Chakra Party - no gurus, just right!

A New Age party that burst onto the scene in 1990 with the demise of the mainstream centrist parties and Patria's spiritual re-awakening of 1989-90, the Chakra Party was the SRM's chief rival for the Hindu vote during the 1990s. While the SRM stands solidly behind pure, unadulterated Hindu teachings, the Chakra Party advocates a broader New Age spirituality - partially Hindu-based, but also drawing from other Eastern traditions such as Tibetan Buddhism - as well as practical transformation in one's everyday life rather than rigid adherence to gurus, Hindu dogma and rituals. The Chakra Party's 1998 campaign slogan was "Transformation not Transcendence!", referring to transforming one's life in this world, in this lifetime, rather than transcending one's everyday existence in an attempt to live in some kind of other-worldly nirvana. For a discussion of the path of transformation v. the path of transcendence, and why the latter is unlikely to bring about personal growth or inner peace, it is recommended to read The Path of Transformation by Shakti Gawain.

The SRM and Chakra Party were bitter rivals during the '98 and '02 election campaigns, accusing each other of being full of "out-of-touch pandits, gurus and sadhus" and "spaced out New Age wannabes" respectively, but after the elections, they patched up some of their differences in order to present a united front against the National Union's macho, not to mention the secular humanism, atheism and agnosticism propounded by the Greens, Libertarians, Rationalists, Social Democrats and the other loose ends of Patria's political party smorgasbord. In 2002 the Chakra Party was hit even harder than the SRM by the new Amrita Party. With only eight seats in the 47th Congress, down from 84 in the 46th, the Chakra Party was reduced to a mere rump. But the Chakra Party rebounded strongly in 2006 to take 48 seats in the 48th Congress. The Chakras do not dislike gurus per se, but strongly oppose the guru-centric personality cults such as found in the Amrita Party; hence the slogan "No gurus, just right!" The party takes its name from the chakras, the seven centers of energy and consciousness within the body, according to yogic philosophy.