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a letter on it, which, all combined, form the Sanskrit alphabet or
Verna-mala. In addition to the letters each lotus has a presiding
shakti, or goddess, with a specific shape and colour. The Buddhist
Tantrics recognize only four cakras, or lotuses, beginning at the
umbilical cord and ending in the Usnisa-Kamla (lotus) in the head,
corresponding to sahasrara. The other two correspond to the
anahata and visuddha in the cardiac and laryngeal regions. In some
ancient statues of Buddha the opened Usnisa-Kamala is depicted
by a slight protuberance on the top of the head. The general
impression prevailing at present that there are seven Cakras on the
cerebro-spinal axis is of comparatively recent origin. In the early
Upanishads only one, two, or three centres are mentioned, while in
some texts dealing with kundalini ten, eleven, and even more
cakras are described. The Brhadarnyka-Upanishad (2.1.19 and
4.2.3) mentions only the heart-centre as the seat of origin of the
nadis that carry prana energy to every part of the body. In his
exposition of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Vacaspati Misra (i. 36)
makes mention of the lotus of the Heart and Susumna; and
Patanjali himself (iii. 29) refers to nabhi-cakra as a centre for
concentration. The other cakras mentioned in Tantric texts are
Yonisthana, Lalana, Manas, and Soma Cakras. According to Shiva-
Samhita (ii. 28) besides the six Cakras there are five other centres
with many names. In a comparatively recent Sanskrit work,
Advaita Martanda, no less than twenty cakras are enumerated.
Meditation on any one of the six Cakras, it is said, can lead to the
arousal of Kundalini. Different psychic powers are associated with
each cakra. The lotuses, the letters on their petals, the Bija
Mantras, the presiding Shaktis with their appearance and
accoutrements are clearly mentioned in the ancient texts, and
vividly depicted on the illustrations drawn in ancient times. They
present an intriguing and fascinating study that has largely
contributed to arousing the curiosity of seekers about this form of
Yoga from very ancient times to the present day.
The question that now arises is how far these descriptions of
52 THE SECRET OF YOGA
Cakras, their lotuses, and other accessories correspond to reality
and have a substratum of truth in them. To a scientific mind
acquainted with the anatomy of the human body, the diagrams and
the descriptions would at first sight strike one as the product of a
brain which, to say the least, has lost touch with actuality and lives
in a fantastic realm of dreams. It would dismiss the whole subject
as entirely unscientific and irrational, the fanciful creation of
deluded anchorites or of unscrupulous charlatans to deceive the
credulous. In fact, even in India, the Tantric rites practices have
been and are severely criticized by the followers of Vedic systems
of ritual and worship. In view of this, it is difficult to imagine how
impossible it is for a modern informed mind to reconcile the
descriptions of the ancient masters, relating to the cakras and the
lotuses, with the characteristics of the cerebro-spinal system
contained in modern texts on physiology. It is not, therefore, to be
wondered that the Yoga, dealt with in Tantras labours under a
cloud, and that modern writings on the subject by adhering to
ancient terminology and descriptions, instead of attempting to
present this venerable system within the framework of modern
knowledge, tend to render it more unintelligible and obscure.
In order to establish the existence of the power reservoir of
kundalini on a scientific basis, acceptable to a strictly rational
mind, it is absolutely necessary to explain the existing
discrepancies in the accounts of different authors and to elucidate
and reconcile the apparently fantastic and impossible assertions
about the lotuses and the Cakras in order to clear the cobwebs that
have grown around the subject in the course of the ages. The
ancient, or the present, unrealistic mode of presentation of this
Yoga might result in a progressively diminishing audience for time
to come, and help the writers to maintain the illusion among a
sector of the credulous and uncritical seekers for supernatural. But
it can neither do any real service to this ancient system of religious
discipline nor help to uncover the momentous discovery of the
highest importance that lies concealed under the
KUNDALINI, FACT AND FICTION 53
cloak of weird formulations, fantastic creations and mythical
beings. Considering the general ignorance concerning the basic
facts of physiology prevailing during the past, and the superstitious
awe with which the inexplicable phenomena relating to the mind
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