It means the ultimate goal of spiritual practice, as well as the specific process leading to the achievement of this goal. Sometimes they give an analogy with the ocean and rivers flowing into it. The ocean is bhakti yoga, and the rivers are other yoga systems that ultimately also lead to bhakti yoga. Ashtanga Yoga is one of these rivers, and one of the most famous. It is often called simply “yoga” or “classical yoga,” and this is explained by the fact that the Ashtanga Yoga system was described in detail by the ancient sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutra and entered into traditional Indian philosophy as one of the darshanas (philosophical systems). This yoga system is also called mystic yoga, meditation yoga, dhyana yoga and sankhya yoga.
"Ashtanga" in Sanskrit means "eight-step." Ashtanga yoga consists of the following steps: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. The initial stages of ashtanga yoga is hatha yoga - a system by which a yogi learns to control the body through yoga asanas and breathing through pranayama. Having achieved this and secluded from the world, such a person tries to develop the ability to control the vital air circulating in his body. When nothing bothers you anymore, and the vital air is concentrated near the crown, in the heart or below the navel, you try to concentrate fully on the Supreme Lord. This concentration of consciousness is called samadhi.
Samadhi, or the consciousness of God, is the stage of perfection in both ashtanga yoga and bhakti yoga. The difference is that success in the system of ashtanga yoga is determined by the technical ability of a person to control his feelings and mind, and the initial stages of this system are designed specifically for the development of such an ability. To do this, the yogi must first streamline his life, which is achieved through the first two stages of the eight-step process: pits and niyama.
The pit is regulatory principles. In verses 33-34 of the nineteenth chapter of the Eleventh Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, answering the question of Uddhava, Krishna lists the following twelve principles: non-violence (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), the prohibition of theft or harassment of another's property (asteya), detachment (asanga), humility (hri), non-possessiveness (asanchaya), faith in religious principles (astikya), sexual continence (brahmacharya), silence (mauna), self-control (sthayya), forgiveness (kshama) and fearlessness (abhaya).
What follows is niyama - prescribed duties. Krishna lists them in verses 34-35, immediately after the regulative principles, - maintaining internal and external purity (shauch), chanting the holy names of the Lord (japa), asceticism (tapa), sacrifice (homa), faith (sraddha), hospitality (atithya ), worship of the Lord (arcana), pilgrimage to holy places (tirtha-atana), the desire only to achieve the Supreme (para-artha-iha), satisfaction (tusti) and service to the spiritual master (acharya-sevana).
The next step, which is called asana, is to a greater or lesser extent just physical gymnastics, although it is particularly effective. The body of a yoga should be healthy and flexible, the movement of vital energy in the system of thin channels (meridians) should be completely free. Otherwise, the yogi will not be able to take the correct posture for meditation, and the signals that the body will send will not allow the yogi to achieve full concentration of the mind.
Having put in order the physical body, the yogi proceeds to pranayama - breathing exercises designed to bring the mind and feelings to a state of perfect peace and freedom from worldly activity. With the help of pranayama, the yogi controls the flow of air in the body to maintain it in a healthy state. Having fully mastered the system of hatha yoga, he can now go to a secluded place and begin meditation. This is what Krishna says in the sixth chapter of the Bhagavad-gita:
For yoga, you need to find a clean secluded place, lay on the ground a mat of kush grass, covering it with deer skin and soft cloth. The seat should not be too high or, conversely, too low. Having sat down properly, you can begin to practice yoga. By curbing the mind and feelings, controlling the activity of the body and concentrating the mind's eye at one point, the yogi must clear his heart of material contamination.
Keeping the body, neck and head in line, the yogi should focus on the tip of the nose. Having calmed down and restrained the mind, getting rid of fear and completely abandoning sexual activity, he must fix his mental gaze on My image in the heart and make Me his highest goal.
Bhagavad-gita, 6.11-14
The goal of the systems of ashtanga yoga and bhakti yoga is one and the same - to fully concentrate consciousness on the Supreme Lord. However, the sadhana-bhakti process taught by spiritual teachers in the chain from Caitanya Mahaprabhu is significantly different from the process of ashtanga yoga. One who practices sadhana-bhakti carefully chooses the objects that he allows his senses to perceive, and at the same time lives in the world and engages in activities, while a person engaged in ashtanga yoga blocks the access of the senses to their objects, disconnecting them from the outside world . He is separated from the world, living in a secluded place, not communicating with people, etc. He sits down and closes or half-closes his eyes, concentrating on the tip of his nose so that, in essence, he does not see anything. He covers his ears with earplugs or hands, avoids taste sensations, fasting or eating very simple food. It eats only the most necessary - water, air, raw husked rice, etc. Following the instructions of Patanjali, the yogi thus tries to block the access of the senses to their objects in order to be able to meditate on God in his heart. This is the next stage of the ashtanga yoga system - pratyahara, or the distraction of the senses from their objects. In this regard, often give an example with a turtle. The tortoise can easily draw its limbs and head into the shell, and then, at will, let them out. In the same way, pratyahara is the ability to stop the external activity of the senses, turning them inward.
Having mastered the art of pratyahara, a person feels an inner detachment from his material body with his feelings, as a result of which he is relieved - the feelings no longer bother him. This alone makes him largely calm and peaceful. He feels freedom from the constant requirements emanating from the body, perceiving it somewhat detached.
In addition to the fact that the Ashtanga Yogi is separated from the world with its tastes, sounds and colors, he also avoids relationships. Love is considered something "bad." For example, in the Buddhist yoga process (basically it is the process of Sankhya Yoga and Hatha Yoga) one is not allowed to have any love relationship, because if a person becomes attached to someone or something, he will suffer.
Thus, the process of ashtanga yoga is ultimately designed to enable one to meditate on the Lord in the heart, Paramatma. This possibility is facilitated by the elimination of distractions, such as visual images, sounds, tastes, attachment to food, people, anxiety caused by relationships, etc.
Having made the effort necessary to disconnect the senses from the outside world, the yogi must then enter a state conducive to successful meditation on God. This part of the practice is called Dharana - concentration of the mind. At this stage, the yogi attempts to raise the vital air. If he manages to do this, forcing the vital air to move freely along the sushumna (the main thin nerve, which runs from the base of the spine to the crown) and directing it up the chakras (thin nerve nodes), he reaches a state of equilibrium. Then it is more difficult to disturb or distract him, and he can concentrate on the Supreme Person.
The first six stages of ashtanga yoga culminate in the development of the ability to fully concentrate the mind, however, the object of concentration can be any one of the practitioner's choice. It may be spiritual, or it may be material. Therefore, the practice of the first six steps may not be spiritual at all, if the yogi is engaged in it, driven by the desire to achieve some material perfections (for example, mystical forces, or siddhas, which are not spiritual but subtle). Thus, dharana is not yet a transcendental state of consciousness. It is just an ability.
The next, seventh step is called dhyana - meditation. Genuine meditation should have nothing to do with the material world — material desires, interests, etc. - it must be completely transcendental. Now that the yogi has developed the ability to completely concentrate the mind, he should direct him to the Supreme Lord. This is what determines whether he will enter a state of transcendental meditation or remain in the material sphere. At the stage of dhyana, the yogi should concentrate his mind on the image of Paramatma (the Supersoul, the Lord in the heart), and for a bhakti-yoga meditation takes place on Bhagavan, the Supreme Personality (for more details see “Three Aspects of the Absolute Truth”).
In the Bhagavad-gita, the Supreme Lord says:
When a yogi arranges the activities of the mind and, freed from material desires, attains spiritual existence, he is called established in the practice of yoga.
As the flame of a lamp burns exactly in a calm place, so the transcendentalist, having restrained his mind, is always immersed in meditation on his spiritual "I".
Bhagavad-gita 6.18-19
About Samadhi - the highest level in Ashtanga Yoga, as well as in Bhakti Yoga - we have already written in the article “Why Meditate,” citing the following verses from the sixth chapter of Bhagavad-gita:
When a person attains perfection, called trance, or samadhi, his mind engaged in yoga is completely detached from material activity. Thanks to the purity of the mind, such a yogi gains the ability to see his true self, and it becomes for him a source of joy and happiness. In this joyful state, he experiences unlimited spiritual bliss, enjoying with the help of transcendental feelings. Having established itself at this level, a person never deviates from the truth and, having reached this state, understands that nothing more can be achieved. He never becomes confused, even in the face of great disasters. Here is true freedom from suffering arising from contact with the material world.
Bhagavad-gita, 6.20-23
Then Krsna says:
Thus, having curbed the mind and feelings and constantly engaged in the practice of yoga, a person is completely cleansed of material contamination and attains the highest, perfect happiness in the transcendental loving service of the Almighty.
The perfect yogi sees Me abiding in all living beings, and all living beings abiding in Me. Truly, a self-realized soul sees Me, the one Supreme Lord, everywhere.
He worships and serves the Supersoul, knowing that the Supersoul and I are one. Such a yogi always, under any circumstances, remains in Me.
Bhagavad-gita, 6.28-29, 31
The process of ashtanga yoga is not very suitable for our time, Kali-yuga. The Vedic scriptures say that quarrels constantly occur in Kali Yuga, chaos reigns and confusion, people have a bad memory and cannot sit in one place for a long time - their body gets tired and starts to bother them. Therefore, a special method has been prescribed for our age to keep the mind in a state of constant samadhi, focusing on the Supreme Lord, when the mind is like a flame of a lamp in a calm place - bhakti-yoga, or sadhana-bhakti.
The Ashtanga Yoga system has been proposed for bygone times; it is not intended for Kali Yuga. But even today, people in the West (mainly in big cities) are trying to follow this process. Perhaps they meditate for an hour every morning, but they lose sight of the final and most important part of the process of ashtanga yoga: what to meditate on. They are masters of asanas (you would never have thought that the poses that they can take are available to anyone but snakes) and pranayama. But having reached perfection in this, they do not know what to do with their consciousness. They forget or they have never been taught that after they have attained the ability to control the body and breath, or the vital air, they are supposed to focus their consciousness on the Supreme Person. And even if they know about it, it is almost impossible to achieve success in this way, because the neighbor plays the pipe nearby, children scream, dogs bark, airplanes fly overhead and any sensation coming from outside upsets the balance of mind, preventing you from meditating on the Lord .
Suppose a person is trying to meditate, and someone comes up to him and says: “Hey, hello!” "Oh shit! What do you need?" - the one answers. Or just gritting her teeth: “Omm ... What do you need? Ommm ... "He must make great efforts to prevent his feelings from interacting with the outside world. He avoids personal relationships, does not have children, etc., because all this serves as an obstacle or a hindrance. To find a good place, quiet and calm, he goes on vacation away to some quiet valley on a secluded island.
On one of the islands of the Pacific Ocean, many people used to go far, far deep into the beloved valley of such yogis to get away from all and meditate. That was not easy. Firstly, it was necessary to walk twenty kilometers or some other inconceivable distance, through mountains and hills. You should have injured your legs and brought an infection into your wounds. When you finally got to the right place, you were ready to fall and lie still, not meditate. If, in the end, you gathered your strength and, having bathed in a river and regained consciousness, sat down to meditate, damned mosquitoes flew right into your ear. (And the mosquitoes there are real - they just fly away after you slammed them. There is no need to worry that you will kill the mosquito!) Therefore, you had to walk these twenty kilometers again to buy a mosquito net, and then return to the forest. In the end, you would sit down there, thinking: “The mosquitoes are in order! I can hear you, but you cannot reach me. ” And then your mind returned to your city. As soon as you closed your eyes, you were no longer in a secluded valley: you were here, there - everywhere. You could eat in this forest only with guavas and another kind of exotic local fruit, but in your mind you enjoyed a cocktail in a vegetarian restaurant. Thus, ashtanga yoga is a very difficult process.
Then you need to turn off feelings and try to achieve a balance of mind. Then, if you hear, for example, someone talking, your mind will not be distracted by listening to it. And you will not be disturbed by the flow of thoughts in the mind itself. To achieve this balance, you need to overcome all the difficulties associated with raising the vital air. And for this you must be able to turn off feelings, etc. Thus, those who try to follow the process of ashtanga yoga or hatha yoga can encounter all kinds of difficulties and fall into various traps. Even just closing your eyes you can fall asleep, and therefore you need to learn special techniques to avoid this.
Those who are fortunate enough to meet the real followers of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and embark on the path of sadhana-bhakti do not need to worry about whether they will be able to turn off feelings; they are not trying to do this. But there are other traps along the way, and you need to be very careful not to get into them.
