Lots of people have noticed that the mania of psychotic disorders have many of the same symptoms as a kundalini crisis. Patients with psychotic mania have symptoms without doing spiritual practices, but people having a kundalini crisis seemed to have caused their mania by doing spiritual practices.
Some people have suggested that some patients diagnosed with psychotic mania could make significant progress towards enlightenment if they only had proper guidance. I disagree because there is no proof that a state of enlightenment even exists.
The mania from psychotic illness and the mania from a kundalini crisis are not normal mental states. A spiritual seeker in a kundalini crisis may have a better chance of coming out of mania relatively unscathed than a person with Bipolar Disorder, but both often have the symptoms of grandiose delusions, euphoria, over-confidence, and excited mental states.
Mania is a mixture of good and bad symptoms, but the bad symptoms of delusions and excited mental states greatly outweigh the good symptoms of confidence and increased energy.
Mania is mania is mental illness
I propose that the mania from psychotic illness and the mania from a kundalini crisis should both be considered mental illnesses.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him give up his delusion
I think that there are some aspects of the manic mind which make the mind impenetrable by logic and evidence. Like an uncooperative horse that refuses to drink, the manic mind doesn’t even come close to accepting contrary logic and evidence.
To a manic person, delusions are so real that he could not even consider any other reality. To a manic person, there is no need to consider another point of view because he implicitly trusts his own experience.
Manic delusions can seem real even years after they first occur.
The lingering after-effects of delusions seem similar to “flashbulb memories” which are highly detailed, exceptionally vivid snapshots of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was heard.
Some examples of flashbulb memories are that people can remember details of where they were when they first heard about traumatic events like the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Like flashbulb memories, grandiose delusions make a very deep mental impression, and those impressions have a tendency to hang around in the mindset of a maniac for a long time.
The mind during a manic episode, as if, illumines thoughts a thousand times more than normal and imprints memories a thousand times more deeply than normal. So it is really not much of a surprise that the manic ecstasy of enlightenment or the manic vision of God cannot be supplanted and that the memory of that delusion is life-altering.
Delusions during a kundalini crisis
When I hear of someone who had a spiritual vision or of someone who thinks that they are enlightened, I immediately think they probably had a grandiose delusion during a kundalini crisis. Besides myself, I provide other examples in my book of people who seem to have had grandiose delusions.
When a person who has a strong desire for enlightenment has a kundalini crisis, he will have a truly, formidable delusion. His grandiose thoughts will meld with his intellectual knowledge of enlightenment and yoga. Good luck convincing that person that he is not enlightened!
There are aspects of delusions during a kundalini crisis that build up the self-esteem and self-identity of the person. If a maniac were to realize his thoughts were delusions, he would have to go from being on top of the world to having the disgrace of mental illness. Of course, maniacs don’t want to give up their grandiose delusions.
Avoid the roads leading to a kundalini crisis
I have major differences of opinion with most (or perhaps all) other commenters on kundalini, but I do agree with those who recognize the danger that things could go awry when doing spiritual practices.
I found these statements on the internet: “Beware of what you are about to unleash within you!” and “If the kundalini is awakened without suitable preparation and guidance, it can also be associated with debilitation, insanity, breakdown of the immune system, and prolonged spiritual pain and suicide.”
I want to sound an alarm for anyone who may be hoping to have a kundalini crisis in order to take a major step to enlightenment. A kundalini crisis is as dangerous as the mania of other psychotic illnesses. If you doubt that, read the experiences on my kundalini webpage.
My Enlightenment Delusion 