Pranayama occupies a very important place in Indian religion. Every Brahmachari, and every Grihastha also, has to practise it three times every day morning, noon and evening in his daily worship during Sandhya. It precedes every religious practice of the Hindus. Before he eats, before he drinks, before he resolves to do anything, Pranayama should be performed first and then the nature of his determination should be clearly enunciated and placed before the mind. The facts of its preceding every effort of the will is a surety that, that effort will be crowned with success and the mind will be directed to bring about the desired result. Here I may refer to the feat of memory, practised by the Hindu Yogins, under the name of concentration on one hundred things. ‘Satavadhana’, wherein one hundred questions are put to a Satavadhani or the concentrator in rapid succession by different persons; some testing the verbal memory of the performer; others testing his power of mental calculation; again some others, trying to test his artistic skill, without giving him, any time for committing the questions to have been put to him. The performer begins, by reproducing the questions, in any order, in respect of those questions, with their answers. This is generally done in three or more turns, in each turn giving only a portion of the answer to each of the questions and then continuing from where he left off in the next turn. If the questions are of the nature of mathematical problems whose solutions are required, he delivers the answers along with the problems, having solved them mentally.
This faculty of concentration of mind is often exhibited not only with reference to the intellect but also with reference to the five senses. A number of bells may be marked differently and the sounds may be allowed to be studied and made mental note of with the mark given to it. A number of objects of similar shape and colour which are likely to cause deception to the eye of an ordinary man may be shown once to the ‘Avadhani’ with their marks. While he is attending to other things, if a bell were to be struck or one of the objects suddenly exhibited before his sight, he will at once mention the mark of the bell or the number of the object shown. Similarly his keenness of touch is also put to the test. Such feats of memory are due to the training which they receive from the daily practice of Pranayama.
By doing proper Sadhana let us attain the goal at once in this body, right now in this very moment. Why not we get that infinite knowledge, infinite bliss, infinite peace and infinite power, now alone?
The solution of the problem is the teaching of Yoga. The whole science ‘Yoga’ has this one end in view,–to enable man to cross the ocean of Samsara, to increase power, to develop knowledge and to attain immortality and eternal bliss.
From the book The Science of Pranayama by Swami Sivananda