Chakras are the various focal points in the subtle bodies used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively referred to as Tantra, or the esoteric or inner traditions of Hinduism. The concept is found in the early traditions of Hinduism, as well as Nirvana in Buddhism.
These theories differ among Indian religions, with many esoteric Buddhist texts consistently mentioning five chakras, while separate esoteric Hindu sources will offer six, or even seven. They are believed to be embedded in the actual physical body, while also originating in the context of mental and spiritual fields, or complexes of electromagnetic variety.
The precise degree and variety arise directly from a synthetic average of all the so-called positive and negative “fields,” this eventuation of the Nadi complex. Within the breathing exercises of kundalini yoga, visualizations, mudras, bandhas, kriyas, and mantras focus on transmuting subtle energy through the “chakras.”
Etymology
The concept of the chakra itself originates etymologically directly from the Sanskrit root चकà¥à¤°. The “tsschakra” remained in virtual linguistic conformity through possible adaptations throughout the relative temporal and linguistic adversity of two thousand years. At its core, the chakra denotes a “wheel,” a “circle,” and a “cycle.”
In Buddhism in general and in Theravada in particular, the Pali noun cakka connotes the “wheel.” Within the centralTripitaka, the Buddha makes several references tothe“dhammacakka,” or “wheel of dharma,” indicating that his dharma, universal in its defense, must bear the marks that bear the very characteristic of any temporal dispensation. While it is true that the Buddha himself hinted at the freedom of cycles themselves—sui generis—whether karmic, reincarnative, liberative, cognitive, or emotional.
The same term “wheel “ is applied in Jainism, where the term “chakra” also means “wheel,” as reflected in many ancient texts. As in other Indian religions, chakras in the esoteric theories of Jainism, such as those of Budisagarsuri, mean centers of yogic energy.
History
The term Chakra seems to emerge first in the Vedas, the most authoritative Hindu text, although not precisely in the sense of centers of psychic energy, but rather as chakravartin or the king who “turns the wheel of his empire” in all directions from a center, representing his influence and power. The popular iconography in the representation of the Chakras, White asserts, dates back to the five symbols of yajna, the Vedic fire altar: “square, circle, triangle, crescent, and meatballs.”
Hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda mentions a renouncing yogi with a female companion named kunamnama. Literally meaning “she who is bent, twisted,” she represents both a minor goddess and one of the many enigmas and esoteric riddles embedded within the Rigveda.
The respiratory channels (nÄá¸i) of Yoga practices are mentioned in the classical Upanishads of Hinduism dating from the first millennium BCE, but not in the theories of psychic-energetic Chakras. In contrast to white, according to Feuerstein, the early Upanishads of Hinduism mention the chakra in the sense of “psychospiritual vortexes,” along with other terms found in tantra: prana or vayu (vital energy) along with nadi (energy-carrying arteries).
Chakras and divine energies
Chakras have certain divine energies, which classify them and allow them to be located so that they can then be worked on in the correct way, as we will see below.
- Divided into support and supported,
- Divided into eight, weapon bearer,
- Emerging from the chakra with eight points,
- It has the chakra nine times like a throne.
The theory postulated that human life exists simultaneously in two parallel dimensions, a “physical body” (sthula sarira) and a “psychological, emotional, mental, non-physical body” called the “subtle body” (suksma sarira).
The subtle body consists of nadi (energy channels) connected by psychic energy nodes called chakras. The theory grew into an extensive elaboration, with some suggesting 88,000 chakras throughout the subtle body. The chakra considered most important varied among traditions, but typically ranged from four to seven.
The seven chakras are arranged along the spinal cord, from bottom to top:
Below we will specify the chakras so that you can identify them and know what each one is for.
- Muladhara
- Svadhisthana
- Nabhi-Manipura
- Anahata
- Vishuddhi
- Ajna
- Sahasrara
The important chakras are established in Hindu and Buddhist texts to be arranged in a column along the spinal cord, from its base to the top of the head, connected by vertical channels. Tantric traditions sought to master, awaken, and energize them through various breathing exercises or with the assistance of a teacher. These chakras were also symbolically mapped to specific human physiological capacities, seed syllables (bija), sounds, subtle elements (tanmatra), and in some cases deities, colors, and other motifs.
Differences between the chakras in Hinduism and Buddhism
The theories of chakras in Hinduism and Buddhism differ from the historical Chinese system of meridians in acupuncture. Unlike the latter, the chakra is related to the subtle body, in which it has a position but no defined nerve node or precise physical connection. Tantric systems see it as a continuous present, highly relevant and a means for psychic and emotional energy.
They are useful in certain types of yogic rituals and in the meditative discovery of radiant inner energy (prana flows) and mind-body connections. Meditation is aided by extensive symbolism, mantras, diagrams, and models (deity and mandala). The practitioner proceeds step by step from perceptible models to increasingly abstract models where the deity and the external mandala are abandoned, and the inner self and inner mandalas are awakened.
These ideas are not unique to Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Similar and overlapping concepts arose in other cultures in the East and West, and these are called by various other names such as subtle body, spiritual body, esoteric anatomy, sidereal body, and etheric body. According to Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston, professors of religious studies known for their studies on yoga and esoteric traditions:
Ideas and practices involving so-called “subtle bodies” have existed for many centuries in many parts of the world. (…) Virtually all human cultures we know of have some kind of concept of mind, spirit, or soul distinct from the physical body, if only to explain experiences such as dreaming and sleep.
An important subset of subtle body practices, found particularly in Indian and Tibetan tantric traditions, and in similar Chinese practices, involves the idea of an internal “subtle physiology” of the body (or rather the body-mind complex) composed of channels through which substances of some kind flow, and points of intersection at which these channels join. In the Indian tradition, the channels are known as nadi and the intersection points as chakra.
Classical traditions
Chakras (as well as Yantras and Mandalas) are visualized as lotuses with a different number of petals representing each chakra.
Classical Eastern traditions, particularly those that developed in India during the first millennium CE, mainly describe the nadis and chakras in the context of the “subtle body.” For them, they are the parallel dimension of the mind-psychic reality that is invisible but real. Prana (breath, vital energy) flows in the nadi and chakra.
The concept of “vital energy” varies between texts, from simple inhalation-exhalation to a much more complex association with breath-mind-emotions-sexual energy. This essence is what disappears when a person dies, leaving behind a gross body. Part of it, according to this theory of the subtle body, is what withdraws inward when one sleeps.
All of this is believed to be attainable, awake, and important for an individual’s body-mind health and how one relates to other people in one’s life[38]. This subtle body network of nadis and chakras is, according to some later Indian theories and much New Age speculation, closely associated with emotions.
Hindu Tantra
Different esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and arrangements of chakras, of which a classic system of seven is the most prevalent. This seven-part system, central to the core texts of hatha yoga, is one of many systems found in Hindu tantric literature. These texts teach many different theories about the chakras.
The methodology of the chakras is developed extensively in the tradition of the goddess of Hinduism called Shaktism. It is an important concept along with yantras, mandalas, and kundalini yoga in its practice. Chakra in Shakta Tantrism means circle, an “energy center” within, as well as being a term for group rituals such as chakra-puja (worship within a circle) which may or may not involve the practice of tantra. The chakra-based system is one part of the meditative exercises that came to be known as laya yoga.
Beyond its original Shakta milieu, various sub-traditions within the Shaiva and Vaishnava schools of Hinduism also developed texts and practices on the Nadi and Chakra systems. Certain modern Hindu groups also use a circular energy work technique based on the chakras known as kriya yoga. Followers of this practice include the Bihar School of Yoga and the Personal Realization Fellowship, and practitioners are known as kriyabans.
Although Paramahansa Yogananda claimed that this was the same technique taught as kriya yoga by Patañjali in the Yoga Sūtras and by Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita (as karma yoga), Swami Satyananda of the Bihar school disagreed with this assessment and acknowledged the similarities between kriya and Taoist internal orbit practices. Both schools claim that the technique is taught in all ages by an avatar of God known as Babaji.
The historicity of its techniques in India prior to the early 20th century is not well established. He believed that its practitioners activated the chakras and stimulated faster spiritual development.
Buddhist Tantra
In some of the earliest Buddhist sources, these chakras are identified as: manipura (navel), anahata (heart), vishuddha (throat), and ushnisha kamala (crown). In a development within the Nyingma lineage of Tibetan Mantrayana Buddhism, a popular conceptualization of the chakras in increasing subtlety and order is as follows:
- Nirmanakaya (gross self),
- Sambhogakaya (subtle self),
- Dharmakaya (causal self),
- Mahasukhakaya (non-dual self),
Each corresponds loosely—though not directly—to categories within the Shaiva Mantramarga universe, namely Svadhisthana, Anahata, Visuddha, Sahasrara, etc. However, depending on the meditation tradition, these vary between three and six.
The chakras clearly play a key role in Tibetan Buddhism and are considered the fundamental provision of tantric thought. And, the precise use of the chakras through the gamut of tantric sadhanas leaves little room to doubt the primary efficacy of Tibetan Buddhism as a distinct religious agency, that being the precise revelation that without Tantra there would be no Chakras, but more importantly, without Chakras, there is no Tibetan Buddhism.
The highest practices of Tibetan Buddhism point to the ability to align the subtle pranas of an entity with the central channel, and thus penetrate the realization of ultimate unity, that is, the “organic harmony” of one’s own individual consciousness of Wisdom with the joint attainment of all-encompassing Love, thus synthesizing a direct cognition of absolute Buddhahood.
Bon Tradition
According to the Bon tradition, the chakras allow for the gestalt of experience, with each of the five main chakras being psychologically linked to the five experiential qualities of unenlightened consciousness, the six realms of affliction.
The practice of lung tsa embodied in the Trul khor lineage disrupts the primary channels, activating and circulating the liberating prana. Yoga awakens the deep mind, bringing forth positive attributes, inherent gestalts, and virtuous qualities. In a computer analogy, the screen of one’s consciousness is mapped and called up to a file containing attributes that hold necessary supporting positive or negative qualities.
Tantric practice is said to ultimately transform all experience into clear light. The practice aims to liberate from all negative conditioning and to achieve deep cognitive salvation from the control and unity of perception and cognition.
Qigong
Qì, equivalent to Hindu prana, flows through energy channels called meridians, equivalent to nadi, but two other energies are also important: jīng, or primordial essence, and shén, or spiritual energy. In the main qì circuit, called the microcosmic orbit, energy rises through a main meridian along the spine, but also returns through the front of the torso.
Throughout its cycle, it enters several dantias (elixir fields) that act as furnaces, where the types of energy in the body (jing, qi, and shen) are progressively refined. These dantias play a role very similar to that of the chakras. The number of dantias varies depending on the system; the navel dantian is the best known, but there is usually a dantian located in the heart and between the eyebrows.
The lower dantian in or below the navel transforms essence, or jīng, into qì. The middle dantian in the center of the chest transforms qì into shén, or spirit, and the upper dantian at the level of the forehead (or at the top of the head) transforms shen into wuji, infinite empty space.
Silat
Traditional spirituality in the Malay Archipelago is largely based on Hindu and Buddhist concepts. In Malay and Indonesian metaphysical theory, the energy of the chakras spins outward along diagonal lines. Defensive energy is emitted outward from the center line, while offensive energy moves inward from the sides of the body. This can be applied to energy healing, meditation, or martial arts. Silat practitioners learn to harmonize their movements with the chakras, thereby increasing the power and effectiveness of attacks and movements.
Types and description of each chakra
There are 10 types of chakras, which we will show you below, giving you an explanation of how each one works:
- Tantric chakras
- Sahasrara
- Ajna
- Vishuddha
- Anahata
- Manipura
- Svadhishthana
- Muladhara
- Bindu
- Vte
A Balinese chakra banner.
The most common and studied esoteric system incorporates six major chakras along with a seventh center not generally considered a chakra. These points are arranged vertically along the axial channel (sushumna nadi in Hindu texts, Avadhuti in some Buddhist texts). This chakra system was translated in the early 20th century by Sir John Woodroffe (also called Arthur Avalon) in the text The Serpent Power. Avalon translated the Hindu text á¹¢aá¹-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa, which means the examination (nirūpaṇa) of the six (á¹£aá¹) chakras (cakra).
Chakras are traditionally considered aids to meditation. The yogi progresses from the lower chakras to the highest chakra blooming at the crown of the head, internalizing the journey of spiritual ascent. In the kundalini or candali traditions, both Hindu and Buddhist, the chakras are pierced by a latent energy that resides near or in the lowest chakra. In Hindu texts it is known as Kundalini, while in Buddhist texts it is called Candali or Tummo (Tibetan: gtum mo, “fierce”).
Below are the common New Age descriptions of these six chakras and the seventh point known as sahasrara. This New Age version incorporates Newtonian colors that were completely unknown when these systems were created. The actual colors of the chakras vary from text to text and do not conform to the Newtonian spectrum:
Sahasrara
Sahasrara or crown chakra is the highest chakra in the subtle body, located at the crown of the head. In exoteric Hinduism and Western New Age systems, it is generally considered the highest spiritual center and the state of pure consciousness, within which there is neither object nor subject. When the female Kundalini Shakti rises to this point, it unites with the male Shiva, the yogi or yogini achieves self-realization, and a liberating state of samadhi is attained. The chakra is symbolized by a lotus with a thousand multicolored petals.
Ajna
Ajna, also called guru chakra or third eye chakra, is the subtle energy center believed to be located between the eyebrows, behind them along the subtle (non-physical) spine. It is so named because this is the place where the tantra guru touches the seeker during the initiation ritual (saktipata). He or she commands the awakened kundalini to pass through this center.
It is at this point that the two lateral nadis, Ida (yoga) and Pingala, are said to end and merge with the central channel, Sushumna, signifying the end of duality, the characteristic of being dual (e.g., light and dark, or masculine and feminine).
Vishuddha
Vishuddha or Vishuddhi, or throat chakra, is located at the base of the throat of the subtle body. It is symbolized as a sixteen-petaled lotus. The Vishuddha is iconographically represented with sixteen petals covered with the sixteen Sanskrit vowels. It is associated with the element of space (akasha) and has the seed syllable of the spatial element Ham at its center. The deity residing there is Panchavaktra Shiva, with five heads and four arms, and the Shakti is Shakini.
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Sambhoga and is generally considered the petal lotus of “Enjoyment” and corresponds to the third state of the Four Noble Truths.
Anahata
Anahata or the heart chakra is located in or behind the heart, represented by a lotus flower with 12 petals. Inside it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming a hexagram, which symbolizes a union of the masculine and feminine, as well as being the esoteric symbol of the element air (vayu).
The seed mantra of air, Yam, is at its center. The presiding deity is Ishana Rudra Shiva, and the Shakti is Kakini. In esoteric Buddhism, this Chakra is called Dharma and is generally considered the petal lotus of “Essential Nature” and corresponds to the second state of the Four Noble Truths.
Manipura
Manipura, also called the nabhi chakra or solar plexus/navigator chakra, is located in the navel region along the spine of the subtle body. For the Nath yogi meditation system, this is described as the Madhyama-Shakti or the intermediate stage of self-discovery.
This chakra is represented as an upward-pointing triangle representing fire in the center of a ten-petaled lotus. The seed syllable for fire is in its center, Ram. The presiding deity is Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti.
Svadhishthana
Svadhishthana or sacral chakra is believed to be located at the root of the sexual organ along the spine in the subtle body.
Svadhisthana is represented by a lotus within which there is a crescent moon symbolizing the water element. The seed mantra at its center is Vam, representing water. The presiding deity is Brahma, with the Shakti being Rakini (or Chakini).
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Nirmana and is generally considered to be the petal lotus of “Creation” and corresponds to the first state of the Four Noble Truths.
Muladhara
Muladhara or root chakra located at the base of the spine in the coccygeal region of the subtle body. It is often said that the dormant Kundalini is resting here, wrapped three and a half times, or seven or twelve times. Sometimes it wraps around the black Svayambhu linga, the lowest of the three obstructions until its total elevation (also known as knots or granthis).
It is symbolized as a four-petaled lotus with a yellow square in its center representing the earth element. The seed syllable is Lam for the earth element (pronounced lum). All sounds, words, and mantras in their latent form rest in the muladhara chakra, where Ganesha resides, while Shakti is Dakini. The associated animal is the elephant.
Other chakras
Many systems include a myriad of minor chakras throughout the body. Talu, bindu, manas, and dvadashanta chakras are close to and associated with the Ajna chakra. Located just to the left of the Anahata chakra (where the heart is anatomically located) is the Hridaya chakra. The balance chakra is located at the base of the mouth and is associated with the Vishuddha chakra.
Reception and similar theories in the West
There are many theories surrounding the chakras, questions, and answers to doubts that people generally have when inquiring a little more about them and their relationship to other energy theories.
Hesychasm
A completely separate contemplative movement within the Eastern Orthodox Church is Hesychasm, a form of Christian meditation. Comparisons have been made between the hesychastic centers of prayer and the position of the chakras, with particular emphasis on the heart area. However, there is no mention of these centers having any kind of metaphysical existence. Much more than in any of the cases mentioned above, the centers are simply places to focus concentration during prayer.
New Age
Positions of the chakras in relation to the nerve plexus, from a 1927 textbook. In Anatomy of the Spirit (1996), Caroline Myss describes the function of the chakras as follows: “Every thought and experience you have ever had in your life filters through these chakra databases. Every event is recorded in your cells….”
The chakras are described as aligned in an ascending column from the base of the spine to the top of the head. New Age practices often associate each chakra with a certain color. In various traditions, the chakras are associated with multiple physiological functions, an aspect of consciousness, a classical element, and other distinctive characteristics. They are visualized as lotuses or flowers with a different number of petals in each chakra.
Chakras are thought to vitalize the physical body and are associated with interactions of a physical, emotional, and mental nature. They are considered loci of vital energy or prana (which New Age belief equates to shakti, qi in Chinese, ki in Japanese, koach-ha-guf in Hebrew, bios in Greek, and ether in both Greek and English), which is believed to flow between them along pathways called nadi. The function of the chakras is to spin and attract this energy to keep the body’s spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical health in balance.
Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolutionary. He suggested that this system has become different for modern people than it was in ancient times and that it will, in turn, be radically different in future times. Steiner described a sequence of development that begins with the higher chakras and moves downward, rather than moving in the opposite direction. He gave suggestions on how to develop the chakras through the discipline of thoughts, feelings, and will.
According to Florin Lowndes, a “spiritual student” can further develop and deepen or elevate thought consciousness by taking the step from the “old path” of schooling to the “new path” represented by Steiner’s “The Philosophy of Freedom.”
Endocrine system
The chakras and their importance are posited to reside in the psyche. Gary Osborn, for example, has described the chakras as metaphysical counterparts to the endocrine glands, while Anodea Judith observed a marked similarity between the positions of the two and the roles described for each. Stephen Sturgess also links the six lower chakras to specific nerve plexuses along the spinal cord as well as to glands. C.W. Leadbeater associated the Ajna chakra with the pineal gland, which is part of the endocrine system. These associations remain speculative, however, and have no empirical validation.
