Kundalini in Hindu cultural tradition refers to rapturous energy. It is the primitive source of shakti or feminine energy that signifies creativity and potentiality. Kundalini is believed to transcend the basal carnal energy into a cosmic one. The word comes from the Sanskrit root Kundalin, which means a state of being like a serpent coiled up three times. It is widely believed that Kundalini remains dormant in each person as if in a snake-form at the base of spine, specifically into a triangular-shaped bone “sacrum” which, in Greek mythology, is considered the most sacred part of the body. To awaken Kundalini, a practitioner of yoga first needs to evoke his/her vital life force or prana, a dynamic energy in a static body along with practicing meditation and pranayama(“conscious control of respiration”). Once the practitioner of yoga starts performing these steps, a cathartic feeling is induced by effacing the unpleasant emotions generating from the gross body. Ultimately, he/she...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Bibliography
Avalon, A. (1974 Rev.). The serpent power: The secrets of Tantric and Shaktic yoga. New York: Dover.
Brooks, D. R. (1990). The secret of the three cities: An introduction to Hindu Sakta tradition. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Kripal, J. J. (1995). Kali’s child: The mystical and the erotic in the life and teachings of Ramakrishna. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Lochtefeld. (2002). The illustrated encyclopedia of Hinduism (pp. 585 & 650).
Mukherjee, A. (1981). Kundalini: The arousal of the inner energy. New York: Destiny.
Saraswati, S. S. (1984). Kundalini Tantra. Bihar: Yoga Publications Trust.
White, D. G. (2009). Sinister Yogis. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Das, R. (2019). Kundalini. In: Leeming, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_9113-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27771-9_9113-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27771-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27771-9
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences