Dear Friends,
Namaste!
In Yoga’s birth-story, we saw how Arjuna became confused because of ignorance. This stopped him from thinking clearly. This, in turn, made him very emotional and caused his mind to be unstable. Finally, the effect percolated down to the physical level and all his strength and skills deserted him.
Then Lord Krishna removed his ignorance by constructing together and showing him the entire jig-saw puzzle of this universe. This is known as “Vishwa Roop Darshan” (“Vishawa” – universe, “Roop” – form, “Darshan” – visibility) or making visible the entire truth about universe.
It is also mentioned in Bhagvad Geeta – a volume in which the entire conversation between Krishna and Arjuna has been captured – that Krishna benevolently gave Arjuna “Divya Drishti” (“Divya” – divine, “Drishti” – sight) so that he could ‘see’ the truth for what it is. This is because it would have been impossible for Arjuna to see the true nature of this world with normal sight.
In other words, it is not possible for us to ‘see the Whole Picture with our normal sight’ or comprehend the Whole Truth with our intellect. Because, by design, our intellect has been injected with an impurity called ‘ignorance’. This ignorance is nothing but ignorance about the Truth – about this universe and more importantly about self or the real nature of our being. Who injected this ignorance?
Remember, at the beginning of this drama, “Brahman the Cosmic Energy” consciously decided to become many.One cannot become many if one KNOWS that one is the only one! Therefore that One forgot itself and started assuming different shapes, forms, lives and identities all at the same time. And the whole theme of the drama is for that One to re-discover the true identity. Therefore, ignorance has been injected into every beings’ intellect and it is quite ‘normal’ or ‘natural’ for us to have impure intellect.
It is natural that because of ignorance we have our share of what we call ‘happiness’ and sorrow. It is natural that we think we are the body/mind/intellect and we have birth and death. It is natural that we do everything for our body/mind/intellect and we become selfish by limiting the notion of our ‘self’ to our body/mind/intellect.
And equally natural (and inevitable – Yoga or not) is Evolution which is nothing but removal of the impurity called ignorance from our intellect so that we can see the Whole or Real or Only Picture for what it is and realize beyond an iota of doubt that we are actually nothing but the Brahman.
Once we get rid of ignorance, our intellect becomes pure (this pure intellect in Yogic jargon is known as “RitambharaPragya”) and a person with steady intellect – in Lord Krishna’s own words – is known as a “Sthita Pragya” (“Sthita” – steady, “Pragya” – intellect). We gain divine sight and we see the real picture in totality.
Steady intellect calms down our mind in the true sense and we achieve Yoga. Remember, Yoga is nothing but “Chitta Vritti Nirodhah” (cessation of disturbances and distractions from our mind).
Once our mind calms down, our body follows suit! We know that when calm and peaceful, we breathe evenly. However, when we get agitated and mind is fraught with disturbance and distractions, we start breathing unevenly. When our breathing becomes even, the supply of “Prana” or Life Force to our body becomes well-regulated. This automatically makes our body free from dis-ease, strong, supple, well-balanced, light and healthy!
We have stated earlier that subtle rules over gross and that mind is subtler than body and intellect is subtler than mind. Now we see clearly how intellect (Charioteer) controls our mind (reins) which in turn controls our body (horses and the chariot).
So now we understand the real meaning and intention of Yoga. It is to purify our intellect by removing ignorance which in turn will make our mind infinitely, eternally and irreversibly peaceful which in turn will give all the health and beauty in the world (that a human body can have) to our body.
However the subtler a faculty, the more difficult to conquer it becomes. Therefore, we must undertake the challenge by doing what’s easier and then going on to more difficult curriculum, i.e., by conquering gross (body) first, then subtle (mind) and eventually the subtlest (intellect).
This is precisely what “Ashtanga Yoga” prescribes. We start with some observances and discipline (“Yama” and “Niyama”). Then we conquer the body through “Asana”. Then we go on to breath control (“Pranayama”). Then comes sense control (“Pratyahara”). Mind control follows next (“Dharana” and “Dhyan”). Only when we are able to concentrate and meditate, can our intellect become capable of absorbing the subtle and divine knowledge and get purified. This naturally leads to the state of “Samadhi” (eternal, infinite and irreversible bliss).
See you next Tuesday.
Till then...
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