"How Does God Talk to Us"?

It is said that we are made in the image of God, which translates into the fact that He resides inside us.…if that is so, how does He actually communicate with us? God is always in communion with us…unfortunately most of us are not aware of this since our minds are so preoccupied with billions of things. This “noise” prevents us from appreciating His call to come Home. To quote the Christian Bible “Thou didst love me always, but I heard Thee not”. God’s voice is silence, which can only be heard when our restless thoughts cease. When the devotee is mentally silent, God’s silence ceases. There are, of course instances of God appearing as visions to advanced devotees and talking to them directly or through the lips of a deity but this certainly is not a common occurrence. The “Akashvaris” as described in our scriptures are yet another form of communication. Our soul is essentially a “ray of the Spirit” or a reflection of the Spirit. One, therefore, needs to connect to one’s soul in order to perceive Him… and also for Him to communicate with us. Both the soul as well as the spirit manifest as light, wisdom and sound and this happens through the development of our intuition. He, therefore, communicates to us through our intuition. Through our intuition, He ‘plants” the truth in our minds, which is “nothing but the truth” When one develops deep intuition, one sees the soul as an amazing mystical light. Sri Yoganand Paramhans has said “If you saw God right now you would see Him as one mass of light scintillating over the whole Universe”. Others perceive the soul as an audible vibration of Aum (Shabd, Naam, Amen etc). Some feel the soul as a ray of Cosmic Intelligence manifesting as Wisdom. What is Intuition? It is the father of reason and bridges the gap between intellectual knowledge of the soul and the actual realization of the divine Self. It has also been called our “Sixth Sense” and is like a “hunch” (which most of us have experienced some time or the other). It has also been described as “a deep, immediate, and accurate sense of knowing something that we could not necessarily know using simple logic”(Dr Rick Levy, “The Happiness Sutra”).Very often we get strong inner feelings, premonitions or “prophetic” dreams…. .. This type of intuition is present in all of us but, being rudimentary is not of much significance, hence these experiences have no great spiritual value. This, the crudest form of intuition is that of the Annamaya kosha or food sheath and is concerned with matter only. It is only when our intuition becomes deep that it permits God’s thoughts, ideas, visions etc to percolate through to us. It, therefore, needs to be developed by regular meditation. The second form is that of the pranic energy and is the intuition of the Pranamaya kosha. In this form of intuition, one can hear subtle sounds, see lights, feel subtle sensations and even taste subtle flavours during meditation. This happens when one has been able to connect internally to the Shabd/Aum/Naam etc which make these experiences possible. The technique for this needs to be learned from a God realized Guru. The Intuition of the Manomaya Kosha, is the third type in which one has direct knowledge of the mind. In this form visions are seen and one is not conscious of the outside world (or very little) during meditation…depending on its depth. These visions may initially be of any type and not under one’s control but later, when one becomes adept these can be controlled. It is known scientifically that our mind comprises of a Conscious, Subconscious, Individual and Universal Superconscious levels. The type of thought associated with the conscious mind is analytical, which does not help in communicating with Him. The type of thought in the Subconscious mind is in the form of symbols or metaphors, while that of the Individual Superconscious mind, is through Intuition. Meditative thought is the route to access the Universal Superconscious mind. Meditation, therefore is the best method of God communion as through this all the levels of the mind can be accessed. Our mind has actually “birthed’ out of the Cosmic Mind (the Universal Superconscious Mind), which expresses itself as our soul in our individual superconscious mind. Our soul then expresses itself as our subconscious mind, which, finally is expressed as our conscious mind. This actually means that the Universal Superconscious Mind (God) has to pass through our individual superconscious mind (soul), then through our subconscious so that we become aware of it at the level of our conscious mind. It is obvious, then, that if our minds at the lower level (conscious level) are full of conflict, distress etc God’s thoughts are difficult to be perceived. The fourth form is that of Jnanamaya kosha or the intellect plane and associated with the understanding of truth which manifests as wisdom. Finally, the fifth form of Intuition is that of the Ananadmaya kosha associated with the direct knowledge of bliss. It is intuition through which our seers and sages communicated with God and “Vedas”, the ancient Scriptures came into being and are spoken as Shrutis….”That which has been heard”. It is through astral sight that the truths issuing forth from Aum may be perceived as luminous writings, which have been called the Akashic Records. The Bible too talks about intuition… “And as this is the will of Him that sent me that every one which seeth the son, and believeth on him may have everlasting life”(John 6:36-40). By the word “seeth”, Jesus means the perceptive power of intuition or feeling which can see, hear, smell, taste or touch without the help of the senses. Advanced meditators can “feel” His presence. Very often they can “see” advanced beings, spirits, and angels and can actually communicate with them through their power of intuition. So very often an advanced meditator gets a thought “planted’ in his mind during meditation…something for which he had been seeking an answer without actually having asked for it! This means that if we meditate deeply enough so as to reach beyond the Jnanamaya kosha to the bliss sheath during meditation, we have direct access to Him and can feel Him “talking” to us in thought form…language may not be necessary as He communicates to us directly and we perceive His counsel without actually vocalizing any words. One does not need to ask…one gets the solution without any sound being produced. Sri Yoganand Paramhans describes these experiences so beautifully…”According to the devotee’s spiritual inclination and degree of advancement, answers from the Infinite may manifest as spoken words or as unvocalized word-thoughts conveyed to the devotee, or through the soul’s intuition-pure knowing by realization or direct experience of truth-and through expression of cosmic consciousness , the devotee may receive enlightenment in the form of definite pronounced perceptions or feelings; or as visible or audible words or sounds materialized by the all-knowing intuitive power of the soul or by the divine fiat of the cosmic power of God” Most advanced meditators are so well tuned to Him through the Shabd flowing through the ether, that they remain “connected’ to Him not only during meditation but even when they are busy with their chores! They keep receiving His bounty in the form of the scintillating divine light…the beautiful inner music… and profound wisdom at all times! Ramkrishna has summed it up so well…”If you are fortunate enough to be born in human form, and do not find God, you have wasted your life”….let us try not to waste ours’! Sources: ‘God Talks to Arjun The Bhagwat Gita” and “The Second Coming of Christ by Sri Yoganand Paramhans , ‘The Happiness Sutra” written by Dr Rick Levy

"Mantra Meditation...Chakras...And Health"

We have all taken birth through cosmic energy or Pranashakti, which after giving birth to us lies dormant at the base of our spine, called the Muladhar Chakra where it is called Kundalini Shakti, and controls the functioning of our entire body through nadis. This pranashakti, as it descends to the spine, gives rise to seven subtle energy centres which are called Chakras. These chakras are junction points where matter, Energy (oorja) and consciousness (Chitta) come together in a very high concentration. Mantra meditation on the various chakras can give rise to tremendous health benefits if practiced correctly. In order to understand it one needs to comprehend the basics of the chakras. Characteristics of chakras: They are related to the five elements from which the entire universe is formed, namely Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. By virtue of their relationship with these elements, they bear typical characteristics of these elements. Each has a number of petals which have a specific significance Each chakra controls the functioning of an endocrine gland (which produce hormones) and specific parts of our body. Each chakra has a specific colour (the colours of the Rainbow VIBGYOR) and stores emotional memories, which is why we “feel” certain past memories in different parts of the body. Each chakra can be activated by a mantra specific for it. The mantra brings it into balance as a result of its vibration. Chakras also have a relationship with the Gunas of Prakriti, namely Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. The Vishudhi and Agya Chakras are related to a Sattvic pravriti, concerned with purity and virtue, and the consciousness is centered at the Third Eye Centre. The Anahat Chakra is responsible for Rajas, which is characterized by passion, and wordly activities etc. The lower chakras, namely Manipur, Svadisthan and Muladhar are related to Tamas, characterized by inertia, arrogance and pride. Muladhar Chakra: “Mula” means root and “dhara” means vital part. Hence it is the foundation of all the other chakras. It is known as the first chakra, Root or the coccygeal chakra since it lies at the base of the spine. It is also called the Saturn Chakra. It is related to the Earth element, hence responsible for our foundation (just like Mother Earth is responsible for the foundation of the entire planet), grounding, stability, balance, and structure as it is responsible for our skeleton, blood production, hair skin, etc. It is related to our sense of smell and to Apana Prana, therefore, responsible for elimination of wastes from our body. Predominance of this chakra makes us hard working, determined, and also lead to attachment with our surroundings, people etc. This chakra has four petals which denote the four psychic functions, namely Mind (Manas), Intellect (Budhi), Consciousness (Chitta), and Ego (Ahankar) which originate here. It is related to the colour Red which signifies Shakti, symbolizing awakening of sleeping consciousness to alert consciousness. The Mantra for this chakra is “LAM”…..Laaaaammm When this chakra is out of balance it makes us lazy, stubborn, and cynical while its deficiency leads to weakness, infections like flu, common cold and to attachment to the world around us. The most characteristic negative feature of this chakra is a sense of profound fear, which is related to annihilation of the self or the human race. This chakra is, therefore, related to our survival instincts. Svadisthan Chakra: ‘Sva’ means vital force and “dhisthana” means abode…hence “seat of the soul” It is also called the Sacral Chakra as well as the Jupiter Chakra and is related to the Water element and supposed to be the seat of the subconscious mind. It has six petals, which represent our negative qualities like Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mad and Matsya, all of which need to be overcome. This chakra is related to the fluid elements in our body (because of its proximity to the water element) like blood, urine and semen and also to the reproductive system and the organs associated with it namely, uterus, ovaries etc. The functioning of the urinary bladder and prostate are also controlled by it. The Sacral chakra has a very strong relationship with our emotions, receptiveness and intuition, hence imbalance in this chakra leads to depression and misery. Water is a symbol of hidden danger and immense power when out of control leading to feelings of lust and features of Tamasic acts. It is responsible to the sense of taste and Vyana Prana (Circulation). Deficiency in this chakra leads to menstrual problems, uterine fibroids, prostatic dysfunction, cancers of the urogenital tract etc. The colour it is associated with is Orange, symbolic of the rising Sun indicating rising consciousness. The mantra associated with this chakra is “VAM”…Vaaaaammm Muladhar and Svadisthan Chakras together constitute The Dosha of Kapha as described in Ayurveda, which is characterized by a heavy build, fine skin, beautiful eyes, a fairly stable personality, a graceful walk and a happy temperament. The negative qualities of this dosha, when out of balance are tendency to the development of Obesity, weight gain, laziness etc. Manipur Chakra : The other names for this chakra are Lumbar and Solar plexus chakra as well as the Mars Chakra and is related to the element Agni. It has ten petals, symbolic of the five pranas (Prana Udyana Samana Vyana Apana) of which Samana Prana predominates and also the five Up pranas namely Nag (Burping), Kurma ( Blinking), Devadutta (Yawning), KriKala(Sneezing) and Dhananjaya or movement of heart valves. Manipur chakra responsible for digestion absorption and assimilation. Here digestion indicates digestion of not only of the food we eat but also our thoughts. It also takes care of the functioning of the liver, pancreas and stomach as well as the immune system. It is associated with the sense of sight. When imbalanced it leads to anger, destructive qualities restlessness and turbulence, manifesting as a Type A personality (characterized by anger, hostility, aggression etc). Imbalance also aggravates gastro intestinal, liver, pancreas, stomach problems as well as Diabetes Mellitus. Often, when one is tense or worried one feels a tightness in the stomach area. Manipur chakra is associated with the colour Yellow and its Mantra is “RAM”….Raaaaammmm” The colour yellow is associated with the neuromuscular system. Manipur chakra is responsible for the ‘Pitta” body type of ayurveda, an imbalance of which leads to heart burn, peptic ulcers and heart disease also (due to anger) Pitta body types are farsighted, have a sharp intellect, often very hungry, ambitious and are over achievers. Imbalance of these lower centres ie Manipur, Svadisthan and Muladhar lead to Tamasic tendencies. Anahat Chakra: Also called the Heart Chakra as well as the Venus Centre and is related to the element Air or Vayu and is the seat of Naad or Anhad shabd which means “Unstruck” sound and has twelve petals which indicate Bliss (ananda), peace, harmony, love, purity, unity, understanding, empathy, clarity, compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. It is responsible for our feelings and, therefore, to the sense of Touch. Anahat Chakra is related to Prana and responsible for the functioning of the heart, lungs, thymus and the immune system. Those who have a well balanced anahat chakra are sociable, forgiving, full of love and are fast thinkers. When out of balance, it leads to loneliness, depression, greed (Lobha) avarice, hoarding possessions etc. Diseases like heart disease, lung problems, also occur. The colour it is associated with is Green which indicates a balance of mind body and spirit. Its Mantra is “YAM’…Yaaaaammmmm This chakra, as mentioned above is related to a Rajasic tendency, which means that when in contact with people of Sattvic temperament, it can progress to Sattva but if in contact with Tamasic people, it can regress to Tamasic habits. Vishudhi Chakra: It is also called Throat Chakra. Another name for this is the Mercury Chakra and is related to the element Akash or Space and has 16 petals which are symbolic of our sixteen potential qualities as well as the 16 vowels of the Sanskrit language. It is concerned with the functioning of the Thyroid and Parathyroid glands, larynx, vocal cords rational thinking, intelligence and communication by virtue of its relationship with the sense of Sound and hearing sounds of the Universe. When out of balance it leads to self centredness, ego (Ahamkar) and feelings of “I, me, Mine ” and diseases of the larynx, like laryngitis, laryngeal disorders, thyroid problems etc. One often feels a sense of tightness or constriction in the throat when this is imbalanced or when one cannot ‘speak up” The Vishudhi Chakra is associated with the colour blue (Aasmani) and the Mantra “HAM”…Haaaaammmm Both Akash and Vayu together constitute the Vatta Body type which is characterized with movement and people of this type are usually thin, very intelligent, creative, good at grasping things(but forget very easily too)!When out of balance they are nervous , anxious, may have premenstrual problems, Hypertension, and irregular heart beat. Agya Chakra: It has various names like Ajna Chakra, Command Centre, Third Eye Centre, the Sun-Moon Chakra etc and is the centre for clarity, wisdom, insight and is the boundary between human and divine consciousness. It is also the meeting point of the Ida, Pingala and Sushumana Nadis. Agya chakra is related to the Mind element and has two petals symbolic of the presence of the Atma (Self) and Parmatama (God). Its qualities are Sat (Truth), Chitta (Consciousness), Ananada (Bliss), Ekta (Unity), and Shunyata (Emptyness) and is related to the Mind as it controls the functioning of the Manomaya Kosha (Mind Sheath) and the Vijnanmaya Kosha (Intelligence sheath) and related to intuition, clairvoyance, awareness, insight etc. When out of balance due to stress , physical trauma etc it can lead to headaches, Migraine etc. Its colour is Indigo (neel) and Mantra is SHAM”…Shaaaammmmm Lifting your eyebrows repeatedly activates this chakra. The Vishudhi and Agya chakras, as mentioned above are related to a Sattvic temperament. Sahasrar Chakra: It is also called the Crown Chakra, is situated about four fingers above the top of the head and has a thousand petals which face downward. Its awakening means revelation of Divine splendor and is, therefore, beyond, space and time. It is related to the colour violet (Baigani) and to the Mantra “AUM”….Ohhhhhhmmmmm If one remembers the pneumonic VIBGYOR it is easy to remember the colour of the chakras. Starting from the top, V stands for Violet (Sahasrar), I is for Indigo (Agya Chakra), B is for Blue (Vishudhi Chakra), G is for Green related to the Anahat Chakra, Y stands for Yellow ( Manipur Chakra), O is for Orange ( Svadisthan Chakra) and R stands for Red related to the Muladhar Chakra. Chakra Meditation: Sit with your spine straight (as we sit for Pranayam) though any comfortable position can be adopted but the head and spine must remain straight (legs hanging down if sitting on a chair), eyes gently closed, and in ‘Gyan Mudra” For all the chakras, take a deep breath and concentrate on the respective chakra and its colour, chant the appropriate chakra while exhaling. One needs to do this frequently during the day for proper relief. Method: Take a deep breath and while exhaling concentrate on the Muladhar chakra at the base of the spine and the colour red, chant Laaaaammmmmm (Just like we chant Aum, loudly at first, then a little softly, stressing on the Mmmmmm part). While doing this tuck your stomach in. On doing this you can balance the red colour in your body as well bringing about an improvement in your feelings of fear, insecurity, and problems related to excretion and elimination. While inhaling, one can visualize energy in the form of white light (prakash) entering the muladhar chakra from the earth. With exhalation, it is a good idea to visualize the colour red traversing your body and entering into your aura. Similarly chant Vaaaammmm for the Svadisthan chakra, concentrating on this chakra on your lower spine a little higher than the Muladhar chakra and the colour orange. This way you can balance your Orange colour, and help improve sexual problems, or problems related to menstruation, endometriosis, ovaries, uterus, prostate and urinary bladder. In this case also you can visualize energy or white light entering into your Svadisthan chakra from the earth through your legs and orange colour circulating in your body and going out into your aura during exhalation. For the Manipur chakra, concentrate on this chakra on your spine just behind the umbilicus and the colour yellow. Chant the mantra Raaaaammmm. By meditating on this chakra, control over anger, stress as well as stomach problems can be improved. Again, visualize white light entering this chakra from the earth during inhalation and the colour yellow flowing through your body and into the aura during exhalation. Do the same for the heart chakra concentrating on the heart chakra( situated behind your heart on the spine at the back) and Green colour for problems of loneliness, depression, grief, heart or lung problems etc. chanting the appropriate ,mantra, Yaaaammmmm ….during inhalation, visualize white light entering this chakra from the front and green colour circulating through your body and going out during exhalation. For the Vishudhi Chakra, concentrate on the spine behind the throat and the colour blue (Asmani) and chant the mantra “HUM”…Haaammmm for problems related to the thyroid, parathyroid or communication.(Often one finds oneself unable to voice one’s opinions….meditating on this chakra is helpful for this condition). In this instance also, visualize white light entering your vishudhi chakra from space (akash), during inhalation and blue colour (asmani) circulating throughout your body and going out into your aura during exhalation. Concentrating on the Agya Chakra, situated between the eyebrows and the colour Indigo (Neel) chant the mantra ‘SHAAM’….Shaaaaammm for headaches, migrane etc. During inhalation, visualize white light entering into this chakra from above and dark blue colour circulating through your body and finally going into your aura during exhalation. Finally meditate on the Sahasrar Chakra, situated above the head, concentrate on this chakra, the colour violet (Baigani) and chant the Mantra “AUM”…Ommmmmmmm. While inhaling, visualize white light entering into your sahasrar chakra from above and violete colour circulating in your body and then going into your aura while exhaling. Aum mantra needs to be chanted loudly at first, then softly and finally mentally without any sound. Whenever meditating on any chakra for any medical problem, do so as frequently as possible but continue whatever other medical treatment you are taking for your problem, whether medicines, exercises etc as prescribed. Meditating on the chakras also brings about a feeling of profound peace. Sources: “Radical Healing’ by Rudolph Ballantyne, “Yoga In Daily life” Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, ‘The Spiritual Science of Kriya Yoga written by Goswami Kriyananda, Deepak Chopra/ David Simon lecture series and the internet.

Are Near Death Experiences similar to experiences of advanced stages of Meditation?

Near Death Experiences, as we know, happen suddenly and have occurred to people of different faiths, even to those who do not believe in Him…they, are, therefore, “equal opportunity’ experiences. They can occur in people of any age. “The near death experience is said to occur when a person is close to death or actually clinically dead, but has been resuscitated or somehow survives to recount an intense, profoundly meaningful experience “ (Cherie Sutherland ‘”Within the Light” ) Most of the time an NDE is characterized by a feeling of peace, getting out of one’s body and being able to actually see whatever is happening “down below’ to the physical body (and also to be able to recount it in vivid detail later) .Often a sensation of travelling very quickly through a dark tunnel, generally towards a light, an encounter with the spirits of deceased relatives or friends or a ‘being of light”, an instantaneous life review and for some, entrance into a ‘world of light”. Some Near Death Experiencers (NDErs) have reported feeling that they are being guided, many realize that whatever one is, is a result of one’s thoughts. Most people who have experienced an NDE lose the fear of death (advanced meditators feel the same way).An NDE is a deeply spiritual experience…as is meditation. They feel that the only way one can find the path of understanding is by looking within themselves and going deeper and deeper. Many have developed the ability to communicate with people telepathically (a lot of advanced meditators do too). Similarly the out of body experiences are very similar to those experienced by those who have progressed in meditation and, therefore, spiritually. A tremendous feeling of compassion and a sense of unconditional love for all develops in almost all who have experienced an NDE ….does it not sound familiar? Everyone who meditates too feels the same….as they develop atmabhav”, love unconditionally and feel for everyone. Some feel that they must give love to everyone, even to those who bother them! Seeing a beautiful light is a very common experience….. “for nine days I was enveloped in a cocoon of golden light. Unconditional love poured from my heart; I was in a state of grace. Compassion, innate harmony and healing energy were my being ” (“Within the Light”). A feeling of being spoken to … something like a thought transference is also fairly common.. Most of them understand that “whatever happens is for your good”, and that whenever something bad happens to them it is only temporary and that they would grow from it. Just like those who have “awakened” through meditation, they understand that everybody has an obligation to contribute what they can to life and to mankind. Those who have advanced spiritually by meditation, have also reported seeing brilliant, scintillating divine light, which communicates with them through thought (“as is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind”) Most NDErs understand that the reason they did not actually die was because their work on this earth was not over and needed to be completed by coming back and that death was not the end, actually “there isn’t any death…it’s a just a different state of consciousness”. Some have described the realization they had after an NDE that we come here to accomplish certain things and that each of us have a destiny and that our higher self works out what we have to do and what is best for us before we come here. Sanatana Dharma has always believed that we keep coming back because of our karmas and desires, something which all advanced meditators have also realized. Loss of ego, compassion, kindness, a caring attitude for all is a very common result as also a feeling, a clear understanding that we are all interconnected…every plant, every tree has a consciousness of its own….and that we are connected to them. The concept of time disappears. A lot of those who have experienced an NDE feel that it is not a Near Death Experience but an actual death. NDErs have described an accurate description of specific, unique, events happening around the NDEr’s unconscious physical body that the person could not have seen or heard. This is called a “veridical perception”. NDEs has been reported in blind people and in someone who underwent brain surgery, with eyes taped, blood drained from the brain and cooled during repair of a blood vessel, and a small speaker producing a clicking sound! Almost all NDErs have reported having found improvement in themselves after the episode, some going to the extent of becoming totally spiritual There have been so many cases of complete cure of their medical problem following and NDE. One very important case in point is that of Anita Moorjani( Source: the internet) who was suffering from terminal Stage 1V B Lymphoma who had been told by doctors that she did not have more than 36 hours to live! They are the ones who understood the mechanics of Energy Healing, one of the best ways of transferring cosmic energy to a patient is done meditatively. There are numerous reports of patients being healed completely through meditative energy transfer. Am quoting some of her experiences …”I was shown how illnesses start on an energetic level before they become physical. If I chose to go into life, the cancer would be gone from my energy, and my physical body would catch up very quickly. I then understood that when people have medical treatments for illnesses, it rids the illness from the body but not from their energy so the illness returns. I realized that if I went back, it would be with a very healthy energy. Then the physical body would catch up to the energetic conditions very quickly and permanently. I was given the understanding that this applies to anything, not only illnesses…physical conditions, psychological conditions, etc. I was ‘shown” that everything going on in our lives was dependant on this energy around us, created by us. Nothing was solid…we created our surroundings, our conditions, etc depending where this energy was at. The clarity I received around how we get what we do was phenomenal! It's all about where we are energetically. “ She also realized that whatever happened to you was based on the choices you made in life…like she was shown that if she went back to life she would be completely cured but if she didn’t she would obviously be dead( she could actually “see” both versions of the doctor’s written reports)! As we now know, she did come back and made a dramatic recovery with a full and permanent cure, in addition, she experienced a complete “healing” We must not go with the idea that all Near Death Experiences are positive….they can be negative also. Very advanced meditators, can, if they chose, experience negative ones as well. I must add that NDEs often do have a cultural basis also, for example, Indian NDErs experiences may be a little different from those in the West due to cultural and religious beliefs. Meditation as we are aware leads to feelings of happiness, well being both physically as well as mentally, improvement in health, peace of mind , a quiet mind, profound increase of knowledge with a very clear understanding of why what is happening, every day events and situations start making sense, more and more knowledge is received, nothing else matters except to merge with Brahma, beautiful music can be perceived (depending upon what level of evolution one has reached)along with so many other things , visions, experiences of Divine Light, and the meaning of life becomes clear with one experiencing “happiness without any reason” (the Dalai Lama)and a feeling of bliss which may progress on and on…..and on…. Most of the time the benefits of meditation happen over a period of time, slowly but surely one keeps progressing, enjoying every moment of the journey. Here one savours every moment and can contemplate on every experience…any doubt can be removed by one’s guru. The final result, for one who has evolved, is always an intense desire to be with Him at all times and to help others on to the path. One feels for others…soul beauty takes precedence over physical beauty…the intention is always to benefit mankind in any way possible. In addition, meditation leads to feelings of profound peace, very often out of body experiences, development of “powers’ called ridhis and sidhis, clairvoyance, clairaudience, feeling of “knowing” everything, sometimes connection with deceased relatives and friends, contact with other spirits along with interaction with them, feeling the presence of enlightened beings around them, realization of being “guided” by evolved spirits or angels, visions of previous births, sense of interconnectedness and above all a profound feeling of intense LOVE for all beings. Almost all these experiences can be very well explained if we understand how meditation progresses through the ascension of the chakras as well as involvement of the various “koshas” as described in yoga. With gradual transgression of the muladhar chakra, one develops grounding, balance and stability, going beyond the Svadisthan chakra, means transgression of the negative traits like kaam, (Lust) krodha ,(anger) lobha,(greed) moha, (delusion) mada (pride) and matsya (envy). As one progresses beyond the Manipur chakra, one develops a better vision, both outer and inner, a better understanding of things. Going beyond the anahat chakra, feelings of love, peace , harmony, empathy, kindness, compassion, unity, forgiveness etc start ruling us. This love is of the unconditional type. When one has gone beyond the vishudhi chakra, a tremendous increase in one’s thought process, better realization of the truth and appreciation of the ‘Aum ‘ sound( “shabd’) is better appreciated, which is well heard at the anahat chakra(this why the chakra is so named). The nature of the primordial sound gradually changes gradually as one progresses beyond the various chakras. Involvement of the Agya chakra means the opening of the “third eye” associated with” Sat, Chit, Anand “ where Sat is Truth, Chit is consciousness and Anand is bliss, along with their realization. This translates into a better appreciation of the primordial sound (music) as well as visions of the divine light. All of the abovementioned occur in an NDE as well. By the time one reaches this stage, one has transgressed the Manomaya as well as the Vijnanmaya koshas ie the Mental and the Intelligence sheaths which are associated with a tranquil mind, peace, and revelation of tremendous knowledge, wisdom and Divine splendour. Finally, opening of the sahasrar chakra, reveals the full splendour of Divinity, knowing everything there is to know setting the stage for merging with the Creator. Similarly as one transgresses the ‘Annamaya Kosha’ or the food sheath through meditation, one gets a feeling of well being along with an improvement in physical health. Consciousness pervades every cell in the human body and the communication between the self and every cell improves tremendously. Dr Candis Pert in her famous book “Molecules of Emotion’ has shown how information can affect matter by demonstrating the presence of Neuro peptides of emotion interacting with the neuroreceptors present on the cell surface…if both are compatible, the information enters the cell and brings about the desired reaction inside the cell. This communication is enhanced by meditation bringing about an improvement in the functioning of the body (“as is the atom, so is the human body”) The transgression of the pranamaya kosha affects our breath which becomes more even resulting in a lot of benefits. This makes our mind quiet and tranquil as a result of which the Manomaya kosha is affected along with the most beautiful experiences associated with revelation of knowledge. This is followed by the involvement of the Jnanmaya kosha or the Sheath of Knowledge resulting in the acquisition of different levels of chetna or awareness. The veils of Ignorance slowly lift, followed by the light of knowledge shining brighter and brighter. At this point thoughts are concentrated on Brahma alone.(Bimal Mohanty “The Spiritual Approach to Life”) One finally reaches the level of the Anandmaya kosha or the bliss sheath…where there is nothing but bliss! One touches Divinity manifested as brilliant, golden…silvery…scintillating…cooling…light (prakash), a feeling of happiness never before experienced…a total understanding of everything…the truth is revealed in all its brilliance! As is apparent, all these are part and parcel of an NDE. Meditation can lead to merger with the Divine in Samadhi… “the drop becomes the ocean”, time loses its significance and stands still, all involuntary functions stop…one actually experiences nearness to physical death or death for practical purposes….Jesus Christ said “I die every day..” a lesson for all of us! It is, therefore clear that meditative experiences are same as those of an NDE…but one need not wait for an NDE to occur….one should meditate and merge with the Divine with His grace and become part of the ONE!

Meetings/Events...Part of the Grand Design?

Have we ever wondered why what is happening to us is taking place? Why is it that we meet people or come across situations or things in our lives? Why is it that what we have been looking or searching for either appears or life gives us a clue to find it? It is actually not so difficult to understand if only we stopped to consider the great concept of the grand design of the Creator. This entire Universe has been created (and is being created every minute) for the purpose of taking all of us, which includes everything that exists in this Universe, to a higher level of existence, towards a further stage of evolution. Our Universe is expanding as seers of yore have always maintained and scientists too tell us now. Life is, therefore a dynamic process. Every being, whether living or non living plays its part and complements everything else in this Universe. To comprehend this we have to be very clear that everything in this vast Universe is interconnected, and everyone or everything is in some way or the other contributing to the functioning of another. All events, circumstances or meetings are part of this process. When meeting someone , we come in contact with his thoughts, which connect us to his relatives and acquaintances and he in turn connects with ours’ in the same way. The conversations we have with each other, in some way or the other affect or contribute to our development. This way a single meeting connects us with so many people. The air we inhale has been exhaled by someone else, the air we exhale is inhaled by another being and the process goes on, the food we eat has received contributions from many quarters. My feelings affect someone else’s. It is clear that we cannot live in isolation since interdependency is the rule. Karma, or the Law of Cause and Effect, of course plays an important and unrelenting role. We believe that we take birth based on our karmas and desires. We also know that each one of us has come to this earth for a specific purpose, though, often we do not know what that purpose is, but our subconscious mind and Nature are aware of it. In order to fulfill that, Nature creates situations, circumstances, events or meetings for our upward movement. Everything that happens is a step in that direction, albeit a small one. We must also understand that every thought that originates does so from the Cosmic mind. In a way, depending upon our samskars, which decide our gunas of prakriti, (quality of Nature) whether, Sattvic, (pure/virtous) Rajasic (passion/desires) or Tamasic (inertia/pride/arrogance) and our constitution (Prakriti), the appropriate thought arises. Our prakriti, ie our natural self, is something we are born with. It is based on a lot of factors, like, the thought process of the parents at the time of conception, their doshas or psychobiological constitutions…(Vata, Pitta and Kapha)… their genetic makeup, their emotions etc. Our prakriti, therefore, is our basic software, so to speak, and does not change. It is like the blue print we come armed with to accomplish whatever we have come here to do and is unique to each one of us. Life means action, which takes place continuosly, most of the time unknown to us. Everything must remain in balance. This dynamic universe, by its incessant movement and change maintains that balance. When we remain in conformity with Nature, we progress and evolve. It keeps giving us opportunities in order to do so. These opportunities are in the form of new situations, events and meetings with different types of people because of our connection with Nature. We too are made up of Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space, just like Nature is. As mentioned above, our subconscious mind knows what our purpose of life is and incessantly prodds us in the direction of our purpose and Nature responds in the form of what we know as “Maya”. Maya, though commonly accepted to be a delusion, is, simply something which, by its very nature presents to us a myriad of situations, which may attract us, bring grief, bring temporary happiness, problems…but comes with an extremely important message…that all the temptations, grief, hurts, periods of happiness, the ups and downs of life are all a part of duality which pervades the entire Universe. It is, actually an attempt to teach us (repeatedly) that happiness/unhappiness, prosperity/lack of it, success/failure, good health/illness are all part of the grand design and that every such episode will be followed by its opposite in due course of time. In no uncertain terms it tries to make us realize that in order to transcend this duality, we need to get in touch with the One, the Almighty, Brahma, God, or whatever we wish to call Him. In a way, Maya is the covering which needs to be removed to get to Parmatama, like removing the layers of an onion one after the other to get to the core, which is like a void, a void which is Omnipotent, Omniscient…the One. Let us translate this into our day to day life by means of a few examples. You plan very meticulously for a journey, but something crops up and you do not reach the airport on time, and miss your flight….you have no option but to take another one and find a seat next to a person, who “happens” to be associated with an organization dealing with the type of work you had always wanted to work for! This so- called ‘chance’ meeting sets up the stage for your appointment and subsequent business involvement with that organization. It does not stop there…you find that working in that organization enables you to do exactly what you had aspired to do in life. You thus fulfill your life’s story. Nature keeps presenting myriads of similar opportunities everyday…if only we could see through what Maya is up to! Every action or happening can have two meanings, one the “obvious’ one, the “surface” one, so to speak, which is apparent to most people and a deeper meaning which is seen or understood by one’s wisdom. The wise are never deluded. It is the deeper one which we need to understand and take heed of. This can be illustrated by a few more examples. Many years back, while working in a Hospital in Chennai as a Registrar, my older son, suddenly developed an acute attack of Asthma, and I had to hospitalize him in the hospital I was working in at the time and happened to be on duty that night. I looked after him along with all the other patients admitted in the ICU and expected to be relieved of my duties the next morning so that I could take care of him. To my surprise, however, I was called down to the Operation Room and asked to operate on a young boy who had a hole in his heart…that too in front of a few observers who had come down from Delhi. I was a little upset…being tired, having been up the the whole night…tense because of my son, and to add to that, having to operate in the presence of people who would be very critical if I made a mistake. I went ahead, however, and later realized that all this was happening for my good! My boss had purposely asked me to operate in the presence of observers as he wanted them to see my surgical prowess since they had come scouting around for a cardiac surgeon for their upcoming hospital in Delhi. Needless to say, they were impressed and I was appointed in their hospital! My boss had known all along that I had wanted that job. You are walking down the road in a depressed and a very negative mood owing to a set back you faced recently when you pass a book store and a book entitled “Be positive and be happy” catches your eye…..Nature had come to your rescue! Thus, Nature always attempts to teach us to accept everything with equanimity and to make us believe that God will never do anything which is not for our good. We, on our part, need to evaluate why things are happening, try to read the deeper meaning and to act accordingly. If we fail in an exam, instead of blaming the teacher for setting up a difficult question paper, let us understand that our preparation was, perhaps, inadequate. If we miss an appointment for being late, let us learn to be punctual….if someone does not turn up after as per prior appointment, instead of getting upset, let us understand that Nature has other plans for us….when we wrack our brains for a solution to a problem, let us just relax and calm down..Nature might either “show” us the solution or whisper the answer through our intuition. God has given us another wonderful gift, the gift of “free will’. This enables us to use our intelligence and make correct decisions. Whenever confronted with Maya, if we fail to read the message provided and do not use our free will, our progress slows down. Even when we succumb to Maya, after suffering from it, if we use our intelligence we can still comprehend the meaning behind the suffering if we wish to. Again, Maya teaches us to learn from our mistakes and progress. If we still do not understand, Maya will keep giving us more opportunities until we do. Frequent ups and downs indicate to us that we are not learning, so also repeated suffering. Sometimes thoughts of being “incomplete’, disappointments with life, depressive feelings, questions about the purpose of life, lack of enthusiasm etc are all prompting us to seek the source of perpetual happiness and bliss. We need to understand the meaning behind these thoughts…they do not come randomly but are egging us on to seek our progress. To conclude, let us trust Nature, whatever it does is for a purpose, every action, every thought, every development and every meeting is part of the grand design. Let us also understand that things will happen only when they are supposed to happen, never earlier and never latyer. We also make things happen by the nature of our thoughts and by remaining in conformity with Nature.

Messages From Beyond

Have we ever wondered what we have come into this world to do? Surely there is a reason for us to be here! We have not come here to EXIST but to LIVE and progress! How many of us truly understand the purpose of our lives? Nature is forever giving us small little hints and messages in the form of developments, circumstances, events, dreams, visions, scenarios and people who ever so subtly aid or guide us towards whatever we have come here to achieve.
In addition, we are forever getting messages from our inner self, from our subconscious mind, which we perceive as instinct or intuition, but often fail to comprehend the meaning due to their subtle nature. To appreciate them we need to be at peace with ourselves because it is only then that we can “hear” or appreciate those divine messages.
All of us have come to this world to do SOMETHING through which not only do we enrich ourselves (not necessarily materially) by evolving but at the same time help others by affecting them in a positive manner. Each one of us is capable of doing something which only we can do best, far better than anyone else in this world. Osho has said….” Each person comes into this world with a specific destiny. He has something to fulfill, some message to be delivered, some work to be completed. You are not here accidentally, you are here meaningfully. There is a purpose behind you. The whole intends to do something through you.” Most of us, unfortunately are not aware of our true capabilities or potential. As I understand we have all taken birth to ultimately merge with the Divine and to do so we need to keep evolving and progressing.
We come to this earth with a blueprint of our destiny only while the actual progress depends on the gift bestowed on all of us, called “free will’ which enables us to take correct (or incorrect) decisions. If the decisions are correct the purpose of this “free will” is fulfilled as they are good for our spiritual development. Whenever we choose to exercise our free gift correctly, nature creates situations or circumstances or sends people who aid us in our quest. The important thing here is that very often we fail to realize or appreciate the message. Before going any further, it is important to understand that life is a continuum , it does not end, even after “physical “death. The process of physical death only means shedding of the material or physical part of our body, while our intelligence still remains intact along with all the memories as well as desires. In other words the karmic imprints remain. This is because the astral and the causal parts of our bodies do not perish with physical death. After reaching the astral plane (the realm we reach depends on our karmic imprints), we take birth again, based on our karmas as well as our latent desires. We get a human birth if we are lucky. When we are reborn, we come to fulfill our desires, our aspirations and to experience certain things. All of these are in accordance with a sort of contract we have entered in the astral plane, basically to progress and evolve.
Similarly, all of us have both strengths as well as weaknesses, but often we tend to focus on only the positives with which we have been bestowed. Nature creates circumstances which continuously remind us of those weaknesses which we need to transgress in order to evolve. But, alas, how often do we heed Nature’s message, which in reality is a message from beyond?
Do we realize that when we are confronted with a problem in life, we are being given a chance to try to solve it and progress further? The experience we gain in the process is invaluable for our maturity. It is something like a teacher giving problems to a student to solve, if he solves it satisfactorily, he gets better marks. As he continues to solve more, succeeds in his examinations, he gets promoted. This is precisely what happens in life. Problems are thrown at us so that we take them as challenges, confront them, solve them and move ahead. Most of the time problems come to us in the form of circumstances or situations we do not like. Rest assured, when that happens we are being given a message…”Look…this is what you need to grow out of”. We can take another example, while driving down a busy road, someone honks repeatedly from behind, we get irritated and lose your cool and blame or perhaps foul mouth the guy. If we do this, similar or perhaps worse episodes will continue to happen. We need to recognize this as a message….that one of our weaknesses is impatience. We are being told to develop patience! In case we do not heed this warning, it will keep recurring till either we grow out of it or do something rash or silly, after which these episodes may become worse. Once we grow out of it, we grow out of our irritability.
Another every day scenario….we go to an office to get something done and find a long queue at the window, which irritates us, and by the time we reach the window, we, in all probability have lost our patience and cool when on seeing the irritated face of the clerk behind the window, and we respond by snapping at him, he snaps back and perhaps finds some fault with our application and our work does not get done. Again our patience is being tested…nature has realized that one of our weaknesses is impatience. If, on the other hand,we choose to smile at him, perhaps sympathise with him for having to face a lot of irate people, it is quite likely that he would do our job willingly!
Are we not facing such situations every day?
Some messages are so very subtle. A new born comes into this world with a rare birth defect which has no treatment. The parents are very attached to the child and leave no stone unturned for its treatment but to no avail and are struck with grief when they lose their precious child. But somehow they heed the message given to them….they set up a Centre for Research on rare maladies of children, thereby helping hundreds of other children. Their beloved offspring came into this world to teach the parents the meaning of compassion! I think such a child needs to be worshipped!
A young boy aspired to be a Dentist. His father approached a Private Medical College for their son’s admission but was shocked when asked to shell out a huge sum of money which they could ill afford. A similar thing happened with some other parents who had come there for the same thing. They decided that they would not yield to the blackmail and there and then, planned to build a Dental College of their own and help many other aspiring Dental surgeons. Since their intentions were genuine and designed to help others, they managed to get loans and in no time built an Institute which very soon overshadowed the other one. In the process they helped so many more people. The person who had demanded the money had actually thrown a challenge and given them a subtle message….. which was heeded.
A couple has been married for many years but the wife has not been able to conceive. Suddenly they come across an abandoned child, a child crying for love and affection. The message is so clear! Nature has responded by giving them a baby!
What message are the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law living together and not seeing eye-to-eye giving to each other, without knowing it? They have been brought together again after possibly so many earlier acrimonious relationships to resolve their age old differences and to evolve higher!
Similar is the case of the irate and demanding boss and the employee. The employee needs to take his job as a challenge, think of new strategies to handle the problems thrown at him by his boss, evolve and progress in his career as well as spiritually. Both the boss and the employee are being given a subtle message….resolve your differences positively, progress and evolve.
Almost every situation we face in our lives is teaching us something. Each and every disease comes with a subtle message. Diabetics develop Diabetes because they have failed to appreciate the “sweetness of life” due to their busy lifestyle….the subconscious mind responds by denying you that sweetness! Similarly, those who have a “Type A“personality are prone to develop Peptic Ulcers, Heart Disease, Hypertension etc. The message is clear….”slow down, take it easy…relaxe”! There are myriads of such examples. If we develop problems in our neck….Cervical spondylosis or pain…we are actually being told not to treat life a “pain in the neck”! Relaxe, live and enjoy the journey of life!
Very often people manifest different types of phobias….fear of heights, darkness, closed spaces, water etc. All of these indicate an unresolved trauma much earlier in life, the trauma may have been an actual occurrence which may have left an indelible mark in the subconscious mind and could not be resolved. This may have happened in early childhood or perhaps in an earlier life. All of these indicate that the energy system of our body is out of balance and needs to be corrected. Often, past karmic patterns may manifest as physical disabilities in this life. Some people are victims of repeated accidents…these “accidents”are conveying another message…they are holding too much energy in those areas and need rebalancing of their energy systems.
All of these can be resolved either by developing spiritually when we may actually see or perhaps live through the event causing the problems in this birth or taking the help of a Psychiatrist trained in past life regression. If not resolved, these problems might be the cause of serious life threatening events. The most important message to take from all these examples is “Accept reality….live in the present’
Sometimes, Nature shows us something which may be loaded with meaning… if understood. When Sir Isaac Newton saw the apple fall, it set him thinking and led to history being made. He too heeded the message given to him and produced wonders. So also, as per legend, when King Arthur saw the spider trying to climb and falling repeatedly but ultimately succeeding in the end, made him realize that ‘failure is the stepping stone to success”! In our day to day life also, we may “accidentally” meet someone or find something which quite literally changes the course of events and our thinking. Actually, there are no accidents…everything happens for a purpose and EVERYTHING in Nature has a meaning.
Have we ever appreciated the messages a tree is forever giving us? It is so “Giving”… shade as well as Oxygen to breathe, it is home to birds, small animals, the leaves provide manure after falling, the wood has so many uses….the list can go on. The tree is doing all this selflessly, so also the Sun and so many other things in nature.
What is the message to a person of a particular community who hates people of another community, finds himself living in the midst of that community? “Love thy neighbour”….rise above hate… evolve… progress! Nature has done its duty by bringing them together for a purpose.
Very lately we have been seeing turmoil in so many parts of the world, one of them starting from the middle East, then Egypt, Libya and so on. There is a very strong message…but are we heeding it? The Anna movement is another case in point….does our government understand the message? Have we wondered what made Anna do what he has done? His purpose of this life is to help his countrymen by bringing about a revolution, though a very peaceful one. How did he realize this? When he was driving the army truck while working in the Indian Army in his younger days, he saw 25 of his comrades dying in front of his eyes while he survived. He being the lone survivor made him wonder as to why his life had been spared….could there be a higher purpose? We now know better!
Similarly, Mahatma Gandhi got his message after being thrown out of the First Class compartment….is it not ironic that his being thrown out ultimately culminated in the British being literally thrown out of this country?
It is not necessary that these messages tell or show us the ultimate eventuality. Most of the time the message makes us take a small step in the right direction….then another….yet another…and so on….till we reach where we have to….and then these messages are inspirations for even greater progress….the journey continues.
Our Intuition is our best guide. All of us are born with at least grade one of intuition. In order to progress in life we need to develop it further. Sri Yoganand Paramhans has described five types (“God Talks to Arjun Vol I, Verse 29).In the first form, which is the crudest, is the intuition of the “Annamaya Kosha” or the food sheath and is related to gross matter, limited to sense knowledge or inferential knowledge, which most of us possess. The second form is the intuition of the “Pranamaya Kosha” which is the plane of pranic energy or life force which creates and sustains the body. As a result one can appreciate subtle sounds and lights etc. In the third type, that of the mind plane, called the “Manomaya Kosha,” visions are seen and appreciated and one may not be aware of the outside world. The fourth type of intuition is of the “Jnanamaya Kosha” or intellect plane, and leads to appreciation of the truth associated with wisdom. Finally, the fifth form leads to direct knowledge of bliss and is of the “Anandmaya Kosha”.
Very often the message we get from our subconscious mind is at variance to what our conscious mind believes in and we tend to disregard it. If our intuition is well developed we will choose to give more relevance to the message from beyond rather than listen to our conscious mind, act accordingly and reap the benefits.
The very few blessed ones who have been able to climb high on the spiritual ladder have access to so many “mukta’ or enlightened beings, no longer in physical form, with whom they can actually “converse” and get direct messages. They are the ones who are perpetually guided at every step of their lives. They are the ones who have direct access to their gurus in their physical or spiritual form. Needless to say, it is this category of blessed beings who are forever helping and guiding humanity…taking them higher and higher on the spiritual ladder.
To conclude, in order to grasp Nature’s whisperings and messages in totality we need to “go inside’, connect with the self…our subconscious mind….listen to the small little voice which knows everything about us…keeps giving us messages in the form of ideas, images, figures, dreams…. meditate….. and slowly but surely progress, evolve, develop feelings of divine love, compassion, empathy, appreciate the inter connectedness which binds us all together, happiness, bliss and travel to the bright and simply beautiful astral realms beyond!

The Kundalini

What is Kundalini?
This “mystical”word has always remained an enigma even though so much has been written about it! One gets the impression that if one knows about it then one is already enlightened! On the other hand, being ingnorant about it is tantamount to being unintelligent, so to speak. Those who do not talk about it are wary of it and scared of venturing into anything to do with it. One thing is very clear, though….it should not be taken lightly! It may, perhaps, be wise to let it lie as it is!
Yogis have been talking about it since time immemorial. At the outset, we need to understand that “yoga” basically means “union “, and here the union is with the Supreme Being. Yoga, as we know it, comprises of many disciplines and actions, which ultimately culminate into meditation leading to “Samadhi” and it is the last two which lead to the union we are talking about. This happens with the opening of the ‘third eye” leading to the atma travelling up through the “tenth” door, at the top of the head, to ultimately merge with Parmatma through some more stages.
Yogis believe that the Kundalini is our individual manifestation of the larger Shakti which is the creative force of the Universe. This larger shakti has also been called Mahakundalini by some (Mary Scott, “Kundalini in the physical world”). It is regarded as a stabilizing agency, whether at the physical or Cosmic level. It is part of the Universal Spirit present inside us, but about which we are not normally aware. It is tremendously powerful, borne out of the fact that it has given birth to us.
The role of the kundalini is to see that all the multiple energy based processes occurring inside our bodies are held firmly together in accordance with the patterns commensurate with our destiny and life’s purpose, while Mahakundalini appears to be similar to Tao, as described by the Chinese, who have conceived it “as a vast all-embracing terrestrial energy not subject to gravity or electromagnetism but modifying them as they operate within the Earth’s field”(Mary Scott)
To understand what kundalini is,one needs first to delve into the process of Creation. Our ancient rishis have understood that, for this entire universe to be created the One has to manifest into many. Based on the tantric philosophy, Shiva brings about consciousness which blends with shakti in order to create human life. This creation occurs through the blending of the Five Elements or Tattvas. Akash or Ether first appeared out of nothingness or the void and is the first of the Five Elements and is considered the medium through which sound is transmitted and it was this sound which initiated creation (Shabd, Aum, Hum, Holy Ghost….). Since this shabd has brought about our creation, it has the power to take us back to the One also. It is this shabd which continues to create and is manifested everywhere.
From Akash, arises the second element, Vayu or Air as swirling masses of gaseous matter, which then combust forming heat and light, whereby giving birth to the third Element, Tejas or Fire. The residues then pool, and moisture appears forming the liquid Element, called Apas or Water. Finally, crystallization and solidification occurs and we have the Earth or Prithvi. (Dr Rudolph Ballentine, “Radical Healing’). This is so very similar to the “Big Bang” theory of evolution as proposed by Science.
Yogic teaching has been that we take birth through what is known as pranashakti or life force which, descends down the medulla and the cerebro spinal axis to finally come and rest at the base of the spine or the muladhar (Coccygeal) chakra where it lies dormant. As this creative force descends down it gets transformed into energy centres or “chakras” which are responsible for the physiological functioning of the organs they are in proximity with as well as the endocrine functions of those physiological structures and our various emotions or feelings. They also represent the Elements or Tattvas as mentioned above. Pranashakti enters through the Sahasrar Chakra at the very top of the head, travels down to the Agya Chakra, in between the two eyes at the forehead (which is actually a command centre for the entire human structure). This is followed by the Vishudhi Chakra in the throat and representative of the akash tattva, below which is the heart chakra associated with the Air or Vayu element. The Lumbar chakra is associated with the Fire Element while the Svasthisthan (Sacral) chakra represents Water and the Muladhar, Earth. We, therefore, see that even though the kundalini is lying dormant, it is not inert, however, since it is controlling so many functions in the body through thousands of nadis.
Each of these chakras also has a presiding deity. For example, Lord Ganesha is the guardian of the coccygeal chakra, Lord Vishnu of the Sacral, Lord Shiva of the Manipur or lumbar chakra. Each of these chakras also have their own independent sounds which can be heard when meditating individually on any of these chakras. These sounds are somewhat different from the ones “heard” during meditation on the “Shabd”. Opposing forms of energy must unite in order for the whole to form. So also, the kundalini, being part of the Spirit must move up the spine to unite with Consciousness to become One again. Unfortunately, the kundalini, after giving birth to us, lies dormant at the base of the spine, the muladhar chakra. It remains asleep because so much of our energy is expended and drained out owing to our preoccupation with our deep seated habits based on fear and insecurity ( the function of the root or muladhar chakra is to keep us “grounded”, owing to the Earth Element, but this grounding very often does not take place because our senses keep getting fuelled by external material pleasures, and our actions revolving around “me and mine” leading ultimately to feelings of fear and insecurity).The dormant kundalini becomes a source of insatiable lusts by feeding our senses, leading to wastage of so much of energy preventing this very powerful force to ascend up to its correct seat, the Swathisthan chakra and manifesting its true power of expanding our consciousness. It is only when the yogi, by connecting to “shabd’ or aum, can bring about its awakening which is needed for human liberation. The kundalini is, therefore, “the ultimate shaker and mover”(Dr Rudolph Ballentine) as a result of which it can burst through, breaking all barriers and can transform an ordinary being into one full of life and creativity by stirring up feelings and emotion.
The yogi, by his meditation on the shabd, reverses the searchlight of intelligence, mind and life force inward and the kundalini rises through the central passage in the spine, called the sushumna nadi, up from the sacral chakra, to the swadisthan, the lumbar, anahat and vishudhi chakras to the spiritual eye finally up to the sahasrar chakra. The material man is busy with his body and the external world while the yogi’s consciousness is basically engaged within. When the yogi has been able to bring his consciousness to the agya chakra he can experience the feeling of bliss once he reaches the sahasrar chakra.
The kundalini shakti is actually a manifestation of the feminine force in the universe and is not just the nurturing and receptive aspect of the feminine. This has been so very beautifully brought forward by my spiritual brother, Dhairyananda, quoting Sri Yoganand Paramhans in “God speaks to Arjun”. The five energy centres in man are also symbolised by the five Pandavas. The Muladhar, the Earth element is represented by Nakul, the Swadisthan or Water element by Sahadeva, the Fire element or Manipur by Arjun, Anahat or Air Element by Bhima, while Yudhisthir represents the Akash Element or Vishudhi chakra. Draupadi represents the kundalini.
Draupadi is the daughter of Drupada, symbolic of extreme dispassion and represents the spiritual power or feeling of kundalini. When the kundalini is lifted upward it becomes “wedded “to the five pandavas and gives rise to five sons which are the five manifestations of the opened spinal centres, the various lights and sounds characteristic of each centre. “
The coiled kundalini is, however, not the same as Shabda since shabda is operative at all levels of matter while the kundalini is a limiting power which confines the activities of shabda within physical limits. This is very important to understand.
Kundalini Awakening:
According to yogis Kundalini awakening is, therefore, the first and most important step towards spiritual progress. In other words, this is the first step towards self realization. Only when one has been able to draw one’s attention away from one’s material surroundings and desires that attention will turn inwards. Kundalini awakening has often been confused with the feeling of so called “bliss” during the union of the male and female but this is momentary and the true purpose is to get this energy chanelled up through the spinal centres.
A word of caution here. There is an erroneous impression among most people that they can awaken their kundalinis themselves by various methods which have been described and are being practiced. I think we should all understand that trying to awaken our kundalinis by ourselves should never be practiced! If at all we are keen to do so, it should only be done under guidance from a guru who is well versed in it since premature awakening can lead to disastrous complications. Unless and until our body has become tuned to handle the sudden spurt of energy, awakening should never be tried. There is so much truth in the saying, “when the student is ready, the guru appears”. Nowhere is this more true than here. When a stage has come when spiritual awakening is to take place, it will….due to certain circumstances, contact with people, incidents etc which will take one forward ultimately bringing one in contact with the right guru. It is, therefore, clear that perhaps it is a good idea to let the kundalini lie till the time is ripe!
Many yoga teachers also have stressed that one should not attempt to raise the kundalini by meditating on individual chakras as it could be dangerous, perhaps not even correct to do so. Those who have an insight into the functioning of the Atma in man, feel that it wakes by itself once we have developed the qualities and attitudes which are conducive to its arousal.

Sri Aurobindo,has introduced the concept that the awakening kundalini power is both a descending as well as ascending one. He too feels that the chakras cannot be “willed” to open but open by themselves by the descent of the force. According to him, they open from below upwards in accordance with the tantric discipline but his concept is that they open from up downwards. One can, therefore, infer that it may not be wise to try to manipulate the kundalini.

Swamiji, Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak and some other God realized Gurus, etc consider the “hearing” of the Shabd being of paramount inportance for the opening of the “third eye” rather than having to do anything with the kundalini since they feel that a proper union can only take place after one has been able to bring one’s consciousness to the area between the two eyebrows, after which the atma then can travel up after some more stages. This can happen only through guidance from a god realized guru. They feel that anything to do with the chakras and the kundalini is basically concerned with the human body and its physiological functioning. This is because when you are meditating on any of the chakras(the five lower ones) you are actually meditating on the deity controlling that particular chakra and you would probably hear the sound related to that chakra and perhaps gain some powers(ridhis and sidhis) because of the deity. These powers are actually “by products” which are not of much consequence to a real Sadhak, seeking union. Spiritual advancement actually means going beyond all this so that one can attain union with the Parmatma beyond Creation and this advancement occurs only when one has an open third eye so that one can journey beyond. The purpose of human life is to finally go back to our true abode which is with the Supreme Being. In other words, reaching a stage of ‘turia avastha’ or enlightenment, is the real thing.
Intuitively, I feel that connecting to shabda, through meditation as taught by a fully realized guru is by far the best route, perhaps the only route to enlightenment and that whatever other route or routes there are ultimately get connected to shabda somewhere along the line. It is not difficult to see that there are examples of many, who, may perhaps have never practiced yoga but have “united” with the supreme spirit! Practicing all the eight limbs of yoga are still very important, though,since in a way one is actually “living” the “ten commandments”(Yam/Niyam), managing to remain physically and mentally healthy(Asanas and Pranayam) and at the same time progressing spiritually by meditation, but the method of meditation should be such that it leads to the opening of the “third eye’, essential for further spiritual ascent and happens through listening or appreciating the shabda. Sri Aurobindo feels that “when the soul is ready we are prompted to meditate”
The opening of the “Third Eye’ has two manifestations, one that of being able to hear all the subtle sounds and also seeing various types of visions. This is called “surt’. Hearing subtle sounds is by far the commoner of the two while seeing visions happens due to Divine grace and is a simply wonderful experience which cannot be described!
When the third eye opens, one’e atma travels higher to go beyond the Sahasrar dal kamal or the “tenth’ door and it is then that actual “sant mat” commences. This means that one can then venture into other realms at will. When this happens one can travel in the astral and the causal realms depending upon one’s spiritual progress. Yogis and Budhists believe that our connection with the Divine is through what is called the “Antahkaran’ or the “silver chord” which is attached to our Sahasrar chakra. This chord remains intact as long as the atma inhabits the physical body but gets snapped at the time of physical death. During astral travel, this chord remains connected with the body.
During one’s sojourn in the astral, one may have wonderful experiences, of happiness and bliss. The visions of the Divine, other “mukta“ atmas, god realized souls etc become more and more frequent, and ultimately a stage may come when one merges with divinity with the breaking down of one’s physical, astral and causal bodies to unite with Him and become One or Whole! All along this beautiful journey, one’s guru is always there, in front, like a beacon of light, guiding one along, meandering through the indescribable but serene and luminous world inducing feelings of profound happiness and bliss. The guru, the Almighty and the self all merge in that soothing divine light! The final stage of scintillating brilliance is supposed to be so beautiful and blissful that even Sant Kabir has not been able to describe it fully!

The Sound and Power of Silence

On the face of it, it appears paradoxical that silence could have a sound and that it could be powerful! Whenever two surfaces strike, a sound is produced but there is another type of sound, the primordial sound which is an “unstruck’ sound, hence called “Anhad’. It is only when we manage to delve into the depths of silence do we realize that it is pregnant with unbelievably beautiful sounds just as “space’ is full of billions and billions of atoms colliding or coalescing into so many forms of matter!
Whenever anything moves, acts or functions, such as a machine, it produces sound vibrations which may or may not be audible to us. Similarly when this universe and the galaxies move, they also produce sounds not normally appreciated by the human ear. Scientists believe that creation of the entire universe took place as a “Big Bang”, a cosmic explosion which obviously must have produced a sound and since the universe is expanding (as proved by physicists) and the galaxies moving, the sound must be a continuous process. This sound of creation was picked up by the big new horn antenna set up at Bell Labs in New Jersey, as a constant hissing sound, though scientists had trouble deciphering it!(Dr Bhaumik, “Code Name God”).
It is believed that creation of this entire universe and so many other universes started as a vibration which comprised of sound and light. This vibration has been called “Aum’, “Amen”, “Ameen’, ‘Hum” etc. This means that all major religions of the world have understood creation as a vibration. Our ancient rishis too heard this sound during their meditations and called it “Aum’. It is also called “Word”, “ Holy Ghost”, ‘Shabd” or “Anhad Shabd’. This means an “unstruck sound” always present but never heard except by those who are fortunate to “hear’ it during meditation (“appreciating” would, perhaps be a better word)
What is power? We normally understand that a powerful person is one who can “control’ others and, perhaps, circumstances as well, and that money can make a person very powerful. Nothing could actually be further from the truth. Possessing money and other material things of this world are really transitory, ephemeral and with you for a limited period of time. They bring along a feeling of insecurity as one is always worried about losing whatever one has acquired. The Sunami which just hit Japan is a standing example, when people lost everything in a fraction of a second. “Control” over others cannot last forever, either. A “powerful” person, as ancient rishis of yore keep reminding us, is one who has control over his mind, anger, jealousy, hatred, lust, greed and, for that matter, all negative emotions and remains cool, calm and unruffled due his control over his restless mind. He is, therefore, at peace with himself and the world.
Coming back to the “sounds” “heard” during meditation. These are very subtle and alter with the spiritual progress of the meditator. How do these two correlate?
We humans have been bestowed with the senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing but we get identified with them, leading to our indulgence in sense pleasures, which ultimately become a source of our unhappiness, turmoil and stress.
It is for this reason that we seek solace in silence. The present world, with its myriad problems keeps us in a constant state of stress, which is due to multiple reasons, some obvious while others very subtle like geopathic stress, disease, or due to our past karmas which can affect all levels of our consciousness (Conscious, Subconscious, Individual and Universal Superconsciousness) This prevents us from accessing our “Self”, which is our true nature, the “core’ of our being. Since we cannot do so, we fail to appreciate the proddings of our intuition, trying to take us upward and evolving into better human beings, and, finally leading to a connection with divinity. Our intuition is actually God’s way of communicating with us! It is only in silence that we can appreciate that ever so small “whisper” of our intuition or subconscience trying to makeitself heard above the cacophony of sounds of the material world.
We have been gifted with what is called “free will”, but, unfortunately most of us identify ourselves with our senses and get carried away by them to satisfy our egos. We forget that “ego” is just a representative and serves the purpose of our growth but when it becomes too powerful, it loses its connection with the divine. It then acts as the “pseudo soul” and starts ruling us leading to all our problems. A vicious circle ensues…a circle of wants, desires, fulfillment of desires ultimately resulting in disappointments, frustrations, owing to non fulfillment of all of them, envy, jealousy, anger etc. Do we realize that it is only we human beings who have the power of free will?

Nature brought us to life through Pranashakti’ which, after giving birth to us lies dormant at the base of our spine as the ‘kundalini ‘shakti. It is this shakti which controls our entire physiological system through a network of 72,000 nerves. As long as this shakti remains dormant we continue to remain attached to sense pleasures and, as a consequence, suffer with problems ranging from disease, unhappiness, torment, stress etc. The creative force differentiates into energy centres called “chakras’ which are actually transformers and control the functioning of different systems of our body. In addition these chakras are also responsible for our nature as well. The smooth functioning of our “body’, which actually comprises of the physical, mental and spiritual components depends on a balance of the energy flowing through the chakras and whenever there is an imbalance in this energy, dis-ease occurs.

By tuning into the vibrations of the subtle sounds, one gradually manages to withdraw from one’s surroundings and the temptations of this world. This happens with meditation when our consciousness then gradually “ascends” up through our spine through the various chakras with the awakening of the kundalini. As one ascends from the Muladhar chakra to the Svadhisthan, on to the Manipur and further up to the Anahat, the nature of the sound changes but always remains very subtle. This may be accompanied by visions also. The sounds become more and more pronounced with further progress till one, if blessed, reaches the Agya or the Sahasrar chakras.
The ascent is associated with balancing of the energy flowing through us. When one crosses the Muladhar chakra, one starts becoming more balanced and after crossing the Swadisthan chakra one becomes more intuitive, receptive and emotional. The ascent beyond the Manipur chakra brings about control over anger. Further progress to the Anahat or the Heart chakra, (which is responsible for our feelings and love),produces a tremendous increase in feelings of love and forgiveness. Going beyond the Vishudhi Chakra, brings about improvement in our intelligence, makes us more honest, ethical and, at the same time improves our communication skills. If one is fortunate enough to reach the Agya chakra, which is the “command “centre, one obviously gets a tremendous control over one life since the Agya chakra controls all the other chakras. When one reaches the Sahasrar chakra, one touches divinity!
This progress brings about a sea change in our lives. One starts becoming happier, worries become less, one see and feels positivity everywhere, starts to recognize divinity in others, resulting in compassion, kindness, feelings of empathy for all. With further progress, one becomes more and more intuitive, clairvoyant and clairaudient , may start remembering or “seeing” one’s previous births, recognizing people and friends as those from earlier relationships etc. Gradually the meaning and purpose of one’s present life starts becoming obvious. One learns to peep into the souls of others and soul beauty takes precedence over physical beauty. Every inch of progress is associated with more and more happiness. To this are added beautiful visions, making one even more happy, finally culminating into real bliss.
Simultaneously, the sense of fear starts to disappear and one’s once egoistic or arrogant attitude is replaced by real humility and a feeling to serve others becomes paramount. One craves for the happiness resulting from serving another being. All this occurs because one does not differentiate oneself from the “other self’. The question of being selfish, therefore, does not arise! This also means that whatever one does, it is done with a feeling of empathy and a genuine desire to “help” the other… which translates into happiness for one self at the same time. It is not associated with any expectation for the result.
Finally, one stops getting affected by anything ‘adverse” since it is taken as a test which ultimately culminates in improving oneself as a human being. One learns to accept reality and finds tremendous improvement in the quality and nature of whatever vocation one pursues. The “power” one derives from meditation in silence is truly wonderful and intoxicating but a true seeker, firmly established on the spiritual path is not affected, nor does he crave for the “power” of clairvoyance and clairaudience, since they are actually by products of his spiritual quest and just ordinary events on his journey to his union with the Almighty.
Blessed are those of us who have been able to tap the tremendous power of the self, and have had the good fortune of tuning in to the divine frequency of sound through meditation and have reveled in the ecstacy of this divine melody! Blessed are those who have access to that beautiful, scintillating bright light, a result of the power and sound of silence! Yes, a true guru can take us through this ever so wonderful journey!