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Kriya Yoga

Laya means "absorption" or "dissolution". Also known as the yoga of dissolution, this system deals with the psycho-energetic centers (chakras) of the subtle body that run parallel to the spinal cord. Although there is no mention of the chakras in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, they are frequently mentioned in Hatha, Tantra, and Kundalini yoga. Not surprisingly, therefore, when the well-read seekers initially come to Sahaj Marg they often want to know more about them.

The principal chakras (illustrated in In His Footsteps, Vol. 1, p. 64) are:

Mulaadhaara chakra — situated at the sacro-coccygeal plexus
Svaadhishthana chakra — situated at the sacral plexus near the 4th vertebra
Manipuraka chakra — located at the navel
Anahata chakra — situated at the heart
Vishuddhi chakra — situated at the throat (corresponds to point 5 in Sahaj Marg)
Ajna chakra — located between the eyebrows (as it is associated with power, we do not touch upon it directly in Sahaj Marg), and
Sahasrara dal kamal — situated at the crown of the head.

Figure 1. Psycho-Energetic Centers (Chakras) of the Subtle Body

 

In Sahaj Marg, we meditate on the heart-center at the point where one can feel the beat of the physical heart, and not directly on the anahata chakra. Nor do we deal with any of the other chakras individually; rather, they are purified and developed automatically. Finally, unlike in Laya Yoga and other forms, in Sahaj Marg we are not concerned with the importance of the awakening of the kundalini.

In Efficacy of Raja Yoga, Babuji writes that all the chakras (figuratively called "lotuses") are set within the limits of the heart region, which extends almost from the top of the head to the foot. By meditation on the heart, the surroundings of the heart region begin to expand, extending to all the chakras (lotuses) within the body; all chakras begin to glow automatically as a result. As we proceed above these to the mind region, the chakras are all gone and the condition is different.