Chapter 25 Bhakti (Devotion)

Devotion is more than the simple psychological mechanism of placing an ideal in the heart and mind which we can then strive for. There is much more to it than that. Directed emotional energy, desire, has great power. The act of devotion, the act of desiring the highest ideal we can imagine, is a transforming power itself. It creates changes deep in our nervous system. If we have devotion for a high ideal, this alone will be changing us inside before we ever sit to do any pranayama or meditation, or any of the rest of the advanced practices. Devotion is the first yoga practice, the main yoga practice, and the fire that lights everything on the path. Without it, everything else we do is just going through the motions. 

Excerpt from Advanced Yoga Techniques

The principal cause of my kundalini rising in 2005 was from

the years of meditation that preceded this occurrence. I did not meditate in order to trigger this occurrence. In fact, I didn't even know about kundalini until weeks after it had happened. I meditated as part of a devotional prayer practice and discipline that became a very important part of my life in ministry. This prayer practice came from a deep desire to know God more perfectly, and meditation accomplished this much more meaningfully than any other type of prayer. Meditation moved me beyond the ego involvement, which was part of my everyday life, into a space where "I-ness" faded and disappeared, and I experienced being at one with God.

After the kundalini occurrence which introduced me to yoga, I discovered the term “Bhakti” which means the science of devotion.

Devotion or "bhakti" is the most commonly practiced yoga technique around the world, though it is rarely called yoga. "Bhakti" or devotion, which is the continuous focus of desire on a particular spiritual ideal, is also a common expression in the world's great religions and forms part of its belief system or faith. It was with devotion that I practiced the discipline of Christian meditation, and this led to a devotion to God who I experienced as “present” in this practice.

Kundalini brought me to a much deeper level of devotion, not only in the practice of meditation, but to a further awakening to God’s presence. Because of the restorative aspects of kundalini, this deepened awakening was not only an occurrence during meditation time, but in all the actions of my life.

Since kundalini rising is the activation of energy from the root

and sacral chakras which modifies the subtle body system and moves one into newer and deeper levels of consciousness, it is similar to and linked closely with sexual energy.

In the world, there is a real obsession with sex, mainly because of its extraordinary power to bring us to moments of ecstasy and love. This powerful energy, which exists primarily to assure the continuation of the human species, has been distorted out of proportion for self-centered purposes. This has led to some of our worst human exploitation which has caused life-long trauma in the lives of many who have become victims of sexual aggressors. Therefore sexual energy, with the primary purpose for creating live with all of its multidimensional meanings, is often viewed with fear, suspicion and judgement, particular in some religious circles where its abuse has been as prevalent as main stream life.

As a result, kundalini energy, sexual energy, designed to give life, designed to restore us to a spiritual dignity through its powerful transforming capabilities, designed to bring us to a devotion and into union with God; is often cast in the same light as abusive sex. And maybe, if it is discovered and used by some for the same self-centered purposes as ordinary reproductive sexual energy, then perhaps it deserves to come under that umbrella of fear, suspicion, and judgement.

In order for kundalini to be the powerful force of transformation that it is designed to be, then “Bhakti” (devotion) must be an important part of our physiological disposition as we pursue the use of this sexual energy to bring us into the fullness and wholeness that God intended. Bhakti, the act of devotion, the act of desiring the highest ideal we can imagine for ourselves, is a transforming power in itself. With the use of “Bhakti”, we will direct the course of kundalini and produce the fruits that were intended for us from the beginning.