Knowledge of the roots – Subtle System
The Ancient Science of our Inner Being
An important aspect of mastering yoga is to have full knowledge of the subtle system, which serves as a roadmap for experiencing the inner evolution of our consciousness.
The ancient Indian Vedic scriptures describe the subtle system as consisting of Nadis (meaning channel in Sanskrit). Like the water flowing through the rivers, the Nadis facilitate the flow of subtle energies in our being. The system also contains Chakras (which in Sanskrit means subtle energy center spinning like wheels) and the Kundalini (meaning the coiled energy which is the residual power of evolution reflecting in our sacrum bone). Our subtle body consists of thousands of Nadis and Chakras within a framework of three main Nadis, Ida, Pingala, and Sushumna, and seven Chakras which are Mooladhara, Swadhisthan, Nabhi, Anahata, Vishuddhi, Agnya and Sahasrara.
The Atma, the eternal Spirit, is reflected in our heart.
Just as we have a very intricate network of nerves and neural plexuses that govern and control our sense organs and motor responses, every human being has an innate subtle system that maps very well with the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems. The complex interplay of our subtle system, which consists of channels (Nadis) and energy centers (Chakras), with the neural network in our body and the brain, looks after our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual being. One could compare the subtle system with the software in a computer.
The knowledge of the human subtle system was already known thousands of years ago. The Indian scriptures reveal that Lord Shiva was the first Adiyogi (primordial yogi) who brought forth this knowledge to the Saptha Rishis (the seven sages). These seven sages carried this yogic science to different parts of the world. However, it was in India that the yogic system found its fullest expression.
Although this knowledge about our subtle system was well known in the Indian yoga traditions, it was Shri Mataji who first illustrated the complex mechanism of the whole subtle system and how it co-exists in the living body right from the early stages of the fetus development in the womb.
Using the simple analogy of light bending in a prism, Shri Mataji explained how the human brain, which has evolved over millions of years from a flat to a prismatic structure, facilitates a complex architecture of subtle energies that are reflected and blended within the complex human nervous system.
A realized person can often feel the cool breeze emitting out of the fontanel bone area of new born babies. Shri Mataji explained this phenomenon as an indication of the activity of the all-pervading energy of God's love, which she called Paramchaitanya, during the early stages of our growth. Often babies are seen sucking a particular finger which realized souls can easily decipher as pertaining to blockages on a specific Chakra within us. Later, through the calcification of the cranial bones and the development of the human ego and conditioning, this subtle awareness recedes and we become more aware of and identify with the gross world around us.
Through the process of self-realization and meditation we are able to restore this primordial connection in our subtle being.