The Awakening of the Yoga-Shakti in the Inner Being

The chakras are subtle energy centers, not physical centers in the body, although they generally correspond to various physical capacities ranged along the exte
al body. They essentially act as vibrational ‘receptors’ and transmitters of energies. When they are closed or very much shut down, the energy that would normally work through them tends to be weak or missing in the manifestation of any being. Evolution of consciousness and its expression in the exte
al being involves the systematic development and opening of the higher subtle energy centers. Thus animal beings tend to function mostly through the energetic action of the lower chakras involve sex and procreation, lower vital drives such as craving, hunger, thirst, acquisition, and then power and domination. As the 4th chakra opens, there comes an emotional vital force that begins to operate more fully in the being. Fifth chakra governs expression and powers of communication, 6th chakra the will power and 7th chakra the direct connection to higher spiritual forces and energies.

We can observe within ourselves where we experience different forces. For instance, the sexual force tends to be a pressure in the lower regions of the groin, which is an exte
al mapping to the subtle energy center called the Muladhara or 1st chakra. When we experience various sorts of cravings or movements of an acquisitive nature, we may experience it somewhat higher in our physical body and when we are trying to exercise and develop power and domination this is generally aligned with the 3rd chakra. The body provides us a general ‘map’ of which chakras are active. There is a considerable body of yogic information about the practices of kundalini yoga, the concept of the first chakra energy, rather than being spilt in its normal restricted functions, being directed upwards through the subtle energy centers, awakening each one and eventually rising to join the 7th chakra at the top of the head, creating a fully awakened human individual powering all the various potentialities of the being, joining him to the divine consciousness above.

What an individual does with the energy that gets released, of course, is something else. There are both potential dangers and potential benefits from opening any of the chakras to a larger action, if the individual is not ready to hold, direct, and utilize that energy effectively and thus, the practice of things such as kundalini yoga without proper guidance can lead to physical, vital, emotional and mental imbalances, disharmonies and even injuries or death, while proper implementation can lead to higher stages of realization and awareness.

At a certain stage in the yogic practice, some of these openings and developments may begin to take place naturally. Human aspiration for the Divine brings about an upward flow of energy, while the Divine response from above answers.

Sri Aurobindo notes: “There is a Yoga-Shakti lying coiled or asleep in the inner body, not active. When one does Yoga, this force uncoils itself and rises upward to meet the Divine Consciousness and force that are waiting above us. When this happens, when the awakened Yoga-Shakti arises, it is often felt like a snake uncoiling and standing up straight and lifting itself more and more upwards. When it meets the Divine Consciousness above, then the force of the Divine Consciousness can more easily descend into the body and be felt working there to change the nature.”

“The feeling of your body and eyes being drawn upwards is part of the same movement. It is the inner consciousness in the body and the inner subtle sight in the body that are looking and moving upward and trying to meet the divine consciousness and divine seeing above.”

Sri Aurobindo, Bases of Yoga, Chapter 5, Physical Consciousness — Subconscient — Sleep and Dream — Illness, pg. 92