Yoga Ladder and Self Realisation

pics : courtesy : ISKCON Desire Tree

Gradual progression of Conditioned Soul is excellently described in Bhagavad Gita Ch 1-6

Yoga Ladder is an excellent tool explaining how a practicing Transcendentalist can move from lower species of life to a self realised soul and beyond.

In Yoga Ladder the Lowest Rung of this ladder are the people who are attached to the worldly pleasure and material happiness. in BG 5.22 Lord Krishna has cautioned that for such people the resolute determination of Loving service to Krishna never appears. These people are interested in enjoying by all means, and they do not mind even if this process in as per Vedic injunction or not. These people if they remain in this rung are equivalent to animalistic life and at the end of this life they are vulnerable to attain lower species of Life.

The next stage is the stage of Karma Kanda. This is described in BG 3.10-16. In these stages men would still like to enjoy but they will follow it through the prescribed duties as per Vedas. Mostly they will worship demigods (devta),do sacrifices,Yagnas to please demigods ( Devatas) and would like to offer them some fruit and enjoy rest. This is start of Human Life and since they are following Vedic Principle ,gradually they will gain knowledge and will loose test of temporary happiness

( Ch4 of BG).They will continue to perform their prescribed duties and slowly they will learn to perform duties without expectation of Result. This stage is called work with detachment .

Then they will be elevated from level of Karma Kanda to KarmaYogi. and even in Karmayogi they will get elevated to Nishkam Karma Yogi (NKY).This is described in Ch5 of BG.

Continuous work of NYK will liberate him .from bondages of material modes of nature ( three modes of nature are Sato Guna,Rajo Guna and Tamo Guna). and they will then move to a stage of seeing oneness with all living entities. So this stage is now Jnan Yoga ( Ch5),however at this stage Jnan Yogis have a deire to merge with Brahma Jyoti of Lord which is also impersonal form of Krishna.

In next stage person will renounce completely and will start practice Astanga Yoga . Astanga Yoga has eight stages

Yama ( Moral Code),Niyama(Self discipline),Asana( postures),Prnayama( Breath control)Dharana ( Goal fix),Dhyana( Meditation) and Samadhi( One ness with Self) Ch6

This Astanga Yoga will finally take him to Bhakti Yoga where he will not only do selflessly he will do only for Krishna. He has no desire to perform anything which has no service relation with Krishna. ( Ch9 of BG). So in this way the conditioned soul will be liberated and will have Bhagavan realisation.

However we need to remember that each stages may be attained after several life cycle or in some cases rarely in one life.

And whether in Dhyan Yoga ( Ch6),Karma Yoga ( Ch3),Karma Sanyas Yoga( Ch5) we can see that these are difficult path to folow

Krishna Consciousness gives us a method where start practicing Bhakti Yoga from beginning and bypass many rungs of Yoga Ladder . In Chaitanya Charitamrita it has been said that after wandering millions of lifetime if by mercy of Guru a single Bhakti Beej ( seeds of Devotion) is sowed in heart of a person and if the same is norished with the Holy Name chanting and Devotional Service the Bhakti Yoga is attained easily .

Trust you will find it useful

Yours Aspiring Servant