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(...Continued
From Kundalini Shaktipat Part 1)
KUNDALINI SHAKTIPAT INITIATION
Awakening through a Guru is
called Shaktipat. In this method, "divine energy"
passes directly from the Guru to the initiate. The initiation
can be performed in four ways: through touch, sight, mental
concentration, and a mantra. The easiest way of understanding
how these four processes work is through an example. A bird
affects the growth of the chick inside an egg by sitting on
it or touching it with its body. In the same way, the Guru
awakens the power of the disciple by his/her touch. As a fish
nourishes its children through its sight, so, the Guru passes
the energy to the disciple by his/her sight or look. As a
tortoise brings out the children from the eggs under the ground
by concentration and determination, so, the Guru awakens the
energy in the disciple through mental concentration. A Guru
can also awaken the energy by speaking and passing on a mantra
to the disciple. A mantra contains the subtle seeds of divinity
and is not just a combination of words or letters. Traditionally,
the divine power of mantra is realized when it passes from
the Guru to the initiate.
It is the duty of the Guru
to determine the ability of the practitioners — in terms
of their prior preparation with Hatha yoga and the degree
of their faith and surrender — before initiation. The
desirable effects in the practitioner are brought forth through
Shaktipat. Once activated, Shakti will first purify and transform
the practitioner, and then the automatic movements will come
into manifestation.
Sometimes Kundalini Shaktipat
is activated but its manifestation takes time. Activation
and manifestation are two different things. To make Kundalini
manifest either the Guru has to impart additional Shakti or
the practitioner has to engage oneself in spiritual discipline.
Inactive Shakti can be caused by a number of reasons.
Nervous disorders or the continuous
loss of seminal fluid can cause inactivation. Energy activates
quickly in a sound body.
Since the organs and senses become weak with age, activation
is faster among younger practitioners.
Because women tend to be more in tune with their emotions,
they have a greater chance of activating the energy.
Indifference or annoyance on the part of the Guru towards
the disciple can impede the process.
High spiritual values and a pure heart trigger activation.
Impurities of any kind slow the process down.
Evil deeds or impure thoughts such as theft, murder, or a
determination to harm someone in any way will impede the process
of activation.
However, the practitioner has no reason to worry if he/she
has truly surrendered to the Guru, since the Guru’s
additional supply of energy will guide the practitioner through.
Ultimately the practitioner is responsible for his/her own
actions and intentions. Given the initiate's karmic history,
a Guru can only act as a catalyst for what is ready to be
reborn. No Guru can short circuit karma, and for this reason
each person who is intending to awaken Kundalini — either
with or without a Guru — must take the responsibility
and karmic consequences of such actions.
Sometimes Shakti may manifest
more intensely, affecting how a person behaves in public.
There may be imbalances in walking, trembling, or perhaps
crying at holy places. When this happens, the Guru should
be consulted. The Guru has the power to slow or accelerate
Shakti manifestation. The practitioner should continue to
practice yoga and avoid going to public places since the transmigration
of energy into non-initiates can result in automatic movements
by the unknowing bystanders. This surprising experience can
result in the need for hospitalization of the unprepared.
If the Guru dies there is
no need to be afraid that the grace of the Guru will be lost,
since the activation of Shakti in the practitioner is permanent
and will always be a part of his/her experience. The power
comes from God since the Guru, inner Guru, Universal Consciousness,
and God are one. If the practitioner dies before the achievement
of the final result, the activated Kundalini continues in
the next incarnation. The process continues until the achievement
of samadhi. The spiritual force then merges into the cause,
that is, the Soul. In some cases the successor of the Guru,
usually appointed by him/her before his death, continues to
help practitioners toward the goal.
Kundalini Shaktipat - LIBERATION
Traditionally, Shakti-Kundalini,
when awakened, transforms the seeds of past actions into automatic
movements which results in reduced passions. The thought currents
of Chitta (mind-stuff) transform themselves from disturbing
ones to calm ones, ultimately losing their power. Similarly,
the mind is also freed of desires. The vices of lust, anger,
passion, attachment, pride, and jealousy are transcended.
These vices are veils of ignorance which delude the mind.
The awakened Shakti destroys the veil of Maya (illusion).
Shakti originates in the Soul, by which Chitta appears to
be conscious and is responsible for the creation of the veil
of Maya, which when shattered, returns and reunites with the
Soul. Thus, the identification of Chitta with Soul is broken,
and with the destruction of the Chitta activity, the state
of Self-realization is attained. In this way the individual
soul attains the state of super-consciousness.
As the automatic movements
become progressively subtler, the aspirant experiences greater
joy from these movements. For example, one may experience
jerking, vibrating, rolling, or rigorous yogic postures in
the beginning, with little or no peace and bliss. In later
stages vibrations become rhythmic and soft, with experiences
of light and sound and entering into trance. The aspirant
is inwardly absorbed in bliss and after the initiate’s
mind has been purified the movements disappear. The practitioner
now experiences oneness with Ultimate Reality.
EXPERIENCES ON AWAKENING
Because yoga is practiced
widely and produces results felt by everyone, it is not surprising
that the personal experiences of hundreds are being recorded
as their Kundalini Shakti awakens and becomes active. Through
pranayama or meditation or through Shaktipat the inner power
awakens and the indicators described below are observed in
the practitioner. However, no two practitioners experience
the same thing. The symptoms are not permanent and their intensity
is proportional to the karmic balance of the practitioner.
They fade away with acquired maturity. A practitioner who
has less karmic debt is likely to have milder indicators than
one who has more karma to work through. At the end of the
process, only the feelings of inner bliss and intuitive knowledge
are left. Everything else vanishes.
I witnessed the manifestation
of kriyas (automatic movements) at the annual conference of
Kundalini Research Network in Philadelphia in 1995 for the
first time. The person was a male practitioner from Rishikesh,
India. For almost one minute he called out the name of the
holy river Ganges and made movements with his hands, while
he was seated on the ground. Immediately his movements looked
to be taken over by some invisible controller and he began
to perform various yoga postures, one after the other. Many
of the postures he performed were not ordinarily possible
and he demonstrated some pain while performing them. But the
genuineness of the performance was felt and appreciated by
everyone present. As was said earlier, a practitioner will
automatically go into those movements which are necessary
for his/her development. One has no control or authority over
them. After about half-an-hour the practitioner came back
to normal and reported feeling fine. The next demonstration
I saw was in India by some practitioners in the presence of
their Guru.
Here are some more examples
of differing indicators of awakening:
Nan was a college student
in the Midwest in the 1960s. She had been a drug addict, but
later lived in an ashram in India where she meditated for
up to eight hours a day and did not eat much. Nan frequently
experienced kriyas such as making sounds, humming, jerking
her body, rolling around on the floor, and falling over. She
said: “I experienced twisting-snaking energy that was
blissful, moving from the lower back or base of the spine
upward, that caused my body to writhe around, moaning and
groaning, twisting, swaying, falling forward or backward and
then having a sudden backward jerk of the head accompanied
by the sound of 'hum.' There was also an arching backward
until falling over." Sometimes she fell over and rolled
on the ground or moved into asanas or mudras, and once she
danced in a trance of ecstasy. (Greenwell 1990, p. 189–190)
Karen, a slim and graceful
college professor in her 40s, studied Self-Realization Fellowship
courses of Yogananda and practiced Kriya Yoga. She began Jungian
analysis, and had lucid dreams. One night she began spontaneous
rapid breathing and felt like jumping into an abyss. She saw
an image of a door opening and some kind of energy passing
through her. Another time, vibrations and tremors passed through
her legs, spine, and face and she performed yoga asanas (postures)
spontaneously for about three hours. Energy streamed upwards
and vibrations shook her entire body. She felt that the energy
wanted to do things with her body that she was unable to do,
and her body felt like clay. She was pulled into extreme postures
— she fell backward and upside down, her fingers rigid;
she performed a headstand; she stood up with a full body vibration
and went forward to the ground; she heard the words "siddha
yoga" and her head jerked from side to side; she had
a sense of a butterfly body living within her as if her body
was its cocoon. It seemed to break out as a new body through
her back with still wet wings beginning to unfold; an unusual
breathing pattern took over; she began growling and pawing
at the floor and said, "I am a leopard; I'm a South-American
leopard." (Greenwell 1990, p. 208–209)
ORDER OF EXPERIENCES
When the awakening of Kundalini
is first experienced, the practitioner feels that the body,
mind, and prana have become powerless, since all activities
are stilled. When Kundalini receives light from Shakti, the
practitioner feels the active energy of prana in one's consciousness.
Later, one hears an internal Sound but cannot find the origin
of the Sound. When Kundalini assumes the form of nada (unstruck
continuous sound) then one begins to hear its form very faintly.
Next the practitioner begins to see divine lights that gradually
take the form of a fine flame, whereupon the nada takes the
clear form of sounds from the violin, flute, humming of bees,
and other similar sounds. Finally nada takes the form of OM
or AUM, which is Brahman Itself, and then whatever one determines
comes to pass. The subtle form of OM eradicates sin and the
deeper form of OM provides liberation. All other forms of
automatic movement cease and only the sound of OM remains.
One is sightless, only the state of peacefulness and single-pointed
concentration remains. On physical death one attains the Brahma-lok
or the plane of the residence of Brahman, the final achievement.
As the consciousness becomes
pure one sees the Guru, Brahman, and various demi-gods or
saints clearly. One may also have visions of the spiritual
identities one is most familiar with, such as Krishna, Buddha,
Jesus, Mother Mary, formless Light, or any other representations
of pure and compassionate energy — they are seen by
the practitioner either in dreams, visions or in trance states.
Their appearance indicates successful spiritual practice.
One may witness such things while walking, sitting or in spiritual
practice.
One experiences divine flavors,
divine smells, and divine touches, too. The enjoyment of worldly
pleasures by people without divine knowledge leads them to
grief and suffering, while spiritually perfected individuals
receive everything to enjoy without longing and attachment
and remain ever happy.
MY OWN EXPERIENCES
I have passed through most
of the experiences described above. I wrote about them in
chronological order and gave complete details in Kundalini
for Beginners. I first saw the manifestation of Light in 1984
and the appearance of Sound in 1987, which exists today. I
have also experienced Soul-travel to Higher Realms continually
since 1987. I can vouch by my own experiences that it is not
necessary to cut oneself off from life to achieve them. One
can be successful in yoga while living a practical conventional
life. These two things are inclusive and they do not interfere
with each other. On the contrary, yoga practices generate
the energy necessary for success in the world while also enjoying
life more fully. By enjoying life's experience in full one
achieves liberation and breaks the cycle of death and rebirth,
once and for all. By the grace of God, I have received a number
of initiations from respected Gurus but I also worked as a
professor of mathematics for more than 30 years. After experiencing
Kundalini in 1987, I retired in order to devote myself completely
to my spiritual path in 1994.
I have seen the manifestation
of kriyas in some practitioners in the presence of the Guru.
This same Guru initiated me, although I had my Kundalini awakened
many years ago. When I asked about the purpose of this initiation
(since I already had an awakened Kundalini) the Guru told
me that although my Kundalini was awakened it was not active.
The Guru passed his power into me by his touch. For the next
three days I underwent automatic movements of my body, although
the movements were gentle and rhythmic and not as violent
and varied as in the case of some beginners. I also experienced
fast and deep inhalations and exhalations accompanying the
movements. After 30 to 45 minutes of movements I would go
into a trance witnessing inner bliss and oneness with the
Reality. For the rest of the day I was filled with an inner
happiness and was indifferent to the outer world. Afterwards
and for the next two weeks I had an itchy back and burning
in my spine. Gradually these symptoms disappeared.
When Kundalini is both awakened
and active for some time, and the Shaktipat becomes stabilized
in the practitioner, he/she becomes a Guru him/herself and
begins to help others raise their Kundalini. I saw that some
practitioners who had spent time preparing themselves would
go into samadhi when I touched their third eye. An Australian
couple came to see me after reading Kundalini for Beginners.
The man had been practicing Hatha Yoga and Pranayama for several
years. In the morning he came for lessons. I gave him instruction
in performing asanas and touched him. He began to perform
several yogic postures perfectly and effortlessly, which he
could not do earlier. His eyes were closed all the time, and
he did not see what he was doing. After about half-an-hour
of this performance he became still and normal, and was looking
very peaceful and happy. He told me that he had some kriyas
in the past but not as intensely as that day.
Although the art of Shaktipat
is the easiest and most direct method of awakening Kundalini,
its use is uncommon and rare in the present age. The teachings
of Shaktipat had been secret, passed from mouth to ear, and
were not written. They were almost lost in antiquity. To look
for a Master, practitioners searched the Himalayan caves for
many years with little success. Nevertheless, for some, there
has always been and will continue to be the Guru-initiate
Shaktipat.
| Authors Details: Kundalini Shaktipat
for Beginners Ravindra Kumar, Ph.D. |
More Articles On Kundalini Shaktipat
(Kundalini
Shaktipat Pt 1)
(Kundalini
Shaktipat
Pt 2)
(Kundalini Energy
Awakening)
(Kundalini
Symptoms)
(Kundalini
Meditation)
(The
Great Invocation Kundalini Meditation)
(Kundalini)
(Kundalini
& Prana)
(Kundalini
Yoga)
(Kundalini
Awakening) |
