Post by Admin on Jan 11, 2016 15:56:43 GMT
Yoga sutras
Patanjali/Prabhavananda-Isherwood
I. Yoga and its Aims
Yoga (lit. "union" - "yoke" one's understanding of one's self with the Atman)
Atman (bottom of the lake) the real Self which is the same as ultimate Reality (Brahman)
Chitta (mind - water of the lake) 3 stages: senses; interpretation of senses; collection & identification
Vritti (thought waves - surface of the lake) preliminary goal to have one massive wave of concentration (with the achievement of samadhi) swallow all other smaller waves then to move to "seedlessness" or samadhi to Brahman
Samskaras (unconscious potentialities/tendencies/latent states of personality - banks of sand and pebbles formed by the waves of the lake) collection of samskaras="character/personality"
Enter reincarnation in the yoga theory to explain "inherited temperament"
St. Paul "renew the mind"
5 kinds of vritti- some "painful" (transient/superficial) some "not-painful" (that lead to greater freedom/liberation) - first raise not-painful waves to replace painful; then still the non-painful waves - they are: right knowledge (direct perception, inference, and scriptural authority) wrong knowledge, verbal delusion, sleep and memory
Prakriti: the elemental, undifferentiated stuff of mind and matter; the power and effect of Brahman (Reality spoken of in its universal aspect - like God immanent (Atman) and God transcendent (Brahman) in Christianity)
Prakriti is composed of 3 forces (energies/qualities) that are opposed yet complementary known as the 3 Gunas: Sattwa (essence of form which has to be realized - idea of a horse for a sculptor), Tamas (the inherent obstacle to its realization - self-doubt, etc in the mind of the sculptor "why should I...?") and Rajas (power by which the obstacle is removed and the essential form made manifest - will to complete the sculpture and the muscular effort to sculpt)
Meditation as like evolution of consciousness (which, for patanjali, is a movement from undifferentiated to differentiated consciousness; from mind to matter; pure consciousness is gradually covered with layers of ignorance and differentiation becoming thicker and grosser) in reverse - a "devolution" which moves back to the purely undifferentiated creativity
4 stages of concentration on a single object (which is a necessary prerequisite): examination (gross elements), discrimination (subtle elements), joyful bliss (on the inner powers of perception of of the mind itself), simple awareness of individuality (concentration on the ego-sense in its simplest form - "I" am other than "this" or "that")
After this, when the vritti have been stilled and the samskaras have been cleared, the object of concentration moves to consciousness itself - the atman with which one identifies
Once samskaras are cleared, one becomes liberated (and all thoughts, words and actions are like burnt seeds as they will not grow new samskaras) and the drive to be "reborn" or the drive to dive back into the life led by samskaras dissipates; this, coupled with non-attachment, will lead to yoga (Union) with atman/Brahman
Aversion is like attachment in reverse
It requires faith like a plant continually throwing forth shoots and growing rather than faith like a picture frame
True concentration requires: faith (like a plant rather than a picture frame); energy (that grows like a muscle through continued use); re-collection (the collection again of the scattered mind); absorption (within the object of concentration: ultimately atman); illumination (which comes from absorption)
Next comes concentration upon consciousness (awareness) itself attained by constantly checking the thought-waves through the practice of non-attachment
4 stages of concentration/way to true concentration:
Gross sensation/Faith like a plant
Subtle sensation/Energy & Re-collection
Bliss/Absorption
Simple awareness of individuality/Illumination
Ishwara is Brahman seen from within Prakriti; the projection of Atman (God as we see him from within Prakriti); the creator, sustainer, and dissolver of the universe; the ultimate Reality; very useful to aid in the (safe and guided) search for Brahman
Sri Ramakriahna: ishwara is like an ever-blowing breeze; one must only raise a hand in order to catch it
"Om" (pronounced "Aum") is claimed to be the most basic, elemental sound and should be used to express Brahman (the most elemental of the universe); "A" pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate; "U" rolls from the root to the end of the sounding-board of the mouth; "M" produced by closing the lips. "Om" like "the Word" in bible or Logos in Greek ontological philosophy; "take refuge in his name" from Hindu scriptures and "the name of the Lord is a strong tower" from proverbs 9:9-10
Patanjali: Undisturbed calm comes from friendliness toward happy; compassion toward unhappy; delight toward virtuous; indifference toward wicked (or toward hurt received from others)
Prana: "breath"; vital energy we take in from the universe around us; pranayama: system of breathing exercises that is a physical means to a spiritual end(s);
Japam: the repetition of the name of God
Mundaka Upanishad: "Within the lotus of the heart he (Brahman) dwells, where the nerves meet like the spokes of a wheel. Meditate upon him as OM, and you may easily cross the ocean of darkness."
Or concentrate on the locus of some holy personality like Christ or Buddha and imagine what it would be like to experience the locus like they do; visualize their heart in your heart
The achievement of sameness or identity with the object of concentration is known as samadhi (the "technical term" for yoga) - like a pure Crystal, the mind takes the color of the objects around it
savitarka (lit. "With deliberation") samadhi: samadhi mixed with awareness of name, quality and knowledge of the object
nirvitarka (lit. "Without deliberation") samadhi: samadhi unmixed with awareness of name, quality and knowledge of the object:
These are applied to gross and subtle objects (total 4 types of samadhi) and are still considered "with seed" (seeds of desire/attachment)
Knowledge from samadhi is higher than that which comes from inference or scripture
When impression from samadhi (one wave that swallows up all other waves) is wiped out, no more thought waves- nirvikalpa samadhi ("seedless")
Summation
Stage 1: concentration with non-attachment; gross level dedication and concentration upon ishwara (chosen ideal-God as seen from within Prakriti) as only object of attachment (wave to swallow all other waves); still from "I" "Self" perspective
Stage 2: subtle level of concentration with non-attachment divine aspects of ishwara; still from "I" "Self" perspective
Stage 3: nirvikalpa samadhi - Brahman beyond ishwara (chosen ideal) - no more "I" "Self"
Gross > Subtle > Absolute
Patanjali/Prabhavananda-Isherwood
I. Yoga and its Aims
Yoga (lit. "union" - "yoke" one's understanding of one's self with the Atman)
Atman (bottom of the lake) the real Self which is the same as ultimate Reality (Brahman)
Chitta (mind - water of the lake) 3 stages: senses; interpretation of senses; collection & identification
Vritti (thought waves - surface of the lake) preliminary goal to have one massive wave of concentration (with the achievement of samadhi) swallow all other smaller waves then to move to "seedlessness" or samadhi to Brahman
Samskaras (unconscious potentialities/tendencies/latent states of personality - banks of sand and pebbles formed by the waves of the lake) collection of samskaras="character/personality"
Enter reincarnation in the yoga theory to explain "inherited temperament"
St. Paul "renew the mind"
5 kinds of vritti- some "painful" (transient/superficial) some "not-painful" (that lead to greater freedom/liberation) - first raise not-painful waves to replace painful; then still the non-painful waves - they are: right knowledge (direct perception, inference, and scriptural authority) wrong knowledge, verbal delusion, sleep and memory
Prakriti: the elemental, undifferentiated stuff of mind and matter; the power and effect of Brahman (Reality spoken of in its universal aspect - like God immanent (Atman) and God transcendent (Brahman) in Christianity)
Prakriti is composed of 3 forces (energies/qualities) that are opposed yet complementary known as the 3 Gunas: Sattwa (essence of form which has to be realized - idea of a horse for a sculptor), Tamas (the inherent obstacle to its realization - self-doubt, etc in the mind of the sculptor "why should I...?") and Rajas (power by which the obstacle is removed and the essential form made manifest - will to complete the sculpture and the muscular effort to sculpt)
Meditation as like evolution of consciousness (which, for patanjali, is a movement from undifferentiated to differentiated consciousness; from mind to matter; pure consciousness is gradually covered with layers of ignorance and differentiation becoming thicker and grosser) in reverse - a "devolution" which moves back to the purely undifferentiated creativity
4 stages of concentration on a single object (which is a necessary prerequisite): examination (gross elements), discrimination (subtle elements), joyful bliss (on the inner powers of perception of of the mind itself), simple awareness of individuality (concentration on the ego-sense in its simplest form - "I" am other than "this" or "that")
After this, when the vritti have been stilled and the samskaras have been cleared, the object of concentration moves to consciousness itself - the atman with which one identifies
Once samskaras are cleared, one becomes liberated (and all thoughts, words and actions are like burnt seeds as they will not grow new samskaras) and the drive to be "reborn" or the drive to dive back into the life led by samskaras dissipates; this, coupled with non-attachment, will lead to yoga (Union) with atman/Brahman
Aversion is like attachment in reverse
It requires faith like a plant continually throwing forth shoots and growing rather than faith like a picture frame
True concentration requires: faith (like a plant rather than a picture frame); energy (that grows like a muscle through continued use); re-collection (the collection again of the scattered mind); absorption (within the object of concentration: ultimately atman); illumination (which comes from absorption)
Next comes concentration upon consciousness (awareness) itself attained by constantly checking the thought-waves through the practice of non-attachment
4 stages of concentration/way to true concentration:
Gross sensation/Faith like a plant
Subtle sensation/Energy & Re-collection
Bliss/Absorption
Simple awareness of individuality/Illumination
Ishwara is Brahman seen from within Prakriti; the projection of Atman (God as we see him from within Prakriti); the creator, sustainer, and dissolver of the universe; the ultimate Reality; very useful to aid in the (safe and guided) search for Brahman
Sri Ramakriahna: ishwara is like an ever-blowing breeze; one must only raise a hand in order to catch it
"Om" (pronounced "Aum") is claimed to be the most basic, elemental sound and should be used to express Brahman (the most elemental of the universe); "A" pronounced without touching any part of the tongue or palate; "U" rolls from the root to the end of the sounding-board of the mouth; "M" produced by closing the lips. "Om" like "the Word" in bible or Logos in Greek ontological philosophy; "take refuge in his name" from Hindu scriptures and "the name of the Lord is a strong tower" from proverbs 9:9-10
Patanjali: Undisturbed calm comes from friendliness toward happy; compassion toward unhappy; delight toward virtuous; indifference toward wicked (or toward hurt received from others)
Prana: "breath"; vital energy we take in from the universe around us; pranayama: system of breathing exercises that is a physical means to a spiritual end(s);
Japam: the repetition of the name of God
Mundaka Upanishad: "Within the lotus of the heart he (Brahman) dwells, where the nerves meet like the spokes of a wheel. Meditate upon him as OM, and you may easily cross the ocean of darkness."
Or concentrate on the locus of some holy personality like Christ or Buddha and imagine what it would be like to experience the locus like they do; visualize their heart in your heart
The achievement of sameness or identity with the object of concentration is known as samadhi (the "technical term" for yoga) - like a pure Crystal, the mind takes the color of the objects around it
savitarka (lit. "With deliberation") samadhi: samadhi mixed with awareness of name, quality and knowledge of the object
nirvitarka (lit. "Without deliberation") samadhi: samadhi unmixed with awareness of name, quality and knowledge of the object:
These are applied to gross and subtle objects (total 4 types of samadhi) and are still considered "with seed" (seeds of desire/attachment)
Knowledge from samadhi is higher than that which comes from inference or scripture
When impression from samadhi (one wave that swallows up all other waves) is wiped out, no more thought waves- nirvikalpa samadhi ("seedless")
Summation
Stage 1: concentration with non-attachment; gross level dedication and concentration upon ishwara (chosen ideal-God as seen from within Prakriti) as only object of attachment (wave to swallow all other waves); still from "I" "Self" perspective
Stage 2: subtle level of concentration with non-attachment divine aspects of ishwara; still from "I" "Self" perspective
Stage 3: nirvikalpa samadhi - Brahman beyond ishwara (chosen ideal) - no more "I" "Self"
Gross > Subtle > Absolute
