Yoga

Answer : According to Vaishesika philosophy abhava is negative by nature. Non-existence does not exist in the above six categories, yet according to the Vaisesika philosophy, non-existence also exists. According to Vaisesika, there is no creation or annihilation but rather an orderly and morally systematized composition and decomposition of material compounds. An individual unit of consciousness is involved in the universe because of adrsta (the natural universal law) and each individual unit is responsible for his own fate. In early Buddhism, the term sunnat is used primarily in connection with the ‘no-self’ (anatman) doctrine to denote that the Five Aggregates (skandhas) are ‘empty’ of the permanent self or soul which is erroneously imputed to them.

The doctrine of emptiness, however, received its fullest elaboration at the hands of Nagarjuna, who wielded it skillfully to destroy the substantialist conceptions of the Abhidharma schools of the Hinayina. Since there cannot be anything that is not the Buddha-nature (Buddhat), all that appears is in truth devoid of characteristics. The doctrine of emptiness is the central tenet of the Madhyamaka School, and a statement of Nagarjuna’s views. Emptiness thus becomes a fundamental characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism. The teaching is subtle and its precise formulation a matter of sophisticated debate, since the slightest misunderstanding is said to obstruct progress towards final liberation. Emptiness is never a generalized vacuity, like an empty room, but always relates to a specific entity whose emptiness is being asserted.

In this way up to twenty kinds of emptiness are recognized, including the emptiness of emptiness. The necessary in- discoverability of essences is the Madhyamakan emptiness. It is important to distinguish this from nihilism. In Yogacara, emptiness is taught as the inability to think of an object apart from the consciousness which thinks of that object, i.e. the necessary indissolubility of subject and object in the process of knowing is the Yogacarin emptiness. It is important to distinguish this from idealism and solipsism.The philosophic tradition of India, perhaps more than the philosophic tradition of the West, has been seized with the problem of negation. Negation has appeared in the metaphysical, epistemological, and logical deliberations of philosophers in various forms.

From the early beginnings of Indian philosophy, Indian philosophers have been debating the questions whether there are actual negative facts or realities, how negation can be experienced or known, and what negative propositions or judgments refer to or signify. Negation is thus related to the questions of reality and the method of experiencing it, as well as the mode of expressing this experience. Obviously, the problem of negation pertaining to reality is the most basic one. Negation has found a place as a metaphysical category in almost every type of philosophy — monistic, dualistic, and pluralistic. What precisely is the basic problem of negation in metaphysics? Simply stated, it is whether negation can in any sense be real or form part of reality.

Indian philosophers, like their Western counterparts are sharply divided on this issue. Naiyayikas and Vaisesikas consider negation to be real, whereas Buddhists, Prabhakara Mimamsakas, and Advaitins deny it any place in reality. A close perusal of the arguments and counterarguments of the philosophers of these schools seems to suggest that most of them have shown somewhat partisan attitudes toward the problem and gone into needless subtleties mainly to assail the position of their adversaries and to vindicate the position of their own schools. Their basic contention, we feel, can be tackled in a more simple and commonsensical way.

Answer : India is predominantly a spiritual country with its own distinctive culture. It has given birth to hundreds of sages, saints, and philosophers who have worked to restore and renew her rich spiritual heritage periodically. This has ensured the continuity of spiritual tradition from Vedic times a tradition that is vibrant even today despite external onslaughts and internal upheavals. Patanjali and Sri Aurobindo represent two ends of this unbroken and unceasing spiritual tradition. Considered an incarnation of the mythical serpent king Ananta, who supports the earth, Patanjali is believed to have lived two thousand years ago. He was born to put the house of yoga in order and to systematise it for ease of comprehension and access. Hence if Shiva is the first yogi, Patanjali is next to him among yogis of the highest order. The system propounded by him is known as ashtanga yoga, the eight-limbed yoga comprising of Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Prayahara, Dharma, Dhyana, and Samadhi.

Sri Aurobindo belongs to modern times. He was a poet, philosopher, freedom fighter, nationalist and above all a rishi and yogi in the Vedic tradition. In 1910 soon after his acquittal, he secretly sailed for Pondicherry, his final home for practicing intense yogic sadhana. It was there that he became a silent but spiritually dynamic personality, fully focused on his new path which resulted in a new vision, a new philosophy, a new religious outlook, and a new experience. This transformation led him to proclaim that the advent of the Supramental on earth was inevitable. Bringing the supramental consciousness and power down to earth was Sri Aurobindo’s central work. He explained this process as well as his yogic experiences in his writings, which run into several thousand pages. These include The Life Divine, The Synthesis of Yoga, and Essays on the Gita, The Ideal of Human Unity, The Human cycle, and The Record of Yoga. Although both Patanjali and Sri Aurobindo expound on yoga, they seem to differ on several counts. If Patanjali’s is ashtanga yoga, Sri Aurobindo’s system could be termed panchanga yoga, the five-limbed yoga, which includes the physical, the vital, the mental, the psychic, and the spiritual aspects of the human being. Sri Aurobindo called it purna yoga or integral yoga. To understand his philosophy properly one needs to view the human being in its five-fold nature and see how each aspects leads to the other, characterized by greater perfection and finally to the Supreme.

For one to be whole one must walk these five principal steps relating to the five spheres of life. Usually these aspects of beings are also phased of one’s spiritual life, succeeding each other in chronological order and marking the growth and perfection of the individual. Each of these aspects has its own laws of growth, perfection and fulfillment. Sri Aurobindo’s yoga begins with the physical, whereas Patanjali’s begins with character-building for which he prescribes the five yamas, major moral precepts, and five niyamas, spiritual disciplines. For Sri Aurobindo all creation begins with matter, and life is a latter development. Therefore, he gives precedence to the physical. He says: ‘Perfection is the true aim of all culture If our seeking is for a total perfection of the being, the physical part of it cannot be left aside; for the body is the material basis, the body is the instrument which we have to use. Shariram Khalu Dharmasadhanam, says the old Sanskrit adage, the body is the means of fulfillment of dharma, and dharma means every ideal which we can propose to ourselves and the law of its working out.

Some schools of philosophy, sects, and spiritual seekers with extreme ideologies treat the body with contempt, as something gross, inert, and unconscious a virtually insuperable impediment to spiritual realization. But both Patanjali and Sri Aurobindo do not endorse this view. For them the body is endowed with vitality and acts as an agent of transformation. Neglecting the body or inflicting injuries upon it is antithetical to spirituality and amounts to a serious violation of natural laws. Instead, the body needs to perfected, to be made a fit vehicle for spiritual transformation. For Sri Aurobindo the descent of divine consciousness into the body is vital. Ultimately, it is the only medium for holding and expressing divine consciousness. So it should be trained and transformed. To facilitate this process Patanjali prescribes Pranayama, which purifies the body by eliminating toxic substances. Though Patanjali does not prescribe elaborate asanas in his Yoga Sutra, such later yoga texts as Hathayoga Pradipika, Shiva Samhita, and Gheranda Samhita fulfill this purpose.

Sri Aurobindo does acknowledge that the limitations of the body are great and real, but in his opinion these are not due to its essentially unredeemable nature. When we set perfection as the goal of life, the body cannot be ignored and has to be made an integral part of the process of transformation. In Sri Aurobindo’s philosophy the body is taken to be the starting point of sadhana; diligent effort ought to be made to train it appropriately and make it a fit instrument for a perfect life. The body should be kept healthy by cultivating good habits of food, sleep, hygiene, and physical exercise. The objective is not only to develop physical stamina but also to command life energy at any required time by regulating the various functions of the body. Sri Aurobindo emphasizes the need not only for strength but also for grace, beauty, and harmony. Beauty is the very spirit of the physical world. The ancient Greeks upheld this idea. A mastery of bodily reflexes wonderful and quick is desirable. Self-mastery and discipline, courage and confidence, impartiality and fairness in dealing with others are all products of proper physical training. This physical culture has positive impact on the vital and mental being too.