{"id":748,"date":"2020-04-03T16:03:33","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T16:03:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=748"},"modified":"2020-04-03T16:26:43","modified_gmt":"2020-04-03T16:26:43","slug":"the-meaning-of-the-circle-principle-the-cakra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=748","title":{"rendered":"\u00a0The meaning of the circle principle (the cakra)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">According to the\u00a0<em>P\u0101\u1e47ini&#8217;s<\/em> grammar, the term <em>cakra<\/em> comes from the root <span class=\"s1\">\u0915\u0943<\/span> \/\u00a0<em>k\u1e5b,<\/em>\u00a0meaning &#8220;movement&#8221;.\u00a0Abhinavagupta,\u00a0in the\u00a0<em>Tantr\u0101loka<\/em>\u00a0(<em>\u0101hnika<\/em> 19,\u00a0<em>\u015blokas<\/em> 106-107), explains that the term is really from the root <em>k\u1e5b<\/em>, but it also means\u00a0<em>vik\u0101sa<\/em>\u00a0(expansion), <em>t\u1e5bpti<\/em> (satisfaction), <em>pa\u015botkartan\u0101tk\u1e5bti\u015baktita\u1e25<\/em> (what cuts off the fetters and what is the power of activity). Further, he says that the term is connected with the root <span class=\"s1\">\u0915\u0938\u094d<\/span>\u00a0\/\u00a0kas\u00a0or <span class=\"s1\">\u0915\u0903<\/span> \/\u00a0ka\u1e25, which is translated as \u201cwho,\u201d by which denote\u00a0<em>\u0100tman<\/em>, <em>Brahman<\/em>, light and much more\u00a0in different sources. Abhinavagupta chooses the meaning of light, pleasure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Based on these sources, I would deduce the following:\u00a0<em>ka\u1e25<\/em>\u00a0is <em>Brahman<\/em> or\u00a0<em>\u0100tman<\/em>, and <em>\u1e5b<\/em>, which means \u201cmovement\u201d, is\u00a0<em>\u015aakti<\/em>. Since <em>Brahman<\/em> is infinite in nature, no matter what energies emanate from Him, they close on Him forming reverse or circular motions. This also has the principle of movement, repetition \u2013\u00a0<em>japa<\/em>\u00a0in Sanskrit. Since this is natural for\u00a0<em>\u015aakti<\/em> and <em>Brahman<\/em>, it can be called <em>ajapa-japa<\/em>. The circle symbolises infinity, it evenly embraces all sides,\u00a0without emphasis on any one relative to the rest,\u00a0hence probably, the principle of\u00a0<em>vair\u0101gya, <\/em>or\u00a0liberation from fetters (<em>p\u0101\u015ba<\/em>)<em>\u00a0<\/em>comes. Uniformity is possible only when there is a center in a circle or <em>bindu<\/em>, which means\u00a0<em>\u0100tman<\/em>. Accordingly, if you take the <em>cakras<\/em> in the subtle body, then these are different spheres or levels of comprehension of\u00a0<em>\u0100tman<\/em>. For example,\u00a0<em>Gorak\u1e63an\u0101th,<\/em> in the\u00a0<em>Gorak\u1e63a-vacana-sa\u1e43graha<\/em>\u00a0(93-100),\u00a0gives the practice of comprehending the\u00a0<em>\u0100tman<\/em> in each <em>cakra<\/em> of your body. Not only <em>cakras<\/em> are arranged by\u00a0the circle principle, but also channels of the subtle body, the movement of\u00a0<em>pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>\u00a0in the\u00a0<em>i\u1e0d\u0101<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>pi\u1e45gala\u00a0<\/em>occurs in a spiral. The circular movements are harmonious, they generate and accumulate\u00a0<em>pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>, while all \u201cbroken\u201d and \u201cragged\u201d ones (that are reflection of weak control and awareness) \u2013 destroy and waste power. Therefore, the <em>cakra<\/em> or <em>cakras<\/em> are essential elements of our spiritual development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>According to the\u00a0P\u0101\u1e47ini&#8217;s grammar, the term cakra comes from the root \u0915\u0943 \/\u00a0k\u1e5b,\u00a0meaning &#8220;movement&#8221;.\u00a0Abhinavagupta,\u00a0in the\u00a0Tantr\u0101loka\u00a0(\u0101hnika 19,\u00a0\u015blokas 106-107), explains that the term is really from the root k\u1e5b, but it also means\u00a0vik\u0101sa\u00a0(expansion), t\u1e5bpti (satisfaction), pa\u015botkartan\u0101tk\u1e5bti\u015baktita\u1e25 (what cuts off the fetters and &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=748\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71,97,83],"tags":[174,51,75,175,176,173],"class_list":["post-748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cakras","category-tantra","category-yoga","tag-ajapa-japa","tag-cakra","tag-cakras","tag-japa","tag-paini","tag-tantraloka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=748"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":752,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/748\/revisions\/752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}