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This was back in 1998 when I first saw a plaque of swami Vivekananda with his famous quote printed alongside his picture. The quote goes as follows:

“Arise, Awake and stop not till the goal is reached”

At that time , I felt this quote was motivational and thought this can be principally applied in pursuit of any human goals.

Fast forward 27 years to today morning in Dec 2025, while I was packing bags to return to Bangalore after a two day trip to Mysore, this quote passed my mind and it flashed me on what Swami Vivekananda might have meant with this quote .

He might referring to the rise of Kundalini energy from the base of the spine from the muladhara chakra, and this energy piercing through all the 7 chakras and merge with the top most sahasrara chakra, culminating in supreme awakening of a human being.

Each of the 7 chakras that runs from the base of the spine along the subtle channel called sushumna nadi can be understood as psychic centers of transformation according to modern scientific knowledge. Psychological or emotional imbalances are associated with the chakras. So when the kundalini energy or shakti are pierced through these chakras, people feel the sense deep purification and psychological restructuring.

So let me try to break down the quote:

Arise ! – Rise your Kundalini energy to pierce your chakras

Awake ! – Awareness needed during the Kundalini practice

and stop not till the goal is reached – The goal being referred here is to merge the kundalini energy with the Sahasrara chakra. This is where the energy meets universal consciousness, leading to states of Samadhi (bliss/oneness).