Kundalini-Up or Dow? by Peter Holleran

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Kundalini: Up, Down, or ?

by Peter Holleran
The kundalini is a widespread yet 'mystifying' topic. Many speak of it, but few can say
with precision exactly what it is, what must happen with it, or what a would-be spiritual
aspirant must do with it. Are we to be as "Clark Kent Ji, mild mannered sadhu for a great
metropolitan ashram, able to leap tall chakras at a single bound...", or may we be
unconcerned with the whole thing?
[Note: this article was written in stages, rambles more than a little bit, and still needs
editorial work; keeping that in mind, and reading all the links, we feel it nevertheless
contains enough food for thought that it may prove to be of value].
Some sages say that for spiritual realization the kundalini or 'serpent power' must 'awaken', ascend up the spine and reach the
sahasrar chakra at the top of the head and merge therein. Others teach, no, the sahsrar center is only the beginning of a much
higher ascending path where kundalini is left behind. Still others argue that the kundalini and the mind must then also descend
from the sahasrar back down into the formless heart on the right. Finally, there are those who say that the kundalini or shakti or
life energy, potentially or actually, ascends and descends within the body-mind in a circle, and one needs to cultivate it, or
alternatively, nothing need be done with it or to it within the confines of the body-mind in order to realize prior consciousness itself,
the source of a greater or Maha-Shakti, of which kundalini is a stepped-down emanation. Finally, others interpret kundalini in a
variety of additional ways, and view it as an inevitable, if secondary, part of a greater spiritual process. In this article we will
examine these different views and try to make sense out of many seeming contradictions. Links are provided herein to other
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articles that add much to the discussion. This essay covers a lot of ground and tends to ramble - we acknowledge that it still
needs a lot of work - so please read with both kindness and discrimination.
Lakshmana Swamy (b. 1925) is believed by some to be a Self-Realized devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi. His point of view on
the kundalini or serpent power is, not surprisingly, similar to that of Ramana, but radically different from that taught in most yoga
paths. His view that the mind must die in the heart is quite opposed to those schools that teach the kundalini must merge in the
sahasrar for realization to occur. Lakshmana has taught that the life force or attention must descend via a terminal pathway from
the sahasrar into the causal heart center for realization of the Self, which Ramana originally said was felt intuitively from the bodily
point of view to be on the right side of the chest, 'two digits from the midline.' As will be shown, however, this view is not exactly
the same as that of Ramana in his full maturity, nor that of most contemporary non-dualist teachers, who do not teach that full
inner trance absorption in the heart on the right or anywhere else is required for awakening or enlightenment. Also, it must be
distinguished that the retraction of the soul or its emanant, the attention, up to the crown and then down into the heart, is not the
same as saying the kundalini energy itself must do the same. The two are different processes. It is entirely possible for attention
to be absorbed with the life energy remaining as it is, keeping the life in the body going naturally. Further, while there does seem
to be an inherent logic to a polarization of energy and attention -and purification or subtlization towards the crown, in any one case
the opening of chakras and their purification may or may not happen, and in any order, depending on various factors.
After we have discussed the life and realization of Lakshmana Swamy we will offer a brief life sketch of Swami Sivananda, as an
example of one who disseminated the traditional yogic view that the kundalini must reach the sahasrar for realization. With small
modifications, this general view is similar to that taught by Swami Muktananda, Paramahansa Yogananda, at times Ramakrishna,
and also Swami Shiv Dayal Singh of the Radhasoami school.
As a child Lakshmana never had any interest in either school studies or religion, although he did have an aptitude for line
drawings. He was active in sports at school, yet liked to spend much time sitting quietly by himself. His schoolmates were very
fond of him because of his keen sense of humor and ability to make everyone laugh.
At the age of seventeen Swamy had an experience which dispelled his scepticism of spirituality. He felt an "evil force" descend
upon him, like a weight crushing his chest. He spontaneously began to repeat the Rama mantra ("Rama, Rama"), which had the
effect of dispelling the force. After this he made it a habit to rise at 3 A.M., go for a swim, and engage pranayama (breathing
exercises) and japa (mantra repetition) until 5 A.M. He grew increasingly dispassionate, and resisted all efforts by his family to get
him married and settled into a normal life. He entered college, but after his first year he had a spiritual experience in which he saw
a "sudden flash of light within. The divine light shone in its full magnificence. (1) Swamy tried to repeat the experience but was not
successful, and he felt more and more the need of a human guru for further guidance and grace.
Swamy heard of Ramana Maharshi from one of his college professors, who was a disciple of the sage, and after twice failing his
second year exams he began to intensify his meditations. In 1948 he met Ramana at his abode in Tiruvannamalai, and shortly
afterwards experienced the permanent death of his 'I"-thought in Ramana's company.
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"There was 'a lightning flash and a flood of divine light shining within and without.' Sri Ramana' s face was smiling 'with more
radiance than that of innumerable lightning flashes fused into one. In that ineffable bliss tears of joy welled down in unending
succession, and they could not be resisted.' Finally, the 'I'-thought went back to its source, the picture of Ramana Maharshi
disappeared and the Self absorbed his whole being." (2)
Lakshmana spent the next year in trance samadhi most of the time and let his body waste away for want of attention. Finally he
moved near his family in order that his physical needs be taken care of. For two or three years he spent most of his time in the
hut provided for him, eating little and speaking less. People heard that he was a great ascetic and began gathering around him,
and he eventually consented to give his darshan, first only once a year, then, from 1951-1972, twice a year. In 1974, Swamy met
Mathru Sri Sarada (1959- ), a young girl whom he had seen in a vision twenty years before. Within four years, she, too, according
to their report, realized the Self, and during the period of her sadhana Swamy was much more available for darshan. The story of
Sarada' s realization contains an account of an interesting phenomenon, one which may be unique in the literature of the spiritual
traditions.
"Just before Sarada realized the Self her 'I '-thought tried to escape by break ing her sk ull. If I (Swamy) had not been present
the experience would have k illed her. The 'I '-thought would have brok en her sk ull and escaped to the higher regions where it
would have been born again." (3)
Sarada said that this was like an axe trying to split her head open from the inside. She put her head on Swamy's feet in
surrender and her 'I'-thought "subsided forever." It was a year after this before she was able to function normally in the world again,
as she had lost all interest in it and was continually on the verge of dropping the body. It was only her love for Swamy that brought
her back to the world. At the present time she helps Swamy look after devotees. Whatever one is to make of Sarada's realization
experience, it is certain that the peculiar dramatic nature of it is rare. Neither Ramana Maharshi nor Lakshmana Swamy felt the 'I'thought threaten to break their skull in its flight from the Heart. Others, however, have reported experiences of pain and pressure in
the head due to the force of the kundalini energy, and these accounts are worth examining.
Two points must be made regarding the nature of the kundalini phenomenon before proceeding further. One, as mentioned in
numerous places in this book, the testimony of the ancient sages who authored the Vedas and Upanishads is that the primary
locus of spiritual realization is associated with the heart, and not with the sahasrar as claimed by contemporary exponents of
kundalini yoga and other similar yogic traditions. Secondly, many yogis mistake the trance states associated with the ascension
of attention to the ajna chakra (the center behind the eyes in the brain core) for the passage of attention, to the sahasrar (which is
above the brain core). They explore the sky of mind in the braincore, the blue pearl of Muktananda, or the cosmic blue of
Yogananda, etc., and do not pass to egoic dissolution at the heart or at the sahsrar.
If Sarada had been directed towards yogic ascent she would have followed the (apparently) awakened kundalini (in her case) to
the crown of the head and, indeed, experienced her 'I'-thought being reborn into further destiny on the subtle planes. with the help
of her guru her 'I'-thought became "cauterized" in the heart, thus providing her with the right foundation for true and radical ascent
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at some future time. Her tendencies for ascent were strong, as evidenced by the fact that even after her heart-realization she had
difficulty staying in the body. This may be the remnants of a karmic liability, or it may illustrate a common disposition in those
newly self-realized. Many individuals spend significant time after initial self-realization in states of internal absorption. This was the
case with Sarada, Swami, Ramana Maharshi, Meher Baba and others.This is because the first awakened Self tends to assciate
the manifest realms with bondage, but until the Self is realized under all conditions true lasting and full realization is not achieved.
In other words, the very revulsion or turning away from experience that accompanies the intuitive awakening of Self-Realization is a
tendency that could delay entry into the ultimate stage. It is not clear if Swamy or Saradi have made this transition, despite their
concession to continue living in the world.
It appears, in the case of Sarada, that, perhaps, due to her young age, brevity of sadhana, and other reasons karmically unique
to her, that a dramatic and painful transition occured, during which she was fortunate to have had the immediate help of her guru.
Yet this does not necessarily have to happen. Heart-communion with the master can enable one to avoid many of the dangers and
obstacles, as well as 'shoals and sandbanks' in the sea of spirituality. However, sometimes it is the inherent character liabilities of
an individual that prevent that transmission of the heart or hridaya-shakti of a sage or master from being effective and sufficient. An
example of this is found in the practice of Ganapati Muni, a famous disciple of Ramana Maharshi, who experienced rare and
remarkable yogic phenomena, yet was not successful in attaining Self-Realization. Ganapati Muni met Maharshi after twenty
years of fruitless spiritual efforts, and inunediately recognized that he was no ordinary man but rather a great sage of the highest
type. It was Ganapati who gave him the name Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and became his most ardent supporter. He chose to
do much of his spiritual practice away from Ramana's direct company, but after two years he returned to Ramanasramam to be
with the sage. Along the way he experienced a spontaneous, forceful awakening of the kundalini-shakti (which he confessed was
not caused by any intention on his part, but, rather, was the "result of the grace of his Guru and God"), and which began a
strenuous, two-week ordeal in which he endured the yogic phenomenon known in the Taittirya Upanishad as vyapohya sirsha
k apale, or "the breaking of the skull". Ganapati began to experience a flood of energy through his body at all times, with a stream
of bliss piercing his head making him completely intoxicated He felt totally out of control of his body and went to Maharshi for
guidance. The sage blessed him with a pat of the hand on his head and said not to worry.
"That night Ganapati suffered terribly. There was an unbearable burning sensation throughout his body...It look ed as though his
head would break into pieces at any time. He suffered unbearable pain. Suddenly a sound was heard, something lik e smok e was
seen. The Kundalini had caused an aperture at the top of his sk ull... After that experience for ten days something lik e smok e or
vapour was found emanating from the orifice at the top of the sk ull. By that time the burning sensation subsided. The play of
force became bearable. The long story of suffering, pain and agony ended. The body was filled with the flow of cool nectar of
bliss. The face of the Muni reflected an ethereal splendour. His eyes bore the effulgence of the supernatural. After this
extraordinary experience of k apalabheda, the Muni lived for fourteen years.... " (4)
This event awed the disciples of Ganapati Muni, who were knowledgable about the practices of kundalini yoga but were
unprepared for such a rare and unusual phenomenon. There are few references to the "breaking of the skull" in the traditional
literature, and it is essentially unknown in the teachings of contemporary yogis. What references there are, particularly in the
Tibetan tradition, usually mention that such an experience can happen to a yogi only at the time of death.
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Tibetan tradition, usually mention that such an experience can happen to a yogi only at the time of death.
In spite of the unusual nature of Ganapati's transformation, Maharshi affirmed that he had not attained enlightenment. When
asked whether the Muni was realized after his death, Ramana replied, "How could he? His sank alpas'(inherent tendencies) were
too strong." In other words, in Ganapati Muni's case the overwhelming awakening of the kundalini was yet not sufficient to unlock
the "knot of self" that was still alive at the heart. He had not yet realized the causal heart or the all-pervading, formless Self.
Another disciple of the Maharshi reported the awakening of the kundalini with radically different results, including the awakening
of his heart center. See: Nothing Existed Except the Eyes of the Maharshi by By N. R. Krishnamurti Aiyer .
J. Krishnamurti wrote of a process of several decades in length during which he suffered intense pain inhis head and spine, yet
he, apparently failed to complete the full course of yoga. In his case, he repudiated his early yogic experiences, arguing principally
for what he termed "choice less awareness", and in so doing confused (at least for his listeners) the profundities of advanced
practice of identification with the Witness consciousness with a basically cognitive exercise in releasing the conceptual mind.
Many teachers have warned about the dangers of the premature awakening of the kundalini energy. Great heat can be created
in the body, with possible damage to the brain and nervous system. In order to be prepared for the circulation of spiritual energies
in the body-mind, the aspirant must be purified of ego, and equipped with the enobling virtues of humility and self-surrender. This is
accomplished through self-understanding or clear seeing and the accompanying opening of the feeling being. Then the energy can
move freely without obstruction generated by false identification with the ego.
The teaching of Iakshmana Swamy is very similar to that of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Three points in particular, however, are
arguable. One, Lakshmana Swamy holds that a living guru is essential for liberation. He maintains that without such a teacher the
most one can hope to attain is mental concentration, or an "effortless, thought-free state" (perhaps similar to that proposed by J.
Krishnamurti), but in order for the mind to be "pulled into the Heart and die there", a living guru is necessary. The current nondualists would disagree here on the point of the mind needing to be pulled into the heart, in a yogic sense, in order to die. They
say there is no need for the mind to die, but only for clear seeing to arise. Nothing needs to be changed, and no experience is
required for awakening. Nor is a guru necessary n all cases. If the experience of the "death of the mind in the Heart" is not had
while your guru is alive, however, according to Swamy, then one will need another guru to accomplish it. Swamy gives the
example that, in his own case, he had experience of the Self briefly through his own efforts but needed a guru to make it
permanent. He does allow that there may be a few rare exceptions to this, such as his guru, Ramana Maharshi, who apparently
became realized without the help of a human guru, but he maintains that in most cases it is not possible. There are others,
however, who do not agree with Lakshamana Swamy on this point. Paul Brunton asserted that a human guru is required until the
disciple transcends the gross personality, but that at a certain point ones individual Overself takes over and bestows its grace,
leading attention across the threshold into the Heart. Kirpal Singh taught that once a disciple is initiated by a true Master that
even if that Master should die he would still help the irldividual and be his gurudev once the disciple was capable of transcending
body-consciousness, and that he would still help the disciple in many ways even if the latter did not know it. He held that the
company of another Master would be useful for spiritual development but was not necessary for initiatory purposes. Sant Darshan
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Singh has said, however, that in such a case where a guru has passed on his successor may have to take on some of the
disciple's karmas, if that is necessary, for to do so requires a body. (5)
A second distinguishing feature of the teaching of Lakshmana Swamy is the notion that a jnani (self-realized sage) could not
continue to exist after death on the subtle planes because his 'I'-thought is dead, and since it is the 'I'-thought which takes on a
new form, it would not be possible for the jnani to do so. This was also Ramana Maharshi's view, at least on one occasion.
Clearly, however, the testimony of other sages is that just as a Realizer, can assume physical form in order to do spiritual work,
so can he take on (or retain) subtle 'bodies' for the same purpose. Furthermore, it is not quite correct to say that the mind has to
die for realization to be the case, but only that identification of the conscious Self with the mind must cease. It is a potential
limitation of the practice of the jnana paths to assume that complete cessation of the mind is necessary for (or the equivalent of)
realization. The Tripura Rahasya ( a favorite text of Ramana Maharshi) argues that cessation of the mind is only the case in the
middle class of jnanis, but not in the highest. (6) The highest stage the hidden teaching beyond yoga position, allows for more
creativity than that which dwells on the Witness position, even "allowing" creation (or manifestation) itself to be as it is.
Annihilation is not required, only realization. Nothing need be annihilated except ignorance.
Thirdly, Lakshmanas viewpoint on kundalini differs markedly from that of the common yoga tradition. This is discussed fully in
the section below on Swami Sivananda. In brief, Lakshmana says that kundalini is the mind and as such arises from the Heart
and not from the muladhara chakra at the base of the spine as is most commonly supposed. This view is perhaps understandable
if kundalini is here equated with the more general term, shakti, which is the manifest power of prior consciousness, or shiva,
which is not limited to the energies within the gross body-mind. Ramana also said something similar to Lakshmana when he
remarked, it is wrong to say the Self is down here (the muladhara) or up there (the sahasrar); in other words, to think is not your
nature (Talks). He often stated that the chakras and worlds are ultimately 'in the imagination' and therefore not the way to
realization itself. This is perhaps somewhat overstated and incomplete as an explanation of this vast subject.
The Russian and Eastern Orthodox contemplatives (see St. Seraphim of Sarov and Theophane the Recluse in Those Amazing
Christians) spoke more often on a descent of the spirit or grace, as opposed to the kundalini traditions of India which emphasize
the ascent. Father Paissos wrote:
"One night, as I was standing there praying, I felt something come down from above and totally encompass me. I felt such joy
and exultation as my eyes shed tears lik e water gushing from two faucets. I physically saw grace and felt it...The experience was
so intense and powerful that it supported me and k ept me going for ten years, until, in Sinai, I experienced even greater states in
a different way." (6a)
This can be understood if one allows for a full circle of conducted energy in the body-mind. The Taoist sages taught this full
circuitry. Baha u'llah also spoke of a descent of grace:
"During my days I lay in the prison of Tihran...I felt as if something flowed from the crown of my head over my breast, even as a
mighty torrent that precipitated itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of my body would, as a
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mighty torrent that precipitated itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of my body would, as a
result, be set afire. At such moments my tongue recited what no man could bear to hear." (7)
The force or blessing, as reported by these mystics, is felt and described as coming more from "without", as a form of baptism,
than from "within", as in common yogic experience. How to reconcile this? Well, for one thing, as PB stated, "the Overself's
without is our within." Thus, the Divine Shakti both comes from outside the separate self and also manifests within the individual
body-mind. Similarly, in the school of Sant Mat (to be discussed shortly), while it is said that the practitioner is to ascend via the
Light and Sound current via concentration at the ajna chakra, it is also said that the Divine Grace descends into the very pores of
the body and envelops one in a feeling of warmth. Thus there appears to be a natural non-dual result on this path - although such
wholistic experiences vary depending on the prior disposition, understanding, and maturity of the individual practitioner. And in
fact, the permutations of the divine energy are myriad: a descent of grace can actually be felt as a cooling and a relief, as
contrasted to the more burning of the kundalini energy manifestation. And it appears that I am not alone in wondering about this
dual process: the ascent of shakti and descent of grace. (See this interesting talk by emerging teacher Igor Kufayev).
Further, as Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche writes:
"In the last analysis, the division of existence into internal and external is based on a false view formed by the conceptual mind
regarding the dualistic condition. In the true condition there is no distinction between internal and external since the same empty
space gives rise to internal and external existence alik e, just as the air inside and outside a jar is the same." (7a)
One awakened and standing in the transcendant witness position, moreover, having already undergone a "second birth," will find
such energetic experiences safer and less deluding as they may then be experienced from a more impersonal, non-separate point
of view, beyond or apart from the sense of encasement in the body-mind. There is also then less chance of "getting fried" due to
egoic interference with the intense energy release, as many unprepared practitioners sometimes have reported. PB writes:
"Those who have previously made satisfying spiritual advance often find themselves pulled up and unable to go further,
sometimes for years. This is because the undeveloped and imperfect parts of their natures offer obstruction to further progress. If
the higher forces were to descend on them while they are purified only in parts and developed only in some faculties, these forces
would prove harmful instead of helpful. Consequently, these parts are brought up by events to the surface of his life in order that
they may be dealt with." (Vol. 3, Part One, 3.120)
None of these transformations must visibly happen, in this or any one life; it is just that they do happen, and these are some of
the possibilities thereof. Again the reader is referred to a talk by Kufayev on the energetic internal re-wiring that may occur. [Note:
this is not an endorsement of Kufayev, as a guru, just a reference to one who is talking about this process]. It may also be that
often the transformation for many is more mundane and prosaic, beneath the surface, as a general maturation of the being,
without high yogic drama.
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John the Baptist, a prophet and according to others also Jesus' initiatory guru, said:
"I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire." (Matthew 3:11).
In this instance, it can be assumed that "water", a universal symbol for the emotional nature of man, represents the purification
of baser feelings and animal passions. This is the necessary conversion of heart to prepare the individual for the baptism with the
Holy Ghost and fire, which generally have been said to represent the initiation by the higher process of kundalini-shakti, or spiritpower, as is common in the yogic traditions of the East, and which was presumably the province of Jesus the Christ (or such a
one as he). PB hinted at the different stages of this baptismal process when he stated:
"There is, further, a difference between the baptism by the Holy Ghost and the baptism by fire. The baptism by the Holy Ghost
arouses and awak ens the potentialities of the dynamic Life-Force, raising its voltage far above the ordinary. This process is
usually accompanied by thrills, ecstasies, or mystical raptures. it represents the first awak ening on the spiritual level as it filters
through the partially cleansed emotional nature. Baptism by fire represents the next and highest stage after this event, when, the
thrill of the new birth has subsided and when, in a calmer and steadier condition, the intelligence itself becomes illuminated in
addition to the feelings, thus balancing them." (8)
Thus the archtypal stages of purification are emotional (i.e., kenosis and metanoia), followed by energetic (kundalini), and
intellectual-intuitional-insight (jnana). [However, depending on one's past-life background the ordering may be different. That is, a
glimpse may come first, and physical-emotional-energetic purification later. But then it is assumed one had done the groundwork
previously]. 'Fire', then, for PB means the higher illumination of the intelligence at the buddhi level and beyond. Kundalini as such
would be limited to purification of the three lower bodies (physical, emotional, mental, or physical, astral, and causal, depending
on schema) and not satori or the revelation of consciousness per se. This may be confusing because traditionally the term 'fire'
has been used for the preparatory kundalini manifestation. The Rig Veda declares:
"He tastes not that delight (of the twice-born) who is unripe and whose body has not suffered in the heat of this fire; they alone
are able to bear that and enjoy it who have been prepared by the flame."
Regardless, the kundalini as it arises from the Muladhara center is really, from the awakened point of view, only an apparent
movement, perceived to ascend (or descend), only after body-identification has already been assumed. According to some sages,
moreover, such as Ramana, the truly significant 'arisal', if you can dualistically call it that, of kundalini, life-energy, and mind is at
the heart-root, prior to body-consciousness, and it is to that locus, if any, that one's attention needs to be directed, not to its
apparent extensions in the circuitry of the body-mind. And in the highest stage, even this locus, conceived objectively, as an
exclusive site of realization, is transcended: kundalini, or all energies and manifestations arise out of the heart of infinity,not a
particular place.
For one who is involved in a kundalini practice or experiences, Paul Brunton has written these words of instruction and warning,
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For one who is involved in a kundalini practice or experiences, Paul Brunton has written these words of instruction and warning,
pointing out the need for preparation and purification:
"Why did so many primeval cultures in Asia, Africa, and America worship the serpent? A full answer would contain some of the
most important principles of metaphysics and one of the least k nown practices of mysticism - raising the force symbolized under
the name of the "serpent fire." The advanced occultists of Tibet compare the aspirant mak ing this attempt to a snak e which is
made to go up a hollow bamboo. Once aroused, it must either ascend and reach liberty at the top or it must fall straight down to
the bottom. So he who seek s to play with this fiery but dangerous power will either reach Nirvana or lose himself in the dark
depths of hell. If a man seek s to arouse k undalini before he has rid himself of hate, he will only become the victim of his own
hatreds when he does raise it from its sleeping state. He would do better to begin by self-purification in every way if he is to end in
safety and with success...The intense fire of love for the higher self must be k indled in the "mystic" heart, k indled until it also
shows a physical parallel in the body, until the latter's temperature rises mark edly and the sk in perspires profusely. Deep
breathing is an important element in this exercise. It provides in part the dynamism to mak e its dominating ideas effective. The
other part is provided by a deliberate sublimation of sex energy, through its imaginative raising from the organs in the lower part of
the body to a purified state in the head."
"The strange phenomena of a mysterious agitation in the heart and an internal trembling in the solar plexus, of sex force raised
through the spine to the head in intense aspiration toward the higher self accompanied by deep breathing, of a temporary
consciousness of liberation from the lower nature, are usually the forerunners of a very important step forward in the disciple's
inner life. A twofold trembling may seize him. Physically, his diaphragm may throb violently, the movement spreading lik e a ripple
upward to the throat. Emotionally, his whole being may be convulsed with intense sobbing...The agitation of his feeling will come
to an end with the calm perception of his Soul. The k undalini's activity being primarily mental and emotional, the diaphragmatic
tremors and quivers are merely its physical reactions. The necessity for k eeping the back erect exists only in this exercise, not in
the devotional or intellectual yogas, for such a straight posture permits the spinal column to remain free for the upward passage of
the "serpent fire." The latter moves in spiral fashion, just lik e the swaying of a cobra, generating heat in the body at the same
time. If the trembling continues long enough and violently enough, a sensation of heat is engendered throughout the body and this
in turn engenders profuse perspiration. But all these symptoms are preliminary and the real mystical phenomena involving
withdrawal from the body-thought begin only when they have subsided. This exercise first isolates the force residing in breath and
sex, then sublimates and reorients it. The results, after the initial excitement has subsided, are (a) a liberating change in his
consciousness of the body, (b) a strengthening development of the higher will's control over the animal appetites, and (c) a
concentration of attention and feeling as perfect as a snak e's concentration on its prey. It is a threefold process yielding a
threefold result. In those moments when the force is brought into the head, he feels himself to be liberated from the rule of
animality; then he is at the topmost peak of the higher will. Power and joy envelop him. The attainment of this state of deep
contemplation and its establishment by unremitting daily repetition bring him finally to an exalted satisfied sense of being full and
complete and therefore passion-free and peace-rooted." (9)
This aspect of kundalini as purificatory is found in all traditions. An episode in the life of Dodrupchen Jigme Thrinle Ozer, an
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advanced Tibetan Tulku, illustrates this phenomenon from another angle. On a three-year meditation retreat he experienced a
terrible ordeal:
"After a month or so, a great shak ing up (Lhong Ch'a) arose in him. It became hard for him to stop the turbulent waves of
thoughts, emotions, and illusions. He now started having disturbances of the life-force energy (Srog rLung), symptoms that
brought him to the brink of insanity. All appearances arose as enemies. He even saw fearful animals in his teapot. He felt he was
involved in fighting with weapons. One night in a dream he heard a frightening shout, and he felt that it almost split his heart. Even
after he awok e, he k ept hearing the same cry and then saw a pillarlik e dark light link ing the ground and the sk y. His body was
trembling violently. He felt an unbearable terror and feared that the sk y and earth were being turned upside down. But then in an
instant, all the disturbing appearances dissolved into himself, the "I," which was merely projecting and experiencing all those
appearances. Then the concept of "I" was also gone beyond any elaboration. The fearful mind and the objects of fear all had
merged into one taste, the taste of ultimate nature, the total openness."
The author of the book from which this biographical account was taken explains:
"Just before reaching a high realization, it is normal for many meditators to experience the final mental, emotional, and habitual
struggles in various forms or degrees of temptations, fearful illusions, threatening sounds, or painful feelings. Many great masters
have had the same k inds of experiences just before they entered high states of realization. If you do not succumb to these k inds
of last-minute disturbances created by hidden subtle habits and get beyond all those final encounters by remaining in the realized
nature, lik e shak ing the dust from a rug for good, you will attain total freedom from mental and emotional obscurations with their
traces. A person having a so-called smooth meditative experience might think , "I am doing so well that I have no shak ing-up
experiences," but the truth could be that he has not yet destroyed his mental and emotional defilements and their habits from the
root." (9a)
For a traditional yogic view on the kundalini we may look at the life and teachings of Swami Sivananda (1897-1963). He was
born, by his own confession, into a family "of saints and philosophers". He was a very mischievious boy whose pranks often
brought angry hearts of embittered villagers to reconciliation. He was an excellent gymnast and would frequently arise at three or
three-thirty in the morning and sneak out of the house to pursue his training. He admitted that he could fool his parents, who did
not look too favorably on his gymnastics, by putting a pillow on his bed and covering it with a blanket to make it appear as if he
was still asleep.
Sivananda studied at Tanjore Medical Institute, and, in his own words, "was a tremendously industrious boy" at the school. He
spent all of his free time learning from the doctors and professors, and at the end of his first year he had admittance to the
operating theater and was able to answer questions that even senior students could not. After graduation he traveled to Malaya
and was the manager of a hospital on a rubber estate for seven years, and subsequent to this he worked three more years at the
Jayore Medical Clinic. Sivananda was well-liked by his patients, but his mind wasn't on business and he often forgot to charge for
treatment or medications [thats my kind of guy]. He started a popular medical journal called The Ambrosia which he ran for four
years. In order to maintain it at a high quality he let his own financial reserves dwindle, but Sivananda didn't care: his overruling
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years. In order to maintain it at a high quality he let his own financial reserves dwindle, but Sivananda didn't care: his overruling
passion was to disperse knowledge that would aid the sick and needy.
Medical work drove home to him the fact of pain and suffering in this world, and, remembering the verse, "the day on which one
gets vairagya (dispassion), that very day one should renounce the world," in 1923 he left Malaya for India and began a rigorous life
as a wandering mendicant. Through hot sun, cold rain, bare-headed and bare-footed, sometimes with food, sometimes without,
Sivananda went from place to place in search of a spiritual guide or true Guru. He met many yogis. and sadhus on his journeys,
including the sage, Narayan Maharaj at whose ashram he spent a few days (Narayan Maharaj was said to have enlightened
Upasani Baba with a piece of food, and was one of five allegedly perfect masters that worked with and prepared the way for the
'avatar' Meher Baba). Sivananda arrived at Rishikesh in 1924 and took initiation from Viswarananda Saraswati of the Sringeri Math
of Sri Sankaracharya. He stayed in Rishikesh and practiced intense austerities and meditation, even though his Guru moved
elsewhere. Sivananda considered moments spent in idle pursuit and without purpose as time highly wasted. Throughout his life a
favorite motto of his was "Do it now!"
Along with a life of strict austerity (tapas), Swami Sivananda was very active in service to the sick, the poor, and other sadhus in
his vicinity. On the advise of another mahatma in the area, he opened a medical dispensary for just that purpose. He tended the
deathly ill without fear of contagion, taking no special precautions and not even bothering to wash his hands after treating a
diseased person. He was a fearless servant of mankind.
For his personal sadhana he maintained a rigorous, exacting daily schedule. To ward off the spiritual aspirants who came to him
in ever-increasing numbers he had a barbed-wire fence erected around his hut, and he locked the gait. He also had the everincreasing number of personal disciplines that he assumed recorded in a notebook which he called "The Whip". He was a strong
man and kept up a daily routine of physical exercise as well as up to sixteen hours of meditation. In 1936 he started the Divine
Life Society to spread yoga teachings throughout the world. He went on a tour of India and Ceylon in 1950, and in 1953 convened
a World Parliament of Religions. He was a friend of Sant Kirpal Singh who continued such endeavors. Overall he wrote more than
three hundred books, often published at phenomenal spead: up to three two-hundred page books a month! Sivananda was a highly
respected guru, perhaps because he gave out a pure, undiluted yoga teaching, with little accompanying dogma, and also because
he demanded much of his students.
Sivananda was an outstanding example of a karma yogin as well as a supreme realist:
"Service gives me joy, I cannot live without service even for a second."
"I never said or did anything to tempt people with promises of grand results lik e Muk ti (liberation) from a drop of Kamandala
water, or Samadhi by mere touch. I emphasized the importance of silent meditation for a systematic progress in the spiritual path.
Invariably, I ask ed all aspirants to purify their hearts through selfless service to mank ind." (10)
The specifics of his sadhana in his own case are not clear; apart from mentioning that he spent alot of time in meditation, and
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served the general community of renunciates where he lived, his autobiography gives few details of what actually occured
spiritually during the years 1924 to 1929, when he achieved his realization. His writings provide, however, a complete elaboration
of yoga philosophy and practices. The book, Kundalini Yoga, in particular, presents his view on realization:
If he reaches the spiritual center in the brain, the sahasrar chak ra, the yogi attains Nirvik alpa samadhi or (the) superconscious
state. He becomes one with the non-dual Brahman. All sense of separation dissolves. This is the highest plane of consciousness
or supreme Asamprajnata samadhi. Kundalini unites " with Siva. The yogi may come down to the center in the throat to give
instructions to the students and do good to others (Lok asamgraha)." (11)
Brahmarandhra means the hole of Brahman. It is the dwelling house of the human soul. This is also k nown as Dasamadvara,
the tenth opening or the tenth door. The hollow place in the crown of the head k nown as anterior fontanelle in the new-born child is
the Brahmarandhra. This is between the two parietal and occipital bones. This portion is very soft in a babe. When the child
grows, it gets obliterated by the growth of the bones of the head. Brahma created the physical body and entered (Pravishat) the
body to give illumination inside through this Brahmarandhra. In some of the Upanishads, it is stated lik e that. This is the most
important part. It is very suitable for Nirguna Dhyana (abstract meditation). When the Yogi separates himself from the physical
body at the time of death, this Brahmarandhra bursts open and Prana comes out through this opening (Kapala Mok sha). A
hundred and one are the nerves of the heart. Of them one (Sushumna) has gone out piercing the head; going up through it, one
attains immortality (Kathopanishad).
"Sahasrara Chak ra is the abode of Lord Siva. This corresponds to Satya Lok a. This is situated at the crown of the head. When
Kundalini is united with Lord Siva at the Sahasrara Chak ra, the Yogi enjoys the Supreme Bliss, Parama Ananda. When Kundalini
is tak en to this centre, the Yogi attains the superconscious state and the Highest Knowledge. He becomes a Brahmavidvarishtha
or a full-blown Jnani." (12)
This is the traditional yogic view where the highest realization takes place in an ascended form of samadhi (Nirvikalpa); however,
it is generally the case that when an individual returns to bodily consciousness from this samadhi he feels a sense of limitation,
depending on his background. Some yogis, therefore, as Sivananda mentions, only allow their consciousness to descend as far
as the throat center, where they are able to communicate with others while still feeling relatively free of the body. If they were not
already feeling identified with the body, however, they would have less need to ascend to regain or maintain their realization, so
say the sages. Thus the urge towards ascent is motivated by identification with the body-consciousness, in most cases.
Interestingly, in spite of this teaching, Swami Sivananda, like a fair number of great yogis, became a Vedantin in his later years,
suggesting a change of perspective regarding realization.
Compare this position of Swami Sivananda with that of Ramana Maharshi; Lakshmana Swamy, and even Shiv Dayal Singh:
none of them would agree that the kundalini unites with Siva (Divine Consciousness) in the sahasrar, but for different reasons.
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Shiv Dayal Singh (and the path of Sant Mat, or shabd yoga) holds that the sahasrar is but the first of many ascending inner
stages on the path to Self and God-Realization. It is, according to them, definitely not Satya Loka, which is far above it, although
it might be said to have a correspondence with it, as all chakras seem to have their correspondence with the various planes of
manifestation. Sant Mat maintains, however, that even the realization of advaita only takes one to the second plane of Brahm or
universal mind, beyond which are Par-Brahmand and Sat Lok, and that there are various lower regions that are faint reflections of
higher and truer ones, such as Sat Lok. This obviously contentious in yoga circles, which does not mean it is not true. An
interesting point is that many so-called kundalini yogis, as well as Kriya yogis (and even H.P. Blavatsky in her book, The Voice of
the Silence), speak of the internal sounds that often accompany kundalini as getting more and more subtle as it rises through the
chakras, until finally it fades out when it reaches the crown. Thus, in Kriya yoga, for instance, they meditate on the big bell sound
in a lower chakra, where to the Sants the bell sound is a higher sound that pulls one up from the ajna center to the sahasrar, with
a fade-out into the 'true wordless state' not occuring until one traverses the intermediate planes and reaches the higher dimension
of Sat Lok referred to as Anami Lok. The Sant Mat answer to this contrasting phenomenon is that the yogis only hear lesser
sounds, or reflections of the true sounds, and the shabd is a higher manifestation of the divine shakti than the kundalini. It gets
somewhat confusing; an expanded discussion of this issue is found through accessing sections six and seven of the article found
through the above link.
What this path teaches does seem to be different than most others. Sant Mat differentiates between the sensory currents,
attention or surat, and the motor currents, or pranas (and presumably kundalini). The former is the attention or outer expression of
the soul, and is said to have its source much higher than the latter, as well as the mind. Thus, they differ markedly from the
teaching of traditional yogas. One doesn't have to have kundalini ride in the traditional fashion in order for the soul to have
experience of higher dimensions, nor, it seems clear, does the kundalini have to rise and descend into the heart for the
consciousness to do so either. So what then is the purpose of the kundalini movement? It must be largely one of psycho-physical
purification, and it takes many forms other than the classic one - but here we get ahead of ourselves.
Other modern sages generally have testified that the separate ego-consciousness must, at least provisionally, trace a course
from the sahasrar down, via the terminal course of the sushumna nadi, to its root in the Heart (intuited from the bodily point of view
to be on the right side of the chest; but in itself, as Ramana said, all-pervading) for true Self-realization to occur. In that case the
realization must remain after one comes out of his samadhi.
Lakshmana Swamy interprets the kundalini-shakti in a rather unique manner, as mentioned above. He says that it is actually
equivalent to the mind, which arises from the Heart and ascends to the brain through the channel called the amrita nadi ("current
of nectar", or "current of immortality"). By this interpretation, Siva and Shakti, or Siva and the kundalini-shakti, do not unite in the
sahasrar when said kundalini rises; rather, the kundalini-shakti (or mind) must return to its source (or its original locus relative to
the bodily self) , which is the heart centre, and die there. Kundalini-as-the-mind, according to Lakshmana Swamy, arises from the
heart, therefore, and not from the Muladhara chakra at the base of the spine as yoga maintains. The arising of kundalini through
yoga practice is only apparently such; it is actually a mental or imaginary phenomenon, only appearing as substantial to the nonHeart-realized individual. Swamy's use of the word "imaginary" is interesting and it was similarly used by Ramana Maharshi. It
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simply means, "in consciousness", or "Mind". Paul Brunton used the philosophic term "mentalism" to the same effect. It is not
meant to obliterate the distinction between gross and subtle phenomena, although that may in fact be the intention of some
teachers, but its basic meaning is that all phenomena arise in consciousness (or to and as consciousness), and the true vision of
things is generally not had without the transcendence of the ego in the heart. This can be, as stated above, attained with the
provisional descent of the mind into the heart, or simply through clear seeing that all is mind in ordinary life (i.e., outside
trance).This grants the true understanding of the kundalini energies as well.
Swamy states:
"The k undalini tradition is not speak ing from the highest standpoint because it does not teach that the mind must go back to
the heart for the final realization to occur. When you speak of the k undalini rising to the sahasrar you are speak ing of a yogic
state which is not the highest state. At the moment of realization the 'I' -thought goes down the channel (amrita nadi) and is
destroyed in the heart. After realization neither the amrita nadi nor-the heart-center are of any importance. The jnani then k nows
that he is all-pervading Self. (13)
[Here he does acknowledge a higher point of view, although he insists that the Witness position attained by samadhi in the
heart must be achieved first. Simply said, all sages are not in complete agreement on the necessity of this experience].
It has been said that the kundalini-shakti is a profoundly transformative process - and potentially disorienting process if activated
in the unprepared. That it serves not just to yogically repolarize the energy and attention to the crown or sahasrar, but, more
basically, to purify obstructions to clear vision and understanding. And its free movement might also be said, more desireably, to
be a byproduct of an essentially foundational moral purification of the individual. Such purification is not without drama, but it need
not be 'yogic fireworks' as imagined in the traditions.
While we prefer to see it all as one seemless interwoven process, according to some sages this energetic activation is chiefly
preparation for the forms of inquiry that lead attention to its root in the heart space (the 'witness self'), or its eventual 'dissolution' or
'abidance' in the unlocalizable Heart or Self that is prior to all dualistic conceptions or perceptions of the mind. These mental
conceptions include time and space, in which case the notion of a 'Heart on the right' may be seen to be a relatively arbitrary or at
least a provisional structure in consciousness. And in fact Ramana did not repeatedly place much emphasis on this, often saying
things like, 'why wander in all this maze, just be who you are', although some of his lineage successors (notably those from his
ashram, such as Lakshmana Swamy, but not teachers such as Papaji, Mooji or Gangaji) made a big deal of it. Ramana in fact
seems to be the only one in history to mention this specific locus. In the Sufi tradition they mention 'Sirr', or the deep heart,
behind any heart chakra or bodily center, and traditional Hindu sources make similar reference to the initial place of realization of
the inner Purusha, but not a heart on the right. Paul Brunton, an influential disseminator of Maharshi's presence and teachings to
the Western world, did not mention the 'heart on the right' in his own writings. Nor did Sri Nisargadatta:
"He had enormous respect for both his [Ramana's] attainment and his teachings. He once told me that one of the few regrets of
his life was that he never met him in person...With regard to the teachings he once told me, I agree with everything that Ramana
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his life was that he never met him in person...With regard to the teachings he once told me, I agree with everything that Ramana
Maharshi said, with the exception of this business of the heart-centre being on the right side of the chest. I have never had that
experience myself. (Remembering Nisargadatta Maharaj, by David Godman).
So one may reasonably conclude it is not altogether a necessary experience. However, this is how one questor described it:
"First came an experience where I thought I had been shot by a gun in the chest and could feel what I thought was blood
pouring out of my chest, to which my response was to sit bolt upright in bed (as I had been deep asleep) and race to turn on the
light, only to discover that I could not 'see' anything although an excruciating pain continued for perhaps 10 minutes with the
feeling of something wet pouring out. After this, I began to detect a 'second' heart beat on the right side of the chest (one that
beat entirely different from the physical heart) and it was noticed that there would be a throbbing of compassion at even things so
dumb as a Folgers coffee commercial followed by a sensation of molten candle wax dripped from the crown of my head until it
reached the feet, wherein I would burst into flames and be fairly nonfunctional for a couple hours in what felt lik e a narcotic
stupor."
Ramana Maharshi and Lakshmana Swamy speak of the amrita nadi as arising out of the Heart and projecting to the sahasrar
above, and then simultaneously to the body-mind as a whole. In realization, Lakshmana, as mentioned, speaks of attention or
mind as going down the channel of amrita nadi into the heart, after which he says that the Self is reached, and the heart and
amrita nadi are then more or less superfluous. In Ramana's case, one gets the feeling that in the realization of sahaj, the amrita
nadi, after realization of the transcendental Self in the Heart, reappears as a regenerated pathway of the Heart and its Light,
forever known as inseparable.
This causal pathway is generally not acknowledged in the yoga schools. A modern exception to this, however, is Swami
Yogeshwaranand Saraswati. He argues:
"A stream of rays pertaining to the life-force arises from the bliss sheath (The causal body in the heart) and goes to the astral
body (manomaya and vijnanamaya k oshas in the brain) and from there to the physical body." (14)
Even among the Greeks one finds this view:
"Aristotle regarded the heart and not the brain as the think ing or control centre of the body. He also spok e of certain very fine
thread-lik e tendons that went from the heart to all the larger tendons of the body as in a marionette. Hence the notion of one's
"heart-strings' being tugged." (15)
Ramana once said "You doctors say that the heart is at the left side of the chest. But the whole body is the heart for yogis.
Jnanis have their hearts both within and without." A devotee of his, Ranaky Matha, claims to have had her liberation under
Bhagavan's grace when her kundalini rose to the sahasrara, after which she realized the One, Universal, Transcendental Self as
Heart-Light and Amrita Nadi as a "pillar of light", rising up to the sahasrara and above, as sometimes described by Ramana. She
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once almost had the experience of Ganapati Muni of the kundalini trying to break out of the top of the skull but it subsided when
she cried out to Ramana. Maharshi said of her that she was born realized, that he was only the causal (karana) guru for her. See
Sri Janaky Matha for an inspiring account of this bhakta devotee of Sri Bhagavan.
For advanced Tibetan Buddhists, kundalini practice can be both preparatory for non-dual realization, or part of the progressive,
fully integrating stages of such realization leading to attainment of the Light Body or Rainbow Body whereby the practitioner
reduces the physical body into the subtle essence of its elements, leaving nothing behind but the hair and nails, considered to be
impurities. In this tradition, such is considered to be a sign of Total realization. Such phenomena are not due to conventional yogic
siddhi, but rather transmutation due to radical non-dual realization wherein even the physical body is so resolved. [For more on
this and additional comments on the kundalini see Step By Step To The Temple of Total Ruin: Lessons from Milarepa on this
website.
On the other hand, most non-dual philosophies, such as Advaita, teach that there is nothing to attain but the ever-present Self
or consciousness. Kundalini-Shakti may appear to rise, or the devotee may appear to ascend through the chakras, but really this
is only an appearance, or even a play of attention. However, this appears to overly minimize the reality and significance of the
movement of the life-force within relativity. The average aspirant is in no way equipped to deal with the full and sudden activation of
kundalini, and is usually, in his best interests, advised against such motivated pursuit. Fortunately or not, the average hide-bound
and mind-ridden aspirant is also not in a position to experience this, so it is largely an unnecessary worry!
The ascending motion, for Taoists, Kriya Yogins, and perhaps especially Tibetan Buddhists, is part of a greater process,
including descent, ascent, and non-dual identification with consciousness itself. For the general devotee it is enough to
understand and that whatever it is that ascends, or what the process of ascent is altogether, can only be observed or known
properly from the point of view of consciousness. The ego-soul may appear to ascend and descend, but such is only an illusion
based on identification with the bodily self. This insight is an advanced one, known to the realizer. Such identification is
undermined through spiritual insight into the all-pervading, formless Soul - or Self - which is realized as empty-fullness of Reality. If
the ego-soul is an illusion, therefore, based on mistaken identity, how can it really be said to ascend? Yet strangely, it can (or it
appears to), as ascension is one of the functions of the emanated soul), and right and proper in its time and place in a total
spiritual process. Moreover, as PB writes:
" 'Give yourself to the Overself' is simple to say, but one must descend and ascend through a number of levels before its full
majestic meaning is realized." (16)
And what this all implies in the final analysis is that kundalini awakening is God's business, not that of the humble aspirant,
whose basic task is not the willful attempt to manipulate or pursue the experience of subtle energies for their own sake, but,
rather, through profound self-transformation, self-understanding, and self-surrender, to permit consciousness itself and its divine
spirit-current or shakti, itself inseparable from consciousness, to dissolve all exclusive, fixed, limited identification with the bodymind. A brief illustration may suffice for our purposes. A learned monk came to the Athonite holy man, Elder Paissos, having read
book after book on noetic prayer, or the various mystical states and stages. After expounding on how 'in this spiritual state, this
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book after book on noetic prayer, or the various mystical states and stages. After expounding on how 'in this spiritual state, this
takes place, and in that state, that takes place', he asked Father Paissos what state he was in. Paissos recounts:
" 'In what state?' I repeated, ' In no state.'
" 'So what are you doing out here?' he ask ed.
"What am I doing? I ask God for self-k nowledge. If I k now myself, I'll have repentance. And if repentance comes, so will
humility, and then afterwards, grace. That's why I'm seek ing repentance, repentance, and repentance. God will send His grace
afterward." (17)
The summary point in this discussion is that the apparent ascent or descent of consciousness and/or kundalini in the chakra
system is part of a larger spiritual process, and is not the immediate concern of the separate, unawakened individual.
It needs also be said that the purifying activity of the kundalini or spirit-energy on the chakras may cause them to open in any
order, from below-upwards, or above-down, depending on the stage of the individual and his/her karmic history/requirements. For
example, one may have opened at the level of the heart or throat, but need to 'go back' and integrate the energies/emotions of the
second (sexual/desire) or third (solar plexus/will) chakras. So we need not then be fixated on the notion of a mysterious force
shooting straight up the spine in every case. What we are talking about, with difficulty, is the Spirit, Soul, or Overself moving more
freely in its association with its own bodily vehicle, and causing 'friction' when it meets with obstructions.
There are really not 'two things': Spirit and matter are one, kundalini and the soul are one, and thus one can appreciate that
ultimately kundalini is not separate from our own self. It is quite a paradoxical affair but has its own logic within relativity. In
advanced Dzogchen ultimately the energies are non-dually resolved into their essences. The lights and sounds perceived within or
moving in the body are finally known as manifesting from our own primal essence. But of course, from within relativity there seems
to be a process.
And which has its own logic, which must be respected. "Getting fried" is a real possibility. The annals of spirituality are filled
with cautions about premature awakening of the centers, which can lead to bodily and psychic ruin, madness, etc.. The Cypriote
mystic Daskalos, as reported by Kyriacos Markides in his book Homage to the Sun, taught that the chakras, or what he called
the 'sacred discs', at birth begin to rotate in a clockwise manner, and are largely under the control of the Holy Spirit as the infant
develops. Stress, agitation and arisal of evil propensities can temporarily reverse this flow. In maturity, the discs at the head
(primarily the ajna and sahasrar), which govern our self-consciousness, may be developed through our efforts at right thinking and
discrimination, while the discs at the heart and solar plexus remain under the aegis of the Holy Spirit. An aspiring mystic can
open any of these discs through raja yoga type of practices, but the safer way is the aforementioned process of right living and
thinking, without flooding by opening the gates of the subconscious. The reason, in part, is that there is a close connection to
mental illness or madness and an unstable relationship between the solar plexus and the brain. When these are unable to handle
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the intense vibrations of our subtle body a breakdown can occur. It takes time to prepare the channels properly. Which is why
most masters advise a gradual devotional and intellectual development a supposed to a concerted yogic effort to propel us
towards exotic inner experiences. Daskalos states:
"Violent vibrations in themselves do not lead to madness. Madness is the inability of the material brain and the solar plexus to
express the inner conditions of the psychonoetic body [i.e., subtle bodies]. Sometimes you will notice, for example, that before an
individual gets into these fits of madness he may begin to feel pain in his stomach, bend down and start vomiting. The vibration
that gets him off balance may start from the solar plexus." (p. 25)
And
"The disc at the heart begins to revolve simultaneously with the movement of the disc at the solar plexus. It begins revolving
while the infant is still in the womb. The two discs, that of the solar plexus and of the heart,are responsible for offering us the
phenomenon of life. After birth the disc at the heart is also responsible for energizing the movement of the lungs."
"The sacred discs of the heart and the solar plexus are completely independent of the present self-conscious personality. They
are under the direct and omniscient supervision of the Holy Spirit which sets these two discs into motion, mak ing possible the
functioning of the physical body."
"The two discs at the head are responsible for the development of the personality and offer us the potential of selfconsciousness...The [disc over the head] begins to move very slowly right at birth and it gradually develops as the child learns
how to concentrate and reason...Now, it is possible that a person may sop end a lifetime with the disc over his head never moving
in a normal and harmonious manner. This may happen when the person is over focused on and overdetermined by earthly material
existence. I have noticed that for a lot of people that disc hardly moves. I said "hardly" because in reality that disc always moves
at least a little for all persons regardless of their mental and spiritual development. However, for threes earthly people the disc
remains atrophied. It maintains the size it had when the person came into the world."
The development of this sacred disc will depend on the person's self-consciousness, the way the person think s, the way he
handles noetic [i.e., mental] substance. It starts to grow and move harmoniously when the person mak es proper use of the power
of thought."
He makes the following point:
"The disc over the head can develop through appropriate meditation exercises of concentration. But it can also develop without
the individual consciously trying to develop it. Sometimes this may be amore preferable way. There have been people who
through virtue, reason, powers of observation and through self-discipline managed to develop the disc over their heads without
ever learning of its existence, and never consciously trying to open it and develop it. On the other hand, there are Researchers of
Truth [i.e., a term given to aspirants in his mystical circles] who learn about these centers on the etheric-double by reading book s
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Truth [i.e., a term given to aspirants in his mystical circles] who learn about these centers on the etheric-double by reading book s
from the Orient. Through practice they may begin to move that sacred disc rapidly and open it up. But unless they also develop
their characters, they will not accomplish much. In fact they may prematurely open their sacred discs,which could be damaging to
their present personalities. The safest method of developing this disc is through self-analysis, reason, and the right way of living."
(p. 76-78)
[Note: there is much more to Daskalos teachings; as this is so different than advaita and other oriental philosophies, for further
study the reader is directed to the trilogy by Markides (The Magus of Strovolos, Homage to the Sun, Fire in the Heart), as well as
"The Idea of Man" on this website and its imbedded links ]
Perhaps the following may offer another clarifying perspective. Swami "M", in Apprenticed to a Himalayan Master (2010), writes
of a time as a young teen (!) when he was conflicted by contrasting accounts by these various masters over the location of the
heart center, i.e., was it at the crown center, the ajna, or the right side of the chest. While spending the night at the samadhi site
of Sri Ramadasa Swami, a strange man spontaneously appeared to him and said, "Don't fear...So you have a problem, yeah?
Don't k now where the heart lotus is, yeah? It is everywhere, here, there, everywhere. Ha ha, manifested in different centers for
different people. No controversy." He then tapped him in the middle of the chest and said, "Yours, right here, anahata, you stick
to it, Babaji's order." A violet light he never saw before then filled his heart center which he saw even with open eyes. He was later
given another practice by one named Dadaji:
"I was given the sixteen letter (Shodasak shari), the Sri Vidya mantra belonging to the Lopamudra category with the starting
sound Ka. "While k riya yoga clears up the central spinal pathway for the k undalini energy," said Dadaji, "the sound vibrations of
the Sri Vidya help activate the cerebrospinal centers, and prepare them to receive the serpent power as it begin to ascend. I have
come to teach you Shiva Raja Yoga, Thirumoolar's teaching, seven more centers in the brain."
[My how things can get complicated! This is likely part of the appeal of Advaita. But truth is truth, so let us not judge how it shall
be, but continue our investigation.The point of interest here is regarding numerous centers in the brain. Perhaps in this we there
may be found a reconciliation between the above-mentioned teachings of yoga and Sant Mat regarding Sat Lok and the
Sahasrar?]
Several years later with his own guru he had a more definitive shakti opening which coincided with the falling away of his sense
of separate self:
"A searing pain shot up my back bone, and such heat was generated that I felt that my whole body, especially my heart, was on
fire. I almost thought that this was the end, and that I might not come out of it. Suddenly, a roaring sound, that quick ly
transformed itself into a soothing hum entered into my consciousness. It was as if someone with a Jim Reeves voice was
chanting a long drawn "Om." The convulsions ceased, the heat subsided and a warm glow, lik e the comforting warmth of a
fireplace on a winter night, suffused my body and soul. From the crown of my head, a secret elixir began to flow down my spine,
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and from head to toe, I experienced a wondrous, blissful ecstasy. I opened my eyes and look ed around. Everything was fresh,
new, and pulsating with life energy. I was a new person; resurrected from the old that seemed to have vanished and died. I was no
longer an isolated self. The center of consciousness was everywhere from the humble dust to the Milk y Way. All boundaries were
brok en. When I saw Babaji, it was as if I was him, look ing at me. Babaji said, "Yes. Now, you are reborn. This is the real
meaning of Dwija, born again. Rise slowly, for it will tak e some time to come to terms with your new self. Lik e a newborn babe,
you'll have to crawl, then sit up, and finally walk with faltering step, until practice gives you the steady, confident stride of a fullgrown being."
There is, of course, much more that can be said on this topic, we have but scratched the surface.
For instance, a number of questions remain. 'When and why and how did the kundalini get 'coiled' at the base of the spine?'
Some speculate that it actually had something to do with the evolution of the race and a 'Marduk disaster' (a cosmic planetary
collision that, according to some, formed our earth eons ago; see Markides, Fire in the Heart). And, "what exactly is the
kundalini? Is it the pranas, what the Sant Mat teachers refer to as the 'motor' or life currents, or a variant or emanation thereof? or
is it also related to the 'sensory' currents, part and parcel of the soul or consciousness itself?" "Does the kundalini only have to
rise to the sahasrar once to achieve what its proponents claim, or are multiple such ascensions necessary?' [A final link to a talk
by Kufayev on this idea]. And, "must it be felt to arise at all?" As we have seen, opinions on this vary, as do definitions of what
kundalini actually is. Ultimately, it has been said that there is only One stuff (18); that this Divine Mind, in which the Soul is said
to be rooted or from which it is derived, is also Its own Substance and Energies. So what, then, is kundalini really? Is it apart from
us? In what way? What is going on here? This is something to ponder over.
Some summary reflections on the above discussion are now offered. First, there is a need to distinguish between concentration
or interiorization of the mind or attention (surat), and its apparent movement in the sushumna and/or to a bodily center, whether in
the spinal line or to the heart, and the movement of the soul's energy in such a manner. Kundalini is generally mentioned in
reference to the latter.
Second, Lakshmana Swamy and other Ramana descendants often seem to confuse the two, when saying "the mind is the
kundalini, and must descend into the heart and die," etc.. One can have a mystic transport or feeling of leaving the body, or
ascending up the chakra line,or descending into, or abiding as, the heart without the kundalini as such awakening. And vice versa.
Or both. Further, the consensus is that it is not necessary for all aspirants to have any of these 'movements' to become selfrealized, although some variation on these themes is probably relatively inevitable and natural in the context of existence as a
human being. This is because, it is said, there are multiple simultaneous, non-separate streams emanating from the
Divine/Soul/Overself, i.e., Consciousness, Life, Energy, which are all One yet also experientially distinct.
Third, it may be possible to bypass the lower kundalini energy by meditating on the shabd, or light and sound current, as the
Sants say, but it may or may not be possible to achieve full integration within the lower vehicles without some variety of kundalini
activation. Many of the Sant masters have in fact had transformation of both kundalini opening and shabd absorption. In addition,
both kundalini and shabd may be considered forms of shakti.
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both kundalini and shabd may be considered forms of shakti.

And fourth, while the Overself may be said to be rooted in the heart while incarnated (some try to pinpoint this to the sino-atrial
node, and hence 'on the right', but 'deep in the heart' is good enough for most traditions), at some point one also transcends the
idea of the Overself or Soul being related to any bodily center, be it the head (pineal gland or sahasrar) or the heart. Brunton
writes:
"From this ultimate standpoint, space is regarded as being merely an idea for the mind whilst the mind itself is regarded as
being outside both position and distance. Hence the philosophic meditation seek s to k now the Overself by direct insight into its
timeless, spaceless nature and not indirectly by bringing it into relation with a particular point in the physical body." (19)
And also:
"Whether the divine power is look ed upon as being inside or outside oneself - and both views will be true and complementary in the end it must be thought of without any reference to body and ego at all." (20)
Seven hundred years earlier the author of the mystical treatise, The Cloud of Unknowing, said as much in the following
passages:
"...the intention in the depths of our spirit. Which is the same as the 'height' of our spirit, for in these matters height, depth,
length, and breadth all mean the same." [and] Since it had to be that Christ should ascend physically, and then send the Holy
Spirit in tangible form, it was more suitable that it should be 'upwards', and 'from above', than it should be 'downwards and from
beneath', 'from behind, from the front, or from the sides'. Apart from this matter of suitability, there was no more need for him to
have gone upwards than downwards, the way is so near. For, spiritually, heaven is as near down as up, up as down, behind as
before, before as behind, on this side or that! So that whoever really wanted to be in heaven, he is there and then in heaven
spiritually. For we run the high way (and the quick est) to heaven on our desire, and not on our two feet. St. Paul speak s for
himself and many others when he says that although our bodies are actually here on earth, we are living in heaven. He is meaning
their love and their desire, which is, spiritually, their life. Surely the soul is as truly there where the object of its love is, as it is in
its body which depends on it, and to which it gives life. If then we will go spiritually to heaven, we do not have to strain our spirit up
or down or sideways!" (21)
And further, lest one on any path be concerned that he has not had the 'required' experiences, the following story of Ramana
Maharshi should allay his worry once and for all:
"In 1942, a Tamil scholar had a lengthy and detailed discussion with Bhagavan on the amrita nadi, believed to be the nerve
associated with Self realization. Bhagavan showed interest in the discussion and answered all the pundit?s questions, giving a
detailed description of the functions of the amrita nadi. Nagamma felt out of place as she did not k now anything of the subject
matter. After the pundit left, she approached Bhagavan and began to ask him about what was discussed. Before she could
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complete her sentence, Bhagavan ask ed, Why do you worry about all this? Nagamma replied, Bhagavan, you have been
discussing this for four days; so I thought I should also learn something about it from you. Bhagavan answered, The pundit was
ask ing me what is written in the scriptures and I was giving him suitable replies. Why do you bother about all that? It is enough if
you look into yourself as to who you are. Saying this, Bhagavan smiled compassionately at her. After another two days or so,
there was once again another dialogue on the same subject. This time Bhagavan said that it was only a notion, a mere concept.
Nagamma intervened to ask whether all matters relating to the amrita nadi were also only concepts. Bhagavan replied
emphatically, Yes, what else is it? Is it not a mere notion? If the body itself is a notion, will that not be a notion as well?
Bhagavan then look ed at Nagamma with great k indness. That very moment, all her doubts were laid to rest. In narrating this
incident, Nagamma wanted to mak e k nown how important it is to go back to the source when spiritual doubts arise." (from
Ramana Periya Puranam)
So here Ramana appears to be agreeing with Sri Nisargadatta that all but the Absolute are concepts. In which case it does not
matter which way one proceeds, the 'I'-thought or ego can be tamed, transcended, or made irrelevant on any path or via any
center.
Also in Ramana Periyam Puranam is found this quote from Ramana:
"The Self alone is to be realized. Kundalini shak ti, visions of God, occult powers and their spell binding displays are all in the
Self. Those who speak of these and indulge in these have not realized the Self. Self is in the Heart and is the Heart itself. All
other forms of manifestations are in the brain. The brain itself gets its power from the Heart. Remaining in the Heart is realizing
the Self. Instead of doing that, to be attracted by brain oriented forms of disciplines and methods is a sheer waste of time. Is it
not foolish to hold on to so many efforts and so many disciplines that are said to be necessary for eradicating the non-existent
ignorance?
Clearly, for Ramana the kundalini force was not of much importance as compared to the primary realization of the heart or
consciousness itself.
An interesting description of kundalini is given in the Spandak arik a, a translation with commentary by Daniel Odier of the
ancient tantric text by Vasagupta, which speaks of a "spherical kundalini that unfurls from the heart, permeating the totality of
space, and which is absolute love" - by contrast which the chakras and spinal kundalini movement are more or less imaginary.
This book is highly recommended.
There is an interesting section in PB's Notebooks on kundalini that may help tie up some loose ends on this topic. Among the
most intriguing entries are the following:
"What the Hindus call k undalini, meaning the "coiled force," is really a manifestation of [the] power of the Overself. It does not
have to appear in the case of every progressing disciple."
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"It is really nothing other than the soul's Energy, the dynamic aspect of the still centre hidden deep in man."
"It is the original life-force behind all human activity - mental and physical, spiritual as well as sexual - because it was behind
the very birth of the human entity itself."
"This force is originally derived from the sun. It is universal, living, conscious, and lik e electricity in its dynamic potential."
"He who brings to the attempt a sufficient degree of informed spiritual development and mental-emotional self-control need have
no fear. But he who does not - and such a type is in the majority - may find the solar plexus pouring out the force unrestrainedly
through his nervous system, inducing permanent insomnia by reason of its pressure upon his brain, until his mind becomes
unhinged."
The latter is a warning regarding the premature and incomplete awakening of this force in unprepared individuals, whose many
internal blocks - largely of a moral nature - prevent its full, unhindered circulation.
In a larger context, beyond simply its 'serpent power' aspect, one might say that kundalini can be considered as a way of
talking about an expression of transmission/grace/stimulation that can come from any number of sources: spiritual practice,
directly from the Holy Spirit, Sat Purush, the lineage/guru, or one's own Soul. Kundalini, or more broadly, Shakti, is often used
when wanting to emphasize the energy/bodily aspect of the spiritual process, which, of course, can, when activated, lead to a
clearing of karmas and energy blocks referred to in different ways in different contexts, such as : 'kriyas' (Muktananda),
'spontaneous body movements' (Yan Xin), or burning/purifying (U Ba Khin). All of these sources and many others each have their
own list of the potential symptoms that can arise when the 'kundalini is active'. These include:
- spontaneous mudras, asanas, pranayama
- psychic openings
- sensations in the spine
- OBEs
- experiencing inner lights and sounds
- distorted body image
- strange emergence of various physical sensations with no apparent pathology or outer cause
- cathartic eruption of emotions
- patterns of stress and tension moving through the body
- chakras opening
- sensation of body vibrating
- sense of misalignment of 'inner nature' and the body - dissociation from the body
- numbing, deadening, dulling of senses
- heightening of senses
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- shutting down of emotional sensitivity

- hyper-emotional sensitivity
- deeper intuitive insights
- feelings of suffocation, pressure, crushing, or bands of tensions in the body
- rapture, bliss, love, contentment, peace
- intensive negative emotions - fear, anxiety, sorrow, anger, existential despair, alienation
- laughing, crying, coughing, sneezing
- strange sensations of dismemberment, head disconnected from body, paralysis
- dizziness, loss of appetite, confusion
- vision problems, hearing problems, chronic headaches
- sudden emergence of diseases that then quickly pass without treatments such as pneumonia, fever, bad headaches, allergies
- lethargy, tiredness, loss of motivation, low vitality
Intensified episodes, then, could be called 'clearing karma', 'the scrubbing process' (Sant Darshan Singh),
'perinatal/transpersonal process' (Stanislov Grof), 'the path of purification' (Theravada Buddhism), 'diseases of the mystic', 'shakti
fever', 'pranic disorder' (Wilber), 'dark nights of the soul' (see this extensive article for many examples of such purification and
transformation), etc.. All this may loosely be put under the umbrella of a 'kundalini' (or more preferably, 'shakti' or energy aspect of
the spiritual process).
In general, most people with active kundalini do not experience the majority of these symptoms, but only a handful at any given
time or even over a pretty long period, and, further, most do not experience much in the way of the more exotic symptoms, such
as OBEs, fire up the spine, chakras opening, and so on. Instead, the process is usually more subtle, gradual, and less dramatic.
Subsequently, many more people have active kundalini than realize it, and more often than not, they experience mostly what may
be called the 'negative' or less dramatic symptoms, as these are the result of clearling negative physical and emotional karma,
and mostly take the form of strange physical sensations, disturbance of vitality and motivation, and passing through a lot of
difficult emotional spaces.
At times one may have an 'over-active kundalini', which means that sometimes this process is proceeding somewhat forcefully,
and so the symptoms are fairly difficult to live with. In some historical cases this has been terrifying, or even life-threatening. The
strange episode of Ganapati Muni comes to mind. More often, however, this rapid clearing may simply be inevitable, as the natural
course of our spiritual growth combined with our karmic situation leads to some accelerated working out of much 'shadow
material'. But it can also be the result, at least in part, of extra stimulation so that the intensity is more than is necessary or even
desirable or integratable. This extra stimulation can result from doing energetic exercises (chi gong, pranayama, etc.), or having
done them in past lives, or even just from a lot of any spiritual practice, or drugs, exercise, giving birth, etc.. So if the kundalini is
already active it becomes important to try not to let it, or cause it, to get over-stimulated. As Jack Kornfield wrote in A Path with
Heart, it is sometimes necessary to 'find the brake' and slow down the process of purification so it may be assimilated. The reader
also shall note the incident of Ramdas with Neem Karoli Baba when his and others' kundalini spontaneously started to rise, and
the saint stopped it by putting his hand on their heads.
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the saint stopped it by putting his hand on their heads.

We offer one example of a version of this process after many years of practice by a Westerner, William Johnston, a Jesuit monk
who studied Buddhism in Japan for years, as told in his autobiography, Mystical Awakening. It is especially noted that he did not
experience the classical ascent of energy in his spine, but nevertheless did have many experiences commonly associated with
kundalini or energetic opening:
"One night, when I was in a deep sleep, something within, lik e a spring of water, came sizzling up inside of me. It seemed to
come from my belly (I prefer the Japanese words hara or tanden) to the surface of my consciousness and I wok e in fear and
trembling. What had happened to me? This swish! And I could not go back to sleep. I lay awak e for the rest of the night...On
reflection I saw that I had felt something of this inner energy for quite a while, but I was able to repress it in my wak ing hours.
When I was fast asleep it could uninhibitedly come to the surface. But what was it? And why was I filled with anxiety?...[A] Jesuit
who I met in Ireland saw it as something very valuable. "Throw away your sleeping pills and even your rosary," he said, "and attend
to this inner fire."
"I spent a terrible sleepless night plagued by anxiety. In the morning I was desperate...My problem was sleep. I could not sleep!
The sizzling energy that had awak ened me in Baguio, spiraling to the surface of my consciousness during deep sleep, grew and
continued to irritate me. It was lik e a buzzing in my head. Eventually it irritated my whole body. Call it k undalini, the serpent
power. Call it the fire of love. Call it the life force. Call it what you will. Whatever it was, it k ept me frightened and awak e and I k ept
swallowing sleeping pills....One night I was laying awak e in bed. I was look ing up at the ceiling, when suddenly a column of
smok e came down from the ceiling and struck my breast very violently with the tremendous clang of a bell. It was not just a
symbolic experience; I felt deep physical pain and I shouted out,"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Then I lay awak e. What was happening?
"After some years I came to see this incident as an awak ening of my true self which, hard and brittle, had to be brok en open
violently with the crash and the clang of the bell. The smok e, I now see, came from a fire that came to burn within me. The
smok e seemed to come down from above but perhaps it was lik e the serpent power rising up from below. The fire came to burn
gradually. Only after some time could I call it a fire. Eventually, however, it became very strong and moved from my breast to my
head and back again to my whole body. It k ept me awak e. It was not at all pleasant."
"St. Philip Neri experienced heat all over his body and laughed at the young men who were afraid of the cold [note: see "Those
Amazing Christians" on this website for an account of Philip Neri, Seraphim of Sarov, and many other such mystics]. And St.
John of the Cross..writes poetically of "the living flame of love that tenderly wounds my soul in its deepest center." When he writes
this poem, the living flame of love is a tender and beautiful fire, but he heark ens back to an earlier time when the flame was
oppressive."
"My prayer went on, and I continued to give retreats, but a new area of my psyche seemed to have opened up...I lay awak e all
night, night after night...I could not sleep and I could not tak e sleeping pills. It was as though my being rejected sleeping pills and
told me that I must remain awak e."
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"A new dimension of energy or a new level of consciousness seemed to awak en, yet I did not toss around in bed. I lay in utter
and deep silence. It was an experience of nothingness, a dark nothingness at he depths of my being. I was terrified at the thought
of getting no sleep...My inner being continued to say, "You must be awak e! Do not sleep! Do not tak e those sleeping pills!"...This
was the advice I had received from [a] Chinese sister in Hong Kong at the beginning of my crisis. "Let the process tak e place,"
she had said. "Let God act! Don't fight against God! And this was wonderful advice. Gradually, over a period of years (altogether it
was five years), I began to sleep, at first with sleeping pills and then quite naturally."(22)
The writer goes on to say how he later met many other people, both priests and laymen, who experienced this inner fire, with
sleepless nights, terrible fears including fear of not sleeping, thinking one was going insane, convinced one was going to hell,
being labelled as 'sick', experiencing apparent breakdowns, and going to doctors to no avail. All of which illustrates the respect
and sensitivity one ought to bring to such experiences, if and when they do happen.
In conclusion, it is hoped that this article has been of some use to the reader in presenting the kundalini phenomenon from a
number of different perspectives. It is certainly hoped he does not find himself more confused than ever!
1. David Godman, No Mind, I Am The Self (Nellore District, A.P., India: Sri Lakshmana Ashram, 1986), p. 10
2. Ibid, p. 18
3. Ibid, p. 4.
4. "The Muni and the Maharishi," Part III, The Mountain Path 14, No.3 (July 1978), pp. 147-148
5. Darshan Singh, Spiritual Awakening (Bowling Green, Virginia: Sawan Kirpal Publications, 1982), p. 261-262
6. Sri Mungala S. Venkataramaiah, Tripura Rahasya, or the Mystery Beyond the Trinity (Tiruvannarnalai, S. India: Sri
Rarnanasramam, 1962), p. 167-16, 172
6a. Hieromonk Isaac, Elder Paissos of Mount Athos (Chalkidiki, Greece: The Holy Monastery "Saint Arsenios the Cappadocian"),
p. 71-72
7. Baha u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (Wilmette, Illinois: Bahai Publishing Trust, 1953), p. 22
7a. Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Wonders of the Natural Mind (Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2000), p. 146
8. The Notebooks of Paul Brunton (Burdett, New York: Larson Publications, 1988), Vol. 12, Part 1, 5.39-40
9. Ibid, Vol. 4, Part 2, 2, KUNDALINI
9a. Tulku Thondup, Masters of Meditation and Miracles: Lives of the Great Buddhist Masters of India and Tibet (Boston:
Shambhala, 1999), p. 140-141
10. Swami Sivananda, Sadhana (Shivanandanagar, India: The Divine Life Society, 1978), p.
11. Swami Sivananda, Kundalini Yoga (Shivanandanagar, India: The Divine Life Society, 1980), p.
12. Swami Sivananda, Kundalini Yoga, p. 32-33
13. David Godman, op. cit. p. 98-100
14. Yogesh Satyeswaranand Saraswati, Science of Soul (New Delhi, India: Yoga Niketan Trust, 1987), p. 238
15. Benjamin Walker, Encyclopedia of Esoteric Man (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977), p. 120
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15.
16.
17.
18.
Benjamin Walker, Encyclopedia of Esoteric Man (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977), p. 120
Brunton, op. cit., Vol. 16, Part 1, 6.5
Hieromonk Isaac, op. cit., p. 378
Then again some have maintained, strictly speaking, that it is not permissable to say there is just One stuff!
"If I say it's one, it isn't so;

If I say it's two, it's slander.
Kabir has thought about it:
As it is
So it is."
19. Brunton, op. cit., Vol. 4, Part 1, 1.218
20. Ibid, Vol. 16, Part 3, 2.38
21. Clifton Wolters, trans., The Cloud of Unknowing and Other Works (Penguin Books, 1978), chapter 37, 60
22. William Johnston, Mystical Journey: An Autobiography (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 2006), pp. 177-178. 184-185, 190191
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Kundalini-Up or Dow? by Peter Holleran

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both kundalini and shabd may be considered forms of shakti.

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- shutting down of emotional sensitivity

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the saint stopped it by putting his hand on their heads.

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"If I say it's one, it isn't so;

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