Friday, October 10, 2008

Osho: Why the Serpent Symbolism of Kundalini?

Why has the serpent been chosen as a symbol of kundalini? Please explain all the reasons. In the symbol used by theosophy, a coiled serpent with his tail in the mouth is shown. In the symbol of the ramakrishna mission, the tail of the serpent touches the hood. Please explain the meaning of these?

"The serpent symbol for the kundalini is very apt and meaningful. Perhaps there is no better symbol than this. Therefore, not only the kundalini but also the serpent has undergone a great many travels in the symbol form. Nowhere in the world is there a religion in which the serpent has not been depicted somewhere. This is because the serpent has many qualities that tally with the kundalini.

The very first thing that occurs to the mind at the mention of the serpent is the motion of sliding - crawling. The very first experience of kundalini is that of something moving within. You feel as if something has moved within - just as a serpent moves. Another thing that comes to mind with the very notion of a serpent is that it has no legs, yet it moves. It has no means of movement - it is sheer energy - yet it travels. The third thing that comes to the mind is that when a serpent sits it forms coils. When the kundalini lies asleep within us it too rests in the same manner.

When a long thing has to accommodate itself in a small place it has to coil up; there is no other way for it. A very big power is seated on a very small center so it can only coil itself up. Now when the snake gets up it unwinds the coils one by one; as it rises the coil unwinds. In the same way we feel kundalini unwinding within when the kundalini energy rises within us.

The serpent sometimes in playfulness catches its tail in its mouth. This holding of the tail in the mouth is also a significant symbol. This is a valuable symbol and many recognized it as such. It is valuable because it suggests that when the kundalini is fully awakened it will become circular and begin to form its own circuit within. Its hood will catch hold of its own tail; the serpent will become a circle. Now when a symbol is made to depict male sadhana, male spiritual practice, it will catch the tail by its mouth; it will be aggressive. If the symbol is arrived at by female sadhana, female spiritual practices, the tail will just be touching the hood. This is a surrendering tail -- one that is not held in the mouth. This is the only difference and no more.

The hood of the serpent also became purposeful. The tail is very narrow whereas the hood is very broad. When kundalini awakens fully it reaches up to the sahasrara. It opens and spreads like the hood of the serpent; it expands enormously. It is as if many flowers bloom in it. Then its tail becomes very small.

When the serpent stands up it is a wonderful sight; it stands erect on the tip of its tail. It is almost a miracle. The serpent is an invertebrate, a creature with no bones, and yet it can perform this act. It can only be with the help of the vital energy within it, because there is no other substantial means for it to stand erect. It stands by the strength of its own willpower; it has no material strength to rely on. So it is also when the kundalini awakens: it has no physical support; it is an immaterial energy.

These were the reasons why the serpent was chosen as a symbol. There are many other reasons too. For instance, it is an innocent creature; hence, the Hindu god Shiva -- who is also called "the innocent Shiva" -- carries it on his head. On its own the serpent never troubles anybody, but if it is disturbed it can be very dangerous. The same applies to the kundalini. It is a very innocent power; it does not trouble you on its own. But if you disturb it the wrong way you will find yourself in trouble. It can prove very dangerous. So the symbol of a serpent reminds us that it is dangerous to disturb the kundalini in the wrong way. Keeping all this in mind, there was no other symbol more apt than that of the serpent.

All over the world the snake stands as the symbol of wisdom. Jesus has said, "Be clever and intelligent like a snake and as innocent as a dove." The snake is a very intelligent creature -- very alert, very watchful and very sharp and quick. These are all its qualities. The kundalini is also like this. You reach the ultimate peak of wisdom through it; it is very swift, and also very powerful. In the old days, when this symbol was chosen for the kundalini, perhaps there was nothing better than the serpent. Even now there is nothing better.

Perhaps in the future there may be a new symbol -- like the rocket. Some future concept may grasp the kundalini as being like the rocket. Its journey is the same; it travels from one sky to another, from one planet to another, and there is void in between. It can become a symbol. The age decides the symbol.

This symbol was chosen when man was very close to the animal kingdom. All our symbols of those times have been taken from animals, because that was all that our knowledge consisted of so we tried to find symbols in them. The serpent was thus the most apt symbol to define the kundalini.

In those days we could not say that kundalini is like electricity; when we talk today we can say so. Five thousand years ago kundalini could not be talked about in terms of electricity because there was no notion of electricity. But the snake has the quality of electricity. This is hard for us to believe because many of us have no experience of the snake. We may have no experience of the kundalini whatsoever, but we hardly have any experience of snakes either. The serpent is a myth for us.

Recently a survey was taken in London and it was found that seven hundred thousand children had never seen a cow. Now these children who have not seen a cow cannot possibly have any idea of a snake. So their whole way of thinking and reflecting - and their symbols - will be quite different.

Now the serpent is obsolete: it is no longer an important part of our life. Once upon a time it was very near to us; it was our neighbor and was with us all the twenty-four hours of the day. It was then that man noticed its agility, its intelligence, its movements, and the ease with which it carried itself about. It was then that man realized also how dangerous a creature it could be. There are stories of a serpent guarding an infant, and it is so innocent... There are instances when it has bitten the most fierce person and killed him, so dangerous it can be. So both of these possibilities are in it.

When man was very close to the serpent he must have watched it closely. The subject of kundalini also began at about the same time, and both the serpent and the kundalini were found similar in their qualities. But all symbols are meaningful, and if they have come to us through the ages there is a suitability, a rhythm in them. But now it is bound to break.

The symbol of the serpent will not last long. We shall not be able to call the kundalini serpent power, because now where is the poor serpent? It is no longer our neighbor; we have no connection with it. We do not even see him on the roads. So as we have no connection with it whatsoever, this question arises. It could never arise before when it was the only symbol." Osho

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