Kundalini
In the Muladhara, Kundalini lies in the form of a coiled serpent. The innate self dwells there like the flame of a lamp. Contemplation of this radiant light as the luminous Brahman is the transcendental meditation. Yoga and Meditation in Rishikesh
Long training and preparatory disciplines are undertaken for the arousal of Kundalini, but there is no fixed rule, and practices vary considerably. To activate the Kundalini energy through yogic methods for the upward journey along the Brahma-Nadi, the aspirant must summon all the strength and skill at his command. Taking up the posture he finds most suitable, the aspirant initiates the process by which Kundalini is aroused through ‘sense with- drawal’ or pratyahara, concentrating all his attention on a single point (dharana) until the normal mental activity is totally suspended.
The willpower is directed inwards to the vital air (Prana) that is inhaled and held in Pranayama, guiding its circulatory movement through Ida and Pingala down to the base of the spine into the space where Kundalini lies coiled.
The entry of Prana produces an abrupt effect like sudden combustion in a confined space, and its heat and sound combine to awake the serpent-power from its trance-sleep (yoga-nidra). This discipline of psychosomatic regulation and breath-control is the contribution of kundalinl-yoga to tantric ritual. Pranayama reinforces the power of meditative practices, and it is upon this technique that the Tantras lay the strongest emphasis.
Bream provides the means of symbiosis between different forms of life and also between existence and awareness. Yoga is concerned to direct mis bio-motor force towards the expansion of conscious- ness in the human organism. It is through the science of breathing that the body’s subtle centres are vitalized.
Yoga has developed systematic techniques of breathing, regulating its speed, depth and rhythm. In normal circumstances our breathing is very irregular. Not only are inhalation and exha- lation shallow but they lack harmony. While every individual’s respiratory cycle reacts dynamically upon the latent Kundalini – a reaction that takes place about 21,600 times a day, that is, at a frequency more or less equal to the individual’s number of breaths mis respiration is shallow and rapid, filling the lungs to only a fraction of their capacity, and supplying a current of oxygenated energy flowing downwards to strike Kundalini that is wholly inadequate to awaken her.
Yogananda in his autobiography, while narrating his guru’s explanation that the ancient yogis discover the secret of the link between cosmic consciousness and breath-mastery, writes that: ‘The Kriya Yogi mentally directs his life energy to revolve, upward and downward, around the six spinal centers (medullary, cervical, dorsal, lumbar, sacral, and coccygeal plexuses), which correspond to the twelve astral signs of the zodiac, the symbolic Cosmic Man. One half-minute of revolution of energy around the sensitive spinal cord of man affects subtle progress in his evolution; that half-minute of Kriya equals one year of natural spiritual unfoldment.
KUNDALINI; The Arousal of the Inner Energy; Ajit Mookerjee
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