The search for Consciousness and the encounter with the light
The mind is what governs a very large part of our existence.
It is made up of the memory of our history, it gives rise to feelings, desires, deep sleep, dream sleep and the waking state we are in right now. It is also what creates the distinction between an inner world and an outer world.
So we live constantly with the mind, under its sway.
A perceived object is perceived by our senses, which send the information to the mind. The mind takes the shape of that object, hence the pleasure we sometimes feel when looking at something beautiful, especially something desirable. This information is then processed by the mind according to what it already knows from memory, which is why we recognise a jug without seeing the whole jug: the mind holds recorded data from jugs seen elsewhere.
The information about the object then rises further to our sense of ego, Ahamkâra, which likes or dislikes the thing, and here the notions of pleasure and displeasure appear. Finally the information rises to buddhi, which gives a view of what is true or not. It is the thing deep inside us that says "no, it is not right to do that", something we sense more than we hear...
Here too we could speak of someone having a bad spirit, because Buddhi can pick up bad habits and send back negative information if Buddhi is not connected to the spirit. If this connection does not exist, it is because the individual carries very strong imprints within (vâsanâ and samsâra). These imprints are very subtle and very deep, they are inscribed in the energetic architecture of the individual, in their energy centres.
They directly influence behaviour, because they pollute buddhi and steer it towards desires and actions that are harmful to existence.
So there is deep work to be done on our energies to begin burning away these imprints and, little by little, open a path towards the light of the spirit.
Then, in this house without light, one day a small hole lets a ray of light through, and practice after practice the light enters the house until everything is illuminated.
For the Yogi, this work goes through the postures, which rebalance the energy centres, then through pranayama, which purifies the energies. The individual thus has an energy that becomes ever freer and more powerful, and it is consciousness that uses it to reach higher and higher vibrations and so connect with ever more subtle elements…
Little by little the individual transmutes their being towards more consciousness and more presence in the present moment. The mind, enlightened by Buddhi, falls silent "naturally" and calm becomes the nature of the being.
This path is long and demands strong commitment, but when I talk with friends who follow paths other than Yoga, they use the same techniques as the Yogis. The practice of Mahamudra, one of the greatest Tibetan practices, is the same as the one described by Abhinavagupta (the great Indian tantric master) in his Tantraloka.
And having also practised a little Zen, I believe I glimpsed the same rigour and the same approach.
In the books about the Rinpoches in their caves, they work on all of this for years, and it is the same for all practitioners around the world, of every religion.
All the precise paths speak of the same thing: a seated posture to stop physical movement and allow the mind to calm down. Then breathing techniques that carry the individual towards mastery and precise knowledge of the energies. When the body has become a piece of free energy, it is "glorified" and at last allows great things to be experienced.
This result is not obtained through a mere idea, it is work on every level, that of consciousness in the moment, but also postures, pranayama and still, seated meditation, because this allows the whole being to transform so that Buddhi can appear.
Read chapter III of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: it gives a small idea of what convergence can do, once we have a body and a mind able to truly know convergence (or concentration). Read also sutra III.8, which gives another fine idea of progression.
https://www.pratique-du-yoga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=283
Enjoy your practice!
Comments (2)
Pascal
Le Yoga est rencontré Dieu.
Faut-il se perdre dans la lumière d'après vous, mais comment se perdre dedans ?
Reply from Denis
Merci Pascal pour ton message !
Oui le Yoga est traditionnellement fait pour rencontrer Dieu.
Tout le reste nous est donné en chemin, mais l'axe principal est cette union avec la source que nous n'avons finalement jamais quitté, puisqu'il est seul et unique.
Pour se perdre dedans, le Yoga est l'une des technique qui permet cela...
Au plaisir de partager ce chemin avec toi.
Odile
Pratiquer le Yoga pour retrouver la liberté, se libérer de la loi de la cause et de l'effet, se délivrer des entraves de la condition humaine... Ce que j'apprécie avec Patanjali, c'est qu'il nous donne un moyen simple, concret, et merveilleusement efficace pour devenir plus conscient, vigilant et plus apte à vivre chaque instant dans sa plénitude...
Reply from Denis
Attention cependant au fait que Patanjali était un ascète et qu'il prône un ascétisme stricte qui est un choix de vie particulier et de voir que nous, nous sommes dans la vie et non en retrait...