Yog(a): the types of
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Integral yog
A
Ramesh Bijlani, June 19, 2021: The Times of India
With so many schools of yog competing for attention and claiming superiority, a novice attracted to yog is sometimes confused. The difficulty arises partly because yog is commonly viewed as a set of techniques that are an easy way to good health. But truly speaking, yog is far more than its techniques; no yog is easy; and yog was designed for spiritual growth, of which good health is only a by-product. One yog that does full justice to the spirit of yog is the integral yog of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.
Integral yog is a powerful synthesis of the major traditional schools of yog. The principle underlying the synthesis was to capture the spirit underlying these schools, and to take from each school its particular features to the extent that outer form does not subordinate the spirit. The product of the synthesis was a harmonious blend called integral yog.
The classical view of yog is that it is a path of self-improvement that uses disciplined effort as its principal tool. Progressive self-improvement culminates in self-perfection. Since man is, by definition, imperfect, and only the Divine is perfect, self-perfection may be viewed as a union with the Divine. To this general view of yog, which is common to all traditional schools, Sri Aurobindo added from Hatha Yog the element of physical health, and from Raja Yog that of mental health. From the yog of the ‘Gita’, he added the flexibility of the path to suit individual seekers, and the necessity of bringing yog into all our actions, thoughts and feelings; rather into all of life. The way integral yog goes beyond the schools incorporated in the synthesis is by expanding the scope of yog from individual salvation to collective upliftment of the human race.
Integral yog does not require an ascetic life or a life packed with ritualistic worship. Worldly life is sufficient as the field for its practice. Since everybody’s life is different, the path followed by each seeker will be different, although within the framework of broad guidelines that have been provided. Progress in integral yog is dependent primarily on inner churning and the resultant transformation, rather than on anything easily seen. Outwardly, the seeker can go on working like anybody else, and yet he is undergoing an inner change that would start reflecting in a subtle manner in his outer life. The quality of his work would improve, he would become more loving and caring, more willing to apologise and forgive whenever warranted, and his peace would become less vulnerable to disturbance.
In integral yog, techniques such as postures, pranayamas and meditation are permissible for keeping the bodymind complex, which is our equipment for action, in good shape. But no techniques are specifically prescribed. Using everything big and small in worldly life to seek the Divine gives each seeker an enviable degree of freedom. While this immense freedom makes integral yog look easy, that is exactly what makes its practise difficult because such freedom is not easy to use.
Types
Gita Jnana, Vishwaroop Darshan Yog…
Jayant B Dave, June 24, 2022: The Times of India
Gita Jnana is described as both Brahmn Vidya and yog shastra, meaning knowledge of the highest reality and means to its attainment. While the Truth is expounded in the entire Bhagwad Gita, Arjun’s experience of the cosmic vision is described in the 11th chapter, called Vishwaroop Darshan Yog – the Yog of Universal Form.
After listening to several glorious manifestations of the Lord in the 10th chapter called Vibhuti Yog, Arjun now wants to behold Krishn’s immortal form with his own eyes. For this he is granted divine vision. Among all animate and inanimate things, Arjun sees the entire Kaurav force including chariots entering like a fast-flowing river into the wide-open jaws of the terrifying form of the Lord. When Arjun questions it in bewilderment, Krishn states that he is the all-destroying Kaal, Time, and all those who have come into being, dissolve and merge in Him.
Arjun is, thus, made to realise that the Divine being omnipresent, is contained in everything, and being omniscient and omnipotent, He does everything as part of divine play. Whether Arjun engages in the battle or not, his kith and kin have been vanquished and he is to merely become an instrument to enact what has already been done. For man, there is past, present and future. For the Divine, who is beginningless and infinite, three periods of time have merged into eternal now. Arjun is unaware of this and therefore suffers from mental breakdown. The all-inclusive vision that is the basis of the Hindu way of life is universal in nature and is the birthright of the entire mankind, says Swami Chidananda. It brings the awareness that one being alone exists and what we see or perceive is nothing but this one and non-dual being. This being the fact, how can we dare to treat anything with disdain or disrespect? All things are moving temples of this great reality and are worthy of respect and reverence. Our whole life should be a dynamic and creative process of bringing maximum benefit and welfare to all. The objective of revealing the Lord’s universal form was to impart the secret – of how to live in this world and yet remain in a state of inner communion with the Lord.
In his parting message to Uddhav, an equally beloved friend, in the 11th section of the Srimad Bhagavatam, Krishn asks him to see the Lord in everything around him. The Divine can be attained by a worshipful attitude to all around us. Consciousness is patent in something and latent in others but is ever-present. The basis of all ethics, morality, and dharma lies in this grand vision of Vishwaroop, the cosmic form. It forms the basis of good behaviour, compassion and kindness, reverence for life and respect among individuals.
The vision of the Vishwaroop can free us from all the ills of our society by constantly rooting us in the Divine. Here Narayan is calling out to Nar, man, with outstretched arms to come and merge into Him and allay all fears. This is analogous to what Jesus says, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ”
