The Base Centre

Wisdom Teachings
The Centres

The base centre is the source of the material for our physical body. It builds up the solid matter in the tissues of the body and regulates its activity and bio-chemical reactions. This unit of power and the consciousness directing the structures of the physical body is called Muladhara. The ancient science of Yoga explains that the Muladhara governs Prithivi or the earth element of our constitution and keeps it in an order. If our body is becoming bulky or emaciated, if it is losing or gaining in weight, the activity of the Muladhara Chakra is responsible for it. If the base centre is strong, we are full of power; if it is weak, our physical strength gets lost.

The functioning of the centre depends on the quality of the past karma. Accordingly, we choose our parents and incarnate where certain qualities are available. When we are born, the consciousness at first dwells in the heart. From there it radiates to the brain, to the senses and into the mind. Through the cerebrospinal system it moves down the spine to the base centre where it gets anchored at the densest point in matter. Up to this point spirit condenses in matter - matter doesn’t fall down further. The man living in objectivity is bound by the grip of the Muladhara to the physical, astral and mental planes.

The vital force resting in the base centre is called Kundalini. It not only prepares our material body but also takes in more matter than necessary and thus makes the body heavy. You can compare the soul with a balloon filled with hydrogen fixed to a piece of wood and therefore not being able to ascend. As far as we are busy with mundane thoughts the Muladhara gets filled with mundane material.

The material substance of the Muladhara has to be refined and the excessive matter expelled, otherwise we remain stuck in the dense physical. To raise the Kundalini from the base centre is not an effort to deal with the Kundalini. The technology for this is spiritual practice.

There are many who activate the Kundalini fire too early and thus run into troubles. This does much harm to their health, not only on the physical plane, but also on the emotional and mental planes. Therefore, the Kundalini fire must not be stimulated as long as you don’t follow certain rules in life. The base centre is governed by the activity of the 7th ray; this means rhythm and order in life. By organising our life according to a rhythm we work with the 7th ray and begin to overcome the ties to the base centre. If we bring work, food and sleep to a rhythm this activates the inner fire. The fire in the body cells also gets stimulated by rhythmic breathing. Thus, the Kundalini fire can transform the body. It penetrates all planes of matter.

The Kundalini is described as a serpent which is coiled three and a half times around the base centre. The coils represent the physical, astral and the lower half of the mental planes of our existence. The other, better, half comes down from above. We have to reach the third sub-plane of the mental plane to overcome the influence of matter.

The three and a half parts linked to matter can be developed when we know how you work with all the four petals of the base centre. These four petals carry four sounds, with another seed sound in the centre, DAM. The condensing energy in the base centre is Saturn; he is the ruler of the lower Muladhara and causes the strong link of consciousness to matter. The higher Muladhara serves to liberate us from matter. In the higher Muladhara the cosmic Jupiter principle is worshipped, the elephant-headed god Ganesha. Jupiter leads to an expansion of consciousness. We find the energy of Jupiter in the head centre, the Sahasrara, which corresponds to the North Pole, whereas the South Pole in us is the Muladhara.

The wisdom teachings now explain that the spirit can be released from matter by invoking the cosmic Jupiter principle in the base centre, with sound, colour and form. This is as if you imprison an elephant into a small hut. To it the space is too small, and it breaks all that is around and liberates itself. Thus, in the middle of this centre you visualise a white elephant on which there is the symbol of the cosmic mind called Indra. He carries the secret of the sound related to materialisation. The evolutionary colour of the base centre is violet, while brownish red is the involutionary colour. The cosmic Jupiter principle is invoked with the sound GANAPATI, a name of the elephant-headed god, whose sound quality is GAM: GAM GANAPATAYE NAMAHA. By uttering this sound potency the four-petalled lotus of the base centre gets completely ordered. GANAPATI makes the objective life stable and confers expansion and fulfilment. Thus, Saturn lets us go and the rule over the base centre passes on to Jupiter.

Agastya, Master Jupiter, works with the base centre and stimulates the Kundalini. When we utter the sound CVV and observe the inner working during 15 minutes in the morning and evening, the Kundalini power gets activated and works from below upward. Master CVV says, “I enter into your Kundalini and remove the waste material.” During prayer the Master enters into our heart and continues to the base centre. There he starts conducting subtle movements to restructure the body. The system gets filled with plenty of prana, and on this basis a strong etheric body is built. The movement becomes so fine that there is only a pulsation and no more outer movement. This pulsation moves through the six centres, according to necessity. Thus, an upward movement of the energy is generated. It delinks the bondage to the base centre and helps to gain a general attitude of detachment towards the things around us. Thus, we can ascend to the higher realms of being. The Master continues working through the Kundalini until we are raised to the Buddhic plane, the kingdom of beauty.

The higher Muladhara centre is ruled by Sagittarius. The part of the sign from 0° to 13° 20’ is called Mula, after the “star of basement” at 0° in Sagittarius. Here two paths branch off: on the one way called Devayana of the “Children of the divine path” the souls return into higher circles to their origin. The other way of the “children of the karmic path” called Pitriyana leads the souls as per their inclination still deeper down into matter. Via an energy vortex below the Muladhara it leads into the thighs where there exist subhuman beings in gross matter.

The upward path from the Muladhara to the Ajna centre and to the Sahasrara is called the path of Sushumna, of the “good thread”, along which the ascent takes place. The doors to the column of Sushumna are well guarded. Those who aren’t well prepared cannot enter. The door to the ascent and to the underworld is guarded by a dog. This dog, called Cerberus in Greek mythology, is the Dog Star, Sirius; in the Vedic scriptures it is called Sarama. It is said that this dog has three heads and a serpentine tail. It reaches down to the lower Muladhara and still further downwards. The dog is very wakeful to keep away all undesirable elements so that they can’t enter. Therefore, those who can observe and be quiet and silent are compared to watchdogs.

Dattatreya is the three-headed Lord who is located in the Muladhara. He is regarded as the Lord of Sirius who is always represented as surrounded by four dogs. The Muladhara has four petals. In the Vedic tradition there are three other great cosmic intelligences besides Dattatreya working on the four petals of the centre – Ganesha, Hanuman and Kapila. Kapila gave out the fourfold wisdom; his teachings are as old as the planet. This information is a hint you can work with later. The four great devas can work simultaneously between the Sahasrara and the Ajna and from there lift up from the Muladhara. Thus, we can ask them for help to lift us up from the depth of matter to the highest planes.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: On Healing / Dattatreya / notes from seminars. E. Krishnamacharya: Spiritual Astrology. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.