Yogashastra of Hemchandracharya

Author(s): Hemchandracharya, Surendra Bothra
Publisher: Prakrit Bharti Academy

Page 26

theoretical level. It is then, meaningful to say that Moksa is envisaged as the culmination to be reached through the practice of yoga at both ends--theoritical as well as practical. Let us then understand the theoretical aspect of these vows.
1. Ahimsa or non-injury means one should not
allow one's soul to be violent, i.e. one shuld not
let any karma-good or bad sully one's soul. 2. To abstain from telling a lie means that one
should not believe or call anything as his own
except his own soul. 3. To abstain from stealing means one should not
make use of any pudgala (material thing)
belonging to others. 4. The word Brahmacharya, literally means to
indulge in one's own soul all the time; i,e., one should not even think of any thing else except
his own atman (soul). 5. Non-attachment to any possession is possession
lessness. Here the non-attachment should be observed to such an extent that one should not feel attached even to one's own karmas-good or bad.
Here it may be boubted that if the author meant to convey the theoretical aspect of the major vows, why did he also describe the practical aspect ? That is a valid doubt. But the author has said that to abstain from all the activities that would taint the soul leads to charitra yoga. There might be some activities that
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