Swami Sivananda Radha (1911-1995) is a respected author of over ten books, several of which have become classics in the field of yoga, most notably Light & Vibration: Consciousness, Mysticism & the Culmination of Yoga; Kundalini Yoga for the West; Foundation for Character Building, Courage, and Awareness; and Hatha Yoga: The Hidden Language.
Kundalini Yoga for the West is not only one of Swami Radha’s most famous books, it was one of the first books of its kind. In it, she introduced what she called in the subtitle “a foundation for character building, courage, and awareness” as it related to the pursuit of kundalini. Swami Radha has been a source of information for kundalini seekers for over twenty-five years, and in the following brief excerpt from Kundalini Yoga for the West, she discusses what she calls, “the fire of awareness, fire of wisdom” that comes with this energetic awakening. She also answers the questions: Does kundalini energy encourage indulgence in sex? Is psychic energy kundalini? How does kundalini announce itself to the higher self?
The snake around the neck of Saddasiva and the trident in His hand indicate for the first time the possible stirring of the Kundalini energy. The fire He holds, which is also symbolic of Kundalini, reminds us that “ignorance is burned in the fire of wisdom.” Such, then, is the Kundalini Fire. It is a fire of awareness that burns ignorance so that life takes on a new meaning and all previous concepts are burned up. It turns the individual upside-down, into a new being. Some Scriptures speak of being clothed with a new garment. Others speak of being touched by the Divine Light, or having Divine Mother reveal Herself in splendor. This experience may be of minutely detailed intricacy or it may suddenly sweep the aspirant to a panoramic Vision of Light, leaving him or her humbled and awed. There are no words.
It now becomes evident why the character building of the previous chakras is so important. In the early stages, the aspirant’s development is a matter of awareness and of dumping those concepts that can be let go without any emotional upset. This first state of awareness may have allowed the aspirant to recognize and deal with more complicated and deep-seated beliefs, which might bring such a feeling of release that certain psychic manifestations may result. This is not Kundalini. What it means is that we have become more skillful in dealing with the sensations that exist in daily life. As an illustration, if I drive a little Volkswagen and then I buy a Lincoln, even though I have felt very comfortable with my little Volkswagen, I will now have to make adjustments for the steering, parking, speed, size, etc., of the big new car. But when I have learned to maneuver it, I will be in control of a vehicle of much greater power and quality.
To assure this kind of control, clarification of the mind is necessary. By accepting the exercises in this book, skill and awareness will be built up that will enable the aspirant to handle any experiences that come without anxiety.
In the pursuit of Kundalini, a true guru will warn against developing exclusively in one area. In other words, if intellect has been developed at the cost of the senses and particularly the emotions, even the greatest intellect will be unable to handle the impact of the emotions when they strike. It is for that reason that the emphasis is on the equal development of the five senses, with particular attention to the mind, which is the operator at the control station of all sense perception.
The Higher Self may announce or signal this stirring of the Kundalini energy ahead of time in dreams. Therefore, it is again stressed to carefully watch dreams and be consistent in noting them down. We may not understand the message of a dream, but the Higher Self derives its energy and wisdom from the Universal Intelligence, and it will find other ways and means of sending the message it intends us to have. We must pay great attention to dreams and all insights so the message will not be missed.
When the Kundalini energy stirs there is indeed a change in temperature in the body, but it is not like a high fever or an unnatural body heat, although there have been situations where that was the case. It all depends on the preparations that have been made. The many mental acrobatics, the training of the mind, are necessary to make the mind and the senses, as well as the central nervous system, pliable to deal with those incredible realities.
The question arises of whether the source of information a psychic receives is Kundalini energy. This would only be true if the term “Kundalini” were used to mean all life. Then, even functioning on the level of unawareness would be Kundalini, which would make it more difficult to understand Kundalini as a latent power within each individual or, as the old texts call it, “the coiled-up serpent.” The many exercises for the attainment of the manifestation of psychic energy and spiritual experiences show that the psychic can only function within the realm of his own development of the senses and the mind. So, again we conclude, this is not Kundalini.
Experiencing lights when in a meditative state is not Kundalini, but can be taken as encouragement that we are on the right road. These experiences should be carefully observed as they are indications of the development toward the unfolding of the potential that is within everyone.
The many schools of thought concerning Kundalini make for confusion rather than clarification. However, Kundalini is the essential energy in each, and the means of reaching that state of consciousness is irrelevant. Once a path is chosen, the process becomes important and the steps laid out must be followed with care.
Any yoga singled out by itself is taking a part out of the whole and, as with any part, it is incomplete. The encouragement to sexual indulgence, alleged to be the purpose of the Kamasutra by some who teach Kundalini Yoga, is to be regretted because it means ripping out from a very beautiful and delicately balanced system some small detail and considering it the whole. It is not indulgence in sex that the Kundalini energy encourages. However beautiful sex may be, it does not open the door to a state of higher consciousness. If that were so, the majority of people who believe in sexual excesses would all have achieved enlightenment.
The part that brahmacarya plays in spiritual development can be more easily understood if we use money as a symbol for spiritual power and its hoped-for manifestation. We often scatter energy in the same way that we scatter money and it is only by holding together a large amount of either one that a large project can be undertaken.
Kundalini will have to be pursued according to the aspirant’s own natural inclinations. When all the groundwork has been done, when quality has been brought into other aspects of life, which itself is a development of human potential, and when the fringe benefits have been renounced (psychic manifestations), Kundalini will begin to stir because it has been safely awakened. In the process of doing the exercises, the control of desires and all sense perceptions has increased, inner security has developed, and therefore the awakening of Kundalini will not be a frightening, but a blissful experience.
The mythology of many a culture has strenuously tried to explain not only the purpose of life but what is this God/Energy. Modern scientists continue to question this, and for each the answer is expressed differently. The human mind cannot determine what Cosmic Energy is; it can only study its manifestation. This manifestation can be brought about in oneself and studied there. Whatever the Energy is—It can only reveal Itself.
Sit in a comfortable position or in any yogic posture, but with your ankles crossed. Close your eyes, focus them on the space between the eyebrows. Do not start until your body is quiet (perhaps with the help of a little pranayama).
In previous chapters, you have become aware of the necessity of being spine conscious. Feel your spine and as you straighten it out, putting vertebra on vertebra, see at the base of your spine a Lotus bud slowly open and, like a dewdrop, a tiny pinpoint of Light slowly emerging from it ... floating in the very center of the spine, in that hollow part, up and up and up, passing through the respective places of the other Lotuses, finally floating to the place where the spine joins the head ... and in a gentle curve (like a shepherd’s crook) this tiny pinpoint of Light floats over the pituitary and pineal. In your mind’s eye, see a flash of Light illuminating the brain matter, becoming again the pinpoint of Light and traveling, back the same way, making the gentle curve, meeting the spine and floating gently and slowly in the very center of the hollow of the spine, passing through all the Lotuses, down to the very first one. When it has touched the center of that Lotus, the four petals close as if to protect something very precious. Stay quiet and allow to come to you whatever delicate intuitive perception may want to arise. Let it happen. If nothing specific happens, that is fine too. Let yourself be absorbed in that beautiful feeling of deep peace and harmony.
Do this exercise not more than once a day. This will prevent the forcing open of the Lotuses. The experience of the arising of the Kundalini energy can take place in such small steps, so gently, as never to upset or jar you into any anxiety. Also, it takes time to reach the ability to concentrate, and to be so alert and yet so relaxed at the same time. Patience and perseverence will lead to an unfolding that can be, if the instructions are followed as given, a very beautiful experience that gives a sense of knowing of the Divine. In terms of religion, let us remember that all saints tell 304us that man cannot command God. To pursue the Most High we may have to learn to wait in humility.