The Esoteric Origin of Pranic Healing
You may have heard of “Pranic Healing”, an alternative holistic system of healing created by the Filipino spiritual teacher “Master Choa Kok Sui”. People today believe he is the “creator” of Pranic Healing. With little evidence the matter becomes clear. While it is true “Master Choa Kok Sui” compiled teachings on Pranic healing, restructured and reformulated it. And even added valuable information which he discovered himself, Pranic Healing existed before him.
Today in order to make money and to monopolize the holistic market, organizations have tried to copyright the very term “Pranic Healing”. But even this term existed before “Master Choa Kok Sui” used it extensively while promoting his healing methods and techniques.
In 1935, Swami Sivananda wrote in his book Kundalini Yoga, the following:
“Those who practise Pranayama, can impart their Prana for healing morbid diseases. They can also recharge themselves with Prana in no time by practising Kumbhaka. Never think that you will be depleted of your Prana by distributing it to others. The more you will give, the more it will flow to you from the cosmic source (Hiranyagarbha). That is the law of Nature”
– Swami Sivananda
Kundalini Yoga (1935)
He further wrote more on this topic and even used the term “Pranic Healing” back in 1900s. The chapter of his book was itself known as Pranic Healing. Moreover he even referred to “Distant Healing” which “Master Choa Kok Sui” also taught in his books. Here’s a short excerpt by Swami Sivananda:
PRANA AND PRANIC HEALING : SWAMI SIVANANDA SARASWATI
“The breath, directed by thought under the control of the will, is a vitalizing, regenerating force which you can utilize consciously for self-development, for healing many incurable diseases in your system, for healing others and for other various useful purposes. Those who practise pranayama can impart their prana to others for healing and also recharge themselves with prana in no time by practising kumbhaka. Never think that you will be depleted of your prana by distributing it to others. The more you will give, the more it will flow to you from the cosmic source, hiranyagarbha. That is the law of nature.
If there is a rheumatic patient, gently massage his legs with your hands. When you do the massage, do kumbhaka and imagine that the prana is flowing from your hands towards your patient. Connect yourself with hiranyagarbha or the cosmic prana and imagine that the cosmic energy is flowing through your hands towards the patient. The patient will at once feel warmth, relief and strength.
You can cure headache, intestinal colic or any other disease by massage and by your magnetic touch.
When you massage the liver, spleen, stomach or any other portion or organ of the body you can speak to the cells and give them orders: “O cells! Discharge your functions properly. I command you to do so.” They will obey your orders. They have subconscious intelligence too. Repeat your mantra when you pass your prana to others. Try this in a few cases and you will gain competence.
You can have extraordinary power of concentration, strong will and a perfectly healthy, strong body by practising pranayama regularly. You will have to direct the prana consciously to unhealthy parts of the body.
Suppose you have a sluggish liver. Sit in padmasana, close the eyes and practise sukha purvaka pranayama. Direct the prana to the region of the liver and concentrate your mind there. Fix your attention on that area and imagine that prana is interpenetrating all the tissues and the cells of the lobes of the liver and doing its curative, regenerating and constructive work there. Faith, imagination, attention and interest play a very important part in curing diseases by taking prana to the diseased areas. During exhalation imagine that the morbid impurities of the liver are thrown out. Repeat this process 12 times in the morning and 12 times in the evening. Sluggishness of the liver will vanish in a few days.
You can take the prana to any part of the body during the pranayama and cure any kind of disease, be it acute or chronic.
Distant healing
You can transmit prana through space to a friend who is living at a distance, provided there is a receptive mental attitude. You must feel yourself en rapport (in direct relation and in sympathy) with the people who you are healing.
You can fix the hour of appointment with them through correspondence. You can write to them: “Get ready at 8 pm. Have a receptive mental attitude. Lie down in an easy chair. Close your eyes. I shall transmit my prana.”
Say mentally to the patient, “I am transmitting a supply of prana” and when you send the prana, practise kumbhaka and rhythmical breathing also. Mentally imagine that the prana is leaving your mind, passing through space, and is entering the system of the patient. The prana travels unseen like the wireless (radio) waves and flashes like lightning across space. Afterwards, you can recharge yourself with prana by practising kumbhaka. This requires long, steady and regular practice.”
Pranic Healing thus existed long before “Master Choa Kok Sui” popularized and monetized it through his courses and books. He did a great service to humanity, there’s no doubt. However, since his passing in 2007 his teachings and ideas have been misused to just run a business enterprise and make enormous amounts of profit. Today poor people in India and in the US cannot afford Pranic Healing. Only the upper middle class and the rich can afford it. This excessive greed and tendency to monetize the teachings and further possessiveness which is evident through the abuse of copyright laws is against esoteric principles. The motive for healing should be service and not self-interest. Healing can never be a profession according to esoteric teachings.
“The process of magnetic healing — when a person has the faculty for it — is only unconditionally effective when it is carried out with genuine compassion for the patient, a compassion that goes right down into one’s organism. If you practice magnetic healing with a real love for the patient, then it cannot be done as a profession.
If real love exists it will always be able to lead to something good, if no trouble arises from another side. But it can only be done on occasions, when karma leads us to a person whom we are able, out of love, to help; then the outer sign may be a laying on of the hand, or a stroking and then what is happening is that the astral body is passing on its forces to the etheric body which then works upon the ether body of the other person.”
– Rudolf Steiner
Furthermore, it is not just “Master Choa Kok Sui” who could heal. Theosophists like Madame Blavatsky, Annie Besant, great Yogis, Kabbalists and spiritual teachers like J Krishnamurti have been know to perform miraculous healing treatments. Pranic Healing is itself a science and an art. It has existed since prehistoric times. It was practiced in ancient India. I was practiced in Egypt. It would be highly erroneous to give all credit to “Master Choa Kok Sui” who is a modern spiritual teacher writing and compiling teachings on this topic. The foundational materials in his research was derived from Theosophy, from the works of Alice Bailey, Rosicrucianism and others. The purpose of Pranic Healing was to lead students to higher “esoteric teachings”. Today that very goal is lost.
Under the guise of spirituality and esotericism, “Pranic healing” has become a lucrative business. The esoteric component has been lost and “Pranic Healing” is now being used solely as a self-help tool like that of law of attraction. It is being used to heal one’s back, to solve quarrel with in-laws, to give a housewife a source of income, to perform financial healing etc etc. It’s focus has been torn away from esotericism. It is today merely a self development tool.
Even the leaders or senior disciples in this field, instead of becoming esotericists and theosophists, have become motivational speakers, life coaches, self-help advocates. Because self-help industry sells and is worth billions of dollars. While an altruistic esoteric philosophy is only for the chosen few and is not for sale.
Students who want to genuinely follow the path must return back to the source of these teachings. They must forget their personal problems and defocus from using spiritual healing only for self-seeking ends. The Theosophical origin of Pranic Healing is obvious. One just has to read the book Esoteric Healing by Alice Bailey. Here’s a short excerpt from a Theosophist:
“Usually it is sufficient to jerk the hands sharply downwards and away from oneself, or the magnetism may be thrown into a BASIN OF WATER, the water afterwards of course being thrown away. The process may be assisted after this preliminary portion of the treatment is completed by washing the hands in water before commencing the next and more positive part of the treatment.”
– A. P Sinnett
Rationale of Mesmerisim
This is the very technique of sweeping taught by “Master Choa Kok Sui” in his books. Yet this is from the time of Madame Blavatsky. There is no doubt Pranic Healing even as a practice existed prior to the arrival of “Master Choa Kok Sui”. Today unfortunately these teachings have been copyrighted and used as a business enterprise. However, a genuine student must take all the hints and must go to the very source of these teachings, that is “Esoteric Science”. There are plenty of life coaches, self-help gurus & motivational speakers all around the world. It’s something cheap compared to the wisdom of esoteric philosophy. Only through esotericism and philosophy understanding of deeper truths is possible. Choose wisely.
"Somebody does not create anything real concerning the social life in truth, who takes out a patent of any achievement and shows this way that he regards the self-interest as significant in life. However, somebody works really for life who is led by his forces to right achievements merely by love, by love to the whole humanity, which he gives his work with pleasure and willing. Thus, the impulse of work must be in anything else than in remuneration."
