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What is Kundalini?

KUNDALINI TANTRA
Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Everybody should know something about kundalini as it represents the coming
consciousness of mankind. Kundalini is the name of a sleeping dormant potential force in
the human organism and it is situated at the root of the spinal column. In the masculine
body it is in the perineum, between the urinary and excretory organs. In the female body
its location is at the root of the uterus, in the cervix.

[caption id="attachment_1053" align="alignnone" width="275"] What is Kundalini?[/caption]

This center is known as mooladhara
chakra and it is actually a physical structure. It is a small gland which you can even take
out and press. However, kundalini is a dormant energy, and even if you press it, it will
not explode like a bomb. To awaken kundalini you must prepare yourself through yogic
techniques. You must practise asanas, pranayama, kriya yoga and meditation. Then, when
you are able to force your prana into the seat of kundalini, the energy wakes up and
makes its way through sushumna nadi, the central nervous canal, to the brain. As
kundalini ascends, it passes through each of the chakras which are interconnected with
the different silent areas of the brain. With the awakening of kundalini there is an
explosion in the brain as the dormant or sleeping areas start blossoming like flowers.
Therefore, kundalini can be equated with the awakening of the silent areas of the brain.
Although kundalini is said to reside in mooladhara chakra, we are all at different
stages of evolution, and in some of us kundalini may have already reached swadhisthana,
manipura or anahata chakra. If this is so, whatever sadhana you do now might start an
awakening in anahata or some other chakra. However, awakening of kundalini in
mooladhara chakra is one thing, and awakening in sahasrara, the highest center of the
brain, is another. Once the multipetalled lotus of sahasrara blossoms, a new
consciousness dawns. Our present consciousness is not independent, as the mind depends
on the information supplied by the senses. If you have no eyes, you can never see; if you
are deaf, you will never hear. However, when the superconsciousness emerges,
experience becomes completely independent and knowledge also becomes completely
independent.
How man discovered kundalini
Right from the beginning of creation, man witnessed many transcendental
happenings. Sometimes he was able to read the thoughts of others, he witnessed
somebody else's predictions coming true, or he may even have seen his own dreams
manifesting into realities. He pondered over the fact that some people could write
inspiring poems or compose beautiful music whereas others couldn't; one person could
fight on the battlefield for days together and another person couldn't even get up from his
bed. So he wanted to discover why everybody seemed to be diffe
The fire used in the ceremony of initiation is kindled in a pit called kunda. Similarly, the
place where a dead body is burned is kunda. If you dig a ditch or a hole it is called kunda.
Kunda refers to the concave cavity in which the brain, resembling a coiled and sleeping
serpent, nestles. (If you have the opportunity of examining a dissection of the human
brain you will see that it is in the form of a coil or snake curled up upon itself.) This is the
true meaning of kundalini.
The word kundalini refers to the shakti or power when it is in its dormant potential
state, but when it is manifesting, you can call it Devi, Kali, Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi or
any other name according to the manifestation it is exhibiting before you.
In the Christian tradition, the terms "the Path of the Initiates" and "the Stairway to
Heaven" used in the Bible, refer to kundalini's ascent through sushumna nadi. The ascent
of kundalini and ultimately, the descent of spiritual grace, are symbolized by the cross.
This is why Christians make the sign of the cross at ajna, anahata and vishuddhi chakras,
for ajna is the center where the ascending consciousness is transcended and anahata is
where the descending grace is made manifest to the world.
Whatever happens in spiritual life, it is related to the awakening ot kundalini. And the
goal of every form of spiritual life, whether you call it samadhi, nirvana, moksha,
communion, union, kaivalya, liberation or whatever, is in fact awakening of kundalini.
Kundalini, Kali and Durga
When kundalini has just awakened and you are not able to handle it, it is called Kali.
When you can handle it and are able to use it for beneficial purposes and you become
powerful on account of it, it is called Durga.
Kali is a female deity, naked, black or smoky in color, wearing a mala of 108 human
skulls, representing the memories of different births. Kali's lolling tongue of blood red
color signifies the rajo guna whose circular movement gives impetus to all creative
activities. By this specific gesture, she is exhorting the sadhakas to control their rajo
guna. The sacrificial sword and the severed head held by the left hand are the symbols of
dissolution. Darkness and death are by no means the mere absence of light and life,
rather, they are their origin. The sadhaka worships the cosmic power in its female form,
for she represents the kinetic aspect, the masculine being the static which is activated
only through her power.
In Hindu mythology, the awakening of Kali has been described in great detail. When
Kali rises in red anger, all the gods and demons are stunned and everybody keeps quiet.
They do not know what she is going to do. They ask Lord Shiva to pacify her, but Kali
roars ferociously, throwing him down and standing on his chest with her mouth wide
open, thirsty for flesh and blood. When the devas hold prayers to pacify Kali, she
becomes calm and quiet.
Then there is the emergence of Durga, the higher, more refined and benign symbol of
the unconscious. Durga is a beautiful goddess seated on a tiger. She has 8 hands
representing the eightfold elements of man.
Durga wears a mala of human heads to symbolize her wisdom and power. These
heads are generally 52 in number, representing the 52 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet,
which are the outer manifestations of Shabda Brahma or Brahma in the form of sound.
Durga is the remover of all evil consequences of life and the giver of power and peace
that is released from mooladhara.
According to yoga philosophy, Kali, the first manifestation of the unconscious
kundalini is a terrible power; it completely subdues the individual soul, represented by
her standing on Lord Shiva. It sometimes happens that by mental instability some people
get in contact with their unconscious body and see inauspicious, ferocious elements -
ghosts, monsters, etc. When Kali, the unconscious power of man, is awakened she goes
up to meet the further manifestation, being Durga, the superconscious, bestowing glory
and beauty.
Symbolic representation of kundalini
In the tantric texts, kundalini is conceived of as the primal power or energy. In terms
of modern psychology, it can be called the unconscious in man. As we have just
discussed, in Hindu mythology, kundalini corresponds with the concept of Kali. In the
philosophy of Shaivism, the concept of kundalini is represented by the shivalingam, the
oval-shaped stone or pillar with a snake coiled around it.
However, most commonly, kundalini is illustrated as a sleeping serpent coiled three
and a half times. Of course there is no serpent residing in mooladhara, sahasrara or any
other chakra, but the serpent has always been a symbol for efficient consciousness. In all
the oldest mystic cults of the world you find the serpent, and if you have seen any
pictures or images of Lord Shiva, you will have noticed serpents girdling his waist, neck
and arms. Kali is also adorned with serpents and Lord Vishnu eternally reposes on a large
coiled serpent. This serpent power symbolizes the unconscious in man.
In Scandinavian, European, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries and many
different civilizations of the world, the concept of the serpent power is represented in
monuments and ancient artifacts. This means kundalini was known to people from all
parts of the world in the past. However, we can conceive kundalini in any manner we like
because actually, prana has no form or dimension, it is infinite.
In the traditional descriptions of kundalini awakening, it is said that kundalini resides
in mooladhara in the form of a coiled snake and when the snake awakens it uncoils and
shoots up through sushumna (the psychic passage in the center of the spinal cord),
opening the other chakras as it goes (see Sir John Woodroffe's The Serpent Power).
Brahmachari Swami Vyasdev, in his book Science of the Soul, describes the awakening
of kundalini in the following way:
"Sadhakas have seen the sushumna in the form of a luminous rod or pillar, a golden
yellow snake, or sometimes as a shining black snake about ten inches long with blood
redeyes like smouldering charcoal, the front part of the tongue vibrating and shining like
lightning, ascending the spinal column."
The meaning of the 3 1/2 coils of the serpent is as follows: The 3 coils represent the 3
matras of Om, which relate to past, present and future; to the 3 gunas: tamas, rajas and
sattva; to the 3 states of consciousness: waking, sleeping and dreaming; and to the 3 types
of experience: subjective experience, sensual experience and absence of experience. The
1/2 coil represents the state of transcendence, where there is neither waking, sleeping nor
dreaming. So, the 3 1/2 coils signify the total experience of the universe and the
experience of transcendence.
Who can awaken kundalini?
There are many people who have awakened their kundalini. Not only saints and
sadhus, but poets, painters, warriors, writers, anyone can awaken their kundalini. With
the awakening of kundalini, not only visions of God take place, there is dawning of
creative intelligence and an awakening of supramental faculties. By activating kundalini
you may become anything in life.
The energy of kundalini is one energy, but it expresses itself differently through the
individual psychic centers or chakras - first in gross instinctive ways and then in
progressively more subtle ways. Refining of the expression of this energy at higher and
more subtle levels of vibration represents the ascent of human consciousness to its
highest possibilities.
Kundalini is the creative energy; it is the energy of self-expression. Just as in
reproduction a new life is created, in the same way, someone like Einstein uses that same
energy in a different, more subtle realm, to create a theory like relativity. It is the same
energy that is expressed when someone composes or plays beautiful music. It is the same
energy which is expressed in all parts of life, whether it is building up a business,
fulfilling the family duties or reaching whatever goal you aspire for. These are all
expressions of the same creative energy.
Everybody, whether householder or sannyasin, must remember that awakening of
kundalini is the prime purpose of human incarnation. All the pleasures of sensual life
which we are enjoying now are intended only to enhance the awakening of kundalini
amidst the adverse circumstances of man's life.
A process of metamorphosis
With the awakening of kundalini, a transformation takes place in life. It has little to
do with one's moral, religious or ethical life. It has more to do with the quality of our
experiences and perceptions. When kundalini wakes up your mind changes and your
priorities and attachments also change. All your karmas undergo a process of integration.
It is very simple to understand. When you were a child you loved toys, but why don't you
love them now? Because your mind has changed and consequently, your attachments
have also changed. So, with the awakening of kundalini, a metamorphosis takes place.
There is even the possibility of restructuring the entire physical body.
When kundalini awakens, the physical body actually undergoes many changes.
Generally they are positive, but if your guru is not cautious, they can be negative also.
When the shakti wakes up, the cells in the body are completely charged and a process of
rejuvenation also starts. The voice changes, the smell of the body changes and the
hormonal secretions also change. In fact, the transformation of cells in the body and brain
takes place at a much higher rate than normal. These are just a few observations.
However, scientific researchers are still taking their first steps into this field.
Why awaken kundalini?
If you want to take up the practice of kundalini yoga, the most important thing is that
you have a reason or an aim. If you want to awaken kundalini for psychic powers, then
please go ahead with your own destiny. But if you want to awaken kundalini in order to
enjoy communion between Shiva and Shakti, the actual communion between the two
great forces within you, and if you want to enter samadhi and experience the absolute in
the cosmos, and if you want to understand the truth behind the appearance, and if the
purpose of your pilgrimage is very great, then there is nothing that can come to you as an
obstacle.
By means of kundalini awakening, you are compensating with the laws of nature and
speeding up the pace of your physical, mental and spiritual evolution. Once the great
shakti awakens, man is no longer a gross physical body operating with a lower mind and
low voltage prana. Instead, every cell of his body is charged with the high voltage prana
of kundalini. And when total awakening occurs, man becomes a junior god, an
embodiment of divinity.