Traditional symbology

Ajna is symbolized by a two petalled lotus. According to the scriptures it is a pale color, light grey like a rainy day. Some say it is white like the moon, or silver, but actually it is an intangible color. On the left petal is the letter ham and on the right ksham. Ham and ksham are inscribed in a silvery white color and are the bija mantras for Shiva and Shakti. One represents the moon or ida nadi and the other the sun or pingala nadi. Below the chakra the three nadis merge - ida on the left, pingala on the right and sushumna in between.

Within the lotus is a perfectly round circle which symbolizes shoonya, the void. Within the circle is an inverted triangle which represents shakti - creativity and manifestation. Above the triangle is a black shivalingam. Shivalingam is not, as many people believe, a phallic symbol. It is the symbol of your astral body. According to tantra and occult sciences, the astral body is the attribute of your personality, and in the form of shivalingam, it can be one of three colors, depending on the purification or evolution of your consciousness.

In mooladhara chakra the lingam is smoky and ill-defined. It is known as dhumra lingam, and we can compare this with our state of consciousness when we live an instinctive life. We have no real concept of ourselves or what we are. Ajna chakra has a black lingam with a very consolidated outline. It is called the itarakhya lingam. Here, in ajna, the awareness of ‘what I am’ is more sharply defined and various capacities are being awakened. In sahasrara the consciousness is illumined and therefore the lingam there is luminous. It is called the jyotir lingam. When a person of unevolved mind concentrates, he experiences the shivalingam in the form of a smoky column. It comes and then disperses, comes again and disperses, and so on. With deeper concentration, as the restlessness of the mind is annihilated, the lingam becomes black in color. By concentrating on that black shivalingam, the jyotir lingam is produced within the illumined astral consciousness. Therefore, the black lingam of ajna chakra is the key to the greater spiritual dimension of life. Over the shivalingam is the traditional symbol of Оm, with its tail on top and the crescent moon and bindu above that. Om is the bija mantra and symbol of ajna chakra, and above its form can be seen the raif, the trace of sound consciousness. Paramshiva is the deity of ajna chakra and he shines like a chain of lightning flashes. The goddess is the pure minded Hakini whose six faces are like so many moons. Each chakra is considered to possess a tanmatra, or specific sense of modality, a gyanendriya or organ of sense perception, and a karmendriya or organ of action. The tanmatra, gyanendriya and karmendriya of ajna chakra are all considered to be the mind. The mind is able to gain knowledge by subtle means rather than by the input of sense data from the various sense organs, which are the gyanendriyas of the other chakras. The mind perceives knowledge directly via a sixth or intuitive sense, which comes into operation as ajna chakra awakens. This sense is the gyanendriya of the mind. Similarly, the mind can manifest actively without the aid of the physical body. This is the faculty of astral projection, which manifests with the awakening of ajna chakra. Therefore, mind is considered to be the karmendriya of ajna. The mode of operation of this center is purely mental and so the tanmatra is also the mind. The plane is tapa loka, where vestiges of imperfection are purified and the karmas are burned away. Along with vishuddhi chakra, ajna forms the basis for vigyanamaya kosha, which initiates psychic development. Often, the experience one has when awakening takes place in ajna is similar to that induced by ganja (marijuana) or any other drug of that type. He who meditates on this awakened chakra sees a flaming lamp shining as the morning sun and he dwells within the regions of fire, sun and moon. He is able to enter another’s body at will, and becomes the most excellent amongst munis, being all-knowing and all-seeing. He becomes the benefactor of all and is versed in all the shastras. He realizes his unity with the Brahman and acquires siddhis. Different results accruing out of meditation on the various centers are collectively realized by meditating on this center alone.

Ajna and the mind

So, ajna is essentially the chakra of the mind, representing a higher level of awareness. Whenever you concentrate on something, whether it is mooladhara, swadhisthana or manipura chakra, or you concentrate on an external object or an idea, ajna is affected, sometimes mildly, sometimes powerfully, depending on the degree of your concentration. When we visualize or when we dream at night, the inner vision that occurs is through ajna. If you are eating, sleeping or talking and you are not aware of it, then ajna is not operating. But if you are talking and one area of your awareness knows it, this knowing, this awareness is the faculty of ajna. When you develop ajna, you can have knowledge without the aid of the senses. Normally, all knowledge comes to us by means of information the senses conduct to the brain, and a process of classification, logic and intellect that takes place in the frontal brain. However, the smaller brain, where ajna chakra is situated, has the capacity to acquire knowledge directly without the aid of the indriyas or senses. Supposing it is a very cloudy day, you can know, through logic, that it will rain. But if there are no clouds in the sky and still you know beyond a doubt that it will rain, this means your intuition and perception are very acute and ajna chakra is functioning. When ajna is awakened, fickleness of the individual mind disperses and the purified buddhi (subtle intelligence or higher perception) manifests. Attachment, which is the cause of ignorance and lack of discrimination drops away, and sankalpa shakti (willpower) becomes very strong. Mental resolves are almost immediately converted into fruits, provided they are in accordance with individual dharma. Ajna is the witnessing center where one becomes the detached observer of all events, including those within the body and mind. Here the level of awareness is developed whereby one begins to ‘see’ the hidden essence underlying all visible appearances. When ajna is awakened, the meaning and significance of symbols flashes into one’s conscious perception and intuitive knowledge arises effortlessly. This is the center of extrasensory perception where various siddhis manifest according to one’s samskaras or mental tendencies. For this reason, ajna chakra is said to resemble a knot directly on top of the spinal cord. According to tantra this knot is called rudra granthi, the knot of Shiva. This knot is symbolic of the aspirant’s attachment to the newly developed siddhis which accompany the awakening of ajna. The knot effectively blocks the spiritual evolution until attachment to psychic phenomena is overcome and the knot in consciousness is freed.

Understanding cause and effect

Up until ajna chakra awakens, we are under delusions, we view things incorrectly and we have many great misconceptions, about love and attachment, hatred and jealousy, tragedy and comedy, victory and defeat, and so many things. Our fears are unfounded, so are our jealousies and attachments, but still we have them. Our mind is functioning within a limited sphere and we can’t transcend it. Just as we dream at night and our dream experiences are relative, we are also dreaming in our waking state and our experiences are relative. In the same way that we wake from a dream, when ajna awakens, there is also a process of waking up from this present dream we are living, and we can fully understand the relationship between cause and eflect. It is necessary for us to understand the law of cause and effect in relation to our lives, otherwise we are depressed and sorrowful about certain events in life. Supposing you give birth to a child and shortly after it dies. Why did it happen? This is what everybody would ask, isn’t it? If a child was meant to die straight after birth, why was it born at all? You can only understand the reason if you understand the laws of cause and effect. Cause and effect are not immediate events. Each and every action is both a cause and an effect. This life we have is an effect, but what was the cause? You have to discover it, then you can understand the relationship between cause and effect. It is only after awakening of ajna chakra that these laws can be known. Thereafter your whole philosophical attitude and approach to life changes. No events of life affect you adversely, and the various objects and experiences that come into your life and fade out of your life do not disturb you at all. You participate in all the affairs of life and you live fully, but as a detached witness. Life flows like a fast current and you surrender and move with it.

Moving on from ajna to sahasrara

To reach ajna chakra it requires sadhana, discipline, firm belief and persistent effort. With our present state of mind it is not possible to know how to reach sahasrara, but once ajna chakra becomes active, you develop superior perception and you realize how sahasrara can be reached. It’s like setting out on a journey from Munger to Marine Drive, Bombay. The most important stage of the journey is the long train trip to Bombay. Once you are there, reaching Marine Drive is no problem. It’s easy to find the way, you just take a taxi and go there. So, in my opinion, it is not important for us to know how to reach sahasrara from ajna chakra, but it is essential for us to know how to awaken ajna.