ASANA

By the practice of Yama and Niyama, the external and the internal nature of man gets
purified and becomes ready for the reception of the higher experience. Then he goes to the
essence of his physical nature. This is the third stage. This requires a deep understanding of
the constitution of man. You know the body is made up of five elements. It is made up of
invisible, rapidly-moving electrons. The protons and electrons are the innermost parts of your
material being. And you know how all these things of the universe are the products of the
three qualities, Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. What are they? They are three different tempos of
vibrations, the grossest vibrating tempo tending to be Tamasic, the subtler one tending to be
Rajasic and the subtlest tending to be Sattvic.

The purpose of the third stage of Raja Yoga, viz., Asana, is to bring about perfect
Sattvaguna in every part of the being. Everything should be pervaded by the quality of
harmony, Sattva. For that purpose sage Patanjali prescribed the Asana. It is not the Asana
which we do in Hatha Yoga. In Raja Yoga, inasmuch as the third step is to bring about a state
of perfect balance, a perfect Sattvic vibration in the body, Asana is a training or discipline to
make the body completely
quiescent,absolutelystill,withouttheleastmovement,asstillasastone,sothatthereisnottheleast
disturbance. Any disturbance, any shaking, any movement in the body has its natural reaction
upon the mind. Body and mind are not different water-tight compartments. They are
interdependent. If you make violent movements in the body, they react on the Prana which in
turn reacts on the mind. And if you bring about absolute stillness in the body, Prana will
become steady, and mind also will tend to become steady. That is the purpose of Asana.

Therefore Asana, according to Patanjali, means disciplining oneself to maintaining for

a long time an absolutely steady and still posture—motionlessness. When you become
absolutely motionless, breath also becomes controlled slowly. The breath gets regulated. You
can steadily
maintainapostureonlyifitiscomfortable.Ifthepostureisuncomfortable,manwillwanttochange it.
So you want a comfortable posture, so that you may remain in it for a long time.

“Sthira-Sukham Asanam—Posture is that which is firm and comfortable.” A steady

and comfortable pose alone will be absolutely motionless. To achieve maximum
motionlessness for the maximum possible duration is the central purpose of Asana. Day after
day, the aspirant tries to still
himself.TherebyRajasgetscontrolled.WhenRajasiscontrolled,Tamasisalsocontrolled,because
Rajas contains in itself Tamas also. The higher contains the lower also. The Tamasic
vibratory tempo of the inner cells is completely eliminated and the Rajasic tempo gets
controlled. If it is not
controlleditmakesthemindoutgoing.AstateofsupremeSattvaprevailsineverycellofthebody.
Asana has to be perfected by continuous daily practice. In the initial stages, it may
take some time to strike upon the proper Asana. Padmasana may suit some people, but it will
not suit all people. Siddhasana will suit some people. For some people Svastikasana is
suitable. You will have to find out which Asana is the most suitable for you. You cannot
centre your mind upon any one Lakshya as long as you do not forget the body.

When you are able to sit continuously for three hours on one Asana at a stretch, it is
called Asanajaya. It makes the body completely Sattvic. The Rajas and Tamas are controlled.
Asanajaya prepares a man to proceed to the next step, Pranayama. In the beginning, if you get
pain while sitting on an Asana, you should come back from the Asana and take a little rest.
You must adopt some practical measures. Of course, some pain has to be endured in the
spiritual path; because you are going to attain the highest bliss. No sacrifice is too much. The
real seeker thinks that he has renounced nothing. If you throw away some dud coins from
your pocket when a friend promises to fill the pocket with gold, you cannot say that you have
sacrificed anything. Similarly you are going to sacrifice the worthless things of the world in
return for the highest immortal bliss. Therefore, Titiksha is necessary, and Vedanta mentions
Titiksha as one of the Shad-Sampat or six virtues.

If the aspirant practises steady posture, the entire vibratory tempo of the cells gets
transformed into Sattva. When Sattva predominates, the Prana gets equilibrium. Now the
Yogi takes to the practice of Pranayama for regulation of breath.

Asana also is a sort of Tapascharya. There is always an urge for movement in the
body. By Asana, you try to resist that urge. Therefore, it brings about self-control.

There are four Asanas, Padmasana, Siddhasana, Svastikasana and Sukhasana. There is
also another set of eight Asanas which all fulfil the conditions of comfort and the possibility
of their being practised for a long time.

Another effect of Asana is that it conserves energy. Movement dissipates energy.

When you move your body, there is more waste of breath and there is more wear and tear
whereas perfect steadiness of Asana for the time being completely minimises wear and tear
and thus conserves energy. You will understand it if you consider the hibernation of certain
creatures in cold countries. For six months they fast and they do not take any food. But there
is no wastage of energy, because all movement is stopped and all energy is therefore kept at
standstill. This conservation of physical energy is converted into subtle energy by Pranayama
and utilised for concentration purposes.

AnotherpointtobenotedisthatthemoreyouproceedinAsanas,themoreyougainmastery
over an absolutely unshaken posture. The sensation of the body begins to diminish. Your
connection with the body is made finer and finer. Normally, the body-consciousness is very
gross, and every sensation is carried to the brain and it is felt as an acute nervous experience.
That state of nervous experience is changed, the feeling of sensitiveness is slowly diminished
and the nervous experience of sensation is minimised. Therefore, by absolute control over
Asanas you slowly begin to go over body-consciousness. It does not mean that you have
attained spiritual consciousness, but there is some transcendence of body-consciousness.
What happens then? The pairs of opposites like heat and cold do not affect you. You can go
and sit naked on the bank of Ganga in winter. You will not feel the cold. That is the peculiar
power of Asanajaya. Even remaining in Ganga water if you meditate and make your pose
absolutely steady, you will have no more sensation. This kind of steadiness in one posture is
necessary if you have to go to the further stages. Because, as long as the body reacts to the
experience of the pairs of opposites, the mind is pulled down to the body and it cannot be
fixed upon the inner Lakshya. As you progress and acquire greater and greater steadiness in
Asana, you begin to rise above the experience of the pairs of opposites. Asanajaya is attained
by meditating on the Infinite. By sheer will-power you cannot make the body steady.

The secret of making the body steady is to take the mind away from the body. Allow
the mind to hold in its consciousness the conception of the formless infinite expanse. The
very thought of form should go away. Then what happens? The thought of body itself
disappears. The conception of the formless Infinite enables the practitioner to forget the finite
body. This is called Pratipaksha-Bhavana. Hold the consciousness of the formless Infinite and
the consciousness of the finite form goes away. As a result, the body continues to remain in
the same posture. It is left like a block of wood or a piece of stone. That is the secret of
getting absolute steadiness of posture. You will have to take the mind away from the finite
body and hold it on the idea of the formless Infinite—Ananta.

Some commentators say, Ananta means snake, which is supposed to hold the earth,
because if you hold something heavy you cannot move. But another commentator says,
Ananta means Infinite. By steady posture all metabolic processes are minimised. The
steadiness of the body has effect on the mind and Prana, and energy is conserved. It can be
utilised for concentration, and one becomes impervious to the effects of the pairs of
opposites.