The five pranic forces mentioned in our ancient Yoga Shastras are equivalent to the five elements of Nature. A yogi can influence the five elements of Nature if he can synchronize the five pranic forces in his body.

The environment around us is affected by our thought patterns and the pranic energy. Similarly, our mind is also affected by the environment. People who are sensitive can easily understand this and can feel the vibrations at few places. One can do a small experiment to find the difference in vibrations at different places. Try visiting a crowded bar and a temple located in quiet environment. You can easily understand the difference in their vibrations.

One will not be able to remain too long in a house where the family members always shout, quarrel and dislike each other. On the contrary, if the family members love each other and if they are happy fun loving people, then vibrations in such a house will be similar. We feel like staying in that house forever.

Aura is nothing but a distinctive environment surrounded by our thoughts and pranic energy. It can be felt by people who practice meditation a little and can be seen by people who are in the advanced state of meditation. If the auras of two persons are not in sync then they remain at a great distance mentally. That is why we like to make friendship with some people and distance ourselves from few others. We respect some people even without knowing them and many times we find no obvious reason to do so.

A person’s mind and the outside environment influence each other. It is said that in the ancient hermitages, animals which have enmity towards each other lived in harmony. Patanjali Maharshi says in his Yoga Sutras, ahiṁsā pratiṣṭāyāṁ tatsannidhē vaira tyāgaḥ, which means ‘there will not be any animosity in the presence of those who live and practice the state of nonviolence’. A person whose aura is filled with the vibrations of nonviolence can influence the minds of those who come in contact with him and can remove the animosity in them. Lord Buddha pacified a furious elephant with his friendly vibrations when the elephant tried to kill him. He made it kneel before him like a pet dog.

The father of a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna hires a person named Manmath to kill Sri Ramakrishna as he thought that well educated youth were being spoiled by the teachings of the Master. One day, Manmath comes to know that Sri Ramakrishna was visiting the house of a disciple and he waits in the crowd. He devises a plan to kill Sri Ramakrishna as soon as he gets down from the horse carriage. Soon Sri Ramakrishna arrives and smiles at Manmath while getting down from the horse carriage. Immediately, Manmath falls at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna and starts crying. The people gathered around were surprised and could not understand what was going on. Sri Ramakrishna also behaves as if nothing happened. Only Sri Ramakrishna and a few disciples of his inner circle knew the real power that incarnated as Sri Ramakrishna.

From that day, a wonderful change appeared in Manmath. A hired killer that he was disappeared and a new person with dispassion was born. He renounced family life and was immersed in deep meditation and finally left the body as a great soul. After few years of this incident happening, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna wanted to find out as to how Manmath was doing and visited him. He saw Manmath in a meditative state chanting the name of Sri Ramakrishna. The reason why all this is being told is because through the power of mind, one can bring change in a person as well as in the outer conditions.

In Tai Chi, the inner pranic energy is kept in a balanced state with special means. Hence, the house of a Tai Chi master will always be subsistent. Tai Chi theories and Feng Shui theories are one and the same. A house designed according to Feng Shui will have good vibrations. Similarly, the five pranic forces in one’s body are kept in balance with the Nature by following the internal meditation techniques in Tai Chi. The place where such a person lives will also be in a balanced state. Tai Chi, a form of martial art, is based on the ancient Taoist practices. Taoist practices are very similar to Yogic practices, and in particular, Kundalini Yoga.

Our ancestors knew the secret that the environment around us is dependent on our mind and pranic energy. Therefore in the epic of Mahabharata we find that the place where the Pandava brothers resided always flourished. So king Duryodhana and his people plan to capture the Pandavas in exile as they knew that wherever Pandavas resided, that place would never attract famine. Similarly, the king Lomapada invites sage Rishyasringa to visit his country so that there will be rains in his famine-struck kingdom once the sage sets his foot over there.

Richard Wilhelm, a missionary who worked in China during the beginning of the 20th century, narrated an incident that he witnessed, to a famous psychologist Carl Jung. There was a severe drought in the place where Richard lived in China. There were no rains despite the prayers of the people who lived in that region. Then they invited an old person, a rainmaker, from the next province. They expected him to work out a miracle to make it rain, but the rainmaker stayed in a house for three days in silence. There was a downpour of rain from the third day onwards and the entire area was submerged under water.

Wilhelm went to the old person and asked him to reveal the secret. The rainmaker said that he did not do anything to get the rain. Then Richard asked him what he had done in the house for three days. The old man replied calmly, “When I came to this place, the imbalanced vibrations in this region caused disturbance in my energy. That was the reason I meditated for three days to restore the balance of my pranic energy. Through that, the balance in the Nature was also restored and there were rains. This is my secret”. The old man used a Tai Chi procedure as he was a Taoist master.

Our ancestors say that there will be good rains at appropriate times where the righteous people live. This is because the conscience, mind and five pranic forces of a person who follows Dharma (right way of living) will be in stable condition. Therefore the Nature also responds accordingly. These things are out of balance for unrighteous people and so is the Nature around them. They spoil themselves and the Nature. So the Nature also responds accordingly leading to famine and drought.

There exists a direct relation between us and the Nature, though it cannot be seen with the naked eye. The Nature will be in good shape if we live in a way we are supposed to. We spoil our minds and pranic energy thus inflicting the five elements of Nature which is causing destruction to us.

We are destroying ourselves by being proud and arrogant thinking that we gained a lot of knowledge through Science and being a slave to the five senses. Pleasures and enjoyments have increased causing deterioration to health. The diseases are on the rise as there is no stability, equality and good health in human beings. It is no wonder that we cannot find a single person without any health issues. We can understand how much progress we have made that even young kids are suffering with blood pressure these days. In the past, there were not many diseases, not many adversities in Nature, and not much unrighteousness.

We blindly follow foreign culture and feel proud about it, but we never follow their social discipline and social responsibility. By imitating the west blindly, we are marching towards destruction. Nowadays, we hardly find families who finish their dinner before 11 PM. There are people who get mad if they cannot watch television. If all the television channels stop broadcasting for a day, thousands of people will be admitted into mental asylums. It has become a routine in many families to go to bed after 12 AM. Roaming on the streets aimlessly and at odd hours has become a fashion and there is selfishness everywhere. This is the internal state of many people at present, especially in India.

We are spoiling the earth with usage of pesticides and plastic. We are poisoning the drinking water by releasing industrial waste into the rivers. We buy drinking water and discard plastic bottles into the Nature. We pollute the air by releasing dangerous gases from vehicles and factories and by cutting down the trees. We dig the mountains and sell the gravel. Even then, the Nature is compassionate and is saving us from drought and famine by giving rains very now and then. It is not our greatness but Nature’s mercy on us.

Human beings should reach a state of internal equanimity to avoid Nature’s fury in the form of contagious diseases, drought, famine and to have rains at appropriate times. A genuine person is he who does not spoil the Nature but worships it. This is the secret behind our ancestors worshiping trees, mountains and rivers. We are protected by the power of God which is residing in them and thus they became the sources of worship.

We worship Nature which is protecting us as a mother and this is the greatness of our culture. We will be prosperous only when we understand and follow the ancient origins or else there will be destruction.

All rights reserved. This article has been translated by Srinivas N, which was originally posted in teluguyogi.net on August 5, 2009. The content or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express permission of the publisher.