Who discovered the chakras? In Search of the Origin
Lord Shiva, Buddha, Sri Amit Ray, Shri Gorakhnath, Purnananda Swami, Saraha, Kabir Das, Tirumular, Sir John Woodroffe, Abraham Maslow, and Curl Jung are common names associated with the inventions of the chakras. But who discovered them?
In this fascinating study of the origins of chakras, many historian reveals that there is no historical, or even theological, basis for the orthodox view that the chakras are the words from God. Rather chakras were invented for providing scientific foundation of integrating body, mind and soul.
Original Chakra Traditions
Chakras and the Tantric Traditions, taken together, form the foundation of Hinduism and Buddhism. There was some mention of the chakras as psychic centers of consciousness in the Yoga Upanishads around 600 BCE. However, the chakra traditions were more popular around 8th century in the Eastern Part of India.
Early History of Chakras in India
The teachers like Shri Gorakhnath, Purnananda Swami, Saraha, Atisa Deepanka, Tirumular, Kabir Dasa, are the key leaders of the Chakra movements in India. Mostly, they were not from the upper cast of the society at the early journey of the chakra system.
Mostly, the chakra system was originated in the Eastern India. A movement called Sahaja-siddhi developed in the 8th century in Bengal, influenced greatly towards the growth of chakra system.
In the 8th century, the Pala dynasty of Bengal promoted Buddhism, supported many large Buddhist universities, and encouraged wide-spread learning of the inner science of human mind and body.
Saraha become one of the noted sages of his time. The very name “Saraha” derives from his occupation as a maker of arrows. He introduce the Mahamudra meditation concepts, which includes the chakra system.
From the fifth to the eighth CE Buddhism and Jainism had spread in Tamil Nadu before a forceful Shaiva bhakti movement arose. Around 11th- or 12th-century Tirumular also worked on the chakra system.
Around 10th Century, Atisa Deepankar of Bengal went to Tibet from India and introduced the Buddhism in Tibet in new form and the Vajrayana chakra system in Tibet became popular.
In the 15th — 16th Century, Kabir Dasa has written about Kundalini yoga and chakra. Kabir was born in 1518.
Modern History of Chakras
The Seven Chakra System
The seven chakra system was first comprehensively described by Purnananda Swami of Bengal, in 1577 in his famous book Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, which Sir John Woodroffe translated in English and published in his book, “The Serpent Power” in 1919. After that many famous personalities popularized the seven chakra system in the West.
The 114 Chakra system
The seven chakra system is the simplified version of the whole chakra system. Sri Amit Ray discovered the 114 chakras in the human body based on his profound meditation experiences and the oral traditions.
According to Sri Amit Ray, there are as many as 114 all over the body. There are 7 major chakras, 21 minor chakras and 84 micro chakras.
Ray explained the mysteries of the 114 chakras in many books. From 2005, many of his students learnt about the 114 chakras meditations from him. Ray identified the names, locations and functions of all the 114 chakras for the first time[1]. Ray found that these chakras are associated with our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual total wellbeing.
The Final Thoughts
The history of the chakra system is very deep. Around 8th century, it was very popular in Bengal and Bihar. The movement of the chakra system started in the west around 1943, when Maslow’s hierarchy of needs a popular concept in psychology was proposed by Abraham Maslow in his famous book “A Theory of Human Motivation”. Many believe, it was based on the hierarchy of the ancient chakra concept.
Hence, it is clear that Lord Shiva, Shri Gorakhnath, Purnananda Swami, Saraha, Buddha, Sri Amit Ray, Kabir Das, Abraham Maslow, Sir John George Woodroffe, and Curl Jung are the main people who discovered the chakra system and popularized them in the world.
References:
