Hello,
My name is Sean and welcome to this short lecture on the chakras.
In the tantric traditions from which the concept arrives,
Chakras are focal points for meditation within the human body.
They can be visualized as structures of energy resembling discs or flowers at the points where a number of nadis or channels converge.
There have been various types of chakra systems,
Some systems including more chakras such as the one presented by Krishnamachara,
Who is the teacher of B.
K.
S.
Iyengar.
This was the ten chakra system that added Surya chakra,
Located one inch above the navel,
Manas chakra,
Located in the Anacosam,
And Brahmagool chakra,
Located above the forehead.
The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras.
In some early buddha sources,
These chakras are identified as Manipura,
The navel,
Anahata,
The heart,
Vishuddha,
The throat,
And Sunisha,
Kamala,
The crown.
The chakras are considered to be psychospiritual constituents,
Each bearing meaningful correspondences to the cosmic processes and their postulated buddha counterpart.
A system of five chakras is common among the mother class of tantras,
And these five chakras along with their correspondences are the basal chakra,
Which is the element earth and has the mantra lam,
The abdominal chakra,
Which is the element water and has the mantra vam,
The heart chakra,
Which is the element fire and has a mantra ram,
The throat chakra,
Which is the wind element,
Which has the mantra yam,
And the crown chakra,
Whose element is space and has a mantra kham.
It's important to note here that each seed mantra,
Such as lam,
Actually correspond to an element at its essence.
This is important because it is the element and therefore the seed mantra,
Which is installed into any given chakra.
For example,
Yam is the mantra of wind,
Not of anahata chakra,
Whose intrinsic mantra is actually om.
Most of the geometric figures associated with the chakras today also belong to the elements.
Earth is traditionally represented by a yellow square,
Water by a silvery crescent moon,
Fire by a downward pointing red triangle,
Wind by a hexagram or six point of star in space by a circle.
According to Sanskrit sources,
Specific yogic practices were given in regards to the chakras that included visualization,
Commonly a god,
A lotus petal or a yantra,
Which were then activated by mantra syllables.
Here it is important to point out that the Sanskrit language was seen as a unique type of sacred and spiritual language,
Whereby its sounds had to make special effect or make powerful vibrations within the subtle body.
The vowels of the Sanskrit language,
For example,
When pronounced,
Move from the throat outwards to the palate,
A,
I,
U,
R,
R.
You can see that in yourself.
If you were to practice those sounds.
Therefore,
As far as early chakra authors were concerned,
The main purpose of any chakra system was to function as a template for nyasa,
Which means the installation of mantras and deity energies at any specific points of the subtle body.
The main features of the chakra system in the original sources are number one,
The sound of the Sanskrit alphabet are distributed across the petals of all the chakras in the system.
Number two,
Each chakra is associated with a specific element,
Earth,
Water,
Fire,
Wind and space.
Number three,
Each chakra is associated with a specific Hindu deity or deities.
The so-called cause deities figure largely in every chakra system.
These deities form a fixed sequence from the lowest chakra to the highest.
They are Ganesh,
Brahma,
Vishnu,
Rudra,
Isvara,
Sadasiva and Bhairava.
The first and last of these often not appearing depending on the number of chakra.
We also commonly read nowadays that the Muladhara chakra for example is associated with survival and safety.
And that Manipura chakra is associated with willpower and self-esteem.
All these association of chakras with their psychological states are a modern western innovation that started with Carl Jung.
Perhaps some associations represent experiential realities for some people,
But they are not found in Sanskrit sources.
Nearly all of the many associates found in Anodia's Judith's Wheel of Life have no basis in Indian sources.
Each chakra Judith tells us is associated with a certain bodily gland,
Certain bodily malfunctions,
Certain foods,
A certain metal,
A mineral,
A herb,
A planet,
A path of yoga,
A type of tarot or an archangel of Christianity.
None of these associations are found in the original sources.
The chakra system Western Yogis follows that found in a Sanskrit text written by Pranananda Yati.
He completed his text called the explanation of the six chakras,
Which is actually chapter six of a larger work in the year 1577.
And it was translated into English about 101 years ago in 1918.
A simpler version of this same seven chakra system is found in a 13th century post-scriptural text called the Sarada Tilaka.
Though that text does plainly acknowledge that there is a multiple chakra systems,
Such as 12 or 16,
We also find a more elaborate version of the same system in the 14th and 15th century,
Siva Samhita.
With all this being said about the original use and idea of chakras,
I personally do not feel that one needs to only look backwards.
It is my belief that everything should evolve to be made better.
