58 Spirituality Studies 10-2 Fall 2024 1 Introduction The aim of this article is to present a unique understanding of the structure and purpose of the subtle body; introduce an original, practicable model of it; and compare it to some existing theories and practices that assist the process of Kuṇḍalinī rising. The initial source of the presented ideas is the author’s personal experience and her observation of the process that took place spontaneously and activated the utmost state of focus and clarity of discernment. In the previous article, titled Multidimensional Consciousness System Discovery (Rebelle 2023), I created an outline of the structure I observed and proposed a system related to what is known from the Hindu, Jaini and Buddhist perspective as the “subtle body”, including Kuṇḍalinī energy and chakras. It is important to note that my experience and insights from it took place before I learned about the subtle body system from the above-mentioned spiritual traditions. Whenever the traditional term is used here, it is related to its meaning in respective traditions or reinterpreted in accordance with the proposed model of the subtle body. In this article I present the process of Kuṇḍalinī energy moving through the first two chakras. The description below summarizes my general findings and positions them in relation to some other studies. Comprehensive descriptions of Kuṇḍalinī and dimensions of perception are given in my previous article (Rebelle 2023). In the classical descriptions of Kuṇḍalinī rising, Kuṇḍalinī begins its journey by uncoiling in the area between the first and second chakra, rising up to the second, then moving through the second to the third, and so on, until the seventh chakra is reached and opened up. I would also like to note that, although this is not a common view, I consider the first three chakras always active in a human subtle body, even though they may be heavily congested with stagnant energy. As described in the above-mentioned article, each chakra of an individual human being connects that human with a corresponding, ever-present, universal dimension of perception. The notions of the seven gods, seven spears, and seven lights appear in Rig Veda together with chakras and rays of light (Rig Veda 8:28:5, quoted in Frawley), however the earliest known description of each of the seven chakras is best known from Sat Cakra Nirupana written by swami Purnananda in the sixteenth century and translated into English by Arthur Avalon (1974, 317–65). In most of the classical or even many contemporary texts about Kuṇḍalinī transiting the chakras the passage is explained in terms of a moral ascent based on given religious systems. This is not the way I present Kuṇḍalinī; I understand Kuṇḍalinī rising as a transit through specific dimensions, each operating on a different principle. These operational modes need to be understood to make sense out of the transformation that takes place when Kuṇḍalinī travels through them. In contrast with a popularized view that posits fourteen dimensions of consciousness, we suggest that there are only seven (Maheshwarananda 2024). The dimensions from my observations relate to individual chakras differently than in popularized descriptions. My point is that dimensions are real and experientially observable, even if for most people only the lower three are obvious. Each dimension is of a different nature and must be examined individually. In this article I provide descriptions of the first two dimensions, the material and emotional, as well as Kuṇḍalinī activity in the first and second chakra during Kuṇḍalinī ascension. The condition needed for the movement of energy from the lower chakra to the higher is conceptualized here by the notion of “the point of transcendence” and will be discussed in section 4. 2 The Material Dimension of Perception The first chakra is a personal gate to the material dimension of perception. This viewpoint does not contradict the traditional understanding of the nature of the first chakra, but points to another element of consciousness, that is, the independently existing dimension this chakra connects the individual to. I realize that in traditional yoga texts mūlādhāra (the first chakra in Sanskrit) is related to the earth. However, according to my understanding, not just earth, but all the material world, including the entire cosmos, belongs to the material dimension. In my view, all that we can experience with five senses belongs to the material dimension. The extensive knowledge we possess about this dimension comes from the mind (the third chakra mind, which will be discussed separately). Therefore, we not only have personal experience with the physical universe through our own physical body, but we also have a lot of subjective, theoretical and scientific knowledge about how this intricate and enormous dimension works. In our conventional understanding we take for granted concept that the material world is all there is, therefore, we assume length, width and depth to be dimensions them-
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