THE SEVEN CHAKRA SYSTEM
Chakra is a sanskrit word meaning wheel. A
wheel spins on its own axis; it can turn slowly or rapidly. Like the colored
disks which children spin on a length of thread, a chakra spins in relation
to the degree of energy in the system. The wheel itself is a powerful symbol
representing the many cyclic patterns of life. It is rather curious to find
this ancient and foreign term now fully integrated into the modern western
vocabulary. What appears to some as 'new age', is in fact a universally
recognized phenomenon of 'all ages'. We can study any esoteric tradition
from any culture of the world, and we will probably find reference to the
chakras.
Chakras are also called lotuses or padmas.
This beautiful symbol tells us a great deal about the nature of the chakras
as a living force. The lotus, which is not unlike a water lily, grows widely
throughout Asia. The exquisite flower blooms upon the water, but its roots
are deeply buried in the mud far below the surface. It has come to represent
the human condition. It is rooted in the mud and darkness of the depths but
ultimately it flowers under the light of the sun. Just like a lotus, the
chakra can be closed, in bud, opening, or blossoming, active, or dormant.
The chakras evolve naturally over a long
period of time as part of the development of the whole person. Some
spiritual systems seek to educate the whole being, knowing that the chakras
will change accordingly. It is also possible to quicken the pace of opening
and to accelerate this evolutionary process. Other spiritual systems seek to
awaken the chakras, knowing that this will accordingly effect the whole
being.
Where are the chakras, these wheels, or
lotuses? They are to be found within each of us. Just as everyone has a
physical body, we also have a subtle body. The chakras serve as a bridging
mechanism between physical matter and subtle matter.
The
Chakras And The Physical Body
Each chakra corresponds
to certain physical systems and the related organs. There is a direct
relationship between the condition of the chakra and the corresponding
physical organs. A chakra can be over-vitalized, under-vitalised, or in a
state of balance. It can be open or blocked. Dysfunction, for example,
of the reproductive system will usually manifest with obvious physical
symptoms such as disrupted menstruation. The physical symptoms will be
mirrored by dysfunction within the related energy network and the chakra
itself. Creating change to restore the related energy system to a state
of balance will create change at the physical level.
The chakras function as
transmuters of energy from one level to another, distributing pranic
energy to the physical body. This is done in part through the glands,
which regulate different systems within the body.
Traditionally, each of the chakras is
also related to a major gland. The base chakra is related to the
adrenals.The sacral chakras is related to the ovaries in women and the
testes in men; the solar plexus chakra relates to the pancreas; the
heart chakra is related to the thymus and the throat chakra is related
to the thyroid and the parathyroid glands. The brow chakra is most often
assigned to the pituitary gland, sometimes to the pineal, and the crown
chakra is most often assigned to the pineal gland, although sometimes to
the pituitary.
The endocrine glands play a vital role
in the everyday health and well-being of the body. The hormones released
directly into the bloodstream by the glands govern all aspects of
growth, development, and daily physical activity. Dysfunction by any of
the endocrine glands will have serious physical consequences. Physical
malfunction is itself the result of a breakdown that becomes lodged
within the energy network of nadis and chakras.
The number of chakras sometimes varies
from on tradition to another. This is not a cause for disagreement but
rather a question of accounting. There are two subsidiary centres allied
to the heart and the throat chakras. Some authorities do not include the
centre at the top of the head as a chakra, treating it instead as a
unique centre of consciousness. The number of chakras given can
therefore vary from six to nine. The number most often given is seven;
the six chakras of awakening and the crown chakra at the top of the
head.
Shakta doctrine
postulates seven chakras. These are called the Muladhara or "Root
Support" at the base of the spine with four "petals", the
Swadhishthana or "Own Abode" at the root of the genitals with six,
the Manipura or "Fullness of Jewels" at the level of the navel
with ten "petals", the Anahata or "Unstruck Melody" at the
heart-centre with twelve, the Vishuddha or "Complete Purity" at
the throat with sixteen, and finally the Ajna or "Guru's Command"
at the brow with two "petals". The Crown centre, the Sahasrara-Padma
or "Thousand Petalled-Lotus", located at the very top of the head, is
technically speaking not a chakra at all, but the summation of all the
chakras.

The Seven Chakras strung along the Central or "Sushumna" channel.
The chakras are strung along the central or Sushumna channel (usually
located at the spine). In the lowest chakra, the Muladhara, at the base
of the spine, there lies the kundalini-shakti, the latent
consciousness-energy, the microcosm of the cosmic creative shakti. When
this is aroused, it can be made to ascend the sushumna, either ac-tivating
or dissolving (depending on the yogic tradition) each chakra in turn,
until it reaches the highest or crown chakra, the Sahasrara, where
dwells the Godhead or Supreme Shiva (Paramashiva). As the
Kundalini-Shakti unites with Paramashiva, the original transcendent
equilibrium is restored, and the yogi returns to the state of oneness
with the Absolute.
The chakras are described as stations or centres of pure consciousness (chaitanya)
and consciousness-power. They are focal points of meditation;
iconographic structures within the occult or "subtle body".
Apart from the Sahasrara, each chakra is described by means of a whole
lot of symbolic associations or correspondences. Building upon the
initial later Upanishads speculation, each chakra, as well as having a
specific position in the physical body, element, mantra, and deity, also
has a particular number of "petals", each associated with one of the
letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, a corresponding colour, shape, animal,
plane of existence, sense-organ, mantric sound, and so on. A table
giving some of the main associations.
The
word yoga means union and "Chakra Yoga" is the process of understanding
and using the integrated seven chakra model as a practical and effective
holistic health mind map. Then we experience comprehensive and
harmonious union with every area of life - from the material through to
the spiritual. The chakra system serves us as a symbolic representation
of the seven main arenas of human life. The seven main areas of each
person's union with Life.
Holistic human activity is
an attempt to fulfill and satisfy the expressions of the seven chakras so
that we experience successful and balanced interaction with every area of
human life.
Each "chakra"
(center of life activity) performs various life functions which, when
combined successfully, produce the workings of a healthy and holistic human
being.
UNDERSTANDING OUR MIND
By understanding and using
the holistic seven chakra system we gain more control of our mind and our
life. We can learn to choose the types of connections/relationships that we
make with other people and things. We can choose when to connect, when not
to, and at what intensity. We can choose holistic health in all areas of our
life. We can quickly understand that all of life's activities are an
expression of the seven chakras.
We can learn how to live a
balanced, enjoyable, useful and conscious life.
CHAKRA YOGA AND HOLISTIC
HEALTH
The seven major chakras
have their homes at different sections along the human spine. The more of
these life centers we can get working, the larger, more expansive, and more
satisfying - more whole - our experience of life will be. This is the core
secret of total health and a satisfying life.
Normally each chakra can
work in parallel with the others and yet independently.
To help understand this,
imagine three builders.
-
One has the job of
carrying bricks.
-
One makes the cement.
-
One lays the bricks and
cement.
All three work totally
independently and interdependently (in series and in parallel). Houses get
built quickly when they all work together and continuously communicate to
see how they are getting on. This is the nature of harmony. Houses get built
slowly when only one builder works, when they start doing each other's jobs
or the communication breaks down. Then surpluses build up and go to waste,
the cement dries up without being used, or nothing arrives making the others
idle. This is the nature of disease and disharmony.
CHAKRAS AND ASTROLOGY
The functions and experiences work together
at different levels in different people depending upon our natural
characteristics, our preferences, and our evolution. This is also observed
in the behavioral and characteristic similarities that many people have with
their astrological sign. Astrology is an ancient art that goes right back to
the Vedic Culture of India - where we also find the yogic paths,
the seven chakras, the gunas, the doshas, Ayurvedic healthcare, and
other great examples of enlightened living and culture.
CHAKRA HEALTH AND
HEALING
We may also
need to heal our life. The process of looking at our experiences of
and attitudes to each of the seven centers and replacing negative attitudes
with more positive one. We will need to understand and heal past traumatic
and negative experiences; for example - the family, romantic partners,
teachers, and other important relationships.
Healing the seven centers is a process of
challenging and sorting out our inherited and conditioned attitudes to the
aspects of life that each center represents. |