In yoga, chakras are often compared to flowers and petals, and the number of petals varies for each chakra.

Muladhara: 4
Swadhisthana: 6
Manipura: 10
Anahata: 12
Vishuddha: 16
Ajna: 2
Sahasrara: 1000

These numbers are sometimes said to be symbolic, but it is also said that there are actually that many nadis (energy channels) connected to each chakra.

In reality, while they are indeed nadis, they may not be the nadis themselves, but rather the number of things that are blocking them, which is expressed symbolically. The actual number may vary, and when looking closely, there may be more or fewer. It doesn't seem to vary greatly from person to person, but there may be an appropriate number of blocks depending on the person's stage and challenges, which is expressed as the number of petals.

In general, the stages of human emotions are numerous, and as they progress, they are integrated, and ultimately end with the number 1000, which symbolizes "everything" or "infinity." This number 1000 is not necessarily a literal number, but rather means "a lot," which is a common expression in Sanskrit and Vedic traditions.

Personally, I feel that the chakras in the lower body, such as Manipura and Swadhisthana, have fewer blocks. On the other hand, the chakras in the upper body, such as Ajna and Vishuddha, seem to have more blocks. I understand that this is because the areas that the person is focusing on as challenges are emphasized.

It is important to remove these blocks, but the basic principle is to ensure that the body's energy flows smoothly. Whether the chakras open or not is just a result of that. Therefore, it is more important to focus on regulating and channeling energy than on opening the chakras. However, it can also be said that for the lower chakras, opening the upper chakras is important, because the lower chakras are subordinate to the upper chakras. The amount of energy and the chakras are closely related, and it is a chicken and egg problem.

However, in recent spiritual discussions, there are many scams where people claim to be able to "open" chakras for 1 million yen, and such "chakra opening" stories are often temporary and tend to revert to their original state quickly. While cults may claim that it is permanent, in reality, it is not permanent or has limited effects. Although it may not be a waste of experience, such treatments are often useless and can mislead people, increase the number of cult followers, and spread misconceptions, and the negative effects outweigh the benefits.

Therefore, believing in vague cult or spiritual propaganda and expecting short-term changes often leads to meaningless results, or even misunderstandings that hinder growth, causing stagnation until one realizes it, and sometimes, this can lead to a long and winding path, even spanning multiple lifetimes. It is better to proceed seriously, directly, and diligently to achieve growth. However, places that teach the correct things are rare. Many people get caught up in cults that say they teach the right things, or that say things that sound right. Ultimately, without one's own judgment, one will make mistakes in everything.

In examining various teachings, ultimately, classical works that have been scrutinized and passed down through generations survive.

Cults borrow the authority of such classics to extort large sums of money, but such groups are like foxes borrowing the power of a tiger. However, no matter how much I say this, it doesn't reach the followers who believe in cults, and they may even be criticized for not understanding anything. Therefore, cult followers should be left alone, but even then, they may sometimes come forward with trivial matters.

There are cults or spiritual teachers who claim to open chakras or achieve enlightenment, and who extort large sums of money, sometimes hundreds of thousands or even millions of yen. For such merchants, the spread of true knowledge would undermine their business, so they try to suppress it. Organizations and groups that talk about initiation or ancient brotherhoods have appeared and disappeared like mushrooms after the rain. That is probably the flow of the times. Originally, these things should not involve money, but the reality is that knowledge is bought and sold for money.

In most cases, true knowledge is nothing more than trivia. This is because the person is not prepared for it.

First, one's discernment is tested. Then, one's actions are tested. One's knowledge and understanding are tested. Only then can the chakras be opened. However, many cults and spiritual teachers claim that chakras can be opened through rituals, training, or initiation, but in most cases, these are just a small trigger, and are ultimately meaningless.

The teachings about the "petals" of the chakras are probably expressed metaphorically because they are difficult to understand, and because even if one says the truth, it can be misunderstood. I think so. Chakras are not opened through rituals or initiations, but are taught by a guru who is nearby and guides one.

I think chakras are likened to flower petals because the sensation when a nadi opens and energy flows through it is similar to the feeling of flower petals opening from a bud. It's like slowly opening flower petals, and the sensation when a nadi flows through is quite similar, so it seems that the poetic and aesthetic expressions of the past are quite accurate.

The sensation of opening chakras is like that, but in cults and spiritual rituals, it often ends with simply adjusting the surrounding aura (and there's usually not much more), and in that case, it quickly returns to its original state. While you might be satisfied with something temporary, is it worth spending tens of thousands or even millions of yen on something that will quickly return to its original state? Currently, it is rare for people to be able to avoid being deceived by cults that promise short-term results and to diligently practice and meditate for more than 10 years.

On the other hand, there are also people who seek temporary comfort and rely on healing that adjusts the surrounding aura. In either case, it is only an adjustment of what is believed to be the chakras, and it seems that few people actually reach the point of truly opening their chakras.

On the other hand, since chakras are energy nodes, they are to some extent open to everyone. The problem with cults is that they exaggerate and claim that simply adjusting the surrounding aura is "opening" the chakras. In reality, true chakras are something that most people do not understand, so it is one approach to simply not worry about it for the time being until you understand it. Yoga practitioners tend to do this; when they learn about chakras, they put it on hold because it is a realm that they do not yet understand. On the other hand, cults tend to become overly confident and think they understand it. I think a humble attitude is necessary for spiritual practice.