Ajna Chakra is a chakra that is located at the base of the spine.
The ajna chakra is one of the six psychic centers (chakras) believed to exist in the subtle body, according to various yoga schools and the esoteric ritual tradition known as tantra.
The subtle body is a physiological system that is thought to exist on a separate level of existence than coarse matter yet has certain similarities with it.
- Six chakras, which are pictured as multipetaled lotus flowers flowing approximately down the length of the spine and linked by three vertical channels, make up the subtle body.
- Each chakra has significant symbolic connections, including varying human capabilities, various subtle components (tanmatras), and various seed syllables (bijaksharas) created from Sanskrit alphabet letters, thereby embracing all holy sound.
- The physical abodes of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti (power), the two divine principles through which the whole world came into existence, are located above and below the chakras.
- The homology of macrocosm and microcosm, an important Hindu notion from the time of the mystical writings known as the Upanishads, is therefore the basic premise underpinning this concept of the subtle body.
- The ajna chakra is the sixth and highest of the six chakras, and it is usually counted from the bottom up. It appears in the form of a two-petaled lotus in the forehead, right above the top of the nose.
- The bijaksharas Ham and Ksam, derived from the final two letters of the Sanskrit alphabet, are found on its petals.
- The ajna chakra is linked to the ability to think, which is seen as a uniquely human ability and therefore the most significant human skill.
See Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shakta, 1978, and Philip S. Rawson, The Art of Tantra, 1973, for further details.
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