The entire universe, including our bodies, is composed of five fundamental elements – ether or space, air, fire, water, and earth. These are collectively known as panch tatva or panch mahabhuta, where panch stands for 5 and and tatva or bhuta refers to the elements of the body.
If you understand how to properly maintain these five elements, you can take care of health, wellbeing, perception, knowledge, and even reach enlightenment.
To maintain balance between the five elements, regular cleansing or purification is essential. This process is known as Bhuta Shuddhi.
In this article, we will discuss the method for practicing Bhuta Shuddhi and how you can focus on purifying specific elements in daily life.
What is Bhuta Shuddhi?
The Sanskrit word “shuddhi” means cleansing or purification, while “bhuta” refers to “something that possesses physicality.” In this context, it refers to the elements that make up the body.
Bhuta Shuddhi is a spiritual yogic practice which aims to purify or balance the proportion of five elements in the body. Bhuta shuddhi’s objective is to liberate the yogi from his or her earthly origin and pave the way to greater levels of consciousness so he or she can become one with Brahman.
The mind, body, and spirit are cleansed and brought under control through bhuta shuddhi.
An accumulated foundation of information known as the karmic substance or Samskaras has a significant impact on the five elements that make up your body. The goal of purifying the elements is to rid them of acquired karmic material.
You can get bhuta siddhi, which signifies command over the elements if you cleanse the elements to a specific level.
Benefits of Bhuta Shuddhi
Purifying five elements of the body is a pathway to promoting physical and mental well-being. Bhuta Shuddhi can help you maintain your energy levels and balance the body’s constitution.
A few, but powerful benefits of bhuta shuddhi are as follows:
- Maintains harmony and balance in the body and mind system.
- Improves immunity.
- Creates a calm environment within the mind for deeper states of meditation.
- Purifies the Nadis or energy channels and balances Prana flow within them.
- Helps relieve hormonal imbalances.
- Allows the system to deal with high-energy scenarios.
- Improves the physical body’s, mind’s, and energy system’s potential.
- Establishes the foundation for total control of the human system.
Steps for Bhuta Shuddhi
Sadhguru’s Isha Foundation also offers Bhuta Shuddhi rituals, known as Panch Bhuta Kriya, at the Dhyanalinga on the 14th day of every lunar month. This kriya is taught step-by-step by trained and expert Isha teachers, and can be practiced at home as well.
However, if you do not want to attend the Isha course, there is another simple way to practice bhuta shuddhi. Through chakra meditation and chakra bija mantra chanting, you can effectively carry out the bhuta shuddhi procedure.
- Sit comfortably in a meditation position with a straight and well-aligned head, neck, and torso.
- Close your eyes and focus on the Muladhara or root chakra.
- Imagine a yellow square encircled by four petals and a kundalini that is resting.
- Engage the Mula bandha and mentally chant “lam” which is the bija mantra for root chakra. Chant it for no less than 16 times or 3-4 minutes, keeping your focus on the rising kundalini.
- Visualize the kundalini rising to the Svadhishthana (sacral chakra), the water element’s dwelling.
- Imagine an ocean-blue circle with a white crescent moon in the center and six petals surrounding it.
- Mentally repeat the bija mantra, “vam,” at least 16 times keeping the image in your mind.
- Imagine the kundalini further rising to the Manipura (solar plexus chakra), the seat of the fire element.
- Imagine a red triangle pointing upward, surrounded by ten petals in a circle. Chant the bija mantra, “ram,” at least 16 times in your mind.
- Let the kundalini ascend further until you reach the Anahata (heart chakra), the abode of the air element.
- Imagine a hexagram formed by two smoky-gray triangles ringed by a twelve-petaled lotus.
- Visualize jiva, the individual soul, as a flame in the center and mentally chant the bija mantra, “yam,” at least sixteen times.
- Ascending further, the kundalini reaches the Vishuddha (throat) chakra, home of ether or space element.
- Visualize a sky-blue circle surrounded by a sixteen-petaled lotus and mentally chant “hum,” sixteen times.
- The kundalini has now reached the Ajna (third-eye) chakra. Imagine a circle enclosing a yellow triangle with a bright white flame and surrounded by two petals.
- Mentally repeat the mantra “so hum” 16 times.
- The kundalini finally reaches the Sahasrara (crown) chakra, where all colors, forms, and shapes have dissolved. It is the center of pure consciousness and beyond the realm of mind.
- Here you will imagine a thousand-petaled lotus with a pinkish aura emanating bright white light.
- Mentally chant “hamsa” or “OM”.
Also Read: Correct Way of Chanting OM
After the chakra manifestation meditation, you would need to carry out 3 rounds of pranayama. The steps are described as follows:
- With your right-hand thumb, close the right nostril.
- Take a deep inhale through the left nostril and mentally chant “yam,” the bija mantra of air, sixteen times.
- Close both nostrils and hold your breath. Chant the bija mantra 64 times while holding your breath.
- Open the right nostril and slowly exhale. Chant the bija manta 32 times.
- This completed the first cycle of pranayama.
- For the 2nd and 3rd cycle, chant “ram” and “vam” respectively following the same breath count and breathing pattern as above.
- As you inhale, you can visualize the color of the chakra. While retaining the breath, imagine this light cleansing the elements from the impurities which are then let out through the exhale.
Allow your consciousness to gradually sink toward the lower chakras once you’ve completed these three cycles of pranayama. The kundalini has completely purified the energies and elements and stimulated them to emerge.
Cleansing the five elements in daily routine
Besides the previous method, you can also incorporate small habits into your routine to make sure that you are in touch with the elements.
Following the below-mentioned tips for each element will also ensure that you are taking part in the subtle bhuta shuddhi.
Earth element
Maintaining direct contact with the earth is important as this is where we live. It is also the source of our food. Thus, staying grounded and in contact with nature is of utmost importance.
Allow your bare hands and feet to come into daily contact with the ground.
Spend at least a few minutes barefoot in the garden, touching plants or trees. Regularly take a walk to a location where you would feel the grass beneath your feet.
Fire element
Getting enough sunlight every day is a simple way to purge the fire within you.
Every day, light a diya to cleanse your home of all negative energy. You can also say your prayers while sitting around this lamp. This will make you feel more relaxed, compassionate, and upbeat.
The lamp can also be used to cleanse your aura. For aura cleansing, stand facing the fire with open hands and eyes for three minutes and then with your back to it for three minutes.
Water element
We can only appreciate it if we purify the water even before enters your system.
Make sure you’re drinking clean, bacteria-free water. Whenever you drink it, put it through a filter.
Make it a habit to conserve water.
Store some water in a copper container overnight, away from dirt, odors, and other contaminants, and drink it when you wake up. This is not only good for you, but it will also help to detoxify your gut.
Air element
It’s crucial to breathe clean, bacteria-free air. Deep breathing exercises can be done first early in the morning to help you achieve this.
You go for a walk in the park, along the lake, or along a river every day for a few minutes, depending on what is accessible to you.
Get out of the city and into a more natural setting. Connect with nature and engage in activities that need vigorous breathing.
This is especially crucial for developing youngsters since it improves the stability and strength of the body.
If you can’t get out of the home every day, you can do some simple breathing exercises once a day.
Ether or space element
Water, air, earth, and fire are all finite resources, but the ether realm is infinite. Your perception and intelligence will both grow as your connection to its increases.
Whenever you do something positive, you improve your space element.
Another potent method is to look at the sun, after sunrise and just when it is at a 30° angle and bow down to it in reverence.
Look up and bow down again when the sun reaches a 30° angle during the day. Look up at the sky within 40 minutes of sunset and bow down once more to the etheric space that holds everything in place.
Conclusion
Bhuta shuddhi should be done with a feeling of dedication and love, not as a form of exercise. Every other yogic practice is built on this foundation. It is necessary to cleanse your senses regularly to feel intellectually and physically healthy. This easy everyday practice realigns your system at the atomic level.