- By relaxation of effort and meditation on the ‘Endless’ (posture is mas-
tered).
For acquiring mastery of an Asana Patanjali gives two helpful suggestions. One
is the gradual slackening of effort. The keeping of the physical body in an immovable
position for long periods of time requires great effort of the will and the mind has to be
directed constantly to the body in order to maintain it in the fixed position. But it is
quite obvious that this state of the mind is the opposite of what is aimed at. The mind
has to be freed from the consciousness of the body, not tied down to it in the effort to
keep it in a particular posture. So the Sadhaka is advised to slacken the effort gradu-
ally and transfer the control of the body from the conscious to the subconscious mind.
The conscious mind can thus be withdrawn from the body without affecting the fixed
condition of the body in any manner. This is a gradual process but a definite effort has
to be made to break this connection between the mind and the body, so that the latter
can remain in the prescribed position without requiring any attention from the former.
The other means recommended for acquiring this steadiness is meditation on
Ananta, the great Serpent which, according to Hindu mythology, upholds the earth. To
the modern educated man this direction will appear quite meaningless but if he under-
stands the underlying significance he will see that it is quite reasonable. What is this
Serpent which is called Ananta? It is the symbolic representation of the force which
maintains the equilibrium of the earth and keeps it in its orbit round the Sun. This
force, we can see at once, must be similar to the one which works in a gyroscope, a
well-known instrument which is utilized in many ways for maintaining an object in a
position of equilibrium. Whenever we have to deal with a body which is liable to move
from side to side or in some other manner and has to be brought back and kept in a
position of equilibrium automatically the principle of the gyroscope is utilized invaria-
bly in devising the necessary machinery. Now, the problem of the person who is sitting
in a particular Asana for the purpose of meditation is very similar. The body tends to