Skip to main content

Manipura Chakra


John Kaldawi learned that Manipura Chakra is situated in the spine behind the navel.  The word "mani" means 'gem', and "pura" means ' city', therefore, manipura means 'city of jewels'.  It is so-called because, being the fire center, it is lustrous like jewel and radiant with vitality and energy.  This chakra is depicted as a bright yellow lotus with ten petals.  Within the lotus is a fiery red triangle, the yantra of agni tattwa, the fire element, and the beeja mantra ram.  The animal which serves as the vehicle for the manipura is the ram, the symbol of assertiveness and energy.

Manipura is the center of self-assertion, dynamism and dominance.  It is associated with ambition and the will and the ability to rule.  On the negative side, this may be expressed in despotism and in seeing things and people merely as means to gain personal power or to satisfy personal needs.
The solar plexus is the center chiefly concerned with the vital process of digestion and food metabolism.  It governs the functioning of the gastric glands, the pancreas, gall bladder and so on, which produce and secrete enzymes, acids and juices necessary for the digestion and absorption of nutrients.

John Kaldawi also learned that the adrenal glands located above the kidneys are also related to manipura.  They secrete adrenaline into the blood during an emergency situation.  This has the effect of speeding up all the physiological processes, making the mind sharp and alert, the heart beat faster, the heart beat faster, the respiration rate more rapid and so on.  The body is then prepared for a more intense level of activity than normal in what is commonly called the 'fight or flight' reaction.  Those people who suffer from sluggishness and depression or malfunctions of the digestive system, such as diabetes and indigestion, should concentrate on manipura chakra and try to feed energy radiating from this region.

Doing more research, John Kaldawi learned that for concentration on this center, visualize the blazing sun or a ball of fire.  Experience energy in the form of light radiating from this region and permeating the whole body.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Zen Buddhism:

John Kaldawi was inspired by Zen Buddhism which is at the heart of the Japanese culture as the school of Mahayana Buddhism.   It is a practice that is transmitted directly from a master to a disciple.   It is also called ZaZen, Za for sitting and Zen for meditating, and is also called the journey of self discovery.   It is the experience of living from moment to moment, in the here and the now.   It is the attitude of spiritual awakening which is also the source of all actions of daily life flow like eating, breathing, sleeping, working, walking, thinking, etc... Doing more research, John learned that Zen is not a theory, or an idea or knowledge, not a moral teaching, and does not require one to believe in anything, but rather a practical experience.   One cannot intellectually learn Zen because the mind in limited.   It is a spiritual path that does not tell people what to believe, but Zen lead them to basically not to think. John Kaldawi als...

Pranic currents and the breath

John Kaldawi learned that the pranic currents, ida, pingala and sushumna, operate alternately.  The current that is flowing at any particular time may be gauged by noting the flow of breath in the nostrils.  When the left nostril has a greater flow of air, then ida nadi is predominant.  When the flow is greater in the right nostril, then pingala is predominant.  If the flow is equal in both of the nostrils, then sushumna is predominant. Doing more research, John Kaldawi learned that when the right nostril (pingala) flows, there is more vital energy for physical work, digestion of food and so on.  The mind is extroverted and the body generates more heat.  When the left nostril (ida) is flowing, mental energy is dominant.  The mind is introverted and any kind of mental work may be undertaken. During sleep ida nadi flows.  If pingala flows at night, sleep will be restless and disturbed.  Likewise, if ida flows while taking food, the ...

Kundalini Shakti (Macrocosmic Energy)

John Kaldawi learned that in the Upanishads it is said, "A man may have ears, eyes, and all facilities and parts of the body, but unless he has mahaprana there is no consciousness."   Prana is both macrocosmic and microcosmic and is the substratum of all life.   Mahaprana (the great prana) is the cosmic, universal, all-encompassing energy out of which we draw substance through the breathing process.   The various pranas in the body, prana, aprana, samana, udana and vyana, are at once a part of this mahaprana and also separate from it. The cosmic manifestation of prana or mahaprana in the individual body is represented by Kundalini.   The entire cosmic experience from creation to dissolution is embedded within the folds of kundalini, hence it is known as atma shakti or universal energy.   In all living beings the divine consciousness is first converted into prana or energy and, as kundalini is reservoir for the magnanimous amount of prana, it is also ...