56. Besides the three main factors referred to in the preceding Article, which represent three grand divisions, as it were, of the microcosm, six subdivisions are further observable in the physical frame :--
(1) The ganglion at the rectum -- it performs the function of ejecting effete matter.
(2) The ganglion at the organ of reproduction -- its main function is that of reproduction, that is to say, the formation of the seed which will eventually develop into the physical frame.
(3) The nervous centre at the navel -- it regulates digestion and furnishes physical material for the whole frame.
(4) The ganglion known as the solar plexus which is situated at the lower end of the sternum 00 it regulates the economy of the entire human frame and is the region of feeling. Cases are not unknown where the collapse of the action of the heart and the cessation of the pulse did not effect the functions of this centre. The feelings and the sensory and the motor actions continued in such cases for some time, although the action of the heart had stopped.
A shock to this centre resulting in a cessation of the functions would, however, lead to a complete collapse of the physical frame and of its subjective functions.
(5) The ganglion at the throat -- it regulates subtle respiration.
(6) The ganglion situated midway between the two eyes, three quarters to one inch from the root of the nose inwards -- it is the seat of the spirit.
57. The functions of the four lower ganglia are more or less manifest, those of the other two can only be verified and realized by the performance of the spiritual experimentations and methods prescribed later on. In the course of performance of these processes, the various stages of spiritual withdrawal preceding and attending the phenomenon of death are gradually undergone in a fully conscious condition, and the experiences gained during such training furnish ample practical tests of the accuracy of our statement.
58. If, hereafter, some scientific methods be discovered, by means of which the lifeless and the living portions of the body of a dying person could be distinguished, the application of such a test to the statement made above, would corroborate our statement and would perhaps be more satisfactory from a scientific point of view.
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