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Samadhi, of course, is not the only way to liberation, but it is the most radical and within the
framework of this particular yoga the most essential.
CHAPTER 12
MIND AND BREATH
mind and prana, so it is said, are one, and thus mind and breath are interdependent. Where there is
breath there is thought; without breath the activities of the mind will dry up.
These rather unusual assertions must be investigated further, for they are the core of raja yoga. It is
not by accident that the German word Atem (breath), and the Sanskrit term atman (the self) have the
same root. In our understanding, to cease breathing means to die. In yoga teaching it may mean death
but does not necessarily. Certainly, consciousness in a general sense disappears along with breath,
but what really happens after that we do not know. "Unconsciousness" is a meaningless term. Do we
really know whether dying and being dead arethe same thing, whether so-called unconsciousness
does not encompass innumerable subconscious states? These are just a few problems relating to
consciousness. We can become conscious only of events that reflect states, never of states. We are
unable to grasp with our conscious mind a state that is not reflected by an event.
We are aware of some of our thought processes, among others those that bring the self into reality:
this is "self-consciousness." Everything that I perceive, recognize and judge is a part of my self, for
my already existing relationship to the perceived indicates that the image of the object is already part
of my store
of experience, and that I therefore already have that karma-producing element (the
previously-experienced object) "within" me. And my relation to the object is karmically
conditioned, as well as karma-producing. It is thus an integral part of my personality.
To the Indian mind it means that we are under an illusion so long as we consider the self as a
constant unit that which exists in itself and does not result from the sum total of consciousness
factors. Thus the total of what I "know" (even subconsciously) is my self.
MIND AND BREATH 80
Yoga Swami Svatmarama. Hatha yoga pradipika
The illusion about human personality is fundamental. Where do we get our concept of human
personality? As long as we do not get to the root of this question, we fall victim to illusion after
illusion.
We watch our conversation partner, recognizing "in him" his personality. We consciously look above
all at the eyes, presuming that these organs, designed for seeing, arealso the mirror of the personality.
But while we are thus watching the eyes in much the same way as we previously observed the sound
of our name, they suddenly do not seem so important any more; in fact, they become insignificant in
relationship to the whole personality. The same is true when we observe other single components:
mouth, nose, checks, or forehead. Only the sum total of all makes up the personality. We realize that
by observing the details we miss the essence. It is as though we were watching the glass rather than
the image in the mirror. Then we realize that not even the sum total of all these details gives us the
living image of the whole. But what is it?
The human personality is not "in-itsdf," it only becomes, within us. If we look mechanically at the
surface we see nothing but the surface. Our inner being alone, not the eye, can see behind the
surface. We have no specific name for this subtle inner organ. Heart, intuition, feeling, soul, inner
eye--all these are current expressions which are as familiar as they are vague, although they all
express the right thing.
So let us look with nonmechanical eyes behind the surface, then we see the image of the object
within ourselves inwardly. "Seeing" is only a small fraction of perceiving which essentially means to
melt the (outer) image and the (interior) concept into one: simultaneously to see and co feel. And it is
the same way with everything that we perceive with our sense organs. In reality it is not only sense
perception, for all senses are only tools, organs of communication.
This, our personality-shaping inner world in its sum total, is atman. Yet the thousand little stones
that make up a mosaic are, in their multitude, far from being a picture. Decisive is the manner in
which they are put together into a pattern. It is this unity alone that creates the complete impression,
not analytical observation; it is the inner perception that is based on something higher than the sum
total of the individual pieces.
These countless elements of consciousness are united into the living total personality through prana,
which has its source in breath. Thus the spirit, the human essence, is born of breath. And so, in a
way, we breathe in the world, and breathe it out in the "form" of the personality thus created. The
problem that concerns yoga is the creation of a harmonious relationship between the static
personality components (the atman, the mosaic picture) and the dynamic personality (the creative
artist's mind). In Indian terms, this means the harmonious marriage between static Purusha and [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]