Chakra, in the human system, are often described as playing the role of centres where energy is concentrated. Traditionally, there are seven major chakras: the root chakra, located at the base of the spine – the sacral chakra, located below the navel – the solar plexus chakra – the heart chakra – the throat chakra – the Third Eye chakra and the Crown chakra, at the top of the head.
The Yoga traditional chakras.
That day was, for Theo, an opportunity to go a little further into discovering the chakras.
Knowing that the he was not going to have a lecture retracing all we already know about chakras, Theo had first collected full information prior to meeting the Elder.
What he was pursuing was actually the very special and personal view his friend and mentor had on spirituality. Theo could foresee what the Elder would offer him, i.e. whatever he could have personally experimented and was ready to share liberally with his disciple, each one of such journeys being a jump into a terra incognita…
The topic of the day was the Heart chakra, anahata-chakra.
Theo. – For me, the Heart chakra is the central one. Its root is located at the level of the spine, and it is like a flower opening at the centre of the chest.
The five points (1 to 5) in the heart chakra.
The Elder – In our Sahaj Marg system, we focus on five points located in the Heart chakra, the five points of the heart region, and we work on them. They have to be used with subtlety, each one of them being related to a specific element. We purify them before illuminating them, one by one.
We work on what characterizes a human being: consciousness, on the level of the mind. The blessing we received is that we needn’t develop a certain power nor generate a specific energy. Thanks to pranahuti, which the Master of the Sahaj Marg has put at the disposal of the whole of humanity, every person can work and progress spiritually. The present we have thus been granted is invaluable.
Theo. – You taught me that we work right from the subtle bodies (manas, buddhi, chit, ahamkar), and Daaji told us that the three lower chakras were related to the animal world.
The Elder – We also belong to the animal world, but the Divine has endowed us with a mind, consciousness and freewill. We deal with the lower chakras in our own ways, but we’ll talk about it later. Let us come back to our topic of the day: anahata-chakra, the Heart chakra.
Theo. (befooling):
– The heart again! It is an obsession, isn’t it?
The Elder (smiling):
– Well! Let us say ‘full awareness then…
Whatever the way it gets manifested or expresses itself, I will never tire of talking about the heart. It is so mysterious and so magnificent! Did you know that it is connected with the planet Venus?
Theo. – It makes sense, since Venus is the Love planet! It also means that, by nature, the heart is yin, receptive and feminine.
The Elder – As a matter of fact, the heart is the seat of Love. Whatever will emerge on the surface are only emotions. Babuji used to say that emotions are the dross of our feelings, even though they are bound with love. The deeper down we go, the nearer we get to pure love, to the divine Love.
Theo. – So, we are going to find the entire spectrum of the means used for expressing love in that chakra, aren’t we?
The Elder – Love is what we all aspire to, more or less consciously, and that chakra actually declines all the shades of Love.
Theo. – I can have a glimpse of its purity by looking at babes in arms, as they gaze at their mothers with such radiant eyes, can’t I? What a shame they should forget so soon about such a good condition…
The Elder (continuing):
– Anahata-chakra represents the air element, i.e. the mind (manas).
Theo. – I better understand now why Lalaji would say that the heart is the mind!
The Elder – Anahata, in Sanskrit, means “infinity and endlessness”. Just like love, it is infinite. It also reveals Brahma-shabda, the sound of God, the Word, or the sound which cannot be heard because it is not hit, and is merely Brahman in the form of sound.
Theo. – Could we say the “soundless sound”?
The Elder – We could, or the “non-human sound”. Only a cosmic audition, the counterpart of the cosmic vision, will be able to perceive it.
Theo. –Which allows a clear hearing and a clear view.
The Elder – In anahata the Sound resonates. Each one of the chakras has their own sounds.
Theo. – I read in Lalaji’s books relating to the surat-shabda-yoga, the yoga of the sound of the soul, that each plane, each chakra would emit a specific sound.
The Elder – It is for us a way to read the aspirant’s condition: we observe which centre is emitting light and the vibration that ensues in the form of a sound or of a colour. Once the work has been completed, the emitted sound is pure. Some practice will help you hear it.
Aum.
Theo looked dazzled, then puzzled:
– Yet, don’t we usually say that the original Word is AUM?
The Elder – That’s right, but when the sound enters and enlivens a chakra or an organ, it resonates like a bell whose volume, the void, gives birth to a note. It is a signature, just like light is a signature too.
Theo. – And what is the Heart’s note?
The Elder – It would be a fa, but yogis have attributed a mantra to it (a syllable or a sacred sentence). Here, it is “so Ham” (“I am That”). It must be sung in order to awaken the Heart chakra.
Theo. – And what about AUM?
The Elder – It is considered as the unique Word, the subtlest one.
When the Word, the divine breath, goes through a chakra or through a plane, a dimension, a very distinctive sound is emitted. Lalaji mentions it as the shabda, and it is the shabda-yoga.
The AUM is the master key that, like love, will open all the doors.
Theo. – How do you sing it?
The Elder – That sound is like a prayer. We can either chant it with our mouths, or listen to it in the silence of our Beings. Let’s try it, shall we?
Place your hand on your heart and sing AUM, letting it vibrate at the heart level.
Say it aloud several times. Silence…
Then emit it mentally within your heart. Silence…
Once it is in place, erase that sound. Silence…
There remains a subtle vibration, the sound of the sound. Silence…
Erase it now. Silence…
You are in touch with the original sound some people call: “The Word of God”. Silence in Silence…
After a long deep silence, Theo asked out of curiosity:
– What is the use of “Ham” then?
The Elder – Sound is declined in seven notes. “Ham” is the sound of anahata, just like the green colour it has been allotted, but further shades will appear behind that colour, depending on depth and purity.
Theo reacted immediately:
– May I experiment with colours just as you had me do it with sound?
They both kept silent again and explored viewing the colour and appreciating its vibration.
At the end of the exercise, Theo concluded:
– Twice I erased the colour I saw appear and I finally managed to see the colour without colour, the vacuum. The process was similar to the Word (AUM) and to the prayer experiences.
The Elder – The divine dimension is extremely subtle. Whatever the approach, it will provide a stateless state.
Theo. – Babuji would say the same thing about sankalpas (suggestions): the sankalpa is gross when it concerns a statement, then it becomes subtler and subtler until the thought is no longer formulated nor even thought of.
The Elder – The most efficient one is the sankalpa that comes directly from your Inner Master and that you emit without even being aware of its contents. It goes directly within the depths of the heart of the meditator, whose soul and subtle bodies will absorb the essence of the sankalpa, which is then bound to succeed according to the Lord’s will.
Theo. – Does it mean that we don’t know what such a subtle sankalpa may contain and that we might not even see its results? How surprising!
The Elder – Maybe, but the result will be inevitable and perfect. Sometimes, we may be given the opportunity to remain conscious and witness the process all along. We actually are the Lord’s mere witnesses.
Feeling puzzled, Theo got ready for it:
– I’m interested.
The Elder was amused and teased him:
– Who said that it has not already happened?
Theo (undaunted):
– As a witness, I guess!
The Elder – If you observe the Master, you’ll see that he is God’s best witness. He is a perfect example of doing without doing. And see the results; his action is boundless.
Theo. – In fact, it is a suggestion without suggestion, without words. It becomes easier with the help of pranahuti.
The Elder – To make sure it is efficient, some preceptors emit it with force and power, so that the meditator may feel its effects.
Theo. – You even told me that, when you started, some of them could fall down….
The Elder – … but the Master clarified it immediately: “…do it gently. Gentleness is excellence.” Gentleness means the work is done with love. Is not love God’s shadow?
Theo. – We say the same thing, concerning pranahuti: the forceless force. So, what’s different?
The Elder – If you can feel that pranahuti is a flow that comes from your heart and goes to the meditator’s heart, it is correct; when the work becomes subtle, you can feel that it is no longer a transmission but a resonance, and that its effect is immediate.
Theo. – An effect practically without a cause…
The Elder – The transmitter has retreated before the Divine. He is no longer the doer, not even the observer of the spiritual work in process. He becomes a witness of God’s work. His/her inner eye has only oriented the Divine’s attention, or better said, the Master in him/her has oriented His attention in a certain direction.
Theo. – There are times when I feel it is more a field than a direction.
The Elder – It is a dimension, a level of consciousness.
Theo. (jokingly):
– In the end, the result is the same for you: an actionless action done by a personless person who has erased his/herself to get out of the Divine’s way, with the help of an energy without energy, and all of that without expecting any result! And that’s the way you are going to attract customers, is it?
The Elder (bursting out laughing):
– I’ve already got one, haven’t I? But you are right: no expectation, but side effects such as peace, balance, serenity, and a feeling of love and compassion. That, you see, will sell it more. All the rest is no more than cooking up…
Theo. (hilarious)
– Without cooking!
Theophile the Elder
An excerpt from Dialogs with Theophile the Elder
Theophile the Younger’s Initiation