idea, selflessly performing one’s social
duty, for the good of the world rather
than through selfish desire, was also a
path to ultimate spiritual fulfillment and
final liberation of the soul (moksha).
According to this conception, since
every svadharma is potentially a path to
final liberation, each person has a path
that only he or she can tread.
Svadhishthana Chakra
In many schools of yoga, and in the eso-
teric ritual tradition known as tantra,
the svadhishthana chakra is one of the
six psychic centers (chakras) believed to
exist in the subtle body. The subtle body
is an alternate physiological system,
believed to exist on a different plane
than gross matter but with certain corre-
spondences to the material body. It is
visualized as a set of six psychic centers,
which are conceived as multipetaled
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, with
different subtle elements (tanmatras),
and with different seed syllables (bijak-
sharas) formed from the letters of the
Sanskritalphabet, thus encompassing
all sacred sound. Above and below these
centers are the bodily abodes of Shiva
(awareness) and Shakti(power), the two
divine principles through which the
entire universe has come into being. The
underlying assumption behind this
concept of the subtle body is thus
the fundamental similarity and inter-
connectedness of macrocosm and
microcosm, an essential Hindu idea
since the time of the mystical texts
known as the Upanishads.
The six chakras are traditionally list-
ed from the bottom up, and the svad-
hishthana chakra is the second. It is
visualized as a six-petaled lotus located
in the region of the genitals. The petals
each contain a seed syllable formed
from a letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, in
this case the consonants from “ba”
to “la.” On a symbolic level, the
svadhishthana chakra is associated with
the human capacity for reproduction. It
is also identified as the bodily seat for
the subtle element of water, the fluid
medium through which reproduction is
possible. For further information see
Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodroffe),
Shakti and Shakta, 1978; and Philip S.
Rawson, The Art of Tantra, 1973.Svadhyaya
(“study”) Study of the sacred texts,
which connotes oral recitation, since
these texts were traditionally studied by
reciting them. This is one of the meth-
ods named in the Yoga Sutrasas one of
the preparatory elements to yoga, since
the text claims that such study attenu-
ates one’s karmic hindrances and fosters
the ability to enter trance. Even in mod-
ern times the act of reciting a religious
text is seen to have multiple spiritual
benefits and, if performed over a long
period of time, to be able to transform
the person reciting.Svakiya
(“belonging to oneself”) Mode of con-
ceiving the relationship between lover
and beloved, in which the man
and woman are married to each
other. The svakiya relationship is
socially respectable—sanctioned by
society, upholding social propriety,
fruitful, and procreative in its course.
Although this mode of relationship
is rich and celebrated, this very
social approval is said to make it
less intense than the adulterous parakiya
relationship, in which the lovers gain
nothing but their love itself.Although
in most cases the union between
the god Krishna and his consort
Radhais described as parakiya, some
Vaishnavacommunities—such as the
Radhavallabh community—claim that
this relationship is svakiya, perhaps
reflecting reservations about endorsing
adultery, even by the deities.Svakiya