15-steps of Yoga for Vedanta

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Namaste,

 

Now that we are into our study of Brahmasutra Bhashya, it may

be worthwhile to re-cap the 15-step Yoga described in Shankara's

Aparokshanubhuti [verses 100-124], which also occur with some

variations in Tejobinu Upanishad [mantras 15-51]. The terminology

used in Patanjali's Raja Yoga [also called ashhtaa~Nga yoga or 8-step

yoga], is given a different connotation.

 

yama = restraint of all the senses by means of such knowledge as

"All this is Brahman".

 

niyama = The continuous flow of only one kind of thought [ relating

to the unity of the individual self with Brahman] to the

exclusion of all other thoughts.

 

tyaaga = The abandonment of the illusory universe by realising it

as the all-conscious Atman.

 

mauna = The Silence wherefrom words together with the mind turn back

without reaching it.

 

deshaH = That solitude wherein the universe does not exist in the

beginning end or middle.

 

kaalataa = The non-dual Brahman that is bliss indivisible that brings

into existence in the twinkling of an eye all beings.

 

aasanam = Posture in which the meditation on Brahman flows

spontaneously and unceasingly, and not any other that

destroys one's happiness.

 

muulabandhaH = That [brahman] which is the root of all existence and

on which the restraint of the mind is based.

 

dehasaamyam = Absorption in the uniform Brahman is the equipoise of

the limbs.

 

dR^iksthitiH = Converting the ordinary vision into one of knowledge

one should view the world as Brahman Itself.

 

praNasa.nyamanam = The restraint of all modifications of the mind by

regarding all mental states as Brahman alone.

 

pratyaahaaraH = The absorption of the mind in the Supreme

Consciousnes by realising Atman in all objects.

 

dhaaraNaa = The steadiness of the mind through realisation of

Brahman wherever the mind goes.

 

aatmadhyaanam = Remaining independent of everything as a result of

the thought "I am verily Brahman".

 

samaadhiH = The complete forgetfulness of all thought by first making

it changeless and then identifying it with Brahman.

 

[Translations from Shankara's Aparokshanubhuti, by Sw. Vimuktananda.]

 

Regards,

 

s.