Friday, July 28, 2006
On the Question of Karma
Someone recently suggested that the reason some people have trouble with kundalini awakening and others do not depends on "karma." That means (as I understand it) that those who did bad things in a past life will have difficulty and those who were good boys and girls will not.
I simply cannot believe this. The notion of "karma," especially as it may involve suffering or retribution in this life for some past action, is not admissible as far as I am concerned. First of all, there is absolutely no proof for such statements. Its claim rests on the assertions of some ancient "gurus" who also claimed to have answers to virtually all questions. Though I think there is much wisdom to be gained from studying the ancient writers, I don't swallow their teachings whole.
Some of these same folk also believed that there was a (literal) snake who lived at the base of the spine which rose when kundalini was awakened, that the sperm of the male literally went into the head, thus giving great pleasure to the practitioner who did not waste his energies in sexual discharge as such. In order to achieve this desired goal, they sometimes employed women for this arousal process. It is reported that some of these (male) practitioners had to use three or four women for this purpose, since their responses were slow to arouse. There are even reports of women being recruited off the street for this purpose. Obviously, we today would not condone such practices.
Some believed that there was an actual lotus at the crown, which opened at the moment of awakening. Now, when one has certain experiences, one can sense how such misconceptions might have arisen. Sometimes the energies rising do in fact feel like a snake biting its way upward. The brain itself can become a center of ecstasy in the awakening process. And the opening of the crown can feel like "a thousand lotus petals opening." Many have experienced such sensations. But these are metaphors which we now know not to take literally. They are attempts to explain to the uninitiated what kundalini feels like and does.
I do not think we should abandon our minds when we explore ancient wisdom literature. I think we should sift and contemplate, and take only that which seems sound and reasonable, especially as it accords with our own experience.
True, I do not totally discount the notion of past lives as such. We may in fact carry in with us some remnant or buried memory of certain prior events. Certainly we bring in an energy body which seems to have a great deal to do with how we are going to react to our present existence.
I believe the key to all this is to use our own minds and experience to contemplate, weigh, and judge. I feel that the last thing somebody having difficulty with a kundalini awakening should be told is that it is due to "karma," some deed not remembered in some past life somewhere, and which they are now powerless to do anything about, other than to suffer. This is too close to the doctrine of certain churches, which preach that you must "suffer for your sins" and insist that you do penance to bring yourself back to god. It also is reminiscent of Franz Kafka's "The Trial," where the accused is brought before a judge and sentenced, though he is never able to learn the nature of his crime. For those lacking in self-esteem, it could be a major blow to an already frail sense of self. I think such persons need to be reassured and encouraged, ideally even held and allowed to pour out their grief in tears. In other words, they need to be loved, not condemned.
If we want to look for the cause of kundalini difficulties, we should begin by looking at present life experience. Was this person victimized or abused early on, perhaps sexually or physically or verbally, by callous parents or other adults? Was he/she subjected to subtle or obvious criticism, so that a solid core of self-respect failed to develop? Has he/she undergone adult trauma--rape, violence, terrorof all kinds? The list goes on and on, and includes the millions of victims of social injustice such as discrimination for whatever reason, and the horrible suffering of those imprisoned or tortured or killed by government or other agencies. Surely these many millions were not condemned to whatever by their own "past karma."
Who among us goes into the kundalini experience in a state of perfection? Who is not grappling with inner issues or physical imperfections which cause us difficulty in the kundalini process? Only someone totally balanced in mind, body, and spirit will succeed without periods of pain and despair as well as times of pleasure. I have yet to meet this person.
I simply cannot believe this. The notion of "karma," especially as it may involve suffering or retribution in this life for some past action, is not admissible as far as I am concerned. First of all, there is absolutely no proof for such statements. Its claim rests on the assertions of some ancient "gurus" who also claimed to have answers to virtually all questions. Though I think there is much wisdom to be gained from studying the ancient writers, I don't swallow their teachings whole.
Some of these same folk also believed that there was a (literal) snake who lived at the base of the spine which rose when kundalini was awakened, that the sperm of the male literally went into the head, thus giving great pleasure to the practitioner who did not waste his energies in sexual discharge as such. In order to achieve this desired goal, they sometimes employed women for this arousal process. It is reported that some of these (male) practitioners had to use three or four women for this purpose, since their responses were slow to arouse. There are even reports of women being recruited off the street for this purpose. Obviously, we today would not condone such practices.
Some believed that there was an actual lotus at the crown, which opened at the moment of awakening. Now, when one has certain experiences, one can sense how such misconceptions might have arisen. Sometimes the energies rising do in fact feel like a snake biting its way upward. The brain itself can become a center of ecstasy in the awakening process. And the opening of the crown can feel like "a thousand lotus petals opening." Many have experienced such sensations. But these are metaphors which we now know not to take literally. They are attempts to explain to the uninitiated what kundalini feels like and does.
I do not think we should abandon our minds when we explore ancient wisdom literature. I think we should sift and contemplate, and take only that which seems sound and reasonable, especially as it accords with our own experience.
True, I do not totally discount the notion of past lives as such. We may in fact carry in with us some remnant or buried memory of certain prior events. Certainly we bring in an energy body which seems to have a great deal to do with how we are going to react to our present existence.
I believe the key to all this is to use our own minds and experience to contemplate, weigh, and judge. I feel that the last thing somebody having difficulty with a kundalini awakening should be told is that it is due to "karma," some deed not remembered in some past life somewhere, and which they are now powerless to do anything about, other than to suffer. This is too close to the doctrine of certain churches, which preach that you must "suffer for your sins" and insist that you do penance to bring yourself back to god. It also is reminiscent of Franz Kafka's "The Trial," where the accused is brought before a judge and sentenced, though he is never able to learn the nature of his crime. For those lacking in self-esteem, it could be a major blow to an already frail sense of self. I think such persons need to be reassured and encouraged, ideally even held and allowed to pour out their grief in tears. In other words, they need to be loved, not condemned.
If we want to look for the cause of kundalini difficulties, we should begin by looking at present life experience. Was this person victimized or abused early on, perhaps sexually or physically or verbally, by callous parents or other adults? Was he/she subjected to subtle or obvious criticism, so that a solid core of self-respect failed to develop? Has he/she undergone adult trauma--rape, violence, terrorof all kinds? The list goes on and on, and includes the millions of victims of social injustice such as discrimination for whatever reason, and the horrible suffering of those imprisoned or tortured or killed by government or other agencies. Surely these many millions were not condemned to whatever by their own "past karma."
Who among us goes into the kundalini experience in a state of perfection? Who is not grappling with inner issues or physical imperfections which cause us difficulty in the kundalini process? Only someone totally balanced in mind, body, and spirit will succeed without periods of pain and despair as well as times of pleasure. I have yet to meet this person.
