Chakras

Diference there has been, or may be, as to forms and methods, whether in
Upasana or Yoga, yet all Indian worshippers of the ancient type seek a
common end in unity with Light of Consciousness, which is beyond the
regions of Sun, oon and !ire " #he Serpent $ower
#he following article, called %System of Chakras according to &orakshanatha,%
by the esteemed tantrik scholar &opinath 'a(ira), *rst appeared in the
$rincess of +ales Saras(ati ,ha(an Series, -ol II, ./01, and is conse2uently
out of print3 +ords which were in Sanskrit in the original article ha(e been
con(erted to the i#rans format3 4d3
#he system of mystic culture introduced by &oraksa 5atha does not seem to
ha(e spread widely through the educated classes, so that although about a
millennium has passed since this great man appeared his teachings ha(e
remained till to day almost a sealed book to many3 #he &oraksa Sataka and
&oraksa $addhati are two of the few Sanskrit works published which profess
to gi(e an e6position of this teacher7s instructions3 #he 8athayogapradipika
also belongs to this school, but it deser(es to be supplemented3
+e propose to deal in a separate paper, on the basis of ss3 and printed
books 9in 8indi and Sanskrit:, with the entire system of mystic culture
associated with &oraksa 5atha, both historically and philosophically3 8ere we
must con*ne oursel(es to the system of Chakras or intra"organic centres of
spiritual energy recognised by &oraksanatha3 ;ur description will be based
on a s of -airata $urana and on an old coloured chart 9obtained accidentally
from a local gentleman interested in this panth: representing< the human
body containing the spinal column with the (arious centres painted and duly
located3 It will be found that this arrangement difers widely from the current
notions both of the 8athayoga school and of the #antras3
= = =
!irst of all in the perineum we ha(e3 the >dhara chakra 9coloured red:
presided o(er by &anesa natha with his two $owers, (i?3 Siddhi and ,uddhi3
#his is identical with the well known uladhara of the #antras3 ,ut the ne6t
centre, called ahapadma chakra, controlled by 5ila natha is unknown else
where, #he third, the S(adhisthana chakra 9coloured yellow:, is in the genital
region and has ,rahma for its Deity and Sa(itri for the $ower3
,etween this and the anipura there are three distinct centres, (i?3 Saddala
9called also Susumna chakra:, &arbha 9in the &arbha sthana: and 'undalini
9in the region ad)oining the waist and presided o(er by !ire:3 ,esides bare
names and (ague localisation we do not *nd statement for any further detail
about these psychic (ehicles3 #he anipura is situated in the na(el and has
-isnu for its De(ata3 >bo(e this is supposed to e6ist the so"called Linga
chakra, of which, again, no particulars are gi(en3 8igher still, in the pericarp
of the >nahata is the seat of mind " anas3
#he >nahata itself is in the heart and looks like a lotus with .0 petals,
emitting a white radiance around3 #he presiding god of the chakra is named
ahade(a 9@udra natha, in the s: and the $ower is Uma3 #he rsi is called
8iranyagarbha3 #his corresponds to the causal body, dream"less sleep,
$asyanti -ak and Sama -eda3
#he ne6t higher Chakra is of course -isuddha, in the throat3 It is a si6teen"
petalled lotus, with smoky colour, presided o(er by Ai(a and >dya Sakti, #he
@si is -irat3 It corresponds to the causal body, dreamless sleep, $ara(ak,
>thar(ana -eda, Aalandhara ,andha and Sayu)ya ukti3
#he $rana chakra which is a thirty"two"petalled lotus of bright hue
9udUdyota(ar5aprabh>: and is controlled by $rananatha and $arama Sakti, is
seated near the region of the throat 9galasth>na:.3 It forms the .Bth aperture
of the human body3 ;f the four chakras abo(e -isuddha and below >)na, the
second one is >(ala chakra, furnished with 10 lobes shining 7like the rising
sun 9aru5odyotaprabh>:, presided by !ire3 #he e6act site of this Chakra is not
mentioned3 !rom what is said it appears that it is seated where the three
granthis (i?3 ,rahma, -isnu and @udra, unite 9trigranthisth>nag?g:, and is
(ery intimately connected with 'alachakra and Yoginichakra3 #he Chi(uka
chakra is somewhere in the facial region, apparently near the chin, and is
formed like a sun"like lotus of 1C lobes, presided by $rana and Saras(ati3 >ll
the de(as ha(e their seats within the lotus3 Its @si is named 'rodha3 >ll
languages, indeed human speech itself, are supposed to ha(e their origin
here3 #he ,ala(an chakra is )ust below the >)na, in the nasal region, and looks
like a three"petalled lotus of red, white and dark colour3 #his place is
described
as #ribeni, being the conDuence of the three streams of &anga, Yamuna and
Saras(ati represented in the body by the three nadis, (i?3 Ida, $ingala and
Susumna3 #he presiding &od of this Chakra is $rana(a and the $ower
Susumna3 #he statement that this place is associated with the three matras
of $rana(a 9(i?3 >, U E : becomes thus intelligible3 #he name of its @si is
gi(en as ahahankara30
#he famous >)na chakra 9called also >ni chakra in the s3:, which is in the
centre of the space between the two brows, is a diamond like
9m>5ikya(ar5aprabh>: lotus of two petals, presided by 8amsa De(ata, and
Susumna Sakti3 It corresponds to the -i)nana state and >nupama -ak, and to
the half matra of the $rana(a3
#he 'arnamula chakra, within the auricular region, is a 1F"lobed lotus of
mi6ed colour 9dark and yellow3: #he presiding &od and $ower are 5ada and
Sruti respecti(ely3
It is the seat of the 1F matrkas3
#he #ribeni chakra, abo(e the brows, is a 0F"lobed circle with >kasa as its rsi3
#his is the real #ribeni, but how this place is connected with the ,ala(an
chakra lower down is no"where stated3
#he Chandra chakra is in the forehead and consists of 10 lobes1 with a colour
between white and redC3 It is presided by the oon and >mrtaG Sakti3 #he @si
is anas 9mind: with its si6teen kalas3 It is said that the sun goes to this lunar
mansion to drink nectar3
#his centre is (ery closely related to another chakra " the >mrta chakra,
almost in the same region, probably a little upwards3 Its De(ata and Sakti are
identical with those of the preceding chakra, but the @si is >tma rather than
anas3
It is from here that nectar is constantly Dowing, #his place is described as the
abode of the &ayatri named 'amadhenu 9lit3 7wish"gi(ing cow7:, *gured like a
milch cow with four teats (i?3 >mbika, Lambika, &hantika and #alika3 It has a
human face with into6icant looks 9madanetra:, a peacock7s tail, a horse7s
neck 9grI(>:, an elephant7s tusk 9tu5Da:, a tiger7s arms 9hastash>rdUla:, a
cow7s horns, and wings consisting of Lila ,rahma and 8amsa3 It is a stranger
*gure3 It is from the udderof this 7cow7 that nectar is perpetually streaming
down3 #he 'hechari, -iparitakarani and other mudras are some of the de(ices
intended to check the downward Dow of this blissful current3 #he Yogin who
has3 obtained access to the chakra and abides here becomes immortal and
free from the efects of #ime3
5e6t is the ,rahmad(ara Chakra, located abo(e the forehead and shining
with its .BB petals like the many coloured rainbowH and beyond this is the
seat of the >kula 'undalini "" a lotus of FBB petals bright like the newly risen
sun3
;n crossing this one comes up to the ,rahmarandhra in the cranium
9mUrdhasth>na:, with its multi"coloured .,BBB petals3 #his is the so called
Sahasrara of the mystic literature " the >im and 4nd of all spiritual progress3 It
is here that the &uru and the Chaitanya Sakti reside3
;ne would naturally e6pect that the series of chakras would come to an end
here3 ,ut the picture on which the abo(e account is based, mentions F
chakras more beyond the Sahasrara, (i?3 9a: Urdharandhra, 9b:3
,hramaraguha, 9c: >kunthapitha $unyagara, 9d: 'olhata, 9e: -a)radanda and
9f: 5iradhara $arama)yotischakra3 #he Urdharandhra, called #alu chakra in the
s, is seated in the #alima and is a FC"lobed chakra, presided by
&oraksanatha and Siddhanta sakti3 #his statement is interesting as it gi(es us
an idea of what the followers of the path thought in connection with the
founder of their school3 #he ,hramaraguha, also called >lekha, i3 e3 >laksya
chakra 9called ,rahma ChakraF in the s:, is the place, where samadhi"yoga
ensues, and prana and manas cease to work3 #he lotus is described as
furnished with ten millions of lobes and wonderfully brilliant3 #he presiding
&od of this centre is >laksyanatha, the Sakti called aya 9I ahamayaJH
>kula in the s3: and the @si aha(isnu3
#he higher Chakra with an e2ual number of lobes has >kalanatha as De(ata,
>kales(ari as Sakti and as >kala as @si3
#he 'olhata Chakra is in the Sikhamandala and corresponds to the -aikuntha
of the -aisna(as and 'ailasa of the Sai(as3 ,oth the De(ata and the Sakti are
named >nantaK3 #he s3 calls this region a road to the 8ighest -oid
9paramashUnyam>rga:3
#he description of -a)radanda is not (ery clear3 It is said to be, as I
understand it to be, in the form of a column, (ast 9mah>(ish>la:, lustrous
9te)a8puLn)aprabh>: and long 9dIrgha:3
#he *nal Chakra is in the 5iralambasthana, with an in*nite number of lobes,
colours, matrkas, de(as and worlds3 #his is the 8ighest Seat of the &urude(a3
,eyond this is a series of 0B (oids of which nothing is said3 #he s3 obser(es
that !inal Liberation takes place in the &reat -oid 9paramashUnyasth>na:
abo(e 0. ,rahmandas3 #ranscending the great -oid the Yogin becomes
eternally free from 7coming and going7, i3 e3 the wheel of birth and death< sa
cha yogI tiSh#hati yuge yuge )yoti8 sametya
= = =
+e ha(e tried to reproduce abo(e with as much *delity to the understood
meaning of the chart as possible the account of the &orakhpanthis
concermng the arrangement and function of the (arious chakras3 ,ut as the
chart was on an old can(as with the *gures rendered indistinct by time and
the notes appended generally (ague, illegible and sometimes totally
unintelligible it is 2uite likely that mistakes and in some places e(en
confusion ha(e been left unnoticed3 It is sure ne(ertheless that the general
presentation of the scheme is unimpeachable3
#aking it as we *nd it there is no doubt that the ideas of this school difered in
many points from those of the #antras on the same sub)ect3 #he 2uestion of
the total number of chakras may be left aside for the present3M !or we are
aware that there are se(eral hidden 9gupta: chakras which are not ordinarily
countedH and (ery often a certain number of chakras, considered minor from
one7s own point of (iew, is supposed to form a connected whole3 #here are
other reasons also which would e6plain the diference of the number in
diferent systems3 #he actual description of a particular chakra is more
important to a student for purposes of comparati(e studies3 ,ut e(en here
there are certain fatal limitations3 !or instance the same chakra may not look
e6actly alike to diferent sadhakas3 #he personal sankalpa of the aspirant,
either conscious or sub"conscious, and that of his &uru go a great way
towards determining the feature of the -ision3 #he reality obser(ed is, in a
certain sense, only ideal3
4ntering into detail we may obser(e that the Sahasrara is not supposed to
form the 8ighest Limit<" there are stages beyond3 +ith this we may compare
the accounts of the @adhaswami sect who also hold more or less the same
(iews3
#he anasachakra as described here embodies 10 lobes, while elsewhere it is
said to be F"petalled 9Dr3 ,3 53 Seal, #he $ositi(e Sciences of the >ncient
8indus, p, 00.H >(alon, #he Serpent $ower,3 p3 .CF:3
@egarding akulaku5DalinI it may be said that the #antrists locate it within the
oon of Consciousness which forms the pericarp of the downward facing
Sahasrara and is situated in the transcendant hea(en 9para (yoma: " a
technical term for a part of the cerebral region/3 #he contact of kula with this
akula is the immediate cause of the Dow of nectar 9sudh>sr>(a:3 +hile
&oraksanatha holds that the nectar Dows from the >mrta chakra abo(e the
oon, ,haskara considers that it Dows from the >kula which is within the
oon3
#he name of ,hramara &uha is to be found mentioned in the literature
connected with the names of 'abir, @adhaswami, etc3, but nowhere is its
function clearly stated3 #he Sutasamhita and ,odhasara use the term (aguely
in the sense of ,rahmarandhra3 #his so"called ca(e is in reality a hole or
rather a hollow which appears to (iew when one ga?es into the centre of the
7'utastha37 #he entrance to this hollow is brilliantly dark, but it is surrounded
by a luminous ring of rays3 #he powers of obscuration 9>(ara5a: and
dissipation 9(i6epa: are said to guard this entrance, so that they try to screen
up and throw of the ga?er3 It is only when the power of intro(ision is
produced after the generation of pure magnetism within the body through
strict continence, pure food, Ec3 and through the culti(ation of the moral
(irtues of selDessness, forbearance, Ec3 and through the action of prana that
one can e6pect to ga?e at this hollow without fear of >(ara5a and (i6epa3 >t
this state mere ga?ing makes the mouth of the ca(e wide open, and e(ery
tatt(a is illuminated3
In the Chart the $rana chakra is described as the tenth a(enue of the human
body3 #his aperture is usually closed in men, so that the body is as a rule
likened to a %city with nine gates%3 9Cf3 na(ad(>re pure dehI" &ita: only3 ,ut a
steady process of psychic discipline helps to open this a(enue, through which
the Ai(a of the 'ramamukta"upasaka passes away along the ray of the sun
into the Solar @egion, called also ,rahmaloka, and thence with the dawn of
'nowledge is absorbed in ,rahman3 #he medulla oblongata 9bhastaka
granthi: abo(e the -isuddha Chakra, is one of the sites where the three nadis
are united3 !rom here the Susumna enters into the skull, and the other two
nadis, (i?3 Ida and $ingala, pass along the right and left sides of the forehead
and meet together and are )oined with the Susumna between the two
eyebrows3 !rom there the Ida goes to the left nostril and the $ingala to the
right3 !rom the medulla the Susumna is bifurcated< 9.: one line passes below
the brain and in a rather obli2ue course comes to the eyebrow whence with a
slightly upward bend pierces the pericarp of the >)na and unites with Ida and
$ingala3 #hen it comes out, and running straight up crosses a (ery subtle hole
within the interior of the central region of the forehead and hanging down to
some distance takes a cur(e and goes right up, penetrating the Sahasrara
and entering the ,rahmarandhra3.B 90:>nother line goes up direct from the
medulla, and through the interior of the skull e6tends to the Sikhara3 +ith a
slight cur(e it enters the ,rahmarandhra3 #he mouth of this line of the
Susumna which is in the ,rahma randhra remains usually closed, while that
of the *rst line is open3 Conse2uently the hollows of the two lines are not in
union3
+hile passing away from the body the yogin gets the closed mouth of the
Susumna opened, on which the two holes mentioned abo(e become uni*ed3
#his is what is usually known by the name of the %.Bth a(enue%3 In the
>maraugha Sasana, howe(er, the .Bth aperture is identi*ed with the mouth
of the Sankhini,which is a hollow behind the front tooth 9r>)adanta: and the
'ankalamalini #antra locates ,rahmarandhra )ust beiow the Sankhini3 ..
5otes
.3 #his is apparently the so called ka5#hakUpa mentioned in the Yogasutra,
131B3
03 Could this term mean the $urnahanta or $arahanta of the #rika and #ripura
systems of philosophyJ
13 Si6teen lobes, according to #he Serpent $ower, p3.CF3
C3 +hite only, according to the s3
G3 >mada Sakti, according to the s3
F3 >ccording to the s3 the ,rahma Chakra is really within the ,rahmaraguha
and consists of .BM lobes in which the great aunins are incessantly
occupied with the repetition of >)apa3
K3 #he s3 calls the De(ata >chintyaha and the Sakti >(yakta3
M3 #he S(acchanda Sangraha, according to ,haskara7s report
9Lalitasahasraranama ,hasya, p3G1:, speaks of 10 chakras, cf3 also >d(aita
martanda as reported in >(alon, #he Serpent $ower, pp3.F/".KB, and in
Shakti and Shakta 90nd 4dition:, p3CB/3
/3 d(>dash>nta3m lal>#orddh> kap>lordh(>(as>nakam3h 3
d(ayaL5gulordh(a shirodesha3m para3m (yoma prakIrttitam3h 33 Nuoted by
,haskara in his -ari(asya @ahasya 9Common (erse G.:, p3/C 9Cal3 4dition:3
.B3 See introduction to the $rana(a &ita3 In #he Serpent $ower, p3.1B, the
Susumna is said to terminate at the twel(e"petalled lotus in the pericarp of
the Sahasrara3 #he andala ,hrahmanopanishad and its @a)a Yoga ,hasya
refer to the Susumna as ending in the ,rahmarandhra 9ys3 4d3, p3/:3
..3 tasmin3h randhre (isarga3m cha niraLn)anam3h 3
tadUrdh(e shaLnkinI s@OiSh#asthityantak>ri5I 33
brahmarandhra3m tata8 sm@Oitam3h 3