In India we have a custom whereby we gaze at the sun through a certain hand position every morning. The idea behind this is to make ourselves familiar with the shape of the sun so that we can visualize it with our inner eye during prāṇāyāma. Gazing at a candle, which we call trāṭaka, is something similar, but it is not necessarily linked to prāṇāyāma. Sometimes it is used as an eye exercise. Gazing in prāṇāyāma is directed to the inside rather than to the outside, because in prāṇāyāma we are orienting ourselves to what is within.
