Kundalini Yoga FAQ: Kundalini Yogas FAQ (part I of III) -

By Kurt Keutzer

Kundalini Yogas FAQ

This FAQ gives an overview of those kundalini yoga practices which require conscious effort.

The Kundalini FAQ: Kundalini FAQ is introductory material that is good to read before reading this FAQ.

Two other articles are strongly related:

á      Siddha Mahayoga FAQ

á      The Siddha Mahayoga Tradition of Swami Shivom Tirth

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

á      What is kundalini?

á      What does kundalini have to do with spiritual enlightenment?

á      So how do I awaken kundalini?

á      How is kundalini awakened through mantra yoga?

á      How is kundalini awakened through hatha, laya and kriya yogas?

á      What are the techniques to unite prana and apana?

á      What are the techniques to unite rajas and retas?

á      Are those really the only techniques to awaken kundalini?

á      Are these forceful methods of awakening kundalini dangerous? What about Gopi Krishna's books?

á      But even if kundalini is dangerous, isn't it a faster way to enlighenment?

á      What are the origins of kundalini yoga?

á      What is the classical literature of kundalini yoga?

á      What is the precise role of the guru in kundalini yoga? Can't I learn it through books?

á      Where can I gain instruction on kundalini yoga?

á      Where can I learn more?

What is kundalini?

``Kundalini'' literally means coiling, like a snake. In the classical literature of hatha yoga kundalini is described as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. The image of coiling, like a spring, conveys the sense of untapped potential energy. Perhaps more meaningfully kundalini can be described as a great reservoir of creative energy at the base of the spine. It's not useful to sit with our consciousness fixed in our head and think of kundalini as a foreign force running up and down our spine. Unfortunately the serpent image may serve to accentuate this alien nature of the image. It's more useful to think of kundalini energy as the very foundation of our consciousness so when kundalini moves through the sushumna and through our cakras our consciousness necessarily changes with it.

The concept of kundalini can also be examined from a strictly psychological perspective. >From this perspective kundalini can be thought of as a rich source of psychic or libidinous energy in our unconscious.

In the classical literature of Kashmir Shaivism kundalini is described in three different manifestions. The first of these is as the universal energy or para-kundalini. The second of these is as the energizing function of the body-mind complex or prana-kundalini. The third of these is as consciousness or shakti-kundalini which simultaneously subsumes and intermediates between these two. Ultimately these three forms are the same but understanding these three different forms will help to understand the differerent manifestations of kundalini.

What does kundalini have to do with spiritual enlightenment?

First we need a few concepts: In yogic anatomy the sushumna is the central channel and conduit for the kundalini energy that runs along our spine and up to the crown of our head. Along this channel are placed additional channel networks called cakras. These cakras are associated with major aspects of our anatomy - for example our throat, heart, solar plexus, and in turn these aspects of our anatomy are related to aspects of our human nature. According to the literature of kundalini yoga our experience of these centers is limited due to knots which restrict the flow of energy into these centers. Three knots are particuarly important. The knot of Brahma which restricts the center at the base of the spine. The knot of Vishnu which restricts the heart center and the knot of Rudra which restricts the center between the eyebrows. These knots form an important framework in yogic thinking and the stages toward enlightenment are articulated in terms of breaking through these knots in the yogic classic the Hatha Yoga Pradipika as well as in some of the yoga upanishads. Specifically, four stages of progress are described:

á      arambha,

á      ghata,

á      parichaya and

á      nishpatti.

Arambha is associated with breaking the knot of Brahma and the awakening of kundalini. Ghata is associated with breaking the knot of Vishnu and and with internal absorption. Parichaya the absorption deepens and in nishpatti the knot of Rudra is pierced and the kundalini may ascend to the center at the crown of the head. In this state transcendence is integrated and, according to the yogic liteature, the yogi has nothing more to attain.

Putting these elaborate physiological decriptions aside, the goal of kundalini yoga is the same as the goal of any legimitate spiritual practice: To be liberated from the limited bounds of the self-centered and alienated ego. In kundalini yoga this is associated with internal manifestations of the kundalini but the external manifestations should be similar to any other legitiimate spiritual practice.

So how do I awaken kundalini?

Indirectly kundalini can be awakened by devotion, by selfless service, or by intellectual enquiry.

Broadly speaking there are two radically different direct approaches to awakening kundalini. One approach requires initiation by a guru and relies upon a technique called shaktipat, or ``descent of shakti.'' It is variously called: Siddha Mahayoga, Kundalini Mahayoga or Sahaja Yoga (Spontaneous Yoga). These approaches are treated in the Siddha Mahayoga FAQ. The other approach uses intentional yogic techniques . The styles using intentional techniques include Mantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga or Kriya Yoga. These approaches are treated in this FAQ.

Fundamentally the approach of Siddha Mahayoga and the Kundalini Yogas are different. In Siddha Mahayoga the guru awakens the kundalini and after that the core of the practice is the inactive and non-willful surrender to kundalini. In Kundalini Yogas the will is used to awaken the kundalini and to guide its progress. Clearly these are different approaches. Nevertheless, elements of the each approach occur in the practices of the other. Siddha Mahayogins may use asanas, pranayamas and other hatha yoga practices. On the other hand gurus in Kundalini Yoga may give infusions of shakti to their students to help them at particular points in their practice.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using effort, in kundalini yogas, as opposed to the grace of the guru, in siddha mahayoga, to awaken kundalini?

Since every practitioner brings his own unique inclinations and obstacles to the practice of yoga it is very hard to generalize on this point. In terms of actually awakening kundalini gurus of Siddha Mahayoga claim that the kundalini is more easily and reliably awakened by the grace of the guru than by individual effort. In my limited experience I would agree. with this assertion. While not every long-term student of either practice necessarily shows signs of kundalini awakening it is amazing how many people have had instant awakenings of kundalini through initiation from siddha gurus.

In terms of encountering difficulties along the path the siddha gurus would also claim that fewer problems due to kundalini awakening, such as mental imbalance, are encountered by students of Siddha Mahayoga. Here I think the results are mixed. It seems to me that the guidance of the teacher in either Siddha Mahayoga or Kundalini Yoga is more a determining factor than which style of kundalini practice is employed.

Generally speaking each style of practice has its strengths and weakness. The strength of Siddha Mahayoga is the ease with which it awakens the kundalini. The weakness is that because the kundalini is so easily awakened by the guru students of Siddha Mahayoga often have completely undisciplined personal meditation practices. Time is spent instead to trying to recreate some of their initial experiences by following the guru around hoping for his or her grace. Some people spend 20 or more years in this manner without ever developing an inner core of practice or experience.

The strength of the family of Kundalini Yogas is that the progress is at least apparently more under the control of the student of the yoga. These students seem more likely to have disciplined personal practices and more of an understanding of how the practice relates to their own experience. Unfortunately for some students this leads to a fairly egotistical approach to their practice and ultimately the kundalini energy is used to bolster the ego rather than to merge the ego in bliss.

How is kundalini awakened through mantra yoga?

In mantra yoga the student is initiated by means of a mantra. If the kundalini is to be awakened by means of this yoga then it is essential that the guru gives consciousness or ``chaitanya'' to the mantra. This consciousness can be viewed as the cit-shakti-kundalini. Through repetition of the mantra the cit-shakti-kundalini of the mantra resonates with the cit-shakti-kundalini of the student and in this way the student's kundalini is awakened.

The reader may have noticed that there doesn't seem to be a great deal of effort applied in this approach. This is true and in many ways this approach is more akin to Siddha Mahayoga in which the guru can use sound or ``shabda'' as the instrument of initiation.

How is kundalini awakened through hatha, laya and kriya yogas?

The practices of hatha, laya and kriya yoga employee literally hundreds of individual techniques to purify the channels and awaken kundalini. Despite this tremendous divesity of approaches to the awakening of kundalini there are only a few underlying models of how kundalini may be awakened with effort in these practrices. The following description draws from the classical texts on kundalini yoga the Nath and Tantric Buddhist lineages as well as on contemporary instruction by American, Indian and Tibetan masters of kundalini yoga. For each model of the process of kundalini yoga a little additional yogic terminology will be required.

The description of kundalini given earlier suffices for general purposes; however, if one wishes to practice the kundalini yogas a more detailed description is necessary. In fact there are a number of highly related yogic concepts which must be understood. Kundalini is often associated with a fierce hot energy. In the hatha yogic terminology of the Nath tradition this energy is known as rajas and also as surya. In the tantric Buddhist tradition this energy is known as red bodhicitta and also as candali in the Sanskrit language or as gTummo in Tibetan. The word gTummo literally means ``the fierce woman.'' The association between kundalini and a fiery energy runs so deep that this fiery energy is often considered to be synonymous with kundalini. Strictly speaking these two energies are separate; however, whenever the fiery surya energy is activated then kundalini stirs and and often when kundalini stirs the fiery energy is also activated. So while these energies are not equivalent, from a practical standpoint the activation of one energy will most often result in the activation of the other.

The most universal description is that kundalini is awakened by the uniting of the ``winds'' or ``energies'' of prana and apana. Prana is the life-giving energy associated with inspiration. It is associated with feelings of expansion and its center is in the heart. Apana is the downward-voiding energy associated with defecation. It is associated with feelings of contraction and its center is in the anus. The uniting of these two very different forces creates a ``spark'' which awakens the kundalini from its slumber.

Another description is that kundalini is awakened through the uniting of the energies of the two channels of ida and pingala. The ida and pingala are two side channels which run parallel to central channel, the sushumna, on its left and right sides respectively. The ida channel is associated with a cool energy that descends from the crown of the head. The pingala channel is associated with a hot energy that ascends to the crown. >From the yogic viewpoint ordinary waking consciousness our winds or energies run in these two side channels and as a result our minds are unsteady and prone to anger, greed and delusion. The kundalini yogin aims to cause the energies to move out of the ida and pingala and into the sushumna. When this occurs the knots which hold the kundalini energy in place are loosened and the kundalini is able to rise.

A similar description is that kundalini is awakened through the uniting of the two bindus of rajas and retas. First of all bindu, or literally ``drop'', means a constituent of the subtle body. The bindu rajas is associated with the egg (or sometimes menstrual blood) of woman but it more fundamentally refers to a subtle constituent of both the male and female body. In some texts it says that this constituent resides at the navel. In other texts it says that it resides near the perineum. The Tantric Buddhists call this constituent ``red bodhicitta'' or literally the ``red mind-of-enlightenment.'' Whatever it is called, this constituent is associated with a fiery red energy that rises. It is also associated with the sun. One may also find other associations such as the ``red lion'' of alchemical traditions.

The complement to rajas is retas or shukra. The bindu retas is associated with the sperm of man but like rajas it more fundamentally refers to a constituent present in both men and women. Classical texts are in agreement that this resides in the subtle body at the crown of the head. The Tantric Buddhists call this constituent ``white bodhicitta'' or literally the ``white mind-of-enlightenment.'' Whatever it is called this constituent is associated with a cooling white energy and is associated with the cooling rays of the moon. One may also see associations with the ``white eagle'' of alchemical traditions.

In summary, the fundamental approaches to awakening kundalini are through the uniting of the prana and apana, or through the uniting of the rajas and retas.

Read more at the homepage of Kurt Keutzer: http://www-cad.eecs.berkeley.edu/~keutzer/