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The
Bihar School of Yoga, 1973.
Chapter IV CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SCIENCEANDYOGA Yoga has been established by men who have attained developed states of mind so that they not only experience the bliss and knowledge of higher states but also become aware of the mechanics of subtle states of mind. According to yogis, ability to have knowledge about objects which cannot usually be perceived is a minor siddhi and indeed, not only yogis but many people are capable of extra sensory perception. Many people have dreams about future events in their life and pick up the thoughts of those around them or, from their unconscious higher selves receive messages of philosophical or spiritual content which, at the time of receiving, are pregnant with deeper meaning, Many people are highly intuitive either by way of intuitive flashes coming across the mind or, without thinking, by automatically doing the right thing just at the right time. Actually the yogi has not developed his science so that he can explore and develop these psychic phenomena but rather, that he can systematically and accurately gain the scientific knowledge of body and mind, a necessary precursor for a higher life. Thus the yogi has developed his extra sensory perception capacities because he has already awakened his ajna chakra and be has come to learn through experience and realization. This eye of Siva is the subtle eye which perceives the activities beyond the range of the senses. The doctors, psychologists and medical scientists have long been aware of the E. S. P. phenomena. These phenomena however, placed under the microscope of their established scientific techniques, have in the past always revealed the possibility that the phenomena observed can also be explained on the basis of 'coincidence'. However, the latest scientific probes, using electronic apparatus and electrical wave measuring devices, have revealed that scientists, through these delicate instruments, can have am indication of the state of mind of the person. Through E.E.G. the brain waves indicate trauma, anxiety, happiness, deep sleep,' dreaming state, light meditation and deeper meditation. Now, it is with this information and equipment that the scientists of the American Institute for Psychic Research ran their experiment on the relation between alpha waves and card guessing, and they found that there is a scientific relation between the state of mind established from the type of wave, and the ability to correctly state the number on a card within a closed box. Of course, yogis have been testing their disciples for 5000 years that as you practise yoga, siddhis will come. There is no way to prevent the siddhi from coming; however, in order to become established in a still higher consciousness you should not be misled by pursuing any siddhis. It is for this reason that yogis have not stepped forward to offer their service to the psychic research institutions around the world who have offered handsome rewards to anyone who can help them in their work. Thusly the alpha wave predominance in the brain relates to the E. S. P. capacity of the individual. Yogis point out that during meditation the mind is turned inward away from the senses and the sense objects, and a state of tranquility is reached where the mind is relaxed and its attention is fixed on an object within the mind. By pursuing this practise the scope of the mind expands beyond the physical barriers, its power or radiations are channeled through the ajna chakra and super sensory knowledge comes to the mind of the practitioner. From this we can see that the scientifically established results, from the various experiments, lead to a conclusion which is the same as the lore which yogis have been propounding for 5000 years. The scientists have used delicate electronic instruments to measure the conditions of meditation on E.S.P, whereas the yogis have developed and refined their own mental capacities and thus were able to experience and observe the same conditions for meditation on E.S.P. The only difference between the scientific and yogic points of view is the terminology. The solar plexus is thus named because this centre is responsible for heat in the body. Solar is derived from the Latin root sol, meaning sun. It is the through this plexus in the autonomic nervous sytem that the digestive process is stimulated. This is a scientific fact. In the Indian system the solar plexus is the centre of the sun. Prana is connected with the sun and mind with the moon, and the sun and moon are the characteristics of the two nervous systems of yoga, pingala and ida respectively. pingala is heating whereas moon is cooling. Both these nervous systems meet in the eyebrow centre and flow out through the nostrils. When the right nostril is flowing pingala flowing and the physical or masculine aspect of man is functioning. The common characteristic of the physical aspect is action. For disgestion, excretion, hard physical effort, rapid heartbeat, pingala nadi give best efficiency whereas to attempt meditation under these conditions is extremely difficult. On the other hand, when the left nostial is flowing, the female aspect of life is predominate and meditative activities are preferred. This is the moon function in man. to be continued
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