Man has five koshas (sheaths) covering his individuality---the annamaya (material), pranamaya (vital), manomaya (mental), vijnanamaya (intellectual) and the Anandamaya (blissful). When man turns from the objective world to the subjective world within him, he can unsheath his Individuality and reach his Bliss Nature. But most men revel in the very first sheath---the material sheath---and remain engrossed and entangled In material pursuits and pleasures. Man does not realise that he sees only what he wants to see; he cannot see beyond his need. Therefore unless his desires are purified and clarified, he cannot penetrate it into the inner realms of delight.

The various chakras in the body

If you ask any one where the words he utters come from, he will reply that they do so from the vocal chords. No. The vocal chords can produce sound, but not words. The spinal column, from the muladhara chakra to the ajnaa chakra (the energy centre at lowest point of the column to the energy centre at mid-brow spot) is like the veena, the strings of which when drawn and played upon, produce resonance. The vital and the mental sheaths are Involved in these regions.When the playing fingers halt and press on frets fixed on the veena at irregular intervals, different notes are created and delight ensues. When the mind decides upon an idea that is to be communicated, the prana (life force) plays upon the strings and words emanate.

The muladhara, the lowest of the chakras (energy centres) at the lower end of the spinal passage, is the embodiment of the Prakriti (Nature) principle. t it is related to the Annamaya kosha, the material facet of man. It is the Prithvi tattva (the earth-principle.)

The Svadhishthana chakra at the point of the navel, is the guardian of the pranamaya kosha, the vital facet of the person. It is the Agni or tejas principle, the spring and source of warmth in the body, that maintains the processes of digestion and protection from environmental change.

The Manipura chakra is the next highest on the spinal scale. It is the jala or apas tattva (water principle), that helps the circulation of blood both Into the heart and out of it, from all parts of the body.

The Anahata chakra is in the region of the heart. It embodies the vayu (wind) principle which is in charge of the breathing process, inhalation and exhalation, so vital for life and activity. It also vitalises the spinal force, and passes over the frets of the inner veena.

The Vishuddha chakra is in the pit of the throat, near the pituitary gland. It represents the Akasha (space or ether) principle and promotes shabda (sound).

The Ajna chakra on the mid-brow spot is the embodiment of Vijnana---the Splendour of Aware-ness---for when this chakra is reached, man glimpses the Truth, gets transformed and becomes translucent. It is only a step away from the final realisation, when the Sahasrara chakra (the thousand petalled energy centre) on the crown of the head is attained. That is the consummation of all sadhana (spiritual effort), of all search.

The stage of desire operates in the first two chakras, the stage of endeavour (kriyashakti) In the next two and the stage of awareness (Jnanashakti), is most evident in the last two. The awareness is there, latent in every one, ready to surface when the veils of ignorance are removed. The individual life-force or Jiva-tattvam, resides like a lightning flash in the womb of a blue cloud between the ninth and the twelfth rings of the spinal column. It will be alert and awake only when sadhana of any type is done after the cleansing of character and habits. (SSS Vol. 10, pp. 119-120)

(Chakras)

In every human being there are Chakras or centres of psychic power. Shad Chakras as they are called. These Chakras have been interpreted in various ways. Among these, two most important ones are the Hridaya Chakra and the Sahasrara Chakra. They are described as being special kind of lotus flowers. The former having eight radiant petals, and the latter a thousand petals. It is said that a thorough understanding of the principles underlying these two Chakras would facilitate the attainment of Divinity. The flower of the Heart represents God, while e two important Chakras ach petal of the Sahasrara represents sixteen aspects of the Divinity. Thus, the thousand petals of Sahasrara represent in all, sixteen thousand aspects of Divinity. The sixteen thousand Gopikas that the scriptures talk about represent nothing but sixteen thousand variants of Divinity. They say that one gets liberated when one ascends from the Hridaya Chakra to the Sahasrara Chakra. What that really mean? Simply this: Just as the petals dissolve their individual identity and merge together to form a radiant flower, the Gopikas merged into the Omnipresent, Omnipotent and the Omniscient God. The coming together of the Gopikas and God is, in the Chakra language, the coming together of the two important Chakras mentioned earlier. God is the Ultimate Divine Master, and everything in Creation belongs to Him. All beings are His property. The Sahasrara flower (representing the Mind) is His property, and it must be offered to Him alone. The Ramayana provides an illustration.

Sita is the daughter of Mother Earth and the consort of Rama – this is as far as the Ramayana is concerned. In spiritual terms, Rama is Paramatma (God) and Sita is prakriti (nature). Nature hwas created by God and belongs to God. In the Ramayana, this is symbolised by the marriage of Sita and Rama; this marriage represents the eternal unity and the inseparable nature of God and His Creation. Ravana, who did not understand all these subtleties, tried to abduct Sita and paid dearly for it. Toward the end, Ravana’s wife Mandodari said, “Ravana, Sri Rama is God Himself and Sita is the embodiment of Mother Supreme. You have committed a heinous crime in abducting Sita. What right do you have to take away what belongs to someone else? Repent at least now for what you have done. Go to Rama, fall at His Feet, seek His pardon, and restore Sita back to Him.” But alas, when disaster beckons, the mind gets perverted; so Ravana ignored Mandodari’s advice and later paid the price for his rashness.

Being aspects of Divinity, the gopikas were the property of God. Through their lives they demonstrated how God and His property became one. In a subtle sense, the sahasrara with thousand-petals and representing sixteen-thousand Divine aspects is derived from the hridaya. The petals and the flower are not separate. The sahasrara is the Mind and the hridaya is God. The enormous powers of the mind belong to God, and they cannot be appropriated as one wishes. Dissolving one’s ego, the mind must, in its entirety, be offered to God. It is this principle that is described by way of the chakras on the one hand, and through the gopikas on the other. The yogis and rishis of yore understood all this and tried to elevate themselves so that the two chakras came together. This is described as ascending from the hridaya chakra to the sahasrara chakra. It implies the unification of the mind and the heart. Why were the rishis so particular about this unification? Because this union led to Infinite Bliss. Happiness is union with God. The heart is the seat of God, and the mind is born of the heart. Thus the mind is the property of the heart. When the Master and His property are united there is Bliss.