Foundations for Fruitful Yoga
Many Hindu teachers in the West teach purely advaitic meditation with no theism or religious practice, but most who have come to the West from India were raised in Hindu homes. They have within them a firm religious, cultural foundation for yoga. Many do not pass the religious culture on to their Western devotees, however. In an orthodox Hindu community they would most likely teach in a more traditional way. Advaita philosophy is appealing to the Westerner. It does not require a change in lifestyle.
The nondual, advaita-based meditations do bring the devotees out of the conscious mind, but more often than not lead them into the subconscious. It is here, within the subconscious, that unresolved problems with family and one’s own personal ego begin to appear. Without a proper religious-cultural background and traditional Hindu belief system, these problems are difficult to handle. This turmoil is certainly not the purpose of advaitic meditations, but it is a by-product. The wise guru trains his devotees in traditional Hindu culture and values and teaches the beginning yogas, as well as temple protocol, music, the arts and dance. All these should be mastered to build a proper subconscious foundation within the mind. Karma yoga and bhakti yoga are the necessary prelude to the higher philosophies and practices.
Group meditation is all right, as the group can really help the individual, as does the individual help the group. Intense meditation awakens the saṁskāras, the impressions of the past, and intensifies the prārabdha karmas, bringing them into manifestation before their time. It has a greenhouse effect.
No one should perform intensive meditation alone until he or she can serve selflessly and accept praise and blame and criticism without complaint or resentment, but with a sweet smile. Only when a devotee has reached this stage is he or she firmly on the kriyā mārga, which will lead quite naturally to the yoga mārga. Then, finally, rāja yoga and other kinds of more refined, intensive sādhanas can safely be performed. These will clean up the karmas of the past without mental pain, once the proper foundation has been set within the mind and character of the devotee.
The progressive sādhanas of karma yoga, bhakti yoga and then rāja yoga are like clearing a path of its stones. First you remove the big stones. Then you walk back along the path. You still see big stones, but they are half the size as the first ones that were removed, and you remove these as well. Then you walk back along the path and remove more stones that stand out as large, and on and on until the path is clear. It is a refinement process.
The seeker on the path has to be soft, pliable, easy to get along with, as well as firm-minded. Therefore, bhakti, which is love in action, is a necessary prerequisite to success on the San Mārga, the straight path to God, toward merger with Śiva. All kinds of yogic techniques can be practiced, but they hold no fruitful rewards for those who are not firm-minded and not strong in the essential virtues. The prideful, antagonistic and difficult-to-get-along-with people must soften their hearts. This is done through bhakti and karma yoga. These practices alone will free the devotee from the āṇava mārga—the path of building up and keeping the personal ego strong. The āṇava mārga is a difficult path to leave for the San Mārga, but the results on the San Mārga are so much more rewarding in the long run.
It is often postulated by certain Indian schools of thought that once you reach a certain stage, bhakti should be set aside because it is dual by nature. But a devotee arriving into a high state of consciousness does not give up his love for God and the Gods. His devotion does not stop; rather it becomes more intense. He does not stop eating, relating to family, friends and other devotees. These are all dual things, too. Yes, it is true that some teachers preach this doctrine. But to avoid the charyā mārga, having perhaps never been on it, and say, “I am on a greater and much higher one; I don’t have to do that” is another philosophy, not ours.
In Śaiva Siddhānta, the mārgas are progressive stages of character building. They are a foundation for good character, which is built on bhakti. Proper habit patterns created through the daily sādhanas of karma yoga and bhakti yoga lay this foundation within the mind, body and emotions. In case a devotee fails in pursuit of the higher yogas, he will always have his success on the charyā mārga to rely upon. For someone to say, “I now intellectually understand the Vedas and do not need to express love and devotion” is sad indeed. One who had really realized the truths of the Vedas would never say this.