Medieval Buddhist texts from 8th century CE mention four or five chakras, while Hindu sources have various numbers.[2][3][5] The best-known variant has seven chakras, as described in SirJohn Woodroffe's 1919 bookThe Serpent Power, a rough translation of Pūrṇānanda Yati'sṢaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa ("Explanation of the Six Chakras," 1577).[6]
Lexically,chakra is the Indic reflex of an ancestralIndo-European form*kʷékʷlos, whence also "wheel" and "cycle" (Ancient Greek:κύκλος,romanized: kýklos).[8][2][3] It has both literal[9] and metaphorical uses, as in the "wheel of time" or "wheel of dharma", such as inRigveda hymn verse 1.164.11,[10][11] pervasive in the earliestVedic texts.
InBuddhism, especially inTheravada, thePali nouncakka connotes "wheel".[12] Within the Buddhist scriptures referred to as theTripitaka,Shakyamuni Buddha variously refers the "dhammacakka", or "wheel of dharma", connoting that this dharma, universal in its advocacy, should bear the marks characteristic of any temporal dispensation.Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of freedom from cycles in and of themselves, whether karmic, reincarnative, liberative, cognitive or emotional.[13]
InJainism, the termchakra also means "wheel" and appears in various contexts in its ancient literature.[14] As in other Indian religions,chakra in esoteric theories in Jainism such as those byBuddhisagarsuri means a yogic energy center.[15]
Chakra iconography may derive from the five symbols ofyajna, the Vedic fire altar.[16]
The wordchakra appears to first emerge within theVedas, though not in the sense of psychic energy centers, rather aschakravartin or the king who "turns the wheel of his empire" in all directions from a center, representing his influence and power.[17] The iconography popular in representing theChakras, states the scholarDavid Gordon White, traces back to the five symbols ofyajna, the Vedic fire altar: "square, circle, triangle, half moon and dumpling".[16]
The hymn 10.136 of theRigveda mentions a renunciateyogi with a female namedkunannamā. Literally, it means "she who is bent, coiled", representing both a minor goddess and one of many embedded enigmas and esoteric riddles within theRigveda. Some scholars, such as D.G. White andGeorg Feuerstein, have suggested that she may be a reference tokundalini shakti and a precursor to the terminology associated with the chakras in later tantric traditions.[18][19][20]
Breath channels (nāḍi) are mentioned in the classicalUpanishads of Hinduism from the 1st millennium BCE,[21][22] but not psychic-energy chakra theories. Three classical Nadis are Ida, Pingala and Sushumna in which the central channel Sushumna is said to be foremost as per Kṣurikā-Upaniṣhad.[23]
According toDavid Gordon White, hierarchies of inner energy centers were introduced about 8th-century CE in Buddhist texts such as theHevajra Tantra andCaryāgiti.[21][24] These are called by various terms such ascakka,padma (lotus) orpitha (mound).[21] These medieval Buddhist texts mention only four chakras, while later Hindu texts such as theKubjikāmata andKaulajñānanirnaya expanded the list to many more.[21]
In contrast to White, according to Feuerstein, early Upanishads of Hinduism do mentionchakras in the sense of "psychospiritual vortices", along with other terms found in tantra:prana orvayu (life energy) along withnadi (energy carrying arteries).[19] According toGavin Flood, the ancient texts do not presentchakra and kundalini-style yoga theories although these words appear in the earliest Vedic literature in many contexts. Thechakra in the sense of four or more vital energy centers appear in the medieval era Hindu and Buddhist texts.[25][21]
The 10th centuryKubjikāmatatantra describes a system of five chakras which serve as the seats of five sets of divine female beings, namely theDevīs, the Dūtīs, the Mātṛs, theYoginīs and the Khecarīs.[5]
The important chakras are stated 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.[4][28] The tantric traditions sought to master them, awaken and energize them through various breathing exercises or with assistance of a teacher. These chakras were also symbolically mapped to specific human physiological capacity,seed syllables (bija), sounds, subtle elements (tanmatra), in some cases deities, colors and other motifs.[2][4][29]
The chakras are traditionally considered meditation aids. The yogi progresses from lower chakras to the highest chakra blossoming in the crown of the head, internalizing the journey of spiritual ascent.[30] In both the Hindu kundalini and Buddhist candali traditions, the chakras are pierced by a dormant energy residing near or in the lowest chakra. In Hindu texts she is known asKundalini, while in Buddhist texts she is called Candali orTummo (Tibetan:gtum mo, "fierce one").[31]
Thechakra relates to subtle body, wherein it has a position but no definite nervous node or precise physical connection. The tantric systems envision it as continually present, highly relevant and a means to psychic and emotional energy. It is useful in a type of yogic rituals and meditative discovery of radiant inner energy (prana flows) and mind-body connections.[28][32] Themeditation is aided by extensive symbology,mantras, diagrams, models (deity andmandala). The practitioner proceeds step by step from perceptible models, to increasingly abstract models where deity and external mandala are abandoned, inner self and internal mandalas are awakened.[33][34]
An illustration of aShaivaNath chakra system, folio 2 from the Nath Charit, 1823. Mehrangarh Museum Trust.
Chakra and divine energies
Shining, she holds the noose made of the energy of will, the hook which is energy of knowledge, the bow and arrows made of energy of action. Split into support and supported, divided into eight, bearer of weapons, arising from thechakra with eight points, she has the ninefoldchakra as a throne.
—Yoginihrdaya 53–54 (Translator: Andre Padoux)[35]
The chakras are part of esoteric ideas and concepts about physiology and psychic centers that emerged across Indian traditions.[21][36] The belief held that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one "physical body" (sthula sarira) and other "psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical" it is called the "subtle body" (sukshma sarira).[37][note 1] This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The psyche or mind plane corresponds to and interacts with the body plane, and the belief holds that the body and the mind mutually affect each other.[4] The subtle body consists of nadi (energy channels) connected by nodes of psychic energy calledchakra.[2] The belief grew into extensive elaboration, with some suggesting 88,000 chakras throughout the subtle body. The number of major chakras varied between various traditions, but they typically ranged between four and seven.[2][3]
The classical eastern traditions, particularly those that developed in India during the 1st millennium AD, primarily describenadi andchakra in a "subtle body" context.[39] To them, they are in same dimension as of the psyche-mind reality that is invisible yet real. In thenadi andcakra flow theprana (breath, life energy).[39][40] The concept of "life energy" varies between the texts, ranging from simple inhalation-exhalation to far more complex association with breath-mind-emotions-sexual energy.[39] This prana or essence is what vanishes when a person dies, leaving a gross body. Some of this concept states this subtle body is what withdraws within, when one sleeps. All of it is believed to be reachable, awake-able and important for an individual's body-mind health, and how one relates to other people in one's life.[39] This subtle body network ofnadi andchakra is, according to some later Indian theories and manyNew Age speculations, closely associated with emotions.[39][41]
The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras.[2] In some Buddhist tantric sources, these chakras are identified as:manipura (navel),anahata (heart),vishuddha (throat) andushnisha kamala (crown).[43] In one development within the Nyingma lineage of the Mantrayana of Tibetan Buddhism, a popular conceptualization of chakras emerged, arranged in increasing subtlety and order. The names of the four basic Buddhist cakras are derived from the fourkayas (bodies of the Buddha): nirmana (genitals), sambhoga (throat), dharmakaya (heart), and mahāsukha (crown of the head),[44] which correspond to four of the seven chakras in theShaiva Mantramarga universe, namely Svadhisthana, Anahata, Visuddha, and Sahasrara.[45] However, depending on the meditational tradition, these vary between three and six.[43] The chakras are considered psycho-spiritual constituents, each bearing meaningful correspondences to cosmic processes and their postulated Buddha counterpart.[46][43]
A system of five chakras is common among theMother class of Tantras and these five chakras along with their correspondences are:[47]
Abdominal chakra (Element: Water, Buddha:Ratnasambhava, Bija mantra: VAM)
Heart chakra (Element: Fire, Buddha:Akshobhya, Bija mantra: RAM)
Throat chakra (Element: Wind, Buddha:Amitābha, Bija mantra: YAM)
Crown chakra (Element: Space, Buddha:Vairochana, Bija mantra: HAM)
Chakras play a key role inTibetan Buddhism, and are considered to be the pivotal providence of Tantric thinking. And, the precise use of the chakras across the gamut of tantric sadhanas gives little space to doubt the primary efficacy of Tibetan Buddhism as distinct religious agency, that being that precise revelation that, without Tantra there would be no Chakras, but more importantly, without Chakras, there is no Tibetan Buddhism. The highest practices in Tibetan Buddhism point to the ability to bring the subtle pranas of an entity into alignment with the central channel, and to thus penetrate the realisation of the ultimate unity, namely, the "organic harmony" of one's individual consciousness of Wisdom with the co-attainment of All-embracing Love, thus synthesizing a direct cognition of absoluteBuddhahood.[48]
According to Samuel, the Buddhist esoteric systems developed cakra andnāḍi as "central to theirsoteriological process". The theories were sometimes, but not always, coupled with a unique system of physical exercises, calledyantra yoga or'phrul'khor.[49] Chakras, according to theBon tradition, enable the gestalt of experience, with each of the five major chakras, being psychologically linked with the five experiential qualities of unenlightened consciousness, thesix realms of woe.[50]
TheTsa Lung practice embodied in theTrul khor lineage, unbaffles the primary channels, thus activating and circulating liberating prana.Yoga awakens the deep mind, thus bringing forth positive attributes, inherent gestalts, and virtuous qualities. In a computer analogy, the screen of one's consciousness is slated and an attribute-bearing file is called up that contains necessary positive or negative, supportive qualities.[50] Tantric practice is said to eventually transform all experience into clear light. The practice aims to liberate from all negative conditioning, and the deep cognitive salvation of freedom from control and unity of perception and cognition.[50]
Some earlyShaivite formulations of chakras can be seen in the six-cakra system of theNetra Tantra (700-850 CE)[51] and the eight-cakra system of theKaulajñāna-nirṇ aya.[52] However, the chakra methodology is extensively developed in the goddess tradition of Hinduism calledShaktism. It is an important concept in Shakta practice, along with yantras, mandalas, and kundalini yoga. In Shakta Tantrism, a chakra means a "circle" or an "energy center" within, as well as being a term for group rituals such aschakra-puja (worship within a circle), which may or may not involve tantric practice.[53] The chakra-based system is a part of the meditative exercises that came to be known asyoga.[54]
Chakra and related beliefs have been important to the esoteric traditions, but they are not directly related to mainstreamyoga.[56] According to the IndologistEdwin Bryant and other scholars, the goals of classical yoga such as spiritual liberation (freedom, self-knowledge,moksha) is "attained entirely differently in classical yoga, and thecakra / nadi / kundalini physiology is completely peripheral to it."[57][58]
These ideas are not unique to Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Similar and overlapping concepts emerged in other cultures in the East and the West, and these are variously called by other names such as subtle body,spirit body, esoteric anatomy, sidereal body and etheric body.[59][60][38] According toGeoffrey 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 known to us have some kind of concept of mind, spirit or soul as distinct from the physical body, if only to explain experiences such as sleep and dreaming. (...) 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 of the body-mind complex) made up of channels through which substances of some kind flow, and points of intersection at which these channels come together. In the Indian tradition the channels are known asnadi and the points of intersection ascakra.
— Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston,Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body[61]
Esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and arrangements of chakras, of which a classical system of six-plus-one, the last being the Sahasrara, is most prevalent.[2][3][4] It incorporates six major chakras along with a seventh centre generally not regarded as a chakra. These points are arranged vertically along the axial channel (sushumna nadi in Hindu texts, Avadhuti in some Buddhist texts).[63] According to Gavin Flood, this system of six chakras plus thesahasrara "center" at the crown first appears in theKubjikāmata-tantra, an 11th-centuryKaula work.[64]
It was this chakra system that was translated in the early 20th century bySir John Woodroffe (also called Arthur Avalon) in his bookThe Serpent Power. Avalon translated the Hindu textṢaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa meaning the examination (nirūpaṇa) of the six (ṣaṭ) chakras (cakra).[65]
Chakra positions in supposed relation to nervous plexuses, fromCharles W. Leadbeater's 1927 bookThe Chakras
Kurt Leland, for theTheosophical Society in America, concluded that the western chakra system was produced by an "unintentional collaboration" of many groups of people: esotericists and clairvoyants, often theosophical;Indologists; the scholar of myth,Joseph Campbell; the founders of theEsalen Institute and the psychological tradition ofCarl Jung; the colour system ofCharles W. Leadbeater's 1927 bookThe Chakras,[67] treated as traditional lore by some modern Indian yogis; and energy healers such asBarbara Brennan.[62][68] Leland states that far from being traditional, the two main elements of the modern system, the rainbow colours and the list of qualities, first appeared together only in 1977.[62]
The concept of a set of seven chakras came to the West in the 1880s; at that time each chakra was associated with a nerve plexus.[62] In 1918, SirJohn Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, translated two Indian texts, theṢaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa and thePādukā-Pañcaka, publishing and commenting on them both in his bookThe Serpent Power drew Western attention to the seven chakra theory.[69]
In the 1920s, each of the seven chakras was associated with an endocrine gland,[62] a tradition that has persisted.[70][71][72] More recently, the lower six chakras have been linked to both nerve plexuses and glands.[73] The seven rainbow colours were added by Leadbeater in 1927; a variant system in the 1930s proposed six colours plus white.[62] Leadbeater's theory was influenced byJohann Georg Gichtel's 1696 bookTheosophia Practica, which mentioned inner "force centres".[74]
Psychological and other attributes such as layers of theaura, developmental stages, associated diseases,Aristotelian elements, emotions, and states of consciousness were added still later.[62] A wide range of supposed correspondences such as withalchemical metals,astrological signs andplanets, foods, herbs,gemstones,homeopathic remedies,Kabbalistic spheres, musical notes, totem animals, andTarot cards have also been proposed.[62]
InAnatomy of the Spirit (1996),Caroline Myss described the function of chakras as follows: "Every thought and experience you've ever had in your life gets filtered through these chakra databases. Each event is recorded into your cells...".[75] The chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column from the base of thespine to the top of the head.New Age practices often associate each chakra with a certain colour. In various traditions, each chakra is associated with a physiological functions, an aspect ofconsciousness, and aclassical element; these do not correspond to those used in ancient Indian systems. The chakras are visualised aslotuses or flowers with a different number of petals in every chakra.[62]
The chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature. They are considered loci of lifespiritual energy orprana, which is thought to flow among them along pathways callednadi. The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in balance.[76]
Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving. 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.[77][78][79]
Below are the commonnew age description of these six chakras and the seventh point known as sahasrara. Thisnew age version incorporates theNewtonian colours of the rainbow not found in any ancient Indian system.[62]
Highest spiritual centre, pure consciousness, containing neither object nor subject. When the feminineKundalini Shakti rises to this point, it unites with the masculineShiva, giving self-realization andsamadhi.[3] In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Mahasukha, the petal lotus of "Great Bliss" corresponding to the fourth state ofFour Noble Truths.[31]
Guru chakra, or in New Age usage third-eye chakra, the subtle center of energy, where the tantraguru touches the seeker during theinitiation ritual. He or she commands the awakenedkundalini to pass through this centre.[3]
Corresponds to the upper dantien in the Qigong system.
16 petals covered with the sixteen Sanskrit vowels. Associated with the element of space (akasha). The residing deity is Panchavaktra shiva, with 5 heads and 4 arms, and the Shakti is Shakini.[3]
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Sambhoga and is generally considered to be the petal lotus of "Enjoyment" corresponding to the third state ofFour Noble Truths.[31]
Within it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming ahexagram, symbolising a union of the male and female, and the element of air (vayu). The presiding deity is Ishana Rudra Shiva, and the Shakti is Kakini.[3]
In esoteric Buddhism, this Chakra is called Dharma and is generally considered to be the petal lotus of "Essential nature" and corresponding to the second state ofFour Noble Truths.[31]
Corresponds to the middle dantien in the Qigong system.
For theNath yogi meditation system, this is described as theMadhyama-Shakti or the intermediate stage of self-discovery.[30] This chakra is represented as a downward pointing triangle representing fire in the middle of a lotus with ten petals. The presiding deity is Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti.[3]
Svadhisthana is represented with a lotus within which is a crescent moon symbolizing the water element. The presiding deity is Brahma, with the Shakti being Rakini (or Chakini).[3]
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Nirmana, the petal lotus of "Creation" and corresponding to the first state ofFour Noble Truths.[31]
Corresponds to the lower dantien in the Qigong system.
DormantKundalini is often said to be resting here, wrapped three and a half, or seven or twelve times. Sometimes she is wrapped around the black Svayambhu linga, the lowest of three obstructions to her full rising (also known as knots or granthis).[80] It is symbolised as a four-petaled lotus with a yellow square at its center representing the element of earth.[3]
The seed syllable isLam for the earth element. All sounds, words and mantras in their dormant form rest in the muladhara chakra, whereGanesha resides,[81] while the Shakti isDakini.[82] The associated animal is the elephant.[83]
There is no scientific evidence to prove chakras exist, nor is there any meaningful way to try and measure them scientifically.[84] TheEdinburgh Skeptics Society claimed that there has never been any evidence for chakras.[85]
^The roots to this belief are found inSamkhya andVedanta which attempt to conceptualize the permanent soul and impermanent body as interacting in three overlapping states: the gross body (sthula sarira), the subtle body (sukshma sarira), and causal body (karana sarira). These ideas emerged to address questions relating to the nature of body and soul, how and why they interact while one is awake, one is asleep and over the conception-birth-growth-decay-death-rebirth cycle.[37][38]
^abcdefWhite, David Gordon.Yoga in Practice. Princeton University Press 2012, pages 14–15.
^Trish O'Sullivan (2010),Chakras. In: D.A. Leeming, K. Madden, S. Marlan (eds.),Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion, Springer Science + Business Media.
^Samuel, Geoffrey; Johnston, Jay (2013).Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body.Routledge. p. 40.ISBN978-1-136-76640-4.The names of these four cakras are derived from the names of one of the standard sets of four kāyas or bodies of the Buddha (nirmāṇa = creation, dharma = essential nature, sambhoga = enjoyment, mahāsukha = great bliss). These are then correlated with the four moments of actualization, the Four Noble Truths, four tattvas, four joys, and four main doctrinal schools.
^John C. Huntington, Dina Bangdel,The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Serindia Publications, Inc., 2003, p. 231.
^Gyatso, Geshe Kelsang (2014).Clear Light of Bliss : Tantric Meditation Manual. Cumbria, England:Tharpa Publications. Channels, Winds and Drops.ISBN978-1-910368-03-9.OCLC904051195.The ten doors are located along the central channel as follows: ... the point between the eyebrows ... the apex of the cranium ... near the back of the throat ... between the two breasts ... the navel channel wheel ...
^abcRinpoche, Tenzin Wangyal (2002). Mark Dahlby (ed.).Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. Ithaca, NY:Snow Lion. pp. 84–85.ISBN1-55939-176-6.
^Leland, Kurt (2016).Rainbow body : a history of the western chakra system from Blavatsky to Brennan. Lake Worth, Florida: Ibis Press.ISBN978-0-89254-219-2.OCLC945949596.
^Gardiner, Philip; Osborn, Gary (2006).The Shining Ones: the world's most powerful secret society revealed (Revised and updated ed.). London: Watkins. pp. 44–45.ISBN1-84293-150-4.
^Brown, C. Mackenzie (1998).The Devī Gītā: the Song of the Goddess: a translation, annotation, and commentary. Albany (N.Y.): State university of New York press. p. 195.ISBN978-0-7914-3940-1.
^Mindell, Arnold; Sternback-Scott, Sisa; Goodman, Becky (1984).Dreambody: the body's rôle in revealing the self.Taylor & Francis. p. 38.ISBN0-7102-0250-4.
Judith, Anodea (1996).Eastern Body Western Mind: Psychology and the Chakra System As A Path to the Self. Berkeley, California, USA: Celestial Arts Publishing.ISBN0-89087-815-3.
Banerji, S. C.Tantra in Bengal. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. (Manohar: Delhi, 1992).ISBN81-85425-63-9.
Bucknell, Roderick; Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986).The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. London:Curzon Press.ISBN0-312-82540-4.
Edgerton, Franklin (2004) [1953].Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (Reprint ed.). Delhi:Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.ISBN81-208-0999-8. (two volumes)
Lowndes, Florin.Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart: The Fundamental Spiritual Exercises of Rudolf SteinerISBN1-85584-053-7, first English edition 1998 from the original German edition of 1996. comparing 'traditional' chakra teaching, and that of C. W. Leadbeater, with that of Rudolf Steiner.
Tulku, Tarthang (2007).Tibetan Relaxation. The illustrated guide to Kum Nye massage and movement – A yoga from the Tibetan tradition. London: Dunkan Baird Publishers.ISBN978-1-84483-404-4.
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