Praana The Life Force And You

The Prashna Upanishad of Atharvanika Braahmana contains questions posed to Sage Pippalaada and his answers that explain the nature of knowledge, Brahmn the Absolute and the life-force, praanaHindi text~~Atha hainam kausalyashchaashvalyanah paprachchha bhagwam kuta aisha prano jayate?Kathmayati asmin shareere? Aatmaanam va pravibhajya katham Praatishthate? Kenotkramate? Katham Bahyamabhidhatte/ Kathamadhyatmamiti?(1)Having raised the prime importance of praana in the second question, the third question is being asked in order to realise its secrets. The seer Kausalya Ashwalayan asked Sage Pippalaada: “What is the special causal factor from which praana originates? How does it enter the physical body for its activities? How does it divide into praana, apaana, udaana, samaan and vyaana and performs various functions for the existence of this body? How does it leave the body and travel to different spheres and what is its spiritual form? Pray tell me about it.”Hindi text~~Tasmai sa hovacha atiprashnan prichchasi brahmishthooseeti tasmatteaham braveemi. (2)Sage Pippalaada, after hearing Ashwalayan’s question, replied: “You have firm faith in Brahmn, why are you asking such subtle questions? I shall tell you all about it because you are established in Brahmic faith and you are rightly the deserved one.Hindi text~~Aatmanah asha praano jayate. Yathaisha purushe chhayaitasminnet datatam mano kritenayatyasmin shareere. (3)This praana originates from Shiva and with the support of divine activity acting like Brahmn in the form of a shadow, it enters the body through the manas tatva and permeates the whole body.Hindi text~~Yatha samaadevaadhikritam vinuyungate etan gramanetan gramanadhititshti swetyevmesha praana itran pranam prithak prithageva sannedhatte.(4)Just as a ruler appoints different officers in different villages for perfect functioning of the kingdom, the praana also gets subdivided and appoints various types of praanas in different parts of the body for their perfect functioning.Hindi text~~Payuspasthepanam chakshuh shotre mukhanasikabhyam pranah swayam praatishthate madhye tu samanah. Aesha hyetiaddhutamannam samam nayati tasmadetah saptar chaisho bhavanti. (5)Apaana is situated in the rear and genitals. Praana itself like a ruler is situated in the eyes, ears, mouth and nostrils. Samaan is situated in the middle of the body, that is, the navel region and carries digested food to various parts of the body equally. From samaan, the red yellow and dark framed fire acting as a fuel carries digested fruit juice to the region of the heart. From here originate the seven radiant flames of fire, two for each pair of eyes, ears and nostrils and one for the mouth.Hindi text~~Haridi hyesha aatma. Atraita dekashatam. Nadeenam tasam shatam shatamekaikasyam. Dwasaptatirdwa saptatih pratishakha nadee sahastrani bhawantasu vyanashcharati. (6)In the heart region either by the knowledge of aham or directly ones experiences the atma practically. This region of the heart contains a group of 100 channels. Each of these channels are further divided into 100 each. These channels are further subdivided into 72 smaller channels and like this there are 72,000 channels along which the vyaana flows.Hindi text~~Atha aekyordhwam udaanah punyanea punyalokam nayati papena papamubhabhyameva manushyalokam.(7)The channels Sushumna allows the flow of udaana only which flows upwards. This udaana praana is responsible for carrying the person doing good deeds into good lokas and those doing sinful deeds into hell, and those doing both good and sinful acts to be reborn on earth.Hindi text~~Aditya ha vai vahyah pranauvyati aesha hyaenam chakshusham prananamanugrihnanah prithvivyam ya devta saishapurushasyapaanamavashtavhyaantara yadakashah sa samano vayurvyanah.(8)An accumulated mass of radiant light, the sun, arises daily in the east representing the external praana. It makes contact with the praana situated in the eyes and provides them with the power of visualisation. The overall controlling lord of the element earth attracts the apaana towards earth. The space in the middle of the body is like a void and contains vyaana which has common properties with the element air, the pervasiveness.Note: The spiritual nature of praana and the way it maintains in the body and its five subdivided forms and its external form as sun has been elucidated.Hindi text~~Tejo ha vaa udanastasmadupashantatejaah punarbhavamindriyairmanasi samspadyamaanaih.(9)Hindi text~~Yachchittastenaisha praan maayati praanastejasa, yukta sahaatmanaa yathaa samkalpitam lokam nayati. (10)The tejas tatva is udaana. When the person dies it becomes cold and this udaana, the tejas tattva along with manas and sense organs then desires another body. Birth in another body is guided by the thought process in chit at the time of death.Hindi text~~Ya aevam viddwana pranam vedana hasya prajaa heeyate amrito bhavati tadesha shlokah. (11)The learned one who realises praana like this never suffers from the loss of his near and dear ones, his progeny. It means that he becomes devoid of the pain of life and death.Hindi text ~~Utpattimayatim sthanam vibhutwam chaiva panchadaha adhyaatmam chaiva praanasya vignaaya amritamashnute vignyaamritamashanuta iti.(12)The one who has the knowledge of the genesis of the praana in the body entry situation fivefold divisions all pervasiveness and its equivalence to atma, attains nectar – that is, liberation from all bondages.Twice repetition of the word amritamashnute in the mantra denotes the culmination of the question.Iti Tritiyah Prashnah