An Indexed Collection of Posts by Maoshan Wanderer

See also Part 2



:star: Alchemy

Summary


:cherry_blossom: Chakras

Summary

[quote =“Maoshan_Wanderer, post:2, topic:8881, full:true”]
Tracing the origin of the Chakra system has been attempted by several scholars with varying degrees of success. Let us first understand that it is “one” traditional view that there are seven (technically six) Chakras. And this is just one of the many traditions. I will mainly speak of Tantra here (and not Daoism) as Chakra is a technical term used in Hatha Yoga and Tantra.

In Tantric parallax, there are three concepts: Mandalas, Chakras, and Yantras - all representing sacred geometry, used as tools of ritual and meditation, and the three are intricately connected. The first is external, the second is internalized, and the third is a mixture of the two. The intent of all three of them is to symbolize the Cosmos within the individual to garner specific energies with the aid of mantra (sound-intent) and tantra (ritualistic meditative activity). Every Chakra is basically of the principle that the center represents the core principle represented by a particular chakra, and is unfolds itself outwards, representing creative multiplication and projection of this central idea in numerous ways. A Chakra has been represented not only as a wheel but more often as a lotus as the blooming of the lotus is symbolic of projection of the central idea/energy of a chakra to its full potential.

The center of a chakra is always occupied by a deity or an archetype, a male and female couple, often represented by a mantra or the sonic representation of the energetic aspect of the concept represented by this deity. The surrounding spokes (in the case of a wheel representation) or petals (when represented as a lotus) are axially deities or archetypes - the two sets together representing a specific aspect of the manifested world - in Yoga and Tantra, the manifested world exists as speech (mantra) and light (mandala/chakra/yantra). These chakras are also aids for meditation as they are organized to represent philosophical concepts that the practitioner should contemplate upon, as these form the philosophical underpinnings of the system that utilizes these chakras.

The object of meditation of these chakras is to access the power of creation or rather reverse the process of duality to re-integrate everything into one non-dual conscious.

The number of Chakras is variously defined by different systems of Yoga and Tantra, and they are based on how these schools describe the process of creation, of descent from Pure I AM consciousness to a dualistic consciousness - and there is no right or wrong way here. The number, colors, the geometry of these chakras vary as different systems use different toolboxes to represent these centers. The system of Hatha Yoga, for example, uses twenty-eight chakras. My school of Tantra uses 108 chakras, and we painstakingly work on energizing and awakening each of these centers of consciousness over a period of eleven years. The system that was popularized by Arthur Avalon, and picked-up by Theosophists like Blavatsky was the six chakra system, combined with a non-chakra (crown), came to be more known in the West as the new age movements picked up from theosophy, creating the impression that this was the only system.

Also, the six chakra system espouses an element based metaphysics. There is an older five chakra system that views creation not as separation of elements, but as the manifestation of five aspects of sacred speech. There is a 36 chakra system which views the evolution of One consciousness to Many through the diversification of 36 categories (tattvas) and so on.

So, essentially, Chakra systems are tools specific to systems of energetic cultivation and are part of a larger, holistic system. How you view and utilize them depends on what one intends to do with them. Neither are these hard physical organs (though they influence physical organs) nor are these some locks of some kind placed by alien races to stop the human race from evolving.

To understand chakras, one should first understand their historical evolution, the context in which they were utilized, to avoid misappropriation of technical concepts. The term chakra has a definite and unambiguous connotation in Systems that defined and used them and these should not be appropriated to refer to concepts/ideas which have nothing to do with them - perhaps call these “ideas” something else. There is always an element of cultural context with spiritual ideas, and often, when trying to rid spiritual concepts completely of the context in which they evolved makes the concepts impotent and useless, unless done very skillfully.

Also, a lot of perceived blockages that impede the flow of Kundalini aka Creative Energy are due to “knots ” and not the chakras themselves - and resolving these knots requires effort and looking within.
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:green_salad: Diet / Food, Drink & Supplements Usage

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:cyclone: Energy (miscellaneous)

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:fairy:t2: Higher Beings

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