The "Dark" & "Divine" Side Of Kundalini Yoga

The term yoga has its roots in the Sanskrit word yuj, which means to yoke together, to conjoin. Hence, yoga implies a spiritual union of the individual consciousness with the allpervading, universal Consciousness, or Brahman, according to the Upanishads. In this way, yoga is the empirical part of religion, says Gopi Krishna in his work, Kundalini- The Secret of Yoga (3). Of all the different yoga traditions and schools that developed in ancient Vedic times, Kundalini Yoga is considered to be the most powerful and therefore, the most dangerous. It is part of the Shaiva Tantra system. Kundalini is considered to be a form of sacred feminine energy that lies dormant at the base of the human spine, called mooladhara, like a serpent. This is pure, formless energy which has immense potential if awakened. Shaiva tantra calls this energy or ‘shakti’ Mother Divine, or formless aspect of the Goddess. Swami Satyananda Saraswathi, a great master of Kundalini yoga and author of Kundalini Tantra says that though you