Acharya Mahaprajna
Colour and Cosmology
What is Colour?
To answer the basic question "What is colour?" we must begin with the nature of light itself, because we see colours only by means of light, whether natural (that of sun) or artificial (that of a lighted bulb or tubelight). According to the wave-theory, light is electromagnetic energy radiated in the form of a wave travelling away from a luminous object, i.e. the source of light. Sunlight, which appears white, is a mixture of different kinds of light, each kind being of one pure colour. When sunlight enters a glass prism, one of the most beautiful of phenomena occurs. From the other side of the prism comes not white light, but every colour in the rainbow, from red to violet with orange, yellow, green, blue and indigo in between. This display of colours is called a white light spectrum or visible spectrum. When white light, which is a mixture of different kinds of light passes through a prism, different colours are bent by different amounts—red the least, violet the most, and the other colours by an intermediate amount. Each colour has its own specific wave-length and frequency. These two are inversely proportional to each other. The wave-length of red is longest while that of violet is shortest. Waves slightly longer than visible red colour are called infrared while those shorter than violet colour are called ultraviolet. But all the colours of visible light together with infrared and ultraviolet represent only a small part of a band of radiations extending from high-energy X-rays to low energy radio waves. The higher the energy, the shorter the wave-length. The following table shows the wave-length and frequencies of the visible spectrum:
| Colour | Wavelength | Frequency (Vibrations per second) |
| Red | 7400-6200 A° | 400-500 x 1011 |
| Orange | 6200-5850 A° | 500-540 x 1011 |
| Yellow | 5850-5750 A° | 540-550 x 1011 |
| Green | 5750-5000 A° | 550-600 x 1011 |
| Blue | 5000-4450 A° | 600-660 x 1011 |
| Indigo | 4450-4350 A° | 660-675x 1011 |
| Violet | 4350-3900 A° | 675-760 x 1011 |
1A° = 1/1000000 cm.
Colour of an Object
The colour of an object depends on the kind of light it sends to the eye. This depends on both (i) the nature of the light falling on an object and (ii) the colours in that light which its surface reflects, absorbs or transmits. If the light falling on a surface lacks some colours, the light reflected from the surface will also lack these colours. If a surface looks dark coloured, it is strongly absorbing some colours and if it looks black, it is absorbing all the spectral colours.
Certain substances not only absorb some of the lightenergy falling on them, but also re-emit it as light of a different colour. These substances are called luminescents. For example, ruby will absorb blue hues and emit red; emerald will emit green. Ultraviolet light which is an invisible component of sunlight beyond the violet end of the spectrum stimulates many substances to emit visible light. If re-emission ceases immediately and when the stimulating light ceases, the effect is called fluorescence. If the glow lingers, it is called phosphorescence. The extra whiteness brought about by modern washing powders is achieved by a fluorescent component that is retained in clothes and is stimulated by the ultraviolent part of sunlight. The extra light that is emitted is sufficient to make the clothes noticeably brighter.
Colour Vision [1]
When light falls on any object, part of it is absorbed and part is reflected. The reflected radiations reach our eyes and we perceive the colour of the object corresponding to the wave-length of these radiations. Green grass, red apples, and yellow sun-flowers owe their colours to the fact that they absorb some colours and reflectothers. From the substracdon, addition and mixing of rainbow hues in the thousands of permutations arises our whole world of colours.
Sir C.V. Raman, the famous Indian scientist and a Noble Laureate, has made an intensive research on the phenomenon of colour. He concludes thus: "Colour as seen in daylight is the sensation resulting from the synthesis by the eye of the whole spectrum of radiations falling upon the object and returned to the eye after scattering or diffusion by the material of which it is composed."
Colour of any object will depend upon three things: nature of the falling light, absorbtion of certain wavelenghts by the object and reflection of the balance wavelength (s). The combined effect of all these on our eyes is the colour of the object.
Transparent and Opaque Objects
When light falls on a transparent object, a small portion is absorbed, some is reflected and a major portion is transmitted through it. An opaque object absorbs some portion of the falling light and reflects the rest. The colour of an opaque object will depend upon the colour of the falling light and the portions which are absorbed and reflected. Thus every object absorbs all the wavelengths except that of its own colour.
Primary and Complementary Colours
Blue, yellow and red are called primary colours. While all other colours can be obtained by mixing these in different proportion, primary colours cannot be obtained by mixing. When two colours are mixed to obtain a third one, the two are called complementary to each other.
Colour in Astronomy
Colour is a boon to inquisitive mankind in general and scientists in particular. It has played an important role in the spectacular advancement of some of the sciences.
The secrets of the universe are written largely in light and can be known by deciphering the light itself. As stated earlier, the spectral analysis of sunlight shows a complete spectrum. However, if the spectrum is examined carefully, hundreds of dark lines could be made out crossing the colour bands in various positions. The dark lines always appeared in the same position amongst the other coloured lines. The real significance of these lines was discovered much later by Kirchoff. He realized that in a spectrum each line is actually a kind of 'signature' produced by a particidar chemical element. The knowledge of atomic theory has established that each element or kind of atom can emit and absorb energy only at the specific wave-length determined by its atomic structure. That is, each element produces its unique set of lines in a particular place in the overall spectrum. Thus every element can reveal its identity by its spectral line signature written by the ink of its own unique colour or the fingerprint of its inpidual personality.
This knowledge gave birth to the science of spectroscopy and placed in the hands of astronomers the most powerful tool since the invention of the telescope. It enables them to probe any pry into the macrocosm and see millions of distant stars and galaxies which are thousands of light-year away. On their findings are based all the modern theories about the universe. The spectroscope has been used to analyse the composition of the sun and so far about 70 out of 92 natural elements have been identified. By splitting light from distant stars and galaxies into a spectrum of different wavelenghts, the spectroscope enables scientists to work out not only the chemical composition of a distant star, but also temperature of its surface, speed of its rotation, the strength of its magnetic field and its movement relative to the earth. Today spectroscopy can look into the hearts of some of the most remote phenomena in the universe and provide astronomer with the basic data may one day unlock the innermost secrets of the cosmos.
Colour and Psychology
Scientists also believe that our entire life is profoundly influenced by colours. Today psychologists and scientists have discovered that colour is the most important of the environmental factors which affect the conscious, subconscious and unconscious minds of a person. Colour profoundly affects our endre personality.
Light and colour profoundly affect the health and behaviour of living beings. Importance of sunlight to the vegetable kingdom is universally accepted. Ancient as well as modern science have been keenly interested in the studies of the effect of different colours on the physical, mental and emotional states and behavioural patterns of human beings as well as other animals. Colour-healers of 19th century claimed to cure everything from constipation to meningitis with coloured glass filters. Inevitably it was discredited. However it has been rejuvinated under the new names of photobiology and colour-therapy. Richard J. Wurtman, nutritionist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, says, "It seems clear that light is the most important environmental input, after food, in controlling bodily functions."
Several experiments have shown that different colours affect blood-pressure, pulse and respiration-rate as well as brain-activity and bio-rhythms. As a result, colours are now used in the treatment of a variety of diseases.
Blue & Ultraviolet
Baths of blue light have replaced blood-transfusions as the standard treatment for thousands of babies born prematurely each year with potentially fatal jaundice. In Russia, pioneer in photobiology, sciendsts believe that black lung disease in coal miners can be prevented by showering them with ultraviolet (radiations).
Mr. Faber Birren, a colour consultant, who has published hundreds of articles and books on colour and widely considered the most authoritative source on the subject, says that if school rooms are supplemented with ultraviolet lamps, children grow faster, workability and grades are improved and catarrhal infections are fewer.
Passive Pinks
"When, at San Bernardino, County Probation Department in California violent children were put in a small cell painted with a distinctive shade of pink colour, they stopped yelling, relaxed and often fell asleep within 10 minutes", said Paul E. Boccunini, a clinical psychologist and Director of Clinical Services for the Department. More than 1500 hospitals and correctional institutions across the U.S.A. have at least one room painted with pink colour. Passive pink, as it is sometimes called, is perhaps a dramatic example of the effect of colour on emotion.
Psychic or somatic?
Colour therapists themselves disagree about why and how colour acts as they believe it does. Some believe that action of colour is not directly physiological but psychologcal. Colour sets the moods and this in turn affects physical health. However, it must be remembered that more than half of modern diseases may be psychosomatic.
Doctors and researchers agree that some portions of the electromagnetic spectrum such as X-rays, microwaves and ultraviolet rays have significant effect on health, but the effect of visible light is not accepted by all. However, several experiments have provided clear evidence that light does affect the endocrine as well as the nervous system.
Alexander Schauss, Director of the American Institute of Bio-Social Research, believes that electromagnetic energy of colour interacts in some still unknown way with the pituitary and pineal glands, and the hypothalamus, deep in the brain. These organs regulate the endocrine system which controls many basic body functions and emodonal responses such as aggression, fear, etc.
Harold Wohlfahrt, a photobiologist and the President of the German Academy of Colour Science, reports after experiments in a private school that light has exactly the same impact on the blood-pressure, pulse and respiration-rates of two blind children as on seven students with normal sight. A report on the above study, published in the Internal Journal of Bio-Social Research says that when the walls of the school-room were changed from orange and white to royal and light blue and normal lights were replaced by spectrum lighting, the children's mean systolic blood pressure dropped from 120 to 100. They were better behaved and more attentive. He adds that the minute amounts of electromagnetic energy from light affect one or more of the neuro-transmitters—chemical messengers that carry messages from nerve to nerve and from nerve to muscle. Experiments have also provided evidence that light striking the retina influences the pineal gland's synthesis of melatonin, a hormone that has been found to help determine the body's output to serotonine, a neurotransmitter. [*]
Aura
What is aura?
There are two terms—halo and aura. From very ancient times and in all cultures, pictures of gods, goddesses, saints and incarnations, traditionally, show a luminous circle surrounding their heads. This is called halo. The halo is not to be found with all and sundry, but only with the superhuman people. The other is aura, which is to be found surrounding every object in this world, whether it is animate or inanimate - whether it is a human being, an animal, a leaf or a stone. Every object is completely surrounded by an envelope of radiations. The envelope is like an armour or a network of subde waves or a thin veil of very fine cotton yarn.
Every object in this world, whether it is animate or inanimate, radiates energy in all directions and in the same shape as itself. These radiations are waves of electromagnetic energy and they constitute the aura. Nothing in this world exists which does not radiate energy.
The aura of a living organism is produced by the radiations coming from its subtle body— taijasa śarīra. In this case, together with the electro-magnetic energy, vital energy (prāṇa) is also radiated. Hence, the aura of an organism is bright, dynamic and radiant while that of an inanimate object is dull and static. The aura of an organism is not static but dynamic. Contraction, expansion, contamination and purification—all these continuously occur in it. This is because within the organism there exist the domains of leśyā and emotions which keep it ever-changing. This is a factor of distinction between an organism and an inanimate object, i.e. the latter does not possess a change producing factor. The radiations of vital energy are not visible to the human eye, unlike those of other energies. Only someone with extrasensory perception (ESP) can see this. Inspite of this, scientists, doctors and yoga-philosphers, all agree that aura does really exist and depicts a true picture of physical, mental and emotional states of an individual.
Can Aura be made Visible?
The question is—can aura be made visible? The answer is a qualified yes. Everybody does not have the ability to do so. One who can attain the ability to acquire total relaxation and motionlessness [2] of the body, can see the aura. When one is in deep and total relaxation, he can see his own aura. It is also visible to one engrossed in deep meditational practice; i.e. sometimes, while in deep meditation, one forgets his own physical body, but another luminous body of the same shape and size is visible to him. Sometimes in complete darkness, one would not be able to see his hand but would see a radiant shape—an electrified hand would appear. The darkness must be total.
Various colours of aura are interpreted as:
| Golden yellow | Spiritualism |
| Light Blue or Bluish Red | Curative ability |
| Pink | Love and affection |
| Red | Lust; anger |
| Green | Intelligence |
| Grey or smoky | Serious sickness |
| Gloomy and dull | Imminent death |
According to colour therapy or sunlight therapy, each organ of our body has a specific colour. Heart, liver, kidneys, intestines etc. as well as blood, bone, flesh, marrow and nerves—each one of these has its own special colour. Even microscopic cells also possess colour. Our speech, thought and feeling are also coloured. In short, our enure body is colour incarnate. Whenever equilibrium of colours in an organ is vitiated, one becomes ill. If, by colour therapy, the balance is reestablished, the illness is cured.
Seven Colours and their Classification
There are seven colours in the sunlight—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Colour therapy is entirely based on these seven colours. For simplicity these are divided into three groups:
Group no. 1 - red, orange and yellow
Group no. 2. - blue, indigo and violet
Group no. 3. - green.
The first group is hot, the second is cold and the third is moderate or in between. Generally speaking, diseases like cough and cold are treated by group no. 1; those caused by bilious humor or heat are treated by group no. 2; and those caused by wind humor are treated by the third group i.e. green.
Preparation of Medicines
The technique of preparing the medicines of different colours is simple. Coloured glass bottles—orange, blue or green—are three-quarters filled with drinking water and kept in sunlight for 6 to 8 hours. The water becomes medicine after this time period and can remain useful for 5 days. The normal dose is 2 ounces, two or three times a day. Medicine of the first group is taken after meals and those of the other two groups are taken before meals. The medicines can also be mixed together.
Effect of Sunlight
Electromagnetic energy of sunlight is filterd and transmitted to the water contained in the coloured botde. When water is charged with processed sunlight, chemical reaction takes place and various minerals and their salts are produced in microfine form. In the red or orange botde—Potassium, Ferric Oxide, Iron, Zinc, Copper etc. are produced. In the green botde—Carbon, Nitrogen, Sodium, Nickle, Aluminium etc. are produced. In the blue botde—Copper Sulphate, Phosphoric Acid, Tin, Cobalt, Cadmium etc. are produced. Gold in microscopic quantities is produced in yellow botde. This is not imaginary but has been proved by test in the laboratory.
If water is charged with sunlight in a white bottle, calcium is produced. This water is entirely free from any bacteria and being a tonic is beneficial even for healthy people. Since all the seven colours are present in the sunlight, a sunbath is also beneficial in many ways.
Meditation is closely related to colours. Specific colours can be visualized and perceived after learning the technique. Perception of colours purifies the mental states and thoughts and acts as psycho-therapy for various diseases.
Practice of meditation increases wannth in the body. Bluecharged water is useful to abate the discomfort due to the increased warmth after meditation.
