Gorakhnath on the Chakras

(Extracted from Philosophy of Gorakhnath
by Akshaya Kumar Banerjea)

Having given a general description of the constitution of the Cosmic Body and of the individual bodies as the phenomenal self-manifestations of Shiva-Shakti (the Dynamic Supreme Spirit), Mahayogi Gorakhnath teaches the truth-seekers to make a still deeper reflection (vichara) on the inner structure of this bodily system in the light of the experience of the enlightened Siddha-Yogis. He calls it Pinda-vichara. Here he presents a doctrine which is rather esoteric and meant for those who are or wish to be initiated into the path of yogic discipline and which an ordinary intellectualist student of philosophy or physiology or psychology would naturally find it difficult to comprehend and appreciate. It is not based on ordinary observation and experiment, but on yogic introspection and meditation. But the spiritual influence of the yogi school upon the general culture of the vast country was so wide-spread and so deeply inspiring that many of these esoteric ideas are found to be familiar even to common religiously minded people of all parts of Bharatavarsha.

Gorakhnath says that for the purpose of attaining true enlightenment about the inner nature of this sacred body which is a wonderful self-manifestation of Shiva-Shakti, familiarity with these concepts and deep contemplation in this line are essential. He says,

Nava-chakram kala-dharam tri-lakshyam vyoma-panchakam
Samyag etat na janati sa yogi nama-dharakah.
(S.S.P.II.31)

“If a yogi is not perfectly acquainted with the nine chakras, sixteen (kala) adharas, three lakshyas, and five vyomas, he is only a bearer of the name of a yogi (but not a yogi in a true sense).”

A. Nine chakras:–

The nine chakras are conceived (or perceived by the yogis) as different stations in the central Sushumna-Nadi, which has been called the Brahma-Marga (the path for the realization of the Supreme Spirit within the body or for the realization of the perfect Existence-Consciousness-Bliss in one’s own self). They are really different planes of esoteric experience through which a sincere and earnest seeker of perfect self-realization in the path of yogic self-discipline passes in course of his systematic endeavor for ascending to the highest plane of spiritual experience and enjoying therein the blissful absolute unity of Shiva and Shakti and his own self.

As it has been mentioned in course of the discussion on the nervous system, the Sushumna-Nadi is the finest and most brilliant and sensitive nerve which passes through the spinal column and links the lowest center of vital and psychical energy (muladhara) with the highest (sahasrara). Though it is evolved in and forms a part of the individual physical body, it is conceived as the most efficient channel for the continuous flow of the vital and psychical energy between the lowest and the highest planes. It appears to be of the nature of an ever-flowing current (having in normal life both an upward and a downward direction), which carries the energy upward and downward. When viewed in a gross way, the Nadi seems to be almost straight and the current practically smooth and even. But to deeper insight it is revealed that there are certain divisions and turning points in the current and at certain centers there are wheels or whirls which are called by the yogis chakras. These chakras exercise considerable influence upon the velocity as well as the direction of the flow of energy in the inner life of an individual. Sometimes they create revolutions in the vital propensities and mental dispositions of individuals.

They act sometimes as hurdles and sometimes as steps in the path of spiritual progress. Spiritual aspirants have to be acquainted with them and their specific characteristics in order to cross through the hurdles and also to make the best use of them for ascending to higher and higher steps of spiritual power and enlightenment. These chakras also represent particular planes of spiritual experience. When a person’s vital and mental energy moves in the domain of a lower chakra, he looks upon things from a lower point of view–from a sensuous or materialistic point of view or from the view point of his lustful or desireful mind. As his energy ascends to the domains of higher and higher chakras, his outlook becomes more and more refined and enlightened, his interests become more and more spiritualized, he learns to appreciate more and more deeply the spiritual and divine character of his own self and of the cosmic system. According to the yogis, spiritual progress essentially consists in piercing through all the lower chakras (chakra-bheda) and ascending to the highest chakra for being ultimately united with the transcendent character of Shiva-Shakti. When the chakras are crossed, the Sushumna-current becomes straightened, and the yogi can easily rise from the normal state of empirical consciousness to Samadhi, to the state of perfect spiritual illumination and liberation from all bondage and limitation.

The spiritual urge is inherent in the nature of every individual living being, in as much as every individual is a self-manifestation of the Supreme Spirit and he is immanently meant for passing through various planes of conditioned and variegated mundane experiences to the ultimate blissful supra-mundane experience of perfect unity with the Supreme Spirit. The fulfillment of individual existence lies in the attainment of this ultimate experience and deliverance from the sense of individuality and its limitations. This ultimate ideal is immanent in the inner nature of all individuals and imperceptibly determines the most intricate courses of their development. In the lives of the lower (i.e. sub-human) orders of living beings, this spiritual urge never rises to the surface of distinct empirical consciousness, though it is present in their inner nature. Their psycho-physical organism is unfit for their actually feeling this urge. But they also are unknowingly inspired by it and the development of their nature is inwardly determined by it.

The human life too passes through many stages of development, man’s psycho-physical embodiment too is developed in a gradual process. In the lower stages of development there is no actual feeling of the immanent spiritual urge. Even when a man rises to comparatively higher stages of physical, vital and mental development, and even when his moral and intellectual consciousness is considerably developed and refined, he may not have a clear perception of the spiritual urge immanent in his inner nature. In the normal course this spiritual urge rises upon the surface of the empirical consciousness of a man through contact with spiritually enlightened persons whose empirical consciousness had already been awakened to and inspired by this spiritual urge. Before this spiritual awakenment of the empirical consciousness the inherent spiritual urge appears to remain in what may be regarded as a sleeping condition and to exert its influence upon the course of development of the life of the individual from below the threshold of the empirical consciousness. When this awakenment comes, the individual consciously feels that he is essentially a spiritual being and that the fulfillment of his life lies in the realization of the ultimate spiritual ideal. He then directs consciously and voluntarily and enthusiastically all his vital and mental energy towards the blissful experience of the identity of the individual soul with Shiva, the Supreme Spirit, as well as the eternal union of the Maha-Shakti manifested in this cosmic order with the same spirit.

This awakenment of dynamic spiritual consciousness in the individual mind is described by Gorakhnath and the yogi school as the awakenment of the apparently sleeping Divine Power in man, the awakenment (bodhana or jagarana) of Kundalini-Shakti. This Divine Power with infinite potentiality is conceived to be existing in every individual, but in a sleeping or dormant state, as if in the form of a coiled serpent, closely embracing the lowest or the most initial center of physical, vital and psychical energy. This Shakti is present as the immanent power even in the most subtle and minute body which is first born in the mother’s womb in the form of a Bindu, and it is the primal energy from which all forms of energy are evolved, all powers and capacities are developed, all tissues and organs and limbs are produced, mind and intellect also are manifested. It is essentially a Conscious Power (Chinmayi Shakti), Pure Consciousness or Shiva being the Soul of this Shakti. But it does not reveal itself as such a Conscious Power till the time of the spiritual awakenment, referred to above.

This sleeping Divine Power is imagined as existing in the form of a sleeping serpent coiling itself thrice round one Shiva-linga and deeply embracing it in the lowest center of psycho-vital energy. In some texts eight coils also are mentioned. When this Divine Power is awakened in a man, his spiritual yearning becomes intense; his vital and mental energy is easily and almost spontaneously concentrated in the central Sushumna-Nadi and strives to rise above in this spiritual path. The vital impulses and the mental inclinations which in normal life are diverted towards outward and downward directions come easily under the control of the spiritual urge and the disciplined will, the power of determination is therefore immensely increased, the internal and external obstacles in the path of spiritual progress are easily conquered, and there is steady and rapid ascent of the psycho-vital energy in the Sushumna-Marga towards the Supreme Ideal. This is often described as the sacred Yatra (journey) of awakened Kundalini-Shakti for the most blissful union with Her eternal Beloved, Shiva, in the highest region of spiritual experience, Sahasrara-chakra. In course of this gradual ascent of the psycho-vital energy along the path of Sushumna, yogis meet with a number of subtle chakras, at particular stages and particular centers, in which they are required to perform particular forms of meditation for particular yogic achievements, and which they have to pierce through in order to reach the highest plane of transcendent spiritual experience.

Yogiguru Gorakhnath mentions (in Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati) nine such chakras. Yoga-shastras and Tantra-shastras are however not dogmatic with regard to the number of chakras. Chakras are enumerated generally as six, and sometimes as seven or eight or nine. This perhaps indicates that no undue importance need be attached to the exact number. Experiences of yogis may sometimes differ on such minor points. Yogigurus, while imparting lessons to their disciples and guiding their methods of contemplation and meditation, are often found to voluntarily omit certain steps and lay stress upon others. However, older yogic literature often speaks of nine chakras. It is said, “Nava-chakramayam vapuh” (the body consists of nine chakras). Gorakhnath also says, Pinde nava cakrani (there are nine chakras in the body).

The first, according to Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati, is Brahma chakra in Muladhara. Muladhara is defined thus: “Bindu-rupa-kundalini-shakteh, prathama-virbhava-sthanam Mula-dharah. Muladhara is the seat of the first self-manifestation of Kundalini-Shakti (the self-concealing Divine Power) in the form of Bindu. This Kundalini-Shakti in the form of the Bindu may be called the material as well as efficient cause of the individual body. When the body with its diversified parts and its complex structure is formed, the Shakti is revealed as the source of all psycho-vital energy and has its primary seat in a dynamic center of the body located in an intermediate position between the region of the rectum and the region of the generating organ. This is the point of the lowest termination of the Spinal Cord and of the Sushumna-Nadi. Near about it is located what has been called the Mula-kanda, from which all the Nadis spread out in all directions. This is the primary seat of the psycho-vital energy, from which the living body originates and by which it is supported and sustained. Hence it is named Muladhara. Herein Kundalini-Shakti lies in a spiritually sleeping condition and herein She is first awakened and pushes the psycho-vital energy (manha-prana-shakti) upward in the path of Sushumna (Brahma-Marga). In this Muladhara a yogi meets with the first chakra which is called by Gorakhnath Brahma-chakra (Adhare Brahma-Chakram),

Gorakhnath describes this Brahma-chakra in Muladhara as conical in shape with the apex downward and as having three coils with the Bindu at the center. It is to be remembered that neither the Bindu nor the chakra is physically visible even with a powerful microscope. It is open only to yogic perception. From the viewpoint of gross sensible physical reality it would appear only as a knotty center, and the description would appear to be figurative. But a yogi with his internal vision actually perceives it. The chakra with its conical and coiled shape is a phenomenal manifestation of the Bindu. The three aspects of a phenomenal reality which remain unified in the Bindu (it being of the size and shape of a mere point) become manifested in the form of the three sides of a triangle. These three aspects may be designated in general terms as Subject (vishayi), Object (vishaya) and the Process relating them to each other (sambandha). This triangularity of evolving and revolving phenomenal realities assumes various forms, such as, jnata (knower), jneya (knowable) and jnana (process of knowing), karta (doer), karya (deed) and karma (the process of doing), bhokta (enjoyer), bhogya (enjoyable) and bhoga (the process of enjoyment), and so on. All evolutions occur in such a triangular way and all phenomenal realities are accordingly relative and triangular in nature. What is called a cone is a conglomeration of numerous triangles with a common apex.

Brahma chakra in the Muladhara is conceived as of such a conical shape, and it appears to be the dynamic source of all triangular developments in the psycho-physical organism. It has three coils, because Shakti, of which it is a manifestation, is trigunamayi, i.e. a complex of three gunas, viz, Sattwa, Rajas and Tamas. But this Shakti also transcends the three gunas, since in its essential nature it is identical with Shiva, the Supreme Spirit. The coils are therefore often described as three and a half, the half pointing to its transcendent aspect. It is sometimes described as having eight coils, which probably refer to eightfold evolutions (unified here) of Prakriti–viz, five Mahabhutas and Manas, Buddhi, Ahankara. When there is spiritual awakenment, this Divine Power is perceived in this chakra to be shining very brilliantly like a blazing fire (pavakakara) or like a steady flash of lightning (vidyut-vilasa-vapuh)–self-luminous and all-illumining. This is also described as the place of the mutual union of Shiva as kameshwara (the Lord of all desires) and Kameshwari (the Devi fulfilling all desires). It is therefore spoken of as Kamarupa-pitha. When a sadhaka’s psycho-vital energy is concentrated in this chakra and he meditates on Shiva-Shakti in this aspect, whatever desires arise in his mind are fulfilled (sarva-kama-prada). Hence in order to ascend to the higher spiritual planes, a yogi has to be very cautious in this plane, so that no worldly desires may arise in his mind and retard his progress.

The conception of Shakti in this chakra is beautifully expressed in this Sloka:

Vidyud-vilasa-vapushah sriyam avahanteem
Yanteem swa-vasa-bhavanat Shiva-rajadhaneem
Saushumna-marge kamalani vikasayanteem
Devim bhajed hridi paramrita-sikta-gatram.

A yogi should worship at heart the self-shining Goddess (awakened Kundalini-Shakti), Whose entire body is saturated with spiritual nectar and displays the brilliant beauty of a steady flash of lightning, Who is on her delightful journey from her own home (at Muladhara) to the capital-city of her eternal Beloved, Shiva, (at Sahasrara), and Who on her way through Sushumna unfolds upwards the lotuses at the different centers of this spiritual path. (In normal worldly life the lotuses in the different chakras are described as blooming downward; in spiritually awakened life these lotuses bloom upward.)

An aspirant for greater and greater spiritual enlightenment in the higher and higher planes has to cultivate a deeply devotional attitude towards the Divine Shakti and to pray for Her mercy for conquering all the temptations of worldly power and prosperity and enjoyment, which may present themselves to him at this early stage of spiritual progress in the yogic path. It is Shakti that offers these temptations, it is Shakti that fulfills all the desires which may arise in the mind of the yogi, and it is Shakti again that delivers him mercifully from all such temptations and desires if he has an earnest spiritual aspiration and a humble and worshipful attitude of mind. If he is addicted to and infatuated with the powers and prosperities and enjoyments which may come to him (sometimes even without his wishing and seeking for them), the path of his ascent to higher spiritual planes is likely to be blocked for the time being, and even a downfall from this position is possible. He may however be rescued again, if he gets the help and guidance of a merciful enlightened Guru and is again actuated by the spirit of renunciation and earnest aspiration for Truth-realization.

Thus, the chakra at Muladhara is the starting station of Kundalini in her sacred journey to the abode of Shiva in Sahasrara and likewise the starting station of the concentrated psycho-vital energy of a yogi in its spiritual ascent in the path of Sushumna towards the same goal.

The second chakra mentioned by Gorakhnath, is called Swadhisthana-chakra. It is located within the Sushumna-nadi at a center close to the origin of the generating organ. Within this chakra there is, as the yogis experience with their penetrating vision, a very fine and bright red-colored Shiva-linga facing towards the back (pascimabhimukha). Kundalini-Shakti in Her upward journey, having first crossed through the Muladhara-chakra, ascends to the Swadhisthana-chakra and is united with her Beloved Shiva, the Supreme Spirit, in this special form. This special form of manifestation of the union of Shakti with Shiva is so very beautiful and fascinating that it is revealed as the source of attraction to all phenomenal existences of the universe. A yogi, practiced in the art of concentration and deep meditation, having renounced al! worldly desires and conquered all worldly temptations and having thus crossed the hurdle of Muladhara-chakra, raises his psycho-vital energy to this plane of Swadhisthana-chakra. When his energy is concentrated upon and charmed by this fascinating expression of the union of Shiva and Shakti, he himself becomes thereby a most attractive personality and the whole world seems to be attracted towards him (jagad-akarshanam bhavati).

Though he may not have any attraction for the honour and adoration and affection of the people of the world, the beauty and splendor of his yogic attainments and the Divine Power manifested in and through him naturally attract them towards him. This is also a great hindrance in the way of higher spiritual progress. Moreover, besides his personality becoming unusually attractive, his aesthetic ideas and artistic and creative faculties also are often extraordinarily developed at this stage. A yogi must not remain contented with these attainments. He must exert himself to ascend to higher planes of spiritual experience. For this purpose he should with a prayerful attitude deeply meditate upon Shiva with His Shakti united with Him, and pray to Shiva-Shakti for revealing to his consciousness higher and higher manifestations of Their holy union. He should never be elated with joy and pride at the charming experiences he has already gained. He should never cherish any sense of ego and never attribute the credit for these experiences to his individual self. He should value them as the merciful self-revelations of Shiva-Shakti, but should never be intoxicated with them. He should earnestly seek for and pray for higher orders of experience. In this way he should cross the whirl of the Swadhisthana-chakra.

The third chakra is called by Gorakhnath Nabhi-chakra, because it is experienced within the Sushumna-Nadi at a center in the region of the navel It is generally known as Manipura-chakra. The concentrated and upward-driving psycho-vital energy of an earnest and prayerful yogi, having crossed Muladhara-chakra and Swadhisthana-chakra, arrives at this Manipura-chakra, which is a dynamic center of various kinds of Yogic Siddhis or miraculous powers. This chakra is described as having five-fold whirls (pancha-varta) and appearing in the form of a five-times-coiled serpent (sarpa-vat kundala-kara). Within this chakra, Kundalini-Shakti reveals Herself with the brilliance of a crore of morning suns (balarka-koti-sadrishi) and enjoys a special bliss of union with Shiva. This is a higher plane of spiritual union between Shiva and Shakti than Muladhara and Swadhisthana.

The difference between the nature and the degree of the spiritual enjoyment of one plane and those of another can not of course be understood by any person living and moving and having his being in the normal physical and sensuous plane of experience by means of any amount of subtle intellectual reasoning or any stretch of imagination. Yogis who attain experiences of those higher planes can not also make them intelligible to the men of the lower planes by means of verbal descriptions. Nevertheless, many yogi-teachers have, with the help of various kinds of similes and metaphors and poetic imageries, made some attempts to give vague and inadequate ideas about their inner experiences for the benefit of earnest truth-seekers, who might in the light of these descriptions feel the urge to advance in this path and subject themselves to the necessary discipline under proper guidance with the purpose of being blessed with similar experiences.

Kundalini-Shakti as revealed in Manipura-chakra is also named by Gorakhnath as Madhyama-Shakti, indicating that this also is only an intermediate stage of the self-revelation of the essential character of Shiva-Shakti. But even at this madhyama-stage, Kundalini-Shakti confers all kinds of supernatural powers (sarva-siddhida bhavati) upon the devoted yogi, whose psycho-vital energy is concentrated upon Her in this plane. The yogi then acquires the power of changing his physical body into any form at his pleasure, of transforming one material thing into another, of making his existing body lighter than air or heavier than a mountain or invisible to others’ eyes or capable of passing from one place to another on the aerial path by the mere exercise of his will, and so on. But the acquisition of such supernatural powers is not the ideal of yoga. It is only a passing stage. A yogi must transcend this stage and ascend to higher planes. Intoxication with such powers is a formidable hindrance in the way of further progress to higher stages of enlightenment.

The fourth chakra is Hridaya-chakra, also called Anahata-chakra. Like the other chakras, it is also located in the Sushumna Nadi within the spinal column and it is experienced near about the region of the heart. Within this chakra there is, says Gorakhnath, a fine lustrous lotus with eight petals facing downward (asta-dala-kamalam adhomukham). In the middle of this lotus Shakti reveals Herself as shining in the form of an extraordinarily brilliant and beautiful and steady light (jyoti-rupa) of the shape of a Shiva-Linga (linga kara). Kundalini-Shakti appearing in this self-luminous form, almost identified with Shiva and deeply enjoying the bliss of union with Him, is named Hamsa-kala. This Hamsa-kala is also spoken of as Shri-Shakti. When a yogi attains the ability to concentrate his refined and purified psycho-vital energy in this chakra, he becomes the master of all his senses (sarven-driyani vashyani bhavanti). His senses being perfectly under his control, and his mind being free from all worldly desires, free from the egoistic sense of his own superiority and also free from attachment even to his supernatural powers and grandeurs, he becomes an embodiment of calmness and tranquillity even in the normal state of his existence.

Through deep meditation on the pure self-luminous jyoti in this chakra, the yogi not only experiences the unity of Shakti and Shiva, but also experiences the identity of his own self with Shiva-Shakti. Shakti in this plane unveils to his individual empirical consciousness that kala (aspect) of herself, by the light of which his aham (self) is so illumined that it is experienced as non-different (abhinna) from Sa (He, Shiva). It is in this chakra that true spiritual enlightenment of a yogi really begins. But there are still higher and higher stages of enlightenment, which a yogi has to attain through deeper and deeper reflection and meditation.

It may be noted in this connection that Samadhi, which is the most concentrated state of the empirical consciousness, a state in which ail differences apparently vanish, may be attained in every plane of the consciousness, specially in each of the chakras mentioned by the enlightened yogis. But the results of the Samadhi in the different planes, in the different chakras, are not the same. The samadhi-state of the consciousness may superficially appear to be similar in every case; but the realizations depend upon the nature of the planes and the nature of the objects or ideals upon which the mind is concentrated. Samadhi in every plane and upon every object of meditation does not lead to spiritual illumination. The psycho-vital energy has to be purified and refined and raised to higher and higher planes for higher and higher orders of spiritual experience; perfect illumination is attainable in the highest plane,–in the highest chakra.

The fifth chakra is called Kantha-chakra. It is also known as Visuddha-chakra. It is located in the Sushumna in the region of the throat (Kantha). Here the Sushumna Nadi shines most distinctly and brilliantly and beautifully with the Chandra-Nadi (Ida) on its left and the Surya-Nadi (Pingala) on its right. The Sushumna as so revealed in this chakra is conceived as the Anahata-Kala of the Kundalini-Shakti, Who here deeply enjoys the bliss of union with Shiva. The psycho-vital energy of the Yogi, having passed through the Hridaya chakra and become fully refined and profoundly concentrated, ascends to this chakra and identifies itself with this Anahata-kala for the most profound and steady enjoyment of Shiva-Shakti-union. The yogi is at this stage blessed with a spiritual realization which Gorakhnath calls Anahata-Siddhi. He then transcends all the forces of the world. No worldly forces (which are also manifestations of the same Divine Power, but in lower planes) can strike him or bring him under their subjection. Anahata-Siddhi may also mean that he perfectly realizes the all-pervading Anahata-Nada (the eternal unbroken undifferentiated unuttered Sound-OM), which is the first self-expression of Shiva-Shakti in the form of Nada or Sound and which underlies all kinds of sound-waves in the phenomenal universe. The yogi at this stage transcends the domain of the plurality of produced sounds, becomes absorbed with the undisturbed experience of the unity and sweetness of the Eternal Sound and realizes the oneness of this Sound with Shiva-Shakti.

The sixth chakra is described by Gorakhnath as located at the root of the palate (talu-mula) and is called Talu-chakra. In this chakra there is a continuous flow of ambrosia (amrita-dhara-pravaha) from the Sahasrara-chakra. The yogi can become absorbed with the taste of this amrita through the appropriate process of concentration of his psycho-vital energy in this chakra and can thereby become perfectly free from hunger and thirst and attain even physical immortality. But Gorakhnath instructs the earnest spiritual aspirant to concentrate the attention on Shunya or absolute void in this chakra, so that he may attain the state of Chitta-laya (the dissolution of the empirical consciousness). Chitta-laya is a very important step to perfect spiritual illumination and ascent to the plane of transcendent consciousness. Gorakhnath says that in the talu-mula there is a ghantika-linga, at the root of which there is a very small hole, a perfect vacuum, which is called Shankhini-vivara and also Dashama-dwara (tenth door). It is within this vacuum that the attention should be concentrated and Shunya should be deeply meditated on. As the result of this meditation, Chitta will lose itself. Unlike the commonly known nine doors of the body open towards objects of mundane experience, here lies the tenth door open towards the realization and enjoyment of spiritual truth and here the empirical consciousness should die, as it were, to be perfectly illumined by Transcendent Light.

The seventh chakra is located at a nerve-center between the two eyebrows and is called by Gorakhnath Bhru-chakra. Here the Sushumna takes the form of a steadily burning lamp-light (deepa-shikha-kara) of the size of a thumb (amgustha-matra). This is called Jnana-netra,–the eye of enlightenment. This is really an inner light which illumines the consciousness of a yogi whose whole attention is concentrated upon it. Through deep concentration the yogi becomes one with the light. When he comes down from this plane to the normal plane of experience, he looks upon all worldly objects and events with the illumined outlook. Besides, says Gorakhnath, he attains Vak-Siddhi; whatever he speaks turns out to be true. His whole being becomes full of Truth and his utterances also spontaneously reflect Truth.

The eighth chakra is called by Gorakhnath Nirvana-chakra, and it is located in Brahma-randhra within a part of Sahasrara. This is the finest center for the realization of the Infinite and Eternal Spirit (Brahma) by the individual consciousness. The individual consciousness is in this plane merged in the Transcendent Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. Kundalini-Shakti is here perfectly united with Shiva, the Supreme Spirit. In this plane the difference between light and darkness, between motion and rest, between finite and infinite, between phenomena and noumenon, vanishes altogether. Yogis often give it the poetic name of Jalandhara-Pitha, because this is the place of the perfect self revelation (pitha) of the Supreme Holder of the magnificent net-work of the phenomenal cosmic order (Jalandhara), the Supreme Spirit from Whom this cosmic net (jala) originates, by Whom this net is sustained and governed and harmonized, of Whom it is the playful self manifestation and Who is its infinite and eternal self luminous and all-illumining Soul. An individual remains jala-baddha (bound in and suffering from this jala or net), so long as he does not realize Jalandhara (the Supreme ‘Net-holder) in himself and the cosmic system. When he perfectly realizes his oneness with Jalandhara, he feels full freedom in this very world, he becomes free from all sense of bondage and limitation and sorrow. He attains Moksha or Nirvana.

Above the Nirvana-chakra in the Brahma-randhra, which is the seat of the attainment of Moksha (liberation from all possible bondage and sorrow), Gorakhnath mentions the existence of the ninth chakra, which he names Akasha-chakra. This last chakra is located at the highest point of Sahasrara. It is described as of the nature of a fine self-luminous lotus with sixteen petals, facing upward. At the center of this lotus the trikutakara (manifested in a threefold form, in the form of a self-luminous Experience holding within itself the experiencer and the experienced and the process of experience) Sat-Chid-Ananda-mayi Maha-Shakti in perfect union with the Supreme Spirit, Shiva, has Her highest and most glorious self-manifestation and self-realization. This center of experience is further described as Purna-Giri-Pitha (i. e. the seat of the highest mountain of Absolute Experience). Here the phenomenal consciousness is perfectly transformed into and fully realizes itself as all-absorbing all-unifying all-transcending Absolute Consciousness. The holy journey of Kundalini-Shakti from Muladhara-chakra for the most blissful re-union with Her most beloved Soul and Lord, Shiva, reaches here its most successful end.

Shakti had separated Herself, as it were, from Shiva in course of Her world-ward journey, had put on veils over veils and concealed Her Sat-Chid-Ananda-mayi Swarupa-Prakriti in course of Her cosmic journey to lower and lower planes of phenomenal existence and consciousness and enjoyment, and with Her face outward and downward had seemed to see Her Lord and Soul only as reflected upon Her diversified and ever-changing cosmic self-manifestations. Though never out of touch with Shiva, She seemed to have been bearing at heart a painful feeling of the want of direct and perfect spiritual union with Him, which meant the want of self-realization on Her part. She appeared to have gone to a long distance from Shiva, i.e. Her own true Self, in the material plane. In course of Her phenomenal self-manifestation, She created the human body as the most suitable channel for Her return-journey to Her beloved Lord, i.e. Her own true Spiritual Self. This return-journey is completed, when Shakti reaches what has been called Akasha-chakra in the human body, and She appears to become one with Shiva again. The yogi attains perfect self-fulfillment, when he can firmly establish himself in this plane of existence and consciousness and blissfulness. This is the plane of Para-Samvit. Gorakhnath also calls it Parama Shunya, because all objectivity and individuality vanish in this Experience, and there remains only one infinite eternal differenceless changeless Absolute Experience. Shunya does notmean absence of existence, but perfect subject-object-less space-time-less unconditioned Existence.

The following is a lengthy footnote at the end of this exposition.

The above exposition of the Nine chakras is like that of other topics in this book chiefly based on Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati. In Goraksha-Shataka, which also is regarded as an authentic work of Yogiraj Gorakhnath, the chakras are enumerated as six. He says:

Shat-chakram shodhashadharam tri-lakshyam vyoma-panchakam
Swa-dehe ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah.

“Six chakras, sixteen Adharas, three Lakshyas and five Vyomas, howcan those yogis, who do not know these in their own body, attain perfection?” (G. S. 13)

He adds:

Eka-stambham nava-dwaram griham panchadhidaivatam
Swadeham ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah. (G. S. 14)

“A house with one pillar, nine doors, and presided over by five Deities, how can yogis, who do not know their own body as such a house, attain perfection?”

Chaturdalam syad adharah swadhisthanam cha shad-dalam
Nabhau dassa-dalam padmam surya-samkhya-dalam hridi.
Kanthe syat shodasha-dalam bhru-madhye dwidalam tatha
Sahasra-dalam-akhyatam brahma-randhre maha-patne. (G. S. 15-16)

“The first chakra is Muladhara which has in it a lotus of four petals; the second is Swadhisthana with a lotus of six petals; the third is in the navel with a lotus of ten petals; the fourth is in the heart with a lotus of twelve petals; the fifth is in the region of the throat with a lotus of sixteen petals; and the sixth is in between the two eyebrows with a lotus of two petals. Above all these six chakras there is in Brahmarandhra, the supreme path, the highest Chakra which is a lotus of a thousand petals.”

Here as well as in all other authoritative texts, Shat-Chakro mean six chakras in the Sushumna, exclusive of Sahasrara. These six have to be transcended (chakra-bheda), and the ultimate ideal has to be realized through the deepest concentration of the psycho-vital energy in the seventh and highest chakra, viz. Sahasrara. In S. S. P. Gorakhnath speaks of two Chakras in Sahasrara, viz. Nirvana-chakra and Akasha-chakra. Moreover he speaks of another chakra, viz. Talu-chakra, at the root of the palate. Thus the total number becomes nine. Further, in S. S. P. he does not make special mention of the lotuses with definite numbers of petals in the different chakras, except in the cases of Hridaya-chakra and Akasha-chakra; in the former he mentions the presence of a downward-looking eight-petalled lotus and in the latter an upward-looking sixteen-petalled lotus. In G. S. however he speaks of a twelve-petalled lotus in Hridaya-chakra, and Akasha-chakra is not mentioned at all.

In Goraksha-Shataka as well as in many other books Gorakhnath instructs every truth-seeker to contemplate his own body as a house (griha) in which Shiva dwells as the individual soul (jiva). This house is said to stand on one pillar. The pillar obviously refers to the spinal column (containing Sushumna with its chakras and supporting the whole bodily system) with Sahasrara as its roof. The nine doors of this house indicate the two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, one mouth, one generating organ and one excretive organ, which are linked with the center of vitality by the nine principal Nadis (excluding Sushumna) and which are the openings of this bodily house for contact with the outer world, A tenth door (dashama dwara) is mentioned at the root of the palate (in talu-chakra), which is an opening to the higher spiritual region. The five presiding Deities may mean according to the yogic viewpoint Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Ishwara and Sadashiva, who are special spiritual self-manifestations of Shiva-Shakti for governing different planes of the Cosmic System as well as of the individual bodies. A yogi is to realize these Cosmic Divine Personalities within his own body as the glorious self-manifestations of his own true Soul, i. e. Shiva.

In yoga-literature this body is sometimes described as a seven-storied building, each of the seven chakras (including Sahasrara) being imagined as representing a storey or a plane of existence and experience under the supervision and governance of a Divine Personality. From Muladhara to Kantha the five storeys are governed by the five Divinities mentioned above, while Ajna and Sahasrara are under Shri-Kantha and Bhairava. Shiva is the Soul of them all. A perfectly enlightened yogi, having realized the identity of his individual soul with Shiva, the Supreme Spirit and Universal Soul, attains the power to move freely in all the storeys to ascend from Muladhara to Sahasrara and to descend from Sahasrara to Muladhara and to enjoy the experiences of any of the planes, as he pleases, and to identify himself occasionally with any of the Deities. Through the mere concentration of his will, he can participate in the delightful play of Shiva-Shakti in all the planes of existence and experience in this very embodied state. He may at his sweet will take leave of this house and embrace death, which is as good as immortality to him, and thereby absolutely merge his individuality in the perfect Existence-Consciousness-Bliss of Shiva. Or he may retain this physical body as long as he likes, since his body is inwardly spiritualized and liberated from the bondage of the physical and the moral laws, to which the ordinary living bodies are subject. He conquers nature by the power of his yogic discipline and by his self-identification with Shiva.