Kundalini.Tantra.by.Satyananda.Saraswati

In both the male and female bodies, there is a vestigial gland at mooladhara chakra
which is something iike a knot. In Sanskrit this is known as brahma granthi; the knot of
Brahma. As long as this knot remains intact, the energy located in this area is blocked.
But the moment the knot is opened, shakti awakens. It is only when the individual
awakens to the possibility of divine consciousness, to a greater force and purpose than
that of instinctive animal life, that the brahma granthi begins to loosen. Consciousness
begins to be liberated from the root center as the individual's aspiration awakens.
Many people feel hesitant and shy about believing kundalini is in mooladhara chakra
and claim it to be in manipura, because they don't want to associate this holy kundalini
shakti with the unholy sexual system. However, scientific investigation shows that this
tiny gland in mooladhara chakra contains infinite energy and many psychic and spiritual
experiences originate from mooladhara. Just because mooladhara is situated in the sexual
region, this does not make it an impure center.
Traditional symbology
Mooladhara chakra is traditionally represented by a lotus flower with four deep
crimson petals. On each petal is a letter: vam, sham, sham, sam, written in gold.
In the pericarp is a yellow square, symbol of the earth element, surrounded by eight
golden spears - four at each corner and four at the cardinal points. These are said to
represent the seven Kula mountains on the base spear of earth.
The golden yellow square, yantra of the earth element, is supported by an elephant
with seven trunks. The elephant is the largest of all land animals and possesses great
strength and solidity. These are the attributes of mooladhara - a great, dormant power,
resting in a completely stable, solid place. The seven trunks of the elephant denote the
seven minerals that are vital to physical function; in Sanskrit they are known sapta dhatu.
The seven trunked elephant is the vehicle of the great mind, the great creativity.
Riding on the elephant's back, in the center of the square, is a deep red inverted
triangle. This is the symbol of shakti or creative energy, which is responsible for the
productivity and multiplicity of all things. Within the triangle is the swayambhu or
dhumra linga, smoky grey in color. Around this linga, which represents the astral body,
kundalini is coiled three and a half times, her luster being that of lightning. Three
represents the three gunas or qualities of nature in an individual. As long as the three
gunas are operating, individuality is functioning within the confinements of ego. The half
represents transcendence.
In tantra this coiled serpent is known as mahakala, great or endless time. Here
kundalini is lying in the womb of the unconscious, beyond time and space. When
kundalini begins to manifest, it enters the dimensions of personality and individuality,
and becomes subject to time and space. That is the awakening of the great serpent power
within the individual form, frame and consciousness of the human being. However, in
most people it is dormant. In its awakened state kundaiini shakti represents our spiritual