Yoga

Living beings are essentially governed by the rhythms of sun, moon and stars in the subtle ways. The basic unit of living beings, Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule carries blue print of individual characteristics accumulated in millions of years. Molecule can be further break down into atoms. Each atom seems to be like a whirlpool of centre where cosmic forces are focussed. Hence, each particle in the universe is connected to the infinite.

The four paths of yoga can be represented in the deities of panch-parmeshwar (five deities in Hinduism – Sun, Ganesh, Shiva, Shakti and Vishnu). Sun has been termed as biggest karma yogi as it rises & sets without any break (Karma yoga). Ganesh ji can be a symbol of intellect (Jnana Yoga). Shiva & Shakti are the essence of Kriya Yoga. Bhakti movement and its various sects revolve around Bhagwan Vishnu and his avatars. Daily movement of sun (Rising sun, midday and setting) is also symbolized as the trinity (Brahma – the creator, Vishnu – the sustainer and Shiva – the destroyer to complete the cycle of universe). All forms of yoga develop willpower. All the different yogic paths mutually reinforce each other.      

Yoga means union, the union between the limited self (Jiva) and the cosmic self (Atman). The path of yoga is to explore the deeper layers of mind viz. sub-conscious realms of mind, unconscious realms of mind. Yoga aims to bring about total harmony between one’s fundamental drives, emotions, feelings, intellect, will and one’s interpersonal and social relationships. Hence, it tends to bring about mental peace and tranquillity as well as physical relaxation.
 
Different Paths & one soul:
There are so many paths of yoga such as Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Raja yoga, Hatha yoga, mantra yoga, Kundalini yoga, Dhyana yoga, Swara yoga, Laya yoga, Kriya yoga etc. But, all paths of yoga incorporate action, devotion, introspection, benevolence & enquiry and aim at physical health, mental peace and higher awareness. Swami Sivananda said that one should: “Serve, Love, Give, Meditate, and Realize”. All forms of yoga develop willpower. All the different yogic paths mutually reinforce each other. In hatha yoga, the mind is made one-pointed by awareness of the breath or different parts of the body. In raja yoga the mind is made one-pointed by awareness of a fixed symbol or a psychic centre. In jnana yoga the mind is made one-pointed by total absorption in an enquiry. In karma yoga the mind becomes concentrated by complete absorption in one’s work. In bhakti yoga the same result, namely one-pointedness of the mind, is achieved through love and devotion.
 
Salient features of different paths of Yoga:
Karma Yoga:
It is the path of activity or action. By the very nature, everybody is forced to perform actions. By totally absorbing the self in the work at hand, we tend to reduce his individuality or ego. In Karma yoga, one surrenders ego when one ceases to be the doer. The detachment from results (good or bad) leads to less emotional and mental upsets in the life. When work is done for a higher or spiritual purpose then it becomes karma yoga. The action is same, but the motive is different. The attitude must change. Higher states of karma yoga become meditation.  Salient features are as under -

1. Work & witness – Separating “self” from body. actions happen through him. His body and mind work, he (Self) does not. Shree Krishna says in Bhagavat Gita, do not be attached to inaction, perform action; He who sees inaction in action and action in inaction is a wise man; he is a yogi. The subconscious realms of the mind are continuous hive of activity. Hence, don’t renounce work or everyday life. It is not necessary. Rather renounce attachment to the fruits of the endeavours. Try to practice selfless work. Ashtavakra Gita says, the enlightened one neither avoids the crowd, nor seeks the forest.
2. Eliminating narrow selfishness - Motto to give – give – and give and not take – take and take.
3. Attachment brings pain and misery – One may expect fruits of the work done in particular form but when results are not as desired, it brings pain & misery.
4. Thoughts & actions – Selfless, harmonious & dharmic thoughts and actions lead to the influx of higher awareness.

 
Bhakti Yoga:
To gain lasting peace in life it is not sufficient to attain perfect physical health and some control over thoughts. The emotions must also be transformed in accord with every action and thought. Without gaining emotional harmony and one-pointedness it is impossible to gain mental and physical harmony. Bhakti yoga is the powerful means of harmonizing the emotions. It is path of channelling emotions into devotion. Bhakti comes from the heart, not the mouth or the head. The bhakta absorbs himself completely in his object of devotion, losing his individuality or ego. Emotional and mental problem disappears.
 
Faith (Shraddha) and Bhakti are different. Faith implies that one believes in something. Bhakti is an experience. If one is emotionally inclined, then one can follow the path of Bhakti yoga. This involves intense concentration of one’s entire being on an object of devotion. This leads to a transcendental experience of overwhelming bhakti. Bhakti is both the means and the expression of higher awareness. Great works are an expression of the heart. The seed of bhakti lies in the heart of every person. Each person is potentially a bhakta.
 
As Swami Sivananda said: “Love in the law of life. Love means constant awareness. Devotion means that there will be unceasing thirst, unforgettable, remembrance and unswerving aspiration to unite with one’s ishta. Love has two forms – ego-centred love (in which one loves another person, deity, saint or whatever with the expectation of love in return) and egoless love (without any expectation of love in return, that is bhakti). Ego-centred love will take one to the finite. Egoless love leads to infinite. Ego-centred love tends to quickly subside with time, whereas bhakti increases and grows with every passing minute. The burning aspiration for the supreme and when thought is continuous, then there arises unspeakable love and bliss. This is intense bhakti.
 
Bhakti can be towards anything…Krishna, Christ, Rama… anything that spontaneously creates feeling of devotion from the heart. It should be something that one cannot stop thinking about. If one is a devotee of Krishna, then one can try to see Krishna, in form or essence, in everything. This is love of the divine in everything (madhura Bhakti). This leads to freedom from hatred, envy, malice, self-conceit. Blindly following rituals without any real feeling, is exactly opposite to the purpose of worship and bhakti.
 
All the paths of yoga aim at reducing and eventually eliminating the compulsive grip of mind – ego. Bhakti does this by relegating all one’s impulses towards the object of bhakti. This eradicates the fluctuation of the mind and induce one-pointedness. In Uddhava Gita, Krishna said: just as fire steadily grows from a small flame to a blazing fire and burns fuel to ashes, so does devotion to me, blaze forth and consume all obstacles. This makes the mind one-pointed and the fit receiver for the grace of illumination and bliss. Prayer combined with devotion helps to purify the mind and reduce the power of the ego. The greater the level of bhakti, the less the ego.
 
The path of bhakti provides a perfect method of expressing the unruly emotions. The essence of karma yoga is awareness, detachment and renunciation of the fruits of action. When bhakti and karma yoga are combined, it becomes almost easy to renounce attachment to the fruits or rewards of one’s actions. All rewards, praise and fruits of one’s work are dedicated to the object of devotion. This is the way to rapidly harmonize the mind and reduce egoism. If one adopts the following attitude: “I do not serve…. the Supreme along serves. It is feeling and sincerity which is important. A poor person can offer even meanest object as devotion with feeling & sincerity, is better than a rich person who gives vast wealth, but without slightest devotion.
 
The essence of devotion to Krishna is summed up in the Uddhava Gita when Krishna says: “All the desires, which are rooted in the heart of the sage who worships me with the yoga and devotion, gradually wilt away and when he realizes me, the knot of ignorance which is lodged in the heart is destroyed. All his doubts are annihilated and his stock of karma is exhausted. Therefore, by bhakti yoga my devotee gains all that is gained by the other paths of yoga and by austerities, dispassion, charitable acts and pilgrimages.” Shankaracharya points out: “the characteristics of pure sattva are cheerfulness, realization of one’s self, peace, contentment, bliss and steady bhakti towards atman, by which the aspirant enjoys eternal bliss,” the cleaner the mind the greater the flow of bhakti and the mind becomes intensely one-pointed.
 
The sadhana of the great bhakta Ramdas, mantra upasana included four steps –

1. Continuous mental and verbal chanting of a mantra. In his case it was “Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram.”
2. Visualization of the form of the guru (deity) in the heart.
3. Identification of every object on which the mind dwells with divinity. Whenever one think of, remember that it is the form of supreme.
4. Observation of the mind. Take the attitude of watching the processes of the mind. This is awareness.
5. When the mind is calm, one-pointed and receptive, the grace can arise, bringing with it transcendental knowledge.
6. Bhakti brings satisfaction of all desires. Bhakta surrenders to the divine will. Everything that happens, whether pleasure or pain, is seen as the divine law. All work, actions and experiences are regarded as tests and trials of the divine process, as a means to remove imperfections.

 
Jnana Yoga:
This is the path of Intuitive knowledge. In Sanskrit, jnana means knowledge. It means both knowledge acquired from outside since birth by listening, reading and watching, knowledge attained inside i.e., intuitive or illuminative knowledge. Jnana does not mean intellectual or logical knowledge.
 
Jnana yoga requires to throw all concepts, dogmas, ideas and believe in the truth realized through personal experience. It requires obsession for answers to the enquiries, 24*7. Ask question: what is the thing called ‘I’; what is consciousness; is there any truth in the atma; why I should believe. The success depends on the intensity of the purpose to pursue the enquiries.
 
The foundation of jnana yoga is that one should know and feel the limitations of intellectual thought. Examining any of the subject logically as well as contrary to it i.e., opposite of logical conclusion. The result will erode the prestige of intellect. Intense reflection on the subject reveals higher truth through intuitive flashes in relaxed mind. In Jnana yoga, one surrender ego by intuitive realization that the ego is not the totality of the Being.
 
Raja Yoga:
This is path of Introspection. One attempts to explore the different realms of the mind: conscious, subconscious, unconscious and beyond. The perception of external objects is cut off and directed towards inside. In Raja yoga, the surrender of ego is attained by understanding the vast underlying substratum of each human being and every manifested object. It has many forms -   

1. Patanjali Yoga – it consists of eight limbs of realizations – Yama (self-restraint), Nyamas (self-observances), Asanas (postures), Pranayama (regulation of pranic energy), Pratyahara (dissociation of consciousness with the outside environment), Dharna (consciousness), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (Identification with pure consciousness).
2. Kundalini or Laya Yoga – It is a system concerned with the awakening of the pranic or psychic centres known as chakras. These chakras are centres of bioplasmic energy. A force symbolized by the kundalini; a serpent resides in the lower region of the trunk. On awakening of kundalini, one attains higher awareness.
3. Mantra or Japa Yoga - Yoga of sound. Different sounds produce different effects. Special sound mantras evoke mental and psychic manifestations. A particular mantra, when repeated again and again produces tranquillity, concentration and awareness of the inner processes of mind.
4. Dhyana Yoga – Path of meditation.
5. Hatha yoga – Ha means sun and Tha means moon. Hatha Yoga integrates and balances the two sides of the body. The right nostril is connected with the sun aspect; the left nostril is associated with moon aspect. The moon rules over the mental functions, while the sun controls the vital and physical functions. The two nostrils have a deeper association with the flow of prana within our being. If the sun flow is pre-dominant, there is a tendency towards extroversion and physical aspects. If the moon flow is predominant, then one tends to think too much. Hatha yoga rests on the premise that if the mind can influence the body, then the converse is equally true. Path of balancing physical, mental & subtle forces.
6. Kriya Yoga – Yogic path of movement and awareness. It aims at to bring awareness of the processes of the inner environment of man.

 
Reference: A systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Yoga and Kriya – by Swami Satyananda Saraswati