The importance of the subtle in Yoga

Dawn & dusk, the subtle merging of duality.
by
Kamini Bobde


Our universe is a beautiful dance of dualities. Night and day, pain and pleasure, joy and sorrow, positive-negative and so on and so forth. One of the least realised opposites is the gross and the subtle. This is so because the gross leaves very little room for the subtle to be realised or experienced. The gross is finite whereas the subtle is gateway to limitless possibilities. That which is subtle is the basis of all existence in the universe.

But, the beauty of this duality is that it comes to rest at the centre, when the dualities merge and emerge anew in a different form.

The merging is not as gross and obvious as the duality. It is subtle. It is the junction between the gross world and the subtle nether world.

Let us trace this subtle as it plays out everyday around and within us, balancing itself between the two extremes of duality.

Day and night:
One of the daily dramas of this merging of duality into each other happens every day at dawn at the macro and micro level. Light and darkness, day and night are part of the duality of this universe. But, at dawn, darkness dissolves into light and night into day. In that moment of dissolution of the opposites into each other, it is as if all things come to rest without the pull of the opposites. Therefore, there is a certain peace, calm and serenity in the wee hours. It is in the cosmos and within us in our cells and our whole body system.

Therefore, our seers said that the best time to meditate is at dawn. It is the time when the duality of the gross, settles at the centre and becomes subtle.


Breath and Prana: 
Breath is gross. You can feel and smell it. Prana is subtle. You can neither smell nor feel it. Yet, both are intermingled. Prana enters your body riding on the breath. When you are excited, angry or exhausted, your breathing becomes  gross, more pronounced than normal. When you are calm, relaxed, thoughtless, your breathing becomes quiet, slow, almost imperceptible. Meditation is a state where these two come to rest at the centre. The gross breath becomes quiet enough for you to feel, connect with the prana, the subtle.

Sleep and Wakefulness:
Yet, another example is sleep and wakefulness. Wakefulness is gross state of consciousness. Both breath and thoughts are active. Sleep is gross state of unconsciousness when breath is active but mind is at rest, no thoughts. The subtle is a state in-between when you are awake, conscious, but there are no thoughts, the breath is quiescent. This state is the meditative state. The doorway to Bliss, Turiya.

The subtle also makes us aware of that which is the power behind the gross. This is very well bought out in the Kenopanishad, Part 1. It talks about the subtle which powers everything, but we know not.

Kenopanishad:
Sutra 4: Yadvaahaanabhyuditam Yena Vaagabhyudyate: Tadeva Brahma Tvam Vidhi Nedam Yadidamupaasate.

That by which is not uttered by speech, but which enlightens the speech, that alone is Brahman, not that which people worship.

Sutra 5: Yanmanasaa Na Manute Yenaahurmano Matam: Tadev Brahma Tvam Vidhi Nedam Yadidamupaasate.

That by which one cannot think with the mind, but by which they say, the mind is made to think is Brahman, and not that which people worship.

Sutra 6: Yachchakshushaa Na Pashyati Yena Chakshoomshi Pasyati: Tadeva Brahma Tvam Vidhi Nedam Yadidamupaaste.

That by which one cannot see with the eyes, but by which the eyes are enabled to see, know that alone to be Brahman and not that which people worship.

Sutra 7: Yachchhrotrena Na Shrinoti Yena Shrotramidam Shrutam: Tadeva Brahma Tvam Vidhi Nedam Yadidamupaasate.

That by which one cannot hear with the ears, but by which the ears are made to hear, know that alone to be Brahman and not that which people worship.

Sutra 8: Yat praanema Na Praaniti Yena Praanah Praneeyate: Tadeva Brahma Tvam Vidhi Nedam Yadidamupaasate. 

That which one cannot smell with the nose, but which directs the nose to the object of smell, know that alone to be Brahman, and not that which people worship.

( The sutras and their translations taken from, Nine Principal Upanishads, from the teachings of Swami Satyananda Saraswati, Yoga Publication Trust, Munger, Bihar).

What is Yoga?

A short concept note for the uninitiated
by
Kamini Bobde

 Yoga is an ancient wisdom which has come to us from the God’s themselves as a knowledge given by Lord Shiva in answer to Parvati’s question on how to find liberation from the cycle of birth & death.  It has a whole history and heritage of Rishis, sages, sadhus and Sants who over the ages have preserved & contributed to this ancient experience-based knowledge right up to Patanjali and more recently Swami Satyananda Saraswati who has given to the world Yoga Nidra and Shankprakshalan.

Yoga, as any practitioner will experience, works on multi-dimensional levels of  your body. It is not something that will only tone up your muscles while  neglecting the other life sustaining organs like heart, brain etc. It works not only on the physical aspect but also on your mental, emotional and finally- spiritual state.

A person may be suffering from High BP may be short tempered and thus affecting his family life. As a Yoga Teacher you will be able to help him in not only managing his BP problem but without any re-course to psycho-analysis or any mental, intellectual sparring, help him alter his temperament through Yoga.

Yoga we can say works on the gross, subtle & causal. At the gross level it works on the heart, the digestive system, the endocrinal system, the hormonal glands as also the central nervous system. At the subtle level it works on the energy centres, the neural pathways, the vital life force, called prana. At the causal level it helps break free of ego, conflict, and the prison of one’s own limitations.

The corner-stone of Yoga is awareness. If you practice Yoga and do not emphasize on awareness then you are merely doing physical exercise not asanas, pranayama or Yoga. Yoga is not an ego-boosting indulgence of doing difficult postures to win the admiration and exclamations of the uninitiated. If you are looking to Yoga to contort your body in awe-inspiring poses, then you might as well go and join a circus and become a rubber doll.

 Normally, the body uses you. The sense organs lead you to over-eating, comforts, indulgences. The body uses you and the senses lead the mind. In Yoga, you use the body and the mind leads the senses. The idea is to free yourself of the body so as to experience beyond that which is known only through the senses. So, don’t get stuck with the pride of doing difficult asanas. The asanas are only to relieve you of your bodily discomforts, maladies, illnesses, etc so that you may be able to finally sit for hours in meditation to reach the ultimate goal of Yoga….your union with the Supreme.

Raja Yoga, also called the Royal Path of yoga, is ideally suited for people living, working, within the confines of the world. You need not give up anything or retire to the mountains to follow the path of Raja Yoga.

A daily therapeutic practice of Yoga involves limbering up asanas to begin with, then stretching, bending the spine laterally, forward, backward, twisting. This is to strengthen the spine and also clean up the central nervous system. Then there are other asanas which tone up the hormonal system, the endocrinal system, the digestive system.

Asanas, thus work on a multi-dimensional level on the body and get it into a good state, removing all blockages, maladies so that prana, the subtle life force can freely move in the whole body. Prana, is distinct from your breath. ( See Pranam to Prana... in this blog for more on Prana.) 

This is then followed up with pranayama which works on the subtle systems, like neural pathways & psychic centres of the body.

As one perfects the asanas, pranayama, you then introduce, subtler practices of Dharana ( Concentration) and Dhyana ( Meditation). This finally leading to Samadhi.

This is the progression in which Yoga works on you. 

Yoga is union. Further, it is Viyoga, that is separation. It is separation of energy from matter for the ultimate union of the self with the Supreme.

Hari Om!!