Alain Daniélou - Yoga: Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe

Author's Note

This short exposition of the principles and practice of yoga, compiled from the teachings of many of its living exponents and from published and unpublished Sanskrit sources, is fully authentic in its account of the aims, methods, and different forms of yoga. It explains the technical processes by which, according to the doctrines of yoga, the subconscious may be brought under control, the senses overpassed, and modes of perception obtained which lead to remarkable achievements both spiritual and intellectual. The book will interest not only the mystic and student of the occult but also the doctor, the psychiatrist, and the anthropologist.

Much of the information in this book is given in mandatory terms, but the majority of the exercises described are not for the amateur. In some cases their practice will be harmful, even dangerous, if attempted without the guidance of a qualified teacher. This warning must be emphasized.

The small numerals which follow the many quotations from Hindu scriptures refer to the original Sanskrit texts, which are reproduced in Appendix E.

The author was born in Paris and lived in India for over twenty years, devoting himself to the study of ancient Indian culture and becoming a leading European authority on Eastern philosophy, religion, and music, on which he has written several books.

To all the yogis whose teachings and writings have been here condensed, he offers his humble respect.

Alain Danielou

Introduction

Yoga and the Age of Conflicts

According to the ancient cosmological theory of Shaivite Samkhya, of which yoga is the experimental method, there is no aspect of the Universe that is really separate from the rest which cannot be taken as the point of departure to discover the All. Any form in the animate or inanimate world can be the door through which we can be released from the world of appearances, and any mode of action or inaction can be the means of spiritual experience. Yoga aids us in finding the least guarded points in our imprisoning envelope, the levels at which contacts with other worlds can be most easily made, and the most rapid methods for attaining freedom. Only when realization of the universality of contact with the supernatural has permeated our being, only when we have freed ourselves from all narrow-mindedness, from our superstitions, beliefs, social, and moral tiesseeking to recover their original purpose, from the point of view not of blind faith but of luminous knowledgecan we fruitfully approach those practical methods that facilitate, the discovery of the Invisible but do not admit of error, hesitation, or useless senses of decency or prejudice.

The progress that can be made by yoga methods on the way to discovering the nature of the world and of beings is so astounding that the slightest false start, the least tie binding the apprentice to the earth, puts him in danger of falling. For this reason, it is unwise to practice yoga methods without the guidance of a qualified teacher. It is not the practice of yoga that is difficult, but the preparation needed before starting on this great adventure.

The apprentice's preparation for clearing the space that separates him from the world of gods and spirits is as scrupulous as that required for organizing a trip to the North Pole. He must train himself mentally and physically and must forget nothing, since this journey is difficult and necessitates the total abandoning of the familiar world before making the jump towards an unknown universe, which is not the universe of life, but of eternity. We inevitably perceive the outer world through the intermediary of the senses, which are narrow portholes allowing us a fragmentary and deformed glimpse of the reality outside. Even if the great cosmos is reluctant to reveal its secrets, however, there is another cosmos within us, from which we are not separated by the same barriers. If we wish to try to understand the secret nature of things, we must seek it within ourselves, where the limitations of the senses do not interpose between our consciousness and our perceptions. It is by studying the microcosm that we can understand the macrocosm; it is through our own impermanent being that we can reach the Universal Being. It is in the cavern of our heart that we can realize the immensity of spaces, and by controlling our own vital rhythms we can escape the power of time. By reaching the source of life, we can escape the power of death. By exploring the unknown spheres within ourselves, we can visit the celestial and infernal worlds.

The yoga method explains procedures and techniques for exploring ourselves and for controlling the mechanical process of life functions, through which we can even dominate the forces of Nature, acquire magical powers, and enter into contact with celestial beings and various aspects of the transcendental world. Of these techniques, some are more or less easy, others more or less dangerous. Some are more appropriate to certain people; in certain periods; in certain countries; to certain races, ethnic, or social groups, to certain temperaments and ages of life. The most widespread are those whose teaching is more easily accessible, but these are not necessarily the most efficacious. Some yoga techniques may only be taught with great caution and with a competent guide, since they can affect the whole vital equilibrium.

The adepts of certain forms of yoga affirm that most of the techniques appropriate to other ages are impracticable in the age in which we live, in which life is too short to bring them to fulfillment. The methods they propose as most suitable for the modern age can only be taught secretly, since they sometimes contradict religious and ethical concepts and taboos which are inherited from past times but whose value few individuals are mentally free to challenge.

Understandably, Nature uses every means to oppose the methods through which man may become his own master. The closer a technique brings us to the magical powers of yoga, the more it is necessary to mistrust the obstacles and dangers that arise all around. Nature seeks to hold life and opposes any overstepping of its limits, using many tricks to deviate the methods devised to escape her and transforming them into new ties that allow her to keep man in her power. This is, in fact, the history of all religions, which, starting from an effort to free man from the world's dominion, become fetters that bind him even more closely to it. This is why the god hero Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gt, "Renounce all laws of ethics and religion, and take refuge in me alone."

We live in a moralistic age. Many minds, little inclined to admit the existence of a god or of any form of survival, are nevertheless convinced that certain actions are in themselves good or evil, without quite knowing what they mean by these terms and where such a notion of ethical values should logically lead them. What we call virtues are really only techniques, which have a value only insofar as we are aware of their scope and seek to attain the results to which they lead. All forms of yoga require physical and mental control, but in every case there are two methods: abstinence and moderate use. In the current age, the second method is the one that is considered efficacious. Asceticism is a powerful weapon in overcoming obstacles, even the most important weapon in certain ages of the world, when the yogis conquered heaven by their ceaseless austerities. In our own time, however, man does not possess the necessary strength, and risks destroying himself before attaining his goal.

Yoga is often spoken of as though it were a system of exercises, physical culture for the mind and body. This is true to a certain extent in the preliminary stages connected with Hatha yoga. Although it is absolutely unnecessary to utilize this training to attain the highest forms of realization, it is such a great aid, such a useful preparation, that there seems no advantage to be had in neglecting it.