NATURE OF YOGA

The laws by which the self unfolds his powers in the universe, from the fire-mist up to the LOGOS, are the same laws of consciousness, which repeat themselves in the universe of man. This last process of evolution is called “Yoga”. We must connect our yoga with the evolution of consciousness everywhere, else we are exactly the same as the laws of yoga, and the principles whereby consciousness unfolds itself in the great evolution of humanity are the same principles that we take in yoga and deliberately apply to the more rapid unfolding of our own consciousness. The self in you is the same as the Self Universal. The Kurukshetra of the world is the field of yoga. As a matter of fact, you have practiced yoga unconsciously in the past, even before your self-consciousness had separated itself, was aware of itself. You may then be defined as the “rational application of the laws of the unfolding of consciousness in an individual case”. Next, yoga is a science. Systematized knowledge of the unfolding of consciousness applied to the individualized Self that is yoga. For yoga takes man for a special purpose and studies him for a special end and, therefore, only troubles itself about two great facts regarding man, mind and body. First, he is a unit, a unit of consciousness. For in yoga, “Self” includes consciousness plus such matter as it cannot distinguish from itself, and Not Self is only the matter it can put aside. Man is not pure Self, pure consciousness, Samvid. Four states of consciousness are spoken of amongst us. “Waking” consciousness or Jagrat; the “dream” consciousness, or Svapna; the “deep sleep” consciousness, or Sushupti; and the state beyond that, called Turiya. It is impossible to avoid the use of these technical terms, even in an introduction to yoga. When passing from one world to another, we should use these words to designate the consciousness working under the conditions of each world. All of you are familiar with the waking consciousness in the physical body. I read the words; my eyes are related to the outer physical consciousness. I have passed from the waking state of the physical plane into the Svapna state of waking consciousness, that sees through the outer form, seeking the inner life. I pass from this to the mind of the writer; here the mind touches the mind; it is the waking consciousness in its Sushupti state. If I pass from this contact and enter the very mind of the writer, and live in that man’s mind, then I have reached the Turiya state of the waking consciousness. It is said: “Yoga is Samadhi.” Samadhi is a state in which the consciousness is so dissociated from the body that the latter remains insensible. Samadhi for any one person is relative to his waking consciousness, but implies insensitiveness of the body. The man, who can so withdraw from the body as to leave it insensitive, while his mind is fully self-conscious, can practice Samadhi. The astral world then, for you, no longer belongs to the Svapna consciousness, but to the Jagrat; you have taken two worlds within the scope of your Jagrat consciousness – the physical and the astral worlds – and the mental world is in your Svapna consciousness. “Your body” is then the physical and the astral bodies taken together. The three bodies of the ordinary man have become one body for the yogi. “Yoga is Samadhi.” “Unfolding” always refers to consciousness, “evolution” to forms. It is necessary to understand something about that consciousness which is your Self, and about the matter, which is the envelope of consciousness, but which the Self so often identifies with himself. The consciousness of existence never changes, but beyond this all is change, and only by the changes does consciousness become self-consciousness. Consciousness is an ever-changing thing, circling round one idea that never changes – Self-existence.
The consciousness itself is not changed by any change of position or place. A change of consciousness is a change of a state; a change of matter is a change of place. Moreover, every change of state in consciousness is related to vibrations of matter in its vehicle. That makes it possible for the self to know the Not-Self. These correspondences are utilized in Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga, the Kingly Yoga and the Yoga or Resolve. The Raja Yoga seeks to control the changes in consciousness, and by this control to rule the material vehicles. The hatha yoga seeks to control the vibrations of matter, and by this control to evoke the desired changes in consciousness. What is mind? How shall we describe this individualized consciousness? It corresponds to activity on the physical plane. That state is said to be approaching yoga, for such a main is becoming concentrated, even if only possessed by one idea. This stage corresponds to activity on the lower mental plane. This stage corresponds to activity on the higher mental plane. This stage corresponds to activity on the buddhic plane. The outward-turned consciousness is always first. When the object disappears, that is, when consciousness draws itself away from the sheath by which those objects are seen, then comes the Asamprajnata Samadhi; called the “Samadhi without consciousness”.

Dr. Maganlal S. Molia and H.M.Akwalia
Rajkot (Gujarat)