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By Jayaram V
Atma yoga is the yoga of self. The aim of atma yoga is to unite the
lower
self with higher self and establish a divine centered
consciousness. This is accomplished by bringing together the disunited components of the lower consciousness
through the practice of yoga into one integrated whole and harmonize it
with the higher self.
Discipline is at the root of all spiritual progress. It is hard
imagine whether progress is possible without discipline in any field.
While in other areas of life, a certain degree of indiscipline may be
tolerated, in spiritual life there is hardly any compromise.
Discipline in spiritual life is important because the ultimate aim of
all spiritual activity is to become free from the restricted life and
awareness that characterizes the earthly life in which order is a
necessity to escape from the chaos of the mind. No wonder the
Bhagavad-Gita makes self discipline an important issue in the
spiritual progress of man.
The Bhagavad gita says that to achieve the Brahmic State through
buddhiyoga, one has to practice atmasamyamayoga or the yoga of self. How this is to be done is described in the sixth chapter
(10-19).
The yogi should concentrate his mind constantly on his Self,
leading a solitary life, controlling his mind, free from desires and
possessiveness. Placing his firm seat in a clean place, neither too
low nor too high, covering it with a soft cloth, deer skin and kusa
grass, he should practice yoga for self purification, keeping his
mind, senses and activities under firm control.
Holding the body, the neck and the head straight in one line,
concentrating his gaze on the tip of his nose, undistracted, with
peaceful mind, fearless, practicing celibacy, subdued in passions, he
should become established in God and attain perfect peace and nirvana
(6.10-15).
There is no place for extremities in this yoga (6.16-18). This yoga
is neither for the voracious eater nor for the non-eater. It is
neither for the constant sleeper nor for the chronic insomniac. The
buddhi yogi who is regulated in diet and relaxation, in sleeping and
waking, becomes impervious to all sorrow.
Resting in the self alone, freed from all desires, he becomes
established in the yoga of equanimity. In that state, he realizes his
hidden Self, becomes satisfied in the Self (6.20), finds unlimited
happiness, develops an understanding of the transcendental state
through his pure intellect and remains immobile to all sorrow.
He enjoys the extreme bliss of union with Brahman and develops the
unified vision of the Universal Self, seeing the Self in all and all
in the Self (6.21-29).
What happens if one fails in the yoga of self and fails to achieve
the mastery of the self? According to the GitaThe effort in the yoga of
self does not go waste.
There is no destruction for him who engages himself in such pious
activities, neither here nor hereafter. (6.40).
If he falls from the yoga, he may not attain the Supreme State, but
he would go to the higher worlds, lives there for countless years and
again takes birth in the house of the wealthy, or alternatively,
though rare, in the house of the pious or the yogis.(6.41&42).
On his rebirth in his new life, he regains the buddhi of his
previous life and through it strives again with greater vigor and
determination for self-realization. (6.43).
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