Difference between Prana and Jiva.
Prana is a Sanskrit word for "life air" or "life force". It is present all over the universe both in macrocosm (space) and microcosm (bodies of living beings). Its proper flow in our bodies assures their healthy state.
Prana is a subtle material energy arising from rajo guna. It works as an interface between gross and subtle body, enabling all the psychophysical functions (i.e. animation - from Latin "anima"). This sometimes leads to confusion of prana with jiva. Although they are very closely connected, prana is witnessed by the jiva which is floating in prana in the heart cavity.
Katha Upanisad 1.3.1 says:
rtam pibantau sukrtasya lokeguham pravistau parame parardhechayatapau brahmavido vadantipancagnayo ye ca tri-naciketah
"O Naciketa, the expansions of Lord Visnu as the tiny living being (jiva) and the Supersoul both stay within the cave of the heart of this body. In that cavity the living being, resting on the main prana, enjoys the results of activities, and the Supersoul, acting as witness enables him to enjoy them. Those who are well-versed in knowledge of Brahman and those householders who carefully follow the Vedic regulations say that the difference between the two is like the difference between a shadow and the sun."
Prana's movement leads to jiva's identification with the gross body (SB 4.29.71).
Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.9):
esho anur atma cetasa veditavya yasmin pranah pancadha samviveshapranais cittamsattvam otam prajanam yasmin vishuddhe vibhavatyesha atma
"The atomic soul can be perceived by perfect intelligence as floating in the five kinds of life airs (prana, apana, vyana, samana and udana). When the consciousness (that pervades from the soul through the entire body) is purified from the contamination of the five kinds of material airs, its spiritual influence is exhibited."
Prasna Upanisad:
3.6 In the heart verily is the Jivatma (soul). Here arise 101 nadis (subtle pranic channels). Each of them has 100 sub-nadis. Each sub-nadi has 72.000 branch nadis. The Vyana moves in them.
It might be falsely argued that if the prana or life force accompanies the soul at the time of death, this prana must have no origin, just as the soul has no origin. But this standpoint is false. Prana is created, as the elements of the universe are created. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.8) SB 2.10.15
It might be falsely argued on the basis of certain sastric statements that the prana or life force is the material element air (or the vibration of air, the activities of air or a condition of air). But in fact prana is created separately from that element; the scriptures likewise describe their functions separately. It is thus a special kind of air. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.9) SB 2.10.15-17
It may be falsely argued that the vital prana is itself the individual spirit soul. It is really an instrument associated with the soul for as long as the soul is in material existence. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.10) SB 11.3.39
The vital prana, being neutral and pervading the whole body, has no particular function like the senses. It is the soul's primary agent for governing the senses. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.11) SB 4.16.12
Just as the mind is said to have multiple functions, so the prana has five functions. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.12) SB 4.29.6,7, [mind lodged in sense objects:] SB 11.13.26
It might be falsely argued that the vital prana is all-pervading. Being the agent of the atomic soul, the vital prana is really atomic; thus it leaves the body along with the soul at the time of death. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.13) SB 4.28.24
The secondary pranas activate the physical senses under the shelter of the vital prana, which is moved by the Supersoul. The pranas do not move themselves, nor are they moved by the devas, nor are they even moved by the individual spirit soul alone. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.14) SB 7.2.45, 5.20.28
The Brhad-aranyaka Upanisad declares the individual soul to also be a ruler of the pranas by his enjoyment of them, for instance during sleep. The demigods are also rulers of the pranas because they define the activities of the senses. All this is under the supervision of the Supreme Lord. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.15) SB 3.26.71, 6.4.25
The Supersoul is the eternal controller of the individual spirit souls and the demigods. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.16) SB 5.11.13-14
The vital prana is not a sense organ, though the subordinate pranas may be taken as such because they move through the apertures of the sensory gates. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.17) SB 4.28.56-58
In the Vedic description of creation, the vital prana is distinguished from the senses. Therefore it is not a sense itself. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.18) SB 3.26.54
By the movement of the vital prana, the living entity maintains his conception of the body as the self. Only when the movement of the life air is arrested is the bodily identification submerged in ignorance. Thus is the prana distinguished from the senses, for even if the movements of all the senses are arrested, the bodily identification remains. (Vedanta sutra 2.4.19) SB 4.29.71
Prana is a central concept in Hinduism, particularly in Ayurveda and Yoga, where it is believed to flow through a network of fine subtle channels called nadis. Its most subtle material form is the breath, but it is also to be found in the blood, and its most concentrated form is semen in men and vaginal fluid in women.
Prana was first expounded in the Upanishads, where it is part of the worldly, physical realm, sustaining the body and the mother of thought and thus also of the mind. Prana suffuses all living forms but is not itself the Atman or individual soul. In the Ayurveda, the Sun and sunshine are held to be a source of prana.
Nadis
In Yoga, the three main channels of prana are the Ida, the Pingala and the Sushumna. Ida relates to the right side of the brain, and the left side of the body, terminating at the left nostril and pingala to the left side of the brain and the right side of the body, terminating at the right nostril. In some practices, alternate nostril breathing balances the prana that flows within the body. In most ancient texts, the total number of nadis in the human body is stated to be 72,000.
Pranas
In Ayurveda, the Prana is further classified into subcategories, referred to as prana vayus. These are the vital principles of basic energy and subtle faculties of an individual that sustain physiological processes. There are five pranas or vital currents :
Prana
Beating of the heart and breathing. Prana enters the body through the breath and is sent to every cell through the circulatory system.
Apana
Elimination of waste products from the body through the lungs and excretory systems
Udana
Sound production through the vocal apparatus, as in speaking, singing, laughing, and crying. Also it represents the conscious energy required to produce the vocal sounds corresponding to the intent of the being. Hence Samyama on udana gives the higher centers total control over the body.
Samana
The digestion of food and cell metabolism (i.e. the repair and manufacture of new cells and growth). Samana also includes the heat regulating processes of the body. Auras are projections of this current. By meditational practices one can see auras of light around every being. Yogis who do special practise on samana can produce a blazing aura at will.
Vyana
The expansion and contraction processes of the body, e.g. the voluntary muscular system
Upa-Pranas
In Yoga the Prana is further classified into subcategory Upa-prana with following items:
Naga - burping.Kurma - blinkingDevadatta - yawningKrikala - sneezingDhananjaya - opening and closing of heart valves
Pranayama
Pranayama is the practice in which the control of prana is achieved (initially) from the control of one's breathing. According to Yogic philosophy the breath, or air, is merely a gateway to the world of prana and its manifestation in the body. In yoga, pranayama techniques are used to control the movement of these vital energies within the body, which is said to lead to an increase in vitality in the practitioner. However, intensive practice of these techniques is not trivial. Situations are describe where intensive pranayama techniques may have adverse effects on certain practitioners. According to kundalini yoga, intensive and systematic practice of pranayama can lead to the awakening of kundalini.
Prana and food.
Prana is the life force that creates every single thing on this planet and sustains life. One might say that it is well the cosmic energy that is present in every thing. Prana in our food and the food chain: In our science lesion we had learnt how the energy content of food depletes as it is converted in the food chain in the web of life. The food that the plants and trees produce on their own, the starch and glucose is the highest form of food that is directly synthesized in the smallest food factory in the world – the little green leaf! Thus the food from plants and trees are the ones which are the highest in their energy content and thus have the highest prana. By this, we imply the fresh, off the branches berries, fruits and vegetables dug up from the soil. The fruits and vegetables that reach us in the markets have already decayed a little by continuous handling and the time it has spent in baskets after being picked. Everything living and fresh has an aura of its own. This aura is called bio plasma and has electromagnetic properties. Andre Simoneton, a French engineer divided foods into four general classes on the basis of these electromagnetic waves that they emitted. On a scale of zero to 10,000 angstroms, he found the basic human wavelength to be about 6.5 thousand. Food that emit vibrations or wavelengths that match this scale are considered the best according to scientific research and are classified as first class foods - are fruits, fresh vegetables, whole grains, olive oil. In the next class, food with radiations 6.5 thousand to 3,000 angstroms, peanut oil, boiled vegetables, cane sugar. The third category, with very weak radiations below 3,000 angstroms, is comprised of cooked meats, sausages, coffee, tea, chocolate, jams, processed cheeses and white bread. The fourth category exhibits practically no life force and includes margarine, conserves, alcoholic spirits, refined white sugar and bleached flour.
This is why ayur veda ranks foods in sattva (goodness), tamas (passion), raja (ignorance).
