282 Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna

�.ind 1s merged in the Absolute and nothing can be said

of it.
901. Lord Chaitanya used to have three sorts of
' states· : (1) the conscio'us state in which the mind dwelt
on the gross and the subtle bodi�s'. (2) The semi-conscious
state in which the mind soared to the causal body and felt
the · causal bliss· and (3) the state of in-turnt!d con­
sciousness (superconscious state) il1 which the mind used
to merge completely in the Mahakal"ana-the great First
Cause.
There is a great similarity between this and the · five
sheaths· or Kosas of the Vedanta--the Annamaya and
Pranamaya Kosas (together form;ng the gross body). the
Manomaya and Vijnanamaya Kosas (together forming the
subtle body) and Anandamayakosa (forming the causal
body). The First Cause is beyond all these Kosas. When
the mind used to merge in this First Caus�. he (Sri
Chaitanya) used to fall into Samadhi: this is known as the
Nirvikalpa or Jada Samadhi.

KUNDALINI AND SPIRITUAL AWAKENING-

902. lfnless the Kundalini is roused,, spiritual awakening

never takes place. The Kundalini 1 lies dormant in the
,
'
1 Kundalini, sometimes translated as 'Serpent Power' is the dormant
\piritual potentiality� of man, located in the root Cbakra (force-crntre)
known as Muladhara. This power is the Divine Sakti in man. Spiritual
progress is sometimes described in terms•of the rousing up of this latent energ�
anc\ elevating it along the spinal channel called Sushumna, through the six
cent.·es, Svadhishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vi.li.fldha and Ajna, until it
, reacla,s �he trown centre known as Sahasrara. 1\s the Kundalini ascends.
�
man gains higher and higher spiritlal experiences. •
 Kundalini cin<l Spiritual Awakening 283
Muladhara. When She is roused, She enters into th{
&ishumna and passes through Svadhishthana, Manipura.

.
and other centres, and finally reaches the cerebral centre.
and then comes Samadhi. I act�ally saw all these.
903. One of the signs of God-realisation is that the
Great Energy (Maha-vayu) wakes up with a sudden start
and got!s to the ' hea<l ·. Then one falls into Sama<lhi and
gets God-vision. •
?04,* Describing his experience of the rise of Kunda­
lini, the Master once said: " Something rises with a tingling
• from the feet to the head. So long as it does not
sensation
reach the brain, I remai'l conscious, but the moment it does
so I am dead to the outside world. Even the functions of
seeing and hearing come to a standstill, and talking then is
out of the question. Who is to speak ? The very distinction
between ' J · and ' you · vanishes. Sometimes I think I
would ,tell you everything about what I see and feel when
that mysterious power rises up to this. or even this (point­
ing to the heart and the throat). At that stage it is possi­
ble to speak, which I do. But the momen·r it has gone
above this (pointing to the throat). somebody stops ,�y
mouth,. as it were, and I am off my moorings. I make up
my mind to relate .to you what I feel when the Kundalini
goes beyond the throat, but as I think over it, up go!!s the
mind at a bound, and there is an en<l of th� matter ! ..
Many a time did the Master attempt to du;cribe this state,•
b,ut every time he failed. ,One day he was determined to
tell those present about these experiences and went on
with his descripti(.-;• of them up to the stage• wlkn� �1e
energy rise,, to the·. level of the·'throat. Then pointing to
284 Saying.� of Sr-i Ramakrishna
i11e sixth centre, opposite the junction of the eyebrows, he
said, "When the mind reaches this point, one catches.ft
vision of the Paramatman and falls into Samadhi. Only a
thin, transparent veil intervenes between the Jiva and the
Paramatman. He then sees like this . . ." And as he
attempted to explain it in detail. he fell into Samadhi I
When his mind came down a little, he tried it a�ain, and
again h� was immersed in Samadhi,! After several fruitless
attempts like this, he said with tears in his eyes, " Well, I
sincerely wish to tell you everything without concealin� a
bit, but Mother won't let me do so on any accom;it. She
gagged me!" I

905."' Again referring to the different ways in which

the Kundalini rises to the brain, the Master would often
say, "Well, that which rises to the, brain with a tingling
sensation does not always follow the same kiryd of move­
ment. The scriptures speak of its having five lunds of
motion. First, the ant-like motion : one feels a slow creeping
sensation from the feet upwards, like a row of ants creeping
on with fot,d in their mouths. When it reaches the head,
tilt! Sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) falls into Samadhi. Second,
the frog-like motion: just as frogs make two or thr� short
jumps in quick succession and then .stop for a while to
procefd again, in the same way something is felt advancing
from the t<!gs to the brain. When this reaches the brain,
.ihe man gets Samadhi. Third, the serpentine motio� : as
snakes lie quietly, straight or <ioiled up, but as soon as the,Y
find a victim in front, or get frightened, they run in a zigzag
co�,sel• in like manner the • coiled up�wer · rushes to the
head, and this produce!f· Samadhi. ,Fourth, die bird-l•ke