Yoga - an essential subject

Practicing yoga keeps our bodies fit and healthy. However if we consider the ultimate aim of yoga is to only maintain the body, then we are mistaken. The real perfection of yoga is to free ourselves from material entanglement by connecting our soul with the Supreme Soul. Some yogīs try to elevate their soul to higher planetary systems, where the standard of life is different from that of this planet and where material comforts, life-span and other facilities for self-realization are greater. Some other yogīs endeavor to merge their soul into the Supreme Brahman. The bhakti-yoga process directly elevates the soul to the spiritual planets, where life is eternally blissful and full of knowledge; therefore bhakti-yoga - the yoga of devotion - is considered to be the greatest of all yoga systems.

Srila Prabhupada's books, lectures, conversations and letters offer a comprehensive presentation of this essential subject as seen in the Vaniquotes Yoga category. An introduction from his books is given below in the following 10 quotes.

Quotes from Srila Prabhupada's books


vanipedia.org 		A person is said to be elevated in yoga when, having renounced all material desires, he neither acts for sense gratification nor engages in fruitive activities. When a person is fully engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, he is pleased in himself, and thus he is no longer engaged in sense gratification or in fruitive activities. Otherwise, one must be engaged in sense gratification, since one cannot live without engagement. Without Kṛṣṇa consciousness, one must be always seeking self-centered or extended selfish activities. (Bhagavad-gītā 6.4)



vanipedia.org 		As far as fruitive work is concerned, it is limited to an enjoyable body; as far as yoga is concerned, it is limited to the acquirement of mystic power; as far as empiric philosophy is concerned, it is limited to the attainment of transcendental knowledge; and as far as transcendental knowledge is concerned, it is limited to attainment of salvation. Even if they are adopted, there is every chance of discrepancies in discharging the particular type of functions. But adoption of the transcendental devotional service of the Lord has no limit, nor is there fear of falling down. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.9.36)



vanipedia.org 		By devotional service only does one's heart become completely purified from all material coverings like karma, jñāna and yoga. Only in such a purified stage does the Lord, who is seated in everyone's heart with the individual soul, give instruction so that the devotee can reach the ultimate destination of going back home, back to Godhead. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.5.4)



vanipedia.org 		By karma-miśra-bhakti one is elevated to the celestial kingdom, by jñāna-miśra-bhakti one is able to merge in the Brahman effulgence, and by yoga-miśra-bhakti one is able to realize the omnipotency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. But pure bhakti does not depend on karma, jñāna or yoga, for it simply consists of loving affairs. The liberation of the bhakta, therefore, which is called not just mukti but vimukti, surpasses the five other kinds of liberation-sāyujya, sārūpya, sālokya, sārṣṭi and sāmīpya. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.10.20-22)



vanipedia.org 		By material association and education, we learn simply to concentrate on flimsy things, but yoga is the process of forgetting them altogether. Modern so-called yogīs and yoga systems manifest some magical feats, and ignorant persons are attracted by such false things, or they accept the yoga system as a cheap healing process for diseases of the gross body. But factually the yoga system is the process of learning to forget what we have acquired throughout the struggle for existence. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.13.53)



vanipedia.org 		By the process of karma, jñāna and yoga, no one will succeed in driving away contamination from the heart, but once a person takes to the shelter of the lotus feet of the Lord by devotional service, automatically all dirty things in the heart are removed without difficulty. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.20)



vanipedia.org 		The materialistic men are very anxious to have some mystic powers as a result of such a controlling process, but the real purpose of yogic regulations is to eradicate the accumulated dirty things like lust, anger, avarice and all such material contaminations. If the mystic yogī is diverted by the accompanying feats of mystic control, then his mission of yogic success is a failure, because the ultimate aim is God realization. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 2.1.23)



vanipedia.org 		Nondevotees, who do not take shelter of the Lord's lotus feet, try to cross the ocean of nescience by other methods (karma, jñāna and yoga), but they have a great deal of trouble. Indeed, sometimes they become so busy simply enjoying their troubles that they never cross the ocean. There is no guarantee that the nondevotees will cross the ocean, but even though they manage to cross, they have to undergo severe austerities and penances. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.22.40)



vanipedia.org 		The following of Kṛṣṇa's dictation is real yoga, and this is practiced in the process called Kṛṣṇa consciousness. By Kṛṣṇa consciousness only can one give up the sense of proprietorship. One has to become the servant of Kṛṣṇa, or the servant of the servant of Kṛṣṇa (CC Madhya 13.80). That is the right way to discharge duty in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, which alone can help one to act in yoga. (Bhagavad-gītā 2.48)



vanipedia.org 		One should be very practical in every field of activities and should not waste his valuable time in practicing useless gymnastic feats in the name of yoga. Real yoga is to search out the four-handed Supersoul within one's heart and see Him perpetually in meditation. Such continued meditation is called samādhi, and the object of this meditation is the four-handed Nārāyaṇa, with bodily decorations as described in this chapter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.15.45)



Yoga - explore more within this category.

Vanipedia has now over 903 introductory articles compiled from Srila Prabhupada's books under the series titled Essential Subjects. All these articles can be seen in the Table of Content on the right side of this article and also here in this Umbrella Category. Browse through them to relish the breadth and depth of Srila Prabhupada's teachings - There is a subject for everyone.


   
 

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