FAQs about Shaktipat & Kundalini Awakening

What can happen after shaktipat?

When people receive shaktipat, all sorts of processes can start to happen and no set of experiences are exactly the same. However, often people will start to experience what are known as kriyas. When the shakti or kundalini is awakened, it can begin to purify the nadis, or subtle energetic channels, in the body. Just as a garden hose can become tangled and eventually righted as the water makes its way through, as kundalini encounters blockages in the body system one may experience physical, mental or emotional expressions, or kriyas, as they become unblocked. There is a purification that takes place on all levels of consciousness, and the kundalini knows exactly what one needs. This is the force of the Divine working through us and we need only surrender and allow the processes to unfold.

Are there any risks to kundalini?

There are kundalini emergencies that happen. There are risks when one is searching for a guru or seeking awakening through unscrupulous methods or variations on the truth. What we have found is that, when the kundalini is awakened with thoughtful process and the purest form of love, it can’t be mistaken for something else. It doesn’t need to be done through a guru or a teacher or a guide, and one would hope that if there is some sort of a guide that they are of the purest light and love.

When one is ready to awaken, they will awaken, whether they are with a teacher or mentor or not. This can be frightening to people if they have no idea what is happening. They may think they are sick or have a psychological disorder. Or they may become afraid that the world they have known is deteriorating or becoming less safe. Awakening in a pure, loving environment is ideal as one starts to dislodge from their old way of being and into a new consciousness of love.

People with kundalini emergencies can come to Kai for awakening, but one must be patient with the process. People awaken through plant medicines or drugs or unscrupulous “gurus” who are unready to assist others in their process, which leaves their students lost and often psychologically, mentally and physically frazzled and confused. This can’t be solved with one or two sessions. One must be committed to their own growth and understanding. And seeing the truth in Kai, they must resolve to be fully opened to love, God, truth, the Divine. All is well when we are in the right hands of Light. Your highest truth knows the highest truth in the one who will help you out of a dilemma and into the true knowledge of love and grace.

Why receive Shaktipat now?

If you feel called to, come to one of our programs. If it’s right for you, you will know. Listen to the signs and synchronicities that lead you here or elsewhere. We all know within our own being what is right for us.

We encourage you to sit and go within your heart and ask for the truth of where you need to be and when, and if it is right for you to come to one of our awakening programs and receive this divine grace and love.

How long does it take to notice a change?

One should feel something directly upon receiving this Grace. It doesn’t matter if it’s subtle or huge, the energy will be felt in some form. It could be a subtle acknowledgement of “Oh, I feel Grace”, or a huge energetic transmission. It doesn’t matter what one feels, it matters that one is receiving this Grace. Devotion is very important in this practice. Pure Love and devotion to God or the Divine in whatever form will bring us the fastest results. As Baba Muktananda wrote in Play of Consciousness, “When you receive the Grace of a Siddha, sadhana starts. To some the experiences of sadhana come quickly; to others, after a time. If sadhana is taking place inwardly in a subtle form, there may be no conscious awareness of it; nonetheless, the sadhaka should keep up his practice with reverence, sincerity, faith, and love. The grace of the Guru is never ineffective. Nature can be reversed, the sun can stop shedding its heat and the moon lose its coolness, water can stop flowing, the night can become day and day become night, but once you receive the grace of a Siddha, it never goes to waste. This grace stays with a disciple from birth to birth. No matter which country or world man goes to, his accumulated sins keep searching for the time to bear their fruit, and in the same way, grace given to a disciple follows him until it is time to be activated. So you should keep up your practice with perseverance, enthusiasm, and love.”

How do you know the kundalini is awakened?

When the Kundalini is awakened, you feel a divine grace within you. It can’t be mistaken for anything else. It is its own Presence, its own Power, its own Divinity. There is an awakening within, a stirring, a grace that can’t be known as anything but the divine perfection within.

It can feel like a spinal infusion of light which subsequently hits the brain and becomes light filled grace if one is tuned in subtly to their inner being. If one is not tuned in, it may just feel like a flowering or any subtle energetic motions may start happening. The breath may change, tears may well up in the eyes, emotions may stir, the mind may race. There are so many expressions of this divine, energetic grace, that it can’t be explained as a list of ten things or one or two “this means your kundalini is awakened”.

If you feel that your kundalini has awakened, tune into the source of all beingness, into the inner you who knows these things and you will find the answer you seek.

How should we interact with the energy?

One should be aware that the consciousness of grace is within them. This is God, the force of all Light. How we interact with this energy is divinely, freely, powerfully performing the grace of God’s will in every moment of every day.

We won’t see results if we don’t allow this energy to exchange our intellect for divine love, always love. If we interact with a graceful being of light, how do we be with them? How do we sit in their presence? This is the same way we interact with our inner, divine Kundalini energy. We sit in awe, reverence, always perfecting our state to be in deep, meditative grace.

Surrender totally and absolutely and know that this is your God force, your energy of awakening, your divinity, your truth, and your love. Give your all to this energy and She will respond with love.

Who is Kali?

Kali is a form of the divine mother in the Hindu tradition. She is portrayed very fiercely. She has a necklace of skulls and a sword. While she looks very scary and demonic, she is actually that aspect of God that is destroying your ego self, those aspects of you that are no longer necessary. We can call upon Kali when we really need to release some deep and stuck tendencies from within. 

Do you have any suggested reading?

We recommend reading Play of Consciousness by Swami Muktananda. He wrote out in detail all the experiences he had so that his devotees could know what kinds of experiences they could possibly encounter. Also, Shakti, Hidden Treasure of Power by Dhyanyogi Shri Madhusudandasji is a favorite for learning about the Kundalini.