– Ashwini Gurujii of Dhyan Ashram
The entire Creation is run on prana shakti, the eternal life-force, an all-pervading phenomenon. All objects, animate and inanimate, are made of prana including the five elements—prithvi (earth), jal (water), akash (ether), vayu (air), and agni (fire).
These elements or the Panch Mahaprana exist in various permutations and combinations to form different things in Creation including our body. It is these elements that make one woman pretty while another not so; cause one man to be healthy and another to be diseased.
Panch Mahaprana, is the immediate force which governs the physical body and with this the mudras (movements of the hands & fingers). The relation of all five elements with their respective fingers means we can, at will, increase or decrease specific elements in the body, which also forms the basis of our chakras which as we know control the functioning of the physical body.
But, before we move on to the kriya, it is essential to understand how these elements are represented in the human hand and how they can be used to create a balance in the body. Fire is represented by the thumb, Air by the first (index) finger, Ether by the second (middle) finger, Water by the third finger and Earth, represented by the little finger.
These elements also define the process of evolution in a human being. The ratio of the five elements in the body of a normal person is 5:4:3:2:1— five is earth and 1 is ether. When the earth element starts reducing and the ether element starts rising, the being moves from a normal being to a subtler form exuding the glow and attraction.
The transformation may be understood from the example of Rishi Valmiki who changed overnight from a dacoit to a gyani, and gave us the great epic Ramayana.
Here is a simple kriya, that will bring about
Sit in Siddha asana or any comfortable position. Now take your awareness to the following regions in your body,
Prana Vayu. Touch the tip of middle two fingers with the tip of your thumb and feel an upward rising force in the region between the diaphragm and the shoulders.
Samaan Vayu. The balancing force between the Prana Vayu and Apaan Vayu. Touch the tip of first two fingers to the tip of your thumb and take your awareness to the outwards and sideways moving force in the region between the diaphragm and the navel.
Apaana Vayu. Touch the tip of last two fingers with the tip of your thumb and take your awareness to the downward moving force from the navel towards the knees.
Udaan Vayu. Touch the first three fingers to the tip of your thumb. Udaan Vayu is the upwards rising force from the pit of your throat towards your head.
Vayaan Vayu. This is the all-pervading reserve force. Touch all your fingers to the tip of your thumb as you become aware of this force surrounding your body as a hollow shell.
If you touch the centre of your palms, you would find a slight pulsation. The same happens at the tips of the finders, but with a lighter intensity. Something that we have already discussed and experienced in the earlier articles. Our hands continuously are radiating prana through the hand and finger chakras.
Panch Mahapran Dhyan, is a kriya that helps bring these elements in balance, preparing your body for dhyan, which will be the conclusion to my series on Yogic Practices for a Beautiful, Healthy Life as detailed in my book, Sanatan Kriya-Essence of Yoga.
Ashwini Guruji is the Guiding Light of Dhyan Foundation and an authority on the Vedic sciences. His book, ‘Sanatan Kriya, The Ageless Dimension’ is an acclaimed thesis on anti-ageing.Log onto to www.dhyanfoundation.com or mail to dhyan@dhyanfoundation.com for more.