INTRODUCTION:

PRANA –THE EXTERNAL COAT OF MIND:

According to Swami Sivananda,mind and prana are two principal Tattvas prevailing in the universe.Mind exists where prana exists. The mind mixes with the external breath even in case of external movement of breath beyond the nose.Mind is overcoated externally by Prana (energy).The function of digesting the food, turning it into chyle and blood and supplying it to the brain and mind is done by Prana.Then only mind is able to enquiry into Brahman or make Brahma –Vichara.

Subtle psychic Prana nourishes the life of the mind through the vibration giving rise to thought formation. Mind is subtler than Prana. Because, Mind is composed of sattvic essence of the five Tanmatras; whereas, Prana is made of Rajasic essence of the five Tanmatras.

The Pranamaya Kosha (vital sheath)subtler than the Annamaya Kosha (physical body).

It is more extensive than the Annamaya Kosha (physical sheath) and overlaps it.

Similarly Manomaya Kosha is subtler than the Pranamaya Kosha and more extensive it.

To physically influence somebody one has touch that person’s body. Whereas by standing at a distance through 'passes'one can impart Prana toother; because, Prana (vital) subtler than the physical body. But one can influence a man mentally through miles away from him, since mental force subtler than Prana.

Inter-Dependence of Mind And Prana:

Prana and mind are related to each other like the relation of the supporter and the supported. The relationship is like that of flower and its odour or a sesamum seed and the oil in it. The existence of one depends on the other,if one is exhausted then the other also willnot survive.. If the mind and Prana does not exist, thoughts will not appear at all. The destruction of both will bring Moksha on all.

Ekagrata and Nirodha are two Mental states. Spanda (subtle or Sukshma) and Nirodha are states of the Prana. One-pointedness of mind gives rise to Spanda Avastha of the Prana come by itself.

If purification of mind takes place with true Sattva Guna, the Prana gets distributed freely throughout the body. The food gets digested thoroughly.

Mind, Prana and Virya:

Mind, Prana and Virya (semen) areinterlinked with each other. If any one of these three is controlled , the other two get controlled by themselves, quitecomfortably. Control of prana is the goal of Hatha Yogins,whereas control over mind is the goal of Raja Yogi.Similarly Jnana Yogins begin their Sadhana(practice) with Buddhi and will.

Benefits of Pranayama:

By Pranayama (control of Prana or restraint of breath mental energy increases and thought-control and thought-culture also develop. This helps in concentration and meditation makes the mind steady. This removes Rajas (passion) and Tamas (inertia). burns the dross in the mind.

Pranayama helps the mind gradually to proceed from the gross to the subtle state. It checks also the sexual irritationand other evil thought disturbing our mind.If one practices Padmasana or Siddhasana and Pranayama the thought leaves us immediately.

Mind And Kundalini:

Kundalini, otherwise known as serpent power lies dormant with 3 coils with the face downwards in root chakra the base of the spine.. It is linked with Prana and Prana is also linked with the mind.

Even a Vedantin can get Jnana-Nishtha (superconscious state) only through the awakening of Kundalini Sakti. Superconscious state or Samadhi is not possible without the awakening of kundalini irrespective of the type of yoga ( Raja Yoga, Bhakti Yoga or Jnana Yoga) Kundalini Sakti can only be awakened when one’s mind is free from passions.

Sakti-Chalana or Asvani Mudra, Tadana, Pracharana-all are the practices which help in arousal of the the Kundalini.

The Kundalini is raised higher up by practice of Mahabheda.

When the Kundalini Sakti gets awakened, the mind along with Prana and Jiva,finds its way in the Sushumna and all perceptions are in the mental space (Chidakasa). After the arousal of Kundalini, Prana gets its way rupwards through Sushumna or Brahma Nadi within the spinal cord, along with minets and Agni.

The Yogi gets freedom from physical consciousness. One become shut out from the external objective world. At the time of first awakening of Kundalini , six kinds of experiences which last for a short time, viz., Ananda, Kampana , Udbhava, Ghurni, Nidra and Murchha etc are encountered by the yogi.

Ananda refers to spiritual bliss,Kampana refers to body tremor,Udbhaba refers to rising above ground from his Asana,Ghurni refers to moving of the body in circle,Nidra refers to sleep and Murcha refers to fainting. After awakening the Kundalini, the practitioner has to take it up to Sahasrara in the top of the head.

layer after layer of the mind opens up when this Kundalini moves from Chakra to Chakra (from centre to centre).

At each new centreThe Yogin experiences different kinds of bliss (Ananda) .He gets different experiences and powers. Control over five five elements are achieved.

The universe in its subtle or causal formis perceived by him. He achieves the complete knowledge of the types of various kinds of the causal plane. When Kundalini arrives the Sahasrara Chakra, the practitioner is in the Chidakasa (knowledge space.

EFFECTS OF KUNDALINI ON MIND:

Kundalini and the energy of the chakras may be referred as bioelectricity. Our brains depends on bioelectricity to run on. This can be observed when some people get the experience of seizures. Thoughts are nothing but electrical impulses.When we revamp our bioelectricity, the dormant areas of our minds get stimulated. Our fears,unpleasant thoughts and allkinds of things buried in our minds are kicked of by the awakened energy. Void meditation and the practice to remove thoughts according to own will, is an effective help here, since negative thoughts are harmful and sticking to them is a waste of time. This stage also passes away in time. One has to ignore any negative thoughts if they surface and they will go away. The psychic centres or chakras are empowered by focusing our attention on them. Any thing when given due attention through awareness and focus; it gets power. When any negative thoughts or psychic disturbances are completely ignored, they wither away gradually.

People having a tendency to seizures need to be extra careful with kundalini stimulation.

Experiences are personal and vary from individual to individual. What one person experiences, may not be experienced by other one.

When we are doing something which works on our soul like kundalini awakening,we should be slow and cautious .Demonic forces may sometimes interfere in the plea of assistance and guidance,and it should be avoided at any cost.These experiences are frequent for a person new in meditation.Wer should also be fearless while proceeding in this path.

PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS

· Enhansement of sense of consciousness in kinesthetic and somatic senses

· Unexpected mood changes reduces

· Improvement in the feeling of self- realization

· Iimprovement in Adjustment

· Decrease in anxiousness, stress and major depression symptoms

· Boosting of concentration

· Improvement in abilities, learning capability

· Enhancement of level of perception

KUNDALINI-REVIEW OF PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES:

AUTONOMOUS NERVOUS SYSTEM THEORY:

This was the theory was proposed in 1927 by Varant G. Rele, an Indian doctor which was published in his book "The Mysterious Kundalini". In this theory the core idea is the idea of upward movement of kundalini that can be identified with the activation of the right vagal nerve. Though very few people has accepted this theory still now, yet it has a considerable impact. Yoga professionals and teachers often relate chakras to nerve plexuses of the body. According to a reputed Indian doctor, Professor Udapa , the stimulation of the plexuses of the ANS may be the basis of kundalini awakening. (Udupa, 1982).

If we explain kundalini ,simply as the flow of impulses along the autonomous nerves,explaination of the kundalini awakening caused by Bhakti Yoga, Mantra Yoga or Guru's grace can not be done effectively . But simultaneously there may be some link between kundalini and the autonomous nervous system.

SPECIAL ENERGY THEORY:

Kundalini is considered as a special form of energy new to Western science. According to Motoyama Kundalini is considered to be (he life force called "chi" in Acupuncture and Chinese medicine which moves along certain acupuncture channels or meridians. Motoyama claimed that it is possible to measure it and depict it with electronic equipment (1981, Motoyama).

Kirlian photography techniques have been regarded to take the picture and measure the level of "energy" in living beings too (e.g. Bluen and Holstock,1981).

The advantage of these theories is that they can explain the effects of many practices where little stimulation of the autonomous nervous systemis involved. In this context, the effects of meditation Can be understood as the communication or interaction with cosmic energy or prana removing the blocks of energy that flow in the body (Carrington,1986).

The life energy concept may be too vague and the proof of its existence may not be satisfactorily convincing for some people.

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES:

It was Sigmund Freud who used the word "sublimation" to refer the transformation of sexual impulses and their indirect expression in art or creative work. His disciple C. G. Jung, was very interested in eastern systems like Yoga. According to Jung,anima is the synonymn for kundalini and "anima" refers to feminine aspect of human psyche (Jung,1975).

It is interesting that it was a Jungian therapist who found Mr. Gopi Krishna for the West and wrote a commentary to his book. Gopi Krishna's idea that kundalini is an evolutionary energy in man seems to me closer to the Jungian archetypes than to Darwin.

Psychoanalysis is greatly dependent on introspection which is its most important research tool for understanding the mind,s its strength and weakness simultaneously. For some people, subjective and differing psychoanalytic theories are not either understandable. Others may argue that to explain the mysterious kundalini by the not less mysterious "anima" is not enough.

BENTOV’S BIOMEDICAL MODEL:

This theory gives emphasis on the resonance of the vibrations made by the heart-aorta system.The symptoms appear only when this journey is not "stress-free" (Bentov, 1977) Dr. Lee Saunella (1979) adopted Bentov’s theory in her works and tried to help people to overcome possible difficulties with the help of awakened kundalini.

SILENT BRAIN AWAKENING THEORIES:

Cn. Hills is of the view that kundalini awakening does not take place in the spinal passage. It really occurs in the brain and projected to the different parts of the body. As per Teachings of Satyananda Saraswati, 1981)Many experts would agree that the awakening of kundalini activates the brain’s silent or unused areas and in this way increases one's mental and spiritual abilities .

JUNG’S THEORY:

1. Ego is loosely attached to the self,which is the only objective and fundamental reality human beings could connect with.

2. Which we call Buddhist maya in connection with complexity of soul’s function is seen by the west as the reality. The psychic disfunctioning is because of focus of the civilization on the control over the externals ignoring internal reality.

3. Jung saw the Indian speak not of Personal/Impersonal, Subjective/Objective; but of a personal consciousness and Kundalini.

4. This text The Secret of the Golden Flower had motivated Jung to write on Synchronicity.

5. Jung's interpretation of the process of Kundalini did not, however, stem from theories.It emerged from the study of the indications of its movement within the psychic life of his patients. He was also aware of the dangers of the ego becoming inflated by the stirrings of unconscious contents which may extend to total psychic imbalance.

6. However, it was in the careful unravelling of the psychic life of his as the process of individuation, Kundalini manifested. This his statements of the chakras became verification based on real experience. It was his conclusion that the main level of activity of most people was involved in the lower three centres It begins with Muladhara,passes through Swadhisthana and Manipura. Where Muladhara (literally, root support) refers the chakra where existence was established. Swadistana is the chakra to manifest creativity in the personality ando Manipur refers to centre of emotionality., the Red Sea of the Old Testament whose crossing to the Heart (Anahata) required the discipline of the Guru both individually and collectively. The first intimations of the Self reach consciousness at the heart. Jung saw each chakra as a whole world in itself. At the level of Muladhara for instance is the earth, our conscious world, but also where instinct and desire is largely unconscious -a state of participation mystique.

7. The stages of individuation of his patients elaborated through dream and symbol corresponding with those of old mystery cults was revealed by Jung during his study. which was connected to the mysterious phenomena of awakening of kundalini.

8. Jung realised that arousing the activity of Swadistana, the Kundalini itself had to be aroused, but he also realised that such happenings were spontaneous, and not produced through the dangerous practices of Tantra.

9. He found the attention itself gathered into deeper levels of being by the motion of the unconscious self through Kundalini awakening. Though he never practiced any form of organized meditation.

10. Further, the motion of anima leading into the depths of the unconscious, he recognised as an imaginal figure projected by Kundalini and identified with it.

11. In the various symbols surrounding the chakras Jung identified with his own system. The Muladhara with its image of the elephant (Hindu Ganesha) has a fourfold structure of psychic functions (the chakra has four petals) and corresponds with the world of consciousness.

12. The heart with its symbolism of the dear projects images of lightness of being, swiftness and elevation. Beyond; Vissuddi, Agnya and Sahasrahra - he said little except that as fully developed centres they were so above ordinary consciousness that not even thought could offer any illumination.

13. Essentially he came to the view that, from the standpoint of the gods, the great archetypal figures, the world is less than child's play, a seed, a mere potentiality for the future.

14. Vast majority of people, pass through life unawakened and unaware, victims of outer circumstances and inner compulsions.They have not lived at all and pass back into the universal unconscious. According, to Socrates; 'the unexamined life is not worth living'. According to Jung,the awakening of Kundalini out of mere potentiality is to 'start a world which is totally different from our world: it is infinity'.

SYNTHESIS OF DIFFERENT THEORIES:

The above theories are not mutually exclusive.Some experts use or combine the elements of different theories. The complex phenomenon of kundalini may have many levels reflected, more or less, by different approaches.

OSHO’S VIEW ON KUNDALINI:

Existence is same as energy.So far as man’s existence is concerned, this is nothing but kundalini energy. We can say that Kundalini refers to the focused energy of human body and pyche. Energy can exist either in manifested or in unmanifested form. Kundali is our total potential and total possibility. So kundalini is not unique because it is nothing but human energy.

Ordinarily, a very minute part of it is functioning. Since there is conflict in every case, every situation in our daily life, that minute part of total energy that has become manifest is in conflict with itself. In psychological terms,it can be said that the unconscious is in conflict with the conscious always. Kundalini means our total energy coming to the harmonious unity. So it can be told that Kundalini is just a technical term used to refer our whole energy when it is in unity,in movement,in harmony without having any conflict. Then only transformation is possible which is unique and unknown. We get relief by throwing our conflicting energies.

It is similar to throwing our life in bits and fragnents,in instalments.This is suicidal. We are suicidal, unless our life energy becomes one and harmonious and the flow is inward. Let us consider the difference between pleasure and bliss. We get pleasure when we throw off the conflicting energies. It is achieved when we are relieved of a burden, Pleasue is always negative. It is never negative.On the otherhand,bliss is positive which is achieved when our energies are fulfilled.When we become one with energy and not in conflict with them,energies are not thrown but have an inward flow.That inward movement is endless. So there are two possibilities for the energy.

One is anti-kundalini, other, kundalini. The first one is the case of relief which arises by throwing our burdens which could not be utilized and could not be creative. The consequent mind state is anti-kundalini. Tjis is the ordinary state of human beings. In this case movement of energy is from the centre towards periphery, which is the direction we are moving toward. Kundalini is the opposite state. In this case movement of energy is from the centre toward periphery. The centre oriented,inward movement gives bliss while the outward movement gives happiness and misery. This happiness is momentary and misery is permanent.Whe we hope or expect, there is created a gap and happiness come only in gaps. We are creating new enegies constanly. That is life, the ability to go on generating the life force. Illness comes when life force ceases to be created. also it comes when it is created.Illness of first type is that of weakness and second type is the burden to us. We are not able to make it harmonize, creative or blissful. It was our creation, but we cant deal with it properly so we just throw it off. Then we create more energy again. This absurdity is what we ordinarily mean by man’s existence, constantly creating energy which becomes burden some and constantly we have to relieve it. Sex is so important, so significant to us because it is one of the greatest mean which helps us to get rid ourself of energy.

There is a constant creating of energy and throwing out of energy. What is the need of our existence,is it required to become an instrument in which energy is created and thrown out. A more sensitive person will feel the meaninglessness of life as we know it. Kundalini means to change this absurd situation to a meaningful one. The science of Kundalini is one of the subtlest sciences. Unlike physical science which is concerned with material energy, kundalini is psychic energy in nature. Material energy can be creative or destructive, similarly psychic energy too can be creative or destructive. If not used it becomes destructive and if used it becomes creative.

A situation can be called creative,if one part of the potential is realized and the other part is unrealized. The whole potentials needs to berealized, actualized. There are methods also to awake it, realize it and make it actual. It is in dormant state, a sleeping state. It is sleeping like a snake. That’s why it is called kundalini,a sleeping serpent or serpent power. Our life energy is asleep in a coiled form.It can be straight, it can become awake. Then only the actualization of the potential will be possible,resulting the possible transformation.

GOPIKRISHNA’S VIEW ON SUPER-CONSCIOUSNESS:

While describing Super-consciousness or Mystical vision,Gopikrishna was thoroughly weighing every word he used, as he somehow felt under solemn obligation to express the hard truth. He admitted that his whole story was incredible that doubt was natural unless direct proof was provided to substantiate it. He himself and his friends were seriously occupied in finding for an objective verification of that unbelievable mental state He was victim to a permanently fixed delusory state from psychologist point of view. There was no documentary of case of this kind,he himself disbelieved the evidence of his own senses and mind for twelve years.Suddenly an objective fact brought it home that transformation he was going was not a delusion,but a concrete reality which he had to reconcile. Nature of transformation was such that every moment he was feeling as if living in two worlds. One is sensory world of sight, touch, smell, taste and sound. The other was an amazing Super-sensory world to which he first enterd in 1937. He was not saying this to claim this singularity, but only a statement of fact.as because he had not seen or heard any individual claiming this same peculiarity.

He observed his thoughts,actions,feelings and dreams to ensure that the transformation was not abnormal in nature rather the outcome of a peculiar activity of his cerebrospinal system,unknown to modern science. Even eminent scientist and different scholars in different pats of the world could not explain this mystery. No exaplaination was there for his extraordinary mental state.Luminous glow was pervading the whole field of his vision as well as his interior during the hpors of wakefulness.He was living in a world of light.It was as if a light were burning in his interior filling him with a luster so beautiful and ravishing that his attention was drawn towards it again and again.Infact it was his normal state of perception. Two prominent features of his transformed being were light and music.

There was Light, both within and without., and a distinct music in his ears. He was living in a charming, radiant and melodious world. There was a sense of its fascination always present in him. The harmony was disturbed like sickness disturbing the poise of the normal mind. The luster and the sounds continued, but they were not fascinating as in the healthy state. This disturbance was only occasional. Normally an indwelling joy and harmony made his life much more happy and serene than it was before the transformation. Experience of light was a prominent feature of mystical vision. This might be sometimes described as a supernatural glow, ghostly light, celestial radiance, golden luster, living splendor, and the like. Narration of a mystical experience in which the glory, the brightness or the splendor of the vision is present is not uncommon.

On the basis of his own experience, he could assert that whether of a short or long duration, invariably denoted the operation of an altered form of psychic energy which was luminous, lending a brightness to every object perceived outside and every image evoked within.It can be descrbed as if the activity of a luminous form of thought-energy had bathed everything in its luster. He believed that by a slow process of evolution this illuminated state of the mind, in course of time, will become the natural state of every man and woman on the earth.That may be the reason why sun and the moon are used as symbols of illumination in texts and traditions because of the resemblance of this inner miraculous radiance with the sources of light ever lighting the earth. The experimental conformation of transformation occurring in the brain and also bioenergy which fuels the activity of thoughts will help removing the controversies regarding this phenomena which will give a new orientation to the investigation of the phenomenon.

He does not claim that he sees God, but he is conscious of a Living Radiance both within and outside of himself.myself. In other words, he had gained a new power of perception, not present before. The luminosity did not end with his waking time. It persisted even in his dreams .

In every state of being---eating, drinking, talking, working, laughing, grieving, walking or sleeping---he always dealt in a rapturous world of light. It was obvious that the self or observer in him has experienced a change and a new being had been born who was always enwrapped in a sheath of alluring light. That inner radiance was attended by another even more incredible feature which, from his point of view, was of utmost importance as it presented a solution to, at least, four still unsolved riddles of the human mind, such as 1. mystical experience or illumination, 2. inspiration and genius, 3 psychic abilities and 4 mental and nervous disorders which could be defined and classified through a scientific study of the phenomenon.

This has an awesome significance. It means if human evolution is not harmonious with and inner and outer environment, there can be malformations of the mind and intellect. This is the tragedy of present time.

Genius and insanityare linked always which is well known. The class of psychics, known as mastanas in Persian and avadhoots in Sanskrit are highly clairvoyant with abnormal behavior patterns.

The more amazing feature of his experience consists in this: The enchanting light he perceived, both internally and outside, was alive. It pulsated with life and intelligence. It was as if his own small pool of consciousness as well as the outside world he perceived had been filled by infinite Ocean of Awareness. Every thing within and outside had been encompassed by a radiant living presence.

KUNDALINI SYNDROME:

Kundalini awakening may be spontaneous without any reason. It may be triggered by unexpected experiences like accidents, emotional traumatic conditions,near death experiences, birth of a baby, mental tension etc. Spontaneous awakenings may result by the "grace of God", or past life spiritual practices. A spontaneous awakening for an unprepared person or practice without the guidance of good teacher can result an experience called "Kundalini crisis", "spiritual emergency" or "Kundalini syndrome". "Kundalini syndrome" is used by some writers to refer to physical or psychological problems arising from experiences generally associated with the awakening of Kundalini. The symptoms resemble those of Kundalini awakening,but the experience of unpleasant, overwhelming and out of control may be there. Approach without true regards to the divine potential and sense of ego may create unpleasant side effects during the Kundalini practice. Kundalini is the highly creative intelligence whose awakening equires surrender.It is not an energy to be manipulated by the ego.

CONCLUSION:

According to Hatha Pradipika, "Like opening a door with a key, the yogi unlocks the door to moksha". Yoga texts like Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita or Shiva Samhita have acknowledged the importance of kundalini, it should also be given equal importance in medical and psychological research too. As a result It can be useful to review medical and psychological theories of kundalini. Kundalini and the energy of the chakras may be referred as bioelectricity. Our brains depends on bioelectricity to run on The experimental conformation of transformation occurring in the brain and also bioenergy which fuels the activity of thoughts will remove controversies regarding this phenomena which will give a new orientation to the investigation of the kundalini phenomenon.

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Received on 28.05.2017 Modified on 02.06.2017

Int. J. Ad. Social Sciences. 2017; 5(2):113-121.

DOI: 10.5958/2454-2679.2017.00011.1