The word comes from the Sanskrit cakra meaning
"wheel" or "circle" (also cognate
to both words),
and sometimes also referring to the "wheel of life". The
pronunciation of this word can be approximated in English by chuhkruh,
with ch as in chart and both instances of a as in yoga (the commonly
found pronunciation shockrah is incorrect). Some traditional sources
describe five or seven chakras, others eight.
The chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column
from the base of the spine to the top of the head. In new age practices,
each chakra is associated with a certain color. In various traditions
chakras are associated with multiple physiological functions, an aspect
of consciousness, a classical element, and other distinguishing
characteristics. They are visualized as lotuses with a different number
of petals in every chakra.
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 life energy, or prana, (also called shakti,
or chi), which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadis.
The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this Universal Life
Force Energy to keep the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical
health of the body in balance.
Traditional Chinese medicine also relies on a similar model of the
human body as an energy system.
The New Age movement has led to an increased interest in the West
regarding chakras. Many in this movement point to a correspondence
between the position and role of the chakras and those of the glands in
the endocrine system. Some people in New Age also claim that other
chakras, besides the above, exist for instance, ear chakras and
have described many more chakras than made reference to in traditional
texts. Frequently references are made to the chakras in the New Age
"sacred sexuality" or neotantra movement.
The chakras are described in the tantric texts the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana,
and the Padaka-Pancaka, in which they are described as emanations of
consciousness from Brahman, an energy emanating from the spiritual which
gradually turns concrete, creating these distinct levels of chakras, and
which eventually finds its rest in the Muladhara chakra. They are
therefore part of an emanations theory, like that of the kabbalah in the
west, lataif-e-sitta in Sufism or neo-platonism. The energy that was
unleashed in creation, called the Kundalini, lies coiled and sleeping at
the base of the spine. It is the purpose of the tantric or kundalini
forms of yoga to arouse this energy, and cause it to rise back up
through the increasingly subtler chakras, until union with God is
achieved in the Sahasrara chakra at the crown of the head.
Apart from this primary text from India, different Western authors
have tried to describe the chakras, most notably the Theosophists. Many
New Age writers, such as the Danish author and musician Peter Kjaerulff
in his book, The Ringbearer's Diary, or Anodea Judith in her book Wheels
of Life, have written their opinions about the chakras in great detail,
including the reasons for their appearance and functions.
The seven chakras are said by some to reflect how the unified
consciousness of humanity (the immortal human being or the soul), is
divided to manage different aspects of earthly life (body/instinct/vital
energy/deeper emotions/communication/having an overview of life/contact
to God). The chakras are placed at differing levels of spiritual
subtlety, with Sahasrara at the top being concerned with pure
consciousness, and Muladhara at the bottom being concerned with matter,
which is seen simply as crude consciousness.
Origins and development
The earliest known mention of chakras is found in the later
Upanishads, including specifically the Brahma Upanishad and the
Yogatattva Upanishad. These vedic models were adapted in Tibetan
Buddhism as Vajrayana theory, and in the Tantric Shakta theory of
It is the shakta theory of 7 main chakras that most people in the
West adhere to, either knowingly or unknowingly, largely thanks to a
translation of two Indian texts, the Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, and the
Padaka-Pancaka, by Sir John Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, in a book
entitled The Serpent Power.
This book is extremely detailed and complex, and later the ideas were
developed into what is predominant western view of the Chakras by the
Theosophists, and largely the controversial (in theosophical circles) C.
W. Leadbeater in his book The Chakras, which are in large part his own
meditations and insights on the matter.
That said, many present-day Indian gurus that incorporate chakras
within their systems of philosophy do not seem to radically disagree
with the western view of chakras, at least on the key points, and both
these eastern and western views have developed from the Shakta Tantra
There are various other models of chakras in other traditions,
notably in Chinese medicine, and also in Tibetan Buddhism. Even in
Jewish kabbalah, the different Sephiroth are sometimes associated with
parts of the body. In Islamic Sufism, Lataif-e-Sitta ( Six Subtleties )
are considered as psychospiritual "organs" or faculties of
sensory and suprasensory perception, activation of which makes a man
complete. Attempts are made to try and reconcile the systems with each
other, and notably there are some successes, even between such diverged
traditions as Shakta Tantra, Sufism and Kabbalism, where chakras, lataif
and Sephiroth can seemingly represent the same archetypal spiritual
concepts. In Surat Shabda Yoga, initiation by an Outer Living Satguru
(Sat - true, Guru - teacher) is required and involves reconnecting soul
to the Shabda and stationing the Inner Shabda Master (the Radiant Form
of the Master) at the third eye chakra.
The Seven basic chakras
Sahasrara or the crown chakra is said to be the chakra of
consciousness, the master chakra that controls all the others. Its role
would be very similar to that of the pituitary gland, which secretes
hormones to control the rest of the endocrine system, and also connects
to the central nervous system via the hypothalamus. The thalamus is
thought to have a key role in the physical basis of consciousness. Symbolized
by a lotus with a thousand petals.
Ajna or the third eye is linked to the pineal gland. Ajna is the
chakra of time and awareness and of light. The pineal gland is a light
sensitive gland, that produces the hormone melatonin, which regulates
the instincts of going to sleep and awakening. It has been conjectured
that it also produces trace amounts of the psychedelic chemical
dimethyltryptamine. Symbolized by a lotus with two petals.
(Note: some argue that the pineal and pituitary glands should be
exchanged in their relationship to the Crown and Brow chakras, based on
the description in Arthur Avalon's book on kundalini called Serpent
Power or empirical research.)
Vishuddha or the throat chakra is said to be related to communication
and growth, growth being a form of expression. This chakra is paralleled
to the thyroid, a gland that is also in the throat, and which produces
thyroid hormone, responsible for growth and maturation. Symbolized by a
lotus with sixteen petals.
Anahata or the heart/emotions chakra is related to love, equilibrium,
and well-being. It is related to the thymus, located in the chest. This
organ is part of the immune system, as well as being part of the
endocrine system. It produces T cells responsible for fighting off
disease, and is adversely affected by stress. Symbolized by a lotus with
Manipura or the solar plexus chakra is related to energy,
assimilation and digestion, and is said to correspond to the roles
played by the pancreas and the outer adrenal glands, the adrenal cortex.
These play a valuable role in digestion, the conversion of food matter
into energy for the body. Symbolised by a lotus with ten petals.
Swadhisthana or the sacral chakra is located in the groin, and is
related to emotion, sexuality and creativity. This chakra is said to
correspond to the testicles or the ovaries, that produce the various sex
hormones involved in the reproductive cycle, which can cause dramatic
mood swings. Symbolised by a lotus with six petals.
Muladhara or the base or root chakra is related to security, survival
and also to basic human potentiality. This center is located in the
region between the genitals and the anus. Although no endocrine organ is
placed here, it is said to relate to the inner adrenal glands, the
adrenal medulla, responsible for the fight and flight response when
survival is under threat. In this region is located a muscle that
controls ejaculation in the sexual act. A parallel is drawn between the
sperm cell and the ovum, where the genetic code lies coiled, and the
kundalini. Symbolized by a lotus with four petals.
The Tantric Chakras
- Tantric chakras
Tantra (Shakta or Shaktism) describes eight primary inner chakras:
Suggested Further Reading