ASHTANGA YOGA

In His Kapila avatara, Lord Narayana explains the concepts of Prakriti, Purusha and Iswara.

Purusha is the jiva. Purusha is present in every body. Purusha is neither created nor destroyed. Twenty-four tattvas constitute Prakriti. The five elements – water, air, ether, earth and fire; five tanmantras – sabdha (sound), sparsa (touch), rupa (form), rasa (taste) and gandha (smell); moola prakriti – manas (mind), ahamkaram (ego), mahath (unknowable) and avyakta (unseeable); karmendriyas and jnanendriyas – all of these constitute prakriti. So we have a total of 24 tattvas that constitute prakriti.

Devahuthi wants to know what is meant by atma. Kapila replies that atma is different from Prakriti. He says to get out of the cycle of birth and deaths one must have tatva jnana, vairagya, tapas and Bhakti. He then explains what Bhakti yoga is. Bhakti yoga leads to atma jnana. He elaborates on ashtanga yoga, which is a part of Bhakti yoga. As the name implies, ashtanga yoga has eight components – yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and Samadhi.

Yama includes ahimsa, honesty, not stealing, Brahmacharya vrata, not killing, patience and silence. Niyama includes bathing, japa, deva puja and pilgrimages. Asana involves sitting on darbha grass and doing asanas like Sukhasana and Padmasana. Pranayama has three components – pooraga, kumbaga and rechaga. Pooraga is inhaling through one nostril; kumbaga is keeping the air inside for a few seconds and rechaga is slow exhalation.

If one does these three, the body and mind will be pure.    

Pratyahara – it means withdrawal of the senses from external objects. It is retrieving and bringing back my own mind from involuntary thoughts. I am the original owner of the mind. I want to make sure that I continue to own my mind. Otherwise, involuntary thoughts will come again. They are powerful internal enemy. To make sure that I continue to be the owner I give a job to my mind for 5 to 10 minutes. Best job is to chant mentally whatever prayer you know with awareness. You should be aware of every word and need not think of the meaning now.

Dharana – It is where attention is turned inwards for concentration.

Dhyanam – It is the attention span. Mind, which has got converging power. Thoughts must continue in the same field.

Samadhi – This is the depth of attention. It measures how deep my attention is. If I can have Samadhi, it means my mind is totally absorbed in the field I have chosen (say 10 minutes). If I get totally absorbed I  forget my surroundings  (I can’t hear, smell or taste anything)  and I am ignorant of the world. It is called Savikalpa Samadhi. I also forget myself. This is Nirvikalpa Samadhi, which means total absorption. 

 I take a Sankalpa that I will lead an alert life. I want to make sure involuntary thoughts do not kidnap my mind. By doing yoga I will spend time to find out where my mind is and become alert. Be mindful in your day-to-day life. Whenever you do any action, make sure that these actions are done consciously. Two-fold advantage is there. The efficiency will increase when the actions are done deliberately. In addition, mistakes will be less. When actions are mechanical, involuntary thoughts will proliferate. We will win our war against the most powerful involuntary thoughts.

Krishna calls all conscious actions as Satvic actions. Mechanical chanting is rajasa karma. Make your actions conscious and deliberate and you will do it properly. Have a prayer, learn some sloka and chant consciously. It should not be a mechanical chanting of sloka. Then only involuntary thoughts can be removed. Doing Astanga yoga is like winning the property disputes after several years. It is a longer war after which I get back my property by my own mind (Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha).

All emotional problems are because of mechanical life. Prayers are done mechanically. Temple visits are made mechanically. Pooja is done mechanically. You will not get results. Do it consciously and be aware of chanting the sloka.

Yama and Niyama is a set of rules given in the form of Ten Commandments of Hinduism. They are the ten values to be observed if you are a serious spiritual seeker.

Anything done in life with awareness, comfort – these generate joy …elimination of the undesirables. Enhance your effectiveness and be successful in life.

Be Blissful.

S.Sekar

Contact: sekrajc@yahoo.com