The treatise by Patanjali on Yoga is based on the Vedic philosophy that we are a composite of body, mind and soul. His statement no. 2 and 3 are: Yoga is total cessation of activities in the mind, and then the observer (the soul, the presiding entity) is in its true self.
Thus, Yoga is the practice to bring mind to a calm state of total inactivity (called Dhyana, meditation – a state beyond mindfulness) but what is prevalent mostly is Hath-Yoga, the body postures of therapeutic Yoga. As a meditation teacher in true Patanjali tradition, there is a great deal of task ahead to spread the true knowledge that Patanjali wrote in his treatise, the first ever on Yoga. On the other hand, the scientific community is struggling to define the nature of our consciousness. As is true with any community, for about 1000 members acting as passengers, one or two act as drivers as is seen in a train.
Most of the investigators study brain and its functions as if it is the ultimate seat of our consciousness without leaving any room that brain functions may not be the cause of consciousness but are caused by our consciousness deeply embedded within it. It is heartening to see that there are researchers who have tried to explore such a possibility although much work needs to be done for a conclusive study: “First Few Minutes After Death”.
Further works are being carried out and the results are eagerly awaited. “We have installed shelves with pictures on them near the ceiling in various ER rooms across the US and Europe. We want to find out whether people who claim to be hovering close to the ceiling can really perceive what’s going on in the room. We will publish our first set of date in November” in Back from the Dead .
I may not agree with their approach but must appreciate their open-mindedness that the consciousness may be further inside the brain, not being its part. Going by Patanjali’s theory it may be presumed that the soul is made of non-material (a concept still difficult for us to grasp), it is impossible for non-material to “see” material objects without the help of a matter and non-matter intermediary called Mind (Manas). There must be parallel investigations to explore the soul as the ultimate seat of consciousness which is a non-material singularity as visualised by Patanjali. Some scientists must follow the prescription of Patanjali and master the practice of meditation to truly understand what Patanjali is saying. Patanjali’s treatise should be treated as a scientific laboratory manual by the scientists, the human system being the laboratory.
- Dr Harish Chandra
B. Tech. (IIT Kanpur )
Ph. D. ( Princeton , USA )
Picture courtesy Open.az
Thus, Yoga is the practice to bring mind to a calm state of total inactivity (called Dhyana, meditation – a state beyond mindfulness) but what is prevalent mostly is Hath-Yoga, the body postures of therapeutic Yoga. As a meditation teacher in true Patanjali tradition, there is a great deal of task ahead to spread the true knowledge that Patanjali wrote in his treatise, the first ever on Yoga. On the other hand, the scientific community is struggling to define the nature of our consciousness. As is true with any community, for about 1000 members acting as passengers, one or two act as drivers as is seen in a train.
Most of the investigators study brain and its functions as if it is the ultimate seat of our consciousness without leaving any room that brain functions may not be the cause of consciousness but are caused by our consciousness deeply embedded within it. It is heartening to see that there are researchers who have tried to explore such a possibility although much work needs to be done for a conclusive study: “First Few Minutes After Death”.
Further works are being carried out and the results are eagerly awaited. “We have installed shelves with pictures on them near the ceiling in various ER rooms across the US and Europe. We want to find out whether people who claim to be hovering close to the ceiling can really perceive what’s going on in the room. We will publish our first set of date in November” in Back from the Dead .
I may not agree with their approach but must appreciate their open-mindedness that the consciousness may be further inside the brain, not being its part. Going by Patanjali’s theory it may be presumed that the soul is made of non-material (a concept still difficult for us to grasp), it is impossible for non-material to “see” material objects without the help of a matter and non-matter intermediary called Mind (Manas). There must be parallel investigations to explore the soul as the ultimate seat of consciousness which is a non-material singularity as visualised by Patanjali. Some scientists must follow the prescription of Patanjali and master the practice of meditation to truly understand what Patanjali is saying. Patanjali’s treatise should be treated as a scientific laboratory manual by the scientists, the human system being the laboratory.
- Dr Harish Chandra
B. Tech. (IIT Kanpur )
Ph. D. ( Princeton , USA )
Picture courtesy Open.az
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