Today we will look at one of the most misunderstood words in the esoteric lexicon. The word is Kundalini, or Serpent-Fire. It is one of the forces which emanate from the sun and is entirely separate and distinct from both Fohat and Prana, being so far as it is known, incapable of being converted into any form of these other forces.
Kundalini has been variously called the Serpent-Fire, the Fiery Power and the World’s Mother. To clairvoyant vision, it appears like a liquid fire as it rushes through the body. The course through which it ought to move is a spiral one like the coils of a serpent. The name of the World’s Mother is appropriate because through it our various envelopes are vivified.
An ancient symbol of the spinal column and Kundalini is that of the Thyrsus, which is a staff with a pine cone on its top. In India the same symbol is found, but instead of the staff, a stick of bamboo with seven knots is used, the knots of course representing the seven chakras or force centres. In some modifications of the mysteries, a hollow iron rod said to contain fire, was used instead of the Thyrsus. It is said that the modern barber’s pole, which is certainly a very ancient symbol, with its spiral bands and a knob at the end, has a similar significance. The modern barber is descended from the ancient chirurgeons or surgeons, who also practised alchemy, a science originally spiritual rather than material. Kundalini exists on all planes of which we know anything and it also appears to have seven layers or degrees of force.
At its inception, the emotional body was an almost inert mass, with only the vaguest consciousness, no definite power to do anything and no clear knowledge of the world which surrounds it. Kundalini was then awakened at the emotional level, in the centre corresponding to the base of the spine chakra. It moved to the second, the sacral centre and vivified it, thereby awakening in the emotional body the power of feeling, of sensitivity without definite comprehension. Kundalini then passed to the third (navel), fourth (heart), fifth (throat), sixth (brow) and seventh (crown) centre in turn, awakening in each the various powers already described in previous presentations.
The mechanism by which we become aware of the happenings in our emotional envelope is interesting and should be clearly grasped. Although in the physical body, we have special organs, each located in a definite and fixed part of the body, for seeing, hearing, and the rest, an entirely different arrangement is made in the emotional body. Here, specialised organs are not necessary for the attainment of the result aimed at.
The matter of the emotional body is in constant movement, the particles flowing and swirling about like those of boiling water and all of them pass in turn through each of the force centres. Using this diagram, which you know so well, think of each of these molecular nodes as representing a chakra. Each of these centres then has the power of evoking from the particles of the emotional body, the ability to respond to a certain set of vibrations. These correspond to what in the physical world we call vibrations of light, sound, heat, and so forth. When, therefore, the emotional centres are vivified and in working order, they confer these various powers on the whole of the matter of the emotional body. This allows the emotional envelope to exercise its powers in every part of itself. This is why a person functioning in their emotional body can see equally and visualise objects that are in front, behind, above and below them. The chakras or centres, therefore, cannot be described as organs of sense in the ordinary meaning of that term, though they do convey the powers of sense to the emotional body.
But even when these emotional senses are fully awake, it by no means follows that the person will be able to bring into their physical body any consciousness of their action. The person may, in their physical consciousness, know nothing whatever about it. The only way in which the consciousness of these emotional experiences can be brought into the physical brain is by utilising the corresponding etheric centres, which must first be awakened and made active.
The method of awakening is similar to that adopted in the emotional body, i.e., by arousing Kundalini, which lies dormant in etheric matter in the centre near the base of the spine. The arousing is achieved by a determined and long-continued effort of the will, bringing the centre at the base of the spine into active being. This process is what is known as the awakening of Kundalini. When once this is aroused, it is by its tremendous force that the other centres are vivified in turn. The effect on the centres is to bring into physical consciousness the powers, which were aroused by the development of the corresponding emotional centres.
In order to bring about these results, however, it is necessary that the serpent-fire move to the chakras in a certain order, and in a certain way, which varies with different types of people. Esotericists who understand these matters from firsthand knowledge are always exceedingly careful to give no clue to the order in which the serpent-fire should pass through the centres. The reason for this is because of the very serious dangers, the gravity of which can scarcely be exaggerated, awaiting those who arouse Kundalini accidentally or prematurely. The most solemn warnings are uttered against attempting anything of the kind until the time is fully ripe and unless under the guidance of a Master or an experienced esotericist.
Before Kundalini is aroused, it is absolutely essential that a definite stage of moral purity is reached and also that the will is strong enough to control the force. Basically, you need to be securely focused in your 47:4 permanent molecule, having taken the (i2). Some of the dangers connected with the serpent-fire are purely physical. Its uncontrolled movement often produces intense physical pain and it may readily tear tissues and even completely destroy the physical envelope. It may also cause permanent injury to envelopes higher than the physical.
One very common effect of arousing the kundalini prematurely is that it rushes downwards into the lower centres of the body instead of upwards, resulting in the excitation of the most undesirable of passions. These are apt to be intensified to such a degree that it becomes quite impossible for a person to resist them. In the grip of such a force, they are as helpless as a swimmer in the jaws of a shark. Such people, usually men, become satyrs, monsters of depravity, being at the mercy of a force out of all proportion to the human power of resistance. They will probably attain certain supernormal powers, but these will serve only to bring them into contact with subhuman beings with which humanity is not supposed to interact and to escape from this thraldom may take more than one incarnation. There is a school of black magic, which purposely uses this power in this way, but the lower force-centres, which in this school are used, are always left severely alone by followers of the Good Law or White Magic.
The premature unfoldment of Kundalini also intensifies everything in the nature of a person, reaching the lower evil qualities more readily than the good. Ambition, for example, in the mental body is readily aroused and grows to an excessive degree. Together with the great intensification of intellectual power, there comes abnormal and satanic pride. The force of the Kundalini is no ordinary force, but something that can’t be resisted. If an uninstructed person has the misfortune to arouse it, they should at once consult someone who fully understands such matters. As the Hatha yoga Pradipika says, “It gives liberation to Yogis and bondage to fools”.
There are some cases where Kundalini wakes spontaneously so that a dull glow is felt: it may even, though rarely, begin to move of itself. In this case, it would probably cause severe pain. Why? Because the passages within the neural pathway are not prepared for it. It would first have to clear its way by actually burning up a great deal of etheric dross, a process necessarily painful. In such cases, the force would usually rush up the interior of the spine, instead of following the spiral course into which the esotericist is trained to guide it. An effort of will should be made, if possible, to arrest such an upward rush, but if that proves to be impossible, as is most likely, it will probably rush out through the head and escape into the atmosphere, probably doing no harm further than causing a slight weakening of the person afflicted. It may also cause a temporary loss of consciousness. The really serious dangers, however, are connected, not with the upward, but with the downward rush.
As already briefly mentioned, the principal function of Kundalini, in esoteric development, is to pass through the etheric force centres and vivify these so that they bring through into the physical consciousness emotional experiences. Thus The Voice of The Silence teaches that a vivification in this manner of the brow centre enables one to hear the voice of the Master, or the solar deva or guardian angel. The explanation of this is that the pituitary body when fully working, affords a perfect link between emotional and physical consciousness.
The mastery of Kundalini has to be repeated in each incarnation, because in each life the bodies are new, but after it has once been thoroughly achieved, repetition becomes an easy matter. The formation of the link between the physical consciousness and that of the causal envelope, has correspondences also at higher levels, meaning for the “soul” on the Second Triad, to link with the consciousness of the Monad on the Third Triad. In the grand scheme of things, this eventually allows the Monad a link with the consciousness of the Logos.
Age does not appear to affect the development of the chakras using Kundalini, but health is a necessity, as only a strong body can endure the strain. So, there you have it, that is what the kundalini is. Now go away and forget about it. Think of it as being like a nuclear reactor. You know it exists and provides a lot of power. If you want to operate it, you are going to need a lot of training. If you try to operate it without the training, you are going to experience a meltdown.
See you in the next presentation.