गोविन्द भाष्य (श्रील बलदेव विद्याभूषण - अचिन्त्यभेदाभेद वेदान्त ब्रह्मसूत्र भाष्य सटीक)

Purport by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa The principal prāṇa (life-force) is neither air nor the movements of air. Why is that? The sūtra explains: "Because the teaching is that it is different". The previously quoted passage of the Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad (2.1.3) said that both air and prāṇa are born from the Supreme. In this way it should be understood that air and prāṇa are different, for they are mentioned separately. If air and prāṇa were identical, then there would be no need to mention them separately in this passage. If prāṇa were the movement of air then there would also be no need to mention them both in this way. It is seen that the movements of fire and the other elements are not separately mentioned in this passage. The statement of the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad, that "Prāṇa is air" means that prāṇa is a specific kind of air, and that prāṇa is not a separate element, like fire and the other elements. That is the meaning here. In the Kapila-sūtra (2.31) it is said: sāmānya-karaṇa-vṛttiḥ prāṇādyā vāyavaḥ pañca "The five airs, beginning with prāṇa, perform that actions of the senses in general." Thus the saṅkhya philosophers claim that prāṇa performs the actions of all the senses. This cannot be, for it is not possible for the single prāṇa to perform all the actions of all the senses. Adhikaraṇa 6 The Principal Prāṇa (Life-Force) Is An Instrument Used By the Soul Introduction by Śrīla Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa In the Bṛhad-āraṇyaka Upaniṣad it is said: supteṣu vāg-ādiṣu prāṇa eko jāgarti. prāṇa eko mṛtyunānāptaḥ. prāṇaḥ samvargo vāg-ādīn samvṛṅkte. prāṇa itarān prāṇān rakṣati māteva putrān.