Neither the Advaitis nor the Dwaitis would accept this equation. Each side is biased by what their preceptors have said. And the debate goes on, about which is the right view. I think if we can see that both are same, many confusions would get resolved. But how do we do that within the framework of the Upanishads?
As per the traditional belief, whatever truth one finds in the Upanishads is an attempt by the Upanishadic sages to explain their experience, that they had when they were in deep state of meditation. That is the realization they arrived at. It is a different matter whether they could describe their experience exactly as they went through it. But anyone who goes on their path, would surely experience the very same truth and it needs no further validation.
What is this realization as per the Upanishads?
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.
Just like our modern-day computers, our minds too have EPROMS with pre-stored instructions that enables us to boot strap, and go on with our lives. These instructions are essential for living. But they become a problem when they somehow get corrupted. Imagine how a computer would behave if its EPROM is corrupted. It just crashes 😉 That would also be our state, if we have a faulty mental EPROM. Before we talk about how the practice of Yoga helps in setting right a corrupted mental EPROM, let us face the fundamental question namely -
Upanishads always fascinated me. For those people who are not familiar, Upanishads are the philosophic parts of the ancient Indian Vedas. And Vedas are probably, the oldest available scriptures of the world. While most Indians view Upanishads with lot of reverence, many westerners, which include well known scientists and intellectuals, consider them as the peak of human intellectual endeavors.
One such theory of mind was Buddhist theory of mind as recorded in the Buddhist scripture, namely the Abhidamma Pitaka. Based on this theory, Buddhists developed various meditative practices. We will discuss this Buddhist theory of mind in this episode.
