Vital airs pervading in the entire bodily system and controlling the various physiological processes: (1)perceiving, receiving and accepting impressions and things from without; (2) rejecting and throwing away that which the subjective life does not want or does not like to retain; (3) helping the digestive system building flesh, bones and blood; (4) controlling the circulatory blood system, and (5) lifting the mind and intellect to higher and nobler flights in the realm of pure consciousness of the spirit. 'Pranas' are distinct from 'swasas' or 'breathings', the grosser manifestation thereof.