Prana, Tejas, Ojas
Ayurveda is a medical system rooted in "three" and thus most of its conceptual paradigms revolve around trinities. However, we have to always discern whether one conceptual trinity is a correlate of another trinity or not. In most cases, the common trinities in Ayurvedic philosophy do correlate and have the value of articulating a multi-dimensional worldview. For example, the cosmic energies of soma, agni, and vayu[1] are said to flow in the human body in the form of the three doshas of vata, pitta, kapha. These are two halves of a single paradigm where soma becomes kapha, agni becomes pitta, and vayu becomes vata. In Sanskrit, these terms are all very close in meaning, but the difference in terminology also helps distinguish the context of their reference (macrocosm or microcosm).
In, contemporary Ayurvedic education, another conceptual trinity has emerged, known as prana-tejas-ojas. This trinity is described as the subtle form of the doshas and is used clinically to evaluate the mental-emotional balance of the patient.
Shortly after graduating from the California College of Ayurveda, I began studying with Vaidya R.K. Mishra, who introduced me to a classical stream of Ayurvedic medicine preserved in his family lineage. I had been contemplating the inconsistencies of the prana-tejas-ojas model at the time and wondered if there was some resonance with his lineage concepts of soma-agni-maruta. My original question and his illuminating response are reproduced below. Vaidya's response is an insightful and inspiring commentary that is a window into the heart and mind of an Ayurvedic master. He not only answers my question but elucidates the nature of prana, marma, and the very spirit of Ayurvedic medicine. I hope it inspires all of us to study the classical texts and connect with the sources of Ayurvedic knowledge in our own body, mind, and spirit.