KUNDALINI MAHA YOGA INTRODUCTION ESSAY --------------------------------------------------------------------- For the past several decades, yoga, which is a spiritual discipline from India, has been a subject of interest to the people of this country. Consequently, I believe that many people are already familiar with this terminology. The purpose of this essay is to introduce a form of yoga known as Kundalini Maha Yoga. The principle on which this Kundalini Maha Yoga is based is very simple. In every human being there is a source of divine energy. the Sanskrit word for this source of energy is Kundalini. This source of energy or Kundalini is in two states: one is the dormant state; another is the active, awakened, or aroused state. When this source is dormant in a person, he finds himself leading an unhappy, unfulfilled life. His understanding of the universe is restricted, and he perceives and interprets everything according to his limited capacity. On the other hand, when the source is active or aroused, he progresses rapidly on the path of spiritual evolution. He realizes full potential of body and mind, attains inner peace, harmony and integration, and ultimately experiences the sublime truth of unity in diversity-the fact that all life is one and is bound by that divine power called love. The purpose of Kundalini Maha Yoga is to awaken this source of energy if it is dormant, or to intensify the activity of this source if it is already awakened. Thus Kundalini Maha Yoga is a direct method to spiritual evolution and as such its importance is obvious. A side benefit of the awakened Kundalini is the automatic healing of the diseases of body and mind by divine energy. A powerful yogi awakens the aspirant's Kundalini by a transfer of his energy to the aspirant. This transferred energy acts as an initial impetus. This process of transfer of energy is known as shaktipata. "Shakti" means power or energy in Sanskrit, and "pata" means transfer. Thus shaktipata is transfer of energy. By the grace and advice of my Guru, I have done shaktipata on thousands of people who have derived immense physical and mental benefits. First, let us take a look at the role Kundalini Maha Yoga will play in solving the problems of the world. As we all know, during the past decades scientific developments have taken place at a staggering rate. It is both a joy and a surprise to watch the progress of science. However, since the storehouse of nature is limitless, the more we know, the more remains to be known. It is obvious that no one can understand nature fully. Thus we clearly feel the need to increase the power of intellect, the capacity to comprehend, or more generally, to develop the potential of mind to the extent that, perhaps, faculties of mind hereto unknown may be involved. In addition, the necessity for sound mental health cannot be overlooked. It is also clear that much remains to be accomplished from the point of view of body and physical health. There are many serious diseases that threaten mankind today. But just a strong body and mind are adequate. We see today that in spite of our developments, scientific, or otherwise, there is much fear, hatred, disharmony, distrust and discrimination among individuals, communities, and nations. This has led to the buildup of destructive weapons and the grave possibility of war. That much desired peace is not yet attained. The basic cause of these problems is the fact that the general level of conscience, consciousness and other spiritual qualities has not evolved to the extent that science has. We are in a state of unbalanced development, lacking on the spiritual side. To attain therefore what is missing - peace, harmony, and brotherhood - it is necessary to realize that the entire universe is the creation of God, that all life is one, and that all are children of love. This realization or evolution alone is the solution to all problems facing us. As mentioned earlier, Kundalini Maha Yoga is a way to spiritual evolution and is therefore a significant tool to develop mankind in the spiritual plane. It is a way to peace, prosperity, brotherhood, and love. Before we go further, let is outline briefly the yogic theory of creation and Kundalini. Kundalini, as mentioned before, is the divine energy. She manifests both in the cosmic form and in the personal form. The cosmic form encompasses the entire creation, whereas the personal form restricts itself to each individual. God creates the universe be producing subtle energies from Him by a process similar to autosuggestion. This can be compared to the process wherein sparks are generated from a source of fire. Thus the individual manifestation of Kundalini is like a spark of cosmic Kundalini. This personal form of Kundalini is responsible for the creation of an individual. Now let us look at the physiological process of development of fetus in a mother's womb. Firstly, the head or the brain is formed. After that the spinal cord is formed from the nerves which are branches from the brain, with a simultaneous creation of the trunk. Then extremities like hands and feet are formed. The totality of nerve centers in the brain is referred to as the sahasrar chakra or sahasrara. This is the origin of the root of the process of creation. There are six different main nerve centers or chakras in the spinal column. The first center is the spinal column, nearest the brain-in fact located at the base of the brain-is adnya chakra or the spiritual eye. This center is formed immediately after the sahasrara. Then five different centers which represent five different qualities or tatvas are formed. The last center formed-the mooladhara chakra-is furthest from the brain and is located near the lower end of the spinal column. Kundalini thus starts creation at the brain level, progresses downward along the spinal column, and completes Her work near the lower end of the column. After the completion of Her work, She lies dormant there. As long as Kundalini is dormant, that individual spends an unfulfilled, unhappy life. His perception is limited. Spiritual evolution is the result of awakening of the Kundalini and Her reserve or upward travel from the bottom of the spinal column to the brain center. As She travels upward, the individual develops deeper and deeper spiritual insight, his life is more and more fulfilled. When the Kundalini completes Her travel to the brain or the foot from where She came, the individual attains liberation. He his true identity and is established in eternal happiness. Thus spiritual knowledge of an individual is directly dependent on the progress of Kundalini in Her upward travel. Many religions accept the concept of a cycle of the universe. This cycle consists of the creation, maintenance and the destruction of the universe. When one cycle of the universe is completed, the individual will attain liberation. However, with the awakening of the Kundalini and Her upward travel, the individual will not have to wait till the end of the cycle to attain liberation. He may even attain it in his own lifetime. This fact asserts the importance of Kundalini Maha Yoga and leads us naturally to the techniques used for awakening the Kundalini. Kundalini can be awakened by attaining perfection in certain physical postures called asanas, by certain breathing exercises aimed at controlling breath called pranayama, by God's grace, meditation or intense devotion. Another technique of great importance, which I briefly mentioned earlier, is shaktipata or transmission of power. A powerful yogi can transmit can transmit energy to the aspirant and awaken his Kundalini. He can accomplish this in one of the four ways: by touch, gaze, words, or thoughts. Thus the yogi may touch the disciple and the energy may be transmitted through the physical contact, or he may gaze at the disciple and the energy may flow from the yogi's eyes. the yogi may utter words which may be the carriers of energy. More subtly, he may do it directly by mere thought. of course he may also use a combination of the above. the process of shaktipata or power transmission can be performed only by those yogis who have gained complete control over a form of energy called life force, the vital air or prana - prana being the sanskrit word for vital air. Once the kundalini is awakened, the disciple begins to get various experiences like, perhaps, a multitude of sensory perceptions, visible vibrations or movements of the body, profound changes at the mental level, and so on. Different individuals will have different experiences and there is no definite pattern that is applicable to everyone. However, once the kundalini is awakened, this fact becomes known to the disciple by his own set of experiences. If at this stage the disciple persists in his spiritual practices such as meditation, then the kundalini travels upward from the base of the spinal column where She lay dormant before. During Her journey upward through the spinal column, She penetrates all the chakras [spiritual energy centers] in succession and ultimately reaches the brain center or sahasrara. When this happens, the disciple attains a state of transcendental consciousness called Samadhi; he understands his true identity and is thereby liberated. All throughout the spiritual efforts of the disciple, his GURU"S help is of great value. Because the GURU, with his powerful thought-force and control over energy, can give fresh impetus to his disciple's Kundalini and eliminate obstructions that may arise from time to time in her upward travel toward the brain center. Now a few words on meditation and breathing. of all the forms of meditation, meditation through attention on breath is probably the easiest and most direct way to self-realization. By performing breathing exercises called pranayama in conjunction with meditation, the aspirant can coordinate and integrate various functions and energies of the nervous system. Once this is accomplished, the aspirant gains control over the life supporting vital air or prana. This in turn leads to control over mind. When the aspirant gains control over mind, he enjoys unique joy and peace. Then he realizes that the entire world is the creation of one GOD. If this happens on a large scale, the miseries of the world will come to an end and there will be peace and happiness all over the world. Clearly, self-realization is the ultimate and most desirable state to be attained, and as we saw earlier the awakened Kundalini leads to this state. However, even when the Kundalini is aroused there is no guarantee that this state will be attained in one's own lifetime although it true that awakening very substantially hastens the process of evolution.It is encouraging to know therefore that many tangible benefits are gained during the early stages of the awakening of Kundalini and Her upward travel. Some of these benefits are as follows: the health of the aspirant improves; his skin and, more generally, his body becomes attractive, and waste matters decrease substantially; he feels light and energetic; his mind becomes restful; diseases of of body and mind are automatically eliminated. These benefits merit a brief explanation. Awaking of the Kundalini has a general purification effect on body and mind. Diseases of body and mind are caused by the irregularities in functioning of the life force or prana. These irregularities are gradually eliminated once the kundalini ia awakened. Hence one begins to gain the benefits. at more advanced levels of the functioning of the Kundalini, the benefits are intensified and encompass more subtle realms. The aspirant achieves peace and mental control, becomes creative, develops profound understanding of nature and enjoys inner joy. He becomes a strong individual, a complete person and is able to function in adverse circumstances with great poise. He can consciously absorb prana from the universe and direct it to cure physical and mental diseases. Ultimately, of course, he encounters total reality, the absolute truth or the knowledge of the self. I may point out at this stage that spiritual evolution cannot take place unless the Kundalini is awakened. There are many spiritual disciplines and techniques which do not aim at awakening the Kundalini directly. However the Kundalini must be aroused if there is to be any degree of spiritual progress. Thus if a spiritual discipline is successful, it means it has awakened the Kundalini at least in an indirect way. The practitioner of discipline may not even recognize the fact that his progress and experiences are the result of functioning of the Kundalini unless, of course, the discipline he practices aims directly at awakening the the Kundalini. However, the Kundalini does keep working and is the source of enlightenment. I may also point out that once the Kundalini is awakened, She does not become dormant except in some very special circumstances which we need not consider here. All the time She will try to execute Her upward passage. She will try to keep the aspirant on the spiritual path by giving him the necessary encouragement and protection from time to time. In my training period of over thirty years, I have had contacts with many capable yogis. I have undergone sever austerities at Chitrakut, Girnar, The Himalayas and at Mount Abu. By the grace of God and according to the power and instructions given me by my GURU, I have done shaktipata on a large number of people in India and in the United States. Their Kundalini has been awakened. They have attained peace of mind and good health. They have been led on the spiritual path. I have come here for dissemination of the spiritual knowledge. I consider the whole world to be my family. Consequently, my message is straightforward. I invite you all to come, sit, meditate, experience and judge for yourself. May God bless you all. DHYAN YOGI 0000000000000000001 &鼥mG=M=CD[>$ e&w:趯>/檓毻2g獯IV鞕2P2!訊H-枠&8 * 缜=.倸z巬$橭5l向y&