An Introduction to Yoga/Lecture IV

LECTURE IV

YOGA AS PRACTICE

In dealing with the third section of the subject, I drew your attention to the states of mind, and pointed out to you that, according to the Samskrit word vritti, those states of mind should be regarded as ways m which the mind exists, or, to use the philosophical phrase of the West, they are modes of mind, modes of mental existence. These are the states which are to be inhibited, put an end to, abolished, reduced into absolute quiescence. The reason for this inhibition is the production of a state which allows the higher mind to pour itself into the lower. To put it in another way: the lower mind, unruffled, waveless, reflects the higher, as a waveless lake reflects the stars. You will remember the phrase used in the Upanishad, which puts it less technically and scientifically, but more beautifully, and declares that in the quietude of the mind and the tranquility of the senses, a man may behold the majesty of the Self. The method of producing this quietude is what we have now to consider.


 * Chapter 1: Inhibition of States of Mind
 * Chapter 2: Meditation with and without Seed
 * Chapter 3: The Use of Mantras
 * Chapter 4: Attention
 * Chapter 5: Obstacles to Yoga
 * Chapter 6: Capacities for Yoga
 * Chapter 7: Forthgoing and Returning
 * Chapter 8: Purification of Bodies
 * Chapter 9: Dwellers on the Threshold
 * Chapter 10: Preparation for Yoga
 * Chapter 11: The End