Breath And Mind - Same Source

Sri Ramana Maharshi

1.12.1945

In continuation of an old question of his with reference to a certain passage in Maha Yoga, Maha Vir Prasad (Chief Engineer to the U.P. Government) asked Bhagavan whether it was necessary and a condition precedent for a man to watch his breathing before beginning the mental quest 'Who am I?'

B: All depends on a man's pakva, i.e., his aptitude and fitness. Those who have not the mental strength to concentrate or control their mind and direct it on the quest are advised to watch their breathing, since such watching will naturally and as a matter of course lead to cessation of thought and bring the mind under control. Breath and mind arise from the same place and when one of them is controlled, the other is also controlled. As a matter of fact, in the quest method - which is more correctly 'Whence am I?' and not merely 'Who am I?' - we are not simply trying to eliminate 'we are not the body, not the senses and so on,' to reach what remains as the ultimate reality, but we are trying to find whence the 'I' thought for the ego arises within us. The method contains within it, though implicitly and not expressly the watching the breath. When we watch wherefrom the 'I-thought, the root of all thoughts, springs, we are necessarily watching the source of breath also, as the 'I'- thought and the breath arise from the same source.

Mr. Prasad again asked whether, for controlling breath, the regular pranayama is not better in which 1:4:2 proportion for breathing in, retaining, and breathing out is prescribed. B replied, "All those proportions, sometimes regulated not by counting but by uttering mantras, etc. are aids for controlling the mind. That is all. Watching the breath is also one form of pranayama. Retaining breath etc. is more violent and may be harmful in some cases, e.g., when there is no proper Guru or guide the sadhak at every step and stage. But merely watching the breath is easy and involves no risk."