PRANA HEALS

A fine reflective student writes:

"I am interested to see you probe into the area of bodily contact by touch. When I think of humans as being just a mass of live molecules (which is a very equalizing thought) I can sense the Power transference when two people touch and become one.

Undoubtedly, healing by this method of laying on the hands is one constructive use of this power, I have often thought that there was something to this type of healing and now that I put two and two together, I think I see the power behind it. (I realize that the mechanical part in itself does not transmit lasting results). You must have more ideas on this and I would appreciate your taking me a step further."

Valentina answers: Quite a few things could be said about "the power behind it" First of all what is this power? It definitely is ENERGY. It is not tangible and gross. It is a subtle Cosmic power. Now - is it a good Power? Or is it evil? It is neither. It is just a tremendous power, Just like the sun. It gives life. It can also give death. It can bring sun-stroke and kill you if you don't know how to expose yourself to it, We can use it (and we are using it daily without even knowing it) for all Purposes. Evil people are sometimes remarkable healers. It happens when they have a power of concentration and can transmit their Prana. Prana is all-pervasive subtle energy like the finest and the extremely potent electricity. Bodily and mental diseases are due to the lack of balance, - or rather to the unbalanced condition of Prana.

One who controls his Prana has very powerful personality and vibrations which can easily be transferred to others. But - and here is a big but! It is only a spiritually developed person who can charge Prana with great Divine Force.

Prana is a vitalizer, But Prana qualified with intelligent enthusiasm, with inspiration, with divine ardour is vitalizer plus! - it is a transmitter of PEACE and CONSCIOUS BALANCE.

I am glad our student realizes that mechanical transmission of Prana does not bring lasting results. It indeed does not. Transmission of vibrations works lasting wonders only when they are quickening our inner beings. How does this manifest? By a miraculous change in our reactions upon ordinary as well as extraordinary situations. Tension is subdued, our attitudes become nobler, our ability to forgive and to love grows stronger. This change happens inside us, not outside. And it is achieved through spiritual vibrations which you are ready to receive.

Expectancy plays an enormous role in healing as well as in general improvement of our life. We must have Faith in the Invisible Power of the Absolute Good. This makes our receptivity as well as our transmission - very strong. Our life has endless dimensions. Our body, our mind and our soul must draw upon sublime vibrations of God Himself in order to be well and harmonious.

Let us make one point very clear; transmission of Prana is a responsible act. We have a free will. Therefore it is up to us to transmit our Prana in the wrong or in the right way. The wrong way is to think that we - the mortal personalities are the actors and the doers.

It would be of interest to you to know that Gurudev personally told me about it: "...I am glad that you are now developing the art of Divine Healing. Be entirely selfless in so doing. Let Prayer to the Lord do the magic! Be unaffected by the results and fruits of your efforts. All Karmas are offered to the Lord as flowers for His worship. You are absolutely correct in saying 'without Absolute Renunciation there is no Absolute Realization!'"

The right way is to renounce your little personality while performing the healing of mind and body. Prana is not yours or mine but is the Cosmic Energy - God's Energy which only works through you. Thus, by renouncing our will and submitting ourselves to His Will we make our little wills charged with His Absolute Will. This attitude makes the flow of Prana harmonious and it elevates and divinizes both - the transmitter and the receiver.

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One of our co-workers is a true seeker and devotee. At this moment she turns to the Supreme in distress. Let us all join this dear Self and turn to Him in her behalf.

Karma is the law of mathematical precision, thus, we turn to Him not as beggars for the unmerited gifts, but as children, who know that the all-powerful Mother (the Divine Sakti) will do something to ease, to soothe, to help and to guide.

"The prayer of faith saves the sick and the Lord raises him up," (James 5:14, 15)

So first of all, let us increase our faith and decrease our fear. Then let us understand various methods of healing and pray for the right attitude towards them. Various schools of thought practice various methods of healing. There is some truth in all of them; there is also some error, due to human limitations. So we should pray for understanding and discrimination.

We should not deny the existence of disease, neither should we accept its existence! It is just like if you are covered with sticky tar. You cannot say that it is all right, and that there is no tar. But you remove it with the right application. This "right application" is what we ought to pray for. We should humbly submit ourselves to the Supreme Intelligence and pray for guidance. We should expect the answer, yet we should be patient and wait with utmost faith that His Will is absolutely perfect. We should be receptive to His Voice. We should be ever grateful and peaceful, knowing that there is no escape from paying debts or learning lessons, but that there is a quicker way of doing so by and through the loving self-surrender to the Divine Mother.

Pray and surrender.
Pray and repent
Pray and be grateful,

It is absolutely right to pray in all cases, for all people and in all circumstances. Nothing - absolutely nothing is impossible for the Lord.

Transmission of prana - if done prayerfully - is also a fine method. Some have psychic abilities brought from the past incarnations. But it should be performed impersonally, that is to say, one should not attribute the healing to himself.

Through us flows Prana - and only then - from us. If this is understood - we remain humble and right. Otherwise, we are puffed with pride and egoity, as well as - in the long run entirely exhausted and deprived of psychic powers.

We should not be fanatic about any specific methods, neither should we use ready-made formulas, such as; "Good God is too good to allow diseases," etc - for there is self-deception and hidden hypocrisy or fear in such affirmations. God is good - that is a simple and beautiful statement. Say it with love, adoration and child-like faith. Such attitude has humility and sense of personal unworthiness, yet it is full of boldness; for we perceive His absolute Glory and rejoice at it, and accept it as our birthright - for within us He is! We should also pray in the Name of the Perfected Ones, as Christ Himself said: "Whatsoever ye shall ask my Father in My Name - He shall give it to you."

Thus, pray any way you want - but put all your faith into it.

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A student came to me with a profound inner conflict which resulted in an ailment of purely psycho-somatic nature. The suffering of this most gifted, sensitive and good soul is intense. What is the trouble? What causes this conflict? This case is so typical that I shall thoroughly dwell upon it in order to give some inspiration to this dear Self and many others. Thus, may Gurudev guide me this moment to transmit the healing light and hope to the suffering friend and others of similar mentality. The main conflict within is caused by the understanding of truth and total inability to apply it in life. For instance, theoretically one may understand and discuss the highest of the highest, - yet, if there is doubt, it will nullify all subtlety of intelligent grasping of the idea.

This particular patient is in the clutches of our eternal enemy - Mr. Fear! She is perpetually thinking about insecurity. "What will happen 'if'?"etc. She relies on drugs as the last and only resource yet she fully understands that drugs are most undesirable habit-forming stimulants. The main points I shall now bring to your attention and you kindly turn to Mother Faith instead of miserable Mr. Fear and devotedly and calmly study these helpful points.

1) Be calm. Just close your eyes and repeat God's Name or simply say 'God.' If you cannot do even this - be silent and WAIT. But the intention should be to talk to God.

2) Calmly analyze your situation and know that there is a way out of it. Believe it strongly. There is a way out of any trouble.

3) Go through brief evaluation of medical care. Understand that it does help but only to a certain extent. Drugs, electrical treatments, chiropractics are only mechanical aids which stimulate the Life Principle within you. If these outward manipulations would be really powerful - they would work miracles on the dead body, too! But no, there must be Prana within you and it is this Prana which cures you if and when you can awaken and stimulate it. Doubt completely paralyzes the Life-Force. (Sakti)

4) Your bodily trouble is, of course, very obvious and scaring. But much more distasteful is the mental condition which is not so tangible. Thus, now, this very moment - turn to your mental hygiene. Analyze your bad mental habits. See if you have resentment, fear, doubt, anger, envy, intolerance, self-pity. And if you do have them - know that these are your poisonous enemies and pray that they may go away soon. Come here every day and do not allow yourself to say a single worldly word. That will be a tremendous war against all the internal enemies. Energize your blood by breathing quietly and watching the breath gratefully.

5) Spiritualize your thinking. Do not identify yourself with your body. Learn how to concentrate and meditate at least in a very elementary way. Start like this: "If I am created by God - I am perfect. Who is this 'I'? Indeed not the changeable body. The soul is of God, It has Divine Energy (Sakti) which sustains it. It is indestructible. Understand this point thoroughly. Feel it. Feel that mental cure is superior to physical because it comes from this Perfect Soul of yours. Superconscious Mind is your Soul's Mind and you have to reach it. Prana can be energized only through the combined application of physical methods with will - imagination - intelligence and faith You should not only understand, but you should realize - feel that only Prana cures.

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A student writes:

"I have just finished a book so thought-provoking that I must share it with you. The book is Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz. Most important to me was Dr. Maltz's explanation of the 'Life Force', - this force that keeps old people young, the force that enables some people to be rapid healers. He has come to the conclusion that medical healings and faith are one and the same and should work together. He quickly admits that he believes in miracles and although he can give medical terms to describe what happens to a cut finger as it heals itself, he acknowledges the higher Intelligence which enables some to heal in two minutes and others in two weeks or in two months.

"Dr, Maltz came to a conclusion that some sort of Universal Energy or vitality runs a human machine. In Dr. Maltz's words: 'I believe that the essence of Man is that which animates this machine. Man himself is not the Machine anymore than electricity is the wire over which it flows'."

Valentina answers:

I am glad you are so interested in Cosmic Energy. After the famous book of Dr Alexander Carrel "Man-the Unknown" a great many sensitive M.D.'s broadened their mental receptivity. God really does the "rest" and the "beginning" too! Voltaire put it wittily: "Nature cures while the doctors with their medicaments exist for the amusement of the patient." All knowledge - spiritual, intellectual, secular is contained in the Upanishads.

"We offer the oblations to that Unknown Deity Who is the Lord of Divine Intelligence, nay in Whom the different worlds are located and Who is the controller of bi-peds and quadrupeds" (Upanishads)

He is the Source, He is the Creation, He is the Existence, He is the Knowledge, He is the Joy, He is the Prana, He is the Dissolver and the Distributor of Prana or Life. If we understand just that much, we become extremely quiet, humble and surrender ourselves fully to Him.

All the ways lead to Him. Your good doctor comes to the same Lord through his empirical experience - while the mystic and the philosopher reach Him through more subtle methods. The results are similar but with reservation: the M. D. 's will use often the words "perhaps," "maybe," "about which science knows nothing," with either superior or apologetic or even embarrassed tone, whereas the mystics will simply declare: "I and my Father are One". This Oneness includes all caloric and non-caloric energies of the M.D.'s!

It is indeed pleasing to see the recognition of God's Energy by material science. It will inspire many sceptics to learn more and to talk less.

The ancient Indian seers tell us that all manifested existence is composed of two energies; Prana - or primal energy and Akasa - primordial, fundamental nature.

These energies are omnipotent and omnipresent - they exist in every atom. The Supreme Nature - (Sakti - Divine Mother) has them as Her two aspects - the Nuclear (or formative) and the Energetic (or effective) powers. All that is manifested in Nature comes from Akasa-element and all forms of energy come from Prana. Akasa and Prana are inseparable.

The material science, as well as many metaphysical researches, come to the same conclusion that there is some intelligent vital power which enables us to heal ourselves, to heal others, to perform miracles, to inspire, to transmit knowledge and to do many other wonderful things in different degrees, with different results. Some have more of this divine power, others less, still others - practically none. This is not "inconsistency of God' (!) but is the greater or lesser supply of Prana. People who can store much Prana in their brain and nerve centers are precisely those whose quick healing abilities Dr Maltz has emphasized. Prana is the tremendous, the powerful, the sublime force of the Universe. All other forces are only the manifestations, the degrees and the modifications of Prana. When Prana is fully manifested, life is vibrant, full, sparkling and intense. The less Prana - the less life-force, the less strength and the less creativity.

Prana is Divine Energy, thus it should be used, increased and manifested divinely and for divine purposes only. Therefore a severe warning is given to the aspirants not to abuse pranayamas, which will only cause degeneration of mind, if practiced for impure purposes! It is not the healing, neither any supernormal powers which should interest the aspirant, but the goal of every true seeker is to achieve complete identity with Supreme Consciousness. Thus, mastery over Prana should be understood austerely and sacredly.

Healing powers, thought-transference and other wonderful psychic phenomena are also pranic manifestations. They are the by-products of concentration and fixation of mind and should be utilized only in accordance with the Living Ethics.

Gurudev on Prana.

"Through Prana the gods live, and also do men and beasts. Prana is verily the life of all beings. Prana is the Universal Principle of Energy or Force. It is vital Energy, it is All-Pervading. It may be either in a static or dynamic state. It is found in all forms, from the highest to the lowest. Whatever moves or works or has life is but an expression or manifestation of Prana.

"Prana is expanded by thinking, talking, willing, acting, moving, writing, etc. A healthy strong man has abundance of Prana, or nerve-force, or vitality. The Prana is supplied by food, water, air, solar energy, etc. The supply of Prana is taken up by nervous system. The Prana is absorbed by breathing. When the seminal energy is sublimated or transformed, it supplies abundance of Prana to the system. It is stored up in the brain in the form of Ojas. Ojas is nothing but Prana. (Ojas Sakti is hormonal energy, which is increased and developed through practice of Yoga-proper. Sexual purity is the main source of Ojas. The development of Ojas gives brilliance, increases magnetism, improves health, refines character and prolongs life, S V )

"The Yogi stores an abundance of Prana just as a storage battery stores electricity. That Yogi who has storeda large supply of Prana radiates strength and vitality all around. He is a big power-house, those who come in close contact with him imbibe Prana from him and get strength, vigour, vitality and exhilaration of spirits. Just as water flows from one vessel to another, Prana actually flows like a steady current from a developed Yogi towards weak persons. This actually can be seen by Yogis who have developed their inner vision.

"Behind the physical sheath or Annamaya Kosha, which is made of the essence of food (caloric energy!) there is the Prana-maya Kosha or Vital Sheath which is formed by Prana or Vital airs. If you can control the Prana, you can completely control all the forces, mental and physical. The Yogi can control this manifesting omnipresent Power out of which all energies take their origin, whether concerning magnetism, electricity, gravitation, cohesion, nerve currents, vital forces or thought vibrations.

"The Yogin who becomes an expert in the knowledge of this secret, will have no fear of any power because he has mastery over all manifestations of Power in the Universe. What is commonly known as 'the power of personality,' is nothing more than the natural capacity of a person to wield his Prana. Some persons are more successful in life, more influential and fascinating than others. It is all due to the power of this Prana. Such people manipulate every day unconsciously through command of their will."

From the above-said I hope it is clear to you why some people are healed and others not, why some are young at sixty and others old at sixteen, and why some can command the circumstances, while others are the victims and the slaves of every situation. Certainly it is not "God's Will" to make you sick or poor or a perpetual failure. Rather it is God's Law which operates with precision everywhere. Some, by the force of their previous efforts are more open to His Word and His Divine Energy, whereas others do not hear Him at all and do not feel the vibrant love force of Divine Mother's Prana.

Average people entirely misunderstand why some saints become incurably sick and even pray for more trials. This is a special area and it should not be lightly discussed. Firstly, the saints often take the burden and the Karma of sinful persons upon their body and literally suffer other peoples' physical miseries. Secondly, the Saints sometimes practice endurance because they want to set an example of humility, patience and joy, in spite of physical suffering and limitations.

But this is a peculiar choice of the enlightened souls for certain purposes only. We must understand that health and not sickness is the normal and proper state of body and mind. To be healthy is to be godly. Further, sickness has a tendency to wear one down, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually. It is hard to expect a very sick person to have faith or cheerfulness and balance. Some believe that sickness is a blessing in disguise because it draws the sufferer nearer to God. Definitely, sickness can promote repentance and thus, can take us away from the wrong course. It is much better, however, to repent, not through disease but through love of God, through adoration of His Goodness, through shame for our misdeeds which offend His Glory. The Bible says that "The Goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." And it really does! Don't we all know that the whole heart trembles with tears of adoration at the sight of His Goodness through the deeds and the words of His Messengers?!

By witnessing His Beauty, Compassion, Sweetness and Love in His Saints, we repent almost instantaneously, and thus we come very close to Him. He is pleased when we adore Him and when we serve Him, praise Him and understand His laws. To please the Lord is all that we want. By pleasing Him we draw His Grace in the form of subtle perception of His Divine aspects. Mother showers Her Divine Energy at us. We become a wonderful electro-magnetic field which is permeated with that miraculous force - Prana. In the Gospel from John - we read:

"Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in good health.

Gurudev used to end every letter with similar blessings: "May you have good health, long life and God-Realization."

And we all know that Christ Jesus protested with fiery inspiration against every form of unbalance, be it sickness of mind or body, fear, or lack. He said: "Fear not little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom," meaning the true Realization and victory over weaknesses and sin.

God is good. His Divine Sakti is good. Prana is good. How then, disease, which is the opposite of normalcy can be called good?! When we believe in His Goodness - we believe in Perfection of our beings, too. That strengthens our Faith. And where Faith is - Prana flows freely and heals and heads towards final Realization of His Truth. The un-enlightened people have fears of everything. Whatever is beyond their understanding, they term "supernatural." But all, so-called occult powers are also "natural" only they belong to nature which is beyond the five senses of an underdeveloped, - spiritually blind person.

There is the world beyond the physical world. It has its own laws and its own sciences and it belongs to the different dimension. Thus, to come "near God," is to enter the realm which is ordinarily closed to us. An ordinary man knows part of nature, not the whole Sakti. May the blessings of Divine Mother be upon us.

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