Chakras exist in many dimensions simultaneously, and thus provide points of entry into those dimensions. In the physical realm, they correspond to particular areas of the body and may be experienced as butterflies in our stomach, frogs in our throat, pounding in our heart, or the experience of an orgasm. Working with the physical associations allows us to use the Chakra System to diagnose and, in some cases, heal illnesses.
Chakras also correspond to various types of activity. Work is a first chakra activity, as it relates to survival. Music, relating to sound and communication, corresponds to the fifth chakra. Dreaming, as a function of inner sight, is a sixth chakra activity.
In the dimension of time, chakras describe stages in personal and cultural life cycles. In childhood, the chakras open sequentially, starting with the first chakra, which is dominant during the first year of life, and moving upward toward the crown as we mature into adulthood.18 As adults, we may focus on certain chakras more than others at various stages-creating prosperity, exploring sexuality, developing personal power, relationships, creativity, or spiritual exploration.
In terms of evolution, chakras are paradigms of consciousness that prevail in the world at a given time. Primitive humans existed primarily in the first chakra, where survival was the main focus of culture. Agriculture and ship travel marked the beginning of the second chakra era. At this millennial time, I believe we are passing from the third chakra era, where the primary focus has been power and energy, to the fourth chakra realm of the heart, where the focus is on love and compassion. While none of these transitions are smooth or sudden, certain phases can be clearly seen over the course of history. (See chapter 12.)
In the mind, chakras are patterns of consciousness-belief systems through which we experience and create our personal world. In this way, the chakras really are programs that run our lives. Our lower chakra programs contain information about the body in terms of survival, sexuality, and action. The higher chakras bring us to more universal states of consciousness and work with our deeper belief systems about spirituality and meaning. Sometimes we get locked into a program and it becomes our habitual way of interacting with the world around us. The man who sees every situation as a challenge to his power orients from his third chakra. The one who perpetually struggles with survival issues, such as health and money, has difficulty with chakra one. Someone who lives in his fantasies may be stuck in chakra six.
As you can see, the chakras have many complexities. As metaphors for the manifestation of consciousness on various planes of activity, they are invaluable. Yet, as a complete System, they offer even more understanding to the energetic dynamics of a human being.
SHIVAAND SHAKTI
There is no power-holder without power. No power without power-holder. The power-holder is Shiva. Power is Shakti, the Great Mother of the universe. There is no Shiva without Shakti, or Shakti without Shiva. 19
In Hindu mythology, the universe is created by the combination of the deities Shiva and Shakti. The male principle, Shiva, is identified with pure unmanifest consciousness. He represents bliss and is depicted as a formless being, deep in meditation. Shiva is the inactivated divine potential equal to pure consciousness-separate from its manifestations. He is sometimes seen as the "destroyer" because he is consciousness without form-often destroying form to reveal consciousness. Shiva is believed to have the strongest presence at the crown chakra.21
Shakti, the female counterpart to this inactive consciousness, is the life giver. She is the entire creation and mother of the universe. Shakti, in her creation of the world, is the inventor of maya, commonly thought of as illusion. Early in the Sanskrit language, maya had the meaning of magic, art, wisdom, and extraordinary power.21 Maya is the substance of the manifested universe, the mistress of divine creation. Maya is a projection of consciousness, but not consciousness itself. It is said that when "karma ripens, Shakti becomes desirous of creation and covers herself with her own maya."22
The root word shak means "to have power" or "to be able."' Shakti is the vital energy that gives power to the forming of life. It is through union with Shakti that the consciousness of Shiva descends and endows the universe (Shakti) with Divine Consciousness. Among mortals, the woman produces the child, but only with the man's seed. So, too, Shakti produces the universe, but only with the "seed" of consciousness that comes from Shiva.
Each of these deities has a tendency to move toward the other. Shakti, as she pushes up from the Earth, is described as the "divine aspiration of the human soul," while Shiva, descending from above, is the "irresistible attraction of divine grace" or manifestation.24 They exist in an eternal embrace and are constantly making love, neither able to exist without the other. Their eternal relationship creates both the phenomenal and spiritual worlds.
Shiva and Shakti reside within each one of us. We have only to practice certain principles to allow these forces to join together bringing us enlightenment from the veil of maya, or realization of the consciousness buried within so-called illusion. When this occurs we will have, as the old meanings hint-art, wisdom, and the powers of creation within our very grasp.
LIBERATION AND MANIFESTATION
Consciousness thus has a twin aspect; its liberation (mukti) or formless aspect, in which it is as mere Consciousness-Bliss; and a universe or form aspect, in which it becomes the world of enjoyment (bhukti). One of the cardinal principles [of spiritual practice] is to secure both liberation and enjoyment.25
Shiva and Shakti can also be seen as representing two currents of energy through the chakras-one downward and one upward.26 (See Figure 1.10, page 33.) The downward current, which I call the current of manifestation, begins in pure consciousness and descends through the chakras into the manifested plane, gradually becoming denser and denser at each step. To produce a theatrical play, for example, we must begin with an idea or concept (chakra seven). The idea then becomes a set of images (chakra six), which can be communicated to others in the form of a story (chakra five). As the idea further develops, and others get involved with it, we enter a set of relationships that help bring it about (chakra four). We give it our will and energy (chakra three), rehearsing the movements, and bringing its conceptual and physical elements together (chakra two) and finally, manifest the play on the physical plane (chakra one) in front of an audience. Thus we have taken our abstract conception which began in thought down through the chakras into manifestation. It is this path of manifestation that is said to be pulled by the enjoyment of life, or bhukti.
The other current, called the current of liberation, takes us out of the limitations of the manifested plane into freer and thus more expansive and inclusive states of being. In this path, the energy in matter is released to become lighter and lighter, as it moves up through the elements, expanding and transforming to a limitless state of pure being. Thus solid earth loses its rigidity and becomes water, then the energy of fire, the expansion of air, the vibration of sound, the radiation of light, and the abstraction of thought.
The liberating current is the pathway usually emphasized in the study of chakras, for it brings personal liberation. It is the pathway through which slow-moving, constricted energy gradually gains new degrees of freedom. It liberates us from outdated or constricting habits, from the veil of maya. It is the pathway through which we disentangle ourselves from the limitations of the physical world and find broader scope in the more abstract and symbolic levels. Each step along the liberating pathway is a rearrangement of matter and of consciousness, to produce more efficient, energy-rich combinations, a dissolution into our primary source. As this current originates below, it is fueled by the lower chakras-our roots, our guts, our needs, and desires.
While suffering from much prejudice, the downward current is equally important for it enables us to manifest. Each step downward is a creative act, an act of consciousness making choices, taking a step toward limitation, allowing constriction of freedom. Through this constriction, the abstract expanse of consciousness has a conta
iner that allows it to condense and become solid. In the downward current, each of the chakras can be seen as "condensers" of cosmic energy.
To manifest, we must limit. This requires creating boundaries, being specific, defining structure and form. To write this book, I must have structure to my life and limit my other activities long enough to complete it. To hold a job, raise a child, finish school, or to create anything tangible, we must be willing to accept limitation.
The liberating current brings us excitement, energy, and novelty, while the descending current brings peace, grace, and stability. In order for either of these pathways to really be complete, all of the chakras need to be open and active. Liberation without limitation leaves us vague, scattered, and confused. We may have wonderful ideas and lots of knowledge, but we are unable to bring these fruits to any tangible completion. On the other hand, limitation without liberation is dull and stifling. We become caught in repetitive patterns, clinging to security and fearing change. In order for us to be truly whole, both currents must be open and active.
FIGURE 1.10
The current of manifestation and the current of liberation.
The chakras may be thought of as chambers in the body where these two forces mix together in different combinations. Each chakra has a different balance of liberation and manifestation. The lower we go in the system, the stronger the momentum of the manifesting current. The higher we go, the more the chakras are influenced by the liberating current. This basic polarity is an essential element to understanding how the system works as a whole.
THE THREE GUNAS
In Hindu mythology, the cosmos is believed to have evolved out of a primordial ground called prakrti, similar to the Western alchemical concept of prima materia. Prakrti is woven from three threads called gunas, or qualities, which create all that we experience. These qualities correspond, in our terms, to matter, energy, and consciousness.
The first of the gunas is called tamas, and it represents matter, mass, or the heavy stillness of inertia. It is prakrti in its densest form. The second guna is called rajas, representing energy in the form of motion, force, and the overcoming of inertia. This is prakrti in its energetic, changing form. The third is called sattva, meaning mind, intelligence, or consciousness. This is prakrti in its abstract form. The gunas can also be described as tamas, the magnetic force, rajas, the kinetic force, and sattva, the balancing force between these two. Sattva rules the causal plane, rajas rules the subtle plane, and tamas, the gross or physical plane.
In the continuous creation of the cosmos, the three gunas intertwine to form the various states or planes of existence that we experience. Arising from a basic state of equilibrium, the gunas maintain this equilibrium through constant flux. Other times tamas may dominate, giving us matter. At times rajas may dominate, giving us energy. When sattva is predominant, the experience is primarily mental or spiritual. However, the three gunas always retain their own essence, much as the three strands of a braid remain distinct, yet weave together to make one braid.
The totality of the gunas is believed to remain constant, mirroring the principles of energy conservation accepted by physics today. Within our braid, we may alter the number of strands in each section, yet the total size of the braid remains constant.
The chakras are comprised of varying proportions of the three gunas. These three qualities are the essence of a basic, unified primordial substance. Together they compose the dance of the universe, yet separately they are quite distinct. The gunas describe the steps in a cosmic dance and, by studying their interrelationship, we may learn the steps and join in the dance ourselves.
In the following pages, the terms matter, energy, and consciousness will be used quite freely. These terms describe qualities inherent in all aspects of life-the qualities of the three gunas. These terms are not three separate entities and are never found alone without varying proportions of their counterparts. In fact, it is impossible to actually separate them except under an intellectual framework. Energy, matter, and consciousness intertwine to form all that we experience in the same way as the gunas join together to form the cosmos.
The chakras are all comprised of these ingredients in various degrees. Matter (tamas) rules the lower chakras, energy (rajas) rules the middle chakras, and consciousness (sattva) rules the upper chakras. Yet some proportion of each thread is found at every level and in each and every living thing. To balance the weaving of these three basic threads is to bring balance to ourselves, in mind, body, and spirit.
CHAKRAS AND KUN DALI N I
Her lustre is that of a strong flash of young lightning. Her sweet murmur is like the indistinct hum of swarms of lovemad bees. She produces melodious poetry ... It is She who maintains all the beings of the world by means of inspiration and expiration, and shines in the cavity of the root lotus like a chain of brilliant lights.
-Sat-Chakra-Nirupana27
When Shakti resides in the base chakra, she rests. Here she becomes the coiled serpent, Kundalini-Shakti, wrapped three and one-half times around the Shiva lingam in the Muladhara. In this form she is the inherent potential in matter, the primordial feminine force of creation, and the evolutionary force in human consciousness. In most people she remains dormant, peacefully sleeping in her coiled abode at the base of the spine. Her name comes from the word kundala, which means "coiled."
When awakened, this Goddess unfolds from her coils and climbs upward, chakra by chakra, reaching for the crown chakra at the top of the head where she hopes to find Shiva descending to meet her. As she pierces each chakra, she brings that chakra's awakening to her subject. In fact, some believe it is only Kundalini-Shakti who can open the chakras. If she is able to reach the crown chakra and complete her journey, she is united with her counterpart, Shiva, Divine Consciousness, and the result is enlightenment or bliss.
Kundalini yoga is an ancient and esoteric discipline designed to arouse the Kundalini-Shakti force and raise it up the spine. It often involves initiation by a trained guru and years of specific yoga and meditation practices. However, there are many people on and off the spiritual path who are having spontaneous spiritual emergence experiences, some with genuine Kundalini awakenings, so it is worthwhile to examine this mysterious and powerful force.
The paths Kundalini takes are quite varied. Most commonly Kundalini begins at the feet or the base of the spine and travels up toward the head. This movement can be accompanied by shaking spasms or feelings of intense heat. Accounts of Kundalini, however, also include similar intense activity traveling from the head downward or from the middle outward. Sometimes Kundalini symptoms happen within a matter of seconds and then vanish, occurring at intervals of hours or years. At other times, the symptoms may last for weeks, months, or years.
A Kundalini experience is not always pleasant, however. Many people have extreme difficulty functioning in their mundane lives while Kundalini is thrashing about through their chakras. While Kundalini pushes her way through your blocks, you may find difficulty sleeping or a dislike for energies associated with the lower chakras, such as eating or sex. (Yet some people become highly sexual after a Kundalini awakening.) There may also be some profound depression or fear as you look at your life through the eyes of this serpent Goddess. She is a healing force, though not always gentle, as the veils of illusion are drawn away from your normal reality. For those who experience spontaneous Kundalini awakenings and do not have a spiritual teacher to work with, there are some referral agencies that can provide you with experienced therapists who understand this spiritual energy and will not necessarily judge it as crazy or psychotic.28
The serpent is an archetypal symbol throughout the world representing enlightenment, immortality, and a path to the Gods. In Genesis, the serpent led Adam and Eve to taste the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. This symbolizes the beginning of Kundalini, creating the unceasing desire for understanding, yet grounded in the material world (the apple). In Egypt, the pharaohs wore crowns with serpent symbols over their thir
d eye to represent their godly stature. Did this represent ascended Kundalini? Even today the double serpent wraps itself around the staff of healing, forming the modern medical symbol, the caduceus. (See Figure 1.11, page 39.) The caduceus clearly imitates the winding of Ida and Pingala, the central nadis crossing between the chakras, surrounding the sushumna. (See Figure 1.6, page 19.) The entwined serpents are also symbolic of the double helix pattern of our DNA-the basic information-carrier of life.
Kundalini is a universal concept for a very powerful enlightening force. It is also a very tricky and unpredictable force to play around with; one which may be loaded with intense pain, confusion and frequently may be interpreted by the world as insanity. This may or may not be accompanied by the more positive aspects listed above. It opens the chakras, but like opening each cell in a jail, Kundalini may release whatever is lodged within the chakras. This may be expanded insights or experiences, or it may be old traumas or abuses that caused the chakra to shut down originally.
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