FIVE ELEMENTS

When we look to the beauty of nature, we find that five elements provide the foundation for the entire physical world. Ayurveda recognizes these elements–Space, Air, Fire, Water, and Earth—as the building blocks of all material existence.


Whether walking headfirst into a gale of wind or digging our hands into the soil, we possess an inherent familiarity with the elements. All organic and inorganic substances are combinations of these elements, be it a time-polished rock or a shiny piece of plastic. Every object is unique because it contains a varying ratio of the five elements.
Ayurveda also observes the five elements within the human body. We nourish ourselves with foods from the Earth, and eventually, our body returns to the earthly matter from which it came. Water is our life-sustaining nectar, making up more than 70 percent of our total body mass. Fire provides the body with heat and radiant energy and exists within all metabolic and chemical actions. Air flows freely throughout the body, giving movement to biological functions and feeding every cell with oxygen. Space is ever-present, humbly residing in the background, providing the other elements with an opportunity to interact in this way.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, the Water element encompasses more than the substance we call water. It also embodies the physical qualities, biological functions, and energetic properties of this element. For example, Water is liquid, heavy, soft, and cohesive. It governs all bodily fluids and is necessary for chemical reactions to take place in nature. On the subtler levels of the mind and emotions, Water relates to a calm personality and promotes love, compassion, and contentment.

The Five Elements explain why substances of the natural world are harmonious with the human body. We easily utilize plants, herbs, minerals, and water, because these substances are the same in composition and character to our own underlying make-up.


About Vaastu Science / Vaastu Shastra - Relation with Five Basic Elements:
We all agree that the whole universe is made up of five basic elements, the Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Space. Our body is also made up of these five basic elements of nature also known as panch-mahabhootas.

The panch-mahabhootas are related to our five senses of smell, taste, hearing, touch and sight. Any imbalance in our external and internal Vaastu translates into unhappy situations. Vaastu teaches the individual to live in balance and harmony with the panch-mahabhootas.

Prithvi (Earth)
Human beings have a natural and emotional affinity with the Earth. The Earth revolves around the Sun and has gravitational and magnetic force. Scientists have proved that earth is a huge magnet with two poles-North pole and South pole.

It has also been proved that the human body is a 'magnetisable' object with a large percentage of iron in the blood. As we all know, opposite poles of a magnet attract each other and same magnetic poles repel each other. The Vastu principle of placing the head in South direction while sleeping is based on earth's magnetic property.

Jal (Water)
After earth, water is the most important element. It is linked to our senses of taste, touch, sight and hearing. It is quantitatively the largest of the five elements, as more than 80% of our body and two-third of earth's surface is water. Most ancient civilizations came up close to rivers and water sources.

Vastu provides important information about the placement of water sources like wells, boring, underground water tank, overhead water tank etc, while planning the house. Positions for drainage of water, septic tanks, sewerage, drains etc. are decided carefully to optimize the benefits of water element.

Agni (Fire)
Sun is the most vital source of energy and light. It is the soul of the universe. Fire element "SUN" is related to our sense of sound, touch and sight. It is difficult to imagine life on earth without Sun.
When the Sun rays combine with water, they get additional benefits. it is, therefore, recommended to have a water source in North-East direction.

To block North-East corner of your building is depriving yourself of most beneficial rays of Sun and has adverse results. The ultra-violet rays normalize the metabolism of the body.

The ancient ritual of "Surya Namaskaar" wherein the beneficial rays of Sun become more potent when seen through fresh water offered to Sun god.

The late afternoon and evening Sun with the harmful infrared rays should be avoided. It is recommended by Vastu to have tall and big trees in the South so that harmful rays of Sun are blocked.

Vayu (Air)
The Air or Vayu is vital for our survival. Our sense of sound, touch and feel are related to Air. The air on earth is a mixture of various gases like nitrogen, oxygen, helium, hydrogen etc.

Oxygen is vital for human beings and nitrogen is essential for the growth of plant life which in turn provides oxygen.

Vastu recommends proper placement of doors, windows, ventilators, balconies, height of structure and placement of trees and plants for balancing the Air element within the structure.


Aakash (Space)
Vastu is the only body of thought that gives Space the status of a natural fundamental element. Vastu Shastra is, therefore, superior to any modern or traditional school of architecture in the world.
It is related to our sense of hearing, in a house, space element is related to the centre portion or the brahmasthan. It is important that brahmasthan be kept open and light. Any disturbances in the space element affects your growth.


Natural Way of Living
Monday, June 8, 2009
Five Elements of Nature in our Body
Five Elements of Nature Air, Water, Earth, Space and Fire along with various other forces of Nature sustain life and maintain equilibrium in this Planet. Imbalance in any of these Elements of Nature leads to chaos. An invisible equation operates within and outside these Five Elements of Nature to maintain the equilibrium on this Planet.


These five Elements of Nature viz. Air, Water, Earth, Space and Fire exists in our body too. Like Nature, imbalance of any of these Elements of Nature in our body too leads to the destruction our health or life. Let us examine in detail, how these Elements function in our body.
(1) The Air:



Air occupies first place in our body. No living being can imagine surviving without the presence of air. A human body consists of two respiratory organs called Lungs. The principal function of Lungs is to transport oxygen from atmosphere in to the bloodstream and release carbon dioxide from bloodstream to the atmosphere. Any irregularity in the respiratory organs leads to death. I believe everyone agree to this point. Therefore, avoid smoking of cigarettes or any other form of harmful tobacco to keep your lungs healthy and last longer. Perform breathing exercises of Yoga called Pranayam every day under the guidance of an able instructor. Pranayam gives ample exercise to your Lungs, thus keep them healthy.


(2) The Water:



The second vital Element of Nature in our body is Water. Water occupies 68% space of our body in different forms of fluid. If the body is put to work, the water level of the body gets reduced. You need to refill the required amount of water to keep yourself healthy. Our body informs us about the requirement of water by different means. 99% of us do not understand its indication until our throat gets dry. Drying of throat and mouth is the last indication by our body to refill its water levels. Urinary inflammation, change of urinary color into red or yellow, bad urinal odour, too much of sweat from body, frequent headaches, drying of throat and mouth etc are the symptoms or indications by our body to refill its water levels. 99% of us drink water only when our mouth and throat dries up. Dr. Mantena emphasize on drinking 5 to 6 litres of water a day because the body loses 2 litres of water a day even by sitting idle without any work. People whose work involves physical activity should drink a little more water than prescribed 5 or 6 litres. But there should be a process of drinking water. If the water is not taken in a procedure, it will do more harm than the good. Do not drink water immediately before eating food, while eating food and after eating food. Drink water half an hour before and two hours after every food you take. Drink as much of water as u can after two hours and before half an hour of eating food. Drinking water during and immediately after eating food dissolves our digestive gases creating problems of indigestion as well as the nutritional enzymes of our food will be excreted from the body along with urine instead of reaching our blood cells.
(3) The Earth:


Third important Element of Nature in our body is Earth. Here Earth is referred to our food from soil. The earth provides us the food to survive. Take all the nutritious and healthy food on this planet, it comes out of soil. There is no better food for humans than the food derived from soil. All the vegetables and fruits are grown from the soil of the Earth. Therefore, soil food is the God made food for human beings. When our ancestors in the past moved out of the jungles in search of their livelihood, they got away from the vegetables and fruits. In order to survive, they had to switch over to animal food in the absence of vegetables. But today, thanks to the development of infrastructure, every fruit and vegetable is available at our yard steps. Still we are ignoring the God gifted food like vegetables. Eating more volume of vegetable curry with less volume of rice is always recommended because the vegetables possess the substance that cleans our intestines. Eat Healthy and Live Healthy.
(4) The Space:


The fourth important Element of Nature in our body is Space or Vaccum. You need vaccum for everything in your body. Need vaccum to eat food, need vaccum to transfer the food to bloodstream etc. Naturopathy suggests eating less and living healthy. You may wonder how? Well… the logic is simple. Identify that food which contains more proteins, vitamins, minerals and all other enzymes and eat them in less number. There is a proverb in Telugu, “Okka saari tine vadu Yogi! Rendu saarlu tine vadu Bhogi! Moodu saarlu tinevadu Rogi” which means a person eating once is a Yogi (master in Yoga), person eating twice is a Bhogi (the one who enjoys all the fruits of sacrifice) and the person who eats thrice is a Rogi (a patient). There is a popular belief in India that the volume of food for humans is predetermined by the God in the Heavens. Once the determined volume of food is consumed by him, he will be taken away from Earth. The digestive system of a body too needs rest. The less you eat, the more it relaxes. This helps in increasing the resistance levels of your body which in turn keeps you away from diseases. Our ancestors had experienced and proved this fact. If you look at the Yogi’s and Sadhu’s living in penance at Himalayas, there were evidences that they lived for and above 100 and 150 years of age. Many Saints have sacrificed their soul and entered into Jeeva Samadhi at their will. If we look back to our grand parents we still find them healthy and doing all their work themselves. That is because they ate less and ate well. Creating a vaccum in the stomach is always beneficial for the body. Dr. Mantena Satyanarayana Raju recommends fasting at least once a week to keep the body clean and healthy. According to him the body has an automatic self cleaning mechanism. Once the body is kept on fasting for a day or two, it cleans itself and relieves you from diseases on its own. Fasting increases the resistance capacity of your body which in turn keeps you away from diseases.
(5) The Fire:


Fire is the fifth and final Element of Nature in our body. Fire refers to as Energy or Strength. We need the fire power to work and stay fit. The absence of fire in our body leads to ill health. The God has given this wonderful Element within our body, which increases the more you spend. You get more energy the more you work. If you observe the people whose work involves severe physical activity are comparatively stronger than the people who work at offices under Air conditioners. In India, among large sections of the community there is a misconception about health. Many feel health is actually connected to wealth. Therefore, people who look big in size are considered healthy because they afford to eat all the expensive and healthy food. But the fact is totally different. Physical activity of our body is must to gain strength. It can be done either by way of exercises or by any other work which involves physical activity.


As long as the man maintains equilibrium of these five Elements of Nature in his body, he remains safe and healthy. The moment he creates an imbalance in any of these Elements, he suffers. When ever there is imbalance in any of these five Elements of Nature we see havoc like Earth Quakes, Storms, and Drought etc. When ever a human tried to disturb the nature of these Elements, he paid for it weather it might be his planet or his body. In order to stay fit and healthy do respect and follow the rules of the body. Perform regular Pranayams to keep control of respiratory system, Drink 5 to 6 Litres of Water a day in the above prescribed manner, Eat healthy and hygienic food derived from the mother soil, Eat less and Keep on fasting atleast once a month to create vaccum in your stomach and work hard physically to gain strength. Those who follow these simple things need no doctor through out his life.