Shankara's Advaitic Ashtanga Yoga

 

 

 

 

​​Adi Shankara is usually regarded as the main teacher of Advaita Vedanta and the yoga of knowledge whose greatness was praised by some of the great sages such as Ramana, Vivekananda and Nisargadatta. What most people don’t know however is that Shankara was a Yogi. Raja Yoga for example or the royal path was discussed in many of his commentaries which shows he knew the secrets of mantras, pranayama, concentration, meditation and samadhi. Shankara’s great poem Saundarya Lahiri or the Wave of Bliss remains the most famous work of Tantric Yoga which reflects the secrets of kundalini, chakras and yantra. Shankara teaches his own system of Raja Yoga based upon Advaita or the non-dualistic view. He referenced this in his important short work Aparokshanubhuti.

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Aparoksha refers to the knowledge gained by direct experience of Brahman, which is beyond both reason and sensory perception. Anubhuti is the experience of that from moment to moment. This yoga essentially combines the path of both Raja and Jnana yoga and is very advanced, mostly suited for highly sattvic minds at a very advanced stage where knowledge of the self as witness is known as it starts absorbing other thoughts to reveal its true nature in a continuous and unbroken motion. It is not recommended for those who have yet to establish successful subtle inquiry into the extreme depths of the mind. However, using it to enhance and transform your normal daily practice or simply reading/learning will help the purification process unfold much faster if one’s commitment is firm. In this consolidated approach, Shankara takes the main outer practices and techniques of Ashtanga Yoga and replaces them with inner perpetual meditation. Vichara (subtle self inquiry) is the main component and the background of Shankara’s Raja Yoga and is the means of gaining this higher knowledge of the self. Sadhanas (spiritual practice) should be a main priority and a way of life before the fruit of this path can be reaped. These sadhanas primarily consist of two factors:

 

​Outer practices to purify the body and mind: 

 

This consists of the outer limbs and practices of Yoga such as Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara, as well as the preparatory practices and a sattvic life-style. 

 

Inner practices of Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi as developing the higher knowledge through meditation: 

 

Note: Samadhi should not be stopped after being revealed but also must be practiced until it’s firmly established as a natural result. I’ll get more into this later. 

 

Shankara adds to Patanjali’s yogic system with a total of 15 limbs:

 

Yama, Niyama, Tyaga, Mauna, Desha, Kala, Asana, Mulabandha, Dehasamyam, Drik Sthithi, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. 

 

These are the various limbs of this Yoga in order.

 

Shankara’s verse for each of the 15 limbs will be presented below in quotations followed by my brief commentary for each one. 

 

1. Yama (moral discipline) 

 

“Everything is Brahman” from that knowledge arises the control of the senses. This is said to be Yama or self-control, which should be practiced at every moment.”

 

Viewing everything as Brahman will ultimately lead one to be more compassionate and selfless. It will allow one to put aside prejudices, judgement or any type of emotion/impulses that leads to poor choices and decisions that further sustains samsara.  It also allows one to maintain neutrality of the mind and to be kept away from the opposite ends of duality (both good and bad). It reduces desires and passion, all of which would have otherwise increased due to perceiving the world as something separate from yourself.  The more you perceive things to be real and separate from yourself, the more you assign different values to objects.  This further enhances like/dislikes and perpetuates duality. By seeing all as one continuously, the ego is weakened. There will be more dispassion as a result of seeing things with an equal eye.  From there, the senses will be controlled as it will not be pulled in strongly by the attracting forces of external objects. 

 

​2.   Niyama (moral observance)

 

“Increasing the sense of commonality and decreasing the sense of difference, which grants the supreme bliss, that Niyama or restraint is practiced by the wise.”

 

Seeing everything with an equal eye and being indifferent to all outcomes/results is the best practice for inner observance. This is solely because of visioning the unfoldment of life with an equal state of reverence. It’s being able to see the real in the unreal without interpreting objects and experiences to be something different from yourself. By doing this, you begin to see the world as a dream where there is fundamentally no difference between you and a blade of grass. Everything is known to be that of the same dream substance. Furthermore, everything is known to be nothing other than pure awareness which is the supreme bliss of freedom.

 

3.   Tyaga (renunciation)

 

“Renunciation is giving up the form of the outer world from the ascertainment of the Self of pure consciousness behind it. This Tyaga is honored by the great, from which liberation rises quickly.”

 

Renunciation here doesn’t mean leaving where you are and going somewhere else to find god. Renunciation also doesn't mean leaving your family or possessions.  It doesn’t mean giving up anything or giving up any action, but simply giving up identification with the ego/mind by replacing this outer vision with inner vision of the self no matter where you are. It means being able to keep your attention on the self, rather from the perception of objects due to the dark forces of vasanas that pulls you there.

 

4.   Mayna (silence)

 

“From which speech and mind return, not being able to reach, that Mauna which is attained by the Yogis should always be honored by the wise.”

 

Mauna is usually regarded as a spiritual practice of not speaking. But speaking or not speaking is equally the same from Brahman’s point of view. Mauna therefore means an inner practice of dwelling in the reality beyond speech. This doesn’t mean you should not verbally communicate but rather abide in awareness which transcends sound and from which there is nothing to speak about anything else as real other than the silence of your true self. It means reidentifying with silence instead of the body and mind that will speak on its own accord via God's will. 

 

5.   Desha (place)

 

“Where no person is found in the beginning, end or middle, by which everything is pervaded, that place (Desha) is known to be solitude.”

 

This means there is no need to go to a specific location within time and space for practice. Rather, practice can be done anywhere since awareness is all-pervasive. There is no single location where awareness does not reside since everything is known to be awareness itself. Solitude can therefore be found anywhere as long as you find it in your own inner presence. This means you can rest in solitutde even amongst chaos in this world. 

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6.   Kala (time)

 

“From which all beings are counted, beginning with the Creator, in the blinking of an eye, that is set forth by the word Time (Kala), which is unbroken non-dual bliss.”

 

This means there is no “right time” for practice. It doesn’t matter if it’s sunrise, full moon, before bed, or even brahma-muhurta, etc. Timing is all irrelevant since it is a figment of your own imagination.  Practice should be done with every blinking of an eye no matter what time it is, i.e. perpetual meditation. Abiding in the eternal means not being limited or bound by any time since the real nature of yourself is timeless. There only exists the present moment. 

 

7.   Asana (posture)

 

“The joy that exists in the continual contemplation of Brahman, that should be known as Asana (posture or seat), not the others that destroy one’s happiness. By which all beings are perfected, the unchanging support of all, into which, all the Siddhas (great yogis) have entered, the wise know as Siddhasana.”

 

Shankara only defines one Asana, being seated and fixed in the self. This is not a physical posture but a position of dwelling in the unity of consciousness.  To remain firm and grounded in one's own being is the perfect pose and which all the great knowers of brahman have recognized.

 

8.   Mulabhanda (root lock)

 

“Which is the root of all beings, which root brings about the restraint of the mind, that Mulabandha should always be followed in the Yoga of the Raja Yogis.”

 

Mulabandha here isn’t about locking the flow of energy to a particular area of the body but consists of holding and locking in on Brahman which is the fundamental root of all beings. By locking in on the root of all, direct knowledge of Brahman will remain unbroken. 

 

9.   Dehasamyam (balance of the body) 

 

“The balance of the limb should be known as merging into the Supreme Brahman that is the same in all beings. It is not simply the balance and straightness of the body like a dry tree trunk.”

 

This doesn’t mean balancing the body and keeping the spine straight or sitting Indian style but instead highlights the greater practice of merging one’s individual awareness into the supreme self that is the same in all as means of a greater universal balance and merging.

 

10.   ​Drik Sthithi (fixing of the gaze) 

 

“Making one’s vision of the nature of knowledge, one should see the entire world as Brahman. This is the supreme and most exalted vision, not merely gazing at the tip of the nose.”

 

One shouldn’t focus on the tip of the nose to access divine vision but rather vision the entire world as God as the real practice.  There is not you and God, there is only God. When resting as turiya, you rest in your own self-knowledge while witnessing the appearance of duality unfold inside you.  This is supreme vision.

 

​11.  Pranayama (controlling prana)

 

“Starting with the deeper mind holding to the reality of Brahman in all one’s experiences, that restraint of all the mental activities (Nirodha sarvavrittinam) is said to be Pranayama.”

 

Pranayama in this case is not just the control of prana, but holding onto supreme reality where thoughts no longer arise to disturb the natural flow. It is a timeless, spaceless and dimensionless thought-free state. Exhalation is rejecting the outer world appearance as unreal (i.e. reversing attention). Inhalation is accepting the reality of God or the Absolute Brahman (i.e. exposing turiya). Abiding in that state of Brahman consciousness is retention (i.e. keeping attention fixed on turiya). Therefore with every breath and holding of the breath, one should be firmly established in supreme truth. 

 

12.   Pratyahara (withdrawal of senses) 

 

“Seeing the state of the Self in all the objects of the senses, while diving deeply with the mind; this should be known as Pratyahara and should be practiced at every moment.”

 

Controlling of the senses is not simply withdrawing the senses but perceiving the inner Self behind the movement of the senses. Withdrawing the senses is withdrawing the thoughts from all objects, thus giving them zero value. It means sucking in every single thought, emotion and objective knowledge out of objects perceived, and withdrawing them into steady and unified awareness. When this happens, all sensory activity becomes a natural type of pratyahara because the self is seen in all no matter what the object appears to be.

 

13.   Dharana (concentration)

 

“Wherever the mind goes, there is the vision of Brahman. That is the Dharana of the mind, which is regarded as the supreme Dharana.”

 

Dharana is not concentration of the mind on one object or form but fixed and persistent concentration on the self. If this is done, then the self will be seen in all objects and forms. All objects and forms are no longer distinct but are now merged together and known to be formless when it is seen strictly as an appearance in your own screen of awareness.  

 

14.   Dhyana (meditation)

 

“Holding the true state of mind of “I am Brahman,” without any other support, that is known as meditation (Dhyana) and is the giver of the supreme bliss.”

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Meditation here is neither a one-off action nor something done on a single form but rather being in a meditative state at all times. It means being steady in awareness without any disruptions. It is not done through objective meditation but rather subjective meditation where attention is turned away from thoughts and objects and one remains in turiya without being broken. This means attaining direct vision of reality here in this very world without the dependency of physically dying.  

 

15.   Samadhi (self-absorption)

 

“The formless state of the mind that assumes the nature of Brahman again, forgetting all other thoughts, is the complete Samadhi, regarded as the state of true knowledge.”

 

When the mind assumes the form of turiya/sakshi, it is none other than Brahman without qualities, though it can still witness the appearance of duality within itself. This is known as atma-jnanam, brahma-vidya or brahmajnana, the state of true, direct and complete knowledge of the self.  Note: This is not meant to imply that the mind is completely vanished forever, but rather, the mind is purely sattvic without the nature of Tamas and Rajas that conceals the truth of Brahman and pulls its attention outward towards illusory forms (respectively). This samadhi will not be firm right away due to vasanas, which means there needs to be effort in remaining there. This is known as savikalpa samadhi.  Shankara continues...

 

“In the practice of Samadhi, powerful obstacles do arise, such as break in attention, dullness, dwelling on outer enjoyments, dissolution, darkness, distraction, attachment to bliss, and blankness: Thus these many obstacles should be slowly removed by the knower of Brahman.”

 

This last verse from Shankara means that before one exposes turiya, they may succumb to deep sleep or laya (temporary in-activity) since the mind is extremely calm and silent. One must avoid slipping into this laya.  They must also discriminate harder when they perceive bliss as it suggests they are in the deepest parts of the mind during inquiry (in the causal states).  By discriminating further, the deep layers of the mind will be negated by pulling attention past them.  One will finally separate the self from the non-self, i.e. the presence of turiya is exposed. 

 

One must continually dwell in this presence by fully self-surrendering.  Any minimal effort or doer-ship will disrupt the samadhi as this function will only reinforce the ego (since it is the ego that puts in effort).  However, effort is required in reaching this inner substratum.  Only once you reach it, should you fully self-surrender to the knowledge that automatically unfolds on its own. Thoughts will be the biggest distraction in remaining there since it is the very nature of the mind to entertain thoughts which causes attention to drift away from its inner substratum.  However, if all forms of bliss, laya, thoughts and any other empirical phenomena is fully negated, your attention will reverse fully onto its own self and turiya will be exposed.  One will finally rest in their own natural presence When one abides in samadhi, the brahmakara-vritti (unbroken experience of the self) will begin to dissolve all of the upadhis (limiting adjuncts) that keeps one entangled in samsara. This is the body and mind that vasanas keeps the "I" glued to.  It is the vasanas that transitions the "I" from turiya to mind/ego "I am". If turiya is held on its own permanently and naturally, the mind itself which is ignorance and the cause of transmigration vanishes (manonasa). Brahman alone shines on its own. One must therefore keep samadhi stable at any time, at any place, under any circumstance until Brahman becomes their firm identity. This is Vedanta’s version of enlightenment, i.e. sahaj samadhi.

 

For those who are not yet ripe in their spiritual life or sadhana, the more ordinary sadhanas or lower spiritual practices should be included. Thus Shankara makes it clear, he is not rejecting these lesser practices but simply adding a higher dimension to them if you are qualified to do so. He also recommends the need for devotion (bhakti) as a foundation for the knowledge, which otherwise is likely to remain dry and conceptual.

 

“Only those in whom this consciousness of Brahman being ever present grows into maturity, attain to the state of ever existent Brahman; and not others who merely deal with words.” 

 

-Adi Shankara 

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