Chakra perception

The subject of chakras is not going to be an easy one. Many scientists and philosophers are confronted with a great difficulty when it comes to accepting and explaining the existence of the chakras. They do not know whether the chakras are to be found in the physical body or in the subtle body. If they exist in the physical body, where are they? And of course the subtle body is not the matter of modern anatomical science. In the past, doctors and scientists used to ask me: ‘We have witnessed many operations, why have we never seen the chakras?’ At the time, the only reply I could give them was, ‘Can you show me the sound waves in a transistor radio? I have opened up radios but I have never found the BBC there.’ This answered their questions, but it didn’t really satisfy them. Scientists want a scientific explanation, and for this, new areas of research are being developed.

An eminent Japanese scientist, Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama, has invented sensitive machines for measuring the vital energy of the body. One apparatus measures the functioning of the nadis and their corresponding body organs, and this machine is now being used in some Japanese hospitals to diagnose disease tendencies before they actually manifest. Another invention is ’the chakra machine’, which records the impulses that emanate from the psychic centers in the spinal cord. On this machine it is possible to register definite impulses from these areas in individuals who have been practising yoga for many years, and who have awakened their psychic faculties. For example, when a subject practises pranayama with kumbhaka and maha bandha - contraction of the perineum, abdomen and thyroid, the machine registers changes in the impulses emanating from the psychic centers. This research shows that energy is definitely activated by the yoga practices. However, we still have a lot of research to do in order to provide more scientific explanations.

At the same time, there are quite a lot of different interpretations on the science of chakras. Of course the differences are not that great, but they are there. The thinkers of theosophical movements and their predecessors have their own interpretations of the chakras, their location points, colors, etc. The Rosicrucians and others may say something completely different and the tantric texts may present entirely different concepts.

The chakras, kundalini and the mind have subtle aspects on all levels of vibration. This is extremely complicated and most of the realization of these levels must be very personal. Even then, different people see these occult aspects from different points of view. For instance, if they have realizations about the chakras, these will be colored by their own personal tendencies. Some concentrate on their more subtle mystical aspects, some on their energy and pranic manifestations, some on their functional reality, some on their psychological effects, and still others on their physical concomitants. These are usually all correct and when various authorities get together, they find that they are talking about the same things but from different points of view. If we look at a man through binoculars he looks large. If we look at him by ordinary vision he looks the usual size. If we view him through an X-ray screen we see his skeleton, and if we look through a gastroscope we see the inside of his stomach. Same man - different viewpoints. In the same way, whereas a mystic or yogi will describe the chakras in a spiritual or symbolic way, the surgeon may describe the chakras as bunches of nerve fibers making up what he calls the plexuses, and a clairvoyant will describe the energy manifestations of the chakras in yet a different way. These people may have disagreements, but actually they are seeing the same thing from different viewpoints. Discrepancies are largely semantic due to differing cultural, educational and personal understandings. This is a common problem amongst men when they try to communicate in words any idea or experience. Whereas I have great respect for the tantric concept, I have my own experience, and therefore, in my descriptions of the chakras I’ll make references to both. However, rather than trying to understand the chakras through the written or verbal descriptions of others, you must experience them for yourself and gain your own personal knowledge. Tantra is essentially a practical science rather than an intellectual one, and only practice leads to true experience and real understanding.

Chakra symbology

If you are practising kundalini yoga or kriya yoga, you will need to know the different colors and symbols of the chakras. They are all very beautiful and form an intrinsic part of the awakening of the individual chakras. Each chakra has a particular color, mantra, situation and range of experiences associated with it. Whereas the various esoteric cults and spiritual systems use different symbols to represent the chakras, in tantra and yoga the chakras are symbolized by lotus flowers. As a symbol, the lotus is very significant. Man must pass through three clear stages in spiritual life, which represent his existence on three different levels: ignorance, aspiration and endeavor, and illumination. The lotus also exists on three different levels - mud, water and air. It sprouts in the mud (ignorance), grows up through the water in an effort to reach the surface (endeavor and aspiration) and eventually reaches the air and the direct light of the sun (illumination). Thus the lotus symbolizes man’s growth from the lowest states of awareness to the higher states of consciousness. The culmination of the growth of the lotus is a beautiful flower. In the same way, the culmination of man’s spiritual quest is the awakening and blossoming of human potential. So each of the principal chakras can be visualized as a lotus flower with a specific color and number of petals as follows:

Mooladhara - 4 petalled deep red lotus Swadhisthana - 6 petalled vermilion lotus Manipura - 10 petalled bright yellow lotus Anahata - 12 petalled blue lotus Vishuddhi - 16 petalled violet lotus Ajna - 2 petalled silver-grey lotus Sahasrara - 1000 petalled multicolored or red lotus. In each chakra six things are combined : 1) the chakra color, 2) the petals of the lotus flower, 3) the yantra or geometrical shape, 4) the bija mantra, 5) the animal symbol, 6) the higher or divine symbol. Each chakra contains an animal and divine beings. The animals represent your previous evolution and instincts, and the divine beings represent higher consciousness. In my exposition of the chakras I may say a chakra is a particular color, but if you are a good yogic aspirant and in your concentration on that chakra you realize another color, that is the truth for you. Your experiences are just as valid as mine, but one thing is definite, as you move up through the chakras, the frequencies of the colors become more subtle and more powerful. Chakra kshetram In many of the practices of kundalini yoga we have to concentrate or focus our awareness on the chakra trigger points in the spinal cord. However, many people find it easier to concentrate on the chakra kshetram located on the front surface of the body. In kriya yoga particularly, the chakra kshetram are utilized in many of the practices. The kshetram can be regarded as reflections of the original chakra trigger points, and when we concentrate on them it creates a sensation which passes through the nerves to the chakra itself and then travels up to the brain. Mooladhara does not have a kshetram, but swadhisthana, manipura, anahata, vishuddhi and ajna have physical counterparts directly in front of them on the same horizontal plane. Swadhisthana kshetram is at the level of the pubic bone in front of the body just above the genital organ. Manipura kshetram is at the navel, anahata kshetram is at the heart and vishuddhi kshetram is located on the front surface of the throat pit in the vicinity of the thyroid gland. Ajna kshetram is bhrumadhya, the mid-eyebrow center.

The granthis

There are 3 granthis (psychic knots) in the physical body which are obstacles on the path of the awakened kundalini. The granthis are called brahma, vishnu and rudra, and they represent levels of awareness where the power of maya, ignorance and attachment to material things is especially strong. Each aspirant must transcend these barriers to make a clear passageway for the ascending kundalini. Brahma granthi functions in the region of mooladhara chakra. It implies attachment to physical pleasures, material objects and excessive selfishness. It also implies the ensnaring power of tamas - negativity, lethargy and ignorance. Vishnu granthi operates in the region of anahata chakra. It is associated with the bondage of emotional attachment and attachment to people and inner psychic visions. It is connected with rajas - the tendency towards passion, ambition and assertiveness. Rudra granthi functions in the region of ajna chakra. It is associated with attachment to siddhis, psychic phenomena and the concept of ourselves as individuals. One must surrender the sense of individual ego and transcend duality to make further spiritual progress.

Conversion centers

Besides functioning as control centers, the chakras work as centers of interchange between the physical, astral and causal dimensions. For instance, through the chakras, subtle energy from the astral and causal dimension can be transformed into energy for the physical dimension. This can be seen in yogis who have been buried underground for long periods of time. Through activation of vishuddhi chakra, which controls hunger and thirst and enables one to subsist on subtle energy in the form of amrit or nectar, they have been able to maintain their existence.

It is further contemplated that physical energy can be transformed into subtle energy through the action of the chakras and that physical energy can be converted into mental energy within the physical dimension.

Thus the chakras are seen to be intermediaries for energy transfer and conversion between two neighboring dimensions of being as well as facilitating the energy conversion between the body and mind. As the chakras are activated and awakened, man not only becomes aware of the higher realms of existence, but also gains the power to enter those realms, and then in turn, to support and give life to the lower dimensions.