The Heart Chakra
Introduction
The Primordial Sound: What is Unstruck?
“Anahata” literally means unstruck. It refers to the primordial sound that emerged from the void before matter existed—the sound of Aum. While physical sound occurs when two objects strike each other, Aum is the vibration of creation itself.
In the same way, your spirit is pure, radiant, and invulnerable. It exists within you before experiences, thoughts, and emotions. Your heart is a spiritual place of freedom and wonder, where love, compassion, joy, and gratitude arise without conditions.
The Essence of the Jivatma
Within your heart is your Jivatma (individual soul). Before it became clouded by perceptions and trauma, this essence was—and remains—constant.
“Your divine self is like the blue sky, constant behind the clouds, free of hurt and trauma.”
This is the spirit of Air, the element of Anahata. It represents freedom, expansion, freshness, and the simplicity of the breath. But like the wind, this energy is immense. Just as a cyclone can uproot trees, the “wind” of our emotions—like anger and fury—can devastate the beauty we have built. Conversely, the power of love can achieve miracles.
The Path of Touch: Joy vs. Pleasure
The sense of touch and our motor skills (hand dexterity) are fundamentally linked to Anahata. As the body’s largest organ, our skin constantly absorbs what we feel. This sensory faculty has a dual nature:
- The Path of Pleasure: One can become lost in the seductive world of sensual touch, perpetually striving for more and moving through lifetimes without finding contentment.
- The Path of Joy: By mastering these desires, we find the spiritual joining of the self with the universe and come to rest in true happiness.
Anahata is the ultimate meeting place of body and spirit. Here, we choose between the pull of physical desires and the expansion of the spiritual path.
The Middle Way: Tuning the String
There is a middle way between sensual indulgence and ascetic denial. Think of a string: when it is too tight, it breaks; when it is too loose, it will not play. A string in tune plays harmoniously.
The middle way is non-attachment. People often think that mediation is about holding your mind tightly without thoughts flowing through. But meditation is the ability to observe our thoughts without holding onto them, watching them flow through our mind.
The middle way of the heart is the ability not to hold onto objects, people and pain. When facing pain, there is a choice: hold on or let go. Releasing pain opens the heart to new connections and compassion, while clinging to it only cultivates negativity.
Healing and the Choice to Release
It is necessary to process past trauma, whether through chakra work or professional support. Once the work has been done, you will be able to transform the pain and let it go. Ruminating on old pain holds the mind in a state of perceived threat.
Your past does not have to define you. Instead of identifying as a victim, choose to be a winner. Clinging to pain is a tactic of the ego, though your spirit longs to be free.
Living from the Heart
Releasing pain is a conscious decision. When you live from your Heart Chakra, you embrace forgiveness—not necessarily for the benefit of others, but for your own peace. Remember that those who inflict pain often operate from fear or ignorance; forgiving them frees your heart to fill with joy.
Ultimately, giving and receiving love is fundamental to our nature.
- Practice self-love: Shed negative self-talk and unrealistic expectations.
- Cultivate gratitude: Release the ego and simply be love.
By accepting life as it is, you allow yourself to find the joy you deserve.
The Symbol
The Shatkona Star
Two triangles link together to form a star called Shatkona. The Shatkona is a very ancient and mystical symbol, thousands of years old. It is formed by two triangles interwoven together. The upward-pointing triangle points to heaven. It resonates with the vibration, Om. It symbolizes the male aspect, Shiva, the supreme being and fire. The primordial sound is Om, and it is embedded in the upward-facing triangle of Anahata.
The downward-pointing triangle points to earth. It resonates with the vibration, Hreem. It symbolizes the female aspect, Shakti: mother nature and water. They are opposites and cannot exist without the other. When you meditate on the Shatkona in Anahata, you will discover that it is two spinning tetrahedrons (three-sided pyramids) with the upward pyramid rising through the center of the downward-pointing pyramid. This is the interpenetration of consciousness, Purusha, and unconscious Prakriti—the stillness of true nature and the activity of nature. Prakriti is responsible for activating Purusha.
This is how we feel love and compassion. When we exist in pure consciousness, Purusha, we are in complete stillness and emptiness. The energy of our ever-changing world, Prakriti, excites our heart and we feel emotions. The six points of the triangle represent the six heads of Kartikeya, the offspring of the male and female energy. Kartikeya is the mighty god of war created to combat demons that symbolize negative tendencies in people. His six faces point in the direction of the six points of the Shatkona to help him see problems coming from all directions and combat those who may lead us in the direction of the six ripu: Kama (lust), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), mada (arrogance), moha (delusion), and matsarya (jealousy).
The kundalini serpent appears in the upward-pointing triangle of the heart chakra. The kundalini energy is no longer coiled three and a half times around the lingam; it is moving upward to higher spiritual planes. The energy is calm and serene, not the destructive energy found in the Muladhara chakra. In the center is an eternal flame that stands for the Jivatma (individual soul), the Divine Soul or Higher Self. The Jivatma is represented by the image of a motionless, golden lamp-flame.
When energy moves down toward lower consciousness, it is expressed as connection with the body and the material world. The upward-pointing triangle represents the material world rising to meet the spirit. When one’s energy is moving in an upward direction, the heart chakra can express itself as unconditional love, which leads toward spiritual liberation. Art, music, and poetry created under the influence of Kakini, the female deity, bring calmness to the mind and peace to the ego and intellect. This creativity can become so absorbing that the sense of I-consciousness dissolves away.