Forehead chakra / Third Eye ( Ajna )
Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा, ajňa, [aːɟɲʌ], meaning 'command' or 'summoning') is the sixth primary chakra according to Hindu tradition. Dissolution of duality, regulation of all mental processes; rational thinking, intuition, inspiration, memory. Human beings see themselves as a unity here - consciousness, superconsciousness, and the subconscious mind flow together.
The sixth chakra is referred to as the Third Eye. It is located above the physical eyes on the center of the forehead. This is the center for psychic ability, higher intuition, the energies of spirit and light. It also assists in the purification of negative tendencies and in the elimination of selfish attitudes. Through the power of the sixth chakra, you can receive guidance,channel, and tune into your Higher Self. When this chakra is not balanced you may feel non-assertive, afraid of success, or go the opposite way and be egotistical. Physical symptoms may include headaches, blurred vision, blindness, and eye strain. When this chakra is balanced and open you are your own master with no fear of death, are not attached to material things, may experience telepathy, astral travel, and past lives. Sixth chakra body parts include the eyes, face, brain, lymphatic and endocrine system. The main colors are purple and dark blue. The gemstones are Amethyst, Sodalite, and Lapis Lazuli.
Location
The Ajna chakra is positioned in the stomata, directly behind the center of the forehead. Its ksehtram, or superficial activation site, is in the eyebrow region at the position of the "third eye."
Appearance
Ajna is white in color, with two white petals. Inside the pericarp is the Shakti Hakini. It is depicted with a white moon, six faces, and six arms holding a book, a skull, a drum, and a rosary, while making the gestures associated with granting boons and dispelling fears. The downward pointing triangle above her contains a moon-white lingum. In some systems the deity Ardhanarishvara, a hermaphrodite form of Shiva-Shakti, symbolising the primordial duality of subject and object, resides within the lingum. Above that triangle is another smaller triangle containing the bija mantra, Aum.
Bija or Seed mantra
The seed syllable is Aum, or "Pranava Om," the supreme sound.
Petals
Adina has two white petals, said to represent the psychic channels, Ida and Pin gala, which meet the central Subhuman nadir (channel), before rising to the Crown Chakra Sahasrara. The letter 'Ham' is written in white on the left petal and represents Shiva. 'Sham', written in white on the right petal, represents Shakti. These two petals also represent the manifest and the manifest mind, and are sometimes said to represent the pineal and pituitary glands.
Function
Ajna has a petal dedicated to the sun, the other to the moon.
Ajna translates as "command", and is considered the eye of intuition and intellect. When something is seen in the mind's eye, or in a dream, it is being seen by Ajna. It is a bridge that links gurus with disciples, allowing mind communication to occur between two people. The sense organ and action organ associated with Ajna is the mind.
As Hindus believe that spiritual energy from the environment enters their body through this gateway, they take great care to protect it with spiritually positive protecting forces. The various religious marks on the foreheads of men and women belonging to the Hindu faith (like holy ash, namam, vermilion etc.) are the blessed spiritual prasadam of their respective forms of the Hindu gods.
Meditation upon Ajna supposedly grants siddhis, or occult powers, to quickly enter another body at will and to become omniscient. He realizes unity with Brahman; and he has the ability to create, preserve, and destroy the three worlds.
Manas chakra
Directly above Ajna is a minor chakra known as Manas, or mind. It possesses six petals, one for each of the five senses and one for sleep. These petals are normally white, but assume the color of the senses when activated by them, and they are black during sleep. This chakra's function is sending sense perceptions to the higher chakras.
Association with the body
The Ajna chakra is positioned in the brain, directly behind the eyebrow center.
Activation location is at the eyebrow region, in the position of the 'third eye.'
The parietal eye (very small grey oval between the regular eyes) of a juvenile bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)
Ajna is associated with the third eye on the forehead. It is also sometimes associated with the pineal gland, which regulates the circadian rhythm, and is related to an actual light-sensitive 'third eye' (Parietal eye) found in some lizards, amphibians, and fish. It is also sometimes associated with the pituitary gland, the master of all endocrine glands, whose secretions control all the other endocrine glands.
Practices
In kundalini yoga, the practices said to stimulate the Ajna chakra include: Trataka (steady gazing), Shambhavi Mudra (gazing at the space between the eyebrows), and some forms of Pranayama (breath exercises).
Comparisons with other systems
In Tibetan buddhism, this chakra is at the end of the central channel, which runs up the body to the top of the head, and then over and down, terminating at the forehead. The two side channels continue onwards towards the two nostrils and end there. This center is frequently depicted in artwork as the third eye, and is used in various meditations.
There is also a forehead centre above the third eye, which corresponds to the position of Manas, one of the ten chakras in the Mahayoga tantra traditions.
In Qigong, the highest Dantian is located at this position. This is one of three furnaces that converts the different sorts of energy in the body. In this Dantian, the spiritual shen energy is converted into wuji, the infinite space of void.
Within the system of Lataif-e-sitta there exists a Lataif known as Khafi, or arcane subtlety, in this same position, and is related to mystical intuition.
According to the Kabbalah, there are two sephiroth located on the sixth level, associated with the left and right parts of the face. They are called Chokmah (wisdom), and Binah (understanding); it is at these points that the two side pillars of mercy and severity terminate, while the central pillar carries on rising to kether, the crown.
Alternative names
In Tantra :
Ajita-Patra, Ajna, Ajna-Pura, Ajna-Puri, Ajnamhuja, Ajnapankaja, Bhru-Madhya, Bhru-Madhya-Chakra, Bhru-Madhyaga-Padma, Bhru-Mandala, Bhru-Mula, Bhru-Saroruha, Dwidala, Dwidala-Kamala, Dwidalambuja, Dwipatra, Jnana-Padma, Netra-Padma, Netra-Patra, Shiva-Padma, and Triweni-Kamala
In the Vedas, Upanishads :
Ajna, Baindawa-Sthana, Bhru Chakra, Bhruyugamadhyabila, and Dwidala
In the Puranas :
Ajna, Dwidala, and Trirasna
Data Arrangement, Technical Arrangement & Graphics |
Guruji Murugan Chillayah - Silambam Asia |
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References |
Guruji Murugan Chillayah. (2012). Teaching and Essence of Indian Traditional Arts of Silambam, Varma Kalai and Traditional Yoga from Himalaya Mountain. Silambam Asia. https://silambam.asia |
Swami Satyananda Saraswati. Kundalini Tantra |
Shyam Sundar Goswani. Layayoga – an advanced method of concentration |
page 268, Kundalini Yoga for the West, Swami Sivananda Radha, Copyright 1978, Shambala Publications, Inc. |
"Third Eye Chakra". ASIS Massage. Retrieved 25 July 2013. |
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso. Tantric Grounds and Paths |
Andy James. The Spiritual Legacy of Shaolin Temple |
Dion Fortune. The Mystical Qabalah |