![]() ![]() Space is the most fundamental of the elements and the most subtle and pure, as the name vishuddhi, meaning “especially pure,” indicates. The space element, often associated with the throat center, provides the blueprint for evolution of the other four elements, just as a blueprint provides the plan for building a house. “The human body, more precisely the chakras-the vortices of consciousness in the body-are the gateway to discovering the mystery of the universe and our life in it.” - The Practice of the Yoga Sutra by Pandit Rajmani Tigunait The metaphors of our language-“the heart of the matter” and “cold-hearted” or “warm-hearted”-reveal the capacity to forge connections with others, understand the essence of things, and, ultimately, to recognize ourselves as being more than merely the activities of the body and mind. Metaphorically, the heart lies between the heavens and the earth, between the instinctive animal nature and the noble qualities of the divine. Many spiritual traditions, including Christianity, recognize the heart center as the essence of our embodiment. Spiritual practice starts with these powerful forces, since access to higher realms of consciousness is difficult if we are weak, or our energy is completely controlled by survival instincts and the self-centered pursuit of pleasure or power. One way of understanding these three pranic centers is from the perspective of survival, pleasure, and power-the aspects of our instinctive life which we share with all living creatures, and which are the reservoir and wellsprings of our life energy. The fire element, associated with manipura chakra in the currently popular chakra system, is the source of vitality and the power of transformation that can convert bread and milk into flesh, bone, and blood, and propel desires into action and fulfillment. Svadhishthana and the water element endow us with the capacities for nourishment, taste, and sensual desire and pleasure. Muladhara, literally “root support,” is the vortex of pranic energy, both active and potential, forming the foundation of our life on the physical plane. Practically speaking, the chakras are vortices, charged fields of pranic energy operating the organs, glands, and vital functions of body and mind. To round out the popular seven-chakra system, the ajna chakra is depicted in the head, and the sahasrara at or above the crown of the head. The gross elements appear in the popular depiction of five major chakras associated with corresponding areas of the body: muladhara and the earth element with the pelvic floor, svadhishthana and the water element with the pelvis, manipura and the fire element with the navel, anahata and the air element with the heart, and vishuddhi and the space element with the throat. We experience the flow of blood and lymph, the fire in the belly, and the breath of life, all of which exist in a space we identify as our body. The interaction of prana and the five gross elements of Sankhya-earth, water, fire, air, and space-gives shape to our human form as well as the physical world. The chakras are fields of concentrated consciousness where three or more nadis (currents of prana) intersect and in which the pranic forces are shaped for a particular purpose. The tantric chakra systems illuminate how the subtle levels of consciousness may be experienced in the gross, and provide a map for accessing extraordinary powers of the body and mind. Likewise, all five gross elements ( bhutas) comprising physical reality arise from the five subtle essences ( tanmatras) which enable our five sense perceptions (smell, taste, sight, touch, and hearing) to function. For example, the physical reality we know as space evolves from shabdha tanmatra, the subtle inner essence of sound. Sankhya philosophy, the foundation for yoga and tantra, describes how the world evolves from pure consciousness, from the subtle to the gross-from the imperceptible down to the five gross elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space) that constitute the physical world of our experience. While the Vedic cosmology tends to the poetic, and Sankhya philosophers describe creation as a sequence of evolutes ( tattvas) manifesting from pure consciousness, the tantric scriptures depict similar knowledge graphically as chakras. Sankhya philosophy is the foundation of yoga and tantra.
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