Kundalini.Tantra.by.Satyananda.Saraswati

Then there is the emergence of Durga, the higher, more refined and benign symbol of
the unconscious. Durga is a beautiful goddess seated on a tiger. She has 8 hands
representing the eightfold elements of man.
Durga wears a mala of human heads to symbolize her wisdom and power. These
heads are generally 52 in number, representing the 52 letters of the Sanskrit alphabet,
which are the outer manifestations of Shabda Brahma or Brahma in the form of sound.
Durga is the remover of all evil consequences of life and the giver of power and peace
that is released from mooladhara.
According to yoga philosophy, Kali, the first manifestation of the unconscious
kundalini is a terrible power; it completely subdues the individual soul, represented by
her standing on Lord Shiva. It sometimes happens that by mental instability some people
get in contact with their unconscious body and see inauspicious, ferocious elements -
ghosts, monsters, etc. When Kali, the unconscious power of man, is awakened she goes
up to meet the further manifestation, being Durga, the superconscious, bestowing glory
and beauty.
Symbolic representation of kundalini
In the tantric texts, kundalini is conceived of as the primal power or energy. In terms
of modern psychology, it can be called the unconscious in man. As we have just
discussed, in Hindu mythology, kundalini corresponds with the concept of Kali. In the
philosophy of Shaivism, the concept of kundalini is represented by the shivalingam, the
oval-shaped stone or pillar with a snake coiled around it.
However, most commonly, kundalini is illustrated as a sleeping serpent coiled three
and a half times. Of course there is no serpent residing in mooladhara, sahasrara or any
other chakra, but the serpent has always been a symbol for efficient consciousness. In all
the oldest mystic cults of the world you find the serpent, and if you have seen any
pictures or images of Lord Shiva, you will have noticed serpents girdling his waist, neck
and arms. Kali is also adorned with serpents and Lord Vishnu eternally reposes on a large
coiled serpent. This serpent power symbolizes the unconscious in man.
In Scandinavian, European, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries and many
different civilizations of the world, the concept of the serpent power is represented in
monuments and ancient artifacts. This means kundalini was known to people from all
parts of the world in the past. However, we can conceive kundalini in any manner we like
because actually, prana has no form or dimension, it is infinite.
In the traditional descriptions of kundalini awakening, it is said that kundalini resides
in mooladhara in the form of a coiled snake and when the snake awakens it uncoils and
shoots up through sushumna (the psychic passage in the center of the spinal cord),
opening the other chakras as it goes (see Sir John Woodroffe's The Serpent Power).
Brahmachari Swami Vyasdev, in his book Science of the Soul, describes the awakening
of kundalini in the following way: