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Tag: Ishvara

  • Ishvarapranidhana Yoga Sutra 23 Patanjali

    Iswarapranidhana
    Iswarapranidhana

    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

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  • How To ‘Practice, Resolution’ Yoga Sutra 1.13

    Having spoken about the prerequisites for streamlining the Mind to enable it to do our bidding, Patanjali tells us how,

    Practice.This is closely associated with and inspired by, our resolutions.

    The more one practices more steadfast one becomes and the more one is resolved and motivated, the Practice becomes easy and regular.

    Practice requires blind adherence to your resolution, come what may.

    This is true of any action for that matter.

    You deliberate on something, decide on it and act.

    If you hesitate or pause , the action will become difficult to perform .

    You get nagging doubts about performing the action and later it becomes a doubt on your ability to perform.

    To quote an example,look at some cricketers like Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.

    Sehwag is passing through rough patch in his form.

    His shots have become tentative and his body language negative on the field, clearly conveying self-doubt.

    This is due to a wavering resolution and self-doubt, fueled by comments by others.

    He had been advised Vivian Richards, not to show fear even if he has,for every one has them, and go blasting on the field.

    He came good.

    Tendulkar said much the same thing when he had a slump in form, when recovering.

    Do not  listen to others when you are practicing.

    Nor should you discuss your Resolutions with the others.

    It would slow you down if not break you.

    So, having taken the resolution, go ahead and practice.

    And trust your resolution.

    This principle applies to breaking bad habits as well.

    I used to smoke 80 Cigarettes a day.

    This, I was doing for 19 years.

    Then, one night as I was smoking in my office around 10 pm, I thought that it was silly to smoke and threw out the packet and I have not smoked since.

    The reason is that there had been a resolve to kick the habit away at the back of my mind but it was just that I could not bring myself do it.

    If your resolve is strong, you will do it.

    Another point is that if your resolutions are sparked by or reinforced by those whom you love, then you do it.

    I used to drink and had been for nearly 30 years.

    One day my daughter came to me(she was 25 then) and said to me,

    ‘we want you, do not Drink any more”

    I stopped Drinking from that Day.

    So two things are important,

    Follow-up your resolutions blindly and

    Have it reinforced by those who love you.

    That’s it.

    Two great points by the sastras.

    Never  disclose your Pooja or Mantras to others.

    Always surround yourself with Satsang (people of Good Thoughts and Deeds)

    Remember it is equally important to have the Grace of God for these Sadhanas.

    So much so, Yoga, called as a Nastika System(Atheist), for Sankhya and Yoga do not believe in the Testimony of the Vedas( Astika is one who believes in the Testimony of The Vedas), because it does not believe in it, is forced to accept personal God as Iswara for Yoga Practice.

    His Grace is necessary, even Patanjali.

    Now onto the Sutra 1.12.

    Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.13
    Yoga Sutra 1.13

    tatra -in regards to these [abhyāsa and vairāgya]
    sthitau – standing firm [`as in battle’] standing, staying, situated, resting or abiding or remaining in
    yatnaḥ – effort, activity of will, volition
    abhyāsaḥ –  practice, repeated or permanent exercise, discipline, use, habit, custo

    The practice requires Firmness of Resolution and Practice.
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