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by cruel, heartless, selfish, irreligious or quarrelsome men, also those dedicated to false gods and goddesses, and resort to those associated with the names of holy Tirthamkaras and saints. The abode of wild beasts, venomous reptiles, and the like must also be avoided as far as possible, for similar reasons.
The next thing to be known is prāņāyāma, which means the controlling of breath, and, through it, of the vital force. Prāņāyāma is very useful for bringing the senses and mind speedily under control, and consists in three steps, pūraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention) and rechaka (exhalation). Pūraka signifies taking a full breath, kumbhaka, holding it in the region of the navel, and rechaka, exhaling it slowly and evenly. Straining of every kind is to be avoided in practising ascetic tapas (austerities), and this is so especially with regard to prāņāyāma which might cause any amount of injury to the system if practised rashly, or without due care and caution.
It might be pointed out here that the practising of prāņāyāma is enjoined only in the initial stages of asceticism, when it serves as a useful ally for subduing the senses and mind; it is actually forbidden in the advanced stages of meditation, on the ground that it then interferes with the fixity of dhyāna on its object.
When sufficient proficiency is acquired in the practising of prāņāyāma, the next thing to do is to hold the mind in the region of the lotus of the heart (the cardiac plexus). The holding of the mind on a point, called pratyāhāra, becomes easy with this practice. There are ten places in the body for mental concentration, viz., (i) the two eyes, (ii) the two ears, (iii) the foremost point of the nose, (iv) forehead, (v) mouth, (vi) navel, (vii) the upper part of the forehead, (viii) the heart, (ix) the palate, and (x) the place between the two eye-brows.
Pratyāhāra accompanied by meditation is called dhāranã, which really means the establishing of the object of meditation in the mind. This being accomplished, dhyāna becomes steady and may be kept up for any length of time undisturbed. Some kind of meditation, no doubt, is implied in every form of thinking, but the difference between the perfect dhyāna of the saint and the thought-activity of the ordinary
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