According to the wisdom of the Upanishads direct knowledge of the Brahman can be got by the Eight-fold Yoga of Yamas, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi.

 

1. Yamas: Yamas includes Ahimsa (Non-violence, Satya, (Truth), Asteya (Non-stealing), Brahmacharya (Celibacy), and Aparigraha (Non-acceptance).

 

This is the usual meaning given to Yama, but I would say instead, that it means the giving up of attachment to the body and to the senses. The Brahma entity (which is devoid of Name and Form, and Qualities, which is without End, without Joy or Sorrow, and without modifications, which is eternal and of the nature of Sat-Cit-ananda) appears, as a result of delusion, as all this creation (endowed with all qualities and modifications viz. name, form, transformation of rise and decline, joy and sorrow).

 

This appearance has an end; it has various other limitations; it appears to be ever-moving and so it is called Samsara. Thus, this Brahma entity appears in both the individual form of Vyashti and collective form of Samashti and deludes even great Scholars and Pandits.

 

One single Chaitanya becomes manifest in different ways as all this multiplicity. Therefore, we speak of the Particular and of the Collective i.e., a Collection of Particulars. Of course, the particular (the Vyashti) is a super-imposition on the Brahman like seeking the snake on the rope, the lake in the mirage; To say that it is real or unreal is not correct; it is neither real or unreal, it is Mithya. The ignorant man caught in the meshes of this delusion believes that Samsara is an everlasting source of happiness.

 

Falsely identifying themselves with the body, men suffer in the coils of attachment towards their mother, father, wife, children, relatives and friends. They do not realise (through the constant contemplation of the Brahman having the characteristics of Sat-cit-ananda, through the never-ceasing discrimination between the changeless and the changing, through association with the good, the service of the wise, and the acquisition of purity of intelligence) that they have neither body nor senses, that they are Brahman (the sustenance and support, the Adhishtaana of the threefold body and everything else).

 

The establishment of one’s intellect in this Consciousness is the real renunciation or Vairagya of the body and the senses, implied in the word, Yama (as defined by me earlier). This is what is called Yama, in the Jnana yoga. Joy in times of good fortune and sorrow in times of bad, mistaking the pain of the body and the senses as one’s own, such dual attitude and feeling must be overcome. Step by step, the identification with the body and the senses has to be given up. This is the sign of one’s acquiring the Anga of Yama. This Anga is the very foundation of Jnana yoga.

 

2. Niyama: Niyama means purity, being always full of joy, engaged in Tapas or Japam. That is what is mentioned in Raja yoga; Shaucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya. Ishvarapranidhana, these are the Components of Niyama.

 

But, I would explain it in the following manner. Niyama is the condition of steady Prema in the Paramatma or Godhead, at all times and under all conditions ‘Sa Tva Asmin Parama Prema Rupa’, it is said in the Narada Bhakti Sutra).’It is the highest form of Prema’. It is only when such steadfast Love towards the Absolute is gained, that the Shaucha or Purity, the Santosha or Joy, the Tapas, the Svadhyaya or Study, the Ishvarapranidhana or Surrender to the Lord, mentioned in the Raja yoga will become the possession of man through the source of all ananda and Shanti, the Sat-Cit-ananda Parabrahman Entity.

 

For these two are not derived from the dry worldly material objects. ‘raso vai sah’ He is Sweetness, ‘Anandam vai Brahma’ Brahma is ananda, says the Upanishads. It is in and through Brahma that the material world is endowed with even the tiniest modicum of joy. Without the basic Brahma, which is the completest and the fullest sweetness and joy, this fleeting evanescent appearance thereon cannot be so sweet and joy giving to the worldly-minded! It would have been, without that basic rasa, terribly bitter. For this little sweetness that material objects give, that Ocean of Nectar is the cause.

 

The association with the knowers of Brahma, discussion with them of the Nature of the Absolute in a spirit of humility and earnestness, a thirst to realise the Reality, unwavering Prema towards the Lord, these are the characteristics of those established in Niyama.

 

Such stalwarts will not be affected by derision or praise by wind or sun or rain, by honour or dishonour; they will tread the path of liberation free from all attachment to anything except the one single aim of realising the ananda of Union with the basic Brahma.

 

He who has realised the stage of Niyama will be ready to sacrifice everything for the acquisition of Jnana. He will run to any distance to listen to discussion of Brahman; he will obey every instruction of the wise; he will attach himself to those who teach him the science of ultra-consciousness or chinmayathathva, as if they alone are his most-intimate friends; he will put up with any trouble in fulfilling their wishes. These are the signs of the Niyamastha, or person who has achieved Niyama.

 

3. Asana: One should have a steady pose in sitting, that is to say, one should not either shake or sway. But, even if one sits like a rock, motionless and with all joints locked, it can never be called Asana. That is not the sign of real Asana. Asana means both steadiness of the physical frame and inner joy that blooms in the heart. So whatever the pose of Yoga, adopted by the Sadhaka, it must be both steady and comfortable. That is why Patanjali has advised, Sthira sukham asanam.

 

I am telling you the same thing in another way: which is the best and most success-yielding Asana. It is that pose in which one is most un-affected by the external world. It is that pose which comes of the practice of the moral life, meritorious in the world and in accordance with the Vedic path.

 

It is absolute lack of interest in matters unconnected with Paramatma. When someone whose ways you do not appreciate comes near you, there is no need to find fault with him; there is no need either to f laugh at him or show him your contempt. It is enough if you continue to do your work, unaffected by his arrival.

 

Let those whose behaviour you do not appreciate follow their path, leave them alone. That is the Udasin Bhava, the attitude of unaffectedness. After the dawn of love to the Absolute, the aspirant gets this bhava (mental attitude, feeling) towards all worldly things. To be more exact, one should constantly be turning over in the mind, the Reality of Brahma and the Unreality of the jagat, Brahma Satyam: Jagan mithya. One must avoid comradeship with the bad and too much of friendship with the good, even! Attachment of this nature will drag one down from the Centripetal path, the Nivritti Marga (Path of detachment) to the Pravritti Marga (Path of attachment). Give up attachment with the momentary, the things clothed with the trappings of Name and Form. Once you have achieved this Udaaseenatha, or attitude of unaffectedness, you will have unshakeable Shanti, self-control, and purity of mind. You will have the steadiness and stability of Asana.

 

4. Pranayama: means usually the control and regulation of the inhaling and exhaling of the breath. In the Yoga Shastras, this is explained as rechaka (exhalation of breath), puraka, (inhalation of breath) kumbhaka (retention of breath), etc. comprising the various stages of Pranayama (breath control). But, I explain it this way; The control of the pranas or prana samyama is possible only for those who consider the whole universe as ‘unreal’.

 

apane juhvati pranam

prane panam tathapare

pranapana-gati ruddhva

pranayama-parayanah

apare niyataharah

pranan pranesu juhvati

(Bhagavad Gita, 4:29)

 

We are seeing golden ornaments of various types and styles, all are made of the same metal, gold but, still, one likes one ornament more, another ornament less, not all the things equally. We have given various names and forms ourselves to these articles according to the needs and fashions, likes and desires; but, yet, we are bound by a meaningless delusion which blinds us to the actuality. When the ornaments were thought of, when they were being manufactured, when they are in use, and when they are finally melted into a lump they are and remain ‘gold’, isn’t it?

 

Likewise, so many names and forms appear and reappear in this world, rise, grow and get destroyed, but that which is the basic substratum, the eternal, persists in and through all this change and remains eternal. Just as the multiple forms create the illusion and arouse feelings of hatred and love, so too these forms and names delude and create attachment. They make us believe that they are themselves the source of joy. But, do not Srutis say, the Universe is nothing but Brahman, the Beginningless, the Endless, the unblemished, the ever pure? They declare that the ornaments are passing phases, that gold alone is eternal and real and true. Therefore, you must take everything to be Brahman and Brahman alone. Convince yourselves that all appearances are the product of Maya, practise always that type of discrimination, evince great interest in knowing the reality and be ever alert to recognise the truth that everything is Brahman.

 

Of course, in the deluded stage, the world appears as real and Brahman as a meaningless concoction. In the stage of intelligent charity, the Jagat is grasped in its true sense as unreal. The Fairy of Delusion overpowers you by her charms and by her arrows of false-hood and guilt. It is only the person possessed of the vision of universal Brahman that can soon escape her wiles. Such a person fully knows that names and forms arose a little time ago and disappear a little time after. In the Gita too it is said,

avyaktadini bhutani

vyakta-madhyani bharata

avyakta-nidhanany eva

tatra ka paridevana

(Bhagavad Gita, 2:28)

 

‘O Bharat, appear in the middle only’. The word is subject to evolution and in evolution. To understand this, one need not wait till the end of the world; it is enough if the angle of vision is corrected. That is the gateway to real knowledge. That is real control of Pranas, the consciousness that the world is unreal, or Mithya.

 

The genuine master of Pranayama will picture the world like letters written in pencil many years ago, indistinct, hazy, misty. Knowing that Brahman alone is all this he will never be drawn towards his environment however fascinating it may be. Earnings, wealth, property, everything is unreal, valueless, not worthwhile. This conviction is the best sign of Pranayama.

 

The tongue tastes, the eye sees, the ear hears, the skin feels and the nose smells, each sense acts thus throughout life, is it not?

 

5. Pratyahara: The senses have to be withdrawn from the external objective world and turned towards from the external Mental Consciousness or Intelligence known as Citta. This process is called by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras as Pratyahara.

 

However, I shall define it in another manner also. The inward activity of the Citta, that is to say, the perpetual in-sight of the Citta, the fundamental directive force of all the senses, that is the real meaning of Pratyahara. It is only when the Citta, or the mind stuff realises that this is all Maya-born and Maya-maintained that it will draw back its feelers from the sensory world, and give up its worldly selfish attitude. The general nature of the Citta is to waver and hesitate and flutter in its search for happiness and peace. When it knows that the things it ran after are transitory and meaningless, it grows suddenly ashamed and disillusioned. Then, it begins to illumine the consciousness and to clarify it.

 

The Sadhaka who has attained this stage will be watching the outer world as a huge pantomime; his inward look will give him such joy and contentment that he will repent for all the time wasted in external activities and pursuit of sensory joy. So, the straight, sharp, single-pointed vision of the Citta towards the Atma within, that is the real Pratyaharam.

 

6. Dharana: Patanjali has explained that when the Citta is fixed in one place, it is named Dharana. I would say that it means more the undeviating attitude of the Citta, its unwavering character: When the Citta gives up the attachment to external objects, when it is saturated with repentance for past foolishness, when it is filled with remorse, renunciation and understanding, when it directly fosters the development of progressive qualities of head and heart, then truly it becomes fit to join the Ideal. It contemplates only the Ideal. Such fixed attention is what is meant by Dharana.

 

To which ever place the Citta may wander, instruct it to find only Brahman there. Whatever ideas and pictures it may form, instruct it to find only Brahman, in those creations of the mind-stuff. Treat your Citta as a little boy. Bring up that boy, training it to become wiser and wiser, caress it into good ways, make it aware that all objects that are ‘seen’ are just products of one’s own illusion, remove all its fears, foibles and focus its attention steadily on the goal only. Never deal forcibly with the Citta; it will yield easily to tenderness and patient training. Correct its waywardness by means of the attitude of renunciation. Destroy its Ajnana by means of the instruction in the knowledge of the Atma. Strengthen the interest, it is already endowed with, towards the realisation of Brahman, let it give up the attraction towards the evanescent and the false, the mirages created by fancy and fantasy, turn its face inwards away from the external world by these three methods, Dharana can be established firmly.

 

During both the waking and the dream stages, as well as during all the process of mental spinning and weaving of colourful pictures by the imagination, the Citta has to be watched and trained. It must be made to flow, single pointed and steady, like water from a sluice, towards Brahman and Brahman only. That is real Dharana.

 

7. Dhyana: Jnana that flows in a single direction is Dhyana. I have already described its various characteristics in previous articles. Dhyanam, in short, is the uninterrupted dwelling of the consciousness in Jnana, the consciousness itself becoming there by Jnana-Swarupa. All this is Brahman. The ocean of Amrita is everywhere Amrita. Whether in the well, or in the tank or in the river, ocean, water is water.

 

So too, when all is Brahman, all is the same substance appearing under a multiplicity of names and forms. Akasha is there, inside the pot as well as outside it, and it is the same Akasha, though it appears as two, interior Akasha and the exterior Akasha! The Brahman, too, appearing as various bodies with their own individual characteristics, is One and One only.

 

Like Akasha inside the pot as well as outside the pot, it is One. Experiencing that One only Brahman, avoiding all feelings of difference and distinction, that is the sign of Dhyana, the essence of the Dhyana experience, however much individuals may vary.

 

8. Samadhi: When the form is ignored and the meaning alone is felt, that is Samadhi. This is the opinion of Patanjali. This can be explained in another manner also. When the person engaged in Dhyana, forgets both himself and the fact that he is engaged in Dhyana, then it becomes Samadhi. That is to say, when he is merged in the thing he meditates on he enters into the stage called Samadhi. Dhyana fulfils itself, becomes complete, in Samadhi, Dhyana strives, proceeds through effort, but, Samadhi comes effortlessly. It is the culmination of the eight fold discipline, the Ashtanga.

 

When one knows that there is absolutely no iota of distinction between the Jiva and the Atma that they are One and the same, then it is the highest Samadhi. It is the fruit of ripest Dhyana, the dearest moment of Yogis, the destroyer of Ajnana, the signal of the Grace of God. Incessant thirst to know the Atman as all, is worthy to be encouraged and welcomed, for it is the path through which all doubts can be eliminated.

 

Samadhi is of two types, Savikalpa, Nirvikalpa. In Savikalpa, the Tripti, or the threefold nature of Knower, Knowing and Known will still persist. When it is realised that the Knower is Brahman, Knowing too is Brahman and the thing to be known is also Brahman, then there is no more vikalpa or agitation or activity; that is Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

 

Samadhi is as the ocean to which all Sadhana flows. The seven streams of Yamas, Niyama Asana; Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana and Dhyana all find their consummation in it. Every trace of name and form disappear in that ocean. He who serves and he who receives the service, he who meditates and He who is meditated upon, all such duality is dispelled and destroyed. One will not experience even the experience, that is to say, one will not be aware that he is experiencing! Oneself alone, nought else that will be the Samadhi. If there is nought else, it cannot be Samadhi. It is something like a dream, a fantasy, a passing vision at best. Samadhi can admit of nothing other than Brahman. (P.Vah, pp. 66-76)