Upanishads · Yogakuṇḍalinī 1.62
॥
Devanāgarī
प्राणाभ्यासस्ततः कार्यो नित्यं सत्त्वस्थया धिया । सुषुम्ना लीयते चित्तं तथा वायुः प्रधावति
Transliteration (IAST)
prāṇābhyāsastataḥ kāryo nityaṃ sattvasthayā dhiyā | suṣumnā līyate cittaṃ tathā vāyuḥ pradhāvati
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
प्राण-अभ्यासः ततः कार्यःprāṇa-abhyāsaḥ tataḥ kāryaḥbreath-practice must then be done
नित्यं सत्त्व-स्थया धियाnityaṃ sattva-sthayā dhiyāalways, with a mind established in sattva
सुषुम्ना लीयते चित्तंsuṣumnā līyate cittaṃin sushumna dissolves the consciousness
तथा वायुः प्रधावतिtathā vāyuḥ pradhāvatiand the wind rushes forth
Translation
"Breath-practice must then be done, always, with a mind established in sattva; then consciousness dissolves in sushumna, and the wind rushes forth".
Version
2075024c35bb · published Aug 12, 2026, 5:00:00 AM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
A condition worth speaking of is set: sattva-sthaya dhiya, "with a mind established in sattva." That is, the exercise is done not by just anyone and not in just any state, but by one whose mind is in clarity; and this is again the same requirement that stood at the locks (1.40): purity first, then technique. Worth noting is that here it is applied to the very breathing — that is, to what is usually thought of as the beginning. The beginning, then, lies still earlier: in the state of mind.
Herein lies the whole disagreement about order that has lasted for centuries between schools. Some say: purify the mind by exercise; others: purify the mind so as to exercise. The first promises more, the second is more honest.
The Vaishnava side holds a third solution and offers a way out of this circle. The mind is purified not by exercise and not by itself, but by hearing; and the Bhagavatam says: "hearing and singing destroy all that is impure in the heart" (1.2.17). The merit of this solution is that hearing can be done by a man in any state — dirty, distracted, or ill — whereas breathing exercise already requires having that for whose sake it is done.
Separately, a word must be said about the word liyate, "dissolves," said of consciousness. This word will recur; it means not annihilation, but disappearance from sight — like salt in water: the salt is unseen, but the water is salty.