A little blind boy was thrown out of his house when he was only a child. He was asked to sit on the steps of the temple and take God’s name seriously. He did exactly as he was told and became a saint. When there is sincerity and devotion, one can reach great heights.
There are few like Surdas who follow the path of Yoga sincerely. For them, Abhyasa and Vairagya are two things like a straight road, taking them to the highest They put in continuous efforts till the mind is fully controlled. These are the best students.
Other second class students are also very sincere. They follow Kriya –Yoga. The first three Niyamas are taken separately. The Niyamas are practiced in a determined way. Tapa is done sincerely, but not in an extreme way. It increases one’s bearing capacity. Swadhyaya includes thinking, perception and reading. It increases knowledge. Ishwarara Pranidhana is Bhakti, it takes care of emotions. Emotions should be for God. In material world nobody is anybody’s and nobody satisfies emotions. Emotions get disturbed, happiness is followed by pain. So these students have emotions for God and they surrender to Him totally.
Through Kriya-Yoga one can reach Samadhi. All these constituents are equally important. Bhakta may not be strong, so Tapa has to be done. One who does Tapa well, may lean towards Ahankara. One surrenders success or failure to God in Ishwra Pranidhana and does not become egoistic or depressed. He remains balanced always.
For the third class of students, eight steps are recommended.
The question is how sincerely committed are we ? If really sincere, we can reach the highest. Otherwise, is our efforts are half- hearted, we can play around and tell everybody that we are practicing Yoga.
Published in the Sept 2010 edition of Yoga & Total Health Magazine.