UNDERSTANDING KUNDALINI
The word Kundalini is well-known among Yoga students as the force, in the form of a coiled serpent, that resides in Muladhara Chakra, the first of the seven Chakras, with the other six being Svadhishthana, Manipuraka, Anahata, Visuddha, Ajna, and Sahasrara, in that order. Both Sadhanas, such as Japa, meditation, Kirtan, and prayer, as well as all virtue development and observance of austerities such as reality, non-violence, and continence, are at best calculated to awaken this serpent-power and cause it to pass through all the subsequent Chakras, beginning with Svadhishthana and ending with Sahasrara, also known as the thousand-petalled lotus, the seat of karma.
This Kundalini influence is sleeping in worldly-minded people who enjoy sensual and sexual pleasures because there is no stimulation in the form of spiritual practices, as the power produced by such practices alone awakens the serpent-power, not any other power derived from worldly wealth and affluence. When the aspirant devotes himself to all the disciplines prescribed in the Shastras and as instructed by the preceptor, in whom the Kundalini has already awakened and reached its abode or Sadasiva, achieving which blessed achievement alone qualifies him to act as a Guru or spiritual preceptor, guiding and assisting others to achieve the same goal, the veils or layers ebb away.
When Kundalini passes through Chakra after Chakra, causing them to bloom in all their glory, new worlds with indescribable wonders and charms open up before the Yogi, planes after planes reveal their existence and grandeur to the practitioner, and the Yogi gains divine knowledge, strength, and bliss in increasing degrees. When the Kundalini ascends one Chakra or Yogic center, the Yogi ascends one level or rung higher on the Yogic ladder; he reads one more sentence, the next page, in the divine book; the more the Kundalini ascends, the closer the Yogi gets to the target or spiritual perfection in relation to it.
When the serpent-power crosses the top
center, or Sahasrara Chakra, or the Thousand-petalled lotus, the Yogi loses his
identity in the ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda or Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute
and becomes one with the Lord or Supreme Soul. He is no longer a common man,
not even a mere Yogi, but a truly enlightened sage who has overcome the
everlasting and limitless holy realm, a savior who has triumphed over delusion,
a Mukta or free one who has crossed the ocean of ignorance or transmigratory
life, and a superman with the authority and ability to rescue the other struggling
souls of the relative universe. The Scriptures praise him and his
accomplishments the most, in the most glorifying manner imaginable. Brahma,
Vishnu, and Siva, to name a few celestial beings, are envious of him.
TANTRIK SADHANA AND KUNDALINI
Kundalini Yoga is a part of Tantrik Sadhana, which describes
this serpent-power and the Chakras in detail, as described above. The active
part of the Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, Mother Divine, exists in the
bodies of men and women in the form of Kundalini, and the entire Tantrik
Sadhana aims to awaken Her and reconcile Her with the Lord, Sadasiva, in the
Sahasrara, as mentioned in depth at the beginning. Tantrik Sadhana uses Japa of
the Mother's name, prayer, and a variety of rituals to accomplish this aim.
HATHA YOGA AND KUNDALINI
Hatha Yoga also bases its philosophy on Kundalini, but the
techniques used are not the same as Tantrik Sadhana. Hatha Yoga aims to awaken
Kundalini by disciplining the human body, purifying the Nadis, and regulating
the Prana. It tones up the entire nervous system and brings it under the
conscious control of the Yogi, it controls the Prana, regulates its movements,
and also blocks and seals it without allowing it to move, it purifies the inner
organs of the physical body, and it finally brings the mind itself under the
conscious control of the Yogi by Pranayama. These combined methods cause
Kundalini to move upwards towards Sahasrara.
RAJA YOGA AND KUNDALINI
Raja Yoga, on the other hand, makes no mention of Kundalini and instead proposes a more nuanced, higher course, spiritual and logical, in which the aspirant is asked to calm the mind, remove all senses, and enter meditation. Unlike Hatha Yoga, which is mechanical and spiritual, Raja Yoga teaches an eight-limbed technique that appeals to aspirants' hearts and minds.
It promotes moral and ethical development by its Yama and Niyama, aids
intellectual and cultural development by Svadhyaya or study of holy Scriptures,
satisfies the emotional and devotional aspect of human nature by enjoining to
surrender oneself to the Creator's will, has an element of mysticism by
including Pranayama as one of the eight limbs, and finally, prepares the
aspirant for the ascension into heaven. The human mind and Chitta are the goals
to be killed in Raja Yoga's doctrine and prescription of techniques, since they
alone cause the individual soul to lose its true essence and carry on birth and
death, as well as all the woes of phenomenal life.
VEDANTA AND KUNDALINI
When it comes to Vedanta, though, there is no place for Kundalini or any other magical or mechanical approaches. It's all about inquisitiveness and intellectual speculation. According to Vedanta, the only thing that can be demolished is ignorance about one's true nature, which can be destroyed only through understanding one's true nature, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Existence-Knowledge-Bliss.
This ignorance cannot be destroyed by research, Pranayama, practice, or any amount of physical twisting and torturing, but only by knowing one's true nature, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Existence-Know Man is divine, free and one with the Supreme Spirit always, which he forgets and identifies himself with matter, which itself is an illusory appearance and a superimposition on the spirit. Liberation is freedom from ignorance and the aspirant is advised to constantly dissociate himself from all limitations and identify himself with the all-pervading, non-dual, blissful, peaceful, homogeneous spirit or Brahman.
When meditation becomes intensified, in the ocean of Existence or rather the individuality is blotted or blown out completely. Just as a drop of water let on a frying pan is immediately sucked and vanishes from cognition, the individual consciousness is sucked in by the Universal Consciousness and is absorbed in it. According to Vedanta there cannot be real liberation in a state of multiplicity, and the state of complete Oneness is the goal to be aspired for, towards which alone the entire creation is slowly moving on.
