Yoga

Self-Discipline for Self-Realization

The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means `to
unite.' The Yoga system provides a methodology for extending
one's individual consciousness to link with the Supreme Consciousness.
There are various schools of Yoga--for example, Bhakti Yoga, Jnana
Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Kundalini Yoga. Here only the Patanjala
Yoga system will be reviewed because it is counted as one of the six
systems of Vedic philosophy.  This school of Yoga, also known as astanga-
yoga (the yoga of eight parts), is closely allied to Samkhya philosophy.
Indeed, astanga-yoga is the practical application of Samkhya philosophy for
the attainment of liberation.  It is called Patanjala Yoga because it was
systematized by the sage Patanjali. His work is known as Patanjala Yoga
Sutra. There are various commentaries on this text, Vyasa's being the most
ancient and profound.  This Yoga system attempts to explain the nature of
mind, its modifications, impediments to growth, afflictions, and the method
for attaining what is described as the highest goal of life--kaivalya
(absoluteness).


The Yogic View of Mind

According to Patanjali, Yoga is the control of the modifications of the
mind. He realized that it is the mind that leads a person to bondage or to
liberation: that most human problems are mental and that the only remedy to
solve them is mental discipline.  The mind is the finest of all human
instruments that serves one in attaining one's goals. The mind is also the
link between consciousness and the physical body. For this reason,
Patanjali places great emphasis on the study of the mind and provides all
the possible means to control its modifications and unfold its great power
for higher attainment.

Theoretically, the Yoga system is based on the same tenets as Samkhya
philosophy, and it also assimilates some of the teachings of Vedanta.  In
Samkhya philosophy, the mind is categorized into three functions or parts
(lower mind, ego, and intellect), but in Vedanta philosophy the mind is
divided into four parts (lower mind, ego, intellect, and `mind-stuff' or
citta, the storehouse of memories). In Yoga, however, the mind is studied
holistically, and the term citta is used to denote all the fluctuating and
changing phenomena of the mind. According to Yoga, the mind is like a vast
lake, on the surface of which arise many different kinds of waves. Deep
within, the mind is always calm and tranquil. But one's thought patterns
stir it into activity and prevent it from realizing its own true nature.
These thought patterns are the waves appearing and disappearing on the
surface of the lake of the mind. Depending on the size, strength, and
speed of the waves, the inner state of the lake is obscured to a greater
or lesser degree. The more one is able to calm one's thought patterns,
the more the inner state of the mind is unveiled. It is not very difficult
to calm down the waves of thought patterns on the surface of the
lake of mind, but it is very difficult to calm down those unrhythmic
and destructive waves of thought patterns that arise from the
bottom. Memories are like time bombs buried in the lake bed of
mind that explode at certain times and disturb the entire lake.

There are two main sources for the arising waves of thoughts:
sense perceptions and memories. When the waves of a lake are
stilled and the water is clear, one can look deep down and see the
bottom of the lake. Likewise when one's thought patterns are
quieted, one can see one's innermost potentials hidden deep within
the mind. Because the mind is an evolute of Prakrti (see the previous
chapter on Samkhya philosophy), it is composed of the elements of
sattva, rajas, and tamas. The relative proportions of these three qualities
determine the different states of citta, the mind. The turmoil caused by
the interaction of the gunas is responsible for the arising thought
patterns in the mind.

Five Stages of Mind

The mind is described in five stages, depending on the degree of