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| {{Short description|Form of divine energy in Hindu mysticism}} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2012}} | |||
| {{About|Kundalini, the tantric concepts and psychological theories|Other uses}} | |||
| ] | |||
| {{EngvarB|date=March 2015}} | |||
| {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}} | |||
| ]s, and ]s]] | |||
| {{Hindu philosophy}} | {{Hindu philosophy}} | ||
| In ], '''kundalini''' ({{langx|sa|कुण्डलिनी |translit=kuṇḍalinī |translit-std=IAST |lit=coiled snake}}, {{audio|Kundalini.ogg|pronunciation}}) is a form of divine feminine ] (or '']'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the '']''. It is an important concept in ], where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the ] or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This energy in the body, when cultivated and awakened through ] practice, is believed to lead to ]. Kuṇḍalinī is associated with the goddess ] or ], the supreme being in ], and with the goddesses ] and ].<ref name="Frawley">{{cite book|last=Frawley |first=David |title=Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti: Secrets of Mantras, Deities and Meditation|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6Vp_rTWkAAC&pg=PA163|date=February 2009 |publisher=Lotus Press |isbn=978-0-940676-50-3 |pages=163–164}}</ref><ref name="Dyczkowski"/> The term, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into ] in the 9th century.<ref name="Mallinson">]. "Śāktism and Haṭhayoga." In: Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine, edited by ] London: Routledge, 2016. pp. 109–140.</ref> It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern ] and ] thought. | |||
| '''Kundalini''' ({{IAST|kuṇḍalinī}}, {{lang-sa|कुण्डलिनी}}, ]: กุณฺฑลินี) literally means ''coiled''. In ], a "corporeal energy"<ref>For kundalini as "corporeal energy" see: Flood (1996), p. 96.</ref> - an unconscious, instinctive or ] force or ], lies coiled at the base of the spine.<ref name="Flood 1996, p. 99">Flood (1996), p. 99.</ref><ref>Harper et al. (2002), p. 94</ref><ref>McDaniel (2004), p. 103</ref> It is envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent, hence a number of English renderings of the term such as 'serpent power'. Reportedly, ''kundalini awakening'' results in deep meditation, enlightenment and bliss. | |||
| Kuṇḍalinī awakenings are said to occur by a variety of methods. Many systems of yoga focus on awakening kuṇḍalinī through: ], ], the practice of ], and chanting of ]s.<ref name="YJ Spotlight">{{cite web |title=Spotlight on Kundalini Yoga |url=http://www.yogajournal.com/basics/1336 |publisher=Yoga Journal |access-date=8 October 2013}}</ref> ] is influenced by ] and ] schools of Hinduism. It derives its name from its focus upon the awakening of kundalini energy through regular practice of ], ], ], ]s or ].<ref name="YJ Spotlight" /><ref name="Swami Sivananda Radha 2004, pp 13-15">Swami Sivananda Radha, 2004, pp. 13, 15.</ref> When kundalini is awakened spontaneously or without guidance it can lead to kundalini syndrome which sometimes presents as ].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Awakening of Kundalini Chakras Presenting as Psychosis—A Case Report |date=2022 |pmc=9460011 |last1=Sharma |first1=M. |last2=Dhankar |first2=M. |last3=Kumar |first3=D. |journal=Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine |volume=44 |issue=5 |pages=526–528 |doi=10.1177/02537176221082936 |pmid=36157024 }}</ref> | |||
| ==Description== | |||
| Kundalini is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism.<ref>Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Kundalini Tantra.</ref> It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the ']', which consists of ] (energy channels), ] (psychic centres), ] (subtle energy), and ] (drops of essence). | |||
| == Etymology == | |||
| Kundalini is described as being coiled up at the base of the spine. The description of the location can vary slightly, from the rectum to the navel.<ref>{{cite book|last=White|first=David Gordon|title=Kiss of the Yogini|year=2003|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=0-226-89483-5|pages=229-231}}</ref> According to ], the kundalini resides in the triangular shaped ] bone in three and a half coils.<ref name="MetaModernEra">Her Holiness Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi Srivastava: "Meta Modern Era", pages 233-248. Vishwa Nirmala Dharma; first edition, 1995. ISBN 978-81-86650-05-9</ref> | |||
| The concept of Kuṇḍalinī is mentioned in the ] (9th – 7th centuries BCE).<ref name="Dale">{{cite book |last1=Dale |first1=Cyndi |title=Kundalini: Divine Energy, Divine Life |date=2011 |publisher=Llewellyn Publications|location=Woodbury, Minnesota |isbn=978-0-7387-2863-6 |edition=1st}}</ref> The Sanskrit adjective ''{{IAST|kuṇḍalin}}'' means "circular, annular". It is mentioned as a noun for "snake" (in the sense of "coiled") in the 12th-century '']'' chronicle (I.2). ''{{IAST|Kuṇḍa}}'' (a noun meaning "bowl, water-pot" is found as the name of a ] (serpent deity) in ] 1.4828). The 8th-century ''Tantrasadbhava Tantra'' uses the term ''kundalī'', glossed by ] as "she who is ring-shaped".<ref name="White">{{cite book |last=White |first=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White |title=Kiss of the Yogini: "Tantric Sex" in its South Asian Contexts |date=2004 |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-89483-6 |edition=Paperback |page=230}}</ref> | |||
| The kundalini has been described as ''a residual power of pure desire'' by ].<ref name="MetaModernEra"/> | |||
| The use of ''kuṇḍalī'' as a name for Goddess ] (a form of ]) appears often in ] and ] from as early as the 11th century in the ''Śaradatilaka''.<ref name="Saivism">{{cite book |last1=Saivism |first1=Kashmir Saivism |title=Vac: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras |date=1990 |publisher=Sri Satguru Publications |isbn=978-1-4384-1532-1 |pages=124–136}}</ref> It was adopted as a technical term in ] during the 15th century, and became widely used in the ]s by the 16th century. ] has paraphrased the term as "the coiled power", a force which ordinarily rests at the base of the spine, described as being "coiled there like a serpent".<ref name="Morrison">{{cite book |last1=Morrison |first1=Diana |title=A Glossary of Sanskrit from the Spiritual Tradition of India |date=1977 |publisher=Nilgiri Press |isbn=978-0-915132-11-9 |page=5}}</ref> | |||
| The image given is that of a serpent coiled three and a half times around a smokey grey ]. Each coil is said to represent one of the three ], with the half coil signifying transcendence.{{Citation needed|date=July 2012}} | |||
| == |
== In Shaivism == | ||
| According to well-known teacher and translator ], kundalini means "the coiled power," a force which ordinarily rests at the base of the spine, described as being coiled there like a serpent.<ref>Eknath Easwaran, A Glossary of Sanskrit from the Spiritual Tradition of India, Berkeley, Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, 1970, p. 5</ref> The concept can be found under different names. For example the eighth century ''Tantrasadbhava Tantra'' uses the term ''kundali'' ('she who is ring-shaped').<ref>{{cite book|last=White|first=David Gordon|title=Kiss of the Yogini|year=2003|publisher=University of Chicago Press|location=Chicago|isbn=0-226-89483-5|pages=230}}</ref> | |||
| ] and ] at ], one of the oldest ], important shrines in ], the goddess-focused Hindu tradition]] | |||
| ==Kundalini awakening== | |||
| Through meditation, and various esoteric practices, such as ], ], and Kriya Yoga, the kundalini is awakened, and can rise up from the ] ] through the central ], called ], inside or alongside the spine and reaches the top of the head. The progress of kundalini through the different ]s leads to different levels of awakening and mystical experience, until the kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, ] or crown ], producing an extremely profound mystical experience. | |||
| Kuṇḍalinī arose as a central concept in ], especially among the ] sects like the ]. In these ] traditions, Kuṇḍalinī is "the innate intelligence of embodied Consciousness".<ref name="Wallis">Wallis, Christopher, ''Recognition Sutras: Illuminating a 1,000-Year-Old Spiritual Masterpiece'', Mattamayura Press, 6 Oct 2017, Introduction.</ref> The first possible mention of the term is in the ''Tantrasadbhāva<nowiki/>-tantra'' (eighth century), but other earlier tantras mention the visualization of ] in the central channel and the upward movement of ] or vital force (which is often associated with Kuṇḍalinī in later works).<ref name="Flood">Flood (1996), p. 99.</ref> According to David Gordon White, this feminine spiritual force is also termed ''bhogavati,'' which has a double meaning of "enjoyment" and "coiled" and signifies her strong connection to bliss and pleasure, both mundane physical pleasure and the bliss of spiritual liberation (]), which is the enjoyment of Shiva's creative activity and ultimate union with the Goddess.<ref name="White3">{{cite book |last1=White |first1=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White |title=The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1998 |pages=219–220}}</ref> | |||
| A number of descriptions exist that attempt to describe exactly what the kundalini experience is: | |||
| In the influential Shakta tradition called Kaula, Kuṇḍalinī is seen as a "latent innate spiritual power" associated with the Goddess ] (lit. "the crooked one"), who is the supreme Goddess (]). She is also pure bliss and power (Shakti), the source of all mantras, and resides in the six chakras along the central channel. In Shaiva Tantra, various practices like ], ], ] recitation, and tantric ritual were used to awaken this spiritual power and create a state of bliss and spiritual liberation.<ref name="Dyczkowski">{{cite book |last=Dyczkowski |first=Mark S. G. |title=The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjika Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1989 |pages=60, 89}}</ref><ref name="White3" /> | |||
| ] mentioned that the kundalini energy is nothing but the natural energy of the Self, where Self is the universal consciousness (]) present in every being, and that the individual mind of thoughts cloaks this natural energy from unadulterated expression. ] teaches that ], ], God-consciousness<!--is there an article for this?-->, ]. But, initial kundalini awakening is just the beginning of actual spiritual experience. Self-inquiry meditation is considered a very natural and simple means of reaching this goal.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hinduism.co.za/kundalin.htm|title=From The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Edited by David Godman}}</ref> | |||
| According to ], the great tantric scholar and master of the Kaula and ] lineages, there are two main forms of Kuṇḍalinī, an upward moving Kuṇḍalinī (''urdhva'') associated with expansion, and a downward moving Kuṇḍalinī (''adha'') associated with contraction.<ref name="Flood2">{{cite book |last=Flood |first=Gavin |author-link=Gavin Flood |title=The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion |publisher=I.B. Tauris |date=2006 |pages=160–161}}</ref> According to the scholar of comparative religion ], Abhinavagupta links Kuṇḍalinī with "the power that brings into manifestation the body, breath, and experiences of pleasure and pain", with "the power of sexuality as the source of reproduction" and with: | |||
| ] described kundalini briefly in London during his lectures on ] as follows:<ref></ref> | |||
| {{blockquote|the force of the syllable ''ha'' in the mantra and the concept of ''aham'', the supreme subjectivity as the source of all, with ''a'' as the initial movement of consciousness and ''m'' its final withdrawal. Thus we have an elaborate series of associations, all conveying the central conception of the cosmos as a manifestation of consciousness, of pure subjectivity, with Kuṇḍalinī understood as the force inseparable from consciousness, who animates creation and who, in her particularised form in the body, causes liberation through her upward, illusion-shattering movement.<ref name="Flood2"/>}} | |||
| {{quotation|According to the ]s, there are two nerve currents in the spinal column, called Pingalâ and Idâ, and a hollow canal called ] running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the hollow canal is what the Yogis call the "Lotus of the Kundalini". They describe it as triangular in form in which, in the symbolical language of the Yogis, there is a power called the Kundalini, coiled up. When that Kundalini awakes, it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal, and as it rises step by step, as it were, layer after layer of the mind becomes open and all the different visions and wonderful powers come to the Yogi. When it reaches the brain, the Yogi is perfectly detached from the body and mind; the soul finds itself free. We know that the spinal cord is composed in a peculiar manner. If we take the figure eight horizontally (∞) there are two parts which are connected in the middle. Suppose you add eight after eight, piled one on top of the other, that will represent the spinal cord. The left is the Ida, the right Pingala, and that hollow canal which runs through the centre of the spinal cord is the Sushumna. Where the spinal cord ends in some of the ], a fine fibre issues downwards, and the canal runs up even within that fibre, only much finer. The canal is closed at the lower end, which is situated near what is called the sacral plexus, which, according to modern physiology, is triangular in form. The different plexuses that have their centres in the spinal canal can very well stand for the different "lotuses" of the Yogi.}} | |||
| == In Vaishnavism == | |||
| When kundalini ] is conceived as a goddess, then, when it rises to the head, it unites itself with the Supreme Being (]). Then the aspirant becomes engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss.<ref name = "Kundalini Yoga">''Kundalini Yoga:''http://www.siddhashram.org/kundalini.shtml</ref><ref name = "Kundalini Yoga by Swami Sivanandha">''Kundalini Yoga from Swami Sivanandha:'' http://www.experiencefestival.com/kundalini</ref> | |||
| Despite mostly being associated with ] and ] traditions, the concept of Kundalini Shakti is not at all alien to ]. A popular Vaishnava text called ''Narada Pancharatra'' gives a detailed, although somewhat different description of Chakras and Kundalini Shakti compared to Shaivism and Shaktism. | |||
| In his article on Kundalini in the Yoga Journal, David Eastman narrates two personal experiences. One man said he felt an activity at the base of his spine starting to flow so he relaxed and allowed it to happen. A feeling of surging energy began traveling up his back, at each chakra he felt an orgasmic electric feeling like every nerve trunk on his spine beginning to fire. A second man describes a similar experience but accompanied by a wave of euphoria and happiness softly permeating his being. He described the surging energy as being like electricity but hot, traveling from the base of his spine to the top of his head. He said the more he analyzed the experience, the less it occurred.<ref name=eastman_p40>Eastman, David T. (1985): , ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, p.40, California Yoga Teachers Association.</ref> | |||
| <ref>{{cite book |translator=Das, Bhumipati |editor=Dasa, Purnaprajna |title=Narada Pancaratra full in 2 parts: Srila Vyasadeva |volume=2: Third, Fourth, and Fifth Ratras |publisher=Internet Archive |url=https://archive.org/details/NaradaPancaratraFull/Narada%20Pancaratra%20part%202/page/n535/mode/2up |date=18 June 2013 }}</ref> | |||
| == Description == | |||
| The arousing of kundalini is said by some to be the one and only way of attaining Divine Wisdom. ] is said to be equivalent to Divine Wisdom or ] or what amounts to the same thing: ].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Vivekananda |first=Swami |authorlink=Swami Vivekananda |title=The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=030TAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA185&dq=The+complete+works+of+the+Swami+Vivekananda+kundalini#v=onepage&q=&q=&f=false |page=185 |year=1915|quote=...kundalini is the one and only way...}}</ref> The awakening of the kundalini shows itself as "awakening of inner knowledge" and brings with itself "pure joy, pure knowledge and pure love." | |||
| ] in meditation, showing kundalini serpent coiled in belly around ] below ]s and the muladhara chakra with its presiding deity ] above it.]] | |||
| ===Different approaches=== | |||
| The question arises: how is this awakening triggered? There are two broad approaches to kundalini awakening: active and passive. The '''active approach''' involves systematic physical exercises and techniques of concentration, visualization, ] and meditation under the guidance of a competent teacher. These techniques come from any of the four main branches of yoga but for this purpose could be termed ]. The '''passive approach''' is instead a path of surrender where one lets go of all the impediments to the awakening rather than trying to actively awaken the kundalini. A chief part of the passive approach is ] where one person's kundalini is awakened by another who already has the experience. Shaktipat only raises the kundalini temporarily but gives the student an experience to use as a basis.<ref name=eastman_p38>Eastman, David T. (1985): , ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, p.38, California Yoga Teachers Association.</ref> | |||
| According to William F. Williams, kuṇḍalinī is a type of ] within the Hindu tradition, within which it is held to be a kind of "cosmic energy" that accumulates at the base of the ].<ref name="ps">{{cite book |last=Williams |first=W. F. |title=Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vH1EAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT211 |year=2000 |publisher=] |isbn=978-1-135-95522-9 |page=211 |chapter=Kundalini}}</ref> | |||
| :<b>Active approach – hatha yoga</b> | |||
| :According to the ] text, the ''Goraksasataka'', or "Hundred Verses of Goraksa", kundalini can be made to move by ''sarasvaticalana'', which is pulling the tongue side to side via a wrapped cloth.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallinson|first=James|title=Yoga in Practice|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=ed. David Gordon White|isbn=978-0-691-14085-8|pages=257-260, 267-268}}</ref> The tongue is connected to the sushumna (center channel).<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallinson|first=James|title=Yoga in Practice|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=ed. David Gordon White|isbn=978-0-691-14085-8|pages=258-260, 267-268}}</ref> The instruction of ''sarasvaticalana'' was misunderstood by later commentators.<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallinson|first=James|title=Yoga in Practice|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=ed. David Gordon White|isbn=978-0-691-14085-8|pages=258-260, 267-268}}</ref> The ''Goraksasataka'' also prescribes ], uddiyana bandha, ] and ].<ref>{{cite book|last=Mallinson|first=James|title=Yoga in Practice|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=ed. David Gordon White|isbn=978-0-691-14085-8|pages=2, 268-270}}</ref> Another hathayoga text, the ''Khecarīvidyā'', states that ] enables one to raise Kundalini and access various stores of ] in the head, which subsequently flood the body.<ref>Mallinson, James. 2007. ''The Khecarīvidyā of Adinathā.'' London: Routledge. pg.29. </ref> | |||
| When awakened, kuṇḍalinī is described as rising up from the ] ], through the central ] (called '']'') inside or alongside the spine reaching the top of the head. The progress of kuṇḍalinī through the different chakras is believed to achieve different levels of awakening and a ], until Kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, ] or crown ], producing a profound transformation of consciousness.<ref name="Sarawati">{{cite book |last1=Saraswati |first1=Swami Satyananda |author-link=Sivananda Saraswati |title=Kundalini Tantra |date=1984 |publisher=] |location=Munger, Bihar, India |isbn=978-8185787152 |pages=34–36|edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|5–6}} | |||
| :<b>Passive approach – shaktipat</b> | |||
| :The spiritual teacher ] emphasized the need for a master when actively trying to awaken the kundalini: "Kundalini is a latent power in the higher body. When awakened it pierces through six chakras or functional centres and activates them. Without a master, awakening of the kundalini cannot take any one very far on the Path; and such indiscriminate or premature awakening is fraught with dangers of self-deception as well as misuse of powers. The kundalini enables man consciously to cross the lower planes and it ultimately merges into the universal cosmic power of which it is a part, and which also is at times described as kundalini....The important point is that the awakened kundalini is helpful only up to a certain degree, after which it cannot ensure further progress. It cannot dispense with the need for the grace of a Perfect Master."<ref>] (1958), , San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented, pp. 13-14.</ref> | |||
| Swami ] of the ] stated in his book ''Kundalini Yoga'' that "Supersensual visions appear before the mental eye of the aspirant, new worlds with indescribable wonders and charms unfold themselves before the Yogi, planes after planes reveal their existence and grandeur to the practitioner and the Yogi gets divine knowledge, power and bliss, in increasing degrees, when Kuṇḍalinī passes through Chakra after Chakra, making them to bloom in all their glory..."<ref name="Swami Sivananda">{{cite book |last=Saraswati |first=Sri Swami Sivananda |title=Kundalini Yoga |date=2010 |publisher=The Divine Life Trust Society |location=Himalayas, India |isbn=978-81-7052-052-8 |page=27 |edition=14th}}</ref> | |||
| ===Kundalini awakening while prepared or unprepared=== | |||
| The experience of kundalini awakening can happen when one is either prepared or unprepared.<ref name=eastman_p39>Eastman, David T. (1985): , ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, p.39, California Yoga Teachers Association.</ref> | |||
| == Kundalini experiences == | |||
| :<b>Preparedness</b> | |||
| :According to Hindu tradition, in order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is usually required beforehand.<ref name="Ibera Verlag pages 47, 48">], ''The hidden power in humans'', Ibera Verlag, pages 47, 48. ISBN 3-85052-197-4</ref> Yoga and ] propose that kundalini energy can be "awakened" by a ] (teacher), but body and spirit must be prepared by yogic austerities such as ], or breath control, physical exercises, visualization, and chanting. ] emphasised a firm ethical and moral foundation to ensure the aspirant is comfortable with a reasonable degree of discipline and has a serious intention to awaken their full potential. The student is advised to follow the path in an openhearted manner.<ref name=eastman_p39/> | |||
| === Invoking Kundalini experiences === | |||
| :<b>Unpreparedness</b> | |||
| :The kundalini can also awaken spontaneously, for no obvious reason or triggered by intense personal experiences such as accidents, near death experiences, childbirth, emotional trauma, extreme mental stress, and so on. Some sources attribute spontaneous awakenings to the "grace of God", or possibly to spiritual practice in past lives.<ref name=eastman_p39 /> | |||
| Yoga gurus consider that Kuṇḍalinī can be awakened by '']'' (spiritual transmission by a Guru or teacher), or by spiritual practices such as yoga or meditation.<ref name="Muktananda 1978">{{cite book |last=Muktananda |first=Swami |author-link=Muktananda |title=Play of Consciousness |year=1978 |publisher=Siddha Yoga Publications |isbn=0-911307-81-8}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2021}} | |||
| :A spontaneous awakening in one who is unprepared or without the assistance of a good teacher can result in an experience which has been termed as "kundalini crisis", "spiritual emergency" or "]". The symptoms are said to resemble those of kundalini awakening but are experienced as unpleasant, overwhelming or out of control. Unpleasant side effects are said to occur when the practitioner has not approached kundalini with due respect and in a narrow egotistical manner. Kundalini has been described as a highly creative intelligence which dwarfs our own. Kundalini awakening therefore requires surrender; it is not an energy which can be manipulated by the ego.<ref name=eastman_p39/> | |||
| There are two broad approaches to Kuṇḍalinī awakening: active and passive. The ''active approach'' involves systematic physical exercises and techniques of concentration, visualization, ] (breath practice) and meditation under the guidance of a competent teacher. These techniques come from any of the main branches of yoga, and some forms of yoga, such as ] and ], which emphasize Kuṇḍalinī techniques.<ref name="Eastman"/> | |||
| ===Physical and psychological effects=== | |||
| Physical effects are believed to be a sign of kundalini awakening by some,<ref name="researchingmeditation.org">Manocha R, Black D, Ryan J, Stough C, Spiro D, </ref> but described as unwanted side effects pointing to a problem rather than progress by others.<ref name="Ibera Verlag pages 47, 48"/> The following are either common signs of an awakened kundalini or symptoms of a problem associated with an awakening kundalini (commonly referred to as ] or physio-Kundalini syndrome): | |||
| The ''passive approach'' is instead a path of surrender where one lets go of all the impediments to the awakening rather than trying to actively awaken Kuṇḍalinī. A chief part of the passive approach is ] where one individual's Kuṇḍalinī is awakened by another who already has the experience. Shaktipat only raises Kuṇḍalinī temporarily but gives the student an experience to use as a basis.<ref name="Eastman">{{cite journal |last=Eastman |first=David T. |title=Kundalini Demystified |journal=] |date=September 1985 |pages=37–43 }}</ref> | |||
| * Involuntary jerks, tremors, shaking, itching, tingling, and crawling sensations, especially in the arms and legs | |||
| * Energy rushes or feelings of electricity circulating the body | |||
| * Intense heat (sweating) or cold, especially as energy is experienced passing through the ]s | |||
| * Spontaneous ], ]s, ]s and ]s | |||
| * Visions or sounds at times associated with a particular chakra | |||
| * Diminished or conversely extreme sexual desire sometimes leading to a state of constant or whole-body orgasm | |||
| * Emotional upheavals or surfacing of unwanted and repressed feelings or thoughts with certain repressed emotions becoming dominant in the conscious mind for short or long periods of time.<ref name=eastman_p41>Eastman, David T. (1985): , ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, p.41, California Yoga Teachers Association.</ref> | |||
| * Headache, migraine, or pressure inside the skull | |||
| * Increased blood pressure and irregular heartbeat | |||
| * Emotional numbness | |||
| * Antisocial tendencies | |||
| * Mood swings with periods of depression or mania | |||
| * Pains in different areas of the body, especially back and neck | |||
| * Sensitivity to light, sound, and touch | |||
| * Trance-like and altered states of consciousness | |||
| * Disrupted sleep pattern (periods of insomnia or oversleeping) | |||
| * Loss of apetite or overeating | |||
| * Bliss, feelings of infinite love and universal connectivity, transcendent awareness | |||
| The twentieth century yogi and mystic ], who helped to bring the concept of Kuṇḍalinī to the Western world, stated that<ref name="Krishna">{{cite book |last1=Krishna |first1=Gopti |title=Kundalini Questions and Answers |date=1995 |publisher=The Institute for Consciousness Studies |isbn=978-0-9938316-6-9 |pages=6–8 |edition=Smashwords}}</ref> | |||
| Reports about the ] technique of kundalini awakening state that the practice can result in a cool breeze felt on the fingertips as well as on the fontanel bone area.<ref name="MetaModernEra"/><ref name=Socializing_Processes_p55-56>Judith Coney, ''Sahaja Yoga: Socializing Processes in a South Asian New Religious Movement'' (1999) p55-56</ref> One study has measured a drop in temperature on the palms of the hands resulting from this technique.<ref name="researchingmeditation.org"/> | |||
| {{Blockquote|As the ancient writers have said, it is the vital force or ] which is spread over both the macrocosm, the entire Universe, and the microcosm, the human body... The atom is contained in both of these. Prana is life-energy responsible for the phenomena of terrestrial life and for life on other planets in the universe. Prana in its universal aspect is immaterial. But in the human body, ...The brain is alive only because of Prana... an enlightened person ... compassionate and more detached. There would be less ego, without any tendency toward violence or aggression or falsehood. The awakened life energy is the mother of morality, because all morality springs from this awakened energy. Since the very beginning, it has been this evolutionary energy that has created the concept of morals in human beings.<ref name="Krishna"/> }} | |||
| ==Comparisons with other philosophical systems== | |||
| ===Vajrayana Buddhism=== | |||
| The tantras of ] manage a system which is very similar to the Indian systems of kundalini yoga, in that they too manage a series of subtle channels, subtle winds, wheels and subtle drops, and they refer to a force known as kandali which must be raised up the central channel. However, there are a number of differences. Firstly, the descriptions are mostly about 'red ]', that resides in the lower chakras, and 'white ]', that resides in the crown. The 'inner fire' is ignited, through practices such as ], which causes all the winds in the body to enter and rise up the central channel. When the fire reaches the crown of the head, the white bodhicitta melts and flows down to the lower chakras, producing profound spiritual experiences of bliss and emptiness.<ref>K.Gyatso. Tantric Grounds and Paths.</ref> | |||
| The American ] scholar ] describes the concept of Kuṇḍalinī as "the figure of a coiled female serpent—a serpent goddess not of "gross" but "subtle" substance—which is to be thought of as residing in a torpid, slumbering state in a subtle center, the first of the seven, near the base of the spine: the aim of the yoga then being to rouse this serpent, lift her head, and bring her up a subtle nerve or channel of the spine to the so-called "thousand-petaled lotus" (]) at the crown of the head...She, rising from the lowest to the highest lotus center will pass through and wake the five between, and with each waking, the psychology and personality of the practitioner will be altogether and fundamentally transformed."<ref name="Campbell">{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Campbell |title=A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living |date=2011 |publisher=Joseph Campbell Foundation |location=San Anselmo, California |isbn=978-1-61178-006-2 |page=117}}</ref> | |||
| This practice of 'inner fire' is seen as a preliminary yoga to a further set of practices; obtaining the 'Illusory body', and obtaining the 'Clear Light', as well as practices such as ], and ]. | |||
| ==== Hatha yoga ==== | |||
| ==Western interpretation== | |||
| Kundalini is considered an interaction of the ] along with ] energy centers and ] channels. Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics <ref>Scotton (1996), p. 261-262.</ref> and with proper training, moving kundalini energy 'through' these chakras can help express or open these characteristics. | |||
| ]''. This model contradicts the earlier ] model in the same text.<ref name="Mallinson2">{{cite book | last1=Mallinson | first1=James |author1-link=James Mallinson (author) |last2=Singleton |first2=Mark |author2-link=Mark Singleton (yoga teacher) | title=] | publisher=Penguin Books | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-241-25304-5 | oclc=928480104 |pages=32, 180–181}}</ref>]] | |||
| ] (pen name Arthur Avalon) was one of the first to bring the notion of kundalini to the West. As High Court Judge in ], he became interested in ] and Hindu ]. His translation of and commentary on two key texts was published as ''The Serpent Power''. Woodroffe rendered kundalini as "Serpent Power" for lack of a better term in the English language but "kundala" in Sanskrit means "coiled".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Avalon |first=Arthur |authorlink=Arthur Avalon |title=The Serpent Power |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=VhpKGohCTHgC&pg=PA1&dq=Arthur+Avalon+The+Serpent+Power+kundala#v=onepage&q=&f=false |page=1 |publisher=Dover Publications Inc. |year=1974 |isbn=0-486-23058-9 |quote=Kundala means coiled.}}</ref> | |||
| According to the '']'', or "Hundred Verses of Goraksa", ] practices such as the mudras ], uddiyana bandha, and ], and the ] practice of ] can awaken Kundalini.<ref name="White2">{{cite book |last1=White |first1=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White |title=Yoga in Practice |date=2012 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, New Jersey |isbn=978-0-691-14085-8 |pages=2, 268–270}}</ref> Another hatha yoga text, the '']'', states that ] enables one to raise Kundalini and access the stores of ] in the head, which subsequently flood the body.<ref name="Mallinson3">{{cite book |last1=Mallinson |first1=James |author-link=James Mallinson (author) |title=The Khecarividya of Adinatha: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of an Early Text of Hathayoga |date=2007 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0-415-39115-3 |page=29}}</ref> | |||
| Western awareness of the idea of kundalini was strengthened by the ] and the interest of the psychoanalyst ] (1875–1961). "Jung's seminar on kundalini yoga, presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932, has been widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the development of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation".<ref name="Jung">Princeton University Press, Book description to C. G Jung - "The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga", 1999</ref> | |||
| ==== Shaktipat ==== | |||
| The founder of the ] George King describes the concept of Kundalini throughout works and claimed to have experienced this energy many times throughout his life while in a 'positive samadhic yogic trance state'.<ref>{{cite web|first=Aetherius Society|title=Dr. George King|url=http://aetherius.org/9freedoms/dr-george-king.html|publisher=aetherius.org|accessdate=24 June 2012}}</ref> According to King, ''It should always be remembered that despite appearances to the contrary, the complete control of Kundalini through the spinal column is man's only reason for being on Earth, for when this is accomplished, the lessons in this classroom and the mystical examination is passed.''<ref>{{cite book|last=King|first=George|title=The Nine Freedoms|year=1963|publisher=The Aetherius Society|isbn=0937249041|pages=79|url=http://www.aetherius.org/index.cfm?app=content&SectionID=67&PageID=112}}</ref> In his lecture entitled ''The Psychic Centers - Their Significance and Development'' he describes the theory behind the raising of Kundalini and how this might be done safely in the context of a balanced life devoted to selfless service.<ref>{{cite web|last=King|first=George|title=The Psychic Centers - Their Significance and Development|url=http://www.aetherius.org/index.cfm?app=content&SectionID=155&PageID=466|work=audio lecture|publisher=aetherius.org|accessdate=24 June 2012}}</ref> | |||
| The spiritual teacher ] emphasized the need for a master when actively trying to awaken Kuṇḍalinī:<ref name="Baba">{{cite book |last1=Baba |first1=Meher |author-link=Meher Baba |title=Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama |date=1958 |publisher=Sufism Reoriented |location=San Francisco |pages=13–14 |url=http://ambppct.org/Book_Files/Beams.pdf |access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> | |||
| ] was the other great authority scholar on Kundalini parallel to Sir John Woodroffe, with a somewhat different viewpoint, according to Mary Scott (who is herself a later day scholar on Kundalini and its physical basis) and was a member of the Theosophical Society.<ref>Author: Scott, Mary, 1906-; Title: Kundalini in the physical world; Imprint: London ; Boston:Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1983. Description: 275 p. : ill. ; 22 cm. Bibliography: p. 259-263. ISBN 0-7100-9417-5</ref> | |||
| {{blockquote|Kundalini is a latent power in the higher body. When awakened, it pierces through six chakras or functional centers and activates them. Without a master, the awakening of the kundalini cannot take anyone very far on the Path; and such indiscriminate or premature awakening is fraught with dangers of self-deception as well as the misuse of powers. The kundalini enables man to consciously cross the lower planes and it ultimately merges into the universal cosmic power of which it is a part, and which also is at times described as kundalini ... cannot dispense with the need for the grace of a Perfect Master.<ref name="Baba"/>}} | |||
| Another populariser of the concept of kundalini among Western readers was ]. His autobiography is entitled '']''.<ref name="Krishna, Gopi">Krishna, Gopi (1971) ''Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man.'' Boulder, Colorado: Shambhala</ref> According to one writer his writings influenced Western interest in ].<ref>For quotation "Western interest at the popular level in kundalini yoga was probably most influenced by the writings of Gopi Krishna, in which kundalini was redefined as a chaotic and spontaneous religious experience." see: McDaniel, p. 280.</ref> | |||
| In his book, ''Building a Noble World'', Shiv R. Jhawar describes his Shaktipat experience at Muktananda's public program at ] in Chicago on 16 September 1974 as follows: | |||
| In the early 1930s two Italian scholars, ] and ], published several books with the intent of re-interpreting alchemy with reference to yoga.<ref>Palamidessi Tommaso, ''Alchimia come via allo Spirito'', ed. EGO, 1948 Turin</ref> Those works had an impact on modern interpretations of ] as a mystical science. In those works, kundalini is called an ''Igneous Power'' or ''Serpentine Fire''. | |||
| {{blockquote|Baba had just begun delivering his discourse with his opening statement: 'Today's subject is meditation. ... 'Kundalini starts dancing when one repeats Om Namah Shivaya.' Hearing this, I mentally repeated the mantra, I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier. Suddenly, I felt a great impact of a rising force within me. The intensity of this rising kundalini force was so tremendous that my body lifted up a little and fell flat into the aisle; my eyeglasses flew off. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could see a continuous fountain of dazzling white lights erupting within me. In brilliance, these lights were brighter than the sun but possessed no heat at all. I was experiencing the thought-free state of "I am", realizing that "I" have always been, and will continue to be, eternal. I was fully conscious and completely aware while I was experiencing the pure "I am", a state of supreme bliss. Outwardly, at that precise moment, Baba delightfully shouted from his platform, ‘I didn't do anything. The Energy has caught someone.'<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jhawar |first1=Shiv |title=Building a Noble World |date=2004}}</ref>'}} | |||
| Other well-known spiritual teachers who have made use of the idea of kundalini include ], ], ], ], ], ] who produced an English language guide of ] methods, ], ], ],and ]. | |||
| === |
=== Kundalini awakening === | ||
| Kundalini references may commonly be found in a wide variety of derivative "]" presentations, such as ]'s, and is a catchword that has been adopted by many ]. However, some commentators, such as ] ],<ref>{{Cite book|title=Yoga Journal |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=a-sDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA42&dq=Stuart+Slovatsky#v=onepage&q=Stuart%20Sovatsky&f=false |year=1985 |month=Jul-Aug |quote=I just wanted to talk to someone who would understand about kundalini and wouldn't think I was crazy... |page=42 |issn=0191-0965}}</ref> disapprove of New Age authors and groups who have appropriated certain Yogic Sanskrit terms, such as chakra, kundalini, and mantra, and claims that they defined them in ways that relate only superficially, if at all, to the traditional meaning of the words.<ref>Sovatsky, pg. 160</ref> | |||
| The experience of Kuṇḍalinī awakening can happen when one is either prepared or unprepared.<ref name="Eastman"/> | |||
| ===Psychiatry=== | |||
| Recently, there has been a growing interest within the medical community to study the physiological effects of ], and some of these studies have applied the discipline of Kundalini Yoga to their clinical settings.<ref>Lazar et al. (2000).</ref><ref>Cromie (2002)</ref> Some modern experimental research seeks to establish links between kundalini practice and the ideas of ] and his followers.<ref>Rudra, ''Kundalini'' (1993 in German)</ref> | |||
| According to Hindu tradition, in order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is usually required beforehand.<ref name="Maheshwaranada">{{cite book |last=Maheshwarananda |first=Paramhans Swami |author-link=Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda |title=The Hidden Power in Humans: Chakras and Kundalini |date=2004 |publisher=Ibera Verlag |isbn=978-3-85052-197-0 |pages=47–48}}</ref> Yoga and ] propose that Kuṇḍalinī can be awakened by a ] (teacher), but body and spirit must be prepared by yogic austerities, such as ], or breath control, physical exercises, visualization, and chanting. The student is advised to follow the path in an open-hearted manner.<ref name="Eastman"/> | |||
| The popularization of eastern spiritual practices has been associated with psychological problems in the west. Psychiatric literature notes that "since the influx of eastern spiritual practices and the rising popularity of meditation starting in the 1960s, many people have experienced a variety of psychological difficulties, either while engaged in intensive spiritual practice or spontaneously".<ref name="Turner et al.,pg. 440">Turner et al.,pg. 440</ref> Among the psychological difficulties associated with intensive spiritual practice we find "kundalini awakening", "a complex physio-psychospiritual transformative process described in the yogic tradition".<ref name="Turner et al.,pg. 440"/> Researchers in the fields of ],<ref>Scotton (1996)</ref> and ]<ref name="Y. Kason, Farther Shores 2000">Y. Kason, Farther Shores, Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives, iUniverse (2000)</ref><ref>Greyson (2000)</ref> have described a complex pattern of sensory, motor, mental and affective symptoms associated with the concept of kundalini, sometimes called the ]. | |||
| == Religious interpretations == | |||
| According to the psychiatrist Carl Jung, "...the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use, that is, to describe our own experiences with the unconscious..."<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hayman |first=Ronald |title=A Life of Jung |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=k5XyKOJE9YMC&pg=PA304&dq=A+Life+of+Jung+Christiana+and+Kundalini#v=onepage&q=&f=false |page=304 |isbn=0-393-32322-1{{Please check ISBN|reason=Check digit (1) does not correspond to calculated figure.}} |year=2002 |publisher=W. W. Norton & Co. |quote=...the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use...}}</ref> | |||
| === Indian interpretations === | |||
| The differentiation between spiritual emergency associated with Kundalini awakening may be viewed as an acute psychotic episode by psychiatrists who are not conversant with the culture. The biological changes of increased P300 amplitudes that occurs with certain Yogic practices may lead to acute psychosis. Biological alterations by Yogic techniques may be used to warn people against such reactions <ref>http://www.ijoy.org.in/article.asp?issn=0973-6131;year=2012;volume=5;issue=1;spage=74;epage=74;aulast=Bharadwaj</ref>. | |||
| Kuṇḍalinī is considered to occur in the ] and ] of the ]. Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics<ref name="Scotton">{{cite book |last=Scotton |first=Bruce W. |title=Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology |url=https://archive.org/details/textbooktransper00scot |url-access=limited|date=1999|publisher=Basic Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-465-09530-8 |page=}}</ref> and with proper training, moving Kuṇḍalinī through these chakras can help express or open these characteristics. | |||
| ==References== | |||
| {{Reflist|2}} | |||
| Kuṇḍalinī is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism.<ref name="Bihar">]. ''Kundalini Tantra''. Bihar School of Yoga, 2006. {{ISBN |978-8185787152}}</ref> | |||
| ==Bibliography== | |||
| * Eastman, David T. (1985): , ''Yoga Journal'', September 1985, pp. 37–43, California Yoga Teachers Association. | |||
| It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the "]", which consists of ] (energy channels), ] (psychic centres), ] (subtle energy), and ] (drops of essence). | |||
| Kuṇḍalinī is described as being coiled up at the base of the spine. The description of the location can vary slightly, from the rectum to the navel.<ref name="White" />{{rp|229–231}} Kuṇḍalinī is said to reside in the triangular ] bone in three and a half coils.<ref name="Srivastava">{{cite book |author=Nirmala Devi Srivastava |author-link=Nirmala Srivastava |title=Meta Modern Era |date=1997 |publisher=Vishwa Nirmala Dharma |isbn=9788186650059 |pages=233–248 |edition=3rd}}</ref> | |||
| ] describes Kuṇḍalinī briefly in his book ''Raja Yoga'' as follows:<ref name="Vivek">{{cite book |last=Vivekananda |first=Swami |author-link=Vivekananda |title=Raja Yoga: Conquering the Internal Nature |date=1995 |publisher=Advaita Ashrama |location=Calcutta |isbn=978-8185301167 |pages=48–49}}</ref> | |||
| {{blockquote|According to the Yogis, there are two nerve currents in the spinal column, called Pingalâ and Idâ, and a hollow canal called Sushumnâ running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the hollow canal is what the Yogis call the "Lotus of the Kundalini". They describe it as triangular in a form in which... there is a power called the Kundalini, coiled up. When that Kundalini awakens, it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal, and as it rises step by step, as it were, layer after layer of the mind becomes open... When it reaches the brain, the Yogi is perfectly detached from the body and mind; the soul finds itself free. ... The left is the Ida, the right Pingala, and that hollow canal which runs through the center of the spinal cord is the Sushumna. ... The canal is closed at the lower end, ... near what is called the sacral plexus... The different plexuses that have their centers in the spinal canal can very well stand for the different "lotuses" of the Yogi.<ref name="Vivek"/>}} | |||
| When Kuṇḍalinī ] is conceived as a goddess, then, when it rises to the head, it unites itself with the Supreme Being of (]). The aspirant then becomes engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss. ] in his book '']'' states:<ref name="Yogananda">{{cite book |last1=Yogananda |first1=Paramahansa |author-link=Paramahansa Yogananda |title=The Bhagavad Gita: God Talks with Arjuna: Royal Science of God Realization: the Immortal Dialogue Between Soul and Spirit: a New Translation and Commentary |date=1995 |publisher=Self Realization Fellowship |page=18|location=Los Angeles |isbn=978-0-87612-030-9 |edition=1st}}</ref> | |||
| {{blockquote|At the command of the yogi in deep meditation, this creative force turns inward and flows back to its source in the thousand-petaled lotus, revealing the resplendent inner world of the divine forces and consciousness of the soul and spirit. Yoga refers to this power flowing from the coccyx to spirit as the awakened kundalini.}} | |||
| Paramahansa Yogananda also states: | |||
| {{blockquote|The yogi reverses the searchlights of intelligence, mind and life force inward through a secret astral passage, the coiled way of the kundalini in the coccygeal plexus, and upward through the sacral, the lumbar, and the higher dorsal, cervical, and medullary plexuses, and the spiritual eye at the point between the eyebrows, to reveal finally the soul's presence in the highest center (Sahasrara) in the brain.<ref name="Yogananda" />}} | |||
| Krishnamacharya, often called the "father of modern yoga", described kuṇḍalinī differently. To him, Kuṇḍalinī is not an energy that rises: it is a blockage that prevents prāṇa vāyu (breath) from entering the suṣumnā and rising. This interpretation came partly from his own experience and partly from teachings of two sects of Vishnu-worshiping temple priests.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Atkinson |first1=Simon |title=Krishnamacharya on Kundalini : the origins and coherence of his position |date=2022 |publisher=Equinox |location=Bristol |isbn=9781800501522 |pages=31–57}}</ref> | |||
| == Western significance == | |||
| ] (1865–1936) – also known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon – was a British ] whose published works stimulated a far-reaching interest in ] and ] practices. While serving as a High Court Judge in ], he studied ] and Hindu philosophy, particularly as it related to Hindu ]. He translated numerous original ] texts and lectured on ], Yoga and Tantra. His book, ''The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga'' became a major source for many modern Western adaptations of ] practice. It presents an academically and philosophically sophisticated translation of, and commentary on, two key Eastern texts: ''Shatchakranirūpana'' (Description and Investigation into the Six Bodily Centers) written by Tantrik Pūrnānanda Svāmī (1526) and the ''Paduka-Pancakā'' from the Sanskrit of a commentary by Kālīcharana (Five-fold Footstool of the Guru). The Sanskrit term "Kundali Shakti" translates as "Serpent Power". Kundalini is thought to be an energy released within an individual using specific meditation techniques. It is represented symbolically as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine.<ref name="Taylor">{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Kathleen |title=Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'An Indian Soul in a European Body?' |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0700713455 }}</ref> | |||
| When Woodroffe later commented upon the reception of his work he clarified his objective, "All the world (I speak of course of those interested in such subjects) is beginning to speak of Kundalinî Shakti."<ref name="Woodroffe 1950">{{cite book |last=Woodroffe |first=John |author1-link=Sir John Woodroffe |title=The Serpent Power |date=1950 |orig-year=1918 |publisher=Ganesh & Co. |location=Madras |edition=4th |url=https://ia903206.us.archive.org/3/items/TheSerpentPowerByArthurAvalon/The%20Serpent%20Power%20by%20Arthur%20Avalon.pdf}}</ref> He described his intention as follows: "We, who are foreigners, must place ourselves in the skin of the Hindu, and must look at their doctrine and ritual through their eyes and not our own."<ref name="Woodroffe 1950"/> | |||
| === Carl Jung === | |||
| Western awareness of Kuṇḍalinī was strengthened by the interest of Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst ] (1875–1961).<ref name="Jung">{{cite book |last1=Jung |first1=Carl Gustav |author-link=Carl Jung |title=The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C.G. Jung |date=1996 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-02127-0 |location=Princeton, New Jersey |page=xvi}}</ref> | |||
| {{Blockquote|text="Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932 was widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner experience. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation, with sensitivity towards a new generation's interest in alternative religions and psychological exploration."}} | |||
| <ref name="Nichol">{{cite journal |last1=Nichol |first1=Davi |title= |journal=Psychoanalytic Books: A Quarterly Journal of Reviews |date=1999}}</ref> | |||
| In the introduction to Jung's book ''The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga'', ] puts forth: | |||
| {{Blockquote|text="The emergence of depth psychology was historically paralleled by the translation and widespread dissemination of the texts of yoga... for the depth psychologies sought to liberate themselves from the stultifying limitations of Western thought to develop maps of inner experience grounded in the transformative potential of therapeutic practices. A similar alignment of "theory" and "practice" seemed to be embodied in the yogic texts that moreover had developed independently of the bindings of Western thought. Further, the initiatory structure adopted by institutions of psychotherapy brought its social organization into proximity with that of yoga. Hence, an opportunity for a new form of comparative psychology opened up."}} | |||
| <ref name="Jung" />{{rp|xviii-xix}} | |||
| === More recent viewpoints === | |||
| The American writer William Buhlman began to conduct an international survey of out-of-body experiences in 1969 in order to gather information about symptoms: sounds, vibrations and other phenomena that commonly occur at the time of the OBE event. His primary interest was to compare the findings with reports made by yogis such as ] who have referred to similar phenomena, such as the "vibrational state" as components of their kundalini-related ]. He explains:<ref name="Buhlman">{{cite book |last1=Buhlman |first1=William |title=The Secret of the Soul: Using Out-of-Body Experiences to Understand Our True Nature |date=2011 |publisher=] |location=San Francisco |isbn=978-0-06-196808-2 |page=191 |edition=1st}}</ref> | |||
| {{blockquote| There are numerous reports of full Kundalini experiences culminating with a transcendental out-of-body state of consciousness. In fact, many people consider this experience to be the ultimate path to enlightenment. The basic premise is to encourage the flow of Kundalini energy up the spine and toward the top of the head—the ]—thus projecting your awareness into the higher heavenly dimensions of the universe. The result is an indescribable expansion of consciousness into spiritual realms beyond form and thought.<ref name="Buhlman"/>}} | |||
| ] was the other great scholarly authority on Kuṇḍalinī, with a viewpoint parallel to that of Woodroffe but of a somewhat different slant - this according to Mary Scott, herself a latter-day scholar on Kuṇḍalinī and its physical basis, and a former member of the ].<ref name="Scott">{{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=Mary |title=Kundalini in the Physical World |date=1983 |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |location=London |isbn=978-0-7100-9417-9 |pages=259–263}}</ref> | |||
| === Psychology === | |||
| According to ] "the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use, that is, to describe our own experiences with the unconscious".<ref name="Hayman">{{cite book |last=Hayman |first=Ronald |title=A Life of Jung |date=2001 |publisher=W. W. Norton |location=New York |isbn=978-0-393-32322-1 |page= |url=https://archive.org/details/lifeofjung00haym |url-access=registration |quote=the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use ...}}</ref> Jung used the Kundalini system symbolically as a means of understanding the dynamic movement between conscious and unconscious processes.<ref name="Shamdasani">{{cite book |last1=Shamdasani |first1=Sonu |title=The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C.G. Jung |date=2012 |publisher=Princeton University Press |location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=978-1-4008-2191-4 |edition=New |url=http://press.princeton.edu/titles/5800.html}}</ref>{{Page needed|date=February 2017}} | |||
| According to Shamdasani, Jung claimed that the symbolism of Kuṇḍalinī yoga suggested that the bizarre symptomatology that patients at times presented, actually resulted from the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī. He argued that knowledge of such symbolism enabled much that would otherwise be seen as the meaningless by-products of a disease process to be understood as meaningful symbolic processes, and explicated the often peculiar physical localizations of symptoms.<ref name="Shamdasani"/>{{rp|xxvi}} | |||
| The popularization of eastern spiritual practices has been associated with psychological problems in the west. Psychiatric literature notes that "since the influx of eastern spiritual practices and the rising popularity of meditation starting in the 1960s, many people have experienced a variety of psychological difficulties, either while engaged in intensive spiritual practice or spontaneously."<ref name="Turner">{{cite journal|last1=Turner |first1=R. P. |last2=Lukoff |first2=D. |last3=Barnhouse |first3=R. T. |last4=Lu |first4=F. G.|title=Religious or spiritual problem. A culturally sensitive diagnostic category in the DSM-IV |journal=The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease |date=July 1995 |volume=183 |issue=7 |pages=435–444 |issn=0022-3018 |doi=10.1097/00005053-199507000-00003 |pmid=7623015}}</ref> Among the psychological difficulties associated with intensive spiritual practice we find "Kundalini awakening," "a complex physio-psychospiritual transformative process described in the yogic tradition."<ref name="Turner"/> Researchers in the fields of ],<ref name="Scotton" /> and ]<ref name="Kason">{{cite book |last1=Kason |first1=Yvonne |title=Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives |date=2008 |publisher=Author's Choice Press |location=Bloomington, New York |isbn=978-0-595-53396-1 |edition=Revised}}</ref> have described a complex pattern of sensory, motor, mental, and affective symptoms associated with the concept of Kundalini, sometimes called the Kundalini syndrome.<ref name="Greyson">{{cite journal |last1=Greyson |first1=Bruce |title=Near-death experiences and the physio-kundalini syndrome |journal=Journal of Religion & Health |date=1993 |volume=32 |issue=4 |pages=277–290 |doi=10.1007/BF00990954 |pmid=24271550 |s2cid=1892471}}</ref> | |||
| The differentiation between spiritual emergency associated with Kuṇḍalinī awakening may be viewed as an acute ] by psychiatrists who are not conversant with the culture. The biological changes of increased ] amplitudes that occurs with certain yogic practices may lead to acute psychosis. Biological alterations by Yogic techniques may be used to warn people against such reactions.<ref name="Bharadwaj">{{cite journal |last1=Bharadwaj |first1=Balaji |title=Proof-of-concept studies in Yoga and mental health |journal=International Journal of Yoga |date=2012 |volume=5 |issue=1 |page=74 |doi=10.4103/0973-6131.91719 |pmc=3276938 |pmid=22346071 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | |||
| == See also == | |||
| * ] | |||
| == References == | |||
| {{reflist|30em}} | |||
| == Further reading == | == Further reading == | ||
| {{refbegin}} | |||
| {{refbegin|30em}} | |||
| * {{cite book | author=Dale, C. | title=Kundalini: Divine Energy, Divine Life | publisher=Llewellyn Publications | year=2011 | isbn=0-7387-2588-9}} | |||
| * {{cite book | |
* {{cite book | first=Samael |last=Aun Weor | title=Kundalini Yoga | publisher=EDISAW | year=2009 | isbn=978-85-62455-03-2 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Avalon, A. |author-link=Arthur Avalon | title=The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga | publisher=Dover Publications | year=1974 | isbn=978-0-486-23058-0 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author=Karmokar, G. | title=Kundalini |
* {{cite book | author=Karmokar, G. | title=Kundalini – From Hell to Heaven | publisher=Zen Way Center | year=2006 | isbn=978-0-9777456-0-9 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Kripananda, S. | title=The Sacred Power: A Seeker's Guide to Kundalini | publisher=Siddha Yoga Publications | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-911307-39-9 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Mookerjee, A. | title=Kundalini: The Arousal of the Inner Energy (2nd ed.) | publisher=Destiny Books | year=1981 | isbn=978-0-89281-020-8 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Muktananda, S. |author-link=Muktananda | title=Kundalini: The Secret of Life (erd ed.) | publisher=U B S Publishers' Distributors Ltd. | year=1995 | isbn=978-81-7476-038-8 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Petty, A. | title=Kundalini Rising: Exploring the Chakra/Asanas Connection | publisher=Kitsune Books | year=2007 | isbn=978-0-9792700-0-0 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |first=Mary |last=Scott |title=The Kundalini Concept: Its Origin and Value |year=2006 |publisher=Jain Publishing |isbn=978-0-89581-857-7 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author= |
* {{cite book | author=Sannella, L. | title=The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence | publisher=Integral Publications | year=1987 | isbn=978-0-941255-29-5 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | |
* {{cite book |author=Yogananda, Paramahansa |author-link=Paramahansa Yogananda | title=God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita | publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship | year=1995 | isbn=978-0-87612-030-9 |ref=none}} | ||
| * {{cite book | author=Krishna, G. | title=The Awakening of Kundalini | publisher=Institute for Consciousness Research | year=1989 | isbn=0-917776-06-2}} | |||
| * {{cite book | author=Sannella, L. | title=The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence | publisher=Integral Publications | year=1987 | isbn=0-941255-29-8}} | |||
| * {{cite book | author=Mookerjee, A. | title=Kundalini: The Arousal of the Inner Energy (2nd ed.) | publisher=Destiny Books | year=1981 | isbn=0-89281-020-3}} | |||
| * {{cite book | author=Avalon, A. | title=The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga | publisher=Dover Publications | year=1974 | isbn=0-486-23058-9}} | |||
| {{refend}} | {{refend}} | ||
| ==External links== | |||
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Latest revision as of 15:31, 25 December 2024
Form of divine energy in Hindu mysticism This article is about Kundalini, the tantric concepts and psychological theories. For Other uses, see Kundalini (disambiguation).
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In Hinduism, kundalini (Sanskrit: कुण्डलिनी, romanized: kuṇḍalinī, lit. 'coiled snake', pronunciation) is a form of divine feminine energy (or Shakti) believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the muladhara. It is an important concept in Śhaiva Tantra, where it is believed to be a force or power associated with the divine feminine or the formless aspect of the Goddess. This energy in the body, when cultivated and awakened through tantric practice, is believed to lead to spiritual liberation. Kuṇḍalinī is associated with the goddess Parvati or Adi Parashakti, the supreme being in Shaktism, and with the goddesses Bhairavi and Kubjika. The term, along with practices associated with it, was adopted into Hatha Yoga in the 9th century. It has since then been adopted into other forms of Hinduism as well as modern spirituality and New Age thought.
Kuṇḍalinī awakenings are said to occur by a variety of methods. Many systems of yoga focus on awakening kuṇḍalinī through: meditation, pranayama, the practice of asana, and chanting of mantras. Kundalini yoga is influenced by Shaktism and Tantra schools of Hinduism. It derives its name from its focus upon the awakening of kundalini energy through regular practice of mantra, Tantra, yantra, asanas or meditation. When kundalini is awakened spontaneously or without guidance it can lead to kundalini syndrome which sometimes presents as psychosis.
Etymology
The concept of Kuṇḍalinī is mentioned in the Upanishads (9th – 7th centuries BCE). The Sanskrit adjective kuṇḍalin means "circular, annular". It is mentioned as a noun for "snake" (in the sense of "coiled") in the 12th-century Rajatarangini chronicle (I.2). Kuṇḍa (a noun meaning "bowl, water-pot" is found as the name of a Nāga (serpent deity) in Mahabharata 1.4828). The 8th-century Tantrasadbhava Tantra uses the term kundalī, glossed by David Gordon White as "she who is ring-shaped".
The use of kuṇḍalī as a name for Goddess Durga (a form of Shakti) appears often in Tantrism and Shaktism from as early as the 11th century in the Śaradatilaka. It was adopted as a technical term in Hatha yoga during the 15th century, and became widely used in the Yoga Upanishads by the 16th century. Eknath Easwaran has paraphrased the term as "the coiled power", a force which ordinarily rests at the base of the spine, described as being "coiled there like a serpent".
In Shaivism
Kuṇḍalinī arose as a central concept in Shaiva Tantra, especially among the Śākta sects like the Kaula. In these Tantric traditions, Kuṇḍalinī is "the innate intelligence of embodied Consciousness". The first possible mention of the term is in the Tantrasadbhāva-tantra (eighth century), but other earlier tantras mention the visualization of Shakti in the central channel and the upward movement of prana or vital force (which is often associated with Kuṇḍalinī in later works). According to David Gordon White, this feminine spiritual force is also termed bhogavati, which has a double meaning of "enjoyment" and "coiled" and signifies her strong connection to bliss and pleasure, both mundane physical pleasure and the bliss of spiritual liberation (moksha), which is the enjoyment of Shiva's creative activity and ultimate union with the Goddess.
In the influential Shakta tradition called Kaula, Kuṇḍalinī is seen as a "latent innate spiritual power" associated with the Goddess Kubjika (lit. "the crooked one"), who is the supreme Goddess (Paradevi). She is also pure bliss and power (Shakti), the source of all mantras, and resides in the six chakras along the central channel. In Shaiva Tantra, various practices like pranayama, bandhas, mantra recitation, and tantric ritual were used to awaken this spiritual power and create a state of bliss and spiritual liberation.
According to Abhinavagupta, the great tantric scholar and master of the Kaula and Trika lineages, there are two main forms of Kuṇḍalinī, an upward moving Kuṇḍalinī (urdhva) associated with expansion, and a downward moving Kuṇḍalinī (adha) associated with contraction. According to the scholar of comparative religion Gavin Flood, Abhinavagupta links Kuṇḍalinī with "the power that brings into manifestation the body, breath, and experiences of pleasure and pain", with "the power of sexuality as the source of reproduction" and with:
the force of the syllable ha in the mantra and the concept of aham, the supreme subjectivity as the source of all, with a as the initial movement of consciousness and m its final withdrawal. Thus we have an elaborate series of associations, all conveying the central conception of the cosmos as a manifestation of consciousness, of pure subjectivity, with Kuṇḍalinī understood as the force inseparable from consciousness, who animates creation and who, in her particularised form in the body, causes liberation through her upward, illusion-shattering movement.
In Vaishnavism
Despite mostly being associated with Shaiva and Shakta traditions, the concept of Kundalini Shakti is not at all alien to Vaishnavism. A popular Vaishnava text called Narada Pancharatra gives a detailed, although somewhat different description of Chakras and Kundalini Shakti compared to Shaivism and Shaktism.
Description
According to William F. Williams, kuṇḍalinī is a type of religious experience within the Hindu tradition, within which it is held to be a kind of "cosmic energy" that accumulates at the base of the spine.
When awakened, kuṇḍalinī is described as rising up from the muladhara chakra, through the central nadi (called sushumna) inside or alongside the spine reaching the top of the head. The progress of kuṇḍalinī through the different chakras is believed to achieve different levels of awakening and a mystical experience, until Kundalini finally reaches the top of the head, Sahasrara or crown chakra, producing a profound transformation of consciousness.
Swami Sivananda Saraswati of the Divine Life Society stated in his book Kundalini Yoga that "Supersensual visions appear before the mental eye of the aspirant, new worlds with indescribable wonders and charms unfold themselves before the Yogi, planes after planes reveal their existence and grandeur to the practitioner and the Yogi gets divine knowledge, power and bliss, in increasing degrees, when Kuṇḍalinī passes through Chakra after Chakra, making them to bloom in all their glory..."
Kundalini experiences
Invoking Kundalini experiences
Yoga gurus consider that Kuṇḍalinī can be awakened by shaktipat (spiritual transmission by a Guru or teacher), or by spiritual practices such as yoga or meditation.
There are two broad approaches to Kuṇḍalinī awakening: active and passive. The active approach involves systematic physical exercises and techniques of concentration, visualization, pranayama (breath practice) and meditation under the guidance of a competent teacher. These techniques come from any of the main branches of yoga, and some forms of yoga, such as Kriya yoga and Kundalini yoga, which emphasize Kuṇḍalinī techniques.
The passive approach is instead a path of surrender where one lets go of all the impediments to the awakening rather than trying to actively awaken Kuṇḍalinī. A chief part of the passive approach is shaktipat where one individual's Kuṇḍalinī is awakened by another who already has the experience. Shaktipat only raises Kuṇḍalinī temporarily but gives the student an experience to use as a basis.
The twentieth century yogi and mystic Gopi Krishna, who helped to bring the concept of Kuṇḍalinī to the Western world, stated that
As the ancient writers have said, it is the vital force or prana which is spread over both the macrocosm, the entire Universe, and the microcosm, the human body... The atom is contained in both of these. Prana is life-energy responsible for the phenomena of terrestrial life and for life on other planets in the universe. Prana in its universal aspect is immaterial. But in the human body, ...The brain is alive only because of Prana... an enlightened person ... compassionate and more detached. There would be less ego, without any tendency toward violence or aggression or falsehood. The awakened life energy is the mother of morality, because all morality springs from this awakened energy. Since the very beginning, it has been this evolutionary energy that has created the concept of morals in human beings.
The American comparative religions scholar Joseph Campbell describes the concept of Kuṇḍalinī as "the figure of a coiled female serpent—a serpent goddess not of "gross" but "subtle" substance—which is to be thought of as residing in a torpid, slumbering state in a subtle center, the first of the seven, near the base of the spine: the aim of the yoga then being to rouse this serpent, lift her head, and bring her up a subtle nerve or channel of the spine to the so-called "thousand-petaled lotus" (Sahasrara) at the crown of the head...She, rising from the lowest to the highest lotus center will pass through and wake the five between, and with each waking, the psychology and personality of the practitioner will be altogether and fundamentally transformed."
Hatha yoga
According to the Gorakṣaśataka, or "Hundred Verses of Goraksa", hatha yoga practices such as the mudras mula bandha, uddiyana bandha, and jalandhara bandha, and the pranayama practice of kumbhaka can awaken Kundalini. Another hatha yoga text, the Khecarīvidyā, states that khechari mudra enables one to raise Kundalini and access the stores of amrita in the head, which subsequently flood the body.
Shaktipat
The spiritual teacher Meher Baba emphasized the need for a master when actively trying to awaken Kuṇḍalinī:
Kundalini is a latent power in the higher body. When awakened, it pierces through six chakras or functional centers and activates them. Without a master, the awakening of the kundalini cannot take anyone very far on the Path; and such indiscriminate or premature awakening is fraught with dangers of self-deception as well as the misuse of powers. The kundalini enables man to consciously cross the lower planes and it ultimately merges into the universal cosmic power of which it is a part, and which also is at times described as kundalini ... cannot dispense with the need for the grace of a Perfect Master.
In his book, Building a Noble World, Shiv R. Jhawar describes his Shaktipat experience at Muktananda's public program at Lake Point Tower in Chicago on 16 September 1974 as follows:
Baba had just begun delivering his discourse with his opening statement: 'Today's subject is meditation. ... 'Kundalini starts dancing when one repeats Om Namah Shivaya.' Hearing this, I mentally repeated the mantra, I noticed that my breathing was getting heavier. Suddenly, I felt a great impact of a rising force within me. The intensity of this rising kundalini force was so tremendous that my body lifted up a little and fell flat into the aisle; my eyeglasses flew off. As I lay there with my eyes closed, I could see a continuous fountain of dazzling white lights erupting within me. In brilliance, these lights were brighter than the sun but possessed no heat at all. I was experiencing the thought-free state of "I am", realizing that "I" have always been, and will continue to be, eternal. I was fully conscious and completely aware while I was experiencing the pure "I am", a state of supreme bliss. Outwardly, at that precise moment, Baba delightfully shouted from his platform, ‘I didn't do anything. The Energy has caught someone.''
Kundalini awakening
The experience of Kuṇḍalinī awakening can happen when one is either prepared or unprepared.
According to Hindu tradition, in order to be able to integrate this spiritual energy, a period of careful purification and strengthening of the body and nervous system is usually required beforehand. Yoga and Tantra propose that Kuṇḍalinī can be awakened by a guru (teacher), but body and spirit must be prepared by yogic austerities, such as pranayama, or breath control, physical exercises, visualization, and chanting. The student is advised to follow the path in an open-hearted manner.
Religious interpretations
Indian interpretations
Kuṇḍalinī is considered to occur in the chakra and nadis of the subtle body. Each chakra is said to contain special characteristics and with proper training, moving Kuṇḍalinī through these chakras can help express or open these characteristics.
Kuṇḍalinī is described as a sleeping, dormant potential force in the human organism.
It is one of the components of an esoteric description of the "subtle body", which consists of nadis (energy channels), chakras (psychic centres), prana (subtle energy), and bindu (drops of essence).
Kuṇḍalinī is described as being coiled up at the base of the spine. The description of the location can vary slightly, from the rectum to the navel. Kuṇḍalinī is said to reside in the triangular sacrum bone in three and a half coils.
Swami Vivekananda describes Kuṇḍalinī briefly in his book Raja Yoga as follows:
According to the Yogis, there are two nerve currents in the spinal column, called Pingalâ and Idâ, and a hollow canal called Sushumnâ running through the spinal cord. At the lower end of the hollow canal is what the Yogis call the "Lotus of the Kundalini". They describe it as triangular in a form in which... there is a power called the Kundalini, coiled up. When that Kundalini awakens, it tries to force a passage through this hollow canal, and as it rises step by step, as it were, layer after layer of the mind becomes open... When it reaches the brain, the Yogi is perfectly detached from the body and mind; the soul finds itself free. ... The left is the Ida, the right Pingala, and that hollow canal which runs through the center of the spinal cord is the Sushumna. ... The canal is closed at the lower end, ... near what is called the sacral plexus... The different plexuses that have their centers in the spinal canal can very well stand for the different "lotuses" of the Yogi.
When Kuṇḍalinī Shakti is conceived as a goddess, then, when it rises to the head, it unites itself with the Supreme Being of (Lord Shiva). The aspirant then becomes engrossed in deep meditation and infinite bliss. Paramahansa Yogananda in his book God Talks with Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita states:
At the command of the yogi in deep meditation, this creative force turns inward and flows back to its source in the thousand-petaled lotus, revealing the resplendent inner world of the divine forces and consciousness of the soul and spirit. Yoga refers to this power flowing from the coccyx to spirit as the awakened kundalini.
Paramahansa Yogananda also states:
The yogi reverses the searchlights of intelligence, mind and life force inward through a secret astral passage, the coiled way of the kundalini in the coccygeal plexus, and upward through the sacral, the lumbar, and the higher dorsal, cervical, and medullary plexuses, and the spiritual eye at the point between the eyebrows, to reveal finally the soul's presence in the highest center (Sahasrara) in the brain.
Krishnamacharya, often called the "father of modern yoga", described kuṇḍalinī differently. To him, Kuṇḍalinī is not an energy that rises: it is a blockage that prevents prāṇa vāyu (breath) from entering the suṣumnā and rising. This interpretation came partly from his own experience and partly from teachings of two sects of Vishnu-worshiping temple priests.
Western significance
Sir John Woodroffe (1865–1936) – also known by his pseudonym Arthur Avalon – was a British Orientalist whose published works stimulated a far-reaching interest in Hindu philosophy and Yogic practices. While serving as a High Court Judge in Calcutta, he studied Sanskrit and Hindu philosophy, particularly as it related to Hindu Tantra. He translated numerous original Sanskrit texts and lectured on Indian philosophy, Yoga and Tantra. His book, The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga became a major source for many modern Western adaptations of Kundalini yoga practice. It presents an academically and philosophically sophisticated translation of, and commentary on, two key Eastern texts: Shatchakranirūpana (Description and Investigation into the Six Bodily Centers) written by Tantrik Pūrnānanda Svāmī (1526) and the Paduka-Pancakā from the Sanskrit of a commentary by Kālīcharana (Five-fold Footstool of the Guru). The Sanskrit term "Kundali Shakti" translates as "Serpent Power". Kundalini is thought to be an energy released within an individual using specific meditation techniques. It is represented symbolically as a serpent coiled at the base of the spine.
When Woodroffe later commented upon the reception of his work he clarified his objective, "All the world (I speak of course of those interested in such subjects) is beginning to speak of Kundalinî Shakti." He described his intention as follows: "We, who are foreigners, must place ourselves in the skin of the Hindu, and must look at their doctrine and ritual through their eyes and not our own."
Carl Jung
Western awareness of Kuṇḍalinī was strengthened by the interest of Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Carl Jung (1875–1961).
"Jung's seminar on Kundalini yoga presented to the Psychological Club in Zurich in 1932 was widely regarded as a milestone in the psychological understanding of Eastern thought and of the symbolic transformations of inner experience. Kundalini yoga presented Jung with a model for the developmental phases of higher consciousness, and he interpreted its symbols in terms of the process of individuation, with sensitivity towards a new generation's interest in alternative religions and psychological exploration."
In the introduction to Jung's book The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga, Sonu Shamdasani puts forth:
"The emergence of depth psychology was historically paralleled by the translation and widespread dissemination of the texts of yoga... for the depth psychologies sought to liberate themselves from the stultifying limitations of Western thought to develop maps of inner experience grounded in the transformative potential of therapeutic practices. A similar alignment of "theory" and "practice" seemed to be embodied in the yogic texts that moreover had developed independently of the bindings of Western thought. Further, the initiatory structure adopted by institutions of psychotherapy brought its social organization into proximity with that of yoga. Hence, an opportunity for a new form of comparative psychology opened up."
More recent viewpoints
The American writer William Buhlman began to conduct an international survey of out-of-body experiences in 1969 in order to gather information about symptoms: sounds, vibrations and other phenomena that commonly occur at the time of the OBE event. His primary interest was to compare the findings with reports made by yogis such as Gopi Krishna who have referred to similar phenomena, such as the "vibrational state" as components of their kundalini-related spiritual experience. He explains:
There are numerous reports of full Kundalini experiences culminating with a transcendental out-of-body state of consciousness. In fact, many people consider this experience to be the ultimate path to enlightenment. The basic premise is to encourage the flow of Kundalini energy up the spine and toward the top of the head—the crown chakra—thus projecting your awareness into the higher heavenly dimensions of the universe. The result is an indescribable expansion of consciousness into spiritual realms beyond form and thought.
Sri Aurobindo was the other great scholarly authority on Kuṇḍalinī, with a viewpoint parallel to that of Woodroffe but of a somewhat different slant - this according to Mary Scott, herself a latter-day scholar on Kuṇḍalinī and its physical basis, and a former member of the Theosophical Society.
Psychology
According to Carl Jung "the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use, that is, to describe our own experiences with the unconscious". Jung used the Kundalini system symbolically as a means of understanding the dynamic movement between conscious and unconscious processes.
According to Shamdasani, Jung claimed that the symbolism of Kuṇḍalinī yoga suggested that the bizarre symptomatology that patients at times presented, actually resulted from the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī. He argued that knowledge of such symbolism enabled much that would otherwise be seen as the meaningless by-products of a disease process to be understood as meaningful symbolic processes, and explicated the often peculiar physical localizations of symptoms.
The popularization of eastern spiritual practices has been associated with psychological problems in the west. Psychiatric literature notes that "since the influx of eastern spiritual practices and the rising popularity of meditation starting in the 1960s, many people have experienced a variety of psychological difficulties, either while engaged in intensive spiritual practice or spontaneously." Among the psychological difficulties associated with intensive spiritual practice we find "Kundalini awakening," "a complex physio-psychospiritual transformative process described in the yogic tradition." Researchers in the fields of Transpersonal psychology, and Near-death studies have described a complex pattern of sensory, motor, mental, and affective symptoms associated with the concept of Kundalini, sometimes called the Kundalini syndrome.
The differentiation between spiritual emergency associated with Kuṇḍalinī awakening may be viewed as an acute psychotic episode by psychiatrists who are not conversant with the culture. The biological changes of increased P300 amplitudes that occurs with certain yogic practices may lead to acute psychosis. Biological alterations by Yogic techniques may be used to warn people against such reactions.
See also
References
- Frawley, David (February 2009). Inner Tantric Yoga: Working with the Universal Shakti: Secrets of Mantras, Deities and Meditation. Lotus Press. pp. 163–164. ISBN 978-0-940676-50-3.
- ^ Dyczkowski, Mark S. G. (1989). The Canon of the Saivagama and the Kubjika Tantras of the Western Kaula Tradition. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 60, 89.
- Mallinson, James. "Śāktism and Haṭhayoga." In: Goddess Traditions in Tantric Hinduism: History, Practice and Doctrine, edited by Bjarne Wernicke-Olesen London: Routledge, 2016. pp. 109–140.
- ^ "Spotlight on Kundalini Yoga". Yoga Journal. Retrieved 8 October 2013.
- Swami Sivananda Radha, 2004, pp. 13, 15.
- Sharma, M.; Dhankar, M.; Kumar, D. (2022). "Awakening of Kundalini Chakras Presenting as Psychosis—A Case Report". Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine. 44 (5): 526–528. doi:10.1177/02537176221082936. PMC 9460011. PMID 36157024.
- Dale, Cyndi (2011). Kundalini: Divine Energy, Divine Life (1st ed.). Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 978-0-7387-2863-6.
- ^ White, David Gordon (2004). Kiss of the Yogini: "Tantric Sex" in its South Asian Contexts (Paperback ed.). The University of Chicago Press. p. 230. ISBN 978-0-226-89483-6.
- Saivism, Kashmir Saivism (1990). Vac: The Concept of the Word in Selected Hindu Tantras. Sri Satguru Publications. pp. 124–136. ISBN 978-1-4384-1532-1.
- Morrison, Diana (1977). A Glossary of Sanskrit from the Spiritual Tradition of India. Nilgiri Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-915132-11-9.
- Wallis, Christopher, Recognition Sutras: Illuminating a 1,000-Year-Old Spiritual Masterpiece, Mattamayura Press, 6 Oct 2017, Introduction.
- Flood (1996), p. 99.
- ^ White, David Gordon (1998). The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. University of Chicago Press. pp. 219–220.
- ^ Flood, Gavin (2006). The Tantric Body: The Secret Tradition of Hindu Religion. I.B. Tauris. pp. 160–161.
- Dasa, Purnaprajna, ed. (18 June 2013). Narada Pancaratra full in 2 parts: Srila Vyasadeva. Vol. 2: Third, Fourth, and Fifth Ratras. Translated by Das, Bhumipati. Internet Archive.
- Williams, W. F. (2000). "Kundalini". Encyclopedia of Pseudoscience: From Alien Abductions to Zone Therapy. Routledge. p. 211. ISBN 978-1-135-95522-9.
- Saraswati, Swami Satyananda (1984). Kundalini Tantra (2nd ed.). Munger, Bihar, India: Bihar School of Yoga. pp. 34–36. ISBN 978-8185787152.
- Saraswati, Sri Swami Sivananda (2010). Kundalini Yoga (14th ed.). Himalayas, India: The Divine Life Trust Society. p. 27. ISBN 978-81-7052-052-8.
- Muktananda, Swami (1978). Play of Consciousness. Siddha Yoga Publications. ISBN 0-911307-81-8.
- ^ Eastman, David T. (September 1985). "Kundalini Demystified". Yoga Journal: 37–43.
- ^ Krishna, Gopti (1995). Kundalini Questions and Answers (Smashwords ed.). The Institute for Consciousness Studies. pp. 6–8. ISBN 978-0-9938316-6-9.
- Campbell, Joseph (2011). A Joseph Campbell Companion: Reflections on the Art of Living. San Anselmo, California: Joseph Campbell Foundation. p. 117. ISBN 978-1-61178-006-2.
- Mallinson, James; Singleton, Mark (2017). Roots of Yoga. Penguin Books. pp. 32, 180–181. ISBN 978-0-241-25304-5. OCLC 928480104.
- White, David Gordon (2012). Yoga in Practice. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 2, 268–270. ISBN 978-0-691-14085-8.
- Mallinson, James (2007). The Khecarividya of Adinatha: A Critical Edition and Annotated Translation of an Early Text of Hathayoga. London: Routledge. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-415-39115-3.
- ^ Baba, Meher (1958). Beams from Meher Baba on the Spiritual Panorama (PDF). San Francisco: Sufism Reoriented. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
- Jhawar, Shiv (2004). Building a Noble World.
- Maheshwarananda, Paramhans Swami (2004). The Hidden Power in Humans: Chakras and Kundalini. Ibera Verlag. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-3-85052-197-0.
- ^ Scotton, Bruce W. (1999). Textbook of Transpersonal Psychiatry and Psychology. New York: Basic Books. p. 261. ISBN 978-0-465-09530-8.
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Kundalini Tantra. Bihar School of Yoga, 2006. ISBN 978-8185787152
- Nirmala Devi Srivastava (1997). Meta Modern Era (3rd ed.). Vishwa Nirmala Dharma. pp. 233–248. ISBN 9788186650059.
- ^ Vivekananda, Swami (1995). Raja Yoga: Conquering the Internal Nature. Calcutta: Advaita Ashrama. pp. 48–49. ISBN 978-8185301167.
- ^ Yogananda, Paramahansa (1995). The Bhagavad Gita: God Talks with Arjuna: Royal Science of God Realization: the Immortal Dialogue Between Soul and Spirit: a New Translation and Commentary (1st ed.). Los Angeles: Self Realization Fellowship. p. 18. ISBN 978-0-87612-030-9.
- Atkinson, Simon (2022). Krishnamacharya on Kundalini : the origins and coherence of his position. Bristol: Equinox. pp. 31–57. ISBN 9781800501522.
- Taylor, Kathleen (2001). Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'An Indian Soul in a European Body?'. Routledge. ISBN 978-0700713455.
- ^ Woodroffe, John (1950) . The Serpent Power (PDF) (4th ed.). Madras: Ganesh & Co.
- ^ Jung, Carl Gustav (1996). The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C.G. Jung. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. xvi. ISBN 978-0-691-02127-0.
- Nichol, Davi (1999). Psychoanalytic Books: A Quarterly Journal of Reviews.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Buhlman, William (2011). The Secret of the Soul: Using Out-of-Body Experiences to Understand Our True Nature (1st ed.). San Francisco: HarperCollins. p. 191. ISBN 978-0-06-196808-2.
- Scott, Mary (1983). Kundalini in the Physical World. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 259–263. ISBN 978-0-7100-9417-9.
- Hayman, Ronald (2001). A Life of Jung. New York: W. W. Norton. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-393-32322-1.
the concept of Kundalini has for us only one use ...
- ^ Shamdasani, Sonu (2012). The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1932 by C.G. Jung (New ed.). Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-2191-4.
- ^ Turner, R. P.; Lukoff, D.; Barnhouse, R. T.; Lu, F. G. (July 1995). "Religious or spiritual problem. A culturally sensitive diagnostic category in the DSM-IV". The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 183 (7): 435–444. doi:10.1097/00005053-199507000-00003. ISSN 0022-3018. PMID 7623015.
- Kason, Yvonne (2008). Farther Shores: Exploring How Near-Death, Kundalini and Mystical Experiences Can Transform Ordinary Lives (Revised ed.). Bloomington, New York: Author's Choice Press. ISBN 978-0-595-53396-1.
- Greyson, Bruce (1993). "Near-death experiences and the physio-kundalini syndrome". Journal of Religion & Health. 32 (4): 277–290. doi:10.1007/BF00990954. PMID 24271550. S2CID 1892471.
- Bharadwaj, Balaji (2012). "Proof-of-concept studies in Yoga and mental health". International Journal of Yoga. 5 (1): 74. doi:10.4103/0973-6131.91719. PMC 3276938. PMID 22346071.
Further reading
- Aun Weor, Samael (2009). Kundalini Yoga. EDISAW. ISBN 978-85-62455-03-2.
- Avalon, A. (1974). The Serpent Power: The Secrets of Tantric and Shaktic Yoga. Dover Publications. ISBN 978-0-486-23058-0.
- Karmokar, G. (2006). Kundalini – From Hell to Heaven. Zen Way Center. ISBN 978-0-9777456-0-9.
- Kripananda, S. (1995). The Sacred Power: A Seeker's Guide to Kundalini. Siddha Yoga Publications. ISBN 978-0-911307-39-9.
- Mookerjee, A. (1981). Kundalini: The Arousal of the Inner Energy (2nd ed.). Destiny Books. ISBN 978-0-89281-020-8.
- Muktananda, S. (1995). Kundalini: The Secret of Life (erd ed.). U B S Publishers' Distributors Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7476-038-8.
- Petty, A. (2007). Kundalini Rising: Exploring the Chakra/Asanas Connection. Kitsune Books. ISBN 978-0-9792700-0-0.
- Scott, Mary (2006). The Kundalini Concept: Its Origin and Value. Jain Publishing. ISBN 978-0-89581-857-7.
- Sannella, L. (1987). The Kundalini Experience: Psychosis or Transcendence. Integral Publications. ISBN 978-0-941255-29-5.
- Yogananda, Paramahansa (1995). God Talks With Arjuna: The Bhagavad Gita. Self-Realization Fellowship. ISBN 978-0-87612-030-9.
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