The Mystical Nature of Prana
The nothingness of the void created the universe with a big bang some 13.8 billion years ago in the form of an incredibly small, unbelievably hot, and immensely dense energy phase (Trespassing on Einstein’s Lawn, Bantam Books, 2014, Kowall, Physicists’ Dilemma: The Nonphysical Nature of Consciousness, 2014), which subsequently formed galaxies, stars, planets, etc.
According to NASA, the universe today comprises of 70% dark energy, 25% dark matter, like black holes, and 5% matter, like stars, galaxies, and planets, etc.
In yogic parlance, consciousness is the intrinsic attribute of the void, and the dark energy is Prana or life-force.
The dark energy is repulsive in contrast to gravity, which is attractive, and, so, galaxies are continuing to move away from one another, and the universe is continuing to expand.
Says His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the universe may end one day but consciousness will remain for it is eternal.
Saamkhya (सांख्य) posits that all creation, including human life, is rendered possible by the five principal elements: Prithvi (Earth), Jal (Water), Agni (Fire, heat), Vayu (Air) and Akash (space). Akash, in turn, comprises of consciousness and Pranic Energy, or simply Prana, the life force.
There is a reference to Saamkhya in Rig Veda and the Bhagvad Geeta has a chapter on Saamkhya Yoga, meaning the yoga path to return to the source. Taiittiriya Upanishad discusses the five principal elements. There is a temple dedicated to each of the five principal elements in South India.
Prana is everywhere. Captured in the photograph in Figure 1 is an unexplained light on top of the pyramid in which my guru, H. H. Guru Mahan meditates.
Guru Mahan taught us how to see the Pranic energy: On a sunny day, stare at the sky as far as you can without focusing on anything in particular in the direction opposite to where the Sun is, and you will see Prana in short order.
Pranavalayam, Thirumurthi Hills at Dawn
Several years ago, I did an experiment to validate this visualization of Prana. I asked Arvind Bhavasar, my software consultant, in India, to go out on the balcony of our apartment in Pune and repeat the above experiment. He did, and what he verbally described was substantially similar to what I saw. Then, I asked him to prepare a video clip showing what he saw. He did, and depicted in Figure 2 is his video clip.
Do this experiment with an open mind and you will also see the Prana. Many of my friends and family have.
Further Explanation of Prana
When we come out of our mother’s womb and inhale for the first time, consciousness, Prana and Oxygen come into us, and when we exhale for the last time, they leave us and we die.
Breathing not only supplies Oxygen to the body but also Prana, and this makes life possible. Perfected yogis can stop breathing but continue to receive Prana and live.
In Tibetan Buddhism, there is a word, “tukdam,” which refers to a meditative practice in which an accomplished meditator is absorbed in the process of inner dissolution of the five principal elements and consciousness back into the Primordial Light after clinical death (Wikipedia).
IANS reported that a Tibetan Buddhist scholar in Taiwan was in the state of thukdam after being declared clinically dead on July 14, 2021. Also, see this video clip showing a Thai monk leaving his body consciously in about six minutes.
The body of the monk in tukdam can remain warm and without any signs of decomposition for many days following clinical death, which means Prana is still present to some extent, although breathing has stopped.
Pranic energy lies within an upper and a lower bound for much of our life and dramatically drops to a low value at death or shortly thereafter (Korotkov, Light after Death, 2018, Amazon). It is important, therefore, to keep the Pranic energy up as late in life as possible.
In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi explained the importance of aura in health and wellness in a commencement speech to the graduating class at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Aura and Prana are intrinsically linked.
Negative emotions lead to stress and stress compromises Pranic energy and can lead to a variety of ailments, and, therefore, control of Prana is paramount.
The desire to control Prana immediately spells out the need for a measurement device and a process with which to enhance/rebalance Pranic energy.
Estimation of Pranic Energy
We have trillions of cells in the body. If we break down the cells into even smaller parts, we will find that they are comprised of atoms, which have protons and neutrons in their nuclei and electrons that orbit them. This means, at the fundamental level, we are vibrating all the time. Our vibrational characteristics is our true nature.
Vibrations is synonymous with light, not visible light, but light along the entire length of the electromagnetic spectrum from infrared to ultraviolet.
The vibrational signals are too weak for human perception with the five senses. For measurement purposes, they have to be stimulated and amplified.
A harmless electrical current can be used for stimulation and amplification (Korotkov, Human Energy Field: Study with GDV Bioelectrography, 2002, amazon). When an electrical current is applied to the tips of our fingers, one at a time, the finger’s response to this stimulus is a burst of photons that are captured and analyzed on a digital computer. The photonic discharge provides a visual image of our Pranic energy, while the intensity and area of the discharge provide an inferential estimate of Pranic energy.
This approach to the measurement of Pranic energy is referred to by the acronym, GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization) (Pehek, J.O., Kyler, H.J., Faust, D.L. Image modulation in corona discharge photography. Science, Vol 194, 263–270, 1976), and the measurement device goes by the name Bio-Well. The measurement is painless, noninvasive and takes only a few minutes. See this video clip showing how the measurement is made.
Bio-Well produces two parameters that are relevant to this article: Energy, 0 to 100 and stress (0–10). The normal values of these parameters are: Energy: 60 -75 and Stress ❤.
As an example Figure 3 is a pictorial depiction of the Pranic energy (Left ring fingers) of a severely unwell subject (Courtesy, Konstantin Korotkov) and a normal subject.
Optimizing Pranic Energy
The yogic process with which to enhance/rebalance Pranic energy goes by the name, Pranayama, or control of Prana, and it is achieved through a series of what may appear to be breathing exercises. There is a good reason why these kriyas are called pranayama and not swasayama, meaning control of breath. Pranayam is always preceded by physical exercises (Asanas) and followed by meditation.
Figure 4(a) depicts a graph of Pranic energy pursuant to my specific practice over more than one hundred but not necessarily consecutive days. Notice that the Pranic energy has gone up after every session. The high values of 74 and above occurred when I had done the practice on consecutive days prior to the high. This brings out the importance of engaging in the practice on a daily basis.
Hereditary traits inherited from ancestors, more or less, determine how our life will unfold health wise. How we are living our life to the present age also contributes to that trajectory. Due to these two factors, not everyone will realize the same volume of benefits from the practices. They are also the reasons why a specific practice may not produce optimal results for every individual.
It is best to start the practices at age 12 before too much negativity compromises life.
Note too that the ideas and concepts in this article have nothing to do with race, religion, caste, gender, or national origin.
The exercises-Pranayama-meditation program will bring a myriad of benefits to the practitioner which include (1) Health & wellness, (2) improvement in the performance regardless of the endeavor, (3) enhancement in creativity and innovativeness, (4) improvement in interpersonal skills, and (4) less discord and violence.
I haven’t had my telomeres measured, but the experience has been exhilarating and, going by the data in Figure 3, it is likely that the practice has slowed aging. I am past 80 years of age and most people who have had their measurements done have calibrated higher stress values and lower energy.
Individuals, corporations, and societies will benefit from the ideas and concepts in this article.
Acknowledgments
This article is written with the blessings of H. H. Guru Mahan., founder of Universal Peace Foundation in Thirumurthi Hills, Tamil Nadu, India. He has been going into three weeks of meditation annually with no food for world peace for the last 33 years. UPF has been conducting a workshop titled, Mahashakti Yogam that actualize the benefits explained in this article. The author thanks Tony Belak, Mediation Consultant and former Ombudsman, University of Louisville, for editorial assistance.
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Pradeep B. Deshpande is Professor Emeritus in and former Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at the University of Louisville, and President of Six Sigma and Advanced Controls. He can be contacted at pradeep@sixsigmaquality.com and +1 (502) 299–3340.
