In Part 2, we saw how Ida and Pingala — the two rivers of feminine and masculine energy — spiral around the spine, and how balancing them opens Sushumna, the central channel. Now, Sakthi begins her ascent. This is the journey through the seven chakras.
1 — The Ascent
The Journey Through the Chakras
As Sakthi (the awakened life energy) rises through each chakra, your level of consciousness expands. Most people spend their entire lives between the first three — survival, desire, and power. Yoga is the path that elevates the default mind upward, chakra by chakra, toward wisdom, love, and ultimately, liberation.
| # | Chakra | Focus of the Mind |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Muladhara (Root) | Survival: food, sleep, shelter, and security |
| 2 | Swadhisthana (Sacral) | Pleasure, desire, and sensory experience |
| 3 | Manipura (Solar Plexus) | Power, control, recognition, and achievement |
| 4 | Anahata (Heart) | Love, compassion, and emotional depth |
| 5 | Vishuddha (Throat) | Truth, authentic expression, and clarity |
| 6 | Ajna (Third Eye) | Sakthi meets Sivam. Intuition awakens. Inner vision opens. |
| 7 | Sahasrara (Crown) | Sakthi dissolves into Sivam. All duality ends. This is Samadhi. |
2 — The Meeting and the Merging
The Two Stages of Union — Ajna to Sahasrara
Stage 1 — Ajna Chakra: The Meeting
The Ajna Chakra, at the space between the eyebrows, is where Sakthi first meets Sivam. The meditator experiences deep intuition, inner stillness, and a feeling of being the witness rather than the doer. However, at this stage, duality still exists. There is still an 'I' who is experiencing. Sakthi and Sivam are together but not yet one.
Stage 2 — Sahasrara Chakra: The Complete Union
The Sahasrara Chakra, at the crown of the head, is where Sakthi fully dissolves into Sivam. This is not a meeting — it is a merging. All sense of individual identity dissolves. The mind becomes completely still — no thoughts, no ego, no time. The Jeevathma (individual soul) merges with the Paramathma (universal consciousness). What remains is pure, infinite awareness — the state of Samadhi. This cannot be intellectually understood — it can only be experienced.
3 — Lived Practice
Sakthi and Sivam in Every Ordinary Moment
This cosmic principle is not reserved for saints and meditators. It plays out in the ordinary moments of every day:
- When you act without awareness (Sakthi without Sivam): You are reactive, impulsive, and restless. Energy flows outward without direction.
- When you are aware but never act (Sivam without Sakthi): You are passive, withdrawn, and stagnant. Consciousness remains unexpressed.
- When action and awareness are balanced: You are present, focused, calm, and effective — what ancient yogis called being established in the Self.
This balance is the true goal of yoga in daily life — not escape from the world, but full engagement with it from a place of inner stillness.
4 — In Nature
Sakthi and Sivam in the World Around You
Once you understand this principle, you begin to see it everywhere:
| Sivam (Consciousness) | Sakthi (Energy) |
|---|---|
| The vast, silent sky | The clouds and storms moving through it |
| The still depths of the ocean | The waves rising on the surface |
| The lamp itself | The light and warmth it radiates |
| Silence | Sound, music, and all expression |
| Space | Everything that exists within space |
| Your pure awareness | Every thought and feeling arising within it |
The background is always Sivam. The foreground is always Sakthi. In the deepest experience of meditation, the foreground dissolves into the background — and only pure awareness remains.
Most spiritual traditions speak of God as separate from creation. The Sakthi-Sivam philosophy offers a fundamentally different vision:
There is no separation.
You are not a human being trying to reach God.
You are consciousness itself, temporarily appearing as a human being.
The Sakthi in you is the same Sakthi that moves the stars.
The Sivam in you is the same Sivam that underlies all of existence.
Aham Brahmasmi
I am Brahman, the infinite consciousness.
Tat Tvam Asi
That thou art.
Yoga is not the path to something you do not have.
It is the path of remembering what you have always been.