-Now, we will know about yoga, grossly and some topics related to yoga. When, the word yoga is used in the spiritual background, it means the union of soul and God. The book- ‘Yoga Darshan’ written by Maharishi Patanjali is the final authority on this subject. According to this book, there are eight parts of the process of uniting soul with the Supreme Soul. Healthy body is very important for ‘Yoga’. But, this does not mean that every action that benefits health can be called yoga. Today, some special techniques of moving the body, which have health benefits, are being considered as yoga. Here, most of the thoughts on the subjects related to yoga are of Swami Vishwang ji.
-Today, it is believed that to cause pain, or sorrow to someone is violence. But, Vedaas and sages are of the view that violence and non-violence stand on injustice and justice. According to this, to give pain to someone justly is non-violence and to reward or to give happiness to someone unfairly is violence. The wrong interpretation of this one word has caused great harm to our country. It is true that we should not hate anybody. But, this does not mean that we should not even have the feelings of disliking towards the people due to whom this country has suffered so much.
-It is not possible, even to start to move on the path of yoga without following non-violence. It is considered true by all that meat cannot be obtained without causing sufferings to the beings. Then, why are there people, who say that a person did realize God, although he ate meat under special circumstances? Cow being an animal, prefers to die of hunger irrespective of the circumstances, but does not eat meat. People with such beliefs are flourishing because, we do not have faith in the words of the sages.
-The root of violence is ‘injustice’. Instead of doing violence himself, one, who silently watches, sufferings being caused to others, unjustly’, is also guilty of violence. Not to resist the injustice being done to others is nothing but supporting violence. Therefore, it is necessary that the person taking the vow of non-violence should not commit violence himself, and also, raise his voice against the violence being committed by others. We should think of the reason behind sufferings of countless beings, who take birth as animals, birds, worms et cetra? Then, we will able to understand, what is violence and what is non-violence?
-It is generally believed that there is nothing wrong in telling a lie, which benefits someone. It’s not okay. Our lie can benefit the other person for a moment or for an hour or for a day or for a year or for a maximum of one birth. But, its end result is only harmful both for the liar as well for the person for whose benefit lie is spoken. In special circumstances, if a thing is spoken with a sacrificing spirit, then, it is equivalent to truth, even if it is not literally true. The existence of special circumstances is decided by the soul of each. What is sacrificing spirit? In short, the actions, which are done for the welfare of the creation as a whole and in opposition to injustice, are considered to be imbued with the spirit of sacrifice.
-It is said that one should speak the truth and that truth should be lovable, also. It is very rare that a subject is both true and not unpleasant. At such a time, it is one’s soul only, which decides whether an unpleasant truth should be spoken or not. If the truth spoken, lovingly seems harsh to someone, then, it is the fault of the hearer. Some scholars are of the view that a lie can be told as an exception, but, it is absolutely necessary that the mentality of the liar is pure. By taking recourse to the fact that we should, as an exception, lie for the benefit of others, we become prone to lying and lie even in ordinary circumstances.
-The sages say that your saying that we cannot move in today’s world without untruth is wrong. Try using truth as truth itself, without presenting it as a lie, its importance will become evident in a single instance. Do not give up the truth, even if, this loving body has to be destroyed. We should ask ourselves these questions – Whom do we want to benefit from our lie? Whom do you want to please? When no one in the past has been benefited by it, then, how can it benefit us?
-Non-stealing – We should not use anything without the approval of its owner. If necessary, take the approval of your friend, husband, wife et cetra in advance that you can use their things in their absence.
-Celebacy– It means, here, only, that one should preserve his semen or her rajas. By not preserving them, we make the body fragile, weak and disease prone. The more restraint you have on the senses, the easier it is to follow brahmacharya or celebacy. The restlessness of the senses is a hindrance in the observance of brahmacharya. By being conscious of one’s ultimate goal and by remaining engaged in work, all the time, helps in the observance of brahmacharya. The character of great men, heroes, sages and ideal men should always be kept before ourselves.
Scholars of Ayurveda say – Semen and Rajas are the final products of our food after going through different stages of processing. They are the final and excellent essence of our food. If you really want to get nectar, then, protect them. If you destroy them due to incontinence, then, see and understand that you will get diseases from all over the world. Like, we tell lies because we have not known the glory of truth. We steal because we have not known the glory of Asteya. In the same way, we do not exercise restraint because we have not known the glory of celibacy. Once, we realize that what is the glory of celibacy, then we will leave adultery and start practicing celibacy.
The subtle things of the scriptures can be understood, only by the subtle-intellect. The intellect is subtle, when the essence of food in our body is abundant. The essence of food are the subtle elements- Semen and Rajas. These can be protected by following celibacy, only.
–Aparigraha or Non-Piling – The non-collection of unnecessary things and unnecessary thoughts through mind, speech and body is called Aparigraha. But, Aparigraha does not mean that the clothes for the President and the Peon should be the same and in equal quantity.
By accumulation of more resources, unnecessary production increases, due to which, there is a loss of five elements like earth, water et cetra. So, we should have the collection of our resources well in accordance with our basic needs. We should determine our needs very intelligently. Even if, there is ever more collection than our needs, then the rest should be donated.
We should ask ourselves these questions – for whom do I collect so much? Why do I pile and for how long will I keep doing it? Where was I? When did I come? Why did I come? Where is my previous collection? What is the purpose of making collection?
–Austerity – In order to fulfill the ultimate goal of life, to bear the duals like loss-benefit, happiness-sadness, hunger-thirst, cold-heat, honor-insult et cetra with peace and patience is called austerity. Today, we have weakened ourselves so much that for material things like pillows, beds, vehicles, fans, coolers, air conditioners et cetra., we forget the ultimate goal of our life. As soon as a worldly object of our liking comes before us, we forget everything and get attached to it.
A piece of advice- Austerity should be done, only to the extent that happiness of the mind does not go away.
Swadhyaya or Study – The integrated study of both physical-science and spiritual-science is called Swadhyaya. The Vedaas have both material science and spiritual science. Studying literature of any sort does not come within the preview of Swadhyaya. Therefore, STUDY is not considered to have been done without the study of Vedaas and the scriptures written by sages. Study of Vedaas and scriptures written by sages helps us understand practical things in a much better way.
–‘Ishvara-pranidhan’ means surrendering to God. In the world, we generally talk about surrendering to parents, teachers, officers et cetra. Here, by surrendering, we mean to do what we are asked to do by our parents, teachers, officials et cetra. Similarly, surrendering to God would mean following the commands of God, which are nothing but actions for upkeep of humanity. If we have to move according to the command of God, then, we will keep God in front of us at all times and we will put our speech, thinking and actions in the right direction and use all our strength, wealth, ability, knowledge et cetra according to the commands of God. Devotion also means surrender.
–‘Asana’– The main purpose of asana is not to make the body disease-free, but, to do Pranayama, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. The physical posture in which one can sit comfortably for a long time, without any special effort, according to one’s capacity, is called asana. Due to condition or disease et cetra, we can sit on chair, too.
– ‘Pranayama’ – Kapaal-Bhati, Anulom-Vilom et cetra are not Pranayama, but are breathing exercises, only. The mind, which is a very fast instrument, has been given to us by God to reach our destination, which is far away. This fast instrument can be controlled only through Pranayama. In Pranayama, the breathing, which is a vital force of life is stopped for a short span of time in accordance with our capacity to have better control over this life-force. There are only four pranayama, which the sage Patanjali has told in his immortal work Yoga Darshan. Do not keep the mind empty while doing pranayama. While doing Pranayama, pray to the Lord that O provider of life! May my life-force be under my control. May my mind, which follows Prana, be under my control.
–According to Maharishi Patanjali – First Pranayama – Inhale and then, exhale and then stop the breath outside, as much as it is possible, in accordance with one’s capacity. As soon as, there is inconvenience in holding the breath, inhale. Second Pranayama– Inhale and then stop the breath inside, as much as it is possible, in accordance with one’s capacity. As soon as, there is inconvenience in holding the breath, exhale. Third Pranayama– To stop the breath, wherever it is. As soon as, there is inconvenience in holding the breath, inhale or exhale. Fourth Pranayama– This pranayama is done only, after attaining proficiency in the first three pranayamas, after years of practice.
Don’t spend too much energy in holding the prana or breath for longer duration, rather apply energy to the method of doing pranayama and pay attention to the efficiency of doing this activity. Pranayama not only keeps all the systems of our body in order, but also, makes our intellect subtler, which enables us to understand difficult subjects quickly. Along with our physical and intellectual development, Pranayama is also very helpful in our spiritual progress. If the prana or the breath is stopped, but the mind is not paid attention to, then ignorance is not destroyed in this way. As the prana becomes stable, the mind, also, becomes stable. Engage the stable mind in contemplation of God.
-Generally, the meaning of meditation is taken to concentrate on a subject. Only one subject remains in meditation. But, there can be different topics of that one subject. The more we concentrate on a subject, the more minutely, we can understand that subject. Seeing this benefit, we should engage in the process of meditation more and more. The meaning of being thoughtless in meditation is that there should be no object other than the one we meditate on. The meaning of meditation in yoga is to concentrate one’s mind on the qualities of God.
– Our mind gets easily engaged in the thing, in which it sees benefit, If we seem to be uninterested in the process of meditation, then, we should think deeply about its benefits.
First of all, for ‘dhyana’ we should practice sitting upright, still and comfortably. For the complete relaxation of the body, we have to take our mind to different parts of the body and be thoughtful for their relaxed and untroublesome condition. During this, we have to keep our breathing deep and uniform.
-How do we ensure to sit upright? For this an exercise is suggested. After sitting on a chair or on ground, raise both your hands from sideways and join them above your head by crossing the fingers. Now, pull both the hands upwards. Keeping the position of the body the same, bring the hands back. By doing this, whatever position of the waist, neck and head becomes, the same tension-free position should be of our body during meditation. If, during meditation period, the position of our body changes, we can repeat this activity again.
-Just as a child feels safe in his mother’s lap, so also, feel that you are safe in God’s lap. Feel the presence of God everywhere. During meditation, if the mind moves here and there by mistake or ignorance, then, immediately bring it back and make it focus on the place of dharana, Meditate on God with complete devotion, reverence, love and concentration.
-It is true that one gets fruits of one’s actions, no matter how much chanting, tapasya, donations et cetra one makes. Nevertheless, the need for worship is because by worshiping God one gets special knowledge, strength, joy, patience, stamina, selflessness, enthusiasm, might, kindness, justice et cetra. The intellect and memory of the worshiper become sharp. His concentration increases and he becomes able to control his senses. His mind acts in a much disciplined way. He gets the ability to know, suppress, weaken and destroy the bad impressions or sanskaras of his previous actions. When a Sadhak follows Yama-Niyama meticulously, then, his life becomes peaceful, happy, contented and fearless.
-While meditating, when there is a direct feeling of one’s soul and the Supreme Soul, it is called Samadhi. Just as a piece of coal placed in the fire becomes fire itself and all the qualities of fire come in it. Similarly, in samadhi all the qualities of God begin to reflect in the soul. The purpose of the soul is to attain liberation and this purpose is accomplished by attaining samadhi. Only up till sixth part of yoga, which is ‘Dharana’, someone else can help us. But, no one can make someone else realise God in samadhi.
-In the eight parts of yoga, Maharishi Patanjali has told man the way to reach his ultimate purpose. All the sects believe that those, who follow the path of untruth, violence et cetra, which are against the first part of Ashtanga Yoga – Yama – can never realise God. This is a confirmation of the fact that Ashtanga Yoga is the only way to attain God. The statement that all knowledge or all the Vedaas are in our soul means that the Supreme Soul, which is knowledge itself, pervades our soul completely. But, to realize the Supreme Soul, who is an immeasurable storehouse of knowledge, we have to attain ‘Samadhi’.
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