Santhi Speaks Santhi Prasad (#SanthiSpeaks)

You have seen by now that elements are the different components of existence. Each element has a pure form as well as an impure, gross form. When the element is pure and subtle it is in the form of energy. The whole manifestation is made of energy. Our body is also composed of similar elements which are called, in Sanskrit, Bhuthas. The five elements - Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth - can be either gross or subtle. The grosser element Earth comes to the human system through food; while Water makes its presence felt in its own form; sunlight brings Fire; Air takes the form of wind; and Ether is felt as Akasa or sky. But the pure and subtle form of the elemental energy gets activated in the human system through the movement of pulmonary organs, the lungs, while we breathe. The movement of breath includes both the subtle and gross movements that happen in the body during the process of breathing. Sometimes when we breathe, the breath may not be deep. If the breath is not deep enough, the chances of the breath to provide oxygen for the entire body to release sufficient Prana to support its metabolic activities will be slim. Breathing may remain shallow for hours or even days.
If a person breathes normally for an hour the Earth element will be dominant for 20 minutes; the Water element will be dominant 16 minutes; Fire element for 12 minutes; Air element for 8 minutes; and Ether element for 4 minutes. When the Earth element is dominant, the breath will be deep. When Water element is dominant the movement of the breath will be reaching and concentrating on the genital centre. The movement of the breath will be reaching the navel centre when the Fire element is dominant,. When breath stays in the chest region, the Air element will be dominant. The settling down of the movement of the breath is an indication of the dominance of the Ether element. It is presumed that there is elemental balance when the above proportion is maintained in the breathing process. If this balance is set aside for some reasons, the person is prone to ill health and sickness.

We have now seen, how Sankhya explains the evolution of all the different senses, organs and Prana. Now let us see how the mind evolved. A receptacle was needed in order to store and process the information gathered by the senses. The mind is basically that receptacle that has unbelievable capabilities of analysis, synthesis and judging—it is the sum total of all the senses combined. The senses offer the mind an option of a possible functioning by collecting relevant information.
The mind can’t work without sensory data. The information gathered helps us understand what is happening around us. We have already discussed the theory of creation that “Awareness” attempted to re-establish a union with “Consciousness” once it started feeling miserable about their separation. Based on the view that everything happened towards that end, Awareness had to know whether that end would be met. The system that was created with this purpose was the mind. The function of which was to perform the processes of analysis, discrimination and determination. Awareness couldn’t think of anything else, as Awareness was the instrument of knowing itself. The sum total of all the senses together with the analytical faculty is considered as the mind which is subtler than all the senses. Even though mind is also considered as a sense it is very different from the other senses. It has analytical as well as storage capabilities. The mind is doing discriminatory processes to find out good and bad from the collected information. The faculty of the mind to discriminate and determine based on the facts presented before it is called intellect. When it could discriminate between good and bad, right and wrong, there arose the possibility to enjoy and suffer and the instrument formed for the purpose was the ego. The principle of individuation - the Chit - evolved from this.
Mind also has the three qualities—Satwa, Rajas and Tamas. Discrimination based on the information on external appearances is always prejudiced by the information which already exists in synthesized but stagnant form in the mind—we call this previous knowledge. The stagnating function of the mind is the Tamasic quality of the mind. As soon as information registers, the mind picks and chooses the relevant details and analyses it. The analytic function of the mind is its active part called Rajasic quality. While doing the analysis the discriminative aspect of the mind makes judgments based on its accepted norms of right and wrong, good and bad. This synthesizing of knowledge is the Satwic quality of the mind. From the Tamasic quality nothing special evolved

As a part of the study of Prana, it is important to know how manifestation happened and how the senses, the mind, the intellect, the ego, the principles of creation of the work organs (Karmendriyas) and Prana, evolved. The whole story of creation was visualized by Kapila Maharshi in his philosophy called Sankhya.The term‘Sankhya’ means numbering. It is called Sankhya because it enumerates the basic principles involved in the process of manifestation.
With utmost gratitude and respect to Kapila, let us have a look at the theory of Sankhya.
What was there before the beginning? There will certainly be no concrete answer to this question as it is beyond human comprehension. At the same time, one may think there could have been nothing before the beginning. Nothingness could only mean stillness! Stillness is silence. We could call this primordial silence “creative emptiness”. Everything can certainly evolve from it as it is creative. In other words, everything was present in this creative silence but in an un-manifested way.
According to Kapila, the creative silence started to manifest as various qualities. The first quality which manifested was Satwa. Satwa means pure.This quality is clarity, light and knowledge. From Satwa evolved a new quality of passion and activity. Kapila called this new quality Rajas,which means being dynamic or active. From Rajas came yet another quality, which Kapila named Tamas. Tamas is described by the terms condensation, stagnancy, lethargy, sleep, darkness and ignorance.
These three qualities together are called “Trigunas” by Kapila. This is the base of creation according to Sanghya.
From “Gunas”- qualities evolved the elements. Ether was the first element to evolve; followed by Air. From Air evolved Fire; from Fire evolved Water and from Water Earth evolved.
The creative emptiness which was there before the beginning was omnipresent as it was the only reality. At some point, something began to manifest in the creative emptiness and that is what we call creation. The creative emptiness was both knowledge and knowing. Knowing is the process whereby one obtains knowledge and that can only happen through awareness. It is believed that both knowledge and awareness existed within the creative emptiness, but it was not manifested or differentiated. It was ONE.

While we exist in this body the breath is the essential support of our existence. Therefore, it is important for us to know our essential breath which stays at the very root of our embodiment. Essential breath is the settled breath. It certainly has all our qualities. Getting intouch with our essential breath is almost like coming back home. Breathe changes its nature, quality and intensity depending on the circumstances. It also gets modified in tune with our placement, the situation we are in , our moods and the activity we are engaged in. Every time extraneous factors like sensory information or physical activity causes internal reactions such as emotions and thoughts, the essential breath gets modified. It stays modified for a time, enabling us to carry out the specific functions for which the breath got modified in the first place. After a while, it returns to the state of essential breath again. The essential breath is the balanced breath. It is natural and the changes that happen to it in the process of coping with various circumstances are also natural. For example, no one can enter into the act of sex without the breath getting naturally modified. Furthermore, without changing the breath we would neither be able to let out our tension through anger nor feel a sense of possessiveness, both of which happen to be part of the basic human instincts for survival. Similarly, the breath modifies itself in moments of greed, passion, compassion and love. These changes in breath are constant and continuous. As long as we are alive and breathing, our breath will change in conjunction with our reactions to the surroundings. Certainly these fluctuations are essential for the survival of mankind. It is good and bad at the same time and, hence, we need to strike a balance.
When we are totally relaxed and balanced our breath will make a small whistling sound. When the breath starts to whistle we can be sure that we are with the essential breath. It is the subtle music of life, the symphony of living.
The essential breath is constant for each and every person. It depends upon both the psychological and the physical make-up of the individual. It also depends on the intensity with which we have taken our first breath. What is normal for one person may not be normal or ideal for another. The normal breath changes depending on one’s state of mind and body. When we are anxious or feeling insecure, the breath changes to a level which is normal for that situation. There are qualitative as well as quantitative changes in breath depending on the emotion of the moment, be it anger, pride, or avarice. The same is true for the emotions of sorrow, empathy, compassion and love. When one feels deeply integrated within oneself, the breath becomes feeble, starting to flow without even the air noticing it. This is the state of Kevala Kumbhaka or absolute retention as told by Yogis.
By looking at the essential breath, its manifestations, and the corresponding changes which happen in the mental and physical planes, one will be able to ultimately realize that everything is functioning quite naturally. This realization will help a person accept himself the way he really is. Accepting without attempting to modify is a great step in the process of evolution. Firstly, one has to accept that one is an animal. Then follows the development of thought that one is human. When his humanness is fit enough to accommodate the entire existence, he will realize that he is in every being and that every being is in him. This marks the transformation into divine! He will in turn experience the intelligence that flows like an unbroken stream of consciousness and expresses itself as his very Existence. He becomes the flute that plays the music of life which connects him to celestial ecstasy.

Prana is the vital force that creates and sustains life. It is activated in the human system through the processes of respiration and consumption of food. The breathing process is a purposeful rhythmic movement that ensures our physical survival. When we inhale, the body expands and occupies a little more space around us and resumes its original position at the time of exhalation. The vibration of this movement permeates in all directions and dimensions, incognito. We are expanding and contracting every moment! Each and every one of us exists as a pulsation in the universe. The whole Universe may have emerged from the silence as a pulsation and may eventually submerge into  Silence. This emergence and submergence is a great pranic pulsation! We are part of this wonderful rhythm. As Spandanopanishad says, whoever understands the secret of pulsation is a free man! 
Let us see what Prana actually is. When we came out of our mother’s womb, we took the first breath, initiating the process of living. The fundamental function of breathing is to keep us alive. Breathing goes on continuously until a person dies. Breath on its own is very sensitive and dynamic. We are constantly moving ahead on this ever active wheel. When we breathe in, oxygen goes into each and every cell of our body through the bloodstream and cellular respiration takes place. During cellular respiration, the micro food particles stored in the cells get oxidized and  heat is generated as breathing is an exothermic chemical reaction. This heat, this life sustaining warmth, is Prana, the vital force. The wise consider this Prana  as the connecting link between the body and the soul. 


Prana ensures and maintains our existence. As breathing is an involuntary activity, we remain ignorant of the Pranic cycle. Whether we are aware of it or not, we are like puppets at the mercy of Prana the puppeteer. One day the string will inevitably break causing the puppet to fall down. The broken string cannot be tied together again- the story ends there and the curtain falls. It is important to know the story, the character, and the main tool - the string - before the play finishes and the curtain falls. An awareness of this game will bring more joy that develops into a kind of celebration. It is natural for all beings to experience their own inner joy which is an effortless task. All we need to do is simply be aware of the Prana which operates through the process of breathing. So long as we are alive we can experience this, as Prana exists within a human being. Our life which is sustained by Prana is the program for experiencing, knowing, satisfying and liberating ourselves from the bondages of birth and death. The only tool required to achieve this is an awareness of our own Prana  which forms the essential basis for all the other experiences. We are fortunate to have received this opportunity to experience our own life and its inherent celebration! 

Breathing being an involuntary activity works usually without our knowledge or will. It happens by itself. When we become aware of this incessant flow, the mind starts to relax. The relaxation that leads to meditation will happen only when the breath settles. When our breath settles, our mind also settles. When the mind settles we enter into deeper relaxation. A tensed mind can never reach the state of clarity needed to comprehend the true self. 

The simplest way to study Prana is to listen to the sound of the breath. The breath carries within itself a subtle vibration which explicitly shows us who we are. The breath constantly chants the mantra SOHAM which means, “I am that”. It chants at least 24,400 times a day in an adult human being. This sound of breath is known as Swara. All the planes of existence lie hidden within the Swara. It is considered to be the cause of creation, existence and dissolution.  Siva Swarodaya  says that the entire Vedas, Sashtras and musical knowledge lie hidden within the Swara.