Kundalini, a Sanskrit word literally meaning “curled up like a serpent”, refers to the reservoir of cosmic energy lying dormant in each individual at the base of the spine until it is activated, as by Kundalini meditation. Upon arousal, this energy is said to rise upwards like a serpent through the spinal channel (called the “Sushumana”) and the seven Chakras (Chakra is a Sanskrit word literally meaning “wheel”) or the “centers of psychic force” along the spine, which, in the physical body, closely correspond to any of the nerve plexuses, nerve ganglia and endocrine glands.
The concept of Kundalini meditation originated from the ancient Indian philosophy of Yoga. The practice of Kundalini meditation involves one or more of the following: strict yoga postures (meant as an aid to maintaining physical fitness); intense breathing exercises (meant to increase the Prana or the life force); contemplation; and chanting of Mantras. (Mantra is a Sanskrit word meaning “a verbal formula composed of a word or a phrase” that is chanted repeatedly during meditation or prayers for invocation of a god/goddess or a magic spell.)
In the religious context, the arousing and awakening of this stored serpentine energy through Kundalini meditation, when engaged in the right way under the guidance of a spiritual teacher, is said to bring about an altered state of heightened awareness, enhanced levels of sensory perception, deep peace, a blissful feeling of ecstasy and oneness with the supreme universal consciousness, and an effortless flow of knowledge of the self and the universe.
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