Yoga is the ultimate process of individual feeling one with the whole
\nexistence — call it God or Godliness. And the breath is the vital
\nbridge between the two poles of existence. Talking on this phenomenon
\nof breathing, Osho says: It is not just air coming and going through
\nyour lungs. Yoga says the air is just the outer layer of it. Hidden
\ndeep in that layer is vitality. So breathing has two parts. One: the
\nbody of breathing, made up of oxygen, nitrogen and so on, and, two:
\nthe spirit of breathing, made up of vitality, God himself.<\/p>\n
He says in The Way of Tao: It is like your body is there, and you,
\nyour consciousness, is hidden deep down in your body. The body is a
\nprotection, a vehicle. The body is the visible vehicle for the<\/p>\n
non-visible you. And the same is the case with every breath. The
\nbreath itself is just the outer layer; hidden deep in it is life
\nitself.<\/p>\n
Once you discover that God himself is hidden in breath, you have come
\nto know yourself. That’s why there is so much insistence and so much
\nsearch in yoga, Tao and tantra about breathing. If you simply go on
\nbreathing and thinking that this is just air coming in and going out
\nyou will never be able to penetrate the mystery of it. And you will
\nremain completely oblivious of yourself. Then you will remain rooted
\nin the body. You will never be able to know that which goes beyond the
\nbody, that which is within but yet beyond, that which is hidden in the
\nbody but not obstructed by the body, not limited by the body. A beyond
\nwithin.<\/p>\n
Yoga calls those methods pranayama. The word pranayama means expansion
\nof life. One has to expand life to infinity in each breath. Buddha has
\ncalled his own methods of discovering the innermost core of breath
\nAnapana-Ssati Yoga: the yoga, the science, of incoming and outgoing
\nbreath; and Buddha has said no other yoga is needed. If you can deeply
\nwatch your own breathing, and watch so meditatively that anything that
\nis hidden in the breath does not remain hidden but becomes revealed,
\nyou will come to know all.<\/p>\n
Buddha is reported to have said to his monks: “Sitting, walking,
\nstanding, whatsoever you are doing, go on doing these things, but let
\nyour consciousness be aware of the breath coming in, going out. Go on<\/p>\n
looking at your own breath — one day with the very continuous
\nhammering on the breath, the temple opens.”<\/p>\n
Osho reminds us: The God is hidden in the temple of the breath.
\nSuddenly one day you become aware that it is not just air. If for you
\nit is just air, you have a scientific mind but you don’t have the<\/p>\n
awareness which can reveal the innermost core of it. Then you can
\nanalyse and come to know how much oxygen is needed, how much hydrogen,
\nhow much nitrogen, how much carbon dioxide, and you can go on playing
\nwith the body of the breath — but you missed the innermost real
\nphenomenon.<\/p>\n
That’s why, if a man is dead, you can give him, pump into him, the
\nright proportion of oxygen, but he will not be alive. Unless God
\nbreathes in it, unless it contains the innermost consciousness of the<\/p>\n
whole, it is a dead breath. Oxygen will pass through the lungs —
\nnothing will happen.<\/p>\n
The author travels around the world to facilitate Osho meditation retreats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yoga is the ultimate process of individual feeling one with the whole existence — call it God or Godliness. And the breath is the vital bridge between the two poles of existence. Talking on this phenomenon of breathing, Osho says: It is not just air coming and going through your lungs. Yoga says the air … Continue reading Inner Truth: God is Hidden in the Breath<\/span>