Gateway to higher consciousness
DR Satish K Kapoor
When Lord Shiva swallowed kalakuta-poison at the churning of the primordial ocean, he neutralized it, out of compassion, in his vishuddha chakra, and came to be called, Nilakantha Mahadeva, the blue-throated Lord of gods.
Getting to know
Located at the throat ( lit. pure), close to the cervical spine nerves, Vishuddha ( lit. pure) chakra corresponds to the laryngeal and carotid plexuses, and is associated with the thyroid gland regulated by a hormone of the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, and parathyroid glands, both influencing metabolism, growth and body equilibrium.
It forms a liaison between Anahata chakra and Ajna chakra – the heart and the mind, the chords of emotion and the voice of reason. If one is unable to express oneself, and has disorders of neck, throat or ears, it is an indication that the energy of Vishuddha chakra is not fully activated.
Diagrammatical form
Vishuddha yantra is a lotus of sixteen petals in different shades of blue — each petal embedded with a Sanskrit vowel that glistens with golden colour. Inside it, is a white circle having a crescent moon at the bottom, and a downward –pointing triangle in the middle. Within the triangle is another white circle guarded by the four-tusked Airavata-elephant. Its ruling god is five-faced Sadashiva, and ruling goddess, Shakini, an aspect of Gauri, called mother of the universe.
Empowering throat-chakra
To empower Vishuddha chakra, one should sit in an easy pose applying udana mudra by bringing all fingers together, except the index-finger. Simultaneously, one should perform Jalandhar bandha by pressing the chin against the collar bone, to push prana vayu- energizing breath, down, so that it can coalesce with apana vayu - descending breath, in the abdomen.
Ujjayi pranayama, ‘the fire-breath’, and yogasana, like shoulder -stand, plow-pose, cobra-pose, camel-pose, fish-pose, and lion-pose, strengthen the vertebrae in the cervical spine, and improve blood circulation. Chanting the seed-syllable HAM (at least 108 times), meditating on the sound of breath, or visualizing the colour blue in silent moments, sets an energy pattern that brings one in resonance with Vishuddha chakra.
In esoteric traditions, the neck is swiftly moved right and left, interspersed with up and down movements, to harness vishuddha chakra for the awakening of psychic powers. Observance of complete mauna or silence on sacred days, applying sacred ash to the throat and consumption of herbs like vacha ( Acorus calamus) or gorakhmundi (Sphaeranthus indicus), are traditional ways to restore the energy of Vishuddha chakra, a portal to the domain of higher consciousness.
(Dr Kapoor is an educationist, historian and spiritualist)
