MENTAL PHYSICS
Beloved
students,
Greetings:
We have
now gathered here to enter into a new realm of experience, knowledge and wisdom
– physically and mentally leading to spiritual heights.
The
knowledge being imparted to you has to be clearly understood and put into
practice as your daily routine, as systematically as required, so that you
achieve the desired results. You are,
therefore, counselled to pay serious attention to the study and practice of the
lessons as will be passed on to you from now on.
PRANAYAMA
(THE HARMONIC BREATH)
From time immemorial, wise men, rishis and sages have taught their disciples (in secret and by word of mouth) that there is to be found in the air a substance from which all life emanated. This force or substance is “PRANA”, the Absolute Energy, the Essence of life and the Eternal Universal force.
PRANA –
this Universal principle of Life, is present everywhere; there is no place
where it is not. This all-pervading
force eliminates time, distance and substance, in its operations. Wherever there is life, there is Prana or
Universal electricity as we may call it for easy end better intellectual
idea.
PRANA is
in the air, but it is NOT the air or even one of its chemical
constituents. All animals, all plants,
you and I, breathe this Prana in with the air. Our physical system takes in
Oxygen along with Prana, yet Prana is not the Oxygen.
We are
constantly breathing in or inhaling the air charged with Prana, constantly
extracting Prana from the air. Prana is found in its freest state in the
atmosphere everywhere. In ordinary breathing, every one absorbs a normal supply,
and this Prana is stored up in the brain and nerve centers located in the human
body, to be used when necessary. But,
through a special breathing exercise known as PRANAYAMA, we can and do store up
much greater quantities of Prana, just as a storage battery stores up energy.
As the
oxygen in the air is appropriated by the blood and is made use of in the
circulatory system, so Prana is appropriated by the nervous systems and is used
in its works. As the oxygenated blood is carried to all parts of the circulatory
system in its work of replenishment and building up, so Prana is carried to all
parts of the nervous system, adding up strength and vitality as a continuous
process. No activity – eg. Thinking,
willing to do anything, acting, seeing, hearing, speaking or doing any manual
work etc. – is possible without the aid of Prana, the all-pervading vital
Force. Et must also be remembered that
every activity, however insignificant (like that of unnecessary shaking of the
legs while sitting on a chair, drumming with the fingers absent-mindedly on a
table, while thinking of some problem, etc.) uses up this Prana energy, and
these constitute ‘leakage’ of useful vital energy.
While
dealing with today’s subject, “PRANAYAMA”, there are certain facts that must first
be recognized regarding your body:
(a)
The NOSE is the instrument
that we use to breathe with. Many
people in their ignorance, breathe through their mouths. Correct nose breathing leads to Life; mouth
breathing leads to death.
(b)
The MOUTH is the instrument
that we use to eat with. It is a bad
practice to breathe through the mouth; if a person is a mouth breather (as many
are particularly during the night, and wonder why they rise in the morning
‘more tired than when they went to bed’), they should at once cultivate the habit of breathing through the nose.
Through
breathing we bring Prana into our bodies – the vital force, the life current
which pervades all space and which is commonly recognized as breath. As we breathe we bring Prana into our bodies
in two distinct currents – (a) Positive, (b) Negative. It is through the
nose (through the TWO nostrils) that we should breathe.
The RIGHT NOSTRIL (pingala): With every inhalation through the right nostril a positive electrical current flows down 5through the right side of the spine. This is SOLAR energy (heating). The nervous system is positive. The right side of the body is under positive influence, corresponding to the East.
The LEFT
NOSTRIL (Ida): With every inhalation
through the left nostril a negative electrical current flows down through the
lift side of the spine. This is LUNAR
energy (cooling). The blood system is
negative. The lift side of the body is
under negatives influence, corresponding to the West.
Now, let
us pay attention to the practice of “PRANAYAMA”:
(a)
As you are all now seated in
the squatting position, keep your spine absolutely straight, or as much
straight as possible without any strain anywhere, with no tension or pain anywhere
in this posture. Those who are unable
to sit in this position comfortably, may sit on a chair, or even stand if
necessary; you must be the judge.
(b)
Close right nostril with the
right thumb; breathe steadily (not too slow) THROUGH THE LEFT or negative nostril,
counting FOUR during the inhalation.
(c)
Hold the breath without any
strain anywhere, and while doing so, count SIXTEEN (mentally).
(d)
Exhale steadily through the RIGHT nostril, while you count EIGHT,
by releasing the right thumb from the right nostril.
(e)
Close left nostril with the
ring finger of the right hand; breathe steadily (not too slow) THROUGH THE
RIGHT or Positive nostril, with the same count for inhalation as above (FOUR),
retain the breath for SIXTEEN counts and exhale though the left nostril, by
releasing the ring finger, likewise, by EIGHT counts.
Do not
strain at all; merely snap the lips and do not allow any breath to escape
through the mouth. Do this exercise FOUR times – twice through the left nostril
and twice through the right, and go into the exercise daily, immediately upon
rising, at noon, at dusk, and when you retire a night. Although many may find difficulty to carry
through this exercise four times in a day, in view of the improper and inconvenient
timings or places for doing the same outside your home, you will try to keep up
at least the morning and evening timings – you are the best judge to decide
about this. As you progress, the
proportion of the time taken for inhalation, retention and exhalation can be
increased by 50 per cent, i.e., six counts for inhalation, 24 counts for
retention and 12 counts for exhalation.
Of course, you will be properly guided as you progress in your exercise,
in this regard.