46 Light on Yoga
other hand, if there is rhythmic control of breath, the senses instead of
running after external objects of desire turn inwards, and man is set
free from their tyranny. This is the fifth stage of Yoga, namely,
pratyahara, where the senses are brought under control.
When this stage is reached, the sadhaka goes through a searching self
examination. To overcome the deadly but attractive spell of sensual
objects, he needs the insulation of adoration (bhakti) by recalling to his
mind the Creator who made the objects of his desire. He also needs
the lamp of knowledge of his divine heritage. The mind, in truth, is for
mankind the cause of bondage and liberation; it brings bondage if it is
bound to the objects of desire and liberation when it is free from objects.
There is bondage when the mind craves, grieves or is unhappy over
something. The mind becomes pure when all desires and fears are
annihilated. Both the good and the pleasant present themselves to men
and prompt them to action. The yogi prefers the good to the pleasant.
Others driven by their desires, prefer the pleasant to the good and miss
the very purpose of life. The yogi feels joy in what he is. He knows how
to stop and, therefore, lives in peace. At first he prefers that which is
bitter as poison, but he perseveres in his practice knowing well that in
the end it will become as sweet as nectar. Others hankering for the union
of their senses with the objects of their desires, prefer that which at first
seems sweet as nectar, but do not know that in the end it will be as bitter
as pOison.
The yogi knows that the path towards satisfaction of the senses by
sensual desires is broad, but that it leads to destruction and that there
are many who follow it. The path of Yoga is like the sharp edge of a
razor, narrow and difficult to tread, and there are few who find it. The
yogi knows that the paths of ruin or of salvation lie within himself.
According to Hindu philosophy, consciousness manifests in three
different qualities. For man, his life and his consciousness, together with
the entire cosmos are the emanations of one and the same prakrti
(cosmic matter or substance)-emanations that differ in designation
through the predominance of one of the gu!fas. These gu!faS (qualities or
attributes) are:
- Sattva (the illuminating, pure or good quality), which leads to clarity
and mental serenity. - Rajas (the quality of mobility or activity), which makes a person
active and energetic, tense and wilful, and
3· Tamas (the dark and restraining quality), which obstructs and
counteracts the tendency of rajas to work and of sattva to reveal.
Tamas is a quality of delusion, obscurity, inertia and ignorance. A
person in whom it predominates is inert and plunged in a state of torpor.