Ajna Chakra

Ajna Chakra

The Soul Center: or the dwelling place of the third eye is the center for spirituality, and the residence of the soul within the body.

 

Location	: Between the eyebrows
Number of Petals	: Two
Element	: Beyond all elements
Colour	: Smoky White
Presiding Deity	: Jivatma (the individual soul)
Quality of Nature	: Pure Sattva (extreme calmness)
Seed Syllables	: Ham, Ksham
Benefits due to Concentration	: Control over adverse situations and Immortality
Name of Fire	: Brahmagni (Fire of Brahman)
Vrittis (Tendencies)	: Inner peace and Inner love.
Loka (Plane of Existence)	: Tapa
Vital breath	: Prana (Life-energy)
Gland	: Pituitary
Virtues	: Samadhana (Balanced nature or equanimity)
Zodiac	: Cancer and Capricorn
Ruling Planets	: Moon and Sun

The soul centre is located between the eyebrows, two to three inches inside the brain. Below this centre lies ignorance and above lies blissful and divine knowledge. Ajna also means, wish, will ans instruction or direction. The directions of a teacher can take us only up to the soul centre, but beyond that we have to go on our own. The journey is strictly personal, we have come alone to this world and we have to proceed to the goal by our own efforts alone. The Ajna chakra is also called Kutastha, which in Sanskrit means immovable, self-controlled, firmly established and imperishable.

The Inner Anvil

Kuta in Sanskrit means the anvil on which precious ornaments are cast. The soul is ever unchanging and unaffected by the blows of the hammer and still yields such beautiful jewels. The process of meditation and self-purification can be compared to the blows of the hammer that mould gold into delicate ornaments.

Another meaning of kuthastha is that which is hidden from our sight. Our vision is directed outwards, but the soul itself is hidden within the body waiting to be discovered. With the extrovert senses we search for happiness in the outside world while the hidden kutashtha is the real source of peace and joy. The soul is the source is the source of all physical and mental energy.

The kuthastha is imperishable and is also called the third eye. When we concentrate in the Ajna chakra we may see a white ot golden coloured light, sometimes other colours may also appear due to the predominance of any of the other chakras. The Ajna chakra is some times also referred to as Jnana chakra or Ajnana chakra - The centre of knowledge and ignorance. Those who concentrate in the Ajna acquire complete self-control. Once one is firmly established in this centre, the senses are defeated as their source of strength lies in the centres below.

The Third Eye

The Ajna chakra is also called third eye or Vishuddha. People normally have two eyes that are the eyes of duality, which allow them to identify friends and enemies, good and bad, pleasure and pain. Duality is the cause of bondage and suffering, therefore, to pursue harmony in the duality of nature is true spirituality. Jesus said: "The eye is the light of the body. If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light." the Bhagavad Gita we well mentions that the top of the nose, in the centre of the two brows, is the place to concentrate while meditating. The right eye is the sun, the left is the moon and the third eye is fire; the fire of knowledge. The fire is known as brahmagni, the fire of God, the fire of purity, knowledge and illumination. One may use the third eye only while meditating.

The Pole Star

The Ajna chakra is also referred to us as the Dhruva chakra. Dhruva means to be fixed or undisturbed. In Hindu mythology Dhruva nakshatra is the name of the pole star. In the olden days, navigators looked up to the pole star. In the north to determine the direction of their voyage. Similarly, in the inner universe, one should look up to the upper part of the body for direction. When one meditates in the soul centre one sometimes sees a bluish coloured star, the pole star.

The mythological legend states that Dhruva was a young prince who had dedicated all his life to experiencing spiritual truth. Once Dhruva became very dejected and deeply hurt when his step mother humiliated him. Suniti, his real mother, consoled him and advised him to only meditate on God. The five year old boy asked his mother where and how to proceed. She instructed him to go to the forest and meditate in peace and seclusion, this becoming her child's first Guru. The young child followed her advice and went to the forest. At first he was afraid of th wild animals roaming free in the forest, but he soon established himself so firmly in the omnipresence of God that he saw only God everywhere. Dhruva is believed to have become that very pole star, which is the guiding light to many spiritual seekers.

When one meditates in the soul centre one becomes free from animal propensities and negative thoughts.

The knot of Liberation

Two out of the three knots, the creative knot; Brahmagranthi and the knot of preservation; Vishnugranthi are situated below the Ajna and are helpful for the creation and preservation of life. For liberation, however, one must be able to penetrate Rudragranthi. Rudra is another name of Shiva. Rudra means prana, or the tranquil breath. Below are forty-nine pranas, which by combination and permutations become multifold and bring vibrations of various types of thoughts and propensities into our life. Then one meditates in the knot of liberation this knot opens gradually and one becomes released from the pull of nature, the mind is at last disentangled and will be able to climb further up. By meditating in each chakra one becomes free from bondage and when one, with the help of Guru, reaches the ajna chakra, one is ready to enter alone in the realm of spiritual enlightenment. When Rudragranthi, the knot of liberation is opened, the seeker, at last, becomes emancipated.

Source: The Universe Within - The Journey Through The Chakras, Pages: 69-73, Chapter 3