CP15 Nelson Mandela and the Chakra system
As we come to terms with the death of Nelson Mandela I am prompted to think about his life and work in relation to the Chakras. For a long time I have thought that, as a human race, we are struggling to move from the solar plexus chakra up into the heart chakra – to live our lives and develop our values from a place of acceptance of and respect for all living things, including our planet.
The solar plexus chakra’s importance is that it represents for us a good, strong ego – a sense of self, having a place in the world which is solid. We all need to have a positive sense of our individual uniqueness, a inner feeliing of worthiness and value that can carry us through the challenges that life regularly presents us with. The solar plexus tells us when we are experiencing injustice, it fuels us with the energy of righteous anger – the kind of energy we need to bring about personal and social change for the better. Nelson Mandela had this in bucket loads.
I would also say that most likely he was strengthened by the innate power of his tribal background (his father having been a tribal chief), and so had a solid root chakra. He was passionate and in touch with his feelings (sacral chakra) and, as a young man, he would have been able to feel the suffering that apartheid produced. With his groundedness and passion he used his anger to fight. We may judge that now – we may say that his terrorist activities were wrong. However, we do know that before he took up arms he had been trying to bring social change with peaceful protests for a long time. Only when children fleeing from military gunfire – shot in the back – in Soweto did he feel he had no alternative.
I would say that at that time his vision – based in the crown and third eye chakras – was held within his first three chakras, from which he got the strength to take the action that he did. He also held that vision within his heart, being willing to sacrifice his life for the cause of ending apartheid. I would suggest that his prison years demanded him to continue to grow – to move much further into the heart chakra – personally, spiritually and politically. To be able to come out of prison after 27 years and speak of forgiveness and acceptance is beyond most of us. That is why he is such a great man. His throat chakra (speaking his truth) was clearly strong – he was a great orator and his words have influenced, and I hope will continue to influence, millions of us.
For me he represents the pathway from the potential conflict between different peoples (the solar plexus chakra gives us a national identity) to the unity of all peoples at the heart chakra. We so desperately need more Mandelas in our world – those whose vision lifts us all beyond creeds and set belief systems. This must happen if we are to survive and evolve as a human race. At the level of the solar plexus we can potentially destroy one another; at the heart we can unite and move forward as that global rainbow of people that he referred to.
I would be interested to hear any of your thoughts on this.
all good wishes,
Heart chakra energy