Читать книгу Ashtanga Yoga - The Intermediate Series - Gregor Maehle - Страница 16

Those who practice Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (or any of the many other forms of Karma Yoga, a term that is explained in chapter 1) face a certain danger: becoming attached to technique. They can get comfortable with repeating techniques that they have already mastered without ever relating them to the ultimate purpose of the techniques, which is to allow the practitioner to abide in infinite consciousness. The yogic techniques become empty of meaning and an end in themselves. In modern Ashtanga Vinyasa practitioners, this may surface as a one-sided emphasis on asana practice and a refusal to invest any time or energy in the higher limbs. It is unlikely that this is what Patanjali wanted to see in students when he compiled the Yoga Sutra.

Ironically, it is often those yogis who have become very proficient at what they do who are most strongly attached to their techniques. Their breathtakingly athletic skill in practicing postures has become the basis of their self-image, and they are reluctant to progress to stages in which proficiency in asana is no longer the point. Understandably, they don’t want to surrender their abilities and knowledge. But this surrender is necessary if one wishes to progress along the spiritual path. According to Patanjali, one must undergo paravairagya (a complete letting go) to achieve super-cognitive (objectless) samadhi and through it liberation.

In this book I try to counteract the tendency to get caught up in technique, by reminding you that the purpose of asana is to recognize yourself as infinite consciousness (jnana) and as a child of God (bhakti). The purpose of chapter 1 is to convince you that the essence of all modes of Karma Yoga — everything you do to become free and yourself, including asana — is still just jnana and bhakti, which are one. In chapter 4, you will learn that the essence of each posture is its underlying divine form.

An effective way to avoid an attachment to technique is to place yourself right from the beginning in the service of one of the aspects of the Supreme Being. You need to continually remind yourself that the ultimate purpose of the eight limbs is not to become good at their execution. Their purpose is to realize the Brahman. As Shri T. Krishnamacharya expressed it, “The eight limbs are the eight limbs of Bhakti.”