“The Yoga practitioner whose mind is unbridled can never attain self realization. Only one who has mastered the self and how strives by right means is assured of success"
- Bhagavad Gita 6:36
There has been a lot of controversy in the last months concerning the behaviour and ethics that yogis and particularly Kundalini Yogis must have.
Ethics is indeed a very difficult subject as it tends to regulate the action and interaction of people and it concerns what people value and believe.
Historically, the yogic ethics offers very solid principles in the master pieces known as the Bhagavad Gita and Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. My next words are not an analysis of these foundational texts intended for the practitioners of all yogas, but rather an explanation of how the Kundalini Yoga “as taught by Yogi Bhajan”, feeds from these yogic sources as well as from other inspiring sources that construct the ethical pillars in Kundalini Yoga: Sikh ideals and Aquarian Age wisdom.
THE ETHICAL AWARENESS IN YOGIC PROCESS
It is true that Kundalini Yoga is the “Yoga of Awareness”, as it stimulates the ability to see one’s self, others and the world. The reason why regular practitioners of Kundalini Yoga change their lives is because their brain starts to function differently as the subtle energies of Prana (‘life force’, the equivalent to Chi in Chinese medicine) and Kundalini energy itself (the ‘spiritual creative power’) improve psychological health and brain function. The meditations and mantras (known as Shabads) create the conditions for increasing self-awareness.
Along with an increase of self-understanding and the capacity to see ourselves from a meditative vantage point (in other words contemplative, as a witness of one’s self), we also wake up to the dynamics of how our lives have become what they are… We start to understand that we create our circumstances by the thoughts, words or actions that we engage in. The force of our thoughts, words and actions always manifests consequences — some mild, some shocking. That is the principle that explains ‘Karma’.
As we keep practicing, we understand that ‘A’ leads to ‘B’ and that every action has a reaction. We also begin to understand what patterns or bias our mind has, and how it produces life experiences that we judge as “good” or “bad” in relation to a spiritual or philosophical aim or principle.
This is an awakening of another layer of ‘ethical awareness’ that happens when Kundalini Yoga is practiced. In general, the ‘ethical awareness’ is a fundamental characteristic that propels people throughout life. Without it we could not function in society, we would interact poorly, or we wouldn’t be able to create the conditions to achieve what we want.
WE REAP WHAT WE SOW
This is a fact. Nobody is above the consequences of their own actions. In one way or another we are responsible or accountable for everything — either in this life, in the next one or in the way history tells our life-story. Even the most talented and powerful yogis have to face the consequences of their deeds, wether that was a great service or disservice to humanity, or a mix of the two. Every sequence leads to a consequence. The 20th Century has many examples of Indian and some non-Indian yogis who became known by their holiness, corruption or the paradoxical mix of both.
The people of the 21st Century are in search of ethical grounds and guidelines that can provide the awareness on how to behave and succeed. In the field of Kundalini Yogis we understand that in order to harness the Shakti (‘spiritual power’) that the practice generates, deep connection to the spiritual teachings and the moral sources is necessary to succeed in the spiritual quest.
Generally, the yogis of all traditions would embrace the moral teaching of Yoga as explained in the Bhagavad Gita and the principles in Patañjali’s Sutras. Although these principles were elaborated for all practitioners of all yogas (including Kundalini Yoga and other contemporary yogas) the principles have a universal flavour that could practically speak to anybody on a genuine spiritual path. This is one of the immediate reasons why yoga is so popular nowadays.
Along with these classical foundations for all yoga practitioners, the system of Kundalini Yoga includes to two other important sources to consider: the Sikh ethics and the Aquarian wisdom as understood in Astrology.
THE ETHICS OF A KUNDALINI YOGI: THREE-FOLDED BEDROCK
“As soon as the Yogi is grounded in abstinence from falsehood [‘Satya’, truthfulness], actions and consequences depend upon him”
― Patañjali, Sutra II. 36
With the Yogic sources:Yamas and Niyamas of Patañjali, the view of the Gita on Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Gian Yoga and Raja Yoga, and the Sikhs Gurus teachings, who also practiced yoga, the wisdom about yoga has expanded.
The Sikh vision about yoga was first shared by Guru Nanak, then mastered by his son Baba Siri Chand and a little later beautifully described by Guru Gobind Singh in the mantra known as the Re Man Shabad. It is very peculiar how this Shabad echoes some of the yogic core principles and virtues coming from the Gita and the Sutras. In this Shabad the 10th Guru prescribed how to practice yoga:
“Oh, my mind practice Yoga in this way:
Let Truth be your horn, sincerity your necklace, and meditation the ashes you apply on your body.
Catch your burning soul (self) and stop the flames. Let the soul (self) be the alms bowl in which you collect the sweet Naam and this will be the only support you will ever need.
The Universe plays its divine music. The sound of reality is shrill, but this is where God is.
When you listen to the reality from this place of awareness the sweet essence of Raag arises.
Waves of melodies, emotions, and passions arise and flow through you. Bind yourself with the song of God.
The Universe spins like a potter’s wheel and from it fly demons and angels. The sage listens to this and instead of getting caught in either one, the sage drinks in the nectar of the heavens and is carried to the heavens in a divine chariot.
Instruct and clothe yourself with self control. Meditate unto infinity until you are meditating without meditating.
In this way, your body shall remain forever golden, and death shall never approach you”- By Guru Gobind Singh, in Dasam Grant (translation Snatam Kaur)
Sikh masters taught how to fix the mind in God. How to keep a ground understanding of the spiritual journey of the soul and how to estabilice the mind in contemplation. Sikh masters were meditators of the highest kind!
These enlightened teachers crystallise the idea that meditation rooted in deep listening (Sunié), supports spiritual vibrations to be embodied (Naad-Nadi) and that there is a consequential relationship between repeated meditation (Jap/Japa) and the clear vision and absorption in the truth (Samadhi). The personal dedication to utter the vibrational energy of truth leads to liberation (Moksha) — the moral, spiritual and psychological goal of Yoga.
THE “NEW” ETHICS OF SELF-INITIATION
The third of the sources, the astrological one, is perhaps the least known and therefore considered among old and new practitioners of Kundalini Yoga. According to the narrative of Yogi Bhajan, the central historical objective of Kundalini Yoga was to help people face the changes of sensitivity, energy and paradigm that occur as a consequence of shifting astrological epochs.
Astrology or the concept of the Age of Aquarius adds to the bedrock of the Indian tradition of yoga and Sikh principles the key aspect of self-initiation.
The sign of Aquarius is known to be the one that breaks with the old and useless forms and initiates new ways to understand and live life. Aquarius is a reformist. The sign of Aquarius has a revolutionary impulse that aims at establishing a more fair and humanitarian society in which every individual is empowered and free. In the Kundalini Yoga culture this is what we normally call self-initiation and it leads the way to self-discipline, self-control, self-awareness and ultimately self-realisation and spiritual freedom. This balances the strong social pressure and collective goals with the natural individual’s soul aspiration.
The experience amongst some of the practitioners of Kundalini Yoga in the past decades has been perceive as controlling and commanding. Excessive peer pressure and top-down logics of power have led to various painful, even traumatic consequences. But history again and again gives us opportunities to improve the understanding and the applications of the ethical rules and codes for new times.
In the case of all types of yogas, this demands a serious reflection on how to explain the “rules” that are “old” and “Indian”, yet most are also timeless and universally applicable today. In the case of Kundalini Yogis ‘self-initiation’ does not mean that you can invent your own rules! The rules have already been invented by very loving, wise and illuminated yogis from the past.
THE THIRD PILLAR: THE AQUARIAN AGE WISDOM
“The Age of Aquarius is the Age of Experience”
- Yogi Bhajan
Why “experience”? Because in a multilingual and multicultural global world, experience becomes a universal language. The vast majority of people can feel, perceive and experience how things feel and what “energy” they transmit. And those who do not understand this sensitivity will have to accept that the Aquarian sensitivity and nervous system is becoming more sophisticated than what is known so far. The evolution never stops and the increase of sharpness and sophistication in our physiology and energy bodies is what feeds the soul and consciousness at the center of human experience.
For a Kundalini Yogi living in 21st Century it is a must to understand the depth of the three pillars that come from the Yogic/Tantric, Sikh and Aquarian sources. Superficiality and narrow interpretations of these different yet connected ethical ingredients can otherwise become detrimental and lead to similar problems from the past. Simplistic and binary views that do not evolve with the natural evolution of time can no longer speak to people of this century.
An outward moral model that is commanding and contracting has rarely been seen as “yogic” by most of the students that I have taught and some of the peers and teachers I have met along the path. The self-initiatory element is a real drive embedded in the ethical architecture, in the DNA, of this system, as well as in the contemporary civilisation.
All true yogis have at hand the task of creating a new structure from within the self.
Authenticity of experience rules over forms and social conventions. Thus yogis are to sparks awareness and create supportive communities that teach people to rule themselves and be free together. This, I believe, is a way to reconnect to the pure spirit of unity, Yoga and community in Kundalini Yoga.
“Kundalini Yoga as taught by Yogi Bhajan” is a syncretic, original and modern tradition of yoga created in the 20th Century that revolutionised an entire generation. Our further reconsideration and promotion of the historically rooted principles of Kundalini Yoga, will guide the way for those to come.
Kundalini Yoga is an incredible system practiced all over the world and it transcends any person, institution, religion, nation or culture. Kundalini Yoga feeds from a truly universal and ancient yogic ethics and lifestyle, coloured by the Sikh illuminated teachers, in order to serve an Aquarian new world.
Jivan Mukta
Read more about Yogi Bhajan and Baba Virsa Singh, the Evolution of Kundalini Yoga or watch the class of Jivan Mukta about Yogi Bhajan’s controversy , “3HO in the Light of Experience & the foundations of the teachings” or the video about the Inner Shadow. Or click in the following links if you wish to explore the courses on the Bhagavad Gita and the Yamas and Niyamas.