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Epistemology of Talnas
others. He preaches the path of salvation to worldly souls after partial or complete delusion. Out of compassion he instructed the highest truth to the sage Asuri. God is the eternal teacher. He is preceptor of even the oldest sages. The person, who is a devotee of God, comes to know the pure soul and is freed from all obstacles.
Thus, we see that the conception of God, in the yoga system, is a source of consolation and encouragement for the aspirant, who feels the direct way of salvation a bit hard. It places an ideal before him for which he has to strive. Secondly, when God himself shows the path, there is no room for misguidance. Thirdly, the compassion of God is a great solace in the arduous journey of spiritual realization. One thing is common with Boddhisattva of the Buddhist and God of the yoga; that this omniscience is an equipment for the salvation of others.
Yoga and Development of Knowledge2
According to Yoga the reason for shortness of our knowledge is that the states of our mind are continually changing and we do not dwell upon one thing for a long time to go into its heart. If the concentration is deeper and steadier the real and perfect knowledge of all things begins to appear before mind's eye.
The eight parts of yoga are solely a preparation for the highest stage of concentration when the knowledge of entire universe is attained. The first four parts i. e. yama, niyama, āsana and prānāyāma, are mainly concerned with the spiritual and physical discipline, which is necessary for checking the miod from wandering after worldly pleasures. In pratyāhāra the mind is centered in its own nature, is completely identified with the object of inner concentration. Dharaṇā is the concentration of mind on a particular point. Dhyāna is the continuance of the same, without changing the current. Samādbi or 1 Yogasūtra IV. 29-35
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