MIND, BODY, LIFE AND YOGA Man lives mostly in his surface mind, life and body.

But there is an inner being within him with greater possibilities to which he has to be awake - for it is only a very restricted influence from it that he receives now and then, that pushes him to constant pursuit of a greater beauty, harmony power and knowledge. The first process of yoga is therefore to open the ranges of this inner being and live from there outward. Governing his outward life by an inner light and force. In doing so he discovers in himself his true soul, which is not this outer mixture of mental, vital and physical elements but something of the Reality behind them, spark from the one Divine Fire. He has to learn to live in his soul and purity and orientate by its drive towards the Truth; the rest of the nature

then can follow an opening upward and the realisation of a higher principle of the Being. In a divine retreat from mortal thought, in a prodigious gesture of soul sight His being towered into pathless heights, Naked of its vesture of Humanity, As thus it rose, to meet time-bare and pure A Strong Descent Leaped down. - Sri Aurobindo (From Savitri) If we follow the words of all these spiritual Gurus we can achieve the aim of yoga and make our life in this physical world a successful one. Age is no obstacle; no body is too old to start yoga. It is a method, which aims at opening the source of creative inspiration hidden inside the human psyche. It is an act of self-manifestation and the multiplicity of our being. Yoga lays foundation for a higher form of self-development

and a deeper consciousness of self, eliminating undesirable psychological causes of all human miseries. The most important factor in arriving at the desired result is ones determination, patience and perseverance. So an aspirant with supreme devotion and faith becomes an exalted being and the spiritual secrets flash like lightening. That is the real yogi. The basic cause behind all our problems is the mind of man and not external circumstances, though they do affect the mind of man. Concept of Science does not end with laboratory but enter social, ethical and spiritual life of human society. Self-conquest is for more important than the conquest of nature and being rational. Ethical and spiritual being it is only man can achieve purity of mind and mental perfection and yoga paves the way to achieve this. The future of humanity lies in making full use of the

vast potentials of human mind and many solutions can be found for various problems by following the yogic path i.e. physical consciousness should rise to the level of mental consciousness through Karma Yoga, mental consciousness to rise to Spiritual consciousness through Jnana Yoga, Spiritual consciousness to Moksha - beyond the cycle of birth and death through Bhakti Yoga. To achieve all these one begins following the path of Astanga Yoga - (Raja Yoga). Thus one becomes one with the God. OM Shanti Shanti Shantihi