Sunday 15 January 2012

What is Kundalini? Part II - Terms: The Subtle Body Explained: The Chakras, The Nadis, Prana and Bindu


The Subtle Body
Part A ~ The Chakras

Chakra is a Sanskrit term meaning ‘wheel’. The West seems to agree upon seven major Chakras in the body, though other cultures believe there to be many more major and minor ones. They are whorling vortices of energy that permeate both the physical and etheric body, existing however mostly in the etheric body with various points in which the energy permeates the physical body. Other schools of thought believe that the Chakras actually exist inside the body, along the Sushumna Nadi channel (see the section on Nadis), inside or alongside the spine. I am not sure what I believe entirely as I have felt evidence of Chakra presence inside of my body and I also feel my third eye dance right on the tips of the hairs on my forehead. From this I think that it is safe to assume that energy in essence is a substance without barrier and travels within theese bodies as it sees fit. When the Kundalini pushes through these energy centres they become more activated, and the different properties of each Chakra are more felt in the person’s sphere of experience. It is thought that when the Kundalini process is complete the Chakras will be cleansed, spinning fluently without ‘wobble’ or hinderance of any kind. Sometimes Chakras can be altogether dormant or blocked, and Kundalini clears this out.



Some Chakras may remain dormant or feel dormant through your Kundalini process. My Kundalini Awakening erupted from my stomach/solar plexus or Manipura Chakra. I have since had subtle vibrations from the root, or Muladhara, but no vivid ‘laser beam’ of intensity. Some people Awaken from the top down, which is called “Grace.” From what I have read and heard about this top-down experience, people can either feel wonderful or very damaged by it, as the crown Chakra is the union with the Universal consciousness - it can be an overwhelming experience to the extent of madness due to the power of the sudden consciousness. Though some find it blissful, and it helps the rest of their Awakening along more easily.
Each Chakra is associated with different physical and emotional properties. They sometimes have different names, but here are listed as such:




Muladhara or Root Chakra - governs Kundalini arousal, sexuality, stability, sensuality and security.



Swadhisthana or Sacral Chakra - governs reproduction, creativity, joy and enthusiasm.



Manipura or Solar Plexus Chakra - governs digestion, personal power, expansiveness and spiritual growth.



Anahata or Heart Chakra - governs circulation, love, passion, devotion.



Vishuddha  or Throat Chakra - governs communication, independence, fluent thought and security.



Anja or Brow/Third Eye Chakra - governs inner guidance, intuition, clarity, consciousness.



Sahasrara or Crown Chakra/Thousand Petaled Lotus - place of union of Shakti (female) and Shiva (male) energy, inner wisdom, connection to the divine, death of the body.

Part B ~ The Nadis

Nadis are energy channels. They are not your nervous system. They are completely seperate ‘astral tubes’ that are carriers of Prana. They cannot be seen, only sensed. Nadis is a Sanskrit term meaning ‘motion.’ There are thousands, hundreds of thousands of them, but three major ones that have utterly necessary parts to play in Kundalini. These are called Ida, Pingala and Sushumna.



The Sushumna channel is the central one, running either inside or outside of the spine. It is the main ‘carrier’ for the Kundalini energy, as it feeds off of the mouth of Muladhara, and carries the energy up into the brain and the Crown Chakra. The head of the Kundalini Serpent is said to block the Sushumna channel while dormant.

The Ida channel is the left and feminine one. It is associated with cold, white and the moon.

The Pingala channel is the right and masculine one. It is associated with hot, red and the sun.

And the Kanda is the term for the meeting place of all three of these Nadis. It is in perfect conjunction with the Muladhara Chakra.

When properly aroused, the Kundalini will travel mostly through the Sushumna. This is the path that is the most blissful and balanced. However, the K can also traverse the Ida and Pingala as well. In the case of Gopi Krishna, as outlined in his book “Living With Kundalini” (also known as “Kundalini The Evolutionary Energy in Man”), he believed that his Kundalini had risen through the Pingala. He arrives at a point of utter desperation after months of torment where he was unable to eat except for exact morsels of bread, rice and milk - down to the very grain, if one too many or too little he would be thrown into fits of physical and psychological agony. He felt as though he was being burned alive, and this was because he accidentally awoke Kundalini through the Pingala channel. Unable to sleep, he one night tried to rouse his Ida channel to balance the fire that almost consumed him. He found relief through this polarization, and survived.
I’m not entirely sure why this happened to him, despite the fact that all three channels do indeed meet at Kanda, and in Muladhara. I suppose the only sufficient explanations are that perhaps the Sushumna was blocked, perhaps the cervical bone was misaligned, and perhaps it was his insufficient Kundalini training that forged the Pingala path rather than the main one. Regardless, it is heartening to know that even if this is taking place, the torment can be balanced, and you will not burn alive! Kundalini and Raja Yoga are geared towards preparing the Nadis for proper arousal, and there will be more on that later.



Part C ~ Prana

Prana is Sanskrit for ‘vital life’. It is the same as what is called Chi, Qi or Ki - which is the notion of ’life force’. It is Prana that flows through the Nadis and the Chakras. It is found primarily in the breath but also blood, semen and vaginal fluid. According to Gopi Krishna, since the Muladhara is nuzzled between the sexual organs (of both sexes) and the anus, Kundalini, as an act, constantly draws up the Pranic essence from the sexual organs into the brain. This, to him, was what was responsible for his rapid changes - as nothing is so vital and brimming over with vital life force than sexual fluid. And this could be an explanation for why some of the symptoms of a K Awakening are either an intense increasing or decreasing of sexual desire, as this Prana is being utilized all over the body. Some Awakened people experience orgasms in other parts of their bodies because of this, like one fellow I heard of experienced his in his Third Eye.

There are different schools of thought about Prana and its relation to Kundalini - as it is entirely possible to be aware of Prana without being Kundalini Awakened and apparently there are some mistakes that go on here. I recently came across an article online which outlined the difference:
http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1979/cmar79/prano.shtml - this article talks aboutPranotthana, which is a heightened or more concentrated form of Prana which ebbs and flows through the body periodically, and can have some symptoms that resemble those of a Kundalini Awakening. It is said that Kundalini cannot happen without Pranotthana, and that Pranotthana is always the precursor. If this is true than this means that Pranotthana exists to help prepare the body for the full Awakening. But it is not the Awakening itself, because Kundalini is the Mother force which lasts for the rest of one’s life, whilst Pranotthana is the child that must grow into the Mother, or die off. There is no guarantee that Pranotthana will develop into Kundalini but often if the person is aware of it and desires the development, it will happen.

Part D ~ Bindu

Bindu is Sanskrit for ‘dot.’ The feminine is Bindi which is usually worn as an ornament on the forehead in Hinduism. Brahmin men will wear a tuft of hair on the back of their heads to symbolize this. In the Shakta school, (remember the Goddess Shakti), there is a belief that there is a Bindu Chakra located at the back of the head. It is said that a fluid is produced here which can either be of immortal or lethal potency. It could very well be linked to the pineal gland, which is in turn linked to the Third Eye.



© Shannon Naithair Teine, 2011.

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