Kundalini Splendor

Pp 216-7 “Enlightenment occurs when we (the inner being) abdicate the awareness and concerns of the local self and merge completely with the larger universal consciousness. This union can be achieved only through the abandonment of ordinary thought process, and entry into ecstatic awareness of being as such (bliss). This is accomplished through the release of the Kundalini energies, which travel through the system, opening the body to its fullest receptivity, and culminating in the embrace of Shiva/Shakti at the crown. Then, and then only, one knows one’s essence and source—divine, intoxicating, universal energy. At that moment, the rest is irrelevant.

“For an instant, one transcends the polarities. Now comes a choice: to remain ‘forever’ in blissful union-or to return to the world of the antinomies, with its conflicts and bitterness, its sufferings and confusions.

“The latter is the only valid option in our time. One comes back to this world in order to do one’s bit, to aid the project one feels is in progress, to participate in the global shift of consciousness so many describe. One thus hovers between the two worlds, in a difficult posture. One is now open to the cosmic forces-as energy, as delight, as ultimate being (for one returns many times to the original moment of awakening), but one also travels daily among the turbulence or apathy of the 'unawakened' world.

“There one is subject to constant buffeting and assault-and must struggle to maintain composure and equilibrium amid the strife. Sometimes one almost envies the unawakened—those whose nerves and intellect are bounded and secure by their state of unknowing. But in one's heart of hearts, one knows one has chosen the right course, has made the only possible choice.”



The above quote is from "Unmasking the Rose: A Record of a Kundalini Initiation," my spiritual autobiography that was published in 2002. This book is based on the journals I kept from my awakening in l981 until about 2000. "Unmasking is a mix of "telling the story" and reflective passages on the underlying meaning of the experience. Although this passage was written many years ago, I still agree with what it says. I would only add the following reflections:

When we are young, many of us destined to follow a deep spiritual path feel quite alienated, as if we did not belong to this world. Often we are the children huddled in the corner, reading a book, not entering into the rough and tumble play of our peers,not really feeling any kinship with them and their typical childhood interests. I think this time of social isolation serves a significant purpose--to sensitize our awareness, to make of us a "finer instrument" if you will. Wordsworth says of this time in his life that he was "not of this time, not of this place." The cause of this sense of separateness could be anything from racial background, physical impairment, a more gentle nature--whatever saves us from what is sometimes called "the cultural trance." Already, we are living in a world apart from our fellows, and know that in some essential way we are "different."

Then, after profound awakening, we are again "separated" from the group. We have undergone an experience so extreme, so foreign to most of our associates, that we cannot reveal it, lest it be misunderstood and we be labeled as "weird." it is only after we have absorbed and assimilated our experience that we feel grounded enought, settled enough, to take our message to the world and share with others the hidden truth of our journey, so that they in turn may benefit from what has happened in our lives and thus progress more easily through their own "rite of passage."

This is why I think it so valuable to share our most precious and intimate features of our journey with others, rather than keeping such material locked forever in the vault of one's own psyche.