Raja yoga speaks of samadhi, as the aim of yoga. Bhakti yoga speaks of unconditional love, as the aim of yoga. Jnana yoga speaks of realizing the oneness with the higher self, as the aim of yoga. Every yoga speaks of an aspiration, a goal and an aim, and they are all different. So, what is the aspiration or the aim of the combined yogas together?
Each yoga has a specific goal and aspiration. Each yoga is like a class that you pass. After passing each yoga, after passing each class, you get the certificate of having passed and attained mastery over the subject. In the same manner, the different yogas, like hatha yoga, raja yoga, kriya yoga, kundalini yoga, mantra yoga, nada yoga, laya yoga, every yoga has set its own goal, for they all correspond to a different dimension of life.
Hatha yoga corresponds to the physical dimension. Therefore, the aim of hatha yoga is the body and the awakening and balance of the pranas, as body and mind are governed by the pranic factor.
Raja yoga deals with the mind. So, it is the realization of the deeper mind, which becomes the aspiration of raja yoga. This realization of the deeper mind is samadhi. In kundalini yoga, the aim is the awakening of the energies and the union of Shiva and Shakti.
Bhakti yoga relates to emotions and the high point of emotional expression is the unconditional connection with all, which you translate as love. I say it is unconditional connection. I am not giving it a name. If I use the word ‘love,’ your pre conceived notions of love will kick in. Some may think, ‘Love like hugging’. Some people may think, ‘Love like supporting’. Some may think, ‘Love is being together’. All these pre conceived notions will kick in, when we use the word ‘love.’ So, instead of using the word ‘love’, I am using the word ‘connection’. Just as there is connection between mother and child, there is connection between guru and disciple. That connection tells you everything, and that connection is based on what? Love. However, that love is not an expression of your pre conceived notion. It is respect, honour, acceptance, strength; it is love in all its little forms. The purpose of bhakti yoga is to have a creative connection with everything and with everyone.
Very few people have even considered finding out or even asking what is the total or ultimate aim of yoga, when all these yogas are combined. I am happy to tell you, and this will also represent the aspirations of the Yoga Chakra. We have three higher yogas, which people do not know about. They are known as Deva Yag, Deva Yoga and Brahma Yoga. These are the last yogas, after kriya, kundalini and the other esoteric forms of yoga, beyond laya yoga, nada yoga and mantra yoga. What is their belief and their foundation? The foundation and belief of these higher yogas is the connection with the higher or the divine nature.
That divine nature is trans-mind, beyond mind. That divine nature is something which humans have not experienced, except a few exceptional beings, who are the luminous masters of the time. The process is that when you go through the different yogas and master them, you achieve a condition of mind, an awareness, focus, concentration, vitality and an awakening of the pranas. In this way, you keep progressing into pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and then samadhi.
People believe samadhis to be the last goal of yoga; for raja yogis it is, but not for yogis. Every type of samadhi relates to a different condition, nature and quality of mind. Whether it be savikara, nirvikara, savikalpa, nirvikalpa, samprajnata, asamprajnata, sahaja, asmita, they do not deal with the higher mind. They deal with the total mind, which we are experiencing in this life. We are not experiencing the higher mind; we are experiencing the total mind. Total mind means the conscious, the unconscious, the subconscious. That is our range; we have not gone into super-conscious. Total means the sensorial, mental, emotional and psychic, but not the mystical and spiritual. When you move into samadhi and until you go beyond asmita samadhi, you are only working in the dimension of the mind. There is no freedom from the mind. You can experience silence in the mind, shoonyata, yet still it is an experience of mind. You can have visions and experiences, yet they are expressions and experiences of mind. Only after asmita samadhi, when you enter into the ananda samadhi, where all individuality has been dissolved, you enter into the Brahma Yoga, and the Brahma Yoga sadhana begins at that level.
This Brahma Yoga represents the connection of the individual with the divine. Mother Teresa of Avila was a nun. When she used to meditate, there were times that stigmata would appear on her hands spontaneously, naturally. They would remain there until they were healed. Then again after some time, they would reappear. What was that state of mind? It was not your mind or my mind, it was a mind that was experiencing union at the highest level. At that level, experiences of divinity, which for this nun was the image of Christ, would be experienced in her own body, and stigmata would appear. That is Brahma Yoga where individuality does not remain and one becomes fused with the divine.
In the process or system of meditation we go through the different layers of mind, yet ultimately we have to focus on an istha devata. Yogis gave us many tools. They said you can focus on the sun, the moon, breath, sound, on a jyoti, you can focus everywhere. However, yogis never used any of these symbols which we are using. They only used the symbol of their ishta devata. If it was Shiva it was Shiva; if it was Rama it was Rama; if it was Krishna it was Krishna; if it was Devi it was Devi. That ishta devata represented their own identification and aspiration to experience that divine quality or nature.
Manas, buddhi, chitta, ahamkara hold us down to this material, sensorial dimension. If we are able to transcend these four aspects, we are in the state of Brahma Yoga, beyond manas, buddhi, chitta, ahamkara, in the cosmic awareness. The real meaning of Brahma Yoga is to establish oneself in that cosmic, divine, transcendental consciousness by going beyond manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara. All the other yogas are methods prescribed to help us go beyond these four components of manas, buddhi, chitta, ahamkara. All the practices that you do from hatha yoga to bhakti yoga, from raja yoga to jnana yoga, from kriya yoga to karma yoga, help in managing these four aspects of Brahma, manas, buddhi, chitta and ahamkara.
They are steps. Hatha yoga is step number one. You stand on the first rung. Karma yoga becomes rung two to aid hatha yoga. Raja yoga becomes rung three, bhakti yoga becomes rung four, kriya yoga rung five and jnana yoga becomes rung six or the sixth step. If you are serious and sincere in all these, then the seventh level is Brahma Yoga. If you are not serious and sincere, you have to go through the other yogas as well like mantra yoga, japa yoga, nada yoga, laya yoga and work with those little conditions which have held you back. Then you go to Brahma Yoga. This is the whole concept. Ultimately, the cumulative effect of all the yogas will lead you to the merger with the transcendental self.
I will conclude with one statement of Paramahamsaji. One day he said in an informal way, “You know Niranjan, if I attain samadhi and while my soul is being transferred from body to cosmos, whatever time it takes, whether it is a split second or one year, during that journey I will have access to all knowledge of the universe.” That is the dimension of jnana. That is the dimension of omniscience. First comes omniscience, when you get to know everything. Jnana is the first level of Brahma Yoga. Then comes omnipotence, again I refer to Paramahamsaji. In 1964, he wrote an article, ‘I am going to experiment with materialization after my death.’ This was written in 1964. After his samadhi, there have been physical manifestations of him seen by people. That is the level of omnipotence, which is second after omniscience. The third is omnipresence, pervading everywhere. Omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence is the transcendental nature, indicating the three components of Brahma Yoga.
26 November 2023, Kriya Yoga–Jnana Yoga Training, Ganga Darshan, Munger