Have you imagined delving into the depth of your existence? How would it be?
Why should one understand the depths of yoga?
Our senses have a limited capacity to enjoy, but our mind has an infinite desire for joy. The joy, which comes through the five senses, is limited. That is why sometimes the most well-planned leisure holidays leave us tired and exhausted.
Most of us think that the joy is in objects, but it is inside us, not out in the objects. A child is joyful.
It experiences joy even before coming in contact with the objects of the world. A new-born child neither rejoices nor rejects any of the five senses. As it grows, gradually it starts enjoying the world.
Each of the senses leads you to a point inside you which is a fountain of joy, deep within you.
Clinging on to sense objects makes you miserable after a while. From the object, move to the Centre, move to that which experiences the pleasure. This is the way to have a continued experience, continued joy in life.
From the object move to the Center, move to that which experiences the pleasure. This is the way to have a continued experience, continued joy in life.
Extract from Commentaries on 'Yogasara Upanishad' by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
Path of Yoga - the inner compass
The purpose of creation is to go from two to one. Two implies a sense of seperation; separation which is painful, hence love seeks to become one. The path of yoga leads us inward, to experience the union with the true Self.
There are four inner modes of consciousness:
- Mind
- Intellect
- Memory
- Ego
When the mind is not centred, there is restlessness. Our mind is all the time thinking, planning, worrying; the activity prevents us from seeing beyond the mind, seeing who we truly are. If there are ripples on the surface of a lake, we cannot see the depth. Similarly unless the mind is restful, we cannot experience the harmony and union within us.
That is why all yoga scriptures emphasise on quietening the mind. “YogahChitta- Vritti- Nirodhah”. Yoga is the restraint of thought waves, modulations (Vrittis) in the mind. When the thoughts have subsided, then there is communion with the higher consciousness.
Only when the whirlpool subsides can you gauge the depth of a water content. The wave uniting with its depth is yoga.
Yoga and a Guru
Guru is someone who is a master of something, a teacher, who has experienced the depth of knowledge, who can guide others to experience the same, in a proper manner.
One must learn yoga from a Guru. The Seeker gains depth with proper guidance from a Guru and the proper practice of yoga. You cannot perform an operation your own body even if you are a surgeon. To move around in a small new place, you need a guide to show you the way. Then to walk into a completely unknown realm like consciousness, you certainly need guidance. A lit candle can light a million candles, but a matchbox even though having a potential, cannot light up on its own.
The practice
The seeker (sadhak) gains depth with proper guidance from a Guru and the proper practice of yoga.
Asanas, pranayamas, and meditation enable us to deepen our personal practice (Abhyasa). A practice of going inwards. A practice of moving from the objects to the center, from the unreal to the real, from duality to One.
Any practice is a practice when it is done over a period of time without any gap, steadily, respectfully, honoring it every day. Only then does it become firmly established.
Sa tu dheergha kaala nairantharya sathkaara sevita driddha bhoomihi (Patanjali Yoga Sutra I,14).
Thus by refining our practice, thoughts diminish, enabling us to go deep in meditation. When we can clearly see through the levels of existence, we then attain a state of yoga - oneness with the universe.
