Raja Yoga

There are some people who cannot take anything on trust. They want to be convinced of everything only by tangible results. In a word, those with a scientific outlook come within this group. And in these days the number of such people is on the increase.

To such people Raja-Yoga is admirably suited. It does not require anybody to swallow any dogma nor to perform any mystifying ritual. It prescribes simply a graded course of mental concentration. And the courses are perfectly rational. The goal of mukti is reached when the mind becomes absolutely still.

It is described as Ashtanga-Yoga, because it prescribes eight successive courses through which one has to pass. One need not start with faith in anything. One may even take up the courses, one after another, with the idea of testing their efficacy. If a sincere attempt be made, even the preliminary courses may thrill a novice with novel experience within a short period.

The eight courses are:

Yama
Niyama
Asana
Pranayama
Pratyahara
Dharana
Dhyana
Samadhi

The first two are meant for moral purification. Yama consists of non-injury, truthfulness, non-stealing, continence (self-control) and non receiving of any gift. Niyama stands for cleanliness, contentment, austerity, study and self-surrender to god. Without these moral assets no spiritual progress is possible. So one must be well grounded in yama and niyama before proceeding further.

The next step is asana. This is only a sort of physical exercise. The object is to train the body to sit erect for a long time. Various postures are prescribed. In all of them, however, the spinal column has to be kept erect, the head, neck and chest have to be held in a straight line. One may choose any of these postures and practice it till one can sit motionless for at least an hour.

Pranayama is a breathing exercise. Rhythmic breathing helps concentration of mind. Sitting still (asana) together with rhythmic breathing (pranayama) makes the mind fit for looking inward. For the practice of pranayama one should be guided by an expert. Else it may vitally injure the body.

The next step is pratyahara, which means drawing in of the sense-organs. The mind is agitated mightily and ceaselessly by these organs. The eyes, ears, etc on the physical body are only outer instruments. Corresponding to them there are subtle counterparts, which are called indriyas (sense-organs) by our shastras.

Normally these inner organs remain attached to their respective outer instruments; and as the latter come in contact with their objects (vishaya), the former break out into waves of distinct forms and stir up corresponding waves in the mind. When the physical eyes, for instance, contact a flower, the inner organ of sight produces the form of flower in the mind. It is this mental form that we see outside. Thus with all our sensations of colour, sound, smell, taste and touch. Each sensation corresponds to a particular modification of the mind through an indriya. Thus so long as one remains awake the outer instruments remain in contact with their objects and go on subjecting the inner organs of perception (jnanendriya) together with the mind to a non-stop series of modifications (vritti).

Yet this is not all. The perceptions brought about in this way call up by suggestions, from within the depths of the mind, allied thoughts and impulses and stir up the inner organs of work (karmendriya). This is followed immediately by the formation of waves of will in the mental stuff. I see a flower; thoughts and impulses rush up from within the mind and determine a will to seize the flower. All these are the successive changes of the mental stuff. Hence, as long as the inner organs remain attached to the outer instruments the mind is bound to be in a state of continuous turmoil.

Pratyahara consists in detaching the inner organs (indriyas) from the outer instruments and thus keeping them unruffled. This is a great step towards pacifying the mind. At first one is advised to control the bubbling up of subconscious thoughts. This is done by letting the mind run on and watching the thoughts that come up from within the depths of the mind. This mental exercise is a sort of emptying the mind. It gradually slows down the rush of thoughts from within the surface of the mind. As this go on, the mind becomes steadier and along with that the nerves become more and more soothed and strengthened. One can then get a hold on the inner organs and try to detach them from the outer instruments.

With the gradual steadiness of the mind achieved through pratyahara, all its faculties become keener. The powers of observation, reasoning, memory and will increase as the restlessness of the mind decreases. Really, a steady mind is keen, firm and vigorous mind. Character must have such a mind for its basis. Pratyahara goes a long way to ensure such steadiness by freeing the mind from a good deal of external and internal disturbance. However, after practising the pratyahara for some time one feels that the mind has become rather pliable and ready for concentration on one object or idea.

At that stage one should try to fix the mind on a single object. He may choose any object on which he is to meditate. Yet, he will find that, in spite of his best efforts, the mind does not remain glued to his chosen object. The object appears to be hazy and there are breaks in the concentration. But he has to make repeated attempts. This process is called dharana.

Dharana naturally leads to dhyana. Repeated attempts at fixing the mind on one object help one to do that thoroughly for a short stretch of time. The mind then appears to flow in an unbroken current towards its target. This stage of the mind is what is known as dhyana.

Through intense practice dhyana is followed by another step called samadhi. This is concentration par excellence. During samadhi the mind loses its grip on all other things. As in deep sleep, a man in samadhi becomes unconscious of everything about him. Even the object of meditation melts away. Yet samadhi makes the mind keener than ever. It is in this state that the real import of the object comes like a flash and occupies the entire mind. Then and then alone one's knowledge about the object becomes complete.

This state of mind is called Samprajnata Samadhi. By meditating on any object in nature till the mind is merged in such samadhi, one can have thorough knowledge of it. With such deep and direct knowledge comes mastery or complete control over the object. Through such concentration on the gross bhutas (earth, water, fire, air, and ether), the hindu yogis gain the power of controlling external nature.

The first five steps are only preparations for yoga, that is, concentration. The last three namely, dharana, dhyana and samadhi constitute the course of concentration proper, known as samyama. samyama starts with dharana, which matures in due course into dhyana and samadhi, one after the other.

Samyama is to be practised first on gross objects and then on gradually on finer and finer ones. In the finer stage, the mind itself becomes the object of concentration. Through this, the hindu yogis gain control over their own minds as well as over those of others, and come to know intimately everything in nature, external and internal.

Yet this is not the goal. Samprajnata Samadhi brings out the latent powers, reveals the secrets of all objects in external and internal nature and enables the yogi to gain complete control over them. But it falls short of revealing the divinity of his self and liberating him from samsara. A slip even from such a stage may whirl him through several births of miserable existence.

But he stands almost at the gate of supreme realization. If the yogi patiently persists in his practice of Samadhi on his own mind, at a certain stage a very wonderful event takes place. Suddenly the mind becomes perfectly still. This is known as Asamprajnata Samadhi. As soon as this happens, the last cover seems to have been taken off and the self stands revealed in its divine glory. The yogi then really comes to the very core of his being and realizes it as nothing but god.

When his consciousness comes back to the normal plane, the yogi appears to be thoroughly transformed. There is nothing for him to desire, fear or grieve for. He has reached the goal. His heart is full of peace. With love and compassion for all, he goes about guiding others on the path of liberation.

Words of caution - the path of raja-yoga, however, is full of pitfalls. One should be beware of these from the very beginning. Any undue haste is dangerous. The essential moral preparation through the practice of yam and miasma must be completed before taking up any of the following courses. Otherwise the yogi's toil may just end in wrecking his body. All sorts of physical ailments, reaching up to nervous disorder and even to insanity, may be the result of such rash endeavor. Then, the practice of panorama without a guide has every chance of proving equally risky. One may with more benefit skip over this step altogether and take up pratyahara.

With pratyahara, the mind begins to know itself. The yogi enters a new region and starts getting some novel experience. As his concentration deepens through dharana, dhyana and samadhi, he discovers the immense potency of the mind. Much of the mental energy remains untapped and a good deal is wasted by the ordinary man. Yoga enables one to release the latent powers and work wonders with them. These supernormal powers are known as siddhis. Hypnotism, telepathy, clairvoyance and clairaudience, and many more miraculous feats may easily be performed by a yogi with the help of these siddhis (occult powers).

But these powers may entrap a yogi. Like riches, these wonderful powers may divert his mind from the path of god. He may feel tempted to display these for winning wealth and adoration. If he does that, he becomes lost over again in the maze of samsara.

A real seeker of eternal bliss should never yield to such temptations. He must never seek such powers nor make a show of them when these come to be acquired through the practice of yoga.

There are some people, who take up raja-yoga only for the attainment of worldly things and miraculous powers. They want to improve their health, beauty and youth and to impose on others by showing miracles. Evidently these people are selfish and world-bound. Occult powers in their possession are apt to prove dangerous to society. They may do a lot of mischief to their fellow-men. Thus raja-yoga, which can help us to manifest our divinity, is liable to be abused by these power seekers. One should be beware of those who interpret yoga in terms of temporal powers. Spirituality has nothing to do with these powers. Any desire for these, like all other desires for worldly things, is suicidal to spiritual life and is to be shunned like poison.

Nivritti Marga

What man really wants is eternal bliss (shreyas). Only he does not know where and how to get it. He mistakes sense pleasures for pure bliss. This is why he desires the attractive things of this world and the next. Wealth, progeny, fame and hundreds of other things of this world attract him. He runs after them. He seizes some and enjoys them for a while. Some elude his grasp and he feels miserable. While some others remain in his clutches for a time and then suddenly disappear. Such losses hurt him. Then again as soon as he gains some coveted things fresh desires crop up and make him restless. He finds to his dismay that the senses cannot be appeased by enjoyment. Rather their craving is increased by the process. So his life becomes a non-stop race after these fleeting pleasures. On this path he never attains contentment. Misery, born of unfulfilled desire and parting with coveted things, dogs him at every step. And this goes on from birth to birth, for he has to face death again and again, though he may not like it.

Even the higher and finer worlds where he gets unalloyed pleasures, do not give him eternal bliss. There a man of meritorious deeds may go after death and enjoy intense pleasures. But that is only for a short time. After that he has to come down and be born again on this earth. Really, so long as man is driven by desire, neither this world nor the next can bring him eternal bliss. Desire is verily the chain that binds him to samsara. Yet man is loath to part with desire. The craving for sense objects dominates him. The camel likes to browse on prickly shrubs, though these make his mouth bleed. Just so, man gloats over sense-pleasures, though these bring him untold miseries through repeated cycles of births and deaths. The number of such men is very great indeed. For them the first step is to take the Pravritti Marga, that is, the path of desire. They are not to give up all desires. Only they have to regulate these by faithfully following the injunctions (vidhi) and prohibitions (nishedha) of the shastras. Those who do this enjoy the good things of this world and the next. And their minds become purified to some extent.

After enjoying the intense pleasures of the higher worlds they come back to this earth and tread the path of desire with more devotion. Again their meritorious deeds lead them to the intense pleasures of the higher worlds after death. This process goes on over and over again till their minds become very pure. At this stage they realize the vanity of desires. By their repeated experience they grasp the truth that desires are never quenched by enjoyment, just as fire can never be quenched by butter. Unfulfilled desires make one unhappy. Moreover, the period of enjoyment even in the higher worlds is limited. By their own observation they become convinced that the path of desire cannot lead them to eternal bliss. And it is this eternal bliss that they have been seeking all the time. Realizing the futility of desires, they go out in search of path that may lead them to eternal bliss, eternal life and infinite knowledge. This quest is the very strong point of real religion.

The Pravritti Marga is no more than a preliminary discipline. It serves its purpose by making our minds pure enough to realize the futility of running after sense-objects. This precisely is its scope. It takes us no farther than that on the road to perfection. So long as we remain pinned to sense-objects for our enjoyment, the divinity within us remains concealed from our view. Our gaze has to be drawn away from the sense-objects and turned inward to realize him. Then and then only it is possible for us to attain perfection, and get eternal bliss, eternal life and infinite knowledge. Our desire for sense-objects is, therefore, the only hurdle on the road to perfection. It makes us world-bound. We have to cross the hurdle. Real religion begins and ends with this crossing. The moment we are free from desire we become divine. The Nivritti Marga, that is, the path of renunciation leads us to this goal. It teaches us how we may root out our desires and thereby unfold our spiritual nature. This, therefore, is pre-eminently the path of religion. This is why those who extol the Pravritti Marga too much and consider it to be the supreme religion are denounced by Bhagavan Sri Krishna in the Gita. Indeed, religion begins with the path of renunciation.

In the Katha Upanishad, a beautiful sloka gives the whole thing in a nutshell. "The creator has made our senses outward-bound; this is why we ordinarily perceive the external world and not the self. Some poised men, however, desirous of immortality, realize the self after drawing away their senses from the sense-objects." Our Upanishads are abound with such passages. Take another: "Neither by rituals nor progeny, nor by wealth, but by renunciation alone some attained immortality." Compare with the above the common saying: "Where there is rama (god) there is no kama (desire), and where there is kama (desire), there rama (god) is not." Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa has put it thus: "If you desire to attain god, you will have to renounce kama-kanchana (lust and possession)." This is the Nivritti Marga. The path is, no doubt, hard and long. Yet it is the only path to be trod, if we want to go ahead towards perfection. The Nivritti Marga however comprehends a number of alternative routes to perfection. The same destination may be reached by train, car, boat or aircraft through different tracks on land, water and air. It is for us to choose the conveyance and the route that will suit our convenience. Similarly, there are various routes within the Nivritti Marga leading to the manifestation of the divinity within us. It is for us to choose the route that will suit us the best. The different paths prescribed by Hinduism are suited to men of different nature. Some people like action, some prefer contemplation. Some are emotional by nature, some others want to rely more on reason than on emotion.

Our religion shows a distinct path to each group. These paths are called Yogas. Yoga literally means union. These paths lead us to a stage when we become aware of god. Hence they may be said to unite us with god. Of course, the union has all along been there; by yoga we become conscious of this fact. However, this is why these paths are called yogas. Broadly speaking, there are four such yogas to suit four fundamental types of men. For the men of action there is karma-yoga, for the intellectual men jnana-yoga, for the emotional men bhakti-yoga and for the empiricists raja-yoga. Empiricist is one who relies more on his own experience rather than on the scientific knowledge. In the Gita, Sri Krishna says, "Out of thousands of men, one strives sincerely for liberation." Indeed, few people want sincerely to rise above nature and be free. Only those who experience, through repeated births, the hollowness of sense-pleasures go in for renunciation. To them only the desire for sense-objects appears to be a bondage, which they want earnestly to break through. For doing this they have to take up any of the four yogas and go through the spiritual discipline prescribed by it. Their gurus or spiritual guides show them the paths that suit them best and advise them as to how they may get over their difficulties in the way. Hinduism is very clear about the necessity of a spiritual guide (guru) for a spiritual aspirant. We shall next discuss about raja-yoga.