Within every human lies a divine / cosmic energy called Kundalini. Kundalini is Shakti, whom the sages of India worship as mother of the universe. She is the active aspect of the Absolute.

Man badly needs this knowledge of the Self. It is because he lacks this knowledge, which is the knowledge of true humanity, that so many terrible things are happening in the world. .. To attain humanity again, man will have to know who he really is; he will have to realise his own Self. If man doesn't respect himself, how can he respect others? Therefore, first of all, man should know the Self.

Within every human being lies a divine energy called Kundalini. This energy has two aspects: one manifests this worldly existence, and the other leads us to the highest truth. The mundane aspect of this energy is functioning perfectly, but the inner aspect is dormant, sleeping. When the inner Kundalini energy is awakened, it sets off different processes of yoga within us, and leads us to the state of the Self. This is why there is no knowledge more important that the knowledge of Kundalini.

Almost every tradition speaks of Kundalini in one form or another and describes Kundalini in its own way. In Japanese it is called Ki; in Chinese, Chi; the scriptures of Christianity call it the Holy Spirit. What is that Kundalini? It is the power of the Self, the power of Consciousness.

Kundalini is Shakti, supreme energy, whom the sages of India worship as the mother of the universe. Shakti is the consort of Shiva. She is the active aspect of the formless, attributeless Absolute. .. Enlightened men of knowledge perceive Her in all the forms and objects in the universe, and seeing everything as one in That, they merge in That.

What is the nature of this Shakti? She is the supreme creative power of the Absolute Being. Just as heat, which has the power to burn, is not different from fire, Shakti, which has the power to create this universe, is identical with Parabrahman, the supreme Absolute. She is Brahman in the form of sound, the sound vibration of the Absolute, which manifested the universe. In mantras She is the form of matrika, the letters, and in words She is of the form of knowledge. All letters are composed by Her; it is She who brings sound, language and the alphabet into existence.

The Shivasutras, the principle scripture of Kashmir Shaivism, state, iccha shaktiruma kumari - 'She is the willpower of God, the ever-young maiden called Uma.' She is called ever-young because She is always playing; Her play is the creation, sustenance and dissolution of the world.

Another name for Kundalini is Chiti, universal Consciousness. .. every atom of this world is filled with Chiti. Everything we know is Chiti.

Whatever we see or don't see, whatever exists, from the earth to the sky, is nothing but Chiti, nothing but Kundalini. It is that supreme energy which moves and animates all creatures. She enters each and every creature and thing that She creates, yet never loses Her identity or Her immaculate purity.

This divine power is the power of our own Self. Though we talk about awakening the Kundalini, the truth is that everyone's Kundalini is already awake. Just as She has created the external universe and dwells within it, She has created this human body and pervades it from head to toe. Dwelling at the center of the universe, She holds it together and maintains it. In the same way, dwelling at the center of the body, in the muladhara chakra at the base of the spine, She controls and maintains our whole physiological system, through its network of 72 000 nadis.

Kundalini is the support of our lives; it is She who makes everything work in our bodies. When Her flow is external, Kundalini functions through the mind and senses and provides the motive power of all our activities. She is at the root of all the senses of perception and organs of action, and She makes each one work according to its nature. .. She makes the mind think, the intellect decide and discriminate, and the imagination fantasise. It is SHe who brings the breath in and out and makes the heart beat. It is the inner aspect of Kundalini which has to be awakened. Kundalini in her outer aspect is all-pervasive, and that is why even though She is functioning inside us, we don't perceive Her. Only through subtle understanding can we come to know Her; without understanding, we cannot find Her. This understanding arises when the inner Kundalini becomes active. We cannot know Her, but She can know Herself. The sun illuminates the world and also illuminates itself, and in the same way the effulgent Kundalini, which illuminates the mind, the intellect, the senses and their objects, also illuminates Herself and makes Herself known.

Related: Nature of Kundalini | Awakening of Kundalini | Kundalini Awakening in Daily Life | The Attainment | Glossary