Uthista Bhumi Yogashram
[Located in the City of Hoffman Estates, IL 60169, USA. Established on 4-Oct-2018]
PRATYAHARA (Control of the Senses)
Pratyahara means drawing back or retreat. The word ahara means ‘nourishment’;
pratyahara translates as, ‘to withdraw oneself from that which nourishes the
senses.’ In yoga, the term pratyahara
implies withdrawal of the senses from attachment to external objects. It can then be seen as the practice of
non-attachment to sensorial distractions as we constantly return to the path of
self realization and achievement of internal peace. It means our senses stop living off the things
that stimulate; the senses no longer depend on these stimulants and are not fed
by them anymore.
In
pratyahara we sever this link between mind and senses, and the senses withdraw.
When the senses are no longer tied to
external sources, the result is restraint or pratyahara. Now that the vital forces are flowing back to
the Source within, one can concentrate without being distracted by externals or
the temptation to cognize externals.
Pratyahara occurs almost automatically when we meditate because we are so
absorbed in the object of meditation. Precisely because the mind is so focused, the
senses follow it; it is not happening the other way around.
No
longer functioning in their usual manner, the senses become extraordinarily
sharp. Under normal circumstances the
senses become our masters rather than being our servants. The senses tempt us to develop cravings for
all sorts of things. In pratyahara the
opposite occurs: when we have to eat we eat, but not because we have a craving
for food. In pratyahara we try to put
the senses in their proper place, but not cut them out of our actions entirely.
Much of
our emotional imbalances are our own creation. A person who is influenced by outside
events and sensations can never achieve the inner peace and tranquility. This is because he or she will waste much
mental and physical energy in trying to suppress unwanted sensations and to
heighten other sensations. This will
eventually result in a physical or mental imbalances, and will, in most instances,
result in illness.
Patanjali says
that the above process is at the root of human unhappiness and uneasiness. When people seek out yoga, hoping to find that
inner peace which is so evasive, they find that it was theirs all along. In a sense, yoga is nothing more than a
process which enables us to stop and look at the processes of our own minds;
only in this way can we understand the nature of happiness and unhappiness, and
thus transcend them both.