Pranic Therapy Part III

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I would like to thank G Kumar for this wonderful metaphysical article

from the continued series. Please be sure to visit their site at:

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Pranic Therapy Part III

 

The Universal Stream of Consciousness known as Qi ( pronounced Chee)

in Chinese & Ki in Japanese is known as the Cosmic Prana in Sanskrit.

Healing using this Life-force Energy is called Pranic Therapy. This

article is a continuation of the earlier article Pranic Therapy Part

II.

 

There are 2 types of seekers in the Path Celestial, those who aspire

for

liberation and ordinary mundane seekers.

 

Liberation is defined as a yearning for Eternal Life and the first

group

has an intense yearning for the Life Divine. Conferred with changeless

faith and indomitable will, they keep up relentless struggle and get

glimpses of Transcendental Consciousness. They have the Goal of

Self-Actualisation fixed in their minds & mental problems & physical

ailments do not deter them.

 

But My mahatmas, those of noble souls,

Who tread the Path Celestial, worship Me

Unendingly they keep their yearning for Me ! ( The Song Celestial )

 

All the great mystics of all civilizations belonged to this group.

 

He still adheres to the high and difficult road

That sole leads to Eternity's peaks!

 

But this group, unfortunately is a minority.

 

The majority of spiritual seekers belong to the second group. These

people have true aspiration but it is either not intense enough or is

not supported by a strong will to undergo prolonged inner struggles

or to bear the resultant physical or mental reactions. Many of them

do not have any hope of realising the Self in this life, & so they are

unwilling to sacrifice health or peace of mind for such an elusive

and distant goal. The outer instruments for mortal man are not

fit to endure the severe rigours of this spiritual journey or face its

subtle & and formidable dangers. Self Actualisation can only come

from immense Grace Divine.

 

Ordinary mundane people find it difficult to make spiritual progress

their sole concern in life although they may have committed themselves

to it in a general way. For them, an integral scheme of life in which

the

considerations of health & secular values receive as much attention

as spiritual orientation is what is needed. This present article is

meant

for such seekers.

 

The Self as the basis of all Love

 

Why do we collect wealth ? For whose sake is wealth loved ? It is for

the sake of the Self. Why do we love our wife & children ? For whose

sake is the wife & children loved? It is for the sake of the Self.

Everything in the universe - husband,wife,children, everything - is

loved

for the sake of oneself. The Self, when known, everything is known.

What do we mean by oneself here ? Vedanta speaks of two selves

in man - a lower self and a higher Self. The lower self, regarded as

the false self, is the sum total of one's instincts, drives &

impulses.

The higher Self refers to the pure Atman which is regarded as the true

nature of man. Vedanta states that the lower self, if left

uncontrolled,

will act as one's own enemy, and, if purified & controlled, will act

as

one's own friend. When the lower self is purified by yogic techniques

& attuned to the higher Self, self-hate disappears & love for the

higher

Self dawns.

 

He sees indeed who sees in all alike,

The living lordly Self, Self supreme

Imperishable amidst the perishing ( The Song Celestial )

 

When this divine love blossoms in one's bosom,one's attitude towards

his body changes. He now begins to love his body as an instrument for

the

manifestation of the Divine Self. Vedic Scriptures speak of the body

as " the temple of the His great transparent mirror, Self " . As a

matter of

fact, Vedic temples are modelled after the pattern of the human

organism.

 

Symbolism behind Vedic temples

 

Man has three bodies - physical, astral & causal. The outer wall of

the

Vedic temple represents the physical body of man. The inner wall

represents the astral body and the innermost wall represents the

Causal body. Deep within these three bodies is the Self, the Atman

who is represented by the Deity ! The word temple is derived from

the Latin word tempulum, a place where Law and Justice can be

administered. The principle behind the temple, is Know Thyself !

 

Am I a god, then? Yes

In these pure features I behold

Creative Nature to soul unfold ( Goethe )

 

The body is given prime importance in Vedic ritualistic worship

known as Puja. Apart from ritualistic worship, service is divine &

regarded as a form of worship known as Yajna. Vedic Scriptures

enjoin five types of service known as Pancha-Mahayajna; service

to the gods, service to sages, service to manes, service to human

beings, service to animals. The ancient Law-giver Manu has given

the injunction to divinize the body through these five practices.

( " Through the repeated practice of these five great yajnas, the

human body gets divinized " .)

 

" The human body is the greatest instrument for Self-Actualisation " ,

said the famous Sanskrit poet Kalidasa. Maintaining the divine status

of the body is not easy.It should be kept as clean, healthy & we

should

not allow any kind of physical or mental indulgence to defile its

sanctity

& harmony. ( " Chastity is the flowering in man " said Thoreau and

continence has been prescribed for spiritual progress). That is to

say,

change in attitude towards the body brings with it a new

responsibility

for one's own health. Surprising indeed is the fact that many people

think that restoring health and curing diseases are solely the

responsibility of the medical profession. In the holistic health

system,

responsibility for falling ill & getting well both rest primarily with

the patient. The doctor only assists in curing himself. As Albert

Schweitzer said " All healing is Self-healing " .

 

Holistic medicine postulates that the responsibility for healthcare

rests

in the patient's hands because that is where the knowledge and control

of the variables lie ( diet,stress,exercise,genetics,emotion &

medication).

 

 

1. Knowledge of the Psychosomatic Machine

 

If the patient is aware of the disease and its aetiology, about his

body's

immune power and if he can bear physical pain temporarily, with a

stoic

calmness, he can avoid a lot of unnecessary medication.

 

In the Holistic Model, the cause of any disease is understood in

terms of

the whole person and not in terms of a particular organ or tissue. As

Sir

William Osler put it, it is more import to know the patient who has

the

disease than the disease of the patient. Plato remarked that " the

treatment

of the parts should not be attempted without treatment of the

entirety "

The one person who knows about the patient more than anybody else

is the patient himself.

 

Compliments should go to Western Science which has discovered

a lot of knowledge by research & which is the result of the

painstaking

labour of thousands of dedicated scientists for more than 200 years.

This accumulated treasure is humanity's precious heritage and only

charlatans will ignore or undervalue it. It is imperative that

every educated person should have a basic knowledge of human

anatomy & physiology, and also of Western psychology. However this

research is analytical and incomplete.

 

A Holistic Model was developed by the Sages of India 2500 years ago.

 

The Five Levels of Being - The Yogic Model

 

These are the five concentric sheaths enveloping the Self, the Divine

Spark in man !

 

1. Physical Sheath ( Annamaya Kosha )

2. Vital Sheath ( Pranamaya Kosha )

3. Mental Sheath ( Manomaya Kosha )

4. Intellectual Sheath ( Vijnanamaya Kosha )

5. Bliss Sheath ( Anandamaya Kosha )

 

Disease is the imbalance in any of the three lower sheaths of

existence -

physical, vital & mental.

 

The microcosm & the macrocosm are are in unbroken communion

with each other & are structured on the same pattern. At the

level of the physical sheath, food, water & oxygen enter the microcosm

and Co2, waste products etc return to the macrocosm. This is true of

other sheaths also. The individual cannot exist independent of the

cosmos. The interdependence of the Microcosm & the Macrocosm

is known in Classical Philosophy as the Bio-Cosmic tieup. If the

exchange between the physical sheath and the physical world

around it is defective, the body will become ill, and death

will result if it is stopped altogether.

 

The Tantric Model

 

A different but parallel model of human personality was developed by

the

Tantras. Whereas the Upanishads speak of Five Sheaths or Koshas,

the Tantras speak of six chakras. These Chakras are ( in ascending

order)

 

1. Root Chakra ( Muladhara )

2. Anal Chakra ( Manipura )

3. Solar Plexus Chakra ( Swadhistana )

4. Heart Chakra ( Anahata )

5. Throat Chakra ( Vishuddhi )

6. Eyebrow Chakra ( Ajna )

 

Life is regarded as the unfolding of the Self at six different levels

of

consciousness known as Chakras in the magnificent Tantric Model.

In mundane people the unfolding takes place only at the first three

chakras which represent procreation, metabolism & speech; the

higher three chakras remain latent. The awakening of the higher

chakras results in the unfolding and fulfillment of Life Divine. When

the Kundalini, the Serpentine Power inherent in humans, rises from

the Root Chakra ( Muladhara ) to the Crown Chakra ( Sahasrara ),

man achieves Cosmic Consciousness.

 

The Spirit shall take up the human play

The earthly life become the Life Divine!