Kundalini: A Dynamic Force

Yoga students should be very, very careful when it comes the kundalini. It is a dynamic force, part of the cosmic force, that is in everybody. It is something like a seed that is alive and has the quality to germinate into a big tree. But, if you break open the seed by force, because you want to see the tree inside, you won’t see anything there. Instead, prepare the soil properly. Dig a small hole, just the right depth—not too deep and not too shallow—and plant the seed. Then pour a little water—not too much, but just enough to moisten it. If you pour a whole bucket of water all at once, the seed will decay. Be moderate in how you take care of the seed and then just wait. Give it enough sunlight. Don’t be impatient and dig it up the very next day to see whether it is growing! Let it germinate in its own time while you carefully take care of it. In the same way, the kundalini force is in you. If you prepare your soil by taking care of your body and mind and by being moderate in everything that you do, the power begins to expand and open up by itself.

When your mind is clean and calm, the power expresses itself through your everyday life. At that stage, your mind is peaceful and your life is dynamic. In other words, you are dynamic in your actions and you are  peaceful in your inaction. You can see the inaction in action and inaction in action. That is what you call samadhi. Samadhi doesn’t mean that you close your eyes, go into a corner and sit like a rock. If you did that, you would not be of any use to anybody. The real samadhi is to keep the mind completely peaceful in all situations and circumstances. Samadhi means, equanimity of mind. And when you experience that equanimity of mind, the kundalini expresses itself and works through you. You become a peaceful and useful person. So, the expression of kundalini and samadhi go together. But, unfortunately, sometimes people who don’t have complete tranquility of mind can awaken the kundalini power by force. And when that power prematurely awakens, the person suffers greatly because they are not able to control it.  By the very nature of having an impure mind, they harm others and also themselves. So, in simple words, it is advisable to allow the kundalini Shakti to use you when it is ready, rather than you using it.

It’s as if you are trying to use God to demand certain things, instead of letting God use you. That power will know exactly what to do with you. But if you demand something before you are ready, you may not know what to do with it. There will be a lot of problems for you.

By Sri Swami Satchidananda