(Redirected from Chakras)
'Chakra' () is a
Sanskrit term (refer etymology section) meaning ''wheel''. There is a vast literature on chakra models, philosophy and
lore that underpin many
philosophical systems and
spiritual energetic practices, religious observance and personal discipline. Chakras function and relate within the systemic suite of the human
bodymind. The philosophical theories and models of chakras as systemic vortices of energy were identified through the
existential [1] mystical practice of
yoga in
Ancient India where they were first codified.
Working definitions
Judith (1996: p.5) provides a salient working definition for chakras:
A chakra is a center of activity that receives, assimilates, and expresses life force energy. The word ''chakra'' literally translates as ''wheel'' or ''disk'' and refers to a spinning sphere of bioenergetic activity emanating from the major nerve ganglia branching forward from the spinal column. There are seven of these wheels stacked in a column of energy that spans from the base of the spine to the top of the head. There are also minor chakras in the hands, feet, fingertips, and shoulders. Literally, any vortex of activity could be called a chakra. It is the seven major chakras that correlate with basic states of consciousness.... (NB: original text not meta-enhanced.)
Chakras are considered to be a
nexus of
metaphysical and/or
biophysical energy of the
human body.
Chakra are often explained according to the protocols of
evidence-based medicine like
acupuncture points. In some Eastern thought, chakras are considered to be gradations of consciousness, and states of the
soul, and 'proving' the existence of chakras is asking to 'prove' the existence of the
thought process. A
mystic deals with these
metaphysical concepts as a model for their internal and external experience, and when talking about 'energy centers', they are generally talking about subtle electromagnetic forces, which connect to the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies.
Organisational constructs
As Bucknell, ''et. al.'' (1986: p.vii) concisely state in implying a dichotomy between Indian Vajrayana and Himalayan Vajrayana:
In the Vajrayana tradition, now preserved mainly in Tibetan sects, it has long been recognized that certain important teachings are expressed in a form of secret symbolic language known as , 'Twilight Language'. ''Mudrās'' and ''mantras'', s and ''cakras'', those mysterious devices and diagrams that were so much in vogue in the pseudo-Buddhist hippie culture of the 1960s, were all examples of Twilight Language.... (NB: Original quotation not meta-enhanced.)
History
Judith (1996: p.5) outlines that:
The chakra system originated in India, more than four thousand years ago. Chakras were referred to in the ancient literature of the Vedas, the later Upanishads, the ''Yoga Sutras of Patanjali'', and most thoroughly in the 16th century by an Indian yogi in a text called the ''Sat-Chakra-Nirupana''. In the 1920s, chakras were brought to the West by Arthur Avalon with his book, ''The Serpent Power''." (NB: original text not meta-enhanced.)
What is construed as the
New Age movement, and to some degree the distinctly different
New Thought movement, have adopted and developed the chakra
meme.
Modern depiction of one Western model of seven chakras in the human body.
Etymology
The English word ''chakra'' is derived from the
Sanskrit '' चक्रं meaning "
wheel" or "
circle".
[2][3] More generally, the term refers to circular objects or formations, and
Apte provides 23 different definitions for ''cakram'' used as a
noun. Examples include "discus" (a type of divine weapon, particularly associated with the god
Vishnu), a
potter's wheel, a form of military array, etc.
Bhattacharyya's review of
Tantric history says that the word ''chakra'' is used to mean several different things in the Sanskrit sources:
[4]
# "Circle", used in a variety of senses, symbolizing endless
rotation of
shakti.
# A circle of people. In rituals there are different ''cakra-sādhanā'' in which adherents assemble and perform
rites. According to the ''
Niruttaratantra'', chakras in the sense of assemblies are of 5 types.
# The term chakra also is used to denote
yantras or
mystic diagrams, variously known as '', '', etc.
# Different "nerve
plexi within the body".
In
Buddhist literature the Sanskrit term ''cakra'' (
Pali ''cakka'') is used in a different sense of "circle", referring to a Buddhist conception of the 4 circles or states of
existence in which gods or men may find themselves.
[5]
Chakra models
'Chakrology' is a
neologism sometimes employed by
Alternative Medicine practitioners or
esoteric philosophers for the study of chakras. There are many different chakrologies, some of them based on ancient
Indian Hindu
Tantric esoteric traditions,
New Age interpretations, or Western
occult analyses, as well as ancient Greek and
Christian references.
There are numerous traditional and modern models of the chakra system of the human subtle energetic body. As the system is subtle, these differences may co-exist and be perceived as foregrounding and backgrounding different qualities or attributes for specific reasons or purposes rather than perceived as vying for ascendancy. That said, the
bodymind is a system, refer
systems theory and no chakra is supreme. Chakra work in dialogue and in relationship to each other and that is how
Ayurvedic Medicine energetic interplay which is directly comparable to the human
endocrine system and how different glands chemically signal and communicate to each other.
Hindu model
In
Hinduism, the concept of chakras is part of a complex of ideas related to
esoteric anatomy. These ideas occur most often in the class of texts that are called
Āgamas or
Tantras. This is a large body of
scripture, most of which is rejected by
orthodox Brahmins.
[6]
There are many variations on these concepts in the Sanskrit source texts. In earlier texts there are various systems of chakras and
nadis, with varying connections between them. Various traditional sources list 5, 6, 7, or 8 chakras. Over time, one system of 6 or 7 chakras along the body's
axis became the dominant model, adopted by most schools of
yoga. This particular system may have originated in about the
11th century AD, and rapidly became widely popular.
[7] It is in this model where
Kundalini is said to "rise" upward, piercing the various centers until reaching the crown of the head, resulting in union with the Divine.
This is the conventional arrangement cited by Monier-Williams, where the chakras are defined as "6 in number, one above the other".
[8]
Atal Behari Ghosh presents the 6-chakra model but notes that "Opinion is divided as to the number of these ''cakras''; some say that there are 16, and others that there are more."
[9]
The Hindu
sadhana of
Laya yoga works with the chakra system.
Tantric model
The chakras are described in the tantric texts the ''Sat-Cakra-Nirupana'', and the ''Padaka-Pancaka''
[10] , in which they are described as emanations of consciousness from Brahman, an energy emanating from the spiritual which gradually turns concrete, creating these distinct levels of chakras, and which eventually finds its rest in the
Muladhara chakra. They are therefore part of an
emanationist theory, like that of the
kabbalah in the west,
lataif-e-sitta in
Sufism or
neo-platonism. The energy that was unleashed in creation, called the
Kundalini, lies coiled and sleeping at the base of the spine. It is the purpose of the
tantric or
kundalini forms of
yoga to arouse this energy, and cause it to rise back up through the increasingly
subtler chakras, until union with God is achieved in the
Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.
The Tantric
sadhana of
Laya yoga works with the chakra system.
[11] [12]
The tantric chakras
Tantra (Shakta or Shaktism) describes eight primary inner chakras:
#
Muladhara (
Sanskrit: Mūlādhāra) tip of the tailbone, spiritual potential
#
Swadhisthana (
Sanskrit: ) tailbone, unconscious emotion or desire
#
Manipura (
Sanskrit: ) navel, dynamism
#
Anahata (
Sanskrit: Anāhata) heart, love based decisions
#
Vishuddha (
Sanskrit: ) neck, discrimination and wisdom
#
Ajna (
Sanskrit: Ājñā) eyebrow, mind
#
Bindu (
Sanskrit: ) a dot at the back of the head, prayer and Aum
#
Sahasrara (
Sanskrit: Sahasrāra) top of head, higher consciousness
Vajrayana and Tantric Buddhist model
According to contemporary
buddhist teacher
Tarthang Tulku, the heart chakra is very important for the feeling of existential fullfilment.
As result of energetic imbalance between chakras arises an almost continuous feeling of dissatisfaction. When the heart chakra is agitated, people lose touch with feelings and sensations, and that breeds the sense of dissatisfaction. That leads to looking outside for fullfilment.
When people live in their heads, feelings are secondary, they are interpretations of mental images that are fed back to the individual. When awareness is focused on memories of past experiences and mental verbalizations, the energy flow to the head chakra increases and the energy flow to the heart chakra lessens. Without nurturing feelings of the heart a subtle form of anxiety arises which results in the self reaching out for experience.
When the throat chakra settles and energy is distributed evenly between the head and the heart chakras, one is able to truly contact one's senses and touch real feelings.
[13]
Chögyal Namkai Norbu Rinpoche teaches a version of the
Six Lokas sadhana which works with the chakra system.
Bön model
Chakras, as
pranic centers of the body, according to the
Himalayan Bönpo tradition, influence the quality of experience, because movement of
prana can not be separated from experience. Each of six major chakras are linked to experiential qualities of one of the
six realms of existence.
[Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, ''Healing with Form, Energy, and Light''. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2002. ISBN 1559391766, pp. 84]
A modern teacher,
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche uses a computer analogy: main chakras are like hard drives. Each hard drive has many files. One of the files is always open in each of the chakras, no matter how "closed" that particular chakra may be. What is displayed by the file shapes experience.
The
tsa lung practices such as those embodied in
Trul Khor lineages open channels so ''lung'' (''Lung'' is a Tibetan term
cognate with
prana or
qi) may move without obstruction.
Yoga opens chakras and evokes positive qualities associated with a particular chakra. In the hard drive analogy, the screen is cleared and a file is called up that contains positive, supportive qualities. A
seed syllable (
Sanskrit bija) is used both as a password that evokes the positive quality and the armor that sustains the quality.
[Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, ''Healing with Form, Energy, and Light''. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications, 2002. ISBN 1559391766, pp. 84-85]
Tantric practice eventually transforms all experience into bliss. The practice liberates from negative conditioning and leads to control over perception and cognition.
Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche teaches a version of the Six Lokas sadhana which works with the chakra system.
Chinese models
Traditional Chinese medicine also relies on a similar model of the human body as an energy system, except that it involves the circulation of qi energy [14][15], rather than a simple ascent as in kundalini yoga.
In the circuit of qi, called the Microcosmic orbit, energy also comes back down the front torso channel (equivalent to the nadis of Hatha yoga), and enters the tan tiens: when it returns to the heart (and cycles down and reascends to the head) further meditation/contemplation or union with deity develops . In Macrocosmic orbit the qi is also guided through the main channels in the limbs. [16]
With the front tan tiens (autonomic plexuses to organs/glands) branching from cerebrospinal chakras) and two levels of a vitality triangle on/in the back (spleen and behind a 'belly chakra/tantien', and by the arm-nadi branch) on the back, there are 7 (or 8) chakra spots outside the cerebrospinal nadis.
Common currency and popular models
The chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column from the base of the spine to the top of the head. In New Age practices, each chakra is often associated with a certain color. In various traditions chakras are associated with multiple physiological functions, an aspect of consciousness, a classical element, and other distinguishing characteristics. They are visualized as lotuses/flowers with a different number of petals in every chakra.
The chakras are thought to vitalize the physical body and to be associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature. They are considered loci of life energy or prana, also called shakti, qi (Chinese; ''ki'' in Japanese), coach-ha-guf (Hebrew), bios (Greek) and aether (English), which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadis. The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance.
The New Age movement has led to an increased interest in the West regarding chakras. Many in this movement point to a correspondence between the position and role of the chakras and those of the glands in the endocrine system. These ideas first appear in the writings of theosophical authors like C. W. Leadbeater, who wrote a book on the Chakras.
The seven principal chakras are said by some to reflect how the unified consciousness of humanity (the immortal human being or the soul), is divided to manage different aspects of earthly life (body/instinct/vital energy/deeper emotions/communication/having an overview of life/contact to God). The chakras are placed at differing levels of spiritual subtlety, with Sahasrara at the top being concerned with pure consciousness, and Muladhara at the bottom being concerned with matter, which is seen simply as crudified consciousness.
Hesychastic centres of prayer
Hesychasm specifies four centres[17]:
# 'Cerebrofrontal centre': Positioned between the eyebrows (compare with Ajna).
# 'Buccolaryngeal centre'.
# 'Pectoral centre': Positioned in the upper and median region of the chest.
# 'Cardiac centre': Positioned near the upper part of the heart (compare with Anahata).
In the Hesychastic Tradition [18] (and Christian Ascetical Theology as well [19]) the ascetical methods and meditation which lead to an inner ''Knowledge of the Heart'' are often referred as Cardiognosis
Western derivative models and interpretations
, , ISBN 0-486-23058-9
Further reading
Traditional secondary sources and commentary
★ Banerji, S. C. ''Tantra in Bengal''. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. (Manohar: Delhi, 1992) ISBN 81-85425-63-9
★ Kundalini Yoga, , Swami Sivananda, MD, Saraswati, , , ISBN 81-7052-052-5
★ Shyam Sundar Goswami, ''Layayoga: The Definitive Guide to the Chakras and Kundalini'', Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
Derivative sources, Western and interpretive literature
★ Leadbeater, C.W. ''The Chakras'' Wheaton, Illinois, U.S.A.:1926--Theosophical Publishing House--Picture of the Chakras on plates facing page 17 as claimed to have been observed by Leadbeater with his ''third eye''.
★ Dossier of the Ascension: A Practical Guide to Chakra Activation and Kundalini Awakening, Sharp, Dr. Michael, , , Avatar Publications, 2005, 0973537930
★ Guru Dharam S Khalsa and Darryl OKeeffe. ''The Kundalini Yoga Experience'' New York, NY U.S.A.:2002, Fireside, Simon & Schuster, Inc. Copyright by Baia Books Limited. Kriyans and meditations copyright Yogi Bhajan, All Rights reserved.
★ Judith, Anodea (1996). ''Eastern Body Western Mind: Psychology And The Chakra System As A Path To The Self''. Berkeley, California, USA: Celestial Arts Publishing. ISBN 0-89087-815-3
External links
★ Sites related to chakra at the Open Directory Project.
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