prSnaspandaccittah spandas tatspand&deva samvidah cakravartavidhayinyo jalaspandadivormayah (14) VASI$THA continued: Mind and movement of thought are inseparable; and the cessation of one is the cessation of both. O Rama, there are two ways in which this cessation can be achieved: one is the way of yoga - which involves the restraint of the movement of thought, and the other is the way of knowledge - which involves the right knowledge of the truth. In this body that energy (lit: air) which circulates in the energy-channels is known as prana. In accordance with its diverse functions in the body, it is also known by the names apSna, etc. This prana is indistinguishably united with the mind. In fact the consciousness that tends towards thinking, on account of the movement of prana, is known as the mind. Movement of thought in the mind arises from the movement of prana; and movement of prana arises because of the movement of thought in consciousness. They thus form a cycle of mutual dependence, like waves and movement of currents in water. The mind is caused by the movement of prana; and hence by the restraint of the prana the mind becomes quiescent. When the mind abandons the movement of thought, the appearance of the world illusion ceases. When all hopes and desires have come to an end in one's heart through the earnest practice of the precepts of the scriptures and of the sages, and the cultivation of dispassion in previous life-spans, and when one has endeavoured to practise contemplation or meditation and reached a stage where one is devoted to a single truth in a single-minded way, the movement of prana is arrested. The movement of prana is also arrested by the effortless practice of breathing without strain, in seclusion; by the repetition of the sacred OM with the experience of its meaning when the consciousness reaches the deep sleep state; by the practice of exhalation when the prapa roams in the space without touching the limbs of the body; by the practice of inhalation leading to the peaceful movement of prana; by the practice of retention when the prana comes to a standstill for a long time; by the closing of the posterior nares by the tip of the tongue when the prana moves towards the crown of the head; by the practice of meditation in which there is no movement of thought; by the holding of the consciousness steadily at a point twelve inches from the tip of the nose; by the entering of the prSna into the forehead, through the palate and the upper aperture; by fixing the prana at the eyebrow centre; by the sudden cessation of the movement of thought; or when all mental conditioning comes to an end through meditation on the space in the heart centre over a long period of time. 313 V IT OCTOBER 78 79 samvinmatrarh tu hrdayamupadeyam sthitam smrtam tadantare ca bahye ca na ca bahye na ca ' 'ntare (78/35) RAMA asked: Lord, what is the heart that is spoken of by you? VASISTHA continued: O Rama, two aspects of the 'heart' are spoken of here: one is acceptable and the other is to be ignored. The heart that is part of this physical body and is located in one part of the body may be ignored! The heart which ig acceptable is of the nature of pure consciousness. It is both inside and outside and it is neither inside nor outside. That is the principal heart; in it is reflected everything which is in the universe, and it is the treasure-house of all wealth. Consciousness alone is the heart of all beings, not the piece of flesh which people call the heart! Hence if the mind freed of all conditioning is gathered into pure consciousness, the movement of prana is restrained. By anyone of these methods, propounded by the various teachers, the movement of prana can be restrained. These yogic methods bring about the desired results if they are practised without violence or force. When one is firmly established in such practice with simultaneous growth in dispassion and when the mental conditioning comes under perfect restraint, there is fruition of the restraint of the movement of prana. During the practice one may use the eyebrow centre, the palate, the tip of the nose or the top of the head (twelve inches from the nose); thus the prana will be restrained. Again, if by steady and persistent practice the tip of the tongue can touch the uvula, the movement of prana will be restricted. Surely, all these practices appear to be distractions; but by their steady practice one reaches the absence of distractions. It is only by such steady practice that one is freed from sorrow, and experiences the bliss of the self. So practise yoga. When through practice the movement of prana is restrained, then nirvana or liberation alone remains. In it is all; from it is all; it is all; it is everywhere: in it this world-appearance is not, nor is this from it, nor is the world-appearance like it! He who is firmly established in it is liberated while living. He whose mind is firmly established in peace through the practice of yoga has the right vision of the truth. To see that the supreme self is without beginning and end, and that these countless objects are in fact the self and no other, is the right vision. Erroneous vision leads to rebirth, right vision ends rebirth. In it there is no subject-object (knower-knowable) relationship; for the self (consciousness) is the knower, knowledge and the knowable, too, and the division is ignorance. When this is directly seen there is neither bondage nor liberation. When the sage rests in his own self, with his intelligence firmly established in the inner self, what pleasures can bind him in this world? 314
