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Chapter XVI: Yogi Spiritual Breathing1747
Chapter XVI: Yogi Spiritual Breathing
The Yogis not only bring about desired mental qualities and properties
by will-power coupled with rhythmic breathing, but they also develop
spiritual faculties, or rather aid in their unfoldment, in the same way. The
Oriental philosophies teach that man has many faculties which are at present
in a dormant state, but which will become unfolded as the race progresses.
They also teach that man, by the proper effort of the will, aided by favorable
conditions, may aid in the unfoldment of these spiritual faculties, and
develop them much sooner than in the ordinary process of evolution. In
other words, one may even now develop spiritual powers of consciousness
which will not become the common property of the race until after long ages
of gradual development under the law of evolution. In all of the exercises
directed toward this end, rhythmic breathing plays an important part. There
is of course no mystic property in the breath itself which produces such
wonderful results, but the rhythm produced by the Yogi breath is such as to
bring the whole system, including the brain, under perfect control, and in
perfect harmony, and by this means, the most perfect condition is obtained
for the unfoldment of these latent faculties.
In this work we cannot go deeply into the philosophy of the East regarding
spiritual development, because this subject would require volumes to cover