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Ten pranas of the manipur chakra

A spiritual discourse on the Maṇipūra cakra and the system of prāṇas.

"Money is the jewel, and poor is the city. It is the city of jewels, containing many, many jewels."

"Prāṇa is not oxygen, nor a substance from food... Prāṇa is cosmic energy."

The lecturer explains the symbolism of the Maṇipūra cakra, relating it to Hindu cosmology, the ten indriyas (senses), and the vital energies. He details the five primary and five subsidiary prāṇas, emphasizing the importance of Svara Yoga and prāṇāyāma for health and spiritual practice, illustrated with personal anecdotes and traditional teachings.

Filming location: Umag, CRO.

DVD 254

Money, poor. Money is the jewel, and poor is the city. It is the city of jewels, containing many, many jewels. In Hindu mythology, there are three primary divinities, just as in Christian mythology there is the Trinity. Brahmā is the creator, Viṣṇu is the sustainer and protector, and Śiva is the liberator. Śiva means consciousness, liberation, beauty, and truth. Viṣṇu resides in the fire principle. Fire cannot live without water, and water cannot live without fire; they exist together, and there life is found. Where there is water, there is God. Where there is water, there is life, and where there is life, there is water. Water is life—it is the ocean of nectar within, upon which Viṣṇu resides on the thousand-headed snake. That snake is coiled to form an umbrella over Viṣṇu. Viṣṇu resides there with Lakṣmī. Lakṣmī means prosperity, happiness, beauty, and liberation. She serves Viṣṇu. From Viṣṇu's navel emerges a beautiful lotus. Upon that lotus manifests Brahmā, who has four heads. In each of his four hands, he holds one Veda—the four Vedas. We must understand these symbols. What do they mean? We live on a planet called a living planet because of water. Water is māyā, a temptation, an emotion. Life is created from emotion. Within this emotion, this universal love, this ocean of universal emotion, Viṣṇu exists in every atom of the universe. Viṣva ke aṇu aṇume rehenīvalī śakti Viṣṇu—the power residing in every atom of the universe is Viṣṇu. Now, he desires to create the world. That desire is the lotus above the water. A lotus cannot exist without water, yet it cannot exist inside the water. It is always above. Now, the Jīvātmā, the soul, when it enters the mother's womb, is a drop of water. Everything in the universe is round. Water is also round; every drop, even a fine droplet of fog, is round. Therefore, the entire universe is round. Even sunlight does not travel straight; it travels in a round way. This is the beginning of the manifestation of thyself and the Maṇipūra cakra. The thousand-headed snake becomes the three primary nāḍīs: Iḍā, Piṅgalā, and Suṣumṇā. Suṣumṇā is that Vāsuki-nāga, the thousand-headed snake that rises above the head. "Thousand-headed" means the thousand petals of the Sahasrāra Cakra. This coil is your intestines, large and small, from where life begins and from where the Vedas, wisdom, emerge. Therefore, it is said the seat of sound is Maṇipūra. Maṇi means jewel, and pūra means city: the city of jewels. You can collect tons of jewels. Maṇi Padme Hum is a Buddhist mantra. This "maṇi" means the jewels. "Padma" means the lotus feet of the master. "I bow down to Buddha's lotus feet." Klanjaṁ se budinim lotus stopalima. Each nail is like a jewel—maṇi padme hum. Each toenail is like one jewel. These are the ten jewels, each with different qualities and meanings. These correspond to the ten petals of the Maṇipūra Cakra, which coordinate with the ten indriyas: the five jñānendriyas (senses of perception) and the five karmendriyas (senses of action). These are ten horses pulling the coach of this body. If these ten horses are under control, the coach remains in good condition. If they run wild, the coach will soon be destroyed. The five jñānendriyas are the eyes, ears, sense of smell (nostrils), sense of taste (tongue), and sense of touch (skin). These five give us information from the external world and can fall into temptation. All except the skin (tvacā) are located in the upper part of the body. The five karmendriyas are the faculties for speech, handling, movement, excretion, and procreation. These are the five horses pulling your coach. Control over the senses depends on their roots, which are located in the Maṇipūra Cakra, seen as ten petals of a golden yellow color. This is the color of fire. Pītāmbara is known as this color, the color of Viṣṇu. Krishna's dress is Pītāmbara. That is why in our Gurukul in Jordan, all boys and girls wear beautiful yellow dress; they are our Krishnas. This is the color of fire flames, the color of purification. From the dark red of Mūlādhāra and the orange of Svādhiṣṭhāna, we arrive at the yellow of Maṇipūra. Now we are there. In this center, before the physical organs were created, ten different prāṇas were created. If you do not know about prāṇa, you do not know about yoga. You must know about prāṇa and purify it. To be successful in your yoga sādhanā, you must practice Svara Yoga. Svara Yoga means aligning your daily activities according to which nostril's breath is flowing. When should we drink? Which nostril should be flowing? When we eat, which nostril should flow? Which nostril should flow at sunset and sunrise? In which nostril's flow should we meditate? And so on. This is an entire science I will explain in peace in VEP. It is not difficult to practice, but very difficult to understand. It is not that the same flow should occur every day. You must follow the moon's cycle, the day of the week (Monday, Tuesday, etc.), and the month. Many yogīs follow this principle; they do not practice anything else, yet their liberation is assured. You must know this. Otherwise, you will be sorry that Swāmījī didn't tell you. I was recently in India, having dinner with another Swami. When I suggested we eat, he said, "I need another 21 minutes. My svara will change then." He said, "Swāmījī, I don't know any exercises, but I follow Svara Yoga." All disciples of Mahāprabhujī followed this principle, including Holy Gurujī. It is very powerful. You must understand the nāḍī system and the flow within the nāḍīs. You can learn it in a day, but it may take six months to a year to bring your "car" or "train" onto the right track. It is beautiful and divine. If you have not learned this, you have learned nothing. I am talking about the yoga at the top level of all yogīs. You should take time to listen, understand, and preserve this knowledge. Before this body begins to manifest in the mother's womb, all these subtle functions were established: all cakras, prāṇas, and the subtle indriyas. There are five primary prāṇas and five upa-prāṇas (sub-prāṇas). I have already explained the five jñānendriyas and five karmendriyas. You will not remember; I know you well. You will say you forgot. Therefore, in your book, you have a beautiful chart where everything is compiled. This book will become your life guide. It is not that I have written it, nor that it is merely our book, but there is great wisdom within it. Read peacefully every day before sleep—at least one page of Līlāmṛta and one page of this book. The five primary prāṇas are: Prāṇa, Apāna, Samāna, Vyāna, and Udāna. Then there are the five Upa-prāṇas: Nāga, Kūrma, Devadatta, Kṛkara, and Dhananjaya. Our physical and mental health depends on the quality of these ten prāṇas. Prāṇa is not oxygen, nor a substance from food, nor a supplement from daily nourishment. Prāṇa is cosmic energy. Imagine you are the center of an umbrella. The umbrella is expanded and connected to every rod. Similarly, imagine thyself as the universe; you are the center point. You have your own phenomenon, and all these different energies connect you to various corners of the universe through different functions and principles. Your body is taken care of by someone—not you. How much can you take care of it? Not at all. God takes care of your body. He is observing, taking care. Be careful; big brother is watching. I see you are tired now. The Maṇipūra Cakra is vast. I can explain it in five minutes or in five years. We must understand; otherwise, you will laugh. When you see a picture of Viṣṇu reclining with a lotus emerging from his navel, understand that Viṣṇu's navel is your mother's body. The emerging lotus is you. Your buddhi, your intellect, is Brahmā, holding the knowledge of the Vedas. So you are that lotus, connected from the mother's body to your navel. We must trace this picture tomorrow, or next time. Prāṇa is the energy our body receives through the breath—via the nose and mouth—but also through the entire body, including the skin. Therefore, yogīs and our ancestors advised wearing loose, natural clothing that allows prāṇa to flow freely. Do not wear very tight clothing; your body suffers. Many ladies wear jeans. Once, in deep snow, I was given orange trousers with a zipper. I struggled to close it. A lady of about 45 said, "Swāmījī, can I tell you a technique?" She advised, "Lie down." So I learned a secret. I lay down, closed it, stood up, and it was open again. She said, "The Master's stomach cannot be pressed down. It is the prāṇa of the Master." This story is to wake you up, and it is a true story from February in Slovakia. We have beautiful pictures from there to show next time. To keep the body healthy, wear nice clothes. Our ancestors throughout the world designed a fashion that is forever healthy and happy: a properly covered body is the beauty of a human. When you have nearly nothing on, you can compare yourself to gorillas in the rainforest. Human beauty is expressed through beautiful, nice, long, loose dress. Prāṇa is a special function of cosmic energy. It supplies living beings with cosmic energy as well as oxygen. It flows through the nostrils to the navel and then transmits to the heart. Therefore, in yoga and daily life, all exercises—particularly those I designed—aim to influence our organs and cakras. Specific food, exercise, and higher yogic techniques like Kriyā can increase the prāṇa śakti in the body. To purify and clean the prāṇas, prāṇāyāma is very important: nāḍīśodhana, anuloma viloma, ujjāyī, bastrika, and kapālabhāti. The Apāna Prāṇa influences the lower part of the body, from the navel to the soles, regulating elimination. Difficulties with urination, constipation, diarrhea, gastric problems, or poor circulation in the legs indicate disturbances in Apāna Prāṇa. Disturbances here can cause diseases in the abdominal area, cancers in the uterus or lower body, hemorrhoids, and imbalances in kidney and digestive functions. To strengthen and purify Apāna Prāṇa, Yoga in Daily Life advises Agni kriyā, nauli, kriyā yoga, aśvinī mudrā, mūlabandha, mahābandha, vajrāsana, and dhanurāsana. The Vyāna Prāṇa flows through the nerve systems and nāḍīs throughout the whole body. Blood circulation in the nāḍīs depends on Vyāna Prāṇa. Disturbances here lead to poor circulation; weakness causes nerve disturbances and impeded energy flow. To strengthen Vyāna, practice Kumbhaka (breath retention)—both bāhir kumbhaka and antar kumbhaka—which activates Vyāna Prāṇa and stimulates the entire nervous system. Kumbhaka is very important, but do not begin prāṇāyāma immediately with it. Udāna Prāṇa is the ascending energy from the heart to the brain. It governs the circulation of blood from the heart to the upper body and brain. Pumping upward is crucial work. If Udāna Prāṇa is weak, the heart beats and muscles weaken, blood supply to the brain decreases, flow slows and thickens, memory loss occurs, and the brain can become "full of calcium." Therefore, Kumbhaka and specific prāṇāyāmas are vital. Udāna Prāṇa accompanies the awakening of the Kuṇḍalinī Śakti and helps separate the astral body from the physical body in dreams. It is activated by ujjāyī prāṇāyāma, brahmrī, and viparīta karaṇī mudrā—a very beautiful and healthy exercise. Finally, the Samāna Prāṇa connects the two main cakras, Anāhata and Maṇipūra, distributing energy between the solar plexus and the heart. It helps distribute nutrition throughout the body. Its crossing point is with the Maṇipūra Cakra, whose principle is fire. The radiance of the auras you see emanates from the Samāna Cakra. Strengthening exercises include Agnisar Kriyā, Nauli, and, most effectively, Kriyā Yoga.

This text is transcribed and grammar corrected by AI. If in doubt what was actually said in the recording, use the transcript to double click the desired cue. This will position the recording in most cases just before the sentence is uttered.

The text contains hyperlinks in bold to three authoritative books on yoga, written by humans, to clarify the context of the lecture:

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