Thethird eye (also called themind's eye orinner eye) is an invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, supposed to provide perception beyond ordinary sight.[1] InHinduism, the third eye refers to theajna (or brow)chakra. In bothHinduism andBuddhism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, representing theenlightenment one achieves throughmeditation.
Especially inEastern spiritual practices, the third eye refers to the gate that leads to the inner realms and spaces ofhigher consciousness, and oftensymbolizes a state of enlightenment. The third eye is often associated withreligious visions,clairvoyance, the ability to observechakras andauras,[2]precognition, andout-of-body experiences.
In Hinduism, the third eye refers to theajna (or brow)chakra, said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows.[3] Hindus place a "tilaka" between the eyebrows as a representation of the third eye, which is also seen on expressions ofShiva. He is referred to as "Tryambaka Deva", or the three-eyed lord, where his third eye symbolizes the power of knowledge, and the detection of evil. His eye is depicted by three horizontal lines in the middle of his forehead.[4]
In Buddhism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, Buddhists regard the third eye as the "eye of consciousness", representing the vantage point from which enlightenment beyond one's physical sight is achieved, and use anurna to the same effect as Hindus. The third eye, or the “Eye of Wisdom”, is discerned on the deity Buddha.[citation needed]
InTaoism, third eye training involves focusing attention on the point between the eyebrows with the eyes closed, and while the body is in variousqigong postures. The goal of this training is to allow students to tune into the correct "vibration" of the universe and gain a solid foundation on which to reach a more advanced meditative state. Taoism teaches that the third eye, also called themind's eye, is situated between the two physical eyes, and expands up to the middle of the forehead when opened. Taoism asserts that the third eye is one of the main energy centers of the body located at the sixthChakra, forming a part of the main meridian, the line separating left and right hemispheres of the body.[5]
Adherents oftheosophistH. P. Blavatsky have suggested that the third eye is in fact the partially dormantpineal gland, which resides between the two hemispheres of the brain.[6]Reptiles andamphibians sense light via a thirdparietal eye—a structure associated with the pineal gland—which serves to regulate theircircadian rhythms, and for navigation, as it can sense the polarization of light. She states that certain functions of the mind are associated with the pineal gland and the acervulus cerebri was absent in children below the age of six.[7]C. W. Leadbeater thought that by extending an "etheric tube" from the third eye, it is possible to develop microscopic and telescopic vision.[2] It has been asserted by Stephen Phillips that the third eye's microscopic vision is capable of observing objects as small asquarks.[8] According to this belief, humans had in far ancient times an actual third eye in the back of the head with a physical and spiritual function. Over time, as humans evolved, this eye atrophied and sunk into what today is known as the pineal gland.[9]Rick Strassman has hypothesized that the pineal gland, which maintains light sensitivity, is responsible for the production and release ofDMT (dimethyltryptamine), anentheogen which he believes could be excreted in large quantities at the moments of birth and death.[10]
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