References to kundalini and Sahaja Yoga in other Sources
William Blake
William Blake (November 28, 1757 – August 12, 1827) was an English poet, visionary, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts. (William Blake on Wikipedia)
The Complete Writings (The everlasting Gospel), p 754, line 41:
“Still the Breath Divine does move, and the Breath Divine is Love.”
Meister Eckhart
Johannes Eckhart O.P. (c. 1260–c. 1328), also known as Eckhart von Hochheim and widely referred to as Meister Eckhart, was a German theologian, philosopher and mystic, born near Erfurt, in Thuringia. (Meister Eckhart on Wikipedia)
In ‘Eckhart's surviving writings':
“The spirit of God, like a divine wind, a breath of living fire, blows through living beings, through the world and the cosmos, from eternity to eternity…. The divine wind blows through the inmost essence of all beings.”
Pythagoras
“The soul (pneuma) is an eternal divine substance which subsequently animates a multitude of bodies”.
Carl Jung
in ‘Modern Man in Search of a Soul'
“The Latin words animus , spirit, and anima, soul, are the same as the Greek anemos , wind. The other Greek word for wind, pneuma , means also spirit. In Gothic we find the same word in us-anan , to breathe out, and in Latin an-helare , to pant. In Old High German, spiritus sanctus was rendered by atun , breath. In Arabic, wind is rîh , and rûh is soul, spirit.
There is a quite similar connection with the Greek psyche , which is related to psycho , to breathe, psychos, cool, psychros , cold, and phusa , bellows. These affinities show clearly how in Latin, Greek and Arabic the names given to the soul are related to the notion of moving air, the “cold breath of the spirit”. And this also is why the primitive point of view endows the soul with an invisible breath-body.”
Samuel Coleridge
(1772-1834), English poet, from ‘the Rime of the Ancient Mariner'
“But soon there breathed a wind on me.
Nor sound nor motion made. Its path was not upon the sea, In ripple or in shade.
It raised my hair, it fanned my cheek, like a meadow-gale of spring
It mingled strangely with my fears. Yet it felt like a welcoming.
Swiftly, Swiftly flew the ship, Yet she sailed softly too:
Sweetly, sweetly blew the breeze - On me alone it blew...”
R. Tagore
in ‘Kabir'
“Oh Servant, where are ye seeking me: God is the Breath of all Breath.”
Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh is said to have written the following commentary with his work ‘Starry Night' (1889):
“The light-giving star flickered, but the other stars remained motionless, and then in one same impulse they began to vibrate. The firmament and the stars disappeared and what was left was a mighty breeze, which gives life to all and through which all was created.”
“Fontanel area” on the top of the skull
From the Latin fontanella , meaning little fountain, this is reminiscent of the stream of energy that flows out of the head in the enlightened yogi.
The Indian Yogi is ‘connected' with the Breath of Life (atman) on the top of the skull, and the breath (Kundalini) then flows from the top of the head. This is depicted as a flower with open vibrating petals on the top of the head. The Indian god Shiva is depicted with the river Ganges flowing out (as a fountain) from the top of his head.
“Sacrum or Sacred bone” at the bottom of the spine
In this hollow bone, the Holy Breath of Life would be resting, in its ‘sleeping form'. Even now this bone is called the Sacrum (= holy bone). Webster dictionary says this bone is called holy because it is used in offerings. It would be interesting to retrieve more about this.
“to INSPIRE”, to blow into
Also remarkable, in our context, is the use of the Latin word ‘inspirare', that is used to indicate how the knowledge of God was transferred to man. Inspirare literally means ‘to blow into' . Again an unequivocal reference to breath or wind.
“JAHWEH” , the mysterious name of God
[mentioned with reservation, because it could not yet be confirmed]: In the Bible, the most occurring name for God is ‘Jahweh'. Jahweh is a transformation of the tetragram (Hebrew four-letter word) ‘JHWH'. The Hebrew JHWH would etymologically be connected with the root which means “wind” or breath.
[Pleasant speculation without any value of reference: Maybe farfetched, but think of the ‘unpronounceable' name JHWH in a manner. The four consonants, pronounced without a vowel, produce a wind- or breath-sound.]