Svadhisthana (, IAST: , " Swa means self and " adhishthana means established), is the second primary chakra according to Hinduism Tantrism. This chakra is said to be blocked by fear, especially the fear of death. Opening this chakra can boost creativity, manifested desire and confidence.
Description
Location
Svadhisthana is located two finger-widths above the
Muladhara chakra (Sanskrit: मूलाधार, IAST: Mūlādhāra, English: "root support") or root chakra which is located in the
coccyx (tailbone). Its corresponding
kshetram, or, “place,” in front of the body is barely below the belly button.
Appearance
Svadhishthana is illustrated as a white
Nelumbo nucifera (Nelumbo nucifera). It has six
vermilion-colored petals inscribed with syllables: बं baṃ, भं bhaṃ, मं maṃ, यं yaṃ, रं raṃ and लं laṃ. Inside this lotus is a white crescent moon which represents the water region presided over by the deity
Varuna.
Seed Mantra
The seed mantra, located in the innermost circle, is a moon-white वं vaṃ. Above the mantra that is within the bindu, or dot, is the deity
Vishnu. He is dark blue and wears a yellow
dhoti. He holds a
conch, a
Kaumodaki, a wheel and a lotus. He wears the
shrivatsa mark, and the
kaustubha gem. He is seated either on a pink lotus, or on the divine eagle
Garuda.
His strength is the goddess Rakini. She is black, dressed in red or white and seated on a red lotus. She is commonly depicted with one face and two arms, holding a sword and a shield, or two faced and four armed, and holds a trident, lotus, drum and vajra, or an arrow, skull, drum and axe.
Some schools teach that the divinities of the Svādhishthāna Chakra are Brahmā and Sarasvatī.
Petals
The six petals represent the following modes of consciousness, also known as
:
affection,
pity, feeling of all-destructiveness,
delusion,
disdain, and suspicion.
Characteristics
Svadishtana is often associated with pleasure, sense of oneself, relationships, sensuality and procreation. Its element is water and its colour is orange. It is blocked by Guilt. Svadhishthana is associated with the
Unconscious mind and with
emotion. It is closely related to the
Muladhara in that Muladhara is where the different samskaras (potential
Karmas) lie dormant, and Svadhishthana is where these Samskaras find expression.
Svadhishthana contains unconscious desires, especially sexual desire. It is said[Satyananda Saraswati. Kundalini Tantra] that to raise the Kundalini energy shakti (energy of consciousness) above Svadhishthana is difficult. Many Hindu saints have had to face sexual temptations associated with this chakra.
One who meditates on Svadhishthana is believed to obtain the following siddhis: freedom from enemies, the status of a lord among yogis, eloquence and clarity ("words flowing like nectar in well-reasoned discourse"), loss of fear of water, awareness of astral entities and the ability to taste anything desired for oneself or others.
The Sacral Chakra represents the second stage of human evolution. The Sacral Chakra is where awareness evolves into pure human consciousness. It is the subconscious mind’s seat, storing all of our life events and impressions from the beginning of our existence in the womb. Our karmas are stored in the Root Chakra, but they are triggered in the Sacral Chakra.
The Sacral Chakra’s awakening promotes clarity and personality development. However, we must first cleanse our psyche of undesirable traits. A lotus with six petals is shown in the Sacral Chakra’s symbolic image. Anger, hate, jealousy, cruelty, desire, and pride are the negative qualities that must be conquered. Lethargy, fear, doubt, wrath, jealousy, and greed are some of the basic traits that impede our growth.[ Chakra Guidebook: Sacral Chaka: Healing and Balancing One Chakra at a Time for Health, Happiness, and Peace. (2022) Rohit Sahu ]
Association with the body
It is connected with the sense of taste, (the tongue) and with reproduction (the genitals).
It is often associated with the testes and ovaries. They produce the hormones testosterone or estrogen, which influence sexual behaviors. They are stored in areas where genetic information lies dormant, in the same way that samskaras lie dormant within Svadhisthana.
Practices
Practices in
kundalini yoga to control and balance the energy in Svadhisthana chakra include
vajroli mudra (contraction of the genitals),
ashvini mudra (contraction of the anus), and various
asanas and pranayamas.
Comparison of systems
Vajrayana
The equivalent chakra in the
Vajrayana tantra systems of
Tibet is called the "Secret Place" four fingers below the navel. It is red in colour, with 32 downward pointing spokes. Meditation on this point produces great bliss.
Lataif-E-sitta
According to certain interpretations of
Sufism, the spiritual body of a person is defined as an interconnected system (
Lataif-e-sitta), in which there is an energy center called the
nafs. According to Lataif-e-sitta, the nafs is just below the navel. The nafs incorporates all the elements of a person's "lower self", which is tamed in order to attain closeness to
Allah.
Kabbalah
Western occultists make the
association of Svadhisthana with the
Sephirah Yesod. Yesod is also associated with the sexual organs. Its function in the tree of life is to gather the different energies that have been created in the descent of the tree downwards and distribute them to
Malkuth, the material world, where the energy can find physical expression.
Alternative names
External links
