{"id":85,"date":"2013-07-13T01:25:47","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=85"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:25:47","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:25:47","slug":"55-rajayoga-vol-03-the-harmony-of-virtue-volume-03","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/01-sabcl\/03-the-harmony-of-virtue-volume-03\/55-rajayoga-vol-03-the-harmony-of-virtue-volume-03","title":{"rendered":"-55_Rajayoga.htm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\n

\n
\nRajayoga<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nMAN <\/font><\/p>\n

<\/b>fulfilling himself in the body is given
\nHathayoga as his means. When he rises above the body, he
\nabandons Hathayoga as a troublesome and inferior process
\nand rises to the Rajayoga, the discipline peculiar to the aeon in
\nwhich man now evolves. The first condition of success in Raja-
\nyoga is to rise superior to the dehātma-buddhi<\/i>, the state of perception in which the body is identified with the Self. A time comes
\nto the Rajayogin, when his body seems not to belong to him or
\nhe to have any concern in it. He is not troubled by its troubles
\nor gladdened by its pleasure; it has them itself and very soon,
\nbecause he does not give his sanction to them, they fall away
\nfrom it. His own troubles and pleasures are in the heart and the
\nmind, for he is the rajasic and psychical man, not the tamasic,
\nmaterial. It is these that he has to conquer in order that he may
\nrealise God in his heart or in his buddhi<\/i> or in both. God seen in
\nthe heart \u2014 that is the quest of the Rajayogin. He may recover
\nthe perception and enjoyment of God as love and God as
\nknowledge.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe processes of the Rajayoga are mental and emotional.
\nPatanjali’s science is not the pure Rajayoga; it is mixed and
\nallows an important element of the Hathayoga in its initial processes. It admits the
\nāsana<\/i> and the prānāyāma<\/i>.
\nIt is true, it reduces each to one of its kind, but the method of conquest is
\nphysical and therefore not Rajayogic. It may be said that the
\nstillness of the body is essential to concentration or to samādhi<\/i>;<\/font>
\n<\/font>but this is a convention of the Hathayoga. The Rajayoga concedes no such importance to the body; he knows by experience
\nthat concentration can be secured in any easy and unconstrained
\nposture, which allows one to forget the body; it is often as much
\nhelped by rhythmic motion as by stillness. Samādhi<\/i>, when it
\ncomes, itself secures stillness of the body. The pure Rajayogin
\ndispenses therefore with the physical practice of āsana<\/i>. The real
\nreason why Patanjali laid so much importance on āsana<\/i>, was that<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 406<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nhe thought prānāyāma<\/i> essential to samādhi<\/i> and
\nāsana<\/i> essential
\nto prānāyāma<\/i>. It is difficult though not impossible to do the
\npractice of prānāyāma<\/i>, according to Patanjali’s system, without
\nperfect bodily stillness. It can be done and has been done, even
\nwhile walking about, but this is not so easy or usual.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n Now prānāyāma<\/i>,
\n in its proper sense, the mastery of the vital force in oneself and Nature, is
\n essential to every Rajayogin, but it can be brought about by much simpler methods.
\n The only process that the Rajayogin finds helpful enough to be worth doing is
\n nādi-śuddhi<\/i><\/font><\/font>or
\n the purification of the nerve system by regular breathing, and this can be done
\n while lying, sitting, reading, writing and walking. This process has great virtues.
\n It has a wonderful calming effect on the whole mind and body, drives out every
\n lurking disease in the system, awakens the yogic force accumulated in former
\n lives and even where no such latent force exists removes the physical obstacles
\n to the awakening of the kundalinī-śakti<\/i>. But
\n even this process is not essential. The Rajayogin knows that by tranquillising
\n the mind, he can tranquillise the body, by mastering the mind he can master
\n both the body and the prāna<\/i>. This is the great secret of
\n the Rajayoga \u2014 that mind is the master of the body, creates it and conditions
\n it, body is not the master, creator or law-giver of the mind. It may be said
\n that the body at least affects the mind; but this is the other discovery of
\n the Rajayogin that the body need not in the least affect the mind, unless by
\n our consent we allow it to do so.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe kumbhaka<\/i> or cessation of the natural breathing is essential to the deeper kinds of samādhi<\/i>, not to all; but even so he
\nfinds that by the cessation of the lawlessness, the restlessness of
\nthe mind, which we mistakenly call thought, we can easily,
\nnaturally and spontaneously bring about the cessation of the
\nbreathing, a calm, effortless and perfect kumbhaka<\/i>. He therefore
\ndispenses with physical processes, easy or laborious and goes
\nstraight to the root of the problem, the mind.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nRajayoga is of three kinds, sacesta<\/i>, upacesta<\/i> and
\nniścesta<\/i>.
\n<\/i>Patanjali’s, the systematised, though each is quite methodical,
\nis sacesta<\/i>, involving great strain of effort, throughout. We
\nmay best compare the systems by taking each of Patanjali’s steps
\nseparately and seeing how much the three kinds of the Rajayogins<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\tPage \u2013 407<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nwill deal with them. (In the present article, we shall deal with
\nPatanjali.)<\/font><\/p>\n

\nThe first step is the preparation of the moral nature, the
\nperfection of the heart in the four great qualities of love, purity,
\ncourage and calm, without which siddhi<\/i> in the Rajayoga is impossible. Patanjali prescribes the practice of the five yamas<\/i> or
\nregulating moral exercises, truth, justice and honesty, harmlessness, chastity and the refusal of ownership and the five niyamas
\n<\/i>or regulating moral habits, cleanliness and purity, contentment,
\nausterity, meditation on scriptures, worship and devotion to
\nGod. In order to establish these habits and exercises and remove
\nthe impurities of the heart, it is evident that Patanjali intends us
\nto use the method of abhyāsa<\/i> or constant practice. Any one who
\nhas made the attempt will realise how difficult it is to compass all
\nthese qualities and how long and tedious a discipline is required to
\nestablish them even imperfectly. Patanjali seeks to purify and quiet the life,
\nwhile the heart and mind are yet impure and restless, a system possible only to hermits in an
\nāśrama<\/i>. For this
\nreason, the Rajayoga has fled from the homes of man and taken
\nrefuge in the forest and cavern. Afterwards Patanjali recommends the quieting of the body and mastering of the prāna<\/i> by
\nāsana<\/i> and pranāyāma<\/i>. The reason of this is clear enough. The
\nPranayama in Hathayoga does not lead to purity, but to force
\nand intensity, every quality that it finds potent in the system, it
\nraises to tenfold activity and power. Unless therefore the life and
\ncharacter be made quiet and pure, pranāyāma<\/i> done in one’s own
\nstrength may do immense mental, physical and moral mischief.
\nAllowing for the overcome of this initial difficulty and for the
\nadmission of Hathayoga into Rajayoga, it must be admitted
\nthat Patanjali’s system is admirably logical and reasonable in its
\narrangement.<\/font><\/p>\n

\nNext comes the control of the mind, that restless, self-willed
\nand shifting force which is difficult to control. Again, as in his
\nprevious steps, Patanjali relies wholly on practice. He arranges
\nconcentration in four stages of development. Pratyāhāra<\/i> or
\nthe drawing inward of the senses from their objects; dhāranā<\/i> or
\nthe success in this process resulting in the fixing of mind for a
\nmoment on a single thought, feeling or object, such as the<\/font><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n\t\tPage \u2013 408<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\nnāsāgra<\/i> or the bhrūmadhya<\/i> for preference; dhyāna<\/i> or the continuation of this state for a fixed period; samādhi<\/i>
\nor the withdrawing into oneself for an indefinite time. The preliminary exercise once successful, the rest follows with comparative ease, but
\nthe preliminary process is so enormously difficult that one should
\nbe amazed at Patanjali’s putting it first, if one did not perceive
\nthat he is relying on the rigorous and thorough mastery of each
\nstep, before the next is attempted; he trusts to the Hathayogic
\nkumbhaka<\/i> to bring about pratyāhāra<\/i> with comparative ease.
\nEven as it is, most Yogins prefer to take dhāranā<\/i> first (on a single
\nobject), trusting to the practice of dhāranā<\/i> to bring about pratyāhāra<\/i> by a natural process. This is undoubtedly the more
\neasy and straightforward process, though Patanjali’s is the more
\nlogical and scientific and if mastered may lead to greater results.
\nConcentration, once attained, we proceed to what Patanjali
\nevidently considers the essence of Yoga, the coercion of all
\nvrttis<\/i> or functionings of the mental or moral qualities, so as to
\narrive at samyama<\/i> or throwing the whole passionless intelligent
\nwill in the spirit on whatsoever he wishes to possess from the
\nrealisation of God to the enjoyment of mundane objects. But
\nhow is this silencing of the vrttis<\/i> to be effected? For the yamas
\n<\/i>and niyamas<\/i> only establish certain good habits of life, they do
\nnot thoroughly purify the mind and heart. We have to do it by
\na process of removal, by replacement, always depending on
\nabhyāsa<\/i>, replacing bad vrttis<\/i> by good, the many good by the few
\nbetter, the few better by the still few best, until we arrive at
\nabsolute samyama<\/i>. This can be done, not easily but daily without
\ninsuperable difficulty, if the power of concentrating is thoroughly
\nobtained by Patanjali’s method. Samyama<\/i> is a mighty power.
\nWhatever the Yogin does samyama<\/i> upon, says Patanjali, that he
\nmasters. The knowledge of one’s past lives, of the thoughts of
\nmen in this world and spirits in the other, the vision of the past
\nand the future, the knowledge of all that is, is in his grasp. As to
\nwhat he shall do with the power, Patanjali leaves the choice to
\nthe successful Yogin.<\/font><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nPage \u2013 409<\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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