Biology of Kundalini Awakening

Biology of Kundalini Awakening ::

Human mind is without any doubt the most advanced and complex organized biological structure on this planet. It is the house of all your ambitions, emotions, feelings, thoughts, curiosity, and everything that makes you who you are. In fact, you are your brain.
And in this brief article you are about to go back in time with me, to encounter something that your ancestors came up with, a few thousand years ago. They constructed a method to tap into their brain, and make it more productive than ever. This method is what you know as the Awakening of the Kundalini Chakras. In time, through interpretations, translations, and reinterpretations, this method got more mystical than it was in the first place. People with their personal ideas and beliefs made this simple system of self-development an ultimate tool in the hands of fanatics to exploit the vulnerable masses.
This system was born in the ancient India, as a method of mental exercise. There was no religion involved in it. It was just like any other ancient scientific discovery. Except here, the land where the method was born, itself made it look like an exclusive possession of the domain of religion.

Now let’s play Sherlock Holmes for a while.
When you google, Kundalini Chakras, you find millions of picture with a person sitting in a lotus position, with seven bright mysterious chakras or spindles spreading through the spine. The first thing here a rational human being must know is that, all these pictures are mere exaggerated imaginary artworks. They have nothing to do with reality. They look attractive, Yes. And that gives the fraudsters in the profession of ancient mysticism means to exploit vulnerable people. But in reality, kundalini awakening is anything but that.
The seven spindles of Kundalini Awakening, represent various mental states during the practice of plain meditation. And that’s it. There is no mumbo jumbo involved. When you practice meditation, your brain goes through various neurochemical changes, and these changes put an amazing and quite beneficial impact upon your mind as well as your body. That is, practice of meditation on a regular basis makes you more healthy, both physically and psychologically. I have discussed this whole matter in minute detail in my book
Autobiography of God: Biopsy of A Cognitive Reality.
So, in short, the spindles that you see in any picture of Kundalini Awakening, are simple symbolic representation of various mental states. Those pictures are not to be taken literally. So, what exactly happens, during this so called awakening process. Well…
Through this process, mind simply transcends from your usual state of consciousness into an extraordinary one. I am calling it extraordinary, because, it is by all means an extraordinary domain of pure bliss. It is the state what all of the religious founders of human history experienced. And you can do the same, without any Gurus and Preachers. It is right within you.

In various cultures throughout the world, this transcendental state of consciousness has been worshipped, with utmost reverence, because of its fascinating features. And the ultimate state of the Kundalini awakening is this. This transcendental state of consciousness is represented as the highest of the Chakras. The Sages of India, whom I prefer to call Scientists, termed it as the Sahasrara Chakra, which means the Thousand Petaled Lotus. We modern age Scientists simply call it the Crown Chakra.
Passing through all the mental states of the six other chakras, which are respectively called, Muladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vissudha and Ajna, when you finally enter the Crown Chakra state, you start to lose all touch with reality. First comes the loss of physical awareness, then you cease to identify yourself with the mind. All these happen due to the inactivation of various regions of the brain. Then finally, your entire sense of self, or which you call ‘I’ disappears. And a whole new world opens up in your mind. You literally get immersed into the universe.
This is what different cultures have termed in different ways, such as, Nirvana, Samadhi, Advaita, or the Non-Duality state. Notice that all of these happen inside your own mind. And you are actually not going anywhere. Rather your brain has gone into a state where everything seems surreal and One with you.
And this is achieved simply by the practice of meditation. Long-term practitioners of meditation eventually learn to attain the Crown Chakra state on a regular basis. And as a novice, even if you don’t reach that Crown chakra state, you still come out of the meditation as a healthier version of you both physically and mentally. Many of our neuroscientific studies have shown that practicing meditation on a regular basis makes the brain healthier. And a healthier brain gives rise to a healthier mind with more emotional control in all walks of life.

Written by – Abhijit Naskar ( A neuroscientist )

3 comments on “Biology of Kundalini Awakening”

Shankar
October 29, 2016

OM. The article focuses on changes in the brain during mediation and the opening of the chakras. However, there are other changes occurring in other parts of the body simultaneously. There are neuron structures in the spine, gut and heart that are also changed as a result of meditation and Kundalini rising – hence the yogic references to seven chakras not just one. The author mentions the six other principal chakras but ignores their functions and relation to the process of Kundalini rising.

In addition, the author simply equates Kundalini rising through these seven chakras with parts of the brain shutting down. By stating that enlightenment is simply the “brain has gone into a state where everything seems surreal and One with you”, he ignores the well-documented miracles performed by saints, sages, and gurus as evidence that there is much more to Kundalini rising and enlightenment that his limited opinion allows.

The author’s approach and conclusions were puzzling until I read at the end of the article that he is a neuroscience. Neuroscience is an excellent example of an oxymoron, a contradiction in terms. It is not a science and ignores the presence of neurons in other parts of the body besides the brain. The “neuroscientist” denies what he cannot understand and which does not fit into his biases. He describes his biases in scientific terminology hoping for the world to accept it and thus validate his ignorance and saving him the trouble of having to educate himself. All this is quite in opposition to legitimate scientific curiosity and pushing past limits and ignorance.

The author’s condescension toward and dismissal of spiritual explanations and people suggests that he is also an Atheist, pushing an Atheist agenda, and abusing the world of science to do it.

Unfortunately for him, other fields of real science, quantum mechanics for example, are coming to agreement with the religious/spiritual points of view. Neuroscience is the 21st century’s equivalent of the 18th century’s phrenology. It too will be viewed with amusement at a later time.

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- Sanatan Dharm and Hinduism
  October 29, 2016
  
  Great critic, thank you.
  
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Ericka Leijonhufvud
October 30, 2016

I have no criticism of meditation, some use a mantra some use a silent chant. Which ever way one gets started the mantra or chant disappears. Meditating for a five hour stretch taught me a great deal. Sadly I only managed this state once – I was staying on an Island in the Indian Ocean. Some time or day I hope to return to the point I experienced – un-forgetable.

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