Yoga Yajnavalkya Opening

Below are highlights of the extant yoga text called Yajnavalkya Yoga and Yoga Yajnavalkya. Below, First it is put in context. Then follows gleanings or highlighted topics from the chapters.

Yoga Yajnavalkya in short The text that is called Yoga Yajnavalkya and Yajnavalkya Yoga here, is also known as Yajnavalkya Gita, Yajnavalkya Samhita and by twelve other names. Yajnavalkya is the name of a legendary sage from Vedic times. The Sanskrit word gita means song, and also translates as words, and poem. Samhita means collection.

Yajnavalkya Samhita is a yoga manual. In it, the sage Yajnavalkya explains to his wife Gargi how to attain to very deep meditation. The text's main grasp, its structure, embeds the eight limbs that are also found in the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. The text enlarges on pivotal ashtanga (eight-limb) ideas also, and brings a broader view of central issues.

The eight limbs of yoga and their roles in the whole play

Yáma: Don'ts. A good moral is vital. Back-up may wither or fall off for the lack of it.
Níyama: Do's. Attainments by fit conduct may be had.
Ásanas: Certain body postures (a) for sitting in meditation; and (b) for making the body and mind more more harmonious.
Pranayáma: Breathing methods aimed at better control of life energies, or prana. Some are used to induce calm, other methods have other ends.
Pratyahára: Inwardturning. It can be sensed more or less like swooning; or going to sleep while "awake" somehow. This attainment is crucial for getting into higher yoga - the next attainments, that is.
Dhárana: Focusing a long time to favour essential or "raw" awareness.
Dhyána: Deep meditation. - the word dhyana has been translated into Zen in Japan. Certain sounds, mantras, should favour deep meditation.
Samádhi: A level of attunement and meditation, to be had from sustained dhyana. Samadhi may be understood as a good working basis for higher mind training called sanyama in Patanjali Yogi, and the crown of attainment may be called Essential awakening, Self-Realisation or Self-Knowledge, Atmajnana.

These limbs are understood in several ways. Moreover, how they are weighed and made use of, differs too. In part it depends on what you are aiming at.

Suppleness - count it in. If getting supple limbs and body is one of your aims, or harmonising the body, there could be more focus on a regiment of body postures and some ways of breathing, perhaps adding meditation to it. Hatha-yoga, or "body yoga", contains some such old disciplines for de-stressing and getting calmer, for example.

Forms of inward yoga. However, if you aim higher, at personal development and subtler awareness, sound meditation is favoured. There are many ways here too - several alternative routes, that is. The traditional view is to balance a few of such yoga margas, or yoga paths. Now, few or no meditation ways may compare to meditation that swiftly make your meditation profound even if your body is rigid. Spending time on the cardinal matter, on meditation, should be time wisely spent. Mantra meditation has long been recommended - for example by the dear rishi Vyasa and the Buddhist saint Milarepa - as particularly helpful for progress in higher yoga. Getting firmly set on a good path is said to be vital for meditation achievements. Likewise, if you want to get benefits from meditation, get to the heart of it.

Meditate well and deeply for developing soundly. A practical goal is to advance into deep meditation. If we let swift, deep meditation come first, other parts or limbs of good yoga may gradually be fixed or well adjusted. If not, meditate still: that is about the essence of it. And this is to say: It should be good to learn to meditate first. That should help and be fit. Besides, from among the many techniques, have sense to pick the best or suitable one(s) and leave the others.

The best meditation methods should be documentedly best by tidy research results and show up as best among all the researched methods - generally speaking, and for more specific purposes. For the lack of documentation, some propounders take to hype on behalf of their meditation ways, take to big, largely unsubstantiated words, that is. There are many tricks around, and swayed research findings too. Ask for evidence instead of being taken in. And refrain from trusting Wikipedia wholesale too: It may not suit plumbing matters well, but can be better at showing details and findings pertaining to things that pop up to a surface - suited for cataloguing issues by broad classifications and links, as the case may be. For better information that biased and faulty articles and their links, why not go for savoury specialist literature - as it pays to be circumspect about one's sources of information, and weigh them. [Cf. WP, sv. "Meditation research"]

Guru help. Statistics hardly bring the whole picture of matters: there may be nuances that count and that averaging statistics have not caught in its net, so to speak. Friends may not be unbiased, or they fall short in some way or other. Experienced folks may offer helpful counsel to good friends, though - friendly, apt counsel. Buddha advocates getting and considering the advice of experienced folks. The yoga traditions abound in variously experienced folks, and others too. Some yogis take it upon them to serve as gurus.

There are mediocre gurus and other gurus - some may be false gurus too, or frauds. And then there are gurudevas, or Self-realised gurus. Such a guru's help is said to vital for catching the big salmon of one's Self, or "catching the fig fish", in the words of David Lynch. In India some texts are linked up to famous gurus. Most important, the guru helps one on and up. Without that assistance, one may fall away from the practises, stagnate or get adrift or go astray heedlessly, needlessly, succumb to failures and get overpowered too.

To put it more poetically: The water surface may be calm, and lone diving may feel fine and go well for a long time, but suddenly a school of barracudas attack the one who ventures below the surface unaided by anyone. The deeper he ventures, the more pressure is there to cope with too. Don't venture into the deep, dangerous waters of the mind unaided, is the standard advice. Learn how to dive in the better, safe ways, and get help and assistance as needed. Better be on the safe side.

There are many who are called gurus. A guru is a teacher, instructor, preceptor. And a gurudeva is a divine helper, mysterious too. The true and kind gurus are said to be in the minority among all who are called gurus in India. There are also frauds, including deep frauds. They may bring non-essential teachings, false teachings, dupe and lead astray by falsity and perversions and more - or less. The key: they are not fully self-realised, and not out to help others in reality. There are lots of counterfeits, they say in India, suggesting that nine out of ten gurus are false gurus. The figure may not be accurate, though.

Helpful gurudevas have attained deep-going realisation of their Self and of sides to the world as we know it. Moreover, they are able to help or assist their friends somehow. Linking up with a true, friendly guru is essential for progress in more elevated meditation matters. That is an essential yoga teaching - in this text Yajnavalkya serves as a guru instructor to his wife. For the lack of a personal trainer one can make good progress anyway; for the lack of a gurudev, one may also progress both in shallow and limpid waters and delve deep, although there may be certain risks or dangers to it. Some are lucky and get happy. This is to say that for the lack of a gurudev, one may strain and sift the offered techniques, weigh the methods, choose what are possible fit for oneself, practice skilfully, and benefit. That is the approach that Buddha speaks for. His role as a teacher is to point to the way. Others have to walk it themselves, or climb it, as the case may be.

Thus, for the lack of a good and divine guru, such a gurudev, try to find fit methods and get solidly skilful in doing them, and in balancing them with other sides to your daily life as long as you can or will.

The scope of Yoga Yajnavalkya

A broader scope. Yoga Yajnavalkya differs from Patanjali Yoga in some respects; there are similarities and differences. Some key terms are explained differently, and there are some helpful, alternative understandings linked to various steps and stages of yoga. By way of example, the text describes ten don'ts and ten do's where Patanjali's has two sets of five each.

One should know that each term that is used, can have many meanings. Se arjava and dhriti further down for an example. The sensible selection is as intended in the old book in its context, and maybe with some larger outlooks that don't negate the old ones, but stays wisely along with them, if that can be).

Mark well: Yajnavalkya offers five more yamas and five more niyamas than Patanjali. The student of Sanskrit may eventyally find an abundance of intertwined alternatives to the Sanskrit translations or understandings offered in Yoga Yahnavalkya If in doubt, stick to the old and traditional meanings.

The limbs of Yajnavalkya are often more extensive than those of Patanjali. For example Yajnavalkya speaks of five old means of getting pratyahara, and relates the yoga to kundalini (coiled up energy) and nadis (channels) too.

The text also describes several types of pranayama, five ways to pratyahara and four types of dharana. Pranayama, pratyahara and dharana are key aspects of Patanjali Yoga, but they are not explained so broadly there, and not so many of them.

A good source of ancient yoga. Yoga Yajnavalkya is a text to ponder on. One may come to appreciate that there are other or wider ways to go ahead than the ones Patanjali delineates. It may be appreciated as a yoga work that is compementary to Patanjali Yoga's very terse "recipes". And other reputed yoga texts, including the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, have borrowed verses from Yoga Yajnavalkya.

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Yoga Yajnavalkya

The text is focused on life energy, prana, which is related to energy channels called nadis. A good part of the text is focused on dealing with prana so as to make it furnish inner growth and essential realisation. Such dealing with the prana is termed prapayáma. There are several pranayama methods.

The first chapters cover ashtanga yoga (eight-limbed yoga) one by one.

Ten Yamas

Yájnavalkya explains principles and practice of yoga to his wife Gárgi. They live in a hermitage with other sages. In an assembly of such sages, Gárgi asks her husband and guru Yájnavalkya to teach all gathered his wise yoga.

Yajnavalkya is glad to explain what God the Creator has taught him about how to live very well. And after being asked by Gargi to elaborate on God's teachings, he does that too.

He defines yoga as the union of the jivatmán (individual or self) and Paramatman (Divine), and shows how the eight-limbed yoga is a way to that end.

Yájnavalkya lists various types of practices and goes into moral don'ts, yamas, in detail. They are well stylised, conventional sides to self-control. Yajnavalkya explains twice as many as Patanjali. Yajnavalkya's ten yamas are termed ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacarya, daya, arjava, ksamá, dhriti, mitáhara, and sauca.

ahimsa (a relaxed form may be: "cause as little harm to the good and noble as you can - in thought, word, or deed, and better: none at all");
satya (Basically, it is truthfulness. These are often added: honesty, genuineness, being real, virtuous, actual.
asteya (non-stealing);
brahmacarya (for householders or housewives it means intimacy with one's mates (!) at the fit time, in the proper manner. (p. 13);
daya (kindness, compassion, sympathy etc.)
arjava (sincerity, decent straightness - or: remaining sincere, straight, honest, frank, honest, hold on to good rectitude, take to propriety of act or observance),
ksama (equanimity or forbearance [up to a point, one may add]),
dhriti (mental steadiness, self-commant, firmness, firm joy, deep satisfaction, deep constancy),
mitahara (being moderate enough in diet, also with one or more of these meaings: scanty, healthy, as prescribed, moderate, suited to the season moderate in diet and pleasure. If your attitude is "fit for me", you may prefer "a healthy diet, as well prescribed", and suitable for the seasons". That is a reasonable pick.);
saucha (this 'purity' is found to be twofold: internal and external. Meanings are many, and they intertwine. So sauca or saucha also translates as integrity, cleanliness, honesty, self-purification, evacuation of excrement, purity of mind, cleanness, clearness, purity, integrity, honesty, purity of mind).

Such qualities could help toward the goal of yoga, against cloven-footed plots. There are lots of plots or fiends to keep a good one earth-bound or hell-bound. The ten yamas are in part explained in detail in Yoga Yajnavalkya, as fit in former days and their very different settings. Since conditions differ, it makes sense to detect the key meanings and stick to the cores and apply them well in the here-and-now. Each to one's ability.

Ten Niyamas

Laying bare what the second limb is about, Yajnavalkya sets up ten do's, niyamas - five more than Patanjali.. The Sanskrit names of Yajnavalkya's ten do's are tapas, santosa, astikya, dana, isvarapujana, siddhántasravana, hri, mati, japa, and vrata.

tapas - penance
santosa - contentment
astikya - trust in ethical and unethical conduct, says Mohan. The term also suggests belief in Brahman (God); belief in nature ("nature will out"); faithfulness, and (deep-going) piety.
dana - giving or distributing to deserving ones, generosity, charity, etc.
isvarapujana - honouring Isvara, worshipping Light-Lord, or, simplified, "getting pious by deep meditation", or rather, "getting an unsullied, pure, deep mind" (cf. Mohan p. 17). Some of the methods are brief, and some are elaborate.
siddhantasravana - "the enquiry into the right significance of Vedanta," says Sivananda. To some, it is also listening to savoury, delighting stories that illustrate worthwhile thoughts, for example by stories and parables or along with them. (Cf. Mohan, p. 18)
hiri - shame, says Mohan, following the traditions of the Vedas. Shame felt by ways of the world is included. (p. 19). It is appropriate to withdraw from what gives shame in the end. Such modesty is not denied a human.
mati - "Sincerity in all the duties laid down (in the Vedas)," says Mohan. This understanding may be over the top. Why the reserve? There are many old duties that will not apply. "Begetting children upon one's wedded wives" and "maintenance of dependants" are among the nine vedic duties that are called eternal. Now, if you don't get more than one wife, or none at all, you see the "wives duty" does not apply. Also, if you get washing machines, refrigerators, deep freezers, mixers, blenders, microwave ovens instead of, say, twelve good subordinates and children, machines are replacing dependants that serve you, and in such a case ◦vedic duties to dependants may not apply either. For different contitions and stations throughout life, many main life duties differ or do not apply, so lots of common sense is a must too. Mati is a word with many meanings, including "thinking power". The Sanskrit Dictionary for Spoken Sanskrit lists these: creed, intention, determination, sense, idea, sacred utterance, memory, armour, mind, intuition, inclination, devotion, judgement, belief, thought, remembrance, mail, perception, wish.
In the context of decent yoga as individually applied, mati can be taken to mean "intuitively had ideas or thoughts drawn on to armour your mind and inclinations" - or if you choose a more conformist understanding, perhaps: "a [conform] creed or some sacred belief you indulge in out of a wish that it suits your mind on some levels", or "a sacred belief". There are several options.
japa - The basic yogic meaning is repeatedly intoned, sacred mantras as handed over by a competent source. Repeating sacred syllables may be loud, muttered or mental. What is more, the mental recitation is said to work a hundred times (a quite poetical number, perhaps) better than loud japa, says Manu Samhita (2:85). Many auxilliaries of japa are found, but mind the syllables or sets of syllables "repeated internally" in fit ways.
vrata - "Following (with steadiness) the path of ethical conduct toward prospertity and spiritual freedom, with the prior approval and initiation from the guru is vrata," says Mohan (p. 20)
A Sanskrit dictionary says vrata means "manner of life", but also: One who has taken the vow of learning the vedas, swarm, multitude, flock, troop, group, group, assemblage, guild, association, host, company or attendants at a marriage feast, rule, function, ordinance, usage, command, resolve to, feeding only on milk.
There are many options. Some seem more far-fetched that others. Above is some help to think about alternative or possible meanings and combinations among those formed by others on common, vedic ground.

Moral conduct is fit for spiritual advancement, it is said, for example by Rudolf Steiner. He stresses it a lot. "Progress in spiritual training is unthinkable unless moral progress takes place at the same time." (1922, chap. 5).

Eight Postures, Asanas

Here Yajnavalkya describes eight body postures, and most of them are seated postures - svastikásana, gomukhasana, padmásana, virásana, simhásana, bhadrásana, muktásana and mayurásana.

He advocates combatting diseases by asanas and keeping up staunch moral - interestingly, Yajnavalkya is the first known Vedic sage to teach karma. Many diseases are told to be due to previous misbehaviour, according to the karma-reincarnation perspective. And if that is not so, stick to good moral and conduct anyway, for it makes life somewhat passable if the misbehaviour of brutes does not come in the way for it.

After balancing and harmonising energy flows in the organism by well chosen asanas, the time comes for breathing excercises, or forms of pranayama. But before he tells of pranayamas, he tells of the nadis, energy channels or funnels for the life energy, prana.

14 Vessels, Nadis

Here he explains how to purify the nádis, and where they are located, their various areas of origin and ending.

He also covers the position, function, and movement of each of the vayus.

The main idea is to centre the prana, or to gather one's energies in certain areas.

He speaks of activating the dormant kundalini, serpent power, to make the energy elevated. It is a tantric yoga teaching.

He goes on to list and describe fourteen nádis (vessels), and points out the susumná nádi as the central one among them all. He then lists ten vayus and their functions. He describes the most important váyu in the body, the prána váyu, then describes the location of the apána váyu, the other three important vayus (vyána, udána and samana vayus), as well as the remaining five vayus, that is, five more prana-givers.

Yaynavalkya concludes so far by describing how to perform a certain pranayáma.

On Cleansing Vessels, Nadis

In the second chapter on nadis, Yájnavalkya tells how to purify them (nádisodana), after stating how an ideal nadi-cleansing aspirant should be. He then describes a good environment and daily routine for the practice. Afterwards he describes in detail an alternative opinion of other sages. Finally he tells of results of such nadi-cleansing.

A note: Ideal or not, you are yourself and functions as that. Cleansing is not barred from all -

"Breath control", Pranayama

After you have cleaned some channels, you regulate and steer their contents to your ability. This is done various types of pránáyáma.

Yájnavalkya begins by defining pránáyáma, and points to breathing in, holding the breath, and breathing out as means or figurative handles to balance one's main pranas.

Three grades of pránáyáma are described. Yájnavalkya states that what leads to lightness of the body and absorption of the mind (samadhi) is the best one.

He adds an alternate definition of pránayáma as retaining the prana within the body. Yájnavalkya explains two ways to regulate the prána. One of them favours posture and Pranava (the Om sound). He also goes into how focusing the prána at various places in the body may affect and perhaps heal certain diseases. The thus points to therapy-intended uses of pránayama.

He then describes the movement of the prána. Pranayáma can ideally lessen or remove a person's ignorance. He also stresses the value of regular, daily pranayama practice.

Five Means to Inward-turning, Pratyahara

Higher yoga start with pratyahara, inward-turning of the mind. The first four limbs of yoga are not wrong for a calm meditation sitting, and are good for balancing the outer life and preserving harmony in the body, mind and further. However, in traditional yogas they are resorted to in order to pave the way for the higher yoga, that is, meditation, which starts with pratyahara and ends with - allness.

Yajnavalkya now brings four definitions of pratyahara, "withdrawal", and five ways to get and possibly keep pratyahara. They may not be made good use of unless they are lessened to suit oneself. Here goes:

The first is simple and tactful restraining of sense contacts.
Getting enough rest is akin to that, somehow.
The second is looking on all as being in the self.
In the realm of duality it hardly makes sense. And in non-duality you won't need it. However, "Don't be too quick to judge others" is a nice boon derived from it.
The third is mental practice of one's Vedic duties without doing anything.
It suggests: "I think about my work all day. That is the Old Way." The way of doing nothing (in the open, also like a Taoist's gentle wu-wei) may come down to "Don't work too hard and long. Rest in between to stay keen. TM is much like it.
"There are two yogic methods of doing pratyáhára: either with or without pránáyáma." You may have noted how Patanjali's pratyahara builds from pranayama. Yajnavalkya Yoga explains pranayama as a means to gather vital energy and focus it for transcending the mundane level.
My addition: Deep and sagely performed Ujjayi is fit for much of it.
Yajnavalkya also offers a couple of pratyahara method that do not involve pranayama: (a) The first of them consists of moving the focus from one point to another. He tells where and how, linking it to marma points. (b) The second way is to fix one's attention (and the prána) to focus steadily (or riveted) on a selected area. By keeping a steady focus, much can be gained. The heart is one focal point, he says. The inward, heart-felt core is the Door to Gladness; that is an ancient Vedic teaching. The area from the eyebrows to the back of the eyes is another favorite spot to focus on among yogis, and is referred to by Yajnavalkya as well.

A sensible, easy go: In your life, keep your heart by feeling into it, and often gaze calmly, restively, and something may be won. Know there are sensible, deep yogi ways for it. In his Crest-Jewel of Discrimination, Adi Shankara says something one can relate to: "Piousness suggests intentness of the soul on its own nature . . . Piousness may also be called intentness on the reality of the Self." [More]

Dharana

In the previous section, Yájnavalkya has explained five ways of focusing, five ways of directing one's attention. The results could be more than just going to sleep at night.

Dhárana is defined by Yajnavalkya as the absorption of the mind in the self. Other sources may say differently, for example, "sustained focus that breaks through sense realms". The five types of dháraná that Yajnavalkya illustrate, relate to focus on five deities associated with or controlling functions of the body and mind in ancient teachings.

He tells how to bring one's attention on these particular sides to oneself deep within, how long, and what benefits to go after.

The three doshas (the capital concepts of Vata, Pitta and Kapha in Ayurveda) can be balanced by doing a suitable pránáyáma along with dháraná. Yajnavalkya teaches that diseases caused by dosha imbalances may be redressed or removed by proper dháraná. Acupuncture theory is linked to Ayurvedic system thinking. [Cf. WP sv. "Dosha" > The illustration]

Two Great Forms of Meditation, Dhyana

Yájnavalkya describes various meditation methods, dhyana methods. Dhyana is of two types: with attributes (saguna), and without attributes (nirguna). Yájnavalkya instructs his wife Gargi to do her Vedic duties, and to meditate all the time.

Samadhi

Samádhi comes from meditating deeply somehow. There are prerequisites for it.

At the time of death one must leave the body.

The art of living should consist of a good balance of righteous doing (karma) and yoga (deepening meditation). To get liberated, the wife is told to practice meditation etc. (the higher yoga).

How to Combine Samadhi Attainments and Duties

Gárgi asks Yájnavalkya to explain how a person in a state of yoga (samádhi) will perform Veda-prescribed actions. Yájnavalkya answers that in a state of yoga (samádhi) one does not have to do any Vedic duty. But when one comes out of samádhi, one has to to such duties, difficulties may accrue.

Yájnavalkya then requests all the sages present to return to their respective hermitages. They do, after honouring Yájnavalkya. When they have all left, Gárgi again asks Yájnavalkya to explain the path of yoga briefly. He then sums up parts of it.

Summary

Yajnavalkya sums up concisely central parts of the text, by the use of stages. Here are some of them:

Of vitalising.
Awakening, getting deeper awareness somehow.
Getting your vital energies upwards to the heart through the central channel.
Absorption of the mind toward the Self. Various yogic indications of progress are mentioned..
Meditation as getting close to one's Home.
Attainment. Self-knowledge, Atmabodhi. Awakening.

Significant Yajnavalkya teachings appear in the Brihadaranyaka and Chandogya Upanishads.

Yoga Yajnavalkya, a Yoga Text