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Yoga
Chapter III
Constancy of
Effort
Tatparata
Constant
effort with keen interest is the key to rapid success in the
practice of Yoga, been started by the traveler of Divine Path with
complete faith and devotion. Continuous fast toil with strong
interest is considered to be very important and helpful for an early
success in the attainment of the chief Goal even by Maharishi
Patanjali, the great profounder of Yoga philosophy.
“Tivra-samvaganamasannah.”
(Yoga darshan 1-21)
i.e. the
practitioners who do not get tired or bored and are constantly
intent upon the yogic practices, get Nirbeej (seedless) samadhi
(realization of super-consciousness) very soon that is
“self-realisation” been mentioned previously. So Tatparata in simple
words, means to proceed on the path directed by the spiritual master
with a keen desire, great zeal and firmness that defers all the
limited desires. One thing more, I must clarify here, “that it is a
universal fact that the practitioner can not proceed properly,
progressively towards the destination, if he has got any kind of
individual desire, left in his mind; because any materialistic
desire can be the cause of hinderance and obstruction in the higher
success of practice (Sadhana). So the great wise devotees focus
their mind upon their adorable (Ishata).
According to the great
saint Tulsidas (the writer of the holy Hindu scripture Ramayana),
the chief desirable of a devotee is the vision of Lord and that is
the only attainable (object) of their life.
"Mana Te Sakal Vasana
Bhagi, Kewal Rama Charan Laya
Lagi.”
(Ram-Chrita Manasa Bal-Kand)
i.e. the
practitioner, in this way, achieves success in his practices, as he
gets all his personal individual desires finished and is totally
attached with the lotus feet of Lord Rama (His adorable ishta) that
is a peaceful shelter for self immersion. Rather without attaining
that Goal, the devotee feels his life meaningless, as according to
him meaningfulness of human life is in the attainment of that
ultimate Goal i.e. complete self-surrender”. Thus the practitioner
of Ramayan thinks:-
Ram Charan
Varij Jaba Dekhaun.
Taba nija
Janma Suphal Kari Lekhaun!’.
i.e. I would
accept my life meaningful, only when I am able to visualize the
lotus feet of Lord Rama, that can be followed by an ardent keen
desire only. St. Tulsidas (in his Manas the great epic) depicts the
mental status and internal desire of the great practitioners
(Swayambhu Manu and shatarupa) e.g.
“Ur abhilash
nirantara hoi,
Dekhiye
nayana param prabhu soi.”
(Manas Bal
Kand)
i.e. “It is
their constant internal wish that they may be able to visualize that
supreme Lord Rama. Their great faith has also been described as
follows:-
“Aguna
Akhanda ananta anadi
Jehi
Chintahin parmarathavadi”
(Manas Bal
Kand)
i.e. They believe, that Almighty who has no beginning no end,
no quality, no division, who is mediated upon by all the philosopher
saints, great metaphysicians who is prescribed in Vedas to be such,
being stated as (Neti Neti) i.e. “That is not He, That is not He”
(Whatever is perceptible can not be the medium of its definition and
description i.e. where even the Vedic knowledge exhausts), who is a
universal Supreme Power beyond all names and forms, even the great
Gods of creation, Nourishment and Destruction,
(Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesha) are the manifestations of whose Supreme
Existence, adopting a super human divine playful form manifests
itself for his devotees. So the devotee keeps a deep faith, in these
holy words of Shruti (vedic declaration) and is sure that his wish
must be fulfilled. In this keenness of desire they forget even their
physical existence and maintenance e.g.:
‘Asthi Matra
hoi rahe Sarira
Tadapi
Managa manahin nahin pira’
(Manas Bal
Kand)
i.e. their bodies have remained just skeleton even then they
have no distress in mind because they are thinking about their Goal
only. Resultantly the Lord of the devotees manifested Himself before
the devotee couple (Manu and Satroopa):-
“Bhagat
Vacchal prabhu kripa nidhana
Vishvavas
pragate Bhagawana
(Manas Bal
Kand)
i.e. “the
constant effort with keen desire enabled them to have supreme
vision.”
Now we have
seen in Ramayana also, that along with Shraddha (faith and devotion)
and tatparata (constant effort with keen desire), there is the third
essential step of the practice that is the control of the senses”
(Indriya samyama).
Sense control
means to satisfy the senses through some proper limited, disciplined
means of enjoyment, to engage them into the right action’s
performance for the best utilization. In the Indian Vedic way of
practice, sense-control is considered to be primarily important and
necessary as the root cause of all types of disturbance is the
restlessness of the senses and the mind. These can mislead the
individual making him indulged into innumerous harmful activities.
According to Shrimadbhagwad Geeta:-
“Ye hi
Samsparshaja bhoga dukhayonaya eva te
Adyantavantah Kaunteya
na teshu ramate budhah.” (Gita 5-22)
i.e. in the contact of the
senses and their objects, these lies the feeling of enjoyment that
is very temporary, perishable and short lived. The absence of which
producers sorrow, breeds all the unhappy situations in life. The
vivekees (the wise men) being quite aware of this fact do not
indulge themselves into these; because it is a basical fact, that
the contact of the senses and their objects must produce the feeling
of attachment or hatred according to their favourableness or
unfavourableness, liking or disliking, availability or
non-availability. So the best way for the practitioner is to be free
from all the dualities and proceed forward carefully as the
attachment and the hatred both are the great enemies of the traveler
of the Divine Path. So, that very practitioner can be successful,
whose mind, even coming into contact with external worldly sense
objects accompanied with their organs for enjoyment, does not stir
or disturb good control over the senses, mind and the intellect
only, the thoughtful practitioner, being free from any type of
desire, fear, lust or anger etc. deserves emancipation, the chief
goal of life.
The idea is, that no practitioner can have the complete
success in any type of practice without having proper sense control.
The most destructive factor in life is the indiscipline of the
senses. Even in the Upanishads, the same idea has been expressed in
the following verse:-
"Atmanam ratninam
Viddhi S hariram rathameva Tu
Manali pragrahameva
cha Indriyani hayanahur
Vishayansteshu
gocharan
Armendriyamanoyuktam
Bhoktetyahur manishinah.”
Kathopanishad, 1-3-3,
1-3-4 i.e “know the individual
soul as the rider (owner) of the Chariot of the body, the intellect
as the charioteer and the mind to be the reins. The philosopher
thinkers tell the senses, as horses, their objects are the path on
which they tread upon. The individual self, with sense, mind and
body, becomes the enjoyer of the object. Under the current
reference, the next verses tell:-
“Just as
though the chariot is carried by the horses, yet the director is the
charioteer, with the reins in his hands, who directs the horses on
the right path, if the charioteer is not an efficient one, he can
never control the forceful horses and being out of control, the free
horses, been attracted by the greenery, adopting the wrong path,
would definitely drop the owner (rider) and the charioteer both into
some pit, right in the same manner, the forceful horses of the
senses, by nature being restless, always desire to run towards the
glittering objects of this world. If the efficient charioteer, i.e.
the well developed, well balanced pure Reason (Sadbuddhi) controls
the reins of mind powerfully, wisely, the horses of the senses can
not move freely, or unsystematically, as the senses are always
related, and connected with the reins of mind.
Now you must
have followed, even in this Vedic message, how much important and
necessary this sense control is considered to be for the
practitioner of Yoga. In the eight-limited-Yoga, prescribed by
Maharishi Patanjali, the Yamas and the Niyamas (denoting the
practice of sense control) are the first main two steps which become
the basical ground of the success in the practice of Yoga. So the
sense control (Indriya nigrah) is counted in the five Mahavratas
(the great five Vows).
Even in the
senses, mind is the chief player. The senses are automatically
controlled after the control of the mind. So in the process of the
practice, given by all the scriptures and the teachers, the control
of mind has been considered to be the primary and an important step.
According to Geeta, uncontrolled mind is the great enemy of the
individual, while the controlled mind is the great friend of
him.
Bandhuratmatmanastasya
yenatmaivatmana jitah
Anatmanastu shatrutve
vartetamaiva shatruwat(Gita 6-6)
So the practitioner should constantly make careful effort to
have this sense control, that leads to the concentration and thus
self realization.
Above analysis must have clarified
the fact that through the practice based on complete faith and
devotion, encouraged with constant, keen desire and interest having
sense control, the practitioner attains the Divine Supreme
knowledge, tat enables him to be free from the triad of pains
(Adhibhautic, Adhidevic, adhyatmic), being felt since various past
lives.
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