Pratyahara () or the 'gathering towards' is the fifth element among the Eight stages of Patanjali's Ashtanga Yoga, as mentioned in his classical work, ''

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The ''Yoga Sutras of Patañjali'' (IAST: Patañjali yoga-sūtra) is a compilation "from a variety of sources" of Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the practice of yoga – 195 sutras (according to Vyasa, Vyāsa and Krishnamacharya) and 196 sut ...

'' composed in the 2nd century BCE. It is also the first stage of the six-branch yoga (''ṣaḍaṅgayoga'') of the Buddhist Kālacakra tantra, where it refers to the withdrawal of the five senses from external objects to be replaced by the mentally created senses of an enlightened

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

. This phase is roughly analogous to the physical isolation (''kāyaviveka'', Tib. ''lus bden'') phase of Guhyasamāja tantra. For Patanjali, it is a bridge between the ''bahiranga'' (external) aspects of yoga namely, yama, niyama,

asana An āsana (Sanskrit: आसन) is a body posture, originally and still a general term for a sitting meditation pose,Verse 46, chapter II, "Patanjali Yoga sutras" by Swami Prabhavananda, published by the Sri Ramakrishna Math p. 111 and late ...

pranayama Pranayama (Sanskrit: प्राणायाम, "Prāṇāyāma") is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In classical yoga, the breath is associated with '' prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the ''prana-shakti'', or life en ...

, and the ''antaranga'' (internal) yoga. Having actualized the pratyahara stage, a practitioner is able to effectively engage into the practice of Samyama. At the stage of pratyahara, the

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...

of the individual is internalized in order that the sensations from the

senses A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the surroundings through the detection of stimuli. Although, in some cultures, five human senses were traditionally identified as su ...

of taste, touch, sight, hearing and smell don't reach their respective centers in the brain and takes the practitioner to the next stages of

Yoga Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...

, namely Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (unification of mind), leading to the recognition (''kaivalyam'') of Purusha which is the aim of Patanjali's Yogic practices.

Etymology

Pratyahara is derived from two

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

words: ' and ', with meaning gathering, and , a preposition meaning towards. Together they mean "checking the outgoing powers of the mind, freeing it from the thraldom of the senses ".

Types of Pratyahara

Withdrawal of senses or Indriya Pratyahara

This involves withdrawal of senses, or sensory inputs into our physical being, coming from our five senses, namely organs creating a sensory overload, and hence hinders collection of the mind, as in Dharana, the next stage of Yoga Yoga and Ayurveda, by David Frawley, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, Delhi, 2004. . Chapter 16: Pratyahara: the Forgotten Limb of Yoga, page 261. One of the most common practices for withdrawal of the senses is bringing the attention inwards towards the breath, observing it without trying to control it, as connection with the external senses and stimuli are all gradually severed. Another method is to concentrate on the point between the eyebrows, the Ajna chakra or third eye. Another common technique is to first reduce physical stimuli, then concentrate on one sense, such as hearing. The mind has a natural tendency to roam between the sensory inputs. In this situation, as there are no longer any other significant sensory inputs, when the mind gets tired of hearing, it is forced to turn inward. Pratyahara may make use of a meditation seat, such as Padmasana (lotus position), combined with Pranayama breath-control, Kumbhaka, and progressively more subtle internal objects of focus as the practitioner becomes more advanced. At the start, the objects are "gross", directly available to sense perception, such as the points of focus ( drishti) used to accompany yoga asana practice, including the space between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, or the navel. More subtle objects may then be selected, such as the chakras, together with their attributes including position, colour, and number of petals.

Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara

Control of our senses requires mastery over the flow of prana, as that is what drives the senses. To stop the scattering of valuable vital energy of the body or

prana In yoga, Ayurveda, and Indian martial arts, prana (, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is sometimes described as origin ...

, we need to seek control over its flow, and harmonize it. This is done through various practices including bringing the entire focus to a single point in the body. These two lead to the subsequent two types of pratyahara, the Control of Action or '

Karma Karma (, from , ; ) is an ancient Indian concept that refers to an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptively called ...

pratyahara', which entails not just control of motor organs, but also right action or work, and

Karma Yoga Karma yoga (), also called Karma marga, is one of the three classical spiritual paths mentioned in the Bhagavad Gita, one based on the "yoga of action", the others being Jnana yoga (path of knowledge) and Bhakti yoga (path of loving devotion ...

, surrender of every action to the divine and performing it as an act of service. This leads to the final form of pratyahara - the Withdrawal of Mind or 'Mano pratyahara', which is practiced by consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is unwholesome, and distracting for the mind such as by withdrawing attention from the senses, and directing it inwards Yoga Sutras Book II.54.

References

External links

Pratyahara
Comments on the Patanjali's Scheme.

Patanjali : les Yoga Sûtras
a ''Yoga Sûtras of Patanjali'' translation by Sylviane Legrand
Pratyahara, fifth limb of Yoga
Bahiranga.com {{Authority control Eight limbs of yoga it:Pratyahara pt:Pratyahara