How to gain the Master-Key 39 



over the nerves, since breath, thy say, can enter the 

 lungs only. 



The gross bulk of the air, that which inflates the 

 lungs, does not penetrate through muscles, nerves, 

 and bones. But the subtle force within it, that 

 which is life-giving, renewing, and rebuilding 

 speeds everywhere, an electric, vital fluid; and the 

 more rhythmical the breathing the greater the 

 tendency of all the molecules in the body to yield 

 to this current and move in the same direction, 

 which vastly increases the electrical power. 



The distinction between breath and Prdna is a 

 very subtle one, and most attempts to describe the 

 latter consist of affirmations followed by denials. 

 Even the Swami Vivekananda, who could think so 

 clearly in English that he seemed to have a psycho- 

 logical grasp of Western modes of thought, could 

 not escape the Hindu propensity to strive for the 

 finest conceivable distinction. After saying that 

 the most obvious manifestation of Prdna is the 

 breath, and that " This Prdna is the vital force in 

 every being, and the finest and highest action of 

 Prdna is thought," he concludes by this statement: 

 " And yet we cannot call it force, because it is only 

 the manifestation of it. 



Other writers are equally baffling, yet this need 

 not give us concern. Every one who practices will 

 learn to know Prdna for what it is. To say that 

 breath is " something very different from Prdna " 



