Dear All, I pray to the Lord and Masters to lead us to a deeper understanding of way to lead our lives. During the course of this study we will try to understand what is Yoga, practice of yoga and yogic life. Our source of knowledge will be Patanjali yoga sutras, Bhagavad Geeta and the ever fresh wisdom passed to us through a lineage of Himalayan masters. Once such great master who gave the world matchless understanding of Patanjali yoga sutras is Master Djwal Khul through telepathic teachings to Alice A Bailey and lectures of Master EK. I would request you to google these great personalities. I will try to take you people through Yoga Sutras, please bear with my limited knowledge and don't judge the Masters due to my frailties. May we be lead from unreal to real, May we be lead from darkness to light, May we be lead from mortality to immortality.
Dear friends, let us foray into the world of Yoga Sutras
Maharishi Patanjali gave us Sutras on Yoga. This is also known as Astanga Yoga or Raja Yoga
In short the first part explains us our true nature and how we create complications due to ignorance of how to use the given apparatus. The purpose of this part is to introduce our gross mind to our true selves.
Once we understand our true self we need to begin our journey into inner realms here comes the second part where we provide knowledge of path to be followed. Third part deals with various powers that come naturally during the course of this journey this is intended to check whether we are progressing in the correct path or not however we are cautioned not to get struck to these powers and move towards the final destination.
Fourth part describes the Glory of our destination and various levels of self realization.
Request you all to research on the path we are going to traverse with child like enthusiasm. We resume our journey tomorrow with the first Sutra.
I have a request to all of you, please allow me to take you through meaning of a sutra and once I am done I leave the forum open for discussion, that way there will be continuity of thought and we get a chance to express ourselves. Believe me there is a scientific process involved and each sutra builds on the previous one and sometime there could be some challenges to our belief system since in order to learn we may have to unlearn and approach with an open mind. We will base our learnings strictly in accordance to Shastras and not on our prejudices. Hope that is acceptable to all.
Adaha yoganushashanam.
Meaning, now the knowledge of yogavidya is being given.
Yogic way of life is the goal of these aphorisms.
As we study the subsequent aphorisms we will understand this knowledge.
Usually our mind identifies itself was the vagaries of the sense organs. Mind loses its true state due to this identification to external stimuli.
This needs to change in us our mind should be in its true state 24 x 7 irrespective of what we do.
Yoga doesn't mean we shun work, it means living in the present eternally and doing the work without losing our true state. Yoga is not for lazy bugs, it is a dynamic state where we are fully conscious of what we are doing and our energies get channelized to the work on hand. Geetha says, sarvadha vartamano pi sa yogi.
To understand the above sentence, try to recollect all the people you might have met today and analyze that during the course of your interaction with them you would have interacted with each of them according to your perception about them. Did you ever realize that every person has left a stamp on you and your mind has kept on changing with each person during the course of the day. This leaves us exhausted, we are carrying so many perceptions although the actual persons might have left us, we still ponder about what the other person told us, whether it was right or wrong.
Yoga is a change in our attitude towards life. We need to understand who we are and with that constant understanding interact with the world. That way we don't change according to the person we interact with.
Sounds tough and confusion, right? That is because we have long been accustomed to false identification and do not realize who we truly are. Are we the body? Are we the Prana or the life force? Are we the mind? Are we the intellect? What is our true nature.
Ponder on this, right now you are looking at your mobile. Who is seeing this mobile? Is it your eyes? No, since eyes are only an instruments given to you. Have you ever realized that you will be able to walk in your bedroom in the night in total darkness, totally aware of where the switch is and can carefully avoid your legs hitting corners of your bed. Now coming back to eyes, if eyes can see on their own then why can't a dead man see? So certainly there is someone else that is seeing through eyes. Who can that be? Is that the Prana that sees? That being the case we can still see when we behold a breath taking view. So there is someone else that see. Who is that? Can that be the mind? But in that case a mentally challenged person also sees, also we refer to mind as my mind. So even mind is different from who we are else we would not refer to it as my mind. So when you say, I see, who is actually seeing? There is some process that is taking place and we are calling it seeing. So in that process we are losing track of who is seeing actually and getting involved in what is being seen. We further complicate this process of seeing with our perception of the object and our past association with that object. With every change in object we get influenced thus creating a headache to us.
Seeing is just an example, same can be applied to other senses like hearing, taste, smell, touch. Through the faculty of 5 sense organs called as gyanendriya and 5 organs of action like hands, legs, excretion, procreation, Speech called karmendriyas we express ourselves in our worldly interaction.
Adishankara puts this beautifully in Nirvana Shatakam:
"Na cha Prana sangyo na vai pancha vayuh
Na va saptadhatur na va panchakosha
Na vakpanipadam na chopasthapayu
Chidananda roopah sivoham sivoham.
One who sees an object cannot be that object. One who is aware of a certain thing is different from that thing. Therefore, I, who am aware of Prana, am not that Prana.
Here Prana means 5 vital airs (Prana, Apana, vyana,Udana,Samana) we will understand these some other time.
Our physical body has 7 material components (sapta dhatuh): skin,flesh,fat,blood,muscle,bone and marrow.
We are expressed in 5 sheaths(pancha kosha) Food sheath i.e physical body, Vital air sheath or energy body, mental sheath, intellectual sheath, bliss sheath also known as causal body which contains all vasanas that prompt jeeva to act.
We have 5 organs of action also known as karmendriyas.
All the above together (panchapranas,saptha dhatus,pancha kosha and karmendriyas) constitute the physical body of the Jeeva. All these are negated as not-self in the verse, as it is something that the inner self, the pure consciousness sees or is aware of.
Yoga teaches us a new outlook through which we identify with our true unchanging eternal selves and simplifies this process.
We will get there in a while. It also teaches us purpose of these equipments and right way to use them.
For the purpose of this Sutra it is enough if we understand that there is a possible state of existence where we can identify to our true self and still can carry on our daily interactions ensuring our dynamic presence. Yoga is going to take us there. Following the instructions given by Patanjali we can easily reach there. When the destination is known, the way to reach that destination is provided and we are also provided with landmarks to reach the destination, our journey becomes easier. Caveat is Master will provide all these yet it is through our self effort the journey would be possible.
Just like using IRCTC and booking a ticket to Kanyakumari, choosing the train, taking a look at schedule and various stations, paying money online, purchasing the ticket does not ensure that you are at Kanyakumari unless you boarded the train and ensured that you undertook the journey and actually reached the destination, similarly we studying all the instructions and intellectually understanding those wouldn't mean we have achieved Yoga. Having said that understanding the bigger picture through this study and embarking the journey by following the instructions will alone lead us to Yoga.
These instructions are required else our mind indulges in its vagaries, sense would have their own demands and entire being is in a state of disorder.
Yoga means unity. It doesn't however mean making different things alike. It means streamlining different components to act in unison for one purpose.
I may be excused for introducing new terms with the first aphorism. Patanjali indeed has simplified the subject for us and it doesn't matter if we don't even want to delve deep into technicalities. Please don't be awed and think this is a very difficult subject. It may be due to my inefficiency that the topic could have become difficult.
We will get to define what is Yoga as per Patanjali with the next aphorism.
I now leave the forum open for discussion, Q & A if any.
Today we will try to understand the meaning of: Yoga, Yogic Practice and Yogic life. They seem to be same yet according to our Shastras they aren't.
Yogic Practice has been dealt by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras. We have been provided step by step instructions.
His first aphorism is " Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodaha" and Yogic practice to achieve the same has 8 parts namely: Yama, Niyama,Asana,Pranayama,Pratyahara,Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. The Yogic Practice comprises of instructions given for the 8 parts or limbs. None among them in isolation can be termed as complete practice. Also practicing one limb out of 8 doesn't lead one towards Yogic Life and there by to culmination into yoga. So we should not conclude that if we are practicing an asana for 1 hour a day or if we are doing pranayama for 30 minutes a day or doing dhyana for an hour a day, we are into a yogic practice. It may be a part of yogic practice but not the whole. Yoga is an attitude it is not an achievement as per Master EK.
When a person indulges in Yogic practice then it reflects in his daily interaction with People around, it shows in his work. The attitude of the person towards life and people around changes. When these changes take place our mental agitations automatically get dissolved. Anger, frustration, misunderstanding, misbehavior,carelessness,inefficiency, laziness etc get dissolved in the person, when this change happens then it indicates that person is proceeding in right direction with his Yogic Practice, this is done 24x7 and not just for a few hours a day. Complete change in attitude towards universality indicates that the person is advancing towards Yogic life. This is Yoga Vidya.
In Bhagavad Geetha one can find both Yogic Practice and Yogic life.
Hence we are going to see an amalgamation of both Bhagavad Geetha with Patanjali Yoga Sutras as we traverse the path.
The understanding of these terms is very important since it is commonly found that when there is no strong foundation the building may collapse. Similarly indulging in some yogic practice without the holistic approach could result in pitfall. When we indulge in a yogic practice our senses become subtler and they are then like a double edged knife. Unless there is proper discipline the knife can result in cutting our own finger. Subtler senses mean we can attract good or bad equally faster and resultant action has a bigger impact.
Also we the students must understand the difference between discipline and control. While discipline comes with holistic understanding of the approach and end result, control or suppression can lead to unwarranted diseases on a longer run. Discipline is at a human level while control is at a veterinary level.
Coming back to Yogic practice and Yogic life, to cite an example; Suppose you took sankalp to perform pooja at 6 am every day. Then you are to wake up, take bath, arrange for pooja articles, provide yourself a mattress to sit, keep the book of hymn you want to chant and perform pooja. When you start, you would find that you have missed some preparation, you call your spouse for help if there is no response you would get angry, during your pooja if you get a phone call you would curse either your self or the person who called, if milkman rings calling bell you feel disturbed. At times you are unable to wakeup and hence can't start pooja at 6.
When a person indulges in practice of 8 limbs of yoga, slowly an order sets in, planning and execution improves, anger and frustration on facing a hurdle in the form of response from spouse or phone call or door bell goes away. This shows that you are progressing in Yogic practice. When a wider acceptance and understanding of God's manifestation in all living and non living sinks in, an order is restored in life, one is able to see existence as lord's creation, when a person lives in Antaryami tatwa, able to speak and hear to antaryami in others then that is Yogic life.
Yoga is unison in life, bringing perfect order. Just like the creator made this entire creation with perfect planning and execution. Our journey should be towards that objective. The Practice of Yoga is not for 1 hour a day, it is reflected 24 hours in daily life. If someone asks till which duration or timeline this needs to be practiced then the answer is it is for life time. This is just like taking bath, if someone asks till what length of time one needs to bath daily, the answer is simple- Daily. Else one would become unclean. Similarly Yogic practice is for life time hence one needs to follow instructions as given in Yoga sutras and all 8 limbs are essential without a limb it can't be complete and one limb is not whole.
Here we will be understanding how our mind works and also to make it work the right way. We will undergo a process of rectification and simplification. Our wires are currently either connected wrongly or have got entangled, we will understand the right connections.
Yoga is like an induction process, when the iron particle is continuously rubbed with a magnet there is a realignment internally within the iron particle and it becomes a magnet. Similarly when we follow the instructions as given be Patanjali and continuously repeatedly practice those a realignment happens internally within us culminating into ultimate unison.
Many concepts or terms could either be new to us or we have a different notion, in order to reap the full benefit of instructions by Patanjali, let our minds be like a parachute (it works only when it is open :))
"Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodaha".
Yoga means Union,
Chitta means mind including sense organs,
Vritti means behavior,
Nirodaha means restraint.
This union is achieved through subjugation of the psychic nature and the restraint of mind.
Through the instructions given by Patanjali, this restraint is possible. Here again it needs to be emphasized that we are talking about the discipline and not controlling or suppressing. The lower nature of mind if suppressed or controlled can lead to diseases like BP etc. Moreover the forceful suppression doesn't eliminate the seed, the lower tendencies flourish the moment condition for germination are favorable. Just like the grass dries during summer and not a blade of grass is visible, to think that grass is gone would be foolish since the moment rainy season sets in the grass grows again. Similarly suppose someone want to control anger and his boss bangs him and he is helpless, in such a state for us to think he has controlled his anger would be incorrect, since he can't be angry on his boss the anger didn't spring up, it is still inherent in him and if an opportunity comes then the same sprouts in front of his subordinates.
Yoga is a change in attitude towards life. Restraining the behavior through modification of mind and senses is the goal of Yogic Practice.
It should not be understood as control of mind. It is disciplining the mind and sense organs. It is bringing the mind and heart together.
A simpler example to understand this would be, let us imagine a beautiful rose flower is in front of our eyes. Yoga doesn't mean that we should not see the rose or appreciate its beauty. Let us analyze the process that happens when mind through the sense organ eye receives the image of rose, its can behold the beauty of the rose and appreciate the creation and that is perfectly acceptable, else Lord would not have done this creation, similarly he would not have given us eyes unless he wanted us to see, so up till now these is neither sin nor any correction required. However after seeing the rose here comes the discipline part, the restraint is required from further thoughts or mental vagaries like wanting to possess that rose or thought of your rose looking better that your neighbor's or if you had a past association if getting slapped by a girl when you wanted to profess your love by gifting a rose then the emotion of heartbreak overwhelming you at the sight of a rose.
If we look carefully only you and rose are God's creations but rest of the process in above examples are your own thoughts.
Yoga is restraining or disciplining the mind when it gets modified while interacting with the external world through the faculty of senses.
Master Patanjali describes the state of existence of a person who is successful at Chitta Vritti Nirodaha as
" tatha drasthu swarupe awasthanam"
Meaning when Chitta Vritti Nirodaha has been accomplished, the Yogi knows himself as he is in reality.
He sees the self. Realizes the true nature of the soul. Identifies himself with the inner reality, achieves spiritual consciousness and awakens to recognition of God within.
In the above 3 verses the method and Goal are described clearly and path prepared for more detailed instructions to follow.
Verse-4: "Vritti Sarupyam itaratra"
This describes the state when Chitta Vritti Nirodaha hasn't happened. It means up till now the inner man has identified himself with mental vagaries in conjunction with senses. In the example of rose we have seen how mind wanders seeing the rose either through its past association or with desire to possess it and loses its true state of happiness at the very sight of rose.
Same can be seen with another example, suppose we sat of dinner, at the time of partaking the food we have been instructed by Shastras that Annam is verily Brahman and hence we must take food with devotional attitude. But if during eating we start thinking about office work or watch TV serial the very attitude required is lost because with our thought process we bring in emotions suppose the TV serial is about a murder mystery then same emotions flow through us. We forget what we are eating or why we are eating and the devotional attitude required, this precisely happens to those who do not have Chitta Vritti Nirodaha. The person gets intertwined to his senses and loses his true self.
We will be in the course of further instructions understanding more about psychology in true sense. We will understand that Yoga is a process of simplification of our self created complications. We will know that it is just not for ascetics sitting in Himalayas and we don't need to become sanyasis. We continue living in this material world and undergo process of rectification in our daily course of interactions. A self realized person can exist in this very society.
We will also understand certain practices and why we are asked to do so by shastras. That is to say that my endeavor is not only to take you through true meaning of yoga sutras but also to introduce you to our traditions and Vedic knowledge.
Coming back to the example of attitude towards food, why we are to adopt a devotional attitude while taking food? The likely explanation we get out of our tradition is we have physical body also known as Annamaya Kosha or the food sheath which is matter and food is known as dravya or provider of energy. When we eat food with pious thoughts these thoughts energize the food which is consumed by our body and the same energy gets distributed through out our body and keeps us healthy. If food is taken when in a hurry, tension, agitation, anger or other emotion then these effect the food too and unknowingly we produce negative energy and same is distributed through out the body leading to disease, stress and agitation. This is how a person not in the path of yoga acts.
A Yogi rectifies him once he knows the pitfalls of food taken without proper attitude, this knowledge helps him in disciplining himself and there is no need of external pressure or control. There is no suppression there is only internal expansion.
Similarly Yogi's attitude changes because he knows that he needs food to survive and hence he needs to eat. Since he needs to eat he prepares food that is tasty, he doesn't prepare what is not tasty, he is able to take care because his mind is with him during the process of food preparation. It is not like the other way that we generally indulge, i.e we want to eat more because the food is tasty and for us the taste of food is deciding factor about what to eat. But at the time of preparation of food our mind is at office or TV serial and thereby spoiling the food and then arguing over how badly the food was prepared and finally ending in a fight.
Clarity emerges in our lives when we understand priorities and why we are doing something. Hence Patanjali has in his 4 sutras shown us a trailer of what is Yoga, what needs to be done, what happens when mind is used correctly and what happens when the same indulges with senses without discipline.
Ponder on the above as we prepare for further set of instructions.
We will get to know more about Vritti in the coming aphorism. Patanjali classifies Vrittis to be of 5 types. You get the understanding as given in Shastras
For the time being we can say behavior or modification of mind when it comes on contact with sense organs in a way that is not its true nature.
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