Yoga- The Science of Enlightenment

In the 21st Century, one can find a wide range of variations of Yoga practices to choose from; starting with the old school yoga asanas to brand new forms of beer yoga and goat yoga which are obviously more attractive than the old school hatha yogas which look plain old boring. In the midst of all these, the central essence of yoga might have been lost but it sure has spread farther and wider than anyone could have imagined when it was first developed a few thousands of years ago in the sub-continent of India. Yet, there remains one imminent question. What is Yoga? Is it a set of insane acrobatics which only the most elastic of human beings can do? Or is it sitting as still as a rock and chanting a mantra for 15 hrs straight?

Even though people are more open about yoga these days and have taken the practice to develop their physical bodies or de-stress themselves from the clutter of daily life, there are still some religions which are offended by the mere thought of yoga as they think that it is against their religion or caste. But, in reality, yoga is neither a religious practice, nor a workout regime. It is a very ancient science developed for an entirely different purpose, which most of the "yogis" don't even acknowledge. The fancier versions of this practice like so called beer yoga and pool yogas are merely a product of commercialization of a process which is of a much more deeper meaning and significance.

The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit word ‘Yug’, which in the true sense means UNION. That is actually the literal translation of the word. So, the process of yoga is actually a science which leads up to union.

But, union with what?

That is a very complex question to answer. The union could be with GOD. But to unite with God himself, we need to die first. That would make yoga a very slow process of suicide; which it kind of is but am sure nobody wants that.
Another could be that yoga leads to the union with the "true nature" of being. The part of a man which is associated with Godliness. The essence of God within every human being. The "Buddha" nature of man. Yes, every person is capable of becoming a Buddha, and yoga is the process of attainment of that. It is a process, the end result of which is Enlightenment . yet another complex question arises: if yoga is process of becoming enlightened, then what does "enlightenment" even mean? Is it knowing everything? Well, Google knows everything; does it qualify as enlightened?

What is Enlightenment?

To understand this let us first take a look at the origin of yoga.
Practices of yoga can be traced back to as far as the origin of humanity itself. It is mentioned in the earlier texts that about 10,000 years ago a being appeared in the snow cliff-ed mountains of Kailash; who was taller than any human anyone had seen and as magnificent as the cosmos itself. We know him by many names, but maybe Shiva is the most prominent one. It is said in lore that it was him who gave the seed of conscious evolution to mankind. It was him who showed the way of union with the true nature of man, union with the grandest; UNION with LIFE itself. He was called the Adiyogi- the first yogi. His name Shiva, is also a significance of that.

Shi-va means “that which is not”.

It is a very vague expression to understand, but if you re-read it a couple of time it will make complete sense to you. Shi-va means that which is beyond everything. It is everywhere, in everything, but we miss it everyday. Shiva means that which is beyond all the dimensions of existence. What is beyond all the dimensions of existence? Well, existence itself isn't it?

Shi-va means the essence of life. That which is not tangible, but it is there we know it. Shiva refers to the vast no-thingness in the space when we glace at the night sky. It is in no-thing, that everything exists. To experience that dimension, is YOGA. That is the goal of yoga.

SOMETHING becomes one with NOTHING. The ultimate union has happened.

The Adiyogi passed down his wisdom to his seven disciples, who are also known to us as the Saptarishis; each were given one fundamental knowledge of yoga with the responsibility to spread this far and wide into the consciousness of all humanity.

A bit more in the recent times, a great yogi called Maharishi Patanjali, noted down these teachings in his most famous scriptures- Patanjali Yoga Sutra; where he described each of these in complete details and noted down elaborate descriptions of each yogas. His teachings are still followed by most of the conventional yoga schools till this date. But the science remains same- one has to become no-thing if he seeks moksh (or liberation); the science behind enlightenment.

Now, a being can become Enlightened through several hundred ways, as there is no one way to it. Gautama, the Buddha got enlightened through a very long journey of discernment and understanding the sufferings borne by human beings at all stages of life. He was neither the first to become enlightened; nor was he the last. There had been an array of Buddhas before him and an equally innumerable number of Buddhas after him. Ashoka, for example was one who just killed so many people in battle that one day he just united with this no-thing during a war actually. And then he became a Buddha. So, if you do it correctly, even mass murder can be a way to enlightenment. **Please note: am not encouraging people to go on a killing spree in anyway. This is not GTA. The point of this example was to make it clear that both Gautama and Ashoka had very different course in their lives, and yet both became enlightened. So may be beer yoga and goat yoga can also lead to enlightenment. Who knows? Maybe I will take a class.

The Major Limbs of Yoga:

Although, there are unlimited number of yogas available for one to practice, there are a few conventional ones. These major types are actually based on the 5 layers of being, which we discussed in the last post. One can easily get union by balancing any one of those dimensions, as all the dimensions are inter-related; absolute balancing of one dimension will lead to balancing of the rest eventually.

1. Hatha Yoga (Union through the Physical Body/ Physical Dimension)
2. Jnana Yoga (Union through Knowledge/ Lower Mental Dimension)
3. Raja Yoga (Union through the Mind/ Higher Mental Dimension)
4. Bhakti Yoga (Union through Devotion)
5. Kundalini Yoga (Union by awakening the Kundalini Energy)
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6. Karma Yoga (Union by dissolving all Karma)
7. Sankhya Yoga (Union through Oneness with the Soul)
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0. Nothing-ness

Yes, the last one gets the number 0; because that is what union essentially means. But, we are getting ahead of ourselves. We must understand the rest before we can even try to grasp the vastness of nothing-ness. All the yogas come with a certain amount of difficulty and relative time taken to achieve union using it. For example, hatha yoga is the most simple to do, and everybody can do it with a little inculcation of habit in their routines; but because it is the easiest among all, it is also the most time taking. It makes sense in that way, because it works on the physical level and what is physical takes more time than mental or energy. The fastest way to union is through 0 or Nothing-ness, but it is the hardest among all. You must become an absolute 0. Nothing. ZERO IDENTIFICATION. And no matter which yoga you choose for your path to liberation, ultimately it will take you to 0, because that is the crucial step to enlightenment. How much time you take is up to you, but eventually you will become ZERO; you become no-thing. YOU BECOME SHI-VA.

As Osho described it, “You can become a Buddha in the blink of an eye, all you have to do is to be AWARE. ”

 BUT aware of what?
Nothing, but awareness itself. I know it doesn't make any sense to 99% of the people but it is that simple and hence it is the most complex.

We shall discuss more about it in the upcoming blogs, as this topic is as vast as the universe itself and I am sure you have a lot of work to get back to. Till then, may love, light and blessings be with you. Atma Namaste.

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