In
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, which is a
two-thousand-year-old collection of the oral teachings on yogic
philosophy, there are one hundred and ninety-five statements which are a
kind of philosophical guidebook for dealing with the challenges of
being human.
The Yoga Sutras provides an eight-fold path called
ashtanga,
which literally means "eight limbs". These eight steps are basic
guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They are a
prescription for moral and ethical conduct. They direct attention toward
one's health, and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of
our nature.
The first four steps or stages concentrate on refining our
personalities, gaining mastery over our body, and developing an
energetic awareness of ourselves, all of which prepare us for the second
half of the journey, which deals with the senses, the mind, and
attaining a higher state of consciousness.
The first step deals with one's moral or ethical standards and sense
of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in
our interpersonal life. These are, literally, the
controls or
don'ts of life. They include areas where we must learn to control
tendencies which, if allowed expression, would end up causing us
disharmony and pain. They are the same moral virtues that you find in
all the world's great religious traditions. The five yamas are:
| Non-violence
|
| Refrain from harming or demeaning any living thing, including yourself, by action, word or thought.
|
| Non-lying
|
| Control any tendency to say anything that is not truthful, including not being truthful to yourself.
|
| Non-stealing
|
| Curb the tendency to take anything that does not belong to you
which includes not only material objects but also things such as praise
or position.
|
| Non-sensuality
|
| Learn the art of self-control; to control the tremendous
energy expended in seeking and thinking about sensual pleasure and to
abstain from inappropriate sexual behavior.
|
| Non-greed
|
| Learn not to be attached to or desirous of "things"; to learn to discriminate between "needs" and "wants".
|
Niyama, the second step, are individual practices having to do with
self-descipline, self-development and spiritual observances. These are
the
non-controls or the dos of the path. The five niyamas are:
| Purity
|
| Strive for purity or cleanliness of body, mind and environment.
|
| Contentment
|
| Seek contentment and acceptance with what you have and with
things as they are right now. But, also, seek ways to improve things in
the future.
|
| Self-control
|
| Learn to have control over your actions and to have the
strength of determination to do what you decide to do; to replace
negative habits with positive ones.
|
| Self-study
|
| This requires introspection; studying our actions, words and
thoughts to determine if we are behaving in a harmonious and positive
manner in order to achieve the happiness and satisfaction we strive for.
|
| Devotion
|
| Devotion is the turning of the natural love of the heart toward the Divine rather than toward the objects of the world.
|
Asana, the postures practiced in yoga, are the third step. In the
yogic view, the body is a temple of the spirit, the care of which is an
important stage of our spiritual growth. Through the practice of asana,
we develop the habit of discipline and the ability to concentrate, both
of which are necessary for meditation. If the body is in proper working
order and comfortable in one position for a long time, it can ultimately
become a vehicle for spiritual powers, instead of preventing progress
by bothering its owner with physical distress.
Generally translated as breath control, this fourth step consists of
techniques designed to gain mastery over the respiratory process while
recognizing the connection between the breath, the mind and the
emotions. The literal translation of pranayama is "life force". Yogis
believe that it not only rejuvenates the body but actually extends life
itself. You can practice pranayama as an isolated technique (simply
sitting and performing a number of breathing exercises) or integrate it
into your daily hatha yoga routine.
Pratyahara, the fifth step, means withdrawal or sensory
transcendence. It is during this stage that we make the conscious effort
to draw our awareness away from the external world and outside stimuli.
We direct our attention internally. The practice of pratyahara provides
us with an opportunity to step back and take a look at ourselves. This
can happen during breathing exercises, during meditation, during the
practice of yoga postures, or during any activity requiring
concentration. Detachment is a great technique for pain control and an
excellent way to deal with uncomfortable symptoms or chronic conditions.
The practice of pratyahara creates the setting for dharana or
concentration. Having relieved ourselves of outside distractions, we can
now deal with the distractions of the mind itself. In the practice of
concentration, which precedes meditation, we learn how to slow down the
thinking process by concentrating on a single mental object. The goal is
to become aware of nothing but the object on which you are
concentrating, whether it's a candle flame, a flower, a mantra you
repeat to yourself, a specific energetic center in the body, or an image
of a deity. The purpose is to train the mind to eliminate all the
extra, unnecessary junk floating around, to learn to gently push away
superfluous thought. Extended periods of concentration naturally lead to
meditation.
Meditation or contemplation, the seventh step of ashtanga, is the
uninterrupted flow of concentration. Although concentration (dharana)
and meditation (dhyana) may appear to be one and the same, a fine line
of distinction exists between these two stages. Where dharana practices
one-pointed attention, dhyana is ultimately a state of being keenly
aware without focus. At this stage, the mind has been quieted, and in
the stillness it produces few or no thoughts at all. Meditation occurs
when you've actually become linked to the object of your concentration
so that nothing else exists. It is a keen heightened awareness, not
nothingness. Your mind is completely focused and quiet but awake and
aware of truth. Many methods exist to bring you to this state, but
oneness with the object of your meditation, and subsequently, oneness
with the entire universe, is the objective. It is quite a difficult task
to reach this state of stillness but it is not impossible. This state
is a goal to keep striving for and, even if it is never attained, there
is benefit from each stage of progress.
Patanjali describes this eighth and final step of ashtanga as a state
of ecstasy. All the paths of yoga lead to this stage. This stage is one
which most of us are unlikely to attain in this lifetime. At this
stage, the meditator merges with his or her point of focus and
transcends the self altogether. When in this state, you understand not
only that you and the object of your meditation are one, but that you
and the universe are one. There's no difference between you and
everything else. The meditator comes to realize a profound connection to
the Divine, an interconnectedness with all living things. What
Patanjali has described as the completion of the yogic path is what,
deep down, all human beings aspire to: joy, fulfillment, freedom and
peace
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