Analogy of Kundalini and Ramayana

Ramayana: Ram [soul] and ayan [journey] means journey of soul from time to eternity, from bounds of ego consciousness to the limitless expanse of cosmic expansion and from ignorance to competence. Ramayana is the spiritual science of spiritual growth and progress towards self realization.

Dasharatha: Dasharatha means a person who is capable of riding ten chariots represented by ten senses. A person who can command his ten senses by his intelligence is known as Dasharatha. Dasaratha is the human being engaged in a life of self-control, discipline, and piety.

The three queens of Dasaratha: The three queens of Dasaratha, Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi represent the three main spinal channels of life force energy Sushumna, Ida, and Pingala.

Ram: Ram is the soul or self-representing the unmanifest and immaterial essence of an individual, reflecting the ultimate reality, purity, and peace.

The soul being eternal in nature is indestructible and immeasurable, cannot be cut, burnt, welted or otherwise removed and is all by itself, all-pervading, stable, immovable and ancient.

Soul or self which is wholly immaterial has to take form, which comes out of matter.

Sita: is the primordial kundalini power or Shakti, the form side of manifested world known as matter, nature or Prakriti.

Lakshmana: means focused or one- pointed devotion to one's chosen ideal. Through one-pointed loyalty the seeker gradually attains God.

Hanuman: stands for mind and intellect. Hanuman the son of wind represents the prana energy operating on the path of Sushumna. If this prana energy is properly harnessed, it clears the path of kundalini [Sita] in order to unite with her husband soul [Ram]. Hanuman is the power of breath, concentration, power, strength and devotion to a person. Prana is the primordial energy that vibrates as the life force in every living being.

Ravana: Ravana the devil king stands for pride, ego and ignorance. The negative qualities always limit the personality of a person for contemplating its greatness. Ravana was the king of Lanka [Mooladhar chakra] represented by very primitive animalistic, unconscious urges and instincts

Ayodhya/Aranya/Kiskindha/Rameshwaram/Ocean /Lanka geographical representation of spiritual states: Ayodhya represents Ajna chakra a state of conflict less and a seat of consciousness. Aranya indicates a mind full of confused and complex thoughts; Kiskindha is represented by Visudhi chakra [throat chakra] which is also the centre of nectar and poison. The poison in the form of Vali is discarded and nectar in the form of Sugriva is preserved. Rameshwaram is the Manipur Chakra [solar plexus] where Rama performed the Shakti Pooja to attain great siddhis to defeat the Ravana. Ocean represents Swadisthana chakra and Lanka represents the unconscious state of mind lying in dormant state represented by Mooladhar chakra.

Blueprint of Ramayana:

Once there was a strong and noble kind Dasharatha. Kaushalya, Sumitra, and Kaikeyi were his three wives. Ram, Bharata, Lakshmana and Satrughana were four princes. The noble four princes were trained in Vedic learning and science of warfare by great gurus Vasishtha and Vishwamitra.

Later on, the four princes married the four daughters of Raja Janaka. Ram as being the eldest and most capable son, Dasaratha wants to crown him as a king but the step mother Kaikeyi crown her son Bharat as the king and send Ram to exile for 14 years.

Sita and Lakshmana go with Ram for exile in the forest. Dasaratha dies in agony, pain and despair.

Evil king Ravana full of all negative characteristics abducts Sita and takes her to Lanka. Sita spiritual powers kept Ravana away from her.

Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman when they were desperately searching the Sita. The three gather an army of monkeys and attack the Lanka. After killing the Ravana in a long battle the Rama again unit with his eternal consort Sita and returns back to Ayodhya with brother Lakshmana and devotee Hanuman.

Blueprint of kundalini energy:

When a child is conceived in a mother's womb, Shakti first forms the Sahasrara chakra [crown chakra] in the head this is the seat of pure consciousness.

Kundalini next form Ajna chakra [third eye chakra] between eyebrows where one can control any adverse circumstance and become fully illuminated.

Afterward, the kundalini forms Visudhi chakra a state of where complete mental purification is achieved and the attainment of different mystical siddhis is possible.

Then kundalini forms Anahata chakra [heart chakra].

Descending further the kundalini forms Manipuri chakra [solar plexus] which controls the life and death. The creation of heat and astral body experiences are related to this chakra.

Then kundalini forms Swadisthana chakra [naval chakra] which is water element. Awakening of this chakra can cause a great increase in physical desire so it is dangerous and should be crossed in a quick manner.

Lastly, the kundalini form the Mooladhar chakra which is the seat of unconscious mind and then kundalini goes dormant and rest there.
After the birth, the individual focus of consciousness separates from supreme consciousness and under the spell of senses and ego it becomes dormant and inactive.

Kundalini unfolds with regular practice then the conditioned soul becomes absolute and self-realized

Analogy of kundalini with Ramayana:

Balkand kanda:

• Ramayana starts with the description of the cosmic and celestial appearance of lord Rama, his childhood and description of his avatar characteristics.
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  Ramayana is a conscious journey of the consciousness to the realm of ultimate with many wonderful experiences at different levels. Through the practice of meditation the inner consciousness slowly become awakened and travels upward towards total spiritual absorption.
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  Ramayana is the symbolic spiritual journey of self-realization by rising of kundalini in the Sushumna path through various chakras. Self-realization is the natural urge in every human being. The inner condition of mind and body, complexes, constrains, phobia and fantasies prevent us from attaining self-realization.
• 
  In Ajodhya [yudhya means war and conflict where as Ayodhya means a place where there is no conflict and war] Shri Ram was born as the son of Dasaratha [a person who has won his ten senses]. When a person conquered all his ten senses through his intellect and become free from all outer and inner conflicts the purest consciousness of the soul is revealed.
• 
  In yogic terms, Ayodhya is the Ajna Chakra where Rama dwells with his eternal consort Sita. Ram is depicted as opal blue in complexion which is the Sparking blue light of soul residing in Ajna chakra. Shri Rama [the power of soul] with his brothers Bharata [the power of body], Lakshmana [the power of will] and Satrughana [the power of action] grows up in a conflict less place like Ayodhya [Ajna chakra].
• 
  Vasishtha and Vishwamitra are enlightened and self realized gurus who guide the intellect of a person towards pure consciousness. The guru ignites the inner fire of knowledge within the seeker which burns away all the illusion of ignorance. A guru is capable of transforming the gross consciousness into divine consciousness and has the power of awakening the dormant Shakti in others. For those seekers who are initiated and practicing spiritual techniques and connected to a teacher, Guru or lineage, the crown chakra or Sahastrara becomes the seat of Guru.So for a disciple the crown chakra will always remains the seat of the Guru even after the guru leaves the physical world.

Ayodhya Kanda:

• Describe different events of Ayodhya, the exile of Rama, death of Dasaratha.
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  Ram's wife Sita is the divine consciousness through which material visible and invisible world comes into manifestation. Sita is represented by kundalini Shakti which generally remains dormant in Root or Mooladhar chakra. It is the kundalini energy which is responsible for creating the body. First it begins with subtleties. First the Sahasrara chakra is forms then it descends along the path of spinal column and the spinal Colum is formed physically, different energy centres chakra are formed then different body organs and parts are formed. At the fifth month of conception the soul descends into the body the kundalini than goes to base of spine and becomes dormant there.
• 
  At a time when Raja Janaka had no issue he started a yagna called Yaga bhumi and while ploughing the land Sita was emerged from the furrows of the ploughed Raja Janaka is a symbolic representation of creator who awakens the Kundalini Shakti from Mooladhar chakra and rises and nourishes her before meeting with her eternal consort Rama. Raja Janaka was well versed in knowledge of consciousness. He remained free from all materialistic attachments even while living a life of a house holder and a ruler.
• 
  Rama gets married to Sita. Creation begins with the union of Purusha and Prakriti that is by soul and Maya Shakti. The individual manifestation of Shakti is like a spark of the cosmic consciousness. Consciousness [Ram] and matter [Sita] are not two different realities but two aspect of one and the same reality. In one aspect the reality becomes the perceiver or the subject and in the other aspect it becomes the perceived or the object. The two are essentially the same throughout at different levels of manifestation. Union of Ram and Sita at Ajna chakra indicates the consciousness of a very pure origin and a person full of knowledge.
• 
  After jivatma, the individual focus of consciousness separates from the supreme consciousness of God; it acquires certain attribute including ego and senses. The pure consciousness when comes under the full spell of Maya it bound like a caged animal. As the child is born the consciousness begins to descend. And the soul is completely individualized and called a conditioned soul.
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  Rama the pure consciousness is exiled by Kaikeyi [out worldly directed mind or pleasurable thought form] from Ajna chakra.

Aranya Kanda:

• The events of forest or Aranya and kidnapping of Sita are described here.
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  Aranya or the forest of represents states of pluralities, confusions, and conflicts in human mind.
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  In the forest, the sister of Ravana Shurpanakha [women having big nails] comes and proposed Ram and Lakshmana. While practicing meditation whenever a seeker tries to concentrate or focus [Lakshmana] his mind, craving for sense enjoyment arises. But Lakshmana slain the nose of Shurpanakha means that the aspirant should keep the evil objects of enjoyment at a distance by the practice of discrimination and sense control
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  Ravana decides to take the revenge of his sister with the help of Mariachi [illusion or deceit] who can assume a variety of form to lust the consciousness. Mariachi appears as a golden deer and attracts Sita. Rama and Lakshmana were forced by Sita to go after the golden deer. Ravana comes in the guise of a sanyasi and abducts Sita.
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  Materialism or lower senses enters the bosom of a seeker in a deceitful form. Ravana, the extrovert man, with lusty living comes to Sita in a deceitful form. He comes and takes her away. Sita separates from pure consciousness [Rama] and becomes a prisoner [dormant] in Lanka [Mooladhar chakra].
• 
  Due to lust and delusion Shakti [Sita] has been taken away from soul [Rama] by lower sensory ego [Ravana] to a very far and lower dimensions of consciousness that are at Mooladhar chakra [Lanka], across the ocean [Swadisthana chakra].
• 
  Under the spell of ignorance and lust an individual forgets his identity with the absolute and becomes a victim of the embodiment.

Kiskindha Kanda

• Meeting with Hanuman, Killing of Bali, the active search of for Sita is described in this Kanda.
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  In the process of searching Sita, Rama descends to Lanka. On the way he comes across Kiskindha ruled by a monkey.
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  A monkey represents a restless and fickle state of mind. Rama killed the Vali [evil and negative tendencies of mind] and enthrones the Sugriva [positivity of mind] as a king. He makes the army of Monkeys invade the Lanka. Whenever the mind [Monkeys] of a person is calm, collected, controlled and poised and the breath [Hanuman] is harmonious and synchronizing, the coiled up kundalini Shakti [Sita] is awakened.
• 
  Hanuman symbolizes the prana Vayu; to awaken the kundalini control of breath is essential. Prana is the nexus joining the mind, body and Kundalini Shakti and that they are intimately related. The control of one affects the other two. With control breath, one can control the mind or kundalini Shakti. Breath and Kundalini Shakti are indispensable for concentration, development of will power, mediation, and imagination.
• 
  Hanuman resides in Anahata chakra [heart chakra].Air is the element of heart chakra. It is the centre where we first feel the light of God. Success of any spiritual practice depends upon the awakening of spiritual consciousness at the heart centre. Hanuman imparts the lesson of celibacy, in which sex energy is being curbed from external diffusion and its growing magnitude is introverted to open and sustain the inner latent power of divine kundalini.

Sunder kanda:

• Description of Hanuman journey in Lanka
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  There is an inherent connection between breath or prana and mind.
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  Regulation of prana is powerful method of creating yogic fire to heat the kundalini and awaken it. But the experiences it brings are very quick and explosive which everybody cannot handle properly. Though Hanuman [Prana] himself was very capable of bringing Sita [kundalini Shakti] back, instead of taking jet set methods he took the help of others for rescuing Sita. Hence for kundalini awakening one should use mild and controllable methods to avoid disastrous and dangerous side effects which are manifested due to uncontrolled or sudden awakening of kundalini.
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  By putting the finger ring of Rama in the mouth the Hanuman reaches the Lanka by crossing the various hurdles and obstacles of the ocean. We can equate this incidence with mantra chanting. Chanting Rama mantra permeates every part of the brain and purifies mental, emotional physical bodies which in turn awake kundalini methodically and systematically.
• 
  Hanuman symbolically stands for pure devotion, complete surrender, and absence of ego. When mind surrenders to the inner self [Rama] and becomes devoted to it completely, it attains miraculous powers and can do stupendous feasts like helping in the union of the soul [Rama] and Shakti [Sita].
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  With the awakening of kundalini, the seeker experiences the sensation of heat and light at the base of the spine. This equates with the ignition of Lanka [root chakra] by Hanuman after meeting with Sita [the kundalini Shakti].

Lanka Kanda:

• The battle between armies of Rama and Ravana, killing of Ravana, victory of Rama, union of Rama and Sita and coronation of Rama upon his return to Ayodhya.
• 
  The axis through the north and the South Pole maintains the balance of the earth similarly in human body Ajna [Ayodhya] and Mooladhar chakra [Lanka] at the base of spinal Colum are the poles of the energy pattern. All energies, all powers, and experiences are stored between the two centers.
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  Demons and demonises in Ramayana are the evil or negatively characterizes of the human being. Ravana is the rajasic ego Kumbhakarana is the tamasic ego and Vibhishana represents the sattvic ego.
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  Rama invades the Lanka [Mooladhar chakra] with Hanuman [air element], implies that consciousness combined with prana Vayu can unlock the Kundalini [Sita] from Mooladhar chakra [lanka].
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  Having destroyed the wildness of ten senses [Ravana] bounded in the lowest physical planes [animal instincts of lower chakra] Rama regains his eternal consort, Sita.
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  Because of external factors and limitations created by the mind, intellect senses and ego, the consciousness becomes very physical, as long as the kundalini remains in the dormant stage.
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  But if the dormant consciousness is awakened and the movement of kundalini is directed towards crown chakra, all restriction that keeps it bound to the physical and material world drop away and consciousness begins to change from gross to the divine.
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  Finally Rama and Sita return to Ayodhya [Ajna chakra]. Again unification of Purusha and Prakriti is established.
• 
  Ajna chakra is simultaneously connected to Sahasrara chakra [supreme consciousness] and Mooladhar chakra [the seat of unconsciousness]. Hence it is the connecting link between lowest unconsciousness set of power and supreme center of consciousness within the individual. After crossing the Ajna chakra kundalini can enter the Sahasrara chakra without any further problem which is the ultimate union with the God.

Ramayana thus becomes an allegory of a battle between subtle and gross astral currents in the human spine in the process of kundalini awakening.

BY
GEETA JHA 
INDIA