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Chapter VIII
(Prana Continued) ESCHATOLOGY The word Prana is of the Vedic origin, and has come to mean life on the physical plane, but is in fact the first principle which has evolved the whole living and the lifeless creation. Or, as has been shown, it has involved itself during the creative process -to take up different forms and names at different planes of creation. Here we give below a translation of the sixth part . of the Prashnopanishad: "Again, verily Sukesha Bharadwaja asked him (Pippalada) saying, `Sire, Hiranyanabha Kaushalya of the princely clan having come to me asked :this question; 'Oh, Bharadwaja ! "lost thou know the Purusha of 'the sixteen phases ? ' I told the prince, ` I know not that, had I known, why should I not have told thee that, as with root '.(the' whole family) becomes, extinct, so of one who tells a lie, therefore I dare not speak. the untruth. ' Thereupon he got into his chariot and went away, that same question I ask thee, `what is that Purusha ? ' Unto him Pippalada replied: 'here even in this body, : Oh, peaceful ! is that Purusha, of whom are produced the sixteen phases. That Purusha thought, on whose - leaving this, body I shall leave it and on whose 'entering the body shall I enter in. He then created Prana, From Prana shraddhi, ether, air, fire, water, earth, senses "of knowledge and mind, food, from food strength, tapas, vedas, sacrifices, lokas (the different planes of creation) and in the lokas names. As the rivers flowing seaward and having fallen into the sea lose themselves, their names and forms are lost, then what remains is said to be sea, so even is in the case of this Purusha, - the seer, these sixteen phases, reverting towards Purusha, merging into Purusha, lose themselves and their names and forms are lost, and then what remains is said to be Purusha and He becomes one phase less and eternal."
In the above dialogue it has been shown that Prana the first principle of creation emanates from Purusha, the Lord, and it is the Prana that gets involved into both the physical and psychic planes. Prana is the first cause of creation, and it is at the same time Prana that links the psychic with the physical. - Psychic and Physical bodies are linked together with Prima and on Prana leaving the body the. soul too gets out along with it on death, and on its entering a fresh body the soul enters in it for fresh birth. Prana as the first principle is known as the universal mind-stuff (mahat), and is all pervading and individually it forms. the pranamayakosha, and is known as astral fluid to the English readers. On the physical plane it perhaps takes the form of the nebulous matter that ultimately transforms and takes up the form of all stars and planets. Astral fluid that forms the outer covering of the psychic body and the nebulous fluid are therefore practically of the same substance on different strata. Pranamayakosha interlinks the Annamayakosha. and the Manomayakosha. They are so named being formed of Prana, Anna (food) and Mind respectively and serve as sheaths of soul. The astral fluid from upwards the physical plane rarifies through a range of seven strata. The Indian cosmologists have. described .the sevenfold strata of Prana separately as pertaining to the human body, the Earth, and Brahmanda (a cosmic unit) or the universe we see, there being innumerable universes of the kind. Each unit consists of a family of stars, each star being a solar centre of its respective solar system. Each unit is known. to the Hindus as a Brahmanda, i.e. a cosmic egg of the Creater. In the case of mankind the seven strata are known as chakras and are named from the bottom upwards as mooladhar, swadhisthana, manipoor, anahat, vishuddha, and ajna ; the seventh being sahasrar - the thousand petalled lotus in the cerebrum. In the case of the Earth they are ' called Dwipas and are named Jambu dwipa, Shaka dwipa, Kusha dwipa, Krauncha. dwipa, Shalmali dwipa, Plaxa dwipa, and Pushkar dwipa. The Earth as the physical planet known to us including the continents of Asia, Europe, Africa and America surrounded with saline oceans is called Jambu dwipa. The other six are astral spheres with the higher enveloping the lower ones, i.e., every outer sphere envelops the next lower and is said to be double in area. The continents that there be in them are said to be surrounded with waters tasting respectively as sugarcane juice, wine, clarified butter, curd; milk, boiled rice, water, and milk. These astral regions are invisible to our physical vision and are transparent to the Sun-rays.. The ancients. had divided the continental land of Jambu dwipa into seven parts, each being called a Varsha. Their names are Ramnak, Hiranyamaya, and Uttarkurus lying north of Nishad, Hemkut and the Himalayas, situated from west to east, probably corresponding to the present Europe, Central, Asia, and China including a part of Siberia. Hari varsha, Kimpitrusha varsha, and Bharat varsha to their, south, probably corresponding to the present Africa, Middle East and Far East including India respectively. They form the eastern ' hemisphere. Ilavrita varsha corresponds to the American continents lying on the western hemisphere. Sumeru is the name given to the axis, of the Earth. The above description has been given according to Vyasa's commentary, on Yoga Darshan. In the third case the seven Lokas are named as Bhurloka, Bhuwarloka, Swarlok, Maharloka, Janaloku. Tapoloka, and Satyaloka. Earth with her seven dwipas constitutes the Bhurloka, the sky 'containing 'the whole family of stars of which the Sun is one of the members is called Bhuwarloka and is also called Antarikshalaka. The rest of the five are higher. astral regions enveloping the Bhuwarloka one over the other. Satyaloka is the highest Brahmaloka. For a more comprehensive idea readers are referred to commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Darshan by Vyasa vide sutra (3.26) above referred to. All the spheres are accessible after death to the astral bodies of spiritual persons, who rise upto them according to the degree of refinement of their respective astral bodies (linga sharir). It has been said that astral body links the psychic body with the physic,-d body and it is the desire of a person that acts as a motive power which governs the astral movements. A person with a strong desire to live and have the enjoyments of the physical. plane makes the astral body gravitate towards the physical plane. The astral body can be directed towards any of the astral spheres by developing such desire and acquiring the necessary refinement of the astral body. Such desire shall come into effect no sooner than the astral body is detached from the physical body after death or in life through the practice of. yoga. Untruthfulness and, vicious desires, anger, lust for sensual pleasures and worldly attachments for wife, children, wealth and other secular possessions attract the - astral body towards the physical plane. Vices, anger, and lust, etc., disintegrate the astral body and serve as a lead weight to keep it down. On the other hand calmness of mind, peace, love. and virtuous deeds of philanthropy and.. magnanimity raise the astral refinement. The finest state of refinement of the astral body is acquired through meditation and desirelessness. When a person raises his astral fluid (prana) through spinal (the different chakras of sushumna) to cerebrum, the degree of refinement acquired by the astral body at each of the chakras qualifies the person for the corresponding a astral sphere to which he shall be entitled to rise after death. If a person can dislink the psychic body from the physical one, he can visit them even in life and come back to his physical frame. Evolution of-.Prang- at its highest degree makes it merge in the universal Prang and then in Brahman. If the astral body is defiled and darkened with sinful deeds, it would descend even to lower planes of existences such as of evil spirits, ghosts, rakshasas, etc., and even to the planes of animals. Mention is made of even dark regions called hells to which persons with darkened astral bodies are lowered. Hells are described as covered with darkness and are earthy, watery, fiery, airy and ethereal.. Perhaps they are the same as in vegetable life living beings of water, they that live within the hot wombs of the earth, animals and bird respectively: They, are correctly said to be.groping in darkness, because of their lacking in illumination of spirit, intellect and even of senses of perception. On the human plane as well. there are persons who are decidedly not higher than animals by nature and are called human brutes and those whose lot is, to suffer lifelong miseries can be said to be in hell on the human plane. Pious. persons still possessed of desire of enjoyments are said to depart after death through the path of the moon to swarloka and those who have become free from all desires of secular enjoyments and of heaven rise by the path of the sun to the spheres of Maharloka and the higher ones according to their stage of evolution. Those who cannot rise by either of the paths take birth on this sphere directly. In, the same connection it will not be out of place here to explain the uttardyana and dakshinayana gati referred to in Gita vide (8.26). It is said that those who are yogis prefer to die during the uttardyana period when the Sun moves northwards. If they die during the other half of the year there is a likelihood of their not rising higher. The reason is that the Sun radiates Prana as has been said before. The universal Prana on the northern hemisphere is on the increase or high tide as the Sun moves northwards with the lengthening of the day time and on the decrease or low tide during dakshinayana with the shortening of day. Therefore when an individual prana leaves the physical body, it receives lift with the increasing universal Prana in his march upwards to higher regions during uttarayana and gets setback during dakshinayana, as his speed will be accelerated or retarded by the high or ebb-tides of the universal Prana. Those who are not yogis, but otherwise pious and virtuous also try to rise up but cannot rise to - the solar region, they simply rise up to the lunar one. By the way it may also be explained how the solar and lunar eclipses affect our astral bodies for the same reason. When an eclipse occurs the natural supply of nourishment to astral fluid is cut off and the natural consequence follows in the shape of deterioration of the astral fluid. In order to make up the deficiency meditation of God and concentration of mind on one's self, the main sources of all prana, are prescribed. It is therefore a custom with the Hindus to bathe in some river or tank before an eclipse begins and sit all alone for meditation till it is over. Joyful mind also helps the astral body, therefore it is enjoined to give charity to the poor and the depressed during the period of, an eclipse, as charity makes both the benefactor, and the receiver of charity happy and joyful. The astral fluid, is so called, because it shines like stars in its purest state of refinement, but it darkens and becomes defiled through evil deeds and vicious desires, which then becomes dull lacking brightness - and tends to sink down to lower planes. The complexion of Shiva is therefore painted as bright as the moon, and of ghosts, and evil spirits as dark. Let us therefore sing, with the great poet Dr. Rabindra Nath Tagore in his beautiful song: Purify, brighten it and make it beautiful eh, On thy lotus feet make my mind stable, eh, Make it joyful, joyful, joyful, eh.
Biography of Swami Vishnu Tirtha
The Divine
Aspects Uchchishtha
or The Residual Power Evolution Idea of
Moksha Superiority of
Mahayoga Will Power
and Faith Raja Yoga Panchopasana Secret of Upasana (Worship) Guru-Tattwa
and God Realisation of God as Knowledge Retrospect
and Prospect |
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