Tara is the Star who Saves

There is a very special deity known throughout Buddhism named Sgrol-ma, which means “she who saves”. This savior goddess is most popular in the regions of Tibet , Mongolia and Nepal. She is known simply as Tara or “star” in the Sanskrit language.

Tara is the goddess of universal compassion, she is the representation of all virtuous, enlightened action. Her love for all living things is stronger than the love of a mother for her child. Tara protects us during our earthly travels, giving us longevity and stands guards us as we fumble our way through the spiritual journey to enlightenment.

Before the sixth century CE Tara was not known to Buddhists but she was very well known in Hinduism by another name, the goddess Parvati. When Buddhists discovered Tara they say she was born out of Avalokiteshvara, through her tears of compassion. As the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara wept for the world and its beings who endure suffering, her tears formed a lake. Inside this lake of tears grew a lotus and when the lotus opened the goddess Tara was inside! In another legend Tara was born from a blue light beam coming from one of Avalokiteshvara's eyes.

The body of Tara is envisioned in different colours, each colour symbolizes separate things. In some traditions it is said that White Tara, with her lotus in full bloom, symbolizes the day, and was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara's left eye. Green Tara with her half-open lotus, represents the night, and came from the tears of Avalokiteshvara's right eye. Green Tara is the embodiment of virtuous activity, White Tara symbolizes the immense compassion of the goddess who labors day and night to relieve suffering.

In Tibet,Every pious woman was believed to be an incarnation of Tara. She was associated with two wives of the first Buddhist king of Tibet, Srong-brtsan-sgam-po. The Buddhist kings wife from imperial China was known an incarnation of the White Tara, while the king's wife from Nepalese was an incarnation of the Green Tara. It is possible that the strong need to see both these pious women as incarnations of Tara was the reason Buddhists came up with the concept of green and white forms of this goddess.

She Is The Star Who Saves

There is a very special deity known throughout Buddhism named Sgrol-ma, which means “she who saves”. This savior goddess is most popular in the regions of Tibet , Mongolia and Nepal. She is known simply as Tara or “star” in the Sanskrit language.

Tara is the goddess of universal compassion, she is the representation of all virtuous, enlightened action. Her love for all living things is stronger than the love of a mother for her child. Tara protects us during our earthly travels, giving us longevity and stands guards us as we fumble our way through the spiritual journey to enlightenment.

Before the sixth century CE Tara was not known to Buddhists but she was very well known in Hinduism by another name, the goddess Parvati. When Buddhists discovered Tara they say she was born out of Avalokiteshvara, through her tears of compassion. As the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara wept for the world and its beings who endure suffering, her tears formed a lake. Inside this lake of tears grew a lotus and when the lotus opened the goddess Tara was inside! In another legend Tara was born from a blue light beam coming from one of Avalokiteshvara's eyes..

The body of Tara is envisioned in different colours, each colour symbolizes separate things. In some traditions it is said that White Tara, with her lotus in full bloom, symbolizes the day, and was born from the tears of Avalokiteshvara's left eye. Green Tara with her half-open lotus, represents the night, and came from the tears of Avalokiteshvara's right eye. Green Tara is the embodiment of virtuous activity, White Tara symbolizes the immense compassion of the goddess who labors day and night to relieve suffering.

In Tibet,Every pious woman was believed to be an incarnation of Tara. She was associated with two wives of the first Buddhist king of Tibet, Srong-brtsan-sgam-po. The Buddhist kings wife from imperial China was known an incarnation of the White Tara, while the king's wife from Nepalese was an incarnation of the Green Tara. It is possible that the strong need to see both these pious women as incarnations of Tara was the reason Buddhists came up with the concept of green and white forms of this goddess.

Chakras: Tradition verses New Age

Traditionally Chinese medicine relies on the model belief that the human body is an energy system, consisting of seven chakras located through the body on a horizontal line from the Root chakra on the genitle area up to the Crown chakra at the top of the head. The New Age movement has created an increased interest in Western cultures including the chakras. Some people in New Age practices claim that there are chakras, besides the seven major ones, for instance, ear chakras. Although it cannot be proven that this is entirely untrue it is certainly up for debate.

People from the East and West who study or tap into the chakras energy system know that there is a correspondence between the position and role of the chakras, and those of the glands in the endocrine system. Each chakra is responsible for different aspects of the body just like each organ is responsible for its own functions.

The chakras are described in the tantric texts as Sat-Cakra-Nirupana, and the Padaka-Pancaka, where they radiate an electrical consciousness, an energy which pours down from the spiritual like the suns rays. They then create these distinct levels of chakras (simular to oil settling on top of water), which eventually settle in the Muladhara (root) chakra. This energy that came into creation, called the Kundalini, will lie coiled and sleeping until it is taped into through tantric yogi, reiki or meditation to arouse the energy, and encourage it to flow back up through the increasingly subtler chakras, until union with god is achieved in the Sahasrara (crown) chakra at the top of the head.

It is believed that the energy of the chakras is continuously flowing (like a stream), if it is not respected and given the proper care then the energy can become blocked (by a dam). For instance when a child gets and ear ache it could be caused by a number of things ranging from physical illness or a damaged ear drum. But physicians tend to over look the chakras energy system which could be blocked causing the tissues in the ear to break down. To ease the discomfort in the child's ear many doctors will mask the pain with medication. But the inflammation can be reduced simply by placing a hand over the ear and concentrating on the corresponding chakra. As the energy pulses through the blockage it will allow the body to heal naturally.

In the end it does not matter which set of beliefs you follow, all that matters is that you treat your energy centers with the same care and respect that you would treat any other part of your body. when you can find balance in your life it becomes much easier to focus less on the negative and more on what is positive.

The origin of chakras

The Chakras are the energy center or node in the human body, they were first discovered when practicing spiritual beliefs and practices. The word comes from the Sanskrit "cakra" meaning "wheel, circle", and it is sometimes referred to the "wheel of life". Today the Chakras and their energy is channeled by most “New Age” healers, holistic medical practitioners, they are commonly used in alternative medicine like reflexology, reiki, and yoga.

In Hinduism, meditations would be done on a particular chakra in order to tap into its spiritual energy systems. Each energy system is vibrating at a different frequency than the others, therefor it is responsible for different aspects of the physical and emotional body. People who practice yoga and other related eastern cultural traditions know full well that each chakra holds a unique set of energy's, and when one is blocked it effects all other parts of the body.

The chakras are known- when properly used- to vitalize the physical body of anything from headaches to blood clots and are also associated with interactions of mental nature like depression so schizophrenia. They are considered loci of life energy, or prana, which flow among them along pathways called nadis much like the neropathways in the brain.

There are seven main chakras and many smaller more specific chakras, each is recognized as a three dimensional sphere aligned along the body in an ascending column from the base of the spine (root) to the top of the head (crown). Each chakra is associated with a certain color from red at the root through the spectrum to violet at the crown. Each has multiple specific functions depending on where it is located in the body and which organs it is attached to. They are associated with an aspect of consciousness, a classical element (earth, air, fire or water) and many other distinguishing characteristics.

The chakras are very powerful elements in our bodies that most people do not recognize, they are in control of every aspect of our lives and perhaps hold the secret to our souls. Until humans can scientifically understand the chakra system we will have to trust that it is there and take care if it like we would take care of any other part of your body. We can do this by meditating each day, going for regular check ups, getting plenty of rest. It is important to cleanse your soul, so be sure to take the time on a regular basis to do something for your happiness.