The Encyclopedia of World Religions

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heart, the throat, the area between or above the eyebrows, and the fontanelle on the top of the skull. Each cakra has its own deities, powers, abilities, diagrams, colors, and letters. One goal of Tantrism is to move the vital energy at the base of the spine through the various cakras one by one. When the energy reaches the highest cakra, the practitioner achieves enlightenment and liberation. Calvin, John (1509–1564) one of the most import ant leaders of the Protestant R EFORMATION Calvin was born and educated in France. His father, a lawyer, had the young Calvin prepare first for a career in the church, then for one in law. When his father died in 1531, Calvin turned from law to humanism, that is, to the study of the classics of ancient Greece and Rome. In 1533 one of Calvin’s close friends gave an address, at the University of Paris, which supported some ideas of Martin L UTHER . The theologians of Paris had earlier condemned these ideas. The friend had to flee for his life. Calvin was implicated in his friend’s views, and he had to flee, too. Around this time Calvin seems to have had a profound personal religious experience. In 1536 Calvin settled in Geneva, Switzerland. With the exception of three years spent in Stras bourg (1538–41), he spent the rest of his life in Geneva. At first he assisted the Reformation there. Eventually he led it. Calvin organized Geneva’s government, church, and schools. In his eyes, the government and the church needed to cooperate to ensure that the ide als of the B IBLE were observed. As a result, Geneva became a place where Christian regulations were

cakras A Sanskrit word meaning “wheels” or “discuses.” In Hindu Tantrism, cakras (chakras) are energy centers of what is known as the subtle or psychic body. Tantrism usually identifies six cakras. They are arranged along the spinal column as follows: the base of the spine, the region of the navel, the

John Calvin (Library of Congress)

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