God?

God is a concept by which we measure our pain.

- John Lennon

In Ishwara there is the seed of limitless omniscience.

- Patanjali

Beliefs, by nature, are artifacts. They are congealed and condensed abstracts of past experiences. They are concepts, not realities, although they may indeed point to a reality which is beyond both mind and senses. Erroneous beliefs perpetuate a false world-view, however, there may be “relative, meta-beliefs” with which we can work. As W. C. Fields once stated, “A man has to believe in something.” World religions, whether Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, etc., are second-hand spiritual experiences. Religions are based upon the immediate mystical experiences of their founders and saints. Once they get turned into socio-political institutions, they have lost contact with their source of being. For the yogi, mystic, or anyone who has been fortunate to have a truly transcendent experience of deeper reality, “God” is not some abstract symbol, but a living mystery to celebrate and explore.

In our modern/post-modern society, God has become highly suspect. People generally don’t trust in “belief,” anymore. The “God of our fathers” has become a laughing matter. Bill Maher’s film “Religilous” for example pokes serious fun at the naïve and superstitious aspects of religious belief. To some extent he is correct in lambasting the irrationality latent in any culturally-given belief system. The problem is that as long as we identify ourselves with our personal and cultural beliefs, we are identified with our intellectual egos. All belief systems are relative, whether mythico-religious or “scientistic.” We live in realities constructed from our personal paradigms. As Alfred Korzybski said; we take our maps to be the territory. At best we can be compassionate with each other as we struggle to make sense of things.

The purely mythological God, or Gods, of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, or the religions of the ancient Greeks, is a construct of an earlier layer of our collective human psyche. However, they are deeply rooted within us. They are the foundation below our culture of rationalism. They are a deeper level of our humanity. I say “they” here, although monotheistic religions might disagree. Every culture, however, seems to develop its own image of God, and then one culture’s God battles another. Unfortunately, we mortals are the only ones who die in the process.

This is the essence of the mythological level of thought. It is deeply irrational, instinctual, emotional and also wise in a sense that both defies and compliments rational thought. We have but to look around at current modern culture to see the resurgence of mythological figures in comic books, novels, psychology, film, psychopathology, etc. Monotheism, as a mythological construct, doesn’t point to the non-dual consciousness of Eastern Advaita, instead it is an image of some supposed über-god who can, we imagine, tyrannically, dominate the inner chaos of the psyche. Freud called this a cultural super-ego. I am speaking strictly related to the mythological level of our thinking. This is the level that teachers like Bill Maher, or Richard Dawkins address.

There are other ways of understanding “God.” One is a further refinement and abstract definition of “God,” without trying to dispense with an aspect of our deeper humanity. God as Consciousness, lives and breathes within us. It is God manifesting as wisdom that might make us so inclined. God is life and mystery. God is the fundamental reality of our beings. Any further investigation that we are willing to pursue leads to possible deeper wisdom. A good start might be an open-minded survey of world religious literature. All research, study, intellectualization, however doesn’t arrive at the point. At very best, it helps us develop deeper levels of cross-cultural meta-cognition, or meta-culturalism. I don’t want to dismiss this enterprise. It may be essential to the survival of our species and our planet. Until we can get over our tribal visions of God, and our insistence on the exclusive reality of scientific-materialism, we will stay in fragmentation and conflict. The two halves of our brains, like a couple in a troubled relationship, need to at least attempt to understand each other’s point of view.

Another way of understanding “God,” is the way of the mystic, yogi, shaman, or otherwise peaceful and blissful psychopath. This is the path of disciplined subjectivity; an inner way of relating to God as Self. This path is somewhat tricky. Pathology can occur when one’s ego identification is transferred to the Self. Jung wrote, “Every encounter with the Self, is a defeat for the ego.” On the other hand, the ego may attempt a sort of psychic ju-jitsu in which it seeks to overcome defeat by identifying with the greater consciousness. The mystic, yogi, shaman, etc. knows to surrender. A great warrior of any intelligence knows when to concede, albeit temporarily. When we are willing to turn our gaze inward, not just momentarily, but as a disciplined process, we encounter an inner being of enormous power, compassion and knowledge. It is our collective, universal and transpersonal being, who is always present. We might choose to call this God, Tao, “Emptiness,” or the Self. “God,” in this sense has little or no resemblance to the mythological God. God, according to yogic mysticism is nothing other than consciousness itself.

Patanjali refers to God as Ishwara, and he continues, within the pithy outlines of the Yoga Sutras, to define his term in precise, general terms. The Sutras, even in user-friendly translations, are not an easy read. Each “thread” on the way requires contemplation and examination. For one thing, Rishi Patanjali speaks from within a Vedic spiritual context, which is foreign to most of us. This is certainly paramount when we attempt to understand his presentation of Ishwara. For one thing, Ishwara is definitely not the equivalent of our Biblical God as received through the Old and New Testaments. Nor is Ishwara in anyway equivalent with the pantheons of paganism. However, it resonates with Plato and Neo-platonic thought. Yoga is singular in offering a multitude of methods and techniques for us to enter into that consciousness. God is not a concept, whether rational or mythological, instead, God is Consciousness.

While spiritual self-discipline is highly important, many of us are incapable of any but the minutest steps towards self-discipline. We sit to meditate and we are overwhelmed by the activity of our minds. Either that or we are unable to stay awake. However, we do have recourse to a “higher consciousness,” who is ready, willing and able to help us – as long as our intent is, at least, somewhat pure. Intense devotion to God is the most powerful way of extricating ourselves from our egoic delusions and avidya. It is, in the words of Paramhansa Satyananda Saraswati, “the rocket to Self-realization.” God is neither subject nor object, and both simultaneously.

Patanjali states, “Ishawara (God) is a unique soul, which is untouched by the activity of the world.” Ishwara is uncontaminated by gunas, karma, or kleshas; Spirit beyond the reach of Nature. Rishi Patanjali continues, in the next sutra, “In God there is the seed of omniscience.” How are we to understand this? As modern/post-modernists we know damn well that there is no truly objective subject. In other words, no individual being can possibly grasp the whole picture. We might try to understand God, though, in this sense, as the transcendent source and collectivity of our individual minds. Again, though, we run into God as concept. What if God is our innermost being, shared by all of us and, at the same time, totally transcendent?

Patanjali further adds, “Not being limited by time, Ishwara is the guru of the earliest gurus. He is designated by the pranava (the mantra AUM.)” He then goes on to prescribe meditation on AUM, as a sadhana, or spiritual discipline. This is a most important point. However we might try to conceive of God conceptually, yoga is about adhering to spiritual practice through which one may have a spiritual experience, an awakening. The mind, even the most refined intellect, cannot grasp Ishwara rationally or logically. This is the problem with modern thinkers who rely on rationality as the exclusive domain of truth. True rationality must overcome this bias, which is really a psychological denial of the irrational and super-rational dimensions of our psyches and our universe. Neurotics (and, face it we are all neurotic) attempt to rationalize their irrational thoughts, impulses, desires, etc. This is the level of pathology best treated through psychotherapy. Spiritual denial, however, can only be overcome by transcendent states of consciousness. Yoga is the best treatment in this case.

Sâmkhya is primarily an intellectual path, it is the basis of Jñana yoga as referenced in the Bhagavad Gita. Some schools deny the existence of God because it cannot be proven through the epistemology of Sâmkhya, just as it cannot be proven through the epistemology of science. However, both Patanjali and Lord Krishna include Ishwara as central in their cosmologies. Krishna, as an avatara, embodies Ishwara. And, to a lesser extent, so do we all. Unlike Krishna, however, we are under the spell of avidya, ignorance. We are all UIE, under the influence of ego. Bhakti, or devotion to God, in whatever way we might try to understand Her, is a powerful means of reducing the influence of asmita. Devotion becomes perverted, however, when we hold to a simplistic and culturally bound image or definition of God. It is important that we use our intelligence. What else is intelligence but a gift of nature in helping us to return to God? True gnosis, however, means going beyond intellect, as well as, beyond personal emotional attachments. While purusha is the innermost witness of our personal experience, Ishwara is the innermost witness of purushas. God is the unconditioned and unconditional absolute.

Two Aspects of God

The Imperishable Absolute lives within every creature as its soul.

It provides everything with its own existence.

I exist within everyone as their innermost consciousness.

- Sri Krishna

The Vedantic tradition suggests that there are two aspects of God, or two ways of approaching the Absolute. One is, as we presented above, the way of approaching and apprehending God as the impersonal, all-pervading Consciousness which includes and transcends self and cosmos. The other is the way of approaching God as a distinct Personality. The first approach is represented in the Upanishads, as well as by the Yoga Sutras, the second is best and most well-known as presented in the Bhagavad Gita, where God is personified as Krishna. Although both sides present arguments that their particular way is best, we might simply say: God is both impersonal and personal. The impersonal aspect of God seems to appeal to the rational intellect. Astrophysicist, Bernard Haisch, makes an argument in his work, The God Theory, that the idea of an impersonal God is entirely compatible with science including evolution. The personal aspect of God is represented by most of the World’s major religions and appeals to those of a more emotional nature. The impersonal aspect and pathway is known as Jñana yoga, the path of wisdom or knowledge. The personal aspect and pathway is known as Bhakti yoga, the path of love and devotion.

The personal approach to God has an advantage in that our minds are attuned to “name and form.” Until we ourselves are selfless, it is near impossible for us to directly relate to a formless God. It requires transcending the mind altogether. This is something that only dedicated and experienced yogis can accomplish. On the other hand, devotion to a personal God often results in sectarianism, bigotry, egotism and violence where one image of God is held as superior over another, whether it is Krishna or Jesus, Allah or Kali. We may all need a particular Image to relate to, but, in the words of Joseph Campbell, it should be “open to transcendence.” The best way, perhaps, is to find a synthesis of Jñana and Bhakti, after all, they represent the left and right hemispheres of our cerebral cortex.

An integral synthesis of these ideas is presented throughout the Bhagavad Gita where Krishna speaks both as an individual personality and as the universal consciousness within every being. Yoga can help move us into an integral consciousness when we incorporate both Jñana and Bhakti, wisdom and devotion, without excluding either. Wisdom demands that we question and investigate, devotion demands that we do this with deep love and respect. There is a saying within the Hindu tradition that, “Bhakti without Jñana is blind, while Jñana without Bhakti is impotent.” As Patanjali put it spiritual realization requires an “urge.” This urge seems to awaken within people whether or not they have a religious background. As Jung discovered an inner spiritual awakening may sometimes open us to symbols that are foreign to our particular religious backgrounds. To reiterate Dr. Grof, “Spirituality is an intrinsic aspect of the psyche.”

Yoga meditation does not require a particular belief system. I certainly have no intention of pushing God on anybody, merely to suggest that we not dismiss Her altogether; i.e., not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Spirituality is an essential part of our beings, whether theistic, or like Buddhism, nontheistic. Maybe the concept of God is antiquated. Maybe we need a new language for our spirituality. Perhaps the most radical aspect of yoga, at least in terms of both conventional religion and scientific materialism, is the directive to look for God deep within ourselves. Instead of worthless sinners, or chance flukes of a meaningless universe, we are, as conscious beings, the essential reality. However, and this is a huge caveat, we cannot try to identify this inner divine being with our temporal ego-identities. We need to remember that we are beings of non-material consciousness having a temporary material experience.

A Rational God?

When science sees consciousness to be a fundamental quality of reality, and religion takes God to be the light of consciousness shining within us all, the two worlds start to converge.

- Peter Russell

We might envision a new “metaparadigm” in which consciousness is seen as primary to material manifestation. Certainly, this is what both physicist, Peter Russell, and astro-physicist, Bernard Haisch, advocate. As Russell writes in From Science to God, “In the current metaparadigm, consciousness is assumed to emerge from the world of space, time, and matter. In the new metaparadigm, everything we know manifests from consciousness.” Honestly, as someone brought up, educated and indoctrinated with a general worldview that we tend to refer to as “science,” the magnitude of this possible shift seems overwhelming. However, the seeds of this paradigm shift have been planted and are beginning to grow. In The God Theory, Haisch writes, “It is not matter that creates the illusion of consciousness, but consciousness that creates the illusion of matter.” Russell is an Oxford educated physicist and Haisch is an astrophysicist who has worked with NASA. From another direction we might consult the transpersonal psychiatrist, Stanislav Grof, who has conducted a tremendous body of research into altered states of consciousness. In Beyond the Brain Beyond the Brain (Suny Series, Transpersonal & Humanistic Psychology)he writes, “The experiential insights from unusual states of consciousness suggest the existence of intangible and unfathomable creative intelligence aware of itself that permeates all realms of reality. This approach indicates that it is pure consciousness without any specific content that represents the supreme principle of existence and the ultimate reality.”

Due to a cultural bias that we share in the West, and which, has taken over the world to some extent, these ideas may seem fanciful at best. Samkhya gives us a kind of middle ground. Consciousness is real, existent and independent from matter. Matter is also real and existent, although it is informed by consciousness. Without consciousness neither mind nor matter has any meaning. Without purusha, prakriti remains unmanifest. Prakriti is necessary, however, for consciousness to manifest and experience itself. What does this have to do with God? Not much really in terms of our ordinary understanding. God is not some figure who stands distant and judges, but the deepest core of our beings. As Jesus said in John 10:34, “Is it not written that ye are Gods?” This doesn’t refer to us as ego-identified beings, but to us as beings of consciousness. When we try to be God as an ego-identified being we are imitating Lucifer and most likely fit for a prolonged stay on the psychiatric unit of our local hospital. This is the tricky and important part of spiritual understanding. The failure of most people to grasp it has lead mystics into trouble throughout history. Jesus, of course, was crucified for his “heresy.” The Sufi mystic, Shams Tabrais, Rumi’s spiritual guide, was reportedly skinned alive for his assertion of God-consciousness. The inner being that Samkhya refers to as Purusha, and Vedanta calls Atman, is also known as Buddha Nature. It is both immanent within us and transcendent. It is present within our immediate experience of basic awareness, but also a stage of spiritual development that we must work toward. Meditation, which is the basis of any legitimate spiritual practice, empowers us to go beyond a conceptual “God” to a realization of our nature as God-consciousness.

Kundalini and the Chakras

Kundalini and the Chakras

As we begin to loosen our fixation on the gross physical aspect of reality, the world represented to us through the mind connected to the five senses, we can start to become aware of the luminous energy body which underlies the physical. While we generally perceive ourselves to be discrete physical bodies interacting with the objects of the material world, our more essential being as life, emotion, thought, dreaming, etc. originates in our subtle bodies. This subtle body is composed of three layers, the layer of prana, or life-energy, the layer of mind-energy, and the expansive layer of supra-mental energy. The chakras are centers of subtle energy where these three layers intersect with each other and with the physical body along the spinal column. By focusing on the chakras in meditation we can begin to develop awareness of the subtle dimensions of our beings.

As we begin to awaken the chakras within us we also begin the process of awakening kundalini. Kundalini is the dormant power of the creative energy of the cosmos within the human organism. It can be understood as the super quantum potential of the zero-point field as it connects with our psycho-physical beings. As such, it must be approached with care and reverence. Within the Tantric traditions kundalini is regarded as the Divine Mother. She is literally Mother Nature slumbering within the framework of our mind-bodies. Kundalini is not an aspect of the physical body, nor does it reside in the subtle body. Instead Her abode is in the causal body beyond the dimensions of time, space and subject-object duality. Because kundalini is dormant within us we experience avidya, or ignorance, ego-identification and fragmented consciousness.

As kundalini awakens it progressively activates the chakras starting from muladhara chakra at the base of the spine and rising to sahasrara at the crown of the head. At each stage of the way our relative level of consciousness is transformed as we awaken from the material trance to the more subtle dimensions of being eventually to arrive at the realization of ourselves as pure awareness. Although kundalini is generally conceived of as residing in the root chakra, muladhara, at the base of the spine, it may already be within one of the higher chakras. Because we are souls with a history and evolution prior to this lifetime, kundalini may already be awakened in the lower chakras. In my experience, however, this is fairly rare and most of us need to start at the beginning. Sometimes throughout history beings are born with their kundalini fully awakened. These are known as avatars, or Divine incarnations, who appear periodically to help in the process of our spiritual evolution.

We are part and parcel of a universal process of evolution. From the “big bang” onwards the universe has been evolving from matter to life and to mind and consciousness. Although science has believed up to this point that this is a matter of random chance, we know that the mathematical odds against our evolving into human beings on this planet are astronomical. The conditions for our existence are extremely precise. Rather than “intelligent design,” Tantric thought indicates that consciousness-at-large is deeply involved with this process of becoming and that there is an actual goal to evolution. The great yogi and philosopher Sri Aurobindo described this as the evolutionary development of a “supramental” consciousness; a transcendence of our current human limitations and the awakening of a universal consciousness within our beings.

Human beings are unique within the context of evolution. We have arrived at a stage where we can participate in the further evolution of consciousness. As such we also have the ability to derail the evolutionary process and destroy ourselves. It doesn’t take a lot of thought to realize that we are currently at a crucial stage in our development where things can go either way. In order to facilitate the evolution of consciousness within our own beings we must learn to look within ourselves and practice spiritual discipline. We must evolve beyond narrow-minded ego-centric and ethno-centric desires and power struggles. The science of yoga has been with humanity since ancient times as a means of evolving consciousness. Now is a good time to devote ourselves whole-heartedly to practice. Now is a good time to knock on kundalini’s door and ask to Her to wake up.

The Lower Chakras

The general consciousness of humanity is limited to the first three chakras. Most people are primarily concerned with food and security, sex and sensual enjoyment, power and prestige. If you pay attention you might notice that most conversations center on these areas. Advertising and entertainment cater to these drives. Our culture and society form a feedback loop that reinforce this level of consciousness. At the level of the first three chakras, there is no question of spiritual evolution. At best we can reference developmental psychology. Most developmental formulations short-circuit at some level of mature ego development. To paraphrase Krishnamurti, we are at best well adjusted to a stagnate society.

Muladhara chakra is considered to be located at the base of the spine. The chakra points along the spine, however, are physical references and trigger-points for the chakras as they truly exist within the subtle body. The subtle body is very fluid and plastic, location as such is fairly relative. The muladhara perspective is concerned with personal survival, security and reproduction. It is also the storehouse for the dormant kundalini, so it has significance beyond these mundane and basically instinctual concerns.

Swadhisthana, the second chakra, is considered to be located at the sacrum or tail bone. It is the seat of desire and attachment to sensual enjoyment, whether food, sexual pleasure, parties, entertainment, excitement, etc. It is also central to the problem of addiction both to substances and to behaviors such as gambling or sex. When kundalini awakens at swadhisthana things can get pretty wild! It is important at this stage to muster the disciplines of non-attachment and sublimation.

The third chakra, manipura, is located on the spine behind the navel. The manipura perspective emphasizes power, control and dominance. In a positive sense, manipura energy might enable us to develop the self-discipline to proceed further in spiritual life. Tempered with self-awareness and compassion it enables one to become a wise and effective leader, supervisor or CEO. However, it can also lead to a blind pursuit of power for its own sake, unnecessary aggression, manipulation, a compulsive need for recognition, etc. While muladhara chakra might lead one to instinctively defend one’s territory, manipura might lead one to conquer one’s neighbors.

There is nothing wrong, per se, with the lower chakras. They are simply part of our human inheritance. Survival is a necessary condition for any further progress in life. Desire and attachment also has its place: try to imagine a world without pleasure! Swadhisthana chakra is implicated in sublimely beautiful works of art and music. Self-control and appropriate leadership are necessary both for personal development and maintaining social cohesion. However, the lower chakras have a serious shadow aspect. Muladhara can function negatively as fear, paranoia, self-centeredness and self-destruction; what Freud referred to as Thanatos. Swadhisthana can lead to addiction as we noted above, and also hatred. Manipura can lead to aggression, warfare, rape, murder, genocide . . . all of the horrendous misuses of power that we see throughout history and in the daily news.

Even in their most positive aspects the lower chakras can keep us stuck in mostly unconscious patterns of thought and behavior. Based on the tendency of most people to remain within the spheres of the first three chakras, the Sufi teacher Gurdjieff pronounced that, “Man is a machine.” Awakening means developing awareness of our lower chakra patterns and channeling some of this energy into the activation of the higher chakras. The sincere practice of the yamas and niyamas is a good place to start. The practice of asanas helps to relax habitual patterns of tension within the body. The ability to relax consciously and to release tension is key to helping us outgrow the domination of the first three chakras.

The chakras can be approached and understood in various ways. On a psychological level they are patterns of thought, feeling and behavior. They can also be approached energetically as zones of sensation within our bodies. On a meditative level, we can concentrate on visualized symbols and repeat specific mantras to awaken each chakra. They also make themselves known through somatic symptoms in the organs related to each chakra. Although we might want to concentrate mainly on the awakening of the higher chakras it is necessary to become aware of the patterns, the issues, the unconscious attachments, etc. in the lower chakras in order to release the energy for higher development.
The Higher Chakras
Although I am somewhat arbitrarily dividing the first three and second three sets of chakras, they are also traditionally divided into three sets of two chakras. In this sense, the first two chakras, muldhara and swadhisthana, are considered to be “adharmic.” Dharma refers to the path of spiritual evolution. The first two chakras then are antithetical to spiritual growth. The second two chakras, manipura and anahata, are considered to be neutral. When our consciousness is primarily centered in these chakras we must continue to make an effort to unfold our evolutionary potential. The third set of chakras, vishuddha and ajna, represent a true awakening to our spiritual essence.

The journey from manipura to anahata, however, is especially significant. It represents an initial step beyond purely self-centered awareness. While manipura is the seat of rational intelligence and ego-centric will, anahata allows for a deeper self-awareness, compassion, empathy and unconditional love. The heart is considered to be the seat of the Atman, the Conscious Being, within the body. Although the Atman is transcendent to the anahata chakra itself, the awakening of awareness at anahata allows for a glimpse of this spiritual essence within us. The downside of anahata is in the tendency to be attached at this level. We can either become lost in emotion and lose our boundaries or become bitter and “hard-hearted.” If we turn the anahata energy outwardly exclusively we become “co-dependent,” forgetting to be compassionate and loving with ourselves as well. Because of the raw, vulnerable and painful quality of awakening at this level there is also a tendency for people to shut down and become overly self-protective. The awakening of anahata chakra, however, represents a first step beyond the strictly mundane concerns of life, a step outside of strictly ego-centric concerns and an opening to the possibility of unconditional love.

Vishuddha chakra, at the level of the throat, is often characterized as the center of communication. However, the name of this chakra means that it is the center of “purification.” It has a cool energy to it which calms the fires of passion, attachment and anger. The person who is awake at vishuddha has overcome emotional involvement with the world; has seen through its traps and limitations, false promises and inevitable disappointments, and can no longer be seduced by its illusory charms. This doesn’t mean that one is indifferent to the suffering of others, simply that one is aware of the inevitability of suffering and the necessity of following the path of spiritual development as the only true remedy.

The cooling of passion doesn’t mean that one is withdrawn from life. Instead one is more open to life without being attached to certain experiences while rejecting others. It provides the capacity for discriminative wisdom which helps to counter-balance the emotional qualities of the anahata chakra. When wisdom is united with compassion we are better able to help others and ourselves. A negative aspect of vishuddha, however, might be the tendency to become too neutral, too passive, or too aloof.

Ajna chakra, the sixth chakra, is considered to be located within the head behind the eyebrow mid-point. It is the center of transcendence where the individual self is dissolved in the space of shunyata, or emptiness. Within this space one becomes open to the guidance of one’s higher self. In the yoga tradition, the higher self is known as the Guru; the one who leads us from darkness to light. With awakening at ajna chakra we become aware of the subtle dimensions of being. In fact, it is only with some awakening at ajna that we become aware of the chakras as such. There is an awareness of inner luminosity, of subtle centers of psychic energy. We experience ourselves as beings of light and we experience our world as a display of light. At ajna we know ourselves to be inseparable from the Divine. However, there is one more step left before we are completely united with the Divine consciousness in sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.

States and Stages of Chakra Awakening

As outlined above, the chakras represent a developmental schema, a sequential map of psycho-spiritual unfolding. However, the process of awakening is not always so linear. In fact, it is common for spiritual practitioners to go up and down the ladder. Due to a spiritual practice, or perhaps taking a psychedelic substance, one might have a higher chakra experience. Unfortunately such experiences are temporary and have little significance unless we remain committed to sadhana. It is not unusual for people to fall from a high spiritual experience into a state of depression, confusion or sensual desire. Although this can be upsetting or even painful we must accept it as a reality of where we are on the path. Until we have resolved the karmas and samskaras imbedded in the chakras we will keep getting pulled back down. There is no sense in going around thinking that we have achieved enlightenment when we are still full of desire and anxiety.

A high spiritual experience remains a temporary phenomenon until we reach a deeper stage of spiritual maturity where the temporary state becomes a permanent trait. As yoga practitioners we need to fall back on the twin disciplines of vairagya, non-attachment, and abhyasa, committed, on-going practice. It is during those periods where we don’t think much is happening that we are consolidating our progress on a deeper level. If we remain open and attentive at each stage we notice new worlds of subtle perception opening before us. These might take the form of synchronicities, informative dreams, or just a deeper perception of the people and the world around us.

Just about any regular spiritual practice whether hatha yoga, meditation, prayer, sacred dance, etc. will help to awaken the chakras and kundalini. The practices of kundalini kriya yoga, however, help to arouse the kundalini energy and move it upward through the chakras more quickly. Swami Satyananda taught that it is necessary to proceed in stages. First the practice of hatha yoga helps to balance the energy system of nadis throughout the body and to remove blockages. The practices of asana and pranayama help to balance the two main nadis, or energy channels, on the left and right sides of the spinal column. This leads to better physical health and psychological stability. When ida nadi, along the left and pingala nadi along the right side of the spine are fully energized and balanced, then a third central channel called sushumna is activated. As it awakens kundalini rises through this central nadi.

Meditation practices which focus on the chakras help to open the energy of each. First the nadis must be open and balanced, then the chakras activated through meditation before the actual awakening of kundalini takes place. In this way, many of the difficulties and supposed “dangers” of kundalini yoga are overcome. Any spiritual path has obstacles and difficulties which need to be faced. Our own minds – our fears and desires, limiting beliefs and attachments - are our biggest obstacles. Spiritual growth demands patience, humility, courage and unwavering commitment. Of course, so does life.

Yoga Nidra and the Importance of Relaxation

Yoga Nidra is a practice of deep relaxation and inner awareness adapted from traditional tantric practices by Swami Satyananda Saraswati for the needs of modern people.  It is outlined in detail in both "Yoga Nidra" and "Meditations from the Tantras".   Research shows that this practice takes us into a deeper state of relaxation than we usually experience, even when we are asleep. 

Ordinarily, when we relax we continue to experience some level of tension within our minds and bodies.  Often our attempts to relax are counter-productive such as sitting in front of the tv or using alcohol or either prescription or non-prescription drugs.  True deep relaxation brings about healing within our bodies and within the deeper levels of our psyches.  It helps us to enter into a state of unity within.

The practice has four primary components.  First is "sankalpa" or "resolution.  The sankalpa is a resolution which is formulated on an individual basis and planted in the deep levels of the subconscious mind.  It is a powerful way of changing habits or achieving goals in life.  Second is the rotation of awareness through the body.  In this stage we become aware of sensations throughout the body and relax it completely.  Third is the experience of "pairs of opposites": hot and cold, heaviness and lightness, etc. leading to a deeper release of tensions.  Fourth is the practice of visualization which can take various forms.  Best, I believe, is spontaneous visualization where we allow the mind to express itself as we witness objectively.

Yoga Nidra has tremendous healing power.  As a therapist I have used it to help people with anxiety and depression, for pain management and recovering from both physical and psychological trauma.  It has also been used effectively in helping to treat cancer.  Most of all, when you practice and enter into that state of total relaxation, it feels great! 

Yoga Nidra is best practiced with guidance, with a teacher to give guided instructions or with a recording.  A live teacher is best though.