fbpx
Wikipedia

Pratyahara

January 01, 1970

Pratyahara[1][2] (Sanskrit: प्रत्याहार, romanized: Pratyāhāra) or the 'gathering towards' is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga,[3] as mentioned in his classical work, Yoga Sutras of Patanjali composed in the 2nd century BCE.[4] It is also the first stage of the six-branch yoga (ṣaḍaṅgayoga) of the Buddhist Kālacakra tantra, where it refers to the withdrawal of the five senses from external objects to be replaced by the mentally created senses of an enlightened deity. This phase is roughly analogous to the physical isolation (kāyaviveka, Tib. lus bden) phase of Guhyasamāja tantra.

For Patanjali, it is a bridge between the bahiranga (external) aspects of yoga namely, yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, and the antaranga (internal) yoga.[5] Having actualized the pratyahara stage, a practitioner is able to effectively engage into the practice of Samyama. At the stage of pratyahara, the consciousness of the individual is internalized in order that the sensations from the senses of taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell don't reach their respective centers in the brain and takes the practitioner to the next stages of Yoga, namely Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (unification of mind), leading to the recognition (kaivalyam) of Purusha which is the aim of Patanjali's Yogic practices.[6]

Etymology edit

Pratyahara is derived from two Sanskrit words: prati and aahara, with ahara meaning gathering, and prati, a preposition meaning towards.[7] Together they mean "checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thraldom of the senses ahara".[8]

Types of Pratyahara edit

 
Monks meditating under the Anandabodhi tree in Jetavana Monastery, Sravasti

Withdrawal of senses or Indriya Pratyahara edit

See also: Indriya-samvara ("guarding the sense-doors")

This involves withdrawal of senses, or sensory inputs into our physical being, coming from our five senses, namely organs creating a sensory overload, and hence hinders collection of the mind, as in Dharana, the next stage of Yoga [9][10]

One of the most common practices for withdrawal of the senses is bringing the attention inwards towards the breath, observing it without trying to control it, as connection with the external senses and stimuli are all gradually severed.[11] Another method is to concentrate on the point between the eyebrows, the Ajna chakra or third eye.[12] Another common technique is to first reduce physical stimuli, then concentrate on one sense, such as hearing. The mind has a natural tendency to roam between the sensory inputs. In this situation, as there are no longer any other significant sensory inputs, when the mind gets tired of hearing, it is forced to turn inward.[13] Pratyahara may make use of a meditation seat, such as Padmasana (lotus position), combined with Pranayama breath-control, Kumbhaka, and progressively more subtle internal objects of focus as the practitioner becomes more advanced. At the start, the objects are "gross", directly available to sense perception, such as the points of focus (drishti) used to accompany yoga asana practice, including the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, or the navel. More subtle objects may then be selected, such as the chakras, together with their attributes including position, colour, and number of petals.[14]

Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara edit

Control of our senses requires mastery over the flow of prana, as that is what drives the senses. To stop the scattering of valuable vital energy of the body or prana, we need to seek control over its flow, and harmonize it. This is done through various practices including bringing the entire focus to a single point in the body.[9]

These two lead to the subsequent two types of pratyahara, the Control of Action or 'Karma pratyahara', which entails not just control of motor organs, but also right action or work, and Karma Yoga, surrender of every action to the divine and performing it as an act of service. This leads to the final form of pratyahara - the Withdrawal of Mind or 'Mano pratyahara', which is practiced by consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is unwholesome, and distracting for the mind such as by withdrawing attention from the senses, and directing it inwards [15]

Further reading edit

  • Ayurveda and the Mind, by David Frawley, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin ISBN 0-914955-36-5.
  • The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Translated by James Haughton Woods. Courier Dover Publications, 2003. ISBN 0-486-43200-9.
  • Khedrup Norsang Gyatso. Ornament of Stainless Light. Translated by Gavin Kilty. The Library of Tibetan Classics 14. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2004. ISBN 0-86171-452-0.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "pratyahara in American English". Collins English Dictionary. Retrieved 6 December 2019. the Yogic practice of turning the mind to introspection by voluntarily shutting out distractions provided by the senses
  2. ^ Vivekananda, Swami (1907). The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (19th. ed.). India: Advaita Ashram. p. 172. ISBN 9788175053830.
  3. ^ Pratyahara Britannica.com.
  4. ^ Yoga Sutras 2.54-2.55: - Pratyahara or Sense Withdrawal Yoga Sutras, 2.54-2.55.
  5. ^ "Pratyahara". sivanandaonline.org.
  6. ^ Moving Inward: The Journey from Asana to Pratyahara 2011-07-19 at the Wayback Machine Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy.
  7. ^ "LearnSanskrit". Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ^ Vivekananda, Swami (1907). The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (19 ed.). Mayawati, India: Advaita Ashram. p. 172. ISBN 9788175053830.
  9. ^ a b Yoga and Ayurveda, by David Frawley, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 2004. ISBN 81-208-1879-2. Chapter 16: Pratyahara: the Forgotten Limb of Yoga, page 261.
  10. ^ "Pratyahara: the forgotten Limb of Yoga". A Buddhist Library.
  11. ^ "Pratyahara". Yoga.iloveindia.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  12. ^ Rockefeller, James David (2018). Everything You Wanted to Know About Ashtanga Yoga. The Publisher LLC. p. 33. GGKEY:F1JSY78B3AY.
  13. ^ Frawley, David. "Pratyahara: Yoga's Forgotten Limb". Yoga International. Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  14. ^ Maehle, Gregor (2012). Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series: Mythology, Anatomy, and Practice. New World Library. p. 10. ISBN 978-1-57731-987-0.
  15. ^ Yoga Sutras Book II.54.

External links edit

 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda/Volume 1/Raja-Yoga/Pratyahara And Dharana
 
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Yoga Sutras
  • Pratyahara Comments on the Patanjali's Scheme.
  • Pratyahara, by Yogacharya
  • , a Yoga Sûtras of Patanjali translation by Sylviane Legrand
  • Pratyahara, fifth limb of Yoga Bahiranga.com

January 01, 1970
pratyahara, sanskrit, रत, romanized, pratyāhāra, gathering, towards, fifth, element, among, eight, stages, patanjali, ashtanga, yoga, mentioned, classical, work, yoga, sutras, patanjali, composed, century, also, first, stage, branch, yoga, ṣaḍaṅgayoga, buddhis. Pratyahara 1 2 Sanskrit प रत य ह र romanized Pratyahara or the gathering towards is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali s Ashtanga Yoga 3 as mentioned in his classical work Yoga Sutras of Patanjali composed in the 2nd century BCE 4 It is also the first stage of the six branch yoga ṣaḍaṅgayoga of the Buddhist Kalacakra tantra where it refers to the withdrawal of the five senses from external objects to be replaced by the mentally created senses of an enlightened deity This phase is roughly analogous to the physical isolation kayaviveka Tib lus bden phase of Guhyasamaja tantra For Patanjali it is a bridge between the bahiranga external aspects of yoga namely yama niyama asana pranayama and the antaranga internal yoga 5 Having actualized the pratyahara stage a practitioner is able to effectively engage into the practice of Samyama At the stage of pratyahara the consciousness of the individual is internalized in order that the sensations from the senses of taste touch sight hearing and smell don t reach their respective centers in the brain and takes the practitioner to the next stages of Yoga namely Dharana concentration Dhyana meditation and samadhi unification of mind leading to the recognition kaivalyam of Purusha which is the aim of Patanjali s Yogic practices 6 Contents 1 Etymology 2 Types of Pratyahara 2 1 Withdrawal of senses or Indriya Pratyahara 2 2 Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara 3 Further reading 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksEtymology editPratyahara is derived from two Sanskrit words prati and aahara with ahara meaning gathering and prati a preposition meaning towards 7 Together they mean checking the outgoing powers of the mind freeing it from the thraldom of the senses ahara 8 Types of Pratyahara edit nbsp Monks meditating under the Anandabodhi tree in Jetavana Monastery Sravasti Withdrawal of senses or Indriya Pratyahara edit See also Indriya samvara guarding the sense doors This involves withdrawal of senses or sensory inputs into our physical being coming from our five senses namely organs creating a sensory overload and hence hinders collection of the mind as in Dharana the next stage of Yoga 9 10 One of the most common practices for withdrawal of the senses is bringing the attention inwards towards the breath observing it without trying to control it as connection with the external senses and stimuli are all gradually severed 11 Another method is to concentrate on the point between the eyebrows the Ajna chakra or third eye 12 Another common technique is to first reduce physical stimuli then concentrate on one sense such as hearing The mind has a natural tendency to roam between the sensory inputs In this situation as there are no longer any other significant sensory inputs when the mind gets tired of hearing it is forced to turn inward 13 Pratyahara may make use of a meditation seat such as Padmasana lotus position combined with Pranayama breath control Kumbhaka and progressively more subtle internal objects of focus as the practitioner becomes more advanced At the start the objects are gross directly available to sense perception such as the points of focus drishti used to accompany yoga asana practice including the space between the eyebrows the tip of the nose or the navel More subtle objects may then be selected such as the chakras together with their attributes including position colour and number of petals 14 Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara edit Control of our senses requires mastery over the flow of prana as that is what drives the senses To stop the scattering of valuable vital energy of the body or prana we need to seek control over its flow and harmonize it This is done through various practices including bringing the entire focus to a single point in the body 9 These two lead to the subsequent two types of pratyahara the Control of Action or Karma pratyahara which entails not just control of motor organs but also right action or work and Karma Yoga surrender of every action to the divine and performing it as an act of service This leads to the final form of pratyahara the Withdrawal of Mind or Mano pratyahara which is practiced by consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is unwholesome and distracting for the mind such as by withdrawing attention from the senses and directing it inwards 15 Further reading editAyurveda and the Mind by David Frawley Lotus Press Twin Lakes Wisconsin ISBN 0 914955 36 5 The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Translated by James Haughton Woods Courier Dover Publications 2003 ISBN 0 486 43200 9 Khedrup Norsang Gyatso Ornament of Stainless Light Translated by Gavin Kilty The Library of Tibetan Classics 14 Boston Wisdom Publications 2004 ISBN 0 86171 452 0 See also editDharana Dhyana in Hinduism Samadhi SamyamaReferences edit pratyahara in American English Collins English Dictionary Retrieved 6 December 2019 the Yogic practice of turning the mind to introspection by voluntarily shutting out distractions provided by the senses Vivekananda Swami 1907 The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda 19th ed India Advaita Ashram p 172 ISBN 9788175053830 Pratyahara Britannica com Yoga Sutras 2 54 2 55 Pratyahara or Sense Withdrawal Yoga Sutras 2 54 2 55 Pratyahara sivanandaonline org Moving Inward The Journey from Asana to Pratyahara Archived 2011 07 19 at the Wayback Machine Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy LearnSanskrit Retrieved 6 June 2022 Vivekananda Swami 1907 The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda 19 ed Mayawati India Advaita Ashram p 172 ISBN 9788175053830 a b Yoga and Ayurveda by David Frawley Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Delhi 2004 ISBN 81 208 1879 2 Chapter 16 Pratyahara the Forgotten Limb of Yoga page 261 Pratyahara the forgotten Limb of Yoga A Buddhist Library Pratyahara Yoga iloveindia com Retrieved 2011 12 08 Rockefeller James David 2018 Everything You Wanted to Know About Ashtanga Yoga The Publisher LLC p 33 GGKEY F1JSY78B3AY Frawley David Pratyahara Yoga s Forgotten Limb Yoga International Retrieved 10 October 2019 Maehle Gregor 2012 Ashtanga Yoga The Intermediate Series Mythology Anatomy and Practice New World Library p 10 ISBN 978 1 57731 987 0 Yoga Sutras Book II 54 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda Volume 1 Raja Yoga Pratyahara And Dharana nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Yoga Sutras Pratyahara Comments on the Patanjali s Scheme Pratyahara by Yogacharya Patanjali les Yoga Sutras a Yoga Sutras of Patanjali translation by Sylviane Legrand Pratyahara fifth limb of Yoga Bahiranga com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pratyahara amp oldid 1209315183, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.