Another very important aspect of the ascending path is an energy known as Kundalini. This energy is coiled in the Muladhara chakra (the root chakra) where, in average person, it ‘sleeps’ dormant. This energy is associated with Divine Mother, in her aspect as the fiery force of the Kundalini Shakti.
On the path to liberation, Kundalini is tightly related to aspirant’s progress on the path. As this force forms part of the sexual energy of a human being, it is necessary to reach chastity and to work on purification of one’s own sexual energies, as well as on elimination of all other inner defects that create a blockage for the energy of divinity to flow through us, and thus disabling Kundalini to become active within us.
Kundalini force awakens at the end of the probationary path and the start of the path proper.
The ascent of the Kundalini is also related to the creation of the solar bodies, as this fiery force has to pass through the spine of each of the new spiritual bodies that are created within. When Kundalini reaches the area of the third eye, the solar body has been created and one receives an esoteric initiation. In this way, an aspirant raises Kundalini in each of his seven solar bodies. That’s why in a spiritually advanced individual there is not just one Kundalini, but seven; one for each of the solar body. These are the famous seven serpents of fire.
Contrary to opinion of many gurus, Kundalini is not a mechanical force that we control and awake solely based on certain breathing exercises or mantras. But rather, it is a divine and conscious power that rises based on the merits of the heart. In another words, the more that we free ourselves of our defects (such as greed, lust, jealousy, pride, anger, fear etc.), the more we attune ourselves to the will of our Being and enable its divine energies to overflow our interior.
That’s why the ascent of Kundalini is slow; proportional to the merits that we acquire when our conditioned consciousness is freed from the egos, and with this newly liberated consciousness emerge virtues that directly affect the pace of Kundalini.
In ancient history, this force has been depicted in various ways. Some of the most famous ones is in ancient Egyptian culture, where a pharaoh is depicted with a cobra ending at his brow, and many frescoes of ancient Egyptian temples depict a deceased initiate in front of the gods, having one, three, or seven serpents on his head, indicating his level of development.
Kundalini energy also forms a big part in Vedic tradition, Judeo-Christian mysteries, ancient Greek religions, and is referred to in many other traditions across the world.