Vishuddha Chakra

In many schools of yoga, and in the
secret, ritually based religious practice
known as tantra, the vishuddha chakra
is one of the six psychic centers
(chakras) believed to exist in the subtle body. The subtle body is an alternate physiological system, believed to
exist on a different plane than gross
matter, but with certain correspondences to the material body. It is visualized as a set of six psychic centers,
which are visualized as multipetaled
lotus flowers running roughly along
the course of the spine, connected by
three vertical channels. Each of these
chakras has important symbolic associations—with differing human capacities, with different subtle elements
(tanmatras), and with different seed
syllables (bijaksharas) formed from
the letters of the Sanskrit alphabet,
thus encompassing all sacred sound.
Above and below these centers are the
bodily abodes of Shiva (awareness)
and Shakti (power), the two divine
principles through which the entire
universe has come into being. The
underlying assumption behind this
concept of the subtle body is thus the
homology of macrocosm and microcosm, an essential Hindu idea since
the time of the mystical texts known as
the Upanishads.
The six chakras are traditionally enumerated from the bottom up, and the
vishuddha chakra is the fifth. It is visualized as a sixteen-petaled lotus, located
in the region of the throat. The petals
each contain a seed syllable formed
from a letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, in
this case all sixteen of the Sanskrit vowels, the essential connecting elements
for any meaningful speech. On a symbolic level, the vishuddha chakra is associated with the human capacity for
speech and respiration. It is also identified as the bodily seat for the subtle element of space (akasha), through which
hearing is believed to take place. For further information see Arthur Avalon (Sir
John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shakta,
1978; and Philip S. Rawson, The Art of
Tantra, 1973.