GOVERNMENT OF INDIA ARCHEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA CENTRAL ARCHEOLOGICAL LIBRARY ACCESSION NO 374^7 % CALL No. <^0^^ Da*v D.G.A. 79 1 ' ALAIN DANIELOU [ SHIVA SHARAN YOGA The Method of Re-IntegrationO 3 <59 CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON LONDON 1 cent-: i. *. LU-iOAfc Lit.,, ANY, NEW DELHI. " A*c. No . A* A Date Cal No. AUTHOR’S NOTE This short exposition of the principles and practice ofyogais a compilation both from the basic scriptures of yoga and from the teachings of a number of its living exponents. To all the yogis whose teachings and writings have been here condensed I offer my humble respect. All rights reserved MADE AND PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY THE ALCUIN PRESS, WELWN GARDEN CITY FOR CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON PUBLISHERS LTD. FIRST PUBLISHED 1949 CONTENTS Part I INTRODUCTORY The mastering of sensory impulses . 3 YY)ga, the Method of Re-integration . 4 The word “yoga” . 6 The books on yoga . 8 The place of yoga in Hindu philosophy . 9 The method of yoga . » 10 The different forms of yoga . 12 Part II THE FIVEFOLD YOGA HATHA YOGA, or REINTEGRATION THROUGH STRENGTH CHAPTER I OBJECT AND METHOD Hatha yoga (Re-integration through Strength) 17 The eight steps (anga-s) of Hatha yoga . IS CHAPTER II THE TWO FIRST STEPS OF HATHA YOGA The five Abstinences, or Yama-s . 19 The five Observances, or Niyama-s . 20 The results of Abstinences and Observances . 23 CHAPTER III THE THIRD STEP OF HATHA YOGA The bodily postures or Asana-s . 25 The practice of the different postures . 26 Description of the main postures . 27 v CHAPTER IV * THE MUSCULAR CONTRACTIONS (BANDHA-S) AND THE GESTURES (mudra-s) The muscular contractions, or Bandha-s . 38 The gestures or Mudra-s . 40 CHAPTER V THE SIX PURIFICATORY ACTS (SHAT-KARMA) The six purificatory acts (Shat-karma) . 49 Rules for the performance of the six acts . 49 Description of the six acts . 50 Additional acts . 56 CHAPTER VI THE FOURTH STEP OF HATHA YOGA Breath-control or Pranayama . 57 Puraka, Rechaka, Kumbhaka . 58 Location, Rhythm and Timing . 59 The Four degrees of Breath-control . 59 The use of the muscular contractions in conjunction with Breath-control . 60 The different types of Breath-control . , 61 The qualifications for Breath-control . 66 The number of Breath-control . 67 The Place and conditions for Breath-control . 67 The Results of Breath-control . 68 CHAPTER VII THE FIFTH STEP OF HATHA YOGA The Withdrawal of the Senses from External Objects (Pratyahara) , , . , . 70 CHAPTER VIII THE LAST THREE STEPS OR INNER STAGE OF HATHA YOGA The sixth step, Concentration (Dhraana) . 72 The seventh step, Contemplation (Dhyana) . 72 Themes of Contemplation of some of the deities . 73 step, The eighth Identification (Samadhi) . * . 74 CHAPTER IX RAJ A YOGA, or THE ROYAL WAY TO RE-INTEGRATION . Raja yoga . 76 . The aims of Raja yoga . 76 . The method of Raja yoga . 77 The fifteen steps (anga-s) of Raja yoga. 78 vi CHAPTER X MANTRA YOGA, or R E - 1 N T E G R AT I O N THROUGH HERMETIC FORMULAE Mantra yoga . 83 The different mantra-s . , . 84 The different kinds of japa . 85 The sixteen steps (anga-s) of Mantra yoga . 88 CHAPTER XI LAYA YOGA, or RE-INTEGRATION BY MERGENCE Lava yoga . 91 The forms of Laya yoga . 91 The steps of Laya yoga . , . 92 The vision of the Light of the Self . 94 CHAPTER XII SHIVA YOGA, or RE-INTEGRATION INTO THE LORD OF SLEEP Shiva yoga or Raj adhiraja-yoga . 95 Part III OTHER FORMS OF YOGA CHAPTER XIII KARMA YOGA, or REDINTEGRATION THROUGH ACTION Karma yoga . 99 A CHAPTER XIV JNANA YOGA, or RE-INTEGRATION THROUGH KNOWLEDGE Jnana yoga . 101 The seven stages of Knowledge . 101 CHAPTER XV BHAKTI YOGA, or RE-INTEGRATION THROUGH LOVE Bhakti yoga . 105 The nine steps of Love . 106 The way of passionate attachment . 107 The way of transcendent Love . 107 CHAPTER XVI KUNDALINI YOGA and ASPARSHA YOGA Kundalini yoga . 109 Asparsha yoga . 109 vii Part IV , INITIATION—MODE OF LIVING—OBSTACLES CHAPTER XVII THE GUIDE (GURU) and INITIATION (D I K S H) The Guru . ..113 The different types of seekers (Sadhaka-s) . 114 CHAPTER XVIII RULES RELATING TO FOOD and MODE OF LIVING 116 CHAPTER XIX THE OBSTACLES TO YOGA The main obstacles . 118 The secondary obstacles . 120 Part V APPENDICES APPENDIX A. THE SUBTLE BODY The Subtle Body . 123 The structure of the Subtle Body . 124 The main arteries of the Subtle Body . 125 The ten vital energies . 126 The centres, lotuses, knots or Chakra-s . 128 The five states of the mind . 135 APPENDIX B. THE SI0DHIS OR ATTAINMENTS The Siddhis . 137 The eight physical Attainments . 137 The thirty subsidiary Attainments . 139 The spiritual Attainments . 143 APPENDIX C. THE EIGHTY-FOUR POSTURES and THEIR EFFECTS 146 APPENDIX D. THE MAIN SANSKRIT TREATISES ON YOGA 150 APPENDIX E. SANSKRIT TEXTS QUOTED 153 viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE SIX CENTRES OF THE SUBTLE BODY Frontispiece THE POSTURE OF ATTAINMENT p. 28 THE LOTUS POSTURE „ 29 THE BOUND LOTUS POSTURE „ 30 THE BOW POSTURE „ 35 THE SUBTLE CENTRES AND CHANNELS OF THE BODY ,.122 i PUBLISHER S’ NOTE Much of the information given in this book will be found to be couched in mandatory terms , but the majority of the exercises described are not for the amateur or the tyro . The warnings incorporated in the text to the effect that in some cases their practice would be harmful , even dangerous , if attempted without the guidance of a qualified teacher , must be emphasized. The small numerals ichich follozv the many quotations from Hindu Scriptures refer to the Sanskrit texts which are reproduced in the Appendix E. Part I INTRODUCTORY THE MASTERING OF SENSORY IMPULSES HE limits of the physical body can never be transgressed without knowing and thoroughly mastering the sensory Timpulses which govern the process of living. The most vital impulses delude us the most, thus safely pro- tecting vital functions from dangerous interferences. This is why the vital instincts and rhythms can only be acted upon and mastered through a very expert technique. It is this technique which is called Yoga. The adept of yoga, the yogi, like the psychia- trist, goes straight to the root of the most powerful instincts, those which more forcibly hold us within the dominion of matter, and he is able to control his vital functions by a thorough knowledge of the particular processes and emotive regions through which the vital instincts hold sway over the body and the mind. Here the yogi profoundly differs from the moralist for he holds that to neglect or ignore certain psycho-physiological factors is a sure way of remaining within their grip. The network of the instincts binds the gross to the subtle body and keeps us im- prisoned. The knots of this network are strong and complex and. without the proper technique for undoing them, we can never escape from our physical envelope but are kept always on the path of the individual and social instincts by which the continuity of physical life is assured. • Yoga keeps aloof from emotional and sentimental impulses. It abides in cold logic and is interested only in the technical possi- bility of supra-human realization. “O white Arjuna, this yoga, is not attained by him who eats too much, nor by him who abstains from food. Nor by him who oversleeps noo* him who keeps awake. “This yoga which destroys pain is achieved by him who eats and behaves as is proper, whose all actions are led by reason, whose 5,1 sleep and wake are regulated. (Bhagavad Gita 6, 16-17.) ' 3 YOGA, THE METHOD OF RE-INTEGRATION jqreT n it “The hundreds of forms of philosophy, of arguments , of grammatical rules entrap the intellect in their nets and lead it astray from true knowledge” (yogabija upanishad, 8). Basically, all physical and mental knowledge is, of necessity, an experience. A conception uncorroborated by experience remains a speculation and we can never be certain of its reality. The extent of our knowledge is therefore limited by the greater or lesser exten- sion of our perceptions. If in any way we extend the field of our perceptions, new horizons immediately open up before our powers of knowing. In the field of sensory perceptions, the micro- scope, the telescope, the instruments sensitive to all kinds of vibrations have extended according to their power the horizons of scientific knowledge. The means of investigation at the disposal of experimental science are, however, mostly limited to the extension of the senses outwards, to the pushing of their limits further afield. But, how- ever powerful the instruments at our disposal, there will always be a limit to the extension they can give to the senses, and never will they be able to help us to grasp that which, by its very nature, is not within the field of sensory perception; Hindu philosophers have asserted that all knowledge is built upon experience. But they maintain that an outward perception only is not a real knowing, and that the only way for us to know a thing completely, outwardly and inwardly, is to identify Our- selves with it; only when we are one with it, can we know it in itself and not merely as it appears to be from an external point of view. This is the meaning of the word yoga, w hich means, “identifica- tion”; identification with Divinity being “realization”. By its very nature, sensory knowledge is limited to appearances. The Hindus speak of the world of appearance as the work of “Maya”, the “Power of Illusion”, because its inner reality appears before us as if hidden by changing forms.