Upanishads and Yoga...

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The wise soul is not born nor does it die.

This one has not come from anywhere

nor has it become anyone.

Unborn, eternal, constant, primal,

this one is not killed when the body is killed.

If the killer thinks to kill,

if the killed thinks oneself killed,

both of these do not understand.

This does not kill nor is it killed.

Katha Upanishad 2

 

Know the soul as lord of a chariot,

the body as the chariot.

Know the intuition as the chariot driver,

and the mind as the reins.

The senses, they say, are the horses;

the objects of sense the paths.

Beyond the senses are the objects of sense.

Beyond the objects of sense is the mind.

Beyond the mind is the intuition.

Beyond the intuition is the great soul.

Beyond the great is the unmanifest.

Beyond the unmanifest is Spirit.

Beyond the Spirit there is nothing at all.

That is the end; that is the final goal.

Katha Upanishad 3

 

Truth alone conquers, not falsehood.

By truth is laid out the path leading to the gods

by which the sages whose desires are satisfied

ascend to where the supreme home of truth is.

Vast, divine, its form unthinkable, subtler than the subtle,

it shines out, farther than the far, yet close-by.

resting in the secret place,

even here it is seen by those with vision.

Mundaka Upanishad 3

 

Disease, laziness, indecision, apathy, lethargy,

craving sense-pleasure, erroneous perception,

lack of concentration, unstable attention,

these are the obstacles that distract consciousness.

Sorrow, worry, restlessness, and irregular breathing

accompany the distractions.

To overcome them practice that oneness.

Cultivating the feelings of

friendship, compassion, joy, and equanimity

toward those who are happy, suffering,

worthy, and unworthy,

purifies consciousness,

as does the expelling and retaining of the breath.

Also subtle vision produces

the best modification of the higher consciousness

bringing the mind into stability,

as does the transcendent inner Light,

and the consciousness that controls all passions,

and the analytical knowledge of dreams and sleep,

and concentration according to choice;

from the atom to the infinite is this mastery.

Yoga Sutras (Union Threads) by Patanjali 1

 

For the discriminating perceiver

the soul is completely detached from emotion and mind.

For then with serene discrimination

consciousness moves toward freedom.

Yoga Sutras (Union Threads) by Patanjali 4

 

India has a long tradition of mystics renouncing the world to find internal

peace and liberation. In a transcendental sense it is believed that if one

person finds eternal peace and spiritual liberation, the entire world is

spiritually benefited. The Upanishads were written down between the seventh and

the fourth centuries BC. They are mystical writings of the seers (rishis) of

ancient lndia who practiced yoga to attain conscious union with God. They taught

that the soul (atman) is the same essence as God (Brahma), eternal and immortal.

The soul incarnates in the world of appearance or illusion and is responsible

for the consequences of its actions (karma). The soul continues to reincarnate

until the consciousness awakens to its inherent divinity and is liberated from

the wheel of rebirth. The knowledge that the true self (atman) is a part of God

is a psychological liberation, and the awareness of one's own immortality frees

one from the fear of death, bringing a feeling of eternal peace. Hindus often

conclude their prayers with the Sanskrit word for peace: (shanti).

 

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