Pandit Gopikrishna

Gopi Krishna (1903 - 1984) of India was a yogi, mystic, teacher, social reformer, and writer. His autobiography is known under the title Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man.

Born in a small village outside Srinagar, Kashmir, Gopi Krishna was one of the first people to popularize the concept of Kundalini among Western readers. His autobiography is entitled Kundalini—The Evolutionary Energy in Man later renamed to Living with Kundalini.According to June McDaniel, his writings have influenced Western interest in kundalini yoga.

He chose the path of yoga due to his circumstances. His father renounced the world to lead a religious life leaving his twenty-eight year old mother with the responsibility of raising him and his two sisters. His mother now pinned all her hopes for success on her only son. Pandit Gopi Krishna was also a good freestyle wrestler and legend has it that he beat many a good wrestler. Legend has it that he had the capability to be a world class wrestler, however, he spent most of his energy on intellectual pursuits. Great wrestlers such as Gama were of Kashmiri origin and also the famous Habib Koda was a Kashmiri.

But he failed to pass the examination to enter college, and he now took a lowly job and established his family. He also started on a discipline of meditation to discover who he was. After having been engaged in this for many years, he had his first Kundalini experience at the age of 34, which he describes thus in his autobiography.

"Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord.

Entirely unprepared for such a development, I was completely taken by surprise; but regaining my self-control, keeping my mind on the point of concentration. The illumination grew brighter and brighter, the roaring louder, I experienced a rocking sensation and then felt myself slipping out of my body, entirely enveloped in a halo of light. It is impossible to describe the experience accurately. I felt the point of consciousness that was myself growing wider surrounded by waves of light. It grew wider and wider, spreading outward while the body, normally the immediate object of its perception, appeared to have receded into the distance until I became entirely unconscious of it. I was now all consciousness without any outline, without any idea of corporeal appendage, without any feeling or sensation coming from the senses, immersed in a sea of light simultaneously conscious and aware at every point, spread out, as it were, in all directions without any barrier or material obstruction. I was no longer myself, or to be more accurate, no longer as I knew myself to be, a small point of awareness confined to a body, but instead was a vast circle of consciousness in which the body was but a point, bathed in light and in a state of exultation and happiness impossible to describe."

According to June McDaniel, his writings have influenced Western interest in kundalini yoga. He wrote many books and traveled all over the world giving lectures. He came to feel the kundalini experience underlies all (or most) religions that started with a personal revelation. He could see kundalini iconography in cultures worldwide, from ancient Egypt to Quetzalcoatl to the caduceus of Mercury, and believed there was a common basis, and that he had been granted entry to this vision. Gopi Krishna theorized that the brain was in a state of organic evolution, and that the rising of Kundalini into the brain would open a normally silent chamber called brahma-randra in the yogic tradition. Krishna worked tirelessly to promote the scientific investigation of kundalini in the human frame, hypothesizing that this energy was leading humankind towards the goal of higher consciousness.

Does Enlightenment Require a Guru ?

What do you see in the future regarding the Guru/Disciple relationship? Do we need a Guru to attain a state of enlightenment ?

To me this is a very important question at the present time. I would like to emphasize the present time. It was in the mid 80’s that the spiritual relationship of guru/disciple reached its highest popularity. Since then, there have been spiritual teachers with a more Western approach such as Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Christiane Northrop, who have taken their educational credentials to approach the teacher/student relationship in a more down-to-earth environment. There are many more teachers without the educational credentials who are just as valuable but don’t advertise the fact and will become popular in their own communities over the next few years.

We need to consider when the guru/disciple relationship started in order to see where it is presently and where it is going in the future. The best place to start is with the cycles of time called Yugas or Ages in the ancient Vedic texts. There are four ages or Yugas: Satya-yuga or the Golden Age, Treta-yuga, Dvapar-yuga and Kali-yuga. We are presently in Kali-yoga which is the dark age.

In Stephen Knapp’s book “The Vedic Prophecies: A New Look Into The Future” , he writes on page 21-The Padma Purana (7.26.15-17) elaborates that “in Kali-yuga, which is the abode of sins, everyone is involved in sinful activities. They censure the Vedas, or spiritual truths, and engage in gambling and stealing. Brahmanas will act fraudulently for a livelihood. Everyone will be addicted to women, sex, and intoxicating liquors. They will be stealing others’ wealth. Heretics and atheists will become prominent. Men will possess little luster and will be wrathful, greedy, untruthful, and be filled with jealousy, pride, anger, deceit, and malice.”

According to most historians Kali-yuga started after Krishna died some 5,000 years ago. This could be the reason why the relationship between Krishna and Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita is the most read spiritual book in the East. It sets the tone for how the guru/disciple relationship works in the dark age such as Kali-yuga. In such a dark age it is no wonder that there is such a need to have a teacher of light (guru) to guide humanity. With so many mosquitoes available and very few light bulbs, the guru becomes the central energy source of pure white light that could elevate others to a higher state of awareness that is almost absent in humanity as a whole. The average age in Kali-yuga is 100 years if you’re lucky. In Dvapara-yuga it is 1,000 years old. In Treta-yuga it is 10,000 years old. In Satya-yuga you could live to be 100,000 years old in perfect health.

To write about each yuga in detail would be lengthy. I recommend Stephen Knapp’s book mentioned earlier for detailed information regarding the subject of yugas. It is obvious from my description of Kali-yuga that a teacher of enlightenment is needed and very rare in this dark age. However, I am always happy to mention the light at the end of the tunnel. According to most authors who are experts on the subject of yugas, we are entering a sub-period of Satya-yuga which will last 10,000 years. According to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who is the founder of the TM organization, we have entered this sub-period in July of 2005. Guru purnama is a yearly celebration of the guru every July on the full moon. The full moon in July of 2005 according to Maharishi is the start of the 10,000 year cycle of a sub-period of Satya-yuga in the Kali-yuga age we are presently in.

In the description of Satya-yuga on page 19 of Stephen Knapp’s book it reads: In the Srimad-Bhagavatam (starting at 12.3.18) states “that in Satya-yuga there is virtue, wisdom, and religion, with no ignorance or vice. People are full of truthfulness, mercy, austerity, and charity. The people of Satya-yuga are also self-satisfied, friendly, peaceful, sober, and tolerant. Their pleasure is found within themselves, not through gratifying their senses in external activities. They know their spiritual identity and live in harmony with God, nature, and each other.”

The guru/disciple relationship changes with each age. Since we have started the Satya-yuga sub-period in Kali-Yuga the relationship of teacher/student is changing. Now teachers are seeking to guide the student to glorify themselves rather than the guru. This is one of the reasons why the numbers of people attending secular traditions of Eastern philosophy are declining in numbers and the one’s that are growing are only preparing others to find their own path of devotion in themselves. There will be less of a need to glorify the guru in the future and more of a need to collaborate with others in the group dynamic to achieve the goal of peace and tranquility in the family of humanity. It is not up to a few leaders, but up to humanity as a whole to establish themselves in a state of self-sufficiency or self-fulfillment.

In my visions of the future, I see a huge turning point starting by the end of this year 2006 and intensifying in the middle of 2007. I see a need to integrate the time and space knowledge of earth and the etheric or spiritual knowledge of a higher vibration which is not so dependent on time and space. Yugas are very dependent on the law of karma ruled by the planet Saturn. But are we moving into a time when the intelligence of the universe has other plans for planet earth than time and space? Are we moving into a time when knowledge from other intergalactic races will introduce a different point of view regarding our co-dependency on time and space? Is the guru/disciple relationship taking us away from our own responsibility to self in the present matrix of energy?

We will always need teachers, but I see the teaching relationship changing from dependency on the guru, which was needed in Kali-yuga, to a more sharing of knowledge to help us understand how we can work together rather than be separate in our own traditions of spirituality. Yes, the paths of devotion are coming to an end. The yugas will come to an end also as the lords of Karma are found to be unnecessary when men and women are attuned to a higher frequency of mind which vibrates differently than the small mind of time and space. We will still need teachers to guide and help humanity to the next level of development, but the emphasis is on guidance and growth for both teachers and students in a mutual admiration society where everyone is ultimately the guru, not just one person

More about Yogiraj

Gorakshanath, Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath spent his early years in the Himalayas with the great Nath Yogis in whose presence he was transformed, realizing the unity of all Yogas and Religions.

A Master of Kundalini Kriya Yoga, Siddhanath’s message to Humanity is EARTH PEACE THROUGH SELF PEACE. He is the only Master present in America who gives direct experience of SHIVAPAT. That is His Soul Consciousness of thoughtless Awareness, essential to the healing and spiritual evolution of humankind.

Through Kriya Yoga He delivers to humanity an urgent message for all to accept individual responsibility for the genesis of Earth Peace, rather than relying on governing bodies to bring about a harmonious state. Kundalini Kriya Yoga is the science of the Evolution of Human Consciousness. It is the swiftest and simplest way to get to God. Kriya Yoga enriches your life step by step, and makes you experience the Godessence within you.

For those who are receptive and in attunement, Gurunath imparts dimensions of his own Expanded Still Mind Consciousness of Natural Enlightenment, called Sahaj Samadhi. He gives his Soul in the form of a profound stillness …a profound silence. Experience of this exquisitely heightened awareness produces a fathomless peace beyond normal perception. Guidance in Out-of-Body Awareness and dynamic Transmissions of vital energy that heal and reduce stress are also bestowed upon those who participate in his public sessions.

Eloquent and articulate in expression, all that Gurunath manifests is through the philosophy of Enlightened Action. In the truest and highest sense, the Master (Gurunath) does nothing, as all of his activities of serving humanity through Yoga are initiated through Divine Consciousness.

As an offering to humanity, Gurunath unveils the ancient art and science of Hamsa Yoga - The Way of the White Swan - an inner, meditative journey leading to spiritual awakening and healing. “Hamsa” literally means Swan, and symbolizes the Soul. The Way of the White Swan also holds special knowledge for those interested in the scientific basis of consciousness. By tracing the illuminating flow of Consciousness through the Cave of Brahma (third ventricle) to the lateral ventricles which are formed like a Swan in flight, insight may be gained as to how a Yogi advances to enlightenment.

Experience of the Christ Consciousness inherent in all Souls, a clear mind of bliss, may be realized through Kundalini Kriya Yoga, the sacred science of the Self. These higher levels of consciousness are accessible to each human being through constant practice with an open mind. Gifts of the Soul, are selflessly conveyed through the Sat-Guru as a servant of Humanity and Divinity.

Gurunath is a TRUE MASTER who, unlike a teacher, awakens you to the next level of spiritual experience.

His Life
Yogiraj Siddhanath is descended from the family of Ikshavaku Rama of the Solar Dynasty A Siddha by birth He was born on May 10, 1944 into one of the premier families of Gwalior. Educated at Sherwood College, Nainital, in India, he spent his early years in the Himalayas with the great Nath Yogis, in whose presence he was transformed. The Divine Transformation was completed by his deep and personal experience with Mahavatar Babaji (Shiv Goraksha Nath).
Gurunath resides in the city of Pune in western India, and has an ashram outside the city. He teaches aspirants at the ashram and around the world

You can read more about Yogiraj at his website : http://hamsa-yoga.org/

Hamsa Yoga