Life is like a garland of breaths. The body and the mind are both tied together with the thread of prana or the vital force. It is prana which maintains a balance between the body and the mind. Any discomfort in the body or commotion in the mind creates a disturbance in the rhythm of the breathing pattern too. These days, health problems of all sorts have increased in a big way. This is because there exists no longer a harmonious balance between body, mind, and prana.
Extensive studies have been made on the body by medical experts and the mind by psychologists. The body and the mind differ in their innate nature. The body is concerned with biological functions, and the mind with mental. The body lives in the present, but the mind never stays there for long; it is always fleeting. The mind can fulfill the body’s requirements, but the body cannot meet the needs of the mind.Both traverse different paths. This prevents the creation of harmony and balance between the two.
The yogis of all ages intensely studied the breath in all its dimensions and concluded that other things could be brought under control if we can control the breath. Control over the prana will enable control over the mind also. When the mind is in its natural rhythm, we become oblivious of the corporeal body. After realizing the vital importance of breath in our existence, all mythological systems – Hindu, Buddhist, Sufi, and others – teach how to control the breath.
The body is a depository of energy. It is enriched by the breathing process. But most of us today do not know the right way of breathing. Indeed, proper breathing should form the very first stage of the art of living. If humanity learns the correct way of breathing, it will not suffer bodily and mental disorders. Anger, agitation, anxiety, sleeplessness, and other such disorders will automatically go away if breathing is in harmony with its natural rhythm.The present time calls for even more attentiveness towards the function of breathing. Man’s life is full of problems of all sorts. In an effort to overcome these problems, he can rise to the sublime level of divinity or fall to the abysmal pit of evilness. Unfortunately, it is the latter tendency that is more prevalent in man today. One visible trend is the increasing resort to all kinds of drugs and intoxicants in society.
Balance in breathing depends on the balance in prana. The right and controlled flow of prana is called pranayama. When we are attentive to the inhalation and exhalation of the breath, not only our bodily processes, become balanced and harmonious, but our highly agile mind, too, instead of fleeting hither and thither, gets fixated on the present in that particular moment. This develops the precious attribute of concentration in a person’s personality.
There are many processes for the regulation of breathing or pranayama, but in the present time, the most effective is the ‘pranakarshana pranayama’ propounded by Pujya Gurudev. The root cause of the widespread anarchy visible all around in the material world is the toxicity pervading the subtle world. Its cure lies in the sublime and subtle sadhana done collectively. While at the individual level, the pranakarshana pranayama aids in the flow of vital force or prana in the sadhaka, at the collective level, and simultaneously, the whole atmosphere is infused with a heavenly radiance which has the potency to detoxify and refine the subtle world. All Gayatri parijans should incorporate this Pranakarshana pranayama in their sadhana routine so that besides the self-refinement, the noble path of the public good is facilitated.
Observe your own body. It breathes. You breathe when you are asleep, when you are no longer conscious of your own ideas of selfidentity. Who, then, is breathing? The collection of information that you mistakenly think it’s you is not the main protagonist in this drama called the breath. In fact, you are not breathing; breath is naturally happening to you. You can purposely end your own life, but you cannot consciously keep your own life going. The expression “My life” is actually an oxymoron, a result of ignorance and mistaken assumption.
You don’t possess life; life expresses itself through you.– Ilchi Lee
“Bring body and mind back to the present moment. So that you do not miss the appointment with life. – Thich Nhat Hanh”
There is a fountain of youth: it is your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life, and the lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age.– Sophia Loren
“Feelings come and go, like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor. – Thich Nhat Hanh”
Source: Akhand Jyoti Magazine Mar-Apr 2021
