Some Light on Yoga Practice (Part I)
Divine Life
Society Publication: Chapter 6 The Essence of the Aitareya and
Taittiriya Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda
“Yoga is union with the ultimate state of
things, not with things as they appear.”
Why are we so far away from the Absolute?
The Supreme Being, or
Absolute, is transcendent to our level. The greater the externalization,
manifestation outwardly towards objects in space and time, the greater is the
loss of selfhood. In all attachments to objects of sense there is transference
of self to the object, so that we lose ourselves first in order that we may
love the object. The greater also is the loss in the quality of happiness. So
it is the Self that is the source of bliss, not any object or any kind of
external movement towards an object. But the more we gravitate towards
externality, the more is the extent or the measure of the loss of selfhood in
us. Thus, we have descended too far.
On one side is the objective
world, on the other side the individuals, and in the center we have got the
controlling divinities called Devatas, so that we, the subjects, look upon the
object outside through space and time as if it is bifurcated from us, with no
connection at all between one and the other.
From the causal condition we
have come to the intellectual, from the intellectual to the mental, from the
mental to the vital, and from the vital we have come to the physical level.
These are the five koshas. We can
imagine how far we have descended. So there is no wonder that we are unhappy,
and that the so-called happiness of sense contact is not divine happiness. Even
that little fraction of so-called happiness of sense contact is due to the
presence of the Absolute, by way of reflection and distortion. This is also the
nature of happiness, and this also gives a clue as to how we can reach the
Absolute. This method is called yoga.
The practice of yoga is the art of contacting the Absolute
We know we contact an object,
but the Absolute is not an object at all. It is the Self, it is the internal
being of everything. How can we contact our own consciousness? But this is what
is meant by Yoga—union of the individual with the Absolute. We can unite
ourself with our own inner being by gradually lessening the degree and the
intensity of externality of consciousness and by moving inward gradually. It is
self-control, ultimately, which is called yoga—self-restraint which includes
the restraint of the operation of the sense organs, the restraint of the mind,
the restraint of the intellect, and the restraint of the impulse to externalize
consciousness in any manner whatsoever. The urge of the consciousness to
manifest itself in an external form is contrary to yoga.
How to practice yoga
The senses have to be rooted
in the mind. The mind has to be centered in the intellect. The intellect has to
be fixed in the Cosmic Intellect, and the Cosmic Intellect has to be united
with the Peaceful Being. This is how we have to control the mind.
The restraint of the mind and
the senses is not an easy. We practice the traditional routines of stopping the
breath, not thinking of objects, sometimes not thinking anything at all, and
then keeping quiet in a blank state of mind, under the impression that we are practicing
yoga. To control mind, intense philosophical analysis is necessary together
with other accessories such as living in an atmosphere which is conducive to
this practice and study of scriptures and books which will fill the mind with
ideas that are elevating in their nature and of the nature of the practice of
yoga. Living in the service of a Guru is a great help in this direction.
Finally, a very correct grasp of the meaning of self-control is necessary.
Since the Absolute is everywhere and all pervading, and its realization in our
own experience is the aim of this practice, withdrawal of the mind from objects
implies some subtle technique which is commensurate with, or not in
contradistinction with, the presence of the omnipresent Absolute.
Sometimes doubts arise in the
mind. “From what am I withdrawing the mind? If Brahman is everywhere, if the
Absolute is everything, whatever I think in the mind is the Absolute only. So
what is it that I am withdrawing myself from?
(To be Continued..)
Excerpts from:
Some Light on Yoga Practice – Chapter 6 The Essence of the Aitareya and
Taittiriya Upanishads by Swami Krishnananda
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