Demystifying Yoga -Part 4
Meditation is the last stage of yoga, practiced for Spiritual Enlightenment or God-Realization
What/Who is God??
We all refer to ourselves as ‘I.’ As we practice the four yoga disciplines (Gyana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Karma Yoga, and Hatha Yoga), we get more mindful. We learn to act as a witness (Sakshi) to our thought and desires without getting affected by them. But who is this witness, the Sakshi, in this interaction/ experience?? Who is ‘I’?
As a yoga practitioner, ‘I’ witness my body, mind, and intellect. The dichotomy is that if ‘I’ am the Subject and ‘I’ am observing the Object, which is my thoughts and desires (triggered through my senses, felt through my mind and reflected upon by my intellect), it means ‘I’ am not my senses (body), mind or intellect, I am larger than them. So, who or what exactly is the Subject who is witnessing these thoughts and desires?
Let me explain the concept with an example. I recently witnessed an incident that made me extremely angry. A bunch of kids, throwing stones at a small, petrified little dog! My senses — eyes and ears, took in the scene, and the emotion it evoked in me, was anger towards the kids and pity for the dog. My first instinct was to lash out at the bunch of irresponsible, insensitive kids. I, however, witnessed an internal conversation between my emotions (mind) and my intellect and finally the rational decision of the intellect to let go of my anger and talk (not shout) to the kids and explain the consequences of what they were doing made better sense. That is precisely what I did.
In all this, who is the ‘I’ that I am referring to? Who is the ‘I’ witnessing this experience through the body, mind, and intellect?
Vedanta puts forth the hypothesis that besides the body, mind, and intellect, the human being is constituted of the divine Self, called Ataman. This Self (or Ataman) is the ‘I’ that is the Subject experiencing the Object (the body, mind, intellect). The Self is spirit, and body-mind-intellect is inert matter, but in contact with Self, it becomes living. Self or Ataman is a homogenous mass of pure consciousness. The same in all beings, immaculate and unconditioned. It is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent, however acting through the body, mind, and intellect of different beings, it gets conditioned as per that individual being’s inherent nature defined by his set of desires (Vasnas), and hence each individual appears to be distinct and different from the other.
Practicing yoga, when a seeker rises above his body, mind, and intellect, transcends the limitation of perception and action, thought and emotion, the conditioning ceases, individuality/unique personality melts and merges with the absolute consciousness (called Brahman).
He who realizes the Self within (Ataman), recognizes the self in one and all because the Microcosm (Ataman) and the Macrocosm (Brahman) are the same. If Microcosm is the drop of water, the macrocosm is the ocean, Both the drop and the ocean are water. He who realizes the water also understands the ocean and attains spiritual enlightenment — A. Parthasarathy in ‘Vedanta treatise.’
An easy way to understand this concept is through an example. Assume the Macrocosm (Brahman) to be Electrical Energy. Electrical Energy manifests itself distinctly and differently, depending on the appliance/device it is passing through. Each device has different properties because of which, electrical energy (flow of electrons), manifests itself in a different form (as different output or use case) in various devices. Taking this analogy further — Just like Electrical Energy, which animates the various electrical devices but does not define how the device will react (that depends on the device properties), Self or Ataman has no role to play in life except for animating it. The mind and intellect together constitute your inner personality, you relate to the world through your mind, intellect, and body and create life experiences — good or bad, depending on the strength of your personality (or properties of your personalities just like the properties of the electrical devices through which electricity is passing).
This macrocosm (Brahman), which is the same as Self (Ataman), is the omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent spirit that energizes the world, which vitalizes the body to act, mind to feel, and intellect to think. It enables this experience of life.
This ‘I’ (Brahman) is what religion calls God, spirituality calls Higher Consciousness/Universal Consciousness or Supreme Reality, and science calls Quantum field.
Tat tvam asi: That thou art
It is impossible to prove this; hence this is a Hypothesis.
Meditation — the final stage of yoga
As per Vedanta, this existence (Bhraman)can be experienced but not proven because this spirit is Whole and beyond the grasp of the human body, mind, and intellect. It is not an object of experience; it is the Subject of all experiences!! It can only be experienced by merging with this all prevailing Subject. Experiencing this Supreme Self is within reach of each human being, and this should be the ultimate goal, the highest ideal that an individual strives towards. By believing that we are just body-mind-intellect, we are limiting ourselves. Vedanta claims, you are God, your Self is God.
Aham Brahma asmi: I am Brahman
This final stage of Self Realization in yoga is called Turiya or the fourth state. The other three states being the waking, dream, and deep sleep states of consciousness. Just as the ‘I’ experiences itself in the waking, dream, and deep sleep states, it is possible for the ‘I’ to experience the fourth state of Turiya, as well. The best explanation for this incomprehensible state is to observe the transition of ‘I’ across the other three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. In the dream state, ‘I’ experiences various objects, emotions, and thoughts and is not aware that whatever is being experienced by it is but a figment of imagination; it is not real. ‘I’ experiences the dream world as distinct and real. It is only when the dreamer (which is ‘I’) wakes up, becomes the waker, the entire dream-world folds back into the waker’s mind as a dream. Similarly, it is theorized that when ‘I’ shifts to the Fourth State of Turiya, the waking-world folds back into Self and Self realizes oneness with the Supreme Self.
How do you get to this final stage of Turiya or Supreme Self?
Through the final stage of yoga, which is Meditation.
Meditation, in the true sense, is not the guided, feel-good practice that the modern yoga world has taught us, it is a specialized training for advanced spiritual practitioners.
When the practice of yoga purifies your mind of desires, and when you finally realize the difference between the transcendental and the mundane, the mind becomes qualified for concentration and Meditation. It is the highest technique that a person can learn, and it needs a well-prepared mind which is free from desires and petty emotions. The mental state of Renunciation is an essential prerequisite for practicing Meditation. Meditation is the art of keeping the mind focused on a single thought (mantra and then on silence), which leads to the ultimate experience of Self-realization or merging of the individual consciousness with the Universal Consciousness. It requires a strong intellect to keep the mind in check and move the mind away from even the last desire (attachment to a mantra or the desire to attain spiritual enlightenment). Intellect has to keep an iron grip on the mind and move the individual towards silence, no thought, to realize the Self or the Higher Consciousness.
This is unlike the latest commentaries you would have heard on Meditation, which sell it as a balm for stress and promises you a calm mind and peaceful life. Some of these modern meditation courses do lend an immediate peace and solace, but this experience is temporary and transient. It may make us feel mindful for that moment, but it is not what will align our energies with the divine. Know it for what it is! Temporary relief from stress!!
Yoga caters to both material and spiritual upliftment of humanity. Achieving the final stage of Turiya through single-pointed Meditation is not something everyone can achieve in this lifetime, but achieving mindfulness, peace, happiness, and striving to be a better human is something each one of us can accomplish through consistent practice of the four yoga disciplines.
In his book, ‘Tao of Physics,’ physicist, Fritjof Capra, draws a parallel between the ‘Bhraman’ in yoga and the ‘Quantum Field’ in physics. In my next article in the series, I will talk about the connection between yoga and modern physics (Bhraman and Quantum field)
