Kundalini - The Secret of Yoga GOPI KRISHNA Published by F.I.N.D. Research Trust and Kundalini Research Foundation, Ltd. Kundalini - The Secret of Yoga Copyright© 1972 Gopi Krishna First printing 1972 Second printing 1990 Published by: F.I.N.D. Research Trust R.R. 5 Flesherton Ontario, Canada NOC lEO The Kundalini Research Foundation, ltd. P.O. Box 2248 Noroton Heights CT. 06820 U.S.A. Published in association with: Kundalini Research Association International Kundalini Research and Publication Trust Kundalini Research Association Gemsenstrasse 7, 8006 Zurich, Switzerland Bioenergy Research Foundation 1187 Coast Village Road, 1-186 Santa Barbara CA. 93108., U.S.A. First F.I.N.D. Research Trust edition Second Kundalini Research Foundation, Ltd. edition International Standards Book Number: 06-064787-6 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 77-184409 Cover painting: A New Jewel by D. Joan Woo Contents Introduction ( i ) 1 The Aim of Yoga 1 2 How This Aim Is Achieved 21 3 Kundalini, Fact and Fiction 44 4 Yoga, True and False 67 5 The Discipline of Yoga 91 6 Kundalini, the Key to Cosmic Consciousness 113 7 The Biological Aspect of Kundalini 134 8 The Physiology of Yoga 157 9 The Harvest: Transcendence, Genius, and Psychic Powers 180 Appendix 204 About the Author 208 Index 209 OTHER BOOKS BY GOPI KRISHNA Kundalini, The Evolutionary Energy in Man (An Autobiography) The Biological Basis of Religion and Genius The Awakening of Kundalini The Riddle of Consciousness The Dawn of a New Science Secrets of Kundalini in Panchastavi Yoga, A Vision of Its Future The Real Nature of Mystical Experience Kundalini in Time and Space The Shape of Events to Come Reason and Revelation The Present Crisis The Way to Self-knowledge From the Unseen The Wonder of the Brain Kundalini for the New Age Introduction There are few subjects relating to spiritual development so critically important and yet so incompletely understood as Yoga. Although the interest in Yoga that started in the West during the 1960’s has abated to some degree, the teaching of the various forms of the discipline has become well-established. In many cases, those who practise Yoga as it is generally taught in the West do so primarily as a means to improve health, reduce stress or maintain physical fitness. The other aspect of Yoga given much attention is the control over the physical body that can be gained by long practice of its physical disciplines. Sensational accounts of yogis who can perform amazing feats of bodily control, such as suspension of breathing for extended periods of time, conscious control of the heartbeat and the ability to increase body heat in freezing temperatures get wide publicity. There are stories of yogis who can fly, live to an advanced age or perform amazing psychic feats. Although these stories are, for the most part, never properly verified, the general impression exists, both in the East and West, that Yoga can bestow magical or occult powers on those who learn its deepest secrets. But, as Gopi Krishna points out, there is much more to Yoga than its benefits to health, control over the body and potential for developing paranormal abilities. The significance of Yoga, and the purpose for which the discipline as a whole was really designed, lies in its potential for enabling the practitioner to actually experience expanded states of consciousness and (i) INTRODUCTION (ii) to verify the existence of levels of creation other than the one we perceive with our material senses. The other benefits are minor when compared with the real goal. Part of the reason for this lack of understanding is that in the West, Yoga is rarely presented in its complete form. Aspects of the disciplines which are critical to achieve real success, i.e., a balanced lifestyle, self-discipline and control of the senses, are not always emphasized, or if emphasized, they are not followed. Because the primary goal of Yoga is understood in such a limited way, few people who take up the discipline are willing to make the effort essential to real success and the potential for attaining highly enhanced states of perception remains largely untapped. Another important aspect of Yoga is that if Kundalini, which Gopi Krishna claims is at the heart of the discipline, is the energy responsible for spiritual experience and mystical states of consciousness, then two logical conclusions can be drawn: 1) all religious experience owes its origin to this source and 2) the systematized discipline of Yoga corroborates the basic beliefs of religion which heretofore could only be accepted on faith. They are verifiable by personal experience. So, Yoga can provide a method that alleviates the discord and rivalry that exists between the adherents of the major faiths and also a foundation for the development of a more broadly-based scientific method that could reduce the long-standing conflict between science and religion. Another reason for the need to properly study and understand Yoga is the occurrence of what is currently known as ‘Spiritual Emergence.’ This term is generally used to describe a set of physical and psychological symptoms which are experienced for varying periods of time and, if handled in a proper way, can result in enhanced levels of awareness, creativity and mental well-being. But some of the symptoms experienced in these cases resemble common forms of psychosis, and treatments done on this basis can be detrimental both to the process and to the mental and physical health of the individual. For those who approach these processes with an open mind and who attempt to help the people who experience them there can be no doubt about the reality of the suffering that many of them endure, often unnecessarily. But until the physiological basis for this condition is actually determined and understood, it will not be possible to make substantial progress either in helping the people suffering from severe problems related to these processes or in making Spiritual Emergence a valid and accepted branch of medical study. (iii) INTRODUCTION It was Gopi Krishna’s belief that the only way to establish the reality of spiritual experience on a firm scientific basis is to conduct research into the biological factors that are responsible for it. The discipline of Yoga, with its systematized and highly developed methods for enhancing the processes that lead to higher levels of consciousness, is the natural centre around which this research can proceed. Although not a Yoga teacher by profession, Gopi Krishna’s more than 45 years of experience with the effects of a fully awakened Kundalini and the thorough research of the subject done during his lifetime gave him the insight and knowledge necessary for the understanding of this vast subject. The meticulous study of his own condition and the information that he gathered can be of invaluable help in undertaking a project of this kind. If his theories about the nature of spiritual experience are verified by the research that he recommended, it will bring about a revolution in our understanding of the human condition and of the goal towards which the human race is currently evolving. Michael Bradford 1 The Aim of Yoga The great interest evinced in Yoga and other occult doctrines by a large number of people, both in the East and in the West, is a clear indication of a growing thirst in men to know more about themselves, their birth and death, the real nature of the conscious principle animating them, and about the mystery surrounding the universe. There is nothing new in the expression of this impulse. It has been present in various forms from the day man began to lead the life of a rational being, from the day he began to use stone implements, of the crudest type, and to live a family and social life of the most primitive kind. That the thirst has always been present in one form or another is corroborated by the earliest relics of primitive men found in different parts of the earth. Undoubtedly there is a difference in the intensity of its expression and the form of its manifestation, but that the thirst has not abated is clear beyond the least shadow of doubt. There appears to be a misconception in the minds of some people that Yoga offers an easy and convenient method for gaining access to the occult. This notion is especially prevalent in the West, and the idea persists that there are secret practices which can work wonders in leading men to the realm of the spirit. Such a conception is not peculiar to this era alone, but, in various 1 2 THE SECRET OF YOGA forms, has been present from the remote past, ever since primitive man began to experiment with different methods to gain psychic powers, to invoke spirits and ghosts, to practice the art of magical healing, or to trade in sorcery and witchcraft. The men who prac- ticed or professed these arts were always a source of wonder and attraction to novices desirous of attaining similar powers. The idea underlying this belief, which persists to this day, suggests that there are latent possibilities in the human mind which, when developed through appropriate methods, can place at the command of an adept unseen, intelligent forces of nature which enable him to perform extraordinary feats utterly beyond the capacity of normal men. How far this concept is based on reality and how far it is a myth is the aim of this work to expound. Properly speaking, Yoga is an adjunct to religion and has always been treated as such in India, the country of its birth.