Y'LA.NG Y'LANG. See LUANG Inn co.
Plusia gamma, a beautiful species of moth (q.v.) common in Britain and throughout great part of Europe, about an inch in entire length, without reckoning the antenna:, which are not quite half an inch. The color is lilac, variegated with brown, the upper wings beautifully marbled, with a shining mark nearly in the form of the let terY, or of the Greek y (gamma),whence the names. The lower wings are dirty white, with a broad smoky border, and a white fringe spotted with black. This moth flies about during the day in summer and autumn. It is very swift of flight. It lays its eggs on the under side of leaves. The caterpillar is slightly hairy, green with a yellow line along each sidc,and five white ones down the back. It feeds on the leaves of a great variety of plants, as peas, beans, turnips, cabbages, hemp, clover, oats, and other grasses. It some times ravages gardens, but more in France than in Britain.
YOGA (from the Sanskrit yuj, join; kindred to the Lat. Gr. Gothic, flak; hence junction, and figuratively, "concentration, religious or abstract contemplation") is the Name of one of the two divisions of the Slukhya philosophy of the Hindus. See SINE1IYA. While the first of these divisions, the Sankhya proper, is chiefly concerned in teaching the tattwas, or principles of creation, and the successive development of the latter, the main object of the Yoga is to establish the doctrine a a Supreme Being, and 10 teach the means by which the human soul may become permanently united with it; and since the Silukliya proper is silent on the creation of the world by a Supreme Being— whence it was charged, though unjustly, by its opponents, with being atheistical—the Yoga,which is called theistical, is considered to be its complement. According to Patan jali, the reputed author of this system, the term Yoga means " the hindering of the modifi cations of thinking;" and by such modifications, which, he says, may be accompanied with afflictions, or be free from them, he understands "the three kinds of evidence—viz.., perception, inference, and testimony—misconception or incorrect ascertainment, fancy, sleep, and recollection." The "hindering of these modifications" is, according to him, effected either by a repeated effort to keep the mind in its unmodified state, or by dis passion, which is the consciousness of having overcome all desires for objects that are seen (on earth) or are heard of (in Scripture)." Dispassion is conducive to meditation; this, again, is of different kinds, and is attained either "impetuously"—in adopting vari ous transcendent methods—or "by a devoted reliance on IsIteara, the Lord." This Lord, or Supreme Being, Patanjali then defines as "a particular Purusha, or spirit, who is untouched by afflictions, works, the result of works, or deserts; in whom the germ of omniscience reaches its extreme limit; who is the preceptor of even the first, because lic.is not limited by time; and whose appellation is Om, the term of glory." This word is to be muttered, and its sense is to be reflected upon, for " from it comes the knowl edge of Isiwara, and the prevention of " the obstacles" which impede Yoga. These ob stacles, Patanjali says, are " illness, apathy, doubt, listlessness about the accomplishment of meditation, want of exertion, attachment to worldly objects, erroneous perception, failure to attain any stage of meditation, or inability to continue in the state of medita ting when it has been reached." There are several other methods to prevent these ob stacles from distracting the mind, and impeding its steadiness. One, for instance, con sists in pondering over one single accepted truth; another in "practicing benevolence, tenderness, complacency, and disregard toward all objects iu possession of happiness or 1 grief, virtue or vice ;" another, "in forcibly expelling or retaining the breath;' another, in " dwelling on knowledge that presents itself in dream or sleep;" etc. When all these modifications have disappeared, the mind becomes free from " the tingeing" of the ex terior world, as the pure crystal is free from the color that seems to belong to it, when a colored substance is seen athwart it. After having described the various modes in sibiel: the mind may appear changed into the likeness of what it ponders, the author of thix system then proceeds to explain the practical Yoga, by which "concentration" may be attained. It comprises, according to him, mortification, the uttering of certain hymns, and a devoted reliance on the Lord. Through it meditation is established, and affliction* are got rid of. By afflictions, again, he understands ignorance, egotism, affection, aver sion, and tenacity of life; which terms are then the subject of an especial investigation into the nature of what is to begot rid of, of what is not desired to be got rid of, of what. is constituted by the cause, and of what is the constitutive cause.—There arc eight means or stages subservient to the attainment of concentration—viz., forbearance (yanta), religious observance (niyama), postures (dsana), regulation of the breath (prknraytima), re straint of the senses of the mind (dhtiran' It), contemplation (dhylina), and profound meditation first stage, forbearance (lama), consists in not doing injury to living beings, veracity, avoidance of theft, chastity, and non-acceptance of gifts; they are the universal great duty.—The second stage, religious observance (nyania), comprises purity—external as well as internal—contentment, austerity, muttering of the Vedic hymns, and devoted reliance on the Lord.—The third stage of Yogapostures (ksana), is defined by Patanjali, as " that which is steady and comfortable" at the same time. The commentators mention several varieties of such postures. According to an interesting treatise on the Yoga philosophy by Navinachandrapfila, one of these, called Siddluisana, is practiced by placing the left heel under the anus, and the right heel in front of the geni tals, by fixing the sight upon the space between the eyebrows, and, while in this motion less attitude, meditating upon the mysterious syllable Om (q.v.). Of the posture called Fatima sana the same treatise says, that it consists in placing the left foot upon the right thigh, and the right foot upon the left thigh, in holding with the right hand the right great toe, and with the left hand the left great toe, the hands coming from behind the back and crossing each other; while the chin rests on the interclavicular space, and the sight is fixed on the tip of the nose. When the command of such postures is attained, Patanjali says, the Yogin does not suffer either from cold or heat, hunger or thirst, or similar afflictions. The fourth stage, regulation of the breath (pran'clydma), is threefold, according as it concerns exhalation or inhalation, or becomes tantamount to suspension of the breath, the latter also being termed kumbhaka (from kumbha, a jar), because "the vital spirits then are as motionless as water is in a jar." Through such a regulation of the breath, the obscuration of the pure quality of the mind is removed, and the latter be comes fit for acts of attention. Navinachandraprila describes different processes of the Prilnayilma as selected from different authorities. One, for instance, consists, according to him, in the act of inhaling through the left nostril for 7.6788 seconds, suspending the breath for 30.7152 seconds, and exhaling through the right nostril for 15.3576 seconds; then inhaling through the right nostril for 30.7152 seconds, and exhaling through the right nostril for 7.6788 seconds, suspending the breath for 30.7152 seconds, and exhaling through the left nostril for 15.3576 seconds; lastly, inhaling through the left nostril for 7.6788 seconds, suspending the breath for 30.7152 seconds, and exhaling through the right nostril for 15.3576 seconds. To the kumbhaka, of which there are eight varieties, the same author observes, two processes are indispensable: sitting in one of the postures described, and, by means of an incision in the frmnum lingute, and milking, as it were, the tongue, causing it gradually to become so lengthened as to allow the rims glottidis to be shut by pressing back the epiglottis with the point of the retroverted tongue. Such kumbhakas, it is supposed, produce the most wonderful effects: some of them cure diseases of the head and lungs, dropsy, etc. ; others make proof against all sorts of inflammation and fever ; the eighth or last variety of the humbhaka, espe cially, cures all diseases, purges from all sins, promotes longevity, enlightens the mina, and awakens the soul. — The fifth stage of Yoga, the restraint of the senses (pratykhdra), means the withholding of the senses from their respective objects, and the accommodating them entirely to the nature of the mind. According to an authority quoted by Navinachandrapala, a Yogin's senses are suspended when he can suspend the respiratory movements for 10 minutes and 48 so:muds.—
This stage is preparatory to the sixth, or the steadying of the mind (dlirand), which means the freeing of the mind from any sensual disturbance, by fixing the thoughts on some part of the body, for instance, on the naval or the tip of the nose. This stage, it is supposed, can be accomplished when the Yogin is able to suspend his respiratory movements for 21 minutes and 36 seconds; and, according to Navinachan drayala, it is effected by different processes—muttering the syllable om 144,000 times, fixing the eyes upon the tip of the nose, or the space between the eyebrows, for two hours, swallowing the tongue for two hours, etc. Contemplation (dhyuna), the seventh stage of Yoga, is the fixing of the mind on the one object of knowledge, the Supreme Spirit, so as to exclude all other thoughts. It is practiced in consequence of the " steady ing of the mind," as defined before; and, according to the authority quoted by Navinach an drapi'ila, a man can accomplish it when lie is able to suspend his respiratory movements • for 43 minutes and 12 seconds.—The eighth and last stage of Yoga, profound meditation (lamddlo,), is the perfect absorption of thought into the one object Of meditation, the bupreine Spirit ; it is devoid, as it were, of any definite character, which would suggest a term as applicable to it. In such a state, Navinachandrapilla says, " a Yogin is insen *line to heat and cold, to pleasure and pain; he is insensible to blows and woundS; to the effects of fire; he is the same in prosperity and adversity; he enjoys an ecstatic con. &Lion. He is free from lust, fear, and anger; he is disengaged from all works. He is not affected by honor and dishonor. He looks upon gold, iron, and stones with the same unconcerned eyes. He is the same in love and in hatred; he is the same among friends and enemies." And, according to the authority he quotes, such a state may be attained by a man who can suspend his respiratory movements for 1 hour 26 minutes and 24 seconds. The last three stages are also comprised under one distinctive name, samyania, or "restraining," because it is chiefly on the perfection attained in these three collectively that depend the wonderful results which are promised to a Yogin when he applies them to the contemplation of special objects. Such results are, for instance, a knowledge of the past and future, a knowledge of the sounds of all animals, of all that happened iu one's former births, of the thoughts of others, of the time of one's own death, a knowledge of all that exists iu the different worlds, of stars and planets, of the structure of one's own body, etc. There are especially, however, eight great powers which a Yogin will acquire when properly regulating and applying the the power of shrinking into the form of the minutest atom; that of assuming a gigantic body; that of becoming extremely light; that of becoming extremely heavy; that of un limited reach of the organs (as touching the moon with the tip of a finger); that of irre sistible will; that of obtaining perfect dominion over the inner organs of the body; and that of acquiring mastery over everything. If the Yogin applies sara'yama to the con templation of the smallest divisions of time, and the successive order in which such divisions occur, he obtains a discrimination which enables him to understand the subtle elements, and to see all objects at once. When his intellect has become free from all considerations of self, and his spirit is no longer subject to the result of acts performed, and when both have thus obtained the same degree of purity, the Yogin obtains eternal •iberation.—In the last chapter of his work, Patanjali then shows that these perfections are not always obtained by Yogins in one birth, but that Prakr'iti, or nature (see SIN xnTA), generally in a succession of births, brings to maturity the result obtained in a prior birth. He thus makes nature, not actions, the cause of each effect; meritorious actions merely serving, according to him, to remove the obstructions which, from bad actions, would arise to its regular progress, just as water would 'take its nat ural course after the husbandman, who ,would want to lead it from field to field, had removed the obstructions that lay in its path. After having then taught that the result of actions, in successive births, consists in the recollection of a prior state, and in the obtainment of a special (existence, a special duration of life, and special enjoyments) ; and after having discussed the different influences to which the mind may become subject in its union to different objects, Patanjali winds up with describing the mode in which final liberation gradually takes place. First, he says, when a person has obtained the discrimination conveyed by the Yoga doctrine, all ideas of self—such as, I am different from another—cease. In consequence, thought is turned inward, and this is the commencement of liberation. But, as still recol lections, derived from former existences, sometimes prevail in his mind, they must be abandoned by him in the same way as he has to overcome the afflictions, above specified. When he has succeeded in this, his knowledge will have become so infinite, that but little will reinain„for him to be known. Then the cosmical gun'as, or qualities, too (see SINKrnrA), having accomplished the main object of spirit, will have gradually arrived at the end of their functions, and, as a consequence, matter will become separated from spirit. This is kaivalya, or true liberi,lion, for the mere power of the mind to retain its nature after dissolution has takert.place, is not yet true liberation.— The practical part of the Yoga was admitted into the later vefflinta (q.v.). Its ethical por tion is especially dwelt upon in the celebrated episode of the Mahablifirata (q.v.), the Bkagavadgit4. But the great power it has at all periods exercised on the Hindu mind, is less derived from its philosophical speculations or its moral injunctions, than from the wonderful effects which the Yoga practices are supposed to produce, and from the countenance they give to the favorite tendency of orthodox Hinduism, the performance of austerities. Ii is needless, however, to say that frequently these practices were and are merely a cloak for imposture and hypocrisy, and that the professional Yogins (q.v.), numbers of whom are met with throughout India, are often nothing but lazy mendi cants or jugglers, who, by impressing the vulgar with a belief in their supernatural powers, convert it into a source of an easy livelihood. Such followers of the Yoga pre tend, for instance, to foretell future events; they deal in palmistry, and profess to cure diseases. There are instances, too, where, for a handsome consideration, they allow themselves to be buried for a certain time, so as to exhibit the power of the yoga. Two such cases are related as authentic in the treatise of NavInachandrapala; and it would appear from them, that a human being, after having undergone certain preparations, such as the Yoga prescribes them, may be shut up in a box without either food or drink, for the space of 'a month, or even forty days and nights, and yet remain alive. author of the treatise endeavors, indeed, to show that the rules laid down by the Yoga regarding the mode of respiration, the postures, and the diet of a Yogin, may have been on a careful observation of the nature and habits of hibernating animals; and in support of this view, he enters into a detailed investigation of the effect of the Yoga practices on animal life. If, as it seems, his statements are correct, much of what other wise would be incredible in the accounts given of the performances of Yogins, could bo received as true, because admitting:, of explanation. The system patanjali was taught by him in a little work called yogasutra, which consists of four pildas, or chapters, each comprising a number of sutras (q.v.). The oldest commentary on it is ascribed to a rydsa (q.v.); and this was commented on by Vachaspati-Mis'ra. Of other commentaries, those by Vijudnabhikshu, Bhojadera, and NagojibhatT a, are the most approved of.—For a fuller enumeration of works on the Yoga, see A Contribution toward an Index to the Bibliography of the Indian Philosophical Systems, by Fitzedward Hall (Calcutta, 1859). The first two chapters of the sutras have been translated, with annotations, founded on the commentary of B]iojadeva, by the late J. R. Ballantyne (Allahabad, 1853); and a. paraphrase, but somewhat too free, of the same commentary is contained in the 4th vol. of William Ward's of the History, Literature, and Religion of the Hindus, etc., 4 vols. (London, 1817-20). For a brief account of the system, see also the 1st vol. of H. T. Colebrooke's Miscellaneous Eessays, 2 vols. (London, 1837); and for the practice of the Yoga, A Treatise on the Yoga Philosophy—that referred to above—by N. C. Paul (i.e., Navtnachandraphla), (Benares, 1851).