When
we mention yoga nowadays it usually conjures up images of various postures and
breathing techniques, such as are taught in most yoga classes. However, these
exercises are actually just the first two stages of an eight step process
called Astanga yoga. This process, widely practiced in a former age, is
described in the Vedas as a means to achieve self-realisation. But one needs to
follow all eight steps in order to be successful, not just the first two.
For
example, another step of the astanga process is to lead a regulated and
disciplined life. We cannot be successful in yoga if we do not control our
senses. Only after attaining sense control is one advised to leave home and go
to a solitary place to meditate. Strict celibacy must be observed as one
attempts to keep the mind fixed on the object of meditation, usually a form of
God residing in the heart known as the Super soul. Once maturity in meditation
is achieved, the yogi is able to directly see the Lord and he or she will
experience boundless spiritual happiness.
Yet
astanga yoga is not recommended for the age in which we live. We lack the
necessary training from birth that would enable us to follow the discipline.
Strict celibacy and sense control are not very attractive propositions for most
of us. Nor do we possess the patience it takes to succeed in this process. We
are conditioned by fast food, fast transport, and instant everything. The years
of meditation required in astanga yoga would be more or less impossible.
Of
course, if one simply wants to get the physical and psychological benefits of
yoga, then the postures and exercises may be enough. But if we want to achieve
the full benefit-self-realisation and a lasting experience of inner
happiness-we need something more.
In
this day and age there is another process recommended, known as Bhakti yoga, or
the yoga of devotion. This is a simple process possible for anyone-even a
child. The first two steps of bhakti yoga are to hear about God from an
authorised source, and the second step is to chant his names. Though there are
nine different practices in bhakti yoga, these first two practices are
sufficient to help us achieve perfection. By this easy process one will awaken
transcendental love within the heart. Even without the rigid practices of
astanga yoga one will gradually come to the point of self realisation.
Krishna:
The Most Attractive Person
Hearing about God should be done from an authorised source. Although many people may present themselves as authorities on God, there is one simple way to ascertain if or not they are actually authorised. Ultimately, only God himself can reveal knowledge of his nature and how he can be attained. Therefore, anyone claiming to be an authority on God must be able to demonstrate a link or connection to Him. The Vedas call this a parampara, or disciplic succession. A teacher must have his teacher, who in turn had his teacher and so on. And the first teacher in the succession has to be God himself, otherwise the knowledge being presented will have no value.
In the
Vedic parampara Krishna is the accepted name for God. This Sanskrit name
actually means ‘the all attractive person’. Why attractive? Because, the Vedas
explain, he possesses every opulence in full. He is the most beautiful, the
strongest, the most intelligent, the wisest, wealthiest, and so on. By simply
hearing such authorised descriptions of God, our natural attraction for him
will be awakened.
Another
name for God revealed in the Vedas is Rama. Rama means “the reservoir of all
pleasure”. We are all seeking pleasure, so the Vedas direct us to seek pleasure
in Rama, the reservoir of all pleasure. When we approach him through an
authorised process we begin to experience spiritual ecstasy as our love for him
develops.
Chant
The Holy Name
In
every scripture of the world emphasis is given on the importance of glorifying
God’s name. In the Bible it is said: “from the rising of the sun to the setting
one should call upon the name of God.” (Psalms 113:3) and, “whoever shall call
upon the name of God he shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
Muhammed
taught, “Glorify the name of your Lord, the most high” (Koran 87.2) Lord Buddha
declared that “he who calls upon my name he shall attain paradise”. (Vows od
Amidha Buddha 18)
So
this calling upon God’s names has tremendous effect in evoking the Lord’s
presence and obtaining his benediction.
In the Vedic scriptures we find this same teaching. In the Brhad-naradiya Purana (3.8.126) it is said that in the current age of hypocrisy and quarrel the only practical means of self-realisation is the chanting of God’s holy names.
Chanting
God’s names is an essential practice in bhakti yoga because it is the most
effective way to awaken the soul’s inner ecstasy. Though God has many names and
any of them may be chanted, the Vedas specifically recommend the following
mantra: hare krishna hare krishna, krishna krishna, hare hare, hare rama hare
rama, rama rama, hare hare, which is comprised solely of God’s names.
A
mantra is a sound vibration which frees the mind from disturbance, enabling us
to perceive our true self and our relationship with God. The Vedas explain that
God is absolute. In this relative world, we are not the same as our names. But
God and his names are absolute and non-different. All of God’s power and
potency is present in his names. As we chant them we directly contact the
supreme purity of God himself.
By
chanting the holy names of God gradually all impurities within our hearts and
minds, which block our self-realization, and which are the source of our
suffering, are cleansed away. Greed, pride, hatred, fear, envy, mistaking lust
for love, and all such things are completely destroyed simply by chanting God’s
names. The result is freedom from misery and a sense of deep happiness as we
realise our true and eternal nature. Hearing and chanting about God can be
successfully practiced by anyone, even a child. Ok now let us hear a story
A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber started to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said:
“I don’t believe that God exists.”
“Why
do you say that?” asked the customer.
“Well,
you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell
me, if God exists would there be so many sick people?Would there be abandoned
children? If God existed there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t
imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things to happen.”
The
customer thought for a moment but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to
start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the
shop. Just after he left the barbershop
he saw a man in the street with long, straggly, dirty hair and an untrimmed
beard. He looked very dirty and unkempt.
The
customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the
barber:
“You
know what? Barbers do not exist.”
“How
can you say that?” asked the surprised barber.
“I am
here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”
“No!”
the customer exclaimed.
“Barbers
don’t exist because if they did there would be no people with dirty long hair
and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.”
“Ah,
but barbers do exist! What happens is people do not come to me.”
“Exactly!” affirmed the customer.
“That’s
the point! God does also exist but people do not look for Him and go to Him for
shelter and that’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.”
The
goal of human life is to re-awaken our original pure love for God, Krishna. We
souls exist to have an intimate loving relationship with Him. We can never be
happy by rejecting that relationship and denying our true nature.
The
things we do in this world indicate our true, eternal nature. We have to love;
it’s unavoidable. Having turned away from Krishna, we try to fulfill our need
to love and be loved by searching for ideal relationships in this world. But
exchanges of love here are never perfect and cannot last forever.
Awakening
pure love for Krishna is perfection. Nothing else will satisfy us. Everything
that exists in the material and spiritual worlds is meant to support our
relationship with Krishna. Human life is a chance for us to re - establish that
relationship. That endeavor should be the focus of our lives.
Because
love includes service, pure love for God is called pure devotional service, or
Bhakti. The ways to awaken Bhakti are the substance of the practice of Bhakti
yoga.
See you
Namasivayam.C
Ps: The above article is written in my understanding of the purports given by Srila Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (A great Spiritual Teacher and Founder Acharya ISKCON)
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