First let's talk about kundalini, for it is a powerful force that moves through the chakras, and affects the chakras greatly. It could be thought of as the blood or the chi of the energetic bodies that the chakras represent and are connected to. Many texts consider kundalini to be the circulatory system of the etheric body, the same way that the blood is the circulatory system of the physical body.

The root chakra, located at the bottom of the spine, is where the kundalini energy resides, according to most teachings. Kundalini is a Sanskrit word meaning "circular power." Other sources say that the word kundalini means "coiled." It is also referred to as shakti (divine spark of life-force). It is an individual's basic evolutionary force.

In each person, kundalini energy is present in some proportion or another. Its natural flow is up the spine and out the top of the head. As the kundalini rises, it passes through each of the chakras, awakening the dormant energies of each. It brings new awareness, abilities and divine states. Genevieve Lewis Paulson, in Kundalini And The Chakras (1991), says, "Much as a plant reaches toward light, the Kundalini pushes us to reach for enlightenment; it removes any energy blocks in its way... A fully developed person will have exceptional paranormal gifts, great spiritual awareness and truly be considered genius or God-like." C.W. Leadbeater in The Chakras (1990) says that kundalini movement "quickens these chakras and makes them more fully available as gates of connection between the physical and astral bodies."

The release of kundalini from the root chakra could be felt as waves, flames, pulsations or an uncoiling feeling. Sometimes the movement of the wave is so subtle that people are not aware of the activity. For other people, the kundalini will be felt as extreme heat, or sometimes jolting lightning-like flashes. As the kundalini rises out the top of the head, it blends with the spiritual energy available in the universe, which aids in refining and cleansing the human system.

Kundalini experiences are often defined as divine states of consciousness that can last hours, days, weeks, or even months. Some have referred to this as samadhi, or nirvana, or Christ-consciousness. This usually happens when a person has released a number of blockages in the chakras all at once.

As the kundalini is released, a cleansing on all levels begins to become evident. There will be cleansing not only of the physical, but the emotional and mental levels of consciousness as well. Sometimes physical ailments or clearing of ailments occurs, emotional upsets or clearing of upsets occurs, and mental changes in the way a person thinks may occur, including the healing (or the flaring up) of depression, mental illnesses, and other such mental ways of being. The kundalini will most likely also bring up flashes of past events, which can be cleared from the emotional-memory banks, especially if they are traumatic in nature. All who experience kundalini cleansing will change the ways in which they think, feel and act.

Most Eastern literature covering the topic of kundalini speak of three channels that are part of the kundalini system. There are three nerve channels, called nadis, that are of particular importance in understanding kundalini: the sushumna, the ida, and the pingala. The sushumna is the central channel that runs through and connects the seven "third dimensional" chakras. The ida is the feminine channel which starts at the base of the spine and ends in the left nasal passage. It travels in a curving criss-cross pathway through the seven chakras, but resides primarily along the left side of the spinal column. The pingala is the masculine nerve channel, extending upward from the base of the spine and ending in the right nasal passage. It criss-crosses through the chakras, but primarily is located along the right side of the spine. The ida and pingala represent the opposite poles of the same energy. The ideal is to balance the energy in the ida and pingala, thus activating the central channel.

The nadis of one layer of the aura are connected to the other layers of the aura through the chakras. Ancient Tibetan texts, and some Eastern Indian texts, mention 72,000 nadis, while others proclaim 350,000. In Chinese and Japanese literature, these same channels are called meridians.

There are very few people with completely awakened kundalini energy on the Earth. One who has completely awakened the kundalini would be very vibrant physically, emotionally harmonious, and mentally clear. This would be a person who is functioning with all levels of his or her etheric and physical bodies at once, and would live as near a perfect life as possible on the Earth.

The following are comments about kundalini made by various authors:

About Kundalini energy, Vera Stanley Alder says in The Finding Of The Third Eye (1976), "The magnetism of the soul dominates the body and draws up reserve force from the base of the spine, where it was used for the animal nature..."

In Man, Myth & Magic (Vol. 6) (1985), edited by Richard Cavendish, warnings are given to beginning yogis about raising the kundalini energy without conscious understanding of it. It is considered dangerous to an ordinary man without spiritual aspirations, for the kundalini becomes a destructive force and "begins to move about in a disorganized manner, raging unrestrained through the lower chakras and causing an abnormal excitation of the baser instincts and passions." It is said that the safest way to raise kundalini is with years of arduous training, and raising the kundalini is usually the climax of a long discipline.

This warning is also addressed in C.W. Leadbeater's book The Chakras (1990). He says, "It will probably flash out through the head and escape into the surrounding atmosphere, and it is likely that no harm will result beyond a slight weakening." He goes on to say that the real danger is not with the kundalini's upward rush. The true danger of premature kundalini powers happens with the possibility of it turning downwards and inwards.

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh has a very interesting twist on the concepts around kundalini in Meditation: The Art Of Ecstasy (1976). He says that kundalini is not the life-force energy itself that many people commonly think, but rather a passageway for the life-force to move. He says that kundalini is misunderstood. He also says that it is "not necessary that you will feel kundalini before enlightenment... you feel it when there is something that resists the flow... so the person who feels more kundalini is really blocked... when there is resistance, then the kundalini is felt..." He even goes on to say, "If the passage is clear, no chakra is needed [either]. If kundalini moves and there are no blocks, then you will never feel any chakras..."

Kundalini is associated with sexual energy by many. Kundalini activation is an integral part of sexual tantra practices. Several texts say that sexual energy is kundalini that is being used for creating a new life form, a child, or is being wasted if sexuality is not being used to create a new life. If it is not wasted, spent, or misused, and is sent upward instead, it can be used for vitality in the human body. Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in Meditation: The Art Of Ecstasy (1976), says, "The feeling of emptiness that is overtaking the whole Western mind is just because of sexual wastage... conservation of energy is always blissful. Wastage of energy is only a relief... if you do not allow it to be released sexually—it will become so intense that the upward movement will begin."

Many yogis have cautioned students about wasting sexual energy, that it can be used for attaining enlightenment instead. Sexual energy is a downward movement of the kundalini energy, downward into physical existence. Not acting on sexual impulses causes an upward movement of kundalini, resulting in enlightenment. People who are indulgent in sexual energy are wasting this opportunity to use the life-force for an impetus toward enlightenment.