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« : 30.08.2021 07:54:05 » |
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Johdannontynkää:
Rgvedan luomishymnin (naasadiiya-suukta) mukaan Se Yksi (tadekam: tat; ekam; Being??) hengitti (aaniid; pada-paaTha: aaniit; luomisen alussa, heti Big Bangin jälkeenkö?) "tuuletta" (a-vaatam*), by its own power (sva-dhayaa):
na mR^ityurAsIdamR^itaM na tarhi na rAtryA ahna AsItpraketaH |
aaniid avaataM svadhayaa tad ekaM tasmAddhAnyanna paraH kiM chanAsa || 10\.129\.02
Ralph Griffith'in käännös:
2 Death was not then, nor was there aught [wanha: anything] immortal: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider.
That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.
Yogasuutran mukaan neljäs (praaNaayaama), caturtha (tshaturtha) on kyseessä silloin kun
hengitys spontaanisti (lähes?) pysähtyy. Lähes? siksi että kommentaattori Bhoja käyttää
muotoa stambha-ruupaH (pysähdykseltä näyttävä??) gativicchedaH ([hengityksen]kulun lakkaaminen, tai jotain)
rUpa n. (perhaps connected with %{varpa} , %{varpas} ; ifc. f. %{A} , rarely %{I}) any outward appearance or phenomenon or colour (often pl.) , form , shape , figure RV. &c. &c. (%{rUpeNa} ifc. in the form of [886,1] ; %{rUpam-kR} or %{bhU} , to assume a form ; often ifc. = `" having the form or appearance or colour of "' , `" formed or composed of "' , `" consisting of "' , `" like to "'
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Science of Being and Art of Living (p. 164). MUM Press. Kindle Edition.
If the nervous system could be established in a state that is neither active nor passive, but in a state of restful alertness, there would certainly be produced a condition for awareness on the plane of Being. If such a state could be accomplished by the nervous system, the nervous system in that state would assume the role of a platform for the relative and absolute states of life to meet. The nervous system then, as far as its ability to produce conscious awareness is concerned, would be on the plane of Being, or Being would be brought to the level of the nervous system.
How is this possible? What approach could be adopted to produce such a physiological state of the nervous system? Physiologically, the functioning of the nervous system depends upon the metabolic process. The metabolic process depends mainly upon breathing. If by some means the breathing could be slowed down, made softer, or reduced in amplitude, the metabolic process would thereby be reduced. And if the breathing could be brought to a state where it was neither active nor passive, that state of extremely delicate breath where the breath could be said to be flowing and yet not flowing, the metabolism would be established in a state of suspension between activity and no-activity on the level of Being. This would harmonize the body with Being. Life would be sustained, but its expression would be silent in the relative existence. This is the state of the nervous system which would keep the mind awake in itself, and, with reference to this state of self-awareness of the mind, the whole body would be sustained in itself.
A state of no physical change in the body will exist, the whole physical structure and all matter of the body will just be suspended on the level of the pure state of life: a state where the process of evolution or the process of change has stopped building up or deteriorating, where the change has ceased to be. The whole body has thus been placed on the level of Being, as has the mind. Mind and matter both, forming the gross and subtle aspects of the individual, have been raised to one level of never-changing existence, the level of eternal absolute Being. Here they lie together in unity with one another, for both have gained the same level of life. If one hesitates to accept the notion that in this state the mind and body are united in one state of life, let the statement be made that, in this suspended state, body and mind are in perfect coordination with each other. The individual mind is one with pure consciousness or absolute intelligence, and the body in this state of perfect health is resting in full accord with the mind.
This is how, by reducing the breath, it should be possible to set the nervous system in the state of perfect health and at the same time in full coordination with the mind. Such a perfect state with regard to body and mind and their mutual relationship is only possible on the level of Being. And it is possible only when either the mind is brought to the level of Being or the body is brought to the level of Being.
Thus the desired results can be achieved in any of the following ways:
Psychological—where only the mind is involved. This, in practice, is the system of Transcendental Meditation.
Physiological—where metabolic process is reduced by working on the body or breathing. This practice is achieved through Yogic physical culture and proper breathing exercises.
Psycho-physiological—where mind and breathing both are made to function on their levels in order to bring both the mind and body to that state of suspension on the level of Being.
Now we shall see how the breathing can be brought to a state of neither activity nor passivity.
This state of breath has to be created in a very natural way, because any unnatural method will cause strain. This cannot be achieved by attempting to slow the breath, because slowing it will strain the process of breathing. The problem is how to create a natural state of extremely soft breathing in which breathing would almost transcend activity. One possibility for slowing the breath is the extended practice of controlled breathing so that the system becomes used to maintaining itself either when the breath is in or out. This practice does result in maintaining the body with very soft breathing. Eventually a physiological state is created in the system in which the breath is brought to a condition of neither activity nor passivity.
The goal of bringing the body on the level of Being is achieved as a result of such a practice of controlled breathing. But because long practice of a great amount of control is necessary for success through this path, it does not suit the householder’s way of life and is even less suited to the busy householder of the modern nuclear age.
There is another way to achieve this state through slowing of the breath. First we shall consider the principle involved in this second way.
Experience shows that breathing becomes faster when we run and it is slower when we sit. It is faster after we have eaten because more oxygen is needed for the digestion of the food. Breathing is slow or fast according to the work to be done by the body. The work to be done by the body depends upon how the mind wants the body to function. That means the activity of the mind—thinking—is at the basis of the activity of the body. Thus we find that the activity of the body, which directly controls the process of breathing, is governed by the process of thinking.
Again, as we have seen while analyzing the thought process, the thought process on the level of the conscious mind is the result of much greater activity than it is at the starting point of thought. Increased activity naturally needs greater release of energy in the system, and this necessitates correspondingly heavier breathing. On the contrary, if the thought can be consciously recognized as a thought right at its source, then the energy required to raise the thought to the ordinary conscious level of the mind would naturally be saved and would cause less production of energy in the system. This would necessitate a fall in the process of oxidation in the plasma, which, in turn, would soften the breathing, and the goal of bringing the breath to a state of neither activity nor passivity will thus be achieved.
This shows that, as the mind begins to experience subtler states of the thought during Transcendental Meditation, it engages itself in correspondingly less activity, and, as a result of this, breathing simultaneously begins to be shallower, more refined, and reduced in amplitude. When the mind arrives at the experience of the subtlest state of thought, the breathing arrives at the shallowest level of its flow and, eventually, when the mind transcends the subtlest thought and gains the level of pure consciousness, the breathing comes to that state which is neither active nor passive, the level of pure Being.
Thus we find that the practice of bringing the mind to the level of Being simultaneously brings the breath to the same level and establishes the nervous system and the body in the plane of absolute existence. In this state there would be no release of energy by the metabolic process, no change or decay in the state of the body. The body, then, becomes the fit medium for omnipresent absolute Being to shine through and radiate Being in the relative field.
When a glass of water is placed in the sun, the sun is reflected in it. The sun is always there, but it shows no reflection unless a proper medium is found through which it can be reflected. Similarly, Being is always here, there, and everywhere, but it has no opportunity to radiate itself directly in the relative existence unless a suitable state in the nervous system is created for it. By bringing the nervous system to this condition, through systematic refinement of breathing or thinking, or both together,69 the body can be brought to the level of Being to live long in good health.
Having thus considered how the body could be maintained in perfect health, we shall now consider the health of the atmosphere, or environment. Health of the Atmosphere The atmosphere of an individual is made up of the radiations from his mind and the body. The quality of the atmosphere around the individual depends upon the quality of radiations set forth by his thinking and his activity. The atmosphere created by a lazy man is dull and depressing, whereas an energetic man carries with him a dynamic influence. Every man produces his own atmosphere, and everyone’s atmosphere is influenced by that produced by every other man. To produce a healthy and elevating atmosphere, one has to be healthy.
* 5 avAta 2 mf(%{A4})n. windless RV. i , 38 , 7 ; (%{a4m}) n. the windless atmosphere RV. vi , 64 , 4 and x , 129 , 2.
6 avAta 3 mf(%{A})n. ( %{van}) , unattacked , untroubled RV.
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