The Sanskrit word Kundalini is derived from "kundala," which means ‘coiled," and is descriptive of the form of a specific energy when it is latent or "sleeping" in the common person. When through specific science this energy is activated or awakened, it illuminates the nervous system and energetic centers, activating superior senses and abilities. In Christianity, this energy is called the fire of Pentacost. In Judaism, it is the Shekinah. In Aztec mysticism, it is called Quetzalcoatl. In Buddhism, it is known as candali or tummo: "she who terrifies the ego." This lecture describes how to awaken the kundalini, the spiritual energy that is the basis of all existence.
Read the lecture transcription.
Lecture quote:
"It is important for all sincere, serious spiritual seekers to have a very strong understanding of what Kundalini is because it is the energy that facilitates all spiritual development. The Kundalini is at the base of all existence. It is the raw foundational energy that the spiritual seeker wants to cultivate, develop, or awaken, depending on which tradition or terms they use. The word Kundalini is most known from the Sanskrit language, yet it is even more ancient than that language; it has roots that go back to Atlantis and beyond. Kundalini refers to a cosmic force, an energy unlike any energy that we know physically. Kundalini is not mere electricity or magnetism or heat, but is the source of them all. Kundalini is a kind of force or energy that is pure, divine, raw potentiality, that is then modified according to its condition. This is the key fact that is often missing in many texts or schools of Hinduism or Buddhism who discuss Kundalini. In the West, Kundalini is also a basic foundational aspect of religion, but it is more veiled. In the Judeo-Christian tradition it is symbolized as the fire of the Holy Spirit or that column of fire that led the Israelites in their great exodus. In reality, any spiritual practice that we perform, any kind, whether recitation of mantras, meditation, prayer, devotional singing, Karma Yoga or selfless service (Seva), all of these spiritual practices, no matter what tradition it comes from, has as its intention the awakening of this cosmic force within us. There is no exception to this. The very purpose of religion or Yoga is to awaken this energy inside of the person. We seek to activate that force, because that energy connects us to the divine. It produces in us what can be called enlightenment or liberation. That energy is not active in most people today. That is because the conditions that activate it have not been satisfied. Like any energy or force in nature, the energy of Kundalini (the Holy Spirit) functions according to the laws of nature. It functions according to cause and effect. Everything in nature, even God, respects the law of cause and effect. Karma, this law of action and consequence, modifies everything. Every manifested thing is subject to cause and effect. Kundalini is no exception."