Theosophical interpretations of kundalini and subtle bodies

Record summary

Late nineteenth-century Theosophists increasingly described kundalini, chakras, astral bodies, and invisible planes through a hybrid vocabulary drawing selectively on Hindu and Buddhist sources. These interpretations circulated through Theosophical books, lectures, and periodicals associated with Indian centers. The lead matters for comparison because it shows how technical religious concepts became instruments for discussing clairvoyance, initiation, and visionary perception. Scholarly work emphasizes translation, reconstruction, and invention alongside borrowing; the resulting system should not be assumed to reproduce any single premodern Indian lineage.