Inter-  Faiths  Dialogue

Spiritual Practice > Yoga & Breath techniques

25 quote(s)  | Page 1 / 2




H olding the body steady, with the three upper parts erect,
And causing the senses with the mind to enter into the heart,
A wise man with the Brahma-boat should cross over
All the fear-bringing streams.

Having repressed his breathings here in the body, and having his movements
checked,
One should breathe through his nostrils with diminished breath.
Like that chariot yoked with vicious horses,
His mind the wise man should restrain undistractedly.

In a clean, level spot, free from pebbles, fire, and gravel,
By the sound of water and other propinquities
Favorable to thought, not offensive to the eye,
In a hidden retreat protected from the wind, one should practice yoga.

Fog, smoke, sun, fire, wind,
Fireflies, lightning, a crystal, a moon--
These are the preliminary appearances,
Which produce the manifestation of Brahman in yoga.

When the fivefold quality of yoga has been produced,
Arising from earth, water, fire, air, and space,
No sickness, old age, no death has he
Who has obtained a body made out of the fire of yoga.

Lightness, healthiness, steadiness,
Clearness of countenance and pleasantness of voice,
Sweetness of odor, and scanty excretions--
These, they say, are the first stage in the progress of yoga.

Even as a mirror stained by dust
Shines brilliantly when it has been cleansed,
So the embodied one, on seeing the nature of the Soul,
Becomes unitary, his end attained, from sorrow freed.

When with the nature of the self, as with a lamp,
A practicer of yoga beholds here the nature of Brahman,
Unborn, steadfast, from every nature free--
By knowing God, one is released from all fetters!


quote 4388  | 
Svetasvatara Upanishad 2.8-15 




W hen all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intel-
lect wavers not--then, say the wise, is reached the highest state.

This calm of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga. He who
attains it is freed from delusion.


quote 4386  | 
Katha Upanishad 2.6.10-11 




H EALTH IS WEALH; PEACE OF MIND IS HAPPINESS; YOGA SHOWS THE WAY.


quote 4072  |   Swami Vishnu Devananda
Illustrated book of yoga, By sw.vishnu devananda, sr.discile of Sw.Sivananda, a Spiritual Master,India 




Y oga is the restraint of the thought-waves of the mind


quote 3685  | 
Yoga Sutras, 2 




D ay after day, let the yogi practice the stilling of the mind, in a secret place, in deep seclusion, master of his thoughts, hoping for nothing, desiring nothing. Let him find a place that is pure and a pose that is restful... In that place let him rest and practice yoga for the purification of the soul; with his mind and prana [vital energy] stilled, let him be silent before the One.

With his soul in peace, and all fear gone, and firm in the vow of purity, let him hold his mind steady, focusing his intention on Me, the supreme Lord. When the mind of the yogi is steady, and finds rest in the Spirit, when all restless desires have vanished, then he is a yukta, one who has attained yoga. ... Then he knows the joy of eternity; he sees with his mind far beyond what the senses can see. He remains steady in the Truth, unmoving. ... This supreme joy comes to the yogi whose heart is still, whose passions have found rest; he is free from all sin, and is one with Brahman.


quote 3684  | 
6:10-28 




W hen the five senses and the mind are still, and the reasoning intellect rests in silence, then begins the highest path. This calm steadiness of the senses is called yoga. Then one should become watchful, because yoga comes and goes.


quote 3683  | 
Katha Upanishad, 6 




M an is shut up at present in his surface individual consciousness and knows the world only through his outward mind and senses and by interpreting their contacts with the world. By Yoga there can open in him a consciousness which becomes one with that of the world; he becomes directly aware of a universal Being, universal states, universal Force and Power, universal Mind, Life, Matter and lives in conscious relations with these things. He is then said to have cosmic consciousness


quote 3483  | 
A Practical Guide to Integral Yoga 




T he ego is like a stick that seems to divide the water in two. It makes you feel that you are one and I am another. When the ego disappears in samadhi one realizes Brahman as one's own inner consciousness.


quote 3178  | 
Mahendranath Gupta. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Trans. Swami Nikhilananda. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1942, 1948, 1958, p. 284 




A man cannot live on the roof a long time. He comes down again. Those who realize Brahman in samadhi come down also and find that it is Brahman that has become the universe and its living beings… The ego does not vanish altogether. The man coming down from samadhi perceives that it is Brahman that has become the ego, the universe, and all living beings. This is known as vijnana.


quote 3173  | 
Mahendranath Gupta. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Trans. Swami Nikhilananda. New York: Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center, 1942, 1948, 1958, p. 156 




T hat One is called Prana,
The Supreme force that controls and regulates everything.
He gives the power of breath to every creature.
Master of all living beings,
Container of all creation,
He can be known through silence, meditation, and the practice of yoga.


quote 3017  | 
Jonathan Star, the Inner Treasure, Tarcher Putnam 




T hat One is called Shiva,
The Radiant One.
Ever-free, without death or decay,
He is the highest goal of liberated ones.
Witnessing everything without aid or instrument,
Steady, immovable, and changeless,
He is the source of all existence, the one attainable through yoga.


quote 3016  | 
Jonathan Star, the Inner Treasure, Tarcher Putnam 




Y ou know that our breathing is the inhaling and exhaling of air. The organ that serves for this is the lungs that lie round the heart, so that the air passing through them thereby envelops the heart. Thus breathing is a natural way to the heart. And so, having collected your mind within you, lead it into the channel of breathing through which air reaches the heart and, together with this inhaled air, force your mind to descend into the heart and to remain there.


quote 2810  |   Nicephorus the Solitary
Nicephorus the Solitary, adapted from Writings from the Philokalia on the Prayer of the Heart, translated by E. Kadloubosky and G. E. H. Palmer (London: Faber & Faber, 1990). 




T hose who attain the supreme goal of
Realizing the Self and passing beyond
All sorrow, shine bright as a mirror
Which has been cleansed of dust.

In the supreme climax of samadhi
They realize the presence of the Lord
Within their heart. Freed from impurities,
They pass forever beyond birth and death.


quote 2650  | 
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, translated by Eknath Easwaran, 1987; Nilgiri Press, Tomales, California 




G reat is the glory of the Lord of Life,
Infinite, omnipresent, all-knowing.
He is known by the wise who meditate
And conserve their vital energy.

Hear, 0 children of immortal bliss,
You are born to be united with the Lord.
Follow the path of the illumined ones
And be united with the Lord of Life.

Kindle the fire of kundalini deep
In meditation. Bring your mind and breath
Under control. Drink deep of divine love,
And you will attain the unitive state.

Dedicate yourself to the Lord of Life,
Who is the cause of the cosmos.
He will Remove the cause of all your suffering
And free you from the bondage of karma.

Be seated with spinal column erect
And turn your senses and mind deep within.
With the mantram echoing in your heart,
Cross over the dread sea of birth and death.

Train your senses to be obedient.
Regulate your activities to lead you
To the goal. Hold the reins of your mind
As you hold the reins of restive horses.


quote 2648  | 
Shvetashvatara Upanishad, translated by Eknath Easwaran, 1987; Nilgiri Press, Tomales, California 




W hen earnest disciples have gotten rid of all their evil habit-energy and been able to realize the twofold egolessness, then they will not be intoxicated by the bliss of the Samadhis and will be awakened into the super-realm of the good non-outflowings.


quote 2591  |   The Lankavatara Sutra
Ch VII, p.320, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible 




W hy is there no obtaining of Nirvana? Because Nirvana is the realm of no "thingness". If the ego-soul of personality was an enduring entity it could not obtain Nirvana. It is only because personality is made up of elements that pass away, that personality may attain Nirvana. So long as man is seeking highest perfect Wisdom, he is still abiding in the realm of consciousness. If he is to realize Nirvana, he must pass beyond consciousness. In highest samadhi having transcended consciousness, he has passed beyond discrimination and knowledge, beyond the reach of change or fear; he is already enjoying Nirvana. The perfect understanding of this and the patient acceptance of it is the highest perfect Wisdom that is Prajnaparamita. All the Buddhas of the past, present and future having attained highest samadhi, awake to find themselves realizing Prajna-paramita.


quote 2514  |   The Maha Prajna Paramita
Hridaya, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p. 86 




A t a time, o Monks, when the monk thus trains himself
Perceiving impermanence will I breathe in, perceiving impermanence will I breathe out'; 'rejecting attraction will I breathe in, rejecting attraction will I breathe out'; 'perceiving eradication will I breathe in, perceiving eradication will I breathe out'; perceiving estrangement will I breathe in, perceiving, estrangement will I breathe out': at such a time, o Monks, a monk examining phenomena observes phenomena, unremittingly, with perspicacity and insight, after having conquered worldly desires and worry. And he recognizes with wisdom, how worldly desires and worry are being overcome, and attains peace.


quote 2511  | 
118th Discourse, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p. 78 




A t a time, o Monks, when the monk thus trains himself:
Perceiving the thoughts will I breathe in, perceiving the thoughts will I breathe out'; enlivening the thoughts will I breathe in, enlivening the thoughts will I breathe out'; 'concentrating the thoughts will I breathe in, concentrating the thoughts will I breathe out'; 'dissolving the thoughts will I breathe in, dissolving the thoughts will I breathe out': at such a time, o Monks, a monk examining thoughts observes the thoughts, unremittingly, with perspicacity and insight, after having conquered worldly desires and worry.


quote 2510  | 
118th Discourse, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p. 78 




B ut how, o Monks, must inhalation and exhalation be practiced and cultivated introspectively in order to establish the Four Foundations of Introspection?
"At a time, o Monks, when the monk drawing in a long breath knows 'I am drawing in a long breath,' exhaling a long breath knows 'I am exhaling a long breath,' drawing in a short breath knows 'I am drawing in a short breath' exhaling a short breath knows 'I am exhaling a short breath'; 'Perceiving the whole body will I breathe in, perceiving the whole body will 1 breathe out,' thus trains himself; 'Calming down this body compound will I breathe in, calming down this body compound will 1 breathe out,' thus trains himself; at such a time, o Monks, the monk examining the body observes the body, unremittingly, with perspicacity and insight, after having conquered worldly desires and worry. I call this, o Monks, a transformation of the body, namely inhalation and exhalation. Thus, therefore, o Monks, at such a time, the monk examining the body observes the body, unremittingly, with perspicacity and insight, after having conquered worldly desires and worry.


quote 2509  | 
118th Discourse, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p. 77 




B ut how, o Monks, must inhalation and exhalation be practiced and cultivated introspectively that it causes high recompense, high advancement?
"A monk, o Monks, goes into a forest, or to the foot of a great tree, or to a lonely place, and there sits down, cross-legged, holding his body upright, and practices Introspection.
"He breathes in attentively, and attentively breathes out.


quote 2508  | 
118th Discourse, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p. 76 




T here are, o Monks, among these disciples some monks, who persevere assiduously as conquerors of introspective breathing exercises. Inhalation and exhalation, o Monks, practiced and cultivated introspectively causes the attainment of high recompense, of high advancement. Inhalation and exhalation, o Monks, practiced and cultivated introspectively causes the unfoldment of the Four Foundations of Introspection; the Four Foundations of Introspection, practiced and cultivated assiduously, cause the enfoldment of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment; the Seven Factors of Enlightenment, practiced and cultivated introspectively, cause the enfoldment of Knowledge that liberates.


quote 2507  | 
118th Discourse, in Dwight Goddard, A Buddhist bible, p 75 




W hat now is Right Attentiveness? […]
- Whenever the disciple is training himself to inhale or exhale (a) whilst feeling the mind, or (b) whilst gladdening the mind, or © whilst concentrating the mind, or (d) whilst setting the mind free-at such a time he is dwelling in contemplation of the mind, full of energy, clearly conscious, attentive, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For, without attentiveness and clear consciousness, I say, there is no Watching over In- and Out-breathing.


quote 2502  | 
Majjhima Nikaya, 118, 3. 




W hat now is Right Attentiveness? […]
- Whenever the disciple is training himself to inhale or exhale (a) whilst feeling, rapture, or (b) joy, or © the mental functions, or (d) whilst calming down the mental functions. At such a time he is dwelling in contemplation of the feelings, full of energy, clearly conscious, attentive after subduing worldly greed and grief. For, the full awareness of in- and out breathing I call one amongst the feelings.


quote 2501  | 
Majjhima Nikaya, 118, 2. 




W hat now is Right Attentiveness? […]
- Whenever the disciple (a) is conscious in making a long inhalation or exhalation, or (b) in making a short inhalation or exhalation, or c) is training himself to inhale or exhale whilst feeling the whole (breath-) body, or (d) whilst calming down this bodily function (i.e. the breath)-at such a time the disciple is dwelling in contemplation of the body, full of energy, clearly conscious, attentive, after subduing worldly greed and grief. For, inhalation and exhalation I call one amongst the bodily things.


quote 2500  | 
Majjhima Nikaya, 118, 1. 




W hat now is Right Attentiveness? […]
- But how does the disciple dwell in the contemplation of the body? There the disciple retires to the forest, to the foot of a tree, or to a solitary place, sits himself down, with legs crossed, body erect, and with attentiveness fixed before him.
With attentive mind he breathes in, with attentive mind he breathes out. When making a long inhalation, he knows: I make a long inhalation; when making a long exhalation, he knows: I make a long exhalation. When making a short inhalation, he knows: I make a short inhalation; when making a short exhalation, he knows: I make a short exhalation. Clearly perceiving the entire (breath-) body, I will breathe out: thus he trains himself. Calming this bodily function, (kaya-sankhara), I will breathe in: thus he trains himself; calming this bodily function, I will breathe out: thus he trains himself.


quote 2496  | 
Digha Nikaya, 22 



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