From IIM Ahmedabad To Happiness

Author(s): Vijay K Jain
Publisher: Vikalp Printers

Page 45

HEALTH IS MORE THAN WEALTH
धारणा
6) 7) 8)
Dhāranā Dhyāna Samādhi
ध्यान
समाधि
Yama means death; here it implies self-control till one is alive. Yama signifies self-restraint resulting in non-injuring, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence, and the imposing of limitations on the worldly goods.
Niyama, meaning a rule or canon, involves practice of purity (internal and external), contentment, study, and resignation and self-surrender to God for a pre-determined time and period.
The first two stages are meant for moral purification, without which no spiritual progress is possible.
Asana signifies the posture to steady the mind, for contemplation. Correct posture is necessary to keep the body motionless, else its restlessness would distract the mind and dissipate the energy of the will. The āsana that is generally adopted by the yogis is a
dopted by the yogis is a sitting posture, with legs crossed, after the manner of the images of Jain Tirthamkaras.
Prānāvāma conveys the idea of controlling the vital force. The primary object is to control the wandering of the mind so as to be able to prevent the uncontrolled dissipation of energy. Apart from this, breathing is also the main source of the absorption of the vital energy. With each breath we inhale a certain amount of prāna (electricity or vital force) from the atmospheric air. This vital force is absorbed by the blood, and is stored up in the nervous system. The yogi aims at controlling the vital force by regulating his breath. He begins by correcting the normal breath. The object of breathing exercises is to remove the condition of passivity from the system and that can be accomplished by (1) inhaling a large quantity of the vital breath from the atmosphere, and (2) by
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