Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

ciently so that it may become possible for the aspirant to be firmly established on the
path of Yoga? The next and the subsequent Sutras deal with this important problem.
The first and most effective means which Patanjali prescribed for overcoming
this distracted condition of the mind is the Japa of Pranava and meditation on its
meaning. He calls Pranava as the Vacaka of Isvara. What is a Vacaka? The literal
meaning of Vacaka is name or designator but in Mantra-Yoga it has a specialized
meaning and is used for a name which is essentially of the nature of a Mantra and has
the power when used in a prescribed manner of revealing the consciousness and releas-
ing the power of a Devata or Divine Being. Being a sound combination which is used
to designate a particular Entity it is like a name. But an ordinary name is chosen arbi-
trarily to indicate somebody and it has no natural or mystic relationship with the per-
son. A Vacaka, on the other hand, is a name which has a mystic relationship with the
Vacya (the Entity designated) and has inherent in it the power of revealing the con-
sciousness and releasing the power of the individual for whom it stands. Such a Va-
caka is Om. It is considered to be the most mystical, sacred and powerful Mantra by
the Hindus because it is the Vacaka of Isvara, the Greatest Power and the Supreme
Consciousness as far as our Solar system is concerned.
It may seem preposterous to the ordinary man not familiar with the inner side of
life that a mere syllable of three letters can carry hidden within it the potential power
which is attributed to it by all Yogis, and references to which are found scattered
throughout the sacred scriptures of the Hindus. But facts are facts and they are not at
all affected by the ignorance and prejudices of people who disbelieve in them. Who
could have believed fifty years ago that a mere neutron moving among a number of
uranium atoms could produce an explosion powerful enough to blow up a whole city?
Anyone who understands the theory of Mantra-Yoga and the relation of vibration with
consciousness should be able to see that there is nothing inherently impossible in the
idea of a mystic syllable possessing such a power. Besides, we should remember that
the facts of the inner life with which Yoga deals are based upon experience no less
than the facts of Science, though it may not be possible or desirable to demonstrate
them.