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The
Scripture of Yoga
The
Gita addresses the discord between the senses and the intuition of
cosmic order. It speaks of the Yoga of equanimity, a detached
outlook. The term Yoga covers a wide range of meanings, but in the
context of the Bhagavad Gita, describes a unified outlook, serenity
of mind, skill in action, and the ability to stay attuned to the
glory of the Self (Atman), which is of the same essence as the basis
of Being (Brahman). According to Krishna, the root of all suffering
and discord is the agitation of the mind caused by selfish desire.
The only way to douse the flame of desire is by simultaneously
stilling the mind through self discipline and engaging oneself in a
higher form of activity.
However,
abstinence from action is regarded as being just as detrimental as
extreme indulgence. According to the Bhagavad Gita, the goal of life
is to free the mind and intellect from their complexities, and to
focus them on the glory of the Self, by dedicating one's actions to
the divine. This goal can be achieved through the Yogas of
meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. The Gita describes the
best Yogi as one who constantly contemplates God.
Krishna
summarizes the Yogas through eighteen chapters. There are four kinds
of Yoga - Raja Yoga or Psycho-Physical Meditation, Bhakti Yoga or
Devotion, Karma Yoga or Selfless Action, and Jnana Yoga or Self
Transcending Knowledge.
While
each path differs, their fundamental goal is the a same - to realize
Brahman (the Divine Essence ) as being the ultimate truth
upon which our material universe rests, that the body is temporal,
and that the Supreme Soul (Paramatman) is infinite. Yoga's aim (moksha)
is to escape from the cycle of reincarnation through realization of
the ultimate reality. There are three stages to self-realization
enunciated from the Bhagavad Gita:
1.
Brahman - The impersonal universal energy
2.
Paramatma - The Supreme Soul sitting in the heart of every living
entity.
3.
Bhagavan - God as a personality, with a transcendental form.
The
below are quotations from Krishna concerning the four principal
yoga's of the Bhagavad Gita:
On
The Goal Of Yoga
"
And whoever, at the time of death, quits his body, remembering Me
(Krishna) alone, at once attains My (Krishna's- Transcendental)
nature. Of this there is no doubt."
On
Bhakti Yoga
Put
simply, Bhakti Yoga is Service in Love and Devotion to God (Krishna
in the context of the Bhagavad Gita).
"I
consider the Yogi-devotee - who lovingly contemplates on Me with
supreme faith, and whose mind is ever absorbed in Me - to be the
best of all the Yogis". "After attaining Me, the great
souls do not incur rebirth in this miserable transitory world,
because they have attained the highest perfection." "...
those who, renouncing all actions in Me, and regarding Me as the
Supreme, worship Me... For those whose thoughts have entered into
Me, I am soon the deliverer from the ocean of death and
transmigration, Arjuna. Keep your mind on Me alone, your intellect
on Me. Thus you shall dwell in Me hereafter." "And he who
serves Me with the yoga of unswerving devotion, transcending these
qualities [binary opposites, like good and evil, pain and pleasure]
is ready for liberation in Brahman." "Fix your mind on Me,
be devoted to Me, offer service to Me, bow down to Me, and you shall
certainly reach Me. I promise you because you are My very dear
friend." "Setting aside all meritorious deeds (Dharma),
just surrender completely to My will (with firm faith and loving
contemplation). I shall liberate you from all sins. Do not
fear."
On
Karma Yoga
Karma
Yoga is essentially Acting, or doing one's duties in life as per
his/her dharma, or duty, without concern of results - a sort of
constant sacrifice of action to the Supreme. It is action done
without thought of gain. In a more modern interpretation, it can be
viewed as duty bound deeds done without letting the nature of the
result affecting ones actions. It is said that the results can be of
3 types - as aimed for, opposite of what is aimed for, or a mixture
of these. If one can perform his duties (as prescribed in the Vedas)
without any anticipation of the result of his actions, he is bound
to succeed. It includes, but is not limited to, dedication of one's
chosen profession and its perfection to God. It is also visible in
community and social service, since they are inherently done without
thought of personal gain.
Krishna
advocates Nishkam Karma Yoga (the Yoga of Selfless Action) as the
ideal path to realize the Truth. Allocated work done without
expectations, motives, or thinking about its outcomes tends to
purify one's mind and gradually makes an individual fit to see the
value of reason and the benefits of renouncing the work itself.
These concepts are vividly described in the following verses:
"To
action alone hast thou a right and never at all to its fruits; let
not the fruits of action be thy motive; neither let there be in thee
any attachment to inaction" -- verse 47, Chapter 2-Samkhya
theory and Yoga practice, The Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan
"Fixed
in yoga, do thy work, O Winner of wealth (Arjuna), abandoning
attachment, with an even mind in success and failure, for evenness
of mind is called yoga" -- verse 48, Chapter 2-Samkhya theory
and Yoga practice, The Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan
"With
the body, with the mind, with the intellect, even merely with the
senses, the Yogis perform action toward self-purification, having
abandoned attachment. He who is disciplined in Yoga, having
abandoned the fruit of action, attains steady peace..."
In
order to achieve true liberation, it is important to control all
mental desires and tendencies to enjoy and sense pleasures. The
following verses illustrate this:
Verses
62,63, chapter 2- Samkhya theory and Yoga practice', The
Bhagavadgita - Radhakrishnan'
"When
a man dwells in his mind on the object of sense, attachment to them
is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes
anger."
"From
anger arises bewilderment, from bewilderment loss of memory; and
from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the
destruction of intelligence he perishes"
On
Jnana Yoga
Jnana
Yoga is a process of learning to discriminate between what is real
and what is not, what is eternal and what is not. Through a steady
advancement in realization of the distinction between Real and the
Unreal, the Eternal and the Temporal, one develops into a Jnana
Yogi. This is essentially a path to God through knowledge and
discrimination.
"When
a sensible man ceases to see different identities due to different
material bodies and he sees how beings are expanded everywhere, he
attains to the Brahman conception."
"Those
who see with eyes of knowledge the difference between the body and
the knower of the body, and can also understand the process of
liberation from bondage in material nature, attain to the supreme
goal."
On
Raja Yoga
Raja
Yoga is the stilling of the mind and body through meditating
techniques, geared at realizing one's true nature. This practice was
later described by Patanjli in his Yoga sutra
"
To practice yoga, one should go to a secluded place and should lay
kusa grass on the ground and then cover it with a deerskin and a
soft cloth. The seat should be neither too high nor too low and
should be situated in a sacred place. The yogi should then sit on it
very firmly and practice yoga to purify the heart by controlling his
mind, senses and activities and fixing the mind on one point. One
should hold one's body, neck and head erect in a straight line and
stare steadily at the tip of the nose. Thus, with an unagitated,
subdued mind, devoid of fear, completely free from sex life, one
should meditate upon Me within the heart and make Me the ultimate
goal of life. Thus practicing constant control of the body, mind and
activities, the mystic transcendentalist, his mind regulated,
attains to the kingdom of God [or the abode of Krishna] by cessation
of material existence."
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