There is a lot of information on Nadis, as used Indian philosophy.There is Nadi associated with Patanjali Yoga,Prana,Hatha Yoga,Vaasi Yoga and Shatkarma. It is also mentioned in connection with Nadi Reading in Future prediction.
And all this is connected to Self Realisation.And Prana.Let us try to understand the concept on detail.
Indian philosophy is based on experience and such experiences as are found have led seekers towards Realisation of Brahman,Reality are compiled and presented in the Form of Vedas and also through as systems of philosophy.
Vedas are called as Sabda pramana, Testimony. It is a tool of knowledge. There are many sources of knowledge,Perception, Inference,Comparison,Testimony, Intuition.Of these, Vedas come under Testimony. In life , one has to depend on Testimony of others as a source of knowledge at some point of time. Vedas are such sources that provide you the Testimonies of seekers of Reality. You can follow them if they suit you.It is your choice.
Some prefer other sources of knowledge like Perception and other sources listed above. In experience, one finds one single source of knowledge does not seem to help in Self Realisation . More than one source of knowledge is needed.
All these relate to things that are external. We have our senses through which we come to know, experience. There are five sense organs,Eyes,Ears,Nose,Mouth,Skin. Each of these contribute one aspect of experience.Nose, Smell; Mouth,speech;Taste;Eyes,seeing;Skin, Touch .Ears, hearing.These Five are called Karmendriya, Organs of Action. In addition, we have five Organs of knowledge, corresponding to each Karmendriya.These Five are called Gnanendriyas.I shall devote an article on the difference between Karmendriya and Gnanendriya.
Knowledge Is out of the interaction between the senses and what we find out of ourselves,out in the world. These are known to us through the tools of knowledge like Perception…
How correct, incorrect or How Right or Wrong this knowledge is another matter. That forms a separate topic.
Assume that such knowledge is true. We shall proceed Such knowledge as we gain through the senses and the tools of knowledge we have, of things out there are ‘Is’.
Such knowledge is received by our Brain- Mind – Intellect – Chitha ( it is on a higher plane than Intellect,which we call Buddhi). Brian received sensory inputs and it does not add any judgement to what has been received.It is just like CPU, receives input without starting to process . Mind connects the dots and forms One full picture of Information.Then Intellect decides whether the information is factual : Right or Wrong. That is, Intellect passes Factual,Value judgements. The particular interpretation of same sensory inputs by each one of us differently is decided by Chitha. Chitha is directed by dispositions of individuals and dispositions are, in turn, influenced by Karmic particles,which are the results of actions performed by us,either physically,mentally, and by words. Or by all the three.
These three processes are linked though a single factor. It is called Prana,Life Energy.Prana is the life force running through every cell of our body. It is Life. Difficult to separate one from another so much so both are considered to be the same.
This Prana is considered to be the Individual Soil. Some philosophers differ on this, especially Adi Shankaracharya.
This Prana flows in the body as Nadis.It is also considered as an attribute of Prana.With this background, let us look at Nadis.
Nadis are generally quantified at 72,000 in Human body. ( Chidambaram Nataraja temple roof had 72000 ‘
The sanctum sanctorum housing the Nataraja statue is called the Chit Sabha or Ponnambalam. The five pillars of the Chit Sabha indicates the five senses. The roof of this Sabha contains 9 kalasas depicting the 9 dwaras (gateways) in the human body (namely 2 eyes, 2 nostrils, 2 ears, mouth, rectum, genitals). The roof has 22600 tiles denoting the number of times a person can breathe in a day. The tiles are fixed to the roof using 72000 nails depicting the number of nadis (
Chidambaram Nataraja temple human body
‘Nadi is an important concept in Hindu philosophy, mentioned and described in the sources, some as much as 3,000 years old. Human body is claimed to have up to hundreds-of-thousands and even millions. The Shiva Samhita treatise on yoga states, for example, that out of 350,000 nadis 14 are particularly important, and among them, the three just mentioned are the three most vital.The three principal nadis are ida, pingala, and sushumna. Ida (इडा, iḍā “comfort”) lies to the left of the spine, whereas pingala (पिङ्गल, piṅgala “orange”, “tawny”, “golden”, “solar”) is to the right side of the spine, mirroring the ida. Sushumna (सुषुम्णा, suṣumṇā “very gracious”, “kind”) runs along the spinal cord in the center, through the seven chakras. When the channels are unblocked by the action of yoga, the energy of kundalini uncoils and rises up the sushumna from the base of the spine.
The nadis play a role in yoga, as many yogic practices, including shatkarmas, mudras and pranayama, are intended to open and unblock the nadis. The ultimate aim of some yogic practices are to direct prana into the sushumna nadi specifically, enabling kundalini to rise, and thus bring about moksha, or liberation.’Source . Wikipedia
More to follow on Nadis,their attributes and functions.
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