Would you be considered mad if you declared that you were mad?!
Saying, "I'm mad" is an indication of supreme self-awareness but therein lies the paradox. How can anyone who says he's mad actually be sane - never mind wise and self-aware?! It's similar to the paradox of someone saying: "I'm a liar!"
This is the gist of the poly-mesmeric novel 'Catch-22' by Joseph Heller wherein the paradox of madness - especially madness in our society - is explored. Do we currently live in a sane world? In this context, many people who experience the stirring of Kundalini energy act in a peculiar manner. They may be hallucinating and having visions, feel strange in the body, or even have hypnagogic auditory hallucinations (hearing odd sounds). In this process of spiritual awakening, all our conditioning and educational upbringing are destroyed and it's almost as if a newborn child has come forth. This newborn can speak but obviously, we can't make any sense of it. That's the reason why the words and actions of people that are experiencing Kundalini awakening seem so ridiculous and deviant.
Anyone who abhors small talk or social chit chat will easily empathize with this Kundalini awakening syndrome!
Kundalini awakening and insanity are not the same though they will appear that way to outsiders. Individuals who awaken their Kundalini will never consider themselves insane though they may have small doubts about their completely different and new ways of thinking. Have seen any Yogis or Sadhus in India? These mystics look intoxicated or mad, but the consciousness of these people is totally lucid.
Apparent madness is a stark Kundalini awakening symptom!
Historically, some of these mystics became famous (Jesus Christ, Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, Hildegard von Bingen) but most were persecuted. Today, many such people are considered eccentric and usually left alone - no one is interested in getting them exorcised!
However, those practicing Kundalini Yoga Hallucinations can manage to awaken Kundalini in a systematic manner are also fully aware of the abnormalities that may manifest. Others may consider them a bit crazy but by what standards are they judged mad? Can it be from the superficial looks or is it some ignorant fear of one's own stupidity? Or is it because we don't behave like the majority? Fortunately, psychiatry today can ascertain - through concrete and dependable ways - who is crazy and whose Kundalini has awakened through spiritual practice.
Tantra Yoga practitioners must look at the Kundalini awakening process as an adventure: there will be some disturbance in your 'prana,' there will be some discomfort in your physical body, but you are not going to go insane! Unless you follow the drugs/alcohol method, there is no danger whatsoever! And don't believe the rubbish about the dangers that you may find in books or on websites! In almost all those cases, mind-altering chemicals (drugs/alcohol) have been involved. Worrying about the dangers of invoking your Kundalini serpent is akin to worrying about sweating while jogging or getting wet while swimming. Quite honestly, when practiced under the guidance of a Guru, the Kundalini experience is no more uncomfortable!
As soon as somebody expresses some strange symptoms or talks of exceptional dreams, the Guru/Teacher will understand that he is experiencing Kundalini symptoms. And when odd symptoms happen in the subtle body - especially in the sahasrara chakra (crown chakra) - then the person is undergoing a catharsis that is a natural part of this spiritual journey. The life force energy is becoming acquainted with the wakeful mind.
Kundalini awakening is not religious!
One may want to believe that, but it's an experience that goes beyond the religious and into the occult. Although the practice of religious awakening normally happens without incident or disturbance, it might happen that impurities and blockages within the body produce symptoms that mimic various psychiatric and neurological problems.
It's actually quite easy to differentiate between a psychological or psychic phenomenon along with a psychological illness. If an individual is experiencing an issue in his private life, possibly because of death, loss of wealth, or some psychological breakdown, uncontrollable behavior can grow. On the flip side, if there aren't any conflicts, anxieties, or powerful crosscurrents at someone's life, he can't possibly have any psychological illness.
A mad individual does not have a continuous and constant flow of thoughts and his consciousness is quite dissipated. He's equally cluttered externally and totally blinded internally. On the other hand, the comprehension of somebody who's awakened is consistent and constant. Madness and religious awakening may be characterized by a certain lack of management, but the Kundalini awakened person is directed by a greater consciousness.
Through Kundalini meditation, you will be able to identify a temporary disturbance and control it. If you feel breathless while jogging, you will slow down or stop and take a few deep breaths. If you swallow water while swimming, you will spit it out and tilt your head slightly to avoid taking in the water!
However, in Kundalini Yoga practice, it's extremely important to seek advice from an experienced person that has knowledge of and knows about this kind of insanity. A teacher can make the right decision and learn whether the brain has started a practice of regression or is really progressing along transcendental lines. When there's some natural damage in the mind, it may be treated, but if the indicators are religious, then the individual is going down pathological behavioral problems! In my view, religious ecstasy is the most common form of disguise for pathological behavior. Kundalini spiritual growth manifests beyond religion! No Yogi should confuse this aberration as a mystical experience!
If your goal is religious ecstasy, then fine! But do not go down the path of Kundalini spiritual enlightenment if your goal is merely religious! In Kundalini Tantra, Shiva is not the idol of Hinduism; he is the stillness that lies beyond the creative force called Kali. These are tantric tattvas that lie beyond the tattva of god.
The Kundalini spiritual path is a path that will lead you to cosmic consciousness!
In this quest, you will be challenged intellectually, morally, and spiritually! Your ideas and ideals will change! And you will need dispassionate guidance along the way to allow your higher consciousness to assert itself!