du thought is essentially cyclic. Common Hindu belief, going back to the Vedas and Upanishads, is that all humans are in the state of samsara: trapped on the wheel of rebirth, undergoing an endless series of reincarnations, the level of each one being determined by karma, the consequences of all one's moral or immoral actions in the preceding life. The goal of all spiritual discipline in Hindu (and Buddhist) thought is to achieve moksha: liberation from the wheel of rebirth, and thus union with the ultimate Divine, which is personified as the Creator God, Brahman.
The methods used in a particular discipline depend on the bhakti (mode of worship) of a person's community and on the particular avatar who is the traditional deity of that community. The worshippers of Shiva are especially devoted to meditation, though this practice is also common to all Hindus. The goal of meditative practice is to achieve a state of bliss or enlightenment, which will free one from the illusions that cause the state of samsara.
Nature and Uses of the Chakra System
The seven chakras, though a concept common to all Hindus, are especially associated with Kundalini yoga and the worship of the divine pair Shiva and Shakti. Traditional tantric yoga includes seven centers of Kundalini energy in the body. Kundalini energy is conceived as the raw energy that underlies both sexuality and (in a more transmuted form) the higher functions of consciousness. Kundalini yoga focuses on awakening the Kundalini energy, which is often pictured as a serpent residing in the first chakr
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