CHAPTER 8 Headway in Kuṇḍalinī-yoga

His Holiness’s first experience of the kuṇḍalinī and the cakras took place a few months after His initiation into saṁnyāsa on May 22, 1931.

He had just finished His morning āhnika and was about to get up. Without premeditation, He joined His palms and said, “śrī-śāradāyai namaḥ (Obeisance to the glorious Śāradā).” Abruptly, He felt an upsurge of joy and stopped being aware of His surroundings. It began to seem that His body was becoming transparent and that He was seeing His backbone from some vantage point in front of His chest. The backbone stood out, whitish in colour, with the silhouette of the body appearing dark like a shadow. The backbone then seemed to become translucent to reveal a canal in its interior. In moments, the canal’s width became greatly magnified. He could then see a tube, red and bright like fire, traversing the length of the canal. A mellifluous female voice announced, “iyaṁ suṣumnā-nāḍī (This is the suṣumnā-nāḍī).” He just heard the words but did not perceive the speaker.

Nāḍīs

The width of this fiery canal then expanded and a section along the length vanished to reveal another canal within. This one was coloured like the sun half an hour after sunrise. The same mellifluous female voice informed Him that this was the vajrā-nāḍī. The width of this canal too abruptly increased and a section along the length faded away. A pale tube looking like the moon seen through a thin layer of cloud became visible within the earlier tube. At this juncture, He was told, in Sanskrit, “This is the citriṇī-nāḍī. The brahma-nāḍī is here. It is even termed suṣumnā.” The meaning that flashed in His mind was that the pale tube was called citriṇī, its hollow interior formed the brahma-nāḍī and that the name suṣumnā has been employed even to denote the citriṇī or brahma-nāḍī. The fiery, sun-like and pale canals did appear to form a unit.

The scene underwent a change. He could then discern that the triad of nāḍīs stretched from between the anus and the penis on the lower side to above the level of the eyebrows, into the head, on the upper side. Next, there appeared a moon-coloured tube that was distinctly coupled to the triad both at the base of the latter and between the eyebrows. On its upper side, this tube continued from the junction between the eyebrows to the left nostril. On its lower side, it ended at the right testicle. Between the two junctions, it formed arches on the triad’s left and right sides, with the crossovers occurring at the levels of the throat, chest, navel and genital. For a moment, this shape was replaced by one in which the tube formed a bow-like arch between the lower and upper junctions and towards the body’s left side. His Holiness felt that both the forms may be met with.

After the earlier shape was restored, He was told that this was the iḍā-nādī. Something appeared to be moving through this tube in synchrony with His breathing, which, He somehow felt, was taking place through just the left nostril. Also, the flow within this tube seemed to have a cooling effect.

Three shapes of the iḍā and the piṅgalā nādīs

In moments, this tube disappeared. Instead, another tube manifested that was red and bright. This too was clearly coupled to the triad between the brows and at the lower end of the triad but, unlike the iḍā, continued to the right nostril and the left testicle. Between the upper and lower junctions, it formed arches on the sides of the triad, with crossovers at the levels of the throat, chest, navel and genital. However, wherever the previous tube traversed from left to right this crossed from right to left and vice versa. Then, for a moment, the shape changed and the tube resembled a bow between the upper and lower junctions, lying on the right side of the triad. He was informed that this was the piṅgalā-nādī. He began to feel that His breathing was taking place through just the right nostril. In synchrony with the breathing, He could apprehend something moving through this tube. The flow seemed to have a heating effect.

A few moments later, the moon-hued tube that had disappeared again came to sight. He could then see both the arching tubes simultaneously. Next, His breathing shifted from the right nostril to the left nostril and, with this, He noticed the activity in the reddish tube giving way to that in the moon-hued tube. Shortly, He felt that breathing was taking place through both the nostrils; He could then apprehend activity in both the tubes.

{On a later occasion, His Holiness explicated, “Three shapes of the iḍā and the piṅgalā have been spoken of. The first is characterised by each of the two nādīs forming arches alternately on the left and right of the suṣumnā. The second form is that of a near straight line from the base of the suṣumnā to the middle of the brows; the iḍā remains on the left, while the piṅgalā lies on the right of the suṣumnā. The third shape is roughly like that of a bow in the chest lying on one side of the suṣumnā. The first and the third shapes are the ones that are poles apart; the second can be regarded as a variant of the third in which the bow’s curve is negligible with respect to its length.”}

Mūlādhāra

The scene soon underwent a change and centred on the lower end of the triad of tubes. There, He could see a beautiful lotus with four petals that were deep red in colour. The mellifluous female voice announced that this was the mūlādhāra-cakra. At the pericarp of the lotus, there was a śiva-liṅga. A cobra lustrous like lightning lay with its body making about three and a half turns around the liṅga. The serpent’s hood rested on the upper end of the liṅga and its mouth effectively blocked the passage to the triad of tubes. The serpent was motionless and appeared to be fast asleep. Yet, it was somehow unmistakable to His Holiness that it was the embodiment of unbounded power. He was told that this was the kuṇḍalinī.

Then, for a few moments, He saw on each of the four red petals, a distinct, bright golden letter; the letters were vaṁ, śaṁ, ṣaṁ, and saṁ. Simultaneously, He could apprehend a yellow, square region enclosing the pericarp. Inside this yellow square was an inverted red triangle; the kuṇḍalinī lay in the red triangle. The letter “laṁ (the bīja of pṛthvī, earth)” appeared in the square accompanied by the smell of earth at the start of a spell of rain. He immediately understood that it was being made known to Him that the mūlādhāra-cakra is associated with the element pṛthvī (earth), which is characterised by the quality of smell.

Then, there manifested within the yellow square a white elephant with multiple tusks. On it was seated a deva with four arms, holding a thunderbolt in one of them. He further saw a swan on which sat a deva with four heads. A red-eyed devī with four arms was also visible. From the voice, He learnt that the elephant was Airāvata and the divinity on it was Indra; the other deva was Brahma, while the devī was Dākinī. The divinities then disappeared and He could see just the lotus with the liṅga and kuṇḍalinī. His Holiness promptly felt that the kuṇḍalinī was primary and that a way of contemplating on the mūlādhāra-cakra was in association with the letters and divinities as seen by Him.

Svādhiṣṭhāna

Thereafter, the scene shifted up the suṣumnā to around the level of the root of the penis. There, He beheld a lotus with six vermilion-hued petals. He was told that this was the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra. The central region of the lotus was white and comprised a figure resembling the crescent-moon. Then, the letter “vaṁ (the bīja of āpas, water)” manifested briefly in that region and, simultaneously, He felt the taste of water. He understood that the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra is associated with the element āpas (water), which is characterised by the quality of taste. Simultaneously, there appeared on the six vermilion petals, one bright letter each; the letters were baṁ, bhaṁ, maṁ, yaṁ, raṁ and laṁ. In the white zone, He could see a crocodile on which was seated a deva with a noose. Further, He beheld the figure of Viṣṇu seated on an eagle and bearing in His four hands, a conch, cakra, mace and lotus. A dark, three-eyed devī was also visible. The voice informed His Holiness that the deva on the crocodile was Varuṇa and that the devī was Rākiṇī.

The scene shifted farther up the suṣumnā. At the level of the navel, He could see a lotus with ten petals that were dark like rain-bearing clouds. In the interior, there was an inverted red triangle. The voice pointed out that this was the maṇipūra-cakra. On the ten petals flashed blue letters ḍaṁ, ḍhaṁ, ṇaṁ, taṁ, thaṁ, daṁ, dhaṁ, naṁ, paṁ and phaṁ. The appearance of the letter “raṁ (the bīja of agni, fire)” within the red triangle together with a sensation of heat led Him to understand that this cakra is associated with the element fire, which is characterised by the quality of heat. He also saw in the red region a deva with four arms seated on a ram, Rudra smeared with ashes and seated on a bull and a dark devī with three faces wearing a yellow dress. He was told that the deva on the ram was Agni (Fire) and that the devī was Lākinī.

Partly from the hint provided by the shift of focus up the suṣumnā from one cakra to the next, and primarily on His own, He developed the conviction on seeing the svādhiṣṭhāna that this was a centre to which the kuṇḍalinī could ascend through the brahma-nāḍī. A similar certitude arose about the maṇipūra.

Maṇipūra

From the maṇipūra, the scene shifted up the suṣumnā to the level of the chest. He could see a lotus with twelve red petals. The voice informed Him that this was the anāhata-cakra. In its interior, there was a smoke-coloured, hexagonal region formed by an upright and an inverted triangle. An inverted triangle lay within this and contained a lustrous liṅga. This cakra with a liṅga seemed to be a pure and sacred place. A non-vocal, internal sound became audible. He spontaneously felt that sound that was in an undifferentiated form in the mūlādhāra passed on to a slightly less subtle state in the maṇipūra and then reached the stage prior to spoken and heard speech here.

After this, the letters kaṁ, khaṁ, gaṁ, ghaṁ, ṅaṁ, caṁ, chaṁ, jaṁ, jhaṁ, ñaṁ, ṭaṁ and ṭhaṁ manifested for a few moments on the petals. In the hexagonal region, He saw the letter “yaṁ (the bīja of vāyu, air)” and simultaneously felt a slight breeze. This led Him to understand that the anāhata-cakra is associated with vāyu (air), characterised by the quality of touch. He further saw in the hexagonal region, a four-armed deva of a smoky hue seated on an antelope, a very attractive three-eyed deva displaying the abhaya and varada-mudrās (symbols of granting fearlessness and boons) and a devī. The voice announced that the deva on the antelope was Vāyu, the other deva was Iśa (Śiva) and that the devī was Kākinī.

Viśuddha

Anāhata

His focus shifted up the suṣumnā to the level of the throat. There, He beheld a lotus with sixteen petals that were smoky in hue. The voice conveyed that this was the viśuddha-cakra. In its interior, there was a white circular region. For a few moments, the vowels manifested in red on the petals. The appearance of “haṁ (the bīja of ākāśa, space)” in the circular region accompanied by the feeling of His being in vast expanse led Him to comprehend that this cakra is associated with ākāśa, space. He beheld a deva seated on a white elephant, Śiva with five faces and ten arms together with Pārvatī, and a devī clad in a yellow dress. The voice announced that the deva was Ambara, that the Lord was here as Sadāśiva and that the devī was Śākinī. This cakra gave the impression of being an exalted centre.

The scene moved even farther up the suṣumnā to the level of the eyebrows. He could see a glorious lotus with two white petals. The voice informed Him that this was the ājñā-cakra. In its central region, there was an inverted triangle wherein there was a liṅga. Above the triangle was a crescent. Then, the letters haṁ and kṣaṁ manifested in the two petals and the letter oṁ in the interior region. He could also see a devī with six faces. He was told that she was Hākinī. Beholding this cakra itself gave great joy.

Then, above the end of the suṣumnā and within the head, He saw a lotus with many white petals hanging downward and arranged in multiple layers. All the fifty letters of the Sanskrit alphabet could be seen here. The voice told Him that this lotus with one thousand petals was the sahasrāra. At the pericarp of the lotus was a region that resembled the full moon and shed nectarine rays. Inside this was a bright triangle. In a mellifluous female voice, He heard the words, “atra paramaśivaḥ sthitaḥ (Herein abides Paramaśiva).”

While He could somehow sense the presence of a few zones between the ājñā and the sahasrāra, He did not directly apprehend them. Even without hearing any words to that effect, He felt certain that the ascent of the awakened kuṇḍalinī-śakti ends at the sahasrāra, wherein Śakti unites with Paramaśiva.

Ājñā

Sahasrāra

At this point, His experience ended. As He opened His eyes, He was a bit bewildered whether He had been dreaming or vividly hallucinating or had had a divine experience. Without giving the matter any further thought, He got up and left for His Guru’s presence as it was time for Him to offer His obeisance to the senior Jagadguru.

{His Holiness most compassionately blessed me with the above details in May 1978 at Sringeri while He was seated upstairs in the eastern side of Sacchidanda Vilas. At this point of His narration, I asked Him, “How long did the experience last?” He responded with the counter question, “What do you think would have been the duration?” I answered, “Between half and one hour.” He started laughing and said, “It lasted less than five minutes.” Clearly amused at my surprise on hearing this, He asked, “What is the time now?” Looking at my wrist watch, I said, “4:43.” I was seated cross-legged in front of His Holiness with my arms resting on my legs and with my palms joined. He leaned forward and grasped my joined palms in His right hand. Closing His eyes, He called out, “Ambā (Divine Mother)!” Suddenly, all that He had described began to unfold before me with great clarity. I even heard the voice that He had spoken of. My experience ended where He had told me His had ended.

I regained awareness of my body and surroundings and saw Him withdrawing His hand from mine. “What is the time now?” He asked. After checking, I reported that it was 4:46 p.m. “As you can see, less than five minutes has passed,” remarked His Holiness, with a smile. He then instructed me to describe what I had seen in the hands of Hākinī in the ājña-cakra. As the vision had been very clear and the memory fresh, I promptly said, “The abhaya-mudrā, the varada-mudrā, a book, a skull, a ḍamaru (small drum) and a rudrākṣa rosary.” With a nod, He said, “Yes. That is just what I saw then. I asked you about what I had not described earlier to confirm the similarity of our visions. They being similar, it would be reasonable to take it that both lasted for the same duration rather than that your vision lasted for three minutes and mine for half to one hour.”

I then asked Him whether He had read about the kuṇḍalinī and the cakras before this experience or whether the senior Jagadguru had spoken to Him about them. He said, “Neither. I was thoroughly unfamiliar with kuṇḍalinī-yoga at that time. If someone had asked me then ‘What do you know about the kuṇḍalinī?’ perhaps I would have just said that it is a name occurring in the Lalitā-sahasranāma!”}

While His Holiness performed namaskāras to the senior Jagadguru, the latter silently continued with His āhnika. He gave no indication of having noticed His Holiness’s presence. Not wanting to disturb His Guru, His Holiness started to leave quietly. Abruptly, the senior Jagadguru looked up at Him and said, “Yes, tell me.” His Holiness submitted, “Some minutes ago, I had an unexpected experience that seems to be of the nature of a divine teaching. However, I am not certain that it was not a day-dream or hallucination.” The senior Jagadguru gazed at His Holiness but said nothing. So, His Holiness proceeded to give the details. When He finished, the senior Jagadguru said, “All right,” and readied Himself to perform daṇḍa-tarpaṇa. Feeling happy that His Guru had graced Him with the opportunity of making His submission, His Holiness left.

That day, the morning Candramaulīśvara-pūjā was performed by the senior Jagadguru, not the arcaka. In the afternoon, after bhikṣā, He sent for His Holiness. When His Holiness went to His Guru’s presence and paid obeisance, the latter gestured to Him to sit down. Then the senior Jagadguru said, “You had sensed something moving in the iḍā and piṅgalā nāḍīs in association with breathing through the left and right nostrils. The movement was that of prāṇa. Your feeling that sound that is in an undifferentiated state in the mūlādhāra acquires a less subtle state as it reaches the maṇipūra and then attains a stage prior to articulated speech at the anāhata was correct. Śabda is said to have four forms: parā, paśyantī, madhyamā and vaikharī. Each form is grosser than the preceding one. Articulated speech is of the fourth kind.”

Jagadguru Śrī Candraśekhara Bhāratī

The senior Jagadguru then cited the Veda to the effect, “Four are the definite grades of speech. Those brāhmaṇas who are wise know them. Three are deposited in secret and are motionless. Men speak the fourth grade of speech.” He continued, “Vāyu arising from the mūlādhāra ascends through the levels of the navel, heart and throat and produces audible sound. At these four levels, it has the appellations parā, paśyantī, madhyamā and vaikharī. The mūlādhāra and the other cakras that you saw have been spoken of in the Upaniṣads and the Tantras.” He then quoted from the Yogacūḍāmani-upaniṣad two verses that give the names of cakras, present them as lotuses and specify the number of petals of each lotus. Then He picked up an authoritative text, Ṣaṭcakra-nirūpaṇa (Delineation of the six chakras), and told His Holiness, “As is discernible from the title, it delineates the cakras. I shall read out and briefly explain the three verses about the maṇipūra. You will find that what you saw is in conformity with what is described here.” Upon hearing the verses and the explanation of His Guru, it was clear to His Holiness that what He had seen of the maṇipūra-cakra tallied with the description contained in the text.

At that point, two doubts arose in His Holiness’s mind. Are the cakras actual constituents of the gross body that can be seen within it, by surgeons, like flesh and bones? Have some aspects of the cakras and the forms of the divinities to be contemplated therein been described in authoritative texts in more ways than one? What prompted the second doubt was that He had perceived the iḍā and piṅgalā in two forms each. Even without His asking anything, the senior Jagaguru Himself said, “The cakras are subtle and cannot be seen with our eyes. They and the kuṇḍalinī can, however, be apprehended in meditation by adepts. There do exist some differences in the descriptions of the cakras and the devatās therein. It is not necessary to consider them now.”

Jagadguru Śrī Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī

The senior Jagadguru told His Holiness, “You are Her very own. So, it is but fitting that She chose to instruct you. She will teach you further. My Guru used to receive Her guidance not only when awake but also in dreams. You too shall do so.”

After clearing His Holiness’s unvoiced doubts, the senior Jagadguru lightly patted Him on His left cheek and said, “You are blessed. Śāradāmbā has directly taught you today and that too, of Her own accord. I am reminded of the fact that She Herself had expounded yoga to my Guru (Jagadguru Śrī Saccidānanda Śivābhinava Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī, the 33^rd pontiff). My Paramaguru (Jagadguru Śrī Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī, the 32^nd pontiff) had earlier told my Guru that She would do so. My Guru has explicitly stated this in His Śrī-Śāradā-śataślokī-stavaḥ.” The senior Jagadguru then cited the pertinent portion of the hymn wherein the 33^rd pontiff has, addressing Goddess Śāradāmbā, said: “My Guru’s authoritative utterance to me was, ‘Your Mother Śāradā, the ocean of mercy, will definitely instruct you soon about yoga, which has eight limbs. You are Her own child.’” After this, the senior Jagadguru told His Holiness, “You are Her very own. So, it is but fitting that She chose to instruct you. She will teach you further. My Guru used to receive Her guidance not only when awake but also in dreams. You too shall do so.”

{While the senior Jagadguru did not make any mention of even His having been directly taught by Śāradāmbā, this fact is clear from a pair of verses of His own composition, Śrī-śāradā-stuti-mañjarī. Therein, praising Goddess Śāradā, He has stated, “Earlier, I beheld Śāradāmbā in a dream as coming to my abode adorned with earrings and with a joyful face. At all times, the Goddess has, with great compassion, again and again called me, uttering my name, and made known everything to me.”}

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.

Jagadguru Śrī Saccidānanda Sivābhinava Nṛsiṁha Bhāratī

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.

About the locations of the triad of granthis (knots), His Holiness later told me as follows:

“There is some direct evidence in the minor Upaniṣads that the brahma, viṣṇu and rudra granthis are at the lower end of the suṣumnā, the chest and between the brows respectively, which is where the mūlādhāra, anāhata and ājñā cakras are located. As the iḍā, piṅgalā and suṣumnā unite at themūlādhāra and at the ājñā cakras, it is understandable that the first and third of the triad of granthis be associated with these cakras. However, the Haṭhayoga-pradīpikā hints and the commentary Jyotsnā on it explicitly states that the brahma, viṣṇu and rudra granthis are in the anāhata, viśuddha and ājñā cakras respectively. In his commentary on the Lalitā-sahasranāma, Bhāskararāya contends that associated with each cakra is a pair of granthis, one below and the other above the cakra, and that the brahma, viṣṇu and rudra granthis are the pairs of knots associated with the svādhiṣṭhāna, maṇipūra and anāhata cakras respectively.

“A practitioner of kuṇḍalinī-yoga should strive to arouse the kuṇḍalinī and raise the śakti all the way to the sahasrāra, overcoming any obstruction in the path regardless of where it may be encountered. He does not have to take radically different steps to pierce a granthi than to raise the kuṇḍalinī from one cakra to the next. Further, the way to deal with a particular granthi, say the viṣṇu-granthi, does not change regardless of whether it be associated with the anāhata, viśuddha or maṇipūra cakras. Hence, the lack of uniformity in the specification of the locations of the granthis is not of practical consequence to a spiritual aspirant.”

Even during the dream, His Holiness unambiguously realised that though Goddess Śāradā was Herself making known kuṇḍalinī-yoga to Him, She did not intend that this be His principal sādhanā. However, He did put into practice what all She led Him to recognize as meant to be implemented by Him. In the dream, praṇāyāma with the three bandhas had been made known as a means to arouse the kuṇḍalinī and this was something He had started practising even earlier. After the dream, He started the practice of visualising the mūlādhāra-cakra, contemplating on the deities therein just as they had been shown to Him and then worshipping the kuṇḍalinī there. Next, He conceived that in response to His request, the kuṇḍalinī rose to the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra. He visualised that cakra clearly, focused on the devatās there and continued His mental worship of the kuṇḍalinī. In this fashion, He carried forward the worship in the higher cakras. Wherever appropriate, He saw the kuṇḍalinī in the form of Goddess Pārvatī. He adorned Śakti with ornaments at the maṇipūra-cakra, performed dīpārādhana at the ājñā-cakra and at the sahasrāra, just conceived that Śakti and Śiva had become one. He devoutly performed, without expectation of anything, such cakra-based contemplation and worship every Tuesday and Friday morning for about 20 minutes.

It is quite possible for a vedāntin or for a practitioner of pātañjala-yoga to attain samādhi even without any explicit experience of the arousal and ascent of the kuṇḍalinī. In His Holiness’s case, His first experience of savikalpa-samādhi occurred some months prior to His first explicit experience of the ascent of the kuṇḍalinī. The latter occurred during the cāturmāsya of the year Yuva, which was from 16^th July to 12^th September, 1935.

One Monday morning, His Holiness sat in the siddhāsana and did four prāṇāyāmas with the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāna and mūla bandhas. Then, He began His meditation as usual by directing His gaze to between His eyebrows and mentally chanting ‘Om’. As happened generally, a blue hue manifested. Before He visualised any form, He suddenly felt something like an electric shock at the middle of His soles. The sensation started to move upwards, diffusing through the body. Its ascent from the soles to the base of the back was very quick; it was almost instantaneous. When it arrived at the base of His back, He momentarily saw the lotus of the mūlādhāra in bloom.

The kuṇḍalinī’s ascent from the base of the back to a little below the navel was swift. During this, He first had a fleeting view of the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra. Just before the kuṇḍalinī rose to the level of His navel, He beheld the lotus of the maṇipūra facing downwards, with the ten petals almost fully closed. The lotus became upright and bloomed when the kuṇḍalinī reached it. The kuṇḍalinī’s upward movement thereafter was akin to that of an ant. As the kuṇḍalinī approached the level of the anāhata-cakra, He saw the 12 petals of that red lotus facing downwards and becoming upward-turned when it arrived there. Similar was the case when it rose to the levels of the viśuddha and ājñā cakras. During the ascent of the kuṇḍalinī, He felt intense heat and ceased to be conscious of the portion of the body below whatever level it reached. His body jerked sharply. Then, His breathing abruptly stopped. When the kuṇḍalinī travelled into His head, He plunged deeply into savikalpa-samādhi.

After He had briefly seen the ājñā-cakra in bloom, He experienced a bright flash of light like lightning. Next, He saw a charming, luminous, tiny blue orb. His attention locked on to it and as He could then behold only that orb, its smallness was no more apparent. Thereafter, within it, He apprehended the forms of Śiva and Pārvatī. The blue orb with the forms of Śiva and Pārvatī constituted the object of His savikalpa-samādhi.

Later, Śiva and Pārvatī disappeared. Thereafter, the blue orb ceased to be seen. He then felt as though He was moving downwards together with a divine power. Leaving behind the ājñā, viśuddha, and anāhata cakras one after the other, the kuṇḍalinī came to the maṇipūra-cakra. Without sensing any further descent of the power, He gained partial awareness of the body; the part below the level of the navel was, as it were, missing. As He became aware of the rest of the body too, He realised that He had adopted the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāna and mūla bandhas. He had no idea when He had done so, involuntarily. He released the bandhas and started to breathe normally. When He opened His eyes, He noticed that His legs were bluish. In moments, they became normal.

His next experience of the ascent of the kuṇḍalinī to the sahasrāra in the head took place the very next day, which was a Tuesday, and differed from the first one in some ways. Since a few months after His saṁnyāsa, He used to mentally offer worship to the kuṇḍalinī in the various cakras. He continued the worship done in one cakra in the next higher cakra after conceiving that He reverentially led the kuṇḍalinī there. He performed such worship on Tuesdays and Fridays, in the mornings. Accordingly, on that Tuesday too, He began His mental worship of the kuṇḍalinī in the mūlādhāra-cakra and continued it in the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra. When He imagined that the kuṇḍalinī ascended to the maṇipūra-cakra, His breathing spontaneously stopped and He automatically adopted the jālandhara, uḍḍiyāna and mūla bandhas.

He then experienced an upward movement of the kuṇḍalinī. Simultaneously, He felt that the elements pṛthvī (earth), āpas (water) and agni (fire) had become sequentially absorbed into the kuṇḍalinī, together with the divinities of the mūlādhāra, svādhiṣṭhāna and maṇipūra cakras. He also felt a great infusion of power into Himself. In a serpentine manner, the kuṇḍalinī-śakti soon reached the anāhata-cakra. The element vāyu (air) and the devatās of the anāhata appeared to become absorbed into the kuṇḍalinī.

From the anāhata-cakra to the viśuddha-cakra, the ascent of the kuṇḍalinī was not serpentine but instantaneous. He felt that the element ākāśa (space) and the devatās of the viśuddha-cakra became merged into the kuṇḍalinī. The next moment, the kuṇḍalinī was at the ājñā-cakra. He got the feeling that all the organs became absorbed into the kuṇḍalinī there. Then, He had a vision of Śiva as Dakṣiṇāmūrti.

The ascent of the kuṇḍalinī from the ājñā-cakra to the sahasrāra was not instantaneous but was swift. He obtained just a fleeting, indistinct, view of some centres in between and felt that the mind and intellect were absorbed by the kuṇḍalinī en route. At the pericarp of the sahasrāra, He had the vision of a nectar-shedding, moon-like region. This contained a triangular zone, lustrous like lightning, with a minute, apparently empty, space within. He then spontaneously went into savikalpa-samādhi. The object of His focus was God as inhabiting the tiny space.

As He emerged from the samādhi, He felt Himself descending rapidly with the kuṇḍalinī. At the ājñā, viśuddha and anāhata cakras, what had merged into the kuṇḍalinī during the kuṇḍalinī’s ascent through these cakras reappeared. When the anāhata-cakra was reached, He gained mild awareness of the body. He noticed that His tongue was folded backwards and felt the descent of a few cool drops of a uniquely tasty fluid into the back of His throat. Finally, He opened His eyes. Unlike on the previous occasion, His legs were not bluish for a while. Also, this time, He straightaway regained awareness of the full body and not merely of its upper half.

His Holiness had no difficulty in identifying the fluid that He felt descending into the back of the throat to be nectar from the sahasrāra. While seeing Śiva’s demonstration of the khecarī-mudrā during the dream that His Holiness had on the night of 28^th May, 1931, He had experienced the descent of a fluid into the back of His mouth and understood that this removes hunger, thirst and dullness. The taste that He experienced then became imprinted in His mind. The taste of the fluid that He noticed on becoming mildly aware of the body was the same as that taste. The invigorating effect too tallied with what He had experienced in the dream; this one lasted for two days. In the dream in which Śāradāmbā had taught Him about the arousal and ascent of the kuṇḍalinī, He had seen the moon-like region at the pericarp of the sahasrāra shedding nectar. What He beheld in that dream matched what He apprehended in His meditation. So, He had no difficulty in identifying the fluid as one stemming from the sahasrāra. An experience that He had three days later supported His conclusion.

That morning, a Friday, as He was about to visualise and focus on a divine form in His heart, His tongue folded backwards. Then, for a moment, He saw the Divine Mother as seated in the sahasrāra and pouring down nectar. He decided to meditate on Her in this very fashion. So, He conceived of Her as He had glimpsed Her and focused on Her. He was soon in savikalpa-samādhi. When He regained awareness of the body, He felt a few drops of fluid descending into the back of His throat. The taste, coolness and invigorating effect were the same as on the previous occasion. As regards Divine Mother being in the sahasrāra and raining nectar, the Lalitā-sahasranāma of the Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa contains the names, “sahasrārāmbujārūḍhā, She who has ascended the sahasrāra lotus” and “sudhā-sārābhivarṣiṇī, She who rains torrents of nectar” and it is said in the Āryā-dviśatī, attributed to Sage Durvāsa, “The life-span on earth of those who contemplate every day on You (Mother) as present within the lotus of the head and raining cool nectar becomes great.”

As His Holiness engaged in His morning āhnika after the samādhi that Friday, it seemed to Him that something was beginning to ooze from the crown of His head. This caused Him no discomfort. He pushed back His upper garment from over His head and felt the spot concerned. He determined that a fluid was indeed slowly emerging from there. It looked like pure water and flowed down the side of His head. In about a minute, the oozing stopped. About a spoonful of liquid had come out by then.

As regards Divine Mother being in the sahasrāra and raining nectar, the Lalitā-sahasranāma of the Brahmāṇḍa-purāṇa contains the names, “sahasrārāmbujārūḍhā, She who has ascended the sahasrāra lotus” and “sudhā-sārābhivarṣiṇī, She who rains torrents of nectar” and it is said in the Āryā-dviśatī, attributed to Sage Durvāsa, “The life-span on earth of those who contemplate every day on You (Mother) as present within the lotus of the head and raining cool nectar becomes great.”

On the preceding few days, the senior Jagadguru had been somewhat withdrawn. However, that day, when His Holiness had the darśana of His Guru, the latter gave Him an opportunity to briefly report His experiences. The senior Jagadguru confirmed that what His Holiness had felt at the back of the throat was nectar from the sahasrāra. He then revealed to His Holiness that, at times, He had spontaneously experienced the descent of this nectar and that in His case its effect had lasted for one to three days. He further said, “Some water oozed from the crown of my head either before or after the descent of nectar. The descent of nectar and the oozing of water are not related as cause and effect. The water can be perceived and accessed by others. However, though the descent, taste, coolness and invigorating effect of the nectar can be clearly experienced by one, it is impossible for another to perceive or collect that nectar. No examination of the interior of the head, throat or stomach will show up the presence of any nectar.”

Subsequently, His Holiness discerned from personal experience too that, as stated by the senior Jagadguru, the descent of nectar and the oozing of fluid from the top of the head are not causally related. Occasionally, during His meditation on God, His tongue involuntarily folded back and He spontaneously experienced the descent of a few drops of nectar, without any oozing occurring before, during or after that session of meditation. On some other occasions, He noticed the oozing, without any experience of the descent of nectar on those days.

{In September 1979, during Navarātri, His Holiness sent for me one morning at 6:30 a.m.; I normally had His āhnika-darśana at eight o’clock. He, who was about to commence a japa, told me, “I have a feeling that water will ooze from my head in a few minutes. I thought that you would like to see it.” I completed my namaskāras and waited. His Holiness pushed back His upper garment from His head. Less than a minute thereafter, I saw a drop of liquid make its appearance at the crown of His head. The rest of His Holiness’s head was dry. The weather was cool and He was not sweating at all. Slowly, some more liquid oozed out at that very spot. He bent forward and neatly collected the entire quantity in His uddharaṇī (spoon for taking up water). I saw that the amount collected was about 10 ml. It was colourless. Acceding to my request, He poured the liquid into my cupped right palm. I noted that it was odourless and seemed to be water. Regarding the fluid as sacrosanct, I wanted to drink it after leaving. However, His Holiness said, “Throw it away and wash your hands. It has come out like sweat. Being impure, it is unfit to be drunk.” The oozing on that day was unconnected with any descent of nectar.}

About the arousal and ascent of the kuṇḍalinī, His Holiness has clarified, “Some hold that the arousal of the kuṇḍalinī and its ascent to the svādhiṣṭhāna-cakra are likely to be accompanied by a temporary manifestation of intense sexual desire. It is also contended that the piercing of the brahma, viṣṇu and rudra granthis by the kuṇḍalinī on its way from the mūlādhāra to the sahasrāra is accompanied by much pain and even sickness. The laudable course is for one to first cultivate intense dispassion and to purify the nādīs. Only sāttvika food should be consumed. Further, kuṇḍalinī-yoga should be practised under the guidance of an adept and not by just referring to books. For one who ensures all this, the arousal and ascent of the kuṇḍalinī are definitely not accompanied by lust, pain and sickness.”