Bases of Yoga -- Summary and Conclusions

0:00 In various places, Srioro Bindo has noted that yoga is applied psychology. The practitioner of yoga is confronted by all of the instincts, habits, trained responses and reactions of human nature and is asked to address and change these in order to uplift the human being to the next stage of the evolutionary cycle, thereby transforming the understanding, the response and the action of the individual. Many paths of religious and spiritual discipline provide what may be seen as a type of road map whereby the practitioner adopts a specific set of practices, whether mental, emotional, vital or physical, and by carrying them out systematically he can achieve the results set forth by that path. Some paths are based on attaining deeper knowledge, some on developing devotion and consecration. Others focus on undertaking selfless action of various sorts.

1:05 Still others rely on psychophysical practices such as pranayama and hatha yoga to effectuate changes in the energetic action of the nature, open up the subtle energy centers, and bring liberation and new levels of understanding to the seeker. To carry out any of these practices, the seeker needs must address the obstructions, desires, embedded habits, memories, traumas, et cetera, that he carries with him, along with any limitations based on his education and past training. Thus, whether consciously or not, he is undertaking a form of applied psychology.

1:51 For the seeker practicing the integral yoga with an objective of the transformation of human life rather than a form of liberation that abandons life or an immersion in the material life to the exclusion of higher purpose, the need for insight into the aspects of applied psychology become imperative. The basis of yoga directly addresses this need. The first need is to establish the witness standpoint and not be reactive to every circumstance, event or pressure that arises. Thus, the first chapter focuses on calm, peace, equality. The way is long and arduous and the progress is many times unseen or just barely glimpsed.

2:40 The being must be fixed in its focus on the higher divine force intervening to effectuate the needed changes and thus the next chapter is directed to faith, aspiration, surrender. These represent the fundamental qualities needed to progress along the way. The 3rd chapter in difficulty works to apply the core principles to actual life situations and experiences of the seeker. The 4th chapter delves deeper into the vital drives that are some of the most difficult to overcome and redirect, and thus deals with desire, food, sex. Finally, Sri Aurobindo outlines in the 5th chapter the bedrock of the embedded nature with physical consciousness, subconscious sleep and dream illness. These are some of the last things that the seeker can take up and address, but no comprehensive and permanent change can take place until they are addressed. Bases of Yoga is frequently referenced as an introductory book, but it contains a depth of understanding that makes it a practical support along the entire path of the yogic practice.

3:59 It is not sectarian in any degree, focusing on real issues of human psychology and development, that seekers along any path, religious, philosophical, scientific, spiritual, can both relate to and find benefit from. Reference Sri Aurobindo, Bases of yoga. Summary and conclusions.