Cognitive kundalini

This is one of the most extreme spiritual books I've ever read. “Cognitive Yoga” is written by Yeshayahu (Jesaiah) Ben-Aharon, a member of the Anthroposophical Society and the founder of an alternative kibbutz in Israel. He counts David Spangler and Nicanor Perlas among his friends and associates. Anthroposophy is based on the spiritual investigations of Austrian mystic Rudolf Steiner, but I think it's safe to say that Ben-Aharon's works are the result of new revelations given by unnamed spiritual teachers to the author himself. Indeed, the spiritual teachers might actually be spirits! In his previous books, Ben-Aharon meticulously referenced proof-texts from the wide oeuvre of Steiner, but in “Cognitive Yoga”, he comes clean about the system being his own. Of course, he still claims that it's a creative development of Anthroposophy. Personally, I suspect more traditional followers of Steiner would regard Ben-Aharon's path as “Luciferic” (Lucifer being one of the negative spirit-beings in Steiner's system, the other being Ahriman). Theosophists might be impressed by this book, though.

“Cognitive Yoga” is written in a peculiar style, making it difficult to read for somebody without a working knowledge of Anthroposophy, and perhaps even for them. The purpose of cognitive yoga is to transform the human physical body into an etheric body. This will turn the human into a new evolutionary creation in mystical communion with the entire cosmos. Strictly speaking, humans already have an etheric body, and the task is to make this body paramount by disconnecting it from the physical body. Next, the energies lodged in the physical body will be used to strengthen the etheric ditto. When the transformation is complete, the etheric human will birth an etheric child which is really himself and finally meet Christ, which in this scenario lives in the etheric sphere.

I think it's obvious that the goal is a kind of occult self-resurrection, in which the mortal human being goes through a Christ-like experience and emerges with an immortal body. However, my impression is also that Ben-Aharon is really describing the workings of the kundalini. Strangely, he never uses the term but the parallels are pretty obvious. Thus, there is a “descending” etheric force which gradually and with great difficulty penetrates deeper and deeper into the physical body, thereby transforming it. There is also an “ascending” force going in the other direction. Both forces work through chakras and occult body channels. Eventually, they meet at the head. Sounds familiar?

The book is filled with disturbing speculations about “death forces”, the need to suffer and die, including dying etherically (which really means to live, etc). This obsession with dying was visible in the author's previous work as well, “The New Experience of the Supersensible”. It's presumably a way to connect the search for Christ in the etheric with the passion of the Biblical Christ, but it gives an odd and slightly sinister impression on the reader.

In Anthroposophy, two negative spirits known as Lucifer and Ahriman constantly tempt man, while also playing a certain role in his evolution. Ahriman is the “materialist” tempter, while Lucifer's temptation consists of ecstatic spiritual experiences which really hamper human evolution and dissolves the personality, making it impossible for humans to evolve the so-called Consciousness Soul. Ben-Aharon claims to be free from both temptations, but as I already indicated, I suspect many Anthroposophists will see his encounter with the kundalini as a form of the Luciferian temptation they wish to avoid…