Swami Sivananda:
“Prana is the subtle energy that sustains the entire universe. It pervades all matter.”
Swami Vivekananda:
“Prana is the power of life. It is the essence of the universe and the basis of all physical and spiritual phenomena.”
Paramahansa Yogananda:
“Prana is the divine life force that animates all creation.”
Sri Aurobindo:
“Prana is the dynamic force that drives all physical and spiritual evolution.”
God is consciousness (awareness) and power (energy). When God creates us, it is a wave of His consciousness and power that arises from the infinite ocean of God. Our soul is this wave of absolute bliss consciousness and that is our true Self.
When we incarnate, our soul brings with it a causal and astral body. The astral body is made of prana – life force energy. Prana is the power that gives life to the body, maintaining the coherence of the body. The soul, using prana, creates, enlivens and maintains the physical body.
Electricity produces light if you flow it into a light bulb, but electricity does not create the light. Consciously intelligent life energy grows its own bulb and gives it life. Even though some amount of the body is maintained by air and food, the body is primarily maintained by universal prana.
The one prana operates in our body as five functions:
- Prana: Governs inhalation, heart function, and the mind.
- Apana: Manages elimination, excretion, and the downward movement of energy.
- Samana: Regulates digestion and the assimilation of nutrients.
- Udana: Controls speech, growth, and the upward movement of energy.
- Vyana: Distributes energy throughout the body and controls circulation.
The physical body is simply a composite of chemicals. It is prana that gives it life. When the prana leaves the body, the physical body dies. The soul is God’s consciousness and power. It is an immortal wave of God. The soul may come and go in and out of physical bodies, but this true Self that we essentially are, is always one with God and eternal.
Blessings,
