HATHA YOGA/PART 20
CHAPTER 20.
PRANIC ENERGY
The student will notice, as he reads the chapters of this
book, that there is an esoteric and an exoteric side of Hatha Yoga. By
"esoteric” we mean "designed for only the specially initiated;
private” (Webster's Dictionary), and by "exoteric” we mean "external;
public—opposite to esoteric” (Webster's Dictionary). The exoteric or public
side of the subject consists in the theory of the obtaining of nourishment from
the food—the irrigating and eliminating properties of water—the advantage of
the rays of the sun in prompting growth and health—the benefit of exercise—the
advantage of proper breathing—the benefit to be derived from fresh air, etc.,
etc. These theories are well known to the Western world, as well as to the
Eastern; to the non-occultist as well as the occultist, and both recognize
their truth and the benefits to be obtained by putting them into practice. But
there is another side, quite familiar to the Orientals and to occultists
generally, but unfamiliar to the Western world and not generally known among
those who pay no attention to occult studies. This esoteric phase of the
subject revolves around the subject of what the Orientals know as Prana. The
latter, and all occultists, know that man obtains Prana as well as nourishment
from his food—Prana as well as a cleansing effect from the water he drinks—
Prana properly distributed as well as mere muscular development in physical
exercise—Prana as well as heat from the rays of the Sun—Prana as well as oxygen
from the air he breathes—and so on. This subject of Prana is interwoven with
the entire Hatha Yoga Philosophy, and must be seriously considered by its
students. This being the case, we must consider the question, "What is
Prana?”
We have explained the
nature and uses of Prana in our little book, "Science of
Breath,” and also in our “Yogi Philosophy and
Oriental Occultism”’ more generally known as "The Yogi Lessons” (1904).
And we dislike to fill the pages of this book with what may seem to be a
repetition of that which has appeared in our other books. But in this instance,
and a few others, we must reprint what we have already said, for many people
who read this book may not have seen our other publications, and to omit any
mention of "Prana” would be
unfair. And, then, a work on Hatha Yoga without a description of Prana would be
absurd. We will not take up much space in our description and will try to give
only the gist of the subject.
Occultists in all ages and lands have always taught,
usually secretly to a few followers, that there was to be found in the air, in
water, in the food, in the sunlight, everywhere, a substance or principle from
which an activity, energy, power and vitality was derived. They differed in
their term and names for this force, as well as in the details of their
theories, but the main principle is to be found in all occult teachings and
philosophies, and has for centuries past been found among the teachings and
practices of the Oriental Yogis. We have preferred to designate this vital
principle by the name by which it is known among the Hindu teachers and
students—gurus and chelas—and have used for this purpose the Sanscrit word
"Prana,” meaning "Absolute Energy.”
Occult authorities teach
that the principle which the Hindus term "Prana” is the universal
principle of energy or force, and that all energy or force is derived from that
principle, or, rather, is a particular form of manifestation of that principle.
These theories do not concern us in the consideration of the subject matter of
this work, and we will therefore confine ourselves to an understanding of prana
as the principle of energy exhibited in all living things, which distinguishes
them from a lifeless thing. We may consider it as the active principle of
life—Vital Force, if you please. It is found in all forms of life, from the
amoeba to man -from the most elementary form of plant life to the highest form
of animal life. Prana is all pervading. It is found in all things having life
and as the occult philosophy teaches that life is in all things—in every
atom—the apparent lifelessness of some things being only a lesser degree of
manifestation, we may understand their teachings that prana is everywhere, in
everything. Prana must not be confounded with the Ego—that bit of Divine Spirit
in every soul, around which clusters matter and energy. Prana is merely a form
of energy used by the Ego in its material manifestation. When the Ego leaves
the body, the prana, being no longer under its control, responds only to the
orders of the individual atoms, or groups of atoms, forming the body, and as
the body disintegrates and is resolved to its original elements, each atom
takes with it sufficient prana to enable
it to form new combinations, the unused prana returning to the great universal
storehouse from which it came. With the Ego in control, cohesion exists and the
atoms are held together by the Will of the Ego.
Prana is the name by which we designate a universal
principle, which principle is the essence of all motion, force or energy,
whether manifested in gravitation, electricity, the revolution of the planets,
and all forms of life, from the highest to the lowest. It may be called the
soul of Force and Energy in all their forms, and that principle which,
operating in a certain way, causes that form of activity which accompanies
Life.
This great principle is in all forms of matter, and yet
it is not matter. It is in the air, but it is not the air nor one of its
chemical constituents. It is in the food we eat, and yet it is not the same as
the nourishing substances in the food. It is in the water we drink, and yet it
is not one or more of the chemical substances which combining make water. It is
in the sunlight, but yet it is not the heat or the light rays. It is the
"energy” in all these things—the things acting merely as a carrier.
And man is able to extract it from the air, food, water,
sunlight and turn it to good account in his own organism. But do not
misunderstand us; we have no intention of claiming that Prana is in these
things merely that it may be used by man. Far from it—Prana is in these things
fulfilling the great law of Nature, and man's ability to extract a portion of
it and use it is merely an incident. The force would exist though man were not.
This great principle is in all forms of matter, and yet
it is not matter. It is in the air, but it is not the air nor one of its
chemical constituents. Animal and plant life breathe it in with the air, and
yet if the air contained it not they would die even though they might be filled
with air. It is taken up by the system along with the oxygen, and yet is not
the oxygen.
Prana is in the atmospheric air, but it is also
elsewhere, and it penetrates where the air cannot reach. The oxygen in the air
plays an important part in sustaining animal life, and the carbon plays a
similar part with plant life, but Prana has its own distinct part to play in
the manifestation of life, aside from the physiological functions.
We are constantly inhaling the air charged with prana,
and are as constantly extracting the latter from the air and appropriating it
to our uses. Prana is found in its freest state in the atmospheric air, which
when fresh is fairly charged with it, and we draw it to us more easily from the
air than from any other source. In ordinary breathing we absorb and extract a
normal supply of prana, but by controlled and regulated breathing (generally
known as Yogi breathing) we are enabled to extract a greater supply, which is
stored away in the brain and nerve centers, to be used when necessary. We may
store away prana, just as the storage battery stores away electricity. The many
powers attributed to advanced occultists is due largely to their knowledge of
this fact and their intelligent use of this stored-up energy. The Yogis know
that by certain forms of breathing they establish certain relations with the
supply of prana and may draw on the same for what they require. Not only do
they strengthen all parts of their body in this way, but the brain itself may receive
increased energy from the same source, and latent faculties be developed and
psychic powers attained. One who has mastered the science of storing away
prana, either consciously or unconsciously, often radiates vitality and
strength, which is felt by those coming in contact with him, and such a person
may impart this strength to others, and give them increased vitality and
health. What is called "magnetic healing” is performed in this way,
although many practitioners are not aware of the source of their power.
Western scientists have been dimly aware of this great
principle with which the air is charged, but finding that they could find no
chemical trace of it, or make it register on any of their instruments, they
have generally treated the Oriental theory with disdain. They could not explain
this principle, and so denied it. They seem, however, to recognize that the air
in certain places possesses a greater amount of "something” and sick
people are directed by their physicians to seek such places in hopes of
regaining lost health.
The oxygen in the air is
appropriated by the blood and is made use of by the circulatory system. The
prana in the air is appropriated by the nervous system, and is used in its
work. And as the oxygenated blood is carried to all parts of the system,
building up and replenishing, so is the prana carried to all parts of the
nervous system, adding strength and vitality. If we think of prana as being the
active principle of what we call "vitality,” we will be able to form a
much clearer idea of what an important part it plays in our lives. Just as is
the oxygen in the blood used up by the wants of the system, so the supply of
prana taken up by the nervous system is exhausted by our thinking, willing,
acting, etc., and in consequence constant replenishing is necessary. Every
thought, every act, every effort of the will, every motion of a muscle, uses up
a certain amount of what we call nerve force, which is really a form of prana.
To move a muscle the brain sends out an impulse over the nerves, and the muscle
contracts, and so much prana is expended. When it is remembered that the
greater portion of prana acquired by man comes to him from the air inhaled, the
importance of proper breathing is readily understood.
It will be noticed that the Western scientific theories
regarding the breath confine themselves to the effects of the absorption of
oxygen, and its use through the circulatory system, while the Yogi theory also
takes into consideration the absorption of Prana, and its manifestation through
the channels of the Nervous System. Before proceeding further, it may be as
well to take a hasty glance at the Nervous System.
The Nervous System of man is divided into two great
systems, viz., the Cerebro-Spinal System and the Sympathetic System. The
Cerebro-Spinal System consists of all that part of the Nervous System contained
within the cranial cavity and the spinal canal, viz., the brain and the spinal
cord, together with the nerves which branch off from the same. This system
presides over the functions of animal life known as volition, sensation, etc.
The Sympathetic System includes all that part of the Nervous System located
principally in the thoracic, abdominal and pelvic cavities, and which is
distributed to the internal organs. It has control over the involuntary
processes, such as growth, nutrition, etc.
The Cerebro-Spinal System attends to all the seeing,
hearing, tasting, smelling, feeling, etc. It sets things in motion; it is used
by the Ego to think— to manifest consciousness. It is the instrument with which
the Ego communicates with the outside world. This system may be likened to a
telephone system, with the brain as the central office, and the spinal column
and nerves as cable and wires respectively.
The brain is a great mass of nerve tissue, and consists
of three parts, viz., the Cerebrum or brain power, which occupies the upper,
front, middle and back portion of the skull; the Cerebellum, or "little
brain,” which fills the lower and back portion of the skull; and the Medulla
Oblongata, which is the broadened commencement of the spinal cord, lying before
and in front of the Cerebellum.
The Cerebrum is the organ of that part of the mind which
manifests itself in intellectual action. The Cerebellum regulates the movements
of the voluntary muscles. The Medulla Oblongata is the upper enlarged end of
the spinal cord, and from it and the Cerebrum branch forth the Cranial Nerves
which reach to various parts of the head, to the organs of special sense, and
to some of the thoracic and abdominal organs, and to the organs of respiration.
The Spinal Cord, or spinal marrow, fills the spinal canal
in the vertebral column, or "backbone.” It is a long mass of nerve tissue,
branching off at the several vertebrae to nerves communicating with all parts
of the body. The Spinal Cord is like a large telephone cable, and the emerging
nerves are like the private wires connecting therewith.
The Sympathetic Nervous System consists of a double chain
of Ganglia on the side of the Spinal column, and scattered ganglia in the head,
neck, chest and abdomen. (A ganglion is a mass of nervous matter including
nerve cells.) These ganglia are connected with each other by filaments, and are
also connected with the Cerebro-Spinal System by motor and sensory nerves. From
these ganglia numerous fibers branch out to the organs of the body, blood
vessels, etc. At various points, the nerves meet together and form what are
known as plexuses. The Sympathetic System practically controls the involuntary
processes, such as circulation, respiration and digestion.
The power or force
transmitted from the brain to all parts of the body by means of the nerves, is
known to Western science as "nerve force,” although the Yogi knows it to
be a manifestation of Prana. In character and rapidity it resembles the
electric current. It will be seen that without this "nerve force” the
heart cannot beat; the blood cannot circulate; the lungs cannot breathe; the
various organs cannot function; in fact, the machinery of the body comes to a
stop without it. Nay, more, even the brain cannot think without Prana be
present. When these facts are considered, the importance of the absorption of
Prana must be evident to all, and the Science of Breath assumes an importance
even greater than that accorded it by Western science.
The Yogi teachings go further than does Western science,
in one important feature of the Nervous System. We allude to what Western
science terms the "Solar Plexus,” and which it considers as merely one of
a series of certain matted nets of sympathetic nerves with their ganglia found
in various parts of the body. The Yogi science teaches that this Solar Plexus
is really a most important part of the Nervous System, and that it is a form of
brain, playing one of the principal parts in the human economy. Western science
seems to be moving gradually towards a recognition of this fact which has been
known to the Yogis of the East for centuries, and some recent Western writers
have termed the Solar Plexus the "Abdominal Brain.” The Solar Plexus is
situated in the Epigastric region, just back of the "pit of the stomach”
on either side of the spinal column. It is composed of white and gray brain
matter, similar to that composing the other brains of man. It has control of
the main internal organs of man, and plays a much more important part than is
generally recognized. We will not go into the Yogi theory regarding the Solar
Plexus, further than to say that they know it as the great central storehouse
of Prana. Men have been known to be instantly killed by a severe blow over the
Solar Plexus, and prize fighters recognize its vulnerability and frequently
temporarily paralyze their opponents by a blow over this region.
The name "Solar” is well bestowed on this
"brain,” as it radiates strength and energy to all parts of the body, even
the upper brains depending largely upon it as a storehouse of Prana. Sooner or
later Western science will fully recognize the real function of the Solar
Plexus, and will accord to it a far more important place than it now occupies
in their textbooks and teachings.
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