________________
AWAKENING OF ENERGY -- VALUE AND PURPOSE
91
The first thing we have to do is to acquaint ourselves with the subtle body otherwise we will not be able to energise
know the subtle world we must first know the gross world fully well. We have to pass from the gross to the subtle.
We take the support of breathing while meditating. This is the first step. The journey from the gross to the subtle begins with this step. We breathe in as well as breathe out. By no other means can we come in contact with the somatic and the extra-somatic worlds. The mind presents a complex problem. It is so subtle that it cannot provide us with any support. As a matter of fact we will have to take care of the mind instead of the mind taking care of us. The mind is like the proverbial boy who tried to catch the lock of hair at the back of his head in his shadow. While he was playing, he saw the shadow of his body before him. He ran after the shadow to catch the lock of the hair. The more he moved towards the shadow, the farther did the shadow go ahead of him. He failed to catch the hair. A man who stood by the boy told him that he would not be able to catch the hair in the shadow in that way. He should put his hand on the back of his head and catch the hair there. The boy did so and saw that his hand had caught the hair in the shadow.
The mind is like the hair in the shadow. The more we try to control it, the more does it evade us. When we try to stop the mental processes, they become more active. The more we try to control them, the more do they go out of control. Thousands of people tried to control the mind but failed to do so. Having failed they gave up the very idea of controlling the mind. Even the psychologists are of the opinion that the mind cannot be stabilized for more than five minutes.
The ācāryas of Yoga have, however, found a method of controlling the mind. Breath is the means of controlling the fickleness of the mind. By controlling breath, you can control the mind. That is why we have taken breath as the basis of our exercises. Breath travels outside the body as well as inside it. It is like a lamp which illumines the somatic as well as extrasomatic atmosphere in the midst of which man lives. To use a metaphor, let us place the mind on the chariot of breath so that it may enter into the body. In other words let us become
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
