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There are few subjects relating to spiritual development so
critically important and yet so
incompletely understood as Yoga.
Although the interest in Yoga that started
in the West during the
1960’s has abated to some degree
, the teaching of the various
forms of the discipline has b
ecome well-established. In many
cases, those who practise Yoga as it
is generally ta
ught in the West
do so primarily as a means to im
prove health, reduce stress or
maintain physical fitness.
The other aspect of Yoga given
much attention is the control
over the physical body that can be gained by long practice of its
physical disciplines. Sensat
ional accounts of yogis who can
perform amazing feats of bodily c
ontrol, such as suspension of
breathing for extended periods of time, conscious control of the
heartbeat and the ability to
increase body heat in freezing
temperatures get wide publicity. Th
ere are stories of yogis who can
fly, live to an advanced age or
perform amazing psychic feats.
Although these stories are, for
the most part, never properly
verified, the general impression ex
ists, both in the East and West,
that Yoga can bestow magical or
occult powers on those who learn
its deepest secrets.
But, as Gopi Krishna points out, there is much more to Yoga
than its benefits to health, cont
rol over the body and potential for
developing paranormal abilities. Th
e significance of Yoga, and the
purpose for which the discipline as
a whole was re
ally designed,
lies in its potential for enablin
g the practitioner to actually
experience expanded states of consciousness and to verify the existence of levels of creation other than the one we
perceive with our material sens
es. The other benefits are minor
when compared with the real goal.
Part of the reason for this lack
of understanding is that in the
West, Yoga is rarely presented in its complete form. Aspects of the
disciplines which are critical to
achieve real success, i.e., a
balanced lifestyle, self-discipline and control of the senses, are not
always emphasized, or if emphasized, they are not followed.
Because the primary goal of Yoga is understood in such a limited
way, few people who take up the discipline are willing to make the
effort essential to real success a
nd the potential fo
r attaining highly
enhanced states of perception remains largely untapped.
Another important aspect of Yoga
is that if Kundalini, which
Gopi Krishna claims is at the heart of the discipline, is the energy
responsible for spiritual experience and mystical states of
consciousness, then two logical co
nclusions can be drawn: 1) all
religious experience owes its orig
in to this source and 2) the
systematized discipline of Yoga
corroborates the basic beliefs of
religion which heretofore could only be accepted on faith. They are
verifiable by personal experience.
So, Yoga can provide a method
that alleviates the discord and rivalry that exists between the
adherents of the major faiths and also a foundation for the
development of a more broadly-ba
sed scientific method that could
reduce the long-standing conflic
t between scien
ce and religion.
Another reason for the need to
properly study and understand
Yoga is the occurrence of what
is currently known as ‘Spiritual
Emergence.’ This term is generally used to describe a set of
physical and psychological sympto
ms which are experienced for
varying periods of time and, if ha
ndled in a proper way, can result
in enhanced levels of awareness,
creativity and me
ntal well-being.
But some of the symptoms experienced in these cases resemble
common forms of psychosis, and treatments done on this basis can
be detrimental both to the process
and to the mental and physical
health of the individual.
For those who approach these pr
ocesses with an open mind and
who attempt to help the people who experience them there can be
no doubt about the reality of the suffering that many of them
endure, often unnecessarily. But un
til the physiological basis for
this condition is actually determ
ined and understood, it will not be
possible to make substantial progr
ess either in helping the people
suffering from severe problems related to these processes or in
making Spiritual Emergence a valid and accepted branch of
medical study. It was Gopi Krishna’s belief that
the only way to establish the
reality of spiritual experience on a firm scientific basis is to
conduct research into the biological
factors that are responsible for
it. The discipline of Yoga, w
ith its systematized and highly
developed methods for enhancing th
e processes that lead to higher
levels of consciousness, is th
e natural centre around which this
research can proceed.
Although not a Yoga teacher by pr
ofession, Gopi Krishna’s more
than 45 years of experience with
the effects of a fully awakened
Kundalini and the thorough research
of the subject done during his
lifetime gave him the insight and knowledge necessary for the
understanding of this vast subject. The meticulous study of his own
condition and the information that he
gathered can be of invaluable
help in undertaking a project of this kind.
If his theories about the nature of spiritual experience are verified
by the research that he recommended, it will bring about a
revolution in our understanding of the human condition and of the
goal towards which the human
race is currently evolving. |
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| Tyler Hamilton |
I'd never really experienced the West before moving to Colorado. The East Coast, where I grew up, has a lot of big cities, like Boston and New York, and is more densely populated, and I instantly fell in love with the big open spaces of the West, where you can see not just for a few miles but for a few hundred miles. |