Theos-Talk Archives (January 2003 Message tt00545)

Nicholas Weeks wrote:

<"The chakras are effects not causes. Keep your consciousness noble or
<selflessless as best you can and the chakras will take care of themselves."

<"Yes, I am aware of the few lines on kundalini in HPB's corpus, which is
why I
<said she & her Gurus wrote "very little" on the subject. If their
emphasis
<was not on kundalini & chakras, but on virtue for its own sake, selfless
<behavior etc.; then I take that very emphasis as an important teaching in
<itself."

I agree with what you have written. In my view, HPB has taken the "middle
path."

On one extreme are teachings, such as Tantra and Kundalini Yoga, that
encourage direct work on the chakras. Many writers, however, warn that
awakening kundalini prematurely, without adequate preparation, could damage
the physical body, emotional body, and nervous systems. For example, Swami
Rama, in White (ed.), Kundalini, advises: "To genuinely awaken kundalini,
one must first prepare oneself. Without long and patient practice in
purifying oneself and strengthening one's capacity to tolerate and
assimilate such a flood of energy, the awakening of this latent power would
deeply disturb, disorient, and confuse the student. Even at the physical
level such a charge of energy can threaten the integrity of the body."

On the other extreme are teachings, such as Krishnamurti's, which do not
mention the chakras at all. These teachings, however, do not provide any
confirmation, guidance, or explanation for people who are ready to work with
the chakras or who are having experiences with kundalini.

The "middle path" is the approach of presenting information on the chakras
but in a veiled, symbolic way, so that the instruction would be available
for only those who developed their intuitive faculty and could thereby
discern it. In my view, this is the approach that HPB took in The Voice of
the Silence and it is also the approach taken by the Apostle John in the
Book of Revelation. Regarding the Book of Revelation, HPB (Isis Unveiled,
vol. II) wrote : "The fact is . . . the whole Revelation, is simply an
allegorical narrative of the Mysteries and initiation therein of a
candidate, who is John himself." In fact, James Pryse, HPB's close
associate, in The Apocalypse Unsealed, interpreted the symbols of the Book
of Revelation in terms of the chakras. In my view, it is possible to
correlate significant passages in The Voice of the Silence with
corresponding passages in the Book of Revelation.

Zack Lansdowne