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Pranayam is an exercise with the Holy
breath of life, leading to Prathyahara, Dharana, Dhyaa and finally to
Samadhi. The right nostril does not take air only to the right lung. It
takes air to the left lung also. Similarly, the left nostril serves both
the lungs. Even granting that Ida Nadi and Pingala Nadi are the flow of
breath through the left and right nostrils, how could one do pranayam
if one is born without hands or the hands become incapacitated or the
nose itself is destroyed by disease or some other mishap. Yoga is a path
of mental discipline for the spiritual purpose of emancipating humanity
from a life of strife and sorrow. Hence this path should be universal
in its scope and application, and not to be considered as the monopoly
of a few fortunate individuals.
Every day when we sleep, without our knowing it, we relapse into a yoga
like experience, having withdrawn our mind from the material world. At
this time the mind touches the fringes of the inner reality provided the
sleep is absolutely sound. This inner reality is the cosmic reservoir
of energy-the Manasarovar and that is the reason why we feel fresh and
vigorous when we wake up. In sound sleep there is complete black out of
the world and there is no closing of the right or left nostril involved.
There is however a difference between yoga like experience in deep sleep
and the actual experience in samadhi; according to my master and others
who have realised the state of samadhi, the yoga is a sleep without sleeping
where the mind loses its identity having merged itself with the inner
reality. In deep sleep the mind retains its identity. It has only withdrawn
itself from he objects of senses and the sleep itself should be considered
as an internal wave of thought about nothingness.
Bhagavan Sathya Sai Baba clarifies that the
difference between deep sleep and Samadhi is that in Samadhi the happiness
is known at the time it occurs.
The description of the three Nadies Ida,
Pingala and Sushumna as found in the yoga literature is as follows:
"Ida Bagirathi Prokta
Pingala Yamunayacha
Thayor Madhaye gatham Nadi
Sushumnakyam Saraswati." |
