Category Archives: Yoga

How Jnana-Yoga Leads to Yoga

Jnana/Knowledge of the Self evokes bhakti/devotion towards the Self. It is this bhakti that acts as anchor for the mind. Yoga means union or integration. Normally mind is divided in many parallel activities consciously, subconsciously and unconsciously jointly. Most of the times inner-chatter/verbalisation goes on in the mind in the background while we perform some act. It is bhakti that integrates the divided mind and union/yoga happens.

Self Realisation & Self Actualisation

Self Realisation or Enlightenment means direct knowledge of the Self. It is a realisation that you are impersonal awareness. This realisation takes place in the mind but may not change the unconscious mind completely since unconscious mind is programmed for several years. However, this realisation slowly changes the depth of the mind as one gets to see more clearly how thoughts arise and is therefore able to purify the mind. As mind rewires itself, the general feeling of bliss increases. When the mind steadily abides in Self, it is Self Actualisation. Self Actualisation implies happiness by default.

 Yogi with happy mind abiding in Self neither grieves for anybody nor expects anything. [Bhagavad Gita 18.54]

[Bhagavad Gita 18.54]

The above implies that the Yogi with happy mind abiding in Self neither grieves for anybody nor expects anything.