Vayu and the Maruts

Wisdom Teachings
Sublime Beings
The Art of Breathing
Book: Lessons on Secret Doctrine 3: The Maruths

The ‘Secret Doctrine’ describes the process of emergence and of mergence of creation as the breath of the creator, Brahma. The impulse for creation emerging from the pure existence causes the expansion of space which leads to the unfoldment of creation as the exhalation of the creator. His inhalation leads again to the dissolution of creation, to the return into the cosmic person. This movement of expansion and contraction happens according to the law of pulsation existing in the whole cosmos. It is also described as the fiery breaths of the creator. The Eastern wisdom calls this breath Vayu, the cosmic intelligence of air. Vayu is the cause of the pulsation of life, which brings about movement in space.

The first impulse for creation is called Rudra, the lord of vibration and of the cosmic Will. On the supra-cosmic plane Rudra appears as Agni; on the cosmic plane as Vayu, the airy or gaseous element. On the solar planes, the vibrations of Vayu appear as seven winds called the Maruts, and on the planetary planes as the sunrays. So the sequence of their appearance is Rudra – Vayu – Marut. Rudra exists in the Maruts as the power of wind; therefore he is also called the Wind God.

Vayu transforms the pulsation of the great breath into a spatio-temporal pulsation. It makes the time cycles appear and gigantic periods are brought about: one breath of Brahma consists of 14 Manvantaras (ages of the world). Each Manvantara consists of 72 Maha Yugas (great eons), and each Maha Yuga consists of 10 units, which form 4 Yugas (4 Krita, 3 Treta, 2 Dwapara, and 1 Kali).

H. P. Blavatsky gave out the wisdom of Vayu and the seven Maruts. The knowledge is scattered in various writings. But we cannot understand what has been said in the books and not realize the connections until we work with the vibration of the pulsation in us. Only when we connect to these intelligences, they reveal themselves to us; because we are a microcosm and they are alive in us, too. The moment we recognize them, they will respond to us and begin to cooperate with us. Here, we try to recognize their importance for our evolution and to approach their subtle reality; however, their full beauty cannot be described completely.

Vayu is the basis for the experience of any of the seven planes of existence. Vayu is not the air, but the principle according to which the air moves in space. The element of air is regarded as the true lord of creation, as it directs the pulsation of life. In yoga, this air is considered to be the force that can lift us to the highest plane, but it can also blow us away, if we do not cooperate with it. In the Aquarian Age related to the air element the power of air enables a particularly rapid evolution. The air element builds the bridge between the individual consciousness and the oceanic consciousness. In the groups of the WTT we sing every morning and evening the Vedic invocation “Samno mitra …” There we greet the air and say, “Namaste Vayu, Twamewa Pratyaksham Brahmasi.” This means: “O Lord of the Air, I offer myself to you. You are the only direct manifestation of Brahman, the Absolute God. In fact, you are the link between me and the Sun God.”

The cooperation with the wind element is very important. If the wind is favourable to us, the journey of the soul is full of joy. It is helpful to invoke the source of the seven winds and to familiarize ourselves with the meaning and the names of the seven Maruts, since the names carry a sound aspect in themselves. It is said that by establishing an order among them you achieve the power to establish order among human beings.

The seven Maruts represent the sevenfold aspect of Vayu. They conduct the seven planes in man, the microcosm, and also in the macrocosm. All pulsations exist in the super-soul which we meet in us on the seventh plane, the head centre. The seventh and highest of the Maruts is Paravaha; he is the pulsation of the super-soul. Para means beyond and Vaha means carrier. VAM is the seed sound of the air element. The pulsation of the individual soul is Parivaha, the sixth of the Maruts, counted from below. The sixth plane in us is the seat of the soul, the Ajna centre. While Paravaha permeates the entire universe, Parivaha permeates our entire system and goes beyond. The Marut Parivaha is connected to the electrical line on our forehead, which goes from the brow centre to the hairline and stands for the higher sign of Aquarius. With the help of this Marut the soul moves up and down.

In the body, the soul acts through pulsations which we know as the five Pranas - Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana and Vyana. These five Pranas, together with the soul and the super-soul are connected to the seven Maruts. The Maruts give the ability to move in all planes of existence when we are in harmony with the Divine.

Inhalation and exhalation are the grosser manifestations of Prana and Apana; they are connected to the two Maruts Avaha and Nivaha. We inhale through the force of the movement of Avaha, and we exhale through Nivaha. The movement of inhalation goes from the nostrils via the brow centre to the navel. The movement of exhalation works in the region below the diaphragm. Avaha means entering, Nivaha means exiting, and Pravaha, the third of the lower Maruts, means flow. These three Maruts are related to the three lower etheric centres. They are of dual nature and can cause chaos if they are not properly balanced. Like a flood-stream carrying along dross and breaking the banks, the winds of Pravaha can sweep us away. We then get into a whirlpool of problems because we enter into situations with a misunderstanding, at the wrong time or under the wrong circumstances. We might start wrong and unhealthy relationships with the other gender, get into mood swings and create problems through misunderstanding that make us think that life appears to be not worth living. The world, however, is beautiful. If we live as we should live, then we can also experience the beauty of the world. The goal of the Masters of Wisdom is to express the kingdom of God on earth, and they live it as well.

The three lower Maruts must be brought into balance by the fourth Marut, Samvaha. The equilibrating air has its seat in the heart centre and extends to the solar plexus. Samvaha is related to the fourth level, Buddhi, and acts through the pulsating principle in the heart, the Samana Prana. Sama means balance, equilibrium. If we relate to the pulsating principle in the heart by observing our respiration, we gain inner balance and equanimity. Samvaha also relates to the balance of food and drink and the change in our orientation from selfishness towards selflessness. Thus, the energies of the Maruts ascend from the lower pole of Libra to the air of Gemini and finally reach the Aquarius-centre in the head. Samvaha leads to ascension through the fifth Marut, Udvaha. Udvaha is related to the Udana Prana. Udvaha is the upward movement that can take us up through the spine. It also causes coughing, sneezing and belching. Udvaha leads vertically upwards from the heart principle until it finally reaches the head centre. Therefore in yoga, the fourth Marut is of great importance. When we reach the Ajna centre with Udvaha, we meet Parivaha which is related to Vyana Prana. So we can get in touch with the higher circles as well as with the lower circles; it leads to the penetration of all levels.

There is a being on the Earth who carries all seven Maruts in himself and who in Lemurian times came down to the Earth together with the Sons of Will to help humanity. He is called Maruti; we know him as Hanuman.

Together, the Maruts are more powerful than the directional intelligences, and even more powerful than Indra, the Lord of the East. In the Eastern Scriptures the birth of the seven Maruts is described in a poetic way, the deeper meaning of it is only known to initiates: Kasyapa, the on-looker of all, has two wives, Aditi, the Queen of Light, and Diti, the Queen of Darkness. In truth, there is only one woman who appears as day and as night. After Aditi had given birth to the twelve Devas of radiation, Diti came to Kasyapa at dusk and wanted a child by him which would be stronger than the children of light. Kasyapa said, the time would bring a power of destruction. However, Diti insisted. A fiery energy entered into her womb. Kasyapa told her that she must follow strict rules during pregnancy and she agreed. When Indra saw that in Ditis womb grew a being dangerous for creation, he came to her and asked to serve her. When Diti once neglected her spiritual discipline and while sleeping, Indra pierced into her womb. He did not want to kill the being, but divided it into seven parts with his thunderbolt, in order to weaken its power. During the division they began to scream wildly. Indra said to them, “Ma ruta” which means, “don’t scream”. When the mother awoke, Indra told her not to curse him, he did it for the sake of creation. Her son would be more powerful than himself, and he would always be his friend. So the seven Maruts were born.

Sources: K.P. Kumar: Lectures on Secret Doctrine 3: Maruths / notes from seminars. The World Teacher Trust - Dhanishta, Visakhapatnam, India.