Freedom is Not to be Found: The Heart of Yoga Philosophy

Freedom is not to be Found: The Heart of Yoga Philosophy

by Christopher Tompkins

Patañjali, the author of the ancient core text on Yoga called the Yoga Sutra, defines Yoga as "the stilling of the whirling mind" (YS 1.2). When the mind becomes calm, the transcendental Witness (drashtri) Consciousness, hidden behind our constantly fluctuating mind, blissfully shines forth. This definition reflects a fundamental understanding of Yoga that is shared amongst many schools of Yoga philosophy and practice. It is a core tenet that connects the Yoga traditions which have developed over three millennia in the Indian sub-continent. The great Yogic sages of old have always taught that a peaceful, joyful state of consciousness already exists within us. This state is, in fact, the core of our being, just waiting to be uncovered.

Because Yoga as a practice leads to the experience of the pure Knower, of pure transcendent Self-hood, free of any limitations, it may be seen as a powerful doorway to the most crucial step of human evolution--inner evolution. Yoga as taught in many Indian texts and traditions, such as the ancient Upanishads, the Yoga Sutra, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Tantras, and the various Hatha Yoga lineages, seeks to liberate beings from contracted, limited states of awareness. All of the so-called 'limbs' of yoga that the various paths offer, from asanas (postures) and pranayama (breath/life force regulation) to dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (the blissful experience of pure consciousness), seek to 'yolk' the consciousness of the yogin back to an innate state of utter freedom (moksha), to an absolute calm within, beyond the realm of everyday experience, language, and thought.

The Freedom of Yoga

When we are no longer defined by our thoughts, we are no longer trapped by psychological and emotional limitations. What does it mean to enjoy the quieting of the mind? It means to recognize that you are not the thought, but the thinker. Your untainted spirit vibrates quiescently just behind thought. It is your true undisturbed Self; it is comprised only of being (sat) consciousness (cit) and bliss (ãnanda).

Our active mind is just a fraction of our consciousness that is used to experience, express, and categorize our outer environment. When we are wholly engaged in mental activity, we identify with the fluctuating, erratic thought-waves on top of the ocean of our own Being. Thus we often see ourselves as these seemingly separate waves, and not as the ocean of spirit, because we imagine ourselves to be what we perceive (our thoughts and feelings) instead of identifying with the source of perception. Rarely do we connect solely with the perceiver, the pure Self (atman), which vibrates blissfully just behind the din of mental activity. So called 'peak' experiences allow us to temporarily access the Self, such as when we come across a beautiful scene in nature, when we fall in love, or at a moment of great loss. During these experiences, our minds momentarily become quiet, and we feel utter present moment-connectedness to a sublime reality that seems bigger than but somehow not separate from ourselves. At these moments, we are tapping into our true home place, the source of divine connection that underlies the shifting, changing world.

The Hindu Upanishads tell us that the Self, or soul, is ultimately one with the ocean of universal, living consciousness, called 'Brahman' (the 'Absolute'). As the one source of all creation, Brahman expresses itself in a myriad of seemingly finite expressions (seemingly distinct waves of its own ocean) that continually rise and fall in a rhythm of perpetual flux. Brahman is constantly taking momentary forms that are governed by change. It manifests as the beauty of a blooming summer rose, crescendos as the climax of a musical masterpiece, and fades with the last season of a human life. The reality of 'momentariness' or impermanence (anitya) is reflected throughout the Yoga tradition, and is the core doctrine of Buddhism. How does the experience of constant change impact us personally?

Not only is the outer, physical world in constant flux, but our inner mental/emotional world as well. Because our minds are always shifting, always spinning in various thought cycles (citta-vrittis), we are usually unable to see and experience the true, limitless and blissful ground of our own existence. Because of all the noise that our minds make, we are all too often relegated to states of awareness that feel contracted or limited, whether these are emotionally, mentally, or physically experienced, even though our inner Witness rests in the sea of contented Self-awareness of which it is a part.

The practice of Yoga is thus the 'linking' or 'yoking' of awareness away from the sense-energy that perceives the outer world back to the source of consciousness within one's innermost being. Asana (poses), pranayama (breath regulation), sense withdrawal, and meditation align us to the Self; these 'limbs' of yoga open the inner door to the ultimate contentment that vibrates as the perfect heart of all beings. So the notion that Yoga can lead us to somewhere better is erroneous. Yoga only serves to awaken us to our true nature. When we practice Yoga with an attitude of freedom, we will experience joy, bliss, and contentment beyond conception. Freedom (kaivalya) is not to be found. It is the essential integrity of each and every being. The goal of Yoga ('union') is unconditional freedom. The practice of Yoga invites us to explore freedom. It can bring us to the realization of the great 'I am,' that underneath my life situation is my true life, my true being: pure conscious awareness.

Behind what I think I am, I am.

Yoga teaches us that it is okay to let the drama of our lives go and to discover a deeper, quiescent state of awareness that is the ground of all being. The drama of the mental-egoic world is NOT 'you'; you are the pure Witness. Our underlying nature is perfect and self-content and always will be. Through Yoga we can tune into the ocean of living energy all around us and realize that within the human heart resides far more security, joy, effectiveness, and love than we might ever need in order to live a continuously beautiful life. As we learn to identify with the essential Witness-Self, we deeply and continuously begin to enjoy the gift of our lives. To 'yoke' to the bliss of our own hearts is to connect to the heart of the universe, to feel the omniscient and loving vibration of consciousness that resides in all beings.

"The one spirit of All, the inner Self of all Beings, who makes its one form many, for the wise who perceive it as abiding in the soul, to them belongs eternal bliss."

-Katha Upanisad (c. 300 BCE, one of the earliest scriptures to teach Yoga as the central means to spiritual liberation)

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