lost man, I was partly aspiring to artistry, partly to the yogic search for
the soul. The one encouraged the other. Then pure yoga took me over,
and artistry became secondary or incidental.
Life Is LearningThis whole book has been founded on a series of demarcations-the
five sheaths, the five elements, their five subtle counterparts. It is a
fruitful way to direct the quest toward the exploration of Nature and
the discovery of the Soul. But in the back of our minds we should not
forget that all sheaths and elements, all obvious demarcations, whether
between gross or subtle bodies, do not arise at all. All are interwoven
in consciousness. Hence the ultimate reach of yoga is the total trans
formation of citta (consciousness) that pervades our whole being with
awareness and that knows no frontiers.
My hope is to have overcome the prejudice that Hatha Yoga is
only physical and that it has nothing to do with the spiritual life.
People have equated the practice of asana with physical practice. My
life's work has been to show how, even from humble beginnings, this
is a path that can lead the dedicated practitioner to the integration of
body, mind, and soul.
What I have endeavored to say about asana is that the posture
should be comfortable and steady. The steadiness comes only when the
effort has ended. So you have to train the body in such a way that what
seems complex becomes simple. In my asanas, I have no strain any
where as my effort ceased long ago. Because my effort is at an end, I
can offer my practice as an offering to the Lord God so that, in my
practice, I join Him in the infinite.
We are wrong to think that we are all dull and inert. If your fire
were extinguished, you would not be alive. Yogic fire (yogagni) exists
in a latent or pristine state in everyone. It has consumed my life. But
nothing is an:omplishcd forever. If I let cool ashes cover my fire
I IV I Nl; IN I· Ill·. l'.llllM