prayatna saithilya, or the relaxation of the system. The effort should be relaxed so
that we do not feel the effort in sitting. If we force the limbs to be seated in a posture
which is very hard for us to achieve, then there will be pain. So, in the beginning,
bend the knee only a little bit, at a small angle—not completely at a right angle or
more. Then go on bending it, a little more and more, into the position required. Do
not try impossible postures; try only those which are helpful and not too unpleasant.
Gradual release of the consciousness of effort in respect of the practice of asana is
advised.
Prayatna śaithilya ananta samāpattibhyām (II.47). Here itself, Patanjali brings into play
the role of the mind in the practice of asana. Even in the seated position of the body,
which is known as asana, the mind is active; it is cooperating and it is doing
something. What is the mind doing when the body is made to be seated in a posture?
This is hinted at in the phrase ‘ananta samapatti’.
It is very difficult to explain what is actually in the mind of Patanjali, and exponents
give various ideas about it. The most reasonable meaning of it seems to be that there
should be a gradual attempt on the part of the mind to cooperate with the ideal of the
practice of the asana. Inasmuch as position of the body is possible only after
achieving some amount of freedom from distraction, and as long as the distraction is
present this position would be difficult to maintain, it is necessary that the mind also
should cooperate, as far as possible, in this attempt at bringing about a cessation of
distraction.
What is the cause of a distraction? As it was said, the restlessness of the senses in
respect of their objects—the running of the senses towards externality—is the cause
of the distraction; that itself is the essence of distraction. A consciousness of
externality is the essence of distraction, and this causes many other subsidiary and
sympathetic distractions. If the mind could be requested to contribute its part to
bring about a mitigation of the vehemence of this distraction, even in this stage of the
practice of asana, that would be very good.
What is this contribution that the mind can make at the time of the practice of the
asana? The mind can think something, and that thought would certainly help the
maintenance of the position, provided that thought is free from distractions. Every
thought of an object is a distraction. Whatever be that object—good or bad—it is a
distraction, inasmuch as it is outside the body, outside the mind, outside one’s
consciousness. The very awareness of the presence of something outside is the cause
of the distraction. We feel agitated because something is there outside us.
The mind can, with the aid of the energy it has already gained by the practice of the
yamas and niyamas, prevent this distraction of externality-consciousness by a
contemplation of the infinitude of things. Ananta means endless, or infinite. The
Infinite is that which has no external, because that which is called external, that
which is outside, is also a part of what is infinite. ‘The Infinite’ is a term that we use
to designate that which includes everything; and that which includes everything
should include the objects also.
Thus, the contemplation, the thought, the feeling, and the mood towards the Infinite
should naturally include a satisfaction of having brought within one’s thought or
feeling the very thing that the senses are asking for—namely, the objects. It is not