A Few Paragraphs
From a
Commentary to the Yoga Sutras
Commentary to the Yoga Sutras
I.K. Taimni
Dr. IK Taimni and the front cover of his good version of the Yoga Sutras
A 2020 Editorial Note:
Upon considering
the topic of Tapas (Tapah) or austerities, one might observe these words
from a Master, in Letter XLIX of the Mahatma Letters:
“The illumination must come from within. Till then no
hocus pocus of incantations, or mummery of appliances, no metaphysical lectures
or discussions, no self-imposed penance can give it. All these are but means to
an end, and all we can do is to direct the use of such means as have been
empirically found by the experience of ages to conduce to the required object.
And this was and has been no secret
for thousands of years. Fasting, meditation, chastity of thought, word, and
deed; silence for certain periods of time to enable nature herself to speak to
him who comes to her for information; government of the animal passions and
impulses; utter unselfishness of intention, the use of certain incense and
fumigations for physiological purposes, have been published as the means since
the days of Plato and Iamblichus in the West, and since the far earlier times
of our Indian Rishis. How these must
be complied with to suit each individual temperament is of course a matter for
his own experiment and the watchful care of his tutor or Guru. Such is in fact part of his course of discipline, and
his Guru or initiator can but assist him with his experience and will power but
can do no more until the last and Supreme
initiation.” [1]
The following fragment from the book “The Science of
Yoga” [2] stimulates students to
further reflection on self-knowledge and self-control. Numbers of pages are
indicated after each fragment.
(Carlos Cardoso Aveline)
The Role of Tapas in Raja Yoga
I.K. Taimni
* Tapas is a very comprehensive term
and has really no exact English equivalent. It combines in itself the
significations of a number of English words: purification, self-discipline,
austerity. The word stands for a class of various practices the object of which
is to purify and discipline the lower nature and to bring the vehicles of the Jivatma [manifested Atma, individual soul] under the control of an iron
will. (p.225)
* The meaning of the word is probably derived from the
process of subjecting alloyed gold to strong ‘heating’ whereby all the dross is
burnt off and pure gold is left behind. In a way the whole Science of
character-building whereby we purify and bring under control our lower vehicles
may be considered as a practice of Tapas but in the orthodox sense the word “Tapas” is used particularly for some
specific exercises adopted for the purification and control of the physical
body and the development of will-power. (p.225)
* The systematic practice of Tapas generally begins with simple and easy exercises which require
the exertion of will-power and is continued by progressive stages with more
difficult exercises, the object of which is to bring about the dissociation of
the vehicle from consciousness. (p.226)
* In the case of the ordinary man the consciousness is
to a great extent identified with the vehicle through which it works. The
practice of Tapas gradually loosens
up this association, enables the consciousness to be partially separated from
the vehicle and this progressive awareness of the vehicle as part of the
‘not-Self’ means attenuation of ‘Asmita’ or ‘I am this’ consciousness. It is
only when this power to dissociate consciousness from the vehicles has been
acquired to some extent that the “Sadhaka”
[the practitioner] can
effectively purify and control the vehicles and use them for the purposes of Yoga. (p.226)
* The Puranas
are full of stories of people who obtained all kinds of Siddhis by performing austerities of various kinds and thus
propitiating different deities. Those stories may or may not be true but that Tapas leads to the development of
certain kinds of occult powers is a fact well known to all students of Yoga. The important point to be noted in
this connection is that the Siddhis
acquired by this method, unless they are the result of the general unfoldment
of consciousness by the practice of Yoga,
are of a restricted nature and do not last for more than one life. And it
frequently happens that the person who acquires such a Siddhi, being morally and spiritually undeveloped, misuses it, thus
not only losing the power but bringing upon himself a lot of suffering and evil
Karma. [3] (p.382)
NOTES:
[1] “The Mahatma Letters”, Letter
XLIX, or 49, p. 283. See also the article “How the Mysteries Are Taught”.
(CCA)
[2] “The Science of Yoga”, by I.K.
Taimni, TPH, India, eighth reprint, 1993, 448 pages. Most of these paragraphs
by I.K. Taimni are also published under the title “The Role of Tapas in Raja
Yoga” at the September 2019 edition of “The Aquarian Theosophist”, pp. 6-7. (CCA)
[3] The goal of the student who
has a reasonable amount of good sense is indeed far away from egotistic or
individualistic attempts to “develop occult powers”. The well-informed truth-seeker
aims instead - through the moderate use of austerities - at obtaining a
balanced control and intelligent use of those mental and emotional powers which
he already has, and which need improvement. A gradual expansion of the inner
potentialities possessed by the average citizen will occur naturally if his
goals are noble. There is no need to seek for them as isolated goals - an
unfortunate practice whose effects are often disastrous. His horizon and
potentialities will slowly widen in their own time once he can use his present
and common faculties in wise, altruistic ways. See the texts “How to Develop Occult Powers”
and “The Awakening of the Third Eye”.
(CCA)
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The above article
was published by the associated websites on 27 October 2020.
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Examine the
articles “From Ritualism to Raja Yoga”, “The Awakening of the Third Eye”,
“Good Sense in Approaching Raja Yoga”
and “How to Develop Occult Powers”.
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Regarding the path
to wisdom and happiness, one should remember this phrase by Helena Blavatsky
(photo): “Deserve, then desire”.
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