I am not a yoga expert. My knowledge is very limited but my experience so dramatic that 1 have been asked to write this article. No one could be less eager to discuss their disabilities and ailments publicly than I am, but I reluctantly do so out of sheer gratitude to the person who introduced me to yoga via the teachings of Swami Satyananda. I also hope it might help someone else with similar problems.

My basic trouble is that I was born with a spina bifida, which damaged the nerve controlling the muscles of the feet and the ‘plumbing’. Still, the situation could have been very much worse and I have managed to lead a full life punctuated by orthopaedic operations, which have kept me mobile. As 1 have grown up with these problems I am used to them, but a few years ago I began to feel ill which was rare for me. A fibroid tumour was eventually diagnosed and a hysterectomy performed in December 1976.

Nobody could have looked forward more eagerly to the operation that was to make ‘a new woman of me’. To cut a long story short, it didn’t. Indeed, it seemed to spark off all sorts of trouble and, when asked, all concerned (i.e. my doctor and three assorted consultants) admitted that they had not before come across a combination of hysterectomy and spina bifida.

The medical profession continued to do its best for me and some problems were solved, but 1 continued to feel ill. Life became a bore as I dragged myself around, unable to plan ahead, never feeling very well and for days on end I would unaccountably suffer abdominal pains or attacks of what I could only describe as ‘internal distress’. Added to this were pressing orthopaedic problems. I’ve always had backache if I’m on my feet for long, but I was now also getting it while sitting down. Since I do almost everything sitting down, this was a very serious setback indeed. X-rays revealed no deterioration and my orthopaedic consultant told me gently that my new problem was due to advancing years and I must expect it. I was fitted with a spinal jacket which seemed to me to spell defeat (didn’t help much either). The ‘plumber’ consultant was plainly baffled by my persistent internal symptoms, which I found impossible to describe. He assured me that there was no deterioration of my innards but I was getting older and must expect trouble. My gynaecologist and my local doctor also expressed the opinion that I couldn’t expect to feel the same at 52 as I had at 25.

I had better mention at this point that I have always had a fat face and rosy cheeks and look well even when I feel like death. I suspected my medical advisers of writing me off as a neurotic and who can blame them? I felt humiliated and isolated and prayed desperately that I would get better or die. Through all this my marvellous husband was endlessly patient, endlessly caring and endlessly worried- which was really the worst thing of all. I did my best to hide my distress and not make his life a misery as well but it wasn’t easy.

This state of affairs continued until May 1980 when an old friend from student days flew to England on one of her lightning visits. On this occasion she was fresh from a World Conference of Yoga Instructors in Japan and, noticing that I was creeping about in rather a subdued way, asked me what was wrong. Well, 1 thought she’d be off in a couple of days, so I could tell her. At the end of this dreary recital she said she was sure yoga could help me.

Because she had talked to me about yoga before. I had made enquiries locally in case it could help me but it had meant joining a class which was, for me, out of the question. I begged my friend to give me a lesson during her brief visit. She did and promised to send me a book when she got home. We also discussed the spiritual side to some extent. I do not find this difficult to comprehend as I have been aware of a power and a presence to which I have been able to listen and communicate since I was fourteen years old and lying with both feet in plaster casts, desperately wondering how I was going to live my life and unable to discuss my problems with anyone. Being brought up as a Christian in the Church of England I call this presence and power ‘God’, but the name seems to me to be quite irrelevant. The important thing is that you are never alone.

Some weeks later, Swami Satyananda’s book ‘Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha’ arrived. The first thing that impressed me was that each exercise was, if necessary, accompanied by a health warning under the heading ‘Limitations’ e.g. “Not for people with high blood pressure or a weak heart.” I read and reread the ‘Introduction to Asanas’ and practically learned by heart the theory of the backward bending asanas. My only ambition at this time was to strengthen my back, but I was intrigued by the possibility of additional benefits. With the blessing of consultants and local doctor I got started.

In the firm belief that I must follow the instructions to the letter if I were to give the book a fair trial, I rose at 6 a.m., went into the spare bedroom and lay down in front of an open window with the book on the floor in front of me. In these early days I practised the asanas very, very slowly and carefully, obeying all the instructions to the last detail and, miraculously it seemed to me, everything claimed in the introduction to the backward bending asanas was true. Not only did the back muscles become stronger, but that terrible feeling of internal distress’ began to go. So immediate were the benefits of the three asanas I performed consecutively every day (bhujangasana, ardha shalabhasana and sarpasana) that my one desire on waking each morning was to get into the spare room and practise them, (he book said that these exercises would give the internal abdominal organs a good massage, the mere idea of which astounded me. Yet this must have been exactly what was needed because I felt better every day. I soon got rid of my backache (and the spinal jacket), the plumbing is now more efficient than it has ever been and blinding headaches which had suddenly started to attack me were easily cured by short spells in advasana, the reversed corpse pose. I also added the leg lock posture to my daily program. As my friend said: “It is all so logical.”

It is now November 1981 and I have not once missed my morning yoga since the book arrived from Australia in July 1980. I dare not as I am convinced that its effects are both remedial and preventative. I boast loudly and at some length, to anyone interested, about the virtues of Swami Satyananda’s book and the miraculous improvement that yoga has wrought in me. My husband backs me up enthusiastically with the story of how I cured his ‘almost slipped disc’. He has had this trouble before and it has taken much time and physiotherapy to put it right. On this latest occasion Swami Satyananda’s book and I got him back to normal in a week. I keep a spare copy to lend out and often supply the address of the ashram in London to people who wish to buy a copy.

I cannot imagine that I will ever meet Swami Satyananda, much as I would wish to, but I hope that he reads this because it is my ‘thank-you’ to him.

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1982)

Most of you are familiar with the symbol or diagram of ajna chakra, which has two semicircular petals attached to another circle in the middle. On the left side is written the mantra Ham, on the right Ksham, and in the centre Om. These mantras represent the shabda or vibration of ida, pingala and sushumna nadis.

In scientific terminology, you may relate these to the parasympathetic, sympathetic, and central nervous system. In tantric language, we refer to them as Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati, the three holy rivers of India.

According to yogic understanding, Ham and Ksham, or ida and pingala, represent heat and cold at the three levels of our being. Sometimes the brain works very fast and becomes overheated, or it may be under-heated and move very slowly. Accordingly we say that the person is either suffering from nervous tension or depression.

Imbalance of heat and cold at any level results in disease. Therefore in hatha yoga we have certain cleansing techniques, such as kunjal, neti, vastra dhauti, shankhaprakshalana etc. These were originally devised in order to balance the hot and cold elements, first of all, at the physical level, and then at the emotional and mental levels, because they are all interrelated.

These cleansing kriyas of hatha yoga are very important for the sincere spiritual aspirant. They are not to be regarded as physical or gross practices, but equally respected amongst all the yogic sadhanas.

By the practice of hatha yoga, one can even develop siddhi. There are yogis and saints who have walked on water and flown through the air. Definitely it is possible. By purifying the body, you can make it as light as cotton. This does not mean that the body will be reduced in size and proportion. But through the internal cleansing kriyas the entire system is unloaded and freed of blockages and toxic build ups. This is how the physical body becomes lighter, purer and freer. You know the story of Padmapada, one of the disciples of Adi Shankara who walked upon the water. He was a great yogi and bhakta. Of course, it is said that he attained this, siddhi through his unlimited faith and devotion, but it is also true that he achieved it through the power of yoga.

You also can do the same through the internal purificatory practices of hatha yoga. Not for the sake of show or magic or for attaining siddhi, but for the attainment of paramsiddhi, the ultimate power. Drop by drop, you can fill the ocean. In the same way, first you have to acquire all the other siddhis before you can achieve the ultimate siddhi, the power of enlightenment.

So, don’t doubt all these things. Definitely, as yoga aspirants, you should have faith in this, and not only faith, you must have practical experience. When you have already seen that merely by one asana, say by shashankasana, you can get rid of your asthma, or your depression, or by one pranayama like brahmari, you can get rid of your hypertension or your anxiety, why don’t you believe that these siddhis can be acquired by yogic techniques. So one should not doubt the power of yoga. Always remember that anything and everything is possible. When it is possible to attain nirvana, through the power of yoga, all these other things are so insignificant.

(Recorded during the Teacher Training Course at Bihar School of Yoga, Ganga Darshan on 20.5.82.)

(Courtesy : Yoga Magazine, Sep, 1982)

Have you ever stopped to think about the superabundance of stimulation, ideas and objects which accost our minds every day? We collect beautiful carpets, books and even other people, and then suffer from mental indigestion. Yoga provides an opportunity to unload the mind of all the useless items it has accumulated. Through the practice of yoga we can fast the mind just as we fast the body, and in the process purify our entire being. This is one of the greatest benefits of yoga.

In the physical body there is a continual accumulation of toxins and waste materials formed as by products of digestion, metabolism and infection. When we fast, we relieve the body of the burden of digestion, so that it can devote more energy to the purification process. A general house cleaning ensues, and all of the unused, decaying cells and tissues of the body are broken down and eliminated, along with the poisons.

The same thing happens in the mind. Millions of impressions accumulate at different levels of the mind. These deeply rooted impressions are known as samskaras. They form an unmoveable wall around our own Self. Yogic practices gently chip away at this wall, breaking down the encrusted samskaras so that they can be eliminated and the true Self revealed.

One of the best practices for purifying the mind is mouna, or silence. During mouna, one fasts the mind from its usual heavy diet of continual conversation, interaction and stimulation. In this way mental energy is freed, and can be applied to self-investigation and inner communication. Observance of mouna is also a discipline, a sadhana, which increases self-control and willpower. Control of the tongue is a major step towards control of the mind.

In spiritual life there are many examples of people practising mouna. In the Catholic religion there is a sect called the Trappist Order, which observes complete silence. Mouna has been a well known practice in India from time immemorial; the sadhus who practise it, often for years at a time, are called mounis.

There are varying degrees of mouna. In karna mouna, or control of speech, other forms of communication, such as note writing, gesturing and eye contact, are still permitted. However, when there is total withdrawal from all external communication, this is kastha mouna. Eventually all doubts are cleared from the mind, and the illusory character of the world with all its gunas is realized. This state is known as susupti mouna The highest form of mouna, when all thoughts are completely annihilated, is called maha mouna.

Mouna is a very flexible technique. You don’t need to sit; you don’t need a special place to practise it; you don’t even need to stop your normal activities. It is an experience that you can try either by yourself or in the presence of others. At first you may wish to try it for one day during a weekend, and then continue on a regular basis, once a week or once a month. You should feel fresh and relaxed at the end of the day. Your relaxed mind will be able to fulfil the tasks of the week with accuracy and speed, in a natural spontaneous way.

Mouna should be approached with a positive attitude and a clear sense of purpose. Only tension and frustration will result if it is done out of force or compulsion. However, if you experience some turmoil arising during the practice, don’t worry. It is a natural process of purification taking place on the mental plane.

As the negative samskaras within us are being exhausted, they rise to the surface of the mind, creating momentary disturbances. When this occurs, we should try to maintain some self-awareness and discipline in order to prevent these disturbances from throwing us off balance. However, in the beginning, if we get very angry, nervous or depressed during mouna, it is wise to limit the practice to only half a day.

Mouna is also very useful for transmuting negative expression into divine qualities. Once there was a man in the ashram with a very violent temper. Swamiji told him to practise mouna. After spending a few months in silence, he became a shining personality, emanating love and working very hard. Through the practice of mouna he was able to redirect the energy lost in anger in more positive directions.

The regular practice of mouna changes a person’s whole pattern of communication. His speech becomes more direct, concentrated and clear. When he does choose to speak, his brief words carry great power and meaning. He is able to command the total attention of his listeners, and they are able to hear the deeper truths underlying his words.

If you find the practice of mouna agreeable, once a year you can arrange a more extreme rest for the mind and embark on a ten day silent retreat, The benefits of such a longer retreat are truly remarkable. However, during a long retreat, it is important to keep a good balance of physical work, meditation, a little study and relaxation. Of course, the best idea would be to join ashram life for a period of time. In this way you get the opportunity to practise karma yoga and simple living, and all the useless mental baggage overloading your mind will spontaneously fall away.

(Courtesy Yoga Magazine, May, 1981)

Dr. Swami Karmananda Saraswati, MB, BS (Syd)

There will come a time when drugs will be recognised as the cause of disease and debility rather than as the panacea for all of modern man’s physical and mental anguish. We need drugs today because we lack the strength and self knowledge to confront disease directly and overcome it. This is why drugs are necessary and why they exist in such abundance. Although disease can be healed from within, we lack the willpower necessary to initiate the self healing process. By mobilising our will, we can awaken and direct prana to heal ourselves. Mastery of this science is surely not easy, but even if a few people are able to discover the great secret powers which lie dormant in themselves, and which they can wilfully awaken, then something important has been gained. How can we develop something as intangible as willpower? The best way is through regular practice of yoga.

If we are going to heal ourselves, then we should avoid using drugs as far as possible because they weaken the will, which is man’s only real weapon in healing himself. Drugs lower the natural resistance to disease, while yoga strengthens both the will and the natural resistance. A few examples will illustrate this point very well.

If one develops infective bronchitis in the chest, and takes an appropriate antibiotic, then the bacteria which are multiplying there will be effectively killed and the symptoms magically relieved. The fever will drop, the cough will stop and the patient will feel much better. But has he been cured of his disease? In fact he has not, because the bacterial overgrowth is not the cause of the illness- it is the effect. The prime problem is a weakness, a deficient energy level in the chest region, a blockage or deficiency of prana. Because of this deficiency, the bacteria is able to multiply and the symptoms commence. Only in individuals whose natural resistance is diminished, whose energy is low, will disease come. After all, bacteriologists tell us that we all harbour many bacteria which are known to produce infectious disease, but without developing them. When the prana is deficient and one contracts a disease such as bronchitis, taking an antibiotic may render him free of symptoms, but in fact he is sicker than before. This is because the energy of the respiratory system remains low, but now he is unaware of the deficiency due to removal of symptoms.

How should a case such as infective bronchitis be treated? There are two ways. Firstly, we can utilise antibiotics to remove the symptoms and then adopt a daily program of asanas and pranayama specifically aimed to build up the energy and natural resistance of the respiratory system, This will prevent subsequent infections and by correcting the basic energy deficiency will cure the tendency towards the disease. Secondly, you can rely solely on the powers of body and mind, augmented by yoga, to overcome the infection. This may take longer and requires personal effort, but the rewards are far greater.

Another good example of symptomatic healing is surgical and medical treatment of peptic ulcer. The primary cause of ulcer is mental stress and gnawing anxiety. This results in excessive acid eating a hole in the wall of the stomach or duodenum which has a diminished mucosal resistance of its cellular lining. When the surgeon sews up the hole and removes the exposed nerves there, from contact with the acid secretions of the stomach, the pain is certainly stopped.

But this doesn’t do anything at all about curing the disease- the autonomic nervous system remains exactly as before. Unless one learns how to effectively remove the mental tensions and anxieties, then he will suffer either a recurrent ulcer in a few months or else develop some other more serious, perhaps fatal, disorder later in life, resulting from the ever continuing accumulation of stress and anguish. In this case it would be better to perfect the practice of yoga nidra to remove both cause and symptoms of ulcer through releasing the accumulated stress of daily life. Techniques such as kunjal kriya can be used to fortify the prana of the upper gastrointestinal tract.

How do drugs affect our ability to mobilise our own inner pranic energy for self healing purposes? Firstly, a great effort of concentration is needed to awaken the higher pranic and psychic faculties of man, and liberate healing energy. This concentration can be found only in the face of a pressing stimulus such as pain provides. Once the symptoms are relieved, the impetus to seek the solution is lost.

Secondly, the major tranquillising and hypnotic drugs, as well as the powerful pain relieving agents, disorientate the consciousness and fragment the will. These agents disconnect the junctions of various faculties and dimensions of awareness which are needed in healing. One is no longer fully conscious.

There is recent evidence that the human central nervous system produces very powerful painkilling agents of its own called endorphins. These have been isolated and proved to be many times more powerful than even the most powerful opiates such as morphine and heroin, in pain relief. However, the key to their release and action in the nervous system is not known. It is suggested that these endorphins can be stimulated and released by the wilful expansion of conscious awareness in the face of pain in the bodily systems.

Drugs are not to be condemned, but their indiscriminate use by the spiritual aspirant will cause him to miss valuable experiences. If one is dedicated to self knowledge and a higher understanding, then he can learn a lot through his sicknesses. Of course, drugs can always be resorted to if necessary. They are neither good or bad in themselves- it depends on the situation. However, the level of drug usage today reflects the collective level of man’s awareness. We need drugs to take away the pain of life. To be able to avoid the pains which confront us may be considered a great achievement, but it is also a very mixed blessing. This is because our propensity to experience pleasure can never exceed our ability to tolerate pain. This is one of the most basic facts of life. If the human nervous system is dulled whenever the reality of pain arises, then it is never sensitised to the experience of pleasure either. This is one of the reasons why many people can find nothing but boredom and unfulfilment in modern life. Life becomes mundane as man grows weaker and weaker, madly seeking pleasure and avoiding pain.

We are very proud of modern medical science and its progress, yet we must be careful in assessing its contribution to our demise. The family doctor who is ever ready with his armoury of drugs is indeed a mixed blessing for mankind. By overly relying on his magic bag of tricks, we are forgetting that we can evolve, learn and grow through our pains to greater cosmic understanding and happiness.

Please note, however, that yoga should not be adopted for relief of pain or disease without the guidance of a competent yoga therapist, preferably in an ashram situation.

(Courtesy Yoga Magazine, June, 1979)

Andre Van Lysbeth, Belgium

If it is true that ‘yoga starts where medicine stops’ then why this article? It is precisely because yoga is not only a therapeutic but a discipline, that it deserves interest from the medical profession. Nobody would contest the fact that modern medicine has achieved amazing progress in many fields. Every day new discoveries and medical techniques appear. Surgery undertakes and succeeds in some amazingly daring operations, and antibiotics give more and more control over infectious diseases. Nobody can deny, however, that in the field of degenerative diseases, starting with cardiovascular complaints, medicine is the least equipped. This is because these diseases result from years of all sorts of mistakes in lifestyle and the permanent stress that is produced by civilized life. As long as people happily trespass the most elementary rules of life, medicine will not be able to fully play its part in this particular field. It is true that sports and hygiene are used to palliate the drawbacks of sedentary living. Yoga, however is far more comprehensive, providing solutions which are original and tested over millenniums.

To better understand the principles behind the techniques proposed by yoga, let us examine acupuncture, another oriental discipline which at first glance doesn’t show any analogy with yoga. Acupuncture, which is openly a therapeutic, postulates the existence of a polarized energy animating and circulating through the human body, following certain lines or meridians, not reducible to the anatomic structure known in modern medicine. In acupuncture disease is said to result from a disturbance of the energy body. When the energy circulates wrongly, accumulates in excess or is insufficient, disease occurs. The implantation of gold or silver needles in the well known points stimulates or redistributes the energy and health is recovered.

Yoga bases its action on a similar principle. The energy, called chi in acupuncture is called prana in yoga. Prana is a term covering all energy able to act in any being, every kind of energy known or still to be discovered. Yogis have a dynamic concept of the human state in its totality. They conceive it as an energy transformer. Even the mind is considered to be a modality of the energy force manifested in a human being; there is continuity between all levels of existence in man.

In acupuncture the implantation of needles acts on the patient, who doesn’t take any active role. In yoga, however, the patient himself modifies and controls all his physical and mental energies with the help of asanas, pranayama and meditation techniques. Every living being is constantly going through energy transformations, but this process is ordinarily not within one’s conscious control. Yoga starts when there is deliberate control of this process. This explains the physical achievements of yogis proven by the experiments of such eminent researchers as doctor Therese Brosse.

The yogis were great observers. A physician of the last century would have smiled if he was told that the air we breathe contains subtle energies directly assimilable by our organism, energies which differ from the mixture of gases that constitute air. Nowadays we are aware of the existence and the importance of negative ions. In France there is a medical association that studies ionization of the air and its physiological and therapeutic effects.

Asanas

The main objective of asanas is to stimulate and harmonize the circulation of energies and increase their absorption. Of course, at the same time they also bend the spine forwards and backwards, or twist it to ensure total flexibility and stimulation of the nerve centres of the spinal cord and the sympathetic system. Asanas are performed in a relaxed way, with breath control and concentration on specific points; the final pose can be held for one or more minutes.

Next we will examine the effects of asanas. Bearing in mind that the same principles are behind practically all the yogic postures, we will use one basic posture called sarvangasana, the shoulder stand, for an example. It is an inverted pose, having important repercussions on the circulation, and one that is often practiced in gymnastics. Holding it for one minute or more results in a series of physiological effects that we wouldn’t get if we only held it for a few seconds. The accompanying diagram shows the final position in which the adept relaxes and breathes as slowly and deeply as possible.

Effects on blood circulation

This inverted pose has a deep influence on the blood circulation, venous as well as arterial, requiring from the adept only a minimum effort, that of holding the posture once he has assumed it. It is gravity that does the actual work.

The vertical position is exclusive to human beings and from the perspective of evolution, it is a recent adaptation. In quadruped mammals, the torso stays parallel to the ground and consequently gravity acts uniformly. In man, however, the circuit being vertical makes the influence of gravity more powerful. It particularly affects the venous circulation below the level of the heart, especially the lower parts. In fact, for blood to flow up again towards the heart and then back towards the lungs, it must fight against gravity. This process is aided by the contractions of the muscles that compress the veins, whilst walking, for example, but now the civilized person walks less and less. In old times when man still lived in nature, the fight for survival compelled him to exercise enough to ensure this return of venous circulation. Among sedentary civilized people, insufficient muscular contractions due to lack of exercise result in a venous stasis or slowing down of circulation in the legs and abdominal organs. Venous circulation is aided in its return to the heart by the sucking action of the diaphragm and the lungs. Here also, sedentary man is the loser since his breathing is superficial and the role of vacuum pump played by the lungs is reduced to its simplest expression.

In quadruped animals the organs remain in place because they are suspended from the spine like clothes hanging on a line to dry. In civilized man the abdominal wall is often not strong enough to keep the organs in place, which doesn’t help the blood circulation. One minute in sarvangasana, however, allows large amounts of stagnant blood to be recycled by the effects of gravity. Along with this we can add the effects of the vacuum pump of the lungs, since the practitioner breathes deeply in the final pose.

In parts of the body situated above the heart level, it is the arterial blood that must fight against gravity. . . and against the necktie and shirt collar that are often too tight. The civilized person is cerebral. In sarvangasana an important flow of blood goes towards the head, giving the brain a good rinse. It is not surprising that after a day of intense mental work, one or two minutes in this posture will completely refresh you.

Endocrine glands

Research into the physiological effects of postures and yogic exercises has been carried out since 1924 in an Indian laboratory, subsidized by the government, where a team of doctors with modern equipment at their disposal devote their time exclusively to this. Their research published in a magazine Yoga Mimansa has shown that yoga postures act strongly on the endocrine glands. In sarvangasana, the compression of the chin against the sternum acts on the thyroid. This action may be insufficient to provide a major therapeutic reaction in the case of pathological disturbances of this gland, but it is sufficient to stimulate and maintain the thyroid in a state of optimal functioning.

Now let us return to the importance of holding the final pose. It is quite obvious that the above mentioned effects would occur only in a very superficial and short term way if the posture is held for only a few seconds. Holding the pose for a minute or more evidently intensifies these effects, but it is still true that considerable benefits can be achieved which would have been hard to obtain from any ordinary form of exercise, in the same amount of time and especially with so little muscular effort. This last point is particularly important because the blood is circulated without any strain on the heart. Yoga doesn’t involve any violent muscular effort. This point is especially important for sedentary people whose muscles are usually weak and untrained.

Awareness and relaxation

Another aspect must be approached now, an essential aspect, when all our activities are oriented towards the outside world all day long. Yoga is, by definition, a method of developing inner awareness. While performing the posture the aspirant directs all his attention to what is happening in the inside world. He makes an effort to listen to his body, to become aware of it, to feel it living. He goes inside the particular places where the posture acts with more intensity. For the yogis, this active participation of the conscious mind is one of the essential elements of yoga. It is this that harmonizes the circulation of the subtle energies which we spoke about previously.

Muscular relaxation also plays an important role. The exercises have to be performed and the attitudes maintained with a minimum of muscular effort, using only the muscles that are necessary to hold the posture. This not only creates a feeling of relaxation, in fact real relaxation, but confers to the adept a better control of his muscular system even in his everyday actions.

The advantages

This muscular relaxation; deeper, slower breathing; activation of the blood circulation, adding to the action on the spine (which we have hardly mentioned but is important in other postures); becoming more aware of the body creating a better psychomotor coordination, are indeed optimally evident during the yoga session. Through regular practice the aspirant gains maximum benefits and efficiency extending little by little to every moment of the day, even when he forgets his yoga. The yoga adept thus has less anxiety, let’s say no anxiety at all anymore.

This undoubtedly explains the extraordinary development of yoga in all industrialized countries. We are convinced that we are facing something deeper, and that for an increasing number of modern men, yoga, even westernized and diluted, brings a non-rigid discipline into our life. Yoga also has the advantage of not requiring stadiums or costly equipment to practice. It can be practiced at home on a simple blanket folded in two!

Nevertheless, for most of us, yoga is not an absolute therapeutic. Should an infection occur, medicine still has the first word. When the danger is over, yoga can be usefully employed for the recovery of health. This allows us to conclude that even if yoga ‘starts where medicine stops’, it constitutes a positive gain to its practitioners.

One of our friends is a surgeon who has big responsibilities and an exhausting life. No matter what time he gets home in the evening, he goes straight into his room for 30 to 40 minutes and does a series of postures, breathing, and relaxation practices. He has been doing this for many years. We can be sure that if yoga didn’t give him ‘something’ he would have stopped long ago. It is definitely not an attraction for the exotic that makes him sacrifice his precious leisure time to the practice of yoga.

(Courtesy Yoga Magazine, January 1979)

What is the goal of yoga?

The primary purpose of the practice of yoga should be to integrate the different planes of one’s personality and at the same time to evolve the consciousness, to gain greater knowledge of oneself. A person should not be thought of as only materialistic, with no spiritual inclination. In the depth of his being, man is searching for truth and he has been trying hard to experience truth. Yoga removes obstacles and confers clarity of consciousness. In this way any person, anywhere in the world, can fulfil his long cherished wish.

Would you say that yoga is not a religion, but that it develops religious consciousness?

Definitely it is not a religion, it is a science. It is based on facts and figures, and it is immediately and intimately concerned with the body and mind. Yet at the same time, for those people who want to have the inner experience, if they feel that other ways of realization have failed, they can definitely groom their minds through the practice of yoga. Yoga confers clarity of mind and controls the behaviour of mind in all its manifestations. Definitely one who wants to live a religious life can fully utilize the benediction of yoga. However, for one who is not religious and has no admiration for religion and does not want it at all, but who wants at the same time to have a body and mind free from disease and full of peace, and a life dedicated to a particular purpose- for such a person yoga is the answer.

With bank notes you can purchase anything you want in the market. In the same way, with clarity of mind and control over consciousness, you will go ahead with your aspirations and live this life in fullness. Yoga is a science.

Nowadays we hear a lot about Chinese yoga, Japanese yoga, Indian yoga and Egyptian yoga. What is the relative value of these approaches?

Today we are living in a time when people have opened their minds. Every culture has become conscious of the science of yoga already existing in their country and they prefer to brand it in the name of Indian yoga, Chinese yoga, Japanese yoga and maybe even European yoga also. I do not mind the various brand names. For me it is not the kind of yoga but the purpose of yoga which is important. It is the evolution of the collective consciousness that is important, and if that purpose can be accomplished by Chinese yoga, or Japanese yoga or Egyptian yoga or maybe Occidental yoga, well and good. However, if Indian yoga, Japanese, Chinese, Egyptian or Occidental yoga is leading the human consciousness from inner experience to external convention and split personalities, than no matter what it is called, we should reject it.

Yoga is absolute mastery over the functions of the mind; yoga is absolute equilibrium and equipoise in any situation. Yoga is the ability to experience what we have not experienced up until now. The scientists have gone far into the galaxies, discovering them, but more important, every individual should enter into the inner galaxies of his own existence and should discover greater formations and expressions of that existence. Life is not only this, it is much more. If any yoga can teach this, we welcome it from the depths of our hearts. It does not matter what brand it carries, we are open to its benediction.

How far is teaching yoga compatible with earning money?

If one is dedicated to the dissemination of yoga for the benefit of mankind then he has to be very practical and this practicality should be in absolute confluence with his organization. If the ideal and the organization do not move together then there will be some kind of imbalance and then it will not be possible for you to disseminate this life-saving science to more and more people. As well as this, in society there must be a balance in the exchange of what we possess. If we do not adhere to this the balance is disturbed. When a student comes to you and wants to learn yoga, you accept the fee from him and you give him the lessons in yoga-there is a mutual contribution. However, if the teacher is suffering from personal guilt and does not like this mutual exchange to take place he will create an imbalance.

In our modern society when we teach yoga a certain remuneration for the teacher is fit and proper. He uses this for the improvement of his institution, for his family, and so that he does not have to work at another job, but can devote his whole time to the study and teaching of yoga. He can also have all kinds of yoga literature in his library and can afford to go a number of times to India or elsewhere to increase his knowledge.

In India we do not practice this because there is an understanding of the true situation faced by a teacher. When a disciple comes to the teacher to learn yoga he definitely knows that the teacher has to subsist and also maintain the whole organization. The disciple does not pay a fixed remuneration, but he offers what he is capable of giving. If he is a millionaire businessman, he may give 10,000 rupees, but if he is a farmer he may give only 10 rupees, and if he has no money, he may just give one bag of rice. This is how the yoga institutions in India have been maintained from the very beginning, but in countries where this tradition is not present, remuneration must be on a practical level. I also urge that all the yoga teachers, yoga exponents and yoga minded people should not say that one is ‘selling yoga’. I think that people who say this are not very aware of the facts of organization or of the facts of life. There should be a liberal give and take business so that the teacher can develop his institution, and himself, in all dimensions. A solid monetary foundation is essential and there must be unanimity on this issue.

In many places the subject of tantra is taboo. Are the people of today ready for it?

What I mean by tantra and what the rishis understand by tantra is the way to ‘stretch the mind and liberate it from matter’. This is tantra, and many people are searching for it.

Are there any practices we could do from today?

Yes, I will give you two Aum practices.

Practice 1: Take your mind to mooladhara chakra situated in the perineal area, and with the help of ujjayi pranayama breathe in and up through the spinal passage. That is, on inhalation direct your mind up through the spinal passage. Come up to ajna chakra at the top of the spine directly behind the eyebrow centre, and stop there for three seconds. Concentrate on ajna and then chant a-u-u-m-m-m-m-m. . . conducting the vibrations down the spinal passage through ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, manipura, swadhisthana, and mooladhara. Concentrate on mooladhara for three seconds, then inhale and ascend again with the breath. Practice this for ten minutes every day.

Practice 2: In the same way, breathe up through the spinal passage to ajna and retain the breath and awareness there for three seconds. Then practice awn but in the following way: Aum, aum, aum, aum, aum, aum. Go down the spinal passage, jumping from one chakra to the next in order. Pass through ajna, vishuddhi, anahata, manipura, swadhisthana and mooladhara. Up and down, up and down, go on jumping like a frog for ten minutes. The practices for initiation into tantra are complete for today.

(Courtesy Yoga Magazine, January 1979)