The Divine Mother -Shakti and the awakening of kundalini

The Divine Mother -Shakti  \ The active aspect of Brahman

and the awakening of kundalini

Brahman (Shiva or Atman or God, or Spirit etc.) and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and the same principle.

"The power or active aspect of the immanent God is Shakti. Shiva (Brahman, God etc.) is the unchanging consciousness. Shakti is His changing Power which appears as mind and matter. She runs this world-show. She maintains the sportive play or Lila of the Lord. She is the supporter of the vast universe. She is the supreme Power by which the world is upheld. She is the Universal Mother (the Divine Mother)."

~ Swami Sivananda

"It is this cosmic energy, this Para Shakti, that manifests as the incredible energy of the sun, the energy of the planets and, the incredible speed at which they whirl in their own orbits. It is this cosmic energy which manifests as the power of gravity, as the power of the sun’s radiance, as the power of all these great planets and heavenly bodies, as the power of the wind and other elements. Shakti controls the entire manifestation, just as electricity allows all appliances to work."

~ Swami Chitananda

"The Divine Mother is everywhere triple. She is endowed with the three Gunas, viz., Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. She manifests Herself as Will (Ichha Shakti), Action (Kriya Shakti) and Knowledge (Jnana Sakti). She is Brahma-Shakti (Sarasvati) in conjunction with Brahma, Vishnu-Shakti (Lakshmi) in conjunction with Vishnu and Shhiva-Sakti (Gauri) in conjunction with Shiva. Hence She is called Tripurasundari. The Chaitanya (consciousness) that is associated with the Sattva Guna is Vishnu. The Chaitanya that is associated with Rajoguna is Brahma and the Chaitanya associated with Tamoguna is Siva. 

The one Ishvara (Chaitanya associated with Shakti or Maya; the reflection of Brahman in Maya is Ishvara.) has become three according to the functions of creations, preservation and destruction. The Chaitanya (consciousness) is the same."

~ Swami Sivananda

The Shakti is neither female nor male. She is everything, male, female and neutral and beyond these aspects also. Shakti is considered as female in relation with Brahman which of course is not neither male nor female; Brahman or the absolute Truth is beyond any description.

"Any power that we see in this universe is the power of this great cosmic force and it is this same power that animates all living beings, trees, plants, insects, birds, bees, reptiles, fish and animals. It is the power of the lion, it is the power of the elephant and it is the power of the brilliant intellect or genius of a Faraday, a Raman or an Einstein.

"This self-same power abides in us and animates our entire body mechanism. Our lives depend entirely upon Shakti, which grants us vitality, feeling and consciousness or awareness, through which we operate on all levels and can set in motion both our outer actions and inner sadhana (spiritual practice). 

"The body is Shakti. The mind is Shakti. The needs of the body are the needs of Shakti. The shakti is the power that digests our food, that makes our heart pump blood, that makes our lungs breathe, that makes our muscles and joints work, that makes our tongue talk and ear hear. 

~ Swami Chitananda

"The Shakti rules over the processes of birth and death and the unfoldment karma. She provides our souls with the bodies and minds and the worlds in which to experience life. All that we eat, breathe, perceive, feel or know consists of some portion of her energy and an aspect of Her dynamic processes that surround us on every side. All that we seek to acquire for sustenance, happiness, knowledge or growth is part of Her and comes from Her."

 ~ David Frawley

The sexual aspect of Shakti

The sexual energy is the most fundamental expression of cosmic energy, because through it the entire universe is born and exists.

In our bodies its main functions is the reproduction of the species and the experience of pleasure, but it is even more important in spiritual development.

Sexual energy is the deepest reservoir of our energy. In the sexual fluids (semen and vaginal fluids) are stored the more subtle and fine energies (Tejas and Ojas) which are very important for maintaining good health, mental and emotional balance and harmony and achieve a high level of consiousness .

Sexual energy has also a higher potential which causes the awakening of Shakti-kundalini which in its turn awake the superior capabilities of the seven chakras and mind (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).

"It is this very power that is also present as the sex energy in us. Therefore, the sex energy is nothing but the presence of the Divine Mother in all human beings."

"So, the sexual energy is part of the one indivisible great cosmic power present in the human individual. In its gross biological aspect, it is called the sexual energy. In its subtler aspect, it is the energy of discrimination, the power of the intellect to analyze and enquire and ratiocinate. In a still subtler aspect, in its psychic aspect, it is the power of the Shakti Kundalini. And in its supreme aspect, it is nothing but Atma-Shakti. Because Brahman and Shakti are not two. They are the static and the dynamic aspects of one and the same principle."

~ Swami Chitananda

Shakti and spirituality

"Even to seek Brahman, to seek what is beyond Shakti (Shiva, Brahman etc.), we must work with Shakti. Shakti provides us the power of meditation and the discriminating insight through which we can transcend time and space. This means that the best means for both spiritual realization and for gaining all the other goals of life is to worship Shakti, to work with and for the Goddess (Divine Mother). There is no other way as effective, if there is any other way at all. If the Brahman is the goal, the Shakti is both the path and the power to traverse it. We can awaken and follow her current to Brahman, or remain asleep and get caught in her outside streams that move in different directions."

 ~ David Frawley

The worship and devotion of Divine Mother can be included in all spiritual paths and can be a part of the sadhana of everyone who wants to realize the Truth.  But there are paths like Shaktaism that are dedicated in the worship of the Divine Mother and have spesific practices for the awakening of Shakti-kundalini.  

Worship and devotion can be done by rituals, prayers, singing praises and kirtan, reading sacred texts about the Divine mother, repetion of mantras, by the sexual Maithuna and finally by recognising every person and action as a manifestation of the Shakti, by seeing  the Divine Mother in everything.

Shakti-Kundalini yoga sadhana

Shaktaism is an ancient path of India in which the devotees adore the Divine Mother and with specific practices aim to the unfolding and awakening of Shakti-Kundalini. 

"Shaktaism helps the aspirant to arouse the Kundalini and unite Her with Lord Shiva (pure Consciousness) and to enjoy the supreme bliss or Nirvikalpa Samadhi. A Shakta (devotee of Shakti) does Sadhana which helps the union of Shiva and Shakti through the awakening of the forces within the body. He becomes a Siddha (perfect) in the Sadhana when he is able to awaken Kundalini and pierce the six Chakras. The mode of Sadhana depends upon the tendencies and capacities of the Sadhaka. One should become perfectly desireless and should be full of Vairagya before he attempts to awaken Kundalini.

"In this path the aspirant adores the Shakti and practices, Dhyana, Bhava, Japa, pranayamas and Shakti-Mantra in order to awaken the Shakti-kundalini. Devotion, celibacy, renunciation, dispassion and purity of mind are necessary for the awakening of kundalini."

~ Swami Sivananda

There are other paths like the Tao and the Gnosis movement of Samael Aun Weor which although they give practices for celibates  for the transformation of sexual energy they suggest the sexual Maithuna as the main practice for the awakening of kundalini. However, in these paths are also essential the purity of mind, the dispassion, concentration and meditation for the awakening of kundalini. 

Sexual Maithuna is the adoration of Shakti through the sexual union of male and female without orgasm in order to transform the sexual energy and awaken the Kundalini. Shakti kundalini is the serpent power, that has 3 coils with face downwards, in the Muladhara Chakra, at the base of the spine.  By concentration, imagination, pranayama, bandhas and mantras the aspirants lead the sexual energy through the spine (the subtle nadis of ida, pigala and susumna). When kundalini awakens, awaken also the latent superior powers of the six chakras and the yogi aquires siddhis (clairvoyance, clairaudience, cosmic consciousness etc.).

However  Maithuna is not easy to practice in this age and paths like Advaita suggest celibacy. 

Swami Sivananda used to say: “Brahmacharya is the basis of immortality.”

Sri Swami Sivananda

Sri Swami Sivananda who himself followed celibacy, suggests celibacy, and considers as more important requisites or qualifications for the awakening of Kundalini, as well as for self-realization, the purity of mind (a mind free from desire, anger, greed, fear, jealousy and rajas and tamas gunas), the devotion, the discrimination, the dispassion, the absence of Iness and mineness, the faith and concentration. He claims that Kundalini can be awakened by various ways :

 "Kundalini can be awakened by various methods such as Japa, devotion, Vichara (enquiry of “Who am I”), Asana, Kumbhaka, Bandhas, Mudras, and above all by the Grace of the Guru."

Sivananda, Paramahansa Ramakrishna and Amritanadamayi (Amma) are great sages that demostrate that Kundalini can be awakened by celibacy despite the fact that devotees of Tantra and Samael Aun Weor (the founder of Gnosis) insist that the sexual Maithuna is necessary for the awakening of kundalini.

"When Kundalini is awakened, reaches the top of the head after piercing one Chakra after another and finally unites with Lord Shiva and enjoys the Highest Bliss. Now the Yogi attains super conscious state and becomes a full-blown Jnani. He drinks the Nectar of Immortality. Illustration shows the ascent of the Kundalini to the top of the head and its union with Lord Siva.

"When Kundalini sleeps, man is awake to the world. He has objective consciousness. When She awakes, he sleeps. He loses all consciousness of the world and becomes one with the Lord. In Samadhi, the body is maintained by the nectar which flows from the union of Shiva and Shakti in the Sahasrara. 

"Mother Kundalini-Shakti unites with Lord Shiva in the Sahasrara during Nirvikalpa Samadhi. This is real Maithuna or blissful union. This is due to Divya-Bhava (divine disposition).ª

"No one can free himself from the thralldom of mind and matter without Mother’s grace. The fetters of Maya are too hard to break. If you worship Her as the great Mother, you can very easily go beyond Prakriti through Her benign grace and blessings. She will remove all obstacles in the path, lead you safely into the illimitable domain of eternal bliss, and make you absolutely free."
~ Swami Sivananda