“A considerable amount of literature is now available on Pranayama (from ancient and contemporary yogis), an important anga of Yoga, even though a smaller and smaller number of Hatha yogis do a smaller and smaller number of pranayamas. In fact, according to Brahmananda who wrote an important commentary of Hathayogapradeepika, Hatha yoga is indeed Pranayama. Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras succinctly gives the parameters of pranayama along with the benefits. Hathayoga pradeepika and several other hatha yohga texts talk about a variety of pranayamas with different ratios in considerable detail and as I said enough literature is available on pranayama.

However since it is also the anga prior to the antaranga or meditation, parts of yoga pranayama has been used to prepare oneself for meditation. If in pranayama you can introduce some noble thoughts for meditation like an uplifting mantra, bhava thought or an image such pranayamas are called sagarbha pranayama or pranayama pregnant with lofty ideas. Sri Krishnamacharya in his “Nathamini’s Yoga Rahasya” says that sagarbha pranayama is several times more beneficial; more than the mechanical pranayama done generally by hatha yogis.

Sagarbha pranayama done with pranayama mantra from the vedas, which also includes the potent gayatri as a part of it, has been in vogue since the vedic times. Sri Krishnamacharya in his yoga work “Nathamuni’s Yoga Rahasya” gives a number of instructions for doing pranayama towards the end of the first chapter. He commends the use of Pranava and the pranayama mantra with gayatri while doing pranayama practice. Usually pranava (OM), the most potent mantra and the mother of all mantras, as a stand alone mantra is used by renunciates like consummate yogis and advaitins. And the gayatri impregnated vedic pranayama mantra is used by householders and others in all pranayama.

In fact Manu, in his famous Manusmriti, says that the pranayama mantra which consists of prnava, the seven vyahritis, the gayatri and the head or siras portion should be recited while holding the breath in Kumbhaka three times to be called pranayama. Sri Krishnamacharya also emphasizes the need to meditate on the meaning of the mantras like the suggestion of Patanjali in YS.

Most people who do ritualistic pranayama in India use the pranayama mantra referred to earlier. Manusmiti says as follows

“sa vyahritim sa pranavaam
gayatriim sirasa saha
trifpateth ayataf pranah
pranayamassa uchyate”

Here is the translation: “Pranayama is that in which the seven vyahritis (bhuh, bhuvaha…) each preceded by pranava (OM) then the gayatri, then the siris are (silently) recited.”

It should be chanted (silently) while holding the breath (kumbhaka). When it is done three times it is called panayama. The pranayama
mantra is 64 syllables and takes about 20 seconds to chant, more or less. The verse quoted above says three times and some interpret it as chanting the mantra three times while holding the breath, but generally it is chanted once and three such pranayamas will make one bundle of pranayama. If you try to do the chant thrice in one go it would taken a minute and holding the breath for one minute could be a real challenge to most and so most people stick to the earlier option.

What about the duration for inhalation and exhalation? Sri Krishnamacharya says in Yoga Rahasya that it should be vishamavritti indicating that the time duration for inhalation exhalation and breath holding would vary. So many go by the 1:4:2 ratio.

One may inhale for 5 seconds then chant the mantra during internal holding for 20 seconds and then exhale for 10 seconds. The breath
holding after exhalation is considered a hathayoga practice and many orthodox people who do pranayama as part of the Puja or Japa ritual dispense with bahya kumbhaka and the bandhas. The quickie pranayama is three times but it is recommended that on should do 10 times the samantra pranayama.  (Contrast this with the hathayoga approach of going up to 80 times mantraless pranayama).

Since children sometimes as young as 5 were initiated into vedic studies, it becomes obligatory for them to do sandhya and hence mantra pranayama and silent gayatri chant. But then because they are young they may not be taught to do calibrated pranayama. Usually in the course of time they would learn to do long inhalation and exhalation say in nadishodhana. Later they will be taught the whole vishamavritti pranayama as explained earlier.

So the mantra is chanted silently in pranayama. But most people just chant the mantra without the pranayama–they may merely touch the nose but not do the pranayama. So we have one set of people who do pranayama without mantras as most hatha yogis do and another group especially in India who chant the mantra faithfully but do not do the pranayama at all and thus both lose out. It even led the much revered previous Sankaracharya of Kanchi to remark that if only Indians would hold the breath (kumbhaka) rather than just touch/hold the nose they would all become great yogis and spiritual persons.

My Guru also said that when doing any mantra in japa, in pranayama or meditation, one should think of the meaning or import of the mantra. That makes it lot more powerful and meaningful. What does this mantra signify, many times we get initiated into a mantra routine without knowing what it means. All yogis know that Patanjali insists on contemplating on the meaning of pranava when doing pranava japa to get the grace of Iswara.

“Om Bhuh, om bhuvah, om suvah, om mahah, om janah, om tapah, om satyam; then the gayatri and then the siras which runs like this, ”om apah jyoti rasah amrtam brahma bhurbhuvassuvarom” is the pranayama mantra. This mantra appears in Mahanarayana Upanishad, the last chapter of Yajur veda. This upanishad also contains several beautiful mantras used on a daily basis like the offering to the five pranas (before taking food), meditating within the heart etc. I got the whole chapter (about 45 minutes of continuous chanting) recorded some 25 years back by “Sangeetha” and I believe it is available in some stores in Chennai, India. You may learn the pranayama mantra—visit my website www.vinyasakrama.com/chants and click on the “Learn Pranayama Mantra chant” tab.

So what is the meaning of this wonderful pranayama mantra? Again there are different interpretations. The conventional meaning for the seven vyahritis is seven different worlds starting with the world we live in to six other higher worlds. But the word loka is interpreted in a more esoteric sense by a few scholars. They say that the words loka and look are derived from the same root. And the seven lokas are the seven perceptions of the ultimate reality which is Brahman the pure non changing consciousness.

So this approach which gels with the advaita philosophy would be as follows: According to the Upanishads, Brahman in its pristine state is alone and there was no time or space (aksha and avakasha) in contention. The Brahman once thought that it should become many (bahusyam praja yeyeti). Then in the next stage, It deeply contemplated as to how it should create the universe and make many microcosmic individual consciousnesses. This state was known as the stage of tapas of the Brahman (sa tapo tapyata). Then after deep contemplation and planning It created the entire Universe (idam sarvam asrujata). After this creation the Brahman entered and permeated the entire Universe (tat eva anupravisat) and every being as the individual Self.

The seven vyahrutis are considered as representing the seven states of the same consciousness four at the microcosmic level and three at the cosmic level. So when doing pranayama during breath holding internally, one would say ‘om bhuh’, contemplate on the consciousness, represented by pranava or ‘om during the waking state. Then as the second vyahriti ‘om bhuvah ‘ is recited, one would think of the same consciousness being aware of the individual dream state.

‘Om suvah” would refer to the same consciousness witnessing the deep sleep stage. Om mahah, the fourth vyahriti is the consciousness beyond the three earlier mentioned known amongst the vedantins as the fourth state of the mind (turiya) or the yogi’s kaivalya state. The same consciousness now is identified with the Brahmana that created the Universe (Om Janah). Then the next mantra, the sixth “Om tapah” would represent the Brahman as one deeply contemplating and finally the pristine state of consciousness “Om satyam” the one and only Brahaman.

With this the abhyasi is able to identify and meditate upon the same one Brahaman as seen in different states. The theory that there is
only one consciousness that exists both at the cosmic and at the microcosmic level is the bedrock of the advaita (No two
conciousnesses) viewpoint. So an advaitin while doing pranayama is able to reinforce the advaitic conviction.

Then the second part of the pranayama mantra is the gayatri mantra. It again refers to the ultimate reality as the inner light. Just as the
sun with its lustrous orb lights the entire world, the Brahman/Self lights the entire chitta or the internal world of the meditator, so that the chitta vrittis are experienced or ‘seen’ in the mind’s eye .

The last portion known as the siras or the head, is an encomium to the ultimate Brahman. It refers to It as OM., pure consciousness, the
universal light, the essence of the entire Universe, immortal (unchanging), the source of the universe, and is known to the individual as the inner Self during the three states of waking, dream and deep sleep.

This meaning of the pranayama mantra is vividly brought to the mind as the pranayama mantra is recited silently during antah kumbhaka. Then it is known as samantraka or sagarbha pranayama. According to Manu this samantra pranayama is the greatest Tapas/meditation.

It is said that those who are well versed in the chakras are able to identify the seven vyahritis with the seven chakras in the body using the respective bijakshara or seed mantras. Some make an effort  to visualize the cosmic Brahman  in the seven chakras in the microcosm itself.

There are other types of mantras used. For instance, saivaites tend to chant the siva mantras as they hold the breath as mentioned in the Tamil Saiva classic “Tirumandiram”. The mantra “sivasiva” of four syllables is chanted 16 times during one breath hold corresponding to 64 syllables as in the pranayama mantra referred to earlier.

Here is a pranayama for renunciates:

While doing puraka or inhalation the thought would be that the entire universe is ultimately drawn into the Brahman. Then while in
antahkumbhaka the contemplation would be that the outside Universe and I are no different from the Brahman. Then while exhaling the ego “I’ with the entire Universe is discarded as nothing but an illusion, not real, not significant. And in bahya kumbhaka one would contemplate that pure Brahman alone is real, It alone exists.

Those who believe in the reality of world and the trinity (Brahma, Vishnu and Siva), would use pranayama to reinforce their faith.

Inhaling through the left nostril one should think of the four faced Brahma the creator aspect of the trinity and of blood red hue (rajas
guna) while chanting Om 16 times. Then closing both the nostrils  and holding the breath in  kumbhaka one should think of the white colored(satva guna) Hari, the protector/sustainer chanting pranava 64 times.

Then while exhaling through the right nostril one should meditate on Siva of dark color (tamo guna) chanting pranava 32 times. Then one should start inhaling through the right nostril for 16 matras chanting pranava 16 times and continue the pranayama for a predetermined number of times with both mantra and bhava.

Different smritis and very old yoga texts refer to a variety of pranayamas with and without mantras. Almost all the puranas have a
section on yoga which describe different asanas and pranayamas. (I think with all this evidence one may say with some conviction that
Yoga is more than 100 years old). For more information on pranayama you may consider referring to my book “Yoga for the Three Stages of Life” pages 189 to 211.

Sri Krsishnamacharya’s Yoga teachings were unique and very rich. In Vinyasakrama asana practice, breath synchronization with slow
movements is an essential element. One would start the movement with the beginning of inhalation or exhalation and complete the movement with the completion of that breathing phase. The time taken in actual practice may be between 5 to 10 or 12 seconds depending on one’s capacity and control. If it goes below 5 seconds one would stop the practice and rest to regain the vinyasa krama acceptable breath. My Guru, Sri T Krishnamacharya would say ‘breathe with hissing sound’ (a la cobra, refer to ananta samapatti in YS) or ‘with a mild rubbing sensation in the throat’.

In this way, with long deep inhalation and exhalation, the intercostal muscles are stretched and toned up and by the time pranayama is
started the accessory muscles of breathing are well exercised so that one has a well oiled breathing apparatus for a very productive
pranayama practice. And while doing pranayam introduction of mantras and bhavas helps to bring the mind to a focus which will be of considerable help when one starts the meditation process. Thus Sri Krishnamacharya following the tradition of yoga described in old yoga texts like the yoga sutras, the puranas, smritis and other ancient texts helped to understand and achieve the best of an outstanding ancient system called Yoga.”

(c) Srivatsa Ramaswami  www.vinyasakrama.com

YOGA: KNOWING THE UNKNOWN

There is an interesting saying in Indian philosophy to indicate that there is a purpose in every activity one deliberately undertakes. Samkhyas and some schools of Buddhism also use this saying, “prayojanam anuddhisya mando pi na pravartate” meaning that even a dimwit will not do anything without an idea of what benefit one would get out of the effort.

So what is the goal of all these systems like Yoga, Vedanta, Samkhya and others? Yes one may want to know the ultimate goal and also the intermediate goals before starting such endeavors. I heard the following story from my great aunt when I was young. Even as I read more authentic versions subsequently, I am sticking to my grandma’s tale:

The Lord created the Universe and decided to populate the Universe. He created four young “humen” beings and asked them to populate the Universe. He implied that the lives in the Universe would be happy provided one would stick to Dharma. The four mind-children of the Lord (manasa putras) did not move. They could not take their wide eyes off the bewitching form of the Lord. They could not tear themselves away from the immensely satisfying immediate presence of the Lord, the formless Brahman. Their countenance indicated that they were perfectly happy. Looking at the Lord, the ultimate reality, they were brimming with bliss. The Lord realized that neither the normal nocturnal pleasures nor the huge heavenly happiness would anymore interest these beings. They had Kaivalya or Moksha even before they could be in bondage. They came to be known as nitya suris or perennial enlightened ones.

The Lord still wanted to go ahead with his pet project of creating a Universe with different creatures and experiences. So he created the four-headed Brahma, one of the Indian Trinity, and bade him to create beings including human beings. But the Lord created Brahma this time with Brahma’s back to Him so that Brahma would not see Him and attain instant nirvana like the earlier ones. Brahma duly chanted “OM’, the pranava mantra, and created the universe and the creatures . All beings thereafter went about their life cycles feverishly looking for some crumbs of happiness here and there in the midst of widespread unhappiness. There was never a chance to escape this unending cycle of births and deaths.

Since everyone from Brahma downwards had never experienced the ultimate reality, people were looking outward for happiness. Thus even though the Lord is said to have entered every being and resided as pure consciousness in everyone, nobody knew what was “behind the back” as it were. Someone had to say “Look Inward”. The Lord decided that there should be an escape route (nivritti marga) for some of those who were earnestly looking for liberation. He then asked one of the Nitya suris, Sanatkumara to help the deserving human beings to achieve moksha or liberation. Sanatkumara then was born to Siva, the third of the Trinity, as Kumara or Skanda. Because he had the direct experience of the Lord, the ultimate reality, he was astonished at the complete ignorance of all the beings about the ultimate reality. He even went up to Brahma, the creator aspect of the Trinity, and asked about how he started creation and if he knew the ultimate reality. Brahma said that he did it after chanting “OM” as mentioned in the vedas. Then Kumara promptly asked him for the meaning of “OM”, the pranava mantra and Brahma fumbled. “No, I do not know that” said Brahma sheepishly. Kumara became angry and said that Brahma was incompetent. Promptly Kumara imprisoned Brahma and took over creation himself.

Soon enough all those he created were like him and quickly the original scheme of the Lord of sustainable creation was coming to naught. Siva, the third of the Trinity and father of Kumara, then went up to him and asked him to release Brahma and let him do his work. But Kumara refused and said that the person who does not know the meaning of OM, the name/mantra of the Ultimate Reality, Brahman, is incompetent to do such an important task as creation. Siva said that he himself did not know the meaning of OM and casually asked the enlightened son for the meaning of Pranava. Kumara said that he would teach him, provided his father would study under him following strictly all the rules of a student. Siva agreed and became a disciple of his own son. Skanda taught him the meaning of OM and Siva became enlightened.

Skanda then came to be known as ‘tahappan swami” (Tamil) or “lord/preceptor/guru of one’s own father”. Brahma also learnt it and was then released by Kumara to continue his work. Siva then devised a method of understanding the ultimate reality, the Brahman or Purusha. It came to be known as Yoga, a very arduous procedure which only a few were able or willing to undertake and they came to be called as Yogis. Siva then bade Patanjali to formulate the yogia system which became the source book for all those who would like to take the ‘spiritual’ path and realize the ultimate reality which according to the Upanishad is Brahman.

But the desire for liberation (mumukshatva) does not come about easily. It needs right information and a lot of persuasion and convincing.

Even the most cultured intellectual (vidusha) has a thick veil of avidya in so far as ‘spiritual’ goal is concerned, the old texts aver as in the case of even the four headed Brahma. So the old foundation texts like the Upanishads, the Bhagavat Gita, the Yoga Sutra, the Samkhya philosophy, several puranas like the Bhagavata Purana, try multiple methods to wean away the disgruntled from the mundane existence to the ‘spiritual’ path. One method is to lead them from the known to the unknown. We all know both happiness and unhappiness.

So the upanishads start from known happiness and compare it to the bliss of ‘spiritual’ knowledge/experience, the unknown at the present. We all experience limited happiness. Who is the happiest human being? The upanishad talks of a perfect human being. Take the case of a young person, a noble soul -a dharmic person, an exceptional scholar, a great leader with an excellent physique, perfect and strong limbs and senses, very rich and propertied, like an emperor. Such a person would be the happiest human being. Let us mark it as one unit of human happiness, the limit of human happiness. All other human beings will have less than one unit of human happiness. Is there more than one unit or measure of happiness? Yes, says the upanishad. One hundred times happier will be the Gandharvas. So also those human beings who have known the scriptures (and the Pranava) and who have given up all desires, say the upanishads.

Gandharvas are considered to be the lowest in the hierarchy of gods and are basically excellent singers. But then the leader of this divine tribe, a deva gandharva, the celestial singer is capable of one hundred times more happiness than the ordinary Manushya Gandharvas. So is the one who has mastered the scriptures (and the Pranava or OM) and is absolutely not tormented by desires. One hundred times happier than the deva Gandharvas are the pitrus (manes), so also the ones who have mastered the scriptures (and OM) and are absolutely free of all desires. One hundred times happier are the ajana devas and the ones who have mastered the scriptures (and OM) and are free from all desires. Then there are the gods like the fire, wind, water, etc., who are propitiated by vedic sacrifices and who are a hundred times happier than the previous lot; and those who are well versed in the scriptures and free from all desires Indra, the boss of the gods is said to be one hundred times happier than the gods, so also those who are proficient in the vedas and pranava and are absolute Vairagis.

Brihaspati the preceptor of the devas is said to enjoy hundred times more happiness than Indra himself, so also those who have mastered the vedas and remain absolutely desireless. Prajapati, a son of Brahma, is said to be a hundred times happier than Brihaspati along with those who have mastered the vedas and are untouched by any kind of desire. A hundred times happier is Brahma, the four faced creator aspect of the Trinity, the one who we came across earlier in the story. Those who are well versed in the scriptures and absolutely desireless with respect to the entire creation are also as happy as Brahma. Then the one who is able to see the in-dweller of all beings and the one in the sun yonder as one and the same Brahman-the ultimate reality- is happier than even four faced Brahma (catur mukha), like the Nitya suris referred to earlier. His/Her bliss, the bliss of the enlightened one like the nitya suris we came across in the beginning is unsurpassed, eternal and infinite.

The Upanishad from the known facts about happiness, skillfully leads to the unsurpassed bliss of the Brahman awareness. It emphatically states that the one who knows the Brahman, the ultimate reality, the pure consciousness unaffected by space (akasa) and time (avakasa), attains the highest state (brahmavit aapnoti param).

How does Patanjali handle this, leading the yogabhyasi from what is known to what is unknown and superior? He refers to five states or five activities of the mind or chitta, five states we are all familiar with. All our lives we move through these five chitta vrittis. Some times the chitta is engaged in collecting information and sifting the facts from that, which is known as pramana vritti. More often the chitta from the information received misses the facts and comes to wrong conclusions, known to yogis as viparyaya vrithis. A lot of times the chitta imagines a number of things without any solid base called vikalpa vrittis. Our dreams including day dreams will come under this category. Then a lot of time is spent in deep sleep when one forgets everything including oneself due to the dominance of Tamas. Then there are occasions when we ruminate over the past, remember facts stored in the mind called smriti vrittis. Our vrittis fall into one group or the other.

But the Yogi’s vritti nirodha is a state of the chitta which is none of the above. Patanjali refers to this state of the mind called nirodha state which is none of the five vrittis we are all familiar with. The sixth state of the mind, the vritti nirodha state, according to Patanjali is one every chitta potentially has, but has never experienced. It is a state of absolute peace or irrevocable and complete satisfaction.

Again here the Sutras lead the yogi from known states to a state unknown but within everyone’s reach through Yoga. In that state of Kaivalya or chitta vritti Nirodha the mind is in a state of absolute objectless samadhi and the three gunas are in a state of equilibrium.. Patanjali again mentions this state as something beyond the seven motives/ stimuli that drive us to act variously. They are the desire to possess (prepsa), desire to rid (jihasa), desire to know (jignyasa), desire for action (chikirsha), fear (bhaya), depression (soka) and distraction (vikshepa). We are familiar with these states of mind, but the state of Kaivalya/nirodha is beyond these known states.

But how can we trust the upanishads or philosophies like Samkhya or Yoga? Yes that is the main problem for many. These thought systems are called Agamas or traditional authentic systems indicating that they are given to human beings for the general good and the prima facie view is that they are valid. The first information is gotten from these works and that knowledge is known as paroksha or indirect, usually highly academic. Many stop at that and excel in that intellectual indirect experience. Then one contemplates and then possibly gets convinced about the correctness when it is known as anumana or inferential knowledge. And finally by deep meditation, one pointedness (ekeagrata chitta), and Samadhi one is able to directly experience the state that was not there to start with which these works talk about. It is then known as pratyaksha or yougika pratyaksha or direct perception through Yoga.

Thus the old texts lead us, slowly but surely, from the known to the superior unknown .

This squares with a brief episode in Yoga Vasishta. Two siddhas meet and one of them has the Siddhi of moving back and forth in space (akasa) and time (avakasa). During their conversation the elder Siddha yogi said that he had traveled in time and has gone deep into the past and well into the future of human lives and has found that on an average human beings are happy only 1/6 th of the lifetime. Of course the other planets like Jupiter and others benifics will mitigate Saturn’s ill effects, but per se, Saturn is dreaded. But there are a few who look at Saturn’s effects on individuals life as sobering and transformative. It is like a governor in a vehicle, so that people do not run amuck in their lives. It is considered to be a great teacher of life but a strict disciplinarian, one who does not spare the rod.

Many in India tend to propitiate Sani by observing some tapas on Saturdays, worship sanaischara and so on, so that the difficulties become more bearable. One of the methods is to worship Hanuman or Anjaneya . Many yogabhyasis are familiar with anjaneyasana or the leaping anjaneya pose–the pride of some and most others’ envy. How is Anjaneya worshiped? There is a portion of the Ramayana which depicts the heroic efforts of Anjaneya in finding the whereabouts of the abducted Sita, Sri Rama’s wife, by leaping across the sea between the southern tip of India and Lanka.

Reading this portion of the Ramayana one tends to love and respect Anjaneya, it is a beautiful portion of the Ramayana, as the title of this section “Sundara Kanda”, indicates. I have already written briefly about it. It usually takes about 10 hours to recite this portion of Valmiki Ramayana. It is recited usually at the rate of about 90 minutes everyday spread over one week. This is done once in a while. Some attempt to do it in three days. Occasionally one may try to do it in one day. Recently just about the time of Sani’s transit into Libra I chanted it in one 24 hour period. Because it is long and arduous and many are not familiar with the text, many more propitiate Anjaneya by chanting the famous Hanuman Chalisa which takes about 20 minutes. I think this chant is popular among Yogis also. It is not in Sanskrit but it is said to be very powerful.

There is also a Sahasranama or one thousand names of Anjaneya. Some 20 years ago a recording company got this recording of mine. A few days back in Chennai, I saw on the TV one of the channels broadcasting the Puja of Anjaneya Ritual. And the mantra used in the puja was this Sahasranama of my chanting. I understand that this channel telecasts this video once almost every month. The channel is called Sankara channel. How does worship of Anjaneya help? How does it help mitigate the ill effects of Sani’s hold on one’s life? It is said that Sani does not spare anyone, even Lord Siva had to undergo trouble and tribulations for a short period of time due to Sani/Saturn. Well how does Anjaneya worship help? Here is a short story.

After Anjaneya finds out the whereabouts of the abducted Sita, he returns to the mainland and informs Rama of the discovery, and Rama decides to invade Lanka to liberate Site from the clutches of Ravana. He needs a large Army. Sugriva the monkey chieftain agrees to lend his army and they decide to build a road bridge over the ocean dividing India and Lanka. The sea quiets due to the request first and then an ultimatum from Rama and the building of the bridge (sethu) commences. (Rama also is known as Sethurama because he built the bridge or Sethu. Sethurama is a very popular first name in South India). Well a huge army of workers were engaged in the construction. They bring huge rocks from the surroundings. And Anjaneya was also busy in the task carrying large boulders to the bridge site. It was time for Sani to afflict Anjaneya. Slowly Sani comes near Anjaneya and says that it was time for Anjaneya to suffer the ill effects of Sani (sani pida). No, not now shouted Anjaneya at Sani. “I am now engaged in the sacred work of building the bridge to go to Lanka and liberate Sita”. But Sani said that Sani never waits but afflicts everyone at the allotted time. He has to submit to this. Then Sani offered a concession. ”I will get into your legs and afflict your legs alone say with arthritis. Anjaneya said that he needs strong legs to move around to do the arduous manual work of carrying the rocks. “No way,” Sani said. Sani then suggested that he could creep into his arms and Anjaneya promptly rejected it saying that he needed the arms for lifting and dropping off the rocks. Anjaneya realized that even before Sani got into his system his effects were beginning to show by this persistent pestering. He felt that sani was already under his skin.Finally Anjaneya agreed to let Sani get into his head, because he said he need not do any thinking while doing this repetitive work of carrying the rocks on his head. Sani crawled into Anjaneya’s head.

Some of you may have seen some paintings of Anjaneya carrying the Sanjivini mountain from the Himalayan range and leaping across the Indian subcontinent, during the war between Rama and Ravana; yes Anjaneya was very strong and could carry lot of weight. After Sani got into his head, Anjaneya is said to have lifted a huge boulder and kept it on his head and started walking towards the dam site. The pressure of the rock became unbearable for Sani who was inside Anjaneya’s head. Anjaneya reminded Sani that that was how everyone felt when Sani would severely affect other beings, unable to bear the pain. Sani whispered to him that he would do anything for Anjaneya to get out of the predicament. He then promised Anjaneya that he would never afflict those who worship Anjaneya. The smiling Anjaneya threw the rock at the appropriate place in the dam site and Sani tumbled out of Anjaneya’s head and ran away without turning back.

So one of the reasons for many to worship the loveable Anjaneya is that it is generally believed that Sani’s ill effects will be mitigated by worshiping Anjaneya. What better way to worship him than reading the Sundara Kanda of Ramayana which is a beautiful narration of Anjaneya’s greatness in all aspects, valor, scholarship, intelligence, ambassadorship, dharma, humility, loyalty, sense of humor,sagacity and what not. Sri Krishnamacharya gave considerable importance to chanting-both vedic and other (laukika) chants. It is said that originally there were only vedic chants and they were practiced only by those who were initiated into vedic studies, but they were only a few. It is said that Valmiki, an illiterate hunter, due to the grace of Lord became a poet and wrote the Ramayana in Anushtup meter, the meter found commonly in the vedas.

Thereafter Sanskrit works on divinity proliferated and Mahabharata and several other puranas were written. These could be studied by anyone and several of them contained virtually everything that was found in the vedas, like works on divinity, philosophy, rituals and others. They became accessible to everyone. The concepts were made user friendly like for instance the Bhagavat Gita which explains the terse concepts of the Upanishadic philosophies to ordinary people represented by Arjuna. One should learn Hatayoga from Krishnamacharya. One should study Yoga Sutras and sibling philosophies from Krishnamacharya. One should learn devotional works from Krishnamacharya. One should learn chanting from Krishnamacharya. Yes, it is a great blessing to have studied with Sri Krishnamacharya. He had a booming voice and an immaculate Sanskrit diction. I learnt from and chanted Vedic chants with Krishnamacharya for hundreds of hours. Learning from and chanting with him has been an exceptional experience.

The vedic chants are very powerful and have profound import. The Suryanamaskara chant running for about an hour contains the Gayatri mantra and is said to confer health and longevity. A chapter called svadhyaya, which runs for about 40 minutes, extols the virtues of vedic chanting and eulogizes the great gayatri mantra. In this chapter there is an advice to chant aloud during the day and that one need not do the rituals, but mere chanting will confer all the benefits. There are two chapters called pravargya which again are used while boiling milk which is said to tranform the milk into nectar. These two chapters running for about two hours are exceptionally charming. Sri Krishnamacharya also taught the Kataka portion of the vedas and then the Upanishad portion of the taittiriya branch of the vedas. Chanting is uplifting. It has got physiological and psychological benefits.

Long chanting works with different chakra centers of the body and also improves the efficacy of breathing. It has got a calming effect on the mind. The traditional meaning of svadhyaya, an integral part of yoga, is chanting. The other non vedic chants that are commonly used include the various Sahasranamas like Vishnu, Lalita, etc. And many of these chants and recitations are said to confer specific benefits. In the form of phalasruti the texts themselves tell us the benefits that one can expect will accrue on chanting these. For more on mantras please refer to the Mantra Yoga chapter in my book, “Yoga for the Three Stages of Life”.

Several years back I taught a class at a medical university in Chennai
for the medical students in which a few of the faculty members also
participated. This university I understand had a professional
arrangement with the Harvard Medical School. I thought the program went well and at the end of the program there was a valedictory function in which several of the participants demonstrated several asanas and other yoga procedures.

The dean of the University participated in the entire program, running for about three hours. He himself was a reputed orthopaedic surgeon and after seeing the several asanas and vinyasas he suggested that I might consider a detailed study of yoga asanas especially vinyasas and how they affect the various joints, their health, their mobility. There are a few very well illustrated books showing the anatomy of muscles in various yoga postures. It may be good to have some work done in which one can see the joints and bones or purely skeletal illustrations of asanas.

For me at that time Yoga was a hobby, a serious hobby though; but I
had to work to maintain a family so could not pursue any serious work that would involve substantial time and effort. The hathayoga pradeepika mentions the twin benefits of asanas as arogya and anga
laghava or general health and suppleness or dexterity. One of the
problems, similar to the internal organs, is the loss of space within
the joint if the intra-articular space gets reduced due to several
reasons the joints become less efficient and could become
dysfunctional as happens in arthritis. Yoga, especially vinyasakrama
yoga, tends to work with almost all the articulation of all the joints
especially the ankles, knees, hips, the spine and arms.

Take the asymmetric sequence, in which one leg is kept in one position and the other leg kept in several positions, and in each subroutine several movements are done. Take for instance Marichyasana, the hip joint is kept in one position in which the inferior bone of the joint, the femur, is kept in the fixed position of Marichyasana and all the vinyasas are done by which the superior bone structure viz. the pelvis is moved around and manipulated. In other words, the ball in the socket is kept stationary and the socket is moved around. When you move on to the next subroutine, mahamudra/janusirsasana, the femur head within the socket takes a different stationary position and in the vinyasas the pelvis is moved around.

In the third subroutine, the half lotus, the femur head position is again altered, but keeping it stationary a number of movements are done in the subroutines — akarnadhanurasana, kraunchasana, ekapadasirsasana, vajrasana, matsyendrasana, bharadvajasana and any others– in which the pelvis is moved around. In fact in the series of vinyasas within those asanas, all the possible movements of the marvelously engineered hip joint are done in a short time giving a complete treatment for the hip joint. The tendons and connecting tissues are stretched, sufficient blood circulates (rakta sanchara) and exchange of oxygen also is facilitated (prana sanchara).

The important joints are the ankles, the knees, the hips, the spine, and the shoulders, elbows and wrists. The spine and the lower extremities can be effectively taken care of by some of the inversions like sarvangasana and especially sirsasana. One of the problems of these joints is that, due to disuse and postural limitations, gravity, reduction of tone etc., the intra articular space in these joints gets reduced and this leads to congestion and pain. These are particularly severe with the knees and the spine, especially the lumbar and the cervical regions. By these inversions and doing considerable number of movements slowly and steadily and with good breathing one can stretch these joints effectively—the gravity helps now- maintaining the intra articular space.

This will help to reduce the incidence of arthritis in the knees and hip joints. And with respect to the spine this will help to maintain the inter vertebral space and thus reduce the incidence of such debilitating conditions as low back pain. And cervical spondylosis can be helped by several of the arm movements (hasta vinyasas) and good deep inhalation stretching the upper thoracic spine. All these vinyasas help to exercise and maintain the strength, tone and stability of the supporting musculature.

The knee joint has two main movements , flexion and extension. Poses like Dandasana and Paschimatanasana help to stretch the supporting tissues like the hamstrings and also the connecting tissues inside the joint. The effect can be enhanced by staying in inversions and allowing some time to for gravity to act. Thereafter one can stretch the joint gently and help to maintain circulation and also maintain the intra capsular space. The flexion also can be effectively and comfortably done in Akunchanasana in both headstand and shoulder stand.

I feel that the inversions give maximum benefits to the major joints: ankles, knees, hips and the spine. They help to increase the intra capsular space, reduce congestion, tone the connecting tissues. All these will help one to stay in Vajrasana which requires a good flexion of the knee joint. The knee joint also has some lateral movements which can be done effectively in asanas like Vajrasana (outward movement of the joint), Simhasana (inward) and also Padmasana. Thus it is possible to maintain the health of the joints by a judicious combination of asanas and vinyasas.

My Guru Sri Krishnamacharya used to refer to Yoga as Sarvangasadhana as a practice for the whole system . He would, also include two other disciplines as sarvanga sadhanas, viz., archery and wrestling. Wrestlers have to be very fit and supple. They should be strong to pin down a burly opponent but also should be supple to be able to wriggle out of a stranglehold of the opponent. The archers have to be strong to shoot the arrow to go long distances, but also accurate and should be able to shoot from very awkward positions to aim at moving targets.

The Mahabharata, the great Sanskrit epic, contains two characters Bhima and Arjuna. Bhima was a great wrestler and his kid brother Arjuna, the Bhagavatgita fame was an outstanding archer. There are stories about their exploits in Mahabharata. There is one incident that is interesting. There is a story (my version) about Arjuna. Once there was a competition for archers. A totally transparent rotating yantra (device) was set up at a great height which contained some water and a small fish swimming in it. Below that was a pond full of water. The archer was supposed to look at the reflection of the yantra in the pond water and shoot at the small fish which itself would be moving randomly in a rotating device. One has to assume a suitable body position and shoot the arrow. Arjuna was the only one to succeed in this test.

Archers have to assume difficult different positions in actual battlefield and have to be extremely supple to adapt to
different situations and need to concentrate well. Hence these two martial arts were considered sarvanga sadhanas. But these two are used for combat and hence Rajasic whereas Yoga is for self discipline and hence is satwic.

Vinyasakrama is a unique Asana ‘Joint’

(c) Srivatsa Ramaswami. www.vinyasakrama.com

When I was a student I had to study a course in Mathematics (or was it
Physics or Engineering?) titled, “Statics and Dynamics.” That was the
time Mathematics left me but I liked the name of the course which I am
using as the title of the article.

When I was young I used to be called “Soni Ramaswami” by many
relatives, friends and many who were not very friendly. Soni means
puny. I used to be very thin, even so I used to be very interested in
outdoor sports activities. I managed to get onto the college/ school
teams in Tennis and Cricket. In fact, I was coached for several years
by the father of the National Tennis Champion in India at the time and
the father had coached the champion. I thought I did well in spite of
a lack of the required physique and stamina. I was the college
champion in Tennis for three years and also won the district
championship for college students. My best moment was the match I
played against the All India number 3 ranked player at that time.
Barely 18, I came close to beating him. In the close match, in the
final set I could not cope with the physical demands. My coach told me
later that I had a good ball sense and talent (please bear with me on
this, old men like me need some bragging for sustenance) but with my
kind of physique and lack of stamina I had little chance of making the
grade.

Much earlier  I had started learning Yoga from my guru, Sri
Krishnamacharya. Prior to that I had learned some Yoga asanas from my
father, several people in my school and a few other teachers. In my
school the physical education teacher usually doubled as a yoga master
as well and several students were familiar with yogasanas and many
were able to do several poses like sarvangsana, padmasana, etc. I used
to do asanas randomly, no coordinated breathing, no pranayama, more
interested in the form alone.

But when I started the studies with my guru the whole picture was
different. Slow synchronous breathing, the counter-poses, the
sequencing, the adaptations, pranayama, chanting, text studies were
all new and it was  astounding studying with him.  Initially I was
continuing to engage in outdoor sports which he was aware of, but did
not ask me to choose between the two. One day he said that the
philosophy of Yoga and outdoor sports were very different. He would
say that while Yoga is considered as a sarvanga sadhana or  practice
for all parts of the body (and mind) modern sporting activities were
anga bhanga sadhana as they affect different parts of the body
differently producing disequilibrium and asymmetry. I remembered at
that time I came across a story in a sports magazine about the left
wrist of Rod Laver an outstanding Australian Tennis player. It was
said that the wrist size of his playing left hand was twice as large
as the right one. Sri Krishnamacharya also used to say very
interesting things during the rest pauses between different asanas and
sequences.  Once he said that the Yogi should be thin or krisa.  One
should not be overweight

Overweight is bad
Lean (muscle) or fat.

Carelessly developed fat bellies and cultivated oversized biceps one
should guard against. It suited me as I refused to put on weight when
I was a young adult. After I became a senior citizen, of course I
started putting on weight growing sidewards.

He also emphasized individual home practice. Merely studying with the
teacher may not be sufficient. Regular comprehensive practice was
emphasized. He would quote the following sloka

anabhyase visa ham vidya
ajirne bhojanam visham
Visham sabha daridrasya
Vridhddhasys taruni visham

Knowledge without practice (application) is toxic. Food during
indigestion is poison. Partying is poison(ruinous) to the poor, while
to the old a young spouse is disaster indeed.
By then I had a copy of his Yoga Makaranda, the Tamil version.
Fortunately this book, a treasure of information and instructions for
everyone who wants to know the Krishnamacharya system is now at
everybody’s fingertips, literally. Yes you can click the following
link Download Krishnamacharya’s Yoga Makaranda
with your fingertips and the whole text faithfully translated into
English will pop up.

Modern day yoga asana practice follows two different streams. There
are old schools which teach different asanas and require the
participants to stay in the pose for a long time, no appreciable
movements or breathing but just stay in the pose for a long time. They
emphasis the steadiness definition of yoga  even though many find long
stay in the poses painful and boring.  There is no ‘sukha’ in it. Then
there is another stream, more modern, in which the asana practice is a
continuous flow of movements like a train going at breakneck speed not
stopping and looking at at any of the beautiful stations and places
called asanas in between. A set of regimented  routines on a graded
scale of difficulty is done at a hurried pace without coordination
with slow breathing,  day in and day out.

In the Yoga Makaranda of  Krishnamacharya and the way I learnt Yoga
from my Guru, the asanas are described in two perspectives. The book
contains  pictures of a number of asanas. Krishnamacharya also in most
cases mentions that one should stay in these poses for a long time:
Chaturanga dandasana (10mts), Adhomukhasvanasana (15mts),
Urdhwamukhaswanasana(15 mts) Mahamudra/Janusirsasana (15 mts),
sarvangasana (niralamba)10mts, etc. It is clear that many of the
static poses require time to confer the intended benefits to the
abhyasi. He also details the benefits that accrue from the long stay
in these classic poses.

One  also finds that Krishnamacharya has described in the  Makranda a
number of Vinyasas  leading to an asana and then the return sequence.
These are not illustrated though. It it is gratifying to know that
Yoga Makaranda’s English version published by Krishnamacharya yoga
Mandiram has sketches to illustrate most of the Vinyasas which along
with the beautiful asana pictures of Krishnamacharya makes it a very
useful companion to understand the Krishnamacharya system of asana
practice. Further the required breathing also is described in the
Makaranda, whether a particular movement is to be done on inhalation
or exhalation or occasionally holding the breath. However the book
does not contain the several vinyasas done in the asanas or ‘in situ’
vinyasas mainly because the book is a small one. He has though
mentioned that several of the asanas like sarvangasana, sirsasana,
padmasana, etc. have a number of vinyasas emanating from the basic
poses. These vinyasas, as many and as varied as possible, should be
done. These vinyasas make the system of yoga a sarvanga sadhana as my
Guru mentions in the Makaranda.  In my book  ‘ Complete  book of
vinyasa yoga’, I have attempted to include almost the complete range
of vinyasas in all the major asanas as I had learnt frm my guru. When
one exercises the body with deep vinyasas one is able to squeeze as
much of the venous blood as possible from the various tissues and thus
enhance the muscle pump effect. Then the deep associated breathing
used in Krishnamacharya’s system helps to enhance the respiratory
suction pump effect on the heart thereby increasing the rakta sanchara
or blood circulation especially the venous blood return  to the heart.
More and more  vinyasas help to stretch the blood vessels as well
keeping them more elastic.

The practice of vinyasas itself is made very interesting by my Guru.
Each expansive vinyasa would be done on slow ujjayi inhalation and
every contraction movement would be done on slow smooth exhalation.
What should be the length of the inhalation and exhalation as compared
to our normal breathing of about 2 seconds of inhalation and 2 seconds
of exhalation? He would ask us to take a slow inhalation, say about 5
seconds  and another 5 seconds for exhalation. It is the minimum. One
could slowly increase the time for inhalation from 5 to 6 and even up
to 10 or twelve seconds. The vinyasas were never done at the breakneck
speed with which they are done these days. The slower the movements
the better and more beneficial it is. A rate of five to six breaths
per minute in vinyasakrama is in order. At this rate the
suryanamaskara  routine of 12  Vinyasas would take about 2 to 3
minutes. By studying Yoga with him one could realize  how different
Yoga is from workouts, aerobics, outdoor sport activities and even
fast paced Yoga where the slow, mindful breathing is compromised.

So Sri Krishnamacharya’s system of asana practice, as evident from the
Makaranda and also from how I have studied with him,  is a judicious
combination of dynamic Vinyasas and  classic asanas. Vinyasas also
help to achieve perfection in poses. A few years ago when I was
conducting  the teacher training program, we went through the entire
gamut of  vinyasas centered around Padmasana. We continued the
practice for several days gradually adding more and more vinyasas.
Then we did a number of movements staying in Padmasana. At the end of
it all, a participant came to me and said that it was the first time
he could do padmasana even though he was a yoga practitioner for more
than ten years. The quality of his padmasana improved  day by day as
he started practicing more and more vinyasas in padmasana which all
helped to make the final posture more secure.  And he could stay in
the posture for a longer period of time, say 10 or 15 mts, as Sri
Krishnamacharya would want the abhyasis to be able to do.

How can one stay in postures like paschimatanasana, sarvangasana,
sirsasana, etc. for 10 to 15 mts or even 30 mts as some yogabhyasis
do? Will it not be painful, won’t the limbs go to sleep and what about
the mind, does it not get bored?  It will be interesting to know the
way Sri Krishnamacharya taught Sarvangasana to me. First do the
preliminary poses like desk pose, apanasana and urdwa prasarita pada
hastasana, slowly with the appropriate breathing. Then get into the
more relaxed viparitakarani position. Keep the legs relaxed -even
limp- for a while watching the unhurried  breathing. Then come down.
Do it  for a few days and then after getting into the viparitakarani
position straighten the body, support the back behind the ribcage with
the palms placed close to each other. Stay for a few minutes, come
down, do an appropriate counterpose and do the routine a few more
times for a total of about 10 minutes. From then on try to increase
the duration of stay in the pose until you are able to stay for 10 mts
in one try. After a few days of comfortable steady stay in
sarvangasana, increase the stay to about 15 minutes the ideal duration
in sarvangasana. Now start concentrating on the breath. Your
inhalation can be short say 3 seconds or so in this pose as the
inhalation is a bit more difficult because of the cramped nature of
the chest. But one can have a very long exhalation. After a few days
practice try to introduce the bandhas as you start your slow
exhalation. Start drawing in the rectum and the abdomen in tandem  as
you exhale finishing the exhalation with mulabandha and uddiyana
bandha in place. Hold the breath out and maintain the bandhas for
about 5 seconds. Then release the bandhas and start the next slow
inhalation

After a few days practice count the number of breaths that you take
for the entire duration of your stay in the posture. Then try to
reduce the number of breaths you take for the same 15 minutes stay.
The aim is to reduce this number until you reach a steady state that
you can maintain consistently. There are people who are able to
maintain a breath rate of about 4, 3, 2, or even one breath per minute
staying in a static yoga posture as sarvangasana.  It is better to
learn these procedures from a teacher.

Many years back I used to teach in Houston for several weeks at a
time. It was a time when asanas like sarvangasana  and pranayama were
taboo and padmasana was a dreaded asana. I tried to encourage the
class to practice sarvangasana, learning it an orderly fashion through
preparatory Vinyasas and finally the posture. It took a while and then
the participants were encouraged to try to stay in the asana for a
while doing slow smooth breathing. They were able to stay for longer
and longer duration and towards the end of the program more than half
of the class could stay for the full fifteen minutes maintaining at
best a breath rate of  3 or 4 per minute. In my teacher training
programs the participants are encouraged to develop endurance to stay
in some of the important poses like the inversions, paschimatanasana,
mahamudra, etc. even as they learn several hundred Vinyasas in the
course.

Further while asanas are a necessary routine for a yogabhyasi it is
not sufficient. A well rounded yoga practice should contain other
angas of yoga like pranayama because they between them help to reduce
the systemic excess of rajas and tamas.
Day’s yoga practice should consist of a proper combination of dynamic
vinyasas and static asanas.  Add a stint of pranayama practice and
some meditation or chanting, and you have a wholesome daily yoga
practice.

Breathes there the man (or woman) with soul so dead that his/her heart
does not bleed at the intense pain of the stoic Japanese people
suffering from the triple tragedy inflicted by nature recently? Hope
and pray that the suffering is quickly contained and rehabilitation of
the victims who survived the ordeal comes about early. Our need for
energy that we tend to waste indiscriminately has led us to exploit
resources beyond what has been conventional. The abundance of natural
radiation from the sun and the other secondary sources of energy from
nature like wind and vegetation should be sufficient for our needs if
we can be a bit more frugal and careful with the use of energy. We
have gone on to tap the huge energy  that nature has tightly held
within atoms. Science has found ways to control the radiation from the
nuclear resource,but they do not seen to be foolproof. An earthquake,
a war between peoples,sabotage  could all trigger an uncontrolled
fallout of radiation. Though reactors have been designed and operated
safely, they appear to be potential disasters due to external
factors.  The thought that in next coupe of decades the earth may be
dotted with hundreds of nuclear power plants is a bit worrying. Ok,
let us leave it to the collective wisdom of the experts in these
fields.

Pray, tell us, do prayers or mantra chants work? Do they prevent the
fury of nature and/or the sufferings one undergoes during these times?
Perhaps not, but probably yes. As the word ‘mantra’ indicates, it is
supposed to protect the one who meditates/chants the prayer mantra.
Mantanam trayata iti mantra, that which protects the one that chants
it is mantra…probably.

This following episode happened more than 40 years back but, I
remember it very vividly. One late summer afternoon, I went for my
class with my Guru. Unusually there was nobody else at home. When I
just entered his room, I saw him pacing up and down in the room,
chanting a portion from the Pravargya chapter of the Yajurveda. It
contains the famous Ghosha santi mantras. As soon as he completed the
chant, he looked at me and asked how I came, I said in my car.
Sometimes I used to walk from my home and sometimes by my bicycle. He
immediately asked me to take him to a particular hospital in the city.
As we were going in the car, he did not say a word to me but kept
chanting these mantras. On reaching the hospital he asked me to come
with him. One of his close relatives was admitted in the hospital. She
was having labor pains and the childbirth appeared to have become
suddenly complicated. I could see that my Guru was worried, concerned.
He spent some time with her talked breifly to a few relatives and
then  aswe returned home  he continued to chant the same mantras,
never saying a word to me. On reaching his home he asked me to leave
and I left.

I went to my next class a couple of days later, wondering about the
health of his close relative in the hospital. I was shocked to learn
that it resulted in a stillbirth. While I was very sorry for the
mishap, I could not stop wondering about the efficacy of the mantras
chanted by my Guru. Do these mantras work, especially when used by
such a stalwart like my guru? I thought for a moment that my guru’s
faith in all these mantras also would have taken a beating. But no.
When I started expressing my condolences, he immediately and sternely
cut me short and started the class with the usual mantra prayer. At
the end of the class he chanted the end peace chant and I left the
class. In spite of his prayer not being answered his faith in these
mantras remained unshaken. I  spent almost 1500 hrs studying and
chanting with him during my classes with him. His faith and commitment
could be discerned every time he would chant. It was a remarkable
experience listening to his chants, unhurried, involved and full of
commitment and absolutely charming.

The Ghosha santi mantra he chanted is a beautiful and profound piece.
It is part of the portion which starts like this
“ May the wind blow gently
May the sun shine warming us
Like a (cuddling)mother warms the infant
….

The ghosha santi mantras are meant to be chanted aloud (ghosha) in a
chorus praying to the various gods of nature to be kind to us, and not
harm us. According to vedic belief, God created the universe and
appointed intelligent/conscious entities/gods to control the natural
forces. In fact it is said that there are 330 million gods controlling
several million aspects of the universe. There is a god of fire, of
wind, of time, of life, of wealth, of knowledge, of earth, of love, of
speech etc. And the vedas contain mantras to propitiate these
intelligent gods. So when we say a prayer using the vedic mantras
addressed to these gods and propitiate them with offerings, they tend
to be helpful to human beings and individuals. However if we act
against the rules/laws of nature they get angry (prakopa) and show
their displeasure which we call  acts of god. Human beings are unable
to predict or control these acts.

Prayers to natural forces  may appear to be irrational  but become
meaningful if one subscribes to the view that gods of nature are
intelligent entities. This belief led to a plethora of vedic and non
vedic mantras that are chanted by millions to appease the gods of
nature not only for their bounties but also as  a cover or protection
against the vagaries and adverse effects of nature. The word mantra
means that sound which protects the one who thinks (chants) it. My
teacher would say that vedic mantras were designed in such a way that
they purify the various chakras of the body. Mantras are used to ward
off unhappiness of adhyatmika or of the body  from the common cold to
cancer, and of the mind  such as depression (soka), obsession/
worry(chinta) or anger(manyu). These are individual and specific in
nature. Mantras are also used to counter the problems created by adhi
bhoutika or the other beings like my neighbor, stray dogs, war etc.
Then there are mantras that help appease the devatas manning the
different aspects of nature and prevent disasters like water (flooding
and tsunami) of air (tornadoes), of mother earth (earthquakes) of fire
(forest fires and radiation). In fact there are mantras used by the
orthodox people for all the daily activities (nitya karma). A mantra
to the female aspects of the trinity of creation, sustenance and
destruction (Lakshmi, Saraswati and Gauri) is recited the moment you
open your eyes in the morning. Then as ones steps out of bed a mantra
prayer to mother earth asking for pardon to step on her. One prays
with mantras to several aspects of nature to make the day happy and
ward off evils that may come in the way all through the day. Then
there are mantras as one brushes the teeth with a neem twig, while
taking a bath, then to the food and the five pranas before taking
food. Mantras are chanted as you step out of the house so that the
journey may be uneventful. Then there are mantras so that one would
have a good night’s sleep without those excruciating nightmares.
Prayer to Sun for health and removal of heart disease and eyesight
problems are well known.  In fact apart from these daily mantras there
are mantra rituals done at different stages of life. Mantras are used
all through life, from the time of conception to the event of
consigning the mortal remains to the sacred fire, the last rites.
Mantras when a baby is started on solid food, mantras for starting
study, wedding vows, childbirth, etc. In addition to doing proper
karmas (punya) consistent with nature (will of gods),  people used to
propitiate the gods with these beautiful, innocent but powerful
mantras. There was an attempt to live one’s life trying to harmonize
it with nature and these mantras helped develop an empathy with
nature. One endeavors to go through life shrouded in peace with the
support of the mantras.

Then there are mantras and prayers used for specific situations.
Mantras to propitiate the sun and the god of rain in case of
drought(anavrishti). Mantras for getting married at the proper time
are still used with varying degrees of success. Some mantras are
considered to be efficacious in getting justice in court. Mantras are
used to climb out of a hole, out of desperate situations.

Last year I was talking to a friend in India about a common friend who
was in a dire situation. She was a surgeon. She had ended her first
marriage in a divorce, which is rather uncommon in India. She married
again and got a son, a brilliant charming boy. But things took a turn
for the worse. Her second husband died suddenly. Her demanding mother
became sick and it was a task taking care of a difficult sick mother
and it drained her energy and enthusiasm completely. She had to work
in a distant hospital to make both ends meet. It took a toll on her
and  led to a nervous breakdown. She lost her job and this started
affecting the boy as well. Her behavior started getting bizarre. She
would wake her son up a few times during the night to see if he was ok
and alive. She complained of being stalked by strangers. My friend
said that she was concerned about her and thought she would need
immediate psychiatric care and it was impossible to convince her to go
and consult a doctor. I felt unhappy about her lot. Impulsively I took
the book of Sundarakanda from the Ramayana of Valmiki. This section
contains  more than 2800 Sanskrit verses. It deals with the condition
of Sri Sita who was abducted by Ravana and incarcerated in Lanka. Her
husband Sri Rama had no clue about her whereabouts and sent emissaries
in different directions. The great devotee of Rama, Hanuman the monkey
god leapt over the Indian Ocean( a la Hanumanasana or Anjaneyasana)
and reached Lanka and ultimately found Sri Sita confined in a remote
forest. He managed to convince her that he was an emissary of Sri
Rama, exchanged a ring given by Rama for identification, received a
crest jewellery of Sita as proof of his meeting with Sita. He finally
returned to the mainland and reported to Sri Rama about the successful
completion of ‘finding Sita Mission’. This portion of the Ramayana is
said to be very powerful and is used as a mantra portion. Sita was
desperate, had lost all hopes of returning to her beloved husband and
was about to commit suicide– she saw no light at the end of the
tunnel (2800+ verses for this?). So this is chanted when people feel
‘hope-less’. To chant this whole section takes about ten hours. Many
times people who can not do it by themselves because they can not read
Sanskrit or are not in a mental condition to read ask a priest or
someone else to recite/chant and sometimes they sit down and listen to
it. It is believed that chanting or listening to it will help the
subject to get out of the hole like Sri Sita who was able to get out
of Lanka and return to her husband after a successful   mission of her
husband.

So I just chanted the whole section during the next three days at the
rate of about 3 hours per day. I felt a little peaceful afterwords.
After about 15 days I was talking to my friend in India again and she
had something interesting to say about our common friend. I was told
that she became worse, even became violent and suddenly one late
evening she impulsively rang up her first husband who was living in a
city about 400 miles away and poured her heart out about her desperate
situation. He listened to her carefully and calmly and he (himself a
medical doctor) asked her to come over to his city as he thought she
needed a change of place first. She quickly wound up her
establishment. Her first husband helped her find an apartment to stay
in, found admission for her son in a good school. He also used his
contacts and found her a job in a new teaching hospital in the
outskirts of the city, He also took personal interest in the adorable
and brilliant boy,– as a godfather . When I met her during my recent
visit to India I found her absolutely fine. She even got a promotion
in the teaching hospital as an associate professor in Surgery. A
dramatic turnaround in a very short period of time.

Whenever I have problems the solutions for which are beyond my
control, I resort to chanting. Most often they do not seem to have any
effect, but they help me to calm down a bit and to view the situation
more realistically. Mantras seem to work if one chants for others,
most times. Mantras seem to work wonders sometimes. Mantras act as a
protective cover or a shield .Of course skeptics would say these are
coincidences.

There is a work called Tarka Sangraha. It is a treatise on ancient
vedic logic. It starts with a prayer to the Almighty for the
successful completion of the work, like we pray to Ganesha at the
beginning of Yoga class. In a commentary on this work, the commentator
poses the question (it being a work on logic and inference) whether it
is necessary to pray before starting any work like writing a book. He
quotes an instance of a book successfully completed without a prayer
in the beginning. He also quotes another literary work which remained
abandoned even with a beautiful prayer to start with. Then he goes on
to answer. Just because there is no written prayer at the beginning of
the book it does not mean that the author had not recited a prayer. He
might have done it silently without writing it. Or he could have
prayed sufficiently in his previous births. Regarding the unsuccessful
book, he says that mantras and prayers alone may not be sufficient if
the obstacles are insurmountable. I can not write a book on let us
say, “ Nuances of British Criminal Law” by just writing a prayer to
Lord Ganesha, nor a couch potato win a marathon after chanting a
mantra on Vishnu. If one’s Karma is very negative, prayers may help to
mitigate the ill effects rather than in completely nullifying it. In a
desperate situation most people instinctively look up to the superior
force/being  even if they do not pray routinely.

Most days I try to chant a portion of the vedas, different portions on
different days. One day in the morning I chanted the pravargya chapter
containing the ghosha santi mantra referred to in the beginning of
this write up. Soon thereafter I learnt about the earth quake in
Japan, then later on the horrendous tsunami and then the nerve racking
news about the nuclear plants. The pain one feels in such situations
is compounded by one’s impotence. I could only think of chanting the
45 minute pravargya chapter almost daily thereafter which contains the
beautiful ghosha santi mantras

May the Earth function peacefully
May there be peace in outer Space 
May there be peace in the Heavens.
Peace, may there be, in all Directions
In all the intermediate directions, may there be Peace
May the Fire function peacefully
May the Air function peacefully,
May the Sun warm us gently
May the moon shine peacefully,
So the stars function peacefully,
May the waters function in peace,
May there be peace in herbs
May the trees (and forests) be peaceful
May the milch cows be peaceful
So the goats be peaceful
And the horses be peaceful,
May human beings be peaceful.,
May the Lord be kind and peaceful,
May the scholars (brahmanas) be peaceful,
Let there be peace alone (no strife)
Let there be Peace alone in me.
May I be peaceful as the Universe becomes peaceful
May peace be instilled in me, in bipeds and quadrupeds
May there be Peace
By this universal peace may I remain peaceful
And I pledge to remain peaceful
And pledge to create peace in bipeds and quadrupeds
May there be Peace in me, Peace alone in me!!

This is also known as Maha Shanti or the great peace invocation. I had
included this chant on the cd that accompanied the first few prints of
my book “The Complete Book of Vinyasa Yoga”. I had also recorded the
Sundara Kanda I referred to in this article a few years back and it is
still available in India as a two cd pack running for close to 10
hours. Many people chant “Hanuman Chalisa” an excellent prayer mantra
on Hanumanji and is considered to be equal to the lengthy Sundara
Kanda in its efficacy. You may also consider reading the chapter on
Mantra Yoga in my book “Yoga for the Three Stages of Life”.

  *******

       ***Kapalabhati is voluntary sneezing. Ujjayi is voluntary
wheezing. Bhastrika is voluntary coughing. Pranayama is voluntary/
mindful  breathing. These simple yogic procedures help overcome the
underlying chronic respiratory problems

       ***According to my Guru the inversion twins Sirasasana and
Sarvangasana are like two eyes of yogasana regimen. They are also
compared to the head and the heart..they benefit respectively the
brain and the heart. Some call them as the King and Queen of asanas.

      ***Pranayama is one procedure that has a direct correlation to
longevity.

      *** A sage (yogi) should use food  as a medicine to treat a
disease called hunger. Minimal clothing-the loin cloth– should be
used like a bandage to cover a wound.– My Guru quoting an old
Sanskrit saying. (A recluse yogi ate three handfuls of food a day and
perhaps just wore a loincloth—no yoga wardrobe or yoga recipes /
kitchen, I guess )

    *** The tongue (jihwa) has two tendencies/weaknesses (chapalya).
One is to taste (and eat) excess stimulating food. The other is to
talk in excess and without purpose. Tapas,  a yogic niyama is to keep
the twin functions of the  tongue under a leash by moderation is
speech(mita bhashana) and moderation in diet (mitaa  ahaara)–From my
class notes on YS of  my Guru

  *** The initial goal of a Yoga is to transform one’s mind (chitta)
into a predominantly Satwic state. The ultimate goal of a Yoga would
be to make the mind (chitta) transcend all the gunas, called nirodha
avasta (state of  peaceful stillness) or saamya avasta ( state of
absolute equilibrium of the three gunas). How to achieve these? Ask
Patanjali Maharshi, he has all the answers.

  *** I know what is right action(dharma),
         but am disinclined to do what is right
         I know what is wrong action (adharma)
         but am unable to refrain from doing it
         So, let me act the way, as directed
         By whosoever divine being resides in my heart
         -A Sanskrit morning prayer

Thank You and with best wishes
Sincerely
Srivatsa Ramaswami

One innocuous looking but important feature of the Vinyasa krama way
of asana practice is the deliberate use of breathing while practicing
asanas. Unlike other forms of yogasana practice and other
popular aerobic exercises, Vinyasakrama requires the practice to be
breath oriented and breath controlled. If one practices vinyasakrama
asana practice for about an hour followed by 15 to 30 minutes of
Pranayama practice, it would mean having a complete voluntary control
over one’s breathing for about 1 ½ hrs which otherwise is usually
involuntary. My Guru, Sri Krishnamacahrya, is credited with the
ability to alter the heart rate and even stop it. He has mentioned
that it was primarily due to deep Pranayama practice. A German doctor
who conducted studies on this feat of my Guru attributed it to deep
uddiyana Bandha which helps squeeze and arrest the heart so that it
stops beating during the period the bandha is done. And deep bandha
requires an exceptionally deep Rechaka or exhalation which again is
part of pranayama. My Guru used to say, as I have written earlier too,
that a lot of Siddhis in Hata Yoga are due to Pranayama especially
rechaka, exhalation. According to Brahmananda, the commentator of
Hathayogapradeepika, Hata Yoga means union of Prana (ha) and apana
(ta) or Pranayama.

As we all know, the respiratory function is under both voluntary and
involuntary control. Breathing goes on involuntarily changing with the
physiological requirements without conscious effort. However it can
also be brought under voluntary control. There are several
other bodily functions that are somewhat of a similar nature—
urination, defecation, sex functions, etc. Normally our breathing is
shallow and involuntary. In Pranayama and Vinyasa krama asana
practice, a deliberate attempt is made to bring it under voluntary
control. The Yogis try to bring the breathing function under absolute
control by introducing several parameters like the place of control of
the breath, varying duration of inhalation exhalation, and breath
holding in and out, using the bandhas at the appropriate stages of
breathing. Then Pranayama is done with mantras and imaging or bhavana.
All these make up a formidable number of pranayama methods by which
the Yogi brings about a tremendous voluntary control over the
breathing function. We may add in passing that in cardio-
function,speech or vocal training one learns to discipline one’s
breathing consciously in the initial stages but later subconsciously
for purposes other than the  objective of life support. Human speech
also is dependent on continuous breath control.

This method of bringing the breathing under greater control of
the central nervous system or the cortex it is believed helps the Yogi
to bring several other physiological functions under the Yogi’s will.
It leads to some extraordinary Siddhis like stopping the heart for a
considerable period of time, control of hunger and thirst
(kshudpipapasa) etc.

According to a well known neuro surgeon of yesteryears in India
(himself a fan of Sri Krishnamacharya), neurophysiologically speaking,
it appears that the basic factor of Yoga is the control of
respiration. Respiratory function can be more easily controlled than
any other vital function and the Yogi uses it as the first step in her/
his control of the nervous system. When cortical higher brain control
is achieved over one basic function, it is possible to bring about
control over other basic functions such as vasomotor, etc. It is
therefore possible to dilate bronchial tubes in an asthmatic, reduce
blood pressure or increase it, reduce the rate of heart beat, all with
the help of Pranayama. Neurological brain disorders like epilepsy,
skin allergies like eczema also respond to pranic control.

A number of functions classified as autonomic are not so for an adept
Yogi. She/He is able to control by will many functions that are
controlled in ordinary human beings by subcortical areas—which is
beyond one’s voluntary control. The mechanism involved could be
neurological or chemical. Once a steady regular control of respiration
is achieved, there is perhaps a reciprocal biochemical stability which
helps in the maintenance of such control.

When a yogi wishes to establish full control over this lower vital and
emotional function by the exercise of the cortex (will) he/she has to
do it by the reciprocal connections among the cortex, the reticular
system and the various concerned centers of the brain. Autonomic
functions such as gastrointestinal peristalsis, glandular secretion,
sex, and urinary bladder are controlled by the reticular formation of
the medulla, pons, and mid-brain. The respiratory system, the
cardiovascular system, swallowing, mastication, and vomiting reflexes
are all equally controlled by the reticular formation at the level of
the medulla oblongata. It is said that more than a couple of dozen of
such functions are controlled by reticular formation. The reticular
formation consists of more than 100 small neural networks with varied
functions. It produces rhythmic signals to the muscles of breathing.
The reticular system also filters incoming stimuli to discriminate
irrelevant background stimuli/noise.  Constant Yogic practice of both
pranayama and subsequent meditation quite likely leads to an
enlargement of the scope of the function of the reticular system and
the cortex. It is quite possible that in a real yogi the reticular
system and the cortex are both functionally altered and structurally
proliferated.

Patanjali also emphasizes that such a transformation of the brain
cells is possible. The chitta Parinama or the scope of altered
arrangement of the brain cells is inherent in every individual and
only the appropriate practice is the cause of such a transformation.
Like a farmer (kshetrika) who merely diverts the flow of water in a
field, the yogi has only to channelize his neurological energies along
certain paths and systems. There is no external cause to bring about
such neurological and cortical changes. It is an activity of the
brain  by the brain on the brain for the brain.

And the key appears to be Pranayama or breath control.

Sri Krishnamacharya’s classes never allowed student’s puffing and
breathing heavily, like aerobic exercise or aerobic like yoga
workouts. Whether doing asanas as per vinyasakrama, or Pranayama, the
student would exercise voluntary control over breathing during the
entire duration of yoga practice. If one breathes heavily, a
considerate Krishnamacharya would urge the student to lie down in
Savasana for a short period of time to get the breath back before
resuming the practice. The breath of yoga is conscious, controlled
breathing practice; an unhurried conscious controlled  breathing is a
sine qua non for Krishnamacharya’s yogasana practice.

Here is a translation of a verse from Tirumular’s Tirumandiram on
Pranayama

The breath within moves
And wanders randomly
CONTROL it and purify it from within;
Your limbs will glow with red luster,then
Your hair will turn dark
And God (Siva) within will never leave you.

For most people January is a very busy month. They work hard to put in
place a schedule to implement their New Year Resolutions. Admissions
to Yogic schools, Music schools, gyms show increased activity before
stabilizing at more realistic levels in later months. For me this
January was very sedate. I was forced to cool my heels, awaiting an
elusive appearance in a local court in Chennai, India. But I used this
enforced idleness to rummage through my old small book almirah here in
Chennai, which contains a few notebooks of the notes I had taken
during my studies with Sri Krishnamacharya. Some of them were as old
as the 1960 and as late as 1980s. I also was able to lay my hands on
old copies of the Tamizh version of Yoga Makaranda, the Kannada book
titled Yogasanagalu and two tiny albums of my Guru doing asanas, I
think in his 80s which he had given to me. It was refreshing visiting
those notes again. Some of them were in the form of dictated articles
by him. Some are not very linear but still informative. I thought I
could translate one of them—it deals with two topics. It is as
follows, which was dictated to me during December 1967.

Thus spake Sri T Krishnamacharya

Several acharyas from the South of India have written about Ashtanga
Yoga under difficult circumstances. However, many of the highly
practical works of these acharyas were destroyed by people not
belonging to the orthodox vedic disposition.

Adi Sankara wrote three texts on Yoga. He wrote a text called “Yoga
Bashya Vivarana” as a commentary to the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali. When
he was busy writing these outstanding works and teaching/preaching, he
faced many obstacles, like being set fire to his hands, by his
detractors. But just 30 years old, he created a divine work called,
“karavalamba stotra”, a prayer to Lord Lakshmi Narasimha and got his
hands restored and thereafter wrote some works on sushumna nadi. Then
when he was barely 32, he decided that he need not live in this world
any longer and became a complete recluse (vairagya). He also taught
the right path (sanmarga) to 500 of his students. Then due to his
enormous yogic powers, he effortlessly left his mortal body and
attained his true swarupa or form/status. Before that he called five
of his important students and taught his work, called  “dasa avatara
stotra (work on ten avataras of the Lord) , on Paravasudeva. Then he
told them that only the worship of the Lord will help them get
released from samsara bandha (bondage of repeated births).

It is found that many successive great heads of Sankara Mutts
established by Sankara have not shown much earnestness in the matter
of Ashtanga yoga. But, due to the grace of God, the Advaita Ashram
that was dear to Adisankara  and also quite well known viz., the
Sringeri Mutt had Sri Narasimha Bharati as the head. His leadership at
the Mutt was helpful in the propagation of Yoga. His disciple and
successor,  the well known Sri Chandrasekhara Bharati was my dear
friend. We practiced Yoga together in Bangalore Sankara Mutt for some
time.

Now let me explain  the works and observances of  (Vaishnava) Yogis
like Parankucha Muni, Nathamuni and Vyamana Muni.

Parankusamuni, Satakopa, Nammalwar are the different names of the same
Yogi. The work that he did on Yoga was “Yoga Tatwa”. His propagation
of Yoga under the patronage of the Chola king was important. “By this
Yoga, the cool grace of Lord Sriman Narayana will become a protective
shield to your dynasty” said the sage. “ However if you violate the
dharma (apachara), the same power of yoga will prove to be a killer
sword for your dynasty” warned the sage. It is known that subsequently
the Chola dynasty lost a lot of its lustre due to certain adharmic
activities of the ruling class.

There are twelve topics covered in “YogaTatwa”. Why did the
compassionate Lord create the world that tends towards sin
(papa).Having created it, why did the Lord create groups that force
people to follow the path of adharma? He is the Lord of everyone, but
why does He create opportunities for some to follow the path of
adhrma? Is it proper?  As the text discusses these immensely weighty
issues and also solutions to them, it is called “Yoga Tatwa”. It is
our duty to explain and propagate these great secrets for the benefit
of the world. Sri Satakopa Muni for the benefit of the great souls
along the Tamraparani river wrote the first chapter himself.

The famous three munis wrote nine works. Once, Sri Nathamuni  while
resting in a state of Samadhi had the vision of Parankusa Muni in his
dream. In that state he learnt many secrets of Yoga from Parankusa.
The essence of that teaching was the famous Nathamuni’sYoga Rahasya.
In this text, not only the routine Yoga principles are discussed but
also methods  treatment of diseases or Yoga chikitsakramas.

The third of the trio was Yamunacharya. He wrote several works, but
four were famous. viz.,
Agamapramanam, Iswarasiddhi, Sampathsiddhi and Yoga chulakam. They
give instructions for easy practice of Yoga. The source books for the
works of these great sages were the Bhagavat Gita, the eleventh skanda
(section) of the Srimad Bhagavata, Uddava-Sri Krishna Dialogues,
several Upanishads, Yoga Yagnyavalkya Samhita, Sri Rahasya, Yogasana
Mahodadhi and many others. For Sri Nathamuni his parents and
grandparents the most important and dear Yoga text appears to be Yoga
Yagnyavalkya Samhita and also the Gita and the 11th section of the
Bhagavata. Discussing about the wonders of God’s will, he talks about
issues like  should lay people be taught to practice yoga and similar
issues in considerable detail. Many yogis of the present time, with
high ahanta(ego), I should say without any fear, have not had the good
fortune of reading  Sri Nathamuni’s yoga works and other supporting
texts.

Now let me give a comprehensive treatment of practice krama of yoga.

There are several essential factors that should be kept in view by
both the yogabhyasi and the teacher. The student, as instructed by the
teacher should check the quality of recaka and puraka (exhalation and
inhalation). Are there any obstructions in the airways? It is mainly
because asanas unaided or synchronized with breathing is of no use.
For instance, the teacher and the student should check the number of
matras (measure of time) the breath takes while inhaling, exhaling. If
there is considerable difference in these durations, the teacher
should first ask the abhyasi to practice controlled rechaka-puraka
even prior to the practice of asanas.

Then one should start practicing asanas as per instructions. There are
many asanas–sitting, standing, supine, prone, lying on the sides—
there are thus many starting positions. Further there are upside down
positions, like Sarvangasana. If the students has good well
proportioned body the teacher can teach the inversions, Sarvangasana
and Sirsasana even in the beginning of study.  And such a person
should also possess very long and  smooth inhalations and exhalations.
Further he should learn to maintain the inhalations and exhalations of
even duration. If one does 8 to 10 recaka-purakas in sirsasana, then
one should practice sarvangasana for the same number of recaka-puraka
and of the same duration. Sarvangasana and sirsasana are like the two
eyes of yogabhyasa. These help to maintain “bodily freedom” (sariraswatantriyam). The various vinyasas of these poses also have similar effects. Only by these two poses the acuity of the senses and capacity of the lungs increase. Even as Sarvangasana is an essential pose for persons with heart ailment, it should be done with
the help and involvement of the teacher/trainer. While teaching
Sarvangasana to such persons, the teacher should stand behind the
trainee and at the end of each exhalation should gently nudge the
trainee’s back a little forward and hold for a second. After about a
month’s such practice, the trainer should check the strength of
recaka, the general health or growth of the body the duration of
recaka-puraka and then if they are good should help the trainee stay
for about a minute or so. Thereafter the abhyasi should be given rest.
If one has some ailment the posture should be repeated two or three
times. For instance to an asthmatic doing even half a dozen breaths in
Sarvangasana will be difficult. So the trainee should make the abhyasi
practice atleast 12 breaths over a number of tries. Trying to do many
breaths in one go could create some chest pain and discomfort. So,
with a relaxed approach in four or six tries one should do the
required number of breaths. One should return to the lying down
position slowly. The same will apply to obese people while learning
sarvangasana, they should be taught the asanas with a lot of care. In
this manner the teacher and taught should learn to remain in an asana
for several minutes without any doubts about the pose. With
sarvangasana and sirsasana other asanas like paschimatanasana,
purvatanasana, chatushpada peetam; Parvatasana, vajrasana,
Bhujangasana etc can also br practiced.

When one starts to learn Yoga, in the beginning the duration of
practice can be as little as 15 to 20 minutes. One can gradually
increase the duration. The teacher should check the breath every day
and then increase the duration of practice. Whatever be the posture,
if one could stay for a long time without the limbs going to sleep (or
numb) or any pain or discomfort then such a practitioner is known as
jitasana (the conqueror/master of an asana.) While staying in an asana
one should not unnecessarily shake the body, bend or contort or move
and if one can stay for hours then such a yogi is a jitasana. We learn
from the works and sayings of yogis that in the olden days the rishis,
every day would remain in any one asana for three hours and do
pranayama and meditation. Then if the yogi is able to remain doing
long inhalation, exhalation and kumbhaka without feeling any kind of
fatigue and for a long period of time such a person would be called
“Jitaprana” or Jitaswasa, or one who has conquered the breath.

Remaining in a posture and gazing at one’s favorite (ishta) icon and
experiencing a feeling of bliss is called “trataka”. It is of two
types, anta and bahi. To gaze at an outside object like an icon is
external trataka. Closing one’s eyes and ‘imaging’ the object
internally and continually focusing attention  in between the eyebrows
is the antah(r)trataka or internal gazing. One can practice this
between one to ten minutes.

In the yogasana practice it is good to include a Mudra as well
everyday. Mahamudra and Shanmukhi mudra may be done. Further one
should do a kriya called plavana (jumping/stretching). For instance,
remaining in the same place after a particular asana practice, one may
place the palms on the floor, lift the body  and then stretch the legs
one by one . Then in recaka one should bend the leg and in puraka
return to the floor If one stays in an asana for a long time, the
muscles could slightly cramp and the plavana would help restore the
muscles attain normal tone. The yogabhyasi should practice asana,
pranayama, mudra and kriya together even from the beginning. Only then
all the benefits mentioned for the varied asanas will accrue. Likewise
if one by Pranayama becomes known as Jitaswasa, and then by meditation
is able to conquer the mind such a yogi is known as jitamanaska. All
the three are necessary. One should practice the same duration for
both asana and pranayama and then twice the duration for dhyana or
meditation. In the olden days the sages did yoga on three occasions
everyday, at dawn, noon and dusk. The time and regulation in Kumbhaka
are essential. With regulated time, one should practice all aspects of
yoga, like asana, kriyas, pranayama and mudra. One should do a few
asanas that one enjoys doing for about 15 mts and then do the
pratikriyas or counter poses.  For instancee one may do 15 mts of
sirsasana followed by 15 mts of sarvangasana,. Or perhaps 15 mts of
viparita dandasana followed by 15 mts of uttana mayurasana.

Asanas like sirasasana done while the body trembles or unsteady will
not be beneficial. Done correctly, it helps to maintain prana in
sushuna. Without proper practice one will not get faith in Yoga, nor
will one get the benefits mentioned in the sastras. One should know
the kriyas (like plavana) and there is a relationship bertween asanas
and plavana(jumping/stretching) kriya. As mentioned earlier, one
should bring under control the body by asana, with recaka kumbhaka the
prana and by meditation or dhyana the mind. For dhyana it may be
useful to choose a charming icon.

Normally in Sutras, the same term/idea should not be repeated. But in
the yogasutras of Patanjali the term Iswarapranidhana is used three
times. It is acceptable if the term is used with different
connotations  in different places/contexts.

According to my Guru, the yogasutra even as it deals with subject of
(Raja)Yoga, caters to the needs of three different groups or levels of
yoga aspirants. The first one the highest or the uttama adhikaris are
the intended group of aspirants in the first chapter called the
samadhi pada. Here Patanjali used the term Iswarapranidhana as an
independent means of achieving  the goal of Kaivalya or spiritual
freedom the set goal of yoga. It is the complete quietening of the
mind or chitta  vritii nirodha. According to Patanjali it is possible
to achieve this yogic goal by intense devotion to Iswara (pranidhana=
bhakti visesha) as indicated by the term Iswarapranidhana in this
context. By the proper Japa of pranava which would indicate the mystic
syllable or mantra “OM” the highest aspirant (adhikari) who already
has the ability to go into a stage of samadhi (hence dealt with in
Samadhi Pada) will be able to achieve this extraordinary result.  An
intense faith and devotion to the eternal unfettered spirit,
Iswara,whose essence is pure consciousness and still endowed with
omniscience would do the trick and nothing else is needed. If however
this devotional fervor is lacking even if the samadhi capacity is
there, the more step by step process of going through stages of
mastering Prakriti (24 aspects ) may be resorted to following the
path of Niriswara Samkhyas who have difficulty in subscribing to a
nimitta karana or an efficient cause for creation.

In the second chapter, Sadhana Pada, Patanjali takes the case of those
who without the yogic skill of Samadhi, but still wish to start to go
along the path of Yoga, the first step in a 1000 mile long yoga
journey. To them, the absolute beginners, he would include
Iswarapranidhana as one of the steps in Kriya yoga . Here
Iswarapranidhana has a different application. It is not the use of
Pranava Japa as the Samadhi Yogi would do but Iswarapujana or worship
of Iswara as per many yogis. Simple to complicated rituals are
available for the interested to remain focused on Iswara for a period
of time every day. This in practical terms is much easier to resort to
following the well established procedures of puja (worship rituals) of
the Lord. This is possible for anyone with faith in God, but lack the
samadhi capability. One may not be able to achieve Samadhi with this
but it will slowly prepare the mind to go along the path of yogic
samadhi. Concurrently it will also reduce the mental pain caused by
several kleshas like avidya etc.

One may ask if Iswarapranidhana or Iswarapujana as it is said in Kriya
yoga can by itself lead to samadhi bhavana  or is it part of a whole
practice called Kriya yoga. Another corollary question would be what
if one has difficulty believing in God, could one still take advantage
of  kriyayoga?  There are references to practices of kriya yoga used
without the Iswarapranidhana component. The great epic Ramayana
describes a sage as one established in austerity and scriptural
studies. The Ramayana opens with the two traits of Kriaya yoga viz.,
tapas and swadhyaya. (tapas swadhyaya nirataam). So we may see that
there are occasions where the first two traits are mentioned
independent of Iswarapranidhana. Of course it would be best to use all
the three parts of kriya yoga.

When a start up yogi belonging to the iswarapranidhana stream
practices iswara pujana assiduously, the mental klesas come down and
she/he will be well on the path of conditioning the mind for samadhi.
Then we have the next yoga stage called ashtanga yoga a more elaborate
and complete yoga sadhana or yoga practice. Herein also is
Iswarapranidhana mentioned and the result of this practice as part of
niyama would be Samadhi itself, which also is the goal of the entire
ashtanga yoga as samadhi is the last anga. Commentators give a
different interpretation of Iswarapranidhana here in ashtanga yoga
than what is found in first chapter and in  kriya yoga.. They would
say that it would refer to doing one’s prescribed duties diligently as
God’s work and surrendering oneself to the Lord and also the fruits of
all actions. This intermediate stage yogi or madhyama  adhikari the
one not having the skill of going into samadhi  but is totally
committed to yoga as a life long pursuit. For  her/him Patanjali
suggests the classical ashtanga yoga. Here as per my Guru and several
commentators it would mean total surrender to the Lord or Saranagati
or prapatti. One may say that the prescribed duties would also imply
practicing the stipulated duties in ashtanga yoga and doing them as
God’s work with a complete sense of surrender to the Lord. This “karma
Yoga” in which the results of the practices do not cloud the yogi’s
mind is “karma phala tyaga”. This devotional path will lead to Samadhi
the necessary skill to take the last lap in the yoga journey.

My teacher being a devout Bhakti Yogi stressed the importance of the
Iswarapranidhana stream in the Yoga Sutras. The Yogis who have an
intense devotional fervor could do well to follow the devotional path.
For most yogis a judicious combination of samkhya yoga and bhakti yoga
would be helpful as is the direction of the sutras. But it is also
necessary to point out that Iswarapranidhana even though it is
mentioned just three times in the whole text forms an independent and
complete system of Yoga in the Yoga sutras. For the start up Yogi it
prepares the mind for samadhi and also simultaneously reduces the
mental klesas. At the intermediate level it leads to dawn of Samadhi a
necessary tool for both Siddhis and Kaivalya and a reduction in
impurities of the mind, the Rajas and Tamas. At the highest level
Isawarapranidhana leads to understanding the true nature of oneself
(pratyak cetana)and also the removal of all spiritual obstacles
(antaraya).

Many other acharyas also have taken the efforts to stress the
importance of  both the streams. Adi Sankara the advocate of Advaita
or nondualism, wrote great works not only on the intellectually
challenging subjects as advaita like the Brahma Sutra Bhashya,
Vivekachudaani etc., but also wrote such wonderful devotional works as
Bhaja Govindam, Soundarya Lahari and several others. Sri Sankara apart
from being the most revered exponent of Advaita also came to be known
as one who established the six methods of orthodox worship of the
divine in India (shan-mata-sthapana-acahrya), The six methods are
worship of Ganesa (Ganapatya), Kumara (Kaumara), of Mother Sakti
(Saakta), of Siva (Saiva), of Vishnu (Vaishnava) and of the Sun
(Saura). He wrote numerous works of poetry on all these deities.
Patanjali, Adi Sankara, my own Guru Sri Krishnamacharya and several
orthodox teachers of yesteryear were at considerable ease with both
the paths of wisdom and of devotion.

King Ambarisha was a great king, highly venerated and a great devotee
of Lord Vishnu. He faithfully followed the religious observances and
rituals which he did with great devotion and sincerity with his
wonderful wife. A just king he was revered by his subjects. He was
also very charitable by nature. He regularly observed fasting on every
Ekadasi and on the next day as per the religious practice  would
take an early meal on the following dwadasi (12th day after moon days)
day. He would piously follow the procedures faithfully including vedic
chanting like the Taittiriya Upanishad. Once he and his wife after a
day of  ekadasi fasting were about to break the fast the following
morning when sage Durvasa came with a large number of his disciples
and landed at the doorsteps of King Ambarisha’s palace. He grandly
announced that he and his wards would be the athitis (guests without
notice or invitation). The King immediately fell at his feet and said
that he was honoured to have him and his men as guests on such an
auspicious day as dwadasi. The sage said that he would go to the
river, have his bath and come back for meals.

Once in the river he and his men took an enormous time to complete
their ritualistic bath. In the meantime the King was waiting for his
guests, but it is stipulated that one should have the meals on Dwadasi
day very early, it being the day after a day of complete fasting.
After a while the priests of the palace—including sage Vasishta– said
that the sastras demand that he should not delay having the meal but
the King said that with the guests expected to come, one should not
have a meal without the guests. Either way he would be violating some
dharma or the other the priests opined and suggested to the King that
instead of a regular meal he could just take a basil leaf and break
the fast and it could be construed also as not having a meal. This via
media suggestion finally appealed to the reluctant Ambarisha. So he
took one small basil leaf and put it into his mouth with a spoonful of
water and just then Durvasa made a dramatic entry. He shouted at the
king and said that he had insulted a great sage and would have to bear
the brunt of his curse.  Durvasa, using his enormour tapas power,
created a demon to destroy the King for insulting him. The pious King
with the head bowed prayed to Lord Vishnu for guidance. The Lord
immediately sent His weapon the chakra, called Sudharsana chakra or
wheel which came whirling and instantly destroyed the demon and
quickly went after the sage. It is  said that the Lord may sometimes
tolerate any disrespect to Him but never any insult or harm done to
His devotees. So the chakra went after the sage and the sage started
running for his life. He first went to brahma the creator and one of
the trinities., but he politely said that he has no powers to go
against the just actions of the Lord. Then the sage ran to Siva and he
also said something very similar, but advised him to go to Lord Vishnu
whose weapon was threatening him So finally after almost a year
running helter and skelter, the sage finally fell at the feet of Lord
Vishnu and prayed for forgiveness. The Lord then said that the only
person who could save him was King Ambarisha with whom he had behaved
very badly, The sage came running to Ambarisha’s palace. As Durvasa
was about to fall at the feet of the king, the king bowed to him
instead in great reverence and directed the Sudarsana chakra to return
to Lord Vishnu without causing any harm to the great sage. Then the
sage granted extraordinary boons to the king and left chastened.

A similar story about Durvasa appears in the epic Mahabharata. The
Pandavas were in the forest  incognito as per the conditions of their
exile. The Pandavas with their mother Kunti were hiding in the forest
for a year. They prayed to lord Krishna for food as they were not
wanting to be seen openly in the forest looking for food. The Lord
gave them a vessel which had the ability to give one meal a day for
the family. Kunti used to feed her sons, the Pandavas everyday with
the limited food from the vessel. The cooking vessel would be washed
with water and thereafter they could get food only on the following
day. So the Pandavas like yogis were eating once a day.

It is said that sage Durvasa wanted to create problems for the
Pandavas. So one day he came to their place after they had had their
lunch from the magic vessel. Then it was washed and kept aside to be
used only the following day. In the olden days, any stranger asking
for food should be provided with food. It is considered a sin not to
give food. So the sage with his army of followers descended on the
hide out of the Pandavas and asked them to keep the lunch and they
would return after  bath in the nearby river. There was no way they
could get food because the vessel would not give food once it is
washed and kept aside. So Kunti prayed to Lord Krishna to save them
from the predicament and the wrath of the short tempered sage. The
Lord appeared before them and took the vessel and found a minute
particle of spinach sticking to the cleaned vessel. Smilingly, he took
it in his finger and put it his mouth with mouthful of water. As he
swallowed the piece of spinach, Durvasa and his army who were taking a
river bath, suddenly felt that their stomachs were full and started
bloating. They felt as though they had eaten a sumptuous meal and had
no space for even a morsel of food. They decided discretion was
better than going for a lunch, and teaching a lesson for which they
did not have the stomach. They quickly disappeared into thin air
giving a sigh a of relief to the Pandavas who praised the Lord for His
divine help.

Of course there are a few episodes that show Durvasa in a better
light. But Durvasasana is an exquisite pose though a difficult one.
Another one legged pose that is awesome in the one leg up pose called
Trivikrama. This truly is a majestic pose. Trivikrama is actually an
avatar (incarnation) of Lord Vishnu and story of the avatar of Vishnu
as Trivikrama is very absorbing. A few temples in South India have the
icon of Lord Trivikrama. It is also one of the 12 names of the Lord
used in daily prayers.

This article was written by Srivatsa Ramaswami and is reproduced here with his kind permission