Pratyahara

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Pratyahara

Guhyasamāja tantra
.

For Patanjali, it is a bridge between the bahiranga (external) aspects of yoga namely,

Yogic practices.[6]

Etymology

Pratyahara is derived from two

Sanskrit words: prati and aahara, with ahara meaning gathering, and prati, a preposition meaning towards.[7] Together they mean "checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thraldom of the senses ahara".[8]

Types of Pratyahara

Sravasti

Withdrawal of senses or Indriya Pratyahara

See also: Indriya-samvara ("guarding the sense-doors")

This involves withdrawal of senses, or sensory inputs into our physical being, coming from our five senses, namely organs creating a sensory overload, and hence hinders collection of the mind, as in

Dharana, the next stage of Yoga [9][10]

One of the most common practices for withdrawal of the senses is bringing the attention inwards towards the breath, observing it without trying to control it, as connection with the external senses and stimuli are all gradually severed.

meditation seat, such as Padmasana (lotus position), combined with Pranayama breath-control, Kumbhaka, and progressively more subtle internal objects of focus as the practitioner becomes more advanced. At the start, the objects are "gross", directly available to sense perception, such as the points of focus (drishti) used to accompany yoga asana practice, including the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, or the navel. More subtle objects may then be selected, such as the chakras, together with their attributes including position, colour, and number of petals.[14]

Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara

Control of our senses requires mastery over the flow of prana, as that is what drives the senses. To stop the scattering of valuable vital energy of the body or prana, we need to seek control over its flow, and harmonize it. This is done through various practices including bringing the entire focus to a single point in the body.[9]

These two lead to the subsequent two types of pratyahara, the Control of Action or '

Karma Yoga, surrender of every action to the divine and performing it as an act of service. This leads to the final form of pratyahara - the Withdrawal of Mind or 'Mano pratyahara', which is practiced by consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is unwholesome, and distracting for the mind such as by withdrawing attention from the senses, and directing it inwards [15]

Further reading

See also

References

  1. ^ "pratyahara in American English". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 6 December 2019. the Yogic practice of turning the mind to introspection by voluntarily shutting out distractions provided by the senses
  2. ISBN 9788175053830
    .
  3. Britannica.com
    .
  4. Yoga Sutras
    , 2.54-2.55.
  5. ^ "Pratyahara". sivanandaonline.org.
  6. ^ Moving Inward: The Journey from Asana to Pratyahara Archived 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy.
  7. ^ "LearnSanskrit". Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ISBN 9788175053830
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 81-208-1879-2
    . Chapter 16: Pratyahara: the Forgotten Limb of Yoga, page 261.
  10. ^ "Pratyahara: the forgotten Limb of Yoga". A Buddhist Library.
  11. ^ "Pratyahara". Yoga.iloveindia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  12. ^ Rockefeller, James David (2018). Everything You Wanted to Know About Ashtanga Yoga. The Publisher LLC. p. 33. GGKEY:F1JSY78B3AY.
  13. ^ Frawley, David. "Pratyahara: Yoga's Forgotten Limb". Yoga International. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  14. ISBN 978-1-57731-987-0
    .
  15. Yoga Sutras
    Book II.54.

External links

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