GOSPEL OF RAMAKRISHNA
A devotee: Revered Sir, what is Hatha Yoga? Ramakrishna: Hatha Yoga deals entirely with the physical body. It describes the methods by which the internal or- Hatha Yoga. gans can be purifed and perfect health can be acquired. It teaches how to con- quer the various powers of Prana and the mus- cles, organs and nerves of the body. But in Hatha Yoga the mind must always be concen- trated on the physical body. A Hatha Yogi possesses many powers, such as the power of levitation; but all these powers are only the manifestations of physical Prana. There was a juggler who in the midst of his tricks suddenly turned his tongue upward and drew it back into the post-nasal canal, stopping respiration. Instantly all the activities of his body were sus- pended. People thought that he was dead, so they buried him. For several years he re- mained buried in that state. In some way the grave was opened and he regained conscious- ness. Immediately he began to repeat the same conjuring words with which he had been casting the spell before he lost consciousness. So the practice of Hatha Yoga will bring one control over the body, but it will carry one only so far. Raja Yoga, on the contrary, deals with
274
