Sushumna is one of the passages of the nerve-center at the top of the vertebral column running down through the spinal cord. Within this Sushumna is a hollow called Chitra and in this hollow the Divine spirit dwells. This spirit is in all probability the seat of vitality and of life. The other two Nadies are called Idakala and Pingala of which ldakala coiling round Sushumna enters the right nostril, and the other Pingala in like manner enters the left nostril.
The Five elements
According to Hindu science, there are five elements in Nature. They are the original bases of all the corporeal things which when die out or destroyed resolve themselves again into elements. This is in fact just what takes place in the case of dead bodies of animals and thing. All earthly beings live, move, grow and die to be resolved into the five elements again after death. It has already been pointed out that there is a very close and intimate connection between the external world and the internal man. The human body is composed of five elements viz., earth, water, heat, air and ether and is a small world in itself; and so the five elements lie at the root of the external world and the internal man. They are also found in all bodies by the processes of transmutation and union and the following are instances of such transformed conditions:
Earth into bone, flesh, nerves, skin and hair.
Water bile, blood, semen, secretion and sweat.
Fire hunger, thirst, sleep; beauty and indolence.
Vayu contraction, expansion and motion.
Akasa interspaces of the stomach, heart, neck and the land.
In their natural existence, they are crude more or less mixed up and apt to be changed the one into the other. They are the fundamental principles of creation, preservation and destruction in the Universe. They are so very closely connected with one another that they borrow their qualities one from the other and thus each of them has two specific properties of which one is retained as original belonging to itself and the other is that which comes to it from the others. Therefore, as fire is to air, so is air to water and water to earth; and again, as the earth is to the water, so is water to air, and air is to fire; and this is the root and foundation of all bodies and their wonderful functioning.
Every element will be found mixed up thus with the other five elements. One element cannot be viewed dissociated from the other elements. Where there is one element there are other elements also present. This is briefly explained as follows:- Elements are in themselves divided into two halves or parts viz., Physical and Subtle and this subtle is again divided into two equal parts of which one is retained as such and the other part is sub-divided into four equal parts. The process of combination of each of these parts with the retained half in the others is known as five-fold combination, as for instance:-
1 / 2 of Akasa is integrated with the other sub-division of the four elements viz., air, fire, water and earth i.e., 1 / 2 of Akasa + 1 / 8 of the other elements constitute - physical ether and likewise 1 / 2 of air - 1 / 8 of the other four elements constitute physical fire and so on. In this way we get the five elements in mutual combination but with the designation of that which is predominant in each.
This is what is called the theory of Panchikaranam. In fact Panchikaranam is the operation of the five elements in the human body by the varied union of which, according to tatwa system, different operations or acts, of mental faculties or corporeal powers, are considered to be effected. He who knows the principle underlying Panchikaranam will thoroughly understand the qualities of the elements separately and in combination and thus bring to pass wonderful and astonishing results or miracles in the world even as Siddhars do. A Sadhu before us suddenly disappears; and the disappearance, is nothing but etherserving as a barrier between the Sadhu and ourselves brought about by utilising powers in nature and manipulating them to bring about materialisation of things, and redirection of rays of vibration from objects. Herein lies also the secret of the foretelling of things to come, the expelling of evil and the gaining of desired ends; and the knowledge of this secret power is what is called in psychic parlance, which is the West is termed ‘the Perfection of the Cabala’. It is the root cause and foundation for the cosmo-genesis. In Cosmogony, it is the reduction into union and order of chaos or discordant principles of matter, brought about by harmoniously blending together of the five elementary substances. He who knows how to reduce the elements of one order into another, impure into pure, compound into single and vice versa will verily understand the nature, virtue and power of all and every one of the elements.