Going Beyond the Gates of the Conceptual Mind

In the Shri Yantra diagram, once the Tantrika goes beyond the gates of the conceptual mind, he or she arrives at the lotus petals signifying the opening of the chakras. In our practice, this is accomplished with the single- or double -breathing method. Moving further into the Shri Yantra diagram, the Tantrika encounters the six interpenetrating triangles: three descending triangles and three ascending triangles relating to male and female elements respectively, as well as the chakras opening down the front of the spinal channel and up the back of the spinal channel, starting from the chakra at the base of the spine. When all the front and back chakras are connected there is one continuous open line extending “between heaven and earth,” as the Chinese put it. Irradiation of the cerebral spinal fluid in this line has been scientifically proven to cause visionary states accompanied by feelings of bliss. 

The three points of the triangle and the three ascending and three descending triangles also refer to the Trikaya (three element) system of Kashmiri Shaivite Tantra practice, in which male consciousness (Shiva) merges with female energy ( Shakti) in the Void body. In Tibetan Tantra this is reversed, with the male element representing energy and the female element indicating wisdom. In Tantric practice it is necessary for these two elements to come together in both the central channel and the Void body. Without this three-into-one condition, the adept cannot attain the highest levels of consciousness. There is a saying in Hindu Tantra, “Without Shakti, Shiva is corpse.” Without the energetic component, wisdom becomes merely virtual and disembodied. This is an implicit critique of the orthodox Vedanta idea of  “pure consciousness.”  

In the Shri Yantra diagram, the Void body is represented as a dot. Because it is formless, the Void body can only be symbolized; it cannot take the form of an object. In Kundalini meditation, however, the Void body is not an inert virtual reality—a dot—but a pulsation that is also felt in the subtle and physical bodies. This is the doctrine of vibration, or Spanda. The frequency of the vibrations changes with the deepening of meditation in formal sitting; the vibrations increase and their qualities become finer and less grainy until a point nearing quiescence is reached. One of Rudi’s students used the term “dynamic stillness” to describe this penultimate experience of awareness; it is active and embodied notwithstanding the attenuation of physical senses on this level. In the ultimate altered state of meditation practice, these vibrations effectively cease or at least appear to cease. In the orthodox Hindu texts this is likened to dreamless sleep. But it is more like being awake in dreamless sleep. For Buddhist and Hindu Tantric adepts, this state is not considered to be productive as the meditator is not burning and dissolving the patterns constituting the little self. The ultimate altered state is merely a temporary escape from suffering; while it is an annihilation of the little self, it does not offer long term respite from the cycles of automatic behaviors that fuel the endless wheel of rebirth in samsara. For all intents and purposes nothing happens in this state beyond the barest inclination that it is occurring. It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant but an affectless dead end to be avoided, as the Buddha himself cautioned. It is, however, a complete state of rest, so it has a redeeming characteristic. Occasionally, in formal practice I slip into this neutral state. After awhile, enough of my ego returns to enable me to wake up from what I jokingly like to refer to as the “blotto” condition.  In the “blotto” state the Void is reduced to an absence, not a presence; it is not mahamudra,  the Buddhist term for orgasmic oneness with the Void that takes place in the penultimate state.

What is the relationship between the attainment of penultimate and ultimate states of consciousness and enlightenment?  In my experience they are only tangentially related; enlightenment is not an altered state, but an understanding brought about by altered states.  

The penultimate state gives the meditator a sense of spaciousness, a distance from the ego-centered self, along with a connection on a deeper level to everything in the universe. These feelings do not occur in the ultimate state because there is not enough remaining of the self to apprehend them. With the experience of spaciousness in the penultimate state, the power of the grasping self is diminished incrementally and this change becomes noticeable as an overall personal characteristic. 

This is neuroplasticity in action, literally rewiring the neurological system after continuous practice.  The main sign is that the adept is no longer interested in putting him- or herself before others. Recognition loses its importance if there is nothing missing. Spiritual seekers should be suspicious of gurus with a capital G who require lots of attention, followers, and perks. An indication of spiritual evolution is the guru’s increasing desire to remain invisible and have a simple life even though he or she may attract followers. 

Shortly after my 60th birthday I went to Nepal, where I learned about tribal shamanism from Aama Bombo, a very powerful medicine woman. I also contracted a prolonged and nearly fatal bout of septic shock from an infection. In the intensive care ward of a hospital in Kathmandu, the goddess Kali appeared and telepathically informed me that she would take either my physical body or the aspects of my ego-centered self that were impeding my spiritual progress.

Several months later, while watching the sunset and listening to music in my Oakland living room, I realized that I was no longer in the seeking stage of practice but in the “fulfillment” stage, as the Tibetan Buddhists say. I had come home in a very real way. And being home meant an internal condition, not an external location. I could be home anywhere, since I now had the ability to contact my deeper self regardless of most circumstances. It is a condition to be renewed everyday by changing channels into this deeper reality. As you well know, Tantric practice does not get easier; whatever level you’re on, the universe will present challenges to further your spiritual growth.

Being home means: nothing is missing. There is just awareness. This is it. There is no dis-ease because nothing is wanted. The cessation of craving, which includes craving for enlightenment, is liberating.  On one level, this realization—which did not occur in an altered state—was quite ordinary. Yet on another level it was quite extraordinary, for it continues to change my life, insofar as I can remind myself that I can be fully here and nothing is missing. The Buddhists refer to the cessation of craving itself as an enlightenment experience. Although he had this realization under the Bo tree, the Buddha continued to work on himself thereafter. There was no final cessation of craving while he was in a human body. This is a myth propagated by Buddhists who wish to make him into some kind of divine being. Like everyone else, the Buddha was a work in progress. His inner work did not stop after his enlightenment under the Bo tree but his experience of it continued to enhance his ability to be in a state of nothing missing in any circumstance. Moreover, the Buddha and others from traditions with advanced spiritual technologies continue to share their knowledge of how to get to the state of nothing missing. It is not privileged information. The only requirement is willingness to do the necessary work, to return again and again to the Void body so that nothing missing becomes the principal reality.