Krishjan

Chapter 6 — Sixth Khanda

Jabal Darshan

51 Shloka • Translation Only

O Sāṅkṛti, listen attentively. I shall explain the method of Prāṇāyāma. Prāṇāyāma is said to consist of Recaka (exhalation), Pūraka (inhalation), and Kumbhaka (retention of the breath).

Recaka, Pūraka, and Kumbhaka are said to be of the nature of the three syllables (A, U, and M). These together constitute the Praṇava (Om), and Prāṇāyāma is said to be pervaded by and identical with it.

Drawing the breath in through Iḍā Nāḍī and filling the abdomen with it, one should slowly contemplate the syllable A (Akāra) for sixteen mātrās.

After the inhalation is complete, one should retain the breath for sixty-four mātrās. During this retention, contemplating the form of the syllable U (Ukāra), one should mentally repeat the Praṇava (Om).

Or, one may retain the breath for as long as is comfortably possible, remaining absorbed in the repetition of the mantra. Thereafter, the wise practitioner should exhale the breath while contemplating the syllable M (Makāra).

Then, through Piṅgalā Nāḍī, one should slowly exhale over a period of thirty-two mātrās. Thus is Prāṇāyāma performed, and one should continue practicing it in this manner.

Again, inhaling through Piṅgalā Nāḍī for sixteen mātrās, one should, with a one-pointed mind, contemplate the form of the syllable A (Akāra).

Having completed the inhalation, the self-controlled practitioner should retain the breath while mentally repeating the Praṇava (Om). Contemplating the form of the syllable U (Ukāra), he should hold it for sixty-four mātrās.

Then, contemplating the syllable M (Makāra), one should exhale the breath through Iḍā Nāḍī. Thereafter, the wise practitioner should again begin the cycle by inhaling through Iḍā Nāḍī.

O lord of sages, one should practice Prāṇāyāma in this manner every day. Through such constant practice, a person becomes endowed with knowledge within six months.

Within a year, one becomes a knower of Brahman. Therefore, one should practice constantly. He who is always devoted to the practice of Yoga and steadfast in the performance of his own Dharma...

Through the restraint of Prāṇa alone, and through knowledge, he will attain liberation. The drawing of air from outside and filling the abdomen with it is called Pūraka (inhalation).

The retention of the breath, holding it like a completely filled pot, is called Kumbhaka. The expulsion of the air from the abdomen to the outside is known as Recaka (exhalation).

That Prāṇāyāma which produces perspiration is considered the lowest stage. Trembling of the body is understood to be the intermediate stage. Rising upward (a feeling of lightness or elevation) is regarded as the highest stage.

One should practice each preceding stage thoroughly until the next higher stage arises. When the highest stage of Prāṇāyāma is attained, the wise practitioner becomes established in ease and well-being.

O noble one, through Prāṇāyāma, the mind (Citta) becomes purified. When the mind is purified, the pure inner Light (Pratyag-jyotiḥ) becomes directly established and revealed within.

Prāṇa, united with the mind (Citta), comes to rest in the Supreme Self (Paramātman). For such a great soul who is devoted to Prāṇāyāma...

Through that, the body becomes uplifted, and a measure of freedom arises through knowledge. Abandoning excessive attention to Recaka and Pūraka, one should constantly practice Kumbhaka.

Becoming freed from all sins, one attains right knowledge. One acquires the swiftness of the mind, and signs of aging such as grey hair and the like are said to disappear.

For one who is wholly devoted to Prāṇāyāma, nothing is difficult to attain. Therefore, with every effort, one should diligently practice Prāṇāyāma.

O noble one, I shall now explain the applications and proper use of Prāṇāyāma. It may be practiced during the two Sandhyās (twilight periods), at Brahma-muhūrta, at midday, or indeed at any time.

Drawing in the Prāṇa and filling the abdomen with it, one should retain it successively at the tip of the nose, in the region of the navel, and at the great toe.

By this practice, a person becomes free from all diseases and lives for a hundred years. O noble one, by retaining the Prāṇa at the tip of the nose, mastery is attained.

By retaining the Prāṇa in the region of the navel, all diseases are said to be removed. O Brāhmaṇa, by fixing and restraining it at the great toe, lightness of the body is attained.

A person who continually draws in air through the tongue and drinks it in, becomes free from fatigue and burning sensations; the Yogī thereby attains freedom from disease.

Drawing in air through the tongue, one should retain it at the root of the tongue. Drinking the unfailing nectar (Amṛta) in this manner, one attains complete well-being and happiness.

Drawing in the breath through Iḍā Nāḍī, one should retain it in the space between the eyebrows. One who drinks the pure nectar (Amṛta) there is indeed freed from diseases.

The knower of the truth of the Vedas should likewise draw the breath through Iḍā or through Piṅgalā and retain it at the navel. By this practice, a person becomes freed from diseases.

For a period of one month, at the three junctions of the day (Tri-sandhyā), one should draw in the breath through the tongue and drink the nectar (Amṛta). Then, one should gently and gradually retain it in the region of the navel.

Disorders arising from Vāta and Pitta are thereby destroyed—of this there is no doubt. Drawing in the breath through both nostrils, one should retain it in the region of the two eyes.

Diseases of the eyes are destroyed by this practice. Likewise, by retaining the Prāṇa in the region of the ears, disorders of hearing are removed. In the same way, drawing up the breath and retaining it in the head...

Diseases of the head are destroyed by this practice—this is indeed truly spoken, O Sāṅkṛti. Assuming Svastikāsana and maintaining a well-collected and concentrated mind...

Slowly and gently drawing Apāna upward, one should properly close the ears and the other sense organs with the hands.

With the thumbs, one should close the ears. With the index fingers, the eyes. And with the remaining fingers, one should cover the nostrils and the other sense organs.

One should retain the Prāṇa in the head until the arising of bliss becomes manifest. By this very practice, O great sage, the Prāṇa proceeds to the Brahma-randhra.

O sinless one, when the Prāṇa enters the Brahma-randhra, an inner Nāda (mystic sound) arises. At first, it resembles the sound of a conch. Later, in the intermediate stage, it becomes like the rumbling of clouds.

When the Prāṇa reaches the middle of the head, the inner sound becomes like the roar of a mountain waterfall. Thereafter, O greatly wise one, filled with inner joy, the practitioner becomes directly oriented toward the Self (Ātman).

Thereafter arises the attainment of Knowledge; through Yoga, the destruction of Saṃsāra is accomplished. One should firmly press the Sīvanī (the perineal seam) with the right and left ankles, remaining steady.

The wise practitioner should press it with the opposite ankle as well. Then, contemplating the deity Tryambaka (the Three-Eyed Lord Śiva), he should meditate upon the subtle channel situated between the knees and the chest.

Remembering Vināyaka (Gaṇeśa) and then Vāgīśvarī (the Goddess of Speech), O sage, one should draw the Prāṇa upward from the channel of the Liṅga to the region of the throat.

The wise practitioner, employing the Praṇava (Om) together with Bindu, should guide the Prāṇa upward. O best of Brāhmaṇas, he should then retain it in the middle of the Mūlādhāra region.

Inflamed and awakened by the Prāṇa, the Kuṇḍalinī becomes aroused. Thereafter, the Prāṇa, together with the inner fire, ascends through the Suṣumnā Nāḍī.

For one who practices in this manner, the Prāṇa gradually comes under control. O foremost of sages, perspiration appears first, and afterwards trembling arises.

The rising or uplifting of the body is the sign that the Prāṇa has been mastered. For one who practices in this manner, disorders of the Mūlādhāra region are destroyed.

O Sāṅkṛti, Bhagandara (fistula) is destroyed, and all other diseases likewise disappear. Sins, both minor and great, are also destroyed.

When sins are destroyed, the mirror of the mind (Citta) becomes wonderfully pure. Thereafter, dispassion (Vairāgya) toward all enjoyments, even those of Brahmā and the higher worlds, arises in the heart.

For one who has become detached from Saṃsāra, there arises Knowledge, the means to Kaivalya (absolute liberation). By realizing Lord Sadāśiva, the bonds of worldly existence are cut asunder.

One who has even once tasted the nectar-like essence of Knowledge, abandons all other pursuits and hastens toward That alone.

The discerning declare this entire universe to be nothing but the very nature of Knowledge. Others, through ignorance, perceive it as an object of separate existence; such is their mistaken vision.

Through the realization of the true nature of the Self (Ātman), ignorance is destroyed. When ignorance has been destroyed, O greatly wise one, attachment and the other passions likewise come to an end.

When attachment and the other passions no longer arise, O wise one, both merit (Puṇya) and demerit (Pāpa) are brought to an end. With their destruction, one is no longer bound again to a body.