Key of Knowledge

SR No.: 006702
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Champat Rai Jain
Publisher: ZZZ Unknown
Publication Year: 1919
Total Pages: 1204
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 25 MB

Page 485

464
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
universe, so is this prâna, the infinite, omnipresent manifesting power of this universe. The knowledge and control of this prâna is really what is meant by the pranayama. This opens to us the door to almost unlimited power."
The primary object of prânâyâ ma, according to Yoga, is to control the numerous activities of the body, so as to be able to prevent the uncontrolled dissipation of energy in all directions, and to acquire the power to direct it in any particular channel, at will. Breathing is the main source of absorbing prânic energy from the atmosphere, and is to the physical body what a fly-wheel is to machinery. As the motion of the fly-wheel causes the rest of the machinery to move, so does the motion of the lungs impart energy to the rest of the organism, With each breath we inhale a certain amount of prāņa (electricity or vital force) from the atmospheric air. This electricity is absorbed by the blood, and is stored up in the nervous system. The yogi aims at controlling this vital force by regulating his breath. Ordinarily, respiration is an involuntary act, although it can be partially brought under the dominion of volition, as in speaking, singing, and the like. Its movements are under the special control of that portion of the cerebro-spinal axis which is known as the medulla oblongata. By controlling the respiratory action the Yogi establishes control over the vital forces in his body. He begins by correcting the normal breath. According to Yoga, the proper method of breathing is neither exclusively clavicular, nor thoracic, nor even diaphragmatic, but a combination of them all. The object is to remove the condition of passivity from the system, and that can be accomplished by (1) in