Third Basic Element: Agni

Agni comes third in the evolution ladder of universe. Agni or Tej tattwa is fire / heat 'principle'. It is more than mere fire or heat. The ‘principle’ has to be understood in a larger perspective.

It is that principle which ‘transforms’. It is the 'metabolism' that runs the universe. Knowing ‘Agni’ is about knowing this 'silent' energy, which 'transforms'. During this transformation, calories are burnt; 'heat' is generated. This very heat keeps the universe alive, keeps the individual alive.

The collective shakti or this power of transformation is to be understood as Agni. And every living individual also can feel this heat. You touch the body and you will come to know, Agni is in business. You touch a dead body and you know that Agni has left the body. It has actually become cold.

You shut the tragus of your both ears and you can ‘hear’ the heat of metabolism. You can know that this giant machine is on! And now you understand that you can't control this. It is just ‘on’ 24x7. May be at lower scale at night, but, it is on!

The button of Agni is put on at birth and is turned off at death. One has to 'know', has to comprehend that it is ‘on’ at the subtle, microscopic, ultra-microscopic levels.

The processes are going on. Various processes...give and take in the tissue, regeneration, nutrition, growth, maturity, division, shedding off, so on and so forth.

'Transformation' is ‘the’ integral part of all these processes. ‘Change’ is the only constant as they say.

The principle of transformation is Agni. The power, by virtue of which we keep on changing at every single moment, is Agni. This power of dynamism within every living individual is bestowed by Agni.

Agni decides the basal metabolic rate (BMR). At gross level, of an individual, status of Agni can be known by knowing the hunger. The gross, mass, easily understandable conversion or transformation takes place in the gastrointestinal canal and obviously is of food. We eat food and it is converted into body! We do not eat food and we emaciate. The conversion is not easy to understand and lot many processes, micro-processes have to occur when we say that food is transformed into body. Rightly guessed, Agni is responsible for this transformation. You apply a lotion and it is absorbed and ‘converted’ into or becomes part of your skin cells, of your body. Agni is required for each and every transformation. External objects are perceived by our sensory organs (eyes, ears, nose, skin and tongue). Chair for example, which is an external object, is seen by eyes. The stimulus of chair is ‘transformed’ into the ‘knowledge’ of chair. The color, the shape, the dimensions are grasped. The ‘external’ chair now becomes ‘internal’ chair. We close the eyes and visualize the chair. This is the ‘digested’ chair. At subtle level, certain Agni is responsible for this type of specialized, ‘difficult to understand’ digestion also. Again, at subtle level Agni is required to convert ‘information’ into ‘knowledge’. ‘Sharpness’ of a person is an indicator of good Agni of certain type.

Every moment the Universe is ‘new’. Every moment the living body is ‘new’. Every moment the flowing river is new. This ‘newness’ or this dynamism, one needs to comprehend, one needs to ‘feel’. Agni inside your body will start conversing with you.

Second Basic Element: Vayu

One unique principle in Ayurved states that we have to understand human anatomy and physiology by understanding principles hidden in the universe, by understanding nature around. In other words, human being is a representative to study the nature around and also other way round.

In microcosm (human being), you will find all factors of macrocosm (universe) in a miniature form.

As is universe, our body is a composition of five mahabhut (basic elements). Vayu is the second basic element or mahabhut in the ladder of evolution of universe, after Aakash.

Vayu is NOT just air. It is to be understood as an entity with some characteristics.

What are those characteristics? Well, Vayu is a medium. It’s a medium that carries sound.

Vayu has a power, exhibited by propagation! Vayu is a power of frequency. We cannot see vayu, but very well feel it. Vayu has to be felt.

Vayu is another name of energy. Imagine no movement, no propagation around! No movement of any object. Any object! No movement of any living being. No movement of any non-living being. Everything standstill and there will be no progression of TIME.

Time is the outcome of movements. It’s the outcome of movements on the planet, movements of planets and movement of stars in the galaxy and movement of the galaxy, all of which give birth to ‘TIME’. The principle behind all these movements is of Vayu.

‘Movement’ is characteristic of Vayu and the ‘Dryness’ we observe as a result of this movement is a characteristic of Vayu. In short, wherever there is ‘dryness’, wherever there is ‘movement’, we know that Vayu is very much in action!

In a living being Vayu is responsible for any and every movement: reflexes, known, unknown, voluntary, involuntary, of hands and of legs, within the body, between and within systems, between and also within tissues and cells, every movement, you imagine, movement that happened in your brain for that imagination!! Due to this fact, Vayu in the body has been given the status of God. In daily routine, we sometime refer TIME as God! (In Sanskrit its Kaalay Tasmaih Namah!)

First Basic Element: Aakash

Contemporary physics, philosophy, technology and the likes served Ayurved explain its principles in a better manner. Panchamahabuta means the five basic elements of this material world. Why five? Because we perceive the world around through five sense organs viz. through ears, skin, eyes, tongue and through nose. Five different specific characteristics of an object are perceived through these sense organs. These are perceived by hearing, touch, seeing, tasting and smelling. Five mahabhuta which are perceived by these are respectively aakash, vayu, tej, aap, and prithvi.

We will discuss Aakash mahabhut now. Aakash is not sky. In Sanskrit, unique characteristic which describes Aakash is aakashasya apratighatatva; meaning 'No Obstacle' or Freedom. Aakash means space. It is the space in which the matter around exists. All matter, including us. It is not 'mere' space. It is more than that. We have 'discovered' this space. We acknowledge this space. We have become conscious about this space. We have identified certain characteristics of aakash. It is by virtue of aakash that we all, living and non-living entities exist.

Big bang is a widely accepted theory of birth of the universe. There was NO aakash, no space, no stage to exhibit anything. With the big bang, the expansion began. It is well known that it is still expanding. Aakash is giving 'un-obstacleness' to newer matter to exist in the expanding universe. There was 'nothing' before the big bang. Although, it is difficult to visualize, now we know that the matter is accommodated in newer space or aakash. This aakash gives apratighatatva for accommodation to the matter.

Our body is composed of various types of spaces actually. The spaces are bounded by various types of specialized tissues. These form organs and systems. Multiple specialized processes take place in these spaces. Constriction in the space is harmful. Atrophy of kidney or constriction in alveoli of lungs for example may lead to life threatening condition. We need to have appropriate space for blood to travel. Atherosclerosis of arteries decreases the space inside them. There is little freedom for blood to flow. A stroke or myocardial infarction may follow after this. As decreased space causes problem, more than the predetermined space is also a problem. Cardiomegaly or hypertrophy of muscles is an abnormality.

In day-to-day life, we require certain 'space' for living well. This space is physical, psychological, personal, social and what not! And we don't like anybody interfering it. We want apratighatatva in almost every field. This freedom is bestowed to us by the basic element or panchabhut, aakash.

Nowadays we 'purchase' this aakash, by purchasing pen drives and hard discs of various 'spaces'. We purchase houses considering its space. Increase of space causes cost increase, be it a house or a pen drive!

On the larger scale also, we have understood the importance of apratighatatva. Generations have shed their blood for want of freedom. This freedom is a characteristic of aakash at a certain level. All these things underline the importance of aakash and we have to understand it and bow down before it.