emptybill:
> They know even less about the differences in basic
> view between Zen, Tantra, Mahamudra and Dzogchen...
>
According to the Sage Patanjali, Raja Yoga has nothing to
do with 'union with the gods', but has everything to do
with 'isolation from prakriti'.
That is, the 'cessation of the fluctuations of the
mindstuff'.
To Patanjali, the Royal Yoga is the attainment of freedom,
based on the sheer willpower of the individual. The Sage
Kapila said that success in attaining freedom from
suffering is found in individual willpower to knowledge;
individual freedom is not the result of any source of
power outside one's own body-mind.
It is obvious, to even a casual seeker, that the term
'god' and 'yoga' are contradictory. You can't have
freewill and be under the power of another; that would
be a contradiction in terms, would it not? We are either
free or we are not; if free, then there is no need for
yoga practice. If we are not free, then by what means
are we to free ourselves?
It's that simple - there is either other-power or
self-power.
"Confusion arises from erroneously identifying words,
objects, and ideas with one another; knowledge of the
cries of all creatures comes through perfect discipline
of the distinctions between them" (YS 3.17).
So, ask yourself 'who am I' and then look inside yourself
for the answer, inside your own mind, and apply common
sense and intelligence based on your own experience and
reasoning.
Now, having tested and known your Self by yourself, know
such to be wise and true, not by mere speculation,
hearsay or because you read it, overheard it or were
told it, but because you, yourself, having known it,
experienced it, and confirmed it, found it to be wise
and true.
So, let's review:
The gods, if they exist, are subject to the same laws of
karma as humans, and when their store of karma runs out
they will experience rebirth just like you and I.
According to the law of cause and effect, whatever goes
up must come down - that is, human excrement always flows
down stream - the second law of thermodynamics.
The Shakya, Patanjali, Shankara, Ramanuja, Madhva,
Nimbarka, Chaitanya, and Vallabah and Maharishi all agree
on this.
In contrast to the gods, a Yogin, that is, one who has
attained Freedom and Immortality, has broken the chain
that binds him or her to the law of karma: a Yogin is
free, liberated, that is, he has attained 'Siddhi' and he
is a fully realized master of his own Self.
A Yogin is not bound by time, neither is he bound by the
restrictions of caste or religious conventions. A Yogin,
having mastered himself, by himself, does not see ritual
acts as the saving grace, yet he acts, due to the
propensities still functioning within his mortal coil.
A Yogin is liberated while yet living, a 'jivan mukti'.
Being liberated, a Yogin is not bound by the notion of
duality, thinking, "I do this, this is my body, this is
my soul, this is my self..." etc.
