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11. The Zodiac and Pra-n.a-ya-ma
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N.A
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YA
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MA
Pra-n.a is the vital body of man. It has the property of
pulsation or life. In every living being, this pulsation is
two-fold: exhalation and inhalation and respiration and
circulation. The heart-chakra is the centre of these
processes. Exhalation is called apa-na and inhalation is
called pra-n.a of the individual (it is the converse when it is
of the universal-breath relative to the individual). The
physical form of pra-na is oxygen and that of apa-na is
carbon. They are the Sun and the Saturn principles
respectively. The former denotes life and the latter denotes
death.
The pass word of apa-na is the mystic sound ‘Ham’
and the pass word of pra-n.a is ‘So’. In the physical vehicle,
the inward pull of air is controlled by the nerves about
the navel. This set of nerves is called astrologically Virgo-
Scorpio in the body of a yogi. It is called Libra or
equilibrium for a man of sex polarity. Libra indicates the
symbolic fall of man (the debilitation of Sun). In all human
beings, before the attainment of sex-consciousness (before
completing seven years of age), it is Virgo-Scorpio, as in a
yogi. Within the period of the second set of seven years,
Virgo is separated from Scorpio by Libra (Libra is the
consciousness that separates the inner man from the outer.
It is the ma-ya of the ve-da-nta and the shame of Adam-Eve).
In the physical vehicle, the exhalation or apa-na is
controlled by the nerves about the respiratory and the
vocal apparatus. This part is astrologically called Cancer-
