cannot beat the young men forever. He loves the game that offered him
a life. Perhaps for years he plays in seniors' tournaments. Perhaps he
coaches as well to pass on what he knows to future generations in the
hope they will outstrip him. He remains faithful to the game and to its
traditions and continued well-being. This is bhakti, service and devo
tion. For the yogi there is no retirement. But, as for the tennis player,
there is a change of state, a role both more humble and more exalted.
Maybe the tennis player will one day stop. The yogi cannot. Within the
physical limits imposed by age, with a lifelong discipline behind him,
and with growing love and compassion, he must continue. He does not
want a flawed consciousness. He aspires to the goal, the pure unfis
sured self, which can never fall back, betray, do disservice, speak un
truth, or act meanly or selfishly. The yogi is engaged in a game with no
end, for the game is simply the sight of his own Soul.
There has been in recent years a lot of talk about kundalini, the
yogic life force that lies at the base of the spine and that when aroused
and sent to the head can trigger enlightenment. Often it is described as
if it were a firework to be set off with spectacular effects comparable
to a Fourth of July celebration or the Diwali celebrations. Do not
forget that all fireworks come with strict warnings as they are dan
gerous. You can get badly scarred or worse. Patanjali speaks of the
abundant flow of energy in a yogi. Previously it was known as fire
(agni). Later it came to be called kundalini as the central spinal nerve
is kundalakara, coiled three and a half times. The awakening of kun
dalini comes with the divine union of body and soul. Like samadhi, it
cannot be forced. It is the power of nature (prakrti sakti) that unites
with the power of Universal Soul (purusa sakti). This creates a huge
force that needs inner storehouses in which it can be stocked. These
storehouses are known as cakra, and in them the confluence of phys
ical, mental, intellectual, spiritual, cosmic, and divine energies takes
place. Through the practice of yoga, the flow of these forms of energy
II 1\ S I Y F N 1; Ill\