Was looking for a book on the Brahma Sutras when I stumbled upon this book by Pujya Swami Sivananda. Downloaded the book from this link. Book is ‘Courtesy and Copyright, The Divine Life Society, P.O. Sivanandanagar – District Tehri-Garwhal, Uttarakhand, Himalayas, India’.

We present below excerpts from the book. Must say loved reading it. Language is simple andexplained in a easy to understand way. 

‘Kundalini Yoga is that Yoga which treats of Kundalini Sakti, the six centres of spiritual energy (Shat Chakras), the arousing of the sleeping Kundalini Sakti and its union with Lord Siva in Sahasrara Chakra, at the crown of the head. This is an exact science.

Kundalini is the coiled up, dormant, cosmic power that underlies all organic and inorganic matter within us and any thesis that deals with it can avoid becoming too abstract, only with great difficulty. But within the following pages, the theory that underlies this cosmic power has been analysed to its thinnest filaments, and practical methods have been suggested to awaken this great pristine force in individuals. It explains the theory and illustrates the practice of Kundalini Yoga.

The Vedas form the sound-manifestation of Ishvara. That sound has four divisions, - Para which finds manifestation only in Prana, Pasyanti which finds manifestation in the mind,

Madhyama which finds manifestation in the Indriyas, and Vaikhari which finds manifestation in articulate expression.

Articulation is the last and grossest expression of divine sound-energy. The highest manifestation of sound-energy, the primal voice, the divine voice is Para.

He who has firm faith in Srutis and Shastras, who has Sadachara (right conduct), who constantly engages himself in the service of his Guru and who is free from lust, anger, Moha, greed and vanity easily crosses this ocean of Samsara and attains Samadhi quickly.

Samadhi is of two kinds, viz., Jada Samadhi and Chaitanya Samadhi. A Hatha Yogi through the practice of Khechari Mudra can shut himself up in a box and remain underneath the ground for months and years. There is no higher supernatural knowledge in this kind of Samadhi. This is Jada Samadhi.

In Chaitanya Samadhi, there is perfect ‘awareness’. The Yogi comes down with new, super-sensuous wisdom.

When, in your meditation, the eyes become fixed on Trikuti, the middle of the eyebrows, when the Shambhavi Mudra operates, know that Kundalini has become active.

If he reaches the spiritual centre in the brain, the Sahasrara Chakra, the thousand-petalled  lotus, the Yogi attains Nirvikalpa Samadhi or superconscious state. He becomes one with the non-dual Brahman. All sense of separateness dissolves’.

Do read in the preface, ‘Pranayama for Awakening Kundalini’.

‘Kundalini Yoga actually belongs to Tantrik Sadhana, which gives a detailed description about this serpent-power and the Chakras, as mentioned above.

Hatha Yoga also builds up its philosophy around this Kundalini and the methods adopted in it are different from Tantrik Sadhana. Hatha Yoga seeks to awaken this Kundalini through the discipline of the physical body, purification of Nadis and controlling the Prana.

Unlike Hatha Yoga which is mechanical and mystical, Raja Yoga teaches a technique with eight limbs, appealing to the heart and intellect of aspirants.

But when we come to Vedanta, there is no question about Kundalini or any type of mystical and mechanical methods. It is all enquiry and philosophical speculation. According to Vedanta the only thing to be destroyed is ignorance about one’s real nature, and this ignorance cannot be destroyed either by study, or by Pranayama, or by work, or by any amount of physical twisting and torturing, but only by knowing one’s real nature, which is Sat-Chit-Ananda or Existence-Knowledge-Bliss’.

Book chapter titles are Preliminary Enquiry, Kundalini Yoga – Theory, Yoga Sadhana, Pranayama, Asanas, Mudras and Bandhas, Yoga – Kundalini Upanishad.

To read the complete book in PDF format please click on PDF to download book. Post reading have highlighted the important portions in yellow. 

To read all articles / books by Swami Sivananda.