800 From: "Adam West" <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au>
Date: Fri Apr 22, 2005 3:37pm
Subject: Kundalini Yoga fraterandros1
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Hi all,
I thought you might enjoy this!
In kind regards,
Adam.
http://satyamyoga.com/Kundalini%20Yoga.htmBURSTING THE BUD OF CREATIVITY
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Antwerp. Belgium
August1979
For centuries, man has been pondering the possibility of a super-physical existence and, at the same time, he has been thinking about how to become the master of nature. Each time a person has an inner experience, he wants to know how it happened and from where it came. Occasionally we hear about a miraculous happening, or we may even experience one ourselves. Man is convinced that there is a power beyond the mind, but as yet he has been unable to clarify the whole situation. He has interpreted these phenomena as the emanations of some ghost, spirit or devil, who comes to tell him things. Man has not arrived at any final and valid conclusions about the cause of miraculous happenings.
In the study of modern parapsychology, we have been confronting these problems. There are certain manifestations which need to be explained and understood in a more scientific light. For instance, we notice that people have different mental capacities -some have fantastic mental powers. You may have heard about Napoleon, when he was imprisoned during the last years of his life. Every day he would order the jailers to unlock the doors of his cell, with such force that they had to obey.Then he would go outside for a walk and on his return they locked the door again. This is just one example; there are many other events in life that need total investigation.
Kundalini and Evolution
Today, many people are curious about kundalini yoga, and they feel that it may provide some of the answers they are seeking. In the west, people once knew about the power of kundalini, but during the past two hundred years, prior to the last decade or two, the whole concept has completely diminished.
In India, people have been making discoveries about kundalini yoga for ages. In order to awaken it, they devised many methods which were successful. Kundalini is the latent power in man which will manifest itself in due course according to the laws of evolution. Thousands of years from now people will have awakened kundalinis.
Here you must remember one thing -although we are all born in a human body, on the spiritual plane we are not all at the same point. If you visit a school, you will understand what is meant by evolution. All pupils go to the same school, but they do not belong to the same class. They are progressing through the different stages of education until they ultimately reach the final class. In the same way, the consciousness of man has been evolving for millions of years.
We know that in the days of the AtIantis civi1ization,Which existed more than 45,000 years ago, man had spiritual consciousness. The Rig Veda contains verses that were evidently written at least 75,000 years back, because they mention certain planetary positions which were existing at that time. This means that man has been evolving in the fieId 0f spiritual consciousness for at least 75,000 years. This is a very conservative view, but scientifically speaking, the process of consciousness is a very slow matter.
The mind, intellect and emotions evolve through this life, along with the atma, or spirit. We cannot see the mind, nor can we see the intellect or emotions. But we know that the intellect and emotions of a child are constantly developing and evolving. Likewise, we cannot see the spirit, but when we compare the people of different times, we can understand that the spirit has been evolving. It is the law of nature.
Even if you do not practise tantra or yoga, or any other sadhana, your kundalini will wake up, because man's ultimate destiny is to awaken shakti.
In order to practise kundalini yoga, it is important that you understand the nadis and chakras. Nadi means flow. Just as electrical wires conduct a flow of electrical energy, in this physical body there is also a flow of energy which is conducted by the nadis. In this energy system there is vital energy, known as prana, and mental energy, known as manas. These energies flow through two important nadis, ida and pingala. These two nadis emanate from mooladhara chakra and flow within the framework of the spinal column to their point of termination in ajna chakra. In the centre of the spinal column there is a third nadi called sushumna which flows from mooladhara up to ajna chakra, then on to sahasrara. But in most people it is a dormant flow: there is no activity; no awakening.
So we have three flows, known as ida, pingala and sushumna. You can also call them prana, manas and atma. Pingala nadi is on the right side and it supplies life and prana to all the organs of the body. Ida nadi is on the left side and it supplies mental energy to all the parts of the body. Therefore, this physical body is a composition of two shaktis. Now, what we have to do is awaken sushumna nadi. If sushumna is active, meditation occurs by itself.
If you want to bring light to your room, you must make electrical connections. In the same way, activation in sushumna must take place before the awakening of kundalini. If kundalini wakes up before the awakgning of sushumna, there will be problems. There are many people who have awakened kundalini before sushumna and the result has been that kundalini passes through either ida or pingala
The Sleeping Brain
As we have mentioned previously, the brain has ten compartments, and of these, nine are dormant and one is active. Whatever you know, whatever you think or do, is coming from one tenth of the brain. The other nine-tenths are known as the inactive or sleeping brain. Why are these compartments inactive? Because there is no energy.
The active portion of the brain functions on the energies of ida and pingala, but the other nine-tenths have only pingala. Pingala is life, and ida is consciousness. If a man is living, but is unable to think, we say that he has prana shakti but not manas shakti. Similarly, the silent parts of the brain have prana, not consciousness.
So a very difficult question arises - how to awaken the sleeping compartments of the brain? We know how to develop the emotions, intellect, mind and memory. We know how to awaken fear, anxiety and passion, but we do not know how to awaken these dormant areas of the brain.
In kundalini yoga it was discovered that the different parts of the brain are connected with chakras. Certain areas are connected with mooladhara chakra, others with swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi and ajna. I will give you a very simple example. You have seen lamps, but their switches are in another place. When you want to turn the light on or off, you don't touch the lamps, only the switches.
Modern science divides the dormant area of the brair into ten parts, whereas in kundalini yoga we divide it into six. The qualities or manifestations of the brain are also sixfold, e.g., the psychic powers. These manifest in different individuals according to the degree of awakening in the corresponding areas of the brain. Not everybody is clairvoyant or telepathic; some people are talented musicians. Anybody can sing, but there is a centre in the brain where transcendental music expresses itself.
A genius is one who has been able to awaken one of the dormant areas of the brain. This is the basis of kundalini yoga.
There are many people in the world who have awakened their kundalini. Not only saints and sadhus, but poets, painters, warriors, writers, anyone can awaken their kundalini. With the awakening of kundalini, not only visions of God take place; there is an opening of creative intelligence, an awakening of supramental faculties. By activating kundalini you may become anything in your life.
Everyone wants to overcome the limitations of body, mind and emotions. Day in and day out, man has so many fantasies, but he is unable to do anything. It appears as if he is tied hand and foot. These are the shackles of destiny which man has created himself on account of his invalid brain.
Man's brain is truly fantastic, but only one area is functioning. There is nothing which man does not have - knowledge of past, present and future. Karma cannot bind him; he is the master of his own destiny. But at present, man is limited because he has no power, no shakti. Man is a superior being, but he lacks one thing - the connection between kundalini and the brain.
To awaken the dormant areas of the brain, you must firstly activate sushumna, which is the connection between the higher centres of the brain and the generator at the bottom. Mooladhara chakra is the seat of kundalini shakti, or primal energy. This primal energy remains dormant in animals, but in human beings we have to activate Sushumna then awaken kundalini shakti and circulate it through sushumna, right from mooladhara upto sahasrara. As the shakti passes through the chakras, the silent zones of the brain start functioning.
Of course, when the shakti awakens suddenly in mooladhara, it cannot rise immediately. Many times it wakes up and sleeps again. You know how your children are in the morning; you have to wake them several times, because they keep going back to sleep again. That is the behaviour of kundalini. Through the kriyas you awaken it in mooladhara chakra, but it goes back to sleep. It may wake up again, or it may not. Sometimes it wants to play with us, and goes up to swadhisthana and again comes back to mooladhara, and there it is locked.
When the kundalini shakti ascends from mooladhara to swadhisthana it is a horrible experience, because all the physical passions arise. Many people today have awakened their kundalini and it is somewhere between mooladhara and swadhisthana. The five tattwas of tantra are associated with these two chakras. Once the kundalini leaves swadhisthana and ascends to manipura and anahata, you no longer need the five tattwas. The mere fact that today's society is practising the five tattwas in everyday life means that their kundalini is somewhere between mooladhara and swadhisthana.
The five tattwas, or elements, of tantra are madya (wine), mansa (flesh), maithuna (sexual union), mantra (the chanting of stanzas, scriptures, or psychic sounds) and mudra (practices such as shambhavi mudra, yoga mudra, etc.) If you have been to church during the communion, you will have seen the flesh, the wine and the chanting of scriptures. It is a tantric practice.
In tantra, the wine is of two varieties. One is the common wine that most people drink. The other is produced in the cranial passage at bindu chakra. This wine is called amrit, or ambrosia. It is extracted through the practice of khechari mudra, and refined in vishuddhi chakra.
There are also two kinds of maithuna. One is the physical union between a man and woman, which is practised differently to the usual way. It is only possible when you are able to do vajroli and sahajoli. In maithuna it is important to avoid conception, because when pregnancy takes place there is a break in the practices.
The second type of maithuna is completely internal. It occurs when there is union between ida and pingala at ajna chakra. Sometimes this experience is so terrific that one cannot bear it - not because it is too painful, but because it is too pleasant. Imagine a continuous orgasm for about seven minutes. What would happen? This prolonged orgasm is an exploding experience, and when it occurs the pranas seem to stop flowing through the body. The consciousness completely dissolves; the normal mind cannot function during this period. The body and mind enter a state of rigor mortis, as if the whole creation has come to a point of cessation. Although the body does not move, its functions continue. Gradually this experience recedes and normal consciousness returns.
In kundalini yoga, the union between a man and woman is yogic kriya, but it is definitely much better if you can experience this union alone. When you have a baby, you keep him with you. When the baby becomes a child, he does not need you all the time, and when he develops into a young man he leaves you in order to live independently.
Likewise, in the beginning, in order to awaken kundalini, you should try to exploit all the natural secrets. But once the awakening takes place, you should become independent. Therefore, it is not important whether a man and woman come together or not.
Of course, for those of you who are over fifty, there is little chance to practise tantra. Not that you are disqualified, but you have missed the bus. It is the young people who will benefit most from this science. For them, it will fulfil two promises. First of all, they will be able to transcend the urge through involving themselves in it; and secondly, they will have such a rich experience from the awakening of the brain.
Another point is that it won't be possible to have this experience every day, because it is so explosive that you feel it for fifteen days afterwards. Therefore, the practitioner of kundalini yoga is not compelled to involve himself in sexual life very frequently. Sometimes it is bi-annual, sometimes it is tri-ennial, not because he wants to control, but because he is fulfilled.
In the shakti cult, all five tattwas are utilized. They were also used in ancient Europe, even during the Roman period. But later, when the pseudo-Christian religions emerged, they discontinued them, They did not want the tantrics to 'eat' what they called the 'forbidden fruit', and the parable of Adam and Eve served as a great aid in the elimination of this practice.
Whether people are aware of it or not, the tattwas are part of their religion and culture even today. In kundalini yoga it is important that we understand the nature of these five elements because they are necessary for the awakening of kundalini from mooladhara to swadhisthana.
Prana and Purification of the Nadis
In kundalini yoga, pranayama is practised to purify and activate sushumna nadi so that kundaiini can ascend through it and awaken the chakras. When the chakras are activated their relevant and respective centres in the brain are triggered into action.
Pranayama is not practised to increase the intake of oxygen. Whether you breathe in through the left nostril, the right, or both nostrils, the quantity of oxygen in the body does not change. But when you inhale, you are taking in a certain amount of prana. Prana is different from oxygen.
In scientific terms they refer to prana as positive and negative ions. The formation of ions begjns when enough energy acts on a gaseous molecule to eject an electron. The displaced electron attaches itself to an adjacent atom then becomes a positive ion.
Inside a closed room there are only about 50 ions per cubic foot
outside there are about 500,
and in the mountains there are about 5000.
These positive and negative ions are the components of the air you breathe. When you take them in, they increase the level of prana in your body and are dispensed to the five areas for specific functions. In the practice of pranayama, kumbhaka or breath retention plays an essential part.
When you hold the breath, carbon dioxide is retained in the brain, and this increases the capacity for assimilating ions.
Prana flows to each and every part of this physical body through a complex network of nadis or nerve channels. The three main nadis, ida, pingala and sushumna, can be correlated with the parasympathetic, sympathetic and autonomic nervous systems respectively.
At present, sushumna is dormant, so ida and pingala are supplying energy to the whole physical body. The bodily organs and systems are directly connected with ida and pingala. If these two nadis are purified, energy will flow throughout the whole body. But when kundalini wakes up, passes through sushumna and joins ida and pingala in ajna chakra, this lower form of energy is withdrawn. The small generators are switched off and the greater energy begins to flow through these nadis, awakening the different zones in the brain and also supplying energy to the whole physical body.
Therefore, you have to prepare the way by practising asanas and pranayama, mudras and bandhas, and the hatha yoga techniques. These are all ways of purifying the different areas of the nervous system, and this is kundalini yoga.
Preparing for the Awakening
Without a guru you can practice any form of yoga, but not kundalini. This is an extremely powerful system of Yoga
Kundalini yoga does not start suddenly, or with fits, don't have to make any substantial change in your way of life. You can wear the same clothes, eat the same food and live in the same society, but you have to start your practice somewhere.
Please do not begin with advanced practices. For some time you should train and prepare the physical body - the organs, the pranas, the nervous system and other systems of the body. Then go to the mind, and gradually explore the deeper levels. Step by step, you should prepare yourself. If you are patient and make all the preparations correctly, then awakening of kundalini will take place.
Kundalini does not necessarily awaken in mooladhara. Sometimes it wakes up there and you don't realize it until it reaches manipura. There are some people who do not even know that their kundalini has ascended through the chakras, as they have not noticed any symptoms.
Sometimes we can tell that a man has awakened his kundalini because we see him as a genius, a creator. If you can give mankind a brilliant new idea, beautiful poetry, an original new style of painting, anything that is novel, then you are a genius, a person who has definitely awakened his kundalini.
Some people who have awakened kundalini look quite abnormal; they behave in a peculiar way. They are very disorganized, unsystematic and totally confused, and you can't understand what they are doing. Therefore, in yoga you are advised to discipline yourself right from the beginning, so that when kundalini wakes up you remain disciplined. Otherwise you might go out on the street and just lie down there.
Sometimes I used to feel like this. When I was living in Rishikesh, I decided to visit the Ganga each day and cross it five times, swimming through the icy cold water. One day Swami Sivananda called me and said: "Are you going to continue your swimming, or am I going to send you out of the ashram?" This brought me back to my senses.
Life has to be disciplined, So that when kundalini awakens you can remain organized and unconfused. You have to go to the office, to the bank, to the shop, and you have to drive a car as well. Everybody cannot become a swami.
Once upon a time l had this fantastic but impossible idea. I used to imagine 7,000 hectares of land where all people could take sannyas and stay. But since then I have realized that most people have to live a dynamic life: they have to face everything and accept it as a part of spiritual evolution. There is no need to suppress karma, friendship, ambitions, not even anger, greed or passion. One has to just live a very open life. I don't think that man is making a mistake, that he has gone astray or that he has become bad. I think that his present situation has been created so that he may evolve.
All people cannot become sattwic. Without tamasic and rajasic people, the world would be a horrible place to live in. I think that to live in a world of complete sanity would be just as difficult as living in a world of monsters. Let us have a garden where there are many varieties of flowers and trees. We do not want to cultivate roses without thorns.
Reference
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda
Teachings of Swami Satyananda Volume3)1982, p 209-219
Bihar School of Yoga
Munger, Bihar
India
Satyananda Ashram
Mangrove Mountain, NSW
Australia
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
801 From: Amenta Amenta <sethem131@yahoo.com>
Date: Fri Apr 22, 2005 4:47pm
Subject: Re: Kundalini Yoga sethem131
Offline
Send Email
Greetings Adam
A wonder-full piece of write , thanks for sharing
--- Adam West <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au> wrote:
>
> Hi all,
>
> I thought you might enjoy this!
>
> In kind regards,
>
> Adam.
>
>
http://satyamyoga.com/Kundalini%20Yoga.htmBURSTING> THE BUD OF CREATIVITY
>
>
>
>
> Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Antwerp. Belgium
>
> August1979
>
>
>
>
>
> For centuries, man has been pondering the
> possibility of a super-physical existence and, at
> the same time, he has been thinking about how to
> become the master of nature. Each time a person has
> an inner experience, he wants to know how it
> happened and from where it came. Occasionally we
> hear about a miraculous happening, or we may even
> experience one ourselves. Man is convinced that
> there is a power beyond the mind, but as yet he has
> been unable to clarify the whole situation. He has
> interpreted these phenomena as the emanations of
> some ghost, spirit or devil, who comes to tell him
> things. Man has not arrived at any final and valid
> conclusions about the cause of miraculous
> happenings.
>
> In the study of modern parapsychology, we have been
> confronting these problems. There are certain
> manifestations which need to be explained and
> understood in a more scientific light. For instance,
> we notice that people have different mental
> capacities -some have fantastic mental powers. You
> may have heard about Napoleon, when he was
> imprisoned during the last years of his life. Every
> day he would order the jailers to unlock the doors
> of his cell, with such force that they had to
> obey.Then he would go outside for a walk and on his
> return they locked the door again. This is just one
> example; there are many other events in life that
> need total investigation.
>
>
>
> Kundalini and Evolution
>
> Today, many people are curious about kundalini yoga,
> and they feel that it may provide some of the
> answers they are seeking. In the west, people once
> knew about the power of kundalini, but during the
> past two hundred years, prior to the last decade or
> two, the whole concept has completely diminished.
>
> In India, people have been making discoveries about
> kundalini yoga for ages. In order to awaken it, they
> devised many methods which were successful.
> Kundalini is the latent power in man which will
> manifest itself in due course according to the laws
> of evolution. Thousands of years from now people
> will have awakened kundalinis.
>
> Here you must remember one thing -although we are
> all born in a human body, on the spiritual plane we
> are not all at the same point. If you visit a
> school, you will understand what is meant by
> evolution. All pupils go to the same school, but
> they do not belong to the same class. They are
> progressing through the different stages of
> education until they ultimately reach the final
> class. In the same way, the consciousness of man has
> been evolving for millions of years.
>
> We know that in the days of the AtIantis
> civi1ization,Which existed more than 45,000 years
> ago, man had spiritual consciousness. The Rig Veda
> contains verses that were evidently written at least
> 75,000 years back, because they mention certain
> planetary positions which were existing at that
> time. This means that man has been evolving in the
> fieId 0f spiritual consciousness for at least 75,000
> years. This is a very conservative view, but
> scientifically speaking, the process of
> consciousness is a very slow matter.
>
> The mind, intellect and emotions evolve through this
> life, along with the atma, or spirit. We cannot see
> the mind, nor can we see the intellect or emotions.
> But we know that the intellect and emotions of a
> child are constantly developing and evolving.
> Likewise, we cannot see the spirit, but when we
> compare the people of different times, we can
> understand that the spirit has been evolving. It is
> the law of nature.
>
> Even if you do not practise tantra or yoga, or any
> other sadhana, your kundalini will wake up, because
> man's ultimate destiny is to awaken shakti.
>
> In order to practise kundalini yoga, it is important
> that you understand the nadis and chakras. Nadi
> means flow. Just as electrical wires conduct a flow
> of electrical energy, in this physical body there is
> also a flow of energy which is conducted by the
> nadis. In this energy system there is vital energy,
> known as prana, and mental energy, known as manas.
> These energies flow through two important nadis, ida
> and pingala. These two nadis emanate from mooladhara
> chakra and flow within the framework of the spinal
> column to their point of termination in ajna chakra.
> In the centre of the spinal column there is a third
> nadi called sushumna which flows from mooladhara up
> to ajna chakra, then on to sahasrara. But in most
> people it is a dormant flow: there is no activity;
> no awakening.
>
> So we have three flows, known as ida, pingala and
> sushumna. You can also call them prana, manas and
> atma. Pingala nadi is on the right side and it
> supplies life and prana to all the organs of the
> body. Ida nadi is on the left side and it supplies
> mental energy to all the parts of the body.
> Therefore, this physical body is a composition of
> two shaktis. Now, what we have to do is awaken
> sushumna nadi. If sushumna is active, meditation
> occurs by itself.
>
> If you want to bring light to your room, you must
> make electrical connections. In the same way,
> activation in sushumna must take place before the
> awakening of kundalini. If kundalini wakes up before
> the awakgning of sushumna, there will be problems.
> There are many people who have awakened kundalini
> before sushumna and the result has been that
> kundalini passes through either ida or pingala
>
> The Sleeping Brain
>
> As we have mentioned previously, the brain has ten
> compartments, and of these, nine are dormant and one
> is active. Whatever you know, whatever you think or
> do, is coming from one tenth of the brain. The other
> nine-tenths are known as the inactive or sleeping
> brain. Why are these compartments inactive? Because
> there is no energy.
>
> The active portion of the brain functions on the
> energies of ida and pingala, but the other
> nine-tenths have only pingala. Pingala is life, and
> ida is consciousness. If a man is living, but is
> unable to think, we say that he has prana shakti but
> not manas shakti. Similarly, the silent parts of the
> brain have prana, not consciousness.
>
> So a very difficult question arises - how to awaken
> the sleeping compartments of the brain? We know how
> to develop the emotions, intellect, mind and memory.
> We know how to awaken fear, anxiety and passion, but
> we do not know how to awaken these dormant areas of
> the brain.
>
> In kundalini yoga it was discovered that the
> different parts of the brain are connected with
> chakras. Certain areas are connected with mooladhara
> chakra, others with swadhisthana, manipura, anahata,
> vishuddhi and ajna. I will give you a very simple
> example. You have seen lamps, but their switches are
> in another place. When you want to turn the light on
> or off, you don't touch the lamps, only the
> switches.
>
> Modern science divides the dormant area of the brair
> into ten parts, whereas in kundalini yoga we divide
> it into six. The qualities or manifestations of the
> brain are also sixfold, e.g., the psychic powers.
> These manifest in different individuals according to
> the degree of awakening in the corresponding areas
> of the brain. Not everybody is clairvoyant or
> telepathic; some people are talented musicians.
> Anybody can sing, but there is a centre in the brain
> where transcendental music expresses itself.
>
> A genius is one who has been able to awaken one of
> the dormant areas of the brain. This is the basis of
> kundalini yoga.
>
> There are many people in the world who have awakened
> their kundalini. Not only saints and sadhus, but
> poets, painters, warriors, writers, anyone can
> awaken their kundalini. With the awakening of
> kundalini,
=== message truncated ===
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http://mail.yahoo.com 808 From: Ram Narayan Gupta <rngupta31@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Sat Apr 23, 2005 2:55am
Subject: Re: Kundalini Yoga rngupta31
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Send Email
Shri Adam!
Thanks for appending the extract of the Teachings of Swami Satyananda Sarasvati of Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, on Kundalini yoga.
I m having a book " Kundalini Tantra " written by Swami Satyananda Sarasvati which comprises of about 20 different type of Pranayamas, Meditations techniques for awakening of different chakras and Kundalini. Though I have not practiced all these pranayamas however i prefer to do Vipreetkarni Mudra 11 times in ujjayi pranayama alongwith spinal breathing pranayama as per AYP.
Due to my irregular practices I m not having much progress and according to the description given in the cited Article my Kundalini may be at Swadhisthana, Now I m somewhat serious about my regular practices.
Would u please suggest what set of pranayama with duration thereof are more conducive for awakening of Kundaini.
With kind regards,
R N Gupta
Adam West <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au> wrote:
Hi all,
I thought you might enjoy this!
In kind regards,
Adam.
http://satyamyoga.com/Kundalini%20Yoga.htmBURSTING THE BUD OF CREATIVITY
Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centre, Antwerp. Belgium
August1979
For centuries, man has been pondering the possibility of a super-physical existence and, at the same time, he has been thinking about how to become the master of nature. Each time a person has an inner experience, he wants to know how it happened and from where it came. Occasionally we hear about a miraculous happening, or we may even experience one ourselves. Man is convinced that there is a power beyond the mind, but as yet he has been unable to clarify the whole situation. He has interpreted these phenomena as the emanations of some ghost, spirit or devil, who comes to tell him things. Man has not arrived at any final and valid conclusions about the cause of miraculous happenings.
In the study of modern parapsychology, we have been confronting these problems. There are certain manifestations which need to be explained and understood in a more scientific light. For instance, we notice that people have different mental capacities -some have fantastic mental powers. You may have heard about Napoleon, when he was imprisoned during the last years of his life. Every day he would order the jailers to unlock the doors of his cell, with such force that they had to obey.Then he would go outside for a walk and on his return they locked the door again. This is just one example; there are many other events in life that need total investigation.
Kundalini and Evolution
Today, many people are curious about kundalini yoga, and they feel that it may provide some of the answers they are seeking. In the west, people once knew about the power of kundalini, but during the past two hundred years, prior to the last decade or two, the whole concept has completely diminished.
In India, people have been making discoveries about kundalini yoga for ages. In order to awaken it, they devised many methods which were successful. Kundalini is the latent power in man which will manifest itself in due course according to the laws of evolution. Thousands of years from now people will have awakened kundalinis.
Here you must remember one thing -although we are all born in a human body, on the spiritual plane we are not all at the same point. If you visit a school, you will understand what is meant by evolution. All pupils go to the same school, but they do not belong to the same class. They are progressing through the different stages of education until they ultimately reach the final class. In the same way, the consciousness of man has been evolving for millions of years.
We know that in the days of the AtIantis civi1ization,Which existed more than 45,000 years ago, man had spiritual consciousness. The Rig Veda contains verses that were evidently written at least 75,000 years back, because they mention certain planetary positions which were existing at that time. This means that man has been evolving in the fieId 0f spiritual consciousness for at least 75,000 years. This is a very conservative view, but scientifically speaking, the process of consciousness is a very slow matter.
The mind, intellect and emotions evolve through this life, along with the atma, or spirit. We cannot see the mind, nor can we see the intellect or emotions. But we know that the intellect and emotions of a child are constantly developing and evolving. Likewise, we cannot see the spirit, but when we compare the people of different times, we can understand that the spirit has been evolving. It is the law of nature.
Even if you do not practise tantra or yoga, or any other sadhana, your kundalini will wake up, because man's ultimate destiny is to awaken shakti.
In order to practise kundalini yoga, it is important that you understand the nadis and chakras. Nadi means flow. Just as electrical wires conduct a flow of electrical energy, in this physical body there is also a flow of energy which is conducted by the nadis. In this energy system there is vital energy, known as prana, and mental energy, known as manas. These energies flow through two important nadis, ida and pingala. These two nadis emanate from mooladhara chakra and flow within the framework of the spinal column to their point of termination in ajna chakra. In the centre of the spinal column there is a third nadi called sushumna which flows from mooladhara up to ajna chakra, then on to sahasrara. But in most people it is a dormant flow: there is no activity; no awakening.
So we have three flows, known as ida, pingala and sushumna. You can also call them prana, manas and atma. Pingala nadi is on the right side and it supplies life and prana to all the organs of the body. Ida nadi is on the left side and it supplies mental energy to all the parts of the body. Therefore, this physical body is a composition of two shaktis. Now, what we have to do is awaken sushumna nadi. If sushumna is active, meditation occurs by itself.
If you want to bring light to your room, you must make electrical connections. In the same way, activation in sushumna must take place before the awakening of kundalini. If kundalini wakes up before the awakgning of sushumna, there will be problems. There are many people who have awakened kundalini before sushumna and the result has been that kundalini passes through either ida or pingala
The Sleeping Brain
As we have mentioned previously, the brain has ten compartments, and of these, nine are dormant and one is active. Whatever you know, whatever you think or do, is coming from one tenth of the brain. The other nine-tenths are known as the inactive or sleeping brain. Why are these compartments inactive? Because there is no energy.
The active portion of the brain functions on the energies of ida and pingala, but the other nine-tenths have only pingala. Pingala is life, and ida is consciousness. If a man is living, but is unable to think, we say that he has prana shakti but not manas shakti. Similarly, the silent parts of the brain have prana, not consciousness.
So a very difficult question arises - how to awaken the sleeping compartments of the brain? We know how to develop the emotions, intellect, mind and memory. We know how to awaken fear, anxiety and passion, but we do not know how to awaken these dormant areas of the brain.
In kundalini yoga it was discovered that the different parts of the brain are connected with chakras. Certain areas are connected with mooladhara chakra, others with swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi and ajna. I will give you a very simple example. You have seen lamps, but their switches are in another place. When you want to turn the light on or off, you don't touch the lamps, only the switches.
Modern science divides the dormant area of the brair into ten parts, whereas in kundalini yoga we divide it into six. The qualities or manifestations of the brain are also sixfold, e.g., the psychic powers. These manifest in different individuals according to the degree of awakening in the corresponding areas of the brain. Not everybody is clairvoyant or telepathic; some people are talented musicians. Anybody can sing, but there is a centre in the brain where transcendental music expresses itself.
A genius is one who has been able to awaken one of the dormant areas of the brain. This is the basis of kundalini yoga.
There are many people in the world who have awakened their kundalini. Not only saints and sadhus, but poets, painters, warriors, writers, anyone can awaken their kundalini. With the awakening of kundalini, not only visions of God take place; there is an opening of creative intelligence, an awakening of supramental faculties. By activating kundalini you may become anything in your life.
Everyone wants to overcome the limitations of body, mind and emotions. Day in and day out, man has so many fantasies, but he is unable to do anything. It appears as if he is tied hand and foot. These are the shackles of destiny which man has created himself on account of his invalid brain.
Man's brain is truly fantastic, but only one area is functioning. There is nothing which man does not have - knowledge of past, present and future. Karma cannot bind him; he is the master of his own destiny. But at present, man is limited because he has no power, no shakti. Man is a superior being, but he lacks one thing - the connection between kundalini and the brain.
To awaken the dormant areas of the brain, you must firstly activate sushumna, which is the connection between the higher centres of the brain and the generator at the bottom. Mooladhara chakra is the seat of kundalini shakti, or primal energy. This primal energy remains dormant in animals, but in human beings we have to activate Sushumna then awaken kundalini shakti and circulate it through sushumna, right from mooladhara upto sahasrara. As the shakti passes through the chakras, the silent zones of the brain start functioning.
Of course, when the shakti awakens suddenly in mooladhara, it cannot rise immediately. Many times it wakes up and sleeps again. You know how your children are in the morning; you have to wake them several times, because they keep going back to sleep again. That is the behaviour of kundalini. Through the kriyas you awaken it in mooladhara chakra, but it goes back to sleep. It may wake up again, or it may not. Sometimes it wants to play with us, and goes up to swadhisthana and again comes back to mooladhara, and there it is locked.
When the kundalini shakti ascends from mooladhara to swadhisthana it is a horrible experience, because all the physical passions arise. Many people today have awakened their kundalini and it is somewhere between mooladhara and swadhisthana. The five tattwas of tantra are associated with these two chakras. Once the kundalini leaves swadhisthana and ascends to manipura and anahata, you no longer need the five tattwas. The mere fact that today's society is practising the five tattwas in everyday life means that their kundalini is somewhere between mooladhara and swadhisthana.
The five tattwas, or elements, of tantra are madya (wine), mansa (flesh), maithuna (sexual union), mantra (the chanting of stanzas, scriptures, or psychic sounds) and mudra (practices such as shambhavi mudra, yoga mudra, etc.) If you have been to church during the communion, you will have seen the flesh, the wine and the chanting of scriptures. It is a tantric practice.
In tantra, the wine is of two varieties. One is the common wine that most people drink. The other is produced in the cranial passage at bindu chakra. This wine is called amrit, or ambrosia. It is extracted through the practice of khechari mudra, and refined in vishuddhi chakra.
There are also two kinds of maithuna. One is the physical union between a man and woman, which is practised differently to the usual way. It is only possible when you are able to do vajroli and sahajoli. In maithuna it is important to avoid conception, because when pregnancy takes place there is a break in the practices.
The second type of maithuna is completely internal. It occurs when there is union between ida and pingala at ajna chakra. Sometimes this experience is so terrific that one cannot bear it - not because it is too painful, but because it is too pleasant. Imagine a continuous orgasm for about seven minutes. What would happen? This prolonged orgasm is an exploding experience, and when it occurs the pranas seem to stop flowing through the body. The consciousness completely dissolves; the normal mind cannot function during this period. The body and mind enter a state of rigor mortis, as if the whole creation has come to a point of cessation. Although the body does not move, its functions continue. Gradually this experience recedes and normal consciousness returns.
In kundalini yoga, the union between a man and woman is yogic kriya, but it is definitely much better if you can experience this union alone. When you have a baby, you keep him with you. When the baby becomes a child, he does not need you all the time, and when he develops into a young man he leaves you in order to live independently.
Likewise, in the beginning, in order to awaken kundalini, you should try to exploit all the natural secrets. But once the awakening takes place, you should become independent. Therefore, it is not important whether a man and woman come together or not.
Of course, for those of you who are over fifty, there is little chance to practise tantra. Not that you are disqualified, but you have missed the bus. It is the young people who will benefit most from this science. For them, it will fulfil two promises. First of all, they will be able to transcend the urge through involving themselves in it; and secondly, they will have such a rich experience from the awakening of the brain.
Another point is that it won't be possible to have this experience every day, because it is so explosive that you feel it for fifteen days afterwards. Therefore, the practitioner of kundalini yoga is not compelled to involve himself in sexual life very frequently. Sometimes it is bi-annual, sometimes it is tri-ennial, not because he wants to control, but because he is fulfilled.
In the shakti cult, all five tattwas are utilized. They were also used in ancient Europe, even during the Roman period. But later, when the pseudo-Christian religions emerged, they discontinued them, They did not want the tantrics to 'eat' what they called the 'forbidden fruit', and the parable of Adam and Eve served as a great aid in the elimination of this practice.
Whether people are aware of it or not, the tattwas are part of their religion and culture even today. In kundalini yoga it is important that we understand the nature of these five elements because they are necessary for the awakening of kundalini from mooladhara to swadhisthana.
Prana and Purification of the Nadis
In kundalini yoga, pranayama is practised to purify and activate sushumna nadi so that kundaiini can ascend through it and awaken the chakras. When the chakras are activated their relevant and respective centres in the brain are triggered into action.
Pranayama is not practised to increase the intake of oxygen. Whether you breathe in through the left nostril, the right, or both nostrils, the quantity of oxygen in the body does not change. But when you inhale, you are taking in a certain amount of prana. Prana is different from oxygen.
In scientific terms they refer to prana as positive and negative ions. The formation of ions begjns when enough energy acts on a gaseous molecule to eject an electron. The displaced electron attaches itself to an adjacent atom then becomes a positive ion.
Inside a closed room there are only about 50 ions per cubic foot
outside there are about 500,
and in the mountains there are about 5000.
These positive and negative ions are the components of the air you breathe. When you take them in, they increase the level of prana in your body and are dispensed to the five areas for specific functions. In the practice of pranayama, kumbhaka or breath retention plays an essential part.
When you hold the breath, carbon dioxide is retained in the brain, and this increases the capacity for assimilating ions.
Prana flows to each and every part of this physical body through a complex network of nadis or nerve channels. The three main nadis, ida, pingala and sushumna, can be correlated with the parasympathetic, sympathetic and autonomic nervous systems respectively.
At present, sushumna is dormant, so ida and pingala are supplying energy to the whole physical body. The bodily organs and systems are directly connected with ida and pingala. If these two nadis are purified, energy will flow throughout the whole body. But when kundalini wakes up, passes through sushumna and joins ida and pingala in ajna chakra, this lower form of energy is withdrawn. The small generators are switched off and the greater energy begins to flow through these nadis, awakening the different zones in the brain and also supplying energy to the whole physical body.
Therefore, you have to prepare the way by practising asanas and pranayama, mudras and bandhas, and the hatha yoga techniques. These are all ways of purifying the different areas of the nervous system, and this is kundalini yoga.
Preparing for the Awakening
Without a guru you can practice any form of yoga, but not kundalini. This is an extremely powerful system of Yoga
Kundalini yoga does not start suddenly, or with fits, don't have to make any substantial change in your way of life. You can wear the same clothes, eat the same food and live in the same society, but you have to start your practice somewhere.
Please do not begin with advanced practices. For some time you should train and prepare the physical body - the organs, the pranas, the nervous system and other systems of the body. Then go to the mind, and gradually explore the deeper levels. Step by step, you should prepare yourself. If you are patient and make all the preparations correctly, then awakening of kundalini will take place.
Kundalini does not necessarily awaken in mooladhara. Sometimes it wakes up there and you don't realize it until it reaches manipura. There are some people who do not even know that their kundalini has ascended through the chakras, as they have not noticed any symptoms.
Sometimes we can tell that a man has awakened his kundalini because we see him as a genius, a creator. If you can give mankind a brilliant new idea, beautiful poetry, an original new style of painting, anything that is novel, then you are a genius, a person who has definitely awakened his kundalini.
Some people who have awakened kundalini look quite abnormal; they behave in a peculiar way. They are very disorganized, unsystematic and totally confused, and you can't understand what they are doing. Therefore, in yoga you are advised to discipline yourself right from the beginning, so that when kundalini wakes up you remain disciplined. Otherwise you might go out on the street and just lie down there.
Sometimes I used to feel like this. When I was living in Rishikesh, I decided to visit the Ganga each day and cross it five times, swimming through the icy cold water. One day Swami Sivananda called me and said: "Are you going to continue your swimming, or am I going to send you out of the ashram?" This brought me back to my senses.
Life has to be disciplined, So that when kundalini awakens you can remain organized and unconfused. You have to go to the office, to the bank, to the shop, and you have to drive a car as well. Everybody cannot become a swami.
Once upon a time l had this fantastic but impossible idea. I used to imagine 7,000 hectares of land where all people could take sannyas and stay. But since then I have realized that most people have to live a dynamic life: they have to face everything and accept it as a part of spiritual evolution. There is no need to suppress karma, friendship, ambitions, not even anger, greed or passion. One has to just live a very open life. I don't think that man is making a mistake, that he has gone astray or that he has become bad. I think that his present situation has been created so that he may evolve.
All people cannot become sattwic. Without tamasic and rajasic people, the world would be a horrible place to live in. I think that to live in a world of complete sanity would be just as difficult as living in a world of monsters. Let us have a garden where there are many varieties of flowers and trees. We do not want to cultivate roses without thorns.
Reference
Saraswati, Swami Satyananda
Teachings of Swami Satyananda Volume3)1982, p 209-219
Bihar School of Yoga
Munger, Bihar
India
Satyananda Ashram
Mangrove Mountain, NSW
Australia
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809 From: "Adam West" <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au>
Date: Sat Apr 23, 2005 5:15am
Subject: Re: Kundalini Yoga fraterandros1
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Hi R N Gupta,
>>Shri Adam!<<
Hahahahahaa ;-)
Thanks for appending the extract of the Teachings of Swami Satyananda Sarasvati of Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, on Kundalini yoga.
My pleasure, I consider that Swami Satyananda is a great read, one of the Great living masters!
>>I m having a book " Kundalini Tantra " written by Swami Satyananda Sarasvati which comprises of about 20 different type of Pranayamas, Meditations techniques for awakening of different chakras and Kundalini. Though I have not practiced all these pranayamas however i prefer to do Vipreetkarni Mudra 11 times in ujjayi pranayama alongwith spinal breathing pranayama as per AYP.<<
Yep I have this text as well, very informative, probably a good purchase for any serious student of yoga and aspirant to full realization.
Due to my irregular practices I m not having much progress and according to the description given in the cited Article my Kundalini may be at Swadhisthana, Now I m somewhat serious about my regular practices.
Ok...:-)
Would u please suggest what set of pranayama with duration thereof are more conducive for awakening of Kundaini.
Mmm, this is a very good question, one which I have contemplated for a long time, also one which I have sort out an answer to, from so many different teachers and texts my self over the years. Firstly, you will see a pattern within my thinking that is a direct result my own personal searching's and practices. Over the years, I have found that there are so many different answers to the questions, given by various Adepts and authorities. It is for this reason that I do not hold to the concept of a right and wrong answer to questions of spirituality, and questions in general. Rather those that work for us in the moment, and may be seen to be inappropriate in the next.
I agree with Yogani, that the central principle of success in these matters and life in general, is 'the Guru is with in you'. So it is for this reason, that I primarily rely on personal intuition, that said, ones realization of same, often can flow through from an outside channel. For, as it would seem, all is One, so there is no distinction in the end, is there? Certainly it would seem corruption and distortion can find its way into our conscious minds via either means, so a neutral detachment and balance seems like a good idea towards all such 'apparent realizations', thus I have no answers for you, just contemplations of my own. For in remaining within this neutral open state at the conscious level, one allows for the manifestation of Macrocosmic realization, or in other words, the constant flow of Divine Consciousness and its realizations/knowingness (at the most personal-dualistic level- answers to such questions, as they arise) to naturally flow through us from moment to moment. To hold any such opinion, directive or prescription, is to block any contrary Realizations, as they may arise.
In my travels, I have seen a pattern of what seems to be representative of my personal intuitions in a number of people 'out there'. One of them is Yogani, and the teachings that have been provided. So I would thoroughly endorse and encourage as a starting point those teachings! From there, it may be appropriate to wean your self from any such props, and trust inner knowingness :-)
To say something of my personal response to the questions raised, I might say a couple of things.... Firstly, a little bit of consistent practice, in order to establish helpful habits might be a good idea. Once a positive habit has been established it is very easy to maintain, as you have encoded it into your subconscious mind which is a slave of habit, good or bad. So that may help you with irregular practice. Secondly, practices that work well for 'you', may result in significant 'good' results, such results will keep you coming back for more. This is just basic operant (operational) conditioning, like training a dog with rewards (the subconscious can be liken to such instinctual mechanistic functioning). So to find a practice that results in bliss and spiritual states will keep you coming back for more and more, hence irregularity, will dissolve in the face of regularity :-)
On a more personal level, it has become apparent to me (conditional to the above context), that simple is better that complex. Cultural conditioning, favors ever complex development, and on one level this would seem to be quite appropriate and natural, for the Divine, through its involution, has come from the 'One to the Many' , hence complexity is its nature at this level of expression/manifestation. That said, its source is profound simplicity, so much so, it is beyond the comprehension of the third dimensional mind. I have found, the modern colloquialism, 'keep it simple stupid" to be an apt intuitive realization. It is for this reason that I don't feel it is a good idea to have an ever increasingly complex routine of practices.
At the most personal level, my current opinion, until it would seem otherwise, is one practice thoroughly mastered and perfected, with high intensity of focus (yet with complete relaxation) and ever longer duration, will result in profound internalization of ones attention, ever increasing bliss, expansion of awareness, dissolution of personality identification and associated limitations. I find focusing on the energies of Being/Consciousness, working with the breath, stilling of the surface mind and absorption within the underlying ocean of Self/Being/Divine Consciousness to have the effect of its (my) steady realization. As you can see, that is fairly vacant of any kind of details of a specific technique, just a guideline of general aims, thus 'any' technique that works for you can be applied if you use it to experience deeper realization of Self.
I simply use spinal breathing, with subtle personal variations, to charge my nervous system, organic and etheric, to activate, awaken, purify, balance and unify my chakras, brain centers, lower bodies and surface mind with that of Divine Consciousness. This in combination with celibacy (non-dogmatic and spontaneous) and then resting in one pointed contact with Divine Consciousness, (which I experience through the potal of Ajna Chakra, as a center of infinity, which I steadily merge with in one pointed focused attention), the waves of the apparent little self, come to a rest and the ocean of Macrocosmic Being/Self/Divine Consciousness is steadily experienced/realized.
This meditational practice is progressively maintained as a constant, all life/experience is lived as a Tantric initiate, that is one remains in the intuitive realization gained in meditation and it is carried into daily life. All 'mundane' experience is transmuted from the perspective of the culturally conditioned consensus reality of survival consciousness, to that of 'intuitive unity consciousness, where there is a natural, blissful flow of experience, in which joy simply accepts and dances with the Divine interplay of life.
So in conclusion, my essential point is, I think you 'know' already what your inner inspiration is. Technique wise, it may serve you to energize, charge and balance the little self, thus it may rest in harmonious stillness in the Ocean of Sat Chit Ananda...The Totality of You.
In kind regards,
Adam.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
811 From: Ram Narayan Gupta <rngupta31@yahoo.co.in>
Date: Sat Apr 23, 2005 7:24am
Subject: Re: Kundalini Yoga rngupta31
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Shri Adam!
Thanks for your detailed mail with guidance for daily practic .
IN ONE OF THE PARA u have mentioned that U simply use spinal breathing, with subtle personal variations, to charge my nervous system----------
In this regard, if U donot mind may I request u to please give some hints about your " subtle personal variations" if possible. If U wish it may be given at my personal E mail ID.I will feel favoured for the same.
My ID: rngupta31@yahoo.co.in
Wth kind regards,
Ram
Adam West <adamwest1@iprimus.com.au> wrote:
Hi R N Gupta,
>>Shri Adam!<<
Hahahahahaa ;-)
Thanks for appending the extract of the Teachings of Swami Satyananda Sarasvati of Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, on Kundalini yoga.
My pleasure, I consider that Swami Satyananda is a great read, one of the Great living masters!
>>I m having a book " Kundalini Tantra " written by Swami Satyananda Sarasvati which comprises of about 20 different type of Pranayamas, Meditations techniques for awakening of different chakras and Kundalini. Though I have not practiced all these pranayamas however i prefer to do Vipreetkarni Mudra 11 times in ujjayi pranayama alongwith spinal breathing pranayama as per AYP.<<
Yep I have this text as well, very informative, probably a good purchase for any serious student of yoga and aspirant to full realization.
Due to my irregular practices I m not having much progress and according to the description given in the cited Article my Kundalini may be at Swadhisthana, Now I m somewhat serious about my regular practices.
Ok...:-)
Would u please suggest what set of pranayama with duration thereof are more conducive for awakening of Kundaini.
Mmm, this is a very good question, one which I have contemplated for a long time, also one which I have sort out an answer to, from so many different teachers and texts my self over the years. Firstly, you will see a pattern within my thinking that is a direct result my own personal searching's and practices. Over the years, I have found that there are so many different answers to the questions, given by various Adepts and authorities. It is for this reason that I do not hold to the concept of a right and wrong answer to questions of spirituality, and questions in general. Rather those that work for us in the moment, and may be seen to be inappropriate in the next.
I agree with Yogani, that the central principle of success in these matters and life in general, is 'the Guru is with in you'. So it is for this reason, that I primarily rely on personal intuition, that said, ones realization of same, often can flow through from an outside channel. For, as it would seem, all is One, so there is no distinction in the end, is there? Certainly it would seem corruption and distortion can find its way into our conscious minds via either means, so a neutral detachment and balance seems like a good idea towards all such 'apparent realizations', thus I have no answers for you, just contemplations of my own. For in remaining within this neutral open state at the conscious level, one allows for the manifestation of Macrocosmic realization, or in other words, the constant flow of Divine Consciousness and its realizations/knowingness (at the most personal-dualistic level- answers to such questions, as they arise) to naturally flow through us from moment to
moment. To hold any such opinion, directive or prescription, is to block any contrary Realizations, as they may arise.
In my travels, I have seen a pattern of what seems to be representative of my personal intuitions in a number of people 'out there'. On
