Sushama Karnik

1 July at 10:52 · 

The Myth Of The Kundalini

The woman curls up in the midst of the green and the red.

An ancient, archaic, green desire,

infused like a slow draft of wine

slowly invades the pores of her being.

She closes her eyes in a sweet surrender

and lets her hair down in a cascade of the words

uttered like a waterfall running down like a magic chant.

The female cobra lying dormant at the base of the spine

rises and raises its head. Its tongue is the tongue of fire.

The woman is the moment of waiting for a resurrection.

She is just the moment before she will snap up like a sword, erect and out of the sheathing.

She will seem to annihilate you,

but no; she will not.

A mighty force, the will of God,

she will incarnate

and take you along

the six subtle stopovers on the winding path

but never allow you to pause and rest.

At each sojourn she will give you glimpses

of the lifetimes lived in the past,

each lifetime a singular lesson

distilled insights in measured steps.

First, the primordial strength to fight the primordial fear

at the base of the being,

then the settlement in the life of the body

fully entrenched in faith of living.

Then onward she will pull you along.

You are energy, power,

infinite but scattered.

You will have to dwell here long

until you learn to collect and ride over it like you ride a horse;

until boredom, lethargy, nausea will spread over you like a gentle swoon.

And slowly a new lotus will be your heart,

opening like a bud, mysterious, gentle,

greeting the dawn.

The call of a distant drum'beating but unheard

and you will follow the mysterious notes of the unsung song

until you land at the throat

to breathe in unison with God.

The lady will be quiet, serene, benign.

You will live with her as with a goddess sublime.

You will have no language but that which you learn to speak with her.

Long will be these blissful days, an unending era of peace.

And one day all of a sudden she will wake you out of sleep.

An unrest the origin of which you will not know

will take hold of you and throw you into a swirling tide of restlessness.

Now is the time you need her most.

Do not let go of her hand.

The path is straight and narrow.

Nothing will make sense to you;

it's a vast universe of absurdity;

but hold her fast;

hold her steady;

she makes no demands.

Listen to her silence.

An infinite valley of tenderness,

the peaks of ecstasy,

the visions will come and go.

But do not let her go.

She will take you into a trance,

deeper and deeper, quieter still.

Shiva will dance before your eyes

and the rhythm of the dance

will reach a crescendo

Do not look back;

she is right there behind you

Now she is with you on this journey to the light.

She has taken you to the final call.

The Master calls;

in a moment the spirit breaks the bounds.

There is nothing but an infinite sea of the white light

and infinite silence, infinite peace.

And yes, you will return like a rain falling

from the thousand petals of a lotus cloud.

Sushama Karnik
June 18, 2017