The Chakras, A MONOGRAPH BY C. W. Leadbeater

[Luxibis]

Source pdf, Source internet archive

WHEN a man begins to develop his senses, so that he may see a little more than everybody sees, a new and most fascinating world opens before him, and the chakras are among the first objects in that world to attract his attention.

His fellow-men present themselves under a fresh aspect; he perceives much with regard to them which was previously hidden from his eyes, and he is therefore able to understand, to appreciate and (when necessary) to help them much better
than he could before.

Their thoughts and feelings are expressed clearly before his eyes in colour and form; the stage of their development, the condition of their health become obvious facts instead of mere matters of inference. The brilliant colouring and the rapid and incessant movement of the chakras bring them immediately under his observation, and he naturally wants to know what they are and what they mean.

THE THREE SPINAL CHANNELS

Of these three currents which flow in and around the spinal cord of every human being Madame Blavatsky writes as follows in The Secret Doctrine: The Trans-Himalayan school locates Sushumna, the chief seat of these three Nadis, in the central tube of the spinal cord. Ida and Pingala are simply the sharps and flats of that Fa of human nature, which, when struck in a proper way, awakens the sentries on either side, the spiritual Manas and the physical Kama, and subdues the lower through the higher.  It is the pure Akasha that passes up Sushumna; its two aspects flow in Ida and Pingala. These are three vital airs, and are symbolized by the Brahmanical thread. They are ruled by the Will. Will and Desire are the higher and lower aspects of one and the same thing. Hence the importance of the purity of the canals From these three a circulation is set up, and from the central canal passes into the whole body.

Ida and Pingala play along the curved wall of the cord in which is Sushumna. They are semi-material, positive and negative, sun and moon, and start into action the free and spiritual current of Sushumna. They have distinct paths of their own, otherwise they would radiate all over the body. 

In The Hidden Life in Freemasonry I referred to a certain Masonic use of these forces as follows: It is part of the plan of Freemasonry to stimulate the activity of these forces in the human body, in order that evolution may be quickened. The stimulation is applied at the moment when R. W. M. creates, receives and constitutes; in the First Degree it affects the Ida or feminine aspect of the force, thus making it easier for the candidate to control passion and emotion; in the Second Degree it is the Pingala or masculine aspect which is strengthened, in order to facilitate the control of mind; but in the Third Degree, it is the central energy itself, the Sushumna, which is aroused, thereby opening the way for the influence of the pure spirit from on high. It is by passing up through this channel of the Sushumna that a yogi leaves his physical body at will in such a manner that he can retain full consciousness on higher planes, and bring back into his physical brain a clear memory of his experiences. The little figures below give a rough indication of the way in which these forces flow through the human body; in a man the Ida starts from the base of the spine just on the left of the Sushumna and the Pingala on the right (be it understood that I mean the right and left of the man, not the spectator); but in a woman these positions are reversed. The lines end in the medulla oblongata. 

The spine is called in India the Brahmadanda, the stick of Brahma; and the drawing given in Fig. 4(d) shows that it is also the original of the caduceus of Mercury, the two snakes of which symbolize the kundalini or serpent-fire which is presently to be set in motion along those channels, while the wings typify the power of conscious flight through higher planes which the development of that fire confers. Fig. 4(a) shows the stimulated Ida after the initiation into the First Degree; this line is crimson in colour. To it is added at the Passing the yellow line of the Pingala, depicted in Fig. 4 (b); while at the Raising the series is completed by the deep blue stream of the Sushumna, illustrated by Fig. 4 (c). Fig 4 The Spinal Channels The kundalini which normally flows up these is specialized during this upward passage, and that in two ways. There is in it a curious mingling of positive and negative qualities which might almost be described as male and female. On the whole there is a great preponderance of the feminine aspect, which is perhaps the reason why in the Indian books this force is always spoken of as she, also perhaps why a certain chamber in the heart where kundalini is centred in some forms of yoga is described in The Voice of the Silence as the home of the Worlds Mother. But when this serpent-fire issues from its home in the root chakra and rises up the three channels which we have mentioned it is noteworthy that the section rising through the channel Pingala is almost wholly masculine, whereas that rising through the channel Ida is almost wholly feminine.

The large stream passing up the Sushumna seems to retain its original proportions. The second differentiation which takes place during the passage of this force up the spine is that it becomes intensely impregnated with the personality of the man. It seems to enter at the bottom as a very general force and to issue forth at the top as definitely this particular mans nerve-fluid carrying with it the impress of his special qualities and idiosyncrasies, which manifest themselves in the vibrations of those spine-centres which may be considered as the roots from which spring the stems of the surface chakras.

[Luxibis]

Mystic Wolf , If you want, share on what systems did you study chakras? Very interesting job options.

[Mystic Wolf]

Love the chakric information here. I too enjoy working with the chakras, meditations, and the meridians. Great materials!