Thus Spake the Divine - Yogi

Thus Spake the Divine

"Yogi"

What is the identity of a true Yogi? Here is what Poojyasri Maha Periyava has to say on this.

Yogi is one, who will never let any sorrow affect him. The sin, that is impurity of the mind, is the reason for sorrows. If we eradicate all impurities within the mind, the mind will automatically turn into the direction of Paramatma. Only by way of discipline and adherence to rules of Dharma, can we eradicate the impurities of mind. Before the Atma quits this body, one should lead a disciplined life, with right kind of education and virtuous habits and cleanse the impurities of the mind. If one can do that and dismiss impurities, at the end, the body itself would unify with Paramatma and reach the state of Yogam.

What is the identity of a yogi? Yogi is one, whose mind is engrossed with Paramatma and who never wishes to accept anything else other than Paramatma. The yogi’s mind will not wander at all. Thus, if we bring our mind to a motionless state, all sorrows arising out of this mind will disappear. To get that state of mind, what should we be associated with? The mind should associate itself with the source from which it was created. If the mind merges with its source, it will dissolve itself within the source. Obviously, the mind will then not wander. That is the state when the mind is liberated from all kinds of sorrows.

You see the river. What is the source of a river? It is the ocean. Only sea water transforms into vapour and rain, and takes the form of a river in some other place. That river runs swiftly across places. After perennial running, at the end, it merges with the ocean, which was its origin and source. After that, does it hold any other form or identity of its own? Can it flow any further beyond? No way! Just like the ocean being the source of all rivers, which also absorbs all its rivers into its own magnitude, there is Yogam, which can absorb all our mind’s thoughts and integrate them into one.

Yogis, while being in their state of deep meditative contemplation dissolve their minds and relinquish their external awareness completely, and associate themselves with the unifying substance Paramatma. To us, it may sometimes appear that a Yogi has stayed connected with external awareness but, in reality, he does not have any desire towards anything. But, if a yogi indulges in even a minute level of aspiration towards a particular substance, it means he can no more be considered a Yogi, and he has not reached God.

We can also attribute the identity of a Yogi in another way. If a Yogi’s mind is engrossed with God, thereafter, even if he is faced with the severest form of sorrow, the mind should not oscillate, move or weep. If in case the mind gets frustrated even to a little extent, then its means that he has not reached the Paramatma.

Yogi may face a lot of sorrows; rather they will appear as sorrows to the external world. But he will not feel the severity of the sorrows to the least. He will remain as a dead wood. Even the connotation of dead wood is not correct. That is only the state with no emotions or feelings. It is only the Yogi who exists with the absolute consciousness. He is the one who is ever blissful. Yogi is the one who absolutely renounces his desires for material substances and remains ever blissful.

In the innate nature of the Yogi, there flows only compassion. He will not show any anger or hatred towards anyone. He will only have the conscious feeling that he should not be the cause of any harm to any living being. Whatever he is doing, even though externally it will appear as if he is doing something, he will never have the ego that ‘he is doing’ something. There will not be any self-attachment towards anything; though externally some of his acts might appear harsh, nothing but absolute compassion will flow out of him. Parameshvara, who is the personification of Maha Yogi, carries out His duty of destruction only with this state of mind. It might appear to us as something very vengeful. However, Paramatma carries out the act of destruction only with the intention that each and every Jeevan, howsoever it happens to be the most sinful Jeevan, should be liberated from its karma and get absorbed into Him.

Paramatma puts us to sleep on a daily basis and relieves us from the happiness and sorrows for a while during our sleep. Even after this body dies, He gives retreat to the body for some time. We fall asleep daily and on waking up we indulge again into good and bad deeds, as before. Similarly, after the body dies and enjoys the retreat for a while, we wake up from another body. There should be an escape from this chaotic movement of repeated cycle of birth and death. Once this body decays, there should not be emergence of another body. We should prepare ourselves towards that state. Absolute compassion, penance, Pooja, sacred fire, charity – all these are the means, which facilitate attainment of this state. If only one triumphs and elevates billions and billions of people gradually towards the enlightened state through various practices as mentioned above, there would emerge at least one Yogi or one Jnyani in the fullest form. Emergence of such a Yogi is the ultimate purpose of this whole creation.

This article is a snippet from the Book Thus Spake the Divine, is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.

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