NAME 66

This nāma is an extension of the previous nāma. The previous nāma said that He is the giver of prāṇa, indicating His creative aspect. This nāma refers to the soul, without which, nothing can be created. Both soul and prāṇa are life sustaining forces.

Kena Upaniṣad (I.2) explains this by saying “prāṇasya prāṇah” meaning He is the breath of breath. He is power behind breath, which subtly refers to the soul. The Supreme Being. Praana is the living force or the vital air characterising a living organism. Bhagavan is verily the embodiment of that vital energy and hence is called ‘Praanah’.  Because He sustains the Prani, He is Praanah.  The Nama can also be understood as referring to Bhagavan being the cause of the Prana or life-impulse in the air that sustains Life. In the Keno Upanishad, the Supreme is defined as ‘Pranasya Praanah’ – ‘The Praana of Praana itself’ or ‘He is the Life of Lives’. Sri Adi Sankara says ‘Praaniti iti Praanah – one who enlivens life’.

Chāndogyopaniṣat – 5.1

Navai vāco nacakṣūṃṣi naśrotrāṇi namanāṃsītyācakṣate prāṇā ityevācakṣate prāṇo hye vaitāni sarvāṇi bhavati. (15)

In the body of a living being neither the power to speak, nor the power to see, nor the power to hear, nor the power to think is the prime factor; it is life which is the center of all activities.

६६. ॐ प्राणाय नमः |

66. Om Prāṇāya Namaḥ

(66) Praanah -That which sustains is Praana and that which has got Praana functioning in it is called a Praanee. Since the Lord is termed as this very same Praana, it means by its suggestion that He is One who ever lives. The Immortal and the Eternal is Praanah.

The term can also mean that which gives Life-impulse even to the air; the capacity to sustain life in the atmosphere flows from Him alone.

In the Kenopanishad we read the Supreme ‘Defined’ as the “Praana of Praanas” (Praanasya Praanah).

Prāṇiti Breathes. The name may refer to Kṣetrajña, the Jīva or the Paramātma. It may also mean Mukhyaprāṇa, the life principle.

Br̥hadāraṇyakopaniṣat – Section 4, Brāhmaṇa 4

Prāṇasya prāṇamuta cakṣuṣa ścakṣuruta śrotrasya śrotraṃ, manaso ye manoviduḥ, Te nicikyuḥ brahma purāṇa magryaṃ. (18)

Those who have known the Vital Force of the vital force, the Eye of the eye, the Ear of the ear and the Mind of the mind, have realized the ancient, primodial Brahman.

INTERPRETATION GUIDED BY SANT VANI (WORDS OF SAINTS)

Prāṇaḥ (also names 320, 407)

The individual self or the limitless self.

He who is the ‘life-force‘ behind the “LIFE-FORCE” – the Prāṇa of the PRĀṆA

As Prāṇada, He gives prāṇa to the jīva. Who is the jīva? Jīva is also prāṇa, because prāṇiti, he does the activity of breathing and the body becomes active.

In one of the Santi mantras, this occurs – Namaste vayo, tvameva pratyaksham brahmasi, my salutations to Vayu, you indeed are Brahman. Here the word pratyaksham is an indication of direct recognition as well as vayu being directly perceived by the sense of touch. He is in the form of the order by which breathing in and breathing out happens. There is a certain order at work herē. The prāṇa that goes out comes back again.

Suppose the prāṇa had a mind of its own

and liked to hangout in an athlete’s lungs because it is more roomy or the prana concluded that a smoker’s lungs were to be avoided what would have happened!! These functions with a certain order are made involuntary by the nature for this very reason. However, a yogi with a certain amount of practice, being one with the supreme energies, can gain control over the involuntary functions of the body and Swamiji has demonstrated this too.

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The jīva, that is, vyaṣṭi-prāṇa manifesting in the individual body while Hiraṇyagarbha is the samaṣṭi- prāṇa, that is, the total prāṇa. Paramātmā is the material cause and hence He is the prāṇa, the suble body itself.

He is the prāṇada, the one who gives prāṇa and He is also the Prāṇa, both at the individual and total level. He is also prāṇasya prāṇaḥ – the one because of whom the prāṇa works (Ke.Up.1.2).

Śaṅkara points to a verse in the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad that refers to the Brahman as the Prāṇasya-Prāṇa – essentially meaning that Mukhya-Prāṇa of the Jīvātmā:

प्राणस्य प्राणमुत चक्शुषश्चक्शुरुत श्रोत्रस्य श्रोत्रं मनसो ये मनो विदुः ।

ते निचिक्युर्ब्रह्म पुराणमग्र्यम् ॥ १८ ॥

prāṇasya prāṇamuta cakśuṣaścakśuruta śrotrasya śrotraṃ manaso ye mano viduḥ |

te nicikyurbrahma purāṇamagryam || 4.4.18 ||

Those who know (intuitive & deep realization) that ‘Prāṇa’ of the “PRĀṆA“, the ‘eye’ of that “EYE”, the ‘ear’ of that “EAR”, and the ‘mind‘ of that “MIND“, they have realized that being called the Brahman – the ancient and primordial one…

Parāsara Battar in his commentary says that the “Supreme Being” is indeed the Prāṇa-śákti and that ‘one’ is that “lotus-eyed” one – Vasudeva.

Therefore connecting the previous names in this string: The inner-controller (Īśānaḥ), is the one who bestows on us the gift of Prāṇa (Prāṇada) and is also the Prāṇa itself – essentially it is he himself who dwells within each one of us.

In the Bhagavad-gītā, Bhagavan, the Kṣetrajña (the knower of the ‘field’) confirms this to the kṣétra (Arjuna):

अहमात्मा गुडाकेश सर्वभूताशयस्थित: |

अहमादिश्च मध्यं च भूतानामन्त एव च || 10-20||

aham ātmā guḍākeśha sarva-bhūtāśhaya-sthitaḥ

aham ādiśh cha madhyaṁ cha bhūtānām anta eva cha

It is significant that he addresses Arjuna as “guḍākeśha” which means “he who has conquered sleep” – which is a true reflection of Arjuna’s state 10 chapters into the Gītā.

He further adds that it is “He” alone who is seated within each individual being and is the beginning, middle, and end of all beings…

In the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, there is an interesting question posed by Parikshit to Sukadeva, when he asks him how is it that all mothers are attached towards their own children but in the case of the Gopis they seem to be more attached to Kṛṣṇa than their own children and drop everything and go to him when the call comes – To this Sukadeva says something that is deeply significant – Kṛṣṇa is the supreme ātmā seated within each individual being and these Gopis have realized it and how can they not be attracted to him?

This is the absolute truth – when the call comes from within, from that in-dweller everything else that is an entanglement of the mind drops on its own and one is automatically drawn towards that quest.

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