Kundalini.Tantra.by.Satyananda.Saraswati

ordinary person, living a non-spiritual life, eating all kinds of rubbish foods, but the guru
may give you shaktipat. Your eligibility for shaktipat does not depend on your social or
immediate conduct, but on the point of evolution you have reached. There is a point in
evolution beyond which shaktipat becomes effective, but this evolution is not intellectual,
emotional, social or religious. It is a spiritual evolution which has nothing to do with the
way you live, eat, behave or think, because generally we do these things, not because of
our evolvement, but according to the way we have been brought up and educated.
Self-surrender
We have discussed the nine established methods of awakening kundalini, but there is
a tenth way - don't aspire for awakening. Let it happen if it happens: "I am not
responsible for the awakening, nature is accomplishing everything. I accept what comes
to me." This is known as the path of self-surrender, and in this path, if you have a strong
enough belief that your kundalini will indeed awaken, twenty thousand years can pass in
the twinkling of an eye and kundalini will awaken instantly.
Effects of the different methods of awakening
When the awakening of kundalini takes place, scientific observations have revealed
different effects. Those who have awakened kundafini from birth do not register any
emotional changes. They are like blocks of wood. Those who have awakened kundalini
through pranayama have a great quantum of electrical charges in the spinal column and
throughout the body, and momentarily they could manifest schizophrenically.
Karma yoga and bhakti yoga are considered comparatively safe and mild methods of
awakening, but the tantric methods are more scientific than the non-tantric methods,
because in tantra there is no scope for suppression or dispersion of energy. In non-tantric
methods there is antagonism - one mind wants it and the same mind is saying no. You
suppress your thoughts, you want to enjoy, but at the same time you think "No, it is bad."
I am not criticizing non-tantric methods. They are the mild methods which do not
bring you any trouble. They are just like beer - you drink a little bit and nothing happens,
drink four to ten glasses and not much will happen. But tantric methods are like LSD, you
have a little and it takes you right out. If something is wrong, it is wrong; if something is
right, it is right.
Chapter 6
Preparing for the Awakening
Without a guru you can practise any form of yoga, but not kundalini. This is an
extremely powerful system. Kundalini yoga does not start suddenly or with fits. You
don't have to make any substantial changes in your way of life, but you must begin to
practise. Do not start with advanced practices; for some time you should train and prepare
the physical body, then go to the mind and gradually explore the deeper levels. Before