Kundalini

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The word Kundalini is derived from a Sanskrit word 'Kundal' meaning coiled up.

It is the primordial dormant energy present in three-and-a-half coils, at the

base of the spine, in a triangular bone called the Sacrum. The Latin name 'Os

Sacrum' suggests that it is a holy or sacred part of the body. The ancient

Greeks were aware of this and therefore they called it the 'Hieron Osteon',

noting that it was the last bone to be destroyed when the body is burnt and they

also attributed supernatural powers to it. The Egyptians also held this bone to

be very valuable and considered it the seat of special power.

 

In the West, Sacrum is symbolised by the sign of Aquarius and by the Holy Grail,

container of the water of life.

 

The Kundalini, which is to nourish the tree of life within us, is coiled up like

a serpent and therefore it has been called, 'The Serpent Power'. It has been

described in great detail in the Upanishads. Kundalini Yoga is supposed to be

supreme in all the Yogas. Guru Vashistha asserted that Kundalini is the seat of

absolute knowledge. The awareness of the presence of this primordial energy

Kundalini within the human body was considered by the sages and saints to be the

highest knowledge. The Kundalini and Chakras have been vividly described in

Vedic and Tantric texts.

 

Adi Sankaracharya

 

He lived in the 7th-8th century AD. and wrote:

 

`Having filled the pathway of the Nadis with the streaming shower of nectar

flowing from the Lotus feet, having resumed thine own position from out of the

resplendent Lunar regions and Thyself assuming the form of a serpent of three

and a half coils, sleepest thou, in the hollow of Kula Kunda (Kula Kunda means

the hollow of Mooladhara Sacrum bone)'.

 

`Saundarya Lahari': `Thou art residing in secrecy with Thy Lord (The spirit) in

the thousand petalled Lotus, having pierced through the Earth situated in

`Mooladhara', the Water in Manipura, the Fire abiding in the Svadhisthana, the

Air in the Heart (`Anahata'), the Ether above (Visshuddhi) and `Manas' between

the eyebrows (`Agnya') and thus broken through the entire `Kula Path'.'

 

Gyaneshwara

 

Gyaneshwara, another famous saint of Maharashtra born around 1275 AD, described

Kundalini in the 6th chapter of his famous book 'Gyaneshwari'. He wrote:

 

`Kundalini is one of the greatest energies. The whole body of the seeker starts

glowing because of the rising of the Kundalini. Because of that, unwanted

impurities in the body disappear. The body of the seeker suddenly looks very

proportionate and the eyes look bright and attractive and the eyeballs glow.' -

(Gyaneshwari, Chapter VI).

 

Guru Nanak Dev

 

(born in 1496 AD) has made references to Kundalini awakening as mentioned below:

 

" A pure heart is the golden vessel to fill the Divine Nectar which is to be

sucked from the `Dasham Dwar' through the two channels `Ida' and `Pingala'. "

Dasham Dwar means Brahmarandhra. (Sahasrara Chakra).

 

`God has made this human body a house with six Chakras and has established the

light of spirit in it. Cross the ocean of Maya and meet the eternal God who does

not come, who does not go, who neither takes birth nor dies. When your six

Chakras meet in line, Surati (Kundalini) takes you beyond distortions.' (Sri

Guru Granth). Note that the seventh Chakra was not open at this time.

 

In the Holy Koran

 

Prophet Mohammed Sahib talked of the day of resurrection when he says that the

`hands will speak'. `That day, we set a seal on their mouths, but their hands

will speak to us, and their hands bear witness to all that they did.' When

Kundalini awakening occurs, a flow of energy in the form of cool vibrations from

the hands is experienced, and the various Chakras can be felt on parts of the

hand and fingers.

 

In the West

 

Christians called it a reflection of the Holy Ghost, and worshipped its

manifestations as tongues of flames over the heads of apostles during the

Pentecost reunion.

 

Moses

 

Moses saw it in the form of the burning bush. During the exodus the Israelites

lost faith and were smitten by fiery serpents so God told Moses " make thee a

serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone that

is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of

brass, and put it on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a fiery serpent had

bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived " An apt

description of the healing quailities of the awakened Kundalini. Some of the

Israelites even began to worship this symbol, and the practice of worshipping

the brazen serpent on the pole as a god was either passed on, or was revived

later. Bronze and stone serpent artifacts have been found in excavations in

Canaan, Gezer and other parts of Israel!

 

Jesus

 

The Old Testament symbol becomes significant in christianity when Christ

suggests Kundalini awakening, not just for the tribe of Israel but as the true

destiny of all Christians: " And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the

wilderness, even as the son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him

should not perish but have eternal life " .

 

He says unequivocally in the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas and elsewhere, that `The

Holy Spirit is My Mother'. `The Kingdom of God is within you' (Luke 17:21).

 

Tao

 

In the Tao Te Ching the primordial power is described as that of a mother. Lao

Tze described Kundalini as the " spirit of the valley " (in which flows the Nadi

of Sushumna). The spirit of the valley never dies. The spiritual instrument

within us can be described as a microcosm (miniature form of creation) which

links us with the Divine. The ancient esoteric text " Scripture of the Golden

Flower " also spoke of the effects of the awakened kundalini energy.

 

Buddhist

 

The Lord Buddha spoke of the " middle path " to achieve nirvana. He was actually

describing the central channel (sushumna) through which the Kundalini ascends.

Later Buddhist masters considered that the existence of the path of liberation

within a human being was the greatest secret. They transmitted it to only a few

deserving disciples.

 

Other Cultures

 

One also finds symbols of Kundalini in many different cultural legacies, such as

Mercury's serpent which is an alchemical symbol for the process of psychic

metamorphosis. The Gnostics understood the serpent to represent the spinal cord.

In ancient Greek and later, Roman mythology, we find Asclepius, the god of

healing. [http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/asclepius.html]. He is seen holding

a staff which is entwined with a serpent (or sometimes two). Why did the Greeks

relate this symbol to healing? The staff represents the central support of the

human body or spinal cord (physical location of the sushumna). In Rome

Aescaluius [http://www.transpersonal.com.au/divine-feminine.htm] came to be

represented by Mercury who usually held a healing staff, called the Caduceus.

The one or two coiled snakes or serpents entwined around the staff, represent

the kundalini which rises along the central subtle channel in a spiral double

helical movement.

 

Summary

 

The Kundalini is there to nourish, to heal and look after and to give an

individual a higher and deeper personality. The power of Kundalini is absolute

purity, auspiciousness, chastity, self respect, pure love, detachment, concern

for others and enlightened attention, to give infinite joy and peace to an

individual.

 

http://www.sol.com.au/kor/14_02.htm