Seven levels of jnAna at the cakras ascending and seven levels of prema descending.

Seven levels of jnAna at the cakras ascending and seven levels of prema descending.

As kuNDalini ascends the seven cakras, one attains jnAna (wisdom) of the seven lokas (bhU, bhuvar, svar, maha, jana, tapa and satya) and reaches the realm of Brahmaloka. En route the three granthis or knots are broken: Brahma granthi at the mUlAdhAra when kuNDalini awakens, viShNu granthi at the maNipUraka cakra and Rudra granthi at the AjnA cakra.

On this inward journey, the rAjasic, sAttvic and tAmasic aspects of the jIva's body are transcended systematically by penetrating the koshas and finally recognizing the mind itself as only composed of the three guNas.

In the sahasrAra cakra Shakti unites with Shiva and there is great bliss. Shiva has emerged from Brahma and going beyond Shivaloka one transcends tamas, the veiling power of forms in the external world. Transcending Brahma one sees beyond the primal first thought that is the emergence of thought through rajas from Pure Consciousness. That knowledge of Pure Consciousness is itself pure sAttva which is padmanAbha. Beyond ViShNu as padmanAbha the jIva having merged into each saguNa aspect of Brahman in the form of the trimUrti now rests in nirguNa Brahman.

This is the circle of Consciousness symbolized by the yajnopavIta or pooNal. jIva and Brahman are one and the same. jIva recognizes true nature as Atman. This Atman is then seen to be the same as Brahman. However, due to prior vAsanas the jIva cannot descend back to the physical plane as Ishvara. There is only one Brahma, one viShNu and one Maheshvara in each Creation or Manifestation.

The jIva's Consciousness then descends from the sahasrAra in the form of prema bhakti. Descending from the sahasrAra to the Ajna, the Yogi can now conceive of love in its true form. He can see love of anything in the world, object or human, as a reflection of Divine Love, prema. Descending to the vishuddhi cakra, he can now speak of this love to another knowing fully that this expression of personal love is nothing but the reflection of Transpersonal love. Descending to the anAhata cakra he can express love through touch. Descending to the maNipUraka cakra he can see this personal love as a reflection of the Transpersonal love in other human beings. In Kali Yuga I feel it is not possible for the Consciousness to descend below the maNipUraka cakra because the force of Ganga without the restraint of RShi Jahnu will destroy bhUloka. So the Yogi cannot engage in the karmendriya activities of the lower two cakras after samAdhi, i.e., in Kali Yuga he cannot procreate. In earlier Yugas, there was enough purity in the world that VyAsa and RShis before him such as VasiShTha could have wives. This is not possible in Kali Yuga due to the degeneration of awareness in the physical world.

But the jnAni now showers his love on the world in various forms and realizes that jnAna and bhakti are not different. This is vijnAna, or Realization stemming from jnAna, Wisdom.

Impermanence and permanence, nitya-anitya, viveka

In both the Buddhist way and Vedanta, the impermanence of the world experience is emphasized. True discrimination (viveka) is knowing the difference. Sri Adi ShankarAcArya says 

नित्यानित्य वस्तु विवेक:

nityAnitya vastu vivekah

Discrimination (is) knowing the difference between the impermanent (Unreal) and the Eternal (Real).

The Unreal is impermanent, it is mAyA (that which is not), it is the world, which is the mind.

The fleeting sense experience of life itself and the changefulness of the mind are seen in all our relationships to objects and people in the world, perhaps most so in the relationship between a man and a woman. 

Man and woman though pure of thought,

Swear undying love 'til death do us part'

If woman's words on water be writ

Man's writing on sand too lasts not a bit!

In general, women are portrayed as being fickle, but in truth fickleness is a characteristic of the mind. 

So in the spirit of gender equality one must admit that man's mind can change too. In general, a woman's mind changes more often (about 12 times) because the lunar channel IdA is stronger in women (in general) than in men (in whom the solar channel piNGalA is stronger). However, there are exceptions in both men and women to this rule.

Rather than being a deeply cynical statement, this tells us that unless we have loving compassion for a person in the image of God that is truly everlasting, our relationships are liable to founder on the rocky coastline of expectation. That I believe is the true opening of the heart. In any relationship, due to changefulness of the mind there is bound to be some mismatch of expectations and disappointment. But the traditional notion of marriage being 'until death do us part' is meant to symbolize the accomplishment of seeing that image of God in one's partner consistently through all the vicissitudes of life. Of course, this succeeds if this is firm-rooted in both partners. Even if it does not, maintaining the viewpoint that the other is an image of God, however imperfect, just as one's mind is also imperfect, is very liberating and prepares the mind for genuine relationship with people and objects in the world.

Memo to buddhi

O buddhi, constantly assess your spiritual progress. Do you see everyone and everything as God at all times? Everything as the One and its Power to be Many at all times? Have you conquered the senses and the desire for sense objects? Have you given up all thoughts? Has even the slightest desire for the guNas vanished and have you become guNAtIta? Have you conquered deha vAsanA and aham vAsanA? Until then don't talk about your accomplishments. Be highly skeptical of your own spiritual  accomplishments and attainments, but never flag in your practice. Even if you feel you've reached level 4 say, assume you are at 3 or even 2. But keep steadfast in your practice. The mark of your accomplishment is steadfastness in practice and no other siddhi. If you pitch yourself low, you have nowhere lower to fall. If you place yourself high it is easy to fall. No one can foretell the vagaries of Destiny, but humility is unfailing as a virtue.

Advice to sAdhakAs

Advice to sAdhakAs: Do not be hasty to assume you have had kuNDalini awakening when in fact it might only be prANA in the sushUmna. SwamiJ was always highly skeptical of those who assumed that they have had some awakening. Only when repeatedly the signs described on the sutras, shastras and purANas and scriptures are experienced, and when the true jnAnis and gurus hail you as having attained should you believe it. Ultimately the Guru within will tell you but beware of the ego that often plays false tricks and can easily deceive you.

I am all This, and all This is Yours, O Lord!

I am all This (when there is no thought) and all This is Yours O Lord (when there is thought). And thought too is nothing but the Self. Only the Self Is. He who understands this in truth, understands advaita and dvaita. Yea, he truly understands! Established in that Truth he seemingly engages in actions as the wise did of old, vigatajvarah (free of fever). See also Bhagavad GItA.

All thoughts, words and actions are completely superfluous.

All thoughts, words and actions are completely superfluous. They are unnecessary and unreal in that they are transient. Only the Self Is.

mAyA and Mohini avatAr

mAyA: that which is not, is very powerful and can create the most convincing illusions. Recall how ViShNu as Mohini avatAr deluded the asuras. So too, when our buddhi loses control of the senses, the mind can imagine all kinds of illusions. Once the mind follows the illusion for some time, it realizes it has been tricked, as in the following doggerel!

Once a damsel, fair and divine

Spoke words in my ear, sweet and sublime

She bade me dream a tale so fair

But when I walked in, why She was not there!