N. C. Paul

N. C. Paul (1829–1880) was a 19th-century Bengali physician and scientist. He described studies of physiologic changes in persons performing yoga, 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 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 (today Varanasi) he had a "commanding view of yogic life." He defines yoga "as nothing more than prolonged sleep". The treatise contains case studies of people who went into prolonged hibernation. Paul is the first to indicate that yoga induces hypercapnia.

Publication

N. C. Paul: Treatise on Yoga Philosophy. E. J. Lazarus and Co., Medical Hall Press, 1882