Kundalini Awakening - Material Sadhana or Spiritual Sadhana ?

Swami Mukundanada delineating about the Kundalini Power

The material energy, Maya,  innumerable astounding powers and secrets within it. The inventions of the modern day world are only the tip of the iceberg of what exists within the womb of Mother Nature. The human body, which is made from Maya, also has many secrets and hidden potentials latent in it. Amongst these is the Kuṇḍalinī.

Kuṇḍalinī is a power that lies dormant at the base of the spinal column. Those who practice the sādhanā of Haṭha Yog, endeavor to awaken it by various means, and make it rise upwards through the spine. As the power ascends through the various chakras (circular regions) in the spine, it results in many siddhis (mystic abilities).

However, we must bear in mind that the Kuṇḍalinī is a material power, and not a spiritual power. The mystic abilities attained through it are purely material. If one’s Kuṇḍalinī is awakened, it does not mean that the person has come closer to God, or has established a relationship with God.

Also, if the Kuṇḍalinī is awakened without spiritual maturity, it leads to pride, which obstructs the spiritual progress of person. The Kuṇḍalinī is an immense power, and if it is not controlled properly, it can result in very deleterious side-effects.

Very often, people who awaken it without sufficient bodily and mental preparation are unable to handle it, and suffer serious consequences. In some cases, the body gets ruined, and in other cases, the mind. It is far safer not to go in that direction, and instead, strive to establish one’s connection with God through devotion. Then by the

Grace of the Lord, if we get any siddhis, we will also receive the power to protect ourselves from their pitfalls. The important thing is not the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī, but the development of an intense longing for God.

Stress Management

We experience stress because we want certain outcomes, situations, and results. However, the soul is not independent, and it is not within its ability to fulfill all of its desires.

By nature, the soul is a servant of God. Now, what is the duty of the servant? To fulfill the wishes of the master. If we surrender to God and think that whatever He does is for our welfare, this attitude of surrender will help us get rid of stress. A surrendered soul says:

rāzī haiñ usī meñ jisameñ terī razā hai

yūñ bhī vāha vāha hai tyoñ bhī vāha vāha hai

“I am happy in Your happiness. Whatever situation You put me in, I will blissfully accept it.” Thus, stress is a symptom of lack of our submission to the Will of God. When we experience stress, the best medicine to cure it is to increase our level of surrender.

Now, what is the problem in increasing the level of surrender? Worldly attachments! We keep on pondering, “This should happen this way; that should happen that way.” That is the main hurdle to complete surrender. For achieving that goal, we need to increase our detachment from the world.

Meditation - the ultimate Solution

Before God-realization, there will always be some amount of tension within everyone, because the extent of surrender will not be one-hundred percent. However, by giving us tension, God signals to us that something is wrong and we need to correct it by surrendering further to Him. This is just as when we put our hand in the fire, we feel pain. What would happen if we did not feel the pain? Our hand would burn without our knowing it. The feeling of pain is, in fact,

a form of Grace. It is a signal that something is wrong, and that we must take the hand out.

Similarly, stress is a signal that we need to increase our surrender and devotion to God.

A spiritual doctor will prescribe you the medicine of submitting to God for getting rid of stress, whereas a material doctor will give you all kinds of medicinal drugs. However, such drugs will not help eradicate the root cause of stress. By increasing the level of surrender, the source of stress will itself be eradicated. Shree Krishna states in the famous verse:

karmaṇyevādhikāraste mā phaleṣhu kadāchana

mā karmaphalaheturbhūrmā te saṅgo ‘stvakarmaṇi

(Bhagavad Geeta 2.47)

 “Work with full dedication. Do not be careless while performing your tasks. But do not get attached to the fruits of those works.”

Shree Krishna again says:

yoginaḥ karma kurvanti saṅgaṁ tyaktvātmaśhuddhaye

(Bhagavad Geeta 5.11)

“A yogī is one who can work without any attachment to the results.” If we follow this formula, stress will be abolished from its roots.

Are We Body or Soul ?

Swamiji unfolding the secret - are we body or soul ?

Since the soul is Divine, and the body is material, your curiosity is natural—how does the communication between the two take place? The soul communicates with the body by energizing it with consciousness, or the force of life. Its presence makes the intellect, mind, and body work. 

Now the reverse communication—how does the body communicate with the soul? The link between the material body and the spiritual soul is established by the ego. In the materially conditioned state, the first covering on the soul is of the ego. The word for ego in Sanskrit is asmitā, which means “that which is not.” This ego creates a false identity for the soul. Due to it, the soul is under the illusion of being the body, mind, and intellect.

In this illusion that it is the body, the soul identifies with the pleasures and pains of the body. When the senses come in contact with the sense objects, they experience fleeting pleasure. In its mistaken conception of being the body, the soul too experiences this pleasure. However, the experience does not satisfy the soul, which can only be satisfied by Divine Bliss. So the search for pleasure continues. This is how the two-way communication between the soul and the body-mind-intellect works.