This latent cosmic energy, which lies at the base of the spinal column, can be aroused and made to reach the higher energy centers only when the nadis, or the subtle channels of the body, are clear. There are 72,000 nadis in the human system. Though attempts have been made to identify these energy pathways within the anatomy of the physical body, they are unfathomable to direct empirical observation. If the nadis could be revealed to the eye, the body would appear as a highly complex network of energy. The most important of the nadis is the central channel, Sushumna, and its two flanking channels, the Ida on the left, and the Pingala on the right. The Sushumna runs from just below Muladhara, the base chakra, and extends to the forehead through the spinal column. The Sushumna nadi remains closed at its lower end as long as the kundalini is not awakened.

When kindled, the Kundalini moves through successive chakras or psychic centers until it reaches the highest, the seventh chakra, or the Sahasrar. The process of meditation results in the peaking of each chakra, leading to an experience of a dimension beyond the five senses.

To open the chakras to a higher level of intensity it needs tremendous energies, awareness and skill. The legends of great yogis speak of the rigours of the quest: the extraordinary renunciation, the intense search, the wandering, the physical and mental discipline, the austerity, the persistence and above all the indomitable longing. When the turbulent stages of the quest are past and the still center that is the Divine stands revealed, there is the awesome moment of enlightenment. At this moment, not only is the enlightened being rapturous and ecstatic, but the whole world is also positively affected.