Describes the history of the knowledge of the Divine Power called Kundalini through different cultures and traditions.
Kundalini as the divine power -- one energy defined in many cultures and traditions.
Down through the ages, in every culture and in every time, knowledge of Divine Power dwelling in each human being has been a closely guarded secret.
The First People knew no sickness. Not until separation entered the world did people get sick in the body or head. It was then the medicine man or Shaman, knowing how man was constructed, could tell what was wrong with a person by examining the "energy centres" of the body.
Almost all religions or spiritual traditions speak of this Inner Power in some form or other.
Though the names used to describe it may be different and, although the symbols used to invoke it vary somewhat from culture to culture, the experience called Kundalini is a Universal phenomenon which has been experienced in all places and at all times.
Traditionally, the knowledge of this divine power Kundalini has been a closely guarded secret, revealed by a 'Master' to only a few close and select initiates. It tends to be spoken of in veiled symbolic language, if it is spoken of at all.
The Common Traditions
The Japanese call it "ki", the Chinese "chi" and in Christianity, it is known as "The Holy Spirit". In Mexico, Kundalini was worshiped as the serpent-god "Quetzalcoatl"; the Kung people of the Kalahari called this same power "n'um".
The American Indians know all about the energy that is awakened between the legs and rises to the top of the head, but it is regarded as so sacred that they are forbidden even to pronounce its name. (Shades of the "unpronounceable" name of god 'YHWH'.).
The Hopi's believe that each human being is created in the image of "Great Spirit" but that the door at the top of the head closes and man falls from communion into the uninhibited expression of his own selfish will (The Christian equivalent of this is the mark of "The Beast"). Now man must begin the slow climb back upward until the door at the crown of the head finally reopens and he emerges back into the wholeness of creation.
The Kung believe that "n'um"is not a physical substance, but is instead energy or power, a kind of supernatural potency. They describe trance by saying it feels as though they have a hole their heads, perhaps two inches wide, which extends through them like an empty column down the spine and into the ground beneath.
Throughout history, the Tree has been commonly used as a symbol for the 'Shamanic State'
Kundalini in Western Spirituality
In the West, the knowledge of Kundalini has been transmitted by the esoteric or mystical branches of all of the great religious traditions. The knowledge of Kundalini is present in the mystery religions of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome; in the teachings of both the Gnostic and Neoplatonic traditions; in the Kabalistic traditions of Judaism; and in the personal testaments of the great Christian mystics.
The "Gnostic Gospels", and ancient Christian text says there is in everyone a Divine Power existing in a latent (existing in unconscious or dormant form but potentially able to achieve expression) condition. This, the root of the universe, is One Power divided above and below, generating itself, making itself grow, seeking itself, finding itself, being mother of itself, father of itself, sister of itself, spouse of itself, daughter of itself. That infinite power exists in two modes one actual, the other potential.
Various secret societies or "brotherhoods" such as the Rosicrucians, the medieval alchemists and the Freemasons have sprung up specifically to pass on the knowledge of this 'latent potential' (Kundalini) to a few select initiates.
The Masons speak of the energy, or Spirit Fire, that rises through the spinal column. In Masonry, the science and human transformation consists of moving the Spirit Fire up through 32 degrees (there are commonly 32 segments or vertebrae of the spinal column) whereupon it enters the skull.
The Poet-Saints of all traditions have written & sung of classical Kundalini experiences. One of these poets was Kabir
Lightning flashes without any clouds.
There is no son, but there is radiant light.
The Pearl in that realm forms without a shell.
There is no sound and yet, the Word resounds.
All light is put to shame by the Lord's bright radiance.
The indestructible, unfathomable lies beyond.
Consciousness Matter and the Caballah
The predicament of most human beings, according to the Caballah, is to identify with Consciousness trapped in matter. Through intense prayer, meditation and a repetition of sacred syllables, these buried sparks of Man's Consciousness can be fanned into a blazing Fire and liberated from their imprisonment in the darkness of ignorance. Man's consciousness can be raised until it rests in the crown from whence the "mystic" attains ecstatic visions and realises his own Divine nature.
The transformation from matter, or darkness, to light and "spirit" is universally acknowledged as the task of Kundalini, the Divine conscious serpent power that resides within us.
The strength of Kundalini is what allows us to expand infinitely so that we can see the whole universe within our own Self. Then, we no longer remain a limited, bound creature; we achieve total union with Universal Consciousness.