Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth

Author(s): Devendramuni, A D Batra, Shreechand Surana
Publisher: Rajasthankesari Adhyatmayogi Upadhyay Shree Pushkar Muni Abhinandan Granth Prakashan Samiti

Page 957

•
48
mit goneyfa afwasan
:
area where Yoga can be put to extensive use. If it is main business of the science of personality to understand the principles governing human behaviour, and to show us how to apply those principles for bringing about a balanced and integrated personality, then even a superficial inquiry into Yoga-Psychology and Yoga-Ethics would show it clearly that Yoga is the most wonderful science of personality.
Yoga-psychology derives all human behaviour from five basic propensities of the mind, called the "klesas'. They are : Avidyā or faulty knowledge of one's own nature, asmitā or the ego-feeling, rāga or craving for enjoyment, dveșa or aversion for pain, and abhiniveśa or fear of death. These five klešas govern the behaviour of all of us, whether we are lay or learned, ignorant or intelligent. Avidyā gives rise to a conditioned, one-sided view of the self and the world. This is the root cause of all misery, conflict, tension and war in the world. Cessation of avidya is what Yoga aims at. For achieving this aim Yoga propounds an excellent training programme for the mind. Its psychological aspect consists of three stages, respectively called dhāranā, dhyāna and samadhi. This is aided by attitude training through development of right attitudes like maitri, karunä, etc., and pratipaksabhāvana. The ethical aspect of the Yoga training involves behaviour issuing from yama, niyama and pratyāhāra. In addition to these there is the physical discipline which helps to train our muscles, nerves, and breathing, making the mind calm and peaceful. This is brought about by asana and prānāyāma. Thus the eight parts or argas of Yoga provide an overall and all-purpose training programme for the body and mind, bringing about balance, poise and peace in life.
One very remarkable feature of the Yoga practices is that even a small measure (svalpamapyasya dharmasya, as explained by the Gita) of it yields very high and encouraging results. Just sitting silently in a meditative pose for a few minutes every day is found to give rise to personality changes which make life happier. Relaxation induced by yogic methods is found beneficial in overcoming tensions from the mind. Asanas, mudrās, and prānāyama, make up together a wonderful system of exercising all the organs, glands and parts of the body, taking care of the psycho-somatic dimension of personality. In fact, every one of the eight parts of the Yoga discipline helps to bring about harmony and balance in our life. Harmony and balance is the very essence of Yoga. Yogic counselling is found to be extremely useful in making us aware of the pit-falls which we must avoid while we look at ourselves in relation to the world. Outlook on ourselves and outlook on life is what forms the very core of our personality. Yoga helps to bring about a radical transformation in this core of personality. The result of prolonged Yoga training is a jivanmukta.
A jīvanmukta is free, first of all, from avidyā. He is a person who has achieved atmadarsana by overcoming conditioning. As a result of this he stops seeking. Everyone of us is ever seeking to be something or to have something. This seeking stops completely in the state of atmadarśana. That puts an end to all psychological conflict, struggle, fear and uneasiness. Such a person exhibits the ideal of Yoga through his behaviour. It may be an ideal extremely difficult to attain. But that is not really a weak point of Yoga. Because every step in the direction of that ideal brings with it a wonderful experience of personality development. We can start near so that ultimately we can go far. Yoga is a way of training the body and mind, and thereby bringing about better adjustment within us, and between us and the world we live in. Yoga seems destined to play an increasingly important role as a science of personality in a world of Scientific achievement and psychological backwardness. Yoga and the Mind
In Yoga the mind is called 'chitta'. Another word for it is 'antahkarana' or the internal organ. There are in all thirteen organs or indriyas recognised in Yoga. Ten out of them are called external organs, which are the five congnitive organs jnanendriyas) and five motory organs (karmendriyas). The antalkarana is composed of three segments, respectively called