Pancha Dharana
Prithvi Dharana
There are five elements, viz., Prithvi, Apas, Agni, Vayu and Akasa. To the body of the five elements, there is the five fold Dharana. From the feet to the knees is said to be the region of the Prithvi. It is four-sided in shape, yellow in colour and has its Varna the Sanskrit letter ‘L’ along the region of the earth, i.e., from the feet to the knees. Contemplating upon this, one should perform Dharana there for a period of two hours daily. He then attains mastery over the earth. Death does not trouble him since he has obtained mastery over the ‘earth’ element.
Ambhasi Dharana
The region of Apas is said to extend from the knees to the anus. Apas is semi-lunar in shape and white in colour. It has the letter ‘Va’ for its Bijakshara—seed-letter. Carrying Up the breath with the letter ‘Va’ along the region of Apas, one should contemplate on God Narayana, having four arms, a crowned head, dressed in orange-colour clothes and as decayless. Practising Dharana there daily for a period of two hours, he is freed from all sins. Then there is no fear for him from water.
Agneyi Dharana
From the anus to the heart is said to be the region of Agni. Agni is triangular in shape, red in colour and has the letter ‘R’ for its Bija. Raising the breath with the letter ‘Ra’ along the region of fire, one should contemplate on Rudra, who has three eyes, who grants all wishes and who is of the colour of mid-day sun. Practising Dharana there daily for a period of two hours, he is not burnt by fire, even though his body enters into the fire-pit.
Vayavya Dharana
From the heart to the middle of the eyebrows is said to be the region of Vayu. It is black in colour and shines with the letter ‘Ya’. Carrying the breath along the region of Vayu, one should contemplate on Isvara, the omniscient. The Yogi does not meet his death through Vayu.
Akasa Dharana
From the centre of the eyebrow to the top of the head is said to be the region of Akasa. It is circular in shape, smoky in colour and shines with the letter ‘Ha’. Raising the breath along the region of Akasa, one should contemplate on Sadasiva. By practising this Dharana one obtains the power of levitation. The Yogi gets all the Siddhis.
Story of Yogi Bhusunda
Bhusunda is one of the ‘Chiranjivis’ amongst the Yogins. He was the master of the science of Pranayama. It said that a big nest, like that of mountain, was built by him on the southern branch of the Kalpa Vriksha, situated at the northern summit of the ‘Mahameru’. In this nest, there lived the crow, Bhusunda, by name. This crow is said to be the longest lived Yogi. He was a ‘Trikala Jnani’. He could cognise all the three periods of time. He could sit in Yoga (Samadhi) for any length of time. He was desireless. He had obtained supreme Santi and Jnana. He was there, enjoying the bliss of his own Self and he is there still, being a Chiranjivi. He was for a long time engaged in the worship of Brahmasakti ‘Alambusa’. At this spot of the Kalpa Vriksha, Bhusunda lived for many Yugas, nay for many Kalpas. He would quit his nest at the time of Pralaya. He had the full knowledge of the five Dharanas. He had rendered proof of himself against the five elements, by practising the five methods of concentration. It is said that when all the twelve Adityas scorch the world with their burning rays, he would through his Apas Dharana reach up the Akasa. When the fierce gales arise splintering up the rocks to pieces, he would be in the Akasa, through Agni Dharana. When the world together with its Mahameru would be under water, he would float on them without any fluctuation through Vayu Dharana and when the time of universal destruction arrived, he would be, as in Sushupti, in the Brahmic seat till the beginning of another creation of Brahma. After this creation, he would again resort to the said nest for his abode. The Kalpa Vriksha, at the summit of the mountain, through his Sankalpa (will-power) would arise and grow up in the similar way, at the beginning of the next Kalpa, every time.
The Inner Factory
The food that you take consists of nitrogenous elements and proteins, fats or hydrocarbons such as ghee and carbohydrates such as rice and sugar. Proteins build up the tissues and the muscles. Carbohydrates produce energy. Besides these, there are various kinds of salts also. The various digestive juices, saliva in the mouth, gastric juice in the stomach, bile, pancreatic juice and the Succusentericus or the intestinal juice in the intestines act upon the particles of food during their passage in the alimentary canal or digestive tube. Saliva acts upon starch. It converts it into sugar. This action is further taken by pancreatic and intestinal juice, in the intestines. Bile acts upon fats. Gastric juice and pancreatic juice act upon proteins. The whole thing is converted into a milky juice called chyle. This chyle is absorbed by lacteal vessels and it is mixed with blood. The right side of the heart contains impure blood. This impure blood is sent to the lungs for purification and after being purified is brought back to the left side of the heart, and from there it is pumped through the big artery aorta, throughout the body. In the capillaries the blood exudes as lymph and bathes and nourishes the tissues and cells of the body, and the impure blood is carried back by veins to the right side of the heart.
The waste products of food are carried along the large intestine which is six feet in length to the rectum where it is retained as faecal matter. When the nervous impulse is carried to the rectum from the defaecation centre in the spinal cord, it is discharged through the anus, the terminal opening of the alimentary canal.
The kidneys, that are situated in the loins, on each side, eliminate the urine from the blood and send it through two tubes called the ureters to the reservoir of urine called ‘bladder’. From the bladder it is discharged through the urethra.
The nervous system consists of cerebrum of forebrain, cerebellum or hind brain, spinal cord and the sympathetic nerves. There are various centres in the brain for hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, speaking, etc. The different impulses from the hands when a finger is stung by a scorpion are carried through the sensory nerves to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to brain. Mind that has taken its seat in the brain, reacts. It feels. An impulse travels from the spinal cord and thence along the motor nerves to the hand. At once the hand is taken back from the scorpion. This is all done in the twinkling of an eye. The sympathetic nerves supply the internal organs of the abdomen, liver, spleen, heart, etc.
Now I will describe, how this vital fluid semen is manufactured. The two testes or seeds that are located in the scrotal bag are called secretory glands. These cells of the testes have been endowed with the peculiar property of securing semen drop by drop from the blood, just as the bees collect honey in the honey comb. Then this fluid is taken by the two spermatic ducts or tubes to the two small bags or reservoirs for the semen called Vesiculae Seminalis (seminal bags), one on each side. Under excitement it is thrown out by small ducts called ejaculatory ducts into the portic portion of urethra or urinary canal, where it is mixed with the prostatic juice, secreted by the prostate glands. Who is the real Director of these internal organs? Who has created this subtle, internal, magnanimous machinery? Are you not struck with awe and wonder, my dear friends, when you think for a moment seriously about the Divine Grandeur and Divine Glory, that are exhibited in the structure of these miraculous mechanisms, heart, lungs, brain, etc? How harmoniously do they work! Who converts food into blood? Who pumps the blood into the arteries? It is He. Feel His indwelling presence. Pay your silent homage to Him. Glory, Glory, unto the Lord, the Creator of this wonderful body, His own image, His own dwelling house, the Navadvarapuri, the nine-gated city!
