Lesson 20 : Online Education in Yoga by Prashant S Iyengar

Lesson sets off with the thought that in the current age of kaliyuga, there is a lot of discouragement for dharma because the ways of the world are wicked. Struggling for material success one finds no time or space for collecting virtues. Some persons may be old or feeble and don’t have fit bodies to collect virtues with virtuous acts. Often, the mind being treacherous is also an unfit instrument for virtuous acts. At all such time, there is no need to get disappointed. Vācha comes very handy. Great merits can be collected by vāchika karma which includes vedic chanting, reading gospels of saints and sages, reading philosophical texts, singing kirtana and japa. Japa is mentioned by Patañjali in many places. In 1st chapter, the japa sūtra; in 2nd chapter, the kriyayoga sutra; and in 2nd chapter the niyama sūtra. Nāma sankīrtanam̄ and nāma smaraṇaṁ are also vācika kriyās. Using different mantras will also create virtue. Vyāsa at the end of Dvapar yuga beseeches that the best instrument for kaliyug is simply to take the 'nām', name of divinity. There is an explanation about the role of the senses differentiating sensory act and sensely acts. This is indriyām kriyā. A limb of aṣṭānga yoga is dedicated to this called pratyāhāra. The senses have a hot-line or a direct corridor to the mind. They can disturb the mind in an instant. So to work on c̣itta, we must first work on the mind. In the worldly plane, the senses work as ‘bhogendriyās’. We make them ‘sukhaprāptendriyas’. But on the internal realm they become wisdom organs, ‘jñānendriyās’. An elaborate explanation follows about the various ‘pre-fixes’ to the word ‘jñāna’ to understand its purport. A practical experience follows of understanding the role of the senses with ‘tādāsana’: a)How should the eyes ‘see’ b)How should the nostrils ‘breathe’ c)How should the ears ‘hear’ d)How does the nose ‘smell’ Finally, a project of studying the role of the indriyas and a suggestion of continuing this study in the next session.