Theos-Talk Archives (December 2006 Message tt00204)

Friends, 

What is Raja Yoga after all? 

The most important treaty on it, in all times, seems to be the one by Patañjali. 

"The four books of Patanjali's Yoga Aphorisms, as interpreted by William Quan Judge, present a clear picture of metaphysical tenets and principles as a basis for psychological disciplinary practices outlined throughout them. Their metaphysics provide a comprehensive foundation upon which their ethical and moral practices are built, and these in their turn must become part and parcel of the inner and outer life of the student."
Thus begins an article on that Yoga which is at the heart of the theosophical movement.  And the text goes on:  
"Study and practice should go hand in hand, for the study of the tenets, with the necessary meditation on their actual meaning, provides a chart by which the student can guide his mental, emotional and physical natures towards a safe anchorage in 'Concentration'.  When the practical application of the philosophical tenets is seen to be necessary and is undertaken by the student, then the whole book becomes a 'living treatise' on how to disentangle the mind from the several allurements of the senses and of the desire nature, which cause its 'modifications'."
Our mind changes in form: 
"The mind gets modified or transformed, as it were, into the subject or object that comes up before it, and this makes concentration difficult for most of us. Book I carefully enumerates these modifications of the mind, which the student can verify by the direct process of observation or perception, the analytical process of inference, which involves weighing and measuring, and by careful checking of his findings with the testimony of others. These three, Perception, Inference and Testimony, give rise to what Patanjali calls "Correct Cognition," that is, an accurate appraisal of all objects taken up by the mind for meditation. This form of meditation, which requires an object for the mind to focus itself upon, is called by Patanjali 'meditation with its seed.'

You can see all of this article, which was published in 2005 by the magazine "The Theosophical Movement", clicking at 

http://www.teosofia.com/Mumbai/7506patanjali.html  . 

Regards,   Carlos. 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]