Baba
Inner thing
Namaskar,
As a sadhaka, you have certainly experienced how knowledge of spiritual philosophy and the science of yoga, directly or indirectly, helps in our day to day sadhana practice.
Here, the philosophical point is that in total there are ten va'yus-- 5 internal and 5 external. By vayus we are not just talking about the simple air from the environment, but rather the internal vital airs-- vayus. As Baba tells us, the 10 vayus-- i.e. pra'n'a-- are the internal and external vital airs of the body. While the internal vayus are mostly related with the inner organs of the body such as the lungs and heart etc, the external vayus relate more with our movements and interaction with the expressed world. Long back, great yogis discovered that the vayus are best regulated and controlled through our practice of pranayama.
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Ananda Marga philosophy states, “During práńáyáma the vital energy controls the mind.
Práńán yamayatyeśah práná yámah[That which controls the ten vayus (the flows of vital energy) is called práńáyáma] (1)
The internal vayus
Following Baba is outlining some of the integral aspects about the internal vayus.
"The internal va'yus are pra'n'a, apa'na, sama'na, uda'na, and vya'na."
1) Pra'n'a: The pra'n'a va'yu is situated in the area from the navel to the throat. It helps with the respiratory functions and the circulation of vital energy.
2) Apa'na: This va'yu functions in the area from the navel down. It helps in the excretion of urine and stool.
3) Sama'na: Sama'na va'yu is situated at the navel region and maintains equilibrium between the pra'n'a and apa'na va'yus .
4) Uda'na: The uda'na va'yu is situated in the throat. It helps in vocalisation and expression of thought. If someone uses very emotional language we say "tini uda'tta kan'the a'hva'n Ja'na'len." [He issued a clarion call.]
5) Vya'na: The vya'na va'yu functions throughout the body. It helps in the circulation of vital fluids and blood, and in the perception and non-perception of experience." (2)
Regarding the functioning of the internal vayus Baba gives the following guideline:
Ananda Marga ideology says, "The vital energy is generated in the unit-body through the media of five internal airs and five external airs. Of the five internal vayus-- Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana-- the prana, situated between the navel and the throat, controls the functions of lungs, heart etc; the Apana, situated below the navel (i.e., between the navel and the anus) controls the excreta like stool, urine etc.; the Samana, situated within the navel, keeps the equilibrium of Prana and Apana; the Undana, situated in the throat, controls the vocal chord (power of speech) and the Vyana, permeating through the entire body, controls the circulation of blood, secretions etc, and with the help of nerves brings the sensory and motor organs into contact with action and the knowable. The vibration that is necessary for the faculty of thinking is also supplied by Vyana air." (3)
So the vital airs or vayus have a distinct practical use in the overall functioning and wellness of the body and mind.
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Specifics about external vayus
Here, following, Baba names all 10 vayus and then specifically describes the 5 external vayus.
"The internal vayus are prana, apana, samana, udana, and vyana...The five external vayus are:
(1) Na'ga: It resides in the joints. This na'ga vayu helps with jumping and extending the body."
(2) Ku'rma: It is found in the different glands of the body. Kurma vayu helps with the action of contraction. The way a turtle contracts by withdrawing its limbs into its body is called kurmabhava. since this va'yu help in effecting ku'rmabhava, it is called ku'rma vayu."
(3) Krkara: Krkara vayu is scattered throughout the body. It expresses itself in the increase or decrease of air pressure. Krkara va'yu help in yawning and stretching. Ordinarily, yawning happens right before falling asleep and stretching, right after waking up."
(4) Devadatta: The devadatta vayu bases its action on the increased or decreased pressure of food and water in the stomach. Devadatta va'yu rouses thirst and hunger.
(5) Dhanainjaya: As a result of internal or external labour, the body feels the need for sleep. The feeling of sleep or drowsiness comes from this dhaninjaya va'yu which pervades the body, and so the living being drowses or falls asleep." (4)
So the external vayus control many of our bodily actions and functions with the external world.
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Ananda Marga ideology states, "The five efferent airs, viz,. Naga, Kurma, Krkara, Devadatta and Dhanainjaya, control expansion and contraction, yawning and hiccup, hunger and thirst, sleep and drowsiness." (5)
How the vayus practically function
Next, Baba describes in detail the special way that the prana or vital airs function within the human structure. In particular, Baba describes the unique way these vayus bring the feelings to the mind. As we all know, the organs (indriyas) basically receive stimuli from the environment etc, and it is the role of the vayus to carry the essence of those stimuli to the mind. So the vayus perform a key role in the overall, daily functioning of the human body and mind.
Ananda Marga ideology says, "According to the five functional distinctions of speech, action, movement, excretion and procreation we determine the individual characteristic of the motor organs. There are functional distinctions among the sensory organs also: the ear receives sounds, the subtlest of the tanma'tras, and so it imbibes the greatest amount of sattvagu'na. The nose is tamogu'nii in the highest degree. The ear and the skin are sattvagunii and the tongue and nose tamogu'nii..."
"The greater the control one has over this vital principle of pra'n'a, the stronger is one's power to accept or reject sam'ska'ras. These acquired sam'ska'ras are perceived in the mind during the still condition of the pra'n'a' wherein it finds it fulfillment. You are taking pra'n'a's help every moment of your daily life. Just as you feel the heat or coldness of things through tactual inference or sparsha-tanma'tra, similarly you know their hardness and softness through pra'n'a. Suppose there is cotton and gold of equal temperature. The eye sensory organ will see them, the skin sensory organ will feel their hotness or coldness and the pra'n'a will feel the hardness of the gold and the softness of the cotton. The ear sensory organ will hear the song and the pra'n'a will appreciate its melody. The ears will hear the scandal and the pra'n'a will receive its harshness and severity; and thus hearing will become hurt and feel pain--it will hold anguish (dha'rya) in the mind. This capacity of the pra'n'a to hold feelings we call the vital core or marma." (6)
Overall these vayus perform a unique function as they relay information between the indriyas (i.e. motor and sensory organs) and the mind. For example when one of the ten indriyas passes a message to the mind then that signal travels from the indriyas to the mind via the vayus. And just as there are 10 indriyas, similarly there are ten va'yus. So each indriya is connected with a particular va'yu, and the special aspect is that the vayus play an essential role of carrying the messages and feelings from the motor and sensory organs to the mind.
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Conclusion
The vayus are involved in all aspects of human life. As sadhakas, greater research should be carried out about the vayus, and this research must begin with intense sadhana and the regular practice of pranayama.
Namaskar,
Satiish
The need for study
In our Marga, Baba has blessed us with a comprehensive spiritual-cum-socio philosophy that covers every breath of life-- both literally and figuratively. And it is our job to be well-versed in each and every aspect of His philosophy.
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References
1. Ananda Marga Philosophy part 6, Ekendriya – 6
2. Shabda Cayanika - 1, Discourse 3
3. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 2, The Intuitional Science of the Vedas - 4
4. Shabda Cayaniká Part 1, Discourse 3
5. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 2, The Intuitional Science of the Vedas - 4
6. Subháśita Saḿgraha Part 4, The Chariot and the Charioteer
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The below sections are entirely different topics, unrelated to the above material.
They stand on their own as points of interest.
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== Section 2: Important Teaching ==
Every margii chants the bath mantra on a daily basis after bathing. One of the terms in that mantra is r'si. Following is the definition:
Ananda Marga ideology says, "A rśi is one who cultivates wisdom, who enriches the intellectual field through deep research and innovative discoveries and harvests the fruits of wisdom. Those who invent deadly weapons such as the hydrogen bomb, which caused the frightening holocaust, do not help the human intellect attain the height of human perfection, but rather direct their intellect towards crudeness. These types of inventors and their patrons do not deserve to be called rśis, rather, they are worse than demons, far worse than internal creatures, having forfeited their right to human identity." (1)
Reference
1. Ananda Marga Ideology & Way of Life - 6, The Expansion of the Microcosm
== Section 3: Links ==
Other topics of interest
