“She’s wrong! She’s gone whacko!” I hear you utter through gritted teeth, “What’s this mention of an EIGHTH chakra?”
You could well be right that I’ve gone whacko, but I am right about the existence of EIGHT, not seven chakras. After Mooladhara, Svadhisthana, Manipura, Anahata, Vishuddhi and Ajna, the eighth chakra is what most (New Age?) people call the seventh chakra – that is, Sahasrara, often known as the “Crown Chakra”.
Before I get to it, though, let me introduce you to the real seventh chakra: BINDU, sometimes known as the Moon Centre. Bindu is located at the top, back part of the head. If you’ve seen Hare Krishna devotees, their heads are shaven, all except for a small tuft of hair at the top, back of the head. That tuft of hair is at the point of Bindu chakra.
The chakra itself is colourless and transparent, but its symbol shows a crescent moon and a lotus with 23 petals.
Bindu chakra produces amrita, known as the “nectar of immortality”, which bestows physical and mental health, vitality and youthfulness. 1 Consequently, Bindu chakra is an important centre for health. It can give us the power for physical and mental recuperation; it benefits eyesight and quietens the emotions, thus promoting harmony, clarity and balance. It is Bindu that can help us control hunger and thirst.
Concentration on Bindu can relieve anxiety, depression and nervousness. 2
Practising the “Bumble Bee Breath” can help to stimulate this oft-forgotten chakra. You can view a quick video about how to do this here.
Vikaya Kumar suggests that the reason we haven’t heard about the Bindu chakra, is because of how hard it is to activate it. Apparently, with the use of deep meditation and breathing, amrit (the nectar that is created) is brought down the throat and (somehow) collected within the Manipura (solar plexus chakra), where it is activated to give long, long, looooooooooooooooong life. It has been suggested that ancient yogis could live ONLY on this nectar (no other food or water) for years at a time. 3
“As a result of underutilization or dissipation of the Bindu’s life force, we grow older, our skin becomes dryer, rougher, slack and more transparent, we lose bone tissue and cartilage and hair, develop age-related hearing loss, suffer from dementia and have to deal with other mental and physical problems.” 4
Much more well-known is Sahasrara, the eighth or Crown Chakra, sometimes also known as the “Thousand-petalled lotus”.
The yogis say that Sahasrara is not really a chakra, but the culmination of all the other chakras. It is the abode of highest consciousness. 5 At least one yoga book says that Sahasrara contains a hormone that influences brain functions: memory, concentration and intelligence. 6 As with Bindu, Sahasrara does not exist in the spine, but on – or above – the crown of the head.
Although the New Age writers say that the colour of Sahasrara is violet, the yogis say that it has no special quality or colour; rather, it is pure light – which contains all colours.
“Just as all the colours of the spectrum are united in colourless light, the highest chakra unites in itself all the energies of the lower centres”. 7 Sahasrara is also sometimes called the Centre of a Million Rays, because it radiates like the sun. 8
The symbol for Sahasrara shows all the colours of the rainbow, a many-petalled lotus flower and a Hindu deity, Shiva, who represents the pure, Supreme Self. The awakening of this chakra means revelation of Divine Splendour and attainment of Supreme Consciousness. 9 At this point, matter and energy merge into this pure consciousness in a state of bliss. 10
That is the goal of yoga!
Sahasrara is the place of universal consciousness. “Regardless of religion, spiritual belief or upbringing, the Crown Chakra extends and connects us to all things. 11 At the level of Sahasrara, judgement, ego and fear are gone, and the person is ruled by pure joy and a desire to be of service. Such a person has empathy for all people and life forms and a desire for unity and the good of all. 12
As the ultimate goal of yoga is experiencing this highest chakra, then all yoga practices will help to awaken it. Most important of all, is meditation.
However, there are no short-cuts (that I know of) to experiencing Sahasrara. Because the Crown Chakra is the culmination of all the other chakras, we are unlikely to experience the bliss of Sahasrara’s supreme knowledge unless each of the lower chakras is balanced and in good working order.
I would encourage everyone to practise meditation – daily, if possible. Meditate on the Crown Chakra by all means, but also focus on all the other chakras.
In previous blogs, I have discussed the yamas and niyamas (Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha, Saucha, Santosha, Tapasya, Swadhyaya, and Ishvara Pranidhana). As these are the basis of yoga, we need to be practising them – all the time, if possible, if our goal is the supreme bliss of Sahasrara.
Many years ago, my yoga teacher said, “The physical practices that we do in a yoga class form just a tiny part of yoga – yoga is immense!”. I was an (ignorant) “smarty pants”, and thought “She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Everybody knows that asanas and tying your body in knots IS yoga”.
Well, dear Reader, my teacher was right. Surprise! Surprise! Yoga is vast – deep and broad. But continuing to work with the yamas, niyamas and chakras will take you in the right direction – if ultimate knowledge and bliss are your goals.
So, head for Bindu, the moon and Sahasrara, the sun.
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- Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga in Daily Life: The System(2000), European University Press, Vienna, Austia. P.412.
- Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga in Daily Life: The System(2000), European University Press, Vienna, Austia. P.412 — & — Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (1996), Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar, India. p.520.
- Olga Rezo: http://www.sunnyray.org/Bindu-chakra.htm
- Olga Rezo: http://www.sunnyray.org/ContactE.htm
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (1996), Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar, India. p.520.
- Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga in Daily Life: The System(2000), European University Press, Vienna, Austia. p.413.
- Shalila Sharamon & Bodo J. Baginski, The Chakra Handbook (1997), Lotus Light Publications, Wilmot, USA. p.126.
- Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga in Daily Life: The System(2000), European University Press, Vienna, Austia. P.413.
- Paramhans Swami Maheshwarananda, Yoga in Daily Life: The System (2000), European University Press, Vienna, Austia. P.413.
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Asana Pranayama Mudra Bandha (1996), Yoga Publications Trust, Bihar, India. p.520.
- Antoinette Gomez, Chakra Mindset(2016), Exhale Publishing, Canberra, Australia.P. 131.
- Antoinette Gomez, Chakra Mindset(2016), Exhale Publishing, Canberra, Australia.P. 132.