Muladhara Chakra

The Sanskrit word moola means ‘root or foundation’ and that is precisely what this chakra is. Mooladhara is at the root of the chakra system and its influences are at the root of our whole existence. The impulses of life rise through the body and flower as the widest expansion of our awareness in the area known as sahasrara. It seems a great paradox that this earthiest and most basic of the chakras guides us to the highest consciousness.

In Samkhya philosophy, the concept of mooladhara is understood as moola prakriti, the transcendental basis of physical nature. The whole universe and all its objects must have some basis from which they evolve and to which they return after dissolution. The original source of all evolution is moola prakriti. Mooladhara, as the basis of moola prakriti, is responsible for everything that manifests in the world of name and form. In tantra, mooladhara is the seat of kundalini shakti, the basis from which the possibility of higher realization arises. This great potential is said to be lying dormant in the form of a coiled serpent. When aroused, it makes its way upward through sushumna nadi in the spinal cord until it reaches sahasrara where the ultimate experience of enlightenment occurs. Therefore, the awakening of mooladhara is considered to be of great importance in kundalini yoga.

The location point

The seat of mooladhara in the male body is located slightly inside the perineum, midway between the scrotum and the anus. It is the inner aspect of that nerve complex which carries all kinds of sensations and is immediately connected with the testes. In the female body, mooladhara chakra lies on the posterior side of the cervix. In both the male and female bodies, there is a vestigial gland at mooladhara chakra which is something iike a knot. In Sanskrit this is known as brahma granthi; the knot of Brahma. As long as this knot remains intact, the energy located in this area is blocked. But the moment the knot is opened, shakti awakens. It is only when the individual awakens to the possibility of divine consciousness, to a greater force and purpose than that of instinctive animal life, that the brahma granthi begins to loosen. Consciousness begins to be liberated from the root center as the individual’s aspiration awakens. Many people feel hesitant and shy about believing kundalini is in mooladhara chakra and claim it to be in manipura, because they don’t want to associate this holy kundalini shakti with the unholy sexual system. However, scientific investigation shows that this tiny gland in mooladhara chakra contains infinite energy and many psychic and spiritual experiences originate from mooladhara. Just because mooladhara is situated in the sexual region, this does not make it an impure center.

Traditional symbology

Mooladhara chakra is traditionally represented by a lotus flower with four deep crimson petals. On each petal is a letter: vam, sham, sham, sam, written in gold. In the pericarp is a yellow square, symbol of the earth element, surrounded by eight golden spears - four at each corner and four at the cardinal points. These are said to represent the seven Kula mountains on the base spear of earth. The golden yellow square, yantra of the earth element, is supported by an elephant with seven trunks. The elephant is the largest of all land animals and possesses great strength and solidity. These are the attributes of mooladhara - a great, dormant power, resting in a completely stable, solid place. The seven trunks of the elephant denote the seven minerals that are vital to physical function; in Sanskrit they are known sapta dhatu. The seven trunked elephant is the vehicle of the great mind, the great creativity. Riding on the elephant’s back, in the center of the square, is a deep red inverted triangle. This is the symbol of shakti or creative energy, which is responsible for the productivity and multiplicity of all things. Within the triangle is the swayambhu or dhumra linga, smoky grey in color. Around this linga, which represents the astral body, kundalini is coiled three and a half times, her luster being that of lightning. Three represents the three gunas or qualities of nature in an individual. As long as the three gunas are operating, individuality is functioning within the confinements of ego. The half represents transcendence. In tantra this coiled serpent is known as mahakala, great or endless time. Here kundalini is lying in the womb of the unconscious, beyond time and space. When kundalini begins to manifest, it enters the dimensions of personality and individuality, and becomes subject to time and space. That is the awakening of the great serpent power within the individual form, frame and consciousness of the human being. However, in most people it is dormant. In its awakened state kundaiini shakti represents our spiritual potential, but in its dormant state it represents that instinctive level of life which supports our basic existence. Both possibilities lie in mooladhara. Resting on top of the inverted triangle is the bija mantra lam. Inside the bindu, over the mantra, reside the elephant deva Ganesha and the devi Dakini,who has four arms and brilliant red eyes. She is resplendent like the luster of many suns rising at the same time. She is the carrier of ever pure intelligence. The tanmatra or sense associated with mooladhara is smell, and it is here that the psychic smells are manifested. The gyanendriya or sensory organ is the nose, and the karmendriya, organ of activity, is the anus. Mooladhara awakening is often accompanied by itchy sensations around the coccyx or anus, and the sense of smell becomes so acute that offensive odors are difficult to bear. Mooladhara is the direct switch for awakening ajna chakra. It belongs to bhu loka, the first plane of mortal existence and it is the chief center of apana. Mooladhara is also the seat of annamaya kosha, the body of nourishment, connected with the absorption of food and evacuation of feces. By meditating on kundalini in mooladhara chakra, a man becomes lord of speech, a king among men and an adept in all kinds of learning. He becomes ever free from all diseases and he remains cheerful at all times. Balancing the nadis Mooladhara is the base from which three main psychic channels or nadis emerge and flow up the spinal cord. It is said that ida, the mental force, emerges from the left of mooladhara; pingala, the vital force, from the right; and sushumna, the spiritual force, from the center. According to tantra, this emanation point is highly volatile. When the positive and negative forces of ida and pingala are completely balanced, an awakening is sparked off here which arouses the dormant kundalini. Usually, this state of balance between ida and pingala nadis can only be achieved sporadically and for short durations. This may be sufficient to trigger off an awakening, but only a mild one, in which kundalini rises as far as swadhisthana or manipura, and then drops back down to mooladhara again. Therefore, the hatha yoga practices, particularly those of pranayama, are very important in kundalini yoga, because they purify and rebalance the psychic flows. Once the state of balance between ida and pingala becomes steady and ongoing, the awakening engendered in mooladhara becomes explosive, and kundalini rises with great force, overcoming all obstacles on its path until it reaches its ultimate destination in sahasrara. Pranotthana versus kundalini Many people have experiences in meditation when they feel the shakti rising through the spinal cord from mooladhara to the brain. However, in most cases, this is not the awakening of kundaiini, but a release of pranic force called pranotthana. This preliminary awakening starts from mooladhara and ascends the spinal cord via pingala nadi, only partially purifying the chakras until it reaches the brain where it is usually dispersed. In this type of awakening the experience of shakti is rarely sustained. However, it does prepare the aspirant for the eventual awakening of kundalini, which is something altogether different and more powerful. After the awakening of kundalini, the individual will never be the same again. Here there is an ascent of force accompanied by a psychic awakening which is permanently accessible. Even though it may fall back again, the potential will always be there. Mooladhara and sexual expression Awakening of mooladhara chakra is very important, firstly because it is the seat of kundalini, and secondly, as it is the seat of great tamas. All the passions are stored in mooladhara, all the guilt, every complex and every agony has its root in mooiadhara chakra. This chakra is physiologically related to the excretory, urinary, sexual and reproductive organs. It is so important for everybody to awaken this chakra and get out of it. Man’s life, his desires, his actions and his accomplishments, are controlled by the sexual desires, and whatever we do in life is an expression of that lower chakra. Our lower samskaras and karmas are embedded there, as in lower incarnations, one’s whole being is founded on the sexual personality. Dr. Sigmund Freud has also emphasized this point. He said that one’s selection of clothing, food, friends, home furnishing and decor, etc., everything is influenced by his sexual awareness. All the schizophrenics and neurotics and many crazy people who are ridden with guilt and complexes are people who have not been able to get the shakti out of mooladhara chakra. As a result of this, their lives are imbalanced. Sexual fulfillment and sexual frustrations control our life. If sexual urges are removed from life, everything will change. Often we react to sexual life on account of bitter experiences and we vow not to follow the same path again. We are fed up and on account of that we say, ‘No more’. But this is no solution, it’s only a reaction and not the permanent structure of our mind. Unless mooladhara chakra is purified, its corresponding center in the brain will always remain tamasic. We can live the same type of life as we do today, but we can make it much better. Sexual relationships are not a sin, but the consciousness must awaken and the purpose of the whole act must be transmuted. It is clearly stated in tantra that the purpose of the sexual act is threefold, and these threefold purposes depend on the level and frequency of one’s mind. Some people practise it for procreation, because that’s where their mind is at. Others practise it for pleasure only; that’s the level of their mind. And some people practise it to open the window to samadhi. They don’t care for procreation or the fulfillment of passion, they are only concerned with awakening an experience and sublimating it. Through that experience they open the higher centers. So those who practise the normal sexual act must awaken mooladhara chakra first. Also, through the sexual act, a female can awaken mooladhara and swadhisthana chakras if her partner is a yogi. Generally, for these chakras to awaken in a man’s body, he will have to practise kriya yoga and techniques such as vajroli. There is another important thing we should all understand. A person who has controlled his lower impulses, a yogi who is practising higher sadhana, doesn’t have to give up his or her partner and the marital relationship. If you think to be a yogi you must give up sex, why don’t you also give up eating and sleeping? Yoga has nothing to do with giving up these things; it is only concerned with transforming their purpose and meaning. The greatest mistake mankind has been making for thousands of years is that man has been fighting with himself. He wants to renounce sex but he has not been able to do it. Therefore it is important that mooladhara awakening takes place. Then you must make your mind totally free. Managing mooladhara awakening When awakening takes place in mooladhara as the result of yoga practice or other spiritual disciplines, many things explode into conscious awareness in the same way that an erupting volcano pushes to the surface things that were hidden beneath the earth. With the awakening of kundaiini there is simultaneous awakening of things from the unconscious field of human existence which one may not have had prior conscious knowledge of whatsoever. When mooladhara awakens, a number of phenomena occur. The first thing many practitioners experience is levitation of the astral body. One has the sensation of floating upward in space, leaving the physical body behind. This is due to the energy of kundaiini whose ascending momentum causes the astral body to disassociate from the physical and move upward. This phenomenon is limited to the astral and possibly mental dimensions, and this differs from what is normally called levitation - the actual displacement of the physical body. Besides astral levitation, one sometimes experiences psychic phenomena such as clairvoyance or clairaudience. Other common manifestations include movements or increasing warmth in the area of the coccyx, or a creeping sensation, like something moving slowly up the spinal cord. These sensations result from the ascension of shakti or the awakened kundalini. In most cases, when the shakti reaches manipura chakra, it begins to descend to mooladhara again. Sometimes the practitioner feels that the energy ascends to the top of the head, but usually only a very small portion of the shakti is able to pass beyond manipura. Repeated earnest attempts are necessary for further ascension of kundalini, but once kundalini passes manipura, serious obstacles are rarely encountered. However, when kundalini is ascending from mooladhara to swadhisthana, the sadhaka experiences a crucial period in which all his repressed emotions, especially those of a more primal nature, express themselves. Passions mount during this period and all kinds of infatuations ensue, making the sadhaka extremely irritable and unstable at times. He can be seen sitting quietly in contemplation one moment and hurling objects at someone the next. One day he may sleep deeply for hours together, another day he may get up at one or two in the morning to take bath and meditate. He becomes very passionate, loud and talkative, while at other times he is silent. At this stage the sadhaka often expresses a great fondness for singing. During this period of intense psychic and emotional upheaval, the guidance of a qualified and understanding guru is essential. Although some people may regard this emotional turmoil as the indication of a great fall, the guru will assure the aspirant that it is an essential part of spiritual life which will accelerate his evolution. If this explosion doesn’t take place, the same purging process will still occur, but very slowly, as problems arise and work themselves out life after life. Mooladhara is one of the most important and exciting, but also disturbing of the psychic centers which are awakened through the practices of kundalini yoga. For this reason, the awakening of ajna chakra should always accompany mooladhara awakening. The mental faculties of ajna chakra give the practitioner an ability to witness the events of mooladhara awakening objectively, with greater understanding. This makes the whole experience less disturbing and traumatic. When ajna is awakened, you will find that mooladhara is the easiest of chakras to awaken. The gross mind can concentrate on this center and manipulate it with ease. As your body and mind begin to break their animal bonds, your awareness expands and you are able to envision the greater possibility of your creative potential.