2.51 · The Fourth

The fourth goes beyond the range of outer and inner.

Word by word

bāhya-ābhyantara

outer and inner

viṣaya

range, sphere

ākṣepī

going beyond

caturthaḥ

the fourth

Where it fits

A fourth breath control, beyond the outer and inner of 2.50. Vyāsa contrasts it with the third: the held breath stops in a single effort, while the fourth comes as the stages are mastered in order (Woods p. 195). The fruits of breath control follow in 2.52–2.53.

Reading

Vyāsa draws the line between this fourth breath control and the third of 2.50. The held breath stops in a single effort. The fourth comes gradually, as the stages observed in 2.50 are mastered one by one. Scholars and teachers differ on exactly what is meant, but most describe a quiet suspension of breath that arises on its own. It isn't something you can grab; it comes when the managing stops.

Vyāsa

“The outer range, measured by place, time and number, is gone beyond; so too the inner range, measured the same way. Both ways, [the breath] is long and subtle. Following on these, as the stages are mastered one by one, the flow of both stops: this is the fourth breath control.”

Vyāsa's Yoga-bhāṣya, the oldest commentary. New translation from the Sanskrit, with reference to Woods (1914), p. 195.

Practice

After any breathing practice today, stop all technique and simply sit. Notice whether the breath grows so quiet you can barely feel it. Don't chase it.

A question to sit with

What arises when you stop managing?

Where commentators disagree

Does the fourth breath control 'go beyond' outer and inner, or attend to them?

Vyāsa

The fourth comes after the outer and inner ranges have been mastered stage by stage and left behind. The third is a single sudden stop; the fourth is reached gradually. (Woods 1914, p. 195)

Vācaspati Miśra

He reads the key word as 'cast down': the outer and inner ranges are set aside because practice has mastered them. (Woods 1914, p. 195)

Bhoja

The fourth is a stillness that keeps both spheres in view: the outer, up to twelve finger-breadths from the nose, and the inner, the heart, the navel and so on. The third stops suddenly, like water on a hot stone, without regard to them. (Tatya 1885, p. 89; Mitra 1883, wisdomlib on 2.51)

Key ideas

prāṇāyāma (breath control)