Here is an interesting video by an American Hindu monk who talks about his own experience with Kundalini:
Don't you guys think that he looks like an older version of
@Cornfed? Maybe it's Cornfed in the future when he's found enlightenment through Samadhi and opened up his heart to the infinite love of the cosmos and given up all forms of racial hatred and prejudice!
But no, as sincere as this American Hindu monk is and as interesting as his video may be, the conception of Kundalini presented therein is wrong on various levels. I say this as somebody who experienced a premature Kundalini awakening and suffered for several years as a result.
First of all, the American Hindu monk falls into the materialist trap when he asserts that the chakras mentioned in the Upanishads are simply theoretical concepts or visualization tools and that the "nadis" or energy channels are simply physical nerves. Those claims are completely erroneous. The chakras are indeed real energy centers. I have worked with them directly through meditation and mantras and experienced positive effects. Moreover, the nadis aren't simply nerves; they're a network of subtle channels through which the prana/qi flows and which I realized were an undeniable reality when some of my own entered a state of reverse flow and became blocked due to the shock caused by my premature Kundalini awakening. The resulting symptoms were absolutely horrendous, I could physically feel where the blockages were and I required over a year of specialized acupuncture treatment in order to unblock the affected energy channels and restore the natural cycle.
Second, having watched the guy's video, I don't think that he had a full Kundalini experience. He talks about a brief surge of energy which ascends up the spine and causes a moment of bliss and indeed many Yoga practitioners do experience that (it can also be experienced through sexual orgasm as we've discussed in this thread and elsewhere), but a genuine Kundalini awakening like the kind which I experienced unleashes far more energy than simply a brief surge and will absolutely overwhelm the body and its energy channels if the chakras and right energy channels (i.e., Ida, Pingala and Sushumna) haven't been sufficiently opened. This is when people experience "Kundalini syndrome"; the level of energy in the body is simply too much to bear. Negative physiological symptoms will ensue.
There are three levels of Kundalini awakening:
1. Brief surges of energy which produce a moment of bliss (many Yoga practitioners experience these but they're not even true awakenings)
2. An awakening of the Kundalini energy which begins to rush through the main energy channels (Ida, Pingala and Sushumna if done correctly)
3. The actual raising of the Kundalini itself after months or years of consistent practice which will result in Enlightenment and the unlocking of Siddhis or unusual mental and psychic abilities
The American Hindu monk in the video simply reached the first stage. He didn't experience a full Kundalini awakening even though he may be sincere in his belief that he did.
I myself reached the second stage and stopped practicing Kundalini Yoga when the awakened Kundalini energy overloaded my energy channels and began to mess up my body.
I know very few people who have reached the third stage. Such Yoga practitioners are exceptionally rare. Very few know how to do this safely or even have the physical and psychological aptitude for it.
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