4. CHANGING ATTITUDES AS A NATURAL OUTCOME OF YOGIC PRACTICES.
As it was already mentioned before, some other systems of yoga recommend to start yogic path with other practices, which naturally lead to change of attitudes, and when certain advancement is achived the work with attitudes is introduced.
How can other practices like asanas, pranayamas, meditation naturally lead to change of attitudes? The answer is that our mental state, where our attitudes reside, has corresponding state in our gross body, pranic system, as well as a corresponding state of consciousness. If some negativity, which is connected with an improper attitude, is kept in our mind, our body and pranic channels will be blocked in a particular way and the state of consciousness will also be clouded in a particular way. So if we start to work with our body and prana, removal of blockages accumulated at these levels will lead to removal of mental blockages. In the same way change in the state of consciousness will lead to change in the mind; however this way is more difficult than the first one as consciousness is subtler than mind, prana and body and experience a change in it is difficult if all of grosser levels are blocked. However it is also possible.
The way from other practices to changing attitudes seems more appropriate for modern people. Nearly nobody from people, who want to study yoga now, intends to change attitudes. Many of them want to improve their bodies through asanas, or escape from their sorrows and unhappiness through meditation. Even those, who want to do spiritual practices as a primary purpose to be involved in yoga, do so more to inflate their own ego and are not aware at all that if they take a yogic path seriously it is necessary to change their attitudes. Some of them stay in this ignorance for the whole life however being sure that they are practicing yoga. But many start to change their attitudes naturally as they advance in their practices.
Besides even from the practical point of view and from my own experience I could say that starting from purely mental work of changing attitude leads modern purely mental people to more confusion and disappointment. Inner experience is necessary to understand background and real inevitability of changing attitudes.
Similar approach was suggested by yogis, who compiled Hatha Yoga, and was recorded by Swatmarana in his Hatha Yoga Pradipika in 11th - 12th centuries A.D. As Swami Satyananda puts it: "The beauty of Hatha yoga Pradipika is that it solves a very great problem faced by every aspirant. Swatmarama has completely eliminated the yama and niyama which are the starting points in the Buddhist and Jain systems, as well as in Patanjali's raja yoga. Patanjali was a contemporary of Buddha and his system of yoga was in influenced by the Buddhist philosophy of yama and niyama… Patanjali's contention is that you have first perfect yama and niyama, otherwise asana and pranayama may fail to give desirable results… However the authors of texts on hatha yoga, such as Swatmarama, were very much aware of the practical difficulties every person faced in relation to yama and niyama… If harmony is not created in personality, then self-control and self-discipline will create more conflict rather than peace of mind… Swatmarama does not worry at all about self-control and self-discipline in the form of yama and niyama. The order here is very different. He begins by saying that you should first purify the whole body – the stomach, intestines, nervous system and other systems. Therefore, shatkarma comes first, i.e. neti, dhauti, basti, kapalbhati, trataka and nauli… After shatkarma you should practice asana and pranayama. Self-control and self-discipline should start with the body… Why do you fight with the mind first? You have no power to wrestle with the mind, yet you wrestle with it, thereby creating a pattern of animosity towards yourself. There are not two minds, there is one mind trying to split itself into two. One mind wants to break the discipline and the other mind wants to maintain the discipline. You can find this split in everybody. When this split becomes greater, we call it schizophrenia.
This danger was clearly realized by the authorities and masters of hatha yoga. Therefore, they said, first discipline the body. They explained what they meant bythe body. The subtle elements (tattwas), the energy channels (nadis) within the body should be purified. The behaviour of the vital force (prana), the entire nervous system and the various secretions in the body should be properly maintained and harmonized.
After this one should go on to practice mudras like vajroli, sahajoli, khechari, shambhavi, vipareeta karani and others. In this way it will be possible to develop deep meditation. These practices will induce pratyahara and lead into dharana, dhyana and samadhi."1
Actually Swatmarama also mentions yamas and niyamas : "Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, continence (being absorbed in a pure state of consciousness), forgiveness, endurance, compassion, humility, moderate diet and cleanliness are the ten rules of conduct (yama). Penance (austerity), contentment, belief (faith) in the Supreme (God), charity, worship of God, listening to the recitation of sacred scriptures, modesty, a discerning intellect, japa (mantra repetition and sacrifice are the ten observances (niyama)."2 However Swatmarama is merely listing what is required from a sadhaka at a later stage of practice when the mind has become stable and its outward going tendencies can be controlled. Swatmarama also advises, "not to adhere to rules." Initially it is not essential to practice yama and niyama and it should not be thought that you cannot succeed without them.
Let us see now how asanas and pranayamas can influence mental field and consequently facilitate changing attitudes.
As far as asana is concerned, this term is translated as "steady and comfortable posture, however it is considered to be a state of being rather than physical pose, as it influences not only body, but also mind and consciousness. Increase in general health provided by asana automatically leads to positive mental changes, reduce of tensions and relief of chronic mental stress.
Asana helps to get an optimistic outlook in the following ways. It influences functioning of endocrine system by rectifying over-activity or sluggishness of individual glands and harmonizing the control center of the system in the brain. All of it has a major influence on our emotional make up that leads to change in our attitude to life. Besides asana provides coordinating various other bodily systems that brings rhythm and balance into the body-mind complex. Asana encourages free flow of prana that leads to mental equilibrium and calmness. Slowing down and deepening breathing leads to increased calmness and well being. Awareness, which is supposed to be maintained throughout asana performance, leads the mind away from problems and troubles of everyday life. Furthermore emotional tensions which are accumulated in the body in the form of muscle stiffness, are released. It is interesting to observe how particular emotional problems and psychic stiffness build up in the body in the form of muscle stiffness in particular areas. For example, instinctual fear to face life due to unpleasant past experiences builds up particular "body armour" which make performance of backward bending asanas extremely difficult. People just can't bend backward without experiencing acute pain in the back, or chest, or abdomen. For these people backward bending asanas are very beneficial as these asanas are stimulating and extroverting, turning the body out to face the world.
As far as pranayamas are concerned, the hatha yoga texts state very clearly that by controlling the pranas, the mind is automatically controlled. The prana and mind exert an influence on each other. When the pranas are restless, the mind is restless and vice versa. There is another important point to be noted. Sometimes you are inspired. You feel very well, very one-pointed, but it does not happen every day. Therefore the authors of hatha yoga struck another theme: "Don't worry about the mind. Ignore it. Practise pranayama." By practicing pranayama correctly the mind is automatically conquered.
Asanas and pranayamas facilitate the way to deep meditations in which an aspirant can experience his true self. At first it will be only a short glimpse. However even this short contact with our true nature can change radically without any mental effort our attitude towards ourselves, life process and values, goal of life. And if an aspirant is steady and regular in his practices this inner experience will extend and deepen gradually bringing about total transformation of the whole attitudinal tree also without any mental effort and fight with oneself.
In this way we can see changing attitudes as a natural outcome of other yogic practices.
1. Swami Muktibodhananda, "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," p. 4-6.
2. Swami Muktibodhananda, "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," p. 56.
How can other practices like asanas, pranayamas, meditation naturally lead to change of attitudes? The answer is that our mental state, where our attitudes reside, has corresponding state in our gross body, pranic system, as well as a corresponding state of consciousness. If some negativity, which is connected with an improper attitude, is kept in our mind, our body and pranic channels will be blocked in a particular way and the state of consciousness will also be clouded in a particular way. So if we start to work with our body and prana, removal of blockages accumulated at these levels will lead to removal of mental blockages. In the same way change in the state of consciousness will lead to change in the mind; however this way is more difficult than the first one as consciousness is subtler than mind, prana and body and experience a change in it is difficult if all of grosser levels are blocked. However it is also possible.
The way from other practices to changing attitudes seems more appropriate for modern people. Nearly nobody from people, who want to study yoga now, intends to change attitudes. Many of them want to improve their bodies through asanas, or escape from their sorrows and unhappiness through meditation. Even those, who want to do spiritual practices as a primary purpose to be involved in yoga, do so more to inflate their own ego and are not aware at all that if they take a yogic path seriously it is necessary to change their attitudes. Some of them stay in this ignorance for the whole life however being sure that they are practicing yoga. But many start to change their attitudes naturally as they advance in their practices.
Besides even from the practical point of view and from my own experience I could say that starting from purely mental work of changing attitude leads modern purely mental people to more confusion and disappointment. Inner experience is necessary to understand background and real inevitability of changing attitudes.
Similar approach was suggested by yogis, who compiled Hatha Yoga, and was recorded by Swatmarana in his Hatha Yoga Pradipika in 11th - 12th centuries A.D. As Swami Satyananda puts it: "The beauty of Hatha yoga Pradipika is that it solves a very great problem faced by every aspirant. Swatmarama has completely eliminated the yama and niyama which are the starting points in the Buddhist and Jain systems, as well as in Patanjali's raja yoga. Patanjali was a contemporary of Buddha and his system of yoga was in influenced by the Buddhist philosophy of yama and niyama… Patanjali's contention is that you have first perfect yama and niyama, otherwise asana and pranayama may fail to give desirable results… However the authors of texts on hatha yoga, such as Swatmarama, were very much aware of the practical difficulties every person faced in relation to yama and niyama… If harmony is not created in personality, then self-control and self-discipline will create more conflict rather than peace of mind… Swatmarama does not worry at all about self-control and self-discipline in the form of yama and niyama. The order here is very different. He begins by saying that you should first purify the whole body – the stomach, intestines, nervous system and other systems. Therefore, shatkarma comes first, i.e. neti, dhauti, basti, kapalbhati, trataka and nauli… After shatkarma you should practice asana and pranayama. Self-control and self-discipline should start with the body… Why do you fight with the mind first? You have no power to wrestle with the mind, yet you wrestle with it, thereby creating a pattern of animosity towards yourself. There are not two minds, there is one mind trying to split itself into two. One mind wants to break the discipline and the other mind wants to maintain the discipline. You can find this split in everybody. When this split becomes greater, we call it schizophrenia.
This danger was clearly realized by the authorities and masters of hatha yoga. Therefore, they said, first discipline the body. They explained what they meant bythe body. The subtle elements (tattwas), the energy channels (nadis) within the body should be purified. The behaviour of the vital force (prana), the entire nervous system and the various secretions in the body should be properly maintained and harmonized.
After this one should go on to practice mudras like vajroli, sahajoli, khechari, shambhavi, vipareeta karani and others. In this way it will be possible to develop deep meditation. These practices will induce pratyahara and lead into dharana, dhyana and samadhi."1
Actually Swatmarama also mentions yamas and niyamas : "Non-violence, truth, non-stealing, continence (being absorbed in a pure state of consciousness), forgiveness, endurance, compassion, humility, moderate diet and cleanliness are the ten rules of conduct (yama). Penance (austerity), contentment, belief (faith) in the Supreme (God), charity, worship of God, listening to the recitation of sacred scriptures, modesty, a discerning intellect, japa (mantra repetition and sacrifice are the ten observances (niyama)."2 However Swatmarama is merely listing what is required from a sadhaka at a later stage of practice when the mind has become stable and its outward going tendencies can be controlled. Swatmarama also advises, "not to adhere to rules." Initially it is not essential to practice yama and niyama and it should not be thought that you cannot succeed without them.
Let us see now how asanas and pranayamas can influence mental field and consequently facilitate changing attitudes.
As far as asana is concerned, this term is translated as "steady and comfortable posture, however it is considered to be a state of being rather than physical pose, as it influences not only body, but also mind and consciousness. Increase in general health provided by asana automatically leads to positive mental changes, reduce of tensions and relief of chronic mental stress.
Asana helps to get an optimistic outlook in the following ways. It influences functioning of endocrine system by rectifying over-activity or sluggishness of individual glands and harmonizing the control center of the system in the brain. All of it has a major influence on our emotional make up that leads to change in our attitude to life. Besides asana provides coordinating various other bodily systems that brings rhythm and balance into the body-mind complex. Asana encourages free flow of prana that leads to mental equilibrium and calmness. Slowing down and deepening breathing leads to increased calmness and well being. Awareness, which is supposed to be maintained throughout asana performance, leads the mind away from problems and troubles of everyday life. Furthermore emotional tensions which are accumulated in the body in the form of muscle stiffness, are released. It is interesting to observe how particular emotional problems and psychic stiffness build up in the body in the form of muscle stiffness in particular areas. For example, instinctual fear to face life due to unpleasant past experiences builds up particular "body armour" which make performance of backward bending asanas extremely difficult. People just can't bend backward without experiencing acute pain in the back, or chest, or abdomen. For these people backward bending asanas are very beneficial as these asanas are stimulating and extroverting, turning the body out to face the world.
As far as pranayamas are concerned, the hatha yoga texts state very clearly that by controlling the pranas, the mind is automatically controlled. The prana and mind exert an influence on each other. When the pranas are restless, the mind is restless and vice versa. There is another important point to be noted. Sometimes you are inspired. You feel very well, very one-pointed, but it does not happen every day. Therefore the authors of hatha yoga struck another theme: "Don't worry about the mind. Ignore it. Practise pranayama." By practicing pranayama correctly the mind is automatically conquered.
Asanas and pranayamas facilitate the way to deep meditations in which an aspirant can experience his true self. At first it will be only a short glimpse. However even this short contact with our true nature can change radically without any mental effort our attitude towards ourselves, life process and values, goal of life. And if an aspirant is steady and regular in his practices this inner experience will extend and deepen gradually bringing about total transformation of the whole attitudinal tree also without any mental effort and fight with oneself.
In this way we can see changing attitudes as a natural outcome of other yogic practices.
1. Swami Muktibodhananda, "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," p. 4-6.
2. Swami Muktibodhananda, "Hatha Yoga Pradipika," p. 56.
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