Dharam Singh Khalsa - The Kundalini Yoga Experience: Bringing Body, Mind, and Spirit Together

GURU DHARAM S. KHALSA and DARRYL OKEEFFE

A Fireside Book
Published by Simon & Schuster
New York London Toronto Sydney

This book is dedicated to Yogi Bhajan whose ceaseless sharing of untold wisdom has made it possible.

Always consult your doctor before beginning this or any other exercise programme. Nothing in this book is to be construed as medical advice. The benefits attributed to the practice of Kundalini Yoga come from the centuries-old yogic traditons. Results will vary with individuals.

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Copyright 2002 by Gaia Books Limited

Text copyright 2002 by Guru Dharam S. Khalsa and Darryl OKeeffe

Kriyas and meditations copyright Yogi Bhajan

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ISBN-13: 978-0-743-22582-3

eISBN-13: 978-0-7432-3399-6

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Foreword

As I traveled around the world with Yogi Bhajan from 1971 to 1987, and have traveled representing him since, I have personally encountered hundreds of thousands of people who have received comfort and upliftment from his teachings.

Being Yogi Bhajans student/teacher is not easy. He never teaches in chapters, or in any order. It could be years before something he says in one lecture is clarified and expounded on in another. But being his student and a student of the teachings that he has shared gives a person grit, endurance, and the ability to be one-pointed, or to have mastery over the mind, which is the aim of meditation, as he puts it.

One doesnt just write a book about a spiritual practice without practice and experiencing some sort of inner results. Yogi Bhajans students have to be eager and self-motivated to deeply go into his teachings to fully grasp the sacred science of Kundalini Yoga.

I have known Guru Dharam Singh Khalsa and Darryl OKeeffe for over twenty years and have seen their perseverance in practice, and patience for learning. It is these very faculties that they themselves have achieved, as students of the teachings of Yogi Bhajan.

Guru Dharam and Darryl have gathered the material and have compiled it in such a way to simply explain the way to practice Kundalini Yoga based on the interconnection between the practice of the meditations and kriyas of Kundalini Yoga, the KY numerological system, the chakras, and the ten bodies. They have demystified the teachings, as well as distilling them into modern terms without sacrificing their purity. They have followed Yogi Bhajans directive to be teachers themselves and have gone one step further to become teacher trainers and to finally write this book.

When we sat at the feet of the master in the 1970s and he talked about how each one of us has a destiny to fulfill, we could not then imagine how our destinies would manifest 30 years later. Guru Dharam and Darryl have served their destinies by sharing what they know has added quality to their lives with others. They do honour to Yogi Bhajan, their teacher.

Satsimran Kaur January 2002

Member of the Board of Directors 3HO Foundation

Member of the Board of Directors Kundalini Research Institute

Managing Director of White Tantric Yoga

kundalini:
the essence of yoga

Yogi Bhajan: a modern master

Part 1
you, your numbers,
and your chakras

Part 2
your practice

Part 3
the kriyas and
meditations

A Kriya and Meditation for Everyone for Every Day

First Chakra MULADHARA
Kriya for the First Chakra

Second Chakra SVADHISTHANA
Kriya for the Second Chakra

Third Chakra MANIPURA
Kriya for the Third Chakra

Fourth Chakra ANAHATA
Kriya for the Fourth Chakra

Fifth Chakra VISHUDDHA
Kriya for the Fifth Chakra

Sixth Chakra AJNA
Kriya for the Sixth Chakra

Seventh Chakra SAHASRARA
Kriya for the Seventh Chakra

Part 4
kundalini components

This book has been structured so that you can divine and develop a personalized programme of Kundalini Yoga over a number of years. It is not intended to be read from cover to cover and then banished to the bookshelf. Two main pathways help you decide which exercises will be of the most benefit to you, at the present time. One pathway is numerology, which enables you to work out your significant numbers and choose one aspect of yourself that needs attention. If, for example, numerology (see pp.17-20) shows you that you need to work on your Physical Body (see p.25), you choose a meditation for the Physical Body (see p.110). The other pathway is the chakra system. Using charts (see pp.35-41) and a questionnaire (see pp.43-9), you assess which chakra you need to give attention to and turn to the appropriate yoga exercise set, or kriya, for that chakra. For example, if your Third Chakra needs work, choose a kriya for the Third Chakra (see pp.78-83).

Cautionary note

Consult your doctor before beginning this or any other exercise programme. Nothing in this book is to be construed as medical advice. The benefits attributed to the practice of Kundalini Yoga come from the centuries-old yogic traditions. Results will vary from one individual to another.

Kundalini Yoga kriyas and meditations work in many ways, on many levels. The metaphysical realities are understood by a Master, but their effects may be experienced by anyone. All the kriyas and meditations in this book were originally taught by Yogi Bhajan, the modern master of Kundalini Yoga. An experienced teacher of Kundalini Yoga may appreciate some of the ways in which the master has constructed the kriyas and some of the components from which the meditations have been created. The route to your own understanding is experience. We recommend that your practice, where possible, is supervised by a Kundalini Yoga instructor certified by KRI, the Kundalini Research Institute. There may not be a local teacher to guide your practice, answer your questions, and show the way forward and so we have tried to provide a means of determining which Kundalini Yoga practices may be particularly beneficial for you. This will help you towards understanding how and why they produce the effects that you will experience and instruct you in their safe practice.

The word God

We have used the G word throughout this book. You do not have to believe in one specific god; any One will do and you are not excluded from these practices if you do not believe in any god. A spiritual technology will deliver no matter what you start out believing. Kundalini Yoga recognizes a spiritual totality; in essence all is One and we feel the word God conveys this concept most readily to most people.