M. The Chakric Tree
The absorption and synthesis of many Eastern mystical ideas
into a myriad of New Age therapies, olistic psychology, and “tantric sexual ecstasy for the masses” has made the Chakra
system the most salient map of consciousness in Western culture.
The Chakric Tree that comes from the North Indian Tantric
tradition (see Diagram)
)
is most similar in format to
the qabalistic “Tree of the Treasuries of the House of Elohim” (see Diagram) and the Sufi system of seven Latifas
(see Table). In the Chakric Tree, the Chakras are described as
lotuses with varying numbers of petals, upon which stand
specific Sanskrit seed sounds (San. bija). The “fallen” condition
is portrayed in the Chakric Tree by the petals on the lotuses
turned downward. When the Chakric Tree is scended, the petals
of each lotus turn upwards as the consciousness of the traveler
awakens in it.
)
As previously mentioned in Chapter One, the Tantric texts (called Shastra) on the Chakras describe the Chitshakti (energy of consciousness), known as the Goddess Kundalini, as a coiled snake asleep at the base of the Chakric Tree. The Shekhinah of the Qabalah is said to be in exile in the Lower Worlds. The Kundalini and the Shekhinah are two distinctly different allusions for the same thing. The snake of the Kundalini is said to awaken and ascend the Chakric Tree, opening the Chakric lotuses on Her way to unite with Her Husband Shiva in the Ajna Chakra at the forehead. The ascent by the Kundalini is also called the Satchakrabheda, the “Piercing of the Six Centers.” The ascent of the Tree of Life by the Shekhinah is called “Shabat” (tbs, Sabbath). On the Sabbath, Shekhinah ascends the Tree of Life and unites with Her Husband hvhy in the World of Atziluth, thereby transforming the Fallen Tree into the Tree of Perfection.
The Chakras are equated to the mental planes mentioned in the Vedas, as follows:
“Mind in Worldliness” 1st plane - anus, waking state (Muladhara Chakra) 2nd plane - sex organ, dream state (Svadisthana Chakra, T’an Tien in the Taoist Tree) 3rd plane - solar plexus, conscious dream and psychic states. (Manipura Chakra)
“Mind in the Heart” 4th plane - base of sternum; blissful vision of divine beauty, “What is all this!” (Anahata Chakra, Middle Tan in the Taoist Tree) 5th plane - throat; vision of the Universe as a unity in the mind of God. (Visuddha Chakra)
“Face to Face” 6th plane - only thin glass-like partition; God is like a “light in a lantern.” (Ajna Chakra, Upper Tan in the Taoist Tree) 7th plane - perfect absorption and extinction in non-dual consciousness. (Sahasrara Chakra)
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