Past experiences in yogic terminology are known as samskara and, if you are aware of them you can get rid of them by simply witnessing them. If some samskaras come up to the level of the conscious mind during meditation and you re-live the pain and emotion, it is possible to get rid of it completely. The problem lies in knowing what our samskaras are, because generally we believe that our desires, ambitions, likes and dislikes are samskaras when actually they are not. They are patterns or modifications of mind- vrittis.

Samskaras go much deeper than that. They belong to the realm of the unconscious mind and construct the human personality. Without samskaras we would not be classified as human beings. If we try to understand personality in general, we will find that even animals have personalities. They have samskaras which go beyond the instinctive aspect of animal consciousness. Even trees and plants have samskaras, but that goes beyond the state of consciousness in which they live and survive.

The literal meaning of samskara is ‘uniform personality’, ‘akara’ meaning ‘form’, ‘shape’ or ‘personality’, and ‘sam’ meaning ‘the totality of’. We relate intellectually to everything we perceive in the world as a form or object. That is the external experience, but when we talk about the aspect of consciousness, energy and personality in each object or being, we are talking about the samskara. So, even this tape recorder has a samskara, although it is a mechanical object. It can be classified as an object having a samskara, identity or uniform consciousness. Matter contains energy, energy has movement and within that movement there is some underlying awareness which maintains it in its gravitational field. That is actually what we call samskara.

When we say, ‘Oh, I have this samskara in me’ meaning ‘I like this or that’ or ‘I want to achieve this but can’t due to my samskara’, that is only a modification of mind. Samskara are related to karma also. Consciousness was there before you were given birth and it will be there after you die. This consciousness has been given certain impressions which we can call experiences of the deeper self. We become aware of these impressions when we practise deep meditation, not superficial meditation. When we transcend the conscious, subconscious and unconscious experiences of personality it is possible that initially we become aware of certain traumas that have taken place in our early childhood, and of which we did not have any conscious recollection. I will give you an example.

One lady came here some time ago who used to suffer tremendous headaches since very early childhood for no apparent reason. No amount of medication or meditation had helped her. Then one day as she was meditating she had this splitting headache and suddenly she had a vision of herself as a miner in a coal mine in Wales, United Kingdom. The whole mine collapsed on her head and she died. Since re-experiencing that event she did not have a single attack of headache.

Now, this can be classified as a samskara, an impression which the consciousness has carried through several or more lives and the physical manifestation took the form of a headache. We can infer from this that her consciousness had undergone the experience in some previous life, but because of its traumatic effect on her personality, it remained within the folds of consciousness. Then, when that consciousness re-manifested in another body, the same trauma was again expressed by it. So, a human being is not a totally different entity than its experiences in its previous lives.

We can also term many other experiences which we may have had in childhood and about which we have entirely forgotten, as samskaras which have left a very deep impression on our personality. Children whose parents are drug-addicts or who have been divorced very early on have a different mentality because of this samskara.

Samskara has nothing to do with our intellect or buddhi. If we could rationalize our experience and try to clear the mind of it we would not give birth to that samskara again. Clearing the mind is important. If something comes up and you remember it or see it in the form of a vision, that is clearing the samskara. For example you may realize ‘I know I have a lot of emotional problems. Previously I was not like this. I know the cause. I had a fight with my wife and we got divorced. Intellectually we cleared things up but emotionally we were not able to clear that experience from our mind’. So this emotional frustration later takes on the form of a samskara and transforms our personality.

If you know the cause of your present malady then you should also try to make sure that your mind is clear in all respects, not only intellectually but also emotionally and psychically. A spiritual aspirant must have this kind of awareness. We should not look at things only from the intellectual standpoint but from the aspect of the total personality. This is what meditation actually teaches.

Although we do begin the meditational practices with technique of self-observation, of observing our thoughts and what we are feeling, these techniques are not limited to this superficial awareness of personality. They go much deeper than that and whenever we meditate we should try lo keep the idea or concept in mind, that it deals with the total personality and the purification of an event which has already taken place.

How can we remove negative tendencies such as fear?

According to yogic, Eastern and Western psychology, negative tendencies are a part of our individual personality which must express itself whether we like it or not. So negative states of mind cannot be eradicated completely. The modern psychologist has defined fear in many different ways and there are many different types of tear. Children are afraid of the dark; some people are afraid to travel by aeroplane although it is the safest way of travelling in the world, because they think it can fall down from the sky or be hijacked.

Fear can be caused by insecurity also, or by certain dislike, or our inability to cope with life’s difficult situations You may have a boss of whom you are afraid. As soon as you hear that he is calling you, you begin to sweat, your heart begins to palpitate, your blood pressure goes up and you begin to tremble without any real reason. So many types of fear we have to face, but it is possible to develop the state of mind of observing our mental reactions and physiological reactions, and controlling the symptoms. By controlling the symptoms, eventually the tendency can also be controlled. This is where pratyahara comes in.

First of all we must develop the attitude of witnessing everything taking place within us and around us. After we have been able to develop this attitude of witness, observer or ‘seer’, we can observe how a mental tendency influences our actions, behaviour, and our emotional and intellectual patterns. Then we try to find a rational way of dealing with this disturbance in our personality.

There is one practice called antar mouna which involves observing the thoughts, the emotions, creating them, removing them, developing attention, developing awareness – and this is one of the most effective means of combating any type of destructive disturbance in our personality. And this applies to fear, haired, jealousy, anger, frustration, depression or any negative state of mind.

What should we do when fear comes up during mantra meditation?

It is natural for a mantra to create some activity in the smooth surface of consciousness. A mantra is like a pebble which is thrown into a body of water and creates ripples there, which move out towards the shore. Generally we become aware of these ripples because the shore is our external personality. We do not know where the mantra has fallen in the field of consciousness until we try to develop the ability to follow the ripples back towards the source. But that is another aspect of mantra sadhana.

In the common type of mantra meditation ripples are created and each ripple represents an experience, an activity of consciousness. So a wave comes and then gradually subsides, but at the time of coming it makes us aware of its intensity, or its force which may contain a joyous experience or a fearful and negative one. For fear is as much a part of life as joy and happiness and to get through it we have to bring in the concept of ‘drashta’, the seer.

As long as we identity with the body and mind we shall have fear concerning the body and mind. However, with the attitude of witness, we go through the experience but one part of us remains separate, observing what the body and mind are undergoing. When fear comes up on the mental level then we also experience other negative states which are associated with fear – anxiety, depression, frustration and so forth.

If the fear is deep or psychic and cannot be explained rationally or intellectually then that creates another kind of reaction- uncertainty in life, a state similar to madness. It shakes the basic foundation of our being. So, if at that time, one part of us is observing, then this drashta awareness will find a way to effectively deal with the emotions coming up from deep within.

At the time of mantra meditation a mala is therefore very important. The mala does not allow an individual to become completely submerged in the unknown depths of consciousness. It maintains one part of the awareness outside, on the process of moving and reversing. This counting of the beads and the turning of the mala forms a break in the pattern and depth of our concentration so that we maintain external, conscious awareness.

In this context a symbol is also necessary which is given along with the mantra. The concept of symbol can be explained in the following way, ‘A bird is flying over the ocean and it cannot find anywhere to rest because everywhere there is a body of water. Suddenly the bird sees a piece of floating driftwood. It alights on the wood, rests for some time, and then again begins to search for land, but it keeps the piece of wood as a reference point or marker to come back to and rest until it finds dry land. This piece of wood is the symbol that we use in our mantra meditation.

Through mantra we are going deeper and deeper and deeper, through the mala we are maintaining the drashta awareness, and through the symbol we are fixing a reference point in the field of our consciousness where we can come and experience the vastness of the ocean, and at the same time rest without having to come out from the meditative state. So just observe the state of fear when it arises and it will be like a wave upon the ocean- it will conic and then go away, ebb and flow, and finally it will be gone forever.

How can we develop willpower if we do not have enough willpower to do the sadhana to develop it? Is there any staple yet systematic approach we can take?

Slow and steady wins the race. Development of willpower takes time, because we first have to get used to all the eccentricities of our mind and personality. Willpower is a state of mind which is one-pointed, awake and alert. Dissipated states of mind are known as ‘vichit’, unbalanced. When you have a balanced mind, willpower will open up from within, without you having to try. You do not have to make a conscious effort.

If you decide to do your sadhana, whether it is asana, pranayama or meditation, it is not necessary for you to start with one hour of practice every day. Begin with ten minutes and increase every week by one minute, two minutes, five minutes, over a period of several months. Increase to half an hour and leave it at that. Within this thirty-minute period outline a program of say, ten minutes asana, five minutes pranayama, fifteen minutes meditation- no more and no less, and you will find this will be enough.

When you want to attain something, you only have to do the specific sadhana which will help you attain your goal. If you can pursue this sadhana regularly and religiously, making it your firm daily habit, you will find that over a period of time, you will have enough willpower to take up any other sadhana. It is just a process of habituation.

Where do doubts come from and how do we cope with them?

The tendency of the mind is to look for some kind of proof. While sitting here we are not aware of clouds up in the sky, but because a shadow passes over the sun we guess that a cloud has come. That is ‘anuman’ or ‘inference’. If we go outside and see that a cloud has actually come, it becomes a living proof. The cognitive faculty, the knowledge or understanding that clouds have come, is known as ‘pramana’.

Pramana need not be something concrete; it need not be something which we are able to grasp intellectually, because the mind functions on many levels, the vibratory level being one. Here we may not see anything but when we come before someone or visit a certain place, we feel ‘good’ and our level of vitality increases. Or vice versa, we feel ‘down’ and suddenly there is a depletion of energy. We are experiencing something physically but we cannot pinpoint its cause. For example, we may see the shadow but not the cloud, so it is happening on a vibratory, intellectual, and many other levels as well.

When such proofs which direct the mental faculties of perception and cognition are absent from the situation, it will give rise to doubt which will convert itself into the vritti of vikalpa – ‘Is it or is it not?’ To be or not to be?” That becomes the state of vikalpa. So absence of a firm guideline for the mental faculties is, according to yogic principles, the cause of doubt. And how do we cope with it? As we have done up until now. How does one remove doubt? By intensifying the vritti of pramana’

So, we make ourselves receptive to whatever experiences we are undergoing on the intellectual and vibratory levels and find this is causing some doubt or confusion within us. Now, instead of getting attached or involved in this feeling of doubt we must try to rationalize it through the process of gyana yoga: ‘Why has this happened? Let me just find out where something has not clicked in my mind’. I may doubt someone: ‘Is he truthful to me or not?” I have had good relations with him throughout my life but one incident changed my mind because I found him telling me maybe just one lie. From that moment onwards whenever I come in front of him I feel this nagging inside me: ‘Is he telling me the truth? Is he hiding something from me?’

What was the cause of that feeling? From where did that doubt generate? Go to the cause. It is like the practice of pratyahara, and more specifically of antar mouna where we follow the train of thoughts back to the source. We may think one thing externally but the cause may be something absolutely different. In this process the thought undergoes many alterations. Many different views, ideas, desires and feelings come and totally change the shape of the original thought.

Just as we practise observation of thoughts in antar mouna, in the same way we utilize these techniques when we observe our doubts, I doubt something. Okay, first I classify that as an intellectual, vibratory or emotional awareness. I might see a house – dark and dreary. Someone tells me, ‘Go in’, and gives a very funny grin on the side. The idea comes to me ‘Why does he want me to go in ? There must be something there.’ It could be my own fear projecting which has converted itself into a doubt- fear of the unknown, but something is there. It converted itself into doubt against that person because I saw him smile in a particular way. So I became cautious.

Or I find that my family members have told me a lie and I think, ‘Why have they said this to me? Because they don’t trust me fully? They don’t have full confidence in me? Maybe there is some fault within me.’ Or again, I reach a place. I feel good or perhaps bad. Suddenly there is a rise or drop in my energy level and I am unable to ascertain the actual cause. So I go back in time. What were the events which brought me to this place?

It is just like the practice of antar mouna and antar mouna is not practised with thoughts alone. It is practised with every kind of mental experience of the vrittis. The actual practice of antar mouna is the elimination of conflicting and contradictory tendencies from the normal behaviour of the vrittis, and not ‘inner silence’ – stopping the thoughts and remaining at peace.

Is all suffering and negativity due to bad karma?

Not necessarily. First understand that karmas are not ‘good’ or ‘bad’ as such. They are impressions which control and govern our lives from the time of our birth to the time of our death. The concept of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ karma comes at a much later stage when we have developed our buddhi and have begun to analyse ‘what is happening?’, ‘what do I really want?’, ‘what should happen?’, but even in the process of analysing, please remember that we should try to understand our karmas through the vrittis, or through the vritti which is most predominant.

If one tries to understand karma from the tamasic frame of mind, the understanding will be tamasic and the experience of the karma will be tamasic. Similarly, if one tries to understand the karma from the sattvic state of mind then the understanding and manifestation of the karma will be sattwic. This is one important factor in trying to understand karma. So karmas are not negative or positive; they are simply the formation which is contained in the field of consciousness and which shape our destiny, our life and the direction in which we will go.

The actual cause of suffering is our own ignorance, to be very frank, because through ignorance we create imbalances in the body and then we suffer from physical illness. When we create mind imbalances then we create mental problems, and when we create imbalance in the psychic structure then we face psychic problems. So, lack of understanding of the body-mind-spirit complex is the main cause of any suffering. Due to ignorance we attribute our suffering to karma, to something ‘bad’ we might have done in a past life.

Yoga does not believe that there is any suffering which is pre-destined. For example, someone may have emotional problem and an inability to adjust to life. They might have had a divorce or fights at home. Is that because of bad karma or because of the inability to communicate, to express and understand each other properly? The inability to communicate, to understand, or to accept or change the situation has nothing to do with any kind of karma.

So, please do not confuse karma with suffering because happiness and sadness are only experiences of the external mind, the mind which is in contact with the other manifest realities, and not the experience of the subtle mind which is beyond the three gunas. They are the experiences of the mind which is confined to the experiences of the elements, the tattwas, and not of the mind which is beyond the experience of the elements.

How do we overcome ambition and expectation in spiritual life? For example, striving to advance spiritually because of the desired outcome?

By first realising that it is a big mistake, because if you desire to achieve something due to the outcome being ‘good’ it is not a proper sign of spirituality. In spirituality you should expect the unexpected. Whether you classify that as something ‘good’ or ‘bad’ comes later on, but by expecting the unexpected you will always be ready and alert to understand and to process the experiences which you have.

When we meditate and see heaven, angels and gods, we like it and wish to have the same experience in every other meditation. If we do not get it, the normal tendency is to think that we are not progressing. Because something ‘clicked’ with our liking we want it more and more, but if during meditation we see hell, demons and all types of pain and misery, would we wish for the same experience again? Rather, we would try to avoid meditating for the very reason that we may again see the same thing.

I think this is a very topsy-turvy view of life. If we meditate in order to experience something we like, we may as well not do it, but if we meditate with an open mind, to purge the mind from every type of positive and negative experience, then we should do it. Having the desire to attain is a ‘no-no’ in yoga. Of course, the desire to improve our lives is always there: ‘I want to attain something high up’, but the moment we begin to identify that ‘high up’ object with an experience we are having, it is a mistake. One man came to Lord Buddha and said. ‘What can I do in order to realise God?’ Buddha replied, ‘Leave that desire’. The moment you can do that you will find that you are not different from him, because every experience we have in life, and everything we want to achieve in spiritual life is contained within the human personality. Realisation of this can totally alter human perception and action.

So, do not expect anything and just keep at it. Whether we are progressing or not is not for us to decide, because the process of ‘mind-cleansing’ or ‘purging’ can take a very long time. We should have just one realisation- I am going on the right path. I am following the correct procedure of pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and whatever the experiences may be, let them come. Do not expect anything but have the realisation, ‘I am on the right track’.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Nov, 1990)

The textual study

Trataka (called trotaka in Hatharatnavali), as described in the important hatha yogic texts, consists of steady gazing in a well-composed manner, at a particular point or minute object, without winking, until tears begin to flow. (*1) Vacaspatyam quotes from Hatha Samhita that trataka is better performed in sukhasana, first at some object and thereafter at its after -image projected in the sky. It tells that the trataka on the nose tip (nasagra dristi) reduces mental tensions (kleshas) and trataka on the eyebrow centre (bhrumadhya dristi) facilitates attainment of khechari – a higher yoga practice. (*2) Satkarmasangraha (*3) advises the repetition of bija mantras – the Vam’ and ‘glau’ (i.e. those of Varuna, the water; and Prithivi, the earth) during the process of trataka.

The principal hatha texts demand that the practice of trataka should be greatly valued and secretly preserved, like a casket of gold. It might be due to the hypnotic and ecstatic effect of trataka. According to the texts, the process of trataka cures eye diseases and improves eye sight, prevents sloth and manifests ‘inward light’. By its constant practice, clairvoyance (divya dristi) is developed and sambhavi mudra, a higher spiritual gesture, is verily achieved. (*4) Bhakti Sagara, (*5) claims that whatever idea is contemplated during trataka practice, it will actually be fulfilled. However, this claim may be true only in advanced tratakas.

It is a recorded fact in the Aryan history, that an accomplished yogi can greatly mesmerise, hypnotise and control the psyche of others, by constant gazing into their eyes. For example, Yogi Vipula protected his master’s wife from the sexual designs of Indra by constant fixation of his eyes into her eyes, thus stupefying her from advances. Similarly, the great ascetic, Vidura’s act of inducing his psyche i.e. soul, into Yudhisthira at the time of his final departure, by steadily staring into his eyes, are proofs of trataka’s hypnotic powers that are old as the Mahabharata. (*6) Trataka, in fact, is the most important technique for concentration and is very old indeed, because the processes of gazing at the nosetip, eyebrow centre and any internal or external point etc., as described in the Gita and other ancient treatises (*7), are but the variations of this practice.

A somewhat similar practice to trataka is accomplished by staring at one’s own afterimage in the sky. This has been greatly extolled in the Siva Samhita (*8) by the name pratikopasana or chayasiddhi i.e. invocation of shadow. Expanding this technique, it is told that at the time of the rising sun or by the moon, let one steadily fix his gaze on the neck of the shadow he projects. Then, after sometime, let him look into the sky to see his full grey shadow (i.e. afterimage). This practice should be further developed for contemplation on the great Void (Mahat Shoonya) and on or beyond the Cosmic Egg (Brahmandabahya). Pratikopasana is praised as the means for emancipation, immortality, great bliss, absolute purity and victory in every field.

Trataka is possibly classified as a yogic cleansing (shodhana kriya or shatkarma) because it purifies the eyes by the constant flow of tears; or because it acts as a psychological cleansing process by activating the area of subconscious and unconscious mind. (*9)

The technique and principle of trataka

Traditionally many types of trataka are practised such as constant gazing at the tip of a Wick of a lamp flame produced from clarified butter (ghee) or upon simple candle light; staring at the rising (or setting) sun, at the moon, the green grass or tree leaves, the clear water of a lake, some transparent glass, the sky, the space, a small round object, a minute black spot on a white background, or an illustration of Aum. A black or green circle the size of a small coin, approximately one half to one inch in diameter and marked with a dot at the centre, painted on a squared paper can also serve as a good object. The best form of trataka, in view of the personal experience of this scholar, is to steadily gaze at the third eye (the space between the eyebrows) of the originator of yoga- Lord Siva’s picture. At a later stage, this helps to easily concentrate the mind at the midpoint of one’s own eyebrows, with eyes Open or closed and also activates many mystical experiences.

Trataka should be done in a meditative sitting posture such as siddhasana, padmasana, sukhasana or vajrasana. The eyes should be kept focused at the tip of the flame or at the painted dot far away but directly in line with the normal visual axis, till tears start flowing. The area of central fixation should be gradually reduced, because the smaller the area, the better the fixation. The distance between the object and the eyes should vary to suit one’s requirements, yet it should be kept between one and three yards. As soon as the tears begin to flow, close the wide-opened eyes (with or without cupped hands) for a few moments and contemplate upon the afterimage arising in the mental space. Then resume the practice again. Ten to fifteen minutes trataka without the least blinking of the eyes will start inducing some mystical experiences. The special importance of trataka on the luminous or light giving object is perhaps due to the similarity of the ‘mental afterimages’ thus produced, and the experience of the ‘inner light’ i.e. kundalini of the yogic theory.

Benefits of trataka

The trataka exercises including the nosetip gaze, eyebrow centre gaze and right and left shoulder gaze, etc., especially train and strengthen the eye muscles- particularly the four pairs of muscles controlling the upward, downward, right and left movements of the eyeballs. Defects of vision and other eye troubles, which force people to use glasses or contact lenses, are cured by trataka. Gazing at various objects of nature accustoms the eyes to the varied influences of light and environments etc. The eye muscles generally act asymmetrically in the ordinary use of the eyes, and thus produce eye strain or weariness, which further aggravates visionary troubles. The regular and systematic practice of various eye exercises of trataka can correct all these. Trataka can increase the vision so much so that even the smallest particle in the dead darkness (and also in the dazzling light) becomes visible. Inflammation of the eyes, trachoma, styes, astigmatism, myopia, hypermetropia and presbyopia etc., in short all the eye problems can be corrected by trataka. Trataka vitalises vision by accelerating blood circulation in and around the area of the eyes, and also naturalises eye infections by destroying the microbes through tears.

By directing the gaze at the eyebrow centre, the olfactory nerves and the optic nerves are stimulated, and as a result, the autonomic and the central nervous systems are awakened. There is a close relationship between mind and vision, thus trataka not only maintains the physical health of eyes but also helps a great deal in controlling the mind. It causes a soothing effect on the cranial nerves, thus enabling the mind to become one-pointed. It greatly improves memory and willpower, and helps to attain perfection in samyama (i.e. dharana, dhyana, samadhi) described in Patanjala Yoga. Laboratory tests on trataka have proved that it brings back certain repressed experiences to the level of consciousness. For ocular health, in addition to the trataka practice, stroking, moving, pressing, palming, light kneading and salakyam (as described in Satkarma-sangrahah) of the eyes are also quite beneficial. (*10)

Precautions

1. Trataka, like other intricate yogic exercises should be learned under the direct guidance of some accomplished yoga guru; otherwise there is every possibility that eye muscles as well as the nervous system may be damaged.

2. Eyes should be splashed and washed with cold water immediately after the trataka practice. This will stimulate the blood supply in the eye regions.

3. Avoid using external eye medicine or solution after trataka. Also avoid rubbing the eyes, even if in the beginning of trataka you feel some eye strain, which would be due to adaptation to eye exercises.

4. Avoid doing trataka on the burning sun. For better eye health, it is advised to sit with closed eyes, facing the sun. Trataka on the sun with open eyes should be performed in the early morning and late afternoon (i.e. sunset). However, trataka on the full moon of puma-mashi is the best.

5. Some bodily exercises before and after trataka are necessary to revitalise the tissues and nerves.

6. The continuous repetition and reflection upon the symbol of Isvara i.e. Aum, during trataka practice will be very beneficial spiritually.

Reference
*1. Nimesonmesakam tyaktva suksmalaksyam niriksayet patanti yavadasruni tratakam procyate
budhaih. (Gheranda Samhita 1.53; Hathayogasamhita p. 13, v. 43) Also cf. Hathapradipika 2.32; Hatharatnavali 1.52; Satkarmasangrahah v. 40., Trataka karma takataki lagai palaka palaka som milai na takai. (Bhakti Sagara p. 117)
*2. Vacaspatyam p. 5402 …Siddhe’smin nasikagrek sanahatatanurkklesavan sadhakah syad bhrumadhyam ca …khecari…
*3. Satkarmasangrahah v. 40, …Vamglavikaranasthe’sminnantarjyotih prakasyate. *4. Mocanam netraroganam tandradinam kapatakam yatnatastratakam gopyam yatha hatakapetakam. (Hathapradipika 2.33) Also cf. Hatharatnavali 1.53; Satkarmasangrahah v.41 …antarjyotih prakasyate. Also Gheranda Samhita 1.54; Hathayogasamhita p. B, v. 44…Evamabhyasayogena sambhavi jayate dhruvam netraroga vinasyanti divyadrstih prajayate.
*5. Bhakti Sagara p. 117- Jete dhyana naina ke hoy Caranadasa purana ho soi.
*6. Gurupatnim samasino Vipulah sa mahatapah netrabhyam netrayorasya rasmim samyojyarasmibhih vivesa Vipulah kayamakasam pavano yatha. (Mahabharata Anusasan Parva 40.56,57) Tatah so’nimiso bhutva rajanam tamudaiksata samyojya Viturastasmin drstim drstya samahitah vivesa Viduro dhiman gatrairgatrani caiva ha. (Mahabharata Asramvasika Parva 26.25,26)
*7. cf. Bhagavadgita 5.27; 6.13; 8.10; Kurma Purana 2.11.53,54; Agni Purana 373.4; Srimadbhagavata 11.14.32; Goraksasatakam v. 41; Mahabharata Anu-sasana Parva 145; Advaya Tarakopanishad 6,11,12; Mandalabrahmanopanishad 1.2.4,7; 1.3.3,5; Yogiyajna-valkya 5.15; 9.31; 12.26. Also Bhakti Sagara p. 117- Amkha ulati trikuti meim ano yaha bhi trataka karma pichano.
*8. Siva Samhita 5.15-21; 160-168.
*9. Gheranda Samhita (Kaivalyadhama) Notes p. 137.
*10. For the various techniques, benefits, etc. of trataka cf. and contrast: Raja Yoga- Jnana Yoga Sadhana, 1st Edt, by Dr. Swami Gitananda pp. 23-26; Advanced Yoga Practices, 4th Edt., by Dr. Swami Gitananda p. 124, 128, 136, 140; Yoga Hygeine Simplified, 19th Edt., by Shri Yogendra pp. 89-97; Hatha Yoga- the Report of a Personal Experience, Edt. 1960, by Theos Bernard pp. 107-108; The Complete Illustrated Book of Yoga, 9th Edt., by Swami Vishnudevananda pp.34-37; Umesh Yoga Darshan (Part 1), by Yogiraj Shri Umeshchandraji pp. 185-192; Patanjala Yoga Pradeep, 4th, by Swami Omananda Tirtha p.403; Satkarmasangrahah v.81.83; Yogic Suksam Vyayama, 2nd Edt., by Dbirendra Brahmachari pp\ 197-198; Yoga XVIII No.3, ” Swami Satyananda Saraswati p. 19.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, March, 1983)

Can we balance our children through relaxation? Some teachers have tried it. Knowing that the child’s capacity for listening is closely related to his physical and emotional state and that restlessness grows year by year among the students, these teachers did not hesitate to shorten their class for the benefit of practising a few easy relaxation exercises.

Result: their pupils learn and express much more easily. If your children do not have this opportunity at school, you can teach them to relax at home even without ever having practised these exercises yourself. Only take care to adjust the instructions to the level of the child and do not force his attention for more than ten minutes.

Here are four exercises inspired by yoga. Each exercise has a particular quality.

Concentration before the effort

First is a famous exercise which has been adopted by countless American business men. Elbows are on the table, hands cupped in front of the eyes. Breathe in deeply and slowly breathe out. Practise twelve times. Evoke in the child a landscape or place that he likes. Let him imagine that he is there, one with the trees, mountains, sea or sky.

Attention and imagination

Place an object in front of the child. Eyes are motionless but without tension. Let him look at the object for 30 seconds. Then, with closed eyes, encourage him to see the object clearly. Then for a second time, let him look at the object in detail with open eyes.

Inner peace of mind

This exercise is based on listening to sounds. Lying, or better, sitting with the back straight and eyes closed. Ask the child to breathe six times, repeating mentally at the same time the word ‘peace’ or ‘relaxation’ at the end of each breath. Then, make him listen to the noises first in the distance, in the street, then in the house, in the room, but without trying to interpret them. A different way to practise for smaller children is to produce three different sounds, for example, those of crumpled paper, a click of a ball pen and the sound of a step (when someone walks). Then ask them in which order the sounds were produced.

Relaxation before sleeping

With the child lying down, name the different parts of the body which he has to feel without moving. Start with the thumb of the right hand, move up the arm and then down the right side to the toes. Practise the same way for the left side of the body. Finish with the head. Then suggest visualisation of pleasant pictures to imagine.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Feb, 1983)

The secrets of intelligence, language, learning and knowledge are difficult to reveal. They remain shrouded by a veil of ignorance, superstition and growing scientific but contrary information. Rules for bringing up children, learning and teaching techniques, and the models of our educational system tend to be fads, determined by whim and fashion, trial and error, rather than concrete, workable systems.

Education includes the bringing up of children and the development of mental powers and character as well as systematic instruction. The word education itself comes from the root ‘ducere’, to lead, and implies the bringing out or development of the latent or potential faculties within every human being, not just the cramming in of intellectual facts and rote learning. There is a big difference between real education and training ourselves in mechanical skills or intellectual capacity for a job or profession.

Perhaps modern education has failed because it has lacked the capacity to develop our latent inner powers and has concentrated rather on the purely external, logical side of our nature. (*1) Most forms of education in schools, religious institutions and the family have failed to give young people the means to handle their inner conflicts and drives and to channel these energies into productive and creative activities. It seems only a lucky few chance upon the way by themselves. Or perhaps the various systems have failed to provide the teachers or educators, the leaders, who can inspire our children to want to learn.

Increasing turmoil, restlessness and rebelliousness in schools, colleges and universities and the tendency for students to regard education as a necessary but boring facet of life reflects an inability to satisfy inner needs and emphasises the critical need for a review of our educational process.

Yogic education

Yoga views education in the broadest possible sense. As a science of healthy and enlightened living, the yogi educates all the spheres of his existence, physical, mental and spiritual. There are three main aspects to this:

1. Preparing the soil: the body and mind are made healthy and receptive through asana, pranayama and meditation. The rajasic qualities of physical restlessness and the tamasic qualities of physical lethargy and laziness are removed by balancing the nadis. The body and mind work harmoniously so that receptivity, ida, and creativity, pingala, work together.
2. Planting the seed: the child is exposed to a wide range of stimulating intellectual and artistic pursuits, including singing and dancing, as well as being educated in a yogic lifestyle, including correct dietary and sleeping habits. There is also exposure to a wide range of spiritual and yogic literature which, when combined with meditative practice, broaden and expand the mind and instil a healthy aim and purpose into life. All this serious side is balanced by the child’s innate ability to play and enjoy life when not restricted by over heavy discipline. Discipline is not represented by a cane or poor grades, but by love, understanding and a sense of responsibility.
3. The planter of the seed: the process of yogic education is conducted by the guru who, in the ideal situation, is an enlightened teacher. He or she can both guide the child into the correct teaching at the correct time for his individual needs and inspire the child to want to learn.

In ancient India this whole process took place during the first 25 years of life in what was called the brahmacharya ashram.

Formal education

Yogic education stresses the point that the child is an individual entity, albeit a developing one. Latent faculties are present in all children, and these can be cultivated by yogic training, so that growth takes place along natural and healthy lines. If we try to suppress the child’s own natural, individual personality by superimposing what we, as adults think or believe is ‘correct’ and ‘right’, or try to build the child in our own pattern, we usually end up creating neuroses or even psychoses.

Pure intellectual training does not prepare us for or give us a clear understanding of life. It does not even explain what the purpose of such intellectual training is or how it should be incorporated into the whole lifestyle. Forced rote learning in excess dampens the innate, spontaneous, creative faculties and in turn creates a dependency on outside things. We forget that we possess many of the answers and a great source of joy, happiness and creativity within. Rather, the competitive atmosphere of most institutions breeds insecurity and ambition, the need to grasp for external and temporary things and happiness, and sows the seeds of future disappointment and a sense of futility and hopelessness, all of which has been linked to psychosomatic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension and even cancer.

Children are born, for the most part, with natural instinct; intuitive, unspoiled clarity; a well functioning, but undeveloped, ajna chakra or pineal gland. Up to a certain age they know what they want and what they can manage. However, parental and social training during the developmental years when the ego solidifies usually creates confusion and conflicts. It would be much better if they were left to grow spontaneously in freedom tempered by love and wise guidance when sought.

This point is beautifully demonstrated by Lyall Watson in his book ‘Gifts of Unknown Things’ (Coronet). Here he meets the unspoiled, ‘uncivilised’ children of one of the Indonesian islands who, because they were allowed to grow naturally, but with proper guidance, retained and developed their innate faculties. They were able to hear colours in sound, for example, the sharp new leaf, sound of a bird, the brown of the toad, the black of thunder, the white of the sea foam where it touches sand, the bronze sound of a bell. One man was able to see schools of fish miles put to sea, and one young girl was a super naturally superb dancer who heard the drums talk to her, laying a carpet of brown, like the sand on the ground, while the bells and gongs called in greens and yellows, building forests through which she would move and turn. If she lost her way there was the white thread of the flute or the song to guide her home.

In the final analysis, perhaps children do not need education as we know it today. It tends to clutter and confuse and blinds us to the mysteries and beauty of life. It stunts our psychic and spiritual growth, if we are not careful. Indeed children have much to teach adults, if they only listen and see. Watson himself states that when “faced with the wisdom of this twelve year old, I felt like a backward child.”

As part of three experimental projects to test the hypothesis that formal education impairs psychic ability, Michael Winkelman of the University of California, Irvine, studied 29 children in a rural village in Mexico, (*2) He found that the more schooling the children had, the worse was their ESP score, independent of the age of the child. He also found that mathematical computations using the logical, left side of the brain, reduced ESP ability. To explain these findings, the author cites research in which formal education has been shown to create a state of mind in which the individual sees himself as separate from the environment (*3) This is a state of alienation and reduced sensitivity which predisposes one to fear, loneliness, frustration, expectation, disappointment and so on. It is the direct opposite of the meditative state. The mode of thought generally developed by formal education has been shown to be characterised by muscular tension, beta waves, decreased GSR arousal (*4), all of which can be said to be the opposite of the state of relaxation, non-defensive openness and meditative receptivity required for successful ESP in experimental situations.

Educating the adult

Though children should not be suppressed, they should not be allowed to run wild either. Parents and teachers must have the wisdom and skill to create a way for their spiritual development. In this respect we can say that though the child must ultimately choose for himself, what he chooses from depends to a large extent on what is in his environment, how it is presented and on subtle clues given from the behaviour of parents and other adults in the child’s early life.

Research has shown that when pre-school children are not pressured into learning they will actually seek it out and tend to prize periods of individual instruction (*5). When education is given with love and compassion, students achieve better education and better attitudes towards social and familial responsibilities (*6). In her book Troubled Teachers’ (McKay, 1978), Esther Rothman states that children fail to learn when the teacher is troubled by unconscious conflicts, needs and motivations which disturb the teacher/ student relationship. She states that behind the facade of the poor student there are deep needs which the teacher has not recognised and that “only when aggression, love and power are used constructively in the classroom can real education begin.”

Children are enormously but subconsciously sensitive to their environment, and they react to situations with often alarming honesty, unless they are taught otherwise. If their teachers are not able to order their own lives, or if they project feelings of anger, frustration, unhappiness or boredom, then children will respond similarly. People who practise yoga and who are working towards a degree of personal inner integration usually find that children like to be around them, and seem to respond to their strength and joy. The ability to recognise a problem and then to discover a working solution requires clarity and creativity, the products of a disciplined or meditative mind.

Teachers who wish to increase their level of sensitivity to their pupils’ needs, and parents who want to give their children a better start in life should themselves practise asana, pranayama and meditation in order to create a yogic atmosphere. Yoga’s ability to transform the environment is little understood but remarkable aspect of the process of inner development and one which children respond very strongly to. It is extremely important that parents practise yoga especially before and during pregnancy as many researchers believe that a mother’s experience during pregnancy seems to affect the child’s development and later life. Mother is the first teacher of the child and the bond between the two should be very clear and clean, unimpeded by subconscious attitudes of fear or confusion on the maternal side.

A recent research study at the University of Wisconsin (USA) has shown that mothers who consider their babies to be ‘difficult’ were really insensitive to their infants’ needs (*7). Mothers who found their children ‘easy’ had a slower, more relaxed heart beat when the child was crying than the ‘difficult’ group, and therefore reacted with less anxiety and tensions and projected a relaxed, secure attitude. A combination of asana, pranayama and meditation induces relaxation and the clarity of mind which allows us to become sensitive to the needs of others. This can be called intuition. When applied to our children or to the classroom situation it allows us to give more exactly what is required and to develop relationships based on mutual honesty and trust. At the same time our level of vitality improves and this spills over into our behaviour and the environment.

Yoga is an ideal basis for an educational system and when practised by both students and teachers can bring about the correct balance between relaxation and creativity necessary for better education. Education is transformed from drudgery into a process of inner and outer discovery.

References
*1. Ornstein, R., The Psychology of Consciousness, San Francisco: W.H. Freeman & Co., 1972.
*2. Winkelman, M., ‘The Effect of Formal Education on Extrasensory Abilities: The Ozolco Study’, J. of Parapsychology, Vol. 45, Dec. 1981.
*3. Cole, M., & Scribner, S., Culture and Thought, New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1974,
*4.Delkman, A., ‘Deautonization and the Mystic Experience’. In R. Ornstein (ed.), The Nature of Human Consciousness, N.Y., Viking Press, 1979.
*5. ‘No first grade non-readers in Canadian school that starts instruction at the age of 3′, Brain Mind Bulletin, 2(21), Sept. 19, 1977.
*6. Miss A: love and high expectation’, Brain Mind Bulletin, 3(11), April 17, 1978.
*7. Donovan, W., Psychophysiology, 15:68-74.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine Feb, 1983)

What does yoga have to do with students, with developing the mind, the brain and the body? I am not going to tell you what the scriptures say, I will tell you what the scientists say. Do you know the definition of a scientist? A scientist is one who tries to know and discover the truth by objective analysis and not by faith. Religion is based on faith; you believe even if you do not really know. In religion there is belief; in science there is analysis. If I say that pranayama is good for intelligence, it is not necessary that everyone believes it. But if a scientist does research and finds out how the brain behaves during pranayama practice: the chemical changes, the type of brainwaves which are emitted and so forth, we can then come to conclusions based on solid scientific evidence that yoga is either good or bad for the brain.

In America, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Europe, Japan and Australia, scientists and doctors are using sophisticated instruments to test the effects of yoga on the mind and the body. Yogic practitioners are exposed to scientific scrutiny. During the practice of a particular asana or pranayama, instruments register the effects and changes that take place in the body and the mind From these tests, scientists have come to the conclusion that yogic practices make the brain very efficient; memory and concentration become very sharp and grasping power and the ability to recall facts and figures increase.

Even children who are mentally retarded, who have intelligence much below average, are being taught yoga practices in clinics and in institutions. For a period of one full year they are taught a few asanas, one or two types of pranayama, concentration on a yantra (psychic symbol of a geometrical nature) and by these practices their brain faculties and intelligence improve, Therefore, yoga has to become the prime subject in schools. Without intelligence, learning in school is of no use, because whatever the teacher teaches is completely forgotten, or it does not even enter the brain. So, more emphasis has to be given to scientific yoga tuition in schools. Not only considering what is to be taught but how it should be taught effectively.

Benefits of yoga postures

What then is asana, pranayama and concentration? These points need to be understood by all. Certain postures are known as asana: bhujangasana (cobra pose), shalabhasana (locust pose), sarvangasana (shoulder stand pose), and matsyasana (fish pose) are a few examples, but there are many more. These asanas are physical positions which are maintained for a minute or so, and during this period of practice the endocrine glands in the body, the thyroid, adrenal, pancreas etc., are stimulated and balanced. When these glands start working efficiently, there is a state of balance created in the body, due to which many types of diseases are removed.

Each and every asana has its own specific effect on the body. Bhujangasana, for example, is good for the liver and spine; sarvangasana is good for the thyroid and the abdomen; halasana together with paschimottanasana influences the pancreatic glands; garudasana is good for strengthening the ligaments of the whole body. There are certain asanas which improve eye sight, others improve digestive power, and there are those which improve memory. Some asanas increase height and weight and others bring control into the mind. This control of mind is most important for students because without it they cannot study properly. And when they cannot study properly, they have to do some dishonest business during examinations.

In regard to the practices of yoga, it is necessary to understand one fact: asana and physical exercises should not be equated and compared with each other. The exercises and physical training you do is necessary for the development of your body and muscles. But asanas are curative; they are therapeutic, and they act upon the internal organs, such as the heart, lungs, nervous system, excretory system, reproductive system and the other systems that we have in the body. Yogasanas improve the overall condition and health of the inner organs of the entire body.

Practice of pranayama

Pranayama are breathing practices in which you breathe in a particular way or retain the breath for a fixed period of time. You should get yourself properly trained and corrected by a good teacher because pranayama is a very scientific and exact system of techniques. Merely breathing through the nose is not enough. Your health depends on the way that you breathe. If you breathe incorrectly, you will have a tendency towards disease. Many people breathe only from the chest. Others contract their tummy during inhalation and expand it during exhalation. This is totally wrong. First the breathing has to be corrected.

The practices of pranayama directly influence the mind and brain. Those students who suffer bad cough and cold, migraine, poor intelligence; who sleep too much and whose minds are fickle and restless should definitely practise five minutes pranayama daily. There are over thirty types of pranayama, but one in particular is good for students and for children. This is known as nadi shodhana and it can be practised as follows:

Sit in padmasana (lotus pose) or siddhasana (perfect pose) with your spine upright and straight. Close your eyes. Inhale through the left nostril; exhale through the left. Do five or ten rounds and then change nostrils. This is the first stage. When this has been perfected, inhale through the left nostril, then slowly exhale through the right nostril. Again inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left. Do this practice very slowly with a short rest in between each round. Practise five rounds daily.

Then you should learn how to stop your breath. After inhalation, hold your breath for five seconds; if this is not possible, then hold it for three seconds. Stopping the breath for this short period of time is very useful for the improvement of intelligence and memory. If the breath can be easily held for longer periods then so much the better, but there should be no strain.

These practices should be done in the morning when the stomach is empty. Remember this point very well: asana and pranayama should not be practised with a loaded stomach. Children and students come to school after eating their breakfast. If they do asana and pranayama with a loaded stomach, they will not derive full benefits and it may even be harmful. Therefore, school and college authorities should arrange things in such a way that yoga is taught at school, but the children should be asked to practise it at home.

Concentration practices for memory and recall

Yogic practices to concentrate the mind are also very essential for children and students. Concentration is of two types: on one point and on a series of objects. For the second type you should sit down quietly with eyes closed and remember a number of items, which you should know by heart, and try to visualise them. You can visualise anything, whether a banana leaf, an apple, the rising sun, the half moon, tidal waves and so forth according to your choice. However it is much better to select things from nature which are soothing to your mind like the sky, the stars, flowers, fruits, birds and animals, and not such things as a motor car, a factory or an engine. Choose as many things as you wish; ten, then twenty, then thirty and then forty. You can go up to one hundred items.

By doing these types of practices, you will improve your memory power. First start with ten objects. But you must remember that the sequence of objects should be the same every day and should not change. If you can remember and visualise one hundred objects in one sitting and go on seeing them like a dream, you will develop a fantastic memory. These objects should also include colours and mantra such as Om or Om Namah Shivaya, etc. Even yantras (geometrical figures) can be utilised and visualised. If you have not seen any, then ask your teacher. These yantras are very powerful in influencing the subconscious and unconscious mind. Psychologists and scientists say that these geometrical figures work directly on the deeper levels of mind. There are numerous yantras: sri yantra, tara yantra, surya yantra, gayatri yantra, baglamukhi yantra and so on. Many yantras are associated with chakras or psychic centres, each of which has a specific mantra, colour and ishta devata (presiding deity). All of these concentration practices greatly improve memory.

It is not, however, sufficient merely to have a good memory. You must also have the ability to recall at any time what is in the mind. This is very important, for example, at the time of examinations. When we talk about memory, we must know that side by side with the power of retention, we should also have the capacity to recall facts efficiently when required. Many children are very bright but they cannot write or pass examinations etc. because they do not have the power or capacity to recall. To be able to recall facts and figures it is necessary to practise this type of dharana (concentration) on the flow or sequence of objects, mantra, yantra, etc. You can try your own sequence, and you can start practising from tomorrow. The best time is at night before going to sleep. You will have good dreams and also a deep, restful sleep.

Willpower and one-pointedness

The other type of concentration practice is on one point. Decide on one point. Close your eyes and try to visualise, to develop that point. Try to manifest that point. Try to make that point as clear as you would see it outside, but with the eyes closed. Suppose you are trying to concentrate on a sunflower. Close your eyes and try to see it. If you cannot, then try again. Keep on trying for days, weeks and months, and ultimately you will be able to see that yellow petalled sunflower with perfect clarity. It will manifest suddenly, and when it comes to you, it is an indication that your mind has attained a state of one-pointedness.

A concentrated mind is a powerful mind and a dissipated mind is a weak mind. Those who want to develop willpower must first of all develop a concentrated mind. A dissipated mind cannot have willpower. Take a magnifying glass and put it in front of some paper in the sun. The rays of the sun will quickly burn the paper because the rays have been concentrated. Remove the magnifying glass and the rays of the sun can do nothing to the paper. Why? Because now the sun’s rays are dissipated. When the rays of the sun are concentrated, they develop such power that they can burn paper or almost anything.

In the same way, your thoughts are either dissipated or concentrated. If they are scattered, then they can be brought into concentrated focus by specific yogic practices. Then your mind will become so powerful you can influence other minds. You can influence your character, your whole life and your own health or sickness. If you have a stomach disorder, mental disorder, breathing disorder, or any disorder, you can remove it by willpower alone. How then can one develop willpower? The secret is to learn to concentrate the mind on one point.

What type of point should be utilised? Any point can be used: a black dot, a star, a little flower or the flame of a candle. You can select any one point for yourself upon which you can focus your mind. Gradually, with practice, you will find that the mental focus becomes smaller and smaller. You will start to develop enormous willpower and then many benefits will come into your life. If you want to get up at four o’clock in the morning it will not be necessary for you to put on the alarm clock. You will be able to tell your mind to get up at 3.50 or 3.55 a.m. and at exactly that time you will wake up, because the mind is more capable than an alarm clock. Of course, at present, if you have weak willpower, you will have to continue to depend on an alarm clock to wake you up. Otherwise you will miss your bus or train in the morning, or you will arrive late for your examination.

Quality of mind

What is meant by a strong mind? A strong mind is one which can fulfil its decisions. In contrast, a weak mind is a mind which thinks but does not do. From tomorrow I am going to work hard in my studies; from tomorrow I am going to do asana and pranayama; from tomorrow I am not going to do this or that… but next morning you forget everything. You are still the same wretched being. Why? Because your mind is dissipated. All those great men about whom you have read in history, whether they were painters, artists, sculptors, saints, politicians, statesmen, writers, novelists, engineers or scientists – all those great men were not made by a freak of nature. They became great just by the quality of their mind. Rabindranath Tagore became a great poet, not because he had faculties that you do not have, but because he had a strong mind. He had a concentrated and hence a gifted mind.

Remember that you cannot be anything or do anything worthwhile without quality of mind. If you are ambitious, if you want to do something in life and if you want to get to the top in your career and in your education, merely thinking about it is not sufficient. The quality of your mind has to be improved. If you have a low quality mind then your performance in all spheres will also be poor. If the quality of your mind is very high then your performance must be correspondingly great. To develop a high quality mind you will have to analyse yourself and your aims. And you will have to give some time to the practice of yoga every day, both in the morning and in the evening.

Swami Vivekananda used to go to a library in America and borrow big, thick books and read them in one night. He would borrow one book and the very next day he would return the same book to the librarian. The librarian thought that this fellow was playing games. How could he read such big books on philosophy or science in one day. It should take at least a few weeks or even months per book. He asked Swami Vivekananda, ‘What do you do with the books, do you really read them?’ Swami Vivekananda answered, ‘Yes, you can ask me anything about the contents and I will answer you directly’. The librarian asked him many questions and was surprised to find that Swami Vivekananda not only read the books from cover to cover, but that he also read the back titles, publishers’ names, editors’ names, etc.

How did Swami Vivekananda do it? There are two ways: one is through the mind and the other is through what we call intuition. The first method utilises the lower mind: you read all your lessons and try to understand and remember them. The second method requires that you look at the reading matter and mentally photograph it. This is only possible when you are able to concentrate and meditate.

Body, head and heart

Yoga is essential for everyone who has a body, a mind and emotions. You have a head, a heart and a body. In order to keep these together, you will have to do something. Don’t merely depend on medicine, on recreation or on the study that you are doing. You should look after the welfare of your body, head and heart. If these three things work in union with each other then you will be successful in life. You will be happy, and in the course of time the country and your community will be very proud of you. Today you are studying science. After a few years you will leave school and start work. You will become officers, factory workers, housewives, doctors, nurses, engineers and so on. If you improve the quality of your personality and mind… then and only then will you become a useful member of your community and the country.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Feb,198

As you know, our bodies are composed of blood, flesh, bones, marrow, water, wind, electricity, etc., and when we practise the pawanmuktasana series of exercises, we are definitely affecting these components of the body. However, the pawanmuktasana exercises are not only meant for the physical body. Of course we perform these exercises through the physical body and many of us practise pawanmuktasana to maintain or restore our physical health, but as well as inducing positive effects in the physical body, our psychic centres are also influenced.

When we practise asanas, by transferring our weight from one part of the body to another, and by stretching, expanding or contracting our limbs, muscles or joints, we are generating electricity within the body. And by increasing the voltage of electrical energy or prana in the body, excess body fat and wind are assimilated and accumulations of water are evaporated. Of course our bloodstream is also purified and our muscles and joints become more flexible.

Through pawanmuktasana we can increase our quantum of prana and improve its quality. Then, with this prana we can awaken our sukshma chakras, the subtle glands which are responsible for our divine or higher spiritual being. With this awakening you may visualise some peculiar things or have some pleasant dreams, but these experiences do not represent the awakening nor do they always accompany the awakening. When the chakras are activated the body becomes light and nirogya.

In order to eliminate disease, you may practise some major asanas for months or years without seeing any results, but if you start practising pawanmuktasana,

it will immediately begin to heal any disease. Well, you might have to change the sequence of pawanmuktasana, but in the whole range of diseases right from diabetes to hypertension or even from constipation to cancer or any other kind of sickness, pawanmuktasana brings about steady improvement. The reason being that pawanmuktasana promotes the generation of internal electricity. Exercise alone is not responsible for generating more prana. What is more important is the composition of the exercises, the way we move our limbs, the sequence in which the exercises are practised and the way in which we perform them.

So, pawanmuktasana is a carefully designed series of exercises which anybody can practise. Even a convalescent lying on the bed can practise some of these exercises. Small children can perform pawanmuktasana. And there is not one disease in which pawanmuktasana can cause harm.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Jan- 1983)

The process of respiration has three components. Pooraka is inspiration of air, kumbhaka means retention, and rechaka is expiration. It can be said that kumbhaka is pranayama and pranayama is kumbhaka, not pooraka and rechaka, which are natural processes. Kumbhaka is again of three types. Bahir kumbhaka is retention of breath at the end of expiration. Antar kumbhaka means holding the breath after inspiration of air, and kevala kumbhaka or sahaja kumbhaka implies holding the breath with no particular state of respiration in consideration. Kevala kumbhaka is one of the final stages of yoga parallel with the state of samadhi. Bahir kumbhaka is not used very often. Hence we shall consider antar kumbhaka i.e. retention or holding the breath after fully inspiring or taking in air.

What happens in kumbhaka

The physicochemical process of diffusion is dependent mostly on the extent of surface area available for the process to take place, the condition of the membrane in between, and the pressure of gases on either side of the membrane. The process of diffusion, especially of gases as occurs in respiration, is not so much dependent on the time factor. Once the pressure of gases is equalised on either side of the membrane, diffusion comes to a standstill. Hence, withholding the breath for a longer time does not afford any advantage as far as the exchange of gases is concerned. What then could be the advantages derived from kumbhaka?

The rate of the heart is slowed in inspiration. With a slower rate, the resting period of the heart- the diastole- is prolonged. Not only does the heart muscle receive more rest, but the cavities of the heart are also better filled with blood. During the next pumping action of contraction (systole), more blood is pushed into circulation with a better force. Thus general circulation is improved.

During kumbhaka no new air is entering the lungs, so no more oxygenation is taking place. The oxygen tension in the blood is reduced. Up to a certain level this has an advantage. The brain is most sensitive to this lowered oxygen tension, as its needs for oxygen are the greatest. If the quality of the blood is below par, the brain tries to get more blood in quantity.

In the brain and even elsewhere in the body, all the capillaries are not functioning at all times. Some of them are lying dormant in a collapsed or closed state. In order to receive a greater quantity of blood, these capillaries are opened up. The effect is more marked in the brain. Thus cerebral anoxia leads to cerebral vasodilation, more capillaries open up and circulation improves.

It must be emphasised that this effect is beneficial up to a certain optimum level only. Beyond this level it is distinctly harmful. Hence, it is always stressed that the practice of kumbhaka must be undertaken with the guidance of an experienced teacher. The practice of pranayama has fallen into disrepute in the eyes of the public, mainly because of the malpractice of breath retention. This explanation of cerebral anoxia, causing cerebral vasodilation, applies equally well to the practice of bahir kumbhaka.

Slow rechaka

The third phase of respiration is expiration. Expiration is a passive act. For stretching a rubber band one needs a conscious effort, while once the active action is released the rubber automatically assumes its original position. The same principle applies to the act of respiration. But the yogic act of rechaka is a slow, guided and controlled process. It should take double the time taken for inspiration.

The first advantage of slow respiration is mechanical. With a sudden release the rubber or the elastic tissue in the lungs will snap back violently, but with a slow release it will maintain its elasticity. The major advantage of slow rechaka, however, is in the brain and psyche. The conscious effort required for slow release needs the help of the cerebral cortex of the brain. The cerebral cortex sends inhibitory impulses to the respiratory centre in the midbrain. These inhibitory impulses from the cortex overflow into the adjoining area of the hypothalamus concerned with emotions, and quieten this area. Hence, the soothing effect of a slow expiration.

It also helps the next stage of ashtanga yoga i.e. pratyahara. Pratyahara means drawing in of the senses and the thought processes. The human mind is like a child. If it is asked not to do a certain thing, it will deliberately try to do it. Hence it is better to give a positive suggestion to a child as well as to the human mind. Instead of asking it to stop thinking, it is given the positive suggestion of observing the respiration. Thus the senses and the thought processes are automatically switched off.

Throughout our life, we are breathing continuously, and involuntarily, day in and day out, during waking and sleeping states. The very first instruction in the teaching of pranayama is to observe this breathing process as it is going on naturally, without trying to modify it. Even this simple act has a physiological implication. Automatic respiration is controlled by the respiratory centre, situated in the midbrain. But once we become aware of the process of respiration, its control shifts to the cerebral cortex. This involvement of the cerebral cortex causes the cortex to develop. Further development of the cerebral cortex leads to a higher stage of the evolutionary cycle.

Bhastrika

Bhastrika or the bellows type of pranayama expels the gases from the stomach. One feels like belching while performing bhastrika. This is entirely a mechanical effect.

The recti and the other anterior abdominal wall muscles are well exercised during bhastrika. If these muscles are properly developed, the intestines and other organs in the abdominal cavity get proper support from the front. These organs are attached to the spinal column and are loosely hanging in the abdominal cavity. If they have no support in front, they cause a stretch on the lumbar spine leading to low back pain. But by developing the front muscles, and affording a support to intestines from the front, this strain on the spine is lessened, and the back pain is relieved. Due to this frontal support, the circulation of the intestines improves and hence they function better.

There is a lot of stagnant blood collected in the splanchic venous pool of the intestines. This stagnant blood is pumped out thus increasing the amount of blood in circulation.

Bhastrika exercises the diaphragm, which is a major component in the process of respiration, and renews the residual air in the lungs. Bhastrika is a process of hyperventilation, leading to respiratory alkalosis, which has a soothing effect on the respiratory centre. Hence it is observed that we can perform a better kumbhaka after doing bhastrika. Bhastrika also has certain yogic influences on the anahata and manipura chakras.

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(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Jan, 1983)

At Bihar School of Yoga we have managed patients suffering from cancers and tumours of all types and grades of severity. Many sufferers come to the ashram at a late stage, having undergone prior radiation, surgery or chemotherapy. Others come with only the diagnosis, having rejected the conventional modes of therapy. Still others present without diagnosis, but with symptomatology of early or late cancer.

Our conclusions concerning cancer are derived from many years of experience in yoga therapy and are in agreement with those of medical science:

1. In its advanced stages, cancer is by and large a fatal disease, even though there have definitely been remarkable exceptions. However, by yogic practices we have found that the predicted rate of progression and growth of cancer can be markedly inhibited, and life extended beyond conventional expectations.

Yogic practices frequently bring single or multiple remissions in cancer symptoms. Sometimes all clinical and laboratory evidence of cancer disappears from the body, either temporarily or permanently. However, we have found that after an exacerbation of symptoms, it becomes more difficult to attain a subsequent remission.

2. In its early stages, cancer is frequently an eminently curable condition.

Victor or victim

Where then, do yogic therapy and medical science differ regarding cancer? In the first place, we will never go searching for occult cancer, if it has not declared itself openly. This is because we recognise that a diagnosis of cancer today is often tantamount to imposing a death sentence, much like ‘pointing the bone’ in more primitive societies. Similarly, we realise the awesome role of the untrained and undisciplined human mind in bringing about its own demise by unconsciously living up to its own self-fulfilling prophecies or the expectations and fears of family, friends and the community at large.

In succumbing to or overcoming cancer, between the two extremes of the condition, it is the mind and its inherent powers which are man’s sole enemy and his only friend. It is the mind which determines whether one emerges the victor or the victim. These latent mental capacities are developed in the cancer patient specifically by yoga therapeutics. We utilise asanas, pranayamas,; relaxation, meditation, kriyas and amaroli (shivambu kalpa), according to specific indications.

Science has revealed that the mind changes the hormonal levels in the bloodstream and alters the immune responses. The white cell (lymphocyte) count of the blood has been found to rise within hours of specific visualisations in yoga nidra. The next step is to recognise and acknowledge the direct influence of mental mechanisms in developing cancer, and also in counteracting it.

Reducing autotoxification

Secondly in yoga therapy, great emphasis is placed upon the cleansing and regenerating kriyas of hatha yoga. These promote the elimination of accumulated waste products and metabolic toxins from the digestive tract and the bloodstream, and rectify the states of physiological imbalance which precedes the development of cancer and other chronic, degenerative and auto-immune conditions. This aspect is sadly neglected by modern medical science, where a state of chronic constipation approaching auto-toxicity is often tolerated as normal for years. This is probably because medical science evolved within the climatic milieu of Europe where the low residue, high saturated fat and animal protein diet has led to an almost universal state of constipation. This is the major reason for the enormous incidence of lower bowel cancer in the European communities today.

Can you imagine the build up of toxic wastes and residues in a chronically constipated colon after 10 or 20 years? This is the murky breeding ground not only for cancer, but also diverticular disease, hepato-biliary disease, lymphoma and other lymphoproliferative disorders, cutaneous manifestations such as psoriasis, lyphogranuloma and so on. For this reason, shankhaprakshalana (complete intestinal cleansing) is performed routinely by all those with digestive disturbances, constipation and high tissue toxicity.

We have reason to believe that this practice reduces the subsequent incidence of bowel cancer by correcting precancerous conditions. It also appears to eliminate ‘cancers-in-embryo’, the developing seeds of cancer. From a consideration of cancer cell dynamics, these ‘cancers-in-situ’ must be growing symptomatically for up to 5 years prior to detection of active malignancy.

Short sighted faith

The fundamental departure point between yogic and medical sciences is that yoga is directly concerned with health, while medical science has focused its attention upon disease. Please be aware that this is not just a minor semantic difference. By focusing its attention upon cancer, medical science is making a commitment to that disease. As a result, medical men are bound to encounter it more and more, if not in themselves, then certainly in their patients. This is the natural and inevitable law of cause and effect. We shape our own futures and we bring down our destiny upon ourselves. More importantly, as doctors and physicians, we actually create the future for those patients who look to us with full faith. Our own capacities for faith are therefore on trial. Consciously or unconsciously, our own thinking and expectations play such a major role in the outcome of cancer therapy. This is why every physician and surgeon should practise yoga and nurture the capacity for faith culture and wish fulfilment.

The mind of man is enormously powerful. It can produce anything it wants. You can see this clearly if you read such scriptures as Yoga Vasistha or the autobiography of any individual who has risen to greatness in any sphere of life through his own efforts. We don’t even have to seek something consciously. It is not necessary to wish for it. In fact, we may wish and hope to avoid cancer, and still develop the disease. Fear is an important cause of cancer. It is the root or underlying samskara.

This is a truth which we have to face if we are ever to solve the mysteries of cancer. Man is developing cancer because deep down in his mind, and in his cellular structure as well, he is generating cancer cells. Those who want to understand and solve the riddle of cancer will have to tackle the disease at precisely this point. And through the practices of yoga this can best be done.

Unless medical science can recognise that matter is a mirror of mind, then there will never be a solution to the ‘cancer problem’. ‘Cures’ will come and go, but cancer will remain with us. It is inevitable. Today methotrexate is the wonder drug, tomorrow it may be laetrile or interferon- but these also are only the manifestations of our short sighted faith. We place our faith in wonder drugs – first one, then another, but the only real wonder drug is yoga.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Jan, 1983)

Over the years interest in yoga as a therapeutic science and a science of bettering our lives at all levels has increased phenomenally. At the same time the number of practitioners and exponents of yoga has multiplied so much that we are experiencing a renaissance within the field. With the various claims of yoga unsubstantiated by the scientific community, the role of yoga and its limitations have not yet been fully defined. Indeed, it seems that the only limitations that yoga possesses are within the individual not the science itself. The claims and subjective experiences of yoga now stand ready for unbiased and rigorous investigation.

The diabetes and asthma camp held at Kanpur in September 1982 was one step on the way towards better understanding of yoga’s potential. It was a highly successful event at both the clinical and research levels. All the diabetic patients who completed the course were found to have lowered their blood sugar levels after stopping their medicines.

The camp was organised by the Lions Club, Kanpur City, and the Principal of the G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur, extended close co-operation. Professor K.K. Sikka, Department of Medicine, and Professor S. Varma, Department of Physiology, organised the research side of the project while Dr. Swami Shankardevananda of the Bihar School of Yoga took classes and correlated the yogic and medical sides.

This camp was conducted in order to decide how future research and camps would be run to maximum advantage. Though it is still too early to make any final claims about the results from the project, as this will depend on long term follow up, the results were dramatic and deserve to be highlighted at this particular point of time.

Diabetes research

30 patients presented themselves as being diabetic and after screening, 14 patients were found to have a positive diabetic history. Of these 14 patients, 3 did not complete the course.

Ages ranged from 33 to 56 years. All were maturity onset diabetics and 9 were taking medication at the time the camp started. Of these 9 people, 4 still showed elevated blood sugar levels.

At the start of the course all patients stopped their medications and continued with their diabetic diet. Fasting and post prandial (1½ hrs after food) blood sugar levels were taken. They began a course which covered the following practices.

Asana: pawanmuktasana parts one and two; surya namaskara, shashankasana, ushtrasana and vajrasana. Pranayama: nadi shodhana, brahmari and ujjayi. Hatha yoga: laghoo shankhaprakshalana, kunjal and neti. Relaxation: yoga nidra and simple ajapa japa.

At the end of the two week course, fasting and post prandial blood sugar levels were taken again. All the subjects expressed their feelings of subjective well being and freedom from such symptoms as tension, headaches and digestive ailments after the course.

The following table describes the results of the trial so far.

F- fasting, PP- post prandial, all values are in milligrams percent. (Normal F is equal to 80-120, Normal PP is equal to less than 140.)

It should be noted that the blood levels on the 11.9.82 were taken 2 to 3 days after stopping diabetic medication which may still have been exerting an effect, even though it was wearing off. This may explain the apparently normal first blood values for patients 3,4,7. It is also possible, in terms of patient compliance and understanding, that some of these people may have taken medicines even after being told to stop. After reinforcement of the instructions all patients eventually stopped medications, so that the second blood values are an accurate indication of blood sugar minus the effects of medication.

Patients 1,2,5,6,8,9,10,11 are obviously showing diabetes or diabetic tendency before starting yoga. Patient 1 was a known diabetic for 15 years taking medications daily. Patient 2 recorded F270 on the 23.8.79 and was not adequately controlled by medications.

Patient 3 recorded F125, PP180 on 3.8.75 and was also controlled by medication. Patient 4 recorded F100, PP200 on 17.9.78 and was controlled by medications, Patient 5 recorded F172 on the 3.9.82 and PP231 on the 7.9.82. Patient 6 recorded PP252 on 7.9.82. Patient 7 could not locate his old records. Patient 11 had a past history of PP185.

Discussion on diabetes

It is obvious that future camps and research will require better selection and preparation of patients. Medications should be stopped at least one week before starting yoga and blood sugar levels should be recorded along with a fuller medical history. This is, of course, essential if the research is to be scientifically acceptable. Also, long term follow up of the cases is presently underway under the control of the Department of Medicine, G.S.V.M. Medical College, Kanpur.

This research, as it stands, highlights two very important points valuable from both the patients’ and the doctors’ point of view. The first is that yoga has been able to dramatically lower blood sugar levels quickly and effectively, without the need for medicines and therefore minus the risk of side effects. The second point is that all the patients experienced subjective well being.

All doctors know that at present the outlook for diabetic patients, even those who are reasonably well controlled, is very poor. They face blindness, heart and kidney disease, amputation of limbs and generalised debility and fatigue which by itself makes life miserable. One of the dilemmas of medical therapy is how much we should tell patients about their prognosis. The situation exists because we, as doctors, have not had any mode of cure and have had to be content with palliating the course of the disease so that the complications of diabetes are at least reduced. We know they will occur in 99 percent of cases to some degree and often we do not want to scare the patient and make his life a neurotic misery of worry and concern for the future.

One of the problems of not educating our patients fully is that they tend to disregard dietary instructions and do not comply with medications. In the initial stages of diabetes this is understandable as often the disease is mild and diabetics do not suffer pain or receive any other impetus to follow seemingly unreasonable requests from doctors. Later they may have cause to regret their folly as complications arise. It is, therefore, a reasonable argument to try to scare the patient into compliance.

With the addition of yoga into the doctors’ armament of available techniques a new door is opened on the therapeutic side of diabetes. As yoga is a viable alternative for most diabetics, especially uncomplicated cases of maturity onset diabetes, and as a proven method of body weight control, it should be offered to all diabetic patients in the above category. This is only fair to the patient as there is no other avenue known to this date which has been able to affect sugar metabolism as quickly as yoga has shown it can do. If the patient has even the slimmest chance of improving, or at least maintaining his health, he should be offered this alternative. No time should be wasted. Telling the patient of his prognosis without proper dietary, medical and yogic control may be warranted in an attempt to start the patient taking responsibility for himself and helping himself. This will also make the doctor’s job easier.

All diabetic therapy should be either undertaken under the expert control of a yogic therapist in an ashram situation or in a diabetic outpatient clinic in a hospital. Preferably both facilities should be available.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Jan, 1983)

Research into states of consciousness is by no means a new innovation. Since time immemorial the more evolved human beings have sought access to the inner worlds and have devised countless techniques for exploring consciousness and the physical realm, from asana, pranayama and meditation to the whirling dance of the dervishes, sleep deprivation, pain, pleasure, fasting and isolation from society.

All methods have one thing in common, the alteration of the normal perception of reality in an attempt at freedom from the confines and limitations of conditioned ‘normality’ and material existence, with its built-in component of suffering.

Yoga and psychology

Though psychologists have been trying to synthesise a coherent and workable science of mind they have not even been able to answer the first most basic and fundamental question, “What is mind?”, let alone solve their own mental problems through present day psychological techniques. It is not surprising that many psychologists have themselves turned to meditation and esoteric techniques in an effort to heal themselves and develop a synthesis between western and eastern techniques, as occurs, for example in biofeedback, autogenic training and rolfing.

The basic difference between psychological and yogic approaches lies in methodology. The psychologist aims to understand the mind and consciousness through the intellect and, in experiments, through experiences of other people. The yogi aims to experience the mind directly while in a balanced, healthy, meditative state, bypassing the necessity for intellect.

Yoga works on the theory that intellect is only a small and isolated part of the mind, a part which by its very nature is incapable of true understanding and which is better suited to dealing with the ever changing flow of external reality.

Intellectual mind works on the principles of memory (chitta), thought and counter thought (manas) and discrimination (buddhi), and is therefore merely a processor, like a computer, and something we, with our ego or individual identity (ahamkara), make use of to ease our passage through the world of time and space.

True understanding and permanent knowledge, as opposed to facts which change from week to week or generation to generation, lie in the higher realms of mind and intuition. Research into such areas as physics, left and right brain hemispheres, education and learning, and states of consciousness is showing that the reality about us, that once seemed so solid and stable, is not what we thought it was and that our understanding and interpretation is really a matter of our experience and perception, our limitations are self-imposed and a reflection of our own ignorance. Dr. Willis Harman of California’s Stanford Research Institute has stated that we are today experiencing an expansion of the boundaries of science. (*1) He states that, “Science does not deal with reality. Science builds models; it deals with metaphors. Now if there is another set of metaphors that are complementary and which have something to do with reality, fine, we can use these too.”

Whereas psychologists and scientists until now have generally followed traditional research lines by starting with the intellect and then aiming at deeper understanding, there is a newer and increasing trend to follow the yogic approach. Yogis dive deep into meditation so as to experience the source of knowledge and understanding within. Only then does intellect have a part to play in terms of translating our experience into words and other channels of creativity. The experience of reality is one, however, the metaphors to describe it are many.

The necessity of meditation

Meditation is both a process and a state of mind that allows internal and intuitive knowledge to permeate our everyday experience, expanding and enriching our perception and understanding. In order to achieve the state we must undergo the process of reawakening certain faculties which have degenerated under the stress and pressure of materialistic and modern living.

Meditative practice must be systematic and persistent, and it is generally a relatively slow process because we have to overcome all our old conditioning, neuroses and complexes if we are to enter the internal spaces safely and sanely. Eventually the process becomes a way of life for we use our time in meditation to improve our everyday, waking state experiences in order to improve our meditative experiences, until ultimately the whole process fuses and no distinction between inner and outer can be made.

By moving inside for a short while, we are not engaging in a futile attempt to escape reality. The process of learning to meditate has many side benefits. For example, research is showing us that meditation actually improves our ability to move through the world. K.S. Blasdell showed that the reaction time and accuracy of meditators, when tested during perceptual motor tasks, was twice as fast and precise as in non-meditators. (*2) Other research is supporting these findings. (*3) Pratyahara research.

The process of internalisation is called pratyahara and involves the ability to withdraw our attention from the sensory channels of external information and refocus on the internal sphere of our existence. We move into direct contact with the mind because we have removed the intermediary barrier of sensual activity. The deeper we go while retaining conscious awareness, the more contact we gain with the hitherto unconscious areas of mind. Pratyahara, however, is not an end point in itself but is a stage on the meditative path that leads to the bliss of transcendental experience.

In an effort to explore inner spaces and altered states of consciousness, people have devised methods to speed up the traditionally slow approach to going inside. Instead of learning to turn off sense activity, scientists have turned off sensations by developing sensory deprivation tanks which isolate the individual from the environment. From sound proof rooms at McGill University, Montreal, to body temperature, water filled tanks which deny light, sound, touch, taste and smell, scientists have found that after initially falling asleep all subjects lost track of time and found it difficult to think seriously or make normal judgements. (*4) Dreams became more frequent and intense and some subjects reported inner experiences of a separate reality that were total, complex and entirely convincing. (*5)

In an effort to explain such phenomena brain researchers have theorised that as the sensory impulses cease to affect our conscious state the reticular activating system, which selects all important sensory stimuli, becomes less active. The same occurs when we sleep, however, when we wake up in an isolation tank there are no new stimuli and therefore we become conscious of our internal state. Internal awareness, according to Andersen and Andersson, maintains itself by a loop circuit between the cerebral cortex, the thalamocortical co-ordinating system and sub-cortical rhythm generators. (*6) This is a concentrated state, called dharana, because energy is not being needlessly dissipated. We can hypothesise that meditators who achieve pratyahara and eventually dharana develop such a circuit over long periods of practice at trying to stay awake during internal states.

The benefits of pratyahara

Some interesting research on conscious development of different states of awareness comes from Dr. Elmer Green, of the Meninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas. (*7) He conducted research on Swami Rama who demonstrated the ability to enter various states of consciousness at will, as evidenced by changes in brainwaves.

He entered alpha waves by visualising an empty blue sky with small white clouds occasionally floating by. Theta waves were produced by stilling the conscious mind and bringing forth the unconscious. He experienced this as an unpleasant, ‘noisy’ state in which desires, ambitions, past experiences, images and memories are experienced. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the experiment was the swami’s ability to remain awake while in a deep sleep-like state.

“Before this test he asked how long I would like to have him remain in the delta state”, reported Dr. Green. “I said that 25 minutes would be all right and he said he would bring himself out at that time. After about five minutes of meditation, lying down with his eyes shut, the swami began producing delta waves, which we had never before seen in his record. In addition, he snored gently. Mrs. Green, who was in the experimental room observing him during this test, without having told the swami that she was going to say anything, then made a statement in a low voice, Today the sun is shining, but tomorrow it may rain.’ Every five minutes she made another statement and after 25 minutes had passed, the swami roused himself and said that someone with sharp heels had walked on the floor above and made a click, click, click noise during the test, and a door had been slammed twice somewhere in the building, and then he repeated Mrs. Green’s statements verbatim.” (*8)

It seems that as one progresses into meditation the mind becomes a much more powerful tool and faculties hitherto unknown become manifest. Firstly, we must prepare ourselves by making the body and nervous system strong and resilient through asana and pranayama. Secondly, we have to relax and slowly become aware of those hidden psycho emotional neuroses and complexes which cause us so much suffering and use up great reserves of mental energy thereby blocking access to deeper realms. Thirdly, we start to resolve these complexes by the balanced use of meditational practice and karma yoga.

The necessities of a guide

Penetrating deep inside oneself without systematic training is hazardous and dangerous and can lead to the discovery of material which the individual cannot handle. This has been known to even cause psychosis. One researcher who was fortunate to escape the perils of a sudden assault on the subconscious mind was John C. Lilly, who used a sensory deprivation tank combined with L.S.D. He states, ‘There was no hope or choice of ever leaving this hell. I was in fantastic pain and terror…’ (*9) He went to his limit of pain and paranoia and thought he would go mad but then burst through into areas of love and enlightenment. Few explorers of the unknown are as lucky as he was.

The path chosen by Lilly and other brave pioneers is not recommended for the seeker of true wisdom and knowledge of the Self. Slow, steady progress under the guidance of those wise and enlightened yogis who have gone before us, trains us to be patient and is, in the long term, a much more balanced and stable approach.

References
*1. Fry, P. & Long, M., Beyond the Mechanical Mind, Australian Broadcasting Commission, 1977.
*2. Blasdell, L.S., The effects of the TM technique upon a complex perceptual motor task’, Sc. Res. T.M. Collected Papers 1976, 1:322-5.
*3. Apelle, S. & Oswald, L.E., ‘Simple reaction-time as a function of alertness and prior mental activity’, Perc. & Mot. Stills, Jan. 1974, 38 (3, part 2): 1263-8.
*4. Watson, L., Supernature, Coronet, 1974, p. 239.
*5. Vernon, J.A., Inside the Black Room, Penguin, 1966.
*6. Andersen, P. & Andersson, S.A., Physiological Basis of Alpha Rhythm, Appleton-Century, 1968.
*7. Green, E. ‘Biofeedback for Mind-Body Self-Regulation: Healing and Creativity’, The Varieties of Healing Experience- Exploring Psychic Phenomena in Healing, The Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine (Transcript) 1971.
*8. ibid.
*9. Lilly, J.C., The Center of the Cyclone, Paladin, 1974, p.95.

(Courtesy : Yo