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KUNDALINI
CHAKRA-DHARANA
:
FOCUSING PSYCHIC POWER
SCIENTIFIC STUDY |
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We may
say that a Yantra is an instrument, designed to curb the psychic
forces by concentrating them in a pattern, and is such a way that
this pattern becomes reproduced by the worshipers visualizing power.
- Heinrich Zimmer, Ph.D.,
Indologist |
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It has
been suggested by several modern schools of Yoga that the chakras,
with their associated symbology, represent nothing more than a method
of forcing the mind to concentrate upon the body.
This may be so, especially when we consider
that one of the literal meanings of the Sanskrit Laya is absorption.
Such absorption, or concentration of the mind upon the body, would
lead to the opening or harmonizing of the chakras and their respective
psycho-physical functions.
Harmonizing
the chakras implies an ancient chime of psychic anatomy that corresponds
with our western physical, or gross/macroscopic anatomy, of the
central and autonomic nervous systems. Consider the following correlative
analysis. |
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| Central Nervous System |
| Divided into brain and spinal
cord. |
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Brain:
Cerebrum and cerebellum. A midline sagittal slice resembles the
fetus, symbol of latent growth, the neophyte, or Sahasrara padma
- i.e., full potential yet to be released. |
Spinal
cord: Averages eighteen inches in length. Eighteen is the Hindu
number of completeness. In the Mahabharata we note the eighteen
days of the Great Battle, the eighteen battalions that fought, and
the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-Gita ("Song of God").
When the spinal cord is dissected out of the vertebral column, along
with the brain cone, it resembles a serpent (Kundalini), while the
cavity of the spinal canal is sushumna. The spinal cord transmits
sensory (afferent) messages to the brain and receives motor (afferent)
signals from the brain down its tracts to produce changes in effectors
(i.e., muscles and glands). The sensory nerve tracts of the spinal
cord represent Ida (receptive, passive) functions while motor nerve
tracts down the spinal cord are equivalent to Pingala (projective,
active) functions. |
| Autonomic Nervous system |
| It
was formerly called involuntary, and even earlier (nineteenth
century), the vegetative nervous system, as it was thought
to govern functions beyond conscious regulation-e.g.,
heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, digestive functions,
etc. However, by the 1970s Elmer Green, Ph.D., was able
to prove that voluntary control could be established through
a combination of biofeedback and autogenic training.
The
autonomic nervous system divides into two sections which
constantly interact with each other, either for dominance
(according to need) or functional integration. |
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Sympathetic
Branch: Left and right chains of ganglion, tethered to the spinal
cord but running down each side of the anterior bodies of the vertebral
column, and averaging twenty-two ganglion a piece, spread out from
the coccyx up to the cervical vertebrae. This symmetry is reminiscent
of Ida and Pingala with Sushumna, the spinal canal, as the "Middle
Pillar" of Western Magical practice. The twenty-two ganglion represent
the number of the Avatar, or coming savior in Hinduism, and in Western
occult anatomy the twenty-two ganglion correspond to the twenty-two
paths on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, twenty-two letters of the
Hebrew Alphabet, twenty-two bones of the skull (used as a "communion
cup" a sin the Nordic Skoal), and the twenty-two cards of the Major
Arcana in the Tarot. Functionally the sympathetic nerves most often
act as an accelerator, producing pingala reactions, an extreme example
being the so called "fear, fight, flight" syndrome. |
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Parasympathetic
branch: The major section comprises a pair of vagus (in English,
"vagrant") nerves, which emerge from the base of the skull to wander
down the neck, through the chest, and deep into the abdominal cavity.
Again remember the symbolic twins: Boaz and Jachin, Ida and Pingala.
Parasympathetic branch fibers constantly meet with sympathetic branch
fibers to form plexuses, the major ones on the physical plane representing
the materialization of the non-physical chakras. Functionally the
parasympathetic nerves most often perform braking actions; I call
them the "rest, relaxation, recuperation" fibers, and hence they
may be allied to Ida reactions. |
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| A Few simple examples may help
us relate to the autonomic nervous system in a meaningful way. |
| Organ
or system |
Sympathetic
Action |
Parasympathetic
Action |
| Pupils
of eyes |
DILATE:
Better to see with if interested or frightened. |
CONSTRICTS:
No threat, so every photon of light not necessary. |
| Heart
rate |
INCREASED:
Tachycardia. If frightened or anxious, more oxygen and glucose
pumped around faster. |
SLOWED:
Bradycardia. Safe to relax and rest. |
| Hand
temperature |
COLD:
Principle of "Brain sparing." Blood is with-drawn from extremities
and saved for the heart and brain. |
WARMED:
Vanishes cold hands. Many types of meditation do this. |
| Sleep |
HYPER-ALERTNESS:
Anxiety, insomnia. |
Deep
sleep comes easily. |
| MALE
SEXUAL FUNCTION |
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| Erection |
Inhibits
if nervous, as arteriole blood supply constricted to penis. |
Allows
full erection. |
| Ejaculation |
Sympathetic
arousal at right level is necessary for ejaculation. |
Inhibits
ejaculation. |
| FEMALE
SEXUAL FUNCTION |
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| Vaginal
lubrication |
Inhibits
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Promotes |
| Nipple
tumescence |
Inhibits
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Promotes |
| Clitoral
tumescence |
Inhibits
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Promotes |
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| Note: Overarousal of
the sympathetic may lead to premature ejaculation and also ejaculation
without erection. |
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| The above examples demonstrate
a delicate "union", or Yoga, that must occur between the sympathetic
and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system. In the
sexual example, we could express it in Laya Yoga terms and say that
a fine balance is necessary between Muladhara and Swadhisthana, and
between the God and Goddess cohabiting within each chakra.
The discussion of the nervous system has
been vastly oversimplified but it can form a solid physical matrix
to build a much more subtle base for inner concentration. Someone
once defined Laya Yoga as autonomic nervous system gymnastics.
Indeed more specifically, we
could define most meditation as parasympathetic gymnastics |
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INTRODUCTION
TO CHAKRA DHARANA
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Yoga postulates that
the focus of psychic power may be developed through concentration
(Dharana) upon the chakra zones. The result is dispersion
of psychosomatic tension that so often occurs at one or more
of these vital zones. |
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| An analogous situation is autogenic
training, developed in the early part of the twentieth century when
the German psychiatrist Dr. Johannes H. Schultz amalgamated Yoga methodology
with a then current European fascination-hypnosis. For example, concentrating
upon the hands, visualizing them flushing red with blood, and telling
yourself they are getting warm will actually raise the hand temperature
by as much as ten degrees Fahrenheit, depending on your starting point. |
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| This type of autogenic training
is a form of "Western Yoga" and works exactly the same way as most
meditation methods. The sympathetic nervous system is dampened, allowing
the peripheral arterioles to dilate and flood the extremities with
blood. By now you will have empirically discovered that successful
meditation is always accompanied by an end result of warm hands and
feet. |
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In
the initial stages, the mind is best trained by giving it
something concrete upon which to concentrate. This is the
purpose of the elaborate symbology. Each chakra has a certain
number of petals, and each petal is inscribed with a letter
of the Sanskrit alphabet (this is for awakening the chakra
through Mantra Yoga), an animal, a god and goddess, a geometric
form, a color, and a Bija, or seed, mantra.
All
that will be necessary, for our purposes, will be a knowledge
of the last three symbolic components: color, form, and
Bija mantra.
The
form and color of the first five chakras represent the Tattwa,
or element, assigned to each. The Bija mantra is a basic
sound which groups or awakens the dormant energy of the
individual chakra. |
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| Chakra |
Two
dimensional geometric form |
Color |
Body
Space |
| Muladhara |
Square |
Yellow |
Gonads,
pelvic floor |
| Swadhisthana |
Crescent
moon |
Silver |
Between
pubic bone and navel |
| Manipura |
Triangle,
apex down |
Red |
Between
navel and breast bone tip |
| Anahata |
Hexagram |
Blue |
Behind breast
bone, roughly on a line between nipples |
| Vishuddha |
Oval(egg) |
Black |
Inside "Voice
Box" |
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| Specific Advantages of Chakra
Dharana |
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| 1. Concentration and visualization
are improved. 2. Eastern
occult theory states that this technique of concentration is one
of the safest and most natural ways of gently awakening and harmonizing
the psychic centers.
3. Relaxation of psychosomatic
tension, in any specific chakra body space, develops by focusing
upon that chakra within its area.
4. Traditional psychological
characteristics are encouraged by meditating upon chakra areas with
the appropriate color, sound, and shape. |
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| Chakra |
Three
Dimensional geometric form |
Psycholigical
attributes |
| Muladhara |
Cube |
Solidarity, cohesiveness,
Integration |
| Swadisthana |
Crescent |
Diplomacy, flexibility,
equanimity |
| Manipura |
Tetrahedron |
Power, passion, energy,
motivation |
| Anahata |
Hexagram |
Compassion, tolerance,
understanding |
| Vishuddha |
Egg |
Empathy, Communication,
freedom |
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