Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.14.32-33
Mukti· LiberationSteady Posture and Breath Support Mental Control
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead said: Sitting on a level seat that is not too high or too low, keeping the body straight and erect yet comfortable, placing the two hands on one’s lap and focusing the eyes on the tip of one’s nose, one should purify the pathways of breathing by practicing the mechanical exercises of pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka, and then one should reverse the procedure (recaka, kumbhaka, pūraka). Having fully controlled the senses, one may thus practice prāṇāyāma step by step.”
What the purport teaches
- The Supreme Personality of Godhead describes sitting comfortably upright on a level seat, neither too high nor too low. The hands rest in the lap, palms upward, one upon the other.
- With the eyes focused on the tip of the nose, one purifies the breathing pathways through pūraka, kumbhaka and recaka, then reverses the sequence. This prāṇāyāma is practiced step by step with the senses controlled.
- Mechanical breath control is meant to bring steadiness of mind. The purport explains that the eyes, normally directed outward, must be turned inward so that the mind becomes steady and controlled.
Try this today
Sit briefly on a level seat with your body comfortably upright and your hands resting palms upward in your lap, one upon the other.
Ask yourself
How might a comfortable, upright posture help me become more attentive?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.