Yoga

YOGA. - Y. is the name given to "concentrated meditation," carried to the point of hypnotic ecstasy as a means of attaining the absolute isolation of the soul from matter and with it mukti, the "liberation" from saṃsāra, from the migration of souls (v. KARMAN). "A new pain must be avoided," that is, a new life, because "everything, for the wise man, is pain."

These aphorisms belong to the Rules of Yoga [Y(oga)-s(ūtra), II, 15-16], dictated by Patanjali (2nd century B.C.?), who gave systematic form to an ancient ascetic discipline, already partially known to the author of the Katha-upanisad, I, 8; II, 10-11. Patanjali's treatise comprises 194 brief aphorisms, divided into 4 pāda or parts which treat respectively 1) mental concentration, 2) the means of attaining it, 3) supernatural powers, and 4) isolation. In order to give Y. a theoretical foundation, Patanjali adopted the metaphysics of Sāṃkhya, "the philosophy of number," except for the denial of God, which is characteristic of that system. Therefore the Sāṃkhya properly so called is also termed Nirīśvara-s., "S. without God," and Y., Seśvara-s., "S. with God." But the Lord (Iśvara) of Y. has neither created nor does he govern the world, which is dominated by the law of karman (v.). He is a soul sui generis, eternal and omniscient, who helps men, out of compassion, to attain liberation. Therefore devotion to the Lord and meditation on his mystic name, Om, are considered means suited to facilitate the practice of Y. This is defined by the Y.-s. I, 2: the arrest of the functions of the "organ of thought (citta)." Having thus determined the aim of Y., one would expect the means of obtaining it to be specified. But this occurs only in the II and III parts of the work (II, 28-35; III, 1-55). It is not possible to set out the laborious procedure in full; a brief indication must suffice. The isolation of the "spirit (puruṣa)" is brought about by degrees which correspond to eight parts (aṅga) of Yoga: yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra, dhāraṇā, dhyāna and samādhi. The last three, included under the common designation samyama, "subjugation," are the heart, the essence of Y. Once it is premised that the yoghīn, "follower of Y.," must lead an irreproachable moral life, the person about to meditate is advised to take up a stable and comfortable position (āsana). The Y.-s. does not specify it, but the commentators affirm that the text refers to the three most common ways of sitting: comfortable, auspicious and lotus-like. Hathayoga, or "rigorous Y.," on the other hand, dwells on describing 32 positions, some of them downright acrobatic. There follow exercises for regulating the breath (prāṇāyāma) as a means of calming the irregularity of thought, and finally the withdrawal of the organs of sense from their objects (pratyāhāra). At this point the organ of thought, segregated from the external world, directs its activity to introspection and through samyama comes to distinguish intuitively the soul from matter. This "discriminating knowledge (viveka)" determines the detachment of the organ of thought (citta) from the spirit (puruṣa), which remains isolated "in its own proper form," but temporarily deprived of consciousness. The "yogic sleep (yoganidra)," as it would today be called hypnotic, which seizes the yoghīn at the moment of liberation, is the consequence of that detachment. It is a pan-Indian belief that the "liberation in life" obtained by the followers of a particular philosophical-religious system through the means indicated by it is definitive and irrevocable. The liberated one continues to live in order to reap the fruit of works previously performed, and when he dies, the spirit not only remains isolated, but also eternally free from the pain of existence. By applying samyama to the most diverse cases, the yoghīn can work prodigies: guess the thoughts of others, wander through the air, render himself invisible. The Y.-s., III, 16-55 has a long list of these miraculous capacities; but further on the same text warns that the magic powers (siddhi) arouse pride and attachment to the world, and hinder liberation. Whoever aims at the supreme end must be dispassionate and therefore indifferent even to the siddhi. Fakirism is thus indirectly condemned, although it was admitted into the Y.-s. because of its great popularity (v. FACHIRO).

Ferdinando Belloni Filippi