Ajna (Sanskrit: आज्ञा,
Ājña, , meaning 'command') is the sixth primary
chakra according to
Hindu tradition.
Description
The Ajna chakra is positioned at the
eyebrow region and has two white
petals, said to represent the psychic
channels, Ida and Pingala, which meet here with the central Sushumna nadi (channel) before rising to the crown chakra,
Sahasrara. These petals also represent the manifest and unmanifest mind, as well as the pineal and pituitary glands. 'Ham' is the letter of the left petal, and 'ksham' is the letter of the right petal, representing
Shiva and
Shakti, respectively. "Pranava Om", the supreme sound, is the bij, or seed mantra of this chakra.
Ajna is considered the chakra of the mind. When something is seen in the
mind's eye, or in a dream, it is being 'seen' by Ajna.
Residing in the chakra is the
deity Ardhanarishvara a hermaphrodite form of
Shiva-
Shakti, symbolising the primordial duality of subject and object, and the deity
Hakini Shakti is also present in this chakra.
In
kundalini yoga, different practices are said to stimulate the Ajna chakra, including
Trataka (steady gazing),
Shambhavi Mudra (gazing at the space between the eyebrows), and some forms of
Pranayama (breath exercises).
Ajna is said to contain
Mantrika shakti.
Alternative names
- In Tantra: Ajita-Patra, Ajna, Ajna-Pura, Ajna-Puri, Ajnamhuja, Ajnapankaja, Bhru-Madhya, Bhru-Madhya-Chakra, Bhru-Madhyaga-Padma, Bhru-Mandala, Bhru-Mula, Bhru-Saroruha, Dwidala, Dwidala-Kamala, Dwidalambuja, Dwipatra, Jnana-Padma, Netra-Padma, Netra-Patra, Shiva-Padma, Triweni-Kamala
- In the Vedas, Upanishads: Ajna, Baindawa-Sthana, Bhru Chakra, Bhruyugamadhyabila, Dwidala
- In the Puranas: Ajna, Dwidala, Trirasna
- In science this place seats the physical location of Pituitary Gland, which is considered as a Master Gland of all endocrine glands. Whose secretion in perfect harmony balances all the other endocrine glands associated with the other Chakras.
See also
