October 5, 2020 |
Read Time: 2 minutes
Yoga is the state of contemplation and meditation resulting in the complete integration and absorption with the object of focus. Therefore, Yoga includes the entire process which takes one to this highest state. The goal of yoga is the establishment of our Consciousness or Soul in its truest and purest form.
The Yoga Sutra, the primary text on yoga, states that the soul which resides in each one of us is eternal and pure. The soul is the perceiver and blemish-less. It is the soul which animates and enlivens our body and mind.
The soul is the seer. And the instrument through which it sees is the mind. And what it sees is the world at large. And our mind, senses and body too are a part of what is seen or perceived! Sounds so simple yet so complex!
The soul is always alive, eternal and awake. Yoga is about withdrawing from the outside ever-changing materialistic world and turning inward to seek this pure unchanging being which is untouched and unaffected by the outside world. This soul is in an eternal state of bliss. And the goal of every human being must be to seek this state of permanent happiness.
Sadly, in this material world, the pure blissful soul is trapped in this body and identifies itself with the constant flux of joy and sorrow of the body. Yoga is the journey of experiencing, understanding the transient nature of desire-driven happiness we all seek, and to move towards the source of the eternal happiness. Yoga seeks to reduce and eliminate the afflictions which result in the human mind and body being treated as the master. Yoga seeks to bring home the truth that our mind and body are mere tools of the Soul and exist solely for it. Yoga is all about delinking this connection of body, mind and soul, so that the purest form or the soul is realized by us.
Ms. Mimi Partha Sarathy
Founder, Managing Trustee and Sr. Yoga Teacher Sri Krishna Wellness Yoga Centre
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
