As I have written earlier there is this e necessity of God in practice of Yoga.
Indian philosophy,at times, seems to contain apparent contradictions, but they are not.
Unlike other Religions, “Indian Philosophy is not a view of Life But a Way of Life”( Dr.Radha Krishnan)
You would find that there are many ways to attain Godhood,Karma Yoga,Path Of Action:Gnana Yoga, Path of Knowledge, Raja Yoga, Path of Knowledge:
Raja Yoga, Path of Yoga and Bhakthi Yoga, The path of Devotion to God.
One would each being praised at the cost of another .
Not only this.
In the Vedas, we find that one God, Deity is praised to be Supreme than all the others. Agni , Vayu,Varuna, Indra the list is endless.
This is called Henotheism, unique to Indian Philosophy where one Deity is praised.
Why?
Hinduism recognizes the fact that individuals are not Quantities, can not be clubbed as mere Numbers.
Each is Unique, has unique dispositions, desires to be fulfilled,
Any system if it were to be useful must take this fact into consideration, other wise it is bound to fail.
Communism failed because, though its basic concepts are good, it assumed Human beings to driven only by Economy.
Some other Religions dictate terms, set rules they recruit(!) followers.
Religion is strictly Personal, voluntary.
One should have the option of choosing what is best for him.
Now coming to the concept of God.
While calling for devotion to God as a Prerequisite for realizing Godhood or attain Reality, Hinduism also states that the Reality if name less Formless.
For details please read my post God Has Name s and Forms, Yes and No”
The Reality is described as Sat, being, Chit, Consciousness and Ananda, Bliss.
The Upanishads call the worship of deities as inferior.
In the Bhagavad Gita Lord Krishna states that, I appear to one in what ever Form he worships Me , I grant him his wishes in the Form He worships”
Then why the concept of God at all if it is not necessary
One does not become a Ph.d straightaway, has o go through schooling step by step.
But, once you reach Higher Level of Learning, the earlier levels seem redundant.
But it must not be forgotten that without that one would not reached the present level.
In the same way the concept of God is necessary for Spiritual development.
It helps one to concentrate better and help in Spiritual growth.
Patanjali speaks of this as Isvarapranidhana.
“In its simplest form, the word is a combination of the words (sometimes hyphenated), Ishvara, meaning Lord, God, Supreme Being or Life Force, and Pranidhana, meaning attention to, love for, surrender to, faith in, or reunion with. “Attentiveness” and “Surrender” are both close English approximations.[1]A close literal English translation of Ishvara-Pranidhana would give “Attentiveness to God” or “Surrender to God.” As one of the final or “supreme” stages of many forms of Yoga, the “surrender” aspect of Ishvara-Pranidhana is often used to describe the step, whereas “attentiveness” describes the practice. Both are used interchangeably. Note the similarity to the literal meaning of Islam—submission or surrender to God. A close Christian term would be theLove of God.”
Ishwara means personal God.
It does not refer to any specific Deity.
However there is Paramewara, a Name for Lord Siva.
( There is Saneeswara, who had been given the name Ishwara, because he prepares the individual by testing the individuals even in ordinary Life)
The reason is that Siva is the First Yogi and Yogeswara.
He indicates the Reality by His Chinmudra, and His language, Silence.
‘Among the Languages, I am Silence’ Krishna in Vibuthi Yoga, Bhagavad Gita.
There fore Iswarapranidhana is very important in spiritual evolution.
Mimamsa System , devoted to the Karma Theory, did not believe in God and Shankaracharya won them over by his arguments and that God is necessary for the Karma to function effectively.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishvarapranidhana
Related Articles
- Necessity of God In Yoga,Sutra 21 22 23 (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
- Yoga Explains Advaita,Visitadvaita Dwaita (ramanan50.wordpress.com)
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