Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The Science of Breath & the Philosophy of the Tatwas

(Translated from the Sanskrit with 15 Introductory & Explanatory Essays on Nature’s Finer Forces)

by Rama Prasad

The Theosophical Publishing Society, London (1890)

~ Contents ~

Part One

Preface

I. The Tatwas

II. Evolution

III. The Mutual Relation of the Tatwas & Principle

IV. Prana (I)

V. Prana (II)

VI. Prana (III)

VII. Prana (IV)

VIII. The Mind (I)

IX. The Mind (II)

X. The Cosmic Picture Gallery

XI. The Manifestations of Psychic Force

XII. Yoga ~ The Soul (I)

XIII. Yoga (II)

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

XIV. Yoga (III)

XV. The Spirit

Part Two:

The Science of Breath & The Philosophy of the Tatwas

Glossary

Preface ~

A word of explanation is necessary with regard to the
book now offered to the public. In

the 9th and 10th volumes of the theosophist I wrote
certain Essays on Nature’s Finer

Forces. The subject of these essays interested the
readers of the Theosophist so much that

I was asked to issue the series of Essays in book form. I
found that in order to make a book

they must be almost entirely rearranged, and perhaps
rewritten. I was, however, not equal

to the task of rewriting what I had once written. I
therefore determined to publish a

translation of the book in Sanskrit on the Science of the
Breath and the Philosophy of the

Tatwas. As, however, without these Essays the book would
have been quite unintelligible,

I decided to add them to the book by way of an
illustrative introduction. This accordingly

has been done. The Essays in the theosophist have been
reprinted with certain additions,

modifications, and corrections. Besides, I have written
seven more Essays in order to make

the explanations more complete and authoritative. Thus
there are altogether 15

introductory and explanatory Essays.

I was confirmed in this course by one more consideration.
The book contains a good deal

more than the essays touched upon, and I thought it
better to lay all of it before the public.

The book is sure to throw a good deal of light upon the
scientific researches of the ancient

Aryans of India, and it will leave no doubt in a candid
mind that the religion of ancient

India had a scientific basis. It is chiefly for this
reason that I have drawn my illustrations of

the Tatwic Law from the Upanishads.

There is a good deal in the book that can only be shown
to be true by long and diligent

experiment. Those who are devoted to the pursuit of truth
without prejudice will no doubt

be ready to wait before they form any opinion about such
portions of the book. Others it is

useless to reason with.

To the former class of students I have to say one word
more. From my own experience I

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

can tell them that the more they study the book, the more
wisdom they are sure to find in

it, and let me hope that ere long I shall have a goodly
number of colleagues, who will with

me try their best to explain and illustrate the book
still better, and more thoroughly.

Rama Prasad

Merut (India)

5 November 1889

Natures Finer Forces

& Their Influence on Human Life & Destiny

I. The Tatwas ~

The tatwas are the five modifications of the great
Breath. Acting upon prakriti, this Great

breath throws it into five states, having distinct
vibratory motions, and performing different

functions. The first outcome of the Evolutionary State of
parabrahma is the akasa tatwa.

After this come in order the vayu, the taijas, the apas
and the prithivi. They are variously

known as mahabhutas. The word akasa is generally
translated into English by the word

ether. Unfortunately, however, sound is not known to be
the distinguishing quality of

ether in modern English Science. Some few might also have
the idea that the modern

medium of light is the same as akasa. This, I believe, is
a mistake. The luminiferous ether

is the subtle taijas tatwa, and not the akasa. All the
five subtle tatwas might no doubt be

called ethers, but to use it for the word akasa, without
any distinguishing epithet, is

misleading. We might call akasa the sonoriferous ether,
the vayu the tangiferous ether,

apas the gustiferous ether, and prithivi the odoriferous
ether. Just as there exists in the

universe the luminiferous ether, an element of refined
mater without which it has been

found that the phenomena of light find no adequate
explanation, so do there exist the four

remaining ethers, elements of refined matter, without
which it will be found that the

phenomena of sound, touch, taste and smell find no
adequate explanation.

The luminiferous ether is supposed by Modern Science to
be Matter in a most refined state.

It is the vibrations of this element that are said to
constitute light. The vibrations are said to

take place at right angles to the direction of the wave.
Nearly the same is the description of

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the taijas tatwa given in the book. It makes this tatwa
move in an upward direction, and

the center of the direction is, of course, the direction
of the wave. Besides, it says that one

whole vibration of this element makes the figure of a
triangle.

Suppose in the figure:

AB is the direction of the wave; BC is the direction of
the vibration. CA is the line along

which, seeing that in expansion the symmetrical
arrangements of the atoms of a body are

not changed, the vibrating atom must return to its
symmetrical position in the line AB.

The taijas tatwa of the Ancients is then exactly the
luminiferous ether of the Moderns, so

far as the nature of the vibration is concerned. There is
no exception, however, of the four

remaining ethers, at all events in a direct manner, in
Modern Science. The vibrations of

akasa, the soniferous ether, constitute sound; and it is
quite necessary to recognize the

distinctive character of this form of motion.

The experiment of the bell in a vacuum goes to prove that
the vibrations of atmosphere

propagate sound. Any other media, however, such as the
earth and the metals, are known

to transmit sound in various degrees. There must,
therefore, be some one thing in all these

media which gives birth to sound the vibration
that constitutes sound. That something is

the Indian akasa.

But akasa is all-pervading, just as the luminiferous
ether. Why, then, is not sound

transmitted to our ears when a vacuum is produced in the
bell-jar? The real fact is that we

must make a difference between the vibrations of the
elements that constitute sound and

light, etc., and the vibrations in the media which
transmit these impressions to our senses.

It is not the vibrations of the ethers the subtle
tatwas that cause our perceptions, but the

ethereal vibrations transferred to different media, which
are so many modifications of

gross matter the sthula Mahabhutas. The
luminiferous ether is present just as much in a

darkened room as in the space without. The minutest space
within the dimensions of the

surrounding walls themselves is not void of it. For all
this the luminosity of the exterior is

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

not present in the interior. Why? The reason is that our
ordinary vision does not see the

vibrations of the luminiferous ether. It only sees the
vibrations of the media that the ether

pervades. The capability of being set into ethereal
vibrations varies with different media.

In the space without the darkened room the ether brings
the atoms of the atmosphere into

the necessary state of visual vibration, and one wide
expanse of light is presented to our

view. The same is the case with every other object that
we see. The ether that pervades the

object brings the atoms of that object into the necessary
state of visual vibration. The

strength of the ethereal vibrations that the presence of
the sun imparts to the ether

pervading our planet is not sufficient to evoke the same
state in the dead matter of the

darkening walls. The internal ether, divided from the
eternal one by this dead mass, is itself

cut off from such vibrations. The darkness of the room is
thus the consequence,

notwithstanding the presence therein of the luminiferous
ether. An electric spark in the

vacuum of a bell-jar must needs be transmitted to our
eyes, because the glass of the jar

which stands in contact with the internal luminiferous
ether has a good deal of the quality

of being put into the state of visual vibration, which
from thence is transmitted to the

external ether and thence to the eye. The same would
never be the case if we were to use a

porcelain or an earthen jar. It is this capability of
being put into the state of visual

vibrations that we call transparency in glass and similar
objects.

To return to the soniferous ether (akasa): Every form of
gross matter has, to a certain

extent, which varies with various forms, what we may call
auditory transparency.

Now I have to say something about the nature of the
vibrations. Two things must be

understood in this connection. In the first place the
external form of the vibration is

something like the hole of the ear:

It throws matter which is subject to it, into the form of
a dotted sheet:

These dots are little points, rising above the common
surface so as to produce microscopic

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

pits in the sheet. It is said to move by fits and starts
(sankrama), and to move in all

directions (sarvatogame). It means to say that the
impulse falls back upon itself along the

line of its former path, which lies on all sides of the
direction of the wave:

It will be understood that these ethers produce in gross
media vibrations similar to their

own. The form, therefore, into which the auditory
vibrations throw the atmospheric air is a

true clue to the form of the ethereal vibration. And the
vibrations of atmospheric air

discovered by Modern Science are similar.

Now we come to the tangiferous ether (vayu). The
vibrations of this ether are described as

being spherical in form, and the motion is said to be at
acute angles to the wave (tiryak).

Such is the representation of these vibrations on the
plane of the paper:

The remarks about the transmission of sound in the case
of akasa apply here too, mutatis

mutandis. The gustiferous ether (apas tatwa) is said to
resemble in shape the half moon. It

is, moreover, said to move downward. This direction is
opposite to that of the luminiferous

ether. This force therefore causes contraction. Here is
the representation of the apas

vibrations on the plane of paper:

The process of contraction will be considered when I come
to the qualities of the tatwas.

The odoriferous ether (prithivi) is said to be
quadrangular in shape, thus:

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

This is said to move in the middle. It neither moves at
right angles, nor at acute angles, nor

upwards, nor downwards, but it moves along the line of
the wave. The line and the

quadrangle are in the same plane.

These are the forms, and the modes of motion, of the five
ethers.

Of the five sensations of men, each of these gives birth
to one, thus:

(1) Akasa, Sonorifierous ether, Sound; (2) Vayu,
Tangiferous ether, Touch; (3) Taijas,

Luminfierous ether, Color; (4) Apas, Gustiferous ether,
Taste; (5) Prithivi, Odoriferous

ether, Smell.

In the process of evolution, these co-existing ethers,
while retaining their general, relative

forms and primary qualities, contract the qualities of
the other tatwas. This is known as the

process of panchikarana, or division into five.

If we take, as our book does, H, P, R, V and L to be the
algebraic symbols for (1), (2), (3),

(4), and (5), respectively, after panchikarana the ethers
assume the following forms:

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

One molecule of each ether, consisting of eight atoms,
has four of the original principle

ethers, and one of the remaining four.

The following table will show the five qualities of each
of the tatwas after panchikarana:

Sound Touch Taste Color Smell

(1) H ordinary … …

(2) P very light cool acid light blue acid

(3) R light very hot hot red hot

(4) V heavy cool astringent white astringent

(5) L deep warm sweet yellow sweet

It might be remarked here that the subtle tatwas exist
now in the universe on four planes.

The higher of these planes differ from the lower in
having a greater number of vibrations

per second. The four planes are:

(1) Physical (Prana); (2) Mental (Manas); (3) Psychic
(Vijnana); (4) Spiritual (Ananda)

I shall discuss, however, some of the secondary qualities
of these tatwas.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

(1) Space ~ This is a quality of the akasa tatwa. It has
been asserted that the vibration of

this ether is shaped like the hole of the ear, and that
in the body thereof are microscopic

points (vindus). It follows evidently that the
interstices between the points serve to give

space to ethereal minima, and offer them room for
locomotion (avakasa).

(2) Locomotion ~ This is the quality of the vayu tatwa.
Vayu is a form of motion itself, for

motion in all directions is motion in a circle, large or
small. The vayu tatwa itself has the

form of spherical motion. When to the motion which keeps
the form of the different ethers

is added to the stereotyped motion of the vayu,
locomotion is the result.

(3) Expansion ~ This is the quality of the taijas tatwa.
This follows evidently from the

shape and form of motion which is given to this ethereal
vibration. Suppose ABC is a lump

of metal:

If we apply fire to it, the luminiferous ether in it is
set in motion, and that drives the gross

atoms of the lump into similar motion. Suppose (a) is an
atom. This being impelled to

assume the shape of the taijas, vibration goes towards
(a), and then takes the symmetrical

position of (a). Similarly does every point change
its place round the center of the piece

of metal. Ultimately the whole piece assumes the shape of
ABC. Expansion is thus the

result.

(4) Contraction ~ This is the quality of the apas tatwa.
As has been remarked before, the

direction of this ether is the reverse of the agni, and
it is therefore easy to understand that

contraction is the result of the play of this tatwa.

(5) Cohesion ~ This is the quality of the prithivi tatwa.
It will be seen that this is the

reverse of akasa. Akasa gives room for locomotion, while
prithivi resists it. This is the

natural result of the direction and shape of this
vibration. It covers up the spaces of the

akasa.

(6) Smoothness ~ This is a quality of the apas tatwa. As
the atoms of any body in

contraction come near each other and assume the
semi-lunar shape of the apas, they must

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

easily glide over each other. The very shape secures easy
motion for the atoms.

This, I believe, is sufficient to explain the general
nature of the tatwas. The different

phases of their manifestation on all the planes of life
will be taken up in their proper

places.

II. Evolution ~

It will be very interesting to trace the development of
man and the development of the

world according to the theory of the tatwas.

The tatwas, as we have already seen, are the
modifications of Swara. Regarding Swara, we

find in our book: In the Swara are the Vedas and
the shastras, and in the Swara is music.

All the world is in the Swara; Swara is the spirit
itself. The proper translation of the word

Swara is the current of the life-wave. It is
that wavy motion which is the cause of the

evolution of cosmic undifferentiated matter into the
differentiated universe, and the

involution of this into the primary state of
non-differentiation, and so on, in and out,

forever and ever. From whence does this motion come? This
motion is the spirit itself. The

word atma used in the book, itself carries the idea of
eternal motion, coming as it does

from the root at, eternal motion; and it may be
significantly remarked, that the root at is

connected with (and in fact is simply another form of)
the roots ah, breath, and as, being.

All these roots have for their original the sound
produced by the breathing of animals. In

The Science of Breath the symbol for inspiration is sa,
and for expiration ha. It is easy to

see how these symbols are connected with the roots as and
ah. The current of life-wave

spoken of above is technically called Hansachasa, i.e.,
the motion of ha and sa. The word

Hansa, which is taken to mean God, and is made so much of
in many Sanskrit works, is

only the symbolic representation of the eternal processes
of life ha and sa.

The primeval current of life-wave is, then, the same
which in man assumes the form of

inspiratory and expiratory motion of the lungs, and this
is the all-pervading source of the

evolution and the involution of the universe.

The book goes on: It is the Swara that has given
form to the first accumulations of the

divisions of the universe; the Swara causes involution
and evolution; the Swara is God

Himself, or more properly the great Power
(Mahashwara). The Swara is the

manifestation of the impression on matter of that power
which in man is known to us as

the power that knows itself. It is to be understood that
the action of this power never

ceases. It is ever at work, and evolution and involution
are the very necessity of its

unchangeable existence.

The Swara has two different states. The one is known on
the physical plane as the sunbreath,

the other as the moon-breath. I shall, however, at the
present stage of evolution

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

designate them as positive and negative respectively. The
period during which this current

comes back to the point from whence it started is known
as the night of parabrahma. The

positive or evolutionary period is known as the day of
parabrahma; the negative or

involutionary portion is known as the night of
parabrahma. These nights and days follow

each other without break. The sub-divisions of this
period comprehend all the phases of

existence, and it is therefore necessary to give her the
scale of time according to the Hindu

Shastras.

The Divisions of Time ~

I shall begin with a Truti as the least division of
time.

26-2/3 truti = 1 nimesha = 8/45 second.

18 nimesha = 1 kashtha = 3-1/5 seconds = 8 vipala.

30 kashtha = 1 kala = 1-3/5 minutes = 4 pala.

30 kala = 1 mahurta = 48 minutes = 2 ghari.

30 mahurta = 1 day and night = 24 hours = 60 ghari.

30 days and nights and odd hours = 1 Pitruja day and
night = 1 month and odd hours.

12 months = 1 Daiva day and night = 1 year = 365 days,
15, 30, 31.

365 Daiva days and nights = 1 Daiva year.

4,800 Daiva years = 1 Satya yuga.

3,600 Daiva years = 1 Treta yuga.

2,400 Daiva years = 1 Dwapara yuga.

1,200 Daiva years = 1 Kali yuga.

12,000 Daiva years = 1 Chaturyugi (four yuga).

12,000 Chaturyugi = 1 Daiva yuga.

2,000 Daiva yuga = 1 day and night of Brahma.

365 Brahmic days and nights = 1 year of Brahma.

71 Daiva yuga = 1 Manwantara.

12,000 Brahmic years = 1 Chaturyuga of Brahma, and so
one.

200 yuga of Brahma = 1 day and night of parabrahma.

These days and nights follow each other in eternal
succession, and hence eternal evolution

and involution.

We have thus five sets of days and night: (1) Parabrahma,
(2) Brahma, (3) Daiva, (4)

Pitrya, (5) Manusha. A sixth is the Manwantara day, and
the Manwantara night (pralaya).

The days and nights of parabrahma follow each other
without beginning or end. The night

(the negative period and the day (the positive period)
both merge into the susumna (the

conjunctive period) and merge into each other. And so do
the other days and nights. The

days all through this division are sacred to the
positive, the hotter current, and the nights

are sacred to the negative, the cooler current. The
impressions of names and forms, and the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

power of producing an impression, lie in the positive
phase of existence. Receptivity is

given birth to by the negative current.

After being subjected to the negative phase of
parabrahma, Prakriti, which follows

parabrahma like a shadow, has been saturated with
evolutionary receptivity; as the hotter

current sets in, changes are imprinted upon it, and it
appears in changed forms. The first

imprint that the evolutionary positive current leaves
upon Prakriti is known as akasa.

Then, by and by the remaining ethers come into existence.
These modifications of Prakriti

are the ethers of the first stage.

Into these five ethers, as now constituting the objective
phase, works on the current of the

Great Breath. A further development takes place.
Different centers come into existence.

The akasa throws them into a form that gives room for
locomotion. With the beginning of

the vayu tatwa these elementary ethers are thrown into
the form of spheres. This was the

beginning of formation, or what may also be called
solidification.

These spheres are our Brahmandas. In them the ethers
assume a secondary development.

The so-called division into five takes place. In this
Brahmic sphere in which the new ethers

have good room for locomotion, the taijas tatwa now comes
into play, and then the apas

tatwa. Every tatwic quality is generated into, and
preserved in, these spheres by these

currents. In process of time we have a center and an
atmosphere. This sphere is the selfconscious

universe.

In this sphere, according to the same process, a third
ethereal state comes into existence. In

the cooler atmosphere removed from the center another
class of centers comes into

existence. These divide the Brahmic state of matter into
two different states. After this

comes into existence another state of matter whose
centers bear the names of devas or

suns.

We have thus four states of subtle matter in the
universe:

(1) Prana, life matter, with the sun for center; (2)
Manas, mental matter, with the manu for

center; (3) Vijnana, psychic matter, with Brahma for
center; (4) Ananda, spiritual matter,

with parabrahma as the infinite substratum.

Every higher state is positive with regard to the lower
one, and every lower on is given

birth to by a combination of the positive and negative
phase of the higher.

(1) Prana has to do with three sets of days and nights in
the above division of time: (a) Our

ordinary days and nights; (b) The bright and dark half of
the month which are called the

pitrya day and night; (c) The northern and southern
halves of the years, the day and night

of the devas.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

These three nights acting upon earth-matter impart to it
the receptivity of the cool, negative

shady phase of life-matter. These nights imprint
themselves on the respective days coming

in after it. The earth herself thus becomes a living
being, having a north pole, in which a

central force draws the needle towards itself, and a
south pole in which is centered a for

which is, so to speak, the shade of the north polar
center. It has also always a solar force

centered in the eastern half, and the lunar — the shade
of the former centered in the

western half.

These centers come, in fact, into existence even before
the earth is manifested on the gross

plane. So too do the centers of other planets come into
existence. As the sun presents

himself to the manu there come into existence two states
of matter in which the sun lives

and moves the positive and the negative. As the
solar prana, after having been for some

time subjected to the negative shady state, is subjected
in its revolutionary course to the

source of its positive phase, manu, the figure of manu is
imprinted upon it. This manu is, in

fact, the universal mind, and all the planets with their
inhabitants are the phases of his

existence. Of this, however, more heareafter. At present
we see that earth-life or Terrestrial

Prana has four centers of force.

When it has been cooled by the negative current, the
positive phase imprints itself upon it,

and earth-life in various forms comes into existence. The
essays on prana will explain this

more clearly.

(2) Manas: this has to do with manu. The suns revolve
round these centers with the whole

of their atmospheres of prana. This system gives birth to
the lokas or spheres of life, of

which the planets are one class.

These lokas have been enumerated by Vyasa in his
commentary on the Yogasutra (III.

Pada, 26th Sutra). The aphorism runs thus:

By meditation upon the sun is obtained a knowledge
of the physical creation.

On this, the revered commentator says: There are
seven lokas (spheres of existence).

(1) The Bhurloka: this extends to the Meru; (2)
Antareikshaloka: this extends from the

surface of the Meru to the Dhru, the pole-star, and
contains the planets, the nakstatras, and

the stars; (3) Beyond that is the swarloka: this is
fivefold and sacred to Mahendra; (4)

Maharloka: This is sacred to the Prajapati; (5) Janaloka;
(6) Tapas loka, and; (7) Satya

loka. These three (5, 6, and 7) are sacred to Brahma.

It is not my purpose to try at present to explain the
meaning of these lokas. It is sufficient

for my present purpose to say that the planets, the
stars, the lunar mansions are all

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

impressions of manu, just as the organisms of the earth
are the impressions of the sun. The

solar prana is prepared for this impression during the
manwantara night.

Similarly, Vijnana has to do with the nights and days of
Brahma, and Ananda with those of

Parabrahma.

It will thus be seen that the whole process of creation,
on whatever plane of life, is

performed most naturally by the five tatwas in their
double modifications, the positive and

negative. There is nothing in the universe that the
Universal Tatwic Law of Breath does

not comprehend.

After this brief exposition of the theory of tatwic
evolution comes a series of Essays,

taking up all the subtle states of matter one by one, and
describing more in detail the

working of the tatwic law in those planes, and also the
manifestations of these planes of

life in humanity.

III. The Mutual Relation of the Tatwas and of the
Principles ~

The akasa is the most important of all the tatwas. It
must, as a matter of course, precede

and follow every change of state on every plane of life.
Without this there can be no

manifestation or cessation of forms. It is out of akasa
that every form comes, and it is in

akasa that every form lives. The akasa is full of forms
in their potential state. It intervenes

between every two of the five tatwas, and between every
two of the five principles.

The evolution of the tatwas is always part of the
evolution of a certain definite form. Thus

the manifestation of the primary tatwas is with the
definite aim of giving what we may call

a body, a Prakritic form to the Iswara. In the bosom of
the Infinite Parabrahma, there are

hidden unnumerable such centers. One center takes under
its influence a certain portion of

the Infinite, and there we find first of all coming into
existence the akasa tatwa. The extent

of this akasa limits the extent of the Universe, and out
of it the Iswara is to come. With

this end comes out of this akasa the Vayu tatwa. This
pervades the whole Universe and has

a certain center that serves to keep the whole expanse
together, and separate as one whole,

from other universes (Brahmandas).

It has been mentioned, and further on will be more
clearly explained, that every tatwa has

a positive and a negative phase. It is also evident on
the analogy of the sun that places

more distant from the center are always negative to those
which are nearer. We might say

that they are cooler than these, as it will be seen later
on the heat is not peculiar to the sun

only, but that all the higher centers have a greater
amount of heat than even the sun itself.

Well then, in this Brahmic sphere of Vayu, except for
some space near the parabrahmic

akasa, every atom of the vayu is reacted upon by an
opposite force. The more distant and

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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therefore the cooler one reacts upon the nearer and
therefore the hotter. The equal and

opposite vibrations of the same force cancel each other,
and both together pass into the

akasic state. Thus, while some of this space remains
filled up by the Brahmic Vayu on

account of the constant outflow of this tatwa from the
parabrahmic akasa, the remainder is

rapidly turned into akasa. This akasa is the mother of
the Brahmic agni tatwa. The agni

tatwa working similarly gives birth through another akasa
to the apas, and this similarly to

the prithivi. This Brahmic prithivi thus contains the
qualities of all the preceding tatwas

besides a fifth one of its own.

The first stage of the Universe, the ocean of psychic
matter has now come into existence in

its entirety. This matter is, of course, very, very fine,
and there is absolutely no grossness

in it as compared with the matter of the fifth plane. In
this ocean shines the intelligence of

Iswara, and this ocean, with everything that might be
manifest in it, is the self-conscious

universe.

In this psychic ocean, as before, the more distant atoms
are negative to the nearer ones.

Hence, except a certain space which remains filled with
the psychic prithivi on account of

the constant supply of this element from above, the rest
begins to change into an akasa.

This second akasa is full of what are called Manus in
their potential state. The Manus are

so many groups of certain mental forms, the ideals of the
various genera and species of life

to appear further on. We have to do with one of
these.

Impelled by the evolutionary current of the Great Breath,
manu comes out of this akasa, in

the same way as Brahma did out of the parabrahmic akasa.
First and uppermost in the

mental sphere is the Vayu, and then in regular order the
taijas, the apas, and the prithivi.

This mental matter follows the same laws, and similarly
begins to pass into the third akasic

state, which is full of innumerable suns. They come out
in the same way, and begin to

work on a similar plan, which will be better understood
here than higher up.

Everybody can test here for himself that the more distant
portions of the solar system are

cooler than the nearer ones. Every little atom of Prana
is comparatively cooler than the

adjacent one towards the sun from itself. Hence equal and
opposite vibrations cancel each

other. Leaving, therefore, a certain space near the sun
as always filled up with the tatwas

of Prana, which are there being constantly supplied from
the sun, the rest of the Prana

passes into the akasic state.

It might be noted down here that the whole of this Prana
is made up of innumerable little

points. In the future I shall speak of these points of as
trutis, and might say here that it is

these trutis that appear on the terrestrial plane as
atoms (anu or paramanu). They might be

spoken of as solar atoms. These solar atoms are of
various classes according to the

prevalence of one or more of the constituent tatwas.

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Every point of Prana is a perfect picture of the whole
ocean. Every other point is

represented in every point. Every atom has, therefore,
for its constituents, all the four

tatwas, in varying proportions according to its position
in respect of others. The different

classes of these solar atoms appear on the terrestrial
plane as the various elements of

chemistry.

The spectrum of every terrestrial element reveals the
color or colors of the prevalent tatwa

or tatwas of a solar atom of that substance. The greater
the heat to which any substance is

subjected the nearer does the element approaches its
solar state. Heat destroys for the time

being the terrestrial coatings of the solar atoms.

The spectrum of sodium thus shows the presence of the
yellow prithivi, that of lithium, the

red agni and the yellow prithivi, that of cesium, the red
agni, the green admixture, the

yellow prithivi, and the blue vayu. Rubidium shows red,
orange, yellow, green and blue,

i.e., the agni, prithivi and agni, prithivi, vayu and
prithivi, and vayu. These classes of solar

atoms that make up all put altogether, the wide expanse
of the solar prana, pass into the

akasic state. While the sun keeps up a constant supply of
these atoms, those that are

passing into the akasic state pass on the other side into
the planetary vayu. Certain

measured portions of the solar akasa naturally separate
themselves from others, according

to the differing creation that is to appear in those
portions. These portions of akasa are

called lokas. The earth itself is a loka called the
Bhurloka. I shall take up the earth for

further illustration of the law.

That portion of the solar akasa that is the immediate
mother of the Earth, first gives birth

to the terrestrial Vayu. Every element is now in the
state of the Vayu tatwa, which may

now be called gaseous. The Vayu tatwa is spherical in
shape, and thus the gaseous planet

bears similar outlines. The center of this gaseous sphere
keeps together round itself the

whole expanse of gas. As soon as this gaseous sphere
comes into existence, it is subjected

to the following influences among others:

(1) The superposed influence of the solar heat; (2) The
internal influence of the more

distant atoms on the nearer ones and vice versa.

The first influence has a double effect upon the gaseous
sphere. It imparts more heat to the

nearer hemisphere than to the more distant one. The
superficial air of the nearer

hemisphere having contracted a certain amount of solar
energy, rises towards the sun.

Cooler air from below takes its place. But where does the
superficial air go? It cannot pass

beyond the limit of the terrestrial sphere, which is
surrounded by the solar akasa through

which comes a supply from the solar Prana. It therefore
begins to move in a circle, and

thus a rotary motion is established in the sphere. This
is the origin of the earths rotation

upon its axis.

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Again, as a certain amount of the solar energy is
imparted to the gaseous terrestrial sphere,

the impulse of the upward motion reaches the center
itself. Therefore that center itself, and

along with it the whole sphere, moves towards the sun. It
cannot, however, go on in this

direction, for a nearer approach would destroy that
balance of forces that gives the earth its

peculiarities. A loka that is nearer to the sun than our
planet cannot have the same

conditions of life. Hence, while the sun draws the earth
towards itself, those laws of life

that have given it a constitution, on which ages must
roll on, keep it in the sphere they have

assigned to it. Two forces thus come into existence.
Drawn by one the earth would go

towards the sun; checked by the other it must remain
where it is. These are the centrifugal

and the centripetal forces, and their action results in
giving the earth its annual revolution.

Secondly, the internal action of the gaseous atoms upon
each other ends in the change of

the whole gaseous sphere, except the upper portion, into
the akasic state. This akasic state

gives birth to the igneous (pertaining to the agni tatwa)
state of terrestrial matter. This

changes similarly into the apas, and this again into the
prithivi.

The same process obtains in the changes of matter with
which we are now familiar. An

example will better illustrate the whole law.

Take ice. This is solid, or what the Science of Breath
would call in the state of prithivi.

One quality of the prithivi tatwa, the reader will
remember, is cohesive resistance. Let us

apply heat to this ice. As this heat passes into the ice,
it is indicated by the thermometer.

When the temperature rises to 78 degrees, the ice changes
its state. But the thermometer no

longer indicates the same amount of heat. 78 degrees of
heat have become latent.

Let us now apply 536 degrees of heat to a pound of
boiling water. As is generally known,

this great quantity of heat becomes latent while the
water passes into the gaseous state.

Now let us follow the reverse process. To gaseous water
let us apply a certain amount of

cold. When this cold becomes sufficient entirely to
counteract the heat that keeps it in the

gaseous state, the vapor passes into the akasa state, and
from thence into the taijas state. It

is not necessary that the whole of the vapor should at
once pass into the next state. The

change is gradual. As the cold is gradually passing into
the vapor, the taijas modification is

gradually appearing out of, and through the intervention
of akasa, into which it had passed

during latency. This is being indicated on the
thermometer. When the whole has passed

into the igneous state, and the thermometer has indicated
536 degrees, the second akasa

comes into existence. Out of this second akasa comes the
liquid state at the same

temperature, the whole heat having again passed into the
akasa state, and therefore no

longer indicated by the thermometer.

When cold is applied to this liquid, heat again begins to
come out, and when it reaches 78

degrees, this heat having come out of and through the
akasa, into which it had passed, the

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whole liquid had passed into the igneous state. Here it
again begins to pass into the akasa

state. The thermometer begins to fall down, and out of
this akasa begins to come the

prithivi state of water — ice.

Thus we see that the heat which is given out by the
influence of cold passes into the akasa

state, which becomes the substratum of a higher phase,
and the heat which is absorbed

passes into another akasa state, which becomes the
substratum of a lower phase.

It is in this way that the terrestrial gaseous sphere
changes into its present state. The

experiment described above points out many important
truths about the relation of these

tatwas to each other.

First of all it explains that very important assertion of
the Science of Breath which says

that every succeeding tatwic state has the qualities of
all the foregoing tatwic states. Thus

we see that as the gaseous state of water is being acted
upon by cold, the latent heat of

steam is being cancelled and passing into the akasa
state. This cannot but be the case, since

equal and opposite vibrations of the same force always
cancel each other, and the result is

the akasa. Out of this comes the taijas state of matter.
This is that state in which the latent

heat of steam becomes patent. It will be observed that
this state has no permanence. The

taijas form of water, as indeed any other substance,
cannot exist for any length of time,

because the major part of terrestrial matter is in the
lower and therefore more negative

states of apas and prithivi, and whenever for any cause
any substance passes into the taijas

state, the surrounding objects begin at once to react
upon it with such force as at once to

force it into the next akasa state. Those things that now
live in the normal state of the apas

or the prithivi find it quite against the laws of their
existence to remain, except under

external influence, in the taijas (igneous) state. Thus
an atom of gaseous water before

passing into the liquid state has already remained in the
three states, the akasa, the

gaseous, and the taijas. It must, therefore, have all the
qualities of the three tatwas, and so

it no doubt has. Cohesive resistance is only wanted, and
that is the quality of the prithivi

tatwa.

Now when this atom of liquid water passes into the icy
state, what do we see? All the

states that have preceded must again show themselves.
Cold will cancel the latent heat of

the liquid state, and the akasa state will come out. Out
of this akasa state is sure to come

the gaseous state. This gaseous (Vayava) state is
evidenced by the gyrations and other

motions that are set up in the body of the liquid by the
mere application of the cold. The

motion, however, is not of very long duration, and as
they are ceasing (passing into the

akasa state) the taijas state is coming out. This too,
however, is not of long duration, and

as this is passing into the akasa state, the ice is
coming into existence.

It will be easy to see that all four states of
terrestrial matter exist in our sphere. The

gaseous (Vayava) is there in what we call the atmosphere;
the igneous (taijas) is the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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normal temperature of earth life; the liquid (apas) is
the ocean; the solid (prithivi) is the

terra firma. None of these states, however, exists quite
isolated from the other. Each is

constantly invading the domain of the other, and thus it
is difficult to find any portion of

space filled up only with matter in one state. The two
adjacent tatwas are found intermixed

with each other to a greater degree than those that are
removed from each other by an

intermediate state. Thus prithivi will be found mixed up
to a greater extent with water than

with agni and vayu, apas with agni than with vayu, and
vayu with agni more than with any

other. It would thus appear from the above, according to
the science of tatwas, that the

flame and other luminous bodies on earth are not in the
terrestrial taijas (igneous) state.

They are in or near the solar state of matter.

IV. Prana (I) ~

The Centers of Prana; The Nadis; The Tatwic Centers of
Life; The Ordinary Change

of Breath

Prana, as already expressed, is that state of Tatwic
matter which surrounds the sun, and in

which moves the earth and other planets. It is the state
next higher than matter in the

terrestrial state. The terrestrial sphere is separated
from the solar Prana by an akasa.

Thisakasa is the immediate mother of the terrestrial vayu
whose native color is blue. It is

on this account that the sky looks blue.

Although at this point in the heavens, the Prana changes
into akasa, which gives birth to

the terrestrial Vayu, the rays of the sun that fall on
the sphere from without are not stopped

in their inward journey. They are refracted, but move
onwards into the terrestrial sphere all

the same. Through these rays the ocean of Prana, which
surrounds our sphere, exerts upon

it an organizing influence.

The terrestrial Prana the earth-life that appears
in the shape of all the living organisms of

our planet is, as a whole, nothing more than a
modification of the solar Prana.

As the earth moves round her own axis and round the sun,
twofold centers are developed

in the terrestrial Prana. During the diurnal rotation
every place, as it is subjected to the

direct influence of the sun, sends forth the positive
life-current from the East to the West.

During the night the same place sends forth the negative
current.

In the annual course the positive current travels from
the North to the South during the six

months of summer the day of the devas and
the negative during the remaining six

months the night of the devas.

The North and East are thus sacred to the positive
current; the opposite quarters to the

negative current. The sun is the lord of the positive
current, the moon of the negative,

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because the negative solar prana comes during the night
to the earth from the moon.

The terrestrial prana is thus an ethereal being with
double centers of work. The first is the

northern, the second the southern. The two halves of
these centers are the eastern and

western centers. During the six months of summer the
current of life runs from the North

to the South, and during the months of winter the
negative current goes the other way.

With every month, with every day, with every nimesha this
current completes a minor

course, and while this current continues in this course
the diurnal rotation gives it an

eastern or western direction. The northern current runs
during the day of man from East to

West, and during the night from West to East. The
directions of the other current are

respectively opposite to the above. So practically there
are only two directions the

eastern and western. The difference of the northern and
southern currents is not practically

felt in terrestrial life. These two currents produce in
the terrestrial prana two

distinguishable modifications of the composing ethers.
The rays of either of these ethereal

modifications proceeding from their different centers run
into each other the one giving

life, strength, form and other qualities to the other.
Along the rays emerging from the

northern center, run the currents of positive prana;
along those emerging from the

southern, the currents of negative prana. The eastern and
western channels of these

currents are respectively called Pingala and Ida, two of
the celebrated nadis of the

Tantrists. It will be better to discuss the other
bearings of Prana, when we have localized it

in the human body.

The influence of this terrestrial Prana develops two
centers of work in the gross matter

that is to form a human body. Part of the matter gathers
round the northern, and part round

the southern center. The northern center develops into
the brain; the southern into the

heart. The general shape of the terrestrial Prana is
something like an ellipse. In this the

northern focus is in the brain; the southern in the
heart. The column along which the

positive matter gathers runs between these foci.

The line in the middle is the place where the eastern and
western right and left

divisions of the column join. The column is the medulla
oblongata the central line is also

susumna, the right and left divisions the Pingala and
Ida. The rays of Prana that diverge

either way from these nadis are only their ramifications,
and constitute together with them

the nervous system.

The negative Prana gathers round the southern center.
This, too, takes a form similar to the

former. The right and left divisions of this column are
the right and left divisions of the

heart.

Each division has two principal ramifications, and each
ramification again ramifies into

others. The two openings either way are one a vein, and
one an artery, the four opening

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into four chambers the four petals of the lotus of
the heart. The right part of the heart

again, with all its ramifications, is called Pingala, the
left Ida, and the middle part

susumna.

There is reason to think, however, that the heart only is
spoken of as the lotus, while the

three foregoing names are set apart for the nervous
system. The current of Prana works

forward and backward, in and out. The cause of this lies
in the momentary of the being of

Prana. As the year advances, every moment a change of
state takes place in the terrestrial

prana, on account of the varying strengths of the solar
and lunar currents. Thus, every

moment is, strictly speaking, a new being of Prana. As
Buddha says, all life is momentary.

The Moment that is the first to throw into matter the
germ that will develop the two centers

is the first cause of organized life. If the succeeding
Moments are friendly in their tatwic

effect to the first cause, the organism gains strength
and develops; if not, the impulse is

rendered fruitless. The general effect of these
succeeding moments keeps up general life;

but the impulse of any one moment tends to pass off as
the others come in. A system of

forward and backward motion is thus established. One
Moment of Prana proceeding from

the center of work goes to the farthest ends of the gross
vessels nerves and blood vessels

of the organism. The succeeding moment gives it,
however, the backwards impulse. A

few moments are taken in the completion of the forward
impulse, and the determination of

the backward one. This period differs in different
organisms. As the Prana runs forward,

the lungs inspire; as it recedes, the process of
expiration sets in.

The Prana moves in the Pingala when it moves from the
northern center towards the east,

and from the southern towards the west; it moves in Ida
when it moves from the northern

center towards the west, and from the southern center
towards the east. This means that in

the former case the Prana moves from the brain, towards
the right, through the heart, to

the left and back to the brain; and from the heart to the
left through the brain to the right

back to the heart. In the latter the case is the reverse.
To use other terms, in the former case

the Prana moves from the nervous system to the right
through the system of blood vessels

to the left, and back again to the nervous system; or,
from the system of blood vessels to

the left through the nervous system to the right, and
back again to the system of blood

vessels. These two currents coincide. In the latter the
case is the reverse. The left part of

the body containing the nerves and the blood vessels may
be called Ida, the right the

Pingala. The right and left bronchi form as well the part
respectively of Pingala and Ida,

as any other parts of the right and left divisions of the
body. But what is susumna? One of

the names of susumna is sandhi, the place where the two
Ida and Pingala join. It is

really that place from which the Prana may move either
way right or left or, under

certain circumstances, both ways. It is that place which
the Prana must pass when it

changes from the right to the left, and from the left to
the right. It is therefore booth the

spinal canal and the cardiac canal. The spinal canal
extends from the Brahmarandhra, the

northern center of Prana through the whole vertebral
column (Brahmadanda). The cardiac

canal extends from the southern center midway between the
two lobes of the heart. As the

Prana moves from the spinal canal towards the right hand
to the heart, the right lung

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works; the breath comes in and out of the right nostril.
When it reaches the southern canal,

you cannot feel the breath out of either nostril. As,
however, it goes out of the cardiac

canal to the left, the breath begins to come out of the
left nostril, and flows through that

until the Prana again reaches the spinal canal. There,
again, you cease to feel the breath

out of either nostril. The effect of these two positions
of Prana is identical upon the flow

of breath, and, therefore, I think that both the northern
and southern canals are designated

by susumna. If we may speak in this way, let us imagine
that a plane passes midway

between the spinal and cardiac canals. This plane will
pass through the hollow of the

susumna. But let it be understood that there is no such
plane in reality. It will perhaps be

more correct to say that as the rays of the positive Ida
and Pingala spread either way as

nerves, and those of the negative as blood-vessels, the
rays of susumna spread all over the

body midway between the nerves and blood vessels, the
positive and negative nadis. The

following is the description of susumna in the Science of
Breath:

When the breath goes in and out, one moment by the
left and the other by the right nostril,

that too is susumna. When Prana is in that nadi the fires
of death burn; this is called

vishuva. When it moves one moment in the right, and the
other in the left, let it be called

the Unequal State (vishamabhava); when it moves thorough
both at once, the wise have

called it vishuva

[It is susumna] at the time of the passing
of the Prana from the Ida into the Pingala, or

vice versa; and also of the change of one tatwa into
another.

Then the susumna has two other functions. It is called
vedo-veda in one of its

manifestations, and sandhyasandhi in the other. As,
however, the right and left directions

of the cardiac Prana coincide with the left and right of
the spinal current, there are some

writers who dispense with the double susumna. According
to them, the spinal canal alone

is the susumna. The Uttaragita and Latachakra nirupana
are works in this class. This

method of explanation takes away a good deal of
difficulty. The highest recommendation

of this view is its comparative simplicity. The right
side current from the heart, and the left

side current from the spine may both be reckoned without
difficulty as the left side spinal

currents, and so may the remaining two currents be
reckoned as the right side spinal

currents.

One more consideration is in favor of this view. The
nervous system represents the sun, the

system of blood vessels the moon. Hence the real force of
life dwells in the nerves. The

positive and negative the solar and lunar
phases of life matter are only different phases

of Prana, the solar matter. The more distant and
therefore the cooler matter is negative to

the nearer, and therefore, the hotter. It is solar life
that manifests itself in the various

phases of the moon. To pass out of technicalities, it is
nervous force that manifests itself in

various forms, in the system of blood vessels. The blood
vessels are only the receptacles of

nervous force. Hence, in the nervous system, the real
life of the gross body is the true Ida,

Pingala and susumna. These are, in such a case, the
spinal column, and the right and left

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sympathetics, with all their ramifications throughout the
body.

The development of the two centers is thus the first
stage in the development of the fetus.

The matter that gathers up under the influence of the
northern center is the spinal column;

the matter that gathers up round the southern center is
the heart. The diurnal rotation

divides these columns or canals into the right and left
divisions. Then the correlative

influence of these two centers upon each other develops
an upper and lower division in

each of these centers. This happens somewhat in the same
way, and on the same principle,

as a Leyden jar is charged with positive electricity by a
negative rod. Each of these centers

is thus divided into four parts:

(1) The right side positive, (2) the left side positive,
(3) the right side negative, and (4) the

left side negative.

In the heart these four divisions are called the right
and left auricles and ventricles. The

Tantras style these four divisions the four petals of the
cardiac lotus, and indicate them by

various letters. The positive petals of the heart form
the center from which proceed the

positive blood vessels, the arteries; the negative petals
are the starting points of the

negative blood vessels, the veins. This negative prana is
pregnant with ten forces:

(1) Prana, (2) Apana, (3) Samana, (4) Vyana, (5) Udana,
(6) Krikila, (7) Naga, (8)

Devadatta, (9) Dhavanjaya, (10) Kurma.

These ten forces are called vayu. The word vayu is
derived from the root va, to move, and

means nothing more than a motive power. The Tantrists do
not mean to give it the idea of

a gas. Henceforth I shall speak of the vayu as the forces
or motive powers of prana. These

ten manifestations of Prana are reduced by some writers
to the first five alone, holding that

the remaining ones are only modifications of the former,
which are the all-important of the

functions of prana. This, however, is only a question of
division. From the left side

positive petal the prana gathers up into a nadi that
ramifies within the chest into the lungs,

and again gathers up into a nadi that opens into the
right side negative petal. This entire

course forms something like a circle (chakra). This nadi
is called in modern science the

pulmonary artery and vein. Two lungs come into existence
by the alternate workings of the

positive and negative prana of the eastern and western
powers.

Similarly, from the right side positive petal branch
several nadi that go both upwards and

downwards in two directions, the former under the
influence of the northern, the latter

under the influence of the southern powers. Both these
nadi open after a circular march

throughout the upper and lower portions of the body into
the left side negative petal.

Between the left side positive and the right side
negative petal is one chakra (disk). This

chakra comprises the pulmonary artery, the lungs, and the
pulmonary vein. The chest gives

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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room to this chakra, which is positive with respect to
the lower portions of the body, in

which run the ramifications of the lower chakra, which
latter joins the right side positive

and the left side negative petals.

In the above chakra (in the cavity of the chest) is the
seat of prana, the first and most

important of the ten manifestations. Inspiration and
expiration being a true index of the

changes of prana, the pulmonary manifestations thereof
have the same name. With the

changes of prana we have a corresponding change in the
other functions of life. The lower

negative chakra contains the principal seats of some of
the other manifestations of life.

This apana is located in the long intestine, samana in
the navel, and so on.

Also, udana is located in the throat; vyana all over the
body. Udana causes belching;

kurma in the eyes causes them to shut and open; krikila
in the stomach causes hunger. In

short, proceeding from the four petals of the heart we
have an entire network of these

blood vessels. There are two sets of these blood vessels
side by side in every part of the

body, connected by innumerable little channels, the
capillaries.

We read in the Prasnopnisat:

From the heart [ramify the] nadi. Of these
there are 101 principal ones (Pradhana nadi).

Each of these branches into 100. Each of these again into
72,000.

Thus, there are 10,100 branch nadi, and 727,200,000 still
smaller ones, or what are called

twig-nadi. The terminology is imitated from a tree. There
is the root in the heart. From

these proceed various stems. These ramify into branches,
and these again into twig vessels;

all these nadi put together are 727,210,201.

Now, of these the one is the susumna; the rest are
divided half and half over the two halves

of the body. So we read in the Kathopnishat, 6th valli,
16th mantra:

A hundred and one nadi are connected with the
heart. Of these one passes out into the

head. Going out by that one becomes immortal. The others
become the cause in sending

the life principle out of various other states.

This one that goes to the head, remarks the commentator,
is the susumna. The susumna

then is that nadi whose nervous substratum or reservoir
of force is the spine. Of the

remaining principal nadis, the Ida is the reservoir of
the life force that works in the left part

of the body, having 50 principal nadi. So also has the
right part of the body 50 principal

nadi. These go on dividing as above. The nadi of the
third degree become so minute as to

be visible only by a microscope. The ramifications of the
susumna all over the body serve

during life to carry the prana from the positive to the
negative portions of the body, and

vice versa. In case of blood these are the modern
capillaries.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The Vedantins, of course, take the heart to be the
starting point of this ramification. The

Yogis, however, proceed from the navel. Thus in The
Science of Breath we read:

From the root in the navel proceed 72,000 nadi
spreading all over the body. There sleeps

the goddess Kundalini like a serpent. From this center
(the navel) ten nadi go upwards, ten

downwards, and two and two crookedly.

The number 72,000 is the result of their own peculiar
reckoning. It matters little which

division we adopt if we understand the truth of the
case.

Along these nadi run the various forces that form and
keep up the physiological man.

These channels gather up into various parts of the body
as centers of the various

manifestations of prana. It is like water falling from a
hill, gathering into various lakes,

each lake letting out several streams. These centers
are:

(1) Hand power centers, (2) Foot power centers, (3)
Speech power centers, (4) Excretive

power centers, (5) Generative power centers, (6)
Digestive and absorbing power centers,

(7) Breathing power centers, and (8) the five sense power
centers.

Those nadi that proceed to the outlets of the body
perform the most important functions of

the body, and they are hence said to be the ten principal
ones in the whole system. These

are:

(1) Ghandari goes to the left eye; (2) Hastijihiva goes
to the right eye; (3) Pasta goes to

the right ear; (4) Yashawani goes to the left ear; (5)
Alamhusha, or alammukha (as it is

variously spelled in one ms.) goes to the mouth. This
evidently is the alimentary canal; (6)

Kuhu goes to the generative organs; (7) Shankini goes to
the excretive organs; (8) Ida is

the nadi that leads to the left nostril; (9) Pingala is
the one that leads to the right nostril. It

appears that these names are given to these local nadi
for the same reason that the

pulmonary manifestation of prana is known by the same
name; (10) Susumna has already

been explained in its various phases and
manifestations.

There are two more outlets of the body that receive their
natural development in the

female: the breasts. It is quite possible that the nadi
Danini, of which no specific mention

has been made, might go to one of these. Whatever it may
be, the principle of the division

and classification is clear, and this is something
actually gained.

Centers of moral and intellectual powers also exist in
the system. Thus we read in the

Vishramopnishat (The following figure will serve to
illustrate the translation):

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

(1) While the mind rests in the eastern portion (or
petal), which is white in color, then it is

inclined towards patience, generosity, and reverence.

(2) While the mind rests in the southeastern
portion, which is red in color, then it is

inclined towards sleep, torpor and evil inclination.

(3) While the mind rests in the southern portion,
which is black in color, then it is inclined

towards anger, melancholy, and bad tendencies.

(4) While the mind rests in the southwestern
portion, which is blue in color, then it is

inclined towards jealousy and cunning.

(5) While the mind rests in the western portion,
which is brown in color, then it is

inclined towards smiles, amorousness, and jocoseness.

(6) While the mind rests in the northwestern
portion, which is indigo in color, then it is

inclined towards anxiety, restless dissatisfaction, and
apathy.

(7) While the mind rests in the northern portion,
which is yellow in color, then it is

inclined towards love and enjoyment and adornment.

(8) While the mind rests in the northeastern
portion, which is white in color, then it is

inclined towards pity, forgiveness, reflection, and
religion.

(9) While the mind rests in the sandhi
(conjunctions) of these portions, then disease and

confusion in body and home, and the mind inclines towards
the three humors.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

(10) While the mind rests in the middle portion,
which is violet in color, then

Consciousness goes beyond the qualities [three
qualities of Maya] and it inclines toward

Intelligence.

When any of these centers is in action the mind is
conscious of the same sort of feelings,

and inclines towards them. Mesmeric passes serve only to
excite these centers.

These centers are located in the head as well as in the
chest, and also in the abdominal

region and the loins, etc.

It is these centers, together with the heart itself, that
bear the name of padma or kamala

(lotus). Some of these are large, some small, some very
small. A tantric lotus is the type of

a vegetable organism, a root with various branches. These
centers are the reservoirs of

various powers, and hence the roots of the padma; the
nadi ramifying these centers are

their various branches.

The nervous plexus of the modern anatomists coincide with
these centers. From what has

been said above it will appear that the centers are
constituted by blood vessels. But the

only difference between the nerves and the blood vessels
is the difference between the

vehicles of the positive and negative prana. The nerves
are the positive, and the blood

vessels are the negative system of the body. Wherever
there are nerves there are

corresponding blood vessels. Both of them are
indiscriminately called nadi. One set has for

its center the lotus of the heart, the other the
thousand-petalled lotus of the brain. The

system of blood vessels is an exact picture of the
nervous system; it is, in fact, only its

shadow. Like the heart, the brain has its upper and lower
divisions — the cerebrum and the

cerebellum and its right and left divisions as
well. The nerves going to very part of the

body and coming back from thence together with those
going to the upper and lower

portions correspond to the four petals of the heart. This
system, too, has as many centers of

energy as the former. Both these centers coincide in
position. They are, in fact, the same:

the nervous plexuses and ganglia of modern anatomy. Thus,
in my opinion, the tantric

padma are not only the centers of nervous power
the positive northern prana but

necessarily of the negative prana as well.

The translation of the Science of Breath that is now
presented to the reader has two

sections enumerating the various actions that are to be
done during the flow of the positive

and negative breath. They show nothing more than what can
in some cases be very easily

verified, that certain actions are better done by
positive energy, and others by negative

energy. The taking in of chemicals and their changes are
actions, as well as any others.

Some of the chemicals are better assimilated by the
negative for example, milk and other

fatty substances), others by the positive Prana (other
food, that which is digested in the

stomach). Some of our sensations produce more lasting
effects upon the negative, others

upon the positive prana.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Prana has now arranged the gross matter in the womb into
the nervous and blood vessel

systems. The Prana, as has been seen, is made of the five
tatwa, and the nadi serve only as

lines for tatwic currents to run on. The centers of power
noticed above are centers of tatwic

power. The tatwic centers in the right part of the body
are solar, and those in the left are

lunar. Both these solar and lunar centers are of five
descriptions. Their kind is determined

by what are called the nervous ganglia. The semi-lunar
ganglia are the reservoirs of the

apas tatwa. Similarly, we have the reservoirs of the
other forces. From these central

reservoirs the tatwic currents run over the same lines,
and do the various actions allotted to

them in physiological anatomy.

Everything in the human body that has more less of the
cohesive resistance is made up of

the prithivi tatwa. But in this the various tatwas work
imprinting differing qualities upon

the various parts of the body.

The vayu tatwa, among others, performs the functions of
giving birth to, and nourishing

the skin; the positive gives us the positive, and the
negative the negative skin. Each of

these has five layers:

(1) Pure vayu, (2) Vayu-agni, (3) Vayu-prithivi, (4)
Vayu-apas, (5) Vayu-akasa. These five

classes of cells have the following figures:

(1) Pure Vayu ~ This is the complete sphere of the
Vayu:

(2) Vayu-Agni ~ The triangle is superposed over the
sphere, and the cells have something

like the following shape:

(3) Vayu-Prithivi ~ This is the result of the
superposition of the quadrangular Prithivi over

the spherical Vayu:

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

(4) Vayu-Apas ~ Something like an ellipse, the semi-moon
superposed over the sphere:

(5) Vayu-Akasa ~ The sphere flattened by the
superposition of the circle and dotted:

A microscopic examination of the skin will show that the
cells of the skin have this

appearance.

Similarly, bone, muscle and fat are given birth to by the
prithivi, the agni, and the apas.

Akasa appears in various positions. Wherever there is any
room for any substance, there is

akasa. The blood is a mixture of nutritive substances
kept in the fluidic state by the apas

tatwa of Prana.

It is thus seen that while Terrestrial Prana is an exact
manifestation of the Solar Prana, the

human manifestation is an exact manifestation of either.
The microcosm is an exact picture

of the macrocosm. The four petals of the lotus of the
heart branch really into twelve nadi

(K, Kh, g, gn, n, K, Kh, j, jh, n, t, the).
Similarly the brain has twelve pairs of nerves.

These are the twelve signs of the Zodiac, both in their
positive and negative phases. In

every sign the sun rises 31 times. Therefore we have 31
pairs of nerves. Instead of pairs,

we speak in the language of the Tantras of a chakra (disk
or circle). Wherever these 31

chakra connect with the 12 pairs (chakras) of nerves in
the brain, pass throughout the

body, we have running side by side the blood vessels
proceeding from the 12 nadis of the

heart. The only difference between the spinal and cardiac
chakras is that the former lie

crosswise, while the latter lie lengthwise in the body.
The sympathetic chords consist of

lines of tatwic centers: the padma or kamal. These
centers lie on all the 31 chakra noticed

above. Thus from the two centers of work, the brain and
the heart, the signs of the Zodiac

in their positive and negative aspects a system of
nadi branch off. The nadi from either

center run into one another so much that one set is found
always side by side with the

other. The 31 chakra are various tatwic centers; one set
is positive, and the other is

negative. The former owe allegiance to the brain, with
which they are connected by the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

sympathetic chords; the latter owe allegiance to the
heart, with which they have various

connections. This double system is called Pingala on the
right side, and Ida on the left.

The ganglia of the apas centers are semi-lunar, those of
the taijas, the vayu, the prithivi,

and the akasa respectively triangular, spherical,
quadrangular, and circular. Those of the

composite tatwa have composite figures. Each tatwic
center has ganglia of all the tatwa

surrounding it.

Prana moves in this system of nadi. As the sun passes
into the sign of Aries in the

Macrocosm, the Prana passes into the corresponding nadi
(nerves) of the brain. From

thence it descends every day towards the spine. With the
rise of the sun it descends into the

first spinal chakra towards the right. It thus passes
into the Pingala. It moves along the

nerves of the right side, at the same time passing little
by little into the blood vessels. Up to

noon of every day the strength of this Prana is greater
in the nervous chakra than in the

venous. At noon they become of equal strength. In the
evening (with sunset), the Prana

with its entire strength has passed into the blood
vessels. From thence it gathers up into the

heart, the negative southern center. Then it spreads into
the left side blood vessels,

gradually passing into the nerves. At midnight the
strength is equalized; in the morning

(pratasandhia) the prana is just in the spine; from
thence it begins to travel along the

second chakra. This is the course of the solar current of
prana. The moon gives birth to

other minor currents. The moon moves 12 odd times more
than the sun. Therefore, while

the sun passes over one chakra (i.e., during 60 ghari
day and night), the moon passes

over 12 odd chakra. Therefore we have 12 odd changes of
prana during 24 hours. Suppose

the moon too begins in Aries; she begins like the sun in
the first chakra, and takes 58 min.

4 sec. in reaching the spine to the heart, and as many
minutes from the heart back to the

spine.

Both these prana move in their respective course along
the tatwic centers. Either of them is

present at any one time all over the same class of tatwic
centers, in any one part of the

body. It manifests itself first in the vayu centers, then
in the taijas, thirdly in the prithivi,

and fourthly in the apas centers. Akasa comes after each,
and immediately precedes the

susumna. As the lunar current passes from the spine
towards the right, the breath comes

out of the right nostril, and as long as the current of
Prana remains in the back part of the

body, the tatwa changes from the vayu to the apas. As the
current passes into the front part

of the right half, the tatwa changes back from the apas
to the vayu. As the prana passes

into the heart, the breath is not felt at all in the
nose. As it proceeds from the heart to the

left, the breath begins to flow out of the left nostril,
and as long as it is in the front part of

the body, the tatwa change from the vayu to the apas.
They change back again a before,

until the prana reaches the spine, when we have the akasa
of susumna. Such is the even

change of prana that we have in the state of perfect
health. The impulse that has been

given to the localized prana by the sun and moon forces
that give active power and

existence to its prototype Prana, makes it work in the
same way forever and ever. The

working of the human free will and other forces change
the nature of the local prana, and

individualize it in such a way as to render it
distinguishable from the universal Terrestrial

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

and Ecliptical prana. With the varying nature of prana,
the order of the tatwa and the

positive and negative currents may be affected in various
degrees. Disease is the result of

this variation. In fact, the flow of breath is the truest
indication of the changes of tatwa in

the body. The balance of the positive and negative
currents of tatwa results in health, and

the disturbance of their harmony in disease. The science
of the flow of breath is therefore

of the highest importance to every man who values his own
health and that of his fellow

creatures. At the same time, it is the most important,
useful and comprehensive, the easiest

and the most interesting branch of Yoga. It teaches us
how to guide our will so as to effect

desired changes in the order and nature of our positive
and negative tatwic currents. This it

does in the following way. All physical action is prana
in a certain state. Without prana

there is no action, and every action is the result of the
differing harmonies of tatwic

currents. Thus, motion in any one part of the body is the
result of the activity of the vayu

centers in that part of the body. In the same way,
whenever there is activity in the prithivi

centers, we have a feeling of enjoyment and satisfaction.
The causes of the other sensations

are similar.

We find that while lying down we change sides when the
breath passes out of that nostril.

Therefore we conclude that if we lie on any side the
breath will flow out the opposite

nostril. Therefore, whenever we see that it is desirable
to change the negative conditions of

our body to the positive, we resort to this expedient. An
investigation into the

physiological effects of prana on the gross coil, and the
counter effects of gross action

upon prana, will form the subject of the next essay.

V. Prana (II) ~

The Pranamaya Kosha (Coil of Life) changes into three
general states during day and

night: the waking, the dreaming, and the sleeping
(jagrata, swapna, susupti). These three

changes produce corresponding changes in the manamaya
Kosha (the mental coil), and

thence arises the consciousness of the changes of life.
The mind, in fact, lies behind the

prana. The strings (tatwic lines) of the former
instrument are finer than those of the latter;

that is, in the former we have a greater number of
vibrations than in the latter during the

same space of time. Their tensions stand to each other,
however, in such a relation that

with the vibrations of the one, the other of itself
begins to vibrate. The changes give to the

mind, therefore, a similar appearance, and consciousness
of the phenomenon is caused.

This, however, some time after. My present object is to
describe all those changes of

prana, natural or induced, that make up the sum total of
our worldly experience, and

which, during ages of evolution, have called the mind
itself out of the state of latency.

These changes, as I have said, divide themselves into
three general states: the waking, the

dreaming, and the sleeping. Waking is the positive,
sleeping the negative state of prana;

dreaming is the conjunction of the two (susumna sandhi).
As stated in the foregoing essay,

the solar current travels in a positive direction during
the day, and we are awake. As night

approaches the positive current has made itself lord of
the body. It gains so much strength

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

that the sensuous and active organs lose sympathy with
the external world. Perception and

action cease, and the waking state passes off. The excess
of the positive current slackens,

as it were, the tatwic chords of the different centers of
work, and they accordingly cease to

answer to the ordinary ethereal changes of external
nature. If at this point the strength of

the positive current passed beyond ordinary limits, death
would ensue, prana would cease

to have any connection with the gross body, the ordinary
vehicle of the external tatwic

changes. But just at the moment the prana passes out of
the heart, the negative current sets

in, and it begins to counteract the effects of the
former. As the prana reaches the spine, the

effects of the positive current have entirely passed of,
and we awake. If at this moment the

strength of the negative current passes the ordinary
limit by some cause or other, death

would ensue, but just at this moment the positive current
sets in with midnight, and begins

to counteract the effect of the former. A balance of the
positive and negative currents thus

keeps body and soul together. With excess in the strength
of either current, death makes

its appearance. Thus we see that there are two kinds of
death: the positive or spinal, and

the negative or cardiac. In the former the four higher
principles pass out of the body

through the head, the brahmarandhra, along the spine; in
the latter they pass out of the

mouth through the lungs and the trachea. Besides these
there are generally speaking about

six tatwic deaths. All these deaths chalk out different
paths for the higher principle. Of

these, however, more hereafter. At this stage, let us
investigate the changes of prana more

thoroughly.

There are certain manifestations of prana that we find
equally at work in all three states.

As I have said before, some writers have divided these
manifestations into five heads.

They have different centers of work in different parts of
the body, from whence they assert

their dominion over every part of the physical coil.
Thus:

Positive: (1) Prana, right lung; Negative: Prana, left
lung. Prana is that manifestation of

the life coil which draws atmospheric air from without
into the system.

Positive: (2) Apana, the apparatus that passes off feces,
long intestine, etc.; Negative:

Apana, the urinary apparatus. Apana is the manifestation
that throws, from the inside, out

of the system, things that are not wanted there.

Positive: (3) Samana, stomach; Negative: Samana,
duodenum. Samana is that

manifestation which draws in and carries the juice of
food to every part of the body.

Positive: (4) Vyana, all over the body, appearing in
varying states with different organs (on

the right side); Negative: Vyana, all over the body (on
the left side). Vyana is that

manifestation which inclines the currents of life back to
the centers the heart and the

brain. It is, therefore, this manifestation that causes
death, local or general.

Positive: (5) Udana, at the spinal and cardiac centers
(right side), and the region of the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

throat; Negative: Udana, the spinal and cardiac centers
(left side).

If Prana recedes from any part of the body (for some
reason or other), that part loses its

power of action. This is local death. It is in this way
that we become deaf, dumb, blind, etc.

It is in this way that our digestive powers suffer, and
so on. General death is similar in its

operations. With the excess of the strength of either of
the two currents, the prana remains

in the susumna, and does not pass out. The acquired power
of work of the body then

beings to pass off. The farther from the centers (the
heart and the brain), the sooner they

die. It is thus that the pulse first ceases to be felt in
the extremities, and then nearer and

nearer the heart, until we find it nowhere.

Again, it is this upward impulse that, under favorable
conditions, causes growth, lightness,

and agility.

Besides the organs of the body already mentioned or
indicated, the manifestation of vyana

serves to keep in form the five organs of sense, and the
five organs of action. The organs of

the gross body and the powers of prana that manifest
themselves in work have both the

same names. Thus we have:

Active Organs & Powers: (1) Vak, the coal organs and
the power of speech; (2) Pani, the

hands and the manual power; (3) Pada, the feet and the
walking power; (4) Payu, anus; (5)

Upastha, the generative organs and the powers that draw
these together.

Sensuous Organs & Powers: (1) Chaksus, eye and ocular
power; (2) Twak, skin and

tangiferous power; (3) Srotra, ear and sonoriferous
power; (4) Rasama, tongue and

gustatory power; (5) Cobrana, nose and odoriferous
power.

The real fact is that the different powers are the
corresponding organs of the principle of

life. It will now be instructive to trace the tatwic
changes and influences of these various

manifestations of life.

Prana: During health prana works all over the system in
one class of tatwic centers at one

time. We thus see that both during the course of the
positive and negative current we have

five tatwic changes. The color of prana during the reign
of the positive and negative

current is pure white; during that of the positive,
reddish white. The former is calmer and

smoother than the latter.

The tatwic changes give to each of these five new phases
of color. Thus:

Positive ~ reddish white/ Negative ~ pure white:

(1) The vayu tatwa, blue; (2) The agni tatwa, red; (3)
The prithivi, yellow; (4) The apas,

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

white; (5) The akasa tatwa, dark

It is evident that there is a difference between the
positive and negative tatwic phases of

color. There are thus ten general phases of color.

The positive current (reddish white) is hotter than the
negative (the pure white). Therefore

it may be generally said that the positive current is
hot, and the negative cool. Each of

these then undergoes five tatwic changes of temperature.
The agni is the hottest, the yellow

next to it; the vayu becomes cool, and the apas is the
coolest. The akasa has a state that

neither cools nor heats. This state is the most dangerous
of all, and if prolonged it causes

death, disease and debility. It is evident that, if the
cooling tatwa does not set in to

counteract the accumulated effect of the latter in due
time, the functions of life will be

impaired. The just color and the just temperature at
which these functions work in their

vigor will be disturbed, and disease, death and debility
are nothing more than this

disturbance in various degrees. The case is similar if
the heating tatwa does not set in in

due time after the cooling one.

It will be easy to understand that these changes of
tatwic colors and temperatures are not

abrupt. The one passes of easily and smoothly into the
other, and the tatwic mixtures

produce innumerable colors as many, in fact, as
the solar prana has been shown to

possess. Each of these colors tend to keep the body
healthy if it remains in action just as

long as it ought, but no sooner does the duration change
than disease results. There is a

possibility, therefore, of as many and more diseases as
there are colors in the sun.

If any one color is prolonged, there must be some one or
more that have given the period

of their duration to it; similarly, if one color takes
less time than it ought to, there must be

some one or more that take its place. This suggests two
methods of the treatment of

diseases. But before speaking of these, it will be
necessary to investigate as fully as

possible the causes that lengthen and shorten the ideal
periods of the tatwas.

To return at present to Prana: This pulmonary
manifestation of the principle of life is the

most important of all, because its workings furnish us
with a most faithful measure of the

tatwic state of the body. It is on this account that the
name prana has been given by preeminence

to this manifestation.

Now, as the prana works in the pulmonary taijas centers
(i.e., the centers of the

luminiferous ether), the lungs are thrown into a
triangular form of expansion, atmospheric

air runs in, and the process of inspiration is complete.
With every truti, a backwards

impulse is given to the currents of prana. The lungs are
thrown into their stationary state

with this returning current, and the excess air is
expelled. The air that is thus thrown out of

the lungs bears a triangular form. To some extent, the
water vapor that this air contains

furnishes us with a method of testing this truth by
experiment. If we take a smooth, shining

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

looking glass, put it under the nose, and breath steadily
upon its cool surface, the water

vapor of the air will be condensed, and it will be seen
that this bears a particular figure. In

the case of pure agni, this figure will be a triangle.
Let another person look steadily at the

looking glass because the impression passes off rather
quickly.

With the course of the other tatwas the lungs are thrown
into their respective shapes, and

the looking glass gives us the same figures. Thus, in
apas we have the semi-moon, in vayu

the sphere, and in prithivi the quadrangle. With the
composition of these tatwas we may

have other figures: oblongs, squares, spheroids, and so
on.

It may also be mentioned that the luminiferous ether
carries the materials drawn from the

atmospheric air to the centers of the luminiferous ether,
and thence to every part of the

body. The other ethers also carry these materials to
their respective centers. It is not

necessary to trace the working of the other
manifestations one by one. It may, however, be

said that although all the five tatwas work in all the
five manifestations, each of these

manifestations is sacred to one of these tatwas. Thus in
prana the vayu tatwa prevails, in

samana the agni, in apana the prithivi, in vyana the
apas, in udana the akasa. I may

remind the reader that the general color of prana is
white, and this will show how the apas

tatwa prevails in Vyana. The darkness of akasa is the
darkness of death, etc., caused by the

manifestation of udana.

During life these ten changes are always taking place at
the intervals of about 26 minutes

each. In waking, in sleep, or in dream, these changes
never cease. It is only in the two

susumnas or the akasa that these changes become potential
for a moment, because it is

from these that these tatwic manifestations show
themselves on the plane of the body. If

this moment is prolonged, the forces of prana remain
potential, and in death the prana is

thus in the potential state. When those causes that
tended to lengthen the period of i, and

thus cause death, are removed, this individual prana
passes out of the potential into the

actual, positive, or negative state as the case may be.
It will energize matter, and will

develop it into the shape towards which its accumulated
potentialities tend.

Something may now be said about the work of the sensuous
and active organs.

It may be generally said that all work is tatwic motion.
This work is capable of being

carried on during the waking state, and not in sleep or
dream. These ten organs have ten

general colors, generally thus:

Sensuous Organs: (1) Eye, agni, red; (2) Ear, akasa,
dark; (3) Nose, prithivi, yellow; (4)

Tongue (taste), apas, white; (5) Skin, vayu, blue;

Active Organs: (1) Hand, vayu, blue; (2) Foot, i, yellow;
(3) Tongue (speech), apas, white;

(4) Anus, akasa, dark; (5) Genitals, i, red.

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Although these are the generally prevalent tatwas in
these various centers, all the other

tatwas exist in a subordinate position. Thus in the eye
we have a reddish yellow, reddish

white, reddish dark, reddish blue, and similarly in the
other organs. This division into five

of each of these colors is only general; in reality there
is an almost innumerable variation

of colors in each of these.

With every act of every one of these ten organs, the
organ specially and the whole body

generally assumes a different color, the color of that
particular tatwic motion which

constitutes that act.

All these changes of Prana constitute the sum total of
our worldly experience. Furnished

with this apparatus, prana begins its human pilgrimage,
in company with a mind, which is

evolved only to the extent of connecting the I
am of the ahankara or vijnana, the fourth

principle from below, with these manifestations of prana.
Time imprints upon it all the

innumerable colors of the universe. The visual, the
tangible, the gustatory, the auditory,

and the olfactory appearances in all their variety gather
into prana just as our daily

experience carries many messages at one and the same
time. In the same way do the

appearances of the active organs, and the five remaining
general functions of the body,

gather up in this prana to manifest themselves in due
time.

A few illustrations will render all this clear:

Sexual Relations ~

The generative agni tatwa of the male is positive, and
that of the female is negative. The

former is hotter, harsher, and more restless than the
latter; the latter is cooler, smoother,

and calmer than the former. These two currents tend to
run into each other, and a feeling of

satisfaction is the result if the two currents are
allowed to take their course; if not, a feeling

of uneasiness is the result. The genesis of these
feelings will be my subject under the head

of the manomaya kosha (mental principle). Here I shall
only speak of the coloration of

prana by the action or inaction of this organ. The
positive agni tends to run into the

negative, and vice versa. If it is not allowed to do so,
the repeated impulses of this tatwa

turn upon themselves, the center gains strength, and
every day the whole prana is colored

deeper and deeper red. The centers of the agni tatwa all
over the body become stronger in

their action, while all the others contract a general
tinge of the red. The eyes and the

stomach become stronger. This, however, is the case only
within certain limits and under

certain circumstances. If the agni gains too much
strength, all the other centers of the

remaining tatwas become vitiated in their action by an
over-coloration of agni, and disease

and debility result. If, however, man indulges in this
luxury more often than he should, and

in more than one place, the male prana gets colored by
the female agni, and vice versa.

This tends to weaken all the centers of this tatwa, and
gives a feminine color to the whole

prana. The stomach becomes cooled down, the eyes grow
weak, and virile manly power

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departs. If, however, more than one individual female
agni takes possession of the male

prana, and vice versa, the general antagonistic tatwa
becomes deeper and stronger. The

whole prana is vitiated to a greater extent, greater
debility is the result, and spermatorrhea,

impotence, and other such antagonistic colors take
possession of the prana. Besides, the

separate individualities of the male or female agni that
has taken possession of any one

prana will tend to repel each other.

Walking ~

Suppose now that a man is given to walking. The prithivi
tatwa of the feet gains strength,

and the yellow color pervades the whole prana. The
centers of the prithivi all over the

body begin to work more briskly; agni receives a mild and
wholesome addition to its

power, the whole system tends towards healthy
equilibrium, neither too hot, nor too cold,

and a general feeling of satisfaction accompanied with
vigor, playfulness, and a relish of

enjoyment is the result.

Speech ~

Let me take one more illustration from the operation of
Vak (speech), and I shall be done

with the organs of action. The power (Sakti) of speech
(Vak, saraswati) is one of the most

important goddesses of the Hindu pantheon. The apas tatwa
is the chief ingredient of

prana that goes towards the formation of this organ.
Therefore the color of the goddess is

said to be white. The vocal chord with the larynx in
front form the vina (musical

instrument) of the goddess.

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In the above figure of the vocal apparatus, AB is the
thyroid, a broad cartilage forming the

projection of the throat, and much more prominent in men
than in women. Below this is

the annular cartilage C, the crecoid. Behind this, or we
may say on this, are stretched the

chord a and b.

Atmospheric air passing over these chords in the act of
breathing sets these chords in

vibration, and sound is the result. Ordinarily these
chords are too loose to give any sound.

The apas tatwa, the milk-white goddess of speech,
performs the all-important function of

making these chords tense. As the semi-lunar current of
the apas tatwa passes along the

muscles of these chords, they are as it were shriveled up
and curves are formed in the

chords; they become tighter.

The depth of these curves depends upon the strength of
the apas current. The deeper these

curves, the tenser are the chords. The thyroid serves to
vary the intensity of the voice thus

produced. The thyroid serves to vary the intensity of the
voice thus produced. This will do

here, and it is enough to show that the real motive power
in the production of voice is the

apas tatwa or Prana. As will be easily understood, there
are certain ethereal conditions of

the external world that excite the centers of the apas
tatwa; the current passes along the

vocal chords, they are made tense, and sound is produced.
But the excitement of these

centers also comes from the soul through the mind. The
use of this sound in the course of

evolution as the vehicle of thought is the marriage of
Brahma (the Vijana mayakosha, the

soul) with Saraswati, the power of speech as located in
man.

The apas tatwa of the vocal apparatus, although it is the
chief motive power in the

production of sound, is modified according to the
circumstance by the composition of the

other tatwas in various degrees. As far as human ken
reaches, about 49 of these variations

have been recorded under the name of swara. First, there
are seven general notes. These

may be positive and negative (tivra and komala), and then
each of these may have three

subdivisions. These notes are then composed into eight
raga, and each raga has several

ragini. The simple ragini may then be compounded into
others, and each ragini may have

a good many arrangements of notes. The variations of
sound thus become almost

innumerable. All these variations are caused by the
varying tensions of the vocal chords,

the Vina of Saraswati, and the tensions vary by the
varying strength of the apas current,

caused by the superposition of the other tatwas.

Each variation of sound has a color of its own that
affects the whole prana in its own way;

the tatwic effect of all these sounds is noted in books
of music. Various diseases may be

cured, and good or bad tendencies imprinted on the prana
by the power of sound.

Saraswati is an all-powerful goddess, and controls our
prana for good or evil as the case

may be. If a song or note is colored by the agni tatwa,
the sound colors the prana red, and

similarly the vayu, the apas, the akasa, and the
prithivi, blue, white, dark, and yellow. The

red colored song causes heat; it may cause anger, sleep,
digestion, and redness of color.

The akasa colored song causes fear, forgetfulness, etc.
Songs may similarly give our prana

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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the color of love, enmity, adoration, morality, or
immorality, as the case may be.

Let us turn to another key. If the words we utter bear
the color of the agni tatwa anger,

love, lust our prana is colored red, and this
redness turns upon ourselves. It may burn up

our substance, and we may look lean and lank and have
10,000 other diseases. Terrible

retribution of angry words! If our words are full of
divine love and adoration, kindness and

morality, words that give pleasure and satisfaction to
whoever hears them the colors of

the prithivi and the apas we become loving and
beloved, adoring and adored, kind and

moral, pleasing and pleased, satisfying and ever
satisfied. The discipline of speech itself

the satya of Patanjali is thus one of the highest
practices of Yoga.

Sensuous impressions color the prana in a similar way. If
we are given to too much of sightseeing,

to the hearing of pleasant sounds, to the smelling of
dainty smells, etc., the colors

of these tatwas will be overly strengthened, and will
gain a mastery over our prana. If we

are too fond of seeing beautiful women, hearing the music
of their voices, heaven help us,

for the least and most general effect will be that our
pranas will receive the feminine

coloration. If it were only for the love of women, man
should avoid this over-indulgence,

for feminine qualities in men do not obtain favor in the
eyes of women.

These illustrations are sufficient to explain how the
tatwic colors of external nature gather

up in prana. It may be necessary to say that no new
colors enter into the formation of

prana. All the colors of the universe are present there
already, just as they are in the sun,

the prototype of prana. The coloration I have spoken of
is only the strengthening of this

particular color to an extent that throws the others in
shade. It is this disturbance of balance

that in the first place causes the variety of human
prana, and in the second those

innumerable diseases to which flesh is heir.

From this point it is evident that every action of man
gives his prana a separate color, and

the color affects the gross body in turn. But when, at
what time, does the particular tatwic

color affect the body? Ordinarily it is under similar
tatwic conditions of the external

universe. This means that if the agni tatwa has gained
strength in any prana at any one

particular division of time, the strength will show
itself when that particular division of

time recurs again. Before attempting a solution of this
problem, it is necessary to

understand the following truths:

The sun is the chief life-giver of every organism in the
system. The moment that a new

organism has come into existence, the sun changes his
capacity in relation to that

organism. He now becomes the sustainer of positive life
in that organism. Along with this

the moon begins to influence the organism in her own way.
She becomes the sustainer of

negative life. The planets each establish their own
currents in the organism. For the sake of

simplicity, I have as yet spoken only of the sun and
moon, the respective lords of the

positive and negative currents of the right and left
halves of the body, of the brain and the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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heart, of the nerves and the blood vessels. These are the
two chief sources of life, but it

must be remembered that the planets exercise a modifying
influence over these currents.

The real tatwic condition of any moment is determined by
all the seven planets, just like

the sun and the moon. Each planet, after determining the
general tatwic condition of the

moment, goes to introduce changes in the organism born at
that moment. These changes

correspond with the manifestation of that color of prana
that rose at that time. Thus,

suppose the red color has entered prana when the moon is
in the second degree of the sign

of Libra. If there is no disturbing influence of any
other luminary, the red color will

manifest itself whenever the moon is in the same
position; in the other case, when the

disturbing influence is removed. It may show itself in a
month, or it may be postponed for

ages. It is very difficult to determine the time when an
act will have its effect. It depends a

good deal upon the strength of the impression. The
strength of the impression may be

divided into ten degrees, although some writers have gone
further.

(1) Momentary: This degree of strength has its effect
then and there;

(2) 30 degrees strength: In this case the effect will
show itself when each planet is in the

same sign as at the time of the impression;

(3) 15 degrees strength: Hora; (4) 10 degrees strength:
Dreskana; (5) 200 degrees strength:

Navaansha; (6) 150 degrees strength: Dwadasansa; (7) 60
or 1 degree strength: Trinsansa;

(8) 1 strength: Kala; (9) 1
strength: Vipala; (10) 1 strength:
Truti.

Suppose in any prana, on account of any action, the agni
tatwa obtains the strongest

possible prevalence consistent with the preservation of
the body, the tatwa will begin to

have its effect then and there until it has exhausted
itself to a certain extent. It will then

become latent and show itself when at any time the same
planets sit in the same mansions.

Examples will illustrate better. Suppose the following
advancement of the planets at any

moment denotes the tatwic condition when any given color
has entered the prana:

The 3rd of April, Tuesday ~

Planet Sign Degree Minute Second

Sun 11 22 52 55

Moon 8 16 5 9

Mercury 10 25 42 27

Venus 11 26 35 17

Mars 5 28 1 40

Jupiter 7 15 41 53

Saturn 3 9 33 30

It is at this time, we suppose, that the act above
referred to is committed. The present effect

will pass off with the two hours lunar current that
may be passing at that time. Then it will

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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become latent, and remain so till the time when these
planets are in the same position

again. As has been seen, these positions might be nine or
more in number.

As soon as the exact time passes of when a color has
obtained predominance in prana, the

effect thereof on the gross body becomes latent. It shows
itself again in a general way

when the stars sit in the same mansions. Some of the
strength is worn off at this time, and

the force becomes latent to show itself in greater
minuteness when at any time the halfmansions

coincide, and so on with the remaining parts noticed
above. There may be any

number of times when there is only an approach to
coincidence, and then the effect will

tend to show itself, though at that time it will remain
only a tendency.

These observation, although necessarily very meager, tend
to show that the impression

produced upon prana by any act, however insignificant,
really takes ages to pass off, when

the stars coincide in position to a degree with that when
the act was committed. Therefore,

a knowledge of astronomy is highly essential in occult
Vedic religion. The following

observation may, however, render the above a little more
intelligible.

As often remarked, the prana mayokosha is an exact
picture of the Terrestrial Prana. The

periodical currents of the finer forces of nature that
are in the earth pass according to the

same laws in the principle of life; just like the Zodiac,
the prana mayakosha is subdivided

into mansions, etc. The northern and southern
inclinations of the axis give us a heart and a

brain. Each of these has 12 ramifications branching off
from it; these are the 12 signs of

the Zodiac. The daily rotation than gives us the 31
chakras spoken of previously. There is

the positive semi-mansion and the negative semi-mansion.
Then we have the one-third, the

one-ninth, the one-twelfth, and so on to a degree, or the
divisions and subdivisions thereof.

Each chakra, both diurnal and annual, is in fact a circle
of 360 degrees, just like the great

circles of the heavenly spheres. Through the chakra a
course of seven descriptions of lifecurrents

is established:

(1) Solar, (2) lunar, (3) Mars, agni, (4) Mercury,
prithivi, (5) Jupiter, vayu, (6) Venus,

apas, (7) Saturn, akasa.

It is quite possible that along the same chakra there may
be passing all or any one or more

of these differing currents at one and the same time. The
reader is reminded of the

telegraph currents of modern electricity. It is evident
that the real state of prana is

determined by the position of these localized currents.
Now if any one or more of these

tatwic currents is strengthened by any act of ours, under
any position of the currents, it is

only when we have to a degree the same position of the
currents that the tatwic current will

makes it appearance at full strength. There may also be
appearances of slight power at

various times, but the full strength will never be
exhausted until we have the same position

of these currents to the minutest division of a degree.
This takes ages upon ages, and it is

quite impossible that the effect should pass off in the
present life. Hence rises the necessity

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of a second life upon this earth.

The accumulated tatwic effects of a lifes work give
each life a general tinge of its own.

This tinge wears off gradually as the component colors
pass off or weaken in strength, one

by one. When each of the component colors is one by one
sufficiently worn off, the

general color of a life passes off. The gross body that
was given birth to by this particular

color ceases to respond to the now generally different
colored prana. The prana does not

pass out of the susumna. Death is the result.

Death ~

As already said, the two ordinary forms of death are the
positive through the brain, and the

negative through the heart. This is death through the
susumna. In this all the tatwas are

potential. Death may also take place through the other
nadis. In this case there must always

be the prevalence of one or more tatwas.

The prana goes towards different regions after death,
according to the paths through which

it passes out of the body. Thus:

(1) The negative susumna takes it to the moon; (2) the
positive susumna takes it to the sun;

(3) the agni of the other nadi takes it to the hill known
as Raurava (fire); (4) the apas of

the other nadi takes it to the hill known as Ambarisha,
and so on, the akasa, the vayu, and

the prithivi take it to Andhatanusra, Kalasutra, and Maha
kala (See Yoga Sutra, pada 111,

Aphorism 26, commentary).

The negative path is the most general one that the prana
takes. This path takes it to the

moon (the chandraloka) because the moon is the lord of
the negative system, and the

negative currents, and the negative susumna the heart,
which therefore is a continuation of

the lunar prana. The prana that has the general negative
color cannot move but along this

path, and it is transferred naturally to the reservoirs,
the centers of the negative prana.

Those men in whom the two hours lunar current is
passing more or less regularly take this

path.

The prana that has lost the intensity of its terrestrial
color energizes lunar matter according

to its own strength, and thus establishes for itself
there a sort of passive life. Here the mind

is in a state of dream. The tatwic impressions of
gathered up forces pass before it in the

same way as they pass before it in our earthly dreams.
The only difference is that in that

state there is not the superimposed force of indigestion
to render the tatwic impressions so

strong and sudden as to be terrible. That dreamy state is
characterized by extreme

calmness. Whatever our mind has in it of the interesting
experiences of this world,

whatever we have thought, heard, seen or enjoyed, the
sense of satisfaction and enjoyment,

the bliss and playfulness of the apas and the prithivi
tatwa, the languid sense of love of the

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agni, the agreeable forgetfulness of the akasa, all make
their appearance one after the other

in perfect calm. The painful impressions make no
appearance, because the painful arises

when any impression forces itself upon the mind that is
out of harmony with its

surroundings. In this state the mind lives in
Chandraloka, as will be better understood

when I come to speak of the tatwic causes of dreams.

Ages roll on in this state, when the mind has, according
to the same general laws that

obtain for prana, worn out the impressions of a former
life. The intense tatwic colors that

the ceaseless activity of prana had called into existence
now fade away, until at last the

mind comes upon a chronic level with the prana. Both of
them have now lost the tinge of a

former life. It may be said of prana that it has a new
appearance, and of the mind that it

has a new consciousness. When they are both in this
state, both very weak, the

accumulated tatwic effects of prana begin to show
themselves with the return of the stars

to the same positions. These draw us back from the lunar
to the terrestrial prana. At this

stage, the mind has no individuality worth taking account
of, so that it is drawn by prana

to wherever its affinities carry it. It comes and joins
with those solar rays that bear a

similar color, with all those mighty potentialities that
show themselves in the future man

remaining quite latent. It passes with the rays of the
sun according to the ordinary laws of

vegetation into grain that bears similar colors. Each
grain has a separate individuality,

which accounts for its separate individuality from others
of its brothers, and in many there

may be human potentialities giving it an individuality of
its own. The grain or grains

produce the virile semen, which assumes the shape of
human beings in the wombs of

women. This is rebirth.

Similarly do human individualities come back from the
five states that are known as hells.

These are the states of posthumous existence fixed for
those men who enjoy to an

excessive and violent degree the various impressions of
each of the tatwas. As the tatwic

intensity, which disturbs the balance and therefore
causes pain, wears off in time, the

individual prana passes off to the lunar sphere, and
thence undergoes the same states that

have been described above.

Along the positive path through the brahmarandhra pass
those prana that pass beyond the

general effects of Time, and therefore do not return to
the earth under ordinary laws. It is

Time that brings back prana from the moon, when he is
even the most general, and the

least strong tatwic condition comes into play with the
return of identical astral positions;

but the sun being the keeper of Time himself, and the
strongest factor in the determination

of his tatwic condition, it would be impossible for solar
Time to affect solar prana.

Therefore, only that prana travels towards the sun in
which there is almost no

preponderance of any tatwic color. This is the state of
the prana of Yogin alone. By the

constant practice of the eight branches of Yoga, the
prana is purified of any very strongly

personifying colors, and since it is evident that on such
a prana Time can have no effect,

under ordinary circumstances, they pass off to the sun.
These prana have no distinct

personifying colors; all of them that go to the sun have
almost the same general tinge. But

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Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

their minds are different. They can be distinguished from
each other according to the

particular branch of science that they have cultivated,
or according to the particular and

varying methods of mental improvement that they have
followed on earth. In this state the

mind is not dependent, as in the moon, upon the
impressions of prana. Constant practice of

Yoga has rendered it an independent worker, depending
only upon the soul, and molding

the prana to its own shapes, and giving it its own
colors. This is a kind of Moksha.

Although the sun is the most potent lord of life, and the
tatwic condition of prana now has

no effect upon the prana that has passed to the sun, the
planetary currents still have some

slight effect upon it, and there are times when this
effect is very strong, so that the earthly

conditions in which they have previously lived are called
back again to their minds. A

desire to do the same sort of good they did the world in
their previous life takes possession

of them, and impelled by this desire they sometimes come
back to earth. Snakaracharya

has noticed in his commentary of the Brahmasutra that
Apantaramah, a Vedic rishi, thus

appeared on earth as Krishna-dwaipayana, about the end of
the Dwapara and the

beginning of the Kaliyuga.

VI. Prana (III) ~

As it is desirable that as much as possible should be
known about Prana, I give below

some quotations on the subject from the Prasnopnishat.
They will give additional interest

to the subject, and present it in a more comprehensive
and far more attractive garb.

Six things are to be known about Prana, says the
Upanishad:

He who knows the birth (1), the coming in (2), the
places of manifestation (3), the rule

(4), the macrocosmic appearance (5), and the microcosmic
appearance of Prana becomes

immortal by that knowledge.

Practical knowledge of the laws of life, i.e., to live up
to them, must naturally end in the

passing of the soul out of the shadowy side of life into
the original light of the Sun. This

means immortality, that is, passing beyond the power of
terrestrial death.

But to go on with what the Upanishad has to say about the
six things to be known about

Prana:

The Birth of Prana ~

The Prana is born from the Atma; it is caused in the
atma, like the shadow in the body.

The human body, or any other organism, becomes the cause
of throwing a shade in the

ocean of prana, as it comes between the sun and the
portion of space on the other side of

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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the organism. Similarly, the prana is thrown as a shade
in the macrocosmic soul (Iswara)

because the macrocosmic mind (manu) intervenes. Briefly
the prana is the shade of Manu

caused by the light of the Logos, the macrocosmic center.
The suns are given birth to in

this shade, by the impression of the macrocosmic mental
ideas into this shade. These suns,

the centers of Prana, become in their turn the positive
starting point of further

development. The manus throwing their shade by the
intervention of the suns, give birth in

those shades to planets, etc. The suns throwing their
shades by the intervention of planets,

give birth to moons. Then these different centers begin
to act upon the planets, and the sun

descends on the planets in the shape of various
organisms, man included.

The Macrocosmic Appearance ~

This prana is found in the macrocosm as the ocean of life
with the sun for its center. It

assumes two phases of existence: (1) the prana, the
solar, positive life-matter, and (2) the

rayi, the lunar, negative life-matter. The former is the
northern phase and the eastern; the

latter is the southern phase and the western. In every
Moment of Terrestrial life, we have

thus the northern and southern centers of prana, the
centers from which the southern and

northern phases of life-matter take their start at any
moment. The eastern and western

halves are there too.

At every moment of time i.e., in every truti
there are millions of truti perfect

organisms in space. This might require some
explanation. The units of time and space

are the same: a truti.

Take any one truti of time. It is well known that every
moment of time the tatwic rays of

prana go in every direction from every point to every
other point. Hence it is clear enough

that every truti of space is a perfect picture of the
whole apparatus of prana, with all its

centers and sides, and positive and negative relations.
To express a good deal in a few

words, every truti of space is a perfect organism. In the
ocean of Prana that surrounds the

sun there are innumerable such truti.

While essentially the same, it is easy to understand that
the following items will make a

difference in the general color, appearance, and forms of
these trutis: (1) distance from the

solar center; (2) inclination from the solar axis.

Take the earth for illustration. That zone of solar life,
taking into consideration both the

distance and the inclination in which the earth moves,
gives birth to earth-life. This zone of

earth-life is known as the ecliptic. Now every truti of
space in this ecliptic is a separate

individual organism. As the earth moves in her annual
course, i.e., as the truti of time

changes, these permanent truti of space change the phases
of their life. But their

permanency is never impaired. They retain their
individuality all the same.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

All the planetary influences reach these trutis always,
wherever the planets may be in their

journey. The changing distance and inclination is, of
course, always causing a change of

life-phase.

This truti of space, from its permanent position in the
ecliptic, while maintaining its

connection with all the planets, at the same time sends
its tatwic rays to every other quarter

of space. They also come to the earth.

It is a condition of earth life that the positive and
negative currents, the prana and the rayi,

be equally balanced. Therefore, when the two phases of
life matter are equally strong in

this ecliptical truti, the tatwic rays that come from it
to the earth energize gross matter

there. The moment that the balance is disturbed by the
tatwic influence of the planets, or

by some other cause, terrestrial death ensues. This
simply means that the tatwic rays of the

truti that fall on earth cease to energize gross matter,
although they do fall there all the

same, and although the truti is there all the same in its
permanent ecliptical abode. In this

posthumous state, the human truti will energize gross
matter in that quarter of space whose

laws of relative, negative and positive predominance
coincide with that state. Thus, when

the negative life matter, the rayi, becomes overly
strong, the energization of the truti is

transferred from the earth to the moon. Similarly it may
pass to other spheres. When the

terrestrial balance is restored again, when this
posthumous life has been lived, the

energization is transferred to the earth again.

Such is the macrocosmic appearance of Prana, with the
pictures of all the organisms of the

earth.

The Coming In Of Prana ~

How does this prana maya kosha this truti of the
macrocosm come into this body?

Briefly, By actions at whose root lies the
mind, says the Upanishad. It was explained

previously how every action changes the nature of the
prana maya kosha, and it will be

explained in the essay on the Cosmic Picture
Gallery how these changes are represented

in the cosmical counterpart of our life-principle. It is
evident that by these actions change

is produced in the general relative nature of the prana
and the rayi, which has been spoken

of previously. It is hardly necessary to say that the
mind the human free will lies at the

root of those actions that disturb the tatwic balance of
the life-principle. Hence, The

prana comes into this body by actions, at whose root lies
the mind.

The Places of Manifestation ~

As the paramount Power appoints its servants,
telling, Rule such and such villages, so

does the Prana. It puts its different manifestations in
different places. The apana (this

discharges faces and urine) is in the Payu (anus) and the
upastha. The manifestations

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

known as sight and hearing (Chakahus and Srotra) are in
the eye and ear. The prana

remains itself, going out of mouth and nose. Between (the
places of prana and apana,

about the navel) lives the Samana. It is this that
carries equally (all over the body) the food

(and drink) that is thrown in the fire. Hence are those
seven lights (by means of prana,

light of knowledge is thrown over color, form, sound,
etc.)

In the heart is of course this atma (the pranamaya
kosha) and in it, of course, the other

coils. Here there are a hundred and one nadi. Of these
there are a hundred in each. In each

of these branch nadis there are 72,000 other nadi. In
these moves the vyana.

By one (the Susumna) going upward, the udana
carries to good worlds by means of

goodness, and to bad ones by means of evil; by both to
the world of men.

The sun is, of course, the macrocosmic prana; he
rises, and thereby helps the eyesight.

The Power that is in the earth keeps up the power of
apana. The akasa (the ethereal

matter) that is between heaven and earth, helps the
samana.

The ethereal life-matter (independent of its being
between heaven and earth) which fills

macrocosmic space, is vyana.

The taijas the luminfierous ether is
udana; hence he whose natural fire is cooled down

approaches death.

Then the man goes toward the second birth; the
organs and senses go into the mind; the

mind of the man comes to the Prana (its manifestations
now ceasing). The prana is

combined with the taijas; going with the soul, it carries
her to the spheres that are in view.

The different manifestations of Prana in the body, and
the places where they manifest

themselves have been dwelt upon. But other statements of
interest appear in this extract. It

is said that this atma, this prana maya kosha, with the
other coils of course, is located in

the heart. The heart, as has been seen, represents the
negative side of life, the rayi. When

the positive prana impresses itself upon the rayi
the heart and the nadis that flow from it

the forms of life and the actions of man come into
existence. It is therefore, properly

speaking, the reflection in the heart that works in the
world, i.e., is the proper lord of the

sensuous and active organs of life. If this being of the
heart learns not to live here, the

sensuous and active organs both lose their life; the
connection with the world ceases. The

being of the brain that has no immediate connection with
the world, except through the

heart, now remains in unrestrained purity. This means to
say that the soul goes to the

suryaloka (the Sun).

The next point of interest is the description of the
functions of the External Prana, which

lie at the root of, and help the working of the
individualized prana. It is said that the Sun is

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the Prana. This is evident enough, and has been mentioned
man times before this. Here it

is meant to say that the most important function of life,
inspiration and expiration, the

function of which, according to the Science of Breath, is
the One Law of existence in the

Universe on all the planes of life, is brought into
existence and kept in activity by the sun

in himself. It is the solar breath that constitutes his
existence, and this reflected in man

producing matter gives birth to human breath.

The Sun then appears in another phase. He rises, and as
he does, he supports the eyes in

their natural action.

Similarly, the power that is in the earth sustains the
apana manifestation of prana. It is the

power that draws everything towards the earth, says the
commentator. In modern language,

it is gravity.

Something more might be said here about the udana
manifestation of prana. As everybody

knows, there is a phase of microcosmic prana that carries
everything, names, forms, sight,

sounds, and all other sensations, from one place to
another. This is otherwise known as the

universal agni, or the Tejas of the text. The localized
manifestation of Prana is called

udana, that which carries the life-principle from one
place to another. The particular

destination is determined by past actions, and this
universal agni carries the prana, with the

soul, to different worlds.

VII. Prana (IV) ~

This Prana is then a mighty being, and if its localized
manifestations were to work in

unison, and with temperance, doing their own duty, but
not usurping the time and place of

others, there would be but little evil in the world.

But each of these manifestations asserts its sole power
over the bewildered human soul.

Each of these claims the whole life of man to be its own
proper domain:

The akasa, the vayu, the agni, the prithivi, the
apas, speech, sight and hearing all of

them say clearly that they are the sole monarchs of the
human body.

The principal prana, he whose manifestations all these
are, tells them:

Be not forgetful; it is I who sustain the human
body, dividing myself into five.

If the five manifestations of Prana with all their minor
subdivisions revolt against him, if

each begin to assert its own lordship and cease to work
for the general benefit of the lord

paramount, the real life, misery makes its sad appearance
to harass the poor human soul.

But the manifestation of prana, blinded by
ignorance, would not put forth in the

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

admonitions of their lord. He leaves the body, and
as he leaves, all the other minor pranas

leave it too; they stay there as he stays. Then
their eyes are opened. As the bees follow

the queen bee in every posture, so does prana; these,
speech, the mind, the eye, the ear,

follow him with devotion, and thus praise him.

He is the agni, the cause of heat; he is the sun
(the giver of light); he is the cloud, he is the

Indra, he is the Vayu, he is the prithivi, he is the
rayi, and the deva, the sat, and the asat,

and he is the immortal.

[Rayi and asat are the negative, deva and sat the
positive phases of life-matter.]

Like the spokes in the nave of a wheel, everything
is sustained in prana: the hymns of the

Rik, the Yajur, and the Sama Veda, the sacrifice, the
Kshatriya, and the Brahmin, etc.

Thou art the Progenitor; thou movest in the womb;
thou art born in the shape of the father

or the mother; to thee, O Prana, that puts up in the body
with thy manifestations, these

creatures offer presents.

Thou art the carrier of offerings to the deva, thou
art the carrier of oblations to the fathers;

thou art the action and the power of the senses and other
manifestations of life.

Thou art, O Prana, in power the great lord, the
Rudra [the destroyer] and the Preserver;

thou movest in the sky as the sun, thou art the preserver
of the light of heaven.

When thou rainest, these creatures are full of joy
because they hope to have plenty of

food.

Thou art Prana, pure by nature; thou art the
consumer of all oblations, as the Ekarshi fire

[of the Atharva; thou art the preserver of all
existence; we are to thee the offerers of food;

thou art our father as the Recorder [or, the
Life-giver of the Recorder].

Make healthy that appearance of thine which is
located in the speech, the ear, the eye, and

that which is stretched towards the mind; do not fly
away.

Whatever exists in the three heavens, all of it is
in the power of prana. Protect us like a

mother her offspring; give us wealth and
intellect.

With this I conclude my description of Prana, the second
principle of the Universe, and

the human body. The epithets bestowed upon this mighty
being in the above extract will be

easy of understanding in the light of all that has gone
before. It is now time to trace the

working of the universal Tatwic Law of Breath on the next
higher pane of life, the mind

(manomayakosha).

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

VIII. The Mind (I) ~

Introduction~

No theory of the life of the Universe is at once so
simple and so grand as the theory of

breath (Swara). It is the one universal motion, which
makes its appearance in maya by

virtue of the unseen substratum of the Cosmos, the
parabrahma of the Vedantins. The

most appropriate expression for Swara in English is the
current of life. The Indian

Science of Breath investigates and formulates the laws,
or rather the one Universal Law,

according to which this current of life, this motive
power of Universal Intelligence,

running (as Emerson so beautifully puts it) along the
wire of thought, governs evolution

and involution and all the phenomena of human life,
physiological, mental and spiritual. In

the whole length and breadth of this universe there is no
phenomenon, great or small, that

does not find its most natural, most intelligible, most
apposite explanation in the theory of

the five modes of manifestation of this universal motion:
the five elementary tatwas. In the

foregoing essays I have tried to explain generally how
every physiological phenomenon

was governed by the five tatwas. The object of the
present essay is to briefly run over the

various phenomena relating to the third higher body of
man the manomaya kosha, the

mind and note how symmetrically and universally
the tatwas bring about the formation

and work of this principle.

Knowledge ~

It is what is in general language called knowledge that
distinguishes the mind from

physiological life (prana), but it will be seen on a
little consideration that different degrees

of knowledge might very well be taken as the
distinguishing characteristics of the five

states of matter, which in man we call the five
principles. For what is knowledge but a kind

of tatwic motion of breath, elevated into
self-consciousness by the presence, in a greater or

lesser degree, of the element of ahankara (egoism)? His
is no doubt the view taken of

knowledge by the Vedantic philosopher when he speaks of
intelligence as being the motive

power, the first cause of the universe. The word swara is
only a synonym of intelligence,

the one manifestation of the One descending into
prakriti.

I see something means, according to our view
of knowledge, that my manomaya kosha

has been put into visual vibration. I hear
means that my mind is in a state of auditory

vibration. I feel means that my mind is in a
state of tangible vibration. And so on with

the other senses. I love means that my mind
is in a state of amatory vibration (a form of

attraction).

The first state, that of the anandamaya, is the state of
the highest knowledge. There is then

but one center, the substratum for the whole infinity of
parabrahma, and the ethereal

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

vibrations of his breath are one throughout the whole
expanse of infinity. There is but one

intelligence, but one knowledge. The whole universe with
all its potentialities and

actualities is a part of that knowledge. This is the
highest state of bliss. There is no

consciousness of self here, for the I has only a relative
existence, and there must be a Thou

or a He before there can be an I.

The ego takes form when, in the second plane of
existence, more than one minor center

comes into existence. It is for this reason that the name
ahankara has been given to this

state of matter. The ethereal impulses of those centers
are confined to their own particular

domain in space, and they differ in each center. They
can, however, affect each other in

just the same way as the individualized ethereal impulses
of one man are affected by those

of others. The tatwic motion of one center of Brahma is
carried along the same universal

lines to the other. Two differing motions are thus found
in one center. The stronger

impulse is called the I, the weaker the Thou or the He as
the case may be.

Then comes manas. Viraj is the center, and manu the
atmosphere of this state. These

centers are beyond the ken of ordinary humanity, but they
work under laws similar to those

ruling the rest of the cosmos. The suns move the virats
in the same way as the planets

move around the sun.

The Functions of the Mind ~

The composition of the manu is similar to that of prana:
it is composed of a still finer

grade of the five tatwas, and this increased fineness
endows the tatwas with different

functions.

The five functions of prana have been given. The
following are the five functions of

manas, as given by Patanjali and accepted by Vyasa:

(1) Means of knowledge (Pramana), (2) False knowledge
(Viparyaya), (3) Complex

imagination (Vikalpa), (4) Sleep (Nidra), (5) Memory
(Smrite).

All the manifestation of the mind fall under one or
another of these five heads. Thus,

Pramana includes:

(1) Perception (pratyaksha), (2) Inference (anumana), (3)
Authority (Agama).

Viparyana includes:

(1) Ignorance (avidya, tamas), (2) Egoism (asinita,
moha), (3) Retention (raja,

mahamoka), (4) Repulsion (tamisra, dwesha), (5) Tenacity
of life (abhinwesha,

andhatamisra).

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The remaining three have no definite subdivisions. Now I
shall show that all the

modifications of thought are forms of tatwic motion on
the mental plane.

Pramana (Means of Knowledge) ~

The word pramana (means of knowledge) is derived from two
roots, the predicative ma,

and the derivative root ana, with the prefix pra. The
original idea of the root ma is to go,

to move, and hence to measure.
The Prefix pra gives the root idea of fullness,

connected as it is with the root pri, to fill. That which
moves exactly up or down to the

same height with any other thing is the pramana of that
thing. In becoming the pramana of

any other thing, the first thing assumes certain
qualities that it did not have before. This is

always brought about by a change of state caused by a
certain kind of motion, for it is

always motion that causes change of state. In fact, this
is also the exact meaning of the

word pramana, as applied to a particular manifestation of
the mind.

Pramana is a particular tatwic motion of the mental body;
its effect is to put the mental

body into a state similar to that of something else. The
mind can undergo as many changes

as the external tatwas are capable of imprinting upon it,
and these changes have been

classified into three general heads by Patanjali.

Pratyaksha (Perception) ~

This is that change of state which the operations of the
five sensuous organs produce in the

mind. The word is a compound of I, each, and
aksha, sensuous power, organ of sense.

Hence is that sympathetic tatwic vibration that an organ
of sense in contact with its object

produces in the mind. These changes can be classified
under five heads, according to the

number of the senses.

The eye gives birth to the taijas vibrations, the tongue,
the skin, the ear, and the nose

respectively to the apas, the vayu, the akasa and the
prithivi vibrations. The pure agni

causes the perception of red, the taijas-prithivi of
yellow, the taijas-apas of white, the

taijas-vayu of blue, and so on. Other colors are produced
in the mind by mixed vibrations

in a thousand varying degrees. The apas gives softness,
the vayu roughness, the agni

harshness. We see through the eyes not only color, but
also form. It will be remembered

that a particular form has been assigned to every tatwic
vibration, and all the forms of

gross matter answer to corresponding tatwic vibrations.
Thus, form can be perceived

through every sense. The eyes can see form, the tongue
can taste it, the skin can touch it,

and so on. This may probably appear to be a novel
assertion, but it must be remembered

that virtue is not an act. The ear would hear form, if
the more general use of the eye and

skin for this purpose had not almost stifled it into
inaction.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The pure apas vibrations cause an astringent taste, the
apas-prithivi a sweet, the apas-agni

hot, the apas-vayu acid, and so on. Innumerable other
vibrations of taste are caused by

intermediate vibrations in various degrees.

The case is similar with the vocal and other changes of
vibration. It is clear that our

perceptive knowledge is nothing more than a veritable
tatwic motion of the mental body,

caused by the sympathetic communications of the
vibrations of prana, just as a stringed

instrument of a certain tension begins to vibrate
spontaneously when vibration is set up in

another similar instrument.

Anumana (Inference) ~

The word anumana has the same roots as the word pramana.
The only difference is in the

prefix. We have here anu, after, instead of
pra. Inference (anumana) is therefore aftermotion.

When the mind is capable of sustaining two vibrations at
one and the same time,

then if any one of these vibrations is set up and
perceived, the second vibration must also

manifest itself. Thus, suppose a man pinches me. The
complex vibrations that make up the

perception of the action of man pinching me are produced
in my mind. I recognize the

phenomena. Almost simultaneously with these vibrations
another set of vibrations is

produced in me. I call this pain. Now here are two kinds
of tatwic motion, one coming

after the other. If at any other time I feel similar
pain, the image of the man pinching will

be recalled to my consciousness. This after-motion is
inference. Induction and deduction

are both modifications of this after-motion. The sun
always appears to rise in a certain

direction. The concept of that direction becomes forever
associated in my mind with the

rising of the sun. Whenever I think of the phenomenon of
sunrise, the concept of that

direction presents itself. Therefore I say that, as a
rule, the sun rises in that direction.

Inference is therefore nothing more than a tatwic motion
coming after another related one.

Agama (Authority) ~

The third modification of what is called the means of
knowledge (pramana) is authority

(agama). What is this? I read in my geography, or hear
from the lips of my teacher that

Britain is surrounded by the ocean. Now what has
connected these words in my mind with

the picture of Britain, the ocean, and their mutual
relations? Certainly it is not perception,

and therefore not inference, which must by nature work
through sensuous knowledge.

What then? There must be some third modification.

The fact that words possess the power to raise a certain
picture in our minds is one of very

deep interest. Every Indian philosopher recognizes it as
a third modification of the mind,

but it receives no recognition at the hands of modern
European philosophy.

There is, however, little doubt that the color
corresponding to this mental modification

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

differs from that corresponding to either perception or
inference. The color belonging the

perceptive modifications of the mind is always single in
nature. A certain phase of the

taijas vibration must always prevail in the visual
modification, and similarly the vibrations

of other tatwas correspond to our different sensuous
modifications. Each manifestation has

its own distinctive color. The red will appear as well in
the visual as in the auditory or any

other vibration, but the red of the visual will be bright
and pure; that of the organ of smell

will be tinged with yellow; that of the organ of touch
with blue, and the soniferous ether

will be rather dark. There is, therefore, not the least
likelihood that the vocal vibration will

coincide with the pure perceptive vibration. The coal
vibrations are double in their nature,

and they can only (if at all) coincide with the
inferential vibrations; and here, too, they can

only coincide with the auditory vibrations. A little
consideration will, however, show that

there is some difference between the vocal and
inferential vibrations. In inference, a

certain modification of sound in our mind is followed by
a certain visual picture, and both

these vibrations retain an equally important position in
our mind. We place two precepts

together, compare them, and then say that one follows the
other. In the verbal modification

there is no comparison, no simultaneous consciousness, no
placing together of the two

precepts. The one causes the other, but we are not at all
conscious of the fact. In inference

the simultaneous presence for some time of both the cause
and the effect brings about a

change in the color of the effect. The difference is less
great in the vocal as compared with

the inferential vibration. Axiomatic knowledge is not
inferential in the present, tough it has

no doubt been so in the past; in the present it has
become native to the mind.

Viparyaya (False Knowledge) ~

This is the second mental modification. This word also is
derived from a root meaning

motion : i or ay. to go, to move.
The prefix pari is connected with the root pra, and

gives the same radical meaning as pramana. The word
Paryaya has the same radical

meaning as pramana. The word Viparyaya therefore means
a motion removed from the

motion that coincides with the object. The
vibrations of pramana coincide in nature with

the vibrations of viparyaya. Certain acquired conditions
of the mind imprint on the

precepts a new color of their own, and thus distinguish
them from the precepts of

pramana. There are five modifications of this
manifestation.

Avidya (Ignorance) ~

This is the general field for the manifestation of all
the modifications of false knowledge.

The word comes from the root vid, to know,
the prefix a, and the suffix ya. The original

meaning of the vidya is, therefore, the state of a
thing as it is, or expressed in terms of

the mental plane in one word, knowledge. As
long as in the face of a human being I see

a face and nothing else, my mental vibration is said to
be vidya. But as soon as I see a

moon or something else not a face, when it is a face I am
looking at, my mental vibration

is no longer said to be vidya, but avidya. Avidya
(ignorance) is therefore not a negative

conception; it is just as positive as vidya itself. It is
a great mistake to suppose that words

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

having the privative prefixes always imply abstractions
and never realities. This, however,

is by the bye. The state of avidya is that state in which
the mental vibration is disturbed by

that of akasa, and some other tatwas, which thus result
in the production of false

appearances. The general appearance of avidya is akasa,
darkness, and this is why tamas is

a synonym of this word.

This general prevalence of darkness is caused by some
defect in individual minds, because,

as we find from daily experience, a given object does not
excite the same set of vibrations

in all minds. What, then is the mental defect? It is to
be found in the nature of the stored-up

potential energy of the mind. This storing-up of
potential energy is a problem of the

deepest importance in philosophy, and the doctrine of
transmigration of souls finds its

most intelligible explanation in this. The law might be
enunciated as follows:

The Law of Vasana ~

If anything be set in any particular kind of tatwic
motion, internal or external, it acquires

for a second time the capability of easily being set in
motion, and of consequently resisting

a different sort of motion. If the thing is subjected to
the same motion for some time, the

motion becomes a necessary attribute of the thing. The
superposed motion becomes, so to

speak, second nature.

Thus, if a man accustoms his body to a particular form of
exercise, certain muscles in his

body are very easily set into motion. Any other form of
exercise that requires the use of

other muscles will be found fatiguing on account of the
resistance set up by muscular

habits. The case is similar with the mind. If I have a
deep-rooted conviction, as some do to

this day, that the earth is flat and the sun moves around
it, it may require ages to dislodge

it. A thousand examples might be cited of such phenomena.
It is, however, only necessary

in this place to state that the capacity of turning
easily to one mental state and offering

resistance to another one is what I mean by this
stored-up energy. It is variously called

vasana or Sansakara in Sanskrit.

The word vasana comes from the root vas, to
dwell. It means the dwelling or fixing of

some form of vibratory motion in the mind. It is by
vasana that certain truths become

native to the mind, and not only certain so-called
truths, but all the so-called natural

tendencies, moral, physical, spiritual, become in this
way native to the mind. The only

difference in different vasana is their respective
stability. The vasana that are imprinted

upon the mind as the result of the ordinary evolutionary
course of nature never change.

The products of independent human actions are of two
kinds. If actions result in tendencies

that check the evolutionary progressive tide of nature,
the effect of the action exhausts

itself in time by the repellant force of the undercurrent
of evolution. If, however, the two

coincide in direction, increased strength is the result.
The latter sort of actions we call

virtuous, the former vicious.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

It is this vasana, this temporary dominion of the
opposite current, that causes false

knowledge. Suppose the positive generative current has in
any man the strength a, if too it

is presented a negative female current of the same degree
of strength a, the two will try to

unite. An attraction that we term sexual love will then
be set up. If these two currents are

not allowed to unite, they increase in strength and react
on the body itself to its injury; if

allowed to unite, they exhaust themselves. This
exhaustion causes a relief to the mind, the

progressive evolutionary current asserts itself with
greater force, and thus a feeling of

satisfaction is the result. This tatwic disturbance of
the mind will, as long as it has

sufficient strength, give its own color to all
perceptions and concepts. They will not appear

in their true light, but as causes of satisfaction. Thus
they say that true lovers see all things

rose-colored. The appearance of a face we love to see
causes a partial running of currents

into one another, and a certain amount of satisfaction is
the result. We forge that we are

seeing a face: we are only conscious of some cause
resulting in a state of satisfaction. That

cause of satisfaction we call by different names.
Sometimes we call it a flower, at others

we call it a moon. Sometimes we feel that the current of
life is flowing from those dear

eyes, at others we recognize nectar itself in that dear
embrace. Such are the manifestations

of avidya. As Patanjali says, avidya consists in the
perception of the eternal, the pure, the

pleasing, and the spiritual instead of or rather in the
non-eternal, the impure, the painful,

and the non-spiritual. Such is the genesis of avidya,
which, as has been remarked, is a

substantial rality, and not a mere negative
conception.

This mental phenomenon causes the four remaining
ones.

Asmita (Egoism) ~

Egoism (Asmita) is the conviction that real life (purusha
swara) is one with the various

mental and physiological modifications, that the higher
self is one with the lower one, that

the sum of our percepts and concepts is the real ego, and
that there is nothing beyond. In

the present cycle of evolution and in the previous ones,
the mind has been chiefly occupied

with these percepts and concepts. The real power of life
is never seen making any separate

appearance, hence the feeling that the ego must be the
same with the mental phenomena. It

is plain that avidya, as defined above, lies at the root
of this manifestation.

Raga (Desire to Retain) ~

The misleading feeling of satisfaction above mentioned
under avidya is the cause of this

condition. When any object repeatedly produces in our
mind this feeling of satisfaction,

our mind engenders the habit of falling again and again
into the same state of tatwic

vibration. The feeling of satisfaction and the picture of
the object that seemed to cause that

satisfaction tend to appear together, and this is a
hankering after the object, a desire not to

let it escape us that is to say, Raga.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Pleasure ~

Here may investigate more thoroughly the nature of this
feeling of satisfaction and its

opposite: pleasure and pain. The Sanskrit words for these
two mental states are

respectively sukha and dukkha. Both come from the root
khan, to dig; the prefixes su

and dus make the difference. The former prefix conveys
the idea of ease and it derives

this idea from the unrestrained easy flow of breath. The
radical idea of sukha is, therefore,

unrestrained digging digging where the soil offers
but little resistance. Transferred to the

mind, that act becomes sukha, which makes an easy
impression upon it. The act must, in

the nature of its vibrations, coincide with the then
prevailing conditions of the mental

vibrations. Before any percepts or concepts had taken
root in the mind, there was no desire,

no pleasure. The genesis of desire and what is called
pleasure that is, the sense of

satisfaction caused by the impressions produced by
external objects begins with certain

percepts and concepts taking root in the mind. This
taking root really is only an

overclouding of the original set of impressions arising
out of evolutionary mental progress.

When contact with the external object momentarily removes
that cloud from the clear

horizon of the mind, the soul is conscious of a feeling
of satisfaction that avidya connects

with the external object. This, as shown above, gives
birth to desire.

Pain & Dwesha ~

The genesis of pain and the desire to repel (dwesha) is
similar. The radical idea of dukkha

(pain) is the act of digging where a good deal of
resistance is experienced. Transferred to

the mind, it signifies an act that encounters resistance
from the mind. The mind does not

easily give place to these vibrations; it tries to repel
them with all its might. There arises a

feeling of privation. It is as if something of its nature
was being taken away, and an alien

phenomenon introduced. The consciousness of privation, or
want, is pain, and the

repulsive power that these alien vibrations excite in the
mind is known by the name of

dwesha (desire to repel). The word dwesha comes from the
root dwesh, which is a

compound of du and ish. Ish itself appears to be a
compound root, i and s. The final s is

connected to the root su, to breath, to
be in ones natural state. The root i means
to

go, and the root ish, therefore, means to go toward
ones natural state. Transferred to the

mind, the word becomes a synonym of raga. The word du in
dwesh performs the same

function as dus in dukkh. Hence dwesh comes to mean “a
hankering after repulsion”.

Anger, jealousy, hatred, etc., are all modifications of
this, as love, affection and friendship

are those of raga. By what has been said above, it is
easy to follow up the genesis of the

principle of “tenacity of life”. I must now try to assign
these actions to their prevailing

tatwas.

The general color of avidya is, as already said, that of
akasa, darkness. Otherwise, the agni

tatwa prevails in anger. If this is accompanied by vayu,
there will be a good deal of motion

in the body, prithivi will make it stubborn, and apas
easily manageable. Akasa will give a

tinge of fear.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The same tatwa prevails in love. Prithivi makes it
abiding, vayu changeable, agni fretting,

apas lukewarm, and akasa blind.

Akasa prevails in fear; it tends to produce a hollow in
the veins themselves. In prithivi the

timid man is rooted to the spot, with vayu he runs away,
with apas he succumbs to flattery,

and agni tends to make one vengeful.

Vikalpa ~

Vikalpa is that knowledge which the words imply or
signify, but for which there is no

reality on the physical plane. The sounds of nature
connected with its sight have given us

names for precepts. With the additions or subtractions of
the percepts we have also had

additions and subtractions of the sounds connected
therewith. The sounds constitute our

words.

In vikalpa two or more precepts are added together in
such a way as to give birth to a

concept having no corresponding reality on the physical
plane. This is a necessary result of

the universal law of visana. When the mind is habituated
to a perception of more

phenomena than one, all of them have a tendency to appear
again; and whenever two or

more such phenomena coincide in time, we have in our mind
a picture of a third

something. That something may or may not exist in the
physical plane. If it does not, the

phenomenon is vikalpa. If it does, however, we call it
Samadhi.

Nidra (Sleep) ~

This also is a phenomenon of the manomaya kosha mind.
Indian philosophers speak of

three states in this connection: waking, dream, and
sleep.

Waking ~

This is the ordinary state when the principle of life
works in connection with the mind. The

mind then receives impressions of the external objects
through the action of the senses.

The other faculties of the mind are purely mental, and
they may work in the waking as in

the dreaming state. The only difference is that in dreams
the mind does not undergo the

perceptive changes. How is this? These changes of state
are always passive, and the soul

has no choice in being subjected to them. They come and
go as a necessary result of the

working of swara in all its five modifications. As has
been explained in the articles on

Prana, the different sensuous organs cease to respond to
external tatwic changes when the

positive current gains more than ordinary strength in the
body. The positive force appears

to us in the shape of heat, the negative in the shape of
cold. Therefore I may speak of these

forces as heat and cold.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Dreams ~

The Upanishad says that in dreamless sleep the soul
sleeps in the blood vessels (nadi), the

pericardium (puritat), the hollow of the heart. Has the
system of blood vessels, the

negative center of Prana, anything to do with dreams
also? The state of dream, according

to the Indian sage, is an intermediate one between waking
and sleeping, and it is but

reasonable to suppose that there must be something in
this system that accounts for both

these phenomena. What is that something? It is variously
spoken of as the pitta, the agni,

and the sun. It is needless to say that these words are
meant to denote one and the same

thing. It is the effect produced on the body by the solar
breath in general, and the agni

tatwa in particular. The word pitta might mislead many,
and therefore it is necessary to

state that the word does not necessarily always mean
lull. There is one pitta that Sanskrit

physiology locates specifically in the heart. This is
called the sadhaka pitta. It is nothing

more or less than cardiac temperature, and it is with
this that we have to do in sleep or

dream.

According to the Indian philosopher, it is the cardiac
temperature that causes the three

states in varying degrees. This and nothing more is the
meaning of the Vedic text that the

soul sleeps in the pericardium, etc. All the functions of
life are carried on properly as long

as we have a perfect balance of the positive and negative
currents, heat and cold. The mean

of the solar and lunar temperatures is the temperature at
which the prana keeps up its

connection with the gross body. The mean is struck after
an exposure of a whole day and

night. Within this period the temperature is subjected to
two general variations. The one is

the extreme of the positive; the other the extreme of the
negative. When the positive

reaches its daily extreme the sensuous organs pass out of
time with the external tatwas.

It is a matter of daily experience that the sensuous
organs respond to external tatwic

vibrations within certain limits. If the limit is
exceeded either way, the organs become

insensible to these vibrations. There is, therefore, a
certain degree of temperature at which

the sensuous organs can ordinarily work; when this limit
is exceed either way, the organs

become incapable of receiving any impression from
without. During day the positive life

current gathers strength in the heart. The ordinary
working temperature is naturally

exceeded by this gathering up of the forces, and the
senses sleep. They receive no

impression from without. This is sufficient to produce
the dreaming state. As yet the

chords of the gross body (sthula sharira) alone have
slackened, and the soul sees the mind

no longer affected by external impressions. The mind is,
however, habituated to various

precepts and concepts, and by the mere force of habit
passes into various states. The

breath, as it modifies into the five tatwic states,
becomes the cause of the varying

impressions coming up. As already said, the soul has no
part in calling up these visions of

its own free will. It is by the working of a necessary
law of life that the mind undergoes the

various changes of the waking and the sleeping states.
The soul does nothing in conjuring

up the phantasms of a dream, otherwise it would be
impossible to explain horrible dreams.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Why, indeed, if the soul is entirely free in dreaming
does it sometimes call into being the

hideous appearances that, with one terrible shock, seem
to send our very blood back to our

heart? No soul would ever act thus if it could help
it.

The fact is that the impressions of a dream change with
the tatwas. As one tatwa easily

glides into the other, one thought gives place to
another. The akasa causes fear, shame,

desire, and anger; the vayu takes us to different places;
the taijas shows us gold and silver,

and the prithivi may bring us enjoyment, smiles,
dalliance, and so on. And then we might

have composite tatwic vibrations. We might see men and
women, dances and battles,

councils and popular gatherings; we might walk in
gardens, smell the choicest flowers, see

the most beautiful spots; we might shake hands with our
friends, we might deliver

speeches, we might travel into different lands. All these
impressions are caused by the

tatwic state of the mental coil, brought about either by
(1) physical derangement, (2)

ordinary tatwic changes, (3) or some other coming natural
change of state.

As there are three different causes, there are three
different kinds of dreams. The first cause

is physical derangement. When the natural currents of
prana are disturbed so that disease

results, or are about to be so disturbed, the mind in the
ordinary way undergoes these

tatwic changes. The sympathetic chords of the minds are
excited, and we dream of all the

disagreeable accompaniments of whatever disease may be
within our physical atmosphere

in store for us. Such dreams are akin in their nature to
the ravings of delirium; there is only

a difference in strength and violence. When ill, we may
in a similar way dream of health

and its surroundings.

The second kind of dream is caused by ordinary tatwic
changes. When the past, the

present, and the future tatwic condition of our
surroundings is uniform in its nature, when

there is no change, and when no change is in store for
us, the stream of dreams is most

calm and equable in its easy flow. As the atmospheric and
the healthful physiological

tatwas glide smoothly one into the other, so do the
impressions of our minds in this class of

dreams. Ordinarily we cannot even remember these dreams,
for in them there is nothing of

special excitement to keep them in our memory.

The third kind of change is similar to the first; there
is only a difference in the nature of the

effects. These we call the effects of disease or health,
as the case may be; here we might

group the results under the general name of prosperity or
calamity.

The process of this sort of mental excitement is,
however, the same in both. The currents

of life, pregnant with all sorts of good and evil, are
sufficient in strength while yet potential

and only tending towards the actual, to set the
sympathetic chords of the mind in vibration.

The purer the mind, and the freer from dust of the world,
the more sensitive it is to the

slightest and the remotes tendency of prana towards some
change. Consequently we

become conscious of coming events in dreams. This
explains the nature of prophetic

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

dreams. To weigh the force of these dreams, however, to
find out exactly what each dream

means, is a most difficult task, and under ordinary
circumstances quite impossible. We

may make 10,000 mistakes at ever step, and we need
nothing less than a perfect Yogi for

the right understanding of even our own dreams, to say
nothing of those of others. Let us

explain and illustrate the difficulties that surround us
in the right understanding of our

dreams. A man in the same quarter of the city in which I
live, but unknown to me, is about

to die. The tatwic currents of his body, pregnant with
death, disturb the atmospheric

tatwas, and through their instrumentality are spread in
various degrees all over the world.

They reach me, too, and excite the sympathetic chords of
my mind while I am sleeping.

There being no special room in my mind for that man, my
impression will be only general.

A human being, fair or ugly, male or female, lamented or
not, and having other similar

qualities, will come into the mid on his deathbed. But
what man? The power of complex

imagination, unless strongly kept in check by the hardest
exercise of yoga, will have its

play, and it is almost certain that a man who has
previously been connected in my mind

with all these tatwic qualities will make his appearance
in my consciousness. It is evident

that I shall be on the wrong track. That someone is dead
or dying, we may be sure, but who

or where is impossible for ordinary men to discover. And
not only does the manifestation

of vikalpa put us on the wrong track, but all the
manifestations of the mind do that. The

state of samadhi, which is nothing more than putting
ones self into a state of the most

perfect amenability to tatwic surroundings, is therefore
impossible unless all the other

manifestations are held in perfect check. Patanjali says,
Yoga is keeping in check the

manifestations of the mind.

Sleep ~

The dreamy state is maintained as long as and when the
cardiac temperature is not strong

enough to affect the mental coil. But with increasing
positive strength, that too must be

affected. The manas and the prana are made of the same
materials and are subject to the

same laws. The more subtle these materials are, however,
the stronger must be the forces

that produce similar changes. All the coils are tuned
together, and changes in the one affect

the other. The vibrations per second of the first one
are, however, larger in number than

those of the lower one, and this causes its subtlety. The
higher are always affected through

the immediately lower principles. Thus the external
tatwas will affect prana immediately,

but the mind can only be affected through the prana and
not directly. The cardiac

temperature is only an indication of the degree of heat
in prana. When sufficient strength

is gathered up there, the prana affects the mental coil.
That too now passes out of tune

with the soul. The mental vibration can only work at a
certain temperature; beyond that it

must go to rest. In this state we have no more dreams.
The only manifestation of the mind

is that of rest. This is the state of dreamless
sleep.

I pass on now to the fifth and last mental
manifestation.

Smrite (Retention, Memory) ~

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

As Professor Max Muller has remarked, the original idea
at the root smri (from which

smrite) is to make soft, to melt. The process
of making soft or melting consists in the

melting thing assuming a consistency nearer and nearer to
the tatwic consistency of the

melting force. All change of state is equivalent to the
assumption on the part of the thing

changing, of the state of tatwa that causes the change.
Hence the secondary idea of the

root, to love. Love is that state of mind in
which it melts into the state of the object of

love. This change is analogous to the chemical change
that gives us a photograph on a

sensitive plate. As in this phenomenon the materials on
the sensitive plate are melted into

the state of the reflected light, so the sensitive plate
of the mind melts into the state of its

percepts. The impression upon the mind is deeper, the
greater the force of the imprinting

rays and the greater the sympathy between the mind and
the object perceived. This

sympathy is created by stored up potential energy, and
the perceptive rays themselves act

with greater force when the mind is in a sympathetic
state.

Every percept takes root in the mind, as explained above.
It is nothing more than a change

of the tatwic state of the mind, and what is left behind
is only a capacity for sooner falling

into the same state again. The mind falls back into the
same state when it is under the

influence of the same tatwic surroundings. The presence
of the same thing calls back the

same mental state.

The tatwic surroundings may be of two descriptions,
astral and local. The astral influence

is the effect upon the individual prana of the condition
of the terrestrial prana at that time.

If this effect appears as the agni tatwa, those of our
concepts that have a prominent

connection with this tatwa will make their appearance in
the mind. Some of these are a

hankering after wealth, a desire for progeny, etc. If we
have the vayu tatwa, a desire to

travel may take possession of our minds and so on. A
minute tatwic analysis of all of our

concepts is of the greatest interest; suffice it to say
here that the tatwic condition of prana

often calls up into the mind objects that have made the
objects of perception in similar

previous conditions. It is this power that underlies
dreams of one class. In the waking state

too this phase of memory often acts as reminiscence.

Local surrounding are constituted by those object which
the mind has been accustomed to

perceive together with the immediate object of memory.
This is the power of association.

Both these phenomena constitute memory proper (smrite).
Here the object comes first into

the mind, and afterwards the act and the surroundings of
perception. Another very

important kind of memory is what is called buddhi,
literary memory. This is the power by

which we call to mind what we have learned of scientific
facts. The process of storing up

these facts in the mind is the same, but the coming back
into consciousness differs in this,

that here the act first comes into the mind and then the
object. All the five tatwas and the

foregoing mental phenomena may cause the phenomenon of
memory. Literary memory

has a good deal to do with yoga, i.e., the exercise of
free will to direct the energies of the

mind into desirable channels. While those impressions
that take root in the mind on

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

account of natural surroundings make the mind the
unwilling slave of the external world,

buddhi may lead it to bliss and freedom. But will these
tatwic surroundings always bring

related phenomena into consciousness? No! This depends
upon their correlative strength. It

is well known that when the vibrations per second of
akasa (sound) pass beyond a certain

limit either way, they do not affect the tympanum. It is,
for example, only a certain number

of vibrations per second of the taijas tatwa that affects
the eye, and so on with the other

senses. The case with the mind is similar. It is only
when mental and external tatwic

tensions are equal that the mind begins to vibrate as it
comes into contact with the external

world. Just as the varying states of the external organs
make us more or less sensitive to

ordinary sensation, so different men might not hear the
same sounds, might not see the

same sights, the mental tatwas might not be affected by
percepts of the same strength, or

might be affected in different degrees by percepts of the
same strength. The question is,

how is the variation of this mental tatwic strength
produced? By exercise, and the absence

of exercise. If we accustom the mind, just as we do the
body, to any particular precept or

concept, the mind easily turns to those percepts and
concepts. If, however, we give up the

exercise, the mind becomes stiff and ceases by degrees to
respond to these percepts and

concepts. This is the phenomenon of forgetting. Let a
student whose literary exercises is

just opening the buds of his mind, whose mind is just
gaining strength enough to see into

the causes and effects of things, give up his exercise.
His mind will begin to lose that nice

perception. The stiffer the mind becomes the less will
the casual relation affect him, and

the less he will know of it, until at last he loses all
his power.

Ceaseless influence and activity of one sort being
impossible in the ordinary course of

time, every impression tends to pass away as soon as it
is made. Its degree of stability

depends upon the duration of the exercise. But although
activity of one sort is

impracticable, activity of some sort is always present in
the mind. With every action the

color of the mind changes, and one color may take so deep
a root in the mind as to remain

there for ages upon ages, to say nothing of minutes,
hours, days and years. Just as time

takes ages to demolish the impressions of the physical
plane, just as marks of incision upon

the skin may not pass away even in two decades, so also
it takes ages to demolish the

impressions of the mind. Hundreds and thousands of years
may this be spent in devachan

in order to wear away those antagonistic impressions that
the mind has contracted in

earthly life. By antagonistic impressions, I mean those
impressions that are not compatible

with the state of moksha, and have about them a tinge of
earthly life.

With every moment the mind changes its color, whether the
impression be adding or

subtracting. These changes are temporary. But there is at
the same time a permanent

change going on in the color of the mind. With every
little act of our worldly experience,

the evolutionary tide of progress is gaining strength and
passing into variety. The color is

constantly changing. But the same general color is
maintained under ordinary

circumstances, during one earthly life. Under
extraordinary circumstances we might have

men having two memories. Under such circumstances as in
the case of approaching death,

the accumulated forces of a whole life combine into a
different color. The tension, so to

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

speak, becomes different from what it was before. Nothing
can put the mind into the same

state again. This general color of the mind differing
from that of other minds, and yet

retaining its general character for a whole life, gives
us the consciousness of personal

identity. In every act that has been done, or that is, or
might be done, the soul sees the

same general color, and hence the feeling of personal
identity. In death the general color

changes, and although we have the same mind, we have a
different consciousness. Hence

no continuance of the feeling of personal identity is
possible through death.

Such is a brief account of the manomaya kosha, the mental
coil in the ordinary state. The

influence of the higher principle (the vijnana maya
kosha) through the exercise of yoga

induces in the mind a number of other manifestations.
Psychic manifestations show

themselves in the mind and the prana, in the same way as
mental manifestations are seen

influencing and regulating the prana.

IX. The Mind (II) ~

As has been seen, the universe has five planes of
existence (which may also be divided

into seven). The forms of the earth, which are little
pictures of the universe, also have the

same five planes. In some of these organisms the higher
planes of existence are absolutely

latent. In man, in the present age, the Vijnana maya
kosha and the lower principles make

their appearance.

We have had an insight into the nature of the macrocosmic
prana, and we have seen that

almost every point in this ocean of life represents a
separate individual organism.

The case is similar with the macrocosmic mind. Every
truti of that center takes in the

whole of the macrocosmic mind in the same way. From every
point the tatwic rays of the

mental ocean go to every point, and thus every point is a
little picture of the universal

mind. This is the individual mind.

The Univesal mind is the original of all the centers of
Prana, in the same way as the solar

prana is the original of the species of earth-life.
Individual mind, too, is similarly the

original of all the individual manifestations of the
prana maya kosha. Similarly the soul,

and the individual spirit on the highest plane, is the
perfect picture of all that comes below.

With the four higher planes of life there are four
different states of consciousness, the

waking, the dreaming, the sleeping, and the Tureya.

With these remarks the following extract from the
Prasnopnishat will be intelligible and

instructive.

Now Sauryayana Gargya asked him, Sir, in this
body, what sleeps, and what remains

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
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awakened? Which of these luminous beings sees dreams? Who
has this rest? In whom do

all these [manifestations] rest in the potential
unmanifested state?

He answered him, O Gargya, as the rays of the
setting sun are all collected in the

luminous shell, and then go out again, as he rises again
and again, so all that is collected in

the luminous shell of mind beyond. For this reason then,
the man does not hear, does not

see, does not smell, does not taste, does not touch, does
not take, does not cohabit, does not

excrete, does not go on. They say that he sleeps. The
fires of prana alone remain awakened

in his body. The apana is the Garhapatya fire; the Vyana
is the right hand fire. The prana

is the ahavanurya fire, which is made by the Garhapatya.
That which carries equally

everywhere the oblations of food and air, is the samana.
The mind (manas) is the sacrificer

(vajmana). The Udana is the fruit of the sacrifice. He
carries the sacrificer every day to

Brahma. Here this luminous being [the mind]
enjoys great things in dreams. Whatever was

seen, he sees again as if it were real; whatever was
experienced in different countries, in

different directions, he experiences the same again and
again the seen and the unseen, the

heard or the unheard, thought or not thought upon. He
sees all, appearing as the self of all

manifestations.

When he is overpowered by the taijas, then
this luminous being sees no dreams in this

state; then there appears in the body this rest [the
dreamless sleep].

In this state, my dear pupil, all [that
is enumerated below] stays in the ulterior atma,
like

birds that resort to a tree for habitation the
prithivi composite and the prithivi noncomposite;

the apas composite and the apas non-composite; the taijas
composite and the

taijas non-composite; the vayu composite and the vayu
non-composite; the akasa

composite and the akasa non-composite; the sight and the
visible, the hearing and the

audible, the smell and the smellable, the taste and the
tasteable, the touch and the tangible,

the speech and the utterable, the hands and whatever
might be grasped, the generative

organ and the excrements, the feet and that which may be
gone over, the faculty and the

object of doubt, the faculty and the object of egoism,
the faculty and the object of memory,

the light and that which might be enlightened, the prana
and that which keeps it together.

The soul is the Vijnana atma, the seer, the
toucher, the hearer, the smeller, the taster, the

doubter, the ascertainer, the agent. This soul [the
Vijnana atma] stays in the ulterior,

unchangeable atma [the ananda].

So there are four atma the life, the
mind, the soul, the spirit. The ultimate force that lies

at the root macrocosmic Power of all the manifestation of
soul, mind, and the life the

principle, is the spirit.

By composite is meant that tatwa which has come into
existence after the division into

five, noticed in the first essay. The non-composite means
a tatwa before the division into

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

five.

The principal interest of this quotation lies in
presenting in authoritative fashion the views

that have already been propounded. The next essay
explains one of the most important

functions of the macrocosmic Power and Mind, that of
recording the human actions, and

touches upon some other rather important truths.

X. The Cosmic Picture Gallery ~

We are directed by our Guru in the philosophy of tatwas
to look into vacant space toward

the sky, when the sky is perfectly clear, and fix your
attention there with the utmost

possible strength.

We are told that after sufficient practice we shall see
there a variety of pictures the most

beautiful landscapes, the most gorgeous palaces of the
world, and men, women and

children in all the varying aspects of life. How is such
a thing possible? What do we learn

by this practical lesson in the science of attention?

I think I have described with sufficient explicitness in
the essays, the ocean of prana with

the sun for its center, and have given a hint
sufficiently suggestive of the nature of the

macrocosmic mental and psychic atmospheres. It is of the
essential nature of these

atmospheres that every point therein forms a center of
action and reaction for the whole

ocean. From what has already been said, it will be plain
that each of these atmospheres has

a limit of its own. The terrestrial atmosphere extends
only to a few miles, and the external

boundary line of this sphere must, it will be readily
understood, give it the appearance of

an orange, just like that of the earth. The case is the
same with the solar prana, and the

higher atmospheres. To begin with the terrestrial Prana,
which has the measured limits of

our atmosphere. Every little atom of our earth, and the
most perfect organisms, as well as

the most imperfect, makes a center of action and reaction
for the tatwic currents of

terrestrial Prana. The prana has the capability of being
thrown into the shape of every

organism or, to use a different language, the rays of
prana as they fall upon every organism

are returned from that organism according to the
well-known laws of reflection. These

rays, as is again well known, carry within themselves our
pictures. Bearing these within

them, they go up to the limit of the terrestrial prana
noted above. It will be easy to

conceive that within the imaginary sphere that surrounds
our terrestrial prana, we now

have a magnified picture of our central organism. Not one
organism only, but all the

smallest points, the most imperfect beginnings of
organized life, as well as the most perfect

organisms all are pictured in this imaginary
sphere. It is a magnificent picture-gallery; all

that is seen or heard, touched, tasted or smelled on the
face of the earth has a glorious and

magnified picture there. At the limit of this terrestrial
prana, the picture-forming tatwic

rays exercise a double function.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Firstly they throw the sympathetic tatwic chords of the
solar prana into similar motion.

That is to say, these pictures are now consigned to the
solar prana, from whence in due

course they reach step by step to the universal
intelligence itself.

Secondly, these rays react upon themselves, and turning
back from the limiting sphere, are

again reflected back to the center.

It is these pictures that the attentive mind sees in its
noonday gaze into vacancy, and it is

these pictures, seen in this mysterious way, that give us
the finest food for our imagination

and intellect, and supply us with a far-reaching clue to
the nature and working of the laws

that govern the life of the macrocosm and the microcosm.
For these pictures tell us that the

smallest of our actions, on whatever plane of our
existence, actions that may be so

insignificant to us as to pass unnoticed even by
ourselves, are destined to receive an

everlasting record, as the effect of the past and the
cause of the future. These pictures again

tell us of the existence of the five universal tatwas
that play so important a part in the

universe. It is these pictures that lead us to the
discovery of the manifold constitution of

man and the universe, and of those powers of the mind
that have not yet received

recognition at the hands of the official science of the
day.

That these truths have found place in the Upanishad may
be seen from the following

quotation from the Ishopnishat, mantra 4:

The Atma does not move: is one: is faster than the
mind: the senses reach it not: as it is

the foremost in motion. It goes beyond the others in
rapid motion while itself at rest, in it

the Recorder preserves the actions.

In the above quotation it is the word Matarishwa that I
translate Recorder. Ordinarily the

word is translated as air, and so far as I know, the word
has never been understood clearly

in the sense of the Recorder. My view,
therefore, may be further explained with

advantage.

The word is a compound of the words matari and swah. The
word matari is the locative

case of matri which ordinarily means mother, but which is
rendered here as space, as the

substratum of distance, from the root ma, to measure. The
second word of the compound

means the breather, coming as it does from the root Swas,
to breathe. Hence the compound

means he who breathes in space. In explaining
this word the commentator

Sankaracharya goes on to say:

The word Matarishwa, which has been
derived as above, means the Vayu [the mover]

which carries in it all the manifestations of prana,
which is action itself, that which is the

substratum of all the groups of causes and effects, and
in which all the causes and effects

are held like beads in a thread, that which is given the
name of sutra [the thread] inasmuch

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

as it holds in itself the whole of the world.

It is further said that the actions in the
above quotation which this matarishwa holds in

itself are all the movements of the individualized prana,
as well as the actions of heating,

lighting, ruining, etc., of the macrocosmic powers known
as Agni, etc.

Now such a thing can by no means be the atmospheric air.
It is evidently that phase of

prana which acts as carrying the pictures of all actions,
all motions from every point of

space to every other point and to the limits of the surya
mandala. This phase of prana is

nothing more or less than the Recorder. It holds in
itself forever and ever all the causes and

effects, the antecedents and consequents of this world of
ours.

It is action itself. This means that all action is a
change of phase of prana.

It is said in the above quotation that this Recorder
lives in the atma. Inasmuch as the atma

exists, this Power always performs its function. The
prana draws its life itself from the

atma, and accordingly we find a similarity between the
dualities of the two. It is said of the

atma in the above extract that it does not move, and yet
it moves faster than the mind.

These appear to be contradictory qualities at first sigh,
and it is such qualities that make the

ordinary God of commonplace theologians the absurd being
he always looks to be. Let us,

however, apply these qualities to prana, and once
understood on this plane, they will be

quite as clearly understood on the highest plane, the
atma. It has been said more than once

that from every point of the ocean of prana the tatwic
rays fly in every direction, to every

point within the surya mandala. Thus the ocean of prana
is in eternal motion. For all this,

however, does one point of this ocean ever change its
place? Of course not. Thus while

every point keeps its place, every point at the same time
goes and shows itself in every

other point.

It is the same simple way that the all-pervading atma is
in eternal motion and yet always at

rest.

The case is similar with all the planes of life; all our
actions, all our thoughts, all our

aspirations, receive an everlasting record in the books
of Matarishwa.

I must now notice these pictures in a little more detail.
The science of photography tells us

that under certain conditions the visual pictures can be
caught on the plane of the sensitive

film. But how can we account for the reading of letters
at a distance of 40 miles or more?

Such phenomena are a matter of personal experience to me.
Very recently, while sitting

abstracted, or it may be in a kind of dream, about 4
oclock in the morning, I read a

postcard written by a friend to a friend about me, the
very same night, at a distance of

almost 30 miles. One more thing must be noticed here, I
think. Almost half the card spoke

about me, and the rest referred to other matters that
might have a passing interest for me,

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

but could not be engrossing. Now this rest of the card
did not come before my eyes very

clearly, and I felt that with all my effort I could not
even keep my eye upon those lines or a

sufficiently long time to understand them, but was
irresistibly drawn towards the paragraph

that spoke of me, and which I could read very clearly.
Four days after this, the addressee

showed it to me; it was exactly the same, sentence by
sentence (so far as I could

remember), as I had seen before. I mention this
phenomenon in particular, as in it the

various prerequisites for the production of these
phenomena are clearly defined. We learn

from an analysis of this incident the following
facts:

(1) When he was writing, the writer of the card meant
that I should read the card, and

especially the paragraph that concerned me.

(2) I was very anxious to know the news about me that the
card contained.

(3) In the frame of mind mentioned above my friend wrote
the card. What happened? The

picture of his thoughts on the card, both on the physical
and the mental plane, flew in

every direction along the tatwic rays of the macrocosmic
prana and mind. A picture was

immediately made on the macrocosmic spheres, and from
thence it bent its rays towards

the destination of the postcard. No doubt all minds in
the earth received a shock of this

current of thought at the same time. But my mind alone
was sensitive to the card and the

news it contained. It was, therefore, on my mind alone
that any impression was made. The

rays were, as it were, refracted into my mind, and the
result described above followed.

It follows from this illustration that in order to
receive the pictorial rays of the prana we

must have a mind in a state of sympathy, and not of
antipathy; that is to say, a mind free

from all action or intense feeling for the time being is
the fittest receptacle for the pictorial

representations of the cosmos, and so for a correct
knowledge of the past and the future.

And if we have an intense desire to know the thing, so
much the better for us. It is in this

way that the divine occultist reads the records of the
past in the book of nature, and it is on

this road that the beginner of this science must walk
according to the direction of our

Guru.

It must be understood that everything in every aspect
that has been or is being n our planet

has a legible record in the book of nature, and the
tatwic rays of the prana and the mind are

constantly bringing the outlines of these pictures back
to us. It is to a great extent due to

this that the past never leaves us, but always lives
within us, although many of its most

magnificent monuments have been forever effaced from the
face of our planet for the

ordinary gaze. These returning rays are always inclined
toward the center that originally

gave them birth. In the case of the mineral surroundings
of terrestrial phenomena these

centers are preserved intact for ages upon ages, and it
is quite possible for any sensitive

mind, at any time, to turn these rays towards itself by
coming into contact with any

material remains of historic phenomena. A stone unearthed
at Pompeii is pictured as part

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

of the great event that destroyed the city, and the rays
of that picture naturally are inclined

towards that piece of stone. If Mrs. Denton puts the
stone to her forehead, a sympathetic

and receptive condition is the only pre-requisite for the
transference of the whole picture to

her mind. This sympathetic state of mind may be natural
to a person, or it may be acquired.

It may be mentioned that what we are in the habit of
calling natural powers are really

acquired, but they have been acquired in previous
incarnations. Shiva says:

There are some to whom the tatwas become known,
when the mind is purified by

habituation, either by the acquired velocity of other
births or by the kindness of the Guru.

It seems that two pieces of granite, the same to all
intents and purposes externally, may

have an entirely different tatwic color, for the color of
a thing depends to a very great

extent upon its tatwic surrounding. It is this occult
color that constitutes the real soul of

things, although the reader must by this time know that
the Sanskrit word prana is more

appropriate.

It is no myth to say that the practiced yogi might bring
the picture of any part of the world,

past or present, before his minds eye with a single
effort of his will. And not only visual

pictures, as our illustration might lead the reader to
think. The preservation and formation

of visual pictures is only the work of the luminiferous
ether, the taijas tatwa. The other

tatwas perform their functions as well. The akasa or
soniferous ether preserves all the

sounds that have ever been heard or are being heard on
earth, and similarly the remaining

three other preserve the records of the remaining
sensations. We see, therefore, that

combining all these pictures, a yogi in contemplation
might have before his minds eye any

man at any distance whatsoever and might hear his voice
also. Glyndon, in Italy, seeing

and hearing the conversation of Viola and Zanoni in their
distant home, is therefore not

merely a dream of the poet; it is a scientific reality.
The only thing necessary is to have a

sympathetic mind. The phenomena of mental telepathy,
psychometry, clairvoyance and

clairaudience, are all phases of this tatwic action. Once
understood, it is all a very simple

affair. It may be useful in this place to offer some
reflections as to how these pictorial

representations of a mans present go to shape his
future. I shall first attempt to show how

complete the record is. At the outset I may remind the
reader of what I have said about the

tatwic color of everything. It is this that gives
individuality even to a piece of stone.

This pictorial whole is only the cosmic counterpart of
the individual prana maya kosha

(the coil of life). It is possible that anyone who may
not have thoroughly understood the

manner of the storing up of tatwic energy in the
individual prana may more easily

comprehend the phenomena in its cosmic counterpart. In
fact, the macrocosmic and

microcosmic phenomena are both links of the same chain,
and both will conduce to the

thorough understanding of the whole. Suppose a man stands
on a mountain, with the finest

prospect of nature stretched out before his eyes. As he
stands there contemplating this

wealth of beauty, his picture in this posture is at once
made in the ecliptic. Not only is his

external; appearance pictured, but the hue of is life
receives the fullest representation. If

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the agni tatwa prevails in him at that moment, if there
is the light of satisfaction in his face,

if the look in his eyes is calm, collected and pleasant,
if he is so much absorbed in the gaze

as to forget everything else, tatwas separate or in
composite will do their duty, and all the

satisfaction, calmness, pleasure, attention or
inattention will be represented to the finest

degree in the sphere of the ecliptic. If he walks or
runs, comes down or jumps up or

forward, the tatwic rays of prana picture the generating
and the generated colors with the

utmost faithfulness in the same retentive sphere.

A man stands with a weapon in his hand, with the look of
cruelty in his eye, with the glow

of inhumanity in his veins, his victim, man or animal,
helpless or struggling before him.

The whole phenomenon is instantly recorded. There stands
the murderer and the victim in

their truest possible colors, there is the solitary room
or the jungle, the dirty shed or the

filthy slaughterhouse; all are there as surely and
certainly as they are in the eye of the

murderer r the victim himself.

Let us again change the scene. We have a liar before us.
He tells a lie, and thereby injures

some brother man. No sooner is the word uttered than the
akasa sets to work with all

possible activity. There we have the most faithful
representation. The liar is there from the

reflection that the thought if the injured person throws
into the individual prana; there is

the injured man also. The words are there with all the
energy of the contemplated wrong.

And if that contemplated wrong is completed, there is
also the change for the worse that

his mendacity has produced in the victim. There is
nothing of the surroundings, the

antecedent and the consequent postures the causes
and effects that is not represented

there.

The scene changes, and we come to a thief. Let the night
be as dark as it may, let the thief

be a circumspect and wary as he can; our picture is there
with all its colors well defined,

though perhaps not so prominent. The time, the house, the
wall, the sleeping and injured

inmates, the stolen property, the subsequent day, the
sorrowful householders, with all the

antecedent and consequent postures, are pictured. And
this is not only for the murderer, the

thief, or the liar, but for the adulterer, the forger,
the villain who thinks his crime is hidden

from every human eye. Their deeds, like all deeds that
have ever been done, are vividly,

clearly, exactly recorded in natures picture
gallery. Instances might be multiplied, but it is

unnecessary. What has been said is sufficient to explain
the principle, and the application

is useful and not very difficult. But now we must bring
our pictures back from our gallery.

We have seen that time and space and all the possible
factors of a phenomenon receive an

accurate representation there, and these tatwic rays are
united to the time that saw them

leaving their record on the plane of our pictorial
region. When, in the course of ages, the

same Time throws its shade again upon the earth, the
pictorial rays, stored up long since,

energize man-producing matter, and shape it according to
their own potential energy,

which now begins to become active. It will be readily
conceded that the sun dives life to

the earth to men as well as to vegetables and
minerals. Solar life takes human shape in

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the womb of the mother, and this is only an infusion of
some one set of our pictorial rays

into the sympathetic life that already shows itself on
our planet. These rays thus produce

for themselves a gross human body in the womb of the
mother, and then having the now

somewhat different and differing maternal body, start on
their terrestrial journey. As time

advances, the pictorial representation changes it tatwic
postures, and with it the gross body

does the same.

In the case of the rebirth of the man we saw gazing on
the mountains, the calm, watchful,

contented attitude of the mind that he cultivated then
has its influence upon the organism

now, and once more the man enjoys the beauty of nature
and so is pleased and happy.

But now take the case of the cruel murderer. He is by
nature cruel, and he still yearns to

murder and destroy, and he could not be restrained from
his horrible practices; but the

picture of the ebbing life of his victim is now part and
parcel of his constitution, the pain,

the terror, and the feeling of despair and helplessness
are there in all their strength.

Occasionally he feels as if the blood of life were
leaving his very veins. There is no

apparent cause, and yet he suffers pain; he is subject to
unaccountable fits of terror, despair

and helplessness. His life is miserable; slowly but
surely it wanes away.

Let the curtain fall on this stage. The incarnated thief
now comes on the stage. His friends

leave him one by one or he is driven away from them. The
picture of the lonely house must

assert its power over him. He is doomed to a lonely
house. The picture of somebody

coming into the house through some unfrequented part and
stealing some of his property,

makes its appearance with the fullest strength. The man
is doomed to eternal cowardice.

He draws towards himself the same grief and heart-rending
that he caused to others long

ago. This posture of heart-rending grief has its
influence upon him in the ordinary way,

and it creates its surrounding under the same
influence.

These illustrations are sufficient to explain the law
according to which these cosmic

pictures govern our future lives. Whatever other sins may
be committed under the

innumerable circumstance of life, their tatwic effects
can be traced easily through the

pictorial representations of the cosmos.

It is not difficult to understand that the picture of
each individual organism upon the face

of the earth is pictured in prana, and it is these
pictures, in my opinion, that correspond to

the ideas of Plato on the highest plane of existence. A
very interesting question arises at

this point. Are these pictures of eternal existence, or
do they only come into existence after

formations have taken place on the terrestrial plane? Ex
nihilo nihil fit is a well-known

doctrine of philosophy, and I hold with Vyasa that the
representations (what we now call

pictures) of all objects in their generic, specific, and
individual capacities have been

existing forever in the universal mind. Swara, or what
may be called the Breath of God,

the Breath of Life, is nothing more or less than abstract
intelligence, as has been explained,

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

or intelligent motion, if such an expression is better
understood. Our book says:

In the swara are pictured, or represented, the
Vedas and the Sastras, in the swara the

highest Gandharvas, and in the swara all the three
worlds; the swara is atma itself.

It is not necessary to enter more thoroughly into a
discussion of this problem; the

suggestion is sufficient. It might be said, however, that
all formation in progress on the

face of our planet is the assuming by everything under
the influence of solar ideas of the

shape of these ideas. The process is quite similar to the
process of wet earth taking

impressions of anything that is pressed upon it. The idea
of anything is its soul.

Human souls (prana maya kosha) exist in this sphere just
like the souls of other things, and

are affected in that home of theirs by terrestrial
experience in the manner mentioned above.

In the course of ages, these ideas make their appearance
in the physical plane again and

again, according to the laws hinted at previously.

I have also said that these pictures have their
counterparts in the mental and the higher

atmospheres. Now it might be said that just as these
solar pictures recur again and again,

there are times at which these mental pictures also
recur. The ordinary deaths known to us

are terrestrial deaths. This means to say that the
influence of the solar pictures is

withdrawn for some time from the earth. After some time,
the duration depending upon the

colors of the picture, they throw their influence again
upon the earth, and we have

terrestrial rebirth. We may die any number of terrestrial
deaths, and yet our solar life might

not be extinct.

But men of the present manwantara might die solar deaths
under certain circumstances.

Then they pass out of the influence of the sun and are
born again only in the region of the

second Manu. Men who now die solar deaths will remain in
the state of bliss all through

the present manwantara. Their rebirth might also be
delayed for more than one

manwantara. All these pictures remain in the bosom of
Manu during the

manwantarapralaya. In the same way, men might undergo
higher deaths, and pass their

time in a state of even higher and more enduring bliss.
The mental coil may be broken, too,

just as the gross, the terrestrial, and the solar might
be, and then the blessed soul remains in

bliss and unborn until the dawn of the second day of
Brahma. Higher still and longer still

is the state that follows Brahmic death. Then the spirit
is at rest for the remaining Kalpa

and the Mahapralaya that follows. After this it will be
easy to understand the meaning of

the Hindu doctrine, that during the night of Brahma the
human soul and the whole of the

universe is hidden in the bosom of Brahma like the tree
in the seed.

XI. The Manifestations of Psychic Force ~

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Psychic Force is the form of matter known as vijnana in
active connection with the mental

and life matters. In the quotation given above from the
Ishnopnishat, it has been said that

the deva the macrocosmic and microcosmic
manifestations of prana do not reach the

atma, inasmuch as it moves faster than even the mind. The
tatwas of prana move with a

certain momentum. The mind has greater velocity, and
psychic matter greater still. In the

presence of the higher, the lower plane always appears to
be at rest, and is always

amenable to its influence. Creation is a manifestation of
the various macrocosmic spheres

with their various centers. In each of these spheres
the prana, the manas, and the vijnana

the universal tatwic rays give birth to
innumerable individualities on their own planes.

Each truti on the plane of prana is a life-coil (prana
maya kosha). The rays that give

existence to each of these truti come from each and all
of the other truti, which are situated

in the space allotted to each of the five tatwas and
their innumerable admixtures, and

which represent therefore all the possible tatwic
manifestations of life.

On the plane of manas each mental truti represents an
individual mind. Each individual

mind is given birth to by mental tatwic rays from the
other quarter. These rays came from

all the other truti situated under the dominion of each
of the five tatwas and their

innumerable admixtures and representing therefore all the
possible tatwic phases of mental

life.

On the psychic plane, each truti represents an individual
soul brought into existence by the

psychic tatwas flying from every point to every other
point. These rays come from every

truti situated under the dominion of each of the five
tatwas and their innumerable

admixtures, and thus representing all the possible
manifestations of psychic life.

The latter class of truti on the various planes of
existence are the so-called gods and

goddesses. The former class are coils that manifest
themselves in earthly life.

Each psychic truti is thus a little reservoir of every
possible tatwic phase of life that might

manifest itself on the lower planes of existence. And so,
sending its rays downward just

like the sun, these truti manifest themselves in the
truti of the lower planes. According to

the prevalent phase of tatwic color in these three sets
of truti, the vijana (psychic) selects

its mind, the mind selects its coil, and in the end the
life-coil creates its habitation in the

earth.

The first function of the individual truti vijana is to
sustain in the life of the mental truti

just as the macrocosmic vijana sustains the life of the
macrocosmic mind. And so also does

the mental truti sustain the life of the individual truti
of prana. In this state, the souls are

conscious only of their subjectivity with reference to
the mind and the prana. They know

that they sustain the lower truti, they know themselves,
they know all the other psychic

truti, and they know the whole of the macrocosm of
Iswara, the tatwic rays reflecting

every point into their indvidual consciousness. They are
omniscient; they are perfectly

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

happy because they are perfectly balanced.

When the prana maya kosha enters the habitation of earth,
the soul is assailed by finitude

for the first time. This means a curtailment, or rather
the creation of a new curtailed

consciousness. For long ages the soul takes no note of
these finite sensations, but as the

impressions gain greater and greater strength they are
deluded into a belief of identity with

these finite impressions. From absolute subjectivity
consciousness is transferred to relative

passivity. A new world of appearances is created. This is
their fall. How these sensations

and perceptions, etc., are born, and how they affect the
soul, already has been discussed.

How the soul is awakened out of this forgetfulness and
what it does then to liberate itself

will come further on.

It will be seen at this stage that the soul lives two
lives, an active and a passive. In the

active capacity it goes on governing and sustaining the
substantial life of the lower truti. In

the passive capacity it forgets itself and deludes itself
into identity with the changes of the

lower truti imprinted upon them by the external tatwas.
The consciousness is transferred to

finite phases.

The whole fight of the soul upon reawakening consists in
the attempt to do away with its

passive capacity and regain this pristine purity. This
fight is yoga, and the powers that

yoga evokes in the mind and the prana are nothing more
than tatwic manifestations of the

psychic force, calculated to destroy the power of the
external world on the soul. This

constant change of phase in the new unreal finite coils
of existence is the upward march of

the life current from the beginnings of relative
consciousness to the original absolute state.

There is no difficulty in understanding the how of these
manifestations. They are there in

the psychic reservoir, and they simply show themselves
when the lower trutis assume the

state of sympathetic polish and tatwic inclination. Thus
the spectrum only shows itself

when certain objects assume the polish and form of a
prism.

Ordinarily the psychic force does not manifest itself
either in the prana or the mind in any

uncommon phase. Humanity progresses as a whole, and
whatever manifestations of this

force take place, they take in races as a whole. Finite
minds are therefore slow to recognize

it.

But all the individuals of a race do not have the same
strength of tatwic phase. Some show

greater sympathy with the psychic force in one or more of
its component tatwic phases.

Such organisms are called mediums. In them the particular
tatwic phase of psychic force

with which they are in greater sympathy than the rest of
their mind, makes its uncommon

appearance. This difference of individual sympathy is
caused by a difference of degree in

the commissions and omission of different individuals, or
by the practice of yoga.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

In this way, this psychic force might manifest itself in
the shape of all the innumerable

possibilities of tatwic combination. So far as theory is
concerned, these manifestations

might cover the whole domain of tatwic manifestations in
the visible macrocosm (and also

in the invisible, which, however, we do not know). These
manifestations may violate all

our present notions of time and space, cause and effect,
force and matter. Intelligently

utilized, this force might very well perform the
functions of the vril of The Coming

Race. The following essays will trace some of these
manifestations on the plane of the

mind.

XII. Yoga — The Soul (I) ~

I have described two principles of the human
constitution: prana and manas. Something

also has been said about the nature and relations of the
soul. The gross body was omitted

as needing no special handling.

The five manifestations of each of the two principles
(the prana and the manas), it may be

mentioned, may be either fortunate or unfortunate. Those
manifestations are fortunate

which are consonant with our true culture, which lead us
to our highest spiritual

development, the summum bonum of humanity. Those that
keep us chained to the sphere of

recurring births and deaths may be called unfortunate. On
each of the two planes of life

(prana and manas) there is a possibility of double
existence. We might have a fortunate

and an unfortunate prana, a happy and an unhappy mind.
Considering these two to be four,

the number of principles of the human constitution might
be raised from five to seven. The

unhappy intelligences of the one plane ally themselves
with the unhappy ones of the other,

the happy ones with the happy, and we have in the human
constitution an arrangement of

principles something like the following:

(1) The gross body (sthula sarira), (2) the unhappy
prana, (3) the unhappy mind, (4) the

happy prana, (5) the happy mind, (6) the soul (vijana),
and (7) the spirit (ananda).

The fundamental division in the fivefold division is
upadhi, the particular and distinct state

of matter (prakriti) in each case; in the sevenfold
division it is the nature of Karma with

reference to its effect upon human evolution.

Both the sets of these powers, the blessed and the
unhappy, work upon the same plane, and

although the blessed manifestations tend in the long run
towards the state of moksha, that

state is not reached unless and until the higher powers
(the siddhi) are induced in the mind

by the exercise of yoga. Yoga is a power of the soul.
Therefore it is necessary to say

something about the soul and Yoga before the higher
powers of the mind can be

intelligibly described. Yoga is the science of human
culture in the highest sense of the

word. Its purpose is the purification and strengthening
of the mind. By its exercise is filled

with high aspirations, and acquires divine powers, while
the unhappy tendencies die out.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The second and third principles are burnt up by the fire
of divine knowledge, and the state

of what is called salvation in life is attained. By and
bye the fourth principle too becomes

neutralized, and the soul passes into a state of
manwantaric moksha. The soul may pass

higher still according to the strength of her exercise.
When the mind too is at rest, as in

sound sleep (sushupti) during life, the omniscience of
the vijnana is reached. There is still

a higher state: the state of ananda. Such are the results
of yoga. I must now describe the

nature of the thing and the process of acquirement.

So far as the nature of Yoga is concerned, I may say that
mankind has reached its present

state of development by the exercise of this great power.
Nature herself is a great Yogi, and

humanity has been, and is being, purified into perfection
by the exercise of her sleepless

will. Man need only imitate the great teacher to shorten
the road to perfection for his

individual self. How are we to render ourselves fit for
that great imitation? What are the

steps on the great ladder of perfection? These things
have been discovered for us by the

great sages of yore, and Patanjalis little book is
only a short and suggestive transcript of

so much of our past experiences and future potentialities
as is recorded in the book of

nature. This little book uses the word Yoga in a double
signification. The first is a state of

the mind otherwise called samadhi; the second is a set of
acts and observances that induce

that state in the mind. The definition given by the sage
is a negative one, and is applicable

only on the plane of the mind. The source of the positive
power lies in the higher principle;

the soul Yoga (it is said) is the keeping in check of the
five manifestations of the mind. The

very wording of the definition is involved in the
supposition of the existence of a power

that can control and keep the mental manifestations in
check. This power is familiar to us

as freedom of the will. Although the soul is deluded by
the manifestations of egoism

(asmita) on the mental plane into regarding herself as a
slave of the second and third

principles, that is not the fact, and the awakening takes
place as soon as the chord of

egoism is slackened to a certain extent. This is the
first step in the initiation by nature

herself of the race of man. It is a matter of necessity.
The side-by-side working with each

other of the second and third and the fourth and fifth
principles weakens the hold of natural

mental asmita upon the soul. I am these, or of
these mental manifestations, says Egoism.

Such a state of affairs, however, cannot last long. These
manifestations are double in

nature; the one is just the reverse of the other. Which
of them is one with the ego: the

unhappy or the blessed? No sooner is this question asked
than the awakening takes place.

It is impossible to answer any of these questions in the
affirmative, and the soul naturally

ends in discovering that she is a separate thing from the
mind, and that although she has

been the slave, she might be (what she naturally is) the
Lord of the mind. Up to this time

the soul has been tossed this way or that in obedience to
the tatwic vibrations of the mind.

Her blind sympathy with the mental manifestations gives
her unison with the mind, and

hence the tossing. The chord of sympathy is loosened by
the waking. The stronger the

nature, the greater the departure from unison. Instead of
the soul being tossed by the

mental vibrations, it is now time that the mind should
vibrate in obedience to the vibrations

of the soul. This assumption of lordship is the freedom
of the will, and this obedience of

the mind to the vibrations of the soul is Yoga. The
manifestations evoked in the mind by

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the external tatwas must now give way to the stronger
motion coming from the soul. By

and bye the mental colors change their very nature, and
the mind comes to coincide with

the soul. In other words, the individual mental principle
is neutralized, and the soul is free

in her omniscience.

Let us now trace the acquirements of the mind step by
step up to samadhi.

Samadhi, or the mental state induced by the practice of
Yoga, has two descriptions. As

long as the mind is not perfectly absorbed in the soul
the state is called samprajnata. That

is the state in which the discovery of new truths follows
labor in every department of

nature. The second is the state of perfect mental
absorption. It is called asamprajnata. In

this there is no knowing, no discovering of unknown
things. It is a state of intuitive

omniscience. Two questions are naturally suggested at the
awakening stage:

If I am these manifestations, which of them am I? I
think I am none of them. What am I

then? What are these?

The second question is solved in the samprajnata samadhi,
the first in the other. Before

entering further into the nature of samadhi, a word about
habituation and apathy. These

two are mentioned by Patanjali as the two means of
checking mental manifestation, and it

is very important to understand them thoroughly The
manifestation of apathy is the

reflection in the mind of the color of the soul when she
becomes aware of her free nature

and consequently is disgusted at the mastery of the
passions. It is a necessary consequence

of the awakening. Habituation is the repetition of the
state so as to confirm it in the mind.

The confirmation of the mind in this state means a state
of ordinary mental inactivity. By

this I mean that the five ordinary manifestations are at
rest for the first time. This being so,

the mind is for the time being left free to receive any
influences. Here for the first time we

see the influence of the soul in the shape of curiosity
(Vitarka). What is this? What is that?

How is this? How is that? This is the form in which
curiosity shows itself in the mind.

Curiosity is a desire to know, and a question is a
manifestation of such a desire. But how

does man become familiar with questions? The mental shape
of curiosity and question will

be understood easily by paying a little attention to the
remarks I have made on the genesis

of desire. The process of the birth of philosophical
curiosity is similar to that of the birth of

desire. In the latter the impulse comes from the external
world through Prana, and in the

former, directly from the soul. The place of pleasure in
this is supplied by the reflection

into the mind of the knowledge of the soul that self and
independence are better than nonself

and the enslaving cords thereof. The strength of the
philosophical curiosity depends

upon the strength of this reflection, and as this
reflection is rather faint in the beginning (as

it generally is in the present state of the spiritual
development), the hold of philosophical

curiosity upon the mind bears almost no comparison in
strength with the hold of desire.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Philosophical curiosity is then the first step of mental
ascent towards Yoga. To begin with,

we place before our mind every possible manifestation of
nature, and try to fit in every

possible phase of it with every related manifestation. In
plain language, it is to apply

ourselves to the investigation of all the branches of
natural science one by one.

This is the natural result of curiosity. By this attempt
to discover the relations already

existing or possible, essential or potential, among the
phenomena of nature, another power

is induced in the mind. Patanjali calls this power
vichara, meditation. The radical idea of

the word is to go among the various relations of the
portions that make up the whole

subject of our contemplation. It is only a deeper hold on
the mind of the philosophical

curiosity noticed above. The third state of this samadhi
is what is called ananda, happiness

or bliss. As long as there is curiosity or meditation,
the mind is only assuming the

consistency of the soul. This means to say that as yet
the vibrations of the soul are only

making way into the mind; they have not yet entirely
succeeded. When the third stage is

arrived at, however, the mind is sufficiently polished to
receive the full and clear image of

the sixth coil. The mind is conscious of this image as
bliss. Every man who has devoted

himself to the study of nature has been in that coveted
state for however short a time. It is

very difficult to make it intelligible by description,
but I am sure that the majority of my

readers are not strangers to it.

But whence does this bliss come? What is it? I have
called it a reflection of the soul. But

first of all, what is the soul? From what I have written
up to this time, the reader will no

doubt surmise that I understand the soul to be only a
picture of the gross body, the prana,

and the mind, so far only as its constitution is
concerned.

I have mentioned that in the macrocosm the sun is in the
center, the prana the atmosphere

of the second principle, and that the ecliptic marks the
shape of this principle. I have also

mentioned that the individual human principle is only a
picture of this macrocosmic whole.

I have mentioned again that in the macrocosm virat is the
center and manu the atmosphere

of second principle. This atmosphere is made of the five
universal tatwas, just like prana,

the only difference being that the mental tatwas undergo
a greater number of vibrations per

second than the tatwas of prana. I have also said that
the individual mind is an exact

picture of the macrocosmic mind, the aspect differing
with the surroundings of time, just as

in the case of prana.

Now I have to say the same with regard to the soul. In
the macrocosm there is Brahma for

the center, and vijana for the atmosphere of this
principle. As the earth moves in prana, as

the sun moves in manu, as the manu (or virat) breathes in
vijana, so the soul breathes in

the highest atmosphere of ananda. Brahma is the center of
spiritual life, as the sun is the

center of prana, and virat the center of mental life.
These centers are similar in luminosity

to the sun, but ordinary senses cannot perceive them
because the number of tatwic

vibrations per second is beyond their power.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

The soul of the universe (the vijana maya kosha), with
Brahma for its center, is our

psychic ideal.

The tatwic wires of this sphere extend over what we call
a Brahmanda. This they do in a

way similar to the tatwic rays of prana with which we are
familiar through the medium of

gross matter. This center with this universe forms the
self-conscious universe. All the

lower centers exist within the bosom of this
atmosphere.

Under the influence of gross matter the mental macrocosm
registers the external pictures;

that is to say, it gains the power of manifesting itself
in the five ways I have described in

the essay on mind. Under the Brahma, however, the mental
macrocosm (Manu) attains the

higher powers under discussion. This double influence
changes, after a time, the nature of

Manu itself. The universe has, as it were, a new mind
after every manwantara. This

change is always for the better. The mind is ever
spiritualizing. The later the Manu the

more spiritual. A time will come when the present
macrocosmic mind will be entirely

absorbed into the soul. The same is the case with the
microcosm of man. Thus Brahma is

by nature omniscient. He is conscious of a self. The
types of everything that was or is to be

in the process of time are but so many varying
compositions of his tatwas. Every phase of

the universe, with its antecedents and consequents, is in
him. It is himself, his own selfconsciousness.

One mind is absorbed in him in the space of fourteen
manwantara. The

motion of the mental tatwas is so much accelerated that
they become spiritual. By the time

that this takes place in the Universe the vibrations of
the tatwas of prana too are being

accelerated under the influence of Manu until the prana
itself is turned into the Manu of

the next period. And again, while this is being done, the
gross matter is similarly

developing itself into prana.

This is the process of involution, but for the present
let us leave it here and resume the

subject.

The human soul is an exact picture of this macrocosmic
principle. It is omniscient like its

prototype, and has the same constitution. But the
omniscience of the human soul is yet

latent on account of her forgetfulness. The sixth
principle (absolute) has developed only a

little. Humanity in general has only a very dim notion of
infinity, of Godhead, and of all

such subjects. This means that the rays of the infinite
are only just evoking our sixth

principle into active life at this stage of our progress.
When in the process of time the rays

of the infinite gather sufficient strength, our soul will
come out in her true light. We might

accelerate this process by vairagya (apathy), which gives
strength to Yoga, as we have

seen.

The means of strengthening Yoga deserve separate
consideration. Some of them help to

remove those influences and forces that are antagonistic
to progress; others, such as the

contemplation of the divine principle, accelerate the
process of development of the human

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

soul, and the consequent absorption of the mind in the
soul. At present I have simply to

discover the nature of the blissful samadhi, which I
spoke of as being caused by the

reflection of the soul in the mind.

This reflection simply means the assumption by the mind
of the state of the soul. The mind

passes from its own ordinary state to the state of the
higher energy of the soul. The greater

number of tatwic vibrations per second make their way in
the matter of a lower number of

tatwic vibrations per second. The English language
recognizes this rising up of the mind,

this passing out of itself, as elation, and this is the
meaning of the word ananda as

qualifying the third state of the samprajnata samadhi.
The ananda maya kosha takes its

name from its being the state of the highest upheaval.
Every moment of ananda is a step

towards the absorption of the mind as it changes its
nature, passing forever into a higher

state of consistency. That state which in ananda only
appeared in the moment of triumph

now becomes part and parcel of the mind. This
confirmation of the higher energy is known

by the name of Asmita, which may be translated by the
word egoism, but means making

part and parcel of self.

XIII. Yoga (II) ~

The object in view in this article is to mark the stages
along the road of mental matter to its

final absorption in the soul. In the last essay I brought
the mind to the state of samprajnata

samadhi. It is in this state that the mind acquires the
power of discovering new truths, and

seeing new combinations of things existent. As this state
has been attained in the long

cycle of bygone ages, man has acquired a knowledge of
science to its present stage of

development, and the attainment of this quantum of
knowledge has been the means of

raising our minds to our present pitch of perfection,
when we have learned to say that these

great powers are native to the human mind. As I have
shown, these powers have become

native to the mind only after long submission of the mind
to the influence of the soul.

By the constant exercise of this samadhi the mind learns
to incline towards those cosmic

influences that are in their very nature antagonistic to
those bad powers of our constitution

that check our progress. These powers tend to die out
naturally. The ultimate goal of this

march is that the state of mind when its manifestation
become entirely potential. The soul,

if she pleases, might propel them by her inherent power
into the domain of the actual, but

they lose all power to draw the soul after them.

When this state is reached, or when it is about to be
reached, certain powers begin to show

themselves in the mind, which in the present cycle are by
no means common. This state is

technically called paravairagya, or the Higher
Apathy.

The word vairagya usually is rendered into English as
apathy, and is looked upon with

disfavor by modern thinkers. This is, I believe, owing to
a misconception of the meaning

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

of the word. It is generally understood that misanthropy
is the only indication, or perhaps

the highest perfection, of this mental state. Nothing can
be further from the intention of

those sages who put vairagya down as the highest means of
the attainment of bliss.

Vairagya or apathy is defined by Vyasa in his commentary
on The Aphorisms of Yoga as

the final state of perfected knowledge. It is
that state in which the mind, coming to know

the real nature of things, would no longer be deluded
into false pleasure by the

manifestations of avidya. When this upward inclination
becomes confirmed, when this

habit of soaring towards the divine becomes second
nature, the name of paravairagya is

given to the complementary mental state.

This state is reached in many ways, and the road is
marked by many clearly defined stages.

One way is the practice of samprajnata samadhi. By the
constant practice of this samadhi,

to which the mind runs of itself when it once tastes the
bliss of the fourth stage of that

state, the mind is habituated to a state of faith in the
efficacy of the pursuit. This faith is

nothing more than a state of mental lucidity in which the
yet unknown truths of nature

begin to throw their shadows before them. The mind begins
to feel truth in any and every

place, and drawn by the taste of bliss (ananda), sets to
work out the process of its

evolution with greater and greater zeal. This faith has
been called Sraddha by Patanjali,

and he calls the consequent zeal Virya.

Confirmed in this zeal and working on, the manifestation
of memory comes in naturally.

This is a high state of evolution. Every truth becomes
present before the minds eye at the

slightest thought, and the four stages of samadhi make
their appearance again and again till

the mind becomes very nearly a mirror of Nature.

This corresponds to the state of paravairagya, which in
the second place would also be

attained by the contemplation of the High Prototype of
the Soul. This is the Iswara of

Ptanjali, the macrocosmic soul that remains forever in
that entitys soul of pristine purity.

It is this Iswara of that I have spoken as the
self-conscious universe.

This Iswara, as I conceive it, is only a macrocosmic
center, similar in nature to the sun,

though higher in function.

As the sun with his ocean of Prana is the prototype of
our life-principle, prana maya

kosha, so Iswara is the great prototype of our souls.
What is the sixth principle of not only

a phase of the existence of this great being prolonged as
a separate phase into the lower

principles, yet destined to emerge again into its own
true self? Just as I have shown that the

principles of life live in the sun after our terrestrial
death, to recur again and again into

actual life, so too the soul lives in the Iswara in a
similar fashion. We may look upon this

entity as being the group of all the liberated souls, but
at the same time we must remember

that the unliberated souls also are his undeveloped
reflections, destined in the long run to

attain their original state. It is therefore necessary to
assume the independent existence of

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Iswara, and of other souls in Iswara.

This macrocosmic psychic center, this ideal of the sixth
principle in man, is the great

reservoir of every actual force in the universe. He is
the true type of the perfection of the

human soul. The incidents of mental and physical
existence which, however perfect in

themselves, are to His more comprehensive nature mere
imperfections, find no place in

Him. There is no misery for Him the five
comprehensive miseries of Patanjali are

enumerated above for misery can arise only in the
retrograde process of the first

awakening of the mind, only being caused by sensation,
and the human sixth principle not

yet gaining sufficient strength in the process of time to
draw the mind towards itself and

out of the domain of the senses, to make it what its
prototype originally is, the rod of

dominion, and not as sensation has made it, the
instrument of slavery.

By this conemplation of the sixth principle of the
Universe, a sympathy is established

naturally between it and the human soul. That sympathy is
only necessary for the

Universal Tatwic Law to work with greater effect. The
human soul begins to be cleansed

of the dust of the world and in its turn affects the mind
in a similar way, and therein the

yogi becomes conscious of this influence by the
slackening of the fetters forged by

Prakriti, and a daily, hourly strengthening of heavenward
aspirations.

The human soul then begins to become a center of power
for its own little universe, just as

Iswara is the center of power in His universe. The
microcosm then becomes a perfect little

picture of the macrocosm. When perfection is attained,
all the mental and physiological

tatwas of the microcosm, and to a certain extent of the
surrounding world, become the

slaves of the soul. Whitherso it may incline, the tatwas
are at its back. He may will, and the

atmospheric Vayu tatwa, with any amount of strength he
pleases or is capable of centering,

will set in motion any piece of furniture within the
reach of his will. He may will, and at

the instant the apas tatwa will slake your thirst, cure
your fever, or in fact wash off the

germs of any disease. He may will, and any and every
tatwa on either of the lower planes

will do its work for him. These high powers do not wait
to come in all of a sudden, but

show themselves gradually, and according to the special
aptitudes in special forms.

But a description of these powers is not my present
business. My only purpose is to show

in what way, according to the universal law of nature, by
contemplation of the

macrocosmic sixth principle, that the human soul becomes
the means for the mind

attaining the state called paravairagya.

Besides these two, the author of The Aphorisms of Yoga
enumerates five more ways in

which the minds of those who are already by the power of
previous karma inclined

towards the divine, are seen to work out their way to the
sate of paravairagya.

This first way is the habituating of the mind to the
manifestations of pleasure, sympathy,

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

elation, and pity toward the comfortable, the miserable,
and the vicious respectively. Every

good man will tell us that the manifestation of joy at
the comfort of another is a high

virtue. Why, what harm is there in jealousy? I think no
other science except the philosophy

of the tatwas explains with any amount of satisfaction
the reason why of such questions.

We have seen that in a state of enjoyment, comfort,
pleasure, satisfaction, and the like, the

prithivi or the apas tatwa prevails in the prana and the
mind. It is evident that if we put our

minds in the same, we induce either of the two tatwas in
our life and mental principles.

What will be the result? A process of purification will
set in. Both the principles will being

to be cleansed of any trace of defect that the excess of
any remaining tatwas may have

given to our constitution.

All those physiological or mental causes that induce
inattention in the mind are removed.

Bodily distempers take their leave for they are the
result of the disturbance of the balance

of the physiological tatwas, and comfort, pleasure and
enjoyment are foreign to these. The

one induces the other. As the balance of the tatwas
brings comfort and enjoyment of life,

so the sense of comfort and enjoyment that colors our
prana and mind when we put

ourselves in sympathy with the comfortable, restores the
balance of our tatwas.

And when the balance of tatwas is restored, what remains?
Disinclination to work, doubt,

laziness and other feelings of that kind can no longer
stand, and the only result is the

restoration of the mind to perfect calmness. As Vyasa
says in his commentary, the White

Law makes its appearance in the mind. Such and in a
similar way is the result of the

manifestation of the other qualities. But for such a
result to beachieved, there must be long

and powerful application.

The next method is Pranayama, deep expiration and
inspiration. This too conduces to the

same end and in the same way. The drawing of deep breaths
in and out has to some extent

the same effect as running and other hard exercise. The
heat that is produced burns down

certain elements of disease, which if it desirable should
be burnt. But the practice in its

effects differs for the better from hard exercise. In
hard exercise the susumna begins to

play, and that is not good for physiological health.
Pranayama, if properly performed,

however, is beneficial from a physiological as well as
from a mental point of view. The

first effect that is produced in pranayama is the general
prevalence of the prithivi tatwa. It

is unnecessary to remind the reader that the apas tatwa
carries the breath lowest down, and

that the Prithivi is the next. In our attempt to draw
deeper breaths than usual, the prithivi

tatwa cannot but be introduced, and the general
prevalence of this tatwa, with the

consequent golden tinge of the circle of light round our
heads, can never fail to cause fixity

of purpose and strength of attention. The apas tatwa
comes in next. This is the silvery hue

of innocence that encircles the head of a saint and marks
the attainment of paravairagya.

The next is the attainment of the two-fold lucidity
the sensuous and the cardiac. The

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

sensuous lucidity is the power of the senses to perceive
the changes of prana. The

previously trained attention, according to special
aptitudes, is centered on any one of the

five senses or more. If centered in the eyes, one can see
the physiological and atmospheric

colors of prana. I can affirm this by personal
experience. I can see the various colors of the

seasons. I can see the rain coming an hour, two hours,
and sometimes even two days

before an actual shower. Bright sheets of the green
washed into coolness and purity by the

white make their appearance anywhere about me in
the room, in the heavens, on the table

before me, on the wall in front. When this happens, I am
sure that rain is in the air and will

come down soon. If the green is streaked with red, it
takes some time to come, but it is

surely preparing.

These remarks are enough for color. The power can be made
to show itself by a sustained

attempt to look into space, or anything else, as the
moon, a star, a jewel, and so on. The

remaining four senses also attain similar powers, and
sounds, smells, tastes and touches

that ordinary humanity cannot perceive begin to be
perceived by the Yogi.

The cardiac lucidity is the power of the mind to feel and
also that of the senses to perceive

thoughts. In the article on Prana, I have given a chart
of the head, specifying the places

and giving the colors of the various kinds of mental
manifestations. These colors are seen

by anyone who has or acquires the power, and they
constitute the surest book in which to

read the thoughts of any man. By sustained practice one
will recognize the finest shades.

One can also feel these thoughts. The modifications of
thought moving along the universal

tatwic wires affect any and every man. They each impart a
distinct impulse to the prana

maya kosha, and thus a distinguishable impulse to the
throbs of the brain and the more

easily perceivable throbs of the heart. A man who studies
these throbs of the heart and sits

with his attention centered into the heart (while it is
of course open to every influence)

learns to feel every influence there. The effect on the
heart of the mental modifications of

other people is a fact that, so far as quality is
concerned, may be verified by the

commonest experience.

This sensuous or cardiac lucidity, as the case may be,
once attained kills skepticism, and in

the end conduces to the state of paravairagya.

In the next place, says Patanjali, one may rely upon the
knowledge obtainable through

dreams and sleep. But this will do for the present.

XIV. Yoga The Soul (III) ~

The five ethereal currents of sensation are focused in
the brain, and motion is transmitted

to the mental principle from these five centers of force.
These various foci serve a

connecting links between the mental and the
life-principles. The visual currents produce in

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

the mind the capability of becoming conscious of color.
In other words, they produce eyes

in the mind. Similarly, the mind gets the capability of
receiving the impressions of the four

remaining sensations. This capability is acquired after
the exposure of ages. Cycles upon

cycles pass, and the mind is not yet capable of receiving
these tatwic vibrations. The wave

of life begins its organized journey upon earth with
vegetable forms. Since that time

external currents begin to affect the vegetable organism,
and this is the beginning of what

we call sensation. The modifications of the external
tatwas through the individualized

vegetable life strike the chords of the latent mind, but
it will not yet respond. It is not in

sympathy. Higher and higher through vegetable forms the
life-wave travels; greater and

greater is the force with which it strikes the mental
chords, and better and better is the

capability of that principle to respond to the tatwic
calls of life. When we reach the animal

kingdom the external tatwic foci are just visible. These
are the sensuous organs, each of

which has the capability of focusing its own peculiar
tatwic rays into itself. In the lowest

forms of animal life they are just visible, and this is a
sign that the mental principle is then

in a comparatively high state of perfection: it has begun
to respond somewhat to the

external tatwic call. It might be remarked here that this
is the superposed relative mind,

and not the absolute original mental truti, both of which
I have already described. It is the

uprising of this evolutionary finite structure on all the
planes of life that has led a German

philosopher to the conclusion that God is Becoming. This
is true of course, but it is only

true of the finite Universe of names and forms and not of
the absolute towards which it is

moving.

To resume: The exposure of this animal life to the
external tatwas is longer and longer, and

the strength becomes greater and greater in their various
foci, the formation of these foci

becomes higher and higher, the external call upon the
mind is stronger and stronger, and

the mental response is more and more perfect. A time
comes in the progress of this mental

evolution when the five mental senses are perfectly
developed, as is marked by the

development of the external senses. We call the action of
the five mental senses the

phenomenon of perception. On the manifestation of this
perception is raised the mighty

fabric of perception of those mental manifestations that
I have discussed in the essay on

Mind. The way in which this evolution takes place is
sketched there too.

The external tatwas of gross matter create gross foci in
a gross body from whence to send

their currents. The soul does the same. The tatwic
currents of the external soul, Iswara,

create similar centers of action in connection with the
mind. But the tatwic vibrations of

the soul are finer than those of the life-principle. The
mental matter takes a longer time to

respond to the call of Iswara than it does to answer to
the call of Prana. It is not till the lifewave

reaches humanity that the vibrations of the soul begin to
show themselves in the

mind. The foci of psychic currents are located in what is
called the vijnana maya kosha,

the psychic coil. At the time of the beginning of human
life, the psychic foci go on gaining

strength, race after race, till we reach the point that I
have called the awakening of the soul.

That process ends in the confirmation of the state of
paravairagya. From this state there

are only a few steps to the power of what has been called
ulterior or psychic perception.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Our former perception may now be called animal
perception. And just as the mighty fabric

of inference and verbal authority has been raised on the
basis of animal perception, a more

mighty fabric of inference and verbal authority has been
raised on the basis of psychic

perception by ancient Aryan sages. We shall come to that
by and bye.

As practice confirms the state of paravairagya in the
Yogis mind, it gets the most perfect

calm. It is open to all sorts of tatwic influences,
without any sensuous disturbance. The

next power that consequently shows itself is called
samapatti. I define this word as that

mental state in which it becomes capable of receiving the
reflection of the subjective and

the objective worlds, and the means of knowledge at the
slightest motion, however

imparted.

Intuition has four stages: (1) Sa vitarka, verbal, (2)
Nir vitarka, wordless, (3) Sa vichara,

meditative, (4) Nir vichara, ultra-meditative.

The state of intuition has been likened to a bright,
pure, transparent, colorless crystal. Place

whatever you will behind such a crystal, and it will show
itself in the color of that object.

And so does the mind behave in this state. Let the tatwic
rays that constitute the objective

world fall on it, and it shows itself in the colors of
the objective world. Remove these

colors, and it is again as pure as crystal, ready to show
in itself any other colors that might

be presented to it. Think of the elementary forces of
Nature, the tatwa, think of the gross

objects where they work, think of the organs of sense and
their genesis and the method of

their operations, think of the soul, liberated or bound,
and the mind readily falls into each

of these states. It retains no particular color that
might oppose or vitiate any other color

entering it. The first stage of intuition is verbal. It
is the most common in this age and

therefore the most easily intelligible. Let the reader
think of a mind in which no color is

evoked at the sound of scientific words. Let him think of
thousands of those men in whose

minds the sounds of their own language, full of high and
great ideas, is as strange as

Hebrew. Take an uneducated English peasant and teach him
to read Comus. Do you think

those beautiful words will carry to him all they are
intended to convey? But why an

uneducated peasant? Did the great Johnson himself
understand the beauties of Milton?

Take again a common schoolboy, and read to him in his own
language the truths of

philosophy. Does that language, even if you gave him its
lexicographic meaning, convey

any idea to his mind? Take the Upanishad, and read it to
any pandit who can understand

Sanskrit reasonably well. Does anyone doubt (I do not)
that he does not understand all that

those noble words convey? With such a mind, let him
compare the mind of a really

educated man, a mind that almost intuitively takes in the
true sense of words. To take in

the full sense that words are intended to convey is not
an easy task, even for the highly

educated. Prejudice, deep-seated antagonistic theories,
the strength of ones own

convictions, and perhaps some other characteristics of
the mind prove to be an

insurmountable obstacle. Even a John Stuart Mill could
not properly understand the

philosophy of Sir William Hamilton. One of the greatest
Oriental scholars says that

Patanjalis system is no philosophy at all! Another
has expressed himself to the effect that

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Patanjalis Aphorisms on Yoga are mere fanaticism!
There are many tantras of which,

though we might translate them into any language, very
few of us really know the

meaning. This is a very grave shortcoming, and sometimes
much to be regretted. It

disappears only with the manifestation of verbal
intuition. In this state the Yogi is at once

en rapport with the author of the book, and this is
because his mind is free from every

blinding prejudice, and is in fact a pure, bright,
colorless crystal, ready to show any phase

of color that might come in contact with it.

The next stage of intuition is wordless. In this you no
longer stand in need of books to

initiate yourself into the secrets of nature. Your mind
becomes capable of serving these

truths from their fountainhead: true pictures of
everything in every state of the objective

word which through the agency of prana are represented in
the universal mind, pictures

that are the souls of these things, their own true
selves, pregnant with every state in which

the thing has passed, or has to pass, the realities of
the various and varying phases of the

phenomenal world, the thing which in a table, a glass, a
pen, and in fact any and every

thing, is hard or soft, long or short, white or
black.

These state have for their object the gross phenomenal
world. The next two stages of

intuition have for their object the world of forces that
lies at the root of the changes of the

gross world, the world of subtle bodies. The meditative
intuition has for its object only the

present manifestation of the currents of the subtle body,
the forces that are already showing

or going to show themselves. In this state, for example,
the Yogi knows intuitively the

present forces of the atmospheric Prana as they are
gathering strength enough to give us a

shower of rain or snow, but he does not know what has
given them their present activity,

or whether the potential will ever become the actual, and
if yes, to what extent. He knows

the forces that are working at the present moment in that
tree, that horse, that man, the

powers that keep these things in the state they are in,
but he does not know the antecedents

and consequents of that state.

The next state has for its object all the three states of
subtle bodies. The present state is

know of course, but with it the Yogi draws in the whole
history of the object from

beginning to end. Place before him a rose, and he knows
its subtle principle in all this

states, antecedents and consequents. He is familiar with
the little beginnings of the bush

and its growth in various stages; he knows how the
budding began, how the bud opened,

and how it grows into a beautiful flower. He knows what
its end shall be, and when. Put

before him a closed letter, and he knows not only what
that letter contains, but he can trace

those thoughts to the brain whence they proceeded, to the
hand that wrote the letter, to the

room in which they were written, and so on. It is in this
state too that the mind knows

mind, without the medium of words.

These four states constitute what is called the objective
trance (savija samadhi).

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

Occasionally these powers show themselves in many minds.
But that simply shows that the

favored mortal is on the right track. He must make sure
of the point if he would win.

When the last stage of this samadhi is confirmed in the
mind, our psychic senses gain the

power of that amount of certain knowledge which is the
portion of our animal senses. The

authority of these senses is supreme with us, so far as
the gross world is concerned. In a

similar way there is no room left for us to doubt the
truth of the knowledge that our

psychic senses bring us. The high power of knowing every
supersensuous truth with

perfect certainty is known as Ritambhara, or psychic
perception.

The knowledge that psychic perception gives us is by no
means to be confounded with the

knowledge obtained through inference, imagination, or the
records of others experience.

Inference, imagination, and verbal authority, based on
animal perception, can only work

upon knowledge obtained through animal senses. But
psychic perception and inference

based upon that has for its object things of the
supersensuous world, the realities that

underlie the phenomenal existence with which we are
familiar. That perception takes in the

fact of the existence and the nature of Prakriti, the
most subtle state of matter, just as

animal perception takes in gross matter.

Animal perception draws the mind towards gross matter,
the world that has given it birth.

So does psychic perception draw the mind towards the
soul. The practice of objective

samadhi destroys itself. The mind takes in so much of the
higher energy of the soul that it

loses its mental consistency. Down goes the entire
structure of unreal names and forms.

The soul lives in herself, and not in the mind as
now.

With this the greater part of my work is done. It is now
clear that what we call man lives

chiefly in the mind. The mind has two entities to affect
it. The one is the life-principle, the

other the psychic principle, the once producing certain
changes in the mind from below,

the other from above. These changes have been recorded,
and it has been found that the

dominion of the soul is more desirable than that of the
life principle. When the mind loses

itself entirely in the soul, man becomes God.

The object of these essays has been roughly to portray
the nature, function and mutual

relation of the principles; in other words, to trace the
operation of the universal tatwic law

on all the planes of existence. This has been briefly
done. A good deal more remains to be

said about the powers latent in the Prana and the mind,
which show themselves in special

departments of the progress of man. That need not,
however, form part of the present

series, and therefore I close this series with some
description of the first and last principle

of the cosmos: the Spirit.

XV. The Spirit ~

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

This is the anandamaya kosha, literally the coil of bliss
of the Vedantins. With the power

of psychic perception, the soul knows the existence of
this entity, but in the present stage

of human development it has hardly made its presence
directly felt in the human

constitution. The characteristic difference between the
soul and the spirit is the absence of

the I in the latter.

It is the dawn of the day of evolution. It is the first
setting-in of the positive current of the

great breath. It is the first state of cosmic activity
after the night of Mahapralaya. As we

have seen, the breath in every state of existence has
three states: the positive, the negative,

and the susumna. The susumna is pregnant with either of
the two states. This is the state

that is described in the Parameshthi sukta of the Rig
Veda as neither Sat (positive) nor Asat

(negative). This is the primary state of parabrahma, in
which the whole universe lies

hidden like a tree in the seed. As billows rise and lose
themselves in an ocean, the two

states of evolution and involution take their rise in
this state, and in due time are lost in the

same. What is Prakriti itself in this state of potential
omnipotence? The phenomena of

Prakriti owe their origin and existence to the
modifications of the great breath. When that

great breath is in the state of susumna, can we not say
that Prakriti itself is held in that

state by susumna? It is in fact parabrahma that is all in
all. Prakriti is only the shadow of

that substance, and like a shadow it follows the
modifications of His great breath. The first

modification of the great breath is the setting in of the
evolutionary (positive) current) In

this state, Prakriti is ready to modify into the ethers
of the first degree, which make up the

atmosphere from which Iswara draws life. In the first
state of evolution, the Subject

(parabrahma) whose breath causes these modifications of
Prakriti, is known as Sat, the

fountainhead of all existence. The I is latent in this
state. Naturally enough, because it is

the differentiation that gives birth to the I. But what
is this state? Must man be annihilated

before he reaches this state of what from the standpoint
of man is called nirvana or

paranirvana? There is no reason to suppose that it is the
state of annihilation any more

than a certain amount of latent heat is annihilated in
water. The simple fact is that the color

that constitutes the ego becomes latent in the
spirits higher form of energy. It is a state of

consciousness or knowledge above self, not certainly
destroying it.

The individual spirit bears the same relation to the Sat
which the individual soul bears to

the Iswara, the individual mind to the Virat, and the
individual life-principle to the Prana.

Each center is given birth to by the tatwic rays of that
degree. Each is a drop in its own

ocean. The Upanishad explains this state under many
names. The Chhandogva, however,

has a very comprehensive dialogue on this subject between
Uddalaka and his son

Shwetakete.

Professor Max Muller has made some very questionable
remarks on certain assertions in

this dialogue, calling them more or less
fanciful. These remarks could never have fallen

from so learned a man had he known and understood
something of the ancient Science of

Breath and the Philosophy of the Tatwas. The Upanishad
can never be very intelligible

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

without this comprehensive science. It must be remembered
that the Upanishads

themselves have in many places clearly laid down that a
teacher is wanted for the proper

understanding of these divine words. Now the teacher
taught nothing else but the Science

of Breath, which is said to be the secret doctrine of all
secret doctrines. It is, in fact, the

key to all that is taught in the Upanishad. The little
book that tries to explain these essays

to the world appears from its very arrangement to be a
compilation of various couplets on

the same subject, inherited from various esoteric
circles. In fact, this handful of stanzas has

its chief value as a key to Aryan philosophy and occult
science, but even this little book

will hardly serve to dispel the gloom of ages.

To return, however, to the dialogue between the father
and the son: it is contained in the

sixth Prapathaka of the Chhandogya Upanishad.

In the beginning, my dear, there was only that
which is one only, without a second.

Others say in the beginning there was that only, which is
not one only, without a second,

and from which is not, that which is was born.

This is the translation of Professor max Muller.
Notwithstanding the authority of his great

name, and real scholarship, I venture to think that the
sense of the Upanishad is totally lost

sight of in this translation. The words of the original
are:

Sad eva saumyedamagre asit.”

I cannot find any word in the translation giving the
sense of the word idam in the original.

Idam means this, and it has been explained as
meaning the phenomenal world. This that

is perceived, etc. Therefore real translation of the text
would be:

This (world) was Sat alone in the
beginning.

Perhaps in the translation of Professor Muller the word
there is printed by mistake for

this. If this is the case, the defect in the
translation is at once cured.

The text means that the first state of the world before
differentiation was the state known

as Sat. From what comes afterwards, it appears that this
is the state of the Universe in

which all its phenomena, material, mental and psychic,
are held in posse. The word eva,

which in the translation stands for the word
alone or only, signifies that in
the

beginning of the Day of Evolution the universe had not
all the five, or even two or more of

the five planes of existence together. Now such is the
case, but in the beginning the Sat

existed alone.

The Sat is one only, without a second. There is no
qualification of time in these two

epithets. The Sat is one alone, not like the Prana, the
Virat, and Iswara, having all three

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

existing simultaneously, a shadowy side of existence.

The next sentence goes on to say that in the beginning
there was Asat alone. As Professor

Muller renders it, There [?] was that only
which is not.

Now this carries no meaning, notwithstanding the Greek
accompaniment. That the word

Asat is used in the sense of that which is
not or briefly nothing, there is no doubt.
But

there is also no doubt that such is not the meaning of
the Upanishad. The words are used

here in the same sense in which they are used in the
Nosad asit hymn of the Rigveda.

Then there was neither the Sat nor the
Asat.

This of course is a state quite other than the Sat of the
Upanishad. It is nothing more than

the susumna of the Brahmic breath. After this in the
beginning of evolution the Brahma

became Sat. This is the positive potential phase. The
Asat is nothing more than the cooler

negative life current that rules during the night of Maha
pralaya. When the shadowy

Prakriti has undergone the preparatory influence of the
negative current, the day of

evolution sets in with the beginning of the positive
current. The dispute as to beginning is

merely of a technical nature. In reality there is no
beginning. It is all a motion in the circle,

and from this point of view we may put whatever state we
like in the beginning.

But the Asat philosopher argues that unless the Maya
undergo the preparatory influence of

the Night, there can be no creation. Hence, according to
him, we must put Asat at the

beginning.

The sage Uddalaka would not consent to this. According to
him, the active impressive

force is in the Sat, the positive state, just as all the
life-forms take their origin from Prana

(the positive life matter) and not from Rayi (the
negative life matter) see the

Prasnopnishat. It is only impressibility that exists I
the Asat; the real names and forms of

the phenomenal Universe do not exist there. In fact, the
name Asat has been given to the

primary state of the evolving universe for this very
reason. If we would translate these two

words into English, we would have to coin two very unique
compounds: Sat (that-in-whichis)

and Asat (that-in-which-is-not).

It is only such a rendering that would carry the true
idea, and hence it is advisable to retain

the Sanskrit words and explain them as well as one
can.

That actually existing state in which the names and forms
do not exist cannot very properly

stand as the cause of the names and forms that do not
exist. Hence the Sat alone was in the

beginning, etc.

The individual spirit has the same relation to the Sat as
the soul has to the Iswara.

Rama Prasad: Nature’s Finer Forces & The Science of
Breath (Pranayama Yoga)

That will do for now. It is enough to show that there is
no annihilation anywhere in the

Universe. Nirvana simply means the enlightenment (which
is not extinction) of the

phenomenal rays.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

The Science of Breath & The Philosophy of the

Tatwas

(Translated from the Sanskrit)

1. The goddess said: My Lord Mahadeva, the god of gods,
be kind to me, and tell me the

wisdom that comprehends everything.

2. How did the universe come out? How does it go on? How
does it disappear? Tell me, O

Lord, the philosophy of the universe.

===

Notes ~ The god said; the goddess
said; said the god; said the
goddess. The whole

book is couched in the form of a dialogue between the god
Siva and his wife Parvati. All

the tantras have the same form. It is hardly consistent
with facts to hold that Siva and

Parvati were a human pair in some ancient period. The
former is generally spoken of in

this book as Iswara, the latter as Devi or Shakti.
Judging from its method of composition,

the book under notice does not seem to have been written
by Siva. In the first place, there

are several stanzas in the book that appear to be the
composition of different authors, but in

the present form by some compiler. Secondly, the author
says in one place that he was

going to describe certain experiments as he had seen them
in the Sivagama (The Teaching

of Siva). In the end of one ms., however, it si said that
the book comprises the eighth

chapter of Sivagama.

In the Kenopnishat the great commentator Shankaracharya
interprets Uma Haimvait

(another name of Parvati) as Brahma Vidya, the Divine
Science or Theosophia. There,

however, the goddess appears as a teacheress, and she
might well be interpreted as

Theosophia. That explanation will hardly hold good here.
Here Siva and Parvati seem to

be the male and female principles. They are the best
acquainted with their own workings.

The god, the male principle, explaining to Sakti, the
female principle, the various modes in

which the finer forces of nature imprint themselves upon
the grosser planes, might be the

symbol of the eternal impression of all thoughts and
living organisms into the Sakti (the

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

cooler matter rayi) by Siva, the hotter male
principle.

===

3. Said the god: The universe came out of tatwa or the
tatwas; it goes on by the

instrumentality of the tatwas; it disappears in the
tatwas; by the tatwas is known the nature

of the universe.

===

Notes ~ In the original the singular number is often used
to denote the common quality of

the five tatwas, that by which each is known as such.

The universe comprehends all the manifestations with
which we are familiar, either on the

physical, the mental, or the psychic plane. All of them
have come out of the tatwas. The

tatwas are the forces that lie at the root of all these
manifestations Creation, preservation,

and destruction, or more strictly speaking, appearance,
sustenance, and disappearance of

the phenomena with which we are acquainted are tatwic
changes of state.

===

4. Said the goddess: The Knowers of the tatwas have
ascertained the tatwa to be the

highest root; what, O God, is the nature of the tatwas?
Throw light upon the tatwas.

5. Said the god: Unmanifested, formless, one giver of
light is the great Power; from that

appeared the soniferous ether (akasa); from that had
birth the tangiferous ether.

===

Notes ~ This is the parabrahma of the Vedantins, the
first change of state that stands at the

top of evolution. This is the first positive phase of
life. All the Upanishads concur in this.

In the beginning all this was Sat (the positive phase of
Brahma). From this state the five

ethers (tatwas or mahabhutas as they are also called)
come out by degrees. From him

came the Akasa and so on, said the Upanishad. This
state of parabrahma is called in the

text Unmanifested. Manifestation for us only
begins with the Ego, the sixth principle

of our constitution; all beyond that is naturally
unmanifested, Formless. This epithet is

given because forms only show themselves when the tatwas
and the two states of matter,

the male and female, the hotter and the cooler, come into
existence. As yet there is only

one universal state of matter. Hence that state is also
given the epithet One.

He is also called the Giver of Light. This light is the
real life. It is this state that transmutes

into the five ethers that form the atmosphere of the
sixth principle of the universe.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

===

6. From the tangiferous ether, the luminiferous ether,
and from this the gustiferous ether;

from thence was the birth of the odiferous ether. These
are the five ethers and they have

five-fold extension.

7. Of these the universe came out; by these it goes on;
into these it disappears; even among

these it shows itself again.

8. The body is made of the five tatwas; the five tatwas,
O Fair One, exist therein in the

subtle form; they are known by the learned who devote
themselves to the tatwas.

===

Notes ~ The body, human as well as every other, is made
of the five tatwas in their gross

form. In this gross body play the five tatwas in their
subtle form. They govern it

physiologically, mentally, psychically and spiritually.
These are therefore the four subtle

forms of the tatwas.

===

9. On this account shall I speak of the rise of breath in
the body; by knowing the nature of

inspiration and expiration comes into being the knowledge
of the three times.

===

Notes ~ Man can devote himself most easily to his own
body. On this account the laws of

the rise of the breath in the body have been described
here.

Knowledge of the three times (the past, the present and
the future) is nothing more than a

scientific knowledge of the causes and effects of
phenomena. Know the present tatwic

state of things, know its antecedent and consequent
states, and you have a knowledge of

the three times.

===

10. This science of the rise of breath, the hidden of the
hidden, the shower of the true

Good, is a pearl on the head of the wise.

11. This knowledge is the subtle of the subtle; it is
easily understood; it causes the belief of

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

truth; it excites wonder in the world of unbelievers; it
is the support among unskeptical

people.

12. The science of the rise of breath is to be given to
the calm, the pure, the virtuous, the

firm and the grateful, single-minded devote of the
guru.

13. It is not to be given to the vicious, the impure, the
angry, the untruthful, the adulterer,

and him who has wasted his substance.

14. Hear, thou goddess, the wisdom which is found in the
body; omniscience is caused by

it, if well understood.

15. In the swara are the Vedas and the shastras; in the
swara the highest gandharva; in the

swara are all the three worlds; the swara is the
reflection of the parabrahma.

===

Notes ~ In the swara are the Vedas, etc.
Swara is the current of the life-wave. It is the

same as the intelligence of the Vedantins. The assertion
in this stanza might have two

meanings. It might mean that the things described in the
Vedas are in the swara, or it

might mean that the description itself is there. It might
mean that both are there. This is of

course an absolute fact. There is nothing in the
manifested universe that has not received

existence from the Great Breath, which is the Prana of
the universe on the highest plane of

life.

===

16. Without a knowledge of the breath (swara), the
astrologer is a hose without its lord, a

speaker without learning, a trunk without a head.

17. Whoever knows the analysis of the Nadis, and the
Prana, the analysis of the tatwa, and

the analysis of the conjunctive susumna gets
salvation.

18. It is always auspicious in the seen or the unseen
universe, when the power of breath is

mastered; they, O Fair One, that the knowledge of the
science of breath is somewhat

auspicious.

===

Notes ~ This stanza points to the difference between
practical and theoretical occultism.

The practice is highly auspicious, of course, but the
theory too puts us on the right track,

and therefore is somewhat auspicious.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

===

19. The parts and the first accumulations of the universe
were made by the swara, and the

swara is visible as the great Power, the Creator, and the
Destroyer.

===

Notes ~ For some reflections on this subject, the reader
is referred to the Essay on

Evolution.

===

20. A knowledge more secret than the science of Breath,
wealth more useful than the

science of Breath, a friend more true than the science of
breath, was never seen or heard of.

21. An enemy is killed during the power of the breath,
and also friends are brought

together; wealth is got during the power of breath, and
comfort and reputation during the

same.

===

Notes ~ Every phenomenon is nothing more than a phase of
tatwic motion.

===

22. On account of the force of breath one gets a female
child or meets a king; by the force

of breath are gods propitiated, and by the breath is a
king in anyones power.

23. Locomotion is caused by the power of breath, and food
too is taken by the power of

breath; urine and faeces also are discharged during the
power of breath.

24. All the Sastras and Purana, etc., beginning with the
Vedas and the Upanishads,

contain no principle beyond the knowledge of swara (the
breath).

25. All are names and forms. Among all these people
wander mistaken. They are fools

steeped in ignorance unless the tatwas are known.

===

Notes ~ All the phenomena f the universe are names and
forms. All these names and forms

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

live in the swara of parabrahma, or comparatively in the
subtler tatwas. But there nothing

is distinguishable. They are only distinguished as such
when they are imprinted upon the

grosser planes. The impression takes place by the
instrumentality of Rayi, the cooler state

of life-matter, which is only the shade of Prana, the
original state. Hence the names and

forms are all unreal.

===

26. This science of the rise of breath is the highest of
all the high sciences; it is a flame for

illuminating the mansion of the soul.

27. The knowledge cannot be imparted to this man or that
man except in answer to a

question; it is therefore to be known by ones own
exertions in the soul, by the soul, and

soul alone.

===

Notes ~ This is the celebrated dictum, Know thyself
by thyself, which differs from the

Greek one in the addition of the last two words.

===

28. Neither the lunar day, nor the constellations, nor
the solar day, nor planet, nor god;

neither rain nor the Vyatipata, nor the conjunctions
Vaidhrita, etc.

===

Notes ~ These are all of them the various phases of the
five different tatwic states. They

have a natural effect upon the terrestrial life. The
effect differs with the thing influenced.

The rays of the tatwic state of time will only be
reflected into any organism if the

reflecting surface is akin. The yogi who has power over
his breath can put it into any tatwic

state he chooses, and the antagonistic effect of time are
simply thrown off.

===

29. Nor the bad conjunctions, goddess, ever have power;
when one gets the pure power of

swara, everything has good effect.

30. In the body are the Nadi having many forms and well
extended; they ought to be

known in the body by the wise, for the sake of
knowledge.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

31. Branching off from the root in the navel, 72,000 of
them extend in the body.

===

Notes ~ The Yogi takes the navel to be the starting point
of the system of Nadi. So says

Patanjali, the great Yogi philosopher:

The systems of the body are known by concentration
on the navel.

The Vedantins take the heart to be the starting point of
the system. The former assign as

the reason, the existence in the navel of the Power
Kundalini, the latter the existence in the

heart of the cardiac soul (the Lingam atma), which is the
real life of the gross body. This,

however, is immaterial. We may begin wherever we like, if
we only understand truly the

location of the life-principle and its various
manifestations.

===

32. In the navel is the Power Kundalini sleeping like a
serpent; thence ten Nadi go upwards

and ten downwards.

===

Notes ~ The Power Kundalini: This power
sleeps in the developed organism. It is that

power which draws in gross matter from the mother
organism through the umbilical cord,

and distributes it to the different places where the
seminal Prana gives it form. When the

child separates from the mother the Power goes to sleep.
She is no more wanted now. The

dimensions of the child depend upon the supplies of the
Kundalini. It is said that it is

possible to awake the goddess even in the undeveloped
organism by certain practices of

Yoga. When this is done the Yogi gets the power of
lengthening or shortening the limbs.

===

33. Two and two of the Nadi go crosswise; they are thus
twenty-four in number. The

principal are the ten Nadi in which act the ten
forces.

34. Crosswise, or upwards, or downwards, in them is
manifested the prana all over the

body. They are in the body in the shape of Chakras
supporting all the manifestations of

Prana.

35. Of all these, ten are principal; out of the ten,
three are the highest: Ida, Pingala, and the

Susumna.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

36. Gandhari, Hastijihva, Pusha and Yashaswani;
Alambusha, Kuhui, Sankhini, and also

Damini.

37. Ida is in the left part, Pingala in the right,
Susumna in the middle; Gandhari in the left

eye.

38. In the right eye Hastijihva; in the right ear Pusha;
Yashaswani in the left ear; in the

mouth Alambusha.

39. Kuhu in the place of the generative organ; in the
anus Shankhini. In this way one at

each outlet stand the Nadi.

40. Ida, Pingala, and Susumna stand in the way of the
Prana, these ten Nadi extend

variously in the body.

===

Notes ~ For a dissertation on these three Nadi, the
reader is referred to the articles on

Prana. On a small scale, the right and left chambers of
the heart and the right and left

portions of the spinal column are the Pingala and Ida.
The canal between these two is the

Susumna. Taking the blood vessel system to be a mere
reflection of the nervous system,

the terminology might be applied to the nervous alone. It
appears, however, that the Nadi

of the Tantra comprehend both these systems. In the
nervous system there is the real

power, and this must be present everywhere where there is
any manifestation of life.

===

41. These are the names of the Nadis. Now I give the
names of the forces: (1) Prana, (2)

Apana, (3) Samana, (4) Udana, and (5) Vyana .

42. (6) Naga, (7) Kurma, (8) Krikila, (9) Devadatta, and
(10) Dhananjaya. In the chest

lives always the prana; the apana in the circle of the
anus.

43. The Samana in the circle of the navel, the Udana in
the midst of the throat; the Vyana

pervades all over the body. These are the ten principal
forces.

44. The five beginning with the Prana have been
described. The remaining five begin with

Naga. Their names and places too I give:

45. The Naga is known in belching; the Kurma in the
twinkling of the eye; the Krikila is

known as the cause of hunger; the Devadatta is known in
yawning.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

46. The all-pervading Dhananjaya does not leave even the
dead body. All these move in

all the Nadis where they put on the appearance of
life.

47. Let the wise man know the manifest movements of the
individualized prana by the

three Nadi: Ida, Pingala, and Susumna.

48. The Ida is to be known in the left half and the
Pingala in the right.

49. The moon is placed in the Ida; the sun in the
Pingala; the Susumna has the nature of

Sambhu, and Sambhu is the self of Hansa [inspiration
and expiration both].

50. Expiration is called Ha; inspiration is Sa; Ha is the
Siva [the male], and Sa the Sakti

[the female].

51. Appearing as Sakti, stands the moon, causing the left
Nadi to flow; causing the right

Nadi to flow, the sun appears as Sambhu
[male].

52. Any charity given by the wise while the breath is in
the left nostril, multiplies krore

upon krore of times in this world.

53. Let the Yogi look into his face, with one mind and
with attention, and thus let him

know entirely the motion of the sun and the moon.

54. Let him meditate upon the tatwa when the prana is
calm, never when it is disturbed; his

desire will be fulfilled, he will have great benefit and
victory.

55. To those men who practice, and thus always keep the
sun and moon in proper order,

knowledge of the past and the future becomes as easy as
if they were in their hand.

56. In the left Nadi the appearance of the breath is that
of the Amrita (Nectar); it is the

great nourisher of the world. In the right, the
motion-imparting portion, the world is always

born.

===

Notes ~ A krore = 10 million. The Negative phase of Prana
has the qualities of Amrita, the

giver of eternal life. The negative matter, the moon, is
cooler than the positive matter, the

sun. The former is Rayi, the latter Prana. The former
receives the impressions from the

latter, and this plays the part of imparting impressions
to that. The moon, therefore, is the

real life of all names and forms. In her they live; she
keeps them up. She is, therefore, the

Amrita, the nectar of life. The right Nadi is, from the
greater temperature it possesses, the

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

imparter of names and forms, or briefly, the
motion-imparting phase of life matter. It is the

tendency of the sun to always cause changes in names and
forms, and giving new

impressions in the place of the old. Hence the sun is the
great destroyer of forms. He is the

father of the forms, but the real preserver is the
moon.

57. The middle one, the susumna, moves very cruelly, and
is very bad in all acts;

everywhere in auspicious acts the left [Nadi]
causes strength.

58. In going out the left is auspicious; in going in the
right is auspicious; the moon must be

known to be even, the sun odd.

59. The moon is female, the sun is male; the moon is
fair, the sun is dark [as compared to

the moon]. During the flow of the Nadi of the moon
let calm acts be done.

60. During the flow of the Nadi of the sun harsh works
are to be done; during the flow of

the susumna are to be done acts resulting in the
attainments of psychic powers and

salvation.

61. In the bright fortnight the moon comes in first, in
the dark one the sun; beginning from

the first lunar day they rise one after the other in
order, after three days each.

62. The moon and the sun have each the white
[northward, upward] and the black

[southward, downward] duration of 2-1/2 ghari.
They flow in order during the 60 ghari of

a day.

63. Then by a ghari each [24 minutes] the five
tatwas flow. The days begin with the

pratipat [the first lunar day]. When the order is
reversed the effect is reversed.

64. In the bright fortnight the left [is
powerful], in the dark the right; let the yogi with

attention bring these into order, beginning with the
first lunar day.

65. If the breath rises [at sunrise] by way of
the moon, and sets in by that of the sun, it

confers groups of good qualities; in the reverse, the
reverse.

66. Let the moon flow the whole day through, and the sun
the whole night; he who

practices thus is no doubt a yogi.

67. The moon is checked by the sun, the sun by the moon;
he who knows this practice,

tramples in a moment over the three worlds.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

68. During Thursdays, Fridays, Wednesdays and Mondays the
left Nadi gives success in

all acts, especially in the white fortnight.

69. During Sundays, Tuesdays and Saturdays the right Nadi
gives success in all harsh acts,

especially in the black fortnight.

70. During the five gharis each, the tatwas have their
distinct rise in order, ghari by ghari.

71. Thus there are twelve changes during the day and
night. The Taurus, Cancer, Virgo,

Scorpio, Capricorn, and Pisces are in the moon [i.e.,
the breath rises in the left Nadi in

these signs].

72. During Aries, Gemini, Leo, Libra, Sagittarius, and
Aquarius the rise of the breath is in

the right Nadi. From this good or bad is ascertained.

73. The sun is centered in the east and north, the moon
in the west and south. Let none go

west and south during the flow of the right Nadi.

74. Let none go east and north during the flow of the
left Nadi; if anyone does go, he will

have the fear of robbers and will not return.

75. The wise who desire good might not therefore go in
these directions during these

intervals; then there doubtlessly will be suffering and
death.

76. When the moon flows during the bright fortnight, it
is beneficial to the man; comfort is

caused in mild deeds.

77. When the moon rises at the time of the rise of
breath, and vice versa, quarrel and

danger make appearance, and all good disappears.

The Wrong Swara ~

78. When in the morning the wrong breath takes its rise,
that is the sun in place of the

moon, and the moon in place of the sun, then:

79. During the first day the mind is confused; during the
second loss of wealth; during the

third they speak of motion; during the fourth the
destruction of the desired [object].

80. During the fifth the destruction of worldly position;
during the sixth the destruction of

all objects; during the seventh disease and pain; during
the eight, death.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

81. When for these eight days, at all the three times,
the breath is wrong, then the effect is

simply bad. When there is something less there is some
good.

82. When in the morning and the noon there is the moon,
and in the evening the sun, then

there is always success and benefit. The reverse gives
pain.

83. Whenever the breath is in the right or the left Nadi,
the journey will be successful if the

right or the left, as the case may be, is the first
step.

84. Going four steps [by the left step first]
when the moon flows, and five steps [by the

right step first] when the sun flows, causes success
all over the three worlds.

85. One must go on an even number of steps during the
moon, and an odd one during the

sun, raising first the foot [belong to the] full
Nadi.

86. If by the hand of that part of the body in which the
breath might be flowing at the time

of waking, one touches his face, he is successful in his
desires.

87. In taking a thing from another, and in going out of
the house, we take by the hand in

whose corresponding half the Nadi flows, and begin motion
by raising the same foot.

88. There will be no confusion, no quarrel, no piercing
with thorns; he will come back

comfortable and free from all accidents.

89. Those who desire success in their undertakings must
talk with teachers, relations,

kings, and ministers and others who can fulfill
ones desires, keeping them towards the full

half of the body.

90. Those who desire success, benefit, and comfort must
talk with enemies, thieves,

creditors, and such others, keeping them towards the
empty half of the body.

91. To distant countries one must go during the moon; to
rather near countries during the

sun.

92. Whatever of income, etc., and comings together, has
been described before, comes to

pass without doubt in the Nadis notices before.

93. Whatever has been said before to be the effect of the
empty Nadi, is all in accordance

with what has been said by the omniscient.

94. All transactions or dealings with bad men where there
is enmity or deceit, angry lords

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

or thieves, etc., are dangerous towards the full half of
the body.

95. In going on a distant journey, the moon is
auspicious, and gives ceaseless success in

the aim; the sun is good in coming in, and in the
beginning of any hasty work.

96. During the flow of the moon, poison is destroyed;
during that of the sun, power is

obtained over any body. During the susumna salvation is
obtained. One power stands in

three forms: the sun, the moon, and the susumna.

97. It might happen that when something is to be done,
the breath is not rightly flowing, or

conversely, when the breath is flowing as it ought to be,
there is no occasion for the action

to be done. How then is a man of business to follow the
promptings of prana?

98. Auspicious or inauspicious acts are always to be done
day and night. When need be the

proper Nadi is to be set in motion.

The Ida ~

99. In those acts which are desired to have durable
effect, in going on a distant journey, in

entering an order of life (Ashrama) or a palace, in
amassing wealth;

100. In sinking wells, ponds, tanks, etc, in erecting
columns and idols, in buying utensils,

in marriage, in having clothes, jewels and ornaments
prepared;

101. In preparing cooling and nourishing divine
medicines, in seeing ones lord, in trade,

in collection of grain;

102. In going into a new house, in taking charge of some
office, in cultivation, in throwing

the seed, in auspicious peace-making, in going out, the
moon is auspicious.

103. In such acts as beginning to read, etc., in seeing
relations in virtue, in learning from

some spiritual teacher, in rehearsing a Mantra;

104. In reading the aphorisms of the Science of Time, in
bringing quadrupeds home, in the

treatment of diseases, in calling upon masters;

105. In riding horses and elephants, in doing good to
others, in making deposits;

106. In singing, in playing upon instruments, in thinking
of the science of musical sounds,

in entering any town, in coronation;

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

107. In disease, sorrow, dejection, fever, and swoon, in
establishing relations with ones

people, in entering any town or village, in
coronation;

108. In the adornment of their person by women, when the
rain is coming, in the worship

of the teacher, in preparing poisons, etc., O Fair One!
The moon is auspicious.

109. Also such acts as the practice of Yoga give success
in Ida. Even in Ida let one give up

the akasa and taijas modifications of prana.

110. In day or in night all works are successful; in all
auspicious works the flow of the

moon is good.

The Pingala ~

111. In all harsh acts, in the reading and teaching of
difficult sciences in getting into a

ship;

112. In all bad acts, in drinking, in rehearsing the
Mantra of such a god as Bhairava, in

administering poison to enemies;

113. In learning the Shastras, in going, in hunting, in
the selling of animals, in the difficult

collection of bricks, wood, stone and jewels, etc.;

114. In the practice of music, in the Yantras and
tantras, in climbing a high place or

mountain, in gambling, in theft, in the breaking of an
elephant or a horse, in a carriage or

otherwise.

115. In riding a new donkey, camel, or buffalo, or an
elephant or horse, in crossing a

stream, in medicine, in writing;

116. In athletic sports, in killing or producing
confusion, in practicing the six Karmas, etc.,

in obtaining power of Yakshinis, Yakshas, Vetalas,
Poisons and Bhutas, etc.;

117. In killing, in causing love in enmity, in
mesmerizing, causing one to do anything at

bidding, in drawing anyone towards anything, in causing
distress and confusion, in charity,

and buying and selling.

118. In practicing with swords, in inimical battle, in
amorous enjoyment, in seeking the

king, in eating, in bathing, in mercantile negotiations,
in harsh and hot deeds, the sun is

auspicious.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

119. Just after eating in winning the favor of
women, the sun is auspicious. The wise

ought to sleep, too, during the flow of the sun
breath.

120. All harsh acts, all those various acts which in
their nature must be transitory and

temporary, find success during the sun. There is no doubt
in this.

The Susumna ~

121. When the breath moves one moment in the left and the
other in the right, the [state of

prana] too is known a susumna. It is the destroyer of
acts.

===

Notes ~ It will be seen that in this section three phases
of the Susumna have been noticed:

(1) When the breath comes one moment out of one nostril
and next out of the other; (2)

When the breath at once flows out of both nostrils with
equal force; (3) When the breath

flows out of one nostril with greater force than it does
out of the other. The first is called

the Unequal state (Vishamabhava). The second and third
are called the Vishuvat or

Vishuva.

===

122. When the prana is in that Nadi the fires of death
burn. It is called Vishuvat, the

destroyer of all actions.

123. When both the Nadis, which ought to flow one after
the other, then without doubt

there is danger for him who is thus afflicted.

124. When it is at one moment in the right, the other
moment in the left, it is called the

unequal state. The effect is the reverse of what is
desired, and so it ought to be known, O

Fair One!

125. The wise call it Vishuvat when both the Nadis flow.
Do neither harsh not mild acts at

that time; both will be fruitless.

126. In life, in death, in asking questions, in income,
or its absence, in success or its want,

everywhere the reverse is the case during the flow of the
Vishuvat. Remember then the

Lord of the Universe.

127. The Iswara is to be remembered by acts such as the
practice of Yoga; nothing else is

to be done at that time by those who desire success,
income and comfort.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

128. Pronounce a curse or benediction when with the sun
the Susumna flows slowly; it will

all be useless.

129. When the unequal state takes rise, do not so much as
think of journeying. Journeying

during this state undoubtedly causes pain and death.

130. When the Nadi changes or the tatwa changes, nothing
auspicious shall be done by

way of charity, etc.

131. In the front, in the left, and above is the moon. On
the back, on the right, and below is

the sun. in this way the wise ought to know the
distinction between the full and empty.

===

Notes ~ Two or more phases of conjunction have been
noticed: (1) Sandhya Sandhi, and

(2) Vedoveda.

According to some philosophers, these do not exist. These
two are said to be but the names

of the two foregoing ones. This, however, is not the
thesis of the present writer. He holds

that both these states exist separately.

The Sandhya Sandhi is that Susumna through which
disappearance takes place into the

higher matter beyond. The physiological Susumna is the
reservoir of mans potential

physiological life. From that state takes its birth
either the positive or the negative phase of

life.

But the Susumna is the child of a higher phase of life.
The positive and negative mental

forces according to similar laws give birth to this
potential pranamaya kosha. The world,

as some writers have said, is the outcome of mental
motion (Sankala, Meinah sphurana).

The state of the conjunction of these two mental states
is the Sandhya Sandhi. The same

name seems to have been given to the higher susumna. When
the two phases of mental

matter are neutralized in the Susumna, the pranamaya
kosha loses its vitality and

disappears.

This is that state in which is thrown the reflection of
the Higher Atma, and from whence it

is possible for it to come into the mind.

===

132. The Messenger who is above, in front, or on the
left, is in the way of the moon, and

he who is below in the back and on the front, is in the
way of the sun.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

133. The conjunction, which has no beginning, is One, and
is without [potential]

nourishment or confusion that through which
disappearance takes place in the subtle

matter beyond is called Sandhya Sandhi.

134. Some say there is no separate Sandhya Sandhi, but
the state in which the prana is in

the Vishuvat is called Sandhya Sandhi.

135. There is no separate Vedoveda; it does not exist.
That conjunction is called Vedoveda

by which the highest Atma is known.

The Tatwas ~

136. Said the goddess: Great Lord! God of the gods! In
thy mind is the great secret that

gives salvation to the world; tell me all that.

137. Said the god: There is no God beyond the secret
knowledge of breath; the Yogi who is

devoted to the science of breath is the highest Yogi.

138. Creation takes place from the five tatwas; the tatwa
disappears in tatwa; the five

tatwas constitute the objects of the highest knowledge;
beyond the five tatwas is the

Formless.

139. The Prithivi, the Apas, the Taijas, the Vayu, and
the Akasa are the five tatwas;

everything is of the five tatwas. Revered is he who knows
this.

140. In the beings of all the worlds the tatwas are the
same all over; from the Satyaloka the

arrangement of Nadi only differs.

===

Notes ~ See the Essay on the Tatwas. How everything,
every possible phenomenon of the

soul, the mind, the prana, and the gross matter is of the
tatwas, the introductory Essays

have tried to explain.

The nervous system is different in all the lokas. It has
been said many a time that the tatwic

rays flying in every direction from every point give
birth to innumerable truti that are

minimized pictures of the macrocosm. Now it will be easy
to understand that these pictures

are formed in different planes, which are differently
inclined to the solar axis, and lie at

different distances from the sun. Our planet is at a
certain distance from the sun, and life is

so arranged on this planet that the lunar and solar
life-currents must have equal force if the

organism is to be maintained. The tatwas also must be
balanced. There might be other

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

planes of life in which the respective powers of the two
currents and the tatwas might be

greater or less than they are on the earth. This
difference will secure a difference in the

arrangements of the Nadi, and also in their shape.

We experience this sort of thing even on our earth.
Different animals and vegetables have

different shapes. This is simply on account of the
different truti stretching on different

planes, differently inclined to the solar axis. Suppose
for the sale of illustration that the

following is the sphere of the macrocosmic prana:

Works on astrology assign different organs to these
astral divisions, and for the purpose of

illustration I shall assume these without further
explanation. Thus we have on a larger

scale:

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

These twelve regions comprehend the whole body in and
out. Now suppose that there is a

plane A-B having a certain inclination to the axis of the
sun, S. From every point in the

twelve regions rays fall in every truti of the plane A-B.
Then there are other planes, C-D

and E-F, etc.

It is evident that the rays falling on all these planes
from the twelve regions will vary in

relative strength and position on different planes. It is
evident that on all these planes the

different organs will differ in shape, in strength, and
in relative position. This gives birth to

more or less varying nervous systems in all the lokas,
and the various shapes of the

organisms of the earth.

As in evolution the necessities of the mind are changed,
the pranamaya Koshas change

their planes, and it is thus that they are changed on
earth according to the occult theory of

evolution.

===

141. In the left as well as the right there is the
five-fold rise [of the tatwas]. The knowledge

of the tatwas is eight-fold. Hear me, O Fair One: I shall
tell thee.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

142. The first is the number of the tatwas; the second
the conjunction of breath; the third

are the signs of the breath; the fourth the place of the
tatwas;

143. The fifth is the color of the tatwas; the sixth is
the prana itself; the seventh is their

taste; the eighth is their mode of vibration.

144. Hear of the three-fold Prana: the Vishuvata, the
Active [chara, the motor, sun], the

Passive [achara or sthira, the receiver of motion,
the moon] in these eight forms. There

is nothing, O Lotus-Faced Goddess, beyond the breath.

145. When by the effect of time the power of seeing does
come it must be seen with great

effort. The Yogi acts for the purpose of deceiving
time.

===

Notes ~ “The Yogi acts for the purpose of deceiving
time.” Time is the order of appearance

of the various tatwic phases of a living organism. In man
this order is regulated by his

previous Karma. By the power of previous Karma, the human
organism assumes different

receptive states, and in accordance with the receptivity
the tatwic influence of time the

solar prana cause pains or enjoyments of different
sorts.

By the practice of Yoga the Yogi masters the tatwic
changes of his body. Time is cheated.

If he pushes the germ of disease out of his body no
epidemic will ever affect him.

===

146. Let a man shut his ears by his thumbs, his nostrils
by the middle fingers, his mouth by

the last fingers and those last but one, and his eyes by
the remaining fingers.

147. In this state the five tatwas are gradually known as
the yellow, the white, the red, the

blue, and the spotted without any other distinct upadhi
[differentia].

148. Looking into a mirror, let the breath be thrown upon
it; thus let the wise man know

the difference among the tatwas by their forms.

149. Quadrangular, semi-lunar, triangular, spherical, and
spotted are respectively the forms

of the five tatwas.

150. Thus the first, prithivi, flows midway; the second,
apas, flows downward; the third,

agni, flows upwards; the fourth, vayu, flows at acute
angles; the akasa flows between

every two.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

151. The apas tatwa is white; the prithivi yellow; the
agni red; the vayu sky-blue; the akasa

foreshadows every color.

152. First of all flows the vayu tatwa; secondly, the
taijas; thirdly, the prithivi; and

fourthly, the apas.

153. Between the two shoulders is located agni; in the
root of the navel vayu; in the knees

the apas; in the feet the prithivi; in the head the
akasa.

154. The prithivi tatwa is sweet; the apas astringent;
the taijas pungent; the vayu acid; the

akasa bitter.

155. The vayu flows eight fingers breadth; the agni four;
the prithivi twelve; the apas

sixteen.

156. The upward motion tends to death; the downward to
calmness; the one at acute angles

to restlessness; the middle one to endurance; the akasa
is common to all.

157. During the flow of the prithivi are performed acts
which are expected to live long;

during the apas passive acts; during the taijas harsh
acts; during the vayu, killing, etc.

158. Nothing ought to be done during the akasa except the
practice of Yoga; all other acts

will remain without their desired effect.

159. During the prithivi and the apas success is obtained
; death comes in the taijas;

reduction in the vayu. The akasa is known by the tatwic
philosophers to be altogether

useless.

160. During the prithivi income is late; during the apas,
immediate; loss comes into

existence by the taijas and the vayu; akasa is altogether
useless.

161. The prithivi tatwa is yellow, has slow motion, moves
in the middle, comes in its flow

up to the end of the sternum, is heavy in sound, has
slight heat in temperature. It gives

success in works that are expected to stay long.

162. The apas tatwa is white, has rapid motion, moves
downwards, comes in its flow

sixteen fingers downward [up to the navel], is
heavy in sound, is cool in temperature.

163. The taijas tatwa is red, moves in whirls
[avartagah], moves upwards, comes in its

flow four fingers downwards [up to the end of the
chin], is very high in temperature. It

gives birth to harsh actions [actions which, so to
speak, set one on fire].

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

164. The vayu tatwa is sky-blue, moves at acute angles,
comes in flow eight fingers

downward, is hot or cool in temperature. It gives success
in those works that are transitory.

165. The akasa tatwa is the common surface of all,
foreshadows the qualities of all the

tatwas. It gives yoga to the yogi.

166. Yellow and quadrangular, sweet and moving in the
middle, and the giver of

enjoyment is the prithivi tatwa, which flows twelve
fingers downwards.

167. White, semi-lunar, astringent, moving downwards, and
the causer of benefit is the

apas tatwa, which is sixteen fingers in flow.

168. —

169. Blue, spherical, acid, moving at acute angles, the
giver of locomotion is the vayu

tatwa, which is eight fingers in flow.

170. Foreshadowing all colors, of the shape of an ear,
bitter in taste, moving everywhere

through the giver of Moksha is the akasa tatwa, which is
useless in all worldly works.

171. The prithivi and the apas are auspicious tatwas, the
taijas is middling in its effects,

the akasa and vayu are inauspicious and cause loss and
death to mankind.

172. The apas tatwa is in the east; the prithivi in the
west; the vayu in the north; the taijas

in the south; the akasa in the middle corners.

173. When the prithivi and the apas are in the moon, and
the agni in the sun, then there is

doubtless success in mild and harsh acts
respectively.

174. The prithivi causes income during the day, the apas
during the night; death comes in

the taijas; reduction in the vayu; the akasa sometimes
burns.

175. In fitness for living, in success, in income, in
cultivation [or: in enjoyment and

growth], in amassing wealth, in understanding the
meaning of the mantras, in questions

about battle, in coming and going;

176. Benefit results during the apas tatwa; auspicious
stay wherever it is during the

prithivi; by the vayu they go away elsewhere; the akasa
and the taijas cause loss and death.

177. In the prithivi comes the thought of roots
[Mala]; in the apas and the vayu that of

living things; in the taijas comes the thought of
minerals; in the akasa there is void.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

178. In the prithivi one thinks of beings of many feet;
in the apas and vayu of bipeds; in

the taijas of quadrupeds; in the akasa of the
footless.

179. Mars is said to be the taijas, the Sun the prithivi,
Saturn the apas, and the Rahu the

vayu in the right Nadi.

180. The Moon is in the apas, Jupiter the prithivi,
Mercury the vayu, and Venus the taijas

in the left Nadi; for all acts doubtless.

===

Notes ~ The tatwic value of the planets described in
these two verses seems to be the

opinion of only a few. The opinion of the writer, which
is also the opinion of the great

astrologer Varahamchira, is expressed in stanza 181.

===

181. Jupiter is the prithivi; the Moon and Venus are the
apas; the Sun and Mars are the

taijas; the Dragon, the Ketu, and Saturn are Vayu;
Mercury is the akasa.

182. Say during the prithivi the question that is about
earthly things [roots, mala]; during

the apas about life; during the taijas about minerals;
during the akasa nothing.

183. Leaving the Sun and the Moon, when the breath goes
to the Rahu know that it [prana]

is in motion and desires another place.

184. (1) Pleasure, 92) growth, (3) affection, (4)
playfulness, (5) success, (6) laughing, (7)

in the prithivi and the apas; want of power in the
organs, (8) fever, (9) trembling, (10)

going out of ones country in the taijas and
vayu.

185. (11) Loss of the life, substance, (12) and death in
the akasa these twelve are the

phases of the moon [i.e., the forms, etc., that the
negative matter assumes]; they ought

always to be known with pains by the wise.

===

Notes ~ These twelve are the phases of the moon. The moon
here means the power that

gives sustenance to names and forms. That power, the
rayi, appears in twelve forms,

according to tatwic changes. The flow of the left Nadi in
its diurnal course is not meant

here.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

===

186. In the East, the West, the South, and the North, the
tatwas, prithivi, etc., are powerful,

so let it be said.

187. Fair One, the body must be known as made of the five
Mahabhutas: the prithivi, the

apas, the taijas, the vayu, and the akasa.

188. Bone, muscle, skin, Nadi and hair: these are the
fivefold prithivi as laid down by the

Brahmavidya [the divine science].

189. The semen, the female genital fluid, fat, urine and
saliva: these are the fivefold apas

as laid down by the Brahmavidya.

190. Hunger, thirst, sleep, light, drowsiness: these are
the fivefold agni as laid down by the

Brahmavidya.

191. Removing, walking, smelling, contraction and
inflation: these are the fivefold vayu as

laid down by the Brahmavidya.

192. Desire to have, desire to repel, shame, fear and
forgetfulness: these are the fivefold

akasa as laid down by the divine science.

193. The prithivi has five qualities, the apas four, the
taijas three, the vayu two, the akasa

one. This is a portion of tatwic knowledge.

194. The prithivi is 50 pala [pala = 1/3 ounce],
the apas 40; the taijas 30; the vayu 20; the

akasa 10.

195. In the prithivi income is delayed; in the apas it
comes at once; in the vayu it is very

little; in the agni even what is at hand is
destroyed.

196. [The lunar mansions] (1) Dhanestha, (2)
Rohini, (3) Jyestha, (4) Anaradha, (5)

Srawana, (6) Abhiji, and (7) Uttarashadh: these are said
to be the prithivi tatwa.

197. (1) Bharani, (2) Krithka, (3) Pushya, (4) Magha, (5)
Purvaphalguni, (6)

Purvabhadrapada, and (7) Swath: these are said to be the
taijas tatwa.

198. (1) Purva shada, (2) Shelesha, (3) Mula, (4) Ardra,
(5) Revati, (6) Uttara

bhadrapada, and (7) Satabhisha: these are the apas tatwa,
O Beloved!

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

199. (1) Vishakha, (2) Uttaragphalguni, (3) Hasta, (4)
Chitra, (5) Punarvasu. (6) Ashwani,

and (7) Mrigashirsha: these are the vayu tatwa.

200. Whatever good or bad the messenger asks about,
standing towards the flowing Nadi,

comes not to pass as he desires. In the empty Nadi it is
the reverse.

201. Even when the Nadi is full, but the tatwa is not
congenial, there is no success. The sun

or the moon gives success only when combines with the
congenial tatwa.

202. Rama got victory in an auspicious tatwa; so did
Arjuna. The Kauravas were all killed

in battle on account of the antagonistic tatwa.

203. By the acquired velocity of other births, or by the
kindness of the guru, some men

come to know the nature of the tatwas by a mind purified
by habituation.

The Meditation of the Five Tatwas ~

204. Meditate upon the prithivi tatwa with L [or
Lam] as its algebraic symbol, as being

quadrangular, yellow, sweet-smelling, and conferring a
color as pure as that of gold,

freedom from disease and lightness of the body.

205. Mediate upon the apas tatwa with V [or Vam]
as its algebraic symbol, as being semilunar,

white as the moon, and giving endurance of hunger and
thirst, etc., and producing a

sensation similar to that of a plunge in water.

206. Meditate upon the taijas tatwa with R [or
Ram] as the algebraic symbol, as being

triangular, red, and giving the power of consuming a good
deal of food and drink, and the

endurance of burning heat.

207. Meditate upon the vayu tatwa with P [or Pam]
as the algebraic symbol, as being

spherical, sky-blue, and giving the power of going into
the space, and flying like bird.

208. Meditate upon the akasa tatwa with H [or
Ham] as the algebraic symbol, formless,

foreshadowing many colors, and as giving the knowledge of
the three times, and the

powers Anima, etc.

209. Where there is a man who knows the science of
breath, there can be no wealth better

than him. It is known that by the Knowledge of breath one
gets good fruit without much

ado.

The Auspicious Victory ~

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

210. Great Lord! The god of gods, the giver of happiness,
the science of the rise of breath

is a very high science; how does it comprehend the
Knowledge of the three times?

211. Said the god: Fair one! The knowledge of three times
refers to three things, and

nothing else: (1) Fortune, (2) Victory in battle, and (3)
Good or bad [end of other actions].

212. On account of the tatwa any act is good or bad in
effect; on account of the tatwa

comes victory or discomfiture; on account of the tatwa
comes scarcity and wealth. The

tatwas are said to show themselves in these three
states.

213. Said the goddess: Great Lord! The god of gods, the
all-comprehending ocean of this

world is the greatest friend and help-mate of men, he who
causes the fulfillment of all his

works?

214. Siva said: The Prana alone is the highest friend,
the Prana is the greatest helpmate,

Fair one! There is no friend better than Prana.

215. Said the goddess: How does the force of Prana stand
in the body? What is the

appearance of Prana in the body? How is the Prana known
by the Yogi to be acting in the

tatwas?

216. Siva said: In the city of the body the Prana is the
Lord Protector; while going in, it is

10 fingers; while going out, 12.

===

Notes ~ This section refers to the human Aura. The subtle
Prana surrounds the gross

human body like a halo of light. The natural length from
the body to the circumference of

this halo is 12 fingers of the man whose Prana is
measured. This length is affected during

the ordinary course of inspiration and expiration. At the
time of inspiration the length is

reduced to 10 fingers; at the time of expiration it is
restored to 12. During certain other

actions too, the length varies. Thus, in walking the
length of Prana becomes 24; in

running, 42.

In cohabitation it becomes 65; in sleeping, 100. In
eating and speaking, it becomes 18.

In ordinary men, the length is 12 fingers. The ordinary
length is, however, reduced in

extraordinary men. Thus, in those men who are free from
desire, the length of Prana is

reduced by one finger; it becomes 11. In men who are
always pleasant, always hilarious,

the length is 10 fingers. A poet has 9 fingers. A speaker
has 8. A ser has s

7. A levitator has 6, and so on. See the following
stanzas.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

===

217. In walking it is 24 fingers, in running 42; in
cohabitation 65; in sleeping 100 fingers.

218. The natural length of Prana, my goddess, is 12
fingers. In eating and speaking it

stretches to 18 fingers.

219. When the Prana is reduced by one finger, freedom
from desire is the result. Pleasure

results when it is reduced by 2; poetical power when by
3;

220. Power of speech when by 4; second sight when by 5;
levitation when by 6; great

rapidity when by 7;

221. The eight siddhi when by 8; the nine niddhis when by
9; the ten figures when by 10,

the loss of the shadow when by 11;

222. When it is reduced by 12 the inspiratory and
expiratory motions drink of the fountain

of immortality at the sun [the center of Prana].
When the prana fills the body up to the end

of nails even, for whom else then is food?

223. Thus has been described the law of prana. It can be
known by the teaching of a guru,

not by millions of sciences and shastra.

224. If the moon does not set in by chance in the
morning, and the sun in the evening, they

do so respectively after midday and midnight.

The Battle ~

225. In distant warfare the moon is victorious; in near
places the sun. When the foot is

raised first in going belongs to the flowing Nadi,
complete success is the result.

226. In beginning a journey, in marriage, in entering any
town, etc., in all auspicious acts,

the flow of the moon is good.

227. Putting the enemys army towards the empty
Nadi, and ones own towards the full,

when the tatwa is congenial, one might conquer the whole
world.

228. Let one give battle in the direction towards which
the breath flows; victory is certain,

even if Indra is in front.

229. If a man puts a question about battle, he will win
if he is towards the flowing Nadi,

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

lose if he is towards the other.

230. The prithivi tatwa points to wounds in the belly,
the apas in the feet; the agni in the

thighs; the vayu in the hands.

231. The akasa in the head. These fivefold wounds have
been described in the Science of

Breath.

232. He whose name has even letters wins, if he asks the
question during the flow of the

moon. He who has an odd number of letters in his name
wins if he asks the question during

the flow of the sun.

233. When the question is put during the moon there will
be a peaceful termination; during

the sun the fight must come.

234. During the prithivi tatwa, the fight will be equal.
During the apas the result will be

equal. During the taijas there will be defeat. During the
vayu and the akasa death will

ensue.

235. When by some cause the flow of the breath is not
clearly felt at the time of the

question, let the wise man resort to the following
expedient;

236. Sitting motionless let him have a flower thrown upon
himself. The flower will fall on

the full side. So let him give the answer.

237. Here or elsewhere the knower of the laws of breath
is very powerful; who is more

powerful than he?

238. Said the goddess: These are the laws of victory when
men fight among themselves;

how does victory come when they fight with Yama [the
god of death]?

239. Let him meditate upon the Lord when the prana is
calm; during the flow of the moon

and then give up life when after that the two pranas
coincide. He will have what he

desires: great benefit and success.

240. The whole unmanifested world has come out of the
unmanifested. That manifested

world disappears in the unmanifested when the fact is
known.

How To Produce Sexual Attachment ~

241. Said the goddess: Great Lord! Thou hast given a
description of the battle among men,

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

and with Death; tell me now how to produce attachment
between the sexes.

242. Said the god: It has been said by the Yogis that if
one places himself in the sphere of

prana, by drawing the moon with the sun, the female will
be eternally attached.

===

Notes ~ The sphere of Prana means the halo of this force
which surrounds the gross body.

At the time when the male prana has the pure color of the
sun, and the female that of the

moon, let the two halos be brought together. They are at
that moment in their own element.

As the two halos come together, they all exchange color.
With a certain amount of natural

satisfaction the individual sun will contract the habit
of being satisfied by the individual

female prana, and vice versa. This must of course be
repeated for some time in order to

give each of the two pranas the permanent color of the
other. One more thing must be

done. Any antagonistic colors must not be allowed to take
even the slightest hold of either

of these pranas. If this is done the two will learn to
repel each other, and instead of

attachment enmity will result.

===

243. The prana is caught by the prana if the prana does
give himself up. When the prana

goes in the place of the prana, short life is
destroyed.

===

Notes ~ The first and third pranas in the verse mean
either the male or the female, while

the second means the reverse of either. It means that the
male or female prana takes with

its substance the female or male prana, if either of the
latter allow. This permission must

have two phases. There must be a willing mind, otherwise
an antagonistic color will be

introduced and consequent repulsion.

There must also be an active throwing out of any
antagonistic colors that might be present

in the prana, and also a shutting up of both mind and
prana against any antagonistic

influences.

When the male or female prana goes in the place of, i.e.,
is saturated in the female or male

prana, life is at an end. The negative prana gives
general strength to positive and vice

versa. Strength causes long life. But in order to receive
length of life there must be a

complete saturation, which is impossible with the
presence in any one of these pranas of

any other antagonistic prana.

===

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

244 249. —

250. When in the beginning of the monthly period the
males have the sun and the females

the moon, even the barren woman gets a child.

251. In questions about the result of a pregnancy, a
female child is born if the moon be

flowing; a male during the flow of the sun. If both are
flowing, the fetus will be destroyed.

252. At the time of this question, when the messenger is
towards the moon, a female child

is born; when towards the sun, a male child; when in the
middle, a hermaphrodite. When

he is towards the full Nadi a son is born.

253. The prithivi brings a son; the apas a son; in vayu
comes a girl; in the taijas the fetus is

destroyed; the akasa brings a hermaphrodite.

254. When the nostril is empty, nothing is born; when two
tatwas join, twins are born.

When one is passing into another, the fetus is destroyed.
When this happens during the

flow of the moon, the result is a female child; when the
sun, a male.

255. During the vishuvu conjunction the fetus is
destroyed, or a hermaphrodite is born. Fair

One! I tell thee, the knower of the tatwas can know all
this.

256. When at the time of conception the vayu tatwa flows,
the child will be a sufferer;

when the apas tatwa flows, the child will be happy and
renowned. When the taijas tatwa

flows, the fetus is destroyed, or the child is
short-lived. When the prithivi tatwa flows, the

child is wealthy and full of enjoyment.

257. During the apas tatwa the child that is conceived is
always wealthy, happy, and full

of enjoyment. During the akasa the fetus is
destroyed.

258. During the prithivi a son is born, during the apas a
girl. During other tatwas either the

fetus is destroyed or the child is short-lived.

===

Notes ~ These two stanzas (253, 258) seem at first sight
to record different truths. But they

refer to different pranas: the one to the positive, the
other to the negative.

===

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

259. Children are born when the sun goes into the moon
and the moon goes into the sun.

This can be easily known from a teacher, not by millions
of sciences and shastras.

===

Notes ~ The female cells in the ovary are the moon. They
have the capability of being

impressed into any form by the male cells, the sun. The
semen is hotter than the germ cells

of the female. As the former act upon the latter, these
expand. The former only act upon

the latter when these present themselves to them; this is
expressed by saying that the sun

enters the moon, and the moon enters the sun. When both
of these thus enter each other,

the female matter that receives constant nourishment by
the help of the Power KundAlini

begins to expand along the lines stretched for it by the
inherent power of the sun. In the

semen lies hidden the future man, just as a tree in the
seed. This is a veritable picture of the

sun, or we might say a macrocosmic prana. The semen
virile is, in fact, the mirror in

which on account of tatwic affinity is reflected the
individual truti, with which the reader

must now be familiar. The semen thus is the reservoir of
the whole pranamaya Kosha.

===

The Year ~

260. On the first lunar day of the white fortnight of the
month of Chaitra, let the wise yogi

see both the northward and southward journey of the sun
by an analysis of the tatwas.

===

Notes ~ On this day begins the sanwat year of the era of
King Vikramaditya.

===

261. If at the time of the rise of the moon, the
prithivi, the apas, or the vayu taTwa is

flowing, all kinds of grain will be plentiful.

262. The flow of the taijas and the akasa gives fearful
famines. This is the nature of Time.

In this way is known the effect of Time in the year, the
month, and the day.

263. If the susumna, which is bad in all worldly
concerns, is flowing, there will be

confusion in the land, subversion of the kingdom, or fear
thereof, epidemic, and all sorts of

diseases.

264. When the sun passes into Aries, let the yogi
meditate upon the breath and, finding out

the prevalent tatwa, tell the world what will be the
nature of the next year.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

===

Notes ~ On this day the solar year begins. The tatwic
color of the Universal Prana, the

External one, is determined at any time by the positions
of the sun and moon and by those

of the planets, whose presence exercises a very potent
influence upon the tatwic value of

any moment. This tatwic value changes according to a
universal law.

If at any time the apas tatwa is flowing, it can never
abruptly change into the taijas, but

must do so grade by grade. These atmospheric taijas run
many minor courses. Hence it is

possible, though extremely difficult and complicated, to
calculate from the tatwic value of

one moment the tatwic value of any future moment.

The living world is always affected by these tatwic
changes. In the act of breathing nature

has furnished a very exact and faithful scale for the
measurement of tatwic changes. Hence

the yogi, who can live in conformity with time and space,
can foretell the future very

easily. Ah! But how very difficult it is to live in
perfect harmony with time and space!

===

265. The good aspect of the year, the month, and the day
is known by the tatwas, prithivi,

etc., and the bad one by the akasa and the vayu.

266. If the prithivi tatwa flows there will be plenty and
prosperity in the kingdom, and the

earth will be full of good crops; there will be much
comfort and enjoyment.

267. If the apas tatwa flows there will be plenty of
rain, plenty of grain, great comfort, and

well-grown fields.

268. If the agni tatwa flows there will be famine,
subversion, or fear thereof; there will be

fearful epidemics and the least possible rain.

269. If the vayu tatwa flows when the sun goes into
Aries, there will be confusion,

accidents, famine, little rain, or the itis [six
afflictions that distress crops: too much rain,

etc.].

270. If the akasa tatwa flows when the sun goes into
Aries, there will be want of grain and

comfort.

271. When the full breath is in its own proper place,
with its own proper tatwa, success of

all sorts is the result. If the sun and the moon are the
reverse, grain must be laid up [against

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

a scarcity].

272. If the agni tatwa flows there will be inequality of
prices; if akasa, there will be

continuous scarcity. Let things be laid up then; there
will be a rise in the prices two months

thereafter.

273. When the breath is changing into the sun it gives
birth to fearful diseases. When the

akasa and the vayu are conjoined with the taijas, the
earth will become the picture of hell.

===

Notes ~ The disturbance of tatwic balance is disease;
hence every tatwa has its own

diseases.

===

The Diseased ~

274. In the prithivi tatwa there is its own disease; in
the apas the disease of the same

tatwa; and so in the taijas, the vayu, and the akasa,
similar and hereditary diseases.

===

Notes ~ When two men come together their pranas exchange
color. It is on this account

that you can measure from the momentary reflection in
your own body the color of any

other man that is near you. The present of every man is
the father of is future. Hence you

can predict the end of any disease, or the time of
death.

All that has been ascertained to be true on these heads
has been described in the various

sections of this book.

The messenger in 275 is the man who comes to
ask questions about anything.

===

275. When the messenger comes first towards the empty
half of the body, and then

towards the full half, he about whom the question is put
will surely live, even if he is

[apparently] lying in the swoon [of
death].

276. If the question is put to the yogi while sitting in
the same direction with the patient, he

will live even though many a disease might have gathered
strength in his body.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

277. When the breath is in the right nostril, and the
messenger speaks of his afflictions in

piteous accents, the patient will live.

278. If the question is asked while holding the picture
of the patient towards the prana and

looking at it, the patient will live.

279. When during the flow of the sun or the moon, the
yogi gets into a carriage and the

question is put to him while there, the message will have
success in his desire.

280. When at the time of the question the yogi sits
upstairs while the patient is downstairs,

he will certainly live. If the patient is upstairs, he
will certainly go to the house of Yama

[the god of death].

281. If at the time of the question the messenger is
towards the empty nostril, he will have

success. If the reverse is the case, the result too is
the reverse.

282. When the patient is towards the moon and the asker
towards the sun the patient will

certainly die, even if he is surrounded by hundreds of
physicians.

283. When the patient is towards the sun, and the asker
towards the moon, then too the

patient dies, even if Sambhu be his protector.

284. When one tatwa is out of its proper time, people are
subdued by disease; when two

are wrong, they cause misfortune to friends and relation;
if it is out of place for two

fortnights death is the result.

The Prediction of Death ~

285. In the beginning of a month, a fortnight, and a
year, let the wise man try to find out

the time of death from the movements of prana.

286. The lamp of the five tatwas receives its oil from
the moon. Protect it from the solar

fire; life will thereby become long and stationary.

287. If by mastering the flow of breath, the sun is kept
in check, life is prolonged. Even

solar time is cheated.

288. The moon falls from heaven giving the nectar of life
to the lotuses of the body. By the

constant practice of good actions and yoga one becomes
immortal by the lunar nectar.

289. Make the sun flow during the day, the sun during the
night. He who practices thus is

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

doubtless a true yogi.

290. If for one night and day continuously the breath
flows in one Nadi, full three years

will bring death.

291. He whose breath flows by the Pingala two whole days
and nights continuously has,

as the knowers of the tatwas say, two years more to
live.

292. If the moon flows continuously during the night and
the sun during the day, death will

come within six months.

293. When the sun flows altogether, and the moon is not
altogether seen, death comes by a

fortnight. So says the science of death.

294. He whose breath flows from one nostril for three
nights continuously has, so say the

wise, a year only to live.

295. Take a vessel of the Kansya alloy. Fill it with
water, and see in it the reflection of the

sun. If in the midst of the reflection is seen a hole,
the seer will die within ten days. If the

reflection is smoky, death will come the same day. If it
is seen towards the south, West and

North respectively, death will come within six, two and
three months. Thus has been

described the measure of life by the omniscient.

296. [If a man sees the figure of the messengers of
death he is sure to die]. The messenger

of death has red or reddish clothes, matted hair,
diseased teeth, oil-besmeared body, a

weeping and red-hot face, a body besmeared with ashes,
flying flames of fire, having

heavy long rods, and standing towards the empty Nadi.

297. When the skin is cool but the inside is hot, death
must come within a month.

298. When a man changes suddenly and unaccountably from
good habits to bad, or from

bad habits to good, he is sure to die.

299. He whose breath that comes out of the nose is cool,
but that which comes out of the

mouth is hot like fire, is sure to die of great heat.

300. He who sees hideous figures, and bright light
without making out the flame, lives not

for nine months.

301. He who suddenly begins to feel heavy bodies light,
and light bodies heavy, and he

who being dark in color begins in disease to look
gold-colored, must die!

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

302. He whose hands, chest, and feet become at once dry
after bathing has not ten nights to

live.

303. He who becomes dim of sight, and cannot see his face
in the pupil of anothers eye

must doubtless die.

304. Now I shall tell thee something about the shady
Figure [Chya Purusha]. Knowing

this, man very soon becomes the knower of the three
times.

305. I shall speak of those experiments by means of which
even distant death is known. I

shall describe all these in accordance with the
Sivagama.

306. Going to a lonely place and standing with the back
towards the sun let a man look

with attention into the neck of the shade he throws on
the ground.

307. Let him see this for as long a time as he can calmly
repeat the words: Om Kram

parabrahman namah for 108 times. Then let him look
up into the sky. He will thus see

Shankara [the figure of a being capable of appearing
in many colors].

308. By doing this for six months, the yogi becomes the
lord of those who walk on earth;

by two years he becomes absolutely independent and his
own master.

309. He obtains the knowledge of the three times and
great bliss. There is nothing

impossible for the constant practice of Yoga.

310. The Yogi who sees this figure in the clear heavens
having a dark color, dies within six

months.

311. When it is yellow there is fear of disease; when it
is red there will be loss; when it has

many colors there will be great confusion and
dejection.

312. If the figure be wanting in feet, shanks, abdomen
and the right arm, a relation is sure

to die.

313. If the left arm is wanting, the wife will die; when
the chest and the right arm is

wanting, death and destruction will come.

314. When the feces and gas escape at once, the man is
sure to die in ten days.

315. When the moon flows altogether, and the sun is not
seen at all, death comes surely

within a month.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

316. Those whose death is near cease to see the
Arandhati, the Druhva, the steps of

Vishnu, and the circle of the mothers as they are pointed
out to them.

317. The Arundhati is the tongue; the Dhruva the tip of
the nose; the eyebrows are the

steps of Vishnu; the pupil of the eye is the circle of
the mothers.

318. The man who ceases to see the eyebrows dies within
nine days; he who ceases to see

the pupil of the eye dies within five days; he who ceases
to see the nose dies within three

days; he who ceases to see the tongue dies within one
day.

319. The pupil of the eye is seen by pressing the eye
near the nose.

The Nadis ~

320 The Ida is also technically called Ganga; the
Pingala, Yamuna; the Susumna,

Saraswati; the conjunction is called Prayaga.

321. Let the Yogi sit in the posture called padmasana,
and perform pranayama.

322. The Yogi must know the puraka, the rechaka, and the
third Kumbhaka for obtaining

power over the body.

323. The puraka causes growth and nourishment, and
equalizes the humors; the Kumbhaka

causes stability, and increases the security of life.

324. The Rechaka takes away all the sins. He who
practices this reaches the state of yoga.

325. In the Kumbhaka hold the air in as much as possible;
let it go out by the moon and in

by the sun.

326. The sun drinks the moon, the moon drinks the sun; by
saturating one with the other,

one may live till the moon and the planets.

327. The Nadi flows in ones own body. Have power
over that; if it is not let go through

the mouth or nose, one becomes a young man.

328. When the mouth, nose, eyes and ears are stopped by
the fingers, the tatwas begin to

take their rise before the eyes.

329. He who knows their color, their motion, their taste,
their places, and their signs,

becomes in this world equal to the god Rudra.

Rama Prasad: The Science of Breath & The Philosophy
of the Tatwas (Pranayama Yoga)

330. He who knows all this, and reads it always, is freed
from all pain and gets what he

desires.

331. He who has the knowledge of breath in his head, has
fortune at his feet.

332. Like the One in the Vedas, and the sun in the
Universe, is the knower of the Science

of Breath to be honored. He who knows the Science of
Breath and the Philosophy of the

Tatwas, knows not even millions of elixirs to be equal to
it.

333. There is nothing in the world that will release you
of the debt of the man who gives

you the knowledge of the word [Om] and of
breath.

334. Sitting in his own place, with measured food, and
sleep, let the Yogi meditate upon

the highest Atma [whose reflection the Breath
is]. Whatever he says will come to pass.

The End.