Kundalini and Vedanta Ramji, Love from this side of the ocean. I have a question.

When I was reading the book "Pla of !onsciousness" b "wami #uktananda$ma be ou ave read the book also$it caused a question and an ins%iration. &irst the question' "wami is talking much about the (undalini and the %rocess of awakening that snake energ so it can get u% through our chakra)s. *e is su%%osing that it is necessar to awaken the kundalini for getting enlightenment. I searched our +edanta,!- and found little about it. .ust in one of our satsangs ou %ointed something out which gave me some more insight. /ut while I alread had the idea of la ing the question at our feet, I still want to do. It might still hel% give me more stable view at the to%ic. 0n the !- ou said, "1he "elf is ever thing and ever thing is the "elf, so wh bother working on kundalini2 It will ha%%en when it needs to ha%%en, and when it doesn)t ha%%en it doesn)t need to ha%%en." Is that our answer2 What use is it an wa 2 Rheinhart -ear Rheinhart, What does it mean to sa that the kundalini is awakened2 When most %eo%le think of kundalini the think of the incredible %s cho,s%iritual 3m stical4 e5%eriences that ha%%en when the kundalini awakens and %asses through the charkas on its wa to union with "hiva. 6dditionall , %eo%le often believe that if these e5%eriences do not ha%%en in the wa that the have read about them or heard about them from others that the will not get enlightened. "o the take u% certain %ractices that the believe should initiate the shakti and start this %rocess in motion.6s the are described these e5%eriences are almost alwa s incredible, fantastic, and e5otic. !onsidering that most %eo%le feel sensation,starved the the are attracted b this kind of shakti sadhana. /ut tr ing to wake u% the kundalini is a little like the tail wagging the dog. If the ha%%en$and it is not necessar that the do ha%%en for enlightenment contrar to what "wami #uktananda sa s$the should be the result of the s%ontaneous awakening of the kundalini. 1he kundalini does not awaken in the same wa in ever %erson. It often %roduces dramatic e5%eriences but in most cases it does not. 7ou can assume that our kundalini is awakened if ou have an interest in religion, m sticism, meditation, etc. If ou find ourself attracted to chanting, reading hol books, associating with s%iritual %eo%le, going on %ilgrimages, etc. then our kundalini is awakened. If ou have e5%erienced altered states of consciousness it means our kundalini is active.

What actuall is the kundalini2 It is the "elf creating e5%eriences that shake ou u% and cause ou to seek answers to the basic e5istential questions' what is this world and who am I2 1he kundalini of ever one in the so,called 3s%iritual4 world is active to var ing degrees8 the all have had 3s%iritual4 or 3m stical4 e5%eriences that have caused them see the world and themselves in a different wa . It is not giving ou e5%eriences just for the fun of it. 6n awakened kundalini is not enlightenment. It just means that the mind has become somewhat subtle and can now e5%erience 3inner4 states, not just sense objects, emotions and thoughts. 1hese inner e5%eriences are of ever imaginable t %e, %ositive and negative, gross and subtle. 1he t %e of e5%erience that an individual has de%ends on the nature of his or her vasanas when the kundalini wakes u%. What cause her to wake u%2 9suall the %erson has had enough worldl e5%erience. 1he are fed u% with the world, bored %erha%s. 1he know there is nothing in the world but the don4t know where to go. 1his is usuall when it 3wakes u%.4 1he chakras are just wa s to describe different e5%eriences. When the (undalini is associated with the root charka it causes various t %es of creativit and se5ual desire, a gross desire for union. 6n e5%erience of great %ower means that the kundalini is associated with the mani%ura charka. 6n e5%erience of universal love means that the kundalini is associated with the heart chakra, the anahata. 6nd so on. "%iritual literature is full of these e5%eriences. 7ou ma have read :# stic b -efault,4 m autobiogra%h . In it there are man 3kundalini4 e5%eriences. In fact ever e5%erience that we have, inner or outer is kundalini, the "elf in the form of matter and energ . It is im%ortant for a s%iritual %erson not to turn the idea of kundalini into a big romantic fascination. ;inet nine %ercent of %eo%le, <astern and Western, who are %racticing 3kundalini4 oga are not qualified for kundalini sadhana and will not see it through to the end. In fact most of the 3kundalini4 sadhanas ou find in the West are not %ro%er kundalini sadhana at all. 1he kundalini s mbolism is ver beautiful and ver dramatic and m sterious and so %eo%le are attracted to it. It has become a fashion now and almost com%letel corru%ted b the Westerners. <nlightenment is the knowledge :I am the "elf, limitless awareness.= It is the hard and fast knowledge that all m e5%eriences are me but I am something more than m e5%eriences, subtle and gross. (undalini 7oga sa s the enlightenment is the union of shakti and shiva, the energ of !onsciousness, the "elf, with Pure !onsciousness. "o the ne5t question is' what is this 3union24 "u%%osedl it is an e5%erience in which the subject and the object 3become4 one. 1his tem%ts us to ask' what is this 3becoming24 6 3becoming4 means that something that was in one form before changes into another form. 1o use the ogic meta%hor, the individual soul that 3merges4 into the universal soul. In short, something limited inadequate and incom%lete 3becomes4 limitless adequate and whole. 1his is all ver fine as an idea but it %resents a ver real %roblem' e5%erience, 3becoming4 is subject to change. It never sto%s changing. 1his means

that there is no such thing as a 3%ermanent e5%erience.4 "o what ha%%ens is that the %erson who 3became4 the "elf, 3unbecomes4 the "elf after the e5%erience of union has run its course. 1his is what one might call 3tem%orar 4 "elf reali>ation. 1hese tem%orar "elf reali>ations or e%hi%hanies are useful in so far as the give the e5%eriencer an idea that there is a "elf ?"hiva@ and ma be some insight into its nature. /ut, if the %erson believes that enlightenment is the 3%ermanent e5%erience of the "elf4 he or she will sim%l develo% a vasana for "elf e5%erience b %racticing a sadhana designed to %roduce "elf e5%erience. 1here are man sadhanas beside kundalini sadhana that give e5%erience of the "elf. In fact s%orts, accidents, se5, and man fear related activities %roduce "elf e5%erience. 6n %ractice that ou do with great faith, concentration, and devotion will awaken the kundalini and %roduce a 3s%iritual4 e5%erience. /ut ou should know that if something wakes u% it will definitel go back to slee%. 1his is karmic law. 1his is wh ou have so man frustrated %eo%le in the s%iritual world. *owever, if ou %ursue the sadhana that awakens kundalini with incredible intensit , da and night without a break, forgoing ever worldl attachment and desire, the mind, which is what is waking u%, will eventuall become so energi>ed with shakti that it will onl fall back to slee% for ver short %eriods. 1his is im%ortant because most of the time it is in direct contact with the "elf and this is desireable if ou want "elf knowledge. 1his is wh the oga shastras encourage the %ursuit of a sattvic mind. Remember, the "elf is not awake because it was never aslee%. It is the awareness of waking and slee%. It is the knower of the mind. It is the knower of the kundalini. "o as the "elf ou are alread be ond the kundalini. It will not turn ou into the "elf$I think this is what %eo%le believe. 1he think the will be 3transformed4 into the "elf, like a larva becomes a butterful$but this is just imagination. ;onetheless, this sadhana is so severe that onl one %erson in ten million can %ractice it successfull . 1he desire for liberation has to be one hundred %ercent. If ou have even a small attachment to our bod or to worldl things it will not work. +edanta questions the whole idea underl ing oga. It sa s that the %roblem with this 3union4 idea is' an thing that was caused b action, karma, will onl last for a finite time. When the energ that generated the e5%erience %la s out the e5%erience ends and one returns to a state of se%aration, limitation and incom%leteness. (undalani is a karmic force. It is the "elf o%erating in time. It ma lead ou to the "elf or it ma lead ou far awa . It ma even cause madness in %eo%le who are weak minded. #uch of the mild insanit ou see in s%iritual %eo%le is caused b their inabilit to integrate their s%iritual e5%eriences into ever da life. "o the kundalini, the energ of the "elf, is a ver mi5ed bag and not something to be sought after. If it comes, it comes and ou must learn how to deal with it. /ut rather than cultivate it, it is better to cultivate devotion for Aod. 7es, bhakti is a dualistic %ath, just like kundalini, but cultivating love for the "elf in some form is more natural than forcing the bod and mind to do a lot of ver

com%licated and %otentiall dangerous %ractices. +edanta sa s that e5%eriential sadhanas ma %urif the mind but the will not %roduce enlightenment. 1his is so because enlightenment is the removal of "elf ignorance. <5%erience will not remove ignorance. 0nl the knowledge that arises with e5%erience can do that. If ou don4t know this ou can have all sorts of ama>ing m stical e5%erience and be as "elf ignorant as an animal. +edanta sa s that there are not two se%arate selves that must become one. It sa s that there is onl one "elf that has been misunderstood to be two or man . ;ow, who is it that misunderstands that he or she is se%arate from the "elf2 Is it the kundalini2 It is not the kundalini, the shakti, because the kundalini is not conscious. 6ctivated b the "elf it moves, it changes and causes all sorts of things to ha%%en but it does not know an thing. It has ?is@ a strong feeling that it is missing something and so it works its wa through man e5%eriences ?the charkas@ seeking for freedom from this sense of limitation. 1his is not a conscious seeking. It is trial and error. "ometimes it goes into a %ositive e5%erience ?Pingala nadi@ and sometimes it goes into a negative e5%erience ?ida nadi@ ?I ma have these names reversed@. 6nd it can get stuck in an e5%erience which is ver %leasureable or ver %ainful. 1hat it gets stuck indicates that is it ignorant, unconscious. It foolishl clings to %leasureable e5%eriences because it doesn4t reali>e that e5%erience is changeable and that the %leasure will eventuall disa%%ear. When it gets stuck in a %ainful e5%erience, this shows that it doesn4t have discrimination or it would have avoided the e5%erience in the first %lace. -iscrimination is the most im%ortant function of consciousness. Without it ou cannot function in this world nor can ou se%arate the %ure "elf from the moving "elf, the kundalini shakti. (undalini is just a force, a %ower, an energ . It is not real. 1he "elf alone is real. 7es, the kundalini is the "elf but the "elf is not ?onl @the kundalini. "o who is it that takes his or herself to be limited2 Who is it that wants to erase this sense of limitation and is therefore o%en to the seductive message of kundalini oga2 1he common answer is that it is the ego. /ut +edanta sa s there are not two selves, a higher enlightened "elf and a lower ignorant ego "elf. 1here is onl one "elf. ;ow we come to the most difficult thing to understand. If there is onl one "elf and this "elf alwa s knows who it is, i.e. that it is limitless and whole and therefore does not need an %articular e5%erience to erase its sense of limitation and make it whole, how can it forget who it is2 +edanta sa s that it can4t forget but that it can forget. 0r to %ut it another wa it sa s that there is onl one "elf, %ure 6wareness, and that this "elf is ca%able of both knowledge and ignorance. It would not be limitless if it were unable to be ignorant. 1his ca%abilit of being two o%%osite things at once is called #a a. 1he definition of #a a is' that which is not. 7ou can see the %roblem in the definition. *ow can something that is not, be2 Well, strangel , it can.

;ow the question that arises with reference to the %rocess of e5%erience, which we can call kundalini, is' does the e5%erience of union with the "elf erase ignorance and %roduce knowledge2 (nowledge means that ou understand that ou are whole, com%lete, limitless and free. 6nd the answer is that it ma %roduce knowledge and it ma not %roduce knowledge. Whether it %roduces knowledge or not de%ends on what ou think enlightenment is. If ou think enlightenment is the %ermanent e5%erience of the "elf then ou will not 3get enlightened.4 7ou will e5%erience oneness, wholeness, and limitlessness for a time and that e5%erience will wear off and ou will then e5%erience dualit , incom%leteness and limitation once again. 1his is wh kundalini oga and all the other ogas rarel bring about enlightenment. /ut it is %ossible for ogis to get enlightened if the develo% inquiring minds as a result of their s%iritual e5%eriences. When the e5%erience of oneness ha%%ens one needs to remain alert and tr to determine what one is actuall e5%eriencing. 1his is what +edanta calls inquir . If ou are trained to observe and draw the correct conclusions from our observations ou will see that the 3oneness4 that ou are e5%eriencing is ou, not some incredible state of consciousness, unless ou understand that incredible state of consciousness to be ou, the seer, the e5%eriencer. If ou understand that what ou are e5%eriencing is ou, ou have freed ourself of e5%erience. 7ou never have to %ractice oga again. Wh 2 /ecause when are ou not ou2 *ow far are ou from ou2 What kind of knowledge is it2 It is immediate 3e5%eriential4 knowledge. 1his means that when ignorance tries to rise u% and tell ou that ou are missing something and ou see our desires being activated, ou have a good laugh and can let the whole %rocess of desire die before it %roduces karma. It means ou are the master of our mind, not the other wa around. Is it %ossible to 3attain4 enlightenment without an awakened kundalini as it is %resented in the kundalini shastras2 7es, absolutel . Is it common. <nlightenment according to +edanta is the removal of "elf ignorance brought about b the understanding that the "elf is limitless actionless awareness and that I am that "elf. I have met %erha%s twent enlightened %eo%le whose kundalini was not active in that it was not %roducing mind altering inner e5%eriences. I have also met at least one hundred %eo%le who were having intense kundalini e5%eriences$sometimes for man ears$and who were activel seeking wa s to turn the e5%erience off$since it com%letel disru%ts one4s life. 7ou won4t be able to accom%lish an thing solid or real in the world with this going on. It is too disturbing and it often has a strong negative im%act on the %eo%le ou come in contact with. 7ou sa and do things that make normal %eo%le think ou are nuts. 6nd in a wa ou are. 1he s%iritual world is full of %eole who have had it going on for var ing %eriods and it does not rise u% and 3mate4 with "hiva. It just bounces around in the chakras. "hakti sadhanas can be ver dangerous without the right teacher and the right karmic situation.

It is also im%ortant to know that kundalini does not generate the same e5%eriences for ever one. It generates the e5%eriences that are necessar to stimulate inquir . !ertain %eo%le have develo%ed ver subtle minds as a result of the wa the have lived. "o for these %eo%le the "elf as kundalini awakens inquir , leads them to a jnani, and their ignorance is removed b the non,dual teachings. 1heir enlightenment is in no wa inferior to the %eo%le who have reali>ed who the are during or after an intense kundalini sadhana. <nlightenment is enlightenment8 it has nothing to do with the wa it came about. Ramana, for e5am%le, did not %ractice kundalini sadhana although his kundalini was obviousl active8 it %roduced his 3death4 e5%erience. *e is an e5am%le of a ogi who had an inquiring mind and %racticed vichara, "elf inquir , not kundalini sadhana. #uktananda does sa that enlightenment can onl come through kundalini sadhana but he knew that this was not true. *e was ver smart about %s cholog and he was tr ing to build a big religion$"iddha 7oga$and it does not hel% to give %eo%le too eclectic a view of enlightenment$it just confuses them$ so ou sa it is the onl wa . It is ver much like the !hristians who sa .esus is the onl wa . Well, .esus ma be 3a4 wa but the onl wa 2 I don4t think so. 1he same with (undalini. It ma work$there is no sense %utting it down$but I would bet m bottom dollar that of all the enlightenments that ha%%ened since the beginning of time not more than one or two %ercent were the result of a classic kundalini sadhana. Look at all the great enlightened %eo%le that have come out of /uddhism and other %aths$and the are not talking kundalini. I knew /aba ver well. I sta ed with him for over a ear and he liked me and I liked him and we had a ver interesting relationshi%. When I went to visit him I knew who I was and he knew that. *e asked me who I was the moment we met and I said, :1he infinite /rahman= and he understood com%letel . *e asked who m guru was. *e knew I got it through a guru. *e also knew m guru$there was a %icture of him and "wamiji in the ashram$and he knew what +edanta was. *e even took one of his velvet sequined hats and crowned me with great flair. I never went to get an thing from him$I had time to kill and I was curious about him$ and this did not bother him at all. In fact it made him ha%% that someone was there who could share the vision, %articularl since the %lace was swarming with ver immature Western %eo%le who reall didn4t have a clue what the were doing or who /aba reall was. 6lmost all were seduced b the romance of India and the %ersonalit of /aba and of course the shakti. 1here were ver few qualified %eo%le. We had man good laughs. *e let me sta and do and think whatever I wanted$as long as I %la ed b the ashram rules. *e never e5%ected %ersonal devotion from me and I never offered it. It was true that m kundalini had been activated and I had had all the im%ortant ogic e5%eriences but, if an thing, those e5%eriences were a huge %roblem for me, not the solution. I think ?mind ou I4m not sure because it was thirt ears ago that I read it@ if ou will read on in the book, !hit "hakti +ilas, the Pla of !onsciousness, ou will see that /aba was not set free b an e5%erience. I don4t remember e5actl , since it

was man ears ago that I read the book but I think he tells about going to sta with a devotee and finding a +edanta te5t and sa ing that it was at this %oint that he reali>ed that it was jnanam, not e5%erience, that would set him free. 1he truth is that ever one is basicall in love with e5%erience and this is all we have to our credit when we awaken. /ut e5%erience is onl as good as one4s abilit to understand it. "o when ou begin consciousl searching ou are naturall drawn to oga because it %romises a s%ectacular e5%erience that is su%%osed to solve all %roblems. In a wa this is true but in another wa it is not true. What should ha%%en when ou take u% an e5%eriential sadhana like kundalini is that our mind should become subtle and inquir should start to ha%%en. /ut what usuall ha%%ens is that ou get addicted to e5%erience. 7ou want to meditate all da and go into traces and have transcendental e5%eriences. 7ou want to hang out with %owerful gurus and get shakti%at, etc. 6nd so ou build u% a vasana for e5%erience and ou fantasi>e the big one$enlightenment$ which ou alwa s imagine is just around the corner. It4s like going to Las +egas and %ulling the long arm of one of those big slot machines. 7ou %a and %ull and %a and %ull and in our mind ever minute ou are waiting for the big (a,!hingB and a flood of mone to bur ou. It never ha%%ens. 6ll that ha%%ens is that ou get a big e5%erience vasana. Rheinhart' *ow do ou see kundalini and tr ing to work with that in relation to +edanta and "elf,knowledge. "1he "elf is ever thing and ever thing is the "elf, so wh bother with working on kundalini2 It will ha%%en when it needs to ha%%en, and when it doesn)t ha%%en it doesn)t need to ha%%en". Is that our answer2 /ut what is the use of it an wa 2 Ram' I would not advise 3working on kundalini.4 +edanta sa s that kundalini is just another name for the "elf. "o ever thing is alread kundalini. <ver e5%erience ou have is kundalini, the shakti. Wh limit it to a %articular set of e5%eriences or a %articular %rocess2 7ou can have all sorts of ama>ing e5%eriences and never learn an thing about who ou are and ou can also have ver boring ordinar e5%eriences and suddenl understand who ou are $ because ou were thinking clearl . If ou had a certain e5%erience and ou found ourself walking out of the house without sa ing goodb e to our famil and getting on a %lane that was going somewhere and when ou got off ou met a strange man in a cafC who invited ou home and ou started to s%ontaneousl %erform kri as and have visions and felt ama>ing things taking %lace within ourself then that would be kundalini and ou would be into it and there would be no question of 3working on it.4 It is not something ou work on. It is something that ha%%ens. 6nd it is not something that needs to ha%%en. "o don4t long for it and imagine that ou are s%irituall incom%lete unless ou have had it ha%%en. I had it ha%%en and it all sto%%ed man ears ago and I am ver ha%% that it all sto%%ed. 1he energ wilts when the (undalini leaves. (undalini is a ver fickle bitch. "he is com%letel unfaithful and inconstant. 0ne minute she is seducing ou and driving ou wild with %assion and the ne5t minute she

abandons ou without so much as a b , our,leave Ramji