Philosophy
There are certain terms that are of great importance for understanding yoga philosophy. They occur again and again in the works of the yoga masters Swami Sivananda and Swami Vishnudevananda.
Below you will find a brief explanation of these key words. Understanding them better will enrich your yoga experience considerably.
"The Self is not the individual body or mind but that aspect inside each person that knows the truth."
The Self, or Supreme Soul, is the essential nature of man – the common consciousness in all beings. A thief, a king, a saint, a dog, a cat, a rat – all are in essence the same common Self. Full awareness of the Self, which can be attained through yoga, is bliss itself.
It is due to ignorance that we perceive diversity rather than unity. The apparent difference between the individual, the world and the Self is only an illusion. This illlusion works at great speed by the fluctuations and imaginations of the mind. However real time and space may appear, they are nothing but mental creations, as unreal as dreams. The timeless, spaceless Self is the only reality.
By breaking down the barriers of separate existence, the unity of the Self can be experienced. It is not attainment of liberation from an actual state of bondage, but it is the realisation of the liberation that already exists. It is freedom from a false notion of bondage.
The cause of ignorance or the ‘apparent bondage’ mentioned above is desire. Desire creates thoughts that veil the real nature of the Soul, which is blissful and eternal. Practically speaking, there is nothing wrong with having desires and satisfying them. The problem is that no matter how many you satisfy, new ones constantly arise, creating endless frustration. But when desires are reduced and finally transcended through self-discipline, intuitive knowledge of the Self dawns in the individual.
Reason and intellect are finite instruments that can achieve wonders in the realm of finite duality, but are powerless in the realm of infinite non-duality. For example, reason or logic is able to design and build a space shuttle (duality), but it cannot give a satisfying answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ (non-duality). Knowledge of the Self is a non-dual, intuitive experience, while the dualistic knowledge of objects through mind and senses is a mere knowledge of appearances.
Intuition dawns like a flash. It does not grow bit by bit. The immediate knowledge of intuition unites the individual soul with the Self, or Supreme Soul. Intuitive knowledge is imperishable knowledge of Truth. Without developing intuition, the intellectual man remains imperfect. Meditation leads to intuition.
The fundamental error of all ages is the belief that the spiritual and material worlds are separate. Matter is really Spirit seen through the senses. The world is an expression of the Self or the Absolute. Matter is the power of the Supreme Soul. It is the light that shines in various forms, the one voice that speaks in various languages, the one life that thrills through every atom in the universe.
All life is alike. Just as one thread penetrates all flowers in a garland, so also one Self penetrates all living beings. The world is neither good nor bad. The mind creates good and evil. To a good person, the world is full of good, but to the bad, the world is full of evil. The evil is not in the world; it is in the mind. By seeing the Self everywhere, good can be seen everywhere.
There is only one race, the race of humanity. None is high, none is low, all are equal. Man-made barriers should be ruthlessly broken down. Humanity is one single family.
Religion is a manifestation of the eternal glow of the Spirit within man. The main purpose of religion is the unfoldment of divinity within man. Religion is living, not speaking or showing. Real religion is religion of the heart.
