ing of the self for the spiritual and transcendent. Remarkable with Teresa is also her frequently mentioned element of water (inner light in consciousness in Teresa’s approach can be seen as celestial waters), which symbolises the life-giving flow of subtle forms of energy coming from the very depth, beyond borders of the body. In the seventh mansion she approves this in her words (1921, 121): “For from the bosom of the Divinity, where God seems ever to hold this soul fast clasped, issue streams of milk, which solace the servants of the castle“. Can we then take Teresa’s fourth mansion as development of the fourth Anahata chakra? Taoist and Zen literature understand the beginning of awakening of spiritual potential to lay in the Manipura chakra (see above). Despite this difference, Teresa places the fourth mansion in the area of the heart, when she speaks about expanding the heart, but she believes its very source has even deeper spiritual origin. This interpretation resembles the symbol of Jewish candleholder (Menorah), whose primary line reaches the fourth light (Sephirot) or Ramana Maharshi’s “spiritual Heart”. Ramana Maharshi, who continues with the Vedanta tradition, speaks of the Heart or the true Self (Atman) as the universal life-principle of human. This principle is at the same time god being and is different from the idea of the self or ego. Maharshi (Mudaliar 1996, 54, 61) characterises the true Self in this way: “[t]here is the one and only Reality, the greatest truth, and it is not only your Self, but the Self of the whole world you see now, as well as of all other beings. This Self, Paraatman is immortal and unalterable as opposed to ego, jiva, which is temporary. You must not mistake ego for Atman.” He further explains: “Heart is the greatest centre of the Self. You do not need to doubt it. The real Self shines constantly in the Heart, behind the jivaor ego.” Maharshi (Mudaliar 1996, 61) even places this spiritual Heart to the right side of heart, but, of course, under the physical and also the fine layer, referring to the old Vedantic texts. Based on comparison between Teresa of Avila and Ramana Maharshi, we could find an agreement in the placement of the spiritual centre and in the case of the fourth mansion in Teresa of Avila we could also speak about awakening of the fourth chakra. This is supported by Teresa’s experiences (1921, 42), which describes in the first chapter of the fourth mansions: “Whilst writing this I am thinking of the loud noise in my head which I mentioned in the Introduction, and which has made it almost impossible to obey the command given me to write this. It sounds as if there were a number of rushing waterfalls within my brain, while in other parts, drowned by the sound of the waters, are the voices of birds singing and whistling. This tumult is not in my ears, but in the upper part of my head, where, they say, is placed the superior part of the soul. I have long thought that this must be so because the flight of the spirit seems to take place from this part with great velocity.“ She further continues (1921, 125): “However large a fire may be, the flame never burns downwards, but upwards, and so this movement is seen to come from the centre of the soul whose powers it excites.“ Spirituality Studies 1 (1) Spring 2015 105 (9)
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