“The person who focuses intensely and meditates deeply on this charka will gradually destroy the negative effects of all bad actions they have committed, either in their current or previous lives. The practitioner will become a great yogi and jivanmukta, spiritually liberated while still living on this planet. He or she will obtain the 8 great paranormal powers ( siddhis ) and the 32 minor paranormal powers.” (Swami Sivananda)Location: on a physical level, the sixth center of force (Ajna Chakra), is located in the space between the eyebrows. It is also referred to as “the third eye” or ” Shiva ‘s eye”. Ajna Chakra represents the superior mental consciousness, which allows the direct perception of invisible worlds and of the subtler aspects of the manifested universe.
On the physical level: it coordinates the activity of the pituitary gland (hypophisis) and of the cerebellum. The hypophysis together with the hypothalamus constitutes the command system of all other endocrine glands.
On a psychic level: it induces and controls a superior form of intuition, clairvoyance, extra-sensory perceptions, the ability to anticipate certain events that have yet to happen and the instantaneous ability of perceiving all the qualities of any human being.
Characteristics of a harmonious Ajna Chakra: the harmonious activation of Ajna Chakra grants mental insight, telepathic capacities, self-control, mental understanding through intellectual identification and creative intelligence.
A harmonious Ajna Chakra grants a state of unity, of communion with the cosmic laws and of identifying with the spiritual rather than the physical nature of one’s own body.
The mental center of command, influencing intuition and spiritual knowledge, Ajna Chakra is one of the three superior centers of force.
On this level, a sort of inner emancipation occurs through access to the superior planes of existence found in the universe.
The following stage leads a human being to the most refined and elevated of inner perceptions, through the awakening, enhancement and control of his or her mental energies. Ajna Chakra represents the third eye, oriented towards our inner universe and towards the subtle mental aspects of the world. It also allows direct perception of parallel universes.
In the yogic tradition, Ajna Chakra is considered the center of spiritual perception.
The gradual awakening and activation of one’s inner vision on this level means access to certain superior levels of consciousness that we each have the potential to reach but that we cannot even imagine in our current states.
Access to these superior levels of consciousness equals total escape from the limits imposed by the reality we have to deal with every day.
Furthermore, this means evading from the limited concepts of our normal consciousness and focusing on experiences and phenomena that allow us to realize we are one with the Infinite. This also means being able to surpass the barrier of time, space and causality, which are apparently inexorable.
In the traditional yogic view, the role of Ajna Chakra as an inner eye is mostly manifested as the harmonious integration of one’s own being into the universe.
Just as our physical eyes help us establish a certain rapport with exterior things and phenomena, Ajna Chakra helps us establish a rapport with things, entities and phenomena manifested in the astral and mental planes of existence.
The person who knows how to focus on Ajna Chakra, the space located in the middle of the forehead and between the eyebrows, also gains a new perspective on the principles and concepts of time, space and causality.
Inner focus on Ajna Chakra helps a human being achieve an extraordinary level of evolution in which the apparent multiplicity of events and phenomena can be simultaneously perceived in a harmonious and perfectly integrated vision.
The superior, ideal state that characterizes this center of force is the awakening of the consciousness that brings with it deep intuition and understanding about all things.
The real opening of the third eye equals the combination of analysis and discrimination, characterizing the right hemisphere of the brain, with the opening of and direct access to the intuitive world, characterizing the left hemisphere of the brain.
This means ending both sterile intellectualization and the superstition of fantasy like “premonitions”. The awakening of Ajna Chakra is the harmonious union of these two ways of knowledge into one.
On the path of spiritual evolution, the devotee who aspires to reach supreme perfection will gradually progress through various mental levels, which are identified by the great yogis as follows: the ordinary mental, the superior mental, the illuminated mental, the intuitive mental and the supra-mental.
These different levels correspond to deeper and deeper awakenings of the consciousness and allow access to increasingly elevated mental levels.
From a fragmented vision of reality, one can gradually reach a sublime overall view. On this superior level, there is a constant state of enthusiasm and happiness, accompanied by a spontaneous blossoming of one’s own creative capacities.
It is also known that the awakening and harmonious activation of Ajna Chakra leads to control of the sexual energies corresponding to the second center of force, Svadhishthana Chakra.
The perception corresponding to the sixth center of force is a global, unifying and divine one. The person that reaches this high level of consciousness contemplates phenomena, things and creatures not only by their appearances, but also by their essence, understanding their very source of being and manifestation.
“Each time I try to describe the spiritual states and visions I experience when I pass through this place Vishuddha Chakra) and attempt to climb higher, at the very moment I think about them, my mind seems to evaporate into the infinite and makes any description of this level impossible.However, in the case in which a certain person reaches the level of consciousness belonging to Ajna Chakra, remains focused there, then that person has the direct knowledge of the Supreme Self (Atman) . For this person, there is only a transparent veil, like silk, separating him/her from the Supreme Self.
The Supreme Self is so close then, that one might think they are one with It. Even so, the total union with God has not happened yet, but it is extremely close and will follow soon.” (Ramakrishna)
For a better understanding of this center of force, we have prepared a set of terms:
Genius – gift inherited from a previous existence, exceptional creative mental capacity in a field. In ancient times, genius usually meant, as Socrates confesses before the Athenian court, that inner voice that guides the existential trajectory of special people.
Later on, genius referred to the unique vocation in performing certain works of art, works that are close to perfection, competing with the perfection of nature itself. The works of Mr. Kant include the usually include the term genius in the aforementioned way.
It usually designates the highest degree of natural endowment, with spontaneity, fantasy, intelligence and the capacity of understanding the deeper meaning of the world coupled with self-giving, sensitivity, intuition and so on.
Intelligence – a term that characterizes the insight and the characteristic function of the mind to quickly establish connections between various aspects of manifestation. This is also what the etymology of the word “intelligence” suggests: “inter-legere”, uniting two senses, that of discriminating and that of connecting.
Self-control: the mechanism and the mental capacity of following one’s own behavior, especially of one’s impulsive reactions, to ponder, change or stop these reactions and to come back to normal. Self-control is a fundamental aspect of yoga.
Objectivity, self-criticism and increased exigency are necessary conditions to turn self-observation into an effective means of self-education in the yogic practice.
Introspection: view or perception oriented towards the interior, towards one’s own states and inner experiences. Above all, this term defines a real, genuine phenomenon or dimension of the psyche.
In the perception of the object is also included the self-perception of the observer. In the knowledge of the world is also implied the knowledge of one’s self. Self-awareness and the awareness of the world are impossible to be separated. The inner experiences reunite the inner part of one’s own being with the outer part.
Introspection is an important method in yoga, because with it one becomes aware of, and can examine and describe one’s own mental and inner spiritual experiences. Through superior introspection, the human being can easily reach the revelation of the Supreme Self (Atman).
AJNA CHAKRA - Table
| Terminology | Tantric | ajna, ajita-patra, ajna-pura, ajna-puri, ajnamhuja, ajnapankaja, jnana-padma, dwidala, dwidalambuja, dwidala-kamala, dwipatra, bhru-saroruha, triweni-kamala, netra-padma, netra-patra, bhru-mandala, bhru-madhya, bhru-madhyaga-padma, bhru-madhya-chakra, bhru-mula, shiva-padma |
| Vedic (late Upanishads) | ajna, bhru chakra, bhruyugamadhyabila, baindawa-sthana, dwidala | |
| Puranic | ajna, dwidala, trirasna | |
| Position | externally, eyebrow-region | |
| Petals | number | two |
| colour | white, lightning-like | |
| Matrika-letters | on petals | two in number: Hang Kshang, arranged from right to left |
| colour | white, golden, variegated, shining | |
| In the pericarp | power Hakini | |
| Concentration form of Hakini | Hakini is moon-white, white, a mixture of white-black-red, dark-blue, or red in colour; she has one, two, three, four, five or six laces; six faces of red colour; three-eyed; six-armed, holding a book, a skull, a drum, and a rudraksha rosary, and making the gestures of granting boons and of dispelling fear; holding a rudraksha rosary, a drum, a skull, a book, and a bow, and showing the mudra; holding a skull, a spear, and a shield, and making the gestures of granting boons and of dispelling fear; two-armed; clad in red raiment with the white upper garment; seated on a white lotus | |
| In the pericarp above Hakini | a triangle | |
| Within the triangle | Itara-linga | |
| colour | moon-white, golden, red | |
| Above Itara-linga | a triangle pranava (Ong) [=AUM] in the triangle | |
| colour | moon-white | |
| Above pranawa-bindu | subtle manas (manas 2) (in bindu pitha) | |
| Above Manas 2 | nada (manas chakra) | |
| colour | shining white | |
