Chakra

A chakra (/ˈtʃʌkrəˌˈtʃæk-ˌˈtʃɑːk-/;[1] Sanskrit: चक्र, romanized: cakra, lit. 'wheel, circle'; Pali: cakka) is a meditation-aid in the form of a psychic or psychospiritual energy-center in the subtle body, as visualized in a variety of Hindu and Buddhist tantric yoga and meditation practices.[2][3][4]

Medieval Buddhist texts from 8th century CE mention four or five chakras, while Hindu sources have various numbers.[2][3][5] The best-known variant has seven chakras, as described in Sir John Woodroffe's 1919 book The Serpent Power, a rough translation of Pūrṇānanda Yati's Ṣaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa ("Explanation of the Six Chakras," 1577).[6]

Modern Western Occultism views chakras as actual though esoteric energy-centers. This view arose in the 1880s with H. P. Blavatsky and other Theosophists,[7] and was subsequently shaped by Woodroffe's The Serpent Power, and Charles W. Leadbeater's 1927 book The Chakras. Psychological and other attributes, rainbow colours, and a wide range of correspondences with other systems such as alchemy, astrology, gemstones, homeopathy, Kabbalah and Tarot were added later.

  1. ^ Wells, John, ed. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Pearson Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference britchakra was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference grimes100 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lochtefeld2002p137 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Heilijgers-Seelen 1992 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The real story on the chakras
  7. ^ Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Collected Writings vol. XII (Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House, 1980), 616.
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