Here is a word arisen in an idiotic discussion over the merits, if any, of quantum grammar, belief in words and disrespect for experience. Like so many entries in this revised dictionary, this is another that I avoid generally and use only very specifically, very infrequently, and never first in any conversation. This time, though, the content is thematically a departure from the rest, inasmuch as I am merely introducing it, and am not its author.
It is a deceptively young word that derives from the Sanskrit -कुण्डलिनी (kuṇḍalinī, "coiled" and kuṇḍala, "ring"). Apparently, its first known use is as recent as 1897, when theosophy and similar New Age movements were first coming into vogue. I can do no better than to offer this shockingly corrective quote (page 227), circa 1915, about the true nature of kuṇḍalinī.
As always, I invite challenging discussion and/or well considered follow-up questions, according to your nature.
"In so-called 'occult' literature you have probably met with the expression 'Kundalini,'
'the fire of Kundalini,' or the 'serpent of Kundalini.' This expression is often used to
designate some kind of strange force which is present in man and which can be awakened.
But none of the known theories gives the right explanation of the force of Kundalini.
Sometimes it is connected with sex, with sex energy, that is with the idea of the possibility
of using sex energy for other purposes. This latter is entirely wrong because Kundalini
can be in anything. And above all, Kundalini is not anything desirable or useful for man's
development. It is very curious how these occultists have got hold of the word from
somewhere but have completely altered its meaning and from a very dangerous and
terrible thing have made something to be hoped for and to be awaited as some blessing.
"In reality Kundalini is the power of imagination, the power of fantasy, which takes the place
of a real function. When a man dreams instead of acting, when his dreams take the place of
reality, when a man imagines himself to be an eagle, a lion, or a magician, it is the force of
Kundalini acting in him. Kundalini can act in all centers and with its help all the centers can
be satisfied with the imaginary instead of the real. A sheep which considers itself a lion or a
magician lives under the power of Kundalini.
"Kundalini is a force put into men in order to keep them in their present state. If men could
really see their true position and could understand all the horror of it, they would be unable
to remain where they are even for one second. They would begin to seek a way out and they
would quickly find it, because there is a way out; but men fail to see it simply because they are
hypnotized. Kundalini is the force that keeps them in a hypnotic state. 'To awaken' for man
means to be 'dehypnotized.' In this lies the chief difficulty and in this also lies the guarantee
of its possibility, for there is no organic reason for sleep and man can awaken."
-George Gurdjieff
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