INTRODUCTION TO KUNDALINI TANTRA 2018 (webpressnet)

INTRODUCTION TO KUNDALINI
TANTRA

KUNDALINI TANTRA
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

 INTRODUCTION TO KUNDALINI TANTRA 2018 (webpressnet)INTRODUCTION TO KUNDALINI TANTRA 2018 (webpressnet)I have been travelling the world for the last three decades in order to pass on the
message of yoga, and I find that yoga has influenced the course of human thinking
tremendously. Initially of course, there was some doubt about it as many people thought
that yoga was a type of religion, witchcraft or mysticism. This particularly happened
because man believed matter was the ultimate point in the evolution of nature. The
materialistic world did not understand yoga for some time, but as the men of science
dived deep into the mysteries of matter, they came to understand and realize that matter
was not the ultimate in the evolution of nature.

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If that is so for one form of matter, it applies to every form of matter. This external
experience, the perception you have through your senses, is a product of matter. Even
your thoughts, feelings, emotions and cognitions are products of matter. Therefore, they
cannot be absolute and final. This means there must be another realm of experience. And
if there is another realm of experience, it must be possible to transcend the present
limitations of the mind.
The mind is also matter; it is definitely not spirit. So the mind can also be
transformed and made to evolve. People have begun to realize and experience this in the
last few decades. And in my opinion, this marks the end of one era and the beginning of
another. For those who have knowledge of science and the nature of matter, it is not
difficult to understand exactly what inner experience is.
An inner experience is the manifestation of a deeper level of oneself. Dream, of
course, is an experience. Your dreams may be schizophrenic but that is an expression of
your own self. Thought is also a concept or expression of your own self. A piece of music
is an expression of yourself, whether you compose it or just admire it. A painting or
sculpture is a concept of yourself whether you create it or just admire it. That means the
external world is a manifestation of your inner experience. And you can improve this
experience to any extent. You can also bring about deterioration of this experience. When
everything is hopeless outside, that is your experience of yourself, and if everything is
beautiful outside, that is also your experience of yourself.
In the last few decades, yoga has helped millions of people improve their concepts of
themselves. Yoga realizes that man is not only the mind, he is body as well. Therefore
man does not experience happiness only through the mind. The body is also real and it is
a part of his personality. Just by improving the condition of the body however, man will
not necessarily enable his mind to experience happiness either. This is because he is not
only the body and mind, he is emotion and desire as well. He is something beyond the
mind or psyche. Therefore, yoga has been designed in such a way that it can complete the
process of evolution of the personality in every possible direction. That is why yoga has
so many branches - hatha yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga, gyana yoga,
kundalini yoga, and so on.

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A combined, integrated practice of yoga in one's life will definitely ensure a better
quality of experience within you and without. Every seeker and practitioner on the path
of yoga must remember that the various paths of yoga are to improve the quality of head,
heart and hand. However, yoga does not end with the development of the personality.
One level of the personality is dependent on this mind, this body and these emotions, but
there is another deeper part of the personality which you have to develop with another
kind of mind and emotion. This requires a special process, and that process is known as
kundalini yoga.
Objective experience not the ultimate
Kundalini yoga is a part of the tantric tradition. Even though you may have already
been introduced to yoga, it is necessary to know something about tantra also. Since
ancient times, the wise men have realized that mind can be expanded and that
experiences do not necessarily depend on an object. This means that if somebody is
playing music, I can hear it, and if somebody has painted a picture, I can see it, but I can
also see if there is no picture, and I can hear if there is no music. This is also a quality of
man's personality which has been ignored in the last 150 to 200 years.
Tantra says that the range of mental experience can be broadened. With the help of
the senses, your mind can have an experience based on an object. There can be an
experience within the framework of time, space and object, but there can also be an
experience beyond the framework of time, space and object. The second form of
experience can happen when the present mind expands beyond its given definitions and
borders, and when this experience occurs, energy is released from yourself.
For hundreds of years, people have been talking about an experience called nirvana,
moksha, emancipation, self-realization, salvation or liberation, without understanding it
properly. Yogis call this experience samadhi. Although many people think that in
samadhi or nirvana everything is completely finished, it is definitely not a process of
quitting the world. Nothing finishes, only one level of experience ends, but then another
begins.
Since the dawn of creation, the tantrics and yogis have realized that in this physical
body there is a potential force. It is not psychological, philosophical or transcendental; it
is a dynamic potential force in the material body, and it is called kundalini. This
kundalini is the greatest discovery of tantra and yoga. Scientists have begun to look into
this, and a summary of some of the latest scientific experiments is included in this book.
We can see from this research that science is not actually going to discover anything new
in this field. It is only rediscovering and substantiating what yogis discovered many,
many centuries ago.
A universal event
The seat of kundalini is a small gland at the base of the spinal cord. With the
evolution of the natural forces in man, this gland has now come to a point where man can
explode it. Quite a number of people have awakened this supernatural force and they
have been called rishis, prophets, yogis, siddhas and various other names according to the
time, tradition and culture. In India the entire cultural setup was once organized to
facilitate this explosion, but today things are a little different because materialism is a
very powerful force, and for the moment, it has even stupefied the Indian minds.
For the awakening of kundalini, not only are the practices of yoga required. If this
awakening is to become a universal event, then the entire social structure has to be
reorganized and millions of people all over the world have to be told the purpose of their
existence. The whole life from the time of conception to the moment when you leave the
body, each and every thing has to be reoriented. You will see in this book how even the
instinctive and emotional interaction between man and woman must be revised and
refined, so that it can lead us not away from, but towards, this ultimate awakening. This
reorientation has to be undertaken with the purpose of expanding the mind and opening
new doors of experience.
Today we are living in a world where everyone is more or less satisfied. Man has all
the comforts and everything he needs and does not need. There will come a time,
however, when man will be prepared to throw off these comforts. Luxury and comfort
weaken the will and keep man under constant hypnosis. Alcohol and drugs are not as
dangerous as man's total slavery to luxury and comfort. He cannot pull himself away
from them. It is impossible unless he has become aware of something more than what his
parents and society could give him.
Formerly there were only a few seekers, but now millions and millions of people in
the world are striving for a higher experience. And this higher experience is known as
knowledge. When, through yoga and tantra, the awakening of kundalini takes place, a
process of metamorphosis occurs in the realm of nature and in the realm of spirit. The
elements of the physical body change and the elements of the mental body also.
It may be difficult for people of today to understand the whole concept, but soon
humanity will comprehend it all. Matter will become unnecessary and insignificant.
Behind the matter and behind the mind there is energy and there is an experience of that
energy.
Proceed slowly, sensibly and systematically
Yet, you should not try to realize and experience these things abruptly. You will find
here detailed instructions on the gradual preparation of your mind and body for the
arousal of kundalini, and advice on elementary precautions to be observed in order to
avoid unnecessary risks and obstacles. Do not try to influence your mind directly,
because the mind is nothing but an extension of the body complex. Start systematically
with the body, the prana, the nadis and chakras, according to the scheme outlined in this
book. Then see how you evolve.
Many people, encouraged by this type of philosophy take to drugs, chemicals and
other things they consider to be speedy alternatives. They are very serious people I
believe, but they are not practical and systematic because they think they can transcend
the role of the body in the realm of evolution. In the final evolution of mind, matter and
man, you cannot ignore either the body or the mind. You cannot even ignore the nose, the
stomach or the digestive system. That is why this transcendental philosophy begins with
the basic considerations of diet and yogic physiology that you find discussed here.
The discovery of the great energy began with matter. Did nuclear energy descend
from heaven? No, it evolved from crude matter. Where does the experience generate
from? From heaven? From the sanctum sanctorum? No, from this body and this nervous
system. That is how you should be practical and sensible.
This book presents a systematic and pragmatic approach to the awakening of
kundalini. It begins with an expanded understanding of the true role and potential of the
body and nervous system, moving through an exhaustive examination of the different
methods of awakening suitable for different personalities and conditions. You will find
clear and direct instructions on the actual yogic and tantric techniques to be practised
towards this goal, together with a map of possible experiences you may encounter as the
practices mature, so that you can sustain this great awakening and integrate it into a more
conscious and creative way of life.
We have included here a systematic schedule of practice, within the context of a
philosophy that is both pragmatic and transcendental, to prepare you in every way for this
great adventure in consciousness.