About Prāṇāyu
Prāṇāyu is a humanitarian non-profit organization recognized by the French and Indian government, independent of all economic, political, and religious associations.
Prāṇāyu is mobilized for the protection of life and health encompassing knowledge, traditions, primitive ecosystem and forests, biodiversity, agrodiversity, most effective medical sciences, education and transmissions, and all that sustains the most fertile future for all living being.
The seed of the Pranayu projects has been inherited from the millenary medical and yoga traditions from Āyurveda and Prāṇāvāya, emerging from infinite compassion from our humanitarian forefathers and from the Life force itself.
Pranayu projects started to sprout, thanks to the support and the work of the various associations, universities, researchers, professors, scientists, farmers, social workers, in France and in India, thanks to the members of the Sādhanā association, and thanks to the scientific knowledge shared with the founder Dr. Noémie Delagrange.
The seed of Pranayu project founded initially in the ancestral forest which is home to Soolpaneshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Gujarat, is also now growing in the primary ancient forest of Karnataka- the Shayadri. These venerable forests carry the heritage of holy fauna and flora species, Ādivāsīs, yogis, rishis and hold the key to both the history and the future of humanity.
Since 2009, several people have joined hands with us in sharing the ambition to carry out solidarity projects and Prāṇāyu officially came into being in 2018 marking stronger growth in all its projects.
Prāṇāyu is the union of two Sanskrit words: prāṇa (essence, force) and āyu (life) and can be understood as the essence of the original Life force. Inspired by a synonymous word Prāṇāvāya, both are archetypes of Ahiṃsā-āyurveda - the Life science based on non-violence. Click here if you wish to know more.
Prāṇāyu enables empowerment, health, and sustainable development through effective, simple, and non-violent means by ensuring the transfer of agro-ecological and medicinal knowledge (Āyurveda).
See the Svāstha project
Prāṇāyu is mobilized for the protection of biodiversity, agrodiversity, the balance of ecosystems, and all the conditions essential to human health and life. It works to promote food security that involves:
- Availability of processing food products
- Economic and geographical accessibility of food
- Optimization of micro nutritional intake to ensure food quality
- Enduring stability of the three preceding objectives
It endeavours to save and safeguard human lives, rare and unknown species of seeds, resources, ecosystems, biodiversity, and knowledge that promotes Life. It ensures rigorous ecology practices: sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and preservation of seeds with nutritional and therapeutic properties.
See the Jīvabīva project
Prāṇāyu is invested in fighting malnutrition (quantitative deficiency) and micro-nutritional inadequacy (qualitative deficiency) for the vulnerable segment of population of India. It helps the people from this segment recover and develop sustainable livelihoods by equipping them with the means to provide for themselves.
See the Ādivāsī project
“Life” as we understand it is rapidly shrinking into extinctioṇ. Enagaged in reforestation projects to preserve earth’s fragile biodoversity with the help of indigenous tribes -Ādivāsīs and local communitieṣ, Pranayu is seeking support and help to create more awareness campaigns.
See the Vanasprajñā project
Passionately involved with child protection and education, Prāṇāyu is involved in opening an ayurvedic gurukula orphanage. It sees child development as a delicate and privileged responsibility that encompasses a holistic contemplation on physical, mental, and ethical health.
See the Vatsa project
Etymology
Prāṇāyu is the union of two Sanskrit root words: prāṇa and āyu.
Prāṇa reflects all these words: vital force, vital breath, breath, energy, vigour, original essence, nature, soul, spirit, wind, power, ability, value, strength, potential, gift, efficiency.
Āyu reflects all these words: life, liveliness, being alive, creature, longevity, health, life force, vigour, lineage, food, nourishment.
Prāṇāyu, for example, can be interpreted as the essence of original life force. And it embodies this through means of ahimsā (non-violence) as means and goal.
Sanskrit also called Devbhasha (language of the Gods) is the ancestral language of India whose first texts date back to c. 2 millennium BCE.
Historical references:
Prāṇāyu is also the name of a dissertation on medical and biological sciences that has sadly been lost but is referred in many manuscripts that are available today.
The name of 12th Pūrva, Prāṇa-pravāda-pūrva, Prāṇāvāya-pūrva, Prāṇāyupūrva is an attestation of the word Prāṇāyu.
According to many historians, this tradition is the work of a people that are the direct heir of the civilization of the Indus Valley (IVC) whose archaeological traces date back to the dawn of the Neolithic era or the transition to sedentary agriculture (70TH century BCE that is circa 7000 BCE or more that 9000 year from now).
The civilization depository of this science contributed different schools of thought: Śramaṇa (equanimity, listening), Yoga-Mārga (yoga path), Mānava-dharma, Mārga (way), Ṛṣabha-dharma (philosophy of Ṛṣabha), Vrātya (those born from spiritual vows), Ahiṃsā-dharma (philosophy of ethic and non-violence), Arhat (meritorious), Ᾱtma-dharma (philosophy of the deep self), Nirgraṇṭha (without attachments), Gymnosophist (naked ascetics) , Jaina-dharma (philosophy of the victorious), Anekanta-Mata (multi angular thinking), Syādvāda-Mata (thought with multiple potentialities).
