Yoga

Practice[edit]
Rja yoga is concerned with the mind (citta) and its fluctuations (vttis). Rja yoga aims at
controlling all thought-waves or mental modifications. Patajali's Yoga Sutras begin with the
statement yoga citta-vtti-nirodha (1.2), "Yoga limits the oscillations of the mind". They go on
to detail the ways in which mind can create false ideations, and advocate arduous, dedicated
meditation on real objects or subjects. This process, it is said, leads to a state of quiet
detachment, vairgya, in which there is mastery over the thirst (t,tah) of the senses.
According to Swami Satchidananda,
Every thought, feeling, perception, or memory you may have causes a modification, or ripple,
in the mind. It distorts and colors the mental mirror. If you can restrain the mind from forming
into modifications, there will be no distortion, and you will experience your true Self.[citation needed]
A rja yogi starts his sdhan with a certain minimum of sana and pryma, as a
preparation for the meditation and concentration.

Eight limbs of astanga yoga[edit]

Rja yoga is traditionally referred to as anga (eight-limbed) yoga because there are eight
aspects to the path to which one must attend.[12] The eight limbs of astanga yoga are:

Yama code of conduct, self-restraint

Niyama religious observances, commitments to practice, such as study and devotion

sana integration of mind and body through physical activity

Pryma regulation of breath leading to integration of mind and body

Pratyhra abstraction of the senses, withdrawal of the senses of perception from their
objects

Dhra concentration, one-pointedness of mind

Dhyna meditation (quiet activity that leads to samadhi)

Samdhi the quiet state of blissful awareness, superconscious(?) state. Attained when
yogi constantly sees Paramatma in his (jivaatma) heart.

They are sometimes divided into the lower and the upper four limbs, the lower onesfrom
yama to pranayamabeing parallel to the lower limbs of hatha yoga, while the upper ones
from pratyahara to samadhibeing specific for the rja yoga. The upper three limbs practiced
simultaneously constitute the samyama.

Yama[edit]
Main article: Yamas

Yama (restraints) consists of five parts: ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (sexual abstinence),
and aparigraha (non-covetousness). Ahimsa is perfect harmlessness, as well as positive love.
The five directives of yamalay down behavioral norms as prerequisites for elimination of fear,
and contribute to a tranquil mind.[13]

Niyama[edit]
Main article: Niyama
Niyama is observance of five canons: shaucha (internal and external
purity), santosha (contentment), tapas (austerity), svadhyaya (study of religious books and
repetitions of mantras), and ishvarapranidhana (self-surrender to God and his
worship). Niyama, unlikeyama, prescribes mental exercises to train the mind to control
emotions.

Asana[edit]
Main article: Asana
Asana in the sense of a posture that one can hold for a period of time, staying relaxed and with
normal (calm) breathing (or, as some sources say, "without effort").
In English, the Sanskrit word asana means "seat", the place where one sits; or posture,
position of the body (any position). Asanas (in the sense of Yoga "posture") are said to derive
from the various positions of animals' bodies (whence are derived most of the names of the
positions). 84 asanas are considered to be the main postures, of which the highest are
Shirshasan (headstand) and Padmasan (lotus).
The practice of asanas affects the following aspects or planes of the human being:

Physical (blood circulation, inner organs, glands, muscles, joints and nerve system)

Psychological (developing emotional balance and stability, harmony)

Mental (improved ability to concentrate, memory)

Consciousness (purifying and clarifying consciousness/awareness)

From the rja yoga perspective, it is considered that the physical postures and pranayama
serve to prepare the body and mind for the following steps: pratyahara, dharana,
dhyana and samdhi (withdrawal of the senses, contemplation, meditation, and state of
expanded or transcendental consciousness, where the activity of the mind ceases and "The
Knower and The Object of Knowledge Become One").[citation needed]

Pryma[edit]
Main article: Pranayama

Pryma is made out of two Sanskrit words (pra = life energy; ayma = control or
modification). Breathing is the medium used to achieve this goal. The mind and life force are
correlated to the breath. Through regulating the breathing and practicing awareness on it, one
learns to control prana.
According to Rja yoga, there are three main types (phases, units, stadia) of pranayama:

Purak (inhalation)

Rechak (exhalation)

Kumbhak (holding the breath); which appears as:

Antara kumbhak (withholding the breath after inhalation)
Bahar kumbhak (withholding the breath after exhalation)
Keval kumbhak (spontaneous withholding of the breath)

There are numerous techniques of pranayama, each with their specific goals
All pranayama practice ultimately works toward purification of the nadis (energy channels) and
the awakening of kundalini shakti at the muladhara chakra. The awakening of kundalini energy
(also described as the awakening of divine consciousness or wisdom), and its ascent to the
crown chakra is the final goal of rja yoga.

Pratyahara[edit]
Main article: Pratyahara
Pratyahara is bringing the awareness to reside deep within oneself, free from the senses and
external world. The Goal of Pratyahara is not to disrupt the communication from the sense
organ to the brain. The awareness is far removed from the five senses. Pratyahara cannot be
achieved without achievement of the preceding limbs (pranayama, niyama, etc.). The
awareness comes to rest deep in the inner space, and during this time the yogi's breath will be
temporarily suspended. Pratyahara should not just be likened to concentration or meditation,
etc. It is a yogic practice that takes on adequacy with the prior 4 limbs as prerequisites.

Samyama[edit]
Main article: Samyama
In Vibhuti Pada of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, pratyahara is further developed into concentration
(dharana), meditation (dhyana), and into the state of absorption (samadhi). Last three states
are what can be called the internal limbs of Ashtanga Yoga, which when mastered in
succession are the foundation of samyama. According to Baba Hari Dass, samyama is perfect
control of mental concentration; and "The samyama is not complete unless there is a fusion of
these three processes of concentration.[14] Furthermore, different aspects of samadhi and
samyama and their resulting achievements have relation to viveka khyati, or discriminating
faculty, which is the ability of proper discernment.

Dharana[edit]
Main article: Dharana
Yoga starts from concentration. Concentration merges into meditation. Meditation ends in
samadhi. Retention of breath, brahmacharya, satvic (pure) food, seclusion,
silence, satsanga (being in the company of a guru), and not mixing much with people are all
aids to concentration. Concentration on bhrakuti (the space between the two eyebrows) with
closed eyes is preferred. The mind can thus be easily controlled, as this is the seat for the
mind.[clarification needed][citation needed]
Dhyana[edit]
Main article: Dhyana in Hinduism
In Dhyana, the meditator is not conscious of the act of meditation (i.e. is not aware that s/he is
meditating) but is only aware that s/he exists (consciousness of being), and aware of the object
of meditation. Dhyana is distinct from Dharana in that the meditator becomes one with the
object of meditation. This means that the meditator although aware of the object through
meditation detaches him/erself from its existence in the physical world. Much like meditation
focused on the breath Dhyana is rooted in the concentration of not being concentrated.[15][16]
The final stage of meditation in dhyna is considered to be jhna. At this stage of meditation,
one does not see it as a meditational practice, but instead merges with the idea and thought.
One cannot reach a higher stage of consciousness without jhna.[17]
Samadhi[edit]
Main article: Samadhi
Samadhi is oneness with the object of meditation. There is no distinction between act of
meditation and the object of meditation. Samadhi is of two kinds,[18][web 1] with and without
support of an object of meditation:[web 2]

Samprajnata Samadhi, also called savikalpa samadhi and Sabija Samadhi,[web 3][note
2]

meditation with support of an object.[web 2][note 3]

Samprajata samadhi is associated with deliberation, reflection, bliss, and I-am-ness.[22][note

4]

The first two, deliberation and reflection, form the basis of the various types

of samapatti:[22][24]
Savitarka, "deliberative":[22][note 5] The citta is concentrated upon a gross object of
meditation,[web 2] an object with a manifest appearance that is perceptible to our
senses,[25] such as a flame of a lamp, the tip of the nose, or the image of a deity.[citation
needed]
Conceptualization (vikalpa) still takes place, in the form of perception, the word
and the knowldge of the object of meditation.[22] When the deliberation is ended this is
called nirvitaka samadhi.[26][note 6]
Savichara, "reflective":[25] the citta is concentrated upon a subtle object of meditation,[web
2][25]
which is not percpetible to the senses, but arrived at through interference,[25] such

as the senses, the process of cognition, the mind, the I-am-ness,[note 7] the chakras, the
inner-breath (prana), the nadis, the intellect (buddhi).[25] The stilling of reflection is
called nirvichara samapatti.[25][note 8]
Sananda Samadhi, ananda,[note 9] "bliss": this state emphasizes the still subtler state
of bliss in meditation;[web 2]
Sasmita: the citta is concentrated upon the sense or feeling if "I-am-ness".[web 2]

Asamprajnata Samadhi, also called Nirvikalpa Samadhi[web 1] and Nirbija Samadhi:[web 1][note
10]

meditation without an object,[web 2] which leads to knowledge of purusha or

consciousness, the subtlest element.[25][note 11]

Ananda and asmita[edit]
According to Ian Whicher, the status of sananda and sasmita in Patanjali's system is a matter
of dispute.[28] According to Maehle, the first two constituents, deliberation and reflection, form
the basis of the various types of samapatti.[22] According to Feuerstein,
"Joy" and "I-am-ness" [...] must be regarded as accompanying phenomenaof every coginitive
[ecstacy]. The explanations of the classical commentators on this point appear to be foreign to
Patanjali's hierarchy of [ecstatic] states, and it seems unlikely that ananda and asmita should
constitue independent levels of samadhi.[28]
Ian Whicher disagrees with Feuerstein, seeing ananda and asmita as later stages of nirvicarasamapatti.[28] Whicher refers to Vcaspati Mira (900-980 CE), the founder of
the Bhmat Advaita Vedanta who proposes eight types of samapatti:[29]

Savitarka-sampatti and Nirvitarka-sampatti, both with gross objects as objects of

support;

Savicra-sampatti and Nirvicra-sampatti, both with subtle objects as objects of support;

Snanda-sampatti and Nirnanda-sampatti, both with the sense organs as objects of

support

Ssmit-sampatti and Nirasmit-sampatti, both with the sense of "I-am-ness" as

support.

Vijnana Bikshu (ca. 1550-1600) proposes a six-stage model, explicitly rejecting Vacaspati
Misra's model. Vijnana Bikshu regards joy (ananda) as a state that arises when the mind
passes beyond the vicara stage.[24] Whicher agrees that ananda is not a separate stage
of smadhi.[24] According to Whicher, Patanjali's own view seems to be that nirvicara-samadhi is
the highest form of cognitive ecstacy.[24]

Samkhya
Smkhya is an enumerationist philosophy that is strongly dualist.[6][7][8] Smkhya philosophy
regards the universe as consisting of two realities; Purua (consciousness)
and prakriti (phenomenal realm of matter). Jiva is that state in which purua is bonded
to prakriti through the glue of desire, and the end of this bondage is moksha.
Skhya denies the final cause of Ishvara (God).[9] Samkhya does not describe what happens
aftermoksha and does not mention anything about Ishvara or God.
Though the existence of a supreme spirit or supreme being is not directly asserted by the
Samkhya philosophers; their belief is based on the assumption of existence of souls, on
23 tatvas (atoms or entities) that spring from prakriti (nature) into which the purusha (soul) is
instilled although no explanation is given for the instillation procedure or the production of a
soul.[2] According to Skhya philosophers, "the soul and matter develop 3gunas or qualities, 5
principles, 8 producers and 16 products from 11 organs".[2] However, the Padma
Purana denounces the atheist Kapila who had a disciple named Asuri with "bad reasoning and
false arguments" vis--vis the theist Kapila who also had a disciple named Asuri.[3] The theist
Kapila is designated the "knower of 24 elements and inaugurator of Smkhya-yoga system

Philosophy[edit]

Dualism[edit]
While Western philosophical traditions, as exemplified by Descartes, equate mind with the
conscious self and theorize on consciousness on the basis of mind/body dualism; Samkhya
provides an alternate viewpoint, intimately related to substance dualism, by drawing a
metaphysical line between consciousness and matter where matter includes both body and
mind.[40][41]
The Samkhya system espouses dualism between consciousness and matter by postulating
two "irreducible, innate and independent realities: Purusha and Prakriti. While the Prakriti is a
single entity, the Samkhya admits a plurality of the Puruas in this world. Unintelligent,
unmanifest, uncaused, ever-active, imperceptible and eternal Prakriti is alone the final source
of the world of objects which is implicitly and potentially contained in its bosom. The Purua is
considered as the conscious principle, a passive enjoyer (bhokta) and the Prakriti is the
enjoyed (bhogya). Samkhya believes that the Purua cannot be regarded as the source of
inanimate world, because an intelligent principle cannot transform itself into the unconscious
world. It is a pluralistic spiritualism, atheistic realism and uncompromising dualism.[42]
Purua[edit]
Purua is the transcendental self or pure consciousness. It is absolute, independent, free,
imperceptible, unknowable through other agencies, above any experience by mind or senses
and beyond any words or explanations. It remains pure, nonattributive consciousness.

Purua is neither produced nor does it produce. It is held that unlike Advaita Vedanta and
like Purva-Mimamsa, Samkhya believes in plurality of the Puruas.[43]
Prakriti[edit]
Prakriti is the first cause of the manifest material universe of everything except the Purua.
Prakriti accounts for whatever is physical, both mind and matter-cum-energy or force. Since it
is the first principle (tattva) of the universe, it is called the Pradhna, but, as it is the
unconscious and unintelligent principle, it is also called the jaDa. It is composed of three
essential characteristics (trigunas). These are:

Sattva poise, fineness, lightness, illumination, and joy;

Rajas dynamism, activity, excitation, and pain;

Tamas inertia, coarseness, heaviness, obstruction, and sloth.[42][44][45]

All physical events are considered to be manifestations of the evolution of Prakriti, or primal
nature (from which all physical bodies are derived). Each sentient being or Jiva is a fusion
of Purua and Prakriti, whose soul/Purua is limitless and unrestricted by its physical
body. Samsra or bondage arises when the Purua does not have the discriminate knowledge
and so is misled as to its own identity, confusing itself with the Ego/ahamkra, which is actually
an attribute of Prakriti. The spirit is liberated when the discriminate knowledge of the difference
between conscious Purua and unconscious Prakriti is realized by the Purua.
The unconscious primordial materiality, Prakriti, contains 23 components including intellect
(buddhi,mahat), ego (ahamkara) and mind (manas); the intellect, mind and ego are all seen as
forms of unconscious matter.[46] Thought processes and mental events are conscious only to
the extent they receive illumination from Purusha. In Samkhya, consciousness is compared to
light which illuminates the material configurations or 'shapes' assumed by the mind. So
intellect, after receiving cognitive structures form the mind and illumination from pure
consciousness, creates thought structures that appear to be conscious.[47] Ahamkara, the ego
or the phenomenal self, appropriates all mental experiences to itself and thus, personalizes the
objective activities of mind and intellect by assuming possession of them.[48] But consciousness
is itself independent of the thought structures it illuminates.[47]
By including mind in the realm of matter, Samkhya avoids one of the most serious pitfalls of
Cartesian dualism, the violation of physical conservation laws. Because mind is an evolute of
matter, mental events are granted causal efficacy and are therefore able to initiate bodily
motions.[49]

Liberation or moka
seat of intense suffering. Ignorance (avidy) is regarded as the root cause of this suffering and
bondage (Samsara). Samkhya offers a way out of this suffering by means of discriminative

knowledge (viveka). Such knowledge, that leads to moka (liberation), involves the
discrimination between Prakriti (avyakta-vyakta) and Purua (ja).[58]
Purua, the eternal pure consciousness, due to ignorance, identifies itself with products of
Prakriti such as intellect (buddhi) and ego (ahamkara). This results in endless transmigration
and suffering. However, once the realization arises that Purua is distinct from Prakriti,
the Self is no longer subject to transmigration and absolute freedom (kaivalya) arises.[59] Other
forms of Samkhya teach that Moka is attained by one's own development of the higher
faculties of discrimination achieved by meditation and other yogic practices as prescribed
through the Hindu Vedas.

Epistemology[edit]
Samkhya considered Pratyaka or Dam (direct sense perception), Anumna (inference),
and abda or ptavacana (verbal testimony of the sages or shstras) to be the only valid
sources of knowledge or pramana

Causality[edit]
The Samkhya system is based on Sat-krya-vda or the theory of causation. According to
Satkryavda, the effect is pre-existent in the cause. There is only an apparent or illusory
change in the makeup of the cause and not a material one, when it becomes effect. Since,
effects cannot come from nothing, the original cause or ground of everything is seen as
Prakriti.[60]
More specifically, Samkhya system follows the Prakriti-Parinma Vda. Parinma denotes that
the effect is a real transformation of the cause. The cause under consideration here is Prakriti
or more precisely Moola-Prakriti (Primordial Matter). The Samkhya system is therefore an
exponent of an evolutionary theory of matter beginning with primordial matter. In evolution,
Prakriti is transformed and differentiated into multiplicity of objects. Evolution is followed by
dissolution. In dissolution the physical existence, all the worldly objects mingle back into
Prakriti, which now remains as the undifferentiated, primordial substance. This is how the
cycles of evolution and dissolution follow each other. But this theory is very different from the
modern theories of science in the sense that Prakriti evolves for each Jeeva separately, giving
individual bodies and minds to each and after liberation these elements of Prakriti merges into
the Moola Prakriti. Another uniqueness of Smkhya is that not only physical entities but even
mind, ego and intelligence are regarded as forms of Unconsciousness, quite distinct from pure
consciousness.
Samkhya theorizes that Prakriti is the source of the perceived world of becoming. It is pure
potentiality that evolves itself successively into twenty four tattvas or principles. The evolution
itself is possible because Prakriti is always in a state of tension among its constituent strands
or gunas Sattva, Rajas and Tamas. In a state of equilibrium of three gunas, when the three
together are one, "unmanifest" Prakriti which is unknowable. A guna is an entity that can

change, either increase or decrease, therefore, pure consciousness is called nirguna or without
any modification.
The evolution obeys causality relationships, with primal Nature itself being the material cause
of all physical creation. The cause and effect theory of Samkhya is called Satkryavda (theory of existent causes), and holds that nothing can really be created from or
destroyed into nothingness all evolution is simply the transformation of primal Nature from
one form to another.
Samkhya cosmology describes how life emerges in the universe; the relationship between
Purusha and Prakriti is crucial to Patanjali's yoga system. The strands of Samkhya thought can
be traced back to the Vedic speculation of creation. It is also frequently mentioned in
the Mahabharata and Yogavasishta.