The 12 Chakras

In this article we will examine a couple of verses from the Vijnana Bhairava; specifically verse 29 and 30, in relations to the 12 Chakras. This article is based on one of the most serious interpretations by Christopher Wallis. I like to share this because often people focus on awakening all 12 Chakras, which is not at all recommended unless you are intimately familiarize with Kinetic Energy in relation to those 12 points and how to carefully move it; for energy is not good or bad, it simply moves according to the channels. Simple rituals will do nothing for you, if you don’t have the proper experience to clear each channel before you attempt a direct flow and this can take years of practice, for some even a lifetime. This is why in the West it was popularized to start with the 7th Chakra system. Kundalini energy is like diving into the deepest parts of your subconscious, if unprepared, or if you do it simply because you want to experiment or it seems cool, or because some book told you a ritual can suddenly open your channels (open your mind), it can cause more harm than help. When it comes to the less known areas of our body and mind, we need to be cautious – no fear but wise enough to know we can’t just go poking about without actual understanding of ourselves and our inner mechanics.

Imagine the śakti rising like a streak of lightning from one subtle center (cakra) to the next in succession. When She reaches the upper[most] center, twelve finger-widths above the crown, there comes the Great Dawn of liberation. || 29 || – From the book of Vijnana Bhairava Tantra

Word-by-word breakdown: udgacchantī = rising up (f.); taḍit-rūpā = having the form or appearance of lightning (f.); prati-cakra = from one center to the next, each center; kramātkramam = in succession, in sequence, one after the other; ūrdhva = upward, uppermost; muṣṭi-traya = the length of three fists, i.e. twelve finger-widths; yāvat tāvat = insofar as, to the extent that, if (translated here as ‘when’); ante = in the end, at the culmination; mahā-udaya = the great dawn, that which confers great fortune or prosperity, liberation, awakening.

This verse is fascinating because it’s one of the earliest mentions of something called kuṇḍalinī. Think of it as this energy that moves up from the base of your spine to the very top of your head. Back when the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra was written, this idea was brand new. Later on, it became a big deal in both Tantrik Yoga and Haṭha-yoga.

Now, when we talk about this energy moving through different points in your body, we call these points “cakras.”….commonly known as Chakras. But here’s the thing: there isn’t just one set of cakras. Different traditions have different ideas about how many there are. Some say five, some seven, some even nine. In the Vijñāna-bhairava-tantra, they talk about twelve cakras.

So, when the verse mentions this energy moving from one cakra to the next like lightning, it’s a bit like saying it’s zipping up from the bottom to the top of your body, activating each of these special points along the way. This can simply be a description of an experience one can have, or it can be taken as a prescription, that is to say as a particular practice. Since you can’t do this practice using the twelve-cakra system unless you are intimately familiar with the locations of those cakras, I recommend that you do it with the seven-cakra system popular in the West: mūlādhāra, svādhiṣṭhāna, maṇipūra, anāhata, and so on.

Let’s break down the verse step by step. We don’t see a clear subject in this verse, but it’s implied to be the power or energy, known as śakti. In Sanskrit, if there’s no clear subject, we usually refer back to the last one mentioned. The last feminine subject we had was prāṇa-śakti, so we assume it’s still the subject here.

The verse doesn’t have a verb either, but the previous verse had the word cintayet, which means “one should imagine or contemplate.” So, we understand that we’re being instructed to imagine or contemplate what the śakti is doing.

What is the śakti doing? It’s udgacchantī, which means rising. How does it rise? Like taḍit-rūpā, which means like a streak of lightning. It’s described as having the appearance of lightning.

Does the śakti rise all at once? No, it rises praticakram, from one cakra to the next in sequence. This means it moves gradually from one energy center to the next.

Then the verse mentions “when She reaches the uppermost center.” This refers to the highest energy center in this system, called the dvādaśānta, which is about twelve finger-widths or three fists above the head.

When the śakti reaches this highest center, something significant happens: mahodaya, the Great Dawning or Great Arising. This term is used to describe spiritual liberation or full awakeness. So, it’s like reaching the pinnacle of spiritual awakening when the energy reaches this topmost point.

Imagine those crystal balls that light up when you touch them. You know, when your finger makes contact, and electricity jumps from the center to where you touch it? That’s a bit like what this practice is talking about.

Here’s the idea: Picture or feel the śakti, that powerful energy, like a sudden streak of lightning shooting from one energy center (cakra) to another. It’s like a quick spark of energy bridging the gap between these points.

This practice builds on what you’ve been doing before. If you’ve been working with practices like the breath:pause technique from earlier verses and the one where you imagine radiant light rising through the central channel, this might make sense to you.

When you picture the energy centers (cakras), just think of them as glowing disks or spheres of light. Keep it simple. Don’t worry about making each one look different. Each cakra is like a softly pulsing sphere of golden light, about an inch across. Just imagine them gently glowing and pulsating.

“PRACTICE: Make sure your jaw is relaxed, as always. keep your eyes closed and your attention interiorized. Put your attention at the mūlādhāra, the pelvic floor, doing a gentle mūla-bandha if that helps you feel it. Then, if possible, letting it happen rather than deciding when it’s going to happen, with no forethought, let the subtle energy in the mūlādhāra jump upward like an electrical arc three inches or so to the next center, the svādhiṣṭhāna cakra. Feel it rather than visualize it. A couple of inches above the svādhiṣṭhāna cakra is the kanda center, the so-called secret cakra, midway between the genitals and the navel. At a certain moment you let the energy arc upward like lightning into the kanda center. Then there’s another cakra behind the navel, the maṇipūra, and you let the energy arc upward (of its own accord) to that sphere of life-force. Then there’s another cakra in the heart (the energetic heart, not the physical heart, directly behind the lower part of the sternum), the anāhata cakra. At a certain moment, allow the energy to arc upward from the navel center to the heart center. (It’s okay if you don’t feel anything as of yet and you’re just imagining this. If you continue doing the practice, you’ll feel it.) And so on. At the end of the practice, let yourself feel all the cakras simultaneously pulsing with renewed life, vigor, energy, radiance. Feel they’re all connected by this power, this electrical life-force”.

Understanding this practice is about using your imagination to concentrate your awareness in a way that makes what you imagine feel real until it becomes a direct experience. When you visualize the śakti moving from one cakra to the next, you’re essentially creating a roadmap for the energy to follow when the practice becomes active. Once this roadmap is crystal clear, the experience can happen naturally. You’ll know it’s working when you feel the energy unmistakably jumping from one center to the next in a tangible way.

Important points to remember:

1. Speed of Energy Movement: Let the energy move at its own pace, whether fast or slow. Don’t force it. Just allow it to flow naturally.
2. Variety of Experiences: The sensation of the energy can vary. It doesn’t have to feel like electricity; it can be different for everyone. Let the practice evolve organically.
3. Will vs. Surrender: These practices involve a balance between gentle will and surrender. You set an intention but also allow the process to unfold naturally.
4. Dealing with Discomfort: Instead of “dealing” with discomfort, simply be present with it. If it’s too intense, you can redirect the energy using techniques like the microcosmic orbit from Daoist practices.

In essence, trust your experience, allow the process to unfold, and seek additional techniques only if discomfort becomes too intense.

Verse 30, yukti #4 explicitly utilizes the 12-cakra system pictured above…

There are twelve [such centers] in sequence; properly associated with twelve vowels. By fixing awareness on each one, in successively coarse, subtle, and supreme forms, and then abandoning each, in the end, one becomes Shiva. (30).

Word by word translation: krama = in sequence; dvādaśaka = a set of twelve; samyag = properly, correctly, in proper alignment; dvādaśa = twelve; akṣara = phoneme, letter; bhedita = divided into, pierced by; sthūla = coarse, outer, surface-level, physical; sūkṣma = subtle, almost imperceptible, non-physical, energetic; para = supreme, highest; sthiti = fixing, stabilizing, maintaining; muktvā = abandoning, leaving behind, moving on from; antataḥ = in the end; śivaḥ = God, Divine Consciousness

We’re onto the fourth technique in the text. Verse 30 introduces a new practice, but it builds on what we learned in the previous verse.

In the last verse (29), we discovered how energy moves from one cakra to the next, like lightning. Whether this happens spontaneously or through visualization, it sets the stage for what comes next.

Now, in verse 30, we delve into the twelve-cakra system, a unique concept in this text but similar to other cakra systems. The verse describes the positions of these twelve cakras and the vowel sounds associated with them. The practice involves placing Sanskrit vowels in these cakras to activate, purify, and reset them. It’s a way to tune and balance these energy centers.

The verse says, “There are twelve such centers in sequence, properly associated with twelve vowels. By fixing awareness on each one, in successively coarse, subtle, and supreme forms, and then abandoning each, in the end—Śiva.” I originally translated it as “in the end, one knows God”, but it’s probably more accurate to say, “One becomes Śiva.” Śiva in this context means the divine Absolute.

Here’s a simple breakdown of the practice:

1. Using Sanskrit Vowels: Start from the base and move up to the cakra above the crown, using Sanskrit vowels. Why Sanskrit vowels? Because each letter in the Sanskrit alphabet is considered a sacred sound, like a mantra. Sanskrit letters are seen as divine vibrations.
2. Location of Cakras: The exact positions of the twelve cakras can be found in a Sanskrit commentary from the 18th century by Śivopādhyāya. While insightful, it’s important to consider historical context and potential limitations.
3. Reliability of Commentary: The commentary is useful but not always authoritative due to the time it was written and potential misunderstandings. However, consulting it can provide valuable insights not found in many translations.
4. Actual Practice: Feel each of the twelve cakras as golden spheres of light, starting from the base. This is the default approach, but feel free to experiment. Let the practice evolve naturally over time, guided by the kuṇḍalinī-śakti energy.

Now let’s get to the actual practice…

PRACTICE: Close your eyes, adopt a steady upright stable posture. Let the body be as still as possible. Spine straight. You will put your attention on each of these twelve cakras one at a time, and sound the Sanskrit vowel associated with that cakra. Absorb your attention in that cakra as much as you possibly can, while feeling, if possible, that the vowel is actually resonating there. First feel or imagine, the mūlādhāra-cakra as a small pulsing sphere of light at the pelvic floor. If it helps, do a gentle mūla-bandha to activate the pelvic floor, then just focus on that gently subtly pulsating energy at the pelvic floor. The vowel for the mūlādhāra-cakra is अ a (pronounced ‘uh’). The first vowel of the Sanskrit alphabet and the simplest sound in any language is this ‘a’. If you want you can repeat it several times. Try to feel it in the mūlādhāra-cakra and imagine the cakra becoming brighter, more radiant, cleared of anything that might have gotten in there that impedes its light. Any ‘blockages’ are cleared from the cakra as you repeat its vowel and feel it grower brighter and stronger.

Here’s a straightforward guide:

1. Repeat for Each Cakra: Go through this process for each cakra, as shown in the diagram. Remember, some of these cakras are not commonly known in the seven-cakra system, such as the kanda in the low belly, the palate cakra just above the roof of the mouth, the lalāta-cakra behind the middle of the forehead, and the two cakras above the head (śakti and vyāpinī).
2. Twelve Relevant Vowels: Use the twelve vowels listed below for each cakra:
   • अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ अं अः (a, ā, i, ī, u, ū, ē, ai, ō, au, aṃ, aḥ)
   These are known as the ‘fertile’ vowels, leaving out the ‘infertile’ ones like ṛ, ṝ, and ḷ.

Here’s a simple guide to the end of the practice:

1. Enhancing Cakras: After practicing with the vowels for each cakra, envision all twelve cakras shining brightly, free from any blockages. Picture them radiating light in all directions, from the base to above the crown. You should be able to hold them all in your mind simultaneously, without relying on the diagram. If you’re still needing the diagram, you’re rehearsing, not fully practicing yet.
2. Sonic Practice: Repeat the practice silently, without speaking out loud. This time, focus on feeling the resonance of each of the twelve vowels as a subtle pulsation. Try to sense the quality of each vowel within its corresponding cakra. It’s essential to have these sounds well memorized for this to work effectively.
3. Synesthetic Experience: If you’ve mastered the practice, the third iteration brings a synesthetic experience. This means that light and sound merge into one unified reality. Śivopādhyāya, the commentator, describes this as jyoti-rūpatā, where the vibration transforms into the form of light or pure energy. This isn’t something you can force to happen; it’s an experience that unfolds naturally. However, you can at least practice the first two iterations—the sonic (coarse) iteration and the subtle pulsation (subtle) iteration.

Time Spent on Each Cakra: It’s intuitive. You can spend as little as 2-4 seconds per cakra, or you can take more time on each one, repeating the process over and over again.

Cakras Below the Root: There are subsidiary cakras in the legs and hips, but they’re considered less powerful. In this practice, only the main cakras along the central channel are used. The central channel typically doesn’t extend below the pelvic floor in most individuals’ experience.

In case you are interested, here are some other translations and renderings of verse 29:

• Meditate on that very lightning-like śakti (i.e. Kuṇḍalinī). moving upwards successively from one centre of energy (cakra) to another up to three fists i.e. dvādaśānta. At the end, one can experience the magnificent rise of Bhairava. (Singh)
• (Contemplate Kuṇḍalinī, the power of the vital breath) in the form of lightning, ascending through each Wheel (one after the other) in due order up to the upper End of the Twelve until, in the end, the Great Awakening! (Dyczkowski)
• (Meditate on that shakti) moving upwards like lightning through all the chakras one by one to the dwadashanta. Then at last the glorious form of Bhairava dawns. (Satsangi)
• From center to center, Kundalini rushes up like lightning. Then Bhairava’s glory is manifested. (Odier)
• in the spaces between, feel this as lightning. (Reps)
• [Semenov describes letting tension build in each cakra and then letting it discharge upwards.]

Other translations and renderings of verse 30:

• Twelve successively higher centres of energy associated with twelve successive letters should be properly meditated on. Each of them should at first be meditated on in a gross phase, then leaving that in a subtle phase and then leaving that also in the supreme phase till finally the meditator becomes identified with Śiva. (Singh)
• The sequence of twelve (centres within the body) is rightly linked to the twelve vowels. Abandoning (their) gross, subtle and supreme states (one after another), in the end (the yogi attains) Śiva. (Dyczkowski)
• The twelve (centres) should be pierced successively through proper understanding of their (associated) twelve letters. Thus becoming liberated from the gross then the subtle, one by one, at the end (of its journey) the kundalini becomes Shiva. (Satsangi)
• Meditate on the twelve energy centers, the twelve related letters, and free yourself from materiality to reach the supreme subtlety of Shiva. (Odier)
• Devi, imagine the Sanskrit letters in these honey-filled foci of awareness, first as letters, then more subtly as sounds, then as most subtle feeling. Then, leaving them aside, be free. (Reps)