Part 6: Kundalini Awakening - What is Shaktipat?
As mentioned in the previous sections, there are different ways in which the Kundalini can be stimulated and activated or even fully awakened.
The most direct method is known as shaktipat, which is a transmission of Shakti. Shakti is the essence of Kundalini. Shaktipat is given through a being who has reached a certain advanced stage of the Kundalini process to a spiritual aspirant or seeker.
Traditionally, within the Yogic system, those who can offer this transmission would be known as Shaktipat Gurus. However, not all who give shaktipat are gurus and not all gurus give shaktipat.
Some may be simple householders with 9-5 jobs that are able to transmit Shakti because they have reached an advanced stage on their Self-Realization journey. They may not call themselves a guru and they may not refer to their offering as shaktipat explicitly.
There’s many ways of describing these phenomena and it's often difficult to describe them to begin with. I enjoy the traditions of India, Yoga, and Sanskrit, so I lean towards that terminology.
But please don’t feel as if one particular tradition, culture, path, or religion holds authority over the Kundalini process. There is no authority other than God or the Divine. This is a universal path which belongs to everyone, all over the world, throughout history, the present, and the future.
The active way by which the power of Shakti can be transmitted is shaktipat. There are also more passive ways by which the power of Shakti can be transmitted too.
Some spiritual masters may refer to their offering as a spontaneous transmission, a radiance of presence, a blessing, and things like that. They don’t have to necessarily call it shaktipat.
Some may also choose not to speak of their transmission at all. It may just be offered in silence for those who are ready and able to accept it.
There are different ways in which shaktipat can be offered and received. It varies depending on who's giving it and who's receiving it.
Some offer it by physical touch. Some offer it with their hands, keeping distance, without any physical contact. Others may offer it in silent meditation. Some can offer it through the gaze of their eyes.
Shakti can be transmitted through media as well, such as books, art, photographs, videos, and audio recordings. It can also be given and received over great distances simply through the power of thought. For example, someone offering shaktipat can think about a recipient, and if they are able to receive the offering, they can have their Kundalini activated or awakened.
The same is true for a spiritual seeker who thinks sincerely about a great master, dead or alive. In that way, they can receive their blessing of shaktipat if they are ready for it.
This is all possible because the limitations of time and space do not affect the non-physical spiritual dimension.
There are methods by which shaktipat can be transmitted through sexual acts too. However, due to the amount of abuse that takes place within certain spiritual contexts, between corrupted authority figures and vulnerable seekers, I highly advise against getting caught up in this approach. It is not necessary. There are other, much more reasonable methods, as mentioned.
When it comes to shaktipat specifically, it is typically given in person at a spiritual leader’s live event. Sometimes many people line up and receive shaktipat one after the other.
Let’s be critical here. Do you really think tens or even hundreds of these people are going to experience a full and permanent Kundalini awakening that will change the entire course of their lives just by showing up to these events?
It’s not likely. Kundalini activation is rare. Kundalini awakening is even rarer. Preparation, devotion, and maturity is necessary. We cannot just rely on another person to do all the work for us. We have to do our share of the work too.
So even though shaktipat is something that is offered by different spiritual guides around the world, it’s not a cheat code for the spiritual journey. Don’t let anyone sell you on that kind of thing.
Sometimes a seeker may receive shaktipat, have a temporary profound mystical or meditative experience, and think that they have become instantly Self-Realized or Enlightened. But then the effects of their temporary Kundalini activation wear off and they return to mundane life.
This can create a craving, addiction, or attachment to the shaktipat experience and a person can become hooked on receiving it from whoever is offering it over and over again. This is an unhealthy dynamic and something to be mindful of.
You may be wondering how someone learns to give shaktipat in the first place. Well, of course, a person needs to have undergone the Kundalini process and attained a certain high degree of consciousness.
They must have access to the earlier stages of Samadhi in meditation. Sahaja Samadhi, which is a permanent absorption in non-dual consciousness, is even more reliable and stable.
Next, they will be guided inwardly on how to best offer shaktipat, if at all. Remember, not everyone who attains even full complete Self-Realization or Sahaja Samadhi has to offer shaktipat in an active way. They don’t need to. It is only if they are called to from within. It is a very sacred calling.
Shaktipat is a radiance of spiritual power. Keep in mind that everyone radiates their vibrational state at all times. When you are around a sad person, you can feel it. They’re radiating sadness. When you are around someone that has cultivated a deep and abiding state of peace, you can feel it.
So whether someone is clearly guided to give shaktipat or not, when they have attained a certain degree of stability in their Kundalini process, they will radiate Shakti in some way or another.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone around them will be able to pick up on it though. Some people who visited Sri Ramana Maharshi felt incredible peace and stillness when he looked at them. It changed their whole lives. Others felt nothing. It all depends on where a seeker is at in terms of their spiritual life and whether they are in a position to receive what is being offered.
Someone once approached Sri Ramana Maharshi and asked him something along the lines of “I want what you have. Can you give it to me?” to which he replied, “I can give it. But can you take it?”
That is the question. Can you take it? It cannot be forced on anyone. It can only be offered by the Shakti within someone who has reached those advanced stages of the path.
Keep in mind, it isn’t offered by the person themselves. It comes from something far deeper than the individual. Those called to offer shaktipat serve only as channels for the Divine to flow through when the time is right.
Those who are ready to take shaktipat when it is offered, will take it. To become ready, one must engage sincerely in spiritual practices of meditation, Self-Inquiry, and devotion.
I once heard a great talk by Shinzen Young. Someone asked him if the Zen tradition has shaktipat. At face value, one would think no, there is no shaktipat in Zen. Zen is very bare bones, very minimal. They rarely speak of energy and chakras and this sort of thing.
However, Shinzen said that in Zen, students meet with the Zen master one-on-one for interviews in private. It is during these private meetings that shaktipat is offered, in silence. The Zen master is not likely to speak about it at all. They may even deny it if asked about it. But it is being radiated. It is up to the student to pick up on it, resonate with it, and allow the master’s transmission to support their own spiritual process.
Within the inner realms, the Kundalini can be awakened through a transmission as well. Sometimes a seeker will experience a mystical visionary experience in meditation, sometimes these experiences can happen even outside of meditation too. They can also happen in dreams during sleep or during drug induced psychedelic experiences.
A seeker may be visited by divine beings, spiritual masters without physical bodies, Gods, Goddesses, ascended masters, and the like. They may offer shaktipat and awaken the seeker’s Kundalini.
These are genuine awakenings and transmissions and I want to validate them for anyone who has experienced or will experience them. Even though they may have taken place within the non-physical inner realms, they are valid and powerful.
At times, doubt and skepticism will arise, and it is healthy to be discerning, but just know that these phenomena are not unheard of by any means. One certainly can receive shaktipat and have their Kundalini awakened within the inner realms.
The Kundalini process is profound, mind boggling, and beyond our full comprehension as human beings. There are many components of it that are difficult to make sense of. What’s important is not to allow our lack of clear understanding on an intellectual level to impede our process on the spiritual level.
We don’t necessarily need to understand all the ins and outs of the Kundalini process in order to be blessed and transformed by it. A caterpillar doesn’t need to understand how it becomes a butterfly. It just needs to cooperate with the higher forces to make it happen. The same is true for us.
In the next section of this series, we’ll be looking at the many different signs and so-called symptoms of a Kundalini process.
Contact me with any questions about your Kundalini awakening process.
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