Kundalini for the New Age: Selected Writings

Kundalini is the Sanskrit term for a latent energy force said to be coiled in the base of the spine, which can be activated through yogic practices and can bring great mental and psychic powers. (Kundalini is symbolized by a sleeping dragon in mythology and by the serpent in the caduceus.) Gopi Krishna (1903-1984), born in India, one of the few people in modern times believed to have experienced the powers of Kundalini, brought the concept to the attention of the West. In this collection of essays, Krishna explains how Kundalini has worked in the lives of prodigious individuals, from Joan of Arc to Sigmund Freud to Mahatma Gandhi. He maintains that in the future all men and women will tap this power and be ""more noble, more sober, more far-seeing . . . more loving.'' Krishna also discusses Western philosophy, science, politics and religion in light of Kundalini and the yogic tradition of which it is part. The topic is sweeping, but Krishna writes with clarity and conviction and a real penetration of modern thought and assumptions. (January)