ॐ   sahasra-śīrṣā puruṣaḥ, sahasrākṣaḥ sahasrapāt |
sabhūmiṃ viśvato vṛtvā, atyatiṣṭhad-daśāṅgulam- 

– Puruṣa-sūkta (Rg Veda 10.90)

Of Infinite heads, infinite eyes, infinite feet…  engulfing the entire manifest universe, earth, extending beyond the ten-finger arithmetic…   is “puruṣa”, the Universal-form, the ocean of self! _/\_

My fellow-seekers, this is what we are expected to see on full Kundalini Awakening.  All chakras line up, dispersing nothing.  Top to bottom energy flow with significant amplification of the dominant energy along the path, which is through the central channel of Sushumna, where no senses can reach.  All dualistic aspects merge… In that infinite universal form, we are all a part.  At that singularity, only thing we may feel is to raise our arms into prayer pose with all mental processes arrested – no dualities, no desires, no boon-seeking, no prayers for anything…

Pure Experience…

This is the story of Arjuna, described in Chapter 11 of Gita, a hair-raising account of Arjuna’s vision of this universal form – or is it Sanjaya’s?  Minor detail.  Anyways, Arjuna sees the same thing – his “spiritual friend” Krishna, suddenly expands into this Universal form –

aneka-bāhūdara-vaktra-netraṁ| paśhyāmi tvāṁ sarvato ’nanta-rūpam
nāntaṁ na madhyaṁ na punas tavādiṁ | paśhyāmi viśhveśhvara viśhva-rūpa

Arjuna says: “I see your infinite form in every direction, with countless arms, stomachs, faces, and eyes. “Ishwara”, whose form is the universe itself, I do not see in you any beginning, middle, or end. (Gita 11.16)

There, Arjuna saw the totality of the entire universe established in one place, in that body of his God-friend. (11.13)

Viswarupa Sandarśana Yoga, Chapter 11 of Gita, describes essentially Arjuna’s experience with Kundalini awakening.  In “Sandarśana“, we again see that root “san“, with darśana or vision, giving us the meaning of — being together with the the vision, or resonating with the vision.   First, some common characteristics of the awakening (assuming a competent nervous system):

1. Bright, shining, blinding light in the visual field, symptomatic of unified energy flow, as opposed to dispersed energy flow under normal conditions.
2.  Unitary vision, with boundaries dissolved.  The diminution of the sense of “I” to a point where it does not draw boundaries.  A strong sense of merger with “tat”.
3. Space-time constructs dissolve away – piercing of “maya”.
4. A strong feeling of bliss (in some cases rabid fear). If the dominant state is fear, the recommendation is to go back to some more yama/niyama contemplation, and kriya practice.

There are several key concepts and messages here, and we will go through them.  The first is: Arjuna’s systems check.  After expressing a desire to experience the awakening, in 11.5 Arjuna says, “if I am capable…”

Prerequisite – Strength to handle the experience

The experience depends upon the individual ability to handle this.  Otherwise, it’s like an individual with a bad case of motion sickness aspiring to experience all six-flags rides in one shot.  Arjuna asks Krishna upfront:

O Yogishwara, if you think I am capable, strong enough (śhakyam) to behold it, then kindly reveal that imperishable cosmic form to me (11.5).

Arjuna is saying, only if he can withstand the onslaught of the full experience…  But, strong enough in what way?  Nervous system!!!  It is the nervous system that bestows the physical and mental fortitude.  Keeps all experiences within linear limits, as the non-linear reactions result in the six lower reactions (anger, ego, jealousy, etc.).

In that sense, we all pray – but, are we really ready for a visit from “God”?  What if God jumps in through a window in the middle of the night while we are fast sleep, and taps on the shoulder?  Don’t know about you, but I’ll be a goner for sure.  I suspect that daytime is not that much better either, because God is such an unexpected form – anuhya (unimaginable).  We rely heavily upon the Me-NotMine boundary for normal behavior.  When that dissolves away suddenly,  or if that boundary is challenged in significant way, things can get strange for the mind.  Kundalini awakening is that event which facilitates seeing that universal form, hence preparation and purification is mandatory.  So Arjuna is doing a systems check, but he himself does not know if his nervous system is ready; therefore by asking krishna, Arjuna is “surrendering to Krishna” who he saw as God – “Īśvara praṇidhāna“, the niyama that we are currently exploring.

As he admits a little later in this chapter, until then, Arjuna saw Krishna as a friend, and now he’s slowly realizing that Krishna is more than that (in his own mind).  But, what’s important is that we all have our God-figures (Īśvaras), call them by your choice name, but the ultimate experience of that universal form is the same; that one truth – sahasra-śīrṣā puruṣa.  Does not matter what the envelope is, but the contents are the same.

1.  Blinding, bright light…

As the Kundalini awakens in Arjuna, he declares…

If a thousand suns were to blaze forth together in the sky, they would not match the splendor of that great form. (11.12)

This is another common feature reported by people who experienced spontaneous awakening.  As Arjuna starts seeing things, confusion sets-in, which is also to be expected because this is something that was never experienced before, and the mind starts throwing all sorts of flags.   When the mind starts interfering, it changes the direction of the energy flow.  Here’s Arjuna’s reaction (from later in the chapter):

Tell me who you are, so fierce of form. O God of gods, I bow before you; please bestow your mercy on me. You, who existed before all creation, I wish to know who you are, for I do not comprehend your nature and workings. (11.31)

Arjuna is overwhelmed with what he is seeing as he is (and most are) not prepared for such an experience. After all, he came there to fight a war.  Note that Arjuna’s dominant emotion (fear) as he is finding the form “fierce (ugra-rūpaḥ)”.  Kundalini awakening in unprepared subjects can lead to full blown neurosis, because of the state of the nervous system.  It’s like trying to win a Indy 500 race with a Ford Pinto.  Not that there’s anything wrong with Ford Pinto, but it’s meant for a different purpose.   Several people who underwent the ordeal of dealing with spontaneous awakening with unprepared nervous systems give us examples of this – Gopi Krishna, Jiddu Krishnamurthi, are the most well-documented suspected cases.  Hence all the preparation through kriyas.  Carl Jung, after a lot of self-analysis, suspects that what he experienced is this type of awakening.   That’s how he delved into Kundalini literature, along with several other theories.

2.  Universal (Unitive) Vision

Behold now, Arjuna, the entire universe, with everything moving and non-moving, assembled together in my universal form. Whatever else you wish to see, observe it all within this universal form. (Gita 11.7)

Add the verses from the opening of this blurb  to this description.  This universal form description is the same in all the rishi-lore – this is extolled as the final realization.  This seems to be common across other cultures also.  Īśvara the “personal God” as a starting point transitioning to Īśvara as the Universal form, where everything merges.  After all, universe is in front of us every moment – therefore, this vision is only a matter of realization, where the mind realizes that the boundaries it draws are artificial, and not always necessary.  This concept sinking into our subconscious (emotional responses) and unconscious (instinctual responses) is all that is required, for these boundaries to dissolve and achieve that unified vision.

As deliberated under Niyama 3, it’s always about realization, not acquisition of anything anew.   Speaking of which, why did Krishna withhold telling Arjuna about all his prowesses  (vibhuti) until now, Chapter 10?  Chapter 10 is just before the Universal form chapter.  In Chapter 10, Krishna tells Arjuna that he is the essence of  both good and bad.  Then it must be that it is Arjuna who just reached the right point to grasp this insight, and not that Krishna was necessarily withholding any information.   This is the case with all of us too: we have solutions, and required information floating around us all the time.  It’s just that our state of mind is not ready to discriminate and grasp it, and prioritize appropriately.

After initial observations that probably took only a few seconds, Arjuna’s reactive mind enters the scene.  He describes his disorientation, and emotions in that phase. We will pick that up next.

May we all be blessed with a “strong and capable” nervous system _/\_/\_/\_