Prana and Mind

Sage Vasishtha

O Rama, just as when a firebrand is swung around, an illusory circle of fire is formed, there is an illusory appearance of the world due to the vibration that arises in consciousness. Vibration and consciousness are inseparably one like the whiteness of the snow, the oil in the sesame seed, the fragrance of the flower and the heat of fire. Their description as distinct categories is an error. Mind and movement of thought are inseparable; and the cessation of one is the cessation of both.

O Rama, there are two ways in which this cessation can be achieved: one if the way of yoga which involves the restraint of the movement of thought, and the other is the way of knowledge which involves the right knowledge of truth.

In this body, that energy which circulated in the energy-channels is known as prana. In accordance with its diverse functions in the body, it is also known by the names apana etc. This prana is indistinguishably united with the mind. In fact, the consciousness that tends towards thinking, on account of the movement of prana, is known as the mind. Movement of thought in the mind arises from the movement of prana; and movement of prana arises because of the movement of thought in consciousness. They thus form a cycle of mutual dependence like waves and movement of currents in water.

The wise ones declare that the mind is caused by the movement of prana; and hence by the restraint of the prana, the mind becomes quiescent. When the mind abandons the movement of thought, the appearance of the world-illusion ceases. The movement of prana is arrested at the moment when all hopes and desires come to an end in one's heart through the earnest practice of the precepts of the scriptures and sages, and by the cultivation of dispassion in precious life-spans or through endeavoring to practise contemplation or meditation and reaching a stage of devotion to a single truth in a single-minded way.