Mystery and Excellence on The Human Body - Body Reaching Out Beyond Itself

Part VIII

Body reaching out beyond itself

An 18th century Indian depiction of the network

of centres (chakras) in the subtle body

Body reaching out beyond itself 

Introduction

The growing popularity of Hatha Yoga all over the world does not necessarily mean that its real purpose is well known or understood. In  fact, the Hatha Yoga practices which were designed by the ancient  Rishis of India for the evolution of man, are now being viewed and utilized in a very limited sense. Today, particularly in the West, Hatha  Yoga is generally practised to improve health, reduce stress, minimize  the effects of ageing or keep the body fit. People even speak of going to  "yoga classes " or doing "yoga exercises " — as if "yoga" was some  kind of callisthenics — without knowing, it seems, that Yoga, which is a  word subsuming many disciplines, goes far beyond and far deeper than  mere physical exercises, however remarkable they may be.

It is therefore important to reflect on the deeper purpose of Hatha  Yoga so as to put this great discipline in its proper place in the realm of  physical education.

Yoga is a Sanskrit word which comes from the root-verb "yuj", to  unite. All Yoga is by nature an attempt and an arriving at unity with the  Supreme. To attain freedom from our ordinary limitations and to become  one with the Divine is the common aim of all Yogas, but there are specializations and, towards this end, they use different kinds of methods.  They all consist in a self-discipline, but each Yoga concentrates on a different realm of the being which, once purified and controlled, can  become a gateway into the Spirit.

So Hatha Yoga also is meant to lead to unity or some kind of union

with That which is the Highest; and here, the starting-point is the body,  It is on the subtle workings of the body that the Hatha Yogin applies his  concentration. It is the body that should be made into a door opening  onto the Spirit. But the system of Hatha Yoga is founded on a particular  view of the body, on a close connection between body and soul: here the  body is not seen only as a mass of gross matter; this mass of gross matter in which there is life is seen as a material reproduction of the subtler  parts of our being. It contains a secret. It is a sort of mysterious bridge  between the physical and the spiritual being.

The human body, according to Hatha Yoga, is a receptacle which,  when purified, can hold an illimitable amount of universal life-energy.  It is an instrument which, when taught concentration, can control and  direct energy for a definite end. It is a pathway which, once cleared,  can lead to the vastness of the Spirit.

Yoga is different from philosophy. While in philosophy, what is  important is theory and speculation, in Yoga what counts is practice and  direct experience. However, traditionally one was not to undertake  alone this difficult journey. Only a guru could guide the steps of the  seeker, and most of the practical instructions were directly passed from  the guru to the pupil. They were even meant not to be divulged to any one. Nevertheless some ancient texts exist and may help to shed light on  this great science. We will extract some verses from one of them, Hatha ; Yoga Pradipika (Light on Hatha Yoga) written in Sanskrit by Yogi  Swatmarama, hoping that it will enable the reader to understand better  the principles and methods of Hatha Yoga.

Hatha Yoga is only one of the several systems of Yoga. Other systems of Yoga include Raja Yoga (Yoga of meditative concentration), '  Buddhi Yoga (Yoga of intelligent will), Karma Yoga (Yoga of Divine  works), Jnana Yoga (Yoga of Divine knowledge), Bhakti Yoga (Yoga of  Divine Love), etc. There are also many other systems of Yoga like  Mantra Yoga, Kriya Yoga and others. Another very important system of  Yoga is that of Tantra. In India, there have been many attempts at synthesizing various systems of Yoga. The earliest synthesise of Yoga is to  be found in the Veda, which combined the processes of knowledge,  action, and devotion so as to arrive at immortality. The next system of  synthesis is to be in the Upanishads, where a great emphasis was laid  on the processes of knowledge. In the Gita, Sri Krishna expounds a  grand synthesis of Buddhi Yoga, Dhyana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Jnana

Yoga and Bhakti Yoga, where the final emphasis is laid on bhakti as a  supreme motivation of Karma Yoga and crown of Jnana Yoga. In recent  times, Sri Ramakrishna synthesised various systems of Yoga as also  inner practices of different religions like Christianity and Islam into a  large synthesis. Swami Vivekananda expounded the concept of synthesis of Yoga in his various works. The latest task of synthesis of Yoga has  been accomplished by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. In this synthesis  the integrating principle is that of integral concentration. All instruments of the body life, mind, soul and spirit are purified, subtilised and  perfected and they are focussed on the goal of integral realisation of  the Divine and integral transformation of the human nature. In this vast synthesis, the goals of various systems of Yoga are integrated but  the details of their respective methods are either dispensed with altogether or modified or retained only in their essence. In this Integral  Yoga, the goal of physical perfection is an essential part; but the concept  of physical perfection is much vaster than the one found in the Hatha  Yoga. Again, while the methods of Hatha Yoga are accepted as valid  methods of the goals of Hatha Yoga itself, these are not insisted upon  either as central or peripheral in the Integral Yoga; they are optional.  and can be adopted; but they can be also dispensed with altogether and  replaced by deeper psychological processes applied to the human body  as also to other aspects of human personality.

A very important caution is given to the reader that Hatha Yogic  practises should be undertaken only under the strict supervision of a  competent teacher.

All Yogic systems maintain that the human body is subordinate to  the spirit and that the human body can be rightly dealt with only when  we can reach out beyond the limitations of our physical being. In some  extreme systems of Yoga, the body tends to be neglected and it is even  declared that the body is an obstacle to conquest of the Spirit. In the  integral systems of Yoga, body is looked upon as an instrument of the  Spirit; in some cases, the body is used as an instrument or as a necessary basis until spiritual realisation is achieved. In the Integral Yoga of  Sri Aurobindo and The Mother, a greater goal of the human body has  been envisaged. Here the human body is required to achieve not only  high degrees of excellence but also such perfections which can be  expected when the Spirit manifests fully in the physical body.

One can achieve extraordinary capacities by practices which have

been recommended by Hatha Yoga. One can also utilize methods, of   or even Martial Arts. On account of their great importance, we are presenting in this part appropriate selections on these  subjects. It is hoped that these will be found not only interesting but  also instructive. But even then, there are further possibilities of the  human body which have been envisaged in the Integral Yoga. A statement of these further possibilities is to be found in Sri Aurobindo's  essays on "The Supramental Manifestation on Earth". A chapter from  the book entitled "Perfection of the Body" has been placed in Part IX.  Even beyond the perfection of the body, Sri Aurobindo has envisaged  the possibility of the mutation of the human body. How that body would  be, how it would function and what extraordinary powers and capacities it would possess and manifest is discussed by Sri Aurobindo in  another chapter entitled "The Divine Body". We have envisaged the  inclusion of that chapter in a later book that we are planning. But the  readers who are keen even at this stage to know how Sri Aurobindo and  The Mother envisaged and worked for the mutation of the human  body may be advised to read Sri Aurobindo's book "-The Supramental  Manifestation upon Earth" and thirteen volumes of Mother's Agenda.  The readers may also refer in this connection to Satprem's "Sri Aurobindo or the Adventure of Consciousness", "The Mother or The Divine  Materialism", "The Mother or the Next Species" and "The Mother or  the Mutation of Death". Satprem's recent book "Evolution II" can also  be recommended.