Ajna: The Meaning of the Third Eye Chakra

What is the third eye chakra, and why does Umesh Guruji approach it with caution? He presents Ajna as the chakra of knowledge and of the mind, and explains why its strength, without balance in the other chakras and without letting go of ego, can lead the wrong way.

What is the Ajna chakra?

Ajna is the sixth of the seven chakras described in the introduction to the chakras, known everywhere as the third eye. Umesh Guruji associates it with the pituitary gland, which he calls the master gland, and says it has two petals and the mantra OM. When it is pure and balanced, he explains, it becomes easy to decide what is good and what is bad.

Why balance matters more than opening

Many people want to open the third eye to see past and future, or to gain power. Umesh warns that opening it while the lower chakras and the heart are not clean is dangerous: the energy goes to the head, and a person may try to control others, as in black magic, or like people today who learn a great deal, have an answer for everyone and attract followers while their ego grows. As he puts it, "Controlling never solves the problem."

Beyond the mind

For Umesh, the third eye can help you know yourself and your inner power, but the truth lies beyond the mind, and a strong ego keeps you inside it. At some point everything has to be let go, and here a teacher helps by breaking the ego, a theme of the lesson on the guru. Buddhist monks sitting in silence, he says, are people who have let go.