The Evolution of Consciousness, Part 1
Author: Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami
Description: Intense, sustained states of contemplation results in merger of the energies of the ida and pingala, the pituitary and pineal glands producing deep samadhi. Prana flows from the central source, Siva. Gurudeva gives us three ways of balancing the ida and pingala: breathing exercises, meditation and hatha yoga. Kundalini series from Shum. Misdirection of the kundalini shakti can happen, the kundalini rising through the ida or pingala can move upward only to the vishuddha chakra, no farther. “Master Course Trilogy” “ Merging with Siva” Lessons 288-289.
Transcription:
Good morning everyone.
We get to start a new chapter today in "Merging With Siva", 42, entitled: “The Evolution of Consciousness" drawn from Master Course 1967 and 1970 editions and upadeshas from July - August, 1989.
Lesson 288:
"Ida, Pingala, Sushumna
"In mystic cosmology, the seven lokas, or upper worlds, correspond to the seven higher chakras. The seven talas, or lower worlds, correspond to the chakras below the base of the spine. Man is thus a microcosm of the universe, or macrocosm. The spine is the axis of his being, as Mount Meru is the axis of the world, and the fourteen chakras are portals into the fourteen worlds, or regions of consciousness. The actinodic life force within the sushumna current runs up and down the spine and becomes very powerful when the ida and pingala, or the odic forces, are balanced. Then man becomes completely actinodic. He doesn’t feel, in a sense, that he has a body at that particular time. He feels he is just a being suspended in space, and during those times his anahata and vishuddha chakras are spinning and vibrating. When, through the practice of very intense, sustained states of contemplation, he merges into pure states of superconsciousness, the ida and the pingala form a circle. They meet, and the pituitary and the pineal glands at the top of the head also merge their energies. This produces deep samadhi. The pituitary gland awakens first and through its action stimulates the pineal.
"The pineal shoots a spark into the pituitary, and the door of Brahman, the Brahma randhra, is opened, never to close. I once saw the sahasrara on a long stem above my head when I was in New York in 1953 or ’54.
"The sushumna force also merges, and the kundalini, which is at this time playing up and down the spine like a thermometer, as the fire-heat body of man, rises to the top of the head, and man then goes beyond consciousness and becomes the Self and has his total Self Realization, nirvikalpa samadhi.
"The ida nadi is pink in color. It flows down, is predominantly on the left side of the body and is feminine-passive in nature. The pingala nadi is blue in color. It flows up, is predominantly on the right side of the body and is masculine-aggressive in nature. These nerve currents are psychic tubes, shall we say, through which prana flows from the central source, Siva. The prana is flowing down through the ida and up through the pingala, but in a figure eight. The sushumna nadi is in a straight line from the base of the spine to the top of the head. The ida and pingala spiral around the sushumna and cross at the third chakra, the manipura, and at the fifth chakra, the vishuddha, and meet at the sahasrara. This means that there is a greater balance of the ida and the pingala in man’s will center, the manipura chakra, and in his universal love center, the vishuddha chakra, and of course at the great sanga center, the meeting place of the three rivers, the sahasrara chakra.
"The sushumna nadi, flowing upward, is the channel for the kundalini shakti, which is white. It is the cool energy, as white contains all colors. When the kundalini rises, which happens almost imperceptibly under the guru’s watchful eye, consciousness slowly expands. The novice only knows of the subtle yet powerful spiritual unfoldment when looking back to the time the practices were begun. Now he sees how life was then and how now his soul’s humility has overtaken the external ego.
"Through breathing exercises, meditation and the practice of hatha yoga, the ida and the pingala, the aggressive and passive odic forces, are balanced. (So, Gurudeva's giving us three ways of balancing the ida and pingala: breathing exercises, meditation and the practice of hatha yoga.) When they are balanced, the chakras spin all at the same velocity. When the chakras spin at the same velocity, they no longer bind awareness to the odic world; man’s awareness then is automatically released, and he becomes conscious of the actinodic and actinic worlds.
"Those chakras at the crossing of the ida and pingala are the more physical of the chakras, whereas those it skips are energized by the sushumna itself. When the yogi is really centered within, the ida and pingala then blend together in a straight line and merge into the sushumna, energizing all seven chakras, and in the older soul slowly, very slowly, slowly begin to energize the seven chakras above the sahasara. When this happens, he no longer thinks but sees and observes from the ajna chakra between the eyes. He is totally consciously alive, or superconscious. It is only when his ida and pingala begin functioning normally again that he then begins to think about what he saw."
And we get the Shum series for kundalini.
sium
A cliff; hill or a mountain.
sisium
Ascending, climbing, moving upward.
usisium
Sensing the kundalini energy rising in the center of the spine.
ausisium
Kundalini ascending through all of the seven kamshumalínga.
ayausisium
The kundalini force moving upward into the head.
m'ayausisium
Lifting the kundalini force from the feet to the top of the head.
Interesting series to explore.
Lesson 289
"Kundalini Out of Control
"There are three channels through which the spiritual energies of the kundalini can rise. The one recommended is the sushumna. The other two are to be avoided. When the kundalini shakti flows outside of the sushumna nadi into and through the ida nadi on the left side of the spine, which corresponds to the left sympathetic nerve system, it is fragmented into other smaller and more sensitive nerve currents connected to the organs of the physical body. It produces heat within this formerly cool nadi network. The person becomes overly emotional, feminine in nature, talks a lot, often has hurt feelings, cries at the least provocation and engages in other emotional behavior patterns that center around the personal I-ness. Such persons always want to help others, but rarely actually do. This heat, though astral, is felt in the physical body in the solar plexus. When provoked, the person angers and is always quick to defend the personal ego in saving face. Similarly, when the serpent power flows up through the pingala nadi and into the sympathetic nerve system on the right side of the body, the person becomes overly intellectual, very masculine in nature, talks little, has steel nerves and patterns centering around the conquest of others through intellectual debate. He is prone to long silences, holding in emotions, and to secret patterns of behavior to stimulate or satisfy base desires. In other words, he is not open, smiling, friendly, or companionable. In either case, the kundalini shakti rising through the ida or pingala can move upward only to the vishuddha chakra and no farther. This is the impasse.
"The misdirection of the kundalini happens most often to the less disciplined, those more eager for attainments on the fast track, those not under the watchful eye of the satguru. Nevertheless, the novice feels a dynamic awakening of power. This heat, produced by the kundalini shakti flowing through either of these two nadis of the sympathetic nerve system, can and often does produce jerking in the body, spine and neck.
(I don't see that as much as I used to but back in the sixties and seventies you see more jerking, cause people were trying various kundalini techniques, more so then than now.)
"More often than not, the jerking body, twisting neck and the 'I now know it all' attitude are taken for a highly spiritual experience and even validated as such by certain teachers. But it is as if we were driving on a rocky road, thinking it to be a smooth highway. It is an unusual experience, to be sure, building the personal ego into something it was never intended to be. When this happens to a devotee, the wise guru or swami recommends that all spiritual practices be immediately stopped. Japa should be stopped. All pranayama except the simplest regulation of the breath should be stopped. Reading scripture should be stopped, worship of all kinds should be stopped. Anything other than wholesome, humbling karma yoga, such as cleaning bathrooms, should be stopped.
"Growing food should be encouraged. Bare feet on the ground and at the same time hands in the dirt is the best way to bring the rampant kundalini down to the muladhara chakra. Once it is down, it can be directed up through the right current, but only when the devotee does not have conflicting patterns in his life.
(So that's a remedy that Gurudeva used on occasion. Growing food and stopping all practices except the simplest.)
"Unlike the subtle movement of the divine serpent power through its proper channel, the sushumna nadi within the spine, its misdirection may reflect a dramatic change in the nature, turning the once humble student into an ego giant, either overly emotional and self-centered or intellectually argumentative; both types are not self-reflective in any way. From a perhaps once shy person, we now have a 'Come to me, I will fix you, repair you, inspire you, for I am aware,' or worse, 'I am enlightened.' Once the spiritual ego has taken over, some even claim to have attained more than their teacher. They don’t need a teacher anymore. For them, the guru is on the inside, and their heated discussions, emotional outbursts and challenging positions eventually take their toll on their own being."
Interesting study, isn't it, the kundalini. Going up the wrong channel.
Have a wonderful day.