The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga Notes of the Seminar
Given in 1932
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A COMPLETE LIST OF THE COLLECTED WORKS OF C. G. JUNG
APPEARS AT THE BACK OF THIS VOLUME
THE PSYCHOLOGY
OF
KUNDALINI YOGA
NOTES OF THE SEMINAR
GIVEN IN 1932 BY
C. G. JUNG
EDITED BY SONU SHAMDASANI
COPYRIGHT © 1996 BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PUBLISHED BY PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS, 41 WILLIAM STREET,
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY 08540
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
SECOND PRINTING, AND FIRST PAPERBACK PRINTING, 1999
PAPERBACK ISBN 0-691-00676-8
THIS EDITION OF THE NOTES OF JUNG’S SEMINARS IS BEING
PUBLISHED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY PRINCETON
UNIVERSITY PRESS AND IN ENGLAND BY ROUTLEDGE LTD. IN
THE AMERICAN EDITION, THE VOLUMES OF SEMINAR NOTES
CONSTITUTE NUMBER XCIX IN BOLLINGEN SERIES, SPONSORED
BY BOLLINGEN FOUNDATION
THE TEXT HERE PUBLISHED IS THAT WHICH MARY FOOTE, ITS
ORIGINAL EDITOR, ISSUED PRIVATELY IN 1933
THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS HAS CATALOGED THE CLOTH EDITION OF
THIS BOOK AS FOLLOWS
JUNG, C. G. (CARL GUSTAV), 1875–1961.
THE PSYCHOLOGY OF KUNDALINI YOGA: NOTES OF THE SEMINAR GIVEN IN 1932
BY C. G. JUNG / EDITED BY SONU SHAMDASANI.
P. CM. — (BOLLINGEN SERIES; 99)
ISBN 0-691-02127-9 (CL : ALK. PAPER)
1. KUNDALINI—PSYCHOLOGY. I. SHAMDASANI, SONU, 1962–.
II. TITLE. III. SERIES.
BL1238.56.K86J86 1996
294.5'43—DC20 95±44198
THIS BOOK HAS BEEN COMPOSED IN BASKERVILLE
THE PAPER USED IN THIS PUBLICATION MEETS THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
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IN MEMORIAM
Michael Scott Montague Fordham (1905–1995)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
MEMBERS OF THE SEMINAR
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUCTION: JUNG’S JOURNEY TO THE EAST, by Sonu Shamdasani
Lecture 1: 12 October 1932
Lecture 2: 19 October 1932
Lecture 3: 26 October 1932
Lecture 4: 2 November 1932
Appendix 1: Indian Parallels, 11 October 1930
Appendix 2: Jung’s Comments in Hauer’s German Lectures, 5–8 October 1932
Appendix 3: Hauer’s English Lecture, 8 October 1932
Appendix 4: a -cakra-nirūpa a
INDEX
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. The cakras
Figure 2. Mulādhāra cakra
Figure 3. Svādhi hāna cakra
Figure 4. Ma ipūra cakra
Figure 5. Anāhata cakra
Figure 6. Viśuddha cakra
Figure 7. Ājñā cakra
Figure 8. Sahasrāra cakra
PREFACE
From 3 to 8 October 1932 the Indologist Wilhelm Hauer presented six
lectures concurrently in English and German at the Psychological Club in
Zürich, entitled “Der Yoga, im besondern die Bedeutung des Cakras”
(Yoga, especially the meaning of the cakras). Following these, Jung devoted
four lectures to a psychological interpretation of Kundalini yoga.
Hauer’s English lectures, Jung’s English lectures of 12, 19, and 26
October and Jung’s German lecture of 2 November (which was translated
by Cary F. Baynes) were compiled by Mary Foote1 from stenographic notes
taken by her secretary, Emily Köppel, and privately published in
mimeographed form under the title The Kundalini Yoga: Notes on the
Lecture Given by Prof. Dr. J. W. Hauer with Psychological Commentary by
Dr. C. G. Jung (Zurich, 1933). In her editorial preface Foote noted that the
text had been corrected by both Hauer and Jung.
A German edition edited by Linda Fierz and Toni Wolff entitled Bericht
über das Lecture von Prof. Dr. J. W. Hauer. 3–8 October (Zurich, 1933),
and bearing the title Tantra Yoga on the spine, differed in content from the
English edition. In addition to a German translation of Jung’s English
lectures, it contained the text of Hauer’s German lectures, an account of
Toni Wolff’s lecture “Tantrische Symbolik bei Goethe” (Tantric symbolism
in Goethe) given to the club on 19 March 1932,2 and an account of Jung’s
lecture “Westliche Parallelen zu den Tantrischen Symbolen” (Western
parallels to tantric symbols) of 7 October 1932.
Jung’s lectures were published in abridged form without annotations in
Spring: Journal of Archetypal Psychology and Jungian Thought (1975 and
1976).
This present unabridged edition is based on the text of Mary Foote’s
first edition. Hauer’s lectures have not been reproduced, with the exception
of his final English lecture, which Jung attended and which forms the
bridge to his lectures. This particular lecture demonstrates the relation
between Hauer’s and Jung’s approaches. Where Hauer’s exposition is
referred to in Jung’s lectures, the specific context has been supplied in a
footnote.
In addition, Jung’s comments in Hauer’s German lectures in the Fierz
and Wolff edition and the résumé of his 1930 lecture “Indian Parallels”
contained in Olga von Koenig-Fachsenfeld’s edition, Bericht über das
Deutsche Seminar von C. G. Jung, 6–11. Oktober 1930 in Küsnacht-Zürich
(Stuttgart, 1931) have been newly translated by Katherina Rowold and
Michael Münchow respectively and included, together with Sir John
Woodroffe’s translation of the a -cakra-nirūpa a, the tantric text that was
the subject of Hauer’s and Jung’s commentaries. This has been reproduced
from the fifteenth edition of Woodroffe’s The Serpent Power (Madras,
1992), from which the illustrations of the cakras have also been reproduced
(citations, unless otherwise indicated, are to this edition). For reasons of
space, his copious explanatory notes have not been reproduced.
In editing the transcript, silent changes have been restricted to minor
alterations in punctuation, spelling, and grammar. The Spring edition has
been of assistance in this regard. With few exceptions, the orthography of
the Sanskrit terms in the Foote edition has been followed. The spelling of
these terms in the a -cakra-nirūpa a and other texts cited has been
maintained in the original form.
SONU SHAMDASANI
1 For information on Mary Foote, see Edward Foote, “Who was Mary Foote,” Spring: An Annual
of Archetypal Psychology and Jungian Thought (1974): 256–68.
2 Her lecture, which contained interpretations of Goethe’s work through the symbolism of
Kundalini yoga, was published in full in her Studien zu C. G. Jungs Psychologie (Zurich: Daimon,
1981), 285–318.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank Ulrich Hoerni and Peter Jung for their assistance in a
myriad of ways with the preparation of this seminar, and particularly the
former for many helpful suggestions and for his comments on the
manuscript; Franz Jung for kindly enabling me to consult his father’s
library and locating items for me; C. A. Meier and Tadeus Reichstein for
sharing their recollections of the proceedings; Paul Bishop for locating
Tadeus Reichstein; Beat Glaus for assisting the consultation of Jung’s
correspondence; Eric Donner, Michael Münchow, and Katherina Rowold
for translations; Natalie Baron for assistance with transcription; Anthony
Stadlen for supplying a copy of a letter of John Layard; Ernst Falzeder and
André Haynal for inviting me to lecture at the Department of Psychiatry at
the University of Geneva, which enabled me to undertake research in
Switzerland; David Holt for the gift of copies of Jung’s German-language
seminars and lectures at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule;
William McGuire for his comments on the manuscript; and the late Mary
Foote, for her invaluable work transcribing and editing Jung’s English-
language seminars. Finally, I would like to thank the Erbengemeinschaft C.
G. Jung for permission to consult and quote from Jung’s unpublished
manuscripts and correspondence with Wilhelm Hauer and Surendranath
Dasgupta.
S.S.
MEMBERS OF THE SEMINAR
The following list accounts for persons whose names appear in the original
multigraphed transcript, and others known to have attended. In the
transcript only surnames are given. Here, the full names together with the
country of residence where possible have been given. The actual attendance
was far higher (see p. xxxviii). Biographical details on many of these
individuals have recently been culled together by Paul Bishop.1
Alleman, Mr. Fritz (Switzerland)
Bailward, Mrs.
Baumann, Mr. Hans (Switzerland)
Barker, Dr. Culver (U.K.)
Baynes, Mrs. Cary F. (U.S.)
Bertine, Dr. Eleanor (U.S.)
Crowley, Mrs. Alice Lewisohn (U.S.)
Dell, Mr. Stanley W. (U.S.)
Diebold, Mrs.
Fierz, Mrs. Linda (Switzerland)
Foote, Mary (U.S.)
Hannah, Miss Barbara (U.K.)
Kranefeld, Dr. Wolfgang (Germany)
Mehlich, Mrs. Rose
Meier, Dr. C. A. (Switzerland)
Reichstein, Dr. Tadeus (Switzerland)
Sawyer, Mrs. Carol Fisher (U.S./Switzerland)
Shaw, Dr. Helen (U.K./Australia)
Sigg, Mrs. Martha Böddinghaus (Switzerland)
Spiegelberg, Dr. Friederich (Germany)
Spiegelberg, Mrs. (Germany)
Thiele, Miss
Trüb, Dr. Hans (Switzerland)
Wolff, Miss Antonia (Switzerland)
1 See Paul Bishop, “The Members of Jung’s Seminar on Zarathustra,” Spring: A Journal of
Archetype and Culture 56 (1994): 92–112.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Analytical Psychology = Analytical Psychology: Notes of the Seminar Given in 1925 by C. G. Jung.
Edited by William McGuire. Princeton (Bollingen Series XCIX) and London, 1989.
CW = The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. 21 vols. Edited by Sir Herbert Read, Michael Fordham,
and Gerhard Adler; William McGuire, executive editor; translated by R.F.C. Hull. New York
and Princeton (Bollingen Series XX) and London, 1953–83.
ETH = Jung papers, Wissenschaftshistorische Sammlungen, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule,
Zürich.
HS = Wilhelm Hauer, “Yoga, Especially the Meaning of the Cakras.” In Mary Foote, ed., The
Kundalini Yoga: Notes on the Lecture Given by Prof. Dr. J. W. Hauer with Psychological
Commentary by Dr. C. G. Jung. Zürich, 1932.
Interpretation of Visions = C. G. Jung, Interpretation of Visions: Notes of the Seminar in Analytical
Psychology, Autumn 1930–Winter 1934, ed. Mary Foote. 11 vols. Zürich.
Jung: Letters = C. G. Jung Letters. 2 vols. Selected and edited by Gerhard Adler in collaboration
with Aniela Jaffé; translated by R.F.C. Hull. Princeton (Bollingen Series XCV) and London,
1973 and 1975.
MDR = C. G. Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. London, 1983.
Modern Psychology 3 and 4 = Modern Psychology. The Process of Individuation. Vols. 3, Eastern
Texts. Notes on the Lectures Given at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule, Zürich, by
Prof. Dr. C. G. Jung, October 1938–March 1940, and 4, Exercita Spiritualia of St. Ignatius of
Loyola. 2d ed. Zürich, 1959.
Tantra Yoga = Bericht über das Lecture von Prof. Dr. J. W. Hauer. 3–8 October. Edited by Linda
Fierz and Toni Wolff. Zürich, 1933.
INTRODUCTION
JUNG’S JOURNEY TO THE EAST
26 January 1930. Throughout India gatherings took a pledge that began:
We believe that it is the inalienable right of the Indian people, as of
any other people, to have freedom and to enjoy the fruits of their toil
and have the necessities of life, so that they may have full
opportunities of growth. We believe also that if any government
deprives a people of these rights and oppresses them, the people have
the further right to alter it or to abolish it. The British Government in
India has not only deprived the Indian people of their freedom but has
based itself on the exploitation of the masses, and has ruined India
economically, politically, culturally, and spiritually. We believe that
India must sever the British connection and attain Purna Swaraj or
complete independence.1
Civil disobedience was proclaimed, Gandhi commenced his salt march, and
Nehru was imprisoned.
Munich, 30 May. At a memorial for his deceased colleague, the sinologist
Richard Wilhelm, Jung echoed these dramatic events:
If we look to the East: an overwhelming destiny is fulfilling
itself. . . . We have conquered the East politically. Do you know what
happened, when Rome subjugated the near East politically? The spirit
of the East entered Rome. Mithras became the Roman military
god. . . . Would it be unthinkable that the same thing happened today
and we would be just as blind as the cultured Romans, who marvelled
at the superstitions of the Christians? . . . I know that our unconscious
is crammed with Eastern symbolism. The spirit of the East is really
ante portas. . . . I consider the fact that Wilhelm and the Indologist
Hauer were invited to lecture on yoga at this year’s congress of
German psychotherapists, as an extremely significant sign of the
times.2 Consider what it means, when the practising doctor, having to
deal directly with suffering and therefore susceptible people,
establishes contact with an Eastern system of healing!3
This grand analogy encompassed what Jung saw as the epochal political
and cultural significance of the impact of Eastern thought upon Western
psychology, and set the stage for his encounter with Kundalini yoga.
In the sixties, Jung was adopted as a guru by the new age movement.
Not least among the reasons for this was his role in promoting the study,
aiding the dissemination, and providing modern psychological elucidations
of Eastern thought. For journeyers to the East, he was adopted as a
forefather. At the same time, these interests of Jung together with their
appropriation by the counterculture were seen by many as confirmation of
the mystical obscurantism of his psychology.
YOGA AND THE NEW PSYCHOLOGY
The emergence of depth psychology was historically paralleled by the
translation and widespread dissemination of the texts of yoga.4 Both were
topical, exotic novelties. Newly arrived gurus and yogins vied with
psychotherapists over a similar clientele who sought other counsel than was
provided by Western philosophy, religion, and medicine. Hence the
comparison between the two was not to be unexpected (not least by the
potential customers). While a great deal had already been written
comparing Eastern and Western thought,5 the advent of the new depth
psychologies heralded a new and more promising yardstick for comparison.
For the depth psychologies sought to liberate themselves from the
stultifying limitations of Western thought to develop maps of inner
experience grounded in the transformative potential of therapeutic practices.
