Kundalini, The Spiritual Awakening, Retreat 1997

Kundalini-The Hindu and Yoga Spiritual Awakening

Given by Janet Bowden, D.D.

at the PLIM 1997 Retreat in White Cloud, Michigan

Reported by Dr. Lee Warren, B.A., D.D.

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See Related Articles: MEDITATION AND THE POWERS OF THE MIND

Introduction

Anthropologists have shown that every civilization throughout history has its cultural symbols and explanation for the operation of spiritual awakening. One of the most interesting topics during the retreat dealt with the subject of Kundalini, the Hindu Spiritual Awakening process.

Janet Bowden gave a lecture that compared the Kundalini to the awakening that Israel experienced through the Holy Spirit as it revealed itself to their souls (Acts 2:1-4; Rom. 12:2). She used the seven steps of the tabernacle that structurally symbolizes the physical body and the soul.

Janet began her segment with a video by Joseph Campbell entitled Personal Identification with the Divine Physiology to Spiritual Kundalini. Mr. Campbell lectures to a group of college students on the Hindu spiritual awakening philosophy as compared to the progressive stages of Christianity and western psychology.

This awakening is a transformational process. It changes man from a basic instinctual level, where sexual and material gratification governs him, to a higher level of spiritual maturity, where he is conscious of the Spirit within (Lk. 17:20-21). Mr. Campbell used the Hindu terms kundalini and the seven Chakras to describe the spiritual awakening or transformational process.

The principle of a spiritual awakening is fairly simple to understand, but the difficulty arises for those of us who have been conditioned in a Christian culture. The Hindu terminology and symbols used to describe the process are almost incomprehensible to westerners. It is much like trying to learn a foreign language or memorize medical terms used to describe various parts of the body.

Kundalini, a latent force, is defined as psycho-spiritual. It is believed to reside in a dormant state at the bottom of spinal column. It can be aroused through spiritual exercises such as meditating, or spontaneously resulting in a new state of consciousness.

As Kundalini ascends up through the psychic pathways, which is parallel to the spinal column, it activates the various Chakras. The goal of Kundalini is to raise the energy from the base of the spine to the crown Chakra at the top of the head, which is the highest level.

According to Hindu teachings, this is where the male part of the god Shiva brings about illumination, which is the same as the Holy Spirit illuminating the soul of man or the Shekinah that flashed in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle (see diag.).

A serpent coiled up at the base of the spine of the body symbolically represents Kundalini. It looks quite similar to the medical symbol caduceus, which is a wand entwined by two serpents, topped by a winged helmet.

The seven Chakras, in Yoga, are basically power points or vortices, such as the Kundalini, through which various energies are received, distributed, and transformed. There is no scientific evidence to support the existence of literal Chakras. In reality, they are symbolic states of consciousness that most followers of Hindu beliefs have accepted as real. These seven Chakras will be discussed in more detail.

What are the seven Chakras and their meaning?

Janet Bowden stated that there are seven etheric Chakras which many believe to be located in the following parts of the body: the root (base of the spine), the sacral, the solar plexus, the heart, the throat, the brow, and the crown. Many have thought Chakras are literally in the body when there is no scientific evidence to support their existence or their aid in the operation of the various bodily systems. When one understands their meaning, one can see that they are symbolic.

1. The root is located at the base of the spine, which is the seat of the Kundalini. This Chakra is concerned with animal instincts such as self-preservation, taste and smell.

2. The second Chakra lies nears the genital area and governs sexuality and reproduction. It is believed to govern digestion.

3. The solar plexus Chakra is just above the navel. It is often associated with emotions. It is believed to affect the liver, pancreas, and stomach.

4. The heart Chakra is located in the center of the chest. It is the first Chakra to be linked with higher consciousness and unconditional love. It is also associated with the pituitary gland, pineal gland.

5. The throat Chakra is associated with creativity and causes the search for truth.

6. The brow Chakra is located between the eyebrows and is called the third eye for it influences psychic senses, such as intuition.

7. The crown Chakra whirls just above the head. It reveals the individual level of consciousness. When this Chakra is activated, it brings supreme illumination.

Janet Bowdens brief description of the seven Chakras gave the audience an idea of what they are and what they symbolically represent. The audience was also able to see that the seven Chakras were activated in an ascension manner resulting in the individuals consciousness being raised. One can also see that these Chakras are symbolical and not literally in the body. When Janet Bowden compared the Chakras with the seven steps in the tabernacle, this brought a clearer understanding. But before one can discuss the steps, one has to have some understanding of the general structure of the tabernacle.

Was the tabernacle 3-fold?

Moses tabernacle was a pattern of heavenly things (Exo. 25:8-9; Heb. 8:5). It is a road map that reveals to mankind both the structure of Spirit and its operation throughout the earth plane. In reality, Elohim is the Archetypal (pattern) of all things in the universe. In fact, mankind physical body is made in the likeness of this tabernacle (I Thess. 5:23).

Structurally, the tabernacle is composed of three compartments: the Most Holy Place, the Holy Place and the Court Round About and two veils. There was a veil that divided the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place called the second veil. There was also a veil that divided the Holy Place from the Court Round About called the first veil.

In each compartment there were three vessels that totalled nine in the tabernacle. In the Court Round About there were a Brazen Altar Sin Sacrifice, a Brazen Laver for washing, and a Cup of Holy Anointing Oil.

In the Holy Place there were three vessels. They were the Seven-branched Golden Candlestick, the Golden Table of Shewbread, and the Golden Altar of Incense. In the Most Holy Place there was a three in one vessel, the Ark of the Covenant that had two angels on each end of it facing one another. Now Yahweh dwelt in a cloud above the mercy seat between the angel's wings (Lev. 16:2).

Symbolically, ascending from the Court Round About compartment, where one is totally ignorant of the Spirit, to the Most Holy Place where one is united with the Spirit, is very similar to the rising of the seven Chakras and the kundaliniboth show forth a spiritual awakening or transformation.

How are the Seven Steps in the Tabernacle compared to the Seven Chakras?

There are seven steps in the tabernacle that start with the gate of the Court Round About. They end in the Most Holy Place before the Ark of the Covenant, which typifies standing before the throne of Elohim, talking to him face to face.

This is where one is conscious of the Holy Spirits ever presence within their consciousness. Paul referred to the Most Holy Place and the Ark of the Covenant as the third heaven where he saw things unlawful for a man to utter (2 Cor. 1-4).

This also corresponds to Yahshua the Messiah taking Peter, James, and John atop of Mt. Tabor and transfiguring (i.e. taking off the fleshly body) before them (Matt. 17:1-10). He showed them His spiritual form or body of the Messiah that out shone the noonday sun. What this means is that once one is lifted up in the Spirit, the fleshly things are removed from his eyes (I Cor. 2:14).

Here one sees the comparison between the gate of the Court Round About of the tabernacle and the root chakra, the lowest chakra, corresponding to the beastly instincts of man. The highest crown chakra corresponds to a mans mind that has been transformed spiritually.

Comparing the seven steps in the tabernacle with the seven Chakras can sum up the essence of Janet Bowdens lecture (See dia. on p. 5).

1. The first step in the tabernacle is the gate to the Court Round About. This is man that is spiritually dead which is the earth state of man (Rom. 8:6). Now this corresponds to the root chakra where self-preservation rules the beastly man.

2. The second step in the tabernacle is the brazen altar of sin sacrifice, which represents the death of the old belief system. This corresponds to mans need to be reborn (John 3:1-5). This corresponds with the Chakra which governs reproduction.

3. The third step corresponds to the brazen laver where the priests washed the sacrifices and themselves. This represents the washing of regeneration of the soul and the mind (John 7:38-39; Titus 3:5). Now the third Chakra is called the solar plexus and is associated with emotion.

4. The fourth step in the tabernacle is the first veil that divides the Court Round About from the Holy Place. It also represents the division between the body and soul. The fourth Chakra is called the heart Chakra and many believed that when it is activated, this is the beginning of the spiritual operation that ends ones spiritual darkness.

5. The fifth step in the tabernacle is the Holy Place compartment, with its light, bread, and an intercessor. This compartment corresponds to the soul or the Wilderness of Sinai in Israels journey to the Promise Land. The Messiah told His disciples that when they see the abomination and desolation, stand in the HOLY PLACE (Matt. 24:15). It represents the resurrected state of the soul. The fifth Chakra is the throat. It is correlated with creativity and the search for the truth. It is also the end of the earthly man.

6. The sixth step in the tabernacle is the second vail that divides the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. In Israels migration trek, the River Jordan divides the Wilderness from the Promised Land. It is also the division between soul and Spirit. This veil often corresponds with the renting or removal of the physical body so that the soul can enter the spirit realm. This sixth Chakra is the called the Brow Chakra. The Chakras correspond with intuition, divine intelligence, and psychic powers.

7. The seventh step in the tabernacle corresponds with Most Holy Place and the promise land in Israels migrationtheir final destination. This is where the soul and Spirit are one. The seventh Chakra is called the crown Chakra. It brings supreme and cosmic consciousness. +

Janets discourse shows that although the Hindu and Hebrew cultures had different symbols to illustrate the spiritual evolution, they both described the same processthe transformation of man from a gross state of darkness to a state of cosmic and spiritual illumination.

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