The intricate practices of pranayam or breath control do not lead to God-realization. In trying to gain perfect control of the breath, yogis permanently damage their body — the earthen vessel, as Kabir calls it. They believe that they have overcome their passions and desires and subdued their mind; but it is their mind that continues to rob them of their spiritual wealth, and they remain unaware both of the thief and of his tricks. They look at the creation through the lower chakras — the centers below the eye center — and fail to realize that the one whom they take to be the Supreme Being is none other than the lord of the three worlds, the universal mind. Kabir says that in the end the practitioners of breath control realize that the mind whom they took to be a friend is indeed an enemy who leads the soul into the circle of birth and death.

By constantly stuffing and emptying,
The yogis have broken
The earthen vessel of their body,
But they know not
Who robs them of their wealth.

One thief robs the entire world,
But few know
Who that thief is.

The deluded yogis take the thief
To be the guardian
Of the earth, the heavens
And the underworlds;
They look upon him as the Lord.

They all become dead
Like stones;
Their efforts go to waste
Like attempts to draw
A picture in the air;
And the one whose friendship
All their life
They tried to win,
Proves in the end
To be their foe.

Bijak, Ramaini 59
Chadhat chadhāvat bhandhar phori