Paths of yoga

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The following dialogue between a devotee and Ramana provides a summary

of some of the well known methods on the spiritual

path..............................Harsha

 

 

Devotee: Can this path of enquiry be followed by all aspirants?

 

Ramana Maharshi: This is suitable only for ripe souls. The rest should

follow different methods according to the state of their minds.

 

Devotee: What are the other methods?

 

Maharshi: They are stuti, japa, dhyana, yoga, jnana, etc.

 

Stuti is singing the praises of the Lord with a feeling of great devotion.

 

Japa is uttering the names of the gods or sacred mantras like 'Om'

either mentally or verbally.

 

Dhyana. When one is in dhyana the mind does not contact the objects of

the senses, and when it is in contact with the objects it is not in

dhyana. Therefore those who are in this state can observe the vagaries

of the mind then and there and, by stopping the mind from thinking other

thoughts, fix it in dhyana. Perfection in dhyana is the state of abiding

in the Self.

 

Yoga. The source of breath is the same as that of the mind, therefore

the subsidence of either leads to that of the other. The practice of

stilling the mind through breath control is called yoga.

 

Fixing the mind on psychic centers such as the sahasrara (lit. the

thousand petaled lotus) yogis can remain any length of time without

awareness of their bodies. As long as this state continues they appear

to be immersed in some kind of joy. But when the mind emerges (becomes

active again) it resumes its worldly thoughts. It is therefore necessary

to train it with the help of practice like dhyana whenever it becomes

externalized. It will then attain a state in which there is neither

subsidence nor emergence.

 

Jnana is stilling the mind and realizing the Self through the constant

practice of dhyana or enquiry (vichara). The extinction of the mind is

the state in which there is

cessation of all efforts. Those who are established in the spontaneous

effortless state have realized their true nature, the Self. The term

'silence' (mouna) and inaction refer to this state alone.

 

All practices are followed only with the object of concentrating the

mind. As all these mental activities like remembering, forgetting,

desiring, hating, attraction, discarding, etc., are modifications of the

mind, they cannot be one's true nature. Therefore to know the truth of

one's being and to be it, is known as release from bondage and the

destruction of the knot (granthi nasam).

 

Until this state of tranquility of mind is firmly attained the practice

of unswerving abidance in the Self and keeping the mind unsoiled by

various thoughts is essential for an aspirant.

 

Those who follow the path of enquiry realize that the mind which remains

at the end of the enquiry is Brahman. Those who practise meditation

realize that the mind which remains at the end of the meditation is the

object of their meditation. As the result is the same in either case it

is the duty of aspirants to practise continuously either of the these

methods till the goal is reached.

 

- From Self-Enquiry