Above is the inward-moving vital breath, for certain below is the downward-moving vital breath, only the One moves without activity,
Fixed within the channels, throbbing, roaring, vibrating.
Commentary
Here the sage gives us a vivid picture of the activity of the vital breaths and the actionless One which is the Self-Absolute. The Vaiseshika Sutra (II. 4) also declares that the vital breaths are the marks of the Self. The vital breaths act through respiration, etc. while the Self is unmoved. The Goraksha Samhita (I. 38) has this interesting description of the same two vital breaths referred to by Narayana Guru: "Just as a ball hit by a bat flies up, so the living entity propelled by Prana and apana does not remain still."