The literal meaning of the word chakra is 'wheel or circle', but in the yogic context a
better translation of the Sanskrit word is 'vortex or whirlpool'.
In each person there are myriads of chakras, but in the practices of tantra and yoga,
only a few principal ones are utilized. These chakras span the full spectrum of man's
being from the gross to the subtle.
to different places, houses and street lights in the vicinity. This arrangement is the same
for each of the chakras. The nadis which emerge from each chakra carry prana in both
directions. There is a forward and backward pranic motion in the nadis, analogous to the
flow of alternating current in electrical wires. The outgoing communication and the
incoming reaction enter and leave the chakra in the form of this pranic flow in the
corresponding nadis.
There are six chakras in the human body which are directly connected with the higher
unillumined centers of the brain. The first chakra is mooladhara. It is situated in the
pelvic floor and corresponds to the coccygeal plexus of nerves. In the masculine body it
lies between the urinary and excretory openings, in the form of a small dormant gland
termed the perineal body. In the feminine body it is situated inside the posterior surface
of the cervix.
"Mooladhara is the first chakra in the spiritual evolution of man, where one goes
beyond animal consciousness and starts to be a real human being". It is also the last chakra
in the completion of animal evolution. It is said that from mooladhara chakra right down
to the heels there are other lower chakras which are responsible for the development of the animal and human qualities of instinct and intellect. From mooladhara chakra
upwards lie the chakras which are concerned with illumination and evolution of the
higher man or super man. Mooladhara chakra has control over the entire range of
excretory and sexual functions in man.
The second chakra is swadhisthana, located at the lowest point or termination of the
spinal cord. It corresponds to the sacral plexus of nerves and controls the unconscious in
man.
The third chakra is manipura, situated in the spinal column exactly at the level of the
navel. It corresponds to the solar plexus and controls the entire processes of digestion,
assimilation and temperature regulation in the body.
The fourth chakra is anahata, and it lies in the vertebral column behind the base of
the heart, at the level of the depression in the sternum. It corresponds to the cardiac
plexus of nerves, and controls the functions of the heart, the lungs, the diaphragm and
other organs in this region of the body.
The fifth chakra is vishuddhi, which lies at the level of the throat pit in the vertebral
column. This chakra corresponds to the cervical plexus of nerves and controls the thyroid
complex and also some systems of articulation, the upper palate and the epiglottis.
Ajna, the sixth and most important chakra, corresponds to the pineal gland, lying in
the midline of the brain directly above the spinal column. This chakra controls the
muscles and the onset of sexual activity in man. Tantra and yoga maintain that ajna
chakra, the command center, has complete control over all the functions of the disciple's
life.
These six chakras serve as switches for turning on different parts of the brain. The
awakening which is brought about in the chakras is conducted to the higher centers in the
brain via the nadis.
There are also two higher centers in the brain which are commonly referred to in
kundalini yoga: bindu and sahasrara. Bindu is located at the top back of the head, where
Hindu brahmins keep a tuft of hair. This is the point where oneness first divides itself into
many. Bindu feeds the whole optic system and is also the seat of nectar or amrit.
Sahasrara is supreme; it is the final culmination of kundalini shakti. It is the seat of
higher awareness. Sahasrara is situated at the top of the head and is physically correlated
to the pituitary gland, which controls each and every gland and system of the body.
