Daily Katha: March 2026

Tuesday, 31 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada - 51

ॐॐॐ

51st Sutra, Sādhanapāda, Patañjali Yoga Sūtra, is a further explanation, discussion on the prāṇāyāma practice. The sutra is

बा॒ह्या॒भ्यन्तरवि॒ष॒या॒क्षे॒पी चतुर्थः ॥ २.५१॥

Bāhyābhyantara viṣayākṣepī caturthaḥ.

So the earlier three types were told in the sutra, bāhya ābhyantara same word has been used there then deśa kāla, then dīrgha sūkṣma, so those dimensions were there. And here it is the bāhya abhyantara viṣayākṣepī it is. Bāhya is the outward, abhyantara is inward. Viṣaya is the subject, concerned subject. And ākṣepī is excluding, without. Caturthaḥ is the fourth one.

The fourth variety of prāṇāyāma is not concerned with external or internal. That is, the fourth type of prāṇāyāma excludes external and internal. That is the meaning. And we have already seen, bāhya and abhyantara, inhalation and exhalation. But the fact that bāhya abhyantara viṣayākṣepī, it is not concerned with bāhya and abhyantara. It means, it is not related to the process of inhalation or process of exhalation. And the modes, the method of inhalation and exhalation, it is not concerned with that. In fact, this is the speciality of this fourth one. So, bāhya ābhyantara viṣayākṣepī symbolizes, reiterates that there is no gati viccheda. And this gati viccheda is not by any modification , paridṛṣṭa is not there. And this gati viccheda, means this fourth gati viccheda is not concerned either with process of inhalation or process of exhalation. Then how it is different from the stambha vṛtti, this question generally comes to us. And the answer or the understanding should be that the stambha vṛtti is by dīrgha sūkṣma of the deśa kāla, then the stambha vṛtti. Here, those dimensions are not there. So, this difference lies in the spontaneity. That is, in the third one, third type of prāṇāyāma, that is the stambha vṛtti prāṇāyāma type, there is a willful suspension of breathing. And usually, preferably, either at the end of the regulated, controlled, slow, deep inhalation or a regulated, slow, deep, controlled exhalation.

But in the fourth one, by the word viṣayākṣepī. Viṣayākṣepī of bāhya, viṣayākṣepī of ābhyantara, both have been excluded. Then the only option of understanding is, it is spontaneous. It is spontaneous. So, this gati viccheda is a spontaneous process. And this spontaneity is not necessarily after bāhya, after abhyantara. It can be during bāhya, during ābhyantara, or maybe after bāhya, after ābhyantara. But it is spontaneous. There is no willful exercise of the required practice. Very, very important distinction between the third and the fourth. That is, the breathing may stop, stambha vṛtti, any time, at any level. Even after a partial inhalation, even maybe after a partial exhalation, during the process. This phenomena is very well recognized, even in the various Haṭha Yoga texts. And generally it is recognized, and some texts name it as the kevala kumbhaka. The completely uncontrolled and spontaneous suspension of the process of breathing, which is a natural, inevitable result of a very long, intensive practice.

That means, bāhya, abhyantara, viṣaya, ākṣepī, the caturtha stage, comes after a long practice, maybe years. Systematic, regular abhyāsa. Some of the texts, traditional texts say that, when the prāṇāyāma practice is done, or crosses beyond normal three stages, mṛdu madhya udāra, normal, intense and extreme intense practices, after crossing various stages, this bāhya ābhyantara viṣayākṣepī, the caturtha stage comes, or is experienced, or is reached, or it is established in that. So in this caturtha prāṇāyāma, being a suspension spontaneously, there is no controlled inhalations or controlled exhalations. In fact it is uncontrolled, spontaneous. But, because it is in a dīrgha sūkṣma manner, dīrgha kāla, a long practice is needed for this. Then only, that dīrgha sūkṣma level comes. So this kevala kumbhaka, which is the hint of this caturtha, kevala kumbhaka is very well recognized, especially in the most subtle, advanced sādhanas, in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, which is very well known as the Vāsiṣṭha school of prāṇāyāma. This kevala kumbhaka has been elaborately discussed. In some of the Haṭha Yoga text books also we find the word kevala kumbhaka. And this is an important dimension, where there is no forceful inhalation, no forceful exhalation, there is no effort, effortless, anāyāsataḥ, aprayatnataḥ, anāyāsa prāṇāyāma. And that is the caturthaḥ. It was not named, it is just defined as the fourth, and their importance of the particular sutra bāhyābhyantara viṣayākṣepī. The subject of inhalation and exhalation are given up, excluded, ākṣepī, and that is the kevala kumbhaka level.

And after these four types of prāṇāyāmas elaborated by Maharishi Patanjali in these sutras, next two sutras are the end results, the benefits of practice of prāṇāyāma. Let us see those beautiful sutras.

Om Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ Śāntiḥ ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः||

To Be Continued.. ---------------------------------------
These are transcription of session delivered by Vice-President of Vivekananda Rock Memorial & Vivekananda Kendra, Sri M. Hanumantha Rao Ji.
Audio Link - https://youtu.be/3yrnwQuIr-w?si=hGaVt1ZCwQNJ6ARQ

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मुक्तसंग्ङोऽनहंवादी धृत्युत्साहसमन्वित:।
सिद्ध‌‌यसिद्धयोर्निर्विकार: कर्ता सात्त्विक उच्यते ॥१८.२६॥

Freed from attachment, non-egoistic, endowed with courage and enthusiasm and unperturbed by success or failure, the worker is known as a pure (Sattvika) one. Four outstanding and essential qualities of a worker. - Bhagwad Gita : XVIII-26

Monday, 30 March 2026

Patanjali Yoga Sutras Sadhana Pada - 50

ॐॐॐ

The 50th Sutra of the Yoga Darśana, Sadhanāpāda, is a continuation of the prāṇāyāma. The sutra is
बा॒ह्या॒भ्यन्तरस्त॒म्भवृ॒त्तिर्दे॒शका॒लस॒ङ्ख्याभिः प॒रि॒दृ॒ष्टो दी॑र्घसू॒क्ष्मः ॥ २.५०॥
Bāhya ābhyantara stambha vṛttir deśa kāla saṅkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrgha sūkṣmaḥ.

The varieties, the types, the dimensions of prāṇāyāma, it was very scientific. As we saw in the āsana, understanding of sutras of the āsana, here also Maharshi Patanjali is very very clear and very very technical and very scientific way of presenting the subject. Bāhya ābhyantara stambha vṛttir deśa kāla saṅkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrgha sūkṣmaḥ. Bāhya is outward, external, outside. Ābhyantara is inward, inside. Bāhya ābhyantara stambhaḥ is stopping, motionless. Bāhya ābhyantara stambhaḥ vṛttiḥ. Vṛtti is modification. If it is citta vṛtti, it was modifications of citta. Now here, vṛttiḥ is the vṛtti of the modification of the respiration. Deśa is the length, space. Kāla is time. Saṅkhyā is number. Saṅkhyābhiḥ is by means of, it is plural. Paridṛṣṭaḥ, very important word. Paridṛṣṭaḥ is regulated. Paridṛṣṭaḥ is the regulation, measure. Dīrgha is long, lengthy. Sūkṣmaḥ is subtle, deep, fine. So bāhya ābhyantara is outward and inward. Stambha vṛttiḥ. Stambhaḥ is the stoppage. Vṛttiḥ is the modification of breathing process. Deśaḥ is expanse, the space. Kāla is the time. Saṅkhyā is the number. Paridṛṣṭaḥ is the regulation, measure. Dīrgha is the long length and sūkṣmaḥ is the subtle. So prāṇāyāma has three varieties. And how these three varieties are qualified, that is the sutra describes. So the varieties of prāṇāyāma is outward, inward, standstill. Bāhya, ābhyantara, stambha. And this outward, inward and standstill stoppage is measured, is regulated. Paridṛṣṭaḥ, the regulation is by the means of deśa kāla. Deśa is expanse, kāla is the time, saṅkhyā is the number. Then so it becomes dīrgha and sūkṣmaḥ. So for the prāṇa, for the inhalation and exhalation, that is śvāsa praśvāsayoḥ, to become long, dīrgha and to become subtle, fine. And what are the qualities and components involved in that? The external is the inhalation portion. Internal is the exhalation portion. Bāhya, ābhyantara vṛtti. Vṛtti is the modification. So it can be bāhya vṛtti while inhaling, ābhyantara vṛtti while exhaling, and stambha vṛtti, prolonged, elongated inhalation, prolonged, elongated exhalation. So that the breathing becomes slow, dīrgha. Dīrgha, breathing becomes slow, dīrgha. And breathing becomes sūkṣmaḥ, fine. And it is so long, so slow, so deep, so fine, so subtle, it is as if it stopped, stambha vṛtti, as if stopped, stambha vṛtti it is. So three modifications, bāhya, ābhyantara, stambha vṛtti is given. So three varieties of prāṇāyāma. What are the three varieties? Bāhya, ābhyantara, stambha.cElongating, stretching, lengthening, slowing down the speed or process of inhalation. Elongating, slowing down, stretching, or lengthening the process of exhalation. And that is so slow, so dīrgha, so sūkṣmaḥ, stambha vṛtti, as if the breathing stops.

We should remember, it is not that break after inhalation, it is not break after exhalation. It is not stambha after inhalation, not stambha after exhalation. This is very, very crucial and critical understanding. So stambha vṛtti. And we should also understand, what is this deśa kāla. Deśa is the space occupied. Here, what does it mean, space occupied while inhalation? What does it mean? It means, while inhaling, just for understanding, while inhaling, the space occupied by the inflow of the breath or the prāṇa. What is the space occupied? And if the space means length also, means whether, for understanding purpose, whether it is from the nābhi to the nasal, chest to the nasal, chest from kaṇṭha to the nasal, that is the space. That is the length. That is the dīrgha. The space, how much space? Traditionally, while exhaling, when a person exhales, the depth and slowness and the length of exhalation is measured by keeping a small thread at a distance. And at a distance of, say if it is kept at one foot or six inches, that space between that and this is deśa kāla. And if it is held at that long distance, that is the quality of breathing, that is the quality of prāṇāyāma. So modifications and qualifications of prāṇāyāma. So very very important dimensions we are trying to understand in the practice of prāṇāyāma. The science of prāṇāyāma, the knowledge of prāṇāyāma. And that is the deśa, the distance, the length and the place, the space occupied. And kāla is the time - time of inhalation, time of exhalation. Very very important. In fact, if deśa is longer, kāla becomes longer. Or if kāla is longer, deśa also becomes, they are related. But deśa is generally difficult to measure. But kāla is measurable. Time is easily measurable. Measurement of the space, the length may be difficult, but easily measurable is the time. It is traditionally, traditionally, in our culture, we hear kṣaṇa, mātrā as the units of time. And what is kṣaṇa? Kṣaṇa is the fourth part of blinking an eye. When you blink our eyelids once, how much time it takes, fourth part of it is kṣaṇa. Kṣ is there kṣaṇa. And then mātrā is there. Mātrā is taking our hand, the palm, round the knee for three times and a snap. That is one mātrā. So time is calculated like that. Eight mātrās, twelve mātrās, sixteen mātrās, twenty four mātrās. Or it can be three mātrās, six mātrās. Mātrā is the time taken by rotating the palm, round the knee for three times and putting a snap. This is kāla, this is how it is measured.

So kāla and deśa are connected. Saṅkhyā is the number. Number of inhalations and number of exhalations. And also the cycles of repetitions. If it is taken as one inhalation, one exhalation as one cycle, how many cycles will be done? That counting is saṅkhyā. So based on, rooted on these three things, deśa, kāla and saṅkhyā, then it is further qualified on the dīrgha and sūkṣma. That is decided by these factors. If the deśa and kāla is longer, it becomes dīrgha and sūkṣmaḥ, long and subtle. If the breath is slow, deep, long, harmonious and in a very very slowly controlled manner, the inhalation and exhalation is done, it becomes dīrgha and sūkṣmaḥ, subtle it is. And that is the counting cycles, saṅkhyā.

See the importance of understanding these words. Bāhya, ābhyantara, stambha. Bāhya is the bāhya vṛtti while inhaling. Ābhyantara vṛtti is exhalation. Stambha vṛtti is the prolonged elongated. So elongated inhalation, lengthening the inhalation, increasing the time of inhalation. Increasing the time of exhalation. By that what happens? The deśa becomes dīrgha. Kāla becomes dīrgha. And when the deśa becomes dīrgha, kāla becomes dīrgha, sūkṣmaḥ comes. It becomes subtle, finer. And the saṅkhyā is the number of inhalations and exhalations and the number of cycles. Cycle also generally called as vṛtta.

So the sutra is so important because lays the foundation of understanding what is prāṇāyāma. Reiterating that there is no rush, there is no speed, there is no fastness, there is no quickness. It is all slow, deep, subtle, long inhalations. And then slow, deep, long exhalations. And it is so slow, so long, so deep, stambha vṛtti it is, as if it is stopped.

Vasiṣṭha school of prāṇāyāma, in the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha, this method has been reiterated. That is the important dimension which we should know that - bāhya ābhyantara stambha vṛttir deśa kāla saṅkhyābhiḥ paridṛṣṭo dīrgha sūkṣmaḥ - that regulation, that measurement is the paridṛṣṭaḥ.

There can be lot of interpretations and lot of meanings may be popular. But the right and the correct understanding of prāṇāyāma is very much needed. The whole sutra in a comprehensive way suggests, lays the foundation that the process, the method of inhalation and exhalation should be dīrgha and sūkṣmaḥ. And it differs by space, time and it is as if it is a stambha, slowed down and stopped. A wonderful sutra which is very much important, useful for all our prāṇāyāma practices. Repeating that, Maharshi Patanjali has not mentioned any names. But this process itself is an expression and suggestion of how to practice prāṇāyāma. And prāṇasya āyāma iti prāṇāyāma. It is the lengthening, stretching, elongating, expanding. That is the important understanding about the prāṇāyāma in this sutra number 50 of the Sādhanapāda of Yoga Darśana of the Maharshi Patanjali's Yoga Sūtras. Let us see the other two sutras.