Chakras
In Hinduism
According to Leadbeater
Ājñā chakra
Although in [[Hinduism] this chakra is connected to the idea of the Third Eye, in the Theosophical view this chakra is not so, at least when talking about the "spiritual" third eye. C. W. Leadbeater called this center the "brow chakra" and said it was connected with the pituitary, not the pineal, gland. The latter is connected with the seventh chakra.[1]
Leadbeater described the brow chakra as follows:
The sixth centre, the frontal (Plate IX), between the eyebrows, has the appearance of being divided into halves, one chiefly rose-coloured, though with a great deal of yellow about it, and the other predominantly a kind of purplish-blue, again closely agreeing with the colours of the special types of vitality that vivify it. Perhaps it is for this reason that this centre is mentioned in Indian books as having only two petals, though if we are to count undulations of the same character as those of the previous centres we shall find that each half is subdivided into forty-eight of these, making ninety-six in all, because its primary force has that number of radiations.[2]
Regarding its function, Leadbeater wrote:
When the sixth [chakra], between the eyebrows, becomes vivified, the man begins to see things, to have various sorts of waking visions, sometimes of places, sometimes of people. In its earlier development, when it is only just beginning to be awakened, it often means nothing more than half-seeing landscapes and clouds of colour. The full arousing of this brings about clairvoyance.
<bre>
The centre between the eyebrows is connected with sight in yet another way. It is through it that the power of magnification of minute physical objects is exercised. A tiny flexible tube of etheric matter is projected from the centre of it, resembling a microscopic snake with something like an eye at the end of it. This is the special organ used in that form of clairvoyance, and the eye at the end of it can be expanded or contracted, the effect being to change the power of magnification according to the size of the object which is being examined. This is what is meant in ancient books when mention is made of the capacity to make oneself large or small at will. To examine an atom one develops an organ of vision commensurate in size with the atom. This little snake projecting from the centre of the forehead was symbolized upon the head-dress of the Pharaoh of Egypt, who as the chief priest of his country was supposed to possess this among many other occult powers.[3]
Sahasrāra chakra
C. W. Leadbeater connected the "crown chakra" with the pineal, which is regarded as the "third eye" in Theosophy.[4] He described this center as follows:
The seventh centre, the coronal, at the top of the head, is when stirred into full activity the most resplendent of all, full of indescribable chromatic, effects and vibrating with almost inconceivable rapidity. It seems to contain all sorts of prismatic hues, but is on the whole predominantly violet. It is described in Indian books as thousand-petalled, and really this is not very far from the truth, the number of the radiations of its primary force in the outer circle being nine hundred and sixty.
. . .
This chakra is usually the last to be awakened. In the beginning it is the same size as the others, but as the man progresses on the Path of spiritual advancement it increases steadily until it covers almost the whole top of the head. Another peculiarity attends its development. It is at first a depression in the etheric body, as are all the other, because through it, as through them, the divine force flows in from without; but when the man realizes his position as a king of the divine light, dispensing largesse to all around him, this chakra reverses itself, turning as it were inside out; it is no longer a channel of reception but of radiation, no longer a depression but a prominence, standing out from the head as a dome, a veritable crown of glory.[5]
Regarding its function, he wrote:
When the seventh centre is quickened, the man is able by passing through it to leave his body in full consciousness, and also to return to it without the usual break, so that his consciousness will be continuous through night and day. When the fire has been passed through all these centres in a certain order (which varies for different types of people) the consciousness becomes continuous up to the entry into the heaven-world at the end of the life on the astral plane, no difference being made by either the temporary separation from the physical body during sleep or the permanent division at death.[6]
Notes
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 10.
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 13-14.
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 79
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 10.
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 14-15.
- ↑ Charles Webster Leadbeater, The Chakras, (Wheaton, Ill: The Theosophical Publishing House, 1987), 80.
Online resources
Articles
- Chakra at Theosopedia
Video
- The Structure and Function of the Chakras by Dora Kunz and Shafica Karagulla