Savitri Simpson - Chakras for Starters: Unlock the Hidden Doors to Peace & Well-Being

Copyright 2002 Hansa Trust
All rights reserved

ISBN13: 978-1-56589-156-2
eISBN13: 978-1-56589-607-9

Cover photo by Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters)
Cover design by C. A. Starner Schuppe

Printed in USA

Crystal Clarity Publishers
14618 Tyler Foote Road
Nevada City, CA 95959

800.424.1055 or 530.478.7600
www.crystalclarity.com
clarity@crystalclarity.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Simpson, Savitri, 1944-

Chakras for starters : unlock the hidden door to peace and well-being / Savitri Simpson ; based on the teachings of J. Donald Walters.

p. cm.

ISBN 1-56589-156-2

1. Chakra (Hinduism) 2. Meditation--Hinduism. 3. Yoga. I. Walters, J. Donald. II. Title.

BL1215.C45 S55 2002

131--dc21

2002010815

Savitri Simpson has taught classes and workshops on the chakras for over 35 years. She serves as a counselor, minister, and teacher at Anandas Expanding Light Yoga and Meditation Retreat, where she has also served as director of the Ananda Yoga Teacher Training Program and the Ananda Meditation Teacher Training Program. She has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Baylor University, Waco, Texas. In addition to her primary devotion to yoga, meditation and all related subjects, she is a musician, herb gardener, gourmet vegetarian cook, and nature lover. She lives with her husband Sudarshan, in their dome-home at Ananda Village, near Nevada City, California.

Much of the material in Chakras for Starters is based on the books, lessons, and audio tapes of Swami Kriyananda (J. Donald Walters.) For over 60 years, Swami Kriyananda lectured and wrote on yoga, meditation, and other related spiritual topics. He was a direct disciple of the great yoga master, Paramhansa Yogananda, upon whose teaching this book and all of his works are based. The subject of the chakras and how they work appears in many of his lectures and books; but until now, they have never been brought together in one place.

For over 30 years I have had the great privilege of being Swami Kriyanandas student, striving to absorb his teaching and through him the teachings of his (and my) guru, Paramhansa Yogananda, reading all his books, studying his lessons, and listening to every tape I could un-earth from the massive Ananda archives. Swami Kriyanandas teachings on the chakras are truly remarkable in their clarity, humor, and practicality; in these teachings he has been able to present some of the deeper and more esoteric teachings of yoga in a way which is simple and easily applicable to ones daily life. It has been my great honor and joy to help bring Chakras for Starters into existence.

I would like to thank the following people for their help in this project: Jyotish and Devi Novak, Julie Morgan, Sean Meshorer, Latika Parojinog, Roy Gugliotta, Lakshman Heubert, Dharmadas and Nirmala Schuppe, Sarah Brink, and my husband, Sudarshan Simpson, along with all my fellow gurubais, friends, and students on the path of Self-realization.

I offer this book with love and humility at the feet of the Omnipresent Spirit, which is within us all.

Savitri Simpson

Ananda Village

Nevada City, California

CHAPTER ONE

The Seven Gates to Freedom

Who is in my temple?

All the doors do open themselves,
All the lights do light themselves,
Darkness like a dark bird,
Flies away, O flies away.

From a poem by Rabindranath Tagore, set to music by Paramhansa Yogananda in Cosmic Chants, 1938

Chakra is a Sanskrit word literally meaning wheel or circle. In a deeper sense the word describes the whirlpools or vortices of energy located along the central axis of our bodies, in the deep or astral spine. The chakras are a part of what might be called our spiritual anatomy. Just as there is an anatomy to the physical body and maps of the physical world, so also there is a definite anatomy of our spiritual beings, as well as maps and guideposts to follow along the path of inner awakening. If we understand this spiritual anatomy, then we will find it much easier to advance in our search for God.

For example, the point between the eyebrows (the sixth chakra) is that part of the body where the mind becomes focused in concentration and ultimately in ecstasy. Perhaps youve noticed the unconscious tendency people have to knit their brows, or frown, when engrossed in a project or making an important point in conversation. At times like this, if we consciously put our attention at that point, we discover that the mind actually does become focused there. This is one of the central truths of yoga.

Yoga is a continuous tradition of teachings and techniques that help the ascending soul to understand that there are higher levels of consciousness that transcend lower levels of awareness. Generally speaking, information about the chakras comes from India and from the ancient science of yoga. Yoga is a true and universal teaching, yet yoga does not have a corner on truth. Anyone who finds spiritual freedom or oneness with God, no matter whether they are from an Eastern or Western background, discovers the same truths. Yogas unique value lies in its scientific approach to finding God, based on an ancient tradition of experimentation. It offers nonsectarian guidance and wisdom for those seeking higher awareness, based on centuries of experience.

Spiritual awakening is not a vague, mystical experience. All true teachings, although some less specifically than yoga, point to very particular realities. As an example of this, we find statements in every scripture that say that heaven is above and hell is below. But no telescope has ever shown us angels flying around in outer space. Nor has any deep well-drilling equipment brought up screaming and protesting demons. Heaven and hell are not up and down objectively speakingwhat is up for us is down for people in Australia. This concept has no cosmic relevance, but it does have infinite relevance for the individual.

We can easily see this relevance in our instinctive responses to life. When we feel uplifted or high, or downcast or low, we use expressions which reflect these feelings. Spiritual awakening implies raising of energy and consciousness in the body. And hellish consciousness, materialistic consciousnessthat which takes us away from joy and down into suffering and painis always a descent. Isnt it true that every time we feel wonderful, we experience a rising energy inside ourselves, and we look up?

You never see people smiling and looking upward, saying, I feel so depressed. Likewise, you dont see people slumping, looking down and droopy, saying I feel so happy. Quite the contrary, for these physical reactions are manifestations of universal truths, based on the way we are made. What yoga does is particularize these truths by showing that outer experiences of joy or sadness are caused by energy moving in the deep spine. But yoga doesnt teach this concept as a dogma. It says: Try it! Experience it! For everyone who has tried it, has experienced it.