The secular movement refers to a social and political trend in the United States, beginning in the early years of the 20th century, with the founding of the American Association for the Advancement of Atheism in 1925 and the American Humanist Association in 1941, in which atheists, agnostics, secular humanists, freethinkers, and other nonreligious and nontheisticAmericans have grown in both numbers and visibility. There has been a sharp increase in the number of Americans who identify
as religiously unaffiliated, from under 10 percent in the 1990s to 20
percent in 2013. The trend is especially pronounced among young people, with about one
in three Americans younger than 30 identifying as religiously
unaffiliated, a figure that has nearly tripled since the 1990s.
The
secular movement has involved the rapid growth of national and local
atheist, agnostic, freethinker, and humanist groups, with organizations
such as American Atheists, the American Humanist Association, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, and the Atheist Republic reporting rising membership and like-minded groups appearing in communities around the country. This trend has been aided in part by the Internet, which has allowed atheists and other secularists to connect through blogs and social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Meetup. This has enabled the formation of secular groups even in conservative, Bible Belt areas. National secular groups that once had constituencies of a few thousand
have used social media to attract followings in the hundreds of
thousands.Secular student groups in colleges and high schools have also seen rapid growth. The Secular Student Alliance, a national group formed in 2001, grew from 80 campus affiliates in 2007 to almost 400 in 2013.
In 2014, reflecting an approach similar to the "coming out"
strategy of the gay rights movement, a group called Openly Secular was
formed to encourage nonreligious and nontheistic Americans to speak out.
The group's mission "is to eliminate discrimination and increase
acceptance by getting secular people—including atheists, freethinkers,
agnostics, humanists, and nonreligious people—to be open about their
beliefs." In one video produced for the group, comedian and television personality Bill Maher urged atheists to be open about their religious skepticism, dismissing the Bible as a book "based on ancient myths".
Advertising
The secular movement works to increase the visibility of nonbelievers, including through advertising campaigns. With the number of local secular groups growing, a national group, the United Coalition of Reason,
was formed in 2009 to use advertising as a means of promoting those
groups. It operates by entering a media market and working with local
atheist and humanist groups to form a local "Coalition of Reason", and
then purchasing local advertising, usually billboards or transit ads, to promote that coalition. The group has executed this strategy in over 75 media markets in the United States. Typical ads convey messages such as "Are You Good Without God? Millions
Are" and "Don't believe in God? You are not alone." These ads often
create local controversies, and have sometimes been vandalized.
Political involvement
In 2002, the Secular Coalition for America was formed to lobby on behalf of secular Americans in Washington, D.C. In 2007, as a result of a campaign by the group, Rep. Pete Stark of California became the first open atheist in the United States Congress. In 2013, a political action committee was launched to support
nonreligious political candidates and candidates sympathetic to atheist
and humanist concerns. The Secular Coalition for America claims that over two dozen members of
Congress have privately reported being atheists, but refrain from
openly identifying as such.
Lawsuits
As
America's secular demographic has grown and become more visible and
active, a number of lawsuits have been brought to challenge references
to God and religion in government. These cases have had limited success.
In 2014, courts in Massachusetts and New Jersey
rejected challenges to state laws requiring daily recitation of the
Pledge of Allegiance in public schools. The lawsuits, brought by the
American Humanist Association, claimed that equal protection
guarantees under the respective state constitutions prohibited daily
recitation of the pledge because the "under God" wording discriminated
against atheists. The courts ruled that, because participation in the
exercise is voluntary, the laws do not violate equal protection.
In Town of Greece v. Galloway, the Supreme Court in 2014 rejected a challenge to the use of sectarian prayers by some local legislative bodies. Though seen as a setback for church-state separation, the ruling also
stated that municipalities cannot discriminate against minority faiths
in allowing invocations, and atheists and humanists subsequently used it
to assert their right to participate in the invocation process. Months
after the Galloway ruling, an atheist gave the invocation at a regular meeting of the Town of Greece board.
In March 2012, several national secular groups sponsored a Reason Rally on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., with a lineup of speakers and performers that included Richard Dawkins, Tim Minchin, Bad Religion, and James Randi. The stated purpose of the rally was "to unify, energize, and embolden secular people nationwide". Crowd estimates ranged from 8000 to 30,000. In 2015, organizers announced plans for a second Reason Rally, but did not set a date. The second quadrennial Reason Rally was held on June 4, 2016 at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Connection to New Atheism
New Atheist authors such as Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens
helped give the secular movement momentum, though many American
secularists disagree with the politics and style of the New Atheists. Dawkins has been involved in public disputes with atheist feminists who have criticized remarks he has made about sexual harassment. The New Atheist authors have been highly critical of Islam, connecting
terrorism to the religion of the perpetrators, and many secularists have
denounced such views as Islamophobic. Some within the secular movement, such as the American Humanist Association, have expressed "a strong distaste for efforts to propagate a crusade mentality against Islam". However other prominent figures in the Secular movement disagree, such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who believes that "political correctness is counterproductive" and that we must "acknowledge the issue of Islam."
Scientific skepticism or rational skepticism (also spelled scepticism), sometimes referred to as skeptical inquiry, is a position in which one questions the veracity of claims lacking scientific evidence. In practice, the term most commonly refers to the examination of claims and theories that appear to be unscientific, rather than the routine discussions and challenges among scientists. Scientific skepticism differs from philosophical skepticism,
which questions humans' ability to claim any knowledge about the nature
of the world and how they perceive it, and the similar but distinct methodological skepticism, which is a systematic process of being skeptical about (or doubting) the truth of one's beliefs.
The skeptical movement (British spelling: sceptical movement) is a contemporary social movement based on the idea of scientific skepticism. The movement has the goal of investigating claims made on fringe topics and determining whether they are supported by empirical research and are reproducible, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge".
Scientific skeptics maintain that empirical investigation of reality leads to the most reliable empirical knowledge, and suggest that the scientific method is best suited to verifying results. Scientific skeptics attempt to evaluate claims based on verifiability and falsifiability; they discourage accepting claims which rely on faith or anecdotal evidence.
Paul Kurtz described scientific skepticism in his 1992 book The New Skepticism, calling it an essential part of scientific inquiry. The Skeptics Society describes it as "the application of reason to any and all ideas—no sacred cows allowed." Robert K. Merton introduced Mertonian norms, which assert that all ideas must be tested and are subject to rigorous, structured community scrutiny. Kendrick Frazier said that scientific skeptics have a commitment to science, reason, evidence, and the quest for truth. Carl Sagan
emphasized the importance of being able to ask skeptical questions,
recognizing fallacious or fraudulent arguments, and considering the
validity of an argument rather than simply whether we like the
conclusion. Similarly, Steven Novella
described skepticism as selecting "beliefs and conclusions that are
reliable and valid to ones that are comforting or convenient" and as the
study of "pitfalls of human reason and the mechanisms of deception so
as to avoid being deceived by others or themselves". Brian Dunning called skepticism "the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion.''
Nutritionist Pixie Turner talking about nutrition-related pseudoscience in 2019
Skeptics often focus their criticism on claims they consider
implausible, dubious or clearly contradictory to generally accepted
science. Scientific skeptics do not assert that unusual claims should be
automatically rejected out of hand on a priori
grounds—rather they argue that one should critically examine claims of
paranormal or anomalous phenomena and that extraordinary claims would
require extraordinary evidence in their favor before they could be
accepted as having validity. From a scientific point of view, skeptics judge ideas on many criteria, including falsifiability, Occam's Razor, Morgan's Canon and explanatory power, as well as the degree to which their predictions match experimental results.
Skepticism in general may be deemed part of the scientific method; for instance an experimental result is not regarded as established until it can be shown to be repeatable independently.
The Sci.Skeptic FAQ characterizes the skeptic spectrum as divided into "wet" and "dry" skeptics, primarily based on the level of engagement with those promoting claims
that appear to be pseudoscience; the dry skeptics preferring to debunk
and ridicule, in order to avoid giving attention and thus credence to
the promoters, and the "wet" skeptics, preferring slower and more
considered engagement, in order to avoid appearing sloppy and
ill-considered and thus similar to the groups all skeptics opposed.
Ron Lindsay
has argued that while some non-scientific claims appear to be harmless
or "soft targets", it is important to continue to address them and the
underlying habits of thought that lead to them so that we do not "have a
lot more people believing that 9/11 was an inside job, that climate
change is a hoax, that our government is controlled by aliens, and so
forth—and those beliefs are far from harmless".
Skeptical movement
With regard to the skeptical social movement, Daniel Loxton refers to other movements already promoting "humanism, atheism, rationalism, science education and even critical thinking" beforehand. He saw the demand for the new movement—a movement of people called
"skeptics"—as based on a lack of interest by the scientific community to
address paranormal and fringe-science claims. In line with Kendrick Frazier, he describes the movement as a surrogate in that area for institutional science. The movement set up a distinct field of study, and provided an
organizational structure, while "the long-standing genre of individual
skeptical writing" lacked such a community and background. Skeptical organizations typically tend to have science education and promotion among their goals.
The skeptical movement has had issues with allegations of sexism. Mary Coulman identified a disparity between women and men in the movement in a 1985 skeptic newsletter.
The skeptic movement has generally been made up of men; at a 1987
conference the members there discussed the fact that the attendees were
predominantly older white men and a 1991 listing of 50 CSICOP fellows
included four women. Following a 2011 conference, Rebecca Watson, a prominent skeptic, raised issues of the way female skeptics are targeted with online harassment
including threats of sexual violence by opponents of the movement, and
also raised issues of sexism within the movement itself. While she
received some support in response to her discussion of sexism within the
movement, she later became a target of virulent online harassment, even
from fellow skeptics, after posting an online video that discussed her
discomfort with being propositioned in a confined space. This became
known as "Elevatorgate", based on Watson's discussion about being propositioned in a hotel elevator in the early morning after a skeptic event.
Skeptics such as James Randi have become famous for debunking claims related to some of these. Paranormal investigator Joe Nickell
cautions, however, that "debunkers" must be careful to engage
paranormal claims seriously and without bias. He explains that open
minded investigation is more likely to teach and change minds than
debunking.
A striking characteristic of the skeptical movement is the fact that while most of the phenomena covered, such as astrology and homeopathy, have been debunked again and again, they stay popular. Frazier reemphasized in 2018 that "[w]e need independent,
evidence-based, science-based critical investigation and inquiry now
more than perhaps at any other time in our history."
The scientific skepticism community has traditionally been
focused on what people believe rather than why they believe—there might
be psychological, cognitive or instinctive reasons for belief when there
is little evidence for such beliefs. According to Hammer, the bulk of the skeptical movement's literature
works on an implicit model, that belief in the irrational is being based
on scientific illiteracy or cognitive illusions. He points to the
skeptical discussion about astrology: The skeptical notion of astrology
as a "failed hypothesis" fails to address basic anthropological assumptions about astrology as a form of ritualized divination.
While the anthropological approach attempts to explain the activities
of astrologers and their clients, the skeptical movement's interest in
the cultural aspects of such beliefs is muted.
According to sociologist David J. Hess, the skeptical discourse
tends to set science and the skeptical project apart from the social and
the economic. From this perspective, he argues that skepticism takes on
some aspects of a sacred discourse, as in Emile Durkheim's Elementary Forms of the Religious Life—Science,
seen as pure and sacred (motivated by values of the mind and reason),
is set apart from popular dealings with the paranormal, seen as profane
(permeated by the economic and the social); obscuring the confrontation
between science and religion. Hess states as well a strong tendency in othering:
both skeptics and their opponents see the other as being driven by
materialistic philosophy and material gain and assume themselves to have
purer motives.
Perceived dangers of pseudoscience
While not all pseudoscientific beliefs are necessarily dangerous, some can potentially be harmful. Plato believed that to release others from ignorance despite their initial resistance is a great and noble thing. Modern skeptical writers address this question in a variety of ways. Bertrand Russell
argued that some individual actions based on beliefs for which there is
no evidence of efficacy can result in destructive actions. James Randi often wrote on the issue of fraud by psychics and faith healers. Unqualified medical practice and alternative medicine can result in serious injury and death.Skeptical activist Tim Farley,
who aims to create a catalogue of harmful pseudoscientific practices
and cases of damage caused by them, estimates the documented number of
killed or injured to be more than 600,000. Richard Dawkins points to religion as a source of violence (notably in The God Delusion), and considers creationism a threat to biology.Some skeptics, such as the members of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe podcast, oppose certain new religious movements because of their cult-like behaviors.
Leo Igwe, Junior Fellow at the Bayreuth International Graduate School of African Studies and past Research Fellow of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF), wrote A Manifesto for a Skeptical Africa, which received endorsements from multiple public activists in Africa, as well as skeptical endorsers around the world. He is a Nigerian human rights advocate and campaigner against the impacts of child witchcraft accusations. Igwe came into conflict with high-profile witchcraft believers, leading to attacks on himself and his family.
In 2018, Amardeo Sarma
provided some perspective on the state of the skeptical movement by
addressing "the essence of contemporary skepticism and [highlighting]
the vital nonpartisan and science-based role of skeptics in preventing
deception and harm." He emphasized the dangers of pseudoscience as a
reason for prioritizing skeptical work.
Richard Cameron Wilson, in an article in New Statesman, wrote that "the bogus skeptic is, in reality, a disguised dogmatist,
made all the more dangerous for his success in appropriating the mantle
of the unbiased and open-minded inquirer". Some advocates of
discredited intellectual positions (such as AIDS denial, Holocaust denial and climate change denial) engage in pseudoskeptical behavior when they characterize themselves as "skeptics". This is despite their cherry picking of evidence that conforms to a pre-existing belief. According to Wilson, who highlights the phenomenon in his 2008 book Don't Get Fooled Again,
the characteristic feature of false skepticism is that it "centres not
on an impartial search for the truth, but on the defence of a
preconceived ideological position".
Scientific skepticism is itself sometimes criticized on this ground. The term pseudoskepticism has found occasional use in controversial fields where opposition from scientific skeptics is strong. For example, in 1994, Susan Blackmore, a parapsychologist who became more skeptical and eventually became a Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) fellow in 1991, described what she termed the "worst kind of pseudoskepticism":
There are some members of the
skeptics' groups who clearly believe they know the right answer prior to
inquiry. They appear not to be interested in weighing alternatives,
investigating strange claims, or trying out psychic experiences or
altered states for themselves (heaven forbid!), but only in promoting
their own particular belief structure and cohesion ...
Commenting on the labels "dogmatic" and "pathological" that the "Association for Skeptical Investigation" puts on critics of paranormal investigations, Bob Carroll of the Skeptic's Dictionary argues that that association "is a group of pseudo-skeptical paranormal
investigators and supporters who do not appreciate criticism of
paranormal studies by truly genuine skeptics and critical thinkers. The
only skepticism this group promotes is skepticism of critics and [their]
criticisms of paranormal studies."
History
Historical roots
According to skeptic author Daniel Loxton, "skepticism is a story without a beginning or an end." His 2013 article in Skeptic magazine "Why Is There a Skeptical Movement" claims a history of two millennia of paranormal skepticism. He is of the opinion that the practice, problems, and central concepts
extend all the way to antiquity and refers to a debunking tale as told in some versions of the Old Testament, where the Prophet Daniel exposes a tale of a "living" statue as a scam. According to Loxton, throughout history, there are further examples of
individuals practicing critical inquiry and writing books or performing
publicly against particular frauds and popular superstitions, including
people like Lucian of Samosata (2nd century), Michel de Montaigne (16th century), Thomas Ady and Thomas Browne (17th century), Antoine Lavoisier and Benjamin Franklin
(18th century), many different philosophers, scientists and magicians
throughout the 19th and early 20th century up until and after Harry Houdini. However, skeptics banding together in societies that research the paranormal and fringe science is a modern phenomenon.
Loxton mentions the Belgian Comité Para (1949) as the oldest "broad mandate" skeptical organization. Although it was preceded by the Dutch Vereniging tegen de Kwakzalverij (VtdK) (1881), which is therefore considered the oldest skeptical organization by others, the VtdK only focuses on fighting quackery, and thus has a 'narrow
mandate'. The Comité Para was partly formed as a response to a predatory
industry of bogus psychics who were exploiting the grieving relatives
of people who had gone missing during the Second World War. In contrast, Michael Shermer traces the origins of the modern scientific skeptical movement to Martin Gardner's 1952 book Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science.
In 1968, the French Association for Scientific Information
(AFIS) was founded. AFIS strives to promote science against those who
deny its cultural value, abuse it for criminal purposes or as a cover
for quackery. According to AFIS, science itself cannot solve humanity's problems, nor can one solve them without using the scientific method.
It maintains that people should be informed about scientific and
technical advancements and the problems it helps to solve. Its magazine,
Science et pseudo-sciences, attempts to distribute scientific information in a language that everyone can understand.
In 1976, the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), known as the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) since November 2006, was founded in the United States. Some see this as the "birth of modern skepticism", however, founder Paul Kurtz actually modeled it after the Comité Para, including its name. Kurtz' motive was being "dismayed ... by the rising tide of belief in
the paranormal and the lack of adequate scientific examinations of these
claims."
Kurtz was an atheist and had also founded the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion.
While he saw both aspects as being covered in the skeptical movement,
he had recommended CSICOP to focus on paranormal and pseudoscientific
claims and to leave religious aspects to others. Despite not being the oldest, CSICOP was "the first successful,
broad-mandate North American skeptical organization of the contemporary
period", popularized the usage of the terms "skeptic", "skeptical" and "skepticism" by its magazine, Skeptical Inquirer, and directly inspired the foundation of many other skeptical organizations throughout the world, especially in Europe.
Besides scientists such as astronomers, stage magicians like James Randi were important in investigating charlatans and exposing their trickery. In 1996 Randi formed the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF) and created the One Million Dollar Paranormal Challenge,
where anyone who could demonstrate paranormal abilities, under mutually
agreed-upon controlled circumstances, could claim the prize. After
Randi's retirement in 2015, the Paranormal Challenge was officially
terminated by the JREF with the prize unclaimed:
Effective
9/1/2015 the JREF has made major changes including converting to a
grant making foundation and no longer accepting applications for the
Million Dollar Prize from the general public.
In 2010, as a form of skeptical outreach to the general population, Susan Gerbic launched the Guerrilla Skepticism on Wikipedia (GSoW) project to improve skeptical content on Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chakra In meditation, chakras are often visualised in different ways, such as a lotus flower, or a disc containing a particular deity.
Medieval Buddhist texts from 8th century CE mention four or five chakras, while Hindu sources have various numbers. The best-known variant has seven chakras, as described in Sir John Woodroffe's 1919 book The Serpent Power, a rough translation of Pūrṇānanda Yati's Ṣaṭ-chakra-nirūpaṇa ("Explanation of the Six Chakras," 1577).
Lexically, chakra is the Indic reflex of an ancestral Indo-European form *kʷékʷlos, whence also "wheel" and "cycle" (Ancient Greek: κύκλος, romanized: kýklos). It has both literal and metaphorical uses, as in the "wheel of time" or "wheel of dharma", such as in Rigveda hymn verse 1.164.11, pervasive in the earliest Vedic texts.
In Buddhism, especially in Theravada, the Pali noun cakka connotes "wheel". Within the Buddhist scriptures referred to as the Tripitaka, Shakyamuni Buddha
variously refers the "dhammacakka", or "wheel of dharma", connoting
that this dharma, universal in its advocacy, should bear the marks
characteristic of any temporal dispensation. Shakyamuni Buddha spoke of freedom from cycles in and of themselves, whether karmic, reincarnative, liberative, cognitive or emotional.
In Jainism, the term chakra also means "wheel" and appears in various contexts in its ancient literature. As in other Indian religions, chakra in esoteric theories in Jainism such as those by Buddhisagarsuri means a yogic energy center.
Chakra iconography may derive from the five symbols of yajna, the Vedic fire altar.
The word chakra appears to first emerge within the Vedas, though not in the sense of psychic energy centers, rather as chakravartin or the king who "turns the wheel of his empire" in all directions from a center, representing his influence and power. The iconography popular in representing the Chakras, states the scholar David Gordon White, traces back to the five symbols of yajna, the Vedic fire altar: "square, circle, triangle, half moon and dumpling".
The hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda mentions a renunciate yogi with a female named kunannamā.
Literally, it means "she who is bent, coiled", representing both a
minor goddess and one of many embedded enigmas and esoteric riddles
within the Rigveda. Some scholars, such as D.G. White and Georg Feuerstein, have suggested that she may be a reference to kundalini shakti and a precursor to the terminology associated with the chakras in later tantric traditions.
Breath channels (nāḍi) are mentioned in the classical Upanishads of Hinduism from the 1st millennium BCE, but not psychic-energy chakra theories. Three classical Nadis are Ida,
Pingala and Sushumna in which the central channel Sushumna is said to be
foremost as per Kṣurikā-Upaniṣhad.
According to David Gordon White, hierarchies of inner energy centers were introduced about 8th-century CE in Buddhist texts such as the Hevajra Tantra and Caryāgiti. These are called by various terms such as cakka, padma (lotus) or pitha (mound). These medieval Buddhist texts mention only four chakras, while later Hindu texts such as the Kubjikāmata and Kaulajñānanirnaya expanded the list to many more.
In contrast to White, according to Feuerstein, early Upanishads of Hinduism do mention chakras in the sense of "psychospiritual vortices", along with other terms found in tantra: prana or vayu (life energy) along with nadi (energy carrying arteries). According to Gavin Flood, the ancient texts do not present chakra and kundalini-style yoga theories although these words appear in the earliest Vedic literature in many contexts. The chakra in the sense of four or more vital energy centers appear in the medieval era Hindu and Buddhist texts.
The 10th century Kubjikāmatatantra describes a system of five chakras which serve as the seats of five sets of divine female beings, namely the Devīs, the Dūtīs, the Mātṛs, the Yoginīs and the Khecarīs.
Classical traditions
Sapta Chakra, an 1899 manuscript, illustrates the esoteric correspondence(s) between subtle energy and Tibetan psycho-physiology.
Meditation aid
The
important chakras are stated in Hindu and Buddhist texts to be arranged
in a column along the spinal cord, from its base to the top of the
head, connected by vertical channels. The tantric traditions sought to master them, awaken and energize them
through various breathing exercises or with assistance of a teacher.
These chakras were also symbolically mapped to specific human
physiological capacity, seed syllables (bija), sounds, subtle elements (tanmatra), in some cases deities, colors and other motifs.
The chakras are traditionally considered meditation aids. The
yogi progresses from lower chakras to the highest chakra blossoming in
the crown of the head, internalizing the journey of spiritual ascent. In both the Hindu kundalini and Buddhist candali traditions, the
chakras are pierced by a dormant energy residing near or in the lowest
chakra. In Hindu texts she is known as Kundalini, while in Buddhist texts she is called Candali or Tummo (Tibetan: gtum mo, "fierce one").
The chakra relates to subtle body, wherein it has a
position but no definite nervous node or precise physical connection.
The tantric systems envision it as continually present, highly relevant
and a means to psychic and emotional energy. It is useful in a type of
yogic rituals and meditative discovery of radiant inner energy (prana flows) and mind-body connections. The meditation is aided by extensive symbology, mantras, diagrams, models (deity and mandala).
The practitioner proceeds step by step from perceptible models, to
increasingly abstract models where deity and external mandala are
abandoned, inner self and internal mandalas are awakened.
Subtle body
An illustration of a ShaivaNath chakra system, folio 2 from the Nath Charit, 1823. Mehrangarh Museum Trust.
Chakra and divine energies
Shining, she holds
the noose made of the energy of will,
the hook which is energy of knowledge,
the bow and arrows made of energy of action.
Split into support and supported,
divided into eight, bearer of weapons,
arising from the chakra with eight points,
she has the ninefold chakra as a throne.
—Yoginihrdaya 53–54 (Translator: Andre Padoux)
The chakras are part of esoteric ideas and concepts about physiology and psychic centers that emerged across Indian traditions. The belief held that human life simultaneously exists in two parallel dimensions, one "physical body" (sthula sarira) and other "psychological, emotional, mind, non-physical" it is called the "subtle body" (sukshma sarira). This subtle body is energy, while the physical body is mass. The psyche
or mind plane corresponds to and interacts with the body plane, and the
belief holds that the body and the mind mutually affect each other. The subtle body consists of nadi (energy channels) connected by nodes of psychic energy called chakra. The belief grew into extensive elaboration, with some suggesting 88,000
chakras throughout the subtle body. The number of major chakras varied
between various traditions, but they typically ranged between four and
seven.
The classical eastern traditions, particularly those that developed in India during the 1st millennium AD, primarily describe nadi and chakra in a "subtle body" context. To them, they are in same dimension as of the psyche-mind reality that is invisible yet real. In the nadi and cakra flow the prana (breath, life energy). The concept of "life energy" varies between the texts, ranging from
simple inhalation-exhalation to far more complex association with
breath-mind-emotions-sexual energy. This prana or essence is what vanishes when a person dies, leaving a
gross body. Some of this concept states this subtle body is what
withdraws within, when one sleeps. All of it is believed to be
reachable, awake-able and important for an individual's body-mind
health, and how one relates to other people in one's life. This subtle body network of nadi and chakra is, according to some later Indian theories and many New Age speculations, closely associated with emotions.
Buddhist tantra
A Tibetan illustration of the subtle body showing the central channel, two side channels, and five chakrasA Tibetan thangka showing six chakras
The esoteric traditions in Buddhism generally teach four chakras. In some Buddhist tantric sources, these chakras are identified as: manipura (navel), anahata (heart), vishuddha (throat) and ushnisha kamala (crown). In one development within the Nyingma lineage of the Mantrayana of
Tibetan Buddhism, a popular conceptualization of chakras emerged,
arranged in increasing subtlety and order. The names of the four basic
Buddhist cakras are derived from the four kayas (bodies of the Buddha): nirmana (genitals), sambhoga (throat), dharmakaya (heart), and mahāsukha (crown of the head), which correspond to four of the seven chakras in the Shaiva Mantramarga universe, namely Svadhisthana, Anahata, Visuddha, and Sahasrara. However, depending on the meditational tradition, these vary between three and six. The chakras are considered psycho-spiritual constituents, each bearing
meaningful correspondences to cosmic processes and their postulated
Buddha counterpart.
A system of five chakras is common among the Mother class of Tantras and these five chakras along with their correspondences are:
Abdominal chakra (Element: Water, Buddha: Ratnasambhava, Bija mantra: VAM)
Heart chakra (Element: Fire, Buddha: Akshobhya, Bija mantra: RAM)
Throat chakra (Element: Wind, Buddha: Amitābha, Bija mantra: YAM)
Crown chakra (Element: Space, Buddha: Vairochana, Bija mantra: HAM)
Chakras play a key role in Tibetan Buddhism,
and are considered to be the pivotal providence of Tantric thinking.
And, the precise use of the chakras across the gamut of tantric sadhanas
gives little space to doubt the primary efficacy of Tibetan Buddhism as
distinct religious agency, that being that precise revelation that,
without Tantra there would be no Chakras, but more importantly, without
Chakras, there is no Tibetan Buddhism. The highest practices in Tibetan
Buddhism point to the ability to bring the subtle pranas of an entity
into alignment with the central channel, and to thus penetrate the
realisation of the ultimate unity, namely, the "organic harmony" of
one's individual consciousness of Wisdom with the co-attainment of
All-embracing Love, thus synthesizing a direct cognition of absolute Buddhahood.
According to Samuel, the Buddhist esoteric systems developed cakra and nāḍi as "central to their soteriological process". The theories were sometimes, but not always, coupled with a unique system of physical exercises, called yantra yoga or 'phrul 'khor. Chakras, according to the Bon
tradition, enable the gestalt of experience, with each of the five
major chakras, being psychologically linked with the five experiential
qualities of unenlightened consciousness, the six realms of woe.
The Tsa Lung practice embodied in the Trul khor lineage, unbaffles the primary channels, thus activating and circulating liberating prana. Yoga
awakens the deep mind, thus bringing forth positive attributes,
inherent gestalts, and virtuous qualities. In a computer analogy, the
screen of one's consciousness is slated and an attribute-bearing file is
called up that contains necessary positive or negative, supportive
qualities. Tantric practice is said to eventually transform all experience into
clear light. The practice aims to liberate from all negative
conditioning, and the deep cognitive salvation of freedom from control
and unity of perception and cognition.
Some early Shaivite formulations of chakras can be seen in the six-cakra system of the Netra Tantra (700-850 CE)[51] and the eight-cakra system of the Kaulajñāna-nirṇ aya. However, the chakra methodology is extensively developed in the goddess tradition of Hinduism called Shaktism.
It is an important concept in Shakta practice, along with yantras,
mandalas, and kundalini yoga. In Shakta Tantrism, a chakra means a
"circle" or an "energy center" within, as well as being a term for group
rituals such as chakra-puja (worship within a circle), which may or may not involve tantric practice. The chakra-based system is a part of the meditative exercises that came to be known as yoga.
Chakra and related beliefs have been important to the esoteric traditions, but they are not directly related to mainstream yoga. According to the Indologist Edwin Bryant and other scholars, the goals of classical yoga such as spiritual liberation (freedom, self-knowledge, moksha) is "attained entirely differently in classical yoga, and the cakra / nadi / kundalini physiology is completely peripheral to it."
Similar concepts
These
ideas are not unique to Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Similar and
overlapping concepts emerged in other cultures in the East and the West,
and these are variously called by other names such as subtle body, spirit body, esoteric anatomy, sidereal body and etheric body.[59][60][38] According to Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston, professors of Religious studies known for their studies on Yoga and esoteric traditions:
Ideas and practices involving
so-called 'subtle bodies' have existed for many centuries in many parts
of the world. (...) Virtually all human cultures known to us have some
kind of concept of mind, spirit or soul as distinct from the physical
body, if only to explain experiences such as sleep and dreaming. (...)
An important subset of subtle-body practices, found particularly in
Indian and Tibetan Tantric traditions, and in similar Chinese practices,
involves the idea of an internal 'subtle physiology' of the body (or
rather of the body-mind complex) made up of channels through which
substances of some kind flow, and points of intersection at which these
channels come together. In the Indian tradition the channels are known
as nadi and the points of intersection as cakra.
— Geoffrey Samuel and Jay Johnston, Religion and the Subtle Body in Asia and the West: Between Mind and Body
Esoteric traditions in Hinduism mention numerous numbers and
arrangements of chakras, of which a classical system of six-plus-one,
the last being the Sahasrara, is most prevalent. It incorporates six major chakras along with a seventh centre generally
not regarded as a chakra. These points are arranged vertically along
the axial channel (sushumna nadi in Hindu texts, Avadhuti in some Buddhist texts). According to Gavin Flood, this system of six chakras plus the sahasrara "center" at the crown first appears in the Kubjikāmata-tantra, an 11th-century Kaula work.
It was this chakra system that was translated in the early 20th century by Sir John Woodroffe (also called Arthur Avalon) in his book The Serpent Power. Avalon translated the Hindu text Ṣaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa meaning the examination (nirūpaṇa) of the six (ṣaṭ) chakras (cakra).
Correspondence with yoginis
Association of six yoginis with chakra locations in the Rudrayamala Tantra
Hindu Tantra associates six Yoginis with six places in the subtle body, corresponding to the six chakras of the six-plus-one system.
Western esoteric seven chakra system
Chakra positions in supposed relation to nervous plexuses, from Charles W. Leadbeater's 1927 book The Chakras
Kurt Leland, for the Theosophical Society in America,
concluded that the western chakra system was produced by an
"unintentional collaboration" of many groups of people: esotericists and
clairvoyants, often theosophical; Indologists; the scholar of myth, Joseph Campbell; the founders of the Esalen Institute and the psychological tradition of Carl Jung; the colour system of Charles W. Leadbeater's 1927 book The Chakras, treated as traditional lore by some modern Indian yogis; and energy healers such as Barbara Brennan. Leland states that far from being traditional, the two main elements of
the modern system, the rainbow colours and the list of qualities, first
appeared together only in 1977.
The concept of a set of seven chakras came to the West in the
1880s; at that time each chakra was associated with a nerve plexus. In 1918, Sir John Woodroffe, alias Arthur Avalon, translated two Indian texts, the Ṣaṭ-Cakra-Nirūpaṇa and the Pādukā-Pañcaka, publishing and commenting on them both in his book The Serpent Power drew Western attention to the seven chakra theory.
In the 1920s, each of the seven chakras was associated with an endocrine gland, a tradition that has persisted. More recently, the lower six chakras have been linked to both nerve plexuses and glands. The seven rainbow colours were added by Leadbeater in 1927; a variant system in the 1930s proposed six colours plus white. Leadbeater's theory was influenced by Johann Georg Gichtel's 1696 book Theosophia Practica, which mentioned inner "force centres".
Psychological and other attributes such as layers of the aura, developmental stages, associated diseases, Aristotelian elements, emotions, and states of consciousness were added still later. A wide range of supposed correspondences such as with alchemical metals, astrological signs and planets, foods, herbs, gemstones, homeopathic remedies, Kabbalistic spheres, musical notes, totem animals, and Tarot cards have also been proposed.
In Anatomy of the Spirit (1996), Caroline Myss
described the function of chakras as follows: "Every thought and
experience you've ever had in your life gets filtered through these
chakra databases. Each event is recorded into your cells...". The chakras are described as being aligned in an ascending column from the base of the spine to the top of the head. New Age
practices often associate each chakra with a certain colour. In various
traditions, each chakra is associated with a physiological functions,
an aspect of consciousness, and a classical element; these do not correspond to those used in ancient Indian systems. The chakras are visualised as lotuses or flowers with a different number of petals in every chakra.
The chakras are thought to vitalise the physical body and to be
associated with interactions of a physical, emotional and mental nature.
They are considered loci of life spiritual energy or prana, which is thought to flow among them along pathways called nadi.
The function of the chakras is to spin and draw in this energy to keep
the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical health of the body in
balance.
Rudolf Steiner
considered the chakra system to be dynamic and evolving. He suggested
that this system has become different for modern people than it was in
ancient times and that it will, in turn, be radically different in
future.
Below are the common new age description of these six chakras and the seventh point known as sahasrara. This new age version incorporates the Newtonian colours of the rainbow not found in any ancient Indian system.[62]
Highest spiritual centre, pure consciousness, containing neither object nor subject. When the feminine Kundalini Shakti rises to this point, it unites with the masculine Shiva, giving self-realization and samadhi. In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Mahasukha, the petal lotus of "Great Bliss" corresponding to the fourth state of Four Noble Truths.
Guru chakra, or in New Age usage third-eye chakra, the subtle center of energy, where the tantra guru touches the seeker during the initiation ritual. He or she commands the awakened kundalini to pass through this centre.
Corresponds to the upper dantien in the Qigong system.
16 petals covered with the sixteen Sanskrit vowels. Associated with the element of space (akasha). The residing deity is Panchavaktra shiva, with 5 heads and 4 arms, and the Shakti is Shakini.
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Sambhoga and is generally
considered to be the petal lotus of "Enjoyment" corresponding to the
third state of Four Noble Truths.
Within it is a yantra of two intersecting triangles, forming a hexagram, symbolising a union of the male and female, and the element of air (vayu). The presiding deity is Ishana Rudra Shiva, and the Shakti is Kakini.
In esoteric Buddhism, this Chakra is called Dharma and is generally
considered to be the petal lotus of "Essential nature" and corresponding
to the second state of Four Noble Truths.
Corresponds to the middle dantien in the Qigong system.
For the Nath yogi meditation system, this is described as the Madhyama-Shakti or the intermediate stage of self-discovery. This chakra is represented as a downward pointing triangle representing
fire in the middle of a lotus with ten petals. The presiding deity is
Braddha Rudra, with Lakini as the Shakti.
Svadhisthana is represented with a lotus within which is a crescent
moon symbolizing the water element. The presiding deity is Brahma, with
the Shakti being Rakini (or Chakini).
In esoteric Buddhism, it is called Nirmana, the petal lotus of "Creation" and corresponding to the first state of Four Noble Truths.
Corresponds to the lower dantien in the Qigong system.
Dormant Kundalini
is often said to be resting here, wrapped three and a half, or seven or
twelve times. Sometimes she is wrapped around the black Svayambhu
linga, the lowest of three obstructions to her full rising (also known
as knots or granthis). It is symbolised as a four-petaled lotus with a yellow square at its center representing the element of earth.
The seed syllable is Lam for the earth element. All sounds, words and mantras in their dormant form rest in the muladhara chakra, where Ganesha resides, while the Shakti is Dakini. The associated animal is the elephant.
There is no scientific evidence to prove chakras exist, nor is there any meaningful way to try and measure them scientifically. The Edinburgh Skeptics Society claimed that there has never been any evidence for chakras.
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