Translation from English to German by Franz Hartmann, M.D.[1] [2]

Translation from the German to English by Robert Hutwohl

“Here, learned reader, is the key to the Indian sanctuary. It’s a bit rough from the rust. Enter if you dare, if you can, with a pure and clean heart, in spirit as it were clinging to the supreme being and transferred into it. Let the outer senses rest and wake up the inner ones! Your body is dead and sunk in the sea of knowledge and ignorance. According to ancient Indian custom, recognize it as a divine statute that you see nothing but God and there is nothing besides God.” (Ang. Duperron.)

In response to a request expressed by various quarters, we share with our readers the following brief outline of the physiology of the astral body,[3] being conscious, however, that it will be of little use to those readers who have not yet reached a certain stage of spiritual development will be understandable. Nevertheless, knowledge of the secret forces of nature hidden in the human body is of great importance for those who want to become aware of these forces within themselves. For this reason the following lines are written for the practical occultist; for everyone else it has no value.

The subject of this treatise is extremely mystical in nature. The theory relating to this is found partly in the Upanishads, partly in the works of the Siddhas; but whether the assertions made therein are correct can only be decided by someone who possesses the powers they are about, or, to put it more correctly, in whom these latent powers in all human beings have become conscious and active, and who thereby awakened to the inner life.

These powers are by no means of a purely spiritual nature; they belong only to a higher plane of existence. As we have already mentioned several times, seven states, forms of consciousness or levels of existence can be distinguished in humans. The lowest level is the physical, visible, gross material body, the seat of material consciousness and external life, the only one known to the ordinary “material” man. After this comes the “astral body” (Liṅga Śarīra), the “etheric image,” the seat of inner life and consciousness, the very link between the life principle (Prāṇa) and the physical body. It is also known as the “double” because it is perceived separately from the body by sensitive persons under certain circumstances. In the ordinary (normal) human being of our cultural period, the consciousness of this astral body is not active and the “inner man” is not conscious of himself; but with the awakening of astral life in the body there also enters a new and higher kind of consciousness, feeling, and perception known only to the “born again,” and a full description of the organs and powers present in the astral body is found nowhere but in the above mentioned Indian literature.

If, for the sake of simplicity and clarity of understanding, we adopt the three-part division instead of the seven-part division, we have (apart from Parabrahm, which is not personal) three distinct entities or personal stages of consciousness in man; namely:

      1. Sthūla, the gross material body.
      2. Sūkṣma, the astral body,
      3. Kāraṇa, the underlying body of these appearances.[4]

In other words: 1. The body manifested externally, the instrument of external activity; 2. the etheric body formed by desire (for existence and pleasure), the seat of desires; 3. the “thought body,” the seat of mental and intellectual activity. Of course, in this life these “bodies” are not separate but one, and the entrance of consciousness at a higher level depends on the total or partial cessation of consciousness at a lower level. The first (physical) body comprises the three lower fundamental parts, viz. sthūla, prāṇa and liṅga. The second (the “etheric”[5] or “magnetic” body) comprises the fourth principle (kāma) and the lower part of the fifth (manas). The third (Kāraṇa) is the higher manas, in other words, the nobler part of the mind and intelligence.

Since all the lower levels of existence have the cause of their existence in the higher principle, which in turn is rooted in the highest and impersonal, it is necessary first to examine the composition of manas:

Prakriti [Prakṛti] (substance) has three guṇas (qualities), namely:

      1. Sattva, the true and essential, “the light.”
      2. Rajas, the fiery or desire.
      3. Tamas, the folly, ignorance, or “darkness.”[6]

The supreme mind (fohat), acting upon these guṇas, performs a threefold function. Its activity in sattva gives rise to Īśvara (the spirit of truth in nature; nature itself or “matter” is māyā (that which deceives, i.e., appearance); but rajas are called avidyā (ignorance).

The Kāraṇa body is rajas, and by the action of the mind (fohat) it causes the organic activity present in the human body. The Kāraṇa Śarīra is the part of human nature that survives the lower principles and reincarnates. Urged by the desire for existence (rajas), it strives to reveal itself again and again as an appearance in the world of appearances, i.e., to embody, and when exposed to the passions of the world, to initially grasp and enjoy them. Falling into temptation (to earthly existence), it produces first the etheric (astral body) and then the physical body. But in rajas themselves there is again a subdivision of the above three elements, sattva, rajas and tamas, and through the germ of sattva contained in it, this principle is able to rise again to pure sattva (truth) after passing through the lower states of existence overcome and stripped off Sūkṣma and Sthūla.[7] For this purpose the kāraṇa has to overcome both rajas and tamas (i.e., itself), supported by the experiences gained in different incarnations. Then it becomes Sattva (truth).

Thus, speaking in general terms, without going into detail, the kāraṇa is destined to be an expression of tattva; Sūkṣma is the expression of Rajas, and Sthūla of Tamas, representing the origin of matter at the lowest level of existence (ignorance, unconsciousness). This Tamo Guṇa is to be regarded as twofold, namely as Āvaraṇa Śakti (centripetal) and Vikṣepa Śakti (centrifugal), and as the latter power unfolds, it becomes Ahaṃkāra (the personal or illusory self-awareness, the delusion of separateness [Egoity]). From this ahaṃkāra spring the five elements or tattvas; namely: Ākāśa, Vāyu, Tejas, Apas and Pṛthivī, each of which, by virtue of their common origin, also contains its Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and three quarters of the Sattva of each of these elements pertain to the Antaḥkaraṇa. This antaḥkaraṇa is “the bridge” which connects the higher, celestial and immortal with the lower, earthly and mortal parts of manas. It is allegorically represented in the Rāmāyaṇa as the bridge built by Hanuman the Monkey King to get to Ceylon.[8]

This antaḥkaraṇa in its fivefold relationships with the sattva of the five elements has five qualities, namely:

          Ulla, the lowest form of kāma manas. Blind animal instinct.

          Manas, the earthly mind.

          Buddhi, the mind.

          Chitta [Citta], consciousness.

          Ahaṃkāra, self-knowledge.[9]

          Of these five, Ulla was active when man was still at the beginning of his evolution. It belongs to the animal kingdom. The other four have their seats in the human body, and it is from these “central stations” that their activity proceeds. To become acquainted with the various seats of these powers is of the utmost importance to the spiritually evolved man who wishes to gain power to control his own nature; for the everyday man this teaching has no value.[10]

These seats of power are in the forehead between the eyes, in the throat, in the navel, and in the heart, and from them arise uncertainty and the certainty of knowledge, the vacillation of thoughts, and egoism.

The seat of Manas is in the common man between the two eyebrows, and he who wants to control his mind must pay attention to it and master the forces emanating from this seat.[11]

Buddhi has its seat in the pharynx, and the yogi, making it the seat of his consciousness, learns to master that seat by constantly residing in it. It arises from the Sattva of Agni (fire).

In order to conquer egoism the yogi controls the heart, the seat of self-will, and in order to control chitta (imagination), which flows hither and thither through the association of ideas, he descends to the navel.

All this will become more comprehensible when we become acquainted with the various unions of nerve centers (plexuses).

As noted above, three quarters of the sattva of the five elements accrue to the antaḥkaraṇa; the other part serves to form the ear, skin, eye, mouth and nose of the astral body.[12] But the vital forces of the astral body (Prāṇas) are constituted by three quarters of the rajas of each of these five elements, while a quarter of its essence from each of these elements serves to constitute one of the five organs of action of the astral body. Thus a material astral body is created, consisting of the five organs of action, the five sense organs, the five life forces (Prāṇas) and Antaḥkaraṇa.[13]

Now, if we want to use the life force in our body in an intelligent way, the first question arises: How is the action of Prāṇa related to the Antaḥkaraṇa and the Kāraṇa body contained therein? The answer to this is found in the Varāha Upaniṣad, where it says: The Nāḍīs are based on the physical body, for Prāṇa the Nāḍī. Prāṇa is the seat of Jīva, Jīva is sustained by Haṃsa, Haṃsa is the seat of Śakti, the moving universe.”[14]

The life-force in the astral body moves through the nāḍī, which may be likened to nerves or (invisible) telegraph wires, through which flow living electro-magnetic currents, which man directs at will and causes to work here and there in his body; provided that the spiritual consciousness has awakened in him to a certain degree, which enables him to know his own internal organization by feeling. Without this inner realization there is no value in trying to practice hatha [haṭha] yoga. A person who thinks that he can become an adept by holding his breath, etc., is like a fool who thinks that by opening and closing a photographic apparatus one can take a picture without knowing that there is one which belongs to the sensitive plate contained in the apparatus. In any case, since modern science does not even know about the existence of the astral body, of which the human body is the visible expression, it would be very premature to bring hatha [Haṭha] yoga science before its forum, and it must remain “secret” until one has acquired the prior knowledge necessary to understand them.

The main roots of these nāḍī are fourteen and are said to number 75,000 with their branches. Of these fourteen, seven are assigned to the sense organs and seven to the organs of action. In the middle of the solar plexus at the navel there is a place called “kaṇṭha” from which these nāḍī emanate. Of these, three are of particular importance, namely Iḍā, Piṅgala and Suṣumna, and the most important of these is Suṣumna. These three extend high in the head to the Sahasrāra or pineal gland,[15] and from there, descend through the medulla oblongata through the spine to the sacral plexus and return to mūladhāra in the center of the kaṇṭha.

There then takes place in the body a circulation of “soul forces,” or what we might, for want of a more appropriate term in English, call “spiritual” forces, similar to the circulation of blood in the physical body, and as we do in the latter with the aorta, vena cava, etc., we find in the astral body the Suṣumna, Iḍā and Piṇgala, which, however, cannot be demonstrated anatomically with the dissecting knife; because they do not belong to the physical plane, and because our anatomists do not have the perception necessary to perceive them.[16]

Iḍā and Piṇgala accompany the Suṣumna to the middle between the eyebrows, then divide to the right and left and rejoin the Suṣumna at the back of the head. In this way the forces flowing through the Nāḍī arrive at the various nerve centers or plexuses, of which we shall now consider the most important, and of the actual purposes of which modern physiology knows next to nothing:

According to the Upanishads there are six main plexuses; plus the seventh, in which the overall activity of the same culminates. They are the chief seats of vital activity in the astral body and through it into the physical body. In each of them a positive and negative, or in other words, a male and female effect is to be distinguished; excepting in the sacral plexus, in which the force is only male. But above that there is a female power, between this and the next higher plexus, whose name is Icchā Śakti. She bestows mystical powers on man; but only when the masculine power of the underlying plexus is overcome.[17]

In the Upanishads this plexus is compared to a four-petalled lotus flower. The word “lotus” is kamala in Sanskrit, and kamala means “Ākāśa” in the esoteric sense; the four leaves consist of Ākāśa (the principle of sound), but in its inner formation this lotus corresponds to Pṛthivī, i.e., the earth element.

The male power in Mūladhāra is Mūladhāraganapathy,[18] also called Mahāganapathy (the great power), and is to be distinguished from other powers or “gods.” For these Indian “gods” are not, as some of our degenerate students or fanatical theologians imagine, “idols,” but living forces on the astral plane, which every man must overcome before he can attain victory over his own nature.[19] But as it goes without saying, there is no force without matter or “substance,” and therefore each of these forces has the substance to which it is bound and which it is itself, and which belongs to the astral plane.

The next plexus is Svāhiṣṭāna and belongs to the prostate area. It is “six-petalled” and the power seated in it is Brahma.

The third is Maṇipūra or the solar plexus discussed above. This is the “region of fire,” while Svāhiṣṭāna is the “region of water.”

This third plexus has ten petals and is the seat of Vishnu [viṣṇu].

The fourth plexus has its place in the heart and is called Anāhata. In him, Rudra is the ruling power. It is hexagonal in shape and has twelve petals.

The fifth is Viśuddha, in the throat, situated in the gullet, has sixteen petals and represents the region of Ākāśa in spherical form. The ruling power in it is Maheswara [mahā-īśvara, maheśvara].

The sixth is Aguya [Ājñā], the hollow plexus with two petals [lobes], which represents the sixth element (Tattva) and the power ruling in it is called Sadasiva [ṣad-śiva].

The seventh center is Sahasrāra, the “pineal gland,” which has 1000 lotus blossoms.

Each of these power centers corresponds to a tattva, namely:

      1. Mūladhāra (sacral) represents pṛthivī [bhū], “earth.”
      2. Svāhiṣṭāna (prostate) Apas, “water.”
      3. Maṇipūra (solar) Agni, “fire.”
      4. Anāhata (cardial) Vāyu, “air.”
      5. Viśuddha (pharyngeal) Ākāśa, “sound.”
      6. Ājñā (forehead) “intelligence.”
      7. Sahasrāra (occiput) “God” or the primal force, being.

The powers dormant in these cakrams can be awakened by immersing one’s consciousness in them and dwelling “spiritually” in them; a mere reflection on them is of no use, for the mind (manas) cannot penetrate into them. This happens through the (creative) power called Kuṇḍalinī, the awakening of which is very dangerous, even deadly, for those who have not learned to master it. Should any of our readers wish to experiment with hatha [haṭha] yoga, we strongly advise them to start with the top cakrams and go from top to bottom, not vice versa.[20]

Above the sixth plexus or chakram [cakram] is a series of six other closely spaced cakrams to be considered in the practice of Rāja Yoga; and the Mitrayani Upanishad [Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad] teaches us to regard them only as the various views of Para-brahm. Going into the details of this subject is beyond the scope of this article.

The life forces (Prāṇas) which move through the Nāḍī are also sevenfold according to the “Taittitrīya Āraṇyaka.” It says: “From Him spring the seven Prāṇas, the seven Arch is (spiritual light or fire), the seven Samith [?] (burnt offerings), the seven (fiery) “Flames,” the seven worlds and the seven “Sevens.” Since we lack not only the words in German, but also the concepts, it would be in vain to try to explain the matter; on the other hand, it is easily understood by anyone who finds his spiritual guide within himself, since he is able to teach him.

Prāṇa, das materielle Leben, ist der Sitz von Jīva, dem geistigen Leben. Der Hatha [Haṭha] Yogi sucht Prāṇa und dadurch Jīva zu beherrschen; der Raja Yogi beherrscht Jīva und dadurch mit Leichtigkeit Prāṇa. Es ist viel leichter, das Äussere durch das Innere, als das Innere durch das Äussere zu beherrschen; am besten ist es aber, beides zu thun. Wer z. B. im Zustande geistiger Gespanntheit ist, dem “steht der Atem still”; andererseits kann durch “Stillehalten des Atems” geistige Anschauung befördert werden, aber ohne die Mitwirkung des Geistes ist das blosse Anhalten des Atems ebenso thöricht, als wenn einer glauben würde, sich dadurch zum Gelehrten machen zu können, dass er ein Buch in der Hand hält. Yoga (Selbstbeherrschung) und Gyana (Selbsterkenntnis) sollten Hand in Hand gehen, und es ist gefährlich, sich mit der Lebenskraft zu schaffen zu machen, ehe man weiss, was man dabei thut. Die Materie ist nicht dazu da, den Geist zu bewältigen, sondern der Geist soll über die Materie herrschen und sie sich nutzbar machen. Jīva geht in den höheren Manas über, wenn derselbe sich von seinem niedrigen Selbst befreit.

Prāṇa, the material life, is the seat of Jīva, the mental life. The Hatha [Haṭha] Yogi seeks to control Prāṇa and thereby Jīva; the Rāja Yogī controls Jīva and thereby Prāṇa with ease. It is much easier to rule the outside from the inside than the inside by the outside; but it is best to do both. who e.g., is in a state of mental tension, “the breath stops”; on the other hand, spiritual vision may be promoted by “holding still the breath,” but without the cooperation of the Spirit, merely holding the breath is as foolish as believing that by holding a book one can make oneself a scholar. Yoga (self-mastery) and Jñāna (self-knowledge) should go hand in hand, and it is dangerous to tamper with the vital force until you know what you are doing. Matter is not there to conquer the spirit, but the spirit should rule over matter and make use of it. Jīva passes into the higher manas when the same liberates itself from its lower self.

Above Prāṇa is Haṃsa,[21] the vessel of Jīva in spiritual aspiration toward the Divine, symbolized by ॐ OM. Then come the Śakti, six in number, that is, Icchā, Kriyā, Kuṇḍalinī, Jñāna, Parā and Mātṛkā Śakti, from the mastery of which the various magical powers (unknown to the European) spring once Icchā Śakti is first overcome. The most important of these forces is Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, a force capable of both “creating” and killing. Also in the body are three “secret fires,” that is, Koshtagni [koṣṭa-agni], Jñānāgni [Jñāna-agni], and Darisanagni [?-agni], each of which again has first three and then fifteen subdivisions or branches, which also have their corresponding manifestations in the visible world. Their seat is the sacral plexus, and they may be termed “earthly” (sensual), “electrical,” and “heavenly” fire. By the power of the “heavenly fire” the earthly passions (Kāma or Icchā Śakti) are “burnt up.”[22]

One who has purified the Iḍā, Piṇgala and Suṣumna Nāḍī by Jñāna and Prāṇāyāma, sees how the passions, which are astral entities, rise through the Nāḍī to manas and disturb its balance, and when he conquers them by the power of his spiritual will, he gains power over his nature. This gives the adept the power to leave and return to his body at will. When he has complete mastery of his breath, his life, and his desires, he can create or reproduce an astral body for himself at will; he lives in his Kāraṇa Śarīra and draws upon himself the powers called “Jñāna,” “Para” and “Kriyā Śakti” to finally enter the Ocean of Consciousness, Light and Will, which is nothing but the pure Sattva, the truth which is reality itself. The purpose of the practice of Hatha [Haṭha] Yoga is the attainment of mystical powers, the purpose of Rāja Yoga is the attainment of self-conscious immortality.

Notes:

[1] Hatha [Haṭha] Yoga. The physiology of the astral-body. [K. Narayanaswamy Iyer [Aiyer], “Hatha [Haṭha] Yoga. Die Physiologie des Astralkörpers.” Translation from English to German by Franz Hartmann, M.D. Lotusblüten 2, no. 14 (1893), 797-823. {This article was reformatted from the original. I have modernized many, but not all, of the Sanskrit words to the current scholarly form. Translation from the German by Robert Hutwohl, ©2025}

[2] In order to comprehend the subject with which we are concerned, we must first realize that the external life and thought of man, however much he is learned and cultivated in external things, is nothing but one Dream life is, and that everything this outer man does, all his knowing and willing, loving and hating, thinking and researching are nothing but dreams. There is only one thing in man that is true, essential, and self-conscious, and that is the God-man in him. Only when God has become conscious in man can we speak of true self-awareness in man. The spiritual powers spoken of here therefore do not belong to the earthly man but to the spirit man, and the earthly man can get to know them in no other way than by coming into possession of them, and he cannot by any means come into possession of it in any other way than by attaining union with the divine self-consciousness at work in him. This union is called yoga (from yog — to unite). But whoever is united with his God can say with the apostle: “I live, yet not I, but Christ the Lord lives in me.”

[3] {R.H.—The author defines, but based on assumption that the reader knows this because probably his main readership is theosophical, the astral body is the etheric double = liṅga-śarīra = the model body for the physical body, i.e., the physical body is a densification of the etheric body. This was how H. P. Blavatsky defined it in her day.}

[4] See, Lotusblüten, IV: “Vorträge über die Bhagavad Gita.”

[5] {R.H.—Traditional Theosophy does not call this “etheric.” Instead, this body is the kāma-rūpa or body of desire. “Etheric” is applied as part of the physical-liṅga composite, comprising the seven sub-planes of the physical plane and it functions on the upper four sub-planes of the physical plane.}

[6] “Sattva, Rajas and Tamas are the three Guṇas or forces of nature which arise from Prakriti [Prakṛti] and by which the eternal spirit is bound during its incorporation into the body.” (See Bhagavad Gītā, Ch. XIV.)

[7] The above will be understandable to those who have got to know the truth in themselves as an uplifting force. Physics, of course, has nothing to do with the soul-uplifting power of the sense of truth, and we therefore need no corroboration of this theory based on material science.

[8] Among the German mystics, Jakob Boehme expresses himself most clearly about this antaḥkaraṇa, the thread (Sūtrātma), which connects the true in man with truth, the immortal in earthly man with the higher being of divine man:

“The celestial body of souls is of the pure element (Sattva), from which the four elements are born, and gives “flesh,” and the tincture (fohat) gives blood; the heavenly man is in flesh and blood, and paradise is power of substance; it is heavenly earth, incomprehensible to our outer reason.

“Not all have Christ’s flesh (Buddhi Manas) hidden in them in this world, in old Adam (Kāma Manas), and probably not one in very many, only the newborns, who have gone out of their will into God’s will, into which the noble grain of mustard (wisdom) has been sown, there a tree has grown.

“Most souls leave the body without Christ’s body (Ātmā Buddhi), but they are hanging by a thread (Antaḥkaraṇa) and in their belief they have finally come into will; whose souls are in the spirit in the image, but not in the flesh.” (Forty Questions, XXI, 6, 7, 8.)

“Now when death comes and cuts the body and soul apart, the poor soul is hanging by a thread and will not let up, and its essence is still deep in God’s wrath (kāma); the thread of belief (sattva) in the new birth is very feeble. Then the bridegroom says: Come! Thus speaks the poor soul: I cannot yet; my lamp (my self-confidence) is still undecorated; however, she holds the Savior (Ātma Buddhi Manas) by the thread (Antaḥkaraṇa) and places her imagination through the thread of faith and confidence in the heart of God for her eventual salvation.” (“Of the Three Principles,” XIX, 44, 45.)

The German mystics are most likely to become clear by comparing their teachings with Indian philosophy, since through the same we learn what it is really about.

[9] The German designations reflect the meaning of these Sanskrit words only very imperfectly, since the terms for spiritual things are missing in our modern languages.

[10] The lower cannot control itself; man controls himself only by standing on the side of his higher nature and allowing his lower nature to be controlled by his higher nature. Violent suppression of instincts without elevation leads only to hypocrisy. The passions suppressed in this way become all the stronger and finally break out.

[11] Anyone can convince themselves of this and what follows by trying it out. Further, no “proof” is needed.

[12] Since the astral body is the etheric image of the physical body, it has its organs, like the latter. But just as a man cannot be active on the physical plane as long as he is physically a child, unable to help himself, so the astral body too only becomes capable of moving freely and acting independently when life and consciousness become active in it and the inner senses awaken.

[13] The five bodies of action are:

Jīva (vāch), tongue (speech).

Hastan, hands.

Pāda, feet.

Vāyu, organs of deposition.

Upastha, organs of procreation.

[14] All this requires a more extensive explanation than space permits. The Nāḍī are in the astral body what the nerves are in the physical body; one might call them “magnetic currents.” Prāṇa is the life force in the material sense, as distinguished from Jīva, which means the mental life force. Haṃsa is a term for Parabrahm and could perhaps be translated as the “holy spirit.” Śakti is the omnipresent force or energy in the universe.

[15] The pineal gland (conarium), situated above the corpora quadrigemina and connected to the thalami optici, is the organ of spiritual vision which has been greatly reduced in our present age. Its shrinkage is particularly promoted by the consumption of wine, beer and alcohol, since these substances have a paralyzing effect on nervous activity.

[16] The Suṣumna in the Kāraṇa Śarīra is about the same as the heart is in the material body, namely the seat of circulation. As the blood goes to and from the heart, so the “soul” circulates through the Kāraṇa Śarīra.

[17] All of this is allegorically represented in Indian mythology and also contained in the Bible. For example, the “seven churches” or “congregations” in the Apocalypse refer to the seven seats of life force in the human organism. Also contained in the understanding of these relationships is the scientific explanation why the occultist striving for spiritual development and strength must live chastely and overcome his sexual instincts.

[18] {R.H.—Ganapati (gana = group) is also known as Gaṇeśa.}

[19] However, in India these forces are often represented externally through symbols, just as we represent words through letters; but the letter is not the power of the spoken word, and the image is not the life force represented by it.

[20] These cakrams have their connection with the seven forces of nature in our solar system, which are symbolized as “planets” as follows: Mūladhāra corresponds to Saturn, the element of “earth”; Svādhiṣṭhāna, Jupiter, of the soul; Maṇipuraka, Mars, the fire or power; Anāhata, Venus, of attraction or “love”; Viśuddhi, Mercury, the mind; Ājñā, Luna, the mind which is changeable like the moon; Sahasrāra, Sol, the Sun of Wisdom.

[21] In the books of the Rosicrucians and mystics, Haṃsa is symbolized by the pelican feeding its young with its own blood.

[22] The secret, mystical or magical powers in man are:

  1. Paraśakti, the supreme creative force.
  2. Jñānaśakti, wisdom or self-knowledge, intelligence.
  3. Icchāśakti, mental self-aware willpower.
  4. Kriyāśakti, the creative power of thought.
  5. Kuṇḍalinī Śakti, the universal life force.
  6. Mātṛkāśakti, the magic of the word.

All these powers are known only to those who have become conscious of them; modern science knows nothing about it.