The Yoga-bha ̄Ósyaexplains what is meant by the senses imitating the na-
ture of the mind: “The senses are restrained, like the mind, when the mind
is restrained” [YBh 2.54]. Although the Yoga-s ̄utrastreat pratyah ̄ ara ̄ in
S ̄adhana-pada ̄ , the chapter on practice, pratyah ̄ ara ̄ shares with the
antar ̄a ̇ngas (the three ‘internal limbs’ of Yoga-meditation: dhy ̄ana,
dh ̄araÓna, and sam ̄adhi) the characteristic that it arises only when neces-
sary conditions are met, rather than being a practice that one can choose
to perform, as one can perform ̄asanaand pra ̄Ónay ̄ ama ̄.
That which is attempted by pratyah ̄ ara ̄ may therefore be said to be the
destruction of [the mind’s] natural tendencies and the intrinsic desire on
its part to rush out and attach itself to objects, and thereby to bring it
under the control of higher and spiritual faculties.... Praty ̄ah ̄arais not
therefore the exercise of merely withdrawing the energies working in the
senses and centering them in the mind, but of withdrawing the mind
from its tendencies to join the senses, and bring its faculties of feeling
and willing under control.^70Pratyah ̄ ara ̄ consists in the senses ceasing their usual functions of con-
tacting objects of perception and transmitting sensory information to the
mind. Instead, the mind is fully involved with its object, such as the per-
formance of pra ̄Ónay ̄ ̄ama, and the usual link between the mind and senses
is severed. Praty ̄ah ̄ara,like the components preceding it, utilizes and sub-
limates the physical body, specifically, the sensory capacities, to prepare
for Yoga’s higher stages of meditative consciousness.
Cultivation of Consciousness
The Polarity of Sam ̄adhiand Vy ̄adhi(Illness)
Of the many themes that can be explored regarding yogic meditation and
higher consciousness, this study of yogic religious therapeutics empha-
sizes the polarity of samadhi ̄ or higher consciousness, and vyadhi ̄ , illness.
Integrationis a pivotal concept in the opposition of sam ̄adhi(whose na-
ture is ek ̄agrat ̄a, one-pointed concentration) and vyadhi ̄ , which connotes
fragmentation. The word samadhi ̄ means ‘putting together’ or integrat-
ing. It is formed of the prefix sam, ‘with’ or ‘together,’ and the verbal root
√dha ̄, ‘to put,’ ‘to give.’ Vyadhi ̄ on the other hand is composed of the
same verbal root √dha ̄, preceded by the prefix vi, ‘out,’ ‘asunder.’ Thus
vy ̄adhiliterally means ‘to put out’: to disconcert or fragment. Illness is a
dis-integrating hindrance to spiritual progress because it keeps one
oriented to the physical body and contradicts the recovery of primordial
122 religious therapeutics