Taoism, Kundalini Yoga, and Tantra

Q. Athalsteinn writes: How do you resolve the conflicting practices and problem of circulating Prana in Kundalini Yoga while also being a practitioner of Taoist arts where Chi is circulated through the microcosmic orbit instead of stored in the head chakras?

A. Thank you for your excellent question. Yoga and Taoist practices share many similar techniques and paradigms while also having both subtle and dramatic differences. Each is a master system for human evolution abundant with complex subtleties that have developed over millennia. To try to concisely compare these practices is difficult because of the immense diversity and history of both the Hindu and Taoist theology, sociology, and methodology.

There have been many academics, e.g. Joseph Campbell, who have written a tonnage on the subject, though ultimately an analysis of that which is beyond the rational is fraught with difficulty, if not doomed to failure. However, I will endeavor to succinctly contrast these two cosmologies below.

By “Energy Yoga” I mean those yogic systems that deal with the mastery of life force, consciousness, and subtle energies, e.g. Kundalini Yoga, Tantra Yoga, etc. The “Taoism” I refer to is not just the philosophical precepts (I Ching, Tao Te Ching, etc.) but the concrete and pragmatic applications, e.g. Qigong, Nei Kung, T’ai Chi, Tantric Chi Kung, etc.

Comparison of Intention and Technique of Energy Yoga and Taoist practices

Intention
Energy Yoga: Return to Godhead.

...Kundalini & Tantra Intention & Technique: Ascension

Energy Yoga seeks Mystical union with God and this agenda informs yoga technology and practice. All religions have this desire in some form, more or less. Health and longevity are seen as necessary for a long enough life to accrue the needed mastery of technique and wisdom to apply it in an ethical and karmically beneficial manner.

Taoism: Creation of harmony, empowerment, longevity / immortality
Taoism is more concerned with achieving inner and outer harmony, personal power, optimization of health, and achieving longevity or immortality; though there are esoteric sects that have a Buddhist or other religious and / or spiritual nature. Study of Qigong, T’ai Chi, the I Ching, and Tao Te Ching are spiritual pathways to attaining health, harmony, and spiritual power.

Attainment of great mystical power (siddhis) is a phenomenon shared by both Yoga and Taoism, and those practitioners without true Masters are inevitably lured by this detour on the path of pure intent.

Spiritual Technique
Energy Yoga: Ascension
Energy Yoga’s desire to achieve Divine Unity is expressed in orthodox schools through techniques that increase consciousness and raise life force through the body in various ways. In it’s most zealous forms, ascetic yogis seek to “park” the body so that the consciousness of the aspirant may leave its confines to seek unity with God. More unorthodox schools (left hand path), e.g., Tantra Yoga, may raise, lower, and circulate energies ( ci, Qi, Ki, Prana, Kundalini) for numerous rationales, one of which is the axiom that “The Kingdom of Heaven is within.” i.e., The Divine meets the human within the temple of the body. (See the discussion of Red and White Tantra)

Taoism: Circulation

Taoist Tantric Intention & Technique: Circulation....

What is considered a “left hand” path in Yoga is more orthodox in Taoist practice. Much practice is invested in a multitude of techniques for generating and circulating life force (Chi, Qi, Ki), personal power, healing the body, creating personal and social balance (harmony). Mystical experiences that are not centered in the body are less interesting to many Taoists.

The Middle Path
Surveys show that 80% of Americans feel that religion plays an important part in their lives. Yet we remain a highly materialistic, competitive, violent culture. Certainly our approach to institutional religion is highly dogmatic and sometimes extraordinarily judgmental. America is not alone in this. Throughout history, cultures have been shaped, and wars instigated, by religious zealots. Is this spiritual hubris a cause or consequence of personal and social arrogance and rigteousness, or is it both?

Tantric Taoist Tree: Heaven & Earth, Yin & Yang.

Of course, both Chinese culture and that of the Indian subcontinent have aspects of this also. Due to caste doctrine, Brahmins could only practice Tantra in secret. The great wisdom of the Tao was often utilized for pugilism (there are actually T’ai Chi and Qi Gong competitions!) It is just that it is more difficult to see and extract oneself from the psychosocial-religious ideology that one was born into and imprinted by.

Ideally, a middle approach includes a balance of earthly and spiritual intents restorative to mind, body, and spirit. A congruence of strength and compassion, expression and tolerance, freedom and temperance, ascension and embodiment, physical pleasure and transcendental bliss. Tantric Qigong is such a method. Its Taoist and Yogic elements promote health, harmony, empowerment, composure, personal freedom and, if one desires, a foundation for spiritual evolution, ethos and enlightenment.

10 Minutes to A Healthier You!(sm) is a highly efficient system of Tantric Qigong adjusted to the lifestyle and mindset of contemporary Westerners. © 2002 Keith E. Hall. All rights reserved.

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Red Tantra, White Tantra
Q: Bamise writes: I have a couple of questions. I am not very ‘deep’ in Tantra, so I know that there are many things I do not know about Tantra–could you explain what is White and Red Tantra?

A: The short answer is that Red Tantra is focused on sensuality and sexuality, while White Tantra is more oriented towards a spiritual approach. There is also Black Tantra which is obsessed with power and its permutations, e.g., siddhis, manipulation, control, etc.

White Tantra

White Tantric Tara

White Tantra evolved in a disciplined way from the more ascetic yogic traditions. Like many other yogas, White Tantra endeavors to transcend the ego through disciplined mental and physical practices under the guidance of a teacher. While containing aspects of many standard Yogic asanas, Pranayama, and doctrine, White Tantric traditions are often characterized by an accelerated approach. In essence, the practice of White Tantric Kundalini Yoga, Kriya Yoga, etc., is rather pushy and fast. “Evolution now!” might be its motto. This is attractive to Westerners, particularly Americans, as our world seems to be continually speeding up. On the other hand, this approach can also create a lot of arrogance, students and teachers being sure they are on the express train to enlightenment, and some pain and confusion as our egos are quickly challenged. In the East, this is counterbalanced by teachers and students surrendering to their Gurus and lineage, accepting the wisdom of the sages and consenting to be “mentored” by them. The difficulty in the U.S. is that we really don’t wish to surrender to anyone!

Red Tantra

Red Tantra evolved as the “bad boy” of the Yogas. Seeing that yogic and even White Tantric approaches could create their own spiritual materialism, Red Tantra was created as a kind of yogic “shock therapy”. Having something in common with the Dionysian traditions of Greece, Red Tantra was the antidote to strict Hindu caste structure. Pujas often were orgiastic in nature, utilizing, among other techniques, sex, drugs, and wild dancing (Doesn’t this sound a little like our contemporary Bacchanals: Dead concerts and Raves?).

Red Tantric Tara

Often one was forbidden to practice the sexual techniques with one’s own spouse, or even with another of the same caste. Ritualistically challenging one’s persona, social and ethical values, prejudices, expectations, resulted in the stripping away of one’s “comfort zone”, our usual ways of perception, intellection, and judgment. This could result in a state of Transcendence and Presence and an innate realization that we are more than our collection of socially conditioned responses, perceptions, prejudices, rules, and preferences. Like White Tantra, this approach has a certain built in aggressiveness and does require surrender to the teacher’s guidance to be safe and effective.

Tantra is a Maha Yoga or Master Tradition. It is very ancient and many practitioners have conflicting judgments on what Tantra is. Of course, this is because each practitioner has only a partial experience, perceptions, or concept of Tantra. Teachers will teach from their experience, which is shaped by their perceptions and comfort level. It can be interesting to look at this in terms of the Chakra System and how we tend to get “stuck” or fixated at certain Chakra levels. As in most things, there are two sides to each Chakra. I will list here each Chakra’s issues (which can be a sort of wounding) and the compensatory desires associated with each. Starting with the lower 3 Chakras:

Chakra imbalance—————————-attachments, what we seek:

First chakra: fear of death ——————— courage, abundance or money
Second chakra: emotional pain—————- pleasure, ecstatic sex and sensuality
Third chakra: anger, violence, manipulation——–siddhis, power(self control)

The Higher Chakras are presumed to be the more “spiritual” Chakras. Perhaps this is a little more complicated than it may seem. We can easily become fixated at these higher Chakras as an escape from the world and our unresolved issues of the lower Chakras. Starting with the throat Chakra (5th):

Chakra imbalance—————————-attachments, what we seek:

Fifth Chakra: poor expression———————- creative self-expression, bliss, purity
Sixth Chakra: psychosis, cerebral escape—psychic powers, harmony, intelligence, mental yogas
Seventh Chakra: atheism, disbelief, dogmatism, dilettantism–transcendence, out of body travel, asceticism

Both the lower and upper 3 Chakras naturally seek to balance their closed and open (yin and yang, dark and light) aspects and also desire full balance or alignment with each other. In other words, evolution requires each energy center to be in balance within itself and with the others. Being fixated in the lower 3 Chakras means we are lost in the world. Fixation in the higher Chakras often means a rejection of the world. Neither is complete. Of course, this is just a summary and there can be an almost rococo complexity as the Chakras interact with each other and their imbalances and agendas.

By now, some of you may have noticed that we skipped a major Chakra. This is a case of perhaps saving the best for last. The Fourth Chakra, the Heart.

The Heart is the center where it can be most easy to combine and integrate upper and lower energies. The Earthly and Heavenly, World and Spirit, Transcendence and Acceptance. In my experience, this Chakra has its own unique balance within itself and in its relationship to the other high and low centers. The heart concerns itself with Unconditional Love, acceptance, forgiveness, and gratitude. This is a direct mixing of our human nature and our experience of the Divine. The heart is a sweet space in that it holds no judgements, gratefully accepts and forgives ourselves and others, and creates connection and loving support.

When not fully ready to open, the issue of the heart is “yearning“. Yearning for connection and Unconditional Love, on a human and Divine level. This yearning is a hunger so deep that we often throw ourselves into a search for its satiation or to be distracted from its persistent (though at times subconscious) desire. Since we have so little experience with Unconditional Love, we often mistake this yearning for other things and may cast about searching for them. Examples of “substitute yearning” can include sex, perfect partnership, intellectual and artistic distractions, money, power, obsession with success and our careers, spiritual dilettantism and dogmatism. We can also simply react with pain, fear, anger, depression, violence, self loathing, judgment and prejudice and a host of other distractions. On some reflection one can see that our social world really has many more of these other energies moving through it than true Unconditional Love. When our heart’s desire is frustrated or denied in some way, it seems we can easily perceive a lack of unconditional support for our precious hearts, and we quickly retreat to the agendas of the lower Chakras or the higher, or both!

We can read about archetypes of Unconditional Love in traditional scriptures (the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Tara, born of the tears shed by the Buddha in compassion, etc), and we can see some contemporary examples e.g., Mother Teresa, yet how can be manifest this principle within ourselves? Can we create through intellection and philosophy? Good works, right action, traditional spiritual practices, faith? Or is their another way? We invite your feedback.Copyright 1997-2009, Keith E. Hall. All rights reserved.

If you have a question on Tantra or the Spiritual Path in general that you would like to have answered, please email us your question. All questions submitted and answers given become the property of Jade Garden Tantra and Inner Tranquility, and are copyrighted by Rev. Keith E. Hall

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Siddhis
As the higher chakras open, siddhis may appear. These can be defined as psychic or paranormal powers.

...Marlon Brando in his Tantric Yogi Levitation days....

Many advanced yogis manifest siddhis, it can be a signpost on the way to full enlightenment. Siddhis can take the form of extrasensory perception, healing, and miracles of various sorts.
It is advised in the Sampasaadaniiya Sutra that the Siddhis are not to be indulged in indiscriminately as it is possible to employ the Siddhis in such a manner that the everyday world of illusion, rather than being transcended, becomes even more attractive, and one becomes further lost in it.

“Siddhis are by-products of concentration. Siddhis have nothing to do with Self-realization. A Sadhu may manifest Siddhis due to strong passions and intense desires… You must believe me when I tell you that Siddhis are a great hindrance to spiritual progress, and so long as one is within the realm of Siddhis…there is not the least hope of God-realisation for him. But, this does not mean that a person manifesting Siddhis is not a realized soul. There are several instances of such persons who have exhibited several Siddhis purely for the elevation and uplift of the world, but never for selfish motives.”

– Sri Swami Sivananda, “Satsanga and Svadhyaya”

It is possible that a bona fide guru might exhibit siddhis just to get a student’s attention, with the hope that enough interest is aroused to create a commitment to spiritual evolution. One is reminded of Ram Dass’s initial meeting with his teacher Neem Karoli Baba, and the little siddhis he performed. Perhaps Maharajji knew that this man would become a major channel of yogic information to the western world, eventually catalyzing mass interest in meditation and yoga. Of course, as a teacher, you run the risk that the student will become more interested in the siddhis rather than self-realisation.

Ram Dass & Neem Karoli Baba...

“…these siddhis create stumbling blocks in the path of Enlightenment…I have found that such people are often greedy, egotistical, and ignorant. The path of Enlightenment is different from the intentional cultivation of powers. The miracles of Buddha, Christ, and other great sages were performed spontaneously and for a purpose. They were not performed with selfish motives or to create a sensation. A yogi without having any desire for a siddhi might get one, but one who is aware of the purpose of his life never misuses them. Misuse of siddhi is the downfall of a yogi.”

– Swami Rama, “Living with the Himalayan Masters”

Then there is the case of a great adept who is very powerful and has great desire to manipulate. The power these adepts have is called Vashita-siddhi - The ability to bring others under one’s control. It has been postulated that great deceivers such as the Rev. Jim Jones and Adolph Hitler had this ability and used it for ill.

“All these powers will come to one whose mind is spontaneously enlightened through purity. By giving up even these powers the seed of evil is destroyed and liberation follows.”

...Shaktipat and deeksha (Diksha) can attach the student to the Master

–Patanjali, Yoga Sutras

I have met some teachers who where endowed with a more modest form of this charisma. I have noticed that their students tend to be fanatically attached to their teachers as “the One True Way” and will brook no dissent on this point. This should always be a red flag, a clue that all is not well. There may very well be only “One True Way” for any given individual, but that means there are currently about 6.5 billion “Ways” on this planet.

“What do you do if you meet the Buddha on the road?”
–Zen Koan

Of course, undisciplined, narcissistic chaos probably is not the best path either. Find a practice and an altruistic teacher. Honor yourself and the gift your teacher has given you through the discipline of daily practice. Keep an open heart, cultivate compassion. Open your mind, be attentive. When your Path finally brings you to the Gateway to the Divine, Surrender…

In summation:

Kundalini: Life force activation necessary for speedy progress on the spiritual path. Should be approached with organized structure, grounding, and experienced support.

Kali: Energy of aggressive Kundalini activation, very tricky, best attempted only when the student has years of preparation and daily practice, pure motivation, and guidance by a true master.

Indrajal and Siddhis: Avoid at all costs, severe detour on the Path. Keep your eyes on the prize: Enlightenment. Copyright 2006, Keith E. Hall. All rights reserved.

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Indra Jaal, Magic, and Siddhis
Indra Jaal or Indrajal can be translated as “Indra’s net.” This image is very rich in layers of allusion, suggesting everything from illusion and deception to supernatural powers. There are three separate classes of this phenomenon worth looking at: magic, hypnosis, and siddhis.

Magic
The term Indrajal can be applied pejoratively and can be meant as deception. Or less pejoratively to mean a form of stage magic or prestidigitation. Most people are aware of this amusement and as it bears little relation to the process of self-realization, no further comment seems necessary.

Hypnosis and Mind Control

You're getting sleepy and you want to wear a hypnotizin, trashy dress!

Some forms of this art are practiced by yogis who are apparently able to override your normal mode of sense perception, kind of “imposing” what they wish you to perceive. This kind of mind control or yogic hypnosis is sometimes called najarband.

Amritananda Saraswati comments: “How do people swallow swords without being injured? Their throat is still intact where the sword goes in. Does it really go in and how is it that it does not hurt the intestines or the throat? Or perhaps it is not a sword at all? In that case, what is that power which is able to make everybody see a sword being swallowed? Our perceptions can be altered; we cannot be certain that what we are seeing is true. Suppose I have a red flower. It still remains red, but I can make everybody see it as blue even though it has not changed colour.”

Magic or self control? Miz. Lovelace of Yoga World?

Perhaps one may wish to inquire of these sorts of practitioners as to what their ego agenda is. Why would they wish to force you to perceive differently? If their claim is altruism, why the imposition? Are we dealing with egoistic mind control, just an entertaining diversion, or a demonstration of the illusory nature of our assumptions about “reality.”

“Obeisance to Mauna Guru
Who was it that gave this ego
So much authority?
Is there no other place for this Maya,
But my thought?
…It performs Indrajal in my mind,
Establishing the illusory world as permanent.
When shall I receive the secret
Of conquering this? Pray tell me…”
–From Hymns of Tayumanavar

The aspect of this practice that is interesting to a true seeker is that our perceptions of what is real can be so easily altered. As we evolve, we come to realize that what we can perceive as reality is only one infinitesimally thin slice of the reality pie. This is the true meaning of Maya.

“If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things thru’ narrow chinks of his cavern.”
– William Blake, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell

Copyright 2006, Keith E. Hall. All rights reserved.

Part 3: Siddhis

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Kundalini, Kali, Shaktipat, Deeksha, Indra Jaal

Q. Does anyone one of the gurus in your gathering know how to raise Kali and other deities on people? Also, do they know the art of the Indra Jaal? Can they raise the kundalini?

Kundalini, Karma, and Shaktipat
For those of you who are beginners, Kundalini is a form of one’s primal life force typically envisioned as a serpent wound around the base of the spine- in the coccygeal / sacrum (sacred bone) area. Kundalini in most normal people is usually spoken of as dormant. It’s not, of course. If your Kundalini were inactive, you would be dead. The energy is just at a low level due to our physical and emotional resistance, our fears and our defensive reaction to our fears. Waking our Kundalini necessitates a certain amount of freeing ourselves from this resistance. As our resistance decreases, our life force increases. The life force can then be enrolled in further eliminating resistances e.g., fear, pain, anger. Various Taoist and Yogic practices are helpful in this process, some being more efficient than others for individual ego types.

Chakras and Kundalini

There are some teachers who purport to be able to awaken one’s Kundalini and burn or liberate one from one’s karma, one’s patterns of limited perception, and negative emotional states and behaviors. This is both true and not true.

The practice of energy transference is usually taught or experienced in a “healing” context, such as “laying on of hands,” which has been around for millennia. Once again becoming popular, there are schools that teach various forms of the transfer of subtle energy, usually with some kind of “healing” intention. My own experience with this is that the energy, at the hands of a TRUE master, is anything but subtle.

As a young man, I consented to receive shaktipat ( sometimes known as deeksha, diksha ) from a Yogic saint. I had been doing yogic, qigong, T’ai chi, and Bioenergetic practices daily for some years and felt that I might be prepared enough to receive this blessing. I kind of expected it to be subtle, most yogis and meditators talking about it in these terms. Upon physical contact with my guru, and within seconds, I was transported into another realm, so I have to say that for me, shaktipat was about a subtle as a freight train.

Now, in my opinion, many unscrupulous “teachers” will then interject some self-promotion and tell you they are burning your karma for you. This sort of “teacher” or “priest,” no matter what tradition they are involved with, is looking to create a dependency in you. This codependency is antithetical to freedom. There is a spectrum of malformed intent here, from the subconscious to the consciously manipulative. In my experience, this is very common, more so than the opposite - the purely altruistic avatar.

Of course, the true masters never say this, because, well, it is not true, not possible. The state of shaktipat transference is much like a psychotropic. It is like a preview of coming attractions. Just like a movie trailer, it is a little taste of spiritual ecstasy. If you want to see, to live, to be the whole movie of liberation, of divine bliss, you have to earn your spiritual currency. You need to get your butt out and buy the ticket and sit yourself down in the cosmic cinema yourself. No one can do this for you. Everyone is responsible for their own inner work.

There are no shortcuts. You can’t skip any steps anymore than one could build a house and start with the roof. It just won’t work safely. A foundation and walls are a good idea. That said, it IS possible to speed up the process if you are committed to living a more joyous, liberated, and conscious life.

Tantra and a visit from Kali
For those choosing to live in the world, Taoist Tantra is perhaps the fastest path to enlightenment. Not necessarily the easiest, but definitely fast and interesting. Kundalini that is activated is to a normal person’s consciousness as fire is to cold wood. Tantra is to Kundalini as gasoline is to fire. In other words, if you are practicing TRUE Tantra, i.e., Tantric Kundalini activation, your are going to have one toasty campfire, one speedy route to liberation!

Among dedicated Tantrikas, Kali is a favorite energy to invoke. Known as the Dark Goddess of Destruction, Kali’s function is to quickly separate one from one’s ego. Often depicted with one or more swords, Kali wears a necklace of severed heads. These “dead heads” represent the self-limiting aspects of the ego. Fear, pain, hatred, envy, judgment, violence, and so forth. Like the Phoenix, Kali slashes and burns every aspect of the limited self. From the ashes, the Tumo fire of destruction, rebirth into the higher self occurs. Awakening and freedom is the result.

Aspects of Kali

Some years ago I participated in an advanced Tantric ritual where we did various Tantric practices and purifications for a couple of weeks prior to the Puja to prepare ourselves. Everyone there had some years of experience and were fairly comfortable with the various Tantric energies. This temple we were at was out in the jungle, light years from the normal American reality.

The Puja was scheduled to run all day, counting preparation and sanctification of the space, maybe 18 hours. About 12 hours into the process, one of the other teachers decided to invoke Kali.

This did cause me to pause. Kali can really be a bit pushy, a bit of a drama queen. Part of me considered leaving, just walking out the door into the jungle. Of course the mosquitoes in that area were truly impressive. They had a really voracious bloodlust, not at all like our timid American variety. Local rumor had it that they were like vampires, you would swoon from blood loss before you were aware of what was happening.

So, there I was, caught between Kali and Dracula, between exsanguination and enlightenment. What’s a poor Shiva to do? Well, I took a deep breath and decided to hang in there. After all, some years before, I had worked extensively with the Kali energy and dancing with Kali in her most alluring form might be better than a night alone in the jungle dodging vampires. Of course, my previous Kali sadhana was a grounded, well-structured daily practice during which we were Brahmacharya. This was a “puja on fire” at this point, and the Tantric “gasoline” was being poured on.

As the Puja progressed into the wee hours, I noticed successive layers of fear and resistance melting away. My body became light and highly energized. My expectations relaxed, my heart opened. I experienced layer upon layer of ecstasy, building to an almost out of body, highly energized bliss state, resulting finally in a deep serene sense of union, a transpersonal state of awareness beyond the sense of time or place. Bliss rolled over me like a great river, deep and abiding. I was so transformed by this that I wouldn’t go back to the states, just couldn’t bear coming back our culture’s vibration of acquisition and competition, of fear and anger. For the next month I wandered through the jungle, integrating my experience, meditating, practicing Tantric qigong, visiting temples, and sleeping on beaches like some Tantric Dharma bum.

In a sense, Kali is the most assertive personification of the Kundalini energy, the initial agenda of which is to cleanse that which is not pure from the psyche and soma. Fear, pain, anger, judgment, these patterns must be released before spiritual rebirth can occur. For the world in which we currently live, it is best to activate Kundalini gradually while increasing one’s ability to let go of the past fearlessly, to integrate, and to be grounded. So, I would say, be careful with Kali, she might chop off your “death head” and force you to experience timeless Bliss! Don’t try this on your own at home, boys and girls. Be prepared and have teachers who know what they are doing. Copyright 2006, Keith E. Hall. All rights reserved.

Part2: Indra Jaal, Magic, and Siddhis

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