Yoga in Daily Life

This is a compact and yet a complete book on the ancient

Indian wisdom of yogathe science of health and physical
well-being, of mental concentration, the dhyana, and
serenity. It is a happy blend of the philosophy of yoga,
which the author discusses briefly, and how the practice of
yoga can be adopted in everyday life to provide the natural
and easy way to take care of oneself at every age, to add
zest and youthfulness to our lives.
The focus of the book is practical. All physical dements of
yoga are described and the methods and techniques of
performing the various asanas, yogic kriyas and mudras
explained with the help of photographs. The language is
simple and lucid.
Dr. K.S. Joshi is a protagonist of yogic science and culture
in India. He is the Head of the Department of Yogic
Sciences at Sagar University, India and has done
substantial research on the effects of yoga on body and
mind. A consultant as well as a yoga expert at Swami
Kuvalayananda Scientific Institute for Yoga Research,
Lonavla, Dr. Joshi the author of Yogic Pranayatna:
Breathing For Long Life and God Health, has published
many research papers and is an internationally
acknowledged authority on Yoga.
"A wonderful book... indispensable for those who wish to
know the practical side as well as the correct theory
of

Y

ga
"- Voice of Man

By the Same Author
in Orient
Paperbacks
Yogic Pranayama: Breathing For
Long Life & Good Health
Yoga in
daily life
K.S. Joshi, M.Sc, M.A., Ph.D.
Head of the DeptL of Yoga
University of Sugar, M.P.
ORIENT PAPERBACKS
A Divison of Vision Books Pvt. Ltd.
New Oelhi Mumbai Hyderabad
To the ever-inspiring memory of
MAHARANA PRATAP
CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI
and GURU
GOVIND SINGH
ISBN 81-222-0049-4
1st Published in Orient Paperbacks 1968
9th Printing 1980
Completely Revised & Enlarged Edition 1985
18th Printing 2000
Yoga in Daily Life
Vision Books Pvt. Ltd. 1985
Cover design by Vision Studio
Published by
Orient Paperbacks
(A division of Vision Books Pvt. Ltd.)
Madarsa Road, Kashmere Gate, Delhi-! 10 006
Printed in India at
Kay Kay Printers. Delhi-110 007
Cover Printed at Ravindra
Printing Press Delhi-110 006
Contents
1. YogaAn Introduction
7
Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga,
Hatha Yoga
2. Preparing for Yoga 24
The Digestive System, The Circulatory
System, The Respiratory System, The Excre-
tory System, The Endocrine System, The
Nervous System, The Nature of Yogic Exer-
cises: Physical Condition of the Individual/
Right Advice/Age and Sex/Place and Sur-
roundings/Timc/Dict/Intcrval/Clothing/The
Seat/The Order of Different Techniques/
General Hints
3. Yoga for Better Health 57
Preliminary Exorcises to Limber-up Muscles
and Joints, Bhadrasana, Uttanaman-dukasana,
Gomukhasana, Ardhamatsyen-drasana,
Yogamudra, Matsyasana, Viparita-karani,
Sarvangasana, Halasana, Bhujang-asana,
Shalabhasana, Dhanurasana, Shavasana,
Kapalabhati, Tadagimudra, Agnisara, Nauli
4. More Yoga Techniques 104
Trikonasana, Oarudasana, Ushtrasana,
Chakrasana, Paschimottanasana, Bakasana,
Kukkutasana, Uttanakurmasana, Parvat-
asana, Dolasana, Utkatasana, Padangusth-
asana, Mayurasana, Shirshasana, Mal-
syendrasana, Vrischikasana, Garbhasana,
Suptavajrasana, Trataka, Dhauti, Basti

List of
Gomukh Asana Ardha
Malsycn dra Asana
Yogamudra Matsya
Asana Vipritakarni
Uttanamanduka Asana
Sarvanga Asana Hala
Asana Bhujanga Asana
Dhaivur Asana Shava
Asana Sidd ha Asana
Padma Asana Bhadra
Asana Utkata Asana
Garbha Asana Tadagi
Mudra
Illustrations
65 Ushtra Asana 99
Nauli 101
67 Chakra Asana 103
69 Garuda Asana 105
71 Trikona Asana 107
73 Ushtra Asana 109
75 Paschimottana
77 Asana 111
79 Kukkuta Asana 113
81 Baka Asana 115
83 Parvata Asana 117
85 Padangustha Asana 118
87 Mayura Asana 119
89 Shirsha Asana 121
91 Matsyendra Asana 123
93 Vrischika Asana. 125
5. Pranayama: Controlling the Breath 131
Pranayama, Ncti, Puraka and Rechaka,
Kumbhaka, The Bandhas, The Varieties of
Pranayama.
6. Dhayana: Controlling die Mind 157
Dhyana, Yama and Niyama, Abhyasa
7. The Practice of Meditation 172
Pratipakshabhavana, Maitri and other
Bhavanas, Pracchardana and Vidharana,
Calling to Mind Examples of Dispassionate
Yogis, Taking Help from Dream Experience,
Concentrating the Mind on Any Object of
Choice.
8. Some Pertinent Questions and Answers 190
Appendix
Yogic Asanas: Meaning and Benefits
99 Suptavajra Asana
95 Vajra Asana 127
127

<1 Yoga

An
Introduction

Is HUMAN LIFE on
earth a matter,
fundamentally, of
misery and sorrow?
This is a problem
which seems to have
engaged the minds of
the Indian thinkers
since ancient times.
The answer to this
question, as most of
them appear to believe,
is in the affirmative. It
is an important
business of
philosophy, according
to the Indian tradition,
to seek to attain a state
which is completely
free from the clutches
of misery and sorrow.
This state has been
variously spoken of as
moksha, mukti,
kaivalya, apavarga,
nirvana, and so on, by the
adherents of various schools
of philosophy in India, and
philosophy is, therefore, truly
called tmvajnana, or
darshana. Whether all these
words signify one and the
same state, may be a moot
point. But the fact of a
complete cessation of
suffering applies equally to all
of them.
The notion of suffering as
a dominating factor in
human life has loomed very
large in Indian philosophy.
In fact, it may be called the
starting point of
philosophical inquiries.
Human suffering is
traditionally supposed to be
divided into three main types
as follows:
i) The bodily and mental
conditions of an individual
such as ill health, disease, and
emotions like hate, fear
passion, and so on*
ii) Suffering imposed on an individual through
harmful behaviour of other human beings, animals,
insects, and so on.
Hi) Suffering which cannot be attributed to other
beings, which is largely beyond the control of an
individual e.g., earthquakes, floods, famines, epi-
demics, and the like.
Beaten by the three-fold impact of suffering in the
above manner, an individual is motivated or induced
to think or act in such a way that he would ultimately
succeed in overcoming the suffering. Naturally, the first
response of an individual springs from the experiential
field, and is based on common sense considerations.
For example, one works at one's job in order to avoid
starvation, takes medicine to get rid of diseases, con-
structs buildings, business industries, centres of pro-
duction, etc., to foster good living conditions for the
members of a society. In addition to this, an individual
tries to belong to various organizations, parties, sects,
blocks and groups, in order to overcome fear and the
feeling of insecurity. Besides these common sense
measures, and especially when these are found inade-
quate or ineffective, one turns to religion, to the gwus,
to the spiritual guides and masters, and indulges in
prayer, devotion, faith and the like. It is found, how-
ever, that both these ways lack the power of wiping out
sorrow completely and in a once-for-all manner. For
example, one may temporarily become physically fit
by '*aking medicine, but some other disease may crop
up after some time; the religious organizations and
practices may not give full satisfaction, and one may
have to run from one spiritual teacher or book to ano-
ther.
It is argued sometimes that science, with its tre-
mendous technological advances, can eventually make
8
for human happiness. For example, it is thought that
the science of medicine, in due course, may bring to
man the ability of defying death as long as he wishes;
the science of physics may make him gain an access to
the heavenly bodies through outer space, and that there
would indeed be a time, not in the far distant future,
when man would attain full control over the forces of
nature. Science is thus supposed by many to be a very
powerful tool in the hands of man, which would,
before long make him immune to grief and sorrow. But
this seems to be a rather extravagant claim. It is indeed
true that scientific discoveries have helped
tremendously to make our life less hazardous* But
science, obviously, is a way of collecting and arranging
information, and mere information, however intelli-
gently arranged, does not, and cannot make for an
understanding of pain and suffering, which is a funda-
mental problem for life. Had this problem been the
result of the forces of nature working in our surroun-
dings alone, then perhaps science would have been an
adequate tool for overcoming suffering.
The problem, however, seems to arise largely from
our internal environment, that is, our peculiar ways of
looking at the world. It is really a problem of under-
standing ourselves and our behaviour in daily life, our
fears and cravings, our beliefs and ambitions, passions
and emotions, and, in fact, whatever we do in our
relationship with the surrounding people and environ-
ment. Therefore, unless we understand properly the
way in which we see things and react to the various
happenings in and about us, a mere collection of in-
formation regarding the outer nature, and trying to get
mastery over it will not take us very far. Supposing* for
example, that human beings succeed in reaching the
moon or even distant bodies in outer space, and live
9
there, or that the future developments in the science of
human physiology make it possible for men to live as
long as they wish; is this knowledge, as such, going to
make hvnan life happier and more peaceful? The
belief that we shall be able to overcome pain, suffering
and war through becoming more well-informed, seems
to have led us up a blind alley. We may quote a shruti
here with advantage. It says: "Knowledge is even mo-c
dangerous than ignorance, for the ignorant go
ultimately to darkness, whereas those who take pride in
their knowledge go to greater darkness still." (ishavas-
yopanishad, 9).
The problem is really not of obtaining mastery over
the outer nature or the surrounding environment,
but rather of obtaining mastery over oneself, over
one's passions and ambitions, emotions and conflicts.
For that, however, something much more pro-
found than what our modern scientific techniques
have to offer us, is needed. Only then the present
human crisis all over the world can be resolved. To
bring about peace in the world, one must himself be
peaceful first. Peace, within and about oneself, has
perhaps been the greatest mark of yoga. It is, therefore,
that yoga can be of utmost utility to an individual
whose mind, torn as it is between conflicting desires,
seeks to attain peace and happiness. Yoga has rightly
been held in very high esteem by all the systems of
Indian philosophy including Jainism and Buddhism. It
is indeed looked upon as a panacea for human misery
and sorrow. Let us at this stage set ourselves to inquire
into what yoga really means, what it claims to bring
about in respect of the life of an individual, and also,
the means through which that goal is realised.
The word 'yoga
5
is associated by and large with the
acquisition and exhibition of supernatural powers. It is
10
customary to look at yoga as a curious ancient art
which combines a set of religious beliefs with a strange
and mysterious practical discipline. It has become
fairly common these days, to come across news about
somebody claiming to be a yogi, performing miraculous
feats like walking on fire (or even sometimes on water),
passing a road-roller on the chest, or drinking concen-
trated acids, and so on. There seems to be a belief in
the minds of many, that yoga is concerned mainly with
sufch extraordinary phenomena. It is also supposed
that yoga is not for the common man, and that only
those who can get away from daily life in society, and
retire in solitude for years, with a view to undergo
rigorous discipline of the body and mind, are the fit
persons to indulge in yoga. It is supposed to be a very
risky and dangerous path, of which a common man
should keep clear. It is an amazing fact that such
superstitious ideas are widespread even in the land of
yoga. Actually, all these ideas about yoga turn out to
be more or less erroneous, on a proper scrutiny. The
difficulty, however, is that the field of yoga is, at
present, largely in the hands of lesser men, who are
not properly educated, and who turn to yoga, mainly
because they are not likely to succeed elsewhere.
Dishonesty, insincerity and hypocricy are thus rampant
causing frustration in the minds of sincere students of
yoga. This sad state of affairs will be changed only
when educated, intelligent men having a strength of
character will be attracted towards the field of yoga in
sufficient numbers. Secondly, not much is as yet scienti-
fically known about the various processes of yoga.
Some scientists are of late showing interest in this area,
and it seems that much valuable information can be
gathered through applying the modem techniques of
research to the field of yoga.
11
The word "yoga" is perhaps older than the system
of philosophy which goes by that name. The oldest use
of the word "yoga", as found in the Vedic literature,
(e.g. Rigveda X, 114, 9; Atharvaveda VI, 91, 1) indi-
cates a union of various things, especially the horses or
the bullocks. This is derived from the Sanskrit root
"yujir**, meaning to "unite" or "connect". In later
times, however, another technical meaning came to be
associated with the term, and this is derived from the
Sanskrit root ``yuj "
9
indicating control of the mind.
Both the meanings seem to be fairly common in the
Sanskrit language even today. This does not, of course,
mean that while the word "yoga** was being used (in
the time of the Vedic Aryans) to denote simply a union,
the facts about controlling and steadying the mind
were themselves unknown. In the Vedas we find clear
indications that the rishis and the seers were quite
familiar with the highest state which is the goal of yoga.
They used to achieve this through procedures described
as dhyana, diksfta, tapas
y
etc.
We shall now examine the various descriptions and
definitions of yoga as found in ancient Indian literature.
These are too numerous, and our purpose may be
served by mentioning only a few typical ones out of
them. The Kathopanishad (II, 3, 10-11) defines yoga as
"a state of steadiness and control of the senses, as well
as the mind and the intellect, which, when attained,
makes an individual completely faultless and unoffend-
ing**. Our minds are usually swayed away by the objects
of enjoyment. But the mind of a yogi is not taken
away by his senses, because it becomes free of the
process of desire, and hence remains steady in the
highest state of yoga- How this state of steadiness is to
be achieved, is a problem which we shall discuss later
on-
12
In the Shvetaashvatara Upanishad (II 12-13), the
qualities of a yogi, whose body shines with the fire of
yoga, are described, and it is said that disease, old age
and death do not come to him, and further that Ms
body becomes supple and healthy, his mind devoid of
greed, and full of peace and satisfaction- There are
many other references in the yoga texts where these
and other similar qualities of highly developed masters
of yoga are found mentioned- These descriptions show
clearly that yogi is a person whose body and mind both
become pure by the practice of yoga. This fact can be
experienced, though to a limited extent, by everyone,
who practises faithfully the physical and mental
exercises, as we shall describe in the chapters to
follow. It is especially due to this fact that we argue
that yoga is not only for the chosen few or the superior
few, but, in fact, it can be of immense benefit to every-
one, learned as well as lay, rich or poor, who cares for
his physical and mental health.
It is customary in religious literature to look upon
the world as a stream or an ocean of sorrow- Human
beings, since birth till death, are supposed to be drow-
ning in this ocean. It is in this context that yoga is
mentioned in the Yogavasista (VI, 13, 3) as a device
that makes for reaching the other shore of the stream
of sorrow. It is indeed true that a yogi is a person who
is eternally free of cravings and sorrow. That is because
he comes to overcome ignorance once for all.
We find yoga defined at three different places in the
Gita
9
which is perhaps the most popular among the
authoritative treatises on yoga. According to the first
definition (Glta, II, 48) yoga signifies a state of equi-
poise wherein opposites like success and failure make
little difference. This is something which looks rather
strange to many thinkers. They ask as to what kind of
13
existence it would be if one looks equally upon success
and failure. We always happen to seek to attain success
and avoid failure. And what can be the significance of
a person to the members of his family or society, if one
does not bother about success and failure? How can he
live in the present-day society which is full of competi-
tion conflict?
We should note one important point here, namely,
that a yogi, according to the Gita
9
is a person whose
pattern of motivation is wholly changed for nothing
remains for him to be achieved in this world; he is
completely free of desire to attain anything. But he,
nevertheless, does not abandon activity and work; he,
on the contrary, continues to work for the good of
humanity, and in this, he does not get elated or over-
joyed if his works bring success, or dejected when he
fails to obtain good results. This is because his activity
is not aimed at producing this or that limited result. He
does continue to work, but renounces any enjoyment
of the consequences. This fact has been made clear in
another definition of yoga (II, 50-51), where it is stated
that a yogi, who renounces the concern with the conse-
quences of his deeds (that is, remains concerned only
with action and not with the consequences), overcomes
bondage- for ever. This means, for example, that a
student should study very hard, according to his
capacity, but should not be troubled, in the least, by
the idea that he must beat his rival in the examination.
Most of us are Iargely'concerned in life with pleasant
imaginations of the good consequences of what we are
engaged in. We always aspire for an improvement in
our status and position; we always desire to be impor-
tant and advanced in our society. But a yogi is not
instigated to act by any such motive. He can, therefore,
remain undisturbed even in the wake of the severest
14
misery. This is described in a very clear and masterly
way in another definition of yoga, as found in the Gita
(VI, 21-23). Yoga is defined here as a state of sepa-
ration from sorrow. The Gita declares that when that
state of happiness par excellence is achieved, there
remains nothing else to be achieved, which may be
greater than it; not even the greatest misery can ever
disturb that state. It is said also that such a state of
yoga is to be attained with a high resolve.
It may be said, however, that in all the definitions
mentioned above, yoga has been defined in such a high
manner, that, frankly speaking, it must be admitted
that the goal of yoga is something that lies completely
beyond the reach of common man. The same difficulty
would arise in the case of the definition of yoga as
given in Patanjali's Yoga Sutra (I, 2), which is suppos-
ed to be the most important text of yoga philosophy.
Patanjali defines yoga as a state in which there is
complete elimination of the thoughts and modifica-
tions of the mind. Patanjali states further that there are
eight parts of this yoga, which, when mastered indi-
vidually and collectively, ultimately make that state
come into being. Herein lies a hope for everybody,
because it is possible for any sincere and faithful stu-
dent to master the eight parts of yoga, through the
practice of the required discipline. Two minimum
conditions must be fulfilled for achieving this -However,
they are mentioned in the Gita (VI, 35) as well as the
Yoga Sutra (1,12), and are called abhyasa and vatragya
respectively.
An individual can attain the goal of yoga, only
when he has these two qualities to begin with. Vatragya
means lack of ambition; it is the opposite of raga,
which means attachment. The absence of the process
of desire is what is meant by vatragya. It is only through
15
valragya that one can succeed in getting rid of the ten-
dency of the mind to run after various objects of en-
joyment. Such a mind can be made steady. Abhyasa is
the process of steadying the mind. This can be achieved
in various ways, according to one's temperament. They
are known as different types of yoga, and although
looking separate and different in the beginning, they all
seem to lead to the same goal of mukti. We shall
discuss here the essential features of the important
approaches or varieties of yoga, namely, Bhakti Yoga,
Karma Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and Jnana Yoga.
Bhakti Yoga
This is perhaps the easiest of the varieties of yoga,
because it does not involve any highly technical and
complicated procedures, nor does it call for any special
intellectual capacity on the part of the student. It has a
tremendous appeal to the common man, because it
develops a feeling of security in the devotee (bhaktd)
who has a kind of reliance and dependence on the
object of his devotion. It is based on the conviction
that there exists a higher power (called God) that has
wilfully created the universe, and that this power,
which is all-powerful and merciful, may shower grace
and mercy on the devotee, thereby protecting him
from harms and evils. All that the devotee is expected
to do is to make himself fit for obtaining the grace and
mercy of God, the Supreme Creator, through devotion
and the practice of virtue. The devotee aspires to be-
come ultimately one with the object of devotion,
resting eternally in peace and happiness with Him.
The devotee surrenders all his motives and acts to the
Divine Power, and renounces all responsibility towards
the good or bad consequences of what he does, in the
16
name of the will of the Supreme. Devotion and faith
are observed to play an important part in religion, and
the devotee is usually a religious person, who is
supposed to develop friendliness to all human beings,
abstain from doing any harm to others, read religious
literature, concentrate on the symbol of the Supreme,
and so on. The widespread appeal of Bhakti Yoga is
largely drawn from the element of simplicity, which is
a characteristic mark of it.
Karma Yoga
This is the yoga of the Gita> as Lokamanya Tilak
would have us believe. Karma in Sanskrit means action
and this variety of yoga derives its name from the fact
that even after attainment of the goal of yoga, i.e. jivart-
mukti, one does not renounce the various acts them-
selves. It is said that bondage is caused by the cravings
and desires that are associated with an act, and that one
can be free of the binding effect of any act if one does
the act without associating himself with the
consequences. It is not the acts themselves that bind an
individual, but rather the attitude or intention involved.
A Karma Yogi behaves with indifference which is the
product of cessation of desire and an awareness of the
real significance of happenings in the world. Karma
Yoga thus involves doing one's duties without any reser-
vation, and without tbecraving that one should get this
or that benefit for his acts. This attitude is indeed very
difficult to cultivate, for most of us have their mind
usually swayed away by the imaginations of the pleasures
that our acts may possibly give rise to. We thus always
have an eye on the future improvement in our position
prestige, power and so on. We usually do various things
in order to become more important in the society we
17
live in, we always happen to aspire and crave for
achieving something that others cannot achieve, we
always want to have something more and better than
what our neighbours and friends have.
A Karma Yogi behaves in life with all such mental
activity having been stopped completely. But his lack of
attention on the goal does not make him dull or ineffi-
cient in whatever he may be engaged in. On the con-
trary, he devotes his full energies towards good action,
because his energy is not dissipated by hankering after
this or that pleasure. A Karma Yogi is a man of the
happiest behavioral adjustment within himself, as well
as with the surrounding world. He does not pursue
pleasure but pleasure follows him in whatever he does.
Jnana Yoga
This is supposed to be the yoga of the intelligent or
the superior few. All other varieties of yoga are believ-
ed ultimately to lead to this kind of yoga, in which
one comes to look at everything in the world as it is,
without any ignorance and bias. This is supposed to be
achieved through a continued practice of a strenuous
mental discipline and virtue. This variety is also called
Raja Yoga, because it is the highest variety, so to say,
or the yoga that presides- Perhaps it is the variety which
Patanjali has described in his Yoga Sutra, He has said
that it is made of eight parts, five of which aie said to
be external, and three internal* Yama and Niyama,
that is the first two parts, are concerned respectively
with what habits a student of yoga should avoid (e.g.
harming others, speaking lies, stealing, gathering wealth
unnecessarily, etc.), and what habits he should positive-
ly cultivate (e.g. cleanliness of the body and mind,
contentment, devotion etc.) Asana and Pranaywna,
18
which are respectively the third and fourth parts in
Patanjali's system, are dealt with elaborately in Hatha
Yoga. The fifth part, namely, Pratyahara, indicates a
withdrawal of the sense organs from the objects of
enjoyment The next three parts consist of a process of
progressive mental concentration. Patanjali argues that
through a faithful and intense practice of these eight
parts of yoga for a sufficient length of time, a student of
yoga can wash away all the impurities of his body and
mind, so that he attains knowledge which ultimately
liberates him from bondage and ignorance. This yoga is
also called Ashtanga Yoga, because of the fact that it is
mr.de of eight parts- It is also sometimes called Dhyana
Yoga, because of an emphasis on mental concentra-
tion. Wc find a lucid description of this variety of yoga
in the sixth chapter of the Gita. It is usually this yoga
that is implied whenever the word "yoga" stands alone
without any qualification.
Hatha Yoga
This is perhaps a comparatively later development
among the varieties of yoga. It is made of four parts,
namely, Asana, Pranayama, Mudra and Nadanu-
sandhana. Swatmarama, an old authority on this yoga,
declares in the Hathayoga-Pradipika,that Hatha Yoga
is the staircase which leads a sincere student ultimately
to the goal of Raja Yoga. It is supposed that a practice
of the techniques included in this yoga brings about a
union of what are called the sun and the moon in our
body. The moon is situated in a region above the hard
palate, and is believed to exude a fluid which percola-
tes down, and is swallowed by the sun, which is situated
near the navel. It is due to the swallowing up of this
elixir by the sun, that we are said to suffer from old
19
age and death. Hatha Yoga, in short, is a way of
tackling these two, i.e. the sun and the moon in our
body, so as to bring about a union of them.
Asanas, which form the firt part of Hatha Yoga,
bring about bodily and mental stability, which is a
mark of perfect health- They make the body active
and supple, by removing the impurities and extra fat.
The next two parts.namely Mudra and Pranayama, are
aimed at making the breath silent, thereby activating
certain dormant areas of our nervous system, when the
nerves are completely divested of all impurities. This
is spoken of in yogic terms as the arousal of the Awn-
dattni, the divine power that usually lies dormant in
human beings. We shall have occasion to discuss the
notion of the Ktfftdalini in detail while dealing with the
techniques of the Mudras and Pranayama, in a later
chapter. The fourth part of Hatha Yoga, which is
supposed to be the result of an intense and prolonged
practice of the first three parts, is associated with con-
centrating the mind on the subtle sounds {naila) which
an advanced student of yoga can hear after arousal of
the Kundalmi- This phenomenon continues for a while,
and the student hears progressively subtler sounds until
at least the nada becomes silent, making the mind com-
pletely absorbed in itself. This state is described by
words like samadhi. saJiajavastha, unmani, etc., and is the
highest state of happiness that remains ever undisturbed
by whatever happens in one's life. Such a person may
rightly be said to have reached the goal of yoga that is
common to all the varieties of yoga. It is indeed the
state of liberation in bodily existence.
We shall here try to describe this state at some length,
with a view to make two points clear, namely, what
yoga really stands for, and who can be considered a real
yogi. A student of yoga should understand these two
20
points very clearly. A lot of confusion seems to prevail
among the minds of many people, on these two points.
We are obviously not referring here to people, who,
with their long grown beards and hair, move about in
the masses as masters of yoga, trying to impress people
with demonstrations of unusual powers concerning bend-
ing metal bars, breaking thick metal plates, stopping
moving cars, or walking on fire or water. Patanjali has
mentioned many yogic powers or siddhis in the third
chapter of the Yoga Sutra. But he has clearly warned
the students of yoga against an unwise use and exhibi-
tion of them, by declaring that they are actually dis-
tractions in the path of samadhL
A yogi, to be sure, is a person who behaves in every-
day life like other persons. He has his biological needs;
he has to eat and drink in order to keep the body living.
But on the psychological plane his behaviour shows a
vast difference. He is not motivated in the same fashion
as most of us are. He has nothing to attain in the world
for himself. Yet, he keeps on working for the good of
humanity. His sense organs do work like those of
others, but he is not swayed away by the sensations, nor
does his mind run after objects of enjoyment. Jnanesh-
wiira. the great master of yoga, has described the
behaviour of a yogi in a very interesting manner as
follows'
"The yogi may apparently respond to experiences
in life, but he remains unaffected or undisturbed from
within. Just as the moon responds to moonlight or the
ocean responds to showers of rain, the yogi reacts
passively to whatever confronts him in life. His
choicelessness, passivity and peace are never disturbed
by whatever he does, and while his sense organs behave
in their usual manner, his silent samadlii remains ever
undisturbed with all that he does." (Anubhavamrita,
21
IX, 19-20).
A yogi's personality may be described in a very real
sense by the Sanskrit term "guru**, and according to
the ancient Indian tradition, such a guru is verily equa-
ted with Brahman itself. The great Shankaracharya,
who had himself attained the state of jivanmukti, speaks
about such a person in terms of the following qualities:
"He is sinless, unsmittcn by desire, peaceful like fire
that has consumed its fuel to the end, and, being him-
self in a state beyond death and sorrow, he helps others
mercifully and compassionately.'* (Viveka Chudamani,
33)
An interesting fact in this matter has been brought
out in the Yoga Vasishtha (II, 15. 2 and IT, 15 II) It
says, "For a yogi who has found the treasure of
eternal happiness, and whose intellect has stopped
running after the objects of enjoyment, even the greatest
empire on the earth is nothing more valuable than a
dry leaf that is to be shed. Such a person, even if he
may be without a single coin in hie possession, still
obtains the pleasure that can hardly ever be obtained
by an emperor.''
The Gita abounds in references to the behaviour of
a yogi. Lord Krishna has, for example, described to-
wards the end of the second chapter, how a yogi with
a stabilized intellect behaves in everyday life. It is said
that his mind is divested of all cravings, and that he
remains at peace with himself and with the world; he
loves all, and remains unmoved in the wake of disturb-
ing circumstances. Such a yogi is rightly compared
with a vast ocean, which remains undisturbed, although
the big rivers are continually pouring water in
More or less the same qualities are found mentioned in
the fourth chapter of the Gita (19-23), as also in* the
fifth (20-28), twelth (13-19), and the fourteenth (22-27)
22
chapters. It is declared in the fifteenth chapter of the
Gita (5) that the state of rnukti is reached by those who
have become free of any feeling of superiority or
prestige, as well as infatuati on, who have won over
the feeling of attachment to anything, and who have
risen above'the dualities like pleasure and pain, and
have thereby become completely free of ignorance.
But such highly pure and enlightened personalities
are indeed very rare, and it looks almost impossible
for a common man to rise to such immense heights. A
common man can, nevertheless, aspire to reach there
by trying, according to his own capacity, to tread the
path shown by such highly developed personalities.
Our main concern in this book is to show and describe
how far yoga can be included in the daily routine of an
average individual. We shall discuss thoroughly four
main areas in this respect, namely, those having to do
respectively with bodily health, silencing of the breath,
psychological behaviour, and mental concentration. Let
us, therefore, turn now to a detailed study of these
aspects of yoga, from the point of view of an average
individual.
23
Preparing for
YOGA
EVER SINCE the origin of civilized human life on the
earth, human beings have been required to mould their
behaviour according to the demands of the environ-
ment. It is customary to classify the environment into
four main types, namely, the physical, psychological,
physiological, and cultural. For making life possible
at all, the physical environment must be sufficiently
congenial. Atmospheric temperature and pressure,
presence or absence of particular gases in the
atmosphere, and availability of nutrients, are some of
the factors which seem to constitute the physical
environment. It is believed that our earth is the only
planet in the solar system, where a congenial environ-
ment is available, and it is possibly due to the fact of
an availability of a congenial environment that it is
believed that human life is a rare phenomenon in the
universe. Besides the physical environment, we are
influenced by a physiological environment (which may
also be called the internal environment) which depends
upon factors like body temperature, body fluids, meta-
bolism, poor or proper development of the body tissues
especially the nervous system, and so on. Our psycho-
logical environment comprises the various beliefs, fears,
emotions, likes and dislikes, attitudes, tendencies, etc.,
while the cultural environment is largely made by the
mores and taboos of the society we live in.
Our environment is, however, never completely
congenial. Had it been otherwise, and if all our desires
and needs were automatically satisfied as they arose,
we would have hardly ever been induced to think or
act in any manner. Fortunately, there are discrepancies
in the environment, both external as well as internal,
which set us afoot on a course of thought and action.
But what is unfortunate, these discrepancies often
become too great, And the disturbance caused by these
in an individual gives rise to pain and misery. Perhaps
all our sciences and philosophies, our religious,
cultural and political activities, and indeed all of what
we think or do, is, in the ultimate analysis, directed
towards one goal, that of reduction or cessation of
tension, pain and misery. We have argued in the first
chapter that yoga, with its physical and mental
discipline, which moulds the behaviour of an individual
in such a way that the happiest behavioural adjustment
of an individual with his surroundings is brought
about, is the panacea for human misery and sorrow*
Our effort throughout the pages of the present book
may be looked upon as an elaboration of this
statement, which appears to be much more impressive
and true in the context of the terrific tension or
pressure to which the common individual is subjected
in our modern society.
Yoga, as we have said, is a discipline which seeks
to bring the internal environment of an individual
under his control, thereby making for a happy adjust'
ment of the individual within himself, as well as with
his surroundings. We have noted already that the way
of science is the way of controlling the surrounding
nature, which, as is experienced all over the world, falls
much too short of the goal of peace within and
25
between individuals, societies, nations, and groups of
nations. It may not be preposterous to claim that if the
human society is to be saved from a tremendous peril
that seems to be the result of one-sided development of
science, we shall have to turn to yoga as the culture of
tomorrow. The problem of violence, aggression and
war can be solved, so it seems, only through a
revolution from within, which is the way of yoga,
which should go side by side with technological
advances*
As stated earlier, we shall discuss the yoga dis-
cipline under four heads, namely, techniques for bodily
health, techniques of silencing the breath, behavioral
discipline, and mental concentration. An individual
who masters these four aspects of yoga, becomes, what
may be called, a perfect individual, or a balanced
personality* Yoga may thus be rightly described as a
science of personality. We shall make a detailed study
of the four aspects of yoga in the following chapters,
after making note of certain preliminary
considerations in the present chapter.
There is an impelling question which, it would be
better to settle at the outset* This question has been
raised by very important personalities who we must
say, had reached the goal of yoga, i.e. jivanmnktL The
first among them, to be mentioned, is the great
Shankaracharya. He has denounced the ways of yoga,
samkhya, action, and acquiring knowledge, as of no
avail for making the state of liberation come into
being. In the Viveka-Chudamani (56 and 59), be
declares emphatically that as long as the state of mukti
is not there, the study of scriptures and the practice of
whatever is mentioned therein, has no value, and when
the state of mukti once comes into being, one has
nothing to bother about what has been said in the
26
scriptures. He makes his point clear with the help of
an example (verse 54). He says:' "A first-hand know-
ledge of the moon can be had, not by looking to the
descriptions of it made by other people, but only by
seeing the moon with one's own eyes. Similarly, the
state of mukti is to be experienced through one's own
insight, and not through trying to know what others
have said about it."
Jnaneshwara has explained the futility of the various
techniques of yoga in a similar fashion (Anubhavamrita,
IX. 27). He has spoken of the yoga techniques as
being as insignificant and useless as the moon at day-
time, so far as the state of mukti is concerned. When
the sun shines bright in the sky, nobody has to depend
on the moon for light. Similarly, yoga, with all its
techniques becomes useless and unnecessary when the
state of mukti is there. It may be argued here that
although it may be true that the moon serves no
purpose after sunrise, the moon, nevertheless, is
important before sunrise or after sunset. The yoga
techniques, it may be said, are similarly of great help
to those who have not yet known the light of mukti.
This argument looks very proper, But there is a
difficulty in it, which has been brought out in the
writings of J. Krishnamurti, who is supposed by many
people to be a living example of a person who has
reached the goal of yoga. He argues (Commentaries on
Living, 3rd series, pp. 98-99) that there is actually no
difference between an individual practising yoga, and
other individuals engaged in the fulfilment of worldly
desires. He looks upon both these to be equally greedy
and ambitious. The desire for mukti or emancipation
is also, as Krishnamurti says, only a form of desire,
not different from other desires for enjoyment.
The futility of the pursuit of mukti through efforts
27
based on what is said by others, is very well depicted
in the Maitreyi Upanishad (II, 32). It is declared that
the pleasure one obtains through the pursuit of mukti
is not real, because it does not imply any experience of
the state of mukti. It is like the pleasure derived from a
mere description of the taste of a nice fruit, by seeing
only a reflection of the fruit on the surface of water.
The point raised in all these statements is very -
crucial. It is indeed true that mukti or moksha is not a
state which can be produced as a result of any effort
according to the directions or instructions of others. It
is due to this fact that a liberated person cannot make
others liberated through his teachings. Otherwise, a
single individual like Lord Krishna, or Shan-
karacharya, could turn the whole humanity into
liberated persons, en masse. Unfortunately, liberation
cannot be given by a liberated person to others just as
a testimonial or a certificate can be given by one
person to another. The difficulty here lies in the fact
that to be liberated, one has himself to be in a state of
awareness, wherein one understands himself and the
world without the limitations of any preconceived
notions, biases and points of view. This requires a very
special capacity of the mind, namely, the ability to
look at anything as it is. Most of us lack this capacity
completely and, therefore, we cannot be liberated,
even if we may understand everything about the state
of mukti intellectually, through reading descriptions of
it made in the scriptures, or through hearing talks and
lectures. A blind man may be able to describe all the
facts about the moon in a very lucid and clear manner,
through gaining information from what others have
said. For a person who has seen the moon with his
own eyes, and has enjoyed the beauty of the moon-
light, such descriptions are of no importance at all.
28
And just as the blind man with all his intelligence and
knowledge, cannot have a first-hand experience of
seeing the moon., so too, most of us fail to reach the
state of mukti inspite of anything that we may do in
order to obtain it. The gap between the state of mukti
and our efforts cannot be bridged, as is the experience
of most of us, by talks and discourses books and
scriptures. This is a very vital point which makes most
of us falter on the spiritual path.
It is here that yoga seems to afford valuable help. It
is a basic presupposition in yoga, that every human
individual can have mukti if he succeeds in divesting
his mind of the impurities which cover his intellect
(buddhi)* barring it thereby from its intrinsic capacity
for atmadarshana. Patanjali has declared in the Yoga
Sutra (II. 28), that through a faithful and intense
practice of the eight parts of yoga, the impurities of
the mind are washed away progressively, and that the
mind becomes sensitive and pure by this, so that its
capacity for atmadarshana is automatically restored.
We may thus say that the techniques of yoga can help
an individual to attain mukti, by removing the obstacles
in the way of atmadarshana. It is, of course, true that
very few persons can actually reach the state of mukti
through practising the yoga techniques. But this does
not mean that yoga has nothing to offer to a common
man. An examination of the four groups of yoga
techniques which we shall describe in the following
chapters, will show that a person who finds himself
incapable of practising the higher or deeper techniques
of yoga, so to say, can at least obtain some benefits, so
as to make his body and mind healthy, and this in
itself is not a small gain. We shall here try to note
down certain facts about the human body and mind,
before setting on a detailed study of what the yoga
29
techniques are, and what changes they can bring about
in one's personality.
The human body as science tells us, is 9 product
of the union of two microscopic structures, respectively
called the sperm (or the male gamete) and the ovum
(or the female gamete). The sperms are produced in
the genital system of the male parent, and when one
of them unites with the ovum in the body of the female
parent, the union gives rise to a single cell called the
"zygote". The zygote increases rapidly in size, in the
womb of the mother, through a process of cell-divi-
sion, and ultimately emerges as a new-born child, at
the time of birth. The individual, at the time of birth,
is a mass of innumerable cells arranged into various
groups, by a process of differentiation. These groups
are called tissues. There are Ave main types of tissues
found in the human body. They are the epithelial tissue,
the connective tissue, muscles, nerves, and bones. The
epithelial tissue makes the inner as well as outer
surfaces of various organs and glands in the body, and
protects them. Various secretions in the body, like the
saliva, digestive juices, and hormones of the endocrine
glands, are supposed to be produced in the epithelial
tissue. The connective tissue is concerned with filling
the gaps between other tissues. It contains stored fat,
and gives support to various organs. The storage of fat
provides a good source of energy that can be utilized
when the intake of food is reduced or stopped. It is
due to this that we can live without food for some
days or even weeks.
The muscles form a very important tissue in the
body. They are responsible for the shape of the body
as well as for the capacity to perform various move-
ments. Strength of the body depends upon the deve-
lopment of muscles. A strong person has well-
30
developed muscles, while a weak person has poorly
developed muscles. Three types of muscles are found
in our body, namely, the skeletal muscles, the smooth
muscles, and the heart muscle. The skeletal muscles
are attached to the bony framework and are called
voluntary muscles. The smooth muscles form the walls
of the hollow visceral organs like the stomach, the
bladder, the intestines, etc., as well as of the blood
vessels and the lungs. The muscles cannot be contracted
voluntarily, and are called involuntary muscles on that
account. The heart muscles, which is called cardiac
muscle, is composed of a special kind of strong fibres,
because the heart has to work continuously from birth
till death.
The fourth kind of tissue, namely, the nervous tissue,
performs the function of conducting stimuli from vari-
ous body parts to the brain, and impulses in the reverse
direction. Those which carry the stimuli caused by
pain, pressure, temperature, etc., towards the spinal
cord or brain, are called "afferent" or"sensory" nerves,
while those carrying impulses from the spinal cord or
the brain to some muscle or organ, are called "efferent"
or "motor" nerves.
The bones form the frame-work of the body. With-
out them, the body would have been a mere mass of
soft tissue. They render support and protection to
delicate parts, and make movements possible. They
may be either hard or soft. The soft ones are called
"cartilage". The nasal septum which divides the nose
into two nostrils, the external ears, the end portions of
the ribs and the chest bone, are some of the examples
of cartilage, which makes bending or extension of a
part possible. The backbone is not a single piece, but
is composed of a chain of different pieces, called the
"vertebrae". This makes it possible to bend the back
31
forward or backward and to the sides. The large bones
are hollow from inside, this gives two advantages,
namely, first, that it increases the strength of the bones
and secondly, it reduces the weight of the bones to a
minimum. The various functions in the human body
can well be compared to those in a complicated ma-
chine. The human machine is, in fact, very much more
complicated than the machines we know of, because it
consists of physical as well as physiological factors.
Just as a business concern or a big institution like a
university, or a factory, has several departments, e.g.
those having to do with acquisition of raw materials
processing, storage, disposal of waste materials, making
the finished products available for use to others, and
so on, so too, with the human body. For keeping the
body in an efficient working order, so many functions
have to go on hand in hand. For example, a group of
organs in the body is engaged in acquisition of food
and its digestion, assimilation and utilization in the
body; another group of organs is concerned with the
work of supplying nutrients to every part of the body,
and collecting waste' materials from all over the body
so as to throw them out ultimately, through the work
of a third group of organs. fourth group of organs is
concerned with obtaining the vitally needed oxygen,
and supplying it to every tissue and organ. AH these
functions are helped by a fifth group of organs called
the "endocrine glands", while an overall control of all
the functions going on in the human body in co-opera-
tion with one another, is the business of a separate
group of organs. These various groups are respectively
called the digestive, circulatory, excretory, respiratory,
endocrine, and nervous systems. We shall describe the
working of these systems in brief, one by one, so that
32
we can further understand the influence of the yoga
techniques on the human organism.
The Digestive System
The organs constituting this system are: the mouth,
the pharynx, the gullet (foodpipe), the stomach, the
duodenum, and the small and large intestines. From
the point of view of the science of diet, the food we eat
should contain five constituents, namely, carbohydrates,
proteins, fats, mineral salts, and vitamins. The first three
constituents in this list are supposed to yield energy that
is required for the life activity of an individual. One
gram of carbohydrate or protein gives 4.1 calories of
energy, while one gram of fat is found to give 9.2 calo-
ries of energy. We get large amount of carbohydrates
from cereals, potatoes sugar, etc. The proteins, in
addition to supplying energy, perform another impor-
tant function, that of building the muscles of the body.
They are of two types, namely, plant proteins, which
are contained in large quantities in pulses, and dried
nuts, and animal proteins, which may be received from
animal sources, like eggs, meat, fish, poultry, milk, and
so on. The animal proteins are more valuable and
hence vegetarians must include sufficient quantity of milk
in their diet so as to fulfil the requirements of animal
proteins. The fats can also be had from two sources,
namely, plants and animals. Both these are found to
have equal energy value. But the animal fats, which are
contained in butter, meat, egg, fish and poultry, are
more valuable in as much as they are rich in vitamins
and D.
Many minerals, like Calcium, Magnesium, Phos-
phorus, Sodium, Iodine, Sulphur, etc., are found in the
human body. They play an important role in control-
33

The Digestive System
ling the biochemical activity going on in the body.
Calcium and Phosphorous are largely required for the
proper development of bones and teeth. Many disorders
are caused due to deficiencies of various minerals, and
hence, it is necessary to have them in sufficient
amounts in one's diet.
The vitamins, although needed in very minute
amounts, are often found to be lacking in diets. They
are obtained from fruits, vegetables, milk, etc., and are
34

Mouth
Stomach
Small
"intestines
Large
intestines
Anal opening
very intimately concerned with the maintenance of
health and vigour of the body.
Along with these nutrients, water is also needed in
large amounts, because nearly 65% of the weight of our
body is made by water. The body fluids, like saliva,
the blood, the digestive juices, and endocrine secretions
contain large amounts of water. Water helps in main-
taining the body temperature within the normal range.
The mouth is the receiving organ for food. The
food is cut into pieces with the teeth, and is ground
into finer forms, and is moistened with saliva, so that
it can be easily passed down the throat The pharynx is
a part next to the mouth, where seven paths come and
meet: two from the nose, one from the mouth, two
from the ears, one going down to the lungs, and one to
the stomach. The food masticated and moistened in the
mouth passes through the pharynx, down this last path,
made by the gullet or oesophagus, which leads
ultimately to the stomach. The food remains in the
stomach for about two hours, and gets mixed with the
Hydrochloric Acid and digestive juices secreted by the
stomach wall. It then passes to the duodenum which
has the shape of an inverted horse-shoe. Three digestive
juices get mixed with it here, namely, the pancreatic
juice (secreted by the glands called pancreas), the bile
(produced in the liver), and the juice of the duodenum
itself. As a result of the action of various digestive
juices, the constituents of food, especially the fats,
proteins and carbohydrates are broken down to simpler
substances which can be assimilated in the body. The
small intestines which are over twenty feet long, are
responsible for absorption of the digested constituents
of food. The remaining part goes to the large intestines
(nearly five feet long), and is ultimately eliminated
through the anus after absorbing water
35

from it in the large intestines. The assimilated consti-
tuents of food are largely stored in the liver, and are
supplied to the tissues, muscles, and all the parts of the
body, through the agency of blood*
The Circulatory System
Also known as the cardio-vascular system this
consists of the heart (which pumps the blood to various
body parts), and the blood vessels (which carry the
blood from .the heart and back to it again). The heart is
a very vital organ which works incessantly from birth till
death. It is divided into four compartments. The upper
right compartment receives impure blood from all over
the body, and sends it to the lower right one, from
where it is sent for purification \ in the lungs. The
purified blood from the lungs goes
L
> to the upper left
compartment of the heart, and thence to the lower left
one, from where it is pumped all over the body, through
the arteries. The arteries are thick-walled tube-like
structures which carry blood from the heart to various
body-parts, through their branches and minute sub-
branches. These minute sub-branches divide further into
capillaries which are very thin-walled. The capillaries
ramify into various muscles, organs, and tissues. Due to
the thinness of their walls, the capillaries allow the
nutrients and oxygen in the blood to come out of them,
and be supplied to the tissues. In return, the carbon
dioxide and other waste materials from the tissues
diiTuse into the capillaries. Minute sub-branches of veins
start from where the capillaries end, and blood (with the
waste materials in it) proceeds through the veins, and is
ultimately returned to the heart. The veins are thin-
walled. They have to raise the blood from the lower
extremities, pelvic region, trunk, and abdomen against
the force
36
The Cardio-Vascular System

Spleen
Kidney
Capillaries
of gravity. This is achieved with the help of valves
situated in the veins.
The blood contains nearly 90% water, in which
three kinds of bodies keep floating. These are: the red
blood corpuscles, the white blood cells, and the blood
platelets. The R..s contain a scarlet coloured
substance called "haemoglobin", which is the carrier
of oxygen. The W.B.C.s constitute the defence force
in the body. They fight any foreign cells such as
bacteria and other micro-organisms which, if allowed
to infest the body, can cause many diseases. The blood
platelets are supposed to play an important role in the
coagulation of blood, when it comes out of the blood
vessels due to cuts and wounds. The circulatory system
is thus responsible for carrying out three main
functions in the body, namely, supplying nutrients to
various parts and collecting waste materials from
them, maintaining the body temperature at the normal
level, and supplying oxygen to every part and collect-
ing carbon dioxide. In this last function it works in co-
operation with the respiratory system.
The Respiratory System
This may be said to start from the nose, and is
composed of the larynx, the wind pipe (trachea), its
two branches (called "bronchi"), and the lungs. It is
concerned with the vital function of making available
the much needed oxygen to the body. It would be well
to understand here why we need oxygen so badly for
remaining alive. Our life activity is ever based on
biochemical processes which cannot go on without a
continuous supply of energy. This energy is received
from the food we eat, especially the carbohydrates, fats,
and proteins. The end products of these constituents are
38

The Respiratory System
supplied to each tissue by the blood. The energy stored
in these products can be released for the purpose of life
activity of any tissue, only through the process of oxi-
dation. This is a process in which oxygen combines with
the substance containing energy, and releases energy
along with water vapour and carbon dioxide. This
process has to go on continually in every living tissue of
the body, and it is, therefore that we cannot live with-
out oxygen for more than a few minutes. The carbon
dioxide produced in the process of oxidation is a
poisonous gas, and must be removed from the body as
quickly as possible. It is collected, as we have noted
earlier, in the blood flowing in the capillaries. We
39
shall now see how it is eliminated from the body
through the respiratory system.
Air from the atmosphere enters our body through
the nose, and goes to the larynx or the sound box, and
then to the wind pipe. The wind pipe further divides
into two branches, one of which goes to the left lung,
and the other to the right lung. They give rise to
further branches and sub-branches in the lungs-At the
ends of the minute sub-branches are borne the air
sacks or cells (alveoli) which are surrounded by
capillaries, through which the blood flows from the heart
to the lungs, and back again to the heart. The walls of
the air sacks are very thin. They allow gases to pass
through in both directions. The oxygen from the air
sacks is absorbed in the blood in the capillaries, and
the carbon dioxide and water vapour from the
capillaries enters the air sacks. This gaseous exchange
is a very important phenomenon concerning the res-
piratory system.
The lungs are made of elastic tissues which expand
and contract during respiration. They are contained in
what is called the "thoracic cavity" which is protected
on all sides by the ribs. The base of this cavity is
made by a dome-shaped band of a muscle called the
"diaphragm", which plays an important role in the
mechanism of respiration. The cavity below the
diaphragm is called the "abdominal cavity". The
cavity accommodates organs like the stomach, duode-
num, liver, pancreas, kidneys, and intestines.
The act of respiration is composed of three parts,
namely, inhalation, exhalation and pause. During
inhalation the thoracic cavity increases in volume due
to an elevation and extension of the ribs, along with a
descent of the diaphragm downward. The lungs
expand due to this, and air rushes in through the
40
nose to fill the vacuum created thereby. The lungs
then contract automatically after a while, due to their
elastic recoil, expelling some amount of air during
exhalation. This is followed by a state of pause, and
then another round of inhalation and exhalation takes
place. Carbon dioxide and water vapour are got rid of
through exhalation.
The Excretory System
This consists of the kidneys, the ureters, the
bladder, the urethra, as well as the skin, and the large
intestines. The kidneys (two in number) are situated
in the abdominal cavity on the two sides of the body.
They contain a network of very minute tubelike
structures through which blood is strained, and the
unwanted materials like extra amount of water, salts,
waste products of digestion and other biochemical
processes, are separated from the blood. This forms
the urine, which goes down from the kidneys through
two tubes called the ureters, to the bladder. The urine
is passed out of the body through a duct called urethra.
The skin provides another arrangement for getting
rid of excess salts and water in the blood. This is
achieved by minute glands called the sweat glands
which are situated under the skin. When the blood
flows through the sweat glands, they separate some
salts and water, along with some other unwanted
materials, from the blood. The separated fluid comes
to the surface in the form of sweat, and evaporates.
This helps to keep the body temperature normal during
hot summer days.
41
The Endocrine System
This system consists of many glands situated at
various places in the body. The important ones among
them are: the pituitary, the pineal (both in the head)
the thyroid, the parathyroids (both in the neck), the
thymus (in the thoracic cavity), adrenals, and the sex
The Endocrine System
42


Pituitary
Para thyroids
Ovaries
Testicles
glands (in the abdominal cavity). A special feature of
these glands is that there are no ducts to carry their se-
cretion s(c a lied hormones) outside the glands. Hence they
are also called the ductless glands. The hormones pro-
duced in the endocrine glands are thrown directly in
the blood flowing through them and are thus made
available to different organs and tissues of the body.
The hormones (e.g. pituitrin, thyroxin, adrenalin, etc.)
are very much essential for a proper development of
the body and are found to be intimately concerned
with many important functions like metabolism
growth sexual maturity, emotional set-up, action of
the heart and the lungs and so on. A deficiency as
well as an excess of the secretion of hormones may
lead to many disorders.
The Nervous System
This is like the central office or the head office
controlling the various departments of an organized
unit. There are two main divisions of this system
called the "central nervous system" and the "auto-
nomous nervous system". The former is composed of
the brain the medulla the spinal cord and the
nerves while the latter consists of two chains of knot-
like structures called "ganglia" running along the
two sides of the back-bone. The automatic nervous
system controls the working of the heart, the digestive
organs the kidneys the endocrine glands etc. which
goes on without our being conscious of it. The brain
is divided into two main parts namely, the large brain
(cerebrum) and the small brain (cerebellum). The
large brain has various specified areas where specific
stimuli (e.g. those concerning sight smell, hearing
taste and touch, etc.) are received and registered as
43

The Nervous System
well as the individual's responses to them are decided.
The phenomena of memory, emotions, consciousness,
etc., are also controlled by the large brain. The small
brain is concerned with maintaining the balance of the
body, and a co-ordination in the movements of
various body-parts. Centres which control the action
of the heart, and the lungs, are situated in the medulla.
The spina! cord is a -like mass of nervous
44

Spinal cord
tissue running from the medulla downward through
the back-bone. In its course, it gives out branches of
nerves on both sides, which spread all over the body,
and conduct stimuli toward the spinal cord, as well as
impulses from the brain or the controlling centres to
the organs and tissues. They are respectively called the
"sensory" and "motor" nerves.
The Nature of Yogic Exercises
We have so far gone through a rather hurried
description of the various systems in our body so that
we can now see how far and in what manner the yoga
techniques can influence our body and its health. A
healthy individual must have all the tissues and organs
developed properly. Health is a function of physical
as well as mental factors. The ancient masters of yoga
were fully aware of the maxim "healthy mind in a
healthy body", and hence it is that they developed a
masterly system of techniques which takes care of all
the tissues of the body and their functions in a superb
manner. Maintenance of bodily health depends on' two
factors, namely, supply of nourishment in ample
amounts, and the quick removal of waste materials
which are produced in the tissues as a result of
biochemical activity. This can be achieved through
properly exercising every tissue. Each tissue draws the
nutrients necessary for its functions from the blood
flowing in the capillaries. A tissue cannot get proper
nourishment if it remains inactive, and waste materials
are also not removed from it efficiently. The inactivity
of a tissue reduces circulation of blood in it, and if
such a situation continues for long durations, very
little or no blood may flow through the tissue. Such a
tissue loses its efficiency in due course of time.
45
If a tissue is exercised regularly by causing the
muscles concerned to contract and stretch, the
capillaries are pressed, 'and the tissue gets increased
supply of blood, oxygen, and the nutrients. In rigorous
types of exercises like running, swimming, gymnastics,
weight training, wrestling, boxing, etc., particular
muscles or set of muscles are repeatedly contracted
rapidly. This causes the muscles to develop in beauti-
ful shapes, due to an increase in the size of the
muscles by addition or more number of fibres to them.
A muscle is a bundle of a number of elastic fibres, and
the number of these fibres can be increased by rigorous
exercise, thereby adding to the physical strength of an
individual. It is thus that various skeletal muscles (e.g.
the muscles of the arms, chest, back, thighs, etc.) are
developed through rigorous exercises. Such exercises
involve rapid contraction of muscles, called "phasic"
or "isotonic" contraction. This type of contraction of a
muscle causes the bone to which that muscle is attached,
to move around a joint, the bone acting as a lever, and
the joint as a fulcrum. Most of the yoga techniques for
health do not, however, involve phasic contraction of
the muscles. They bring about a different type of
contraction, known as static contraction, in which a
muscle is maintained under a stretch or tension without
causing repeated movements. We shall, at this stage,
try to describe the general characteristics of the yoga
techniques for health.
The yoga system of health involves exercise of the
skeletal as well as the deep-seated smooth muscles of
the body. In this respect, it may be said to surpass any
other system of exercise. The muscles of the abdominal
wall, the pelvis, the trunk, the back and the chest, the
abdominal viscera, the neck, as well as the muscles of the
limbs are subjected to stretch in the various exercises
46
included in the yoga system for health. It is thus very
useful in restoring the tone of the internal organs of the
body. It is due to this fact that the yoga techniques are
of great significance for corrective and restorative pur-
poses. It is, of course, true that for building the skeletal
muscles, one has to practise some specialized exercises
of a rigorous type in addition to the yoga techniques.
The internal pressure changes (eg. the intrathoracic
and intra-abdominal pressures) may be mentioned as a
special characteristic of the yoga system for health.
There are certain exercises included in this system
wherein an internal pressure is exerted on the various
organs and glands. All these exercises promote blood-
circulation in various party, and render a sort of gentle
massage to the organs concerned.
Very little expenditure in terms of energy and
money is involved in the yoga techniques. They can
thus be practised by the rich as well as poor, and by
men and women of all ages. Not m uch equipment or
appliances are required. Considering all these points,
it would seem obvious that the yoga techniques deserve
much more serious attention of the people, than what
they have hitherto been receiving.
The scope of the yoga techniques is, however, not
limited to the development of the body alone. It is a
sad fact that yoga is equated mostly with the postures
(asanas), and the so called institutions of yoga appear
to emphasise this part of yoga alone. This is indeed a
situation far from satisfactory. The yoga techniques, as
we shall describe in the following chapters, are actually
concerned with changing one's personality as a whole,
by bringing about a revolution in one's attitudes,
tendencies, emotions, as well as the physiological pro-
cesses underlying these. Practice of the physical pos-
tures is to be taken just as a beginning in that direction.
47
The physiological and psychological changes that can
be brought about in one's personality, through the
practices involving control of the breath and the mind
are usually overlooked. But it is actually these areas
that need to be tackled by devoted students of yoga, in
co-operation with the scientists. We shall have occasion
later on to discuss how fruitful these areas can prove
to be, approached properly.
The techniques for bodily health, which we shall
describe in the third chapter, include three types of
procedures, namely, the asanas, tmtdras, and cleansing
acts. The asanas, it seems, were developed initially
mainly for the purpose of sitting comfortably for long
durations in a state of peace and relaxation. This is
clear from the mention of asanas as found m the older
Upaniehads, the Gita, the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, and
some other ancient treatises. Later on, however, the
physical aspects of the asanas were elaborated especi-
ally by the Hatha Yogis, and as a result, we find many
simple as well as intricate postures described in com-
paratively later literature. The names of the various
poses are derived mainly from the resemblance of the
postures with the appearance of various animals, birds,
and sometimes other symbols like a tree, a lotus, a
circle, and so on. It is said in the Gheranda Samlrita
(II, 1-2), which is an authoritative text of Hatha Yoga,
that there are as many asanas as there are species of
living beings, and that eighty four out of them are more
in vogue. The significance of this number (eighty four)
is not easy to determine. Perhaps it is related to the
belief that in the world there are in all eighty four lakh
species of living beings and that one can be born as a
human being after one has completed a cycle of births
in all these species. Actually, nearly forty poses have
been described in the various Hatha Yoga texts
48
There is a tendency evident in the writings of many
recent writers to invent various modifications of these
traditional poses. We shall, in trie next chapter, give
an account of some of the poses as found in the
traditional sources, which we would think useful from
the point of view of a general reader. Our effort would
be to reduce their number to a possible minimum.
The term
<s
mudra
9
* is perhaps used interchangeably
with the word "asanas" in the traditional texts. But
sometimes a difference is also made between the two.
For example, in the Hathayoga Pradipika (I, 17,111,5),
it is mentioned that the practice of the asanas brings
mental and physical steadiness, and makes for perfect
health and suppleness of the body, while the practice
of ntudras is to be undertaken mainly for the purpose
of the arousal of dormant KundalinL We find a descrip-
tion of the technique and the utility of ten mudras in
this connection.
The ski cleansing acts may be said to form a special
feature of the yoga technique, and are useful in mak-
ing different parts of the body clean of impurities.
Most of them are, however, not to be practised every-
day. They are observed to have considerable therapeuti-
cal value. We shall describe only the important ones
during the course of our discussion. It would be well
here to note down certain preliminary points which
one should give careful attention to, before actually
proceeding to practise the yoga techniques for bodily
health.
1. Physical Condition of the Individual: It would be
better to learn the yoga techniques while one is having
normal health. When once the techniques are mastered
completely, they can be practised regularly for the
maintenance of health. Sometimes it so happens that
49
one thinks of taking to the practice of the yoga techni-
ques only with a view to overcome some bodily disorder
or disease, in this case, one has to be more cautious in
learning the techniques, because* if administered
without due care, the yoga practices may result in
harmful effects on the functions of the body. An im-
prudent way of practising the yoga techniques is some-
times found to lead to impairment of the health of an
individual, instead of making him healthier. This is
due to the fact that delicate organs like the brain, the
spinal cord, the lungs, the heart, etc., are involved in the
influence of the yoga techniques, and they may be
badly affected by the practice of the yoga technique in a
wrong way. Persons who are very weak, or those who
have recovered from illness, should, therefore, be
careful in this respect. The athletes and gymnasts, so
also those who are concerned with the development of
various motor skills (i.e. skill of the various motor
organs of the body), can be immensely benefitted by a
regular practice of the yoga techniaues. For the persons
whose occupation docs not call for much physical
exertion, e.g. teachers, scientists, oflicegoers, shop-
keepers, etc., the yoga techniques would provide a very
suitable kind of exercise. And even those persons who
are required to exert physically for earning their liveli-
hood, would do well to keep their overall fitness by
taking recourse to the yoga techniques. It is true that
many ailments can be cured by wisely administering
the yoga techniques, but, for that, one has to take the
help of an expert.
2. Right Advice: It is a sad fact that experts in the yoga
techniques who can give the right kind of advice
are actually very rare. Most of the persons who turn to
yoga as a profession do not usually have a scientific
50
attitude, and thus what they seem to propagate is their
personal likes and dislikes and idiosyncracies. Their
claims regarding the propensities of yoga are usually
very tall and they are hardly ever ready to consider the
views of others. An element of mystery is found to be
rampant in their activities, and sincere and honest
people are often cheated and deceived by the so-called
masters in the field of yoga. It is a happy sign, however,
that some intelligent and goodnatured people are also
now getting attracted towards the art and science of
yoga. A beginner in yoga should prefer to go to a
teacher who is not greedy and too much of a boasting
type. The best way to make reliable information
available to those who are interested in learning the
yoga practices, would be to introduce the subject in
schools and colleges, not as a compulsory subject, but as
an optional subject. We should also have more
number of institutions and centres of higher learning,
where research could be conducted.
3. Age and Sex: Age and sex do not offer any bar so
far as the yoga techniques are concerned. This does
not, of course, mean that every yoga technique may
suit every individual. The young and old, for example,
should avoid those techniques which involve much of
stress or pull on the body parts. Women should aban-
don some practices during menstruation, and during
advanced stages of pregnancy. But there are some
practices which can be continued even during those
conditions. Children may start practising the yoga
techniques at about eight years of age, but they should
not attempt yogic breathing till they become twelve.
There is perhaps no upper age limit so far as the yoga
techniques are concerned. Of course, one has to give
up the strenuous practices after one reaches advanced
51
age, but yogic breathing, techniques of mental con-
centration* and some simpler postures can be practised
even till the last day of one's life (if one is fit
otherwise).
4. Place and Surroundings: The place for practising the
yoga techniques should be well protected from the
menace of animals, rodents and insects. If it is indoors it
should be well-ventilated and having sufficient light.
The yoga practices can also be performed outdoors if
privacy is not Jacking, The surroundings should not be
noisy. The yoga techniques may be practised in*
dividualJy or even collectively. If they are performed in
groups in the open care should be taken to avoid undue
exposure to severe cold, strong winds or hot sun.
Practices like yogic breathing and mental concentration
may be practised individually, because the capacities of
different individuals in respect of these may vary to a
great extent. The ground should not be wet, or full of
undulations. It should be plane and flat, not sloping in
one direction.
5. Time; Morning time is considered better by
many from the point of view of regularity, while it is the
experience of some people, especially the beginners that the
yoga practices can be done with more ease and comfort in
the evening. Some people have a habit of doing them both
morning and evening but ordinarily this is not necessary.
One should adjust the time according to his convenience.
Yoga techniques, like any other physical exercise, should
never be undergone with a loaded stomach. After a full
meal, the food remains in the stomach for about a couple
of hours, and takes another 2-3 hours to be absorbed in
the intestines. Hence, nearly five hours should be allowed
52
to pass after a full meal, and nearly two hours after a
snack, so that the exercise does not interfere in any
way with the process of digestion and absorption of
food* Morning time would be more suitable from this
point of view, if one is not habitually a late riser.
6. Diet: The diet should be nutritious and whole-
some yet simple. Overeating must be avoided. Too
much of chillies and spices are not desirable. One
need not be a strict vegetarian to be successful in the
practice of the yoga techniques* If one guards oneself
against eating more than what the body needs then
what one eats (within moderate limits) or what one
does not eat (e.g. onion garlic, chillies, etc..) is not
very important, at least in the beginning of the
practice.
7. Interval: The life of many of us is so busy and full
of disturbances that it becomes very difficult some*
times to keep on regularity in the practices. But even
under such situations a lot of benefit can be obtained
if one is not lazy and does not fail to undergo the
practices whenever one gets sufficient time. A regular
daily practice is very desirable, but a gap of a day or
two in a week should not do any harm. One should
remember the famous saying of the Gita (II, 40),
namely that even a little practice of yoga can save an
individual from great dangers. Too much of irregu-
larity or frequent and long gaps in the practices should,
however, be avoided if anything worthwhile is to be
achieved.
8. Clothing: In warm countries like India, the
clothing does not oiler much of a problem, and a vest
with or without sleeves and a short would suffice for
53
males. In temperate climates, however, the clothes
should be such as would afford protection against
exposure to cold, while at the same time, causing the
least possible interference in free movement of the
body-parts. This problem would not arise even in
severe winter if the room is air-conditioned. Both men
and women should, while practising the yoga techni-
ques, wear as less number of clothes as permitted by
the climate and their social customs. In sun, the dress
should be clean, simple, and least cumbersome.
9. The Scat: It is not proper to perform the yoga
practices on uncovered floor or ground, because the
body comes in an immediate contact with it, during
the practices. The traditional way of preparing the
seat, as described in the Gita, and other yoga texts, is
as follows:
A grass carpet is first spread on the ground, and is
covered with a deer hide, over which a clean linen
cloth is spread. Such a traditional seat is indeed very
comfortable for sitting for long durations in a state of
meditation or for the purposes of practising yogic
breathing. Advanced students of yoga are fond of
using a tiger hide or a tanned skin of a lion, instead of
a deer hide. For ordinary purposes, the seat may be
prepared by first spreading a grass mat on the floor,
covering it with a thick carpet or a coarse woolen rug,
with a clean piece of cloth spread on the top. This cloth
may be kept clean by washing it frequently. The seat
need not be very thick or soft like a mattress. The size
of the seat should be such that one can lie down on it
(as required in some yoga practices) or sit comfortably,
as the case may be. A raised platform or a table may
also be used.
54

10. The Order of Different Techniques: It is some-
times thought necessary to combine the yoga techni-
ques with other exercises like Surya Namaskar* weight
training, gymnastics, etc. In that case, a period of rest
for about fifteen minutes in a relaxed state should be
allowed to pass in between, if the yoga techniques are
practised after other types of exercise. Among the
yoga techniques themselves, the postural techniques,
breathing exercises, and techniques of mental concen-
tration should be practised in that order.
11. General Hints: The postural exercises, as we
have noted earlier, involve static or isometric contrac-
tion of the muscles, in which a set of muscles is held in
a state of tension without causing repeated movements
of the body . The stretching of the muscles, or their
contraction, should never be effected abruptly or all of
a sudden. The final pose of every postuie should be
reached as slowly as possible, causing the tension in a
set of muscles to increase steadily. The final stage of
every posture should be reached through proper
intermediate stages, which should be mastered one by
one without any undue haste. It may so happen that one
may take some days or even weeks to be able to attain
the final stage of a posture. But there should be no
hurry. The movement of each body part should exhibit
complete control of the muscles concerned, and this
requires a certain amount of training to the muscles,
which takes time. There should be no violent jerks or
abrupt movements. Ease, smoothness, and grace
should be the watchwords of a student of yoga while
learning the various yoga techniques. In the beginning
there is a tendency to bring into play muscles which
are not concerned with a particular action. This
happens in learning any motor skill. But in due
55
course of time one learns how to avoid unproductive
muscular activity, by causing only the required muscle
or set of muscles to contract or stretch, as the case
may be, while all other muscles are kept in a relaxed
condition. This is a very important fact concerning
graceful and smooth actions, and should be given
serious attention since the very beginning.
One should not rush to the final position of any
posture unless he has mastered the intermediate stages
one by one. The best thing is to proceed as far as one
comfortably can, and to remain in that position for
some time. The muscles involved in action get trained
in a few days, and smoothness and grace can be thus
slowly achieved. Care should always be taken not to
overwork any muscle. The breathing must not be
restricted or controlled unnecessarily, unless it is
specially called for. Whenever one restarts the practices
after a long lapse of time due to illness or any other
cause one should begin with a lower dose, and should
reach the previous level only after practising the various
techniques for a few more days. One should never have a
feeling of fatigue or dullness towards the end of the
practice. One should actually feel light, active and
exhilarated during the practice, as well as after com-
pleting the daily course. Duration of the various
techniques should be adjusted according to one's
capacity, and there should never be a feeling of ex-
haustion or under tension.
After having made a note of the preliminary con-
siderations, we are now in a position to discuss the
procedure and utility of the various yoga techniques.
We shall do this in the chapters that follow.
56
Yoga
for Better Health
As MENTIONED EARLIER, we shall, in this chapter, describe
the procedure and utility of some selected yoga techni-
ques (traditionally grouped under the asanas, mudras
f
and kriyas) for maintaining the health of an individual.
We shall include here only those techniques which can
very well form a part of the daily routine of an aver-
age individual. Our endeavour, as indicated earlier
would be to reduce the number of the techniques to a
possible minimum, giving due consideration at the
same time to the fact that the techniques included in
our list should render sufficient exercise to all the
body parts, taking care of all the various functions
going on in the body. In other words, our list should
make a fairly complete set of exercises fulfilling the
needs of every particular organ and Amotion of the
body.
There seems to be a tendency among contemporary
writers on yoga to give a very long list of the postures,
inventing many modifications, and giving them very
complicated names. This may, indeed, serve the pur-
pose of making a book more impressive, and making
the reader feel that the author is a great expert of
yoga. The present book, however, as its very title
would indicate, is aimed at bringing out the utility of
yoga in one's daily life. But it can be claimed with
a fair measure of certainty that an individual who
practises only these techniques every day (with a little
of yogic breathing and meditation as described in the
following chapters) need not do any other exercise for
keeping himself healthy and lit. And all this should
not take more than forty minutes a day. It is doubtful
if many people would afford or care to spend even
this much time every day for the practice of yoga.
Of course, there are a few yoga enthusiasts whose
interest in yoga is not just marginal, and who would be
interested in having proficiency in yoga. For the benefit
of such persons we shall describe some further yoga
techniques involving more skill and practice, in a
separate chapter. It may be said that in the present
chapter we have described the 'just sufficient
9
or 'good
enough* portion of daily yoga practice, and the next
chapter is meant for those who have more time, a
deeper interest, and possibly a fuller grasp of the sub-
ject. The exercises in this chapter may be practised in
the same order in which they appear here.
Preliminary Exercise to Limber-up Muscles and Joints
It is often found that when one gets up in the
morning the body is rather stiff. With the various
movements during the day the muscles and joints lose
the morning stiffness. Due to this it is usually easier to
practise the yoga postures in the evening after a day's
work, rather than in the morning. Yoga exercises
involve stretching or pressing of various muscles and
joints. This stress can be borne more easily and the
postures can be done more gracefully if one undergoes
movements of the muscles and joints in a systematic
manner. The main procedure here is to do movements
of various joints by contracting and
58
then relaxing the muscles which bring about these
movements. The fingers, palms, wrists, elbows,
shoulders, neck, hips, knees, heels and toes are thus
worked up in the following manner, so that all the
joints of the body are made more supple, which in
turn makes for graceful performance of asanas.
Sit down on the seat with the legs straight and
together in front. Hold the arms in front horizontally,
parallel to each other, palms facing down, and fingers
touching each other. Keep the back straight. Then
spread the fingers and bend them towards the palms*
Hold the fists tightly for a couple of seconds and then
spread the fingers again. Repeat this three times. Now
keep the palms facing outward and repeat the exercise
three times. Then the exercise should be repeated
likewise, keeping the palms facing upward and then
inward.
Next, keeping the arms in a horizontal position as
before, move the hands in a circle, both clock-wise and
anti-clock-wise, several times, so as to exercise the
wrists. Then to exercise the elbow joints keep the arms
in the original position, palms facing upward, and move
the hands towards the shoulders and to the original
position again. This is to be done both in the vertical
and horizontal plane six times each. The next thing is
to exercise the shoulder joints. This is done by rotat-
ing the upper arm around the ball-and-socket joint of
the shoulder in two directions. With this, one is ready
to exercise the neck. For that, keeping the legs in front
as before, place the hands on the ground (i.e., the seat)
behind the hips, palms down and fingers pointing
backward. Keep the shoulders relaxed and the back
slightly inclined backward to allow free movement of
the neck muscles. Turn the head slowly to the left side
till the chin comes near the left shoul-
59
der. Then turn the head slowly to the right side.
Repeat this three times. Then rotate the chin in a
vertical plane slowly in the clockwise as well as the
reverse direction three times each way. This move-
ment of the neck is called Brahma-wudra.
This much about the limbering exercise of the upper
extremities. The lower extremities can be well exercised
in a lying down position. For that, lie down on the
back, keeping the legs slightly apart, and the arms
straight behind the head. Let the feet rest on the heels
with the toes pointing upward. Move the toes forward
and backward thus exercising the joints between the
phalanges. Then move the whole feet in the same
manner to exercise the lower portions near the heels.
Then rotate the feet in a horizontal plane in both direc-
tions clock-wise and reverse.
Next we come to the knees. Lying down on the back
as before, bend the left leg at the knee joint bringing the
left knee towards the chest, and press it with both the
hands against the chest, trying to touch the knee with the
chin. Exhale deeply while doing this. Then let go, inhale,
bring the hands back behind the head and then with an
exhalation repeat the same procedure with the right knee.
After working the knee joints individually four to six
times, repeat with both the knees together. In this case the
legs are not to be straightened every time, but keeping
them bent at the knees, a rocking movement should be
made, in which exhalation accompanies the backward
movement while the knees are pressed against the chest,
and inhalation is done during the forward movement.
This whole technique of pressing the knees against the
chest, singly or together, is called Pavcmarnuktasana in
popular language. It is good as a limbering exercise for
the back, trunk, thighs, and knees.
60
A degree of suppleness can be actually felt after
doing the exercises of various joints as described above*
Especially the beginners can derive much advantage
from them. When one gets sufficiently established in
the practice of yoga techniques, one may not find them
very necessary. Moreover, each one of the yoga postures
which we are going to describe now does have the same
effect of giving rise to suppleness. But still this preli-
minary exercise would be very useful for most of us.
We shall now describe the yoga techniques proper,
which include four different categories, namely, asana,
mudra, bandha and kriya. We have made a selection
from all these categories for the purpose of the present
chapter.
Bhadrasana
Bhadra in Sanskrit means auspicious. So it is good
to begin the practice of yoga with this posture. This
asanci is found described in various yoga texts such as
Hathayogapradipika (I. 53-54), Gherandasamhita (II.
9-10), DarshanopanishadilW. 7), Trishikhibrahwano-
panishad (45), Dhyanabindaopanishad (42), and Yoga-
Yajnyavalkya (III, 11-12). It is a sitting posture, and a
rather difficult one for those who are not accustomed
to sit on the ground with the legs crossed.
Sitting on the seat, the feet are placed in front of
the body with the toes pointing forward, the heels near
the body, and the soles of the two feet touching each
other from the toes to the heels. The toes are grasped
by the two hands, and the feet are brought as near the
body as possible so that the heels will almost touch the
perineum (the soft portion between the anus and the
genital organ). This is not very difficult if the knees are
raised from the ground. But the knees are to be placed
61
on the ground. One may find this to be impossible in
the beginning as there is much of stretch felt at the
knees and along the thighs. In a week or two one learns
to bear it, and then the knees can be placed well on
the ground. In the beginning one may keep only the
left knee on the ground for a few seconds, allowing the
right knee to be raised, and then keep the right one on
the ground, raising the left knee if necessary. This may
be repeated half a dozen times. Gradually it will be
possible to keep both the knees on the ground.
The back should be kept straight. In some (exis it
is said that the chin should be set below the throat and
one should fix the gaze on the tip of the nose. In yoga
terminology these two techniques are respectively called
Jalandharahandha and NasagradrishtL Instead of these
two, it is desirable to introduce the following modifica-
tion:
1

While holding the asana rather tightly, one should
exhale deeply and then hold the breath out for a while
by not allowing the air to enter the lungs again. At the
same time, the anus should be contracted the abdominal
wall should be sucked in by expanding the thorax, and
the chin should be set below the throat. In other words,
one should do bahya-kwnbhaka with the three bandhas.
(These techniques have been described in the chapter
on pronayama). After holding the breath out with the
application of the bandhas for a few moments, one
should inhale, have two or three normal respirations,
and repeat this once agaiA Then it may be repeated for
a third time. Bhadrasana practised in this manner renders
good stretching exercise to the thighs, perineum, pelvis,
abdomen, and neck.
62
Uttaaamandukasana
Uttana in Sanskrit means lying on the back with the
face turned up. Afanduka is a frog. This asana is so
named because in it the body looks like a frog as view**
ed from the ventral side. This asana is a further deve-
lopment of another asana called Mandukasana. We find
both of them described in the Gherandasamhlta (II. 33
and 35). The description reads as follows: "After assum-
ing the mandukasana pose, the arms are so arranged
that the head is held by the elbows, and the body gives
an appearance of the ventral side of a frog".
The final pose of Uttanamandukasana is achieved
through three stages. In the first stage the knees are
kept together In front and one sits between the heels
keeping the feet in such a way that the soles are up-
turned and the greater toes almost touch each other
the upper surface of the feet being well adjusted on the
seat. This is felt very uneasy in the beginning, but this
difficulty can be overcome by practice, and then the
asana becomes quite comfortable. The back is kept
erect. The hands are placed on the knees. This is called
Vajrasana. In the second stage, keeping the feet as they
are, the knees are taken apart as far as possible, keep-
ing the hands on the knees. This is Mandukasana. From
this one goes to Vttananumdukasana by raising the
hands and keeping them on the opposite shoulders so
that the elbows will point upward, touching the head
on the sides. An upward pull is felt along the arms and
the two sides of the trunk.
This asana may be practised for ten to fifteen
seconds to begin with, and the time may be increased
gradually to two minutes. It provides good stretching
exercise to the legs, perineum, pelvic floor, sides of the
trunk and the arms. The utility of this asana can be
63

greatly enhanced if one would practice three rounds of
bahya kwnbhaka with bandhas while holding the final
pose, as described in the case of Bhadrascma.
Gomukhasana
Gomukha is a Sanskrit word meaning the mouth of
a cow. This asana has derived its name from the fact
that in this pose the body resembles the appearance of
the face of a cow. The ffathqyoga-pradipika (I. 20),
Gheranda-samhita (II. 16), Darshanopanishad (III. 3),
and Shandilyopanlshad (I. 3. 2) speak only about the
arrangement of the feet in this posture. No mention is
found about the arrangement of the hands. We can,
however, find that in the Yoga Yajnyavalkya (III. 6.),
which says that the greater toes should be grasped by
the hands crossed from behind. In the popular version
of this asana this is not usually followed.
Gomukhasana may be practised in two stages. Sitting
comfortably on the seat with the legs crossed the right
heel is grasped with the hands, and is set against the
base of the left hip, keeping the right hip well on the
seat. The right knee is placed on the seat, and the left
knee is made to come just over the right one, at the
same time setting the left heel just by the back side of
the right hip. Both the thighs should experience a
steady stretch all along their length. The sex organs (in
case of males) should be adjusted comfortably between
the thighs in such a way that there is no undue pressure
on them. The heels should be kept tightly pressed
against the hips. The hands are kept over the left knee
exerting some pressure on it, and the back is bent
slightly forward. Then after exhaling deeply, bahya*
kwnbhaka is done with the bandhas three times, as
explained earlier* This is the first stage of Gomukhasana.
64

Gomukha Asana

In the second stage, keeping the arrangement of the
legs as it is the right arm is spread on the back in such
a way that its elbow points downward and the fingers
point upward. The left arm is lowered on the back and
its fingers are made to interlock with the fingers of the
right hand. The left elbow will be pointing upward on
the left side of the head. The back and neck are held
erect. After maintaining this position for a while, the
procedure of both the stages is repeated on the other
side, now keeping the right knee over the left one, and
in the second stage, spreading the right arm over the
back from above and the left hand from below.
The final pose may be maintained for a duration of
fifteen seconds on each side to begin with, increasing it
gradually to one minute on each side. Gomukhasana
with the bandhas (in the first stage) provides good
stretching exercise to almost all muscles of the limbs
and the trunk.
Ardhamatsyendrasana
Matsyendranath was a renowned Master of Hatha-
yoga of ancient times. Matsyendrasana is a posture
derived from his name. It is one of the very difficult
but very important posture of yoga. We find it described
in the Hathayogapradipika (I. 26-27), and Gheranda-
samhita (II. 23-24). As that posture cannot be practi-
sed by a beginner, a simpler version of it has become
quite popular. It may be called Sara/a Matsyendrasana.
Sara/a in Sanskrit means easy. But the name Ardha-
matsyendrasana (Ardha meaning half) is much in vogue.
Sitting on the seat with the legs crossed in front the
left leg is arranged as in Gomukhasana, the left knee
being put on the seat jn front, and the left heel being
put below the right hip. The right foot is placed on the
66



left of the left and the right knee is kept in a
vertical position- With the hands the right knee is
pressed against the chest the left shoulder is turned to
the right, and the right foot is grasped with the left
hand, the left arm being on the right side of the right
knee. The head is turned as much as possible to the
right side, and the right arm is spread over the back
the right hand coming upto the left thigh. The chin is
held in line with the right shoulder. After holding the
pose for |i while the position of the legs and arms is
changed. Now the right knee is placed on the seat, the
left knee is held vertically, and the head is turned to
the left, the left arm being spread on the back.
The final pose may be maintained for fifteen seconds
on each side in the beginning, and the duration may
be increased gradually to one minute on each side.
In Ardhamatsyendrasana the abdomen is pressed.
The thighs, lower back, and the spine are exercised
Exercise of the vertebral column by twisting it to the
left and right sides is a special feature of this asana.
Yogamudra
It is often asked why this pose is called a mmlra
and not an asana. This pose is not found mentioned in
the traditional texts of Hathayoga. But it is a very use-
ful pose, and quite popular, too- In Sanskrit literature
the three words, asana* bandha and mudra have often
been used to convey one and the same thing, namely, a
posture. In Hathayoga, however, they are not used
interchangeably, although the bandhas have actually
been grouped under the mudras.
Sitting on the seat, the right foot is placed on the
left thigh with the sole facing up and then the left foot
js similarly placed on the right thigh. This in itself is an
68



asana of yoga, called Padmasana. Now keeping both
the knees well on the ground, the body is bent forward
without raising the hips from the seat, and the forehead
is kept touching the ground. The hands are kept on the
back, holding the left wrist in the right hand. If Padm-
asana is felt very strenuous then it may be replaced by
Vajrasana in the beginning, but the aim should be to
practise Yogamudra in Padmasana.
Starting with a duration of about ten seconds with
increasing practice one may do it for a minute at a
stretch or in two turns of thirty seconds each. The
abdominal viscera are pressed in this pose. Muscles of
the lower back and thighs are stretched, as also those
of the shoulders and the neck. Thus Yogamudra renders
exercise to these parts. Yogamudra involves forward
bending. It may be followed by backward bending for
which Matsyasana is the best thing to do.
Matsyasana
Matsya in Sanskrit means a fish. In this pose the
body resembles the appearance of a fish. As the fish
swims easily in water so a person can float easily on
water by taking the Matsyasana pose. Like Yogamudra
this pose is also done in Padmasana. It may thus be
called an extension of Yogamudra. Of course, it is not
necessary that for doing this pose one must first have
done Yogamudra. But it would make a good sequence
to do this pose after Yogamudra.
With the feet arranged as in Padmasana one should
lie down on the back. Then keeping both the knees
well on the ground the elbows are placed on the two
sides of the body and with their support the trunk and
head is raised. Then turning the head backward its
topmost portion is kept on the seat (never on the bare
70
Matsya Asana without Padma Asana



floor), the neck and back forming an arch. The hands
may be kept on the thighs or one may grasp the big
toes with them. Now opening the mouth fully wide and
stretching the tongue out, air is thrown put with a
sudden exhalation. This gives very good exercise to the
abdominal and facial muscles. One may throw the air
out like this two or three times. This is a useful modi-
fication, although it is not found mentioned in tradi-
tional yoga texts. In a description of this pose in the
Gherandasamhita (I. 21). It is said that the hands should
be kept encircling the head. But in common practice
the hands grasp the feet or the toes.
Duration of Matsyasana should be from fifteen
seconds upto two minutes depending on practice. It is
an excellent exercise of the lower back and the vertebral
column. The modification mentioned above is very
valuable for giving exercise to the abdominal muscles
and to the throat.
If there is difficulty with Padntasana then one may
still derive much of the benefit from Matsyasana if one
keeps the legs straight instead of crossing them as in
Padntasana and going through thereat of the procedure
for Matsyasana. Of course, this is only a make-shift
arrangement recommended for a beginner.
Viparitakarani
This is counted in the yoga texts as a mudra, not as
an asana. As we have said, the terms 'asana
9
and
'mudra* were used in ancient literature without strict
discrimination or demarcation. We have, for instance,
a pose called Bhoomisparshonamudra in which many
images of Gautama Buddha have been found. It is
difficult to differentiate this pose from Padntasana except
for the fact that in the former the right hand is kept
72



touching the ground, while the latter both the hands
are kept on the heels. There are actually two modifica-
tions of Viparitokarani which are popularly classified
under asanas. These are the famous poses of Shirsha-
sana and Sarvangasana. An explanation for the name
'viparitakarani* is found in the Hathayogapradipika
(III- 77, 79) and Gherandasamhita (III. 28-29.). It is
said that in our body there is the moon situated in the
head, above the hard palate. It secretes an elixir which
is swallowed up by the sun situated at the navel. This
leads to old age. If we can stop the sun from swallow-
ing the elixir secreted by the moon, thus preserving
that elixir, we can defy death. This can be achieved,
say the texts, by the practice of viparitakarani, because
in it the sun is held at a higher level than the moon,
and so the elixir secreted by the moon does not reach
the sun.
Viparita in Sanskrit means inverted. Karani means
an act. The essence of the act as brought out in the
texts is "keeping the head down and the feet up". And
this is achieved even in two popular poses called
Shirshasana and Sarvangasana. The description of the
pose found in Gherandasamhita (/1. 30) and Shiv-
asamhita (IV. 69) is actually of Shirshasana. But the
names Shirshasana and Sarvangasana are nowhere
mentioned in the texts of Hatbayoga. But then the
three different poses, all involving a
4
head-downfeet-
up' position, are so well established in every one's
mind that it would be better to keep the/ r separate
identity and separate names, although all the three
poses are, in one sense, three varieties of one and the
same thing, that is, Viparitakarani.
For doing Viparitakuroni one should lie down on
the back with legs straight and together and arms
stretched behind the head. The left leg is raised slowly,
74



keeping the right one on the seat. Raising the left leg
to a vertical position and holding it there for two or
three seconds it is lowered down slowly to the ground
and then the right leg is raised likewise and lowered
down. This is repeated five or six tunes. Then both the
legs are raised and lowered together slowly, three or
four times. Then keeping the arms on the two sides of
the body and keeping them pressed on the ground, the
legs are raised together, raising the hips and the back
and giving support to the inverted body at the waist
with the hands* The back should be inclined at an
angle of 45 degrees with the ground. This is the
popularly known pose of Viparitakarani. It may be
maintained for half a minute to begin with and the
duration may be gradually increased upto five minutes.
This pose is good for promoting blood circulation and
removing congestion.
Sarvangasana
From Viparitakarani one can go into the pose of
this asana by raising the hips still higher so that the
back becomes perpendicular to the ground and the
chin keeps pressing against the throat. The hands are
lowered slightly, giving support at the lower ribs. This
is a much more strenuous posture as compared to
Viparitakarani. A three minutes duration is quite
sufficient for ordinary purposes. Apart from promoting
circulation and removing congestion due to the inverted
position of the body, this pose gives an important
advantage by exerting pressure on the throat which
has a squeezing action on the thyroid gland, which
greatly improves the function of the gland.
76



Halasana
Mala in Sanskrit means a plough. This asana is so
called because the body appears, like a plough in it-
This name is not mentioned in the traditional yoga
texts. It may be called an extension of Viparitakarani.
It is convenient to assume the pose just after Sarvang-
asana. For this, the legs are lowered behind the head
without bending them at the knees. After placing the
toes on the ground they may be grasped with the hands
and moved towards the head progressively, and then
away from it, without bending the legs. This asana may
be given one minute in all.
Halasana exercises the back by exerting stretch on
the spine. While the toes are brought near the head,
the muscles of the back below the neck are exercised
progressively downward upto the lower end of the
vertebral column. While the toes are taken away from
the head the muscles of the neck and the adjacent
parts are stretched.
Bhujangasana
BImja in Sanskrit means the upper arm. Bhujanga is
a large snake. This asana gets its name from the fact that
in it the body resembles the appearance of a snake
with the hood drawn out. The description of this asana
as found in the Gherandasamhita (II. 41-42.) reads as
follows: "The part of the body from the toes to the
navel should be kept on the ground, and placing the
palms on the ground the head should be raised like the
hood of a snake. This is called Bhujangasana because it
arouses the serpent goddess (kundalini)."
Lying down on the chest, the hands are kept below
the shoulders with the fingers pointing forward. The
legs are kept straight with the feet touching each other
78


and the soles facing up. The head is then raised
giving a backward bend to the neck. The chest is then
raised slowly, the muscles of the back are contracted
and the vertebral column (spine) is bent backward as
much as possible without raising the navel. A steady
pull should be experienced progressively from the neck
downward. After holding the final position for a few
seconds, the chest is lowered down and after taking
rest for a few seconds, the same procedure is repeated
once more. One repetition may suffice during the first
week, two in the second week, and so on, upto four
repetitions. That would take in all about two minutes.
Bhujangasana provides good stretching exercise to the
muscles of the neck, back, and trunk.
Shalabhasana
Shatabha means the locust. The appearance of the
locust is imitated in this asana. This asana is described
in the Gherundasamhita (IL 38.) in the following
manner :"Keeping the chest and the two hands,
palms down, on the ground, the feet are raised nearly
nine inches (vitasti) high**'
Lying down on the chest, keeping the arms straight
near the body, the legs are raised slowly without any
jerks. The hands may be kept with the fingers pointing
backward, or one may form fists for anchorage while
the feet are raised. The legs should be kept straight and
stretching downward so that a comfortable stretch is
experienced along the waist and thighs. The final pose
may be maintained for ten to fifteen seconds. Then,
the feet should be brought back to the ground. There
may be one more repetition after some rest. The breath
may be held out while maintaining the final pose.
Holding the breath in during the final pose may hurt
80



the beginner because of increased internal pressure in
the thoracic and abdominal cavities. In Shaiabhasana
the stretch is from the waist down while in Bhujang-
asana it is felt from the waist up. So these two asanas
make a good combination for exercising all the muscles
on the dorsal side of the body.
Those who find Shaiabhasana rather difficult may
practise it in the beginning with one leg at a time. But
it should be remembered that the full pose is far more
advantageous than this simplified version.
Dhanurasana
Dhanush in Sanskrit means a bow. The body is made
to appear like a bow in this asana. Jn the Hathayoga-
pradipika (I. 25) this asana is described thus: "Holding
the big toes with the hands the bow should be stretched
upto the ears. That is called the bow posture.*' Now
the big toes can be grasped with the hands in a sitting
position with the legs stretched in front, or while lying
down on the chest. 'Which one of these two alternatives
is to be followed is not made clear in the verse
mentioned above. The commentator of the text has
chosen the first option. But in the popularly known
Dhanurasana the second option is followed. This second
option seems to be meant in the Gherandasamhtia (II.
18.) also* There it reads as follows: "Spreading the
legs on the ground straight like a rod and keeping the
hands on Hie back, the two feet are grasped with the
hands and the body is turned like a bow. That is
Dhanurasana"This description fits in well with the
posture in vogue. The former option mentioned above
gives rise to another posture called akarnadhanurasana
in popular language. The latter option is more useful
as an exercise.
82



So, lying down on the chest
9
the legs should be
folded at the knees and the feet should be grasped with
the hands near the ankles. Then the thighs and the
chest should be raised, making the body appear like a
bow. A beginner would do better to keep the knees
apart. But with practice one should try to bring the
knees and the thighs near each other. That causes more
strain. But it enhances the utility of the posture. The
final pose may be maintained from ten seconds to one
minute.
Dhanurasana provides good exercise to the abdomi-
nal muscles, lower back and the thighs. To some extent
it may be said to combine the advantages of Bhujang-
asana and Shalabhasana.
Shavasana
Shava in Sanskrit means a dead body. This asana
derives its name from the fact that ill It the student
lies down like a dead body. Strictly speaking it is a
misnomer, because a dead body is not relaxed, it is
only motionless. The most outstanding feature of this
asana is relaxation. In the Hathayogapradipika (.32.)
it is described as follows : "Lying down with the face
up like a dead body is shavasana. It removes fatigue
and puts the mind to rest."
The technique of shavasana is simple enough to
describe, but not quite easy to practise.. Lying on the
back, the legs are spread with a comfortable distance
(about two feet) between them. The arms are placed
on the sides of the trunk. The head may be turned on
one side or may be kept facing up. The back and
shoulders should be well adjusted on the seat. The
eyes are then closed. All the muscles of the body are
then relaxed, there being no stretch or pull felt any-
84


where in the body. This requires some practice. By
paying attention to each body part one by one starting
from the head downward or from the toes upward one
should see if any tension or uneasiness is felt any-
where, and if so, give it up. Particular attention should
be paid to the joints and the large muscles. Care
should be taken to avoid sleep. Complete bodily
relaxation brings about a reduction in the oxygen
requirement of the body and in the production of
waste materials like carbon dioxide and water vapour.
This happens because of reduction in physiological
activity while the muscles are relaxing. As a result of
this breathing becomes silent. Then one should pay
attention to the incoming and outgoing air, and make
the breathing smooth and rhythmic. That helps to
make the mind silent.
Shavasana should be practised in the end of asanas.
A duration of ten minutes is sufficient for ordinary
purposes. For therapeutic purposes a longer duration
(twenty to thirty minutes) is necessary. When one gets
up from shavasana there should be a feeling of fresh-
ness and relief from strain and fatigue. That is what it
is meant for.
Kapalabhati
This is a breathing exercise. But it is traditionally
grouped under the kriyas and not under pranayama.
Kapala in Sanskrit means the skull. Bhatih means
brightness. Kapalabhati is thus the kriya which makes
the skull luminous. It is described in the Hathayoga-
pradipika (11.35.), which as follows: "Like <he bellows
of the blacksmith exhalation and inhalation are done
in rapid succession. This is kapalabhati which removes
impurities from the respiratory tract (kapha).*
9

86



Kapalabhati is essentially an exercise in abdominal
breathing bringing about rapid lung ventilation. It
should be done in a comfortable steady posture.
Padmasana is supposed to be the most suitable posture
as it provides a tight and strong foot-lock which does
not become loose with the rapid movements of the
abdominal wall. We have mentioned this asana already
while describing the technique of Yogamudra and
Matsyasana. In it the right foot is placed on the left
thigh and the left foot on the right thigh so that the
heels come near each other. The left hand is placed on
the heels with the fingers touching each other and the
palm facing up. Likewise, the right hand is placed
on the left one. This arrangement of the feet and hands
gives the appearance of a blooming lotus, for which the
Sanskrit term is padnm. In Shivasanrhita (. 105-106.)
and other yoga texts one is asked to fix the gaze on the
tip of the nose and set the chin below the throat. But
that is obviously not necessary when one is doing
Padmasana for (lie purpose of Kapala-hhati. The
hands should be kept on the knees while doing
Kapalabhati. The back and neck shouid be straight.
Beginners experience a lot of difficulty in assuming
this posture. They would do well, instead, to assume
an easier posture, called Swastikasana. Swastika is a
famous auspicious symbol of the ancient Aryans in
which two lines cross each other at right angle. Like
the swastika in this asana the legs are made to cross
each other just above the ankles. According to the
Hathayogapradipika (1.19.) and other texts, "in Swastika
asana one sits with a straight back with the soles
thrust between the calf and thigh
9
*. Both the knees
should be on the ground. The genitals should be
adjusted comfortably between the two heels on the
88



sides. This is a very comfortable posture for pranayama
and meditation also*
The most favoured posture by the advanced students
of yoga is, however, Siddhasaiw. Siddha means an
adept or Master of yoga. This asana is very highly
talked about in all the texts of Hathayoga. The left
heel is set against the perineum (called 'ypnisffwna* in
technical language) and the right heel is placed over it,
adjusting the genital organ comfortably in between.
Keeping the knees well on the ground, and holding the
back straight, the hands are placed on the knees in the
jnyanamudra position, the gaze is fixed between the
eyebrows, and as in Padmasana, the chin is set below
the throat- Jnyatuiwudru is made by keeping the little
finger, ring finger and middle finger straight in line
with the palm and bending the index finger and the
thumb so that their tips touch each other. What rela-
tion this may have with jnyana i.e., knowledge, is not
clear.
A beginner may find all the above three poses
difficult. Such a person may be advised to practise
Vajrasana for doing KapaJabhatL We have described
that pose earlier. There is some special significance of
these four postures. First, in them the legs are folded
and pressed against the thighs, thereby giving a firm
and steady base to the body. Second, these postures
make free movements of the chest and abdomen
possible, which is a primary requirement for practis-
ing Kupalabhati or Pranayama. Third, they can, with
practice, be held comfortably for a long time without
a feeling of uneasiness, thereby making it possible for
the mind to be free from bodily entanglement, and
fourth, they do not involve much tension or stress and
thus make for a reduction of physiological activity.
This fact, by a reduction of oxygen requirement, of
90
s
Bhadra Asana


Che body contributes to a silent state of the mmd.
Assuming a suitable posture, one exhales abruptly,
rapidly and incessantly by suddenly contracting the
abdominal muscles which push the abdominal viscera
which in turn make an impact on the thoracic dia-
phragm which rises up in the thoracic cavity, thereby
bringing pressure on the lungs, so that some air is
expelled out of the lungs through the nose. The anus
is kept contracted in this process. After the exhalation
the abdominal muscles are relaxed and a reverse
sequense is affected in which the viscera and diaphragm
come back to the original position, the thoracic cavity
is expanded, and some air enters the lungs through the
nose. This is immediately followed by another
exhalation and then a third one, and so on. Thus
there is a wave of sudden exhalations, and an onlooker
may feel as if the student is just exhaling repeatedly
without inhaling the air at all. But actually there is a
cycle of exhalation and inhalation in which exhalation
is done by applying force or effort for the sudden
contraction of the abdominal wall, while inhalation
takes place passively when this force is withdrawn.
This is exactly opposite of what happens in normal
respiration.
In normal respiration the act of inhalation involves
effort for expanding the thoracic cavity, while exhala-
tion is brought about passively due to the elastic
recoil of the lungs. Respirations in Kapalabhati are
slightly deeper as compared to normal breathing.
Expulsions of air should be uniform in force and
rapidity. There should be no undue friction of air with
the surface of the respiratory tract Friction cannot
however, be avoided completely. There should be a
uniform hissing-like sound like that of the bellows of a
blacksmith.
92


One round of Kapalabhati includes a number of
expulsions of air done repeatedly. One may be able
to do ten or twenty or more expulsions non-stop in
the beginning. When the respiratory muscles get tired,
the rhythm of expulsions cannot be well maintained.
One should stop here, and take rest a while going
through normal respirations six or eight times. Then
one can have another round of Kapalabhati. There
should be two expulsions per second, and this rate
should be uniformly maintained throughout a round.
There should be no confusion of movements of the
muscles of respiration, and one should be very careful
about it since the very beginning. In the correct
technique only the abdominal wall moves back and
forth, while the chest does not expand or contract much.
In a period of about two or three weeks one should
be able to do three rounds with a gap of about half a
minute between two rounds, each round consisting of
one hundred twenty expulsions done in exactly one
minute.
Thus in all
y
a daily practice of Kapalabhati would
take about four minutes. It does not involve holding
the breath at any stage. During this period one res-
pires as much as two hundred litres of air. This is ten
times more as compared to normal breathing. Due to
such rapid lung ventilation large amount.of carbon di-
oxide is removed from the body. As a result of this
Kapalabhati renders very valuable help in increasing
one's capacity to hold the breath. This fact is taken
advantage of in a variety of, Prawyama called
Blmstrika. Kapalabhati is a shuddhikriya for cleansing
the respiratory tract, and as traditionally believed, also
the brain.
94


Tadagi Mudra
Tadaga in Sanskrit means a lake or a pond. This
technique is so named because in it the wall of the
abdomen assumes a concave appearance. The Ghe-
ranclasamhita (111.56.) describes its technique in the
words as follows: "Stretching the abdomen to the back
and giving it the shape of a pond (results in) the
Tadagi-mudra which dispels old age and death." There
is another name, Uddiyana bandha, given to this same
technique. But traditionally Uddiyana bandha is prac-
tised while doing pranayma, during the stage called
kumbhaka, i.e., holding the breath inside. Uddina
means to jump. There is an esoteric meaning associat-
ed with this bandha, according to which the prima is
made to jump upward through the suswnna-nadi by the
practice of this bandha' In popular language it may be
said that this bandha is so called because it makes the
thoracic diaphragm rise into the thoracic cavity. It
may, be said that 'uddiyana-bandha' is a wider term as
it can be applied to the act of raising the diaphragm
while one is holding the breath in or out. The term
'tadagi-mudrw is applied to that act only when the
breath is held out. Sucking the belly in is the essence
of both. We have referred to this earlier while describ-
ing the technique of Bhadrasana,
Tadagi-mudra may be practised in a standing posi-
tion or while practising asanas like Uttana-mandvkasana
or Bhadrasana* If it is practised along with these asanas,
then one need not do it again separately. Otherwise it
can also be practised as a separate exercise. We shall
describe here how it is practised in a standing
position.
Standing with a comfortable distance between the
feet (about one and half to two feet), the hands are kept
96

pressing on the knees, and the trunk is bent a little
forward. After a deep exhalation the air is not allowed
to enter the lungs again, and the thorax is expanded
by raising the ribs. This gives rise to a vacuum inside
the thoracic cavity, and to fill this vacuum the diaph-
ragm rises up, pulling the abdominal wall and thereby
giving it a concave appearance. The abdominal wall
should be kept relaxed and the anus and the pelvis
should be contracted. After holding the breath out so
far as it is comfortably possible, one should let go the
mudra (or bandha) and inhale. After three or four
normal respirations one can have another round.
Agnisara
Muscles of the pelvis, abdominal muscles, and the
organs and glands in the abdominal cavity (i.e., the
abdominal viscera) are toned up by Tadagimudra. This
effect can be greatly enhanced by an exercise called
agnisara. It is a less known but very useful exercise of yoga.
In it the abdominal wall is moved back and forth while
holding the breath out in a standing position (hands
pressing on the knees, and trunk slightly bent forward
as in Tadagi-mudra). These movements may be done
ten, fifteen, or twenty times in succession according to
one's capacity while the breath is held out. A second
round can be gone through after a few normal breaths,
and then one may have a third round. Three rounds
are enough. This is a very good abdominal exercise for
improving the functions of digestion and excretion.
The best thing is to do Tadagi-mudra or call it uddiyana
bandha) along with Bhadrasana, Uttana- mandukasatuf,
and the first stage of Gomukhasana and practise Agni-
sara separately after doing Kapalabhati and Pranayama.
Agni means fire, especially, in the context of the body,
98

Ushtra Asana

the fire in the stomach which digests food. This fire is
kindled up by doing agnisara, One who does agnisara
properly can do Nauli without much difficulty.
Nauli
This is one of the purificatory acts, that are designed
to remove impurities from the body. It is declared in
the Hafhayogapradipika (II. 21.) that these acts
(shuddhikriyas) should be practised when one finds
that impurities have accumulated in the body. Other-
wise they need not be practised everyday. There are two
shuddhikriyas* however which can be included with
advantage in the daily routine. They are Kapalabhati
and Nauli. We have already described the former.
Nauli is highly praised in the Hathayogapradipika (II.
33-34.) in the words as follows: ''Stooping a little for-
ward, one should turn the belly swiftly from left to
right and vice versa. This is called Nauli, which is the
foremost among the kriyas"
Nauli should be performed in a standing position.
The procedure, to begin with, is the same-as that for
Tadagimudra* When the abdominal wall assumes a
concave appearance, the front abdominal muscles are
contracted, keeping other muscles of the abdominal
wall relaxed. The abdominal wall is made by three sets
of abdominal muscles, namely, the two vertical muscles
called the abdominal recti, which run vertically from
below* the navel upto the chest bone, the transverse
abdominal muscles running across the abdominal wall,
and the internal and external oblique muscles. Out of
these three sets of muscles only the central vertical
muscles are to be contracted. Their contraction causes
them to be isolated from the other muscles of the
abdominal wall and they stand out vertically like a
column in the middle of the concavity of the abdomen.
100
Nauli


This is effected by making a thrust from behind at
their lower end, which is situated about two inches
below the navel. How to make this thrust actually is
something that cannot be explained easily by words.
This should be learned through trial and error. It
happens more easily if one has practised agnisara
already. One should note how we contract the mus-
cles of the pelvjs while defecating, i.e., passing the
stools out of the body through the 'anus, especially
when there is constipation. A similar contraction of
the muscles would isolate the front abdominal muscles.
This is called Madhya-nauli NauJi-madhyama. The
isolation, when once achieved, may be maintained for
a few seconds while the breath is held out.
A further development called Nauli-chalana invol-
ves isolation of only one of the two abdominal recti at
a time, moving it to the extreme and bringing it back
to the centre at the same time isolating the other rectus
muscle and turning it in the same fashion. This is
repeated swiftly several times in a round. After taking
rest a while with normal respirations the abdomen is
churned likewise in the reverse way. Two rounds in
each direction is ordinarily sufficient. This makes a
rigorous exercise. The diaphragm and the abdominal
muscles are worked very vigorously. A vacuum is
created in the abdominal cavity by the isolation of the
abdominal recti. This was demonstrated for the first
time in scientific experiments carried out by Swami
Kuvalayananda at the Kaivalyadhama, Lon-avla. He
gave it the name 'Madhavadas vacuum. Water or
other fluids can be sucked in through the anus or the
genital organ by creating this vacuum, as is done in the
practices known respectively, as Basti and Vajrott.
Nautt is said to be the foremost among the
shuddhikriyas as it influences beneficially almost all the
functions of the body.
102
Chakra Asana



More

HP Yoga Techniques
How MANY YOGA TECHNIQUES are there in all? To this
question no exact answer can be given. About the
asanas it is said that there are as many asanas as there
are number of species of living beings. And this number
is traditionally believed to be eighty four lakhs. Simi-
larly it is believed that there are one hundred twentyfive
thousand different varieties of absorption of mind
(laya). We do not have any detailed account of such
things mentioned anywhere in the traditional texts.
Two questions may be relevant here. First, what is the
fairly representative minimum set of the yoga techni-
ques? And second, what is there of importance apart
from this minimum set? The first question we have
solved in the preceding chapter. Now in this chapter
we shall try to answer the second question within the
limitations of the present book. So our treatment of the
subject matter can, obviously, not be claimed to be
exhaustive. In this chapter we shall describe some fur-
ther asanas and shuddhtkriyas* There is no particular
order in which they may be practised. But we have
ordered them in the following manner: first the
postures in a standing position then those involving
bending forward or backward, then the postures of
balance, then some strenuous postures, and in the end
the shuddhikriyas.

4


Trikonasana
Trikona is a triangle. In this asana one stands with
the legs resembling two sides of a triangle with the
floor as its base. Standing with a distance of about
two to three feet between the feet, the arms are stretch-
ed on the two sides and held parallel to the ground.
Then bending the body forward the right arm is lower-
ed to touch the left foot with the right hand, the head
is turned left, and the left arm is held straight up in
line with the right arm, at the same time turning the
neck so that one looks up at the left hand. Then
raising the trunk, the arms are brought back to the
original horizontal position. The procedure is then
repeated on the right side, now touching the right foot
with the left hand and holding the right arm perpendi-
cular to the ground. One round is completed when one
brings the arms to the starting position again. Three
such rounds are ordinarily sufficient. While lowering
the trunk down one should exhale. While bringing it
up there should be inhalation. Trikonasana is a very
useful stretching exercise of the waist and the shoulders.
Garudasana
Garuda means an eagle. In ancient Hindu mythology
Gods used animals or birds for conveyance. Lord
Shiva, for instance, had the divine bull Nandi to carry
him from place to place. Similarly Lord Vishnu moved
on the divine eagle Caruda. This asana derives its name
from Garuda. It is a standing pose to be held steadily
without any movements of the body. Standing on the
left foot, the right leg is raised from the ground and
with it the left leg is encircled. The hands are placed x>n
the knees. After maintaining the pose a while, the
procedure is repeated on the right side* There is an*
106




other pose called Sankatasana which has this same
arrangement of the legs. But in it the arms are also
encircled around each other. These postures are useful
for increasing suppleness of joints.
Ushtrasana
Ushtra means the camel. In this asana one imitates
the appearance of the long legs and neck of the camel,
Sitting in Vajrasana, the hips are raised, making the
thighs straight, so that one may be said to be standing
on the knees. Keeping a distance of about a foot or
more between the knees, the trunk is bent backward,
the head is lowered and the hands are kept on the heels.
The thighs should be held straight. The back is arched.
This is much like the Dhanurasana pose. But due to the
shift in the position, there is much more stretch in
Ushtrasana on the waist, shoulders, neck and the throat.
This is the popular way of doing it, which is different
from its description in Gherandasamhita (II. 40).
According to that text of yoga the procedure of
Ushtrasana is almost the same as that of Dhanurasana
with the difference that the legs are crossed below the
knees and then the toes are grasped with the hands.
Another difference is that the abdomen and the cheeks
are pulled in. But it is not usually practised this way.
Chakrasana
This is another example of an asana where the
description in a traditional text is ignored in practice,
and a different version has become popular. Chakra
means a wheel, and in the popular version of this
asana the body is bent to appear like a wheel. It may
be done in a'standing position or a lying down position.
108



The latter is much easier than the former procedure.
Standing with the feet comfortably apart from each
other one bends the back and the waist backward, and
bringing the head, neck and shoulde'rs down, the hands
are placed on the ground. After holding the wheel
posture for ten to thirty seconds the standing position
is assumed again in a reverse order. This is rather
difficult. So the final pose can be attained in another
way, by lying down on the back. The feet are placed
apart below the hips, raising the knees, and the hands
are placed near the shoulders with the palms touching
the ground and the fingers pointing toward the feet.
The trunk is then raised from the ground to assume
the wheel pose. This asana provides stretching exercise
to the limbs and the trunk, especially the lower back.
In the Vatahopanishad (V. 17.), Chakfasana is
described thus: "Keeping the left thigh on the right
heel and the right thigh on the left heel one should sit
straight. This Chakrasana;" But this procedure is not
popularly followed.
Paschimotanasana
Puna and Paschima are the Sanskrit words for the
east and west. In the context of the human body purva
means the front side or the ventral side, paschima
meaning the dorsal or back side. Tuna means to
stretch. Thus the name of this asana indicates that in
it the backside is stretched. It is also called Paschimot-
tana because the back side faces up (). A third
name often given to it is Ugrasana, ttgra meaning fierce.
This posture is highly talked about in the yoga texts.
The description of it in the Shivasamhita (III. 311-
313) as follows: "Keeping the legs straight in front of.
the body and holding the feet fast with the hands, the
110


forehead is placed on the knees. This is called Paschim-
ottana. One who masters it and practises it every day
makes the vayu (air) flow through the dorsal path.'*
Making the vdyu flow through the dorsal path has
a great significance in connection with the arousal of
the dormant spiritual power called KundaUnL This
asana is very important for that because of the
stretching influence on the lower back where the
Kundalini power is said to reside.
Sitting on the seat, the legs are kept straight in
front of the body with the heels on the ground and
toes pointing upward. The hands are kept on the
thighs with the palms facing downward. The hands are
then advanced slowly forward, at the same time
bending the trunk forward, and without allowing the
knees to be raised even slightly, the toes are grasped with
the hands. The forehead is then lowered on the knees.
Many people find it impossible to achieve this in the
beginning because there is much strain on the hamstr-
ing muscles (on the inner side of the knee's). But these
muscles can be trained to bear the strain within two to
three weeks by subjecting them to a steadily increasing
stretch every day for a few seconds. If one fails to grasp
the feet with the hands on the first day one should
take the hands as near the feet as possible and remain
in that state for a few seconds. The hands may then be
brought back to the starting position and after
relaxing for a few seconds the procedure may be
repeated again. There should be no haste and no feeling
of undue strain. When one starts grasping the feet with
the hands without raising the knees the head should
be kept on the knees and the elbows should be kept on
the ground by the two sides of the knees. The duration of
the final pose may be increased gradually from a few
seconds to begin with to one minute.
112



This posture exercises the muscles of the limbs and
the back, especially the base of the back by stretching
them, and improves the tone of the organs in the
abdominal cavity. This influence on the abdominal
viscera can be enhanced by contracting the anus and
pelvis with a deep exhalation during the final pose> and
holding the breath out. This ascma helps to reduce the
fat accumulated on the belly.
Hakasana
baka means the crane. In this asana the hands are
placed on the seat with the fingers pointing forward.
The distance between the bands should be about a foot
and a half. The knees are placed above the elbows
and the hips are raised balancing the weight of the
body on the hands. The head is lowered forward and
the pose is maintained for a few seconds. This is a
pose involving balance which helps to make the arms
stronger.
Kukkurasana
is the Sanskrit name for the cock. Sitting
in Padmasana, the hands are passed down through the
gap between the calf and thigh on each side. Spread-
ing the fingers, the hands are placed on the seat and
the body is raised, balancing its weight on the hands.
Like Bakasana this pose also helps to increase the
strength of the arms.
Uttanakurmasana
Kurma means the tortoise. In Uttanakurmasana the
hands are passe' down from below the knees as in
114



kitkkutasam (after assuming Padmasana). Then keep-
ing the hips on the seat, the knees are raised, and the
hands are brought up to encircle the neck. The pose
may be maintained for a few seconds. It requires rather
slender limbs and supple joints. Otherwise one finds
it difficult to do it.
Parvatasana
Parvata in Sanskrit means a mountain. Padmasana
is the starting pose in this asana also. Sitting in
Padmasana, the hips are raised, balancing, the body on
the knees, and the arms are stretched up over the head,
the palms touching each other. This is a balancing
pose which makes the knee joints supple.
Dolasana
Dolah means a swing. In this asana, after assuming
the Padmasana posture the hands are kept on the seat
on the two sides of the hips just behind the knees, and
the body is raised,. balancing it on the hands. The
body is swung back and forth, which gives this pose
its name. It exercises the arms and the shoulders and
also the abdominal muscles.
Utkatasana
Kata means the hips. Ud means upward. This
asana gets its name from the fact that in it the hips are
raised. Keeping the feet on the seat at a distance of
nine inches or more from each other, with the knees
standing up, the hips are raised and placed on the
heels, raising the heels at the same time so that the
weight of the body is balanced on the toes. This is a
116



pose useful for practising the yogic shlddhlkrlya called
Basti.
Padangusthasana
Sitting in Utkatasana, the right foot is placed on
the left thigh and the body is balanced on the toes of]
the left foot. Pada in Sanskrit means the foot.
Padangustha means the big toe. Thus this is a pose in
which the body is balanced on the big toe. After
practising it on the left side the same procedure is
repeated on the right side. The hands may be placed
on the knees.
Mayurasana
Mayura is the peacock. Sitting with the legs crossed,
the hands are placed on the seat about four inches
apart, with the fingers pointing backward. The elbows





ing the weight of the body on the triangular base with
the head at the apex, and keeping the legs still folded
at the knees, the thighs are now raised slowly until
they become perpendicular to the ground. When
steadiness of balance is achieved at this stage, the legs
may be stretched ultimately, so that 'the body stands
erect on the head. Some persons try to learn the pro-
cedure with the help of a wall. But that is not necessary
at all. If one proceeds stage by stage, not hurrying up
impatiently to throw the legs up at once, the posture
can be learned and kept steady in a short time. While
coming to the starting position the legs should be fol-
ded first, then the thighs should be lowered, and
ultimately the knees may be kept on the seat. It is not
necessary to stand up and remain standing for some
time after completing the posture as is advised by some
yoga teachers.
Holding the body upside down helps the veins to
carry blood to the heart by the force of gravity and
also helps to remove congestion from the limbs and
abdomen. Circulation of blood in the head is promot-
ed. Ordinarily a time of two minutes may be ideal for
this pose. One should begin with ten to fifteen seconds
and increase the time gradually.
Matsyendrasana
As pointed out earlier this asana is named after the
great Master of Hathayoga, Matsyendranath. There is
a legend about him according to which the account of
Hathayoga which was narrated by Lord Shiva to his
spouse Parvati was overheard by him while he was
moving around in the guise of a fish (matsya). By
hearing the-first-hand account from the mouth of the
Lord he became a sidd/, and propounded the science
of Hathayoga for the benefit of human beings.
J22
The procedure of Matsyendrasana is similar to that
of Ardhamatsyendrasana which we have already described
earlier, with the difference that the foot is placed on
the thigh instead of placing it under it. Thus, keeping
the left foot on the right thigh, the right knee is kept
standing, the right foot being placed on the left side of
the left knee. The body is turned to the right, and
passing the left arm to the right side of the right knee,
the right foot is grasped with the left hand, The right
arm is spread on the back. After holding the pose on
the right side for some time, the whole procedure is
repeated on the left side by changing the position of
the feet. It is a pose for the advanced student of yoga.
Apart from improving the power of digestion and
removing many disorders, the pose is said to lead to
the arousal of kundalini
Maisvendra Asana


Vrischikasana
V'rischika means the scorpion. This is a strenuous
pose requiring strength and suppleness. Keeping the
fore-arms on the seat at a distance of 12 to 15 inches
from each other, the fingers pointing forward, the body
is raised and turned up, throwing the legs up and hold-
ing them in a curve like the sting of a scorpion. With
practice one can touch the head with the feet. The pose
may be maintained for half to one minute. It increases
suppleness and strength. There is a sort of gymnastic
beauty about it, and the pose is one of the spectacular
poses of yoga, very enjoyable to watch, although
rather difficult to perform.
Garbhasana
Garblut means the embryo. One lies in this usana
like the embryo lying in the womb of its mother. Lying
down on the seat with the back to the ground, the left
foot is grasped with the hands, and bringing it near the
left shoulder, the heel is set against the neck. Then the
right foot is set in a similar fashion over the left one,
both the legs crossing each other at the ankles. The
hips are then encircled with the hands. The hips and
the neck are then swung back and forth, not violently
but gently. One minute is a sufficient duration. It
exercises the limbs, back, neck and waist.
Supta-Vajrasana
Supta means sleeping. Assuming the Vajrcsana
posture as described earlier, the back is lowered down
slowly by giving support with the hands and then with
the elbows. The knees should be kept together. The
arms are then folded to grasp the opposite shoulders
124


with the hands. The head is kept between the two
elbows. The back may not touch the ground all along
in the beginning. It may form an arch. But with prac-
tice the back can be made to lie flat on the seat. There
is stretch on the abdominal wall, back, shoulders, and
the thighs. These parts are thus exercised along with
the abdominal viscera. While coming back to the star-
ting pose again, the arms are unfolded and with the
support of the elbows and hands one gets up and then
the legs are unfolded. If one tries to unfold the legs
first, there may be excessive strain at the ankles, which
must be avoided. The duration may be increased from
a few seconds to one minute.
Trataka
It is a shtuldhikrlya meant for cleansing the eyes
and for making the" mind silent in concentration.
Sitting with a straight back, the eyes are fixed on an
object without winking until tears start rolling down
the cheeks. And small object like the flame of an oil
lamp, or an Image, or picture, or the letter
(
AUM',
would do. The object should be placed in line with the
eyes at a distance of four to six feet. Perhaps the best
thing is not to have any particular object at all to look
at. One should just stare in front at the wall without
moving the eye-balls or the eyelids. Before doing
trataka one may go through movements of the eyes
without moving the head in which the eye-balls are
rolled up and down, sideways, and from corner to
corner diagonally, repeating each movement four to
six times. First these movements should be made with
open eyes and then with the eye-lids closed. This gives
exercise to the eye muscles. It should be followed by
Trataka. Trataka is said to make the eyes clear,
126
Vajra Asana
Suptavajra Asam


improve sight, and remove eye troubles. It makes the
everwandering mind silent.
Dhauti
This is a shuddhikrlya meant for cleaning -the sto-
mach. There are three varieties namely, vantana-dhautt,
danda-dhauit\ and vastra-dhauti. Vamana-dhauti may be
said to be the easiest. Vamana means vomiting. Its
procedure is to drink about six glasses of water and
then to vomit the water out by putting the index and
middle fingers in the mouth upto the uvula. This helps
to cleans the stomach, bringing out with the water
impurities from the stomach. In danda-dhattti, after
drinking water as above, a rubber tube, about three
feet in length and slightly larger than a lead pencil in
diameter is inserted in the mouth and is gulped down
slowly so that one end of it reaches upto the stomach
while the other end is held outside the mouth. Then by
bending the trunk forward the water from the
stomach is drawn out by siphon action. When all the
water comes out, the tube is pulled out slowly. Before
inserting the tube into the mouth it must be cleaned
and disinfected by dipping it in boiling water for a few
minutes. Many people find it difficult to gulp the tube
down the throat without vomiting, because the throat is
sensitive to touch stimuli* Such persons have to do
vamana-dhauti in place of danda-dhauti. The latter has
one advantage over the former as there is no spasm of
the stomach wall and water comes out smoothly.
Vastra-dhauti is more difficult but far more useful
as compared to the above mentioned varieties* In it a
strip of fine muslin cloth about three inches wide and
twenty two feet in length is used. This strip is washed,
disinfected (by dipping it in boiling water for a few
128
minutes), and made into a roll. One end of it is held
between two fingers and inserted into the mouth. It is
then gulped down slowly. When only six inches of its
length remains outside the mouth, the gulping is stopp-
ed, never allowing this other end of the strip to go into
the mouth. The abdomen is then churned by Nauli
with the strip of cloth inside the stomach, and the strip
is then taken out by pulling the other end slowly. By
rubbing itself against the inner lining of the stomach,
dhauti cleanses it, and removes all the impurities from
the stomach.
Dhauti has a great therapeutic value. It is employed
in the yogic treatment of disorders like acidity and
asthma.
Basti
It is a shuddhikrlya for cleansing the colon. Its
action is like enema. One cannot do Basti Unless one
knows how to practise Nauli. A rubber tube about nine
inches in length and with an inner passage as wide as
to allow the little finger to enter it, is necessary for
doing Basti. Taking about a litre of clean water in a
bowl, one sits in Utkatasana, and inserts one end of the
cleaned and lubricated tube into the anus, passing
about four inches length of the tube inside. Then dipp-
ing the other end into the bowl, Nauli is done, which
creates vacuum in the abdominal cavity, thereby suck-
ing some water into the colon. Now the end of the tube
is closed with the tip of a finger, and after relaxing the
abdominal muscles for a while, Nauli is done again, at
the same time removing the finger from the end of the
tube. This allows some more water to rush into the
colon. The procedure is repeated a third time. Then the
tube is removed from the anus and the bowels are
129

evacuated. So Basti is best done in a toilet.
Bast! is better than enema in that it allows water to
reach upto the cum, i.e., the beginning of the large
intestine and cleans the colon very effectively.
In the next chapter we shall describe the technique
and utility of Pranayama or yogic breathing. As al-
ready mentioned, in addition to the exercises described
for daily practice in the previous chapter, a few
minutes' practice of Pranayama every day would be an
idea] thing for keeping the student physically fit and
mentally alert. The exercises given in the present
chapter may be learnt and practised occasionally for
the sake of variety and enjoyment.
130
Pranayama: Controlling
the Breath
BREATHING IS a very basic phenomenon concerning
life. It is intimately concerned with the biochemical pro-
cess of obtaining energy from digested food materials.
Every cell and tissue of an organism's body depends
continually for its life activity on the energy derived
from oxidation of the digested food materials, and as
this process cannot go on without a continued supply of
oxygen to the cells and tissues, almost all forms of life
seem to depend very largely on the process of breath-
ing. For the sake of description, this process may be
conveniently divided into two parts, one connected
with the external environment, the other with the
internal environment. Taking oxygen from the external
environment into the body constitutes the first part of
breathing while making the oxygen available to every
cell and tissue, is a function of what may be called
internal breathing. In human beings, as we have noted
earlier, the first part is played by the respiratory system,
and the second by the circulatory system.
We do not know if our ancient masters of yoga
were aware of the fact that the air we breathe in is a
mixture mainly of three gases, namely, nitrogen, oxygen
and carbon di-oxide. They knew it fully well, however,
that life activity depends fundamentally upon the vital
air which they called "Prana"* They distinguished ten

different forms of this vital air. These were supposed to
be responsible for performing different functions in the
body. Five of these ten vayus were supposed to be more
important. They are: Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and
Samana. As declared by the great Shankaracharya
{Vivekaclnulamani, 95), "one and the same prana
becomes known as the five vayus due to diversity of
functions/'
The location and functions of the ten vayus are found
described in many yoga texts, (e.g. Trishikhi-brahman-
opanishad, mantra part 77-87; Yoga Yajnyavalkya IV,
48-72; Chhandogya Upanishad, I, , 3; Amrltanado-
panishad, 34-35, and so on). We do not have space
here to go into the details of these. We should note
one fact, however, namely, that the word prana was in
use in the Sanskrit language since very ancient times,
and has been referred to at several places in the Vedic
literature. It is said in the Atkarvaveda (VI, XXXI, 2)
that the activities in the body are based on prana and
apana. The same text at another place (XI, IV, 10; XI,
IV, 15) has compared the relation of prana with the
world of living beings to that of a father with his son
declaring that "prana is the fundamental basts of what-*
ever is, was, and will be". The word "Pranayama",
however seems to be of a later origin.
Pranayama
Pranayama, which may be called yogic breathing
is a technique of silencing the breath. Why should the
breath be made silent at all? one may ask. We shall
come to the answer to this question later, after describ-
ing fully the technique of silencing the breath. To start
with, we shall survey a few definitions and descriptions
as found in the yoga texts.
132
In the Yogakwidali Upantshad(\> 19-20) Pranayama
has been defined in the following words: "Prana is the
air that flows in the body. Its ayama means kwnbhaka.
It is of two types, namely, sahita and kevala. Out of the
two, sahita, should be practised till Kevala comes into
being" This definition would require some clarification.
It is customary to divide the process of yogic breathing
into three constituents such as controlled inhalation,
controlled exhalation, and holding of breath. When the
last named act is accompanied by the first two, it is
said to constitute the sahita variety. When it is devoid
of these two constituents it makes the kevala variety.
This fact has also been brought out in the Hathayoga-
Pradipika (II, 72-73).
Yoga Yajnyavalkya (VI, 2) speaks of yogic breath-
ing in terms of unification of prana and apana. This iff
brought about by controlling the process of breathing.
In the Vishnu Parana (VI, VII, 40), yogic breathing is
described as a technique which brings under control all
that is connected with prana. According to the
Markandeya Parana (XXXVI, 12), making the prana
and apana silent, is a mark of yogic breathing. The
Gita (IV, 29-30) also speaks about the technique in a
similar fashion. It says, "Those who practise yogic
breathing, stop the movements of prana and apana by
sacrificing the one for the other (in two ways).*'
Patanjali has defined yogic breathing (Yoga Sutra, II,
49) as the cessation of the movement of shvasa (inhala-
tion) and prashvasa (exhalation). The details of these
definitions will become clear as we shall proceed pre-
sently to describe thoroughly the technique involved in
silencing the breath.
If we silently observe our breathing for a while it
would be found that it is made of two acts namely,
inhalation and exhalation. During inhalation we take
133
some air from the atmosphere into our lungs, whereas
during exhalation some air comes out of the lungs
(usually through the nose). Both these acts follow each
other in cycles. Actually after each exhalation there is
a state of pause, which lasts for such a short time that
it usually escapes attention. All these three acts together
constitute what may be called one respiration. It is
completed in nearly four seconds (in resting condition).
We respire nearly fifteen times every minute. In each
respiration we breathe (in and out) nearly 400 cubic
centimeters of air (i.e. 0.4 litres). As it is alternatingly
taken in and drawn out in each respiration this air is
known as the tidal air. In a deep inhalation we can
breathe in extra quantity of air, to the extent of nearly
1.60 litres. Thus, in all we can, in a deep inhalation,
inhale nearly 2.0 litres of air from the atmosphere. If a
deep inhalation is followed by a deep exhalation, we
can breathe out these 2.0 litres of air, and, in addition
to it, nearly 1.50 litres extra air. Even then the lungs
do not become emptied completely. They still contain
nearly 1.S0 to 2.00 litres of air. Thus the total lung
capacity (i.e. the amount of air that can be held in the
lungs when they are filled with air to the maximum
limit) of an average individual is about S.O litres. The
amount of air that one can exhale in a deep exhalation
after making a deep inhalation is called Vital Capacity.
This amount, divided by the weight of the body, is
known as the Vital Index. It indicates one's capacity'to
breathe, as well as the vitality of the body and efficiency
of its functions. It is observed that the Vital Index can
be considerably increased through a regular practice of
yogic breathing.
Yogic breathing involves a reduction in the number
of respirations made per minute. This should be achiev-
ed slowly through increasing practice. After assuming
134
a comfortable ana steady sitting position on the seat,
one should proceed to practise yogic breathing as des-
cribed below. The preliminary considerations as described
in an earlier chapter should be properly attended to.
For example, the practice should not be undertaken
when the health is impaired due to any reason, the
stomach should be empty, raising in a relaxed condition
for at least ten minutes should be done before starting,
and so on. Assuming a suitable position, one should
note with the help of a watch (preferably a stop watch)
how many seconds it takes for making a comfortably
slow and deep exhalation, after making the lungs full.
The time taken by each one of five successive deep
exhalations should be noted, taking care that the in-
halations preceding them should also be deep and slow,
and not forceful. Whether this time is five or ten or
fifteen seconds, does not matter much. An important
thing to be noted here is that the time for all the five
successive exhalations should be very nearly the same.
If it so happens that the difference between them is too
great, the lowest duration should be chosen. The time
to be regulated for the inhalations should be half as
much as this. Thus if the time for exhalation is ten
seconds, that the inhalation should be five seconds. One
respiration will here be completed in fifteen seconds. On
the first day four such respirations should be made,
taking care that each inhalation is completed in five
seconds, and each exhalation in ten seconds.
We usually make fifteen respirations per minute in
resting condition. This number is here reduced to four
per minute. On the second day five respirations (of
fifteen seconds duration each) may be made, on the
third day, six, and so on, upto twenty respirations.
Thus at the end of a fortnight, one should be able to
make twenty successive rounds of deep breathing,
135
each respiration being counted as one round. There
should be no feeling of suffocation during the practice,
nor any feeling of exhaustion at the end. Otherwise
the duration of each round or the number of rounds
may be reduced. Both the nostrils may be used while
inhaling or exhaling. The following points should be
observed very carefully:
1) Each inhalation and exhalation must take
exactly the specified time. It may so happen that a
few initial rounds may take comparatively longer time
without any feeling of discomfort, but the next few
rounds may take progressively decreasing time. This
should never be allowed to happen. The time for each
round must be reduced in such a case.
2) Both the acts of inhalation and exhalation must
become complete in every round, exactly within the
specified time. It should never be the case that the
lungs may remain partially filled at the end of
inhalation, or only partially emptied at the end of
exhalation. In each inhalation the lungs must be
completely filled, and in each exhalation maximum
possible amount of air must be driven out
3) The implies a uniform flow of incoming or
outgoing air. Some people are in the habit of making
vigorous effort in the beginning of each inhalation or
exhalation, then reducing the force after a few seconds.
This should be strictly avoided. The start of each inha-
lation must be gentle and smooth; there or exhalation
should be no jerky movements anywhere in the practice.
4) Feeling of suffocation or exhaustion must not
be experienced at any stage. Never should there be
any need to draw the air in or out with extra force or
rapidity. There should, on the other hand, be an
experience of comfort and full control right from the
start upto the end. While completing the specified
136
number of rounds, one should actually enjoy the
practice throughout, and be in a position to undertake
a few more rounds without any feeling of discomfort.
A feeling of enjoyment and exhilaration must never be
lacking. The last round should be as easy and com-
fortable as the first few rounds.
5) At the time of inhalation the abdomen comes
progressively forward, because of the descent of the
diaphragm in the abdominal cavity. This should be
checked by contracting the anus and the pelvis as well
as the muscles of the abdominal wall* It is seen that
this helps one to inhale some additional amount of air.
6) Some people are in the habit of making the
face unnecessarily tense, by contraction of eyebrows,
lips, or the muscles of the forehead, and so on, when
ever they are engaged in any skillful activity requiring
pointed attention. This is wholly unnecessary. The
chest need not be drawn out excessively, and the back
and, neck should be held erect.
It is better to keep the eyes closed. For making this
possible, however, some arrangement for counting
seconds or measuring time not involving seeing a
watch, becomes necessary. Counting numbers with
eyes closed may be a suitable procedure. But this
becomes tedious, and, moreover, keeping time correctly
in counting is found very difficult by many persons.
The best thing would be to keep a table time piece
nearby, and count numbers with the tick-tick sounds
of the clock. The clock may not make exactly sixty
sounds per minute. So the number of sounds made
during the required time (e.g. five seconds for inhala-
tion and ten for exhalation) should be counted, and
each round should be adjusted on these counts.
Another method followed by many religious people
includes mental recitation of some mantra, but in that
137
case, one should be able to recite a mantra exactly in a
specified time, otherwise the durations for successive
rounds may vary, which is undesirable. The point is
that counting of time should not require much extra
attention, and should be fairly exact.
Making complete inhalations and exhalations
within the specified time with ease and comfort, with*
out any undue tension, is thus the first step to be
mastered by a student of yogic breathing. This requires
prudence and skill. The skill can be achieved by
carefully controlling the muscular movements involved
in the act of respiration. During the inhalation the
chest expands due to an elevation and expansion of the
ribs, caused by contraction of the muscles situated
between the ribs. This is accompanied by a down-
ward movement of the diaphragm. Reverse move-
ments of these muscles take place during an act of
exhalation. The walls of the lungs are attached to the
inside of the chest, and so the lungs expand
alongwith the chest, creating a vacuum inside them,
which is filled by the incoming air. Full control of
these respiratory movements is required for being able
to do deep inhalations and exhalations properly. This
can be slowly achieved through regular practice of deep
breathing,
Neti
For smooth respiration, it is necessary that both
the nostrils should be clear, with the passage inside
them fully open for the movement of air. This is usually
not the case with many people. It is found that one
nostril works more freely than the other, sometimes the
left, at other times the right. It therefore becomes
necessary often to clear the nasal passage through
138
some means. Some people habitually have one nostril
partially choked. There is a kriya called Neti, which
is very useful for making both the nostrils clear. A
thick thread made by interlacing three or four thinner
threads) softened with butter or oil, is passed through
one of the nostrils, and is taken out through the mouth.
The thread may be about one foot in length. Holding
the two ends of the thread (one from the nostril and
the other from the mouth) in the hands, the inside of
the nasal passage is rubbed by pulling both the ends of
the thread alternatingly to and fro. When one nostril
is cleaned, the thread is taken out from the mouth.
After washing the thread with clean water, it may be
inserted through the other nostril, and the whole
procedure may be repeated. This is described in the
Hathayoga-Pradipika (II, 29). Instead of a thread of
cotton fibre, a rubber catheter of suitable thickness
may be used with advantage. A mild form of Neti
can be performed with lukewarm water to which a
pinch of table salt is added. A feeding cup with a
long spout is required for this purpose. The cup is
filled with water, and stooping a little forward and
tilting the head on one side, the spout is inserted
slightly inside the upper nostril, and water is poured
into it. Water should not be allowed to go down the
throat. It comes out through the other (lower) nostril.
The procedure may be repeated by tilting the head on
the other side, and pouring water through the other
nostril which now comes up.
Drinking water through the nose may be called a
modified form of Neti. Water (which should not be
too cold or hot) is taken in a bowl, and both the
nostrils are partly dipped in it. Now tilting the bowl a
little, the water is allowed to go down the nostrils, by
sucking very gently. This causes irritation of the
139
inside of the nasal passage, in the beginning, because
water comes in contact with the upper side of the nasal
passage, which is very delicate. In course of time one
learns how to allow the water to pass only through the
lower part of the nasal passage, and then there is no
irritation. Drinking water through the nose is a very
useful practice, especially in warm climate, because it
cleans the .nasal passage, and has a soothing and
refreshing effect not only on the nasal canal, but on the
brain and the eyes as well. Traditionally, water is kept
in a clean copper vessel at night and is drunk through
the nose early in the morning. An experienced person
can easily empty a full glass of water through the nose
within one or two minutes. It is, of course necessary
to clean the.nose in the usual manner before drinking
water through it. Yogic breathing can be enjoyed
better when both the nostrils are thus made clear.
Persons having a deviated nasal septum or any other
disorder of the nose, would however do well to obtain
medical advice before taking to the practice of yogic
breathing.
Puraka and Rechaka
A deep inhalation performed by noting the points
mentioned above, is called puraka in yoga terminology.
It is defined in Brihadyogiyajnyavalkya Smriti (VIII, 19)
as follows:
"Sucking in the vayu from the atmosphere,
through the nose, and making it fill all the nadis in the
body, is the puraka variety of control of breath/*
Rechaka is the yogic term for a deep exhalation
performed in the manner described above. The above
text defines this act by saying that "rechaka** is that
kind of breath control in which the air from the body
140
(called prand) is thrown into the atmosphere to the
maximum possible extent". We may note here that
prana (as described in the Chhandogya Upanishad* I,
III, 3) is the air which goes forward through the nose
while apana is the air which come backward into the
body.
Knmbhaka
The state when neither puraka nor rechaka is taking
place, is called kwnbhaka. We find two varieties of this
state defined in the Muktikopanishad (II, 51-52) in the
following terms:
"When the apana becomes silent (i.e. the act of
inhalation is complete) and the prana does not arise
(i.e. the act of exhalation is with held), the state of
kwnbhaka is experienced by the student of yoga. Con-
versely, when the prana becomes silent and the apana
does not arise, the state of external kwnbhaka comes
into being." These two varieties of kwnbhaka have been
referred to in the Gita (IV, 29-30) by saying that in the
former, the prana is sacrificed for apana, and in the
latter, vice-versa, Patanjali speaks of these two varieties
in terms of abhyantaravritti and bahyavritti Pranayama.
(Yoga Sutra II, SO). Both these varieties together con-
stitute what is called sahitakwnbhaka.
A student should not, however, practise holding the
breath in the beginning. To begin with only deep
inhalations and exhalations should be practised. After
achieving ease and comfort over twenty successive
rounds as described above (each round of 5+10=15
seconds), one should practise this dose everyday, for
about a fortnight. One should then learn to make
inhalations through alternate nostrils, using only one
nostril at a time. The right hand should be used for this
141
purpose. The middle finger and the one adjacent to it
on the side of the thumb (i.e. the two fingers next to
the thumb) are folded together on the palm. When the
right nostril is to be closed for breathing through the
left nostril alone, this may be done by closing the right
nostril by placing the thumb slightly pressing on it. It
should be noted here that the thumb is not to be placed
on the opening of the nostril. It should press the wall
of the nostril gently against the nasal septum (the wall
running in between the two nostrils). The two fingers
are not folded (i.e. the index finger and the one adjacent
to it) should be placed on the bridge of the nose, as
shown in Plate 13. When the left nostril is to be closed,
this may be done by keeping the index finger and the
one adjacent to it pressing slightly on the left nostril.
The thumb, in this case, should be placed on the bridge
of the nose, as shown in Plate 14. Both the nostrils are
to be closed (as shown in Plate 15) while holding the
breath inside. Care should be taken not to turn the head
to the side while inhaling or exhaling through one
nostril alone.
Another situation may be introduced here. This is
the fact of inhaling or exhaling against a slight pressure
created by a partial closure of the glotis. Glotis is the
space between the vocal cords, which are two thin plates
of tissue placed in the sound box or the larynx. A soft
sound is produced during inhalation and exhalation due
to a partial closure of the glotis. This sound comes
from the throat and different from the sound produced
by friction of air with the nostrils when the nostrils are
contracted. This difference should be noted, and a
gentle sound should be properly produced from the
throat The vocal cords are responsible for the produc-
tion of sound. When the air passes up through them,
the cords vibrate and sound is produced by these vibra-
142
tions. This sound takes the form of various spoken
words, when it is modified by the movements of the
tongue and the slip. By producing the sound uniformly
during inhalation and exhalation, the student of yogic
breathing can be sure of a uniform flow of the incoming
or outgoing air.
One round of breathing through the alternate nostrils
will include two inhalations and two exhalations. The
first inhalation should be made through the left nostril,
to be followed by an exhalation through the right
nostril. The next inhalation should be made through
the right nostril, which should be followed by exhala-
tion through the left nostril. This makes one round.
Further rounds should be made in the same order. Ten
such rounds would include twenty inhalations and twenty
exhalations in all. The nostril should be changed after
each inhalation. Each inhalation (except the very first
one) should be done through the same nostril that had
been used for the immediately preceding exhalation.
After the inhalation the nostril should be changed,
making the immediately following exhalation through
the other nostril. Inhalations and exhalations must
follow each other immediately, without leaving any gap
in between. There should be no abrupt or unnecessary
movements while changing the nostrils. The fingers
should be moved gently while changing their position
from the bridge of the nose to a nostril and vice versa*
The right elbow should be held pointing downward. It
should not hang uncomfortably away from the chest.
No heaviness or weight should be felt at the right
shoulder.
When one succeeds in making ten successive rounds
of breathing through alternate nostrils (involving twenty
inhalations and twenty exhalations) without any trouble,
over a period of fifteen days, one may proceed to
143
increase the duration of each rounu jn the following
manner. Supposing that each round was initially of
thirty seconds (five seconds for each inhalation, and ten
seconds for each exhalationand there are two inhala-
tions and two exhalations in each round), one may shift
on to a round of thirty six seconds. On the first day,
only the last round should be of the longer duration.
This should be done after making nine rounds of the
shorter duration. One round of the longer duration
would here include two inhalations for six seconds each,
and two exhalations each for twelve seconds. Each res-
piration of the longer durations would take three
seconds more than a respiration of the shorter duration.
On the second day, the last two rounds may be of the
longer duration, after making eight rounds of the shorter
duration. On the third day, the last three rounds would
be of the longer duration, on the fourth day, the last
four, and so on, upto ten days, by which time all the
rounds of the shorter duration will be replaced by the
rounds of the longer duration. If there is any feeling of
suffocation or exhaustion at any time one should have
normal breathing for a few minutes, and the further
rounds should then involve the lower duration. There
should be no hurry in replacing the rounds of the
shorter duration by those of the longer one. The most
important point to be remembered all along is that one
must never try to surpass one's capacity for deep
breathing.
Yogic breathing is an art that calls for patience and
caution. There should never be a tendency to sacrifice
the uniformity, ease, and completeness of each inhala-
tion and exhalation for any hasty, impatient action.
When a shorter duration is completely replaced by a
longer duration, this dose may be practised for a fort-
night, and one can then slowly introduce a still longer
144
duration progressively. Within a period of nearly six
months from the start one should be able to prolong
each inhalation to ten seconds and each exhalation to
twenty seconds. This would mean a total time of ten
minutes for ten rounds of breathing through alternate
nostrils. When this is practised for a month or so, one
can very well suppose that one had made a good start
towards the practice of yogic breathing proper. Kwn-
bhaka may now be introduced. It is only when breath-
ing involves holding of breath that we can properly
call the breathing "yogic breathing" i.e. Pranayama.
The deep inhalations and exhalations may just be called
preparation for yogic breathing. They can be described
as yogic breathing only in a secondary sense of the
term, not in the strict sense. Yogic breathing proper, i.e.
the one involving kwnbhaka, is not necessary at all for
ordinary purposes. A student whose interest in deep
breathing is just for the purpose of maintenance of
good health may exclude kwnbhaka altogether. Ten
rounds of breathing through alternate nostrils where
each inhalation takes ten seconds and each exhalation
twenty, is a sufficient dose for an average individual. It
is, accordingly only those who are interested in the
deeper aspects of yoga, that may take to a practice of
holding the breath.
It may be mentioned that it is not very essential to
follow strictly the mode of increasing the number of
rounds and the duration of each round exactly as
described above- For example instead of increasing the
number of rounds by one every day, one may find it
more convenient to increase it by four or five after
every week. This may be adjusted according to one's
convenience and capacity. Similarly about increasing
the duration of each round. It is not necessary that
everyone should start with inhalations and exhalations
145 .
of five and ten seconds respectively. One can, instead,
very well start with a duration of ten and twenty
seconds respectively, if this can be done with ease and
comfort. It should be noted that what ever the duration of
a round, the exhalation should every lime take double
the time of an inhalation. We shall, at this stage, men-
tion some of the benefits that may be derived from a
regular practice of deep breathing as described above.
During each puraka, the lungs get filled completely with
air making all the minute air sacks full to their
capacity. Conversely, during each rechaka, the lungs
are emptied to the maximum possible extent, causing
the walls of the air sacks to sink as completely as
possible. This situation, when repeated over several
rounds, renders very good exercise to all the parts of
the lungs, improving the tone of the lung tissue to a
considerable extent. It is found that the upper extreme
parts of the lungs do not usually get appreciably ex-
panded and contracted during normal respirations. If a
person does not take regular exercise involving forced
breathing, these upper extremities habitually remain
inactive. The tone of the tissue in these parts is slowly
lost, thereby making tissue more vulnerable to attack
of micro-organisms- It is this part of the lungs which
usually gets affected initially in ease of tuberculosis and
other types of affections of lungs. This situation is pre-
vented completely, if the lungs are exercised regularly
by practising puraka and rechaka. This also makes an
individual less prone to disorders like asthma, by
making the lung tissue strong enough. People who have
asthma in their ancestral history, i.e. those individuals
whose parents or grandparents or great-grandparents
might have bad to suffer from asthma, would thus be
tremendously benefitted by a regular practice of deep
breathing as a preventive measure against asthma.
146
Having strong lungs and a healthy and efficient lung
tissue is a very desirable thing indeed. This makes for
general health. The vital index, which is an indication
of good health and vitality, can be increased by a
regular practice of deep breathing. All the muscles
involved in the mechanism of respiration get a sort of
training, so that it becomes one's habit to make more
complete respirations even at other times than at the
time of the practice itself.
During inhalation the intra-thoracic pressure remains
lower than atmospheric pressure. Due to the downward
movement of the diaphragm, and a slight contraction
of the abdominal muscles, the pressure in the abdominal
cavity registers an increase during inhalation. These
situations are changed during exhalation, where the
intrathoracic pressure becomes more than atmospheric
pressure, while the intra-abdominal pressure gets lowered
down. These pressure changes which are more pro-
nounced in deep breathing cause two beneficial effects.
First, they gave a gentle massage to the heart and the
abdominal viscera, and second, they stimulate blood cir-
culation due to the fact that blood flows more easily
from a region of higher pressure to a region of lower
pressure. Deep breathing thus makes a very good exer-
cise not only for the lungs, but also for the heart and
the organs contained in the abdominal cavity. It helps
the functions of digestion, excretion and circulation, to
be carried out efficiency.
This much being said about the beneficial effects of
yogic breathing for ordinary purposes, let us now des-
cribe how a student, who is interested in the deeper
aspects of yogic breathing, should proceed in the
practice of holding the breath. One must have practised
deep breathing as described earlier for a few months so
as to prepare oneself for the practice of kumbhaka. The
147
two varieties of kwttbhaka involve different techniques;
We shall first speak about the procedure for holding
the breath inside the lungs
The Bandbas
Taking for granted that one has already practised
purakas and rechakas of ten and twenty seconds respec-
tively for a month or so, one should, on the first day,
introduce holding of breath in the last round, for ten
seconds. After completing the puroka, both the nostrils
should be closed, the right one with the thumb, and
the left one with the last two fingers. The head should
be lowered down in the front, and the chin set against
the jugular notch below the throat. This technique is
known as "jalandhara-bandha.
99
It should be accom-
panied by two other bandhas called respectively "nuda-
bandha"* and "uddiyana-bandha". The former involves
contraction of the anus, the latter, contraction of the
pelvis (lower abdomen). These three bandhas are supposed
to have a special significance. After holding the breath
for ten seconds after the pwaka through the left nostril,
the head may be taken to its normal erect position, the
muscles of the anus and pelvis are relased, and then
rcch.aka and the next pwaka are made through the right
nostril. Another kumbhaka is then made, which is fol-
lowed by rechaka through the left nostril. The number
of rounds involving kwnbhakas maybe increased by
two per week, so that within five to six weeks all the
ten rounds would include holding of breath. After
practising twenty kwnbhakas (of ten seconds duration
each) every day for about a month the duration of
each kumbhaka may be slowly increased to fifteen
seconds. This would be achieved in about a month and
a half, and may be practised regularly for nearly a
148
month. Then the time may be progressively increased
to twenty seconds.
Another sitting may be added at this stage. In the
beginning the dose of ten rounds (i.e. twenty kwnb-
hakas of twenty seconds each) may be split up into two
doing ten kwnbhakas in the morning and ten in the
evening. The number at both sittings may be increased
by one every week, so that after five weeks one will
be doing forty kwnbhakas per day, twenty in the
morning and twenty in the evening. The maximum
dose of ktanbhaka. that an advanced student of yoga
is expected to practise every day, as mentioned in
Hathayoga-Pradipika (II, 11), is eighty kwnbhakas per
sitting, with four sittings in a day. One should thus
practise Pranayama in the morning, evening, and at
midday and midnight. The maximum duration of
kwnbhaka in each round is traditionally expected to
be sixty four mairas- The definition of a ntatra seems
to vary in different traditional texts. For example, in
the Yogatatvopanishad (40) it is said that a mairas is
the period required for taking the hand round the knee
neither hastily nor slowly, and making a sound by
sliding the middle finger downward from the apex of
the thumb. This means nearly thirty six matras in one
minute. A matra is defined in the Markandeya Parana
(XXXVI, 15) as the time required for winking of the
eyelids, or for uttering a syllable- This may mean
about one hundred mairas per minute. The Brihadyogi-
yajnyavalkya Smriti (VII, 12) speaks of a matra as the
time required for making a sound thrice by the middle
finger and thumb, or for moving the hand once around
the knee and the thigh. This is rather vague- Brahma-
nanda, the commentator of Haihayoga-Pradipika
mentions several meanings of the word "matra" (II, 12).
We need not go into the details of these meanings.
149
It seems reasonable to assume that sixty four
matras are equal to nearly forty eight seconds. A
kwnbhaka of this duration may be described as of the
"highest type". A duration of twenty four seconds
would make a kwnbhaka of the "medium type", while
a kwnbhaka lasting only twelve seconds may be called
the one of a "low type". It is supposed that & kwnbhaka
of the low type causes profuse perspiration of the body,
the one of a "medium type," cause tremors in the
body, while that of the "highest" type may cause the
body to be raised from the ground (e.g., see Gheranda
Samhita, V, 55). The highest type of kwnbhaka must,
however, be developed with due care and caution,
preferably under the guidance of a person .who has
himself mastered it. The author of the Hathayoga-
Pradipika (II, 15-16) does well to warn the student of
yoga against the ill effects of an improper practice of
Pranayama. He has rightly compared breath control
with the process of taming a lion or an elephant, em-
phasizing the need for exercising caution and care.
The Varieties of Pranayama
Eight varieties of Pranayama have been mentioned
in traditional yoga texts. We shall survey them in brief,
one by one. The procedure described above, in which
kwnbhaka is accompanied by breathing through alter-
nate nostrils, is traditionally called Anuloma-Viloma
Pranayama. It is not necessary at all to practise all the
eight types. The kwnbhaka part is, in fact, the same in
all of them, there being only a difference as regards the
technique of inhalation and exhalation. The eight types
are respectively called 1) suryabhedana, 2) ujjayi 3)
shitali, 4) sitkari, 5) bhastrika, 6) bhramari, 7)
murchha and 8) plavini. In the first, the right nostril
150
is used every time for inhalation, and the left one for
exhalation. In the second type, inhalations are made
through both the nostrils, and exhalations through the
left one. These are accompanied by a sound produced
by contraction of the throat (i.e. a partial closure of
theglotis). The third type is characterized by inhala-
tions through the mouth, and exhalations through both
the nostrils. The tongue is slightly drawn out of the
mouth for this purpose, and its sides are turned up,
forming a passage like a channel, for sucking in air.
The fourth type includes inhalations through the mouth,
with the tip of the tongue pressing against the teeth, and
exhalations through both the nostrils. The fifth type is
combination of kcpalabhati and swyabhedana, in which
twenty to forty expulsions of air through both the nos-
trils are made to precede each inhalation. In the sixth
type a sound like that of the bumble-bee (bhramara) is
produced while inhaling and exhaling, using both the
nostrils. The seventh type requires jalandhara-bandha to
be practised during kwnbhaka as well as rechaka. The
last one is practised for the purpose of floating on
water.
All these varieties of Pranayama, except perhaps
the last one, may be said to be aimed at one common
goal, that of bringing the mind ultimately under one's
control. The physiological effects that go with these
varieties, however, show some variations* For example,
the first and the fifth types are said to give roe to heat
in the body, while the third and fourth types are sup-
posed to produce cold, an unconscious state which is
foil of pleasure, and so on. We need not go into the
details of these varieties, because our main interest is in
the utility of Pranayama in general. We shall discuss
this after describing the technique of holding the breath
outside the lungs.
151
After assuming a comfortable sitting position one
should make twenty to forty expulsions of Kapalabbati.
Then a deep exhalation should be made, contracting
the anus and pelvis towards the end of exhalation. Then,
not allowing the air to rush into the lungs again the
chin should be set against the jugular notch by lowering
the head forward. This position may be maintained
for five to ten seconds and then, raising the head to its
normal position, inhalation may be allowed to occur.
There is no need to make this inhalation very long or
deep. This makes one round. After going through
three or four normal respirations, another round may be
undertaken. The duration of each kumbhaka, and the
number of rounds in a sitting may be slowly increased
as described earlier. Patanjali has mentioned this
technique in the Yoga Sutra (I, 34), while describing
various ways of making the mind peaceful and blissful.
It has also been mentioned in the Yoga Vasishiha (V,
78, 22 and VI, 25,17).
We are now in a position to describe the effects of a
prolonged practice of Pranayama. After how much
practice can one take oneself to have mastered the art of
yogic breathing ? This is a question which must be
answered at the outset. We find an answer to this ques-
tion in the Trishikhi-brahmanopanishad {Mantra part,
102), wherein it has been mentioned that after a conti-
nuous practice for three years one can be said to be
firmly established in the art of yogic breathing. This
period may, of course, vary with different individuals.
The best way would be to observe whether one has
developed the marks of a good practice of yogic
breathing. These marks have been mentioned in the
above text (Mantra part. 103*104) in the following
words: An individual who has mastered the vayu achi-
eves full control over his senses, requires less food and
152
sleep, becomes strong physically and mentally, and
achieves longevity of life."
We have an interesting passage in the Goraksha
Pathlhati (f, 93) wherein it is said while emphasizing
the fact of achieving longevity through yogic breathing,
that even Lord Brahma, the Supreme Creator of the
world, takes recourse to the practice of Pranayama,
instigated as he is by fear of death. It is believed that
the life span of every individual is limited in terms of
the inhalations and exhalations he is destined to make
in the whole of life. This number being fixed, one can
increase the span of life by prolonging and stopping
these acts for specified times. We do not know how
far this belief may be correct, but we may,
nevertheless, say that it would be proper to expect that
yogic breathing may help to prolong one's life, just as
proper cleaning, lubrication and timely overhauling of
a machine results in a long and trouble-free service.
This very text describes at another place (II, 11),
the importance of yogic breathing for wiping out vices
{papa)- It declares that "Pranayama swallows the
vices just as fire swallows ftiel, and helps like a bridge
to cross the ocean of sorrow (samsardy*. The Shiva
Samhita (III, 58) speaks of it as a sure and certain way
of cancelling the binding effect of past karma. It is
described in the Manusmriti (VI, 69) as a powerful
means for making oneself free of the vice (papa)
accruing from killing other beings. The Yoga Yajnya-
valkya (VI. 81) mentions it as the best hope for those
who are drowning in the stream of sorrow. These
statements are, however, based on the peculiar Indian
view of looking at the world as a stream of sorrow,
and presuppose a belief in transmigration (punarjanma).
For an individual who does not happen to hold the
153
two beliefs, namely, that the world is intrinsically
miserable and that there is life after depth, these
statements are not of much value. We shall now
describe these effects of yogic breathing which can be
very valuable even from the point of view of such an
individual. These, as we shall presently see have
tremendous scientific implications.
It has been declared in the Hathayoga-Pradipika
(IJ, 6; II, 19-20), that with a faithful practice of yogic
breathing, the suswnna nadi becomes divested of impuri-
ties. Leanness and suppleness of body, capacity to
hold breath according to will, a healthy and charming
glow on the face, a remarkable power of digestion
mental health, and arousal of subtle sounds called
nada, have been mentioned as the external marks of
purification of the nadis- The Darshanopanishad (V,
11-12) mentions the same indications and recommends
that the practice of yogic breathing must be continued
until these marks become evident.
The suswnna nadi is a very crucial notion in Hatha
Yoga. It has been referred to in as old a text as the
Kathopanishad (II, III, 16). It is said that there are 101
nadis arising from the heart and one of them which
goes up to the head, makes for immortality if one can
find his way up along this nadi. From a description of
this nadi in the Shiva Shamhita (II 17-18), it seems as
if this is nothing else but the spinal cord. Two more
nadis have been mentioned here (II, 25-26), namely,
the Ida, which is situated on the left of suswnna, and the
pingala, situated on its right The former is said to lead
upto the left nostril, the latter, upto the right. Our
normal respirations occur through these two nadis.
When through Pranayama, the passage of the central
nadi (suswnna) is cleared, vayu is supposed to follow its
path upward. This
154
happens when kundalini, the serpent goddess, lying
dormant in all human beings, gets aroused due to a
joint impact of prana and apana on it during the
state of kwnbhaka-
Swatmarama, the author of Hathayoga-Pradipika,
declares (III, I) that "huidalini is as basic to any yoga
technique as is the Shesha (divine serpent) to the
mountains and plants and all living beings on the
earth." There has been a belief in Indian mythology
that the earth remains steady and does not fall down
because of a support given to it from below, by the
divine serpent called "Sheshcf*. Accordingly every-
thing on the earth is supposed ultimately to rest on the
support of Shesha. Similarly, all yoga techniques have
the base of kimdalini, i.e. they are all directed ultima-
tely towards the goal of arousing the kimdalini. It is
situated slightly above what is called the kanda or
trikona, the location of which has been mentioned in
various yoga texts. For example, it is said in the Shiva
Samhita (V, 74-77), that "the kanda is situated between
the anus and the genital organ, and that it is four
angulas (nearly two inches) in length as well as
breadth. The kundalinl is situated in the kanda,
making three and a half circles like a coil. It rests in
the beginning of the suswnna, closing its mouth, and
lying dormant like a serpent.**
We find the following description of kanda in the
Yoga Yajnyavalaya (IV, 12-24). "The centre of the
body is situated nearly one rich above the anus, and
one inch below the genital organ. The kanda extends
upto a distance of nearly four and a half inches (nine
angulas) from this centre. The place of kundalinl is
above the kanda, which is a little above and behind
the point of the navel (nabhi). The kundalinl, making
eight folds, surrounds the surface of the kanda, and
15S
remains there closing the mouth of the susimma (i.e.
brahma-randhm). When it is awakened by an impact
of apana it rises up and shines very bright in the
hridayakasha" The same description is found in the
Trishikhibrahmanopanishad {Mantra part, 58-65) also.
The Hathayoga-Pradipika (III, 105) compares the
kundallni to a kay that can open the door to moksha. It
says (, 41-42): "When through the practice of
Pranayama the nadis are purified pram rises through
the central nadi, making the mind ultimately com-*
pleteJy silent. This state of steadiness of the mind is
indeed the state of liberation." This fact has also been
brought out in Yogashikhopanishad (I, 114-116).
The physiology of this process is not yet perfectly
understood. It is, however the experience of those
who practise yogic breathing for a sufficient length of
time, that the mind becomes silent thereby. Our
normal breathing is controlled by a nervous centre
situated in the medulla oblongata (which is a part of the
nervous system between the brain and the spinal cord).
Th is respiratory centre is made of two parts. One of
them is responsible for bringing about the act of
inhalation; the other part causes exhalation when it is
stimulated. Deep breathing as well as yogic breathing
involves additional impulses coming from the brain
cortex. They cause the act of inhalation or exhalation
to be prolonged or stopped temporarily. We do not
quite know how this causes the mind to become silent.
But it is, nevertheless, a fact of experience. As explained
in Muktikopanishad (II, 27), "the mind depends upon
two factors, namely, pram and vasana, for its very
existence. Consequently, it becomes silent the
moment either of the two factors stops working".
156
____

( Dhayana:
VQ) Controlling the Mind
HUMAN MIND has ever been a thing of great concern to
the philosophers, thinkers, and masters of yoga.
Guided by the maxim "healthy mind in a healthy body",
we have tried to show in the earlier chapters how yoga
practices involving control of muscles and breath can
help to make the mind healthy and peace-fill. In the
present chapter we shall inquire into those yoga
techniques which are useful in tackling the mind in a
direct manner. A question that we must answer at the
outset would be why should the mind be made silent at
all? An answer to this question is found in the
Amritahindupanishad (I, 4), wherein it is said that, "the
mind has two parts: one impure, the other pure. The
impurities of the mind are made by desire and passion.
Mind itself is thus the cause of bondage and liberation; it
binds the individual when it is overtaken by desire for
enjoyment, it makes for wukti when it becomes peaceful
and silent" We shall first try to understand here the
nature of mind according to yoga, before proceeding to
see how it is made silent.
As explained by the great Shankaracharya (Viveka
Chudamani, 93-94), the mind (which is known in
Sanskrit as antahkarana) gets four different names
according to its functions: it is called manas for the
activity of resolving and doubting; buddhi, when it
comes to a decision or judgement about anyming; it
derives the name asmita from the fact of consciousness
of its own existence; and lastly it comes to be known
as chita by the event of remembering previous experi-
ence. It is customary to compare the mind to a river.
Just as a river is nothing but a huge mass of innumer-
able drops of water, mind is a vast collection of
thoughts and traces of past experience. Water is
observed to flow always to a lower level; so, too the
mind, which always gets attracted towards one or
other object of enjoyment.
Traditionally it is believed by all the branches of
Indian philosophy (except perhaps the solitary example
of the Charvaka school of thought) that the mind of
every individual is, at any time, full of traces of
experience gathered in all the past lives through which
one has passed. According to this belief, one's mind at
the very moment of birth, may be looked upon as a vast
river of samskaras gathered over countless past Jives.
Many samskaras out of that vast collection are
supposed to be wiped out due to enjoyment of their
fruits in the present birth, but many more are also being
continually added throughout the present life, due to the
various acts one does from birth till death. This is
known as the law of karma, which states that the
various events one comes across in the present life are
the fruits of what one had done in past lives, and
secondly, that the mind of an individual contains, at
birth, the whole collection of past samskaras. It may be
pointed out that science seems to disbelieve both these
statements.
Whether the mind is full of traces of past experience
at birth or not, it is true that the mind of most of us is
ever engaged in activity that is the outcome of desire-
to be something or to obtain something. As explained in
158
the Mahopanishad (V, 99-101), "mind is always unstable,
and it is almost impossible to get rid of the instability
of the mind, because it is a quality as basic to the mind
as is heat to fire. When the mind becomes devoid of
this instability, it attains moksha" Our mind may be
compared to a horse that is free to run wherever it
likes. Like an uncontrolled horse, the mind of an
individual always runs from one object of enjoyment
to another. We find the mind to be continuously enga-
ged in some kind of thought. Whenever it is not engaged
in any event actually happening, it either remembers
some past event or contemplates some future event. It
is at very rare movements that the mind may be found
to be still. We find a very lucid description of the
mental activity of an individual in the Kathopanishad
(I, 3, 3-9). It is said that, '"the body is like a chariot of
which intellect (buddhi) is the charioteer. Mind works
like the reins; the senses are the horses, the objects of
experience being their field of operation. The individual
endowed with mind and senses is the enjoyer of all that
happens. The senses act like bad horses out of control
of the charioteer when the mind is not steady. When
right knowledge is attained by steadying the mind, the
senses act like good controlled horses. Such an indivi-
dual reaches the other shore of samsara
9
that is the
highest state."
Yoga philosophy recognizes five factors as being
basic to the mental activity of an individual. These are
called the five kleshas, because they are the root cause of
human misery and sorrow. They are named respectively
avid) a, asmita, raga, dvesha, and abhbtivesha. Avidya
means false knowledge or ignorance of one's own nature
in relation to the objects of experience. Various schools
of Indian philosophy are observed to have different
views regarding what avidya means, but they all agree
159
that it is a fundamental fact underlying human beha-
viour* Asmita means the ego feeling. According to the
yoga view the soul is, in fact, completely different from
the body. But due to avidya, it starts taking the body to
be its own, or rather, it gets identified with the body,
and thus gets affected with pleasure and pain. Asmita
is thus an immediate consequence of avidya. The next
three kleshas are also looked upon as consequences of
avidya (e.g. see Yoga Sutra, 11,3-10). Raga means liking
for pleasurable experience that is, the desire for enjoy-
ment. Dvesha is the opposite of this namely, aversion
for pain. The last, klcsha, indicates the desire to live,
i.e. the fear of death.
Yoga philosophy thus tries to derive all human
behaviour from these five innate and universal tenden-
cies. It is believed that these five basic tendencies are
present in the mind of an individual right from the
moment of birth. They are the motivating agents which
guide the behaviour of an individual in various situa-
tions- These five innate tendencies are looked upon as
impurities of the mind. Their presence in the mind
makes for unsteadiness and instability. The mind can
therefore, become steady and peaceful only when these
impurities are completely washed away. There are two
ways of making the mind clear of impurities, namely,
Pranayama and Dhyana. We have already discussed
the former in an earlier chapter. The latter will engage
our attention presently.
Dhyana
It is the experience of almost everyone of us that
whenever we try to concentrate the mind on an object
or an idea, the mind immediately starts wandering. It
is very difficult to keep the mind steadily concerned
160
about a single thought. This difficulty has been expressed
even by such a superior disciple as Aijuna, even when
there was such a highly capable guru as Lord Krishna to
instruct him. After hearing carefully the description of
yoga from the mouth of Lord Krishna {G:ta
9
VI),
Arjuna had to confess that he could not understand it
properly, because of the instability of his mind. He
expressed that control of the mind was even more
difficult than control of the wind. On this, Lord Krishna
has said something which is important for everybody
who wishes to bring the mind under control-Krishna
declares in clear terms (GUa
9
VI, 35-36) that although
there is no doubt that the mind is a very difficult thing to
be brought under control, it can, nevertheless, be made
silent and steady, by a two-pronged attack, that of
vairagya and abhyasa. He does not fail to warn that
yoga is Impossible for those whose minds are not steady
and controlled. Patanjali, the author of the Yoga Sutra,
has also emphasized the importance of these two means
(I 12) for making t hemind silent. We may say that these
two qualities make the very essence of yoga. We shall, in
the remaining pages, make a detailed study of these two.
The former quality constitutes what we may call the
behavioral aspects of yoga, the latter is concerned
directly with steadying the
mind.
Mind usually is like a disturbed pond containing*
many impurities. For cleaning such a pond, we have
first of all to stop the inflow of fresh impurities and
then to remove existing impurities. The mind has simi-
larly to be tackled in two ways, and these are the ways
of vairagya and abhyasa, Vairagya is the cessation of
raga, and means an absence of the urge or longing for
enjoyment. It indicates a complete lack of the tendency
of mind to be swayed away by objects of experience. It"
161
means a total lack of ambition or desire for achievement.
Itis, however, a very rare quality. Our minds are usually
overtaken by the process of desiredesire to attain
success to become important, to have power, and so
on. We usually get caught up easily in an endless circle
of achievement and further achievement. Vairagya can
dawn only upon a mind which has come to realize the
futility of the process of desire and achievement. There
are three techniques in yoga in terms of which the state
of vairagya may be analysed. They are respectively
called yama, niyama and pratyahara. We shall describe
these three aspects of vairagya in brief at this stage.
Yama and Niyama
Yama and niyama may be respectively called the
negative and positive aspects of behaviour. Tradition-
ally, ten yamas and ten niyamas are found mentioned
in texts such as Trishikhibrahmtmopanishad (Mantra
part, 32-33), Dorshanopanishad (I, and II, 1), and
Yoga Yajnyavalkya (I, 50-51, II, 1-2). In other authori-
tative texts like the Yoga Sutra (II, 30, 32), Vishnu
Purana (VI, 7, 36^38) only five yamas and five nlyamas
have been mentioned. On the whole, the yamas may be
said to have greater importance. As explained in the
Manitsmriti (VI, 204), "one must always follow the
yamas without any exception; one gets ruined if he
follows the niyamas alone, ignoring the yamas." We
shall here consider five yamas and five niyamas as men-
tioned in the Yoga Sutra.
1) Ahimsa (Non-violence): This is the foremost
among the yamas. It implies an absence of the attitude
to harm others in any manner. This has been very
highly spoken of in Jainism as well as in Christianity.
162
But it is very difficult to bring this yama into practice in
everyday life. A judge, for example, who is the custo-
dian of law and order, or a warrior on the battle-field,
or a butcher, cannot go to the extreme of not causing
any harm to any one. More importance should here be
given not to the fact of killing or harming others but
to the attitude involved in the act. Thus the executioner
whose lot it is to hang those who are sentenced to death,
is never charged with murder of any one, although his
actual act involving killing of a human being may not
be different from the act of a murderer. But if he hangs
any one without the proper orders of a competent
authority, his act may be treated as murder. Thus,
whether an act involves killing, does not have much
importance. The attitude involved is, in fact, what is
most important. The definition of ahimsa in yoga is
more rigorous than the ordinary sense of the term. It
means excluding from one's behaviour not only such
acts as would involve killing or physically offend
others, but also the acts of offending others through
speech or even thinking ill about any one. A yogi
exhibits ahimsa by his very nature. He does not have to
think every time that he has to refrain from himsa
9
because it is harmful.
2) Satya (Truthfulness): This means being truthful
in thought, speech and action. One can be extremely
truthful in this way, only when one has overcome greed
and ambition. But most of us arc greedy utd ambitious,
and hence we often deceive others whenever our interests
are served by deceit. Honesty and simplicity are two
qualities that are a "must" for one who aspires for
making any progress on the path of yoga. ! lonesty is
not only necessary for a student of yoga, but it is some-
thing most essential for every individual in society. The
163
student of yoga comes to look upon the whole world
as a single family, and his dealings with every human
being are therefore full of love and honesty.
3) Asteya (Non-theft): "Steya" in Sanskrit means
enjoying or keeping with oneself what rightly belongs
to others, i.e. stealing, or theft. A student of yoga, who
is a man of vairagya, is never expected to steal anything
from anywhere, because he has a feeling of love for all.
How can such an individual ever think of robbing
others of their belongings, or gathering wealth or
objects of enjoyment? One ihinks of robbing others* or
exploiting them, only when there is no love, and there is
some selfish motive. Vairagya* which puts an end to all
selfish activities, greed and ambition, causes an
individual to renounce the very idea of enjoying at the
cost of others, and such a man retires spontaneously
from all activities which may deprive others, knowingly
or unknowingly, of the fulfilment of their needs. The
needs of a yogi are indeed very few, and he does not
have to exploit others in the slightest manner in order
to make his own life possible.
4) Brahmacharya (Celibacy): This indicates a
complete absence of sex desire. It is held with very high
esteem in the yoga texts. For example, it is described
in the Matsya Parana (174, 36-40) as the highest
austerity. Sex urge is one of the very strong urges. It
causes great uneasiness whenever it remains unfulfilled.
It is perhaps a need which is next importance only
to the vital needs of air, water and food. Desire for sex
enjoyment equally overtakes the laymen as well as the
learned. Celibacy involves absence not of the sex act
alone, but rather a total qbsence of any thoughts about
sex also. It may be said to indicate a complete cessation
164
of what may be called the *sex complex*. This sex com-
plex has been described in the Katharudropanishad (6,7)
by saying that the sex act has eight aspects, all of which
must be avoided by an aspirant of yoga. This means
that abandoning merely the physical act of sex does
not serve any useful purpose, because having an urge
to watch the members of the opposite sex, or to talk to
them whenever an opportunity arises, or to go on
thinking about them by engaging the mind in thoughts
concerning them, is also often observed to create dis-
turbance and tension in one's mind. But it is a fact of
experience that it is almost impossible for an average
human individual to keep away sex-enjoyment for all
times* In religious literature we find many stories of
great rishis (who wanted to obtain the title of Indra),
who were deceived and distracted from the rigorous
discipline necessary for reaching their goal, when Indra
sent one or more beautiful damsels to allure them. It is
said in the Manusmritt (II, 214), that women can allure
the ignorant as well as the highly educated, and throw
them away from the path of mukti. It is, therefore, that
the individual who can keep the sex urge well under
contol, has been praised highly in traditional texts.
It may be argued that an average individual need
not abandon sex altogether. It is not a sane attitude to
condemn sex as something bad or harmful. Sex has a
very important place in the life of an individual, and it
should not be denied its proper place. But the over-
whelming effect of sex on the minds of modern youth,
caused by the world of cinema and advertisement, is
definitely posing a serious problem today. Proper train-
ing, concerning the working of sex, and proper social
atmosphere in which the sex urge can be modified by
some other useful and strong urge, are the two things
which will help a great deal in solving the tremendous
165
problems of sex in the life of modern youth.
A jivanmukta completely overcomes all passions
and desires, and with them, the sex urge, too. He is
ever free' as described by Jnanadco, (Anubhavamrita, V,
47), of any tension or disturbance produced by sex.
But all other students of yoga have to struggle with
themselves to greater or smaller extent, according to
the extent of vairagya in their minds, with a flew to
overcome the disturbance created by the sex urge.
Brahmacharya is no doubt a very arduous but paying
aspect of vairagya. As declared by Patanjali (Yoga
Sutra II, 38) it increases tremendously the mental
strength (yearya) of an individual which is very useful
in silencing the mind.
5) Aparigraha (Non-gathering): This means not
going after accumulation of wealth and objects of
enjoyment. We usually long for increasing our belong-
ings infinitely, because we are greedy. An aspirant of
yoga has, however, to turn his mind away from greed,
and be concerned only with the fulfilment of his pri-
mary needs. Accumulation of wealth causes distraction
it keeps one's mind tied down to the enjoyments that
are imagined to go with amassing wealth. It causes a lot
of strain to gather wealth, and it causes strain too to
keep it safe. And all this is nothing but distraction for
a student of yoga who is truly a man of vairagya,
which, in the true sense of the term, involves renuncia-
tion not only of unnecessary belongings, but of the
very idea of desire and attainment in any form.
We have so far gone through the nature of the five
yamas, or the negative aspects of vairagya. We shall
now make a brief survey of what a man of vairagya is
expected positively to show in his behaviour, namely,
166
the niyamas. The five niyamas, as mentioned by Patau*
jali are as follows:
1) Shoucha (Cleanliness) : This includes cleanliness
of the body and the mind. A clean mind means a mind
which is free of passions like greed, envy, and so on,
and the impurities of mind, like false beliefs and ignor-
ance. In a general sense, all the five yamas can be
included under cleanliness of mind, because each one
of them implies removal of some kind of impurity
from the mind.
2) Saniosha (Contentment): This is one of the
striking qualities of a yogi who, in the absence of any
idea of achievement or fulfilment of ambition, ever
remains satisfied with whatever he confronts in life.
3) Tapas (Religious austerities): These include
various procedures like fasting, and subjecting the body
to severe conditions in various ways with a view to
increase the power of resistance of the body. This is
supposed to increase the strength of the body and mind
and make them more capable of fighting adverse
situations.
4) Svadhyaya (Reading religious literature): This
is very helpful in overcoming ignorance by giving an
insight into various problems. It fills the mind with
good and pious thoughts, and makes it peaceful.
5) Ishwatapranidhana (Devotion): This means
relying on the Divine Will, by ascribing the effects of
whatever one does to Divine Providence. This attitude,
if properly and faithfully developed, relieves an indivi-
dual of tension, because of the habit to accept every-
thing as the will of God. It is a good means for those
167
who have faith in the existence of a Supreme Being as
a Creator and Governor of the whole universe. They
can relinquish the burden of fear and worry by
developing a reliance on God's will.
It may be said that the list of the positive and
negative aspects of viragya as considered above, is not
exhaustive, and we can add many more qualities to the
list. But that is not very important, as all such quali-
ties, in fact, exhibit one and the same basic fact,
namely, peace of mind.
We shall now consider the third behavioral aspect,
which, although inseparable from vairagya as such,
deserves a few words. This is the aspect called
pratyahara. It indicates a withdrawal of the senses
and mind from the objects of enjoyment. The five
cognitive senses, namely, the organs of sight, touch,
hearing, smell and taste, grasp specific stimuli alone.
For example, the organ of sight grasps light rays, the
organ of hearing grasps sound waves, and so on.
Pratyahara means a withdrawal of the sense organs
from their respective areas. This does not, of course,
mean that a student of yoga actually stops seeing, or
hearing, or touching objects of experience. That is not
the idea implied in pratyahara. It really means a
detachment of the mind. i.e. a complete cessation of
the urge for enjoyment, which is exactly the meaning of
viragya.
Such viragya has been described in the Gita (XV, 3)
as a powerful and pointed instrument useful in cutting
the tree of samsara It is said further (XV, 4-5) that
"wise men whose minds have become pure by washing
away all the impurities accuring from attachment,
infatuation, cravings, etc., and who have become free
of all opposites like pleasure and pain, can reach the
highest place of God, from where there is never any
168
return." Vairagya is thus the beginning of yoga. It is
indispensable for those whose interest in yoga is deep
and profound. Every one who aspires for making
progress on the spiritual path must, therefore, see
carefully how far he has acquired this quality of
detachment and peace, because as long as this quality
has not developed in one's mind, whatever he does in
the field of yoga has really no meaning at all. The
great Shankaracharya has rightly declared (Vfoeka
Chudamaniy 78) that "even though one is well-versed
in all the branches of knowledge, he does not become
fit for liberation unless he is a man of vairagya.
9
*
Vdiragya is thus the most essential mark of a yogi.
Abhiyasa
The mind of such a person stops running about,
and becomes steady and still very easily. The process
of steadying the mind is called abhyasa in yoga ter-
minology. It is made of three stages respectively called
dharana, dhyana, and samadhi (see Yoga Sutra, III, 1-3).
Dharana h a state of mental concentration in which
the mind, which has stopped running after the objects
of enjoyment (due to vairagya) gets associated with a
restricted area of operation, which may be an idol or a
picture, or any symbol like a cross, or dot, and so on.
This is a state of absorption of the mind in an
engrossing topic. All thoughts are here concerned
about a single topic. For example, one may fix the
mind on some areas in the body, such as any one of
the six chakras, the tip of the tongue or nose, the mid-
point between the eyebrows, the heart, and so on, or
on, an attractive idol of Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu, or a
picture of the rising sun. No thought other than those
that are in some way or the
169
other related to the object of concentration, is allowed
to arise in the mind. This is not an easy thing to do,
because of the habit of mind to move continuously
from one thought to another. But an individual, from
whose mind vasana or trishna has completely retired,
can easily apply his mind to any limited topic (tlesha),
just as a trained horse can be made to follow any
specified path, by carefully controlling his actions. As
an individual proceeds deeper in the process of
concentration, the mind becomes steadier, and, out of
the limited set of thoughts concerning the same topic,
only one single thought starts arising in the mind, time
and again. This is the state of dhyana in which the
mind becomes very stable like the flame of a lamp in a
very calm atmosphere, and its contact with the object
of experience becomes intense and complete. There are
two varieties of dhyana as explained III the
Shandilyopanishad (1, 13,1), namely, sagtuwdhyaiw and
nirgunadhyana. The former involves stillness of the
mind associated with an object of experience that can
be grasped through the sense organs, e.g. it may either
be seen with eyes, or touched with the hands or at
least it can be thought of as having certain qualities.
The latter variety implies complete absorption of the
mind into itself. This is a state in which the mind is
not associating with any object, external or internal, or
perceptible through the senses. The mind becomes
completely still in this state. It is supposed that such a
still and silent mind becomes so sensitive as to be able
to understand any event, past, present or future, that
might have happened anywhere in the universe. We
may quote, for example, an incident mentioned by
Kalidasa in his Raghuvamsha (I, 73-74). King Dilipa,
as the story goes, was not having a child. He went to
his guru Vasishtha for a remedy, and tcld him
170
the reason of his sadness. The rlshi, this, stood still
for a few moments and came to know, through
concentration of the mind, why king Dilioa was not
getting a son.
Whether such a thing is possible through dhyana,
is a question on which opinions may diner. Science, it
may be said, has not yet succeeded in gathering
sufficient information which may confirm this belief.
But we may still come across many people in India
who would defend such possibilities heart and soul.
Let us now see how dhyana is turned into what is
called samadhi. This is a state that can be achieved
only by a mind which is purified like a g^txt or crystal.
When all the impurities of the mind are completely
washed away through dhyana, the mind shows a
capacity to grasp any object very clearly and vividly.
When a crystal (which is colourless in itself) is placed
adjacent to a flower, it shows in itself the colour of that
flower very completely, so much so that one feels as if
that is its own colour. Similarly, a mind that is purified
by dhyana, when cast on any object of thought, can
establish such an intimate contact with the object that it
becomes completely identified or one with it. This is
known as tadaimya of the mind with the object. It
indicates complete stillness and steadiness which is
accompanied by silencing of the breath. In that state,
the consciousness of one's own existence vanishes.
This is called "sabija samadhi", because it always
involves some object of experience or some thought on
which the mind is concentrated.
Nirbija samadhi (also called "sahajavastha") is a
state very different from this. It is jiot a state of
concentration but the state of liberation in bodily
existence {jivan mukti).
171
The Practice of
Meditation
"MEDITATION" is a prestigious word which has recently
become extremely popular among people of all
ages and vocations. Fifty years ago it was hardly
ever mentioned in common parlance. But now
we almost have a separate creed or sect of those who
meditate and talk about their experiences during their
state of meditation, and the influence of meditation on
the life of people inner, as well as that which happens
in the external world. We now see a wholly new
chapter in the long history of meditation being
unfolded before Us. How did such a revolution come
about?
It all started in the western countries in the late
fifties of the present century, with the advent of the
hallucinogenic drugs and their increasing use in the
affluent society, especially among those of the younger
generation. Use of drugs like marijuana, heroine,
LSD, mescaline, and methedrineamphetamine (speed)
spread very quickly like a wave among the turbulent,
uneasy teen-agers of post-war Europe and America,
who were in a mood to revolt against the established
norms and morality of the older people. These drugs
had a tranquillising effect on the mind. So one could
find an escape from the frustrations and anxieties of
life. But these were not mere tranquillisers. They
produced very unusual and marvellous experiences
172
i

like extreme elation, intense peace and tranquillity,
hightened sensations, universalisation of the ego,
impersonalization of personality, floating in the air,
and so on. One could feel completely free from one's
worries and problems, and live actually in a wonderland
in which sensations of colour were immensely enjoyable,
and ideas and sounds could be seen as having very
attractive forms and colours. Thus one could live in a
world of unimaginable pleasure and happiness. This
was a world to which millions of youth were attracted.
If only the effect could last permanently, then the
psychidelic drugs, as they came to be called, could
have turned our earth into a veritable paradise. But it
soon became evident that this was. not possible. The
drugs had two defects. First, as one went on the dose
had to be increased. Secondly, and this was a very
serious problem, the drugs had their side effects, so
that when one was back from a 'trip', one was not the
same person. There was a sort of crippling effect on
the body and mind, and one became more helpless
after taking the drugs to fight with the problems,
which returned after the influence of the drug was
over.
Psychidelic drugs thus offered not a permanent
solution to the problems of the new generation, but
only an escape for a while. But the experiences during
that period were so fascinating and overwhelming, and
they were felt actually to be so real that they were
described by the drugs users by words like ecstasy,
nirvana, santadhi, meditation, liberation, and mukti.
These words and the state of being indicated by them
did make a mark on the minds of every one who had a
trip into nirvana and this mark persisted in spite of the
disillusionment with the hallucinogens. About the same
time, Maharishi Mahcshyogi, the propounder of
173
the famous 'transcendental meditation' was trying to
popularise bis new technique in the west. The time
Seemed ripe for it, as hundreds of talented young men
who were in search of a substitute for the drugs flocked
around the Maharishi for having a lasting experience of
the marvels of samadhl and nirvana, which they had
tasted only temporarily under the influence of the
drugs. This opened a new chapter in the history of
meditation, giving rise to a continued flow of seekers
in the direction of the orient.
This brings us to the question, "What is medita-
tion?*' This is an important question about which
there should be no confusion in one's mind. It may be
pointed out in the very beginning that 'meditation' is
not an exact term, because it has a variety of meanings.
These meanings differ very vastly from each other
There is no contradiction in this, but one must under-
stand the difference between the meanings. That
difference can best be brought out by considering
what meditation was called in Sanskrit in the ancient
tradition of India. We shall here consider three words,
all of which stand for what is meant by meditation.
They are : dhyana, samapatti, and satnadhi.
The word dhyana is derived from the root dhyai
which means to think of, meditate upon, ponder over,
contemplate, or simply to call the mind. Dhyana as a
technique of yoga indicates an undisturbed process in
which a single thought or idea arises in the mind with
a continuous flow, and without intervention by any
other thought or idea. It is a state of absorption of the
mind, called ekagrata in Sanskrit. Usually our mind is
in a state of survarthata, that is to say, it grasps all
objects (sarva artha), one or many at a time. As oppos-
ed to this, ekagrata involves application of the mind
to a single object which is a state of steadiness.
174
The word samapatti is derived from the root
samapad, meaning to obtain, to attain to arrive or fall
upon. Samapatti means arriving, encountering, accom-
plishing, completion, or conclusion of a process. It is
a tchnical term of yoga indicating a state of oneness
(tadanjanata) or unity of (he mind with an object. In
it the mind arrives or falls upon an object completely
because of a total absence of any distraction, and just
as a crystal placed on a coloured flower shows the
colour of the flower in itself and thereby it shows as if
there is oneness of colour between the two. Similarly,
the mind in samapatti becomes one with the object. In
other words this is the same thing as ekagrata in the
state of dhyana.
The word samadhi issues from the root samadha
which means to put together or to unite intensely. The
basic root here is dha meaning to put or place, i.e., to
take hold of. There are two grades of samadhL In one
there is an object into which the mind is absorbed,
while in the other the whole of thought process comes
to an end, there being no effort to apply the mind to
any particular idea or object There is a world if differ-
ence between the former and the latter. The former is
the same as samapatti, and it has been called dhyana at
many places in ancient Sanskrit texts. The latter state
is described by words like sahajawastha or unmani
awastha. The word 'meditation* includes all these
meanings.
Thus we must differentiate between two meanings
of the word 'meditation'. In one sense meditation is a
process of thought, rather of silencing thoughts, which
involves effort to overcome the instability of the mind
and its savage nature. Seeing that the savage
tendencies of the mind are the root cause of misery
and sorrow, one desires to bring them under control.
175
One Imagines a state of freedom from the savage
tendencies and visualises a gap between one's actual
state and the ideal or the posited state. This gap is
sought to be filled by meditation. All the mighty
traditions of religion, philosophy, cultural and ethical
behaviour and morality that man has formulated thro-
ugh ages have advocated various means for filling the
gap between the 'actual' and the 'ideal*. Meditation
has always been the foremost among such means.
Thus in one sense meditation is looked upon as a
means, as a way of discipline, control, a way to be
gradually traversed in order to achieve liberation or
freedom. In this sense meditation may be called dhyana,
sanmpatti, or samprajnyata samadhl. In another sense,
meditation is not a means but an end in itself. It is not
something to be sought after or achieved through
effort. Rather it comes uninvited when all effort ceases
completely and the desire for improvement or change,
for filling a gap, comes to an end. Meditation in this
sense is called nirbija samadhi. It cannot be taught or
learned, as there is no technique for it.
To avoid confusion the two forms of meditation
may respectively be called meditation with seed and
seedless meditation. In the tradition of yoga the former
is described by words like dhyana, samapatti, sampra-
jnyata samadhi or sabija samadhi
y
while the latter form of
meditation, as pointed out above, is called nirbija
samadhi. Bija means the seed. In the context of samadhi
it means the seed of ignorance which sprouts in the
form of misery and sorrow. This seed must be destroy-
ed for seedless meditation to come about.
Can there be any relation between the two forms
of meditation ? To put the question in other words,
can the practice of meditation with seed lead ultimately
to a state of seedless meditation ? Or can one, who has
176
mastered technique of meditation with seed eventually
drop the seed and enter into the uncharted territory of
seedless meditation? Clearly, the answer to this ques-
tion must be in the negative. J. Krishnamurti, the most
outstanding unconventional thinker of our times, has
come to emphasise this point again and again
throughout his talks over the last fifty years. By way
of a foreword to the book "Meditations** (London
Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1980.), he says.
"Man, in order to escape his conflicts, has invented
many forms of meditation. These have been based on
desire, will and the urge for achievement and imply
conflict and a struggle to arrive. This conscious, deli-
berate striving is always within the limits of a condi-
tioned mind and in this there is no freedom. All effort
to meditate is the denial of meditation. Meditation is
the ending of thought. It is only then that there is a
different dimension which is beyond time.'*
Since all effort to meditate is the denial of medita-
tion, it is clear that any form of meditation with seed
can never by itself lead to seedless meditation. Patan-
jali, the oft-quoted authority of yoga, seems to have
said the same thing in Yogasutra (I. 51.) when he
declares that "nirbija samadhi comes into being with
the total destruction of all the past experiences, those
even of the highest form of sabija samadhi, by self
knowledge (jnyanaprasada)"
Thus there is no relation between the two forms of
meditation. It is not possible to go from one to the
other. Keeping this important point in mind, let us
now discuss how meditation is to be practised, what
its pie-requisites are, whether there are any special
aids to it, and how they are to be employed.
It is an experience of those who practise meditation
that actually it is almost impossible to make the mind
177
steady and silent for a longtime- The mind can be
temporarily put to rest by giving it a mantra to recite
or by concentrating it on some idea or image. But the
mind is utterly unsteady by its very nature. Just as a
child may be absorbed in a toy for a while, or in some
attractive game, but it can not go on playing for ever,
so too, the mind can not be held up in meditation
continuously even for a few minutes. Every now and
then the mind runs away, and it has to be brought
back to meditate. This is an unending process, and
many of us who might have tried to make the mind
steady and silent in meditation for years do have the
same experience. Practice continued over many years
does not seem to bring about and basic change in the
attitudes and tendencies of the mind. This is a great
hurdle in the way of meditation. For crossing this
hurdle it is necessary to understand how the mind
works, how It deceives itself, and why it is that the
mind is always running after something, never giving
up the chase.
As mentioned earlier, the kleshas, which are present
in themind since birth as innate tendencies, are mainly
responsible for the unsteadiness of the mind. All the
behaviour of the mind is classified by Patanjali in his
Yogasutra in terms of states of the mind called chitta-
bhumis and fluctuations or activities of the mind called
yrtttis. If these are understood properly, then one may
be in a position to have a silent mind.
Remembering that 'chitto
1
is the word used in yoga
for themind, let us first discuss the five cluttabhuntis or
the states of the mind. So long as one lives, the mind
is in one or the other of these five states. These states
are respectively called kshipta, moodhd* vikshipta, ekagra
9
and niruddha. Kshipta is the most common of these
states. Kshipin Sanskrit means to let go, send, cast, or
178
throw. In waking life our mind always goes from
object to object, when there are impacts from the
external world carried to the mind by the sense organs
that of sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch. When
these impacts are cut off, the mind still keeps on moving,
from thought to thought, memory to memory, from the
present to the past or the future, and so on. The driving
force for this continuous movement of the mind is,
indeed, the kleshas (which we have discussed eariler),
and the traces of past experience, called sams-karas.
Propelled by this dual force, the mind is thrown
unceasingly to various thoughts, objects, and memories.
Hence this state is called kshipta. This perpetual move-
ment of the mind is stopped temporarily during sleep,
whether natural or the one induced by drugs. This state
is called moodha, Midi in Sanskrit means to lose
consciousness.
Sometimes the ever-wandering mind does halt and
get absorbed in an object or thought for a while,
because of deep interest or amusement, for instance,
while we are watching a picture or a game, or when we
are deeply thinking or enjoying something. This is
called the vikshipta state. The ekagra state is character-
ised by pin-pointedness. This is the state, as we have
seen earlier, of dhyana, samapatti, sublja-samadhi or
meditation with seed. In the niruddha state there is
seedless meditation, as the seed of ignorance or the
conditioning influence of the past comes to an end.
The chlttabhwnis may be called levels of conscious-
ness. They indicate the stability of the content of
consciousness. The nature of this content is described
in terms of the vrittis. Vrittih in Sanskrit means func-
tion, operation or movement. While the mind operates
or functions at the levels of different chittabhumis, the
actual nature of the operation or function is described
179
by the word vritti. Thus the mind may have different
vriitis in one bhwni or one vritti in different bhttmis.
The vrittis are classified into two main groups called
klishtavrittis and aklishtavtlttis, respectively. So long as
the kleshas are working as the driving force for the
operation of the mind, the vrittis arising in the mind
are called klishta, i.e., born of the kleshas. When the
kleshas are removed by dhyana and other means, and
the mind is filled with self-knowledge called viveka.
khyati the vrittis arising in the mind are called aklishta
vrittis* This happens in seedless meditation. Meditation
with seed is characterised by klishtavrittis. Thus most
used throughout our life have only the klishtavrittis.
These vrittis are classified into five different types,
The chitta is likened in yoga to a river. Just as a river
Sows to the lower level, the mind always flows into
thoughts, memories, imaginations, and ideas. All these
are included under the term 'vritti
9
. These activites of
the mind may pertain to true knowledge, false know-
ledge, a mere combination of ideas which does not
correspond to anything in the external world, or they
may give rise to experience of sleep, or memory. These
are the five categories of vaitt
9
s. They are respcctivly
called pramana, vipa ray a vikalpa, nidra, and smriti.
Like ripples or waves arising in water, the vrittis arise
in the chitta. When there is true knowledge in the mind,
it is called pramana vritti. True knowledge arises from
three sources, namely, sense perception, inference, and
authority or testimony. This vritti plays a very impor-
tant role in our everyday life.
In life we come across circumstances in which our
sense organs deceive us, for instance, when in insuffi-
cient light a rope appears as a snake, or when we see
water in place of sand is what is called a mirage. In
dreams we see objects which are not actually there.
180
Fallacious inference or misleading testimony may also
give rise to false knowledge- All these are examples of
viparyaya vritti, which is the opposite of pramana vritti.
It is an amazing fact that much of our thinking is
actually based on viparyaya vritti, as many of our
beliefs, even many of those which are extremely dear
to us, and which are passed on to us in a long tradition
spread over many generations, are actually false beliefs,
although we are told again and again by the books, the
gurus, and the religious and political leaders that they
are true. Viparyaya vritti is, indeed, responsible for
much of misery in human life*
Vikalpa vritti is different from both the above men-
tioned vrittis in that it is neither true nor false. The
human mind has capacity to combine ideas. For in-
stance, there is the idea of rabbit, and the idea of
horns. Both these ideas are drawn from actual experi-
ence. By combining these two ideas we can form an
idea of a homed rabbit. But this idea does not corres-
pond to anything actually in existence, and so it is
meaningless although it appears to be meaningful
because the two terms combined in this idea are in
themselves meaningful. Thus vikalpa gives rise to much
confusion in thinking, and the confusion often becomes
very difficult to understand, as it has a semblance of
truth.
Nidra, i.e., sleep is the next form of activity of the
mind. It is different from the other four forms in that
the mind has for the support of its activity the absence
of objects (abhava) whereas other vrittis stand on the
support of existence ibhava) of objects. In deep sleep
the activity of the mind is reduced very considerably,
but it is not totally devoid of activity. The fifth vritti is
memory (smriti), which arises from traces of past experi-
ence stored up in the mind, due to a similar experience
181
or a new experience having some association with it.
The mind always functions with one or the other of
these vrittis, never knowing freedom from them. For
meditation to be possible it is necessary to have free-
dom from the vrittis. So long as the vrittis go on arising,
no meditation is possible. A mind which has become
free from them is called kshinavritti. Thus the kshina-
vritti state of the mind is really the key to meditation.
Knowing this, one may immediately ask the question:
How to make the mind kshinawitti ?
There is no simple answer to this question. One has
to understand how the vrittis arise. It is dear that the
vfittis arise out of past experience, and unless one puts
aside the whole of the past and observes the working
of the mind without any influence of the past, without
taking any particular standpoint and without any desire
to achieve any particular result, one would not be in a
position to break up completely from the circle of the
vrittis. For that it is necessary that the kleshas should
be washed away from the mind. Abhyasa and vatragya,
as we have already pointed out earlier, are the two
means for washing away the kleshas. .When the mind
is freed from the burden of the kleshas, it becomes filled
with graciousness of disposition and tranquility which
is called chittaprasadam in yoga. This is a quality of
the kshmavritti mind. It is only such a mind that can
meditate. This state of prasada is described in the Gita
(11.64-65.) in the following words:
"One who allows the senses to enjoy the objects of
experience without likes and dislikes and without going
out of hand enjoys the state of prasada. That puts an
end to sorrow. That is the state of meditation."
But, for most of us it is not possible to divest the
mind of likes and dislikes, i.e., the kleshas. Many do
try it by the cultivation of virtue, by controlling the
182
mind through the recitation of mantras and in a hun-
dred other ways. But we fail at crucial moments. It is
not that we lack sincerity or a strong will. Yet we find
that there is no progress on the path to meditation. For
such persons Patanjali, the author of the Yogasutra*
has mentioned several situations. An understanding of
these situations greatly helps to understand deeply and
intimately the nature of the human mind, so that the
mind is filled with prasada and it automatically finds
itself in the realm of meditation. Let us consider these
one by one.
Pratipakshabhavana
Meditation is not possible so long as the savage
tendencies of the mind such as violence, greed, anger,
hate, etc, have an upper hand. The struggle to put
them down in order to make the mind silent often
fails. If one examines the savage nature of the mind
by pratipakshabhavana, then an awareness about them
is kindled, by which they are dissolved. These vicious
tendencies are called 'vitarkas, in yoga. One should
examine them in their three forms, their source, their
three states, and their results. The three forms of viol-
ence, for instance, are:-1. That which is done actually
by oneself. 2. That which is managed through others,
and 3. That which is tolerated in principle. The source
of violence is greed, anger, and insensibility. There are
three states or grades in which violence takes place,
namely, mild, moderate, and intense. The result of
violence and the other vitarkas is a perpetual chain of
sorrow, confusion, and ignorance. By examining the
vitarkas in all these details the mind can be freed from
their influence. That is what happens by pratipakshab-
havana.
183
Maifri and other Bhavanas
In life one meets with four kinds of events, namely,
those which are pleasurable, miserable, virtuous, and
sinful. We often fail to have right attitudes towards
them, and that creates tension and conflict. This conies
in the way of meditation. For example, when another
person gets something which I fail to achieve, then I
become jealous. Jealousy is an obstacle to meditation.
The right attitude is to have friendliness towards pleasur-
able events happening anywhere, compassion towards
misery, feeling of joy about all virtuous events, and an
attitude of forgiving sinful events. These are respec-
tively called maitriy karuna, mudita, and upeksha.
These bhavanas or attitudes when they become one's
very nature, because of an understanding of the whole
process of their action, open up the say, to meditation.
Pracchardana and Vidharana
Pracchardana means breathing out suddenly and
vigorously as in KapalabhatL Vidharana means holding
the breath out. This is very useful for making the mind
peaceful. The prana and chitta are said to be interde-
pendent Both of them operate together, i. e-, when one
becomes active, the other is activated too. Hence, with
the silencing of prana the mind becomes peaceful.
Calling to Mind Examples of Dispassionate Yogis
By pondering over the life and teachings of a great
yogi who had conquerred passions and afflictions, the.
mind of the student interested in meditation itself gets
purified. Such examples provide good support for the
mind to become peaceful. Patanjali calls such a yogi
184
a veetaraga. Raga is desire. A veetaraga is one who has
completely overcome the whole process of desire. His
example purifies and inspires the mind, and thus one
can meditate more easily. A veetaraga might have
lived at any time in the past at any place in the world,
and might* have spoken any language or might have
belonged outwardly to any religion. But the inner state
of all the veetaraga persons being the same, the student
js helped to bring about that state in himself.
Meditation does not belong to any religious belief
particularly, or to any particular tradition. Hence the
example of any veetaraga is very inspiring and equally
useful.
Taking Help from Dream Experience
In sleep and in dreams the mind is cut off from
external stimuli. As there is no distraction due to these
stimuli, one sometimes has very intense marvellous
experiences during sleep. There may be perception of a
very absorbing colourful vision of a scene or of a sage
or of God, or one may experience the hearing of an
absorbing tune, or there may be the experience of
extremely enjoyable sensations of touch, taste, or
smell. There are many examples of getting spontaneous
solutions of philosophical or mathematical problems
during sleep. The intense experience during sleep or
dreams can be used by a student with advantage for
making the mind peaceful in meditation.
Concentrating the Mind on Any Object of Choice
Stability of mind can be achieved only when the
tendency of the mind to run after the objects of
enjoyment is reduced. For this one may concentrate
185
the mind in dhyana on an object of choice, because
when there is an object or an idea that one likes very
much, the mind can be more easily associated with it.
When the mind gets accustomed to stand still like this,
it can become silent in meditation. Now this is just
like asking a person to meditate in order to meditate.
It is a tautology. The main point in all this is that
unless the mind is free from the burden of the past,
from its afflictions {kleshas), and from greed, fear, and
rage, it cannot be brought to meditate. The six diff-
erent approaches suggested by Patanjali, which we have
described above, are aimed at achieving freedom of the
mind* This is perhaps the most crucial fact about
meditation, whether with seed or of the seedless type.
If this is true, then it must be accepted that for
most of us meditation is an impossibility. And indeed,
it is so, because it happens in the rarest of the rare
cases of individuals that the mind may be free from
all its accumulations. What significance has meditation
then for the common man? In one sense, probably none
at all. But we need not be disheartened by this bitter
truth, for it has been proved by many scientific experi-
ments conducted at many places in the world in recent
years that meditation is of immense value for the
average individual of our times, because it helps to
relieve tensions, gives rest to the body and mind, and
brings about the much needed psycho-somatic balance
which is lost by hurry and worry. Meditation has been
found very useful in the treatment of disorders like
hypertension, insomnia, and in fact in all cases of
disorders which are produced by strain, anxiety,
frustration, and so on. Meditation has been found to
yield very encouraging results in cases of drug addic-
tion, alcoholism, excessive smoking, and the like. It has
been demonstrated that meditation helps to reduce
186
criminality and it can be employed as a valuable tool
in the correction of criminal behaviour. Meditation can
thus play an exceedingly important role in the conflict-
torn, tension-filled world of our day. Of course, all
these results are mainly the outcome of a relaxed state
of the body and mind, rather than of any particular
technique of meditation. But then, meditation does
have importance in inducing relaxation. It might fail
to induce freedom, and it may indeed, be true, as
pointed out by J. Krishnamurti, that 'all effort to
meditate is the denial of meditation
9
. Yet, meditation
is useful for all of us in daily life because of its sooth*
ing and relaxing effect.
This brings us to one final question, namely, how
to practise meditation actually? Or rather, what is the
simplest way of practising meditation? We shall here
describe a simple technique called pranci-dhavana.
Prana here means the air we breathe in and out.
Dharana means its awareness. Breathing is the most
basic act of life which continues from birth till death.
We are not usually aware of it unless the attention is
specially drawn to it. Prana-dhatana involves applying
the mind to the flow of air in breathing. Its technique
is as follows:
Sit in a meditational posture with the back straight
and the eyes closed. It is advantageous to sit in a
posture like Slddliasana, Padmasana, or Swastikasana.
But if that is not possible, then just sit steadily with
the legs crossed. If pranayama is practised already, then
meditation becomes easier. Keep the knees well on the
ground, and do not stoop or pull the shoulders back-
Keep the whole body relaxed, holding the whole frame
steady without there being any pull or pressure felt
along the thighs, at the feet, knees, or along the spine
or neck. Keep the abdominal wall completely free of
187
any stretch or tension. Let it move back and forth very
smoothly and effortlessly with each respiration. Keep
the facial muscles fully relaxed and the mouth closed
with a slight gap between the two jaws so that the
upper and lower teeth do not exert any pressure on
each other. Keep the tongue touching the palate, its
tip touching the back side of the upper front teeth. Let
there be no movement of the lips, tongue, or the lower
jaw. It is important to keep the eyeballs and eyelids
steady and the muscles of the forehead relaxed.
Every part in this whole posture should be very
comfortable, steady, and relaxed. That is one essential
thing for meditation. There should be no strain any-
where in the body. Now start being aware of breathing.
Let the flow of air be uniform, rather slow, and smooth.
Do not exercise any control or effort. Do not hold the
breath. Do not utter any word or see any image. This
is very important. Whenever we are left to ourselves
and have nothing particularly to attend to, words and
images come to our mind, and that is how we enter-
tain various thoughts. We go on speaking to ourselves
and in doing this, there are incipient movements of the
apparatus of speech. We are never aware of them.
Unless we put an end to the words and images arising
in the mind, it will go on thinking endlessly. This is
what happens when we sit quietly. The mind uses the
two vehicles of words and images to move unceasingly
through the past, present, or future. It is essential to
stop the mind from using these vehicles. The words
can be stopped if the lips and tongue and the lower
jaw are all held motionless and completely still. To put
the images out the best thing is to keep the eyeballs
and eyelids steady yet relaxed. Keep the eyes fixed as
if you are looking far away in the plane of the eyes
(with the eyes closed) without visualising anything
188
there, not even a dot, or a flame, or the letter AUM, or
any such thing. It is like looking far into blank space
with a vacant look. If you succeed in putting away
words and images in this way, then you are already on
the threshold of meditation.
Go on watching the process of breathing and the
flow of incoming and outgoing air, feeling it at the mid-
point of the eye brows (bhrukuti-madhya)- There should
be no friction of the air, no sound, and no effort. This
is pranadharcma, which should go on smoothly for
ten to fifteen minutes. It is not necessary to sit for long
ours. The essence of this meditation is relaxation, and
awareness of breath, freeing the mind from all else.
189

WE SHALL NOW discuss some of the problems concern-
ing yoga that usually occur in the minds of people.
Different persons may have different attitudes towards
yoga. On one side we have those who feel convinced
that yoga contains something very high and auspicious,
and stands for the very best and highest that one can
ever achieve in one's life. Such an opinion springs
from an element of faith and belief. On the other hand,
there are those who, being deeply absorbed in the game
of achievement and competition in life, are just not
interested in yoga at all. They usually look at yoga as
something to be ridiculed and to be laughed at. This is
mainly an outcome of ignorance and lack of under-
standing, although the misbehaviour of many socalled
yogis who pretend to be masters of yoga is also respon-
sible for such an attitude in a large measure. Then
there are those who are interested in yoga, but do not
quite know what it properly means and what it really
stands for. We shall pick up some typical problems,
doubt expectations and objections expressed by various
people which could not be considered in the earlier
chapters, and try to make the position of yoga clear in
respect of these.
Q. 1. What is yoga after alii Is it merely a set of
complicated procedures of controlling the body and mind
190
and demonstrating the supernaturalphenomena ?
Ans. Y oga is truly a science of human personality.
It considers the whole field of personality including its
various aspects such as the physical,physiological,emo-
tional, behavioral, environmental, and social aspects.
It has a very efficient system of postural and breathing
exercises, which promotes the health and vigour of the
skeletal as well as deep seated smooth muscles and the
organs contained in the thoracic and abdominal cavities.
These techniques have great preventive, curative, resto-
rative, and relaxative value. Yogic breathing is observed
to have remarkable physiological effects on various sys-
tems of the body, including the nervous systems. Some
of these effects have already been demonstrated by
researches conducted so far (for example, at the Kai-
valyadh ama Institute. Lonavala, Dist. Poona, India).
The techniques of a ma, niyanm, and pratyahara bring
about emotional stability and the happiest behavioral
adjustment of an individual with his surroundings.
Stability of mind brings peace within and about the
individual, and such individuals can influence society
with their own example by bringing about better under-
standing and more intimate relations between the
people of different nations, thus, ultimately making
for world peace, the much talked about need of the
hour.
Q. 2. Does yoga mean union with God 1 If so, how
about the atheist who does not believe in God 1 Does
yoga have anything to offer him ?
Ans. "Union" or "connection" is, indeed, the oldest
meaning of the word "yoga". This meaning used to be
attributed to the word, in all probability, before the
magnificient system of controlling the senses and steady
ing the mind was evolved. It is often said by those who
are not very well informed, that yoga is the union of an
191
individual with God. But this belief is inconsistent with
the basic philosophical position of yoga (as one of the
six. systems of Indian philosophy), wherein His assum-
ed that there are innumerable souls, every one of whom
is wholly independent of anything else. In the state of
mukti, the soul is supposed to remain in complete
isolation. Thus there is really no problem of union of
the soul with God. The belief that yoga brings about
union of the soul with God, probably indicates a vestige
of the meaning of the word "yoga" in ancient times,
when the word "yoga" had not gathered any technical
sense. This belief, to be frank, involves a confusion of
the technical and non-technical meanings of the word
"yoga". Many people do not seem to be aware of the
difference between these two meanings. The non-tech-
nical meaning is derived from the root "/ir'* (to
unite or connect), while the technical meaning which
we now attach to the term is derived from the root
"yuj* (to control or make steady). An atheist can also
derive full advantage of the various yoga techniques
involving silencing the breath and mind, as well as the
postural techniques, and, in fact, it is found many a
time that true atheists, who are more honest and clear
in thinking, are the people who are more suited to
undertake a deeper inquiry in yoga. The goal of yoga
is something to be achieved in one's very life, and an
atheist can be a more fit person to achieve it, because
he does not become satisfied easily, and his inquiry is
not smothered or stopped by faith. We do not, of
course, argue here that atheism is a necessary quality
of a yogi, we only want to emphasize the fact that a
scientific attitude, which does not take things for
granted merely on faith or uncritical convictions is
something that is very essential for attaining the goal
of yoga.
192
Q. 3. What is the goal of yoga ?
Ans. It may be said that the goal of yoga is to bring
about a complete harmony within the individual, due to
the cessation of the process of desire and achievement, as
a result of realization of the futility of that process. It is
a state of separation from misery and sorrow, a state of
silence and peace. But it becomes almost impossible for
most of us to attain such a state, because the minds of
most of us are endlessly caught up in wishful thinking,
and seeking security, prestige, power, permanent and
lasting pleasure, and so on. We thus ever carry a burden
caused by desires, cravings, hopes and despairs, greed,
envy, and what not. It becomes very difficult to
understand clearly how this burden and tension is
essentially of our own making, because our beliefs,
judgments and conclusions, hardly ever permit us to think
in a free manner. We are conditioned by the beliefs we
unknowingly gather from our parents, friends, teachers,
leaders, and other influential members of the society. This
process of condition* ing has a very overwhelming
influence on almost every child born in society. The goal
of yoga is to put an end to this conditioning, seeking and
grief. An individual then stops looking at the problems
he confronts, through what others have said, and he
starts understanding any situation as it is. But all this
indeed remains beyond the grasp of most of us, because
we lade sensitivity and simplicity of mind. It is therefore
that individuals who reach the goal of yoga are very rare
in any society.
Q. 4. If mukti is the goal of yoga, and if it is true
that individuals who attain mukti are very rare, then does
it not mean that yoga is without any hope for a common
man!
Ans. Strictly and philosophically speaking, this
193
question must be answered in the affirmative. But this
does not mean that there are no advantages at all that
the common.man can derive from yoga. It is common
experience that the postures and breathing exercises as
well as some simple techniques of mental concentration
are of tremendous use in daily life, in so far as they can
help in keeping the body and mind healthy. Many of
our ailments are caused by a loss of tone of various
muscles and tissues, due to a lack of sufficient activity
Yoga can help a good deal in overcoming this. Control
of passions and emotions can be achieved through a
regular practice of yoga exercises.
Q. 5. What are the basic tenets of yoga philosophy!
Ans. Philosophy in India is traditionally divided
into two main groups called the orthodox and heretic
groups respectively. There are six systems of thought
included in the orthodox group all of whom recognize
the authority of the Vedas in philosophical matters.
Yoga as a system of philosophy is counted as one of
these six orthodox schools with whom it shares some
fundamental beliefs. They are : (i) A belief in a
permanent soul which is supposed to be the principle
of life, (ii) It is supposed to leave one body at the time
of death, and enter another in the next birth, (Hi) A
belief in the law of karma, according to which what-
ever happens in an individual's life is supposed to be
the outcome of what he did in the previous life or
lives, (iv) A belief that the life of an individual is
predominently a matter of misery and sorrow, (v) A
belief in the state of mukti or moksha which is a state
of eternal freedom from misery and sorrow. Yoga has
a dualistic doctrine of explaining the universe of objects
and beings. It is supposed that the universe originally
comes into existence by a coming together (samyoga)
of two eternal realities respectively called purusha and
194
prakriti. The former is the essence of spirituality, the
latter that of everything material. The prakriti and all
that emerges from it is supposed to contain the three
gunas in various proportions and combinations. The
samyoga of the puntsha and prakriti is not real but
illusory. The illusion is known as avidya which binds
the purusha and makes him transmigrate from one body
to another in different births. The cycle of births is
supposed to break once for all when avidya is dispelled
by a continuous practice of the eightfold path of yoga
as described by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutra.
Q. 6. What is the truth about the yogic powers!
Ans. There seems to be a belief in the minds of
many that through an intense practice of sanmdhi a
student of yoga can have his intellect purified and
made capable of knowing anything in the universe.
This has actually been explained by Patanjali, the best-
known authority on yoga, in the third chapter of Yoga
Sutra. Two fundamental problems are involved here,
namely, first, whether it is possible to attain any new
knowledge through concentrating the mind on any
matter, and second, whether one's mind communicates
at all with anything in the external world when it is
in a state of mental concentration.
It seems that, from the point of view of science,
both the above questions have to be answered in the
negative. Patanjali's exposition of the yogic powers,
however is based on an affirmative answer to these
two questions. These questions are both epistemologi-
cal and psychological, and it would appear that both
epistemology and psychology at the present state of
our knowledge, do not have anything that can support
Patanjali's position. It should, therefore, be concluded,
tentatively at least that there is no good evidence for
the case of yogic powers. If someone comes forward to
195
demonstrate some of the yogic powers as mentioned
by Patanjali, e.g. flying in the air becoming invisible,
remaining alive and active without food and water, i.e.
overcoming completely the need of food and water,
being able to see and hear events from great distances
(without using any instruments, of course), and so on,
die possibility of the yogic powers will be proved
beyond doubt. Till then it will remain a mystery.
Q. 7. Yoga is often called an ancient art. What are
your comments on this*!
Ans. Yoga is ancient, no doubt, the word being much
more ancient, in all probability, than the system of
thought and techniques of control which go by that
name. It is both an art and a science, an art because of
the skill involved in the physical and mental
practices. The scientific part has, unfortunately, not yet
been explored fully. It was only nearly sixty years ago
that Swami Kuvalayananda, for the first time, inspired
by the idea that the processes described in the yoga
texts were full of scientific implications, started
subjecting the yoga techniques to scientific experimenta-
tion and scrutiny* Some information has so far been
gathered in the laboratory founded by him, and
published in the journal *' Yoga Mimamsa". But what is
actually done so far is too insufficient, and many facts
concerning the various yoga techniques are still
shrouded in mystery. Absence of sufficient research is
perhaps the main reason why yoga has not yet come to
be recognised as a science as such. The field of yoga is
still largely in the hands of men who are far from
having developed a scientific attitude. Everybody seems
to be understanding and propagating yoga in his own
way, posing to be the only one who knows it properly
and authoritatively, and blaming and hating others in
the field as psudo-yogis, or the like. There-arc very
196
few people who are real yogis. It is very necessary to
convert yoga from an ancient art to a modern science.
Only then we shall be able to do justice to it as the
panacea for human miseries. 1111 then it would not be
easy for an honest seeker to obtain proper guidance
and instruction in the field of yoga.
Q. 8. Bow can the behaviour of a yogi be differen-
tiated from that of otherst
Ans. One of the most striking marks of a yogi is
that he is free of any idea of achievement. Most of us
ever work for achieving something, for reaching some-
where, for an improvement in our position, an enhance-
ment in our undertaking. We always happen to wish
for some state as an ideal state, depending upon our
understanding of ourselves 111 relation to the world
around, and we ever happen to seek to make progress
in order to reach the ideal. For a yogi, however, there
is no differentiation in the terms of the ideal and the
actual* he has nothing to achieve in life because he
comes to see very clearly that his actual state is not
different in any way from what others may call the
ideal state* There being nothing to be achieved, craved
for, or sought after, a yogi has never to take recourse
to any discipline, or sadhana, or any practice of virtue,
and the like. He does not have to practise Pranayama
in order to make his mind silent; nor does he ever have
to practise dhyana, or samadhi, because he is always in
a state of sahajapastha, which does not come and go.
Freedom from seeking, effort, and sadhana, is thus an
essential quality of a yogi.
Such an individual is obviously a man of simplicity,
honesty and detached love. He is truly a man of
vaifagya. He loves everyone without any motive, and
remains undisturbed like an ocean in every situation he
confronts in life. He looks equally indifferently upon
197
the dualities like success and failure, pleasure and pain
honour and dishonour, and so on. It is often found that
when an individual renounces (he pleasures and
comforts of daily life, and undergoes rigorous disci-
pline of yoga for years together, he develops a kind of
arrogance, and a high feeling about himself and his
capacities. He keeps himself rather aloof, and does not
mix freely with people, thinking that he is far too
superior to others. He is not usually ready to hear
others
9
viewpoints, and makes much fuss about his own
personality and achievements. We have many persons
in India today who take for themselves titles like
yogiraj* swwni, paramahamsa, parivrajakacharya, and so
on. Many of them are not yogis in the true sense of the
term, however. Yogi Changadeo (13th century, A.D) was
a good example of such a personality. He was very
proud of himself, because he had tamed lions and
tigers, as the belief goes, through his yogic powers.
But he was humbled by a young boy,. Jnanadeo, in their
very first meeting. A real yogi, we may say, is a person
like Jnanadeo, and not like Changadeo, who, with all
the pomp and elegance of the yogic powers, was very
far from the goal of yoga, i.e. jivanmuktt.
Q. 10. What can be the role of women in the field of
yg<ft ..
Ans. It was customary in ancient India, as in the
rest of the world, to look upon women as generally not
fit for receiving instruction in many intricate fields of
knowledge, and yoga was perhaps one such field. They
were allowed to follow the path of devotion (bhaktl).
This situation is completely changed now, and women
have almost everywhere started getting their rightful
position in various fields. This trend must be welcomed
as a happy improvement on the whole, although it has
sometimes given rise to certain difficult problems, both
198
for men and women. Women can play a formidable
role in the field of yoga, by learning the various
techniques themselves, and by convincing the men-folk
of their beneficial effects on the body and mind. Mothers
play the most important part in moulding the person-
alities of children, and if the mother is well informed,
prudent and healthy, she can definitely make a good
influence on the developing child*
Q. 11. Is eating meat feasible with yogal
Ans. This problem has two aspects, one dietetical,
the other psychological. Dietetically, meat is a subst-
ance very rich in animal fat, animal protein, and
minerals: Eating meat is almost a need in cold countries
although this does not at all mean that one cannot live
comfortably without meat there. If we divide food
habits of human beings into three broad groups, namely
vegetarian, non-vegetarian, and mixed diets, the last
group is supposed to be the best from the point of view
of dietetics. Emotionally, however, not only meat but
eggs, fish, and poultry are also objectionable, because
they involve killing. Considering what Lord Krishna
tried to emphasize on the mind of Arjuna regarding
the nature of the soul, one may say that, as the soul of
an animal is eternal, and does not die when the animal
is killed, we need not abandon eating flesh simply
because it involves killing. This would be a sufficiently
sane attitude from the common sense point of view. A
developed student of yoga, who aspires to probe the
depths of yoga completely, would do well not to lay
much emphasis on eating meat, fish, poultry, and so on.
Q. 12. Isit necessary for a student of yoga to give-
up smoking, drinking tea, coffee, etc.1
Ans. Any habit taken to the extreme gives rise to
bad effects. Taking tea just once or twice a day or
199
smoking cigarette occasionally (say once in a week or
a fortnight) may not do any harm. But it often becomes
very difficult to keep away from the habit of smoking
or* drinking rather excessively, when one allows oneself
to get caught up in the course once. Strictly speaking,
these stimulants, and narcotics are not very necessary
at all, and to a student of yoga, they may pose a serious
problem, if he becomes habituated to them. And why
should one have them at all ? This is an important
question. Psychologists say that one becomes more
inclined to take to these habits when there is tension or
anxiety in the mind. If it is true that yoga is effective in
reducing tension and anxiety, then it may be said that
a student of yoga can easily keep himself away from the
habits of smoking, and drinking which are decidedly
harmful in the long run. As with meat, so too with these
habits. We do not say that-yoga is impossible for those
who smoke or drink. Yoga for the common man need
not come in' conflict with these habits if they are kept
within reasonable limits. It would always be better for
an advanced student, however, to get rid of these habits
if at all he has fallen a prey to them.
Q. 13. Which disorders or aiments can be pre-
vented or crued by the yoga praeitices ?
Ans. The therapeutical aspects of yoga practices
have not yet been explored completely, but whatever is
known so far in this regard is sufficient to prove the
utility of yoga"techniques in preventing and curing many
ailments. For example, constipation is a trouble fairly
common with many people. It is caused mainly because
of improper food habits, and loss of tone of the bowels
due to various reasons, such as not answering the
nature's call promptly, taking top .much of alcohol, not
drinking enough water, and so on. When the waste
materials of digestion are not evacuated properly, they
200
remain in the large intestines for hours, and undergo
decay and decomposition. The toxins produced thereby
may be absorbed in the body, causing various kinds of
disorders. This situation can both be prevented and
remedied by a judicious practice of yoga techniques in-
volving stretch and pressure on the abdominal viscera.
Deep breathing also can be of great help.
Another ailment which can be prevented and cured
by these techniques is diabetes, which is a disorder of
pancreas. These are the glands responsible for secreting
insulin, which converts sugar (glucose) into glycogen,
in which form it is stored in the liver. If the pancreas
(which are situated near the stomach in the abdominal
cavity) fail to secrete enough insulin, sugar is not con-
verted into glycogen, with the result that it is thrown
into the blood in quantities larger than those, can be
utilized in various tissues and muscles immediately.
The excess of sugar is eliminated through the urine.
Diabetes can be prevented or cured by exercising the
pancreas and the liver through various yoga techniques
Asthma is an ailment of the lungs, which can better be
prevented than cured by yoga techniques, especially
deep breathing, because it makes the lung tissue strong
and healty. Resistance to T.B. can be increased by a
regular practice of yogic breathing. These are just a
few examples of the therapeutical value of yoga tech-
niques. There are actually many more situations, e.g.
headaches, sexual weakness, nervous debility, high
blood pressure, weakness of heart, and so on, where
yoga practices can render considerable help. This is a
very fruitful topic which deserves scientific investigation
and scrutiny.
Q. 14 It is often said that Pranayama is a very
dangerous thing. How far is this correct ? What precau-
201

tions should one take to avoid the dangers ?
Ans. Pranayama has been rightly compared in the Hath
Yoga texts with the process of taming a lion, an elephant,
or a tiger. The point is that it involves control of the
process of respiration, which is a very delicate process
involving very vital organs like the lungs the respiratory
centre, and the brain cortex. If administered improperly, it
can give rise to various disorders. But this need not
dissuade a sincere student from undertaking its practice.
We may very well compare Pranayama with the act of
walking in a crowded street. It involves danger of being
overrun by a vehicle, yet, one can easily get trained in
making one's way through the street by exercising
sufficient caution. Pranayama can similarly be practised
without any trouble if an individual exercises due caution.
Danger lies in hasty, impatient action, and in overdoing
beyond one's capacity, both in respect of the duration of
each round and the number of rounds in a sitting* There is
no danger whatever in Pranayama if this is carefully
avoided.
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Limbering exercise: Good for the
back, trunk, thighs and knees.
Bhadra means auspicious: Ren-
ders good stretching exercise to
the thighs, perineum (the soft
portion between the anus and
the genital organ), pelvis,
abdomen and neck. Ut tana means
lying on the back with face turned
up and Mem-dttka means a frog:
Provides good stretching exercise
to the legs, perineum (as
described in the case of Bhadra
asana), pelvic floor, sides of the
trunk and the arms.
Gomukha means mouth of a cow:
Provides good stretching exercise to
almost all muscles of the limbs and the trunk. 5. Ardha-
Matsycndra (Ardha meaning half) This
asana derived its name from Matsyendranath, a
renowned Master of Hathayoga
a com* parative later
development among the
varieties of Yoga: Provides
good stretching exercise to
thighs, lower back and spine
(vertebral columns). Mudra means
posture. This in itself is an asana of
Yoga, a
Appendix
Yogic Asanas: Meaning & Benefits
1. Pavanamukta
asana:
2. Bhadra asana:
3. Uttana-manduka
asana:
4. Gomukha asana:
asana:
6. Yogamudra:
7. Matsya asana:
8. Viparitakarani:
9. Sarvanga asana:
10. Hala asana:
11. Bhujanga asana:
12. Shalabha asana:
variation of Padmasana: Ren-
ders exercise to muscles of the
lower bade, thighs and abdo-
minal viscera.
Matsya means a fish: Very
valuable for giving exercise to
the abdominal muscles and to
the throat.
Viparita means inverted and
Karani means act: Good for
promoting blood circulation
and removing congestion*
Santa means entire or whole
and Anga means body: Good
for promoting blood circula-
tion, removing congestion and
improving the function of the
thyroid gland.
Hala means a plough: Renders
exercise to the back by exerting
stretch on the spine, the muscles
of the back, below the neck and
downward upto the lower end
of the vertebral column. Bhuja
means upper arm and Bhujangct
means a large snake. Hence the
name Bhujanga because of its
posture of a snake with the
hood drawn out: Provides good
stretching exercise to the
muscles of the neck, back and
trunk. Shalabha means locust
The appearance of the locust
is imitated in this posture (asana):
204
Good stretching exercise for
waist, thighs and all the mus-
cles on the dorsal (back) side
of the body.
13. Dhanur asana: Dhanur means a bow. The
body is made to appear like a
bow in this posture (Asana):
Provides good stretching ex-
ercise to the abdominal muscles,
lower bade and the thighs.
14. Shava asana: Shava means a dead body.
Hence the name because of its
posture: Practiced at the end
of the asanas: Gives feeling of
freshness and relief from strain
and fatigue.
15. Pranayama: Prana means vital force or
cosmic energy signifies life or
breath and Ayama means the
control of the Prana hence
control of the vital force by
concentration and regulated
breathing: Breathing from the
abdomen (Kapalabhati Kriya)
provides an excellent massage
for all the abdominal organs
and regularizes the functioning
of the intestines and stimulate
the digestion; breathing from
the middle part of the chest
(Thorax) purifies the blood
improves its circulation and
calms the heart and breathing
from the upper part of the
chest cleans and fortifies the
205
16. Kapalabhati
Kriya:
17. Tadagi Mudra:
18. Agnisara:
19. Nauli:
20. Trikona asana:
21. Paschimottana
asana:
upper chest.
A breathing exercise: Kapala
means skull and Bhatih means
brightness: Hence the kriya
(act) which makes the skull
luminous: An exercise for
abdominal breathing: Due to
rapid lung ventilation large
amount of carbon dioxide is
removed from the body and thus
increases one's capacity to hold
the breath. Tadaga means a
lake or a pond. This technique
is so -named because in it the
wall of the abdomen assumes
a concave appearance: It is a
good breathing exercise. Agni
means fire.. hence the fire in
the stomach which digests
food: Good abdominal exercise
for improving digestion and
excretion. One of the foremost
purificatory acts (Shuddhi-
Kriyas) designed to remove
impurities from the body and
influences beneficially almost
all the functions of the body.
Trikona is a triangle: Very
useful stretching exercise of the
waist and the shoulders.
Paschim means westhence in
the context of human body it
means the dorsal or back side.
206
.22. Baka asana:
23. Kukkuta asana:
24. Uttanakurma
asana:
25. Parvata asana:
26. Dola asana:
27. Utkat asana:
28. Padangustha asana:
29. Mayura asana:
Tana means to stretch: Renders
exercises to the muscles of the
limbs and the back, influences
the organs in the abdomen and
helps to reduce the fat accumu-
lated on the belly. Baka means
the crane: Good for making the
arms stronger. Kukkuta means
thp cock: Helps to increase the
strength of the arms.
Kurma means the tortoise
hence the posture of a tortoise:
Good for fimbs and joints.
Parvata means a mountain:
Makes the joints supple Dolah
means a swing. It exercises the
arms and the shoulders and also
the abdominal muscles.
Rata means the hip and XJd
means upward: Useful for
practising purificatory acts
(Shuddhi-Kriyas) designed to
remove impurities from the
body and influences almost all
the functions of body. Pada
means the foot and
Padangustha means the big toe:
Useful for practising purifica-
tory acts*
Mayura means a peacock-
hence the posture of a peacock,
Helps to remove congestion,
indigestion and other abdomi-
207
30. Shitsha asana:
31. Matsyendra asana:
32. Vrischika asana:
33, Garbha asana:
34. Supta-vajrasana:
35. Trataka:
nal problems and promote
blood circulation. Popularly
called the head-stand is
shirsha in Sanskrit: Helps to
remove congestion from the
limbs and abdomen promote
blood circulation in the head.
This posture is named after the
great Master of Hathayoga
Matsyendranath: Improves the
power of digestion and removes
many disorders which all lead
to the arousal of Kundalini
the dormant spiritual power.
Vrischika means scorpion-he
nee the posture: Increase
suppleness and gives strength
to the body.
.Garbha means the embryo
hence the posture of the
embryo lying m mother's-
womb: It exercises the limbs,
bade neck and waist. Supta
means sleeping and Vajra
means lightning: Abdominal
wall back shoulders and
thighs are exercised along with
the abdominal viscera. A
purificatory act (Suddhl-
Kriyci) meant for cleansing the
eyes and for making the mind
silent in concentration: Makes
the eyes clean improve eye-
sight and removes eye troubles.