Yoga: Yesterday, Today, And Tomorrow

Yoga: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Every generation before and every generation to follow has, or will, encounter moments of unsteadiness, impurity, pour judgment, or violence. The nature of our being is susceptible to these trite obstacles. But the nature of our beast has not simply accepted these difficulties, but rather found ways to avoid or overcome them. Since ancient times, India and the surrounding regions have been developing and designing spiritual disciplines to help clear the mind of distortions. These disciplines help to increase a desired state of balance, purity, wisdom, and peacefulness, known as sattvic (Fisher, 77). These practices to enhance sattvic are identified as Yoga. Through an inspection of the four basic types of yoga, I will examine the benefits of these spiritual practices from yesteryear, and decide whether these ancestral disciplines are relevant and useful today.

The first strand of yoga to be examined focuses mainly on meditation. "Raja Yoga has been one of the most influential schools of the Yoga tradition. It is the high road of meditation and contemplation" (Feuerstein, 38). Feuerstein describes the importance of Raja Yoga with regards to its meditative and contemplative nature, suggesting it to be an inwardly practiced yoga focusing mainly on mental states as opposed to physical states. Fisher supports this notion in her text, reflecting on the nature of Raja Yoga. "The goal of yogic practices is to make the mind absolutely calm and clear" (Fisher, 77). These coinciding opinions reveal Raja Yoga's focus on meditative states helping to clarify reality. Around approximately 200 BCE, a yogi by the name of Patanjali, compiled a system to achieve the highest state of consciousness. This system, referred to as Raja Yoga, describes a transformation from "an identification with a physical body and mind into a comprehension of hidden, underlying bodies composed of energy and light. The raja yogi seeks nothing less than complete transformation of self into a body of light" (Stiles, 17). Ideal for the meditative individual, this strand is further broken down into 8 levels: the first is self restraint (yama), followed by observance (niyama), then physical practice (asana), breathing exercise (pranayama), sense withdrawal (prathyahara), concentration (dharana), meditation (dhyana), and finally, super consciousness (Samadhi) (Carr, 2007). The level of super consciousness can be compared to Stiles interpretation of Patanjali's body of light. Moreover, through the act of mediation and contemplation, these 8 levels can be ascended and super consciousness can be attained though the practice of Raja Yoga.

Unlike Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga uses a path of rational inquiry over the intense meditation and contemplation. Explained by P. D. Ouspensky, Jnana is defined as "right thinking" (Ouspensky, 242). In other words, employing the rational mind opposed to transcending it is the key to this strand of yoga. Fisher uses a quote from Guru Ramana Maharshi to help explain this idea. "The thought 'Who am I?' will destroy all other thoughts, and, like the stick used to stir the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise self realization" (Fisher, 79). Instead of meditating to transcend realization, rationale is used. When one repeatedly asks "Who am I?" and consistently cannot answer, they are left with "I am". The ultimate wisdom is not that you are separate from the Absolute, but that you are joined with it. When one finally stops looking for an answer, they can finally reach self realization. The moment the stick burns up in the fire, one realizes it was not the stick that was important, but the role it played in helping the fire. Once someone can think past the rationale of the intellectual role, the can realize the spiritual role in relation to the Absolute.

Dissimilar to the two previous strands of yoga, Karma Yoga asserts that man rarely acts for himself, and instead acts as a service for the Absolute power. Krishna, speaking as the Absolute, had this to say, "the steadily devoted soul attains unadulterated peace because he offers his results of all activities to Me[absolute]; whereas a person who is not engaged in harmony with the divine, who is greedy for the fruits of his labour, becomes entangled" (Fisher, 80). By acting for a personal reward, entanglement comes in the form of greed and selfishness. Therefore, Karma Yoga is a service submitted without any concern for repayment. When people practice Karma Yoga it is simply the power of the Absolute, or greater good. Aimed at inner development and improvement, "Karma Yoga teaches a man to change his fate, to direct it at will. According to the fundamental idea of Karma Yoga, this is attained only by altering the inner attitude of man towards things and towards his own actions" (Ouspensky, 259). Basically, Karma Yoga describes man's ability to change the character of events which he encounters on his way based on his attitude. His attitude will be guided by the Absolute unless distortions and delusions interrupt. Karma Yoga is practiced to help avoid these distortions and remain on a path guided by the Absolute.

Branching away from the other paths, Bhakti Yoga avoids the transcendent qualities of Raja Yoga, the rationalities of Jnana Yoga, and the Absoluteness of Karma Yoga, to adopt a more emotional view of a Supreme Person. "The followers of Bhakti Yoga do not shy away from shedding tears of longing for the Divine" (Feuerstein, 48). Bhakti, meaning "to share", refers to a shared relationship with the Absolute. Fisher's text includes a beautiful poem, describing one's love of the Absolute in metaphors. "As rain is dear to the earth, as the fragrance of flowers is dear to the black bee, and as the mango is dear to the cuckoo, so is the Lord to my soul" (Fisher, 80). This poem expresses an intense love of the Absolute embraced by Bhakta Nam Dev. Feuerstein