Tag Adi Shankara

Necessity of God In Yoga,Sutra 21 22 23

Having spoken about Perfection and Imperfection in Yoga, Patanjali now speaks of the reasons for these and recommends corrective action.

Yoga Sutra 1.21
Intensity , constant and regular practice will speed up the process of Yoga .

tivra = rate is fast, speedy
samvega = momentum, force, vigor, conviction, enthusiasm
asannah = very close, near, speedy
1.21 Those who pursue their practices with intensity of feeling, vigor, and firm conviction achieve concentration and the fruits thereof more quickly, compared to those of medium or lesser intensity.
(tivra samvega asannah)

He adds,

Patanjali's Yoga Sutra 1.22
mridu = mild, slow
madhya = medium, middling
adhimatra = intense, strong
tatah = from that
api = also
visheshah = differentiation, distinction
For those with intense practices and intense conviction (1.21), there are three more subdivisions of practice, those of mild intensity, medium intensity, and intense intensity.
(mridu madhya adhimatra tatah api visheshah
Now we come to an important aspect of Yoga,Indian Philosophy.

That of God.

Hinduism speaks of Polytheism,Henotheism,Monotheism,Dualism and Non Dualism.

It speaks of principle as the Realiy, yet advocates worship of God as well.

ord Krishna in The Bhagavad Gita says that 'Whatever God you pray, I shall, in the form of That God shall give you the fruits in that Form"

Does this mean God is only an imaginary Concept?

Again we find many Gods in the Indian Pantheon, which is contrary to the Vedic Mahavakyas,

Aham Brahmaasm,

Tatatvam Asi and

Soham Asi.

When I am That, You are That and He Is That, where is the question of God?

Detail on this

"In a Nut-shell, God does not have Name and Form. But we need to have name and Form to Realize the Reality. So, different forms and names are best left to individuals as they know best what they like."

http://ramanan50.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/does-god-have-name-and-form/

At the Ultimate Level thre is no God with Name and Form.

Yet it is needed as a Concept to graduate in Spiritual Practice, it is a tool.

But how come there are legends and Histories of God s in Hinduism"

Reality projects itself as God.

It is Real in this temporal world, ceases its relevance at the Paramaarthika Level, ParaVidya Level.

Sounds not convincing?

The same question was asked of Adi Sankaracharya when he explained the Theory of Maya and Brahman.

We know Sankaracharya advovates Non Dualism ,Advaita.

He syas the Reality has to be reailzed by the Individual by reclaiming the Knowledge that He is None other than the Reality.

How come the One Reality became or appears, as he put it, as Many"

Nothing Is Sacred,Sinful Adi Sankaracharya

Right or Wrong is relative.

It is purely Subjective.

When a vast majority follow a certain practice and decides it to be Right it becomes right.

These value judgement are, at the Social level,are tools of Social Control.

They do not mean anything more.

However, as one has to exist in a Society , one has to follow these norms in this world.

Knowledge or Awareness is of two kinds.

One, knowledge of this world objects and the other,

The knowledge about oneself,, Reality,which is personal and can be felt only by the individual.

Therefore the Vedas classify Knowledge into two Kinds..

One, The Absolute Knowledge, Para Vidya and

Transient Knowledge, Para Vidya.

Transient Knowledge is transitory, subject to change, depends on our perceptions and real only in the relative sense.

To illustrate, let us take the case of one sitting in a Room and there is a Table in the other Room which he can not see.

Here, for the one he sits in a room, the table does not exist as it is not visible or seen by him.

If one were to prove its existence from one's memory that it was there and it used to be there , this argument s fallacious as it does not depend on one's direct experience.

But, the fact that the table exists can not denied because one has not seen it, is wrong as well

Therefore an Object exists or 'Is', from the standpoint of its being there, seen by some body or as an idea in one's mind.('Is'-'Asti')

It does not exist-'Nasti', from the stand point of the one who is sitting in the other room.

There is yet another class of people who see the Table for the first time.

As they have not seen it before they can not describe it, that is the table can not be described as to what it is.

This is called 'Avaktavyam'(Indescribable).

Now look at the three stages of the Object.