Thousand-Petalled Cakra

“As the sun illumines the world with its rays, so the light of the soul reaches the sahasrara, the thousand-petalled cakra, also known as brahmakapala. The yogi knows the functions of both the outer and inner worlds. . . .

As the microcosm represents the macrocosm, man’s body epitomizes the entire structure of the great universe. . . .

According to yogis, within the aerial regions are the seven major cakras. They are muladhara (seat of anus), svadhistana (sacral area), manipuraka (navel), anahata (heart), visuddhi (throat), ajna (eyebrow centre) and sahasrara (crown of the head). There are other cakras, such as surya (corresponding to the sympathetic nervous system), candra (parasympathetic nervous system) and manas (seat of the mind). All these are interconnected, like the solar system. The sun that shines from the seat of the soul is the sun of life. It passes through surya nadi at the gates of surya cakra and illumines the seven states of awareness in the yogi’s consciousness (II.27).

Patanjali speaks not only of external, but of internal achievements. He instructs the aspirant to direct his mind towards the inner body, to study and gain knowledge of the soul.”

BKS Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p. 197


 

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