XII. Different Aspects of Yoga.
Project Gutenberg EPUB edition
Valmiki and Mitra, Viharilala
Varieties of yoga. The Yoga system will be found, what Monier Williams says of Hinduism at large, “to present its spiritual and material aspects, its esoteric and exoteric, its subjective and objective, its pure and impure sides to the observer.” “It is,” he says, “at once vulgarly pantheistic, severely monotheistic, grossly polytheistic and coldly atheistic. It has a side for the practical and another for the devotional and another for the speculative.” Again says he; “Those, who rest in ceremonial observances, find it all satisfying; those, who deny the efficacy of works and make faith the one thing needful, need not wander from its pale; those, who delight in meditating on the nature of God and man, the relation of matter and spirit, the mystery of separate existence and the origin of evil, may here indulge their love of speculation.” (Introduction to Indian Wisdom p. xxvii.)
We shall treat of these seriatim, by way of notes to or interpretation of the above, as applying to the different modes of yoga practised by these several orders of sectarians.
1. Spiritual yoga. अध्यात्म योगः । That the earliest form of yoga was purely spiritual, is evident from the Upanishads, the Vedánta doctrines of Vyása and all works on the knowledge of the soul (adhyátma Vidyá). “All the early Upanishads”, says Weber, “teach the doctrine of atmá-spirit, and the later ones deal with yoga meditation to attain complete union with átmá or the Supreme Spirit.” Web. Ind. Lit. p. 156. “The átmá soul or self and the supreme spirit (paramátmá) of which all other souls partake, is the spiritual object of meditation (yoga).” Max Müller’s A. S. Lit. p. 20. Yajnavalkya says; आत्माबारे द्रष्टब्य ओतब्य मन्तब्य निदिध्यासितब्यः ।
“The Divine Spirit is to be seen, heard, perceived and meditated upon &c.” If we see, hear, perceive and know Him, then this whole universe is known to us. A. S. Lit. p. 23. Again, “Whosoever looks for Brahmahood elsewhere than in the Divine Spirit, should be abandoned. Whosoever looks for Kshatra power elsewhere than in the Divine Spirit, should be abandoned. This Brahmahood, this Kshatra power, this world, these gods, these beings, this universe, all is Divine Spirit.” Ibid. The meaning of the last passage is evidently that, the spirit of God pervades the whole, and not that these are God; for that would be pantheism and materialism; whereas the Sruti says that, “God is to be worshipped in spirit and not in any material object.” आत्मा आत्मन्येबोपासितव्यः ।
2. The Materialistic yoga. सांख्य बा प्राकृतिक योगः । The materialistic side of the yoga, or what is called the Prákritika yoga, was propounded at first in the Sánkhya yoga system, and thence taken up in the Puránas and Tantras, which set up a primeval matter as the basis of the universe, and the purusha or animal soul as evolved out of it, and subsisting in matter. Weber’s Ind. Lit. p. 235.
Of Matter—Prakriti. Here, the avyakta—matter is reckoned as prior to the purusha or animal soul; whereas in the Vedánta the purusha or primeval soul is considered as prior to the avyakta-matter. The Sánkhya, therefore, recognizes the adoration of matter as its yoga, and its founder Kapila was a yogi of this kind. Later materialists meditate on the material principles and agencies as the causes of all, as in the Vidyanmoda Taranginí; प्रकृतिस्तेमहत्तत्वं सम्बर्द्धयतुसर्ब्बदा ।
Of Spirit—Purusha. These agencies were first viewed as concentrated in a male form, as in the persons of Buddha, Jina and Siva, as described in the Kumára Sambhava आत्मानमात्मन्यबलोकदन्तः; and when in the female figure of Prakriti or nature personified, otherwise called Saktirupá or the personification of energy, as in the Devi máhátmya; या देबी सर्ब्बभूतेषु शक्तिरूपेण संस्थिता &c. They were afterwards viewed in the five elements panchabhúta, which formed the elemental worship of the ancients, either singly or conjointly as in the pancha-bháutiká upásaná, described in the Sarva darsana sangraha.
Nature worship in eight forms. The materialistic or nature worship was at last diversified into eight forms called ashta múrti, consisting of earth, water, fire, air, sky, sun, moon, and the sacrificial priest, which were believed to be so many forms of God Ísa, and forming the objects of his meditation also. The eight forms are summed up in the lines; जलं सूर्य्योमहीबह्णिः बायुराकाशमेबच । दीक्षितोब्राह्मणः सोमः इत्यष्टौ तनवः स्मृताः । or as it is more commonly read in Bengal, क्षितिर्जलं तथा तेजो वायुराकाशमेव च । याज्ञिकार्कस्तथा चन्द्रो मूर्तिरष्टौहरस्यच । That they were forms of Ísa is thus expressed by Kálidása in the Raghu-vansa; अवेहि मां किङ्करमष्ट मूर्तेः । कुम्भोद्भबो नाम निकुम्भमित्रं; and that they were meditated upon by him as expressed by the same in his Kumára Sambhava;
तत्राग्निमाधाय समित् समिद्धं । स्वमेब मूर्त्यन्तरमष्ट मूर्तिः ॥
The prologue to the Sakuntalá will at once prove this great poet to have been a materialist of this kind; thus;
या सृष्टिः स्रष्टु राद्या बहति बिधि हुतं या हबिर्याचहोत्री ।
ये द्वेकालं बिधत्तः श्रुतिबिषयगुणा यास्थिताब्याप्यविश्वमं ॥
या माहुः प्रकृतिरिति यया प्रणिनः प्रणबन्तः ।
प्रसन्नस्तनुभिरबतु बस्ताभिरष्टाभिरीशः ॥
“Water the first work of the creator, and Fire which receives the oblations ordained by law &c. &c. May Ísa, the God of Nature, apparent in these forms, bless and sustain you.”
Besides all this the Sivites of the present day, are found to be votaries of this materialistic faith in their daily adoration of the eight forms of Siva in the following formula of their ritual;
सर्ब्बाय क्षिति मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
भबाय जल मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
रुद्र ।य अग्नि मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
उग्राय बायु मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
भीमाय आकाश मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
पशुपतये यजमान मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
महादेबाय सोम मूर्त्तिये नमः ।
ईशानाय सूर्य मूर्त्तिये नमः ॥
Both the Sánkhya and Saiva materialism are deprecated in orthodox works as atheistic and heretical, like the impious doctrines of the modern positivists and materialists of Europe, on account of their disbelief in the existence of a personal and spiritual God. Thus says, Kumárila; सांख्ययोग पाञ्चरात्न पाशुपत शाख्य निर्ग्रन्थपरिगृहीत धर्म्माधर्म्म निवन्धनानि (Max Müller’s A. S. Lit. p. 78.)
3. The Esoteric “Jnána yoga.” It is the occult and mystic meditation of the Divinity, practised by religious recluses after their retirement from the world in the deep recesses of forests, according to the teachings of the Áranyakas of the Vedas. In this sense it is called “Alaukika” or recluse, as opposed to the “laukika” or the popular form. It is as well practicable in domestic circles by those that are qualified to practise the “Jnána yoga” (ज्ञानयोग) or transcendental speculation at their leisure. Of the former kind were the Rishis Súka deva, Yájnavalkya and others, and of the latter sort were the royal personages Janaka and other kings and the sages Vasistha, Vyása and many more of the “munis.”
4. The Exoteric Rája yoga. This is the “laukika” or popular form of devotion practised chiefly by the outward formulae—vahirangas of yoga, with observance of the customary rites and duties of religion. The former kind called Vidyá (विद्या) and the latter Avidyá (अविद्या), are enjoined to be performed together in the Veda, which says: यत्तद्वेदोभयं सह &c. The Bhagavadgitá says to the same effect, नकर्मणामनारम्भ्यनैष्कर्म्मं पुरुषोश्नुते. The yoga Vásishtha inculcates the same doctrine in conformity with the Sruti which says: अन्धतमम्प्रबिशन्ति येउबिद्यायांरताः । ततोभूयएबतेतमो ये उअबिद्यायांरताः ।
5. The Subjective or Hansa yoga. The hansa or paramahansa yoga is the subjective form, which consists in the perception of one’s identity with that of the supreme being, whereby men are elevated above life and death. (Weber’s Ind. Lit. p. 157.) The formula of meditation is “soham, hansah” (सोऽहं हंसः) I am He, Ego sum Is, and the Arabic “Anal Haq”; wherein the Ego is identified with the absolute.
6. The objective word Tattwamasi. The objective side of yoga is clearly seen in its formula of tat twam asi—“thou art He.” Here “thou” the object of cognition—a non ego, is made the absolute subjective (Weber. Ind. Lit. p. 162). This formula is reduced to one word tatwam तत्वं denoting “truth,” which contained in viewing every thing as Himself, or having subordinated all cosmical speculations to the objective method.
7. The Pure yoga-Suddha Brahmacharyam. The pure Yoga has two meanings viz.; the holy and unmixed forms of it. The former was practised by the celibate Brahmacháris and Brahmachárinis of yore, and is now in practice with the Kánphutta yogis and yoginis of Katiyawar in Guzerat and Bombay. Its unmixed form is found among the Brahmavádis and Vádinis, who practise the pure contemplative yoga of Vedánta without any intermixture of sectarian forms. It corresponds with the philosophical mysticism of saint Bernard, and the mystic devotion of the Sufis of Persia. (See Sir Wm. Jones. On the Mystic Poetry of the Hindus, Persians and Greeks.)
8. The Impure or Bhanda yoga. The impure yoga in both its significations of unholiness and intermixture, is now largely in vogue with the followers of the tantras, the worshippers of Siva and Sakti, the modern Gosavis of Deccan, the Bullabhácháris of Brindaban, the Gosains, Bhairavis and Vaishnava sects in India, the Aghoris of Hindustan, and the Kartábhajás and Nerá-neris of Bengal.
9. The Pantheistic or Visvátmá yoga. This is well known from the pantheistic doctrines of Vedánta, to consist in the meditation of every thing in God and God in every thing; “Sarvam khalvidam Brahama” सर्ब्बं खल्विदं ब्रह्म । एतद्धैतत; and that such contemplation alone leads to immortality. भूतेषु भूतेषु बिचिन्त्य धीरः प्रेत्यास्माल्लोकादमृता भबन्ति । It corresponds with the pantheism of Persian Sufis and those of Spinoza and Tindal in the west. Even Sadi says; “Hamán nestand unche hasti tui,” there is nothing else but thyself. So in Urdu, Jo kuch hai ohi hai nahin aur kuchh.