Ajna

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Ajna (Ājña is the sixth primary chakra according to Hindu tradition.

Description

Ajna, ('command' in Sanskrit) is positioned at the eyebrow region and it has two petals, said to represent the psychic channels Ida and Pingala, which meet here with the central Shushumna channel, before rising to the crown chakra, Sahasrara. On the left hand petal is the letter 'ham', and on the right the letter 'ksham', the bija mantras for Shiva and Shakti respectively.

It is here that all energies of the body meet up and become one, and meditation on this chakra is said to bring about the dissolution of the individual mind into the cosmic mind.

Manas, the subtle mind, is said to be here, and Ajna is considered the chakra of the mind. When something is seen in the mind's eye, or in a dream, it is being 'seen' by Ajna. A developed Ajna is said to bring about extraordinary intuition, and the ability to see the underlying reasons behind everything.

Residing in the chakra, according to some beliefs, is the deity Ardhanarishvara a hermaphrodite form of Shiva-Shakti, symbolising the primordial duality of Subject and Object, and the deity Hakini Shakti is also present in this chakra.

Practices

In kundalini yoga, different practices are said to stimulate the Ajna chakra, including Trataka (steady gazing), Shambhavi Mudra (gazing at the space between the eyebrows), and some forms of Pranayama (breath exercises).

Other Associations

In the West, Ajna has been associated with the Pineal gland, a light-sensitive gland in the brain which produces Melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for bio-rhythms in living organisms, such as when to wake, and when to sleep.

Various occultists have tried to make kabbalistic associations with Ajna, and it has been associated variously with the sephirah Kether, Da'at and the primal duality of Chokmah and Binah (who represent a similar archetypal concept to that of Shiva and Shakti in tantric cosmology).

Alternative names

• Tantra: Ajita-Patra, Ajna, Ajna-Pura, Ajna-Puri, Ajnamhuja, Ajnapankaja, Bhru-Madhya, Bhru-Madhya-Chakra, Bhru-Madhyaga-Padma, Bhru-Mandala, Bhru-Mula, Bhru-Saroruha, Dwidala, Dwidala-Kamala, Dwidalambuja, Dwipatra, Jnana-Padma, Netra-Padma, Netra-Patra, Shiva-Padma, Triweni-Kamala
• Vedas, Upanishads: Ajna, Baindawa-Sthana, Bhru Chakra, Bhruyugamadhyabila, Dwidala
• Puranic: Ajna, Dwidala, Trirasna

See also

• Chakra
• Mind's eye
• Pineal gland
• Third eye
• Dimethyltryptamine

External links

• Ajna Chakra on jyotirlinga.com
• Ajna Chakra on adishakti.org
• Agnya Chakra position within the Subtle System
• Description of Ajna Chakra from Kheper.net
• Ajna - The Vision Center by Anodea Judith
• Ajna Center Dream
• Ajna Chakra on tantra-kundalini.com
• A chapter on Ajna chakra from Swami Satyananda's 'Kundalini Tantra'