Desire and the Chakras

Desire is the root of all human existence. It is the natural force of attraction that drives you in every moment.?Spiritual and philosophical views of desire are divided into two main approaches:

1. Those that expound the Law of Attraction; you can have anything you want if you really want it.
2. Those that teach that desire is non-spiritual; you must strive to become desireless and selfless.

There is another, more balanced approach that embraces both desire and desirelessness. This approach enables you to engage in the material and the spiritual aspects of life, and is more relevant to today’s needs.

Yoga Tantra is an Indian philosophy that views desire as natural and the suppression of desire as unnatural. ?For those who are not prepared for advanced stages of spiritual practice, attempting desirelessness is a dangerous path. Desire is a powerful force that lies deep within the human psyche. It motivates inner psychic activity and behaviour. To fight against it creates inner conflicts and tensions that can lead to mental illness.

Yoga Tantra teaches that the energy contained within desire is the basis of creativity and creation, both materially and spiritually.?By following this path you learn how to examine your desires and how to use the energy within your most important desires to discover your life purpose.

By understanding the nature and power of desire more fully you can use desire as a springboard into higher consciousness. You can fulfil your material existence and awaken your consciousness. The first step to achieving this is to explore the link between your desires and your chakras.

Your body-mind is constantly creating different desires that surface from many parts of you. Different aspects of you have different needs so it is possible to have several desires arising at the same time that compete for your attention. These desires can either be in harmony or in conflict with each other.

To remain healthy and balanced all of your desires need to be acknowledged, nourished and managed with appropriate experiences. You then avoid becoming enmeshed in inner conflicts that rob you of power and that prevent you from developing and strengthening your mind.

One of the most effective ways of understanding and managing your desires is to create an authentic connection with your chakras.

In yoga–tantra chakra meditations you experience how your thoughts, emotions, feelings and desires are linked to your chakras and to particular areas of your life. Sexual desire, for example, is governed by the chakra located in the pelvis – swadhisthana, while the desire to love and be loved is governed by the heart chakra – anahata.

Creating an authentic, embodied relationship with your chakras empowers you to:

feel the quality of your desires.align the grosser, more egocentric lower chakras with the subtler, more universal higher chakras.direct the energy within the desires generated by the?lower chakras towards more balanced, creative and satisfying activities.

By engaging in this conscious relationship with your desires and your chakras, and acting from within this wisdom, you are on the path of self mastery, creating better karma for yourself.

Journey Into Your Heart’s Desire eCourse and eSeminar Series teaches you how to recognize the relationship between your desires and your chakras. This guided study takes you through an experiential process that is suitable for both beginners and advanced students of yoga and meditation.

Dr Swami Shankardev Saraswati and Jayne Stevenson

View the original article here