Contemporary yoga and meditation circles increasingly reference the “Kutastha” or “Spiritual Eye” as a visionary apex of meditative experience. Popularized through the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and echoed by modern Kriya Yoga practitioners like J.C. Stevens, Forrest Knutson, and others, this vision is described with striking visual uniformity: a radiant golden ring, surrounding an indigo or blue disc, within which gleams a white, razor-sharp five-pointed star.

Practitioners speak of awe, humility, and spiritual certainty upon seeing this image. Techniques like Shambhavi Mudra, Yoni Mudra, Hong-Sau, and Jyoti Meditation are said to make it accessible. Some even equate the Kutastha with direct perception of the soul or “looking into one’s own consciousness.”

But what are we actually seeing? Is this inner vision as unique and divine as claimed? Or might it represent a universal neurophenomenological phenomenon, one we can understand more deeply using the phosphene framework we have developed? Or can it be both? Yes it can be. In our articles on this topic we show you why. These phosphenes are divine manifestations via the innate activity of our own nervous system, which can act as a transmitter and a receiver.

Mapping the Kutastha to the Phosphene Taxonomy

The Kutastha vision is best understood as a Phase 4–5 phosphene experience: a highly structured symbolic form (Phase 4) layered on or within a saturated luminous field (Phase 5). The five-pointed star in the center is a symbolic condensation, almost archetypal, while the surrounding blue and gold fields reflect the deep, pulsating lights typical of inner visual phenomena triggered by breath retention, eye focus, and sensory withdrawal. However, most authors stick to descriptions they find elsewhere, you have to find your own! And then you notice it is much more flexible than these static descriptions. For instance, the pentagram can switch into a hexagram and into a circle again.

Each of its elements maps easily onto known entoptic and meditative visual phenomena:

• The golden ring corresponds to centripetal halos seen in retinal afterimages and Phosphene Phase 3 or 4. In spontaneous inner light visions, golden hues often signify a transition zone between form and pure luminosity.
• The indigo or dark blue disc is one of the most frequently reported background fields in phosphene experiences, often interpreted as the “void” or a tunnel-like gateway (Phase 5). It reflects a convergence of central vision in darkness, breathing-induced retinal excitation, and possibly cortical suppression.
• The five-pointed white star mirrors the “central point” or “sunburst” seen in advanced meditative states (Phase 4 or 5), particularly when the mind is quiet and centered. Its geometric regularity strongly suggests the brain’s form-constant generation mechanisms, as seen in LSD research and early entoptic studies.

Is the Vision Culturally Unique?

One of the most cited arguments for the spiritual uniqueness of the Kutastha is its cross-cultural consistency. But when we place it alongside mystical accounts from Teresa of Ávila, Hildegard of Bingen, and Tibetan descriptions of the Clear Light, we see not divergence but convergence.

In all cases, mystics describe an intense white or golden light, central points of radiance, or mandala-like geometric forms appearing in an otherwise dark field. These correspondences suggest not doctrinal derivation but neurophenomenological universality.

In short: the Kutastha is not exclusive to Kriya Yoga, it is a cultural framing of a shared inner visual experience. The symbolic language (e.g., calling it the “Supreme Navigator”) transforms what is initially raw neurovisual content into a spiritual message. Shunyam Adhibhu

The Pull Between the Eyebrows

The tingling at the bhrumadhya – field (third eye) is often cited as confirming the presence of this “eye.” Physiologically, this may reflect cross-modal entrainment, focused attention, breath control, and internal visualization can activate facial somatosensory areas in conjunction with visual cortex stimulation. Thus, the felt “pull” between the eyebrows can be part of a complex meditative proprioceptive feedback loop.

Critical Reflections

While the experience is real, transformative, and deeply meaningful to many, some caution is warranted:

1. Symbolic Saturation: The star within the blue disc can be retroactively interpreted based on the tradition one belongs to. A Christian mystic might see Christ’s eye, a Taoist the pearl of immortality, a Hindu a Shiva bindu. This calls for careful phenomenological analysis before jumping to metaphysical conclusions.
2. Marketing the Mystical: The incorporation of the Kutastha into logos (even surfboard brands) and spiritual merch risks trivializing a deeply personal vision. Commercialization may cloud authentic phenomenological inquiry.
3. Dogmatization of the Form: That “all true visions must look this way” is problematic. While common, not all mystics see the five-pointed star or a golden ring. Insisting otherwise excludes authentic but divergent experiences.

A Reframing

Rather than claiming the Kutastha as an exclusive symbol of divine initiation, we propose viewing it as one patterned manifestation in the spectrum of phosphene-generated visions, which gain spiritual significance through cultural interpretation and inner resonance. And our work on the ultrasubjective hyperspace makes it understandable.

This doesn’t diminish its beauty or power—it deepens our understanding of it. And it brings the mystic closer to the neuroscientist, the yogi closer to the phenomenologist, all seeking to understand how light arises behind closed eyes.

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Further Reading

• Keppel Hesselink, J. M. (2025). From Point to Eternity: A Hierarchical Taxonomy and Phenomenology of Meditation-Induced Phosphenes. PsyArXiv.
• Laughlin, C. D., & d’Aquili, E. G. (1990). Brain, Symbol and Experience.
• Lewis-Williams, D. (2002). The Mind in the Cave: Consciousness and the Origins of Art.
• Paramahansa Yogananda. (1946). Autobiography of a Yogi.
• J.C. Stevens. Kriya Secrets Revealed.