Ritual

XIII Enlightened Sadhaka. The
opening of the Sahasrara chakra
above the head indicates that the
yogi has attained the peak state of
enlightenment. Maharashtra,
c. 19th century. Gouache on paper.
XIV Priest performing nyasa
with ritual ingredients during the
Kali-puja on Divali, the darkest
night of the year, when the festival
of lights' takes place all over India.
156
(6) Ajna (command) Chakra, situated between the eyebrows,
commands the various states of concentration realized through
meditation. It is a two-petalled white lotus with the letters h and
ksh. In its centre is an inverted white triangle with the white
Itara-linga and the bija mantra Om. The tutelary Sakti is Hakini,
and it is associated with the various cognitive faculties of the
mind.
(7) Sahasrara (thousand) is the 'Lotus of the Thousand Petals'
located about four finger-breadths above the crown of the head;
it is also called Brahmarandhra and is the meeting-place of the
Kundalini Sakti with Pure Consciousness. Its petals are inscribed
with all sound potentials, represented by all the letters of the
Sanskrit alphabet. The tantrika Satyananda Giri explains that
Kundalini has to cross further, through eighteen mahavidyas,
i.e., eighteen energized subtle centres encircling the Sahasrara
region, finally to unite with Siva, in an act known as maithunayoga.
The Sahasrara is the centre of quintessential consciousness where
the integration of all polarities is experienced. It is a centre which
neutralizes all sounds and all colours, integrates all cognitive and
conative functions and embraces the static and dynamic energies of
the various centres into an all-pervasive unity. It is here that the
Kundalini terminates her journey after having traversed the six
chakras: 'It is in this centre that the rupture of plane occurs, that the
paradoxical act of transcendence in passing beyond samsara,
"emerging from time", is accomplished.' A man cannot stay in this
state more than twenty-one days unless the Kundalini reverses her
course and comes down to the relative plane. But this experience
retains its spontaneity and remains an unforgettable event in one's
lifetime.