NDIA 8 August 2011 These are no fast food service type of menus nor are there any free lunches and those expecting such an easy result are, with all my humility and civility warned to restrain themselves from these practices. Nor will it confer magic within a limited time frame. Its results are individual sincerity intensity oriented and may vary vastly. Same is the result in worldly pursuits but we do not question them and take them as natural. This is called a - conventional instinct.
In my previous issues, I discussed the basic concepts, philosophy of Yoga and the science of Yoga; now we shall go on to explore Yoga technique and its very need and the brief details of its various pathways to advance on for achieving the ultimate aim of human birth compared to the rest of the animal kingdom. For the purpose of brevity I shall keep using the word “Yoga” for “Patanjali Yoga Sutra”. Root word is ‘Yuj’ (Sanskrit) for Yoga meaning ‘Add or join’. Broadly speaking – To ‘Add’ our ‘Soul’ (individual) to the ‘Highest Soul’ (The Lord Almighty) and know our real identity, “Who Am I”?
A human being is “Three-in-One” i.e. “Body-Mind-Soul” complex. First – what we think we are, i.e. ‘Body’. Second – what others think we are, i.e. ‘Mind’ (from our actions). Third – what we really are, i.e. ‘Soul’ and that is what we really are – is the answer to “Who Am I”? A healthy body has a healthy mind, it is an old saying both in western and eastern societies. Hence the body component has to be made fit and sound before we start exploring the potentials of mind. Satya Sai Baba said, “Master the mind and be Mastermind”. Therefore the correct approach will be to strengthen the body first. Whatever one wants to do, ultimately it is the ‘Mind’ that will accomplish – irrespective of the aim.
Yoga attempts exactly to do this first by correcting ‘Body’, continues to work at the mental aspects at the same time as seen by the step by step progress through its various stages. It is important to stick to its schedule of the prescribed stages seriously for a devoted practitioner or a student like in any other stream. It is further stressed that it is better to undertake its training under the guidance of an accomplished teacher. It leads us to the next pertinent question by priori, “Who could be the ‘accomplished teacher (Guru)’ to teach Yoga”? It depends upon the grade of the student and his/her aim for its study and practice. If one wants to limit to the physical level, then any round the corner studio may suffice. If one intends to go for ‘Higher Studies’, one may have to move away to faraway places in search of a truly evolved and enlightened person or a Guru as one does for the worldly education to travel far away distances. Multitudes of different definitions are given but a simple, short version that defines such a Guru is in the following Sanskrit verse.