This book was an excellent presentation of the importance of Kundilini enerergy for the healing of our planet. The integration of this energy will allow us to access spritual, mental and emotional powers which will allow us to evolve beyond our present approach of solving problems with violence and force.

Gopi Krishna uses metaphor, history and logic to help us understand the importance and naturalness of this evolution. He points out that these energies are present in our nervous system ready to be used. It is only up to us to learn the tools, skills and techniques that will open up this energy which, in turn, will open up our consciousness.

A very good compilation of the different aspects of Gopi Krishna's writings on Kundalini and his philosophy in general. There are also commentaries at the end of the chapters and a lengthy introduction. A very good choice for someone wanting a good and thorough academic treatment of the subject.

A very honest trip through kundalini awakening, the author has avoided to tell us precisely what happened exactly before that very day, but you have a very clear understanding of the process.
Carefull attention is required, nothing forced like for Gopi, however his experience show us there will be a lot of awaken people in the future.
Be wise don't overdo it, awakening comes with a change in the brain and spinal apparel, consciousness has to shine within your body,needs a good and stable mind and body . Do read Osho rasjneesh books too, as meditation is learning to die going through the process of dying brings real life within you.

I THINK IT IS MY DESTINY AND GOODFORTUNE,I CAME ACCROSS THIS 'FACINATING' BOOK. IT WAS RECOMENDED BY A WISE FRIEND OF MINE,WITH AN ADWISE TO 'STUDY ' IT.
IT TOOK A WHILE TO GET INTO THE 'GROOVE'...AFTER THAT COULD NOT PUT DOWN THE BOOK..IT WAS A THRILLER!!
I AM 52YEARS OLD NOW,ALL MY LIFE I HAVE READ ALL SORTS OF 'SPIRITUAL BOOKS',LISTENED TO SOME GOOD PEOPLE,FORMED MY OWN OPINION ABOUT 'GOD'..SOUL..PURPOSE OF OUR LIVING..WORSHIPPING..ETC.
SUDDENLY THIS BOOK BY PANDIT GOPI KRISHNA...SHATTERED ALL MY CONCEPTS/VIEW POINTS, ABOUT ''GOD''AND 'SPIRITUALITY.
NOW I BELEIVE THERE IS NO 'GOD' ..THERE IS ONLY'ENERGY'ALL AROUND US..AND THE SAME ENERGY IS IN EVERY ONE OF US..IF IT IS 'AWAKENED'IN YOU...THATS ''NIRWANA''OR THE PURPOSE OF YOUR LIFE...
IF YOU ARE 'BLESSED''YOU WILL READ THIS BOOK..
YOU MAY CONTACT ME IF YOU WANT TO..E.MAIL.. may the 'energy'bless us all.

..suddenly it struck me..
How come that countries with "Gurus" and and a tradition of mental mastery and such are dirt poor, have lots of thieves, child labour and much else. Why isn't it that, at least one time in a tousand years one of these gurus was clever enough, and free from ego to mastermind a regime that could create decent conditions. How come that countries like Norway or Denmark have better conditions and less crime? They were berserks! Think about it?

If you're interested in reading books which will advance your understanding of spirituality, look elsewhere. This book tells of the spiritual bliss of kundalini, but doesn't tell you how to achieve it. All the book says is that kundalini must be taught by a genuine guru, but there is no advice on how to find one or how to separate the real ones from the fakes.

This is a must read for anyone who is just learning of the wonderful unfolding of the Kundalini within their bodies. Without having the light of understanding some of the effects of Kundalini awakening can be strange and frightening. This book offers comfort and understanding to anyone who has been touched 'by the grace of a Guru'. Swami Muktananda's way of writing is easy to understand and seems to transmit large doses of love.

Kundalini, written by Baba Muktananda and one of his disciples, is a brief testament to the extraordinary power of the divine energy concealed within each and every human being. The release of the Kundalini energy is accomplished only through the grace of a true guru. That this book is authored by such a being fills it and its readers with the bliss of which it so eloquently speaks. Read it, and then read it again and again.

I find Gopi Krishna's account of his experiences with Kundalini a true, first-hand narrative which every devoted student of Yoga should read. I also find it sort of a rambling of his thoughts as I find repeated examples relating to the same theme again and again making the same point - the awakening gives you some special powers and also torments you. The book could very well have been condensed to half its size.

One has to read only the first few pages to get a feel of what happens when the Shakthi within oneself rises. I felt bolts of lightning rushing through me as I read the introduction becuase of my similar experience.

For the not so deeply spiritually rooted tending to disbelieve, the whole book still leaves one with a sense of mysticism providing you read till the end. And for those who believe that such an encounter as the Kundalini awakening is scary, this book kind of confirms it. But what it does not do which I would have liked is that for those who are purely service minded and practise karma (work) expecting no results as the Gita preaches, they need not be scared and can experience the divine to further help them in their cause.

Krishna gives, what I believe, to be a true account of kundalini awakening. I don't have doubts about what he writes; he seems to be sincere. His book is a telling of how he practiced meditation on the crown chakra and gives in terrifying detail how the kundalini affected him. However I must agree with one of the reviewers, who wrote about how little Krishna knows about the effects of meditation. It seems he picked up a meditation technique without knowing anything about its results. He appears to have no knowledge of yoga or the yoga sutras of pantajali. It looks like he just started meditating without any prior study of authentic information on meditation and its effects. This is surprising to me, because India has many good books on meditation and yoga. He started to meditate and then proceeds to give an account of his results. I got the idea that kundalini was incredibly dangerous and meditation was not something one would want to do. His results are real, because I have experienced to a greater or lesser degree some of the things he writes about. For example, in one of part of the book he writes that his appetite increased greatly. The true reason for this is that meditation increases the gastric fire. The result of this increased appetite is that kundalini uses the greater amounts of food to increase your physical and mental health. But if you read Krishnas account of it, you think its something truly terrible. I would suggest you take his conclusions with a great deal of skepticism. He also writes that he could not find someone in India who would explain what was happening to him. One guru told him that he was possessed by a demon. This shows me that there may far less genuine teachers and information in India then one may be led to believe. There are authentic teachings however; the works of Swami Sivananda come to mind. This man, as far as I know, is a true guru and spiritual genius. He has written many excellent works on yoga and meditation. I refer the spiritual seeker to his books which are inexpensive and filled with wisdom and practical teachings. True teachings are out there but they are not abundant. One should follow the yoga students of long ago who read authentic works such as the yoga sutras of pantajali and carefully STUDIED these works to get at the deeper meanings of the text. The deep secrets of the occult are found this way and not by following books or other instructions that dont know what they are talking about.

The main value of this book as of the rest of this authors books is that he brings to light the fact that there is an inseparable link between spiritual, consciousness transformation and physical transformation, the latter being the prerequisite for the former. He never realizes that the marked fluctuations in his mental states was a reflection of fluctuations in his blood level of toxicity and consequently was never able to gain direct control over his fluctuating mental states, but rather had to endure the situation until the body finally settled into a new balance. It is elemental knowledge that in practicing yoga, Hatha Yoga (the yoga of purification of the physical body) is a prerequisite to the safe and profitable practice of Raja Yoga (which is meditation per se). Of course, everyone wants to get high, and the quicker the better. However, there is an inescapable price to pay as nature cannot be cheated and the price to be paid is very simply physical purification. The focus, contrary to popular opinion (which is always far from the truth) if you want to develop yourself should not be meditation, but rather physical purification and since there is no glamour in that, few have the necessary discipline to do what needs to be done. Once physical purification had been achieved to a certain level, the rest is relatively automatic. The body is designed to function automatically on the highest level, but first it needs to be cleaned out. Those who meditate without physical purification inevitably and invariably end up battling an intense and prolonged depression and although they may have entered into the light for a brief period of time, they are invariable cast back out into the darkness because they did not have the necessary wedding garment which would have allowed them to remain at the feast. The wedding garment is inner physical purity. The physical body must be disencumbered of its enormous stores of nonfunctional matter which create resistance to electrical flow

A Kundalini awakening may not be desired. This is at least one thesis of the book which is proven. Gopi Krishna was a middle class clerk who practiced meditation and began to experience an awakening of the kundalini, an energy source at the base of the spine which he admits he cannot fully explain. He does not try to theorize into divine origin of this power, but rather puts forth his experience, which is often harrowing, insatiable appetitites, the feeling of buring up, inability to sleep, and he hopes that medical science will continue to study this phenomenon, so that the ancient ideas can be elucidated by modern science. It is also an autobiography. Krishna's father basically became a sort of attic-hermit, a sannyasin that didn't quite leave the house, but became somewhat of a burden on the family, and led them to poverty. Gopi Krishna does not judge, but the reader wonders about those effects on the author.
What I like best about this book is its realism in dealing with a topic which westerners especially have turned into a mushy neo-hippy thing for those who have lost their sex drive. There is no practical advice for the awakening of Kundalini, as Krishna asserts it must be at least somewhat random, it can happen by accident, and one might meditate and practice yoga for years and years and never achieve it. There is some discussion of the saving of semen which will go through the spine to the brain, and some discussion of the traditional powers ascribed to an awakened kundalini, but very based, and trying to be very honest. Very sober.

I consider this book as being one of the most reliable in this area. It really goes deep in the information about the Kundalini, the serpert, and show us how to awake it. The author speaks clearly about it, in a way anyone can understand and practice his teachings. It's related to Kundalini Yoga and the teachings of India and Tibet about the power of this energy that lies asleep inside of us.