(1)
mana, yogī haite tomāra vāsanā
yoga-śāstra adhyayana, niyama-yama-sādhana
prāṇāyāma āsana-racanā
O mind, you desire to become a yogī. You study the yoga-śāstra and practice the disciplines of yama, niyama, prāṇāyāma, and āsana.
(2)
pratyāhāra dhyāna dhṛti, samādhite ha’le vratī
phala kibā haibe bala nā
deha-mana śuṣka kari’, rahibe kumbhaka dhari
brahmātmatā karibe bhāvanā
By practicing pratyāhāra, dhyāna, dhṛti, and samādhi with great austerity, what result will you actually obtain? You cannot say. Drying up the body and mind and holding the breath in kumbhaka, you will simply imagine that you have become Brahman.
(3)
aṣṭā-daśa siddhi pā’be, paramārtha bhule yābe
aiśvarya-ādi karibe kāmanā
sthūla jaḍa parihari’, sūkṣmete praveśa kari’
punarāya bhugibe yatana
You may attain the eighteen mystic perfections, but you will forget the real goal of life. You will desire opulence and mystic powers. Leaving gross matter, you may enter the subtle realm, yet again you will suffer distress.
(4)
ātmā nitya śuddha dhana, hari-dāsa akiñcana
yoge tāra ki phala ghaṭanā
kara bhakti-yoga-āśraya, nā thākibe kona bhaya
sahaja amṛta sambhāvanā
The soul is eternal, pure, and full of wealth – an insignificant servant of Hari. What benefit can yoga bring? Therefore take shelter of bhakti-yoga. Then there will be no fear, and you will experience natural nectar.
(5)
vinodera (kedārera) e minati, chāḍi’ anya-yoga-gati
kara’ rādhā-kṛṣṇa-arādhana
This is Bhaktivinoda’s humble request: abandoning all other paths of yoga, worship Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
*In his footnote to this song, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes:
Yoga is of three kinds, namely Aṣṭāṅga-yoga, Jñāna-yoga, and Bhakti-yoga. Here only Aṣṭāṅga-yoga is being mentioned. The eight limbs are as follows:
1) Yama (rules): Ahiṁsā (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (refraining from theft), brahmacarya (celibacy), and aparigraha (freedom from possessiveness).
In the Śiva Saṁhitā there are further restrictions:
amlaṁ rukṣaṁ tathā tīkṣṇaṁ lavaṇaṁ sārṣapaṁ kaṭuṁ
bahulaṁ bhramaṇaṁ prātaḥ-snānaṁ tailaṁ vidāhakaṁ
bhayaṁ hiṁsāṁ jana-dveṣaṁ ca ahaṅkāraṁ anājavaṁ
upavāsaṁ asatyaṁ ca amokṣaṁ prāṇi-pīḍanam
strī-saṅgam agni-sevāṁ ca bāla-apaṁ priya-apriyaṁ
atīva bhojanaṁ yogī tyajet etāni yatnataḥ
A yogī should carefully abandon sour things, rough/heavy foods, pungent substances, salt, mustard, and spicy heat-producing items, excessive wandering, early-morning bathing practices when improperly done, and oil applications that generate burning heat; fear, violence, hatred toward people, arrogance and pride, dishonesty or crookedness; fasting that is unbalanced, untruthfulness, lack of liberation-oriented purpose, and harm toward living beings; association with women, excessive engagement with fire rituals, childish behaviour, attraction and aversion; and excessive eating. A yogī should diligently renounce all these tendencies.
2) Niyama (restrictions): Śauca (purity), santoṣa (contentment), tapaḥ (austerity), svādhyāya (self-study), and japaḥ (mantra repetition).
There are further restrictions mentioned therein.
ghṛtaṁ kīraka-miṣṭānaṁ tāmbulaṁ cūrṇa-varjitaṁ
kartṛ-raṁ niṣṭhuraṁ miśru-maṭhaṁ sūkṣma-raṅdhakaṁ
siddhānta-śravaṇaṁ nityaṁ vairāgyaṁ gṛha-sevanam
nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ su-nāda-śravaṇaṁ param
stutiḥ kṣamā bhagaḥ śaucaṁ dhīrgha-tir guru-sevanam
sadaitāni paraṁ yogī niyamāni samācaret
Ghee-rich foods, refined delicacies, betel leaves, powdered preparations, overly prepared or artificial foods, harsh or strongly processed foods, subtle/complex preparations – he should avoid these.
A yogī should always cultivate – hearing philosophical conclusions, detachment, and simple living in the household context; constant chanting of the holy name of Viṣṇu and hearing auspicious sound vibrations; praise of the Lord, forgiveness, the wealth of humility, purity, steady intelligence, and service to the guru.
Thus, a yogī should always carefully follow these niyamas.
3) Āsana (sitting postures): There are said to be 84 types of āsanas. Among them, the Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā describes 32 types. In the Tantra-sāra, only five main āsanas are mentioned – padmāsana, svastikāsana, bhadrāsana, vajrāsana, and vīrāsana.
In the Śrīmad Bhāgavata tradition, special emphasis is given only to svastikāsana.
jānūrddhva antarae samyak kṛtvā pāda-tale ubhe
sama-kāyaḥ sukhāsīnaḥ svastikaṁ tat pracakṣyate
Placing both feet properly between the knees and sitting comfortably with a straight body—this is called svastikāsana.
Before practicing prāṇāyāma, the practitioner should first establish yama and niyama and sit in a proper āsana.
4) Prāṇāyāma (Breath exercises): Recaka (exhalation), pūraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention).
nāsikotsṛṣṭa ucchvāso ūrdhvataḥ pūraka ucyate
kumbhakaḥ niścalaḥ śvāsaḥ kathyate recakaḥ
Pūraka is the inhalation through the nostrils, kumbhaka is the steady retention of breath, and recaka is exhalation.
Different scriptures describe prāṇāyāma in different ways. The Mahā-nirvāṇa Tantra describes prāṇāyāma for for Brahman-sādhana:
vāma-nāsāpuṭaṁ dhṛtvā dakṣiṇa-nāsāpuṭena ca
gūrayeṭ pavanaṁ mantrī mūlam aṣṭaśataṁ japet
aṅguṣṭhena dakṣiṇaṁ saṁyamyā kumbhaka-yogataḥ
japed ātrīṁśatā vṛttyā tato dakṣiṇa-nāsikayā
Closing the left nostril and using the right nostril, the practitioner should direct (draw in/control) the breath, while repeating the root mantra one hundred and eight times. Then, closing the right nostril with the thumb, and practicing breath retention (kumbhaka), one should repeat the mantra thirty-two times, and then exhale through the right nostril.
The Hari-bhakti-vilāsa describes prāṇāyāma for bhagavat-sādhana:
recakaḥ ṣoḍaśa-mātrābhiḥ pūrakaḥ dvātriṁśatā bhavet
catuḥṣaṣṭyā bhavet kumbhaḥ evaṁ syāt prāṇa-saṁyamaḥ
Exhalation is 16 units, inhalation 32 units, and retention 64 units – this is prāṇa control.
These are the six purificatory actions according to Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā:
dhautir vastis tathā nebhī laulikī bāṭakaṁ tathā
kapālabhātiś caivāni ṣaṭ karmāṇi samācaret
Dhauti, basti, neti, laulikī, trāṭaka, and kapālabhāti. One should carefully practice these six actions.
These are the practices of tantrika yogīs. Jñāna-yogīs, however, follow only rāja-yoga, especially regulated prāṇāyāma (with mantra or pure control). Before prāṇāyāma, purification of the nāḍīs (subtle channels) must be performed. Nāḍī-śuddhi is itself a special preparatory process, and it must be practiced for three months in sequence. Practicing breath control with a full stomach or empty stomach improperly leads to suffering. If kumbhaka (breath retention) is practiced for one prahara (about 3 hours), then perfection is attained. In this practice, instruction from a guru is absolutely essential. The Gheraṇḍa Saṁhita says:
uttamā viṁśati-mātrā ṣoḍaśā caiva madhyamā
adhamā dvādaśī mātrā prāṇāyāmā tridhoditā
adhamāj jīyate svedo madhyamān meru-kampanam
uttamā bhūmi-syāgaḥ trividhaṁ siddhi-lakṣaṇam
The superior prāṇāyāma is of twenty units (mātrās), the middle is of sixteen, and the inferior is of twelve. Thus prāṇāyāma is described in three levels. From the inferior practice, perspiration arises; from the middle level, trembling of the Meru (spinal axis) occurs; and from the superior level, there is transcendence or abandonment of the bodily plane. These are the three signs of accomplishment (siddhi).
5) Pratyāhāra (withdrawal of senses):
Pratyāhāra is the withdrawal of the mind and senses from sense objects and their turning inward toward the self. The Viṣṇu Purāṇa states:
śabdādi-viṣayānuraktāni nigṛhya akṣāṇi yogavit
kuryāc citta-antar-kārīṇi pratyāhāra-parāyaṇaḥ
A knower of yoga restrains the senses attached to sound and other objects, turning them inward and making the mind inward-focused – this is pratyāhāra.
6) Dhyāna (meditation):
The Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā says:
sthūlaṁ sūkṣmaṁ tathā jyotir-dhyānaṁ trividhaṁ viduḥ
sthūlaṁ mūrti-mayaṁ proktaṁ jyotir tejo-mayaṁ tathā
sūkṣmaṁ bindu-mayaṁ brahma kuṇḍalī para-devatāṁ
ātma-sākṣād bhavet yasmāt tasmād dhyānaṁ viśiṣyate
Meditation is known to be of three kinds – gross (sthūla), subtle (sūkṣma), and luminous or light-based (jyoti). The gross form is said to be meditation on a visible deity-form (mūrtimaya). The luminous form is meditation on divine effulgence, consisting of pure light (tejas). The subtle form is meditation on the bindu (subtle point/essence), Brahman, Kuṇḍalinī, or the Supreme Goddess (parā-devatā). Because through it direct realisation of the Self is attained, meditation (dhyāna) is therefore considered superior.
7) Dhāraṇā (concentration):
Dhāraṇā is the act of fixing the mind upon an object.
dikkāpādāna-vacchinne kṛṣṇe ceto vidhāya ca
tan-mayo bhavati kṣipraṁ jīvo brahmaṇi yojanāt
athavā samalaṁ cittaṁ yadā kṣipraṁ na siddhyati
tadāvayava-saṁyogād yogī yogān samabhyaset
Fixing the mind on Kṛṣṇa, who is free from all limitations of direction, time, and causation, the living being quickly becomes absorbed in Brahman. If the impure mind does not become steady quickly, then the yogī should repeatedly practice yoga by focusing on different parts (of the object of meditation).
Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s essential form is not limited or conditioned by space and time. Therefore, by meditating upon that form as the directly realised Supreme Brahman, the jīva very quickly attains absorption in Him – in other words, realisation of his own true spiritual nature. But those whose minds are impure should meditate on the form and limbs of Viṣṇu, and in this way ultimately attain samādhi in the truth of Kṛṣṇa.
8) Samādhi (Absorption):
The Gheraṇḍa Saṁhitā states:
manomūrcha hi samāsādya mana ātmani yojayet
parātma manasaṁyogāt samādhiṁ samavāyāt
rāja-yogaṁ samādhiḥ syād ātma-sādhyasādhanam
eṣā tu sahaja-avasthā sarve caikātma-vācakāḥ
jale viṣṇuḥ sthūle viṣṇuḥ viṣṇuḥ parvata-mastake
jālā-mālā-kule viṣṇuḥ sarvaṁ viṣṇu-mayaṁ jagat
One should attain a state of mental absorption (as if the mind becomes unconscious), and then fix the mind in the Self. Through the union of the mind with the Supreme Self, samādhi is attained. This is the state of Rāja-yoga, which is the means of self-realisation. This is a natural, spontaneous state, and all expressions ultimately refer to the one Self. Viṣṇu is in water, Viṣṇu is on the earth, Viṣṇu is on the top of the mountains. Viṣṇu pervades every garland and cluster; the entire universe is filled with Viṣṇu.
By such Āṣṭāṅga-yoga, the body-vessel is purified and knowledge of truth arises – this is the promise of the tantrika Gheraṇḍa śāstra.
nāsti mayi samaḥ pāśe na ca yogāt paraṁ balam
abhyāsati kādi varṇānāṁ yathā-śāstrāṇi vidhīyet
tathā yogaṁ samāsādya tattva-jñānaṁ ca labhyate
āma-kumbha-mūli vāstaste jīrṇa-mānaḥ sadā ghaṭaḥ
yogena anena saṁdeha ghaṭa-śuddhiṁ samācaret
There is no power greater than Me, nor any strength greater than yoga. Through practice, one should follow the injunctions according to the scriptures of the various disciplines. In this way, by attaining yoga, knowledge of truth is obtained. The body is like an unbaked clay pot that is always decaying and becoming worn out. Through this yoga, one should purify the vessel (body-mind) free from doubt.
Having examined the above yogic system and its results, it becomes evident that the ultimate purpose of yoga is indeed love for the Supreme Lord. However, since yoga is achieved with great difficulty and may produce secondary or external results, it can cause many hardships for the practitioner. Therefore, bhakti-rasa-yoga is the most complete, easily attainable, and unquestionably auspicious path.
For a devotee, Aṣṭāṅga-yoga is not necessary. For purification of the ‘vessel,’ a little practice of prāṇāyāma is sufficient.