The Aura — the Vital Envelope that Surrounds the Physical Body

0:02 For those people who only treat as real things they can directly perceive with the physical sense organs, the aura is considered to be some kind of fantasy of imagination. The aura, a vital sheath or envelope that extends beyond the boundaries of the physical body, has therefore long been the province of psychics and Mystics, however. In recent years, science has developed methods to determine the existence of the aura, and this has gone a long way toward debunking the idea that the aura is simply an illusion. Curlean photography was one of the developments that showed an energy field around each living being.

0:47 Various measuring devices have proven that there is an electromagnetic field that indeed extends beyond the physical body. The Aura represents an interface between the vital nature of the being and the vital force that circulates in the environment or that directly presses into the world from the native plains of the Vital. As the Seeker becomes able to experience and recognize these more subtle, energetic actions, he begins to experience the effects of the Aura, which provides yet another confirmation of its existence. For instance, an individual may feel pressure that seems to be an illness building up in the body. With close observation, this can be seen to actually start out as a pressure on the vital envelope surrounding the body. Action taken to strengthen the aura's resistance capacity at that moment can reject the illness and other than a few sniffles or coughs.

1:54 Or some pressure, such as a slight headache. The individual does not actually get sick. Failure to act at this stage, or even undertaking actions which undermine the strength of the aura can lead to a full blown illness in the physical body. Illness is but one example. Other vital forces may try to invade and undermine the vital nature of the individual. Causing emotional disturbances or nervous breakdowns, a strong and vibrant aura can withstand these attacks and help the individual pass through difficulties and traumas relatively unscathed.

2:40 While there are thoughts, emotions and physical pressures which can undermine the aura, there are also those that can strengthen the aura, providing thereby a strong level of protection. An experiment was undertaken to take curly and photographs of an individual's aura in a normal state and then, after some period of concentrated chanting in Pranayam. The difference in just a few minutes of focus, breathing and chanting was clear and obvious. The aura gained in brightness, intensity and depth.

3:20 The mother writes Quote The vital body surrounds the physical body with a kind of envelope which is almost the same density as the vibrations of heat observable when the day is very hot. And it is this which is the intermediary between the subtle body and the most material vital body. It is this which protects the body from all contagion, fatigue, exhaustion. And even from accidents. Therefore, if this envelope is wholly intact, it protects you from everything but a little too strong. An emotion, a little fatigue, some dissatisfaction, or any shock whatsoever is sufficient to scratch it, as it were, and the slightest scratch allows any kind of intrusion. Medical science also now recognizes that if you are in perfect vital equilibrium, you do not catch illness or in any case you have a kind of immunity from contagion. If you have this equilibrium, this inner harmony which keeps the envelope intact, it protects you from everything. There are people who lead quite an ordinary life, who know how to sleep as one should, eat as one should. And their nervous envelope is so intact that they pass through all dangers as though unconcerned. It is a capacity one can

4:54 cultivate in oneself. If one becomes aware of the weak spot in one's envelope, A few minutes concentration, a call to the Force and inner peace, is sufficient for it to be all right, get cured, and for the untoward thing to vanish. End Quote Reference Sriorobindo and the Mother Our Many Selves, Practical Yogic Psychology, Chapter 2, Plains and Parts of the Being, pages 16 to 17.