmanda). Whatever exists in the outer

universe exists in him. All the Tattvas and worlds are within him and

so is the Supreme Siva-Sakti. The body may be divided into two main

parts, namely, the head and trunk on the one hand, and the legs on the

other. In man, the centre of the body is between these two, at the

base of the spine where the legs begin. Supporting the trunk and

throughout the whole body there is the spinal cord. This is the axis

of the body, just as Mount Meru is the axis of the earth. Hence, man & #8217;s

spine is called Merudanda, the Meru or axis-staff. The legs and feet

are gross which show less signs of consciousness than the trunk with

its spinal white and grey matter; which trunk itself is greatly

subordinate in this respect to the head containing the organ of mind,

or physical brain, with its white and grey matter. The positions of

the white and grey matter in the head and spinal column respectively

are reversed. The body and legs below the centre are the seven lower

or nether worlds upheld by the sustaining Sakti or Powers of the

universe. From the centre upwards, consciousness more freely manifests

through the spinal and cerebral centres. Here there are the seven

upper regions or Lokas, a term which means & #8220;What are seen & #8221;

(Lokyante),

that is, experienced, and are hence the fruits of Karma in the form of

particular rebirth. These regions, namely, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah, Tapa,

Jana, Maha and Satya Lokas correspond with the six centres; five in

the trunk, the sixth in the lower cerebral centre; and the seventh in

the upper brain or Satyaloka, the abode of the Supreme Siva-Sakti.

 

The six centres are: the Muladhara or root-support situated at the

base of the spinal column in a position midway in the perineum between

the root of the genitals and the anus; above it, in the region of the

genitals, abdomen, heart, chest and throat, and in the forehead

between the two eyes, are the Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata,

Visuddha and Ajna Chakras or lotuses respectively. These are the chief

centres, though some texts speak of others such as the Lalana and

Manas and Soma Chakras. The seventh region beyond the Chakras is the

upper brain, the highest centre of manifestation of consciousness in

the body and therefore, the abode of the Supreme Siva-Sakti. When it

is said to be the & #8220;abode & #8221;, it is not meant that the Supreme is there

placed in the sense of our & #8220;placing & #8221;, namely, it is there and not

elsewhere! The Supreme is never localised, whilst its manifestations

are. It is everywhere both within and without the body, but it is said

to be in the Sahasrara, because it is there that the Supreme

Siva-Sakti is realised. And, this must be so, because consciousness is

realised by entering in and passing through the higher manifestation

of mind, the Sattvamayi Buddhi, above and beyond which is Chit and

Chidrupini Saktis themselves. From their Siva-Sakti Tattva aspect are

evolved Mind in its form as Buddhi, Ahamkara, Manas and associated

senses (Indriyas) the centre of which is above the Ajna Chakra and

below the Sahasrara. From Ahamkara proceed the Tanmatras, or generals

of the sense-particulars, which evolve the five forms of sensible

matter (Bhuta), namely, Akasa (ether), Vayu (air), Agni (fire), Apah

(water) and Prithvi (earth). The English translation given does not

imply that the Bhutas are the same as the English elements of air,

fire, water, earth. The terms indicate varying degrees of matter from

the ethereal to the solid. Thus Prithvi or earth is any matter in the

Prithvi state; that is, which may be sensed by the Indriya of smell.

Mind and matter pervade the whole body. But there are centres therein

in which they are predominant. Thus Ajna is the centre of mind, and

the five lower Chakras are the centres of the five Bhutas; Visuddha of

Akasa, Anahata of Vayu, Manipura of Agni, Svadhishthana of Apah, and

Muladhara of Prithvi.

 

In short, man as a microcosm is the all-pervading Spirit (which most

purely manifests in the Sahasrara) vehicled by Sakti in the form of

mind and matter, the centres of which are the sixth and following five

Chakras respectively.

 

The six Chakras have been identified with the following plexuses

commencing from the lowest, the Muladhara; the sacrococcygeal plexus,

the sacral plexus, the solar plexus, (which forms the great junction

of the right and left sympathetic chains Ida and Pingala with the

cerebro-spinal axis). Connected with this is the lumbar plexus. Then

follows the cardiac plexus (Anahata), laryngeal plexus, and lastly the

Ajna or cerebellum with its two lobes. Above this is the Manas-Chakra

or middle cerebrum, and finally, the Sahasrara or upper cerebrum. The

six Chakras themselves are vital centres within the spinal column in

the white and grey matter there. They may, however, and probably do,

influence and govern the gross tract outside the spine in the bodily

region lateral to, and co-extensive with, that section of the spinal

column in which a particular centre is situated. The Chakras are

centres of Sakti as vital force. In other words these are centres of

Pranasakti manifested by Pranavayu in the living body, the presiding

Devatas of which are names for the Universal Consciousness as It

manifests in the form of those centres. The Chakras are not

perceptible to the gross senses. Even if they were perceptible in the

living body which they help to organise, they disappear with the

disintegration of organism at death. Just because post-mortem

examination of the body does not reveal these Chakras in the spinal

column, some people think that these Chakras do not exist at all, and

are merely the fabrication of a fertile brain. This attitude reminds

us of a doctor who declared that he had performed many post-mortems

and had never yet discovered a soul!

 

The petals of the lotuses vary, being 4, 6, 10, 12, 16 and 2

respectively, commencing from the Muladhara and ending with Ajna.

There are 50 in all, as are the letters of the alphabet which are in

the petals; that is, the Matrikas are associated with the Tattvas;

since both are products of the same creative Cosmic process

manifesting either as physiological or psychological function. It is

noteworthy that the number of the petals is that of the letters

leaving out either Ksha or the second La, and that these 50 multiplied

by 20 are in the 1000 petals of the Sahasrara, a number which is

indicative of infinitude.

 

But why, it may be asked, do the petals vary in number? Why, for

instance, are there 4 in the Muladhara and 6 in the Svadhishthana? The

answer given is that the number of petals in any Chakra is determined

by the number and position of the Nadis or Yoga-nerves around that

Chakra. Thus, four Nadis surrounding and passing through the vital

movements of the Muladhara Chakra, give it the appearance of a lotus

of four petals which are thus configurations made by the positions of

Nadis at any particular centre. These Nadis are not those which are

known to the Vaidya. The latter are gross physical nerves. But the

former, here spoken of, are called Yoga-Nadis and are subtle channels

(Vivaras) along which the Pranic currents flow. The term Nadi comes

from the root Nad which means motion. The body is filled with an

uncountable number of Nadis. If they were revealed to the eye, the

body would present the appearance of a highly-complicated chart of

ocean currents. Superficially the water seems one and the same. But

examination shows that it is moving with varying degrees of force in

all directions. All these lotuses exist in the spinal columns.

 

The Merudanda is the vertebral column. Western anatomy divides it into

five regions; and it is to be noted in corroboration of the theory

here expounded that these correspond with the regions in which the

five Chakras are situated. The central spinal system comprises the

brain or encephalon contained within the skull (in which are the

Lalana, Ajna, Manas, Soma Chakras and the Sahasrara); as also the

spinal cord extending from the upper border of the Atlas below the

cerebellum and descending to the second lumbor vertebra where it

tapers to a point called the filum terminale. Within the spine is the

cord, a compound of grey and white brain matter, in which are the five

lower Chakras. It is noteworthy that the filum terminale was formerly

thought to be a mere fibrous cord, an unsuitable vehicle, one might

think, for the Muladhara Chakra and Kundalini Sakti. More recent

microscopic investigations have, however, disclosed the existence of

highly sensitive grey matter in the filum terminale which represents

the position of the Muladhara. According to Western science, the

spinal cord is not merely a conductor between the periphery and the

centres of sensation and volition, but is also an independent centre

or group of centres. The Sushumna is a Nadi in the centre of the

spinal column. Its base is called Brahma-Dvara or Gate of Brahman. As

regards the physiological relations of the Chakras all that can be

said with any degree of certainty is that the four above Muladhara

have relation to the genito-excretory, digestive, cardiac and

respiratory functions and that the two upper centres, the Ajna (with

associated Chakras) and the Sahasrara denote various forms of its

cerebral activity ending in the repose of Pure Consciousness therein

gained through Yoga. The Nadis of each side Ida and Pingala are the

left and right sympathetic cords crossing the central column from one

side to the other, making at the Ajna with the Sushumna a threefold

knot called Triveni; which is said to be the spot in the Medulla where

the sympathetic cords join together and whence they take their

origin & #8212;these Nadis together with the two lobed Ajna and the Sushumna

forming the figure of the Caduceus of the God Mercury which is said by

some to represent them.

 

How is it that the rousing of Kundalini Sakti and Her union with Siva

effect the state of ecstatic union (Samadhi) and spiritual experience

which is alleged?

 

In the first place, there are two main lines of Yoga, namely, Dhyana

or Bhavana-Yoga and Kundalini Yoga; and there is a marked difference

between the two. The first class of Yoga is that in which ecstasy

(Samadhi) is obtained by intellective processes (Kriya-Jnana) of

meditation and the like, with the aid, it may be, of auxiliary

processes of Mantra or Hatha Yoga (other than the rousing of

Kundalini) and by detachment from the world; the second stands apart

as that portion of Hatha Yoga in which, though intellective processes

are not neglected, the creative and sustaining Sakti of the whole body

is actually and truly united with the Lord Consciousness. The Yogin

makes Her introduce him to Her Lord, and enjoys the bliss of union

through her. Though it is he who arouses Her, it is She who gives

knowledge or Jnana, for She is Herself that. The Dhyana Yogin gains

what acquaintance with the Supreme state his own meditative powers can

give him and knows not the enjoyment of union with Siva in and through

the fundamental Body-power. The two forms of Yoga differ both as to

method and result. The Hatha Yogin regards his Yoga and its fruit as

the highest; the Jnana Yogin may think similarly of his own. Kundalini

is so renowned that many seek to know her. Having studied the theory

of this Yoga, one may ask: & #8220;Can one get on without it? & #8221; The answer

is:

& #8220;It depends upon what you are looking for & #8221;. If you want to rouse

Kundalini Sakti, to enjoy the bliss of union of Siva and Sakti through

Her and to gain the accompanying powers (Siddhis), it is obvious that

this end can be achieved only by the Kundalini Yoga. In that case,

there are some risks incurred. But if Liberation is sought without

desire for union through Kundalini, then, such Yoga is not necessary;

for, Liberation may be obtained by Pure Jnana Yoga through detachment,

the exercise and then the stilling of the mind, without any rousing of

the central Bodily-power at all. Instead of setting out in and from

the world to unite with Siva, the Jnana Yogin, to attain this result,

detaches himself from the world. The one is the path of enjoyment and

the other of asceticism. Samadhi may also be obtained on the path of

devotion (Bhakti) as on that of knowledge. Indeed, the highest

devotion (Para Bhakti) is not different from Knowledge. Both are

Realisation. But, whilst Liberation (Mukti) is attainable by either

method, there are other marked differences between the two. A Dhyana

Yogin should not neglect his body, knowing that as he is both mind and

matter, each reacts, the one upon the other. Neglect or mere

mortification of the body is more apt to produce disordered

imagination than a true spiritual experience. He is not concerned,

however, with the body in the sense that the Hatha Yogin is. It is

possible to be a successful Dhyana Yogin and yet to be weak in body

and health, sick and short-lived. His body, and not he himself,

determines when he shall die. He cannot die at will. When he is in

Samadhi, Kundalini Sakti is still sleeping in the Muladhara, and none

of the physical symptoms and psychical bliss or powers (Siddhis)

described as accompanying Her rousing are observed in his case. The

ecstasy which he calls & #8220;Liberation while yet living & #8221; (Jivanmukti) is

not a state like that of real Liberation. He may be still subject to a

suffering body from which he escapes only at death, when if at all, he

is liberated. His ecstasy is in the nature of a meditation which

passes into the Void (Bhavana-samadhi) effected through negation of

all thought-form (Chitta-Vritti) and detachment from the world & #8212;a

comparatively negative process in which the positive act of raising

the Central Power of the body takes no part. By his effort, the mind

which is a product of Kundalini as Prakriti Sakti, together with its

worldly desires, is stilled so that the veil produced by mental

functioning is removed from Consciousness. In Laya Yoga, Kundalini

Herself, when roused by the Yogin (for such rousing is his act and

part), achieves for him this illumination.

 

But why, it may be asked, should one trouble over the body and its

Central power, the more particularly as there are unusual risks and

difficulties involved? The answer has been already given. There is

completeness and certainty of Realisation through the agency of the

Power which is Knowledge itself (Jnanarupa Sakti), an intermediate

acquisition of powers (Siddhis), and intermediate and final enjoyment.

 

If the Ultimate Reality is the One which exists in two aspects of

quiescent enjoyment of the Self, and of liberation from all form and

active enjoyment of objects, that is, as pure spirit and spirit in

matter, then a complete union with Reality demands such unity in both

of its aspects. It must be known both here (Iha) and there (Amutra).

When rightly apprehended and practised, there is truth in the doctrine

which teaches that man should make the best of both worlds. There is

no real incompatibility between the two, provided action is taken in

conformity with the universal law of manifestation. It is held to be

false teaching that happiness hereafter can only be had by absence of

enjoyment now, or in deliberately sought for suffering and

mortification. It is the one Siva who is the Supreme Blissful

Experience and who appears in the form of man with a life of mingled

pleasure and pain. Both happiness here and the bliss of Liberation

here and hereafter may be attained, if the identity of these Sivas be

realised in every human act. This will be achieved by making every

human function, without exception, a religious act of sacrifice and

worship (Yajna). In the ancient Vaidik ritual, enjoyment by way of

food and drink was preceded and accompanied by ceremonial sacrifice

and ritual. Such enjoyment was the fruit of the sacrifice and the gift

of the Devas. At a higher stage in the life of a Sadhaka, it is

offered to the One from whom all gifts come and of whom the Devatas

are inferior limited forms. But this offering also involves a dualism

from which the highest Monistic (Advaita) Sadhana is free. Here the

individual life and the world life are known as one. And the Sadhaka,

when eating or drinking or fulfilling any other of the natural

functions of the body, does so, saying and feeling & #8220;Sivoham & #8221;. It is

not merely the separate individual who thus acts and enjoys. It is

Siva who does so in and through him. Such a one recognises, as has

been said, that his life and the play of all its activities are not a

thing apart, to be held and pursued egotistically for its and his own

separate sake, as though enjoyment was something to be filched from

life by his own unaided strength and with a sense of separatedness;

but his life and all its activities are conceived as part of the

Divine action in Nature (Shakti) manifesting and operating in the form

of man. He realises in the pulsating beat of his heart the rhythm

which throbs through and is the song of the Universal Life. To neglect

or to deny the needs of the body, to think of it as something not

divine, is to neglect and deny the greater life of which it is a part,

and to falsify the great doctrine of the unity of all and of the

ultimate identity of Matter and Spirit. Governed by such a concept,

even the lowliest physical needs take on a cosmic significance. The

body is Shakti; its needs are Shakti & #8217;s needs. When man enjoys, it is

Shakti who enjoys through him. In all he sees and does, it is the

Mother who looks and acts, His eyes and hands are Hers. The whole body

and all its functions are Her manifestations. To fully realise Her as

such is to perfect this particular manifestation of Hers which is

himself. Man when seeking to be the master of himself, seeks so on all

the planes physical, mental and spiritual nor can they be severed, for

they are all related, being but differing aspects of the one

all-pervading Consciousness. Who, it may be asked, is the more divine;

he who neglects and spurns the body or mind that he may attain some

fancied spiritual superiority, or he who rightly cherishes both as

forms of the one Spirit which they clothe? Realisation is more

speedily and truly attained by discerning Spirit in and as all being

and its activities, then by fleeing from and casting these aside as

being either unspiritual or illusory and impediments in the path. If

not rightly conceived, they may be impediments and the cause of fall;

otherwise they become instruments of attainment; and what others are

there to hand? And so, when acts are done in the fight feeling and

frame of mind (Bhava), those acts give enjoyment; and the repeated and

prolonged Bhava produces at length that divine experience

(Tattva-Jnana) which is Liberation. When the Mother is seen in all

things, She is at length realised as She who is beyond them all.

 

These general principles have their more frequent application in the

life of the world before entrance on the path of Yoga proper. The Yoga

here described is, however, also an application of these same

principles, in so far as it is claimed that thereby both Bhukti and

Mukti (enjoyment and liberation) are attained.

 

By the lower processes of Hatha Yoga it is sought to attain a perfect

physical body which will also be a wholly fit instrument by which the

mind may function. A perfect mind, again, approaches and, in Samadhi,

passes into Pure Consciousness itself. The Hatha Yogin thus seeks a

body which shall be as strong as steel, healthy, free from suffering

and therefore, long-lived. Master of the body he is & #8212;the master of both

life and death. His lustrous form enjoys the vitality of youth. He

lives as long as he has the will to live and enjoys in the world of

forms. His death is the death at will (Iccha-Mrityu); wheh making the

great and wonderfully expressive gesture of dissolution,

(Samhara-Mudra) he grandly departs. But, it may be said, the Hatha

Yogins do get sick and die. In the first place, the full discipline is

one of difficulty and risk, and can only be pursued under the guidance

of a skilled Guru. Unaided and unsuccessful practice may lead not only

to disease, but death. He who seeks to conquer the Lord of death

incurs the risk, on failure, of a more speedy conquest by Him. All who

attempt this Yoga do not, of course, succeed or meet with the same

measure of success. Those who fail not only incur the infirmities of

ordinary men, but also others brought on by practices which have been

ill-pursued or for which they are not fit. Those again who do succeed,

do so in varying degrees. One may prolong his life to the sacred age

of 84, others to 100, others yet further. In theory at least those who

are perfected (Siddhas) go from this plane when they will. All have

not the same capacity or opportunity, through want of will, bodily

strength, or circumstance. All may not be willing or able to follow

the strict rules necessary for success. Nor does modern life offer in

general the opportunities for so complete a physical culture. All men

may not desire such a life or may think the attainment of it not worth

the trouble involved. Some may wish to be rid of their body and that

as speedily as possible. It is, therefore, said that it is easier to

gain Liberation than Deathlessness! The former may be had by

unselfishness, detachment from the world, moral and mental discipline.

But to conquer death is harder than this, for these qualities and acts

will not alone avail. He who does so conquer, holds life in the hollow

of one hand and, if he be a successful (Siddha) Yogin, Liberation in

the other hand. He has Enjoyment and Liberation. He is the Emperor who

is Master of the World and the possessor of the Bliss which is beyond

all worlds. Therefore, it is claimed by the Hatha Yogin that every

Sadhana is inferior to Hatha Yoga!

 

The Hatha Yogin who works for Liberation does so through Laya Yoga

Sadhana or Kundalini Yoga which gives both enjoyment and Liberation.

At every centre to which he rouses Kundalini he experiences special

form of Bliss and gains special powers. Carrying Her to Siva of his

cerebral centre, he enjoys the Supreme Bliss which in its nature is

that of Liberation, and which when established in permanence is

Liberation itself on the loosening of Spirit and Body.

 

Energy (Shakti) polarises itself into two forms, namely, static or

potential (Kundalini), and dynamic (the working forces of the body as

Prana). Behind all activity there is a static background. This static

centre in the human body is the central Serpent Power in the Muladhara

(root-support). It is the power which is the static support (Adhara)

of the whole body and all its moving Pranic forces. This Centre

(Kendra) of Power is a gross form of Chit or Consciousness; that is,

in itself (Svarupa), it is Consciousness; and by appearance it is a

Power which, as the highest form of Force, is a manifestation of it.

Just as there is a distinction (though identical at base) between the

Supreme Quiescent Consciousness and Its active Power (Shakti), so when

Consciousness manifests as Energy (Sakti), it possesses the twin

aspects of potential and kinetic Energy. There can be no partition in

fact of Reality. To the perfect eye of the Siddha the process of

becoming is an ascription (Adhyasa). But to the imperfect eye of the

Sadhaka, that is, the aspirant for Siddhi (perfected accomplishment),

to the spirit which is still toiling through the lower planes and

variously identifying itself with them, becoming is tending to appear

and an appearance is real. The Kundalini Yoga is a rendering of

Vedantic Truth from this practical point of view, and represents the

world-process as a polarisation in Consciousness itself. This polarity

as it exists in, and as, the body is destroyed by Yoga which disturbs

the equilibrium of bodily consciousness, which consciousness is the

result of the maintenance of these two poles. The human body, the

potential pole of Energy which is the Supreme Power, is stirred to

action, upon which the moving forces (dynamic Shakti) supported by it

are drawn thereto, and the whole dynamism thus engendered moves

upwards to unite with the quiescent Consciousness in the Highest Lotus.

 

There is polarisation of Shakti into two forms & #8212;static and dynamic. In

the mind or experience this polarisation is patent to reflection;

namely, the polarity between pure Chit and the Stress which is

involved in it. This Stress or Shakti develops the mind through an

infinity of forms and changes in the pure unbounded Ether of

Consciousness & #8212;the Chidakasa. This analysis exhibits the primordial

Shakti in the same two polar forms as before, static and dynamic. Here

the polarity is most fundamental and approaches absoluteness, though

of course, it is to be remembered that there is no absolute rest

except in pure Chit. Cosmic energy is in an equilibrium which is

relative and not absolute.

 

Passing from mind, let us take matter. The atom of modern science has

ceased to be an atom in the sense of an indivisible unit of matter.

According to the electron theory, the atom is a miniature universe

resembling our solar system. At the centre of this atomic system we

have a charge of positive electricity around which a cloud of negative

charges called electrons revolve. The positive charges hold each other

in check so that the atom is in a condition of equilibrated energy and

does not ordinarily break up, though it may do so on the dissociation

which is the characteristic of all matter, but which is so clearly

manifest in the radioactivity of radium. We have thus here again, a

positive charge at rest at the centre, and negative charges in motion

round about the centre. What is thus said about the atom applies to

the whole cosmic system and universe. In the world-system, the planets

revolve around the Sun, and that system itself is probably (taken as a

whole) a moving mass around some other relatively static centre, until

we arrive at the Brahma-Bindu which is the point of Absolute Rest,

around which all forms revolve and by which all are maintained.

Similarly, in the tissues of the living body, the operative energy is

polarised into two forms of energy & #8212;anabolic and catabolic, the one

tending to change and the other to conserve the tissues; the actual

condition of the tissues being simply the resultant of these two

co-existent or concurrent activities.

 

In short, Shakti, when manifesting, divides itself into two polar

aspects & #8212;static and dynamic & #8212;which implies that you cannot have it in

a

dynamic form without at the same time having it in a static form, much

like the poles of a magnet. In any given sphere of activity of force,

we must have, according to the cosmic principle of a static

back-ground & #8212;Shakti at rest or & #8220;coiled & #8221;. This scientific truth

is

illustrated in the figure Kali, the Divine Mother moving as the

Kinetic Shakti on the breast of Sadasiva who is the static background

of pure Chit which is actionless, the Gunamayi Mother being all activity.

 

The Cosmic Shakti is the collectivity (Samashti) in relation to which

the Kundalini in particular bodies is the Vyashti (individual) Shakti.

The body is, as I have stated, a microcosm (Kshudrabrahmanda). In the

living body there is, therefore, the same polarisation of which I have

spoken. From the Mahakundalini the universe has sprung. In Her Supreme

Form She is at rest, coiled round and one (as Chidrupini) with the

Siva-bindu. She is then at rest. She next uncoils Herself to manifest.

Here the three coils of which the Kundalini Yoga speaks are the three

Gunas and the three and a half coil are the Prakriti and its three

Gunas, together with the Vikritis. Her 50 coils are the letters of the

Alphabet. As she goes on uncoiling, the Tattvas and the Matrikas, the

Mother of the Varnas, issue from Her. She is thus moving, and

continues even after creation to move in the Tattvas so created. For,

as they are born of movement, they continue to move. The whole world

(Jagat), as the Sanskrit term implies, is moving. She thus continues

creatively acting until She has evolved Prithvi, the last of the

Tattvas. First She creates mind, and then matter. This latter becomes

more and more dense. It has been suggested that the Mahabhutas are the

Densities of modern science: & #8212;Air density associated with the maximum

velocity of gravity; Fire density associated with the velocity of

light; Water or fluid density associated with molecular velocity and

the equatorial velocity of the earth & #8217;s rotation; and Earth density,

that of basalt associated with the Newtonian velocity of sound.

However this be, it is plain that the Bhutas represent an increasing

density of matter until it reaches its three dimensional solid form.

When Shakti has created this last or Prithvi Tattva, what is there

further for Her to do? Nothing. She therefore then again rests. At

rest, again, means that She assumes a static form. Shakti, however, is

never exhausted, that is, emptied into any of its forms. Therefore,

Kundalini Shakti at this point is, as it were, the Shakti left over

(though yet a plenum) after the Prithvi, the last of the Bhutas, has

been created. We have thus Mahakundalini at rest as Chidrupini Shakti

in the Sahasrara, the point of absolute rest; and then the body in

which the relative static centre is Kundalini at rest, and around this

centre the whole of the bodily forces move. They are Shakti, and so is

Kundalini Shakti. The difference between the two is that they are

Shaktis in specific differentiated forms in movement; and Kundalini

Shakti is undifferentiated, residual Shakti at rest, that is, coiled.

She is coiled in the Muladhara, which means & #8216;fundamental support & #8217;,

and

which is at the same time the seat of the Prithvi or last solid Tattva

and of the residual Shakti or Kundalini. The body may, therefore, be

compared to a magnet with two poles. The Muladhara, in so far as it is

the seat of Kundalini Shakti, a comparatively gross form of Chit

(being Chit-Shakti and Maya Shakti), is the static pole in relation to

the rest of the body which is dynamic. The working that is the body

necessarily presupposes and finds such a static support, hence the

name Muladhara. In sense, the static Sakti at the Muladhara is

necessarily coexistent with the creating and evolving Shakti of the

body; because the dynamic aspect or pole can never be without its

static counterpart. In another sense, it is the residual Shakti left

over after such operation.

 

What then happens in the accomplishment of this Yoga? This static

Shakti is affected by Pranayama and other Yogic processes and becomes

dynamic. Thus, when completely dynamic, that is when Kundalini unites

with Siva in the Sahasrara, the polarisation of the body gives way.

The two poles are united in one and there is the state of

consciousness called Samadhi. The polarisation, of course, takes place

in consciousness. The body actually continues to exist as an object of

observation to others. It continues its organic life. But man & #8217;s

consciousness of his body and all other objects is withdrawn because

the mind has ceased so far as his consciousness is concerned, the

function having been withdrawn into its ground which is consciousness.

 

How is the body sustained? In the first place, though Kundalini Sakti

is the static centre of the whole body as a complete conscious

organism, yet each of the parts of the body and their constituent

cells have their own static centres which uphold such parts or cells.

Next, the theory of the Yogins themselves is that Kundalini ascends

and that the body, as a complete organism, is maintained by the nectar

which flows from the union of Siva and Sakti in the Sahasrara. This

nectar is an ejection of power generated by their union. The potential

Kundalini Sakti becomes only partly and not wholly converted into

kinetic Sakti; and yet since Sakti & #8212;even as given in the Muladhara & #8212;is

an infinitude, it is not depleted; the potential store always remains

unexhausted. In this case, the dynamic equivalent is a partial

conversion of one mode of energy into another. If, however, the coiled

power at the Muladhara became absolutely uncoiled, there would result

the dissolution of the three bodies & #8212;gross, subtle and causal, and

consequently, Videha-Mukti, bodiless Liberation & #8212;because the static

background in relation to a particular form of existence would,

according to this hypothesis, have wholly given way. The body becomes

cold as a corpse as the Sakti leaves it, not due to the depletion or

privation of the static power at the Muladhara but to the

concentration or convergence of the dynamic power ordinarily diffused

over the whole body, so that the dynamic equivalent which is set up

against the static background of Kundalini Sakti is only the diffused

fivefold Prana gathered home & #8212;withdrawn from the other tissues of the

body and concentrated along the axis. Thus, ordinarily, the dynamic

equivalent is the Prana diffused over all the tissues: in Yoga, it is

converged along the axis, the static equivalent of Kundalini Sakti

enduring in both cases. Some part of the already available dynamic

Prana is made to act at the base of the axis in a suitable manner, by

which means the basal centre or Muladhara becomes, as it were,

oversaturated and reacts on the whole diffused dynamic power (or

Prana) of the body by withdrawing it from the tissues and converging

it along the line of the axis. In this way, the diffused dynamic

equivalent becomes the converged dynamic equivalent along the axis.

What, according to this view, ascends is not the whole Sakti but an

eject like condensed lightning, which at length reaches the

Parama-Sivasthana. There the Central Power which upholds the

individual world-Consciousness is merged in the Supreme Consciousness.

The limited consciousness, transcending the passing concepts of

worldly life, directly intuits the unchanging Reality which underlies

the whole phenomenal flow. When Kundalini Sakti sleeps in the

Muladhara, man is awake to the world; when she awakes to unite, and

does unite, with the supreme static Consciousness which is Siva, then

consciousness is asleep to the world and is one with the Light of all

things.

 

The main principle is that when awakened, Kundalini Sakti, either

Herself or Her eject, ceases to be a static Power which sustains the

world-consciousness, the content of which is held only so long as She

sleeps; and when once set in movement is drawn to that other static

centre in the Thousand-petalled Lotus (Sahasrara) which is Herself in

union with the Siva-consciousness or the consciousness of ecstasy

beyond the world of form. When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to this

world. When She wakes, he sleeps & #8212;that is, loses all consciousness of

the world and enters his causal body. In Yoga, he passes beyond to

formless Consciousness.

 

Glory, glory to Mother Kundalini, who through Her Infinite Grace and

Power, kindly leads the Sadhaka from Chakra to Chakra and illumines

his intellect and makes him realise his identity with the Supreme

Brahman! May Her blessings be upon you all!