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.

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The first time I read the Yoga Sutras I misunderstood a lot, even for a
novice. However, now that I have transcended and become Unity Concious
within the Divine Love Conciousness, I've put the right commentaries
together with the correct translations and I've been able to understand
the main idea behind the Yoga System. It might be auspicious if we
begin with a short review of where we're coming from. All TMers know
that:

Our tradition begins with the Lord Narayana, the first meditator, who
thought the first thought and set in motion this science of creation.
In a long line of Illustrious Masters comes this tradition from
Vasistha, Parashara, through Vyasa, Shakya, Patanjali and Gaudapada to
Shankara.

Sage Patanjali says: 'Artha Yoga nusasanam' - This is instruction in
Yoga. I.1

(all transliterations by Swami VenkatesanandaJi)

The problem is with the word 'Yoga' which is often misunderstood.

Yoga is the counterpart to the Sankhya, the oldest philosophy in Asia.
How so? Yogi Vasistha composed a short hymn on Yoga, and then the
Buddha, namely Shakya the Muni, of Kapilavastu, perfected the art of
multi-dimensional living: Shakya taught meditation based on causation
and demonstrated a program called the Eight-fold Path leading to full
Enlightenment.

Sage Patanjali, who compiled the 'Yoga Sutras', salutes the Buddha as
the wisest of men. Veda Vyasa has written a special commentary on the
Maharishi Patanjali's Sutras. Mahraj Shree Shankaracharya has
fortuitously prepared a very nice sub-commentary to Veda Vyasa's
'Vivarana' on the 'Yoga Sutras of Patanjali' which has recently been
translated into English.

Sage Patanjali says: Yoga is the cessation of the mental turnings of
the mind - 'Yoga citta vritti nirodha'. I.1.2

So, the Enlightenment Tradition arises from Narayana, the Absolute
Brahman, as described by the Adi Shankara in his Bhasya; descends
through Buddha, the ninth incarnation of Vishnu, the Sun God, to Vyasa,
then down to Patanjali through Shukadeva, Gaudapada, Govinda, Trotaka,
Brahmananda, Shantananda, Vasudevananda and then to the sadhaks Mahesh
Yogi, the TM teachers, Governors, Ministers, Siddhas, Guides and
Rogues, and then down to this fellow. And, a galaxy of other Saints and
Sages, too!

Sage Vyasa wisely divided the Vedas into sections, separating out the
Upanishads to support his view of mono-amano, established by
Badarayana, the immediate progenitor of our Sampradaya. Veda Vyasa then
arranged the Vedanta Sutras, compiled the Mahabharata, complete with an
Appendix of Yoga Songs, 'The Gita', and then Veda Vyasa, in his leisure
time, wrote out a simple commentary on the whole thing called 'Srimad
Bhagwatam', for our understanding.

Then, as if that were not enough, our own MaharishiJi, along with with
Loenard Katz, and others, dictated a great commentary on 'Bhagavad
Gita' for our enjoyment, explaining all about the practice of TM as it
pertains to Science, the Shastras, the Ayerveda, the Gandharved, the
Vastuved, and the Jyotisha of Mother India.

Both Sankhya and Yoga are concerned with the two principles: Purusha
and Prakriti. Prakriti is composed of the 32 Tattwas which are
maintained by the three constituents of nature, namely the three gunas.
You should know that the Purusha is completely and totally separate
from the Prakriti, that's why they call it the Transcendental Absolute.
So, we have relative and absolute qualities of life, a material
existence and another - which is beyond the forces born of nature. Do
we agree so far?

The force of Prakriti is called Samsara, which has been described by
Shakya the Muni as a 'wheel', eternally in motion, with twelve spokes
symbolizing the Twelve-fold Chain of Causation, much like the whirling
flames as God Shiva as He does the Tandava Dance. The wheel then,
symbolizes the revolving cycle of transmigration, brought about by the
law of cause and effect, or Karma. According to the Shakya, the purpose
of Yoga is to thin out the taints of past Karma, the samkaras. The Adi
Shankara agrees with this.

Sage Patanjali says: When thought ceases, the Transcendental Absolute
stands by itself, refers to Itself, as a witness to the world - 'tada
drastuh svarupe vasthanam'. I.1.3

Chit is thought, citta is conciousness - citta vriti means the turning
of thought in the mind. Nirodha is cessation - the turnings have
stopped, ceased, come to a halt, stilled, blown out, made peaceful,
Nirvana.


<willytex@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1118381237.504080.304310@g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com..
> 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.
>
>

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