Carpe Diem #707, Pranayana (breath control)

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

We are busy with exploring the Bhagavad Gita to find (maybe) "peace of mind", which is the leading theme this CDHK month. And today we have another nice prompt I think and I think this prompt is essential for coming to peace with yourself and finding the peace of mind which we are looking for through reading the Bhagavad Gita.

Today our prompt is Pranayana (breath control). I don't know if you are familiar with yoga or meditation or something else to focus your heart and mind, but I think breathing is an important way to find peace of mind.
As I look at myself than there are sometimes nights in which I sleep bad, but as I try to focus my mind and heart on my breathing than I mostly fall a sleep finally. Is that what Pranayana means? Let us look at the Bhagavad Gita and see what is said about this ...

[...] Thus, always keeping the mind balanced, the Yogi, with the mind controlled, attains to the peace abiding in Me, which culminates in liberation.
When the perfectly controlled mind rests in the Self only, free from longing for the objects of desire, then it is said: “He is united.”
As a lamp placed in a windless spot does not flicker—to such is compared the Yogi of controlled mind, practicing Yoga in the Self (or absorbed in the Yoga of the Self).
Little by little let him attain to quietude by the intellect held firmly; having made the mind establish itself in the Self, let him not think of anything.
From whatever cause the restless, unsteady mind wanders away, from that let him restrain it and bring it under the control of the Self alone.
Supreme bliss verily comes to this Yogi whose mind is quite peaceful, whose passion is quieted, who has become Brahman, and who is free from sin.
With the mind harmonized by Yoga he sees the Self abiding in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere.
He who, full of faith and with his inner self merged in Me, worships Me, he is deemed by Me to be the most devout. [...] (Taken from the 6th chapter from the Bhagavad Gita)

In this quote we can read how one can find peace of mind by concentrating, meditating and contemplating by breath control. In this quote we also can read an idea which we can find in several other religions and philosophies "only the just, free from sin, will enter Atnan", is what it saids. This is very similar to the Christian and Muslim ideas. Again we see a connection with the idea, hypothetically seen, that Christianity and Islam have derived from Hinduism, the oldest know religion. Can it be real? I don't know, but what I know is that I have taken this Pranayana with me as I started meditating a long time ago. And it has brought me joy and peace and happiness ...

with faithfulness
monks resonating their mantra
for the Boddhisatva

dedicated
to the doctrine of emptiness
the monks keep silent

© Chèvrefeuille

These haiku are more related to Buddhism than to Hinduism, but these religions have a lot in common, so I thought I could use these haiku for this episode.

This episode is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until April 18th at noon (CET). I will try to post our next episode, wisdom, later on.
PS. I can't give my word that I will be on time tomorrow, because than I will be busy with our first Kukai contest.