by Sri Ajit Halder
If
we hear the word “wheel” spoken by someone, then pictures of various types of vehicles
fitted with wheels immediately start flashing before our mind’s eye. The rotating, circularly shaped wheel – ‘Chakra’
in Sanskrit, - has made the most significant impact in our daily life by
facilitating travel to and from one’s home, workplace, superstore, place of
worship, homes of relatives and friends, and holiday resort. All modes of
transportation such as the horse-drawn cart, bicycle, scooter, car, public bus,
truck, tram and train need wheels to roll on from one place to another. Even an aeroplane – a vehicle which flies in
the air - has to rely on wheels to speed along the runway of a departure
airport and to pick up enough thrust for take-off, as well as upon arrival at
its destination, touchdown and progressively reduce its speed as it crawls
towards the terminal building. It is now
abundantly clear that Chakrayaan (wheeled vehicle) has brought mobility
to our daily life, contributing a new spirit of exploration that has inspired and
revolutionized the life-style of humankind.
Moreover, the word ‘Chakra’ may also refer to a metal disk, circular in
shape, like a medallion, a broach or an illustration (like the Ashoka Chakra). A chakra may refer to a "circle"
and "cycle”. More on these will be
covered in latter sections.
Besides
empowering humans to cope with the cares and the demands of their daily life,
the Chakra also has its spiritual connotation. We mention for example, the
Buddhist Dharma Chakra. Practicing religion
with the aid of this chakra and other chakras ensures advancement in one’s spiritual
life. It is interesting to note that the
wheel's motion is a metaphor for making rapid spiritual progress in the human
mind. So the Chakra is an important concept
for achieving spirituality in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism
and other faiths. A selection of chakras
mentioned in the narratives of historical accounts and religious mythology will
be described in succeeding paragraphs.
The
Dharma Chakra
The pride of place of course belongs to the
Buddhist Dharma Chakra - also known as the wheel of divine law and of fortune. Lord Buddha
is the one who turned the wheel of the dharma, and the eight spokes of the Dharma Chakra refer to the eight Noble Paths aenunciated by the
Buddha. The Noble Eightfold Path set out
by the Buddha is
considered to be at the heart of the practice of Buddhism.
The
name of each noble path begins with the front word ‘sammaa’ in Pali (from
sammyag in Sanskrit, meaning ‘right’ or ‘correct’), followed by the word naming
the respective path (also in Pali). The
paths are: sammaaditthi
(Right View
or Understanding); sammaakammanto (Right
Action); sammaasankappo
(Right Intention); sammaavaaca (Right Speech); sammaaajivo (Right Livelihood); sammaavayamo (Right Effort); sammaasati
(Right Mindfulness);
and sammaasamaadhi (Right Concentration or Meditation).
We
note that Right view refers to the right knowledge of suffering, and the
knowledge of the way leading to the cessation of suffering. In order not to create more suffering, we need
to rely on paying attention (Mindfulness) to what our Intentions are with our actions. All these observations stress the importance
of the Dharma Chakra to the followers of Buddhism.
The Dharma Chakra in
Buddhist Art
The wheel was a common symbol in early Buddhist art.
The Dharma Chakra symbolized not only Buddha's teachings, but Buddha himself. On the top of pillars built by Emperor Ashoka,
four carved lions and four wheels face the four directions to proclaim the spread
of Buddhist Dharma throughout India. Today,
the Dharma Chakra appears in the art of every Buddhist culture. On images of
the Buddha, the wheel appears on the palms of his hands and the soles of his
feet. Additionally, the
wheel represents the endless cycle of samsara or rebirth, which can only be
escaped by means of the Buddha's teachings and achieving Nirvana, the
extinction of the flame of desires.
The
Tibetan Prayer Wheel
Two
thousand years ago, the famed Buddhist master Naagaarjuna determined that
setting the Buddha's printed words in motion activated the same blessings as
reciting them with the human voice. The concept of the prayer wheel was the
result of his noble thinking and is a physical manifestation of the phrase "turning
the wheel of Dharma". Prayer wheels contain the words of the Buddha
- teachings of wisdom and compassion, printed on rolls of paper that are glued
together and wrapped by hand.
Traditionally, the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” meaning the jewel is in the rose petals, is written
in Devnagari script on the outside, while the tightly wound scroll on the
inside can have a variety of Tibetan prayers.
As a result, each single revolution of the Tibetan wheel generates the
merit of reciting an immense volume of prayers.
Bhava
Chakra
The
word Bhava means being in the realm of worldly existence. In Buddhism it denotes the continuity of being,
reincarnating to a new life and being subject to Jivan Chakra, the wheel of
life. The Bhava Chakra is seen painted on the outside walls of nearly every
Tibetan Buddhist temple in Tibet and India, to instruct non-monastic audience
about the Buddhist teachings. This
Chakra consists of three inner circles.
Symbolically, the three circles, moving from the centre outward, show
the three imperfections of the human mind: ignorance, attachment, and
aversion. These shortcomings may give
rise to karma (actions) with harmful results.
The
Sudarshan Chakra
In
Hindu mythology, the Sudarshan Chakra
is mentioned as a spinning, wheel-shaped weapon literally meaning "chakra
with auspicious vision”. Lord Vishnu is
depicted as holding this chakra on the right rear hand. He is seen brandishing
the Sudarshan Chakra as a weapon to destroy an enemy, or conquer evil, ignorance,
desires and passions. In the Rigveda, the Chakra was Vishnu's symbol as Kaala
Chakra, the wheel of Time.
RathaYatra
of Puri
Ratha Yatra or Chariot Festival is a Hindu festival
held at Puri (in the state of Odisha) and celebrated on the Ashadha Shukla
Paksha Dwitiya (second day in the bright fortnight of Ashadha month). As part of the festival, the deities of
Jagannatha, his elder brother Balabhadra, and younger sister Subhadra are taken
out on three richly decorated rathas resembling temple structures supported on
wheels. The huge, colourfully-decorated raths,
are drawn by multitude of devotees on the grand avenue in a procession to reach
their aunt's temple, the Gundicha Temple.
Lord Jagannatha's rath has sixteen chakras, each seven
feet in diameter. The Lord is identified
with Pitambara Krishna, who is attired in golden yellow robes. Hence distinguishing yellow stripes decorate the
canopy of the ratha, ‘Nandighosha’. The ratha of Lord Balarama,
called the ‘Taaladhwaja’, is the one with the Taala or Palm Tree on its flag. It has fourteen chakras, each seven feet in diameter,
and is covered with red and blue cloth. The ratha of Subhadra is known as ‘Dwarpadalana’,
literally meaning "trampler of pride". It is fitted with twelve chakras, each seven feet
in diameter. This ratha is decked with a covering of red and black cloth –
black being traditionally associated with Shakti, i.e. female power.
We
see chakras on the ground all around us but there is a chakra at a great height
attached to the pinnacle of the Jagannatha Temple in Puri known as the Neela
Chakra, the Blue wheel. This chakra atop the huge temple of Lord Jagannath has
an immensely holy connection with the lord of the world, Jagannatha.
Ratha Chakras of Konark Sun Temple
The Sanskrit word ‘ark’ means the sun and the place name Konark ends in ‘ark’. The temple at Konark, about thirty-five kilometres from Puri in the state
of Odisha, is dedicated to the Hindu sun god, Surya. So it is
proper to call this temple, the ‘Konark Sun Temple’. The temple has the appearance of a high
chariot and has twenty-four elaborately carved stone chakras. Each chakra is nearly twelve feet in diameter,
and the ratha is shown as being pulled by a set of seven stone horses. The
temple is a classic illustration of the Odisha style of Hindu temple
architecture.
Chakravyuha-trapped
Abhimanyu
The
word ‘vyuha’ denotes any military strategy of grouping army personnel. The word ‘chakra’ in the context of ‘vyuha’ refers
to the pattern of arranging troops in a complicated, circularly-shaped
intricate formation, known as Chakra vyuha. In the battle of Kurukhetra described in the
epic Mahabharata, Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna, was tricked by the Kaurava army chiefs
to enter the labyrinth trap, i.e. the Chakra Vyuha. Abhimanyu knew how to enter the vyuha, but he
did not know the escape route to free himself and was killed by the enemy force. This is yet another mention of Chakra in the
Hindu mythology.
Kundalini
Chakras
In
Indian tradition, the physical body of a human (sthulasarira) exists also in psychological and emotional state
called the "subtle body" (suksmasarira). The subtle body consists of nodes of psychic
energy, called chakras - altogether seven
in number, arranged in a column along the spinal cord of the human body from
its base to the top of the head.
Kundalini is a yogic exercise that refers to the awakening of spiritual energy and its rising upwards from the chakra
at the base of the spine (known as Muladhara Chakra) going to the crown of one’s
head (known as Sahasrara Chakra). In yogic
practice, the Chakraasana is a strong back-bending yoga asana with m beneanyficial
effects. It is so called because the body
forms the shape of a circular chakra when in this posture.
Chakra
in Gallantry Awards
As
has been mentioned earlier in the text, the term chakra also refers to circularly
shaped medallions as used in the Gallantry awards instituted by the Government
of India. The most notable awards for
valour or courageous action are: ParamVir
Chakra, MahaVir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and Ashoka Chakra.
Ashoka
Chakra on the National Flag of India
The
Ashoka Chakra, a depiction of Lord
Budddha’s Dharma Chakra with 24 spokes, is most prominently displayed on the Lion
Capital of Emperor Ashoka. The most visible use of the Ashoka Chakra today is at
the centre of the national Flag of India.
It signifies the wheel of the law of dharma or virtue, which ought to be the controlling principle of
all those working to serve the people of India. Again, the wheel denotes motion. India must move on and go forward, and so the
wheel represents the dynamism of a peaceful change that is taking place in
today’s India.
Gandhiji’s
Charkhaa
The
charkhaa is a hand-driven spinning wheel, especially used to
spin cotton wool into threads and then used to weave cloth in a hand-operated
loom. Gandhiji emphasized the use of
charkhaaas as an effective way to
remove the poverty of villagers.
The villagers could earn a living by using a charkha to produce cotton
yarn that could be employed to weave hand-made khaddar cloth. This venture would surely contribute to boost
the nation’s economy by saving foreign exchange that was being spent in
importing machine-manufactured clothes from Britain. During the freedom struggle, the Charkhaa conveyed the spirit of
nationalism to the Indian masses and became the symbol of Swadeshi
movement.
Mahatma Gandhi gave charkhaaa a new meaning and novel interpretation by describing it
as "the ever-moving wheel of divine love”.
To the Mahatma, hand-spinning was like a sacrament, a medium for
spiritual uplift, a means of self-help and self-reliance, and a symbol of the dignity
of labour and human values.
Conclusion
In
this article, the two words “Chakra”
and "Wheel" have been used interchangeably. The underlying form of a chakra is a circle
which is a shape that is complete and perfect in itself. Various chakras have been described in this
piece, and it is stressed that religious practice performed with the aid of
chakras should help the devotee progress towards a perfect, spiritual life.
Metaphorically
speaking, chakras - like the steering wheels used in boats, ships and cars for steering
purposes - steer our minds, hearts and destiny towards divine thoughts and
religious activities for achieving moksha, salvation or redemption from worldly
sufferings.
And lastly,
a quote in Sanskrit:
‘ChakravatParibartyanteDuhkhaanica
Sukhaanica’!
In English, the saying asserts
that sorrowful events and pleasant happenings take place iteratively in Chakras
(i.e. cycles) - and by implication, all humans experience those occurrences in their
worldly life. We close this discussion
with the assurance given to all readers that at the end of all these
infallibilities, our minds will ultimately be filled with joy and happiness every
time we encounter sorrow in our lives.
