downward pointing triangle (Shakti's womb) and an upward pointing triangle (Shiva's phallus). Manipura Chakra
Manipura chakra is linked to our self confi-dence and self esteem, our sense of willpower. Here a woman develops the personal stamina to sustain her impending pregnancy. In terms of pre-conception, the developing soul develops his / her basic life strength. For conscious conception to occur, there has to be not only the intuitive connection (Ajna), the intellectual connection (Vishuddhi), and the devotional desire (Anahata), but also the willpower to bring about physical union (Manipura). I'm sure we've all known couples who say they want to have a baby, | |
fertile (a healthy Swadhisthana) and the male is potent (a healthy Swadhisthana), the combination of these physical factors with the preceding mental factors of willpower, love, intellect and psyche should effortlessly cause conception to take place. However, if there are any physiologi-cal or psychosomatic blockages, then conception may not take place. This of course can be frustrating and painful after all the previous stages, hopes and plans the parents may have been through.
At Mooladhara the end result of Shiva's descent to Shakti's home place is complete, and the successful outcome of their union (an embryo) is then established in the womb (Swadhisthana) where it physically develops for months.
Most people would consider these |
| who are in love, but who have no will to begin. They keep letting themselves get distracted by jobs, holidays, and material acquisition or for any number of outside influences. Here the spirit will get stuck for a while until their willpower causes the conception to move further down to the "action zone". |
 | physical Mooladhara and Swadhisthana stages to be the only important factors in conception. If you asked most people where does conception start, they would not think any higher than these areas. But as I have just outlined, these are just the last stages arising from something just as important, yet far more subtle.
From this point of physical conception, | |
| Swadhisthana Chakra
At the level of Swadhisthana, the trigger for conscious conception is the woman's ovaries which send down the first physical element needed for conception, even prior to sex, where the egg awaits its chance for fertilisation in the uterus. For conscious conception, the woman needs to be aware of her fertility cycle, so that she knows when it is the right time to make love to hit the 12 - 24 hour window of opportunity. Involved with Swadhisthana are one's attitudes to sex and the physical pleasure arising from it. Reproductive disorders, sexual dissatisfaction or incompatibilities with a partner are sure to be factors prohibiting successful conception, so all these things need to be resolved well in advance of the desired mating session. Mooladhara Chakra
Here at the bottom of Shiva's descent, the actions of the sexual organs allow the physical mechanics for conception to take place. The penis (or lingam of Shiva) enjoins with the vagina (yoni of Shakti). The semen travels up to meet the egg which has come down. If the woman is | | everyone would rightly consider the in-utero period to be the most important time in a baby's development, when everything the mother does, eats, feels, thinks, is likely to affect the child in some way. But this time of physical development nevertheless subtly includes within it all the previous phases. Throughout pregnancy, the mother will have to maintain her physical strength (Manipura) , maternal love (Anahata), intellectual clarity (Vishuddhi), and psychic sensibilities (Ajna and Bindu Visarga). The scene for these attributes is set long before, sometimes years. The developing child in-utero will need to be prepared itself, in exactly the same ways as the mother, for the final leg of its journey out into the world. So, more than the mother just developing the baby's body in-utero, she has been developing, and will continue to develop, the baby's mental and psychic sensibilities during its gestation.
So, according to tantra, this is the role of the child's first guru - its mother. To be a conscious vessel for conception, right from its arrival out of the infinite consciousness, all the way down to its arrival out of the birth canal.
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