The 'Hows' and 'Whys' of Kundalini Shakti

Ardhanarishwar is the half male and half female form of Lord Shiva, the Supreme being. The female half of Lord Shiva in this form is referred to as the Shakti or the irresistible cosmic energy. The Shakti has been venerated since time immemorial in different Avatars like Radha or Sita, Durga or Kali. It is this Cosmic Energy or Shakti that is harnessed in the Indian Yoga Sutras or Science of Yoga and is called as the Kundalini.

The Cosmic Corporeal Energy dwells within you at the very foundation of your system. It lies at the basal disc of the vertebral column like a sleeping snake, coiling itself three and a half times around it. Kundalin in Sanskrit means 'coiled' or 'in ringlets' and that's how the Corporeal Energy came to be referred as the Kundalini Shakti.

 When the Kundalini is awakened, it rises from the basal disc which is the lowest energy point called the Muladhara Chakra upwards, inside or along the spine. Energised to meet its master, it moves past the middle to the very top of the head or the Sahasrar where the pinnacle or the Crown Chakra exists. An awakened Kundalini can only be controlled by a Samarth Sadguru or Supreme Teacher. And only he can determine the speed of its progress towards the crown or even meter its advancement.

It is only by the grace of the Guru that one can become a recipient of the Shaktipat Diksha which is a ritual of initiation by a divine power to the knowledge of awakening the Kundalini . The Kundalini Shakti can thus be awakened to rise through the 6th Chakra in the spine and race upwards right to the Sahasrar. Yoga is an exact Science which if performed by awakening the Kundalini has the power to energise and harmonise the development of body, mind and soul. The one perfecting this Yoga or seeking healing through this kind of Yoga, if his body is ailing in any particular part, then there are specific Yogic practices that can awaken the Kundalini Chakra relating to that particular part of the body alone. Thus focusing the energy in that Chakra to healing can be used to give great relief almost immediately.

The human body can thus be freed from all kinds of diseases and the one performing the Yoga will feel the rush of such an immense energy that will set him on the path of Spiritual realisation too. When one is absorbed in meditation while performing the Siddha Yoga, the body begins to experience certain symptoms like involuntary shaking of the body from left to right, trembling, shivering, folding up, sprawling on the ground, crying or laughing uncontrollably, whirring of the head, clapping continuously, inadvertent movements of hands and legs; sometimes one can even see an extremely bright light or a band of colours.

The body is the worldly abode for a soul.

The Hrishi or great Sages after extensive research arrived upon this ideology that all the elements found in our Universe also exist in our body. Thus from the Muladhara Chakra to the Adnya Chakra belongs to the world of Maya or illusion. And from the Adnya Chakra through to the Sahasrar is a world that belongs to the ParaBrahma or Supreme spirit.

The Vedic manuscripts have declared that the body is merely a home for the soul in its journey as a mortal on Earth. The soul lies beneath Koshas or sheaths which can be understood as layers of seven different types.

1. Annamaya Kosha: The worldly body made of materials and maintained by the intake of food or Anna.

2. Pranamya Kosha: The Energy sheath that indicates life.

3. Manomaya Kosha: The mind sheath which is distinctly different from wisdom

4. Vidnyanmaya Kosha: The power to control thinking or wisdom

5. Anandmaya Kosha: The sheath of Happiness or Eternal Bliss which is detached from the body or the thinking mind

6. Chitmaya Kosha: Spiritual Intelligence     

7. Satmaya Kosha: The final state  that comes with the state of bliss.

For a person's complete spiritual evolution it is essential that all the seven Koshas develop fully too.

The first four Koshas that are already activated in a human body along with the remaining three Koshas that need to be activated, together the seven Koshas in complete development of which, Maharishi Sri Arvind predicts 'The man of the future will have a body of divine brilliance'

Sri Arvind along with his French co-worker and disciple who is known as 'Ma', during their state of meditation have felt that the ultimate development can only happen when the worldly wise (which they refer to as Lord Krishna's power of the subconscious mind) appear as an Avatar on the Earth.

When the Sadhak's (the one engaged in meditation) Kundalini is activated it rises and meets with the Sahasrar. This is the stage of enlightenment which is called Moksha