What is kundalini? 'Kundalini' literally means, 'coiled', like a snake.

Kundalini is described as a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. It signifies the image of a spiral coil, like a spring, signifying untapped potential energy. Kundalini can be described as a great reservoir of creative energy at the base of the spine. Infact, our head should not be considered the center of our consciousness and kundalini should not be thought of as a foreign force running up and down our spine. It is more practical to think of kundalini energy as the very foundation of our consciousness so when kundalini moves through the 'sushumna' and through our charkas, our consciousness necessarily changes with it. Top What does kundalini have to do with spiritual enlightenment? What is the goal of kundalini yoga? In yogic anatomy the sushumna is the central channel and conduit for the kundalini energy that runs along our spine and up to the crown of our head. Along this channel are placed additional channel networks called chakras. These chakras are associated with major aspects of our anatomy for e!ample our throat, heart, solar ple!us, and in turn these aspects of our anatomy are related to aspects of our human nature. "ur e!perience of these centers is limited, due to knots, which restrict the flow of energy into these centers. Three knots are particularly important. The spinal, heart and eyebrow center knots. These knots are gradually broken through yogic practice and the practitioner is liberated from the limited bounds of ego consciousness forever# Top So how do I awaken kundalini? Indirectly kundalini can be awakened by devotion, by selfless service, or by intellectual en$uiry. %roadly speaking there are two radically different direct approaches to awakening kundalini. "ne approach re$uires initiation by a guru and relies upon a techni$ue called shaktipat, or 'descent of shakti.' It is variously called& Mahayoga, Kundalini Mahayoga or Sahaja Yoga '(pontaneous )oga*. The other approach uses intentional yogic techni$ues. The styles using intentional techni$ues include Mantra Yoga, Hatha Yoga, Laya Yoga or Kriya Yoga. Top What is shaktipat? 'Shakti' is another word for kundalini and 'pat' means to descend. (haktipat is a method by which an individual's kundalini is awakened by the direct intervention of a guru. There are several varieties of shaktipat depending on the facility of the guru and the receptiveness of the disciple. It is probably not feasible to resurrect the nine or more classifications of shaktipat used in the classical literature here. +ractically speaking shaktipat is known by its results& the awakening of the student's kundalini. There are also a variety of mechanisms for conveying shaktipat. These include& by glance, by word or mantra, by touch or simply by intention. Top How does shaktipat work? If kundalini awakening is so important, how can someone else do it for you? How could a guru overcome my karma? (haktipat is seen as able to occur when one's positive and negative karmas reach a sort of e$uilibrium. The ability to receive shaktipat is the result of something of a neutrali,ation of positive and negative karmas. "rdinarily it takes a long time to create a fire by rubbing sticks together but if someone else already has a fire then that fire can be used to ignite another fire. (imilarly to make a magnet naturally may re$uire thousands of years but if one already has a magnet then a metal can easily be magneti,ed using the magnet. Top Who can give shaktipat? To continue the analogy, in theory 'anyone on fire' can give shaktipat, i.e. anyone whose kundalini is already awakened. The more relevant $uestion is& -.ho should give shaktipat/- There are many opinions on this but at the very least the conveyer of shaktipat should be aware of the movements of shakti in his own body and in the body of the disciple. 0iving shaktipat is a science and it is helpful, if not essential, to be instructed in that science.

It is easier to light a controlled flame than to light a fire, which cannot be controlled. Therefore, it is desirable that the guru be empowered to give shaktipat by his own guru and has been trained in an unbroken lineage back to a great master who was fully aware of the science of shaktipat. In this way some $uality control is maintained. Top Who can receive shaktipat? There are even more opinions on this. (ome gurus take an attitude of& 'Initiate them all and let (hakti sort them out.' Traditionally teachers were $uite selective about who received shaktipat. (ometimes shaktipat was only given to one or two disciples in a generation. Among gurus these days you can see these two e!tremes of opinion and many other gradations in between. (ome people who have received shaktipat from well known gurus have apparently only manifested greater neuroses and unhappiness in their lives as a result. Top Are all shaktipat initiations the same? There are many ways of classifying shaktipat initiations but a method used by (wami 1ishnu Tirth is very simple and clear. In shaktopaya initiations the guru awakens the kundalini (hakti of the disciple. In shambhavopaya initiations the kundalini shakti of the disciple is awakened and led up through the body's energy centers bringing a glimpse of the highest reali,ation. (ome contemporary yoga teachers and gurus bring together a wide variety of phenomenon under the term 'shaktipat'. 2or e!ample, teachers of Kriya )oga may infuse their students with their shakti at various stages of the student's practice with the purpose of eliminating blocks in the student's channels. These teachers call this practice 'shaktipat initiation.' Top Can one receive shaktipat just y eing in the presence of those with awakened shakti? There is no doubt that shakti is contagious. The mere presence of a single being whose shakti is strongly active can awaken the shakti of those around him. (imilarly being in the presence of many people whose shakti is awakened to some degree can awaken one's own shakti. Top So what happens after shaktipat? %ecause kundalini is an intelligent force it will, upon awakening, naturally direct the practice of the student. All that is re$uired is that the student completely surrenders to this force. As a result of kundalini's unfolding spontaneous purifying movements, called kriyas will occur. In addition the practices of Hatha, Laya and Raja Yoga will naturally manifest. %ecause all other yogas naturally manifest as a result of kundalini awakening this yoga is called '3ahayoga' or 'great yoga'. %ecause all other yogas and their results occur spontaneously 'sahaja'! and without effort this yoga is also called 'Sahaja Yoga'. 4ven to reach the point of simply surrendering to shakti takes some practice for people. (ome aids in cultivating surrender are chanting and selfless service. These practices open the heart and make one more susceptible to the influence of shakti. Top What are kriyas? Kriyas, literally 'activities', are spontaneous movements that occur after kundalini awakening. These include bodily activities such as trembling, shaking and spontaneous yoga postures5 vocal activities such as yelling, or spontaneous chanting and mental activities such as visions. These kriyas eliminate the blocks to kundalini rising within the spine or central channel. Top How do kriyas purify one!s consciousness? %locks, known as samskaras or impressions, do not just obstruct kundalini, but they embody attachments, conceptions and other mental afflictions that limit the freedom of our consciousness. These attachments lead to actions, which only reinforce the attachment. 2or e!ample if we have impressions of anger then we will manifest anger in our activities, which only reinforce our impressions. As kundalini rises it will purify the anger and as a result of the purification process the kriyas will occur. (peaking of kundalini as an intelligent force, which manifests its intelligence in particular activities, such as spontaneous yoga, postures, to purify the blocks to its progress may sound a little mystical but there is a less mystical way of understanding what this means.

In our common language there are many collo$uial phrases, which allude to the natural state of our body mind as being 'straight' or 'upright' and the unnatural state being 'kinky' or 'entangled.' .e say positively& '6e is an upright individual.' '(he is as straight as an arrow.' .e say negatively& '6e is too kinky. 6e is all tangled up in himself.' '(he is tangled up in knots.' (o you can view our mind body continuum as a garden hose and the kundalini as water running through it. If you have a moderately tangled garden hose a simple way of making it straight is to increase the pressure of water through it. As you do so the hose will naturally flip around to straighten itself. To an observer it might seem as though the hose itself were intelligent in the way it straightens itself and in fact, since physical laws govern the motion of the hose it does reflect a deep intelligence. In the same way we don't need to think of the kundalini as an independent autonomous force cogitating as to what asana, pranayama or verbal activity might purify a block inside us. It seems more useful to think of kundalini as a natural intelligent force whose natural movement untangles the knots, which limit its e!pression. The garden hose analogy makes another point clear as well. Imagine what happens if the hose is very tangled. Turning up the water pressure may be a very dramatic and perhaps even counter productive process. This seems to be what is happening in a number of cases where individuals, after receiving shaktipat, may have severe mental breakdowns. Thus it does seem to be important for individuals to have a certain level of stability and preparation before receiving shaktipat initiation. Top Are these kriyas some sort of self"hypnosis or some sort of #ew Age phenomenon? This yoga is at least 7888 years old and is documented in the Kularnava "antra and in the works of the great "antric scholar Abhinvagupta and particular forms of kriyas can be found there. 9ltimately the validity of any spiritual tradition rests in its ability to transform the beings of its followers. The real value of yoga is in transforming the minds of those who practice it. Top Haven!t a num er of well"known teachers critici$ed kriyas? Haven!t they said that kundalini is a force that needs control? 2or the individual who does surrender to the kriyas of kundalini shakti the perspective is radically different. 2or the individual who spontaneously and effortlessly performs kriyas such as intricate pranayamas, asanas and bandhas during their meditation, the kundalini rises slowly in its own natural way without causing any major imbalances. %ut if the practices are done without regard for the basic rules, the force, if and when activated, can wreck the entire nervous system and may even be fatal to the practitioner.