According to Osho, the serpent perfectly mirrors Kundalini: it slithers like the first inner surge; moves without legs as pure energy; rests coiled at the base and uncoils upward; forms a completing circle (ouroboros); spreads its hood at sahasrar; can stand on sheer intent; and is innocent yet potent, symbolizing wisdom, alertness, and the danger of wrong stirring.
We use a snake to describe Kundalini because it feels and behaves like one—coiled when asleep, sliding up when awake, opening wide at the top, powerful, wise, and needing careful handling.
From the Discourses
Passages where Osho speaks to this question — each links to the complete discourse.
Osho, why is the serpent considered the symbol of Kundalini energy? Please mention all the reasons. The Theosophical emblem shows a circular snake with its tail in its mouth. In the Ramakrishna Mission emblem, the tail touches the serpent’s hood. Please clarify their meanings as well.
The serpent is a very apt symbol for Kundalini—perhaps the best there is. That is why, not only for Kundalini, the serpent as a symbol has traveled far and wide; there is hardly a corner of the world where at some time the serpent has not entered the religion of that place. The serpent has many qualities that harmonize with Kundalini. First, the moment you think of a serpent you think of slithering. And the first experience of Kundalini is the feeling that something has slithered—just as a snake slides. Second, when you think of a serpent you remember it has no legs, yet it moves; it has no visible means of locomotion, no feet, and still it moves. Kundalini too has no feet, no instrument—sheer energy—and yet it travels. Third, when a serpent is resting it sits coiled. When Kundalini is in repose—when our body’s energy has not awakened—it…
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 --…
Question: is the feeling of kundalini similar to the movement of a serpent?
No, it is different. There may be a person who has never seen a snake. If his kundalini awakens, he cannot conceive of it as "serpent power"; it is impossible because the symbol is not there. Then he will feel it in different ways. This has to be understood. In the West they cannot conceive of kundalini as serpent power because the serpent is not a reality in their ordinary lives. It was in ancient India: the serpent was your neighbor, your day-to-day neighbor; and it was one of the most powerful things perceived, with the most beautiful movements. So the serpent symbol was chosen to represent the phenomenon of kundalini. But elsewhere the serpent cannot be the symbol; it becomes unnatural. Snakes are not known; then you cannot conceive of it, you cannot even imagine it. Symbols are there and they are meaningful as far as your personality is…
Beloved Osho, where did the devil come from when he appeared to adam and eve as a serpent?
Not only were ordinary women forced to confess and burned alive, once a woman accepted that she was a witch and has had a sexual relationship with the devil, then certainly she could not be allowed to remain alive even for a single moment. She was bringing the devil into human blood, she would pollute the whole of humanity: she had to be burned alive. And it was not ordinary women only -- even nuns, mother superiors, they managed, and forced them to confess. Anybody could raise the suspicion, just that was enough. Anybody, any man, could raise the suspicion to the pope, to the bishop, to the high priest, that this woman, this nun, seems to be a witch. That was enough for the investigation to begin. And there was a special court arranged by the pope, the Inquisition, with a big office and hundreds of people working for…
A friend has asked: Osho, monks, renunciates, yogis have attained meditation by sitting in caves for years. And you say that meditation is possible even in forty minutes. Is meditation really that simple?
After the three stages, the last ten minutes are only waiting. We can do nothing more. A man can only leave himself open for the divine. Can we drag “Him” in? How? Can we grasp “Him” in our fist? At most we can send an invitation and wait. The sun rises outside the door; we can leave our door open and say, “Come in”—we cannot bring the sun in. If the door is open, the sun comes. Note a strange fact. We cannot bring the sun in—but we can keep it out. Close the door. Not only that; we carry a small pair of doors in our pocket—our eyelids. The door may be open, but if we close our eyes, what can the sun do? Close these tiny shutters and the sun is helpless. Negativity we have in abundance. Negatively, we can block the divine; positively, we cannot compel it.…