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XX111) Vāyu Purāņa
505 In Chapter vuil it is said that rajas remains as the dynamic principle inherent in sattva and tamas, just as oil remains in seas amum. It is further said that Maheśvara entered the pradhāna and purușa, and with the help of the dynamic principle of rajas produced a disturbance in the equilibrium of the prakrtil. By the disturbance of the guņas three gods are produced, from rajas Brahmā, from tamas Agni, and from sattva Vişnu. The Agni is also identified with kāla or Time.
The Vāyu Purāņa also describes the nature of māheśvara-yoga-. This is said to be constituted of five elements or dharmas, such as prānāyāma, dhyāna, pratyāhāra, dhāraņā, and smaraņa. Prāņāyāma is of three kinds, manda, madhyama, and uttama. Manda is of twelve mātrās, madhyama of twenty-four, and uttama of thirty-six. When the vāyu is once controlled by gradual practice, then all sins are burnt and all bodily imperfections are removed. By dhyāna one should contemplate the qualities of God. Then prāņāyāma is said to bring about four kinds of results: (i) śānti, (ii) praśānti, (iii) dipti, and (iv) prasāda. Sānti means the washing away of sins derived from impurities from parents and from the association of one's relations. Praśānti means the destruction of personal sins, as greed, egotism, etc. Dīpti means the rise of a mystical vision by which one can see past, present and future and come in contact with the wise sages of the past and become like Buddha. Prasāda means the contentment and pacification of the senses, sense-objects, mind, and the five vāyus.
The process of prāņāyāma beginning with āsana is also described. Pratyāhāra is regarded as the control of one's desires and dharma is regarded as the fixing of the mind on the tip of the nose, or the middle of the eyebrows, or at a point slightly higher than that. Through pratyāhāra the influence of external objects is negated. By dhyāna one perceives oneself like the sun or the moon, i.e. there is an unobstructed illumination. The various miraculous powers that the yogi attains are called the upasargas and it is urged that one should always try to keep oneself free from the callings of these miraculous powers. The various objects of dhyāna
1 It has been noted before that the creation of the material world proceeded from the tāmasa ahamkāra, and that of the cognitive and conative senses from the sāt trika ahamkāra. The rājasa ahamkāra was not regarded as producing anything, but merely as a moment leading to disturbance of equilibrium. See also Vāyu Purāņa, 5. 9.
2 Ibid. chap. 11-15.
from the tāmasa hiva. The rājasa ahamkan disturbance of equi
