The manipura chakra is one of the six psychic centers (chakras) thought to exist in the subtle body, according to several schools of yoga and tantra, a secret ritual-based religious practice.
The subtle body is an alternative physiological system that
exists on a separate level of reality than coarse matter yet is related to it.
The six psychic centers are shown as multi-petaled lotus
flowers that run approximately parallel to the spine and are joined by three
vertical channels.
Each chakra has symbolic connotations with various human capabilities,
numerous subtle elements (tanmatras), and various seed syllables (bijaksharas)
derived from Sanskrit alphabet letters, including all holy sound.
The corporeal abodes of Shiva (consciousness) and Shakti
(power), the two divine principles through which the whole cosmos came into
existence, are located above and below these centers.
The homology of macrocosm and microcosm, a key Hindu belief
from the time of the mystical books known as the Upanishads, is the basic
premise underpinning the concept of the subtle body.
The manipura chakra is the third of the six chakras, which
are generally enumerated from the bottom up.
It's shaped like a ten-petaled lotus and is positioned
around the navel.
Each petal contains a seed, in this example the retroflex
consonants "dha" to "pha." The manipura chakra is said to
be the body's seat for the subtle element of fire, whose strength is said to
aid digestion.
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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