Chapter Ten

YOGA

INTRODUCTION

ATAftjALi is the traditional founder of the Yoga system. The

word ‘Yoga* literally means ‘union*, i.e., spiritual union of the
individual soul with the Universal Soul and is used in this sense
in the Vedanta. The Gita defines Yoga as that state than which there is
nothing higher or worth realizing and firmly rooted in which a person
is never shaken even by the greatest pain; that state free from all pain
and misery is Yoga. According to Patanjali, Yoga does not mean union
but spiritual effort to attain perfection through the control of the body,
senses and mind, and through right discrimination between Purusa and
Prakrti.
Yoga is intimately allied to Sänkhya. The Gita calls them one. Yoga
means spiritual action and Sänkhya means knowledge. Sänkhya is
theory; Yoga is practice. For all practical purposes, Sänkhya and Yoga
may be treated as the theoretical and the practical sides of the same
system. Yoga mostly accepts the metaphysics and the epistemology of
Sänkhya. It shows the practical path by following which one may attain
Viveka-jnäna which alone leads to liberation. Yoga accepts the three
pramânas— perception, inference and testimony of Sänkhya and also
the twenty-five metaphysical principles. Yoga believes in God as the
highest Self distinct from other selves. Hence it is sometimes called
‘Seshvara Sänkhya’ or ‘theistic Sänkhya’ as distinct from classical
Sänkhya which is nirishvara or atheistic.
The Yoga-sütra is divided into four parts. The first is called Samädhi-
päda which deals with the nature and aim of concentration. The second,
Sädhanäpäda, explains the means to realize this end. The third, Vib-
hûtipâda, deals with the supra-normal powers which can be acquired
through Yoga. The fourth, Kaivalyapäda, describes the nature of
liberation and the reality of the transcendental self.

*57 .
 II

C H IT T A AND ITS VRTTIS

p ä t a ä j a l a is also known as Raja Yoga. Yoga is defined as the

y o g a

cessation of the modifications of chitta.1 This cessation is through

meditation or concentration which is also called Yoga (yogah samädhih).
Chitta means the three internal organs of Sänkhya— buddhi or intellect,
ahankâra or ego and manas or mind. Chitta is the same as antahkarana.
It is mahat or buddhi which includes ahankâra and manas. Chitta is the
first evolute of Prakrti and has the predominance of Sattva. It is in itself
unconscious. But being finest and nearest to Purusa, it has the power to
reflect the Purusa and therefore appears as if it is conscious. When it
gets related to any object, it assumes the ‘form* of that object. This form
is called Vitti or modification. The light of consciousness which comes
from the Purusa and illuminates this ‘form* is called ‘jnäna’. Purusa is
essentially pure consciousness and is free from the limitations of
Prakrti. But it wrongly identifies itself with its reflection in the Chitta
and appears to be undergoing change and modification. Chitta, there­
fore, is the physical medium for the manifestation of the spirit. Just as
in a red-hot iron ball, formless fire appears spherical and cold iron
appears hot, similarly on account of its reflection in the Chitta, Purusa
appears changing and Chitta appears conscious. Just as the moon appears
as moving when seen reflected in the moving waves, and waves appear as
luminous, similarly Purusa appears as undergoing modifications and
Chitta appears as conscious due to Purusa's reflection in it. When the
Purusa realizes that it is completely isolated and is only a passive
spectator, beyond the play of Prakrti, it ceases to identify itself with its
reflection in the Chitta with the result that the light is withdrawn and the
modifications of the Chitta fall to the ground. This cessation of the
modifications of the Chitta through meditation is called ‘Yoga'. It is
the return of the Purusa to its original perfection.
The modifications of the Chitta are of five kinds: (i) right cognition
(pramana), (2) wrong cognition (viparyaya), (3) verbal cognition or
imagination (vikalpa), (4) absence of cognition or sleep (nidrä), and (5)
memory (smrti). Right cognition is of three kinds: (a) perception
(pratyaksa), when the Chitta, through the sense-organs, comes into
contact with the external object and assumes its form, or comes into
contact with the internal mental state, (b) inference (anumäna), when
the Chitta cognizes the generic nature of things, and (r) verbal testimony
(shabda). Viparyaya is positively wrong knowledge like that of a rope-
snake. Vikalpa is mere verbal cognition like that of a hare's horn. Nidrä
1 yogashchittavrttinirodhah.

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 is called absence of cognition, yet it is a mental modification because
after sleep a person says ‘I slept sound and knew nothing’ and therefore
there must be some mental modification to support this absence of
knowledge. Smfti is the recollection of past experience through the
impressions left behind.
In fact the Purusa is the eternally pure and transcendental conscious­
ness. It is the Chitta with the reflection of the Purusa in it or the Purusa
as reflected in the Chitta, which is the phenomenal ego or Jïva, which
is subject to birth and death and transmigration and to all painful or
pleasurable experiences, and which imagines itself as the agent and the
enjoyer. There are five kinds of sufferings (klesha) to which it is subject.
These are: (i) ignorance (avidyâ), (2) egoism (asmitä), (3) attachment
(räga), (4) aversion (dvesa), and (5) clinging to life and instinctive fear
of death (abhinivesha). The bondage of the self is due to its wrong
identification with the mental modifications and liberation, therefore,
means the end of this wrong identification through proper discrimina­
tion between Purusa and Prakrti and the consequent cessation of
the mental modifications. It is the aim of Yoga to bring about this
result.
There are five levels of mental life (chittabhümi). The differences in
the levels are due to the predominance of the different gunas. The lowest
level is called Ksipta or restless, because the mind here is restless due
to the excess of rajas and is tossed about like a shuttlecock between
different sense-objects. The second is called Müdha or torpid. The mind
here has the predominance of tamas and tends towards ignorance, sleep
and lethargy. The third is called Viksipta or distracted. Here sattva
predominates, but rajas also asserts itself at times.1 The fourth is called
Ekägra or concentrated. The mind here is entirely dominated by sattva,
and rajas and tamas are subdued. The mind becomes concentrated on
the object of meditation. The fifth and the highest level is called Nirud-
dha or restricted. Here the mental modifications are arrested, though
their latent impressions remain. The first three levels are not at all
conducive to Yogic life. Only the last two are.

I ll
ASTÄNGA YOGA

y o g a advocates control over the body, the senses and the mind. It

does not want to kill the body; on the other hand, it recommends its
perfection. A sound mind needs a sound body. Sensual attachment and
1 Viksipta here does not mean 'extrem ely restless* (visheçena kfiptab) as its name sug­
gests, but 'better than kçipta' (kçiptâd vishi$tab), because in kçipta rajas predominates
w hile in viksipta sattva predominates.

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passions distract the body as well as the mind. They must be conquered.
T o overcome them, Yoga gives us the Eightfold Path of Discipline
(Astänga Yoga):

(1) Yama: It means abstention and includes the five vows of

Jainism. It is abstention from injury through thought, word
or deed (ahimsä), from falsehood (satya), from stealing
(asteya), from passions and lust (brahmacharya), and from
avarice (aparigraha).
(2) Niyama: It is self-culture and includes external and internal
purification (shaucha), contentment (santosa), austerity
(tapas), study (svädhyäya) and devotion to God (Ishvara-
pranidhana).
(3) Asana: It means steady and comfortable posture. There are
various kinds of postures which are a physical help to
meditation. This is the discipline of the body.
(4) Pränayäma: It means control of breath and deals with
regulation of inhalation, retention and exhalation of breath.
It is beneficial to health and is highly conducive to the
concentration of the mind. But it must be performed under
expert guidance otherwise it may have bad after-effects.
(5) Pratyâhâra: It is control of the senses and consists in with­
drawing the senses from their objects. Our senses have a
natural tendency to go to outward objects. They must be
checked and directed towards the internal goal. It is the
process of introversion.
These five are called external aids to Yoga (bahiranga
sâdhana), while the remaining three which follow are called
internal aids (antaranga sâdhana).
(6) Dhäranä: It is fixing the mind on the object of meditation
like the tip of the nose or the mid-point of the eyebrows or
the lotus of the heart or the image of the deity. The mind
must be steadfast like the unflickering flame of a lamp.
(7) Dhyäna : It means meditation and consists in the undisturbed
flow of thought round the object of meditation (pratyayaika-
tänatä). It is the steadfast contemplation without any break.
(8) Samädhi: It means concentration. This is the final step in
Yoga. Here the mind is completely absorbed in the object of
meditation. In dhyäna the act of meditation and the object
of meditation remain separate. But here they become one.
It is the highest means to realize the cessation of mental
modifications which is the end. It is the ecstatic state in which
the connection with the external world is broken and through
which one has to pass before obtaining liberation.

160
passions distract the body as well as the mind. They must be conquered.
T o overcome them, Yoga gives us the Eightfold Path of Discipline
(Astänga Yoga):

(1) Yama: It means abstention and includes the five vows of

Jainism. It is abstention from injury through thought, word
or deed (ahimsä), from falsehood (satya), from stealing
(asteya), from passions and lust (brahmacharya), and from
avarice (aparigraha).
(2) Niyama: It is self-culture and includes external and internal
purification (shaucha), contentment (santosa), austerity
(tapas), study (svädhyäya) and devotion to God (Ishvara-
pranidhana).
(3) Asana: It means steady and comfortable posture. There are
various kinds of postures which are a physical help to
meditation. This is the discipline of the body.
(4) Pränayäma: It means control of breath and deals with
regulation of inhalation, retention and exhalation of breath.
It is beneficial to health and is highly conducive to the
concentration of the mind. But it must be performed under
expert guidance otherwise it may have bad after-effects.
(5) Pratyâhâra: It is control of the senses and consists in with­
drawing the senses from their objects. Our senses have a
natural tendency to go to outward objects. They must be
checked and directed towards the internal goal. It is the
process of introversion.
These five are called external aids to Yoga (bahiranga
sâdhana), while the remaining three which follow are called
internal aids (antaranga sâdhana).
(6) Dhäranä: It is fixing the mind on the object of meditation
like the tip of the nose or the mid-point of the eyebrows or
the lotus of the heart or the image of the deity. The mind
must be steadfast like the unflickering flame of a lamp.
(7) Dhyäna : It means meditation and consists in the undisturbed
flow of thought round the object of meditation (pratyayaika-
tänatä). It is the steadfast contemplation without any break.
(8) Samädhi: It means concentration. This is the final step in
Yoga. Here the mind is completely absorbed in the object of
meditation. In dhyäna the act of meditation and the object
of meditation remain separate. But here they become one.
It is the highest means to realize the cessation of mental
modifications which is the end. It is the ecstatic state in which
the connection with the external world is broken and through
which one has to pass before obtaining liberation.

160
 IV
GOD

y o g a accepts the existence of God. The interest of Patanjali himself

in God seems to be practical, but the later Yogins have taken also a
theoretical interest in Him and have tried to prove His existence as a
necessary philosophical speculation. Patanjali defines God as a special
kind of Purusa who is always free from pains, actions, effects and
impressions.1 He is eternally free and was never bound nor has any
possibility of being bound. He is above the law of Karma. He is omnis­
cient and omnipotent and omnipresent. He is perfection incarnate. He is
purest knowledge. He is the teacher of the rsis (sa pürvesämapi guruh)
and the teacher of the Veda. ‘Aum’ is His symbol. Devotion to God is
one of the surest means of obtaining concentration. The proofs advanced
for His existence are: (a) The Veda tell’s us that God exists; (ò) the law
of continuity tells us that there must be the highest limit of knowledge
and perfection which is God; (c) God is responsible for the association
and dissociation of Purusa and Prakrti; (d) devotion to God is the
surest way of obtaining concentration and thereby liberation.
But God of Yoga is not the creator, preserver or destroyer of this
world. He is only a special Purusa. He does not reward or punish the
souls. Innumerable Purusas and Prakrti, all eternals and absolutes, are
there to limit Him. He cannot grant liberation. He can only remove the
obstacles in the upward progress of the devotees. Directly He has
nothing to do with the bondage and the liberation of the Purusas.
Ignorance binds and discrimination between Prakrti and Purusa
liberates. The end of human life is not the union with God, but only
the separation of Purusa from Prakrti. Such a conception of God is
certainly unsatisfactory.
The Yoga system of Patanjali should not be confused with magic and
tantra and self-hypnotization. It is a great system of spiritual discipline
and has found favour with all schools of Indian Philosophy except the
Chärväka. It is founded on the metaphysics of Sänkhya and gives us
a practical path of purification and self-control in order to realize the
true nature of man.

1 kleshakarmavipâkâshayair aparàmntah puru?avishe$a Ishvarah, Yogasütra, 1, 24.

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