Found in Translation: Attaining Pratyahara

Have you ever wished or at least wondered what would it be like to detach yourself from your senses? It’s like escaping from reality, from the tangible and concrete, and there’s often this urge when you just want to recollect yourself and focus on your insides. Pratyahara is the term you can definitely use for such needs.

According to David Frawley from Yoga International, it means to literally “control of ahara” or “gain mastery over external influences”:

“It has been compared to a turtle withdrawing into its shell—the turtle's shell is the mind and the turtle's limbs are the senses. The term is usually translated as ‘withdrawal from the senses,’ but much more is implied.”

Pratyahara is one of the eight limbs in yoga system, which completes the whole progress for spiritual achievement. From yama (observances), niyama (disciplines), asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (absorption), pratyahara is the least known.

What pratyahara may look like to you may come in the form of being unbothered in spite of sensory bombardment. It’s the state of being inside, completely in touch of your own world regardless of sensory confrontation. Colors, noises, movements from the real world are disregarded. It’s your own inner world you’re looking into.

Think of it as multiple exposure portrait or mirror shots, or abstract photography. If you can, portraits of people on a dreaming or subconscious state may portray the word as well. Those are the visions one might see when he’s in the state of pratyahara.

Update your LomoHome with some pratyahara-inspired portraits and pass on the aesthetic!

2018-08-30 #culture #found-in-translation #pratyahara