Chapter 21
The Yogic Path to Salvation
In This Chapter
Examining sage Patanjali’s Raja Yoga
Heeding the call of the Bhagavad Gita: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga
Noting the universal science of Hatha Yoga and its contemporary developments
You may often hear that Yoga is good for you. That statement almost always refers to yoga exercises. But Yoga is more — much more — than yogic postures. Yoga, in Sanskrit, means union (it’s linguistically related to the English word yoke). Yoga Darshana, a system of philosophy, sets out the steps by which a dedicated student can unite body, mind, and soul in the quest for salvation: the release of the individual eternal soul (atman) from the cycle of rebirths. The path to salvation is the realization of the soul’s (the inner self’s) true nature and goal: ultimate union with the Supreme Self, the Paramatman who is the basis of all being.
Yoga requires a teacher or guru to lead a student through the process. The ideal is a perfected body in a stilled mind, ready and receptive for the final revelation. The process involves physical exercises and postures (asanas) for the outer body; breathing exercises (pranayama) for the inner body; and meditation (dhyana) to bring calmness to the mind.
The physical, mental, and spiritual regimen worked out over the millennia by yogi masters is so scientific and so neatly fitted to the human condition that it is as valid and useful today as it ever was. Because it came into being long before most creeds, anyone — regardless of religion or world view — can practice Yoga on the physical and mental level. Many people these days practice Yoga at this level with immense benefit to health of body and mind.
In this chapter, I trace the beginnings of Yoga as a discipline; its proponent sage Patanjali and followers; the emphasis on a Yogic Tripod in the sacred scripture, the Bhagavad Gita; and the importance of Yoga in today’s world. The topics I cover here that are related to physical aspects of Yoga are easily understood. But aspects of Yoga that deal primarily with spiritual discipline are less well-known and sometimes complex. I present them in a somewhat simplified manner.
More Than a Series of Postures: Yoga as Spiritual Path
As I explain in Chapter 19, Yoga is one of the Darshanas, the six traditional schools of Hindu theology developed roughly between 500 BCE and 500 CE and expounded on in famous commentaries over the next 500 years or more. The role of the Darshanas was to provide an intellectual underpinning to what had become a pyramid of religious ritual practices, largely in the hands of an entrenched priesthood. Meanwhile, the Darshanas and the Upanishads had resolved the all-important identity of soul and Supreme Soul (atman and Paramatman, respectively). What about the path to salvation offered by Yoga Darshana? It is the complete control, training, and testing of body and mind to be a fit temple for the soul.
Sage Patanjali, who lived circa the second century BCE, was the compiler of the Yoga Sutras, which form the basis of what is called Raja (Royal) Yoga. These sutras follow the philosophy of Samkhya Darshana (refer to Chapter 19) and form the practical aspect of that school of theology. In its emphasis on the strict training of body and mind (thoughts and senses) through rigorous postures, breath control, and meditation, Yoga is in a direct line from the more ancient Shramana tradition (ascetic life of rigor lived in forests) of individual physical effort and endurance. Patanjali connected this effort directly to the great goal of the era: the search for the Truth (of self and Self).
The Raja Yoga of Patanjali
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali consist of 196 aphorisms or short memorable statements divided into four books (padas). These sutras form the basis of the later fully developed forms of Yoga Darshana. The following sections explain.
I. Samadhi Pada (Book of Perfect Concentration)
The Samadhi Pada, which has 51 sutras, defines Yoga as the disciplining and calming of the mind and explains how, when that step is accomplished, we will realize our true nature, which is boundless. This pada lays out clearly what liberation means and how Yoga can lead there.
II. Sadhana Pada (Book of Discipline)
This pada has 55 sutras. While Samadhi leads the aspirant to a blissful state, Sadhana addresses a rigorous system of practices classified into two yoga disciplines: Kriya and Ashtanga:
Kriya Yoga: Kriya is the Yoga of effort aimed at achieving a specific result. It is also referred to as Karma Yoga (Yoga of action), detailed in Chapter 3 of the Gita, where Arjuna is urged to act without expecting any results (see Chapter 11).
Ashtanga Yoga: Ashtanga is the eight-limbed set of disciplines aimed at specific goals, described in the following list. This entire set is also termed Raja Yoga.
• Yama: Laws of life: nonviolence, truth, non-covetousness, celibacy, and non-attachment
• Niyama: Rules for living: cleanliness, satisfaction, austerity, study of scriptures regarding God and the soul, and surrender to God
• Asana: Postures
• Pranayama: Breathing control
• Pratyahara: Withdrawal of senses
• Dharana: Concentration
• Dhyana: Meditation
• Samadhi: Oneness with the object of meditation
III. Vibhuti Pada (Book of Manifestation)
The Vibhuti Pada has 56 sutras. According to Patanjali, supernormal powers develop through sanyama, a special concentration of the mind with the object of meditation. These powers called siddhis (knowing the past and future, moving objects through sheer willpower, shifting atoms to cause moments of invisibility, and so on) are some of the magic moves that made ancient rishis (sages and saints) and yogis feared and respected. Patanjali advised against using them because such an exercise has consequences — namely, distracting the aspirant from the main goal and wasting otherwise needed spiritual energy — that compromise the goal of liberation.
IV. Kaivalya Pada (Book of Liberation)
This book, which contains 34 sutras, explains the nature of liberation through self-realization and attainment of what is called dharma megha samadhi. Scholars debate the exact meaning of the complete phrase. One interpretation is that such samadhi showers the aspirant with merit leading to freedom. Scholars continue to ask whether it refers to a rain of dharma on the enlightened soul, which then needs nothing more to attain the highest samadhi or oneness with the supreme boundless consciousness. This phrase is interpreted further to mean a state of boundless consciousness, of oneness with the universe. No doubt it is the peak of yogic attainment. The few who attain this level are called jivanmuktas, those who have achieved full enlightenment while still living in this turning world.
The main goal: Freedom from our lower selves
The first lesson in Raja Yoga is the distinction among “substances”: mind (manas), ego (ahamkara), intelligence (buddhi), thought-waves (vritti), and material stored in the mind (citta). This is the broadest definition of “substance,” and I refer to it in some detail in Chapter 19. All these features belong to the body and are therefore not Real — that is, they’re not eternal. They are only reflections of true consciousness and will die with the body. Meanwhile, they do distract and delude us into supposing that they are functions of the self.
The mind uses intelligence to collect sensations from the body and perceptions through thought-waves. The mind assumes it, the mind, is the actor, the collector of impressions; the ego assumes that it is the knower, the doer of the action. Consequent sensations of happiness and pleasure or the opposite are phantom results and will keep us dissatisfied.
The next distinction is between all these material substances, which are temporary, and the individual soul, which is eternal. The purpose of Yoga is to first strengthen and tune the body into the instrument it is supposed to be. A strict regimen is prescribed for body and mind that includes lifestyle, attitudes, and behavior, as well as the familiar routine of body postures. The first result of such a regimen is a healthy body and mental attitude receptive to the final goal of freedom. Attaining freedom involves knowing the last distinction: between the self (individual consciousness) and the Self or boundless Cosmic Consciousness.
The role of a guru for serious practice
From time immemorial, the help of a guru has been recommended and sought for any serious study of religious thought or practice for the student of any age. The ancient gurukulam (resident school) system has been superseded by conventional schooling for young children, but many institutes for religious education flourish in India and now abroad. The extreme discipline for body and mind prescribed for Yoga requires a guide even at the lowest level of Hatha Yoga asanas or postures.
Centers for instruction in all forms of Yoga in India are often found in the great pilgrimage cities (see Chapter 18). Because Hinduism is not a centralized religion, a popular and effective teacher can also attract a large following. You may begin by taking classes as offered by any of these institutes, but the serious seeker is encouraged to take up, if only temporarily, the kind of lifestyle described in Patanjali’s second book (The Book of Discipline) in order to prepare the mind. You need to start from where you are, as swamis often say.
The Yogic tripod: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga
Picture this: Two sets of cousins of the Kuru race face each other on the first day of battle in what turns out be an 18-day war. The 100 Kaurava brothers (whose father is the reigning monarch, the blind Dhritarashtra) are challenged by their dispossessed cousins, the five Pandavas. Lord Krishna, avatar of god Vishnu, has agreed to be the charioteer for the Pandava prince Arjuna. Arjuna is leading the forces of good against the forces of evil, and Krishna is present to help him. However, the forces of evil have many good or worthy people fighting on the wrong side for their own justifiable reasons. Krishna steers Arjuna’s chariot to the front between both armies; Arjuna balks not from fear but at the approaching horror of an era coming to a bloody end at his hands. He throws down his weapon and refuses to fight. The lesson begins.
In the Bhagavad Gita (see Chapter 13), Lord Krishna teaches Arjuna (and millions of Hindus who have followed) that devotion gained through duty, self-sacrifice, and knowledge is the best path to salvation. In doing so, Krishna emphasizes Jnana Yoga (the Yoga of Knowledge), Karma Yoga (the Yoga of Action), and Bhakti Yoga (the Yoga of Devotion).
Krishna’s message from almost the beginning of the Bhagavad Gita is one of love: love of God for the devotee and the devotees’ love or devotion that will help bind the soul to the Supreme Soul. Krishna makes it clear that although all three paths are good and effective in reaching the goal of salvation, Bhakti Yoga or faith is the easiest and best.
I use the phrase the “Yogic tripod” to emphasize the mutual interdependence of these three Yogas — Karma (selfless service), Jnana (knowledge of the self), and Bhakti (surrender to God), all aimed at self realization and liberation — to help maintain a certain level of balance in the aspirant.
Karma Yoga (Yoga of Action): Serving society through selfless service
Chapters II through V in the Bhagavad Gita cover Arjuna’s immediate problem. Krishna tells Arjuna he must fight. Arjuna, he says, is mourning for those he cannot really kill. The real self is the soul, not the body. The soul will find another body like another set of clothes and be born again into another lifetime. Krishna expands on the imperishable nature of the soul and reminds Arjuna of his duty as a warrior to fight a just war. To die fighting in such a war would be his entry into heaven.
Krishna preaches the Yoga of Action as appropriate for a warrior but warns that the action must be accompanied by detachment from the fruits of that action. One’s dharmic duty must be performed with no reward in view, with a mind that views victory and defeat as equal, without pain or pleasure. Krishna then teaches the ideal of man: unselfish, centered in self, firm and tranquil, with firm control over the mind and finding true knowledge. Such a person will find final bliss in Brahman.
Arjuna is momentarily confused with this gift of knowledge from Krishna. If knowledge is all, he asks, then why kill? At this, Krishna preaches against inaction. He explains how he himself must perform works in order to prevent the universe from falling into ruin. Arjuna, Krishna says, must perform his own warrior dharma for which he has been born.
Krishna further discriminates between what work is and is not, and how it is refined as ritual through renunciation, by serving others. He defines a yogi as one who can control his senses, breath, mind, and intellect; who is impartial; and who combines renunciation with right action.
Jnana Yoga (Yoga of Knowledge): Seeking union through higher knowledge
Chapters VI and VII of the Bhagavad Gita present the Yoga of Meditation and the Yoga of Knowledge (Jnana). Krishna describes the yogi: celibate; living alone; eating frugally; sleeping just enough; preparing a clean area; spreading it with cloth, animal skin, and grass; sitting and holding the body erect with sight fixed; and concentrating on the divine with courage and perseverance.
Arjuna notes the all-too-common waywardness of the mind and asks what will happen if the well-meaning yogi fails in his goal. Krishna responds that success will come slowly after many attempts. The struggle for dharma will never be wasted. The yogi will have a blessed interlude in heaven after death and then be reincarnated to try again for perfection. Krishna urges Arjuna to become a yogi, seeking shelter in the Lord and practicing Yoga. He also is full of praise for the wise man and expresses his preference for the seeker after knowledge.
Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of Devotion): Seeking union through surrender
In Chapters VIII through XII of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna reveals himself as the Supreme Soul, as Brahman, as the essence in all, the beginning and end of creation. This view is not the impersonal Brahman encountered in Sankhya Darshana (refer to Chapter 19), although so many elements of Sankhya philosophy appear throughout: the three gunas (qualities) that are infused through character and substance, for example, as well as Prakriti (Nature) and Purusha (Spirit). The remaining chapters deal with devotion, specifically devotion to Krishna himself in a form nothing short of Brahman.
Kundalini Yoga and chakras
Kundalini Yoga is rigorous and powerful — and magical. Kundalini means “the coiled one” and refers to serpent power. Also called Laya Yoga, the name is a nod to the well-known regenerative abilities of snakes, which made them a symbol of rebirth and renewal in many ancient cultures. Chakra means “wheel.” The body is pictured as divided into seven planes of consciousness corresponding to nerve complexes along the spinal cord, and representing energy sources (see Figure 21-1).
Figure 21-1: Chakras.
The seven chakras are (1) Muladhara (base) chakra; (2) Swadhisthana (sacral) chakra; (3) Manipura (solar plexus) chakra; (4) Anahata (heart) chakra; (5) Vishuddha (throat) chakra; (6) Ajna (brow) chakra; and (7) Sahasrara (crown of head) chakra. When someone is seated in a basic yogic posture, the lowest center of consciousness, Muladhara chakra, is at the base of the spine. The life force is seen as a coiled sleeping serpent. With the use of mantras (chants) and intense sadhana (prescribed practice under guidance), the life force or inner self is moved up the spine, through three “channels” known as ida on the left, the right pingala, and the central sushumna channel. The life force moves past the heart to the top of the skull, where it blossoms into a thousand-petaled lotus. Different colors, shapes, numbers of petals, and sound syllables are associated with each chakra.
Breathing exercises (pranayama), correct posture, sound syllables, sacred diagrams (called yantras), and meditation are important components of this yoga. Kundalini concentrates on inner powers and improves circulation, memory, and intuitive and mental awareness.
In Chapter 9, I introduce you to Swami Shivananda Saraswathi, founder of the Divine Life Society. His 1935 book called Kundalini Yoga is a definitive source of information on this practice. Yogi Bhajan, founder of the 3HO (the Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization) in 1969, was the first to introduce Kundalini to the United States.
Kundalini is sometimes included in esoteric practices more commonly referred to as Tantric Yoga, which you can read about next.
Tantric Yoga
In Tantric Yoga, practitioners seek what are considered magic powers, the kind of knowledge credited to ancient yogi ascetics. This knowledge is separate from astrology, horoscope reading, and related forms of knowledge, which are considered within the mainstream in Hinduism and the province of scholars. And unlike the Yogas outlined in the section “The Yogic tripod: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga,” Tantric Yoga is really pursued only by renunciates: those who wish to pursue a spiritual lifestyle. Although sexual union is sanctioned as one of the ritual acts that can lead to a state of bliss in Tantric Yoga, it is not the goal and end-all, as may be perceived by many in the West.
The earliest forms of Yoga involved manifesting material objects from nothing, levitation, invisibility, shape changing, and even raising the dead. The Indian Rope Trick comes to mind, as do various feats of hypnosis and group hypnosis. These abilities were credited to the use of special secret chants, magic written and sound-syllables, hand gestures, sacred diagrams, chakras, and the like.
The holy atmosphere of the city of Kashi on the banks of the Ganges appears to have been a magnet for practitioners of a variety of yogas, especially Tantric Yoga. Visitors to Kashi (Benares) and similar sacred places of pilgrimage can still encounter proponents of the renunciant tradition from all origins, all ages, and varying conditions and abilities. On sacred occasions such as the Kumbha Mela, when much religious benefit is gained from dipping in the holy waters at an auspicious time (see Chapter 16), large numbers of such sadhus (religious mendicants) appear in public from their places of seclusion. Otherwise, the renunciant tradition, sometimes made fearful by the appearance of some of its practitioners, is more often now sublimated into a more spiritual practice.
Years of dedicated mind and body control can achieve the unusual. During experiments conducted at the Menninger Institute in the 1960s, Swami Rama (a visiting renunciate) was able to demonstrate such yogic powers as stopping his heart for 16 seconds, making an object spin from five feet away, and producing sleep wave patterns while awake (called Yoga Nidra). Yoga Nidra is one of the states of consciousness produced by the Omkara mantra (chanting of Om). These feats demonstrate some of the powers, called siddhis, referred to in the earlier section “The Raja Yoga of Patanjali.” From the scientific point of view, they demonstrate what is biologically possible in terms of human brainpower and body.
Hatha Yoga – a guide
Hatha Yoga, the best known and most popular in the West, has been transformed over centuries into a systematic science. Following are brief descriptions of traditional Hatha Yoga exercises:
Netra Vyayamam (eye exercise): Moving, cupping, massaging the eyes
Nasagri Dhristi: Gazing at and focusing on the nose tip
Soorya Namaskar: Sun salutations, as explained in the next section
Meditative poses: Forms of Padmasana or Lotus pose, seated with legs folded
Twenty to 25 intermediate poses including the Cobra (Bhujangasana) and leading into the Corpse pose (Savasana) and headstand (Sirshasana)
Forty advanced poses, from elaborate stretching (such as the Shooting Bow pose) to a total scrunch-up of the body called Yoga Nidrasana, or Yogic Sleep pose
Pranayama: Breathing techniques
Mudras, or gestures, used in meditation: Figure 21-2 shows an example of such a gesture
Kriya or cleansing rituals for the stomach, colon, nose, and eyes
Figure 21-2: Chin mudra.
Surya Namaskar: Sun salutations
During the 1970s, in Bristol, Connecticut, the late Dipti Sen conducted Yoga classes at her Om Center. One of her special exercises, also taught by most Yoga teachers, especially for beginners, is the Surya Namaskar, a series of movements based on a prayer to Surya (also spelled Soorya), the sun god. Each movement involves setting and holding a pose, or asana, while breathing in; moving smoothly into another pose while breathing out, through 9 or 12 or 20 steps. Figure 21-3 shows the traditional 12-step method.
Each position is accompanied by a particular mantra:
Om, Mitraya namaha: Salutation to the One who is the Friend of all
Om, Ravayeh namaha: Salutation to the One who Shines on all
Om, Suraya namaha: Salutation to the One who Guides all
Om, Bhanaveh namaha: Salutation to the One who Illuminates all
Om, Khagaya namaha: Salutation to the One who Soars faster than all
Om, Pushneh namaha: Salutation to the One who Gives strength to all
Om, Hiranyagarbhaya namaha: Salutation to the One who Promotes life to all
Om, Marichayeh namaha: Salutation to the One who Gives light to all
Om, Aditaya namaha: Salutation to the One who is most Powerful of all
Om, Savitreh namaha: Salutation to the One who is the Source of life for all
Om, Arkaya namaha: Salutation to the One who Transmits energy to all
Om, Bhaskaraya namaha: Salutations to the One who gives enlightenment to all
Figure 21-3: Surya Namaskar (sun salutations).
Yoga in the United States from 1893 to the Present
Swami Vivekananda’s famous visit in 1893 was a landmark in the introduction of Advaita Vedanta and the Yoga systems to the United States. A combination of the mid-nineteenth century New England Transcendentalist movement, the 1875 founding of the Theosophical Society in New York, and the liberal Unitarian impulse behind the World’s Parliament of Religions in 1893 had prepared for an intellectual interest in Indian thought. Following his visit and an acclaimed three-year lecture tour throughout the United States, Vivekananda established the Ramakrishna Missions. Vivekananda is famous for his extensive lectures on Karma Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Vedanta (Advaita), and other topics that have all been brought together in The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (Vedanta Press) which I recommend reading. The Mission centers, named after his guru and sometimes after Vivekananda himself, also offer lectures and maintain bookstores.
Interest in Yoga ebbed and flowed through the following decades, more often connected with trends such as vegetarianism and with health and physical wellbeing. Yogi Ramacharaka was a prolific writer on all aspects of Yoga. Standout early texts include the works of Ernest Wood.
Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi (in print since 1946) is the foundation of the Self-Realization Fellowship, which teaches Kriya Yoga.
After World War I, the ex-Bengal Lancer, Francis Yeats-Brown, author of Lancer at Large (Garden City Publishing Co.), Eight Steps to Yoga (Blue Ribbon Books, Inc.), and Yoga Explained (Vista House), brought knowledge of Yoga to the street level, especially when his Lives of a Bengal Lancer (The Viking Press) became a Hollywood hit.
Following World War II, the American West coast and California became a destination. Christopher Isherwood emigrated from England and translated the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali with Swami Prabhavananda. Indra Devi, an early Yoga pioneer, settled in Hollywood in the 1950s and taught Yoga to movie celebrities. Beginning her career in dance and film, she lived in India for many years, studying yoga under the same guru as B.K.S. Iyengar and Krishna Pattabhi Jois.
From the mid-twentieth century on, a number of Yoga gurus have established well-known schools in the United States and have introduced new approaches. Swami Satchidananda (the guru who appears fleetingly in the film Woodstock), author of Integral Yoga Hatha (Integral Yoga Publications), arrived in 1966 and established his Integral Yoga Center and L.O.T.U.S. shrine. B.K.S Iyengar’s Light on Yoga volume (Shocken) with its 200 asana photographs is now a classic.
As I mention in the earlier section “Kundalini Yoga and chakras,” Swami Shivananda’s 1935 book Kundalini Yoga inspired Yogi Bhajan’s 3HO, the Happy, Healthy, Holy Organization in 1969. Swami Rama, author of Enlightenment Without God (Mandukya Upanishad), Living with the Himalayan Masters, and Science of Breath: A Practical Guide (all published by Himalayan Institute Press) founded the Himalayan Institute of Yoga Science and Philosophy in 1971.