Sambodhi

Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, H C Bhayani, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Shantilal M. Desal
judgment as they thought it was a joke at the expence of Ganapati. When Śiva seriously stated that it was the fact, they began to ask the reason. They were told that Ganapati having a large head used the high intelligence inside it and he went round the symbol of the universe the Aum and that was the reason for his winning the race for being worshipped first. Thereafter Gaņa pati is always worshipped first among all Gods and even before Śiva and Parvati on all auspicious occasions. The purport of the story lies even deeper still. As Aun is the symbol and the substance of the universe so was Ganapati the possessor of all virtues as his very name suggests. He had no outward speed but had the capacity to traverse the universe mentally and spiritually in no time because on the superconscious level, all the universe is one.
Like unto Gods, sādhakas too are many and are on different levels of consciousness and have different vehicles though the vehicles are apparently yogic. It is not the vehicles alone that matters, it is the speed that matters.
speed in the wrong or long direction is not useful as speed on the shortest road. It is the capability like the Ganapati that is the efficient means for Yoga and that alone provides the highest speed to the sadhaka. But speeds of the Gods varied from god to god even though they were on the same path. imilarly the speeds of Sādhakas vary in accordance with their yoga-Sädhanā. Such speeds can be as many as are the Sadhakas. Haribhadra recounts only the three categories of such yoga speeds. He calls them three yogas but looking to their descriptions they are three general categories of yoga-speeds discussed till now. Haribhadra describes them in the thrse name of yogas like Icchā-yoga, śāstra-yoga and Samarthyayoga, in the Kârikās 2 to 5 in Yogadsstisamuccaya. By the first he means 'the yoga by intention', second, the yoga by scripture' and the third 'yoga by exertion'.
He describes the yoga by intention and says that this type of yoga mainly shows the intensity of the intention or the keeness of the sādhaka. The keener the intention the speedier is he on his way to the goal. The second category of the yoga by scripture mainly shows the intensity of the sādhaka to follow the scriptures but had no insight of his own. He is not self-dependent in the matter of reaching the goal nor has he the insight for it. But in the third type of Yoga by exertion' the sādhaka achieves such immence capability that he like Ganapati can reach the goal in no time. Like Ganapati he gains an insight which sheds new light on even the scriptures and illumines his path for the realization of of Moksa. .. Patañjali has given a very rational exposition of this concept of speedy traversing of yoga-path. He says the speed depends on the Tivra-Samvoga