Yoga for Health, Happiness and World Peace-5. Sri Swami Chidananda

27/02/2018

It is in this context that the science of Yoga had known the presence of an interim subtle force and a subtle factor that pervades the entire system. They call it Prana and actually Prana is almost identical with the term "life"—because in describing the process of death they sometimes refer to it as "his Prana departed and he passed away"; because, with the departure of the Prana from the body, the man loses his life.

So Prana the life force, that subtle inner something, is the factor that makes a difference between a living person and a dead body. When the Prana is there, the body is alive; when the Prana departs, the body is no longer alive. With the departure of Prana, the body becomes dead and soon disintegration and decomposing starts.

It is the presence of Prana that makes life dynamic, progressive and vital. Therefore, the ancient Rishis discovered that it is Prana which is the link between the outer, visible, gross, physical body and the inner invisible subtle mind stuff, which they called Chitta. So Prana is that which brings about this connection by which the body affects the mind.

When the body is healthy, the mind seems to be in a sound condition; when the body is ill, the mind becomes sick. The Romans and Greeks had discovered that. But they did not exactly know how this interaction and relationship comes about. Whereas, the science of Yoga knew exactly that it is this interim middle factor, Prana, which is grosser than mind but subtler than the body.
To be continued ...