pataMjali's yooga:

yooga is one the most widely known aspects of Indian tradition, practiced daily by people all over the world. The scientific basis of yooga and its positive effects on the body and health have come to be widely recognized. Hence the great interest. There are yooga classes going on everywhere. All the people who practice yooga testify to the fact that it really helps them to maintain good health, feel so, and stay alert and active all through the day.

What yooga is not: But it must be emphasized that yooga is not merely physical exercises or breathing control. These are important steps but surely there is a lot more to it than exercising the body. The very first suutra or aphorism in pataMjali's yooga suutra-s, the first, original, work on yooga, says that yooga is all about controlling the mind. The final objective is to look inwards, to explore the world within, to understand the true nature of ourselves, to realize Him. However, instead of merely debating on philosophical issues, the yooga system of pataMjali gets down to business straight and delineates a clear practical path to be followed. In pataMjali's yooga, there are eight steps of which aasana (postures) and praaNaayaama (breathing control) form only the third and fourth steps. In fact pataMjali finishes off both aasana-s and praaNaayaama, about which so much fuss is made, in just eight suutra-s (aphorisms). To get the maximum out of yooga, one must start from the first step and go right till the last.

Mind Control: A troubled mind is like a disturbed puddle of water - there is constant agitation, chaos and commotion and nothing is clearly seen. Unless and until the puddle settles down, becomes totally calm, until all the agitations stop completely, you cannot see the truth. Only when the puddle of water settles down completely can you see the grains of sand at the bottom or the reflection of your face from the surface. Only a sailor knows the striking difference between the turbulent sea-state 6 and the serene sea-stae zero. As long as our mind is in pieces and the pieces are in ceaseless mutual conflict, peace eludes us. It is only when we learn to put the pieces together so as to make the mind an integrated whole that we begin to see peace. Mind control is the first and most important step in spiritual development. Yooga is all about mind control.

Imagine that you are enjoying the warmth of the morning sunlight falling on you through the open window as you are reading the morning newspaper and sipping a cup of hot coffee. What if one were to focus the same sunlight through a convex lens? The lens can concentrate the diffused rays of the sun onto a single point, create great heat and start a devastating fire. There is no new energy in the room, only the available energy has been focused. A single pointed mind, focused and controlled, can achieve so much more compared to a diffused and distracted mind. yooga is the science of developing such concentration. It is an arduous process to be learnt from competent teachers and practiced assiduously. But once mastered, your mind will have grown from a dim candle into a powerful search-light. The truth can no longer elude you.

vRtti-s: Mind being the chief means of yooga, pataMjali deals with the composition, function and control of the mind in detail. Although the mind is also a product of the three guNa-s like the body, it is very subtle and manifests as very fine vibrations. The ever arising, never subsiding waves or modifications of the mind are called vRtti-s. They are like the ever changing scenes on the TV screen. You can clearly see the TV screen itself only when it is switched off. Through the proper training and regular practice of yooga, one learns to control, suppress or eliminate all the vRtti-s of the mind. Then through yooga or samaadhi (yuj means samaadhi or perfect concentration with a single pointed mind), one gets yooga or union with the Supreme Self (yuj also means to yoke, to join or link together). yooga is the linking of the individual to the Lord, like the linking of the bogies to the railway engine. Once linked, the engine and the bogies are essentially the same thing, called the train, powerful, mobile, free. Until linked, the bogies are powerless, immovable, bound.

vRitti-s are innumerable but pataMjali has grouped them into just five classes. This gives us hope that by understanding and controlling these 5 types of vRtti-s, we can control all the vRttis. The five classes are called pramaaNa (true cognition), viparyaya (false cognition), vikalpa (verbal cognition). nidraa (deep sleep) and smRti (memory). pratyakSa (direct perception), anumaana (inference), and aagama (verbal or scriptural testimony) constitute true cognition. False cognition is incorrect knowledge and includes doubt and uncertainty. Verbal cognition arises by hearing a word which has no corresponding reality (the sound heard itself is real, though). Deep sleep, devoid of dreams, is due to preponderance of tamas which causes the absence of ordinary perception in that state. Memory is the reproduction of past experiences without any alteration or innovation. All other cognitive states can be analyzed into one of these five classes.

The tremendous energy of the flowing water in the river goes waste but it is possible to harness this energy for generating electricity and for irrigation. The mad rush of mental energies which are being wasted through senseless enjoyment of sensual pleasures can similarly be controlled and directed towards the Self within. The tools for doing this are vairaagya (dispassion) and abhyaasa (regular practice). This requires time and patience, one must not expect quick results. By his very nature, man is always on the look out for short cuts. He is averse to hard work and sustained effort. pataMjali concedes that the same results can also be obtained by devotion and self-surrender to God (iis'varapraNidhaana). If you cannot practice yooga for whatever reasons, this is an alternative method which can also give you complete control over your mind. Now let us get to the eight steps in pataMjali's yooga.

The Eight Steps:

1. yama (Restraint): yama is moral discipline. It consists of ahiMsaa (abstention from any kind of injury, or torture to any form of life), satya (truthfulness in thought, word and deed), asteeya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (continence, celibacy, control of carnal passions) and aparigraha (non-acceptance of gifts, not accepting more than what is essential for sustenance). Without these basic qualifications one cannot aspire to become a yoogi.


2. niyama (Culture): niyama includes s'auca (cleanliness), saMtooSa (contentment), tapas (austerity of body, mind and speech), svaadhyaaya (study of the scriptures) and iis'varapraNidhaana (surrendering the fruits of actions to God.). These are all pre-requisites. One cannot simply do meditation or physical exercies and hope to become a great yoogi.


3. aasana (Posture): aasana is a discipline of the body, and consist in the adoption of steady and comfortable posture for the sake of meditation. This is achieved through the release of the physical and mental tensions and through the concentration on the anaMta, the infinite sky. The steadiness of the body thus achieved is conducive to the steady flow of mind towards the ideal.


4. praaNaayaama (Control of Psychic praaNa): Breathing becomes hasty and out of rhythm when the mind is in a disturbed state. The state of the mind affects breathing. It is also true that breathing affects the state of the mind. This is the principle behind praaNaayaama. Rhythmic, controlled breathing can help to control the mind. praaNa is actually the all pervading life-force. It manifests in our bodies as the bio-chemical and neuro-electrical energy. This energy connects breath at one end with the mind at the other. After all the oxygen we take in through breathing is the source of all of our energy. By controlling the breath, we can influence the mind through the praaNa. Breathing includes puuraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention) and reecaka (exhalation). praaNaayaama is the control and regulation of these three processes.


5. pratyaahaara (Withdrawal of the Senses): Normally our sense organs are all the time looking out, observing the world around us. They send sensory information to the mind which interprets and experiences. It is actually the mind which sees, hears and otherwise perceives the world. The eyes, ears and other sense organs are only front-end data acquisition devices. In yooga, as in other methods of spiritual inquiry, the prameeya, the thing to be perceived, known and understood is not the external world but the internal world within ourselves. Hence it is extremely important to control the senses, force them to stop looking out, and to start looking inwards. The senses would then be analyzing the mind itself. The mind is also freed from the burden of all the sensory data being dumped on it from outside. When the senses are turned inwards and the mind is freed from external disturbances, both the mind and the senses will be ready and free to analyze our internal world, our own mind. This is called pratyaahaara.

These five steps are called bahiraMga saadhana (external aids). The next three steps constitute the aMtaraMga saadhana (internal aids).


6. dhaaraNa (Fixed Attention): dhaaraNa is fixing the attention on a single definite locus. The locus could be anything, the lotus of the heart, the light of the brain, the tip of the nose, the moon, image of God. The mind must be single-pointed, it must not be allowed to wander hither and thither.


7. dhyaana (Meditation): When the practice of dhaaraNa matures and ripens, the thought-current becomes an unbroken stream, always hovering around the object of meditation. This state is called dhyaana. You will be conscious of yourself, the meditator, the object of meditation and the process of meditation itself.


8. samaadhi (Perfect Concentration resulting in Super-conscious Experience): This is the last and final stage. When dhyaana becomes perfect and the mind is so deeply absorbed in the object of meditation, everything else is lost, including the awareness of itself. There are no more thoughts. All the vRtti-s of the mind have been completely killed. There is no more any distinction between the seer, the seen and sight. All the three merge into one. This state is called samaadhi. In a state of samaadhi, the yoogi is unaware of anything, not even himself. The only thing that shines in this super-conscious state is the object of meditation. The yoogi might have chosen God or his own Self as the object of meditation. Whatever be that, whether the samaadhi is saMprjnyaata or asaMprjnyaata, he will have a clear, complete vision. All the secrets will be vividly revealed. Everything will be known. There will remain nothing more to know.

Scientists say that we normally use only a very small fraction of our brain power. Purification of the mind through yooga leading up to samaadhi naturally leads to the rousing of hidden powers of the mind like clairvoyance and psychometry. Since the final goal is liberation, one must not get excited about these smaller achievements. However, a realized soul, having already attained liberation, having no more desires, longings and cravings of any kind, can make good use of these yoogic powers for the benefit of mankind.

pataMjali describes the topic of samaadhi in great detail (suu - 1.12-22) and immediately after that asserts that samaadhi can be obtained, alternatively, by devotion and surrender to God. If even samaadhi could be obtained by devotion, the smaller result of overcoming the obstacles mentioned above could also be surely obtained by devotion to God (suu - 29). Simple things can be achieved by less effort but great challenges can only be met with great effort. Obstacles should only intensify persistence and perseverance, rather than dampen the spirits.

Impediments to yooga:

Health implies absence of diseases and one who wants to be strong and healthy must be well aware of the diseases and debilities which destroy health. Prevention is better than cure. The same way, practitioners of yooga must be clear about the impediments, obstructions, factors that are not conducive. pataMjali describes these factors and has divided them into two groups called aMtaraaya-s (intruders in the path of yooga) and vikSeepasahabhuvaH (co-existing with mental distraction - if these exist, they are immediately and invariably followed by mental distraction). He lists 9 aMtaraaya-s and the 5 vikSeepasahabhuvaH. We take a quick look at them now.

The Nine aMtaraya-s:


1. vyaadhi (Physical Disease): The body and the mind are closely interconnected and diseases of the body disturb the mind and make it impossible to practice yooga. Curing diseases and restoring health and strength is a pre-requisite for yooga. aayurveeda, the science of health and longevity, defines physical disease as the condition of imbalance of the three basic humours namely vaata (gas), pitta (bile), and s'leeSma (phlegm). Uneven flow and distribution of rasa-s (chemicals) produced by food and drink as also shortage or surfeit of the sense organs also cause diseases. Apart from medication, diet and adhering to rules of health and sanitation are very important. Eating, sleeping, recreation and work must all be balanced and moderate, excesses if any of these spoils health (giitaa - 6.16,17). aasanaa-s or prescribed postures give health and vigour.


2. styaana (Mental Laziness, Languor): The mind is ever restless and mischievous. It keeps jumping from scene to scene, getting attracted to something now and getting bored a moment later. It is always on the look out for maximum pleasures with minimum effort. It is like a disobedient horse, it runs when you want it to stop ands stays put when you want it to run. It goes exactly where you do not want it to go. In giita, arjuna complains to kRSNa that controlling the mind is like controlling the wind, you can think of controlling only when you can catch it in the first place! As long as the horse is the master and the master is under the mercy of the horse, nothing works. So the only solution is to make a determined effort to conquer the horse, become the true master, and force the horse to behave the way you want it to. Discrimination and conviction will help you to summon up such strong determination and put forth effective action. You must conquer your mind, you must tell the mind what to do, not the other way round. Learn to give up temptations, keep a constant vigil and pull back the mind the moment it tries to run hither and thither. Mental restlessness and laziness can be overcome with strong will power. You can do it, Have faith in yourself and try hard.He who would climb the ladder must begin at the bottom. But to aim low is crime! Try and try again until the goal is reached. Never give up. Never accept defeat.


3. saMs'aya (Doubts, Misgivings): There is a new disease in the modern man, especially the youth. He questions everything, as if merely questioning is science! Science does require a clear, curious and uncompromising mind that asks questions. But to ask questions is not science by itself, to seek answers is science. Merely questioning, doubting, disbelieving, pooh-pooh-ing everything takes you nowhere. When you ate the food your mother gave, you had faith that it was food and not poison. When you purchased a railway ticket, you had faith that it was a genuine ticket and the train will really be there when you go to the station. When you post a letter into the box, you have faith that the postman will deliver. Life goes on only based on faith. Try doubting every small thing and see if you can live normally even for a single day. Faith is not opposed to scientific spirit, not at all. You need not have blind faith in anything. You need not accept anything on the face value. But you must question if and only when you are ready to take it up seriously and put in effort to establish its validity or otherwise. If you are not ready as yet, better have faith and accept what the elders, the more experienced people, the learned, the sages and seers have said. Doubts naturally arise when you get into subtle and intangible entities like the mind. It is natural to doubt the scriptures, your guru and his capabilities, your own capabilities, or even your very existence! But the only antidote to this malady is to develop s'raddha or faith in the scriptures, in your guru and in yourself. Else you are lost. Of the two kinds of people who ruin themselves namely the ignorant, and the unbelieving, the latter is the surest disaster (giitaa - 4.40)


4. pramaada (Heedlessness): pramaada constitutes the forgetfulness and heedlessness with regard to knowledge and various virtues such as ahiMsaa (non-injury) and satya (truthfulness) which are the means of yooga. One must be ever vigilant and cultivate and protect these virtues. Absence of vigilance will lead to quick and steep downfall in spiritual progress, like a ball that slips off from the hands of a careless child playing at the top of the staircase (viveekacuuDaamaNi 324). Sage sanatsujaata goes to the extent of saying that pramaada is verily death itself (sanatsujaatiiya 1.4). We are willing to bestow so much care on petty pelf and filthy lucre in this world. Why not the same care when it comes the spiritual wealth called yooga?


5. aalasya (Physical Laziness, Sloth): Laziness has to be overcome, there is no other go. There is a witty saying that laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes it! If laziness is thus an enemy of preeyas (worldly well being), what about s'reeyas (spiritual well being)?


6. avirati (Absence of Dispassion): yooga is perfect concentration on the Self leading to Self-realization. Such concentration is impossible for a mind full of dross, the attachment to mundane things,lust and lucre. God and mammon cannot go together. Only a clean lens can focus the incoming rays onto to a point and produce intense, concentrated heat and energy. Attachment to worldly things is a great obstacle. One has to first learn to avoid temptations. The salesman has become cleverer and cleverer, tempting you with one offer or the other everyday - free gifts, extra quantity, buy one - take one (or two!), exchange offers and what not. And the consumer has become more and more foolish, as he keeps buying all kins of useless gizmos. Consumerism has set in. only a strong mind will resist all temptations, prefer simple life and practice detachment and dispassion, essential qualities for the success of yooga.


7. bhraaMtidars'ana (False Perception, Hallucination): At the intellectual level, false perception can manifest itself as misunderstanding the teachings of the scriptures and the guru. This can be due to dullness or perversion of the intellect or due to self-conceit. Only honest discussions with the guru can help overcome this problem. At the psychic level, one may get into hallucinations. This is not true perception since it does not always give joy and peace. It may, on the other hand, give unhappiness, fear and tension. Psychic experiences like clairvoyance and clairaudience are true in themselves and can produce a false sense of self realization. One should not be foolish to stop amazed at the roadside magic show and miss the bus. The temptations of psychic powers is great and many aspirants fall prey to such temptations. The purpose of yooga is not to lift your body into thin air, walk on water or do any such super-natural stunts. pataMjali clearly warns the aspirants not to get tempted or get puffed up with pride since the final goal will be missed and you will be back into this saMsaara (suu - 3.51).It is unfortunate that many people think of yooga either as merely body exercises or as giving super-natural powers. yooga is both of these but actually much more than these. The ultimate goal is God-realization. One should not aim for or stop at anything less.


8. alabdhabhuumikatva (Non-attainment of yoogic States): In spite of correct understanding and regular practice, it may so happen that the aspirant may fail to attain any of the stated yoogabhuumi-s (planes of psychic and spiritual experiences), resulting in great frustration. This happens because of deep rooted evil tendencies such as inordinate attachment, lust and lucre, and mercurial irritability. These evils often camouflage themselves as desirable virtues and the aspirant fails to recognize them. We are all experts in fooling ourselves into believing that our follies and vices are actually great virtues. Dispassionate and deep introspection and consultation with the guru can help overcome this serious obstacle.


9. anavasthitatva (Instability, Falling away from yoogic States Reached): Sometimes an aspirant may reach higher levels of spiritual experience but fails to hold on, he falls back into the old rut. It is difficult to climb Mount Everest but it is much more difficult to stay there! This can be a very serious and frustrating experience. The reasons are similar to what we said above - deep rooted, hidden or camouflaged vaasana-s. The remedy is also similar to the above.

The Five vikSeepasahabhuvaH:


1. duHkha (Sorrow): Sorrow and suffering caused by physical diseases, injury, mental tensions, natural calamities, etc. keeps the mind highly disturbed and unsuitable for yoogic disciplines. Either the root cause of the suffering must be found and removed or, if inevitable, one must recognize it so and summon up courage and endure it patiently. There is no other way.


2. daurmanasya (Despondency): Despondency and disappointment are caused by unfulfilled desires and ambitions. This will automatically lead to agitation in the mind. It is neither possible nor desirable to fulfill all our desires and ambitions. One should realize this and convince himself that desire is in fact the root cause of all of our troubles. Once the intensity of the desire is lessened, the shock of disappointment is also reduced proportionately. Only when it is completely eliminated is the problem fully and permanently solved.


3. aMgameejayatva (Restlessness of the Limbs): Constant restlessness of the mind due to disappointment, dejection and despair can lead to nervous weakness if not sublimated by discrimination and will power in time. Nervous weakness makes it difficult to keep steady sitting posture and keep the hands, legs and fingers steady and calm. Regular practice of yooga and japa of the praNava (Om) can help. This may take time and patience is called for.


4. s'vaasa (Forcible Inhalation): This is an obstacle to praaNaayaama or regulated breathing. May be due to mental restlessness. Mind control and reducing mental restlessness is the solution. Regular practice of praaNaayaama will restore balance of breathing and also exert a sobering and calming effect on the mind.


5. pras'vaasa (Forcible Exhalation): Similar to the above.

Conclusions:

yooga is one the most practical methods of spiritual development. It also simultaneously gives us health and fitness of both the body and the mind. However, it is strongly advised that the aspirant must learn from a competent guru, understand well and practice regularly. Half-knowledge and half-hearted efforts can be worse than useless.

Note: The human body has evolved over millions of years and has perfected the art of guarding itself against disease causing microbes. But it is totally helpless against the onslaught of harmful chemicals. We add chlorine and other harmful chemicals everyday to our drinking water thinking this makes the water safe! We use dangerous chemicals in the form of insecticides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers in agriculture year after year. House-hold cleaning agents, mosquito repellents and other pest-control materials, even soaps and cosmetics we use today contain dangerous chemicals. Alopathic drugs are all extremely dangerous chemicals. Automobiles and industries continuously produce harmful chemicals. Once produced, all these chemicals remain in the earth system and come back to us in the water we drink and food we eat. Many of the diseases we face today are not caused by microbes but by continued intake of harmful chemicals. Diabetes, hypertension, heart attack, obesity, respiratory problems, indigestion and gastric problems, mouth ulcers, burning eyes, hair loss and baldness, skin diseases, kidney failures, lever diseases, nervous weakness are all caused by chemicals we take, not by microbes. Restlessness is an inherent quality of human beings (not of other animals!) but if we are getting more and more restless and irritable day by day, it is all because of chemicals. Simplify your life, avoid using chemicals, reduce the quantities where complete avoidance is not feasible, choose safer, non-chemical alternatives, try to lead a more natural life - like the life we had before the industrial revolution and great scientific advancements we have made in the last few hundred years. Nervous weakness and other diseases caused by chemicals are perhaps the greatest impediments to practice of yooga.