02/02/2024
The 5 Elements of Life
“Life is the Fire that burns and the sun that gives light.
Life is the Wind, the rain and the thunder in the sky.
Life is matter and is Earth,
that which is and that which is not, and that which is beyond, is in Eternity.”
Lucius Anneus Seneca
The main structure of every life form is based on the 5 great elements: Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.
In Sanskrit these elements are called Panchamahabhuta, a term formed from the words “Pancha” (Five), “Mahat” (Great), Bhuta (Elements).
Ether, or quintessence, is the original element, through whose movement Air is generated, which contains the idea of space. Air, through its movement, causes friction and transforms itself into Fire, which expresses the idea of light. Fire, densifying, becomes Water which manifests the idea of life linked to light. Water, whle densifying, transforms itself into Earth which expresses the form inherent to the idea of life itself.
The 5 Elements are therefore nothing more than different states of densification starting from a single large element, which is Ether.
Their presence, in different quantities, determines the differences and characteristics of everything that exists.
Human beings themselves are composed of the above mentioned 5 elements which, according to Ayurvedic medicine, are directly linked to the state of health. Through correct nutrition, breathing, practice of meditation, Yoga and Mudras, it is possible to maintain a balance of Panchamahabhutas in the human body.
But what are the main characteristics of each element?
Ether (Akasha)
“We live in a sea of subtle energies: we can become aware of them and learn to use them.
Ancient cultures understood that we live in a vast sea of energy.”
Nikola Tesla
The qualities of the Ether element include light, subtle and immeasurable, expansion, vibration.
This is the imperceptible field that hosts all manifestations, the place where all things take shape.
Air (Vāyu)
“Praise be to you, O Lord, for Brother wind, and for cloudy and clear skies, and all kinds of weather,
which bring sustenance to all your creatures”
(Francis of Assisi – Laudes Creaturarum, 12-14)
The qualities of the Air element include expansion, openness, creativity, freedom.
Air is linked to the sense of constant movement, it is thin as it is invisible, it cannot be grabbed and held. Mediator between Fire and Water, according to alchemists it allows to give rise to the sulfur of philosophers, if combined with Fire or to Mercury, if combined with water.
Fire (Agni)
“Heretic is not he who burns in the fire, but he who lights it.”
William Shakespeare
The qualities of the Fire element include transformation, purification, combustion through which impurities are burned.
Fire is a dynamic element, it contains within itself the masculine principle that permeates everything and vivifies everything, its strength would become destructive if it were not balanced by Water.
Water (Jala)
“The dripping of water carves out rocks, not with force but with its persistence”
Publius Ovidius Naso
The qualities of the Water element include flexibility, fluidity, in fact in its liquid state it is flexible, it changes its shape, adapting to circumstances, bypassing the obstacles it encounters on its path.
Water in the form of vapor rises towards the sky and becomes impregnated with astral energies, before falling back in the form of rain on the earth, fertilizing it with the energies captured in the subtle dimension.
Earth (Prihtvi)
“We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children”
Ancient Native American saying
The qualities of the Earth element include solidity, firmness, stability, corporeality, help in grounding.
Earth is the element of the whole of nature in its three kingdoms, mineral, vegetal and animal. It is considered the most sacred and divine of the elements, as it symbolizes primordial matter.
By fully reconnecting with the Panchamahabhuta, we will live a harmonious existence with ourselves and with the Whole, since in every human being there is a microcosm which is nothing other than the reflection of the macrocosm.
In the light.
Naturidei
