10/10/2021
In Sanskrit, k***al means a coil, and so k***alini has been described as "that which is coiled". This is the traditional belief, but it has been incorrectly understood. The word k***alini actually comes from the word k***a, meaning "a deeper place, pit or cavity".
The fire used in the ceremony of initiation is kindled in a pit called k***a. Similarly, the place where a dead body is burned is k***a. If you dig a ditch or a hole it is called k***a.
K***a refers to the concave cavity in which the brain, resembling a coiled and sleeping serpent, nestles. (If you have the opportunity of examining a dissection of the human brain you will see that it is in the form of a coil or snake curled up upon itself.) This is the true meaning of k***alini.
The word k***alini refers to the shakti or power when it is in its dormant potential state, but when it is manifesting, you can call it Devi, Kali, Durga, Saraswati, Lakshmi or any other name according to the manifestation it is exhibiting before you.
In the Christian tradition, the terms "the Path of the Initiates" and "the Stairway to Heaven" used in the Bible, refer to k***alini's ascent through sushumna nadi. The ascent of k***alini and ultimately, the descent of spiritual grace, are symbolized by the cross.
This is why Christians make the sign of the cross at ajna, anahata and vishuddhi chakras, for ajna is the center where the ascending consciousness is transcended and anahata is where the descending grace is made manifest to the world.
Whatever happens in spiritual life, it is related to the awakening of k***alini. And the goal of every form of spiritual life, whether you call it samadhi, nirvana, moksha, communion, union, kaivalya, liberation or whatever, is in fact awakening of k***alini.
— Swami Satyananda Saraswati
from libraryofalchemy
