What is Agni?? - Part 3

I repeat the statement I made in my previous blog- “all matter tends towards zero(lower) potential naturally”. This is the rule of entrainment.

In our previous blog, we have looked at a relatively macro perspective, in which we individualized an individual and gave him a collective frequency so as to understand the role and the generality of Jatharagni in converting all that did not match his collective frequency to that which did. Dhatvagni, being more subtle and being included in sukshma pachana(subtle digestion), needs to be understood by dropping the generality and going into detailed specifics of each tissue.

The food that was converted to our collective frequency is now in the form of “ahara rasa”. And from here, we will start our journey of watching it being converted to tissues.

Now, a very important concept is to be understood before moving any further.

Every cell has its own frequency, participates in the collective frequency of the cellular system, participates in the frequency of the tissue, the tissue system, the organ, the organism, and eventually in the universe. Thus every cell functions at all these levels.

 For example, an animal cell present in the kidney and the lung, both work firstly to sustain themselves, which is more or less the same, but when they function to support the kidney and the lung, their work starts differing.

This intelligence of each and every cell and their knowledge of the role they are supposed to play according to their position etc. is universal. We call this universal intelligence as “Mahat tattva”.

Thus, here we see that the cell of the kidney and that of the lung vibrate at a different frequency, even though they appear to be the same structurally. Thus there is always an individualization that is present in every cell and tissue of the body.

Now we will take separate individualizations of each tissues as we know now after so much discussion that each tissue has its own frequency and works in its own way.

The frequency rises gradually from ahara rasa to rasa dhatu to rakta dhatu to mamsa dhatu, etc up to shukra dhatu which has the highest frequency of physical tissues, but sukshma tissues like oja are still higher. The concept of oja will not be touched upon in this series of blogs. (I could write about it later in another blog if you want me to). Therefore, the frequency of ahara rasa as we know, is less than that of rasa dhatu.

Dhatvagni is nothing but the strength of collective processes of entrainment, digestion and conversion of one tissue (or ahara rasa) into another. As each tissue has its individualized frequency, thus, each tissue has to have its own agni. The entrainment that occurs here is passive conversion(refer to previous blog), but active conversion can also take place in case of spiritual, delta and deep delta healing and energy supply where it will take the help of prana and not of chemical enzymes and juices as seen in jatharagni. Now that we know what exactly dhatvagni is, let us understand how it acts.

Ahara rasa in converted into the 7 tissues by two ways:

1. Direct contact entrainment: This is like a just like jumping from standard 1 to standard 6. Here the ahara rasa gets converted to all the dhatus directly. The time taken for completion of entrainment varies here. The time taken for ahara ras to be converted to rakta dhatu is less comparatively, which is round about 2^nd day, and for it to be entrained to shukra dhatu, takes about 7-8 days. Hence, here the ahara rasa directly forms the dhatus through entrainment and the time taken in directly proportional to the difference of frequency between the dhatu and ahara rasa. This is generally seen in “Aushadha dravyas” and this is the exact reason so as to why it acts faster than ahara dravya. “Khale-kapot nyaya” refers to this process of direct contact entrainment.

2. Step-up entrainment: Here, the dhatus are formed one after the other in a proper sequence starting with rasa dhatu and ending with shukra dhatu. The time taken for this step-up entrainment varies depending upon dhatus. For each dhatu, the time taken increases by about five days after digestion, which means that for shukra dhatu, it will take around 30 days. The amount and level of conversion depends upon the purity of the ahara rasa and its “patrata” or its capacity to be converted into higher frequencies. This is generally seen in “Ahara dravyas”

Depending on its capacity, it is of 2 types

a.  Complete Step-up entrainment:- Here the complete ahara rasa gets converted into rasa dhatu, the complete rasa dhatu to rakta dhatu and so on until the complete ahara rasa is converted to shukra dhatu and eventually oja. This is very very rare and only occurs in ideal states. “Ksheer Dadhi nyaya” is based on this exact concept of partial step-up entrainment.

b. Partial Step-up entrainment:- Here, only the pure part of the previous dhatu, that means only that part of the dhatu capable of gaining higher frequency, entrains with the next dhatu and converts itself whereas the other impure parts do not. Here the ahara rasa gets converted into rasa dhatu by entrainment with the contact of the rasa dhatu. Once it equals the frequency of rasa dhatu, hence becomes the rasa dhatu. Now this rasa dhatu comes in contact with rakta dhatu and slowly and naturally, the best portion or the portion that is pure enough for further entrainment goes on to be converted into rakta dhatu, here again it comes in contact with mamsa dhatu and the purer part of rakta dhatu which is capable for higher conversions starts entraining with mamsa dhatu and the process goes on until shukra dhatu is reached after which the process does go on, but gross tissues are not formed but subtle elements like oja are formed. The part that is pure enough to be further entrained and move to higher dhatus is known as poshaka part of dhatu in classical terms and the one that cannot go any further is known as poshya part of dhatu. This “poshya and poshaka” concept does not and can not go beyond partial step-up entrainment and is limited to only this concept. “Kedari Kulya nyaya” refers to this form on conversion of tissues.

As Dhatvagni is a passive entrainment and not an active one (excluding spiritual, delta and deep delta healings), it is a constant as long as the dhatus remain constant. Hence this agni is dependent totally upon the saarata(purity) of dhatus.

I have got some suggestions of making it more interesting. I do not know how to go about making quantum physics interesting, but I have tried using features like Bold, italics and underlining to good use.

I have also tried very hard to try and relate my blog to classical ayurvedic terms and not run away with only explaining it only in terms of quantum physics as I was alleged of doing. 

I do not know how much has paid off and how much is still not clear. Here I have touched upon the concept of dhatvagni. Let me repeat that whatever is written is only an attempt to explain my interpretation which may or may not be correct. The next blog will be of the very important, but less spoken of concept of Bhootagni and the relation and manipulation (usage) of Agni in ancient sciences of tantra spirituality etc.

What is Agni?- Part 2

All matter follows a rule of entrainment, which states that matter tends towards lower potential. Keeping this rule in mind we will follow our journey towards finding answers to our questions.

Let me explain the concept of entrainment in short. Entrainment means in common man’s language, “blending in”. Thus according to this rule, all matter tries to blend in with its surroundings in the best manner possible. This is not forced, but a natural principle of matter. For example, if several pendulum clocks are placed in a room, in some time you will notice that the pendulum of all the clocks start oscillating together. This shows entrainment. Another example is that when a cup of hot coffee is kept in room temperature, then the coffee starts emitting heat to the surroundings, thus cooling off so as to blend in with the surroundings. This is also another example of entrainment. Thus in all these examples we come to know that nature tends towards moving from duality to a state of oneness and from the state of excitability towards a state of inertness. And all this occurs naturally without any external application of force.

Now, in this blog, I will explain in detail, what is jatharagni and its role in our body:

To understand this, we must also understand the principle of individuality, which in classical terms is known as “Ahamkara”.  To try and explain it as simply as possible let me ask some questions to a fictionary person and try and remove the answer from within him. Let me name the fictionary person as say Rahul

Manaan: Do you identify yourself as the computer or phone next to you?

Rahul: No. Because according to me, I am not the phone.

Manaan: Then how much is you and how much is not you?

Rahul: Well, this body, I can call mine but anything out of this does not come within “me”

Manaan: Can you please be more precise?

Rahul: Well, anything beneath the skin including the skin is a part of me.

Manaan: So do you indentify the leaf you just ate is a part of you?

Rahul: No. Not yet, only after it is absorbed by my stomach

Manaan: But it still comes beneath your skin, so how can it be that it is not a part of you?

Rahul: Then I must need to improve upon my definition. Anything beneath the skin including the skin excluding all elements that are within the GI tract including the GI tract is me. So, in short, everything under the skin and outside of the GI tract is identified as a part of my body and not as an alien particle.

Manaan: The boy sitting next to you also has a skin and a GI tract, so do you become a part of him as well?

Rahul: No, he is an individual

Manaan: So what is the factor that individualizes you and him?

Rahul: This factor is known as “Ahamkara”.

Thus, the factor that not only differentiates but also individualizes you from your surroundings is known as ahamkara.

Now coming back to the topic of Jatharagni. To understand this in the right sense, we must know the ways of functioning of jatharagni.

Jatharagni functions in two ways:

1.  Firstly jatharagni digests and converts the “food” which is not a part of the self, into a consumable form which is still not a part of the self. This conversion takes place in two ways.

i. Active conversion: Here, digestive juices, including gastric juices, pancreatic juices, bile etc are secreted to actively help in converting this “food” into a more acceptable form, or in other, more specific words, they help in bringing about rapid entrainment using means of chemical reactions so that the food now starts to blend in with the frequency of the body.

ii. Passive conversion: As we have discussed earlier, the food, slowly and steadily starts entraining itself with the body and the body with the food. This goes on continuously even If digestive juices do not act. The stronger the frequency of the food, the more the body will have to blend in with it, thus, gaining more of its properties (Saamanya Siddhant) and the weaker the food the less the body has to blend in with the food, thus, gaining its properties to a very mild extent. This determines the potency of the food (by potency I do not mean virya, but I mean the power of its properties). Thus we are advised to eat food according to our prakruti, etc (Astau ahar vidhi visheshayatanani) so that, that food already has a frequency closer to our current frequency and can blend in easily giving desired results.

Thus this is one way of functioning of jatharagni, out of which only one part is what we thought, in the previous blog as jatharagni.

2. Now, when the food is actively and passively converted to the frequency of the body, Ahamkara acts on the food (converting it to the body’s frequency itself is ahamkara, but it does not act completely in the first stage). In the first stage, the food becomes in the form of convertible energy. Now in the second stage, only that portion which has completely been entrained is accepted and absorbed by the body and the other part is thrown away eventually.

Now, the question arises that why is it that generally liquid portion is absorbed and stool turns out to be solid? The answer to this question is that liquids, due to their increased intermolecular space can more easily and rapidly be entrained and its absorption is very easily done, but solid being more dense takes time to be entrained and not all of it is generally entrained.

Thus, now we realize that jatharagni is not matter that we can see or find in the body but is the strength of collective processes of entrainment, digestion, conversion and absorption of food.

I have only written about the details of Jatharagni in this blog. I will write about dhatvagni, bhootagni and their use in spirituality, tantra, aghora, etc in my further blogs.

Please feel free to comment on my blog and on my thought process and please correct me if u find anything that is wrong and if you do not understand any of the concepts, feel free to ask.

What is Agni??

Here, in this blog, as in my previous blogs, we will try and understand concepts related to ayurveda and try and think of them thus getting clarity of mind.

All ideas that i am expressing are only my interpretations which may or may not be correct, but i would still like you to read and go through it and correct me so that i may have more clarity in my mind.

The journey of understanding ayurveda has been fascinating and promises to continue being more and more fascinating, revealing answers about our body, about the complete cosmos and its inter-relationship. Let us continue this journey of understanding this great science.

Today, I have taken the topic of "agni". Agni, as we all know is a very unique and important concept of ayurveda on which many other concepts stand. Thus to know agni in its complete and proper sense is what my motive is for this blog and the next one. I have formed certain views regarding this but before i present my view to you i think we should start off by critically analyzing the different views that have been presented to us in this context.

Let me try and illustrate some views that have been put to us and then I shall analyze each of these views as we go along.

They are as follows:



1. Agni is equated to the enzymes and juices secreted by various organs which is responsible for the conversion of food. It includes gastric juices, pancreatic juices, bile, etc.



2. Agni is pitta itself minus the drava quality or liquidity.



3. Agni is the factor that is responsible for all conversions taking place in the body.



These are generally the 3 views that are placed in front of us. So, as I continue to explore and understand the concepts of this science, critical analysis is very important.
To analyze and put into proper perspective the 3 concepts, let us make a list of pros and cons of these concepts and see how much of it can be validated and thus how much of this can be accepted and understood.



1. For the first theory:
Pros: According to me, it is the best one i have heard, which clears to a great extent the concept of jatharagni. It is also the only concept that attempts at explaining and inter-relating this concept with modern medical science.
Cons: This concept falls a bit short as it cannot explain properly the concept of dhatvagni or that of bhootagni. If this concept is to be followed, then we cannot explain many of our own principles like that of agni reducing after vamana, virechana, etc. because it is never seen that bile or gastric or pancreatic juice secretion has been reduced.
Hence, this concept, according to me does not satisfy and do enough justice. Now let us analyze another concept



2. The analysis of the second theory is as follows:
Pros: It tries to explain it in terms of its properties and shows that a deep connection exists between agni and pitta
Cons: This does not make too much sense because if this is the case then what would happen if i drink water? Will the agni be finished and become pitta? And if a substance is totally dry, then can it actually even be secreted and how would it move. Plus if it were dry pitta, then how could agni digest pitta??
This concept is also not satisfying to the intellect. Let us try and analyze the third concept.



3. The analysis of the third concept is as follows:
Pros: It clearly shows its function and its meaning goes deeper and can be used to explain superficially concepts of dhatvagni and bhootagni.
Cons: There is a complete lack of specificity. By calling it a "factor" we are not pinpointing at anything. It is vague and unclear. It is like saying that a knife is a "factor" responsible for cutting vegetables. This can only give an indication but it does not describe the knife in any way. This is conceptually the closest one i have come across but still it is far from adequate according to me.
Thus, these were some of the theories that i have come across and am still in search of a theory that explains this concept in its totality thus giving us students a proper and complete idea of what agni really is.



I have some of my own views and ideas that i have tried to validate and they seem to fit perfectly. I will, in my next blog, present to you the complete concept of agni as i think it is and will also try and explain not only jatharagni but also dhatvagni, bhootagni and its usage in yoga, tantra, spirituality, etc. and will try and relate it with modern science in terms of quantum physics so as to validate each point as we move forward.
Please feel free to give your comments or critical analysis of these concepts. And also i would like you to present your concept so that we may discuss it and hopefully come out with a complete explanation of this unique concept.

Vedant Darshan & its Futility

Let me really simplify what I want to say for everyone to easily understand and grasp this. For this I will explain it in the form of a short story

One day a boy named Rohan, went to Gujarat to learn a rare dish. This dish was, as told by his elders and friends as the best dish to taste which will give incomparable happiness. There he met a great chef Sameerji who knew all about the dish but had never made it nor did he see the dish being made neither tasted it. But the great chef knew lots and lots about the details of the dish, about the impact the dish has on the tongue, about the impact it has on the body, how long can it be preserved and how, etc. All this he had learned from his teacher who had actually made, tasted and experienced the dish. The chef’s teacher had experienced the dish and had written all about it and this came down to sameerji who had learned it by heart. He had never seen what the dish looked like but he kept visualizing it as per the description of his teacher. The more details he knew about it, the more he thought he was closer to experiencing it when one day, he knew all he could know about the dish without experiencing it and he thought that he has complete knowledge of this dish. Thus, he started teaching others about the dish(which in reality he himself did not know about). All his arguments made sense(because they were not his). All the details seemed correct(because they were experienced). So anyone who went to him would feel as if he was experiaced in this. But did this help in his curiosity to learn this dish or did it hamper his thought process but giving him the impression of having knowledge. 

So Rohan now reached the gates of this great chef to learn this dish. He spent 25 years learning all about the dish and when he came out, he too thought that he now knew the dish completely and this was as much experience that a person can get about the dish because this was as much of an experience his teacher had got. So without having any practical knowledge of the way to make the dish, he knew everything in theory. Later on, this dish was put in front of him by a master chef in front of whom he had boasted of knowing this dish. To his surprise, inspite of knowing everything about the dish, he didn’t know about it one bit till the time he tasted it. Now, he knew why this dish was so great because it gave him incomparable happiness. He learnt an invaluable lesson, that the self experience is much greater than intellectualization of someone else’s experience. Thus, he studied under the master chef who did not teach him anything else but the taste of the dish (the thing that mattered). 

In this story we understand that experience cannot be substituted in any other way. Thus in the field of spirituality, experience is the only way.

Thus, according to me, formal education in spirituality does not make any sense. Spirituality means to know of your spirit of your inner self. But the way to know your inner self is through experience and experience alone. Thus, instead of teaching one about the answers or the experience of some higher being, the person must perform the actions so as to gain this experience himself/herself and then validate it.

Hence, today, to me, the study of Vedanta darshan seems futile and must only be done to retrofit your experience and to validate it, not reach to it!!!!