Yoga Leading To Vigorous Life

This way of life' is stated to lead to vigour. The belief among yogis is that abstention from the use of the sex function (which is often maintained after the duty to one ‘s family has been successfully done) leads to a sublimation of the bodily energy, which would otherwise have been expended wastefully, into the functions and powers of the higher mind. It is argued  contrary to popular opinion in the West  that the sex function is the one function of the body which does not in any way contribute to the welfare of the body, but exists only for the benefit of others, that is, future generations. If abstention leads to any bodily disorder, that must be put down to the effect of wrong emotional attitudes towards the subject, and consequent wrong ideas. No doubt modern popular literature has created a vast amount of ignorant thinking and unhealthy opinion on the subject, and the human power of imagination has intensified the cravings of young people in the modern world far beyond the limits of naturalness.

This question will come up again in our chapter on the vital force of Kundalim, where the yoga teaching is all in favor of abstention (when socially justified), and the direction of the vital forces to the 'higher' functions of life is quite elaborately described.

5. The word here translated 'non-greed' is aparigraha. It could also be translated 'non covetousness' or literally, nongraspmg (graha) all round or round about (part). It is related to one of the five great troubles (kleshas) of human life - possessiveness (abhinivesha). The difference of meaning is that while aparigraha is concerned with grasping or getting, abhinivesha IS more concerned with holding on to what one has. As to the latter, there is an aphorism which states that this trouble is so firmly grounded in human life that it is instinctive even with the wise.' The commentators have often emphasized that the chief part of it lies in clinging to the body something usually very much overdone, the point of view of the yogis being that the body exists as a ground of living for the sake of spiritual attainments. Their position could also be summed up in the saying, 'It is better to lose your body and save your "soul" than to save your body and lose your "soul" losing your soul meaning lowering your standard of life (which has nothing to do with 'standard of Irving of course).

When this virtue is attained, says the aphorism, the yogi will have a perception of the method of births. In the first place he will see that it is not what we have but the use that we make of it that matters in life. So, as regards material things, the yogi is not much concerned with more acquisitions, or with the satisfaction of common desires. He becomes habituated mentally and emotionally to the idea of' 'living on the wing' rather than 'digging in'. Many are the practising yogis who outside business hours and social duties are engaged in yoga. They are almost recognizable by the equanimity with which they meet and deal with 'what comes'. Later on, the advanced yogi renounces the plan making faculty (vikalpa). He makes no plans for himself, but meets the karma that comes and attends to the calls of duty that arise, his motive of action being 'for the welfare of the world.

vajra- sanhananatwa

The last word (vajra- sanhananatwa) though usually regarded as referring to hardness, could also mean 'great energy', for vajra means 'thunderbolt' as well as 'diamond', and sanhaanatwa means mightiness' or powerfulness.

Enough has been said to show that austerity (tapas) does not mean mortification, and must mean body-conditioning, with great firmness of will, avoiding all bodily indulgence and insisting upon that quantity and kind of food, exercise, and rest which one believes to be best for the body. This is, of course, good common sense also, leading to greater bodily health, pleasure, and happiness than can be obtained by thoughtlessness or weak indulgence.

To show that this attitude is not merely that of the raja yoga school, and of philosophic schools such as the Bhagavad Gita represents, we will quote also from that most authoritative of hatha yoga works, the Hatha yoga Pradipika: 'Overeating; effortful exertion; idle chatter; hard vows; needing to be with people; restlessness-by these six yoga is ruined.

Finally, that there may be no doubt whatsoever in this important matter, we will quote that most abstract of all philosophers, Shankaracharya, he who over two thousand years ago according to orthodox belief - made India ring with the One Reality (adwaita) doctrine.

Seat or posture is only that in which contemplation of Brahmn can be comfortable and continuous; that should be adopted, not others, which interfere with comfort.

Straightness of limbs occurs when there is resting in harmony with Brahman, not if there is only straightness like a dried-up tree.

Having achieved knowledge-sight, one sees the world, as com. posed of Brahman - that kind of seeing is the highest, not the gazing in front of the nose. Or when there is the cessation of (the distinction of) seer, seeing, and seen, there is the Steadiness of vision.

Coming now to the fourth of the five Observances, Self study (swadhyaya), we will briefly say that it means there should be some daily study bearing upon the nature of oneself not merely study of outward or objective things. There is plenty of difference of opinion about what study this implies. Many maintain that it must refer to the study of one's own scriptures, one's own religion; but the general attitude of the Sankhya philosophy which pervades the yoga. Sutras should discount this view. It is true that swa does not mean 'self', but as a prefix means 'one's own' (e.g. swa karma means an action done by oneself swakula means one's own family; szuadesha means one's own country). We shall probably rightly take the meaning to be the study of what really concerns oneself- on the principle that 'the proper study of mankind is man', the study of one's own being and nature, as distinguished from the study of external things, which is usually pursued for some gain to the bodily life. Finally, we come to the fifth of the Observances, attentiveness to God (Ishwara, Pranidhara).

It is really problematical how one should regard the idea of God as ruler (Ishwara) in the Toga Sutras. Usually the first tendency is to think that one should feel devotion to the Founder or the Basis of all known being - both matter and life. But to be grateful to God as Ruler is one thing, and to regard God as the model or archetype of one's own future state of being is another. The latter is the formulation in the meditative portion of the Toga Sutras a matter already dealt previously. The yogi must become unaffected by troubles of which ignorance is the chief and the source of all or by works and their effects outside or inside.

Unseen Factor

Such unseen and incalculable elements are 'those which arrive without effort (praptas). The Western person is often annoyed when something 'accidental' spoils his work or his plans. The Oriental expects it, or at least is not surprised by it, and so accepts it without anger or resentment. He attributes it to the unseen, which, being beyond mind - beyond the most perfect planning is of the deva nature, or the gods, but still within the field of causation, the result of some karma, or action previously done.

Whether it is an adverse 'accident' (i.e. unseen factor) or a propitious one, still the yogi is pleased (santushta) with it. The mistake will henceforth be corrected; the man, having gone through the experience with contentment and attentiveness, has learned his lesson and had his awakening a  lesson he would not have had without the experience, and which he could only have anticipated and averted with much thought and wisdom.

Next the third of the five Observances comes austerity (tapes).This does not mean self mortification a mistake made by many. How could self-mortification lead on to good posture, good breathing, control of the senses, concentration, meditation, and contemplation? On the contrary, the Bhagavad Gita says:

Yoga is not for the excessive eater, nor for one who avoids food too intently; not for one addicted to excessive sleep, nor to (excessive) wakefulness. Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for one whose food and recreations are yogic, whose efforts in actions are yogic, whose sleeping and waking are yogic.

Much light is thrown by the succeeding verses upon the use of the term 'yogic'. It could also be translated 'proper to the occasion' to convey the meaning, for it is when the lower mind mechanism is directed to thoughts about the Self, without longings for objects of desire, that it can be called yogic. In such a case there will not be excess or any unnaturalness or unhealthy habits. The Self has now become the main interest, or in more modern terms it is the welfare of the inner man on his path of evolution or unfoldment that is the subject of thought and interest.

The culmination of this group of verses comes when the yogi is described as so much united with the Self that he 'absorbs the unlimited happiness of contact with Brahman'. Then, when he realizes that there is the same Self (dtmd) standing in all beings everywhere, and all beings existing in that Self'- the same everywhere, regardless of pleasure and pain that yogi is considered to be the highest.

In the same work there is as much condemnation of self mortification as of over-indulgence:

Those people who inflict upon themselves fierce austerity (ghora tapas) unintelligent  suppressing the groups of (small) beings in their bodies, and me (the spirit) also established within the body - know them as having demoniac resolves.

This is confirmed by a description of the foods that are good and are liked by the people whose taste is pure, as 'those which increase vitality, bodily harmony, strength, health, pleasure, and gratification, and are juicy, oily, firm, and heartening.

The yoga Sutras are also very clear on this point - that austerity (tapas) does not mean injury to the body.

From tapas, with the decline of impurity, come the powers (or perfections siddhis) of the body and the organs (of sense and action), and Excellence of the body consists of correct form, beauty, strength, and very firm well-knitness.

Truthfulness Are Considered

The aphorism on this subject goes a little further. The abandonment of animosity against oneself must of course come to an end with the exhaustion of the old collection of debts, but more comes in. There is the tendency for others to reform their ways in one's presence. It is good for us to see the good and to have the company of the good. Indeed, to be good is itself a good deed. In social relations this is a large part of the mutual benefit. Even the illustrations in the newspapers of the slender ladies who look so nice and surely are enjoying health and suppleness (although put there merely to persuade others to buy various articles) are part of our 'company of the good', which is so definitely thought of in India that it enjoys a special name the Satsanga. This benefit is not from imitation, but from emulation, and it is both external and internal. Besides, how could anyone reach a high point of spiritual contemplation if his mind contained low and selfish thoughts ?

The results of truthfulness are considered in the commentaries on the Sutras to be due to truthfulness in both word and thought. The results of actions being subservient to us translated into our own idiom; can only mean that henceforth we shall get what we work for. Why do people so often fail? Chiefly because they have been willing to live in a state of self deception They aim at health, for example, and do something about it, but still spoil the work by various prejudices against the good counsels which are available in the health and physical culture magazines. They will not give up although they know it is harmful they hope it will be all right, and surely just a little will not matte.

Again, people do not measure their karma (circumstances) against their strength. Good sense (truthfulness) would tell them that to be realistic and accept what is, without useless wishing and complaining, and then act according to their best judgment for a reasonable aim in the circumstances, measuring their own ability and strength realistically also, will mostly result in the desired success. But do they follow this good sense, this truthfulness to themselves in thought, first of all No, they complain and fret, and poison the air for others as well as themselves.

Truthfulness in speech is the cement of friendship and social confidence, and whoever breaks that causes wide suspicion, as King Henry V explained with wonderful eloquence and effect in Shakespeare's play.

Jewels approach. It was natural for the simple-living people of India in the old days to think of jewels as wealth. There were no banks to give them interest on their deposited 'savings, and there was generally no thought of accumulating currency, which may perhaps have been in process of depreciation, then as now. Even today the Hindus generally regard the family jewels as their bank. But consider the law of karma as applied to riches. It could be formulated as what you earn you have' - for all time. But if you rob, you lose. If a child comes to birth 'with a silver spoon m his mouth' it is because he has earned it in the past. Qrigen, one of the Christian Church Fathers, had the same idea.

The Ethics And Morality Of Yoga

It will probably come as a surprise to many to learn that progress in yoga depends upon goodness in personal character and in social relations, and that this is, indeed, laid down authoritatively as the first requisite in the main-line system of yoga, namely, the Toga Sutras of Patanjali.

In the Yoga Sutras eight limbs (angas) or tools or aids are prescribed. These are sometimes spoken of as 'steps', because the course of yoga practice is often alluded to as a road (marga) or path or way.

The following is a list of the eight 'limbs', in order, though it is intended in the present chapter to draw particular attention to only the first two. The others are listed merely to give a preview of the other six, to which they lead1 The eight are:

I. Abstention (yama).

2. Observance (Niyama).

3. Posture (Asana).

4. Breath-control (Pranayama).

5. Sense-withdrawal (Pratyahara)

6. Concentration (Dharana).

7. Meditation (Dhyana).

8. Contemplation (Samadhi)

It will be noticed that the first two of these eight are concerned with the aspirant's attitude towards the outer world and towards himself, in short, to ethics and morality in the widest sense of those terms; the next three have to do with the body and the senses; and the last three deal with the mind. Really, the transactions of life are between the real man (purusha) or Self (atma) and the world, but there are two instruments in between, as it were - the mind as inner instrument and the body as outer instrument. These two tools - or perhaps we should call them kits, as they are both quite complex  have to be put into good order and kept in good order as part of the regular system of conditioning.

Now to the Abstentions and Observances:

Abstention, says the text of the Toga Sutras, consists of five self-restraints, described as

(I) non-injury

(2) truthfulness

(3) non-theft

(4) spiritual conduct

(5) non-greed

The ideal is to maintain these five in all circumstances and at all times. The would-be student may be somewhat staggered by this demand at the outset, but if he confesses this to his teacher (guru) the following conversation is likely to ensue:

Teacher. Yes, I admit these are difficult to carry out perfectly. But tell me, can you say that you have entirely given up the desire to injure, to lie, to steal, to be sensual, and to be greedy ? Is it a pleasure to you to think of injuring, Lying, dishonesty, sensuality, and greed ?

Pupil. Yes, I can truly say that I do not want these impulses. I do not do these things for pleasure, but through either force of habit or temptation I do them occasionally.

Teacher Well, if you have given up the desire to injure anybody or to lie or steal or be sensual or greedy, and have given up pleasure in the thought of injury to another, etc., the battle is already almost won. You may proceed.

The second step, Observance, is also described as fivefold, but this time the five are things to do, whereas the first step listed things not to do.

They are: I. Cleanliness (Shaucha).

2. Contentment (Santosha).

3. Austerity (Tapas).

4. Self-study (Swadhyaya)

5. Attentiveness to God (Ishwara-pranidhana)

Cleanliness is usually described as having reference to both mind and body - in thought, word, and deed. The word for contentment (santosha) comes from a verbal root, tush, which means to be pleased, so this virtue is something more than mere passive contentedness. It does not imply passivity or resignation, but is allied to the doctrine of equanimity (samatwa) much emphasized in the Bhagavad Gita. Speaking of the advanced yogi, it says:

springboard for fuller living

Contentment is the basis or springboard for fuller living. We have to review every now and then our available materials, our tools, and our intentions. One thing is clear if there is to be any decided success on the path of yoga there must be no more complaints, no whining, no grousing not even any wishing. We need all our powers for the work m hand, whereas every wish is a cultivation of weakness, an announcement to ourselves of our inability to live realistically Decisions governing actions there will be. By making decisions the will grows; by allowing love to play its part in them our expansion of living and consciousness have their growth, and by the use of thought the power of our thought grows.

As these grow they play a larger and larger part in the moulding of our circumstances and the making of our environment. What is the enhancement of life and conscious. ness but an increase in our capacity for enjoyment? Contentment paves the way for the three kinds of positive living which constitute the three rules for daily living next to be described the last three of the 'ten commandments' of the yoga. In the meantime, the acceptance of things and people as they are, with glad acceptance not wishing them to be different, will enable the yogi to live among them without antagonism, and to derive the maximum pleasure from each moment 's opportunity. 'We used to live in a big house; now we have to put up with a little one'; 'We used to be well to do and to count socially, but now we are poor and despised'; 'These fruits are not as good as those we had in Jamaica five years ago. This film show is no good, does not compare with. Such are the attitudes to avoid, by which we may cause the good and the best to be our undoing, as far as pleasure is concerned

There is a question whether contentment can be put on like a garment. It can. First it may come from the understanding of life, a proper philosophy which tells us that all things are possible for us in rotation but not all at once, and that each thing has great value for the inner man. Secondly, when it has been known and felt - for it is a discovery still to be made by most people - the mood of the mind can be commanded. Now and then, when you find the discontent, you can command yourself to enjoy, with full attention to what you are doing. Even the enemy is then seen, and felt, as a friend, and we approach the yogic realization that we can be at peace with the world even when the world is not at peace with us.

8. From strict government of the body, amounting even to austerity (tapes), comes excellence of the bodily powers and senses. There is to be no mere indulgence; if certain foods are believed to be best for your body you take them; if they are not good you avoid them. Proper food, exercise, rest, recreation  and all in their proper measure.

It is doubtful whether the word 'austerity' is a satisfactory translation of tapas. Body conditioning describes the aim. The word tapas comes from a verbal root which means 'to heat', so perhaps our word 'ardour' applied to bodily living  would be good. Determination to live up to one's knowledge of what is best is implied. Definitely it is the use of will-power in this practical field. We shall find, as we proceed in the study of yoga, that several physical practices are recommended for the welfare of the body and for improvements in its functioning. They include chiefly exercises for purification, breathing, and posture. Those are not, how ever, included in the term strictness in daily life.

Protectiveness

From the above considerations it is easy to account for the statement that there arises the perception or understanding (bodha) of the 'howness' (kathanta) of the course of births (janman).  The common word for rebirth or reincarnation is punarjanman, punar meaning 'again'. This yogi has understood the theory very well. He can judge why certain conditions and happenings come to people, and therefore he has the wisdom to see how they should be dealt with to fill up the deficiencies of character of the people involved in them, and when he attains the higher vision or the intuitive or direct perception of the mind, on account of his detachment from particular things, he will positively see the course of past births - that is the meaning.

6. The results of bodily cleanliness are given as 'protectiveness of the body and detachment from others. The first part of this explanation of results has been the cause of much conflict of opinion among the commentators. One school of thought takes the word jugupsa to mean protectiveness, and another loathing. This is one of those words, rare in Sanskrit, which can have two or more quite different meanings. I have preferred protectiveness for the reason that it accords with common sense and with intelligent practice. It would be strange indeed that dislike of the body should arise from a habit of cleanliness. Desire to protect it from dirt and from 'bad living magnetism' is much more likely. Besides, loathing of anything is as much disapproved in yoga theory as infatuation. The fact that some fanatics despise the body only indicates their own admission of its unnaturalness and the grip which that idea has upon them.

For the sake of cleanliness, and also for the sake of 'psychic cleanliness', the Hindus do not in general approve of bodily contacts. An example is their greeting on meeting one another. The open hands are placed together, palm to palm and fingers to fingers, and held vertically in front of the chest for a moment. This is preferred to the handclasp, which anyhow was originally a way of ensuring the absence of weapons. Other evidence of their carefulness in this matter is the dislike of the upper classes for smoking, with the exception of some who have been influenced by Western customs. One man gave me his reasons: 'I dislike very much the idea of taking into my lungs smoke which has been in other people's mouths and is saturated with their saliva.

So there is really no justification for the translation of the aphorism as 'loathing for one's own members, and non intercourse with others'. Besides the reasons already given, this does not fit in very well with the interest in excellence of the body shown in some other aphorisms already quoted, and the general idea that attachment and aversion are both emotions to be overcome. In practice I have found that the great number of people who do yoga meditations every morning are very scrupulous about taking the morning bath and wing clean clothing. Dirtiness among Indians is nearly always due to poverty and inconvenience in the water supply.

Lead To Vigour

This way of life' is stated to lead to vigour. The belief among yogis is that abstention from the use of the sex function (which is often maintained after the duty to one ‘s family has been successfully done) leads to a sublimation of the bodily energy, which would otherwise have been expended wastefully, into the functions and powers of the higher mind. It is argued  contrary to popular opinion in the West  that the sex function is the one function of the body which does not in any way contribute to the welfare of the body, but exists only for the benefit of others, that is, future generations. If abstention leads to any bodily disorder, that must be put down to the effect of wrong emotional attitudes towards the subject, and consequent wrong ideas. No doubt modern popular literature has created a vast amount of ignorant thinking and unhealthy opinion on the subject, and the human power of imagination has intensified the cravings of young people in the modern world far beyond the limits of naturalness.

This question will come up again in our chapter on the vital force of Kundalim, where the yoga teaching is all in favor of abstention (when socially justified), and the direction of the vital forces to the 'higher' functions of life is quite elaborately described.

5. The word here translated 'non-greed' is aparigraha. It could also be translated 'non covetousness' or literally, nongraspmg (graha) all round or round about (part). It is related to one of the five great troubles (kleshas) of human life - possessiveness (abhinivesha). The difference of meaning is that while aparigraha is concerned with grasping or getting, abhinivesha IS more concerned with holding on to what one has. As to the latter, there is an aphorism which states that this trouble is so firmly grounded in human life that it is instinctive even with the wise.' The commentators have often emphasized that the chief part of it lies in clinging to the body something usually very much overdone, the point of view of the yogis being that the body exists as a ground of living for the sake of spiritual attainments. Their position could also be summed up in the saying, 'It is better to lose your body and save your "soul" than to save your body and lose your "soul" losing your soul meaning lowering your standard of life (which has nothing to do with 'standard of Irving of course).

When this virtue is attained, says the aphorism, the yogi will have a perception of the method of births. In the first place he will see that it is not what we have but the use that we make of it that matters in life. So, as regards material things, the yogi is not much concerned with more acquisitions, or with the satisfaction of common desires. He becomes habituated mentally and emotionally to the idea of' 'living on the wing' rather than 'digging in'. Many are the practising yogis who outside business hours and social duties are engaged in yoga. They are almost recognizable by the equanimity with which they meet and deal with 'what comes'. Later on, the advanced yogi renounces the plan making faculty (vikalpa). He makes no plans for himself, but meets the karma that comes and attends to the calls of duty that arise, his motive of action being 'for the welfare of the world.

Idea of Reincarnation

Many rich people dislike the idea of reincarnation, feeling how terrible it would be not to have their riches, and yet they must leave them behind when they die! Not a bit of it. If they have earned or deserved them they will be theirs in the future, always provided that they have not stolen them in any way, for in that case the jewels will not approach in the balancing of karma. So there is, after all, material as well as spiritual gain in holding to the virtues. There is, however, in the doctrine the clear notion that not all past karmas can be brought together at one time, or even in one lifetime or, more properly, body time. There is therefore an effect of the grouping into a type of lifetime of a certain number of compatible karmas. This being the case that not all the karmas can be represented at one time, but only a compatible group - it could be possible for a well to do person to find himself in poverty for a while, even perhaps for a lifetime. Thus, as it was once put, 'The dead king may next see the light in. a coolie's tent'.

A case which came within my own experience is to the point. A certain elderly blind man whom I knew well had for many years practised yoga under the direction of a guru known to both of us. This blind man told me that as a result of his yoga meditations he had become able to see into his previous life, which, he said, took place about seven hundred years ago. In that life, his story proceeded, he had been a small raja (king) in northern India. While being kind to his family and those who pleased him, he had been harsh and sometimes dreadfully cruel to the poor cultivators and his, enemies. The result of some of his acts of oppression and cruelty, he said, was his present blindness and poverty, which had, however, been a blessing in disguise, because they had caused him to become great friends with the poor villagers living round about, and so he had 'learnt real friendship in this life'. When the bad karma was paid off the believed - he would be back again in a position of comparative wealth and influence, with the advantage of an improved character and disposition. I had, of course, no means of verifying the accuracy of his vision or memory of the past, but I did find that in ordinary matters he had remarkable clairvoyance and telepathic powers.

4. The word here translated 'non-sensuality is Brahmacharya. Charya means 'conduct' or way of life'. Brahma here means roughly 'spiritual' or 'of the character of Brahman'. It is generally taken to mean celibate, though there are many who interpret it to mean that cohabitation may be indulged in, not however for bodily or emotional pleasure, but only as and when enjoined by the scriptures or when regarding the function as a sacred trust of power to ensure the future of humanity or of the family.

Path Of Yoga

He excels who has sameness of appreciation (or valuation - buds towards well-wishers, friends, enemies, strangers, neutrals, haters, and kinsmen, and even saints and sinners

  

Another verse speaks of him as regarding a lump of earth, a rock, or gold as the same. It states that he is also perfectly poised amidst cold and heat, pleasure and pain, respect and contumely. And why so? Because he is satisfied with knowledge and experience, and above all with the Self within Because he recognizes the value of all these things for the inner man he is not only not emotionally upset, but he is positively pleased. It does not mean that he is physically - insensitive to cold and heat Though yoga practices in connexion with breathing and relaxation do make him very adaptable in this respect) but that his emotional attitude IS calm.

As the path of yoga is one of definite endeavours, as listed in the remaining six limbs (angas) it should be clearly understood that the aspirant is accepting gladly all the adverse circumstances that arise, regarding them as opportunity, instead of lamenting the situation. It is similar to the doctrine of the Stoic, Epictetus, who declared, 'There is only one thing for which God has sent me into the world, and that is to develop every kind of virtue or strength, and there is nothing in all the world that I cannot use for this purpose.'

Further, it is generally believed that the circumstances which arrive 'without effort which means not as the result of our immediate or recent action - are not purely accidental, but are related to our defects and merits of character, on account of which we did some actions in the past even in past lives which have caused this experience now. This is, quite akin to a modern view expressed by the first Henry

Ford When being interviewed by a news reporter he happened to remark that he never made a mistake. The reporter, surprised, asked for an explanation, and was told, 'Of course, I have done many things ignorantly and sometimes without sufficient thought, but I learned from those actions, and would not have learned otherwise, so they were not fundamentally mistakes.

In India there is also a definite doctrine of 'fate' with regard to events which is expounded in the Bhagavad Grits. There the teacher says:

Learn from me the five lines of causation (which appear) in the achievement of every action, as stated in the concluding portion of the sdnkhya (philosophy):

(I) The site for it;

(2) The Doer of It;

(3) The Different Kinds of Instruments Used In It;

(4) The Various Different Kinds of Functions (Or Motions) Employed; And

(5) The Divinity (or Fate). Whatever Action A Man Undertakes Whether in the right way or in the wrong way - these five are the causes of it.

It may not occur lo the reader at first glance, but the fifth of these reasons always comes in. The average Hindu is therefore in accord with the statement of Robert Burns, that 'the best laid schemes o' mice and men gang aft agley'. More than that, we may always expect an unseen (adrishta) element to come in, which may in fact upset a good plan or, on the other hand, bring a bad one to a successful conclusion.

Highs Mindedness

And then, when there is mind-cleanliness, come (in orders highs mindedness, attentiveness (or one pointedness), mastery of this senses, and fitness for the vision of the self.

From Contentment comes the obtaining of the highest form of pleasure.

From Body-conditioning, with the decline of impurity, come fug powers of the body and the senses.

From Self-study arises contact with the desired divinity. From Attentiveness to God comes the power at contemplation.

To appreciate these results of the ten virtues, or abstentions (yamas) and observances (niyamas), we need to understand the outlook and background of the Hindu mind of old times, prior to the influx of modern machinery, mass production and mass education for material ends.

Non injury. By the 'law of karma' no injury can come in future to the non-injurer, except what comes as a result of his injurious doings prior to his seeing and following the true path. On this theory and belief people are receiving what they have given or done to others. The blessing of this law is also to be taken into account, for the lesson is at all times appropriate to the person. If a person, for example, robbed others in the past, perhaps with violence, it must have been because he was insensitive to their suffering, and now the repercussion of that upon himself may be expected to make him feel what suffering is, with the result that in the course of time he will feel it even when applying it to others.

This belief might fill people with the fear that they may have an immense back-log of painful experience 'in the bank' as it were, ready to pounce on them as an incalculable or unseen factor in their present and future plans. But these fears must be discounted for two reasons. One reason is the fact that our lives are a mixture of pleasure and pain, of what we may call good and bad, most of the time, which shows that the incurring and the paying of these debts has been and is being more or less equal all the time, so that one cannot suppose oneself to have been a terrible monster with a dreadful quantity and quality of sins behind one (flattering to one's vanity as the thought may be). The other reason against fear is the doctrine and belief that what we now do with genuine unselfishness cancels out an equal amount of old 'bad karma' which has not yet come into effect in our present lives. The logic of this is that one has somehow learnt the lesson by study and thought and wisdom, and does not need to learn it the hard way, but sill the same pays off the old karma by the good actions one spontaneously does.

Correct understanding

Patanjali has another aphorism which has been alluded to in this connexion. Everything is painful to the discriminating person', or in another translation. To the enlightened all is misery. To the enlightened (vivekin) of course. Nothing in the world will compare with nirvana, and all of us find the limitations of the body irksome, if we think of them. Buddha also laid it down as the first of his 'four noble truths' that all here is sorrow. Every one of our pleasures is tinctured with it. But that did not constitute a condemnation of the world, for in his second noble truth he said, 'Because of your desires ' It was a slap in the face for the common human being. It was the answer to the question why everything was sorrow: 'It is your own fault.' We may add: 'Not the world's fault.' More, there was the implication that as the trouble lay with the individual he could remove it, as shown by the third noble truth, 'Sorrow's ceasing, by the ceasing of your desires'. And finally, the way to this cessation, the fourth noble truth, which was not any sort of suicide, not any shrinking from the world and life, but 'The noble Eight-fold Path of.

( I ) Correct understanding, views, outlook, appraisal, judgment.

(2) Correct aims motives, plans, decision.

(3) Correct use of speech.

(4) Correct behaviour, conduct, actions.

(5) Correct mode of livelihood.

(6) Correct effort - some good works

(7)Correct intellectual activity - some study.

(8) Correct contemplation.

Taking care of the body may be regarded as part of this path, for the body is needed for the treading of it. It is only an instrument, we know, and not the perfect man, but it is a means to that ends It is a box of tools to be kept clean, not a bag of filth. Its marvellous excretory and eliminative system illustrates how hard it works to get rid of what we put into it, and the residue of waste resulting from its work for us.

The second result of cleanliness had reference to pure thoughts and words;

From mind-cleanliness come high-mindedness, concentration, mastery of the senses, and fitness for the vision of the Self (atma darshana).

7. The result of Contentment is 'Obtaining of the highest form of pleasure. This might easily be taken to mean that contentment itself constitutes the greatest pleasure, but that is not what is intended. As all these ten commandments' of yoga are virtues for daily living, so also are the results of those concerned with daily living - the efforts and merits are of this world; so also are the rewards. The next likely error to avoid is to think that this contentment implies negative acceptance of things as they are. Yet it does imply the acceptance of things and people as they are and for what they are, namely, materials for living, that is, for the application of our powers of mind and heart - our will, love, and thought.

Devotional Spirit

In the meantime, however, he is to remember that this Ishwara is not an independent being withdrawn into himself by the possession of complete free will. It is the Master or Ruler of all who or which have not attained the same, and the ruler for their good, that is, the supreme Teacher. The implication of this combination of a supreme ruler and teacher is that no one can escape the benevolent lessons of life even for a moment, and therefore devotion is perfectly in order. The hand of God is in every event, and the constancy of it gives it the aspect of Law, even the 'laws of Nature'.

To receive all experience in the devotional spirit, knowing that the fruitage of the lesson comes after the experience, not before it, nor even during it, includes at once great faith and great love of God. We might conceivably might we not? Have found ourselves in a perfectly hellish state of life in which there was only endless torment, disorder, and chance. How grand it is to be under this Rule, such that even the mind cannot fundamentally stray, and cannot miss the benefit even of its own errors. What grandness, what joy, to be under this rule, and even more to feel and understand that some day we shall be part of the ruling, not of the ruled, when our life will not be only permeated by the joy of the understanding of the Law as now, but will itself be the glory of the being of it.

Thus comes in 'Attentiveness to God', which is the acceptance of all experience without resentment or antagonism, not merely seeing the good in everything, but seeing the God in everything, which puts our emotions as well as our understanding right. Such is the 'love of Gods when that teacher ship is known.

The Sutras, continuing their definition of God, further explain:

In That is the ultimate source of all knowledge.

That same was the Teacher of the ancients, not being limited

Of That the expresser is the sacred syllable (Om).

There should be repetition of this, with pondering upon its meaning.

These ethical and moral heights which are thus taught as the very beginning of the yoga path are announced not merely as leading to inward benefit. Their effects are stated to permeate the external living also. The benefits (which as they arise again contain new lessons) which the good receive and what nonsense is this modern pose of being ashamed of goodness are announced in definite order, according to the list of ten, the two fives. These are briefly stated, so it is necessary for the student to interpret them, amplify them, and apply them to his own life by his own thought, and then, in due course, realize their magic.

When non-injury is accomplished, there will be abandonment of animosity in his presence.

• When non-lying is accomplished, the results of actions became subservient to him.
• When non-theft is accomplished, all jewels approach him
• When non-sensuality is accomplished, vigour obtained.
• When non-greed is accomplished, there arises perception  the method of births.
• From (external) cleanliness arises protectiveness of the body and detachment from others.

Connexion with the desired divinity

from study of what really concerns us comes 'connexion with the desired divinity'. There we have indeed to pause and think, to understand the yoga point of view. It is universally accepted in India that we are very dependent beings. That the essential Self is eternal, pure, happy, and free is accepted, and to realize or know that truth by direct experience is the aim of yoga, as has been shown in our previous chapter; but in all matters pertaining to body and mind we are definitely very dependent beings. We need help or food in every part of our being the 'bread from heaven' as well as the bread of earth. This dependence is the outcome of our collective living, in which each one benefits by association with many, and each one is expected to contribute to this mutual benefit, according to his power.

This concept is extended into the field of knowledge. The study of the great thoughts of others helps us in our under standing. The name for this ninth virtue indicates this. It is swa (own) adhyaya (study), or study of one sown nature and proper living. In addition, in some way God (Ishwara) is the teacher of us all, and all those men of the past who have achieved their independence or divinity are part of that. The laws are not purely external to us. We are learning the inner laws of our being as well as the laws of nature. The gurus of the past have left their knowledge 'in the atmosphere' not the ultimate knowledge, of course, which can never be brought down or represented. There is much that exists above us in Nature, as well as below, and that companionship can be brought within our scope. We can eat of that bread of life, which is there for us when we reach up to it, and may appear in our lives as intuition, and, with some who anthropomorphize their experiences, as from angels or divine beings, who belong to the region of Law and can represent and teach it. Sincere study, the aphorism teaches, will lead to and enhance our contact with this desired divinity.

10. Finally, the reward of attentiveness to God is the power of contemplation or success in contemplation (samadhi). The world might be fantastic and unbelievable, but it is not. It also might be fantastic and unreliable with regard to goodness, but it is not. Constantly the devotional yogi sees more and more, in many of the experiences of life, that it is not, and even how it is not. There is therefore gratitude that the Laws are sane and good and that we are at all times enveloped in that sanity and goodness. To be aware of this sanity and goodness and to be grateful for it is a sort of contemplation or poise of the heart and mind, which passes from gratitude to worship. Worship is thus our highest function, the 'flowering and completion of human culture', as Emerson called it. It is contemplation of the absolute presence of the Divine, and naturally its function is the perfection of itself.

Although the eight steps of yoga proceed next to posture, then to breathing, then on to control of the senses, and only in the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages deal with concentration, meditation, and contemplation, which are the inner or mental steps, we will now proceed in our next chapter to study the Intellectual steps, and afterwards take up posture, etc, to see how they support the main purpose.

YOGA AND THE INTELLECT

It is in the last three of the eight limbs of yoga presented in the Saga Ultras that we find the training and use of the mind. In this there are three clearly defined stages. These three may be translated as:

• Concentration
• Meditation
• Contemplation
•  

In this first of these there is the application of the mind's attention to a particular thing or idea, without wandering away from it. This non-wandering constitutes what is called control (nirodha).

In the second of the three, namely meditation, there is a play of thought upon the object. While this is going on the concentration is still in operation, but the play of thought goes on with reference to the object of attention without passing away to other things. Thus, for example, if the object is a flower there will be every possible thought about the flower. Usually in looking at things we are content to note a few outstanding features and the same is true also m our thinking about them, but in meditation there should be complete thinking, if possible.

A and B were at a party last night. Today A says to B. Do you remember Mrs. Whelkson, who was there? B replies, Yes, I remember her very clearly. She was the lady with the big nose.' A then asks, What was the colour of her eyes and her hair and dress ? B cab only reply that he has not even the foggiest notion.

The usual thinking of most people is based upon data almost as bad as this. In matters philosophical or devotional, with which yoga is very much concerned, this will not do. Hence the need for the three processes already named, which are thus described in the aphorisms:

The binding of the mind (chitta) to one place is concentration (dharana).

Continuity of ideation there is meditation (dhyana).

The same, but with the shining of the mere object, as though with a voidness of one's own nature, is contemplation (Samadhi)

In the last of the three the reader may recognize the chief characteristic of ecstasy or rapture. In that one forgets oneself, is taken out of oneself, and yet is intensely conscious. The quality of consciousness is, in fact, at its best. This is not an emotional state, but an operation of seeing or knowing, in which there is nothing partial and nothing brought to the picture from memory, or from the past, to colour the present experience with any comparison or classification. If you were looking at a picture, and saying, 'How nice it is. See this group of trees here, and that little stream there, and that light on the hillside ...', you would be experiencing the delight of meditative examination, which would gradually build the picture into one unit, as you grasped these various interesting items clearly and then combined them into one and discovered the unity of the whole. But if you 'took in' the whole picture at once, missing nothing, not flitting among the parts from one to another, you would undergo ecstatic discovery and experience of the unity. For this, the picture must of course be good; that is, there must be no slightest mark on the canvas which is not necessary, just as, for example, in an excellent human body all the parts must be there, but there must be no redundancy, such as an extra thumb growing on the side of the proper one

Yoga and the Intellect

This was to be done little by little, said Shri Krishna. Arjuna, however, did not view the task hopefully. He exclaimed, 'The mind (manas) is very restless, O Krishna Impetuous, powerful, and firm. I think it is as hard to control as the wind. The teacher's reply was definite and simple Undoubtedly the mind (manas) is restless and hard to control, but it is held by practice (abhyasa) and uncoloured. ness (vairagya).

The word 'un colored ness' may seem rather uncouth but it well expresses the idea, that one must not let one's emotions be colored by the various things and ideas which come up. Some have translated this word as 'dispassion' indifference', 'non-attachment', etc., but 'uncolouredness is absolutely literal. The student should notice that anxiety and the feelings of difficulty and of hankering for success are colouring the feelings and the mind, and so he should think of what he is doing, not of results. Then success will accrue.

A further anxiety is next shown by Arjuna. He asks what happens if the aspirant falls away from his purpose, or fails to attain success. Krishna replies that after death he will live in the inner worlds according to his merit, for a long time, and then: 'He who fell from yoga is born (again) in a pure and fortunate house. Or he even comes into a family of wise yogis, though a birth such as this is very hard to obtain in this world. There he obtains the buddhic attainments of his previous incarnations, and thence he again strives for full accomplishment.

A description of the psychic powers available to man, and appearing occasionally among the yogis of India and also quite often in spiritualist and psychic research circles in the West, will find its most appropriate place in this book in

this chapter on 'Yoga and the Intellect'. These powers are considered by their students to be an extension of our per captions and abilities, and therefore further adjuncts to the mind. They are not either in the West or in the East regarded as unnatural or supernatural, but rather just further developments of our natural powers, and subject to acceleration of growth by appropriate means. Almost all persons have at some time or other had some small (and sometimes large) indications of such things as telepathy, clairvoyance, and premonition.

One frequently reads about the psychic faculties and powers shown occasionally by yogic experts in India and sometimes in other places. We must distinguish faculties from powers because these phenomena fall into two classes, as indeed our ordinary sense and mind activities also do. Men can perceive things through the sense organs (Joanndriyas); they can also act upon the world by the action organs (karmendriyas). Indeed it is sometimes said that man lives in 'the ten organs' and the rest of the body is only there to contain them.

The body is thus two-fold with respect to ordinary affairs. The same is true, it is said, with respect to the mind, but the mind is less developed than the body. As it develops more it will use its subtle organs for perceiving, showing the abilities popularly called second sight, psychometric, clairvoyance, clairaudience, etc. Later, when further developed, it is maintained, the mind of each person will show its abilities of action, or what is called direct action of the mind upon matter. The former are called faculties and the latter powers.

Voyage Of Discovery

The pupil did not know it before, but he has had the experience He will now set himself the seemingly impossible task. He will tell his mind to think on God, Truth, Reality Self, Consciousness, the Absolute. There is no gas for this ballooning; nothing on earth or in the mind can help him He must make no comparisons or contrasts, no definitions no categories. He must use his own jet-power to ride over all these things. In his practice he can use words (I) to keep other thoughts out of the picture, and (2) to act as boats for the voyage of discovery. These are not words of definition but words of discovery.

He will find that he has to perform this feat by an act (or acts) of being. He will know the being, because the being has its own knowing, which is direct, without any intermediate or mediating thing or thought. This act of being is sustained by his will. He has set his face towards the fulfillment pf the twill. After all, all his doing and having in the past has only been operated to serve his experience of being. We do not fundamentally want to have and to do, we only want to lie, and we use the having and doing for that purpose. Further, our will to be is not content with anything it seeks its goal beyond the irksome limits of having and doing. Man will not be really happy until he is consciously one wit God, and shares the freedom of that one Reality.

 There in the will is indeed another seed, but it is the seed no of anything in the world or in the min d, but of the Beyond which alone account for the here. The will never change alone accounts for the 'here'. The will never changes; it always points to that true North. The mind is of the mud of earth, except in this one fact. Therein is that spark of original power and being, even in the midst of the mind and the body. Man cannot master other things, because all have the right to master themselves; but man can master himself and be without fear. He can learn that all things serve him and he them, and that nothing in his life happens contrary to his will, which is so little known by the rest of his mind, which yet can come to know and thus enter that glorious service, and will come to know this through the asamprajrnata samadhi. 'Man is the mirror of the universe', it has been said. Yes, and in this point of joyous vision and service the mirror of God and his freedom, reality, truth, self, and all. Thus he will find God here, even in the mind, and be able to say from experience, 'He who cannot find God here cannot find him anywhere'.

In some of the preceding paragraphs I have mentioned meditation and contemplation together. The reason for this is that concentration, meditation, and contemplation form a sequence, always together. The act or practice begins with concentration, which then continues inside or behind the meditation. It goes on with meditation and then continues in or behind the contemplation, which remains within its scope

Still, nothing goes on forever, and the upward way is like a stair, not an inclined plane: Each stair or platform prepares for the next. In childhood we develop mostly our bodies and senses. Later, when these are mature and have practically stopped growing we develop especially our emotions. Later still, our thoughts, and at last some synthetic wisdom. Therein lies the doctrine of the archetypes. It would not do for our bodies to grow a hundred feet tall; the leverages would be wrong, say the biologists. Yet there is some degree that can be called perfect body. When it reaches that, it stops. So also with emotions and mind. The archetype is not a blueprint, a prototype, but a limit. It is not perfection in the abstract.

The Practice of Meditation

There is not in this advice to meditate the assumption that the aspirant, is aiming at great things. The trouble with us D that we do not know anything well, or well enough, or we are far from knowing it as it is. What do we know, fop example, of strength, or love, or courage, or the wing of a butterfly? The crudity of the- average mind is almost incredible. 'Meditate on the strength of the elephant,' says the yogi, and then you will get a better conception of strength not a definition of strength, but an experience of strength in the mind. All things have qualities. To see those qualities well is to have them in the mind. The relaxedness and the alertness of the cat can be ours not by mental formulation and definition, but by contemplation. All thing are qualities, and we can be one with a group of those, in one act of direct perception.

The Practice of Meditation. The teacher of concentration often tells his students simply to go on trying to keep the attention upon one thing, and bring it back whenever it wanders, until at last it obeys, like a 'broken-in' horse, and concentration then becomes a habit. This is not the best way; it lacks psychological subtlety.

Let it be noticed, first of all, that the mind has a habit of drifting picture follows picture on a line of least resistance, or a line of habit, and this is mostly habit of the emotions, of desires and aversions born of past pleasures and pains. Thus if one says 'cow', the succession of so called thoughts may be 'milk baby cot furniture store Stenton 's San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge  iron-foundry  fire forest fire fleeing animals  running  Olympic games' and so on, over the hills and far away.

The second thing to notice is that we have the power to stop this flow, and often do so. For example, in the saner Riven, we might stop at the bridge and begin to go over the picture of the bridge. We might even start wondering about its material, its design, and indeed many things. The exercise of this power is concentration.

In concentration the same picture is attended to in successive moments. Some people ensure this by the repetition of a word. But when the power of concentration is established there should be no need of such repetition It should be enough that you have decided to attend to the idea of the bridge. Further, such attention may be actual. Disregarding for the time being all the rest of the scenery, you may decide to look al the bridge more carefully than before. From this comes the term concentration. You are bringing your diffused attention to a focus on a comparatively-small thing. Then, of course, you will see it better than ever you did before. All the same, actual visualization in meditation is not necessary; people differ very much in this respect, and it is not important.

Yoga Practice

In this way you acquire concentration without thinking about concentration. After several practices your mind learns to keep to a subject when previously directed to do so, instead of wandering and dissipating its energies. There arises a mood of return to the centre. After a little while you can put this mood on like a garment. You have found the feel of it, and now a small act of will sets it in operas lion, just as you walk and go somewhere definite as the result of a small act of will. You do not need to think of concentration, but can swing your mind round to things and thoughts, or from one to another, with great and calm definiteness. You can then use this for all kinds of mental work - reading, studying, writing, lecturing, teaching, etc.

In yoga practice, however, this concentration is used as a step to the further practices of meditation and contemplation. These are functions, something that you do not static conditions and states. Even contemplation (samedhi) is something that you do, though it is not thinking, and you do not think about it when you are doing it, once you have acquired it.

In the practice with the sheet of paper, let us notice the difference between concentration and meditation. After you have completed your concentration you possess a sheet of paper with many arrow-words on it. For the elementary exercises of meditation lay this completed sheet on the table, note the first arrow-word, for example, milk. Do not forget It or put it out of mind, as you did in the elementary concentration practice, but slide your eye back to the cow, carrying the idea of milk with you, and then think. Think all you can about the relations between the milk and the cow. When this is finished (and only you can judge as to when this is, but let the judgment not be motivated by impatience or the desire to get it done and done with), turn to the next arrow word the tufted tail - anti deal with it in the same manner and so on.

This will lead on to contemplation. Quite often people fall, to contemplation without thinking of it, until this is Important they find themselves coming out of it, much to their surprise. They have he memory of the enjoyment of consciousness in the now terminated act of contemplation. As they look back upon it they realize that they were they without thinking of themselves, but only contemplating the object. Out of it they come, back into their meditative mood, ringing something new back with them - some thought that they did not think in their meditation. It is an intuition, an item of knowing, or something that illumines the entire field, the whole subject, every part of it. Still more: after a while they come to know what contemplation feels like, and en can switch into it, through an act of concentration and meditation that seems to take no time. It is another mood, own only by experience, and then as a power of the mind.

The inspectional (savitarka)

The investigational is intended to find out the subtle characters or abstract natures of such things, that is, the characteristics and qualities of them which are not visible to the senses. This requires much thought about categories or classes of the objects, and their constants behind time and space. Let us take as our example the notion of a cow. In the vitarka stage we shall observe what it is, what it has, and what it does in fact. These are being, doing, and having at the concrete level. In the vichara stage we shall be concerned with the cow as cow and as such something beyond time and space, which is the same in all circumstances and at all times, and is always in the same manner causative in its relation to other beings and objects. The particular object live cow can be regarded as expressive of a subtle reality which it embodies. The subtle is thus something of the nature of mind. Thinking is required to get at these abstracts and to see that they are realities and are the powers in the world, or the axes of all growth.

Instead of an object, like the cow, one may consider the senses of hearing, feeling or touching, seeing, tasting, and smelling. These are not considered to be derived from objects (as though salt had a certain taste and sugar a certain taste; which they have not, for sugar is not sweet to itself) but are deep-seated axes of the growth of forms and are responsible for the relations of selves to things, including their bodies and minds. As such they are realities to be known by much thinking (vichara). Only their effects at the gross (sthula) level are matters for inspection by the senses These subtle objects of enquiry go on from depth to depth, even as far as the indefinable reality which we call the undifferentiated manifest reality (prakriti). The aphorism states this in the following terms: 'The domain of the subtle ends only at the indefinable.

This can be understood by remembering that the ultimate class or ultimate substance in this case cannot be known in terms of its presentations, which limit it by particularity, and so do not represent it.

In this philosophy - or science - both things and mind are material (prakriti), though the first are gross and the latter subtle, though the first have form and the latter is formless, though the first are of space (have spatial dimensions or extensity, or exist as space-process), and the latter is not of space (has no extensity) but exists as a time-process. Therefore meditations can go to the indefinable summum genus, or ultimate class, and there they must stop, because there is nothing thinkable about, as there are no characteristics.

We have now to understand that both the inspectional and investigational kinds of meditation and contemplation are dealing with something of the world (of the object-side or of the mind-side of it), and they are therefore operating within the field of matter (prakriti). As such their results are also within that field. On this account they are described as 'with seed (sabija). If the meditation and contemplation are on a cow the resulting intuition will be something about a cow.

Another point to be noted is that each of the two forms of materially-conscious (samprajnata) meditation and contemplation has two stages. Thus there are:

(a) The inspectional (savitarka) and the

(b) Non-inspectional (nirvitarka).

Similarly, there are:

(a) The Investigational (savichara) and the

(b) Non-investigational (nirvichara)