Yoga described the Ultimate Reality as the twofold aspects of Purusha, the Self and the Prakriti, the world of matter, inert and insentient.
The conjuction of Purusha and Prakriti, of spirit and matter creates individuality and multiplicity. The creative process by which the world comes into being is the evolution and involution of Prakriti.
Patanjali’s eightfold path of raja yoga :
- Yama
- Niyama
- Asana
- Pranayama
- Pratyahara
- Dharana
- Dhyana
- Samadhi.
Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.
When the mind has settled, we are established in our essential nature, which is unbounded consciousness.
Our essential nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind.
There are five types of mental activity. they may or may not cause suffering.
They are:
- understanding
- misunderstanding
- imagination
- sleep
- memory.
Now let know each one clearly:
- Understanding is correct knowledge based on direct perception, inference or the reliable testimony of others.
- Misunderstanding is the delusion that form a false impression of reality.
- Imagination is thought based as an image conjured up by words, and is without substance.
- Sleep is the mental activity which as as its content the sense of nothingness.
- Memory is the returning to the mind of past experience.
These five types of mental activity are settled through the practice of yoga and the freedom it bestows.