Thesis on Kundalini

[Guest guest]

It is not easy to find a way out for the problem of accommodating

discourses related to deep subjective experiences into the rational

traditions espoused by modern Universities .Experimental

psychology does not pose much problem if accompanied by vigorous

scientific methodology, but in the case of spiritual disciplines,

the very fact that they are being observed is regarded as an

inhibitting factor.The scientific community has been consistently

sceptical about even desciplines like parapsychology and phenomena

like ESP.So the problems about various sadhanas

vis a vis modern research could be summed up:

 

1. Is the particular spiritual practice open to all, including the

sceptic?

 

2. Is the spiritual experience repeatable at will ?

 

3.Is it capable of being generalised into a natural law?

 

4. Can it be substantiated in a rational , dispassionate discourse?

Of course I do not deny the possibility of valid knowledge existing

outside the contours of experimental science in the strict sense of

the

term

 

Rajendran

 

 

1) Meditation certainly can be attempted by anyone who wants to try

it, however Kundalini experiences generally do not occur without a

fair amount of preperatory sadhana. The practice is open to all,

but first you must become an "insider" rather than an "outsider". I

cannnot teach someone how to make a beautiful sound on the violin if

they are not yet a violinist of some degree of skill.

 

2) A particular spritual experience may not be repeatable at will on

any particular for most yoga aspirants, but certainly many positive

spiritual experiences can be tracked over time. A good

meteorologist cannot say for certain what today's weather will be.

But he/she certainly will correctly predict the weather in the long

run.

 

The more difficult problem of course is that no one has yet created

a movie camera that can enter into the yogi's mind and record what

he/she is experiencing. All we can do as of yet is observe the

body's reaction to the experiences. Some will say that a human being

is nothing more than the physical body, but yogis do not adhere to

this belief.

 

3) The are many accepted natural laws in physics, biology, etc.

Similary there exist spritual laws that can also be generalised.

 

4) The capability of clear thought, clear perception and the power

of dispassion are certainly traits that a yogi needs and there are

modern day yogis who are educated enough to talk about these things

lucidly and in the language and culture of their audience.

 

The problem of course, is that as a yogi becomes more and more

illumined, as it were, he/she also becomes freer, happier, more

independent, and in many ways more child-like. So it is not

uncommon for an attained yogi to lose interest in the mire of

politics, personal agendas, etc. that are prevalent in academic

circles, religious insitutions, and so on. If the yogi feels a

genuine spiritual interest on some level, however, he/she will play

the game. Ultimately, we are all human beings and as such worthy of

respect and even worship, no matter what hat we put on.

 

Also there is the unwritten law that many of these things are meant

to be kept secret. These days, however, this law is being allowed

to be bent, for the benefit of humanity.

 

---Matt