Reference: Inner Engineering (Content)
This paper presents the summary of Part one, chapter 6, from the book, INNER ENGINEERING By Sadhguru. The contents are from the first edition (2016) of this book published in the United States by Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
The summary of the original material (in black) is accompanied by brief comments (in color) based on the present understanding.
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“. . . And Now, Yoga”
The fundamental desire within every human being is for boundless expansion. You arrive at yoga only when you realize that absolutely nothing else will settle you.
Yoga is neither contortions of the body, nor sitting effortlessly in a lotus position. Yoga is the science of being in perfect alignment, and in complete sync with existence. With the practice of yoga, your body and mind can be maintained at the highest possible level of capability and efficiency. You are essentially a morsel of energy that is part of the much larger energy system of the universe. Yoga is the technology of upgrading, activating, and refining these inner energies for the highest possibilities. The whole point of yoga is to bring you to an experience wherein, if you sit here, there is no such thing as “you” and “me.” It is all me—or all you! Yoga is a hundred percent empirical science.
Yoga tells us that we are actually composed of five layers of body. The first layer is annamayakosha (the physical layer). It is the product of all the nourishment you have ingested over the years. The second layer is manomayakosha (the mental layer). It is the intelligence of all the cells distributed throughout the physical body. The fluctuations in the mental and physical layers influence each other. The third layer is pranamayakosha (the energy layer). It energizes the mental and physical layers. When the energy layer is in full vibrancy and proper balance, chronic diseases cannot exist in the physical and mental layers. The physical, mental and energy layers can be sensed and experienced. The fourth layer is vignanamayakosha (the etheric layer). It the layer of “qualified knowledge” that forms the bridge from physical to non-physical. When the etheric layer is integrated with the first three layers you become intuitively aware of the cosmic phenomena. The fifth layer is anandamayakosha (the bliss layer), which represents a non-physical dimension of the absolute. This dimension cannot be perceived, only experienced as an overwhelming experience of bliss. When the bliss layer is integrated you can fearlessly explore the beyond.
The aim of yoga is total integration of these layers. In the practice of karma yoga (yoga of duty), you approach this integration using your physical body. In gnana yoga (yoga of knowledge), you approach integration using your intelligence. In bhakti yoga (yoga of devotion), you approach integration using your emotions. And in kriya yoga (yoga of activity), you approach integration using your energies.
All four approaches lead to the same result—the integration of the five layers of body.
The aim of Yoga is the integration of the five layers of body that make up the self.
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