uttarāṅga
Devanāgarī: उत्तराङ्ग Translation: descent; last part; the last sound of combined consonants Opposite words:pūrvāṅga Related concepts:vinyāsakrama, pradhāna, uttaraAppears in
Click here for complete Saṃskṛta Index
Commentaries around
“Any model for Meditation presented in this Tradition will have:
1. Preliminaries.
2. Peak.
3. Descent.”
“The preliminaries are very important,
especially in isolating one object for meditation.”
“How ineffective one’s meditation will be if one thinks he or she can start at the peak.”
“In Meditation, one needs time for the preliminaries;
then the actual meditation may be short because the mind is ready.”
“From Pūrva Aṅga,
one goes into a state of Dhyāna,
and then must come out.
One must have the means to come out of that state.”
“The length of time for each step of the meditation model is variable.
However, the preparation is linked to the exact character and evolution of Dhyāna.”
– TKV Desikachar Madras December 19th 1988
“We start our practice where we are
and look toward a certain goal.
Then we choose the steps that will
lead us toward realising that goal
and will gradually bring us back
into our everyday life, but our
daily practice does not return us
to the exact place we started.
The practice has changed us.”
– TKV Desikachar
“One role for a staged descent
within a Prāṇāyāma practice,
in terms of ratio and length,
is to offer a receptive space to
reveal any side effects of effort.
Here it can be actually more
difficult to step down gradually
in stages rather than just stopping.
Thus a subtle mirror in the descent
can reveal any stress in the ascent.”
– 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers