PRACTICES OF YOGA – ASANAS, PRANAYAMAS, MUDRAS AND BANDHAS — WERE DISCOVERED IN THE STATE OF MEDITATION

IN DIFFERENT STATES OF MEDITATION, DIFFERENT POSTURES ARE FORMED BY THE BODY FROM WHICH THE DEPTH OF MEDITATION OF THE MEDITATOR COULD BE TOLD. CONVERSELY, CAN THE SAME INNER STATE BE BROUGHT ABOUT BY FORMING THE NECESSARY POSTURES? IN THAT CASE, CAN MEDITATION BE ATTAINED BY THE USE OF VARIOUS ASANAS, PRANAYAMAS, MUDRAS AND BANDHAS? WHAT IS THEIR USE AND SIGNIFICANCE?

First came the experience of meditation. With the experience of meditation it was found that the body assumed many postures. Actually, whenever the mind is in a particular state the body takes an appropriate corresponding posture. For instance, when you are filled with love your face, your expression, is one way, and when you are angry your expression becomes altogether different. In anger you grind your teeth and clench your fists and the body is ready for fight or flight. When you are in a forgiving mood the eyes are soft and the palms of the hand open. When a man is filled with forgiveness his fists will never clench. Just as clenching the fist is a preparation to fight, opening the fist and spreading out the palm is an indication of freedom from the urge to fight; it is an assurance of protection. To clench the fist is to frighten the other person.

The nature of the body is that it works in accordance with the state of mind. The body follows the mind: it always follows behind. So ordinarily we know what a man will do in anger and what he will do in love — also what he will do in a state of trust. But we do not know how he will react to the deeper states of mind.

When deep states are created within the mind a great deal takes place in the body also. Various mudras, gestures, and also many asanas, postures happen that tell of the changes within. In fact, the asanas are formed at the time of preparation for particular inner states. Mudras are formed later and they give information about a person’s inner state.

When changes occur within, the body has to find an equivalent adjustment to the inner changes. When the kundalini awakens within, the body will have to assume all kinds of unusual positions to make way for the energy. The spine will bend itself in many ways in order to allow the energy to ascend. The head also takes different positions when the kundalini awakens. The body assumes such postures as we have never taken before. It is just like when we are awake the body takes an erect position and when we sleep the body has to lie down — it cannot stand or sit.

Now suppose there is a man who has not known what it is to sleep since he was born: he will never lie down. If after thirty years he wants to fall asleep he will lie down for the first time. For the first time the condition of his mind will have changed in this respect and he will go to sleep. However, he will be very much intrigued by the new posture, as his body has never before assumed it. Up to now he used to sit, stand, walk, but never did he lie down. Now he has to lie down so that the necessary conditions of sleep can take place within him. When the body is lying down the mind finds it easier to slip into a particular condition. But different people have different ways of lying down because the state of mind of each person is different.

For instance, a man from a tribal area will not put a pillow under his head, but for a civilized person it is impossible to sleep without one. A tribal person does so little thinking that the flow of blood to his head is much less. For sleep it is essential that the flow of blood toward the head be as little as possible. If it is too much you will not be able to sleep. If the nerves of the brain do not relax it will be difficult for you to relax; the blood will keep on flowing to the brain. Then you add one more pillow and then another. The more educated and civilized a person is, the more he is cultured, the greater the number of pillows that he requires under his head. The neck should be almost vertical to prevent the flow of blood toward the brain.

The posture of the body corresponds to one’s state of mind. So with the awakening of the energy within and its movements in several ways asanas begin to form. The different chakras also take the body into different asanas. Thus, various postures are formed. As a particular state begins to form within, the expressions of your hands, face and eyes change. This happens in meditation. As a result, the reverse has also come into man’s attention: that is, when performing these asanas is it possible to go into meditation? It is necessary to understand this.

In meditation these processes take place; yet they are not inevitable. In other words, all meditators do not pass through the same body processes. One condition has to be born in mind: every meditator’s state of body and mind is different from the states of body and mind of others — therefore, all will not pass through the same asanas. For instance, if the flow of blood is less toward the head of one meditator and if a greater flow is required for the awakening of the kundalini, he will at once without knowing, go into shirshasana, the headstand posture. All meditators will not go into this asana because the rate of the flow of blood is different in each; each one has different requirements. So asanas will form according to the need of each meditator.

When we ourselves select asanas and practice them, then we do not know which particular asana is useful or necessary for us. Asanas can be harmful as well as helpful. If they are not required in the case of a particular meditator they can prove harmful — if they are needed they will be of help. One difficulty is that this is an uncertain thing. Another difficulty is that when something is happening within and simultaneously something begins to happen outwardly as well, then the energy will move outwardly. When we perform an act from the outside it may remain nothing more than a physical performance.

Source: OSHO – In Search of the Miraculous Vol 2
Chapter 9 – Occult depths of kundalini and spirituality

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