Going on that Inner Journey

This topic came up today in my practice today.

What does that mean?

ChatGPT defines it as embarking on an inner journey can be a profound and transformative experience. It often involves self-reflection, exploration of thoughts and emotions, and gaining deeper insights into oneself.

Living in the real world, we are drawn a lot by our senses - sense of sight of many things, people; sense of smell - city life, food, ocean, rain, ground after the rain - petrichor, trees; sense of touch - hugs, handshakes, receiving massages, foot reflexologies; sense of hearing - car honking, wind blowing, sound of waves, people talking, plates and glasses clinking; sense of taste - good umami food, spicy food, bitter medicine, sweet cakes.

While these are necessary for living in the world, often the mind mistakes that as the whole Truth or Reality.

When we stay in the asana for a long time, and slowly the pose penetrates from an physical alignment, breath awareness, energy 'sensing', when we introspect our senses, then the dust has some chance of settling. Like the windscreen wipers in action on a rainy day - we can then see clearly what IS and what has been there all along.

Pratyahara is the link between the outside limbs of Raja Yoga (the first four) (Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama) and the internal limbs (the last three) (dharana, dyana, samadhi) . This practice helps you to easily transit your perceptions from the external or bodily experiences to an internal realm of self-consciousness.

I I. 54 svavisava asampravoge cittasya svarupanukarah Iva indriyanah pratyaharah

Withdrawing the senses, mind and consciousness from contact with external objects, and then drawing them inwards towards the seer, is pratyahara.

BKS Iyengar on Light on Yoga Sutra of Patanjali expounds:

By controlling the senses and mind, the sadhaka draws citta towards its source-the soul, atma, and through atma to Paramatma, God. For example, while performing an asana the intelligence of the body extends outwards, and the senses of perception, mind and intelligence are drawn inwards. It is the same in the performance of paranayama. This is pratyahara. Here, in order to understand the characteristics and components of nature, the reader should refer again to 11.19, in which the basic elements of the universe according to samkhya philosophy are fully described. To summarize: Nature consists of five gross elements, earth, water, fire, air and ether with their five subtle counterparts, smell, taste, shape, touch and sound. These interact with the three gu1Jas - sattva, rajas and tamas. Citta, com prised of ego, intelligence and mind is the individual counterpart of mahat, cosmic intelligence. This cosmic intelligence is the unevolved primary germ of nature, or the productive principle, for creation of all phenomena of the material world. There are also the five senses of perception - ears, nose, tongue, eyes and skin - and five organs of action - legs, arms, speech and the organs of generation and excretion. The five senses of perception come in contact with sound, smell, taste, sight and touch, send their impressions to the mind and are stored in the memory.

Memory longs for further experiences and incites the mind to bypass intelligence and solicit the senses for yet more sense gratification. This in turn incites the mind to seek further experiences through the organs of action. Throughout this process, intelligence measures advantages and disadvantages in order to counterbalance memory, mind and senses which, recalling the taste of past pleasures, are avid for more. Almost inevitably, intelligence remains unheeded. Through over-stimulation and misuse, the organs of action lose their potency and are no longer capable of exciting the organs of perception or the mind. Owing to the force of past impressions, one continues to hanker after renewed sensation. But one can never be satisfied. This breeds unhappiness and frustration. Here lies the true role of pratyahara,

This process of weighing one's instincts, thoughts and actions is the practice of detachment or renunciation (vairagya). Energy is conserved and used only when necessary; the continual longing to repeat old sensations is gradually curbed. Memory collects new and fresh impressions and is sub dued: it becomes subservient to intelligence and consciousness. It is consciousness which grasps intelligence, and brings it to rest at the source of conscience. Then the impulses of nature end and intuitive insight flows freely. This is the effect of pratyhara. It has already been mentioned that pranayama removes the clouds that obscure intelligence and allows it to shine forth. The mind is now fit for meditation. Earlier, consciousness was always willing to oblige by listening to the senses, and even went out of its way to help them to find gratification. Now the senses take a reverse turn, and help consciousness fulfil its desire to experience Self-Realization. This is pratyhara.

It can be divided into four stages, physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Withdrawing energy from. the organs of action and senses of perception towards the brain is physical pratyahara. Quietening the fluctuations in the four lobes of the brain is mental pratyahara; drawing intelligence towards the stem of the brain is intellectual pratyahara. Directing the energies of intelligence and consciousness towards the seat of conscience is spiritual pratyahara. It culminates in the vision of the seer, atmasaksatkara.

With that, can we stay in the Being, while undistracted by the 'outer' noise to continue to discover the inner riches which lives within ourselves. On the mat, after some years of practice where the struggle with the external physical pose ceases, then we are able to slowly introject our senses during the long holds in the asana pose. While off the mat, how can we stay centered instead of letting our external perceptions and senses draw us away from the bliss that we are.