The Divine Within Us All

Within the deepest core of our being radiates a Divine presence that gives us awareness and talent and drive and is the living spiritual power that illumines us and guides us to realization of the One. In the Vedic tradition of India, this grand potential and helpmate of transformation is called Kundalini Shakti. By whatever name, this sacred power within every human soul is the common essential factor operant in all spiritual experiences, practices, and progress, regardless of one’s spiritual tradition or path.

Feeling separate from this sacred source causes us to feel a restless, lonely frustration. Spiritual texts state that realizing our oneness with the divine source is the only solution to our deep human yearning and dissatisfaction and that this union is the very purpose of life and our ultimate destiny. The seeker’s pressing need is to find out how best to cooperate with Shakti’s efforts to fulfill her enlightenment agenda for us. The world’s great spiritual traditions provide this information, and in the Vedic tradition, this sacred science is called Kundalini Vidya, knowledge of the divine within.

Some modern sources erroneously define kundalini as a dangerous exotic energy, but traditional texts reveal that Kundalini Shakti is not mere energy, its experience can be quite subtle, and it is spiritually transformative. Kundalini Vidya explains that Kundalini Shakti can reside in either a contained or a released and active state. When this great spiritual power is active, the individual is said to have a Kundalini rising. Individual experiences of a Kundalini rising vary considerably, but some signs of an active Kundalini process could include:

• – a deep yearning or restlessness for something unknown,
• – a heightened or expanded inner awareness or elevated sensitivity
• – special intuitive or sensory abilities and beneficial talents,
• – a searching interest in the esoteric, philosophical, or spiritual,
• – efforts toward self-development, servicing others, or spiritual growth,
• – feelings of energy flowing or vibrating within,
• – spontaneous jerks or body movements,
• – inner sensations of light, sound, or heat,
• – a sense that something non-ordinary, transformative, or holy is happening within.

A Kundalini rising is a blessed responsibility that urges the individual’s spiritual development onward, but it requires correct spiritual practice and living to comfortably advance the process. If a person does not know how to correctly support their process or engages in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, the resulting dissipation or misdirection of vital energy can thwart Kundalini Shakti’s efforts toward spiritual progress and uncomfortably stress the subtle body. But with correct individual guidance, a seeker can learn how to properly support Kundalini Shakti’s efforts for spiritual advancement, and progress can be safely improved, yielding personal transformation and spiritual realization.

Patanjali Kundalini Yoga-Care is a spiritual guidance service based on Traditional Kundalini Science, which is an ancient scripture-based system for understanding and improving spiritual life. PKYC offers assessments and individualized spiritual practices taught during small two-week retreats that educate and support each participant in a safe spiritual container. Follow up is provided through regular spiritual direction sessions and returnee retreats.

Joan Shivarpita Harrigan, Ph.D., director of Patanjali Kundalini Yoga-Care USA and author of Kundalini Vidya, The Science of Spiritual Transformation, will moderate the event.