Principles of Yoga
Abhyas and Vairagya are the two core principles of Yoga.
Abhyas: It means Practice. Choosing to be on the positive side is stated as abhyas. Controlling mind beyond its nature to transit from wavering state to stable and vice versa is also known as abhyas.
Vairagya: It means asceticism. Restraining from the negative path is called Vairagya. Apar Vairagya and Par Vairagya are considered as two forms of Vairagya.
1 Apar Vairagya: Being indifferent to the matters belonging to both the materialistic and immaterialistic worlds is called Apar Vairagya. It can contribute to attain Samadhi state at later stages.
2 Par Vairagya: Being indifferent to the worldly consciousness is called Par Vairagya. This will eventually lead to Asamprajnata Samadhi. It is one of the forms of deep meditation, which has no content in the area of consciousness, except for the latent impressions that lasts. There are 5 states of mind. They are Kshipta, Mudha, Vikshipta, Ekagra and Niruddha. Among these Kshipta, Mudha and Vikshipta states of mind are does not contribute in anyway to reach Samadhi state. Only ekagra and niruDdha states can lead to Samadhi state.
Usually the mind is wandering in all possible directions and its thoughts are scattered. This is called the Kshipta state. Sometimes it is ignorant and forgetful; it is filled with stupidity and foolishness. This state is called Mudha. When you try to meditate, the mind seems to dive into deep concentration for a while but gets distracted often. This is called Vikshipta. But with profound and prolonged practice of meditation repeatedly, and by chanting any Lord’s Name, it becomes undisturbed. This is called the state of Ekagra. At this stage the mind enters into Sampragyat Samadhi state. This state lacks Rajogun and Tamogun but is entirely filled with Satvagun. Here the five signs of grief, that are invulnerability, egoism, love, hatred and affection are destroyed. This is called Samprgyat Samadhi or Samprgyat Yoga. It is further classified into four parts according to Yoga Sutra.
It means when the mind dwells with logic, thought, happiness and egoism, it is said to be in Sampragyat Samadhi which is achieved through Apar Vairagya. Beyond this state, if a person still continues to meditate, his mind enters into a fully controlled state which is called Niruddha from ekagra state. His mind resides in an impotent state. This is called Asamprgyat Samadhi. It is also called nirbIja or nirodha Samadhi. A person in this state is capable of destructing all the qualities and boundaries of human nature and establishes himself in his natural form.
“तदा द्रुश्टुः स्वरूपोवस्यानम” – in terms of Yoga realizing the current state to be your very being and your natural form, will result in losing your egoism. Thus ‘me’, ‘mine’ and ‘you’ will then reside in pure consciousness. Hence through the medium of abhyas and vairagya we can establish ourselves in our true forms.