The Harmonisation of Mind and Breath :

The Heart and Not Just the Logic-1.


This is exactly the way in which the mind will receive teachings when they are presented in a logical form. There is a beautiful saying of Pascal: “The heart has a reason which reason does not know.” The heart has a logic of its own, and the inductive and deductive processes of the schools of logic are alien to the logic of the heart. Whenever we listen to any logic, we say, “Yes, yes, but...” This “but” will not leave us at any time. The “yes, yes” response is the logic of the head, while the “but” is our heart speaking. There will always be a “but” for every thinking that we do in this world. It is this “but” that prevents us from successfully practising pratyahara. Just observe—we have an objection for everything. We never listen to anything wholly, nor can we agree with it completely. When I say “we” here, I mean by that our emotions. The heart speaks a language of its own, and the language of the heart is the most powerful of expressions. The intellect will be a failure in this attempt, if the logic has not touched the heart. The logic has not done its work if conviction has not become feeling. Intellectual conviction will not help us in yoga. It is this difference between the activities of the heart and the head that has been the cause of the failure of many students in their practice. We feel something and start thinking another thing altogether. That which we feel is our life, and that which we think is only an outward expression of our personality.



The pratyahara process therefore is not only an external expression of our personality, and it is not only an intellectual or a physical function. It is a function of emotion which is the driving force in our personalities. That which drives us to do anything in this world is emotion. Where emotion is absent, then everything cools down. Emotion supplies us with the necessary warmth of life. Where emotion is absent, either this way or that way, life is cold, insipid and without any significance. When we speak from our emotions, we speak with force. When we run, we run with force. This we do whether we like a thing or dislike a thing. We express our vehemence with force, and we also express our wonderment with force. “How wonderful!” or “How stupid!” Both we will say with force. This force comes from the emotions. Where emotion is absent, we have no force, and we become a cold, dead object.

Swami Krishnananda

To be continued ...