CHAKRAS, KUNDALINI AND SHABDA MEDITATION (FEBRUARY 2010 SONIC SPECTRUM)
Michael Turner
For Explorers of the Inner Light and Sound of God
CHAKRAS, KUNDALINI
AND SHABDA MEDITATION
© February 2010, by Michael Turner
Hi There.
I was wondering what to write about this month. And the answer came:
write about what’s on people’s minds. And lately, that seems to be
chakras and Kundalini, and how they pertain to Shabda Meditation (aka
Surat Shabd Yoga, Radhasoami, Eckankar and Sant Mat). So let’s take a
few minutes to discuss this.
I want to start with two points: one I made last year and one I made
in the very first Sonic Spectrum I ever wrote, back in 1993. The
first is, where is your attention? The second is, what is your
spiritual goal? The two are very closely intertwined. Where you
place your attention determines where you are, and it also impacts
what you wish to achieve in your spiritual practice. In determining
this, you are better able to make conscious choices about spiritual
practice is best suited for you. Having said that, with the literary
help of some of the Masters of Sant Mat, I will do my best to
illustrate the characteristics of the chakras, Kundalini and Shabda
Meditation and how they relate to each other.
For starters, most yogic systems focus on various physical postures,
breathing techniques and ascending the spinal centers (chakras), from
the first one at the base of the spine up to the sixth one at the
third eye. This is done very gradually, with the third eye and crown
chakra above it being the goal. But what is the end goal for most
yoga and yogis is the starting point for Shabda Meditation. Further,
while other forms of yoga could be quite strenuous, difficult and time-
consuming, Shabda Meditation is a nearly effortless path, a natural
way of spiritual awakening that virtually anybody can practice. Sant
Kirpal Singh wrote about the various forms of yoga beautifully in his
book “Night Is A Jungle”. The following passage is somewhat lengthy,
but important to understanding this concept.
“The Masters teach the most natural way.
Natural ways are always the easiest.
Easy things can be followed by anyone anywhere.
Even a child should be able to see
the Light of Heaven within.
There are so many yogic practices.
We have Hath Yoga. It gives us physical fitness,
a strong body, for one thing; and for another
it prepares the way for another type of yoga,
the Prana Yoga. Prana Yoga gives control over
the respiratory system in the body, and enables
one to withdraw the motor and sensory currents
together to the seat of the soul within.
The body is simply left as a clod of earth,
without breath or motion;
this is technically called ‘kumbhak’.
When we achieve this withdrawal of the pranas
(vital airs) we see the Light of God
and hear the Voice of God within.
This is a difficult and arduous way.
Everyone is not fit for it.
Everyone cannot follow it.
The body must be sound and strong.
For this we have to take the Hatha Yoga
practices for a long time to make our body fit,
and then we can take it up.
Those who are physically unfit,
if they take it up,
they fall victim to different diseases.
Next there is Laya Yoga, which is concerned
with awakening of the ‘kundalini’
or the serpentine power.
That is also practiced through
controlling one’s breathing.
We have to awaken all centers in the body
and go up step by step.
There are other forms of yoga as well,
which enable one to control his mind.
They ask us to visualize within some
outer object so that we may have something
to concentrate our thoughts upon.
Then there is Jnana Yoga for grasping
the reality within by the sheer force of intellect
– a very difficult path indeed, I may say.
….
What type of yoga do the Masters teach?
I have just mentioned certain types of yoga.
There are other types as well,
which enable us to concentrate and
dwell on the lower ganglions of the body.
They aim at awakening the different
supernatural powers thereby.
But the true aim of life is to
know one’s Self and to know God,
and not to have supernatural powers.
To one who practices the highest type of yoga,
by following the Path of the Masters,
all such powers come of themselves:
one has not to work for them.
But a true seeker of God bypasses all such temptations.
What then is the most natural yoga?
What do the Masters teach?
The Path of the Masters is known as
‘Sehaj Yoga’ (the natural yoga)
or the ‘Surat Shabd Yoga’
(the yoga of the Sound Current).
What is ‘surat’?
It is the soul within each of us,
the outward expression of which
is the attention
or what is known as consciousness,
awareness or wakefulness.
When you open and close your eyes
successively for some time,
you will feel a kind of wakefulness
and consciousness behind the eyes.
This wakefulness or consciousness
is the ‘Self’ within you, and that you are.
In the waking state it is diffused in the body
and is engaged in outer pursuits of the world
through the agency of the senses.
But it can be withdrawn
and concentrated within.
The Master helps in withdrawing the sensory currents,
collecting them at one center,
and gives and inner contact with
the ‘Word Power’ within –
the divine link in each one of us.
This God Power is known by different names.
St. John speaks of it as the ‘Word’.
It is the ‘Holy Ghost’ of Christ.
The Muslims call it ‘Kalma’ or ‘Ism-I-Azam’,
while the Hindu Rishis called it ‘Sruti’ or ‘Udgit’.
Soroaster gave it the name of ‘Sraosha’
or the ‘Creative Verbum’.
Guru Nanak speaks of it as ‘Naam’.
It is the great Creative Power of God
which is controlling the Universe.
This Sound Principle or ‘Divine harmony’
is the core of all that is.”
- “Night Is A Jungle”. Sant Kirpal Singh. (pp. 104-108)
At this point, we might as well address the issue of raising
Kundalini. I’m not trying to step on any toes here, but the Masters
are pretty clear in their position on this subject. To put it simply,
they do not advocate Kundalini raising. Kirpal Singh taught:
“Question: Has Kundalini Shakti
got anything to do with God Realization?
Master: That is the way of the Yogis
– we are not concerned with it.
Question: But has it got anything
unconsciously to do with the Path.
Master: No. This is a natural way
you are put on. That is a very dangerous way.
The whole body burns like fire, you cannot bear it.
So that is not our way. That Astrologer
– there was one who came here –
he was a victim of that for two or three years.
He came up to me in Deolali, which is near Bombay.
He said, ‘I am in burning fire,
the Kundalini is awakened.’
When he was initiated it was all right.
So that’s not our way.”
- “Heart to Heart Talks: Volume Two.” Sant Kirpal Singh. Pg. 163
Sant Kirpal also states:
"As regards the Kundalini,
you should not pay any attention to that
as it is fraught with danger.
You have been put on the Path,
the Natural Way."
- "The Teachings of Kirpal Singh - New Life in the World" (pg.
72).
Kirpal’s master, Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, also disavowed
Kundalini activation, stating:
“Kundalini is a force in the ganglia
in the body below the eyes.
Saints do not deal with such powers.
There is no force stronger than the soul force.
The saints go by Sound;
the others by the light or sound
of the second degree – that is, of the left ear.”
- “Spiritual Gems”. Hazur Sawan Singh. (pg. 273)
This coincides with both my personal experience of Kundalini energy
and interacting with others who had practiced Kundalini yoga. Just
prior to discovering Shabda Meditation, I spent some time studying
Kundalini yoga at an ashram in the Southwest, and learned enough to
know it wasn’t my path. Kundalini is a very intense, dynamic energy,
very difficult to control and fraught with peril. If unleashed
without proper supervision, it can go raging up the spine, igniting
the chakras and destabilizing them. This can lead to a myriad of
unwanted psychic experiences, imbalance and difficulties, and even
mental instability, to the point where one is barely able to function
in society. The symptoms are not unlike someone who has become
mentally unbalanced from doing too many psychedelic drugs. So I
concur with Sant Kirpal Singh and Hazur Sawan Singh, and all of the
other Sant Mat Masters, that the Kundalini serpent should be left
undisturbed.
As far as Kundalini’s influence in activating, energizing and
balancing the chakras goes, let me just say I understand why some
people feel this is useful and even necessary. After all, having any
of your chakras out of balance can be quite destabilizing for you as a
person. Whether it is survival anxiety or sexual issues, an
unbalanced ego or a heart center that is too shut down (or conversely
too wide open), poorly tuned chakras (just like the cylinders of a car
engine) can throw your whole life out of kilter. But rather than rely
upon something as unpredictable and volatile as Kundalini to tune them
and bring them into harmony and alignment, there is an easier and
safer solution. Simply focus your attention and apply the soothing
balm of Naam to your entire spine and all of your chakras. Because
Naam is the fundamental frequency of the Eternal, a wave of pure
golden love, It will – of It’s own accord – calm your chakras and
gradually bring them (and your life) into alignment, balance and
harmony.
Returning to a comparison of disciplines, Julian Johnson aptly pointed
out the relationship of the chakras and traditional yoga to Surat
Shabd Yoga. While Mr. Johnson was not a Sant Mat Master, he was a
devoted student of Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj, and is widely
considered to be one of the leading scholars and authorities on Sant
Mat. His book “Path of the Masters”, cited below, is known as one of
the foremost classics in the field.
“We have given the six centers in Pind,
the body, below the eyes, not as a part of
the Master’s teachings, but as a study.
This is because so many yogis emphasize these
and use them.
But the Masters do not use them.
They begin their concentration at Tisra Til,
and from there they go on up.
If one begins there,
the next station above Tisra Til is
‘Ashta-dal-Kanwal’, the lotus of eight petals,
and then the next above that is
the true center of the Astral worlds.
Its name is ‘Sahasra-dal-Kanwal’,
and this is the first of the great regions
traversed by the Masters
on their upward journey.
At this point almost all the yogis stop,
many of them believing that
they have attained the highest.
But it is, in effect,
the starting point of the Masters
on their upward journey
toward the Supreme Region.
That lies eight distinct stages above,
or seven exclusive of Sahasra-dal-Kanwal.
Sahasra-dal-Kanwal lies just below
the Brahm Lok of the Hindus,
known in the technical language of the Masters
as ‘Trikuti’. That is the second stage in their Path.
But to the ancient Hindus, and the Vedas,
that is the end of all,
the residence of the Supreme God.
In the Science of the Masters,
Brahm is known as the Negative Power.”
- “Path of the Masters”. Julian Johnson. (pg. 445)
And in the spiritual classic, “Sar Bachan Radhasoami (Prose)” – which
can be considered the cornerstone upon which the modern Light and
Sound teachings are based – it states:
18. “Just as there are six celestial regions
from Sat Lok to Sahas-dal-kanwal,
similarly there are six material regions
below them in Pind (material spiritual region)
which are, in fact, the reflex of the higher regions.
Their names and locations are being given below
separately. Although, according to the teachings
of Huzur Radhasoami Saheb
and in view of the easy mode of devotion
graciously prescribed by Him,
now the devotee is not at all required
to traverse the lower regions,
all the same it appears proper and necessary
to give a brief account of these stages also
just for information and proper appreciation
and for removing doubts and misunderstandings
created now-a-days by the Vachak Gyanis
and the intellectuals.
These six stages are called ‘Khat Chakra’ (six ganglia)
They are related to the Pind (physical frame).”
- “Sar Bachan Radhasoami (Prose). Shiv Dayal Singh: Part I. (Pg.
21)
Maharaj Charan Singh reinforced this point, noting that the natural
point of our attention is at the eye center, that this is the natural
interlocking point of the soul and the mind. Further addressing the
attention, he raises the question: Do we want to lower our attention
from the eye center to the chakras beneath it, or do we want to raise
it up? And if we want to go up and in from the third eye, why go to
the trouble of lowering our attention just so we can raise it back up
to the eye center? Descending to the lower chakras only to climb back
to where we started, he wrote, did not make sense.
“How to meditate?
You have to close your eyes,
so your attention doesn’t go out . . .
You close your eyes,
and you are just at the eye center.
Then, keeping your attention there,
you should try to do simran.
The idea is that
your attention shouldn’t scatter outside,
it should be here at the eye center.
(W)hen you are sitting midway up a hill,
you just can’t start your journey from the top,
nor would you like to go back down to the bottom
in order to climb up to the top.
We are all sitting here at the eye center,
which is the natural seat of the soul and mind
knotted together in the conscious state . . .
Hence, we want to start from where we are.
Neither do we want to come down
to the lower chakras,
the lower centers, and start up,
nor can we start from higher up.
So we have to start from the eye center.”
- “Die to Live”. Maharaj Charan Singh (pp. 124-125)
To me, this was – and is – inherently logical. Not that there is
anything wrong with taking an elevator ride up and down the chakras.
It can be quite entertaining. But ultimately it boils down to what
your spiritual goal is. To reiterate, if your goal is to get to the
sixth floor and higher of a building, and you are already at the sixth
floor, why take the elevator down just so you can go back up to your
point of origin? Likewise, is your goal activating psychic centers in
your body, or is it self-realization, God-realization and spiritual
freedom? If the former, that is perfectly fine, and a lot can be
learned. If your goal is the latter, you need to find a way of rising
above the chakras – and all temporal circuits – and tap into the
Eternal.
On thing to understand is that the spinal chakras only go as high as
the crown chakra, just above the third eye. They can take you to
Sahas-dal-Kanwal – the center of the Astral Plane, but that’s it. If
you want to go farther, you need to find a different vehicle of
transport. As Maharaj Jagat Singh wrote:
6. Do Dal Kanwal (two-petaled lotus)
is the sixth centre, between the two eyes.
It is called ‘Shiv Netra’, ‘Tisra Til’ or “Third Eye’.
This is the headquarters of our soul and mind
during the waking state.
From this point the currents of our soul
have come down
and spread throughout our whole body
– in every cell and hair.
This is as far as the Khat Chakras can take the soul.
Pranayama cannot take one beyond this stage
for the reason that the ‘pranas’,
the energies in the breath,
which form the vehicle used for ascent,
merge in the Chitakash (sky within) at this stage.
Near the sacral plexus
and associated with the function of reproduction
is the ‘Nadi’, the Royal Vein called ‘Kundalini’,
which lies coiled like a serpent.
This is the root of all the nadis.
From it twenty-four smaller nadis spring forth,
which support the body.
Out of these ten carry the pranas
to different parts of the body.
Among these, Ida, Pingla and Sushmana
are the major nadis, which control the breath.
They reach only as far as the Shiv Netra,
the Tisra Till, the Third Eye.
The progress of those who follow Pranayam
(the practice of rhythmic breathing),
stops at Tisra Til, where these nadis end
and the Pranas merge in Chitakash,
the place of their origin.
No power can carry one further than its origin.
From here, some realize their limitation
and take the help of the three canals
or streams of the gunas
and manage to reach Sahans Dal Kanwal.
This is the first chakra of Brahmand,
whence the Way of the Saints begins.”
- “The Science of the Soul”. Maharaj Jagat Singh. (Pp. 31-32)
Starting at the eye center is a constant with all of the Light and
Sound teachings, be they east or west, for again this is the seat of
the soul. Paul Twitchell and Darwin Gross made this point over and
over again. They taught me early on that the door within was at the
third eye, the Tisra Til. That is where contact with the Shabda and
the radiant form of the Master is made. To quote Kirpal Singh again:
How then is salvation possible?
All Masters say, ‘If thine eye be single,
thy whole body shall be full of light.’
For salvation we must develop out ‘single eye’.
But how to find it and how to develop it?
Guru Nanak tells us that
the ‘single eye’ spoken of
is not of flesh and bone,
as are our outer eyes.
It is the inner eye – the eye within you.
And this is to be opened. But how?
One who has his own eye opened
and has seen the light of God
is also capable of giving you
first-hand inner experience of it.
Seeing is believing,
and when you see for you own self,
you will require no further testimony.
On the other hand, the blind cannot lead the blind.
An awakened soul alone can awaken souls
slumbering on the plane of the senses.
As light comes from light,
so does life from life.
A man of realization can grant an experience
of the Reality to others . . .
Shamas of Tabrez says:
‘We should be able to see God with our own eyes
and hear the voice of God with our own ears.
This is no new thing.
It is the most ancient science and the most authentic.
Another Muslim Saint,
Moieen-ud-Din Chisti, tells us,
‘You have to open the inner eye
to behold the glory of God within.
It is already there.
- Night Is a Jungle. (pp. 105-106)
By concentrating our attention at the third eye with simran (repeating
the Holy Names of God) we are able to make conscious contact with the
LightSong of the Shabda and begin the journey up and in. We rise
above body consciousness, and above astral, causal and mental as well,
transcending Sahas-dal-Kanwal, Brahm, Par Brahm and Mahasunna, until
we attain Sach Khand (Sat Lok, the Soul Plane) and are able, with the
viewpoint of soul, to see all of the dual worlds in their proper
perspective.
This is a good place to take a break for meditation and reflection.
We will continue discussing Shabda Meditation and the journey to
realization shortly. I would like to close here with some comments by
Great Master Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj:
The second stage lies within the scope
of Kal and Maya.
And the coverings of all three bodies –
physical, astral, and mental –
cannot be removed
until the third stage is reached.
Therefore, the souls are not so pure
and powerful against temptation
while in the lower stages of development,
and must come back to earth again and again.
In the path of Sant Mat,
the soul is cured of all impurities
of Kal and Maha (Brahm),
and gains greater strength at every step
or stage of the journey,
until it reaches the eighth stage
and is one with the Supreme Father.
Thus the soul never need come back.
All other religions end at the second stage.
As your concentration
at the third eye becomes stronger,
many mysteries will be solved for you,
and you will get more pleasure from meditation.
You will also have fore-flashes of light and knowledge.
Solitude brings peace and help in spiritual progress.
Many complain of the mind wandering during exercises.
The mind feels pleasure in roaming at large,
and does not like to give up its liberty
until it has attained higher joy
in exchange for its present pleasures.
But constant practice will compel it
to give up its former habits.”
- “Spiritual Gems”. Hazur Sawan Singh Ji Maharaj (pg. 273)
and
“Regarding the hearing of the sound current,
it is a matter of steadfast, fixed attention
and perfect concentration.
When you have attained that,
you may be sure you will
hear the perfect sound current.
The real Shabd is heard only
after reaching Sahansdal Kanwal.
Before that, you get only a feeble reflection of it.
Go on until you hear the perfect bell sound,
clear and sweet, and most delightful.
Only when concentration is perfect
will you hear it.
Do not be discouraged.”
- Ibid. (pg. 240)
Before you meditate today, take some time to re-read Hazur Sawan
Singh’s above comments. Allow them to sink and take root in your
attention, watered with the nectar of Naam. They will bear a fruit
that is most sweet.
More soon.
Yours in the LightSong Eternal,
Michael Turner
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