|
Home
Doors
Essays2007
Essays2008
Essays2009
Essays2010
Wisdom
Gallery
Links
Bios
Contact
|
..:: Supernal Kundalini ::..
By
Alan Schneider
The many correspondences between
the Cabalistic Tree of Life diagram and the Hindu Chakra diagram are
truly fascinating to contemplate. When the information afforded by these
two paradigms is intuitively combined, a profoundly enhanced
perception of the Soul, the Logos, and Ascension emerges into
consciousness. This is particularly true with regard to the Cabalistic
Supernal Triangle of Kether, Chokma, and Binah. When the
characteristics of the final stages of the traditional Kundalini
Ascension are transposed thereon, using the identities of the Hindu
Godhead – Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva – a remarkable augmentation of
spiritual insight takes place.
We may begin this associative
conversion with the examination of the Sephirah Daath, the
so-called hidden Sephirah, to fully comprehend the influence of
the Kundalini manifest at this stage in the Ascension process. As has
been noted in some previous SYNERGY essays, Daath is analogous to
the Chakra Ajna, at least in terms of their relative location on
the Tree of Life, correspondences on the Chakra diagram, and
additionally in the Planes of Ascension classification system as
the Monadic Plane. One meaning of Daath in Cabala is, in fact,
Knowledge, but a special type of knowledge that has little to do
with cognitive information, and much to do with intuitive
perception. I have described Daath as “The Portal of Shiva”, in view of
its function as the Guardian Presence protecting the Supernal Triangle
(or Godhead, in transposed Hindu terms) from the intrusion of any
residual ego presence onto the Logoic Plane, and equated the
Consciousness present there as the equivalent of Kali, Shiva’s
most destructive and ferocious Shakti. Kali’s function in
consciousness is to negate the ego through any means necessary.
In the case of Daath, this is represented by the transition from
intellectual processing to intuitive knowing as the preferred
mode of perception present in consciousness. The intellect exists to
serve the ego, purely and simply. Intuition is a reflection of the
Divine Presence, and descends into consciousness directly from that
source. This is the form of Knowledge represented by Daath.
Ajna also represents
the intuitive function in conscious perception, as the All Seeing Eye
that perceives beyond the capabilities of the physical senses and
ego. Not only does Ajna intuitively perceive the sequence of Chakras
beneath it, but it also intuitively perceives Sahasrara, the Seventh
Chakra, and the Logos, both residing on the Logoic Plane. So, both Ajna
and Daath share the implicit function of a final Intuitive Gateway to
the Godhead and Supernal Triangle. It is noteworthy that Kundalini
theory maintains that one can, through determination and discipline,
reach the level of Ajna on one’s own merits, but entry into Sahasrara
can only be granted by God, who will tolerate no fragmented egoic
consciousness of any kind on the Logoic Plane. The Logoic Plane, and
the Thousand Petaled Lotus of Sahasrara, can be perceived from Ajna,
but, until the Soul is purged of any remaining ego residue, no further
Ascension can manifest. Although Cabala does not necessarily
explicitly state this, we can guardedly presume that much the same
circumstance is present in Daath – as the Angel protecting the East Gate
of Eden with the Flaming Sword – an obvious symbolic image of
Intuitive Perception and spiritual insight.
The Soul is an extension of
the Logos, and can pass through Daath, and on into the Supernal
Consciousness, without impediment, providing, of course, that no taint
of ego perception is present within it – this is essentially what I
experienced in Ascension, and the attainment of Samadhi. It is quite
interesting that, at the time, although I believed that I had no
lingering ego manifestations, I may have had one. I wanted
more than anything else to know the Ultimate Truth, the
Supreme Absolute Truth, that presupposed the surface information of
the Physical Plane. Now, there is some question whether this particular
“desire” is, in fact, an ego-affiliated condition. The scriptures of
most faiths and belief systems hold that the Soul longs
for reunion with the Logos as its consistent condition, and Yoga and
Tantric theory expresses this as the longing of Shakti, the Female
Universal Principle, for reunion with Shiva, here representing the
personification of the Male Universal Principle. Presumably, this
drive sustains all consciousness, whether the individual observers of
consciousness know this or not, and provokes the Ascension process
through the rising Kundalini energy.
The Hindu term for the Soul
is the Atman, and we will continue to use this term for the
balance of this essay. I am making the assumption here that, since the
Lotus of Sahasrara is what I “saw” in the final stage of Ascension, the
bulk of the process was fundamentally Tantric in character, and
driven by the Kundalini Energy, even though it began with a
Cabalistic vision of the Tree of Life. Many paths can lead to the
same destination!
Once Shakti attains reunion
with Shiva, a number of very interesting events take place in
conscious perception. I believe that the vision of the Divine Lotus
simultaneously represents the totality of Creation, essentially the
Godhead, and all of the subsidiary elements thereof, including
the Atman itself.
The Divine Lotus represents
the Light Aspects of manifest creation, present on the Physical
Plane, and all of the additional Planes, including the Logoic. This is
the spiritual blueprint for Creation that subsequently manifests
creation – the turbulent expression of the original ideal form,
subsequently experienced through the senses as the Physical Plane. The
more distant from the Light Source, the more darkly erratic
conditions become. The Atman is free to travel the expanse of the Lotus
– it is itself an ideal form of conscious expression, but beneath that
highest level of spiritual expression, movement becomes increasingly
interpretive, problematic, and subject to Karma.
The final destination of
Ascension lies in the Heart of the Lotus, which is a region of pure
white light. Now, as I have said, the Divine Lotus is a
simultaneous manifestation of Creation – at once unified and
diversified, and this condition can only be intuitively
understood. The linear logic of the ego could not possibly operate at
this level. My sense of the progression of time essentially ceased
before attaining the vision of the Lotus, the result being a somewhat
chaotic kaleidoscope of shape and form that tends to frustrate
description. But, there are a few significant correspondences with
Tantric practices that certainly bear mentioning. One of Shiva’s five
forms is an infinite field of pure white light, essentially like the
Heart of the Divine Lotus. This agrees with the descriptions of the
Logos from many different spiritual traditions – a field of
supernaturally radiant white or golden light. Now, this did not seem to
be the “first” thing that I witnessed after “passing through” Daath –
that was a sort of panoramic view of the entire Lotus, floating in
an infinite void, and still filling it, somehow – another apparent
logical impossibility. Yet, since I am compelled to believe, based on
all of my life’s study and experimentation, that Kundalini sustains
consciousness and drives Ascension, and that the core of Kundalini is
the attraction of Cosmic opposites – Shiva and Shakti – then this field
of white light at the Heart of the Lotus must have been either
“Shiva”, or another Logoic form very similar in propensity and
capability.
It is also quite possible
that the complete reunion of Shiva and Shakti had not yet taken place
with the perception of the full form of the Divine Lotus, and
only occurred when my Soul Consciousness (the expression of my “self”
that passed through and beyond Daath) carried the Kundalini Shakti into
the Heart of the Lotus. Consciousness on the Logoic Plane is so
radically different from what is conventionally experienced on the
Physical Plane that even the attempt to describe manifestation
there confounds the witness to that experience, however focused and
determined one may be. My perception at the time was that I entered a
state of being where the image of Sahasrara was all that was present,
passed into and through it sequentially from the outermost “petals”
toward the center of white light (which seemed to involve the
passage of “time” in some form or other, and sequential experience, to
process as images), and finally entered the center of the form by
passing into the field of light present there.
The subsequent drastic shift
in my already altered state of awareness may be another indication of
the reunion of Shiva and Shakti only occurring at that point in
the Ascension experience. My perception shifted into a most rudimentary
mode of “knowledge” – visually omnipresent white Light, emotionally
omnipresent unconditional Love, and an existentially omnipresent
Identity that both was, and was not, “my” identity.
Right Hand Tantra, the Tantra
of Kundalini Ascension, maintains that the result of the reunion of
Shiva and Shakti is Ananda – spiritual Bliss beyond
description, and that is certainly what I was experiencing in the Heart
of the Divine Lotus. No time, no space, no restrictions, just an
endlessly pure joy of Being.
Now, if the Sephirah Binah,
nominally considered to be the Universal Female Principal in
Cabala, is, in fact, the union of the Universal Female and Male
Principals of Yoga and Tantra, e.g. Shiva/Shakti, this opens up an
entirely new vista of perception regarding the Supernal Triangle. The
implication may well be that Chokma, nominally considered to be the
Universal Male Principal in Cabala, is essentially the form of Vishnu,
the Preserver aspect of God in the Hindu Godhead, and the manifestation
of Universal Love in Hindu tradition. Quite possibly, the initial
expression of Shiva/Shakti/Binah is pure Light, followed by the
pure Love of Vishnu/Chokma. This is certainly in line with my
experience, although I cannot say with certainty whether the Light or
the Love manifested first – the whole experience was so profound and
overwhelming – I am inclined to say that the Light was the first form,
since I perceived it from the panoramic vision of Sahasrara initially,
as the white Light Heart of the Lotus, before entering there.
As for the sense of Identity,
this brings us to the consideration of Kether, the Crown
Sephirah. It is interesting, for the purposes of this conjecture,
that Sahasrara is also referred to in Yoga and Tantra as the Crown
Chakra. Kether is certainly the highest ideated form on the Tree of
Life, as is Sahasrara on the Lotus Tree (another term for the
sequence of the Chakras). The condition of both Being and not Being the
Identity within the Heart of the Divine Lotus may well be a subtle
expression of the state of Non-Dual Awareness that is the ultimate
destination of Buddhist meditation – Nirvana – the manifestation
of pure consciousness without and beyond function or form. Here, the
apparent differences between the two systems of Cabala and Yoga fade as
the final manifestation of consciousness takes expression. Here, we
consider the Action of the Logos. What does God do? God
Creates. Identity is, after all, a function of behavior – we are
what we do. The active essence of The Logos is Universal
Creation. This is why I have persistently maintained that God has the
Appearance of Light, the Presence of Love, and the Identity of
Creation. If anything, Creation is the first and most essential
manifestation of the Logos at the highest stage of the Divine Being,
represented in Cabala by Kether, and in Yoga by Brahma, the
Creator aspect of God of the Hindu Godhead. So, consciousness is
what it does, and being is becoming, a principal that is
present as far as the Psyche can manifest in any and every mode and
expression everywhere!
One final correspondence
remains to be considered here – the Brahman of Yoga, and the
Ain-Soph-Aur of Cabala. In the philosophy of Yoga, and many other
Hindu traditions, the Brahman differs markedly from Brahma, the Creator
aspect of God in the Hindu Godhead. The Brahman is considered to be the
Universal Presence of God that presupposes even Creation and the
Creator. The Brahman exists beyond everything, and yet is the
Divine Essence within everything. Much like the name of God given
to Moses on Ararat, I AM (Yahweh, YHVH), the Brahman just is.
Through the Creative action of Brahma, the Brahman moves into specific
form and expression. The Atman is the primary expression of the Brahman
produced by Brahma – hence, everything not only has a Soul,
everything is the Soul.
The Ain-Soph-Aur is the
Cabalistic correspondent of the Brahman. The term translates to
“Negative-Limitless-Light”. The essence of this expression is revealed
by the use of Negative in the combined term. To say that
something is negative in Cabala is to imply that it is imperceptible –
beyond sensory (but not intuitive) experience. So the fundamental
meaning of Negative-Limitless-Light amounts to a Limitless
Field of Invisible Illumination – essentially the same meaning as
the Hindu Brahman – present in everything everywhere, but not
immediately detectable in any single form anywhere. The Presence of the
Ain-Soph-Aur is something that, like the Brahman, can only be
intuitively sensed as the mode of perception – it cannot be directly
registered by the physical senses, or subsequently interpreted by the
ego. In fact, the detection of the Presence of the Brahman/Ain-Soph-Aur
is possibly the supreme achievement of human intuition. These
pre-manifest fields of universal expression are the Chaotic birthing
grounds of all existence, lying beyond even the Non-Dual experience of
Satori, yet they still exude a certain level of vibration at the
furtherest reach of human perception, even if only as the absolute
borderline of experience.
This said, I am offering the
reader a possible model of God in this essay, beginning with the
requirement of Daath, Ajna, and Kali that perception must be clean,
open, and free of ego expectation before the intuitive experience
of the Logos can be attained on the Logoic Plane. In terms of the
Godhead, the most humanly comprehensible form of the Logos is Shiva –
simultaneously prone to towering rage, deep meditation, and the Lover of
his female Shaktis – corresponding to the position of Binah on the
Cabalistic Tree of Life, and the Source of the Divine Light. At the
position of Chokma, we have the God Vishnu, the Preserver, and source of
Divine Love and Compassion. Finally, at Kether, we have the Creator God
Brahma, the originator of all of Creation. And beyond all of these, the
Brahman and Ain-Soph-Aur – the Field of Chaos from which Kether and
Brahma derive and express Creation.
Hindu cosmology expresses
this complex relationship among the aspects of the Logos as the single
verbal syllable OM, pronounced AUM. The letter “A” corresponds to
Brahma, “U” to Vishnu, and “M” to Shiva. In written form, OM is depicted
as a small dot at the top of the expression, representing Brahma as the
most distant (yet important) aspect, followed by a crescent underneath
representing Vishnu as somewhat more attainable and differentiated, and
finally the great bulk of the figure in the form of a variegated
number “3” with various different attached embellishments, representing
Shiva, again, the most humanly “attainable” Logoic aspect. OM is the
Primary Mantra (verbal form) and Yantra (visual form) of Hinduism, and
visualizing it and chanting it, invokes and affirms the Totality of
Existence and the Logos. The corresponding Cabalistic expression to OM
is the Tetragrammaton, YHVH, pronounced Yod-Hey-Vau-Hey, the name
of God given to Moses on the mountain top. This also can be visualized
and chanted to powerful effect by the dedicated spiritual Aspirant
seeking Ascension.
- With Love, Alan -
(Copyright 2009, by Alan Schneider)
Return to Top
|