THE AJNA CENTRE (Part II)

The ajna centre is a vortex of force situated within the etheric body in the region between the two eyes. This energy body is the higher counterpart of the physical body where all the chakras are situated. Its function is to receive higher impressions from the soul and to direct the integrated personality in conformity with soul purpose.

The (inner) eye is the true eye of vision and involves the idea of the see-er and that which is seen. It is the eye of the soul. It is that through which the soul looks forth into the world of men, and is the means by which purposeful direction is given to the personality which has become aligned.

As the three-fold personality becomes integrated in course of time and through due process of discipline, it provides the means by which higher influences may pass into the physical world as selfless service. These higher influences are received and distributed into the outer world under the direction of the ajna centre. As we become more aware of the vibrations of soul energy (and there are those who do) the integrated personality begins to live more and more under the influence of the soul, the two physical eyes being used as directive agencies. So speak the Wise. There are three eyes of vision at our disposal and we learn to use them effectively in course of time and right inner development.

The Third Eye is the window of the soul, the true Observer in us all, but in the majority of cases it is not yet an active, conscious distributor of soul energy. At a certain point on the evolutionary cycle it becomes active when the thought life is the major field of activity, and the mind (a transmitting agent to the brain) becomes the director of all incoming energies of a higher nature. The evolution of consciousness proceeds more rapidly at this point as new and higher energies become available to the man/woman on the physical plane, and continuity of consciousness between the inner and outer worlds is experienced through the increased activity of the ajna centre.

We may observe distinct characteristics in those people who have achieved some degree of personality integration; they demonstrate a greater measure of personal power, an ability to plan intelligently and to organise the physical plane effectively; they are clear-minded in regard to personal goals and have the capacity to make things happen in line with their will. These abilities may be used by those with an integrated personality for selfish or unselfish purposes, and the outcome depends largely on the degree of integration achieved between the soul and personality. Alignment and integration of the personality with the soul, that higher body within each of us, ever deepens our understanding and desire for unity, goodwill, and right human relations. We have only to look at some of our public figures in the world today, and at those who have wielded power for good or ill in days gone by, to grasp what is being said about the activity, or lack of activity, of the ajna centre, the assimilator and distributor of soul energy.

The integrated personality is the first indication of the developing ajna centre. It is the goal for all and is brought about after much time and experience when left to the course of the evolutionary process. It is more rapidly achieved, however, by those who acknowledge the existence of an inner path. For those who have not yet achieved personality integration, the daily life experience is ever coloured by the constant push and pull of internal forces and by those conflicts which occur so frequently in personal and social relations. The vicissitudes of life continue to present the roller-coaster ’cause and effect’ paradigm with its pain and pleasure syndrome. Yet, it is this very roller-coaster experience which prompts within us eventually a deep-seated desire for a more integrated life; we come to a point where clarity is urgently needed and the desire for something better steers us to the discovery of a more intelligent way to live. In this way we unravel the next step on our journey, the method and means of which are distinct for each of us, for we are all quite unique. As the development of mind progresses and the three-fold personality becomes a unified force, so the ajna centre is enlivened, and the individual will demonstrates as purposeful expression.

In the Mundaka Upanishad, there is an enlightening verse which alludes to this process of inner development which each individual must forge for him/herself:

As a spider, by itself and independently of any other help, spreads out the threads that are non-different from its own body, and again withdraws those very threads and makes them one with itself, just so the Imperishable (within us) creates in the phenomenal world.

The power of the Soul on higher mental levels creates a pathway of light when invoked by the aspiring mind. When this occurs – even in the most tenuous manner – the energies of love and creativity, which are inherent qualities of the soul, flow unimpeded into the three-fold personality, purifying and transforming it gradually in the process. We come across from time to time, those striking characteristics in the world that are the effects of this bridging: in the reading of an uplifting book; in those rarest of conversations which fire the imagination; in listening to a piece of music that touches the heart deeply; in the viewing of an awe-inspiring movie, the effect of which lingers on for weeks, months, even years . . . these are the outer expressions of that inner connection to the soul. Only the fully soul-integrated personality can wield and express correctly these higher energies for the benefit of all in the outer circle.

As we develop in this subjective way (mostly unaware of what is unfolding on the inner planes), changes occur gradually in our life expression. We begin to sense the inner Light which underlies all forms; our values and long-held views of the world begin to shift; a cherished awareness of group consciousness and universal oneness increases as the energy of unconditional love flows unimpeded into the daily expression; sensitivity to higher impressions develops rapidly in the brain consciousness as the direct line of contact is maintained between the inner and outer worlds. In this way the ajna centre becomes an effective receptor, director and transmitter of higher impressions.

The process of spiritual development is not difficult to comprehend once we begin to acknowledge the fact that we ARE, in essence, a Great Light, a Light which has been obscured for a very long time, but which is now beginning to shine forth more brightly in many of us as the impediments of the personality become sufficiently cleared through purification, deeper understanding, and essentially, as a direct contact is forged with the soul.