Kundalin Research

Introduction

This section is a compilation of various pieces of research that have been collected and correlated at the IYFM Research Coordinating Center at Munger, Bihar, India. Over the last few years, under the guidance of our guru, Swami Satyananda Saraswati, we have seen time and again that the words and teachings of many of the yogis, saints and sages from all ages have been recently verified by modern science. It has been our function to fit together the bits and pieces of researches and to point out:

1. the overlap between what modern science and yogis have been saying,
2. how the various pieces fit together to give us an expanded concept of man,
3. what directions research can take in order to design and analyze research in the light of yogic psychophysiology.

One of the great traps in attempting to research yoga is to design experiments without a thorough knowledge of yoga itself. This is like looking at only a small part of the whole, just as the six blind “wise” men who each examined a different part of an elephant and pronounced their judgements based on these limitations, could never understand the whole elephant and how it looked. Yogic training requires many years and the skilled guidance of a master to discover its basic principles, its mode of application, and to prepare oneself for the experiences which arise from this training.

The totality of man

Perhaps the outstanding feature of yoga is its ability to give us a more total picture of who we are, to put the various elements into a simpler and at the same time more sophisticated and more expanded perspective. Yoga also teaches us that within us all there is a vital power, a basic essence, whose thread can be seen running through all of life, unmeasurable by even the most sophisticated machines, but palpable and motivating our living, breathing, thinking, body and mind. We can see its effects and measure the various forms and changes of this subtle energy as it enters and interacts with the physical domain, in the nerves, in the chemical and intracellular processes and in the flows and pressures of the body. However, the energy itself is still undefined scientifically.

Through yogic sadhana we can experience the subtle energy which underlies all matter, called prana or kundalini. This is a transformative experience which makes the subtle more tangible and real than the material and so-called solid, physical universe. It shifts our perspective, broadens our awareness and awakens our consciousness, our higher and greater self. It awakens us to the fact that within us is an immortal and eternal essence, full of knowledge, bliss and truth.

The very fact that such an experience exists alters our direction and purpose. We see that we are here not only for sensual and mundane satisfaction, but for a higher and greater destiny. This ultimate goal of yoga must always be remembered when we are researching yoga, for we know that yoga can give us relaxation, alter our brain waves and hormonal secretions, endow us with health, induce concentration and better memory, help us to develop better human interrelationships and to enjoy everything we do, to have fun and fulfil ourselves in a balanced healthy way. However, we must see that these things, though they are all worthy and good in themselves, are not the ultimate goal of yoga, but are side-effects of our pursuit of higher awareness and deeper knowJedge of the truth of our existence. To pursue these things in themselves is another trap, a trick of the mind. For they do not exist by themselves but are the outcome of a complete process of living. The yogic process of total development of body, mind and spirit, ida, pingala and sushumna, is the most systematic way to attain these things and more. Yoga is not a science of healing and does not need to look into the negative side of existence. The teachings tell us to practise and emphasize the good, positive and healthy in us and automatically we will be healthy and happy. There is nothing difficult to understand in this. If we emphasize exercise, moderation, good lifestyle, relaxation, meditation and self-discipline, then we are sure to achieve something worthwhile in life. Research into relaxation, meditation, asana and pranayama, continue to demonstrate that yoga exerts real changes in the body and mind, that it can only be a worthwhile addition to our lives if performed under guidance and done correctly. However, we must remember that it is much more than that, and that all our achievements are ultimately, and in the last analysis, useless if we do not transform the quality of our awareness. Yoga tells us to awaken our minds, to develop the energy within ourselves so that we can attain a much greater, fuller and more total existence. Evidence is piling up to show that there is a psychic side to our lives, that the mental and intangible is far from imaginary, but is powered by an energy, a subtle force which can be tapped and developed and which can totally change and transform the more physical side of our lives. There is also evidence that awareness and consciousness can be independent from the body and this is coming from studies into physics and the nature of energy in our universe.

Purpose of this section

In this section we arc more concerned with delineating the research into energy than into consciousness. We are concerned with the research into kundalini rather than with the awareness side of things. We must take it for granted that awareness exists. Research into the energy side of yoga shows us that there is a physically based energy in the body which also has a psychic dimension. This fits the yogic description of prana, whose ultimate and maximum form is that of kundalini.

Many times we have been amazed to hear the stories of yogis and saints and have been awed by reading the ancient and universal teachings of yoga, to realize that they are applicable even today. Often we have wondered how yogis developed this science in the first place. Obviously it has come from a profound and unusual experience, beyond the capacity of normal man to achieve or even understand without yoga practice. Swamiji is one of those who has reached transcendental heights and come back to tell us about kundalini in scientific terms. Many times Swamiji has spoken about the kundalini phenomenon and has laid down the fundamentals of kundalini yoga in a succinct, precise, profound and yet easily understandable and systematic manner, as has been done in this book. In the past few years he has told us many things about the functions of the body, for example, that the right nostril connects to the left brain, and the left nostril to the right brain, which have been beyond our understanding at first and which have only recently, in 1983, been verified by researchers at the Salk Institute in America (see chapter entitled “Controlling the Nadis and the Brain”). Through his own internal experiences he has seen that most of us do net use our potential and that within the brain there are unused areas of potential energy, psychic awareness and total knowledge. It is actually possible to experience the brain from inside. The source is within us, however, we have not connected the various centers and circuits to the main switches and the main generator. The way to do this, Swamiji tells us, is through kundalini yoga. Often Swamiji has referred to the works of researchers as a means of validating and expressing the kundalini experience in easily understandable scientific terms and to show that there are many people working on this most important aspect of life. Many of their researches are outlined here in simple terms. These researches represent pioneering efforts to delineate the broader function of man. No doubt, in the future, new machines and methods will have to be developed, for we are seeing only the bare beginnings of yogic research at this time. However, the efforts of these researchers will be remembered and will set the course for more sophisticated, scientifically acceptable research. One thing is sure, science and yoga have been running parallel and in the same direction and are now beginning to converge towards a meeting point which promises to transform society. The concept of kundalini and the higher sciences is becoming more widely known and respected and more and more people are taking up its practice. This book and this section are an offering to help you to see kundalini in a more total and easily understood manner, to give researchers guidelines and perspective, and to help you achieve kundalini as a reality in your own life.