What Is Yoga?

12 September 1979, Haifa

Yoga has become a very popular word throughout the world. We should know what Yoga is or rather, what the spirit of Yoga is. Human existence or human expressions are trifarious. Human beings have got a physical body and they have got physical problems, and they have to be solved. Secondly, human beings have got an intellectual structure, a mind, a psychic body, and all their psychic problems must be solved. There are so many knotty and complicated psychic problems, and when those psychic problems are not solved properly, people may become insane. There is a constant rise in cases of insanity throughout the world. This shows that the human problems, the psychic problems of human beings are not being properly solved. And, there is the spiritual body of human beings, their spiritual life. The culminating point of all spiritual progress is Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Entity, the Supreme Cosmological Lord.

Now, what is Yoga? We must have Yoga in all the three strata of life. If there is Yoga only in the spiritual stratum and there is no Yoga in the psychic and physical strata, what will happen? The very existence of human beings will become unbalanced, human equipoise will be lost. So we must have Yoga, or rather Yoga-oriented movement, in each and every sphere of life.

The crudest portion of human existence is the physical body. Now, what is this physical body? For human beings there is the external physical body and there is the inner projection of the physical body in the mind. You see an elephant in the external physical world, and you see the projection, that is, the extro-internal projection of that elephant in your mind. But for the creating Entity, for the Causal Matrix, there is no external world, so there is no physical world. For Him there is a psychic world and a spiritual world. But, for human beings there are three worlds – physical, psychic and spiritual. So, for us, our physical world is nothing but an ectoplasmic world of the Creator. While doing any work, while being engaged in any action we should remember the fact that whatever we see, whatever we do, is within the ectoplasmic scope of the Creator. This will be our Yoga in the physical sphere.

Suppose, there is a drop of water in an ocean. When the drop feels its unity with the ocean, the drop no longer remains as a drop, it becomes the ocean. But when it feels its separation from the ocean, it is nothing but a drop of water. So, when a human being feels his/her unity with the Supreme Lord and feels that he/she is not an ordinary person, but the blessed child of the Supreme Father and when becomes one with him, then he/she is no longer an ordinary person. He/she acquires immense power, immense vitality, infinite vitality and this is your Yoga in the physical sphere. You should always remember that a man or a woman is an ordinary person when separated from the Supreme Father, but he/she becomes Supreme when one with the Supreme. This we do with the help of our Guru Mantra. This is Yoga in the physical sphere.

In the psychic sphere, human mind is a projection of Cosmic mind. The so called physical body of human beings is nothing but the ectoplasmic creation of the Supreme. When this physical body, due to internal clashes and cohesions, gets powdered down, it is human mind, it is unit mind, and for this unit mind there are two worlds – internal and external. We become associated with the external world when there is an intro-external projection or an intro-external emanation. In the intellectual field, what is Yoga? “Yogashcittavrtti nirodhah.” In the field of intellectuality, Yoga is Cittavrittinirodhah or “Sarvacintá parityágo nishcinto yoga ucyate.” What is Cittavrttinirodhah? We should know.

Just now I explained to you Yoga in the physical sphere and now I will explain Yoga in the intellectual sphere. In the human mind there are 50 propensities controlling 20 directional movements or propensities. So in all, there are 50 x 20. How many? 50 x 20 = 1000. So human expressions – human intellectual or human psychic expressions are 1000 in number. Those 1000 propensities are controlled by the pineal gland in the human body. This controlling point lies in the unconscious stratum of human mind and these 1000 expressions are there both in cerebral and non-cerebral or rather extra-cerebral memory. These propensities are there both in cerebral and extra-cerebral memory. If I get time I will explain to you what are cerebral and extra-cerebral memories. Now, when one withdraws particular propensity or all the 1000 propensities and goads those collectively withdrawn propensities unto Parama Puruśa, that is, when all those withdrawn propensities and the collective force of those propensities are guided and goaded unto the Supreme Entity, it is Yoga in the intellectual sphere, Yoga in the psychic sphere. It is called Jiṋána Yoga in Saḿskrta, and the former one is called Karma Yoga in Saḿskrta.

What is Karma? Karma means action. What is action? Action means change of place. Suppose the boy was there, now the boy has come here. There has been change of place. So, it is an action or deed in English, D-E-E-D. What is intellectual? Intellectual means movement of ectoplasmic staff.

The third Yoga is yoga “Saḿyogo yoga ityukto Jiivátmáparamátmanah,” Yoga in the spiritual sphere is unification of the unit entity with the Cosmic Entity. There is Mr. X, there is Mr. Y, there are Mr. A, B, C – so many units. And when these units become one with the Supreme, it is Yoga. But in Saḿskrta language – you know Saḿskrta is a language about 15,000 years old and it is no longer a spoken language – in Saḿskrta, each and every word is created from a root verb. That is, there was a verb and from that verb a noun was created, an adjective was created. Wherever there is any word, there is one root verb or rudimental verb or controlling verb. For “Doing”, the Saḿskrta is Kr, K-R, and from that Kr, the noun Karma, was created. Karma means action.

Just now I told you about Karma Yoga. Similarly, in Saḿskrta, Jiṋá is a root verb – J-I-Ṋ-Á – Jiṋá. From Jiṋá, the noun form is Jiṋána which means subjectivisation of objectivity. In modern English the verb is “know” although there is no pronunciation of K because “K” is mute, “K” is silent. The original Saḿskrta term was J-I-Ṋ-Á Jiṋá. That is why intellectual Yoga is called Jiṋána Yoga about which I told you just now. The last one is Bhakti Yoga, that is the unification of unit with the Supreme.

In Saḿskrta the word Yoga has got two root verbs. One root verb is “Yuj” and another root verb is yunj? Yuj – Two plus two is equal to four, Three plus three is equal to six. It is also yoga. But this yoga is derived from the term “Yuj”. “Yuj” means to add. There is another root verb of the word Yoga and that root verb is “Yunj.” The root verb is “Yunj,” not “Yuj”, and the word Yoga is also derived from that root “Yunj”. Here “Yunj” verb means to unify, not to add, but to unify. Yuj means to add and Yunj means to unify. Suppose there is sugar and there is water. Sugar plus water, what will happen? Sugar will unify with water. You won’t find sugar in a separate form after this unification. Adding two mangoes with two mangoes will be four mangoes – one mango, two mangoes; three mangoes, four mangoes – four items or four mangoes. But in case of Yunj it is like sugar and water. After unification, will you get sugar in separate form? It will be one with water. It is unification. In case of Yoga, in the spiritual sphere it comes from the root “Yunj” and not “Yuj.” Here Yoga means unification. When unit consciousness, unit spirit, unit cognitive principle, becomes one with the Supreme One, with Parama Puruśa, the unit no longer exists. It becomes one with the Supreme. The little boy “A” or the little girl B will become Parama Puruśa. This is unification.

For each and every human being there are two “I’s” – two “I’s”. The name of a man, say, is Solomon. Then that means the name of his little “I” is Solomon and the name of his big “I” is Parama Puruśa, the Supreme Entity. Suppose the name of a little “I” is Joseph, Mr. Joseph. But the name of his big “I” is Parama Puruśa. That is, the big “I” for all created being is the same, but the little I varies. So many bodies have so many names. These names are names of little “I’s”, but the big “I” is one and indivisible for the entire universe – there is one big “I”. One is for one Parama Puruśa, one Parama Pitá.

What is Yoga in the spiritual level? It is to become one with Parama Puruśa. When you become one with Parama Puruśa, you are getting everything, but you are losing nothing. You are losing the name of your little “I” and nothing else and in return you are getting the Supreme “I”, the big “I”. This is Yoga in the spiritual sphere.

Some people think that Yoga means a particular exercise, No, no, no: Yoga does not mean exercise. Yoga means unification. It is the Supreme definition of Yoga.

There is common wont in each and every human mind and that wont differentiates human being from animals, people from plants. What is that difference? That spiritual wont is called human Dharma. What is Dharma? Human beings want to expand, and secondly, they want to become one with the Cosmic Body. Thirdly they want to do something noble and the fourth thing is that they want peace, Supreme peace, undisturbed peace. These are the four special qualifications of human beings. Collectively you may say, it is the human mode.

Yoga is the path of progress, the path of development for each and every human being. Nobody can keep himself herself away or aloof from that track of Yoga. Yoga is Dharma. So in individual life we should practice Yoga, and in collective life we should encourage others to practice Yoga. It is the solution of all human ailments in the physicial stratum, in the psychic stratum and also in spiritual stratum.

12 September 1979, Haifa

Published in: Ánanda Vacanámrtam Part 14