When we meditate we do not sit in silent blankness because that would not return us to our eternal consciousness of Spirit. Instead we have to have the right inner environment for the return to take place. This is provided by two things: the sound of Soham and the breath. The breath and Soham are like two firesticks. Fire is inherent in both, and when the two are brought together in friction the fire comes forth. The fire we are wanting to bring forth is the spirit-consciousness that is our real Self.
Swami Vivekananda, writing on Raja Yoga, points out that according to the philosophers of India the whole universe is composed of two materials: akasha and prana. “Just as Akasha is the infinite, omnipresent material of this universe, so is this Prana the infinite, omnipresent manifesting power of this universe.” Sound rises directly from akasha, and breath rises directly from prana. Since they arise from the spirit-center, when their right joining is done they free and enable us to return and merge our consciousness with that center. Joining the two, we go straight to the heart of ourselves and the universe. That is, we go directly to the Heart of Brahman.
In Indian mythology it is said that the realm of Vishnu is guarded by two doorkeepers who escort the questing soul into the Divine Presence. This is a symbol of the breath and Soham which when united bring the yogi into the world of higher consciousness. In the realm of meditation, the doorkeepers/companions conduct the seeker into the throne room and then stand at the door to guard against intruders. That is, the breath and Soham lead us into the realm of the Chidakasha, the Space of Consciousness, and keep guard there against the intrusion of distracting thoughts and states of mind, seeing that nothing disturbs our inner quest. These two companion-friends deserve our careful study.
The Role of Breath in Meditation
The reversed shakti rises to Brahmand [Sahasrara];
The breath plays throughout the body, from the toes to the topknot.
The reversed Moon eclipses Rahu.
This is a sign of success, says the sage Gorakh.
(Gorakh Bani 27)
Breath, the universal factor
The Sanskrit word prana means both “breath” and “life.” Breath is the single universal factor of life: all that lives, breathes. Therefore meditation practices involving the breath are found in many mystical traditions. The process of breath is identical in all beings, consisting of inhalation and exhalation, expansion and contraction. It is the most immaterial factor of our existence, the body-mind-spirit link. For this reason, the breath is a natural and logical factor in meditation.
Yoga and the breath
In fourteenth-century Kashmir, Lalleshwari sang:
Some leave their home, some the hermitage,
But the restless mind knows no rest.
Then watch your breath, day and night,
And stay where you are.
The breath is a dominant factor on all the planes of existence. It is necessary for the vitalization and functioning of all vehicles of consciousness, physical or superphysical. It possesses the essential qualities of both energy and consciousness and is thus able to serve as an instrument for their actions and reactions on each other.
The purpose of being aware of the physical breath is to enable us to become aware of the breath of the breath, the inner movement of consciousness that manifests as the physical breath. The more attention we give to the breath, the subtler it becomes until it reveals itself as an act of the mind, not of the body, and finally as consisting of mind-stuff (chitta) itself. The breath, like an onion, has many layers. In the practice of Soham Yoga meditation we experience these layers, beginning with the most objective, physical layer and progressing to increasingly subtle layers that are rooted in pure being.
Since it is natural for the breath to become increasingly refined as you observe it, you need not attempt to deliberately make this happen. Your attention and intonations of Soham will automatically refine it. As we become more and more aware of the subtle forms or movements of the inner breaths, it naturally happens that the breath movements on all levels become slower. This is the highest form of pranayama–cultivation of the breath. All authentic yoga practice involves the breath to some degree, because the breath truly is life, is everything. And Soham is the breath itself, the impulse, the vibration, of life. Outwardly it is sound, a mantra, but inwardly it is the breath, the consciousness of That Am I.
One of the cardinal virtues of Soham sadhana–especially in its aspect of pranayama–is its capacity to be practiced every waking hour of the day.
Breath and Yoga
The reason why breath plays such an important part in the technique of classical Yoga lies in the close relation existing between breath and mind. “Breath and mind arise from the same source,” the Self, according to Sri Ramana Maharshi in Day By Day With Bhagavan. One of the most profound texts on the philosophy behind yoga, the Shiva Sutras, says: “The connection of pure consciousness with breath [prana] is natural” (Shiva Sutras 3:43). Breath is the meeting place of body, mind, and spirit.
The breath and the body are completely interconnected and interrelated, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the body is calm, and agitated or labored when the body is agitated or labored. The heavy exhalation made when feeling exhausted and the enthusiastic inhalation made when feeling energized or exhilarated establish the same fact.
The breath and the emotions are completely interconnected and interrelated, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the emotions are calm, and agitated and labored when the emotions are agitated or out of control. Our drawing of a quick breath, when we are surprised, shocked, or fearful, and the forceful exhalation done when angry or annoyed demonstrate this.
The breath and the mind are completely interconnected and interrelated, as is seen from the fact that the breath is calm when the mind is calm, and agitated, irregular, and labored when the mind is agitated or disturbed in any way. Our holding of the breath when attempting intense concentration also shows this.
Breath, which exists on all planes of manifestation, is the connecting link between matter and energy on the one hand and consciousness and mind on the other. It is necessary for the vitalization and functioning of all vehicles of consciousness, physical or superphysical.
We start with awareness of the ordinary physical breath, but that awareness, when cultivated correctly, leads us into higher awareness which enables us to perceive the subtle movement behind the breath. Ultimately, we come into contact with the breather of the breath, our own spirit.
Everything in the universe is vibration. A mantra is a vibratory sound formula that produces a specific effect. A mantra can enliven and direct the prana, and a subtle form of prana can enliven and direct the consciousness. A repetition of a mantra can be the exact point at which realization occurs or is produced. Ultimately the yogi discovers that mantra and prana are the same thing. This is an important insight, a key to very real mastery.
In many spiritual traditions the same word is used for both breath and spirit, underscoring the esoteric principle that in essence they are the same, though we naturally think of spirit as being the cause of breath(ing). The word used for both breath and spirit is: In Judaism, Ruach. In Eastern Christianity (and ancient Greek religion), Pneuma. In Western Christianity (and ancient Roman religion), Spiritus (which comes from spiro, “I breathe”). In Hinduism and Buddhism, Atman (from the root word at which means “to breathe”), and Prana.
Breath is the rope which either elevates or lowers our level of awareness. Breath is a manifestation of consciousness, and therefore the means to mastery of consciousness. Sound and breath conjoined is the path to Self-realization. The true breath is inside the outer, physical breath. It is already eternal. But when tied to the body it is agitated and struggles against its feeling of bondage and alienation. Many think that breath itself is the problem, but it is the state of being tied to the body that is the problem. When the inner breath is contacted and made to pervade our experience, then we move onward to freedom and our natural state.
Genuine Raja Yoga is concerned with the internal breath, the unitary breath. Just as a circle is unbroken, so the advanced yogi finds that inhalation and exhalation are moving internally in a circular manner and are not divided at all or opposing one another, but are the same impulse. He also perceives that he is perpetually inhaling and exhaling at all times. That is, even when he inhales he is aware of subtle exhalation, and when he exhales he is aware of subtle inhalation. Thus he comes to know that the breath is one, indivisible.
Arthur Avalon
The books of Arthur Avalon (Sir John Woodruffe) are unparalleled in their value regarding the many aspects of yoga. Here are three quotations from them regarding breath in the context of yoga.
“The ultimate reality is Saccidananda which, as the source of appearances, is called Shakti. The latter in its Sat (Being) aspect is omnipresent-indestructible (eternal) Source and Basis both of the Cosmic Breath or Prana as also of all vital phenomena displayed as the individual Prana in separate and concrete bodies” (The Garland of Letters, p. 140).
“The individual breath is the Cosmic Breath from which it seems to be different by the forms which the latter vitalizes” (The Garland of Letters, p. 157).
“Breathing is a manifestation of the Cosmic Rhythm to which the whole universe moves and according to which it appears and disappears” (Shakti and Shakta).
Breath, then, is an essential ingredient of liberating yoga because the breath is the spirit-Self in extension, and through it we can become established in the consciousness that is the Self.
The identity of the breath with the individual spirit, the Atman (Self)
“The Self is the breath of the breath” (Kena Upanishad 1:2).
“As a spider moves along the thread, as small sparks come forth from the fire, even so from this Self come forth all breaths, all worlds, all divinities, all beings. Its secret meaning is the truth of truth. Vital breaths are the truth and their truth is It (Self)” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.1.20).
“Verily, the vital breath is truth, and He is the truth of that” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.3.6).
“He who breathes in with your breathing in is the self. He who breathes out with your breathing out is the self” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.4.1).
The identity of the breath with the Supreme Spirit, Brahman
But breath is much more than an individual matter, it is also a bridge to the infinite consciousness, being the living presence and action of God (Brahman).
“O prana, creatures here bring offering to thee who dwellest with the vital breaths” (Prashna Upanishad 2.7).
“When breathing he is called the vital force” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.7).
“This shining, immortal person who is breath (in the body), he is just this Self, this is immortal, this is Brahman, this is all” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 2.5.4).
“Which is the one God? The breath. He is Brahman” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 3.9.9).
“They who know the breath of the breath… have realized the ancient, primordial Brahman” (Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.18).
The Role of Sound in Meditation
Liberating sound
Why do we use sound in meditation? “By sound one becomes liberated [Anavrittih shabdai],” is the concluding verse of the Brahma Sutras (4.4.22). How is this so?
Why not use one of the other senses or faculties, since touch, sight, taste, and smell must also possess increasingly subtler forms until they reach the point of their emerging? It is true that these four faculties do have subtle forms, but only sound reaches to the ultimate point of emergence.
The five senses correspond to the five elements of which all things consist. Those elements are ether [akasha], air [vayu], fire [agni], water [apah], and earth [prithvi]. That is, their grossest forms are those of sound [shabda], sight [drishti], touch [sparsha], taste [rasa], and smell [gandha] as perceived by the bodily senses. Because of this we use these terms to refer to them. But the water element is not just the liquid we call water, it is much more, having roots in the astral and causal planes. The same is true of the other elements.
When relative existence, individual or cosmic, begins, there is a chain of manifestation. First there is the out-turning of the consciousness itself. This modification on the cosmic level is the emerging of the Mahat Tattwa, the Great Element, that is the Personal or Saguna Brahman, spoken of in Christianity as “the Only-begotten of the Father” or Son of God. In the individual this is the sense of asmita: I-am-ness. Then the Pradhana [Prakriti] modifies itself into the five elements, beginning with ether, and each succeeding element contains within itself some of the preceding elements. That is, air is mixed with some ether. Fire possesses some of the ether and air element. Water has some fire, air, and ether. Earth has some water, fire, air, and ether. So only ether is unmixed, and only ether is touching the principle of consciousness, only ether is in direct contact with the spirit. Yet ether (akasha) pervades all the other elements as their prime constituent–actually as their source and core element. Sound is the quality (or faculty) of ether; touch is the quality of air; sight is the quality of fire; taste is the quality of water; and smell is the quality of earth. Sound, then, is the only thing that reaches back to the principle of consciousness. The other elements stop somewhere along the way. Sound, then, can affect all the elements.
The five elements also correspond to the five levels or bodies known as koshas: the anandamaya, jnanamaya, manomaya, pranamaya, and annamaya bodies. These are the will, intellectual, mental (sensory), biomagnetic, and physical bodies. The highest (most subtle) body is the etheric body (anandamaya kosha) which is the seat of sound or speech.
There is more. The other four elements have only one faculty or power, but akasha has two faculties or powers: Vak and Shabda: Speaking and Hearing. The faculties of the four other elements are all passive. The faculty of smell cannot generate smells, the faculty of taste cannot generate tastes, etc., though the memory or imagination of them is possible. Ether, on the other hand, has the capacity to both generate and hear sound on the mental levels. The etheric faculty both speaks and hears what it speaks, is both active and passive. This is unique among the elements. Akasha alone possesses the creative power, the power of sound.
Consciousness is the root of sound–is innate in sound. Sound, then, is the direct means to return our awareness to the inmost level of our being and put us into touch with consciousness itself. At the same time, sound rules all the levels of our being and has the ability to infuse all those levels with the highest spiritual consciousness, to spiritualize every bit of us. Soham, then, is both energy and consciousness. Listening to our inner intonations of Soham during japa and meditation right away centers our awareness in the highest, etheric level of our being. It returns our awareness to its source and gathers up and centers every other aspect of our being in spiritual consciousness.
Through japa and meditation, Soham pervades all our bodies, corrects, directs, and empowers them to perfectly and fully manifest all their potentials–which is the root purpose of our relative existence. Through Soham Yoga practice all the aspects of our being are brought into perfect fruition and then enabled to merge back into their Source in the state of absolute liberation. Soham Yoga, then, embraces all the aspects of our existence–not only the highest part–and is supremely practical. Soham, through Its japa and meditation, perfects our entire being.
When we inwardly intone Soham and become absorbed in that sound, by centering our awareness in the act of intoning Soham and listening to It, we become centered in the Chidakasha, the Consciousness that is our Self.
Experiencing the Chidakasha to greater and greater degrees within meditation is the highest experience for the yogi. The more we meditate the more we penetrate into the infinite consciousness of which we are an eternal part. The process of meditation takes place within the Chidakasha, the seat of the spirit-Self that is itself the Chidakasha.
Internal sound
We use sound in Soham Yoga–but it is not just any form of sound. It is sound that is produced (generated) in the mind, not sound that is passively heard either through the ears or through the memory of auditory sound. This generation of sound is the process known as thinking. So yoga is accomplished by the generation and observation of a thought in the mind. This is why Shankara, commenting on Yoga Sutra 2:20, says that the activity of pure consciousness in the individual is “observation of thoughts in the mind.… Purusha, looking on at thought in the mind alone, sees only that, and never fails to see thought which is his object.… To witness is natural to him, in the sense that his essence is awareness of the mind’s ideas.” (“Mind is by definition the object of purusha,” said Vyasa.)
Now this is extremely profound. The only thing we ever do in our real nature as pure consciousness is to observe thoughts in the intellect (buddhi). That is why when Sri Ramakrishna was asked: “What is the Self?” he simply replied: “The witness of the mind.” Sense impressions are perceived a step away from that in the lower mind (manas). Perceiving thought is the sole activity of the spirit-consciousness. Perception of thought is also a perpetual–truly an inescapable–activity of the purusha. It is only reasonable then to conclude that to discover the true Self or to cause the Self to become established in its real nature we must employ the faculty of thought. Yet it is thought that is tangling us up all the time in false identities. So it is not just thought in general that we need, but a special kind of thought–one that turns the awareness back upon itself and eventually merges itself into the pure consciousness that is spirit. That unique thought is Soham. Our eternal nature ensures our success.
The genealogy of sound
The cosmos and the individual are manifested by the same process: ever-expanding sound-vibration, Spanda. First there comes the most subtle expansion-movement or vibration on the causal level where rather than an objective sound it is a bhava, the slightest differentiation of primal consciousness. This is known as dhvani. Dhvani then expands and mutates into nada, which is sound, but in such a subtle form that it is more an idea of sound rather than actual sound. Nada develops into nirodhika, a kind of focussing of the energy so it becomes potential sound. This expands and becomes ardha-indu (ardhendu), the half-moon which is the crescent shape seen on the head of Shiva. This is both thought and sound, but sound that can only be heard as the faintest of inner mental sounds. Ardhendu then expands and becomes bindu, the vibratory source-point. This bindu is fully sound, but on the interior level only. It cannot be spoken aloud, it cannot be spoken at all, but only perceived and entered into as the first step back to the source consciousness that is Spirit. Yet, from bindu comes all the permutations that are the various sounds which are combined to form words, including mantras.
According to the yoga scriptures there are three basic forms of sound or speech: 1) pashyanti, that which can only be intuited or felt rather than heard, even within; 2) madhyama, that which can be heard in the mind as thought; and 3) vaikhari, that which is physically spoken and heard outwardly by the ear through the vibration of the air. But beyond even these is the transcendental sound, para-vak or supreme speech, which is soundless sound, consciousness itself. Soham encompasses all three.
“When men sent out Vak’s [Speech’s] first and earliest utterances, all that was excellent and spotless, treasured within them, was disclosed.… the trace of Vak they followed, and found her harboring within” (Rig Veda 10.71.1, 2). This hymn of the Rig Veda speaks of Vak, the creative Sound from which all things came. This Sound both manifested all things and revealed them: produced the consciousness capable of perceiving them. The sages, the hymn tells us, traced Vak back to the source and discovered it was within themselves as both Power and Consciousness.
Meditation is the process of tracing discovered by the sages, the procedure by which the yogi enters into the inner levels of Soham, tracing it to its very source which is consciousness. As he does so, he experiences within the depths of his awareness the subtle states of consciousness, or bhava, inherent in Soham. For this reason the word frequently translated meditation in texts relating to yoga is bhavanam, the experiencing of the inner states of consciousness called bhavas. Meditation leads us right into the heart of Soham as we trace its sound back through its many permutations to its original bhava or impulse of consciousness that expanded outward to manifest as its outermost form of the mental thought: Soham.
Reversing consciousness
As we enter into relative consciousness through the expansion of sound, just so can we enter back into transcendent consciousness through the intentional contraction of sound that occurs in meditation. Tracing Soham back to its source, the Soham yogi discovers it within himself as both Power and Consciousness, experiencing the subtle states of Soham and the subtle consciousness inherent in Soham.
This procedure is spoken of in the Katha Upanishad: “The Self, though hidden in all beings, does not shine forth but can be seen by those subtle seers, through their sharp and subtle intelligence. The wise man should restrain speech into the mind; the latter he should restrain into the understanding Self. The understanding Self he should restrain into the great Self. That he should restrain into the tranquil Self” (Katha Upanishad 1.3.12,13). By “mind” is meant the manas, the sensory mind; by “understanding Self” is meant the buddhi, the intellect; by “the great Self” is meant the will; and by “tranquil Self” is meant the subtlest level, the Chidakasha, the witness-link between our pure consciousness and our perceptions.
In Viveka Chudamani (verse 369) Shankara expresses it this way: “Restrain speech in the manas, and restrain manas in the buddhi; this again restrain in the witness of the buddhi [the chidakasha], and merging that also in the Infinite Absolute Self, attain to Supreme Peace.”
In the subtle sound of Soham the consciousness of the yogi is resolved into its pure, divine state.
The subtle sound of Soham
The way to the pure, unalloyed consciousness that is the Self, is to enclose the mind in the subtle sound of Soham as you intone in time with the breath. I do not mean that you strain or force, but that you relax and let your awareness merge in the sacred sound. Relax and listen–not “fix the mind” or “concentrate.” Listen to and savor and feel and enjoy the subtle sound vibrations of Soham along with the sensations of any kriyas that may be occurring–experience the subtle vibrations moving in your various bodies. Enjoy it. Love it. As Kabir wrote:
There is a land where no doubt nor sorrow have rule: where the terror of Death is no more.
There the woods of spring are a-bloom, and the fragrant scent “Soham” is borne on the wind:
There the bee of the heart is deeply immersed, and desires no other joy.
The breeze of Soham is the subtle sound which bears the heavenly perfume of spiritual experience. Listen to the sound of Soham but also be aware of the state of consciousness, the Soham Bhava, to which it leads. It does not produce it, but rather it reveals it by centering the yogi’s awareness in it.
A warning
As we all know, the mind is able to do more than one thing at a time. We often are doing something and at the same time having a conversation. The driver of a car does many things at a time just to drive, including listening to the radio and talking. So we definitely have the ability to do japa and do or think of something at the same time. This is good, because that enables us to keep up the flow of Soham in time with the breath. But at the same time, including during meditation, we can do japa of Soham while the mind roves here and there in thoughts, memories and other trivia when really we could and should be intent on Soham. When possible and practical, fill the mind with Soham alone. And when you need to think of something else, do so along with your Soham repetition. Naturally you cannot talk and repeat Soham. Therefore break the habit of useless and trivial talk. But do not neglect sensible and friendly speech. Being a yogi is not being an indrawn spook.
I. K. Taimni on japa and meditation
In The Science of Yoga I. K. Taimni says this regarding japa and meditation:
“Japa begins in a mechanical repetition but it should pass by stages into a form of meditation and unfoldment of the deeper layers of consciousness.
“The efficacy of japa is based upon the fact that every jivatma is a microcosm thus having within himself the potentialities of developing all states of consciousness and all powers which are present in the active form in the macrocosm. All the forces which can help this Divine spark within each human heart to become a roaring fire are to be applied. And the unfoldment of consciousness takes place as a result of the combined action of all these forces.… A mantra is a sound combination and thus represents a physical vibration which is perceptible to the physical ear. But this physical vibration is its outermost expression, and hidden behind the physical vibration and connected with it are subtler vibrations much in the same way as the dense physical body of man is his outermost expression and is connected with his subtler vehicles. These different aspects of Vak or speech are called Vaikhari, Madhyama, Pashyanti and Para. Vaikhari is the audible sound which can lead through the intermediate stages to the subtlest form of Para Vak. It is really through the agency of these subtler forms of sound that the unfoldment of consciousness takes place and the hidden potentialities become active powers. This release of powers takes a definite course according to the specific nature of the mantra just as a seed grows into a tree, but into a particular kind of tree according to the nature of the seed.”
The Unity of the Breath and Soham
As already cited, commenting on Yoga Sutra 1:34, Vivekananda says: “The whole universe is a combination of prana and akasha.” Practically speaking we, too, are formed of prana and akasha, of breath and sound which are the manifestation of prana and akasha. Yoga is a combining of breath and sound.
Soham is the essential sound-energy form that manifests in living beings as the breath itself. Soham is the sound-form of the subtle power of life which originates in the pure consciousness, the spirit, of each one of us and extends outward to manifest as the inhaling and exhaling breaths. Hence, through the intoning of Soham in meditation we can become attuned to the essential Breath of Life and aware of its subtle movements within. Joined to our breath, the mantric formula Soham will lead us to the awareness of Breath and Life in their pure state. For Soham is both the breath and the Source of the breath. When joined to Soham, the breath becomes a flowing stream of consciousness.
In the beginning
In the beginning, there arose in the ocean of Divine Consciousness, a point (bindu) from which began flowing the stream of creative energy that manifested as all things, and back into which all things return. That Primal Point became dual upon the very moment of its arising. That duality manifested as Prana/Breath and Sound–specifically, Soham. The same thing happened with us. We came into manifestation on the twin streams of subtle breath and Soham.
Originally we were unmanifest, as transcendental as our Source. But just as the Source expanded into relative manifestation, so did we. In our undifferentiated being, the state of perfect unity, there manifested a single stress point (bindu or sphota). This did not upset or disrupt the original unity but it did just what I said: it stressed it. Then, so imperceptibly and subtly as to hardly have even occurred, that stress point became dual and began to move internally, producing a magnetic duality so subtle it was really more an idea than an actual condition. Then the halves or poles of that duality began alternating in dominance and a cycling or circling began. This cycling expanded ever outward, manifesting in increasingly more objective manners until at last the full state of relativity was reached complete with a set of complex bodies of infinitely varying levels of energy–everything we consider to be us. The same thing had already happened to our Source on a cosmic level so we found a virtually infinite environment for our manifestation. This is the process known as samsara.
The two original poles of the primal unity are prana (life force) which manifests in us most objectively as breath, and shabda (sound) which manifests in us most objectively as the mantra Soham–and secondarily that of hearing. These seemingly two creative streams of manifestation are in reality one, inseparable from one another, and together are capable of leading us back to their–and our–source. One or the other can do a great deal toward returning us to Unity, but the ultimate, full return can occur most easily when they are joined in the practice of Soham Yoga. Like the cosmos, we came into manifestation on the twin streams of subtle breath and Soham. Together these two wings have carried us upward into the heights of evolution.
The return
Soham is the essence of the breath and the breath is the essence of Soham–particularly in their most subtle forms. Speech and breath are manifested and reunited in Soham by mentally intoning it in time with the breath. “May you be successful in crossing over to the farther shore of darkness” (Mundaka Upanishad 2.2.6).
To turn back from samsara and return to our original unity we must grasp hold of that primal impulse to duality which manifested in the stress point from which all has occurred. Right now that original impulse is manifesting most objectively in the process of our physical inhaling and exhaling and in our inner power of speech as we intone Soham. The breath and Soham together comprise the evolutionary force which causes us to enter samsara and manifest therein until–also through the breath and sound–we evolve to the point where we are ready to discard the evolutionary school of samsara and return to our original status with a now-perfected consciousness. By joining Soham and the breath in japa and meditation we begin moving back to the state where they are one.
In japa and meditation we join intonations of Soham to the breath because on the subtle levels the breath is always producing the sound of Soham. We can even say that the soul breathes Soham. When our intonations of Soham become subtle and whisper-like they are the actual breath sounds, the real sounds of the etheric breath. So by joining Soham to our breathing we can link up with our soul-consciousness and enter into it. That is the point of Unity where the breath and Soham are not two extensions, but a single unit. Here, too, the breath is one, moving in a circular manner or expanding and contracting rather than extending and moving in and out or back and forth. Joining our intonations of Soham to the breath in a fully easeful manner attunes us to that level of breath and sound.
One-pointedness
Many aspiring yogis struggle to make the mind one-pointed and mostly tire and frustrate themselves in the trying. This is because they think of one-pointedness as a condition of the mind, something it can be forced or moulded into. But one-pointedness is a matter of mental orientation. The more inward (internal) our awareness, the more one-pointed it will be. So it is a matter of directing our mind, which is a major reason for linking japa with the breath. Since the breath originates at the core of our being it is the most accessible means to lead the mind inward in meditation. And breath awareness along with japa outside meditation keeps the mind tending inward. After all, the word Atman comes from the root word at which means “to breathe.” So the Self is the original Breather.
Whenever our attention is not as one-pointed as we wish, it is because the mind is not fully turned inward. That is why breath awareness and absorption of the mind in listening to the mental intonations of a mantra are so necessary. Those two factors will take care of everything in time.
Breath and sound are the oil and flame in the lamp of meditation. Not only is the body unable to move without breath, there is no movement upward of consciousness in meditation without the union of breath and mantra. That is why Anandamayi Ma said: “Nothing can be achieved without cultivation of the breath.”
The evolving breath
Life and evolution are synonymous. Just as Brahman has clothed Itself in creative, evolutionary energy–Prakriti–and is actively engaged in cosmic progression toward perfection, in the same way the individual spirit (Atman) is encased in its own energy-prakriti and is evolving it toward perfection. This is life within Life. Both the cosmic and the individual life-force are known as prana–vital energy–which manifests as breath. All that exists is formed of prana-breath, which acts as a mirror for the individual and cosmic spirits, changing and modifying itself as they change and modify–as they evolve. The original Impulse which begins, sustains, and completes all evolution is Soham. The dance of creation is the moving of prana-breath to the directing sound-vibration of Soham.
Relativity evolves through the alternating cycles of creation and dissolution–outward movement and inward movement–and in the same way the simple act of breathing evolves all sentient beings, whose fundamental common trait is that of breathing. This is because the breath is always sounding Soham in the process the yogis call ajapa japa–involuntary/automatic repetition. (This is also true on the cosmic level. The cosmos is breathing Soham.) Thus merely living and breathing is a process of ascent in consciousness if the individual does nothing to counteract that process, which we all do, retarding our progress and causing ourselves to become bound to the wheel of continual birth and death. So it is necessary to live in the manner that allows this automatic development to go forward and manifest.
In time, however, a profound point of evolution is reached in which the individual becomes capable of consciously evolving himself and thereby speeding up the process of unfolding his consciousness. He does this by consciously doing what he has heretofore done only unconsciously: linking the repetition of Soham to his breath, merging It with the breath movements.
The original purpose of the original duality–breath and Soham–was to enable us to descend into the plane of relativity and begin evolving therein until we could develop the capacity for infinite consciousness. They not only moved us downward into material embodiment, they also began to impel us upward on the evolutionary scale so we might finally develop or evolve to the point where we can finally share–actually participate–in the infinity of God. If unhindered, they would accomplish this evolutionary movement. But in our present state we are always thwarting their purpose, especially by keeping their action bound and buried in the subconscious rather than resurrecting them into our conscious life, applying them and cooperating with them and thereby accelerating our growth. When awareness of the breath is consciously cultivated, and the sacred mantra Soham is joined to every breath, the two currents become united and oriented toward their original purpose, which they then accomplish. In this way every single breath and intonation of Soham become a step forward and upward on the path of spiritual evolution.
Through our attention focussed on the process of intoning Soham in time with our inhalation and exhalation, we can become immersed in the subtler levels of that alternating cycle, sinking into deeper and deeper levels until we at last come to the originating point and then transcend that dual movement, regaining our lost unity. By continual practice of that transcendence in meditation we will become established in that unity and freed forever from all forms of bondage, having attained nirvana–permanent unbinding. This is why both sound and breath must be the focus of our internal cultivation.
When we examine their nature, we see that the breath and the sound of Soham are not things, but processes which have the power to draw us into the core point from which they arise–the individual spirit itself whose nature is consciousness. In this way the pure Self manifests and works its will, changing all the levels of our being. The breath and our intonations of Soham become increasingly refined as we observe them, and as a result our awareness also becomes refined.
Rumi says: “In my heart rings as a harp-song that we must return to him.” Soham is that harp-song. So when we join the repetition of Soham to the breath we are not merely entering the breath, but reaching that One Step Beyond into the eternal Soham which is inseparable from the Atman. Soham Yoga is the movement back into Original Consciousness that is enlightenment.
Literally we are initiated into Soham Yoga by God. This is why Patanjali says that God (Ishwara) “is Guru even of the Ancients” (Yoga Sutras 1:26). By ancients he means the very first spirits who so many creation cycles ago embarked on the path which we are now ourselves traversing. From that point onward our spirit-Self, our Atman, has been perpetually vibrating Soham in unison with God, who is eternally seated in the heart of our spirit. Soham is the impulse which begins, develops, perfects, and completes the entire process of evolution.
The inner and the outer
There are two breaths, the outer breath and the subtle inner breath which produces it. And there is the outer speech and the subtle inner speech from which it arises. By centering our awareness on the outer breath and sound and merging them we make ourselves aware of the inner Breath and Sound of Life. They occur at the same time and are of the same duration. By attuning ourselves to them we attune ourselves to the spirit from which they take their origin. The more attention we give to the breath and Soham, the subtler they become until they reveal themselves as acts of the mind, and finally as consisting of mind-stuff (chitta) itself.
The Self and the Supreme Self
In the Kena Upanishad we find this statement: “The Self is the breath of the breath” (Kena Upanishad 1:2). Beyond the Self is the Supreme Self–Brahman.
Pranayama
Within the yogic system the breath is considered an actual body within the body material. It is called the pranamaya kosha–the body formed of breath or prana. And working with it is known as pranayama. Pranayama can mean restraint of prana, and it can also mean control [yama] of the breath, but ayama also means length, expansion, and extension. Thus pranayama can also mean the lengthening, expansion, and extension of the breath as occurs spontaneously in Soham meditation. For Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra 2:50 says that pranayama is “external, internal or suppressed modification [of breath], and it becomes measured or regulated [paridrishto], prolonged [dirgha] and subtle or attenuated [sukshmah].” Sutra 51 says: “That pranayama which goes beyond the sphere of internal and external is the fourth”–that which directly relates to turiya or pure consciousness, beyond the three states of waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep. Also, internal and external can refer either to: 1) inhaling and exhaling, 2) the outer breath accompanied by movement of the lungs, or 3) the internal movement of the subtle prana or breath that has no outer manifestation. It is our steady attention to the breath that is the practice of pranayama. For Shankara says: “Pranayama is caused by a mental activity deriving from a restraining effort inherent in the Self.”
Vyasa says that during meditation the breath becomes, “prolonged and light [fine].” In time a meditator becomes aware that there is an internal breath that is the support and stimulus of the bodily breathing. Behind that breath is an even subtler force, and so on back to utter stillness at the core of his being. It is the experiencing of all such subtle forms of breath that is pranayama. Through meditation we effect the inner pranayama and achieve the inner breathlessness that is a state of pure awareness.
There is more to this pranayama: “From that [pranayama] is dissolved the covering of light” (Yoga Sutras 2:52). The inner pranayama dissolves the veil which covers the light of the knowledge of the Self. Yet this veil is itself light–the light of subtle matter or energy, the substance of which the most subtle bodies are formed. They are the light that veils the ultimate Light. “The covering of light referred to in this sutra is obviously not used in reference to the light of the soul, but to the light or luminosity associated with the subtler vehicles associated with and interpenetrating the physical vehicle,” according to Taimni in The Science of Yoga.
Vyasa expands on this, saying: “It [pranayama] destroys the karma which covers up the light of knowledge in the yogi. As it is declared: ‘When the ever-shining [Self] is covered over by the net of great illusion, one is impelled to what is not to be done.’ By the power of pranayama, the light-veiling karma binding him to the world becomes powerless, and moment by moment is destroyed. So it has been said [in The Laws of Manu 6:70, 72]: ‘There is no tapas higher than pranayama; from it come purification from taints and the light of knowledge [of the Self].’” Subtle pranayama, then, is the direct way to dissolve karma and be free, for “it is karma by which the light is covered,” says Shankara. And both he and Vyasa explain to us that karma not only binds us to material experience, it also impels us to create even more karma–and more bondage–in a self-perpetuating circle. But by yoga the karma “becomes powerless, and moment by moment is destroyed.” That is, the karmic seeds are roasted and rendered incapable of creating future experience or births and are ultimately completely annihilated. The more we do meditation, the more karma is dissolved.
In a conversation regarding his instructions on breath observation given in the book Maha Yoga, Sri Ramana Maharshi remarked: “Pranayama is of two kinds: one of controlling and regulating the breath and the other of simply watching the breath.” The purpose of working with the breath is simple: “From that comes the dissolving of the covering of light and the fitting of the mind for meditation” (Yoga Sutras 52 and 53). When by this process the breath is refined, so also is the mind; and eventually so is the nervous system and the entire body. Since the body is a vehicle of the mind this is a very important effect.
But the breath does not accomplish this on its own. It must be joined to intonations of Soham. By joining the repetition of Soham to the breath the Soham Yogi causes pranayama to go on perpetually throughout the day as well as in meditation.
Breath and brain
The yogis knew ages ago what Western science has taken a long time to realize. In the fourth century an anatomist named Oribasius said that the brain literally moves in harmony with respiration. In 1690 a researcher named Slevogt published a book in which he said the same. But it was the mystic Emmanuel Swedenborg who wrote about this as both a physical and a metaphysical phenomenon in his Oeconomia Regni Animalis which contains a section titled De Motu Cerebri. That was in 1741, and in 1750 J. Daniel Schlichting, a physician of Amsterdam, declared that at each expiration the whole brain becomes elevated or expanded, while during inspiration it subsides and collapses. He showed that this motion is due neither to the contraction of the dura mater, nor to a pulsation of the sinuses or of the arteries, but is an intrinsic motion of the entire mass of the brain; that this motion continues during the whole existence of life, and that it is rendered possible by an empty space between the cranium and the brain.
In light of this we see why the yogis regarded the breath with amazement and awe, considering it to be a key to higher states of consciousness. In modern times it has been demonstrated that every cell of the body is affected by the breath, that the entire body contracts and expands in a virtually imperceptible manner in time with inhalation and exhalation. The breath, then, is a major factor in the physical, mental and spiritual alchemy of yoga.
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