"Prana is the name by which we
designate a universal principle, which principle is the essence of all motion,
force or energy, whether manifested in gravitation, electricity, the revolution
of the planets, and all forms of life, from the highest to the lowest. It may
be called the soul of Force and Energy in all their forms, and that principle
which, operating in a certain way, causes that form of
activity which accompanies life."
- Ramacharaka, Yogi, The
Hindu-Yogi Science of Breath, pp. 16, 17.