NAVEL NAABHI . KANDA

The word Navel, Naabhi, Kanda features in mythology stories, Yoga Gyan and even in today’s science. Demon King Ravan had Amrit in his navel. Creation of Brahma is from Vishnu Naabhi. The whole Shrishti, Universe revolves around Vishnu Naabhi. Manipur Chakra or solar plexus or Naabhi chakra is the life force in the human body. Imagine even today’s science believes in preserving the umbilical cord. It is unbelievable that 72000 Nadis have their roots and spread throughout the body from the Navel also called Naabhi or Kanda. The word Naadi has its roots in Sanskrit meaning hollow stalk. Naadis are basically ducts, channels which carry throughout the body the panch prans, the five life giving airs together with water, nutrients and other substances. All Nadis originate from one of the two centres either the Kanda Sthaan situated a little below the Navel or from the heart. Kanda means bulb or root. Just think of it we cook Kand Mool Phal in our everyday kitchen. Kand Mool are root vegetables or tubers that grow below ground e.g. potatoes, Shakargangi, Gajjar, Moolies, Turnips etc. Imagine there is a Ram Kand Mool available in the hills of Chitrakoot which Shri Ram, Sita and Lakshman used to feed on during their vanvas, exile, staying under a thatched roof. Sidh Purush, Sadhus, Brahmins live on Kand Mool Phal. Just below the Navel there is an egg shaped bulb called Kanda. From it 72000 Naadis are said to spread through the body. Also 101 Naadis radiate from the Atma – the soul – which is the size of a thumb and is dwelling in the heart. From each of 101 Naadis emanate 100 subtler Naadis. They move in every direction and have countless outlets and functions. According to their functions they have different names. ALAMBUSA connects the mouth and anus. KAUSIKI one of the Naadis terminates at the big toe. May be Kausiki Naadi deposits unused Uric Acid in the big toe and hence in today’s pathology the first sign of excess Uric Acid is the left big toe. PUSA terminates at the right ear and the function is hearing. SARASWATI Naadi terminates at the tongue and controls speech. Remember our elders always took Gods name all the time with a belief that Saraswati Naadi comes alive once a day and at that moment anything said becomes truth. In rural India due to this belief even children’s name were kept with a deity or God suffix like Ram Kripa, Kali Charan since you never know when the Saraswati Naadi will come alive. The Shiv Samhitha mentions 3,50,000 nadis of which 14 are important. The three most vital naadis are IDA, PINGALA and SUSHAMNA which starts from the Kand Staan. In today’s era of science Nadis and Chakras are discounted as myth. It is just like if you never seen a radio or a television you cannot imagine they can pick up signals from invisible electromagnetic waves in air. In reality your body is like a radio set and can receive pranic energy as a clear well tuned radio.

In Sanskrit Chakra means the wheel. The Manipur Chakra is located in the Navel. The word Manipur translates into ‘Jewel City’. It’s exact location is 2 inches above the Navel. It is the seat of fire within the body and is the life force. Manipur Chakra is the centre at the level of the Solar Plexus. It is also called Gorakhnath Nabhi Chakra because Navnath Yogi Gorakhnath was beyond Maya, seeking God on an evolution path, having experienced the Sushumna Nadi at the centre in the Navel. As per Shiv Samhita contemplating on Manipur Chakra not only conquers disease and death but also acquires the ability to enter another body. One simple exercise to heal the imbalance in Manipur Nabhi Chakra is visualize your breath moving in and out and chant the sound of name ‘Ram’. Since the Bija mantra of Manipur Naabhi Chakra is ‘RAM’. Samaan Vayu is the vital breath of Manipur Naabhi chakra, and moves in a circular rotating manner in the stomach. Also in Kundalini Jagriti, the awaking of Kundalini power, the first knot, Brahma Ganth (knot), is found in this Naabhi Chakra. The great Yogi Shri Yukteshwarji places Manipur Naabhi Chakra in the Lumbar Plexus which is where the Navel, in other words Naabhi, is found and is termed as the BELLY BRAIN in ancient texts. Imagine Naabhi or Navel or Kand is also a brain. There are some mythical stories connected with Naabhi or Navel. After Maha Pralay, Great Dissolution, total Annihilation, the entire Shrishti goes into total darkness and pitch black. The first sound is ‘OM’. It is the Time when Time itself is unborn and nothing – literally nothing exist, moving or static. The whole Space is asleep and Narayan is at the centre of it, resting on Anant Sheshnag when from his navel grows a lotus flower, Naabhi Kamal, and Brahma appears sitting on it or you can say is born. Tulsidass in Ramcharitra Manas “Lanka Kand” mentions that Demon King Ravan had Amrit in his Navel. Ravan performed an intense penance to Brahma, lasting several years. Brahma pleased with his austerity appeared and offered him a boon. Ravan asked for immortality which Brahma refused to give but instead gave him the celestial nectar of immortality. Hence the nectar of immortality stored under his Navel which was Amrit Kund, dictated that he could not be vanquished for as long as it lasted. Vibhishan, youngest brother of Ravan was a Ram devotee. It was he who told Shri Ram that he could only kill Ravan by striking an arrow at his Navel. Ram struck an arrow at Ravan’s navel and dried up the reservoir of Amrit in the Amrit Kund and then beheaded him once and for all. The above story of Amrit Kund in Ravan’s Naabhi is authenticated by a mysterious energy center in the human body called Bindu Chakra or moon centre which is referred to as the eighth chakra. This fountain of eternal youth has Amrit stored in it and is the most remarkable energy centre in the human body. Bindu Chakra is located below the Sahasrara Chakra and above the Ajna Chakra at the back of the head near the top where Brahmins grow their tuft of hair.

When this energy centre sleeps it is similar to a dot and hence the name Bindu which means a dot. When awakened its energy begins to drip or flow. The precious Amrit or Nectar drips straight into the fire called Jatar-Agni of the Manipur Naabhi chakra and is burnt before its effects develop. Moon stands for Bindu chakra and the sun for the Manipur Chakra hence the sun is in the Navel or Naabhi and the moon is in the head. Thus the nectar that comes from the moon is consumed by the sun. The nectar or Amrit from the Bindu chakra is constantly being destroyed in the fire of the Manipur Naabhi Chakra.

This is why the Rishis, in ancient times, sought methods by which this valuable Amrit could be gathered within the body and its benefits utilised. They found that they could control the flow of Amrit with the help of the Vishuddhi Chakra and the tongue. The tongue possesses subtle energy centres, each of which connects to a specific part of the body or organ. It is the same way as it works in Homeopathy where the medicine and its beneficial effects are spread through the whole body via the energy channels in the tongue. One can catch this precious Amrit with the tongue through a technique known as Khechari Mudra. In this the tongue is rolled back as far as possible until the tip of the tongue reaches deeply into the nasal cavity scientifically termed as Pharyngeal cavity. Thus the Amrit that drips down from the Bindu Chakra is caught by tightening the muscles in the pharynx since then the air cannot flow freely. In this way the yogis are capable of living without food or water even for 70 years or more. There are Yogis who eat no food and are nourished exclusively by the nectar from the Bindu Chakra. It seems Siddh Yogi Saint Deora Baba who lived on the banks of Yamuna river in Vrindavan city had mastered this technique because nobody had ever seen him eating any food. He was known as ageless yogi, some say more than 300 to 700 years old.

Bindu Chakra with Amrit stored in it is located at the back of head near the top or crown where Brahmins grow their tuft of hair called cow lick. The word cow lick was coined since when cows lick the tender skin of their calves, the hair on the calve’s body results in a swirling patterns in the hair.

Interestingly some people have two cowlicks or two unruly locks of hair in a spiral pattern, sticking straight out from the skull, indicating the existence of two energy centres. These people often possess exceptional vitality and creativity, but on the other hand can also be inclined towards hyperactivity and extreme nervousness. My grandson Vir Gupta has two cowlicks. At the age of 5, unlike other children of his age, he would be playing with toys which run on solar energy. He made a “Battery Robot Man” out of discarded discharged pencil cells battery as a display in my office cabin.

In one of the family parties he sat for over 4 hours creating a toy Robot, not bothered of the din fun and noisy activities all around. Snacks and yummy food laid did not bother or distract him. He was just focused. At our family farm, Vir Gupta has been hyper sensitive of darkness and night walks. His child paintings always had monsters and destructive Villains from popular Hollywood movies. I have seen all such straights in him from childhood and I believe he is no ordinary child right from his childhood. I have conveyed this to his parents Shabnam and Puneesh.      

His choices of toys were Transformers Robot. There were multiple complains from Jamnabai School councillors of Vir’s odd non normal behaviour with girls, classmates and teachers. Vir did not fit in the normal schooling, growing up, but found comfort in his own world of imagination including robot making workshops. His energy levels were hyper. He may be a genius as he grows. All this perhaps due to 2 Bindu or moon Chakras with 2 times the Amrit stored in them. I remember our mothers used to layer ghee on the Taalu, soft portion of the upper most skull region, mentioning it is good for the new born baby. I have seen this little circular portion vibrating with the layered ghee in toddlers. Also when a child is restless and will not go to sleep it helps to gently massage the Bindu Chakra with soft circular movements for a few minutes – the child will soon become quiet and sleepy. It seems that the Bindu chakra is in the sub conscience of the Indian families especially Hindus. So also is the case with Naabhi or Navel or Belly button. Just to think of it the umbilical cord is also called Navel string. During pregnancy, the umbilical cord functions as a lifeline between mother and child. After a baby’s delivery, the cord blood present in the umbilical cord is a rich source of stem cells which can treat many medical conditions. Many parents for a healthy future of the baby preserve these stem cells at birth itself and bank them in cord blood banking system prevalent in today’s society. The importance of Naabhi or Navel starts from one’s birth itself.

In rural India and older generations we were told about Dhooni Dharan or Naabhi Hilna or Naabhi Sarakhana or Naabhi Chadna which all meant Navel displacement. Dhooni is navel and Dharan is a kind of sprain. You can check if your navel is displayed by measuring with a thread the distance between left nipple and navel and then campare it with the distance between right nipple and navel. If it is not same then you have a displacement of navel. There are yogic exervises, Ayurveda treatments etc to cure it. I myself have corrected the distance, by just putting a garvi (pitcher) on my navel and from lying position rise upto half sitting position. Oiling your Navel 2/3 times a day has different health benefits. Frankly in India the importance given to the navel is a household phenomenon, so also in today’s modern society. The Universe includes planets, stars, galaxies, all space and time. The size of the Universe is unknown.

The size of the observable Universe is estimated to be 93 billion light years in diameter. It is also possible that Universe is a part of larger Multiverse. Since in Hinduism shrishti com[1]prises of all Universes, Multiverses and all that exists hence the size of the Shrishti cannot be fathomed. In the Shrishti lies Vishnu. The Shrishti moves around Vishnu Naabhi as its centre. From the Vishnu Naabhi the Shrishti is divided in to 12 sections or 12 Rashis. There are different Universes or Multiverses rotating as one star through the 12 Rashis of Shrishti with Vishnu Naabhi as the centre. The fate of these Universes or multiverse are governed by these 12 Rashis Fate such as ‘Maha Prahlay’ ‘Total Anmilation’ ‘Complete Dissolution’ of any particular Universe or Multiverse is governed by these 12 Rashis.

Our Sun and the planet is one of the hundreds of billions of star in the Milky Way. There are at least hundreds of billions of galaxies in the Universe comprising the Milky Way. A galaxy is a collection of stars. Our Sun with its planets lives in a galaxy called the Milky Way. The disk of our galaxy is whirlpool shaped. Our Sun with its planets is a little over half way from the center. Our Sun is one of about 200 billion stars in the Milky way galaxy alone. I do not remember from where I have picked up this piece of information and hence cannot vouch for its credibility. It is connected with Vishu Naabhi. The earth sky is divided into 12 parts with earth as the centre which form our 12 zodiac signs like Aries, Pisces etc., The earth and the all the planets in the solar system rotate around the Sun which is like a Naabhi or Navel of the solar system. The earth takes 12 months to go around the Sun once with this rotation the other planets are accordingly placed in different 12 parts of the earth sky depending upon their rotation cycle period around the Sun. For example Saturn or Shani takes approx 234 years to go around the Sun once. Hence it stays 234 divided by 12, approx for 19 years in each Zodiac sign and thus in Vedic Astrology “Shani Mahadisha” or Shani effect is for 19 years. Thus human destiny is governed by the solar system Naabhi. Now imagine all the planets in the Solar system including the Sun are conceived interpreted or believed as one planet or one Sun rotating around an imaginary point in space the 2nd Naabhi in the Universe. This Universe sky again is divided into 12 parts with the 2nd Naabhi as the centre. Hence the solar system rotates as one planet around the 2nd Naabhi through each of the 12 parts of the Universe sky. These 12 parts decide the fate of the earth like Pralay or Dissolution. Now Maha Vishnu is sleeping in the cosmos Aakash of the Shrishti. Again the 12 parts in the Universe sky are now seen as one planet or One Sun rotating around Vishnu Naabhi in Shrishti Cosmos Aakash. Thus the fate of the Shristi is decided with this cycle of time calculated around Vishnu Naabhi. Thus Maha Prahlay or Great dissolution or total Annihilation takes place with the Vishnu Naabhi time cycle.