why santctify reality

[Guest guest]

Isvara pranidhana: Isvara is often mistranslated with the English term,

" God " , which in the Western sense of

the term, is almost the opposite of

what is meant because isvara

specifically is not a theistic idea

as yoga is not theistic

 

In other words the word isvara

specifically refers to the formless

and deity-less aspect of Reality --

isvara specifically means the

formless and attributeless, hence

" aspectless aspect " of the divine and

as such even to name it is a

contradiction.

 

Thus Isvara pranidhana is to surrender

to the great integrity of formless

infinity which is the eternal beginning

-less and never ending beginning-

ness -- the all inclusive creator/

creation -- the Great Integrity while

anything short of that is being short changed.

 

The word, isvara, thus expresses or symbolizes completeness, the whole,

or infinite mind and as such can

not be represented by symbols being

the nothingness that includes

everything. It remains formless and undifferentiated in order to not

exclude even the minuteness

differentiation of existence. What

does this mean then as a practice.

It means that Divine intelligence

and Divine will is always available

if we look for it and we can always

surrender to THAT. THAT larger

momentum, force, or grace (if you

like) can and does lead us into the

Great Transpersonal Presence --

into the natural and true Self that

knows no bounds and as such isvara

pranidhana is a daily moment to

moment practice. In meditation we

allow THAT ineffable immeasurable

Light and Love to shine forth -- we

create time and space for this

communion.

 

Always we surrender to THAT which is taintless and pure -- which has no

definition -- exists but does not

exist -- that which is beyond all

names; yet may be called isvara only

if we realize that it can not be

contained by form. If we do not

devote our energy and attention to

that which is COMPLETE and WHOLE,

how will we ever accomplish yoga?

If we are not focused in this

direction, then we remain incomplete,

corrupted, fragmented, diverted,

rended, neurotic, and vulnerable to

repeated fragmentation and separation

in the corrupted and confused mire

of dualistic reality (samsara).

Isvara is always available.

 

When we let go of our willful

practices -- when certain karma is extinguished -- then we make room

for Grace -- Guidance from the teacher

of teachers, isvara (see Pada 1.26).

The confusion generated by what

Patanjali meant by isvara pranidhana,

has been created because various

religious and analytical " schools "

project their own " definitions " upon

the term, isvara. For example the pre-existing older samkhya school

of Patanjali's day, did not recognize

any god at all.

 

Then samkhya itself changed. Later

schools such as Vedanta attribute

an impersonal absolute (state devoid

of any attributes) only to

nirvisesha (without attributes)

nirguna (without qualities), and

nirakar (formless), which is

distinguished from isvara. Some

bhakti yoga schools attribute isvara

pranidhana to mean worship or

devotion while also one may interpret

it to mean selfless service as is

found in karma yoga. There are

numerous other interpretations

displaying the specific bias of

the schools predilections or cosmology

 

Indeed in Hinduism alone there are

thousands of names for god, and

ten times that number of books

which attempt at different

definitions for each. The point

that concerns the yogi after

liberation, is that the " name "

doesn't matter, i.e., that in order

to rest in the universal ultimate

one must surrender all attachments

to these separate forms, be they

religious or philosophical -- in

 

Reality -- we are that --

 

Tat Tvam Asi. That is assuming that

we are sincerely on a genuine

spiritual search versus simply

finding solace in ersatz external

systems. (See also Pada 1.23-27)

from a yoga page of Tapas

 

lk