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The Inner Path
El Camino Interior - Un mosaico de inspiraciones prácticas sobre el yoga para una vida saludable, ética y pacífica.
104 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 13, 2015
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July 17, 2023
In her book 'The Inner Path', Swami Durganada explains concisely and precisely some fundamental concepts of the yogic lifestyle.
The focus is on achieving self realization by aligning mind and body, thanks to regular, consistent practices that involve proper exercise (asanas), proper breathing (pranayama), proper relaxation (savasana), proper diet (vegetarian), positive thinking and meditation (vedanta and dhyana), as thought by her teacher's (Swami Vishnudevananda) five points of yoga.
The reason why the current experience is not fully liberated is the accumulated clutter (impurities) throughout the different bodies. In other words, past karma, which can be of three types:
• Sanchita: karma accumulated in all previous incarnations and manifested as character, talents or tendencies
• Prarabdha: karma from the past that is responsible for the present incarnation. Mainly the thoughts prevailing during the life-time and in particular during the transition of death. It manifests as social context and in the form of non-mastered problems. This cannot be influenced, it is the initial settings for our current incarnation.
• Agami: karma produced in this incarnation, which we can influence.
According to the Upanishads, the four means of liberation are:
• Vibeka: proper discrimination of what is source of freedom and happiness and what is source of suffering, between the real and the unreal
• Vairagya: dispassion, e.g. when facing emotions which nature is ever changing
• Shatsampat or 'the six-fold treasure', i.e virtues that reflect self-control such as purity or clearer, more basic and simple energy (but not naive), tranquility and contentment, kindness and patience, perseverance, generosity.
- Shatsampat #1: sama, tranquility. Achieved through vibeka and vairagya for self-check
- Shatsampat #2: dama, control of the indriyas or senses, enjoyment of peace of mind
- Shatsampat #3: uparati, complete self-withdrawal from sensual enjoyments
- Shatsampat #4: titiksha, the power of endurance, despite the pair of opposites that the yogi becomes aware of throughout the constant practice
- Shatsampat #5: sraddha, intense faith based on accurate reasoning and direct experience
- Shatsampat #6: samadhana, mental balance achieved through attention, concentration.
• Mumuk-shutva: yearning for liberation.
Jagat: the apparent reality, the fleeting, veiled world.
In order to come closer to true reality, one must remove the veils of ignorance (avidya). A guideline to do so can be found in scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavatam.
Writings like Atma Bodha state: 'Self-knowledge can only be attained by direct experience.' For that, detachment from worldly things and the practice of vairagya are necessary. The veils (upadhis) will vanish as clouds and the Self (Atman or Brahman, the soul) will illuminate as the sun.
This is the contrast to the Mahavakayas, the Great Declarations that state the nature of the true reality:
1. Prajnanam Brahma : consciousness is Brahman (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, Rig Veda)
2. Ayam Atma Brahma: this Self (Atman) is Brahman (Manduyka Upanishad 1.2, Atharva Veda(
3. Tat Tvam Asi: Thou Art That , i.e all that exists as a closed ecosystem (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, Sama Veda)
4. Aham Brahmansi: I am Brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, Yajur Veda)
The chapter on the Gunas (qualities) is particularly interesting.
The substance at the basis of nature, PRAKRITI is manifested with three characteristics, the gunas, and they are:
- sattva (purity, cleanliness, crystal, white).
When in balancance: Light of wisdom, power of discrimination.
When out of balance: Attachment due to identification with sattva: the person enjoys a sense of superiority and boasts about it.
- rajas (restlessness, desire, greediness, red)
When intensive activity happens on the basis of sattva, it gives the impression of a wheel that is turning very fast yet appears to be standing still. Rajasic describes people who never have time, and who never really feel the need to reflect because they are always in a hurry.
- tamas (forgetting one's duty, confusion, darkness, lack of discrimination, extreme lethargy, mindlessness, losing one's head, errors, black. In ayurveda: kapha).
If tamas, lethargy, dominates the physical body, the condition transfers to the mind, to the intellectual and emotional sheath, and depression can follow as well as shortness of breath, aggressive behavior, and a feeling of being overtaxed by the daily routine. Calmness which is obtained thrrough the use of mood-changing medication, alcohol, or drugs is tamasic.
Tamas manifest as swinging beetween extremes: sleeping too much / to little, happy/unhappy, full of love / full of hartred, content and patient / discontent and impatient.
The gunas are the basis for identification with body and mind. The person that has left behind thee three gunas is free from birth and death, decay and pain, and will attain Self-knowledge.
Swami Vishnudevananda's 5 points of yoga - proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, positive thinking and meditation - are a well-proven method to rid the system of accumulated tamas.
If tamas is predominant, faith will be extinguished (Bhagavad Gita). The mind is too letargic to argue, everything is seen from a negative perspective, the person does not believe in anything. Everything new will be dismissed first of all as bad, negative and useless; the mind is too lethargic to consider it in any depth or to form an opinion. The belief in oneself and in one's own capacities is weak. One does not consider the possibility that one could get a certain job, and therefore one does not even try or apply. That is a clear sign of tamas domination.
In the rajasic state, according to the Baghavad Gita, faith becomes the assistant of the activity. Practice or spiritual activity is done in order to obtain something, either material gain or gains such as fame and recognition.
If the faith is sattvic, again according to the Baghavad Gita, the person strives for liberation. There si a prevailing belief in the good and, even in errors, thee good, positive, and instructive is seen. This is the reason why great and successful people feel sympathy for the errors of others, a feeling which stems from an inner sattvic state. They know the shortcomings which are common to all. People who act in sattva become stronger and more knowledgeable.
In chapter 14 the Bhagavad Gita deals with the gunas at the moment of passing, when death of the physical body takes place. It explains that the predominant guna at the moment of passing decides the situation of the next incarnation.
....
Page 45 'Expanding the mind'
"The mind can expand. We already mentioned the practice of asanas and pranayama, but it does not stop there. Positive thinking is of utmost importance. Prayers, for example, are extremely positive thoughts, common to all traditions. Prayers, positive thoughts, and prana can be sent far and wide.
We can help others who are in need by sending prana. It is not 'our' prana.
Prana is everywhere: in the sun, in the wind, in water, in food. It is also very strongly present in words and in the eyesight. There is expression of prana and transfer of it from one body to another in a hug, in a kiss, and in a more gross material way, in sexual intercourse. Much more efficient is the subtle transfer by a look, and still stronger, is when the exchanged prana is crystal clear, just by being. The highest prana can be exchanged in meditation, in group meditation, and in chanting. If we allow the flow we will feel uplifted. Expansion of the mind due to a forceful accumulation of prana causes people to be attracted and this is what we experience with yogis: their mind has been expanded and people just flock around them, without the yogi doing anything special.
To achieve self-mastery we have to work with this prana, make it stronger, capable of mind expansion. We don't necessarily have to change anything exgternally, but we try to become the master of ourselves, through austerity, tapas, with small things, telling our mind: 'I am the master, not you'. Every day it continuously wants something, and sometimes we just say 'no, not today' to whatever it is: sugar, coffee, tea, newspaper, TV, alcohol. The mind will not be happy and we then have to live with that unhappy mind. Unfortunately, we often give in to make the midn happy, but sure enough, next time it wants even more. But the tyruth is that our mind wants self-discipline."
... page 65 'Raising the vibratory level'
"From the mental level we can proceed to the intellectual level. The mental level does not necessarily have to be cleared completely; however it has to be watched closely and the reins have to be held tightly. The mental level must not be neglected; otherwise, if the intellectual level is too developed and the mental level is not developed enough, the ego grows and one becomes egotistical and brainy, thinking that everyone else is stupid and uneducated. Again karma yoga helps. We might be put into situations in which we are not an expert and where we are quite sure we will make mistakes. Afterward, when we see other people's shortcomings, we are compassionate and do not judge them because we have been in the same situation. Those people we call wise hace really reflected upon their lives and now accept mistakes; they are humble, patient, have their principles but are not rigid. They are mentally purified and use their intellect to ask: 'who am I> Am I the body? Am I the mind? Am I my emotions?' Then the answer is: 'Neti neti. I am not this, I am not that.'
We often like to try philosophy first, before we start practicing. While this is possible, the results will be less fruitful. Study has to be done in parallel with the purification of the physical, mental, and intellectual sheaths. "
The focus is on achieving self realization by aligning mind and body, thanks to regular, consistent practices that involve proper exercise (asanas), proper breathing (pranayama), proper relaxation (savasana), proper diet (vegetarian), positive thinking and meditation (vedanta and dhyana), as thought by her teacher's (Swami Vishnudevananda) five points of yoga.
The reason why the current experience is not fully liberated is the accumulated clutter (impurities) throughout the different bodies. In other words, past karma, which can be of three types:
• Sanchita: karma accumulated in all previous incarnations and manifested as character, talents or tendencies
• Prarabdha: karma from the past that is responsible for the present incarnation. Mainly the thoughts prevailing during the life-time and in particular during the transition of death. It manifests as social context and in the form of non-mastered problems. This cannot be influenced, it is the initial settings for our current incarnation.
• Agami: karma produced in this incarnation, which we can influence.
According to the Upanishads, the four means of liberation are:
• Vibeka: proper discrimination of what is source of freedom and happiness and what is source of suffering, between the real and the unreal
• Vairagya: dispassion, e.g. when facing emotions which nature is ever changing
• Shatsampat or 'the six-fold treasure', i.e virtues that reflect self-control such as purity or clearer, more basic and simple energy (but not naive), tranquility and contentment, kindness and patience, perseverance, generosity.
- Shatsampat #1: sama, tranquility. Achieved through vibeka and vairagya for self-check
- Shatsampat #2: dama, control of the indriyas or senses, enjoyment of peace of mind
- Shatsampat #3: uparati, complete self-withdrawal from sensual enjoyments
- Shatsampat #4: titiksha, the power of endurance, despite the pair of opposites that the yogi becomes aware of throughout the constant practice
- Shatsampat #5: sraddha, intense faith based on accurate reasoning and direct experience
- Shatsampat #6: samadhana, mental balance achieved through attention, concentration.
• Mumuk-shutva: yearning for liberation.
Jagat: the apparent reality, the fleeting, veiled world.
In order to come closer to true reality, one must remove the veils of ignorance (avidya). A guideline to do so can be found in scriptures like Bhagavad Gita, Ramayana, Srimad Bhagavatam.
Writings like Atma Bodha state: 'Self-knowledge can only be attained by direct experience.' For that, detachment from worldly things and the practice of vairagya are necessary. The veils (upadhis) will vanish as clouds and the Self (Atman or Brahman, the soul) will illuminate as the sun.
This is the contrast to the Mahavakayas, the Great Declarations that state the nature of the true reality:
1. Prajnanam Brahma : consciousness is Brahman (Aitareya Upanishad 3.3, Rig Veda)
2. Ayam Atma Brahma: this Self (Atman) is Brahman (Manduyka Upanishad 1.2, Atharva Veda(
3. Tat Tvam Asi: Thou Art That , i.e all that exists as a closed ecosystem (Chandogya Upanishad 6.8.7, Sama Veda)
4. Aham Brahmansi: I am Brahman (Brhadaranyaka Upanishad 1.4.10, Yajur Veda)
The chapter on the Gunas (qualities) is particularly interesting.
The substance at the basis of nature, PRAKRITI is manifested with three characteristics, the gunas, and they are:
- sattva (purity, cleanliness, crystal, white).
When in balancance: Light of wisdom, power of discrimination.
When out of balance: Attachment due to identification with sattva: the person enjoys a sense of superiority and boasts about it.
- rajas (restlessness, desire, greediness, red)
When intensive activity happens on the basis of sattva, it gives the impression of a wheel that is turning very fast yet appears to be standing still. Rajasic describes people who never have time, and who never really feel the need to reflect because they are always in a hurry.
- tamas (forgetting one's duty, confusion, darkness, lack of discrimination, extreme lethargy, mindlessness, losing one's head, errors, black. In ayurveda: kapha).
If tamas, lethargy, dominates the physical body, the condition transfers to the mind, to the intellectual and emotional sheath, and depression can follow as well as shortness of breath, aggressive behavior, and a feeling of being overtaxed by the daily routine. Calmness which is obtained thrrough the use of mood-changing medication, alcohol, or drugs is tamasic.
Tamas manifest as swinging beetween extremes: sleeping too much / to little, happy/unhappy, full of love / full of hartred, content and patient / discontent and impatient.
The gunas are the basis for identification with body and mind. The person that has left behind thee three gunas is free from birth and death, decay and pain, and will attain Self-knowledge.
Swami Vishnudevananda's 5 points of yoga - proper exercise, proper breathing, proper relaxation, proper diet, positive thinking and meditation - are a well-proven method to rid the system of accumulated tamas.
If tamas is predominant, faith will be extinguished (Bhagavad Gita). The mind is too letargic to argue, everything is seen from a negative perspective, the person does not believe in anything. Everything new will be dismissed first of all as bad, negative and useless; the mind is too lethargic to consider it in any depth or to form an opinion. The belief in oneself and in one's own capacities is weak. One does not consider the possibility that one could get a certain job, and therefore one does not even try or apply. That is a clear sign of tamas domination.
In the rajasic state, according to the Baghavad Gita, faith becomes the assistant of the activity. Practice or spiritual activity is done in order to obtain something, either material gain or gains such as fame and recognition.
If the faith is sattvic, again according to the Baghavad Gita, the person strives for liberation. There si a prevailing belief in the good and, even in errors, thee good, positive, and instructive is seen. This is the reason why great and successful people feel sympathy for the errors of others, a feeling which stems from an inner sattvic state. They know the shortcomings which are common to all. People who act in sattva become stronger and more knowledgeable.
In chapter 14 the Bhagavad Gita deals with the gunas at the moment of passing, when death of the physical body takes place. It explains that the predominant guna at the moment of passing decides the situation of the next incarnation.
....
Page 45 'Expanding the mind'
"The mind can expand. We already mentioned the practice of asanas and pranayama, but it does not stop there. Positive thinking is of utmost importance. Prayers, for example, are extremely positive thoughts, common to all traditions. Prayers, positive thoughts, and prana can be sent far and wide.
We can help others who are in need by sending prana. It is not 'our' prana.
Prana is everywhere: in the sun, in the wind, in water, in food. It is also very strongly present in words and in the eyesight. There is expression of prana and transfer of it from one body to another in a hug, in a kiss, and in a more gross material way, in sexual intercourse. Much more efficient is the subtle transfer by a look, and still stronger, is when the exchanged prana is crystal clear, just by being. The highest prana can be exchanged in meditation, in group meditation, and in chanting. If we allow the flow we will feel uplifted. Expansion of the mind due to a forceful accumulation of prana causes people to be attracted and this is what we experience with yogis: their mind has been expanded and people just flock around them, without the yogi doing anything special.
To achieve self-mastery we have to work with this prana, make it stronger, capable of mind expansion. We don't necessarily have to change anything exgternally, but we try to become the master of ourselves, through austerity, tapas, with small things, telling our mind: 'I am the master, not you'. Every day it continuously wants something, and sometimes we just say 'no, not today' to whatever it is: sugar, coffee, tea, newspaper, TV, alcohol. The mind will not be happy and we then have to live with that unhappy mind. Unfortunately, we often give in to make the midn happy, but sure enough, next time it wants even more. But the tyruth is that our mind wants self-discipline."
... page 65 'Raising the vibratory level'
"From the mental level we can proceed to the intellectual level. The mental level does not necessarily have to be cleared completely; however it has to be watched closely and the reins have to be held tightly. The mental level must not be neglected; otherwise, if the intellectual level is too developed and the mental level is not developed enough, the ego grows and one becomes egotistical and brainy, thinking that everyone else is stupid and uneducated. Again karma yoga helps. We might be put into situations in which we are not an expert and where we are quite sure we will make mistakes. Afterward, when we see other people's shortcomings, we are compassionate and do not judge them because we have been in the same situation. Those people we call wise hace really reflected upon their lives and now accept mistakes; they are humble, patient, have their principles but are not rigid. They are mentally purified and use their intellect to ask: 'who am I> Am I the body? Am I the mind? Am I my emotions?' Then the answer is: 'Neti neti. I am not this, I am not that.'
We often like to try philosophy first, before we start practicing. While this is possible, the results will be less fruitful. Study has to be done in parallel with the purification of the physical, mental, and intellectual sheaths. "
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