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H
olding the body steady, with the three upper parts erect,
And causing the senses with the mind to enter into the heart,
A wise man with the Brahma-boat should cross over
All the fear-bringing streams.
Having repressed his breathings here in the body, and having his movements
checked,
One should breathe through his nostrils with diminished breath.
Like that chariot yoked with vicious horses,
His mind the wise man should restrain undistractedly.
In a clean, level spot, free from pebbles, fire, and gravel,
By the sound of water and other propinquities
Favorable to thought, not offensive to the eye,
In a hidden retreat protected from the wind, one should practice yoga.
Fog, smoke, sun, fire, wind,
Fireflies, lightning, a crystal, a moon--
These are the preliminary appearances,
Which produce the manifestation of Brahman in yoga.
When the fivefold quality of yoga has been produced,
Arising from earth, water, fire, air, and space,
No sickness, old age, no death has he
Who has obtained a body made out of the fire of yoga.
Lightness, healthiness, steadiness,
Clearness of countenance and pleasantness of voice,
Sweetness of odor, and scanty excretions--
These, they say, are the first stage in the progress of yoga.
Even as a mirror stained by dust
Shines brilliantly when it has been cleansed,
So the embodied one, on seeing the nature of the Soul,
Becomes unitary, his end attained, from sorrow freed.
When with the nature of the self, as with a lamp,
A practicer of yoga beholds here the nature of Brahman,
Unborn, steadfast, from every nature free--
By knowing God, one is released from all fetters!
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