of will5 awareness of experience
6 awareness of pure quintessence, sentiment and beauty
7 understanding that the individual soul, jivatman, is a particle of the Universal Spirit, Paramatman
The Yoga Vasista correlates this sutra (II.27) with the seven stages of individual development:
1 study and cultivation of the company of wise men
2 capacity to solve problems
3 development of non-attachment
4 dissolution of inherent faults
5 working towards the bliss in which a half-sleeping and half-wakeful state is experienced
6 experience of a deep sleep state
7 attaining a state in which purity, tranquillity and compassion flow out towards others.
The seven frontiers of awareness also correlate with the five sheaths or kosas of the body. Consciousness is the sixth, and the inner self, the seventh.
Patañjali describes the seven states of awareness as:
1 emerging consciousness (vyutthana citta)
2 refraining consciousness (nirodha citta)
3 tranquil consciousness (santa citta)
4 one-pointed consciousness (ekagra citta)
5 sprouted consciousness (nirmana citta)
6 rent consciousness (chidra citta)
7 pure consciousness (divya citta)
(See III.9, 10, 11; IV.27 and 29.)
It is also possible to consider the ethical, physical, physiological, neurological, emotional, intellectual and spiritual domains as the seven states of awareness. When one rests on the vision of the soul, divinity is felt in this empirical state.
The Yogic disciplines
The yogic disciplines are yama (restraint) and niyama (practice or observance). These disciplines channel the energies of the organs of action and the senses of perception in the right direction. Asana (posture) results in balance, stillness of mind, and power to penetrate the intelligence. Through Asana we learn to know the body well and to distinguish between motion and action: motion excites the mind while action absorbs it. Pranayama (control of energy through restraint of breath) and pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) help the sadhaka to explore his hidden facets, and enable him to penetrate the core of his being. dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (total absorption) are the fulfilment of yogic discipline, the essence or natural constituents of yoga. They develop when the other five disciplines have been mastered. Actually, all eight intermingle and interweave to form the whole seamless body of yoga.
Yama
There are five yamas: ahimsa (non-violence or non-injury), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (continence) and aparigraha (freedom from avarice or non-covetousness).
Intending no harm in word, thought or deed; being sincere, honest and faithful; being careful not to misappropriate another’s wealth; being chaste and not coveting the possessions of others or accepting gifts, are the practices of yama. It is essential they be observed and followed. They are to be practised individually and collectively irrespective of lineage, place, time, condition or career. The yamas are mighty universal vows, says Patañjali.
Effects of Yama
If the sadhaka adheres to the principles of ahimsa, all beings around him abandon their hostile behaviour. By observance of satya, spoken words fructify into action. All kinds of treasures are bestowed on him who observes asteya. For a brahmacari (a chaste or celibate person), vigour, vitality, energy and spiritual knowledge flow like a river. One who observes aparigraha will come to know of his past and future lives.
Niyama
The five niyamas are to be followed not merely as individual, but also as spiritual, disciplines. They are: sauca (cleanliness or purity), santosa (contentment), tapas (religious fervour), svadhyaya (study of the sacred scriptures and of one’s own self) and Isvara pranidhana (surrender of the self to God).
sauca is of two types, external and internal. One’s daily bath is external; Asana and pranayama cleanse one internally. They help to cleanse one’s thoughts, words and actions, and make the body fit for its Lord to dwell in. Santosa brings about a state of cheerfulness and benevolence. Tapas is a burning effort involving purification, self-discipline and austere practice. It is religiousness or devoutness in the practice of yoga. Tapas purges and purifies the body, senses and mind. Svadhyaya enlightens the practitioner with the knowledge of his inner immortal being. Isvara pranidhana brings the inner being to his creator, the Supreme God.
Actually, the observance of yama brings about niyama, and the practice of niyama disciplines one to follow the principles of yama. For example, non-violence brings purity of thought and deed, truthfulness leads to contentment, non-covetousness leads to tapas. Chastity leads to the study of the self, and non-possessiveness to surrender to God. Similarly, cleanliness leads towards non-violence, and contentment towards truthfulness. Tapas guides one not to misappropriate another’s wealth. Study of the self leads towards chastity, and surrender to God frees one from possessiveness.
By now, the reader is acquainted with the causes of afflictions. Not only do yama and niyama help to minimize and uproot them; they are also the firm foundation of spiritual experience. They are the ethical disciplines which show us what must be done and what must be discarded. They are the golden keys to unlock the spiritual gates.
Sooner or later, improper use of words, impure thoughts and wrong actions result in pain. Pain may be self-inflicted (adhyatmika), due to fate or heredity (adhidaivika), or to imbalance of elements in the body (adhibhautika). It may be caused by lust, anger or greed, indulged in directly, by provocation or by compliancy. The resulting sorrows may be mild, moderate or intense.
The causes of lust, anger and greed can be countered directly by self-analysis, or subdued by invoking their opposites: balance, poise, peace and harmony. Because the latter dualistic approach may cause one to hide from the facts, the former is the better approach. The use of analysis, study and investigation requires courage, strength and discretion. The evocation of opposite tendencies is not a cure, but a help. The first is a direct method of purification; the second an indirect method of appeasement. Patañjali suggests that both should be followed to speed progress.
Asana and its effects
Asana means posture, the positioning of the body as a whole with the involvement of the mind and soul. Asana has two facets, pose and repose. Pose is the artistic assumption of a position. ‘Reposing in the pose’ means finding the perfection of a pose
