egoiscontrolledbywishesforcomfortandconvenienceonthepartofthebody,by
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demandsofthemind,andbyoutburstsoftheemotions.)
Icansaytomybody,“Liedownthereonthatcementfloorandgotosleep,”andit
obeys. I can say to my mind, “Shut out everything else and concentrate on the job beforeyou,”anditisobedient.Icansaytomyemotions,“Bestill,eveninthefaceof thisterriblesituation,”andtheyarestill.Agreatphilosopherhassaid, hewhoseems tobeoutofstepmaybefollowingadifferentdrummer.Andnowyouarefollowinga differentdrummer:thehighernatureinsteadofthelowernature.
Whenyouhavedonethespiritualgrowingupyourealizethateveryhumanbeing
isofequalimportance,hasworktodointhisworld,andhasequalpotential.Weare
inmanyvariedstagesofgrowth;thisistruebecausewehavefreewill.Youhavefree
willastowhetheryouwillfinishthementalandemotionalgrowingup.Manychoose
notto.Youhavefreewillastowhetheryouwillbeginthespiritualgrowingup.The
beginning of it is the time when you feel completely willing, without any
reservations,toleavetheself-centeredlife.Andmostchoosenotto.Butitwasdoing
thatgrowthandfindinginnerpeacethatpreparedmeforthepilgrimagethatIwalk
today.
Looking through the eyes of the divine nature you see the essence within the manifestation,thecreatorwithinthecreation,anditisawonderful,wonderfulworld!
Irealizedin1952thatitwasthepropertimeforapilgrimtostepforth.Thewarin
Korea was raging and the McCarthy era was at its height. It was a time when congressional committees considered people guilty until they could prove their
innocence.Therewasgreatfearatthattimeanditwassafesttobeapathetic.Yes,it
wasmostcertainlyatimeforapilgrimtostepforward,becauseapilgrim'sjobisto
rousepeoplefromapathyandmakethemthink.
With the last bit of money I had left, I bought not only paper and stencil for my firstmessagesbutmaterialformyfirsttunic.AlthoughIdesignedit,thesewingwas
donebyaladyinCalifornia,andtheletteringwaspaintedbyamanwhowasasign
painter.MyinitialreactionwhenIfirstputitonwasawonderful‘rightness’aboutit, andIimmediatelyacceptedit.
From PeacePilgrimbyPeacePilgrim.
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GOPIKRISHNA
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TWENTY-ONE
GOPIKRISHNA
1908–1984,INDIA
GOPIKRISHNAwasborninasmallvillagenotfarfromSrinigarinNorthernIndia,his
parents were Kashmiri Brahmins. His mother became quite alarmed when, as an
infant,GopiKrishnadevelopedsuchasevereinflammationofthethroatthathewas
unabletonurse.Inoneofherdreams,thereappearedawell-respectedadeptwhowas
reputed to perform miracles. The holy man gently stroked the inside of Gopi
Krishna's throat, signaled his mother to give him food, then vanished. When she awoke,theinfantwassuddenlycured.Severalyearslater,thefamilyventuredforth
on horseback to visit the saint. As they entered his dwelling, he casually inquired whetherGopiKrishnawasabletotakemilkafterthedream.
A second remarkable occurrence took place when Gopi Krishna was eight.
Spontaneouslyovertakenbythequestion,“WhatamI?”hefelltogroundinafaint.
Dayslater,anextraordinarilyvividdreamcametohiminwhichhewassurrounded
by ethereal beings and found himself transformed in an atmosphere of luminous serenity.Thisimage,heconcluded,wastheanswertohisinquiry.
SpiritualquestioningwasinGopiKrishna'sblood.Hisfather,amanknownforhis
integrity and compassion, found himself called to pursue the life of a spiritual aspirantandnolongerengagedinconversationwithhisthreechildren.Hisretirement
from career and worldly responsibilities proved challenging for the family. After completing his education, Gopi Krishna secured a government position in Kashmir, married,andraisedafamily.Hesubsequentlyinitiatedanorganizationdedicatedto
socialreforms,suchastheabolitionofthedowrysystemandtheprohibitionofthe
remarriageofwidows.
In1937,attheageofthirty-four,GopiKrishnaexperiencedapowerfulawakening
of the kundalini (coiled spiritual energy resembling a serpent, emanating from the baseofthespine).Employedasagovernmentclerkatthetime,hefoundthe“radical
alteration”ofhisnervoussystembewilderingandevenhorrifying.Fromthesensation
of “a jet of molten copper” ascending his spine and dashed against his crown to brilliant showers of incandescent light to a variety of distortions of size and shape, Gopi Krishna enjoyed no respite. Utterly exhausted, his torturous days gave way to even worse torment at night. Fearing for his sanity over the extended period of his kundaliniawakening,GopiKrishnaultimatelyattainedpermanentawakening.
Kundalini:TheEvolutionaryEnergyinMan,publishedin1967,ishisphenomenal
accountofhisinnerjourney.Thisclear,meticulouslywell-documenteddescriptionof
the kundalini experience was a first. Soon published in the United States and the United Kingdom and subsequently translated into eleven languages, this book has servedasaninvaluableguidebooktomanyonthespiritualpath.ThisworkandGopi
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Krishna's other books catalyzed a steadily growing interest in the field of consciousness. He spent the last seventeen years of his life enthusiastically
introducingthisinformationtothescientificworld.ThemissionofGopiKrishnawas
notonlytheevolutionofthehumanbrainandconsciousness,butitsdirectapplication
to establishing and maintaining world peace. Following his death in 1984, various individuals and organizations have dedicated themselves to carrying on his noble mission.
Gopi Krishna's enlightenment story is excerpted from his autobiography, Living withKundalini.Hiswealthofexperiencesinthisandhisotherbooksarewellworth reading.
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THEAWAKENINGOFTHEKUNDALINI
DURING THOSE days, an ardent member of our small band of zealous workers in KashmirwasonavisittoJammu.Sheoftencametomyplace,usuallytohavenews
ofourworkatSrinagar,aboutwhichIreceivedregularreportsfromourtreasureror
our secretary. One day I offered to accompany her home when she rose to depart, intendingbythelongstrolltoridmyselfofaslightdepressionIfeltattbetime.
Wewalkedleisurely,discussingourwork,whensuddenlywhilecrossingtheTawi
Bridge I felt a mood of deep absorption settling upon me until I almost lost touch withmysurroundings.Inolongerheardthevoiceofmycompanion;sheseemedto
have receded into the distance, though walking by my side. Near me, in a blaze of brilliantlight,Isuddenlyfeltwhatseemedtobeamightyconsciouspresence,sprung
from nowhere, encompassing me and overshadowing all the objects around, from
whichtwolinesofabeautifulverseinKashmiripouredouttofloatbeforemyvision,
likeluminouswritingintheair,disappearingassuddenlyastheyhadcome.
When I came to myself, I found the girl looking at me in blank amazement,
bewilderedbymyabruptsilenceandtheexpressionofutterdetachment
onmyface.
Withoutrevealingtoherallthathadhappened,Irepeatedtheverse,sayingthatithad allofasuddentakenforminmymindinspiteofmyself,andthatitaccountedforthe
breakinourconversation.
Shelistenedinsurprise,struckbythebeautyoftherhyme,weighingeveryword,
andthensaidthatitwasindeednothingshortofmiraculousforonewhohadnever
been favored by the muse before to compose so exquisite a verse on the very first attempt with such lightning rapidity. I heard her in silence, carried away by the profundity of the experience I had just gone through. Until that hour, all I had experiencedofthesuperconsciouswaspurelysubjective,neitherdemonstrabletonor
verifiablebyothers.ButnowforthefirsttimeIhadbeforemeatangibleproofofthe change that had occurred in me, unintelligible to and independently of my surface consciousness.
AfterescortingmycompaniontoherdestinationIreturnedtomyresidenceintime
fordinner.Allthewayback,inthestillnessofapleasanteveningandthewelcome
solitude of an unfrequented path, I remained deeply engrossed in the enigma
presentedbythevisionandthesuddenleaptakenbymymindinanewdirection.The
more intently I examined the problem the more surprised I became at the deep meaning of the production, the exquisite formation, and the highly appealing
languageofthelines.OnnoaccountcouldIclaimtheartisticcompositionasmine,
thevoluntarycreationofmyowndeliberatethought.
I reached my place while still deeply absorbed in the same train of thought and, still engrossed, sat down for dinner. I took the first few morsels mechanically, in silence,oblivioustomysurroundingsandunappreciativeofthefoodinfrontofme,
unabletobringmyselfoutofthestateofintenseabsorptionintowhichIhadfallen,
retaining only a slender link with my environment, like a sleepwalker instinctively restrainedfromcollidingwiththeobjectsinhispathwithoutconsciouslybeingaware
ofthem.
Inthemiddleofthemeal,whilestillinthesameconditionofsemi-entrancement,I
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stopped abruptly, contemplating with awe and amazement, which made the hair on my skin stand on end, a marvelous phenomenon in progress in the depths of my being.Withoutanyeffortonmypart,andwhileseatedcomfortablyonachair,Ihad
graduallypassedoff,withoutbecomingawareofit,intoaconditionofexaltationand
self-expansionsimilartothatwhichIhadexperiencedontheveryfirstoccasion,in
December 1937, with the modification that in place of a roaring noise in my ears there was now a cadence like the humming of a swarm of bees, enchanting and melodious, and the encircling glow was replaced by a penetrating silvery radiance, alreadyafeatureofmybeingwithinandwithout.
Themarvelousaspectoftheconditionlayinthesuddenrealizationthat,although
linkedtothebodyandsurroundings,Ihadexpandedinanindescribablemannerinto
atitanicpersonality,consciousfromwithinofanimmediateanddirectcontactwith
anintenselyconsciousuniverse,awonderfulinexpressibleimmanenceallaroundme.
My body, the chair I was sitting on, the table in front of me, the room enclosed by walls,thelawnoutsideandthespacebeyond,includingtheearthandsky,appeared
tobemostamazinglymerephantomsinthisreal,interpenetrating,andall-pervasive
ocean of existence which, to explain the most incredible part of it as best I can, seemed to be simultaneously unbounded, stretching out immeasurably in all
directions,andyetnobiggerthananinfinitelysmallpoint.
From this marvelous point the entire existence, of which my body and its
surroundings were a part, poured out like radiation, as if a reflection as vast as my conceptionofthecosmoswerethrownoutuponinfinitybyaprojectornobiggerthan
a pinpoint, the entire intensely active and gigantic world picture dependent on the beams issuing from it. The shoreless ocean of consciousness in which I was now immersedappearedinfinitelylargeandinfinitelysmallatthesametime—largewhen
consideredinrelationtotheworldpicturefloatinginitandsmallwhenconsideredin
itself,measureless,withoutformorsize—nothingandyeteverything.
ItwasanamazingandstaggeringexperienceforwhichIcancitenoparalleland
no simile, an experience beyond all and everything belonging to this world
conceivablebythemindorperceptibletothesenses.Iwasintenselyawareinternally
ofamarvelousbeingsoconcentratedlyandmassivelyconsciousastooutlusterand
outstatureinfinitelythecosmicimagepresentbeforeme,notonlyinpointofextent
andbrightness,butinpointofrealityandsubstanceaswell.Thephenomenalworld,
ceaselessly in motion, characterized by creation, incessant change, and dissolution, receded into the background and assumed the appearance of an extremely thin,
rapidly melting layer of foam upon a substantial rolling ocean of life, a veil of exceedingly fine vapor before an infinitely large conscious sun, constituting a complete reversal of the relationship between the world and the limited human consciousness. It showed the previously all-dominating cosmos reduced to the state of a transitory appearance, and the formerly care-ridden point of awareness,
circumscribed by the body, grown to the spacious dimensions of a mighty universe and the exalted stature of a majestic immanence before which the material cosmos shranktothesubordinatepositionofanevanescentandillusiveappendage.
I awoke from the semi-trance condition after about half an hour affected to the rootsofmybeingbythemajestyandmarvelofthevision,entirelyoblivioustothe
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passage of time, having in the intensity of the experience lived a life of ordinary existence.Duringthisperiod,probablyduetofluctuationsinthestateofmybodyand
mindcausedbyinternalandexternalstimuli,therewereintervalsofdeeperandlesser
penetration not distinguishable by the flow of time but by the state of immanence, which, at the point of the deepest penetration, assumed such an awe-inspiring, almighty, all-knowing, blissful, and at the same time absolutely motionless,
intangible, and formless character that the invisible line demarcating the material world and the boundless, all-conscious Reality ceased to exist, the two fusing into one;themightyoceansuckedupbyadrop,theenormousthree-dimensionaluniverse
swallowedbyagrainofsand,theentirecreation,theknowerandtheknown,theseer
andtheseen,reducedtoaninexpressiblesizelessvoidwhichnoordinarymindcould
conceivenoranylanguagedescribe.
BeforecomingoutcompletelyfromthisconditionandbeforethegloryinwhichI
found myself had completely faded, I found, floating in the luminous glow of my mind,therhymesfollowingthecoupletthathadsuddenlytakenshapeinmenearthe
Tawi Bridge that day. The lines occurred one after the other, as if dropped into the three dimensional field of my consciousness by another source of condensed
knowledge within me. They started from the glowing recesses of my being,
developingsuddenlyintofullyformedcoupletslikefallingsnowflakeswhich,from
tiny specks high up, become clear-cut, regularly shaped
crystals when nearing the eye,andvanishedsosuddenlyastoleavemehardlyanytimetoretaintheminmy
memory. They came fully formed, complete with language, rhyme, and meter,
finishedproductsoriginating,asitseemed,fromthesurroundingintelligence,topass
beforemyinternaleyeforexpression.
I was still in an elevated state when I rose from the table and went to my room.
ThefirstthingIdidwastowritedownthelinesasfarasIcouldrememberthem.It
was not an easy task. I found that during the short interval that had elapsed I had forgotten not only the order in which the rhymes had occurred but also whole portionsofthematter,whichitwasextremelydifficultformetorecollectorsupply.
Ittookmemorethantwohourstosupplytheomissions.
I went to bed that night in an excited and happy frame of mind. After years of acute suffering I had at last been given a glimpse into the supersensible and at the same time made the fortunate recipient of divine grace, which all fitted admirably withthetraditionalconceptsofkundalini.Icouldnotbelieveinmygoodluck;Ifelt
itwastooastoundingtobetrue.ButwhenIlookedwithinmyselftofindoutwhatI
haddonetodeserveit,Ifeltextremelyhumbled.Ihadtomycreditnoachievement
remarkableenoughtoentitlemetothehonorbestowedonme.Ihadlivedanordinary
life, never done anything exceptionally meritorious and never achieved a complete subdualofdesiresandappetites.
I reviewed all the noteworthy incidents of the last twelve years in my mind, studyingtheminthelightofthelatestdevelopment,andfoundthatmuchofwhathad
beendarkandobscuresofarwasnowassumingadeepandstartlingsignificance.In
the intensity of joy which I felt at the revelation I forgot the terrible ordeal I had passed through, as also the grueling suspense and anxiety that had been my
companionsforallthatperiod.Ihaddrunkthecupofsufferingtothedregstocome
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