Nonduality
The Fundamentals
of Kundalini Yoga
To fully appreciate the purpose of yoga it is useful to
understand that out man's necessity to realize his
inherent Truth, a number of yogas or methods for
returning to harmony with that Truth were developed and
disseminated. All these yogas were based on a core
Reality. As many could not understand / "hear"
that core Reality, those that had realized the Truth
looked within their field of consciousness and began to
teach these yogas. Due to many circumstances, the
teachings became fragmented and the practice of these
teachings as part of a core Teaching to a spiritual
community was lost.
It may be that mankind is again on the verge of
redefining and Naming That Core and building communities
that are founded on the fundamental understanding that
Man is really and always has been One with his / her
spiritual substratum. There will again become a time when
the Whole Man or True Man and True Woman, whose sense of
"I" is grounded and abides as undifferentiated
consciousness, will be understood and the divergent
methods and teachings of the many yogas will again merge
into the unified core Teaching. This unified view of Man
and Yoga is what
Kundalini Yoga is all about.
The Historical Context of Yoga:
It might be useful to start by looking at mankind and the
archetypal seeking for unity with the source of one's
being and light by looking at the historical perspective.
Through the ages, going back thousands of years we can
see that there were periods in which knowledge about
humankind and humanity's inherent union with its
spiritual source expanded, followed by a period of
collapse and fragmentation into sects. The causes,
ranging from war to famines to natural disasters like
floods and earthquakes and political upheavals, would not
only collapse the core teachings that would hold all the
developed systems and methods together, but fragment
them, as fleeing people would take whatever their
specialization was with them and start over.
We can see that 10,000 years ago in Egypt, what is now
the Sphinx was carved out with the surrounding 20 to 40
ton stone used to make temples along the river miles
away. The spiritual culture of Egypt from 5,000 years ago
has all but disappeared. Most of the sciences and arts
and spiritual developments from the Roman Empire were
also lost and destroyed when the Barbarians and Vandals
came down destroying everything in their path, leaving
over a population that had declined to 4 million from 60
million previously by the 5th Century, leading to the
Dark Ages in Europe. Similar events occurred repeatedly
in China, what is now Southeast Asia, India and the
Americas.
Again and again, the core Teaching is reawakened to and
the Self Realized Sages look into their field of
consciousness and draw out the many yogas, so that in
their practice the hearts of men and woman becoming pure
may suddenly "hear" and abide in the Truth. In
a more recent example of the fragmentation of the yogas,
1000 years ago, a farmer in Tibet, known as Marpa the
Translator, had a vision of the destruction by invading
Moguls of a great University of 100,000 students of
spiritual and human teaching in southern India. He made 2
trips with pack mules from Tibet to southern India and
learned a number of Yogas from the Siddha Gurus living
there (Naropa and Tripola) and brought back with him many
volumes of works that became one of the Great Schools in
Tibet. The best known student of his was the Tibetan
Saint, Milarepa. Shortly after this the entire
civilization in that area, the ancient remnants of which
are still visible today, was destroyed along with all the
accumulated teachings.
Even in recent history, we can see how with the invasion
of the Communist Chinese into Tibet, many of the Lamas
escaped with partial teachings. Much of what was left was
destroyed, with the Monasteries remaining to a large
extent restricted and censured and the entire former
spiritual culture and orientation of the society, as has
happened so many times throughout history, collapsed and
fragmented.
But the archetypal force that is immanent within mankind
as the "I" of his "I" and the Light
of his consciousness, that force which is behind
mankind's need to build the Temples and Churches,
prevails. However often they are destroyed they are
rebuilt, if only for the sake that they house any remnant
of the sacred words, in that their reading, some may
"hear" their underlying Truth, and out of the
scattered fragments of knowledge and from those that
"hear" there emerges again and again the
yearning towards a spiritual society, where God and man
are One.
With each loss of the core Teaching and fragmentation of
the yogas, Shiva, Rama, Buddha, Christ, Krishna, Padma
Sambava, Guru Nanak and other Self-Realized Sages have
brought forth the yogas again as a cohesive whole, that
those unable to directly realize their inherent Truth,
would have the means to purify their hearts and see God.
The True Man and True Woman:
The Consciousness of Man is Being and Light. Man, or what
we call the body/mind, is really one whole and
homogeneous undifferentiated field of consciousness. The
distinctions and categorizations of levels of
consciousness, such as waking, dreaming and deep sleep,
and separate and distinct centers and related planes of
consciousness and the various systems and mechanisms in
the body, have been defined and developed by the mind of
man for the sake of discussion, but are really one
undifferentiated whole, appearing upon the substratum of
all-pervasive Being/Consciousness. This "field"
appears in consciousness, and the sense of Being is
focused through the lens of the mind with the pure satvic
sense of "I" and attaches itself to the images
arising in the field, such that we identify with the
thought impression: "I am these thoughts and
images." "This body and sensations and
impressions and thoughts are mine."
When the lens of the mind becomes balanced and purified,
there is a natural inclination for the sense of
"I" to withdraw and abide in Itself in the
Spiritual Heart (Hrdayam) and the field of the body is
outshined, such that the focusing power of the mind is no
longer used to see, but one sees, experiences and knows
as Consciousness Itself, not in part, but in whole,
within, without, through and completely. We abide in a
state of permanent intuitive unconditioned non-judgmental
knowledge, without relation to time or space. All the
centers of the body, the glands and organs and groupings
of nerves are fully functional and in balance with all
other centers. In this balance a natural polarization of
Light streams upward, balanced and centered in a chemical
electric magnetic force, operating like a dynamo centered
in the Heart area.
The full functioning of these centers is seen like pedals
in a flower, where each pedal represents that part of a
center (the glands, organs and grouping of nerves) that
is interconnected with the other centers, such that as
these interrelated areas begin to charge, the pedals
begin to brighten and the flower begins to open showing
various colors according to the energy vibration
(angstroms) related to them at their core, the
inter-linking combination of which for the body is seen
as auras of electromagnetic light.
Abiding in the Hrdayam/Heart, such a Man or Woman may
experience / Witness, as consciousness, the field as a
flame of varied colors flowing up the spine and through
the top of the head, and an incandescent light in and
between the Spiritual Heart and the Crown. Abiding in the
Heart, the sense of "I" in relation to images
in the brain and the focusing power of the mind are
entirely sundered. All activities happen automatically
without the sense of a doer. Thoughts bubble up from the
unconscious and appear in consciousness without
attention. "Definitions have vanished and no
boundaries are seen." From time to time they will
see the waking world and from time to time they will not,
but they will always abide as all-pervasive Self,
effortlessly aware of the unconscious whether asleep or
awake without the sense of being a doer.
This encompasses the vision that many religions have
given of the True Man and True Woman, which somehow we
have lost, and many seek to find by adhering to one or
another Tradition or yoga or practice.
The Fragmented Man:
For whatever the reasons we can think of, man is born
with predispositions in their physiological makeup, call
it genetics, karma or the astrological influences and
forces effecting the biological systems and their
development, coupled with type of diet and chemicals one
comes in contact with in different environments and the
emotional impact on the baby, child, young adult and
adult of various events that imprints the images - takes
- impressions in the mind made in relation to attitudes,
behavior and predispositions of ones parents and other
authority figures, including teachers, spiritual
instruction and so forth, both positive and negative, and
the reaction to knowledge implanted through schooling,
society, the environment and otherwise.
All these merge into a multi-phased lens through which we
not only perceive the world but also interpret what we
think that world is saying to us. In fact we create our
own private worlds of people and environments where we
feel we are receiving the greatest feedback in support of
our own unique picture built around our sense of identity
with that overall vision.
As an example, very occasionally, we might meet with
someone that whatever we say the feedback is that they
have heard and are responding to something entirely
different. It's as though they're out of phase with our
reality. What has happened and what is happening to us is
that the various centers involving glandular secretions
of chemical electric energies and groupings of nerves may
not be either fully functional or fully in balance with
other centers. This is to say that the effect of the
predispositions and latent tendencies one is born with,
coupled with the manner in which one has impacted the
world, has resulted in glands and organs that may have
some areas that have accumulated toxins in the
capillaries of parts of the secreting organs, while some
of the nerve centers may not have all the nerves firing.
The result is that the lens we see by and through which
we experience the field is shaded. The man is not whole
but only in part. He or she may excel in some areas but
have whole areas of emotion and the ability to empathize
and understand or intuit information that are not
apparently part of their programming.
The Body Field:
Each of the centers in the body, be they glands with
internal and external chemical electric secretions or
groups of nerves as a nexus or plexus, are inter-linked
with all the other glands organs and nerve groupings
through a number of systems, including the bloodstream,
the nervous systems, the lymph system, meridians and so
on. As an example of this, you can look at the charts
that have been made for the eyes (Dr. Jensen), colon (Dr.
Walker), hands and feet, meridians, acupuncture and
acupressure points and similar charts that show the
inter-linking of every gland and organ and center with
all others.
The glands and many organs provide life and vitality to
the bloodstream and the other organs and systems of the
body. In particular the sexual fluids pumping into the
blood stream have a chemical electric makeup that allows
nerves to carry energy and cells to reproduce. It is this
fluid that is most vital in the healing of severed
nerves. The flow of this fluid throughout the body
provides the basis for the nerves, glands and organs to
carry a charge and be fully functional in their own work
in maintaining a balanced system.
Kundalini Yoga is sometimes mistakenly believed to have
something to do only with sexual energy, but in actuality
it has to do with the systematic and progressive opening
and electro-chemical charging of the entire field.
Wherever there is a concentration of energy through
concentrated attention, meditation, through pressure,
through breathing, internal or external sound in any area
of the body, the sexual fluid will migrate there. Whether
the energy/consciousness focus is to learn to tie ones
shoes or do one's work in school or one's profession or
think up the Theory of Relativity; whether it is to focus
in one's hands, the flowing careful focus in a series of
tai chi movements or karate movements or free flow of
asana movements; whether energy is generated through the
combination of postures and breathing in Kriyas effecting
certain areas in the body, or the sound of mantras or
chanting or inner nada reverberating in the centers;
wherever there is the pressure and concentration of
energy/consciousness, the body will develop and open the
channels in various systems for the sexual fluids to
circulate, migrate and fill those areas. This results in
those areas building, carrying and maintaining a charge
and balancing their energies with all other centers.
As energy consciousness in the body increases in such a
manner that the centers, which are like batteries in the
body, begin to charge and related glandular systems
secrete, the magnetic field begins to become stronger,
the polarization of the atoms in the body begins to
circulate in an upward stream and the sexual fluid begins
to build up a liquid energy pressure in the body.
The body has a number of main nerve systems in the body,
collectively called the sushumna. And along the right and
left side of the silver and gold cord are the ida or moon
nadi (nerve) and pingala or sun nadi, which regulate and
balance temperature and a number of other functions of
the body and the mind. Of the main nerves, each one is
more powerful than the previous, like the sun to the
moon, such that the silver cord within the spinal cord of
the vertebra, between the Muladara chakra (center at the
sacral plexus) and Ajna chakra (center at the pituitary
gland at the nerve juncture where the eyes are looking up
and between the eyebrows), and all the centers between
are as a shadow to the gold cord and its centers, located
between the Ajna chakra and the Sahasrara or crown of the
head. Finally, there is the Para nadi or Atma nadi, also
Amrita nadi (vagus nerve), which runs between Hrdayam
(the synod or pacemaker in the right side of the heart,
which is situated 1/8th to the right of the sternum) and
the Sahasrara (Thousand-Pedaled Lotus or Crown chakra
just above the pineal gland).
The Hrdayam is the Singularity of the Self, the Seat of
the Universal Consciousness, That place within the body
that "sucks in everything" - the source of the
pulsation (atma sphurana) of the "I" in the
body, which fills all the nerves of the body and rises
through the Atma nadi into the brain, where It is focused
into the images that appear there, such that there is the
notion or impression of "I am the body, and these
thoughts and impressions are mine." When this Center
opens, the "I" pulsates only "I" as
"I" and withdraws Itself from the focusing
mechanism of the mind in the brain, and abides in Itself
in the Heart.
This Heart is the door to the realization that one always
abides as all-pervasive energy/consciousness, as the
substratum of images appearing in the field, such that
when this Center opens completely, the "whole body
is filled with light" which outshines the entire
field, simultaneously dissolving the sense of
"I" - "Mine" as an identity with the
images appearing in the field, and the idea of being a
doer.
The emergence of the True Man and True Woman:
As the body builds energy/consciousness (prana), the
experience is initially the feeling of numbness,
tiredness, weakness, sickishness, discomfort, irritation,
nevertheless, coupled with some sense of euphoria,
balance and mental stillness. This is an indication that,
as the glands and organs and nerves are charging and
reverting to their fully charged and normal balanced
function, they begin to flush the toxins and other
poisons into the blood and the lymphs are carrying the
excess. It takes a few days for this to pass.
This gives way to a feeling of coolness throughout the
body, as though on a hot day one could take an internal
cool refreshing shower. This is an indication that the
nerves are purifying.
As the glands and nerve centers begin to build a greater
charge, they begin to develop a strong chemical electric
linkage with all the other centers throughout the body,
which causes the intense feeling of heat in certain
centers and in the nerves between these centers, which
some may mistakenly take to be an active Kundalini.
After a while, as the whole field comes into balance,
there is an etheric sensation that emerges into the
consciousness, such that one is able to see within the
body and without the body, in a sort of three dimensional
consciousness experience, the entire electromagnetic
field, without a subject or object differentiation. This
is the beginning of the glimpse of the Reality and nature
of the field, where the idea of a subject seeing an
object is discovered to be a passing phase, as one
emerges into the awareness of the field.
The experience of the glands secreting and discharging
toxins in areas that were previously not fully functional
and, therefore, non-communicative with the rest of the
body centers, and the experience of the previously
partially closed or inactive nerves in nerve plexuses and
nexuses, now becoming fully charged, and experience of
the realigning those centers with the rest of the body's
centers and the resulting overall balancing of the field
is much like having a computer in which there are a
number of programs that are inactive in the hard drive
that have been reinstalled and are now active and fully
functional. This is to say that suddenly new emotions and
perceptions, which had never been triggered, that one
never before experienced and had no way of knowing about,
even if told about them, suddenly emerge as part of your
overall make up and clarity of vision and understanding
of your world in all its apparent dimensions. One is able
to perceive and understand with greater depth and clarity
than ever before. Yet one may notice that while one's
sense of identity has clarified, become less disjointed
more balanced with a greater range of capability of
seeing and hearing one's world, the underlying sense of
one's self as the subject "I" as that single
unchanging thread that binds it all has not changed at
all.
The result of this coming into balance is that the mind
with an inwardly inclining force becomes profoundly still
and extremely pure. This stillness itself and the
inability to react other than in an instantaneous
spontaneous manner that brings equilibrium to every
situation, means that the previous random dispersions of
the mind and the mind's constant movements - to
categorize every internal or seemingly external event in
relation to its identity concept, are no longer draining
the energy/consciousness from the field into rajasic and
tamasic tendencies. Rather this energy is accumulated in
satvic pureness of the conscious principal or subject
"I," like a building kinetic energy within the
electromagnetic field. In short, the gunas no longer
attach themselves to gunas, but rather the tamasic begins
to resolve itself into the rajasic and the rajasic into
the satvic, such that gradually one gains a body of pure
light and spirit.
At a certain point the upward streaming flow of energy in
the balanced field reaches a point where there is a
withdrawal of the energy into the sushumna and an upward
pulling of several locks in the body that prevent the
downward movement of energy. These locks pull up without
effort effecting a sort of magnetic locking sensation as
they lock.
These locks, called Bhandas, are located (i) the root
lock giving the awakening of fearlessness to the
consciousness, situated at the juncture of the pulling of
the anus, sex organs and navel, called the Kandal or
Nabhi Chakra, (ii) the diaphragm lock, where the
diaphragm is pulled, (iii) the neck lock, where the chin
is pulled in and neck pulled back, and (iv) 2 other locks
in the brain.
As the field begins to become balanced in this manner,
what we call the subconscious state reaches a level of
pureness, in which dreams subside and eventually cease.
When we fall asleep, our consciousness retains awareness
and remains awake to experience the nerve vacuum of
seeing the energy in the body withdrawing into the ida
and pingala and from there withdrawing into the base of
the spine and rising up the sushumna, this coupled with
visions of stars, the moon, planets, the sun and the
hearing of pure inner sounds (nada), such as symbols, a
conch, the pealing of bells, thunder and so on and the
meeting of spiritual beings that provide insights into,
for example, the nature of Turya (the substratum state or
self-illuminating screen of consciousness upon which the
other states - waking, dreaming a deep sleep - appear).
Similarly, in the waking state, the conscious field
remains aware and in peace ("such as the world
cannot know"), as the still silent witness of the
former subconscious / dream level and experiences the
sense of "I" as an undifferentiated pervasive
field in which the body is an un-segregated part.
Anyone that comes within the range of this field also
experiences their own oneness and purity in their heart.
What we call the subconscious or dream state is only
there due to the dichotomy set up within the mind based
on the notion that there is an individual interacting
with a separate world. When we dream, the mind creates an
entire world in relation to the identity of the person we
believe ourselves to be. This fictitious person then
interacts with the world in fact created by itself, to
try to work out its varied sense of separateness. When
there emerges into one's awareness the understanding or
innate knowledge of oneself as the undifferentiated
(etheric) field appearing upon a substratum of Being
Consciousness, this dichotomy vanishes, as the person now
emerges into the perception of an apparently new reality
that he (or she) is the (satvic) field of consciousness -
no longer fragmented. As this satvic field is pure and
still, the continued kinetic energy accumulation carries
it towards deeper and deeper perceptions as they emerge
in the field of consciousness.
More advanced yogis are able to expand the energy in this
field, such that those around them experience the
automatic manifestation of kriyas as prana - life force -
moves through those areas in their bodies that have
blockages.
Very advanced Yogis, Kundalini Yoga Masters, Maha
Tantrics and Self Realized Sages, are able to effect a
balance, cleansing and purification of the entire
magnetic fields of large numbers of people right down to
the atomic core of their bodies' centers. In this case
the effects and benefits are enhanced if the people
attending have been practicing various yogas, somewhat
like going to a chiropractor that gives specialized
exercises to strengthen the ligaments between the
vertebra, so that the adjustments to remove subluxations
will hold better and better with each visit.
Initially, as one begins to experience their etheric
body, one may find oneself at times sitting quietly, and
upon opening one's eyes one will be flooded with a liquid
light, sense of overwhelming beauty and the visions of
auras. Later auras and three-dimensional visions of the
field of such auras and the body's relationship to the
planets and stars may also become apparent.
This and many more areas of experience manifest of their
own accord, including automatic healing, or one will gain
unique insights and knowledge simply because one happens
to look within the field with some notion of seeing and
that area appears in within one's conscious field, like
an instantaneous download of knowledge.
The Kundalini:
Up to this point, the experience is still not that of the
Kundalini. Thus far, the experience was of the awakening
to the awareness of the pranas that regulate life in the
body and its functions, and in the process the movement
of that prana in effecting a charging and purification of
the centers and
magnetic field of the body. But when the satvic mind
becomes profoundly still and the locks begin to pull, the
upward moving prana comes down and the downward flowing
prana comes up and they mix in the Kandal region and send
a charge that causes the release of a drop of vitalized
sexual fluid into the spinal cord. Immediately the fluid
penetrates upwards, sometimes causing the spine to crack
into place as the force of the energy rises. The centers
along the spine are directly effected and open and, as
the fluid passes into the 4th and 3rd ventricles of the
brain, it reaches the pineal gland, which begin to
secrete.
The pineal gland in an adult is the size of a pine nut.
But in babies until the age of 7, when the frontal lobs
of the brain are fully developed, the pineal gland is the
size of a chestnut. Then it gradually shrinks to the size
of a pine nut by the age of around 12 - puberty. But when
the Kundalini force with its super charge of the sushumna
and all related nerve centers reaches the pineal gland,
the pineal begins to secrete and expand again, effecting
a further evolution of the body and the awakening of an
awareness within the field that is of a much deeper
nature.
It is through these deeper awakenings that many of the
forgotten yogas have been brought forth again and again
in age after age. All the yoga systems are inter-linked
with the systems in the body field, similar to having
programs that, when you access them, there are
instructions, in this case internal intuitive knowledge
emerges in the conscious field, on how to use them
effectively, such that, as the body field continues to
evolve, the knowledge of many yoga methods and practices
returns to the consciousness of man.
The body has 9 gates that open to the external world
(mouth, eyes, ears, nostrils, anus, sex organ) and one
gate at the crown that is closed, where the baby's soft
spot is located and through which the soul descends and
animates the body. When the Kundalini begins to rise,
these 9 gates close and the Tenth Gate opens, which opens
the consciousness to the spiritual world.
The body field is then caught in a pillar of upward
streaming nirvakalpic Light (energy consciousness) that
is so powerful that the top of the brain seems to open
and one passes beyond any thought whatsoever into pure
radiant light. But the practice is not at all purely
technical and involves both the earnest quest for God and
Self-Realization and love of hearing about the Lives and
the Wisdom of the Sages, Saints and archetypal Saviors,
without which, while higher centers may heat up and
charge, the effect will not remain, and the accumulated
energy will dissipate and progress will be frustrated.
With the affecting of some balance in the body along the
silver cord, such that the electromagnetic field begins
to charge in the area of the Anahata chakra heart area,
there is a simultaneous linkage with the Ajna chakra that
enables the seeker to see a light in that area, just
behind and between the eyebrows. Sometimes the Ajna
chakra light may radiate constantly. As one's attention
is turned inwards and up towards the crown, one begins to
travel (as it were) up the gold cord. As the centers of
the gold cord open and secrete, they also cause the
simultaneous opening and evolution of the lower chakras.
With this voyage are heard many sounds and many visions
are possible.
In regard to this yoga path of Shabad Yoga or Nada Yoga,
over 5,000 years ago, while Rama was taught the Highest
Truth of the Self and to abide as the Ground of Being,
and for thousands of years untold millions repeat and
chant His Name, and remain devoted to Him as the essence
of purity (e.g., Gandhi's last words were "Ram,
Ram."), Rama is also known to have taught the path
of the spirit sound current, which is also taught as one
of the main teachings re-established by the Ten Sikh
Gurus as part of the Sikh Dharma, and outlined in detail
in the Guru Granth Sahib, where the Highest Center is
called Sach Kand.
Meditations related to this path are also taught as part
of a number of interrelated practices in Tibetan and
White Tantric Yoga.
In a unified Kundalini Yoga practice, Shabad Yoga or Nada
Yoga plays a part in the development of the whole man,
the True Man and True Woman.
"Oh, my ears, you were meant to hear only the Truth
for this reason were you given to a man that he might
hear the word, which having heard the body and mind
blossom forth, and the tongue is rung with its flavor,
the Lord is wondrous and imaginable, His Name none can
tell, sayeth Nanak.
"The Lord placed the Soul in the body's cave, and
the air held the music of life, and He gave each one,
nine gates, with the Tenth remaining well hidden. And the
tenth door was open to Him who truly loves the Guru's
Wisdom and there resounds the Name in Myriad form. It is
a treasure that none can imagine, sayeth Nanak"
Abiding in the Non-Dual Truth:
While the previously mentioned systems involve the
balancing and purifying of the various centers in the
body, after which a certain electromagnetic (etheric)
stillness begins to prevail and carry the field of
awareness (or Soul) to deeper and more expansive levels
and subtler visions, nevertheless, the Truth is that we
are always That which we seek, non-dual and Single.
However much one may practice various yogas, such that
the field begins to become satvic in nature, the satvic
mind is not the seer, nor can it hear the Truth.
Nevertheless, at some point in the several unified
Kundalini Yoga practices one may engage in to purify the
field, if one is told that the real intention of these
practices is solely to isolate the seer, as stated in the
Yoga Sutras of Patenjali, and that the sense of identity
they have of an "I" to the body, impressions,
thoughts and sensations is not real and to enquire into
where that "I" arises, suddenly, the door in
the Heart (Hrdayam) is triggered and opens and that
"I" - abiding in that doorway, Itself
"hears" and recollects Its inherent Truth, and
in this moment of recognition, time and space and the
whole field of identity with the images appearing in the
field of consciousness is discarded and one abides in
one's True and natural state, as the Singularity of the
Heart (Hrdayam). All sense of identity with the field
vanishes like a mirage, and the flood of Live Light
outshines the field entirely, such that the field is now
realized to be the undifferentiated or unified Man.
The Practice of Kundalini Yoga:
We can see from the above outline that the intention of
Kundalini Yoga is to purify and remove the blockages in
the centers throughout the body's field and in the
process to gradually build the upward streaming polarity
of the chemical-electromagnetic field centered in the
heart to the point where there is a balance of stillness
that results in the steady withdrawal of attention and
attachment to the tamasic and rajasic tendencies and
accumulation of this energy in the pure satvic field,
such that when there is enough chemical electric pressure
of vitalized sexual fluid (prana) in the field, the
Kundalini under pressure will awaken, rising to the crown
center, and the process of union will continue along the
sushumna from the silver cord, to the gold cord and
finally come down the Atma nadi, where the purified Soul
(Atman - the Son) dissolves into the all-pervasive core
(Brahman - the Father).
At the same time, we can see that the True Man and True
Woman are at all times and at any time able to realize
the Truth of their Self in the Heart, if they have the
chance to hear It told to them, and that the moment this
Truth awakens, the entire former process resolves itself
automatically. In fact, the entire spiritual mechanism is
already there and in place. Unfortunately, we often get
bogged down with the naming, categorizing and defining of
the mechanism, which results in the avoidance of the
realization that is at hand, sudden and immanent.
Well known yoga and purification practices:
There are a number of yogas that can be practiced to
cause the centers to come into balance.
In the practice of Raja Yoga, one starts with
considerable fasting, and cleansing, including
importantly, such practices as the cleansing of the
colon. Today this can be effected through fasting and
colonics. As the colon becomes clean of all debris, it
begins to take on a very dynamic activity through all its
interconnected nerve endings to communicate with all
other organs and centers in the body to trigger them to
release their accumulated toxins and poisons into the
blood stream and lymphs, part of which are secreted into
the colon and eliminated, part of which are processed
through the liver and other organs and eliminated through
the lungs, kidneys, skin, bloodstream intestines and so
on.
When this prerequisite is combined with hatha yoga
practice and certain pranayamas practiced several times a
day, and still hours of meditation, there is a rapid
progress towards the satvic mind. Without the
prerequisite cleansing, it becomes more difficult to
effect the secretions of the glands and charging of the
nerve centers, such that the process is much longer and
may be somewhat disjointed.
Nevertheless, if one is devoted to God and constantly
making effort to hear and understand the Truth, at some
stage in the effort, when the mind is still, That which
is True will come forward and Itself take over the
process with a force that makes the previous ardent
efforts all but redundant, even if the habit of practice
and meditation continue. This practice is well explained
in Vivekananda's book - Raja Yoga.
Other related methods to fasting and cleansing the colon,
include the drinking of fresh fruit juices that assist in
the cleansing of the organs, centers and systems in the
body field. Also certain herbs will trigger various
organs to discharge their toxic waste, and fresh raw
vegetable juices, such as carrot juice and others that
provide the organic minerals that are drawn directly to
the various centers that accumulate the minerals, build a
charge and in the process discharge the accumulated toxic
waste. A number of books such as those by Dr. NW Walker,
discuss these possibilities.
These practices will also bring about the same etheric
balance in the field and lead to the same level of
overall electromagnetic balance and chemical-electric
etheric pressure that results in the spontaneous
triggering of the Kundalini Awareness.
Should one meet with someone that teaches through
Shaktipad initiation, this path involves hatha yoga
practices performed with such a slow, careful and still
attention to flow, breathing and posture (asana), that
one begins to become aware of the prana guiding all the
movements. With the aid of the Teacher or Guru, who
expands the energy (prana) within his field of
consciousness to include his students, this prana will
systematically move through the nerves and centers of the
student's body's field causing the automatic movement
into various postures and the performing of kriyas,
bhandas, mudras and pranayamas.
Once the student becomes aware of their consciousness as
energy or prana, with every meditation, the prana will
move the body automatically through the practice, until
the field begins to come into balance and the movement
tends more towards the deepening stillness and expanding
effulgence of the inner satvic mind. It is often thought
that the pranic related movements of Shaktipad Kundalini
Yoga are the result of the active Kundalini, but that is
not the case. As the tendency of the prana to remain
still and move deeper to satvic purity prevails, only
then does the pranic pressure build and the Kundalini
awaken.
Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan:
While other practices require some specialized
environment, such as an Ashram or Monastic setting, or
specialized dietary controls, with a focus on one or
another yoga, the practice of Kundalini Yoga as taught by
Yogi Bhajan comprises many yogas focused on the unified
development of the Whole man within a lifestyle that is
oriented towards living within society and community.
This Yoga consists of a very precise, powerful and
scientifically defined group of (holistic) practices
oriented toward the charging of the various centers along
the silver and gold cord to effect their secretions and
purify the channels and systems, generate a strong
electromagnetic field in the heart with a building upward
flowing stream of energy, combined with the practice of
the locks, such that very quickly the field comes into
balance, the prana builds under pressure, triggering the
Kundalini movement into the spinal cord and up into the
brain. This experience is then built on and expanded
through many types of meditations and spiritual
instruction.
"Kundalini Yoga, as taught by Yogi Bhajan, consists
of exercises or postures (Asanas) with special breathing
(Pranayama), hand and finger gestures (Mudras), body
locks (Bhandas), chanting (Mantras) and meditation,
together or in sequence to create exact, specific
effects.
"Exercises, in combination with one or more other
components, are performed in groups or Kriyas, whose
total impact is greater than the sum of the parts.
"Yoga of Yogi Bhajan, although more powerful than
other schools of yoga, shares their same ultimate aim -
union with the Universal, Divine Source."
A technical issue of how yoga sets are performed provides
a view on the effectiveness of this yoga practice, as
follows:
The basic sets are made up of the combinations of
breathing and postures, locks and kriyas, which may
represent as few (4 or 5 or more) different kriyas in a
set involving a session lasting from 45 minutes to one
hour. The set is generally oriented toward a specific
area, where the combination of breathing and posture
(asana) or movement from one posture to another creates a
pressure in the intended area that in itself or in
combination with the breathing generates a cleansing and
charging of that area.
To realize the full effect of a specific kriya involves a
minimal of 3 to 5 minutes for the charge to take hold and
cause the nerves to carry a charges and glands to
secrete. Immediately after each kriya, the person is
resting in corps pose (lying on their backs) or some
other pose conducive to the flow of energy to a specified
area. This relaxation, watching the prana flow, will also
be for 3 to 5 minutes in order for the secretion of the
glands to fully circulate to all other centers and effect
their intercommunication and balancing. It also gives the
chance for the sexual fluids to enter the blood stream
and accumulate around the nerves that have been induced
to carry a charge.
The entire set concludes with a longer period of
relaxation and watching through the field of the body of
maybe up to 15 minutes, after which several wake up
movements are made followed by certain short breathing
exercises that charge the magnetic field. This last part
is like shutting off one's computer then rebooting in
order that programs one has (re)installed may take full
effect in the system. The final aspect may include some
now very effective meditation ("Strike while the
iron is hot") that may bring the session to longer
than an hour.
What happens, through lesser and more sophisticated sets,
Kriyas and meditations, is that every day a different
area is focused on that is induced to carry a charge,
while the accumulated pranic development is always
circulated through the whole system and built up
throughout the magnetic field. Gradually, and in a matter
of weeks, the body and mind go through a profound
biological, physiological and spiritual transformation
towards overall electromagnetic and etheric balance.
All this is combined with the devotion to God and the
inner quest for Self-Realization, with the view of Man as
a Whole Unified Being, grounded in their Sat Nam (True
Name - "I AM")
The speed and effectiveness of this yoga practiced to
systematically charge each of the body's centers in
balance with the rest of the centers and build the upward
streaming flow of prana centered around a dynamo of
electromagnetic energy in and around the heart, and
circulating this pranic charge around the body is such
that when the Truth is heard, there is a sudden and
spontaneous inward churning of the nerves like a powerful
gravitational field that causes the Atma nadi to pulsate
"I" as "I" while withdrawing the
sense of "I" as the basis for an identity to
images and impressions of the mind, including the idea
that "I am the body." The idea of being the
doer, or concepts that some condition or practice or
location will maintain or effect the state of abiding
singly in Self is replaced by a silent impalpable
sensation and an occasional ord, full of meaning, that
rises into consciousness: "uncaused….
unconditioned.… no time…. no space.…"
One abides as the Singularity of the Heart, as the True
Man and True Woman, fulfilling the prophecies of all the
Religions of this possibility and eventuality, (as One
with Brahman, the Father, Siri Wha Guru, Allah)
Kundalini Yoga and Drugs:
In the early years ('69-'75), when Yogi Bhajan came to
the USA, there were many people that were having
spiritual, mystical and psychic experiences with no one
to really explain to them what was happening. Because
Yogi Bhajan as Master of Kundalini Yoga, was able to
explain precisely what was happening and what course to
follow in order to advance, many people migrated to Los
Angeles to met with him.
Many of these people's experienced derived from the
taking of psychedelics, such as psilocybin (mushrooms),
LSD, mescaline, peyote, and other synthetic drugs, as
well as others that had been taking more addictive drugs,
such as cocaine, heroin and others, including various
medically prescribed and abused "Uppers" and
"Downers" (amphetamines and barbiturates) that
predominated the scene in those days.
As a result of taking psychedelics, many people were
experiencing somewhat out of phase / disjointed views of
reality, where, for example, the certain nerves related
to nerve groupings would fire constantly, even after the
drugs had worn off. In order to being the system and body
field quickly back into balance, Yogi Bhajan began to
teach more powerful Kundalini Yoga Kriyas. The purpose
was to effect a complete opening a center, such that it
could close down normally and, thereafter, gradually
bring the overall pranic charge back up in a balanced
manner within the field.
As time went on, it became clear that these practices
were also effective in reducing addictions and bringing
about an overall physiological and psychological recovery
for a number of addicting drugs as well, such that Yogi
Bhajan developed programs that could be managed in a
number of the larger 3HO Kundalini Yoga Centers in
Washington DC, Tucson and others. The effectiveness of
these programs, including the very rapid reduction of
addiction to heroin and the much more addictive methadone
proved to be the leading recovery program in the US at
that time. These programs included yoga practice, diet,
herbs and the overall 3HO atmosphere.
One of the most insidious drugs that Yogi Bhajan warned
against was the use of marijuana, hashish, HTC. This is
because the effect of marijuana is to charge the brain
area with some sense of euphoria, but the mechanism in
the body that pumps the sexual fluids into the
bloodstream, so that the effected nerves and brain cells
can carry that charge, is inhibited by the drug. Thus,
the result of ingesting or smoking the drug was that over
time, as the charge to the brain was not supported by the
flow of sexual fluids through the blood steam to those
areas, the brain would progressively burn out. Initially,
the memory would suffer and gradually the effect would
move forward to the frontal lobs of the brain converting
the drug user to a vegetable. As this was a widespread
phenomenon in India and other areas, where the seemingly
meditative sadhu, oblivious to the world, was in fact
completely vegetative, it was a matter that about which
Yogi Bhajan was very adamant.
Naturally, as the as the entire purification and charging
and balancing of the field depends on the free flow of
the sexual fluids and the effectiveness of the pumping
mechanism of those fluids into the bloodstream, versus
their disputation, for the yoga to be effective (any
yoga) the use of drugs that directly inhibit the flow and
movement of the sexual fluids at all was self defeating,
and to take other drugs that would create imbalances in
the various centers throughout the field was also counter
productive to the natural and much more effulgent
experience of the emergence of the Whole Man. Conclusion:
The purpose of this article was to reestablish yoga into
the perspective that it is and has always been based on a
core Teaching, and that it is out of this core Teaching
that the many practices emerged, and that due to
situations and events, yoga as a whole, has repeatedly
either become fragmented into sects of teachings or
become delinked from the core Teaching, but in any case
no longer part of a total community teaching regarding
the Truth of the Whole Man.
This core Teaching is the realization of the Self, which
Self may prevail at any time with or without a discipline
or yogic practice, and is often forgotten as the purpose
and essential ingredient necessary to make the practice
itself fruitful, even for its own sake.
Another important issue was to restate that the body's
field is one unified and undifferentiated whole,
something that in study and practice is often forgotten
and with it the purpose and intention of the practice,
where the focus often tends towards the developing of
only one or another aspect, which unwittingly defeats the
purpose.
The article also provides some insight into other yogas
and cleansing practices. Often, one might practice a
certain yoga for a number of years and really not get any
benefit apart from better health and fitness or some
psychic add on. So to mention how these other yogas
should be practiced in relation to the purification of
the body field also helps to reemphasize what one is
trying to accomplish.
The intent of this article is also to show that these
yogas have not evolved out of shamanism of primitive man,
as we often hear and read about, but rather out of a core
Teaching, and that the knowledge of these yogas is
already inherent within the programming makeup of the
body field, accessible to the True Man and True Woman.
Finally, the intent is to bring into recognition that
there is a Whole and Natural Man, the True Man and True
Woman, and that through the practice of Kundalini Yoga,
this Whole Person will emerge. There is not a small self
that unites with a Greater Self, but rather the emergence
of a Whole in what was only a part, the recollection of
one's True Self and dissolution of the clinging to the
delusion of the fragmented idea of self.
That which is True has no use for word and their meaning,
nor the focus of attention towards images and ideas. It
alone is the hearer, It alone sees. In the practice of
purification of the field and the consideration of the
Truth, That which is True emerges and abides Singly as
all pervasive Self.
Then, abiding in the Sun in the Heart (Hrdayam), one
passes through the center or core, like Black Hole behind
which is the other side of the veil (Maya) upon which the
field and universe appears. From this stance the field is
constantly filling with light and the evolution becomes
an involution. One has pierced the Ground of Energy, the
Zero Point, and abides as That.
Epilogue:
All the religions contain the promise of the once and
future Man - the True Man and True Woman. The Archetypal
Saviors came and taught the Single Truth (apart from
which there is nothing else), as a core Teaching out of
which they began to teach methods and systems, yogas,
through which those that yearned to know and abide in the
Truth, but could not hear It, would be able to become
pure and see God, the all-pervasive "I AM" as
their True Self.
Sometime in the future, we may again see spiritual
communities, now becoming parts of a global and
interconnected cyber community, in which all these yogas
and all the religions are re-linked to their core and
taught, and disseminated without restriction.
The mechanisms through which the awakening can occur are
all in place in the body's field, and the knowledge is
ready to open into that field, such that with the steady
and systematic practice of Kundalini Yoga with devotion
to God, the True Man and True Woman will emerge. Then,
with the slightest indication of one's True nature, That
which is True will Itself emerge, and dissolving the last
remnant of identity in the satvic field.
Pieter Schoonheim Samara <pietersa@loxinfo.co.th>
The above article is based on the experiences of the
writer and his understanding of the core Teachings and
yoga practices, as explained by initially by Baba Ram
Dass (Franklin NH - '69) and then by Yogi Bhajan
('70-'74) and others, such as Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind (LA
'70) and Dr. NW Walker (Phoenix '72), within the context
of the whole spiritual environment that prevailed at that
time. This was followed by and resulted in the sudden
"hearing" of the Truth from the simple reading
about the Life
and Path of Ramana Maharshi. This hearing prevailed. The
writer clearly experiences the Truth when reading about
the Life, Teachings and Path of the Non-Dual Christ, the
Lives and core Teachings of Buddhas and Zen Patriarchs,
the Lives and core Teachings of Hindu Sages, including
the Upanishads and Gitas and other Vedanta, and the Lives
and core Teachings of the Sikh Gurus and Sikh Dharma, and
from having met with a number of Saints on the quest and
path of steady abiding as the Singularity of the Heart.
The writer is an original student of Yogi Bhajan, who
upon being told by the writer, then practicing Kundalini
Yoga in a small French village, of the February 11, 1971
awakening of the Hrdayam and Atma nadi, was kind enough
to direct the writer to stay at 6 different 3HO centers
over the following three year period, after which the
writer went on his own and has continued to practice
Kundalini Yoga now for over 30 years. As a result of
"hearing" the Truth from reading a book about
Ramana Maharshi in '71 and later other books recommended
by Ramana Maharshi, and as a result of the continued
encouragement of Yogi Bhajan to always abide in the
non-dual Truth, and others from time to time, as new
experiences emerged into consciousness, the writer abides
in that non-dual experience out of which comes the
perspective of this article.
The writer has been engaged in a number of businesses,
from manufacturing fresh raw vegetable juices, to
industrial sandblasting and painting, to coal and
shipping, to asset management, to banking and project
finance. Regardless of the roles one plays in life, it is
possible for one's practice to be entirely fruitful, in
short, the Truth can be "heard."