Many modern Yoga teachers define Yoga as union. Union with what? Many definitions have been given. But the fact remains that most of us mean body exercises, when we say Yoga. It is about manipulation of the body, it is about fitness of the body, it is about ‘control’ of the body and its instincts. That is the domain of Hatayoga.
So, what is this union about?
Patanjali Yoga goes a step further. It talks about moving beyond the body and mind. It talks about the soul. And if at all you can use such a word, it talks about uniting with your real self, or attaining Kaivalya – a state where the soul is completely free.
But is that the end? That is what we will be seeing in this episode.
I have seen people clinging on to their idea of body-oriented Yoga. They are so enamored by it, that they just don’t like to look beyond. Quite naturally so. For most ‘normal’ people, body is everything, since they identify themselves with it. They want to be healthy, fit, attractive, and enjoy life! That is perfectly all right.
But Patanjali Yoga is not meant for such ‘contented’ people 😉. The first 4 steps of Patanjali Yoga, revolve around body and mind. And these steps are beneficial even to those body-oriented people. But Patanjali talks about Kaivalya – the ultimate union with the self or one’s soul.
Even if you are not interested in going beyond body and mind, it is quite interesting to know what lies in store for us, beyond this limited domain of body and mind.
That is the domain of the soul.
Most ancient Indian schools of thought recognize soul as our true identity. They say that we are basically the souls. In Bhagavad Gita’s terms, our body is just a garment that we are wearing. That is not our true self. And we may keep changing it, the way we keep changing our garments.
vaasaamsi jeerNaani yaThaa vihaaya
navaani grhNaathi narOparaaNi
thaThaa shareeraaNi vihaaya
jeerNaani anyaani samyaathi navaani dhEhee
Patanjali talks about that domain of body and soul. So, for him, the ultimate liberation or the goal of Yoga is to separate from the bondage with the body.
Why does one want to get disassociated with the body? That is because, for a person who had enough with the body, the body is a trap of miseries, though superficially it appears to provide lot of nice things.
That does not mean that one should die. Death does not guarantee freedom from association with the body. That is because as long as the Karmic binding exists, one is bound to take on another body. So, that is not an option. The right option is to come out of the grips of Pamcha Kleshas that we talked about in the previous episode, and eventually wriggle free from the association with the body.
What happens when you free yourselves from the body? Patanjali is a Samkhya person. He thinks that soul would be left all to itself or it attains Kaivalya. Since the soul is by nature blissful, there is nothing more it needs to do to attain everlasting happiness. So, in a way, by reaching the culmination of Patanjali’s Yoga, you unite with your true self or the soul. That, Patanjali says is the end of the journey.
But there is a catch here. Soul in Kaivalya by definition is omnipresent, free from any restrictions, free from any bodies. If that is the case, how can there be more than one soul? If they do, what differentiates between two souls? Since they don’t have any body, there is nothing that differentiates between them. And as per Samkhya, there are not two but infinitely many souls. How do all these souls retain their individual identity when there is nothing that differentiates between them and there is no body separating them?
This is where the Upanishads step in. They say that there are not many souls, but just one soul! This single, one and only soul, appearing as many, is just because of the bodies into which it is trapped temporarily. That gives the impression of many souls residing in many bodies. Once these souls free themselves from this trap, there is nothing that separates them and they all ‘become one’. Actually, even the words ‘become one’ is meaningless since they were never separate. Puzzled? That is the puzzle, the Upanishads try to crack.
Upanishads talk about a dimension of existence, where ‘one’ can exist as many. I have discussed this very interesting concept of the Upanishads in my book “Unraveling the hidden mysteries of the Vedas – Amazing Upanishads.”. I recommend you to read that book to understand this idea of ‘one’ ‘becoming’ many.
The Upanishads talk about a single soul or Atma. And when Yoga frees you from all bondages, will you merge with this one and only Soul? Is this the union Yoga is talking about?
But actually, the word ‘merge’ or ‘union’ or ‘Yoga’ does not make any sense at that stage. That is a stage in an altogether different dimension where neither space limits exist, nor time limits. All our vocabulary fails to describe that dimension. After all, our vocabulary is meant to convey happenings in a ‘space-time’ limited world.
So, at the end of the Yoga journey, the individual soul neither becomes ‘Kevala’ or aloof, as Patanjali describes it, nor it merges with any super soul, since it was never different from that super soul. It just ceases to be separate from the one and only soul. That is the ultimate state of Yoga as seen from Upanishadic point of view.
That reminds me of the reply given by Buddha to a question – “Where will you go when you die?”.
Buddha was a realized individual. One who has gone beyond the tangles of Karma – a thaThagatha. There is no rebirth for him. So, what would happen to him when he dies?
Buddha answers this question with a lamp analogy. He says that the lamp burns only as long as there is oil that sustains the flame. Once the oil is exhausted, the flame just stops burning. That is the Buddhist concept of ‘Nirvana’ which literally means putting off. Putting off the burning flame. This happens for want of any reason for it to continue to burn.
Again, the flame did not come from anywhere. So, it does not go anywhere. It just ceases to exist. Similarly, a liberated soul that frees itself from the tangles of the body, by means of Yoga practice, just ceases to exist as a separate soul. At the same time, it is inaccurate to say that it merges with any supreme soul. That would amount to saying that it ever separated from it.
And this is how I would like to end this topic of Yoga.
Over the past several weeks, I looked closely into various aspects of Yoga, its practice, its scientific explanation, its spiritual connotations and so on. In doing that, I tried to bridge the large gap between today’s body-oriented Yoga and the real Yoga of ancient people which was formalized and nurtured by Patanjali.
I have discussed all these aspects in greater detail in my book “The Ultimate book on Yoga: All that you want to know about Yoga”. I strongly urge you to read that book. This book is available both in audio, as well as e-book formats. So, make it a point to read/listen to it.
If you are not a regular listener to my podcast, please listen to previous episodes to get a clearer picture. Also, subscribe to my podcast (i.e. Let us Think by Dr. King) or my YouTube channel (http://youtube.com/@Dr.King1234), to get more such interesting and informative episodes. Let us think together 😉
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