4 September 2001, 01:50am IST
B K CHANDRA SEKHAR.
The word yoga means connection, link or union. used in a spiritual sense, the word would mean connection or relationship between the soul and supreme soul. to understand this more clearly we ought to know what sort of connection, union or relationship does raja yoga imply?
the relationship between a soul and supreme soul is mainly that of a son to his transcendental father. raja yoga means re-establishment of our spiritual connection or revival of our broken tie with god, our father.
in order to proceed on the path of yoga, a person has first to be soul conscious because body consciousness poses an obstacle, and becomes an impenetrable wall between the soul and god. to be body conscious is to turn away from god and to be a soul-conscious to turn towards god. this is the path preached by raja yoga which is the king among all yogas.
the relationship between the soul and supreme soul is not physical but spiritual. yoga, therefore, is not just performing physical exercises and control or regulation of breathing. it requires acquiring necessary knowledge or cognition of the supreme soul.
the knowledge of the divine name, the spiritual and eternal form, the divine abode and benevolent acts of god the ``father, teacher, preceptor'' is the first and most essential step towards yoga.
yoga in its true meaning, requires one to withdraw one's mind from all objects of this physical world and to refocus it in the consciousness of god. a person practising yoga should say, ``i am a soul, a conscient of divine and eternal light and power. i am an entity different from my body. in my original form, i am peaceful and pure. i am different from this body and now i am to get reinstated in my original pure and peaceful nature.'' if this process is repeated and practised regularly, a person will experience a senseof detachment from the body and will feel very light.
a person practising yoga at a higher plane gets divine insights and develops a sweet and loving nature. since yoga is the intellectual link with god, it is like keeping the spiritual company of god.
a person practising yoga connects with others as souls rather than in their physical form. he becomes a means of social good and brotherhood. he looks upon others as brothers because he considers all souls to the sons of one supreme father.
the advice of god referred to by the name of shiva or by any other name is different. shiva says that mind and intellect are not entities made of subtle matter rather, these are names given to various faculties of the soul itself. in fact, mind is the name given to the faculty of thinking, wishing andexperiencing, and intellect is the soul's own ability to judge or discriminate between right and wrong. this would imply that soul is a conscient and eternal entity. the yoga which god teaches is based on truth. the raja yoga that the supreme father shiva has taught is yoga of the intellect or intellectual communion with and meditation on god, the supreme soul.
this yoga enables man to lead a pure life and a life of right action, self discipline and duty towards humanity. his thoughts, words and deeds are pure, positive and full of knowledge. man's intellectual communion with god brings about divinity and enables him to score the final victory over vices.
man's vices are erased and he is able to escape the cycle of rebirths. a person should keep his total attention on his state of mind and should engage his mind again and again with the remembrance of god even while he is doing his worldly duties. god liberates a human being from the bondage of maya and bestows heavenly happiness.
the paramathma's abode is far above the world of the sun and stars, and above the subtle realms of brahma, vishnuand shankara. he is in fact bramha, vishnu and shankara. he abides in brahma which is called the akhand jyotho maha tattwa or the golden immutable and non-sentient element. his divine name is shiva. he is the benefactor of the whole world and creator of world. he is knowledge itself, peaceful, blissful, full of love and the immortal seed of the human cycle. he is bestower of mukti or liberation and jivan mukti or liberation from the cycle of life.
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