Vishuddhi Chakra

Vishuddhi chakra is known as the ‘purification center’. The Sanskrit word shuddhi means (to purify), and in this chakra the purifying and harmonizing of all opposites takes place. Vishuddhi is also known as the ’nectar and poison center’. Here, the nectar which drips down from bindu is said to be split into the pure form and the poison. The poison is discarded and the pure nectar then nourishes the body, ensuring excellent health and longevity.

Vishuddhi represents a state of openness in which life is regarded as the provider of experiences that lead to greater understanding. One ceases to continually avoid the unpleasant aspects of life and seek the pleasant. Instead there is a flowing with life, allowing things to happen in the way that they must. Both poison and nectar are consumed in vishuddhi chakra, and they are understood to be but parts of a greater cosmic whole. Proper understanding and true discrimination dawn out of this equal acceptance of the dualities and polarities of life.

The more abstract aspect of vishuddhi is the faculty of higher discrimination. Hence any communication received telepathic ally can be tested here for its correctness and accuracy. Similarly, vishuddhi allows us to differentiate between realization coming into our consciousness from the higher levels of knowledge, and the mere babblings of our unconscious mind and wishful thinking.

Vishuddhi chakra is often treated as an insignificant chakra in the scheme of kundalini yoga. People are more concerned with mooladhara, anahata and ajna, and therefore the significance of vishuddhi is easily disregarded. In fact, the reverse attitude may even be more appropriate.

The location point

Vishuddhi chakra is in the cervical plexus directly behind the throat pit. Its kshetram is in the front of the neck, at the throat pit or thyroid gland. The physiological concomitants of vishuddhi are the pharyngeal and laryngeal nerve plexi.

Traditional symbology

Some tantric texts say vishuddhi chakra is represented by a dark grey colored lotus, however, it seems to be more commonly perceived as a purple lotus of sixteen petals. These sixteen petals correspond to the number of nadis associated with this center. On each petal one of the Sanskrit vowels is inscribed in crimson - am, aam, im, eem, um, ооm, rim, reem, lrim, lreem, em, aim, om, aum, am, ah. In the pericarp of this lotus is a circle which is white like the full moon, representing the element of ether or akasha. This ethereal region is the gateway to liberation for one whose senses are pure and controlled. Within this moon shape is a snow white elephant, also symbolic of the akasha element. This is considered as the vehicle of consciousness of this plane, and the aspirant may picture himself upon its back. The bija mantra is ham, also pure white, which is the seed sound or vibration of the etheric element. The presiding deity of vishuddhi is Sadashiva, who is snow white, three-eyed and five-faced, with ten arms and clothed in a tiger’s skin. The goddess is Sakini who is purer than the ocean of nectar that flows down from the moon region. Her raiment is yellow and in her four hands she holds the bow, the arrow, the noose and the goad. Vishuddhi belongs to the fifth loka, the plane of janaha. Its vayu is udana which lasts till the end of life and rises upwards, and along with ajna chakra, vishuddhi forms the basis for vigyanamaya kosha which initiates psychic development. The tanmatra or sense is hearing and the gyanendriya or organ of knowledge is the ears. The karmendriya or organ of action is the vocal chords. In nada yoga, the branch of kundalini yoga concerned with sound vibration, vishuddhi and mooladhara are considered to be the two basic centers of vibration. In nada yoga the ascent of consciousness through the chakras is integrated with the musical scale. Each note of the scale corresponds to the vibratory level of consciousness of one of the chakras. This scale, often chanted in the form of mantras, bhajans and kirtans, is a very powerful means of awakening kundalini in the different chakras. Mooladhara is the first and vishuddhi is the fifth level of vibration in the scale. They produce the basic sounds or vowels around which the music of the chakras is constructed. These vowel sounds, pictured on the sixteen petals of the yantra, are the primal sounds. They originate from vishuddhi chakra and are directly connected to the brain. By meditation on vishuddhi chakra, the mind becomes pure like the akasha. One becomes a great sage, eloquent and wise and enjoys uninterrupted peace of mind. Amrit can be felt as a cold fluid flowing into the chakra and the aspirant becomes free from disease and sorrow, he is compassionate, full of bliss and long lived.

Nectar and poison

In the tantric scriptures it is said that within bindu at the back of the head, the moon is secreting a vital fluid or essence known as nectar. This transcendental fluid drips down into the individual consciousness from bindu visarga. Bindu can be regarded in this context as the center or passage through which the individuality emerges from cosmic consciousness in sahasrara.

This divine fluid has many different names. In English it can be termed ambrosia - the nectar of the gods. It is also known as amrit - the nectar of immortality. In the Vedas it is known as soma and in the tantras it is referred to as madya (divine wine). Many of the great Sufi poets refer to the sweet wine which brings instant intoxication. The same symbolism is contained in the Christian rituals where wine is consecrated and sacramentally imbibed. In fact, every religious system and mystical tradition concerned with awakening man’s higher consciousness has its own symbolism for the unspeakable and indescribable feeling of bliss. Between bindu and vishuddhi chakras there is another smaller psychic center known as lalana chakra or talumula, and it is closely related to vishuddhi chakra. When the nectar trickles down from bindu it is stored in lalana. This center is like a glandular reservoir, situated in the back of the nasopharynx, the inner cavity above and beyond the soft palate into which the nasal passages open. When you perform khechari mudra you are attempting to turn the tongue up and backwards into this cavity to stimulate the flow of nectar. Although this fluid is known as ambrosia, it actually has a dual nature which can act as poison as well as nectar. When it is produced in bindu and stored in lalana it remains undifferentiated, neither poison nor nectar. As long as vishuddhi chakra remains inactive, this fluid runs downward unimpeded, to be consumed in the fire of manipura, resulting in the processes of decay, degeneration and finally death in the body’s tissues. However, by certain practices such as khechari mudra, the ambrosia is secreted from lalana and passes to vishuddhi chakra, the purifying and refining center. When vishuddhi is awakened the divine fluid is retained and utilized, becoming the nectar of immortality. The secret of youth and regeneration of the body lies in the awakening of vishuddhi chakra. There is a wonderful story from the mythology of India which concerns the nectar and poison of vishuddhi. It is said that in the primordial past, the devas and the rakshasas, symbolizing the forces of good and evil, were continually fighting each other. Each was seeking to dominate and destroy the other. Eventually Vishnu attempted to resolve the conflict. He suggested they stir up the primordial ocean (representing the world and the mind), and said they could divide the contents equally between them. This seemed a fair solution and Vishnu’s plan was agreed upon. The ocean was churned and many things came to the surface for sharing and distribution between the devas and rakshasas. In all, fourteen things arose, including the nectar of immortality side by side with the worst poison. Of course both the devas and the rakshasas wanted the nectar, but nobody wanted anything to do with the poison. Ultimately only the devas got the nectar, because if it had been given to the vicious rakshasas they would have become immortal. The poison could not even be discarded, for wherever it was thrown it would cause harm. A great dilemma arose and eventually Vishnu took the poison to Shiva to ask his advice. Shiva swallowed the poison in a single gulp. From that time onwards, one of the names of Lord Shiva has been Nilakantha, the blue-throated one, and he is often depicted in this way. This story signifies that even poison can be readily digested when vishuddhi chakra is awakened. It means that at higher levels of awareness, at the level of vishuddhi and above, even the poisonous and negative aspects of existence become integrated into the total scheme of being. They are rendered powerless as concepts of good and bad fall away. At this state of awareness the poisonous aspects and experiences of life are absorbed and transformed into a state of bliss. In this chakra it is possible that not only internal poisons but also external poisons can be neutralized and rendered ineffective. This is one of the siddhis associated with vishuddhi chakra, and many yogis have possessed this power. It depends on the awakening of the throat center and bindu visarga in the brain, to which it is directly connected.

The potential of vishuddhi

Vishuddhi is the center responsible for receiving thought vibrations from other people’s minds. This actually occurs through a minor center which is closely connected with vishuddhi. It acts somewhat like a transistor radio tuning into a radio station, allowing the yogi to tune into the thoughts and feelings of people both close by and far away. The thought waves of others are also experienced elsewhere in the body, in other centers such as manipura, but the actual reception center of thought waves and transmissions is vishuddhi. From vishuddhi they are relayed to the centers in the brain associated with the other chakrass and in this way they enter into the individual awareness.

Associated with vishuddhi is a particular nerve channel known as kurma nadi, the tortoise nadi. When it is awakened, the practitioner is able to completely overcome the desire and necessity for food and drink. This capability has been demonstrated by many yogis in the past.

Vishuddhi is actually the legendary ‘fountain of youth’. It is said that when kundalini is in vishuddhi one enjoys eternal youth. When it awakens by the practices of hatha yoga, kundalini yoga or tantra, then a spontaneous physical rejuvenation begins to take place. There is a point in life, usually in the second or third decade, when the rate of degeneration of the cells of the body surpasses the rate of regeneration. It is from that point that decay, old age, disease and death come to man. In certain disease states such as some forms of leukemia, the degenerative and destructive forces develop even more rapidly. The rejuvenation effected by vishuddhi chakra on the tissues, organs and systems of the body is in contradistinction to this ongoing ageing process, which is man’s normal condition.

The powers attained through awakening vishuddhi include imperishability, full knowledge of the scriptures and also the knowledge of the past, present and future. The sense of hearing becomes very sharp, but through the mind and not the ears. One frequently experiences shoonyata, the void, and he overcomes all fear and attachment. He is then able to work freely in the world without being attached to the fruits of his actions.