Doctor HealthHealth Tips

Health Tips :
If you smoke and you’re pregnant or planning to become pregnant, it’s especially important to kick the habit now. The toxic chemicals inhaled when you smoke are easily passed to the unborn baby.

The American Pregnancy Association offers these suggestions to help you stop smoking during pregnancy:

* Make a list of all of the health benefits of quitting for yourself and your baby.
* Replace smoking with healthier habits, such as having a snack or a cup of tea with your newspaper, instead of a cigarette.
* Surround yourself with nonsmokers.
* Have a friend or family member ready to call when you need support.
* Ask your doctor for ways to help you quit, including tips on which smoking cessation aids are safe for you and baby.
* Set a goal date for quitting.
By Healthday

Giving young women educational materials about the risks of indoor tanning helps them find healthier alternatives for changing appearances, a study says.

Six months after 430 college-age women received a booklet focused on the damaging effects of tanning and ultraviolet radiation, specifically related to indoor tanning, on the skin’s appearance, about 35 percent of the women reduced their time in tanning booths from the previous year. Similar changes in attitude toward future intentions to tan were also noted.

However, the researchers found the participants’ perceptions of susceptibility to skin damage or skin cancer from indoor tanning did not change.

The booklet also emphasized tanning abstinence and recommended other appearance improving alternatives, such as exercise, sunless tanning products and choosing fashions that do not require a complimentary tan.

The study, conducted by a team from the School of Public Health at East Tennessee State University, was expected to be published in the Dec. 1 issue of Cancer.

The authors concluded that their effort “supports the use of intervention messages to change young people’s ultraviolet risky behaviors and ultimately reduce skin cancer morbidity and mortality.”

More than 1.3 million skin cancer diagnoses, resulting in more than 10,000 deaths, are made annually in the United States.
By HealthDay

U.S. suicide rates appear to be on the rise, driven mostly by middle-aged white women, researchers reported on Tuesday.

They found a disturbing increase in suicides between 1999 and 2005 and said the pattern had changed in an unmistakable way — although the reasons behind the change are not clear.

The overall suicide rate rose 0.7 percent during this time, but the rate for white men aged 40 to 64 rose 2.7 percent and for middle-aged women 3.9 percent, the team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found.

“The biggest increase that we have seen between 1999 and 2005 was the increase in poisoning suicide in women — that went up by 57 percent,” said Susan Baker, a professor in injury prevention with a special expertise in suicide.

Writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Baker, Guoqing Hu and colleagues said they analyzed publicly available death certificate data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The results underscore a change in the epidemiology of suicide, with middle-aged whites emerging as a new high-risk group,” Baker said in a statement.

“Historically, suicide-prevention programs have focused on groups considered to be at highest risk — teens and young adults of both genders as well as elderly white men. This research tells us we need to refocus our resources to develop prevention programs for men and women in their middle years.”

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States and Baker said the changes are substantial.

“Definitely these are not just little blips,” she said in a telephone interview. “We are looking at a big population change.”

She hopes other researchers will study the reasons behind the shifts. “I certainly think we need research to look at the information that we have on people who have committed suicide,” she said.

“Are these people living alone, with no major responsibility or others to take care of, or are they people overwhelmed with all of the jobs and responsibilities they have? We need to find out more about the conditions under which these people are living.”

The middle-aged women and men used various methods to kill themselves — poisons, prescription drugs, hanging or suffocation, and firearms, Baker said.

While firearms remain the most common method, the rate of gun suicides decreased while suicide by hanging or suffocation increased by 6.3 percent among men, and 2.3 percent among women.

In September researchers confirmed an 18 percent spike in youth suicides in the United States in 2004 persisted into 2005 after more than a decade of decreases.

And international research published in January found that the young, single, female, poorly educated and mentally ill are all at higher risk of suicide.

According to the World Health Organization, suicide rates have increased by 60 percent in the last 45 years. Depression is the leading cause of suicide.
WASHINGTON (Reuters)

Hong Kong will soon begin testing meat, vegetables and processed food for melamine, a move that underlines concerns about environmental contamination and food safety, experts say.

Thousands of children in China fell sick with kidney problems in recent months after consuming milk that had been mixed with the plastic-making industrial chemical to cheat quality tests. Four of them died.

It has since emerged that cyromazine, a derivative of melamine, is widely used in pesticides and animal feed in China, and experts say it is absorbed in plants as melamine and that the chemical is already in the human food chain.

However, no one knows how much melamine is absorbed into raw foods such as meat and vegetables, and experts hope Hong Kong’s tests on vegetables and meat will shed some light.

“It’s possible there may be contamination from pesticides … and there is some concern about vegetables and animal feed,” Kwan Hoishan, a biologist at the Chinese University and member of a government-backed task force working on the melamine problem in Hong Kong, told Reuters.

“We have no idea about the level of contamination in meat and vegetables … it’s hard to say if (such levels of) melamine are harmful to human health, they would first have to be tested.”

Hong Kong imposed a cap on melamine last month, restricting it to no more than 2.5 milligrams per kilogrammkilograme, while melamine found in food meant for children under 3 and lactating mothers should be no higher than 1 mg per kg.

Experts’ opinions are mixed on the effects of constant exposure very low levels of melamine.

“If it causes environmental contamination (gets into food) through pesticides, the harm should not be too much. Unless you eat a lot of it,” said Ng Chi-fai, a urologist at the Chinese University in Hong Kong.

But others worry about long term exposure.

“It would be easier to ban melamine at all levels to stop this,” said Chan King-ming, associate professor of biochemistry at the Chinese University.
By Tan Ee Lyn

Relative Video :

In spite of my having shown above that the wonderful and mysterious Kundalini of the Yogic literature is the Vagus nerve of modern science, we are faced with a difficulty. We know that there are two Vagi, the right and the left, while the Yogic literature refers to one only. Is it possible that the writers of Yogic science were ignorant of the second ? Want of knowledge of its existence is hardly conceivable in the face of very accurate descriptions of the sensory nerves. Perhaps they knew that one of the Vagi was not as powerful as the other, and could not form connections or pierce through all the important plexuses mentioned by them. Our present knowledge of anatomy tells us that of the two Vagi the left Vagus is not so plentifully supplied with efferent fibres as the right and plays only a very minor part in the formation of the Solar plexus and of plexuses situated below it; while the right Vagus nerve, through its hypogastric branch, gains a direct connection with the solar plexus and the plexuses situated below it. The stimulation of the right Vagus nerve at its central connection, can control the activities of all the six plexuses of the sympathetic system, containing as it does the most important part of the para-sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system.
The mentioned of Kundalini in the Yogic literature in the singular number makes us believe that it must be the right Vagus nerve only and not the left. Even though it is accepted that Kundalini is the right Vagus nerve, there remains unsolved the mystery of controlling it. The modern physiology does not refer to the voluntary control of the autonomic nervous system. Normally the current of the Vagus is constantly going on and regularly controlling all the vital organs of the body automatically and unconsciously. When the Kundalini is doing this its normal work, it is said in Yogic literature, to be lying dormant. To us, the only visible manifestation of the interference with the normal function of the Vagus is either by means of poisons generated in certain diseases or by certain medicinal agents. This interference may be in the form of a stimulation or a depression, as seen in the working the vital organs supplied by the Vagus. Its stimulation causes inhibition of the heart action; its depression puts the controlling action out of gear. The heart then, being only under the acceleratory influence of the sympathetic fibres, beats faster. From this perceptible change, we can judge whether the Vagus is interfered with or not.
Such is, then, the state of our present knowledge, and it seems to us impossible to establish a voluntary control over the Vagus nerve. However to those who have gone through the different processes for established possibility. A convincing proof of it was given by Deshbandu by his performances, viz., the stopping of the movement of the heart and the arterial pulse of a particular part of the body, a reference to which has already been made in the opening paragraph of this book. These phenomena are mainly due to the stimulation of the Vagus the œawakened Kundalini.

The attributes of Kundalini given above could only be true if it were a nerve which, when excited, carries impulses to the various plexuses just mentioned. These, in their turn, throw out filaments to the spinal-cord (Sushumna nadi), at their various levels, to get the knowledge of their working. What nerve in the modern anatomy could adequately represent Kundalini to justify the importance given to it by the Yogi ? None bit one of the cranial nerves could do it. Of such nerves there are eleven pairs; and of these, one of the longest reaches the level of the umbilicus where it ends in the Solar plexus (Kundali-chakra) and further gains connections through filaments with the other plexuses situated lower down. That pair of nerves is the Vagi, popularly called by English authors “ The wandering nerves.” It forms the bulk of the para-sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system.
To our mind Kundalini, interpreted as the serpent power, is the Vagus nerve of modern times, which supplies and controls all the important vital organs through different plexuses of the sympathetic portion of the autonomic system. a few have tried other interpretations of Kundalini but, none, to my knowledge has interpreted it in this way. Here we will try to trace the course of the Vagus nerve and its communications with the different plexuses of the sympathetic system and compare it with the course of Kundalini as given in the books on Yoga.
THE VAGUS NERVE, ITS SOURCE AND FUNCTIONS : The Vagus or Pneumogastric, the tenth cranial nerve as we know, is connected with hind-brain. It arises with other cranial nerves (the ninth and eleventh) from the grey matter in the floor of the fourth ventricle. Here it is attached by eight or ten filaments to the medulla oblongata in the groove between the olive and restiform bodies. At the level of the Jugular foramen at the base of the skull the Vagus nerve presents a well marked swelling called the ganglion of the root of the Vagus (Jugular ganglion). This ganglion sends a branch to plexus which is situated at the base of the skull and is known as the carotid plexus (Taluka-chakra). A little lower down, it presents another swelling called the ganglion of the trunk of the Vagus, ganglion nodosum; and further downwards the nerve passes vertically along the spinal column through the neck, chest and abdomen, where it ends into a plexus and forms connection with the solar plexus.
On its course downwards and before it ends, it sends branches to the prevertebral plexuses of the sympathetic portion of autonomic nervous system. in the neck, it sends a branch to the pharyngeal plexus (Vishuddhi-chakra); in the thorax it sends branches to the deep and superficial cardiac plexuses (Anahata-chakra); in the abdomen it forms connections with plexuses of the coeliac-axis (Manipura-chakra), and then ends in a plexus known as the solar plexus (Kundali-chakra) which is the downward extension of the Manipura-chakra. The Vagus also has filamentous connections with the renal, hepatic, splenic and pancreatic plexuses.
The Vagus is the only nerve which is composed of motor and sensory fibres, both efferent, i.e., outgoing and afferent, i.e., incoming. The efferent or inhibitory are anabolic in action while the afferent or acceleratory are katabolic in action.
The efferent fibres, which exercise a restraining influence over the action of larynx, pharynx, lungs and heart, start from the medulla oblongata and are always, according to the manuals of Yoga, kept in action by the divine fluid (the cerebro-spinal fluid) which is secreted by the moon in the brain – very likely referring to the lateral ventricles from their resemblance to the shape of the crescent moon. These fibres originate from the cells of the ganglion nodosum, but as they enter the bulb, the fibres bifurcate. The ascending branches are short and arborise with the efferent fibres of the bulb above. The descending branches go downwards from the centre of the Vagus nerve and form connections with the fibres of the sympathetic in the Solar plexus. The afferent fibres of the Vagus have their source in the Solar plexus, and its two semilunar ganglia called the abdominal brain, and reach the vagal centre in the medulla.
From this description of the arrangements of the fibres of the Vagus, it will be seen that the stimulation of the Vagal centre either directly or indirectly activates both sets of fibres. It will stimulate the inhibitory action of the efferent fibres and put under restraint the functions of the organs supplied by them such as those of the heart, the lungs, and the larynx; simultaneously with this phenomenon, it will stimulate the accelerating action of the afferent fibres and excite the functions of the organs supplied by them such as those of the stomach and the intestine and also cause dilatation of the blood vessels of the abdominal viscera with consequent increase in the secretion of the digestive glands in the abdominal cavity. The depression of the Vagal centre will produce just the opposite effect in the functions of the organs supplied by the afferent and efferent fibres. Thus there will be a see-saw action, as the Vagal centre is stimulated or depressed. From the facts just mentioned, it could be seen that to ensure perfect inhibition of the functions of organs in the thoracic and abdominal cavities, one must stimulate and depress the efferent and afferent sections, respectively, of the Vagus at their source. Normally the activities of the Vagus are automatic and unconscious. If, however, it is possible to bring it under control of the will, one could then achieve everything that is said about the “awakened Kundalini,” in the foregoing pages. Is it possible to establish voluntary control over the sources of the afferent and efferent fibres of the Vagus ? In the Yogic literature, methods are suggested to secure such a control. It is further suggested that if they are pursued practically and rigidly, a student of Yoga attains to the powers of performing the so-called miracles; and when he utilises these powers, he enables himself to force open the door of Liberation (Moksha).
Through an impulse along the afferent nerves from the larynx, the lungs and the mucous membrane of the nose, it is possible to stimulate reflexly the Vagal centre. In an earlier part of this book while dealing with the object and technique of the Pranayama, it has been shown how these organs are made use of by a Yogi to influence the Vagal centre. The greatest difficulty is, however, experienced in controlling the afferent fibres of the Vagus, which have their centre in the Solar plexus and from where the afferent fibres pass upwards in the body of the Vagus. This part of the Vagus (Kundalini) is described as lying curled up and dormant, breathing rhythmically. It is called in Yogic literature the “sleeping Kundalini.” A student of Yoga is advised to rouse this sleeping Kundalini forcibly by catching her tail by various process of Pranayama and Pranayama with Bandha and Mudra (vide infra). By a constant practice of these processes, both the Vagal centres, upper and lower, are made susceptible to the commands of the will; thus a Yogi establishes a voluntary control over them, so as to stop the activity of such organs as are ruled by the autonomic nervous system.
The Vagus nerve may thus be divided into three parts. The first portion in the medulla is composed of efferent fibres and is situated at lower part of the fourth ventricle of the brain, and corresponds with the mouth of the sleeping Kundalini.
The second portion, from below the base of the skull down to its connection with the solar plexus, is composed of afferent and efferent fibres. It is curved in shape and corresponds with the body of the Kundalini.
The third and the last portion, composed mainly of afferent fibres, connects the hypogastric (Swadhishtana) and pelvic (Muladhara) plexuses with the body of the Kundalini through the intermediary solar plexus. This is said to be the tail of the Kundalini (see fig.)
It will thus be seen that the description of the Vagus and its connections with the important plexuses of the sympathetic, runs parallel with the description of the Kundalini and her connections with Chakras. These plexuses of the sympathetic system send communicating branches to the posterior nerve-roots of the spinal cord (Sushumna-nadi) which in its turn is connected by centripetal fibres to the brain (Brahma-randhra-chakra) the seat of all knowledge. These anatomical connections complete a cycle. This completion of a cycle may be brought about at any level of the body corresponding to the situation of the plexuses of the sympathetic system, and a desire to control any of the plexuses by means of the Vagus may bring about inhibition in the functions of the organ supplied by that particular plexus. It is on this assumption that we can explain some of the miracles performed by a Yogi. A Yogi, through the Vagus, or more accurately through the vago-sympathetic nerve, either by direct or reflex action, more particularly the latter, establishes a complete control over the unconscious automatic action of the involuntary muscular fibres. This is what a Yogi desires, so that the normal automatic action may not interfere with his desire of becoming one with Him who is all-oervanding. According to the science of Yoga, the brain is not the beginning of all the nerves but the end, where the sum of all impressions of nerves is stored up. The brain is, therefore, called the Lotus of a thousand petals, and, as these petals surround the cavity from which the soul is liberated, it is also called the Brahma-randhra-chakra.

The excitement of all the Chakras, mentioned above takes place always through Kundalini. It is the lever of consciousness by which the individual realises his onesness with the Absolute. The creative impetus, which emanates from the divine, is communicated through Kundalini, the serpent power as it is called, to the six chakras or plexuses and their connection. Normally, Kundalini is sleeping a trance-sleep (Yoga-nidra), and when it is awakened from this slumber and made to work, the Yogi perceives all supernatural truths. The resurrection of the soul from the grave of untruth becomes an actual fact, and perception of beauty, which is an attribute of the Self, fills the heart with joy. Health is also said to be the gift of Kundalini; Kundalini is the mother of joy, of sweet rest, of sleep, of faith and of wisdom. Kundalini is the queen and guide of lives that breathe, i.e., of all vertebrate animals. What is this of a Yogi and to which is a prime-mover of the practice of a Yogi and to which such wonderful powers have been attributed ? Kundalini has long remained a mystery. In the following pages I propose to attempt an explanation of this mystery in terms of modern science.
Swami Vivekanand, in his book Raja Yoga, defines Kundalini as follows : “The centre where all residual sensation are, as it were, stored up is called Muladhara-chakra, and the coiled up energy of actions is Kundalini, the coiled up.”
Arthur Avalon in his book, The Serpent Power, states that “Kundalini is the Static Shakti.” He says further : “It is the individual bodily representative of the great cosmic Powers (Shakti) which creates and sustains the universe ”; and in support of his statement he gives at the end of the book the scientific and masterly exposition of this Shakti, composed by his friend Prof. P. Mukhopadhyaya. All the explanations about this Shakti, though learned, could as well as be applied to the autonomic nervous system. The static or anabolic power is the para-sympathetic portion of it, and the Dynamic or Katabolic power is the sympathetic portion. Some have suggested that Kundalini is the inferior Venacava, while others conjecture it to be the large bowels. On what basis these conclusions have been arrived at, I am unable to conceive.
According to Hata-Yoga-Pradipika, the Kundalini is said to be lying dormant guarding the opening of the passage that leads to the seat of Brahma. This seat is said to be Brahma-randhra, that is, the ventricular cavity in the brain. The passage to that cavity, in my opinion, is the narrow space at the lower end of the fourth ventricle in the brain, which communicates the ventricles of the brain with the channel in the spinal cord (Sushumna nadi) and the subarachnoid space (Akasha). The dormant Kundalini thus guards the three important openings in the cerebro-spinal nervous system. Unless she is awakened, or made consciously active, one cannot send one’s embodied soul (jivatma), which is supposed to reside in the heart (Hridaya), along the Sushumna nadi to the Brahma-randhra nor is he able to assist the soul captured in the Randhra, to be freed to join the Universal Soul (Paramatma) outside.
Likewise the Kundalini is said to be sleeping above the Kanda; and the shape of the Kundalini between these points has been described as being like a serpent. To understand the exact extent of this Kundalini we must determine the position of the Kanda in the body. Different authors have given slightly different locations of this Kanda but they all agree that it is placed in the lower part of the body but above the anus, and that its size is about four angulis, i.e., about three inches in the length, and an equal number of inches in breadth; that it has the shape of a leaf or triangle, or that of a bird’s egg, broad above and narrow below, and that it is covered with a soft, flimsy, plaited, white cloth.
According to Goraksha-shataka the situation of the Kanda is on a level with a point between the umbilicus and the penis. That point corresponds to the upper border of the triangular piece of bone at the lower end of the spinal column which is wedged in between the two hip bones and is known as the sacrum, the upper border of its front surface is known as the promontory of the sacrum.
By Yanya-Valkala, the Kanda is located about nine angulis, i.e., six inches above the mid-point of the body and extends about four angulis in length and width. The mid-portion of the body is said to be the space which is two angulis (a little over an inch) above the anus, and an equal number of angulis below the root of the penis. This space, according to our knowledge of anatomy, corresponds with the Coccyx, the lowest bone of the spinal column. A distance of nine angulis above this space corresponds with the promontory of the sacrum. In Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika, the origin of Kanda is given as twelve angulis, i.e., nine inches above the raphe of the perineum and that too corresponds with the promontory of the sacrum.
Though the different manuals on Yoga describe the location of Kanda in different terms, they agree as to its root being a point between the navel and the external genitals.
This Kanda is also called Mula-Kanda or Muladhara, that is root-bulb or root-support, probably of the Meru-danda. This Muladhara is said to be the receptacle of a plexus or a Chakra called Muladhara-chakra; it is also said to form the backward limit of the Yoni (perineum). The soft white plaited cloth with which it is said to covered is, I believe, well represented by pelvic fascia with its folds which lines the internal surface of the sacrum (Kanda).
Kanda, thus, could be identified with the sacrum, though it is translated to denote ‘ganglia’ in some of the Marathi and English books on Yoga. Kundalini at the site of its origin, which is above the promontory of the sacrum, is said to be lying dormant in the shape of a serpent coiled up. Lower down it joins the Muladhara-chakra which is at the end of the Kanda (the sacrum). Higher up, it passes through the different chakras and meets the brain through an opening in the Talu (the base of the skull). A fuller account of these chakras will be given presently.
In the Tantril Manual, Shat-Chakra-Nirupanam, it is said that the pericarp of the Adhara lotus is a triangle or Kanda mentioned in the Hatha-Yoga-Pardipika. Inside this triangle there is a linga or phallus called Swayambhu, which tapers like a new unopened leaf-bud. This description of the phallus well applies to the lower end of the spinal-cord with its dural sheath, which ends in the canal of the sacrum (Kanda) blindly in a cul-de-sac at the level of the second sacral vertebra. This phallus extends a little beyond the triangle. Above it, on a level with the lower end of the spinal canal (Chitra), the Kundalini is said to be sleeping, closing the mouth of the Bragmadwara. This position of the sleeping Kundalini is about the same as the position of the lower end of the dormant Kundalini mentioned in the Pradipika.
It appears from the description and position of the dormant Kundalini that it must be a prevertebral plexus of the autonomic nervous system, and that plexus I take to be the Solar plexus of the sympathetic which lies on the vertebral column on a level with the first and second lumbar vertebrae, where the lower end of the spinal-cord, called the Conus-medullaris, with its canal comes to an end. Extending from this sleeping Kundalini, otherwise called Kula-Kundalini, a fibre is described which descends and shines like a chain of brilliant lights in the cavity of Mula-lotus. From the skirts of this dormant Kula-Kundalini there starts another Kundalini, which ascends along the Sushumna nadi and reaches, as said elsewhere, to a point (Bindu or Para Shiva), which is bathed in the stream of the ambrosia (Cerebro-spinal-fluid) from the Eternal Bliss (Brahma-randhra), and illuminates even the lowermost cavity of this bodily universe by her radiance.
It will thus be seen that Kundalini extends from the brain to the Muladhara-chakra and is divided into two parts by the Kula-Kundalini which rests on the lower end of the spinal canal Brahma-dwara or the gate of Brahma.
Whether the Brahma-dwara should be taken to mean the lowermost ends of the spinal canal, or its uppermost end where it joins the Brahma-randhra or whether it should be taken to mean the whole of the spinal-cord, by which the Kundalini as a conscious force is made to ascend to the Sahasrar, is decided by the description given in the Shat-Chakra-Nirupanam, where it is said that the Kundalini in the lower gateway of Brahma is in a sleeping or inert state and at the upper gateway of Brahma it resides, in an active state capable of being stimulated. Thus these two points, the upper and lower gateways of Brahma, define the limits of the Kundalini or the Parameshwari of lives that breathe.
When this Kula-Kundalini is awakened or made active, it forces a passage through the different Chakras and excites them to action, and, as it rises step by step, the mind becomes opened and all visions and wonderful powers come to a Yogi, when it reaches the brain. The Yogi then is perfectly detached from the body and the mind, and the soul finds itself free in all respects.
Kundalini then joins her lord Para-Shiva (the olivary body) who has the form of a dot “O” (Bindu-rupa) and is situated in the Itata-linga (medulla oblongata) which has as its perticarp cerebrum (Brahma-chakra). Kundalini thus connects herself with Brahma-randhra, a cavity in the brain, where the Brahma or the Soul, is located, and the knowledge of which the Yogi seeks to attain. It is this cavity which is guarded by six doors, and Kundalini is the only force that can open them. It is this cavity, where Prana centres all its activities; it is here where the soul is carried to reside; it is here that the unruly Chitta, the mind-stuff, is captured and made steady by the process of Pranayama; it is here that the Chitta is submerged in Prana, this submersion bringing all the activities of the mind and Prana to a standstill. The soul, thus made free from the thralldom of the intellect, feels its own joy and sees itself “So’ ham” i.e., “I am That” or “I am He,” literally “That am I.” It is only when the mind and the Prana act as two conflicting entities that they run riot and keep the soul in the bondage of the Maya, the surrounding objects of the senses. Though the soul is freed from the shackles of Prana and Chitta, it is still made to remain there by the current of Vasana, which is guarding the orifice of this cavity in the form of Kundalini,, the cord of desire. These desires revert the soul to the control of Prana and Chitta (the mind-stuff), and successive rebirths are the result. This anything but what the Yogi desires; he wants to escape this, which can only be done by tearing asunder the cords of desire by bringing Kundalini under control. When Kundalini is made to obey the callings of the soul, the soul escapes from this cavity to occupy another cavity called Akasha, which surrounds the brain and the spinal-cord. Further the soul, freed from the control of Prana, Chitta and Vasana, lives outside the Brahma-chakra, the cerebrum, and is said to pervade the whole universe. When the Yogi attains this state, he is said to be in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi, seedless Samadhi by which he gets in tune with the Infinite and escapes rebirths.
A question may be asked as to what we are to understand by the term Vasana which leads an individual to successive rebirths. To know the proper meaning of the term, according to Indian Philosophy, we shall have to deal with Karma of the embodied soul, the Jivatma of a being. Karma of an individual is comprised of desire (Vasana) start a current of thought, which is conveyed to the Jivatma and is then translated, through his agency, into actions, good or bad ones to misery. Karma is of three kinds. Sanchita Karma, the outcome of Sanskara (impressions of past lives) and desires (Vasana), is all the accumulated and unexhausted Karma of past lives with which is still to bear fruit. Prarabdha Karma is that part of the Sanchita Karma which is worked out and the result of which is made known to us in our present birth. Kriyamana Karma, either Vartaman or Agami, is that which a man is continuously hoarding up by his present and future actions. It will thus be seen that the vicious circle of Vasana, by continuously forming a web around the soul, forces it to remain embodied for liberating and experiencing the past Karma. Its final emancipation then could only be achieved by putting a stop to generation of new Karma by conquering our Vasana or desires. When this is done there is nothing left to generate new Karma, and the Jivatma is liberated from successive births. On the physical plane, this can only be done by controlling the cord of desire, the Vagus nerve (Kundalini), by consciously controlling all the involuntary action of the body, which are in some sense or other under the control of the Vagus nerve. By submersion of the voluntary and involuntary actions of the body into Chitta and Vasana all the functions of the body are brought to a state of automatism. Finally, the embodied soul (jivatma), freed from the activities of the body, merges into the Supreme Soul (Paramatma) outside the body and gains its final emancipation, i.e., liberation from re-birth.
All the writers on Yoga have translated Randhra as a ‘hole.’ It could as well be translated as a ‘cavity’ (Apte’s Sanskrit Dictionary), and I would rather put that second interpretation on the word “Randhra” as it is more in keeping with our knowledge of Western Anatomy. This cavity is surrounded by a chakra or plexus of a thousand branches, known as Sahasrara or Brahma-chakra, the cerebrum. Here the word thousand should not be translated too literally. It is there to convey the idea of innumerableness. This Randhra is the inter-communicating cavity of the four ventricles of the brain and is continuous with the central canal (Chitra) of the spinal cord (Sushumna nadi). This cavity is constantly secreting a fluid called the Nectar of Life or the divine fluid, the cerebro-spinal fluid. At the end of this cavity is an orifice which connects the internal cavity of Prana with the external cavity of Akasha surrounding the brain and the spinal cord and known as the sub-arach-noid space, and is bathed with the divine fluid which is secreted by Brahma-randhra.

As I am on the subject of reflex centres, I should like to say a few words about the Shaktis that are said to preside over the six important plexuses (Chakras) of the sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system. Every Chakra is said to have its subsidiary Shakti in addition to the general Shakti – Kundalini – which rules all the Chakras.
The Shakti of a Chakra exerts an inhibitory influence through a subsidiary nerve centre in the spinal cord, and controls unconsciously the activity of the organs excited by fibres of the sympathetic plexuses.
The Muladahara-chakra (the pelvic plexus) and the Swadhistana-chakra (the hypogastric plexus) have ‘Dakini’ and ‘Rakini’ respectively as their controlling Shaktis. These Shaktis are comparable with the efferent impulses generated through the subsidiary nerve centres in lumbar region (Apana-prana) along the fibres of the pelvic nerve, otherwise called nervierigens. This nerve is chiefly concerned with the stimulation of the external organs of generation (whence its name “nervi-erigens”). It also sends out fibres to the musculature of the colon, rectum and bladder.
Manipura-chakra (the plexus of coeliac-axis) is ruled by the Shakti ‘Lakhini’. She is said to be four-armed. This Shakti is the efferent impulse generated along the three or four splanchenic nerves through the auxiliary centres in the thoracic lumbar region of the spinal cord (Samana-prana). These nerves send inhibitory fibres to the stomach and the intestine and also to the secretory, and sensory fibres to the abdominal organs.
The Shakti presiding over the Anahata-chakra is ‘Kakini’. This Shakti is the efferent impulse generated along the fibres of the thoracic- spinal nerves through a subsidiary centre in the upper thoracic region of the spinal cord. These fibres control the heart, the lungs and aorta. The main nerve regulating the functions of the heart, the lungs and the aorta is the vagus, which has its centre in the medulla oblongata. But now it has been proved, that even if both the vagi are cut, so as to do away with the controlling influence on these organs, a preliminary state of excitation occurs which is brought about by the sympathetic coming into action producing acceleration for a short time. This acceleration is immediately followed by the normal automatic working of these organs, showing thereby the possibility of another controlling nerve centre in the spinal cord just below the medulla (Prana-reflex).
Vishuddhi-chakra is presided over by the Shakti ‘Shakini’. This is the efferent impulse generated by the cervical nerves and also by the branches of the Vagus through the nerve centre in the medulla; both the above Shaktis are located in the region of Prana proper. This Shakti is said ti reside in the region of the moon, which appears to me to be the ventricular cavity in the brain. It is also said that the nectar (the cerebro-spinal fluid) is constantly dropping on the head of this Shakti and that she is seated on the bone, i.e., on the superior surface of the base of the skull. The last Chakra, Ajna, is controlled by the Shakti ‘Hakini’, i.e., the efferent impulse generated along the fibres of the oculo-motor nerve through a centre in the thalamus. This Shakti is said to reside in the marrow (majjastha) of the brain. Elsewhere, it is said to reside in the Chakra (Chakrastha), i.e., Brahma-chakra which we know to be the cerebrum. It is said to be white in colour. So is the thalamus, the sensory basal ganglion in the brain.

THE CHAKRAS – THEIR LOCATION AND WESTERN ANATOMICAL EQUIVALENTS
The chakras mentioned in the Tantric literature are six in number. These are independent units carrying on their assigned function. Each Chakras has Shakti controlling its own activity. In addition to these independent Shaktis of each Chakra there is a universal Shakti which has the power of controlling all these Chakras mentioned above. In the physical form she is lying dormant and coiled up like a serpent in an individual. When this is awakened by Yoga practices the individual gains for himself the power of performing miracles.
The lowermost Chakra, with which Kundalini forms a connection and through which it is able to send impulses, is the Basic-plexus called the Muladhara-chakra. It has four branches (Dala) and the shape of a triangle, or, in the words of the Garuda-Purana the shape of the pudendum pubis (Bhaga). This description tallies very accurately with the description of the Pelvic plexus of the autonomic system, situated near the sides of the rectum. It is a continuation of the hypogastric plexus which bifurcates below into two lateral portions to assume the shape of triangle; and by contemplation of this Chakra the Yogi obtains freedom from disease, knows the past and the future and gains all psychic powers. It also forms connections with the Swadhisthana- the chakra which is situated in the pelvic region or Guhyadesha, just on a level with the root of the penis and is probably the hypogastric plexus. The Swadhisthana-chakra has six petals or branches. By contemplation of this, freedom from death and disease is obtained. Higher up still, Kundalini forms herself into a plexus, which is known as the Kundalini-chakra or solar plexus and its location is in the region of the navel. Its direct extension upwards is called Manipura-chakra, which can be identified with the plexus of the Coeliac-axis. The proximity is so great that no distinction is made between the Kundali and Manipura-chakras. The Kundali-chakra is described to be of a red colour and to have ten branches. It is called the Lotus of Happiness. By contemplation if this chakra, a Yogi is able to enter into the body of another person; he obtains the power of transmuting metals, of healing the sock, and of clairvoyance. After passing through these Chakras the Kundalini forces its passage through the Anahata-chakra which has twelve branches and is located in the Hridayadesha, i.e., the region of the heart. This description appears to identify itself with that of the Cardiac plexus of the sympathetic system. By contemplating this Lotus, a Yogi becomes clairvoyant and clairaudient and is able to see adepts moving in the air, and gains the power of travelling at will to any part of the world by the exercise of his volition. Of the six important lotuses or plexuses the one situated in Kantha the region of the throat (Pomum Adami), known as Vishuddhi-chakra, has six-teen petals or branches. It is probably the pharyngeal plexus of the sympathetic; and it is said to be the lotus of purification. By contemplating this lotus, the whole body is purified of diseases and ailments and a Yogi is able to live a thousand years in eternal youth. In fact, he is dead to all the outer world, and becomes absorbed in his inner life. The power behind a malediction of a Yogi also depends upon the command of this lotus. Abstract scientific men are likely to laugh at the various powers assigned to the different plexuses. Still, we have read of things in the ancient Vedic and classical literature which have been proved to be true. Reality of these achievements of a Yogi, time alone would show.
Kundalini then passes to the Taluka-chakra, i.e., the cavernous plexus of the sympathetic system which is situated at the base of he skull, and thence joins the Ajyna-chakra. This chakra is the Naso-ciliar extension of the cavernous plexus of the sympathetic through the ophthalmic division of the fifth cranial nerve, ending in the ciliary muscles of the iris and at the root of the nose, through the supra-orbital foramen. It has two petals or branches and is situated between the eye-brows. It is the spot which is contemplated while undergoing the process of Pranayama. Here is found the great light, the third eye as it is called, and by contemplation of this a Yogi gains wonderful psychic powers. This chakra is called the plexus of command.

This invites us to investigate, whether or not the ancients had any knowledge of the internal anatomy of the body. Some of the Yogis later than Patanjali, who have described these various exercises to be performed by the student of Yoga for the control of Vayu or nervous impulse, describe in detail, the construction and action of the nervous system. Did they then dissect the human bodies, to find out its internal construction? Certainly their description of the nervous system tallies with our present knowledge of anatomy and physiology. Did they gain this knowledge by some mystic vision? What ever it may be, the fact remains that the anatomy of nerves given in the Tantric manuals canstand comparison with our present knowledge. According to the writers on Yoga there are ten important Vayu-nadis, i.e., nerves of impulse, without a knowledge of which the process and technique of Pranayama is not possible. There are many more, but these have the power of carrying impulses (Prana-vahaka). The following are their names and locations: Ida on the left side of the body; Pingala on the right side; Sushumna in the centre of the body piercing the skull and joining the cerebum (Brahma-chakra); Gandhari in the left eye; Hastajivha in the right eye; Pusha in the right ear; Yashaswini in the left ear; Alambusha in the mouth; Kuhu in the penis; and Shakhini in the perineum (Mulasthana). Of these ten nadis, three are the most important and these are Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna. I will describe them in detail in the same way as is done in Yogic literature. But it must also be borne in mind that the rest of the nadis, from their positions, appear to carry impressions to the brain by means of the five senses.
The first is Ida, the location of which is on the left side of the Meru-danda, i.e., the spinal column and ends in the right nostril. The second is Pingala which is on the right side of the spinal column and ends in the left nostril. From this description, it is clear that these nadis cross each other before their respective endings and have their origin, or mouth as it is called, in the plexus of nerves called Muladhara-chakra which is situated in Mulasthana, that is, the perineum. I think that the Muladhara-chakra is the Pelvic plexus of the sympathetic system. From this description of the nadis, it appears that Ida and Pingala correspond to the gangliated cords of the sympathetic system, which are situated on either side of the spinal column. At the cephalic end, each sympathetic trunk passes into the cranial cavity, arborises with its fellows of the other side and forms a plexus. Through this plexus the sympathetic trunks gain complex relations with the spinal cord (Sushumna-nadi) where it joins the brain. This plexus is called in Yogic literature Bhrukuti-chakra. At the caudal end, both the sympathetic trunks end in the pelvic plexus.
The third nadi, Sushumna, is centrally situated and passes through the Mere-danda, i.e., the spinal column. It originates inside the Kanda, i.e., the sacrum which roughly corresponds with the level of the navel.
It runs, up the body, from this point, pierces the Talu (the base of the skull) and joins Brahma-chakra (the plexus of nerves of a thousand branches or the cerebrum). This nadi, as it ascends and reaches the level of Kantha (region of the larynx), divides into and anterior and a posterior part. The anterior portion goes towards the Ajna-chakra, the plexus of command, which is situated between the two eye-brows and joins the Brahma-randhra (cavity in the brain). The posterior passes from behind the skull and joints the Brahma-randhra which is supposed to be a cavity in the brain from which the Yogi liberates his soul. It is this posterior portion that is to be developed by a student of Yogic science.
This description of the Sushumna nadi concurs with that of the spinal cord and very nearly or almost accurately. It seems that the ancients had a knowledge of the function of the two parts of the spinal cord, the anterior and the posterior, when one reads it described that the anterior division of the nadi goes towards the Ajna-chakra, i.e., to a point in the frontal lobe of the brain (the lobe of intelligence) from which are issued the orders to move the different parts or our voluntary muscles, and which is a plexus controlled by our thought. The Yogi is told to develop the posterior portion of the nadi, which governs all sensations and supplies all the vital organs of the body, a portion which normally is not under our control. Of all the ten nadis these three are the principal, and the three Sushumna is the most important. The importance of this nadi lies in the fact that through it, by certain practices, one can put a stop to the flight of time, by drawing Prana (Vitality) from the Ida and Pingala nadis, i.e., by consciously controlling the incessant working of these sympathetic cords, it is possible to put a stop to the katabolic activity of the body. This conscious control over them, which could only be achieved through the Sushumna nadi, suspends the general wear and tear of the tissues of the vital organs, and helps in the prolongation of life. When the Ida, and Pingala nadis are thus decitalised by the Sushumna nadi, there is said to exist no night or day for a Yogi. Sushumna is said “to devour time.”
It is also through this Sushumna nadi that we obtain knowledge of our relations with the external world. But a knowledge of the self and a control of the vital organs can only be achieved by consciously controlling the Ida and Pingala nadis which form a connecting link between the prevertebral plexuses (Chakras) of the sympathetic system and spinal cord (Sushumna nadi)
All these plexuses, in order to excite Sushumna nadi by their connection with it, must work through the Kundali-chakra. In fact, what the brain or medulla is to the central nervous system, Kundali-chakra is to the sympathetic system. Normally, the central nervous system is well developed as regards its response to external stimuli while the sympathetic nervous system lies dormant. When the latter is made active by Pranayama and by certain other processes prescribed in the Hatha-Yoga, a person develops the power to do certain things which are beyond the scope of an ordinary individual. Actions done by these persons are regarded as miracles, though to a Yogi they are not so. They are due to a latent power within but it requires to be converted into active energy. A Yogi, when he develops his autonomic nervous system, becomes so engrossed that the somatic functions of his Sushumna nadi, and the knowledge of his relations with the external world are held in abeyance and he sees his self pervading the whole universe and becoming one with it.
Before actually, defining Kundalini in terms of our present knowledge of anatomy, one should like to name the six important Lotuses or Chakras (Plexuses) with their present anatomical equivalents.