{"id":7667,"date":"2026-07-29T17:54:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T17:54:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yogamatsya.com\/the-reality-of-the-chakras\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:22:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:22:06","slug":"the-reality-of-the-chakras","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yogamatsya.com\/en\/the-reality-of-the-chakras\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reality of the Chakras"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What is real about the chakras?<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Map of Experience<\/h3>\n

There are many skeptics when it comes to the chakras. And for good reason\u2014after all, why should anyone believe in colorful wheels inside the body? As far as I know, no one has ever found such a wheel during a dissection class. <\/p>\n

However, this approach is based on a major misunderstanding: The chakras are not physical organs, nor can they be clearly associated with any specific gland; rather,<\/strong> they are a map of our inner experience.<\/strong> This experience is human and real\u2014real as an experience<\/strong>, not real as an object.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the radiant power of the chakra is one that we awaken when we have the courage to enter our inner landscapes.<\/strong> It is therefore not a fixed reality that exists outside the steps you take yourself.<\/p>\n

The power of meditation\u2014bh\u0101vana\u2014brings her from the threshold of nonexistence into life.<\/em><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, its reality as a map of experience is undisputed. The yogis, who had often spent their entire lives in deep contemplation, recognized that the experiences of the individual self do not arise without some inner form. Feelings and even thoughts have a structure within the body, much like a geometry of experience.<\/strong> <\/p>\n

The central axis of this inner map is su\u1e63umn\u0101, the n\u0101\u1e0di that runs from the base of the body to just above the head. It is the playground of this inner experience. If you observe yourself in daily life, you can see that all inner experiences arise along the vertical axis of su\u1e63umn\u0101 and dissolve there again. <\/p>\n

So our love isn't located in our elbow, but in our heart. Your sexual arousal isn\u2019t in your ear, but in the center of your pelvis. Your fear is in your stomach, just like your strength. When you have a great idea or a flash of inspiration, it appears as a bright thought or image above your head\u2014not deep down in the earth. <\/p>\n

This vertical orientation of your inner psychological experience\u2014which is common to all of us as human beings\u2014is the reason why the chakras are aligned along this axis.<\/p>\n

The ancient tantrikas knew this and therefore placed the deities in these specific areas of self-experience. The underlying logic was that when a force is placed at the center of the landscape of our self, the self must then become part of that force. <\/p>\n

Where else should the divine be worshipped but in the temple of one's own self?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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The Trinity of Power<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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The Three Forces<\/h3>\n

The first system of chakras, in which they are described as significant centers of the body\u2019s life force, originates from Taoism and is still taught today in the form of the lower, middle, and upper dantien (tan t\u2019ien\u2014sea of qi).<\/p>\n

This Dantien is also known in exactly the same form in traditional Tantra. In Tantra, the lower Dantien is called kanda and is described as being in the same position and having the same attributes as in Taoism. It is located three finger-widths below the navel, is egg-shaped, and has a radiant golden color. <\/p>\n

The two higher centers of the middle and upper dantien correspond to what are known in yoga as an\u0101hata and \u0101j\u00f1\u0101.<\/p>\n

This division of energy into the lower, middle, and upper centers is the most fundamental reality of the chakras and the structure of the self.<\/p>\n

We move back and forth between the Earth\u2019s magnetic force and the sky\u2019s electrical force; our center is the heart, the seat of our very life.<\/p>\n

The Tantrikas used a meditation technique in which Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalin\u012b was awakened in the body\u2019s three major centers: in the kanda as the fiery \u0100dh\u0101ra Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalin\u012b, in the heart as the light of truth\u2014madhya Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalin\u012b\u2014and in the head as the divine will\u2014\u016ardhva Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalin\u012b.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalin\u012b is then channeled from the trinity<\/a> of these centers into the center, where it merges with the soul\u2014the center of being.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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THE GREAT IMPORTANCE OF THE CHAKRAS<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Nowadays, the chakras are typically viewed as the centers of our emotional well-being as well as the seats of supernatural powers. Crystals, colors, singing bowls, and massages are said to help awaken the hidden powers within these centers and guide us back to harmony. <\/p>\n

Along with all of that, however, the most important treasure that the chakras hold for us has been forgotten.<\/p>\n

The greatest gift of the chakras is<\/strong> that they are gateways located within our bodies through which we can enter into our experience. The chakras chart a map of experience<\/strong>, and like any map, this one serves as a guide. We can now find the places we\u2019re looking for, instead of wandering aimlessly through the fog of our experience. <\/p>\n

Through these gates, the yogi can gain access to a certain power, to a certain experience of the self.<\/em><\/p>\n

For example, the \u015aiva Sa\u1e43hit\u0101 (3:73) mentions that meditation (e.g., dh\u0101ra\u1e47\u0101 for two hours) on a chakra enables the practitioner to overcome the limitation present there and awaken a power. For instance, the limitation of fire is overcome through meditation on ma\u1e47ip\u016bra, and the limitation of the element of air is overcome through meditation on an\u0101hata. <\/p>\n

Successive meditation (dh\u0101ra\u1e47\u0101) on all the centers makes it possible to drink the \u201cnectar of immortality.\u201d These ancient techniques are only a fraction of the ways to awaken powers through their gateways in the body and to unfold the potential of the human psyche. <\/p>\n

The body is a mirror of the universe, so all deities\u2014as well as worldly experiences\u2014must find a home within it. The body is a vast landscape, full of temples, oceans, mountains, and beings of all kinds. <\/p>\n

The experiences of the self are the seasons of these landscapes and the seismic activity of their earth, the swirling of their winds, and the radiance of their stars. In the temples of these landscapes, the earthly meets the divine, and when you enter the temple within, you are truly at home. <\/p>\n

Within this human body, Mount Meru (the spine) is surrounded by seven islands; there are rivers, seas, mountains, fields, and lords of the fields. Within it are seers and sages; all the stars and planets are there as well. There are sacred pilgrimages, shrines, and the presiding deities of the shrines. The sun and moon\u2014the forces of creation and destruction\u2014also move within it. Ether, air, water, and earth are there, too. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u015aiva Sa\u1e43hit\u0101 (3:1\u20133)<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"Bhairava<\/span><\/div>\n\n

A MODERN UNDERSTANDING of the Chakras<\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

When the \u1e62a\u1e6d-Cakra-Nir\u016bpa\u1e47a was first translated into English in 1912, the concept of psychic centers in the body resonated deeply with readers and practitioners of that era.<\/p>\n

The Theosophical Society, led by the occultist Madame Blavatsky in Chennai, was deeply inspired by the concept of the chakras and linked it to human anatomy. In their view, the chakras had to have anatomical counterparts, and since the glandular system had recently been rediscovered at that time, they attempted to explain the functions of the chakras through those of the glands and, in this way, to establish correspondences between the two systems. <\/p>\n

Later, the magician and occultist Aleister Crowley also wrote about Kundalini Yoga; he quickly became a hero of the New Age movement. However, the most important bridge to the West was built by the prominent Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. <\/p>\n

He spent three months traveling through India, where, after visiting a Kali temple, he had a vision of the goddess. He was so fascinated by India\u2019s spiritual power that he began giving lectures on Kundalini Yoga in 1932. These groundbreaking lectures led to his famous book, *The Psychology of Kundalini Yoga*. <\/p>\n

Jung proposed many ideas that later merged with the New Age movement and shaped our understanding of the chakras as an expression of an individual\u2019s psychological evolution. For Jung, spiritual evolution\u2014symbolically represented by the sequence of chakras\u2014was a macrocosmic expression of the individual\u2019s psychological evolution. <\/p>\n

This understanding of the chakras\u2014which was developed in the *\u1e62a\u1e6d-Cakra-Nir\u016bpa\u1e47a* and later reinterpreted by Jung in light of modern psychology\u2014is now regarded as the most important chakra system not only in the West but also in India itself.<\/p>\n

In any case, the chakra system is undoubtedly multidimensional, and many interpretations may point to a deeper truth. In this respect, this Jungian psychological interpretation of the chakras is just as much a revelation as the realization that the spiritual evolution of the cosmos is reflected in the individual. <\/p>\n

Both visions can deepen our understanding of ourselves and the cosmos.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

\"Ajna<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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More about us <\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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Learn more about the chakras here<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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A journey through the chakras is a journey to yourself.<\/p>\n

In this book<\/a>, we also explore the roots of Kundalini Yoga and yogic anatomy, and we discover the secrets of the koshas, prana, and the Trinity of the Goddess.<\/p>\n

These profound practices, visions and insights into yogic anatomy and chakras will inspire and enrich any yoga practice.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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More Articles Weekly<\/h1>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

We'll be posting new articles every week on the individual chakras, the koshas, and topics in yogic philosophy. Stop by or send us an email so I can add you to our newsletter mailing list. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Any questions? Just write to us! <\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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