How can Kundalini be awakened? Would Japa alone be successful in awakening the Kundalini?

Kundalini can be awakened by the practice of Asan, Pranayam, Mudras, Japa and by the grace of a Guru. Refer to my book ‘Kundalini Yoga’.

Yes. Japa alone is quite sufficient to awaken the Kundalini. There is no doubt about this. Sri Samarth Ramdas awakened the Kundalini by doing Japa of the mantra: Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram, Jaya Jaya Ram thirteen crores of times by standing in the river Godavari, in Takli Village, near Nasik.

What are the three Doshas or faults in the mind? Give a concrete illustration.

They are Mala or impurities such as lust, anger and greed, Vikshepa or tossing of the mind or mental oscillation, and Avarana or the veil of ignorance.

There is a muddy lake covered with moss. The wind is blowing hard. Now, the lake is the mind. The muddy condition represents Mala. The agitation of the waters that is set up by the wind corresponds to the Vikshepa in the mind set up by the vibration of Prana. The moss that covers the surface of the water represents the veil of ignorance.

What is the difference between Bhakti and Jnana?

Bhakti is devotion. It is a means to the end which is attainment of Jnana. People of emotional temperament are fit for this path. It demands self-surrender or Atma-nivedan. It is the cat-Yoga. The kitten cries aloud and the mother cat runs at once to catch it by the mouth. So also, the devotee cries aloud like Draupadi and Gajendra and the Lord Krishna runs immediately to rescue him and shower His grace. The Bhakti Marga demands only sincere, intense devotion, blind faith and strong conviction as Prahlad had. There is no necessity for learning. Illiterate people like Tukaram who could not sign even their names had realized God. There is no need for vast learning or study. A Bhakta wants to eat sugar-candy. He wants to sit by the side of the Lord.

Jnana is the Yoga of self-expansion. It demands self-reliance. Only people of an intellectual temperament with Vichara Sakti or the power of discrimination and ratiocination are fit for the path of Jnana or knowledge. It is the monkey-Yoga. The young monkey does not cry, but itself clings tenaciously to the body of its mother wherever the mother runs. This Yoga demands a vast study of Vedantic literature, a sharp intellect, bold understanding, gigantic will and courage. A Jnani wants to become an embodiment of sugar-candy, instead of tasting sugar- candy. A Jnani wants to become identical with the Existence (Eka Aikyam).

Are Jnana and Bhakti conflicting with each other?

My answer is emphatically “No”. There is, in fact, an inter-relationship between these two, the one supplementing the other. Bhakti is not at all antagonistic to Jnana. There is undoubtedly a mutual dependence between the two. Both lead to the same destination.

You cannot entirely separate Bhakti from Jnana. When Bhakti matures, it becomes transmuted into Jnana. A real Jnani is a devotee of Lord Hari, Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Lord Siva, Durga, Sarasvati, Lakshmi, Lord Jesus and Buddha. He is a Samarasa Bhakta. Some ignorant people think that a Jnani is a dry man and has no devotion. This is a sad mistake. A Jnani has a very, very large heart. Go through the hymns of Sri Sankaracharya and try to gauge the depth of his devotion. Go through the writings of Sri Appayya Dikshitar and measure the magnanimous depths of his unbounded devotion.

Swami Ram Tirth was a Jnani. Was he not a Bhakta of Lord Krishna? If a Vedantin excludes Bhakti, remember he has not really grasped and understood Vedanta. The same Nirguna Brahman manifests with a little Maya in a comer as Saguna Brahman for the pious worship of His devotees.

Bhakti is not divorced from Jnana. On the contrary, Jnana intensifies Bhakti. He who has a knowledge of Vedanta is well established in his devotion. He is steady and firm. Some ignorant people say that if a Bhakta studies Vedanta, he will lose his devotion. This is wrong. Study of Vedanta is an auxiliary to increase and develop one’s devotion. The devotion of a man proficient in Vedantic literature is well-grounded. Bhakti and Jnana are like the two wings of a bird to help one to fly unto Brahman, to the summit of mukti.

Is it advisable to do meditation after meal at night? A Grihastha is so much disturbed in the evening that he scarcely gets time to meditate.

Meditation at night, a second sitting, is absolutely necessary. If you do not have sufficient time at night, you can meditate even for a few minutes, say, ten or fifteen, before going to bed. By so doing, the spiritual samskaras will increase. The spiritual samskaras are valuable assets or priceless treasures for you. Further, you will have no bad dreams at night. The divine thoughts will be carried during sleep. The good impressions will be there.

I find it very difficult to keep up Brahmacharya. Suddenly I fall in the pit foolishly. Actually I am crying, but doing the same act like a dog. What is to be done?

Fast. Do japa of a mantra for three hours daily. Read the Gita, one chapter daily. Sleep in a separate room. Keep the mind fully occupied. Divert the mind. Entertain noble, sublime thoughts. Have satsang. Do simple pranayam with mild kumbhaks twenty times daily. Do a lot of physical work also. Take simple food. Think that there is neither sex nor sexual vasana in Atma. Meditate on Atma.