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ananyAsh chintayanto mAM ye janAH paryupAsate
teSAM nityAbhiyuktAnAM yoga kSemaM vahAmyaham
To those who honor me and set their minds on me to the exclusion of all else, to those ever integrated persons I bring
fruition of their yogic endeavors.
yogaH karmasu kaushalam, or yoga
is skill in executing karma or skill in performing works or actions. So says bhagavad gItA. By skillfully performing
karma, we can restore and maintain balance to personality. This was the basis for my statement in Personality Problems that one can restore and maintain balance in personality through yoga and achieve personal growth.
A balanced personality is a personality that is integrated, or collected,
and whole. It is by integration of one's personality that one can break the link with suffering and pain (dukha
saMyoga viyogaM as bhagavad gItA puts it) which is the goal of yoga. An integrated person is stable and
steady. A stable and steady personality is attained by yoga, for as yoga sutra says - yogaH
chitta vRtti nirodha - yoga is cessation of the movement of consciousness or stabilization of consciousness.
Yoga comes in various shapes and forms. But all forms of yoga have the same goal, growth of personality
and growth of a person's potential as shown in figure 9 below. It is usual to start with haTha yoga and this is the
most popular form of yoga. And there are several versions of haTha yoga. It is best to choose a version that suits
one's taste and personality. But no matter which version is adopted, it is best to step into rAja yoga or ashTANga
yoga (yoga of eight limbs) after some time. Meditation or dhyAna is the seventh limb of this yoga. Yoga sutra
of pataNjali is a good source on raja yoga. For some, jNAna yoga or buddhi yoga is the right approach.
bhagavad gItA is a good source on this yoga. Some other sources are ganesha
gitA, brahma sutras, avadhut gitA, yoga vAshiSThya and aSTAvakra gitA. No matter, what version
of yoga one pursues, its fruition is as described below:
sarva bhutastaM
AtmAnaM sarva bhutAni cha Atmani
ikSate yoga yuktAtmA sarvatra sam darshana
A person who has integrated his personality with yoga sees all beings in himself
and sees himself in all beings; so says bhagavad gItA. As we can see from figure 9 below, that as X continues to
progress in yoga, his personality continues to grow and eventually it will contain all the beings in the universe.
Figure 9. Growth results from good karma. We acquire skill to properly execute karma with yoga.
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