CHAPTER III.
The first and foremost temptation which he meets with is from his passion, particularly from that of lust. Sexual desires will overcome him with irresistable force, vague yearnings will torture his every-day existence, and they will be the more powerful, the more idle he is. The common proverb, that Satan finds some mischief for idle hands to do, is nowhere so well illustrated as in the case of the young Yogi. His sedentary habits, if not well regulated, peculiarly predispose him to these temptations, and it is to guard against them that such minute details are often given about food, regimen, posture, &c. To prevent distraction proceeding from this cause, the Sikh Guru Arjun advised his chelas to be married. He knew that though Yoga, like poetry, is a very jealous mistress, and that for the highest development of psychic powers, celibacy or at least chastity was an important condition, still he had well probed the depth of the human heart, and by his own example of married life showed that it is compatible with Yogic education.
Patanjali enumerates the following nine obstacles;—Sickness, langour, doubt, carelessness, laziness, addiction to objects of sense, erroneous perception, failure to attain any stage of abstraction, and instability in it when attained. These are the primary distractions; there is yet another class which I may call secondary, viz., grief, distress, trembling, and sighing. The method of overcoming these obstacles is through abhyasa and Vairagya. In fact, Vairagya (indifference) will be of the greatest help to the student. If he is grieved at the death of a dear friend, let him betake to Vairagya, take shelter under its shade and hear its sweet and solemn admonitions, saying—“nothing is permanent in this transitory world.” If suffering from the excruciating pains of sickness and disease, let him resort to this never-failing doctor Vairagya, and his pains will vanish. Martyrs have died on the stake without showing the slightest sign of pain, though their flesh was torn from the body by inches. What was it that supported them through this horrible trial of physical nature? Their mind no doubt. Is it then too much to expect from the aspirant of the heavy lore of our adepts that he should conquer his nerve-life by the indomitable strength of Vairagya? Truly there lies hid innumerable wonderful potencies under the covering of Vairagya. Learn, therefore, betimes to practice this virtue, thou would-be gymnosophist.
Besides Vairagya there are enumerated by Patanjali some five or six other methods of eliminating the evil consequences of the above-mentioned obstacles. Firstly by profound devotedness towards the Lord Iswara. We have already defined the term Iswara. This devotedness to God is an easy method of attaining Yoga. Those who adopt this system are called followers of Bhaktimaryga. The majority of the Aryans of India now know no other method than this. It is very popular with the masses; and that it is a very successful method is proved beyond doubt by the lives of religious saints and fakirs who perform miracles, so to speak, by their faith in the Lord God. By devotedness is not to be understood the hypocritical system of prayers which passes by that name. It must be entire resignation to God accompanied with intense love. It must be the forgetfulness of self,—living in the Lord. We must worship the Lord not with flowers and incense, but with “repeating his name and reflecting on its signification.” He has got many names amongst different nations, but the Aryas have assigned most mystical powers to the word “Om.” This word is called pranava (glory), and its repetition is enjoined as a help to concentration. The Mahomedans use Allah-hu, the Sikhs Vah-Guru, the Buddhists Om mani padme hum, the Jews Jah-ve. The proper pronunciation of the pranava and reflecting on its signification brings with it the knowledge of the Lord.
The second method of over-powering these obstacles is “Dwelling upon one truth.” We must fix our attention again and again upon someone accepted truth; we must concentrate our mind upon one point, and allow it under no circumstance to wander from it. Another method is “through the practising of benevolence, tenderness, complacency, and disregard towards objects of happiness, grief, virtue and vice.” Benevolence but half represents the meaning of the original Sanskrit word Maitri. It is a term of larger signification than even charity. It is good-heartedness and love confined not within the limited circle of humanity, but extending to all animate creation, friendliness towards the creatures of God,—something more than philanthropy. “Tenderness” is showing compassion to the unfortunate, the wretched and the poor, while “complacency” is that state of sympathy which feels joy in the happiness of a fellow-creature. The whole essence of this method may be summed up in the comprehensive word “Sympathy,”—universal sympathy, sympathy for the animate and inanimate creation. The fourth expedient of combating mental distraction is “by forcibly restraining the breath,” i.e., Pranayama. We will treat of it in detail in the next chapter. The fifth method mentioned by Patanjali is “by fixing the attention on any object cognizable through the senses.” The student may fix his attention on the tip of the nose, the center of the tongue, &c. Another method is by fixing the attention on a luminous object.” This is more active, and produces, in certain constitutions, the trance state sooner than other methods. Placing a luminous object a yard or so at a distance, and looking at it steadily for some minutes, keeping the head all the while at an angle of 45 degrees will almost induce hypnotic trance. The mystic needs no external luminous object to fix his eyes upon; he sees a pure steady light in the lotus of his heart. The seventh means of combating distraction is by “fixing the mind on some person whose life is holy and devoid of passion.” This method is in great favor with the Jains and Buddhists. Many followers of those persuasions, keep the images of their gurus in their houses, and in ordinary parlance are said to worship them, and are consequently branded by bigots as idolaters and hero-worshippers; but to those who know rightly they do no such thing; they only contemplate the image of their guru as a means of facilitating mental concentration.
The eighth method of Patanjali is:— “By dwelling on knowledge that presents itself in dream or in sleep.” What is the meaning of this aphorism is not very clear. It is perhaps to be understood in the sense of suggesting an object of contemplation in our dreaming state. When we sleep, many ideas pass through our brain, and ordinary men have no command over the succession or cessation of these ideas. But a Yogi should try to regulate even his dreams and fix his mind upon any one idea which presents itself in that state. And, like a true philosopher, Patanjali, after enumerating these details, rises to a higher generalization, and says:— “Concentration of the mind may be effected by pondering on anything that one approves.” Different persons have different states, and no hard and fast rule can be laid down for this purpose to fit them all, Thus the Tantriks have their own ways, the Sufis their own, and the Buddhists their particular system.