Yoga Personality Mind And Vairagya

This document is an excerpt from "Yoga: Personality, Mind and Vairagya" by Dr. K. S. Joshi, published as part of the "Pushkarmuni Abhinandan Granth." It explores the interconnectedness of Yoga, personality development, the nature of the mind, and the concept of Vairagya (detachment).

Here's a comprehensive summary of the key points:

I. Yoga and Personality

• Vagueness of "Personality": The term "personality" is ill-defined, with psychologists offering hundreds of definitions. It relates to how an individual functions in a role, their likability, and overall success or failure.
• Education and Personality: The process of education is not just about acquiring knowledge but also about personality development. The interest in personality development is ancient, but scientific treatment is recent.
• Etymology and Definition: "Personality" derives from the Latin "persona" (mask), referring to the outward appearance. It's a collective term for psychological functions, distinct from mere individuality which lacks self-consciousness.
• Classifications of Personality Definitions: Guilford categorizes personality definitions into five groups: as it appears to others, sum-total of observable characteristics, organization/pattern, a holistic view, and organism-environment relationship.
• Factors and Measurement: Personality is a concept useful for understanding human behavior, revealed through overt and implicit actions. It's a function of inherited and acquired characteristics. Each person behaves uniquely, and personality can be measured quantitatively through "traits" (characteristic ways of doing things).
• Limitations of Measurement: While various methods exist (life-record, self-rating, objective tests), no single method fully captures personality. Batteries of tests are often used. Personality dimensions studied include somatic, aptitude, temperament, and biological drives.
• Failure of Psychology and Philosophy: The author suggests psychology and philosophy have failed in their dual task of understanding the principles of human behavior and guiding towards an ideal personality, citing global issues like hypocrisy, exploitation, and war.
• Yoga as a Solution: Yoga is presented as a discipline that can fulfill these needs, offering a way to understand human behavior and mold it towards an ideal personality.
• Ancient Indian View of Personality (Yoga): Drawing from the Kathopanishad, personality is likened to a chariot. The Atman (self) is the traveler, the Buddhi (intellect) is the charioteer, the Mind (manas) controls the reins (senses or indriyas), and objects of enjoyment are the territory. When the mind is clouded by avidya (ignorance), the senses are uncontrolled, leading to suffering. With vidya (knowledge), the mind controls the senses, leading to the highest state (liberation).
• Yoga's Focus on Liberation: Yoga primarily emphasizes liberation (kaivalya) from the cycle of rebirth (samsara), viewing earthly life as sorrowful. Modern personality approaches focus on everyday personality, while Yoga's domain is restricted to higher states of mind (ekagra, niruddha).
• Yoga as Science of "Ideal Personality": Traditionally, Yoga was for a select few, seen as the science of the "ideal personality." However, its benefits are now recognized for everyone, particularly in exercise and therapy.
• Yoga's Contribution to Personality: Yoga-Psychology and Yoga-Ethics reveal Yoga as a profound science of personality. It explains behavior through five "klesas" (afflictions): avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (craving), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death). Avidya is the root of suffering.
• Yoga's Training Program: Yoga offers training through dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, aided by attitude development (maitri, karuna) and ethical practices (yama, niyama, pratyahara). Physical disciplines (asana, pranayama) calm the mind. The eight limbs of Yoga provide balanced training.
• Benefits of Yoga Practice: Even small amounts of Yoga yield significant results, improving happiness and reducing tension. Asanas, mudras, and pranayama offer psycho-somatic benefits. Yoga promotes harmony and balance, essential for personality. Yogic counseling aids in self-awareness and transformation.
• Jivanmukta: The ultimate result of Yoga training is a jivanmukta (liberated while living), free from avidya and conditioning, who stops seeking and lives harmoniously. While the ideal is difficult, each step brings personality development.

II. Yoga and the Mind (Chitta)

• The Mind in Yoga: In Yoga, the mind is called chitta or antahkarana.
• Components of the Mind: The antahkarana comprises three segments:
  • Buddhi: The intellect, the first product of Prakriti, preponderant in sattva-guna. It stores samskaras (traces of past experiences) and makes decisions.
  • Ahankara (Asmita): The ego-sense, arising from Buddhi, responsible for the "I" feeling.
  • Manas: The sensory-motor coordinator, connecting Buddhi to the external world via senses. It performs sankalpa (determination) and vikalpa (doubt). It needs to be silenced in dharana and samadhi.
• Chitta's Nature and Function: Chitta, being a product of inert Prakriti, is itself inert. However, due to the reflection of Purusha (consciousness) within it (caused by avidya), it appears sentient. This samyoga (conjunction) of Purusha and chitta leads to the accumulation of samskaras.
• Vritti: The chitta interacts with objects through the senses, creating modifications called vrittis (thoughts, memories, imaginations, even sleep).
• Analogy of the Crystal: The chitta is like a crystal that reflects the color of any object it's near (tadakara or tadrūpa). This phenomenon, uparaga, creates a vritti.
• Influence of Samskaras: Past samskaras interfere with uparaga, leading to confused vrittis. Purification through dhyana removes these impurities, allowing for complete uparaga and direct knowledge.
• Chitta's Potential and Limitations: The chitta has the potential to know past, present, and future, but this is limited by "chitta-malas" (impurities) like klesas and samskaras. Yoga aims to remove these.
• Aviveka and Purushakhyati: Experiences of the chitta are superimposed on the reflected Purusha, causing aviveka (non-discrimination), where the Purusha appears to experience pleasure or pain. Yoga aims to overcome this by purifying the chitta, leading to purushakhyati (discrimination of the Self), the highest state before kaivalya.

III. Yoga and Vairagya

• Vairagya as the Foundation and Culmination of Yoga: Vairagya (detachment, dispassion) is the beginning and the ultimate goal of Yoga. It's a key determinant of success in Yoga.
• Patanjali and Krishna on Vairagya: Patañjali states that vairagya and abhyasa (practice) are the means to cease vrittis. Lord Krishna echoes this in the Bhagavad Gita.
• Raga and Vairagya: Raga (desire) is a klesha that binds us to samsara. Vairagya is the absence of this craving, a turning inward, a state of silence and lack of desire.
• Inward Turning: The wise person seeking immortality turns their senses inward, described as "avritta-chaksuh" (one whose eyes are turned inward) – this is vairagya.
• Importance of Vairagya for Mukti: Shankaracharya emphasizes that only one whose mind is filled with vairagya is fit for liberation. It's necessary even for those learned in scriptures.
• Vairagya and Overcoming Ignorance: Vairagya is the instrument to cut down the tree of ignorance and reach a state of no return from samsara.
• Types of Vairagya:
  • Smashana-vairagya: A temporary detachment experienced during grief or shock (e.g., at a funeral), which is short-lived and not very useful.
  • Vasikara-vairagya (Lower Vairagya): Absence of desire for both drsta (observable) objects (wealth, sex, recognition) and anusravika (heard-of) objects (heavenly pleasures, divine immortality).
  • Paravairagya (Higher Vairagya): A product of viveka-khyati (discriminative knowledge), which transcends even the desire for mukti. It denotes the highest understanding and paves the way to kaivalya.
• Veetaraga: A person who has attained vairagya is called a veetaraga (one who has overcome desires). They are not driven by personal cravings. Examples include great yogis and saints like Lord Mahavir.
• Yoga Without Vairagya is Impossible: Vairagya is a fundamental mark of Yoga.
• Practical Application of Vairagya: While the highest form of vairagya may be difficult, even a moderate practice of it in daily life brings peace, satisfaction, and reduces tension, helping humanity overcome conflict and war.

In essence, the document posits that Yoga is a comprehensive system for understanding and transforming human personality, mind, and behavior, with vairagya being a crucial element for achieving inner peace and ultimately, liberation.