Our body is a combination of the five elements namely earth, water, fire,air, and akasa or space! It is a wonderful combination so dexterously arranged that none can imitate it! The most important life giving component is what is called Prana or breath! Without Prana the body has no importance; it becomes lifeless and is called 'sava- a dead body or corpse! But with Prana it becomes 'siva’ the seat of God! This Prana is also called the spirit or the soul or 'atma’ that resides in the body of every living object in the universe. Various activities of the body, those of the sensory organs, the eyes, the ears, the limbs,the nose and the tongue come to a standstill if Prana does not activate them! It is this Prana which is called Vayu in the Upanishad. “ Namo brahmane namaste Vayo twameva pratyaksham brahmasi” Obeisance to O Vayu! You are the very form of the Brahman or the Absolute! But for the movement of Vayu in our body we will not have our existence at all!
Adi Sankara in his Bhajagovindastotra establishes the vital necessity of Vayu which is also called 'Pavana'. “Yaavat pavano nivasati dehe tavat prucchati kusalam gehe”- As long as man is alive, that is with Prana, every person at home enquires of his well-being. They interact with him, like him, love him, and carry on the usual family regimen! They are happy with friends, relatives, and children. “Gatavati vayau dehapaye bharya bibhyati tasmin Kaye"-- when this Pranavayu exits the body even the person’s own wife is afraid of the body without life! It is because it has lost the activating factor, the life giving Prana and become a 'sava’! What exactly is this 'Pavana' or Prana?’ All of us have heard of the term “Pancha Pranas”. What are these five Pranas in our body? How do they manipulate the systems in our body?
The five Pranas that take charge of our body are Prana, Apana, Samana Dana, and Udana! These branch out into the most important parts of our body and carry out their functions. Prana is centered in the heart and looks after the functions of the heart, the pumping and circulation of blood to every nook and corner of the body. Apana Vayu is responsible for the excretory system of the body and centered at the anal point. It manages the renal system of the body. Samana Vayu is stationed at the navel and is responsible for all abdominal functions. Udana Vayu remains at the neck portion of our body. It is with the help of this that we are able to eat, drink and talk. Vyana Vayu radiates all over the body supervising the duties of the other Vayus. Thus all the vital functions of our body are carried out through the movement of these Vayus regularly. If there is any malfunction of any of these Vayus, it is an indication of some disease! The moment Prana leaves the body, it is dead and unfit to be kept at home. Preparations for the burial or cremation shall take place. Relations Keep a distance from the body and the wife of the person too will be afraid to be too near the body!
Sri Ramakrishna has an interesting parable of the love of a wife for her husband. A hatha yoga disciple of a guru said that his wife loved him so dearly that he could not renounce the world! The guru wanted to prove the hollowness of his belief! He taught his chela some secrets of hatha yoga by which he could remain taut and look lifeless. As he remained like that there was wailing and sorrow at home as they thought the man was dead! The wife cried inconsolably and others too wept bitterly. The body had to be removed and it was difficult to take it out through the narrow doorway. They wanted to cut the door and widen it to remove the body! Knowing this the wife stopped them! She said that she was now widowed and had to look after her children and cannot afford to repair the house if the door is broken! Instead she suggested that the arms and legs of her husband’s dead body be cut to remove the body!!
The effect of hatha yoga receding, the disciple woke up as if from sleep and was aghast at the suggestion she made! Was this the love she had for him? She was prepared to cut the limbs of his body in preference to dismantling the doorway! How cruel she was! He was utterly disillusioned and realized that people show love and affection to even their nearest kith and kin as long as there is life in the body! The connections are cut off as soon as death takes place! The disciple saw the truth in the words of his mentor and took to sanyasa immediately! Sankara thus illustrates the worldly trend of the common people. Understanding these truths, man should think of God and worship Govinda without wasting time on worthless pursuits!
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