Friday, October 30, 2009

What is Raj Yoga?

Author: Elizabeth Denley
(Australian Yoga Life, Issue 8 - 2004, pp.45-48, published by Judith Clements, www.ayl.com.au)
Courtesy: Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation

‘Raja yoga’ literally means the king of yogas. This is a very grand title for a branch of yoga that is not as popular or as well-known as others, and that sometimes appears quite obscure. This article aims to demystify raja yoga, exploring the underlying philosophy, and most importantly its relevance for us in today’s world.

The origins of raja yoga
Yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, which means to yoke or unite. This union describes the goal of yoga, to unite us with the Ultimate consciousness, which is sometimes called the Absolute, the Self, God, or the Creator. Raja means king, and this form of yoga is called raja yoga because the mind is supposed to be the king among the organs. Its origins go back long before any written texts. It is the old system or science followed by the great rishis (seers) to help them in realising the Self or God through meditation and associated practices. It was first introduced by a rishi who lived thousands of years ago. He discovered a practical method so people could evolve to their highest nature. He then started to train others¹. Later, around 2000 years ago, the ancient practices of yoga were compiled and summarised by Patanjali², his Yoga Sutras. While raja yoga encompasses all eight steps of Patanjali’s yoga – yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi – the focus is on the last two steps: the mind, meditation and diving into the inner universe. Over the centuries, and up to the present day, raja yoga has continued to evolve, thanks to the practical experience of great sages.

Perception, and the mind as our instrument of perception
In raja yoga the mind is the instrument for looking inwards and uncovering the inner self. Reading a description from ancient yogic philosophy of how our minds perceive the world, we could be forgiven for thinking we are in a modern biology or medical class, except for mention of the soul.

The way our minds perceive is described in the steps3 (see diagram). The mind is simply an instrument through which the soul interacts with the world, including the physical body. This internal mental instrument, which includes all the processes described (see right), is called in yoga the chitta. The chitta is often described as a lake, and in this mind-lake, waves of thought rise up and fall away as a result of the impressions we take in from the external world, so that sometimes the mind is restless and disturbed, and sometimes it is calm, just like the surface of a lake. When the surface of the mind-lake is very disturbed, because many thoughts are rising up as waves, we cannot see the bottom of the lake. We only glimpse the bottom when the waves have subsided and the lake is calm. Think of the bottom of the lake as the inner Self, the spiritual centre. In raja yoga, in order to uncover the Self, we have to calm the waves of thought in the mind-lake. When we put our attention outwards to the external world, the sense organs draw it out and impressions are continually formed, creating waves of thought through the mind-lake, resulting in disturbance. So the first step in raja yoga is to regulate the mind: to check the outward tendency and allow some of the mind’s attention to turn inwards.

Turning the attention of the mind inwards
All the great prophets, sages and yogis have found divinity and wisdom through inner experience, and raja yoga teaches us to uncover those experiences by observing the internal states through the daily practice of meditation. The instrument is the mind itself. The mind studies the mind and illuminates it. From our childhood onwards we have been taught to pay attention to the external world. Most of us have little awareness of our inner world, but the process is not complicated, as the same methods of observation are needed for understanding the inner world as for the outer, external world. In raja yoga, we rely on observation, use discrimination, and learn from experience, as in any other science. It is like sunlight shining into the caverns of the mind which have been kept in darkness – illumination comes. There is nothing secret or mysterious in this. In fact, Swami Vivekananda writes: “Anything that is secret and mysterious in this system of Yoga should be at once rejected. The best guide in life is strength. In spirituality, as in all other matters, discard everything that weakens you. Have nothing to do with it. Mystery-mongering weakens the human brain. It has wellnigh destroyed Yoga, one of the grandest of sciences.” "⁴

In raja yoga we do not need to believe anything, because everything is based on practical experience. We start to perceive for ourselves whether or not we have souls, whether life lasts only as long as the physical body, or goes beyond, and whether or not there is a God: all through direct experience. We learn many things, but this knowledge is not an end in itself. The goal is to find oneness with the absolute ultimate – yoga. As this is the goal, the object of meditation must also be the formless, absolute ultimate.

Balancing the spiritual and material life
Turning the attention of the mind inwards does not mean we have to give up on the world, which is a common misconception about raja yoga. It is true that the ancient rishis renounced normal life to dedicate their lives solely to their spiritual pursuit. The rishis meditated day and night, and their focus was totally on the spiritual.

But this is as unbalanced as a life in which the focus is totally on the material world, ignoring the spiritual. The lack of balance in both extremes is explained by Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, the current living guru of the Sahaj Marg system of raja yoga in the diagram.

Raja yoga has evolved to be accessible to everyday people, who contribute to family life and community, while wanting to attain a spiritual goal. The teachers of Sahaj Marg raja yoga say that spiritual growth comes with normalising all functions of a human being. For example, unlike some earlier raja yoga systems, procreation is seen as a natural function of Nature, so celibacy is not prescribed. Instead, spiritual practice leads to the natural purpose and function of procreation being normalised. All three in the succession of teachers in Sahaj Marg have been family men with children. They teach that it is in the world of the family that almost all human qualities are perfected, including the capacities to love, to renounce, to take responsibility, to function in a group, to tolerate, to sacrifice and surrender. Without this humanness, the spiritual practice of raja yoga can become austere and dry. Spirituality without humanity and character development is again very unbalanced. After all, we still have to lead everyday lives, and it is through the interaction with the world that we have a mirror to reflect the inner changes.

To only study the old texts and practices of raja yoga does not give any idea of the evolution that has occurred in this science, especially during the last 150 years. It would be like taking an astronomy text from the time of Ptolemy, and expecting to understand modern astronomy. It would not be adequate. The only way to know about raja yoga as it is practised today is to go to the teachings of the current masters of raja yoga, and understand it in today’s world. This shows no disrespect to the ancients, whose knowledge and wisdom was vast. It simply acknowledges that evolution has occurred.

What is thought? What is prana?
"What is thought?" The simple answer is that thought is a force.⁵ What does this mean? According to the ancient philosophies of India, the universe is composed of two natural principles: akasha and prana.

Akasha is often translated as ‘space’. Everything that has form is created out of space. Before the creation of a universe, there is only space. At the end of a universe, all matter dissolves back into space again, and the next creation again comes out of space, which is the infinite, omnipresent material of this universe.

Prana is the vital force of this universe, and is often translated as ‘energy’, ‘force’, or ‘power’. At the end of a universe, all the forces in the universe dissolve back into prana; they quieten down and become potential – what we call potential energy. At the beginning of the next cycle, everything that we call in physics energy or force evolves out of this prana. The energy stirs, energizes space, and matter is formed. As matter and space change, prana also changes into different types of energy. It is prana that expresses as motion, as gravitation, as magnetism, as heat, and as light. It is prana that expresses as the actions of the body, as the nerve currents, and as thought.

This vital life force is in every being. Without it, we would not be alive for even a billionth of a second. Prana can be expressed in either more forceful or more subtle forms of energy, just as a person can be more forceful or subtle in their way of acting. Thought is a more subtle expression of prana than the physical energies in our bodies. Within the realm of thought, there are also different degrees of subtlety. First there is what we call instinct, subconscious or unconscious thought, including all reflex actions of the body. Then there is conscious thought, where we reason, think, and analyze. The mind also functions on a still higher plane, the superconscious state, where it goes beyond the limits of reason and doubt, into the realm of intuition and wonder. In raja yoga, the mind is taken up to the subtle states of superconsciousness.

The conscious working of the mind, the realm of reason, is a narrow circle. Yet it is beyond the circle of reason that we find answers to the profound questions of human existence: whether there is an immortal soul; whether there is a God; whether there is any supreme intelligence guiding this universe. Our ethical theories, our moral attitudes, much that we value in human nature, have come from beyond the conscious mind. Babuji writes: “If a thing is seen through the intuitional insight without the unnecessary medium of reason it will be visible in its original form without error or defect.”⁶

The great prophets and saints of religion claim and artists also receive their inspiration and creative insight from beyond the realm of normal consciousness, when the mind is relaxed and open.⁷ When the mind is in a superconscious state, higher wisdom comes. We all know this from moments when we find inspiration. The practice of raja yoga brings us to finer and finer superconscious states, till we eventually come to the most subtle of all, the true Self. This journey through the inner universe to the Self is called the spiritual journey.

We receive unimaginable assistance with this journey from the teacher. People often ask, especially in the West, if it is possible to practice raja yoga without a teacher. It is like learning the flute or a foreign language. It is always possible to try alone, but a teacher can share their experience with us. A teacher can show us something with one gesture that may take years to learn alone. A teacher can also correct us when we have gone off track. Even great sportsmen and sportswomen have coaches. They may be top in their field, but they recognize the need for a teacher to support them while striving to master their chosen discipline. We accept the need for a teacher in many worldly disciplines, so why not in spirituality?

In raja yoga, the teacher also helps us in another way. When a yogi has control over prana, it can be brought to the highest state of vibration and transmitted to another person, arousing in them a similar vibration. The great they transmit their own spiritual condition to others as pranahuti (offering of the life force). The higher the teacher’s own spiritual state, the higher the state from which they transmit, and the more effective the transmission in bringing about transformation in the student. It is for this reason that the teacher is so vital in raja yoga. The teacher is there to serve, to work for humanity, and there is no thought of being revered or worshipped. In fact, spiritual teachers behave with humility rarely seen among human beings.

Meditation

Babuji said: “Meditation is the foundation of spirituality. If you meditate having your real goal before you, you are sure to arrive at the destination.”⁸ Some ancient yoga systems taught meditation on points like the nose, between the eyebrows, and the forehead, but the Vedic and Upanishadic texts recommend only the heart for spirituality. Babuji also prescribes meditation on the heart in Sahaj Marg for three important reasons.⁹ First, the heart is the seat of life, so when we meditate on the heart we meditate on the source of life itself. Second, circulation starts from the heart, so if the heart is purified as samskaras (mental impressions of the past) are removed, the purity will extend throughout the human system. Third, great sages and prophets have agreed that it is in the heart of the human being that God can be found. Some say that meditation in raja yoga should great sages and prophets have agreed that it is in the heart of the human being that God can be found.

Some say that meditation in raja yoga should only be taken up after a number of other practices have been mastered. These are the six prior steps of Patanjali’s eight-limbed yoga: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara and dharana.¹⁰ But Babuji has advised, as a result of his own research, that the earlier stages do not need to be done independently. They can be taken up through the sincere practice of meditation. As the body becomes tranquil, so posture is established naturally (asana) and breathing slows and assumes a natural cycle during meditation (pranayama). As the human system is cleaned of impressions (samskaras) by the teacher, with the active cooperation of the student in moulding character, yama and niyama naturally unfold. The mind becomes accustomed to turning inwards and thinking about one thing, so focus and concentration also naturally develop (pratyahara and dharana) ¹¹.

In meditation, we gather ourselves at one point, our minds cease wandering, and we return to our own centre, the Self. To support this, the teacher directs the flow of Divine current towards the heart as pranahuti, awakening and nurturing our spiritual growth. We have only to prepare ourselves to receive it. Swami Vivekananda writes: “The power that can transform life in a moment can be found only in living illuminated souls, those shining souls who appear among us from time to time. They alone are fit to be gurus. … The guru is the bright mask which God wears in order to come to us. As we look steadily on him, gradually the mask falls off and God is revealed.”¹² What required such labor and hardship for the ancient rishis can be achieved now so simply, thanks to the service of the teacher, who lies at the heart of raja yoga.

References

1. Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Volume 1, Ram Chandra, 1989, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, USA
2. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali ,translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda, 1978, Integral Yoga Publications, Virginia, USA
3, 4 5. Raja Yoga, Swami Vivekananda, 1982, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Centre, New York
6. Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Volume 1, Ram Chandra, 1989, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, USA
7. The Act of Creation, Arthur Koestler, 1970, MacMillan Publishing
8. Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Volume 1, Ram Chandra, 1989, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, USA
9. Combined Works of Chariji, Volume 1, Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, 2002, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, India
10. The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali, translated by Sri Swami Satchidananda, 1978, Integral Yoga Publications, Virginia, USA
11. Combined Works of Chariji, Volume 1, Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, 2002, Shri Ram Chandra Mission, India
12. Raja yoga, Swami Vivekananda, 1982, Ramakrishna- Vivekananda Centre, New York