Obesity - Causes and Treatment

Obesity is a condition where there is either an increase in the number of fat cells or increase in the size of fat cells or both. So when we examine a fat cell, it contains something known as a vesicle which is like an elastic bag that holds water in it. As the vesicle is extremely elastic in nature the size of the vesicle can increase dramatically, thus increasing the size of the fat cell. This is what we generally call as water retention leading to obesity. The other cause is obviously the increase in the number of fat cells.

How do you know if you are obese?

Being fat or weighing more does not classify you as an obese person. In-fact, in the ayurvedic definition a lean person could also be classified as obese. Anyone whose stomach, buttocks and breasts move independently on activity are termed as obese and they do not posses vigor in proportion to their bodily bulk.

The interesting thing about the treatment of obesity is the identification of the cause, as treatment of both types are opposite. Also there is sometimes just plain bloating of the abdomen due to gas and improper digestion, in which case the treatment is different. The key to solving obesity is in identifying it.

Despite requiring different type of treatment for different types of obesity, I have mentioned a generalized group of home remedies that I have found works well with all types, but I strongly recommend taking individualized treatment as that has far better and quicker results

Treatment

Ayurveda being a holistic science treats obesity, which is a lifestyle disorder, by using - Medicines, Diet, Regimen, Home Remedies, Panchakarma (in severe cases)

1) Medicines - You will need to visit an ayurvedic doctor for this. Please do not try to self medicate yourself.

2) Diet -  A generalized diet would be to avoid - sour, fermented, maida-based, raw and non-veg food. Detailed diet will can only be given by examining the patient. Also some misconceptions are present regarding diet, for eg. ghee and rice should not be taken. Many-a-times I find that obesity increases by not taking enough ghee in your diet. Being in a subcontinental and a tropical climate, ghee is a must in our diet but provided that the ghee is "Cow's ghee". This ghee will not increase your weight but will help form a bi-lipid layer to help lose weight if taken correctly. Ayurveda says that by taking more of ghee, all the secretions will increase. Hence bile will be secreted more for digestion of fat and more of HDL(Good cholesterol) will be formed. Rice, in-fact, should be taken more by the individual who wishes to lose weight but the catch is that this rice should be open-cooked (without being covered or not in a pressure cooker) and the water should be drained off before consumption.

3) Regimen - Exercise should be done regularly for weight loss without a doubt, but the important aspect to remember is to sweat. I have seen cases wherein exercise is done throughout the day in an air-conditioned room where there is hardly any sweating. This does not help lose weight at all.

4) Home Remedies - Refer to this video.

5) Panchakarma - Ayurveda says that heat breaks down the fat cells and produces sweat. Due to this "Udawartan" followed by full body steaming is recommended to people who wish to lose weight. "Vaman" is also a recommendation for people who won't lose weight no matter what they do.

The top four of these or in some cases all of these are used to cure this disease and a strict adherence and discipline is required.

What is Oja??? Part 2 (Concluding part)

We have looked upon Oja very critically and to be frank, we have not yet found an answer that is satisfactory and which points out exactly what oja is all about. We have been given clues by our acharyas trying to explain it in their terminologies. The function of oja has also been specifically mentioned and the diseases or conditions occurring due to decreased oja specified.

We now know for a fact in our last discussion that :

v  Oja is no energy or an abstract but is a physical substance as its physical features have been well specified.

v  Oja has a very intimate relationship with shukra dhatu

v  Oja is the excellence of all dhatus and hence is superior to them

v  Oja helps to maintain the immunity of the body by helping in regeneration and hence gives strength and stability to the body

v  Oja has the quality of “Sheetatva” or coldness hence cannot withstand heat

v  There are 2 types of Oja – Para (superior) and Apara (Inferior)

v  Para oja is constant throughout life and Apara may change depending on various factors

v  Oja delays the degeneration and the ageing processes

v  Oja forms a link between the 3 bodies (Gross, Subtle and Causal)

We know all of the above facts and yet there is confusion in our minds as to what oja really is.

In this blog, I would like to explain, according to me “what is oja”

In the human body, there are some cells that are known as “Stem cells”. Stem cells are primal undifferentiated cells which retain the ability to differentiate into other cell types. This ability allows them to act as a repair system for the body, replenishing other cells as long as the organism is alive.

These cells are further divided into 2 major types as “embryonic stem cells” and “adult/somatic stem cells”.

Embryonic Stem Cells (Para Oja)*- The embryonic stem cells are tottipotent cells and remain constant throughout life. They are formed from embryos after fertilization. This very well explains why the content of embryonic stem cells or para oja remains constant throughout life as with only 1 gamete, more of it cannot be formed.

Somatic/Adult Stem Cells (Apara Oja)* - The adult stem cells are pleuripotent  cells which are present in the body in greater number than embryonic stem cells. These cells are not as potent as embryonic stem cells but have the capacity to multiply and specialize themselves to any tissue eg blood. Hence, the regeneration of the body depends directly on the amount of adult stem cells that the body has. Similarly the immunity or resistance to degeneration or to a disease is directly dependant on the amount of Oja the body has. This Oja is, as the name suggests, formed from shukra dhatu (only 1 gamete is involved)

Now, let us compare the parameters of oja to stem cells in the same order

v  Stem cells is no energy or an abstract thought, but is a physical substance with physical features matching the description of Oja given by the respected Acharyas

v  The relationship of Shukra dhatu with stem cells is obvious

v  Stem cells is definitely superior to all tissue elements as it can specialize to any of them at will, hence it is the most excellent of cells to be present in the human body

v  As this stem cell regenerates or replaces damaged organs or tissues by specializing itself to form the tissue, this acts as the best immunity provider in the body by providing strength and stability to the body

v  Stem cells require a cold temperature to thrive in vitro and in vivo. Heat destroys these cells easily.

v  The 2 types of stem cells have been discussed in short where the superior one being the embryonic stem cells and inferior being the somatic counterpart

v  Embryonic stem cells remain constant throughout life and if depleted the patient dies as regeneration stops completely whereas somatic stem cells may increase or decrease

v  Stem cells are used for delay in ageing processes as it stops degeneration by regenerating and substituting degenerated cells.

*(My opinion, may or may not be true)

Hence, I have tried to give my understanding of oja in very very short and easy language. I have also co-related it with stem cells specifically to explain why I think what I think.

According to me, the Acharyas of ayurveda knew of the complete existence of these stem cells and they chose the word Oja to explain it.

I hope to have clarified another tricky concept of ayurveda. If there are any arguments for or against this topic or any comments or critical analysis, please feel free to post them as it will only improve my understanding of the subject

What is Oja???

As we are discussing controversial and unclear topics on this blog, after agni I felt it right to understand ojas so as to get a clearer idea as we move ahead to discuss and dwell upon aspects of ayurveda in further blogs and discussions.

At first ojas seemed a very abstract concept and to pinpoint such a substance in the body, seemingly difficult.

There are varied opinions concerned with this highly accepted yet little known entity. Let me put forward some of the opinions that i have encountered.

We shall discuss these opinions one after another to understand more about what our preceptors tried to point out at.

1.         1. Some scholars of ayurveda say that it is the energy present in the body produced during destruction of shukra dhatu responsible for anabolic changes in the body.

2.       2. Some say it is nothing but the antibodies and WBCs present in the body

3.       3. Some say that it is no different from shukra, just that old shukra should be counted as oja

4.         4. Some say it is an upadhatu of shukra

5.         5. And others say it’s the mala of shukra

6.             6.Others, well, say that science is not good enough to figure it out or explain such concepts….???

Now, taking into account these opinions of various schools of thoughts, we need to list out the pros and cons to aid us in our search of what exactly is oja.

1.       In the first opinion,

Pros: It is by far the best attempt made to explain oja in terms of science of energies. It shows the intimate relation of shukra and points out at its function very clearly.

Cons: It does not point out what oja is, but points out the function of oja. For eg. describing a knife as something that cuts things is only a function not the knife itself. If this were to be accepted assuming that oja is energy and not a substance then the description of oja as having yellowish colour, resembling clarified butter(ghee) etc, seems useless as only physical substances can have such explanations.

2.       In the second opinion,

Pros: It is a good attempt to substantiate the oja by relating it in modern medicine by comparing it to WBCs and antibodies.

Cons: This explanation of oja does not really suffice as the intimate relationship with shukra is totally overlooked and the formation of it depending on the quality of shukra dhatu and its increase by conserving shukra in processes of bhramacharya etc are totally ignored. Hence to accept this does not seem complete.

3.       In the third opinion,

Pros: This explanation goes out of its way to show how intimately it is connected to shukra and how it is an upadhatu of the same. (I do not want to get into whether it is an upadhatu or mala of shukra, but we have a separate blog for it, if requested)

Cons: The cons are quite a few because this reason is rarely accepted due to the obvious fact that there are no definite parameters that differentiate it from shukra, if it really was nothing but shukra, then why is it even considered as another dhatu in itself? Hence this argument does not satisfy our intellectual needs.

4.       &     5.            These points on whether it is an upadhatu or mala and why need not be discussed here, but a blog can be specifically to clear that doubt if need be.

6.  In the sixth opinion,

Well, there is a good amount of truth in this statement as it is difficult to understand ayurveda which goes deep into layers of sukshma shareer and karan shareer on which modern medicine has not reached as yet. Quantum physics for that matter has definitely reached and is probing the manomaya kosha, hence trying to use it to understand those concepts should prove beneficial.

Hence, all the explanations provided to us individually seems a bit hazy and tough to grasp. But when put together and thought upon, the eventual answer could seem ridiculously obvious.

If any one of you would like to share your thoughts on this subject or have an opinion about my writings, please do comment, I shall try to better myself in each attempt.

In the coming blogs I will try and put my point of view trying to elaborate and understand oja, while showing how to tap it and use it for a complete transformation of life and psyche for the good.

What is Agni??? - Part 6 (concluding part)

I apologize to have taken a long gap in writing my next blog, but due to various reasons my focus was shifted to exams and some other cause I was dealing with. While again going through in brief, we had thought about agni, its different types, its form of existence and its mechanism of action. Now let us try and gauge the most important aspect, the one which deals with practical life, the ways to catch onto this and utilize it to speed up spiritual progress and health.

References in various books show some direct connection between spiritual growth and agni. According the Vimalananda, “The amount of indigested or unabsorbed food thrown out from your body reflects your growth or rather the absence of it.” This growth does not relate to physical growth, of course, but to spiritual growth. Such a statement seems very puzzling and sometimes it seems so vague that we push it aside claiming it to be blind faith, without trying to understand the science behind such a simplistically put statement.

As we have seen earlier, bhootagni is responsible for increasing our mental faculties, specifically by nourishing the indriyas by utilizing or making the most of what we ingest. And according to Srimad Bhagwad Gita “intelligence is nothing but the perfect functioning of the indriyas” and “sattva is nothing but intelligence.” Hence showing us the unavoidable importance of bhootagni.

Hence in yoga, the first step is known as “Bhootashuddhi”, referring to the process of cleansing the mahabhootas which reflect its presence in the functioning of its specific indriyas. For this, firstly there is an assessment made on the level of vitiation of the mahabhootas and accordingly the yogic therapy is advised.

According to Tantra Shastra:

These same rituals are followed in tantra shastra and are known by a different name of tattwa shuddhi, but the methodology and the science behind it is the same more or less.

As we know, the 5 mahabhootas form the senses and also form the base of the 5 chakras ie, from mooladhara to vishuddha. Hence their shuddhi clears and stimulates the indriyas and also facilitates the upward movement of kundalini, when awakened.

The principle behind this kriya, is to improve upon the bhootagni to a great extent without which, progression in yoga is not possible.

The starting point may be any mahabhoota of the person’s choice. Each mahabhoota has its own peculiarities, pros and cons. Let us discuss in brief about them.

1)      Pritwi (Earth) Mahabhoota: This mahabhoota has the characteristic of steadiness and stability, hence processes like Hatha Yoga are generally followed for shuddhi of this mahabhoota, in which a person needs to sit in a particular posture giving pressure on specific points thus stimulating and/or obstructing prana in specific areas giving about a desired result. For example, in Moola Bandha, the anal sphincter is to be closed, which obstructs the lower movement of apana vayu thus giving pressure on the mooladhar, the site of kundalini. Overdoing it or not doing it under proper guidance can bring about various complications like severe pain and constipation in this case.

Pros: It is the safest way of progression comparatively and once siddhi in this yoga is achieved it gives stability to the high energy flowing through the body. Brings about mental balance and stability.

               

Cons: The earth element being heavy and slow in nature, this shuddhi takes a lot of time, patience and perseverance. It may take from years to decades or even lifetimes to master.

2)      Jala (Water) Mahabhoota: This mahabhoota has the characteristics of fluidity and heaviness. It ranges from simple practices of giving water to specific plants and abhisheks on idols to practices requiring the person be underwater for prolonged periods of time. Water as an element is very puzzling and yet many mysteries have not been solved and are termed as anomalous. Mantras are frequently used in such practices.

Pros: The water chakra swadhistan is also known as the sex charka. Hence, this shuddhi brings about control over sex organs and thus enabling us to protect our veerya or sexual fluids giving us a lot of energy or oja and also helps in swadhisthan bhedan.

Cons: This process is slow, even though faster than prithwi element, but slower compared to the others. Water pollution these days also pose a threat these days and such impurities could do damage if used constantly.

3)      Agni(Fire) Mahabhoota: This mahabhoota has characteristics of sharpness and amplification. Due to this quality of amplification, it is preferred by many. This method was widely used in ancient days in both eastern and western mysticism where elements and mantras were continuously fed into the fire for amplification and faster results. Zoarashtrians also used this and were known as fire worshippers as they kept chanting hymns into the fire. Consecration of spaces was also done effectively using this method. Yagnas, havans, dhumas, etc are nothing but purification of the teja mahabhoota in the body. Satyug and treata yuga saw this process thrive.

Pros: Fast progress is possible due to amplification. It is a relatively safe method if used well. Due to qualities of amplification, it is used in consecrating spaces hence creating an environment of growth and purity.

Cons: It needs to be done in a particular way using particular mantras and at a given time. The fire must be fed with mantras and fuel continuously.

4)      Vayu(Wind) Mahabhoota: This mahabhoota has characteristics of mobility and quickness. Due to these properties, it is preferred by most. This method started off a bit late, after the period of the fire. Pranayams and different breathing related sciences and techniques came into the limelight. It was most seen during the dwapar yuga and is one of the preferred choices today but needs to be handled very carefully.

Pros: It is very fast acting and quick result giving method. It directly acts on the prana using no mediators. . Kundalini can be controlled to a greater extent through this method as prana is directly under control. There is no need of usage of mantras or physical substances. No barriers of time.

Cons: It needs to be done under proper guidance or else proves to be dangerous. Due to unavoidable air pollution, this method has been rejected by some seeing the damage it has on the saadhak.

5)      Akash(Ether) Mahabhoota: This mahabhoota is characterized by emptiness and subtleness. Due to this subtle property, it is the fastest acting, yet the most difficult mahabhoota to gain control of due to its emptiness. Being a powerful element, its followers are generally powerseekers aiming to attain quick siddhis or supernatural powers. These practices are totally based on shabda or speech. Fasting is one of the practices done here.

            Pros: Fastest way of progression.

Cons: Very difficult to gain control over such a subtle element. Very dangerous for true spiritual seekers if not handled properly due to lucrative siddhis.

All these practices increase the power of bhootagni which in turn purifies the mahabhootas or elements giving a base to the sadhak to start his/her inward journey.

According to Jainism:

The jains have a very similar thought process in which they emphasize on giving strength to the bhootagni which is the agni of the sukshma sharer. For this they avoid food and practices that stimulate the jatharagni which nourishes the sthula sharer (groos body). It is also found in various researches that food found under the soil contains lower frequency as that found higher. The higher the frequency, the higher the chakra it stimulates. Hence the jains say that food growing below the soil should be avoided for eg. onion, garlic etc. as they have “moola dosha”. This word moola dosha has been tampered around with quite a lot. Most jains believe that it is due to the fact that lots of micro-organisms die due to cooking and eating, whereas some believe that it is due to the fact that the whole plant needs to be uprooted hence causing more violence than a mere pluck. But going a bit deeper, I feel that such food stimulates the “mooladhara chakra” owing to its low frequency range giving rise to petty thought patterns known as “moola dosha.” which is definitely harmful for bhootagni but may prove excellent for jatharagni and bodily development.

Non- vegetarian foods are also to be avioded as they stimulate mooladhara and swadhisthan chakra and  whereas they are excellent for and are advised to increase and nourish sthula shareer. Also due to the karmas of violence it carries along with it, it is to be avoided.

Fasting is one of the practices for akash mahabhoota shuddhi and stimulation of bhootagni and is followed greatly in Jainism.

Tyag(letting go) and penance are given great importance. Hence, all these factors stimulate bhootagni and give about a fair chance of spiritual progression.

Other religions like Buddhism also try to increase this bhootagni, but due to my lack of proper knowledge, I will not delve into it much.

According to Ayurveda:

Ayurveda believes in a very systematic and layered thought process when it comes to spirituality. Ayurveda's chief aim is to bring about health in the body. Using different substances like aahar and aushadha the body is purified. Hence the annamayakosha or the physical body becomes pure. Using means of ayurvedic acupressure and acupuncture(marma vijnana), different nadis are purified. Hence the pranamaya kosha or the energy body is purified. Using practices of sadvrutta the manomayakosha or the attitude body is purified. Hence stimulating the bhootagni.

Thus, this agni is used in almost all shastras and it forms the base and measuring parameter of spiritual preparedness.

This blog is only my understanding of the subject. It may or may not be true. Please give suggestions, remarks, or a critical analysis of the same and possibly some tips to improve my understanding or writing skills.

Here I conclude my blog on “What is Agni???” Thank you for your patience.

What is Agni??? - Part 5

In the previous blog, we talked about the nature of mahabhootas, indriyas and the basic concept of samkhya darshan, ayurveda and their controversy.

In this blog, let us focus on the less talked about transformation process of bhootagni which is superlatively important in our life.

The human body consists of gyanendriyas or senses of perception, which are Shabda, Sparsha, Roopa, Rasa and Gandha as given in the chart below.

These Indriyas, as discussed earlier are present in the cortices of the brain. These indriya’s potency is dependant on the amount of activation of the cortex of the brain, the preciseness of the adhistan and the clarity of the pathway through which is the impulse travels.

Prana or the life force energizes these cortices and thus strengthens the indriays so that perceptibility increases. This prana is obtained from a combination of food and breath (as we all know that it is the inhalation of air containing oxygen that helps in the breakdown of food eventually).

Food, as we have seen, undergoes digestion in 3 general stages,
1. The gross digestion of food which is done by jatharagni
2. The subtle digestion, done by 7 different dhatvagnis and
3. The atisukshma digestion, done by bhootagni.

These digestive processes occur in specific sequences. Jatharagni digests the food first. It divides the food into useful and non-useful parts (sara-kitta vibhajana). The dhatvagni converts the useful protion (ahara rasa) into different tissues, hence nourishing them.

But the bhootagni not only works on the ‘sara’ part, but also on the ‘kitta’ part, or the useless portion. It tries to use these sara and kitta potions to energize the sense organs.

According to Acharya Charak, the indriyas become capable to receive information of the objects only due to energy of shakti. This shakti to the cortices of the brain is provided by further conversion of faecal matter into higher energies using bhootagni. Bhootagni is generally somewhat opposite of jatharagni as it works differently. Jatharagni tries to remove as much of ‘sara’ portion as possible so as to nourish the body, whereas bhootagni tries to convert it to energy for nourishment of these brain cortices.

The types of bhootagni are categorized according to 2 parameters:

According to the time of action:

1. Pre-digestive entrainment: Here, the word “pre-digestive” is taken because it works before the digestion by the dhatvagni starts . It uses up a portion of ahara rasa and converts it into the 5 types of bio-energies that stimulate all the cortices of the brain.

2. Post-digestive entrainment: Here, the word “post-digestive” is used because it works on the faecal matter.

This type of bhootagni is only an extension of the previous one and very difficult to activate and requires lots of sadhana to activate and control.

According to the Indriya it activates:

1. The first one is the grossest one which activates the ghranendriya and or the cortex for olfaction. (pruthwi mahabhoota, earth element)
2. The second one is a bit more subtle and activates the rasanendriya or the cortex for taste. (Jala mahabhoota, liquid element)
3. The third one being subtler, activates the roopa or the visual cortex. (Agni mahabhoota, fire element)
4. The fourth one activates the sparshanendriya or the cortex responsible for tactile sensation. (Vayu mahabhoota, air element)
5. The fifth one is even subtler and activates the shrotrendriya which is responsible for hearing.(Akash mahabhoota, space)

Thus, the bhootagni activates and supplies nourishment to each of our indriyas so that perceptibility can maintained and increased.

This is a very tricky concept to present and I have tried to explain it in a very simplistic manner. In my next blog, I will try and explain the manipulation of bhootagni and its usage in spiritual sciences like yoga, tantra etc. and its practical use.

What is Agni?? - Part 4

As we have seen previously about gross digestion (jatharagni)and subtle digestion(dhatvagni). Now we will take a look at bhootagni.

To understand this concept, let us first understand what mahabhootas really are.

According to the Indian knowledge system, the complete universe is made up of 5 elements or mahabhootas which are :

1.        Akash (space)
2.      Vayu (wind)
3.        Agni (fire)
4.        Jala (water)
5.        Prithvi (Earth)

The first principle of ayurveda says that the macrocosm and the microcosm are exactly similar thus suggesting that every element present in the universe is present in the human body.

In the human body there are 5 sense organs (indriyas) i.e. Shrotendriya(hearing), sparshanendriya(touch), chakshurendriya(sight), rasendriya(taste) and ghranendriya(olfaction) which operate only due to these 5 elements.

*These indriyas are not present in the eyes, nose, ears, skin and tongue, but are present in the brain!!! The eyes etc. are only the medias through which they operate. They are nothing but specialized mirrors who reflect the surroundings.

For people in the study of ayurveda or of Darshana Shashtra know of a controversy between Ayurveda and Samkhya darshan. For those who do not know this, let me explain in short.

According to Samkhya Darshana, Indriyas have their origin from Ahamkara (which later on forms mahabhutas as well) and according to Ayurveda, the indriyas originate from the mahabhutas and not from Ahamkara.

Now, this controversy brought me to a sort of dilemma. One one hand, I had complete faith in ayurveda and its arguments made a lot of sense, but on the other hand, what samkhya darshan said also seemed true and its arguments made sense too. The question that put me in a dilemma was that how can 2 seers contradict each other?? Either one of them is wrong, or that in essence both are saying the same thing, but at 2 different levels. More often than not, the latter prevails. I needed my question to be answered, thus I tried to find a connection in both these seemingly non-coherent theories, and to my surprise I found that what both of them say is completely and totally one and the same, just explained on a different level.

Thus, let me try and explain this connection and thus give us a better idea of the nature of existence of these indriyas.

This is really important to understand if we want to understand what bhootagni really is and how it can be manipulated and tapped into for our spiritual advancement.

According to me, Indriyas are in 2 forms just like mahabhootas. There is a parmanu rupa and a karya rupa. Or put in other words, there is a potentially complete Indriya(paramanu rupa) and an incomplete Indriya (which may or may not be going towards completeness) (karya rupa). So the potentially complete Indriya is always present in all beings, be it humans, animals, insects, birds, etc. This is developed from Ahamkara or individualization factor.

Every being is complete potentially and thus every Indriya also has to be complete potentially.

This potential completeness is definitely developed from ahamkara, which is present in all beings. Samkhya explains the completeness of the universe, hence every aspect of it must be taken as potential and not as what has been extracted from it.

Thus this explains the Samkhya Darshan’s standpoint of indriyas i.e that they are complete and have emerged from ahamkara and are present in all beings.

The Samkya Tree showing the formation of Indriyas from Ahamkara

Now to explain what ayurveda says:

According to Ayurveda (charak and sushruta, both):

They say that Indriyas are developed from mahabhutas or from the 5 elements and they have given explanations for the same. One of them is that it shows that the sense organs develop and improve or worsen depending on what you consume, thus proving that when u eat food containing of mahabhootas, u affect ur indriya’s strength, so even indriyas must be made up of mahabhootas. This argument and many such make tremendous amount of sense.

This theory had to be proposed, because if ayurveda accepted that indriyas are ahamkarika, then ayurveda could not treat it, because ego cannot be treated upon by any medicine.

But, what ayurveda really does is that it acts upon the perceptibility of the indriyas and not on the indriyas itself. Herein lies the main difference. Let me try to explain it better.

Ayurveda acts to improve Indriya “perceptibility” in 2 ways:

1.         It clears out and enhances the organ(eyes, nose, etc.) and the path through which the impulse is transmitted, thus improving perceptibility.
2.         It energizes the cortices of the brain responsible for perception, thus improving the perceptibility, but it cannot change or alter the potential of the Indriya.

So, the controversy is only on the superficial level. It is like this: One person says that a tree emerges from the parent tree and the other says that it emerges from the seed.  Or its like saying that every human is complete and someone else removes defects from a person. We must understand that what is said is said in “potential” terms and not in current terms.

Thus, both ayurveda and samkhya, according to me seem totally correct and co-herent, but we need to understand the essence and the context in which this was spoken and debated upon.

I have tried to get this controversy clear, because if we do not understand this, then explaining bhootagni will only entangle your concepts further.

I hope I have done justice to this blog. Please give your ideas and comments so that I may be encouraged or corrected, in both cases, I will be benefitted. In my next blog I will explain what Bhootagni is and how it functions and how it can be practically used and manipulated so as to increase our spiritual growth.

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!!!!