THE HOLY GITA
CHAPTER 4
JNANA KARMA SANYASA YOGA OR THE YOGA OF RENUNCIATION OF ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE OR THE WAY OF KNOWLEDGE:
VERSE NUMBER 29
Text in Transliteration
apaane juhvati praanam praane ‘paanam tathaa ‘pare
praanaapaanagatee ruddhvaa praanaayaamaparaayanaah
Text in English
Yet others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming, and the incoming in the outgoing, restraining the flow of the outgoing and incoming breaths, solely absorbed in the regulation of the life-energy.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIDBHAVANANDA:
There is close relationship between man’s mentation and his breathing. The regularity or otherwise in the one has a corresponding effect on the other. Unwholesome mentations such as fear, lust and anger disturb and hinder the flow of breath. Calmness, contentment, affection and such like healthy attitudes lead to rhythm in breathing. Conversely, if the flow of breath be voluntarily regulated, its effect on mind is beneficial. Yogis took note of this fact and evolved the science of praanaayaama (breath control).
Breathing through the mouth is to be avoided. Air taken through the nostril is known as apaana and that thrown out, as praana. Inhaling is technically called pooraka; and exhaling, rechaka. Arresting the breath within or without is kumbhaka. Violent and incorrect practice of praanaayaama shatters the nerves and brings in neural complications. Correct practice of it heals diseases, tones the system, enhances health and pacifies the mind. Attractive and inviting as this science is, adepts in it are few and quacks many. A novice will therefore do well to refrain from it.
A yogi endowed with a serene mind may practise deep rhythmic breathing avoiding kumbaka as far as possible. A good walker takes no note of his legs. Similarly a sadhaka who does good praanaayaama is hardly ever obsessed with it. Measured breathing and a blissful attitude constitute a good praanaayaama.
COMMENTARY BY SWAMI SIVANANDA:
Some Yogis practise Puraka ( inhalation) some Yogis practise Rechaka (exhalation), and some Yogis pratise Kumbhaka (retention of breath).
The five sub-Pranas and the other Pranas are merged in the chief Prana (Mukhya-Prana) by the practice of Pranayama. When the Prana is controlled, the mind also stops its wanderings and becomes steady; the senses are also thinned out and merged in the Prana. It is through the vibration of Prana that the activities of the mind and the senses are kept up. If the Prana is controlled, the mind, the intellect and the senses cease to function.
Comments by the blogger:
The proper way of breathing is a contribution by the Vedopanishadic Sages to the world. there is a deep instant and direct connection between good bodily health and proper way of breathing. Not just that, there is a deep instant and direct connection between man’s mentation and breathing. Fear, lust and anger are unwholesome mentations. When a man is afraid or is filled with lust or anger, his pulse rate increases. This means he starts to breathe in and breathe out very quickly. This will shatter the central nervous system. But, on the other hand, when we indulge in sattvic thoughts, when we are truthful, filled with love for God and His creations, when we take pride in our neighbours’ achievements we breath slowly. We are not panting as when we are angry or lustful.
Hindu saints found out this connection of the breath and good health and good ethical life thousands of years ago. What happens under normal circumstances could be copied by way of pranayama or breath control techniques they found out. Pranayama or breath control is one of the greatest science and contribution by the ancient Indian Yogis to the Humanity in general.
Now let us come to the sacrificial aspect. The Lord says, “Yet others offer as sacrifice the outgoing breath in the incoming and the incoming in the outgoing,...” What does the Lord mean by saying that some people sacrifice their outgoing breath in the incoming breath and the incoming breath in the outgoing breath? If you think deeply about this it would sound as pure hypocrisy on the part of Lord Krishna to use such a language. You would naturally ask with all honesty in the world that just where and how could the question of sacrifice creep into these words of the Lord. But bear in mind, Lord Krishna does not use a single syllable in His Gita Discourse without weighing the consequences. Because He is teaching yoga in seventeen Discourses or chapters not including the first one that is devoted for Arjuna’s sorrowfulness and its expression. In the present discourse or chapter He uses the word sacrifice from verse number 25 onwards. He lists out how various yogis indulge in sacrifice. Now he says that some yogis sacrifice their outgoing breath in the inside breath and the incoming breath in the outgoing breath. These are Lords words. Sometimes the truth can only be said in an allegorical manner. Here there is no such need. He categorically says that some yogis SACRIFICE their outgoing breath in their incoming breath and SACRIFICE their incoming breath in the outgoing breath!
Where the heck comes the question of sacrifice?
To demonstrate this I beg you to suppose that there are two men seated side by side. And I ask you to further suppose that between the two men one is an accomplished Yogi who is performing Pranayama or breathing exercise and another is an average ordinary man. Now further suppose both of them indulge in the act of BREATHING IN their individual breath simultaneously. Now see the result: the yogi and the ordinary man start to breathe IN. The yogi breathes IN, in a steady and slow and scientifically rhythmic way, but the ordinary man knows no rhythm whatsoever and in a short while completes his INCOMING BREATH AND STARTS TO BREATH OUT WHILE THE YOGI IS STILL STEADILY PULLING IN HIS INCOMING BREATH IN A SLOW-STEADY RHYTHMICAL WAY! THAT IS, WHILE THE ORDINARY MAN HAS STARTED TO BREATH OUT, THE YOGI IS STILL BREATHING IN, IN A RHYTHMIC WAY. THIS IS WHAT THE LORD MEANS AS SACRIFICE! WHILE THE ORDINARY MAN, WHO HAS STARTED TO BREATH IN ALONG WITH THE YOGI HAS STARTED TO ENJOY THE OUTGOING BREATH, BUT THE YOGI IS STILL PULLING STEADILY HIS INCOMING BREATH AND HE THUS SACRIFICES HIS OUTGOING BREATH IN THE INCOMING BREATH! Then while the Yogi starts to breathe out steadily rhythmically and continuously the ordinary man completes his outgoing breath and starts to breathe in. And THIS IS SACRIFICING THE INCOMING BREATH ON THE PART OF THE YOGI IN THE OUTGOING BREATH!
Actually the Lord teaches one of the methods of rhythmic breathing technique. But why should he make resorts to such grandiloquence while the matter may be clothed in ordinary words? And why does he list this verse along with the ones dealing with mighty sacrifices?
We need not go far for the answer. Right from verse number 25 in this discourse, the Lord has been speaking about various kinds of INNER SACRIFICES IN THE FIRE OF KNOWLEDGE. IN ONLY ONE VERSE, NAMELY 28 HE USES GIVING OUT WEALTH AS ONE OF THE SACRIFICES. THAT IS THE ONLY WAY OF SACRIFICE WE KNOW IN COMMON PARLANCE. BECAUSE EVEN BY GIVING OUT PROPERLY EARNED WEALTH TO THE DESERVED PEOPLE AND INDULGE IN SACRIFICE. BUT ALL OTHER SACRIFICES HAVE BEEN RELATED TO RENUNCIATION OF ACTION IN KNOWLEDGE! THIS IS THE WAY OF ACQUIRING KNOWLEDGE. THIS KNOWLEDGE ALONE HAS THE FIRE THAT WILL SCORCH ALL OF OUR PAST AND PRESENT KARMIC EFFECTS AND GIVE SALVATION. Lord Krishana’s use of sacrifice is not in the way as we know. Sacrifices should be made in the fire of knowledge. We must also give up the fruits of such action that gives birth to sacrifices.
A yogi steadily slowly breathes in and likewise, when the intake breath is finished, starts to exhale steadily slowly without any hurry. Thus he restrains THE FLOW OF THE OUTGOING AND INCOMING BREATHS, SOLELY ABSORBED IN THE REGULATION OF THE (INCOMING AND OUTGOING BREATHS OR) LIFE ENERGY.
From verse number 25 to 30 the Lord describes various kinds of sacrifices yogis of the world resort to. In these verses only one mention about the conventional sacrifice as we all know is mentioned in verse number 28 that too among various kinds of sacrifices. The conventional way of doing sacrifice is to give away to the deserved people our hard earned money and wealth.
Thus in the parlance of Gita, the Lord does not give overmuch importance to the wealth-giving sacrifice, though it is duly catalogued along with austerity and yoga as other two kinds of sacrifices which do not include sacrifices of wealth. Even a poor fakir can do austerities and yoga providing he is ready to observe the Yama and Niyama and other canons of yoga.
Thus not much premium is put on the earning wealth in the honest way and sacrifice them. But there are people who do that as a sacrifice without any ahankara or ego sense. Whereas five verses are devoted to other kinds of sacrifices of varied nature! With self-restraint and self-denial and shreda or faith anyone can indulge in such yogas though they are more arduous and almost unattainable compared to the wealth sacrifice!
No comments:
Post a Comment