Kundalini and the near-death experience.
Gene Kieffer
Journal of Near-Death Studies 1994 DOI: 10.17514/jnds-1994-12-3-p159-176. (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Argues that kundalini awakening is not merely a near-death phenomenon but requires a reversal of reproductive-system activity and activation of another brain chamber, with the upward flow of sexual energy (urdhava-retas) as its objective proof. Without this persistent reversal, the author contends, there can be no meaningful awakening. A 1970 encounter-group incident involving Joseph Dippong is presented as an illustrative near-death account. |
Abstract
While many now believe that the near-death experience can, in some cases, activate the kundalini, there is still little understanding of what is meant by the arousal of this power.The awakening of kundalini actually means the reversal of the activity of the reproductive system and the activa tion of another chamber in the brain, which, if all goes well, can lead to enlightenment or illumination, the next stage of human evolution.One objec tive proof of this phenomenon is urdhava-retas, the upward flow of the sexual energy.Unless this reversal occurs and persists, there can be no meaningful awakening.In 1977, the very first issue of Spiritual India and Kundalini, a magazine published by the Kundalini Research and Publication Trust in Srinigar, Kashmir, carried a dramatic article by Joseph Dippong, a Canadian businessman.Briefly, the story it told went like this: In 1970, Dippong participated in what might be described as an "encoun ter group" consisting of 17 businessmen.In a mood of hostility and in the midst of a heated discussion, one of the more aggressive men stared at Dippong and shouted, "Let's kill him; let's kill him."His article described what followed: And down on the floor I went, with about a dozen or more people on top of me.At first it appeared to be a joke, and I know in everyone's mind, indeed, it was meant to be one-you might say sort of kidding around to prove a point....I was now being deprived of oxygen, without any possible way of communicating this fact with my hands, voice, or anything....The joke had gone too far!Those who were putting me to this test had lost control of the situation.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near-Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times | 1987 | Historical analysis | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology. | 2010 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Near-death experiences between science and prejudice | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |