What is Kundalini – Plugging into the Source of Creation

A seeker asks yogi and mystic, Sadhguru, what is Kundalini – a question that is seldom answered satisfactorily or in terms easily understood. Sadhguru takes us through the explanation of what Kundalini is, using an everyday analogy that should strike a chord in every one of us.

Question: Can you please explain what is Kundalini?

Sadhguru: The word “kundalini” generally refers to that dimension of energy that is yet to realize its potential. There is a huge volume of energy within you which is yet to find its potential. Let me take you from your own experience of life because the stories about it are many. In your house, there is a plug-point in the wall. This plug-point does not actually produce any power. There is a huge power station elsewhere that is producing power, but it cannot give you that power directly. It is the plug-point that gives you the power. Though most people have not even thought about the power station and have no conception of what it is, they know that if they plug an appliance into the plug-point, the appliance will run.

Kundalini: Plug into the ultimate source

Kundalini is the plug-point. It is not a 3-pin point, it is a 5-pin point. You might have heard of the seven chakras. The muladhara is like a plug-point. That is why it is known as muladhara. Muladhara means “fundamental” or “basic.” Five of the remaining six chakras are the plug. What is the seventh chakra? It is like a light bulb. If you plug it in, then everything about you glows. If you are properly plugged in, keeping the lights on twenty-four hours of the day is not an issue anymore. You don't have to turn off your power because you are worried the battery might run out. You can just keep it on blatantly, recklessly, because you are plugged into the power source.

Even right now, you still have energy. You can hear what I am saying. That means life energies are functioning, but in a very miniscule way. Just a small part of it is functioning. If the whole of it becomes available to you, if it is properly plugged in, there is no limit to what you can do out of it. Even with the plug-point at home, once you are plugged in, you can make the light happen, you can get the air-conditioning going, you can have the heater, you can have the television – anything you want. Just one power point. You can do so many things.

Kundalini: The Basis of Existence

Unfortunately, most human beings are not plugged in. They are trying to generate their own power. So they eat five times a day, but still they are tired most of the time. It is a struggle to keep life going. Energy is not just in terms of physical energy or activity, energy is in terms of life. Existence is energy, isn't it? The basis of existence is energy. If you know that basis, it is like knowing the foundations of life. If you understand the ways of the energy, you know the whole mechanics of creation. So if you are plugged in, you know what the power is, what it can do and what you can make out of it. You are plugged into an endless source of power – that is what is Kundalini.

Accessing the Possibilities of Kundalini

Now to plug in an appliance, if your hands are shaky, you will scratch the whole wall but you will not get the plug in. In the same way, to put the 5-point plug into the plug-point is difficult for a lot of people because there is no steadiness in their body, their mind, their emotions or their energies. All this yoga is just to get the necessary steadiness so that you can just plug it in there. Once you plug it in – boundless energy! You don't have to go and learn about or understand the power station. You plug it in and everything is fine.

Yoga is just the science of getting the plug properly in so that there is an uninterrupted source of power. Once you are connected to this uninterrupted source of power, naturally you will proceed in the way life should. You will naturally proceed towards the goal of what life is longing for. You will not get lost with your fancy ideas, dreams, thoughts, emotions or entanglements of the world.

 Sadhguru offers Isha Kriya, a free, online guided meditation that is drawn from the essence of the yogic sciences. Daily practice of this simple yet potent 12-minute process can transform one's life.

Discover the many secrets of Prana and Kundalini, and watch as Sadhguru maps and explains a person’s energy system. Watch the 'Prana' series, only on Sadhguru Exclusive!