Customer Reviews

Kundalini Tantra/2009 Re-print

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I've owned this book for several years. I started out with "A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya", by the same author. This book is meant as a companion volume to A Systematic Course to go more in depth and explain technical details that couldn't find the space in the 1000 paged coursebook. It includes all the kriyas in their entirety with the same verbiage given in A Systematic Course. The only difference is that Kundalini Trantra presupposes the reader that's intending to do the practice has already had several years of rigorous hatha yoga and meditation practice. In fact, preceeding the exposition on the kriyas is a stern warning that those who haven't had such a lifestyle for about that much time should avert from kriya yoga until they have.

A Systematic Course, by the same author, gives an excellent 3 years worth of systematically progressive yogic techniques and lays them out in a perfect way for daily practice. I followed it for 1.5 years before integrating the practice of kriya yoga with my daily sadhana, as laid out at the end of each section. I'm intensely grateful that I closely adhered to their guidelines. Had I not had a series of smaller "awakenings", I might wonder what the hell was happening to me sometimes. All for the persuit of God.

Someone advised elsewhere here that practicing kundalini tantra (which includes kriya yoga) without a qualified teacher could be dangerous. I would have to firstly raise the question of what constitutes a "qualified" teacher? Secondly, what kind of risk would people be willing to take from these practices that might be so dangerous? I think the only qualified teacher available to us in the west is our own self-practice and our own experiences, guided by the budding intuition that develops therefrom. As for the risky business of meditation - Anytime I leave my house or drive my car, I'm putting my life in great potential peril. But I do so because I've minimized my risk from many years of practice and practical experience gleamed from it, and because the rewards far outweighs the risk.

My ultimate recommendation: A great book for those who: are determined to gain self-enlightenment from kriya yoga and have had the hatha/concentration training; hatha yogis who want to move beyond the body; and those who simply are intensely curious about kriya yoga and its technical details.

I do not think that this book is too advanced. If anything, it is refreshing that he divulges so many secrets of yoga. Swami Satyananda is a Guru. People meet Gurus and have wild experiences that inspire them to make fundamental changes in their lives. But most Gurus do not teach their students the actual practices that caused the Guru to be able to have such a magical impact on people. The refreshing thing about this book is that Swami Satyananda divulges many of those practices in detail. Of course, like anything else, you need to be balanced in some healthy routines in your life in order to make Kundalini Yoga a healthy experience. There are people who work too much, exercise too much, eat too much. If you do anything with balance, it can be healthy. In my own practice, I have found that Kundalini Yoga has been healthy when I have done it in conjunction with daily silent meditation in groups of people. I will spend 45 minutes in a silent meditation group and then go do my yoga. The silence balances out the energy that the yoga generates. And the contact with other people further balances it out. I can see how it might be unhealthy if someone was not doing silent meditation, or if they did not have a lot of group contact with people. But when you have those balancing influences, books like this are very empowering because they give invaluable perspective on the experiences that occur in the unfoldment of anyone's spiritual practice.

I am a personal growth coach who has been studying world religions for over two decades. I have a graduate education in integral psychology. This field studies psychology within the broader context of the world's wisdom traditions. I own over 800-900 books on philosophy and world religion and this one is special for a variety of reasons. Three of the most important are that it is easy to read, it comes from an authentic lineage and it includes quite a bit of in-depth information.

Unlike many books on Tantra or Kundalini written for Western audiences, this book has real substance and does a good job of explaining the philosophical foundation of this practice without adding a lot of unnecessary detail. It strikes a very nice balance between a traditional approach and one that takes into account the needs of Western students.

While I don't agree with every point in the book or take it as unquestioned truth, it certainly contributed to my understanding of this vast and complex topic. It also provided me with a lot of food for thought, good analogies for difficult concepts and useful practices.

This is real Tantra and geared toward serious practioners. However, it is useful for anyone looking for reliable information without buying ten different books and getting bogged down in a lot of detail and contradictory information from questionable sources. It presents Tantra from the Hindu point of view. If you are interested in the Buddhist perspective, then I highly recommend Lama Yeshe's "Introduction to Tantra."

I think it is very important to note that practicing Kundalini Tantra without a qualified teacher could be dangerous. At the least, you can have a minor spiritual crisis or some very uncomfortable psychological or emotional problems come up unexpectedly. In short, this is an area of study to approach with respect and the best tour guide you can find.

This book is very good for reference of Kundalini Tantra subject. As we see with al books of Bihar School of Yoga, it also includes some practices that can be done also, it is not only a book of theory but gives direct and clear explanations about how-to's. But a yoga beginner will possibly find the book a bit complicated because of the terminology and practice types.

This is one of the best books I have read on Kundalini Energy, it makes sense, Saraswati explains clearly the charkas, and what the Kundalini energy has to do with them, why it is important to work with all of the charkas, and clears up a lot of myths, the exercises in the book are clearly explained, which I like, a lot of writers do not explain why you are doing something, I like to know why and what they do, I am one that does not follow blindly. I would fully recommend this book to any one who is serious about working with this type of yoga, and wants to understand.

This book is an excellent resource for experienced yoga practitioners. Beginners would be confused, and beginners shouldn't be attempting to raise their kundalini. Everyone attempting to do such should be studying under a teacher or guru who has experienced a kundalini awakening (which are few and far between) and knows how to help you. If you want to know the ins and outs, and know what kinds of questions to ask your teacher/guru, than I highly recommend this text.

A book only for the very advanced practitioners of yoga. It is advisable to read and practice the yoga techniques from other basic yoga books available at Amazon before you even think of buying this book. I have this book but due to the warnings of the author himself have been unable to practice any of the techniques mentioned in this book.

This book is an absolute must for the Yoga aspirant. Here Satyananda Saraswati is our guide into the world of Kundalini, the working of our Yogic body and the experiences that come along with this practice. His words are so clear that if you have never read a book on Yoga, the information here will still be completely understandable. This along with their other books, namely, Practical Yoga Psychology Practical Yoga Psychology, should be a part of the library of all those who are trying to evolve, the yogic way. Satyananda, as the great teacher he was, goes to great lenghths to describe the ups and down of Kundalini, of how to prepare and the cleansing process that happens when the kundalini is awakened. He gives information on those throughout history who had experienced this gift. He also treads carefully as he writes, so as not to indulge fully on the philosophical point of view, noting where sctientific research has "proved" or have yet to (for the westrn skeptics). And he gives us, the practitioner, outlines so that we may asses who we really are and what path of cleansing is the best for our individual self.

This is one of Bihar's School of Yoga great and educative book on man as a whole. I highly recommend this book.

As a yogini for the past four years I wanted to explore the tantric linage of yoga. It is very difficult to find a tantric book in the west that is not based on sexuality alone. This is the real deal. Very readable and informative with a glossary of sanskrit words.

I think this book functions best after the Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya by the same author.

The book is rife with yoga techniques that aim to help harmonious development of mind.

There is a wealth of information in it about the "electricity" or power that yogis call kundalini, on how to make it rise through the spinal pathway called sushumna nadi with its vortexes ("transformation stations" called lotuses, chakras), all for the sake of awakening. There are degrees of awakening. They tie in with the axis (sushumna) in the spine.

The book also contains research findings and musings into that electrifying power that may be awakened and makes some people want to dance, among other things.