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that we can begin to appreciate elements of our personality and human potential which we usually do not deal with in the West, yet which may have profound impact on the evolution of our consciousness.
It is theorized that kundalini is latent within the body at the base of the spine. Within the spine, yogi’s say, is a central canal called sushumna with two other canals—ida on the left and pingala, the right—entwined around the spine like the snakes encircling the staff in the familiar symbol of medicine, the caduceus. In fact, the caduceus of Mercury, prior to Greek mythology, may have originally been the symbol of kundalini or “serpent fire,” representing the ancient secret of achieving transcendence of the body and ego.7
As kundalini awakens, it flows into the three canals. In the well- developed yogi, the main flow is through the central sushumna canal. Yogis believe that will and desire are the higher and lower aspects of the same attribute; for the powerful kundalini force to be directed properly the will must be cultivated. At first desire directs the flow of energy, but as the individual’s consciousness develops and higher spiritual centers are activated, when his character becomes strengthened and his intuition far-reaching, the energy is directed and controlled from “above” rather than “below,” by will rather than desire. If such higher attributes do not develop and the individual is a servant of desire, his intention can be easily distracted and he can lose control of this powerful energy. The literature on kundalini always includes a warning about premature awakening of this awesome power before the moral control needed to direct it along the right path has been attained.
If kundalini is prematurely awakened before moral control is attained, there is a danger of stimulating the negative aspects. It is said that it is indeed far better for kundalini to remain dormant at the base of the spine until the individual has made definite moral development—until his will is strong enough to control the energy and his thoughts pure enough to face the awakening without injury. Because if the kundalini is aroused prematurely and without proper inner controls and moral fortitude, the energy may pass uncontrolled to excite the most undesirable passions —exciting them and intensifying their effects to such a degree that it becomes impossible for man to resist them. It may intensify everything in (one’s) nature, and it reaches the lower and evil qualities more read-