Page 14 - NAMAH-Jan-2024

Namah Vol. 31, Issue 4, 15th January 2024

physical purussa, the self of the body. This from manipulating behaviour through the
type of Yoga has always been a favourite process of conditioning and other such means
to the early forms of a Raakssasic and animal as reward and punishment. These outer means
humanity, whose seat is largely in the vital. change the surfaces and the change lasts by
In the modern version of the Hatthayoga, the force of habit and not as an authentic inner
a
strenuous asanas are rarely practised. It has shift. Given an opportunity the surface
been reduced to exercises for physical health behavioural change breaks down easily.
and through the practice of praannaayama, an On the other hand, the change of patterns
increase in the vital energy and the smooth brought about by the Yoga shows up last on
flow of praannic energies through the human the surface but endures once it is established
system. in the outer nature.

As man evolves further and becomes
aware of his mental world, then we see the
emergence of Raajayoga, which is mainly
focused on the control of and control by
a
the mind. Rajayoga mainly arrives largely at
mind-control and, through that, unleashes
the full possibilities of the mind. It is through
the mind it seeks to discover the secret
soul and ends up discovering the mental
s
Witness Purusa. Rajayoga does augment mind
a
capacities and adds new ones, which is why As man evolved and started exploring
it is the favourite of the AAsuric type whose the different dimensions of his subjective
seat is largely in the mind. It may be noted self, he discovered three main keys within
that the way we look at these terms today in him. These keys, though blunted through
a rather judgmental and often pejorative wrong use could, if potentiated and rightly
sense is not how the pragmatic and soberer used, open still deeper inner doors upon
ancient thought of India looked at it. Instead the deepest Reality that we carry within
of the over-simplified binaries of good us. These three keys are will, emotion and
and bad, Yoga looks at humanity not as thought. Normally, these keys are used
something fixed forever, but along a graded to open outer locks for limited gains. Will
evolutionary scale. Yoga takes its stand is used to satisfy desires and ambitions.
on the possibility of evolution and hence Emotions are used for joys of relationships
accepts that human beings can change. But and the sense of belonging that attachment
unlike the Behaviourists, Yoga looks for the provides giving a feeling of security. Thought
inner springs and secret keys that Nature has is used to understand and gain knowledge
‘carelessly’ dropped or ‘carefully’ hidden. generally of a pragmatic nature so that one can
It is by handling these inner and occult deal better with the world and the challenges
springs of our actions that Yoga proposes of life. However, these three keys can be
to change human nature, including our potentiated by concentrating their energy
character and personality. This is different upon a single object or subject. Will turning

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