Yoga breathing

The sum and substance of the Upanishad teaching is involved in the equation Atman=Brahman. We have already seen that the word Atman was used in the rig-Veda to denote on the one hand the ultimate essence of the universe, and on the other the vital breath in man. Later on in the Upanishads we see that the word Brahman is generally used in the former sense, while the word Atman is reserved to denote the inmost essence in man, and the Upanishads are emphatic in their declaration that the two are one and the same. Read more »

atman, brahman, consciousness, desires, essence of man, hunger and thirst, indra, rig veda, senses, upanishads, vital breath

There is the atman not in man alone but in all objects of the universe, the sun, the moon, the world; and Brahman is this atman. There is nothing outside the atman, and therefore there is no plurality at all. As from a lump of clay all that is made of clay is known, as from an ingot of black iron all that is made of black iron is known, so when this atman the Brahman is known everything else is known. The essence in man and the essence of the universe are one and the same, and it is Brahman. Read more »

atman, brahman, phenomenal world, upanishads, vedanta, visions

The doctrine which next attracts our attention in this connection is that of emancipation (mukti). Already we know that the doctrine of Devayana held that those who were faithful and performed asceticism (tapas) went by the way of the gods through successive stages never to return to the world and suffer rebirth. Read more »

asceticism, doubts, emancipation, knowledge of self, nothingness, passions, rebirth, tapas, transmigration, true knowledge, true nature, upanishads, virtues, way of the gods, wise man

The Hindus classify the systems of philosophy into two classes, namely, the nastika and the astika. The nastika (na asti “it is not”) views are those which neither regard the Vedas as infallible nor try to establish their own validity on their authority. These are principally three in number, the Buddhist, Jaina and the Carvaka. The astika-mata or orthodox schools are six in number, Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta, Mimamsa, Nyaya and Vaisheshika, generally known as the six systems (shaddarshana (1)). Read more »

atman, carvaka, kapila, liberation, metaphysical position, mystical practices, orthodox schools, patanjali, philosophy, vedas, vedic texts, yoga practices, yoga sutras, yoga system, yoga vedanta

The Samkhya philosophy as we have it now admits two principles, souls and prakriti, the root principle of matter. Souls are many, like the Jaina souls, but they are without parts and qualities. Read more »

ananda, bliss, brahman, consciousness, jiva, mental phenomena, samkhya philosophy, sense matter, vedanta

The above consideration brings us to an important aspect of the Samkhya view of causation as satkaryavada. Samkhya holds that there can be no production of a thing previously non-existent; causation means the appearance or manifestation of a quality due to certain changes of collocations in the causes which were already held in them in a potential form. Read more »

atoms, buddhists, causation, continual change, dharma, manifestation, nihilists, non existent, reals

When the mind has become pure the chances of its being ruffled by external disturbances are greatly reduced. At such a stage the yogin takes a firm posture (asana) and fixes his mind on any object he chooses. It is, however, preferable that he should fix it on Ishvara, for in that case Ishvara being pleased removes many of the obstacles in his path, and it becomes easier for him to attain success. Read more »

ananda, asana, concentration, external disturbances, impressions, objective world, obstacles, purusha, remembrance, samadhi, true knowledge

I have pointed out above that Nyaya divided perception into two classes as nirvikalpa (indeterminate) and savikalpa (determinate) according as it is an earlier or a later stage. Vacaspati says, that at the first stage perception reveals an object as a particular; the perception of an orange at this avikalpika or nirvikalpika stage gives us indeed all its colour, form, and also the universal of orangeness associated with it, but it does not reveal it in a subject-predicate relation as when I say “this is an orange.” Read more »

consciously, differentiation, notion, perception, subject and predicate, unification, universals

The doctrine of the self-validity of knowledge (svatah-pramanya) forms the cornerstone on which the whole structure of the Mimamsa philosophy is based. Validity means the certitude of truth. The Mimamsa philosophy asserts that all knowledge excepting the action of remembering (smriti) or memory is valid in itself, for it itself certifies its own truth, and neither depends on any other extraneous condition nor on any other knowledge for its validity. Read more »

infer, objective truth, perception, philosophy, representation, revelation, validity, visual contact

Gaudapada’s work is divided into four chapters: (1) Agama (scripture), (2) Vaitathya (unreality), (3) Advaita (unity), (4) Alatashanti (the extinction of the burning coal). The first chapter is more in the way of explaining the Mandukya Upanishad by virtue of which the entire work is known as Mandukyakarika. The second, third, and fourth chapters are the constructive parts of Gaudapada’s work, not particularly connected with the Mandukya Upanishad. Read more »

advaita, ananda, atma, deep sleep, dream state, extinction, mandukya upanishad, oneness, prana, shivam, theories of creation

Vedanta philosophy is the philosophy which claims to be the exposition of the philosophy taught in the Upanishads and summarized in the Brahma-sutras of Badarayana. The Upanishads form the last part of the Veda literature, and its philosophy is therefore also called sometimes the Uttara-Mimamsa or the Mimamsa (decision) of the later part of the Vedas as distinguished from the Mimamsa of the previous part of the Vedas and the Brahmanas as incorporated in the Purvamimamsa sutras of Jaimini. Read more »

brahmanas, brahma sutras, commentaries, hindu, ramanuja, shankara, upanishads, vedanta philosophy, vedas

The Mimamsists held that everything that is said in the Vedas is to be interpreted as requiring us to perform particular kinds of action, or to desist from doing certain other kinds. This would mean that the Upanishads being a part of the Veda should also be interpreted as containing injunctions for the performance of certain kinds of actions. The description of Brahman in the Upanishads does not therefore represent a simple statement of the nature of Brahman, but it implies that the Brahman should be meditated upon as possessing the particular nature described there, i.e. Brahman should be meditated upon as being an entity which possesses a nature which is identical with our self; such a procedure would then lead to beneficial results to the man who so meditates. Shankara could not agree to such a view. For his main point was that the Upanishads revealed the highest truth as the Brahman. No meditation or worship or action of any kind was required; but one reached absolute wisdom and emancipation when the truth dawned on him that the Brahman or self was the ultimate reality. The teachings of the other parts of the Vedas, the karmakanda (those dealing with the injunctions relating to the performance of duties and actions), were intended for inferior types of aspirants, whereas the teachings of the Upanishads, the jnanakanda (those which declare the nature of ultimate truth and reality), were intended only for superior aspirants who had transcended the limits of sacrificial duties and actions, and who had no desire for any earthly blessing or for any heavenly joy. Read more »

bhagavadgita, brahman, heavenly joy, meditation, sacrifices, shankara, truth and reality, upanishads, veda, vedas

The main idea of the advaita (non-dualistic) Vedanta philosophy as taught by the Shankara school is this, that the ultimate and absolute truth is the self, which is one, though appearing as many in different individuals. The world also as apart from us the individuals has no reality and has no other truth to show than this self. All other events, mental or physical, are but passing appearances, while the only absolute and unchangeable truth underlying them all is the self. Read more »

absolute truth, advaita, akara, appearances, brahman, cognition, comprehension, duality, macrocosm, microcosm, objective truth, passions, preceptor, sensations, vedanta philosophy, world consciousness

The world is said to be false - a mere product of maya. The falsehood of this world-appearance has been explained as involved in the category of the indefinite which is neither sat “is” nor asat “is not.” Here the opposition of the “is” and “is not” is solved by the category of time. The world-appearance is “is not,” since it does not continue to manifest itself in all times, and has its manifestation up to the moment that the right knowledge dawns. It is not therefore “is not” in the sense that a “castle in the air” or a hare’s horn is “is not,” for these are called tuccha, the absolutely non-existent. Read more »

appearance, asat, brahman, castle in the air, conch shell, expression, manifestation, maya, perception, right knowledge

We have already seen that the indefinite ajnana could be experienced in direct perception and according to Vedanta there are only two categories. The category of the real, the self-luminous Brahman, and the category of the indefinite. The latter has for its ground the world-appearance, and is the principle by which the one unchangeable Brahman is falsely manifested in all the diversity of the manifold world. Read more »

brahman, diversity, existence, infinite reality, infinite variety, maya, objective world, perception, principle, true knowledge, vedanta

The Vedanta philosophy looked at the constantly changing phenomena of the world-appearance and sought to discover the root whence proceeded the endless series of events and effects. The theory that effects were altogether new productions caused by the invariable unconditional and immediately preceding antecedents, as well as the theory that it was the cause which evolved and by its transformations produced the effect, are considered insufficient to explain the problem which the Vedanta had before it. Read more »

cause and effect, definition of cause and effect, manifestation, phenomena, transformations, vedanta philosophy

We have many times spoken of truth or reality as self-luminous (svayamprakasha). But what does this mean? Vedanta defines it as that which is never the object of a knowing act but is yet immediate and direct with us (avedyatve sati aparoksavyavaharayogyatvam). Self-luminosity thus means the capacity of being ever present in all our acts of consciousness without in any way being an object of consciousness. Read more »

anubhuti, appearance, consciousness, manifestation, self luminosity, vedanta, world experience

Jiva or individual means the self in association with the ego and other personal experiences, i.e. phenomenal self, which feels, suffers and is affected by world-experiences. In jiva also three stages are distinguished; thus when during deep sleep the antahkarana is submerged, the self perceives merely the ajnana and the jiva in this state is called prajna or anandamaya. In the dream-state the self is in association with a subtle body and is called taijasa. In the awakened state the self as associated with a subtle and gross body is called vishva. So also the self in its pure state is called Brahman, when associated with maya it is called Ishvara, when associated with the fine subtle element of matter as controlling them, it is called hiranyagarbha; when with the gross elements as the ruler or controller of them it is called virat purusha. Read more »

antahkarana, brahman, caitanya, deep sleep, dream self, dream states, ego, gross body, jiva, maya, personal experiences, purusha, right knowledge, subtle body, world experiences

Vedanta is distinctly antagonistic to Nyaya, and most of its powerful dialectic criticism is generally directed against it. Shankara himself had begun it by showing contradictions and inconsistencies in many of the Nyaya conceptions, such as the theory of causation, conception of the atom, the relation of samavaya, the conception of jati, etc (1). Read more »

maya, rajas, sattva, shankara, vedanta, vedas, yoga

The corrective asanas prepare various muscles, articulations, tendons and many reflex mechanisms, in a way to make the body and mind fit for higher yoga practices. Read more »

autonomous nervous system, cardiac rhythm, maximum effectiveness, maximum energy, mental peace, muscular activity, muscular tone, necessary effort, relaxation, slow movements, tendons, yoga pose, yoga practices

Yoga asanas have been developed over thousand years to promote physical health and to prepare the student to higher yoga stages of meditation. Each yoga pose is attentively designed to focus on particular areas of the body. Read more »

cakra, muscles of the body, visceral organs, yoga asanas, yoga poses, yoga practices, yoga practitioner

That eternal immutable existence which transcends the turiya and all other states is the unconditioned Absolute, the supreme Brahman or Para-brahman, without Prakriti (nishkala) or Her attributes (nir-guna), which, as being the inner self and knowing subject, can never be the object of cognition, and is to be apprehended only through yoga by the realization of the Self (atmajñana), which It is. For as it is said, “Spirit can alone know Spirit.” Being beyond mind, speech, and without name, the Brahman was called “Tat,” “That,” and then “Tat Sat,” “That which is.” For the sun, moon, and stars, and all visible things, what are they but a glimpse of light caught from “That” (Tat)? Read more »

ananda, brahma, chaitanya, glimpse of light, guna, human speech, kala, rupa, sarada, shakti, shiva, spirit, sun moon, supreme brahman

Shakti is both maya, that by which the Brahman creating the universe is able to make Itself appear to be different from what It really is, and mula-prakriti, or the unmanifested (avyakta) state of that which, when manifest, is the universe of name and form. It is the primary so called “material cause,” consisting of the equipoise of the triad of guna or “qualities” which are sattva (that which manifests) rajas (that which acts), tamas (that which veils and produces inertia). The three gunas represent Nature as the revelation of spirit, Nature as the passage of descent from spirit to matter, or of ascent from matter to spirit, and Nature as the dense veil of spirit. The Devi is thus guna-nidhi (”treasure-house of guna” ). Read more »

brahman, coiled serpent, guna, kundalini, material cause, maya, mula, prana, shakti, spirit and nature, three and a half, triad, universe, womb

The worlds are inhabited by countless grades of beings, ranging from the highest Devas (of whom there are many classes and degrees) to the lowest animal life. The scale of beings runs from the shining manifestations of Spirit to those in which it is so veiled that it would seem almost to have disappeared in its material covering. There is but one Light, one Spirit, whose manifestations are many. Read more »

brahman, gayatri, lakshmi, manifestations, maya, one spirit, purusha, rays of light, rudra, sandhya, sarasvati, supreme mother

The human body is Brahma-para, the city of Brahman. Ishvara Himself enters into the universe as jiva. Wherefore the maha-vakya “That thou art” means that the ego (which is regarded as jiva only from the standpoint of an upadhi) (1) is Brahman. Read more »

ananda, bliss, brahman, etheric, jiva, kosha, maya, mental bodies, prana, self conscious, sheats

One who has an intense affection for an object of worship can follow the same method, but in his case the activity will be mainly one of feeling. The devotee will first picture in imagination the particular form which he regards as ideal. Read more »

ardent devotion, dawn breaks, desires, devotee, divine nature, feelings, imagination, intense affection, maya, presence, worshiper

So you see that if we regard the Infinite Reality as Perfect, we must drop all ideas of It Desiring or Lacking–and of it Growing or Improving–or of it obtaining more Power, or Knowledge. These ideas are ridiculous, for an Absolute, Infinite Reality, must possess All-Knowledge; All-Power; All-Presence, else it is not Absolute and Infinite. And, if It does not possess these attributes of Being, then It can never hope to acquire them, for there is Nowhere from whence they could be acquired–there is no Source outside of the All-Source. A Finite Thing, may lack, and desire, and improve and develop, for there is the Universal Source from which it may draw. Read more »

desire, Finite Mind, infinite reality, metaphysics, presence, universal source

In the material body, which is called the “sheath of food” (anna-maya kosa), reign the elements earth, water, and fire, which are those presiding in the lower Cakras, the Muladhara, Svadhisthana and Mani-pura centres. Read more »

bone muscle, digestion, excretion, food and drink, gross body, kosa, material body, procreation, semen, sheath, water and fire

The second sheath is the prana-maya-kosa, or sheath of “breath” (prana), which manifests itself in air and ether, the presiding elements in the Anahata and Visuddha-cakras. Read more »

anahata, atma, colour of fire, distension, kundalini, kurma, mula, prana, samana, sarada, universal force, vayu, vital forces

The next two sheaths are the mano-maya and vijnana kosas. These constitute the antah-karana, which is four-fold-namely, the mind in its two-fold aspect of buddhi and manas, self-hood (ahamkara), and citta. (1) . The function of the first is doubt, samkalpa-vikalpatmaka, (uncertainty, certainty); of the second, determination (niscaya-karini); of the third (egoity), of the fourth consciousness (abhimana). Read more »

ajna, atma, cakra, contemplation, gross body, karana, linga, manas, prana, reincarnation, sheaths, subtle body

Mani-pura-cakra (1) is a ten-petalled golden lotus, situated above the last in the region of the navel. “Fire” evolved from “air” is the Tattva of the cakra. The ten petals are of the colours of a cloud, and on them are the blue varnas - “dam”, “dham”, “nam”, “tam”, “tham”, “dam”, “dham”, “nam”, “pam”, “pham” - and the ten vrttis (vide ante), namely, lajja (shame), pisunata (fickleness), irsa (jealousy), trsna (desire), susupti (laziness), (2) visada (sadness), kasaya (dullness), moha (ignorance), ghrna (aversion, disgust), bhaya (fear). Read more »

agni, auspicious signs, bhaskara, cakra, golden lotus, lord of fire, moha, molten gold, rudra, samaya, solar region

Ajna-cakra is also called parama-kula and mukta, tri-veni, since it is from here that the three nadis - Ida, Pingala and Susumna - go their separate ways. It is a two petalled lotus, situated between the two eyebrows. In this cakra there is no gross Tattva, but the subtle Tattva mind is here. Hakarardha, or half the letter Ha, is also there. On its petals are the red varnas “ham” and “ksam” Read more »

ajna, cakra, gunas, hamsa, jnana, ksam, linga, mukta, nadis, om, parama, petals, rajas, sattva, siddha, visnu

Above the ajna-cakra there is another secret cakra called manas-cakra. It is a lotus of six petals, on which are sabda-jnana, sparsa-jnana, rupa-jnana, aghranopalabhi, rasopabhoga, and svapna, or the faculties of hearing, touch, sight, smell, taste, and sleep, or the absence of these. Above this, again, there is another secret cakra, called Soma-cakra. Read more »

ajna, bindu, cakra, dhyana meditation, feet of the guru, hamsa, jnana, kala, kalas, nada, nectar, nirvana, sabda, soma, thousand petalled lotus, vinaya

THE Tantras speak of three temperaments, dispositions, characters (bhava), or classes of men namely, the pasu-bhava (animal), vira-bhava (heroic), and divya-bhava (deva-like or divine). These divisions are based on various modifications of the gunas as they manifest in man (jiva). It has been pointed out (1) that the analogous Gnostic classification of men as material, psychical and spiritual, correspond to the three gunas of the Samkhya-darsana. In. the pasu the rajo-guna operates chiefly on tamas, producing such dark characteristics as error (bhranti), drowsiness (tandra), and sloth (alasya). Read more »

afflictions, darsana, divya, gunas, jiva, kularnava tantra, lajja, moha, pasu, tandra, tantras, vira

In Lesson Sixth, of the present series, you will find a brief mention of the “Days and Nights of Brahm”–those vast periods of the In-breathing and Out-breathing of the Creative Principle which is personified in the Hindu conception of Brahma. You will see mentioned there that universal philosophical conception of the Universal Rhythm, which manifests in a succession of periods of Universal Activity and Inactivity. Read more »

brahm, brahma, creative principle, cyclic time, dark time, fourteen days, light time, negative side, physical changes, relative positions, universal activity, universal rhythm, yogis

By mantra the sought-for (sadhya) Devata is attained and compelled. By siddhi in mantra is opened the vision of the three worlds. Though the purpose of worship (puja), reading (patha), hymn (stava), sacrifice (homa), dhyana, dharana, and samadhi, and that of the diksa-mantra are the same, yet the latter is far more powerful, and this for the reason that, in the first, the sadhaka’s sadhana-sakti works, in conjunction with mantra-sakti which has the revelation and force of fire, and than which nothing is more powerful. Read more »

bija, hymns of praise, mantra, mantras, monosyllabic, nitya, nyasa, puja, quintessence, saumya, tantrik

The Gayatri is the most sacred of all Vaidik mantras. In it the Veda lies embodied as in its seed. It runs: Om bhur-bhuvah-svah: tat savitur varenyam bhargo devasya dhimahi dhiyo yo nah pracodayat, Om. “Let us contemplate the wondrous spirit of the Divine Creator (Savitr) of the earthly, atmospheric, and celestial spheres. May He direct our minds, that is ‘towards’ the attainment of dharma, artha, kama, and moksa, Om.” Read more »

aditya, artha, atma, celestial spheres, eye of the world, gayatri, heart, om, purana, solar circle, surya, vayu

There are as already stated, three classes of men - Pasu, Vira, and Divya. The operation of the gunas which produce these types affect, on the gross material plane, the animal tendencies, manifesting in the three chief physical functions - eating and drinking, whereby the annamayakosa is maintained, and sexual intercourse, by which it is reproduced. These functions are the subject of the pancatattva or pancamakara (”five m’s”), as they are vulgarly called - viz : madya (wine), mamsa (meat), matsya (fish), mudra (parched grain), and maithuna (coition). Read more »

coition, divya, five elements, gunas, maithuna, mudra, pasu, sadhana, sexual energy, sexual intercourse, symbolic equivalent, tantra, tantric ritual, true hero, vira

Thiss word, derived from the root Yuj (”to join”), is in grammar samdhi, in logic avayavasakti, or the power of the parts taken together and in its most widely known and present sense the union of the jiva or embodied spirit, with the Paramatma, or Supreme Spirit (1) and the practices by which this union may be attained. Read more »

jiva, jnana, munis, sastra, supernatural, supreme spirit, yoga, yuj

From pranayama (q.v.) arises laghava (lightness).
All beings say the ajapa-Gayatri, which is the expulsion of the breath by Hamkara, and its inspiration by Sahkara, 21,600 times a day. Ordinarily, the breath goes forth a distance of 12 fingers’ breadth, but in singing, eating, walking, sleeping, coition, the distances are 16, 20, 24, 30, and 36 breadths respectively. Read more »

bija, coition, exhalation, gayatri, guru, inspiration, japa, nadi, nyasa, pranayama, vital airs

Through dhyana is gained the third quality of realization or pratyaksa. Dhyana, or meditation, is of three kinds: (1) sthula, or gross; (2) jyotih; (3) suksma, or subtle.* Read more »

atma, brahman, dhyana, four vedas, great ocean, kalpa, lalita, mantra, meditation, mudra, sastra

THERE is but one thing which all seek — happiness — though it be of differing kinds and sought in different ways. All forms, whether sensual, intellectual, or spiritual, are from the Brahman, who is Itself the Source and Essence of all Bliss, and Bliss itself (rasovai sah). Though issuing from the same source—pleasure differs in its forms in being higher and lower, transitory or durable, or permanent. Those on the path of desire (pravrtti marga) seek it through the enjoyments of this world (bhukti) or in the more durable, though still impermanent delights of heaven (svarga). He who is on the path of return (nivrtti-marga) seeks happiness, not in the created worlds, but in everlasting union with their primal source (mukti); and thus it is said that man can never be truly happy until he seeks shelter with Brahman, which is Itself the great Bliss (rasam hi vayam labdhva anandi bhavati). Read more »

bliss, brahman, desire, divine breath, eternal rhythm, everlasting union, happiness, marga, material things, mukti, rasam, spirit, visnu