Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training

Course
April 1 -April 30, 2016
The Kundalini is the mother of Yoga
Rudrayamala Tantra

Nada Yoga School

www.nadyoga.org and www.naturalitypath.com

Nada Yoga and Naturality

200 Hour Kundalini Yoga Teacher Training
Program
Rishikesh, India
April 1-April 30, 2016

Name:

____________________________________________________

Telephone: ____________________________________________________
E-Mail:

____________________________________________________

Nada Yoga School

Near Ramjhula, Swargashram, Rishikesh, India
info@nadyoga.org phone - +91-9412029817
www.nadyoga.org and www.naturalitypath.com

Shiva

The Lord of the Yoga, Tantra and Nada

(Sound)

Contents
Yoga prayer
Ground rules

Section 1.

Introduction

Section 2. What is Kundalini Yoga?

Section 3. The History of Kundalini Yoga
Section 4. The Philosophy of Kundalini Yoga
Section 5. The Science of Kundalini Yoga
Section 6. The Practice of Kundalini Yoga
Section 7. The Experiences on the path of Kundalini Yoga
Section 8. Precautions about Kundalini Yoga
Section 9. Further Readings

Yoga Prayer

Dharma Daham, Dharma Manas, Dharma Buddhi-Atman

Right care to body, feelings, mind and soul.
Dharma Priya Jan, Dharma Serva Jan, Dharma Desh, Dharma
Dhara
Right care to family, community, country and the earth.
Dharma Neham, Dharma Ekam, Dharma Hee Gatisheelta
Let love, harmony and flow sustain right care.
Dharma Jeevan, Dharma Chetan, Dharma Hee Ananda Param.
Let right care bring the bliss of conscious living.
Aum Asti Asti Asti
I affirm this, I affirm this, I affirm this

GROUND RULES OF THE KYTTC

Confidentiality:
Personal information shared by members of the group must be kept
confidential!

Mutual respect and a sincere commitment to learn from one another

will guide all personal and group interaction. To enhance group learning,
members are encouraged to share their ideas and experiences while keeping
in mind the importance of allowing time for others.

Section 1
1-2

Introduction

Section 2
3

What is Kundalini Yoga?

Section 3
4-14

The history of Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini and the Chakras in non-Indian cultures

Section 4
15-76

The philosophy of Kundalini Yoga

Before the beginning...Unknowable
Introduction
What is Kundalini?
Kundalini, chakras and nadis
Philosophy of Samkhya and its relation to Kundalini and
Chakras
Chakras
.Vertical and horizontal movement of the Chakras
.General features of Chakras
.The experience of evolution and involution at different Chakras
.Regression and progression
.History and the chakras
.The future of humanity is embedded and reflected in Chakras

.Chakras and creativity

First Centre or Root Chakra or Muladhar (chakra of death): Rooting
and Belonging - Path of Matter
Second Centre or Energy Chakra or Swadhisthan (chakra of life):
Sex, Life, Pleasure and Mastery- Path of Energy
.Sex and Self-Mastery
.Sex is Sacred
Third Centre or Solar Chakra or Manipura: Emotions: The Path of
Passion and Action
.Evolutionary Leap
.Feelings: Our Natural self
Fourth Centre or Heart Chakra or Anahata: Feelings, Dreams and
Creativity - Path of Love and Devotion
.Path of Shaman
Fifth Centre or Throat Chakra or Vissudha: Science, Systems,
Communication and Expression - The Path of Intellect
.Writers Block
Sixth Centre or Third Eye Chakra or Ajna: Death and Naked Duality Path of Insight
.Individuality and Aloneness
Seventh Centre or Crown Chakra or Sahasrara: Individuality,
Wholeness and Wellness - Arriving at the Peak of Evolution
Involution
The seven vows of marriage according to the chakras
Chakras, Brain and Future of Humanity

Section 5
77-85

The science of Kundalini Yoga

Evolution of the Human Brain

The Expression of Consciousness

.Physical Consciousness - Primal
.Physical Consciousness The Reptilian Brain (Root and Sex Chakra)
.Emotional Consciousness Mammalian Brain (Solar and Heart chakra)
.Intellectual Consciousness Human Brain (Throat chakra)
.Existential Consciousness The Experience of Disintegration (Third eye
chakra)
.Witnessing Consciousness Integration and Wholeness (Crown chakra)

Section 6
86-126

The Practice of Kundalini Yoga

The ten practices for Kundalini Yoga
1. Natural Ethics - self-care and care for others
2. Self-Knowing - studying the book of life
3. Purification (Shathkarma)
4. Worship and Prayer
5. Fasting and Pilgrimage
6. Yoga Poses
7. Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)
8. Bandhas (locks)
9. Mudras (gestures)
10. Meditation

1. Natural Ethics Self-care and Care for Others

Self-Care
Sleep
Food

Exercise
Relationships
Work
Home
Mind-body practice
2. Studying the Book of Life Self-Knowing
Innate nature or Prakirti
The Three Basic Constitutional Types
Earth or Parasympathetic
Fire or interface of parasympathetic and sympathetic
Wind or Sympathetic
3. Shathkarma
1. Neti
2. Dhauti
3. Nauli
4. Basti
5. Kapalbhati
6. Tratak
4. Worship and Prayer
5. Pilgrimage and Fasting
6. Yoga poses
Siddhasana
Vajrasana or diamond pose
Sukhasana or easy pose
Sleep Pose
Bindu (Point) Yoga
Sujun Movements to Awaken Energy and the Chakras
7. Breathing or Pranayama
Sushumna Breathing
Conscious deep breathing through each chakra

Full Yogic Breath

Ujjayi
Anulom-Vilom or Nadi Shodhan or Alternate Nostril Breathing
Kapal Bhati (glowing forehead)
Bhastrika (bellow breathing)
Kalajayi Breath or the Breath of Dissolution
8.Bandhas or locks
Moola or root Bandha for lower body
Uddiyana or moving up Bandha for middle
Jalandhara Bandha or throat lock for upper body

9.

Mudras

10. Meditation
.Awareness of the Chakras and Energy
.Meditations from Vijan Bhairava Tantra
.Awareness of the Spine and the Nadi Inside it
.Becoming aware of the spine and nadi in it
light Rising in the Spine
.Spark of Light Jumping from Chakra to Chakra
.Braham or Expansiveness Meditation
.From the Universal to the Individual
.Sound meditations
.Bija mantra for chakras
.Tantric mantras

Practice to awaken the invidividual chakras

Ajna or third eye center
Vissudha or throat center

Anahat or heart center

Manipura or solar center
Swadhisthan or sex/energy center
Mooladhar or root center

Section 7
127-160

Experiences of Kundalini and Chakras

Experiencing the process
Yoga Kundalini Upanishad
Hath Yoga Pradipika
Sant Gyanshwara
Ramkrishna Paramhansa
Shirdi Sai Baba
J Krishnamurti
UG Krishnamurti

Pandit Gopikrishna
Jivasu Sudden awakening

Some of the common symptoms and signs of the Kundalini

awakening
Experiences on the Path of Kundalini Yoga The final
results
The Healthy Ego
The Soul or Jeevatma

Realization of the universal self

Natural Being (Sahaja)

Section 8
161-162

Precautions about Kundalini Yoga

Section 9
163

Further Readings

Section 1
Introduction
Kundalini Yoga is Param Yoga or the supreme Yoga. It is ancient yet
contemporary as it can be explained in terms of science without bringing any
religion to define it. Its teachings on themes like non-dual consciousness as
well as the nature of the material world are linked with each other. One
aspect of these teachings concerns the knowledge of Braham, which is
beyond space and time, while the other aspect teaches us about the brain
and the body. These teachings connect the inner and outer world. In
Kundalini Yoga nothing is an illusion and even the "Maya" or impermanence
is real. From human imagination to the ultimate Truth, all is affirmed and
nothing rejected.
Embedded in it is the essence of all other Yogas, all religions, spiritual paths
and philosophies. There is never a condemnation of the body or human
weaknesses. What makes us fall can elevate us. What is poison can become
nectar. What makes ill can cure us. The path of pain and sorrow becomes a
pilgrimage. Body, mind, soul, God and beyond God all are sacred and part of
the same one movement of Truth.
By knowing and practicing Kundalini Yoga not only do we realize the Braham
but also gain the knowledge of this world, its past, present and future. We
can then understand its politics, economy, science, conflicts and culture. We
come to understand evolution and involution (in which consciousness folds
over upon itself). We become like spiders in the complex web of life and the
world. We can enter and exit without entangling ourselves in the complexity
of the world.
We realize Hath Yoga through the first two chakras and Karma Yoga through
the third. The fourth chakra helps us to realize Bhakti Yoga and through the
fifth we realize the Vedanta, Buddha consciousness and Patanjalis Raj
Yoga. In sixth chakra we see the cosmos as it is and in the seventh we
experience Guru Yoga, where we are guided by our own inner Guru or
teacher. From the Geeta to the Upanishads, from Nirvana to Tao, from
Sufism to the Kabbalah- all can be understood through Kundalini Yoga.
What is referred to as Kundalini Yoga now, was previously known as Laya
Yoga. Laya means dissolution. It was called the Yoga of dissolution, because
it dissolves the barriers between energy or Shakti and consciousness or
Shiva. The word kundalini is derived from the Sanskrit word Kundal. Kundal
means a coiled one. When Shakti or energy lies dormant, it assumes the

shape of a coil, like a serpent. When awakened the Kundalini is uncoiled and
straightens up like a serpent and moves through the chakras. This is why its
also known as Serpent Power. Some commentators connect the word Kundal
with Kanda or the sacral area of the spine where the energy of Kundalini lies
dormant. Others relate it to the Kund, the pit or the place where the fire
ceremony in performed, because the nature of Kundalini is fire.

Section 2
What is Kundalini Yoga?
When the energy of consciousness or the consciousness-force, known as
Shiva-Shakti or Purusha-Prakirti, takes the form of an individual life, its
called Kundalini. Kundalini governs life through the chakras. Because of
Avidya or ignorance, only a fragment of the Kundalini consciousness-force
remains active in us while the rest lies dormant in the form of a coil.
Although even partially active Kundalini is enough to sustain life, it causes us
to live in a state of ego and in separation from the rest of the cosmos. The
ego causes us to endlessly cycle through sorrow and joy.
As Sadhana or spiritual effort diminishes our ignorance, Kundalini is
awakened and makes the chakras fully active. The awakening and activation
of Kundalini and the chakras breaks the cycle of the world and the mind and
body unite. Jivatma or soul is experienced and the individual gets glimpses
of Shiva or pure consciousness. This is the first realization on the path of
Kundalini Yoga. If the process continues, the Jivatma or soul comes to its full
realization of the cosmic Shiva-Shakti or Purusha-Prakirti or Paramatma or
non-dual consciousness. This is full realization in Kundalini Yoga.

Section 3
The history of Kundalini Yoga
The story of Kundalini Yoga is the story of a goddess, because Kundalini
represents the feminine aspect of the cosmos. It is also directly connected to
the Tantra. Kundalini and the Chakras are an integral part of Tantra. The aim
of tantric practice is to awaken the Kundalini and the chakras. As a practice
Tantra is pre-historic, however written and pictorial records of its existence
appeared much later.

20,000 BC
This is the earliest finding of the mother goddess figurine from the Pachmari
hills in Madhya Pradesh, India.

5,500 BC
Many female figurines were discovered at the excavation in Mehergarh,
Pakistan.

3000 BC Indus-Saraswati Civilization

The earliest evidence of Kundalini and Tantra comes from a seal found in the
ruins of the Indus-Saraswati civilization. The seal is more than five thousand
years old (3000 BC). In this seal a man is sitting cross legged with an erect
phallus. The erect phallus is a symbol of Shiva and also of the active energy
of sex. However, in the seal the erect phallus is pointing upward which
means that the energy is flowing upward in reverse direction rather than
downward, which is the goal of Tantra and Kundalini practice. Yogis who are
able to reverse the flow of sexual energy upward are called Urdhav Retas;
Urdhav means upward and Reta means flow.

1500 BCE - Vedas and Upanishads

Although there is no direct mention of Kundalini in Rig Veda, there is a
description of Soma. Soma, which was once thought to be the juice from a
plant, is now understood to be the nectar produced in the body during a
Kundalini awakening at the Bindu chakra. Soma is also the moon shining on

Shivas forehead. Its cool radiance floods the brain and body bringing bliss,
wisdom and the feeling of the immortality of pure consciousness.
Some say that the Vedic story of Vishnu, in which he crossed the cosmos in
three steps, indicates the three coils of Kundalini. Beyond the three coils lies
another half coil which is about transcending the cosmos.
Chandogya Upanishad which is an older Upanishad and composed before
Buddha, says that Pranic energy (Kundalini) guards the door of the celestial
world.
Kundalini is mentioned in Yajurveda which was described in detail in Advaya
Taraka and Yoga Kundalini Upanishad. Although the Yoga Kundalini
Upanishad is as old as Yajurveda, it was compiled in the 17th century. It
describes the chakras and the goal of Kundalini awakening which is to experience
the non-dual Brahman.
In Varahopanishad, Kundalini is called the supreme power. Kundalini is also

mentioned in Sam Veda through Yoga Chudamani Upanishad. The time for
the compilation of The Upanishad is not clear, but it was after Patanajalis Raj
Yoga.

8th Century
Adi Shankaracharya (788-820)
Adi Shankaracharya was a great Jnana Yogi and philosopher who, in his short
life span of 32 years, wrote commentaries on The Upanishads and brought
the philosophy of Vedanta to the forefront of spiritual discourse. This
influenced the growth of Sanatan Dharma. He also affirmed the spiritual
unity of India by establishing four Maths or ashrams in four corners of India
and started the Dashnami sects of monks which became a vehicle for the
spread of the Vedanta teachings, not only in India, but all over the world.
Adi Shankaracharya, along with sage Pushpadanta wrote the famous work
The Saundarya Lahari describing Kundalini Shakti. Saundarya Lahiri means
Waves of Beauty. Shankaracharya says: You live in secrecy with your lord
(consciousness) in the thousand petalled lotus. You pierced earth
Mooladhara, the water in Manipura, the fire in the Svadhisthana, the air in
the Heart or Anahata, the space in Visshuddhi and Manas between the
eyebrows (Ajna) and have thus broken through the entire Kula Path.
Saundarya Lahri also gives a clear account on how to worship and how to
please the mother Kundalini Shakti.
Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is mainly Tantric in its nature and is called Vajrayana or

diamond path. It describes Kundalini and the chakras, but with a different
name Tummo fire which in addition to physically warming the body, takes
an individual to the higher spiritual realizations.
Kashmiri Shavism
Kashmiri Shavism is a non-dualist Tantric Shaiva tradition from Kashmir which
came into prominence in the 8th century. Its main teachers were Vasugupta
and Abhinavagupta. Abhinavagupta wrote Tantraloka and Tantrasar, the
most important works of Kashmiri Shavism. In Kashmiri Shavism Kundalini is
held in high esteem as is affirmed by the following words:
Kundalini shakti is the concealing and revealing energy of Lord Shiva. Para
(supreme) Kundalini is the heart and existence of Shiva; in fact it is the life
and glory of Shiva, its Shiva himself. Kashmir Shaivism, the Secret
Supreme
Tantrasadbhava Tantra

Tantrasadbhava, Gyanarva Tantra, Lalit Sahastranam, and Laghustuti

Vamkeshwar tantra use the term Kundalini in their description of primal
energy and Shakti.

10th Century
Tantra
Although Tantras are old, their articulation and description took on a
definitive form by the 10th century and many of them were complied during
the same period. Tantras contain extensive descriptions of Kundalini. Abhinav
Gupta in his work Tantra-Alok distinguished between Purna Kundalini, Prana
Kundalini and Urdhava Kundalini. Purna Kundalini is a total divine force.
Prana Kundalini, as the name depicts, is only about life force and Urdhava
Kundalini is the upward movement of the dormant life force in the form of a
serpent.
Yoga Vashistha
Yoga Vashistha is one of the most beautiful and profound books of integrated
spirituality from India. Its philosophy was propounded thousands of years
ago, but the oldest available manuscript was written in the 10th century AD.

It is ascribed to sage Valmiki, the author of Ramayana. In Yoga Vashistha,

Rishi Vashistha gives spiritual instructions to Prince Rama. It contains the
synthesis of non-dualistic Vedanta and Yoga.
In Yoga Vashistha, Guru Vashistha says that Kundalini is the seat of absolute
knowledge. The awareness of the presence of this primordial Kundalini
energy within the human body was considered by the sages and saints to be
the highest knowledge possible.
Kundalini as life force functions in the body and is composed of the five
elements. It is this same Kundalini which is also known variously as the
conditioned or limited mind, jiva, movement of thought, intellect (or the
determining faculty) and ego-sense, for it is the supreme life-force in the
body and constitutes the various levels of consciousness.
Padaka-Pancaka
Padaka Pancaka contains the descriptions of the chakra centers and related
practices to awaken the Kundalini and Chakras. According to this text the
chakras are the emanations of consciousness and energy from Brahman
which gradually turns concrete, creating these distinct levels of chakras, and
which eventually finds its rest in the Muladhara chakra.
Goraksha Shatakam
Goraksha Shatakam is the work of Gorakshanath and describes in details
how to awaken the chakras and Kundalini. Gorakshanath was a 10th century
Nath yogi, connected to Shaivism and Hath Yoga. He was the most
important disciples of Matsyendranath, the founder of Hath Yoga. The name
Hath Yoga is derived from two words Ha and Tha which means sun and
moon. This indicates that the goal of Hath Yoga is to awaken the Pingla or the
sun and Ida or the moon nadis and to take their energy to Sushumna, the
central channel in Kundalini Yoga.

13th Century
Yoga Yajnavalkya
Yoga Yajnavalkya became an inspirational and foundational text for many
Hath Yoga work including Yoga-Kundalini, Yogatattva and Hath Yoga

Pradipika. It is attributed to the sage Yajnavalkya and is a dialogue between

Yajnavalkya and the rishika Gargi.
Gyaneshwari
Gyaneshwari is a book written by the well known saint from Maharasthra,
Sant Gyanshwara. The sixth chapter of the book describes kundalini in which
Sant writes that Kundalini is the greatest of all energies. With the influence of
this energy, the body becomes pure and glows. Everything in the body
becomes symmetrical and the eyes are bright and full of radiance.

15th Century
Hath Yoga Pradipika
Hath Yoga Pradipika is a classical text on Hath Yoga. It was written by Swami
Svatmarama, a disciple of the great Gorakshanath of Nath Sampradya. Hath
Yoga Pradipika is one of the best works to learn about Kundalini. According to
Hath Yoga Pradipika - Kundalini is asleep; closing the door of the Sushumna.
She sleeps above the Kanda, where the Nadis unite. She gives liberation to
the Yogi and bondage to the fool. Anyone who knows her knows Yoga.
Hath Yoga Pradipika describes asanas, pranayamas, mudras and bandhas in

details. Hath Yoga brought the physical body to the forefront of Yoga for the
first time and showed that the body can be the door to the divine and can
liberate us. In many religious traditions the body is considered an obstacle to
enlightenment, but in Hath Yoga it is seen as the means to Moksha. Most of
the common asanas and pranayamas in current yoga practice come from
Hath Yoga.
Guru Nanak
It is said that Guru Nanak mentioned Kundalini. It is described in Guru Granth
Sahib.

16th Century
Shri-Tattva-Cintamani
Shri Tattva Cintamani was written by Swami Purnananda. Its sixth chapter is
called the Sat-Chakra-Nirupana or exploration into six chakras or centres.

The book describes the chakras and practices used to activate them in great
detail. It also describes the experiences of Kundalini moving through the
chakras.

17th Century
Gheranda Samhita
Gheranda Samhita is one of three classical text books about Hath Yoga. The
other two are Hath Yoga Pradipika and Shiva Samhita. It is the yoga manual
that was taught to Chanda Kapali by Gheranda. According to the Gherand
Samhita, The Great Goddess Kundalini, who is the primordial energy of the
Self, sleeps in the region of sex. It has the shape of a snake coiled three and
a half times. As long as it remains asleep, Jiva, the individual spirit, will be
limited in its actions, and true knowledge will not be accessible. But like the
right key that may unlock a door, Hath Yoga can unlock Kundalini's door and
allow the self to experience the union with Brahman and to reach the final
state."
Shiva Samhita
Shiva Samhita describes various Nadis, ten types of Pranas, eighty four
asanas and other yoga practices to awaken Kundalini.

19th Century
Ramkrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886)
Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a unique sage who was able to reach the
state of self-realization through many paths including Islamic and nondualistic practices. He also, through his famous disciple Swami Vivekananda,
revived Sanatan Dharma in India and allowed it to spread throughout the
world.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa was initiated into Tantra by a female teacher,
Bhairavi and, experienced Kundalini. He often used to discuss how this
energy can be awakened in five ways. He stated that it can be like a snake,
bird, fish, monkey and an ant. He also said - "When the Kundalini rises to the
Sahasrara and the mind goes into Samadhi, the aspirant loses all
consciousness of the outer world. He can no longer retain his physical body.
If milk is poured into his mouth, it runs out again. In [this] state the lifebreath lingers for twenty-one days and then passes out.

10

Shirdi Sai Baba (1835-1918)

Shirdi Sai Baba like Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a fully accomplished yogi
and sage and lived his whole life in the small village of Shirdi,
Maharasthra. He used to say that, ...afterwards a big snake awakened
(Kundalini awakened). It was very virulent and angry. Then it jumped up
and down. (The Gospel of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba: A Holy Spiritual Path by
Durari Arulneyam)
Swami Nigmananda (1880-1935)
Swami Nigmananda was from eastern India and was a non-dualistic sage.
According to him if early practices are perfected, the succeeding steps will
yield lasting results. The sadhaka enters into samadhi as a matter of
individual experience, including the awakening of Kundalini. The upward and
downward motion of Kundalini is called Sampragyant Samadhi.
John Woodroffe (1865-1936)
John Woodroffe was an Englishman and himself not a master of Kundalini
realization. However, his scholarly study of Tantra and Kundalini, as well as
books in English on the same subject helped to translate and transmit the
knowledge of the Tantric system and of Kundalini Yoga. His famous work, The
Serpent Power, still remains an exhaustive and profound study of Kundalini
and the Chakras.

20th Century
Paramhansa Yogananda (1893-1952)
Paramahansa Yogananda was an Indian Yogi who migrated to The United
States and brought Indian spirituality to the west. He followed the trail of
Swami Vivkeananda. His book Autobiography of a Yogi is one of the most
popular books on Yoga and describes his Kriya Yoga in detail.
Kriya Yoga is based on the Chakras and energy. According to Yogananda,
Kriya Yoga is [the] union (yoga) with the Infinite through a certain action or
rite (kriya). The Sanskrit root of kriya is kri, to do, to act and react. The Kriya
Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward,
around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and
coccygeal plexuses.....

11

Sri Aurobindo (1872-1950)

Sri Aurobindo is an example of experimental spirituality. He wanted to bring
the divine radiance of the Supramental dimension of the divine to the
forefront, not only to transform ordinary consciousness but also to change
the physical body and earth. His concept of Purna or Integral Yoga is the
synthesis of many streams of yoga.
In his book Synthesis of Yoga, Sri Aurobindo mentions Kundalini. Finally, the
Yogi acquires at a certain stage of development the power of abandoning his
body definitively without the ordinary phenomena of death, by an act of will,
or by a process of withdrawing the pranic life-force through the gate of the
upward life-current (udana), opening for it a way through the mystic
brahmarandhra in the head.
In other places he talked about the descent of the same Shakti or force.
Mother of Pondicherry (1878-1973)
Mother of Pondicherry was the spiritual companion of Sri Aurobindo.
According to her: it (Kundalini) is Shakti. Some receive it from above; for
others, it rises from below. As I once told you, the old system always
proceeds from below upwards, while Sri Aurobindo pulls from above
downwards. This becomes very clear in meditation (well, in yoga, in yogic
experience): for those who follow the old system, its invariably the kundalini
at the base [of the spine] rising from center to center, center to center, until
the lotus bursts open here. With Sri Aurobindo, it comes like this (descending
Force) and then settles here (above the head); it enters, and from there it
comes down, down, down, everywhere, to the very bottom, and even below
the feet the subconscient and lower still, the inconscient.

J Krishnamurti (1895-1986)
Krishnamurti, a great sage and philosopher of the 20th century left a deep
impact on modern spirituality. He shunned organized religions and the role of
a Guru in self-realization.
His statement, ...Truth is a pathless land...and that his mission is ...to set
man absolutely and unconditionally freeare the essence of his teachings.

12

Throughout his life J Krishnamurti experienced the force or energy and he

called this experience the process. It is described in his biographies which
were written by Mary Lutyens and Pupul Jayakar.
UG Krishnamurti (1918-2007)
U. G. Krishnamurti, was an Indian sage who questioned anything which was
related to spirituality and enlightenment. For him it was not Nirvana or
Moksha but the freedom of the biological body from the thoughts and
knowledge which was the most important goal of human life. He rejected the
very basis of thought and in doing so negated all systems of thoughts and
knowledge.
While going through Kundalini like changes in his body, his friends observed
that:
Up and down his torso, neck and head, at those points which Indian holy
men call chakras, his friends observed swellings of various shapes and
colors, which came and went at intervals. On his lower abdomen the
swellings were horizontal, cigar-shaped bands. Above the navel was a hard,
almond-shaped swelling.

Swami Sivananda (1887-1963)

Swami Sivananda was a Yogi and spiritual teacher who founded The Divine
Life Society and the Sivananda Ashram in Rishikesh India. Sivananda Yoga,
which is a popular form of Yoga, is based on his teachings. He was a versatile
writer and wrote many books on spiritual subjects.
Pandit Gopikrishna (1903-1984)
It would be no exaggeration to say that Gopikrishna revived the interest in
Kundalini in modern times. He was an accomplished Kundalini master and
taught and wrote from direct experience. His teachings include not only the
direct experience of Kundalini, which he had for many years, but also the
importance of Kundalini from a biological, scientific and evolutionary
perspective. He describes various aspects of Kundalini in many lucidly
written books including Kundalini: Path to Higher Consciousness
Swami Muktananda (1908 1982)

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Swami Muktananda wrote a number of books on Kundalini shakti. His

autobiography entitled The Play of Consciousness (chit-shakti-vilas)
describes his own Kundalini experiences in detail.
Swami Satyananda Saraswati (1923-2009)
Swami Satyananda was a disciple of Swami Sivananda of The Divine Life
Society. He wrote many books about tantra and Kundalini.
Yogi Bhajan (1929-2004)
Yogi Bhajan was a Kundalini yoga teacher in USA.

Kundalini and the Chakras in non-Indian Cultures

Sufism
Lataif-e-sitta are psycho-spiritual "organs" or, faculties of sensory and suprasensory perception on the Sufi path. These six levels of states and
experiences are parts of the Self, in a similar manner to the way organs are
parts of the body.
Kabbalaha (Judaism)
The Kabbalistic arrangement of Sefirot invites comparison with the chakras.
Christianity
The book The Interior Castle by St. Teresa of Avila describes seven mansions
to explain the seven states of consciousness, which a person experiences on
the spiritual path to the soul.
Some Christian mystics have referred to these energy centers as stars. The
seven mansions, and sacraments transcend religious boundaries and
describe a road map to a higher consciousness.
China
Taoism

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In Taoism, Kundalini and the Chakras are referred to as Dantians. According

to McEvilley, The Taoist alchemists of China taught techniques to force the
semen up the spine to the brain, where it was expected to nourish fields of
cinnabar, leading to the alchemical transformation of the mind.
Greece
According to McEvilley, knowledge akin to Kundalini and Chakras was
pervasive in Greece. In Platos Timaeus he describes the divine seed which
resides in the brain and flows down the spinal column towards the sexual
organs. He discusses two hidden channels which flow alongside the spinal
column. The Greeks referred to the spinal column as the Holy tube (hiera
surinx). The Pythagorean and Orphic schools taught that semen comes from
brain and is of one substance with the spinal marrow. Diogenes of
Appolonia, as quoted by Aristotle, is also said to have referred to the two
auxiliary channels beside the spinal column.
Romans
In Roman mythology, we find Asclepius, the god of healing. He is seen
holding a staff which is entwined with a serpent.
Egypt
McEvilley cites the myth of Osiris in ancient Egypt. Osiris, the god of the
afterlife, is said to ascend to heaven over the spinal column of his mother,
the goddess Nut, the vertebrae being used as the rungs of a ladder. This is
similar to the Yogic concept of Enlightenment. Richard Onians in his book
The Origins of European Thought suggests that the column represents the
spine of Osiris which was worshipped as an amulet of life, indicates the
same idea. According to Onians, the vital fluid in Egyptian iconography is
repeatedly shown as being transmitted either by laying the hand on the top
of the spine or passing it down the spine.
The pharaoha crown had a serpent (Uraeus) which represents the goddess
Wadjet.
Mesopotamia/Sumeria
In analyzing the evidence across other ancient cultures, McEvilley also cites
the Gudea vase which shows two serpents intertwined around a central axis,

15

their bodies touching each other at seven knot-points. This is exactly how
the Sushumna and its two auxiliary channels are arranged.
Africa
In many parts of Africa people danced to awaken Num (equivalent to
Kundalini) in order to experience Kia, or the state of transcendence.

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Section 4
The Philosophy of Kundalini Yoga

Before the Beginning...Unknowable

Being nor Nonbeing was not then
nor air or sky beyond
What embraced? Where? In whose protection?
Was Water there, unfathomable deep?

There was no death then, nor eternity,

no night or day.
The One breathed without breath on its own
and there was nothing beyond.

Darkness was enveloped by darkness

all was Water indiscriminate
The One was hidden by the Void
stirred though, by the force of heat.

Love arose in the beginning,

the primal seed of mind
The Seers, searching in their wise hearts,
found the bonds of Being in Nonbeing.

Their rays of vision spread across the both

What was above so was below?
Bearers of seed and the mighty forces,
efforts below and sacrifice above.

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Who really knows? Who can tell the Truth?

Whence was it born? Whence it formed?
Even the Gods appeared later
Who then knows when it sprang?

Whence this was created,

Did it create itself or not,
the One who looks from the highest heaven,
that surely knows - or maybe...He doesnt know.
Nasadiya Sukta from Rig Veda

Introduction
In science, which deals with matter and energy, seeing is of paramount
importance. If a scientist cant see an object or event directly through the
eyes, or indirectly on the screen, or on a piece of paper, then it doesnt exist.
Furthermore, that act of seeing has to be confirmed by many. The act of
seeing by an individual is not enough and is merely an anecdote which may
or may not be true. So replicating the seeing is the essence of science.
Seeing has to be shared in order to bring transformation in the material
world.
For example, if a patient complains about not feeling well, the doctor will
suggest many tests to arrive at a diagnosis. Those tests are not exclusively
analyzed by a single doctor but by many other health professionals such as a
pathologist or a specialist. If all the tests are normal, then the doctor may
say that the problem is in the patients head, which means it is in the mind
or is just a feeling rather than in the body. This also means that problem may
not be real but imagined.
But in spirituality feeling is of main importance, because it explores the
realm of consciousness and conscious transformation within. Seeing is
recognized, but may be considered an illusion. Our mind can project its own
content and see things which are either not there or even if they are there,
they are not seen as they are, because our perception is conditioned. Our
fears, suffering, conflict, guilt, jealousy, happiness, meaning in life, love and
fulfillment are all feelings. Nirvana, enlightenment, liberation, God
experiences are also feelings beyond ordinary feelings, and are experienced

18

by an individual in solitude. No one from outside can observe these feelings.

Feelings can be verbalized but not shared.
Thousands of years ago when dead bodies were not dissected, and when
surgery was rarely done, knowledge of human physiology and anatomy was
based on feelings of energy flowing within various parts of the body and
organs. The flow of the energy was called Prana, Chi or Ki. By persistent
observations on the feelings of energy flow within the body, people were
able to comprehend the functioning of the body including the inner organs.
These feeling observations became the foundation of ancient healing
systems. In a way, most healing in ancient time was energy healing.
Out of all organs and systems in the body, the brain and the nervous system
are the most sensitive. We can feel the energy flow in them more clearly and
strongly. In a calm state, its easier to map out the pathways of energy flow
in ones brain and nerves. The maps of these pathways slowly became the
systems of Nadis and Meridians.
Energy flows in the brain and nervous system become particularly strong
during spiritual awakening. The spiritual progress is the result of changes in
the biology of the brain and nervous system. Biology evolves; not the
consciousness. At any point all possible modes of consciousness are
available to any living organism. But the state of the brain and body
determines if an individual will be able to tune into the different dimensions
of consciousness or not. A more evolved brain and body access higher levels
of consciousness. A person walking a dog will have a different experience
than the dog. Although the external environment is the same, their
perception and consciousness will be different, because their brains are
tuning into different realities.
In unicellular organisms like the amoeba, the brain is spread throughout the
cell. The whole cell is a brain. In multi-cellular and more complex life forms,
the brain starts to take shape in the form of nerve cells. As evolution
progresses, the brain becomes a distinct organ, such as in earthworms and
reptiles.
Reptiles have a primitive nervous system, which has helped them survive.
The reptilian complex in the human brain is representative of the brain of
reptiles and is a mirror for reptilian consciousness. In advanced animals, the
brain is responsible for emotions. In humans it has brought the wonders of
self-awareness, through which we are able to experience feelings and
emotions. It also gives us the ability to reflect on the past and contemplate
the future. We are capable of logical thinking, which has unleashed endless
creativity and has led to the emergence of science, art, ethics, religion and
culture. But above all of this, is the incredible ability we possess to feel the
presence of the infinite and eternal, the source of the universe itself. The

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infinite is not an empty void but contains all that is possible, was possible
and will be possible. People have given this feeling of boundless and timeless
existence many names including God, Brahamn and so on.
As our brain develops and vibrates at a particular frequency, we experience
a specific level of consciousness. The animal brain vibrates at a different
frequency than in humans, and so their perception is different. Because we
are self-aware, we can change the structure and physiology of our brain and
become conscious of those experiences that are not available to other living
beings. This is conscious evolution. Evolution is essentially the evolution of
the brain and body, which vibrate at different frequencies at various stages
of evolution.
All creative and spiritual practices are about changing the structure and
physiology of the brain, in order to tune into more conscious experience. We
have the potential to become conscious of every evolutionary frequency of
the brain, eventually arriving at a point where the frequency becomes almost
infinite or zero. Here we tune into a primal consciousness. This gives us the
experience of non-duality, Nirvana or the feeling of timeless and space-less
existence.
When people are going through a spontaneous spiritual awakening, the
energy flow in their brain and nervous system is strong and can be felt
clearly at certain points over the body. A normal brain, although fully active
physiologically, is not functioning to its optimal capacity; the reason being
that various parts of the brain remain unconnected. But in spiritual
awakening not only some of the physiologically less active parts become
more active, but more and more parts connect to each other making the
brain and nervous system function as one unit, as one whole. Such
functioning of the brain is also observed during orgasm.
During spiritual awakening increased activity and coherence in the brain
functioning are experienced as powerful and harmonious flow of energy at
various parts of the body and are called Chakra points. Chakra means
wheels. At these points energy is flowing through the web of nerves giving
the feeling of a moving wheel. In the same way when energy is flowing
through the spinal cord and brain, it gives the feeling of a serpent moving
within the body. This movement of energy is called Kundalini. Kundal means
a coil. A restful serpent forms a coil, but when awakened it raises its body up
and opens its hood. That is why Kundalini energy is depicted as an awakened
serpent. The brain and the spinal cord look like the body and hood of a
serpent.
In summary, biology evolves and not consciousness. With the evolution of
biology, higher levels of consciousness are experienced. When the biology of
the brain and nervous system evolves, there is strong flow of energy which

20

connects to particular nerve plexuses and gives the feeling of moving wheels
which are called Chakra points. The overall flow of this energy is experienced
as an awakened serpent and is called Kundalini energy. Because Chakras and
Kundalini are feelings and not material entities, if we were to open the body
we wouldnt find them anywhere in the body. Similarly, if we were to open
the heart organ, we wouldnt find any love there. Love is a feeling which
connects to the anatomical heart.

What is Kundalini?
Kundalini, Chakras and Nadis
Kundalini is the conscious energy or bio-energy which sustains life in an
individual person and in other living beings. It is the individualized extension
of the cosmic energy variously referred to as Shakti, Prakirti or Devi.
As the manifested cosmos is formed from the union of consciousness (Shiva
or Purusha) and energy (Shakti or Prakirti), at the level of Ahamkar or I-ness,
consciousness becomes involved in the cycle of the world leading to fear and
suffering. As the Shiva-Shakti combination goes down further, at the root
chakra (Annamayakosha) most of the Kundalini energy becomes dormant
and is coiled like a serpent with minimal consciousness. Its remaining
dynamic energy mainly moves to the second chakra (Pranamayakosh) from
where it sustains the body, the emotions and the thinking mind.
As the Kundalini is awakened from it dormancy, it rises again and becomes
more and more conscious. At the level of the crown chakra, it finally achieves
union with Shiva or consciousness again. This leads to the witnessing
consciousness. If the movement continues further up, the cosmic union is
experienced. This ultimately leads to the experience of the non-dual state of
Brahman.
Ignorance whose origin is unknown causes Kundalini to remain dormant and
confined to the material and mental realm. When awakened it becomes fully
conscious by uniting with Shiva or Purusha or primal consciousness and
returns to its cosmic form which leads to liberation. Such liberation also
awakens all of the inherent material and mental forces in the person. During
the awakening of Kundalini, Prana or bio-energy moves up through the
chakras, opens them and make them optimally functional. Kundalini
expresses itself differently at different chakras, because each chakra
represents a different stage of evolution and consciousness.
Kundalini energy flows through the specific pathways or Nadis. Nadi means
flow. The same word is used in Sanskrit for river and also for Nada, which
means sound, because sound also flows like a wave. The Chakras are the
vortex or the dynamic pools of energy in which Nadis end and take origin.

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Out of the thousands of Nadis criss- crossing the body, three are most
important. They are Ida, Pingla and Sushumna. Some also describe three
more nadis interior to Sushumna, namely Vajrini, Chitrni and Brahman nadis.
The Ida and Pingala Nadis correspond to the sympathetic and the
parasympathetic nerves but they are not themselves the nerves. Ida, which
represents the moon, means coolness and calmness. Pingla, which
symbolizes the sun, means action and heat. Ida and Pingla start in the
testicles or vagina, Ida on the right and Pingla on the left. They meet with
Sushumna at the root chakra. Sushumna means Graceful. Sushumna is
called graceful, because when Ida and Pingla are in balance they flow into
Sushumna with gentle equanimity. When the three Nadis meet at the root
chakra, they form the first knot or Braham granthi (the knot of the body). The
three nadis again meet at the heart chakra and at the third eye chakra and
form Vishnu and Rudra Granthi, which correspond to emotion and intellect.
These three knots create dormancy of body, emotions and intellect and have
to be untied to become receptive to the cosmic forces at the mind-body
level. Ida is Tamasic in nature or full of inertia, Pingla is Rajasic or dynamic
and Sushumna is Satvic or harmonious and balanced.
From the Rudra Granthi at the third eye or sixth chakra, Ida and Pingla
descend to the left and right nostril and through the stimulation of the
nostrils by breathing, they influence the right and left hemispheres of brain.
Sushumna doesnt end at the nostrils. It goes all the way up to the top of the
head and opens in the crown chakra.
Up to the sixth chakra, all chakras have petals. These petals are metaphors
for the various frequencies with which they vibrate and are represented as
the Sanskrit alphabets. In Nada Yoga the origin of the cosmos is described
through the un-struck sound of Aum from which all other vibrations are born
and all vibrations are conceived by humans through 50 alphabets. This
means that the mind-body microcosm contains all the vibrations of the
macrocosm in the form of 50 alphabets. The seed mantra or the sounds at
various chakras, is the igniting energy which will make these petals of
frequencies active and vibrate and will help in the communion of the mindbody microcosm to the macrocosm of universe.

Philosophy of Samkhya and its relation to Kundalini and

Chakras
Philosophy of Samkhya is the first philosophy in which expressed and
unexpressed elements of the cosmos are enumerated and which ranges from
the physical body (which can be seen and felt) to supreme pure
consciousness which is beyond the reach of the mind and thoughts.

22

According to Samkhay visible and invisible existence is made up of 25

elements. Out of these twenty five elements, Purusha (pure consciousness)
and Prakirti (material nature) are eternal and constitute the two supreme
elements, followed by:
Buddhi or the discriminatory intellect or Soul or Prajna
Ahamkar or ego which is the lower side of the soul and contains ordinary
intellect
Manas or the emotional mind
The physical body which is formed by 20 elements of...

the five senses or organs of knowledge eyes, ears, tongue, nose and
skin

the five experiences of senses sound, sight, smell, touch and taste

the five organs of action mouth, hands, anus, penis/vagina and feet

the five Mahabhutas or gross elements earth, water, fire, air and
space

According to science, matter-energy constitutes the universe, but according

to Samkhya its the coming together of Purusha (pure consciousness) and
Prakirti (matter-energy) which forms the cosmos. From Purusha and Prakirtis
contact emerge Buddhi or Atma or Prajna, Ahamkar or ego, Manas and the
Physical body. Beside Purusha all of the other 23 elements belong to Prakirti,
are material in nature and constantly change.

Purusha
The word Purusha is composed of Pur meaning boundary and Sha means
restfulness. Purusha is the peaceful, tranquil pure consciousness which rests
in the boundaries of living beings including humans. Each living being has its
own Purusha. So there are as many Purushas as the number of living beings.
Later on with the development of Vedanta, plural Purusha became one or
non-dual Brahamn.
Puruha is the transcendental self beyond all description and is pure
consciousness. Its self-existent; it neither creates nor was created. Its

23

eternal absolute, independent, free, imperceptible and unknowable. It can be

reached by any knowledge, senses, mind, intuition or insights. It remains
forever pure although when mixed with Prakirti it seems to take the form and
movement of Prakirti, but thats not true. Prakirti can never taint or change
Purushas purity.
The realization of Purusha is the end of all fear and suffering. The person
rests in the stillness of pure consciousness and experiences bliss.
Prakirti
Pra means primal or before and Kriti means to create. So Prakirti is the
primal creative force which is the central background of all creativity. All
other creative activities by humans are secondary. Original creativity only
comes from Prakirti.
Prakirti is the source of the emergence of the universe. Buddhi, mind, ego,
energy and matter are all born from the womb of Prakirti. Its constituents are
three Gunas or qualities: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.
Sattva The word Sattva comes from Sat meaning Truth. The Sattva state
of Prakirti takes a person closer to the Truth of Purusha. Ordinary humans
living in ignorance cannot differentiate between Purusha and Prakirti and
suffer from the turmoil of life. But living with the Sattva quality discrimination
begins, and one can see the reflected light of Purusha which brings peace,
lightness, love, compassion, harmony, illumination, and joy which reduces
suffering and fear. Its color is translucent white.
Rajas The word Rajas comes from Raja which means Royal, Kingly or
Queenly. Rajas quality is full of action, excitement, control, egoism, passion
and pain. The person is lost in the constant ups and downs of life and desires
to control and possess the world. Its color is red.
Tamas The word Tamas means darkness. Tamas is the state of ignorance
and opacity which leads to resistance, stagnation, inertia, coarseness,
heaviness, obstruction and slothfulness. Its color is grey or black.
When the three Gunas are in a complete balance Prakirti remains without
manifestation. When the equilibrium of the three Gunas is disturbed the
world comes into manifestation. Each living being is a fusion of conscious
Purusha and unconscious Prakirti. The problem of fear and suffering arises
when Purusha is identified with various manifestations of Prakirti such as
Buddhi and Ahamkar which are material in nature. But once Purusha
recovers its full awareness its liberated from the web of Prakirti and resides

24

in its pristine purity.

Buddhi
Buddhi is the discriminatory wisdom which is looking up and in, in the
direction of Purusha and is able to get its first glimpse of pure consciousness.
Buddhi is also called Jivatma, soul or Prajna and recognizes Ahamkar or ego
as a prison. Buddhi resides in the Satvic guna of Prakirti and experiences
harmony, lightness, joy, love and compassion. Buddhi starts differentiating
between Purusha and Prakirti and moving from more ignorance to less
ignorance by de-identifying with Ahamkar or ego, Manas or emotions and the
physical body. It also develops a Sakshi or witnessing quality, the essence of
Dhyana or meditation. I Amness or Asmita is the inner feeling of Buddhi.
While I-ness of Ahamkara is isolated and confrontational to the other I, the I
Am-ness of Asmita resides in its own center without being in conflicts with
others.
Ahamkar
Ahamkar literally means I maker and brings a sense of self to the person.
The person identifies with thoughts, emotions, feelings, the physical body
and many things in the world which come into the field of perception through
the five organs of knowledge. The person assumes ownership of their
thoughts and actions and is constantly reacting, resulting in sorrow, fear,
anger, jealousy, sadness, happiness and a sense of success and failure.
Ahamkar is in constant conflict with other Ahamkars. Ahamkars energy gives
birth to the five organs of knowledge, the five organs of action, the five
experiences of the organs of knowledge and the five gross elements.
Manas
Manas is the center for emotions and feelings where the reaction is quick
and without much reasoning or logic. Consequences are not contemplated
and impulsive action is taken. Its also the place where will resides, passion is
experienced and spontaneous creativity happens.
The Five Organs of Knowledge

25

The five senses or organs of knowledge are the eyes, the ears, the tongue,
the nose and the skin through which Manas and Ahamkar enjoy the world.
The energy of desires goes out into the world to enjoy and cling to it. Such
clinging to enjoyment inevitably brings conflict, frustration, pain and sorrow
to the person.
Five experiences through the Organs of Knowledge or Tanmatras
Sound, sight, smell, touch and taste are the experiences of Manas and
Ahamkar through the five organs of knowledge.

The Five Organs of Action

The five organs of actionthe mouth, hands, anus, penis/vagina and feet
help in working and acting in the world and are needed for survival.
The Five Elements or Panch Mahabhutas
Panch Mahabhutas or the five gross elements earth, water, fire, air and
space are the basic sources of the body which are experienced as feelings.
Earth gives a person a sense of solidity, water fluidity, fire energy and
passion, air movement and space gives the feeling of expansiveness.
As the insight into the nature of Truth evolved the duality of
Purusha and Prakirti was replaced by non-duality of Vedanta. Now
its expressed in the following way:
Brahman is unknowable, absolute and transcendental and beyond all
experiences and descriptions. Its neither being nor non-being.
In its expressed aspect its experienced as Sat-Chit-Ananad which can be
translated as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

Existence is all manifested and un-manifested life

Consciousness is pure consciousness
Bliss is the supreme delight which pervades whole of the
existence

Pure consciousness is completely still and tranquil and is Nirgun Braham. Its
beyond all qualities and attributes and is experienced in the Turiya state.

26

Sat or existence expresses itself as Prakirti with the three gunas of Satva,
Rajas and Tamas and when combined with Chit it becomes Sagun Braham or
Braham with attributes, also referred to as God. Aum is the primal sound
through which the manifested and un-manifested universe emerges from
Sagun Braham.
Maya is the expression of Prakirti which hides the true nature of Braham
behind its web of illusion. Because of Maya humans perceive the limited
world as the whole truth.
From Sagun Braham emerge the trinity of Brahma Vishnu-Mahesh
(masculine energy) and their consorts Saraswati-Laxmi-Parvati. Brahma
becomes the creator, Vishnu the sustainer and Mahesh or Shiva the dissolver
of the universe. Out of these three entities are born all other gods,
goddesses and other energies and forms both negative and positive forces.
From Sagun Braham emerges the Buddhi or Atma
From Atma, the Ahamkar
From Ahamkar, the mind
From the mind emerges the physical body with its five organs of knowledge,
five organs of action, five subtle elements and its five gross elements.
Atma, Ahamkar, Manas and the physical body can be described in two ways:
1. Three bodies or Shariras; namely Sthul (the gross body), Suksham (the
subtle body) and Karan (the causal body)
2. Three bodies consist of five sheaths. The gross body is built by
Annamayakosh (matter) and Pranamayakosha (energy). The subtle
body is formed by the Manomayakosh (emotions and feelings) and the
Vijanmayakosh (intellect with reason). The causal body is formed by
Anandamayakosh (bliss or well-being) and is the part of Atma or
individual self.
While Kundalini is fully functional at Jivatmna and Buddhi which is the level of
seventh chakra, it starts becoming dormant and less conscious at and below
the level of Ahamkar. At the level of the body it becomes most dormant. But
inspite of its dormancy its active and strong enough to sustain the functions
of body and mind. Beyond seventh chakra and Jivatman, Kundalini becomes
the part of the cosmic shiv-shakti and of non-dual Brahman.
Kundalini has been called the serpent power, because a serpent also forms
a coil when resting. It is also is experienced as a column of energy curving
upward from the base of the spine to the brain, in the shape of a hooded
serpent. Upward movement of this energy in the spinal column, as well as

27

the whirling flow of energy at the six primary centres is termed chakras.
Similar experiences have also been described in other religious traditions.
Kundalini and the seven Chakras are metaphors for a variety of experiences
brought by the awakening of the conscious energy or force in the body and
the brain. As mentioned above, Kundalini symbolizes the dormant energy in
the body at the base of the spine. The word chakra means wheel or the
vortex. Chakras are not physical entities but are the experiences of the flow
of the Kundalini energy through different regions of the brain and the body.
The chakras are the windows through which the microcosm of the body and
mind connects to the macrocosm or the universe. The macrocosm and the
microcosm are formed by the same force or energy, of which Kundalini is one
form.
In mind-body complex, each chakra is connected with a part of the brain, just
as an electrical switch is connected with a light fixture. The switched-on
chakra corresponds to a part of the brain, which is then lit up. In essence, the
opening of the chakras means the opening of the brain. When the whole
brain is activated and functioning, a union of the mind and body occurs, and
if extended further, it leads to the intimate connection between the mindbody or microcosm to the macrocosm.
The chakras are the milestones of evolution and involution. All matter is
energy and all energy is consciousness. But all consciousness is not selfreflective consciousness and all self-reflective consciousness is not free from
conditioning. Movement from the non-reflective consciousness to the selfreflective consciousness is evolution and from the conditioned self-reflective
consciousness to the unconditioned self-reflective consciousness is
involution.
When the movement of consciousness expands beyond the individual and
becomes universal, it is involution. Such movement is like a fountain which
springs forth from the earth, goes up in a narrow stream, reaches its peak
(evolution) and then comes down to the earth again as an expanded
umbrella of the water (involution).
Evolution is the movement from the lower to the higher chakras, from the
first to the seventh chakra which causes integration of the mind and body. It
is a process of ascendance. Involution is the movement from the higher to
the lower chakra in which the individual is integrated into universal
consciousness. It is a process of descendence.
Humans are the most evolved of all living beings on earth. Because of this,
they are full of fear and complexity, and yet they are the most powerful
species on the earth. In addition, as we move up the chakras, we become
more powerful. People of the fifth chakra are more powerful than the people
of the fourth and those of the fourth more powerful than those of the third
and so on. The least powerful are minerals, because they have only one
active chakrathe root chakra. In minerals the second chakra only exists as

28

a potential. They are at the bottom of evolution. Plants are more powerful
than minerals, animals are more powerful than plants, and humans are the
most powerful.
The higher the chakra in the evolutionary ladder, the more consciousness it
will have. More consciousness brings more knowledge of life and death,
which leads to more fear as well as more delight in daily living.
From a biological perspective Kundalini is the total energy available to a
human being. Part of this energy sustains the body and the mind, and the
rest moves the wheel of evolution in a person through seven chakras. The
seven chakras are the seven brains in the human body. The seventh brain is
encased in the skull. It is not an independent brain but results from the
integration of the first six brains or chakras.
Social and cultural conditioning makes the chakras dormant and doesnt
allow them to function at their optimal level or to be in harmony with one
another. But with the awakening of Kundalini energy, the chakras become
active and integrate with one another, which leads to the fully functional
individual.
Kundalini energy flows into two main channels named Pingla or sun channel
and Ida or moon channel. The sun and the moon channels correspond to the
sympathetic and the parasympathetic components of the autonomic nervous
system. Normally the flow of the energy in the sun and moon channels is
weak. It doesnt have the force to open the central channel or Sushmna
which corresponds with the central canal of the spinal cord. But after the
awakening of Kundalini, the energy in the sun and moon channels flows with
force and finds its way into the central channel. The flow of energy in the
central channel opens the chakras fully.
What is Opening of the Chakras?
The first meaning of the opening of the chakra is to break down the hold of
the automatic patterns of emotions and thoughts in the body and brain.
As we go through the life, we incur many injuries and abuses, suffers from
tragedies of life and pain, the memories of which are accumulated in our
brain and body. These accumulated memories produce strong emotional
responses in the forms of anger, guilt, grief and violence which become the
automatic patterns of emotions and thoughts. These automatic patterns can
be triggered by small stresses of day to day life and cause deep suffering.
When the energy rushes through the body and the brain and opens the
chakras, it washes away the old accumulation of the memories, cleans the
body and the brain, and heals them.
The second meaning of chakra opening is to experience the full flowering of
the innate intelligence with which each person is born. With the opening of

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the six chakras, the mind and body function at their optimal level and
integrate with each other to form a harmonious wholeness. The person then
becomes a fully functional individual.
The third meaning of chakra opening is that the fully functional individual
experiences universal consciousness and merges into it.
Vertical and Horizontal Movement of the Chakras
Opened by energy, the chakras can move in vertical and horizontal
directions. The vertical movement causes evolution, and the horizontal
movement, the expansion of the consciousness. The vertical movement
brings new realizations and awareness to the person, and the horizontal
movement provides an expansive view of the new realizations and
awareness. For example, the vertical movement of the fifth chakra helps in
the development of the intellect and capacity for thinking with reason and
rationality, while the horizontal movement helps in creating science,
systems, theories, rules, laws, organizations and their use at the local,
national and global level.
Once a chakra is fully active, it moves in all directions. This experience is like
the flight of a swan that not only flies up towards the sky but also becomes
aware of vast vistas around it. The vertical and horizontal movements
complement each other.
The Disciplined Person is a Free Person
On the path of chakra, discipline comes from within. It is not imposed from
outside. The word discipline is related to the word disciple. When a person
becomes a disciple of its own innate nature or intelligence, true discipline
happens. At this point, discipline is natural and effortless. The discovery of
ones nature is the beginning of natural discipline.
Wellness Reserve
Normally our brain and body use only a fragment of their total capacity. We
carry a significant wellness reserve in us, which if released, can heal physical
and psychological disorders and bring us a sense of well-being in our day to
day living. But we must understand what the partial functioning means. We
will take the example of the physical heart in humans. Although at any given
point of time the heart is physiologically fully active, it still has a reserve in it
which can be tapped into by heavy cardiac exercise. Tapping into the heart
reserve may save it from heart attacks in the future and help the person in
living a healthier life.

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The awakening of Kundalini energy and the opening of the chakras, do the
same thing in a person. They tap into the wellness reserve of the brain and
the body.
General Features of Chakras
The first two chakras are named root (Mooladhar) and sex (Swadhisthan)
centers, and belong to matter and energy. They represent the body, the
reptilian component of the brain which is responsible for survival, sex and
reproduction.
The third (solar or Manipura) and the fourth (heart or Anahat) chakras belong
to emotions and feelings and are represented as the mammalian component
in the brain. They are responsible for the six primary and many secondary
and social emotions in human beings. Emotions help in promoting longer and
better survival of the individual and the species.
The fifth chakra (throat or Vishuddha) belongs to logic, reason, science,
language, analysis, and the anticipated future. It is represented as the neocortex or human component in the brain. The fifth chakra helps humans to
become powerful and to survive longer by discovering and inventing
complex tools and technology, and by learning from the past and speculating
about the future. The fifth chakra allows humans to dominate all other living
beings on earth. The first five chakras constitute the ego or the self.
The sixth chakra (third eye or Ajna) is the existential center, where life and
death face each other in their bareness. Activation of the sixth chakra allows
the subconscious contents to become conscious and an existential crisis is
precipitated. The person experiences the fear and the darkness which
eventually leads to the integration of the reptilian, mammalian and human
components of the brain. The process of the integration is completed at the
seventh (crown or Sahasara) chakra, which results in the emergence of a
fully functional individual. Activation of the seventh chakra is the experience
of the innate intelligence, Prakiriti, soul or Atma.
Higher a Chakra is: it is
.More Powerful because higher chakra has more knowledge and
knowledge is power
.Less dense
.More easily accessible
.Less difficult to open
.Less difficult to transform
.Less important for survival

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Higher Chakra brings:

.More fear
.More choices
.More freedom
.More creativity
.More fluidity and less rigidity
.Longer survival
.More complexity
.More individuality

The Experience of Evolution and Involution at Different

Chakras
Chakra
First chakra
(Padarth yoga)
Second chakra
or energy yoga
Third chakra
Fourth chakra
Fifth chakra
Sixth chakra
and life (Virat)
Seventh chakra

Evolution (individual) Involution (universal)

Matter
Universal matter, quantum world and
Energy

Universal energy or Shakti and Shakti

Emotions
Feelings
Intellect
Insight

Karm yoga
Bhakti yoga
Jnan yoga
Cosmic form with death

Integration

God

Yoga is the state when the individual and the universal are in seamless
union.
Different Chakras Express the Same Energy in Different Forms
In the first chakra of the body, the process of living and dying occur
simultaneously. But with evolution, life and death become two separate
entities which are expressed in different chakras in different forms.
First chakra :
Death and life are one
Second chakra:
Life is sex and fertility and death is impotency and
infertility
Third chakra:
Life is passion and death is anger
Fourth chakra:
Life is love and death is fear

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Fifth Chakra:
Life is creativity and death is blockage of the creativity.
SixthChakra:
Life is life and death is death and they face each other in
their bareness
Seventh Chakra: Life and death accept each other and exist simultaneously
Regression and Progression
In times of crisis, a person may either progress to the higher chakra or
regress to the lower chakra. A crisis which brings the progression or
regression of this kind includes war, natural disasters, personal trauma and
tragedies. A mature ego is formed by the five chakras of the body, emotions,
feelings and intellect. Egos consciousness is conditioned, but it gives a
person stability to face the turmoil and chaos of life. In regression, ego slides
down to the lower chakras of emotions and body chakras which can
psychologically paralyze the person or cause the person to become a part of
a mob and lose individuality.
In progression the person will move up, may go through the existential crisis
of the sixth chakra and arrive at the seventh to become a fully functional
individual.

History and the Chakras

Humans dont create history. History creates the human beings.
Up to fourth chakra the unfolding of history is not a conscious process in
humans, and so they are not able to influence its making or change its
course. The unfolding of history is governed by subconscious processes
which are beyond the control of individuals and groups. Humans become
aware of history when it is already made and unfolded. Only a person who
becomes conscious of the subconscious forces that are forming history can
refuse to participate in its processes or participate in it as the reflective
person or mindful observer or witness. The reflective consciousness emerges
at the fifth and witnessing consciousness at the seventh chakra.

The Future of Humanity is Embedded and Reflected in

Chakras
As we observed earlier, the fear of death and life starts at the first chakra
and as evolution moves forward, consciousness increases and more
consciousness brings more knowledge of life and death. More knowledge of
life becomes the source of enjoyment and more knowledge of death creates
more fear and anxiety.

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So as evolution moved forward from the first chakra, it brought more

ways of enjoying life and more fear of death with which people coped by
worshipping and praying to the elements of nature, gods, goddesses and
spirits and finally God. That was the case up to the fourth chakra. But at the
fifth chakra something changed. With the discovery of new tools of reason
and science, humans started to take control of the material world which was
previously governed by God and spirits. Such control over matter and energy
brought an explosion of creativity and technology which transformed the
human world. Humans started to become master of their world which slowly
started replacing God with science and technology.
Technology brought unprecedented comfort and pleasure to many. And
that was the enjoyment of life. But being at the fifth chakra with an increase
in knowledge, fear and anxiety about death also increased. This was coped
with this time not by the old gods, spirits and God, but by increased material
safety and consumption to prolong life and its pleasure. Instead of the ego's
continuance in the world of spirit, heaven, and rebirth, the emphasis was on
living in the material world as much as possible with pleasure and comforts.
That would have been fine if this had been confined to the minority.
But by seeing and hearing about the freedom of the democracy, individual
rights, the power of science and technology, and material comforts, people
of other cultures started demanding the same. The demand increased rapidly
because of the mass media and communication. People watched with awe on
the television screen, the opulence of the imagined religious heaven in real
cities of the real world. Masses of people wanted to imitate and follow
western culture to have a taste of that heaven. That is what happened. That
demand and imitation began the process of the homogenization of other
cultures resulting in the emergence of the first world culture in human
history the core of which was formed by the western civilization. Although
the world culture is nascent and new, its spreading quickly in all directions.
With the rapidly increasing number of consumers, people soon realized
that the earth's natural resources were limited and would run out eventually.
But no one is ready to listen. A consumer is an addict and the consumption is
an addiction. Who is going to stop whom? All of us are involved in it. It's a
massive movement which cuts across class, race, religion, color and
countries. Except for the very few, most of us are in the same boat of
consumerism. The fatal attraction of the consumerism is that beside the
addiction to the comforts and pleasure, it also gives a sense of power and
self-esteem to which the ego is attached. And why not? After all, self-esteem
is egos lifeline.
This process is now unstoppable and the earth cant sustain consumption at
such a high and massive level. We are moving towards an inevitable
environmental disaster. But this disaster is also good news. Its force and
destruction will be like a death impact on humanity which will bring a radical
change in the consciousness of a significant number of people, by pushing

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them into the sixth chakra and then making them come out at the seventh.
The seventh chakra is the chakra of the awakening of individual
consciousness and well-being which will result in de-addiction and deconditioning. That will be the beginning of an entirely new era. From the first
chakra to the fifth it is the formation and the growth of the ego, the sixth
chakra is the shattering of the ego and the seventh chakra is the entry into a
new integral or soul consciousness in which the ego becomes subservient
rather than functioning as the master as it did until the fifth chakra.
But the seventh chakra is not the end. After the flowering of the seventh
chakra further expansion of the consciousness will begin which we can call
involution. In involution, individual consciousness starts to universalize. The
individual person becomes a universal being.
From an intellectual point of view, it seems that the environmental disaster
and its impact on humans and other species is a catastrophe that created by
the bad choices made by humans. We must prevent it, and we can. We have
the will and freedom to make better choices for the better future of ourselves
and for the rest of the planet.
But from a spiritual point of view, the picture seems different. First of all, we
dont have free will, but we have some freedom of choice. But that freedom
of choice can only be used if we have individualized consciousness. Except
for the few, our consciousness is fundamentally a social consciousness on
which we dont have any control. It compels us to make decisions by
subconscious influences. We are a part of the crowd which we name the
group, community, race, religion, nation or the world. Apart from the crowd
we have little individuality.
While the human intellectual point of view is egoic, narrow, and revolves
around humans, the spiritual perspective goes beyond human thinking into
the experience of the non-dual in which oneness of the universe is realized.
This oneness in all things includes not only humans, but also the minerals,
plants, and animals. Humans are only one type of living being amongst
many. They are a part of a grand cosmic wholeness in which they can
participate as a witness through whom the action is happening, but they are
not the action taker. The cosmos will move with or without them, and they
dont have any control over its movement.
From a spiritual point of view, whatever is happening at the fifth chakra is
due to the force of evolution and cannot be prevented. It will take us to the
sixth and then to the seventh chakra. Environmental disaster is going to
happen but it will be like a pruning of the earth and will push us to the next
stage of evolution. All evolutionary leaps come with catastrophe. Whether it
is an individual or the whole humanity, without the shattering of the old, the
radically new cant happen.

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So far, except for some individuals spirituality is grabbed by the ego. The ego
is spiritualized which we take as genuine spiritual expansion. But after the
sixth chakra, people will experience the true intimations of sacred wholeness
and well-being. Humanitys future is divine and evolution wont stop until we
experience the non-dual oneness of the cosmos. So, in spite of darkness and
disasters there is no place for pessimism. How could there be pessimism if
the whole cosmos is the expression of timeless and eternal consciousness.
But in order to arrive there we must be prepared to endure the shocks and
trauma of the forward thrust of evolution.
Chakras and Creativity
7th Person recreates itself
6th - Existential Transition
5th - Creativity Expressed
4th Creativity Creativity unexpressed
3rd Innovation
1 and 2nd Imitation

First Centre or Root Chakra or Muladhar (chakra of death):

Rooting and Belonging - Path of Matter
The journey on the path of Naturality begins with the ascendance or
evolution and the starting point for that journey is matter and energy. Matter
and energy are the least conscious entities in the universe. From a scientific
point of view, matter and energy are the fundamental building blocks of the
universeboth living and non-living. Science believes that the world and life
evolved from matter and energy. But from a spiritual point of view,
consciousness is the mother and the source of all creation.
Without delving into the controversy of spiritual and scientific points of view,
let us accept the fact that matter-energy are at the root of the human life
and form the first two chakras which constitute the physical body. The reason
why we accept this theory of science, is because our senses can feel, see,
hear, touch, taste and affirm the existence of matter and energy. Most of us
dont experience consciousness as the source of all life.
The first two chakras are different from each other in many ways, but they
also share some common features. The first common feature is that matter
and energy are interchangeable as proved by Einstein. And the second
common feature is that together they form the physical and physiological, or
the form and the functional components of the body.

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The first chakra is the chakra of death, the chakra of matter and the chakra
of the rooting and grounding.
Being the center of death, the survival of the person is of paramount
importance at this chakra. That is why this chakra is connected with the
adrenal glands whose hormones adrenaline and nor-adrenaline induce the
fight or flight response to deal with emergency situations and dangers to
protect the person. Facing our own death can awaken the root chakra.
Being the center of the matter, this chakra is least conscious. The
consciousness is hidden deep in matter. In the higher chakras of feelings and
intellect, consciousness is easily accessible. That is why the full functioning
of this chakra is most difficult to achieve.
The first chakra forms the roots of the tree of life which we always carry
within us. The tree of life is a metaphor and also the reality of our body. The
element of the earth is right for this chakra, because only the earths
strength can hold the tree firmly in the ground.

A Tree within - First Chakra

Metaphorically, human life is like a tree born from the seeds of two parents in
the dark earth of the womb. The body is the root and the trunk of the tree,
emotions and feelings are the branches, intellectual thinking are the leaves
and spirit or soul is the flower and the fruits. In a literal sense the spinal cord
is the root, the brain is the stem, various nerves and plexuses are the
branches, and the cerebrum is the crown of the tree. The root chakra is
located at the end of the roots of the tree of life which is at the level of the
sacrum, which is near the lower end of the back bone or in the perineum, the
space between the anus and the vagina or penis.
The energy of the first chakra is moon energy, and is connected to the
parasympathetic nervous system. Moon energy calms the body and mind
down. Moon energy helps in grounding and rooting a person and that is why
the first chakra is called the root chakra. Without proper rooting, a tree
cannot stay healthy and stay firm in the face of storms. Similarly, a poorly
rooted person suffers and cannot face lifes storms without being swept away
by them.
The grounding or rooting is the feeling of belonging to someone and
somewhere. That feeling of belonging is important for a healthy body and
mind. Having a home is essential to live with ease and to grow in a world,
which is vast, complex and full of turmoil. Children who dont have a home,
rooting and grounding, remain insecure even as adults and suffer from
anxiety. Later on in evolution when the seventh chakra is reached the rooting
and grounding is shifted from the outside world to the inner world of a
person. The heart becomes the home and moves wherever the person goes.

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The root chakra is connected to the reptilian component of the human brain,
which takes care of the basic survival needs in the life of a person. The
reptilian brain has the cardiac and respiratory centres in it. This chakra
communicates to consciousness through sensations which are generated by
the flow of energy through the cells and nerves.
The root chakra also expresses maleness or femaleness or a mixture of it in a
person. Being the chakra which is responsible for the formation of the
physical body, it determines the external appearance and sex of a person. In
a man, the first chakra is masculine, the second is feminine, the third and
fourth (as they form one functioning unit) masculine, and fifth and sixth
(again a functioning unit) feminine, and the seventh has both the masculine
and feminine qualities. In a woman, this order is reversed.
This arrangement of gender in humans has deep significance and indicates
that none of us are pure man or woman. We are a mixture of both. A man
has feminine qualities, and a woman has masculine features. All too often,
people are expected to behave and act strictly either as a man or as a
woman, according to their cultural norms. Evolution and Naturality break that
rigidity and brings the expression of both qualities in either a man or in a
woman. At the seventh chakra, the masculinity and femininity in a person
unite. The person becomes a bi-gendered individual. The union of inner
masculinity and femininity brings the same ecstasy that is experienced in the
sexual union of a man and a woman.
Like other chakras, the root chakra has three possibilities. If the chakras
energy is in balance then the person will be calm, contented and connected
to the family and community. If the chakras energy is moving downward, the
person will be stuck in a rut, not making decisions or taking action or moving
forward in life. Such a person becomes excessively attached to a place,
person, or object. Excessive attachment brings greed, which may lead to the
hoarding of wealth, power, or knowledge.
Upward movement of the energy of the root chakra brings evolutionary
changes and integration with higher chakras. The person is not contented
with what he or she is given by the family, community, and culture. He or
she becomes a seeker and pilgrim, and begins a voyage towards becoming a
true individual rather than merely a person. A person wears the masks of
society and culture and doesnt live according to his or her innate
intelligence. A true individual is a human who is cleared of social and cultural
programming. A persons rooting is in society and culture, whereas the
individual is rooted in his or her own innate nature. A persons home is in a
particular village, town or city, but the individual has his or her home in heart
and soul and is at ease wherever she or he goes.
Earth religions are born from the energy and consciousness of the root
chakra and that is the reason that they are rooted in the earth and its
elements.

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First chakra is located between anus and penis/vagina and has four petals
which indicate towards four frequencies with which it can vibrate. Its seed
sound Lum. Its color is red and the element earth.
Smell is the special sense of the earth element and the root chakra. The
sense of smell is the most directly connected with the brain and that is why
the memory of the smell is vivid, primal, emotional and deep. The sense of
smell is the last one to appear in babies in the womb and the first one to
disappear when a person is dying.

Second Centre or Energy Chakra or Swadhisthan (chakra

of life): Sex, Life, Pleasure and Mastery- Path of Energy
The second chakra is the reservoir of life energy or Prana or Chi, from where
it moves down and energizes the matter of the first chakra to form the body.
It moves up to the third, fourth and fifth chakra to express itself as emotions,
feelings and thoughts. And if it goes further up, then it pushes the person
into the existential crisis of the sixth chakra and then arrives at the seventh
chakra where it becomes conscious and integrates the mind with the body.
This union in traditional literature is called Shiva-Shakit union and depicted in
many Hindu and Buddhistic painting.
With the second chakra begins the fluidity and its element is water which
causes, movement, evolution and self-mastery. Evolution brings the
expansion of the consciousness and the expansion of consciousness brings
more knowledge and more knowledge reduces the psychological
dependence on others. That is the meaning of freedom or self-mastery. Its
not the physical independence but the psychological freedom towards which
the path of the Naturality indicates.
A child is innocent, but in that innocence there is a natural rigidity, because a
child functions mainly from the two lower centres. That is why a child is more
egotistical than an adult, though the child is not aware of it. Being less
egotistic means having more awareness about ones own nature and the
world. An increase in awareness brings more knowledge about others which
opens the ego. When the ego (or self) expands, it includes more and more of
the world, which makes the person less self-centered.
The second chakra is the center of sex which is often wrongly identified with
life energy. Sex is just one of the expressions, but it is the most important of
life energy and is responsible for the survival of the species through
reproduction. It is located at the upper part of the pubic bone and at the
equal point on the back. Its connected with the reproductive glands and
hormones of the testes, ovaries and uterus.

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Death and sex (life-energy) are the two fundamental problems of human
beings and both of them are normal physiological activities of the body.

Sex and Self-Mastery

Out of all chakras, the second chakra is the most controversial because it is
the center for sex. Sex is often equated with life energy as sex can create
another human life and so sex becomes synonymous with life. Although the
first chakra is more basic and more important for survival, it is still the
second chakra which gets more attention.
The reason for this controversial attention to the second chakra is because
the first chakra is the center of death, and the death is a negative event.
Death is an abyss, a void and an unknown and mysterious phenomenon
about which nothing can be known except by a person who is already dead.
Death is the absence of life and the absence cant be described in positive
terms. Its like darkness, and the darkness is the absence of light.
But the sex which is the most important expression of life is a positive event.
It can be experienced and captured in the words and repeated numerous
times at will. Its the most fundamental positive happening in life, and so
everyone wants to control or manipulate it in order to control and manipulate
life. That is why the Sanskrit name of the chakra is Swadhisthan which
means one who is the master of oneself.
Many rules and commandments are written by the family, society, religion
and culture to regulate sex. The only goal of such rules and commandments
is to control it and not allow it to be experienced according to its inner
nature. In many traditions sex is assigned only for the purpose of procreation
and not for pleasure which is against nature. Because of these rules and
regulations there is much guilt and a sense of sin around sex, and its easy to
control, enslave and use a person of guilt and sin. That is what many
religions did that. There is no guilt and sin around death, and so the first
chakra is not controversial.
Diminished activity of the second chakra causes a decrease in sexual desire.
It is said that one percent of human population is asexual means that dont
experience any sexual craving, although they have other desires. People with
diminished or no sexual desire can maintain celibacy easily. Many such
people in history became leaders or preachers of the masses, and asked or
even forced people to do what they did, naming divinely inspired celibacy
although it was nothing else but decreased functioning of the second chakra.
Such teachings often resulted in corruption and pathologies of the mind and
body particularly in monastic religions. If celibacy happens naturally in a
persons life then it wont create any problems. But forced celibacy will lead
to perversions of all kinds. We cant stop the flow of lifes most important

40

stream of energy. If we go against this urge of nature, it will create the

diseases of body and mind and eventually destroy us.
A dysfunctional second chakra results in the suppression of sexual energy or
an over indulgence and obsession with it. A shame and guilt free union
between the masculine and feminine is a sign of healthy second chakra.
Without healthy functioning of the second chakra a person may develop the
Braham granthi or the knot of Braham which prevents intimacy of the body.
Sex is Sacred
The word sacred doesnt mean that something is religious, spiritual or
belongs to the supernatural realm. Sacred means that which can take us to
the feeling of wholeness and well-being. Wholeness is not fragmented, and
so there is no conflict in it.
At the first chakra by facing death, we can experience wholeness, and at the
second chakra its sex which can take us to the same point.
The second chakra has three possibilities. The first possibility is of balanced
functioning, in which the survival of a species is ensured, and pleasure is
experienced by sexual union. The continuation of a species is an unconscious
desire in humans that symbolizes the search for immortality. A dead person
survives through its genes and influence on children. Even celibate monks,
who decide not to have children, seek their survival in the form of their
teachings and disciples who become their spiritual sons and daughters.
People leave works of art, literature, or science as their offspring who will let
them live on for a long time.
But this balanced functioning of the second chakra is not enough for
evolution. In a balanced functioning, the world dominates the person.
Evolution needs the adventure of moving upward. If one is satisfied with the
balanced functioning of this chakra, then he or she will forever stay here and
never make progress in voyage. Only an upward movement of this centres
energy ensures that the journey continues. Only when this centre looks
upward does an ordinary home become transformed into a shrine where sex
is no more an act of pleasure or reproduction, but a loving worship in which
bliss is experienced.
When the energy of sex moves up, it is transformation into sacred starts, and
when it moves down it becomes an obsession. The sacredness of sex doesnt
mean that it becomes a dull mechanical act without any pleasure. In sacred
sex, bliss replaces pleasure. Pleasure is a momentary experience, but bliss is
constant. This bliss is born in awareness of the fact that we are always our
own masters. A master is not a controller but a witness and an observer. This
awareness about our own self is the state of self-actualization or selfrealization.

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During the sexual act, seminal fluid moves downward and carries the energy
with it. But when the second chakras movement is upward, the fluid will still
flow downward but the energy will move up towards the higher centres. The
movement of the energy is felt as a stream of tingling sensations flowing
inside the spine bringing the experience of gentle orgasm. Later on the
energy flow becomes constant without any sexual act and brings the
constant feeling of bliss.
Process can also be explained in scientific terms. The parasympathetic
nervous system (vagus nerve) is responsible for the erection or stimulation
and the sympathetic nervous system for the ejaculation. If there is no
ejaculation and only the stimulation or the erection then the
parasympathetic nervous system will remain active for a longer period of
time and will retain the energy. The parasympathetic nervous system brings,
rest, calmness and anabolic activity or preservation of the energy which will
be enhanced and may eventually become a constant experience. Our brain
will retain the energy and will be filled with delight and passion.
Normally we have brain dormancy, because only part of the total functional
capacity of the brain is used and the rest of it lies dormant. The brain
dormancy is due to the cultural conditioning of the brain, which makes the
brain prisoner of the repetitive patterns of thoughts and emotions. Brain
dormancy also brings the dormancy of the pleasure centers in the brain and
they dont function on their own. We have to stimulate the pleasure centers
from outside, and that is how we slowly get addicted to the outside
stimulations.
The bodys only goal is to survive and reproduce and not much is needed for
those two needs of the body. The bodys demand for food and sex is small,
and that too is intermittent and not continuous. When the body is sated, its
desires come to an end and there are no thoughts about sex and food any
more until the hunger for food and sex builds up again. But the mind, in spite
of having sufficient food and sex, craves for more and more and plans for
them in the future. Sexual hunger continues in the mind without interruption,
and this is not only true for sex, but for everything which we experience in
life. It could be jealousy, anger, guilt or even physical pain which becomes
chronic, because the mind gets attached to it and continues with it.
In a way the mind gets addicted both to the pleasure and pain. But too much
pleasure is also pain for the body. If we are too excited and thrilled, the body
feels exhausted. So excessive sex or food are not pleasures for the body, but
the mind with all its fear and discontent finds an escape in sex and makes
the body suffer.
When the second chakra is functioning fully, and its energy is moving
upwards, then the excess of sex comes to an end, which is a natural state of
celibacy. Celibacy doesnt mean withdrawal from sex. Sex is a basic energy
and hunger of the body and should be satisfied. Satisfying the bodys need

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for sex is celibacy. Complete withdrawal of sexual activity is against the

innate intelligence of the body and may cause problems. The body becomes
sick both from the excess and the lack of the sex.
Rarely is an optimal state of functioning of the body achieved, because in
most people the first two centres are not allowed to function freely and
optimally. The mind imposes its tyrant rule over them and wants to stimulate
them artificially to get pleasure. The minds demand for excessive pleasure
from the body comes from the problems of fear from which the mind suffers
constantly. External pleasure is used as an antidote for fear and anxiety.
Normally during the orgasm, all the seminal fluid and most of the sex energy
move downwards and give a person a sense of release of tension. A little bit
of the sexual energy moves up towards the brain and stimulates the pleasure
centers resulting in the experience of momentary bliss. But when the second
centre starts functioning more fully and its direction of movement is upwards
then, more and more energy moves towards the brain resulting in more and
long lasting pleasure during and after the sexual act. In a fully functional
chakra, energy of the centre is flowing up continuously all the time,
stimulating the pleasure centers of the brain with or without the sexual act.
Now the person experiences the pleasure of sex without performing the
sexual act. This leads to the withdrawal from excessive sex and other
pleasure-seeking activities. This is the state of natural celibacy in which little
pleasure is needed from outside.
Different chakras communicate through different languages. The first centre
communicates through the language of sensations, and though the second
centre speaks more or less the same way, some early emotions start
appearing at this centre. As we go to higher chakras, the language of
communication becomes more and more complex and elaborate. Emotions
are a complex organic combination of many sensations. Sensations are the
precursors and the building blocks of the emotions.
Lower chakras are rigid and have less freedom. Its easier to program them
and the programming lasts longer. It is easier to condition a child than an
adult, because the child doesnt have access to higher chakras. Conditioning
in early childhood is difficult to correct, which is why raising a child is a
delicate process, and any error can significantly alter the personality of the
child. Memories of child abuse are difficult to erase in comparison to adult
abuse. In an adult, the same error would not be likely to have such a
significant impact. Animals are like children, and can be programmed easily
and deeply. As we move upward to higher chakras, there is less and less
possibility of conditioning a person. An individual functioning at the highest
chakra cannot be programmed, which becomes a problem for an institution,
political system, or religious order. Institutions survive and thrive on the
programmed people who can blindly follow the agenda of the institution. An
individual who cannot be programmed is branded as a rebel and condemned
or ignored.

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If the energy flow of the second chakra flows downward, then the person
becomes focused on the sexual organs and sex, which leads to the many
mind and body problems. In this stuck state, a persons time and energy are
spent either in contemplating the sexual act or in doing it, which eventually
leads to corruption and decay. The river of energy becomes a pool and
stagnates. The first chakra, which brings rooting and a sense of belonging to
a family, clan, country, or community, is overtaken by the sexual obsessions
of the person. He or she risks everything to indulge in sex.
Yet there is another way to experience sexuality. The second centre is the
ground on which Tantra is born. The Tantras basic message is that sexuality
can be a sacred act and can become a path to the freedom.
Element of the second chakra is water and special sense is taste because
without water we cant appreciate the taste. Its color is orange. It has six
petals and with the seed sound of Vum.

Third Centre or Solar Chakra or Manipura: Emotions: The Path

of Passion and Action

For the sake of clarity and description, scientists have divided the human
brain into three parts, which are different in important ways but still part of
one unified brain and overlap each other. The first, lowest, and oldest part of
the brain is called the reptilian brain. This ancient part of the brain is
responsible for the survival and continuation of life. The root and energy
chakras correspond to this component of the brain and function as switches
to it. The second part of the brain is the mammalian brain, in which
emotions and feeling are formed and experienced, and is found in mammals.
The third and fourth energy centres belong to this brain. The third and the
last part of the brain is distinctively the human brain, connected with
intellect, thinking, reasoning, planning and intuition. The fifth and sixth
centres are connected with this brain. The seventh chakra is not an
independent chakra, but the unique combination of the rest of the six that is
formed by the conscious and harmonious functioning of the all three parts of
the brain as one unit.
The reptilian brain is the lowest part of the brain, where the centres for the
heart and respiration reside, and also the area from where sleep, alertness,
and basic physiological functions are regulated. The reptilian brain lacks the
capacity for full emotions and feelings. It functions on sensations. In the
reptilian world, creatures mate and reproduce and then leave their offspring
to fend for themselves, because they have no feelings of attachment to each
other. Survival at any cost is the rule of the reptilian world, and creatures live
purely on instinct. A human, in the face of continuous danger for his or her
life, may regress to the lower two centres, trying to survive at any cost. This
can often be seen at times of wars and natural disasters.

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Evolutionary Leap
If we look at chakras and the brain, it becomes clear that we carry the
history of evolution within us and also the future which will unfold in coming
centuries. We are connected with everything around us - both alive and inert
- intimately. The whole world, even the universe itself, lives within us not
only in our thoughts, but at the very physical level. Our body cells contain
stellar dust. We experience this as we study the chakras and the energy that
is associated with them. We are integrated beings, and we represent all that
is already there, or that which is possible in the future. We are not merely a
piece of the puzzle of the cosmos, but the whole cosmos itself.
Through the door of the third chakra, we enter the realm of the mammalian
brain and feelings. In the reptilian brain, there is no place for attachment. But
in the mammalian world, attachment plays a very important role through
which parents protect their children until they become strong enough to
survive on their own. At the third chakra, living beings are becoming more
conscious about themselves and the world around them. Evolution is the
process of becoming ever more conscious of oneself and the surrounding
environment. This process involves developing deeper relationships with
oneself and the world around us. Evolution is the process of becoming aware
of more and more connections between diverse events, and discovering the
complex wholeness within us and the outer universe.
Another name for this process of discovery of inherent wholeness is
creativity. Perceiving the inherent connections between phenomena in our
world, and then expressing these connections in creative ways gave birth to
science, religion, art, and culture. In creativity, a person moves from lesser
wholeness to a greater wholeness. In a meadow, a lizard focuses on a
mosquito, while a cow pays attention to the grass, her calf, and the meadow
itself. However, a human being is aware of all this, and the sky above and the
river nearby, as well as the past that has gone, and the future that is going
to come.
At different chakras, time is perceived differently. At the first and second
centres, time is absent which is the experience of eternal. There is no
conscious memory of the past or any thoughts about the future. A lizard is
not aware of the past or future. The present moment is the only reality
equivalent to an eternity, because there is nothing before and after that
moment. Life and death happen spontaneously, and there is no awareness of
them beforehand. At this level no one knows about life and death although it
is there.
At the third and fourth chakras, time becomes a moment to moment
awareness of the here and now, which may expand and extend to more
awareness. This may be described as cyclical and repetitive. Rather than a
moment, eternity now is a day or a month or a year depending on the animal

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or human. In this scheme of time, the day, month, or year repeats itself
endlessly. Time is like a season, the suns motion or waves in ocean. Time
moves in circles and ends at a point, and then starts again where it ended.
Out of this time-cycle, myths are born. Myths of gods and goddesses, good
and evil, devils and angels - all emerge from the third and fourth centres.
These myths never end, but rather keep moving in cycles forever.
In a discussion of the third chakra, it is important to study emotion, as it
becomes increasingly more differentiated at the higher chakras. First,
consider the question of what the difference between feelings and emotions
is. Emotions are the combination of many sensations in a coherent whole.
Emotions are the expression of that coherent whole in meaningful behavior.
Similarly, there is an important distinction between perception and
expression. In perception, the past and future dont play a role, but in
expression they are intimately involved. For example, thirst causes an
emotion that arises out of the various sensations arising in the body. But
when we express that thirst by moving to quench it, we now enter the realm
of feelings. In the process of quenching the thirst, we have to bring the past
and future into action as we evaluate relevant factors such as the location of
the water, its quality and quantity, as well as the availability of water. When
emotions are felt consciously they become feelings. Antonio Damsio
described this fact beautifully in his research.

Feelings: Our Natural self

Pleasure, pain, and neutrality are perhaps the primary feelings. Fear, anger,
happiness, sadness, disgust and surprise are the primary emotions. Fear is
the most fundamental emotion and feeling in human beings, and it is present
at all chakras. At the lower chakras, though, there is a lesser conscious
experience of it. As we move to higher centres, we become more aware of
fear. Some people refuse to grow, evolve and live fully because of the
heightened fear they will experience at higher centres. That doesnt mean
that the fear was less at the lower chakra. It was always there in the
background, but at the lower chakra, ones consciousness was less and so
fear was not experienced as much or as fully as at higher centres. Fear is
present at all chakras, and so are the mechanisms to escape that fear. While
life dances in the forefront of existence, the darkness of fear is an everpresent fact in the background. What we call normal living is the delicate
mechanism or balance we maintain to escape from feeling this fear and not
allowing it to dominate our day-to-day life. But by escaping from fear in this
way, we pay a cost. The cost is paid by living partially. We avoid what lies in
the background, which means that we are not fully in touch with ourselves,
and spend much of our time and energy - and our life - creating devices to
keep fear from emerging in our consciousness. Nature has given living
beings tools to deal with dangers and fears. The fight, flight, or freeze
response is such a tool at the first five chakras, which can protect our lives

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by dealing with emergency situations. But besides this response, each

chakra has its own special way of dealing with fear.
At the first chakra, fear is dealt with by immersing oneself in the family, clan
and community and never moving upwards. Moving upwards means leaving
the familiar security of the established pattern of life, and facing the fear of
the unknown.
At the second chakra, hedonistic pleasure, including sex, is a way to ward off
the fear of death. Indulging in entertainment and thrills endlessly is one way
of forgetting our fear.
At the third centre, willful action is the mechanism of combatting fear. As we
struggle to gain power in the world, anger and aggression become the fuel
for the fire of that action, and this may erupt into violence. All violence except the violence used in self-defense and as a natural response of the
bodys need to survive - comes from fear. Many people who are labeled as
brave are actually the most fearful. In the guise of bravery and courage,
they try to defy their fear. These brave people have committed some of the
most violent crimes in human history, many times on a mass scale. Ultimate
courage is to face the fear within, accept it, express it, and go beyond it. Real
courage is to become peaceful and non-violent. To invade lands and
decimate cities, to conquer peaks and oceans, is not bravery but a way to
keep fear repressed. It is not victory over other people or nature, but to win
over ones own conditioning that is true triumph, bringing serenity and
harmony within oneself.
At the fourth chakra immersing oneself into love and other emotions are the
ways to dilute the fear of death. At this center, myth and religions also
become the protective mechanisms from the fear of death.
At the fifth chakra, thinking, reason, science and systems become methods
of escape from the fear.
The third centre is located around the navel area, connected to the solar
plexus, and thus it is often called the solar chakra. This centre has links with
the enteric or gut brain which is a part of the stomach, intestine, and other
digestive organs including the pancreas, spleen, and liver. Because of its
connection to the rich nerve plexus and gut brain, the third chakra is a very
sensitive centre. When it doesnt function well, it can be the cause of many
mind-body problems. This centre is the seat of emotions as well as action.
The third chakra is often called the royal chakra, the seat of the king and
warrior, and it carries great power.
The element of the third chakra is fire and like other chakras, this centre has
three possibilities.
The first one is of balance, which means action in the world and gaining
worldly power, wealth, and glory through that action.

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The second possibility in this centre is of downward movement, which

happens when the fire energy doesnt find a way to express itself in the
world. Downward movement dries the water element of the second chakra,
and without the protection of water, fire rages out of control and burns the
person inside, emotionally and physically. One becomes an embodiment of
impotent anger and aggression, and destroys oneself and the people around.
By contrast, potent anger is the anger that turns into action to solve a
problem or blazes new paths.
The third possibility at this chakra is the upward movement of energy. When
the energy of fire moves up, then old paths are cleared and new ones are
created. Karma is the memory sum of all our thoughts, emotions, spoken
words, and actions we take in the world. A thought is an action in the mind
that affects the whole body and brain. An angry thought brings psychological
and physiological changes within a person. When angry thoughts or
emotions are crossing our mind, then our breathing becomes heavy, the face
is flushed, the heart races, blood pressure goes up, and we lose interest in
food and sex. Such a state, if continued for a long time, will inevitably create
health problems in the body.
Most ordinary actions we do are actually reactions or reflexive actions and
happen automatically. Such reactions come from a persons cultural
programming, without conscious awareness. When a person becomes aware
of ones own thoughts, words, and actions, then Karma becomes Karma
Yoga. Yoga is not about living according to a particular set of religious values,
but it is about living with awareness. Living in this manner takes a person
towards the unknown, towards the vastness of existence.
Vision is the special sense connected with the energy of this centre. Clear
eyes are needed to see the path, and strong action is essential to move
along it. Its color is yellow, has ten petals with the seed sound of Rum.

Fourth Centre or Heart Chakra or Anahata : Feelings, Dreams

and Creativity - Path of Love and Devotion

The fourth chakra is the centre of feelings, particularly the feelings of love.
Although emotions emerge at the third centre, at the fourth they fully flower
and are experienced in depth. At the first centre, love is expressed as care,
at the second as sex, at the third as passion, and at the fourth centre love is
felt in its emotional form. This love is an energy moving the kaleidoscope of
the mind, bringing beautiful new patterns of creativity into focus.
Love is necessary to save a person from constant fear, which is always
present in the background. In the absence of love, either the person will
succumb to fear, resulting in anxiety and panic, or will try to overcome fear
through aggression and violence. Both withdrawal from the world and
attacking it come from an absence of love.

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When love moves downward through the chakras, it becomes attachment.

When love moves upward, it is transformed into devotional love, in which
there is a surrender of the individual to something higher than oneself.
Intense and passionate love toward someone else, in which there is a giving
of oneself whole-heartedly to the other, is devotional love. This form of love
contains within it a spark of sacred love, and indeed for many people, it is
the beauty and intensity of human love that becomes the path to the
sacredness. In Sufism Ishq Majazi(human love) and Ishq Haqiqi (divine love)
are interconnected.
The fourth chakra is the centre of Bhakti or devotion, the seat of the religious
traditions, which are faith-based. Most religious traditions are grounded in
love and devotion to the Divine, and are based on faith rather than on
intellectual analysis. The tool to reach the Divine in these religious traditions
is prayer and worship.
The special sense of the chakra is touch, and without touch, love remains
unfulfilled. Whenever love emerges, with it comes a deep longing to touch
the object of love. An engineer wants to touch the new airplane she or he
built, a house-builder wants to feel the house he or she built, a mother wants
to touch her child, and a lover his or her beloved.
There is a deep physiological link between the brain and the skin, as both are
developed from similar embryonic tissue. The skin as an extension of the
brain, and the brain is the receiver of messages from the skin. Touch
completes the link between our skin and brain. Without touch, that link
remains closed and the person may not develop fully psychologically or even
physically.
This chakra is also the centre of creativity, which is intimately connected
with love. Love and creativity are inseparable companions. Without love,
creativity is not possible. Love has always been a source of inspiration for
painters, scientists, writers, and musicians. Without the love of something,
even if that is an abstract concept of God, moral order, or universal order, it
is not possible to be creative.
During the process of creativity, a fine stream of energy moves up from the
heart centre and connects to the memories of touch, sounds, smells,
feelings, and tastes in the brain, and links them to words, colours, and
designs to form a piece of art, music, poetry, or a new invention of science. If
the person who is creating becomes aware of the process of the creativity,
he or she will feel these energy sensations. The advantage of becoming
aware of creativity is that one can go beyond creativity itself, control it from
higher centres, and invite it at will. So if the artist or scientist moves to the
seventh centre, then the creativity of the fourth and fifth chakras can be fully
accessed, because being at a higher centre means one naturally has mastery
over the lower centres. Also, a wonderful sense of wholeness can be
experienced by this person in the process of creativity.

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Most creative people suffer because they remain at the fourth and fifth
centres and feel fragmented within. Although they create wonderful pieces of
art, music, beautiful poetry, and great inventions, their daily lives dont
reflect their works. They remain focused on the fourth and fifth centres.
Energy experience and the existence of higher centres remain outside their
awareness.
The fourth centre is the door to personal subconscious and a staircase to
universal unconscious. Conscious life is only the tip of the iceberg of our
existence. We are conscious of only a small part of our totality, and the rest
of it lies deep in our subconscious and unconscious. In these hidden
dimensions of our being lie our motives, conditioning, and all the unwritten
history of our human heritage. This is the place where the primal past meets
the present and affects the future. That material and animal energy, by
which the wheels of the human world move, resides in this realm of light and
darkness and expresses through the dreams. These dreams not only connect
us to the animal and material world, but also hold clues to our deeper
identities, and the directions in which we can move. This realm hides our
past, our creative energies, and also our destinies.
Once we are able to contact that energy of the subconscious and
unconscious, we can learn how to tune ourselves with our dreams and
harness the force within to move to a state of wholeness. The barriers
between the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind have to be
demolished. When such a process of demolition of barriers is on, tremendous
energy is released in our brain, mind, and heart. By contacting and
harnessing that energy, a person becomes a shaman or a healer.

Path of Shaman
The fourth centre is also the chakra of the shaman. A shaman is a person
who has opened the door of the personal subconscious and has walked
courageously into the unknown darkness of universal unconscious. A shaman
leaves behind cultural conditioning and swims in this primal ocean, each
drop of which heals the wounds of the person. In that adventure, a person
finds his or her own unique spirit- animal or human which may become his or
her totem or deity. This animal or deity contains the energy of the
subconscious and unconscious, which can be now invited to become alive
and stay with the shaman to heal.
The primal sound of Om or Amen vibrates in the depth of universal
subconscious. The sound of Om or Amen was present at the lower three
chakras, but in the form of undifferentiated vibrations. At the heart centre,
this sound becomes audible. Primal sound is not produced by the striking of
two objects rather, it arises in aloneness without the contact of objects. In
Sanskrit, it is called the Anahat sound, which means that a sound is produced

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without striking two objects or energies. That is why the heart chakra is also
called the Anahat chakra.
The fourth centre, with its primal energy, belongs both to the divine and
devil in human beings. Both the divine and devil come from the same root
word Div which mean to shine. When the subconscious and unconscious
energy of the centre is repressed or distorted, it takes the form of the devil,
and when the same energy finds its path and becomes conscious experience,
it becomes the divine. Out of the denial of ones true self is born the devil.
Full realization and acceptance of ones own unique being leads to the
divine.
In a feminine person, this centre is more open and accessible. The centres
mysterious material and animal energy was a cause of fear in the mind of
many people, leading to the persecution of women in many religions.
At this centre, the great mythological world of gods and goddesses, demons
and spirits emerges. While the origins of mythic thinking lie at the third
centre, they come into full fruition at the fourth. It is at the fourth chakra
that the mammalian brain meets the uniquely human component of the
brain. This centre is the bridge between the material and animal past of a
person to the uniquely human present and divine future.
Wind is the element of the fourth chakra, an element that imparts even more
freedom to move and change. The Earth element has little movement, and
while water and fire have more, wind moves swiftly and more quickly than
the previous three. This chakra is connected with the heart, lungs and
thymus gland, which are important parts of the immune system. When this
chakra is active, there may be a sensation of fullness in chest or pain.
Anahat chakras color is green with twelve petals and seed sound Yum.

Fifth Centre or Throat Chakra or Vissudha: Science, Systems,

Communication and Expression - The Path of Intellect
The fifth chakra is uniquely human. Complexity reaches its peak at this
centre, and expresses itself in the special human capacities for logic,
rationality, reasoning, planning for the future, and language. Through these
extraordinary faculties, human creativity is unleashed, and the universe of
the mind is born. In the womb of this universe, science, systems of
governance, and the idea of a universal moral order grows. Science becomes
the ultimate power in human hands to transform the outer world and control
forces of nature. At the peak of this mastery and control, humans think that
they are the new gods.
At the first and second chakras, humans were helped by the power of their
ancestors, family, clan, and tribe. At the third and fourth centres, they were
helped by the presence of God, gods, goddesses, and spirits. These powers

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and concepts helped humans to cope with the fear of the death. Humans at
the lower four centres were subservient to the forces that protected them.
Those powers were beyond their control, and community or tribal efforts
were needed to take the help of such forces. In that kind of environment,
individuality was not encouraged, because the individual was too weak to
deal with the forces and spirits of nature. The culture and community shaped
the life of the person.
But at the fifth centre, the traditions of the four previous chakras are broken.
Through logic, reason, and language, science emerges as a powerful tool in
human hands that helps in mastering the forces of nature. Instead of praying
to the ancestors of the first and second centres, and the gods and goddesses
of the third and fourth, people themselves start becoming those powerful
spirits, ancestors, gods, and goddesses.
Universal morals, national constitutions, human rights, and systems of
governance emerged at the fifth centre and through them humans moved on
a path to become their own masters and shape their own destiny. Through
the amazing discoveries of science, people seek to become immortal. That
quest for immortality was always there as a fundamental human motive, but
earlier in human evolution that quest was through the intercession of spirits
and gods.
In the fifth chakra, the parallel universe of the mind is born, where thoughts
control the body and environment to create a unique world. Humans are the
gods of this created world that functions parallel to the world of nature. This
is the centre where thoughts gain supreme significance, and a new capacity
of thinking about thoughts is achieved. Natural objects and phenomena are
observed, labeled, and categorized; universal forces are discovered and
uniform laws conceived; logical theories and systems are created, and
science and technology make rapid progress.
At the fifth centre, the individual becomes the fundamental creative unit of
the human world, rather than the family, group, or clan. Accordingly, the
individuals fulfillment replaces the fulfillment of the aspirations of the
community.
The fifth chakra is the centre of discrimination, where, by the help of moral
law and reason, a person connects to the society and moves toward the
greater good. It is not the voice of gods and spirits, but the written law
governing the life of the person. He or she is free to follow the pursuit of his
or her happiness if that path doesnt contradict the social order and does not
violate the rights of others.
When the throat chakra becomes active, there is an explosion of creative
expression. Creativity at the four lower centres was communal, limited, and
mythic, intricately a part of daily living. Although creativity occurs at the
fourth centre, it expresses and communicates fully at the fifth. The person
becomes a creator.

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Writers Block
When people experience a block in their creativity, they are experiencing an
obstruction in energy flow between the fourth and fifth centres. In spite of
the urge at the fourth centre to create, and at the fifth to express and
communicate, no real creativity takes place. The fifth centre has its own
creative power, but it is a mechanical and synthetic one without originality. It
is good for imitation and innovation. The leap into radical new creative forms
either comes from the fourth or seventh centre.
Time at the fifth center becomes linear and flows from the past to the
present and from the present to the future. History walks on the linear path
of time. An emergence of history is possible through the linear perception of
time. Before linear time came into existence at the fifth centre, the story of
the world was told only by mythic stories handed down through oral
communication. In a way, fragments of history were embedded in the myths
but it was not the type of history that emerges at the fifth chakra. At the first
three centres, stories and folklores are conveyed orally; at the fourth, myths
emerge in form of epics, and at the fifth, history replaces myths. Myths are
cyclical and history is linear. Myths emphasize a repetition of events. An
events essence remains the same, but the form changes. But history asserts
that whatever happened in the past will not happen again, because things
will change in the future. History gives a sense of progress, of evolution.
Without linear time, evolution is not possible.
While linear time gives the human mind a sense of progress and evolution, it
also creates more fear and anxiety. Fear of death is always lurking in the
background at all of the chakras, but as we evolve toward higher centres, we
become more and more aware of it. At the fifth centre, we are not only aware
of our remote past through written and spoken history, but also of the future
in which we will not exist physically. The future will continue, but without
being us there. This certainty of not being in the future evokes the fear of
death, which is particularly intense at the fifth centre because of our
increased awareness. At the fifth centre, humans weave a vast web of
escape mechanisms to cope with the fear of death.
When the fifth centre is in balance, the faculty of thinking, reasoning, and
rationality function optimally. It also imparts the quality of making good
moral judgments and not succumbing to superstitions. With analysis and
synthesis through the fifth centre, a person arrives at rational conclusions
that help in deciding the course of future actions. From this centre, Jnana or
knowledge emerges. Jnana or knowledge is the central element of Buddhism
and Vedantic Hinduism.
This centre provides a person with creative expression. The person may be
intensely creative within, but if expression of that creativity doesnt happen,
the person will remain unfulfilled. Great teachers are creative, but they also

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know how to communicate that creative energy in different forms of

expression. That can only be possible if the fifth centre is open and
functioning at its optimal level.
If the person stays at the fifth centre, he or she may be trapped in the world
of reason and rationality. Reason and rationality, products of the thinking
mind, are important milestones on the way, but they are not the destination.
But the power of the mind is so great, and its creative expressions so
complex, that it may seem as if the mind itself is a master of life. A person
can move forever in the parallel universe of the mind and never complete
the journey towards wholeness. If this happens, the person has become
stuck at the fifth centre.
In the vast universe of thinking, the minds thoughts and images are often
powerfully drawn into the fields of science and technology. People, or indeed
even a whole community, may become so absorbed in this universe of
thoughts that they may altogether abandon the search for more dimensions
of truth. They may think that they have already arrived at the truth by
mastering a fraction of the forces of nature, or by knowing something about
the brain or external universe. They may consider themselves wise.
The biggest problem of the fifth chakra is that it never allows any experience
to remain pure, fresh and direct. All experiences are filtered, changed and
brought under the categories of known by memories, theories, concepts,
definitions and beliefs which are already stored in the fifth. As the direct
experiences of lower four chakras move up, the force and energy of the fifth
is mixed with them and changes them forever. The fifth chakra thrives on
predictability and doesnt want anything unknown, because the unknown
may contain danger including the danger of death. A sense of wonderment is
missing because of the fifth.
If the energy of the fifth centre moves downward, then one may succumb to
illogical and irrational forces, which hamper the growth and wellness of a
person. Such a person may justify the cultivation of such irrational forces
through logic and reasoning, and may become instrumental in the rise of
superstition and the making of a cult. Such cults produce mass hypnosis and
mass hysteria, which is detrimental to the journey toward higher centres. A
downward movement of the energy of this centre may lead to the
continuation of useless rituals and practices, deeply harmful to the person
both physically and psychologically.
An upward movement of the energy of this centre makes a person more
aware of the inner and outer world, which ultimately leads to wisdom. The
Yoga of Knowledge is transformed into the Yoga of Wisdom. There is much
knowledge around us to gather, but we require discrimination about what
knowledge is relevant and good for our inner development. The upward
movement of the energy of the fifth chakra performs that discriminative
function effortlessly.

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The element associated with the fifth chakra is space. It lies at the root of the
neck and is connected to the cervical plexus, thyroid, and parathyroid
glands. The vocal cords lie within the field of this chakra, which is an
instrument of expression as well. Sound is the special sense of the centre.
Sound is the sense that appears first in human beings, when they are still
growing in the womb as a fetus. It is also the sense to disappear last when a
person is dying. It has sixteen petals and its color is blue and the seed sound
is Hum.

Sixth Centre or Third Eye Chakra or Ajna:

Death and Naked

Duality - Path of Insight

Traditionally the sixth chakra has only two petals, which is deeply symbolic,
and its colour is white, which is significant as well. It is quite a transition from
the complexity of sixteen petal of fifth centre with its vibrant blue colour.
Suddenly the complexity and many sidedness of the centre of reason and
science give way to the simplicity of the two dimensions of existence,
namely life and death.
Individuality and Aloneness
At the first chakra, the person was defined by the family, clan, or the country
and had very little freedom or identity apart from that family or group. There
were no individual rights or privileges, and the community governed a
persons life. But by the time a person arrives at the fifth centre, the rights of
the individual have become paramount, and the person now has the freedom
to dissent from a particular family or group without being punished. But
simultaneously, that person is governed by a more universal law or ethic,
based on kinder treatment of the person. That is what evolution is all about.
The person is moving or growing out of the confining walls of the family,
group, nation, and myth, and is also adopting more universal rules. This is
the process of becoming individual. Individuality consists of shedding the
rigid loyalties of race, religion, colour, and sexual and gender preferences
imposed from outside, and moving inward to realize ones own nature.
Individuality is the process of discovering natures gift. When nature creates
us, it implants its seed within us and that is what we have to know. By
knowing that secret, we establish communication with nature at large and
will eventually be in communion with it. The fifth centre is certainly the
strengthening of the process of individuality that began as soon as the first
centre became active. The sixth centre is the flowering of the same
movement.
At the sixth chakra, everything that supported the person both from outside
and inside is left behind. The family and tribe of the first chakra are no more
with the person, nor are the pleasures of the second and the willful action of

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the third. The mythic world of God, gods, goddesses, angels, and spirits of
the fourth centre are also left behind, and even the realm of logic, reason,
and science of the fifth centre no longer accompany the person. At the sixth
centre the whole of existence is divided into two, a clear duality, in which the
person - as the subject - stands in front of the universe as its object and
adversary. The person is bare psychologically, because all the support,
pleasure, distractions and escape of the rest of the five chakras are no more
with the person. At the sixth chakra, a lonely person is staring at the
universe while the fear of death is rising, and there is no escape from it
because all escape mechanisms of the first five chakars are dropped. Finally
life is confronting death.
The fear of death becomes an unavoidable presence at the sixth centre. Fear
was always present in the background, starting from the first centre, but
there were strong mechanisms to cope with it, escape it, and push it beyond
the reach of awareness. That was essential to live in the world with
reasonable emotional comfort. But those mechanisms of escape ended at
the fifth centre, where the last effort of the mind to protect the person was
expressed through reason, science, and systems. After the fifth centre, no
escape route was left. In a dark and closed universe, a person is left face to
face with his or her own mortality. Life meets death at the sixth centre. Life
and death were always one, but the fear arising out of self-consciousness
separated the two. Now, at the sixth centre, they are facing each other. This
encounter is seen not through two ordinary eyes, but by the third eye of
insight. Two sides of a single existence are facing each other. One side is the
psychologically naked person representing life, and the other side is the vast
but enclosed universe where death is staring at the face of the person, and
there is no escape from it. One is completely lonely, without any support,
and is surrounded by a universe indifferent to the person. That is why the
colour of this centre is white. White is the colour of peace, but also the colour
of death.
A universe full of death, without any escape, is the universe of the
existentialists. This dreadful universe seems to contain only angst and fear,
and appears to offer no escape routes at all. In a paradoxical manner, this
brings a kind of freedom to the person. When a person leaves all the
supports and identities behind, he or she is on her own. The person is free to
think and act as he or she desires, and make choices for which he or she is
totally responsible. Although there is a sense of total responsibility for
thoughts and actions, these actions look absurd because everything seems
to be moving towards the black hole of death. It is the direct experience of
reality without the interference of logic and reason, God, gods or spirits, or
the protective forces of tribes and ancestors. The person is inconsolable,
because there is clear insight and clear realization of the futility of all human
efforts and the meaninglessness of existence. It is truly the opening of the
third eye of Shiva, the god of dissolution. The opening of the third eye brings
the painful and agonizing awareness of annihilation and death. When the life

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and the death face each other awakening occurs. Normally one wants only to
live and doesnt want to die. In a life where there is psychological avoidance
of death, living is incomplete and unfulfilled. Completeness cannot be
experienced if death, which is the other half of wholeness, is not faced.
As the person moves through the chakra awareness of death brings alertness
to the person, an extraordinary state of total attention and focus. The brain
becomes thoughtless yet fully aware of what is going on in the moment. All
senses are alert and the noise of thoughts and emotions stops. The absence
of the noise of thoughts and emotions is a state of peace. Fear is replaced by
tranquility. That is another reason why the colour of this chakra is white.
At this chakra, the perception of reality is direct, and a person receives direct
knowledge, which is why it is called insight. The person can see from within.
Until the fifth centre, perception was conditioned by the family or clan,
religion or myths, or logic and reasoning. But at the sixth chakra, all those
supports drop, and the brain is relatively free to perceive directly. Such an
act of perception and seeing makes those capabilities of the brain active,
which thus far were dormant. Such activation may give a person certain
psychic abilities. While such abilities can be thrilling, they are often
detrimental to further progress because it is tempting to become attached to
these unusual abilities.
Like all other centres, the energy of the sixth centre may move up or down.
The downward movement of energy makes one stuck in a state where one is
fearful of death, expressing itself in deep anxiety and panic attacks.
Although such a person has developed deeper insight and intuition, life may
appear meaningless because the person is constantly trying to avoid
situations that bring anxiety. Often this avoidance behavior turns into the
avoidance of life itself, since many situations that enrich life are also anxiety
provoking.
If the energy of the sixth centre moves upward, a new force is generated that
pushes the person on the way towards becoming a true individual with
wholeness and wellness. In this upward movement of energy, life and death
come together in full awareness, and the person becomes the master of both
the mind and body. A teacher or guru is not necessary any more, as the
person is fully capable now of moving alone on the inner journey. The
Sanskrit name of this centre is Ajna, which means command. At a fully
activated sixth centre, a person becomes his or her own commander. This
mastery of ones own self is not only psychological and existential, but has a
correlate at the level of the body and its physiology. When the centre is fully
functional, the two channels of sun and moon energy meet, unite with each
other, and work in harmony. The energy of the sun channel inspires action,
while the energy of the moon channel takes the person to contemplation and
inner rest. It is the state of stillness and action. These two fundamental
energies of life could not work in harmony before the person arrived at the
sixth centre. The person was split into the deep divide between death and

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life, remaining in conflict between the opposite pulls of the culture and his or
her own nature.
If the sixth centre is fully functioning, it brings peace to the heart and mind
of a person, as well as physical and physiological changes in the body. The
body and mind move towards integration. They were split and in deep
conflict at the fifth centre, but at the sixth chakra a natural and spontaneous
command on the body and minds urges is established. This state of
command is not a result of will or force. It is effortless. Control by will cannot
survive for long and leads to pathologies of both mind and body. Such
discipline brings much sorrow and pain. However, there is a state of natural
and effortless restraint that happens without the interference of will. Such a
state of restraint becomes part of life itself.
Another remarkable feature of this centre is the awareness of ones dual
nature in terms of gender. After all, our left brain is more masculine and our
right brain is more feminine. The left brain is connected with I or isolated
personhood, thoughts, language, details, analysis and action in an outward
and pro-active or more aggressive approach to the world. The right brain is
receptive, emotional, holistic, visual-spatial, and imaginative. It is connected
with emotions, art, music, abstract thoughts and is more silent.
In Indian tradition its beautifully depicted by Ardhanarishwar, half female
and half male image of Shiva and Parvati. Yin-yang symbol also represents
the same idea.
In a man, the first centre was masculine and the second centre was feminine.
Although before the sixth centre the person experienced the opposite gender
within himself or herself, awareness of such qualities was only partial. Mostly
the person ignored, neglected, or actively suppressed such impulses
emerging on the surface because of cultural influence. Up to the fifth centre,
society and cultural influence was the dominant factor with regard to gender
in the life of a person. At the sixth centre, however, one is gradually set free
from those psychological constraints and is able to feel and comprehend the
presence of the qualities of the opposite gender within oneself. At the sixth
centre, a person cannot ignore the presence of the opposite gender within,
and this is expressed through dreams, feelings, and overt behavior. Instead
of behaving according to the expectations of the culture, the person will start
expressing the qualities of the opposite gender. A man may function as a
mother, and a woman as a husband in his or her interactions with the
external world. The sixth centre is the last shrine on the path of the journey
towards the full individuality. The pilgrimage that began at the first chakra is
about to come to an end. The last piece in the puzzle of the body and mind,
the last line in the poetry of individual life, and the last stroke of the brush in
the painting of personal existence is about to take place.

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Third eye chakra is located between two eyebrows and the pituitary gland is
the endocrine gland of this centre, which plays a role in the regulation of all
other endocrine glands. Its beyond elements and the seed sound is Aum.

Seventh Centre or Crown Chakra or Sahasrara: Individuality,

Wholeness and Wellness - Arriving at the Peak of Evolution
The seventh chakra is the continuation of the experiences of the sixth center.
We are born into a family, culture and tradition, and the center of our day to
day life lies in those institutions. A human baby becomes aware of the
mother, other people and the world around it, earlier than it becomes aware
of its body and feelings. We are socialized rather than individualized. That is
why humans are called social animals. We dont belong to ourselves.
Whatever we see, taste, hear, feel, think and experience is through the filters
of the family, society and culture.
But by arriving at the seventh chakra we are reborn through our own womb
of potentiality into wholeness, wellness, freedom and individuality. After our
physical birth we walk into the human made world and become conditioned.
But after the rebirth at seventh chakra, we discover our own center with
which we were born, before we became socialized. At seventh chakra we find
our unique individual place in the world and look and feel from our own
perspective. Our centre is our mind-body which functions as an integral unit
rather than as a result of the chaos of the fragmented and scattered pieces
of life. We enter and swim in lifes river with ease, moving towards the
unknown and mysterious ocean of existence.
Many of us think that the individuality and freedom can only be achieved by
the rejection of the old and traditional way of living and by accepting what is
modern or contemporary. We also feel that independence means leaving
people and places and living in our own creative ways. Yet those who aspire
for that kind of rustic individualism, shunning the past, live an isolated and
fragmented life. That kind of life is a reaction to the old ways of living.
Discovering our individuality is not an ideology, a social reformation and
revolution. Its not the renunciation or rejection of the ethical framework of
society. Its about our own self, about our own mind. Its peaceful and silent
transformation of a person into a fully functional individual.
The seventh chakra is the final destination in our evolutionary journey. After
the seventh chakra, there is yet some more distance to cover, but there is no
path to walk or guide to follow. The seventh centre is not an independent
chakra, but is born out of the integration and synthesis of the six previous
chakras. However, the seventh chakra is not the sum total of the qualities of
the six chakras. It goes beyond anything which is represented in the six
centers. The seventh chakra is the crown shrine, the pinnacle of personal

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achievement. No individual achievement can ever match the experience of

living at the seventh chakra. Any other personal achievement belongs to one
or the other chakras, is inherently incomplete and partial and thus cannot
bring fulfillment. But the seventh is the union of all levels from family
rooting, through the middle levels, up to facing the naked duality at the sixth
chakra. Here, a process of purification begins, in which the clogged channels
of communication in mind and body are cleared, allowing energy to flow
freely. Free flow of energy through the brain and body is an intimate
communication between body and mind. Such communication binds cells
with the organs, organs with systems, and systems with one another. After
this clearing of channels, the flow of the energy sensations connects with
feelings, feelings with the emotions, emotions with thoughts, thoughts with
creativity, and creativity with wholesome living. In this state of complete
interconnectedness, body and mind function as an integrated unit. On the
ground of that wholeness, the flower of the soul is born. Although some
people have glimpses of the soul or wholeness, very few are able to live in it,
while still enjoying the fruits of the mind, body and the world.
The soul is the state of well-being with passion and contains the essence of
all the lower chakras - the beauty of the family, tribal or group ties, the
pleasure of the worldly things, passionate action, feelings and emotions,
creativity and its expression, and living with ever-present death. In this state
of living, the person knows how to live simply, understanding the difference
between what is essential and non-essential. This simplicity contains within it
all the complexity of life, but the person now becomes like the spider who
weaves her web every day, yet is never trapped in it. Simplicity is harmony
in complexity. In this simplicity an individual experiences passion with
austerity.
The sixth chakra is the last piece in the mind-body riddle and as soon it
becomes fully functional and its energy moves upwards, the whole picture of
individual life becomes clear, because the seventh chakra comes into
existence. As the last piece fits into place, the brain, which is the instrument
of perception, is lit up from within. Brain dormancy is over and the wellness
reserve is fully accessible. As the brain fills with delight and energies, it
becomes young again. The young brain is free from psychological
conditioning and doesnt live either in memories or in dreams for the future.
This brain is in communion with the moment, with all its senses open. Such a
brain is filled with passion, vibrating with the energy of wholeness, and
doesnt require any external stimulation to experience that ongoing state of
passion. The physical body goes through the natural process of aging, but a
brain that vibrates with the energy of wholeness remains fresh and
passionate even at the time of death. A brain that is dependent on the
external means for its passion and energy will become stale and wither as
soon that external support is gone. Withdrawal of the external supports
happens naturally as we age. The family and community pays less attention
to the aging person and the bodys capacity for sensual pleasures

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diminishes. But a brain that functions on its own resources and energy is its
own master and continues to be aware, passionate and full of delight. This is
a state of freedom and integration, individuality and independence.
We are often confused about the nature of true independence. We think that
independence means a capacity to make certain decisions on our own, or to
live separately and make personal choices about our job, clothes, cars and
house. That is also a type of freedom, but one in which we still depend on the
world for the pleasure. If the outer world is in chaos, then our inner world is
shaken as well. But an awakened brain is not dependent on the external
world for its joy. A person with an awakened brain could be called a Fakir or a
kingly beggar - a person who needs some basic minimum help for the
survival, but beyond that it is not dependent on the world. This individual
can choose a life of poverty, of the utmost simplicity because the brain is no
more a victim of the habits and addictions.

The Problem of Addictions

Why do addictions or harmful habits tend to occur so frequently? The reason
behind addictions and harmful habits of any kind is the lack of the optimal
functioning of the brain which leads to brain dormancy. Such a state of
dormancy is either the result of deficiency in the neuro-chemicals in the
brain, emotiona trauma, tragedies or due to conditioning done by the family,
society and culture. The conditioning is like a prison for the brain, where the
brain cant access its own resources. To some extent, the programming that
occurs during childhood is entirely natural and inevitable. Its part of the
normal process of socialization and enculturation. The problem begins when
a person has reached adulthood and is unable to understand how much of
his or her perception of the world is culturally conditioned. At this point,
conditioning becomes an obstacle for further growth of the person. The
person feels smothered, yet is unable to fully comprehend why he or she
suffers and feels unfulfilled.
A partially functioning brain has access to only a fraction of its resources.
Physiologically, the brain that is not functioning optimally lacks the proper
balance of the neuro-chemicals, which then leads to low mood, anxiety and
lack of pleasure in daily life. To escape from these unhappy feelings, the
person craves for external stimulation to reach a state of the pleasure and
excitement. Power, wealth, sex, drugs, alcohol, food and a million more
things are stimulants that keep a person in a state of excitement and
pleasure. Since all of these stimulants come from the outer rather than the
inner environment, their effects are always transitory, lasting from a few
minutes to a few days. When the effect of such stimulation ends, a person is
left in the misery of withdrawal, craving for fresh stimulation. This soon
becomes a cycle in which the person wants to attain the same kind of
pleasure by ever more powerful stimulations, which leads to habit formation

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and eventually to addiction. The person now is dependent on the external

world for pleasure, and there is nothing within which can provide
contentment and joy. As a person gets more and more dependent on
external sources for pleasure, his or her own innate capacity to produce
pleasure withers and eventually becomes dysfunctional or non-functional.
Deficient functioning of the brain is almost the normal state in our world, and
that is why the addiction to wealth, food, objects, entertainment, excitement,
drugs, and alcohol is commonplace. Such addiction to external stimulation is
leading the world towards an environmental catastrophe. Each one of us
wants now more and more stimulation through wealth, power etc. To produce
enough of that stimulation we need resources which come from the earth
and our natural environment, and that drain on our natural resources is
clearly unsustainable.
We are in doing mode all the time. Doing is needed because it stimulates
the brain and gives pleasure and excitement. What we need is a state of
non-doing where we are contented with ourselves and live on inner
resources. The human brain has a well-developed pleasure pathway or
reward system deeply embedded in its core, rich in neuro-chemicals. This
system provides a sense of pleasure, contentment and excitement. The brain
has the purest of wine which has ever been distilled in the evolutionary
history of the universe, and it always waits for us to drink it and by drinking it
we become drunk with the divine.

Full Functioning of the brain

When the chakras are awakened, there is a free flow of energy connecting
the chakras. The effect of such an awakening on the dormant brain and
body is remarkable, as both starts to function fully. Such a brain and body
produce their own pleasure chemicals, an elixir of inner joy. This state of
optimal functioning results in the emergence of natural austerity. When a
person is naturally austere, then he or she eats, sleeps, works, exercises and
is involved in sexual activity only as much as is needed for the health of the
brain and the body. This is not a forced austerity - rather, the body and mind
function to their optimal efficiency naturally. Although this lifestyle may seem
like a frugal or austere way of living, it is actually a natural way of rich living.
The persons senses are sharp and the brain is exquisitely sensitive, and
needs very little outer stimulation. A person lives with effortless passion.
An awakened brain is the ultimate flowering of a persons potential, and the
person now becomes a true individual. During the journey from the first
chakra to the seventh, a person undergoes the process of individuation. The
many masks of conditioning are gradually laid aside, and the fragmented
mind slowly comes into harmony with itself.

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An awakened brain is a clear mirror, a wholeness in which seemingly

opposing forces are seen as one truth and one movement. The individual
realizes for the first time the taste of an undivided perspective, where all
things move in dynamic balance and wholeness. This wholeness is neither
perfection nor symmetrical, but rather it is like nature, which may seem
chaotic but actually has a subtle order and wholeness. The individual feels a
sense of natural harmony within - but it is the harmony of a jungle rather
than a cultivated garden. Although a jungle seems like chaos, it has its own
innate pattern where all its components function together in a rhythm. In this
state there is not only the awakening of the brain but also the awakening of
each cell, organ and system of the body. Sensations from all over body are
felt as a stream of vibrations flowing from the periphery of the body towards
the centre and from the lower parts of the body to the upper parts. This is
the flow of energy in which nerve impulses move from peripheral nerves
towards the spinal cord and brain. They are felt throughout the day and night
without interruption. These sensations create the feeling as if the body is
vibrating like a fine tuning fork and gives a feeling of gentle pleasure.

Awakening of the Energy Centres

After awakening, the sensations are not only felt in the body but also at the
locations of all the chakras. Sometimes, the energy of an awakened chakra
may be particularly intense and may produce mild discomfort or at times
pain. The individual may feel either intense sensations or a feeling of whirling
energy. The pain a person feels after the awakening of the chakras is the
result of the forceful push by the rising energy to clear out the channels. This
pain may be particularly intense in the chest and head, and may be confused
with a heart attack or migraine.
The energy of the first chakra is usually felt either in the perineum or at the
lower end of the spine. The energy of the second chakra it is usually felt in
or just above the genital area or at a corresponding point at the back. The
third chakras energy is felt in front of the body between the belly button and
the pit of the stomach or at the back. The energy of the fourth chakra is felt
in the front of the chest. The fifths energy is noticed at the root or the back
of the neck. The energy of the sixth centre is usually experienced on the
forehead, and the energy of the seventh is perceived on the top or all over
the head.
Beside all of these sensations associated with the flow of energy, an
individual may also experience unique sensations of ants crawling, heat,
movement of a serpent on the back of the neck, chest and abdomen. When
the chakras become active and both moon and sun channels are functioning
at their peak, the energy finds its way into the central channel. At this point,
it flows like a stream, starting at the lower end of the spine and moving
upwards towards the brain. As the stream of sensations reaches the brain, it

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takes the form of a rising spring, flowing to the top of the brain and then
falling back to soak the whole brain with its effect. It is the Fountain Effect.
The anatomical appearance of the spinal cord and brain looks like a snake.
The spinal cord represents the body and tail, while the brain represents the
hood of the snake. When energy flows upwards through the chakras, it
literally feels as if a serpent with a hood is moving within the body. That is
why in many traditions such energy is called serpent power. The serpent is a
symbol of healing all over the world.
When the cells, organs, nerves, spinal cord and brain are flooded and flushed
by the energy, purification of the body and brain occurs. This purification
means that all those emotional memories, which were accumulated in the
brain and affected the behavior of the person, are washed away. Such
purification leads to the freedom of the brain from the conditioned mind,
which brings healing to both the brain and the body. While the conditioned
mind is washed away in this process of awakening, the technical intelligence,
which is essential for survival and innovation, and also the intelligence which
is capable of thinking and expressing emotions, remains intact. A
programmed brain is trapped in the chains of the past and once the chains of
past conditioning are broken, new energy, which heals and brings wellness to
the person, is released. The past emotional contents of memory are cleansed
and the individual no longer reacts to them. At this point, the individual is no
longer the victim of trauma, tragedies, abuse, anger, hatred, grief and guilt
accumulated from the past. An individual cleaned of the dirt of the past
becomes transparent and in this transparent body and brain the flame of
wholeness and soul clearly shines. The whole tree of life is lit from within,
from roots to the trunk, from trunk to the branches, and from branches to the
leaves, flowers and fruits. From peripheral energy channels to the sun and
moon streams and from chakras to the river of the central channel - all
become active, flowing and connected to each other in wholeness. There is
no more fragmentation. The body and the brain function with their natural
rhythm.
This movement of the energy may give a hot sensation or produce tingling in
the spinal cord, and in the brain it may create pressure or thunder-like
feelings. Often ecstasy is the experience of this state, although this can turn
into pressure and headache if the process intensifies.

Chakras: Experience of Expansiveness

The chakras can also be thought of as the windows to the universe. Each
chakra makes a particular part of the brain and body optimally functional and
simultaneously it opens a window to a new world. That is why activation of
the chakra is not only about the individuality and integration at a personal
level, but also about the reintegration into the larger universe. The
microcosm of the body and brain doesnt function in isolation from the

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macrocosm. But when the brain and body are not functioning fully, we are
seldom aware of that connection. We live in ignorance by not realizing our
intimacy with the natural universe. Since we dont have an intimate
relationship with nature, we dont treat nature and the earth
compassionately. Whatever relationship we have with nature tends to be
intellectual or sometimes emotional, devoid of any deep connections and
commitment to its well-being. In the absence of the feeling for nature, we
dont mind destroying it indiscriminately. However, once the chakras are
open and the energy is flowing, we experience intimacy with the earth in all
its beauty. We fall in love with the sun, moon, earth, sky, ocean, plants,
animals, humans, wind and water. And if we are in love with nature, then
how can we possibly inflict harm upon it? In this love affair with the earth,
the individual always sees himself or herself in the context of larger forces.
But that doesnt mean that the human made world is rejected. Ultimately the
human made world is also an extension of the natural world but more
removed from it. That is why the individual finally finds a niche in both the
natural and human made world and belongs to both of them. When ones
home is within oneself, there is never a feeling of alienation. This is the
experience of expansiveness.

Emergence of the Witnessing Self

The awakening of the brain allows another dimension of perception known as
witnessing awareness or mindfulness to emerge. In our ordinary life, we
experience three states of waking, dream and deep sleep. All of these three
states function through the conditioned consciousness of the mind, which is
full of reactions and without equanimity and peace. But when the fourth
state of witnessing awareness, which is equivalent to deep sleep and
awareness, emerges after the experience of awakening of the seventh
chakra, the individual becomes a witness to his or her own body, emotions
and thoughts as well as to the surrounding world. This witnessing awareness
is non-reactionary, because it happens in the present moment without the
bias of the past. The individual observes the inner and outer world without
being judgmental. Non-judgmental consciousness doesnt mean that the
person doesnt discriminate between right and useful versus wrong and
harmful, but rather that the process of discrimination flows directly from the
practical needs of the society and people. The individual doesnt reject the
person who is doing wrong, but still he or she will try to prevent such a
person from committing harmful acts against others. But inside, the person
doesnt carry any hatred or grief towards such people. The individual at the
seventh chakra is still in touch with the fifth chakra of systems and morals,
and knows that rules and laws are necessary to maintain harmony amongst
people and communities.
An individual as a witness is aware with equal passion of a sunset or a storm
or the anger and sorrow of others and also the pain, prejudices, fear and

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other emotions within oneself. Arriving at the seventh chakra doesnt mean
that the person has become completely free from grief, anger, sensuality or
hatred and violence. In witnessing awareness, the persons brain becomes
like a lotus on which water drops of the reactions fall but dont stay. They slip
away without leaving any mark on it. This is the movement towards the state
of Turiya. Turiya means simply the fourth state and is the experience of
tranquility of deep sleep with full awareness.
Experiencing a state of mindfulness or witnessing awareness doesnt stop an
individual from experiencing sorrow and pain, fear or anger. In fact they are
felt more deeply because a clean brain and sensitive nervous system
perceive everything more vividly and sharply. But because of the serene
awareness, no long lasting impressions are left on the mind. In the
witnessing state, a person doesnt retain emotional memories. Events and
feelings are experienced moment to moment, and then they are gone. The
individual is neither carrying the burden of the past nor is trapped by the
worries of the future.
When someone is bogged down by the burdens of guilt, anger, and grief
from the past or is anxious about the future, he or she is unable to live
joyfully in the present moment. The present has been hijacked by the past
and future. An individual in the witnessing state still plans the future in order
to live in the world, but doesnt get attached to those plans and dreams. If
plans and dreams come true that is fine, but if they dont it doesnt matter
anymore. There is no place for disillusionment in the life of an individual in
the state of witnessing. He or she has already crossed that dark sea of
disillusionment and despair at the sixth chakra.
The person in the state of witnessing is sensitive, responsive and with a clear
sense of selfness. Selfness means when others become a part of ones own
self and the sense of selfness keeps on expanding. Selfness is expansive.
The witnessing awareness is the beginning of spontaneous meditation, which
continues effortlessly during both waking and sleep.
It is no longer
necessary to do an intentional meditation practice. Life itself becomes
meditation. At this level, even an act of violence is meditation, because the
action is taken as the last resort in self-defense and is done with compassion
rather than with hatred.
At the seventh chakra, there is no gender. Until the sixth chakra a person
was either a male or a female but at the seventh chakra, the inner feminine
and masculine meet and embrace each other which results in an asexual
union. However, in this union great pleasure is experienced, although it is no
longer a sexual union. True celibacy emerges at this point because the need
for the external male or female diminishes. Various spiritual traditions of the
world have depicted this union in the symbol of a half male and half female
deity.

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The darkness of death, which brought much fear at the sixth chakra, is
resolved at the seventh centre. Death is an ever-present reality and accepted
as part of living. But that doesnt mean that the body will not respond to
danger with fear or that an individual will neglect his or her well-being or
become involved in reckless and dangerous activities. Actually, the individual
worships life as never before. Living is full of delight, and so to waste it or to
end it, carelessly becomes the most unwise decision one could make.
Ignorance breeds carelessness rather than integration and wholeness. The
basic physiological fear of death is a natural protective response in the body
to save it from dangers, and that protective response remains and continues.
However, the psychological fear of death comes to an end.
At the seventh chakra, a person arrives at the edge of time and space. Our
life is defined by the boundaries of psychological space and time.
Psychological space means that there are unbridgeable gaps between our
thoughts, feelings and the feelings and thoughts of others. We communicate
but we are never in communion. Psychological time means that our life is
divided into a linear movement of the present, past and the future. This gap
of space and this split of time lead us into isolation and fragmentation. We
live in a state of becoming or forever chasing the future which never comes.
And we are the prisoners of a virtual space, which we created around us. This
space is but an illusion of the mind. But at the seventh chakra, we feel for
the first time that these boundaries of space and time are not the ultimate
truth; that there is more to realize beyond these limits. This inkling of
something that is beyond time and space is the result of a slipping of
consciousness for a moment, from the edge of the crown chakra into a realm
that is beyond individuality, and allows us to have a glimpse of universal
consciousness.
Seventh chakra is supposed to have thousand petals which simple means
that there are many petals. Its located at the crown of the head and
connected with the pineal gland. It has no color means it contains all colors
and is also beyond all colors.

Involution
Involution means rolling on itself or turning in
Involution happens when integral energy of the chakras starts rolling on itself
or falling on itself. At the end of evolution at the seventh chakra, the inner
lamp of ones consciousness is lit and now, holding that lamp, consciousness
descends from seventh chakra to the first chakra through the sixth, fifth,
fourth, third and second. But this descent is radically different from what was
experienced in ascent from the first to the seventh. In ascent and evolution,
a person leaves behind social and cultural centers and discovers ones own
natural centre. But in descent of involution, even that centre is transcended.

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So a person goes beyond centre or individuality. It is the experience of

universal consciousness both within and outside. There is now only one
consciousness, and this consciousness is rolling on itself. Consciousness
becomes conscious of itself. It is like a mirror looking at the mirror, or an
ocean wave reaching its peak and curling and falling on itself.
Descent or involution is like a water fountain in which a stream of water
bursts forth from the earth and goes up (evolution). At the crown, it
becomes a fountain and then comes down like an umbrella to fall again on
the earth covering a much wider area (involution). We can also call it a
Bunyan phenomenon. The Bunyan tree grows and reaches its crown and
then releases the aerial roots which descend and cover a wide area of earth.
Evolution reaches its peak at the seventh chakra when the person becomes
an individual. The mind and the body function as one unit and energy
movement. The individuals consciousness is no longer external, social or
cultural, but is established in ones own mind-body complex. The individual
feels anchored within. Social and cultural identities and roles may continue,
but lose their significance. Identity comes from ones own mind-body nature
or innate intelligence. There is a clear awareness of the world outside and
the world within. Society, culture, the physical world outside, and the world
in the interior of the body, including feelings, thoughts, memories and
possibilities for the future are observed with equanimity. And even when an
individual is lost in inner and outer turmoil, recovery is quick and no wounds
and scars are left on the mind. Self-esteem comes from within so it is
sustained during the gains and losses.
But still, the individual lives in a world of duality, in which an individual is a
subject or observer and the world is observed as an object. So there is an
individual as subject and there is world as an object and both are connected
by the act of observation. Individuality is duality.
But in involution, something radically different happens. A persons centre or
centers are in society and culture, in an Individual the center is within but
with involution there is no center, neither in culture nor in the individual. It is
a centre-less state and the individual is released into universal consciousness
which is everywhere, in all things both living and non-living. This is an
experience of oneness.
Involution to the Sixth Chakra
The sixth chakra is the chakra of existential despair and fear. Involution to
the sixth chakra brings the experience of the universal despair hidden in the
heart of all human beings. This brings insight into universal fear and
suffering. It is not an intellectual or emotional comprehension. It is
experienced directly through the eyes of wisdom and compassion. But such
fear, despair and suffering dont leave any mark on the individual who is

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experiencing them. The individual feels but doesnt suffer. Virat or cosmic
form described in Bhagvadgita the experience of the cosmic dimension of
sixth chakra.
Involution to the Fifth Chakra
The fifth chakra is the chakra of intellect and logic. Involution to the fifth
chakra brings the experience of wisdom. The intellect and logic of the fifth
chakra turns into universal wisdom and insight. Wisdom at this level not only
knows about the state of human beings, but also articulates and expresses
its solution in clear teachings. Jnana or the knowledge becomes Jnana yoga.
Involution to the Fourth Chakra
The fourth chakra is the chakra of feelings. Involution to the fourth chakra
transforms the feeling of love into universal love and compassion. Love and
devotion becomes Bhakti yoga.
Involution to the Third Chakra
The third chakra is the chakra of emotions, will and passion. Involution to the
third chakra brings the experience of universal will, passion and action. The
ordinary action becomes Karma yoga.
Involution to the Second Chakra
The second chakra is the chakra of life, energy and sex. Involution to the
second chakra brings the experience of universal energy or Shakti.
Involution to the First Chakra
The first chakra is the chakra of matter and death. Involution to the first
chakra is the most difficult one and brings the experience of universal matter
being biologically alive and as a conscious entity. Matter is the densest
component of existence and the most difficult to penetrate, because
consciousness is hidden deep in it. At this chakra there is no difference
between life and death. They become one.

Awakening of the Energy and Chakras

The chakras and the dormant energy may be awakened in several different
ways. When we begin the journey in a systemic way, we start from the most

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open and dominant chakra in ourselves and then proceed to all the other
centres with the help of yoga poses, meditation, prayer, chanting, breathing
and life style management. A teachers help is sought whenever necessary.
In other people, the chakras and its energy is awakened spontaneously with
or without wanting it. Certain events or states help in this process of
spontaneous awakening.
One such way is through love and passion towards someone or something. If
we really love someone or something with passion and intensity then all our
energies are focused. Our fourth chakra is flooded with the energy, which
slowly or suddenly spills over into other chakras making them active and
more functional. This love or passion may be towards God, a deity, an image,
idea or a person. However, we rarely do things or love someone with such
intense totality. A programmed brain is cautious, careful and calculating. It
cannot take a leap into the unknown. Whatever we do, including loving
someone, there is usually a selfish motive behind it. When passion is
experienced for the sake of passion, it becomes free from the motive, and a
spontaneous awakening happens. Then love becomes devotion and devotion
leads to surrender.
In others, the chakras and their energy may become active if they face
extreme danger or the possibility of death. Dangers and facing the possibility
of death in an illness or accident converges all the energies in a person to a
focal point. When danger is near and death is close, the brain and bodys
innate intelligence brings all its resources together to deal with it. In those
moments, the minds chatter stops and the brain is free from the past and
future. There is an intense focus on the present moment. In some people it
may lead to profound changes that become the catalyst for further
transformation, leading to a life of wholeness.
In some people, these changes are more gradual. Tragedies in the family,
personal losses and disillusionments may become the stimulus for a change
and transformation.
Some people are born with awakened chakras and actively flowing energy.
These people may face problems if their culture doesnt understand such
awakenings. Some of the symptoms of this awakening such as the despair,
low mood, visions, anxiety and emotional turmoil may be taken as a sign of
the mental illness by doctors, or a possession of evil spirits by traditional
healers. Medications, hospitalization or other aggressive methods may be
recommended by medical specialists.
The path of the awakening to ones own chakras and energy is full of
insights, creativity and excitement, but it may also bring significant
physiological and emotional turmoil. In those moments of chaos, a cultivated
patience, teacher, and the help of a loved one is needed so one is not thrown
into despair.

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On the path of awakening a person may feel ecstatic one day and in
depression the next day. One moment the body may vibrate with energy and
the next moment it is completely exhausted. Sleep may be disturbed with
nightmares, and old forgotten memories both good and bad may emerge,
creating mood swings and emotional volatility. The person may feel
depressed and life may seem meaningless. The person may not feel hungry
and may lose weight or feel distressed without reason. Loss of interest in
daily activity may occur, and the body may go through pain. Unusual
anxieties and fear are often experienced. Sometimes, physiological
disturbances in the digestive cardiac, reproductive, nervous and other
systems may happen, or migraine-like headaches may appear. There may be
decreased and increased libido which may put strain on relationships.
But all these disturbances and turmoil are transient and part of the process
of cleaning the nervous system from the dust of the past. All of these
problems will disappear in due course of time.

Evolution or ascent
Chakras

Brain

Body

Kosha

Gland

Compon
ent

Sound

Root

Reptilian

Gross

Annamayako
sh

Adrenal

Matter

Lam

Energy/S
ex

Reptilian

Gross

Pranamayak
osh

Testis/ova Energy
ry

Vam

Solar

Mammali
an

Subtle

Manomayako Pancreas
sh

Emotion
s

Ram

Heart

Mammali
an

Subtle

Manomayako Thymus
sh

Feelings

Yam

Throat

Neocortex

Subtle

Vijanmayako
sh

Thyroid

Intellect

Ham

Third
eye

Chaos

Chaos

Chaos

Pituitary

Existent
ial

Aum

Crown

Harmony Causal
of
the
three
brains

Anandmayak
osh

Pineal

Witnessi Silenc
ng
e

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When crown chakra becomes active with

witnessing consciousness
Chakra

Experience

Root

Somatic intelligence/Deh samadhi

Energy

Somatic intelligence/Deh samadhi

Solar

Emotional intelligence/Bhav or Vitark

samadhi

Heart

Emotional intelligence/Bhav or Vitark

samadhi

Throat

Cognitive intelligence/Vichar samadhi

Third Eye

Existential intelligence/Asmita
samadhi

Crown

Integral intelligence/Anand samadhi

Involution or descent
Chakra

State of experience

Third eye

Universal despair with darkness and

light (Virat form)

Throat

Universal wisdom Jnana Yoga

Heart

Universal love- Bhakti Yoga

Solar

Universal passion Karma Yoga

Energy/Sex

Universal energy Shakti Yoga

Crown

Non-dual Brahman and Nirvana

Root

Matter becomes conscious Padarth

Yoga

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CONCLUSION
During this exploration of the chakras and its connecting energy, we
described the sequence of awakening as linear events starting from the root
centre and ending in the seventh chakra. But in real human experience,
awakening never proceeds in this well organized and linear pattern. Though
we are born with seven chakras, one or two of them tend to dominate our
lives while others function less intensely or may be dormant. So in one
person the heart chakra may be more active and in the other it may be the
throat centre which is more awakened.
The dominant chakra, which is expressing itself in our lives become the point
from where we start our journey, yet our goal is to finally arrive at the
seventh chakra. If someones fifth chakra is functioning well, then that
persons path is through Jnana Yoga or intellect. If the fourth chakra is more
active, then the Bhakti yoga will be the best for the person. If a persons
third centre is more active then Karma Yoga or willful action is the way to go.
The path of the chakras and energy is a zigzag one. One has to take many
detours, sometimes fall, and then stand again and continue. On this path
teachers and teachings can help, but no one can guide a person from minute
to minute or on a day to day basis. Ultimately one has to become ones own
teacher, and only then will the voyage be completed.

The seven vows of marriage according to the chakras

In Hindu marriage ceremonies, the bride and groom must walk seven
times around a sacred fire, making a vow with each circumambulation.

Why seven circumambulations or vows?

The seven circumambulations or vows are done to

acknowledge and affirm the seven levels of existence and
consciousness. They are represented in Hindu culture as the
seven chakras.

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The sixth chakra is the Ajna chakra which is located
between the two eyebrows, in the middle of the forehead. The
tradition of applying a bindi or a red dot on the womans
forehead is to remind the couple that spiritual progress is the
ultimate goal of life. It reminds them not to descend to the lower
chakras after marriage and become lost in the ordinary world.

From the sixth chakra, the progression is towards the

seventh chakra which is located at the crown of the head. After
marriage, women part their hair and apply Sindoor or red powder
to remind them that the destination in life is the crown or
seventh chakra. A similar ritual is observed by men, although
these traditions are not as common as they used to be. Men
may apply a Tilak or red powder to their foreheads and grow a
choti (tuft of hair) at the crown of their heads.
What is the meaning of the Saptpadi or Seven vows?

1.
The first vow is connected with the first or Mooladhar
chakra Arth (wealth)

We will safeguard our physical survival and well-being

through a joint effort, by ensuring food, shelter, clothes and
physical safety. Since both of us will be equal partners in all of
lifes endeavours, there will be no conflict even if the wife
earns more than the husband, or if the wife is employed and
the husband is not.

We will not earn our livelihood by corrupt means or

through the exploitation of the poor and the helpless. Also,
we will not earn our livelihood by damaging other living
beings, or the natural world.

Our earnings will not be spent on ourselves and on our

family alone. We will donate and contribute money for the
well-being of the community, the country and the earth.
2.
The second vow is connected with the Second
or Swadhisthana Chakra Kaam (Desires)

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Our relationship will fulfill the needs of the body with
guilt-free physical intimacy, in order to un-tie the physical
knot or Braham granthi and make us free in the body.

If both of us agree and feel ready, we will have

children. When children are conceived, the parents should
have healthy bodies and happy minds. To bring children into
the world is not appropriate if we conceive them with conflict
and cannot take care of them with love.

Within ethical limits, we will fulfill each others desires

through appropriate means, but we will not forget the
underprivileged and will contribute to their survival and wellbeing.
3.
The third vow is connected with the Third Chakra or
Manipura Chakra Akansha (Passion)

We will help each other in finding our lifes true calling

and passion. We will encourage each other in walking that
path, so that we can grow into fully functional individuals.

We will not oppress each other or make each other an

instrument of selfish desires. This will help us in maintaining
love for each other in our relationship.

Our goal will be to transform passion into compassion

and love.
4.
The fourth vow is connected with the Fourth or Anahat
Chakra Bhavana and Samvedna (Emotions and Feelings)

We will express and affirm our emotional love to each

other, as well as our other feelings, in order to keep the
relationship transparent.

We will reveal emotional traumas, scars and suffering

from the past in order to heal and to be healed.

Our goal will be to develop emotional intimacy, which

will un-tie the emotional knot or Vishnu granthi and make us
free. Our love will extend to the community, world and the
nature.

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5.
The fifth vow is connected with The Fifth or Visshudha
Chakra Buddhi (Intellect)

We will help in each others intellectual growth and to

express ourselves in creative ways.

In our relationship we will use Vivek (reason and

discrimination) to strengthen our bond and to save ourselves
from taking the wrong path. This will help us to un-tie the
intellectual Rudra granthi at the sixth chakra.

We will strengthen the institutions based on reason

and wisdom, which will include political, social, spiritual and
economic organizations. Only the institutions based on reason
and systems can save the community, country and the world
from chaos and anarchy, and can help the individual and
society to prosper.
6.
The sixth vow is connected with the Sixth or Ajna
Chakra Existential

We will make our relationship adventurous by

exploring the inner and outer worlds rather than living in fixed
patterns and cycle of life.

Knowing that the fear, pain and suffering are

inevitable, we will go through existential crises together and
use them to make our life deeper and more meaningful, in
order to bring us closer rather than to create a distance
between us.

We will make sure that the crisis makes us more

empathetic to those who are suffering and going through the
darkness of fear and pain.
7.
The seventh vow is connected with the Seventh
or Sahasara Chakra Atmic (Spiritual)

Our goal is to become soul mates by untying the knots

of the body, emotions and intellect and crossing the turbulent
river of fear, pain and suffering together to develop a total or
Atmic intimacy.

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Atmic or soulmate-ness is a feeling of a space in which
two people live as two bodies but one existence. They are
connected at all levels yet remain individual and continue to
grow on their own paths.

We will try to achieve this at the end of Grihastha

ashram or the householder stage and after fulfilling our duties
towards family, we will enter into Vanprastha or the explorer
stage to fulfill our destiny. This will lead us into Sannyas
ashram, the door for freedom and self-realization, in order to
accept death as a part of larger life.

Chakras, Brain and Future of Humanity

Introduction
miles to go before I sleep, miles to go before I sleep Robert Frost

In an individual, Chakra and its conscious, dynamic energy Kundalini are the
living blue prints and maps of the evolution. Once we experience these maps
and blueprint they become the actual territory of the world within and of the
universe outside.
From the emergence of the universe to the formation of the earth and rise of
the life on it, from earth religions to individualism, democracy, materialism
and growth of the science, the history of evolution is contained in the
dynamic conscious energy which flows through the human body and the
nervous system. Seven chakras are like the seven brains and each brain is a
milestone in the new evolutionary step.
These insights are brilliantly expressed in three Sanskrit words Pind mein
Brahamand means Universe lives in the body.
But the chakras and the Kundalini with its conscious energy not only contains
what happened in the past but also gives a clear clues about what is
happening in present such as various revolutions in the middle east and also

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what is about to come in near and far future politically, economically,

ecologically and spiritually.
Emergence of the nascent world culture, changes in status of religions,
exponential growth of science, technology and environmental destruction
can be foreseen if we are able to enter into dynamic conscious energy within
our body and nervous system. They all point out towards another mile stone
in human evolution in which fragmented pieces of human perception and life
will integrate to give birth to a new consciousness. In spite of all darkness
and destruction, fragmentation and conflicts we are moving from falsehood
to truth, from darkness towards light and from death to beyond death.
But the above perspective is not the guess work or utopia but the insights
which are connected with bodys biology and consciousness.

Fear of death and search for immortality

Fear is the prison, fear is the key
Individually and collectively, the fear of death or the complete cessation of
the ego or self is the core problem of the humanity. The reason for this fear is
the self-awareness which was brought to humans by the evolution of the
brain. Self-awareness is the ability to be conscious of what is going on in our
body and mind and also in the outside world. Although self-awareness is
present in some advanced animals such as dolphins, dogs, elephants, whales
and chimpanzees, in humans it is much more expansive. It extends into the
remote past and the distant anticipated future. Humans can have knowledge
of their personal past and the past of their country, cast, race and religion,
but also they can guess into the future. One of the future events about which
they are absolutely certain, is personal death. This fills their mind with fear,
and their whole life is spent in efforts to escape and transcend death. Fear of
death begins around the age of three years when the formation of the
conscious mind starts. That is the time when the consciousness of memories
also begins. Although memories begin to form since the time of the birth, or
even before, from the womb of the mother, they remain buried deep in the
subconscious mind from which their recall is difficult.
The other interesting fact about the child is that it fears not only the dark,
devouring and frightening mystery of death, but also the blinding light of life.
A childs brain is not mature enough to comprehend and deal with either the

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turbulent and unpredictable world of nature or the complexities of human

made culture.
Fear of death and life forces a child to reach out to their parents and
caretakers for safety and shelter. The parents and caretakers provide the
safety and shelter through love and myths and stories about the power of
God, gods, angels, morality, traditions and knowledge, which they received
from their parents and caretakers to feel safe. These myths, stories,
traditions and knowledge become the childs belief system and gives firm
rooting into a family, culture, religion and society. The rooting is the
beginning of the formation of the ego or the self, a necessity for the healthy
development of the child.

Ego: a promise for immortality

The ego or the self is a construct about oneself and the world. It is
conditioned by the family and the culture. It is based on a belief system
rather than on facts. The ego provides relief from the fear of death by living
in a symbolic and mythic world. By living in a mythic world, the child is veiled
from the truth of living and dying. The child is protected from death, but is
also separated from life. If you dont want to die then you cant live either.
Ego puts a narrow filter on the brain and the awareness to allow only that
much of experience about life and death which the child can manage with
comfort and without anxiety and fear. Such protection and narrowing down
by the ego prevents the breakdown of the young brain and mind which
otherwise could create havoc in the child's life.
The child lives in the illusory world of the ego but such an illusion is the
childs vital need. The illusory ego keeps the lid on the fear of death and
imparts virtual immortality through its mythic and symbolic world that saves
the child from the anxiety of the death. The ego is the immortality principle
in humans. It is the promise of an endless life. We must be clear at this point
that its not the bodys death which is a problem, because the bodys death
is already transcended into the mythic universe of the ego. The main
problem is now of egos death which is the immortality principle in a person.
The body can die, but ego must continue. A person wants the continuation of
the ego at any cost, at the cost of oneself and at the cost of others. Unless
someone walks a different path and shatters its illusion and finds true
immortality, ego is the way to become immortal. But that path of truth is
only for the few. Most have to depend on the ego to live forever. That is why

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ego becomes the master and governs peoples life even when it separates
them from the life.
But how does ego achieve this illusory immortality for its owner? The ego
mediated immortality is achieved by creating a world of name and form and
time and space.
Humans cant live with a nameless and formless world. The nameless and
the formless belong to the unknown, and the unknown brings fear to the ego.
Ego can only deal with the known and familiar. The unknown carries the
possibility of death for the ego, because death lives in the unknown. We
dont have the inner knowledge of death. That is why the unknown, which is
nameless and formless, has to be reduced to the known, to bring it to the
level of ego to manage it, pray for and worship it. Naming things and events
and giving them a form is the device of the ego to make the unknown and
the infinite accessible, to change them into symbols, concepts and
definitions.
By reducing the living reality to symbols, the ego can gain some mastery
over the environment, for the better and prolonged survival of the body. But
in the process of naming, the nameless life becomes the prisoner of the
symbol, and its free movement is lost in the rigid boundary of form and
definitions. Instead of the intimacy of the fully alive world, the symbol can
only provide its virtual shadow. Human history is crowded with countless
gods, goddesses, angels, demons and a plethora of other symbols to deal
with the unpredictable forces of nature, life and death. God is the ultimate
symbol; an effort to comprehend the totality of life and death.
While the name and form helps in bringing the boundless and the unknown
to the manageable level of the known, mental time and space impart a sense
of vicarious immortality by creating an endless future in prescribed places. In
the endless future, time never ends. The ego lives forever and has a sense of
immortality. Heaven, hell, spirit world and rebirth are the creation of the
egos immortality drive. The egos illusory immortality is also achieved
through ones children, legacy, a mention in the history, charity, monuments,
work of art, science, wealth and in hundreds of other ways.
The slow maturation of the brain means that the child has to live with the
illusory ego for a long time and can only try to break its hold as a grownup
adult. The shattering of the childs illusion before the ego is mature will have
the devastating consequence that may lead to anxiety, depression,
emotional volatility and even psychosis.

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To summarize the above

When humans first perceive the reality of death and the enormity of life, they
are filled with fear. The ego provides them shelter from fear with the promise
of immortality in an endless future. The human ego or self is extraordinarily
fertile, and generates all kinds of ideas to distance itself from death and life.
Concepts like God, spirit, soul, gods and goddesses shield the mind from the
frightening specter of death. These ideas have formed the foundation of
religion.
Later, humans began to study the world around them, noticing patterns in
nature. This led to an examination of the natural laws governing these
patterns, and then to an exploration of the universe of matter and energy.
Humans began to feel a sense of power over nature, and this became
another protective shield against the fear of death and life. These ideas
formed the foundation of science.
The ego, a collection of thoughts and emotions, became increasingly
complex in order to find new ways to cope with the fear of death. The
human mind began to imagine a world beyond death. As this quest for
immortality gained momentum, the ego became increasingly dominant over
the body.
The body inevitably grows old and decays. The ego, ever searching for a way
to deny death, perceives the body as an obstacle in its quest for the
immortality. With ever-increasing complexity, the ego seeks to alter or
mould the body in order to preserve it. As the body becomes a slave to the
ego, its natural functioning is disrupted.

Destructive nature of ego

The egos constant interference in the bodys functioning, leads to the loss of
harmony and homeostasis in the body. As a result, the body cant function in
its optimal state. This state of dysfunction causes a decline in well-being
which is expressed as a lack of natural pleasure in daily living.
This lack of well-being drives the person to seek pleasure from outside
sources. Constant and sustained seeking, leads to dependence on external

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sources. Habituation makes a person seek more and diverse stimulation to

maintain the same pleasure.
Directly and indirectly, all external pleasures are derived from consuming
Natures resources. Habituation and increasing demand for pleasure cause
more consumption of natural resources which leads to ever more destruction
of Nature.
Besides seeking constant pleasure the second reason behind the destruction
of nature is the human desire to create an endless future for the survival of
the ego. The endless future is created through ones own children,
grandchildren, great grandchildren and so on, amassing wealth and power,
creating works of art, building empires, corporations and monuments. The
person wants to be sure that after the body's death something is left behind
and continues forever which will save the ego from annihilation.

The journey from self-awareness to environmental destruction is

like this...
Self-Awareness

Fear of Living and Dying

Formation of Ego or Self for Safety and Immortality

Alienation, Conflict and Guilt

Discontent

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Decline in Pleasure and Well-Being

Consumption of power, wealth, food, sex, drugs, knowledge to maintain

pleasure
Environmental Destruction
At this point we are clear about how the ego emerges, its role in the life of a
person and the destruction it causes. Now the question is, is it possible to
break this cycle of destruction? Yes, it is possible if the dominance of the ego
comes to an end. It's not the death of the ego which we want, because
without the ego we can't function in the world. But if the ego's dominance
ends, then instead of functioning as the master, it will become a servant and
help us in day to day life. Then the brain will be freed from its prison which
will bring the experience of well-being. The search for pleasure in the world
will stop, and with that, environmental destruction will slow down.
How then can the egos dominance end? It can end by a death-like impact on
its illusory existence which will shatter it into many pieces. With the passage
of time, those pieces will be reassembled into a new arrangement, and the
new arrangement will change the master ego into the servant ego.

Environmental catastrophe is inevitable

Evolution is suffering and celebration
So as evolution moved forward from the first chakra, it brought more ways to
enjoy life and more fear of death. People coped by worshipping and praying
to the elements of nature, gods, goddesses, spirits and finally God. That was
the case up to the fourth chakra. But at the fifth chakra something changed.
With the discovery of the new tools of reason and science, humans started to
take control of the material world which was previously governed by God and
the spirits. Such control over matter and energy brought an explosion of
creativity and technology, which transformed the human world. Humans
began to become the master of their world which slowly started replacing
God with science and technology.
Technology brought unprecedented comfort and pleasure to many. And that
was the enjoyment of life. But by being at the fifth chakra and with an

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increase in knowledge, fear and anxiety about death also increased. This
time it was not coped with by the old gods, spirits and God, but by the
increased material safety and consumption to prolong life and its pleasure.
Instead of the ego's continuance in the world of spirit, heaven, and rebirth,
the emphasis was on living in the material world as much as possible with
pleasure and comforts.
That would have been fine if this had been confined to a few. But by seeing
and hearing about the freedom of democracy, the individual's rights in
combination with the power of science, technology and material comforts,
people of other cultures started demanding the same. The demand increased
rapidly because of the mass media and communication. People watched in
awe on the television screen, the opulence of the imagined religious heaven
in the real cities of the real world. Masses of people wanted to imitate and
follow western culture to have a taste of that heaven. That is what
happened. That demand and imitation began the process of the
homogenization of the other cultures, resulting in the emergence of the first
world culture in human history, the core of which was formed by the western
civilization. Although the world culture is nascent and new, its spreading
quickly in all directions.
With the rapidly increasing number of consumers, people soon realized that
the earth's natural resources were limited and would eventually run out. But
no one is ready to listen. A consumer is an addict, and the consumption is an
addiction. Who is going to stop whom? All of us are involved in it. It's a
massive movement which cuts across race, religion, and countries. Except
for the very few, most of us are in the same boat of consumerism. The fatal
attraction of the consumerism besides the addiction to comforts and
pleasure, also gives a sense of power and self-esteem to which the ego is
attached. And why not? After all, the self-esteem is egos lifeline.
This process is now unstoppable and the earth cant sustain the consumption
at such high and massive levels. We are moving towards inevitable
environmental disaster. But this disaster is also good news. Its force and
destruction will be like a death impact on humanity which will bring a radical
change in the consciousness of a significant number of people, by pushing
them into the sixth chakra and then making them come out at the seventh.
The seventh chakra is the chakra of awakening of the individual
consciousness and well-being, which will result in de-addiction and deconditioning. That will be the beginning of an entirely new era. From the first
chakra to the fifth, it was the formation and the growth of the ego, the sixth

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chakra was the shattering of the ego and the seventh chakra is the entry into
a new consciousness in which the ego becomes subservient rather than
functioning as the master, as it did until the fifth chakra.
But the seventh chakra is not the end. After the flowering of the seventh
chakra, further expansion of consciousness will begin. This we can name
involution. In involution, individual consciousness starts to universalize. The
individual person becomes a universal being.
From a human point of view, it seems that environmental disaster and its
impact on humans and other species, is a catastrophe created by the bad
choices made by humans, and that we must and can prevent it. We have the
will and freedom to make better choices for the better future of ourselves
and for the rest of the planet.
But from the Naturality point of view, the picture seems different. First of all,
although we have some freedom of choices, we dont have free will. But that
freedom of choice can only be used if we have individualized consciousness.
Except for the few, our consciousness is fundamentally a social
consciousness on which we dont have any control. It compels us to make
decisions by subconscious influences. We are part of the crowd which we call
the group, community, race, religion, nation or the world. Apart from the
crowd, we have little individuality.
While the human point of view is egoic, narrow and revolves around humans,
the Naturality perspective goes beyond human thinking into the experience
of the non-dual in which the oneness of the universe is realized. This oneness
in all things includes not only humans but also minerals, plants, and animals.
Humans are only one type of living being amongst many. They are part of a
grand cosmic wholeness in which they can participate as a witness through
whom the action is happening, but they are not the action taker. The cosmos
will move with or without them and they dont have any control over its
movement.
From a Naturality point of view, whatever is happening at the fifth chakra is
due to the force of evolution and cannot be prevented. It will take us to the
sixth and then to the seventh chakra. Environmental disaster is going to
happen, but it will be like a pruning of the earth and will push us to the next
stage of evolution. All evolutionary leaps come with catastrophe. Whether it
is an individual or the whole of humanity, without the shattering of the old,
the radically new cant happen. Also a wide spread natural disaster may

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unite the humanity because there wouldnt be any other choice except to
face the global catastrophe together as one unit, one body and one
organism.
So far, except for some individuals, Naturality is grabbed by the ego. The ego
is Naturalized and taken as genuine natural expansion. But after the sixth
chakra, people will experience the true intimation of wholeness and wellbeing. Humanitys future is wholesome and evolution wont stop until we
experience interconnectedness and the oneness of the cosmos. So, in spite
of the darkness and disasters, there is no place for pessimism. How could
there be pessimism if the whole cosmos is the expression of timeless and
eternal consciousness? But in order to arrive there, we must be prepared to
endure the shocks and trauma of the forward thrust of the evolution.

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Section 5
The science of Kundalini Yoga
Evolution of the Human Brain
Universal Nature is the source of all that exists. Universal Nature is
primal, without a beginning or an end, and from that boundless and infinite
energy the universe comes into being. From the most primitive life forms, a
process of evolution towards greater and greater complexity began. It took
billions of years for the human brain to evolve into its present form, the most
marvelous instrument of perception in the universe.
Through the brain and the sense organs, we consciously experience
the world. The brain and the body are intimately linked, acting upon each
other in a seamless fashion. Together, the brain and body make it possible
for us to survive in the world, to interact with other living beings, and to
experience a range of emotion.
Because our brain was fashioned by Nature, the brain is capable of
revealing Natures secrets and intelligence. This is why it is sometimes
referred to as the three pound universe. If consciousness can tune into the
brain in a certain way, the structure, function and underlying
interconnectedness of the cosmos both materially and spiritually will be
revealed. It will also reveal the underlying interdependence and oneness of
life and consciousness, which is the experience of liberation.
Each one of us has an innate nature that is unique, and yet is part of
the universal Nature. As we become more conscious of our own inner nature,
we begin to get glimpses of the universal Nature. We discover that individual
and universal Nature is one and the same. We realize that the microcosm
contains the macrocosm and macrocosm contains the microcosm. In other
words, the drop contains the sea and the sea contains the drop.

The Expression of Consciousness

Primal consciousness is infinite and contains all possible forms of
consciousness, which can be experienced by living beings. What is
experienced depends on how developed the brain is. At a particular level of

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brain development, a new form of consciousness is experienced. Mirroring

and perception begins with unicellular organisms. Before this, consciousness
lies buried deep within matter.
As our brain develops and vibrates at a particular frequency, we
experience a specific level of consciousness. As self-aware human beings, we
can change the structure and physiology of our brain and become conscious
of those experiences that are not available to other living beings. This is
conscious evolution. Within us, all possible levels of consciousness are
already there, so consciousness itself does not evolve. Rather, the brain
evolves and gains more and more access to it.
All creative and spiritual practices are about changing the structure
and physiology of the brain in order to tune into more conscious experience.
We have the potential to become conscious of every evolutionary frequency
of the brain, eventually arriving at a point where the frequency becomes
almost infinite or zero. Here we tune into a primal consciousness. This gives
us the experience of non-duality, Nirvana or the feeling of timeless and
space-less existence.
In this process of evolution there are no unpredictable leaps. What we
consider a leap is the result of a slow build up of evolutionary movement
that reaches a critical threshold. This is when a new state of consciousness is
perceived. Also there are no sharp boundaries between evolutionary stages they overlap and merge with one another. Evolutionary movement is like the
formation of a river. The river begins its journey drop by drop from a melting
glacier in the mountains. These drops become a trickle, and this trickle a
stream and this stream turns into a river. As the river flows down the valley,
it becomes wide and powerful and eventually merges with the sea. Water
from the sea evaporates into the sky and falls in the mountains, returning to
its original source. This cycle repeats and continues. All these stages overlap
and there are no clear divisions between each stage.
In advanced animals, the brain is responsible for emotions. In humans
it has brought the wonders of self-awareness, through which we are able to
experience feelings and emotions as well as reflect on the past and
contemplate the future. We are capable of logical thinking, which has
unleashed endless creativity and has led to the emergence of science, art,
ethics, religion and culture. But above all of this is the incredible ability we
possess to feel the presence of the infinite and eternal, the source of the
universe itself. The infinite is not an empty void but contains all that is

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possible, was possible and will be possible. People have given this feeling of
boundless and timeless existence many names including God, Braham and
so on.

Physical Consciousness - Primal: Unicellular and multi-cellular

organisms (Root and energy/ sex chakra)
The evolution of the brain can be visualized as an image of the Tree of
Life. Different stages of evolution correspond with the various parts of the
tree, beginning with inert matter and energy in which consciousness is
hidden, although present. The first active expression of consciousness is in
the form of a single cell, which represents the consciousness of the body in
its most rudimentary form. The entire cell functions as a brain because
nothing is differentiated. However, this single cell is the seed of the fully
differentiated human body and brain.
Early physical consciousness is reflexive, without the capacity for selfawareness or reflection. Sensation is the mode of perception that helps in
attraction and repulsion towards the positive and negative environment.
Primal fear appears at this stage of consciousness as repulsion, which helps
in moving away from dangers in the environment. Survival and reproduction,
which occur in a repetitive and fixed pattern, are the only mode of living and
are completely controlled by nature. There is inner silence without any
language, but that silence is brimming with lifes energy. The body is in
communion with the material universe without any sense of time and space.
This level is the ground upon which the tree of life grows. If we become
conscious of this level of existence, then it leads to non-dual materialism in
which matter becomes conscious of itself and is in communion with the rest
of the material universe.

Physical Consciousness The Reptilian Brain (Root and

Energy/Sex chakra)
In the ground of the cell and body, the roots and stems of the tree of
life evolve and grow. Nerve roots, the spinal cord and the brain stem form.
The brain stem is the reptilian brain where consciousness emerges but
without the element of self-awareness or self-reflection. The brain stem has

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centres for the circulatory and respiratory systems, and communicates with
the body through the spinal cord and nerve roots. This helps in the
maintenance of homeostasis or dynamic balance.
At this level, the organism lives in survival and reproduction mode with
all systems controlled by nature in a predictable pattern. Perception occurs
through a complex combination of sensations. There are sounds but no
language and no mental boundaries or attachments. There is no sense of
time and space. The world of names and forms has not been born. The
organism lives in an unconscious eternity.
It is possible to become aware of this level of existence and this
experience is called Non-Duality or Void or Nothingness. This consciousness
at its primitive level can be stimulated by jogging, climbing, running,
exercising, dancing, extreme sports, physical yoga and the sweat lodge
experience.
In summary, the body with physical consciousness at the reptilian
brain level is the root and stem of the tree of life.

Emotional Consciousness Mammalian Brain (Solar and

Heart chakra)
Emotional consciousness occurs in the limbic system or mammalian
brain. This is where the pleasure centers and the centres for the autonomic
nervous system, vital for homeostasis and mind-body interface, are located.
At the level of the mammalian brain, the non-dual state of the body and the
reptilian brain are split into the duality of subject and object. This duality is
perceived moment to moment rather than in a linear fashion. Self-awareness
arises for the first time, but only briefly. Experience is based on emotions, not
reason. Nature still plays the primary role in the organisms development but
nurture starts contributing in a significant way to growth.
Consciousness becomes somewhat reflective and attachment becomes
part of living. Mental boundaries are drawn, creativity is expressed, life and
death are separated and existence is purposeful. The world of time-space
and name-form is born. It is possible to become aware of emotional
consciousness, which leads to living moment-to-moment.
Emotional consciousness forms the branches and leaves of the tree of
life. This level of consciousness can be stimulated through music, chanting,

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singing, sex, breathing, yoga, extreme sports, trauma and emotional arousal
("Emotional trance").

Intellectual Consciousness Human Brain (Throat chakra)

With the development of the neo-cortex and prefrontal cortex in
humans, the size and weight of the brain increase. At this stage of evolution,
humans develop logic, rationality, language and the ability to plan for the
future. Through these extraordinary faculties, human creativity is unleashed,
and the universe of the mind is born. Science, systems of governance, and
the idea of a universal moral order grow out of this universe.
Thoughts are of supreme significance. Natural objects and phenomena
are observed, labeled, and categorized; universal forces are discovered and
uniform laws conceived; logical theories and systems are created, and
science and technology make rapid progress. The individual becomes the
fundamental creative unit of the human world. Accordingly, individual
fulfillment takes precedence over the fulfillment of the community. The
formation of self or ego is complete. We have now developed the ability to
reflect about our thoughts and actions.
At this level of development, raw and direct experiences that emerge
from the reptilian and mammalian brain are changed and categorized before
they reach our consciousness. Everything goes through a process of
conditioning. All experiences are filtered and changed by the old and known.
Nothing new is experienced.
Although the three components of the brain are not separate, sociocultural conditioning of the neo-cortex dominates ones life. We essentially
become social animals rather than fully functional individuals with unique
innate natures. This results in a persistent sense of frustration and a loss of
well-being. This cycle may continue for a long time unless trauma, suffering,
a sensitive nature, disillusionment or a search for meaning pushes us into
the next stage of evolution.
Intellectual consciousness forms the flowers and fruits of the tree of
life.

Right and Left Brain

The Western concept of the Ego or self differs from the Eastern. In the
West, the Ego or self is primarily a sense of I while in the East it is the

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feeling of I Am. I is achieved when intellectual consciousness is added to

emotional and physical consciousness but they dont function in unison and
harmony. I Am contains all three types of consciousness working in
harmony, which results in mind-body integration. I belongs to the leftbrain and is primarily connected with liner time. Amness is related to the
right-brain, which is being aware of ones existence in the here and now. I
has sense of time while Amness has a sense of space.
Many functions of the left and right brain overlap. However, in certain
areas of functioning, they have distinct roles. The right brain is intuitive and
has a circular or network memory, which doesnt have the sequential quality
of the left brain. This side of the brain is more peaceful, creative, artistic,
imaginative and aesthetic. Closely connected to the limbic system, this side
of the brain is linked to emotional states and is more interconnected and
interdependent than the left brain. The right side of the brain also appears to
play a role in mystical experiences, as well as in the experiences of sex and
love. Yoga, meditation, music, arts, and extreme sports can help us tap into
this brain.

Right Brain Memory

When sequential memory (located in the left brain) is damaged, the
right-brain can compensate. Although the left-brain will always play a role,
the right-brain compensates by creating a memory mechanism that is mainly
impressionistic, emotional and experience based. Right-brain memory is like
Indras net of jewels (a metaphor for interconnectedness and
interdependence of all life) in which each point of memory is like a switch
which if pressed, will light up the whole network of memory. Each point
reflects the whole. We can call this memory as linking memory or image
memory.
Such memory is used in Indian classical music. A musician can play a
raga, which may last up to three hours, entirely from memory without written
music. Using this type of memory stimulates spontaneous creativity because
we are accessing the limbic, creative brain through the right-brain.

Left Brain
The left-brain is a newer development and doesnt have a counterpart
within the older parts of the brain. The left-brain is innovative but not

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creative in that it can improve and perfect existing creative expression, but
raw creativity always emerges from the limbic system or emotional brain.
The particular characteristics of the left brain include a sense of time and
connection to past, present and future (a sense of I ness). The functions of
the left brain are more analytical than the right brain, with cognitive
capacities of reason and logic. Memory is linear and sequential. Thoughts
are structured, bounded and confined by limits.

Intellectual Trance or Samadhi

Harmonious (Satvik) When intellect and logic work for positive feelings
and for affirmation
Thinking Ability (Vichar) Ones own thinking emerges
Physical, emotional and intellectual consciousness forms the self or ego,
which has a component of I and Am-ness. Together they form the
expression I Am.

Existential Consciousness The Experience of Disintegration (Third

eye chakra)
At this stage, the tree of life is shaken. Here, the prefrontal and neocortex lose their dominance and the turbulent energy of the mammalian and
reptilian components of the brain take over. This results in mental chaos, loss
of cognitive control and sense of self and identity. In existential
consciousness, social and cultural customs, rewards and achievements are
stripped of their meaning and we are left psychologically naked and exposed.
We become fully conscious of our fear of death and life.
Everything that has supported us, both externally and internally is left
behind. The family and tribe, the pleasures of life and action are all
abandoned. The mythic worlds of God, gods, and spirits as well as the realm
of logic, reason, and science no longer accompany us. All of existence is
divided in two, a clear duality, in which the person - as the subject - stands in
front of the universe as its object and adversary. Finally life confronts death.

Neuroplasticity

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Neuroplasticity is the innate ability of the brain to change itself with new
experiences. It used to be thought that brain cells could not change or
regenerate, and that once damage was done it was irreversible. However,
we now know that the human brain has a remarkable ability to change and
reorganize itself by forming new neural connections. Research done on longtime meditators such as Buddhist monks has shown that the brain is flexible
and can be changed even to the last moment of life.
When we read the writings of the sages, we realize that the concept of brain
malleability is not new. Their concept was that both the body and brain could
be changed and transformed by inner and outer experiences. The change
can be positive (positive neuroplasticity) when we can erase negative
patterns of traumatic experiences, or it can be negative (negative
neuroplasticity) such as in case of chronic pain when the pain is projected on
the body from the brain.
On the path of Naturality, neuroplasticity is of great significance. As we learn
to live according to our nature, our brain become more and more free from
past conditioning and eventually the brain is changed radically in the
experience of liberation. It begins to function as a harmonious and integrated
unit, filled with awareness, bliss and compassion (the ABC of life).
Sri Aurobindo, and his spiritual companion, the Mother of Pondicherry, went
even further, experiencing and describing a radical transformation of the
body at the cellular level. Similar experiences were reported by the
contemporary sage UG Krishnamurti. We can call this Somato-plasticity (the
word Soma in Greek means body). But as yet, there is no scientific
explanation for this phenomenon - it will take time before scientists can
discover this secret of the body.

Witnessing Consciousness Integration and Wholeness (Crown

chakra)
The chaos and disorganization of the existential crisis is like the pupa
stage of a butterfly's life cycle. After the smooth development of the larva,
the pupa loses all symmetry and organization and becomes like featureless
glue. Even the genetic material breaks down, becoming scattered and
without pattern. But out of this chaos, a butterfly emerges ready to fly.
At the state of integration and wholeness we become fully functional
individuals with natural and spontaneous witnessing consciousness. One of

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the early signs of this state is a sense of well-being which becomes an everpresent feeling. At this stage the tree of life achieves full growth. The
characteristics of witnessing consciousness are as follows

The reptilian, mammalian and neo-cortex complexes work in

harmony. This is experienced as flow, or bliss.

The brain functions as one and as an integral part of the body. This
is experienced as oneness of mind and body.

The brain is awakened and dormancy is over. This leads to the

activation of pleasure centers, bringing a sense of well-being.

Increased connectivity and communication between various parts of

the brain and the body. This results in a feeling of wholeness. This is
also felt in the form of tingling sensations in the body and a fountain
of energy intermittently pouring into the brain.

The prefrontal cortex thickens and more mirroring properties of

neurons are activated resulting in witnessing consciousness.

The integration of the neo-cortex, limbic system and reptilian complex

allows our innate nature to express itself in physical, emotional and
intellectual intelligence. The expression of innate nature is the realization of
our genetic potential and epigenetic influences with which we are born.
Although our acquired conditioning (post birth) is gone, our conditioning from
our past life, parents genes and the influences of ancestors are still with us.
The integration of the various components of brain produces a
sustained release of energy. This energy rushes through the brain and body
and washes away the memories of past traumas and suffering. Healing
occurs. This sustained energy flow is experienced as passion and persistent
pleasure. Also, the release of energy from the mammalian and reptilian parts
of the brain helps us to connect our experiences in various ways, which can
result in an outpouring of creativity.
Destiny, hidden in our genetic and epigenetic heritage is discovered
with the awakening of innate nature. We realize what our unique contribution
can be what we were born to do. As we develop this witnessing
consciousness, we are able to accept mortality as a part of life. Time moves
from moment to moment and we experience spontaneous meditation.

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Bliss (Anand) state or Samadhi This is the first experience of joy (or
bliss) from within.
Amness (Asmita) state or Samadhi This is the experience of ones
existence in space - This is Am"-ness.

Section 6
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The Practice of Kundalini Yoga

The ten practices for Kundalini Yoga
1. Natural Ethics - self-care and care for others
2. Self-Knowing - studying the book of life
3. Worship and Prayer
4. Fasting and Pilgrimage
5. Yoga Poses
6. Purification (Shathkarma)
7. Mudras (gestures)
8. Bandhas (locks)
9. Breathing Exercises (Pranayama)
10. Meditation

1. Natural Ethics Self-care and Care for Others

We cannot play lifes symphony without practicing the notes of
ethics.
Dharma means the natural laws which sustain the inner and outer
universe. Ethics should be in accordance with Dharma because living
according to Dharma is a natural way of living. To understand ethics is to
discover the inherent laws and principles of living. When we live in an ethical
way, we integrate the traditions and customs of a specific society and culture
and live harmoniously in that environment.
Any practice including Kundalini Yoga cant grow and flower without
ethics. An ethical boundary is not a prison but a fence that protects the
individual and the community at large. Such protection brings the sense of
trust and ease needed for the process of awakening of Kundalini and
chakras.
The first principle of ethics is self-care. We must take care of our body,
our feelings and emotions as well as our intellect and soul. Without proper
self-care, we cant take care of others. If we are healthy and happy, only then
we can make others healthy and happy. Through self-care we experience

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emotional and cognitive intelligence. In turn, this leads to the experience of

soul or wholeness.
On the path of Kundalini, ethics are not detailed instructions on how to
think, behave or live. Its not a rigid set of rules to govern and manage life. It
is about discovering the innate ethical sense that is embedded in our
biology, brain and body. Natural ethics must go hand in hand with the social
and cultural environment of our time and place. While social and cultural
ethics are more or less the same for any given community or group, natural
ethics differ from person to person because they are connected to our unique
innate nature. For example, compassion is to be expressed differently from
person to person. In an Earth person, compassion is expressed through the
direct care of others while in a Fire person it is expressed through meaningful
leadership. Wind people express compassion through creative thought and
action that helps to alleviate suffering. Within this framework, we each have
our own way of thinking and behaving ethically.
The following mantra is the mantra of practice of ethics:
Dharma Daham, Dharma Manas, Dharma Buddhi-Atman
Right care to body, feelings, mind and soul
Dharma Priya Jan, Dharma Serva Jan, Dharma Desh, Dharma Dhara
Right care to family, community, country and the earth
Dharma Neham, Dharma Ekam, Dharma Hee Gatisheelta
Let feeling of love and oneness sustain right care
Dharma Jeevan, Dharma Chetan, Dharma Hee Ananda Param.
Let right care bring the bliss of conscious existence.
Self-Care has seven components that contribute to wellness, that are
governed by the innate nature of the body and mind. They are discovered
through the study of ones own life. These seven components are: sleep;
food; exercise; sex and relationships; work; home life and mind-body
practice. They are the seven pillars of Yogic life.
Sleep
Out of all the needs of the human body and mind, sleep is the most
important one. We can live with inadequate food and exercise for months
without damaging our body, but without optimal sleep the quality of life will

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deteriorate within a few days. During the night we take a whole journey from
the waking state to the dream state and then to dreamless sleep where we
merge into the very source from where we emerged. But we dont remember.
What we experience in the morning is a sense of rejuvenation and energy
and we are ready for the day. Disturbed sleep leave us tired with poor
decision making capacities.
Yoga practice makes the brain energized and the mind calmer. It gets more
blood flow, its size expands, and its various parts become more connected
with each other which leads to a harmonious and holistic functioning. If we
dont have adequate sleep then such a radical transformation of the brain
may be disturbed, and we may not get the full benefit of our spiritual efforts.
Only a few Yogis and meditators are able to compensate the lost sleep
through asanas, pranayama and meditation. Most have to make sure that
they sleep well. Sleep and dream time can also be used for meditation
practice.
Sleep helps us in:

Detoxification of brain
Healing and growth
Rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, muscular and skeletal systems
Memory processing: Working memory is important, because it keeps
information active for further processing and supports higher-level
cognitive functions such as decision making, reasoning, and episodic
memory
Dreams: Dreams are important symbols of our psycho-physical state.
They not only give us a clue as to what is happening in our individual
life, but they can connect to the Sagun Braham or universal
consciousness which is the common heritage of all humanity.
Connecting to Universal consciousness not only heals a person but
takes them to higher Samadhi states. The inner Guru is born out of
these dream experiences, and we can be guided in our spiritual
journey on a day today basis. Dreams can also be a source of
creativity. Many scientists, painters, writers and musicians got their
inspiration from dreams, including James Watson who discovered DNA
and Beethoven one of the greatest musicians.

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Food
Food is the next important part of a yogic life. The doshas are connected with
the digestive tract in a person. The stomach is connected with Kapha or
earth, the small intestine with Pita or fire and the large intestine with Vata or
wind. In Ayurveda, Doshas determine what type of food one should consume.
The most important food caution in a yogi is to eat less than a full stomach.
As we mentioned earlier the brain of a yogi needs more blood supply than a
normal person, because the brain tissues are expanding and connecting with
one another. Eating to the point of having a full stomach will divert the blood
supply to the stomach rather than to the active brain, reducing the effect of
yogic efforts.
Yogic food should be fresh, warm, vegetarian, unless adequate vegetarian
food is not available (Tibet, Siberia, polar region) or a person cant digest it
(Dalai Lama). Food should be cooked properly and must not contain too
many hot spices. Raw food is good only for few people or for a limited time
period.
The human digestive tract contains a full brain known as the Gut Brain. The
gut brain cant think but feels. It gives a clear idea of the qualitative aspect
(Satvic, Rajsic, and Tamsic) of food. Good food brings a sustained feeling of
well-being, while Rajsic and Tamsic food may give transient pleasure but they
are detrimental to ones well-being and nourishment in the long term. That is
why we must think carefully about what kind of food we eat.
Exercise
Neither the Asanas nor pranayama can replace a whole body workout.
Exercise not only moves the muscles, joints, bones and organs to increase
the blood perfusion, but it prevents brain aging and deterioration of memory.
Brisk walking is the best exercise. Many who are involved in Yoga dont
exercise and become overweight.
Relationships
The most important relationship of a yogi is with himself/herself. In other
words its the self-love and self-acceptance which is the beginning of Yoga.

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Many reject this part of theirself and their body, because its too painful to
look at the dark parts of life. People label themselves as ugly and not worthy.
They try to cope with self-rejection through mastering perfect poses or
become a disciplinarian. Yoga involves following our own nature with ease
and comfort. Unless we create a loving and harmonious relationship with
ourselves, no matter what we do with our practice it wont come to fruition.
Self love is not self-indulgence or narcissism but rather self-care and selfrespect. If we can love ourselves, we can love others without being
pathologically attached or dependent on them. A lack of relationship with
ourself brings co-dependency and lack of fulfilment.
Walking on a yogic path doesnt mean dissolving our relationships with the
world and living in isolation. We still remain connected to the world, but the
center of that connection is not in others; it is within ourselves. In other
words the center of life is within rather than in the outside world.
Work
To become a Yogi doesnt mean that we stop working and expect the world to
provide a livelihood for us. We have to fulfill our physical needs on our own.
But this work must be according to our innate nature which will enrich our
yoga practice. Most peoples work is against their nature, and the work
becomes a burden rather than a joy which leads to fulfilment. Working
according to our nature is Karma Yoga (Yoga of work). In Karma Yoga the
work itself becomes an end rather than a means for some other end. It
generates delight and is done without being attached to the fruit of the work.
Work itself becomes fulfilment.
Home
We dont need the help of a Vastukala or Feng Shui expert to built or arrange
our home. Our home should be planned according to our Dosha or
personality. A Vata person needs a small but cozy home with warm colors. A
Pita dosha must have a bigger house with cool colors and a Kapha persons
house must be free from darkness and humidity. The home should have just
enough possessions for the need of the person.

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Asanas, Pranayama and Meditation

All asanas, pranayama and meditations are not good for all people. We must
decide about the practice according to our innate nature or Prakirti.

2. Studying the Book of Life Self-Knowing

The most beautiful book to study is the book of life
We accumulate vast amounts of knowledge over the course of our lives.
We read constantly but the book that remains unread is the book of our own
life. We dont realize that the source of all knowledge is the life that flows
through us and through the universe. Science, religion and art all originate
from this flow of life.
The book of life contains what was, what is and what will be. Without
reading the book of life, our story cant be completed. We all have a story
embedded in our biology and mind, but often it is interrupted by an endless
parade of distractions, tragedies and losses. Unless we pick up the threads of
our story we cant discover the meaning in our lives and discover our destiny.
In studying the book of our life, we must start with the conditioned brain
and gradually move towards finding our innate nature. As we gain greater
insight into our innate nature, the conditioning that stifles our personal
growth begins to fall away. We begin to live with a more natural flow, a
harmony of mind and body.
Innate nature is formed through the combination of three influences:
1.

Genes from parents (Genetics)

2.

Influence of ancestors, family members and environment, which modifies

the genetic expression in an individual (Epigenetics)

3.

Karmas (memories) from past lives (NOTE: A belief in rebirth is not

necessary in order to understand this concept. We could also say that
memories and tendencies are encoded in ones genes.)

Innate Nature: Insights from Ayurveda

The ancient Indian system of Ayurveda is more than a system of healing.
The word Ayurveda means knowledge of life, and traditionally, the
Ayurvedic physician would advise his patients about many aspects of their
lives. He would prescribe not only herbal medicines, but also suggest
lifestyle changes. The philosophy underlying Ayurveda provides some
fascinating insights into the differences between various personality types

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and temperaments. This ancient system of knowledge can be used as a tool

to learn about ones innate nature. Innate nature means the mind-body
personality with which we are born.
According to Ayurvedic philosophy, we can also learn about innate nature
through the concept of the three doshas or mind-body personality; Vata
(Wind), Pitta (Fire) and Kapha (Earth). The word dosha comes from dus,
which is related to the English word dys, meaning flawed. Ones constitution
or personality is called a dosha because it can be easily disturbed by
external and internal factors.
Knowing our mind-body personality provides a preliminary concept of our
unique innate nature. To know ones nature requires observation as well as
knowledge of the bodys physical features, emotional responses, and
patterns of thought. This knowledge can then be refined and expanded
through ongoing and spontaneous self-observation. In other words to know
our innate nature means opening the book of our life and studying it.
Besides the concept of the three doshas, we must also understand the
concept of the five elements. It is important to realize that we are speaking
here in a metaphorical way rather than in a strictly scientific way. We are not
discussing a chemical analysis of matter, nor discussing the periodic table of
the elements. Rather, we are drawing on ancient concepts and ideas about
the world that have proved useful over the centuries. Sages in the Indian
Ayurvedic tradition considered that the world was composed of five essential
elements: earth, water, fire, air and space. These elements can be used to
describe not only the physical world around us, but also the human body and
mind. Looking more closely at the human body, Ayurvedic sages described
how various combinations of the elements form unique bodily constitutions,
or temperaments. So the elements form both the individual (microcosm) and
the universal (macrocosm) nature. These elements can be experienced
through somatic sensations in other words, through feelings. As we learn
more about our individual constitutions, we can also learn to live in a more
relaxed and healthy manner in the world.
In the following section, the five elements will be described, along with
the corresponding constitution.
Its important to note that nobodys
constitution is composed of only one type we all have a blend of various
elements that make up our unique nature. But usually one constitution is
predominant. By learning about the underlying constitutional types, we can
begin to balance our constitution through making deliberate changes in our
lifestyle.

The Five Elements

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- The first element is Earth and is felt as solidity. It resides in the

sacral area where the root energy centre or chakra is located. It spreads from
here to the whole mind-body. Earth is solid, stable, cool and calm. It roots
and nurtures. All smells emerge from the earth so it is connected with our
sense of smell and the nose.
- The second element is Water and is felt as fluidity. Water resides
close to the pubic bone in front of the body where the bladder and second or
sex centre of energy is located. It spreads from here to the whole mind-body.
Water is lighter than earth and is fluid, cool, and calm. Without water, taste
cannot be experienced. Therefore, water is connected with our sense of taste
and the tongue.
- The third element is Fire and is felt as energetic and passionate
movement. Fire resides at the naval point where the solar center of energy
or chakra is located and spreads from there to the whole mind-body. Fire
moves quickly. It is lighter than water and it is hot, dry and passionate. Fire
produces light and without light we cannot see. Therefore, fire is connected
with our sense of vision and the eye.
- The fourth element is Air and is felt as lightness and quick
movement. Air resides in the middle of the chest where the heart center of
energy or chakra is located and spreads from there to the whole mind-body.
Air is lighter than fire. It is ever moving, cool, dry, unstable and connected to
our sense of touch and the skin.
- The fifth element is Space and is felt as expansiveness. Space
resides at the root of the neck where the throat center of energy or chakra is
located and spreads from here to the whole mind-body. In space all other
elements live and grow. Space is the lightest, coldest element and is present
everywhere simultaneously because of its infinite movement. Without space,
sound cannot travel and therefore, space is connected with hearing and the
ear.

Innate nature or Prakirti

When the five elements combine, three mind-body personalities,
Doshas or constitutions emerge. The various combinations of these
personalities shape the unique nature of each human being.
When earth and water elements combine, the Earth personality is
born. The parasympathetic nervous system is more active in this personality.
When water and fire elements combine, the Fire personality is born.
This personality is a combination of the sympathetic and parasympathetic
nervous systems.

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When the air and space elements combine, the Wind personality is born. In
this personality, the sympathetic nervous system is more active.
There is no pure personality or constitution - each individual has
components of all the three main constitutions. However, in most
people one constitution tends to dominate.
We can learn about our own unique constitutional blend by reflecting on a
variety of physical and psychological characteristics. In the next section,
each basic constitutional type will be described. By studying these
descriptions, we can begin to identify characteristics that reflect our own
mind and body. As we learn more and more about our inherent constitution,
we can make changes to our lifestyle in order to balance the constitutional
elements that may be causing ill-health.

The Constitutional Types and the Autonomic Nervous

System
The basic constitutional types were described by Ayurvedic scholars
thousands of years ago. Using scientific terminology, we can make a linkage
between the constitutional types and the human nervous system. The
autonomic nervous system is responsible for survival and dynamic balance
(homeostasis) of the body and brain. It does not need the conscious mind for
its functioning. Emotions and feelings are intimately connected to the
sympathetic and parasympathetic divisions of the autonomic nervous
system.
The sympathetic nervous system is the emergency response system of the
body and brain. It elicits the fight, flight or freeze reaction when faced with
internal or external danger. It diverts blood from the skin, the digestive and
reproductive organs to the heart, brain and muscles in order to prepare for
action. The heart rate and blood pressure rise, the muscles tense, digestion
and reproduction slow or shut down entirely and breathing becomes rapid
and shallow. One feels nervous and tense.
Activation of the Parasympathetic nervous system creates a state of rest
and relaxation, the opposite of the sympathetic response. Blood goes to the
skin, digestive and reproductive organs. The muscles relax and the heart rate
and blood pressure drop. One feels calm and grounded.
In some people, the sympathetic nervous system is more readily activated,
while in other people it is parasympathetic nervous system that
predominates. We can now make a linkage between the constitutional types
and the autonomic nervous system.

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The Three Basic Constitutional Types

Earth or Parasympathetic
Earth is formed by earth and water elements.
Body
People in whom earth is the dominant constitutional type tend to have a
solid stocky build, a graceful slow walk, lustrous skin, hair and eyes and a
cool body temperature.
Sleep: These individuals tend to sleep well, with few dreams.
Eating: Because they have an acute sense of smell and taste, most
people with an earth-predominant constitution are fond of food. They easily
gain weight and may have difficulty losing it.
Exercise: They tend to be slow to move but have good endurance.
Sex: Earth-predominant people tend to have a gradual sexual arousal
but sustained passion.
Mind
Emotion: People of this constitutional type tend to be calm, caring and
nurturing.
Cognition: They tend to ponder things deeply and make thoughtful
decisions. They can be slow in making up their minds on an issue.
Memory: These people may take some time to remember but they
retain memories for a long time.
Relationships: Because of the stable nature of this constitutional type,
these individuals tend to enjoy long lasting relationships. They can partner
with any other constitutional type.
Examples: Earth-predominant people often tend to pursue careers in
the health or education professions, where their calm and caring nature is a
great blessing. They can also be found pursuing careers as athletes,
negotiators and managers.
Unbalanced Earth
Each constitutional type has its own unique strengths as well as
weaknesses. When the earth constitution becomes out of balance, various
problems can arise. One may

become overweight or obese

retain water in the body

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become lethargic and feel cold

sleep excessively

become emotionally static because of excess attachment

feels withdrawn and depressed.

How to balance the Earth constitution

After considering the physical and psychological characteristics of the Earth
constitution, we can then formulate useful ways in which to balance the
negative side of this constitutional type.
Sleep: People with an Earth constitution should take care not to oversleep, which can create a feeling of sluggishness. They should also make it a
habit to arise early in the morning.
Eating: These people must watch their diet closely, because of their
tendency to gain weight. Dry, warm food in small quantities is best for them.
The best types of food are those that have drying and stimulating
qualities in particular, foods that taste bitter, astringent and pungent.
Addition of these foods to the diet will help to balance this constitutional
type.
Exercise: People with this constitution have great endurance and should
exercise as much as they can. Those who wish to practice yoga should
choose an active form of yoga, such as the Sun Salutation. Even meditation
practices should be more active - such as walking meditation or chanting.
Relationships:
relationships.

These

people

tend

to

form

enduring

and

deep

Emotional and cognitive: It is important for people with this

constitution to constantly set new goals for themselves, in order to stimulate
their minds and reach their highest potential.
Work: The best type of work for people with an Earth constitution is
something that is both active and stimulating, involving the body. However,
because of their innate stability, Earth people can thrive in a variety of work
environments. They can tolerate even demanding schedules such as night
shifts.
Partner: People with an Earth constitution has accommodating
personalities, and can form relationships with people of any other
constitution.

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Fire or interface of parasympathetic and sympathetic

Fire has water and fire elements.
Body
People with a fire-predominant constitution tend to be well-built, with
ruddy and oily skin. Their body remains warm, and their gait is steady but
impatient.
Sleep: They tend to sleep well, and have intense dreams.
Eating: Often, they have a strong appetite and good digestion. They
are generally able to maintain a steady weight.
Exercise: They have good endurance and they usually enjoy physical
activity.
Sex: Passionate and satisfying.
Mind
Emotion: People of fire-predominant constitution tend to be energetic
and passionate about what they do.
Cognition: They are good at making quick decisions and are actionoriented people. They tend to be persistent and focused in their behavior.
They can be egotistical and opinionated.
Memory: Their memory tends to be sharp.
Relationships: People of Fire-predominant temperament are often able
to form relationships quickly. However, for a happy and long-lasting
relationship, they need to be matched with someone whose temperament is
well-suited for example, someone of Earth temperament. Two people of
Fire temperament may have difficulty sustaining a long-lasting, happy
relationship.
Examples: Fire-predominant people are often activists, political and
business leaders, and pioneers.
Unbalanced Fire
As with any other constitution, there are negative consequences when
Fire becomes unbalanced.
One may

become restless

develop rashes and heartburn

develop high blood pressure

develop insomnia

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become irritable, revengeful and destructive.

develops excessive anger leading to depression.

How to maintain Fire in balance

Sleep: For people with a Fire-predominant constitution, a good sleep
every night is essential.
Eating: There are three preferred tastes Bitter, astringent and sweet.
These have pacifying and cooling qualities, which is helpful in balancing this
constitution. Cold water, and cooling foods are also helpful.
Exercise: These people should choose forms of exercise that are
moderate and calming. For example, a relaxing form of yoga or tai-chi will
help to calm them. Meditation practices such as mindfulness are well suited
to people of this temperament.
Relationships: With a partner who has Earth qualities, these people can
form lasting relationships.
Emotional and cognitive: Fire-predominant people should avoid
confrontation with others, which will aggravate their fiery nature. They
should set challenging goals for themselves, in which logical thinking and
action are involved.
Work: These people have natural leadership qualities, and a work
structure that allows them to use these skills will be satisfying.

Wind or Sympathetic
Wind has air and space elements. It is the most unstable personality type
because of the presence of swiftly moving air in the expansiveness of space.
Body
People with a Wind-predominant constitution tend to be thin, with dry,
cold skin.
Sleep: They are often restless sleepers, and have many dreams.
Eating: They may have an irregular appetite and poor digestion. Their
weight may fluctuate rapidly.
Exercise: They can move rapidly, but they often have poor endurance.
Sex: Quick arousal and fall.
Mind

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Emotion: Their predominant emotion is anxiety they can be quite

nervous and fearful.
Cognition: People with Wind-predominant constitutions tend to be
highly creative, and ideas come easily to them. However, their thoughts
may be unfocused, with frequently changing theories.
Memory: Their memory tends to be poor.
Relationships:
Unless they find someone with a stable, warm
constitution, Wind-predominant people may have unstable and frequent
relationships.
Examples: Artists, musicians, painters, writers and poets.
Unbalanced Wind
With an excess of movement of air in space, one may

become restless, cold and exhausted

experience a loss of appetite and weight with bowel disturbances

develop low blood pressure, insomnia, headaches

experience anxiety, panic attacks and chaotic thinking

How to maintain Wind in balance

Sleep: People with this constitution should try to ensure that they get a
long sleep every night.
Eating: Three preferred tastes Sweet, salty and sour. Food should be
accompanied with plenty of warm liquids.
Exercise: Ideally, exercise should be moderate and calming. Peaceful
yoga, tai-chi and receptive meditation are best.
Relationships: If these people find someone with a stable, warm
constitution, their relationship can be long-lasting and satisfying.
Emotional and cognitive: Because Wind people need to balance their
creative and sometimes unstable thought patterns, they do well with people
who tend towards methodical and logical thinking.
Work: People of Wind-predominant constitution should try to get into a
type of work that is structured, in a stress-free, supportive environment.

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A Table of Constitutional Types

The following table summarizes the essential aspects of the various
constitutional types. By studying this table, we can gain insight into our own
unique constitutional type.

Knowing your Innate nature or constitution

Qualities

Sympathetic
or Wind

Interface of
sym. &
parasym. or
Fire

Parasym or
Earth

Build

Thin

Medium

Solid & stocky

Skin & Hair

Dry

Oily

Lustrous

Body
Temperature

Cold, minimal
sweating

Warm, profuse
sweating

Cool, moderate
sweating

Digestion

Poor

Good, intense
appetite

Slow but good

Sexual Arousal

Quick arousal,
quickly spent

Passionate sex
life

Slow arousal but

maintains

Exercise
Endurance

Poor, exhausted
quickly

Good

Can endure
heavy exercise

Sleep & Dreams

Irregular sleep
with many
dreams

Good sleep with

intense dreams

Good, deep with

pleasant dreams

Pulse Rate

Around 80 or
60-80/per min.,
above/per min., strong & stable
may be irregular

Body

111

<60/per min,
strong

Mind
Memory

Poor

Sharp & good

Slow to
remember but
retain

Emotion

Fear

Excitement

Calmness

Thinking
(cognition)

Plenty of
superficial
thoughts

Logical &
precise

Slow &
methodical

Stress Response

Anxiety/flight

Anger/fight

Freeze

Lifestyle

Irregular &
erratic

Planned, busy

Steady, may be
stuck in a rut

Vocation

Creative, artist

Leader, pioneer

Manager,
caretaker

Natural
Inclination

Original thinking Action-taker

& mystic

Loyal believer,
follower

TOTAL

3. Shathkarma
Shath means six and Karma means actions. Shathkarma are six actions or
techniques to clean and purify the body and mind. Following are the six
techniques which constitute Shathkarma and are described by Yogi
Swatmarama in Haha Yoga Pradipika
7. Neti
8. Dhauti
9. Nauli
10.

Basti

11.

Kapalbhati

12.

Tratak

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1. Neti In Neti nasal passage are cleaned with the help of either plain or
warm salt water. Neti pot is used for the cleansing. In Sutra Neti a thread
or thin rubber catheter is used which is inserted from the nose and comes
out of mouth. Neti helps in the problems of nose, sinuses and throat.
2. Dhauti Dhauti is to clean the stomach by drinking one liter of warm salt
water on empty stomach and then vomit it out. In Vastra Dhauti a long
and thin cotton clothe is used instead of water.
3. Nauli Nauli is the forceful movement of abdominal muscles to tone
them up and also massage abdominal organs to clean them and make
more active.
4. Basti Basti is the cleaning of the gastrointestinal tract by sucking the
water through anus into large intestine or drinking it and then allow it
come out from anus. Another way to clean the intestine is to perform
Sankha Prakshalana in which large quantity of warm salt water is drunk
and it slowly comes out through the anus because salt water cant be
absorbed by the intestine.
5. Kapalabhati Described under Pranayam
6. Trataka Trataka is unblinking focus on a point or flame to develop
concentration.

4. Worship and Prayer

Worship and prayer emerge from the heart and are infused with love. Prayer
transcends reason and calculation. It is the devotees soulful expression of
longing to see the Divine Beloved (God).
When prayer does find words, they are like mere waves on the surface of a
vast ocean. Only the devotees willingness to be thrown ever more deeply
into the experience of prayer will lead them to a path previously unknown to
them. It is this path, which is transparent and free from fear and guilt, that
allows total surrender. This type of prayer is called worship. In this act of
surrender, this worship, the devotee merges with the Divine Beloved.
Worship at this depth calls upon the devotee to journey inward into
aloneness. No external teacher or guide is required. The heart becomes the
guide, and without an intermediary, there is a direct connection with the
Beloved.
In worship, a male or female deity (Shiva/Shakti/Kundalini) is chosen and
then invited to reside in the body and mind to become one with it. Such ritual
placement of deity is also known as Nyasa. Various mudras can be performed

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to increase the effect of the worship. Worship should engage all five senses
to bring more power to the process of worshipping and can be accompanied
with the chanting of mantras or prayers either loudly or silently.
Instead of a deity, a person can worship sacred geometrical forms such as
Yantras and Mandalas. Yantra means instrument or device and Mandala
means circle or form. Yantras and Mandalas represent the form and essence
of the deity and of the universe.
Devotional Images on the Journey
Prayer is the hearts longing to unite and merge with the Divine. Usually, this
prayer is focused on an image, idol or deity to which human-like qualities are
attributed. Prayer cannot occur in a void or be offered to nothingness or the
unknown. We need some image, whether it is of a god, goddess, prophet,
ancestor, or elemental force to offer worship. Because these images are
embedded in our subconscious, prayer is inwardly directed and fired by
emotional energy.
Devotion is the force that guides prayer. A devotee is moved to pray by the
desire to surrender to some higher presence. That complete surrender is an
act of transcending the ego or limited self.
The path of meditation leads individuals to the same ego transcendence as
the surrender of prayer. However, meditation takes the path of the intellect
and is the silent, calm, non-judgmental witnessing of ones thoughts and
mind. Dedicated devotion to the practice of meditation eventually throws us
into the radical experience of ego-transcendence. We achieve a newfound
clarity as well as a deep experience and comprehension of the wholeness of
the internal and external worlds we inhabit.
Both in meditation and in prayer, it is the light of awareness that
illuminates the dark corners of the mind and clears away the memories that
clutter it. Shadows of these memories remain, but their emotional content is
gone. The turmoil associated with them is also gone and we experience the
freedom of true transcendence.
In meditation and in prayer we choose particular words, images and
movements, organize them into a sequence, and perform them according to
a plan. This mental and physical activity is clearly formulated by the mind,
but it is the only way to begin on a deliberate path towards deeper
awareness. The mind becomes a disciplined tool, which is necessary for us to
move to the point of ego transcendence.
This explains why, in the beginning, meditation or prayer is mental,
mechanical and repetitive. As we engage more deeply, the process becomes
more organic, revealing the inner nature of the mind and its inherent vitality.
We reach a breakthrough point after which meditation and prayer become

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spontaneous. We become meditative or prayerful all the time. In this state,

life becomes an effortless meditation or prayer. The process continues
without a conscious focus, whether we are eating, sleeping, working or
making love.
We can see that meditation and prayer both begin with efforts of the will.
In this way, meditation and prayer are similar to any other mental activity.
Because our minds live within the confines of culture, religion and tradition,
the first goal of meditation and prayer is to replace conventional religion and
culture with our own way of thinking. Societal and cultural programming is a
deep hypnotic spell under which individuals may spend years, never realizing
that they are not living their true lives. When we decide to be hypnotized in
our way and through our own efforts, we begin the process of gaining control
over ourselves.

5.

Pilgrimage and Fasting

Pilgrimage
Travelling for transformation is pilgrimage

Travel and pilgrimage are two different experiences. Travelling is

movement for the sake of pleasure. While travelling, many people not only
want to maintain the comfort and distractions they enjoy at home, but
actually want more heightened experiences in a short period of time. They
prefer not to stay long enough to develop an understanding of the place or
people. A physical, emotional and intellectual status quo is maintained and
there is little possibility for inner change during or after travel. Old
boundaries stay intact and there is little inner growth.
Pilgrimage, on the other hand, is movement in order to challenge the ego
or self, physically, emotionally and intellectually. Pilgrimage is done with
humility and with an open mind. We prepare to face the unknown. Pilgrimage
puts a strain on the individual, which may lead to a point where old
boundaries and limits are broken. This brings about change, transformation
and the emergence of a new layer of self or a deeper and broader self. This
may lead to the union of the body and mind (emotions, intellect) and
subsequently to the discovery of the Soul (mind-body integration).
Fasting
There are two reasons to engage in fasting. The first reason to fast is to
withdraw from what we dont need. Every day we consume an excess of

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food, water, space, energy and wealth. This overconsumption inevitably

creates problems for ourselves, for others, and for the environment in
which we live. When we learn to live in a naturally austere way, we lessen
the burden on others and on our planet. Also, we feel lighter and healthier,
consuming only what we need.
The second reason for fasting is to withdraw from food and water for a
short period of time to eliminate toxins and unburden the body. Such fasting
helps to break the comfortable but confining boundaries we have been
accustomed to since birth. Fasting has the same effect as pilgrimage. It
brings new insight and breaks the structure of the old self so that we can
experience a new dimension of living.
If our body gets cold, the mind takes it as a sign of impending death. If
our breathing becomes subtle, that too is taken as a sign of approaching
death and we experience fear. In the same way, if food is withdrawn from the
body, the mind takes it as an indication of famine and we experience the fear
of death. That is why fasting (withdrawal from solid food, while continuing
with fluids) is a good way to gain some insight into the process of dying. It is
a safe way to come to terms with mortality.
During fasting, the body experiences hunger and unpleasant sensations.
However, after three to four days of restlessness and stress, hunger
disappears and the body starts living off its own resources. In the beginning,
the mind is anxious and fearful but gradually it becomes calm and merges
into the witnessing self.
Fasting can take us to the witnessing self, a state in which joy, energy
and calmness are simultaneously present. The emergence of the witnessing
self is the beginning of coming to terms with our own mortality. A body that
is fasting activates itself and the brain to create a pain-free, calm and highenergy state. This is the result of neurochemicals such as endorphins,
dopamine, nor-epinephrine and serotonin pouring into the brain and body. If
the bodys functioning is not interfered with by too many medical procedures
and medications, this state can also be an experience of the dying process.
Death is an integral part of the body and the body has sufficient
resources to deal with it in a smooth and orderly way. However, when the
mind interferes too much in the process, death becomes a frightening
experience. Controlled, supervised fasting is a way to counteract this and to
let the mind experience and prepare for the process of dying. Fasting should
be done in a natural, restful and conflict-free environment, where a guide is
present. Chanting, meditation, prayer and worship are positive additions to
the process.

6. Yoga poses

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Yoga brings the following benefits 1. Full orientation of the body in space and time. This brings about a state
of balance, which enhances body awareness. The body learns to move
naturally and without fear.
2. Moving from body image to the body-actual. Our body image is created
by our cultural memories and beliefs and does not represent the real
body. Many mind-body pathologies are the result of our body image.
Body actual is the bodys map in the brain and represents the real body.
Living in body-actual is to ground the awareness in reality and create
stability.
3. Paying attention to body postures brings the mind and body together.
Normally our mind is absorbed in thinking and is distracted while the
body is in action.
4. Holding a body posture for a sustained period of time stimulates neurovascular bundles in the body, which are rich in sympathetic and
parasympathetic nerves. During a yoga pose, the pressure on specific parts
of the body stimulates neurovascular bundles and plexuses. This leads to
relaxation because of decreased activity in the sympathetic nervous system
and an increased activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. The
brain, immune and endocrine systems begin to function at their optimum,
creating mind-body homeostasis, which is experienced as a sense of wellbeing.
5. Poses and movements release embedded memories of abuse, trauma
and pain and heal the body and mind.
Yoga poses were not invented by a specific person in a particular time
and place. They developed from the observation that when we experience
inner states such as fear, anger, peace, joy and tranquility, the body moves
in a particular way. A joyful child may begin to dance spontaneously. If we are
sad, we may also be able to experience joy if we dance. Happiness brings a
natural smile but if we smile intentionally it may give us a feeling of
happiness. Laughter yoga is based on this observation. Great actors know
this and produce expressions at will by changing their breathing and taking
specific body postures. It follows that if we intentionally move in a certain
way or take a certain pose, we create specific inner states in the body. This
is the law of Reciprocal Response.
Consciously maintaining a certain pose also gives us a more accurate
orientation of the body in space, which generates better balance, grounds
the mind in the body and improves its overall functioning. This is the result
of right hemispheric stimulation, which has a calming effect and also
increases creativity and hemispheric synchronization. Also, the brain

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develops a more accurate map of the body and is able to work in harmony
with it.
In the beginning, yoga poses and movements are intentional but a point
comes when they become spontaneous. Our inner state guides the body to
assume certain postures that allow for a smooth, unobstructed flow of
energy.
In order to optimize the benefits of yoga, the following guidelines should be
observed:
1. Poses should be sustained for varying lengths of time, depending on an
individuals flexibility and endurance. The minimum duration is twenty
seconds.
2. At no point should we hold our breath.
3. Individuals should remain aware of the pose and/or breath.
4. Opposite poses complement each other and bring balance.
5. One should not feel tired after yoga poses.
Siddhasana- or the pose of the accomplished one is the best for Kundalini
Yoga because of the pressure on root and energy/sex chakra. To be in
Siddhasana...
.Sit on the ground
.Place left heel at the perineum between anus and penis/vagina and the right
heel on the root of penis or vagina in such a way that lower part of the legs
placed over each other and are comfortable
.Back is straight but relaxed
.Hands can be placed on knee in Jnana mudra
Vajrasana or diamond pose
In this pose we sit on our heels with back straight and hands resting on
thighs
Sukhasana or easy pose
Any comfortable sitting pose in which back is straight
Sleep Pose
Sleep pose is the posture we take when preparing for sleep. It helps in
preserving energy and maintains calmness during sleep.

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Lying on our right side is best because it allows breathing to occur

through the left nostril. Left nostril breathing stimulates the right side of the
brain, which brings calmness and silence as it is the left brain that is
connected with thoughts. This position also encourages gastric emptying. In
sleep pose, the legs are crossed at the ankle or shin, and the hands are
folded as in prayer. This allows the bodys energy to flow in a circle and
without any wastage of it.

Bindu (Point) Yoga

Point or Bindu yoga poses press and activate some of the major chakra
and energy points in the body. This brings relaxation along with stimulating
the flow of bio-energy in the body. This sequence of poses begins with a
series of standard yoga poses, whose description can be found in any book
about yoga. Following these standard poses, there is a sequence of poses
aimed at pressing specific energy points on the body.
A guide to these poses is as follows:
1.

Begin by standing in Mountain pose

2.

Then move smoothly into Cat pose

3.

Next, lie prostrate with your folded hands fully stretched forward

4.

Then, raise your head and press the seven bindus or pressure points
as follows:

Middle of the forehead

Eyebrows

Temple

TMJ or temporal-mandibular joint where the ear joins the face

Cheek bone

5. Now, place your chin in your cupped palms, and use your thumbs to
knuckle the inner sides of your eyes
6.

Come back into Cat pose

7.

Move smoothly into Childs pose

8.

Finally, end the sequence in Mountain pose

* Full breathing has to be maintained throughout the poses, along with

body awareness.

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In Kundalini Yoga any Hath Yoga pose can help in awakening the energy.

Sujun Movements to Awaken Energy and the Chakras

Position: Standing - Each movement is done seven times

With both palms gently strike the scalp

With the left middle finger tap the crown chakra point and with the
right middle finger, the third eye point

Tap any other forehead or temple point which is sore

Rub the temporo-mandibular joints on both sides with index fingers

Rub the bones behind the ear with the index fingers

Rub the margin, lobe and inside of the external ears with the thumb
and index finger

With the left hand massage the junction of the neck and the upper
back a in clockwise fashion

With the right hand massage the junction of the neck and the upper
back in a counter-clockwise fashion

Massage the point of the throat chakra with the fingers both in a
clockwise and counter-clockwise direction

With the fingers rub and press the space between the clavicle and the
upper part of the breast bone or sternum

With the left hand massage the heart chakra in a counter-clockwise

direction

With the right hand massage the heart chakra in a clockwise direction

With the left hand massage the naval area (third chakra) in a counterclockwise direction

With the right hand massage the naval area in a clockwise direction

With both hands strike the soft part of the lumbar area

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With the inner side of the right palm massage the outer side of the left
elbow and forearm

With the inner side of the left palm massage the outer side of the right
elbow and forearm

Clap sharply five times

Gently strike both hands in an interlacing manner

Gently strike the space between the thumb and the index finger in an
interlacing manner

Posture: standing or sitting

With the inner

side of the leg
With the inner
side of the leg

side of both hands, gently strike or massage the outer

just below the knee and continue to the ankle
side of both hands, gently strike or massage the inner
just below the knee and continue to the ankle

Massage the space between the big and second toe with both index
fingers

Stomping the feet

7. Breathing or Pranayama
Breathing is a unique phenomenon in humans because of its involuntary
and voluntary aspects. First of all, breathing happens in the present, so
whatever we do with the breath is going to be connected with the present
moment. Secondly, breathing is a bridge between the body and mind and so
it changes when we experience different mental and emotional states. If we
are calm, breathing is deep and slow. If we feel a sense of love, our breathing
becomes deep and slow. In anger, the breath is deep and fast, while in fear,
it is shallow and rapid. In extreme fear, we hold our breath. Thirdly, breathing
is partly involuntary and partly voluntary, which means that we can partially
control it to achieve certain body-mind states. Pranayama is particularly
useful to awaken the Kundalini and chakras.

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Following techniques of Pranayama are good to practice in Kundalini

Yoga. Their duration ranges from ten minutes to thirty minutes.

Sushumna Breathing
Sushumna breathing is a technique of conscious breathing in which we feel
and assume that we are inhaling deeply from the lower end of the spine and
going up all the way up to the crown chakra point and then exhaling deeply
and going down all the way to the lower end of the spine.
Conscious deep breathing through each chakra
In this type of breathing we feel and assume as if we are brething into chakra
and breathing out of chakra.
Full Yogic Breath
Full Yogic breathing is a combination of abdominal (lower lung), chest (middle
lung) and collar bone (upper lung) breathing to make the whole lung expand
and massage the abdominal organs by the up and down movements of
diaphragm. Full Yogic breathing stimulates stretch receptors in the lung to
stimulate the parasympathetic system, specifically Vagus nerve to put a
person in anabolic or relax and digest mode.
Full Yogic Breathing starts with active inhalation and abdominal or
diaphragmatic breathing in which deep inhalation moves the diaphragm
down and as inhalation continues it lifts the ribs to expand the middle chest
and finally the upper part of the chest expands lifting the collar bone.
Exhalation is passive in which diaphragm moves up, abdomen flattens, ribs
and collar bones return to the normal position.
Ujjayi
Word "Ujjayi" comes from the Sanskrit "ud" and "ji" means "to be victorious".
Ujjayi breath means, the breath of victory over minds turmoil. It also means
who makes us Ujjaval or full of glow and brightness.
In order to practice Ujjayi breath take a deep inhalation through your nose or
mouth and then exhale slowly through your nose while constricting the
throat muscle to produce the sound of ocean waves which you can hear
clearly.

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Anulom-Vilom or Nadi Shodhan or Alternate Nostril Breathing

Anulom means going according to natural flow and Vilom is going against the
flow.
In alternate nostril breathing both nostrils are used alternately for breathing.
Right nostril is connected with Pingala or sun nadi which stimulates left brain
for energy and activity and left nostril is connected with Ida or moon nadi
which stimulates right brain for calmness and repose. When both nostrils are
stimulated alternately by the pranayam a balance of activity and relaxation
is achieved in which sympathetic and para-sympathetic nervous systems
work in harmony.
In order to practice alternate nostril breathing support your right elbow on
your left palm. Your right thumb is blocking the right nostril, middle finger
resting on the middle of forehead (third eye or sixth chakra) and little finger
is close to the left nostril when needed.
Now take a deep inhalation from the left nostril, block the left nostril with
little finger, open the right nostril to exhale and inhale deeply through it.
Then Block the right nostril with right thumb and exhale and inhale through
the left nostril. Repeat the cycle for 5-10 minutes.

Kapal Bhati (glowing forehead)

Kapal means skull and Bhati means shinning. Kapal Bhati is a pranayam
which purifies the brain and fills it with shine and delight. Its a part of
Shathkarma (six actions to cleanse the body and mind).
To practice Kapalbhati pranayam, sit in Sukhasna or pose of stability and
comfort. Do the exhalation forcefully and quickly (opposite of normal
breathing) and inhale slowly and passively. Inhalation is three times longer
than exhalation.

Bhastrika (bellow breathing)

Bhastrika is done by inhaling and exhaling forcefully either through both
nostrils or through alternate nostrils with a hissing sound.

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Kalajayi Breath or the Breath of Dissolution

There are many different breathing techniques that can be practiced.
Which technique is most effective depends on the individual. Kalajayi
breathing or breath of dissolution is based on a new breathing technique.
Kalajayi comes from two words, Kaal= Death or time and Jayi=becoming
victorious. Kalajayi is a breathing technique used to overcome the fear of
death.
When death is approaching, our breathing pattern takes a distinct form.
Our breathing is deeper and faster with progressively more forceful
exhalations. This reaches a peak and then breathing becomes shallow and
eventually stops for a few moments. This cycle is repeated. This type of
breathing pattern is called Cheyne-Stokes respiration.
The Technique
Kalajayi breathing can be practiced either lying down or sitting
comfortably in a chair. After closing the eyes and relaxing for a few seconds,
allow the breath to become progressively deeper and faster while the
exhalations becomes longer and longer. After three such deep inhalations
and deeper exhalations, take three progressively shallower breathes and
then suspend the breath completely for a few seconds before breathing
normally again.
A single cycle of Kalajayi is composed of six breaths or six inhalations and
exhalations.
First breath is normal
Second is deeper
Third deepest
Fourth is deepest
Fifth is deeper
Sixth is normal
Repeat this cycle. In the beginning (in a single sitting) individuals should
not do more than three to five cycles. Later on, when one is more
comfortable with this breathing technique, the number of cycles can be
increased.
Kalajayi breath helps in reducing the thoughts or may bring a single
thought state.

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8.Bandhas
Bandhas means locks. Bandhas are used to lock and pool the energy in
particular parts of the body by contracting muscles and then channelizing
that energy in specific directions and locations to awaken the Kundalini.
Bandhas untie the three knots of Brahma, Visnu and Rudra granthis at root
chakra (Muladhara), heart chakra (Anahata) and throat/third eye chakra
(Vissudha) to release more pranic energy for spiritual awakening.
Three main Bandhas are used in Yoga. When all three are used together they
are called Maha or great Bandha.

1. Moola or root Bandha for lower body Moola Bandha is

connected with root chakra and Brahma granthi. Its done by
contracting the pubo-coccygeal muscle (not the anal or urethral
sphincter) of the pelvic floor to lock the energy at the lower
abdomen and direct its flow into the central channel or Sushumna
nadi. In Moola Bandha Apana or downward flowing prana is directed
upward to meet Prana or inward flowing energy.
To practice Mool Bandha sit in Siddhasan. The left heel is placed
under the root of penis or on perineum. Inhale deeply and then as
you exhale slowly contract pelvic floor up and sustain it throughout
exhalation.
2. Uddiyana or moving up Bandha for middle body Uddiyana
bandha is to lock the outward moving Prana by contracting the
abdominal muscle and make it flow into the heart center and up. Its
related to Visnu granthi and solar plexus.
Uddiayana bandha can be done either in sitting or standing pose.
Slowly exhale all the air out and then slowly pulling the abdomen in
and up. Hold the breath for some moments and then slowly release
and inhale.

3. Jalandhara Bandha or throat lock for upper body In Sanskrit

Jal= throat or net and dharan= stream. So Jalandhara means a lock
which by locking the Prana in throat makes it flow into the network

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of desired nadis. Its related to Visshudha or throat chakra, Rudra

granthi and Udana prana.
To perform Jalandhara Bandha sit straight. As you inhale slowly and
deeply bring your chin down towards the neck. Suspend the breath
at the end of inhalation and sustain the bandha as much as you
would like to. To break the Bandha exhale slowly and bring the chin
in its normal upward position.

9.

Mudras

Mudras are hand and finger gestures (or occasionally the whole body), which
stimulate sensitive energy points to have specific positive effects on body,
Prana and mind. Word Mudra comes from Mud=pleasure and Ra=bringing
forward. Gestures which bring positive and pleasant effects on mind-body
are Mudras. It also means seal or enclosure. Mudras are extensively used in
spiritual practices and dance. Although there are many Mudras but the
important once in Yoga are the following:
1. Jnana or Chin Mudra Jnana means wisdom or insight. Murda which
brings Jnana is called Jnana Mudra. To perform Jnana Mudra touch the
tip of the index finger with the tip of the thumb. Rest of the finger are
straight and parallel to each other. This Mudra is performed with both
hands.

2. Abhaya Mudra Abhaya means fearlessness. In Abhaya mudra right

hand is held upright and palm faces outward.

3. Bhairav Mudra Bhairav is another name for Shiva. This Mudra is to

invite and receive the grace of Shiva. Empty cup like gesture of palm
symbolizes receptivity. To perform Bhairav Mudra turn your left palm
into the shape of cup and put it in your lap and then put the right cup
like palm on the top of the left. Thumbs are placed over each other.

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4. Dhyan Mudra Dhyan Mudra is similar to Bhairav Mudra except that

the tips of two thumbs touch each other to form an oval.

5. Vajrapradama Mudra Vajrapradama means firm resolve. This

Mudra is for unshakable confidence in universe and yourself. Place your
hands on your heart with fingers interlaced and thumbs staying apart.

6. Namaste Mudra Namaste is composed of two words Nama=Bow

and Aste= to you. It means that I bow to the divine in you. Namaste is
done by bringing the two palms facing each other and putting them on
the middle of the chest at heart center.

7. Pushpaputa Mudra Pushpa means flower and puta is to offer. This

mudra is used to offer flowers and feelings to others and divine. To
perform this Mudra brings your cupped hands in such a way that the
tips of little and ring fingers are touching each other.

Kechari Mudra (Moving in Inner Space)

Kechari means to move into the space. By practicing Kechari mudra, a
practitioner moves into the inner space of the mind and body.
The Kechari mudra is done by touching the palate by the tip of tongue and
slowly stretching it, so that it will eventually stimulate the Lalna chakra in the
palate on the back of the mouth behind the nasal opening.
Vajroli Mudra (Diamond Gesture)
Vajroli mudra is the drawing of milk, honey or water through the urethral opening.

Yoni Mudra or Shanmukhi (Closing of the Six Gates) or womb

Gesture
The Yoni Mudra is performed in a sitting pose by closing the ears with
thumbs, eyes with the index-fingers, nostrils with the middle-fingers, the

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upper lips with the ring-fingers and the lower lips with the little fingers. After
establishing the Yoni mudra, the mind is focused on each of the seven
chakras.
Shambhavi Mudra
The Shambhavi mudra or Shiva mudra is named after Shambhu which means
Shiva. The Shambhavi mudra is done by rolling both eyes upward and
towards the third eye chakra. The eyes remain open.

10. Meditation
What is Meditation?
Meditation is the de-conditioning of the brain and body. It is Relaxation,
Awareness and Expansion of Awareness. The word meditation comes from
the Latin root meditatum, which means to ponder. Dhyana comes from the
Sanskrit root dhyai, meaning to contemplate or meditate. It also means
attention. Meditation can help to shatter the prison of conditioning, allowing
us to emerge into a new state of being.
The History of Meditation
It is not certain when the practice of meditation actually began. Perhaps
it started with the first humans on earth as they naturally experienced
various states of altered consciousness. Later on, it became an essential
practice that shamans, healers and priests used to communicate with spirits
and dead ancestors.
Meditation was a part of the pre-Vedic and Vedic tradition in India and
techniques of meditation were described more than 5000 years ago. It is an
integral part of all Indian religions and practices. The most definitive book
about meditation - Vigyan Bhairava Tantra - is four thousand years old. It is a
dialogue between Siva and his consort Devi, in which Siva describes 112
meditation techniques to Devi.
It is important to note that a meditation technique is NOT
meditation. However, meditation techniques are important ways to calm
the mind and bring many other benefits to body and emotional states.

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Active and Receptive Meditations

Active meditation techniques integrate body movements and breathing
exercises.
Receptive meditation is masterly inactivity, or in other words a calm
observation of what is going on. Vipassana or Mindfulness and Zazen are an
example of receptive meditation.
Witnessing and Absorptive Meditation
In witnessing meditation such as Mindfulness, the meditator is alert,
attentive, calm and doesnt lose consciousness.
In absorptive meditation, the meditator is totally absorbed by the
meditative experience and may lose body consciousness. Kirtan and whirling
dance are examples of absorptive meditation.
In the following section, two new meditation techniques will be
introduced.
Awareness of the Chakras and Energy
After a few minutes of deep and slow breathing, the mind is focussed on the
individual chakras, starting from the crown and slowly going down to the root
chakra. Such focus will give us awareness of which chakra is the most open
and functioning.
Then feeling the whole body, one will become aware of any energy or prana
flow in the body. If energy is active in any chakra, then constantly focussing
on the energy will slowly become a meditation.
Allow the breath to be gentle, slow and deep. (2 to 3 minutes).
Feel as if you are breathing in and out through your spine. (2 to 3 minutes).
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of a
quarter, shining at the lower end of your spine in mid line, just beneath the
surface at the front of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this light
filling the surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the first or root chakra.
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of a
quarter, shining at the upper level of your pubic bone in mid line, beneath
the front surface of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this light filling
the surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the second or energy chakra.

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Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of a

quarter, shining at the level of your navel in mid line, beneath the front
surface of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this light filling the
surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the third or solar chakra.
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of a
quarter, shining at the level of the middle of your chest in mid line, beneath
the front surface of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this light filling
the surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the fourth or heart chakra.
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of a
quarter, shining at the level of root of your neck in mid line, beneath the
front surface of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this light filling the
surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the fifth or throat chakra.
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light or a miniature sun the size of a
quarter, shining at the level of the middle of your eyebrows in mid line,
beneath the front surface of your body. Now visualize, imagine or feel this
light filling the surrounding area with glowing warmth. It is the sixth or third
eye chakra.
Visualize, imagine or feel a source of light, or a miniature sun the size of
quarter, shining on the top of your head, inside the skull, filling your brain
with glowing warmth. It is the seventh or crown chakra.
Now we are going to, chakra by chakra, create a stream of golden energy
that will flow from your root chakra to your crown chakra
Focus on the first chakra inside the pelvis and connect it to the second or
energy chakra at the level of the upper border of your pubic bone. Connect
them with a stream of golden energy.
Focus on the second chakra at the level of your pubic bone and connect it to
the third or solar chakra at the level of your navel point. Connect them with
a stream of golden energy.
Focus on the third chakra at the level of your navel and connect it to the
fourth chakra in the middle of your chest. Connect them with a stream of
golden energy.
Focus on the fourth or heart chakra in the middle of the chest and connect it
to the fifth or throat chakra at the root of the neck with a stream of golden
energy.

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Focus on the fifth or throat chakra at the root of the neck and connect it with
the sixth chakra in middle of eyebrows with a stream of golden energy.
Focus on the sixth or third eye chakra in the middle of eyebrows and connect
it to the seventh or crown chakra on the top of the head with a stream of
golden energy.
All seven chakras are connected with a stream of golden energy, which is
flowing upward.
Now we are going to visualize, imagine or feel that the many energy
channels from various parts of your body are converging into different
chakras and funneling their energy into them.
Be aware of the energy channels from both lower limbs and experience this
energy funneling into the first chakra.

Be aware of the energy channels from the pelvis and buttocks and
experience this energy funneling into the second chakra.
Be aware of the energy channels from the abdomen and the corresponding
part of the back and experience this energy funneling into the third chakra.
Be aware of the energy channels from the chest and the corresponding part
of the back and experience this energy funneling into the fourth chakra.
Be aware of the energy channels from both upper limbs and shoulders and
experience this energy funneling into the fifth chakra.
Be aware of the energy channels from the face and the adjacent area and
experience this energy funneling into the sixth chakra.
Be aware of the energy channels from the head area and experience this
energy funneling into the seventh chakra.
All of this golden energy comes out from the top of the head like a fountain,
comes down around the body, and is absorbed by the earth; and so the
active circulation of energy continues. This golden energy forms a protective
sheath around the body.

Meditations from Vijan Bhairava Tantra

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Awareness of the Spine and the Nadi inside It

Sit or lie with a straight backbone or spine

Become aware of the spine by feeling it from top to bottom

Enter into its hollowness and feel the inside of it

Visualize, imagine or feel the presence of a thread, like Nadi, glowing

with white light from the bottom of the spine to the crown of the head

Stabilize the focus and remain with it for 15-20 minutes

Heart Chakra Meditation

Bring your focus to your feeling heart which is either in the center of
the chest or slightly to the right side

Feel as if you are feeling, seeing, touching, listening, tasting and

smelling from the heart center

Remain with the experience for 10-15 minutes

Light Rising in the Spine

Focus on the lower end of the spine at the root chakra

Visualize, imagine or feel rays of light radiating from the root chakra

Now allow the light rays to go from center to center until they reach
the crown.

Become aware of the entire path of light

Spark of Light Jumping from Chakra to Chakra

Visualize, imagine or feel a spark of light at the root center in the

perineum

Allow it to jump from center to center until it reaches the crown chakra

Braham or Expansiveness Meditation

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Braham is a Sanskrit noun, which is derived from the verb Briha, which
means expansive or vast. Sometimes it is equated to the word God, but in
its original sense, the word means the ever-expanding awareness which
includes all that is possible and all that exists. It includes the Becoming and
the Being. It is time and space, as well as that which is beyond time and
space.
The brain has no perceptual boundaries and can focus on a dewdrop or
on a remote galaxy in the immensity of space. It can go back and forth
between the states of Being and Becoming with ease. But when the ego or
the self, which consists of thought, breaks the intimacy between the brain
and the biological universe, we become confined by mental space and time.
We are trapped in a world of names and forms, and suffer from fear, conflict
and discontent.
Labeling our world is essential to create order. However, when labeling
carries a judgment such as good and bad, inferior and superior, ugly and
beautiful or right and wrong it creates division, fragmentation and conflict.
The same applies to form. We create a mental map (form) of what is
desirable, pleasurable and familiar. What is outside of these things is
excluded from that mental map. This also leads to fragmentation and
distortion.
The purpose of Braham or Expansiveness Meditation is to expand the
boundaries of consciousness and to eventually break them. This allows the
brain to become free to experience unbound perception. In the process of
expansion, the brain begins to include even that which is not familiar,
desirable or pleasant in its field of consciousness. As a result, fear and
hostility dissipate as our sense of rigid otherness disappears. All becomes a
part of the one, non-dual movement of life. It is a state of Peace, Passion and
Bliss, free from fear, conflict and discontent.
Technique:
A guide to this form of meditation is as follows:
1. Begin with slow, deep and gentle belly breathing for five minutes.
2. With closed eyes feel the whole body, not focusing on any particular
body part. Feel the presence of the body. This establishes awareness of
your own presence. Stay with it for five minutes.
3. Allow your relaxed awareness (and/or body) to expand slowly three to
four feet around you. Notice what you hear, see and feel. Stay with it
for five minutes.
4. Expand your awareness further in all directions until it fills the space
you occupy (room, studio etc). Whatever comes into this field of
expanded awareness becomes a part of you. People, objects, buildings,
sounds, light and any elements of nature- all become part of your

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awareness. Thoughts, memories and emotions are also part of your

awareness. They are not separate from you. They are part of your
being. Stay with this for five minutes.
5. Allow your awareness to expand further until it no longer has a distinct
boundary.
6. Stay with it for five minutes.
7. Slowly allow your field of awareness to shrink back to your own bodys
presence
8. Open your eyes
Alternative Technique
Another technique can be used to create a similar experience, as follows:
1.

Bring a relaxed focus to the middle of the chest. Slowly bring

this focus into the darkness of the heart space deep within the
chest for 2- 3 minutes

2.

Become aware of the breath in the darkness of the heart

space for 2 -3 minutes

3.

Allow the breath to slow and deepen without strain. Slow,

deep inhalation and slow, deep exhalation 5 minutes

4.

Breathing becomes normal and regular, 2-3 minutes

5.

Visualize, imagine or feel a flame or light with a warm glow

deep in the heart space. Allow it to occur without forcing it. Be
open. Continue for 2- 3 minutes.

6.

Let that warm glow slowly fill the body from within starting
from the head, and then move to the eyes, face, neck, shoulders,
chest, left upper limb, right upper limb, belly, pelvic area and
buttocks, left lower limb and right lower limb. The whole body
glows with a warm light.

7.

Let go of any images and simply become aware of sensations

and feelings. You are feeling your own presence 2-3 minutes

8.

Allow the feeling of your warm and glowing presence to

spread beyond the boundary of the body to 3 to 4 feet around it
2-3 minutes

9.

Allow it to expand further and fill the whole room. The whole
room is filled with your own presence and whatever comes into the
field of your presence and awareness becomes part of you. 2-3
minutes

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10.

Allow it to expand further beyond the room and go wherever it

goes without any limit- 2-3 minutes

11.

Then allow your presence and awareness to shrink to the room 1

minute.

12.

Become aware of your body. Stay with it for 2 to 3 minutes

13.

Take three deep breaths and slowly open your eyes.

From the Universal to the Individual the descent

From a meditative and spiritual point of view, the whole universe is full of
consciousness. Even the rocks and minerals have consciousness, although in
them it is deeply buried. Eliciting a response becomes easier with trees,
flowers, and of course with human beings.
The same is true with light and luminosity, which is the innate feature of all
living and non-living things in the universe, and which can be experienced
during meditation, prayer, consumption of psychedelic drugs (such as LSD),
fasting, exhaustion, chanting and dancing.
This meditation is based on this fact; of an all pervading consciousness and
light.
Technique

Breathe slowly and deeply for 5-10 minutes

Visualize, imagine or feel the presence of a conscious energy around

you, which fills all the space and extends beyond it, and has no
boundaries

The presence permeates rocks, water, sky, trees, animals, empty

space, buildings, people, sun, moon, clouds, river, mountains and
everything else which you can imagine

The presence is peaceful, silent and full of love

Allow the presence to enter into you, through the opening of the crown
chakra on the top of the head. The presence fills your head space and
brain with a peaceful, loving light

Allow the presence to descend to the third eye chakra and to the
forehead, the eyes, the face and the ears. All are filled with a peaceful,
loving light

Allow the presence to descend to the throat center and to the neck, the
shoulders and the arms. All are filled with a peaceful, loving light

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Allow the presence to descend to the heart center and the chest,
lungs, heart and space within. All are filled with a peaceful, loving light

Allow the presence to descend to the solar center and to the abdomen
and to the organs within the abdomen. All are filled with the peaceful,
loving light

Allow the presence to descend to the energy/sex center and to the

reproductive organs outside and within, and they are filled with the
peaceful, loving light

Allow the presence to descend to the lower end of the spine and to the
perineum and the whole pelvis, and they are filled with the peaceful,
loving light

Allow this peaceful loving presence to descend down to the thighs, legs
and feet and from there, allow it to come out through the soles of the
feet, to merge back into the space from where it came, completing the
circulation.

Sound meditations
In Indian classical music Swars or seven notes are connected with a
chakra and a god or goddess. Swara means who creates its own
sweetness. Each note is a seed which, with the help of other notes, holds
the potential to sprout, thus creating rich and lush growth sounds and their
corresponding states. Each of the seven notes is related to one of the seven
chakras and deity. It is believed that the playing of a raga will stimulate one
or more of the chakras and also connect individuals to the energy of a deity.
Connecting to the chakras means, stimulating the endocrine glands, immune
system and the whole of the body and mind. In essence, to play or listen to a
raga is to practice spirituality and to awaken the body and the mind in
harmony.
Swar Sas is mother of all notes and is known as Shadja. Shadja is the
goddess whose four heads represent the spread of sound in all four
directions or in circular form. Light travels linearly. Shadjas eight arms
signify the octave. The fifth note, Pa, is the father note.

Swar/West Root Word

ern

Chakra

Deity

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Animal

SA - Do

Shadja Mother

Muladhar or
root

God Ganpati

RE - Re

Rishabh

Swadhisthan or God Agni

sex

Bull

GA - Mi

Gandhar

Manipura or
solar

Goat

MA - Fa

Madhyam

Anahat or heart God Vishnu

Dove

PA - Sol

Panchama Father

Vishuddha or
throat

Narada

Cuckoo

DHA - La

Dhaivat

Ajna or third
eye

God Sadashiva Horse

NI - Ti

Nishad

Sahashara or
crown

God Surya

God Shiva

Peacock

Elephant

Bija mantra for chakras

Bija means seed. The bija mantras are single syllable seed sounds. They are
chanted either loudly, silently or whispered. Their chanting releases the
energy contained within them and has the ability to activate the various
frequencies or petals of Chakra and Kundalini to take the Nada Yogi to the
higher consciousness. The following are the seed sounds for seven chakras...
1. Mooladhar or Root Chakra LAM chanted as lum. Lam purifies and
connects to the earth element. While chanting LAM, the person will focus on
the perineum, the location of the root chakra.
2. Swadhisthan or Sex Chakra VAM chanted as vum. Vam purifies and
connects to the water element. While chanting VAM, the person will focus
just above the pubic bone in the front or lower part of the sacrum on the
back, the location of the sex chakra.

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3. Manipura or Solar Chakra RAM chanted as rum. RAM purifies and

connects to the fire element. While chanting RAM, the person will focus on
the naval, the location of solar chakra.
4. Anahat or Heart Chakra YAM chanted as yum. Yam purifies and
connects to the wind element. While chanting YAM, the person will focus in
the middle of the chest, the location of the heart chakra.
5. Vissuddha or Throat Chakra HAM chanted as hum. HAM purifies and
connects to the space element. While chanting YAM, the person will focus at
the root of the neck, the location of the throat chakra.
6. Ajna or Third Eye Chakra Om. While chanting Om, the person will focus
on the third eye point between the two eyebrows
7. Crown Chakra Om (aum). There is no chant but listening to the silence,
in which the sound of Om is heard as the buzzing of the bees or humming.
Tantric mantras
1. Om Om is the most important of all mantras. It can be either chanted
on its own or can be added at the beginning of the other mantras. It is
described in detail under the philosophy of Nada Yoga
2. Hum Hum is pronounced as Hoom. Its a powerful mantra of Shiva

and also connected to Agni or fire and can be used to gain strength,
power and clarity. It can be sung as Om Hum Shivaya Namha or
Sivo Hum
3. Hrim Hrim is a mantra of goddess as the mother of the universe

which carries with it all the power and energy of the world, including
the ability to destroy the illusion. It can be sung as Om Hrim Durgaya
Namha
4. Krim Krim is the mantra of the goddess Kali. Kali brings Kal or death

to destroy the ignorance. It can be sung as Om Krim Kaliya Namha.

5. Klim Its seed syllable of desire
6. Trim Its a seed syllable of fire
7. Strim Its seed syllable of peace
8. Hlim Its seed syllable of protection

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9. Shrim Shrim is pronounced as Shreem and is a mantra of goddess

Lakshmi. It brings abundance within the mind and body and in the
outer world. It can be sung as Om Shreem Laxmiaya Namha.
10.
Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om Namo Shivaya, Om
Namo Shivaya I bow to the one who brings the well-being
11.
Om Shakti, Om Shakti, Om Shakti Om - Om Shakti, Om Shakti,
Om Shakti Om I praise the creative force of the universe
12.
Jai Mata Durga, Jai Mata Kali, Durga Kali Namo Namha Hail to
mother Durga and Mother Kali
13.

Sivo Hum, Sivo Hum, Sivo Hum, Sivo Hum I am Shiva

14.

Om Sachid Ekam Brahma Absolute is Being and Consciousness

Practice to awaken the invidividual chakras

Shathkarma and Sujun movements are common to all chakras

Ajna or third eye center

Breathing Alternate nostril breathing
Mudras Shambhavi mudra, Shanmukhi mudra
Seed Mantra - Aum
Meditation Focusing on the flame in the middle of eyebrows
Sujun movement massaging the forehead

Vissudha or throat center

Posture Cobra pose and Shoulder stand
Breathing Ujjayi
Mudras Khechari mudra to stimulate the Lalna chakra which is connected with
Vissudha
Seed mantra - Hum

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Bandhas Jalandhar
Meditation - Focusing on the flame at the root of the neck
Sujun movement Massaging the root of the neck in front and back

Anahat or heart center

Posture Prone with hands pressing against the center
Breathing Breath of heart (assuming and feeling as if you breathing deeply and
slowly into the heart and from the heart) and Brahmari breathing in which after
closing the external ear by finger a gentle sound of humming is produced which
mimics the buzzing of the big black bee
Seed mantra Yum
Bandhas Both Jalandhar and Uddiyan bandhas
Meditaiton Sound and chanting
Sujun movement Massaging the center of the chest in circular movements

Manipura or solar center

Posture Prone with hands pressing against the center in abodomen
Breathing Bhastrika or bellow breathing and breathing into chakra
Seed mantra Rum
Bandhas Uddiyan bandha
Meditaiton Kundalini and Chakra meditaiton
Sujun movement Massaging the center of the abdomen in circular movements

Swadhisthan or sex/energy center

Posture Prone with hands pressing against the pubic bone
Breathing Anyone of the breathing exercises

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Seed mantra Vum

Mudra Vajroli in man and Sahajoli in women in which urethra is contracted
Bandhas Ashwin (horse) in which lower part of the rectum and anus is contracted
Meditaiton Kundalini and Chakra meditaiton
Sujun movement Massaging the pubic bone in circular movements

Mooladhar or root center

Posture Siddhasana
Breathing Anyone of the deep breathing exercises
Seed mantra Lum
Bandhas Moola bandha
Meditaiton Kundalini and Chakra meditaiton
Sujun movement Massaging the middle of the perinium

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Section 7
Experiences of Kundalini and Chakras

Experiencing the process

Yoga Kundalini Upanishad
During meditation you behold divine visions, experience divine smell, divine
taste, divine touch, hear divine Anahata Sounds. You receive instructions
from God. These indicate that the Kundalini Shakti has been awakened.
When there is throbbing in Muladhara, when hair stands on its root, when
Uddiyana, Jalandhara and Mulabandha come involuntarily, know that
Kundalini has awakened.
When the breath stops without any effort, when Kevala Kumbhaka comes by
itself without any exertion, know that Kundalini Shakti has become active.
When you feel currents of Prana rising up to the Sahasrara, when you
experience bliss, when you repeat Om automatically, when there are no
thoughts of the world in the mind, know that Kundalini Shakti has awakened.
When, in your meditation, the eyes become fixed on Trikuti, the middle of the
eyebrows, when the Sambhavi Mudra operates, know that Kundalini Shakti
has become active. When you feel vibrations of Prana in different parts inside
your body, when you experience jerks like the shocks of electricity, know
that Kundalini has become active. During meditation when you feel as if
there is no body, when your eyelids become closed and do not open in spite
of your exertion, when electric-like currents flow up and down the nerves,
know that Kundalini has awakened.
When you meditate, when you get inspiration and insight, the nature unfolds
its secrets to you, all doubts disappear, you understand clearly the meaning
of the Vedic texts, know that Kundalini has become active. When your body

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becomes light like air, when you possess inexhaustible energy for work, know
that Kundalini has become active.
When you get divine intoxication, when you develop power of oration, know
that Kundalini has awakened. When you involuntarily perform different
Asanas or poses of Yoga without the least pain or fatigue, know that
Kundalini has become active. When you compose beautiful sublime hymns
and poetry involuntarily, know that Kundalini has become active.

Hath Yoga Pradipika

The Yogi whose sakti has awakened, and who has renounced all actions,
attains to the condition of Samadhi, without any effort.
When the Prana flows in the Susumna, and the mind has entered sunya, then
the Yogi is free from the effects of Karmas.
O immortal one (that is, the yogi who has attained to the condition of
Samadhi), I salute thee! Even death itself, into whose mouth the whole of
this moveable and immovable world has fallen, has been conquered by thee.
Amaroli, Vajroli and Sahjoli are accomplished when the mind becomes calm
and Prana has entered the middle channel.

Sant Gyanshwara (1271-1296)

Gyaneshwari is a book written by well known saint from Maharasthra Sant
Gyanshwara. The sixth chapter of the book describes kundalini in which Sant
writes that Kundalini is the greatest energies of all. With the influence of this
energy the body becomes pure and glows. Everything in the body becomes
symmetrical and eyes are bright and full of radiance.
'Kundalini is one of the greatest energies. The whole body of the seeker
starts glowing because of the rising of the Kundalini. Because of that,
unwanted impurities in the body disappear. The body of the seeker suddenly
looks very proportionate and the eyes look bright and attractive and the
eyeballs glow.

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Pure force of Kundalini frees all parts of the body from the diseases. Joint by
joint she fills the radiance in various regions of the body and frees the flow of
the blood through vessles.
Once every cell has been enlightened, the Kundalini again permeates the
whole being and fills it with divine power. At the same time she absorbs all
the forces of the body into herself and only she, the pri-mordial force of life,
remains.
Youth and age cease to exist and a pure state, existing beyond time, is born
in their place. Externally the body appears as clean and pure as the body of a
child, but the power of that force within is beyond description. The body of
the yogi possesses the radiance of gold, though it is of incredible lightness,
like the wind. The mass of earth, the weight of water, he no longer carries
within himself. All is thus achieved. The salt of the body dissolves itself in the
water. The water is consumed by the fire within. The fire in turn is
extinguished by a cooling wind in the heart. Only this cool whisper of divine
breath remains. On it the yogi is borne through all worlds, can look beyond
all seas, and even understand the thought processes of an ant. He walks
over water without getting his feet wet. Nothing lies beyond his reach. The
force itself becomes name-less, and the body is no longer of this earth, but in
its perfection is raised aloft into the heavens, where it becomes a worker of
wonders, without any effort.
The divine Breath is the reflection of the primordial Kundalini, the
immaculate Goddess. She is truly the Mother of the whole Universe, the
ultimate majesty of the soul. In the hour of a Yogis death Kundalini gathers
itself on the spinal column. Only the skin still covers the visible body of the
yogi, who has already ceased to live in the world of the elements. He is
empty and has become light.
Into the breath of the heart the Kundalini climbs and becomes a fountain of
divine sounds, as it unites with Shiva, the all-pervasive divine Being. The
body trembles all over with a gentle thunder at the consummation of this
union, and the resonance causes the opening, at the top of the head, of the
gateway to sublime freedom. Here at the top of the head is the region which
is called Sahasrara, or the thousand petalled lotus, and in the very centre, far
above the Void that spreads beneath the heart, there resides another Void,
that is called Brahmarandhra, or the dwelling place of God.
At the moment of death the power of Kundalini surges up for the last time
through the Sushumna channel in the centre of the spinal column, and

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pierces the zone of the Brahmarandhra, taking all the\ forces of life with her,
leaving nothing behind: everything dissolves into the stream of Kundalini,
whose own force is no longer discernible, nothing more than a gentle breeze.
Then the five elements that make up the body are dispersed, and fall away;
the body dissolves into itself, and this breeze of life unites with the breath of
the Divine, and both melt into the invis-ible formless form of God. Awareness
becomes free and absolute. It is no longer separate from Shiva. The Yogi has
become Gods child.

Ramkrishna Paramhansa (1836-1886)

Describing his experience of the rise of the Kundalini, the Master once said:
"Something rises with a tingling sensation from the feet to the head. So long
as it does not reach the brain, I remain conscious, but the moment it does so
I am dead to the outside world. Even the functions of seeing and hearing
come to a standstill, and talking is then out of the question. Who is to speak?
The very distinction between 'I' and 'you' vanishes. Sometimes I think I would
tell you everything about what I see and feel when that mysterious power
rises up to this, or even this (pointing to the heart and the throat). At that
stage it is possible to speak, which I do. But the moment it has gone above
this (pointing to the throat), somebody stops my mouth, as it were, and I am
off my moorings. I make up my mind to relate to you what I feel when the
Kundalini goes beyond the throat, but as I think over it, up goes the mind at
a bound, and there is an end of the matter!" Many a time did the Master
attempt to describe this state, but every time he failed. One day he was
determined to tell those present about these experiences and went on with
his description of them up to the stage when the energy rises to the level of
the throat. Then pointing to the sixth centre, opposite the junction of the
eyebrows, he said, "When the mind reaches this point, one catches a vision
of the Paramatman and falls into Samadhi. Only a thin, transparent veil
intervenes between the Jiva and the Paramatman. He then sees like this ... "
And as he attempted to explain it in detail, he fell into Samadhi! When his
mind came down a little, he tried it again, and again he was immersed in
Samadhi! After several fruitless attempts like this, he said with tears in his
eyes, "Well, I sincerely wish to tell you everything without concealing a bit,
but Mother won't let me do so on any account. She gags me!"
Again referring to the different ways in which the Kundalini rises to the brain,
the Master would often say, "Well, that which rises to the brain with a tingling
sensation does not always follow the same kind of movement. The scriptures
speak of its having five kinds of motion. First, the ant-like motion: one feels a
slow creeping sensation from the feet upwards like a row of ants creeping on
with food in their mouths. When it reaches the head, the Sadhaka (spiritual

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aspirant) falls into Samadhi. Second, the frog-like motion: just as frogs make
two or three short jumps in quick succession and then stop for a while to
proceed again, in the same way something is felt advancing from the legs to
the brain. When this reaches the brain, the man gets Samadhi. Third, the
serpentine motion: as snakes lie quiet, straight or coiled up, but as soon as
they find a victim in front, or get frightened, they run in a zigzag course, in
like manner the 'coiled up power' rushes to the head, and this produces
Samadhi. Fourth, the bird-like motion: just as birds in their flight from one
place to another take to their wings and fly sometimes a little high and
sometimes low without however stopping till they reach their destination,
even so that power progresses and reaches the brain, and Samadhi ensues.
Fifth and last, the monkey like movement: as monkeys going from one tree to
another take a leap from one branch to another and thus clear the distance
in two or three bounds, so the Yogi feels the Kundalini going to the brain, and
Samadhi ensues."
These experiences he would detail at other times from the Vedantic
standpoint, as follows: "The Vedanta speaks of seven planes, in each of
which the Sadhaka has a particular kind of vision. The human mind has a
natural tendency to confine its activities to the three lower centres the
highest of these being opposite the navel and therefore is content with the
satisfaction of the common physical appetites, such as eating and so forth.
But when it reaches the fourth centre, that is, the one opposite the heart, the
man sees divine effulgence. From this state, however, he often lapses into
the three lower centers. When the mind comes to the fifth centre opposite
the throat, the Sadhaka cannot talk of anything but God. While I was in this
state I would feel violently struck on the head if anybody raised worldly
topics before me. I would hide myself in the seclusion of the Panchavati
where I was safe from these inflictions. I would flee at the sight of worldlyminded people, and relatives appeared to me like a yawning chasm, from
which there was no escape if I once fell into it. I would feel suffocated in their
presence---almost to the point of death, and I would feel relieved only when I
left the spot. Even from this position a man may slip down to the three lower
centers. So he has to be on his guard. But he is above all fear when his mind
reaches the sixth centre opposite the junction of the eye-brows, He gets the
vision of the Paramatman and remains always in Samadhi. There is only a
thin transparent veil between this place and the Sahasrara or the highest
centre. He is then so near the Paramatman that he imagines he has merged
in Him. But really he has not. From this state the mind can come down to the
fifth, or at the most, to the fourth centre, but not below that. The ordinary
Sadhakas, classed as 'Jivas' cannot come down from this state. After
remaining constantly in Samadhi for twenty-one days they break that thin
veil and become one with the Lord for ever. This eternal union of the Jiva and
the Paramatman in the Sahasrara is known as getting into, the seventh
plane."
Excerpt from the book, Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

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Shirdi Sai Baba (1835-1918)

Shirdi Sai Baba like Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a fully accomplished yogi
and sage and lived his whole life in the small village of Shirdi,
Maharasthra. He used to say that ...afterwards a big snake awakened
(Kundalini awakened). It was very virulent and angry. Then it jumped up
and down - from The Gospel of Shri Shirdi Sai Baba: A Holy Spiritual Path
by Durari Arulneyam
J Krishnamurti (1895-1986)
Krishnamurti, a great sage and philosopher of 20th century left a deep impact
on the modern spirituality. He shunned the organized religions and the role of
a Guru in self-realization.
His statement...Truth is a pathless land...and that his mission is ...to set man
absolutely and unconditionally free... are the essence of his teachings.
Throughout his life J Krishnamurti experienced the force or energy and he
called this experience as the proccess. Its described in his biographies
written by Mary Lutyens and Pupul Jayakar.
Experiences from August 17-20, 1922
Then, on the 17th August, I felt acute pain at the nape of my neck and I had
to cut down the my meditation to fifteen minutes. The pain instead of getting
better as I had hoped grew worse. The climax was reached on the 19th. I
could not think, nor was I able to do anything, and I was forced by friends
here to retire to bed. Then I became almost unconscious, though I was well
aware of what was happening around me. I came to myself at about noon
each day. On the first day while I was in that state and more conscious of the
things around me, I had the first most extraordinary experience. There was a
man mending the road; that man was myself; the pickaxe he held was
myself; they very stone which he was breaking up was a part of me; the
tender blade of grass was my very being, and the tree beside the man was
myself. I almost could feel and think like the roadmender, and I could feel the
wind passing through the tree, and the little ant on the blade of grass I could
feel. The birds, the dust, and the very noise were a part of me. Just then
there was a car passing by at some distance; I was the driver, the engine,
and the tyres; as the car went further away from me, I was going away from
myself. I was in everything, or rather everything was in me, inanimate and
animate, the mountain, the worm, and all breathing things. All day long I
remained in this happy condition. I could not eat anything, and again at

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about six I began to lose my physical body, and naturally the physical
elemental did what it liked; I was semi-conscious.
The morning of the next day (the 20th) was almost the same as the previous
day, and I could not tolerate too many people in the room. I could feel them
in rather a curious way and their vibrations got on my nerves. That evening
at about the same hour of six I felt worse than ever. I wanted nobody near
me nor anybody to touch me. I was feeling extremely tired and weak. I think
I was weeping from mere exhaustion and lack of physical control. My head
was pretty bad and the top part felt as though many needles were being
driven in. While I was in this state I felt that the bed in which I was lying, the
same one as on the previous day, was dirty and filthy beyond imagination
and I could not lie in it. Suddenly I found myself sitting on the floor and Nitya
and Rosalind asking me to get into bed. I asked them not to touch me and
cried out that the bed was not clean. I went on like this for some time till
eventually I wandered out on the verandah and sat a few moments
exhausted and slightly calmer. I began to come to myself and finally Mr.
Warrington asked me to go under the pepper tree which is near the house.
There I sat crosslegged in the meditation posture. When I had sat thus for
some time, I felt myself going out of my body, I saw myself sitting down with
the delicate tender leaves of the tree over me. I was facing the east. In front
of me was my body and over my head I saw the Star, bright and clear. Then I
could feel the vibrations of the Lord Buddha; I beheld Lord Maitreya and
Master K.H. I was so happy, calm and at peace. I could still see my body and
I was hovering near it. There was such profound calmness both in the air and
within myself, the calmness of the bottom of a deep unfathomable lake. Like
the lake, I felt my physical body, with its mind and emotions, could be ruffled
on the surface but nothing, nay nothing, could disturb the calmness of my
soul. The Presence of the mighty Beings was with me for some time and then
They were gone. I was supremely happy, for I had seen. Nothing could ever
be the same. I have drunk at the clear and pure waters at the source of the
fountain of life and my thirst was appeased. Never more could I be thirsty,
never more could I be in utter darkness. I have seen the Light. I have
touched compassion which heals all sorrow and suffering; it is not for myself,
but for the world. I have stood on the mountain top and gazed at the mighty
Beings. Never can I be in utter darkness; I have seen the glorious and
healing Light. The fountain of Truth has been revealed to me and the
darkness has been dispersed. Love in all its glory has intoxicated my heart;
my heart can never be closed. I have drunk at the fountain of Joy and eternal
Beauty. I am God-intoxicated."
Source: Lutyens, Mary. Krishnamurti: The Years of Awakening,
(Boston: Shambhala, 1997) pp. 157-160.
1961 and beyond... excerpt is from his Note Book

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Little sleep but wake up to be aware that there is a great sense of driving
energy which is focused in the head. The body was groaning and yet it was
very still, stretched out flat and very peaceful. The room seemed to be full
and it was very late and the front door of the next house was shut with a
bang - There was not an idea, not a feeling and yet the brain was alert and
sensitive. The pressure and the strain were there causing pain. An odd thing
about this pain is that it does not in any way exhaust the body. There seems
to be so much happening within the brain but yet it is impossible to put into
words what exactly is taking place. There was a sense of measureless
expansion.
As one sat in the aeroplane amidst all the noise, smoking and loud talking,
most unexpectedly, the sense of immensity and that extraordinary
benediction which was felt at il L., that imminent feeling of sacredness,
began to take place. The body was nervously tense because of the crowd,
noise, etc. but in spite of all this, it was there. The pressure and the strain
were intense and there was acute pain at the back of the head. There was
only this state and there was no observer. The whole body was wholly in it
and the feeling of sacredness was so intense that a groan escaped from the
body and passengers were sitting in the next seats. It went on for several
hours, late into the night. It was as though one was looking, not with eyes
only but with a thousand centuries; it was altogether a strange occurrence.
The brain was completely empty, all reaction had stopped; during all those
hours, one was not aware of this emptiness but only in writing it is the thing
known, but this knowledge is only descriptive and not real. That the brain
could empty itself is an odd phenomenon. As the eyes were closed, the body,
the brain seemed to plunge into unfathomable depths, into states of
incredible sensitivity and beauty. The passenger in the next seat began to
ask something and having replied, this intensity was there; there was no
continuity but only being. And dawn was coming leisurely and the clear sky
was filling with light. As this is being written late in the day, with sleepless
fatigue, that sacredness is there. The pressure and the strain too.

UG Krishnamurti (1918-2007)

U. G. Krishnamurti, was an Indian sage who questioned anything which was

related to spirituality and enlightenment. For him it was not the Nirvana or
Moksha but the freedom of the biological body from the thoughts and
knowledge which was the most important goal of human life. He rejected the

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very basis of thought and in doing so negated all systems of thought and
knowledge.
Krishnamurti called this state of freedom of the body as the "natural state".
He claimed that the demand for enlightenment was the only thing standing
in the way of enlightenment itself, if enlightenment existed at all. He said It
is the body that is immortal. It is living from moment to moment. As a human
body it is an extraordinary piece of creation. But as a human being he is
rotten because of the culture.
His experiences of transformation were closer to what is described as
Kundalini.
U.G. refers to the events that happened to him during the summer of 1967
as the 'calamity':
I call it 'calamity' because from the point of view of one who thinks this is
something fantastic, blissful and full of beatitude, love, or ecstasy, this is
physical torture; this is a calamity from that point of view. Not a calamity to
me but a calamity to those who have an image that something marvelous is
going to happen.... I can never tell myself or anybody that I'm an enlightened
man, a liberated man, or a free man, or that I am going to liberate mankind.
On the eighth day he was sitting on the sofa and suddenly, in his words:
There was a tremendous outburst of energy--tremendous energy shaking the
whole body and along with the body, the sofa, the chalet and the whole
universe--shaking, vibrating. You cannot cause that movement.... Whether it
was coming from outside or inside, from below or above, I didn't know--I
couldn't locate the spot. It lasted for hours and hours.... There was nothing I
could do to stop it; I was totally helpless. This went on for days.
Then for three days U.G. lay on his bed, his body contorted with pain--it was,
he says, as if he felt pain in every cell of his body. Similar outbursts of energy
occurred intermittently throughout the next six months, whenever he lay
down or relaxed.
It's a very painful process. It's a physical pain--it has a form, a shape of its
own. It is like a river in spate. The energy that is operating there does not
feel the limitations of the body; it is not interested; it has its own momentum.
It is not an ecstatic, blissful beatitude and all that rubbish!
U.G. explains that thought had controlled his body to such an extent that
when that control loosened, the whole metabolism went agog. Then the
movement of his hands changed. They started turning backwards. 'That is
why they say my movements are mudras (mystical gestures).'

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Certain hormonal changes started occurring in his body. Now he didn't know
whether he was a man or a woman. Suddenly there was a breast growing on
the left side of his chest. It took three years for his body to finally fall into a
new rhythm of its own.
Here U.G. questions the value of this description for the world. Reading
about it may be dangerous because people may try to mimic the outward
manifestations of the process. People have a tendency to simulate these
things and believe that something is happening to them.
While going through these changes in his body, his friends observed that
Up and down his torso, neck and head, at those points which Indian holy
men call chakras, his friends observed swellings of various shapes and
colors, which came and went at intervals. On his lower abdomen the
swellings were horizontal, cigar-shaped bands. Above the navel was a hard,
almond-shaped swelling. A hard, blue swelling, like a large medallion, in the
middle of his chest was surmounted by another smaller, brownish-red,
medallion-shaped swelling at the base of his throat. These two 'medallions'
were as though suspended from a varicolored, swollen ring -- blue, brownish
and light yellow -- around his neck, as in pictures of the Hindu gods. There
were also other similarities between the swellings and the depictions of
Indian religious art: his throat was swollen to a shape that made his chin
seem to rest on the head of a cobra, as in the traditional images of Siva; just
above the bridge of the nose was a white lotus-shaped swelling; all over the
head the small blood vessels expanded, forming patterns like the stylized
lumps on the heads of Buddha statues. Like the horns of Moses and the
Taoist mystics, two large, hard swellings periodically came and went. The
arteries in his neck expanded and rose, blue and snake-like, into his head.

Pandit Gopikrishna (1903-1984)

It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that Gopikrishna revived the interest in
Kundalini in modern times. He was an accomplished Kundalini master and
taught and wrote from the direct experience. His teachings not only include
the direct experience of Kundalini which he had for many years but also the
importance of Kundalini from biological, scientific and evolutionary
perspective. He describes various aspects of Kundalini in many lucidly
written book. Following paragraph is from his book Kundalini: Path to Higher
Consciousness...
Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light
entering my brain through the spinal cord. Entirely unprepared for such a

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development, I was completely taken by surprise; but regaining my selfcontrol, keeping my mind on the point of concentration. The illumination
grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking
sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in
a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the
point of consciousness that was myself growing wider surrounded by waves
of light. It grew wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, normally
the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the
distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all
consciousness without any outline, without any idea of corporeal appendage,
without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea
of light simultaneously conscious and aware at every point, spread out, as it
were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction. I was no
longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a
small point of awareness confined to a body, but instead was a vast circle of
consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a
state of exultation and happiness impossible to describe.
About a year after his first Kundalini experience, his dreams began to take on
a "phosphorescent" quality and he experienced the transformation of his
dream life:
Every night during sleep I was transported to a glittering fairyland, where
garbed in luster I glided from place to place, light as a feather. Scene after
scene of inexpressible glory unfolded before my vision. The incidents were of
the usual character common to dreams. They lacked coherence and
continuity, but although strange, fanciful and fantastic, they possessed a
visionary character, surrounded by landscapes of vastness and magnificence
seldom seen in real life. In my dreams, I usually experienced a feeling of
security and contentment with the absence of anything the least disturbing
or disharmonious...
Krishna, Pandit Gopi, Kundalini: Path to Higher Consciousness

Jivasu Sudden awakening

It was an afternoon in the hot month of June, 1984. As I was slowly waking up
from a siesta before visiting the ashram hospital, I was suddenly seized with
a searing pain in my head. Before I could think of doing something about it,
my body filled with electrical energy that soon started moving in a wheel-like
fashion, in my abdomen, chest and head. To add to the confusion, my
breathing became erratic and shallow and heart was pounding with speed in

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my chest. I had intense nausea as well a desire to use the toilet. I felt a
sense of impending death. Frightened and thinking that I was about to die, I
somehow gained the strength, threw myself off the bed and crawled to the
bathroom. Soon I was holding my head under the running cold water from
the tap. After a few minutes, the treatment worked. The headache began to
disappear and my energy began to calm. I stood up and looked in the
bathroom mirror. My face was ashen grey, as if all the blood had been
drained from my body and it felt completely empty. The total duration of the
experience must have been about ten minutes. I came out of the room and
looked at the ashram buildings, the river in the valley and people walking on
the street. They looked like holographic images projected in empty space.
Their solidity was gone and they were like images from the dreams.

Some of the common symptoms and signs of the Kundalini

awakening
Energetic sensations like electricity in the body or internal lightening
bolts
A sensation of insects or snakes crawling on the body, often along the
spine

Waves of intense pleasure or bliss, even leading to the orgasm

Sensory overload sounds, lights, noise everything becomes too

much

Mudras (hand gestures), Bandhas (locks), Asanas (postures), or

Pranayama (breathing practices) may come spontaneously rather than
being intentionally practiced

A sense of confusion or uncertainty about what is happening in these

experiences

Inner sounds, such as musical instruments, buzzing, roaring, or

thunder

Waves of creative, intellectual, or spiritual insights

repeated intense inner body heat "hot flashes", hands and/or bottoms
of feet extremely hot, spine, back, head, entire body heat

repeated cold flashes, inner body cold spots, certain chakra areas turn
cold for periods

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muscle spasms, twitching, itching, strange sensations on or under the

skin, nerve sensitivity

mental confusion, inability to focus mentally, temporary loss of certain

words, names, terms etc.

sudden mood changes, intense anger, frustration, sadness, joy, bliss,

repulsion of all things negative

smelling smokey burning incense when none is physically there

clairaudiently hearing non-physical sounds, voices, words, clicks,

buzzing, unrecognizable sounds

sudden waves of dizziness, sense of falling, sense of tipping over,

dropping through the floor etc.

Feelings like snakes or ants crawling on the body, particularly along the
spine, or between the feet and head

sudden eating/food changes,

severe belly bloat, swelling in the gut & upper diaphragm area,

intense phases of pain in the head, pressures in the head, skull sore
and bruised feeling

inability to physically be around people and/or large groups of people

inability to function, need for privacy & quiet to survive all you're living
through

nightmares, archetypal dreams, lucid dreams. Insomnia or waking up

at specific time of night

repeatedly coming awake at specific times of the night

profound physical exhaustion, emotional exhaustion, mental

exhaustion

body weakness, muscle weakness, lethargy, achy body, bones, joints

Manic states, restless, edgy, can't relax, can't rest or be comfortable,

mind races despite exhausted body. Feels feverish without having fever
with chills

glorious changes and expansions in consciousness, perceptions,

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Experiences on the Path of Kundalini Yoga The

final results
The Ego and Beyond
The first step on the path of Kundalini Yoga is the development of a
healthy ego. Without a well-grounded ego, the foundations of spiritual life will
be shaky. If we attempt to transcend an ego that is not fully formed, we can
face both mental and physical health problems.

The Healthy Ego

The four features of a healthy ego are as follows:
1. Self-care
2. Care of others
3. Trust
4. Boundaries
1. Self-care
Self-care and self-love are the most important features of a healthy ego.
If we can love and take care of ourselves then we can do the same for
others. Self-care includes care of the body, emotions and intellect, which
leads to growth and development. Self-care should be done according to our
innate nature.
2. Care of Others
Care of others is not only needed to ward off self-indulgence and
narcissism but also to maintain ones self-esteem, which is the egos driving
force. In a way, appropriate care of others is equivalent to self-care. An ego
shaped by culture needs energy and rewards from family and society. It is
through the care of others that we receive these rewards.
3. Trust
When we have a healthy ego, we are able to trust people. These bonds of
trust promote psychological health, and they also help us move ahead in the
world. Forging strong links with others will support us in times of both
prosperity and hardship. Without this vital trust, we will live in constant
anxiety and sense danger everywhere.

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4. Boundaries
When we have a healthy ego, we also need to create boundaries.
Appropriate boundaries protect us from others who might harm us physically
or emotionally. The concept of boundaries also applies to our own mental
landscape. We cant allow all of the endless thoughts and emotions that arise
within us to occupy our brain, or else our emotional landscape will be in
chaos. We must learn the art of discriminating between what is healthy and
appropriate for us, and what is harmful. We must allow in only that which can
be assimilated with ease and comfort. It can be tempting to leave ourselves
wide open to all sorts of people, experiences, thoughts and emotions but
this is not healthy. Creating boundaries is the art of saying No.
4. Quest
Quest the inner and outer restlness of ego to find, discover, possess
and know more.

Individual and Collective Ego

The ego not only provides protection from the maddening dance of life
and death but it also helps in survival, both individually and collectively. At
an individual level, a well-developed ego is an essential step on our lifes
journey. As we explored in earlier in this chapter, the healthy ego has four
elements self-care, care of others, trust, and boundaries. These form a solid
foundation for the development of the personality, and a well-functioning
social identity. Without this foundation, an individual who tries to explore the
mysteries of life and death may be thrown into emotional chaos.
At a collective level, ego consciousness makes humans a self-reflective
species, aware of the vast movement of emotions, thoughts and memory. As
this awareness develops, we can reflect upon life and decide the course of
action that is best for our survival and development. We move to a level of
reflection that helps us to prevent actions that put our lives at risk. Because
of this capacity of awareness, reflection and planned action, we have
become the most powerful species on earth.
But what are the costs of this dominance of ego in our lives? The ego
is like an engine that constantly needs fuel to operate. Self-esteem is this
fuel. Without constant injections of self-esteem, the ego collapses. Selfesteem is boosted by rewards, achievements and recognition. Elaborate
social and cultural traditions, customs and behaviors constantly create the
energy of self-esteem. While this is a natural and positive process, we can
become slaves to our egos, caught up in an endless cycle of seeking
approval and reward.
Our ego has been strongly influenced by the process of enculturation,
creating a worldview whose boundaries are limited by a particular place and

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time. Also, our experiences are being constantly filtered by the ego, allowing
in only those perceptions that do not shake an artificially created sense of
security. The combination of these factors results in a narrow and distorted
view of the world.
The protective boundaries imposed by the ego also block us from fully
experiencing who we are. By confining reality to symbols, we gain some
sense of mastery over our environment. But in the process of naming the
nameless, life becomes trapped by symbols and its free movement is lost
within the rigid boundary of form. Instead of intimacy with a world teeming
with life, we experience only a partial view of the world, limited by the
boundaries created by our symbols. We have to go beyond these boundaries
in order to experience life and death directly.

Learning about our Own Egos: An Ego Typology

Learning more about the characteristics of own egos can be very helpful
in our quest to discover our innate nature. Thousands of years ago, Indian
sages and Ayurvedic scholars developed a typology of the ego, which can
serve as a basis for examination of our own ego tendencies. In this typology
of the ego, there are three categories:
1.
Tamsic or stuck/inert People in whom this type of constitu is
predominant are fearful, and avoid action in the world. Often, they suffer
from low self-esteem. The thought of action brings anxiety. As a result,
their motivation to move forward in the world is lacking.
2.
Rajsic or passionate A person with a Rajsic ego tends to be
assertive, arrogant and sometimes aggressive. Such individuals are often
thought to be egotistic. On the positive side, these individuals are active
in the world, and may display significant leadership qualities.
3.
Satvic or harmonious People in whom a Satvic ego is
predominant tend to be caring, gentle and loving. The Satvic ego is the
most adaptable ego type, and such individuals often are naturally drawn
to a spiritual path.

Opening to Door to Self-Knowing The Way of Crisis

and Loss
Most people prefer to stay within the familiar boundaries of their known
world - a comfortable place for the ego. However, sometimes life will impart
them a shattering blow, whether it is a personal loss, a failure, or a
devastating illness. This event destroys the edifice upon which the ego is
built. In such moments, the egos comfortable world crumbles. These
catastrophic moments in life allow the suppressed content of the

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subconscious to flood the mind, brain and body. We become overwhelmed

and lost. We feel a sense of disillusionment as we realize that the social and
cultural values we held dear are limited and give us no real understanding of
life. Once this devastating realization sets in, we may fall into despair.
For most people, recovery from a devastating life event involves
rebuilding the structure of the ego. We try to incorporate the event into the
way we view the world, by making it a part of the narrative of our life. This is
a healthy strategy in many ways, because it allows us to begin functioning in
the world once more. However, by merely rebuilding the structure of the ego
we are actually losing a precious opportunity for spiritual growth.
In order for us to progress spiritually beyond the bounds of the egos
structure, we have to face our subconscious. Conscious life is only a small
part of our total existence. Its like the tip of the iceberg, while hidden
underneath is a vast ocean of human experience. Here lie feelings of guilt,
anger, and fear; memories of trauma, failure and despair; wounds and scars
from painful events of the past. But this mysterious ocean of human
experience also includes light, insight, creativity and joy the most precious
gifts of the subconscious. These treasures can be discovered when we enter
the dark world of the subconscious and illuminate it with the light of
consciousness. We can then transform its energy and integrate it into our
daily lives.
So we see that a shattering experience of disillusionment can actually
become the catalyst for great spiritual growth. We become vulnerable and
receptive, acquiring the sensitivity required for change. When we reach this
level of sensitivity, then the distraction and protection provided by the ego is
no longer effective. If this process is allowed to take its own course, it leads
to the experience of soul or wholeness. A second birth occurs within us as we
are born into the wholeness of soul. We become creators and recreate
ourselves. Rebirth is the result of this mind-body union.

Opening the Door to Self-Knowing: The Way of Love

Love cannot dissolve the ego but it provides space and is a catalyst for
such dissolution. Although love helps us cope with fear, it cannot take us
beyond it. However, it provides the ground upon which fearlessness can
develop.
Love is hard wired into the body and brain. This feeling we call love is a
deep part of all living beings, an essential condition for survival. Out of love,
new life is conceived and born. Out of love, a mother cares for her child.
Feelings of love are present at all levels of human relationship, whether it is
between a parent and child, between lovers, wife and husband, brother and
sister or between friends. This love has nothing to do with a conscious
cultivation of the emotion of affection. It is simply present in the fibers of all

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living beings. Love expresses itself in many forms depending on the stage of
evolution. It can manifest as sex, passion, emotional attachment, devotion,
intellectual longing and universal love or connection.
Not only does love have a basic survival value but it is essential for
pleasure, joy and wellness in daily life. Babies who are not touched in a
loving way during the early months of their lives suffer from an inner atrophy.
Their brains do not mature fully and they miss something vital for proper
development. They may look physically healthy but their inner world doesnt
have the same richness of feeling and response. They may be emotionally
cold and are often unable to form lasting bonds. They may lose their capacity
to receive and give love, and as a result experience loneliness. We cannot
live without pleasure, so if deprived, we seek pleasure through food, power,
wealth, dominance and excessive consumption.
Real love not only gives us freedom from those complex systems of
pleasure but also cultivates a natural restraint. A person who experiences
love derives contentment from within by connecting lovingly with others.
Such contentment prevents the search for excessive external pleasure. Love
gives us a feminine or nurturing quality, and a gentle flexibility expresses
itself within us. Loving people dont seek worldly power for their own gain
and they are not empire-builders. At some level, it is a lack of love that
pushes us to consume, dominate and kill. We may become materially rich
but remain poor, lonely and insecure within.
Although each cell of our body is soaked with love, we don't always
perceive that love. So often, these feelings are obscured and suppressed by
the thinking mind. As time goes on, the mind's presence becomes more and
more overwhelming and slowly love becomes a thought process. However, if
love is given its full expression, then it can break through the rigidity of the
mind, and wash away all the structures created by thought. Love clears the
path for a sacred journey.
When the body discovers its innate love, the prison of the ego is
shattered. Love unleashes energy in the very root of our being, uncovering
hidden memories of trauma, tragedies and conditioning. Because it washes
away the past and awakens the body, love provides space for true revolution
and real reformation. The bodys awakening is a biological transformation
that soaks our whole being with unending passion.
As love ascends from the lower levels it becomes progressively freer. It
moves from sex to attachment, attachment to devotion, devotion to
creativity and finally from creativity to bliss. When love surpasses its own
limits, it becomes nameless and timeless.

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Ego, Free Will and Freedom

As we develop a more scientific understanding of our world and of our
own body and mind, it is becoming clear that there are no independent
entities, individuals or even thoughts in the universe. Everything is
connected with everything else. Since every part of nature affects and
influences every other part, there is no possibility of complete independence.
This brings us to the question of free will. Free will is the ability to think
and act completely independent of our environment or culture. A person with
free will can live in absolute aloneness and act on the world with total
freedom.
But- is free will really possible?
We are not born as clean slates. We come into the world with our own
particular nature, constitution or temperament, which determines how we
are going to respond to the natural and human-made world. The blueprint of
future behavior has been laid down even before we are born. Our nature is
not rigid, however, because it contains a range of possibilities. It is the
foundation upon which we build our lives. This nature is the result of
countless past generations and their interaction with the environment. This is
all transmitted through our parents genes.
After birth, culture begins to condition us to become people who can be
assimilated and absorbed into society. In essence, a person is a product of
both their genetic makeup and cultural conditioning. While genes create a
general biological and psychological template, cultural and social influences
fill in the specific details of the person. This mixture of nature and nurture
forms the basic structure of the ego.
Is it therefore possible to think of a person as someone with free will?
Can we become totally independent of the world and think, speak, choose
and act completely free of any internal or external influence whatsoever?
Free will is neither biologically nor psychologically possible. Free will is an
illusion of the ego, a false understanding of the importance of the individual
self within the universe. With the increasing dominance of ego in our lives,
we forget our original nature. We use the ego as a shield against the fear of
death, and gradually we live our lives within that illusory world. Instead of
being a shield to protect us from fear, the ego becomes a prison that traps
us and prevents us from perceiving a greater truth.
The illusory world creates by the ego is shattered when death comes to
the physical body, because the ego is rendered helpless and eventually, it
collapses. But is it possible to move out of that illusory world before we face
our physical death? In other words, is it possible to transcend the ego?

Going Beyond the Ego

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We have seen that the idea of free will actually isolates us from the rest
of the world. If we truly had free will, we could act independently of the past
and future. But this is simply not possible. As we develop a more scientific
understanding of our world and of our own body and mind, it is becoming
clear that there are no independent entities, individuals or even thoughts in
the universe. Everything is connected with everything else. Since every part
of nature affects and influences every other part, there is no possibility of
complete independence and therefore, we cannot have true free will.
Instead, we must see the universe as a whole, wherein each part is integral
to the whole.
However, the absence of free will doesnt mean the absence of freedom.
Life always gives us many choices, and there are many doors to freedom
waiting to be opened. We can think of life as having a wide range of
possibility, which may become reality as our awareness expands. With this
expanding awareness, one becomes cognizant of the presence of the many
doors of freedom - doors that were always there but hidden. As we learn to
open these doors, we move into greater awareness and a different quality of
freedom.
This freedom is part of a wholeness that goes beyond an ego trapped by
ignorance. As we make a choice on the path to freedom, a new door opens.
This gives us more freedom and more choice. Finally, a point comes when
this freedom becomes boundless, timeless and infinite. At that point all doors
disappear and no structure confines life. This is the experience of a cosmic
state. Here, there is no free will but total freedom.

The Soul State

In the preceding chapter, we explored how the ego creates an image of
the world around us, and our place within that world. Although it has an
important role to play in our lives, the ego also imposes limitations that
affect our ability to understand ourselves.
As we begin to move beyond the confines of the ego, we become aware
of a deeper source of knowledge. This is the knowledge of the soul. The
word soul has been used in many different contexts, both secular and
religious. Here I am using the word soul as a way to refer to our innate
nature, which often remains hidden from our conscious perception. As we
tap into soul knowledge, we move to a much more profound understanding
of ourselves.

Discovering our Innate Nature

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Despite the limitations imposed by the ego, there is always a part of our
being that does not surrender to these constraints. The flame of innate
nature burns brightly deep within each of us, calling us to explore our own
unique path. Our innate nature is dynamic and constantly sends signals of its
presence. We may ignore it in order to maintain a comfortable existence
within society, but then we live a fragmented life plagued by a persistent
conflict between our innate nature and the ego. It is the struggle between
what is and what should be.
This fragmented life can lead to a persistent state of alienation, conflict
and discontent. We are aware that something is missing from our lives
something precious and unique.
We lack a sense of wholeness and
fulfillment, but we dont know how to achieve this state of well-being. As a
result, we struggle with a deep sense of frustration. There are many ways in
which we try to assuage that frustration, whether by the pursuit of material
goods, power, or money.
In an earlier chapter, we explored the concept of innate nature at some
length, drawing in concepts from Ayurvedic ideas about constitution and
personality. As we progress on our inner journeys, we begin to reclaim our
own innate nature. As this seed of self-understanding begins to grow and
then to flower, we become increasingly aware of our own destiny the
unique roles that we are meant to play in this world.
But the path to discovering our innate nature is a long and difficult one.
Teachers, parents and social and religious leaders encourage children to
dream, wanting children to achieve great things to help create a better
world. Rarely do adults encourage children to realize and express their innate
and natural potential. These waking dreams become part of the ego.
Although these dreams are borrowed from culture, we still carry them with us
to escape fear. Such dreams dont come from a childs authentic nature, so
they are fragile and can shatter easily when faced with the existential
problems and challenges of life.
Children are encouraged to dream in order to reach the top of the social
ladder. However, once the dream is realized, many still remain unfulfilled and
the search goes on for more. It is rare to meet people who feel a sense of
fulfillment and abundance after having achieved their dreams. These
borrowed dreams cannot bring contentment.
But does this mean we should not have dreams at all? Dreams are both
wonderful and appropriate if they are in accordance with our own nature and
not against it. They can bring passion and joy. Once we are in touch with our
true nature, a different kind of dream emerges. These dreams express our
innate nature through the arts, science, religion and a new culture.
In the process of fulfilling our dreams, reaching a goal becomes the most
important task. This becomes a burden because we want to attain the
reward as soon as possible with the least amount of effort. But when dreams

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emerge from our inner nature then the journey becomes as delightful as the
destination. Our parents, teachers, leaders or culture no longer determine
our goals. We decide what goals to pursue and we feel fulfilled because both
dream and action come from within. Each person comes to a point of selfactualization, and will experience the same joy of fulfillment regardless of
their position.
However, this natural process is all too rare. Most of us pursue dreams
contrary to the natural flow of life and inevitably, they are shattered. This
disillusionment is painful but it opens the door for the discovery of our own
nature. However, disillusionment in itself is not sufficient for true
transformation. Disillusionment may temporarily shatter the worldview given
to us by culture and give us a brief glimpse of who we truly are. Usually
however, cultural traditions, family and religion swoop in to pacify us. Before
we can go beyond disillusionment in search of our innate nature, we are
seduced back into society. Since most of us cannot endure the pain of
disillusionment, we happily accept the consolation of these old dreams and
abandon our quest for truth.
A person who never pays attention to their own innate nature remains
ignorant about the power and energy hidden within and depends on external
sources for psychological survival. The path of self-discovery is not easy,
since a new way of living has to replace the old. Everything truly new has to
come from within the seeker rather than from the outside world. Often the
disillusionment that brought about the possibility of self-discovery is quickly
replaced by another dream from culture and the cycle starts all over again.
The person never arrives at the state of self-fulfillment.
These dreams ultimately lead us nowhere. There is no progress on lifes
path, as we keep moving within the same boundaries. Slowly the inevitable
physical and psychological decay sets in. As we grow old, both in body and
mind, society leaves us behind. After a life spent pursuing dreams and goals
shaped by culture, we are seemingly discarded. We become obsolete in the
outer world, and empty within. Stripped of outer rewards, we face old age in
desolation.
However, we may refuse to accept dreams re-packaged by society. We
say no to the prescriptions, distractions and consolations, and refuse to
forget the wound that disillusionment has created. Rather than distracting
ourselves in the pursuit of mindless pleasure, we feel the pain in its entirety.
We dont seek shelter in theories, philosophies or religion, but stay with what
we are experiencing in its full depth and darkness. We refuse to repair the
shattered dreams, because we realize that underneath lies something
precious. As we allow ourselves to undergo this process, the sensitive self
emerges. In the darkness of despair, a nascent self has been nourished.
Without the death of the old self, the new cannot be born or grow. Despair is
poison for the old self but it is vital nourishment for the emerging natural
self.

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Despair is a time of darkness during which one does not know where to
go. This is a difficult time because all that belongs to the past becomes futile
and meaningless. Relatives, friends, power, wealth, religion- everything that
once formed the foundation of life, feels empty and meaningless. Yet from
this darkness, new life emerges. In the process of rebirth, we become
psychologically free. The journey from the borrowed dream into Soul is about
the transformation of a person into an individual.
The most surprising thing is that after disillusionment, dreams return.
These dreams, however, are rooted in our individuality and innate nature and
contain all the energy and passion of our body, feelings and thoughts.
The process of shattering, disillusionment and rebirth into our innate
nature is summarized below.

Normal endless cycle of life and death

Dreams (worldly)
Deeds
Disillusionment
Distractions and dreams
Decay
Death (physical)

Ending the endless cycle and moving into freedom

Dreams (worldly)
Deeds
Disillusionment
Despair
Death (psychological)
Deliverance
Dreams (innate)

Soulfulness-Full Flowering of the Person

While the ego is the foundation of human life in the world, the soul roots
us in our innate nature. Our home becomes internal rather than external. The
soul is the flowering of a person and it is when we become fully functional

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individuals. Like the ego, the soul expresses itself in many ways. Below are
some of the main ways that we can feel the presence and movement of soul.
- Connection love and compassion
-- Natural meditation
- Well-being
- Healing and creativity
- Accepting mortality
- Awakening of our bodily, emotional and intellectual intelligence
- Witnessing Consciousness
- Discovering Destiny
Connection Love and compassion
The word soul comes from the word solo which means to stand alone.
However, it doesnt mean feeling lonely or living in isolation. Aloneness is
the experience of being with ones own self. To be alone means that the inner
space which was once occupied by the ego is emptied and refilled by ones
own fullness.
With soulfulness there is a sense of space within to move, think and live.
We dont feel isolated because now connection and communication with the
world is genuine, authentic and wholesome. True compassion develops. In
order to be compassionate we must have enough space within to truly feel
anothers fear and suffering. We cant be compassionate when our inner
space is cluttered with our own sorrows and unresolved problems.
When we try to show compassion through an ego state we inevitably
fail, because the ego is riddled with divisions and fragmentations. Our
compassion is selective and biased. We constantly react to events, mostly
based on unconscious biases and judgments as well as memories of past
events. Reaction is always based on the past and future and creates chaos in
the psyche, consuming a great deal of energy, reopening old wounds and
creating new wounds. So much of the time we live a wounded life, due to this
recurrent process of reaction.
However, the soul responds rather than reacts. A response is
immediate, without any involvement of the past or future. Response is
conscious and comes from the present moment. Mirroring, and the
compassion that is born out of it, is a state of total perception without delay
or analysis of any kind. It is not a thought-out process but an immediate
response, not interfered with by memory. Its a complete feeling that doesnt
leave a mark on the brain. The brain becomes a smooth, self-cleaning mirror.

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Here we must make a distinction between compassion, sympathy and

empathy. Sympathy is a cultivated pattern of words and gestures, taught to
us in order to form relationships with others. Sympathy is a necessary social
and cultural formality, but it doesn't touch the true heart. In contrast to
sympathy, empathy comes from the heart and is authentic. One feels the
pain and sorrow of another and is ready to extend a helping hand. But the
problem with empathy is that we often accumulate the suffering of others
and become burdened by them.
True compassion doesnt consume energy nor does it carry any notion of
sacrifice. In true compassion, the person feels the sorrows and pain of the
other, and responds. But those sorrows and pain dont leave any mark on the
person. Everything is experienced and then its gone. It emerges from within,
without seeking recognition or reward, and is accompanied by joy and
energy. One does not become depleted when offering true compassion,
because it arises from an inexhaustible well within.
Natural Meditation
The egos self-reflection and self-observation is incomplete because the
ego cannot penetrate the subconscious. Its world remains divided and so ego
meditation is a technique only and not natural meditation. While in a soul
state, all is observed and reflected without judgment. Its like standing on the
shores of a turbulent ocean and watching the waves with complete serenity.
Meditation becomes effortless and spontaneous - natural meditation.
Well-Being
At this point, the social and cultural conditioning of the ego is shattered
and the brain and body are freed from constriction and conformity. They are
filled with energy. The reward or pleasure centers become fully active on
their own without stimulation from outside. The sense of well-being that
arises doesnt depend on external factors, so we become less dependent on
the world for pleasure, happiness and joy. This soul state has been described
as being intoxicated with the Divine. This state is also the experience of
wholeness.
Healing and Creativity
Compassionate, loving and non-judgmental witnessing of the world, both
inside and out, is the beginning of healing. Such witnessing is free from
anger, fear, disgust, guilt or shame. The flame of awareness illuminates the
hidden subconscious mind, where old wounds, scars and painful memories
have accumulated. These memories consume the precious resources of the

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brain, leaving little energy to face and resolve lifes deeper problems.
Awareness turns these memories into a stream of energy. This energy
washes away the old, from the brain and body and old wounds are healed.
We are left with a clear body and mind.
Soulful creativity is different from ordinary creativity. In ordinary
creativity new forms of poetry, science, music and philosophies are created.
Although the souls creativity includes all these creative expressions, it also
helps in recreating the creative people themselves. With awareness and
compassion, we are carved into new individuals. We are recreated according
to our own innate nature and reborn as fully functional and healed
individuals.
The lives of many creative people are full of suffering, discontent and
self-destruction. Those around them also suffer and pay a high personal
price. However, in soulful creativity, we are in harmony within and with the
outside world.
Awakening of Body, Emotion and Intellect Intelligence
At the very root of individual existence is our innate nature. This
nature branches into three components of our being - body, emotions and
thoughts. Each has its own intelligence. The higher the position of a
component in terms of evolution, the more powerful and dominant that
component becomes. Emotion is more powerful than the body and the
intellect is stronger than emotion. The ego muffles the intelligence of the
body, which results in a conflict between the intellect, emotions and body.
As we discussed earlier, the pure direct experiences of the body and
emotions are filtered and edited by the ego. We rarely experience anything
directly, because of fear of the unknown. When the ego goes through the
dark and turbulent passage of the subconscious, it is slowly stripped of its
power. Only at this point is it possible for us to face our own death. In these
moments of clarity, we realize that the notion of I as the doer is an illusion.
As the illusion of the doer ends, witnessing consciousness begins.
Two stories from the ancient Hindu scriptures illustrate the significance of
facing our fear of death. The Katha Upanishad is a book of rare beauty and
depth, in which the story of Nachiketa captures the essence of the dialogue
between life and death. Nachiketa is a young man who has a deep faith as
well as an enquiring mind. One day he questions the meaning of a ritual that
his father is performing. His father is insulted by his probing questions and
curses him, sending him to face the Lord of death, Yamraj. In a moment
Nachiketa arrives at the abode of Yamraj, a place where nobody ever returns
to the world of the living. Yamraj is not at his home, and Nachiketa has to
wait three days for him to return. When Yamraj finally returns, he becomes
curious about this boy who has waited so long to see him, and has such an

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enquiring mind. After they speak for some time, Yamraj finally tells
Nachiketa that he may return to the land of the living and that he will be
granted three boons. For the third boon, Nachiketa asks: "Lord! Every living
being in the world is mortal. They go through a cycle of happiness and grief
in accordance with their meritorious work or sin. It is said that even if the
body dies, the soul remains eternal. What is the secret of this? Tell me the
answer to this."
Yamraj wants to avoid the answer to this question but Nachiketa
persists. Finally, Yamraj elaborates on the nature of the true Self, which
persists beyond death. The key of the realization is that this Self (within each
person) is inseparable from the supreme spirit, the vital force in the universe.
Satisfied, Nachiketa returns to his home and re-unites with his father. The
meaning of this story is that only the knowledge of death can bless us with a
full life.
The same theme is explored in the story of Savitri and Satyavan from the
epic known as the Mahabharat. Savitri, representative of feminine energy,
frees Satyavan, the masculine force, from death by her courageous
encounter with the Lord of Death. Satyavan is a prince who is told by a seer
that he will die at an early age. The princess Savitri loves him deeply, and
marries him in spite of knowing about the prediction. Satyavan does die at
his appointed day and time and is taken away by Yamraj, the Lord of Death.
But Savitri has a determined spirit, and decides to follow Yamraj into the
Kingdom of Death. Moved by her devotion, Yamraj finally agrees to restore
Satyavan to life. The Savitri-Satyavan story is a metaphor about the meaning
of life and death. Savitri in this story represents the embodiment of spirit and
spirituality, which is capable of bringing the essence of life back from the
clutches of death. Consciousness, rather than the physical body, is the
essence of life.

Bodys Intelligence
We are grounded in our bodies, the basis of our lives. Within the body, all
evolution and involution takes place. The last part of involution, the most
difficult to achieve, is the expansion of the bodys intelligence into a
universal experience. How can the expansion of the bodys intelligence be
described? Although we can be aware of thoughts and emotions, we are only
dimly aware of the interior functioning of the body. It is a dense darkness
where consciousness lies deeply buried. Most of us go through life never
becoming aware of the bodys unique intelligence.
In animals, the body moves and functions in instinctual patterns that
govern eating, sleeping, and reproduction. But in humans, this bodily rhythm

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is disturbed by the ego. The quantity of food, exercise, sleep, sex, and work
are all governed by the ego and this comes in direct conflict with the natural
rhythm of the body.
When a person moves into a soul state, the egos grip is released and the
body begins to function with its natural rhythm, with an inherent inner
discipline. Its a state of natural austerity, where the body takes what is
necessary to maintain life, no more, no less. There is no withdrawal or
indulgence. When the body is functioning with its own natural rhythm, it
maintains an inner balance or homeostasis. In this state of homeostasis, we
feel a deep sense of wellbeing and energy. A constant sense of wellbeing is a
sign that the bodys intelligence has awakened. This is an important step on
the journey, but by no means the last.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotions originate in the body and are connected to the limbic system of
the mammalian complex of the brain. Emotions provide finely tuned input
about the internal and external environment, which helps to protect the body
and maintain a state of internal balance or homeostasis. While the body has
its own mechanisms for maintaining balance, emotional intelligence
compliments and enhances these mechanisms. Emotions are spontaneous
and automatic. When we become conscious of them we experience them as
feelings. The distinction between emotions and feelings has been clearly
described in the writings of neuropsychologist Antonio Damasio.
There are six primary emotions- fear, anger, happiness, sadness, surprise
and disgust. These six have been observed in the facial expressions of
people from various cultures all over the world. Out of these six emotions,
four and a half are negative. Surprise can be negative and sometimes
positive. We have more negative emotions to ensure survival against the
many dangers present in the world. Fear is the most basic emotion and the
root of all other emotions as we have explored.
Many of the emotions and feelings we cherish are compound emotions
created by social and cultural conditioning. They are a mix of primary
emotion and social and cultural learning. Such emotions include guilt,
jealousy, shame, resentment, love, hatred, and embarrassment. All emotions
have their own purpose, even those that we typically classify as "negative"
emotions. When the emotion is not connected to the body and the higher
cognitive functions then it can have detrimental effects. For example, fear is
useful to a point but in excess, it paralyzes and constricts life. Anger is a
defensive action but excessive anger becomes violence. Jealousy is
necessary because it protects a relationship and pushes us to be our best,
but in excess, it is destructive. Guilt is corrective but excessive guilt is a
prison.

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If emotions become disconnected with the body and cognitive

intelligence, they can result in an unstable state of dysregulation and
dysfunction. In contrast, the body in a state of positive homeostasis
nourishes and grounds emotions, while cognitive intelligence fine-tunes them
according to our natural, social and cultural environment.
Emotional intelligence is a dynamic state of body and mind. It has two
main features:
1. Emotions are connected consciously with the body and with the
cognitive or thinking mind.
2. They are expressed consciously and not accumulated in the brain and
body as memories, so there is no pattern formation and addiction to them.
Emotional intelligence is essential in creating direct, deep and stable
relationships with others as well as with ourselves. Self-love and love for
others originate from emotional intelligence. Emotions should be expressed
and released appropriately, otherwise they accumulate and may become the
cause of physical and mental health problems.
Intelligence of thoughts or intellectual intelligence
Cognitive intelligence is the ability for thinking, moral reasoning, analysis
and also reflection upon our own thoughts. Ordinarily we borrow and
memorize the thoughts of others, which become our thinking and knowledge
base. When we are cognitively intelligent, thinking comes from within and it
is based on the intelligence of our own body and emotions. While the bodys
intelligence is expressed through sensation and emotional intelligence
through emotions and feelings, cognitive intelligence expresses itself through
thoughts. These three modes of intelligence are three dimensions of the
same reality. In combination, they form ones innate nature.
The uniqueness of cognitive intelligence lies in its clear logic, reasoning
and its awareness of the vast amount of memory stored in the brain. When
we use our cognitive intelligence, we can use memories of past experiences
to help us make decisions about the future. Our conclusions are then based
on evidence that may be subjective or objective. The full expression of
morality and conscience occurs through our cognitive intelligence. Cognitive
intelligence is also the beginning of the democratization of knowledge, which
doesnt discriminate between color, race or socio-economic strata. The
intellectual mind, history, science, systems, the rights of the living and nonliving are all products of cognitive intelligence. Cognitive intelligence is selfreflective, which is why no automatic patterns of negative thoughts are
formed.

Emergence of the Witnessing Self

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The soul is the experience of a seamless conscious union of the reptilian,

mammalian and human complexes of the brain. This brings the new quality
of witnessing consciousness or mindfulness to our perception. Witnessing
consciousness also becomes integrating consciousness, where the
convergence and divergence of experiences happen. In this state, the body
and mind are integrated so they function as one entity rather than as
fragmented segments. The mind-body split is healed.
Witnessing is the property of mirror neurons in the brain. Although the
animal brain also has the mirroring property, it is much less advanced than in
humans. This capacity is the reason behind our growth and evolution. It is
also responsible for empathy, as we attempt to read the thoughts and
emotions of others. In ordinary experience, mirroring is also responsible for
self-observation and self-reflection, although it is riddled with biases and
prejudices.
In a soul state, the brains mirroring capacity is fully activated, which
results in clear and non-judgmental witnessing. The union of all parts of the
brain releases electrical and chemical energy that flushes out some of our
unwanted memories, wounds and scars. If the mind is not involved and our
consciousness is in a pure mirroring state, we experience life in a waking
dream-like state.
We can link this state of witnessing awareness to our analysis of the
chakras. When the seventh chakra is awakened, this is the point where we
become witnesses of our own bodies, emotions and thoughts and of the
surrounding world. This awareness is non-reactionary because it occurs in
the present moment and is therefore unbiased by the past. We observe the
inner and outer world without judgment. However, this doesnt mean that we
no longer discriminate between right and wrong. Rather, it means that the
process of discrimination flows directly from the practical needs of society.
We will still try to protect society from harmful behavior as we are still in
touch with the fifth chakra of systems and morals. Rules and laws are
necessary to maintain harmony.
Events and feelings are experienced moment to moment, and then they
are gone. We neither carry the burden of the past nor are we trapped by
worries of the future.
If we are burdened by the guilt, anger, and grief of the past or are
anxious about the future, we are unable to live joyfully in the present
moment. In a witnessing state, we still plan for the future but dont get
attached to those plans and dreams. They are no longer of central
importance to our happiness. There is no place for disillusionment because
we have already crossed through that at the sixth chakra. In a state of
witnessing awareness, we are sensitive, responsive and we have a clear
sense of selfness. Selfness means when others become a part of our sense
of self. This self keeps on expanding.

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Witnessing awareness is the beginning of spontaneous meditation,

which continues effortlessly whether we are awake or asleep. An intentional
meditation practice is no longer necessary, because life itself becomes a
meditation. At this level, even an act of violence is meditation because the
action is taken as a last resort in self-defense and is done with compassion
rather than with hatred.
The sun of non-judgmental witnessing burns intensely, illuminating
everything that comes into its contact. That field of contact is vast and
becomes even more so by the process of constantly breaking old boundaries
and walking into unfamiliar territory, gaining new knowledge and insights
about ones own self and the outside world. The external world is created by
the mind, and when we understand the mind we know the world also. When
our mind dies for a few moments and is born as pure self-awareness, the
outer world also dies and is born anew. In this new state of awareness, both
the inner and outer reality become one ground of truth, on which the ever
changing world of joy and sorrow rises and disappears like a wave in the
ocean. The witness to this rise and fall of the world remains tranquil and
unwavering.
Accepting Mortality
Accepting our own mortality is the prime achievement of soulfulness.
Here we are not referring to physical death but accepting the death of the
ego. We can accept physical death but it is extremely difficult to accept the
total annihilation of consciousness. No matter how much we grow and
develop, we wish to continue to exist as someone, somewhere. Longing to
continue forever is woven into the very fabric of who we are.
As we have explored throughout this book, the fear of dying is our core
challenge. It begins around the age of three and haunts us until close to
death. Death is then finally accepted and occurs peacefully. However, from
the age of three until death, we deal with the fear of death by drowning
ourselves in distraction. This helps to temper the fear - otherwise it would be
difficult to live and cope with daily life. But in many, fear seeps in and causes
many problems, ranging from anxiety, depression and stress to bodily
illnesses. Life, already constricted, becomes even narrower because all of our
reserve energy is being invested in the management of fear and anxiety.
Because of our conscious or subconscious fear of dying, we dont live life
but rather cope with it. Coping is not living. Life and death are two sides of
the same experience and if we deny one, we deny the other. Living fully
means living with all the dangers that come with life. We must explore life
according to our nature and dare to move forward to experience and live it
fully. The most profound moment in life is when we are freed from the fear of
death. At this point, all other fears and phobias slowly disappear as well. This

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doesnt mean that we never experience fear or sorrow. They will instead pass
through us for a moment and will be gone without a trace in the next.
Discovering Destiny
Destiny is the feeling of a clear, conscious purpose in life that emerges
from our innate nature. A sense of destiny fills life with passion and meaning.
It is not a job or a duty its a movement that continues until death. It never
ends because when we arrive at a certain point, another journey begins. It
may or may not be useful to society and we may or may not receive rewards
for it. Yet when we are on that journey, we do not need external rewards,
because the experience of passion, meaning and wellbeing satisfy that
desire for reward.
Destiny is not an intellectual or emotional concept - it is embedded in
each cell of the body. Our social and cultural environment may help it to
flower but the seed of destiny already exists in our body and mind. Lifes
purpose is to discover this seed of destiny and allow it to grow in a full tree.
Destiny ignites passion and unites the mind and body in a harmonious
whole. Its there all the time and continuously gives us insights. We are born
with our destiny. If we believe in reincarnation or rebirth, then destiny is the
continuation of the story of our past lives, threads of which we pick up in this
life. If we dont believe in rebirth/reincarnation, then destiny lies in our
genetic makeup. Its predetermined but has flexibility. It has definite roots
but also wings - the roots are in our body and the lower part of the brain,
while the wings are in the newest part of cerebrum where we interact with
the society and culture.
The basic nature of our destiny is innate and comes from within, but its
expressive form has immense freedom and is directly related to the
environment in which we live. For example, if a person is destined to become
a leader, that leadership role may take on different forms depending on
where that person is born. He or she may become a family, tribal, business,
spiritual, community or national leader.
Unfortunately, many of us never discover our destiny. We die still
longing for passion, meaning and fulfillment in life, and we feel as if our work
has been left unfinished. Fear is the reason behind this. Destiny is a step into
the unknown and fear is the response to the unknown. In Indian tradition, the
stage of Vanprastha (going to the forest) is when we step into the unknown
and find our destiny. The last stage of Sanyasa or renunciation (all is put
forth) is the complete fulfillment of that destiny.

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Realization of the universal self

Over the ages, many seekers, saints and sages have written about the
concept of liberation, often called enlightenment. It is usually described as
an esoteric, mystical and supernatural process that cannot be explained in
terms of nature, biology and science. Liberation is thought of beyond
material existence, reason and analysis. It is a common notion that biology
and spirituality, as well as science and the sacred, are entirely different
domains of experience.
In this chapter, I will challenge this notion. By bringing biology and the
body into a discourse about liberation, I'll explain that liberation is not
supernatural, metaphysical or otherworldly. It is the unexplored part of our
nature and is available to all of us, all the time, if we want to experience it. In
the past, thunder and lightning were considered supernatural and created by
gods. However, as we discovered their origin, they became very real parts of
our natural experience. The same process has occurred with many diseases
including smallpox, epilepsy and various mental disorders. They were once
thought to be the result of spirit possession, but the discovery of germs and
an increased understanding of the brain made it clear that diseases were a
part of nature.
If liberation is understood to be a part of nature, then pseudomysticism (emotional and sentimental) will disappear and essential
mysticism will remain. Pseudo - mysticism breeds Gurus, experts and
specialists who claim to have special powers. While sincere and honest
teachers point out the right path, the corrupt and dishonest seek power over
people and ask them surrender their mind, body and wealth. It is important
to separate emotional and sentimental mysticism from genuine mysticism.
Emotional and sentimental mysticism are connected with the emotional
component of the brain, while genuine mysticism emerges after the
integration of various parts of the brain and body. In sentimental mysticism,
we remain mired in emotional experiences, mistaking them for advanced
states of consciousness. We remain prisoners of fear and sorrow.
The concept that liberation is a biological phenomenon that can be
studied is not a new one. Buddha and Patanjali (founder of Asthang yoga)

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were two of the greatest sages in history. They described their experiences
as inner quests based on reason, and they refused to believe in anything
mystical or based solely on faith. They stated that spiritual experiences are a
natural part of life and could be explored by anyone through systematic
analysis and practice, much like a scientist investigates the laws of nature
and the universe. They were spiritual scientists through and through.
All of us are liberated at some level - however there are always more
levels of liberation to experience. Abraham Maslows self-actualization and
Carl Jungs individuation are stages of liberation, as are Buddhas Nirvana
and Raman Maharishis abiding in the eternal non-dual Self. If we explore Sri
Aurobindos teachings and the experiences of Mother of Pondicherry and UG
Krishnamurti, they describe an experience of liberation that is body and
matter based. These teachers talk about divine materialism where matter
itself becomes conscious.
Liberation is not a point but a process that begins even before we are
born. From conception to becoming an adult, we go through the evolutionary
stages of the universes emergence from Nothingness. If we continue to
search further and succeed, we will experience Nothingness itself and be
released into its timeless and nameless womb, the source of all that exists.
During the process of liberation we become more and more conscious,
bringing more awareness and knowledge. Eventually during this process of
expansion, consciousness transcends knowledge and we come to
persistently live in a state of non-knowing and yet we are fully aware. Nonknowing is the direct experience of existence without the aid of the thinking
and reasoning mind.
In essence, liberation is an endless process with no point of final arrival. A
problem develops when we think that our own or someone else's liberation is
final and accept ourselves or someone else as the authority. When we
proclaim ourselves Gurus or become blind followers of some other selfproclaimed Guru, the process of liberation stops. We may bask in reflected
glory and feel elevated while the Guru is alive. However, once the Guru is
gone our liberation also comes to an end. Instead of doing the hard work of
learning, understanding, practicing and experiencing, we waste time waiting
for something to happen.
Learning from a teacher who is not posing as an authority or Guru is a
good spiritual practice. Spirituality, like medicine, politics, economics or

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physics, can be taught by an accomplished teacher. But no teacher can make

us creative or give liberation.
Liberation can be reached by many paths. We must turn to our knowledge
of our own innate nature in order to decide which way to explore. For some
seekers, the path of devotion (bhakti) will be the most natural way forward.
For others, the path of reason and logic (gyan) will suit them best.
In the preceding chapter, I introduced the idea of soul or wholeness as
the peak of individual evolution. Brain dormancy comes to an end, the mind
and body work in unison and we become fully functional individuals. The
consciousness of an individual is not conditioned by culture and society. The
self-esteem of an individual comes from within and there is a constant
feeling of wellbeing.
However, at this point we are still prisoners of individuality itself, which
is determined by our genetic makeup. Living with ones soul is not enough.
We must go beyond the limits of individuality to become truly free. The
process of going beyond ones individuality is the beginning of Universal
Mind or consciousness.

Universal Mind:

Experience of God When Life and Death are

companions
The soul is the ending of all known paths, but it is the beginning of
another journey that has no clear guideposts. In order to arrive at soul, we
must ascend to the seventh chakra through the lower six chakras. The
seventh and last one is the soul point. There is no path beyond it everything is veiled in mystery. We cant do much except to be vigilant and
wait. Suddenly it may happen - we are thrown off the edge of our
individuality and released into vast space brimming with experiences. This is
the realm of universal mind or consciousness, which is named GOD by many
religions.
The experience of Universal Mind unfolds in stages, described as follows:
a sense of Oneness with the World; the God Experience; Universal Love, and
Becoming Prayerful.
Universal Mind is an ever-changing sea of experience. It contains the
shadows of all that has happened, is happening and will ever happen in the
universe. It is a store of all the memory records of human experience, nature
and the universe itself. It carries the past, the present and also the future. It
has the micro and macro, subtle and gross, high and low. It is a churning
ocean of creativity. The greatest musicians, poets, painters, scientists and

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intellectuals access the energy of this endless creative force and if they
remain connected, their creativity is never exhausted.
Universal Mind contains darkness and light, evil and good, negative and
positive. The Universal Mind is the God of all faith-based religions. God is the
sum total of all experiences ever possible. The God of Universal Mind is half
dark, full of death and destruction and half light, brimming with life and
vitality. If we only accept the light and life and reject the darkness and death,
we miss the totality that is God.
The God of Universal Mind is the God of duality. We experience God but
we remain separate. The relationship is of Master and servant, Lord and
devotee and Lover and beloved. Although Universal Mind is vast and feels
infinite, it remains within the boundaries of space and time.
Universal Mind is the womb from which all myths are born. These myths
are the common heritage of humanity. They contain archetypal images and
figures and often appear in our dreams. During dreaming when the censuring
and controlling part of the ego is absent, we have access to the mythic and
mystical world of the universal mind.
Universal Mind is not tranquil or still - to be in constant flux is in its very
nature. Its the state of being but also the process of becoming. Universal
Mind is also named KalpTaru or "wish-fulfilling tree", because it can fulfill
any desire that is in accordance with our nature. There is a feeling of total
trust and surrender, and we become channels of universal energy.
With the experience of Universal Mind we feel a sense of oneness with
the world, and the world becomes the expression of the one God. The grace
of God in the world brings the experience of universal love, a love that is not
selective or limited. It embraces all as the creation of God. In Universal Mind,
death and life become lover and beloved and cant be separated. This brings
further freedom from the fear of death because we realize that there is no
death and that when our body dies, the spirit lives on in Universal Mind.

Universal No-Mind: Experience of Emptiness and Nonduality

When God, mystery, creator, creation, time and space are all emptied
out, then only pure consciousness is left. This consciousness is without
name, form, time or space. It is nothingness, the beginning of stillness,
tranquility and silence. The brain has no ripples of thought and becomes a
clean mirror, reflecting what goes on within and outside. In universal
nothingness all events, states, thoughts and feelings are experienced as
impermanent. Life moves and changes on its own without an absolute self or
mover. All is experienced as one interconnected and interdependent web of
life.

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The experience of Universal No-mind and Nothingness includes the

following: Stillness; Universal Compassion; Ending of Thoughts; Birth and
Death become two sides of one experience.
Stillness and peace are the cardinal features of universal consciousness.
Either there are no thoughts at all or they no longer affect us. Streams of
thought may flow through the mind, yet we stand apart from the turbulence
of the mind and live in serenity. There is no fear of death because birth and
death are realized as two sides of the same reality.
However, this state is not a detached state. We become an intimate part
of the web of life but are still free. From this connection and
interdependence, a compassion that is free from suffering arises. We come to
know the nature of the world and with this understanding we can connect
with those who suffer but we dont suffer with them. We also experience a
state of action-less action in which action is taken but memory of that action
is not formed because there is no mind to retain anything. Brain, body and
mind become like a lotus petal on which the drops of sufferings are felt for a
moment and then they are gone, leaving no mark on the lotus.

Liberation Illuminated through the Chakras

Earlier we explored the awakening of the chakras as a way of describing
the progressive expression of consciousness. Later, we used the chakras as
a way to describe human evolution and the future of humanity. In the next
section, we'll explore liberation as illuminated by the chakras.
We can view each chakra as representing progressively greater
understandings of life and death, the central problem facing humanity. The
chakras express the same energy, but in different forms. In the first chakra of
the body, the process of living and dying occur simultaneously. But with
evolution, life and death become two separate entities which are expressed
in different chakras in different forms.
This may be best understood by studying the following table:

Life and Death Viewed Through the Chakras

First chakra :
Second chakra:
infertility
Third chakra:
Fourth chakra:
Fifth Chakra:
creativity.

Death and life are one

Life is sex and fertility and death is impotency and
Life is passion and death is anger
Life is love and death is fear
Life is creativity and death is blockage of the

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Sixth Chakra:
Life is life and death is death and they confront each
other
Seventh Chakra: Life and death accept each other and exist simultaneously
We can see how our understanding of liberation is deepened by this
reflection on the chakras. The language of the chakras gives us a way to
express this inner journey from the ordinary to the sacred, and then to a
state beyond. We can also explore various form of yoga practice that
deepens our understanding of the unique energy of each chakra.
In this journey through the chakras, there is no fixed endpoint. Even if
one reaches the seventh chakra, where life and death accept each other,
there is still more to explore and discover. The ascent through the chakras
from the first to the seventh is only at the beginning of another journey. Once
evolution of the expression of consciousness reaches its peak, then one can
begin to descend down the chakras (involution). Carrying the flame of
consciousness, we explore the chakras in the light of biology and the body,
until we reach the first chakra where the energy is most dense and difficult
to penetrate. Illumination of the first chakra has been called Material NonDuality. Yet even this is not the end - the human journey of exploration must
continue.
The journey towards union of the universal and the divine is
represented in the following table:

The Experience of Evolution and Involution at Different

Chakras
Chakra
First chakra
(Padarth yoga)
Second chakra

Evolution (individual) Involution (universal)

Matter
Universal matter and quantum world

Third chakra
Fourth chakra
Fifth chakra
Sixth chakra
and life (Virat)
Seventh chakra

Emotions
Feelings
Intellect
Insight

Energy

Universal energy or Shakti

(Shakti yoga)
Karm yoga
Bhakti yoga
Gyan yoga
Cosmic form with death

Integration

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Ultimately, Yoga is the state when the individual and the universal are
in seamless union.

Natural Being (Sahaja) The Body is fully Awakened

This state is expressed in the following ways. The body becomes fully
functional, with all senses and systems operating at their peak. The first and
second centres of conscious energy are awakened, leading to an awakening
of the bodys cells, a transformation and liberation of the body. Changes in
nature and the universe are felt in the body, which is in communion with
biological nature as well as the material universe. The body of a Natural
being is affected by everything that happens on this earth and beyond. The
experience is primarily one of physical sensation rather than of feeling. In a
Natural being, life and death become one.
But this is not the end of our own journey towards truth. Truth is
boundless and so the journey continuesaccording to our nature.

Section 8
Precautions about Kundalini Yoga
Kundalini Yoga is like anyother yoga and same precautions should be
observed as in the practice of other Yogas. Best way to remain safe is to
know your mind and body and practice according to it. Walk the middle path
in the beginning and then slowly move to your limits. In case of sudden
awakening of Kundalini you can consult a Kundalini yoga teacher.

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Body has tremendous wisdom and it can adjust and adapt to many
experiences of Kundalini awakening.
To be on the path of Kundalini Yoga gives us the extra responsibility of taking
care of our body and mind. To eat qualitatively and quantitatively good and
nutritious food, to have enough rest and sleep, to exercise the body and live
in harmonious relationships with others are the basic priniciple of Kundalini
Yoga. Home where we live should be clean and suit our innate nature or
Prakirti and we practice those asanas, pranayam and meditation which are
suited for our mind and body. That is why the first and most important
learning in Ayurveda is to know our constitution or innate personality and
then to put a lifestyle according to that personality. The seven pillars of the
Yogic life are already described in the self-care section.

Make sure you are aware of your physical and mental state. If you have
physical problems such as slipped discs, lung and heart diseases, high
blood pressure and diabetes, hormonal deficiencies or excesses,
aneurysms, stiffness and any other significant organ problem, either
dont do Kundalini yoga or proceed with extreme caution. If you have a
history of mental health problems or are suffering from them, either
dont do it or proceed with caution. Such mental health problems
include anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, other types of
psychosis or any eating disorders. Kundalini Yoga can make some of
these problems worse or can precipitate an acute attack of the illness.

In the case of a Kundalini awakening, be prepared for physical and

emotional upheavals in your daily life, and make sure you have the
support of loved ones.

Warm up with gentle poses and breathwork before you move on to the
hard poses, mudras, bandhas and other kriyas or actions.

Dont overdo it. Go slowly to avoid exhaustion and fatigue.

Modify various asanas, bandhas, mudras and other actions according

to your body and mind

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Section 9
Further Readings
1. Sri Aurobindo or adventure of consciousness Satprem

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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

J Krishnamurti a biography Pupul Jayakar

Living with Kundalini Gopi Krishna
UG Krishnamurti: A life Mahesh Bhatt
Kundalini Yoga Swami Sivananda
Play of Consciousness Swami Muktananda

7. Kundalini Tantra Swami Satyananda Saraswati

8. The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic
Yoga Arthur Avlon

Essence of Kundalini Yoga is to live in Peace

with Passion

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www.nadyoga.org

www.naturalitypath.com

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