Yoga : Part 1

Yoga:

Part 1:

Conversation with a dear friend: 

Me: ( discussing entropy as understood from Jim Al Khalil’s talk on The story of Time) 

Another term for entropy moving in reverse direction is declutter. It can’t happen with the automaticity of entropy. It takes intervention.

Rather than systematic rolling back, often mass decluttering becomes practical. Because human brain is lazy.

I wonder if the universal brain is also like human brain. Prefers large scale roll back.

Wars, pandemics, galactic collisions. Job done in a sweep

For the first time ever “विनाश काले विपरीत बुद्धी “ seems to have an inherent purpose to it.

F: ( in response to: human brain is lazy)

Yes, that’s why Bhakti Yoga is popular 😄

Me: Bhakti yoga is deceptively simple. Popular doesn’t mean easy. But yes it can deceive lazy minds.

Humans sell their souls to matter . To be able to dedicate buddhi completely to the cause and service of the one from whom matter purportedly was created and alongside give one’s heart to the same one is not everyone’s cup of tea. Spending a lifetime using intelligence towards science and scientific research is one thing and willing to give up everything for it, even one’s life,is another. Matter has its own pull. It’s called temptation in lay terms.

Temptation to stay alive is one form of the pull that matter exerts. Despite all hardships most humans or other species try to stay alive. Those that forego living because life is harsh are largely mentally unstable. But there are a select few that are conscious, mentally stable and willing to give up the most precious thing one can have in the world of matter, which is their own life, for something that they see as higher than themselves. 

Not all who claim to follow bhakti yoga are there fully.

This discussion drew my attention to several things. One of them was the term Yoga. Indian philosophy has given us this term that has become increasingly fashionable with time. 

Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root word yuj which means to join or unite. To bring together. Yuj can mean the coming together of anything. A sword coming together with its sheath. Two people coming together. Two minds coming together. Certain planetary positions coming together. 

From philosophical standpoint, yoga refers to the union between individual consciousness( jeeva) with the universal consciousness( Shiva). Jeeva in turn is manifest as a composite body, intelligence, mind( emotion/ heart) and spirit. Shiva in the manifest form has these equivalent components that are jointly known in layman terms as the universe. The ultimate yoga is the coming together of every component of the Jeeva with every component of Shiva. This situation is experienced in the state of Samadhi. By definition samadhi is the state of perfect yoga between individual and universal consciousness. 

Why are there so many different kinds of yoga described? Hatha yoga, Dnyan yoga, Raja yoga, bhakti yoga, karma yoga, sankhya yoga etc are some commonly known yoga practices. It is because not all individuals are oriented in the same way. Some are focused on physical fitness. Some are intellectuals. Some are driven by emotion. Others by day to day work life. Their start points are different. They can’t help it. An intellectual cannot start with bhakti yoga. And someone who wears the heart on their sleeve cannot start with dnyan yoga. 

Yet none of them remain at the start point after years of dedicated practice. 

The practice if done properly and diligently is designed to bring together body, intellect, mind and spirit ( consciousness/ awareness) in entirety. 

The last part, which is the uniting of individual with universal consciousness or reality, may pose a challenge for many. But even short of that goal, just the bringing together of body, intellect and mind in any single individual accomplishes a whole lot. It restores integrity in the person. To put your hands and speech where your mind is at all times, whether anyone is watching or not is yoga. This is the practical definition of yoga. Even if this much is achieved in one human lifetime, it is a big achievement. Majority of humans don’t even get to this level.

Now comes the part of rising one step higher. There is a simple pathway to extend human consciousness to the higher( superhuman or universal consciousness). The connection between human to superhuman human is our breath. Breath is not controlled by the human. It is the simplest visible evidence of that which is higher than the human. Indian ancestors who gave us the term yoga, also gave us the term Pranayama.

Irrespective of whether any individual recognizes the breath as evidence of a superhuman presence or not, the practice of pranayama confers benefits that have been scientifically tested and proven. So if one chooses to not bother with the consideration of a universal or superhuman presence or consciousness, just like yoga, pranayama can serve a purpose for human life.

For the one who accepts the presence of a higher consciousness, pranayama becomes the bridge that connects the human to that presence. It is the easiest way to devote all life( activities of body, mind and intellect) to that consciousness keeping allegiance and focus on the breath and, with it, the understanding and awareness of who is in control of that breath. 

Understanding this much is the easier part. Practicing it from the moment you wake up till the time you go to bed is another thing. 

In that practice comes everything. Karma yoga, Dnyan yoga, bhakti yoga, raja yoga and even samadhi. 

In the end, it is all about : 

Practice. Practice. Practice.

No matter where life has placed you. 

Science says that the universe was created from a single source.

Philosophy and Religion say everything came from one source.

Everything shall return to the same source.

Living, while being aware that you are a part of the source, and that you never were removed from the source, and therefore there is no question of returning to it, is the privilege of a few. 

And that privilege comes with diligent practice of yoga. 

Humans like to assign titles to themselves and others. Yogi is one such title assigned to individuals who practice yoga. At the highest level there is nobody to claim that title. The so called yogi has merged into a single homogeneous consciousness at that point.