Verse 2.12
In the lowest suspension of the life energy, sweating appears; in the intermediate suspension of the life energy, there is a shudder; in the highest suspension of the life energy, there is the attainment of the highest place; therefore, the aspirant should practice the stabilization of the vital air.
From the viewpoint of science, it is appropriate to record the experiences of yoga. This would afford immense solace and consolation to future yogis, but yogic experiences are unique and numerous. The yogi is uncertain as to how to categorize them, because a single experience assumes many forms and presents itself at different times. In the beginning, the aspirant is not even able to recognize an experience that has already occurred many times. The aspirant faces an even more complicated problem: to decide which of the various experiences are advanced and important and which are ordinary and minor. Yet he is totally unable to make that decision in the aspirant state; for that, he awaits the accomplished state. When he attains that accomplished state, all experiences are forgotten, and even if any come into the memory, they seem unimportant. In addition, many of the yogic experiences occur only to a particular kind of aspirant or even only to one person. Therefore, those who have reached the far shore of
purifying action yoga have mentioned only the main experiences in their textbooks. Just as among postures, only very important ones have been mentioned; so, among the suspensions of the life energy and energy seals, only the main ones have been mentioned. Devotional yogis, after being in this state, have said with folded hands, 'This is verily the play of Love-Filled One, ever out of our reach. No one has been able to fathom it and no one ever will.' When even the yogi himself does not know this yogic creation of Love-Filled One, who can?
Sometimes there is only one experience; but due to the differences in viewpoint, there are different descriptions. The knower calls the purifying action of natural yoga 'non-action'; the yogi or the devotee calls it 'action'.
One characteristic of these experiences is that for several days, an experience occurs in worship, then for some months it does not appear. The aspirant even forgets all about it, but then it again smilingly presents itself and awakens former memories. In this aspirant stage, even the wisest aspirants are not able to calculate [what is happening] because adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing are of no avail; therefore, all conjecture and calculation based on logic prove to be misleading.
When the aspirant has joyful experiences in yogic worship, he becomes extremely glad, and when he has grief-filled experiences, he becomes very sad. This step goes on without a break for years, so forbearance is gradually developed in the aspirant; that is, he is not distressed by
When the evolutionary force becomes upfacing (looking upward), there is the advent of the lowest suspension of the life energy. The aspirant dances for sheer joy over these developing suspensions of the life energy, but this step doesn't continue for very long; after a few days it stops. Conditions being favorable, it begins again, and, again, it stops. One meaning of this is that sometimes the activities of the life energy are obvious and, at other times, they go on undetected. At the time of doing the lowest suspension of the life energy, sometimes drops of sweat appear.
Then suddenly the aspirant begins to experience, in addition to the first type of suspension of the life energy, a second type in which shuddering occurs. Yes, this subsequent suspension of the life energy feels more delightful (gladdening) than the antecedent suspension of the life energy. At this time, the gaze sometimes also moves to the center of the eyebrows, and the life energy vital air attempts the ascent to the brain. Here it should be borne in mind that the vital air has already ascended to the brain many times in the beginning of yoga, but at that time the path is filled with impurity. Even so, the aspirant has the benefit of seeing the divine light. The shape of the divine light is like the shape of an eye. This event [seeing the divine light] belongs both to the elementary systematic practice of the moving-in-space energy seal and to the final systematic practice of the moving-in-space energy seal. Between the two there is an interval of many years. In the subsequent level of the moving-in-space energy seal, the divine vision of the divine light is accompanied by the experience of the five spaces; at this time the path is clean. At the time of the highest suspension of the life energy, the abdomen becomes filled with the vital air. After that, that vital air, having become upgoing, travels toward the brain and reaches there. At this time, the six-mouthed energy seal occurs. That is, the yogi seizes (takes, obtains) the vital air with (by means of) both energy channels, and then, sealing the openings of the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, etcetera, he attempts to make the vital air stable in the brain. If the vital air is stable in the brain for very long, then the aspirant in this state, unblocking (unlocking) one nostril or both nostrils, quickly performs filling, immediately followed by the hold. This suspension of the life energy is [preceded by] the antecedent level of the suspension of the life energy.
In the verse, the achievement of the highest place is mentioned; that place is called 'the Absolute opening'. There are various openings (cracks, holes) in the Absolute path (path of the Absolute); each of these openings is called the Absolute opening. The 'anal door', situated in the root-base energy center; the 'genital door', situated in the self's standing-place energy center; the 'tenth door', situated in the pure speech energy center, and the 'center-of-the-eyebrows door', situated in the command energy center, are each called 'the Absolute opening'. The thousand- spoked energy center is called 'truth world' or 'the Absolute world'. The arrival there of the vital air, or the divine power, is the arrival in the highest place. There is no path beyond, because that place is the complete end of all paths. [The divine power is the ability of the divine individual to accept or to not accept divine individuals, and the process of yoga is using that power step by step to accept each and every divine individual. This process is experienced by the individual as the ascent of the vital air in the Absolute path, until its final stage, when the vital air, now the divine power, arrives in the thousand-spoked energy center. Then the
individual knows the process of yoga as the absorption of untruth into truth, of illusion into the Absolute.]
In The Linga Purana, it says, 'The duration of the lowest suspension of the life energy is twelve beats (instants), the duration of the middle suspension of the life energy is twenty-four beats, and the duration of the highest suspension of the life energy is thirty-six beats.' Although various teachers of yoga have given the duration of a beat, and they are not the same, they can be incorporated in a single measure. A beat is called the blink of an eye. One blink of an eye takes about four-fifths of a second, so twelve beats takes about ten seconds. According to this reckoning, there would be six lowest suspensions of the life energy in a minute, three middle suspensions of the life energy in a minute, and two highest suspensions of the life energy in a minute. It is commonly accepted that the number of inhalations and exhalations (breaths in
and out) of an average healthy person in a day and a night – in a total of twenty-four hours – is 21,600. According to this reckoning, there are fifteen suspensions of the life energy in a minute. The duration of this natural inhalation and exhalation is called a 'beat'. Therefore, the duration of a beat would be four seconds. In some other texts, it has been said that the lowest suspension of the life energy is forty-two vipala long, the middle suspension of the life energy is eighty-four
vipala long, and the highest suspension of the life energy is one hundred twenty-five vipala long.
One sixtieth of a pala is called a vipala. Sixty vipalas are twenty-four seconds. The highest suspension of the life energy is accomplished whenever, through the continued practice of the root-lock energy seal, there is the union of the suspensions of the life energy. It seems to the aspirant that the posture has risen up from on the earth and is moving in space. Though situated on the earth, he has the experience of roaming in space; this is a very revealing, bliss- giving experience of yoga. It can also be called the attainment of the place.
Just as a seed has the form of the tree, and in it are included the branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits, etcetera; in a similar way, the seed of the suspension of the life energy is the tree of equanimity, and in it are included the withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation, equanimity, etcetera. The Skanda Purana says, 'One withdrawal of the senses is twelve
suspensions of the life energy long, one concentration is twelve withdrawals of the senses long, one meditation is twelve concentrations long, and one equanimity is twelve meditations long.' If the time measure of the lowest, middle, and highest suspensions of the life energy are
calculated according to this reckoning [combined with the information in the next paragraph], they come to, respectively: lowest – sixteen and a half seconds, middle – thirty-three seconds, and highest – fifty seconds.
One concentration is five gharis (one ghari = twenty-four minutes) long, that is, two hours; one meditation is sixty gharis long, that is, a day and night (twenty-four hours); and equanimity is twelve days long.
Instruction
Verses 2.13 through 2.18
The sweat (moisture) produced from the labor of the suspension of the life energy should be rubbed on the body; this brings about firmness and lightness in the body. During the
continued practice time, eating food with milk and purified butter is desirable, but when continued practice becomes firmly established, there is no binding rule. Just as the lion, elephant, tiger, etcetera, are brought under control gradually, the yoked (joined, employed) life energy is brought under control gradually, otherwise it destroys the aspirant! By means of the continued practice of the suspension of the yoked life energy, all diseases are banished and by continued practice of the suspension of the unyoked life energy, all diseases are generated. The enraged life energy leads to hiccups, asthma, catarrh, headache, eye pain, ear pain, and various other diseases; therefore, the aspirant should correctly perform expelling, correctly perform filling, and correctly perform the hold – in this way, accomplishment is obtained.
The yogi who reaches the purification-of-the-energy-channels level of the suspension of the life energy can only be a natural yogi. (Here it should be remembered that this natural yoga is the royal path of the devotee, the knower, and the yogi, yet the devotee calls it the path of devotion, the knower calls it the path of knowledge and the yogi calls it the path of action. But when they reach the accomplishment step, neither the journey nor the path remains, because they themselves are the end of all journeys and all paths.) [The preceding parenthetical remark is Kripalvananda's.] He rubs the sweat arising from the hard work of yogic continued practice on the body because this is a natural activity, yet King Among Yogis has given a clue about this
so that the aspirant will understand its meaning. By rubbing the sweat on the body, the body becomes very firm and light. 'Lightness' as used here should be understood as the absence of torpor [inertia]. Then, the writer has indicated with regard to eating that in beginning continued practice, eating food with milk and clarified butter is desirable, because at that time the lamp of the digestive fire greatly flares up; but when the systematic practice becomes firm there is no binding observance (rule) [regarding food]. Carnivorous animals, such as lions and tigers, are not easily brought under control. As they come to know love, they gradually surrender
themselves. But if there is haste, they kill the controller. The vital air is not a violent animal. It is a divine power of the bodily system; however, it does always follow an eternal law [as do jungle animals], so the aspirant who does not understand its law and its movement will suffer due to his false knowledge. When correct continued practice of natural suspensions of the life energy is done, destruction of disease and attainment of health occur naturally. Yet if for some reason a defect remains, all the diseases begin to be created. That is, through the violent agitation of the life energy, hiccups, asthma, catarrh, and various other diseases arise. During the course of his natural suspension of the life energy, the aspirant should perform appropriate expelling, appropriate filling, and appropriate holding; only then can there be accomplishment.