The Awakening of Kundalini [Paperback]

Gopi Krishna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1989

In this book Gopi Krishna deals specifically with the subject of meditation and with the question, what should everyone know about higher consciousness? He shows that the science of Yoga is far more complex, comprehensive and profound than is generally supposed. The book also deals with many commonly-asked questions about meditation, mysticism, drug experiences and the phenomenon of partial awareness. With the exception of his autobiography, The Awakening of Kundalini is perhaps the best of all his books to serve as an introduction to the subject.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

According to Gopi Krishna, planted in every human being is a powerful reservoir of psychic energy which, when roused to activity, can lead to transcendental states of consciousness, genius, and super-normal psychic powers, including Revelation. This extraordinary but little-known activity follows the awakening of Kundalini which he termed the psycho- physiological mechanism responsible for human evolution. Once this dormant mechanism becomes active, the reproductive system reverses itself and transfers energy or 'prana' to the brain. Gopi Krishna, who wrote from his own direct experience of Illumination or Enlightenment, said that we are presently in the midst of a world-wide, though often misunderstood process of evolution to a higher state of consciousness. In this book, he describes how Kundalini works and how it can be activated through meditation and by living a regulated life.

About the Author

Gopi Krishna was born in 1903, near the city of Srinagar, in the Jammu and Kashmir State in northern India. He spent his earlier years there and later, in Lahore, in the Punjab of British India. At the age of twenty, he returned to Kashmir and during the succeeding years he secured a post in the state government, married and raised a family. Later in his career, he became the leader of a social organization that was devoted to helping the disadvantaged in his community.

At the age of 34, while meditating one morning, he experienced the sudden and forceful awakening of Kundalini, which he described in full detail years later in his autobiography, KundaliniThe Evolutionary Energy in Man. From that day, till the end of his life, the energy was fully active in his body and eventually brought about a radical, permanent transformation of his perceptive faculties.

Gopi Krishnas last 25 years were devoted to bringing the attention of the world to this phenomenon. His seventeen published books, innumerable articles, discourses and speeches have presented a clear and concise account of the Kundalini process, a theory for its explanation and the role it plays in the evolution of both the individual consciousness and of the race as a whole.

His experiences led him to hypothesize that there is a biological mechanism in the human body which is responsible for creativity, genius, psychic abilities, religious and mystical experiences, as well as some aberrant mental states. He asserted that this mechanism is responsible for the evolution of mankind and that it is ignorance of the working of this process which is at the root of the critical situation of the world today.

Gopi Krishna called for a full scientific investigation of his hypothesis and believed that the results of such an objective analysis would give mankind the knowledge and understanding necessary to progress in peace and harmony.

Product Details

• Paperback: 132 pages
• Publisher: Institute for Consciousness Research (January 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917776062
• ISBN-13: 978-0917776069
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Science & Religion

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a non fantastic account of one awakening, December 27, 2001

By 

supastar (brooklyn) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Awakening of Kundalini (Paperback)

A Kundalini awakening may not be desired. This is at least one thesis of the book which is proven. Gopi Krishna was a middle class clerk who practiced meditation and began to experience an awakening of the kundalini, an energy source at the base of the spine which he admits he cannot fully explain. He does not try to theorize into divine origin of this power, but rather puts forth his experience, which is often harrowing, insatiable appetitites, the feeling of buring up, inability to sleep, and he hopes that medical science will continue to study this phenomenon, so that the ancient ideas can be elucidated by modern science. It is also an autobiography. Krishna's father basically became a sort of attic-hermit, a sannyasin that didn't quite leave the house, but became somewhat of a burden on the family, and led them to poverty. Gopi Krishna does not judge, but the reader wonders about those effects on the author.
What I like best about this book is its realism in dealing with a topic which westerners especially have turned into a mushy neo-hippy thing for those who have lost their sex drive. There is no practical advice for the awakening of Kundalini, as Krishna asserts it must be at least somewhat random, it can happen by accident, and one might meditate and practice yoga for years and years and never achieve it. There is some discussion of the saving of semen which will go through the spine to the brain, and some discussion of the traditional powers ascribed to an awakened kundalini, but very based, and trying to be very honest. Very sober.

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful discovery, June 14, 2000

By 

"devi_kundalini" (Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Awakening of Kundalini (Paperback)

I consider this book as being one of the most reliable in this area. It really goes deep in the information about the Kundalini, the serpert, and show us how to awake it. The author speaks clearly about it, in a way anyone can understand and practice his teachings. It's related to Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of India and Tibet about the power of this energy that lies asleep inside of us.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Effects, side-effects and popular misconceptions, November 8, 2007

By 

Laura De Giorgio "hypnotherapist" (Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Awakening of Kundalini (Paperback)

The Awakening of Kundalini, not exactly a how-to-book, describes the effects, possible side-effects, misconceptions and spontaneous experiences of people from all walks of life and from different cultures, different backgrounds, many of whom have never consciously worked on awakening kundalini.

The author briefly touches upon the practices from other traditions, such as the cultivation of sexual energy as practiced in Taoist tradition (for more on this, you may check one Mantak Chia's books). He points out that the goal of yoga, and the goal of awakening of kundalini is union with the divine, as well as that all of the alchemical practices are focused on changing the flow of energy from having it flow downward and outward, to having it flow inward and upward.

"In a healthy and harmonized system, on the arousal of Kundalini, a constant stream of sublimated reproductive energy, in radiating waves, rises int the brain, causing an inexpressible state of rapture and a breathtaking, marvelous transformation of consciousness. The pressure on the organs of generation is instantly released and the sexual appetite diminished or completely lost."

A good deal of this books deals with all sorts of things that may go wrong in people who are not properly prepared (all esoteric systems begin by preparing the idividual through an assortment of practices related ot physical, mental, emotional and spiritual purification) or who approach the practice with primary focus on material or sexual gratification instead of spiritual.

"Whatever the approach to the supernatural, the occult, and the divine, the ultimate target will remain the same, for the soul will never rest content until it has the beatific vision of itself. Those who take to yoga or any other occult or spiritual discipline, even if they gain a certain amount of calm and deeper insight then before, will still continue to try other methods and disciplines until the Supreme Light is experienced."