Heartfelt tributes to the brave Indian army chief Bipin Rawat, who took the most stern stand against global terrorism and expansionism, his wife and some other senior army officers after their untimely martyrdom in a tragic helicopter crash and heartfelt wishes for their soul to rest in peace
Friends, I could not write any Kundalini article last week. The reason was hectic lifestyle. Hundreds of kilometers of bike riding had to be done on the highways due to some important work. Although the bike was latest, comfortable and sports type, yet environmental friendly. Got a good experience. Got to learn a lot new. Enjoyed the journey a lot, and learned the importance of a permanent home. As long as there is no compulsion to do any work on a man, he keeps abstaining from doing difficult work. When the situation of ‘do or die’ comes, then he does it and learns too. This week I will discuss the connection between Kundalini Yoga and the Ramayana.
On a deeper look, the Ramayana seems like a practical and inspiring description of Kundalini Yoga
Lord Rama is the symbol of the soul here. There is essentially no difference between the Supreme Soul and the soul. He practices Shakti sadhana during the nine days of Navratri. From this his Kundalini reaches Sahasrar. It makes him pure every day. On the tenth day, he destroys the egoistic self that’s Ravana by burning it with his yoga fire. His Kundalini gets awakened on the day of Diwali. It is shown the return of Rama to his home in Ayodhya. Ayodhya is that supreme abode of the soul, which no one can conquer, that is, over which there is no one. This is also the literal meaning of Ayodhya. Rama is the son of Dasharatha. Dasharatha means the chariot drawn by ten horses. The senses are called horses in the scriptures. Five work organs and five sense organs, a total of ten sense organs operate this body. That is why the body is called Dasharatha. Due to this the supreme soul becomes like a conditioned soul or Ram. Although Ram is God, but from him, it is this Dasaratha or body that produces the conditioned soul or ordinary Rama, that is why it is called the father of the soul, Rama. The story that he stays in exile for 12 years, that is Kundalini Yoga Sadhana. Through Kundalini yoga practice, a person remains the farthest and the most isolated, even while living in the midst of everyone. This is what is called exile. The wife of Dasharatha, who is Kekayi, is the supreme intelligence born in the body. She looks foolish and wicked from the outside, but in reality she is the one who is of supreme benefit. She seems like a kak or a crow to say harsh words like kanya-kanya, that’s why her name is Kekayi. She had once saved the body or Dasharatha in a battle with the demons, that is, by strictness and love, she saved Dasharatha from being corrupted by the evil habits of demons. That is why Dasharatha had deep faith in her. To maintain the intellect of Paramarth or supreme purpose, one has to walk on the path of Paramarth. The meaning of Kekayi’s threat of suicide by going to Kopbhavan or angry-house means that if at least three of her most spiritual words or demands are not fulfilled, then the body will indulge in luxuries and will do evil deeds, due to which it will be destroyed. Saraswati resides in the speech of those who walk on the right path. Their words are not false. It has been said that the Raghukul (the family tree of Rama) bound rituals never had lies, even they die but there words or promises never die. Kekayi’s demanded first boon is not to give the kingdom to Rama. It means to keep Rama away from indulgences and unnecessary responsibilities. The second boon is to give 12 years of exile to Rama. Exile is synonymous with Kundalini Yoga Sadhana. It has been written in various kundalini yoga sects that it takes around 12 years to perfect the kundalini yoga. The third boon is to make his son Bharata the king of Ayodhya. Bharata literally means ‘devoted to brotherhood’, engrossed in the devotion of brother Rama. Bharata is the detached mind of the body. He rules, but with an extinguished mind. He is not attached to the pleasures. He keeps Rama’s shoes on his throne, never sits on it himself. This is the great Karmayoga of King Rama. He does nothing in spite of doing everything and remains engrossed in Kundalini Yoga Sadhana. Rama’s wife Sita i.e. Rama’s Shakti resides with yogi Rama and not with King Rama. This is Sita’s going to the forest with Rama. likewise, Hanuman and Lakshmana also live with Yogi Rama under his guidance, not with King Rama or Bharata. Hanuman here symbolizes the wild or blind force, which through various yogic actions helps in Kundalini yoga. Lakshmana is the symbol of millions of thoughts of the mind. Laksh-mana (laksha means millions, man means thought or mind) means millions of thoughts literally. They also give their sensory energy to Kundalini. In fact, the art of depicting different parts of the mind as different persons is of great importance in allegorical narratives. Anyway, the whole world resides in the mind itself. If someone asks what Kundalini Yogi Rama used to meditate while practising Kundalini Yoga, the answer is clear that Rama used to meditate on Lord Shiva. The proof of this is the Rameshwaram shrine, where Rama himself has established the Shivling. This very famous pilgrimage comes under the Chardham Yatra of India.
The name of Rama’s second mother, Kaushalya, is derived from the word Kushal in Sanskrit that means well being. It is the intellect in the body that seeks the well-being of the body. She looks good from outside, because she wants to give all the comforts to the body, but she is not liked by Rama and the supreme intellect or Kekayi, who wants his real welfare. Kekayi does not like Rama’s body or Dasharatha, because what does the body have to do with Paramarth, it just needs luxury. Though obviously she is not liked by Dasharatha, but when she is strong, then she can tactfully tame the body or Dasharatha. This is subduing Dasharatha by Kekayi.
Kundalini is associated with permanent home
We can also call Dasharatha or body as the king of his permanent home. This is Dasharatha, the king of Ayodhya. We can also call the man’s own permanent home the city of Ayodhya, because we cannot fight it. We can’t harm it. No creature can fight with its permanent home. That is why its name is Ayodhya. It also means that no one can fight a man in his permanent home. That’s why it is said that even a dog is a lion in his own house. No matter how much fighter a man may be, he always wants peace in his permanent home. This is a psychological fact. No creature wants to be haunted by guilt all the time, because its permanent home is always attached to its mind. Because man’s mind is always connected with his permanent home, so Kundalini is also associated with permanent house, because Kundalini itself is part of the mind, or say it is the top representative of mind. That is why every man always wants to maintain his honor in his permanent home. In times of trouble, only a permanent home is remembered. You must have seen how people used to run to their permanent homes breaking the corona lockdown. Dharma (religion), Artha (money), Kama (luxuries) and Moksha (spiritual liberation) are the four Purusharthas or the goals to be achieved by a man. Their basis is this body and that body’s base is its permanent home. It has also been said that shariramadyam khalu dharmasadhanam in Sanskrit (body is the basis of every achievement). Therefore, of course, Jivatma Rama may ignore it a little bit for his Kundalini awakening, but after Kundalini awakening he has to enter this body and through it into materiality. Of course he may leave his home and go to the forest for Kundalini awakening, but eventually he has to come back home. You must have also seen that a man can go out of the house wherever he wants, but he can make real and permanent development only in his permanent home. It takes many generations of a man to make a new place a home. That’s why a famous short poem has been made, “Four children of a bird, spread their wings out of the house; From east to west they roamed, from north to south they roamed the world, saw the whole world, at last knew that home is the most beloved. The glory of the home too is unparalleled, and that of the city of Ayodhya too. That’s why the home and the groom have a lot of importance in relationships. Everyone knows that the real home is God, but the way to get there is through one’s permanent residential home, it seems. That’s why a man is taken posthumously to his permanent home. It is only to enrich his permanent home Ghazni that the jihadi invader Mahmud Ghaznavi had looted India wildly. Whatever development man does outside, it is only for his permanent home. So he does. Ghaznavi knew the importance of a permanent house, otherwise have he would not made a permanent house for himself in India? Most of the westerns also did not make permanent house for themselves in different colonized countries including India during the colonial period. The homeland or permanent home appears to be the sole root cause of most of the world’s movements, conflicts and wars. This means that a man keeps on fighting for the Kundalini only because a permanent home is dear to him because of the Kundalini present in it. A man can get enough food anywhere. But home is home. Belongingness is belongingness. It is from Kundalini that there is belongingness. This means that wherever a person may be while doing Kundalini Sadhana, he gets the same happiness as his permanent home, even more than that, if Kundalini Yoga Sadhana is done with sincerity and hard work. This also means that Kundalini Yoga can put an end to most of the world’s conflicts and wars by eliminating home sickness, and creating an atmosphere of real and lasting peace in the world, which is desperately needed today. Working hard in his permanent home after Kundalini awakening by a common man is depicted as handling the administration of Ayodhya city by the King Rama in the best way. It is a different matter that after Kundalini awakening, the materiality brought in practice is used with enlightenment, therefore it’s not too harmful. It is from this worldliness that awakened Kundalini leads to liberating self-realization, while achieving stability and eternity. I think nothing happens with a mere glimpse of Kundalini awakening, especially if it is not carried forward in the right direction. I want to make it clear that I am not saying that incidents described in Ramayana never happened, or that Ramayana is fictional. Ramayana can be real, can also be metaphorical, and can be in both the forms simultaneously. It depends on faith and belief. Ramayana teaches us in every way. It’s as if accept, the whole world is imaginary, if not, then nothing is imaginary, there is no discrimination against anyone or anything.
Demystifying Kundalini 