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Indian Philosophy v2.c24.s34: I Introduction

Indian Philosophy v2.c24.s34

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English

I Introduction

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THE investigations of the Psychical Research Society into what are called "spiritualistic" phenomena have begun to shake the hardiest faith in the truths hitherto accepted in the name of science, that intelligence and memory are functions dependent on the integrity of the cerebral mechanism, which will disappear when that mechanism decays. Some thinkers are now beginning to believe that the brain is by no means indispensable for conscious activities. Psychologists tell us that the human mind has other perceptive faculties than those served by the five senses, and philosophers are slowly accepting the view that we have mental powers other than those of ratiocination and a memory conditioned by the brain. The ancient thinkers of India had a good working knowledge of what may be called the science of metapsychics, and were quite familiar with cryptesthesia and other kindred powers. They tell us that we can acquire the power of seeing and knowing without the help of the outer senses, and can become independent of the activity which we exercise through the physical senses and the brain. They assume that there is a wider world about us than we are normally able to apprehend When some day our eyes open to it, we may have an extension of our perception as stupendous as a blind man has when he first acquires sight. There are laws governing the acquisition of this larger vision and manifestation of latent powers. By following the principles of the Yoga, such as heightening the power of concentration, arresting the vagaries of mind by fixing one’s attention on the deepest sources of strength, one can master one’s soul even as an athlete masters his body. The Yoga helps us to reach a higher level of consciousness, through a transformation of the psychic organism, which enables it to get beyond the limits set to ordinary human experience. We discern in the Yoga those cardinal conceptions of Hindu thought, such as the supremacy of the psychic over the physical, the exaltation of silence and solitude, meditation and ecstasy, and the indifference to outer conditions, which make the traditional Hindu attitude to life appear so strange and fantastic to the modern mind. It is, however, conceded, by many who are acquainted with it, that it is a necessary corrective to our present mentality, overburdened with external things and estranged from the true life of spirit by humdrum toil, material greed and sensual excitement.

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The word Yoga is used in a variety of senses.¹ It may simply mean “method.”² It is often used in the sense of yoking.³ In the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavadgītā, the soul in its worldly and sinful condition is said to live separate and estranged from the supreme soul. The root of all sin and suffering is separation, disunion, estrangement. To be rid of sorrow and sin, we must attain spiritual unification, the consciousness of two in one, or Yoga. In Patañjali, Yoga does not mean union, but only effort, or, as Bhoja says, separation (viyoga) between puruṣa and prakṛti. It is the search for what Novalis called “our transcendental me,” the divine and eternal part of our being. It also signifies exertion, strenuous endeavour, and so came to be used for the system of the restraint of the senses and the mind.¹ Though it is sometimes used as a synonym for the end of samādhi, it is more often employed to indicate the way of reaching it. Passages are not wanting where it signifies the supreme power possessed by God.² Yoga, according to Patañjali, is a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical. The physical body, the active will and the understanding mind are to be brought under control. Patañjali insists on certain practices which are intended to cure the body of its restlessness and free it from its impurities. When we secure through these practices increased vitality, prolonged youth and longevity, these are to be employed in the interests of spiritual freedom. The other methods are employed to purify and tranquillise citta. The main interest of Patañjali is not metaphysical theorising, but the practical motive of indicating how salvation can be attained by disciplined activity.³

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¹ See I.P., p. 532.

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² B.G., iii. 3.

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³ See I.P., p. 532. See R.V., i. 34. 9; vii. 67-8; iii. 27. 11; x. 30. 11; x. 114. 9; iv. 24. 4; i. 5. 3; i. 30. 7; Śat. Brāh., xiv. 7. 1, 11. According to Yājñavalkya, the conjunction of the individual and the supreme souls is called Yoga. Saṃyogo yoga ity ukto jīvātmaparamātmanor iti (S.D.S., xv).

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¹ Y.S., i. 1.

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² B.G., ix. 5. See also Baladeva's *Prameyaratnāvali*, p. 14.

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³ The *Yogatattva Up.* speaks of four kinds of Yoga: Mantrayoga, Layayoga, Haṭhayoga and Rājayoga. Patañjali's Yoga is of the last kind, since it deals at length with the process of stilling the mind and attaining samādhi. Haṭhayoga holds that bodily activities can be mastered. Bodily control is a part of Patañjali's Yoga. Mantrayoga is based on faith-healing. While the Christian thinkers who practise this method attribute the influence to the Christian faith and ministry, there is evidence that faith-cure is not confined to any one form of religion. M. Coué reminds us of the ancient medicine man. Cure by faith is not interference with the order of nature by the direct hand of God or penetration of some secondary supernatural essence. Cure by mantras or incantations is possible only in cases where the disease is nervous and the mind is deranged under a baffled will or an overpowering conviction or some obsession or dislocation born of a mental shock. The scoffer who says, "Show me a broken leg re-set by faith and I will listen to your pretensions," is not altogether impertinent.

Cites (6)