Are Chakras Cultural Appropriation?

Early in 2022 it was brought to my attention that the way we use Chakras in the Western world is different from the original Chakras.

 

The word Chakra means wheel in Sanskrit.

Chakras have been around for thousands of years. They have their basis in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. Chakras are part of the Tantric teachings, which you’ve probably heard of as Tantric Yoga, and if you are like me, completely misunderstood what that was about too.

Anyway…

Some Hindi believe that we have culturally appropriated chakras, and some believe that they are an open system, shared by all.

With this in mind, it is important to learn a bit more about the origins before we start using them.

First of all, this wasn’t done maliciously, it was done through miscommunication.

In Hindu and Buddhism there are many chakras and they are not connected to any specific part of the body, nor are they attached to any color, number of petals, essential oils, crystals, etc. They are more fluid and manifest in different ways, in different numbers, depending on the belief system you are using.

How did we end up with the Chakra system we use today?

 Back in 1577 Purnananada Yati wrote Shatchakra Nirupana, loosely translated, An Explanation of the Six Chakras. This included teachings about the six chakras that are in the body and the seventh above the head. He stated that this is just one version of how to use Chakras. He based this off an 13^th Century document.

Then in 1918 John Woodroffe translated Yati’s document, but he did a bad job of it and a lot of mistranslation took place. This translation took hold in the Western academic and occult circles.

Carl Jung, one of the early leaders in psychiatry, found this information and became fascinated with how the seven chakras related to consciousness. He wrote extensively on it and it is from his writings that we start to see the seven chakras connected to things like love, sexuality, instinct, and willpower.

 In 1987 Anodea Judith published Wheels of Life, in which she connects each chakra to all the many things we see them connected to now: color, planets, crystals, essential oils, herbs, etc.

 

In 2019 I began learning about Chakras as I studied Reiki. Chakras are not part of the original Reiki that Dr. Usui taught, but they were later added, and fit very well in the Reiki hand positions.

 I’ve thought about using “Energy Centers” instead of “Chakras” but at this point I’m not sure that everyone would get that I was talking about the Western version of the Chakras when I say “Energy Centers” (and it definitely has a much lower SEO ranking than Chakra), so I’m going to continue using the word Chakra. You’ll need to decide for yourself how you feel about this.

 

The Western Chakras are very much a part of my spirituality and my energy work. I use them to diagnose where I and my clients are out of alignment, showing me where I need to work.