The Sacred Power: A Seeker's Guide to Kundalini

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About the Book KUNDALINI is the name given in the Indian tradition to the inner spiritual power. According to the Siddha master Swami Muktananda, "It is only when Kundalini is awakened that we become aware of our true nature, of our greatness." Since receiving initiation from Muktananda over twenty years ago, Swami Kripananda has been studying, teaching, and writing about this subtle science, as well as contemplating the unfolding of Kundalini within herself. The Sacred Power is a richly informative textbook compiled over her years of study and experience, based on courses she has developed for students and seekers.

Introduction India has a long and unbroken tradition of yogic dis- cipline that dates back to the days of the Indus Valley Civilization or earlier. The large number of spiritual adepts who have lived in India have followed various modes of spiritual discipline (sādhana) as instructed by their Masters, and through their personal experiences they have enriched our knowledge of yoga. Information about the specific practices they followed is rarely avail- able to us, however, as most of these adepts were reluc- tant to divulge the secrets of their sādhana. Yogic knowledge was largely transmitted orally from Master to disciple, and until modern times, that is the way the secrets of Kundalini were passed down to us.

For this reason, there are relatively few references and only sketchy descriptions of the practices of Kundalini Yoga in our ancient scriptures. Therefore, we welcome an authentic account of this particular kind of yoga based on scriptural references as well as the prac- tical experiences of its practitioners. Swami Kripananda has done a great service in filling in the gap by pro- ducing this wonderful work in lucid language. It is based on the teachings of her Siddha Masters, Swami Muktananda and Swami Chidvilasananda, and she quotes liberally from the scriptural literature on the subject. It also includes many of her own and others' practical spiritual experiences.

Acknowledgments I wish to express my gratitude to Swami Shantananda, Dr. Deba Brata Sen Sharma, Stratford Sherman, Hemananda, and Anandi Siegrist for reviewing the manuscript and offering invaluable editorial assistance, to Professor John Grimes for checking the Sanskrit, to Ed Levy for his help in editing the text, to Eileen Considine for her skillful copyediting, to Cheryl Crawford for the cover and text design, to Angela Trinca for her paintings of the chakras, to Pat Donworth and Roger Wellington for checking and proofreading the text, to Stéphane Dehais for typesetting, to Judith Levi for compiling the index, and to Osnat Shurer, Sushila Traverse, and Karen Weber for overseeing the production of this book.