8 - Yogic zones 

Suta said: 

1. I shall succinetly mention the yogic zones now. They have been established by Shiva himself, O brahmins, for the welfare of men. 

2. The portion covered by a vitasti beneath the throat and above the umbilicus is the excellent zone of yoga; so also the curling lock of hair below the umbilicus and middle portion between the eye-brows. 

3. The knowledge of all topics that arises in thc soul is called yoga.34 The concentration of the mind is possible only through his grace. 

34. Yoga is defined as the achievement of knowledge of all objects by the personal soul (jiva). 

4. O excellent brahmins, the form of his grace can be realized by the individual alone. It cannot be imported by Brahma or any other. It arises itself in the individual gradually. 

5. Yoga indicates the region where the Supreme Lord dwells.35 For the attainment of that region, knowledge is the cause, and this knowledge comes through his grace alone.

35. K. reads 

6. One should abstain from sensual activities and burn sins by means of perfect knowledge. Thc achievement of yoga shall be possible only to one who has restrained the activities of his sense-organs. 

7. O excellent brahmins, yoga is restraining the functioning of the mind.36 Eight means have been mentioned for the achievement of yoga. 

36. Cf. Pätañijala Yogasūtra

8-9. They arc (1) yama (restraint), (2) niyama (observances), (3) āsana (a particular posture), (4) prāņāyāma (restraint of breath) (5) pratyāhāra (withdrawal of the senses), (6) dhāraņā (retention), (7) dhyana (meditation) and (8) samadhi (ecstatic trance). 

10-11. Abstention by way of austerity is called restraint (yama); O foremost among those who have restraint, the first contributory cause of restraint is non-violence (ahimsä), truth fulness, non-stealing, celibacy and non-acceptance of gifts are the other causes The root of niyama (observances of vows) is undoubtedly yama alone. 

12. Considering all living beings as one's own self and working for the welfare of all living beings is called non-violence. It helps in achieving the knowledge of self. 

13. Retelling precisely what has been seen, heard, inferred or experienced is called truthfulness (satya). It is devoid of injury or infliction of pain on others. 

14. The Vedas declare. "One should not utter what is obscene in the presence of the brāhmins”. “Even after knowing the defects of others one should not proclaim them to others" this is another passage in the śhruti. 

15. Not stealing the possessions of others purposefully, even in emergency, mentally, physically and verbally is non-stealing in brief. 

16. Not indulging is sexual intercouse,37 mentally, verbally or physically is the vow of celibacy, with reference to the ascetics and the religious students. 

37. For eight kinds of maithuna, cf. ST. Brahmacharya (celibacy) is defined as the reverse of maithuna (sexual indulgenoe) and it imparts vigour and force: Cf, Yogasütra.

17. This holds good in regard to the anchorites, forest dwellers and widowers. I shall now tell you about the vow of celibacy of the householders who live with their wives. 

18. In their case, as prescribed, indulgence in sexual inter course with their own wives and abstention from it with other women mentally, physically and verbally should be understood as brahmacharya. 

19. The householder shall take ablution after indulging in sexual intercourse with his own wife. If he is in yogic communion with himself, he is undoubtedly a celibate. 

20. In the case of non-violence (ahimsa) too, the same rule is applicable. Violence sanctioned by Shruti, in regard to the brāhmanas, preceptors and sacrifice comes under ahimsā. 

21. Women are always to be avoided. One should stay far off from them. A shrewd person views them as he views the corpses. 

22. He should have the same attitude in the sexual inter course with his own wife, as when discharging the faeces and urine on the ground. There should be no attitude other than this. 

23. Woman is like a burning coal; man is like a vessel of ghee. He should always avoid contact with women therefore. 

24. If we ponder over this, we shall know that there is no satiety in sexual pleasures. Hence, one should practise detached attitude mentally, physically and verbally. 

25. Lust is never suppressed by indulging in sexual pleasures. Just as fire burns vigorously if ghee is poured in, so also lust is increased by means of indulgence.38 

38. Panchadashi. 7. 47.

26. Hence the yogin should always practise renunciation for achieving immortality, since he who is not detached is born and re-born in different wombs. 

27. The Vedas39 declare that it is only through renunciation that immortality is attained. O brahmins, the most excellent among the knowers of Shruti and Smruti, it is not possible through rites, through progeny or though offerings of materials of worship. 

39. Na karmaņā na prajaya dhanena, TA. 10.10.3; Mahān. U. 10,5 

28. Hence one should practise detachment, mentally, verbally and physically. Abstention from sexual intercourse, except during the prescribed period, after menstruation is stated as celibacy in the case of householders. 

29-31. Thus the restraints (yamas) are succinetly mentioned. I shall now tell you the observances (niyamas). They are ten in number: (1) cleanliness (shaucha), (2) sacrifice (ijyā), (3) penance (tapas), (4) charitable gift (dana), (5) study of the Vedas (svādhyāya) (6) restraint on the organs of generation (upasthanigraha), (7) holy rites (vrata), (8) fast (upavāsa), silence (mauna), and holy bath (snāna). According to some, observances (niyama) mean (1) absence of craving (anihā), (2) cleanliness (sauca), (3) satisfaction (tuşhți), (4) penance (tapas), (5) muttering of Shiva's mantra (japa), (6) meditation on Śhiva and (7) postures such as padmaka. Of these cleanliness is twofold: (1) external and (2) internal. Or the two the internal is superior to the external. 

32-35. One who has external cleanliness should practise internal cleanliness too. The holy bath should be conducted in accordance with the injunctions. It is threefold: (1) Āgneya (fiery), (2) Väruna (watery) and (3) Brāhma (consisting of Brahman). It is only after he has practised the external bath that he should practise the internal. If he is devoid of internal purity, he is still dirty even if he applies clay over his body and plunges into the waters of the tirthas. O excellent brahmins, the moss, the fishes, the sharks and the animals that prey upon fishes remain ever in water. But are they pure? Internal cleanliness should always be pursued in accordance with the injunctions. 

36. Internal cleanliness is mentioned as follows. One should apply the holy ashes of detachment with a feeling of devotion. One should take a holy dip into the waters of knowledge of the soul. This is how one can attain purification. 

37-39. Siddhis are accomplished only in a pure and not in an impure person. A person of holy rites who is satisfied with the sustenance he gets by justifiable means has the characteristics of satiety (tuşhți). He is not worried about his needs. Austerity is the right observance of the holy rites Chāndrāyaṇa, etc. Svädhyāya is the threefold repetition of Omkāra mantra, i.e. (1) Vāchika--oral utterance which is the basest of the three; (2) Upāṁshu-slow muttering which is better than Vāchika; (3) Mänasa-when the sound does not come out of the throat which is the best of all, this is stated in detail in the ritualistic text on the five-syllabled mantra. 

40-43. Śhiva-prasidhāna (contemplation of Shiva) mentally, physically and verbally, unflinching devotion to the preceptor, withdrawal of the organs of sense from the objects of worldly pleasures this in brief is called pratyāhāra (withdrawal). Dhäraņā (retention) is the fixation of the mind in the proper place. Dhyana (meditation) comes through the normalcy of Dhāraņā (retention). If it is coupled with thought, it is samadhi (ecstatic trance). In samadhi there is concentration of the mind and meditation; herein the perception of object is entirely excluded. 

44. In samādhi40 the supreme consciousness alone shines, as though it were devoid of physical body. Prāņāyāma (control of breath) is the root of dhyāna, samadhi, etc. 

40. Samadhi is a fixation of thc mind on the personal soul (jiva), and further, of the personal soul on the supreme soul, so as to identify the contemplator with the object meditated upon. This is the righth and last stage of yoga. Cf. Hathayogapradipikā: With Buddhists it is the fourth and last stage of dhyana. 

45. The wind within the body is prāņa. Its restraint is yama. As stated by the brahmins it is threefold: (1) slow (manda), (2) middling (madhya) and (3) uttama (superior). 

46. The restraint of the prána and apāna is called prāņāyāma. The magnitude of the restraint of breath is stated to be twelve moments. 

47-50. The slow (manda)41 consists of twelve moments which form one stroke or blow (udghāta). The middling consists of two strokes. The superior has three strokes, i.e. thirty moments. The three respectively generate sweating, shivering and rising up. When the following symptoms are seen the prāņayama42 excellent, for it denotes the onset of bliss. The symptoms are: reeling due to drowsiness, horripilation, sensation of hearing some sound, pressing of one's own limbs, shivering, vertigo born of sweating, fixation, absence of knowledge and unconsciousness.  

41. The time of mātrā is that of a winking and opening the eye-lids once, or that of a prosodial instant. The udghāta prāņāyāma extends during twelve mātrās or twelve prosodial instants. It is defined in the Märkandeya thus: ShP, defines mātra as a unit of time required for the anapping of the fingers after moving them round the knees neither speedily nor slowly. (Vayaviya 37.31). 

42. For the kinds and characteristics of Kumbhaka pränäyáma, see Hashnyogapradipika. 

51-54. Prāņāyama is of two types: sagarbha and agarbha.43 If it is pursued with japa, it is sagarbha; if without japa, it is agarbha. It is like an elephant, or an eight-footed animal sharabha or a formidable lion. When caught and tamed properly it becomes submissive. Similarly, for the yogins, the wind which is by nature unstable and uncontrollable becomes normal and subservient by proper practice. Just as the lion or the elephant or the Sharabha, though ferocious, is tamed after a while with a proper training, so also the wind attains normalcy and equanimity due to constant acquaintance and practice. 

43. According to ST. sagarbha is a variety of Kumbhaka that includes půraka (inhaling) and rechaka (exhaling) varieties of prāņāyāma. ShP. defines agarbha as the kind of Pränåyåma wherein the breath is restrained without meditation and japa, and sagarbha as that wherein meditation and japa are allowed. (Vāyaviya 37. 33, 34). 

55-57. He who practises yoga never suffers calamity. When the prāņa is properly trained it turns the defects of the mind, speech or body, preserving the body of the practiser. Thus, if the devotee perfects himself by taking recourse to the prāņāyāma his defects perish; the very breath is conquered by him, and the divine quiescence etc. are achieved. 

58-62. The attributes of the prāņāyāma are four, viz, shänti, praśhānti, dīpti and prasāda. They are explained in order: O brahmins, the first of these four is shānti. It means the suppression of sins congenital or adventitious. Praśhānti is a perfect restraint in speech.44 All round, all time brilliance, O brahmins, is called dípti. Prasāda is the clarity of the mind which is of four types. It is the clarity of the sense-organs, of the intellect and the organic winds. The organic winds -prāņa, apāna, samāna, udāna and vyāna have their functional names: Naga, Kūrma, Krukala, Devadatta and Dhananjaya respectively. The clarity of these winds is called prasāda. 

44. Prashāntih restrained or restricted speech. ST, quotes from the Mahābharata: 

63-67. The wind which traverses through the body is called prāņa; that which brings down food and drink is called apāna; that which enables the limbs of the body to bend is called vyāna which incites the ailments too; that which excites and afflicts the vulnerable points (in the body) is called udāna. That which normalizes the functions of the organs is called samāna. Thus the first set of five winds has been explained to you. The wind Nāga functions in the act of belching; the Kūrma in the opening of eyes; Krukala in sneezing; Devadatta in yawning and Dhananjaya in making a loud report. It is present even in the dead body. By restraining these winds, one can attain prasada. O brahmins, in the fourfold set of attributes, prasāda figures as the fourth. 

68-69. O brahmins, the intellect has these synonyms-viz., visvara, mahal, prajñā, manas, bralımā, chiti, smruti, khyati, samvit, Iśhvara and mati. It is through prāņāyāma that the clarity of intellect is achieved. 

70-74. O excellent sages, Visvara is so called because it com- promises between two conflicting opposites. Since it is the first and the greatest of all the tattvas arising out of Prakruti it is called mahat. It is called prajñā because it is the repository of all means of knowledge. It is manas because it thinks. It is Brahma because it is big and swells up. O most excellent among the knowers of Brahman, it is called chiti because it gathers together all activities for the sake of enjoyment. It is called smruti because it enables one to remember things. Since it obtains everything it is called Samvit. Because it is known everywhere by means of knowledge it is called khyāti.45 It is called Ishvara because it is the overlord of all elements and comprehends everything. O sages, most excellent among the intelligent, it is called Mati because it is the instrument of thought subjectively and objectively. It is called Buddhi because it enlightens things and is itself the instrument of enlightenment. 

45. khyāti-a category of intellect (MP. 3.17). It is so called because it is the source of the perceived creation or the cosmos which becomes visible or the object of perception by the mind and the senses. 

75. The perspicuity of this Buddhi is achieved through Prāņāyāma. By restraining himself one shall burn all defects by taking recourse to prāņāyāma. 

76. By means of pratyähāra (withdrawal of sense-organs) and Dhāraņās (retentions) one shall destroy sins. By meditating on the mundane objects as if they were poisonous one destroys all ungodly qualities. 

77. O excellent ascetics, one should increase the power of intellect by means of samadhi. The eight ancillaries of yoga should be practised only after seeuring the proper place for yogic practice. 

78. The knower of the Atman shall then duly seeure Asanas (correct postures) for achieving yogic results. If the place and time are not suitable he cannot have even a glimpse of yoga. 

79-86. The yogic exercises should not be practised in the the following places or circumstances--near the fire, within water, on a heap of dry leaves, in a place infested with creatures, in the cremation ground, in a dilapidated cowpen, in the four crossroads, in a place full of noises, in a place generating fear, in a monastery, or the anthill, in an in auspicious place, in a place inhabited by wicked men and in a place infested with mosquitoes. One should not practise yogic exercises when there is some ailment in the body or when the mind is in dejection. 

The devotee shall delightedly practise the ancillaries of yoga in the following places. It should be a well protected place, auspicious and pleasing; or a cave in a mountain or shrine of Shiva, or a well-guarded park or a forest, or a corner in one's own house devoid of people and animals. It should be scrupulously clean, well scrubbed, smeared with cowdung and rendered beautiful in diverse ways. It shall be spotlessly clean like the surface of a mirror. It shall be fumigated with black agallocum. Different kinds of powers should be strewn all round. A canopy should adorn the whole place. It should be endowed with roots, fruits, tender sprouts, kusha grass and variegatra flowers. The practitioner of yoga should sit in a balanced posture. He should practise the ancillaries of the yogic exercises with delight in his mind. He should pay reverence to the preceptor Lord Shiva, Goddess Umā, Vinayaka, the leading yogins and their disciples. He should practise the posture of svastika46 padma47 or ardhāsana.48 

46. svastika-a posture of sitting practised by a yogin in which the toes are placed in the inner hollow of the knees, ŚhP. lists eight types of the yogic pose: (1) svastika, (ii) padma, (iii) ardhendu (iv) vira, (v) yoga, (vi) prasadhita, (vii) paryanka, (viii) yatheşhta. 

47. padmasana --a particular posture of the body in religious meditation. Cr. 

48. Construe 'ardhäsanam' with 'padmam' i.e. the lotus half seat. It is also called siddhāsana. 

87-90. He should sit with the knees on a level or kneel on one of the knees. Whatever the posture may be he shall sit steadily withdrawing his feet. He shall keep his mouth shut, eyes closed, chest projected in front. With his heels he should cover the festicles and the penis. With his head somewhat lifted up and the rows of teeth not touching each other, he should observe the tip of his nose. He shall not look at the quarters. He shall cover up his tamas by means of rajas and the rajas by means of sattva. Then stationing himself in the sattva he shall practise meditation of Shiva. 

91. With great concentration, he shall meditate in the pericarp of the lotus, on the Supreme Being which is symbolised by Omkara and is as pure as the candle flame. 

92-95. He should meditate within three angulas below the umbilicus on the excellent lotus having (at its centre) an octagon, a pentagon or a triangle. He should also meditate on the fire, moon and sun together with their consorts; or the order may be: first the sun, then the moon, and then the fire. Or the order may be first the fire, then the sun and then the moon as prescribed in the Shāstras. He should conceive the four49 aims- Virtue etc. beneath the fire and ponder over the three guņas over the zone. He should then think of Rudra stationed in sattva and adorned by Umā.  

49. This group of four consists of (i) dharma, (ii) jāāna, (iii) vairágya and (iv) aišhvarya. 

96. He should perform the rite of meditation in the umbilicus or the throat, or the middle of the eye-brows or on the forehead or on the crest of the head in accordance with the injunctions. 

97. He should meditate on Shiva (sitting in the lotus with two, sixteen, twelve, ten, six or four petals in due order). 

98-100. He should meditate on Him in a spot as lustrous as gold or as splendid as burning coal or very white or as refulgent as twelve suns or as brilliant as the disc of the moon or as flashing as millions of lightning streaks or as lustrous as fire or as glittering as a circle of lightning or as refulgent as a crore of diamond pieces or as brilliant as a ruby. He should practise meditation on the image of blue and red coloured lord (Shiva). 

101. He shall meditate on Maheśhvara in the heart; on Sadāśhiva in the lotus-like umbilicus; on Chandrachüda on the forehead and on Shankara in the middle of eyebrows. 

102-108. He shall meditate on Shiva on his forehead, on Mahadeva (the great lord) in his lotus-like heart and in the mind. The great lord is of the following description: He is devoid of impurities. He is unsullied. He is the quiescent Brahman in the form of knowledge. He has no specific characteristics. He cannot be particularly pointed out. He is minuter than the atom. He is splendid and supportless. He cannot be reflected upon. He is devoid of death and birth. He is liberation itself. He is ambrosial, imperishable and unborn. He is miraculous, the greatest and the largest bliss. He is devoid of defects and qualities. He is subtler than the subtlest, auspicious, self-cognizable, incomprehensible. He is the greatest lord identical with perfect knowledge. He is beyond the scope of sense-organs. He has no semblance. He is the greatest principle, greater than the greatest, devoid of conditioning adjuncts, comprehensible through meditation, non-dualistic, beyond all darkness and the greatest Being. The devotee should meditate in the umbilicus on SadāShiva, the lord identical with devas. 

109-111. He shall meditate on lord Shiva identical with pure knowledge, in the middle of the body through suşhumnā50 pass or through the Kumbhaka. He shall then perform thirty-two rechakas (respirations) concentrating on the heart and umbilicus. O excellent brahmins, then eschewing Rechaka and Pūraka51 respirations and taking recourse only to Kumbhaka he shall meditate on Shiva in the middle of the body with normal elegance. 

50. It is a vein of the body lying between those called idā and pingalā and supposed to be one of the passages for the breath or spirit. 

51. rechakam pūrakam tyaktvā. Kumbhaka alone is recommended for the attainment of spiritual goal; rechaka and püraka are cxcluded. Cf. Hathayogapradipika p. 70 

112-116. After identifying with the lord he will comprehend the bliss of Brahman emerging from elegance and the state of perfect equanimity. 

Twelve prāņāyāmas make one dhāraņā; twelve dhäraņās make one meditation and twelve meditations make one Samadhi. O brahmins, one may attain yogic realization by contact with wise men or by his own efforts, gradually. Of course, even as he practises yoga, there may be obstacles in this path. But they perish through constant practice by the direction of the preceptor.