continued from last issue
It passes through seven ever vibrant and dynamic psychophysiological stations, or centers, into which it sends its sparks, whereby they become functional and the personality becomes operant. Thus the consciousness touches us and we come alive, become persons.
It is not difficult to locate these centers of consciousness, or chakras. They are all marked in one way or another. Their locations are: (1) the base of the spine and the perineum, (2) the root of the genitals, (3) the navel, (4) the cardiac region between the breasts, (5) the hollow of the throat, (6) between the eyebrows, and (7) the top of the head.
Many times it is asked if the consciousness and the energy of these centers, chakras, flow in the spine or in the front of the body. The answer is that the distinction is arbitrary and imaginary. The front and back location exist only with reference to the materially dense body, but the field of finer energies permeates the entire region and does not correspond to the dimensions that are assumed with reference to the spaces and times to which the body is bound.
The consciousness that has descended into us as the kundalini contains in it both life and awareness. It may be called the life force, jiva shakti, or the consciousness force, chit shakti. Through the chakras, a division of its two powers occurs, for, in order for the personality to function, a certain specialization becomes necessary. A semblance of awareness is imparted to the energy called the mind, and at the same time aliveness and vitality of the cells, organs, and senses also comes into operation through prana receiving the infusion of life energy from the kundalini. Thus the two powers of the kundalini consciousness devolve on the mind and prana, and through them they are further infused into the entire personality. The thrill of life and awareness, however, that passes through the psychophysiological stations into the personality is so minute compared to the actual power of consciousness, that yogis repeatedly tell us that the true consciousness is lying dormant, asleep in us.
All that mankind has ever accomplished or created, all that ever passes through an individual human being, is no more than a minute fraction of the universal consciousness. But the majority of human beings are not capable of experiencing even this minute thrill at its fullest, because the lower level energies are not capable of containing or measuring higher level energies. By the same token, if given more than the requisite voltage, any energy system will overload and blow up the circuits. We have established such strong identification with lower level energies (the body, emotions, etc.), that we have weakened our power system and made it incapable of receiving a larger dose of the thrill. So one has to purify the personal consciousness and gradually tune it to its higher level energies until enough strength is built up in the system for us to be able to awaken to the full glory that is flowing into us even as we read this. Those who have tried experimenting with the kundalini consciousness without such preliminary purification and without expert guidance have only suffered damage to both the psyche and the body.
Liberation
In us the gates of the chakras are, thus, open only enough to permit a mild infusion of consciousness. But look at the intense awareness we have in these centers. Even that mild infusion of dormant energy leaves us restless in each center. Look at what goes on in us at each of these stations: In the perineum and the genital areas, the sensations can sometimes seem to be uncontrollable; in the navel region the hungers cannot be satiated; the pull felt in the cardiac region as rising emotions keeps thousands of psychiatrists busy; and all we have ever spoken from the larynx is not quite enough. As to the forehead and the brain—they are the devils’ very workshop. The energy already disposed through each of these centers often seems to be excessive to us, and we then say, “I just don’t know what to do with my restlessness.” This feeling of overload, that we are about to blow a fuse, is a common experience. It happens because the lower frequency energies (such as those involved in ordinary physical and sense experiences) do not have the capacity to absorb all the power that is being infused into us from consciousness.
Reprinted from Revision, Vol 3, No. 1, Spring 1980