Thence is destroyed the veil of the light
ततः क्षीयते प्रकाशावरणम्
Thence is destroyed the veil of the light
Pranayama is not merely a physical act. When done correctly, the ultimate goal is to remove the obstacles that hinder an aspirant's pursuit of true knowledge. According to the Yogasutras, the light of knowledge is not learned; it is revealed. Pranayama facilitates that revelation by cleansing the mind that is veiled. {Yogasutra 2.52}
Something dangerous lurks in the already muddled waters of modern yoga.
Asana is reduced to movement, Pranayama became breathwork, and Yoga Nidra is non-sleep deep rest {NSDR}.
The trend of dumbing down or distilling our sadhanas, darsanas, and vidya boosts accessibility and dissemination of wisdom—a clear pro—but the cons loom large: distortion, co-opting, and severing these practices from their source.
The Yogasutras, Samhitas, Upanishads, and other ancient yogic texts are precise. Pranayama far exceeds the physical act of breath control. While the action might be mechanical, its effects on bodily functions have been researched, and it is touted {rightly so} as a life-changing health hack. It is important to resist delinking it from its esoteric essence.
And going back to the sutra, this practice of controlling the breath, this technique of inhaling, exhaling, and holding the breath, is a way to cleanse the mind of the veil that distorts perception. It is a veil of samskaras, klesas, and vasanas. A pranacharya will burn the veil of ignorance and make space for the unfolding of knowledge.
Pranayama is a ready tool accessible to all, but accessibility does not mean reducing it to mere breathwork. Yes, it has a myriad of benefits: physiological, emotional, and mental.
But in acknowledging this aspect of Pranayama, let us not forget the reason our ancient researchers and scientists codified these techniques. It is to use this human birth, this human body, these limbs, and this mind to go beyond the realms of our consciousness and experience the divine nectar of existence.
The Haṭha Yoga-pradīpikā (Chapter IV) describes the advanced state of Pranayama practice through the metaphor of "piercing the knots." When the Brahma-granthi in the heart is pierced, the yogi experiences a profound "happiness in the vacuum of the heart."
This state is accompanied by anāhata sounds, described as the tinkling of ornaments, signifying that the heart has become "void" of the worldly mundane and filled with divine luminosity.
