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Third eye
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<h2 id="in-hinduism">In Hinduism</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Ajna/3Db7xXf5">Ajna</a></p> <p>In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the <a href="/facts/Ajna/3Db7xXf5">ajna</a> (or brow) <a href="/facts/Chakra/eD8fRyqH">chakra</a>, said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows.[3] Hindus place a "<a href="/facts/Tilaka/a6FbggDE">tilaka</a>" between the eyebrows as a representation of the third eye, which is also seen on expressions of <a href="/facts/Shiva/SaHL5XBS">Shiva</a>. 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-buddhism">In Buddhism</h2> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/Eyes_of_Buddha/WgzRh2Nk">Eyes of Buddha</a></p> <p>In Buddhism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, Buddhists regard the third eye as the "eye of consciousness", representing the vantage point from which enlightenment beyond one's physical sight is achieved, and use an <a href="/facts/Urna/a6on6lbU">urna</a> to the same effect as Hindus. The third eye, or the “Eye of Wisdom”, is discerned on the deity Buddha. </p> <h2 id="in-taoism">In Taoism</h2> <p>In <a href="/facts/Taoism/Bk79rd9J">Taoism</a>, third eye training involves focusing attention on the point between the eyebrows with the eyes closed, and while the body is in various <a href="/facts/Qigong/NeraDSa8">qigong</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Mind%27s_eye/loHqqIHB">mind's eye</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Chakra/eD8fRyqH">Chakra</a>, forming a part of the main meridian, the line separating left and right hemispheres of the body.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="in-theosophy">In Theosophy</h2> <p>Adherents of <a href="/facts/Theosophy_(Blavatskian)/7I4EqMbt">theosophist</a> <a href="/facts/Helena_Blavatsky/sHao4pjR">H. P. Blavatsky</a> have suggested that the third eye is in fact the partially dormant <a href="/facts/Pineal_gland/eN9EBq5Q">pineal gland</a>, which resides between the two hemispheres of the brain.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Reptile/04n1uKf1">Reptiles</a> and <a href="/facts/Amphibian/r2BleD2W">amphibians</a> sense light via a third <a href="/facts/Parietal_eye/qIQQ0DvX">parietal eye</a>—a structure associated with the pineal gland—which serves to regulate their <a href="/facts/Circadian_rhythm/rwQh0ClJ">circadian rhythms</a>, 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> <a href="/facts/C._W._Leadbeater/ReQ8y96h">C. W. Leadbeater</a> thought that by extending an "etheric tube" from the third eye, it is possible to develop microscopic and telescopic vision.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> It has been asserted by Stephen Phillips that the third eye's microscopic vision is capable of observing objects as small as <a href="/facts/Quark/hwuuVkV5">quarks</a>.[8] 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.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Rick_Strassman/FIPTKBYM">Rick Strassman</a> has hypothesized that the pineal gland, which maintains light sensitivity, is responsible for the production and release of <a href="/facts/Dimethyltryptamine/oIPCXryU">DMT</a> (dimethyltryptamine), an <a href="/facts/Entheogen/6boCAmyy">entheogen</a> which he believes could be excreted in large quantities at the moments of birth and death.[10] </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Body_of_light/1RXpvcGE">Body of light</a> – Hermetic starfire body</li> <li><a href="/facts/Consciousness/IAxmgt6c">Consciousness</a> – Awareness of existence</li> <li><a href="/facts/Erlang_Shen/HWXIRnPp">Erlang Shen</a> – Deity in the Chinese pantheon</li> <li><a href="/facts/Eye_of_Horus/5x07JYpf">Eye of Horus</a> – Ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health</li> <li><a href="/facts/Eye_of_Providence/PRrStkHX">Eye of Providence</a> – SymbolPages displaying short descriptions with no spaces</li> <li><a href="/facts/History_of_the_pineal_gland/UP9RS8sP">History of the pineal gland</a> – Scientific research on the pineal gland as the third eye</li> <li><a href="/facts/Occult/G59eqens">Occult</a> – Knowledge of the hidden or the paranormal</li> <li><a href="/facts/Parietal_eye/qIQQ0DvX">Parietal eye</a> – Part of the epithalamus</li> <li><a href="/facts/Bindi_(decoration)/YB2WxRQm">Bindi</a></li></ul> <h3>Citations</h3> <h3>Works cited</h3> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Helena_Blavatsky/sHao4pjR">Blavatsky, H. P.</a> (1893). <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966"><i>The Secret Doctrine</i></a>. Vol. 2. London: Theosophical Publishing House.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Richard_Cavendish_(occult_writer)/Egxgf1Mv">Cavendish, Richard</a>, ed. (1994). <i>Man, Myth and Magic</i>. Vol. 19. New York: Marshall Cavendish. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0839360353.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Daniel_Dennett/I5bzs3V6">Dennett, Daniel C.</a> (1991). <i>Consciousness Explained</i>. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-316-18065-3.</li> <li>Dhillon, Neeru; Singh, Arun D.; Dua, Harminder S. (February 1, 2009). <a href="https://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/2/136">"Lord Shiva's third eye"</a>. <i>British Journal of Ophthalmology</i>. 93 (2): 136. <a href="/facts/ISSN_(identifier)/DPAflDvU">ISSN</a> <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0007-1161">0007-1161</a>. <a href="/facts/PMID_(identifier)/JlHAvMHt">PMID</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19174398">19174398</a>.</li> <li>Jefferson, R. B. (1982). <i>The Doctrine of the Elixir</i>. Coombe Springs Press. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0900306150.</li> <li><a href="/facts/C._W._Leadbeater/ReQ8y96h">Leadbeater, C. W.</a> (1994) [1927]. <a href="https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead"><i>The Chakras</i></a>. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9780835604222.</li> <li>Phillips, Stephen (1980). <i>Extrasensory Perception of Quarks</i>. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-8356-0227-3.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Satyananda_Saraswati/R8C1jNjg">Saraswati, Satyananda</a> (2001). <i>Kundalini Tantra</i>. Bihar, India: Yoga I Publications Trust. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-8185787152.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Rick_Strassman/FIPTKBYM">Strassman, Rick J.</a> (2001). <a href="https://archive.org/details/dmtspiritmolecul00rick"><i>DMT: The Spirit Molecule. A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death and Mystical Experiences</i></a>. Rochester, VT: Park Street. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-89281-927-0.</li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Gazizova, V. (2018). "From Buddhism to 'Cosmic Religion': Religious Creativity in Kalmykia". <i>Anthropology & Archeology of Eurasia</i>. 57 (1): 5–37. <a href="/facts/Doi_(identifier)/muM9Etpq">doi</a>:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F10611959.2018.1470427">10.1080/10611959.2018.1470427</a>. <a href="/facts/S2CID_(identifier)/ldJsHa2Y">S2CID</a> <a href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:149842761">149842761</a>.</li> <li>Little, Tias (n.d.). <a href="https://www.shambhala.com/meditation-third-eye/">"Meditation on the Third Eye"</a>. <i>Shambhala.com</i>. Retrieved 2022-12-12.</li> <li>Little, Tias (2016). <i>Yoga of the Subtle Body: A Guide to the Physical and Energetic Anatomy of Yoga</i>. Shambhala. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1611801026.</li> <li>Sagan, Samuel (2007). <i>Awakening the Third Eye</i> (3rd ed.). Roseville, N.S.W., Australia: Clairvision. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-9586700-5-0.</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikiquote has quotations related to <i>Third eye</i>. <ul><li><a href="https://www.sourcenepal.com/nepal/buddha-eye-meaning/">Meaning of Buddha eye</a> - Images of Buddha Eyes</li> <li> Media related to Ajna chakra (third eye) at Wikimedia Commons</li> <li><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/SpiritualAwakening/comments/1ay51vt/find_your_inner_potential_with_pineal_xt_the/">Third eye activation</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Cavendish (1994), p. 2606. - Cavendish, Richard, ed. (1994). Man, Myth and Magic. Vol. 19. New York: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0839360353. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Leadbeater (1994), p. 79. - Leadbeater, C. W. (1994) [1927]. The Chakras. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 9780835604222. <a href="https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Dhillon, Singh & Dua (2009). - Dhillon, Neeru; Singh, Arun D.; Dua, Harminder S. (February 1, 2009). "Lord Shiva's third eye". British Journal of Ophthalmology. 93 (2): 136. ISSN 0007-1161. PMID 19174398. <a href="https://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/2/136" target="_blank">https://bjo.bmj.com/content/93/2/136</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Jefferson (1982), ch. 4. - Jefferson, R. B. (1982). The Doctrine of the Elixir. Coombe Springs Press. ISBN 978-0900306150. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Blavatsky (1893), pp. 289–306. - Blavatsky, H. P. (1893). The Secret Doctrine. Vol. 2. London: Theosophical Publishing House. <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Pineal Gland | Theosophy World". www.theosophy.world. Retrieved 2022-12-13. <a href="https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/pineal-gland" target="_blank">https://www.theosophy.world/encyclopedia/pineal-gland</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Leadbeater (1994), p. 79. - Leadbeater, C. W. (1994) [1927]. The Chakras. Wheaton, IL: Theosophical Publishing House. ISBN 9780835604222. <a href="https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/chakras00lead</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Blavatsky (1893), p. 295. - Blavatsky, H. P. (1893). The Secret Doctrine. Vol. 2. London: Theosophical Publishing House. <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.47966</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>