expression meaning “horn of Ammon,”
which refers to a form of the god
Jupiterthat bears rams’ horns. In India
the ammonite’s circular form is under-
stood as a symbol of Vishnu’sdiscus
(chakra), and thus the shalagram is
considered a svayambhu “self-mani-
fested” image of Vishnu himself. As
with all svayambhu forms of a deity,
the shalagram is considered to be
extraordinarily holy and is usually kept
as an object of worship.
Amritanandamayi
(b. 1953, as Sudhamani) Modern Hindu
teacher and religious leader, whose
devotees (bhakta) worshipher as an
incarnation of the Goddess. She was
born the daughterof a poor fisherman,
and from her earliest childhood she
focused on religious life. Her teachings
stress the importance of devotion
(bhakti), particularly to one’s spiritual
teacher (guru), and her devotees credit
her with healing and spiritual awaken-
ing. The Mata AmritanandamayiMath,
located in the city of Quilon in the state
of Kerala, was formed to spread her
teachings in India and abroad.
Amrta
(“imperishable”) In Hindu mythology
this is the nectar of immortality, which is
churned from the Ocean of Milk through
the combined efforts of the gods and the
demons. The word is also used
metaphorically to describe anything
believed to be especially purifying and
powerful, such as charanamrta(“foot
nectar”). Charanamrta are the liquids
(milk, water, etc.) given to devotees
(bhakta) to drink, which are often the
fluids in which their guru’sfeet or the
image of a deityhave been bathed. See
also Tortoise avatar.
Anahata Chakra
In many schools of yogaand in the
esoteric ritual tradition known as
tantra, the anahata chakra is one of
the six psychic centers (chakras)
believed to exist in the subtle body.
The subtle body is an alternate
physiological system, thought to be on
a different plane of existence than
gross matter but with certain corre-
spondences to the material body. It
is comprised of a set of six psychic
centers, which are envisioned as
multi-petaled lotus flowers running
roughly along the course of the spine,
connected by three vertical channels.
Each of these chakras has important
symbolic associations—with differing
human capacities, different subtle ele-
ments (tanmatras), and different seed
syllables (bijaksharas) formed from
the letters of the Sanskritalphabet,
thus encompassing all sacred sound.
Above and below these centers are,
respectively, Shiva(embodying aware-
ness) and Shakti(embodying power),
the two divine principles through
which the entire universe has come
into being. The underlying assump-
tion behind this concept of the subtle
body is thus the harmony of macro-
cosm and microcosm, an essential
Hindu idea since the time of the mys-
tical texts known as the Upanishads.
The six chakras are traditionally
listed from the bottom up, and the
anahata chakra is the fourth. It is visu-
alized as a twelve-petaled lotus locat-
ed in the region of the heart. These
petals each contain a seed syllable
formed from a letter of the Sanskrit
alphabet, in this case the first twelve
consonants. On a symbolic level, the
anahata chakra is associated with the
circulation of blood throughout the
body. It is also identified as the bodily
seat for the subtle element of wind,
the action of which (through the opera-
tion of the five vital windsknown as
pranas) is believed to be responsible for
circulating things through the body. For
further information see Arthur Avalon
(Sir John Woodroffe), Shakti and Shakta,
1978; and Philip S. Rawson, The Art of
Tantra, 1973.Amritanandamayi