As being written!

Part 1 of chap 3. (temporary placement).

The Transcendental Guru

The kundalini rises up from the sleeping coiled state when awakened, & this may be spontaneous as it’s our nature to be spiritual, although for some this is not the case. Yogic practices enable a focus moving towards the crown chakra. However the special grace of a siddha yogi can create a massive increase in kundalini awareness & experience of moving through the chakras. This is the shakti-paat from the guru. That teacher obviously has Siddhis to make this happen, & will be at least a level 7. The transcendental guru is at level 8 because they transcend all components of Maya – even the spiritual ones. A highly developed spiritual person has naturally free-flowing energies, with the kundalini rising up & down through all the chakras. Freely moving past the crown chakra into the ether to a position around the heart area of the body, like an aura. The transcendental state is not bodily identified, although the subtle sounds or mantras of the Goddess or Shakti energy remain, & are still seemingly connected to the purified heart energy. This is not a chakra, but is the centre for connection to the combined God/Goddess nature of the Universal Consciousness. Even at level 8, the body awareness remains, but it is seen a divine energy, not human energy. Level 9 will be that of an Avatar, who is the pure representation of the Divine in human form. The level 9 will be a “partial avatar” whereas level 10 is the full force of God as human. In Hinduism, Krishna & Rama are considered full avatars. As for Buddha & Jesus or other religious Deities, well, you have to ask the opinion of their followers!  Obviously in Christianity the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit are one Trinity, so in that sense Jesus would be a level 10. Hindus do see other religious figures as at a lower level than their own Deities, but then all religions see the other religions as inferior! I am multi-faith so I only see equality!

            The levels of spiritual states are arbitrary & “made up”. However they can be useful. It’s like having diagnoses from psychiatry. It can be helpful to understand that one has clinical depression or Bi-polar disorder, or a mixture of disorders. Then it useful to know the level of severity. So classification of anything has a place in our human understanding of the world.

            Some will practice activities to make controlled & channeled energy rise up through the chakras, using meditation on the chakras centres, whilst perhaps using mantras to purify each location. However my method is to receive the Divine energy downward through the use of certain bija manta sounds, which in turn releases allows kundalini energy to rise up seamlessly as the chakras are already primed. Thus the energy of the -Divine revolves back down into the body, also purifying all the centres. Kundalini then moves as a continuous flow upwards as well as downwards, free-flowing without blockage. That energy can be initiated along with the mantas needed through the Shaktipatt process that the Guru can bestow. (This is Divine Grace & one can get it directly from ones Deity).

Whether a guru is chosen or some Deity/Higher Power, the reality is that the road of spiritual practice can be a lengthy one, with a lot of repetition, endeavor and discipline. Of course alternatively some believe it may be possible to get to connection with God in one hit, as in becoming “born-again”. Then the belief is that after this life, there is attainment of a permanent spiritual space, such as that called Heaven, which will be guaranteed.  For others it is agreed that it may take many revolving lifetimes of practice to truly achieve liberation from the cycle of birth and death.

The Siddha is a transcendental guru who knows the secrets about kundalini. How does it flow & what are the secret mantras for the chakras. (The inside knowledge). The special seed or bija sounds that go with certain chakras, work to develop one’s ability to both function in the world and to transcend it. This is important because you can’t stop being human! You have to work with what is in your personal Maya circumstance, then understand it then transcend it. The manta does this by purifying & ultimately bestowing the Grace which is the Divine Shakti which “incidentally” is your own True Self. Don’t worry about this “being divine” business It is what it is, & will take care of itself, because it is limitless, self-exiting & thus beyond all dualities if life & death (Samsara). The practitioner needs to get the spiritual high level attainment, & then the Grace will cause the shift to the transcendent levels.

So, inside knowledge about the workings of Kundalini and Shakti, or the use of sacred sounds including bija mantras, is a business requiring direction from the Transcendental Guru who I shall now refer to as Satguru. (Sat meaning Truth). Getting the awaking of Kundalini may be considered by some to be relatively easy, just do some yoga stuff. This does not of itself change a future of many years of struggle & suffering. You have to go further to get past the daily grind of life business that the work still occurs. You can survive or then flourish in human terms, without any recourse to religion or spirituality. Just take the pills! It’s better to have ability to be a spiritual soul rather than just a physically embodied one. (If you ask why you haven’t suffered enough)!

When you freely moves up & down through the chakras, it becomes easier to focus & be on the higher levels. The you can really focus on the heart centre, as the crown chakra is a route through which divine energy revolves & descends, but also moves down outside the body to generate heart connection to Divine energy. This is my Goddess point where I access the connection to Shakti, & my particular Tara Devi deity. Just out & to the right of the heart. At this point other non-kundalini focused meditations& mantras may be preferred by the practitioner.

            A true guru is Sat or having the qualities if Supreme Truth., Guru is the teacher who takes us from darkness to light. Hence a Perfected Teacher, who is a Divine being is one who has reached the state of oneness with the Divinity, (sometimes known as God). Starts at level 7 in terms of the levels of spiritual attainment. But what is a Siddha? (The essential quality of such a teacher. Where did all these concept, philosophical, come from? There is a lot of background history here from the most ancient scriptures – the Veda. The Veda gave rise, after a period of sacrificial worship focus, a very far removed system. This was Vedanta, & was then the domain of renunciates, & souls who sought release from the round of life & death. (Some similarities with Buddhism, but a whole area itself). My previous books describe Vedanta philosophy & its practice in the realm of the spiritual minded soul. I will go into this a bit more her, for a more basic perspective,  that ties it in with the later practice in India of worshiping various Deities. Where Shakti & Kundalini & Yoga system come in is another complex are. A brief explanation will be given in the next section.

However back to the Siddha yogi, guru or holy one, with perfected powers of being able to transmit the Shakti energies to a student or follower. This spiritually enlightened being has power or abilities to enable the transformation of others, through look & transmitted energy alone. (No teaching required). That Siddha can cause the kundalini to be awakened & set the practitioner hurtling into the more advanced stages of practice. Its a “short-cut process”.

Some see this sort of human incarnation as being in the form of Jesus, as God becomes human, or in the form of Buddha, a human being made perfect by his own endeavor, as one who has entered the state of Nirvana. Nirvana or Moksha is a state of both enlightenment & freedom, (from birth & death). Some see such a one as their own teacher, of whatever spiritual path or religion they have chosen.

Transcendental philosophy – it’s complicated!

            Vedanta says it is all one thing – Cosmic Consciousness or Brahman. The individual souls is this “substance” as the Atman. Both ae the same in essence: so no real duality, only apparently so, (due to Maya).  A more religiously influenced philosophy points to a Deity/God, thats separate. This is Dvaita Vedanta, where dvaita means two truths or realities. (Dualism). Advaita Vedanta is “only one, or without duality”. Early Hinduism was much more monotheistic with scripture extolling the God who was in the beginning alone. Advaita Vedanta leans more to atheism as there is no Creator, because there is no real creation. (Only an illusory one). Appears to be real but isn’t. A bit like physics saying the body & world is made up of lots of atoms “spinning around” & taking on different shapes & forms. A table feels solid because of the dancing electrons. Atoms themselves are voider than they are matter. Every atom has a nucleus surrounded by electrons. Everyone in the world is made up of nothingness. (Scientific truth). The entire human race, every single person, could all be compressed into a solid cube with the equivalent size of a sugar cube – all because we are made up of nothingness. Solid objects are just a conglomeration of tiny particles separated by what is practically infinite nothingness. Due to the space inside atoms, you are mostly made up of empty space!

            Previously noted was the historical movement from seeing Oneness, to perceiving a Deity, which then was considered by some to be a Goddess power. The prevailing religious direction has so far primarily been focused on a patriarchal view of God. This most deities have been God/Allah & in Hinduism & Buddhism there is variety of choice here. Then there is a considerable body of scripture regarding Shakti as the Goddess power emanation which is involved individual in the kundalini & chakras processes.

            Whatever the philosophical stance, the idea of “who you are”, is based on the domain of the bodily based egoic individual, who says, “I am so & so”. (Who doesn’t really exist – see Vedanta or science!). The universe is the undivided essence of the Supreme self, & appearances are like seeing a snake on the ground when it is just a coil of rope. Consciousness appears then as Jiva-atman, the individual who feels & thinks & then does all based on a false perception. In religion though some recognize their separateness to a degree, & then pray to their Deity for the attainment of a Oneness, such as residing in heaven alongside ones Deity. Does the religious approach take beyond Samsara & the cycle of birth & death? (Given that religions are created by human minds from a human perspective – historically a patriarchal one).

            The means to liberation in Advaita Vedanta is to merge with Cosmic Consciousness, whereas in Dvaita Vedanta it is merging with one Deity. One is a knowledge, (Gyana) pathway, versus Bhakti – devotion. We can do both & some of the renoned sages in ancient India did just that. In Tibetan Buddhism there is worship of Deities such as Tara Devi. She appears as a female bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, and as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the “mother of liberation”, as saviour who liberates souls from suffering, & represents the virtues of success in work and achievements. Hinduism in particular lays out all the religious, spiritual, & philosophical option like a smorgasbord. Take your pick & in today’s secular world, mix & mingle. (In the past & today in some countries, such an approach is considered blasphemous). Now you can also choose your gurus & “swap around”. (Please debate!)

To transcend suffering also means wiping out any negative effects that depression anxiety, addictions & other mental health issues have caused in your life. Yes it is a cure! (Sort off). It is about seeing the bigger picture, and realizing that it all was necessary, then to be grateful for it all. It is very hard to believe that something as bad is depression etc. can ever be necessary. However, depression is nothing more than a “disconnect”. Not from God, as that is not possible. It’s a disconnect from allowing the experience of life to unfold. In very severe depression suicide may occur, but then what happens? In re-incarnation terms, you keep coming back to where you stopped learning. It goes on until you keep learning, and get the message. In the Cosmic scheme of things, it is a “slight disconnection”. ((Not for us humans though as this as suicide is a tragedy that is often preventable!).

Being in a state of some seeming separation, & maybe feeling completely cut off from your Source. In spirituality terms, that is an illusion, but it feels real nonetheless. Why is it necessary, as a learning task?  Perhaps that state of separation from your Source gives contrasts. If you always were whole, how would you know what it feels like to regain being whole? There is no contrast for you to experience wholeness from. However, once you have experienced complete separation you can return to wholeness, and actually know what it feels like.

The Self within, the Atman of the Vedanta, is so near and yet so hard to appreciate. Ask the Question, “Who am I?”, and also seek the guru within as well as without. Vedanta teachers say that when we ask ourselves, “Who am I?” we are trying to find out what the true nature of the “I” is. Not the mind, not the body, but an unchanging entity that remains constant in our waking, dream and sleep states. An entity, which remains constant through childhood, adolescence, adulthood and old age. It is the Self within, the Atman, which is the same “substance” as Brahma, the Cosmic Self.

I have come to realize that the mind’s activities are transient and fickle, whilst the light of yogic awareness burns steadily behind the mental screens. Once having reached the transcendental inner light or awareness through our deepest subconscious, we can return to our chosen life and continue on our way bathed in a subtle serenity. My quiet years in an isolated India started me on the journey to seek time and space to consolidate and fortify an inner awareness. This has developed over the years & thus leads to writing such as within this book.