Yo urs truly

This thread is NOT being opened to start a discussion. It is the collection of my ( Soja John Thaikattil ) contribution as a Kundalini ‘outsider’ to the Kundalini forum on various threads (29 May 2002 – 16 July 2002):

Kundalini and Psychic Attack (Stephen)
Kundalini and Psychic Attack continued
Third Blue Eye (Jon)
Kundalini - Who/What can Help (long) (by Kurt Keutzer)
Kundalini - A Consilient View

It is also a summary of the rudimentary information on the topic that I was able to gather since then and my personal reflections on them. They are meant only to serve as food for reflection.

Acknowledgements:

I am greatly blessed to have had Dom Bede Griffiths OSB (Cam) as my ‘Guru’ and spiritual father (1984-1993). His unconditional love for me and for everyone who came to him; his openness to all that is good and true in all people, cultures and religions; his simple life filled with the power of personal holiness, taught me what no book could have ever taught me.

I’m grateful to all the people who have influenced my life in one way or another with their love and wisdom.

My special appreciation goes to Kurt Keutzer , who responded to my email, gave me honest feedback about the discussion and made himself available to answer questions on Kundalini by opening the thread : ‘Kundalini – Who/What can Help (long)’.

I’m deeply grateful to Fr. Thomas Keating , who answered my email and shared his knowledge of treatment of Kundalini disease.

My special thanks goes to Darshani, The Divine Life Society, India who answered all the questions I put to her on Kundalini.

My particular appreciation goes to Fr. Ronnie Prabhu S.J., who directed my request for information on Kundalini to three experts.

My special thanks to Fr. G. Gispert-Sauch S.J., who advised me to read Marcea Eliade’s book ‘Yoga and Immortality’ and pointed me to two sources of reliable information.

Last but by no means the least, my thanks to Phil , for allowing me to participate in his discussion and for his encouragement and support when I started to collect information and ask him questions on the topic.

My source of information: The discussions in which I participated on this forum; Sri Swami Sivananda’s book ‘Kundalini Yoga’ ; Quotes from the book ‘ Taming the Kundalini’ Swami Satyananda Saraswati (of Deoghar) as was published on a website; the answers I received to the questions I posed to Phil, Kurt Keutzer, Fr. Thomas Keating (his introduction to Phil’s book on Kundalini was a valuable source of information too), Darshani, and Fr. G. Gispert-Sauch S.J.; articles on the website of the Kundalini Network and Information, Sweden – eg. Pitfalls on the Spiritual Road by Marja Savola, her quotes from George Arundale ‘s book 'Kundalini - an Occult Experience' and C.G.Jung’s book “Memoirs, Dreams, Reflections’. For further information Fr. Gispert-Sauch SJ recommends Marcea Eliade and his book ‘Yoga and Immortality’ (I am yet to read it though).
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From : ‘ Taming the Kundalini’ by Swami Satyananda Saraswathi (of Deoghar)

Kundalini - It is asleep. It is silent. ‘Its aspect is gross. Its element is Prithivi (earth) Tattva. Tamoguna is its covering. It is like a hidden fire which can only be kindled by the force of spiritual power. As long as the inner mind remains gross or externalized, it sleeps. It can be awakened by soul force or by will. But this is not the only means. It may be regarded as one of the methods…

If the consciousness is on the lower plane and the inner being is distracted then it sleeps; if the consciousness dwells within, the inner being concentrated, then it starts moving. The original form of the serpent power is coved by ignorance…

The serpent power is filled with divine powers (Siddhi-s) at the time of awakening; when aroused it remains in an angry mood…

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From : Kundalini Yoga by Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswathi

Kundalini Yoga actually belongs to Tantrik Sadhana ‘Neither in philosophy nor in its prescription of methods of Raja Yoga mentions about Kundalini’ 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. 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. 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. When a man practises Yogic Kriyas, naturally various kinds of Siddhis are acquired. The Siddhis are hindrances to Realisation. The Yogi should not at all care for these Siddhis, if he wants to advance further and get the highest realisation, the final Goal. He who runs after Siddhis will become the biggest house-holder and a worldly-minded man…

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My personal reflections:

SPIRITUAL PRACTICE TRIGGERED DISEASES – KUNDALINI & CO

When Hindus coined the term, Kundalini, before the birth of Christ, they did not have the Holy Spirit in mind. Hindus do not refer to all spirits and all energies as Kundalini either. Hindus mean something very specific by the term kundalini. They have a large vocabulary to describe other energies and other spirits and gods.

The Hindus refer to the Kundalini symbolically as a snake, a snake that lies asleep and dormant and is awakened only by spiritual practice. In its unevolved form it is covered by ignorance and is in an angry mood when awakened. The kundalini needs to be tamed. (Satyananda Saraswathi of Deogar). Kundalini yoga and ‘Shaktipath’ (direct transmission by laying on of hands by a ‘Guru’ are the direct methods of awakening kundalini. It can however be awakened indirectly by any method/spiritual practice that raises the level of consciousness. Kundalini yoga is an integral part of Tantric yoga , and as a means of obtaining union with God, it is a risky spiritual path.

The only Hindu term that can be interchanged with Christian God the Father is Brahman , the creator of all gods, spirits and energies. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of the Risen Jesus Christ and is not therefore interchangeable with the term Kundalini. The coming of the Holy Spirit was marked by miracles and healing, not diseases. Christians do not tame the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit tries to tame us to the extent we allow Him. Kundalini is referred to by the Hindu as the creative energy in the universe which manifests itself as the sexual energy in the human being in its unevolved form and as creative energy in its subtler form. Therefore one may suppose that kundalini is spiritually energised libido that acts through the medium of the ego. It enhances the ego functions, and therefore has the potential to inflate it. Hence the need to tame the kundalini. Being spiritual in nature, it dissolves/ruptures ego/psychic boundaries and inhibitions and to some people it gives access to the world of spirits. When psychic boundaries get dissolved, latent problems emerge (Fr. Thomas Keating refers to it as the unloading of the unconscious; ref also CG Jung's psychoanalytic insights; M. Eliade probably wrote about it as well). When psychic boundaries get gradually dissolved, the unloading of the unconscious is not a problem as the person is able to integrate the unconscious material gradually. But if the psychic boundaries are ruptured due to faulty /too intense practice, then the person cannot deal with the flooding of unconscious material. When access is gained to the outside world of spirits, strange spiritual experiences result and some may acquire psychic powers. Using psychic powers/Siddhis is a hindrance along the spiritual path, as use of such powers are prone to inflate the ego and misuse is not uncommon. The emergence of the witness consciousness due to spiritual practice, enables the kundalini aroused to witness other parts/personalities of their psyche as an observer. The reason why 'spiritual madness' can be witnessed by the person who suffers from it?

Kundalini awakening is NOT the mark of spiritual enlightenment, it simply indicates that a powerful spiritual element has been accessed which can/must then be guided to its highest spiritual potential, resulting in enlightenment/liberation/union with God. What makes kundalini unique as a spiritual entity is its intrinsic association with the libido. One can say that tantric yoga arouses the kundalini/libido to use it as the vehicle of focus for liberation. But only a purified libido acting through a purified ego can serve as a vehicle of focus for liberation, union with the divine. Kundalini is referred to as a purifying energy, only potentially divine in that sense.

The Hindus use the snake as a symbol for the kundalini. In Christianity Satan came in the form of a snake to Eva. Do the symbols in both religions mean different things? In Christianity the devil is referred to as the tempter and purifier. Kundalini is considered a purifier in Hinduism, taming it is considered a tough and dangerous business. Christians would say the devil is a good servant but a poor master. Satan told Jesus that he would give Him everything in the world if He would only worship him. The devil cannot create anything, so the human libido is the most powerful creative force he has at his disposal.

Is Kundalini an evil energy? A Hindu does not think so. It is the use of the energy that makes the difference. (After all what makes a person evil is the lack of love and therefore there are Christian fanatics who are totally evil!) Is it only misuse of kundalini that makes it evil? Even a normal libido is so hard to control and not misuse, then what about a libido which has been energised spiritually and endowed with psychic powers! What does the purifying nature of the energy indicate?

How does one explain the unique epileptic style tremors that certain kundalini diseased manifest? Would a kundalini victim be better helped if put on anti-epileptic treatment rather than anti-psychotic treatment? Does it mean that the person has opened up to a spiritual world and is possessed by an external spirit, in some cases perhaps? Or is it just a mental disease that has not been named? These are questions I will leave to the experts to answer.

Kundalini may be used for occult purposes as any spiritual practice/intense concentration exercise aimed at accessing the spiritual world may be used for occult purposes. Any spiritual energy that does not submit to God can become an occult power but it is the human being who decides whether to submit the energies accessed, to God or use them in occult ways. Mainstream Hinduism does not pay attention to kundalini, which is the proof that it is possible to be liberated, attain enlightenment, achieve union with God, by ignoring kundalini.

Only Kundalini Yoga, which is an integral part of Tantric Yoga seeks to awaken the kundalini directly. Tantric yoga does not belong to mainstream Hinduism. Tantric practices exist in Buddhism too and is not a part of mainstream Buddhism. There are possibly similar practices in Chinese and Japanese religious traditions - any spiritual practice that focusses on forcefully awakening the libido. Besides certain yogic practices/ physical exercises that forcefully awaken the kundalini/spiritually energised libido, kundalini is awakened directly by direction transmission of energy by laying of hands - 'Shaktipath'. It is not yet fully understood how such direct awakening takes place.

However kundalini may awaken indirectly as a result of any spiritual practice that raises the level of consciousness. Only a faulty arousal, mostly due to faulty practice, combined with the vulnerability of the individual causes the disease, which is the topic of discussion here.

Kundalini imbalance/disease which is being discussed on the forum is due to the faulty arousal of kundalini. The disease has specific symptoms. It is the bastard offshoot of a heavenly plant, which sucks up the nutrients of the heavenly plant. It is not the inevitable consequence of a spiritual path, anymore than falling off a mountain due to poor base camp training is the inevitable hurdle of a mountaineer. Therefore it is essential to uproot the bastard offshoot as often as it arises, in order to let the heavenly plant to grow.

Those who claim that every transcental phenomena, however transient and unrelated, is kundalini, do it because they lack imagination. It is like a scientist calling every gas oxygen on the grounds that all gases are invisible and therefore deserve to be called oxygen. It is essential to define kundalini correctly, to know what the Hindu meant by it and what its unique properties are. It is necessary to define kundalini correctly in order that the disease maybe diagnosed correctly. It is necessary to demystify and 'decult' kundalini. A Hindu is NOT confused by the term kundalini, he does NOT refer to all transcedental phenomena as kundalini. He is not confused about what causes the symptoms of the disease being described and knows of ways and means to cure the disease. Some cases are resistant to traditional treatment. It would be important to find out the exact course of the disease in such a case and determine the unique circumstances surrounding it.

On this discussion board, a cure is being sought from a Christian perspective. One can learn much from what a Hindu and other religions traditions familiar with the disease have to say. The disease seems understandingly overwhelming to the person suffering from it. A certain lack of objectivity in perception is to be expected. That simply means one must be open to collecting information from reliable sources outside the 'kundalini anonymous' groups.

Christian spirituality can be considered a combination of Bhakti Yoga (path of devotion), Jnana Yoga (path of knowledge) and Karma Yoga (path of selfless service), which focuses on the heart and intellect, does not seek to awaken the kundalini, and when kundalini is awakened indirectly, it does so imperceptibly and in its evolved creative form.

The reason why kundalini like experiences are missing in Christian literature, as Fr. Thomas Keating says, is probably because ordinary Christian spiritual practice does not raise the level of consciousness in an intense fashion. The religious who do indulge in more intense prayer, do so in the controlled and monitored environment of a community, monastery or convent; live a balanced life and do not indulge in spiritual practices aimed at awakening the kundalini. When it is awakened at all, then it is indirectly awakened and does not create a havoc as it awakened gradually and most probably manifests itself in a more subtle and evolved form. Ordinary Christian religious practices do not lead to intense and rapid rise in level of consciousness as the concentration/body excercise techniques used in eastern practices. Whatever the differences, one thing is certain, that Christianity has no term that is equivalent to kundalini because Christianity does not choose to name all energies and spirits. If mainstream Hinduism can get by without bothering about Kundalini, why shouldn't Christianity? Christianity simply focusses on the Holy Spirit and does not pay much attention to the lesser world of spirits, although the presence of good and evil spirits are acknowledged, and some angels have been named.

Classical yoga : Patanjali is the acknowledged master in all that has to do with yoga, but he does not deal with kundalini. Yoga postures/asanas and breathing techniques/pranayama, which serve only as a preparation of the body and mind for its divine quest, are only two of the eight aspects of raja yoga which leads to liberation/enlightenment/union with the divine: Ref: B.K.S. Iyengar.
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"In these days people talk glibly about "Christian Yoga". This is in fact an unfortunate expression that leads to much confusion. In fact the word yoga is either being used in a very general sense for any ascetic method, in which case one could equally well talk of Ignatian or Carmelite yoga; or else it is used to refer to the traditional yoga of India, such as has just been defined - but the it is hard to see what kind of religious qualification it could possibly have. In itself there can no more be a "Christian" yoga than there could be Christian logic or Christian gymnastics. We can of course use certain detached elements of classical yoga in Christian ascetic practice; but to call that "Christian Yoga" is simply a misuse of the language. On the other hand, we can use Christian invocations in place of Hindu or Buddhist mantras (i.e. formulas, whose use is anyhow always optional) in the course of various exercises, or even use Christian pictures or symbols for fixing the attention when practising concentration; but all that only has to do with a very superficial level of yogic discipline, and has no right whatever to be called Christian yoga. Genuine yoga aims at stopping the formation of concepts and immobilizing the mental flux, so that every image or thought may disappear, whether Hindu, Buddhist or Christian...The mental emptimess which is the object of yoga is not, however, sought for its own sake... Once the mental process have been stopped and the mind emptied of its volatile contents, something seems to rise up from the depths of being...This is the discovery of my own true identity within the mystery of God...Christian spirituality should at least take one point from yoga - its seeking by one means or another to establish that silence of mind and thought which is the essential prerequisite for a full inner awakening. Only such a silence in fact allows the Holy Spirit to act freely in the soul..." -- Abhishiktananda

"Spiritual paths differ from one another according to the vehicle of focus. For example, in Bhakti Yoga, the spiritual heart becomes purified, so the heart becomes the source of spiritual energy. In Jnana Yogi, the vehicle of practice is the Buddhi or the intellect. Thus, intellect becomes the source of spiritual energy. As Kundalini Yoga works directly with the coiled up power in the body, the vehicle of focus is this power itself as It passes from chakra to chakra...If there are impurities in the body, such as residues of lust or anger contained within the lower chakras, these will manifest with enormous force as the Kundalini awakens that area...Faulty arousal of kundalini can trigger abnormal reactions because it brings to the surface whatever unresolved emotional residues are contained within the awakened Chakra." - Darshani, The Divine Life Society, India

"Probably the chief advice is not to resist the rising of the energy and to moderate the amount of time given to meditative practices when the symptoms are present. Some effort to balance the energies in the body seem to help some persons also. Yet each case is distinct and also has a variety of phases. One thing all experts agree upon is not deliberately to awaken the energies or to stimulate it once it is awakened. For most Christians on the spiritual journey that I know, the kundalini energy evolves unnoticeably and manifests more in interior stages of prayer such as the dark nights, than in external manifestations." - Fr. Thomas Keating

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I believe that since intense spiritual journeys have the same ultimate goal, they must have many things in common, although some aspects may be unique, some emphasising one aspect more than the other and the vocabulary used being different in each tradition.

So far in my spiritual journey, I know of no Avatar, Guru or Enlightened One greater than Jesus Christ, no person in human history who was powerful, pure and sane as Jesus was, who claimed to be Saviour and Lord and proved it by transforming the lives of millions who chose to follow Him since He made His claim. Jesus is the Divine Healer, who has been given all power in Heaven and on earth by God, therefore it is wise to trust in His healing power and surrender to Him completely without fear.

What I have to share on this thread, in the form of suggestions, is as an ordinary person, not a specialist of any kind, least of all a kundalini specialist. Trust the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow only what is good for you, but do be open to all that is good and true. In trying to tackle the problem of Kundalini imbalance, the idea that I tried to put across was/reiterate now is to: Focus on the Person of Jesus and His healing power: surrender to Him, build a living relationship to Him and renew it everyday and take active steps towards holistic healing - body, emotions, thought patterns and spiritual health. Kundalini vocabulary is irrelevant to the healing process as all symptoms can be described in terms of how it effects the body, emotions and mind. Even in Kundalini circles there are so many different interpretations of specialised kundalini vocabulary and mainstream Hindu philosophy, where Kundalini plays almost no role, has others.

Spiritual paths have certain common rules applicable to all. Yes there is something very unique about kundalini but it is not a uniqueness that is beyond the comprehension of those familiar with the psycho-spiritual-dynamics of spiritual journeys. The uniqueness of kundalini, which is its intrinsic association with the libido, makes it imperative for the those with a faulty kundalini arousal (for everyone for that matter) to integrate their sexuality consciously and with particular care.

Based on all the information collected so far, I conclude that steps towards healing can be summarised as:

* It is taken for granted that those who seek healing in the Christian tradition are not simultaneously trying to control kundalini with kundalini/tantric yoga or any practice that seeks to awaken the kundalini directly. (Darshani of DLS suggested that all with kundalini problems should choose a milder spiritual path if kundalini yoga was the cause of their disease .

* Cut down/cut out any spiritual practice that causes or aggravates symptoms

* Seek the best medical help/alternative holistic method to relieve symptoms

* Do not invest energy in resisting the strange experiences being referred to as 'psychic attacks' - they always pass; they are best endured and ignored. Do not analyse, classify or pass moral judgements on them either. Do not be terrified by bad experiences or be lured by pleasant ones. None of these experiences are a real indicator of your spiritual growth .

* First aid for psychic attacks is getting back to body consciousness as quickly as one has the control to do so. Any kind of physical activity that shifts focus from the psychic experience and does not raise energy levels rapidly is suitable - slow walking, cleaning, warm bath, body massage etc. to name a few. Calling out the name of Jesus/chanting scripture is a great way to calm fears as soon as one is able to exercise one's will after the acute episode has passed.

* Expect latent problems to emerge: Spiritual mania ‘Messiah Complex’ and sexual addiction may be two of them. ("Anger, lust, greed, jealousy and hatred will always lurk in your subconscious mind. Beware! Be cautious. Be vigilant. Be alert. Eradicate them. Otherwise they will gain strength and crush you later on and swallow all your sadhana." - Swami Sivananda) Deal with emotional problems and distorted thinking patterns that surface with appropriate psychological methods that have been developed for the purpose (cognitive behavioural therapy and Ira Progoff's, intensive journal writing being two examples ). If emotional/mental problems emerge that you can't cope with on your own, then consult a professional. Don't try self-diagnosis and don't wait until you have mastered DSM-IV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases - the classical textbook prescribed for psychiatrists and other professionals dealing with mental problems)!

* Strive towards holistic healing - body, emotions, thought patterns and spiritual goals. Read the books on it written for the general public. Give up the notion that only when a kundalini insider writes for the kundalini public, then the advice is worth considering seriously. You are the only loser if you deny yourself the benefit of the wisdom gained by kundalini outsiders.

* Live a balanced and harmonious life in which spiritual values and a moderate spiritual practice is an integral part.

* Among the best guides to holistic living :

Deepak Chopra's:

Perfect Health - The Complete Mind, Body Guide

Quantum Healing

Andrew Weil's:

8 Weeks to Optimum Health

Eating Well for Optimum Health

* Read all the four books/take your pick to suit your taste/choose other authors, and/or read others to expand your knowledge. Mastering the encyclopaedia on alternative therapies to put together your own holistic programme is an alternative but not necessarily a time saving one .

* Meditation should not be chosen as the preferred spiritual practice, if it causes/aggravates kundalini symptoms. Meditation, even when it is practised should not be one sided. It should go hand in hand with scripture reading, reflection, prayer and a conscious training of the mind and ego to live by spiritual laws as explained in scripture against the background of holistic care of body, emotions and mind.

* The Jesus prayer meditation that Fr Bede Griffiths practised, Centering Prayer as being taught by Fr Thomas Keating, John Main's mantra meditation, the spirituality of St. Ignatius are all examples of spiritual practice that one may choose from in the Christian tradition. I personally see great merit in Jesus prayer (not because I belong to an Eastern Catholic tradition or because Fr Bede Griffiths practised and introduced me to the prayer) or using a shorter version of it by concentrating on the name and person of Jesus and using the name in whatever language as a mantra (Namajapa), but only because the disciples used the name of Jesus when they worked their miracles. Don't we believe that the name of jesus has great power? Didn't Jesus Himself mention that his Name, which has been given by God has great power?

* The Divine Life Society, India has very good literature on the science of spiritual journeys. Those who are mature enough in their Christian beliefs, so as not to be confused about their Christian faith while reading advices from a Hindu, can learn much from them - the Hindus coined the term kundalini, remember? DLS does not seek to convert anyone to Hinduism.

* The watchword in everything is moderation and balance, especially since lack of moderaton causes/ aggravates symptoms in the vulnerable.

* Since the faulty arousal of kundalini is a spiritual practice triggered disease, the correct practice of a spiritual path is needed to rectify it completely. One will never know where one stands spiritually in the eyes of our all seeing God. The only barometer we have at our disposal is daily honest self-examination ( The Ignatian Exercises of the Jesuits are best suited to this purpose)- if our humility, love and compassion is increasing, then we can assume that our spiritual journey is headed in the direction of God. (1 John 4 : 20,21) but if spiritual practice is becoming an increasingly narcissistic preoccupation, then it is time to confront our ego-trip and self-deception and get back on the track with a beginner's mind.

* It is better to have the mind of a beginner no matter where we are on our spiritual journey, because it helps us to remain open without relying on our successes of the past or taking it for granted. Most importantly we do not lose courage because of our failures in the past as we begin new each time - each day and with every breath. We rely on God's grace, which is constant but new every moment as well. We cannot stock up on grace. We look up to God with trust and rely on it everyday, with every breath, like manna. God's grace and presence surrounds us like the air we breathe. But we must open our spiritual noses and lungs in humility and complete surrender to let that free grace in. Spiritual practices are designed to teach us that.

* Seek out a Christian spiritual counsellor/director for support and guidance. It is hoped that with time Christian pastoral counsellors will gain knowledge/specialise in counselling/offering specific spiritual guidance to kundalini victims. Encourage your spiritual counsellor/director to gain rudimentary knowledge of kundalini, so that she/he can help you without any additional/specialised training .

* The path is the goal both in holistic healing and spiritual journey. As St. Ignatius advised: Act as if success depended totally on one’s effort and then leave the results in God's hands as if the success of one’s work depended totally on Him.

Kurt Keutzer wrote the following on the thread he opened ‘Kundalini - Who/what can help (long)’ in response to my request to comment on the Kundalini discussion:

Kurt Keutzer Junior Member Member # 199 posted 07-18-2002 05:10PM

Hello all - someone has been asking me my opinion on a couple questions and I thought I'd trial balloon my answers here - tell me what you think. I'm new to this group so I hope these comments are not too irrelevant to this group.

Q1: I'm having a difficult kundalini awakening - who can help?

I have a number of experiences of the kundalini awakened directly intervening in my energetic system to smooth or ease psychologically or physically disturbing kundalini experiences.

Some individuals have relayed to me that simply sitting in the presence of an individual with a balanced and mature awakening can smooth things out. Others have found relief with qi gong masters and other adepts of energetic practices.

Q2: Can't I get some relief from difficult kundalini symptoms from a psychologist, doctor, or therapist - or get some support and guidance from my own religious organization?

When kundalini awakens it begins to purify the individual of whatever blocks them from being fully liberated. These blocks, physical or psychological, certainly come within the realm of concerns of traditional psychology, medicine, or religion. However, because the manner of purification (e.g. tremors and movements or visions) is sufficiently outside the norm of traditional medicine, psychology, or traditional religions, even benevolent advice or direction may not feel to be of much benefit.

A few examples of my own may help.

I once sought guidance about difficult kundalini experiences from an experienced Tibetan Lama. He replied: ``Were I to assemble all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times they could not offer you better advice than to practice bodhicitta (the aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of all living beings).''

Another time, during an intensive Zen Sesshin (retreat) I reported energetic difficulties to a Roshi who replied: ``don't focus on the movement of your own energy, focus on the energy of the universe.''

Retrospectively the given advice was impeccable but it still didn't help me because I simply didn't feel it met my experience. I would conclude that until a kundalini awakened individual comes to deeply and fully trust their own kundalini unfoldment, they would do best to seek the guidance of an individual that is considerably more mature in their kundalini awakening.

Posts: 1 | From: Berkeley, CA | Registered: Jul 2002 | IP: Logged

One of the websites I looked up after I left the discussion in order to inform myself about Kundalini apart from Kurt Keutzer’s answers to Kundalini - FAQ:

http://kundalini-info.org/engbrosch.html

From the article, Pitfalls on the Spiritual Road by Marja Savola (available on the above website), I quoted George Arundale and CG Jung:

George Arundale ‘s (taken from his book 'Kundalini - an Occult Experience') (1878-1945, an English theosophist , president in the theosophical society 1934 after Annie Besant) determined point of view is that the wise let Kundalini be left in peace. He said, "The path of occultism, it is said, is strewn with wrecks. I venture to think that the path of the arousing of Kundalini, even if only in the first stages, is strewn with even more wrecks."

C.G.Jung wrote in his book “Memoirs, Dreams, Reflections’, based on his own experiments: "One often hears and reads about the dangers of Yoga, particularly of the ill-reputed Kundalini Yoga. The deliberately induced psychotic state, which in certain unstable individuals might easily lead to a real psychosis, is a danger that needs to be taken very seriously indeed. These things really are dangerous and ought not to be meddled with in our typically Western way. It is a meddling with Fate, which strikes at the very roots of human existence and can let loose a flood of sufferings of which no sane person ever dreamed. These sufferings correspond to the hellish torments of the ch�nyid state... "

Now, not only Kundalini yoga can trigger psychoses. There have proven to be risks also in other methods as TM and other forms of meditation, Rebirthing and other breathwork, Qi-gong, Reiki, healing, automatic writing, swing of a pendulum, channeling etc. All methods, that have the raising of consciousness as a purpose, or where one in some way lets go of control, have proven to have risks.
We shall not let go of our control! We shall be "masters in our own house"!
"It means a dissolution of the unity of the 'bardo-body', which is a kind of 'subtle' body, building up the visible envelope around the psychic I in the state after death. Psychologically, this mutilation corresponds to psychic dissolution. In its most pernicious form it is equal to schizophrenia (split personality). This the most usual of all mental illnesses consists mainly of a pronounced 'abaissement du niveau mental', which breaks down the normal control mechanisms forced upon us by our conscious thinking, and thereby giving the unconscious 'dominants' total freedom....It means that you sacrifice the stability of the I, and capitulates for the utmost incertitude in something that only can appear as a chaotic mess of fantasmagorias. "
My science was my means and my only possibility to free myself from this chaos. Otherwise the material would stick to me as burdocks and marsh plants... Sometimes the contents of the unconscious almost reduced me to loose my sense and reason."
The few eastern gurus, who themselves have managed, through different sorts of efforts and methods, experience a glimpse of higher spiritual worlds, KNOW that one has to pass the astral level, i.e. "the zone of the dead", on the way. If one then does not have competent guidance, there is a big risk that you get stuck there and attract "energies", from whom it can be very hard to free oneself. They can stick to our aura and the effect of that, every sensible person can figure out for herself. This is the reason why the eastern spiritual exercises have been a secret for thousands of years."

After reading the discussion, Kurt pointed out to me that I should have restricted myself to writing passive comments and avoided making an attempt to give advice and coach.

In my contribution in the forums I had mentioned/recommended:

I. Religious scripture :

1.The Holy Bible : especially The Gospel of John , Chapters 14-17 to read about the promises of Jesus Christ and His prayer for all His disciples, including us.
For moral guidance – The Ten ommandments (Exodus 20 : 1-17);
The Sermon on the Mount (Mathew chapters 5-7)
The Psalms and The New Testament , everyday scripture as spiritual food.

II.Hindu Scripture :
The Upanishads
The Bhagavadgita : A Christian commentary called - ‘ The River of Compassion’ by Dom Bede Griffiths http://www.bedegriffiths.com) and Mahatma Gandhi's verse by verse commentary - ‘ The Bhagavadgita

3.The Dhammapada

II. Writings of Christian mystics, , especially St. John of the Cross

III. Some of the well known, present day authors on Christian contemplation:

1.Dom Bede Griffiths ( Return to the Centre; The Cosmic Revelation – for explanation of Christianity in the context of other religions)
2.Thomas Keating
3.Basil Pennington
4.John Main
5.William Johnston
6.Thomas Merton

IV.Christian music (chants) from Taize , a Christian Community in France (CDs)

V.C.S.Lewis – The power of the free will of human beings as described in his books ‘ The Problem of Pain and ‘ The Great Divorce

VI. Oscar Wilde – ‘ The Canterville Ghost a delightfully witty story about how the different members of a Christian family deal with an evil spirit and how the purity, compassion and bravery of the young daughter finally brings the evil spirit to repentance, forgiveness, peace and eternal rest.

VII. Andrew Weil & Deepak Chopra for best available advice on mind-body care

VIII. B.K.S. Iyengar for Hatha Yoga, Pranayama (breathing techniques) and summary of mainstream yogic philosophy

IX. Chogyam Trungpa , ‘ Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism , for advice on dealing with spiritual ‘junki-ism’ and ego deceptions along the spiritual path

X. Fjodor M. Dostojewskij - Der Doppelgaenger (German title) &
Sylvia Nasar - A Beautiful Mind : To read descriptions of an insane mind

Some of the advice given by Dom Bede Griffiths:

"Recollect yourself in the presence of God everyday, if possible morning and evening. This can change your whole life. You can begin by reading the Gospel - the Sermon on the Mount or St. John's Gospel 14-17 so as to establish a living relationship with Christ. Then I suggest using the Jesus prayer or some other 'mantra' to bring the mind to stillness. This is the major need, to control the mind and get it 'centred'. It takes time and energy but if you can once bring the mind under control, you can organise your whole life. But this means also that you have to surrender your life to God. "Cast all your care on Him for He has care for you". This is fundamental. If you can once make the act of surrender and renew it daily, you will find that God will take over. Another power comes into one's life and takes charge of it.

"Meditation is very important. You have to learn to go beyond your physical and psychological conflicts to the deep centre where you discover your true self and the healing power of God's love. Try to sit quietly every day and try to recollect yourself and let all the conflicts subside using the Jesus prayer or whatever appeals to you. The healing power is there deep within you, but it cannnot work unless the mind becomes calm.

"My advice always is to try to give time to meditation - to recollect oneself in the presence of God. If one can establish an inner peace and renew it every day for half an hour or so, one can get the strength to face all the problems as they arise, and to realise that God is present in one's life. All these trials and difficulties will pass with time but one's relation to Christ as the indwelling Spirit remains constant and will survive all the trials of life.

"In prayer one has to open the heart in love, beyond all the fears and frustrations of this present world. There is infinite love behind and beyond all this, if one can only break through to it. You should read St. John's Gospel, especially chapters 14 to 17. "If anyone loves me, my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him". It is spoken to you.
"In a crisis the supreme need is to find the deep self which is always in touch with God and gives one an inner security and peace. Of course it is not easy...Meditation, just attending to God alone can make all the difference.

"Surrender your life to God. Become totally detached from all things and persons and open yourself to the total love of God which is going to be given to you and is going to transform your life. There is no doubt and no fear if you trust yourself completely to that love.”

Everything that is written here can be read in the context of the discussion in the forums mentioned above, no attempt has been made to add anything new.

It can be summed up as:

Strive for physical-emotional-mental-spiritual healing by seeking balance and the energies will take care of themselves, no matter what they are called. Jesus can heal everything, even a Kundalini imbalance. Do what you can and wait on Him patiently and with faith. Make the path to healing your goal and one day you will see the fruits of your efforts if you are patient.

posted 06-21-2002 06:39 AM
The Holy Spirit brings simplicity and clarity - just observe with what simplicity and clarity the Bible is written.

Try giving up fancy jargon to describe experiences and try to be SIMPLE AND ORDINARY. Try to live an ordinary life of personal integrity - being kind, compassionate, doing some selfless service - all stemming from a deep devotion to Jesus. That is what holiness and union with God is all about. Many of us I think make the whole thing very complicated by imagining mental acrobatics will get us closer to God.

The ordinary mind, the ordinary life must be made divine by infusing it with the love that comes from God. After many years of grandiose spiritual yearnings, it is this insight that has brought me peace of mind. The path seems so simple and clear now. Of course the journey will last the rest of my life and who knows how my insights may be modified as I go along? But for now I'm sharing with you what I find helpful.

Now that you have found your way back to Christ, handling all those strange experiences should be easier because Jesus is the rock you can cling to. Spiritual experiences are not necessarily divine. Along the spiritual path, high emotional states are distractions at best. Once you stop desiring those emotional states and stop mistaking them for deeply spiritual experiences, you can learn to live through the storm, clinging to Jesus. Accept the experiences without resistance, but do not give them a value they do not possess. Slowly the intensity will decrease when you focus your attention on Jesus. Have you tried centering prayer? Phil can give you more help and guidance there. That should be the best solution to your problem.

Charismatic meetings: There could well be a lot of hysterics and emotional display without any depth you know.

I believe each of us can find our way to God in different ways. You are right about remaining rooted and grounded in Christ being the most important aspect to focus on no matter what happens in the course of our spiritual journey.

What about sexual/kundalini energy that is released? There is only one simple rule to follow: Submit that energy to the power of love. Everyone may have as many sexual feelings as they like but if one makes a commitment to give physical expression to that energy only in the context of a loving relationship, then there is no dilemma. There is always a struggle involved in controlling the urge/impulse of course, but it gets easier to handle with time and practice once we know the reason for keeping it under control.

Saying the Jesus prayer is a great help there as in everything else.

Although some great Christian meditation teachers claim it really doesn't matter what 'mantra' we use in meditation, I do believe that the name 'Jesus' has a lot of power. When the disciples worked miracles they always said 'In the Name of Jesus be healed'. If that name did not have power, the disciples would not have found it necessary to use the Name of Jesus each time. Even in Hindu meditation, the mantra that is chosen is in most cases, the name of the favourite diety of the devotee. Calling out the name of their favourite deity is supposed to be important in meditation. It is not just a symbol to still the mind.

What I was referring to, WillSteele, was the idea put forth by several Christian meditation teachers that it really doesn't matter whether one uses the word Love, God, Peace etc. as mantra in meditation. John Main recommends the mantra 'Maranatha'. My point was that when we use the Name of Jesus as our mantra, it is not just a word to still the mind, it is a Person we are then referring to, the Person who claimed that all power in Heaven and on Earth has been given to Him by God.

I personally feel it doesn't matter whether we say the name of Jesus in English, Hebrew or Aramaic (the language Jesus actually spoke), as long as we MEAN the same Person, that is Jesus. However in meditation it helps to use the form that ends with a vowel rather than a consonant as it is then easier to coordinate the mantra with the breathing, that's all. For example one can even choose from Yeshu/Jesu too. Surrender to Jesus and send out darts of longing love to the person of Jesus/Yeshu/Jesu/Yahshua, that is the main thing. The pronunciation of the Name is a non-essential as God and Jesus know exactly WHO we mean.

I want to make sure that I did not convey the impression that sexual obsession at a mental level was alright as long as one didn't give physical expression to it.

I have sometimes wondered why in the short TEN COMMANDMENTS (Exodus 20: 1-17), which summed up all the moral teaching, Commandment VII says 'Do not commit adultery' and Commandment X gives a variation on the same theme: 'Do not COVET your neighbour's wife'. To me Commandment VII refers to the action and Commandment X refers to the lustful thought that precedes the act of adultery. After all, the sin of adultery first begins as a thought. Jesus refers to it in the Sermon on the Mount (Mathew 5:27-30): 'But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart....'

What I was specifically referring to in that context was sexual thoughts coming up during meditation. It is only when we shut out the distractions of the outside world, seeking God in stillnes and silence, that we even become aware of the rich world of distractions that we have in our own minds. Sometimes we are exposed to horror movies on the screen of our minds, sometimes the mind chooses hard-core porno to keep us entertained. Sometimes the movie is on lofty themes or UFOs or celestial beings. The point to remember here however is that they are ALL just movies that serve only as distractions.

So when an adulterous/soft or hard-core porno/edifying love themes are being played out, remember to pull out the plug of the mental movie screen by ignoring it and returning to the mantra - calling out the Name of Jesus faithfully, lovingly with longing. Pray specifically for help if the going gets real tough.

I repeat, in dealing with lustful thoughts that surface against our will : Don't try to fight them because then one gets caught up in the struggle and all attention gets focussed on the struggle. The only way is to ignore them and keep on saying the mantra, calling out the Name of Jesus, faithfully, with love and longing, praying specifically for help if need be. Let the birds of lust fly over your head but don't let them build nests in your hair. Let them pass by your door, but don't go out and engage them in treacherous dialogue or invite them in to tea. Let them pass like clouds, be the mountain (never mind if the mountain gives the impression of shaking and trembling under the impact of the clouds).

Two great Christian meditation masters had this to say about INDULGING in sexual fantasies during meditation/prayer:

Don't waste your precious time during meditation/prayer entertaining yourself with a porno movie.

Don't make 'Scheisse' on your seat during the sacred time of meditation/prayer because that is what sexual fantasies/ sexual release outside a loving committed relationship is all about. When one lives out sexuality as a kind of release, then one is simply using another human being as a toilet.

Although I have read the Bhavadgita (including Gandhi's verse by verse commentary on it and the Christian commentary on it by Fr. Bede Griffiths, called 'The River of Compassion'), some of the Upanishads, B.K.S. Iyengar on Yoga, The Dhammapada and some Zen teachings, I have not come across very much discussion of Kundalini in them. Iyengar does make a mention of it, yes, but in quite a different sense.

I have read a little about the chakras too. I wanted to share my thoughts. I refer to the seven chakras as following: the Grounding chakra (I), the sex chakra(II), the power chakra(III), the heart chakra (IV),the chakra of words/expression (V), chakra of concentration/meditation (VI)and chakra of enlightenment/liberation(VII). My own understanding of it has been that when Kundalini has been awakened, which I now call the spiritually energised ego, it begins to move upwards. It is only by closing all the channels/outlets, that the Kundalini can rise to the level of enlightment/liberation. For example if people decide to live out their sexuality indiscriminately when Kundalini passes through that chakra (letting it leak so to speak, instead of closing the channel to the outside to prevent leakage, to let Kundalini rise), they become sex obsessed. Or they become power obsessed if they get stuck at the level of the third chakra, emotionally unbalanced if stuck at the level of the fourth chakra, compulsive talkers if stuck at the level of the fifth chakra, mentally unbalanced if stuck at the level of the sixth chakra. So I consider it necessary to reign in all these areas when the ego has become spiritually energised through any form of spiritual practice. That is why the more balanced a person's ego is, the less eventful in the negative sense, his spiritual journey tends to become. I can understand the wisdom of traditional spiritual traditions, both in Buddhism and Hinduism, which emphasises silence, simplicity, an ascetic lifestyle, abstinence (Zen practices hard physical work to go hand in hand with intense meditation for that reason) and the repeated warning to ignore all emotional and mental distractions.

A classical example of how the ego can take over at any stage of one's spiritual journey and make one imbalanced is the case of Chogyam Trungpa. A lot of horror stories can now be heard about him although he wrote some brilliant books in his enlightened state. He wrote about spiritual materialism so brilliantly yet became a victim to it himself, losing all credibility and leaving all his followers thoroughly confused.

Linda your advice to get grounded in body and practice mind-body balance and harmony is the best. The simple ordinary life, the simple ordinary holiness is the best answer to all psychic attacks.

However it is true that when the mind and emotions have gotten out of balance due to any spiritual practice, it is necessary to stop that intense practice, be it meditation or yoga. That simply means that the ego is picking up the spiritual energy generated by the practice. It is then advisable to get the ego back in balance first.

My zen teacher (who is also a clinical psychologist) said that he allows people to meditate under him only after he has assessed them first. With the result no one in his group has ever had emotional/mental breakdowns as a result of meditation. But he has treated several people in his practice from other meditation groups suffering from breakdowns, those who have teachers who do not do such assessment. He said that meditation can precipitate an underlying psychosis or mental/emotional illness because meditation/intense spiritual practices bring up everything from the sub/unconscious mind. It is meant to be purified of course, but some people have too much stuff that can't be dealt with at one go in such intensity, that is all.

It is for that reason, ignoring the distraction and concentrating on the ordinary life is a great help. Linda has given fantastic advice about it.

You don't have to chop wood or carry water you know. You can also go for long walks, or clean your house or cut vegetables, have a nice warm bath etc. Has anyone tried the magic of playing with pre-school children? It works like magic! Who can teach us better about the joy, innocence and wonder of life better than a pre-school child? It is not without reason that Jesus said, 'Unless you become like these little children, you cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven'. I say, one cannot understand the joy, innocence and magic of Heaven unless one reminds oneself regularly by seeking the company of these little ones.

I remember reading somewhere that when feeling persecuted by evil spirits asking to be covered and protected by the BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST is a great help. Has anyone tried that? For example scream or chant "Blood of Jesus protect me"? I'm told that no evil spirit can ever tolerate hearing that and will flee immediately!

Chanting Bible verses maybe a great antidote to thoughts of persecution by evil spirits. Listening is after all more passive than chanting. Chanting aloud may be more effective in shutting out the obsessive thoughts.

Has anyone listened to the Christian chants of Taize? Taize is a Christian community in France and they have this great chanting church music. Plenty of CDs are available.

As to feeling that this or that person has control over one's spirit, do not give in to such thoughts. No one is more powerful than Jesus, and NO ONE, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE can have any power over you unless YOU allow it.

The mental changes that drugs bring about is another matter altogether and should not be mistaken for spiritual experiences. Drugs change the chemistry of the brain. It takes a while for the brain to heal itself after one has given up drugs. So just be patient and do everything to promote holistic healing.

Strive for emotional and mental balance and the psychic attacks will cease of its own accord.

I wish all of you the strength, guidance and peace of the Holy Spirit, who brings clarity and simplicity and love and does not attack anyone or unbalance them.

These are just MY thoughts on the subject, so forgive my lack of expertise. Since I care, I wanted to share what I thought might be useful. As I mentioned at the beginning of my post, although I have read the Bhagvadgita, some of the Upanishads, The Dhammapada and some zen teachings, I haven't read much about Kundalini. From what I understand, the Hindu scripture refers to 'Prana' as being comparable to the Holy Spirit, not Kundalini.

I wish to emphasise that my knowledge of Kundalini is very little and almost all the stuff on this forum was new to me. However I took the liberty to add my remarks as coming from someone who has been a seeker all her life too and views things from a different angle.

Remember, I mentioned that I went around feeling that I was possessed by an evil spirit after attending a Charismatic retreat and thought in terms of evil spirits all the time, even about simple ordinary things? That is the great danger when one tries to look at the world through the eyes of a fanatic Charismatic; one tends to forget the human, fleshly aspect of human existence which can explain a lot of things without attributing everything to possession by an evil spirit. The danger of attributing everything to possession by an evil spirit is also that we tend to feel helpless and give our God given power as human beings created in His image and likeness, with a free will away to some imaginery force out there. Many mental diseases manifest itself like that you know, therefore it is worthwhile to keep that in mind. I believe that the devil is real and there are demonic forces at work in this world. But don't give it all the power and don't try to explain everything in terms of it! Doesn't the Catholic Church have very good teaching in this area?

To your remark about being wired genetically and emotionally for Christianity and your scepticism about Eastern traditions:

1. No one is genetically wired to any religion in particular. We are all genetically wired to seek God, (created to seek God as St Augustine wrote), but we still have a free will option to ignore that gene! Doesn't it explain why there are so few Christians in Israel, although Jesus was a Jew, so few Buddhists in India although Buddha was an Indian?

2. One is conditioned by the environment to be sure. Your conditioning is Christian, but Christianity is an Eastern religion you know. Ever heard that Israel is located in the West? In fact all world religions have Eastern origin!

3. Do you think that the Dalai Lama for example is being influenced by the demons simply because he is a Buddhist and uses non-Christian spiritual practices or mantras? There are plenty of such examples both among the Buddhists and Hindus.

Fr. Bede Griffiths referred to the Cosmic Christ - the hidden Christ. We can safely assume that Jesus is the Lord of all, even of those who do not acknowledge Him because didn't John the Apostle say that all things were created through Him? Love can come only from God. So if a person is loving we can never claim that he doesn't know God, simply because he doesn't worship Jesus as we do. Neither is everyone who says 'Lord, Lord' living in Jesus if no love is manifest in that life.

For advice on how to deal with evil spirits, please read the story:

THE CANTERVILLE GHOST - BY OSCAR WILDE

Some thoughts on spiritual warfare.

1. For us Christians, the devil is a defeated enemy. Jesus did the battle on our behalf and paid the price to free us.

2. All we have to do then is to accept that victory Jesus won for us in faith.

3. We cling to Jesus at all times and ask for His help in dealing with the evil spirits. It is He who can send out angels to deal with the evil spirits, the defeated enemy. We don't have to get involved with the technicalities of how He does it. The angels don't need our help either except our free will decision to let them fight the spiritual warfare for us.

4. That is the reason why a contemplative ingnores the distractions and spiritual warfare going on within himself/herself and concentrates on Jesus alone trusting in His power and timely deliverance. The Charismatic on the other hand, it seems to me concentrates more on the spiritual warfare. Of course we ought to set our free will at the disposal of Jesus to act when He needs us as instruments to His cause.

5. Reading the Christian mystics is a great help in knowing how to deal with the evil spirits. How indispensible is humility and discernment that only the Holy Spirit can give us.

I'M A FELLOW TRAVELLER ON THE PATH LIKE THE REST OF YOU. I HAVE MY OWN STRUGGLES TOO ALTHOUGH IT IS NOT QUITE THE SAME AS DESCRIBED IN THIS FORUM THAT IS ALL!

Having said that it is advisable to give up intense spiritual practices to restore 'Kundalini' balance, I would like to mention that there are other ways in which one can feed the spirit on a daily basis. Regular scripture reading (Psalms, New Testament...)and vocal prayer, intercession etc. I'm sure cannot throw anything out of balance.

I get terribly uneasy about the new-agey notion that when one meditates or does yoga for spiritual reasons, it is not necessary to learn a moral code of conduct and strive to follow it consciously. It is generally believed that meditation alone is enough. Such a view is nonsense for the simple reason that all religions have developed a moral code of conduct. If it did not serve any purpose, it would not have existed. The ego needs to be trained to behave itself and this training must be done consciously, no matter how much time we spend in prayer/meditation. God does give us virtues but I'm sure we have a conscious role to play in disciplining our ego.

I apologise for misinterpreting/misunderstanding some of the things you wrote. I do appreciate your vast experience in so many spiritual traditions and I'm sure your personal struggles has given you much knowledge and wisdom. Isn't that the way great teachers are made?

I added my two cents worth from a different standpoint, as food for thought, that is all.

I don't know if you have read one of my posts in which I emphasised the value of using the name of Jesus as a mantra (as some well known Christian contemplatives recommend using any spiritually meaningful word as mantra) because of the power that Name has been given by God - the Name above all names, Jesus being given the power over all things in Heaven and on earth. I mentioned that in the context of Christian mantras, how much more would it apply to mantras from other traditions! I agree with you totally that each mantra and spiritual tradition has different vibrations and energies.

The reason however why one is easily carried off by every energy field is not necessarily because one has an active Kundalini but that one has an IMBALANCED KUNDALINI.

Plenty of Catholic nuns and especially priests participate in other religious traditions in order to learn from them and enrich their own faith. So it is not really unusual what you are doing. However the effect it has had on you seems to be different. It is one thing to go as a Christian by conviction to learn from other religions but quite another to go as a seeker, not sure of one's own spiritual path.

It can be very confusing if one becomes a 'spiritual experiences junkie' getting fixes from all spiritual traditions, but there is no danger is going as a Christian to learn.

There are two books you might like to read:

1. 'The Cosmic Revelation' by Dom Bede Griffiths (www.bedegriffiths.com)

You would find it an extremely valuable source of information as Fr. Bede explains Christianity in the context of other religions.

2. 'Cutting through Spiritual Materialism' by Choygam Trungpa

Just try to ignore the fact that this man ignored his own insights and ruined his own life. Feel compassion for him and take his life as a warning to the rest of us on serious spiritual journeys. His insights coming from a time before his fall are very valuable. He gives good answers to the problem of 'spiritual junki-ism'.

Only a thought about Baptismal seal: In John's Gospel, chapters 14-17, doesn't Jesus talk about asking the Father in His Name for the Holy Spirit, for anything in fact... Can't one take Jesus on that promise and pray for the Holy Spirit, healing and whatever else, NOW, instead of relying on the Baptismal seal alone? Aren't we expected to renew our commitment to Christ everyday, instead of thinking that the Baptism shortly after birth does it all for the rest of one's life?

I would not have such a fatalistic attitude towards imbalanced Kundalini. Christ can heal everything, yes even an imbalanced Kundalini. There is no need to think that one is doomed to live with it for the rest of one's life.

You are right, no one can understand (as you and Linda experience) how it feels like to go around vulnerable and exposed to every movement in the energy field. It must seem like walking about without a skin to protect oneself.

Linda, it must be a nightmare to have a mind that keeps track and gives non-stop running commentary of magnetic fields and stock-exchange trends around the world, or even in one's own country. That must leave your mind very little time to help you with leading your ordinary life. Have you ever considered (now I'm NOT referring to the Kundalini explanations of it) trying to STOP THAT OVER ACTIVE MIND? That is the main goal of meditation you know - to get beyond the chattering mind, which functions like a mad monkey and drives us crazy, if we let it. God cannot be grasped with the active mind. We must let our spirit commune with God in silence, only our silent mind can commune directly with God, that is why it is necessary to silence our mind.

I repeat, I'm not making any reference to Kundalini here, as I would like you to view your problems from another perspective.

Can you bring your mind to ignore the magnetic fields of the universe, ignore the running commentary on it?

Can you cognitively train your mind to focus on ordinary issues that are important to your ordinary life? It may be very interesting to keep track of magnetic fields around the universe, but it doesn't serve any purpose you know, except keep you from focussing on really important issues. You can't change the world's magnetic field or the stock market trends by keeping track of it and setting up a runnning commentary of it. But you can change the quality of your life by focussing on what you need to do for yourself. So what if there is an earthquake? You will probably be warned in good time or at least evacuated. The worst case scenario is that you may die, but what of it? You will die only if it is God's appointed time. Besides your chances of dying by being hit by a car on the road is much greater than dying in an earthquake. You can thus with rational explanations try to bring your mind to rest, to keep it from being preoccupied with stuff that is totally irrevalent to your life.

As you know so well and have given terrific advice in your posts on this forum elsewhere, it helps to get back to the body, to focus on the ordinary everyday things. Do things that would get your mind to concentrate on your body, to be in the here and now physically. Surrender the energy fields of the universe to God, trust Him to manage it right, that is His business.

Getting caught up with all sorts of things is also the way an insane mind functions you know. So it may be advisable to be aware of the danger of crossing that thin line that divides the sane and the insane.

Have you read the book: 'Der Doppelgaenger' by Dostojewskij (that is the German title. I don't know what it is called in English, but it is the story about the workings of the mind of a man who has gone insane)?

Seen the movie, read the book 'The Beautiful Mind'?

You might find it very useful to make comparisons of a mind that is termed insane and the workings of a mind struggling with unbalanced Kundalini energy.

I'll leave you with those thoughts as food for reflection. You have so much to give, so I wish with all my heart that you will find your way out of the present struggles with the help of Jesus Christ acting through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Stephen, we all have problems enough taking responsibility for the things that we do to mess up things in our own lives, why do you give yourself the additional burden of taking the responsibility for your friend's relationship? What has your meditation to do with your friend's relationship?

I'm not a pschiatrist, so I cannot give you more concrete advice on how to deal with mental problems. All I can say is, try not to spiritualise mental problems, if the problem is mental. Only a personal consultation with a professional can verify that. In your case it is essential to distinguish which is a spiritual crisis and which is a mental one.

Whether your problem is spiritual practice/drug induced or not, the commonsense advice given by Linda should be helpful in any case. Strive for body-mind health and balance.

Have you read Deepak Chopra/Andrew Weil? They give the best advice available on mind-body care.

Like Linda, I wish you healing and harmony with help and guidance of Jesus Christ acting through the Holy Spirit.

Stephen, since I have not met spiritual masters who try to abuse their followers, it is very difficult for me to comment on your personal experience. But what I do know is that the human free will, the unique gift of God to mankind, is extremely powerful, more powerful than you give it credit for. Remember in tempting Jesus, Satan could only say his part and then had to back off leaving Jesus free to make His choice? Only after He had made His choice, could the angels come and minister to Him? So it is with us, or so I have read in C.S.Lewis' writing. Our free will is where neither God nor Satan has any power. It is up to you to use it for your good, so that the angels can minister to you after you have made your choice.

As for abuse of power, yes we know t (in the part that went missing I had written mainly that one ought not to surrender one’s will totally to any human master, however accomplished he may be. Getting advice/guidance is one thing but giving up one’s will is another. To submit only to God and Jesus Christ and trust the leading of the Holy Spirit, who alone knows the unique circumstances of each one’s life and also God’s will for each one of us.)

I did not claim any in-depth knowledge on Kundalini, yet I had mentioned that I had read the passing mention of it made by B.K.S. Iyenger, who is a world renowned teacher of mainstream Hatha Yoga and yoga philosophy. I'm familiar with the mainstream schools of thought in Hinduism, although I'm far from a scholar on Hinduism nor did I ever claim to be. My conclusion is that if Kundalini deserved to be treated as importantly as you imply, it would have found more place for discussion in mainstream Hindu philosophy. Can it then not be that Kundalini issues have been dealt with under different aspects? I would need to be told the place of Kundalini in the context of mainstream Hindu philosophy. Having said that, I do value your in-depth knowledge of Kundalini and if you remember what I wrote in my posts, I did express my admiration and respect. But I'm equally sure that there would plenty of mainstream Hindu philosophy scholars who would have very different views of Kundalini from you

You do me injustice when you claim that I have labelled anything you have expressed on this forum as "problems". Read all the posts once again and you can verify that for yourself. I referred to your being sensitive to the magnetic fields of the earth as a problem, not because I consider it a figment of your imagination (I do believe that one can through spiritual practices get sensitive enough to detect such things) but because of the additional burden I thought it was causing to your over active mind. Well, if you don't feel that way, and it really doesn't stand in your way when you seek silence in order to experience God, you should know better. Sorry if I considered it a problem because I thought you might be being slowed down in your spiritual quest as a result of that.

It is true that I'm interested in mainstream religion, in Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. I'm against fanaticism and narrow viewpoints in any religion. It is in the nature of fanaticism and narrow view points to be intolerant of other view points.

Isn't it amusing that you try to explain Nash's mental illness in terms of Kundalini imbalance and yet you have objections to Kundalini imbalance being explained in terms of psychology?

I can say that the motive behind my sharing was nothing more than to open up the horizon of those trapped in Kundalini imbalance and suggest other models of explanation, point to all modes of relief and help that I could think of, insights that I have gathered from my own spiritual journey.

Linda, to claim that one can understand the energy concepts in Kundalini only if one is suffering from an imbalanced Kundalini oneself, and uses the same vocabulary that you do, is as ridiculous as the claim that a doctor can understand a disease only if he is suffering/has suffered from it himself and uses the same words that a patient may use to describe his condition. Spiritual energies and its imbalance is a concept that is addressed in mainstream Buddhism and Hindu religions. Mystical Christianity simply uses another vocabulary that is all. The Chinese and Japanese have their own specialised vocabulary for energies too and have developed their own methods of dealing with imbalanced energies. Isn't it then a matter of commonsense to conclude that despite the different descriptions and vocabularies, all are referring to the same thing? Surely those suffering from Kundalini imbalance hasn't invented this energy; it is a well known phenomena known by different names in different traditions.

All of us who set out on an intense spiritual path, walk the narrow line between sanity and insanity. Hence the repeated warning by all teachers of traditional spiritual disciplines (be it Christian, Buddhist or Hindu) to ignore the stuff that is churned up in the mind as a result of intense spiritual practice. So there is no need for you to get on the defensive or offensive. I risk exactly what you do, if I don't keep a reign on the stuff that my mind is capable of throwing up. All those I have met on serious spiritual journeys are aware of this danger too.

Isn't it a paradox that on the one hand you admit that your Kundalini was thrown out of balance, that you have had much difficulty in finding the right advice even from experts and yet resent the effort and good will which was behind my sharing the information I had collected on balancing energies? I'm convinced that if one concentrates on physical-emotional-mental-spiritual balance, the energies take care of themselves, no matter what they are called by anyone.

Are you suggesting however that this forum was meant as a sort of self-help validation for only those with imbalanced Kundalini? Or does it hurt your pride to be told that energy imbalance is a well known phenomena in mainstrean religious traditions, although they use a different vocabulary for it?

Sorry if I gave the impression that the ability to detect electromagnetic fields due to heightened sensitivity acquired by means of intense spiritual practice is a pathology. I referred to it as a HINDRANCE to silence IF ONE FOCUSES on it. Your explanation that one is simply aware of it like a police siren, settles that.

Of course I have no problems with accepting the fact that some people can tell the thickness of the ozone layer etc. The yogic tradition refers to it to as Siddhis and even St. John of the Cross refer to such phenomena acquired by people who are on an intense spiritual path. The only difference however is that mainstream religions (including Yogic philosophy) advise one to ignore such things in order to progress along the spiritual path. They echo the Bible precept "What does it help me to detect the electromagnetic vibrations of the universe/measure the thickness of the ozone layer, if I have no love?" The goal of all religion, especially mystical religion, which uses intense spiritual practices for the purpose, is to merge with God who is love. Maybe one should clarify the purpose of one's spiritual journey - to reach God, who manifests Himself as love or the inflation of one's ego through power and knowledge of extraordinary phenomena?

The point of sharing was for me not to challenge or attack you but to contribute other points of view.

My long personal journey has not made me an expert or scholar on any topic, much less on Kundalini which had never been discussed in any inter-religious dialogue or exposition of Hindu scripture that I have attended so far. To comment on anything you've written, would take me back to square one in the discussion. As I see it, both parties have agreed to disagree on the various points brought up in the discussion.

Much of the latter part of my post addressed to you at 5.26 AM on 16/7, went missing like yours. So I have no idea if you read it at all. It is because you had in your recent posts been describing current episodes of psychic attacks, that I felt it may be useful to clarify what is a mental crisis and what is a spiritual one.

After going through all the posts once again, I couldn't help noticing that Linda had been concerned about your recent episodes as well and might well have been inferring what I did, to clarify things. I couldn't help noticing too that Linda has given you plenty of advice. Yet you are offended only at my suggestions!

I suggested that you get both help - the right psychological as well as spiritual, as all problems (even Kundalini related) have both components. I do not consider seeing psychiatrist a negative thing to do. Didn't Linda make the inference that some drugs could probably help heal some aspects of imbalanced Kundalini (when she was writing about Nash's mental illness)? A psychiatrist is not a monster you know, just a medical doctor who deals with disturbances in brain chemistry, with the authority to prescribe drugs to alleviate the condition.

All I can say in closing is that my suggestions were well meant, with a desire to share different interpretations and point to all sources of help that I know of.

Good luck on your journey and may the Holy Spirit lead you along the right paths to healing and wholeness!

Priya, while there's no doubting the value of much of the material on this thread, I see that in the one above you've chosen to continue your running argument with Linda. I've asked several times for this to stop, and I now expect it to completely.

Thanks for your consideration.

Phil

Phil

Please note that I :

posted 07-28-2002 01:44 AM

My comments are without exception only reactions or afterthoughts to something or the other mentioned by the Kundalini ‘insiders’ participating in these forums.

I have added nothing new on this thread. Since some of my contributions came from the disagreements I had and my ill-adviced attempt to coach, they are included here, that is all.

Of course I respect your wish not to have arguments on this topic. Hadn't I agreed to disagree and left the discussion of my own accord anyway?

Thank you for your understanding.

SJ Thaikattil
Junior Member
Member # 201

posted August 08, 2002 03:42 AM

Fr. THOMAS KEATING ( 7 August 2002)

As far as I know, Philip St. Romain's book is the only in-depth discussion of the kundalini experience and its symptoms in Christian spiritual literature. Meanwhile, people with these symptoms can get help from experts in other spiritual traditions where it is fully described and discussed. We had a meeting here at the monastery some years ago of such people and drew up some brief guidelines for people in great distress who suffer from these symptoms. We have to wait until more Christians experience kundalini and who can write about it and provide the kind of guidance you lament the lack of. Probably the chief advice is not to resist the rising of the energy and to moderate the amount of time given to meditative practices when the symptoms are present. Some effort to balance the energies in the body seem to help some persons also. Yet each case is distinct and also has a variety of phases. One thing all experts agree upon is not deliberately to awaken the energies or to stimulate it once it is awakened. For most Christians on the spiritual journey that I know, the kundalini energy evolves unnoticeably and manifests more in interior stages of prayer such as the dark nights, than in external manifestations.

I thank you for inviting me to comment on this subject and I wish I could bring some light to the situation, but I do not feel qualified for this task. It needs someone like Philip who has gone through a full-blown kundalini awakening and who can speak from experience. The general guidelines from the conference mentioned above are available and could be helpful up to a point, but not as much as you rightly desire.

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SJ Thaikattil, Thrissur-KS/In

PS: Ref. Guidelines given at Snowmass Interreligious Conference

SJ Thaikattil
Junior Member
Member # 201

posted August 06, 2002 01:04 AM

KUNDALINI

(from the book 'Taming the Kundalini' by Swami Satyananda Saraswati (of Deoghar)

Kundalini (Serpent Power)

It is asleep. It is silent. It has encoiled itself. Its 'bedroom' is called Muladhara Cakra. This center is triangular in shape. Its aspect is gross. Its element is Prithivi (earth) Tattva. Tamoguna is its covering. It lies encoiling itself. It is called Kundalini. In Sahasrara Cakra it joins with Shiva. The power then manifests itself. It is like a hidden fire which can only be kindled by the force of spiritual power.
As the inner mind becomes concentrated and one-pointed, the power begins to awaken itself. As long as the inner mind remains gross or externalized, it sleeps.
It can be awakened by soul force or by will. But this is not the only means. It may be regarded as one of the methods.
It can be awakened by Hatha Yoga, but neither is that the only method. You can call it one form of scientific method.
It can also be awakened by practicing Samyama on the centers and realizing in experience their colour, elements, nature, Guna and the Bija. Nor is this the only method; you may just call it a good method.

To awaken the Kundalini

For purifying the nervous system, practice Hatha Yoga, take moderate food and avoid excitements.
For purifying the Prana, Pranayama and cleaning of Vasana-s will be practiced.
For purity of inner being, practice Yama-s and Niyama-s.
For purity of Samskara-s, dispassion and a detached attitude of a witness will have to be cultivated.
For purity of desires, Vairagya will have to be developed.
Vairagya will have to be cultivated also for purifying attachment.
For purifying the mental plane, thoughts will have to be silenced through Ajapa.
For purifying the intellect, keep ypur determination pure, firm and steady.
Center your memory on only one object in order to achieve purity of the Citta.
Purify the ego by transforming the objective of sleep.
Purify the inner errors such as desire, anger , jealousy and the like , by Viveka.
Conquer sloth by love for the ultimate objective.
Conquer sleep by any means.
Purify inner errors like pessimism, defeatism and doubt by cultivating patience.
Purify your beliefs and assumptions by liberal thought.
Purify the Rudra Granthi by means of two-fold Trataka and Samyama.
Divert the tendency of the sex nerves.
Change also the tendencies of the sensory nerves.
Purify the digestive system.
Purify the veins carring the blood.
Purify your defects of perception.
Purify distruction of thoughts.
Purify your physical distractions.
Purify your distractions of memory.
Purify distractions about the ultimate objective.
Remove distractions from your nature and make it pure.
Purify your distracted sentiments.
End the distractions and influences of the Vasana-s.

Forms of Kundalini

It is in this body. Its form is physical but its powers are superphysical. It is lying encoiled in teh triangle at Muladhara Chakra like the fine cotton thread, like a snake. If somehow it is awakened it straightens itself and becomes stiff. It fits its mouth in the opening of teh Sushumna. When the awakened power sharply contacts the mouth of the Sushumna, all the centers become active. When they become active, all the divine powers which form their base or which are installed in them begin to manifest themselves; the 'third eye' becomes active. The spiritual being becomes full of life and awareness of light is experienced.
Just as there is mental power in the body, likewise there is this power. The spinal column is the way it traverses on awakening. Sushumna is the medium and Sahasrara Chakra is the goal.
In persons living only on the gross plane, it remains covered by Tamoguna; it begins to stir in those who live on the subtle plane; it straightens itself in persons who have developed a transcedental attitude.
If the consciousness is on the lower plane and the inner being is distracted then it sleeps; if the consciousness dwells within, the inner being concentrated, then it starts moving. When there is no external consciousness, it is awakened. When it is aroused, one then experiences sudden tremours, heat, rising of thought currents and indifference to the external surroundings, and other things.
When it begins to tremble and move, the Sadhaka develops detachment towards material things and his mind centers on the subtle; his conduct and thought processes reflect their unworldliness and he gradually begins to remain in a state of absorption.
When it stirs automatically, he sees the form, the colour, the Bija, the deity, the nature, the element and the Guna of the first center. Likewise, as it begins to shake, the Sadhaka begins to experience celestial parfumes or to see the subtle form of Ishta.
The original form of the serpent power is coved by ignorance. In a slightly active state the Kundalini expresses itself in zeal, patience, and so on, and its aspect is full of Rajoguna. Its awakened state is full of divine power. Its final aspect is fully saturated with highest Sattva, knowledge, light and purity.
In the first stage of awakening the individual self is in an inert or a dense state; during its first elementary movements, it alternates between steadiness and distractions; when it straightens, the self experiences a state of deep concentration. When the Kundalini is attached to Sushumna it attains Samprajnata samadhi. When Sushumna is activated, then it acquires divine powers according to its course through the centers. When the Kundalini merges in the Sahasrara Chakra, it remains steadfast in itself.

Time of Awakening

The serpent power is filled with divine powers (Siddhi-s) at the time of awakening; when aroused it remains in an angry mood; in its waking, the state of the individual self is suppressed; in that state, the force moves unobstructed. At the time of its awakening, visions of gods are seen; visions of spirits are seen; the past is seen, impurities are visualized. Other beings attack the Jiva. Enjoyment in a disembodied state are experienced; greed and attachment become strong. At the time of awakening, the Ishta assumes a form during the three states and the Sadhaka experiences the intensity of the power. He works as if possessed by some force; he speaks, works, hears unconsciously; he still remains active in an unconscious state.

When Kundalini merges in Sahasrara Chakra

Great peace and contentment are experienced, the Sadhaka feels full within; no desires remain; no actions remain; no attachment. no sentiments. There is no Savikalpa consciousness, no sense of duality, no threefold planes remain; there is no object; the senses work in their own nature, so also does Prakriti. The seer turns his face away, Actions are performed but he does not do them. Thoughts come but he does not think. Success comes, but he does not know it; people are benefited but he is not aware of it. This Aparokshanubhuti or the state of intuitive experience is itself experienced.

--------------------
SJ Thaikattil, Thrissur-KS/In

'Kundalini Yoga' by Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswathi of Divine Life, Rishikesh/India

http://www.sivanandadlshq.org/...ndalini.htm#_VPID_39

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’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’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.

Continued from the book 'Kundalini Yoga' by Sri Swami Sivananda Saraswathi, The Divine Life Society, Rishikesh/India:

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—imperfect (Savikalpa) in which dualism is not wholly overcome, and perfect (Nirvikalpa) which is complete Monistic experience–the realisation of the Truth of the Mahavakya AHAM BRAHMASMI—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.

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: “Can one get on without it?” The answer is: “It depends upon what you are looking for”. 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 “Liberation while yet living” (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—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 “Sivoham”. 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’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—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.

Kundalini Yoga is that Yoga which treats of Kundalini Sakti, the six centres of spiritual energy (Shat Chakras), the arousing of the sleeping Kundalini Sakti and its union with Lord Siva in Sahasrara Chakra, at the crown of the head. This is an exact science. This is also known as Laya Yoga. The six centres are pierced (Chakra Bheda) by the passing of Kundalini Sakti to the top of the head. ‘Kundala’ means ‘coiled’. Her form is like a coiled serpent. Hence the name Kundalini.

When a man practises Yogic Kriyas, naturally various kinds of Siddhis are acquired. The Siddhis are hindrances to Realisation. The Yogi should not at all care for these Siddhis, if he wants to advance further and get the highest realisation, the final Goal. He who runs after Siddhis will become the biggest house-holder and a worldly-minded man. Self-realisation only is the Goal. The sum total of knowledge of this universe is nothing when compared to the spiritual knowledge that is obtained through Self-realisation.

Ascend the path of Yoga cautiously. Remove the weeds, thorns and the sharp angular pebbles on the way. Name and fame are the angular pebbles. Subtle under-current of lust is the weed. Attachment to family, children, money, disciples, Chelas or Ashram is the thorn. These are forms of Maya. They do not allow the aspirants to march further. They serve as the stumbling-blocks. The aspirant gets false Tushti, stops his Sadhana, imagines foolishly that he has realised, and tries to elevate others. This is like a blind man leading the blind.

Remember the watchwords:-“SECLUSION, MEDITATION, DEVOTION.” March direct to the goal. Never give up the Sadhana zeal and Vairagya until you realise Bhuma, the highest goal. Do not entangle yourself in the wheel of name, fame and Siddhis....

Phil

Now that I have read a little bit about Kundalini Yoga, I realise that we had been talking about totally different spiritual paths. Kundalini Yoga it seems to me activates and develops the bodily aspects (therefore the reference to enjoyment and Liberation) while other spiritual paths, like Raja Yoga, Vedantha, Zen etc. bypass that aspect and concentrate on Liberation alone. Paradoxically the activated body can attain liberation only after it has left the consciousness of the activated body behind - and since it is extremely difficult to leave the activated body behind, the difficulty of attaining liberation using this path.

Now it is easy enough to understand why there could be Kundalini arousal without liberation/enlightenment and vice versa. Now I understand why Rajneesh renamed Osho was very popular (he was called a sex-guru in India and his spiritual path was not considered a high path by serious gurus) - he was offering liberation/enlightenment through Kundalini/Tantric yoga.

It seems to me that the Christian mystics were following the path comparable to Bhakthi Yoga/Vedantha/Raja Yoga, which deliberately ignored the body in order to reach liberation/enlightenment - they were aiming at liberation without bodily development/enjoyment in the sense that practitioners of Kundalini Yoga does.

It still leaves the question of unbidden and problematic Kundalini arousal in persons not actively seeking such body arousal shrouded in some mystery. Why is Kundalini aroused only in some and not in others? Why is it problematic in some and not in others? It is logical enough that latent problems are brought to the surface but is there more than that?

Can one conclude:

That Kundalini arousal in itself, whether problematic or unproblematic, does not imply liberation/enlightenment?

An aroused Kundalini must be tamed and guided properly in order to achieve enlightenment/liberation?

Kundalini arousal therefore signifies the rupture of old limitations and the birth of a higher level of sensitivity by the intense activation of all human faculties, sometimes even giving the human psyche an access to not only unconscious but also spiritual dimensions which need not necessarily be divine in origin? The only way to use this access to the spiritual dimension in order to attain enlightenment is to ignore its lure/terrors and press forward to reach the divine, who lies beyond this level, at a much higher level, marked by silence and infinite love?

That while Kundalini arousal may be used to attain liberation/enlightenment, it in itself does not guarantee it?

That it is not necessary to have a Kundalini arousal to achieve liberation/enlighenment?

That other spiritual paths have all aspects of the Kundalini arousal - mental and spiritual- except the body/sexual aspect? That classical Hatha yoga + pranayama as a spiritual path includes the body/mind development without the sexual arousal?

That it is this emphasis on the sexual aspect that makes Kundalini Yoga an integral part of tantric yoga, and is the unique aspect not found in mainstream religious traditions?

And it is considered a creative force because of its intrinsic association with the sex drive?

Shouldn't good ol' Freud be invited to help Jung fill in the sexual aspects of the Kundalini phenomenon? Jung after all called Kundalini Yoga ill-reputed. George Arundale of the theosophical society (which experimented extensively with all kinds of energies), didn't approve of Kundalini either.

Can Kundalini be given a place in Christian mysticism at all, knowing that Christian mysticism is a totally different spiritual path, comparable to zen?

That it is perfectly logical to use the wisdom of science for symptomatic relief (physical, emotional and mental) and the paths prescribed by mainstream religious traditions to guide Kundalini arousal towards enlightenment/liberation?

Sri Pannirselvam Kanagaratnam, The Divine Life Society, (14 August 2002), selected this quote as answer to Kundalini imbalance:

A CORRECT DIAGNOSIS

Vishnu Swamiji's eyes were red. The Master noticed this the moment he came into the office in the afternoon.
"O Vishnu Swamiji! why are your eyes red?"
Vishnu Swamiji kept silent.
"Ohji, don't do Tratak too much," said the Master. "It is due to an overdose of Tratak, is it not?"
"Yes, Swamiji."
" Always be moderate. There is no fun in overdoing these exercises and spoiling the eyes. Apply boric lotion to the eyes."

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"Anger, lust, greed, jealousy and hatred will always lurk in your subconscious mind. Beware! Be cautious. Be vigilant. Be alert. Eradicate them. Otherwise they will gain strength and crush you later on and swallow all your Sadhana." - Swami Sivananda