Yogaḥ in the Purāṇa
Introduction to Yogaḥ
- January 18th, 2022
- Ramesh Shama Alvar
Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The Term Yogaḥ
The term Yogaḥ is widely used in Sanskrit Literature in numerous diverse contexts. It has, therefore, a very large number of connotations in English [AGK 3, 28/2]. For our purposes the following English connotations of the term would suffice:-
- Joining, uniting.
- Union, junction.
- Contact, touch.
- application.
- mode, manner, course, means.
What do these several connotations tell us about Yogaḥ? Firstly, if one has taken to a particular type of Yogaḥ, one has to develop the conviction that one has to always carry and nurture this sense in the Mind of being conjoined with that discipline like a mother carrying her baby in a pouch strapped across her shoulders or like wagons yoked to the railway engine on some branch-line or one like one steel-plate joined to the super-structure with a forged-rivet holding the two together firmly. Overall, one must accept this imagery that one is joined or welded to the Yogaḥ being pursued. Take care to remember that it is not an externally imposed form of joining or welding. It is a discipline that requires continuous involvement, constant application of its tenets, and repeated reinforcement of faith in its pursuit till the results are achieved. If so faith in Yogaḥ must form a part of one’s Body-Mind complex.
Secondly, the decision to take to any form of Yogaḥ has to be entirely voluntary out of conviction that the Yogaḥ Path being followed will be conducive to one’s physical/material as well as spiritual good. There is no room for feeing coerced to abide by the tenets of the type of Yogaḥ, which one has voluntarily accepted as a course of life. That implies continuous contact with the discipline no matter the time or place. It is unlike classroom lessons. Once a class is over, the student is free to pursue extra-curricular activities until the next class. But the Yogaḥ classroom is continuous and will last as long the student has the will to see it through to its logical conclusions. One lives, breathes, and performs every activity under the umbrella of the Yogaḥ adopted. For instance, the Yamāḥ of not stealing or non-acceptance of gifts or of mitāhāra known as the principle of temperance/restraint in food consumption, cannot be selectively applied depending upon prevailing circumstances such as one’s mood, the time, the object and the place.
Thirdly, Yogaḥ is not a one-way ticket unlike the rules and regulations of certain radical faiths. That means one can get into any type of Yogaḥ anytime and exit anytime without any difficulty and without the fear of unpleasant after-effects. The one who exits prematurely alone would be the sole loser. The Yogaḥ discipline abandoned by one is not. Those given to the practise of Yogaḥ do not form cults and organise themselves into bands of zealous defenders of the faith assigned the task of keeping the wayward sheep of the flock in check and forcing them to head in what is proclaimed by their zealous leaders to be the right direction. In the teachings of the Yogaḥ Upaniśad and the Purāṇa, if one particular sheep were to stray and leave the herd, it would not be ostracised or threatened with dire consequences to fall in line. It would not be induced to repent as a sinner and urged to rejoin the main fold. Desertion would be regarded as a matter of bad-luck for the deserter and there would be general sympathy and understanding. One can easily discard any form of Yogaḥ anytime without the need for any kind of approval/permission from any authority. The Hindu tradition is to seek the permission of one’s Guru or Organisational Head as an act of courtesy and to take the Guru’s blessings for the future. One may or may not abide by it. It would never matter, since the Guru’s blessings are always unconditional and unilateral. There would never be cause for the generation of any of the internal emotions of remorse or guilt feelings or fear of external consequences. Except for the individual concerned, neither the discipline by itself nor its still faithful adherents nor any associated community or religion would suffer any adverse effects.
Fourthly, there is no stigma mentioned in any of the Yoga Texts for abandoning a Yogaḥ discipline once started or for hopping to other disciplines like bees searching for the right type of nectar from amonst a range of different attractive flowers. There is no stipulation in the Texts forbidding one who has abandoned Yogaḥ from taking it up again or from taking up any other associated spiritual discipline. When one does take to any form Yogaḥ, one should not feel that one has been converted to a particular religion. But as long as one remains within the ambit of a Yogaḥ, one has the self-imposed obligation to follow its age-old or time-honoured tenets faithfully, if only to get the full benefits. It must be noted clearly that the concepts of blasphemy, heresy, ex-communication, and such stringent punishments for desertion or denigration of the Faith are non-existent in the Yogaḥ texts. There is no provision for issuing a ‘fatwah’ or mandatory religious edict calling for boycotting/virulent censure/violent hostile action to be taken against a former adherent of any given form of Yogaḥ who has since disowned it or criticised it heavily either publicly or in private as being, for instance, heathen or pagan or devilish or as being a form of backdoor propagation of a particular creed. Yet all the compulsions any student of any Yogaḥ might feel about abiding or not-abiding by its tenets would be voluntary. The compulsion to abide would be based purely on one’s own self-conviction that if the tenets are scrupulously followed, it would do him or her maximum good mentally, physically, and spiritually. The compulsion to abandon Yogaḥ would be one’s own inability to make headway in Yogaḥ practice. That is the fundamental philosophical foundation of Yogaḥ which has enabled it to survive for thousands of years as a viable spiritual and physical discipline.
Fifthly, as a general dictum, Yogaḥ should at all times be viewed as a Philosophy of Life with a consistent Civilised World View and a Code of Self-Discipline. Yogaḥ should not be looked upon as a possible religious crusade directed at some sections of humanity. In fact, Yogaḥ is a crusade only against unhappiness and suffering in the present birth. It is cure for perpetuation of bondage in future embodiments. All types of Yogaḥ are effective, if done properly, under the guidance of a Guru. All forms of Yogaḥ do work and deliver the goods every time, irrespective of time, place, person, culture, religion, creed, race or community. That is why there is no need to market Yogaḥ though many have tried hard to do so for their own personal ends. Such human marketing of a product believed to have been received from Divine Sources, is a form of Adharma with its own unpleasant fruits.
Types of Yogaḥ
There are many categories of Yogaḥ available to a seeker of liberation and one may may choose according to one’s personal inclinations and capabilities. The major forms of Yogaḥ practiced in India over thousands of years are Jñyāna, Karma, Bhakti, Pātañjali, Prapatti, and Hatha Yogaḥ. All Yogaḥ are fundamentally a मोक्षोपाय mokṣopāya (the means for moksha or final liberation). Therefore, whatever the Yogaḥ adopted in practice, the common aim is to attain liberation or freedom from the recurring cycles of birth and death or final emancipation. There are differences in the nature of the final state of emancipation as the goal. The last named viz Hatha Yogaḥ is very similar to the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ of the Yogaḥ Upaniṣhad. Lord Shiva is said to have originally propounded Hatha Yogaḥ and passed it on to Matsyendranātha who was the first mortal Guru of the tradition. Its eight limbs are the same as that of the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ of the Yogaḥ Upaniṣhad. In fact the Purana contain details of a Yoga propounded by Lord Shiva which is called Pāshupata Yogaḥ which has close affinity with the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ of the Yogaḥ Upaniṣhad. We shall deal with it in this work at the proper place.
It is not within the purview of this work to discuss in detail any particular type of Yogaḥ other than the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ of the Yogaḥ Upaniṣhad which is the subject of this Chapter. However, for the sake of the Reader who may not be very familiar with the whole subject of Yogaḥ, we will give a snapshot view of the two major types, namely, Jñyāna Yogaḥ and Karma Yogaḥ for two reasons. Firstly, because the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ basically forms part of Karma Yogaḥ. Secondly, because Jñyāna Yogaḥ and Karma Yogaḥ have a kind of important mutual relationship. A proper understanding of this relationship is necessary for the Yogi to appreciate the place of the Aṣṭāṅga Yogaḥ in the pantheon of different forms of Yogaḥ. In general, we may say that advanced readers desirous of pursuing detailed studies of any of the the major forms of Yogaḥ we have listed above, such as Jñyāna, Karma, Bhakti, Pātañjali, Prapatti, and Hatha Yogaḥ are requested to pursue separate studies from the relevant available texts.
Jñyāna Yogaḥ & Karma Yogaḥ
The term Jñyāna means knowledge. Jñyāna Yogaḥ is based on the premise that
if the external sense organs are withdrawn from their objects and complete detachment of the senses from their objects is attained; if all Karman are abandoned; if indifference to the pairs of the opposites is developed; if all desires are eradicated; and lastly, having achieved all these pre-conditions, if the Mind is focussed exclusively on the Self, the Yogi will realize his own Self in the form of a unique personal experience. The highest stage of Jñyāna Yogaḥ is the mental state called stitaprajñyā (one whose mind/intellect is stable/firmly anchored). The goal of this Yogaḥ discipline is the realization of the Self.
Karma Yogaḥ has been defined in the Gita as the performance of actions that have been ordained in the Scriptures and thus, are obligatory. Such Karman must be performed without expectations of rewards, without the sense of agency and as a worship of the Supreme Being. Worship of the Supreme Being in this manner by offering the performance of sanctioned duty as a sacrificial/propitiatory offering leads to perfection [Gita 18.46]. Work performed as a mean of worship is a sacrifice and such work does not cause bondage [Gita 3/9]. It is critically important to perform all karman without the sense of agency for the Gita [3/19] says that a man who works without attachment attains to the Supreme. Rāmānuja Gita Bhāśya [Ibid] elucidates that “When a person free from attachment does work as a sacrificial offering etc, the Supreme Person, propitiated by such a kind of sacrificial offering , grants him the calm vision of the Self after destroying the subtle impressions of his Karman which have persisted from times without beginning.”
How are we to decide who is fit for Jñyāna Yogaḥ and to whom Karma Yogaḥ is suitable. The Yogaḥ texts are not explicit on this point. We have to turn to our Acāryas. Ramanuja [Gita Bhashya 3/3]] says that, when a man’s intellect has been redeemed and his wisdom has been made firm by the kind of disciplines exemplified in the Gita [2/47, 2/55], he becomes eligible to be taught Jñyāna Yogaḥ. It is further stated [Gita Bhashya 3.3], that “Sāṅkhya means Buddhi (intellectual or mental disposition) and those who are endowed with the Buddhi having only the Self for its object are the Sāṅkhyan. But, we must not jump to the conclusion that only those who have high intelligence are fit for Jñyāna Yogaḥ. The term Buddhi used here does not refer to intelligence but to a mental propensity to detach oneself from karman and exist in a world of contemplation upon the nature of the Self.
Thus Jñyāna Yogaḥ is taught to the सांख्य Sāṅkhya i.e. to those persons who are not competent to follow the Path of Actions but those whose natural inclination is to engage more in mental contemplation while remaining detached from all karman and, at the same time to bring the Mind to bear all the time on the Knowledge of the Self. Jñyāna Yogaḥ is suitable for a very small percentage of humanity because we are mostly designed to perform actions to fulfil our obligations to earn a living, to protect and care for our families, to discharge our duties to the State and the community, and generally, to face the demands of worldly life squarely, and overall follow the dictates of the Sanātana Dharma. Some of the classes of people known to take to Jñyāna Yogaḥ are Sages, Saints, Ascetics, and Recluses. India has a magnificent tradition for thousands of years amongst the common folk as well as the rich and the powerful not only to defer to Saintly people and to accord them the highest respect and status in Society but to readily provide them with such necessities of life as may be needed for their subsistence. Those who have opted for the Path of Jñyāna Yogaḥ must by definition abstain from karman. If so how can they meet the bodily necessities for life to go on? They cannot provide for their bare sustenance without violating their Dharma of abstaining from karman even for life to go on for the ordained span. The idea is embedded in the vāsanā of the people as a sacred faith and sacrosanct code of conduct amongst householders and working men and women that our Saints, Sages, Sannyāsin, Sadhus, Ascetics, Hermits and Recluses follow a way of life in which they have to necessarily abstain from Karman. They have to avoid Karman because they have to cultivate detachment and self-restraint. Further, they need all the time in the World for sustained contemplation upon the nature of the Self. They need all the time they can get each day to think their way into the heart of things; to find answers to such questions as to why our Universe is the way it is? What should man do for his spiritual good? How can Man attain freedom from the bondage of repeated embodiments and sufferings? And so on. The Holy Men of India have been giving invaluable spiritual wisdom to the common folk as well as to the high and mighty for thousands of years in exchange for a paltry token of food and other needs given by different families in turn so that a Sannyāsin need not take to any Karman let alone any occupation to earn a living. Certain principles have been embedded in the genes of a large majority Indians as gospel truths so that generations have willingly and faithfully abided by them for many millennia. These are as follows:
- What we give our holy men is nothing of any value compared to what they give us in return or mostly unilaterally.
- To feed and care for our holy men is a sacred personal duty in the Sanātana Dharma. It is a Duty, full of great merit and an opportunity to be considered a stroke of good fortune not likely to befall to many. Such opportunities to acquire merit are not to be missed for any reason.
- Our holy men are our spiritual guides who hold beacon lights for us to tread the path to emancipation by personal example provided by a life of self-denial, restraint, detachment, and lofty conduct. Our Sages and Saint have held the fabric of our Society intact in the face of adverse forces over thousands of years that have threatened to rip it apart. They have preserved and nurtured our ancient Philosophy, Religion, and Culture with outstanding success.
The Universe has to go on and Karman is indispensable for that. Karma Yogaḥ is appropriate for the overwhelming majority of humanity who cannot afford to remain actionless while pursuing the sanctioned ends of human existence especially the highest goal of final liberation. Karma Yoga is taught to the Yogis i.e., those competent for the path of work. The Universe will shut down if there is total inaction. Abstaining from Karman will end all life including that of the followers of every type of Yogaḥ. That will not serve the purpose of the Brahman who wants to use the Universe as a testing ground for selecting the fittest Jivātman for emancipation and a future possibly much higher and more fulfilling than mundane existence in conjunction with Prakṛti.
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