Ashtanga yoga is the name of the dynamic style of yoga popularized by Srî K. Pattabhi Jois. It is also the name of the eightfold path of yoga as systematized by sage Patanjali. Now what do the two have in common? Do they actually coalesce at all, apart from the word? The earlier association with the name is renowned for its rigorous physical practice and the later is associated with the standard definitions of yoga and how the final goal of Samådhi eventually may be reached. The earlier focuses primarily on physical postures and the later is the science on how to still the fluctuations of the mind, eventually transform it and then absorb the mind in the inmost essence of the self.
Ashtanga means eight limbs and according to Pata≤jali they are: Yama, Niyama, Åsana, Pråñåyåma, Pratyåhåra, Dhårañå, Dhyåna and Samådhi. The Ashtanga Yoga, as taught by Pattabhi Jois, is primarily focusing on åsanas, physical postures. How can a one-limb practice of yoga suddenly take the name of thea߆a(eight)a÷ga(limb) yoga? An opposition indeed, so not to worry many people has criticized Pattabhi Jois and claimed he has simplified the core teachings of Pata≤jali and made it into a one-way street of callisthenic exercises.
 |
Before I address the contradictions above I will give a brief overview of each of the eight limbs of yoga, touch upon their essential aspects and then examine how/if they can bring us closer to yoga.
Yamais concerned with how we interact with the world. It means restricting oneself from all physical, verbal and mental violence towards others. Practicing honesty in all walks of life and refraining from any aspect of stealing, cheating or misconduct. Living a moral just life and never hoarding wealth or possessions, beyond what is necessary to live a reasonable life.
Niyamais how we refine our mind and body through personal observances. It involves the practice of purity, contentment, austerity and self-discipline in all walks of life. Study the sacred scriptures and developing an attitude of total surrender to the Lord in all thoughts and actions.
Åsanais how we purify the body from diseases, remove the surface structures in our mind and integrate a greater stability of being. Physical postures (åsanas) are practiced in order to create greater health, stability and joyfulness in the mind. This is achieved as we learn to let go of ambition and excessive effort. A tremendous inner strength is released as one learns to remain relaxed, breath ones circumstances and release all sense of duality and opposition within the body and mind.
Pråñåyåma is refining the breath and absorbing the mind in a greater essence of being. It happens primarily by learning to restrain the breath for limited durations after inhalation and exhalation. As the practitioner becomes more advanced, one is able to find a different support from within where the breath ceases completely for longer periods of time. Then the veils covering the inmostsattviccomponents of the citta (mind) are minimized.
Pratyåhårais when our inmost attention and awareness no longer is pulled out, or come into contact with the object of the senses. This corresponds to the most intimate nature of the mind, and from this comes the highest control of the senses.
Dhårañå, concentration is being able to fix the mind in one place, free of any fluctuations of the mind.
Dhyånais the meditative state that reveals itself once the mind can be fixed on one particular place for longer periods of time.
Samådhiis when the meditative absorption of the mind shines forth in its own effulgent essence, devoid of any fluctuative tendencies.
Considering the above it is apparent that Pata≤jali begins with addressing our conduct in the world, and then urges us to engage in specific activities to promote greater internal awareness. The practice of åsana, the third limb of yoga we may assume is for better health, but the benefit according to Pata≤jali is greater centeredness of mind as one learns to release tension and strain, and neutralize the polarity of opposition within the body (YS 2:48). Then it becomes easier to still the breath, internalize the senses and settle them in the inmost essence of the mind (YS 2:53-4). The superficial layers of the mind are then causing less obstruction and the clarity of concentration and meditative awareness will become stronger, allowing for the higher states of yoga to be revealed.
According to Pata≤jali the first five limbs of yoga are subordinate to the later three stages, and even they are inferior to the highest state ofnirbîjasamådhi (YS 3:7-8). To actually become absorbed in the inmost essence of the self/purußais a slow gradual process that manifest once the mind is refined and transformed. It cannot reveal itself by conceptualizing, projections or wishful thinking. The totality of the fluctuations of the mind needs to be distilled and thus to attempt higher stages of meditative awareness without having the earlier limbs of yoga properly in place is as futile as trying to switch on the light without a current of electricity.
Pattabhi Jois always emphasized the importance of practice. Repeatedly he claimed that without a practical experience it is not possible to refine the mind, make it realize its inmost support and gradually center the mind into a greater receptivity of being. For him åsana and pråñåyåma was the primary tools to facilitate this practical experience that would cause the students to realize the importance and implication of yama and niyama for themselves. These were even more important then åsanas he claimed, but their inner significance and strength would be hard to realize unless some kind of purification had taken place within the mind of the practitioner. Then one would naturally be more sensitive to the impact of ones actions and safeguard the receptivity of the inmost illuminating essence of the mind. The practice of yoga that Pattabhi Jois was teaching, with its particular focus on synchronizing the breath and movement, how to keep the gaze, and how to move in and out of postures, was certainly an exterior practice. However, the main purpose of it appear to be a tool to gain a greater receptivity of the self:
The practice of åsanas and prāñāyāma is learning to control the body and the senses so the inner light may come forth. That light is the same for the whole world and it is possible for man to experience this light, his own Self through correct Yoga practice. This is the natural outcome of a good practice and one will gradually learn to control the mind because one eventually will come to experience the very support of it. The mind is indeed very difficult to control, but everything is made possible with right practice. We must therefore first and foremost practice, practice, practice for any real understanding of Yoga to take place. Then eventually we will be able to break the fixed patterns of the mind and taste the greater underlying support of it all. Philosophy is of course important, but if not connected and grounded in truth and practicality what is it really for? Just endless talking exhausting our minds!! Practice is the foundation for the actual understanding of philosophy. Unless things becomes practical and we can come to experience it, for what use is it? “Yoga hînaµ kathaµ j≤ānaµ mokßadaµ bhavati druvam”. Without Yoga (practical experience), how can (true) knowledge and the pursuit of liberation ever be possible? (Nåma Rüpa, 2004)
Pattabhi Jois firmly believed it was possible to gain this internal crucial experience through the proper practice of yoga. This he conveyed according to the system he had been taught by his guru T. K®ßñamåcårya and his guru’s guru Råma Mohan Brahmacårî, a system emphasizing the practical insight of yoga as the principle tool for a deeper inquiry.
 |
For an external observer, the Ashtanga yoga practice according to Pattabhi jois, touches mainly upon the physical aspect. Yet for Pattabhi Jois it was an instrument to unlock the greater receptivity of yoga situated within us all, and the validity of that can never be found in theoretical studies, but rather in the practical inquiry. Although Pattabhi Jois was also a vidvån (scholar) in Advaita Vedånta philosophy and held ¸a÷karåcårya as his superior Guru, his main focus was never the philosophy, but rather how to embody the wisdom of it on a practical level. Yoga was thus a tool for him to reach the highest goal of Vedanta: Immersion in the divine. This view is also reflected in the Bhagavad Gîtå, the medieval texts on ha†ha yoga (HYP and GS)[1] and most notably in the Yoga Upanißads.
The interesting inquiry is: ‘can the practice of Ashtanga Yoga, according to Pattabhi Jois, awaken a person to the higher states of yoga, or lead to the goal of Vedånta? As stated earlier, Pata≤jali clearly distinguishes between the lower limbs, which are external, and the higher limbs, which are internal. It therefore stands within reason to believe that the Ashtanga yoga practice of Pattabhi Jois can at best cater to the earlier limbs. With all the dynamic exercises that the practice involves and the repetitivevinyåsasequence, how could the attention and awareness of the practitioner ever fully move away from the realm of the senses and become integrated into a more refined state of mind?
Pattabhi Jois never made the distinction between physical yoga and mental yoga:
Yoga is not physical, very wrong. Ha†ha yoga can indeed be used as external exercises only, but that is not the ultimate benefit of Yoga. Yoga can go very deep, deep and touch the soul of man. When Yoga is performed in the right way, over a long period of time, the nervous system is purified, and so is the mind. When you take āsana properly, for a long time, pratyåhåra, dhårañå and dhyåna naturally becomes more established and then greater clarity of mind and increased receptivity of self is brought about (Nåma Rüpa, 2004).
Vyåsa, the first commentator on YS claims the word yoga has two meanings: one, to be in a state of Samådhi, and two, to coalesce.[2] Pattabhi Jois somewhat unites the two, when he argues that it is the integrated awareness of what one is doing while engaging in the practice that is the refining principle which purifies the mind and body for a deeper integration to the self (or absorption of the mind in Samådhi).
Considering the above, that the practice of yoga according to Pattabhi Jois is there to facilitate a greater integration of the self, it becomes plausible. According to Pata÷jali the preliminary steps of yoga is to aid the final absorption in Samådhi. However, prior to reaching this final goal of yoga, eight lower steps are introduced and articulated to refine the practitioner’s receptivity of yoga. In an ascending order all of the limbs equally embody elements of yoga within them. There is a natural progression, refinement and penetrating depth of experience, which assists ones further integration to yoga. From this perspective Pattabhi Jois is completely in synch with Pata≤jali.
Whether it is a progressive practice of yoga or the highest experience of yoga, the ultimate state of yoga must remain the same. Whether it is defined aspurußaor the inmost self of Vedanta. The schools of Vedanta and Yoga differ in their principle outlook, the earlier being monotheistic and the later strictly dualist, but for the liberatedpurußa, the fluctuations ofprak®ticeases completely. So although duality existed prior to the absorption in the highest state of Samådhi, once realization finally dawns, there is only unity.
From this perspective we have all reasons to assume that Pata÷jali and Pattabhi Jois share a similar perspective on the highest definition of yoga, namely a complete state of oneness. Although the practical path to get there certainly wary. Whether the practice of Asthanga Yoga according to Pattabhi Jois actually succeeds in awakening a greater receptivity to the state of yoga in the other limbs needs to be further scrutinized, but it stands within reason to believe that for a person who is able to refine their mind and body (without just making an ass-ana of themselves), through an external practice that moves once awareness from the exterior to the interior, will certainly come a long way in experiencing what Pata÷jali actually meant with the word Yoga.
 |
[1] Ha†ha Yoga Pradîpika and Gherañ∂a Saµhitå)
[2]Yoga˙ samådhi˙ | sa ca sarvabhaumaΩcittasya dharma˙. Yoga is Samadhi. It is an aspect of the mind in all its habitual states. Påñini also defines it in a similar way.Yujir yoge, yujir samadhau (Yoga means to unite or to be in a state of Samadhi).