Kundalini Splendor

(image from source)

Recently, I posted an entry on kundalini and enlightenment which included the following statement:

"What we are offered instead (I believe) are temporary tastes and glimpses
of this sublime awareness, so that we can know that it is real, but not a
place where we can dwell permanently while we are on this earth. "

I received the following query in response, and it gave me pause to reflect. The writer is asking a fundamental question, one which I am sure many others have asked in one form or another:

"Can you tell me your theory as to why we would not be able to dwell within the blissful realm of kundalini while on earth?"

In one sense, the answer is simple: we are living on earth, not in heaven, we are human, not angels. Humankind has asked from the earliest of times why we no longer dwell in paradise. Myths of the lost Golden Age appear in the cultures of many, many cultures, from the story of Adam and Eve to the accounts of the "yugas" (eras) in Eastern literature (which descend from the earliest--the Golden Era--to our own time. We now live in the Kali Yuga, the time of strife and chaos.

However, for kundalini, the question becomes a bit more specific. Why, having once tasted "paradise" on this earth is it so often snatched away, the bliss overturned as pain and forms of dis-ease ensue? Why can we not maintain this elevataed state in which all was bathed in the bliss of overwhelming love and our bodies and souls seemed to exist (finally) in complete accord?

To begin with, we have to remember that when kundalini is awakened we are--temporarily--more or less removed from this world into an inner Eden. We exist and feel in ways we have never experienced before. We are like babes enjoying the complete attention and devotion of mothers who dote on us and give us constant love and nourishment.

But then, suddenly, our Edenic world fades and we become aware of the pressures of the outside world. The mother-force vanishes (or diminishes) we are on our own in a disturbed, sometimes uncaring, sometimes threatening world. We realize we have to do more than sigh in rapture, that we have to earn a living, care for the needs of families and friends (who may be undergoing special challenges in their own lives), our own health may seem to falter. Old psychological issues may surface and demand to be attended to. Old injuries may begin to pain us again.

I think this first period is the honeymoon time of kundalini. It can last for days or weeks or even years, but at some point (at least for all I know) it will take a different turn. The honeymoon is now over, and we must deal with some very pressing issues before we are ready to go forward to the next stage. What we have experienced thus far is a huge quantam leap into another level of existence. That part was easy. Now the real work begins. We must go back, deal with all unfinished business in our lives, learn new ways to cope with the world and its stressors, find new methods to maintain balance. This is the time of purification, of making ourselves ready to sustain these new energies and this new way of life in a more consistent way.

The first phase came to us through grace. Now we must prove our worthiness, make ourselves strong, mend all weaknesses, clear all faults (including the flaw of excessive self-rejection.)

It is one thing to visit another planet as a temporary visitor. To take up residence as a permanent citizen is another matter. Our bodies must adjust to a new climate, our nerves to new energies, our systems to a new level of vibration.

It would, I believe, be much easier to make this transition in a protected environment. In earlier times, those undergoing such deep spiritual transformation went into monasteries, sought out caves, withdrew into the forest. But most of us are unable to do that. We must continue to exist in the midst of a disturbed and disturbing society, to be buffeted constantly by the knowledge of the disruptions going on around us, to withstand the shocks and traumas which accompany every day living.

We must learn to live in "the two worlds," the inner world of deep spiritual connection and the outer world of the external society.

And we must find ways to "bring the gift back home". Joseph Campbell, in his classic work, describes how the hero, after facing many arduous ordeals, captures the treasure (for us, new awareness, new ways of being) and returns to offer it to society as a whole, so that all may share.

And that, I think, is exactly what we are called to do in this particular era, when survival of the race is itself the key issue. We must forego focusing exclusively on private salvation (now a luxury) in order to give of ourselves to the world, to help others in their life predicaments and to aid them as they too progress to higher levels.

This is the evolutionary process. It does not occur as a single, final leap into a new way of being. It is unpredictable, now advancing, now slowing, now going forward, now retreating. If we are the new New Race of Humans, we must remember that we are merely the advance models. I think those of us undergoing transformation at this time have come to the planet in order to make it easier for those who follow. They will, I believe, do it better. Their transition will be easier, their progress more steady.

Some call this process "the divinization of matter." Teihard de Chardin spoke of advancement toward "Omega Point," where the human and the divine would meet. Many today are speaking about Evolution of Consciousness. All of these point to a similar phenomenon--the movement of humanity to a higher level of being. At times it seems like the forces of spiritual evolution are in a race with the forces of massive world destruction. No one knows how the contest will end.

Ours is not an easy assignment, but more and more are joining the ranks. Ours is not an easy task, but it is the most essential endeavor I can think of. And I feel that to be included in this effort is a blessing of the highest order.

(P. S. I do not believe that kundalini by itself is proof of "enlightenment." I will say more about this later.)