Yoga - Yoga Sutra I.1.23.

Author

Yoga Sutra I.1.23.

willytex@yahoo.com

2005-06-10, 9:03 am

Sage Patanjali says: 'Isvara pranidhanad va'- Cessation of thought may
also come about by completely surrendering the ego-thinking-principle
to the Transcendenatal Absolute, the Ishvara. I.1.23.

This is instant realization with the help of the 'Lord of Yoga',
Ishvara. Just by thinking a single thought as being distinct form of
Prakriti - Purusha unaffected by actions, by the fruits of actions or
even by any subliminal intentions - a single thought with no
expectation of reaping the fruits of any action.

Sage Patanjali: Being unconditioned by time, the Lord of Yoga is the
teacher of the bijas to even the ancient teachers - He provides the
opportunity for transcending. The enlightening experience of all the
sages from beginningless time. - 'tatra niratisayam sarvajna bijam;
purvesam api guru kalena navacchedat; tasya vacakah pranava'. I.1.25-26

His sound is the Pranava; repitition of it will reveal its meaning -
'taj japas tad artha bhavanam'. I.1.27-28

That's a clear reference to TM and the use of the Bija-mantra
meditation. Ishvara is the Archetypal Yogi (yogesvara) identical to the
Purusha, the primary principle of Sankhya. That indwelling Person is
the Ultimate Reality, the Atma, verbally alluded to as the Pranava, the
eternal cosmic sound, Paramatma, that is heard in all natural phenomena
as the sound of silence.

How to utilize the Pranava? By subtly repeating it, first as a sound,
then as a thought, then as the subtlest of thoughts, and at the same
time, contemplating and watching and feeling the body as a whole, the
whole Being, like a Witness to the doing, while yet not doing anything.

When one repeats the Pranava in this manner, as the most subtle of
thoughts, then the Consciousness which is ordinarily scattered
throughout the manifest diversity, is gathered, made Coherent and
turned inward.

According to Swami Venkatesananda, "The Spirit of enquiry into the
substance of the Pranva dispels all the obstacles or distractions
without necessarily wrestling or struggling with them."

Steve Ralph

2005-06-10, 9:03 am

According to the Maharishi Patanjali, Yoga is concerned with isolation,
Kaivalya, from the Prakriti; the cessation of the fluctuations of the
mindstuff; the attainment of Freedom, Moksha, based on the sheer
willpower of the individual. According to Mircea Elliade, Yoga means
Freedom and Immortality.

The problem is, you can't have freewill and be under the power of
another; that would be a contradiction in terms, wouldn't it? We are
either free or we are not; if free, then there is no need for Yoga
practice. If we are not free, then by what means are we to free
ourselves? It's that simple - there is either other-power or
self-power. The other power is termed Maya and the Transcendent Power
is termed Self-power.

The Power of this world is Maya, that is, the illusion that we are
separate from the Purusha. It's like a veil, that when pulled, reveals
the Real. It's a state of mind, where the individual wakes up to
Reality - comes alive to his own inner Bodhi nature. Maya is not real,
yet not unreal, nor both nor neither. According to Lord Chaitanya, the
exact way that Maya produces the world, yet at the same time, remains
one in the Purusha, Adwaita, is really indescribable.

All the Vedanta Sampradayas accept Maya in one form or another.

<willytex@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1118381540.392325.100590@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Sage Patanjali says: 'Isvara pranidhanad va'- Cessation of thought may
> also come about by completely surrendering the ego-thinking-principle
> to the Transcendenatal Absolute, the Ishvara. I.1.23.
>
> This is instant realization with the help of the 'Lord of Yoga',
> Ishvara. Just by thinking a single thought as being distinct form of
> Prakriti - Purusha unaffected by actions, by the fruits of actions or
> even by any subliminal intentions - a single thought with no
> expectation of reaping the fruits of any action.
>
> Sage Patanjali: Being unconditioned by time, the Lord of Yoga is the
> teacher of the bijas to even the ancient teachers - He provides the
> opportunity for transcending. The enlightening experience of all the
> sages from beginningless time. - 'tatra niratisayam sarvajna bijam;
> purvesam api guru kalena navacchedat; tasya vacakah pranava'. I.1.25-26
>
> His sound is the Pranava; repitition of it will reveal its meaning -
> 'taj japas tad artha bhavanam'. I.1.27-28
>
> That's a clear reference to TM and the use of the Bija-mantra
> meditation. Ishvara is the Archetypal Yogi (yogesvara) identical to the
> Purusha, the primary principle of Sankhya. That indwelling Person is
> the Ultimate Reality, the Atma, verbally alluded to as the Pranava, the
> eternal cosmic sound, Paramatma, that is heard in all natural phenomena
> as the sound of silence.
>
> How to utilize the Pranava? By subtly repeating it, first as a sound,
> then as a thought, then as the subtlest of thoughts, and at the same
> time, contemplating and watching and feeling the body as a whole, the
> whole Being, like a Witness to the doing, while yet not doing anything.
>
> When one repeats the Pranava in this manner, as the most subtle of
> thoughts, then the Consciousness which is ordinarily scattered
> throughout the manifest diversity, is gathered, made Coherent and
> turned inward.
>
> According to Swami Venkatesananda, "The Spirit of enquiry into the
> substance of the Pranva dispels all the obstacles or distractions
> without necessarily wrestling or struggling with them."
>
>