The-Science-of-Breath, JOGA
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THE SCIENCE OF BREATH
AND THE
PHILOSOPHY OF THE TATTVAS
TRANSLATED PROM THE SANSKRIT, WITH INTRODUCTORY AND EXPLANATORY
ESSAYS ON
NATURE’S FINER FORCES
REPRINTED FROM “THE THEOSOPHIST” WITH MODIFICATIONS
AND
ADDITIONS.
BY
RAMA PRASAD, M.A., F.T.S.
Its
one absolute attribute, which is
itself,
eternal, ceaseless Motion, is called
in esoteric parlance the “Great Breath,” which is the perpetual motion of the
Universe, in the sense of limitless, everpresent
Space.
—
H. P. Blavatsky: The Secret Doctrine
SECOND AND REVISED EDITION
LONDON:
THEOSOPHICAL PUBLISHING SOCIETY, 7, DUKE STREET. ADELPHI, W.C.
NEW YORK:
THE PATH, 144, MADISON AVENUE.
MADRAS:
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, ADYAR.
1894
THE H.P.B. PRESS,
42, Henry Street, Regent's Park,
London, N.W.
(Printers to the Theosophical Society)
Preface
A word of explanation is necessary with regard to the book now offered to the public. In the 9th and
10th volumes of the theosophist I wrote certain Essays on "Nature’s Finer Forces". The subject of these
essays interested the readers of the Theosophist so much that I was asked to issue the series of Essays in
book form. I found that in order to make a book they must be almost entirely rearranged, and perhaps
rewritten. I was, however, not equal to the task of rewriting what I had once written. I therefore
determined to publish a translation of the book in Sanskrit on the
Science of the Breath and the
Philosophy of the Tatwas
. As, however, without these Essays the book would have been quite
unintelligible, I decided to add them to the book by way of an illustrative introduction. This accordingly
has been done. The Essays in the theosophist have been reprinted with certain additions, modifications,
and corrections. Besides, I have written seven more Essays in order to make the explanations more
complete and authoritative. Thus there are altogether 15 introductory and explanatory Essays.
I was confirmed in this course by one more consideration. The book contains a good deal more than the
essays touched upon, and I thought it better to lay all of it before the public.
The book is sure to throw a good deal of light upon the scientific researches of the ancient Aryans of
India, and it will leave no doubt in a candid mind that the religion of ancient India had a scientific
basis. It is chiefly for this reason that I have drawn my illustrations of the Tatwic Law from the
Upanishads.
There is a good deal in the book that can only be shown to be true by long and diligent experiment.
Those who are devoted to the pursuit of truth without prejudice will no doubt be ready to wait before
they form any opinion about such portions of the book. Others it is useless to reason with.
To the former class of students I have to say one word more. From my own experience I can tell them
that the more they study the book, the more wisdom they are sure to find in it, and let me hope that ere
long I shall have a goodly number of colleagues, who will with me try their best to explain and
illustrate the book still better, and more thoroughly.
Rama Prasad
Merut (India)
5 November 1889
CONTENTS OF
Nature’s Finer Forces & Their
Influence on Human Life & Destiny
Part 1
I. The Tatwa.............................................................................................3
II. Evolution...........................................................................................10
III. The Mutual Relation of the Tatwas and of the Principles................14
IV. Prana (I)............................................................................................19
V. Prana (II)...........................................................................................30
VI. Prana (III)........................................................................................42
VII. Prana (IV)......................................................................................46
VIII. The Mind (I).................................................................................48
IX. The Mind (II)..................................................................................61
X. The Cosmic Picture Gallery.............................................................63
XI. The Manifestations of Psychic Force..............................................70
XII. Yoga The Soul (I)........................................................................72
XIII. Yoga (II).......................................................................................77
XIV. Yoga The Soul (III)......................................................................81
XV. The Spirit.......................................................................................85
Part 2
XV. The Spirit.......................................................................................88
Glossary
...........................................................................................107
I – THE TATWA
The
tatwas
are the five modifications of the great Breath. Acting upon
prakriti,
this Great breath throws
it into five states, having distinct vibratory motions, and performing different functions. The first
outcome of the Evolutionary State of
parabrahma
is the
akasa tatwa
. After this come in order the
vayu
,
the
taijas
, the
apas
and the
prithivi
. They are variously known as
mahabhutas
. The word
akasa
is
generally translated into English by the word ether. Unfortunately, however, sound is not known to be
the distinguishing quality of ether in modern English Science. Some few might also have the idea that
the modern medium of light is the same as
akasa
. This, I believe, is a mistake. The luminiferous ether
is the subtle
taijas tatwa
, and not the
akasa
. All the five subtle
tatwas
might no doubt be called ethers,
but to use it for the word
akasa
, without any distinguishing epithet, is misleading. We might call
akasa
the sonoriferous ether, the
vayu
the tangiferous ether,
apas
the gustiferous ether, and
prithivi
the
odoriferous ether. Just as there exists in the universe the luminiferous ether, an element of refined mater
without which it has been found that the phenomena of light find no adequate explanation, so do there
exist the four remaining ethers, elements of refined matter, without which it will be found that the
phenomena of sound, touch, taste and smell find no adequate explanation.
The luminiferous ether is supposed by Modern Science to be Matter in a most refined state. It is the
vibrations of this element that are said to constitute light. The vibrations are said to take place at right
angles to the direction of the wave. Nearly the same is the description of the
taijas tatwa
given in the
book. It makes this
tatwa
move in an upward direction, and the center of the direction is, of course, the
direction of the wave. Besides, it says that one whole vibration of this element makes the figure of a
triangle.
Suppose in the figure:
AB is the direction of the wave; BC is the direction of the vibration. CA is the line along which, seeing that in
expansion the symmetrical arrangements of the atoms of a body are not changed, the vibrating atom must return to its
symmetrical position in the line AB.
The
taijas tatwa
of the Ancients is then exactly the luminiferous ether of the Moderns, so far as the
nature of the vibration is concerned. There is no exception, however, of the four remaining ethers, at all
events in a direct manner, in Modern Science. The vibrations of
akasa
, the soniferous ether, constitute
sound; and it is quite necessary to recognize the distinctive character of this form of motion.
The experiment of the bell in a vacuum goes to prove that the vibrations of atmosphere propagate
sound. Any other media, however, such as the earth and the metals, are known to transmit sound in
various degrees. There must, therefore, be some one thing in all these media which gives birth to sound
the vibration that constitutes sound. That something is the Indian
akasa
.
But
akasa
is allpervading, just as the luminiferous ether. Why, then, is not sound transmitted to our
ears when a vacuum is produced in the belljar? The real fact is that we must make a difference between
the vibrations of the elements that constitute sound and light, etc., and the vibrations in the media
which transmit these impressions to our senses. It is not the vibrations of the ethers the subtle
tatwas
that cause our perceptions, but the ethereal vibrations transferred to different media, which are so many
modifications of gross matter the
sthula Mahabhutas
. The luminiferous aether is present just as much
in a darkened room as in the space without. The minutest space within the dimensions of the
surrounding walls themselves is not void of it. For all this the luminosity of the exterior is not present in
the interior. Why? The reason is that our ordinary vision does not see the vibrations of the luminiferous
ether. It only sees the vibrations of the media that the ether pervades. The capability of being set into
ethereal vibrations varies with different media. In the space without the darkened room the ether brings
the atoms of the atmosphere into the necessary state of visual vibration, and one wide expanse of light
is presented to our view. The same is the case with every other object that we see. The ether that
pervades the object brings the atoms of that object into the necessary state of visual vibration. The
strength of the ethereal vibrations that the presence of the sun imparts to the ether pervading our planet
is not sufficient to evoke the same state in the dead matter of the darkening walls. The internal ether,
divided from the eternal one by this dead mass, is itself cut off from such vibrations. The darkness of
the room is thus the consequence, notwithstanding the presence therein of the luminiferous ether. An
electric spark in the vacuum of a belljar must needs be transmitted to our eyes, because the glass of the
jar which stands in contact with the internal luminiferous ether has a good deal of the quality of being
put into the state of visual vibration, which from thence is transmitted to the external ether and thence
to the eye. The same would never be the case if we were to use a porcelain or an earthen jar. It is this
capability of being put into the state of visual vibrations that we call transparency in glass and similar
objects.
To return to the soniferous ether (
akasa
): Every form of gross matter has, to a certain extent, which
varies with various forms, what we may call auditory transparency.
Now I have to say something about the nature of the vibrations. Two things must be understood in this
connection. In the first place the external form of the vibration is something like the hole of the ear:
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