In
a sense, yoga is all about the subtle, with no room for the gross. What I mean
is that the highest weightage in yoga is to the subtle, with the gross being an
aid or means to getting there. So when we compare external to internal
practices, the internal get a higher weightage. Among physical and mental,
similarly, the mental dominates. Within a set of mental activities, the subtler
are considered more effective - for example, when silently chanting a mantra,
it is better if the throat muscles and lips are not moving either, and so on.
While
this is agreed to by the prominent texts and their interpreters, it so happens
that some texts accept the grosser (physical) aspects more than others and give
it a reasonably high level of importance. Sometimes this can create some
confusion. Books on Hatha Yoga go into volumes on various ways of controlling
different parts of the body (including the breath) and thereby getting to a
higher level of preparedness for Raja Yoga. In Raja Yoga, the mind (and working
with it) dominates, but in texts like Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, the physical
preparation still retains some importance. Some physical practices have been
indicated as "basics" by Patanjaliji, which could mean that they are
"necessary". The same Raja Yoga, when expounded by famous Advaitist
texts like "Aparokshanubhuti," becomes almost completely a mental and
supra-mental discipline, with the physical preparations of Hatha Yoga accepted
only as a support for the relatively weaker willed. For the relatively more
mature-minded, only the mental and even higher practices are recommended.
Aparokshanubhuti
is ascribed to the great Sri Shankaracharya, the renouned Advaitist guru of
medieval India whose commentaries on various scriptures are quoted even today
in India by the most learned of scholars. Swami Vimuktananda says that even if
its authorship is disputed, the teachngs are definitely Advaitist. So the book
is at least from the same school of thought which Sri Shankaracharya is so
widely known for.
The
book starts out by accepting that the attributes of Brahman mentioned in the
scriptures are so different from the attributes of the physical body, that it
is clear that the body is by itself, not Brahman. However, it goes on to add
that while this is so, emphasising this distinction does not help the greatest
of the four objectives of Man - i.e., liberation. (Dharma, Artha, Kama and
Moksha are the four objectives referred to here.) On the other hand, focusing
on other famous scriptural declarations like "this whole universe is
nothing but Brahman," or "Brahman is indeed the substratum of all
varieties of names, forms and actions," we would see that the body too,
could not be anything but the Brahman. So the changing body could be viewed as
a false perception, like seeing a snake in a rope. An illusion which has its
rise and fall in time, but is not an enduring reality. Keeping this in mind
would then constitute a great meditation - a meditation on the only true
(enduring) reality, and would help in actually realizing that universal
consciousness.
Whether
due to this philosophical background or due to the direct experiences of the
author, the book then goes on to expound the steps of Raja Yoga in a way that
places almost all the emphasis on the mental and spriritual aspects - those
aspects which are considered advanced in Patanjaliji's sutras and in
commentaries on the sutras. The basic preparations of Patanjali (physical and
mental disciplines, posture, breathing techniques, etc.) are explained in the
following way by Aparokshanubhuti.
1.
Yama (mental disciplines): Restraint of all senses is the only yama.
2.
Niyama (physical disciplines): The continuous flow of one thought is the only
real niyama - and following earlier discussion, it is clear that only thoughts
about Brahman are to be encouraged here. There is no importance (or even
mention) here of interim "sabija" samadhis, which could, at least in
principle, use grosser objects of attention to develop meditative skills in the
practitioner.
3.
Renunciation, Silence and Space: There is no "lower versus higher
renunciation" as in Patanjali's sutras. The only real renunciation comes
of a perception of the "Purusha" (pure consciousness), which takes
one away from the unreal (transient) world. The only silence is that born of an
understanding of the state beyond words and speech. The only real space worth
mentioning is the space where Brahman is perceived to exist without past,
present or future. So does time also refer to none other than the indivisible
Brahman, from who everything has come about.
4.
Asana (posture): The only mentionable posture is one in which meditation on
Brahman happens naturally and unceasingly. Even Patanjaliji makes no mistake in
saying that the main purpose of posture is to sit comfortably to enable
meditation, but here, even that much mention of physical comfort is done away
with. In fact, the only Siddhasana (a meditative posture in other texts) is a
posture that gives consciousness of Brahman - a state known to the adepts.
5.
Moola Bandha (root lock): The only real moola bandha is that state of
absorption in Brahman which causes the mind to restrain itself from going to
objects of attention.
6.
Dehasamya (straight posture): Here, there is no talk of keeping the spine
erect, etc., which is commonly found in discussions of good posture. When the
entire body is homogeneously absorbed in deep meditation on Brahman, dehasamya
is said to have been achieved.
7.
Focusing attention on the tip of the nose: Absorption in the thought of Brahman
is the real focus of (internal) vision. Just looking at the tip of the nose or
in that general direction is of no importance.
8.
Pranayama (inhalation, exhalation and suspension of breath): The only real
exhalation is where thoughts of the phenomenal world are thrown out. The only
inhalation is where we take in the reality of our being one with Brahman. The
steadiness of this thought is the only real "suspension of breath."
The ignorant merely torture the nose.
9.
Dharana (fixing attention): As said earlier, fixing attention on grosser
objects has no importance and is not even mentioned as a preparatory exercise.
The only real dharana is that on the highest universal consciousness. So also
for meditation - the only real meditation is that on Brahman. No point
discussing meditations on anything lower.
After
thus elucidating the steps of Raja Yoga, dismissing all lower (physical)
preparations for Raja Yoga as being essentially of no importance, the book
suggests that this discipline should be mastered by the practitoner to the
point where he/she can use it within an instant, whenever needed. For this
mastery, the mind should stay merged in the thoughts of Brahman all the time.
Finally,
then, in the second-last shloka, the author clarifies and (reluctantly) accedes
that for the less mature, the above practice should be combined with some
physical preparations (Hatha Yoga), but comes back in the last shloka to
emphasize that for a practitioner with the required maturity of mind, the above
alone produce the highest results, speeded by faith in the guru and the dieties
(so at least these mature practioners should stay away from grosser aspects of
the discipline and focus completely on the finer).
Patanjali's
sutras are completely aligned with this on the importance of the higher (mental
and spiritual) practices. Just that they do include some of the physical
practices as an integral or basic part of the process. The Aparokshanubhuti, on
the other hand, is overwhelmingly a Yoga of the Mind, telling us to focus only
on the finer aspects, unless we just don't have enough maturity. For the
mature-minded (paripakva), there is no point just "torturing the
nose."
Sadanand
Tutakne
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