Swami
Vivekananda's Synthesis of Four Yogas - The Ideal
or New Civilization
Our present civilization is passing through a great
crisis. There is an urgent need to usher in a new
civilization based on spiritual culture for our survival.
Our
achievements in the field of Science and Technology
are phenomenal. The communication technology has advanced
so much that geographical distance has been reduced;
the world has become a 'global village'. One can communicate
instantly through internet, telephone, ISD etc. The
paradox of the present civilization is -one can communicate
easily with one's friend living thousands of kilometers
away sitting on a sofa through ISD but there is no
communication for many days with his brother or wife
sitting on the same sofa! Human relationships have
become artificial. There is phenomenal increase in
the number of suicides, psychic patients, drug addicts,
violence etc. all over the world. Contrary to our
belief the phenomenon is more prominent in the so-called
developed and affluent countries.
The
Oxford dictionary has added a new word -- 'Affluenza'.
This is a disease afflicting the affluent people.
In USA, the wealthy are taking steps to ensure that
their kids do not fall victims to affluenza--the moral,
emotional and practical problems associated with having
too much money. (The Times of India, Ahmedabad, 13th
March, 2002). Some time back London School of Economics
carried out Happiness Survey and found out that Bangladesh,
India and other developing countries were for ahead
in term of happiness compared to developed countries
like USA, U.K., Canada, Japan, Netherlands, etc. (Gujarat
Samachar 11-12-1998)
According
to the report of World Health Organisation 10 lac
people committed suicide in the year 2000. WHO is
worried over this phenomenon of increased rate of
suicide and has decided to celebrate 10th September
as 'Suicide Prevention Day' in collaboration with
International Association of Suicide Prevention. (Fullchhab,
Rajkot, 08-09-2003).
Derek
Humphrey the founder of Hemlock Society wrote the
book-'The Final Exit'. It became a best-seller. What
is written there? The ways of committing suicide.
Similarly, in Japan, Tsurumi Wataru's book 'Kanzen
Jisatsu Manual' (The Complete Manual of Committing
Suicide) became the best seller. Some people were
found to have committed suicide with the book in their
hands! In France also the book 'Suicide-user's Instructions'
became the best seller.
According
to the comprehensive Health Report prepared for the
first time by Japanese Ministry of Health, 42% of
salaried workers aged 44 and above, are suffering
from one or other kind of mental problem leading to
insomnia, stress and depression. According to National
Institute of Mental Health, USA on an average at least
one person in every family is regularly visiting a
psychiatrist. According to Chicago based Research
Corporation, the executives and employees are so much
under tension that 40% companies are conducting regular
courses on stress management.
Samuel
P. Huntington in his book "The clash of civilizations
and the remaking of the World Order, (considered as
'one of the most important books to have emerged since
the cold war,') writes:
"Far
more significant than economics and demography are
problems of moral decline, cultural suicide, and political
disunity in the West. Oft-pointed-to manifestations
of moral decline include:
1.
Increase in antisocial behavior, such as crime, drug
use, and violence generally;
2. Family decay, including increased rates of divorce,
illegitimacy, teen-age pregnancy, and single parent
families;
3. At least in the United States, a decline in 'social
capital', that is, membership in voluntary association
and the interpersonal trust associated with such membership;
4. General weakening of the 'work ethic' and rise
of a cult of personal indulgence;
5. Decreasing commitment of learning and intellectual
activity, manifested in the United States in lower
levels of scholastic achievement.
('The
Clash of civilizations and the remaking of the World
Order-Samuel P. Huntington - p 380-382)
Danah Zohar in her latest book 'Spiritual Intelligence-the
ultimate intelligence' rightly points out that development
of IQ (Intelligece Quotient) or EQ (Emotional-Quotient)
is not enough, SQ- (spiritual quotient) is very important
for ultimate success and fulfillment in life. To illustrate
she gives a beautiful example.
An
American businessman was standing on the jetty of
a Mexican coastal village when a small boat with just
one fisherman docked. Inside the boat were several
large yellowfintuna. The American complimented the
Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long
it had taken to catch them.
The
Mexican replied, 'Only a little while.'
The
American then inquired why he didn't stay out longer
and catch more fish.
The
Mexican said he had enough to support his family's
immediate needs.
The
American then asked, ' But what do you do with the
rest of your time?'
The
Mexican Said, ' I sleep late, fish a little, play
with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria,
stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine
and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and
busy life, Senor.'
The
American scoffed, ' I am a Harvard MBA and could help
you. You should spend more time fishing and with the
proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from
the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually
you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of
selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly
to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery.
You would control the product, processing and distribution.
You would need to leave this small coastal fishing
village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles
and eventually New York, where you would run your
expanding enterprise.'
The
Mexican fisherman asked, 'But Senor, how long would
this take?'
To
which the American replied, 'Fifteen to twenty years.'
'But
what then, Senor?'
The
American laughed and said that was the best part.
'When the time is right you would sell your company
stock to the public and become very rich. You would
make millions.'
'Millions,
Senor? Then What?'
The
American said, 'Then you would retire. Move to a small
coastal fishing village where you would sleep late,
fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with
your wife, stroll to the village in the evening where
you could sip wine and play your guitar with your
amigos.'
Commenting
on this example, Danah Zohar says:
"We can easily see that the American businessman
in this story is spiritually dumb, while the Mexican
fisherman is spiritually intelligent. Why? The fisherman
has an intelligent sense of his own deep life's purposes,
his own deepest motivations. He has evolved a lifestyle
that meets his own and his family's needs, he takes
time for the things that matter to him, he is at peace,
he is centered. The American businessman, on the other
hand, is a child of his own spiritually damb culture.
He is driven, he has to achieve for the sake of achievement,
he is out of touch with those things in life that
deeply motivate someone like the fisherman, he has
absorbed goals that make no sense just because he
learned them at Harvard. The fisherman will most likely
live a long life and die at peace. The businessman
is set for a coronary at fifty-five and will die feeling
he never achieved his goal."
[Spiritual
Intelligence - The ultimate intelligence - by Danah
Zohar and Ian Marshal published by Bloomsbury, London
p. 282)
People
all over the world are in tension. What is the cause?
One of the important causes is 'consumerism' which
has brought in its wake, Noogone Neurosis (which makes
the people believe in themselves as 'economic animals''
in the words of Alvin Toffler), 'Hedonistic paradox'
(the more a person seeks happiness outside, the more
he gets away from it), affluenza etc. According to
Eric Fromm 'man' himself has become a commodity. He
pointed out in his book 'To have or To Be' that a
person is judged unfortunately by what property he
has amassed rather than how great he is in term of
character. Most of the people nowadays believe that
H is directly proportional to M where H means happiness
and M means Money. The statistics reveal that reverse
is true;the more affluent nations are having more
number of suicides and psychic patients. That does
not mean that economic prosperity is not important.
It only means mere prosperity cannot bring peace of
mind and fulfillment of Life.
In
search of peace the modern man is going madly after
sense enjoyment but is not getting peace of mind.
Vedanta says "Vain is the search for lasting
peace in external objects, search within yourself".
The source of infinite knowledge and bliss the atman
is present in each and every human being; by realizing
this self one obtains peace that is everlasting Kathopanishad
says---
(5/13)
In
Chhandogya Upanishad also it is told
__________
__________
In
saint Kabir's song we find these beautiful lines 'Dear
friend, where are you searching for me? I am very
near you…. if you search, you will get me (the
source of infinite peace) in a moment.
Swami
Vivekananda has given the gist of this message of
Vedanta in his introduction to Raja Yoga. -
"Each
soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest
this divinity within by controlling nature external
and internal. Do this either by work or by worship
or psychic control or philosophy by one or more, or
all of those - and be free, this is the whole of religion.
Doctrines or dogmas or rituals or temples or forms,
are but secondary."
According to Swami Vivekananda there are four paths
by which one can manifest this divinity present in
each human being---
1.
Karma-Yoga -The path of Action
2. Bhakti-Yoga -The path of Love
3. Raja-Yoga -The path of Meditation
4. Jnana-Yoga - The path of Knowledge.
All
these four paths are independently capable of leading
a person to self-realization. However Swami Vivekananda
advocates combining all the four Yogas in one's life
for harmonious development of personality and for
reaching the goal quickly. There may be predominance
of one particular Yoga according to one's temperament
but other Yogas should also be practiced otherwise
it will lead to one-sided development of personality.
This synthesis of Yogas has many distinct advantages
for the modern man.
By
synthesis of the four yogas one develops all-round
personality -- physical, mental, intellectual and
spiritual Combination of Head, Heart and Handa gives
success in daily life as well as spiritual life.
In
the field of management, the experts advocate maximum
utilisation of all resources for higher productivity.
By practising all the four Yogas simultaneously we
are utilizing all the faculties available with us.
- i.e. Hands for working (Karma Yoga), Mind for Meditation
(Raja-Yoga), Intellect to reason out (Jnana-Yoga)
and heart to love (Bhakti-Yoga). Thus by practising
all the four yogas simultaneously we are utilizing
all our facucties.
All
the four Yogas have distinct advantages and disadvantages
of their own. By combining all the four yogas we get
advantages of all the fours yogas minus their disadvantages
.
The
special advantage of Karma Yoga is that every work
can be converted to worship. The modern man is busy,
he spends most of his available time in pursuit of
activities, and he cannot devote much time for meditation
or prayer. Without scarifying this time, just by changing
the attitude of mind, the ordinary work performed
by him becomes a path to divinity. But there is the
risk of his becoming workoholic or becoming egoistic.
However, if one meditate a little everyday, -the restlessness
of mind will be less and if one prays a little everyday
dedicating the work as well as the result of work,
then this work instead of binding him will lead to
liberation. Swami Vivekananda points out, " the
calmer we are, the less disturbed our nerves, The
more shall we love and better will our work be."
Rajayoga
is the royal path, scientific in approach and consists
of eight steps-Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahar,
Dharana, Dhyan and Samadhi. By meditation one can
obtain tranquility and increase the power of concentration
of mind, One's health also is improve. The disadvantage
of this path is that if the yoga is not practised
properly it may lead to insanity Sometimes temptations
in the form of siddhis (miracles) may hinder one's
spiritual development. It is difficult to meditate
for long hours for an ordinary human being so if it
is combined with some work, the danger of insanity
can be avoided.
Bhaktiyoga
is the most natural path for most of the people. Every
one wants to give love and receive love. By loving
God-the most loving and most beloved one has never
to repent as it happens in many cases. But in this
path of love there is the possibility of one's becoming
too much emotional and getting lost in following external
rituals. Swami Vivekananda termed it as "sentimental
nonsense. By combining this Yoga with Jnana-yoga i.e.
by reading or listening to the truth shravan intellectually
reasoning the truth (manan and meditation on the ultimate
truth Nididhyasana) emotion will be kept under check.
JnanaYoga
is the quickest but most difficult path. According
to Kathopanishad - it is difficult like walking on
the edge of a sword. Moreover, one tends to become
dry by following this path. A little practice of Bhakti
yoga would make the path easier and less dry.
Thus
disadvantages of all the fours yogas can be made up
by practising these yogas simultaneously.
Swami
Vivekananda has wonderfully demonstrated in his own
life as to how these four yogas could be combined
in life.
He
was an adept in meditation right from childhood, he
would play the game of meditation with other children,
and while other children ran away once after seeing
a serpent, he was completely oblivious of the surrounding
being engrossed in meditation. While travelling by
tram in America sometimes he would be so absorbed
in meditation that the conductor had to remind him
to get down. Before he attained mahasamadhi on 4th
July 1902, his last words to his attendant were "Meditate,
till I call you."
As
regards work, what a phenomenal work he performed
during his short span of life of 39 years! The nine
volumes of his Complete Works give a glimpse of his
literary work and preaching work. He travelled to
so many places- in India as well as aboard and inspired
people everywhere with his lectures and letters and
established the organisation - Ramakrishna Mission
and started ------ service activities.
As
regards 'Bhakti Yoga' he himself had acknowledged
that he was actually all 'Jnana' without but a Bhakta
(within whereas his Guru Shri Ramakrishna was 'Jnana'
within and ' Bhakta' without.
As
regards Jnana Yoga he had so much of 'Vivek' (Power
of discrimination) the basic trait necessary for Jnana
Yoga that he was named ' Vivekananda'. Shri Ramakrishna
remarked about him that Mahamaya cannot come near
Naren as he always keeps with him the sword of Knowledge.
Thus
by combining all the four yogas in his life Swami
Vivekananda developed a wonderful harmonious personality
so far unknown in the world history.
The
French savant Romain Rolland has beautifully summed
up the genius of Swami Vivekananda. ---
"
In the two words - equilibrium and synthesis Vivekananda's
constructive genius may be summed up. He embraced
all the paths of the spirit: the four yogas in their
entirety, renunciation and service, art and science,
religion and action from the most spiritual to the
most practical. Each of the ways that he taught had
its own limits, but he himself had been through them
all, and embraced them all. As in a quadriga, he held
the reins of all four ways of truth, and he travelled
towards Unity along them all simultaneously. He was
the personification of the harmony of all human Energy."
[The
Life of Swami Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel
by Romain Rolland, pub. By Advaita Ashrama, Kolkata,
19th Impression 2003 p-235]
Thus
the synthesis of four yogas is most suited for the
modern man in order to have all-round development
of personality - and for success, happiness and peace
in everyday life as well as for obtaining infinite
bliss, infinite knowledge and infinite life by manifesting
the divinity within.
The
followers of Ramakrishna - Vivekananda Ideology try
to practice the four yogas in this way -- Early in
the morning they get up and meditate and pray and
in the evening or at night again they meditate and
pray for some time thus practising Raja yoga; and
Bhakti yoga and try to read some holy books for some
time and ponder over it (Jnana yoga) and whole day
they try to do work in the spirit of worship thus
practising Karma yoga.
As
the number of such people practising four yogas in
daily life increases, a revolution in society will
set in and a new civilization based on spiritual culture
will usher.
Fritjof
Capra-the celebrated author of the book "The
Tao Of Physics" has pointed out the need for
such a cultural revolution -" I believe that
the world view implied by modern physics is inconsistent
with our present society, which does not reflect the
harmonious interrelatedness we observe in nature.
To achieve such a state of dynamic balance, a radically
different social and economic structure will be needed;
a cultural revolution in the true sense of the word.
The survival of our whole civilization may depend
on whether we can bring about such a change. It will
depend, ultimately, on our ability to adopt some of
the yin attitudes of Eastern mysticism; to experience
the wholeness of nature and the art of living with
it, in harmony."
[The Tao of physics -Fritjof Capra - published by
-Wildhood House -1975 p. 325]
Let
us pave the way for the new civilization based on
spiritual culture by practising four yogas in our
life and inspiring others to do so.
