There is no doubt that breath control is the means for mind

Hear, O seekers of inner stillness, the eternal words of Ramana Maharshi: “There is no doubt that breath control is the means for mind control because the mind, like breath, is a part of air; because the nature of mobility is common to both; because the place of origin is the same for both; and because when one of them is controlled, the other gets controlled.” In these lines he does not speak in riddles but with the clarity of one who has entered the depths of silence. He reveals that the key to the restless mind lies in the humble act of guiding the breath.

The breath is the bridge between body and spirit, between the seen and the unseen. It is subtle yet constant, invisible yet undeniable. When agitated, the breath quickens; when calm, it slows. The mind follows this same rhythm: chaotic when untamed, still when mastered. Maharshi shows us that by directing the current of breath, one guides the current of thought. For both arise from the same source, both share the same mobility, and both are yoked together like twin oxen drawing the cart of life.

This is not new knowledge but ancient truth, preserved by sages across ages. In the yogic traditions of India, the practice of pranayama—the discipline of breath—has long been the pathway to mastery of the mind. The yogis taught that to regulate breath was to purify the channels of energy, to still the waves of thought