What is Yoga Part II
To recap from our last issue : we were investigating "what is yoga?" and looking at the answer given by a revered yogic sage Patanjali who said that ....
To Block The Patterns Of Consciousness Is Yoga.
Another way of looking at this is that the mental fluctuations cease. Many people are unaware that they have mental fluctuations, which of course often accompany emotional disturbances, because so often these two aspects are confused with I-ness, as in IÕm happy/unhappy; I think this/or that, rather than these aspects being recognised as fluctuations of mind and identification with these fluctuations. And of course we identify with contents of mind and with the feelings released.
What Patanjali offers is a system which gives detailed instruction as to the causes of the mental patterns, memories and associations, and follows this with instruction on lessening them and in time the "blocking" takes place, bit by bit and instead a new way of Being unfolds for the yoga aspirant. The electrical activity in the brain changes creating more harmonious brain activity, the pangs and angst of the aspirant are lessened; understanding of oneself and others, unfolds. We feel better, we are becoming more whole.
So far we have looked at 5 of the 8 steps which Patanjali recommends for this process, this journey, of unblocking the patterns of consciousness. This what we looked at in the last issue:
- We started with social code (yama) to enable us to harmonise with interacting with others. Yamas are feeling of non-violence towards all things; honesty; sexual control; non-possessiveness.
- Next is personal code (niyama) for feeling better about oneself: cleanliness; contentment; austerity; self-study; surrender to the cosmic will
These two aspects balance us inwardly and externally. We usually come to bring them into existence spontaneously, but certainly we can always intergrate them into our lives and gradually make them more of a reality .
- Third step is asana and in this context it means "sitting pose". However, in order to be able to sit for periods of time, we need a healthy body, for when the body is not working optiminally we have to deal with extra restlessness in the brain. The physical body and brain are definitely linked, as is body/mind and brain/mind. Ultimately Patanjali is talking about mind when he mentions consciousness.
It's at this step that the physical aspect of yoga, postures and cleansing techniques come into play. They are very important in balancing the body energy systems, hormones, circulation, muscle tone, and the neural associations between brain and body.
- Fourth step is pranayama (breathing techniques) which absorb, concentrate and direct our pranic (energy) structures. Here we are also balancing brain hemispheres and providing fuel in the form of energy for the brain, plus providing one-pointedness and building up the nervous system.
- Pratyahara (gathering inwards) comes next. Having a healthy body and energised brain, we are able to sit in our asana for a period of time and enter into a state which is non-physical and does not involve the senses. Paradoxically it is via the physical and sensory aspects that pratyahara occurs. Through having a body which has reduced physical disturbances we then have reduced mental fluctuations, and by concentration on the 5 senses - all or some - the mind, being somewhat contradictory, decides that it doesn't want any physical or sensory involvement, and so it spontaneously internalises. Of course the more you do any of these stages, the easier they are to do, and the quicker they happen each time. This is not a hard stage to do, and is an important part of the inner journey. It's a gateway to the internal realms. All meditation techniques, such as ajapa japa (mantra repetition), antar mouna (inner silence), tratak (gazing at a fixed point, a candle flame being an excellent subject) and others, are also concerned with inducing pratyahara. Usually a combination of physical, sensory and meditation technique are used for the overall effect of gathering the psyche inwards.
So now we are at the stage of exploring the inner realms:
- Dharana follows pratyahara. It is one-pointedness or concentration, and it's definitely not concentration on the internal chitchat nor on the visual manifestations of mind. It's awareness on one object no matter what the contents of mind are doing. For the phenomena which unfolds in the inner space when doing yogic techniques, is amazing and compelling, but, they are still patterns of consciousness, and as such, they still need to be "blocked". There is an object which is specifically used. It can be a psychic symbol which you concentrate on, often geometric, or like a mandala. Some people use a deity instead, others have a question, but always it'll be very personal and it never changes. It totally belongs to the aspirant. When the contents of mind start to reveal themselves in the inner space, the symbol, whatever form it is, becomes the total focus. Another object used is a sound (mantra). Aum (Om) is universal, and along with a couple of sounds can be used by anyone, either forever or until a personal sound is received through someone trained in this area. A personal sound is meaningful to the aspirant and never changes.
In a lifetime the yogi has only one personal mantra, and only one personal symbol. Aside from the few universal mantras, if you use a sound for a period of time it starts to affect the deeper layers of mind. If you decide another sound will be better, and switch, in time this too will have an affect deep in your mind. ItÕs been found that doing this ultimately leads to confusion deep within your consciousness. The same applies to symbol. Sometimes the aspirant will do specific practices, under guidance, which use special sounds and symbols, but these are usually for a period of time only, and is different to ongoing daily meditation, which is what Patanjali is covering. His specific explanation of dharana is: "concentration (dharana) is binding the mind to one place."
With regular and consistent meditation practice, the symbol will start to reveal itself. There will be an instant attraction to it. It's through this happening that we start to spontaneously flow into the next stage:
- Dhyana is the 7th stage. It means "meditation". Up untill this stage we are practising technique to take us to the experience of meditation. It is a state of being, arising from the dharana state, leading to: "uninterrupted flow of consciousness" ( Swami Satyananda). Satyananda is definite that dhyana needs to be accompanied by the awareness of dhyana. In others words, the experience is happening; we also know that it is happening. This is a dual state, two-ness. It is a highly energised brain state and is dealing with profound areas of mind.
And from this comes one-ness, the merging of the experience with the experiencer, a fusion of being which is known as Samadhi. Most of us understand that samadhi is the yogic term for enlightenment. But did you know that samadhi is also a process of varying stages?
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