THE ASHTĀNGA YOGA OF THE YOGA UPANISHADS
THE ASHTĀNGA YOGA
OF THE YOGA UPANISHADS
This inspired Sketch of the Indian Peepul Tree, under which Sages have sought enlightenment for thousands of years, has been made by my granddaughter Aranya Karighattam on my request, especially for this Article. May the Wisdom of the Ancient Sages of India descend upon her for the Good of All.
Acknowledgements:
1. The Article “Ashtānga Yoga of the Yoga Upanishads” has been written by me based on my earlier much larger work titled “The Overview of the Yoga Upanishads” prepared under the Guidance of my Guru, Ubhaya Vedānta, Professor M.A. Lakshmithathacarya Swami of Melkote, Karnataka, INDIA to whom, I am deeply indebted for inspiration and guidance.
2. I am grateful to my wife Geetha for maintaining an ambience of Dharma & Spirituality ever since we got married over 50 years ago. She routinely followed many of the Yamas & Niyamas of Yoga in daily life without any formal instruction in Yoga. She invariably maintained our Religious Traditions especially those of our Festivals no matter where I was stationed. Guileless and always indifferent to the attractions of wealth, power, or prestige, she followed her Dharma faithfully looking upon all with an equal eye. Her presence has inspired me to pursue my spiritual studies of Hindu Philosophy and Religion in the right ambience at Home. That has been my good fortune in life.
3. I am also indebted in large measure to my spiritually inclined daughter Kavita for her valuable assistance in research work, formatting, proof-reading, and unflagging enthusiasm that aspects of Yoga should be widely disseminated to all. She wanted this Article to be presented in the most reader-friendly format and took the necessary steps.
Colonel Ramesh Shama Alvar (Retd)
Bangalore, INDIA
20 Dec 2020
Introduction
There are many people, both in India and abroad, to whom the term Yoga conjures up images of Asanas as a separate Yoga Discipline by itself and largely comprising of Physical Postures demanding unusual effort, flexibility and determination. The truth is that Asanas have as much spiritual element in them as the physical and that they are but just one part of the larger System of Yoga called the Ashtānga Yoga. Our aim in this article is to briefly describe the Ashtānga Yoga and to distinguish it from other types of Yoga. At the outset, it must be made clear that wherever the term Yoga has been used in this article, it refers only to the Yoga as advocated by the Yoga Upanishads, which are about twenty in number. The Yoga of the Yoga Upanishads is fundamentally different from many other types of Yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Rāj Yoga, Gnyāna Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga, etc., though there are several common elements.
The Yoga advocated by the Yoga Upanishads is called the Ashtānga Yoga, which means the Yoga of Eight Limbs or Components. It is a graded course in increasing order of difficulty and complexity. Each limb has some specific purposes, one of which is to prepare the adept for undertaking the next one. If one limb of the Ashtānga Yoga were to be attempted without having mastered the previous one, it would lead to a dangerous failure. In real life, a student who may have secured poor marks or failed in the 3rd Form, Grade, or Standard in an elementary school and yet been promoted, may eventually do well in the 4th. But that would be impossible in Yoga. No limb can be bypassed without doing it properly and attaining its objectives. The eight limbs of Ashtānga Yoga are as follows: –
Yama
Niyama
Asana
Prānāyāma
Pratyāhāra
Dhāranā
Dhyāna
Samādhi
Yamas & Niyamas
Yamas & Niyamas are designed to make the Body and the Mind, strong, pure, and fit for further Yoga. More importantly, they bring the Mind and the Body under the full control of the Jiva or the Sentient Principle which finds itself conjunct with Prakriti or Matter when it is in embodiment. The term ‘yamah’ in Sanskrit connotes a sense of ‘restraint, control or self-control. The Trishikhi Brāhamanopanishad [Mantra, 32(ii)-33] and the Darshanopanishad [1-6] both tell us that there are ten kinds of Yamas, namely, ahimsa or non-violence; satyam or truthfulness; steyam or abstaining from theft or robbery; brhamacaryam or celibacy; dayā or compassion; aarjvam or rectitude; kshmā or forbearance; dhruti or firmness & fortitude; mitāhāraha or temperance in food; and shaucam or cleanliness. There are certain variations to be found in other Texts, which does not mean that a given Yama or Niyama, not to be found in a Text of choice being referred to, is invalid for that reason. All the Yamas & Niyamas given in the different Texts of the Yoga Upanishads should be regarded as different insights of the ancient Rishis with regard to complex aspects of Yoga and valid per-se. Students can follow one or more variations found in other Texts as well, with added benefit and no harm whatsoever, provided time and effort permit. However, the adept would do well to consult his or her Guru in everything.
The term Niyama in Sanskrit also denotes the sense of ‘restraint; taming; subduing; a restriction or limitation’. The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 33] says that tapah or penance; santosha or contentment; astikaya or belief in the existence of God and the other Worlds; dānam or charity; arādhanamhare or the adoration of Sri Hari; vedāntashravanam or the study of the Vedanta; hniha or modesty; mati or knowledge and discrimination; japa or prayers; and lastly; vratam or austerities; are the ten Niyamas. The Varāhopanishad [ 5/13-14] concurs with the Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad except that it uses the phrase Ishvara Poojanam in place of Arādhanam Hare to denote the adoration and worship of God. In effect, like Yamas, Niyamas are also restraints, rules, and restrictions. If so, what is the difference between Yamas and Niyamas? Yamas are things forbidden for the aspiring Yogi. They are negative in the sense of avoidance. Niyamas are things that the Yogi is exhorted to do. They are positive, pro-active, and action-oriented injunctions. Thus, Yamas are restrictions or restraints and Niyamas are observances positively enjoined. Together, they form a code of conduct that transforms the Mind and the Body making the adept fit for further Yoga. Niyama is the second of the eight limbs of Yoga. Sri Krishna [Gita 2/50] tells Arjuna:
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभो सुकॄतद्ष्कॄतो
तस्माध्योगाय युज्यस्व योग: कर्मसु कौश्लम् [50]
A man with evenness of mind discards here and now good and evil.
Therefore, endeavor for Yoga. Yoga is skill in action. [50]
One may wonder why Sri Krishna should say that a man with evenness of the Mind must discard both good as well as evil. We can intuitively understand why evil ought to be discarded, but why good as well? It appears baffling on the face of it. We must take the help of the commentaries of the great Acāryās on the Gita to make any headway in finding an answer. Sri Rāmānujā says in the Gita Bhashya [ibid.] that what Sri Krishna is advising the Yogi with evenness of the Mind to abandon are good as well as evil karmas in the sense of human actions/works and not in the sense of the class of intrinsic qualities characterized by the generic terms ‘good’ and ‘evil’. In the normal course, karmas accumulate in every Jivātman’s account of past karmas awaiting fructification and subsequent annulment by actually experiencing their fruits. The Hindu Theory of Karmas says that the normal way to cancel or annul a karma is only by way of tasting/experiencing its fruits whether painful and detestable or enjoyable and welcome or of indifferent flavor and consequences. To do this, one has to be born and be able use the body for experiencing the fruits of pending karmas of embodiment. If in one lifetime, one happens to add more karmas to one’s stock than what one has been able to cancel/annul by actually enjoying or suffering their fruits, the backlog would continue to grow, thereby perpetuating endless cycles of births-deaths-rebirths. This has been the case with most human beings since their advent. Yoga offers a quicker way for the annulment of pending karmas thereby hastening the advent of Moksha. Moksha is impossible without eradicating all pending karmas.
However, in the lifetime of the fortunate Jiva who has adopted Yoga as the means to Moksha, great care has to be taken that more karmas are not added to one’s account which are likely to bear fruits even as Yoga is being pursued with the object of extinguishing all past karmas pending in the account. There would always be many karmas outside of Yoga that a Yogi cannot avoid for the maintenance of the Body and the Mind and to meet mundane obligations. Such karmas could be good or evil in essence. Evenness of Mind comes into play in the abandonment of all such karmas, whether good or evil in the present, even while pursuing Yoga to destroy all past pending Karmas. That would require great skill in action, which means great discrimination in the selection and execution of unavoidable obligatory as well as occasional karmas such that they do not add to the pending list. How can the Yogi do this? Does it not require great skill in action? In general, according to the Hindu Scriptures, for one to ensure that a karma does not stick to one’s account, one has to do three things. Firstly, one must relinquish the fruits of the karma being performed. This is done by not harboring any expectation of any fruit thereof. Secondly, one should perform the karma as an offering to God and assign the fruit, whatever it might be, to the Brahman. Thirdly, one has to guard against the inevitable sense of agency lurking in the performance of any karma and to abandon it firmly and fully if it should arise in the Mind. All this is not easy and one is liable to errors. That is why Sri Krishna says that Yoga is skill in action.
Asanās
Asanās constitute the third limb of Ashtānga Yoga. The term ‘āsanam’ in Sanskrit has a number of meanings such as ‘sitting down; a seat; a particular posture or mode of sitting; stopping, camping; abiding, dwelling.’ The term ‘Yogāsanam’ in Sanskrit means ‘a posture suitable for profound meditation’. Yogāsnam is important per-se in that it purifies the Mind and the Body of the Yogi making it strong, healthy, and focused for the rigorous stages of Yoga to follow. Another role that Asanams play, which is certainly as important, if not more, is that many of the Asanams act as the indispensable foundation for performing other limbs of the Ashtānga Yoga such as Prānāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāranā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. For instance, the Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra 92-94] says;
रसनां ताल्लुनि न्यस्य स्वस्थचित्तोनिरामय
आकुञ्चितशिरः किंचिन्निबध्न्योगमुद्रया [92]
हस्तौ यतौक्तविधिना प्राणायामं समाचरेत्
रेचनं पूरणं वयोः शोधनं रेचनं तथा [93]
चतुर्भिः क्लेशनं वायोः प्राणयाम उदीर्यते
हस्तेन दक्षिणॆनैव पीडयेन्नासिकापुतम् [94]
The Yogi having first assumed the posture keeping his Body erect, (his Mind) alert, with his eyes fixed on the tip of the nose, (one row of) teeth not touching the (other row of) teeth, the tongue fixed onto the palate, the Mind at ease, showing no passions, with his head slightly inclined, with his hands bound in the (characteristic) Yoga-Posture (of Cin-Mudra), (the Yogi) should practice Prānāyamā according to the prescribed Rules. Expiration (of foul air from the body), then Inspiration (of pure air), then purifying the air (with the Kumbhaka), similarly expiration (once again completely); the exhaustion of air by (repeating) the (above) four (processes), is said to be Prānāyāma. [92-94]
The Yogakundally Upanishad [1/32-34] says a man of clear intellect having assumed the Padmāsana posture; keeping his neck and belly in line; controlling the mouth firmly; should expel the vital air through the nose such that vital air moves from the throat and occupies the cranium with a distinct sound. The Dhyānabindūpanishad [70] says that Yogi is deemed the liberated without doubt, who, after assuming the Padmāsana, fills the vital air in the passages of the Nādis and retains it by Kumbhaka. The Yogi having assumed the Baddha-Padmāsana, and saluting his Guru and Shiva, should practice Prānāyāma with his eyes fixed on the tip of the nose says the Yoga Cūdāmany Upanishad [106]. There are many examples in the Yoga Upanishads recommending the use of specific Asanās or Postures while practicing aspects of other Limbs of Ashtānga Yoga such as Pratyāhāra, Dhārana, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. What is the aim of Asanās? Briefly put, it is to purify and strengthen the mind and the body in order to make the Yogi fit to pursue the next angā or stage of Yoga and indeed all different angās of Yoga successfully. Mastery of the Asanās will enable the Yogi to conquer the three worlds according to the Darshanopanishad [3/13].
It is impossible to answer the question as to which is the best Yoga Asanā because each Asanā is meant for a specific goal and attainment. But one may ask as to what may be the elements of the right posture? The Mandala Brāhmana Upanishad [1/5] says the right posture is one wherein one can transport his mind (to the Supreme Atman) comfortably; wherein one can abide for a long time (without discomfort). The Yoga Upanishads sometimes stress the importance of comfort and firmness of the posture before mentioning the name of the Asanā. The Shāndilyopanishad [1/13] says that “In whichever posture one can hold one’s body comfortably, the man of feeble strength should take recourse to it.”
Prānāyāma
The Sanskrit term Prānāyāma is a composite of two words namely ‘Prāna’ and ‘āyāma’. Prāna refers to the vital airs that course through the body, and ayaama denotes the sense of ‘restraint or control or stopping’. Prāna is not just the breath which is the source of oxygen, which we inhale and exhale continuously to remain alive. It is best described as the vital force which regulates and maintains the body and the mind in running condition. TheTrishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 93(ii)-94(i)], explains the term Prānāyāma as being that process which begins with exhalation of the vital air followed by its inhalation. Thereafter the Vital Air is held for the given duration to be followed by exhalation once again to facilitate the next cycle. These four processes taken together which destroy all ‘kleshanam’ or fears constitute Prānāyāma according to this Mantra.
Trishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 53] reminds us that Prānāyāma must come only after perfect control has been gained over the Mind and the Body by diligently observing the Yamas, Niyamas, and Asanās and after the Nādis have been purified. The adept must not lose sight of the fact that each Angā or Limb of Yoga is meant to prepare the adept for undertaking the Angā to follow in sequential order. That is part of the grand design of Yoga. It means that no Angā or stage of Yoga can be skipped or performed imperfectly without adverse repercussions on the next stage, and indeed, on the whole of the discipline.
The Darshanopanishad [6/1-3] says that Prānāyāma is made up of three components namely, Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhaka, which are said to be of the triad of Varnās or letters that constitute the Pranava or AUM. Prānāyāma is made up of that Pranava. The Darshanopanishad [6/12(ii), 13] defines these three terms briefly but clearly. It says that Pūraka is the inhalation of the outside air and filling it up in the belly. Kumbhaka is the retention of that inhaled air in the belly as though it were a filled-up pot. Recaka is the expulsion of the retained air smoothly and freely. According to the Yoga Upanishads, Kumbhaka or retention of the vital air is really the essence of Prānāyāma for without it, the process of inhalation and expiration would tantamount to normal or supernormal or abnormal breathing but not Prānāyāma. The longer the Kumbhaka one performs, the better it is.
The Dhyānabindūpanishad [19-21] says that one should meditate upon the Lord in the form of the Omkāra stationed in the middle of the pericarp or the Lotus of the Heart; who resembles the steady flame of a lamp; who is the size of a thumb; and perfectly still. Drawing in the air through the Idā, one should meditate upon the Omkāra in the middle of the body surrounded by a lustrous halo. This Mantra emphasizes meditation on the Omkāra during the Kumbhaka phase.
Pratyāhāra
Pratyāhāra or Abstraction consists in the withdrawal of the Mind and the sense-organs from their respective objects. It comes after Prānāyāma and before Dhyāna in the order of the Ashtānga Yoga. The Amrta Nādopanishad [5] says that when one thinks of the five senses such as sound and the like as horses of the chariot, and the fickle Mind as being the reins or bridle in the hands of the Atman, it is known as Pratyāhāra. The Mantra exhorts the Jiva to take up the reins and to exercise its inherent authority over the Mind and the Senses in its capacity as the inner-controller of the body in which it finds itself in embodiment. The natural propensity of the Senses and the Mind is to collaborate with each other to provide the Jiva with various sense experiences, which delays final liberation, if not making it impossible.
Another age-old and apparently irresistible natural tendency of the sense organs is to gravitate towards sense-objects that are within their ambit and to pass on the sensory impressions acquired by them to the Mind for processing so that Jivātman may cognize and experience the external Universe. After all, any Data without the sentient principle to make use of it is meaningless. However, if the Mind has to be freed from its natural but incessant propensity of acquiring, interpreting and transmitting sensory data, it must be trained not to react to any external sensory impression in the first place. Slowly the Mind must be compelled to pay less and less attention to the stream of sensory data inputs from the outside. Next, the Mind must be trained to turn inwards abandoning the external world for the inner. Who will train the Mind to do all this? Obviously, no entity other than the Jivātman itself. Pratyāhāra teaches the Jivātman how to bring the Mind and the Senses under its control and to obey its wishes. Pratyāhāra teaches the Yogi not only how to take charge of the Mind and the Senses but also to compel them to move away from all sense-objects. Pratyāhāra prepares the Yogi for the next stage of Yoga called Dhāranā.
Dhāranā
In the Yoga Angā called Dhāranā, which follows Pratyāhāra, the Jivātman takes further control of the Citta and gives it a specific target to focus on. Since both Pratyāhāra and Dhāranā involve the control and direction of the Citta or the Mind, one may like to know the difference between the two? The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 30 (ii)-31 (i)] says that when the Jivātman cognizes that his Citta has turned fully inwards, it indicates the adoption of Pratyāhāra and when the Jiva cognizes itself as being one with the Paramātman, it constitutes the adoption of Dhāranā. When the Citta is pointed towards the Paramātman, it would be the highest form of Dhāranā.
Dhyāna
The Sanskrit term ‘dhyāna’ denotes ‘meditation, contemplation, attention, or reflection’. In the sequence of Ashtānga Yoga, Dhyāna comes after Dhāranā and before the last Angā of Samādhi. Recall that beginning with Pratyāhāra, the Jivātman of the Sādhak or the aspirant, turns its attention to the most important business of taking full control of the Mind. In Pratyāhāra, the Mind and the Sense Organs are withdrawn from the objects of the Senses. Their orientation is turned away from the external Universe to the internal. It is by no means easy to control the naturally wayward Mind and the Sense Organs long used to external sensory stimuli over repeated births. If the aspiring Yogi does succeed in Pratyāhāra, no new sensory impressions or stimuli would be received thereafter from the outer world and the Mind and the Sense Organs of the Yogi would have become fit to take up the next Angā of Dhāranā.
In the stage of Dhāranā, the Jivaatman of the Yogi further tightens its hold over the Mind giving it specific targets to rivet its attention upon for increasing periods at a time. It is but a part of the rigorous training and disciplining of the most powerful entity of the human body, which ought to have been the Jiva’s willing slave but which has always tended to be an unwilling servant, if not to dominate the Jiva in the vast majority of the cases of embodiments due to the default programming mode. Despite, successful Pratyāhāra, distractions will continue to crop up, not only from the outside world but from the inside as well, triggered by residual impressions in the Mind. In Dhāranā, the Yogi attempts to reduce these distractions in strength and frequency in a progressive manner. The taming of the Mind is an ongoing process without any let or relaxation. If the Yogi eventually succeeds in eliminating all distractions and is able to concentrate upon an object smoothly without interruptions, he is ready for the next stage of Yoga which is Dhyāna. When Dhyāna is perfected, all objects except the one chosen for Dhyāna would be completely eliminated.
The Tejobinduupanishad [1/36] says:
ब्रह्मैवास्मीति सद्रुत्त्यानिरालम्बतया स्थितिः
ध्यानश्ब्देन विख्यतः परमानन्ददायक्: [36]
that the very act of contemplation that one is one with that Brahman, which rests on no support and which yields supreme bliss is famous by the name of Dhyāna. [36]
The Trishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 31(ii)] says, “Reflection in the Mind that ‘I am of the form of Consciousness alone’ is known as Dhyāna.” The Yogatattvopanishad [24(ii)-25] refers to Dhyāna using the Sanskrit phrase ‘ ध्यानंभ्रुमद्यमेहरिम् or ‘dhyānambhrumadyameharim’ which means that Dhyāna is the meditation of Sri Hari in the middle of the eyebrows. The Mandala Brāhmanopanishad [Brāhmana, 1/1/5-10] defines Dhyāna as the contemplation upon the Supreme Consciousness abiding in all. In the act of Dhyāna, one’s consciousness must flow continuously without a break towards the object of meditation chosen and there must be intense and one-pointed devotion for it to bear fruit.
The Mind has to be controlled and established firmly in Yoga. What is the implication of this dictum? How does one know that the Mind has been fixed in Yoga? What are the indications that confirm this? Sri Krishna gives several beautiful insights in the Bhagavad Gita.
सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद् बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् ।
वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः ॥६- २१॥
सुखम sukham – happiness; त्यन्तिकं ātyantikam – infinite/beyond end; यत्तद् yattad – that which; बुद्धिग्राह्यम – the Mind can grasp; अतीन्द्रियम् atīndriyam – but is beyond the sense organs; वेत्ति vetti – experiencing/knowing; यत्र yatra- wherein; न च never ever; एव eva – verily; अयं ayam – this state; स्थित sthitaḥ – once established in; चलति – moves away/strays from; तत्त्वतः tattvataḥ – in truth ॥६- २१॥
“That happiness which is immeasurable/beyond any limit, which only the Mind can grasp and which is beyond the ken of the Sense Organs; experiencing which state or being once established therein, one does not ever move away from it in truth.” || 6/21||
This is the acid test to decide whether the happiness experienced in Yoga is the result of the Yogi’s Mind having been firmly established in Yoga and it is not the kind experienced by the uncontrolled Mind during the course of the innumerable and endless day-to-day interactions with the material world. The Mind and the sense organs that the Jivātman has to use for acquiring and processing sensory data from the Universe around us come together as part of the package given at birth that includes the Body, the Mind, and its different physical and physiological apparatus that each Jiva on embodiment has to make do with. The problem is that in the default mode, the Sense Organs are programmed to seek out the objects of the senses, to acquire sensory impressions from them, and to feed the data to the Mind. The Mind is programmed to process the sensory data received from the sense organs and to feed it to the Sentient Self within the Body. Left to themselves, the Senses will continue to search for more and more sources of sensory impressions in diversity and intensity. The Mind is not programmed to hinder or discourage the Senses from constantly alighting upon potential sources of sense gratification. The Mind is happy to keep on performing its primary role of enabling the sentient entity to experience first-hand the Universe of Matter with all its wonders, mysteries, its joys, ecstasies, pain, and bitter sorrows. It is all the same for the inert system of data acquisition and transmission because the Mind and the Body are not sentient entities. They are not the Knowers and cannot know what the data means. It is the Self that is the knower or the knowing entity. This business of collecting and passing on sensory data to the knower to make sense of it goes on endlessly as the default mode unless some reprogramming is done. It ends only when the Body dies and the Self is forced to abandon it for another Body if there is a balance of karmas that await fructification and have to be discharged by experiencing the fruits thereof. Yoga is designed for that badly needed reprogramming of the Mind-Body Complex to stop the endless cycles of accruing fruits and rebirths to annul them.
Whatever happiness or sorrow or the range of emotions in between the two, which our sense organs can grasp and feed the associated data to the Mind, are all transitory. But the supreme happiness experienced by a Yogi who is firmly established in Yoga can only be grasped by the Mind. It is beyond the range of the sense organs. One has to understand it mentally. One cannot talk about it; one cannot hear about it. It cannot be seen or felt as a tangible or visible manifestation in anyone. This is the first indication of the great Yogic bliss; Sri Krishna is hinting about to us. The other is that once a Yogi gets there and experiences that Bliss, he would never abandon or stray from that supreme state in truth. This is the kind of delight that is the end of all search for delights.
In the next Shloka [ibid 6/22], Sri Krishna goes deeper into the nature of this Yogic Bliss. He says:
यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः ।
यस्मिन्स्थितो न दुःखेन गुरुणापि विचाल्यते ॥६- २२॥
यं yam – which; लब्ध्वा labdhvā – having gained/acquired; च ca- and; अपरं – any other greater; लाभं lābham – gain or desirable thing; मन्यते manyate – holds as; न na – not; अधिकं adhikam – greater; ततः tataḥ – tah that; यस्मिन् yasmin – in which; न्स्थितो sthito – being established; न na -is not; दुःखेन dukhena by sorrows; गुरुणापि gurunāpi – even of the severest kind; विचाल्यते vicalayate – is shaken or upset ॥६- २२॥
“Having gained which, one begins to hold that there can be no greater gain than that, and one who is established in such a state is not shaken or upset by the severest of sorrows.” ||6/22|
This wonderful bliss experienced by one whose Mind is firmly fixed in Yoga not only provides indescribable joy but also protects the Yogi from the heaviest sorrows. Further, having gained the state of this bliss, one feels that one has nothing more to attain or gain or acquire or strive for. This is the second indication that one’s Mind has been established in Yoga.
So far, Sri Krishna has revealed some indirect indications by which we can sense that the individual before us is blissfully established firmly in Yoga. Now in the foregoing shlokas, He spells out certain directly observable characteristics of a Yogi whose Mind has been firmly anchored in Yoga. These qualities are so inspiring that all human beings ought to adopt them no matter what. The first is the attitude that all living beings have two things in common at the highest possible level. Sri Krishna says:
सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ॥६- २९॥
सर्वभूत sarvabhūta – all living beings across the Board regardless of species, forms and names; स्थम stham – situated in; त्मानं ātmānam – the Brahman/Supreme Self; सर्वभूतानि sarvabhūtāni – all beings; च ca – and ; आत्मनि ithe Supreme Self ; ईक्षते ēkshate – beholds; योगयुक्तात्मा yogayuktāma – the individual Self yoked to Yoga; सर्वत्र sarvatra – everywhere; समदर्शनः samadarshanah ॥६- २९॥
“He who sees all living entities regardless of species, forms and names as abiding in his or her own Self, and also beholds his or her own Self as existing in every living being whatsoever, such a one yoked to Yoga has the vision of equality. ” ||6/29||
Why should a Yogi regard all species as existing in Himself or himself in all species? After all, there are glaring differences of form, shape, colour, behaviour, sounds and other characteristics by which differences are perceived in all species. What is the logic behind these deep words of Sri Krishna? Has this attitude been recommended merely to minimize inequitable behavior on the part of human beings towards other species less intelligent than them? No doubt, if human beings consider animals and other living entities on par with themselves, their cruelty and untenable injustice towards other species could be tempered by this thought. That is true but the fact is that at the most fundamental level of Hindu Philosophy, we are actually and absolutely the same. Hindu Philosophy holds that every Jiva, no matter which body it may have been embodied in, when ultimately separated from Prakriti or Matter and thereafter abiding in its pristine state, is identical on all counts with every other Jiva liberated from every other form of embodiment whether in India or the USA or Australia or the North Pole to name some places at random. We must note that, prior to its final release, the Jiva may have been in any given body ranging from that of animals to plants to inanimate geographical features like trees, mountains etc. or anything else imaginable. This means that a Yogi who is yoked to Yoga and has equal vision sees no difference between a man and a woman, a child or a grown-up, an elephant or a dog, between a bird or a reptile, a scorpion or a cat, a cockroach or a millipede, a handsome or ugly person, a genius or a dud, a great singer and a terrible amateur and so on. Says Acārya Rāmanuja in the Gita Bhāshya [ibid], that all the external differences are linked to differences in embodiment. When free of Prakriti, as in the state of Kaivalya or Moksha, all Jivātman or Souls are the same in that they are only sentient entities as centers of ‘knowing’ intelligence. An enlightened Yogin, therefore, sees himself as abiding in all beings and all beings as abiding in his Self in the sense that he sees the exact similarity between his own Self and the Self in that of every other being. In the event, when one Self is visualized, all other Selves become visualized, because of the similarity of all the Selves. This idea is further supported by Sri Krishna’s statement [Gita 6.29], ‘He sees equality everywhere’. It is corroborated by Arjuna’s words to the Lord [Gita 6.33], namely, ‘This Yoga of Equality which has been declared by You’, and also by Sri Krishna’s own statement [Gita 5.19] that, ‘The Brahman when uncontaminated is the same everywhere’.
The concept of the perception of equality so vital in a Yogi whose Mind is firmly established in Yoga, is further elaborated by Sri Krishna extending the logic to the Para Brahman Himself. He tells Arjuna [Gita 6/30] that:
यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति ।
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥६- ३०॥
यो yaḥ – whoever; मां maam – Me; पश्यति pashyati – beholds; सर्वत्र sarvatra – everywhere/on all sides; सर्वं sarvam – everything; च ca – and; मयि mayi – within Myself; पश्यति pashyati – sees; तस्य – of him; अहं aham – I; न na – not; प्रणश्यामि pranashyaami – am lost or destroyed; स sah – such a person; च ca – and; मे me – to Me; न प्रणश्यति na pranashyati – does not perish or vanish. ॥६- ३०॥
” To him who sees Me in every Self everywhere and who sees every self in Me,
I am never lost to such a person nor is he ever lost to Me.” ॥6 – 30॥
The Sanskrit term प्रणश्यति used in this Shloka has the connotation of ‘perish’, die, disappear, vanish’. It has been beautifully explained by Acārya Rāmanuja in his Gita Bhāshya [ibid.] in the following manner. To him who perceives the true nature of his own Self, Sri Krishna does not perish or vanish ever on account of the similarity between the two. Because of this similarity, Sri Krishna is never invisible to him. Similarly, the Yogin who views his own Self as being similar to that of Sri Krishna, such a Yogi always remains within the Lord’s sight because whenever the Lord happens to view Himself, He does not fail to notice the essential similarity between Himself and that Yogi. What a wonderful idea that we can all claim a degree of kinship with the Brahman on this account. In this manner, an aspiring Yogi can perform Dhyāna of the Brahman and progress to Samādhi or directly to Moksha from the stage of Dhyāna itself, provided Dhyāna can be performed continuously without a break for a sufficient length of time with the utmost one-pointed devotion.
Samādhi
Samādhi is the final and most intense stage of concentration of the consciousness. It follows Dhyāna or Meditation. The term ‘Samādhi’ as used in Sanskrit Literature has several different connotations in English such as that of ‘collecting or composing’, ‘profound meditation’, ‘intentness or concentration’, ‘the fixation of thoughts’, ‘penance’, ‘perfect absorption of thought into the object of meditation’, and ‘perseverance’ to cite some. As far as Yoga is concerned, the English sense of ‘perfect absorption of thought into the object of meditation’ is the closest to the term Samādhi. However, the depth, complexity, and ramifications of the term Samādhi defy a simple or concise explanation in any language. We have to turn to the Yoga Upanishads for insights. The Mandala Brāhmanopanishad [1/1/10] uses the Sanskrit phrase ‘Dhyāna-Vismruti’ to define Samādhi. This means that Samādhi is that state wherein one has become oblivious of the very act of contemplation. Such a concept of Samādhi is substantiated by the Amrta Nādopanishad [16] which says that, “After having attained it (the Supreme Self or a Deity of Choice), when one looks upon oneself as being the same (as that attained), such a state is known as Samādhi.”
The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 160(ii)-161] says that when the thought becomes firmly established in the Yogi that he or she has become a part of that Supreme Brahman and verily that Brahman alone, it is known as the state of Samādhi devoid of all functioning. The Brahman is then attained and the Yogi would not have to go back to worldly existence any more. The Darshanopanishad [10/1-5] says that Samādhi is the advent of that state of consciousness in which the Jivātman and the Paramātman (the Brahman) are found to be merged.
Conclusion
What is the grand Aim of Yoga? I conclude this Article with my firm belief that the purpose of Yoga, as stated in the Yoga Upanishads themselves, is not to develop yogic-siddhis (extraordinary or supernatural powers), but to seek Moksha or Final Liberation and thence to attain either the State of Kaivalya or the State of Merger with the Brahman as may be desired by the Yogi who has reached the summit of the Yoga. Siddhis acquired in the course of the practice of yogic disciplines are to be used only to facilitate further progress in the quest for emancipation and God. According to the Yoga Upanishads, they are not to be disclosed or publicized for fame or misused in any other form. These Upanishads seek to provide valuable aspects of knowledge helpful to the seeker of the Brahman. Each Shloka of every Yoga Upanishad contains a gem of an insight for the aspirant working his or her way on the path to the Brahman. The depth of the insights gained depends upon the efforts of the seeker himself, the Grace of the Brahman, and the help of the Guru. The mosaic of insights provided by the Yoga Upanishads is the end result of knowledge received by our ancient Sages in states of super-consciousness called Samādhi, collected, collated, analyzed and written down by them for the benefit of all Mankind. Lastly, the final goal of Yoga is mysterious by all accounts and cannot be easily described or imagined. In this spirit, we quote a shloka from the Mahāvākya Upanishad which describes the immense difficulty of comprehending the final goal of Yoga, if not its impossibility. It says [ibid. 6-9]:
ब्र्ह्मण्यभिध्यायमाने सच्चिगानन्द पर्मात्माविर्भवति
सहस्रभानुमच्छुरितापूरितत्वादलिप्य परावरपूर् इव नैषा
समाधि नैषा योगसिद्धि: नैष मनोल्य: ब्रह्मक्यं तत् ॥ ६-९ ॥
“When the Paramātman manifests himself in Meditation in the form of Existence, Consciousness and Ananda or Bliss’, that state; known as the Knowledge of the Truth, intensely resplendent with the radiance of thousands of Suns rising up simultaneously; is like the waveless deep (ocean), incapable of being absorbed on account of its very fullness. This is not Samādhi. Nor is this the successful accomplishment of Yoga. Nor is this the final dissolution of the Mind. That is oneness with the Brahman.” ॥ 6-9 ॥
THE ASHTĀNGA YOGA OF THE YOGA UPANISHADS
THE ASHTĀNGA YOGA
OF THE YOGA UPANISHADS
This inspired Sketch of the Indian Peepul Tree, under which Sages have sought enlightenment for thousands of years, has been made by my granddaughter Aranya Karighattam on my request, especially for this Article. May the Wisdom of the Ancient Sages of India descend upon her for the Good of All.
Acknowledgements:
1. The Article “Ashtānga Yoga of the Yoga Upanishads” has been written by me based on my earlier much larger work titled “The Overview of the Yoga Upanishads” prepared under the Guidance of my Guru, Ubhaya Vedānta, Professor M.A. Lakshmithathacarya Swami of Melkote, Karnataka, INDIA to whom, I am deeply indebted for inspiration and guidance.
2. I am grateful to my wife Geetha for maintaining an ambience of Dharma & Spirituality ever since we got married over 50 years ago. She routinely followed many of the Yamas & Niyamas of Yoga in daily life without any formal instruction in Yoga. She invariably maintained our Religious Traditions especially those of our Festivals no matter where I was stationed. Guileless and always indifferent to the attractions of wealth, power, or prestige, she followed her Dharma faithfully looking upon all with an equal eye. Her presence has inspired me to pursue my spiritual studies of Hindu Philosophy and Religion in the right ambience at Home. That has been my good fortune in life.
3. I am also indebted in large measure to my spiritually inclined daughter Kavita for her valuable assistance in research work, formatting, proof-reading, and unflagging enthusiasm that aspects of Yoga should be widely disseminated to all. She wanted this Article to be presented in the most reader-friendly format and took the necessary steps.
Colonel Ramesh Shama Alvar (Retd)
Bangalore, INDIA
20 Dec 2020
Introduction
There are many people, both in India and abroad, to whom the term Yoga conjures up images of Asanas as a separate Yoga Discipline by itself and largely comprising of Physical Postures demanding unusual effort, flexibility and determination. The truth is that Asanas have as much spiritual element in them as the physical and that they are but just one part of the larger System of Yoga called the Ashtānga Yoga. Our aim in this article is to briefly describe the Ashtānga Yoga and to distinguish it from other types of Yoga. At the outset, it must be made clear that wherever the term Yoga has been used in this article, it refers only to the Yoga as advocated by the Yoga Upanishads, which are about twenty in number. The Yoga of the Yoga Upanishads is fundamentally different from many other types of Yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Rāj Yoga, Gnyāna Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Kriya Yoga, etc., though there are several common elements.
The Yoga advocated by the Yoga Upanishads is called the Ashtānga Yoga, which means the Yoga of Eight Limbs or Components. It is a graded course in increasing order of difficulty and complexity. Each limb has some specific purposes, one of which is to prepare the adept for undertaking the next one. If one limb of the Ashtānga Yoga were to be attempted without having mastered the previous one, it would lead to a dangerous failure. In real life, a student who may have secured poor marks or failed in the 3rd Form, Grade, or Standard in an elementary school and yet been promoted, may eventually do well in the 4th. But that would be impossible in Yoga. No limb can be bypassed without doing it properly and attaining its objectives. The eight limbs of Ashtānga Yoga are as follows: –
Yama
Niyama
Asana
Prānāyāma
Pratyāhāra
Dhāranā
Dhyāna
Samādhi
Yamas & Niyamas
Yamas & Niyamas are designed to make the Body and the Mind, strong, pure, and fit for further Yoga. More importantly, they bring the Mind and the Body under the full control of the Jiva or the Sentient Principle which finds itself conjunct with Prakriti or Matter when it is in embodiment. The term ‘yamah’ in Sanskrit connotes a sense of ‘restraint, control or self-control. The Trishikhi Brāhamanopanishad [Mantra, 32(ii)-33] and the Darshanopanishad [1-6] both tell us that there are ten kinds of Yamas, namely, ahimsa or non-violence; satyam or truthfulness; steyam or abstaining from theft or robbery; brhamacaryam or celibacy; dayā or compassion; aarjvam or rectitude; kshmā or forbearance; dhruti or firmness & fortitude; mitāhāraha or temperance in food; and shaucam or cleanliness. There are certain variations to be found in other Texts, which does not mean that a given Yama or Niyama, not to be found in a Text of choice being referred to, is invalid for that reason. All the Yamas & Niyamas given in the different Texts of the Yoga Upanishads should be regarded as different insights of the ancient Rishis with regard to complex aspects of Yoga and valid per-se. Students can follow one or more variations found in other Texts as well, with added benefit and no harm whatsoever, provided time and effort permit. However, the adept would do well to consult his or her Guru in everything.
The term Niyama in Sanskrit also denotes the sense of ‘restraint; taming; subduing; a restriction or limitation’. The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 33] says that tapah or penance; santosha or contentment; astikaya or belief in the existence of God and the other Worlds; dānam or charity; arādhanamhare or the adoration of Sri Hari; vedāntashravanam or the study of the Vedanta; hniha or modesty; mati or knowledge and discrimination; japa or prayers; and lastly; vratam or austerities; are the ten Niyamas. The Varāhopanishad [ 5/13-14] concurs with the Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad except that it uses the phrase Ishvara Poojanam in place of Arādhanam Hare to denote the adoration and worship of God. In effect, like Yamas, Niyamas are also restraints, rules, and restrictions. If so, what is the difference between Yamas and Niyamas? Yamas are things forbidden for the aspiring Yogi. They are negative in the sense of avoidance. Niyamas are things that the Yogi is exhorted to do. They are positive, pro-active, and action-oriented injunctions. Thus, Yamas are restrictions or restraints and Niyamas are observances positively enjoined. Together, they form a code of conduct that transforms the Mind and the Body making the adept fit for further Yoga. Niyama is the second of the eight limbs of Yoga. Sri Krishna [Gita 2/50] tells Arjuna:
बुद्धियुक्तो जहातीह उभो सुकॄतद्ष्कॄतो
तस्माध्योगाय युज्यस्व योग: कर्मसु कौश्लम् [50]
A man with evenness of mind discards here and now good and evil.
Therefore, endeavor for Yoga. Yoga is skill in action. [50]
One may wonder why Sri Krishna should say that a man with evenness of the Mind must discard both good as well as evil. We can intuitively understand why evil ought to be discarded, but why good as well? It appears baffling on the face of it. We must take the help of the commentaries of the great Acāryās on the Gita to make any headway in finding an answer. Sri Rāmānujā says in the Gita Bhashya [ibid.] that what Sri Krishna is advising the Yogi with evenness of the Mind to abandon are good as well as evil karmas in the sense of human actions/works and not in the sense of the class of intrinsic qualities characterized by the generic terms ‘good’ and ‘evil’. In the normal course, karmas accumulate in every Jivātman’s account of past karmas awaiting fructification and subsequent annulment by actually experiencing their fruits. The Hindu Theory of Karmas says that the normal way to cancel or annul a karma is only by way of tasting/experiencing its fruits whether painful and detestable or enjoyable and welcome or of indifferent flavor and consequences. To do this, one has to be born and be able use the body for experiencing the fruits of pending karmas of embodiment. If in one lifetime, one happens to add more karmas to one’s stock than what one has been able to cancel/annul by actually enjoying or suffering their fruits, the backlog would continue to grow, thereby perpetuating endless cycles of births-deaths-rebirths. This has been the case with most human beings since their advent. Yoga offers a quicker way for the annulment of pending karmas thereby hastening the advent of Moksha. Moksha is impossible without eradicating all pending karmas.
However, in the lifetime of the fortunate Jiva who has adopted Yoga as the means to Moksha, great care has to be taken that more karmas are not added to one’s account which are likely to bear fruits even as Yoga is being pursued with the object of extinguishing all past karmas pending in the account. There would always be many karmas outside of Yoga that a Yogi cannot avoid for the maintenance of the Body and the Mind and to meet mundane obligations. Such karmas could be good or evil in essence. Evenness of Mind comes into play in the abandonment of all such karmas, whether good or evil in the present, even while pursuing Yoga to destroy all past pending Karmas. That would require great skill in action, which means great discrimination in the selection and execution of unavoidable obligatory as well as occasional karmas such that they do not add to the pending list. How can the Yogi do this? Does it not require great skill in action? In general, according to the Hindu Scriptures, for one to ensure that a karma does not stick to one’s account, one has to do three things. Firstly, one must relinquish the fruits of the karma being performed. This is done by not harboring any expectation of any fruit thereof. Secondly, one should perform the karma as an offering to God and assign the fruit, whatever it might be, to the Brahman. Thirdly, one has to guard against the inevitable sense of agency lurking in the performance of any karma and to abandon it firmly and fully if it should arise in the Mind. All this is not easy and one is liable to errors. That is why Sri Krishna says that Yoga is skill in action.
Asanās
Asanās constitute the third limb of Ashtānga Yoga. The term ‘āsanam’ in Sanskrit has a number of meanings such as ‘sitting down; a seat; a particular posture or mode of sitting; stopping, camping; abiding, dwelling.’ The term ‘Yogāsanam’ in Sanskrit means ‘a posture suitable for profound meditation’. Yogāsnam is important per-se in that it purifies the Mind and the Body of the Yogi making it strong, healthy, and focused for the rigorous stages of Yoga to follow. Another role that Asanams play, which is certainly as important, if not more, is that many of the Asanams act as the indispensable foundation for performing other limbs of the Ashtānga Yoga such as Prānāyāma, Pratyāhāra, Dhāranā, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. For instance, the Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra 92-94] says;
रसनां ताल्लुनि न्यस्य स्वस्थचित्तोनिरामय
आकुञ्चितशिरः किंचिन्निबध्न्योगमुद्रया [92]
हस्तौ यतौक्तविधिना प्राणायामं समाचरेत्
रेचनं पूरणं वयोः शोधनं रेचनं तथा [93]
चतुर्भिः क्लेशनं वायोः प्राणयाम उदीर्यते
हस्तेन दक्षिणॆनैव पीडयेन्नासिकापुतम् [94]
The Yogi having first assumed the posture keeping his Body erect, (his Mind) alert, with his eyes fixed on the tip of the nose, (one row of) teeth not touching the (other row of) teeth, the tongue fixed onto the palate, the Mind at ease, showing no passions, with his head slightly inclined, with his hands bound in the (characteristic) Yoga-Posture (of Cin-Mudra), (the Yogi) should practice Prānāyamā according to the prescribed Rules. Expiration (of foul air from the body), then Inspiration (of pure air), then purifying the air (with the Kumbhaka), similarly expiration (once again completely); the exhaustion of air by (repeating) the (above) four (processes), is said to be Prānāyāma. [92-94]
The Yogakundally Upanishad [1/32-34] says a man of clear intellect having assumed the Padmāsana posture; keeping his neck and belly in line; controlling the mouth firmly; should expel the vital air through the nose such that vital air moves from the throat and occupies the cranium with a distinct sound. The Dhyānabindūpanishad [70] says that Yogi is deemed the liberated without doubt, who, after assuming the Padmāsana, fills the vital air in the passages of the Nādis and retains it by Kumbhaka. The Yogi having assumed the Baddha-Padmāsana, and saluting his Guru and Shiva, should practice Prānāyāma with his eyes fixed on the tip of the nose says the Yoga Cūdāmany Upanishad [106]. There are many examples in the Yoga Upanishads recommending the use of specific Asanās or Postures while practicing aspects of other Limbs of Ashtānga Yoga such as Pratyāhāra, Dhārana, Dhyāna, and Samādhi. What is the aim of Asanās? Briefly put, it is to purify and strengthen the mind and the body in order to make the Yogi fit to pursue the next angā or stage of Yoga and indeed all different angās of Yoga successfully. Mastery of the Asanās will enable the Yogi to conquer the three worlds according to the Darshanopanishad [3/13].
It is impossible to answer the question as to which is the best Yoga Asanā because each Asanā is meant for a specific goal and attainment. But one may ask as to what may be the elements of the right posture? The Mandala Brāhmana Upanishad [1/5] says the right posture is one wherein one can transport his mind (to the Supreme Atman) comfortably; wherein one can abide for a long time (without discomfort). The Yoga Upanishads sometimes stress the importance of comfort and firmness of the posture before mentioning the name of the Asanā. The Shāndilyopanishad [1/13] says that “In whichever posture one can hold one’s body comfortably, the man of feeble strength should take recourse to it.”
Prānāyāma
The Sanskrit term Prānāyāma is a composite of two words namely ‘Prāna’ and ‘āyāma’. Prāna refers to the vital airs that course through the body, and ayaama denotes the sense of ‘restraint or control or stopping’. Prāna is not just the breath which is the source of oxygen, which we inhale and exhale continuously to remain alive. It is best described as the vital force which regulates and maintains the body and the mind in running condition. TheTrishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 93(ii)-94(i)], explains the term Prānāyāma as being that process which begins with exhalation of the vital air followed by its inhalation. Thereafter the Vital Air is held for the given duration to be followed by exhalation once again to facilitate the next cycle. These four processes taken together which destroy all ‘kleshanam’ or fears constitute Prānāyāma according to this Mantra.
Trishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 53] reminds us that Prānāyāma must come only after perfect control has been gained over the Mind and the Body by diligently observing the Yamas, Niyamas, and Asanās and after the Nādis have been purified. The adept must not lose sight of the fact that each Angā or Limb of Yoga is meant to prepare the adept for undertaking the Angā to follow in sequential order. That is part of the grand design of Yoga. It means that no Angā or stage of Yoga can be skipped or performed imperfectly without adverse repercussions on the next stage, and indeed, on the whole of the discipline.
The Darshanopanishad [6/1-3] says that Prānāyāma is made up of three components namely, Recaka, Pūraka and Kumbhaka, which are said to be of the triad of Varnās or letters that constitute the Pranava or AUM. Prānāyāma is made up of that Pranava. The Darshanopanishad [6/12(ii), 13] defines these three terms briefly but clearly. It says that Pūraka is the inhalation of the outside air and filling it up in the belly. Kumbhaka is the retention of that inhaled air in the belly as though it were a filled-up pot. Recaka is the expulsion of the retained air smoothly and freely. According to the Yoga Upanishads, Kumbhaka or retention of the vital air is really the essence of Prānāyāma for without it, the process of inhalation and expiration would tantamount to normal or supernormal or abnormal breathing but not Prānāyāma. The longer the Kumbhaka one performs, the better it is.
The Dhyānabindūpanishad [19-21] says that one should meditate upon the Lord in the form of the Omkāra stationed in the middle of the pericarp or the Lotus of the Heart; who resembles the steady flame of a lamp; who is the size of a thumb; and perfectly still. Drawing in the air through the Idā, one should meditate upon the Omkāra in the middle of the body surrounded by a lustrous halo. This Mantra emphasizes meditation on the Omkāra during the Kumbhaka phase.
Pratyāhāra
Pratyāhāra or Abstraction consists in the withdrawal of the Mind and the sense-organs from their respective objects. It comes after Prānāyāma and before Dhyāna in the order of the Ashtānga Yoga. The Amrta Nādopanishad [5] says that when one thinks of the five senses such as sound and the like as horses of the chariot, and the fickle Mind as being the reins or bridle in the hands of the Atman, it is known as Pratyāhāra. The Mantra exhorts the Jiva to take up the reins and to exercise its inherent authority over the Mind and the Senses in its capacity as the inner-controller of the body in which it finds itself in embodiment. The natural propensity of the Senses and the Mind is to collaborate with each other to provide the Jiva with various sense experiences, which delays final liberation, if not making it impossible.
Another age-old and apparently irresistible natural tendency of the sense organs is to gravitate towards sense-objects that are within their ambit and to pass on the sensory impressions acquired by them to the Mind for processing so that Jivātman may cognize and experience the external Universe. After all, any Data without the sentient principle to make use of it is meaningless. However, if the Mind has to be freed from its natural but incessant propensity of acquiring, interpreting and transmitting sensory data, it must be trained not to react to any external sensory impression in the first place. Slowly the Mind must be compelled to pay less and less attention to the stream of sensory data inputs from the outside. Next, the Mind must be trained to turn inwards abandoning the external world for the inner. Who will train the Mind to do all this? Obviously, no entity other than the Jivātman itself. Pratyāhāra teaches the Jivātman how to bring the Mind and the Senses under its control and to obey its wishes. Pratyāhāra teaches the Yogi not only how to take charge of the Mind and the Senses but also to compel them to move away from all sense-objects. Pratyāhāra prepares the Yogi for the next stage of Yoga called Dhāranā.
Dhāranā
In the Yoga Angā called Dhāranā, which follows Pratyāhāra, the Jivātman takes further control of the Citta and gives it a specific target to focus on. Since both Pratyāhāra and Dhāranā involve the control and direction of the Citta or the Mind, one may like to know the difference between the two? The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 30 (ii)-31 (i)] says that when the Jivātman cognizes that his Citta has turned fully inwards, it indicates the adoption of Pratyāhāra and when the Jiva cognizes itself as being one with the Paramātman, it constitutes the adoption of Dhāranā. When the Citta is pointed towards the Paramātman, it would be the highest form of Dhāranā.
Dhyāna
The Sanskrit term ‘dhyāna’ denotes ‘meditation, contemplation, attention, or reflection’. In the sequence of Ashtānga Yoga, Dhyāna comes after Dhāranā and before the last Angā of Samādhi. Recall that beginning with Pratyāhāra, the Jivātman of the Sādhak or the aspirant, turns its attention to the most important business of taking full control of the Mind. In Pratyāhāra, the Mind and the Sense Organs are withdrawn from the objects of the Senses. Their orientation is turned away from the external Universe to the internal. It is by no means easy to control the naturally wayward Mind and the Sense Organs long used to external sensory stimuli over repeated births. If the aspiring Yogi does succeed in Pratyāhāra, no new sensory impressions or stimuli would be received thereafter from the outer world and the Mind and the Sense Organs of the Yogi would have become fit to take up the next Angā of Dhāranā.
In the stage of Dhāranā, the Jivaatman of the Yogi further tightens its hold over the Mind giving it specific targets to rivet its attention upon for increasing periods at a time. It is but a part of the rigorous training and disciplining of the most powerful entity of the human body, which ought to have been the Jiva’s willing slave but which has always tended to be an unwilling servant, if not to dominate the Jiva in the vast majority of the cases of embodiments due to the default programming mode. Despite, successful Pratyāhāra, distractions will continue to crop up, not only from the outside world but from the inside as well, triggered by residual impressions in the Mind. In Dhāranā, the Yogi attempts to reduce these distractions in strength and frequency in a progressive manner. The taming of the Mind is an ongoing process without any let or relaxation. If the Yogi eventually succeeds in eliminating all distractions and is able to concentrate upon an object smoothly without interruptions, he is ready for the next stage of Yoga which is Dhyāna. When Dhyāna is perfected, all objects except the one chosen for Dhyāna would be completely eliminated.
The Tejobinduupanishad [1/36] says:
ब्रह्मैवास्मीति सद्रुत्त्यानिरालम्बतया स्थितिः
ध्यानश्ब्देन विख्यतः परमानन्ददायक्: [36]
that the very act of contemplation that one is one with that Brahman, which rests on no support and which yields supreme bliss is famous by the name of Dhyāna. [36]
The Trishikhibrāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 31(ii)] says, “Reflection in the Mind that ‘I am of the form of Consciousness alone’ is known as Dhyāna.” The Yogatattvopanishad [24(ii)-25] refers to Dhyāna using the Sanskrit phrase ‘ ध्यानंभ्रुमद्यमेहरिम् or ‘dhyānambhrumadyameharim’ which means that Dhyāna is the meditation of Sri Hari in the middle of the eyebrows. The Mandala Brāhmanopanishad [Brāhmana, 1/1/5-10] defines Dhyāna as the contemplation upon the Supreme Consciousness abiding in all. In the act of Dhyāna, one’s consciousness must flow continuously without a break towards the object of meditation chosen and there must be intense and one-pointed devotion for it to bear fruit.
The Mind has to be controlled and established firmly in Yoga. What is the implication of this dictum? How does one know that the Mind has been fixed in Yoga? What are the indications that confirm this? Sri Krishna gives several beautiful insights in the Bhagavad Gita.
सुखमात्यन्तिकं यत्तद् बुद्धिग्राह्यमतीन्द्रियम् ।
वेत्ति यत्र न चैवायं स्थितश्चलति तत्त्वतः ॥६- २१॥
सुखम sukham – happiness; त्यन्तिकं ātyantikam – infinite/beyond end; यत्तद् yattad – that which; बुद्धिग्राह्यम – the Mind can grasp; अतीन्द्रियम् atīndriyam – but is beyond the sense organs; वेत्ति vetti – experiencing/knowing; यत्र yatra- wherein; न च never ever; एव eva – verily; अयं ayam – this state; स्थित sthitaḥ – once established in; चलति – moves away/strays from; तत्त्वतः tattvataḥ – in truth ॥६- २१॥
“That happiness which is immeasurable/beyond any limit, which only the Mind can grasp and which is beyond the ken of the Sense Organs; experiencing which state or being once established therein, one does not ever move away from it in truth.” || 6/21||
This is the acid test to decide whether the happiness experienced in Yoga is the result of the Yogi’s Mind having been firmly established in Yoga and it is not the kind experienced by the uncontrolled Mind during the course of the innumerable and endless day-to-day interactions with the material world. The Mind and the sense organs that the Jivātman has to use for acquiring and processing sensory data from the Universe around us come together as part of the package given at birth that includes the Body, the Mind, and its different physical and physiological apparatus that each Jiva on embodiment has to make do with. The problem is that in the default mode, the Sense Organs are programmed to seek out the objects of the senses, to acquire sensory impressions from them, and to feed the data to the Mind. The Mind is programmed to process the sensory data received from the sense organs and to feed it to the Sentient Self within the Body. Left to themselves, the Senses will continue to search for more and more sources of sensory impressions in diversity and intensity. The Mind is not programmed to hinder or discourage the Senses from constantly alighting upon potential sources of sense gratification. The Mind is happy to keep on performing its primary role of enabling the sentient entity to experience first-hand the Universe of Matter with all its wonders, mysteries, its joys, ecstasies, pain, and bitter sorrows. It is all the same for the inert system of data acquisition and transmission because the Mind and the Body are not sentient entities. They are not the Knowers and cannot know what the data means. It is the Self that is the knower or the knowing entity. This business of collecting and passing on sensory data to the knower to make sense of it goes on endlessly as the default mode unless some reprogramming is done. It ends only when the Body dies and the Self is forced to abandon it for another Body if there is a balance of karmas that await fructification and have to be discharged by experiencing the fruits thereof. Yoga is designed for that badly needed reprogramming of the Mind-Body Complex to stop the endless cycles of accruing fruits and rebirths to annul them.
Whatever happiness or sorrow or the range of emotions in between the two, which our sense organs can grasp and feed the associated data to the Mind, are all transitory. But the supreme happiness experienced by a Yogi who is firmly established in Yoga can only be grasped by the Mind. It is beyond the range of the sense organs. One has to understand it mentally. One cannot talk about it; one cannot hear about it. It cannot be seen or felt as a tangible or visible manifestation in anyone. This is the first indication of the great Yogic bliss; Sri Krishna is hinting about to us. The other is that once a Yogi gets there and experiences that Bliss, he would never abandon or stray from that supreme state in truth. This is the kind of delight that is the end of all search for delights.
In the next Shloka [ibid 6/22], Sri Krishna goes deeper into the nature of this Yogic Bliss. He says:
यं लब्ध्वा चापरं लाभं मन्यते नाधिकं ततः ।
यस्मिन्स्थितो न दुःखेन गुरुणापि विचाल्यते ॥६- २२॥
यं yam – which; लब्ध्वा labdhvā – having gained/acquired; च ca- and; अपरं – any other greater; लाभं lābham – gain or desirable thing; मन्यते manyate – holds as; न na – not; अधिकं adhikam – greater; ततः tataḥ – tah that; यस्मिन् yasmin – in which; न्स्थितो sthito – being established; न na -is not; दुःखेन dukhena by sorrows; गुरुणापि gurunāpi – even of the severest kind; विचाल्यते vicalayate – is shaken or upset ॥६- २२॥
“Having gained which, one begins to hold that there can be no greater gain than that, and one who is established in such a state is not shaken or upset by the severest of sorrows.” ||6/22|
This wonderful bliss experienced by one whose Mind is firmly fixed in Yoga not only provides indescribable joy but also protects the Yogi from the heaviest sorrows. Further, having gained the state of this bliss, one feels that one has nothing more to attain or gain or acquire or strive for. This is the second indication that one’s Mind has been established in Yoga.
So far, Sri Krishna has revealed some indirect indications by which we can sense that the individual before us is blissfully established firmly in Yoga. Now in the foregoing shlokas, He spells out certain directly observable characteristics of a Yogi whose Mind has been firmly anchored in Yoga. These qualities are so inspiring that all human beings ought to adopt them no matter what. The first is the attitude that all living beings have two things in common at the highest possible level. Sri Krishna says:
सर्वभूतस्थमात्मानं सर्वभूतानि चात्मनि ।
ईक्षते योगयुक्तात्मा सर्वत्र समदर्शनः ॥६- २९॥
सर्वभूत sarvabhūta – all living beings across the Board regardless of species, forms and names; स्थम stham – situated in; त्मानं ātmānam – the Brahman/Supreme Self; सर्वभूतानि sarvabhūtāni – all beings; च ca – and ; आत्मनि ithe Supreme Self ; ईक्षते ēkshate – beholds; योगयुक्तात्मा yogayuktāma – the individual Self yoked to Yoga; सर्वत्र sarvatra – everywhere; समदर्शनः samadarshanah ॥६- २९॥
“He who sees all living entities regardless of species, forms and names as abiding in his or her own Self, and also beholds his or her own Self as existing in every living being whatsoever, such a one yoked to Yoga has the vision of equality. ” ||6/29||
Why should a Yogi regard all species as existing in Himself or himself in all species? After all, there are glaring differences of form, shape, colour, behaviour, sounds and other characteristics by which differences are perceived in all species. What is the logic behind these deep words of Sri Krishna? Has this attitude been recommended merely to minimize inequitable behavior on the part of human beings towards other species less intelligent than them? No doubt, if human beings consider animals and other living entities on par with themselves, their cruelty and untenable injustice towards other species could be tempered by this thought. That is true but the fact is that at the most fundamental level of Hindu Philosophy, we are actually and absolutely the same. Hindu Philosophy holds that every Jiva, no matter which body it may have been embodied in, when ultimately separated from Prakriti or Matter and thereafter abiding in its pristine state, is identical on all counts with every other Jiva liberated from every other form of embodiment whether in India or the USA or Australia or the North Pole to name some places at random. We must note that, prior to its final release, the Jiva may have been in any given body ranging from that of animals to plants to inanimate geographical features like trees, mountains etc. or anything else imaginable. This means that a Yogi who is yoked to Yoga and has equal vision sees no difference between a man and a woman, a child or a grown-up, an elephant or a dog, between a bird or a reptile, a scorpion or a cat, a cockroach or a millipede, a handsome or ugly person, a genius or a dud, a great singer and a terrible amateur and so on. Says Acārya Rāmanuja in the Gita Bhāshya [ibid], that all the external differences are linked to differences in embodiment. When free of Prakriti, as in the state of Kaivalya or Moksha, all Jivātman or Souls are the same in that they are only sentient entities as centers of ‘knowing’ intelligence. An enlightened Yogin, therefore, sees himself as abiding in all beings and all beings as abiding in his Self in the sense that he sees the exact similarity between his own Self and the Self in that of every other being. In the event, when one Self is visualized, all other Selves become visualized, because of the similarity of all the Selves. This idea is further supported by Sri Krishna’s statement [Gita 6.29], ‘He sees equality everywhere’. It is corroborated by Arjuna’s words to the Lord [Gita 6.33], namely, ‘This Yoga of Equality which has been declared by You’, and also by Sri Krishna’s own statement [Gita 5.19] that, ‘The Brahman when uncontaminated is the same everywhere’.
The concept of the perception of equality so vital in a Yogi whose Mind is firmly established in Yoga, is further elaborated by Sri Krishna extending the logic to the Para Brahman Himself. He tells Arjuna [Gita 6/30] that:
यो मां पश्यति सर्वत्र सर्वं च मयि पश्यति ।
तस्याहं न प्रणश्यामि स च मे न प्रणश्यति ॥६- ३०॥
यो yaḥ – whoever; मां maam – Me; पश्यति pashyati – beholds; सर्वत्र sarvatra – everywhere/on all sides; सर्वं sarvam – everything; च ca – and; मयि mayi – within Myself; पश्यति pashyati – sees; तस्य – of him; अहं aham – I; न na – not; प्रणश्यामि pranashyaami – am lost or destroyed; स sah – such a person; च ca – and; मे me – to Me; न प्रणश्यति na pranashyati – does not perish or vanish. ॥६- ३०॥
” To him who sees Me in every Self everywhere and who sees every self in Me,
I am never lost to such a person nor is he ever lost to Me.” ॥6 – 30॥
The Sanskrit term प्रणश्यति used in this Shloka has the connotation of ‘perish’, die, disappear, vanish’. It has been beautifully explained by Acārya Rāmanuja in his Gita Bhāshya [ibid.] in the following manner. To him who perceives the true nature of his own Self, Sri Krishna does not perish or vanish ever on account of the similarity between the two. Because of this similarity, Sri Krishna is never invisible to him. Similarly, the Yogin who views his own Self as being similar to that of Sri Krishna, such a Yogi always remains within the Lord’s sight because whenever the Lord happens to view Himself, He does not fail to notice the essential similarity between Himself and that Yogi. What a wonderful idea that we can all claim a degree of kinship with the Brahman on this account. In this manner, an aspiring Yogi can perform Dhyāna of the Brahman and progress to Samādhi or directly to Moksha from the stage of Dhyāna itself, provided Dhyāna can be performed continuously without a break for a sufficient length of time with the utmost one-pointed devotion.
Samādhi
Samādhi is the final and most intense stage of concentration of the consciousness. It follows Dhyāna or Meditation. The term ‘Samādhi’ as used in Sanskrit Literature has several different connotations in English such as that of ‘collecting or composing’, ‘profound meditation’, ‘intentness or concentration’, ‘the fixation of thoughts’, ‘penance’, ‘perfect absorption of thought into the object of meditation’, and ‘perseverance’ to cite some. As far as Yoga is concerned, the English sense of ‘perfect absorption of thought into the object of meditation’ is the closest to the term Samādhi. However, the depth, complexity, and ramifications of the term Samādhi defy a simple or concise explanation in any language. We have to turn to the Yoga Upanishads for insights. The Mandala Brāhmanopanishad [1/1/10] uses the Sanskrit phrase ‘Dhyāna-Vismruti’ to define Samādhi. This means that Samādhi is that state wherein one has become oblivious of the very act of contemplation. Such a concept of Samādhi is substantiated by the Amrta Nādopanishad [16] which says that, “After having attained it (the Supreme Self or a Deity of Choice), when one looks upon oneself as being the same (as that attained), such a state is known as Samādhi.”
The Trishikhi Brāhmanopanishad [Mantra, 160(ii)-161] says that when the thought becomes firmly established in the Yogi that he or she has become a part of that Supreme Brahman and verily that Brahman alone, it is known as the state of Samādhi devoid of all functioning. The Brahman is then attained and the Yogi would not have to go back to worldly existence any more. The Darshanopanishad [10/1-5] says that Samādhi is the advent of that state of consciousness in which the Jivātman and the Paramātman (the Brahman) are found to be merged.
Conclusion
What is the grand Aim of Yoga? I conclude this Article with my firm belief that the purpose of Yoga, as stated in the Yoga Upanishads themselves, is not to develop yogic-siddhis (extraordinary or supernatural powers), but to seek Moksha or Final Liberation and thence to attain either the State of Kaivalya or the State of Merger with the Brahman as may be desired by the Yogi who has reached the summit of the Yoga. Siddhis acquired in the course of the practice of yogic disciplines are to be used only to facilitate further progress in the quest for emancipation and God. According to the Yoga Upanishads, they are not to be disclosed or publicized for fame or misused in any other form. These Upanishads seek to provide valuable aspects of knowledge helpful to the seeker of the Brahman. Each Shloka of every Yoga Upanishad contains a gem of an insight for the aspirant working his or her way on the path to the Brahman. The depth of the insights gained depends upon the efforts of the seeker himself, the Grace of the Brahman, and the help of the Guru. The mosaic of insights provided by the Yoga Upanishads is the end result of knowledge received by our ancient Sages in states of super-consciousness called Samādhi, collected, collated, analyzed and written down by them for the benefit of all Mankind. Lastly, the final goal of Yoga is mysterious by all accounts and cannot be easily described or imagined. In this spirit, we quote a shloka from the Mahāvākya Upanishad which describes the immense difficulty of comprehending the final goal of Yoga, if not its impossibility. It says [ibid. 6-9]:
ब्र्ह्मण्यभिध्यायमाने सच्चिगानन्द पर्मात्माविर्भवति
सहस्रभानुमच्छुरितापूरितत्वादलिप्य परावरपूर् इव नैषा
समाधि नैषा योगसिद्धि: नैष मनोल्य: ब्रह्मक्यं तत् ॥ ६-९ ॥
“When the Paramātman manifests himself in Meditation in the form of Existence, Consciousness and Ananda or Bliss’, that state; known as the Knowledge of the Truth, intensely resplendent with the radiance of thousands of Suns rising up simultaneously; is like the waveless deep (ocean), incapable of being absorbed on account of its very fullness. This is not Samādhi. Nor is this the successful accomplishment of Yoga. Nor is this the final dissolution of the Mind. That is oneness with the Brahman.” ॥ 6-9 ॥
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This Post Has 2 Comments
In the article author talks about “to ensure that a karma does not stick to one’s account, one has to do three things” – I find two things mentioned one is to ensure that the fruits of karma needs to be offered to the god, could you clarify on second and third things with some example
Dear Pravesh,
We thank you for your pertinent observation and the valid clarifications you have sought. We apologize for the delay in responding.
The comments of the author Ramesh Alvar are given below –
“To ensure that karmas are not added to one’s account of pending karmas, one should ensure the following:-
1. Karmas should be performed without expectations of any fruits whatsoever.
2. Karmas should be performed as an offering to God. This means that both the given Karma as a whole inclusive of all the constituent individual actions as well as the fruit likely to accrue thereof should be assigned to God.
3. There should be no sense of agency in performing the karma.
These three requirements have been mentioned in the text as such though not listed numerically. The word ‘secondly’ used in the text is misleading in the sense that it suggests that all three have not been mentioned. It is a contextual typographical error. It should have read ‘thirdly’.
Some examples of karmas done without expecting any fruits could be as follows:-
1. If you help someone without any expectation such as the hope that there would be some expression of gratitude or for some quid-pro-quo or for ingratiating yourself for cashing in, on the help given, in the future or for any other form of gain, it would be a karma performed with a fruit in mind. If you were to help someone with no thought of any reward or recognition or any other expectation simply considering it your duty as a human being to help one in distress, it would be a form of karma done without any expectation.
2. If you were to play the violin in a concerto to earn accolades or to enjoy the adulation of the public or to add to your earnings, that would be karma with a fruit in mind. But if you were to play the violin with no expectations whatsoever, whether to earn praise or adulation or money, but simply because you feel that it is your duty to use your talents to spread classical music and keep it alive, then that karma of violin playing would not stick to your account.
Some examples of offering karmas and the fruits thereof to God could be as follows:-
1. Pandit Mallikarjun Mansur once said that he knew no melody or rhythm. He sang at the behest of the Gods who made him sing the way he did. This is an example of abandoning the sense of personal agency and of assigning the karma and the fruit to Divinity.
2. If you had to perform an unpleasant duty for the common good whose consequences were to be uncertain, and you performed that duty as an offering to God assigning the fruits thereof, good or bad equally to God simply because that duty was unavoidable being for the good of all, it would be an example of the assignment of a karma and the possible fruits to God.
An example of performing a karma without the sense of agency could be as follows:-
1. Pandit Narasimhalu Vadavati, the celebrated clarinet player, used to say that the moment he tried to utter the first note of a Raga, his Guru would come and sit in his throat or on the instrument and sing/play on his behalf and that he was not the agent at all.
2. Swami Pillai Lokaacarya would often say that every Guru should feel that he or she was never the actual teacher. The Guru was merely the conduit for passing on knowledge received from Divinity to the Pupil.
3. If a soprano were to sing with the conviction that it is the gift, given to her by providence/Guru, that is actually singing and that she has nothing to do with it personally, that would be a karma done without the sense of agency. Removable of the ego from a karma is the key here.
4. If a King of old or a President or a PM were to discharge official duties with the conviction that the post was being held in trust of the Constitution and the will of the people and that the unavoidable official actions were never personal, he or she would be on the right path with regard to the sense of agency in karmas.
Many Philosophical objections have been raised to the Hindu Karma Theory. One is that nothing would get achieved if there were to be no goal in life at all, that actions without expectations of fruits stifled ambition and killed the desire to attain something concrete. Work, without a goal in mind to motivate the doer, would be counter-productive. Because of all this, it has been held that Hinduism has this major defect that it has historically valued withdrawal from worldly existence rather than encouraged human beings to tackle their problems squarely and to secure their goals against odds. This is true to some extent though there are counter-arguments to these charges. But that will take much space.
Suffice it to say that Ambition is no doubt a great motivating factor but the ambition of all in a given set of similar karmas cannot be accommodated without imparting unhappiness to all but the eventual winner. On balance, in the long run, human ambitions have created more misery than joy. Human ambitions have brought untold suffering to all other species of life that have an equal right to a happy life on this Planet. It has also brought the Earth close to extinction. Hindu Philosophy is based on the premise that human birth has been given to a Jivaatman to work for emancipation and that not to be born again and be shackled by matter in the form of a body is good for the Jivaatman. Embodiment is like an obstacle course and the prize for the successful is that the Jivaatman does not have to compete again. Hindu Scriptures urge the Jivaatman not to waste precious life in furthering future embodiments. The state of final liberation is valued so much that it is considered the foremost of the four goals of human existence.
So Hindu Philosophy exhorts its proponents to work for emancipation by performing karmas that will not retard but hasten the attainment of the goal of final liberation. If the norms of doing karmas to make sure that they do not stick to one are followed, then the human being doing so will do less damage to the Earth, to fellow creatures, and to the individual personally as such. In the state of Moksha or Final Liberation, the Jivaatman, whether in a male or female body there being no distinction whatsoever between any two Jivaatman, would enjoy a bliss far greater than success or fame or wealth could yield in the material world. That is the Philosophical Premise and everything is built around it. ”
We hope that these comments will be helpful. Please do let us know if we can clarify on other matters.
Sūtrajālam Team