N. C. Paul (1829-1880) was a 19th-century
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
i physician and scientist. He described studies of
physiologic changes in persons performing
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consci ...
and introduced yoga to a wider Western audience.
Biography
Born Nobin Chunder Pal (also transcribed as Navina Chandra Pal, Nobin Chundra Pal, and Navina Candra Pala) he anglicized his name. Paul enrolled at the
Bengal Medical College at
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
and graduated in 1841;
his name is often followed by G.B.M.C. to designate him as a graduate of the institution. Transferred to
Benares
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tra ...
(today Varanasi) he had a "commanding view of yogic life."
[ As a result of his observations and studies, he published ''Treatise on Yoga Philosophy'', its first edition published in London in 1851][ (or 1850)][ and a second edition in 1882.
]
''Yoga Philosophy''
Paul's book has been viewed as perhaps the first attempt to link yoga and modern scientific medicine.[N. C. Paul, 1882, page 26] The treatise contains case studies of people who went into prolonged hibernation. Paul is the first to indicate that yoga induces hypercapnia
Hypercapnia (from the Greek ''hyper'' = "above" or "too much" and ''kapnos'' = "smoke"), also known as hypercarbia and CO2 retention, is a condition of abnormally elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the blood. Carbon dioxide is a gaseous pro ...
.[ He describes yoga positions and exercises for Raja and Hatha yoga and their benefits.
The world traveler and ]theosophist
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion ...
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 187 ...
came across the book, erroneously believing the author to be an English physician. She noted that one of his yoga acquaintances was Captain Seymour, an Englishman who became a yogi. She observed that "(t)he book produced a sensation among the representatives of medicine in India, and a lively polemic between Anglo-Indian and native journalists."
Publication
*N. C. Paul: ''Treatise on Yoga Philosophy''. E. J. Lazarus and Co., Medical Hall Press, 188
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, N. C.
19th-century Indian medical doctors
Bengali scientists
Medical doctors from Kolkata
Modern yoga pioneers