SPONTANEOUS ACTIVATION
This temporary encounter with Kundalini is a spontaneous release of energy which lasts for a period of time before the person comes back to ‘perceived’ normal state of consciousness.
The effect may seem accidental and sudden but the underlying cause, the energetic pressure, is built up due to prolonged periods of stress, deep rooted traumas, suppressed painful emotions and crumbling depression which block the energy. The psychological turmoil keeps the kundalini flow obstructed, the resistance causes pressure potential to build up, and once the pressure breaks through the threshold barrier, the energy clears and reorients the blocks.
Personal spiritual practice, meditation, psychedelics and Shaktipat may also activate the energy. The discharge and subsequent clearing happens in stages, so one may go through a progressive series of activations, and if not suppressed, the process leads to an awakening event.
In most cases the individual has no prior information of Kundalini or Spiritual conceptual framework and that creates a state of panic and confusion. The people and society around contribute to the instability by branding the experience as a psychotic episode. The activation can be disorienting as old beliefs and conditioning are erased, support and understanding the process help to stabilize the condition.
Activations do not bring a fundamental, deep-rooted dissolution of identity, expansion of ego boundaries, so a permanent state of oneness or heightened awareness of the phenomenal world is not experienced. The transformation may lead to significant cognitive and affective changes, with different values, beliefs and attitude. In turn, these may lead to significant lifestyle changes. The ‘ego-self’ remains intact, although with a different ‘cognitive map’ of reality.
The individual gets a glimpse of the inner realm of awareness and the memory of that experience gives reassurance that there is something beyond to be discovered. The individual may also get trapped at this stage if they start to believe that they have reached or ‘know’ It all. This can lead to delusional state of mind where the person limits their own growth assuming they have attained the highest possible state of awareness.
With proper guidance and the glimpse of a higher dimensional experience of consciousness, the authentic seeker gets inspired to return to that state and so a journey of self development and exploration begins.
PERMANENT AWAKENING
Many spiritual traditions make a distinction between temporary spiritual experiences and a permanent, more deeply rooted ongoing experience of ‘wakefulness’ or liberation. In the Hindu Vedanta tradition, this is the distinction between nirvikalpa or savikalpa samadhi (usually seen as temporary) and sahaja samadhi (usually seen as a stable, ongoing and permanent state of samadhi). In Sufism, there is a similar distinction between fana and baqa, likewise in Zen Buddhism, kensho and satori are comparable terms. In the Christian spiritual tradition, there is a similar distinction between mystical experiences, and mysticism as a permanent state.
Awakening is not just psychological, it cannot be reversed or suppressed and is not a temporary feeling of bliss. It is an occurrence deeply rooted in awareness and a more fundamental, biological transformation. There is a complete dissolution of Identity and deconstruction of self structure, this collapse allows the higher functioning self, awareness, to take over and reorient the being.
It is usually a gradual stable integration after a series of unfolding activation shifts, in which case there is no disruption in functioning, as there is previous knowledge of the process and one even endeavors to reach the state through meditation or Shaktipat. However it can be a dramatic explosion into a state where the sense of ego-self falls away, and if there is no support or prior conceptual understanding of the experience it can destabilize the person.
Awakening is the peak experience of your biological, spiritual potential. The process of unfolding into awareness continues thereafter, though the perception reaches a stable plateau and self structure is well integrated.
-Rohan