Creation and Criticism

ISSN: 2455-9687  

(A Quarterly International Peer-reviewed Refereed e-Journal

Devoted to English Language and Literature)

Article

Power of Breath

Krishna Kumar Agrawal

Received on Dec 03, 2024; Accepted on Feb 01, 2025. Available online: April 10, 2025. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

A Rigvedic hymn, in a wonderful early maturity of abstraction, uttered words on the beginnings of things: “Then was neither non-existence nor existence.”

The concept of “That which is” (Sat) was understood as capable of emanating even from “that which is not” (Asat). It was boldly taught that this Asat stood at the very beginning of creation, and that from it arose Sat itself.

The basic and indisputable meaning of Ātman is breath. The Indian word is etymologically related to the German word Atem. Ancient Vedic verses link Ātman to Vāta, the wind or wind-god. When a man dies, it is said: “His eyes go to the sun, his Ātman to the wind.” Since breath appears to be the bearer of life, and since personal existence rests upon it, this deeper and more profound meaning of Ātman surpasses its merely physiological sense.

Ātman is considered superior even to Prāṇa. There are ten Prāṇas in man; Ātman is the eleventh. The Prāṇas are founded upon Him. Ātman is also said to dwell within the heart. In accordance with the ancient doctrine of metempsychosis, it is described as a small being (Puruṣa), the size of a thumb, a grain of rice, or a barley corn. This imagery does not contradict the concept of Ātman as breath. It is the ruler of individual organs and makes use of them in fulfilling its purpose.

As a reflexive pronoun, Ātman signifies the Self (Ego). As breath dwells within the body, so too does it manifest in nature as the Prāṇa that thunders, rains, and flashes as lightning:

When the breath inundates the wide earth with rain,
The whole animal world rejoices.
Abundance is bestowed upon us.

Grass and herbs, drenched in rain, speak together:

You are the one who bestowed life upon us,
You granted us sweet fragrance.

Thus the universe flows into the Ego, and the Ego receives it, imagines it, and perceives it. “This Self is indeed Brahman. It consists of knowledge, mind, breath, sight, hearing, earth, water, wind, ether, heat and absence of heat, desire and absence of desire, anger and absence of anger, right and wrong. It consists of all things.” (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad)

This moves.
This moves not.
This is near.
This is far.
It is within all existence.
And it is outside all this.

The Upaniṣads beautifully describe this through dialogue. Yājñavalkya says to Gārgī:

This Imperishable, O Gārgī, is what the Brāhmaṇas speak of.
It is neither coarse nor fine, neither short nor long;
Without blood, without fat;
Without shadow, without darkness;
Without wind and without ether;
Without attachment, without taste, without smell;
Without eyes, without ears, without speech, without mind;
Without heat, without breath, without measure;
Having no inside and no outside.
There is nothing that devours It,
Nor is there anyone whom It devours.

Different from origin, It is said;
Different from non-origin.
Thus we have heard from the sages who explained It to us.

By the command of this Imperishable, the sun and moon stand apart; heaven and earth stand apart; moments, hours, days, months, seasons, and years stand apart. Rivers flow east and west from the snowy mountains.

Through fear of Him the wind blows;
Through fear of Him the sun rises;
Through fear of Him Agni and Indra,
And Death as the fifth, speed along.

The statement that He causes some to act righteously and others to act wrongly contradicts the theory of Karma and is unacceptable. The Bhagavad Gītā clearly repudiates this in Chapter 5, Verse 15: “The Supreme Being neither creates agency nor actions for anyone, nor does He connect action with its fruits. It is ignorance that deludes beings.”

The form of worship is described as “the Real of the real.” The powers of breath are real, but Brahman is their ultimate reality. It is said that Brahman is “the breath of the breath, the eye of the eye, the ear of the ear, the mind of the mind.”

From ancient times, breath was regarded as the seat of life. Breath was held during danger to ward off harmful influences. A relationship was observed between the rhythm of breathing and mental activity. The yogi, by reducing and regulating breath, quiets worldly intensity and cultivates inner peace.

The Upaniṣads teach that liberation is realized in the fourth state beyond waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. On the physical plane this is achieved through control of breath; on the mental plane through pacification of imagination: “The oneness of breath and mind, and the withdrawal of the senses, is called Yoga.”

Regular breathing radiates peace through the body. When stray thoughts arise, worlds upon worlds appear like smoky clouds from the fire of the Supreme Being. Yet the yogi restrains these forms, seeking the formless realm where sudden illumination flashes like lightning.

A famous Upaniṣadic simile explains:

As the sound of a drum cannot be grasped unless the drum itself is seized,
So too is Reality grasped only at its source.

All the Vedas, histories, sciences, and scriptures are said to be breathed forth from the Great Being, just as smoke arises from fire kindled with damp fuel. “As salt dissolved in water cannot be retrieved but is tasted everywhere, so is this Great Being—limitless, endless, a mass of knowledge—arising from the elements and dissolving back into them.”

Sanātana Dharma is that which always was, is, and shall be. It has no founder and no single book. It is like a natural flow, existing even when undiscovered, as inherent as breath itself. Its truths arise from self-realization and are rooted in Svadharma (Bhagavad Gītā 3.35).

The secret key is Prāṇa-vāyu. To know the mystery of breath is to know God. This path is Sahaja Karma, the effortless action present from birth. Yogis say its secret is simple: watch the breath, and the truth unfolds.

The Maitrī Upaniṣad states: “One becomes what one’s mind is—this is the eternal secret.” This mirrors the Dhammapada: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought.”

According to the Buddha, every thought is linked to breath and bodily sensation. Anger disrupts breath and generates heat; awareness restores balance. At life’s end, one established in Dharma and mindful of sensations attains the unconditioned state. The Bhagavad Gītā affirms the same truth: what one thinks at death determines one’s future state.

Thus happiness and suffering arise not from circumstances, but from the mind interpreting them. This truth is echoed in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha and Śrīmad Bhāgavata.

The Praśna Upaniṣad declares Prāṇa supreme over all faculties. When Prāṇa departs, all powers follow; when it returns, all return—like bees following their queen: “Prāṇa burns as fire, shines as the sun, rains as cloud, blows as wind, crashes as thunder/ All rests in Prāṇa, as spokes rest in the hub of a wheel.” The sages validated this through observation and thought experiments.

The Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path culminates in Samādhi, where breath awareness (Ānāpāna-sati) plays a central role. Breath bridges the conscious and unconscious, reflects mental states, and anchors awareness in the present moment. The Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta describes this practice with precision and clarity. The Bhagavad Gītā echoes the same discipline in Chapters 4, 5, and 8, emphasizing regulation of vital energies and inward focus.

Vipassanā meditation, rooted in Ānāpāna, purifies the mind by eradicating defilements. Even a moment of pure awareness impacts deep-seated mental impurities. Breath-centered living is praised by modern teachers like Thích Nhất Hạnh, who reminds us that peace and joy are available in every conscious breath.

Emptiness (Śūnya), symbolized by Zero, is both nothingness and infinity. In this state, time and space dissolve, and discrimination ceases.

That is whole; this is whole.
From the whole, the whole arises.
When the whole is taken from the whole, the whole remains. (Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad 5.1.1)

Thus, as sages affirm, in emptiness lies fullness, and in breath lies liberation.

 
About the Author:

Krishna Kumar Agrawal (K. Kumar) (16 November 1927 – 28 May 2021) was an author, critic, translator, and journalist, educated in Science, Economics (M.A.), and Law (LL.B.). An Income Tax Advocate from 1969, he wrote extensively for journals such as ITR, Taxman, Current Tax Reporter, and The Economic Times. He translated short stories by eminent English-language writers into Hindi and authored literary sketches of Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, and Vinoba Bhave, later compiled in Manavata Ki Jhanki (2014). His works on the Bhagavad Gita and Vipassana—Bhagavad Gita—Vipassana Sadhana Ka Darshan Hai (2008) and Bhagavad Gita—Vipassana Ki Chhaya Mein (2012)—were widely acclaimed, and his English book Journey to the Inner Peace (2016) is an adaptation of the latter.