Over the last few decades or so, especially in Western countries,
many people have become acquainted with Yoga as an effective
way to become more relaxed and healthy. The primary aim
of Yoga, however, extends beyond the cultivation of physical
and emotional well-being to promote a spiritual vision of
the transcendence of mundane existence through the realisation
of the Divine, the Absolute, the Ultimately Real. This transcendence
can be interpreted as the ultimate healing, as it promises
liberation from the suffering and limitations of our daily
lives and the attainment of our highest potential.
The
term Yoga refers to both the goal and the means of attaining
it. In the first sense Yoga denotes a state of perfect transcendence,
while in the second it represents the vast array of paths,
schools, principles and practices that have been developed
to attain this end.
Yoga
cannot be interpreted as a religion in the conventional
sense if for no other reason than its presence and influence
in all the major religious paths that have their origin
in India: namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism.
Rather than being a formal or institutional response to
the human desire for the Divine, Yoga in its broadest sense
is the working out of this desire in the life of the individual
spiritual seeker.
The
great diversity in the many paths of Yoga cautions us not
to be dogmatic or rigidly sectarian in the way we regard
the ends and means of our spiritual inclinations. The nineteenth
century Bengali saint Sri Ramakrishna is reported to have
often stressed that the fundamental goal of human life is
the realisation of God or the Divine, and that goal can
be approached in an indefinite number of ways: ‘As
many paths as there are aspirants.’
The
impressive complexity that the full breadth of the tradition
of Yoga presents reflects this need for a multitude of ways
to the common goal of liberation. However there are recognisable
emphases in this tradition that are represented by the major
paths of Yoga. The differences between these paths relate
to how Yoga is conceived and how it is to be realised.
For
instance Jnana-yoga, the yoga of knowledge or wisdom, conceives
the Absolute or Brahman as impersonal and aims to realise
the Self as identical with it. In contrast Bhakti-yoga,
the yoga of devotion, upholds the primacy of a personal
God and seeks a union that doesn’t extinguish the
distinction between oneself and God. Different again, Raja-yoga
maintains a fundamental distinction between nature (prakrti)
and the Self (purusa), and it is our ignorance of this distinction
that causes us to be bound to the cycle of rebirth.
The
articles below provide an introduction to the principles
and practices of the major paths of Hindu Yoga, as well
as brief resumes of some of the most influential styles
of Yoga today.
YOGA
Acccording
to the Rg Veda, the cosmos is the maha-yajna (great sacrifice)
in the sense that creation is taken to be an expression
and manifestation of the very being of the supreme Lord.
The sacrificial rituals of Vedic India, which were the earliest
forms of spiritual discipline advocated by the Vedas, can
be interpreted as both acknowledging and perpetuating the
sacrificial creation of the Lord. In the Vedas the term
karma seems to have meant something like ‘ritual act’
and was often used synonymously with yajna or sacrifice.
Karma carried a similar meaning in the Mimamsa philosophy
of Jaimini, and in the Puranas the term was associated with
actions such as daily worship, religious observances and
fasting. However with the early Upanisads there came already
the ideal of a more inward and meditative recognition of
the cosmic source, and Vedic sacrificial ritualism was internalised
and transformed into a kind of inner renunciation or sacrifice.
................................
karma yoga
Karma
It is from around this time that the term karma attracted
the broader meanings that we associate with it today, though
without losing its connection with its Vedic origins. Derived
from the verb root kr ('to act', to do', 'to make'), karma
has many meanings, including action, work, rite, deed, product,
cause and effect, and accumulation of past actions. The
last of these meanings is the one most familiar with those
living outside of India, where karma has become synonymous
with the moral force of one’s actions and the effects
that flow from them.
The
related doctrines of karma and transmigration are accepted
in some form in all Indian spiritual traditions, and are
important to an understanding of the principles of Karma-yoga
which is the path of selfless action. The Hatha-yoga text,
Siva-Samhita, states that,Whatever is seen among men (whether
pleasure or pain) is born of karma. All creatures enjoy
or suffer, according to the results of their actions.
Here
karma means the actions performed by an individual: including
intentions, thoughts and behaviours, as well as the mechanism
by which the accumulated effects of these actions determine
the shape of one’s future. The law of karma is entirely
impersonal and irrevocably binding, and holds that even
the moral dimension of human existence is causally determined.
Every karma or action, whether considered to be good, bad
or indifferent, carries with it some consequence that must
be lived through. However the karmic consequences of an
action are not confined to a single lifetime, and may remain
latent and bear fruit in future lives. This means that karma
not only determines the kind of life that will have to be
lived in the future, but more significantly it binds the
enduring Self to the cycle of birth and rebirth (samsara)
as long as there are karmic debts to be paid. Liberation
is considered to be the dissolution of this bondage, and
is the goal of yogic practice.
Karma
can be classified into three kinds: prarabdha-karma affects
the conditions of one’s present life, agami-karma
is the result of acts performed in this life that will be
worked out in the future, and sancita-karma which is the
residue of acts performed in lives past and present that
remains latent in this one. The mechanism by which karma
is believed to operate varies somewhat between different
schools of thought, but can be explained in general terms
with reference to the samskaras or impressions which are
the sub-conscious traces of our experiences, and the vasanas
or innate tendencies to which the samskaras contribute and
that determine the instinctual patterns of a particular
life.
In
every life, no matter form it takes, the same citta or mind
is present, and just as every action produces its effect
in the world, it also leaves its impression in the citta.
As mentioned above, these impressions are called samskaras,
and citta not only stores all samskaras from all one’s
lives, past and present, but is also shaped by them. Samskaras
are therefore a memory of past experiences as well as being
latent behavioural patterns that under appropriate conditions
are subconsciously activated and relived. As such, they
contribute to the store of agami-karma.
The
accumulation of samskaras in the citta forms vasanas (from
the verb root vas, ‘to remain’) which are instinctual
tendencies laid down over many lifetimes. Given the range
of vasanas that develop during the course of an indefinite
number of previous lives, some of which relate to lives
lived as various other species, many vasanas remain latent
in a particular birth and comprise one’s sancita-karma.
The vasanas that are able to be expressed in a particular
birth are associated with the prarabdha-kama to be worked
out in that life, and are held to be responsible for determining
the patterns of thinking, dreaming, desire, attachment,
aversion and behaviour that characterise a single lifetime.
Yajna
In order to overcome the binding nature of karma, the path
of Karma-yoga aims to gain freedom from the consequences
of our actions (naiskarmya) by performing them in a spirit
of inner sacrifice (yajna). This ideal does not require
the renunciation of worldly activity, as it is pointed out
that as long as we live we cannot avoid activity, which
as karma in the broadest sense of the term leads to the
creation of new samskaras. The key is not the cessation
of activity, then, but to transcend one’s identification
with the actions our position in life requires us to perform.
The
Bhagavad-Gita was the first text to teach Karma-yoga, and
in historical terms has often been regarded as a conservative
response to the social movement towards worldly renunciation
that accompanied the spread of Upanisadic thought and Buddhism.
The response of the Bhagavad-Gita to this situation was
conservative insofar as it argued that we should devote
ourselves to the duties and obligations that come with our
social position (varna dharmas). However the principle that
underwrote this response was not. In his dialogue with Arjuna,
Lord Krsna argues that life inevitably involves some kind
of action, even in cases of apparent inaction. This means
that renunciates who abstain from worldly activity are bound
to and by their actions just as householders are. What is
crucial is not the kind of activity but the spirit in which
it is undertaken. As long as we identify with our actions
and believe that we are the agent or the doer (karta) of
them, we are bound to their karmic consequences. As the
following verses from the Bhagavad-Gita illustrate, if we
remain unattached to the fruit of our actions we are not
bound by them. In Karma-yoga all activity is undertaken
in a spirit of inner renunciation, and what is ultimately
sacrificed is the ego-self (ahamkara). Only acts performed
without a sense of agency are nonbinding.
Not
by abstention from work does a man attain freedom from action;
nor by mere renunciation does he attain to his perfection.
For
no one can remain even for a moment without doing work;
every one is made to act helplessly by the impulses born
of nature.
He
who restrains his organs of action but continues in his
mind to brood over the objects of sense, whose nature is
deluded is said to be a hypocrite [a man of false conduct].
But
he who controls the senses by the mind, O Arjuna, and without
attachment engages the organs of action in the path of work,
he is superior.
Do
thou thy allotted work, for action is better than inaction;
even the maintenance of thy physical life cannot be effected
without action.
Except
for work done as and for a sacrifice, this world is in bondage
to work. Therefore, O son of Kunti [Arjuna], do thy work
as a sacrifice, becoming free from all attachment
But
the man whose delight is in the Self alone, who is content
with the Self, who is satisfied with the Self, for him there
exists no work that needs to be done.
The
distinction referred to in the last verse is that between
the ever-existing conscious Self and prakrti (from the verb
root kr, ‘to make, to do’ and pra which means
‘forth’), which is the unconscious creative
principle of all phenomena. All activity and experience
belongs to prakrti, and it is the false identification of
the Self with this activity that is binding. By remaining
unattached to the results of one’s actions, the karma-yogin
aims to realise that the Self is not the agent but the conscious
substratum upon which the spectacle of prakrti is reflected.
In this way, karma ceases to bind as it is understood that
it is prakrti and not the Self that acts.
As
long as the karma-yogin is yet to realise the ideal of naiskarmya,
which is freedom from the karmic consequences of one’s
actions, there remains the need for a motive for activity.
And given that this ideal is to be realised by sacrificing
all sense of agency, the Bhagavad-Gita recommends that the
motive for all action should be self-purification, and this
is best achieved by submitting to the will of the Lord.
He
whose understanding is unattached everywhere, who has subdued
his self and from whom desire has fled – he comes
through renunciation to the supreme state transcending all
work.
Doing
continually all actions whatsoever, taking refuge in Me,
he reaches by My grace the eternal, undying abode.
Surrendering
in thought all actions to Me, regarding Me as the Supreme
and resorting to steadfastness in understanding, do thou
fix thy thought constantly on Me.
Loka-Samgraha
In seeking self-purification, karma-yogins aim to replace
all selfish motives with the desire for liberation while
continuing to fulfil their social duties and obligations.
However with liberation comes not only the concrete realisation
that one is not the agent responsible for individual actions,
but also a release from the need to act in any particular
way at all: indeed nothing remains to be done. This need
not lead to a withdrawal from the world, though, as the
Bhagavad-Gita promotes the ideal of the liberated continuing
to work for its benefit (loka-samgraha). Having surrendered
any sense of personal agency, the liberated act with perfect
freedom and spontaneity as instruments of the Lord.
There
is not for me, O Partha [Arjuna], any work in the three
worlds which has to be done nor anything to be obtained
which has not been obtained; yet I am engaged in work.
If
I should cease to work, these worlds would fall in ruin
and I should be the creator of disordered life and destroy
these people.
As
the unlearned act from attachment to their work, so should
the learned also act, O Bharata [Arjuna], but without attachment,
with the desire to maintain the world-order.
The
path of Karma-yoga as taught by the Bhagavad-Gita can therefore
be interpreted as being continuous with the intention of
the sacrificial rituals of Vedic India. Recall that in the
Rg Veda karma, in the sense of ritual act, opened an avenue
for the spiritual aspirant to acknowledge and contribute
to the continuing manifestation of the world which is described
as the maha-yajna or great sacrifice of the supreme Lord.
Similarly in the Bhagavad-Gita the karma-yogin sacrifices
all sense of personal agency in order to become an instrument
of the Lord in the work of maintaining the world-order (loka-samgraha).
In both cases karma is a means be self-purification, and
this is realised not by avoiding duties and obligations
but by entering into the world-process in complete surrender
to the will of the Lord.
Even
though the Bhagavad-Gita treats karma-yoga as an independent
spiritual discipline, there is much dispute in other paths
of yoga as to whether liberation can be gained from karma
alone. Most agree that the purification that comes with
selfless action is essential for liberation, and so regardless
of what the utility of karma is believed to be in the later
stages of a spiritual discipline, realising the ideal of
nairkarmya is considered to be indispensable.
jnana veda
The
Sanskrit term jnana derives from the verb root jna, which
means 'to know', and is commonly translated as knowledge,
comprehension or wisdom. Jnana can refer to the kind of
knowledge we have of the temporal world (vttti-jnana), or
to the intuitive insight into the Ultimately Real that accompanies
moksa or liberation (svarupa-jnana or aparoksa-jnana). The
path of jnana-yoga, which is the yoga of knowledge, incorporates
both these senses of jnana. The refinement of vrtti-jnana
cultivates viveka (discrimination) which is the capacity
to distinguish the eternal from the transient, the true
from the false, as a means of dispelling the ignorance (avidya)
that binds us to the phenomenal world. Moksa occurs when
this refinement reaches its culmination in the realisation
of svarupa-jnana, which is an unmediated identification
with Brahman or the Absolute. Like the term yoga, then,
jnana can be understood as both the goal and the means of
attaining it. Even though jnana is used in both senses,
as the following verses from the Kena Upanisad illustrate,
the jnana that arises with the identification of the Self
with Brahman is qualitatively different from the kind of
knowledge that is cultivated as a spiritual discipline in
the path of jnana-yoga.
It is other than the known; it is also above the unknown.
Thus we have heard from those of old who taught us this.
That
which is not expressed by speech, but that by which speech
is expressed, that alone know as Brahman, not that which
people here adore.
That
which does not think by mind, but that by which, they say,
the mind thinks, that alone know as Brahman, not that which
people here adore.
That
which does not see by the eye, but that by which the eyes
see, that alone know as Brahman, not that which people here
adore.
That
which does not hear by the ear, but that which the ear hears,
that alone know as Brahman, not that which people here adore.
Jnana in the Bhagavad-Gita
The compound jnana-yoga first appears in the Bhagavad-Gita,
where along with bhakti- and karma-yoga, it forms part of
a comprehensive threefold spiritual discipline. The Gita
praises jnana or wisdom for being the great purifier which
helps us to cross the sea of ignorance that keeps us in
bondage (see verses IV. 35-38). This purification takes
the form of an evolution of the understanding or intelligence
which is variously influenced by the three gunas (the basic
qualities or constituents of prakrti or nature). In tamasa-jnana
the understanding is of the nature of dullness and indifference
and clings to a single aspect of the phenomenal world as
if it were the whole of reality. In rajasa-jnana the understanding
is moved by passion and activity in perceiving a world of
multiplicity without a sense of an underlying unity. Finally
in sattvik-jnana the understanding is illumined by the knowledge
that there is but one immutable Reality. When the understanding
or intelligence (buddhi) remains stable in sattvik-jnana,
yoga is attained.
When
your intelligence … stands unshaken and stable in
spirit [samadhi], then will you attain insight [yoga].
When
a man puts away all the desires of his mind, O Partha [Arjuna],
and when his spirit is content in itself, then is he called
stable in intelligence.
He
whose mind is untroubled in the midst of sorrows and is
free from eager desire amid pleasures, he from whom passion,
fear, and rage have passed away, he is called a sage of
settled intelligence.
He
who is without affection on any side, who does not rejoice
or loathe as he obtains good or evil, his intelligence is
firmly set [in wisdom].
He
who draws away the senses from the objects of sense on every
side as a tortoise draws in his limbs [into the shell],
his intelligence is firmly set [in wisdom].
Jnana in Samkhya and Vedanta
As a spiritual discipline, jnana is also central to the
philosophical traditions of Samkhya and Vedanta. Samkhya
doctrines can be found in the Bhagavad-Gita, and form the
basis of the metaphysics of Patanjali’s Yoga-sutras.
In both the Samkhya and Yoga darsanas, discrimination between
the products of prakrti (nature) and purusa (pure consciousness)
leads to liberation (kaivalya). However where Patanjali
recommends practices that advance from dharana (concentration)
though dhyana (meditation) to samadhi in order to aid the
development of this discrimination, Samkhya relies on the
refinement of jnana alone.
Both
Sankya and Vedanta argue that what binds us to the cycle
of birth, death and rebirth is avidya (ignorance), and they
look to knowledge to dispel it. In the Samkhya tradition
this is sought through reason because the discriminative
intellect (buddhi) is taken to be the first evolute of prakrti,
and so it has precedence over all the other elements of
nature. In Vedanta the situation is not so straightforward.
Even though jnana-yoga is generally held to be an important
aid to liberation, theistic developments in some schools
of Vedanta regard bhakti or devotion to the Lord as the
most effective means. However in Advaita Vedanta, which
became the dominant philosophical position with the decline
of Buddhism in India towards the end of the first millennium
CE, jnana-yoga is considered to be sole means to moksa.
Raja yoga
Raja-yoga
refers to the practices codified in Patanjali's Yoga-sutra
and is also known as astanga-yoga and classical-yoga. The
term raja (from the verb root raj = 'to reign, to illuminate')
means 'royal', the inference being that through raja-yoga
we can master or become king of ourselves. The compound
raja-yoga seems to have been used from around the 11th century
or later in attempts to understand the proper relation between
the yoga of Patanjali and hatha-yoga (which emerged as a
recognisable path from Tantra towards the end of the first
millennium C.E.). In this context the term raja is used
to position hatha-yoga as a preparation for what was considered
to be the higher meditative practices of classical-yoga.
The popular medieval hatha-yoga manual Hatha-yoga-pradipika
seems to echo this positioning:
All
the methods of hatha are meant for gaining success in the
raja-yoga; for, the man, who is well established in the
raja-yoga, overcomes death'
as does the opening verse of the Gheranda-samhita:
I
bow to that Lord Primeval who taught in the beginning the
science of the training in hardiness [hatha-yoga] –
a science that stands out as the first rung on the ladder
that leads to the supreme heights of raja-yoga.
One of the reasons why the authors of these hatha-yoga manuals
may have been inclined to define the relationship between
their school and raja-yoga is that the Yoga-sutra of Patanjali
is regarded as the classical exposition of Hindu yoga. Tradition
identifies Patanjali with the famous grammarian of the second
century B.C.E., and also asserts that he was an incarnation
of the Lord of serpents, Adisesa or Ananta, who is often
represented as the couch on which Lord Visnu reclines. However
modern scholars tend to place the Yoga-sutra in the second
century C.E., which means that either the text we have now
is a later version, or that the grammarian and the yogin
are not the same person. The Yoga-sutra has been the subject
of many extensive commentaries, the most notable being the
Yoga-bhasya of Vyasa (c. 5th century C.E.) and the Tattva-vaisaradi
of Vacaspati-misra (c. 9th C.E.), and it remains the focal
text for many schools of yoga today.
Purusa
and Prakrti
Patanjali's classical formulation of yoga is also one of
the six darsanas (from drs, 'to see') or orthodox philosophical
schools of Hinduism, the other five being Samkhya, Vedanta,
Mimamsa, Vaisesika and Nyaya. The Yoga-darsana bears the
implicit influence of Buddhism, especially in its analysis
of suffering and the means that are recommended to alleviate
it. However it is most closely associated with the Samkhya-darsana,
with which it shares many of its central doctrines (so much
so that some commentators discuss the two darsanas together
under the heading of ‘Samkhya-Yoga’). According
to both Samkhya and Yoga, there are two basic and independent
categories of being: prakrti and purusa. Prakrti (from the
verb root kr = 'to make, to do' + pra = 'forth') is the
unconscious but fundamental activity that produces the manifest
universe. Purusa is pure consciousness, unchanging and unattached,
yet individuated insofar as purusas are thought to be infinite
in number.
There
is no intrinsic relation between prakrti and purusa, but
prakrti is said to exist for the sake of purusa, their conjunction
(samyoga) enabling the purusa's recognition of its own true
nature as wholly independent of prakrti in all its aspects.
The unenlightened purusa fails to recognise itself as such
because it identifies with the contents of citta (from cit
= 'to perceive, observe, know'), which for Patanjali is
the individuated awareness associated with buddhi (intelligence),
ahamkara (ego), and the indriyas which are the five senses
(vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell) or organs of knowledge
(eyes, ears, skin, tongue and nose), and the five organs
of action (the voice, hands, feet, and the organs of excretion
and reproduction).
In
his commentary on the Yoga-sutra, Vacaspati-misra likens
the relation between purusa and prakrti to the reflection
of the moon in water. Although the moon is not actually
present in the water, its reflection gives the impression
of it being so. Similarly, even though purusa is never actually
entangled in prakrti, the impression of it being so is given
by its reflection in the citta that it falsely identifies
with. And just as the reflection of the moon illuminates
the water, so does purusa illuminate prakrti. However just
as disturbances in the water distort the reflection of the
moon, so is purusa unable to recognise itself when citta
is restless and disturbed due the varying influence of the
gunas.
The
gunas are the three basic qualities (or constituents) of
prakrti. They combine in an infinite variety of ways to
determine the characteristics of all things, including mental
states: sattva is pure, steady and buoyant; rajas is activity
and passion; while tamas is dullness, inertia and ignorance.
When citta is predominantly rajasic or tamasic, the individual
purusa is unable to recognise itself and so remains identified
with the play of gunas. When citta is predominantly sattvic,
the reflection of purusa in prakrti is pure and steady,
and this makes it possible for purusa to recognise itself
as the consciousness illuminating citta. Patanjali defines
yoga in just this way, as the cessation of the fluctuations
of citta (citta-vrtti-nirodah, I.2), the implication being
that when citta is held steady it is possible for the individual
purusa to realise its true nature.
The conjunction of purusa and prakrti therefore ends when
purusa is able to discriminate between itself and prakrti.
For both Samkhya and Yoga this discrimination (viveka) is
synonymous with liberation or kaivalya, which can be translated
as aloofness, aloneness, or isolation, and refers to the
irrevocable separation of the individual purusa from prakrti.
Where Samkhya and Yoga differ is in the means recommended
to achieve kaivalya. Samkhya favours a kind of jnana-yoga
in which the required discrimination (viveka) is developed
though reason alone. Patanjali seems to be less confident
of the effectiveness of reason alone when confronting an
unruly citta, so he gives us a graduated system of spiritual
disciplines that aims to restrain the movements of citta
through the cultivation of an unwavering concentration (samadhi).
When citta is held steady discrimination (viveka) arises
naturally, and with it kaivalya and an end to the suffering
that accompanies the cycle of birth, death and rebirth (samsara).
Klesas
According to Patanjali, then, all suffering is the result
of the conjunction (samyoga) of the seer (drasta or purusa)
and the seen (drsya or prakrti) (II.17). Patanjali's analysis
of this suffering takes the form of a fivefold classification
of the ways in which purusa’s mistaken identification
with the contents of the citta manifests. These are referred
to as the klesas (from the verb root klis = 'to suffer,
torment or distress') or afflictions.
The
first of the five klesas, as well as the source of the others,
is ignorance or avidya (from the verb root vid = 'to know'
+ a = 'not). Avidya is ignorance of the true nature of purusa,
and so is the root affliction that the liberating discrimination
discussed above aims to remove.
Asmita
is the sense of 'I-am-ness' that gives rise to the ego-self.
It derives from the false identification of purusa with
citta; from the erroneous belief that the seer is of the
same order as the means of knowledge and the objects known.
When kaivalya is attained asmita is replaced by the self-knowledge
of purusa.
Raga
is attachment to the pleasurable experiences that complement
purusa's entanglement in prakrti.
Dvesa
(from the verb root dvis = 'to abhor') is aversion to unpleasant
experiences. Both raga and dvesa are supported by the assumption
that the manifestations of prakrti provide the only standard
of what is to be desired and avoided. This in turn implies
a failure, whether through ignorance or indifference, to
acknowledge that a higher good awaits those who are willing
to turn away from the pleasures and aversions of sense experiences
in order to steady the citta.
The
fifth and final klesa is abhinivesa, which is an instinctive
clinging to life and a concomitant fear of death. Abhinivesa
is a natural extension of the previous three klesas and
arguably their culmination. From the perspective of purusa,
death is merely the dissolution of elements of prakrti that
it falsely identified with. From the standpoint of asmita
or the 'I-am-ness' that accompanies this identification,
though, life and death represent the beginning and end of
the ego-self, and so abhinivesa is entirely understandable.
Clinging to life is also raga insofar as we resist being
separated from pleasant experiences and remain attached
to the belief that life is the most precious thing we have.
The greater our attachment to living the more intense our
fear of death. For many death is the experience desired
the least, and therefore that which we are most averse to.
Proceeding from the fundamental affliction of avidya, the
klesas describe not only the ways in which this ignorance
of our true nature manifests, but also some of the major
motivating factors in our daily lives. For instance Utilitarian
ethics, which influences the shaping of public policy in
many modern democracies, aims to create the 'greatest good
for the greatest number', and the 'good' is usually defined
as that which maximises pleasure or happiness and/or minimises
suffering. If we add to the mix the instinctual and moral
drives to preserve life, then we can appreciate the extent
to which Patanjali's analysis of the causes of human suffering
corresponds to the elements that many of us believe are
essential to a 'good life'.
Keeping
this in mind, we can also appreciate how Patanjali's remedy
for suffering takes us against the tide of everyday life.
This is quite deliberate, though, as the ultimate aim of
steadying citta is to disentangle purusa from its presumed
involvement in the manifestations of prakrti. The first
and most subtle evolute of prakrti, and therefore also the
core of the citta, is buddhi (from the verb root budh =
'to enlighten, to know') which is discriminative awareness
or intelligence. By steadying citta the usual movement of
awareness towards the senses is reversed by first restricting
and then eliminating all modifications of buddhi.
.....................
Hindu Yoga Paths
Bhakti Yoga
The
Yoga of transcendent love, Divine Grace, and one pointed
devotion to an ideal conception of divinity with the Hinduism
devotee choosing to venerate deity as beloved, master, friend,
parent/child. The Hindu Bhakti tradition disregarded caste
systems and focused on genuine inner feelings and personal
viewpoints to foster emotional well being, fulfillment,
and the perceptual awareness of divinity pervading all aspects
of Creation. Doing heartfelt service, Karma Yoga, was also
integral to this path.
Hatha Yoga
The
goal of the Hatha Yoga practitioner was health and vitality
through rigorous training that involves many practices including
breathing exercises (pranayama) and physical postures (asanas).
When the postures and breathing exercises were mastered
and the will trained to consciously control the vital energies
of the physical and etheric bodies, the kundalini force
was awakened at the base of the spine and used to open,
purify, and vitalize the seven energy centers in the appropriate
order.
Jnana Yoga
A
difficult but profound path where the thinking philosopher
sought union, peace, and liberation through information
and discernment. Knowledge and wisdom were achieved by patiently
releasing delusional thoughts and feelings until the meditator
was attuned with the reality of Spirit. As the mind and
heart blossomed with the illuminating realization that divinity
was the inherent nature of the individual soul essence -
first transformation and then eventual enlightenment occurred.
Karma Yoga
Linked
to the fourth center, the Anahata or heart center, this
yogic path centered on the universal karmic law of cause
and effect. Transformation occurred when one learns to act
out of love without attachment to immediately apparent results.
By developing more responsible habits and attitudes, "new
actions", the practitioner changed his feeling and
thought patterns through right action and service resulting
in "new reactions", realization and union with
divinity.
Kriya Yoga
A
yoga of transformation, Kriya combined the practices and
disciplines of Bhakti, Jnana, and Raja Yoga. Over 5,000
years old, the technique was traditionally conveyed from
the Guru directly to the spiritually mature initiate. The
goal of the meditator was to achieve self realization by
raising the serpent force of kundalini to the ninth center,
the thousand petaled lotus, at the top of the head by following
a daily program of devotion to divinity, introspection,
and self-discipline.
Laya Yoga
The
goal of the meditator was to transcend the lower levels
of egoic, sensual, and material consciousness by awakening
the seven energy centers (five were along the spine in the
tailbone, in the sacrum, navel, heart, and throat areas;
two were in the head in the third eye and crown areas).
By concentrating on each of these energy centers in turn
under the guidance of a qualified teacher, the meditator
opened doorways to higher states of consciousness.
Mantra Yoga
Mantrams
like AUM (spirit or word of God) were seed sounds that had
been revealed to adepts which had the power to bring into
being the actualities they represent. There were thousands
of them in the Sanskrit language. As a meditator chanted
these syllables, words, and phrases, mindfully, with increasing
spiritual focus, the music, meaning, and cadence of the
mantras repeatedly brought one to a transcendent state beyond
intellect and emotions, resulting in a higher state of consciousness.
Raja Yoga
Yoga
Sutras were used to move the kundalini lifeforce from the
base of the spine to the throat center where the meditator
transmuted the lesser passions into a desire to speak only
of divinity and to seek serenity. By focusing attention
on the objects of meditation, the practitioner then restored
equilibrium to the mind and the emotions. Afterwards, the
energy of this balanced awareness was usually directed to
the third eye area called Ajna, in the middle of the lower
forehead. This then resulted in the achievement of a state
of sublime tranquility.
Tantra Yoga
The
devotee strove to break through barriers of personal limitation
and cross higher consciousness thresholds by using the fire
of a masculine/feminine harmonized kundalini to transform
negative habit patterns, obsessions, and subconscious blocks
into the transmutative energy of the creative force as an
universal expression of Spirit. When the spiritually awakened
kundalini ascended and opened each energy center in turn,
samadhi (direct experience of the Supreme Reality) was attained.
