Relevance of Patanjali’s Yoga today

The modern life style patterns have transformed the physical, psychological and social health. Fast foods, mobile technology, rapid communication and digital world have moved the people towards sedentary habits and into illusionary world. This life style is isolating people leading to social isolation, stress proneness and psychological problems. Obesity, diabetes, BP, heart diseases, depression, dementia, Alzheimer, cancer, kidney & lung related diseases etc. are prevalent due to modern life style.

There is an old saying in Bharat,
“जैसा करे संग, वैसा चढ़े रंग; जैसा खाये अन्न, वैसा बने मन; जैसा पिये पानी, वैसी बने 
वाणी”

Why is the impulsive behaviour:
Pleasurable experiences ignite desire and sense of attraction creates attachment which stimulate greater craving. The pursuit of pleasure plunges the person in sorrow & sickness in absence of fulfilment
The five senses of perception – Ear, nose, tongue, eye and skin come in contact with sound, smell, taste, sight and touch, send their impressions to the mind and are stored in the memory. Memory longs for further experiences and incite the mind to bypass intelligence and solicit the senses for yet more sense gratification. This in turn incites the mind to seek further experiences through the organs of action. Owing to the force of impressions (past experiences), one continues to hanker after renewed sensation. But one can never be satisfied. This breeds unhappiness and frustration. 
Throughout this process, intelligence measures advantages and disadvantages in order to counterbalance memory, mind and senses which, recalling the taste of past pleasures, are keen for more. Almost inevitably, intelligence remains unheeded. Throughout over stimulation and misuse, the organs of action lose their potency and no longer capable of executing the organs of perception or the mind.

How to discipline sense organs of perception:
Patanjali in 4th century BC, postulated eight limbs of self-discipline & thought management - Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyhara, Dharna, Dhyana & Samadhi. Yama purifies the organs of action and develops the art of living in society honestly. Niyama cleanses the impurities and builds up the sadhaka’s own character. Through the practice of yama and niyama, the sadhaka develops emotional stability. Asana cleanses the physical and organic aspects of the body and eliminates physical and mental perturbations. Through asana, he keeps his body; the abode of the soul, free from disease. Pranayama regulates distribution of vital energy throughout his body and mind and removes the veil of ignorance covering the intelligence and stabilizes mind. Through pratyahara, one develops will power, detaches himself from the organs of senses and acquires clarity of thought. This is the beginning of culturing the brain. The practice of pratyahara modifies the mechanism. The mind, which until now had bypassed intelligence, now approaches it for guidance. Intelligence employs its discriminative faculty to weigh right and wrong, the appropriate and inappropriate, of memory and imprints. This goes against the current of memory and mind. When the mind stops, the senses, too, stop functioning.
 
What are the eight limbs to discipline self:

1. Five yamas (restraint, don’ts) – Yamas are non-injury by word, thought or deed (ahimsa); non-falsehood (satya), non-stealing (asteya); not coveting the possessions of others (aparigraha) & being chaste (brahmacharya). Ahimsa develops non-aggressiveness & mutual tolerance, satya establishes in the practice of truth, astya brings desirelessness, brahmacharya develops vigour & vitality and aparigraha brings understanding of the meaning of life. 
2. Five Niyama (dos’) – Niyamas are purity both, external & internal (saucha, humility, when sullied it becomes pride); contentment (santosha, cheerfulness, benevolence); self-discipline & austere practice (tapas); study of sacred scriptures & of one’s own self (svadhyaya) and surrender of self to God (Isvara pranidhana). Saucha develops self-awareness, santosa brings delight, tapas burns impurities, svadhyaya leads towards self-realisation and Isvara-prranidhana leads from self-realisation to God-realisation.  
3. Asana – Asana means posture, the positioning of the body. It acts as bridges to unite the body with the mind, and the mind with soul. Perfection in asana is reached only when effort ceases, instilling infinite poise and allowing the finite vehicle, the body, to merge in the seer. During practice of asanas, it is necessary to hold the spinal column free, sitting erect, holding the three parts — the chest, neck, and head — in a straight line. These are in numerous forms such as Surya Namaskar, Sarvangasana, Matsyasana, Padahastasana, Dhaurasana, Bhajangasana, Shavasana, Yoga mudrasana, Vajrasana etc. Most asanas are inspired by nature, such as a form of union with symmetric, harmonious flowing shapes of animals, birds or plants.
4. Pranayama – Pranayama is ascension, expansion, prolongation, restraint & extension (ayama) of life force or energy (Prana) by regulating the breath deliberately. During respiration, prana or vital energy is inhaled. This prana or life force is drawn from cosmic source i.e., from sun & circulating space. Focus on the regulation of breath, exhalation, inhalation and retention is called seed (sabja) pranayama. Inhalation moves from the core of being (the seer) towards the consciousness. The in-breath is made to touch five sheaths of the body. The exhalation moves from the external body towards the seer, layer after layer. Retention of the exhalation is antara Kumbhaka and retention of inhalation is bahya kumbhaka. If antara kumbhaka establishes consecration of the seer, bahya kumhaka frees one from the four aims of life. Practice of pranayama stabilizes energy and consciousness.
5. Pratyahara – It the process of withdrawing sensory perception (five organs of perception) and motor actions (five organ of action) into mind. This is pratyahara. In normal daily life, consciousness helps the senses see the objects of the world with thoughts of acquisition, rejection and resignation. Pratyahara helps to control over subtle elements (sound, taste, shape, touch and smell) and facilitate freeing up the mind from the senses and turn towards the realization of the soul. This is foundation of the path of renunciation. It is not only an instrument to steady the mind, but also the gateway to concentration (Dharna).   
6. Dharna – Dharna is focussing of attention on a chosen point or area within the body as well as outside is concentration. It sharpens intelligence.
7. Dhyana – Dhyana is unbroken one-pointed attention and profound contemplative observation. It purifies consciousness. Most thoughts have a very low force, but when repeated they gain strength. Repeated thoughts become habit, and one’s behaviour is for the most part made up of one’s habits. By practising meditation in a relaxed state, one affects the physiological processes which are responsible for the state of the mind. Gradually, an inner awareness and concentration will develop naturally, without struggle. Minds are tamasic (prone to inactivity or laziness), rajasic (highly active) or sattvic (calm and equal). Sattvic minds can easily practice techniques involving concentration and meditation.

 
Yogi recognizes that a moment in time is timeless, changeless, real and eternal. Moment is minutest particle of time. Moment comes between rising impressions and their restraints and vice-versa. Moment is prolonged and expanded so that consciousness becomes absolute. Yogi remains attentive to the moment, and does not allow his attention to slip into movement of moments. He remains undisturbed, so his consciousness.

1. Samadhi – When uninterrupted flow of attention (Dhyana) dissolves the split between the object seen and the seer who sees it, consciousness reaches to a state of silence. It is devoid of “I” and merges into the core of the being in a profound state of serenity. In Samadhi, awareness of place vanishes and one ceases to experience space and time.   Samadhi leads consciousness towards the soul.

 
Practice and detachment develop different stages of Samadhi. Samadhi is superconscious state & is devoid of gunas. But sleep is natural condition of consciousness and tamsic. Initially, distinction is recognized between seer & seen. This is Samprajnata Samadhi (sabija) which consists of six gradations savitarka, nirvitarka, savichara, nirvichara, Ananda and asmita.  

1. Savitarka & Nirvitarka Samadhi relate to intellectual analysis to find root-cause deliberately and non-deliberately respectively.
2. Savichara & nirvichara Samadhi attained by differentiating knowledge through the process of investigation, reflection & consideration in mental depth with reasoning & non-reasoning respectively.
3. Ananda Samadhi ensues on maturity which brings experience of bliss.
4. Asmita Samadhi – when the seeker is free from investigation and experiences pure being.        

When consciousness merges into a mindless, endless, beginning-less state of being, it is nirbija Samadhi. The intervening state between sabija and nirbija Samadhi is asamprajanata Samadhi. During this intervening moment, seeker is free from all fluctuations & one loses the feeling of “I” but samaskaras returns the moment, he comes back.