________________
432
THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
some apparently trifling detail, a little misapprehension of the natural ease of posture, and even a slight overdoing of some particular exercise have often been known to have had a most calamitous ending. Many persons have gone mad for want of proper guidance in their Yoga practice. It is for this reason that the guidance of a guru (preceptor), who knows the practical difficulties which the novice generally encounters, and who can help him to get over them, by means of practical suggestions learnt in his own novitiate, is considered and prescribed as indispensable. Except in rare circumstances, no one can afford to ignore this piece of advice of the ancient rishis, who founded this Science. But this difficulty, it is said, does not stand much in the way of the followers of Jnana Yoga who aim at the attainment of right knowledge, leaving all other details to adjust themselves. Says swami Rama Tirtha:
“There is no necessity of your retiring into the forests and pursuing abnormal practices to realize Vedantic Yoga. You are the father of Yoga, Siva Himself, when you are lost in activity or merged in work."
As ignorance of the godly nature of the soul has been the cause of trouble, in the past, the change of belief, in the right direction, now, must bring about the state of at-one-ment with the Self. All the Yoga that need be performed by the jnâni, therefore, consists in an unshakable conviction in the truth of the Atman, i.e., the soul, being the Paramåtman, that is, God. Feel this, and you are free.
In practice, however, it will be found that the strengthening of faith is a much harder task than many would imagine it to be. There are thousands of men in
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org