From time to time, we stop to admire people who are strong personalities and seem to live in absolute clarity. They are clear about what they want, experts in their area, have great self-discipline and most important of all, seem to magnetically attract a lot of followers. And some of them seem to be extremely spiritual too.

There’s a path to this kind of self-mastery in our lives and it is achievable.

In our spiritual subtle energy system of chakras and energy channels, a circular region existing in the abdominal cavity is known as the Void region. Usually, everyone knows and talks about the seven chakras, but the Void region is an integral part of the subtle energy system and as important as any chakra.

The name “Void” represents the ocean of illusion or unenlightened awareness (void) within us. In reality, until we receive our Kundalini energy awakening and realize our inner spiritual self in the process, our attention is still unenlightened. This means that while we have access to our physical, cognitive and emotional faculties, our spiritual system is not yet active, nor can we experience it.

In your first session, during Sahaja’s self-realization process, the Void is crossed by the rising Kundalini energy, thus representing a big leap or crossing into spiritual awakening and enlightened awareness. It’s almost like we’ve turned a corner and taken a significant next step in our evolution by crossing this gap or the Void region. The Void region is also seen as the bridge between the unenlightened and enlightened state, one that must be crossed to enter the latter.  

After that, the Void region, along with the Nabhi and Swadisthan chakras, collectively form an integrated spiritual energy group that dictates the course of our evolution — from our creation to our ultimate spiritual journey.

Benefits of having a strong Void region

 It is from the Void that we are granted the power to become Self-masters and to ultimately evolve into gurus or teachers, who can go on to provide guidance and enlightenment to others. We become self-regulating, self-reliant, self-disciplined and self-sufficient. The Void region allows us to take charge of our thoughts, feelings and behaviors and rise to ever-greater heights of spiritual evolution. We become self-regulating, self-reliant, self-disciplined and self-sufficient. Knowledge of the ultimate — spirituality, the divine, and our place in the universe — becomes accessible to us intuitively. Over time, we develop a sort of gravitas that compels others to seek our counsel.

The Void allows us to develop an unshakable sense of Self or Spirit, even when the people and events around us are in flux. Our character and temperament becomes more inner-directed, rather than allowing ourselves to be ruled by cultural or societal pressure or others’ opinions or interference. We do not cling to the collective fears, beliefs, and laws of the masses. We live by our own standards and self-expectations rather than obsessing about whether others approve of our actions. We learn to trust our judgment, experiences and personal standards, and we’re not afraid to stand up for our principles. And we accept responsibility for our continued growth and development.

Because we have now an internal locus of control, we become self-regulating, thus, ultimately, self-determined. Self-determined people know how to capitalize on their self-knowledge. Emotional self-regulation involves self-monitoring (awareness of our actions) and accurate self-evaluation (judging the acceptableness of our actions). Self-regulation includes the key attribute of discipline. We have the ability to reign in destructive impulses, visualize the consequences, and delay immediate gratification to achieve our more important long-term spiritual goals.

Nourishing the Void area improves our perspective-taking skills. We can develop an enduring capacity to assimilate and examine all possible points of view, which helps us develop more evolved perspectives, make wiser choices, and pass that expert knowledge on to others. Perspective-taking allows us to address important questions about the meaning and purpose of life. Good perspective-taking skills are a mark of emotional maturity and self-regulation skills. We can develop proportionate, accurate perspectives of people and situations because we can use objective reasoning to weigh evidence fairly, rather than jumping to conclusions or merely accepting the popular view.

Despite our guru abilities, we retain our humility. We do not attempt to enhance our own image in the eyes of others. We let our accomplishments speak for themselves and do not regard ourselves as more “special” than we are.

How to sense and correct problems with your Void region

If you lack self-awareness, self-discipline and self-control, then it is a sign that your Void needs some attention. More severe problems can be a reliance on alcohol or falling prey, or having an urge to follow the teachings of just about any guru who claims to have spiritual knowledge to give. If you are a strong guru for yourself, you’ll be able to see through those false gurus that have half-baked and inadequate knowledge or are simply there to take your money. 

Those people with weak Void regions, on the other hand, continue to hanker after and submit to just about anyone who seemingly offers great advice that may appeal mentally or emotionally or promise a cure for all your problems. They’ll continue searching and hunting for support and something or someone to lean on, not realizing that this power of self-reliance and doing the right thing lies inside them and within this Void region.

Indeed, those with the strongest Void region are the leaders and true gurus, those without are the ones that almost always follow or are unduly submissive.

The practice of Sahaja meditation not just helps you take this crucial step of crossing this bridge of the Void region, but strengthening this region and putting you firmly in charge of yourself and your spiritual self-improvement. Regular meditation, especially collective meditation (no, collective meditation doesn’t qualify as a dependency that causes you to lose your self-reliance!), is crucial in building up the essence of self-mastery and becoming a guru.