# Third eye > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Third_eye > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Third_eye.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye > Source revision: 1336384276 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Spiritual concept}} {{other uses|Third eye (disambiguation)}} [[File:Shiva Musée Guimet 22971.jpg|thumb|[Shiva](/source/Shiva) head showing a third eye]] The '''third eye''' (also called the '''spiritual eye''', '''mind's eye''', or '''inner eye''') is an intangible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, supposed to provide perception beyond ordinary sight.{{sfnp|Cavendish|1994|p=2606}} In [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism), the third eye refers to the [ajna](/source/ajna) (or brow) [chakra](/source/chakra). In both [Hinduism](/source/Hinduism) and [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism), the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, representing the [enlightenment](/source/Enlightenment_in_Buddhism) one achieves through [meditation](/source/meditation). Especially in [Eastern](/source/Eastern_world) spiritual practices, the third eye refers to the gate that leads to the inner realms and spaces of [higher consciousness](/source/higher_consciousness), and often [symbol](/source/symbol)izes a state of enlightenment. The third eye is often associated with [religious visions](/source/vision_(religion)), [clairvoyance](/source/clairvoyance), the ability to observe [chakra](/source/chakra)s and [auras](/source/aura_(paranormal)),{{harvp|Leadbeater|1994|p=79}}. [precognition](/source/precognition), and [out-of-body experience](/source/out-of-body_experience)s. ==In Hinduism== {{main|Ajna}} In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the [ajna](/source/ajna) (or brow) [chakra](/source/chakra), said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows.{{sfnp|Saraswati|2001|p={{pn|date=December 2022}}}} Hindus place a "[tilaka](/source/tilaka)" between the eyebrows as a representation of the third eye, which is also seen on expressions of [Shiva](/source/Shiva). He is referred to as "Tryambaka Deva", or the three-eyed lord, where his third eye symbolizes the power of knowledge, and the detection of evil. His eye is depicted by three horizontal lines in the middle of his forehead.{{sfnp|Dhillon|Singh|Dua|2009}} ==In Buddhism== [[File:Buddha Victoria & Albert.jpg|thumb|Buddha with an [urna](/source/urna)]] {{main|Eyes of Buddha}} In [Buddhism](/source/Buddhism), there is no widespread term that translates as "third eye". Nevertheless, there are two concepts which have thought to have similarities with this concept: the "divine eye" and the ''[ūrṇā](/source/Urna)''. In Buddhist doctrine, the “divine eye” (Sanskrit: ''divyacakṣus'', Pāli: ''dibbacakkhu'') is one of the supernormal knowledges (''[abhijñā](/source/abhij%C3%B1%C4%81)'') or higher cognitive faculties attainable through advanced meditative cultivation. It denotes a form of non-ordinary visual cognition that surpasses normal human sight, enabling the practitioner to perceive phenomena beyond sensory limits, such as distant objects, [the divine realms](/source/Buddhist_cosmology), and the karmic destinies of sentient beings.Buswell, Robert Jr; Lopez, Donald S. Jr., eds. (2013). divyacakṣus, in: ''a'' ''Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism''. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691157863. In [Mahāyāna](/source/Mahayana) contexts, the divine eye is often integrated into broader schemata of spiritual vision, such as the “five eyes” (''pañca-cakṣūṃṣi''), where it represents a level of insight superior to the physical eye but still subordinate to the Buddha’s omniscient wisdom-eye. It is not regarded as salvific in itself, but as an auxiliary capacity that supports wisdom, compassion, and pedagogical activity. The ''[ūrṇā](/source/Urna)'' is a distinctive physical mark located between the Buddha’s eyebrows and is counted among the [thirty-two major marks](/source/Physical_characteristics_of_the_Buddha) (''mahāpuruṣa-lakṣaṇa'') of a great person. Classical descriptions portray it as a tuft or curl of fine white hair, sometimes said to emit rays of light that illuminate innumerable worlds, symbolizing the Buddha’s penetrating insight and beneficent influence. In iconography, the ''ūrṇā'' is frequently rendered as a small raised dot or spiral on the forehead, serving as a visual shorthand for the Buddha’s superhuman qualities rather than a literal anatomical feature. Textually and doctrinally, the ''ūrṇā'' functions as a corporeal sign of accumulated merit and perfected wisdom from past lives, reflecting the Buddhist view that the Buddha’s physical form is a karmically conditioned manifestation of past spiritual attainments. Unlike the divine eye, which is an inner meditative faculty that advanced practitioners may acquire, the ''ūrṇā'' is a physical feature unique to fully awakened Buddhas.{{cite book |title=ūrṇākeśa, in: a Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism |date=2013 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=9780691157863 |editor1-last=Buswell |editor1-first=Robert Jr |editor1-link=Robert Buswell Jr. |location=Princeton, NJ |editor2-last=Lopez |editor2-first=Donald S. Jr. |editor2-link=Donald S. Lopez, Jr.}}{{cite web |date=April 14, 2012 |title=The Lost Buddhas: Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from Qingzhou |url=http://www.asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624115810/http://asianartnewspaper.com/article/lost-buddhas-chinese-buddhist-sculpture-qingzhou |archive-date=June 24, 2015 |access-date=April 12, 2016 |publisher=Asian Art}} ==In Taoism== In [Taoism](/source/Taoism), third eye training involves focusing attention on the point between the eyebrows with the eyes closed, and while the body is in various [qigong](/source/qigong) postures. The goal of this training is to allow students to tune into the correct "vibration" of the universe and gain a solid foundation on which to reach a more advanced meditative state. Taoism teaches that the third eye, also called the [mind's eye](/source/mind's_eye), is situated between the two physical eyes, and expands up to the middle of the forehead when opened. Taoism asserts that the third eye is one of the main energy centers of the body located at the sixth [Chakra](/source/Chakra), forming a part of the main meridian, the line separating left and right hemispheres of the body.{{sfnp|Jefferson|1982|loc=ch. 4}} ==In Theosophy== Adherents of [theosophist](/source/Theosophy_(Blavatskian)) [H. P. Blavatsky](/source/Helena_Blavatsky) have suggested that the third eye is in fact the partially dormant [pineal gland](/source/pineal_gland), which resides between the two hemispheres of the brain.{{sfnp|Blavatsky|1893|pp=289–306}} [Reptile](/source/Reptile)s and [amphibian](/source/amphibian)s sense light via a third [parietal eye](/source/parietal_eye)—a structure associated with the pineal gland—which serves to regulate their [circadian rhythm](/source/circadian_rhythm)s, and for navigation, as it can sense the polarization of light. She states that certain functions of the mind are associated with the pineal gland and the acervulus cerebri was absent in children below the age of six.{{Cite web |title=Pineal Gland {{!}} Theosophy World |url=https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/pineal-gland |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=www.theosophy.world}} [C. W. Leadbeater](/source/C._W._Leadbeater) thought that by extending an "etheric tube" from the third eye, it is possible to develop microscopic and telescopic vision. It has been asserted by Stephen Phillips that the third eye's microscopic vision is capable of observing objects as small as [quark](/source/quark)s.{{sfnp|Phillips|1980|p={{pn|date=December 2022}}}} According to this belief, humans had in far ancient times an actual third eye in the back of the head with a physical and spiritual function. Over time, as humans evolved, this eye atrophied and sunk into what today is known as the pineal gland.{{sfnp|Blavatsky|1893|p=295}} [Rick Strassman](/source/Rick_Strassman) has hypothesized that the pineal gland, which maintains light sensitivity, is responsible for the production and release of [DMT](/source/Dimethyltryptamine) (dimethyltryptamine), an [entheogen](/source/entheogen) which he believes could be excreted in large quantities at the moments of birth and death.{{sfnp|Strassman|2001|p={{pn|date=December 2022}}}} == In Self-Realization Fellowship == Self-Realization Fellowship stated in a 2023 blog post:{{Cite web |date=2024-08-11 |title=Light of the Spiritual Eye |url=https://yogananda.org/blog/light-of-the-spiritual-eye |access-date=2026-02-03 |website=Self-Realization Fellowship |language=en-US}}
An integral part of the practice of meditation as taught by Paramahansa Yogananda and his line of gurus is to place the attention and gaze gently at the point between the eyebrows, known as the spiritual eye, or ''Kutastha'' or Christ Consciousness center in the body. Paramahansaji often emphasized the importance of the spiritual eye, the center of intuition and divine perception in the body, also spoken of by Jesus: “If therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light” (Matthew 6:22).
== See also == * {{annotated link|Bindi}} * {{annotated link|Body of light}} * {{annotated link|Consciousness}} * {{annotated link|Erlang Shen}} * {{annotated link|Eye of Horus}} * {{annotated link|Eye of Providence}} * [History of the pineal gland](/source/History_of_the_pineal_gland) – Scientific research on the pineal gland as the third eye * {{annotated link|Occult}} * {{annotated link|Parietal eye}} ==References== ===Citations=== {{Reflist|2}} ===Works cited=== * {{cite book |first=H. P. |last=Blavatsky |author-link=Helena Blavatsky |title=The Secret Doctrine |volume=2 |place=London |publisher=Theosophical Publishing House |year=1893 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966 |url-access=registration}} * {{cite book |title=Man, Myth and Magic |volume=19 |year=1994 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish |location=New York |isbn=978-0839360353 |editor-first=Richard |editor-last=Cavendish |editor-link=Richard Cavendish (occult writer)}} * {{cite book |title=Consciousness Explained |first=Daniel C. |last=Dennett |author-link=Daniel Dennett |place=Boston |publisher=Little, Brown and Company |year=1991 |isbn=0-316-18065-3}} * {{cite journal |last1=Dhillon |first1=Neeru |last2=Singh |first2=Arun D. |last3=Dua |first3=Harminder S. |date=February 1, 2009 |title=Lord Shiva's third eye |url=https://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/2/136 |journal=British Journal of Ophthalmology |language=en |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=136 |issn=0007-1161 |pmid=19174398}} * {{cite book |title=The Doctrine of the Elixir |first=R. B. |last=Jefferson |publisher=Coombe Springs Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0900306150}} * {{cite book |last=Leadbeater |first=C. W. |author-link=C. W. Leadbeater |year=1994 |title=The Chakras |place=Wheaton, IL |orig-year=1927 |publisher=Theosophical Publishing House |isbn=9780835604222 |url=https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead |url-access=registration}} * {{cite book |last=Phillips |first=Stephen |title=Extrasensory Perception of Quarks |place=Wheaton, IL |year=1980 |publisher=Theosophical Publishing House |isbn=978-0-8356-0227-3}} * {{cite book |last=Saraswati |first=Satyananda |author-link=Satyananda Saraswati |title=Kundalini Tantra |year=2001 |publisher=Yoga I Publications Trust |location=Bihar, India |isbn=978-8185787152}} * {{cite book |title=DMT: The Spirit Molecule. A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences |last=Strassman |first=Rick J. |author-link=Rick Strassman |year=2001 |publisher=Park Street |location=Rochester, VT |isbn=978-0-89281-927-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/dmtspiritmolecul00rick}} ==Further reading== {{more footnotes|date=December 2022}} * {{cite journal |last=Gazizova |first=V. |year=2018 |title=From Buddhism to 'Cosmic Religion': Religious Creativity in Kalmykia |journal=Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia |volume=57 |number=1 |pages=5–37 |doi=10.1080/10611959.2018.1470427|s2cid=149842761 }} * {{cite web |title=Meditation on the Third Eye |first=Tias |last=Little |date=n.d. |website=Shambhala.com |url=https://www.shambhala.com/meditation-third-eye/ |access-date=2022-12-12}} * {{cite book |last=Little |first=Tias|year=2016 |title=Yoga of the Subtle Body: A Guide to the Physical and Energetic Anatomy of Yoga |publisher=Shambhala |isbn=978-1611801026}} * {{cite book |last=Sagan |first=Samuel |year=2007 |title=Awakening the Third Eye |edition=3rd |place=Roseville, N.S.W., Australia |publisher=Clairvision |isbn=978-0-9586700-5-0}} ==External links== {{Wikiquote}} * {{commonscatinline|Ajna chakra (third eye)}} {{Hinduism footer small}} {{Buddhism topics}} {{Theosophy series}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Third Eye}} Category:Buddhist philosophical concepts Category:Consciousness–matter dualism Category:Hindu philosophical concepts Category:Human eyes in culture Category:Theosophical philosophical concepts --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Third eye](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_eye?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.