What / Why / How Yoga?

Have you ever sat silently in solitude noting down every single thought that surfaces automatically in your mind. Try it out. At least once before you die. The thoughts that surface are not arbitrary. They are almost always about you, though the connection is a little subtle and takes some practice to establish the connection. It might be related to how others want to perceive you, it might be related to some fight you had with a colleague / sibling / friend. It might be some fantasy that you want to live out. It might be about some sad event that happened to you in the past. It might be about some apprehension you have about future. It is always connected to you in some way - some way how you might become happier / better or how you might avoid / might have avoided something bad. This noting down is especially useful after a verbal tussle with someone. Have you ever paused to observe your mind after such a situation? For the vast majority of people, every single thought that comes racing through the mind is one that justifies their position in the argument. Of course, in most cases, truth is distributed between the two parties but one seldom has a thought about the truth on the other side.

It is an interesting exercise to note down all the thoughts that come automatically to ones mind. Dont worry, this process wont go on for ever. For most people, the thoughts revolve around a few areas and, very easily, we will be able to notice patterns in these thoughts. The patterns are not arbitrary. The patterns reveal something. They reveal something nasty within us. They reveal the ghost within us. This ghost is the sum total of all the thoughts that we have had in our lives - thoughts about our fears, hopes, pride, anger, sorrow, friends, relatives, career etc. How does the ghost come about to inhabit us in the first place?

The process by which it gets created is not too dissimilar from the process by which we accumulate stress in our wrists after a long day at the computer - by inappropriate posture and lack of cleansing at the end of it. Sadly, in every activity we do in our lives, we assume inappropriate mental attitudes. Most often, our happiness and sense of worth depend on how effective we are in doing that task. As a result, at the end, either we are proud of our accomplishment or desolate about our failure. Herein, the ghost gets created. At the end of the event, we do not realize that the event is now over and that we should not be carrying over stress. We do not pause to blow away the stressful residues. Instead, the society, with its constant appreciation and condemnation makes us dwell over and over on the event, which by now is well and truly over and is best consigned to history. Then, the uncontrolled thoughts on this subject commence. The ghost in us acquires a new dimension. Observe how some people constantly gloat about their successful careers, or about their pathetic marriage lives. If its not their own, its their child or sibling or relative or friend. The darkness within us thus slowly grows and encompasses the entirety of our hearts.

Thankfully, this darkness does not come and go very stealthily. It leaves traces and it can be tracked down. The uncontrolled thinking is the trace. Every single unwanted thought is a trace. It is telling a story. It indicates a dimension of the ghost. Be aware and catch it. The more you catch it, the more you come in contact with the ghost. The more you come in contact with the ghost, the more you will realize the stupidity of letting a ghost run your life. The more you are aware of it, more that dimension falls apart. Slowly, with sincerity and effort, all the dimensions will fall away over the course of time. When the ghost disappears or mostly so, uncontrolled thinking comes to a minimal point and might even stop.

This is what, the great shrink Patanjali calls as yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ - Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. This, in my opinion, is the answer to what is yoga. This state of being is obviously not an experience. I cringe every time people talk being in a state of yoga. If you can get into and come out of a state of yoga at will, you are probably deluding yourself. Its like learning and forgetting to ride a bike. Once you know it, you know it for life (albeit with minimal practice now and then). This state has nothing to do with getting into weird contortions or being able to inhale non-stop for 40 seconds. Asana and Pranayam have their uses, but reducing yoga to either of these two or to meditation is beyond ridiculous.

Now, comes the question, 'Why Yoga'? Lets observe a little bit what this ghost within us does. If one of its dimensions is to have a successful career, then every time ones colleague gets a promotion, the individual feels a little / deep pain in the heart. If one of the dimensions is about being a successful parent, then the parent almost does not want to be called the parent of a non (academically) performing child. If the child does perform, then the parent keeps pushing the child for more and more, much like a slave driver, robbing the child of his / her beautiful childhood. One small word, one minor incident is enough to make it a bad day. The individual then starts barking at every one for every trifle. No, these are not exaggerations. Pause to look around and see the normal mode of functioning of people. If the dimension is about caste and religion, the moment the son/daughter wants to marry someone else outside of the caste, all hell breaks loose. The true colors of ghost surface. The ghost shall never let the individual be in peace. Of course, most individuals are blissfully sleeping and enjoy the ride with ghost until a rude reality check arrives. Buying apartment and earning in lakhs becomes the prime objectives of life. If none of this is true, then the individual is constantly jumping relationships in the hope of becoming happy due to the relationship. Not every thing is true for everyone, but quite a few of them is true for a lot of people. Can it get more ridiculous. This is what the ghost does. It is easier to dissolve the ghost when the ghost has a few dimensions. With more dimensions, its roots go deeper into our hearts. Only those who encourage the ghost become our friends. Only those who soothe the requirements of the ghost can have a relationship with us. Everyone else can literally fuck off! This includes - sibling relationships, marital relationships, parent-child relationships, friendship and everything else.

Now, if this is not suffering, then what is? To avoid this suffering, one needs to dissolve the ghost in oneself. As long as the ghost is at the driving seat, can one truly love anyone else? And this, is precisely is the reason for yoga. Patanjali says heyaṃ duḥkham anāgatam - all yet to be manifested suffering may be avoided.

Our society and its institutions, which are primarily set up by these ghosts and manned by these ghosts, can be expected to be no better than the individuals that set up these. In fact, it will always be at the lowest common denominator. This directly implies that all the violence around us in todays society, (man to man, man to beast, man to environment), are a direct consequence of individuals being in a mode of deep sleep and letting the ghost within them dominate their lives. When more people awaken, all the violence will be questioned more intensely and the yet to be manifested suffering in the society may also be prevented. This is the answer to the question, why yoga.

If one agrees with all this, then the individual immediately goes forward to identify the ghost in him / her and tries to cleanse it. Its a hard process. Its exactly like drug de-addiction. Its seems silly to begin with, outrageously hard later on, and finally tremendous relief when it is over. The world appears entirely new and fresh after that. But, the process is difficult. Most people old enough to be able to understand all of this are mostly about 20 years of age and that means, the ghost is probably also quite old and it will need a lot of effort to weed it out. It would mean recognizing the stupidity of ambition, career, identifications like caste / religion / nationality / language and many other things that we all happily indulge in most of the time. Of course, some practical issues like feeding oneself and living in clean places are to be worked out. It is up to the individual to work it out and they can certainly be done without cultivating a ghost within. Many times, suffering is what makes the individual look beyond the ghost. It is the sad reality. But, it need not be so. Constant correct posturing during good times can help us cultivate the optimal mental states that will root out the ghost early on. There is of course no formula. If the individual sees how he/she is drawn into developing mental residues, the individual can work out his/her way out.

Most people who has been on this path often talk about resting in awareness - the pure observer within us that is not affected by all the conditionings that our minds are subject to. By cultivating awareness, we practice the ability to constantly observe our minds. Then, when the ghost induced suffering strikes again, we will be ready. We will be able to observe how we get drawn into many unhealthy moods almost without our control - exactly like a drug addict. In the early stages, the suffering may be as intense as before. But, the awareness will already bring about a little space. With more awareness, the space will widen and continue to widen until one gains enough control over the situation and can refuse to be drawn into the ugly mental states initiated by the ghost within. This, in my opinion, is precisely what Patanjali calls as īśvara-praṇidhānād vā - surrender to the state of pure consciousness within.

A detailed understanding of how the human mind works has led to the identification of its three basic behaviors o - called tamasic, rajasic and sattvic behavior. Tamasic is the state of fear, where there is constant implosion; Rajasic behavior is the path of anger and leads to constant explosion; Sattvic behavior on the other hand avoid both the tamasic and the rajasic and is on the path of truth. While sattvic is free of conditioned behavior to some extent, it still is a product of conditioning, the process that leads to the ghost. Sustained practice of awareness helps one to stay out of all forms of conditioned behavior.

Different people have different natural tendencies when it comes to the natural affinities of their mind. Strongly rajasic / tamasic people generally find it difficult to practice awareness. Asana and Pranayama help tremendously in such situations to bring the situation back to control. While, they are very useful tools, one should not confuse the tool with the target. They have to be used appropriately. Unfortunately, most yoga schools these days have nothing to offer beyond asana and pranayama. Dhyana or meditation is more useful in general. Some silent sitting sessions every day help us to turn our attention intensely towards the ghost and uncover its hidden dimensions and may be even knock off a few. I strongly recommend the appropriate daily usage of these three tools.

This, in my, opinion answers the three fundamental questions on yoga.

To summarize,

What is Yoga?

yogaścittavṛttinirodhaḥ

Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind.

Why Yoga?

heyaṃ duḥkham anāgatam

All yet to be manifested suffering may be avoided

How Yoga?

īśvara-praṇidhānād vā

Surrender to the state of pure consciousness within

PS: Thx for staying through such a huge article. I wrote it on a request from a friend.

PPS: If you agree with this, kindly share it so as to popularize this perspective on yoga

PPS: Excuse the writer if it appears as an exercise in finger pointing. The writer probably goes through most of the effects of conditioning. Nevertheless, the message is what is more important than the messenger.