Inside the human body are millions and millions of tiny whirling vital life forces concentrated into centres called Chakras. Chakra means wheel in Sanskrit because these energies spin at these points rotating clockwise at a certain frequency. The Chakra is a subtle energy centre that normally cannot be perceived. The activity resembles a galaxy of planets, each spinning on its axis at points along the spinal cord. Each Chakra is designed to supervise and maintain the perfect operation of the bodily systems under its control. This purification is done by spinning in pure or positive vibrations and spinning out impure or negative ones.
An understanding of what each Chakra attracts and what can disturb it is important for our well being. Each thought and action influence the sensitiveness and performance of these centres. Immediately after Self-Realization these Chakras are activated and initially begin the slow process of clearing the gross negativity accumulated by years of neglect or self-destructive activities like drugs, drinking, violence, anger, hatred, fanaticism, sexual deviation and so on. The benefits are almost immediate; small anxieties decrease and some joy and objectivity begins to manifest, and the blocked Chakras begin to rotate properly again.
The human being has seven major Chakras and these correspond to the autonomic nerve plexuses.
The Mooladhara Chakra corresponds to the pelvic plexus.
The Swadhisthan Chakra corresponds to the aortic plexus.
The Nabhi Chakra corresponds to the coeliac plexus.
The Anahath Chakra corresponds to the cardiac plexus.
The Vishuddhi Chakra corresponds to the cervical plexus.
The Agnya Chakra corresponds to the optic chiasma.
The Sahasrara Chakra expresses at the limbic area.
The Swadhisthan Chakra corresponds to the aortic plexus.
The Nabhi Chakra corresponds to the coeliac plexus.
The Anahath Chakra corresponds to the cardiac plexus.
The Vishuddhi Chakra corresponds to the cervical plexus.
The Agnya Chakra corresponds to the optic chiasma.
The Sahasrara Chakra expresses at the limbic area.
Furthermore, the petals of each Chakra correspond to the subplexuses of the autonomic system. For example the classically described six petals of the Swadhisthan Chakra correspond to the spermatic, left colic, sigmoid, superior haemorrhoidal, inferior mesenteric and hypogastric subplexuses of the aortic plexus. The Chakra directs the particular type of energy controlling the autonomic nerve plexus and also adjacent endocrine and other organs.
By a series of subtle connections called ‘nadis’ in Yogic terminology each Chakra is connected to and brings its influence to bear on the whole body. For example the Nabhi Chakra controls the entire lymphatic system. In classical texts there are said to be three hundred and fifty million of these nadis. Very importantly, each Chakra is connected to a part of the hand as indicated in the subtle system diagram. Once the state of Yoga is achieved, the hands become sensitive to the state of the Chakras, and with practice this is easily interpreted.
The Chakras also influence and reflect our mental and emotional life. For example, the Swadhisthan Chakra controls a person’s creativity and those who work hard — artists and other creative people — it may become weak. The right Anahath Chakra (there are three parts of the Anahath Chakra: right, center and left) reflects the relationship of fatherhood, either with the person’s own father or his own children. Sufferers from anorexia nervosa, for example, invariably have a problem with this centre. There are more complex scenarios for serious problems where two or more Chakras are inter-related and affected, but we need not worry for eventually the Kundalini is able to set the entire subtle system working at optimum levels.
Chakras, or "plexuses of consciousness," form the major nerve ganglia of an extraordinary circuitry of nadis, energy channels that link together our animal body with our subtler bodies and their higher functions such as intelligence and love. It is because of these chakras and nadis that our five koshas, "sheaths" — function so smoothly and integrally as a one organism and awareness can move through all bodies, transiting from physical to emotional, to intuition to spiritual, instantaneously. In computer language, these chakras could be considered cosmic network hubs and the nadis as multi-gigabyte-per-second optical fiber wiring. Except, this wiring extends inside and outside the computer.
Hindu, Chinese Taoist and Tibetan Buddhist scriptures refer to an electrical human infrastructure of 72,000 sukshma prana nadis or "subtle channels of vital force." The Shiva Samhita lists fourteen major currents. Of these, three are the super information highways-ida, pingala and sushumna — running interwoven around and within, respectively, the spinal cord. Where the nadis most intensely converge, yogis have pinpointed the chakras — 88,000 according to the most extensive yogic explorations.
Knowledge of the chakras so exhaustively recorded by India's yogis, permeates Hindu culture, its dance tradition and its sacred architecture. The Hindu temple is segmented to mirror the human body's seven chakra design. Beyond India, this knowledge was inspirational to the flowering of tantric Tibetan Buddhism. In Tibet, manipadma "jeweled lotus," is the name of the manipura chakra enshrined in the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum. Buddha called his first sermon Dhammachakkappavattana Sutta. Chakka is the Pali word for chakra. "Turning the Wheel of Truth" can also be interpreted as spinning the higher chakras.
