Kundalini-Yoga II

Kundalinî-Yoga II, November 1933.

Kundalini is an aspect of Shakti considered as a cosmic force: one might say it is this force even as it resides in the human being, where it acts as a vital force; this name Kundalini means that it is represented as coiled on itself in the manner of a serpent, its most general manifestations taking place in the form of a spiral movement developing from a central point which is its 'pole.' The 'winding' symbolizes a state of rest, that of a 'static' energy from which all forms of manifested activity proceed; in other words, all the more or less specialized vital forces which are constantly in action in human individuality, under its dual subtle and corporeal modes, are only secondary aspects of this same Shakti which in itself, in as long as Kundalini remains motionless in the ‘root center' (muladhara) as the basis and support of all individual manifestation. When she is ‘awake,' she unfolds and moves in an ascending direction, reshaping in herself these various secondary Shaktis as she passes through the various centers we have spoken of before, until she finally unites with Paramashiva in the 'thousand-petalled lotus' (sahasrara).

The nature of Kundalini is described as being both luminous (jyotirmayi) and sonorous (shabdamayi or mantramayi); we know that 'luminosity' is considered to properly characterize the subtle state, and we also know the primordial role of sound in the cosmogonic process; from the same cosmogonic point of view, there is much to say about the close connection between sound and light. ^[360] We cannot dwell on the extremely complex theory of sound (shabda) and its different modes (para or non-manifested, pashyanti and madhyama, both belonging to the subtle order, and finally vaikhari, which is the articulated word), the theory on which rests the entire science of the mantra (mantra-vidya); we will point out that this is the reason why only the presence of the bija-mantras of the elements inside the lotus, but also the letters on their petals, are explained. In fact, it must be understood that it is not a question here of letters as written characters, nor even of articulated sounds perceived by the ears; these letters are regarded as the bija-mantras or the 'natural names' of all activities (kriya) in connection with the tattwa of the corresponding center, or as expressions in its gross subtle sounds (vaikhari-shabda) produced by the forces which constitutes these activi- ties. Kundalini, as long as she remains in her resting state, resides in the muladhara chakra, which is, as we have said, the 'localized' center at the base of the spine, and that is the root (mula) of sushumna and all the nadis. There is the triangle (trikona) called Traipura,^[361] which is the seat of the Shakti (Shaktipitha); it is wrapped three and a half times^[362] around the symbolic linga of Shiva, designated as Swayambhu, covering with his head the Brahma-dwara, that is, the entrance of sushumna.^[363] There are two other lingas, one (Bana) in the anahata chakra, and the other (Itara) in the ajna chakra; they correspond to the main 'vital nodes' (granthis), the crossing of which constitutes what might be called the 'critical points' in the Kundalini-yoga process;^[364] and there is finally a fourth (Para) in sahasrara, the residence of Paramashiva. When Kundalini is 'awakened' by the appropriate practices, the de- scription of which we will not enter, she enters sushumna and, during her ascent, successively ‘pierces' the various ‘lotuses,' which flourish as it passes; as it reaches each center in this way, it reabsorbs into itself, as we have already said, the various principles of individual manifestation which are especially related to this center, and thus reduced to its poten-tial state, are carried with it in its movement towards the higher center. These are all stages of laya-yoga; at each of these stages is also reported the obtaining of certain particular 'powers' (siddhis), but it is important to notice that it is by no means what constitutes the essential one, and even one cannot insist upon it too much, for the general tendency of Westerners is to attribute to these sorts of things, as indeed to all that is ‘phenomena,' an importance which they do not have and cannot have in reality. As the author rightly points out, the yogi (or to speak more pre-cisely, the one who is about to become one) aspires to the possession of any conditioned state, be it a superior or ‘celestial' state, so high as it may be, but uniquely ‘Deliverance;' can he not attach himself to 'powers' whose exercise falls entirely within the sphere of the most external man-ifestation. Whoever seeks these 'powers' for themselves and who makes them the goal of his development, instead of seeing only mere accidental results, will never be a true yogi, because they will constitute for him impassable obstacles, preventing him from continuing to follow the as-cending path to its ultimate end; all his ‘realization' will therefore consist only in certain extensions of human individuality, a result whose value is strictly nil with regard to the supreme goal. Normally, the 'powers' in question should be regarded only as signs that the being has actually reached a particular stage; it is, if you will, an external means of control, but what really matters, at any stage, is a certain 'state of consciousness,' represented, as we have said, by a 'deity' (devata) to which the being identifies himself at this degree of 'realization;' these states themselves are worth only as gradual preparatory to the supreme union, which has no common measure with them, for there can be nothing between the conditioned and the unconditioned. We will not repeat here the enumeration, which we have already given the first part of this study, of the centers corresponding to the five bhutas and their respective 'localizations;'^[365] they relate to the different degrees of the corporeal manifestation, and, in the passage from the one to the other, each group of tattwas is 'dissolved' into the next higher group, the grossest always being resorbed into the must subtle (sthula-nam sukshme layah). Finally, there comes the ajna chakra, where the sub-tle tattwas of the 'mental' order are, and in the pericarp of which is the sacred monosyllable Om; this center is so called because it is there that it is received from above (which is to say from the supra-individual do- main) the command (ajna) of the inner Guru, which is Paramashiva, to which the 'Self is identical in reality.^[366] The ‘localization' of this chakra is directly related to the 'third eye,' which is the 'eye of Knowledge' (Jnana-chakshus); the corresponding cerebral center is the pineal gland, which is not the 'seat of the soul,' according to Descartes' truly absurd conception, but which nonetheless has a particularly important role as a connecting organ with the extra-corporeal mode of the human being. As we have explained elsewhere, the function of the third eye' refers essen- tially to the 'sense of eternity' and the restoration of the 'primordial state' (of which we have also repeatedly reported the relationship with Hamsa in the form of which Paramashiva is said to manifest itself in this center); the stage of 'realization' corresponding to the ajna chakra thus implies the perfection of the human state, and there is the point of contact with the higher states, to which all that is beyond this stage is related.^[367] On top of ajna are two secondary chakras called manas and soma,^[368] and in the very pericarp of sahasrara is still a twelve-petalled lotus, con- taining the supreme triangle Kamakala, which is the abode of Shakti.^[369] Shabdabrahma, which is to say the 'causal' and unmanifested state of sound (shabda), is represented by the Kamakala, which is the 'root' (matla) of all mantras, and which has its inferior correspondence (which can be regarded as its reflection in relation to the gross manifestation) in the triangle Traipura of muladhara. We cannot think of going into the details of the very complex descriptions given of these different centers for meditation, which relate for the most part to the mantra-vidya, or of the enumeration of the various particular Shaktis who have their ‘seats' between ajna and sahasrara. Finally, sahasrara is called Shivasthana, be- cause it is the residence of Paramashiva, in union with the supreme Nir- vana Shakti, the ‘Mother of the Three Worlds;' it is the 'home of bliss,' where the 'Self (atma) is realized. He who truly and fully knows sa- hasrara is free from 'transmigration' (samsara), because he has broken by this very knowledge all the bonds that have held him attached, and he has since reached the state of jivanmukta. We will conclude with a remark, which we believe has not yet been made anywhere, on the concordance of the centers mentioned here with the Sephiroth of Kabbalah, which, in fact, must necessarily have their cor- respondence in the human being. It might be objected that the Sephiroth are ten in number, while the six chakras and sahasrara form only a total of seven, but this objection falls flat if one observes that in the arrange- ment of the 'Sephirothic tree' there are three pairs placed symmetrically on the 'columns' of the right and left, so that the Sephiroth set is distrib- uted at seven different levels only; consider their projections on the cen- tral axis or 'middle column,' which corresponds to sushumna (the two lateral 'columns' being linked with ida and pingala), so we are brought back to the septenary.^[370] Beginning from the top, there is no difficulty in first regarding the assimilation of sahasrara, ‘localized' to the crown of the head, to the su- preme Sephirah, Keter, whose name precisely means the 'Crown.' Then comes the set of Hokhmah and Binah, which must correspond to ajna, and whose duality could even be represented by the two petals of this 'lotus;' moreover, they are Da'at 'resultant,' which is to say, 'Knowledge,' and we have seen that the 'localization' of ajna also refers to the 'eye of Knowledge. '^[371] The following couple, Hesed and Gevurah, can, according to a very general symbolism concerning the attributes of 'Mercy' and 'Justice,' be placed in the man in relation to the two arms;^[372] these two Sephiroth will therefore be placed at both shoulders, and consequently at the level of the guttural region, corresponding thus to vishuddha.^[373] As for Tiferet, its central position obviously refers to the heart, which imme- diately leads to its correspondence with anahata. The pair of Netzah and Hod will be placed at the hips, the attaching point of the lower limbs, like that of Hesed and Gevurah at the shoulders, the upper attachment points; the hips are at the level of the umbilical region, so it is manipura. Finally, with regards to the last two Sephiroth, it seems that there is reason to consider an inversion, because Yesod, according to the very meaning of its name, is the 'foundation,' which corresponds exactly to muladhara. Malkut should be assimilated to swadhishthana, which the meaning of the names seems to justify, for Malkut is the 'Kingdom,' and swadhishthana literally means the 'proper abode' of the Shakti.

In spite of the length of this expose, we have only sketched a few aspects of a subject that is truly inexhaustible, hoping only to have been able to provide some useful clarifications to those who wish to study it further.