CHAPTER 4: Purification, Illumination, and Unification
Having clarified the myths and misunderstandings about Yoga, it is now time to discover the Truth. By now, we are absolutely clear about what Yoga is NOT. Now, it is time to be clear about what Yoga IS.
Yoga is about being in union with the Divine. It is about being ever-conscious of our real self, the Soul and being always connected with the Universal Divine Consciousness.
For the common man, this seems complicated. If you show him a sweater and ask him what it is, he will look at it, touch it, feel it and say it is a sweater. This is because he is not paying attention to the reality, that it is wool. It may have been knitted like a sweater and because we wear it, we call it a sweater, but in reality, it is only wool. Our first challenge is to be Conscious of who we truly are. Only then is it possible for us to be in Yoga, to unite with the Divine.
The yogic process can be easily divided into 3 steps. It starts with Purification, followed by Illumination and finally Unification with the Divine. A true seeker must first understand these 3 steps to make Yoga effective in his Life.
The first step is Purification. This calls for Purification of the body, mind, and ego. Unless we purify the 3 elements which imprison us as an embodied Soul, we will not realize the truth. The body is purified by transcending the 5 senses - our sense of sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch. We human beings are constantly creating desires. This craving creates a passionate connection with sensual pleasures and we start craving for earthly possessions. This disconnects us from the Divine.
If I am standing on your left and I ask you to look at me and at the very same time, I ask you to look at a tree on your right, can you see both at the same time? You can’t! Either you can look left, at me or right, at the tree. So, it is with Yoga. Either we can be connected with the world or we can be connected with the Divine. As long as our senses are deeply rooted in sensory pleasures, our body will be controlled by these alluring elements. How do we switch, change and choose the Divine? It is through Purification. It starts with Discrimination and making the right choices. Without Discrimination we will choose the myth over the Truth, wrong over right and we will not be able to purify ourselves to be in Yoga, in Divine Union.
Purification also happens when we live a life of Dispassion and Detachment. As long as we are passionate about worldly things, we are slaves to this passion. It may be name and power, it may be wealth and wine, it may be lust and sex, or even food and pleasure. Unless the body is detached from such cravings, it is difficult to achieve a state of body purification. It must be clarified that this does not mean that we have to give up everything to be in Yoga. Seekers often misunderstand this. What it means is that we should not be slaves to our passion. We can live a normal life even enjoying some of these pleasures, but the moment we are passionate about these and we crave for them, we are unable to be in Yoga.
Once we transcend the body’s cravings through Discrimination and Dispassion, we have to Discipline the mind. The mind is a rascal. It is constantly producing thoughts. Like a monkey, it jumps from one thought to another. It doesn’t let us be still and peaceful. These thoughts are largely toxic. They create fear, worry, anxiety, anger and other negative emotions which destroy our state of Yoga or being united with the Divine. We have to purify the mind. First, we must silence it and reduce our MTR – Mental Thought Rate. We do this by silence, meditation, focus, and contemplation. Once we do this, we once again use Discrimination to destroy those thoughts that are poisonous, thoughts that make us regret the past, and thoughts that make us worry about the future, robbing us of this Divine moment called the ‘Present’. Yoga is all about being in the present moment, being in the NOW. But unless we purify the mind and make the jumping monkey into a monk, we cannot achieve the state of Yoga. This calls for a lot of restraint and self-discipline.
Both purification of the body by controlling our senses and purification of the mind by disciplining thoughts are absolutely essential to move to the next step, Illumination. This, however, is not complete until we transcend the ego. The ego is the fugitive that constantly steals our peace and bliss. The ego constantly murmurs “I” and portrays a false identity of who we are. Then, with the “my”-ness and “mine”-ness, the ego wires us and deeply entangles us in the illusory world. This destroys the possibility of Yoga. Unless the ego switches from desiring self-gratification to desiring self-Realization, we will continue to live with impure thoughts, feelings, and actions and be bound to the world, without being able to be in true Yoga.
Using Discrimination, Dispassion, Discipline, and Desire for Realization, we can purify the body, the mind, and the ego and be in a state of Yoga. However, just as we can be in a state of Yoga, we can be out of it in a moment if we are ignorant of the truth. To remain in Yoga, Realization of the truth is paramount. Without Realization, we will be swinging from the truth to the myth all the time.
Realization of the Truth is Illumination. It is that second step that will lead us into a state of Yoga. Of course, it is not possible without Purification of body, mind, and ego. But just as purification is important, there must be Illumination.
We live in the darkness of ignorance, not knowing the light of Truth. We are able to see the sweater but unable to see the wool. This darkness is caused by the ego, mind, and body, and therefore, the importance of first purifying them cannot be underplayed. But unless we realize the truth, there can be no Illumination and we cannot experience the true state of Yoga.
Illumination is the Realization that we are Energy, not the matter that we seem to be. We seem to be a body with bone and skin, but in reality, we are the ones who live within. Because of darkness, we can’t see the Truth.
There was an old woman who once lost her diamond ring. As she was crying and looking for it outside her door on the street, several neighbours joined her in her search, all looking for her lost diamond ring but nobody could find it. They asked her many questions about how big it was, what was the metal, but nobody could find the ring. Finally, one intelligent neighbour asked her, “Where exactly did you drop the ring?” She instantly replied, “I am sure I dropped it inside the house.” Then he questioned, “Why are you looking for it outside on the street?” She told him, “You don’t understand, there is no light inside my house.”
Just like this old woman, we live a life without the light of knowledge and therefore, we search for the Truth in the wrong place. There is no Illumination of the Truth in our life. Illumination comes with Realization. If we want to realize the truth, we must go on a quest or a search. We must ask questions and investigate until we realize the Truth.
Realization is not just knowledge, but much more than that. The moment we realize the Truth, there is illumination, a Divine glow, that in reality, we are not the ego, mind or body. We are the Divine Soul.
Realization can sometimes take a lifetime, sometimes many lifetimes. It is not a gift for the masses. Illumination happens only when a true seeker remains in Yoga. But here what we are saying is that for Yoga to happen, there must be Illumination. A seeker can sometimes get confused as to what comes first, Illumination or Yoga. They both are cyclic in nature, with Yoga leading to Illumination and Illumination leading to Yoga. One must have some basic Illumination, some basic Realization to be in Yoga. Otherwise, one will be performing Asana and Pranayama, busy in physical exercises and breathing techniques and think they are doing Yoga. There must be a basic Realization that Yoga is the Divine Union of the Soul with the Cosmic Consciousness. We must know that that we are not the body and the mind and thus, we purify the ego, mind, and body, to be in that Soulful state which is pure.
Once there is Purification and Illumination, then there will be Unification. Yoga is a discipline, it is a practice; it is a process. For a genuine seeker, Yoga ultimately happens. When we have pure love for the Divine and our purpose is to realize the truth, then Yoga is not so difficult. The 3 steps of Purification, Illumination and Unification will happen naturally for a true Yogi. However, a true Yogi must be conscious of these 3 steps to be in Yoga. Being in Yoga is ultimately being in Union with the Divine. With an impure ego, mind, and body, living with the darkness of ignorance, Yoga is not possible.
There are many who put on a show of being in Yoga. They are not true Yogis. In India, where Yoga was founded, many appear to be Yogis – they have long beards and hair that flows to their hips. They wear white or orange robes, carry spiritual objects like beads and have ash smeared on their foreheads. They even chant certain mantras or spiritual words, but these are not the signs of a true Yogi. If one wants to discover the Truth about Yoga, then one must not get carried away by outer appearances. One must realize that true Yoga is Union of the Soul with the Divine. Only this Realization can help one be a true Yogi, enjoying the blissful state of Yoga.
Yoga starts with Purification,
Then there is Illumination,
The ultimate Goal is Unification,
And this happens with Realization.