Yogabindu

Author(s): Haribhadrasuri, K K Dixit
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 12

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INTRODUCTION
In fairness let it however be admitted that Haribhadra is emphatic enough in denouncing that type of deity-worship which is accompanied by little spiritual enlightenment ; that is to say, on Haribbadra's own showing spiritual enlightenment turus out to be a more desirable trait of character than a merely niechanical habit of worshipping the deity.
But in the context of Haribhadra's writings on yoga what should be the meanipg of 'spiritual enlightenment'? To put the reply rather crudely, we can say that spiritual enligbreument consists in looking at matters after the manner of Haribhadra. Keally speaking, yoga is nothing but Haribhadra's favourite and rather techuical word for his owo typical way of viewing tbings - which is wby at the end of bis present text Haribhadra expresses a wish that those who study it might become 'yoga-eyed'. As a corollary, 'the practice of yoga' is Haribhadra's phrase for 'putting into practice the basic outlook propagated by himself (i.e. by Haribhadra)'. What this outlook is we have briefly considered just before while taking note of Haribhadra's understanding of the problem of deity worship, the problem of metaphysical knowledge and the problem of noble social conduct. By way of suppleniepting that account we might mention that Haribhadra has undertaken a classification of the yoga-practices aud a gradation of those practising yoga. Thus he speaks of the five species of yoga, viz. adhyālma, bhāvanā, dhyāna, samatā and vịttisamkşaya, and of the three types of yogins, viz. apunarbandhaka, samyagdtsti and cãritrin. Then we are told that the practice of the two species adhyalma and bhāvanā is 'practically genuive' on the part of an apunarbandhaka (also of a samyagdršļi - as the commentator goes on to add ) and 'really genuine' on the part of a caritrin; similarly; the practice of the three species dhyāna, samatā and vỊllisanksaya is genuine on the part of a caritrin (and not at all possible on the part of an apunarbandhaka or a samyagdpsli). All this amounts to saying that the practice of yoga really becomes possible only after one has attaind caritrin. hood while apunarbandhaka-hood and samyagdȚsti.hood are respectively the elementary and the advanced sub-stages of the stage preparatory to yoga-practice.
Not the concepts of apunarbandhaka, samyagdrsli and caritrin hare been borrowed by Haribhadra from the Jaina tradition which tells us that a man becomes apunarbandhaka some time when he is experiencing the latter half of the last pudgalavaria ( or pudgala-parāvarla ), samyagdrsti when he attains the Fourth gunasthāna and caritrin when he attains the Fifth gunasthāna. (A pudgalāvarta stands for that period of time during which a soul, as a result undergoing births after births, manages to take up for body-formation etc. each and every matter-particle existing there in the universe (and that each and every soul has been managing to do