Kundalini, mental health and spiritual development

 Hari Aum.

In the past few days, I have been reading a book called "Living with Kundalini" by a yogi of the last century known as Gopi Krishna. I have read about sixty per cent of it and hope to finish it in the next couple of days. This book describes how a sincere spiritual seeker practices a seemingly simple technique of meditation of a type known as 'Kundalini yoga'-- and how this goes very wrong (before, by God's grace, he manages to correct things). 

This specific type of yoga technique should only be practiced under the watchful eye of a true Guru. This is because 'Kundalini yoga' has the capacity to awaken the spiritual energy known as Kundalini (that lies dormant in every human being) unusually quickly compared with other yoga paths. 

In an unprepared mind, the awakened Kundalini can unleash devastating mental and physical health problems with associated pain, mental disturbance and in rare cases, even death. In a properly prepared mind and body, the awakened Kundalini eventually grants the experience of spiritual enlightenment.

The yogi, Gopi Krishna, was genuinely seeking God when he started practising Kundalini yoga meditation without a Guru. He then experienced the awakening of the Kundalini. This led to months of extraordinary physical and mental pain and suffering (before he was finally able to balance the energy by the grace of God). The reason he suffered was because the spiritual energy was expressing itself in a mind and body that was not yet fit for purpose. 

Let me give you an example to highlight this point. Imagine for a moment, that a snail is suddenly given the consciousness of a human being. What would it feel like? Would it be pleasant or unpleasant? It would be wonderful but also frightening and shocking, as it is such a radical transformation of consciousness. To have the body of a snail, but the consciousness of a human being, would feel very disturbing for a snail and turn its life completely upside down.

The human consciousness requires a suitable instrument, namely the human body to express itself fully-- the human mind, intellect and personality require a human body for complete expression. A snail is a beautiful creation of God and may very well be capable of much more thinking and feeling that we humans currently realise. However, clearly its consciousness is not the same as that of a human being; it can eat, sleep and procreate but it may not be able to think, feel, analyse and meditate as human beings can (the yogis say that one day, the soul in the body of a snail will acquire a human body, but until then, the soul must be patient).

The universe gives each creature (or soul) a body that matches its level of consciousness. This is an important point.

A higher-than-human consciousness requires a suitable physical instrument to express itself. The human body and mind, according to the yogis, are capable of being transformed into such an instrument. This is done by following a clean diet (based on non-violence towards any living being; generally this is vegetarian), ethical principles, and certain physical exercises (yoga asanas) and breath control (pranayama).  The practice of mantras and singing the names of God are powerful cleansing techniques (aside from being methods to cultivate devotion to God). 

There are many ways to prepare the mind and body for the awakening of spiritual energy, and these generally need to be practiced for a significant period of time. This is required to cleanse the body and mind energetically in order to ensure that the spiritual energy, Kundalini, can be safely expressed.

Gopi Krishna and other yogis say that the awakening of Kundalini is not as uncommon as one might think. In general, it can be a frightening and disconcerting experience for those who are unprepared. It involves an experience of tremendous energy, described as light or a void, a 'roaring' energy like a 'waterfall' or a river flowing at terrible speed. There are various descriptions by various people but they broadly involve the experience of a terrific energy that one would not have experienced previously.

I have possibly had a limited experience of this a few times in my life and the terror it generated provided me the motivation to do mantra japa every day without fail. As mentioned in a previous post titled 'unglamorous spiritual experiences', on a few occasions I have experienced a frightening black void, devoid of anything including my own existence, and associated with a terrific sense of speed. And, in that state, the only thing that existed was the name of God, specifically 'Keshava' and 'Narayana'. Hence my great love for these names; they were my solace, my refuge, when I felt nothing else could save me. 

I therefore trust these names of God like I trust nothing else in the world. For a long time, I wondered what this scary experience could be. After reading some similar experiences of other yogis, I recently realised it was very likely the Kundalini that exists in all of us. I have often said that I strongly feel the Divine Mother is my 'sadhana shakti', the force behind my spiritual practice. Kundalini is a manifestation of the Divine Mother, a manifestation of divine energy or Shakti. And so, I realise that it was literally my experience of Her, albeit in this unfamiliar terrifying form, that created a powerful motivation in me to do mantra japa every single day. I am therefore very grateful to Her.

Coming back to Gopi Krishna, as he had no Guru, he had no one to turn to when his Kundalini awakened and began to work on him. The description of what he went through is both petrifying and fascinating. It serves as a powerful reminder for us to avoid playing with things that we do not know and understand. Like a mother tells a toddler to never play with fire, so the Gurus (our spiritual parents) tell us to never play with Kundalini. She is not a toy. She is the very life force, the the breathtakingly, incredibly powerful force of creation, preservation and annihilation. Her power, Her glory simply cannot be described in words even by those who are enlightened, much less by spiritual seekers.

All paths of yoga ultimately lead to awakening of the Kundalini. In a prepared human instrument, the awakened Kundalini travels from the base of the spine to the crown and a divine union of consciousness occurs. This sacred union produces the experience of universal consciousness, wisdom and a bliss beyond anything experienced in this world. I will write another post on Kundalini and 'spiritual anatomy' one day for those who may be less familiar with this (though most of you probably know about this already, i.e. the nadis, chakras, astral body etc). 

However, some paths of yoga, such as mantra yoga, involve a gentle, steady purification of the mind and body and a natural, safe, slow arousal of the Kundalini. Other paths of yoga, such as Kundalini yoga, involve a sudden, shocking awakening of the Kundalini. The former paths of yoga are relatively safe, with or without a Guru (as the deity of the mantra protects the person reciting it). The latter path, Kundalini yoga, offers no protection without a Guru. 

A Guru is usually needed for all paths of yoga. But one can make a start on one's own on the path of mantra/bhakti yoga until one's Guru appears (in fact, it is recommended that one makes a start on one's own to show that one is serious about spiritual progress and this can then lead to the appearance of the Guru). But one should never try Kundalini yoga on one's own without a Guru. This is the advice of Sivananda and many other spiritual teachers.

During the course of my training as a doctor, I worked in psychiatric hospitals and saw a range of severely unwell patients. Mental illness unfortunately has a stigma associated with it, though it should not (as it is extremely common all over the world, in all sections of society, including in doctors and nurses). It should be treated with the same compassion and sympathy as physical health issues such as a broken leg or cancer. 

In some ways, mental illness can be even more tragic than physical illness as it can feel like one loses a sense of one's very self, one's own mind; few things can be as painful as this. My present work involves the recognition and treatment of individuals with mental health issues in the community, and requires working with doctors in the hospital setting. 

As a person who practices both medicine and spirituality, I was recently reflecting upon the similarities and differences between the signs of spiritual development and mental illness. I feel it is important to be aware of this so that we can recognise what we may be going through if we develop these symptoms. I would therefore like to share my thoughts on this subject here.

Mental illness can range from mild to moderate to severe. Mild symptoms of anxiety and even depression (without suicidal thoughts) are very common. Many adults, and sadly even children, experience this during their lifetime. Some people choose to manage this on their own and others prefer to seek medical help.

Moderate mental illness may involve significant anxiety with panic attacks and depression with suicidal thoughts (this often requires medical input in the form of talking therapies and/or medication). 

Severe mental illness is less common (though this has also increased significantly during the pandemic along with mild/moderate mental illness). This always requires medical help, and the sooner help is sought, the higher the likelihood of a good outcome. 

There are various signs of severe mental illness, which include the experience of psychosis. Some key symptoms of psychosis include:

1. Hallucinations (hearing voices of known or unknown people; seeing people that others cannot see i.e. auditory and visual hallucinations are the most common)

2. Delusions (feeling that one is somebody that one is not e.g. a king/queen/inventor etc)

3. Disordered thoughts (feeling that others can see one's thoughts, control one's thoughts etc)

In addition, people with severe mental illness can often experience the following (in the acute phases of illness, until they recover):

1. A loss of function: an inability to carry out basic self-care (bathing, personal care), household tasks (cooking, shopping etc), or professional work.

2. A strain or break in relationships: those who are close to them may find it difficult to cope with their symptoms, and this may lead to relationship break-ups

3. Unusual behaviour and speech: for example, an inability to control speech (speaking unusually excessively or too little), excessive abnormal spending, excessively sexualised behaviour which may put one at risk of harm.

Sometimes, rapid awakening of the Kundalini in an unprepared individual can manifest as mental illness in the manner described above. In this situation, one must stop the practice immediately and seek appropriate help from medical practitioners; in addition, one may wish to consult an experienced spiritual practitioner.

People who are progressing spiritually may experience some of the above symptoms which can feel alarming; however, there are important differences between this and mental illness. And there are certain clear boundaries that are never crossed as described below.

Before we go further, it is important to recognise that, in the world of yoga and mysticism, the mind is said to have far more capacity compared with the current medical understanding. Sivananda has written a book called 'Thought Power' where he beautifully describes the mind and its extraordinary capacities. Other Gurus have expressed similar views. Telepathy, thought transference and so on, are regarded as genuine phenomena accordining to yogis. 

However, yogis who are progressing spiritually, or already spiritually advanced, do not experience hallucinations, delusions or disordered thinking.

It is true that over time, over a long time, more advanced yogis may develop a capacity to truly read minds, to converse with spiritual people who may not be physically present, to transfer their thoughts to others and receive thoughts (genuine telepathy). 

Their experience is clearly grounded in reality though. It can be confirmed by the other party i.e. if a yogi reads my mind, I can confirm that the thought s/he detected, is what I actually was thinking. In the case of a mentally unwell person, there is a false perception of telepathy, i.e. they are unable to truly recognise the thoughts of others but only believe that they can.

So the experience of a yogi can be tested and confirmed as being true. Their experience is true perception in contrast to the mentally unwell individual. This is one key difference.

Secondly, yogis generally do not lose the capacity to function in daily life or to maintain healthy connections with other people. They are generally able to feed themselves, bathe, dress, perform household tasks and work for the welfare of society. 

In fact, the majority of yogis, both spiritual seekers and Gurus, are actively involved in social work for the welfare of others. (Note- in exceptional cases, advanced yogis may go through short phases where, due to being in 'samadhi'/enlightened state, they neglect the care of the body).

In contrast, individuals with severe mental illness are generally unable to work intensely in the service of society (in the acute phase of their illness; they usually require rest and recovery and, once better, may be able to take up work again.) 

Thirdly, yogis generally have very good self-control and will power. Despite having good and bad days, even beginner spiritual seekers will have some degree of these qualities. One will not just say or do anything that comes to mind. 

The will-power is used to control the sometimes unruly mind and moderate its conduct. Genuine spiritual practitioners will also make a strong attempt to abide by the yogic ethics of non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya) and self-control (brahmacharya). They will not let their mind run amok doing whatever it pleases. 

In contrast, those with severe mental illness are usually unable to control their minds. It can be very difficult for them to control their speech and behaviour (however, this can often improve with suitable medical treatments).

So these are some of the key similarities and differences in the signs suggesting spiritual progress versus mental illness. 

I have met and read about yogis who have suffered mental break-downs and find it difficult to accept that they are going through a period of illness rather than spiritual progress. While walking the path of yoga, which involves dealing with the mind and its many complexities, it is very important to remain grounded. 

The practice of ethics, and the presence of a Guru and other spiritual seekers in one's life, can go a long way in ensuring that one stays safe on this valuable path which takes us to the goal of human life, namely, spiritual liberation.

Om Namo Narayanaya.

Om Shri MahaLakshmyai Namah.

Om Namo Bhagavate Sivanandaya.

Hari Aum Tat Sat.