Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on prana and ways to increase it

[Ajay0]

Prana means life-force in sanskrit and is an integral element of eastern medical arts like Ayurveda, Tibetan medicine, acupuncture, reiki, pranic healing as well as martial arts. It is known as Chi in Chinese and Ki in Japanese.

 

Every sentient being possess a certain amount of prana, and low prana levels are supposed to correspond with poor physiological and psychological health.

 

High levels of prana is associated with good physiological and psychological health, faster healing, youthfulness and being mindful or aware without much effort.

 

Eastern religious and medical philosophies thus focus on increasing and stabilising prana for human betterment and well-being.

Here is an insightful article by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the nature of prana, and ways to increase it.

 

https://www.artofliving.org/wisdom/knowledge-sheets/yagna

 

 

 

 

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To realize that everything is happening you need heightened awareness. And to bring about heightened awareness you have to increase the prana.

Prana can be increased through:

• Fasting, fresh food
• Pranayamas, Kriya, meditation
• Silence
• Cold water baths
• Total exhaustion, not letting sleep take over
• Emotional peaks
• Presence of the Master
• Singing and chanting
• Giving without a givership, service without a doership

 

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[Ajay0]

Talk on prana by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar...

 

https://wisdomfromsrisriravishankar.blogspot.com/2010/01/

 

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Q: How important is prana (life force energy)? One, of course, is it gives life. How does one improve one’s prana?

 

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: Prana is present in everything. In fact, we are floating in air, in prana, an ocean of prana. When the unit of expression varies, it makes a difference. Stones have got one unit of prana. Water has got two units of prana. Fire has got three units of prana. Air has got four units of prana. Plants have got five units of prana. Animals have got six units of prana. Human beings are capable of holding from seven to 16 units of prana. The expression of prana is the whole universe.

 

When prana is lower than one, that’s when you feel depressed. When prana goes further low then you feel suicidal. When prana is normal, you feel normal. When prana is higher, you feel enthusiastic. When prana is very high, you feel energetic and blissful. That is why when people are depressed, low just giving counseling doesn’t work, what needs to be done is to raise the level of prana. When prana is high there is joy, vibrancy, understanding. When prana is low, then the mind starts complaining, depression, lethargy, suicidal tendencies arise. All is play and display of prana.

 

 

Edited November 13, 2024 by Ajay0

[Neirong]

On 30.07.2024 at 11:10 AM, Ajay0 said:

Here is an insightful article by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar on the nature of prana, and ways to increase it.

While India has ancient roots and a lot of advanced cultivators, as far as I know, almost no one of them is publicly available.

Those who are public are usually made-up conmen, false gurus who have not even touched internal cultivation practices.
They are more interested in a celebrity lifestyle, driving motorbikes and helicopters and enjoying luxury lives at the expense of the "followers."

False gurus merely parasitize on ancient teachings; they assume the posture and outlook of a "sage," pretend to be spiritual, and talk nonsense, sometimes mixed with quotes from ancient texts.
There is no genuine spirituality behind them; they cannot lead anyone somewhere they have not been themselves.

Often, those gurus are leading violent cults, covering up all sorts of crimes. Osho is one of the publicly known examples.\
 

That said, I would not bother to read anything written by SSRS, Sadhguru, or the rest of all the similar but different personas.
Surely, you can find Bhagavadgita, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, and some other original texts instead of opting for new age scams?

[Ajay0]

12 minutes ago, Neirong said:

While India has ancient roots and a lot of advanced cultivators, as far as I know, almost no one of them is publicly available.

 

 Not true. You can meet them if you have made the efforts for it.

 

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Those who are public are usually made-up conmen, false gurus who have not even touched internal cultivation practices.

 

 

There are fraudsters and genuine enlightened sages. Like anything in life, you need to do your research to distinguish between the two so as to benefit from the latter.
 

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They are more interested in a celebrity lifestyle, driving motorbikes and helicopters and enjoying luxury lives at the expense of the "followers."

 

 

The only guru who comes to mind in this regard is Sadhguru, who was already a successful businessman in the construction industry and had other revenue streams as well.  He earned a good living for himself with his hard work even before he was a Guru so it is not correct to harbor envy against him, imho.

 

As a Guru he continues to drive motorbikes as he used to in his youth to show that spirituality and materialism should complement each other.  He rides helicopters after getting a licence in it, so as to reach venues faster and due to reasons of better logistics.

 

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That said, I would not bother to read anything written by SSRS, Sadhguru, or the rest of all the similar but different personas.Surely, you can find Bhagavadgita, Patanjali Yoga Sutras, and some other original texts instead of opting for new age scams?

 

 

That is your loss. Krishna and Buddha were similarly reviled in their time as fraudsters but now people are advocating their scriptures and path.  

 

You must exercise your intelligence and judgement and not get carried away by superficial opinions of some.