Yoga & Guided Meditation
Chakra Meditation - Bhuta Shuddhi
Purifying the 5 Elements
by Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati
Bhuta Shuddi is an ancient Chakra Meditation of Yoga and Tantra practice through which the five elements (bhutas) are balanced or purified (shuddhi). Bhuta refers to the past, and shuddhi refers to purifying that past, or the samskaras that operate in conjunction with the five elements.
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For the Chakra Meditation of Bhuta Shuddhi, it is necessary to understand how the five elements relate to the chakras. The five bhutas are the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space, and they operate in conjunction with the lower five chakras (at subtle level they are called tanmatras, which are part of tattvas, or subtle constituents). The sixth chakra is of mind, and is beyond or prior to the bursting forth of space, air, fire, water, and finally earth. Consciousness itself is prior to, or the source of manifestation of mind, and is the seventh chakra (surely there are other chakras, including between sixth and seventh, but the bhuta shuddhi practice itself need not focus directly on these).
The Bhuta Shuddhi method works directly with attention on the chakras, balancing the subtle forces of the five elements through the use of the bija (seed) mantras of the chakras.
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Download an 2:55 minute mp3 recording of the bija mantras for the chakra. Two series of repetitions are there for each of the chakras. The recording systematically moves from the base chakra up to the crown, and the reverses, going back down to the root chakra. Then you might enjoy simply breathing up and down the sushumna channel, the subtle spine, either with Om going up and down, or Sohum, with So going up to the crown and Hum going down to the base of the spine.
The five elements align with, and operate from the five lower chakras, along with the ten indriyas and a seed mantra for each. In systematic Chakra Meditation, you progressively move attention through the chakras, along with awareness of the nature of each chakra.
Alignment of the five elements
Before doing the Chakra Meditation - Bhuta Shuddhi practice, it is useful to do some some stretches or hatha asanas followed by some form of physical relaxation exercise, such as a Body Survey or Complete Relaxation. This helps prepare the mind to be able to focus on the chakras.
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The Chakra Meditation - Bhuta Shuddhi practice can be practiced alone or as a part of a complete meditation practice. Here is one way to do this, which can be adapted to match personal inclinations. This example is a 60-minute practice.
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15 minutes of Hatha: Practice some hatha Yoga postures (asanas) or simple stretches, along with some breathing practices (pranayama). Obviously the times can be much longer, or might even be less. You might want to also experiment with doing some more vigorous physical exercise before doing the postures and breathing, such as walking, jogging, swimming, bicycling, or working out with some exercise routine.
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30 minutes of Chakra Meditation: If you move upwards through the seven chakras, allowing 3-4 minutes for each chakra, and then downwards through the seven chakras, allowing about 30 seconds each (to bring you back to being grounded), the total Bhuta Shuddhi practice itself will be about 30 minutes.
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15 minutes of Meditation: Then do your regular meditation practice, whatever that may be, such as bringing your attention deeply into the space between the breasts (anahata chakra) or the space between the eyebrows (ajna chakra), with or without mantra or your regular object of meditation.
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Complete practice based on Chakra Meditation
As with all practices, it is best to be aware of, and honor your capacity. The example above is 30 minutes of Chakra Meditation - Bhuta Shuddhi, and 60 minutes in total. For some, this might seem like a short time. For others, it might seem like a long time. Practicing within your comfort level is far more useful than trying to strive for any goal. If you find a complete practice of 10 minutes serves you, then this is the right amount of time. Actually, it can be quite useful to simply move through the awareness of the chakras (up, then down) in a matter of a couple minutes, remembering the mantras along the way. Even a brief practice of Chakra Meditation of 30 seconds to 1 minute is quite pleasant and useful, and can be done often.