What Are Chakras? The Nine Doorways to the True Self

Nine energy centres run in a line from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, and every human being carries all of them. These are the chakras: the points where life energy gathers, and the doorways a seeker takes inward to the true self. The familiar tally stops at seven, while the full number is nine, with two hidden centres beyond the seven that most people never hear about.

What Are Chakras?

Chakras are nerve centres seated where the physical body meets the non-physical, and they play a major part in a seeker's path to Self-realisation. Once life energy is kindled, it rises to a chakra and rests there, and each chakra serves as a doorway to the being, to moksha and to enlightenment. Every chakra is a universe of its own, with its own character and its own gifts for the seeker who meditates in it.

How Many Chakras Are There?

The nine-chakra system as revealed by HH Guruji Sundar counts the seven familiar chakras and two hidden centres, Pidari Kan and Manonmaniyam, and many people stop at seven, which leaves out the hidden pair. Four of the nine are major, and five are minor, and meditation in Sahasrara, Ajna, Mooladhara and Anahata alone brings all that a human life needs.

Where Are the Nine Chakras Located?

Mooladhara, the root chakra, rests where the spine ends, close to the tailbone. It is the body's foundation and the dwelling place of Kundalini Shakti, steadying a seeker with grounding and balance, and its energy in its purest form heals bodily ailments. Swadishthana, the sacral chakra, lies two inches under the navel, directly over Mooladhara, raising vitality and washing away emotional patterns buried deep. Manipura, the solar plexus chakra, is placed exactly at the navel, where it lightens emotional burdens and heals digestive troubles.

Anahata, the heart chakra, stands in the middle of the chest and is the spiritual heart. Love, compassion and karuna flow from it; fear and hatred turn into love, and a seeker learns total surrender to God or the Guru, which suits the path of bhakti. Vishuddhi, the throat chakra, lies just beneath the Adam's apple, close to the hollow of the throat, and it lends strength and cleanness to the spoken word.

Ajna, the third eye chakra, is seated between the eyebrows, at the spot marked by the tilak. A seeker finds a settled mind and a sharper intuition there, while desire and false ego burn away. Sahasrara, also called Thuriya, crowns the head. Craving loosens its grip here, old karmas burn away, and the mind falls silent; the name Thuriya points to going beyond everything and merging with existence.

The two hidden chakras complete the nine. Pidari Kan, the mane chakra, lies at the rear of the head, close to the brain's ganglion region, and reveals subtler layers of awareness. Manonmaniyam, the centre for the mind, rests at the meeting point of Sahasrara, Ajna, Pidari Kan and Vishuddhi, near the inner tongue, in the place where a sensation is felt while swallowing saliva. It gives mastery over the mind and an understanding of how the mind works.

How Do Chakras Work?

Life energy fills every living being, yet most people draw on only a small channel of it, and much of that flow is lost to needless thinking and worry, which is why tiredness is so common. Kundalini Shakti, the life energy lying at the base of the spine, stays dormant in every human being until the grace of a realised Guru stirs it. The stirring comes through initiation, called Deeksha, given by a trained disciple on the Guru's behalf, and it carries the energy up the spine to Ajna.

Once the energy reaches Ajna, the passage from Mooladhara to every other chakra stands clear. From then on, when the seeker meditates in a chakra, the energy rises to that centre and settles there, and the chakra shows its own qualities in the seeker's life. A surge of energy that proves hard to handle is brought back down to Mooladhara, where it turns pure and heals the body.

What Is the Purpose of the Chakras?

Chakras exist for something beyond siddhis and special experiences, which arrive only as by-products of sincere sadhana and pull a seeker away from the goal when they are chased. Each chakra brings to light a concealed layer of the self, such as a fear, a clinging, a feeling or a conviction, and as these layers fall away, a seeker moves from the self the mind imagines to the true Self, the Aathman.

Chakras carry a major part of this journey, yet Self-realisation itself is reached through the grace of a realised Guru, and without one a seeker struggles all through life.

Key Takeaway

Chakras are nerve centres seated where the physical body meets the non-physical, and nine of them run from the base of the spine to the crown: the seven familiar chakras and the hidden pair, Pidari Kan and Manonmaniyam. Four are major, and each of the nine carries its own qualities, from grounding and love to clarity, silence and mastery of the mind. Life energy stays dormant until a realised Guru's grace stirs it through initiation, and after that, meditation in a chakra raises the energy to that centre. Their purpose is to bring to light the layers of fear, clinging and conviction that stand between a seeker and the Self, while Self-realisation comes through the Guru's grace.

FAQs

What are chakras? Chakras are nerve centres seated where the physical body meets the non-physical. Each is a doorway to the being, to moksha and to enlightenment, and each is a universe of its own.

How many chakras are there? There are nine main chakras: Mooladhara, Swadishthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddhi, Ajna, Sahasrara, Pidari Kan and Manonmaniyam. The last two are hidden chakras that the familiar count of seven leaves out.

Which are the major chakras? Four of the nine are major: Sahasrara, Ajna, Mooladhara and Anahata. Meditating in these four brings all that a human life needs, and the other five are minor.

How do chakras work? The dormant life energy at the base of the spine is stirred through initiation by a realised Guru's grace and carried up to Ajna. The passage to the other chakras then stands clear, and meditation in a chakra raises the energy to that centre, where it settles.

What is the purpose of the chakras? Their purpose reaches beyond siddhis and special experiences. Each chakra brings to light a layer of fear, clinging, feeling or conviction, and as the layers fall away, a seeker moves towards the true Self, while Self-realisation itself comes through a realised Guru's grace.