Chakra

(Revision as of 23:44, 27 Feb 2005)

A chakra (from the Sanskrit word चक्र meaning "wheel, circle") is an energy node in the human body. The seven main chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Each chakra is associated with a certain color, multiple specific functions, an aspect of consciousness, a classical element, and other distinguishing characteristics.

The chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be associated with interactions of both a physical and mental nature. They are considered loci of life energy, or prana, which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadis.

Table of contents

1 The 7 Primary Chakras

2 Hindu Origins and Development

3 The Chakras and Thelema

4 External links

5 References

The 7 Primary Chakras

Hindu 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 chakras.

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 school.

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. 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 and Kabbalism, where Chakras and Sephiroth can seemingly represent the same archetypal spiritual concepts.

The Chakras and Thelema

External links

Introduction to Chakras (http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/)
Cleansing and development of chakras and meridians (http://www.religiousbook.net/Books/Online_books/Ec/Ecology_35.html)
The Brofman Foundation for the Advancement of Healing - Uses the chakras as a map for consciousness and physical illnesses (http://www.healer.ch)
The difficulty of a unified chakra science (http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/no_unanimity.html)
Early chakrologies (http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/chakras-earlydoctrines.htm)
The Hesychastic centres of prayer (http://www.kheper.net/topics/christianmysticism/Hesych-centres.htm)
Human Subtle System (http://www.adishakti.org/subtle_system.htm)

References

Wikipedia. (2005). Chakra (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra). Retrieved on 02/25/2005.

Retrieved from "http://thelemapedia.org/index.php/Chakra"