CHAPTER 8 - Headway in Kuṇḍalinī-yoga
(Continued)

That night His Holiness had a dream. It began with His being alone in the sanctum of Śāradāmbā. The Goddess Herself manifested in the place of the idol and She seated Him on Her lap. Then in front of Him, He saw a boy who looked like Him. That boy was seated in the padmāsana and was wearing just an ochre loin cloth. Somehow, His Holiness could see the boy’s kuṇḍalinī, in the form of a coiled serpent, asleep in his mūlādhāra-cakra. Goddess Śāradā lightly touched the boy with Her right hand on his back, in the region of the mūlādhāra-cakra.

Immediately, the sleeping kuṇḍalinī awoke and, hissing, raised its hood. The four petals of the mūlādhāra-cakra that were drooping earlier turned upward. The lotus now appeared to be in full bloom, with the letters on the petals bright and visible. Abruptly, the scene changed. His Holiness again saw the kuṇḍalinī asleep. This time the Goddess touched the boy between the eyebrows. The kuṇḍalinī awakened as before. His Holiness understood, in the dream, that the kuṇḍalinī can be awakened by the touch of the Guru and that the portion of the back corresponding to the mūlādhāra and the region between the eyebrows are among the places where such touch is particularly effective in doing so.

As this understanding dawned on Him, He could again see the boy’s kuṇḍalinī lying asleep. The Divine mother now raised Her right hand in a gesture of blessing. She did not touch the boy. This time too his kuṇḍalinī awakened. His Holiness realised that the Guru can arouse the kuṇḍalinī even by a mental blessing. Next, the boy began to perform prāṇāyāma, together with the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāna and mūla bandhas. His Holiness saw a fire building up in the boy’s suṣumnā and its flames beginning to lick his sleeping kuṇḍalinī. As the flames heated the kuṇḍalinī, it abruptly woke up and hissed fiercely. Then, it began to ascend the suṣumnā. His Holiness understood that the practice of prāṇāyāma together with the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāna and mūla bandhas serves to awaken the kuṇḍalinī.

The scene underwent a change and He saw the boy’s kuṇḍalinī asleep yet again. It seemed to Him that He could now experience whatever was going on in the boy’s mind. He sensed that the boy was visualising the mūlādhāra and contemplating on the devatās therein. Then, the lad mentally worshipped the kuṇḍalinī. Thereafter, he conceived of the kuṇḍalinī being reverentially led by him to the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra. There, he clearly visualised the svādhiṣṭhāna and concentrated on the devatās therein. Having done so, he offered worship to the kuṇḍalinī. This worship was patently a continuation of the worship that he had commenced at the mūlādhāra. On apprehending all this, a conviction arose in His Holiness’s mind that such visualisation of the cakras, meditation on the devatās in them and worship of the kuṇḍalinī help to awaken and raise the kuṇḍalinī. The whole process delighted Him.

The scene changed once again. He saw the boy’s kuṇḍalinī on the verge of moving up the suṣumnā. There appeared to be some obstruction to its ascent. The kuṇḍalinī, however, forced its way up. At this point, He heard Goddess Śāradā, on whose lap He was seated in the dream, telling Him, in Sanskrit, “Having pierced the brahma-granthi, the kuṇḍalinī is moving upwards.” It seemed to His Holiness that the boy was willing the kuṇḍalinī to rise and that this exercise of will power was making a positive contribution. As the kuṇḍalinī in the boy reached the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra, that lotus fully bloomed. The kuṇḍalinī soon ascended to the maṇipūra-cakra. Then, instead of moving upwards, she gradually descended to the mūlādhāra-cakra and remained inactive there. On seeing this, His Holiness comprehended that it is possible for the awakened kuṇḍalinī to travel partially up the suṣumnā, descend and become dormant.

In a few moments, His Holiness again witnessed the arousal and ascent of the boy’s kuṇḍalinī. This time there appeared to be no obstacle to her ascent from the mūlādhāra to beyond the maṇipūra. It was at the region of the anāhata-cakra that the kuṇḍalini seemed to encounter an obstruction. However, it forced its way through and caused the anāhata-cakra to bloom. At this point, the Divine Mother told His Holiness, “The viṣṇu-granthi has been cut.”

His Holiness then saw the kuṇḍalinī proceeding through the viśuddha-cakra to the ājñā-cakra. There, it overcame some obstacle and moved upwards. Goddess Śāradā announced, “The piercing of the rudra-granthi has occurred.” Finally, the kuṇḍalinī reached the pericarp of the sahasrāra. The Goddess pointed out, “The kūṇḍalinī is united with Paramaśiva.”

The boy’s face showed signs of his being in a state of bliss and his body was motionless. From His position on Goddess Śāradā’s lap, His Holiness could not discern the boy’s breathing. At this point, His dream ended and He woke up.

[To be continued]

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