Chakras

Regular chakra meditation can transform your life by clearing out and enlivening your vital energy centers. This is the most direct way I know to heal ourselves on all levels of our being – physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. This facilitates awakening to the Truth Of Who We Are and floods our entire being with wellbeing.An aura is the energy field surrounding all life forms, including the human body, often described as egg shaped. Light energy is drawn into this egg, which acts like a prism and breaks the light into its component colour elements called “Chakras”.

The word “Chakra” comes from the Sanskrit world for “wheel” or “disk”. Their origin stems from the yoga system, more specifically from the Vedas. This system dates back as far as 2500BCE. There are hundreds of chakras on the body but in its basic form it embodies seven major energy centres that are arranged vertically along the spinal column, starting at the coccyx and proceeding upward towards the crown of the head. Chakras allow the free flow of energy, which promotes good health and vitality. If an energy blockage arises, this may cause physical ailments that correspond to the area of the blockage. By working with the chakras, a balance of energy can be maintained.

As we can see in the illustration, each chakra is also represented with its own colour. You may notice that these colours are the colours of the spectrum, each of progressively higher vibration as we move up the chakra system.

The energy systems of the subtle bodies respond to thoughts, and by using directed meditation it is possible to adjust the energy flow. With the chakras open, one is able to connect to the life force that permeates all of life, often referred to as “Prana” or “Chi”. As one begins working with these subtle energies, it is likely that they will not notice any physical sensation, however, as one continues practising, their senses will develop and they will soon be able to feel the energy moving throughout their system.

The bottom three chakras allow healing energies from the earth to enter the body and the top three chakras allow healing to enter from above. At the centre is the heart chakra that allows for balance between these two energy types.

The chakras are clearly visible in auric photography and reveal a great deal about a person. Unfortunately, to see the chakras using the naked eye is not too easy. Some lucky individuals are able to see the chakra system; others can develop their auric sight using certain exercises.

The Seven Chakras:

Root Chakra – Muldhara: 
Earth, physical identity, orientation to self-preservation.

Sacral Chakra – Svadhisthana, sweetness: 
Water, emotional identity, oriented to self-gratification.

Solar Plexus Chakra – Manipura, lustrous gem: 
Fire, ego identity, oriented to self-definition

Heart Chakra – Anahata, unstruck, unhurt, fresh, clean:
Air, social identity, oriented to self-acceptance

Throat Chakra – Vishuddha, purification: 
Sound, creative identity, oriented to self-expression

Brow Chakra – Ajna, perception:
Light, archetypal identity, orientation to self-reflection

Crown Chakra – Sahasrara, thousandfold:
Thought, universal identity, oriented to self-knowledge

Muladhara (Root)– The Most Important Chakra

New-agey types always talk of anahata, sahasrar or agna chakras. But what of the “lowest,” the muladhara? Isn’t it important at all? Sadhguru explains why this oft-overlooked chakra is of great consequence to a seeker.

If you look at the human body just after conception, it is just a tiny ball of meat. That tiny ball of meat has slowly arranged itself into what it is now. To arrange itself in this particular way, there is a kind of software which is known as pranamaya kosha or energy body. The energy body forms itself first and the physical body starts manifesting over that. If there are any distortions in the energy body, they will also manifest in the physical body. It is because of this that in this culture, when a woman was pregnant, she used to go to the temple and get blessings from people – they were trying to influence the energy body. If a pregnant woman has a very vibrant, well-formed energy body, she will deliver a very capable human being.

Foundation Matters
The muladhara is the foundation of the energy body. Nowadays, people think the muladhara is the lowest chakra and not worth working upon. Anyone who thinks the foundation is something we needn’t take care of is living in a fool’s paradise. The foundation is the most important thing. The muladhara is the most important thing. When we do Yoga, we are more focused on the muladhara than anything else because if you stabilize this, the rest is easy to create. If the foundation of the building is loose and we try to hold up the building, it will be a daily circus. That is what has happened to human life – holding themselves in some state of balance and wellbeing every day is a circus for most human beings. But if your muladhara is stable, life or death, you will be stable because your foundation is good and we can fix the other things later. But if the foundation is unstable, anxiety is natural.

Perils of experience-hunting
If Grace has to transmit itself, you need to have an appropriate body. If you do not have an appropriate body and Grace descends on you big time, you will only fuse out. Many people want big experiences but they are not willing to transform their body to be able to conduct those experiences. So many in the world have lost their minds or broken their bodies because they went experience-hunting.

In yoga, you don’t chase experience, you only prepare. That is how it was with the Saptarishis – the first seven disciples of Adiyogi. They simply prepared and prepared. They never asked for anything. They simply prepared for eighty-four years and when Adiyogi saw that they were so prepared, he couldn’t hold back anything. He had to give it all. But today’s world has become like this – “Sadhguru, I am here for two days, can you enlighten me?”

The yogic systems always focused on the muladhara. It is only in recent times that non-practicing “yogis” have written books and say you must focus on higher chakras. This high and low business is too entrenched in book-reading minds but that is not how life works. Some years ago, I used to conduct two or three-day programs in Hata Yoga. Just doing asanas, people would burst out laughing and crying. Most yogis just use a few simple postures to break the limitations of who they are. That is how Hata Yoga is. Hata Yoga means balance. Balance does not mean sanity. If you want your life to be exuberant, you need to have some madness in you. But if you become compulsively insane, you lost it.

When we talk about balance, we are not talking about sanity, we are talking about finding that perch between sanity and insanity where you can venture and adventure. Madness is an adventure. It is a most wonderful thing as long as it is in control. If you lose control it will become ugly. Similarly, sanity is a beautiful thing but if you become perfectly sane, you are as good as dead. This ability to venture and adventure into whatever you want at any moment will come to you if your muladhara is well-established.

~ Sadhguru

Swadhisthan Chakra: The Seat of Creativity

Swadhisthan Chakra is the second chakra related to creativity, pure attention and pure knowledge. It is the one which connects us to the inner source of inspiration, and enables us to experience the beauty around us. The pure knowledge given by this chakra is not mental, but it is direct perception of the Reality, that can be felt in our palms and indicates our subtle blockages. Also this is the center of pure, steady attention and power of concentration.

It has six petals and caters on the physical level to functions of the aortic plexus, and is the one which supplies us with the energy of creativity, of thinking, of being futuristic. It supplies Power to the brain cells by converting fat cells into brain cells.

In the course of evolution, humans translated his need for shelter and security into the building of homes. As his sense of aesthetics developed he continued to improve on these forms of shelter (until eventually architecture came about). This creativity evolved into abstract form, where he could imagine, project and create an image which had no previous counterpart. From this burgeoning aestheticism came the creative arts.

The fundamental quality of the Swadhisthan Chakra is that of creativity. It is here that the energy for our creativity is generated. After Self-Realization we discover that the true key to creativity is in achieving the state of thoughtless awareness (nirvichara samadhi) through meditation.

From this we discover that all the beauty of Creation is reflected within us like a still and silent lake. Once we locate this pool of beauty we can become the channel for it. We become the Collective Unconscious, without ego to distort the purity of art.

The process of creativity in whatever form draws on the qualities of the Swadhisthan Chakra. If this process is accomplished in a balanced state (i.e., using the energies of the central or Sushumna channel in the subtle system) then the result is spiritually enhanced. After Self-Realization this is emphasized, and the resulting creation can become an inspired work. We can see this by looking at the classic works from artists of the past such as Mozart and Michaelangelo who were born as evolved realized souls. Works of this quality are immortal, and provide joy and beauty which define a whole epoch.

However in the modern process, we can see that even where the artistic endeavor starts out ‘with heart,’ there is a tendency for the artist to produce later works which are flat, lifeless or even exploitative. The primary cause of this tendency is the ego of the artist. As the artist becomes more successful, he or she works harder to maintain or grow this success. This requires more exhaustive use of the right channel (the Pingala Nadi or Channel of Action). A by-product of this channel becoming exhausted is that the ego of the artist becomes inflated. Note that in subtle terms the ego is actually situated at the end of the action channel (in the balloon-like shape on the left-hand side of the head). If one is confused by an inflated ego, the excessiveness drains the central channel of energy and exhausts the right side. In addition, the connection with the ego can take the attention away from the Spirit. As the artist starts to believe that he is the creator of all his works (thus eliminating divine inspiration) the process is accelerated and the ego expands to such an extent that the spiritual content of the work is removed completely.

The Spirit, which resides in our heart, is the real reservoir of creativity, and artists and people who think excessively or are obsessed with fame or success will usually suffer a weak Swadhisthan Chakra and tend to be off-balance personalities. Their ambition is to be superior to others or to be acclaimed by them for their talents comes from their ego, which is connected to the right-side of the Swadhisthan Chakra through the right channel. Their spontaneity is lost in this ambitious and competitive effort to create, and this explains why most modern creation in any aspect lacks Spirit.

One of the most important functions of this center is to generate the energy that fuels our thinking by breaking down fat particles in the abdomen to replace the brain cells. Excessive thinking and planning overworks this process and exhausts the centre. 

The Swadhisthan also looks after the liver (along with the Nabhi Centre). If the Chakra is having to cope with excessive thinking, then the other organs it is supposed to look after are neglected. The liver is particularly susceptible to this neglect.

The liver has a particular importance in that it is the seat of our Attention (chitta). Attention should not be confused with thought, which comes from ego (our I-ness) and superego (our past conditioning and upbringing). Attention is pure concentration minus thought/mental activity. 

For example when we look at a flower we put our pure attention on it (i.e., we observe it). However we will also think about it (“that’s pretty,””I wonder what’s it called,”etc.). Attention has no such associated thoughts — it is pure concentration/observation/witnessing. A balanced liver sustains and nourishes our Attention and filters it by scanning out any impurities and external clutter. From this purified attention comes the peace and stillness that we obtain in our meditation. The liver is susceptible to overheating (through alcohol or other stimulants), effecting our Attention, which ultimately weakens our meditation and so on.

The presiding deity for the Swadhisthan Chakra is Shri Brahmadeva. He represents the Creator, and has as His power Shri Saraswati, who is the Goddess of music and arts. He bestows purity, creativity, Pure Knowledge, and cuts the Knot of Maya (material attachment) and frees the seeker from earthly desires.

Ajna Chakra – The Third Eye Chakra

Ajna Chaka, the sixth Chakra, is known as the third eye. It is located at the forehead, and represents the visual, intuitive, psychic center of perception. It is here where our memories are stored, imagination develops, and where we perceive dreams.

Name: Ajna
The definition of Ajna is “to perceive.” It can also mean “to command.” Our memories and perceptions influence and shape the events that take place in our lives just as words shape the world. We command our visions to come into reality without realizing.

Element: Light
The element that represents Ajna Chakra is light. As you know, light is the most versatile element known to man, and has a higher and faster vibration than sound. Light travels at an unfathomable speed and distance. It continues across the universe for thousands of years, allowing us to see stars as they were long ago. When we look around us and see objects, it is in fact the reflection of light that helps us to see. Without light, we could see nothing at all.

Color: Indigo
All of the chakra points are associated with a specific color. The color associations have changes since the ancient Tantrics’ time, however. Now, the colors are based on the rainbow spectrum, beginning with red light, which is associated with the base chakra, and ending with violet, which is associated with the crown chakra. The order follows the rainbow pattern from the base to the crown: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

Attributes: Clairvoyance, memory, dreams, vision
The Ajna chakra is related to a rudimentary organ that is sensitive to light, called the pineal gland. The pineal gland, in the embryo, begins to develop in the precise center of the head as a third eye. Though this gland atrophies, it has been found that this area of the head remains sensitive to light. Some believe that the pineal gland in full-grown adults plays a role in mental visions that sometimes occur when individuals are in a deep state of meditation. The sixth chakra, our intuitive level, allows us to gather information from internal visions and images.