Chakra
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Chakras (
The concept of the chakra arose in the early traditions of Hinduism.[6] Beliefs differ between the Indian religions, with many Buddhist texts consistently mentioning five chakras, while Hindu sources reference six or seven.[3][4][7] Early Sanskrit texts speak of them both as meditative visualizations combining flowers and mantras and as physical entities in the body.[7] Within Kundalini yoga, the techniques of breathing exercises, visualizations, mudras, bandhas, kriyas, and mantras are focused on manipulating the flow of subtle energy through chakras.[6][8]
The modern Western chakra system arose from multiple sources, starting in the 1880s with
Etymology
Lexically, chakra is the Indic reflex of an ancestral
In Buddhism, especially in Theravada, the Pali noun cakka connotes "wheel".[14] Within the central "Tripitaka", the Buddha variously refers the "dhammacakka", or "wheel of dharma", connoting that this dharma, universal in its advocacy, should bear the marks characteristic of any temporal dispensation. The Buddha spoke of freedom from cycles in and of themselves, whether karmic, reincarnative, liberative, cognitive or emotional.[15]
In Jainism, the term chakra also means "wheel" and appears in various contexts in its ancient literature.[16] As in other Indian religions, chakra in esoteric theories in Jainism such as those by Buddhisagarsuri means a yogic energy center.[17]
Ancient history
The word chakra appears to first emerge within the Vedas, though not in the sense of psychic energy centers, rather as chakravartin or the king who "turns the wheel of his empire" in all directions from a center, representing his influence and power.[18] The iconography popular in representing the Chakras, states the scholar David Gordon White, traces back to the five symbols of yajna, the Vedic fire altar: "square, circle, triangle, half moon and dumpling".[19]
The hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda mentions a renunciate yogi with a female named kunamnama. Literally, it means "she who is bent, coiled", representing both a minor goddess and one of many embedded enigmas and esoteric riddles within the Rigveda. Some scholars, such as D.G. White and Georg Feuerstein, have suggested that she may be a reference to kundalini shakti and a precursor to the terminology associated with the chakras in later tantric traditions.[20][21][22]
Breath channels (
In contrast to White, according to Feuerstein, early Upanishads of Hinduism do mention chakras in the sense of "psychospiritual vortices", along with other terms found in tantra: prana or vayu (life energy) along with nadi (energy carrying arteries).[21] According to Gavin Flood, the ancient texts do not present chakra and kundalini-style yoga theories although these words appear in the earliest Vedic literature in many contexts. The chakra in the sense of four or more vital energy centers appear in the medieval era Hindu and Buddhist texts.[27][23]
Overview
Chakra and divine energies
Shining, she holds
the noose made of the energy of will,
the hook which is energy of knowledge,
the bow and arrows made of energy of action.
Split into support and supported,
divided into eight, bearer of weapons,
arising from the chakra with eight points,
she has the ninefold chakra as a throne.
—Yoginihrdaya 53–54
(Translator: Andre Padoux)[28]
The Chakras are part of esoteric ideas and concepts about physiology and psychic centers that emerged across Indian traditions.[23][29] The belief held that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one "physical body" (sthula sarira) and other "psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical" it is called the "subtle body" (sukshma sarira).[30][note 1] This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The psyche or mind plane corresponds to and interacts with the body plane, and the belief holds that the body and the mind mutually affect each other.[5] The subtle body consists of nadi (energy channels) connected by nodes of psychic energy called chakra.[3] The belief grew into extensive elaboration, with some suggesting 88,000 chakras throughout the subtle body. The number of major chakras varied between various traditions, but they typically ranged between four and seven.[3][4] Nyingmapa Vajrayana Buddhist teachings mention eight chakras and there is a complete yogic system for each of them.
The important chakras are stated in Hindu and Buddhist texts to be arranged in a column along the spinal cord, from its base to the top of the head, connected by vertical channels.
Belief in the chakra system of Hinduism and Buddhism differs from the historic Chinese system of meridians in acupuncture.[6] Unlike the latter, the chakra relates to subtle body, wherein it has a position but no definite nervous node or precise physical connection. The tantric systems envision it as continually present, highly relevant and a means to psychic and emotional energy. It is useful in a type of yogic rituals and meditative discovery of radiant inner energy (prana flows) and mind-body connections.[6][33] The meditation is aided by extensive symbology, mantras, diagrams, models (deity and mandala). The practitioner proceeds step by step from perceptible models, to increasingly abstract models where deity and external mandala are abandoned, inner self and internal mandalas are awakened.[34][35]
These ideas are not unique to Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Similar and overlapping concepts emerged in other cultures in the East and the West, and these are variously called by other names such as subtle body, spirit body, esoteric anatomy, sidereal body and etheric body.[36][37][31] According to Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston, professors of Religious studies known for their studies on Yoga and esoteric traditions:
Ideas and practices involving so-called 'subtle bodies' have existed for many centuries in many parts of the world. (...) Virtually all human cultures known to us have some kind of concept of mind, spirit or soul as distinct from the physical body, if only to explain experiences such as sleep and dreaming. (...) An important subset of subtle-body practices, found particularly in Indian and Tibetan Tantric traditions, and in similar Chinese practices, involves the idea of an internal 'subtle physiology' of the body (or rather of the body-mind complex) made up of channels through which substances of some kind flow, and points of intersection at which these channels come together. In the Indian tradition the channels are known as nadi and the points of intersection as cakra.
— Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston, Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body[38]
Contrast with classical yoga
Chakra and related beliefs have been important to the esoteric traditions, but they are not directly related to mainstream
Number of chakras
There is no consensus in Hinduism about the number of chakras because the concept of chakras has been evolved and interpreted differently by various sects, schools of thought, and spiritual traditions within Hinduism over the centuries. While some traditions follow the seven main chakra system, others recognize additional chakras or a different number of chakras. The lack of a universally accepted standard has led to variation and diversity in the interpretation and understanding of chakras within Hinduism. There are several sects within Hinduism that have their own unique interpretations and understandings of the concept of chakras. Here are some of the major sects that have different perspectives on chakras:
- Bhakti Yoga: In Bhakti Yoga, the number of chakras varies, but the focus is often on the heart chakra as the center of spiritual devotion.
- Ayurveda (3): In Ayurveda, there are three main chakras, known as the "Marmas," which are considered to be the focal points of the physical, mental, and spiritual energies in the body.
- Shaivism (5): In Shaivism, there are five chakras, with the focus being on the heart and crown chakras.
- Tantra (6): In Tantra, there are traditionally said to be four to six chakras, with the crown chakra being considered the highest.
- Kashmir Shaivism (6-7): In Kashmir Shaivism, there are six or seven chakras, with the focus being on the awakening of the divine energy within.
- Hatha Yoga (7): In Hatha Yoga, there are seven main chakras, but some Hatha Yoga traditions also recognize additional chakras.
- Kundalini Yoga (7): In Kundalini Yoga, there are seven main chakras, but additional minor chakras are also recognized.
- Nath Tradition (8): In the Nath tradition, there are eight main chakras, with the emphasis being on the awakening of the divine energy through these centers.
- Vaishnavism (12): In Vaishnavism, there are twelve chakras, with the emphasis being on the spiritual ascent through these centers.
Classical traditions
The classical eastern traditions, particularly those that developed in India during the 1st millennium AD, primarily describe nadi and chakra in a "subtle body" context.[42] To them, they are in same dimension as of the psyche-mind reality that is invisible yet real. In the nadi and cakra flow the prana (breath, life energy).[42][43] The concept of "life energy" varies between the texts, ranging from simple inhalation-exhalation to far more complex association with breath-mind-emotions-sexual energy.[42] This prana or essence is what vanishes when a person dies, leaving a gross body. Some of this concept states this subtle body is what withdraws within, when one sleeps. All of it is believed to be reachable, awake-able and important for an individual's body-mind health, and how one relates to other people in one's life.[42] This subtle body network of nadi and chakra is, according to some later Indian theories and many New Age speculations, closely associated with emotions.[42][44]
Hindu tantra
Esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and arrangements of chakras, of which a classical system of six-plus-one, the last being the Sahasrara, is most prevalent.[3][4][5] This seven-part system, central to the core texts of hatha yoga, is one among many systems found in Hindu tantric literature. Hindu Tantra associates six Yoginis with six places in the subtle body, corresponding to the six chakras of the six-plus-one system.[45]
Place in subtle body | Yogini |
---|---|
1. Muladhara | Dakini |
2. Svadhisthana |
Rakini |
3. Manipura | Lakini |
4. Anahata | Kakini |
5. Vishuddhi |
Shakini |
6. Ajna | Hakini |
The Chakra methodology is extensively developed in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism. It is an important concept along with yantras, mandalas and kundalini yoga in its practice. Chakra in Shakta tantrism means circle, an "energy center" within, as well as being a term for group rituals such as in chakra-puja (worship within a circle) which may or may not involve tantra practice.[46] The cakra-based system is a part of the meditative exercises that came to be known as yoga.[47]
Buddhist tantra
The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras.
A system of five chakras is common among the
- Basal chakra (Bija mantra: LAM)
- Abdominal chakra (Element: Water, Buddha: Ratnasambhava, Bija mantra: VAM)
- Heart chakra (Element: Fire, Buddha: Akshobhya, Bija mantra: RAM)
- Throat chakra (Element: Wind, Buddha: Amitabha, Bija mantra: YAM)
- Crown chakra (Element: Space, Buddha: Vairochana, Bija mantra: KHAM)
Chakras clearly play a key role in Tibetan Buddhism, and are considered to be the pivotal providence of Tantric thinking. And, the precise use of the chakras across the gamut of tantric sadhanas gives little space to doubt the primary efficacy of Tibetan Buddhism as distinct religious agency, that being that precise revelation that, without Tantra there would be no Chakras, but more importantly, without Chakras, there is no Tibetan Buddhism. The highest practices in Tibetan Buddhism point to the ability to bring the subtle pranas of an entity into alignment with the central channel, and to thus penetrate the realisation of the ultimate unity, namely, the "organic harmony" of one's individual consciousness of Wisdom with the co-attainment of All-embracing Love, thus synthesizing a direct cognition of absolute Buddhahood.[53]
According to Samuel, the buddhist esoteric systems developed cakra and nadi as "central to their soteriological process".[54] The theories were sometimes, but not always, coupled with a unique system of physical exercises, called yantra yoga or 'phrul 'khor.
Chakras, according to the
The tsa lung practice embodied in the Trul khor lineage, unbaffles the primary channels, thus activating and circulating liberating prana. Yoga awakens the deep mind, thus bringing forth positive attributes, inherent gestalts, and virtuous qualities. In a computer analogy, the screen of one's consciousness is slated and an attribute-bearing file is called up that contains necessary positive or negative, supportive qualities.[55]
Tantric practice is said to eventually transform all experience into clear light. The practice aims to liberate from all negative conditioning, and the deep cognitive salvation of freedom from control and unity of perception and cognition.[55]
Seven chakra system
The more common and most studied chakra system incorporates six major chakras along with a seventh center generally not regarded as a chakra. These points are arranged vertically along the axial channel (sushumna nadi in Hindu texts, Avadhuti in some Buddhist texts).[57] According to Gavin Flood, this system of six chakras plus the sahasrara "center" at the crown first appears in the Kubjikāmata-tantra, an 11th-century Kaula work.[58]
It was this chakra system that was translated in the early 20th century by
The Chakras are traditionally considered meditation aids. The yogi progresses from lower chakras to the highest chakra blossoming in the crown of the head, internalizing the journey of spiritual ascent.[60] In both the Hindu kundalini and Buddhist candali traditions, the chakras are pierced by a dormant energy residing near or in the lowest chakra. In Hindu texts she is known as Kundalini, while in Buddhist texts she is called Candali or Tummo (Tibetan: gtum mo, "fierce one").[61]
Below are the common
Image of chakra | Name | Sanskrit (Translation) |
Location | No. of petals |
Modern colour |
Seed syllable |
Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sahasrara | सहस्रार (सहस्र-आर) "Thousand-petaled" |
Crown | 1000 | Multi or violet | — | Highest spiritual centre, pure consciousness, containing neither object nor subject. When the feminine Kundalini Shakti rises to this point, it unites with the masculine Shiva, giving self-realization and samadhi.[4] In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Mahasukha, the petal lotus of "Great Bliss" corresponding to the fourth state of Four Noble Truths.[61]
| |
Ajna or Agya | आज्ञा "Command" |
Between eyebrows |
2 | Indigo | — | Guru chakra, or in New Age usage third-eye chakra, the subtle center of energy, where the tantra
Corresponds to the upper dantien in the Qigong system. | |
Vishuddha | विशुद्ध "Purest" |
Throat | 16 | Blue | Ham (space) |
16 petals covered with the sixteen Sanskrit vowels. Associated with the element of space (akasha). The residing deity is Panchavaktra shiva, with 5 heads and 4 arms, and the Shakti is Shakini.[4]
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Sambhoga and is generally considered to be the petal lotus of "Enjoyment" corresponding to the third state of Four Noble Truths.[61] | |
Anahata | अनाहत (अन्-आहत) "Unstruck" |
Heart | 12 | Green | Yam (air) |
Within it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming a hexagram, symbolising a union of the male and female, and the element of air (vayu). The presiding deity is Ishana Rudra Shiva, and the Shakti is Kakini.[4]
In esoteric Buddhism, this Chakra is called Dharma and is generally considered to be the petal lotus of "Essential nature" and corresponding to the second state of Four Noble Truths.[61] Corresponds to the middle dantien in the Qigong system. | |
Manipura | मणिपुर (मणि-पुर) "Jewel city" |
Navel | 10 | Yellow | Ram (fire) |
For the Nath yogi meditation system, this is described as the Madhyama-Shakti or the intermediate stage of self-discovery.[60] This chakra is represented as a downward pointing triangle representing fire in the middle of a lotus with ten petals. The presiding deity is Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti.[4] | |
Svadhishthana |
स्वाधिष्ठान (स्व-आधिष्ठान) "Where the self is established" |
Root of sexual organs |
6 | Orange | Vam (water) |
Svadhisthana is represented with a lotus within which is a crescent moon symbolizing the water element. The presiding deity is Brahma, with the Shakti being Rakini (or Chakini).[4]
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Nirmana, the petal lotus of "Creation" and corresponding to the first state of Four Noble Truths.[61] Corresponds to the lower dantien in the Qigong system. | |
Muladhara | मूलाधार (मूल-आधार) "Root" |
Base of spine |
4 | Red | Lam (earth) |
Dormant Kundalini is often said to be resting here, wrapped three and a half, or seven or twelve times. Sometimes she is wrapped around the black Svayambhu linga, the lowest of three obstructions to her full rising (also known as knots or granthis).[62] It is symbolised as a four-petaled lotus with a yellow square at its center representing the element of earth.[4]
The seed syllable is Lam for the earth element. All sounds, words and mantras in their dormant form rest in the muladhara chakra, where Ganesha resides,[63] while the Shakti is Dakini.[64] The associated animal is the elephant.[65] |
Western chakra system
History
Kurt Leland, for the
The concept of a set of seven chakras came to the West in the 1880s; at that time each chakra was associated with a nerve plexus.[56] In 1918, Sir John Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, translated two Indian texts, the Ṣaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa and the Pādukā-Pañcaka, and in his book The Serpent Power drew Western attention to the seven chakra theory.[68]
In the 1920s, each of the seven chakras was associated with an endocrine gland,[56] a tradition that has persisted.[69][70][71] More recently, the lower six chakras have been linked to both nerve plexuses and glands.[72] The seven rainbow colours were added by Leadbeater in 1927; a variant system in the 1930s proposed six colours plus white.[56] Leadbeater's theory was influenced by Johann Georg Gichtel's 1696 book Theosophia Practica, which mentioned inner "force centres".[73]
Psychological and other attributes such as layers of the
New Age
In
The chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature. They are considered
Rudolf Steiner considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving. He suggested that this system has become different for modern people than it was in ancient times and that it will, in turn, be radically different in future times.[77][78][79] Steiner described a sequence of development that begins with the upper chakras and moves down, rather than moving in the opposite direction. He gave suggestions on how to develop the chakras through disciplining thoughts, feelings, and will.[80] According to Florin Lowndes, a "spiritual student" can further develop and deepen or elevate thinking consciousness when taking the step from the "ancient path" of schooling to the "new path" represented by Steiner's The Philosophy of Freedom.[81]
Skeptical response
The not-for-profit Edinburgh Skeptics Society states that despite their popularity, "there has never been any evidence for these meridian lines or chakras". It adds that while practitioners sometimes cite "scientific evidence" for their claims, such evidence is often "incredibly shaky".[82]
See also
- Aura
- Dantian—energy centre in Chinese Taoist systems
- Surya Namaskar—the Sun Salutation, in which each posture is sometimes associated with a chakra and a mantra
- Indonesian Army, main combat auxiliary corps, known as Kostrad uses "Cakra" as its main war cry and symbol
Notes
- ^ The roots to this belief are found in Samkhya and Vedanta which attempt to conceptualize the permanent soul and impermanent body as interacting in three overlapping states: the gross body (sthula sarira), the subtle body (sukshma sarira), and causal body (karana sarira). These ideas emerged to address questions relating to the nature of body and soul, how and why they interact while one is awake, one is asleep and over the conception-birth-growth-decay-death-rebirth cycle.[30][31]
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Further reading
- Apte, Vaman Shivram (1965). The Practical Sanskrit Dictionary (fourth revised & enlarged ed.). Delhi: ISBN 81-208-0567-4.
- Bucknell, Roderick; Stuart-Fox, Martin (1986). The Twilight Language: Explorations in Buddhist Meditation and Symbolism. London: ISBN 0-312-82540-4.
- Edgerton, Franklin (2004) [1953]. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (Reprint ed.). Delhi: ISBN 81-208-0999-8. (Two volumes)
- ISBN 0-521-43878-0.
- Chia, Mantak; Chia, Maneewan (1993). Awaken Healing Light of the Tao. Healing Tao Books.
- Dale, Cyndi (2009). The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy. Boulder, Colorado: Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-59179-671-8.
- Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Prabhananda, S. (2000). Studies on the Tantras (Second reprint ed.). Calcutta: The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture. ISBN 81-85843-36-8.
- Rinpoche, Tenzin Wangyal (2002). Healing with Form, Energy, and Light. Ithaca, New York: Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 1-55939-176-6.
- Saraswati, Swami Sivananda (1953–2001). Kundalini Yoga. Tehri-Garhwal, India: ISBN 81-7052-052-5.
- Tulku, Tarthang (2007). Tibetan Relaxation. The illustrated guide to Kum Nye massage and movement – A yoga from the Tibetan tradition. London: Dunkan Baird Publishers. ISBN 978-1-84483-404-4.
- ISBN 0-486-23058-9.
- Banerji, S. C. Tantra in Bengal. Second Revised and Enlarged Edition. (Manohar: Delhi, 1992) ISBN 81-85425-63-9
- Saraswati, Swami Sivananda (1953–2001). ISBN 81-7052-052-5.
- Goswami, Shyam Sundar. Layayoga: The Definitive Guide to the Chakras and Kundalini, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1980.
- Sharp, Michael (2005). Dossier of the Ascension: A Practical Guide to Chakra Activation and Kundalini Awakening (1st ed.). Avatar Publications. ISBN 0-9735379-3-0. Archived from the originalon 21 December 2012.
- Khalsa, Guru Dharam Singh; O'Keeffe, Darryl. The Kundalini Yoga Experience Simon & Schuster, 2002.
- ISBN 0-89087-815-3
- Lowndes, Florin. 'Enlivening the Chakra of the Heart: The Fundamental Spiritual Exercises of Rudolf Steiner' ISBN 1-85584-053-7, first English edition 1998 from the original German edition of 1996, comparing 'traditional' chakra teaching, and that of C.W. Leadbeater, with that of Rudolf Steiner.