Yoga is a science

The philosophy of yoga is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy found in India. Unlike many other philosophies of the world, it is an entirely practical philosophy. Yoga is an exact science, grounded in certain immutable laws of nature. It is well known to people from every country in the world who take an interest in studying the civilization and culture of the East, and it is held in reverence and admiration because it holds within it the key to the world of Peace, Bliss, and Mastery. Even Western philosophers have found solace and peace in this Divine Science. Jesus Christ himself was a yogi of the highest order, a true raja yogi. The founder of Indian yoga philosophy was Patanjali Maharshi, who was not only a philosopher and yogi, but also a physician. He is said to have lived about three hundred years before Jesus Christ.

Patanjali defines yoga as the suspension of all functions of the mind. Accordingly, any book on yoga that fails to address these three aspects of the subject — namely, the mind, its functions, and the method of mastering it — can safely be dismissed as unreliable and incomplete.

The word "yoga" comes from the Sanskrit root "Yuj," meaning "to join." Yoga is the science that teaches us the method of uniting individual consciousness with Supreme Consciousness. It is the union of the individual will with the Cosmic, or Universal, Will. Yoga is the restraint of the mind's functions, leading consciousness to abide absolutely in its own true nature of Divine Glory and Divine Radiance. It is the process by which the yogi establishes the identity of the individual Soul with the Oversoul. In other words, the human soul is brought into conscious communion with God. Yoga is the science of sciences, which frees individual consciousness from the phenomenal world of sense objects and unites it with the Absolute, whose inherent attributes are infinite Bliss, Supreme Peace, Infinite Knowledge, and unclouded Joy.

Yoga is a state of absolute Peace, in which there is neither imagination nor thought. Yoga is the control of the mind and its modifications. Yoga teaches us how to control the modifications of the mind and attain liberation. It teaches us how to transform our unregenerate nature and reach a state of Divinity. It is the complete suppression of the mind's tendency to transform itself into objects, thoughts, and so on. Yoga destroys all pain, misery, and anguish. It frees you from the cycle of birth and death, along with its accompanying miseries of illness, old age, and so forth, and bestows upon the yogi all Divine Powers and final liberation through supra-intuitive knowledge.

The word "yoga" also applies, in its secondary sense, to the factors of yoga — namely, to self-cultivation and the study of the various actions and practices that make up yoga, since they foster the fulfillment of yoga and thereby lead indirectly to liberation. Union with God is the goal of human life and should become the touchstone of all human effort. This is the essence and the ultimate end of existence.

Equanimity is yoga. Peace is yoga. Skill in action is yoga. Mastery over the senses and the mind is yoga. Everything through which one can attain the best and highest in life is also yoga. Yoga is therefore all-embracing, all-encompassing, and universal in its application, leading to the all-round development of body, mind, and soul.

The aim of yoga is to weaken what are called the five afflictions. The five afflictions are: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and the instinct of self-preservation (that is, clinging to bodily life). Ignorance is the fertile soil that yields an abundant harvest of the others. It is out of ignorance alone that egoism arises. Wherever there is egoism, attachment, aversion, and the rest invariably exist alongside it. Clinging to bodily life, or the fear of death, is born solely out of attachment. It is nothing other than attachment itself.

Egoism is a specific form of ignorance. The mind attaches itself to anything that brings pleasure. If the mind likes pomegranate, it becomes attached to that fruit because it takes pleasure in eating it. The mind chases after things that, in the past, were associated with pleasant experiences. This is attachment (liking). The mind flees from objects that have caused pain. This is aversion. These are all faults of the individual alone. The world can never harm you. The five elements are your greatest teachers. They help you in many ways. Everything created by the Lord is beneficial. Only man's own creation brings pain and misery. These five afflictions bind you to external objects and reduce you to pitiful bondage. These afflictions remain as tendencies even when dormant. These afflictions and tendencies can be weakened through the practice of yoga.

These five afflictions exist in a state of dormancy, attenuation, being overpowered, or full expression. When a husband begins quarreling with his wife, his love for her weakens, and for the moment he shows her aversion instead. In the yoga adept, these afflictions weaken, or are attenuated by the spiritual strength of their yogic practices. They still exist, however, in a subtle state. They cannot wreak havoc. They are like a cobra whose venomous fangs have been pulled out by a snake charmer. The "overpowered state" is one in which one set of impressions is, for a time, held in check by another, stronger set of impressions; but they resurface once the cause of suppression is removed. In the worldly person, driven by passions and desires, they can be observed in their full display. In the fully developed yogi, however, these afflictions and impressions are burnt away entirely.

Out of ignorance, you have mistaken the physical body for the Self, and that is the whole of the error you have made. But it is truly a grave error. By changing your mental outlook, and by purifying your heart and intellect, you can attain Knowledge of the Self. The mind, the Prana, the body, and the senses are merely instruments. The true seer is the Self, which is pure, changeless, eternal, self-luminous, self-existent, self-sufficient, infinite, and immortal. Once you begin to identify with this immortal, all-pervading Self, all misery will come to an end.

Liking and aversion are the cause of good and bad deeds. Good and bad deeds bring pleasure and pain. Thus, the cycle of birth and death has been kept turning since time immemorial by the six-spoked wheel of Liking, Disliking, Virtue, Vice, Pleasure, and Pain.

The yoga adept should first try to weaken these afflictions. For this, three practices (Niyama) are recommended: austerity (tapas), the study of sacred scriptures (swadhyaya), and surrender to the will of the Lord (ishwara-pranidhana). The practitioner should hold a deep faith in the effectiveness of these practices. Then the energy to continue them will manifest on its own. Then true recollection will dawn. Where there is recollection, there is no difficulty in practicing concentration. Where there is concentration, discrimination will dawn. This is why Patanjali says: "Samadhi comes through faith, energy, recollection, concentration, and discrimination."

Therefore, to succeed in concentration, meditation, and the practice of yoga, you must show great patience, strong will, and perseverance. Immerse yourself in concentration. Unite your mind with the single idea of God, and God alone. Let your mind become completely absorbed in this. Forget everything else. Let your whole body — muscles, tissues, nerves, cells, and brain — become filled with the one idea of God. This is the path to true success. The great sages and saints of old practiced yoga in exactly this way. Work hard. You will reach the goal. You too will become a great saint.

A discourse by Sri Swami Sivananda