Overview of the Thesis
Proposed
The thesis being proposed in
this paper is that an accelerated evolutionary transformation of consciousness
is taking place today through the rise of feminine energy -- known in yogic
traditions as Kundalini Shakti -- in both individuals and the collective body.
This energy, along with the feminine wisdom and values of interconnection,
compassion and Oneness it fosters, is essential to bringing about the balance
and unity needed today in our deeply divided world. It is vital not only to our
healing, as individuals and as a collective, but, even more importantly, holds
the power to deliver us to our highest birthrights of Self-realization and co-creative
consciousness.
This thesis is founded upon
several points:
1.
The awakening of
the kundalini is an intrinsic part of the awakening of unity consciousness,
cross-culturally and across traditions. It is validated by the science of
energy, and therefore has universal implications; it is not simply a myth held
by one tradition. Today this process is being accelerated, in individuals as
well as the collective consciousness, and thus constitutes an intrinsic and
vital part of the global transformation taking place today
2.
The kundalini is
classically recognized and portrayed as a feminine force. It effects awakening
through balance and unity with the masculine aspect of consciousness. In
classical yoga, it is the creative force (Shakti) that brings eternal consciousness
(Shiva) into action and manifestation. However, this feminine force is not
only, as Shakti, the complement, counterpart and consort of the masculine, its
“other half”. As Parashakti, She also contains
the masculine; in this highest form she is Wholeness itself, not only giving birth to, but containing and
subsuming all duality. From a spiritual point of view, because she not only
creates but contains and transcends all creation, she is the most immediate bridge
to non-dual consciousness and is in fact co-existent with it. From a global
point of view, because she reconciles immanence and transcendence, matter and
spirit, unifying and healing all conflict and duality, it is her influence that
is essential to heal the extreme fragmentation, competition and violence
wrought through centuries of patriarchal divisiveness.
3.
This feminine
force of interconnection and Oneness expresses itself as shakti-kundalini in
the individual energy-field and Shakti or Parashakti in the greater universal
field. While shakti-kundalini empowers the evolution and ultimate awakening in
the individual, Shakti empowers this process on a cosmic scale, raising the
collective consciousness into the realization of its true Oneness.* In this way, the microcosmos of the
individual’s spiritual evolution reflects and is reflected by a macrocosmic
shift of consciousness in the universal field. Ultimately there is no
separation as the individual consciousness realizes itself as one with the
Universal. The kundalini (and the uprising of feminine energy) is thus an
essential force in this process, not only in individual but the collective
awakening happening at this critical time in history.
4.
Women, at this
time in history, and in response to the forces of the greater field, are
especially receptive conductors and transmitters of this feminine energy,
bringing it into traditionally masculine spheres. Men are also starting to, and
must, absorb and integrate this energy, and join women in bringing it into
expression in all of our social structures. As the rising kundalini brings the
higher consciousness of interconnection and Oneness into all spheres of human
activity – spiritual, psychological, social, scientific, economic and
ecological – the world will begin to reflect its true Oneness – not only of
masculine and feminine, but cultures, races, species, and all the forms of
creation – and a new level of unity consciousness that is our true birthright.
Each
of these points has been affirmed by great yogis and thinkers of both ancient
and our own times. In the remainder of this paper, I will substantiate the
above points with citations from such yogis, teachers and scriptures.
Kundalini as a Cross-Cultural, Universal
Force
The
action of the kundalini is not restricted to any one spiritual tradition or
form, but rather is a universal process that arises from within. As Swami
Satyananda attested “Whatever happens in spiritual life is related to
kundalini. The goal of every form of spiritual life, whether you call it
Samadhi, nirvana, moksha, communion, union, kaivalya or liberation, is in fact
the awakening of kundalini.”[1] He
further affirmed the evolutionary nature of the kundalini, asserting that it is
now moving beyond a phenomena confined to a small minority of spiritual adepts
and masters, as it has been in the past, to a global phenomenon, on which the
collective evolution of humanity rides. “Kundalini represents the coming
consciousness of mankind… In everyone a female energy is sleeping. This shakti
must be awakened.” [2]
What
in fact is the kundalini? In Hindu, yogic and Tantric literature, this
energetic phenomenon, said to trigger or accompany spiritual enlightenment, is
generally described in an evocative yet precise manner rich in the symbology of
the culture: “Kundalini-shakti is depicted symbolically as a serpent coiled
three-and-a-half times around the base of the yogi’s spine. When this dormant
serpent awakens, it is able to travel up the spine, through the chakras, to
reach the seventh chakra. Known as the crown centre, this chakra is sometimes
called the seat of Shiva. Thus it is said that when Shakti makes her way to the
crown, she unites with Shiva and brings about God Consciousness – Oneness with
the Divine – in the individual.”[3] This union of Shiva and Shakti is often
depicted as a love affair, consummating in the ultimate marriage between the
Divine Consciousness Itself and all the forms of its creation.
The
culture-specific and richly poetic symbology used should not however blind us
either to the universality or the physiological precision of the phenomenon
being described. It should rather reveal them, to those who can understand its
deeper meaning and import. It is natural that in the Hindu tradition the
Kundalini is represented in the mythic and symbolic terms of the culture, but
the underlying phenomenon to which they refer is universal, and descriptions of
its processes have been found in the spiritual literature of mystics from other
traditions world-wide.
That
the Kundalini-Shakti is not just a myth or a cultural concept, but actually
corresponds to a measurable energetic force, capable of being experienced
universally, has also been validated by modern science. “Science has
substantiated the yogic knowledge that a subtle energy exists which is
body-based and has both physical and psychic properties. This energy, which
powers our awareness and transforms and expands our conscious dimensions, is
not just a myth or idea; it is not a metaphysical concept, but a fact.
Kundalini is defined as the ultimate, most intense form of this energy, which
lies dormant within each and every one of us.” [4]
In
a similar vein, the great pandit Gopi Krishna, known for his own extraordinary
experiences with the kundalini, has postulated that the evolutionary action of
the kundalini is at the basis of all religions and spiritual impulses.
“Religion is in reality the expression of the evolutionary impulse in human
beings. It springs from an imperceptibly though regularly functioning organic
power centre in the body, amenable to voluntary stimulation under favorable
conditions. The transcendental state, of which as yet only a faint though
unmistakable picture is available from the descriptions furnished by
visionaries, is the natural heritage of man.
“The
happiness and welfare of mankind depends upon adherence to the yet unknown laws
of this evolutionary mechanism, known in India
From
both a scientific point of view and for the purposes of this thesis, it is
highly revealing to note that the underlying physiological basis for the
activation of the kundalini is the balancing and unification of the energies in
the left and right sides of the body, and the corresponding right and left
hemispheres of the brain. Only when this balance and unification is achieved
(and it is precisely for this purpose that yogic and Tantric practices are
designed) can the energy flow up the central channel from the base of the spine
to the crown, triggering spiritual awakening.
The
salient point, and especially in the context of this proposal, is that the
right and left hemispheres of the brain are associated respectively (both in
the ancient yoga traditions and modern neurophysiology) with the feminine and
masculine qualities of consciousness. The right hemisphere, associated with the
feminine, is especially held to be responsible for interconnective, holistic
thinking; intuition, empathy and receptivity to the greater collective field.
The integration of these qualities with the qualities of the masculine, which
tend towards more linear, discursive and compartmentalized modes, is thus
considered essential for higher spiritual evolution and enlightenment.
The Feminine Nature of the Kundalini and
Her Role in Unity Consciousness: Creative, Evolving and All-Embracing Aspects
It
is highly significant that the Kundalini is classically and consistently
regarded as a feminine force. In the Indian yogic tradition, this energetic
force which drives both personal and collective evolution to the highest
reaches of consciousness is not only regarded as feminine in its nature but
actually regarded as a Goddess.
Kundalini
is literally both an energetic mechanism in the body, coiled in the base of the
spine, specifically responsible for the evolution of consciousness in the
individual, and a feminine Divinity, the Goddess Kundalini, guiding the
collective evolution of humanity to its highest goal.
It
is not possible to overstate the significance of this fact, that the kundalini,
the primary evolutionary force in both the individual and the collective, is
consistently regarded as feminine. Above all, it can be illuminating to explore
the ramifications of this fact for the guidance they can give us at this
critical point in history. Why is the highest evolution of consciousness
considered to be powered and guided by the feminine? And what does this imply
about the specific role of the feminine at this time in history?
Some
sense of the profound respect for the transformative power of the feminine, and
the reasons behind it, can be gleaned from some of the ancient yogic texts as
well as contemporary spiritual masters.
According
to Teri Degler, author of The Divine Feminine Fire, “Right up to his death in
1984, the yogi and philosopher Gopi Krishna spoke tirelessly on the idea that
absolutely nothing is more important at this time in history than understanding
how this divine feminine force is awakening in the lives of individuals around
the planet and what this means for the human race.”
Furthermore,
she continues, “Implicit in many great thinkers’ perspectives is the notion
that the divine feminine is in some way related to evolution. In other words,
the cosmic feminine not only creates the universe, as she is seen to do in many
traditions, she also keeps propelling it along; moving both the cosmos as a
whole and all the individual forms of consciousness within it towards some
specific goal.”[6]
This
brings us to what is perhaps one of the most striking characteristics of the
Kundalini, and the key to her unique power. Kundalini-Shakti and her actions
are famously known to be multi-leveled and multi-faceted. She has three
essential aspects, which can perhaps best be characterized as the creative,
evolving, and the all-embracing. It is this multi-leveled, comprehensive nature
that make Shakti at once complete, perfectly whole and eternal; and, at another
level, ever-creative and changing, propelling the whole spectrum of birth,
growth and renewal. At one level she never changes and embraces all; at another
level she is the highest agent of transformation, the driving force behind the
processes of both personal and collective evolution.
Kundalini-Shakti,
the Divine Feminine energy, is thus the quintessential shape-shifter. She spans
the whole spectrum of existence, for She is the Source of all: its Mother, its
Creatrix and its Matrix. She is Consciousness manifesting as energy manifesting
as matter. She is that which flows between all states, transmuting from one to
another, and at the same time She is the Space that contains them all.
That
is why, in the Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana tradition, she is called the
“Sky-Dancer”, for she is supremely fluid, both assuming all shapes and
containing them. While the masculine may, on the one hand, attempt to impose
fixed orders and hierarchies, the feminine exists in between and around them.
Or while the masculine may, in the name of detachment, attach itself
exclusively to the transcendent and formless, the feminine flows between and
around all such polarities, subsuming and including both transcendence and
immanence, the infinite formless and its infinite forms.
The
Divine Feminine energy, Kundalini-Shakti, is thus truly comprehensive, in the
largest sense of the word: as such, she is the supreme bridge to non-duality,
being non-dual herself. She is the agent and vehicle for what we could call
“dynamic non-duality,” or, as it is sometimes called, “dynamic perfection” or
“evolving perfection.” This means all-embracing Consciousness in both its
eternal and evolving aspects, the still centre within all movement, and unity
in diversity. And this is what is needed today, to move us beyond the
divisions, conflicts and polarizations that are rendering our world asunder.
Shiva,
the masculine aspect of consciousness, with which Shakti is classically said to
unite in the process of spiritual awakening, is portrayed as static, formless –
the transcendent consciousness in which Shakti plays. Yet Shiva is confined to
this one aspect alone. In the Trika philosophy of Hinduism, part of the Shakta
tradition, Shakti is said to include all three aspects of existence – para,
apara and parapara – while Shiva represents para alone. In fact, para, apara
and parapara can be equated with the creative, evolving and all-embracing
aspects, while para alone represents the transcendent. In this context, Shiva’s
transcendence is not fully unitive or all-embracing because it neglects to
embrace the creative or evolving aspects: the formless giving birth to, or
manifesting progressively through, form. This is why evolution and the
transformation of consciousness are classically associated with, and depend
upon, the feminine.
This
triune nature of the feminine is often cited in the classical texts of Shakti
Tantra, Kashmiri Shaivism, and other spiritual traditions. In her commentary on
Sloka 21 of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, Swami Satyasangananda states:
“Shiva,
or consciousness, is revealed only through the medium of Shakti, or energy…
According to Trika philosophy, which is the basis of Kashmir Shaivism and
Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, shakti has three stages: para, apara and parapara…
Para is transcendental, apara is immanent and parapara has traces of both.
Shiva is para, whereas shakti is para, apara and parapara. In this sense shakti is present in all levels of existence
[italics mine] and, therefore, is the most suitable medium through which that paramtattwa, Shiva, can be known.
“Parashakti
is the medium for revealing Shiva. In the physical body parashakti resides at
the base of the spine, lying dormant in the form of a three-coiled serpent as
kundalini. All sadhanas without exception are intended to awaken this sleeping
serpent power. ..When kundalini awakens and ascends to the crown chakra, it
unites with Shiva and pure consciousness is experienced without separation or
division.”[7]
The
three-leveled nature of the feminine – corresponding, as we have seen, with the
levels of consciousness, energy and matter, or the eternal, evolving and form
-- is likewise also invoked here, in slightly different terminology but with
parallel meaning. The suggestion is that the Divine Feminine in her highest
aspect, Para Shakti (or Para Devi) ultimately subsumes and dissolves even the
division between the masculine and feminine itself:
“Devi
is herself Brahman in the Mother aspect. In her Para Brahman aspect, Devi is
beyond all names and qualities. In her World Mother aspect, she has three
forms: the omnipotent, which is unknown; the subtle; and the gross material
form… In her Prakriti aspect, Devi is the source of Brahma, Vishnu and
Maheshwara; she has the male as well as the female form [representing the
aspects of creator, sustainer and destroyer, or the transcendent consciousness,
though] it is usually the feminine form that is meditated upon.”[8] *
In
Saundarya Lahari, we find a striking explanation of Shakti’s pre-eminent status
in relation to Shiva, the masculine aspect of consciousness, due to her
versatility and ability to assume all roles:
“If
it were not for Shakti, the inherent power of Shiva, that homogeneous stream of
consciousness [that is Shiva] would forever remain motionless and inert. There
would never be any spandan, or
vibration, which is the very basis of motion. Shiva, devoid of Shakti, does not
have the power to vibrate or set itself in motion. Thus it is motionless,
timeless and eternal, as opposed to Shakti, which is motion, time, and both
eternal and transient.
“Thus,
although Shakti is not different to Shiva, she has an additional quality which
Shiva does not have, and that is to set things in motion. Shakti is both
passive and kinetic, as opposed to Shiva, who is passive only. Is it not a
great mystery or riddle how an eternal principle can also contain within it the
germ or seed of transcience? Tantra solves this mystery by stating that Shakti
is an eternal principle that bestows the power to create, sustain and destroy,
and thus gives birth to creation.”[9]
The Tantric scholar David Frawley offers some insightful
observations that help to further clarify the nature of Shakti’s power, which
may otherwise be feared or misunderstood. Hers is not a power of aggression,
domination or retribution, as the term “power” is often taken to connote, nor
is she out to overthrow the masculine; her power is not oppositional, but
rather, precisely, the power of unity, the reconciliation of opposites, and
therefore ultimately peace. This means that her highest power is to move us
beyond the illusions and conflicts inherent in dualistic perception and deliver
us to enlightenment, the consciousness of our unity with all things. This, in
turn, is the only true basis for peace, within ourselves and our world.
Frawley makes this very clear: “The Goddess or cosmic feminine
force in Tantra is worshipped as Shakti, generally translated as “power,”
whereas the God or cosmic masculine force is worshipped as Shiva, meaning
“peace.” Yet to render Shakti as power creates many misconceptions. Shakti is
the power of Shiva or the power of peace. It is not the power born of violence
or aggression. It is the power born in passivity, in silence of mind, the
energy which comes forth from the void, like the life that comes forth from the
womb. Shakti is not the power which is asserted against something, but a power
that enlivens everything from within.”
“In addition, Shakti is not an external power but Svashakti, one’s
own power. To worship the Shakti is to take back one’s own power, which it to
recognize the power of one’s own consciousness, the womb in which the energy of
enlightenment is both.
“Shakti is the descent of Divine Grace, which is the power of
peace. Woman has the power and potency to create new life. She has the energy
of beauty, delight and creativity. The transformative power of the Divine
Mother is the Shakti that works behind all great changes in the universe, and
brings the human being to the greatest transformation, which is enlightenment.
The purpose of Tantra is to energize that Shakti dormant within us by unfolding
all the different levels and rhythms of her movement, as she naturally seeks
her native abode in the Supreme.” [10]
Kundalini Awakening at the Individual
and Global Levels
Kundalini
awakening takes place not only at the individual as well as universal levels,
but also leads to the realization that they are ultimately One: the individual
is in fact no other than an expression of the Universal essence Itself, and has
never been separate. This is Self-realization, the fruit of Shakti’s action
within the individual and collective consciousness fields, revealing their
ultimate interconnection and unity.
“Shiva
and Shakti have individual as well as collective existence” affirms Swami
Satyananda. [11] “Human
beings also have within them all the elements found within the universe. The
body is a universe in miniature form. The creative power of the universe is
lying latent in the human body also.”[12].
In the same vein, Teri Degler writes “[Tantric writers of the
Kalika Purana] wanted us to understand that this need for balance of masculine
and feminine polarities is as essential within each of us individually as it is
to the universe.”[13]
Degler
explains the relationship between Shakti as a universal force and “shakti” with
a small “s”, the evolutionary force within the individual body. These two
mirror and amplify each other, until they finally reveal themselves as one; for
what they lead to is the ultimate realization of the oneness of the individual
with the universal:
“Yogic
tradition tells us that there is not only a cosmic Shakti, but also a shakti
that makes her home in each one of us as individuals.…Shakti is the creative
force that has generated the entire cosmos into existence. But her role doesn’t
end there. Once the cosmos has been created, she continues to propel evolution
throughout time. Her job is to bring the myriad forms of existence closer and
closer to God consciousness until, ultimately, all creation is propelled in a
vast circle that leads it back to the One.
“In this
sense, Shakti is the evolutionary
force. As this great cosmic power, Shakti is sometimes envisioned as a great
goddess, indeed the greatest of all goddesses, who is known as Kundalini. The
“shakti”, with a small “s,” that manifests in the individual, can also be seen
as having an evolutionary role. The goal of yoga is union. Shakti with a small
“s,” often referred to as kundalini-shakti or just plain kundalini, can be
thought of as the trigger that brings this sublime realization – enlightenment
– about. This is the ultimate union –
the union of the individual self with the Divine, or, as it is said in some
yoga traditions, the realization that the individual self is, and has always
been, one with the Divine.” [14]
Swami
Satyananda likewise makes clear that the kundalini awakening, acting on both
these levels, the individual and cosmic, is a progressive opening of the
individual to the cosmic, leading to
their convergence into One. “Although there are varying views about kundalini,
one thing is certain – kundalini has the ability to activate the human
consciousness in such a way that a person can develop his or her most
beneficial qualities, can enter a much more intimate relationship with nature and
can become aware of oneness with the whole cosmos.”[15]
Gopi
Krishna offers a similar vision, that the mechanism of the kundalini, implanted
by natural and cosmic forces within the individual, blossoms into the
realization of oneness with that very nature and cosmos:
“The
doctrine of Yoga owes its origin to the possibility in the human organism of
remoulding itself to a higher state of functional and organic efficiency,
tending to bring it closer to the primordial substance responsible for its
existence. This possibility cannot be accidental, nor can it be merely an
artificial product of human effort entirely divorced from nature. It must exist
as a potentiality, naturally present in the human body.” [16]…
“Although yet unperceived, Kundalini discharges an important role in shaping
human destiny… The time is near when the mechanism will make its existence felt
by the sheer force of inexplicable concomitant factors, which are not amenable
by any other solution.”[17]
For
the purposes of this essay, it is Shakti’s evolutionary aspect, driving us to
evolve into interconnection and congruence with the eternal, which is of
paramount importance. We need to evolve, urgently so, and we need a deep
connection with guidance. Shiva is the eternal, but he does not evolve, nor is
he involved with us; he is unmoved and unmoving. Shakti, on the other hand, is deeply involved
in our evolution, and directly moves through us – moreover, where she is moving
us to is precisely our re-connection with the eternal.
It
is a paradox that evolution and involution go hand-in hand, that the highest
expression of our spiritual evolution involves a return to our deepest
connection with our original Source. Yet this spiral nature of spiritual
evolution precisely suits, and depends upon, the versatile nature of Shakti,
for she exists at all three levels on the spiral of time at once – the
beginning, middle and end – creative, evolving and ever-returning to the
eternal.
As
the Saundarya Lahiri so cogently puts it “Shakti is that energy which has a
tremendous range of expression… She is the cause of both evolution, and
involution back to the source… The range of expression of Shakti is far more
extensive than Shiva”[18]
Everything
we do, we do because Shakti moves through us; she is our origin and our goal;
in truth, She never leaves us. She is the Mother who never ejects us, because,
though she gives us life, the infinite scope of her being extends beyond life
and death.
In
short, because she both acts within
and goes beyond duality, Shakti is supremely
qualified to lead us beyond the struggles between good and evil, darkness and
light, birth and death, that cause so much conflict and suffering, individually
and collectively. She leads humanity beyond the inner and outer battles that
afflict it, to its true Wholeness and the fulfillment of its highest
potential. One of the classical epics of
Hindu mythology, the Devi Mahatmya, is a symbolic portrayal of Shakti, or Devi,
as the saviouress of the world, intervening at a time of great crisis to slay
the demons who have been attacking the gods, rendering them powerless.
According to this great epic, She alone has the capacity to rescue the gods and
restore the world order, saving it from chaos and destruction.
“Beneath
this theology of a personal goddess who intervenes in mundane affairs lie
subtler psychological and philosophical truths. The battleground is an interior
one of the human heart and mind, where conflicts rage daily between the
polarities of right and wrong, love and hate, duty and pleasure. The Devi is
the indwelling Divine Self that calls us to the highest aspirations; the asuras
[demons] represent everything that is selfish, ignorant and destructive in the
human ego.”[19]
Or,
as the revered saint of the last century, Swami Sivananda, put it: “Devi, the
Mother Divine, represents the triumph of the divine power over the myriad dark
forces of negativity – too well-known in all human lives – in the struggle
between the dual factors of good and evil, truth and untruth, virtue and vice,
freedom and involution, light and darkness… Worship of the Divine Mother leads
to the attainment of Self-knowledge…Nothing is possible without the Mother.
Humanity’s material and spiritual progress is bound up inextricably with the
Mother.”[20]
Again,
we understand that he is talking about the rise and cultivation of the feminine
within ourselves as well as within our world. It is important to understand
that the Divine Mother, or Shakti, is not a form or entity outside or beyond
us, to be propitiated or beseeched, but a universal force of love to be found
within our own hearts, and expressed through our actions. Mata Amritanandamayi
speaks about this as the rise of the Universal Mother principle within all of
us, coming into action today to bring caring, love, reconciliation and unity to
our world and all its life forms.
Shakti,
or the Divine Feminine, by whatever name we call her, calls to us through our
own hearts, and acts through us in our actions. She is the Cosmic power, but
ultimately She is our own power, for She is our own origin, the Source of our
very being.
Women’s Role in Global Consciousness
Transformation Today
We
have seen how, in yogic and ancient traditions, the highest evolution of
consciousness is considered to be guided by the feminine, and, further, that it
is considered to lead to the ultimate union of the individual consciousness
with the universal. What does this have to do with actual women, and their role
in global transformation today? Does the rise of the kundalini imply a more
active role for women in shaping (balancing and evolving to a higher synthesis)
the cultural consciousness, and the spiritual and social structures through
which it is expressed?
The
answer is a resounding yes, according to many spiritual masters as well as social
leaders today. Since, as we have seen, the microcosmos reflects the
macrocosmos, there is no question that the imbalance of power between actual
men and women in society reflects and reinforces the imbalance between
masculine and feminine principles and energies in the collective consciousness.
Conversely, the shift to a greater balance of power, interconnection and unity
between the masculine and feminine principles and energies in the collective
consciousness will be reflected and reinforced by a corresponding re-balancing
in the positions and roles of actual men and women in society, as well as
concrete changes in our over-all social structures. This will occur, and is in
fact already occurring, as a natural part of our evolution, as feminine values
are given greater expression and honour in all spheres of human activity, both
inner and outer.
The
current imbalance between the masculine and feminine is recognized by many
today as being one of the main causes of the crises imperiling the planet. “We
live in a period in history,” says Teri Degler, “where the masculine is still
honoured more than the feminine at every level. This is true whether it refers
to the way women are still treated in most parts of the world or the way our
society honours “masculine” traits more than “feminine” ones. The cumulative
effect of this imbalance on a worldwide level is posing an ever-increasing
threat. Gopi Krishna made the point that the main cause of the proliferation of
war and the thoughtless destruction of the environment was that traits
associated with the masculine side of our natures… had been allowed to run amok
without being tempered by the traits of the feminine…”[21]
Many
spiritual masters have affirmed the greater spiritual receptivity of women,
their energetic sensitivity and ease of communion with the Whole, as well as
the greater capacities for compassion, self-sacrifice and caring. “Awakening of
the spiritual force (kundalini) is much easier in the body of a woman than in a
man”[22]
said Swami Satyananda in Nawa Yogini Tantra… “Our social structures will have
to be based on a new concept of religious realities, in which the role of woman
in mankind’s spiritual evolution is fully understood and accepted. This is
absolutely necessary for the emergence of a new society.”[23]
Why
has this not been the case so far? Why have so few women leaders stepped
forward, either in the spiritual or social domains, despite such inherent
capacity, for these many centuries?
Swami Satyananda explains “In many of the world religions, women were
barred from higher spiritual life. Perhaps the reason for this is that men
wanted to exploit them for their own carnal objectives. If women were allowed
to live a spiritual life and encouraged to raise their awareness, then they
could not be used or exploited. Therefore, women were relegated to the home,
their sole purpose in life being to serve their husband and produce offspring.”[24]
“Matriarchal
traditions are generally more holistic and harmonious, promoting the welfare of
all beings rather than any select or elite group. Patriarchal traditions are
generally more hierarchical and punitive. The matriarchal religions teach
tolerance, understanding and compassion for others, which reflect the feminine
nature… Patriarchal religions are more aggrandizing and have produced religious
wars… They have also prevented women from coming forward in spiritual life.
However, in the twentieth century women all over the world have become more
open and begun to realize they have an important role to play in spiritual
evolution.”[25]
(I
am not proposing here a return to matriarchal traditions, nor do I believe this
is Swami Satyananda’s intention, but rather the call for an onward movement in
the evolution of humanity to a much-needed higher synthesis of the masculine
and feminine, the reasons for which, as Sw, Satyananda has cited, are
abundantly evident. Though there is a good deal to learn from spiritually-based
matriarchal and Goddess traditions in the past, of which archeologists have
unearthed much revealing evidence, the point here is not to return to an
earlier stage in evolution, but rather to progress to a third turning in the
evolutionary spiral, beyond matriarchy and patriarchy, to a higher integration
of the masculine and feminine principles in the collective consciousness.)
Some
people will argue that the masculine-feminine imbalance in the world is not a
major issue, that it is of limited importance. They see it as a “woman’s
issue”, or, at best, passé, dead and dying with the aging feminists. But the
truth is it has repercussions at every level or our being, spiritual,
psychological and social: our personal struggles, our society’s, and, today,
our planet’s. Balance between the masculine and feminine energies, balance
between the masculine and feminine values, and balance between actual men and
women, is at the very root of the mandate for our survival that the universe is
delivering to us today.
Survival,
the most self-interested of all interests, is at the same time the one common
cause for us all, and it is also today, paradoxically, the one that is driving
us to the highest realization of our true nature – a quantum leap from self to
Self, from individualism to Wholeness, if we are to fulfill this mandate now
set before us. And this requires, as has become indisputably clear, the
inclusion, at all levels, of the feminine.
This
has been recognized by some of the most important figures on the world scene
today. As Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, a contemporary Sufi master, has urged us, “In
denying the feminine her sacred power and purpose, we have impoverished life on
personal and global levels...
We have to realize that when we deny the divine mystery of the feminine,
we separate life from its sacred core, from the matrix that nourishes all
creation. We cut ourselves from the source that alone can heal, nourish, and
transform. Yes, we see now the outer effects on the earth, but it is so much
more difficult to recognize the inner effects, which have been devastating…
[For] the same sacred source that gave birth to each of us is needed to give
meaning to our life, to nourish it with what is real and to reveal to us the
mystery, the purpose of being alive.”[26]
Mata
Amritanandamayi, the great women saint from South India whose inspiration and
solace have uplifted hundreds of thousands world-wide, has declared: “As long
as the exploitation of women prevails, society’s growth and development will
remain incomplete, like a half-blossomed flower. If a woman draws on her power
within, if we align ourselves with that inner strength, this world can become a
heaven. War, strife and terrorism will come to an end. If the future is to be a
beautiful, fragrant, fully blossomed flower, women and men must join hands in
all spheres. Those who desire peace and contentment in the world community must
pay heed to this, right now, in this very moment.”[27]
We
need only to look around us to see that this is already beginning to happen. It
is not without reason that the Dalai Lama has said, in such unequivocal terms,
“Western women will save the world.”[28]
Women all over the world, in fact, are rising up today, not in protest or
competition against men, but to bring in a new balanced paradigm for the
benefit of the entire world community. They are working actively to integrate
spiritual and social transformation, to bring in a new level of consciousness
based on the principles of interconnection and Oneness, equity, ecological
awareness, co-creation and unity.
This
includes groups like the Global Peace Initiative of Women, Gather the Women,
Women of Spirit and Faith, Women on the Edge of Evolution, and numerous other
groups on the forefront of the evolutionary shift in consciousness occurring
today world-wide. They are fostering not only new values and perspectives but
transformative action in all spheres of society – the spiritual, psychological,
scientific and social, including the ecological and economic levels.
In
the spiritual domains, increasing numbers of women spiritual teachers are
coming to the fore. It has been reported that up to half of all Zen and
Vipassana teachers in the U.S.
In
fact, women leaders are pioneering new innovative approaches in all domains of
society. These visionary women, bringing a spiritual perspective to meeting the
crises of our times, include Barbara Marx Hubbard (Evolutionary Metamorphosis
and Conscious Evolution), Riane Eisler (Partnership Society and Caring
Economics), Lynne McTaggart (Living the Field), Jean Houston (Social Artistry),
and Joanna Macy (The Work that Re-Connects). Such women are leading the way,
together with conscious men actively supporting the rise of feminine values, to
a new more holistic, unitive and sustainable paradigm, helping to heal our
world and usher in a new stage in the evolution of consciousness.
Conclusion
We have
much evidence to conclude that it is the energy of the Kundalini Shakti that is
driving this critical shift in consciousness today, and that it is a universal,
evolutionary force propelling both collective and individual transformation. As
Teri Degler affirms to her readers in the Divine Feminine Fire, “Shakti is
propelling your evolution…transforming your consciousness. Although this
transformation is occurring gradually over time in each and every human being,
for many of us today this process is being accelerated. In Tantric and yogic
traditions, this accelerated transformation is related to the “awakening” of
kundalini-shakti in the body.”[29]
It is my thesis that this process, the accelerated
transformation of consciousness through the rise of the feminine energy, is
taking place today in both individuals and the collective body, which, as
microcosmos and macrocosmos, naturally reflect and amplify each other. In fact, these two levels, the individual and universal, ultimately
merge, dissolving the dualistic divisions not only within the personal psyche
but also between nations and cultures and between man and his environment. In
this way the resurgence of the feminine holds the key not only to awakening in
the individual, but an evolutionary leap between an era of divisiveness and
violence in our world to one of unity and co-creation with the Divine.
The feminine
has been repressed, in our personal psyches as well as collective cultures, too
long, and now she is rising up, demanding that we honour and embrace her – or
lose the very world she has created for us, and our very existence. In some way
she is both propelling the crises we are experiencing, and pointing, loud and
clear, to the solution. We must honour and embrace her within ourselves, and
express her grace within our world. How can she embrace and heal us if we do
not open up to, receive and embrace her? I believe that Kundalini-Shakti is
poised to deliver us to the highest potential of consciousness, and not only
the salvation, but the flourishing of our world beyond all we can now imagine,
if we can only receive her.
In sum,
the kundalini is a universal process taking place through the individual, which
ultimately dissolves all division between the two. We open to the cosmic
process which has always been taking place through us, yet disguised from our
view. This process is really only of One, though it appears as two, a
multiplicity of forms emanating from the One Source of all existence.
It is the
Divine Mother Herself, casting herself out as her children, her creation, and
then calling them back home. She reels them back through a golden thread from
the base of the spine to the crown. When we see this, we know that in essence
we are always Her, always home; our seeking comes to fruition and our finding
begins. The kundalini is a current that, once alight, plugs us into the
Universe, or rather ignites the knowledge that we have always been That. Our
life purpose as an individual fuses with the Divine cosmic plan, and we become,
increasingly, a channel for the unfolding of Her wisdom from within us into our
world.
*
While kundalini-shakti drives the evolutionary
process of awakening within the individual, and Shakti drives the evolution of
awakening in the collective to the highest realization of their Oneness, Para
Shakti (or Para Devi) represents this Oneness itself, the all-embracing space
containing and transcending all processes, micro- or macro-cosmic. (Note, however, that the
term “Shakti” or “Devi” is often used in a general sense to refer to the Divine
Feminine in any or all of her aspects, spanning the entire spectrum of the
levels she expresses.)
*
A still more elaborate representation of the
spectrum from pure consciousness to matter along which Shakti so effortlessly
rides, is associated with the classical description of the five yogic sheaths,
the five energy fields emanating from the human body, which range from the most
subtle aspect of cosmic consciousness to the gross manifestation of the
physical form. We learn from the Vijnana Bhairava:
“Paradevi
is the transcendental energy which, as the sum total of all the energy in the
universe, is responsible for creation or manifestation. Paradevi manifests in
the physical body as pranashakti, the life force. At the individual level
[Parashakti] assumes five fields or koshas, each more subtle than the other: annamaya
kosha, the physical sheath; pranamaya kosha, the vital energy sheath; manomaya
kosha, the mental sheath; vijnanamaya kosha, the intuitive sheath, an extremely
rarified field of energy, which is closer to spirit than matter, surrounding
the mental sheath; and anandamaya kosha, the sheath of bliss, where pranshakti
is united with the supreme self. – [From Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, Sri
Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, (Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar , India
1.
[1] Swami Satyasangananda, Sri Vijnana Bhairava Tantra, (Bihar School
of Yoga, Yoga Publications Trust, Ganga Darshan, Munger , India
2.
[2] Swami Satyananda, Devi: Honouring Shakti, (Publication
of Sivananda Math, Munger, Bihar , 2005), p. 53
3.
[3] Teri Degler, The Divine Feminine Fire, (Dreamriver
Press, Flourtown , PA.
4.
[4] Swami Satyananda, Kundalini Tantra, (Yoga Publications
Trust, Ganga Darshan, Munger, Bihar, India, 1984), p. 325
5.
[5] Pandit Gopi Krishna, Kundalini: Path to Higher
Consciousness, (Orient Paperbacks, Delhi, 1976), p, 200-1
7.
[7] Swami Satyasangananda Saraswati, Sri Vijnana Bhairava
Tantra, (Bihar School
of Yoga, Munger, Bihar , India
9.
[9] Swami Satyasangananda, Sri Saundarya Lahari, (Bihar School
of Yoga, Munger, Bihar , India
10.
[10] David Frawley, Tantric Yoga and the
Wisdom Goddesses, (Motilal Banarsidass, New Delhi, India, 1996), pp 46-7
19.
[19] Devadatta Kali, In Praise of the Goddess: The
Devimahatmya and Its Meaning, (Nicolas-Hays, Inc., Berwick , Maine
22.
[22] Swami Satyananda, from Swami Muktananda, Nawa Yogini
Tantra (Bihar School of Yoga, Munger, Bihar, India, 1977, 1983), p.4
26.
[26] Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee, The Return of the Feminine and
the World Soul (Golden
Sufi Center ,
Point Reyes , California
27.
[27] Mata Amritanandamayi, from a keynote talk given at the
conference “Making Way for the Feminine for the Benefit of the World
Community”, sponsored by the Global Peace Initiative of Women, Jaipur, India,
2008
28.
[28] His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from a talk given at the
Vancouver Peace Summit, Vancouver ,
Canada
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