Breath consists of an inspiration termed puraka, an interval termed
kumbhaka, and an expiration called rechaka. When the respiration is
carried on by the right nostril, it is called the pingala; when it is
carried on by the two nostrils, it is named the susumna; and when it is
carried on by the left nostril, it is called ida.
The right respiration is called the solar respiration, from its heating
nature; while the left respiration is termed the lunar respiration,
from its cooling character. The susumna respiration is called the
shambhu-nadi. During the intermediate respiration the human mind should
be engaged in the contemplation of the supreme soul.
The breath takes its origin from the "indiscreet" or unreflecting form,
and the mind from the breath. The organs of sense and action are under
the control of the mind. The Yogis restrain their mind by the
suspension of breath. Breath is the origin of all speech. The word
soham is pronounced by a deep inspiration followed by expiration carried
on by the nostrils.... This word means, "God is in us." There is
another word called hangsha. This is pronounced by a deep expiration
followed by inspiration. Its meaning is "I am in God."
The inspiration is sakti, or strength. The expiration is siva, or
death. The internal or Kumbhaka is a promoter of longevity. When the
expiration is not followed by inspiration death ensues. A forcible
expiration is always the sure and certain sign of approaching
dissolution or death. Both these words soham and hanysha cause the
waste of the animal economy, as they permit the oxygen of the inspired
air to enter the lungs where the pulmonary changes of the blood occur.
According to Lavoissier, an adult Frenchman inhales daily 15,661 grains
of oxygen from the atmosphere, at the rate of 10.87 grains nearly per
minute.
The word Om is pronounced by the inspiration of air through the mouth
and the expiration of the same by the nostrils.
When a man inspires through the mouth and expires through the nostrils,
the oxygen of the inspired air does not enter the lungs where the
pulmonary changes of the blood take place. The monosyllable Om thus
acts as a substitute for the suspension of the breath.
The waste of the body is proportionate to the quantity of oxygen taken
into the system by the respiration. The waste of a man who breathes
quickly is greater than that of one who breathes slowly. While
tranquillity of mind produces slow breathing, and causes the retardation
of the bodily waste, the tranquil respiration has a tendency to produce
calmness of mind. The Yogis attain to Nirvana by suspending or holding
the breath. The Vedantists obtain moksha, or emancipation of the soul,
by holding the mind (mental abstraction). Thus Om is the process of
separating the soul from the body. It is the product of the gasping
breath which precedes the dissolution of our body. The ancient Hindus
utilized the gasping breath of the dying man by discovering the syllable
Om.
The syllable Om protects man from premature decay and death, preserves
him from worldly temptations, and saves him from re-birth. It causes
the union of the human soul to the supreme soul. Om has the property of
shortening the length of respiration.
Siva is made to say in a work on "Sharodaya" (an excellent treatise on
respiration) that the normal length of the expiration is 9 inches.
During meals and speaking the length of the expiration becomes 13.5
inches. In ordinary walking the expiration is lengthened to 18 inches.
Running lengthens the expiration to 25.5 inches.
In sexual intercourse the extent of respiration becomes 48.75 inches.
During sleep the respiration becomes 75 inches long. As sleep causes a
great waste of the body and invites disease, premature decay and death,
the Yogi tries to abstain from it. He lives upon the following
dietary:--rice, 6 ounces troy; milk, 12 ounces troy. He consumes daily:
carbon, 156.2 grains; nitrogen, 63.8 grains.
Under this diet he is ever watchful, and spends his time in the
contemplation of Om. From the small quantity of nitrogen contained in
his diet he is free from anger. The Yogi next subdues his carnal desire
or sexual appetite. He diminishes day by day his food until it reaches
the minimum quantity on which existence is maintained. He passes his
life in prayer and meditation. He seeks retirement. He lives in his
little cell; his couch is the skin of tiger or stag; he regards gold,
silver, and all precious stones as rubbish. He abstains from flesh,
fish, and wine. He never touches salt, and lives entirely on fruits and
roots. I saw a female mendicant who lived upon a seer of potatoes and a
small quantity of tamarind pulp daily. This woman reduced herself to a
skeleton. She led a pure, chaste life, and spent her time in the mental
recitation of Om. One seer of potatoes contains 3,600 grains of solid
residue, which is exactly 7 1/2 ounces troy.
The solid residue of one seer of potatoes consists of the following
ultimate ingredients:--
Carbon .............. 1587.6 grains
Hydrogen ............ 208.8 "
Nitrogen ............. 43.2 "
Oxygen .............. 1580.4 "
Salts .................180.0 "
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3600.0 "
I saw a Brahman (Brahmachari) who consumed daily one seer of milk, and
took no other food.
Analysis of One Seer of Cow's Milk by Boussingault.
Water ....................... 12,539.520 grains
Carbon ...................... 1,005.408 "
Hydrogen ...................... 164.736 "
Nitrogen ....................... 74.880 "
Oxygen ......................... 525.456 "
Salts ........................... 90.000 "
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14,400.000 "
Now, one seer of cow's milk requires for combustion within the animal
economy 3278.88 grains of oxygen. The Brahmachari inhaled 2.27 grains
of oxygen per minute. This Brahmachari spent his life in the
contemplation of Om, and led a life of continence. The French adult, who
is a fair specimen of well-developed sensuality, inhaled from the
atmosphere 10.87 grains of oxygen every minute of his existence.
A retired, abstemious, and austere life is essentially necessary for the
pronunciation of Om, which promotes the love of rigid virtue and a
contempt of impermanent sensuality. Siva says "He who is free from
lust, anger, covetousness and ignorance is qualified to obtain
salvation, or moksha," or the Nirvana of the Buddhists. The solid
residue of one seer of cow's milk is 1860.48 grains. "In 1784 a student
of physic at Edinburgh confined himself for a long space of time to a
pint of milk and half a pound of white bread."
The diet of this student contained 1487.5 grains of carbon and 80.1875
grains of nitrogen. This food required 4,305 grains of oxygen for the
complete combustion of its elements. He inspired 2.92 grains of oxygen
per minute. In this instance the intense mental culture diminished the
quantity of oxygen inspired from the atmosphere. The early Christian
hermits, with a view to extinguish carnal desire and overcome sleep,
lived upon a daily allowance of 12 ounces of bread and water. They
daily consumed 4063.084 grains of oxygen. They inhaled oxygen at the
rate of 2.8215 grains per minute.
According to M. Andral, the great French physiologist, a French boy 10
years old, before the sexual appetite is developed, exhales 1852.8
grains of carbon in the twenty-four hours. He who wishes to curb his
lust should consume 1852.8 grains of carbon in his daily diet.
Now, 6,500 grains of household bread contain 1852 grains of carbon,
according to Dr. Edward Smith. This quantity of bread is equal to 14
ounces avoirdupois and 375 grains, but the early Christian hermits who
lived upon 12 oz. of bread (avoirdupois) consumed daily 1496.25 grains
of carbon. This quantity of carbon was less than that which the French
boy consumed daily by 356.55 grains. The French boy consumed 1852.8
grains of carbon in his diet, but the Hindu female mendicant, who led a
life of continence, consumed in her daily ration of potatoes 1587.6
grains of carbon. Hence it is evident that the French boy consumed
265.2 grains of carbon more than what was consumed by the female Hindu
Yogi. There lived in Brindavana a Sannyasi, who died at the age of 109
years, and who subsisted for forty years upon the daily diet of four
chuttacks of penda and four chuttacks of milk. His diet contained 1,980
grains of carbon and 90.72 grains of nitrogen. Abstemiousness shortens
the length of respiration, diminishes the waste of the body, promotes
longevity, and engenders purity of heart. Abstemiousness cures vertigo,
cephalalgia, tendency to apoplexy, dyspnoea, gout, old ulcers, impetigo,
scrofula, herpes, and various other maladies.
Cornaro, an Italian nobleman, who was given up by all his physicians,
regained health by living upon 12 ounces of bread and 15 ounces of
water, and lived to a great age.
He consumed less than an ounce of flesh-formers in his diet. According
to Edward Smith 5401.2 grains of bread contain 1 ounce of flesh-formers.
He who wishes to lead a life of chastity, honesty, meekness, and mercy,
should consume daily one ounce of flesh-formers in his diet. As an
ounce of nitrogenous matter contains 70 grains of nitrogen, one should
take such food as yields only 70 grains of azote.
Murder, theft, robbery, cruelty, covetousness, lust, slander, anger,
voluptuousness, revenge, lying, prostitution, and envy are sins which
arise from a consumption of a large quantity of aliments containing a
higher percentage of azote.
He who intends to be free from every earthly thought, desire and passion
should abstain from fish, flesh, woman, and wine, and live upon the most
innocent food.
The following table shows approximately the quantities of various
aliments furnishing 70 grains of nitrogen:
Wheat dried in vacuo ............ 3181.81 grains
Oats ............................ 3181.81 "
Barley .......................... 3465.34 "
Indian corn ..................... 3500 "
Rye dried ........................4117.64 "
Rice dried .......................5036 "
Milk dried .......................1750 "
Peas dried .......................1666.6 "
White haricots dried ..... .......1627.67 "
Horse beans dried ................1272.72 "
Cabbage dried ....................1891.89 "
Carrots dried ....................2916.66 "
Jerusalem artichokes .............4375 "
Turnips dried ....................3181.81 "
Bread ............................5401.2 "
Locust beans .....................6110 "
Figs .............................7172.13 "
Cow's milk fresh .................1346.2 "
Abstemiousness begets suspension of breath. From the suspension of
breath originates tranquillity of mind, which engenders supersensuous
knowledge. From supersensuous knowledge originates ecstasy which is the
Samadhi of the ancient Hindu sages.
Instead of walking and running, which lengthen the respiration, the
devotees of Om should practice the two tranquil postures termed the
padmasana and siddhasana, described in my mystic tract called "The Yoga
Philosophy." According to Siva the normal length of expiration is 9
inches. He says that one can subdue his lust and desire by shortening
his expiration to 8.25 inches, whether by the inaudible pronunciation of
Om or by the suspension of breath (Pranayama); that one can enjoy
ecstasy by diminishing the length of his expiration to 7.50 inches.
One acquires the power of writing poetry by reducing his expiration to
6.75 inches.
When one can reduce his expiration to 6 inches long he acquires the
power of foretelling future events. When one reduces the length of his
expiration to 5.25 inches he is blessed with the divine eye. He sees
what is occurring in the distant worlds.
When the inaudible pronunciation of Om reduces the length of the
expiration to 4.50 inches it enables its votary to travel to aerial
regions. When the length of expiration becomes 3.75 inches, the votary
of Om travels in the twinkling of an eye through the whole world.
When by the inaudible muttering of Om a man reduces his expiration to 3
inches, he acquires ashta Siddhis or consummations (or superhuman
powers). When the expiration is reduced to 2.25 inches, the votary of
Om can acquire the nine precious jewels of the world (Nava nidhi). Such
a man can attract the wealth of the world to him.*
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* Supposing he had any care or use for it--Ed. Theos.
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When the expiration becomes 1.50 inches long from the above practice, he
sees the celestial sphere where the Supreme Soul resides. When the
inaudible pronunciation of Om reduces the length of expiration to .75
inch, the votary becomes deified and casts no shadow.
"Om Amitaya! measure not with words
The immeasurable; nor sink the string of thought
Into the Fathomless! Who asks doth err;
Who answers errs. Say nought!"
"Om mani padma hum. Om the jewel in the lotus."
By the muttering of the above formula the Great Buddha freed himself
from selfishness, false faith, doubt, hatred, lust, self-praise, error,
pride, and attained to Nirvana.
"And how man hath no fate except past deeds,
No Hell but what he makes, no Heaven too high
For those to reach whose passions sleeps subdued."
According to Siva a man acquires Nirvana when his breathing becomes
internal and does not come out of the nostrils. When the breathing
becomes internal--that is, when it is contained within the nostrils, the
Yogi is free from fainting, hunger, thirst, languor, disease and death.
He becomes a divine being, he feels not when he is brought into contact
with fire; no air can dry him, no water can putrefy him, no poisonous
serpent can inflict a mortal wound. His body exhales fragrant odours,
and can bear the abstinence from air, food, and drink.
When the breathing becomes internal, the Yogi is incapable of committing
any sin in deed, thought, and speech, and thereby inherits the Kingdom
of Heaven, which is open to sinless souls.
--N.C. Paul
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