Pratanjali-

Ashanga Yoga as a Path to Enlightenment

Pratanjali's - Ashtanga Yoga and “Eight Limbs of Yoga” as a path to enlightenment. Pratanjali is the sage who defined yoga, the first author of the Yoga Sutra’s more than 2,000 years ago where the first line in the Yoga Sutras is “Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodh” “Yoga is the neutralization of the whirlwinds of conscious thought.”

The Eight fold path of Yoga

The first two stages are known as Yama the (don’t’s) and Niyama (the do’s). Yama means control, Niyama means noncontrol”. Their essential purpose is to “permit the milk of inner peace to be gathered in the pail of the mind by plugging holes that have been caused by restlessness, wrong attachments, desires, and various forms of inharmonious living” (Ananda Yoga).

The rules of Yama are five (the don'ts):
  Non-Violence or Ahimsa
  Non-Lying
  Non-Stealing
  Non-Sensuality (Bramacharya)
  Non-Greed or Non-Attachment

The rules of Niyama are (the do's)
  Cleanliness
  Contentment
  Austerity
  Self-Study or Introspection
  Devotion to the Supreme Lord

The third stage is Asana (postures) - composing of Hatha Yoga meaning “the yoga of force” or “the athletic yoga”. Ha means Sun or upward movement of energy and Tha means Moon or downward flow of energy. It pries open the central column, channels energy toward the third eye, activates and strengthens will-force and concentration on the interior. When one can hold a pose and soften in a pose with stillness and poise then the pose can open up into the subtle realms of energies and transmissions.

The fourth stage is pranayama (breath exercise) – with control of the breath one pulls back their energy from the outer world of the senses and reverses the flow inward toward the Divine Self that lies in the hearts of all beings. When all energy in the body can be directed toward the Self one’s awareness can become intense enough to penetrate the veils of delusion and enter Superconsciousness.

The fifth stage is pratyahara which is to interiorize the mind and become single pointed. When energy is directed toward the brain the mind will not wander endlessly in restless delusion but becomes one pointed and focused on the deeper mysteries of the indwelling soul. It is necessary to concentrate one's thoughts as well as one's energies in order to penetrate the narrow tunnel that leads to divine awakening.

The sixth stage is dharana contemplation, or fixed inner awareness. The awareness of inner spiritual realities i.e. inner light, inner sounds or deep mystical feelings

The seventh stage is dhyana meditation or absorption. Realizing the indwelling Self as the real source of all pleasure. This is when one becomes virtuous through concentration on inner light. By concentrating on inner light one gradually takes on the qualities of that inner reality. The mind loses its ego identification, and begins to merge with the great ocean of consciousness of which it is a part of.

The eigth stage is samadhi, oneness. Samadhi comes after the ego dissolves into the calm inner light. The grip of the ego has been broken and one discovers Christ consciousness "I and my father are one". Loosing the delusion of separateness one becomes the vast ocean.

This is the eightfold path of yoga.

Back to Articles