I came to in the Ancient Cave. The transition was smooth, almost pleasant this time. “You might be getting better at this,” I thought, “though hardly an expert.” This reflection made me smile. I looked to the stage and there was another person with Aaraak, dressed in a robe of the same shape but white with a dark red trim that edged all of the robe’s openings. He had the air of someone important and was seated behind his own small desk. The two of them were flanked by the two brown-robed assistants. As usual, I could see no details, no faces, no hands.

“This is Tor, T-O-R, Tor.” Aaraak introduced us, apparently intuiting that I really liked knowing how to pronounce and spell a name. “He is a professor of esoteric religious studies and is going to explain a particular aspect of the potential that all humanoids have. In order to integrate and advance as a spiritual aspirant one must understand (and develop the ability to directly perceive) the five sheaths and the nine chakras. Tonight he will talk about how the chakras should properly be mapped. Tor, this is Dennis, he is a new student.”

“Hello Dennis,” Tor’s voice was rich and of a low timbre, “I imagine that you know how fortunate you are to have Aaraak as your mentor.”

“I am blessed for sure.” I replied simply. As much as I appreciated Aaraak to this point, I was quite uncomfortable praising someone that I had just met and barely knew.

“Do you know a useful language, such as Sanskrit?” he asked.

“No. I know a few hundred words in Sanskrit relating to spiritual matters, but I certainly do not have a working knowledge of any language. Even the European languages that I have studied I do not speak well.”

“That is unfortunate, although it matters little here tonight. Languages are the rivers of history and can lead back to the source of true knowledge. Additionally, they help make your mind more flexible. Other languages that are available to you that would be useful are Latin, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Tibetan, Hebrew, and Marathi. Languages that are less available but enriching would be Sumerian, cuneiform, hieroglyphics, Celtic, Hawaiian, Aramaic, and various Native American languages.” Tor paused and I thought he was waiting for a comment. I was lost in the embarrassment of having learned so little in my 23 years on earth and certainly had nothing to say.

After a moment he looked at Aaraak, looked back at me, and asked, “Do you know what chakras are?”

“Certainly,” I replied, happy that we had turned to a topic that I knew something about. “They are the seven energy wheels spaced along the spine from the tailbone to the crown of the head.”

“Amazingly most schools and most teachers want to describe just seven primary charkas, but this is a big mistake,” Tor replied, “and we will explain why. Possibly it is just a case of being lazy, or a result of thousands of passing years in which the truth has remained hidden. When we look behind…better to say that when we direct our consciousness into the history of our own development we can easily imagine being simple humanoids, we can relate to being an animal, we can attempt to imagine being a plant, we can reflect on what it is like to be a rock…and that is about it. Only the truly accomplished mystic or practitioner can relate to being a molecule or an atom. The siddhi that allows this as direct perception is usually referred to as ‘microvision’. Now when we go in the other direction, when we direct our consciousness ahead, most of us can only imagine graduating from the human condition. We call that enlightenment and associate it with the opening of the seventh chakra, the seventh chakra which we locate at the crown of the head, or, more exactly, just above the crown of the head. In other words ‘above’ the human body, or explicitly ‘beyond’ the imagined possibilities of the typical human being. However, and this is the truly exciting thing, when one becomes ‘enlightened,’ not only does the earth below lose its mystery but the heavens above open and a new journey begins with no endpoint in sight!” Again he paused and seemed to peer at me in the semi-darkness. I was awake and attentive.

“There are many lesser nerve connections, or more precisely, nerve groupings in the body that could be called chakras. If you were to divide them up into primary, secondary, tertiary, and satellite placements you would find them to total more than a million. The exact number is only important to an academic person or a medical student; for our purposes we are going to talk about the nine primary chakras with some reference to the ‘old’ map of seven chakras. Additionally, there are more than 500,000 channels in the human body that connect those nerve groupings – in Sanskrit these are called nadis (we will refer to them as both channels and nadis, useful labels which are reasonably accurate). Of primary importance are three; the susumna (central channel), the ida, and pingala (The lunar and solar channels which wind themselves around the susumna on the ancient charts. This depiction is done for deceptive purposes, actually the ida nerve path is up the front of the body, whereas the pingala runs upward toward the back of the physical body, very near both the spine and the susumna.). At some future date hopefully we will get to talk more about them. I am trying to stay on topic here,” Tor chuckled, “but I have a great talent for the parenthetic sidepath.”

I smiled into the darkness but did not want to speak as this information seemed precious and was difficult for me to take in. I imagined that he appreciated the acknowledgement of his humor.

“Tor does not care one fig about your beauty sleep,” Aaraak interjected, “he just LOVES to talk!” and they laughed together. I even imagined that the ‘always’ silent brown-robes chuckled a bit.

“Okay! Back to topic!” Tor continued, “This day, well, night for you, we are attempting to speak about the chakras…” and they went into another laughing spell. It was obvious that they enjoyed each other’s company very much and I intuited that they had been through a lot together, possibly as students.

“The first chakra is at the base of the spine,” Tor continued, fighting his outbreak of laughter. “You sit on it! Some texts refer to it as the coccyx center, it is also called the root chakra, and in Sanskrit it is called the Muladhara. It is energetically powerful and we associate it with the color red. It opens downward and connects one to the earth. This is the force that allows one to survive and find shelter. By itself it would be of limited interest to more advanced beings, except for the fact that it is linked to higher chakras as the soul evolves. It is the base of the ‘body’ chakra chain.”

“The second chakra is sometimes called the ‘secret’ chakra, at other times it is referred to as the ‘sacral’ chakra, and in Sanskrit it is called the Savadhisthana Chakra. It is located near the top of the sacrum and many texts associate it with the sacrum. When you find time to investigate and reflect on your findings I suggest you look into the etymological root of sacrum. Why do the lowest five vertebrae of earthlings, semi-immobile and of little obvious value or use beyond structural connection and the protection of some soft tissue, get a glorious relationship, through the Latin root, to sacred? This is a topic that has great interest to me and I could talk about it at great length…but we have Aaraak here, and he is sure to complain!” another burst of chuckling followed.

“I warned you that we are likely to be here quite late,” Aaraak interjected humorously.

“Seriously,” Tor continued, trying to be serious, “this is just one of thousands of clues that are continually overlooked in casual everyday busy-ness. There are many verbs and nouns that lie before us like diamonds on the path of knowledge. Their meanings are face-up, there for all to see, and yet we tend to walk across them as though they were rocks underneath our feet. Perhaps at some point in the future Aaraak will invite me back to talk to you about words – the history, the etymology, and the meanings (current and ancient). Another parenthetic point from Tor is that even the letters of each and every alphabet have meaning, including the shape of those letters!”

Aaraak rolled his eyes. I squirmed a bit as I realized that, once again, I knew of an action that I could not know of! In plain English I could not see his face, it was in shadow, as always, and yet I was certain that he had rolled his eyes. Now how could I possibly know whether or not he had rolled his eyes? I was squirming mentally and my body had taken an action that reflected my inability to resolve this issue.

“Okay, okay,” Tor broke the brief pause, “There are many things that can be said about each chakra but here we are attempting to just highlight a few useful observations that will give a coherent map for you to work from.”

“A few more comments about the second chakra are necessary here…”

“Oh sure!” Aaraak broke in, obviously enjoying the company of his talkative professorial friend, “Do you promise?” and they laughed in harmony, which made me smile and see how serious I kept attempting to be. I was like a student that was trying to remember every word so that I could pass the coming examination, only to discover that what the instructor seemed to care most about was just having a good laugh.

“Yes.” Tor continued, “I promise to finish with the subject of the second chakra if I am allowed to! It opens toward the front of the body and is located energetically at the top of the pelvis. It is orange in color. It is often connected with sexual energy but could more accurately be described as the base of our energy chain.”

“The third chakra is golden in color and located just above the navel. It is often called the solar plexus chakra, sometimes the navel center, and in Sanskrit it is called the Manipura chakra. This chakra tends to be developed in relationship to the individual’s use of power and undeveloped aspects of will and intention.

“Taken as a group, many things could be said about the lower three chakras. A few of these must be noted. In a rough sense they form the tripod that supports the human potential. This tripod is formed by a healthy body, harmonious energetics, and a stable mind. The first chakra is the base of the ‘body’ chain, the second chakra is the base of the ‘energy’ chain, and the third chakra is the base of the ‘mind’ chain. Transformed into their more developed expressions they will manifest aspects that are acknowledged as, the fourth, fifth, and sixth chakras. As one graduates, or goes beyond the limitations of the everyday humanoid, the seventh, eighth, and ninth chakras will open. These three ‘beyond’ realm are the culmination of what is possible as one that has manifested a body (the Tibetans say that just having a body is proof of ignorance…and they are correct!). We will return to this topic, which I call the ‘chakra chain’ after visiting the basics of all nine chakras.

“So on to the fourth chakra, the ‘heart chakra’ which is located in the middle of the chest, near the physical heart. In Sanskrit it is called the Anahata Chakra. As you develop your spiritual sensitivity you will discover that you have a ‘psychic’ or nonphysical ‘heart’ located in your right chest (Another interesting topic which is just a footnote to our discussion path tonight.). The heart chakra is associated with the color green. It is associated with love, more accurately it opens as ‘higher’ love evolves. Remember how we associate security and survival in relationship to the first chakra? This is the transformation of those same basic instincts. In the home we tend to be surrounded by our loved ones. We open to them and our ability to love grows. Love is a funny word in the English language, it is used to deal with a wide range of situations and is woefully inadequate. Hundreds of distinctions that are dealt with in my native tongue and many other languages are funneled without modification into this word ‘love’.”

Adrenaline shot through me and immediately a question that I wanted to ask surfaced – “What is your native language, then?”

Tor turned briefly to Aaraak and then answered with finality, “Arkanian.”

I wished to pursue this further but something about the sharp way he answered put me on pause. Furthermore, I was fascinated by his presentation of the ‘chakra chain’. I had never heard of any interrelationship of the chakras, nor had I heard about the eighth and ninth chakras and was eager to hear more. Perhaps it had been rude of me somehow to ask? Better to shut up and learn; a better time for questions would come.

“The fifth chakra is usually associated with the color blue and is located at the throat, opening in a forward direction. In Sanskrit it is called the Vishuddha Chakra. This center is quite naturally associated with speaking, with teaching, and with artistic expression. Its association with the second chakra are many and the oft ignored clues to this are everywhere. For example, in the English language intercourse used to mean ‘to talk’ and conversation used to mean to have sex, nowadays these words have literally exchanged their common usages and meanings. These are the two chakras where incomplete energies can most easily exit the body. Releasing semen through orgasm depletes the subtle energy that supplies the vitality for the human body. Senseless talking blows off the energy that would otherwise rise through the brainstem, bathing and transforming the higher centers in preparation for the transcendent leap.

“The sixth chakra we locate at the forehead (it is actually set further back into the head than the usual depiction or graphic representation would lead you to believe) and is associated with the color indigo. In Sanskrit it is called the Ajna Chakra. It is often referred to as the ‘third eye’. This is because of several useful associations. When you visualize something, the ‘screen’ that it appears on seems to be in this area; when you project your will or intention, it seems to emanate from this area; when you travel through the use of your mental body, you seem to lead with this part of your body; and lastly, when using techniques that involve the ‘awareness matrix,’ you tend to exit the adopted environment of temporary restrictions through this portal. This is the energy of the third chakra transformed and is the highest evolutionary stage of dualism. This is the ‘sword of discrimination’ that makes important decisions regarding associations, relationships, careers, and educational patterns.

“Taken as a group, the fourth, fifth, and sixth chakras open as the culmination of refined capacity for one that has taken a human body. They tend to be available to those that have purified body and mind, usually through direct access to teachings that other aspirants have used whilst walking this same path. The purification of body often takes place after changing (or refining) diet, applying oils (and other altered substances), drinking altered (imprinted and molecularly refined) liquids, including water, hatha yoga (or similar disciplines), and pranayama (breath practices carefully designed for exactly this purpose).

“Guru’s grace empowers this mix but is not essential. To some extent this depends on how quickly one wishes to attain the goal. If you live in California and wish to go to New York, there are many choices to make in terms of how to get there, and correspondingly, how fast you will get there. You might choose to walk. This equates to the path of the body. It is very reliable…and painfully slow. You might choose to take a bus. This equates to the path of energy. Although there are many stops and many adventures and many distractions you do indeed, after some days, arrive in New York. You might choose to take an airplane. This is decidedly more efficient and whisks you to New York in a matter of a few hours. This equates to the path of the mind. We will quit our metaphor here, but with mention of the fact that – as one develops centers seven, eight, and nine – even faster means of going to New York become available!

“Okay, somehow I got sidetracked here! I don’t know how it happened!”

I smiled, and I am sure others did too, but none of us wanted to interrupt Tor at the moment for he was on a roll. The information he was disseminating was riveting and, for my part, I was not only following every sentence closely, but was very interested in where he was going with this.

“Back to the essential stuff! Purification of the mind occurs through reflection and contemplation. These are states that open as one goes beyond meditation, out of success. This is often accompanied by sadhana (that which literally takes one ‘straight to the goal’). So joy, song, serenity, gratitude, happiness, tolerance, freedom, and ethical behavior all blossom here, as the soul matures. These developed states are available to everyone, but often are most easily achieved by those whose past lives have fully prepared them, with or without current instruction from a ‘school’ or an individual teacher.

“At this stage the teacher often reveals any remaining inspirations and gives any remaining initiations. What would the point of holding back be now? When some result beyond human limitation is integrated, or, in an emergency situation (for example the master’s body is dying) a spiritual name, or title, of some importance is now given (in Sanskrit a name that ends in ananda is given). This is important for two reasons. Firstly it acknowledges the student as a graduated aspirant. Secondly it is an authentication certifying that the student is capable of teaching. Not only teaching, but teaching as an accomplished practitioner within that particular lineage. Lineage is very, very, very, VERY important. I am emphasizing ‘very’ here because without lineage one will wander for thousands of years in the desert of human ‘importances’. Without lineage one does not receive the benefits of the three transmissions.”

He broke off here and turned to Aaraak. “You have talked to him about the three transmissions?”

“Yes,” answered Aaraak soberly.

“Okay,” Tor paused for a moment, as though considering where to go next with his lecture. Still facing Aaraak he continued, “I think we had better make a separate lecture out of the five sheaths. My question is, should I begin to talk about Chakras 7, 8, and 9 now, or should we leave that topic to a future lecture also? We are leaving an incomplete picture of the chakra chain by stopping here.”

“I am extremely interested in this subject matter,” I interjected, hoping to influence Aaraak’s answer.

Aaraak ‘looked’ at me. “You say that now,” he responded, “But later this morning when you try to get that body out of bed and achieve ‘corpus erectus’ you will be singing a different tune!” Everyone laughed. My impression was that I had somehow activated an insider joke. I knew that ‘corpus erectus’ was not common Latin but did not know the nature of what I assumed was some kind of anatomical joke. After a moment Aaraak continued, “We will stop here. This is plenty of material for Dennis to assimilate. We are stretching and exercising that big unused brain of his as it is.”

He turned back to Tor and said, “Thank you very much, it is a pleasure to listen to you… and to save my own voice! We will invite you back on many occasions in the future, over the coming years, to give lectures to Dennis. The next two will likely be on the five sheaths and on Chakras 7, 8, 9 but the exact material will depend on Dennis’ development. We wish to give him useful material as he is ready to integrate it. I am sure that there will be a time for your language and alphabet insights as well.”

They bowed their heads toward each other in gracious silence and held the position. The beauty of that moment stood out for me even as I began to fade away.