Kuṇḍalinī Rising. the Initial Theosophic Examination of the Tantric Concept of Kuṇḍalinī.

Presenter:

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Abstract

In the course of the past decades, kuṇḍalinī has pervaded popular culture and alternative religion. However, its popular construction arose from a multi-layered process of re-interpretation, originating in its initial exposure by non-Indian actors. Commonly, Sir John Woodroffe is credited with the dissemination of this Tantric concept among devotees of European and American alternative religions. Yet, Woodroffe had built upon earlier discussions on the part of the Theosophical Society. Especially the (early) 1880s witnessed a vital discourse on Tantra and some of its central components, such as kuṇḍalinī. In an Orientalist manner, members of the Theosophical Society aimed to appropriate Tantric concepts, in order to integrate them in their spiritual repertoire, whereby the mysterious kuṇḍalinī energy was one among many Tantric concepts that had aroused the Society’s interest. In the course of time, kuṇḍalinī became a substantial content within their religious program. As one of the earliest English references to kuṇḍalinī, the seminal text The Dream of Ravan constitutes the starting point of that discourse and triggered ensuing Theosophical concepts. Among the members of the Theosophical Society, the journal The Theosophist was the foremost medium of communication, wherefore its contributions provide valuable insights into that vivid discussion. The aim of this paper is the exposition of pre-Woodroffean sources and interpretations of the “serpent power” within the Theosophical Society. A special focus shall be placed upon the early and widely unexplored Theosophical publication The Dream of Ravan and its involvement in subsequent discussion on Tantra and kuṇḍalinī.