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Ajna Chakra
Swami Nityabodhananda
Swami Nityabodhananda Saraswati
disciple os Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The Bihar School of Yoga, 1973.

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Chapter IV

CORRELATIONS BETWEEN SCIENCE AND YOGA

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. The sympathetic and the parasympathetic nervous systems conbined with the vagus complex consitute the autonomic nervous system in medical terminology. The vagus system is divided into two branches, the righ vagus nerve and the left vagus nerve. The righ vagus nerve is more prominent and spreads out from the lower brain down to the pelvic region and serves as the parasympathetic as related to the sympathetic system. The sympathetic and parasympathetic system together make what is called the automonic nervious system. The autonomic nervous system controls all the normally involuntary functions of the body, such as heartbeat, glandular secretions, digestion, peristalsis, diaphragm movement and breathing rate. Also some of the endocrine glands have been shown to be partly controlled by nerves of the sypathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system.The principal glands involed are adrenal, pituitary and pineal.

When a man is agitated, excited or in a state of fear, the adrenaline is pumped into the bloodstream, increasing the heartbeat, breathing rate, and in general creating great physical strength, tension and instinctive reactions to situations. This is the 'Poison' which many men constantly run their lives on. Always seeking thrills and excitment, always fearing the possible losses and defeats in life; they have no time for a mental life or for meditational practices. This 'poison', recorded in scriptures 5000 years ago, is modern man's number one killer and is the root cause of heart attack.

The adrenaline system functioned in early man on an instinct, iYe level so that, when he was attacked by an enemy or his life was being threatened by wild animals, he had this speedy secretion of adrenaline hormone to give him the necessary strength to fight or flee. In modern sociely, such threats are an anachronism. However man is so attached to the symbols of his status within the society, that any threat to his position can set the adrenaline pumping into his blood stream for weeks and months at a time. On the short term basis, this state of tension produces toxins in the body and the need for frequent release of tension and removal of toxins is marked by the necessity of modern man to have frequent sexual intercourse.

The characteristic of soma is the exact opposite to that of adrenaline. It has the characteristic of the moon or the mental or cooling aspect in man. It has been described how, through the practices of yoga, the poisons going into the body may be averted and his astral fluid may be converted into mind-stuff. Actually and naturally there is no scientific evidence for the production or presence of soma. However, the carefully measured physiological changes brought about by meditation and certain asanas which have been studied in detail show that the bodily changes tend toward moon characteristics in man and exactly counter the effects of the adrenaline system.

In yogic techniques this cooling condition is created by moving the prana from its central storehouse, manipur chakra, to aJna chakra, from where it is turned into mental energy. These yogic techniques will be described in the next section.

This is why millions of people all around the world are finding a new pleasure in freedom from disease and relaxation of mental and physical tensions by the practice of yoga. In order to ensure good health the modern man does not have to give up his work, his business and seek a peaceful life in health resorts, forests and lovely places. With this latest knowledge of yoga he can confidently, with a few simple daily practices, offset the tensions of apparent threats which buffet him every day.

Brahmamuhurta is referred to in the Hindu scriptures as that time, two or three hours before sunrise up till sunrise which is best for yoga practices. Brahmamithurta is a sanskrit word meaning the important time for Brahman. Here Brahman refers to the highest cosmic consciousness which is that all pervading awareness to which all men are evolving either consciously or unconsciously. The yoga practices are designed to raise man's consciousness above the world so that he can transcend this objective universe and his mind can remain within his subtle spheres of consciousness. Brahman means that infinite all pervading consciousness that is the same within and without every being and everything. Muhurta auspicious time. In India, people say that between 4 and 6 a.m. is the brahmamuhurta and this is why many Hindus and all yogis get up around 3 a.m, evacuate their bowels, clean their mouth, throat, pharynx, nasal tract, tongue and then do some yoga asanas, pranayamas and meditation. These people develop a wonderful temperament and their daily life is lived with vitality and awareness. They are not bothered by ill health, tiredness or weakness.

Previously it was mentioned that at the time of brahmamuhurta the pineal gland becomes active. Having swelled to its maximum size,the secretions of melatonin are taken into the blood and absorbed by the gonads which in turn inhibits the the sexual function allowing the aspirant to keep his mind in the subtle planes of consciousness. This is a time of tranquality and perfect relaxation of mental and physical tensions when great benefits can be gained. During brahmahuhurta the pituitary gland has its daily cycle of ACTH secretion, ACTH being one of the hormones of the pituitary gland. This hormone passes through the blood and stimulates the adrenal gland which, in turn, secretes sufficient adrenaline to the bodv so that it becomes filled with vitgl energy for the days work. People who sleep through these precious hours merely burn up the valuable secretions and eliminate the energy through the physical body. Arising early and practising yoga or just being awake and, singing devotional songs is sufficient to charge the mind to the point where the excess energies, otherwise wasted through the physical system, are sublimated. These excess energies are evident as physical tension, very strong sexual desires, overheating of the body and frequent fever. It also manifests in the personality in the form of too much greed, compulsive eating, restlessness and sleeplessness.

The East has been aware for thousands of years of the spiritual and psychic importance of brahmamuhurta and now the West has completed the picture with the discovery of the physical importance of the time 3:30 to 6 a.m. Let the people of the world arise at this magical hour, take a bath or shake off their tiredness, then go for a brisk walk, being constantly aware of their own movements, their breath and the passing scenery, sounds and smells. Everyone wanting a clear mind should get up at brahmamuhurta.