In every human being there is a biological mechanism for enlightenment which is also responsible for the evolution of the species towards a higher consciousness.
In eastern traditions it is known as Kundalini, a potential force that once awakened can produce a varity of mental, emotional, physical & spiritual effects.
It is a concentrated field of intelligence, a cosmic force absolutely vital to life, longevity and sexual drive, it is the secret origin of all esoteric and occult doctrines, the master key to the unsolved mystery of creation, the inexhaustible source of philosophy, art and sciences, and the fountainhead of all religious faiths.
Kundalini is the flux of life itself.
Kundalini is manifest in a seemingly contained bodymind form, yet it is not limited to the body. In the ancient scriptures, it is described in three different manifestations.
The first is unmanifest cosmic energy: Para- kundalini.
The second is vital energy of the created universe: Prana-kundalini.
The third is consciousness: Shakti-kundalini, the intermediary between the other two.
“The Kundalini creates the universe out of Her own being, and it is She Herself who becomes this universe. She becomes all the elements of the universe and enters into all the different forms that we see around us.
She becomes the sun, the moon, the stars and fire to illuminate the cosmos which She creates. She becomes the prana, the vital force, to keep all creatures, including humans and birds, alive; it is She who, to quench our thirst, becomes water. To satisfy our hunger, She becomes food.
Whatever we see or don’t see, whatever exists, right from the earth to the sky is nothing but Kundalini. It is that supreme energy which moves and animates all creatures, from the elephant to the tiniest ant.
She enters each and every creature and thing that She creates, yet never loses Her identity or Her immaculate purity.”
-Swami Muktananda
There are three states the energy is said to reside in: the common dormant state, the aroused or activated state and the rare awakened state. When the energy is dormant the metabolism is in a state of homeostasis, this implies kundalini is flowing in a very restricted amount precisely enough to maintain life functions, only a fraction of its full potential, thus unable to cause radical transformation. The spiritual understanding of the individual is restricted, everything is still perceived and interpreted according to a limited psychological perspective. When the kundalini energy is aroused through yoga and other spiritual spiritual practices, through shaktipat or spontaneously due to past trauma, it renders a sudden temporary state of higher consciousness which gives deeper insight and spurt of spiritual energy, it is not stable and integrated yet it does trigger a chain reaction which drives one to seek deeper within. This is often mistaken as an awakening event, though its only a precursor to the more established state.
“Kundalini is the focused energy of the human body and human psyche. Energy can be either manifested or unmmanifested. It can remain in the seed or it can sprout in a manifested form. Kundalini means your total potential. But it is a seed; it’s a possibility. The ways to awaken kundalini are ways to make your potential actual”
-Osho
Only the awakened kundalini energy enables a permanent transformation of consciousness, it onsets a process of metamorphosis which is in a true sense, the actual spiritual awakening every discipline aims towards. As the process unfolds, psychological restrictions fall off, one is faced with their repressed emotions, past traumas and dysfunctional thought patterns. The higher self is revealed only after intense catharsis of lower conditioning, the organism influxed with kundalini seeks to develop to its fullest potential and any resistance to that causes breakdown and even psychosis.
“The mystic, endowed with native talents and following the instruction of a master, enters the waters and finds he can swim; whereas the psychotic, unprepared, unguided and ungifted, has fallen or has intentionally plunged and is drowning.”
-Joseph Campbell
With the growing awareness amongst the masses and a natural drive towards enlightenment, there are many new age concepts and definitions of what it means to awaken. Weather it be waking up to the horrors of the collective socio-political-cultural conditioning or simply a shift in personal perspective, it all is fueled by Kundalini to a degree, and ultimately primes us for the actual Spiritual awakening event.
Awakening in regards to Kundalini is acceleration of our metabolism, an amplification of life processes to animate a higher function of the brain, which enables expanded consciousness.
Awakening of kundalini is not the destination but only the vehicle which ultimately leads one to self realization or enlightenment.
This entire process makes the individual undergo many sublime experiences as well, although all phenomenon are simply a means to an end; truth-consciousness-bliss, Samadhi.