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NEW
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Yoga:
Kundalini Yoga
by Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon |
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No discussion of yoga is complete
without an evaluation of "kundalini yoga." By name, this is now
practiced by tens of thousands of Americans, including many professing
Christians in mainline churches. However, since we have discussed
kundalini yoga at length elsewhere, we will give only a brief definition
here.
In Hindu mythology and occult anatomy, the goddess
Kundalini is thought of as a female serpent lying dormant at the base of
the spine. Arthur Avalon comments that "kundalini is the Divine Cosmic
Energy in bodies." 1 She
represents the female half of the divine polarity in man. While lying at
the base of the spine, she is separated from Shiva, her divine "lover"
and masculine counterpart, who resides in the brain. When aroused by
yoga practices, she uncoils, travels up the spine toward her lover,
opening the alleged psychic centers called chakras in the
process. When the crown or top chakra is reached, the union of
Shiva/Shakti occurs, supposedly leading the practitioner to divine
enlightenment and union with Brahman. "Traditionally she is known as
Durga the creatrix, Chandi the fierce and bloodthirsty, and Kali the
destroyer. She is also Bhajangi the serpent. As Chandi or Kali she has a
garland of skulls around her neck and drinks human blood." 2
Kundalini arousal is not, as commonly thought,
restricted to hatha yoga practice. Even yoga authorities have
said that all yoga is ultimately kundalini yoga and that yoga is
meaningless without it. This is why no less an authority than Hans
Rieker concludes, "Kundalini [is] the mainstay of all yoga
practices." 3
Kundalini arousal or its equivalent is found not only
in yoga; it is also encountered in scores of the new religions, many
occult practices, and in some practices of New Age medicine. Indeed, we
have found no less than 15 different New Age health techniques in which
proponents claim that their methods may arouse kundalini. (Please see
our extended discussion in Kundalini Yoga, New Age archives, May,
2001)
ENERGY PHENOMENA AND SPIRIT POSSESSION
Perhaps the dominant characteristic in kundalini
arousal and other yoga practice is an experience of energy infusion, or
possession. 4 Gopi Krishna
describes the following experiences of most yogic, meditative, and
mystical practices. "During the ecstasy or trance, consciousness is
transformed and the yogi, sufi, or mystic finds himself in direct
rapport with an overwhelming Presence. This warm, living, conscious
Presence spreads everywhere and occupies the whole mind and thought of
the devotee.…" 5 Furthermore, this energy "is invariably
experienced by all mediators and yogis as some kind of supernatural
or divine energy." 6 Not surprisingly, we have yet to read a
kundalini or yoga theorist who defines this energy infusion, or
possession, as actual demon possession; however, there is often
recognition of a possessing god or entity, and sometimes references to
the demonic. The Taoist Master Chao Pi Ch’en observed that "as time
passes, demonic states will occur to the practiser [sic].…" 7
Significantly, yogic energy manifestations and possession are sometimes
initially sensed by the experiencer as the work of an evil spirit. But
this primary impression is "corrected" in accordance with Hindu theory,
classifying the phenomena as a "divine process." 8
But when we examine specific characteristics of
kundalini arousal and its energy manifestations, we discover it is far
more easily interpreted as a result of demonism than of anything divine.
A perusal of the standard literature reveals the following
characteristics: Kundalini energy is admittedly an occult energy; it is
personal and supernatural; it can function independently of the person;
it permeates and infuses the individual; it can force spontaneous
yogic and other actions, including worship; it produces a form of
consciousness and personality alteration hostile to Christian faith; it
is related to evil pagan gods and deities; it is described as "being
possessed" by those who experience it; it is dangerous and destructive
not only to human life but to conventional societal values and morality.
In sum, kundalini arousal displays 1) an independent
supernatural nature, 2) personal volition, 3) destructive potential, 4)
an amoral or evil nature, and 5) a desire for "lordship," that is, the
exerting of personal control over the practitioner, forcing compliance.
9
These facts do not suggest that we are dealing with an
impersonal energy. The facts suggest that we are dealing with
personal demonic spirit entities whose goal is spiritual deception and
personal ownership. Sooner or later, the person who experiences
kundalini arousal, experiences spirit possession. A leading guru, Swami
Muktananda, reveals that he was violently shaken by a spirit as part of
the divine "work" of kundalini within him. "A great deity in the form of
my guru has spread all through me as chiti [energy] and was
shaking me," and "when I sat for meditation, my whole body shook
violently, just as if I were possessed by a god or a bad spirit."
10
Yogi Amrit Desai warns that unless the experience is
interpreted "properly" for the student, "he will become frightened,
thinking it to be mental illness"—or "evil spirits."
11
But it gets worse. There is also the phenomenon of mass possession which
can occur among disciples gathered to hear the guru. This may end with
the disciple finding himself in an involuntarily assumed position of
worship of the guru, and, characteristically, worshiping the spirit
entity possessing the guru:
... As Amrit led us deeper into meditation, I began to realize that
something unusual was happening to me....
Suddenly surges of energy-like electrical charges streaked up my
spine.... Suddenly a scream from someone in the back of the room, then
another. In a few moments the place was a mad house. People were
crying hysterically, laughing uncontrollably, gasping for breath, even
rolling on the floor. Apparently every one was experiencing some
manifestation of the same energy I was feeling.
Suddenly the whole thing stopped.... Amrit began to explain what
had happened. We had just undergone what is called a shaktipat
[power transfer] initiation.... [A]ll forms of yoga and consciousness
development are aimed at eventually awakening the kundalini force…. [T]he
psychic energy is transferred directly from guru to disciple.
Simply by being in Yogi Desai’s presence we had all experienced to
some degree the awakening of the Shakti [power]. How this comes
about is somewhat mysterious. Yogi Desai explains that the astral body
of the guru merges with that of the disciple.... My body filled with a
brilliant white light and I allowed myself to be absorbed in it....
When I opened my eyes again I noticed that my body had bent
forward; my forehead was touching the floor. I do not remember
assuming that position. I was actually bowing down to Yogi Desai! I
had never bowed to anyone in my life but some inner unknown force had
prompted me.... [H]e was surrounded by persons who only two hours
before had never seen him but now sat on the floor around him, holding
his feet even kissing his feet.… 12
Consider the following descriptions while under the
influence of kundalini and other forms of yoga:
I really felt frightened, as the Power seemed something which could
consume me. 13
Your mind gets influenced spiritually as if some spirit has taken
possession of your body and under that influence different postures of
yoga are involuntarily performed without the pain or fatigue. 14
It seemed that I was being controlled by some power which made me
do all these things. I no longer had a will of my own. 15
In conclusion, kundalini arousal, like shamanism,
typically involves some form of spirit possession or temporary or
permanent insanity.
Because all yoga has the ability to arouse "kundalini,"
all yoga should be avoided. To offer it to the public as a form of
health practice is highly irresponsible, if not perverse. To offer
it to our children in our public schools is a betrayal of their trust.
Notes:
1. Arthur Avalon [Sir John Woodroffe], The
Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga, New York:
Dover, 1974, p. 1.
2. Gopi Krishna, The Awakening of Kundalini,
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1975, p. 13.
3. Hans Ulrich Rieker, The Yoga of Light: Hatha
Yoga Pradipika, New York: Seabury Press, 1971, p. 101, emphasis
added.
4. Tal Brooke, Riders of the Cosmic Circuit:
Rajneesh, Sai Baba, Muktananda… Gods of the New Age, Batavia IL:
Lion, 1986, p. 610.
5. Gopi Krishna, "The True Aim of Yoga," Psychic,
January-February, 1972, p. 14.
6. Haridas Chadhuri, "The Psychophysiology of
Kundalini," in John White, ed., Kundalini Evolution and
Enlightenment, Garden City, NY: Anchor/Doubleday, 1979, p. 62,
emphasis added.
7. Gopi Krishna, "The True Aim of Yoga," p. 18.
8. Da Free John, Garbage and the Goddess,
Lower Lake, CA: Dawn Horse Press, 1974; cf. Tal Brooke, Riders of
the Cosmic Circuit.
9. See John White, Kundalini Evolution and
Enlightenment; Anne Yeomans, "Psychosynthesis," New Realities,
vol. 1, no. 2, 1977; Swami Narayanananda, The Primal Power in Man
or the Kundalini Shakti, Rishikesh, India: Narayanananda Universal
Yoga Trust, 1970; and Lee Sannella, Kundalini: Psychosis or
Transcendence?, San Francisco, CA: H. S. Dakin Co., 1977; Swami
Sivananda Radha, Kundalini Yoga for the West, Boston, MA:
Shambhala, 1978.
10. Swami Muktananda, Play of Consciousness,
New York: Harper & Row, 1978, pp. 84,122.
11. Yogi Amrit Desai, "Kundalini Yoga Through
Shaktipat," in John White, ed., Kundalini Evolution and
Enlightenment, pp. 70-71.
12. D. R. Butler, "Instant Cosmic Consciousness," in
John White, ed., Kundalini Evolution and Enlightenment, pp.
185-87.
13. Arthur Avalon, The Serpent Power, p. 21.
14. John White, ed., Kundalini Evolution and
Enlightenment, p. 95.
15. Swami Muktananda, Play of Consciousness,
p. 76.
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Copyright 2006, Ankerberg Theological Research Institute
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