Did you know that in 1893, when Swami Vivekananda traveled to America to attend the World Parliament of Religions, he met the great inventor Nikola Tesla?
During their meeting, Swamiji introduced Tesla to the ancient Indian concepts of Prana and Akasha. He explained how, according to Indian philosophy, Prana and Akasha together form the very foundation of the universe — everything that exists arises from their interaction.
In one of his letters, Swami Vivekananda even illustrated this idea with a diagram.
He explained that from the Brahman, the Absolute Reality, emerges Mahat or Ishvara — the primal creative energy. From this Mahat manifest Prana (energy) and Akasha (matter), which together give birth to the entire cosmos.
And he asked Nikola Tesla to mathematically prove this very theory of the Vedas — that force and matter, that is, Akasha Tattva, are reducible to energy.
However, due to the misunderstanding of certain Sanskrit terms, Nikola Tesla was unable to mathematically prove this concept.
Yet, shortly after, Tesla wrote an article titled “Man’s Greatest Achievement,” in which he echoed the same insight — describing how Prana and Akasha combine to create everything in the universe.
Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda had already written something very similar in his book “Raja Yoga” (Chapter 3). He described how Akasha, the subtle element, manifests into gross form — the physical world we can see and touch — through the power of Prana.
And just as Prana manifests the outer universe, the same Prana energy flows within us, manifesting as our thoughts.
It is this very energy that the ancient sages learned to control through the practice of Pranayama — the art of mastering the life force.