In the jungle of definitions that can be found on the web and new age texts, I wanted to give space to one that uses a simple and scientific language, taken from the text Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha by Swami Satyananda Saraswati, founder of the Bihar School of Yoga, India. Published in 1969, it is one of the most valid reference manuals of Hatha Yoga teachers and students to date, interpreting the classical Yoga practice for application in modern society.
An integral reading of the dedicated chapter can certainly help to understand the word Chakra on a theoretical level but only with guided practice will it be possible to experience the invisible.
"The word Chakra literally means 'wheel' but in Yoga a better translation is 'vortex'. Chakras are vortexes of pranic energy in a specific area of the body that controls the diffusion of Prana that passes through the human structure. They are connected to a specific area of the brain and in most individuals these psychic centers are dormant or inactive. Concentration on the Chakras while performing Yoga practices stimulates the flow of pranic energy and helps to activate them. This process awakens the dormant areas of the brain. and the corresponding faculties in the physical and mental body, allowing the individual to experience levels of consciousness that are normally inaccessible. The main known chakras are 7 and are located along the Sushumna channel, an energy channel that flows through the center of the spine. Sushumna originates in the perineum and ends on the top of the head. The Chakras are connected to a network of psychic channels called Nadis, which correspond to the nerves but which are subtler in nature. The Chakras are symbolically represented as lotus flowers, each having a particular number of petals and a characteristic color. The lotus symbolizes the 3 stages that the aspirant must pass through the spiritual life: ignorance, aspiration, enlightenment. It represents spiritual growth from the lowest stage of awareness to the highest stage of consciousness. The petals of the lotus, inscribed with a Bija Mantra of the Sanskrit alphabet, represent the different manifestations of psychic energy connected with the Chakras and Nadis, or psychic channels, which flow in and out of these. In each Chakra there is a Yantra, composed of the geometric symbol of the element to which it is associated and its Bija Mantra. With the Yantra there is also a divine association that represents particular aspects of consciousness together with the corresponding Vahana, or vehicle, which is an animal form representing the center of other psychic aspects".
List of CHAKRA:
8. SAHASRARA
7. BINDU
6. AJNA
5. VISHUDDHI
4. ANAHATA
3. MANIPURA
2. SWADHISTHANA
1. MOOLADHARA
Taken from: Swami Satyananda Saraswati (2013). Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha. Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar, India.
