Svetasvathara Upanishad – 6

 Chapter 2 (Mantras 8 to 12) 

Mantra 2-8

trirunnatam sthapya samam sariram hrdindriyani manasa samnivesya I

brahmodupena pratareta vidvan srotamsi sarvani bhayavahani II 2.8 II

The wise man should hold his body in a straight posture, with the chest, throat and head erect, turn his senses, with the help of the mind, toward the heart and by means of the raft of Brahman cross the fearful currents of the river of life (samsara).

            Upanishad speaks about the practice of yoga from this Mantra. The first thing is to keep the upper three parts of the body, the head, neck and chest erect and straight.  Though meditation is a mental process the mind can be controlled better in an erect posture.  Bhagavad Gita (6-13) also gives this instruction to hold the trunk, head and neck straight and steady.  This step is called ‘Asana’ in Patanjali’s Ashtanga yoga.  Then, by using the mind to control senses, thoughts should be directed toward the heart which is believed to be the abode of Brahman and held there through the chanting of OM and meditation on Brahman as OM, described here as the raft of Brahman.  The process of checking the out-going tendencies and turning them inward is called ‘Pratyahara’ in Ashtanga yoga. Fixing the mind on OM and meditating on it as Brahman, helps one to realise Brahman, thereby crossing the frightening currents of samsara.

Mantra 2-9

pranan prapidyeha sa yuktaceshtah kshine prane nasikayochchvasita I

dushtasvayuktamiva vahamenam vidvan mano dharayetapramattah II 2.9 II

The wise person, controlling the senses with an effort and regulating the activities in the body should also control his breath with great care, releasing the breath when he feels exhausted. Then he should restrain the mind without any distraction, like the charioteer restraining the restive horses.

            Pranayama or the control of the breath by regulating inhaling (puraka), exhaling (rechaka) and withholding of breath (kumbaka) in-between, which helps to steady the mind in the contemplation of Brahman, is elaborated in this Mantra. Pranayama is not the goal but a means of controlling the mind, which is difficult to control like the controlling of wind as per Arjuna’s confession in Gita (6-34).  In this Mantra it is compared to the restless horses attached to a chariot to show one cannot reach the goal, if mind is not firmly controlled and properly directed.  This has to be done along with control of senses and regulating the activities.  In Bhagavad Gita (6-17), Lord Krishna tells Arjuna: “Yoga becomes a destroyer of sorrow for one who is regulated in diet and recreation, regulated in performing actions and regulated in sleep and wakefulness”.  Pranayama is also explained in Bhagavad Gita (5-28) as: ‘With the senses, mind and intellect always controlled, shutting out all external contacts, fixing the gaze between eyebrows, equalising the incoming and outgoing breaths that move through the nostrils---“.  

Mantra 2-10

same suchau sarkaravahnivaluka- vivarjite sabdajalasrayadibhih I

mano'nukule na tu cakshupidane guhanivatasrayane prayojayet II 2.10 II

Yoga should be practiced in a place which is level, pure and free from pebbles, gravel and fire, undisturbed by the noise of crowds or of river or lake and free from strong winds; or it can be a place like a cave.  It should be a place which is pleasing to the mind and not repulsive to the sight.

            The importance of physical surroundings is highlighted in this Mantra. A congenial place and ambience is always recommended for Yogic practices in various scriptures. A convenient location without external disturbances caused by noise, fire, human traffic etc., and also pleasing to the eye is recommended to help concentration of mind and still the senses. With regard to the seat and surroundings Bhagavad Gita (6-11) states: “Having firmly established his seat in a clean place free from dirt and other impurities, neither too high nor too low, and made of cloth, skin and kusa-grass, placed successively one below the other;”

Mantra 2-11

niharadhumarkanalanilanam khadyotavidyutsphatikasasinam I

etani rupani purahsarani brahmany abhivyaktikarani yoge II 2.11 II

Forms that appear like snow, smoke, sun, wind, fire, fire-fly, lightning, crystal and moon, precede the experience of Brahman in practice of yoga..
            Certain visions which the seeker experiences as the forerunners to the revelation of Brahman in the path of yoga are described in this Mantra.  Some may even get siddhis as described in the third chapter of Patanjali Yoga sutras. Sri Ramakrishna’s first mystic experience in meditation was a flow of overwhelming light from Mother Goddess reaching him. The siddhis and visions by themselves are not the final goal which is the transcendental Bliss of union with Brahman, but are only indicators that one is making progress in the yogic path.

Mantra 2-12

prthvyaptejo'nilakhe samutthite panchatmake yogagune pravrtte I

na tasya rogo na jara na mrtyuh praptasya yogagnimayam sariram II 2.12 II

When the fivefold perception of yoga, arising from (concentrating the mind on) earth, water, light, air and ether, have appeared to the yogi, then he has become possessed of a body purified by the fire of yoga, and he will not be touched by disease, old age or death (death is at will).

            The five-fold perception refers to the yoga practice mentioned in Patanjali Yoga sutras (1-35) of steadying the mind through fixing attention on one of the senses of perception.  By means of these meditations the whole personality becomes subtle and the mind becomes steady, for it is no longer attracted by outward objects. He throws off his physical body into the fire of yoga and takes up a new individuality, as it were, purer than the previous. As the yogi understands that his physical body is a combination of the five elements and is matter that is subject to degeneration and change and that his real Self is separate from them and indestructible and changeless; he does not feel affected by disease, old age and has no fear of death.

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