The Yoga Tradition

by Georg Feuerstein

  Vishuddha (“pure”) or vishuddhi (“purity”)— Situated at the throat, this cakra, which is depicted as a smoky violet sixteen-petaled lotus, is associated with the ether element, the auditory sense, the mouth and the skin, the mantra ham, and a snow-white elephant (symbol of pure strength). The presiding deities are the androgynous deity Ardhanarîshvara (Shiva/ Pârvatî) and the Goddess Shakini. It is at this center that the secret soma secretion is tasted, which drips from the lalanâ-cakra, a minor structure located behind the vishuddhi-cakra. The production of this nectar of immortality is stimulated, above all, through the practice of khecârî-mudrâ (“space-walking seal”), which is described in Chapter 18.

  jnâ (“command”) — Located in the brain midway between the eyes, this psychoenergetic center is also known as the “third eye.” It is so named because it is through this center that the disciple receives telepathic communications from the teacher. For this reason it is also called guru-cakra. This center is associated with the manas, or that aspect of the mind which is concerned with the processing of sensory input. The âjnâ-cakra is also connected with the sense of individuality (ahamkâra) and with the mantra om. The presiding deities are Parama-Shiva and the Goddess Hâkinî. The âjnâ center is depicted as a pale gray or white two-petaled lotus. It contains a symbolic representation of the phallus placed within a downward-pointing triangle (the whole signifying the polarity of Shiva and Shakti).

  Sahasrâra (“thousand-petaled,” from sahasra or “thousand” and ara or “petal/spoke”) — Situated at the crown of the head, this cakra is so called because of the myriad of luminous filaments that compose it. Strictly speaking, it is not part of the cakra system at all, but a body-transcending locus where Consciousness appears to be connected to the human form. This idea is indicated by the luminous linga, Shiva’s symbol, placed in the middle of this lotus. The symbolic elements connected with each cakra serve yogins to build up complex visualizations that hold their mind steady and lead to various paranormal powers (siddhi), as well as ecstasy.

  In modern manuals of Hatha-Yoga, the seven cakras are also frequently associated with different psychomental functions. Thus, the lowest cakra is said to be connected with fear, the cakra in the genital region with sorrow, the navel center with anger, and the heart cakra with love. Kundalinî-yogins are careful to raise the ser- pent-power at least to the heart center, because the activation of the lower cakras can have undesirable effects on their instinctual life. The center at the throat is sometimes associated with life-positive or life-negative attitudes, the âjnâ-cakra or “third eye” with the mood of doubt or basic trust in life, whereas the sahasrâra-cakra at the crown of the head may be related to our feeling connected or separated from Reality.

  Some schools of thought speak of cakras beyond the sahasrâra, corresponding to different levels of transcendental realization. Thus, the Shaiva gamas refer to the so-called dvâdasha-anta (written dvâdashânta), a locus that is situated, as the name suggests, “twelve digits” above the crown. This idea was undoubtedly conceived as a result of certain advanced yogic experiences and can only really be understood by duplicating those experiences.

  The same holds true of the rare concept of the “conduit of immortality” (amrita-nâdî) spoken of by Ramana Maharshi, the sage of Tiruvannâmalai in South India, and more recently by the Western adept Da Free John.21 The latter described this secret channel as the “matrix” of the sushumnâ-nâdî. It manifests only upon full enlightenment, or sahaja-samâdhi, at which time it creates a link between the ascending sushumnâ-nâdî and the subtle center at the heart. Da Free John writes:

  It is as if a line of Light were plumbed between the deep center of the upper coil (midbrain to crown) and the deep center of the lower coil (below and behind the navel). Not only the sahasrar, but the whole body becomes full of Light or Radiant Bliss. This entire Fullness is the reflection of the Heart [i.e., the transcendental Self]. All of it is Amrita Nâdî.22

  The Knots and Vital Places

  The classical literature on Hatha-Yoga also knows of “knots” (granthi), or bioenergetic constrictions, that effectively prevent the ascent of the life force and then the kundalinî-shakti along the spinal axis. The first knot, which is called brahma-granthi, is at the base center or the navel; the vishnu-granthi is at the throat, and the rudra-granthi is at the eyebrow center. These knots must be pierced by the life force so that the kundalinî can travel unhindered to the crown center. The texts also speak of the knot or knots in the heart, which consist primarily of doubts (such as doubt about the existence of a nonmaterial reality, or self-doubt).

  Some of the later works on Hatha-Yoga recognize the existence of psychosomatic foci of life energy, which are called marman. These are the vulnerable places in the body that are particularly critical to a person’s well-being. They are supercharged with bioenergy and typically manifest as local blockages that must be removed by means of concentration and guided breath, as taught in the Kshurikâ-Upanishad, for instance.

  The Serpent-Power (Kundalinî-Shakti)

  The most significant aspect of the subtle body is the psychospiritual force known as the kundalinî-shakti. What is this mysterious presence in the human body? Metaphysically speaking, the kundalinî is a microcosmic manifestation of the primordial Energy, or Shakti. It is the universal Power as it is connected with the finite body-mind. This is sometimes misinterpreted as meaning mere “Force” and is then conveniently contrasted with the principle of love. But, as Sir John Woodroffe noted long ago, Shakti is Power, or cosmic Capacity, and as such is Bliss (ânanda), Supraconsciousness (cit), and Love (prema).23 Some authorities call it “Divine Intelligence.”

  So, in some sense, the phrase “kundalinî energy” is a misnomer, because we tend to regard energy as a neutral physical force. The term shakti, by contrast, connotes something far more positive and creative. Above all, shakti is a conscious, intelligent force. Nevertheless, it is convenient to occasionally use such English equivalents as “power” and “energy.”

  The term kundalinî means “she who is coiled” and refers to the fact that the kundalinî, or kundalî, is envisioned as a sleeping serpent curled three and a half times around a phallus (linga) in the lowest bioenergetic center of the human body. That serpent blocks the central pathway with its mouth at the place of the first knot. This symbolism simply suggests that the kundalinî is normally in a state of dormancy or latency.

  As mentioned before, in the human body the primordial Energy is polarized into potential energy (i.e., the undifferentiated kundalinî-shakti) and dynamic energy (i.e., the differentiated prâna or prâna-shakti). By way of regulating the flow of prâna, the potential energy can be mobilized, which results in the well- known phenomenon of kundalinî arousal. Thus the prâna is used to stir the dormant kundalinî energy into action. The situation is analogous to bombarding the atomic nucleus with high-energy particles, which destabilizes the atom and leads to a release of tremendous energy.

  Through controlled breathing in which the life energy (prâna) is withdrawn from the left and right nâdis and forced into the central pathway, the “sleeping princess” is awakened. Often this process is explained as one of heating the kundalinî, and it can be compared to the triggering of a nuclear reaction by means of exploding a conventional bomb. That this comparison is not too farfetched is evident from Gopi Krishna’s description of the moment of kundalinî awakening, which, subjectively at least, amounts to a phenomenal burst of energy:

  Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord. Entirely unprepared for such a development, I was completely taken by surprise; but regaining self-control instantaneously, I remained sitting in the same posture, keeping my mind on the point of concentration. The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light.24

  In Gopi Krishna’s case, this
experience was quite unexpected and uncontrolled. The goal of Tantra-Yoga and Hatha-Yoga, however, is to induce this event under controlled conditions so that the practitioner does not have to suffer the kind of disastrous side effects that Gopi Krishna and a good many other meditators as well as nonmeditators have had to endure, often for prolonged periods of time. The symptoms of an unintentionally and wrongly aroused kundalinî can be quite severe—from splitting headaches to psychotic episodes.

  The traditional model states that when the dormant kundalinî-shakti is awakened, it shoots up to the crown center where the blissful meltdown between Shakti and Shiva occurs. Implicit in this is the idea that the kundalinî is completely dynamized, and that the body of the yogin is now sustained by the “nectar” (amrita) that flows from the union of the two poles of Reality. Western students of Kundalînî-Yoga find this model difficult to accept and have proffered other solutions informed by the laws of physics.

  A good contender is the model that compares the body to a bipolar magnet. Intense concentration and breath control lead to an “oversaturation,” which causes an inductive process in the static pole (i.e., the mûlâdhâra-cakra). That is, the life energy begins to stream from that cakra. The energy that is released is equivalent to the energy impacting on it, yet of an “opposite” kind, and without depleting itself.

  The curious physical phenomena associated with the kundalinî awakening, such as the sensation of intense heat, light, sound, pressure, and even pain, must not be confused with the kundalinî itself. Hence the American psychiatrist Lee Sannella has dubbed these phenomena collectively as “physio-kundalinî.”25 This aspect of the kundalinî can be understood in neurophysiological terms, and the model developed by Isaac Bentov and applied by Sannella is thus far the most sophisticated available. Bentov looks at the kundalinî process from a mechanical point of view that regards the body as containing, especially in the skull and the heart, standing electromagnetic wave systems. These are thought to trigger the brain into producing the sort of visionary, auditory, and other sensory experiences typical of kundalinî awakenings. Undoubtedly, most psychic and mystical phenomena have a physiological basis, but beyond such physiological manifestations of the kundalinî lies the mysterious realm of the kundalinî as Consciousness-Bliss.

  The kundalinî experience is presumably as old as humanity’s encounter with the spiritual dimension, though the special significance of that experience was not recognized until the dawn of Tantra. Kundalînî-Yoga is the mature product of a long history of psychospiritual experimentation, and it presupposed the discovery of the body as a manifestation or “temple” of the Divine.

  More than anyone, it was the Kashmiri pundit Gopi Krishna who has “democratized” the kundalinî phenomenon. First, he made it widely known in the modern world and promoted its scientific investigation. Second, he saw in it the engine behind our entire psychospiritual evolution. On one hand, Gopi Krishna was adamant that the kundalinî is a spiritual reality, and on the other hand, he passionately advocated it as the biological mechanism that is responsible for sainthood, genius, and insanity alike. As he put it:

  What my own experience has clearly revealed is the amazing fact that though guided by a Super-Intelligence, invisible but at the same time unmistakably seen conducting the whole operation, the phenomenon of Kundalînî is entirely biological in nature.26

  This states the problem in a nutshell. The kundalinî cannot be both a spiritual reality and entirely biological, as we would normally understand the term “biological.” Of course, from a Tantric point of view, which holds that immanence and transcendence are coessential, any strict distinction between matter and spirit makes little sense, but for this elevated point of view to be relevant, it must be our lived truth. As long as we are not de facto enlightened but experience ourselves as individuated beings, we must concede the usefulness of making practical distinctions. Even though Gopi Krishna’s work has contributed greatly toward a phenomenology of the kundalinî experience, there is a real need for further research and, not least, conceptual clarification.

  Awakening the sleeping princess kundalinî, as we have seen, is at the heart of Tantra. We will next turn to the Tantric path itself as codified in Hatha-Yoga, which has as its sole objective arousing the hidden Goddess and inducing her to embrace and melt with the equally hidden God, Shiva, residing at the solitary peak of Mount Meru in the microcosm of the human body.

  III. TANTRIC RITUAL PRACTICE

  The Purification of the Elements (Bhûta-Shuddhi )

  Before the prince in the well-known fairy tale could kiss the sleeping princess, he had to combat monsters and cut a path to the castle. Similarly, before the wedding of Shiva and Shakti can occur in the human body-mind, the yogin must clear away all kinds of obstructions. The path of realization (sâdhana) is, therefore, often couched in terms of purification (shodhana). In fact, the very process of kundalinî arousal is understood as the progressive purification of the constituent elements (bhûta) of the body—earth, water, fire, air, and ether. It is known as bhûta-shuddhi.

  As the kundalinî is conducted upward along the axial channel (sushumnâ-nâdî), it gradually “dissolves” the dominant element of each somatic region or cakra. Thus, by the time it reaches the sixth or âjnâ-cakra, the kundalinî has successively dissolved the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and ether. What this means, in practice, is that the withdrawal of the life force from the body produces a state of coldness and insensitivity in the trunk and the limbs. The kundalinîs further progression to the crown, or sahasrara-cakra, signals the temporary dissolution of the mind (manas) in the state of “formless” ecstasy or nirvikalpa-samâdhi, which completely shuts down yogins’ individuated awareness of their environment, including their own body. Their awareness-identity now rests in the All-Identity of the transcendental Self, which is indescribably blissful.

  On a lower level, bhûta-shuddhi is a ritual that is performed as a preliminary practice to the worship of one’s chosen deity or deities in the context of the Tantric lifestyle. It is the symbolic dissolution of the elements of the body. This procedure, which is described in the Mahânirvâna-Tantra (5.93ff.), involves visualizing the process of elemental creation in reverse order. Thus, the yogin pictures the lowest element, earth, associated with the center at the base of the spine, as dissolving into the water element at the second cakra, and that as dissolving into the fire element at the navel center, and that into the air element at the heart, and that into the ether element at the throat, and that into the infinite space of Consciousness at the crown center. At that point, the practitioner’s body-mind is thought to be thoroughly purified.

  This ritual is to be followed by a series of other practices by which the body is step by step converted into a temple, or sacred mound, ready to receive the great Being in the form of one’s chosen deity (ishta- devatâ). Thus, through the practice of “life infusion” (jîva-nyâsa), yogins assimilate the life force of their chosen (ishta) deity. This is done by empowering certain body parts through touch, and infusing them with the life of the God or Goddess of their choice. Another form of “infusion,” “installation,” or “placement” (nyâsa) is mâtrikâ-nyâsa, by which the fifty sacred sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet are placed in the yogin’s body. The “matrices” or “little mothers” (mâtrikâ), as the Sanskrit alphabetic sounds are called, are thought of as the offspring of the primordial sound (shabda) of the Absolute. The body parts of the chosen deity are imagined as consisting of the different letters of the alphabet, which are visualized in the respective areas of the yogin’s body.

  Other similar rites include the “installation of the seers” (rishi-nyâsa), the “installation of the six limbs” (shad-anga-nyâsa), which is performed by placing the hands on six different bodily parts and empowering them, and the “installation of the hands” (kara-nyâsa), which is the same kind of exercise but performed on the fingers and palms of the hands only. Interspersed between the various rites are complex visualization
practices (called dhyânâ), usually of the deity and his or her celestial abode. All this is a matter of subtle energy experienced by the adept who identifies with the deity of his or her choice. Each deity itself is thought to represent a particular quality of energy. This Tantric practice is combined with a great deal of mantra recitation, regulated breathing, and intense concentration. I have already spoken of mantras in Chapter 2 in connection with Mantra-Yoga, and they are also the principal tool of the Tantric practitioner.

  Mantra Practice

  Under the aegis of Tantra, the age-old practice of mantra recitation became a very sophisticated art. The Tantric teachings are also known as mantra-shâstra, because their favorite subject matter is the “science of mantras” (mantra-vidyâ). The Tantric Buddhism of Tibet is known as Mantrayâna. The word mantra itself is esoterically explained as being derived from the words manana (“thinking”) and trâna (“liberation).” In other words, a mantra is a potent form of thought, an instrument of conscious intention.

  Because the mantra is an expression of a more evolved consciousness, it offers a unique link with that higher level. For this reason, it not only makes the path to higher consciousness clearer by replacing interfering thoughts, its gradual incorporation pulls consciousness toward that state.27

  Broadly speaking, mantras are sounds charged with numinous power. Agehananda Bharati, who was a monk of the Dashanami Order with Tantric leanings, noted that mantras can have three possible purposes.28 They can be used to appease the forces of the universe in order to ward off unpleasant experiences and foster pleasant ones, to acquire things by magical means, and to identify with an aspect of reality (such as a specific deity) or with Reality itself.

  As the Tantras emphasize, mantras are not arbitrary inventions. They are revealed to yogic adepts in heightened states of awareness, and their effectiveness depends entirely on proper initiation (dikshâ). According to the esoteric traditions of India, the mere repetition of the archetypal mantra om, for instance, will have no spiritualizing effect unless its recitation is empowered by a qualified teacher. As the Kula-Arnava-Tantra (chapter 11) declares, there are countless mantras that only distract the mind. For a mantra to bear fruit it must have been received by the teacher’s grace. The recitation of a mantra that has been overheard or acquired by deceit or accident is considered to lead only to personal misfortune.