All power comes from the center of consciousness. In the beginning in the vast ocean of bliss, there was silent movement (satyam shivam sundaram), and from that silent movement the universe manifested. All of the five kingdoms—Monera, Protista, plants, fungi, animals—have evolved from the same source. From that first silent movement bubbles or sparks of Atman that would become individual souls emerged. The dynamic aspect of energy that provides the working force for the body and mind has evolved from Shakti and the primary most basic form of this energy within the human being is prana, which literally means the “first unit of life.” prana is the source of life, the source of all manifestation. This sevenfold prana, this shakti, is capable of projecting the power of the individual soul. That is how it becomes individual. They are not individual as yet because they are still part of the ocean; they become individual only when prana, the life force, comes forward to create mind (unconscious and conscious), all the senses and the elements (space, air, fire, water and earth) that support the whole world, the two breaths and the body, which is made up of the five elements. To summarize, in the process of evolution, first the bubble comes, then the life energy and then the mind, breath and body. Prana is not the breath. When the seer of the Mundaka Upanishad described the sevenfold pranas, he was not talking about the breath. Prana rides the breath like a horse to reach the different parts of your system to energize them. Of course, there is some force that is directing the prana, otherwise it would just be dead air blowing from one part to another.
There is a difference between yogic and anatomical descriptions. Anatomy describes in minute detail all the parts that make up the physical body. Yoga science has thoroughly studied prana, the way it functions and the channels it uses. Yogic descriptions are used for the subtler energy levels and the prana that flows through the nadis or energy channels. Yoga science says there are thousands of vehicles that supply energy to various parts of your body. According to the yoga manuals, there are 72,000 nadis. If one particular vehicle is not supplying energy properly, there will be pain, decay, abnormal growths such as malignant tumors, loss of function or deformity. As you have accidents in the external world, likewise when the nadis become congested, there are internal accidents that only a yogi can understand. Cancer is lack of control of yourself and your mind. This means a disease like cancer could be prevented if you learned how to use the energy vehicles and the mind.
Prana is not the kundalini. Prana is a different power that functions on multi levels called sheaths or koshas. The sheaths are: annamaya kosha (physical body or food sheath), pranamaya kosha (pranic sheath), manomaya kosha (mental sheath), vijnanamaya kosha (the buddhi or higher intellect) and anandamaya kosha (sheath of bliss). Physical energy is different, pranic energy is different, mental energy is different, and certainly, energy that is beyond mind, is different.
. . . to be continued
reprinted from “Yoga the Sacred Science, volume 3” by Swami Rama