Breathing rhythm of King Dasarath, Lord Rama & Ravana.. An analysis

Currently we follow the Gregorian calender and divided our day into hours, minutes and seconds. I was impressed with the ancient time system we had in India and been voraciously reading multiple books and articles on them. I was always fascinated by the inter connectivity of various disciplines in ancient India. 

This article would highlight some of my understanding on the linkages of Time, Space and even Prana movements. I am deducing the breathing rhythm of King Dasarath, Lord Rama and Ravana based on these principles and also proposing as to what  should be God's design in every Yuga - especially from a breathing rhythm and endowed life perspective. This may sound wacky to you. But i did not promise anything less in my blog spot. :)

Please note this analysis and deduction is from my kitchen and i have not read this anywhere yet. If you have any objections to this, I am open to receive your counter logic.

Lets get the basics first.

• Nazhigai (நாழிகை) in Tamil also known as Ghati in north India is actually 24 minutes.
• Vinaadi (விநாடி) is actually 1/60th of Nazhigai and hence it is 24 seconds.
• Nodi (நொடி) which is often mistaken as second is actually 1/60th of Vinaadi and hence it is 0.4 seconds.

So,

60 Nodi = 1 Vinaadi

60 Vinaadi = 1 Nazhigai

60 Nazhigai / Ghati = 1 day

Why is Nazhigai / Ghati the most important measurement in ancient India? Before we address this lets quickly look at some other interesting cross connections.

As per Indian scriptures, each individual is blessed with total number of breaths as his life period. This is approximately a billion breath package (10 power 9). You can read more about it here http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2008/11/life-is-billion-breath-package.html

By design, we all have a budget of 21600 breaths a day. It is told that using your horoscope assuming the input details are right with respect time and day, the experienced astrologers can calculate your Pranic movement and its stoppage aka death using some formula. This aspect is not relevant for this article, yet it is highlighted here.

Now lets calculate how many Nazhigai is there in one year. Remember each year is 360 days and not 365.2425 days. I shall explain the reason later in a different blog as to why this is so.

1 day = 60 Ghati / Nazhigai

1 Year = 21600 Nazhigai.

Each year the earth revolves around the sun and one revolution makes 360 degrees. The same phenomenon is applicable in a day where the earth rotates around its axis.

Lets look at the day phenomenon first. Each day for one rotation covers 360 degrees in 24 hours. If we consider each breath as 1 degree, which is movement of Prana then 360 degrees is equal to 360 breaths. We complete 360 breaths in 24 minutes (24 hrs/60 and 21600/60) which is 1 Nazhigai. This means we can complete a full rotation of microcosm in about 24 minutes using our prana movement. Hence any japa or meditation done for a minimum 24 minutes if complete in itself. So, Nazhigai becomes the basic period / a fundamental building block for a complete microcosmic cycle.

Now lets look at how Breath, Space and time are integrated. 360 degrees which is a space measure is covered in 24 hours in a day and 360 days in a year.

360 Degrees = 24 hours

30 degrees = 2 hours (this is the duration of each Rasi / Zodiac in a day and covers 12 rasis in a day).

6 degrees = 1 Ghati / Nazhigai = 24 minutes.

1 degree = 4 minutes = 60 breaths.

And we have seen, 6 degrees = 1 Ghati = 360 breaths.

If you have got the depth of inter-connectivity between metrics you would be amazed. Let me try to emphasize this again. If i divide 1 day (24 hrs) by 60 it is 1 Nazhigai. If i divide 1 day (360 degrees) by 60 then it is 6 degrees and is 1 Nazhigai. So Nazhigai is a fundamental unit between time measurement in minutes / seconds / hours and space measurement in degrees.

On a yearly note:

360 degrees = 360 days

30 degrees = 30 days. This is duration of each rasi / zodiac and hence 12 zodiacs in a year of duration 30 days.

This also means Sun moves 1 day / day and covers 30 degrees per month and sun moves from one zodiac to another every month.

You may know that the Yugas are divided as:

1. Satya Yuga - 17,28,000 years

2. Treta Yuga - 12,96,000 years

3. Dwapara Yuga - 8,64,000 years

4. Kali Yuga - 4,32,000 years

All the four Yugas put together is 43,20,000 years which is a Maha yuga (this is 10 times the Kali Yuga).

Lets see the relation between Yuga and the number 21600. Keep it in mind that 21600 is the factor for number of breaths in a day and also number of Nazhigais / Ghatis in a year. The formula for linkages between Yuga and 21600 is as follows:

Satya Yuga = 21600 * 80

Treta Yuga = 21600*60

Dwapara Yuga = 21600*40

Kali Yuga = 21600*20

Maha Yuga = 21600*200

It is a well known fact through our Yogic scriptures that sages used to suspend their breathe during deep meditative stages. This means that it isn't a big deal to live for 43,200 years if we regulate our breath to 60 breaths a day. This means one breath per Ghati / Nazhigai (24 minutes). This can be quickly dismissed as mythological but lets look at some aspects of it.

Now lets work back and analyze the breathing patterns of historical characters.

It is told in Raghuvamsa by the great poet Kalidasa that 42 kings of Surya dynasty in which King Dasarath and Lord Rama came ruled for approximately 3 million years. This is Satya and Treta yuga put together - 3024000 years to be precise.

It is told that King Dasaratha (Lord Rama's father)  lived for 60000 years and this means his breathing rhythm was just 1.8 breaths per hour / as against our 900. Alternatively we take 4 seconds for a breath and King Dasarath did it one in 33.33 minutes.

It is told, Lord Rama lived for 11000 years and this means his breathing rhythm was averaging approximately 10 an hour. I am sure the rhythm shot up during the 14 years in forest. :). Alternatively we take 4 seconds for a breath and Lord Rama did it one in 6.11 minutes.

I want to pause for a minute and highlight some "very intelligent" Hindu species in the net who date Lord Rama's date of birth in somewhere around 5000 BC. They have done it using some stupid astrological software which itself is as half baked as the researchers. Lord Rama lived in Treta Yuga which is 8,80,000 years (864000 years of Dwapara Yuga and ~5000 years of Kali yuga which is past and Rama has lived for 11000 years hence it should be 880000 years) before for sure. I shall write about this later in a different blog, but it is probably sufficient to say I trash all such nonsense, which does not pass through scriptural validation.

Coming back, you can deduce that the rest of the 40 solar dynasty kings including Manu lived for 73825 years on an average. And they averaged one breath every 41 minutes. This is across Satya and Treta Yuga.

It is told that Demon King Ravana got a boon to live for 30 million days. This means he lived for 83333.33 years. Hence his boon enabled a breathing rhythm with an average of just 1.3 breaths per hour or one breath in every 46.3 minutes.

Now I am proposing my analysis as to how God's design is for the breathing rhythm and default / endowed age based on every Yuga. Again there is no basis or book where i read or heard this. Just take this for what it is worth. This rhythm is the ideal design for determining the age of the individual during that Yuga and is an average.

I want you to recollect that our breathing rhythm by design in Kali yuga is 4 seconds for 1 breath and hence we should live an endowed life of 120 years. (Each year of 360 days). You can convert it into current Gregorian calender of 365.2425 days/ year if you want. Below is my analysis for every Yuga.

Kali Yuga - 4 Seconds / Breath, 360 breaths / nazhigai and endowed life is 120 years.

Dwapara Yuga - 40 Seconds / Breath, 36 breaths / nazhigai and endowed life is 1200 years.

Treta Yuga - 400 seconds / breath, 3.6 breath / nazhigai and an endowed life of 12000 years.

Satya Yuga - 4000 seconds / breath, 0.36 breath / nazhigai and an endowed life of 120000 years.

Per Vedic scriptures, Jiva - our life is linked to Prana and some say that Prana is Jiva. But the correct interpretation as per my understanding is Jiva is the witness to the movements of Prana. Movement of Prana is called our worldly life and this leads to identification of ourselves to the gross body. 

If the movement of Prana is controlled through suitable techniques (Pranayama - btw, this is not the one that is taught in posh yoga studios now a days) then it is told that the Prana snaps its pseudo-identification with gross body, material world and realizes Jiva and its inseparability with Brahman. 

Irrespective of what our mental state is, the supreme order in the universe is well tied into mathematical formula and this universal rhythm is called as Seelam (சீலம்) in Tamil. Einstein argued for the same and very famously quipped that "God does not place dice".

In the next blog let me present the integrated time and space calculations we mastered since time immemorial. Anyone can reject these as mythological but can some one LOGICALLY refute the science of breath management proposed by Sage Patanjali and that is present in our Vedas?

If you find it difficult to assimilate the math in this article, then ignore it and hit your bed with the thought that our ancestors were smarter than us than we have been told in all our text books.

So, whats your breathing rhythm?

Happy reading!

Female hormonal issues & Indian tradition - Part 2

Part 1 here : http://ragsgopalan.blogspot.in/2012/03/female-hormonal-issues-indian-tradition.html

In Ayurveda and Siddha medicinal system the endocrine system is controlled by moon (Lord Chandra). It is interesting to note that the word "menstruation" is etymologically related to "moon". The terms "menstruation" and "menses" are derived from the Latin mensis (month), which in turn relates to the Greek mene(moon) and to the roots of the English words month and moon. So is the word “Lunatic”.

The allopathic medicine is dismissive of the view that the women’s menstrual cycle is related to moon or the lunar cycle. In India there is a specific horoscope system called Ruthu Jathagam. Ruthu is the act of a female attaining puberty called as menarche. Depending on the time, phase of moon and star at the time of Ruthu, a girl’s horoscope is drawn and the predictions of her married life, children etc are made.

The lunar cycle of 28 is typically split into phases of the moon – this is the most common knowledge about lunar cycle. But these 27 days are represented by 27 stars which are considered to be the wife of Lord Chandra. (28^th day is the beginning of the next cycle). This is not well known even in the western astrological circles. The menstrual cycle if it is regular without any hormonal abnormalities then the girl’s monthly cycle shall start every 28^th day and shall fall on day of the same star every month.

Since astrology is considered as a superstition by many of us we tend to ignore the relation between nature and human system. The above prediction system was working absolutely fine till few decades back and still there are people whose cycle is not affected and they naturally adhere to this simple rule.

But since the last few decades there are more instances of irregular cycles due to multiple reasons and it looks now we have entered an era where this irregularity is the norm and any studies typically conducted now would say that it could be a 20 to 35 day cycle - since the samples fall under this category or they may say that there is no linkage between lunar cycle and menstrual cycle based on some half baked studies.

One of the interesting predictions during the Kali Yuga is that the moon many leave the earth’s orbit and escape into the solar system in the future affecting the natural reproductive cycle in females. This is again highlighted to emphasis the relation between lunar and menstrual cycle.

Before we look at the simple tradition that Indian women had to nourish the endocrine system, let us look at the importance of the forehead region – the spot between the eyebrows - in the traditional Indian science.

·         In the Chakral system the point between the eyebrows is called as the Ajna Chakra. Ajna in Sanskrit and also in Tamil means Order. This spot not only controls all the glands but controls the entire human being from a physical, mental and spiritual plane. The forehead is the third eye which refers to the Pineal gland. Lord Shiva is depicted with 3 eyes and the third one lies in the forehead. Ajna chakra and the third eye not only form the doorway or passage to the entire psychological / mental body of the human being but it is also believed that they form the doorway to universal spiritual knowledge as per traditional wisdom.

·         In the Varma School of martial arts under the Siddha system this post is called as Thilartha Varmam. As per this system are 108 important points in the body which when hit would lead to death or severely incapacitate a person. Of this 108, 12 are called Padu Varmam, which when attacked would lead to death. Of this 12, Thilartha Varmam is the first and foremost Varmam. Thila means Til grain and here it refers to the size of the Til / raw rice / wheat grain. To locate this point, one goes one Til grain level below the meeting of the eyebrows – this is at the meeting point of the bridge of the nose and the eyebrows. The basics to all the modern martial arts schools come from this Siddha system only.

o   Sage Bhogar in his book Varma Sutram, states that this point is the most dangerous of all and a person if not treated within 90 minutes after being hit would die. He also explains how to resuscitate him which his irrelevant here. You may ask how this is related to endocrine system. For anything to move, presence of air / wind is very important else things don’t move. The endocrine glands are ductless glands within our system which means they don’t have any specific channels through which they move. Varma type of martial arts understands the important points which when attacked stops the movement of air within our body around that point. If this air knot is not released within specific time death may result.

·         Under the same school there is a separate branch called Nokku Varmam where in the opponent is either subdued or controlled by taking charge of his mind without touching him and by releasing energy just through our eyes. The primary spot through which one takes control of another person’s mind is through this Ajna Chakra and is extensively used in black magic and hypnotism. This is the basis of current day hypnotization and other mind control techniques.

·         The Tibetian lamas see through a person using this point and they also see the aura of others through this point. In the Vedantic spiritual system the Ajna Chakra spot is also called as Rudra Granthi – the knot of Rudra which when opened would enable you to access universal spiritual energy. I have given few of the above points to highlight the importance of the specific area in our forehead.

The simple tradition which women followed is the application of Vermillion / Kumkum / Bindi on the forehead which ensured hormonal balance in the body. This may sound bizarre but let us understand the benefits and the reason behind the benefits:

·         First it is important to understand how this vermillion or Kumkum is first made?

o   It is a mixture of turmeric and slaked lime / calcium hydroxide (Lime when mixed with water) in equal parts. Water or oil is added to increase the stickiness of the powder. The yellow color turmeric changes to brilliant red color on addition of slaked lime. You can imagine chewing green color beetle leaves with lime which becomes red in color as an anlaogy.

o   Sometimes instead of turmeric, saffron is used. In tamil it is always referred as “Manjal Kumkum” indicating that it is made of turmeric. They are not two different things.

o   The current day chemical preparation of Kumkum which lead to allergic reactions and many times high lead content are some of the key reasons why this practice is probably  discontinued and ladies opted for the sticker bindi.

·         Calcium Hydroxide & Turmeric:

o   Calcium Hydroxide contains Calcium 54.09%, Oxygen – 43.19%, Hydrogen is 2.72%.

o   When heated it loses water and becomes Calcium oxide. This is soluble in water. It also reacts with the surrounding air and absorbs carbon-di-oxide and forms calcium carbonate.

o   It is told by western researchers that water becomes calcified in the Pineal gland over time and this introduces ageing process and various diseases. Also those abnormal secretion levels of Melatonin are noticed in all the patients with psychological disabilities. Melatonin is the key hormone secreted by Pineal gland.

o   Since calcium hydroxide ensures an alkaline base and also its high reactivity with water, it is my theory that Calcium hydroxide keeps the Pineal gland decalcified and keeps it healthy. I have not come across in any studies yet.

Antibacterial, antiseptic benefits of turmeric are very well known. Recent researches show that Turmeric is effective in treating Alzheimer's disease, depression, multiple sclerosis etc. 

Essentially very small quantities of this turmeric and calcium hydroxide are absorbed by the human body for the effective functioning of the glands and hence for the regulation of the hormones. 

·         Why red color?

I strongly recommend a study of any natural healing course like Pranic or naturopathy which would highlight the importance of color therapy to our body to understand this section.

o   The Mooladhara chakra is associated with good health, prosperity, will power and physical power and the chakra is energized using red color. Mooladhara Chakra is connected to the Ajna Chakra and hence always red color is applied to the forehead as a daily tradition. When people go to war or for a long trip or when they come home as a welcome ceremony every time they apply a red thilak on your forehead. This adds significant energy and health to your body.

o   Some ladies apply black color bindi in their forehead which is suicidal if not anything. Black color is tamasic and when applied on the forehead its ill effects are shown on the overall health and wealth of an individual.

o   The sticker Bindi brings in plastic and artificial glue in contact with the Ajna Chakra. I leave it to the reader’s imagination as to what it brings to the wearer.

o   Also Mesha Rashi or the House of Aries is on the forehead as per Hindu Astrology and this is the first house in the zodiac. The Lord of Mesha is Mars and his color is red.

·         Thumb, Ring finger and principle of 5 elements:

o   According to the 5 elements principle the Ether controls the reproductive system in a human being. The position of ether in the body is the area between foreheads. Based on the Control Cycle (Vinaya Chakra) and the Support cycle (Alamba Chakra) of the 5 elements the relation between Earth and Ether is controlling type and that of between the Ether and Fire is of supporting type. Hence thumb which represents Fire or Earth which is represented by ring finger are the ones which should be used to apply tilak or Bindi on the forehead.

·         Social aspects of Vermillion:

o   Vermillion on the forehead and at the top of the forehead indicates that the female is married and it used to be an indicator for appropriate behavior.

o   I don’t want to talk about the benefits or demerits of it since there could be people who may question as to why a widow should be disallowed to wear Bindi. Or why the males did not have an equivalent custom to show that they are married? Both are valid questions and either a traditionalist or a social reformer would be better off to engage you in a debate. I am neither and hence would duck this.

To sum up it is agreed that the sum total of a female hormonal system which anchors the health and mood in a female is controlled by the glands in the forehead area. The traditional Indian wisdom highlights that nurturing this point with vermillion bestows many benefits which includes, good health, hormonal balance, spiritual growth, and defense against psychic attacks. I should also highlight the significant radiance, feminine beauty this adds to the female face.

A consequence of ignoring this tradition leads to poor hormonal balance, foul mood and certainly infertility issues since the cycle is erratic. I can refer you to some Siddha doctors and sites which have conclusively proved that the hormonal imbalance is rectified using vermillion with medical records. One such site here available in Tamil and I would recommend you to read all the 3 parts of the article.

http://www.machamuni.com/?p=175#comments

I agree that these results should be more empirical with data to substantiate the claims. The western medicine is slowly turning itself to the subtler aspects of body, nature and medicine and I am very sure that they would come back in the near future and substantiate this. Then the males will start wearing thongs - as a modified version of Indian Langkot as medical prescriptions and females would wear an expensive beauty paste or a designer patch in their forehead as a beauty tip and a fashion statement. I believe, this shall happen after the global corporations patent and commercialize our very graceful and scientific vermillion tradition.

Till then I don’t see any other option but to put up with the monthly foul mood cycle of our spouses and girl friends. J

Happy Reading!

Female hormonal issues & Indian tradition - Part 1

“Complicated” is one of the first adjectives that come to me when someone tells the word feminine. I believe that in the god’s scheme of evolution the zenith of complication and complexity is culminated in a female.

While we can discuss what constitutes the concept of feminism in some other blog but let’s focus on one of the key reasons behind irregular menstrual cycle - which is as complex as the female organism itself. In this blog we would see only one possible aspect of female infertility and here the attempt is to bridge the traditional Indian knowledge and custom we have with that of the current day issues on account of ignoring these customs.

It is a well established fact that the menstrual cycle is controlled by the endocrine system – which is made up of ductless glands and is also referred as the, “Hypothalamus – Pituitary – Adrenaline” axis.

You can read a great deal about this cycle and axis in the web. But I am producing just one cause effect diagram in the menstrual cycle just to highlight the complexity in the overall functioning of a female. The menstrual cycle is divided into 3 phases and the relations of hormones, sequence and the linkage between 3 phases are given below in a “Simple” diagram.

 Courtesy: Wiki

The modern science accepts that be it her reproductive cycle, her overall health, be it her mood, her metabolism, or her growth and development all are controlled by endocrine glands. While there are quite a number of glands all over our human body, the most important of them are in our forehead which plays both a controlling and an initiating role in the overall cycle. The diagram below produces specific glands and hormones in our head region. Most important of them are the Pineal, Hypothalamus, and Pituitary glands.

Courtesy: Wiki

The modern western medicine is still in the very nascent stages to understand, treat and effectively control hormonal disorders. This is because when there is a treatment for one disorder the medicine prescribed has some side effects which need an additional treatment. 

Since the very survival and quality of life of the male species is dependent on the female species and more specifically on the “mood” of his female companion it is important to know how to avoid hormone related erratic behavior. I agree with you all that there are other factors which results in wide mood swings which are beyond the comprehension of mankind. J. 

It is agreed that the stage of the reproductive cycle and the overall health, mood of a female are all interrelated. We know that the reproductive cycle is controlled by the endocrine system and the key glands are the ones which are located in our head. So the key question is how do we control these 3 important glands and make it behave in the way it has to? If this secret is known to the “mankind”, then it would be a great boon to married souls like me isn't? 

I am going to link this to the very unique tradition Indians had for ages and its importance from an Ayurvedic / Siddha medicine perspective and how this tradition not only helps a female to regulate her hormonal imbalances but also protect her from evil acts like black magic and also help her evolve spiritually. Before we get into the tradition itself, let’s look at some of the basics on these aspects from ancient Indian science.

Happy reading!

BREATH, SEX AND PROGENY

Sage Thirumoolar gave a treasure of information about breath and progeny in his work Thirumantiram. I am going to quote some of these poems and give the closest interpretation that I know of, in English. Now the effort is just to present the poems and not provide a medical treatise here as proof for the same. May the qualified medical experts be interested in such studies and enlighten us on these subjects.

I came across this more than a decade back and found it extremely interesting every time I read it. I am sure you would also like them.

1. How a Male, female and twins are conceived

குழவியும் ஆணாம் வலத்தது ஆகில்
குழவியும் பெண்ணாம் இடத்தது ஆகில்
குழவியும் இரண்டாம் அபானன் எதிர்க்கில்
குழவி அலியாகும் கொண்ட கால் ஒக்கிலே” – Thirumantiram 482

If the man during sex has right / solar breath then the child then conceived would be a male. If the breath of the man during sex is from left / lunar side then the child would be a female. If the breath is balanced between both nostrils then the child so conceived would be with neuter gender. When the movement of Prana is opposed by Apana then it shall be twins. 

In my opinion it is also good in one way when people today don’t know these secrets. In a land where female feticide is very high, you would find people probably mastering the right nostril breathing before sex for a male child. 

2. Children with disabilities

“மாதா உதரம் மலமிகில் மந்தனாம்
மாத உதரம் சலமிகில் மூங்கையாம்
மாதா உதரம் இரண்டொக்கில் கண்ணில்லை.
மாதா உதரத்தில் வந்த குழவிக்கே' - Thirumantiram 481

During sex if the female’s intestine is filled with feces then the child so conceived would be a dullard, if the bladder is full of urine to be excreted then the child so conceived would be dumb (cannot speak). If the female’s body is filled with feces and urine then the child would be blind.

So what we note is the sex of the child is determined by the father’s breath and the constitution of the child like sensory organs is determined by the mother’s quality of breath. 

3. Children’s height and quality of skeletal structure

“பாய்கின்ற வாயு குறையிற் குறளாகும்
பாய்கின்ற வாயு இளைக்கின் முடமாகும்.
பாய்கின்ற வாயு நடுப்படின் கூனாகும்
பாய்கின்ற வாயு மாத்ர்க்கில்லை பார்க்கிலே” - Thirumantiram 481

During sex if the male and female’s breath are of same measure then the child conceived would not have any deficiency. If the males breathe is shorter than the normal then the child would be short in height. If the breath is not dense enough (in tamil the word is இளைக்கின் which usually means diluted and hence I have used dense / thick) then the child conceived would be lame with poor skeletal structure. If both happens – breathe is shorter than normal and diluted then the child would have a hunch back.

Sage Thirumoolar also tells that the age of the child is also dependent on the quality of breath of the male at the time of sex. 

'பாய்ந்த பின் அஞ்சோடிய ஆயுளும் நூறாம்
பாய்ந்த பின் நாலோடி பாரினில் எண்பதாம்'

I found it difficult to understand this but yet giving you the interpretation. If the male’s breathe is 5 matras then the child would live for 100 years. Similarly if it is 4 matras then the child would live for 80 years. (One matra corresponds to about 20 years of life.)

'கொண்ட வாயு இருவருக்கும் ஒத்தொழில்
கொண்ட குழவியும் கோமளமாயிரும்

Sage also says, that if the rhythm and the measure are equal between male and female the offspring would look very beautiful. 

Now the objective of this chapter is to show the importance of breath and the extent our ancestors knew about it and mastered the techniques for healthy and long life. There isn’t enough research by modern science – at least to the extent I know, that can unravel some of the secrets which we have been having for a long time. 

Don’t you think that some of these aspects especially the types of breath and the breathing rhythm should be part of our curriculum? 

Happy reading!

BREATH, TIME, TIMINGS AND TAMIL

As you know by now that I always harp that in ancient India all things are interrelated with each other and one forms the basis for the other. Let’s look at breath management, time, timings and how Tamil as a language are interrelated.

I am tempted to quote Swami Chinmaya who stated that “Time is the period between two thoughts”. As you know:

·         A day is divided into 24 hours and each hour with 60 minutes. The fundamental unit of time today is a second for day today life.

·         In ancient India a day is divided into 60 units and not 24 hours, and each unit is called as Nazhigai which has 24 minutes. Two Nazhigai is called a Muhurtam which is 48 minutes. Both of them are very significant measures. So each hour has 2.5 Nazhigai.

I hope you noticed both of them (Nazhigai and Muhurtam) are multiples of 8 which is the fundamental resonance numeral.

·         Do you know why any yogic exercise / meditation / Pranayama are given a count that is multiple of 24 (in terms of counts or minutes or days)?

·         Do you know why in Siddha / Ayurveda medical system the treatments are generally prescribed for 24 days or 48 days?

If you don’t know the significance of 24, read on.

·         In ancient India the concept of time and its measurement are sacred, continuous for billions of years and accurate. If you have not read I would encourage you to read my eBOOK Time = Space, Chapter 12: Vedic concept of time & its measurements. (https://www.facebook.com/ThinkingHearts)

·         To my knowledge, we had measurement as small as 1.85 micro second (Tatpara) to linearly 155+ trillion years.

·         When the ancient rishis defined the fundamental period of time (and not unit of time) they wanted that it should correspond to one full cycle. Since earth is always rotating one cycle is 360 degree – it takes 24 hours to rotate around itself and 365 days to revolve around Sun. But both these measures are not fundamental for intra-day measurements. Also how do we equate a spatial measure (rotational distance) with a time value when it comes to Intra-day measurements?

·         Our rishis considered that each breath as one degree and one cycle can be considered as 360 degree or 360 breaths. If it is 15 breaths a minute than 360 breaths takes 24 minutes and hence the fundamental period (not unit of time) of measurement is Nazhigai which has 24 minutes. 60 such units make one day.

·         So the most fundamental period of time where anything completes 1 cycle in Microcosm is 24 minutes or 1 Nazhigai.

·         The other aspect I want to highlight is that the same concept is used to overcome death by stilling the breath and mind. Since you have stilled the breath, you have not moved in the time-space scale and also the breath is not wasted which means you can achieve immortality in the state of Samadhi. Again as Indians, lets us wait for someone to come and tell us this in English with a theory for us to accept it and award them noble prize. Till then let’s ignore the science in our scriptures stating that these are mythology, religious and superstition. Our ability to take pride in our ignorance is really amazing!

Breath and Tamil language:

Just go and ask someone who is fanatic about Tamil as to “Why Tamil was named as Tamil”? & not something else. If I am right, many of them would not know the answer. Because we have become emotional idiots, we are fanatic about our language / culture without understanding the science behind it. When we understand the science then we would not be fanatic but supremely confident and this confidence about the superiority in our language or culture is the contagious aspect that is required today.

As per Tamil scripture Aintiram, the initial universal evolutionary process consisted of 5 stages and they are can be imagined as movements of particles during the Big bang. They are அமிழ்தல், இமிழ்தல், குமிழ்தல், உமிழ்தல், தமிழ்தல்.

·         Withdrawl (Amizhdal)

·         Imizhdal (Overflowing)

·         Kumizhdal (clustering round in an order)

·         Umizhdal (Emitting)

·         Tamizhdal (resulting into a well defined form)

These are the first stages from the Big bang till a well defined shape is formed. Now the last level is called Tamizhdal which results in a well defined form. This state has emanated from the Pranava and was not been created by someone. Hence a language as rich with the sweetness of inherent order, originating from the luminosity of the original particle is called Tamil. Tamil is word based on the final resultant state called Tamizhdal (தமிழ்தல்).

Tamil language has 12 vowels and 18 consonants both combine to form 216 letters (உயிர் எழுத்து - Uyir Ezhuthu (Life / Energy letters – 12 letters) and மெய் எழுத்து - Mei Ezhuthu (Body / Matter letters – 18 letters)

We have already seen that “Yoga states that if you breathe through the right nostril (Solar breath), then it is effectively 12 angulas of breath length and if you breathe through the left nostril (Lunar Breath), then it is effectively 16 angulas of breath length”. I am going to highlight the correlation between this and Tamil language.

·         The 12 vowels correspond to 12 Angula breath of Solar / right breath. This also means all Vowels originate in our navel.

·         The 18 consonants correspond to 16 Angula breath of Chandra / left breath with the addition of Manas – மனஸ் (mind) and உயிர் (life). All consonants originate in our Moooladhara Chakra.

·         The combination of vowels and consonants total up to 216 alphabets in Tamil (216 =18*12) corresponds to one hundredth of 21600 breaths in day. Please note that vowels and consonants create a word with life just as much we would have a living body by the combination of left and right breath.

· This number 18 is what is reflected in பதிணென் சித்தர்கள், (18 different Siddhas) பதினெட்டுப் புராணங்கள், (18 Puranas), யோக சாதன முறைகளி ஏற்படும் தடைகள் (நிலைகளும்) (18 step process of Sidha Yoga) பதினெட்டு, அய்யப்பன் கோவில்படிகள் பதினெட்டு (18 steps in Lord Ayappa temple in Kerala), பகவத்கீதையில் பதினெட்டு அதிகாரங்களை (18 Chapters in Bhagavad Gita). There are more such significances like Mahabharatha war took place for 18 days.

So to sum up:

·         We all are endowed with a rhythmic breath count which corresponds to our life span, and health.

·         There are 2 types of breath – Solar and Lunar which has a specific rhythm and pattern to it.

·         Our whole body is very well aligned with nature – Lunar and Solar cycle based on which the breath rhythm is aligned.

·         Breath rhythm is used to define the fundamental period of time called Nazhigai and this is used for yogic exercises, Siddha medicine and meditative purposes too.

·         Breath has a significant linkage to a language like Tamil and hence Tamil with divine words and a breath like rhythm is a language throbbing with life.

Let us look at some more interesting aspects!

Happy reading!