Understanding the Language of Yoga

 

No man can know another's language without knowing the world in which that language lives.

Edward Sapir

There are some words in Yoga that I keep tripping over because I sometimes use them interchangeably and I am not sure I can.  Like Atman and Purusha? Shakti and Kundalini or Prana? 

So, this morning, wanting to clear this up I did what any good researcher would do...I asked  Google AI :)

Now, after clearing up that the terms come from different Hindu schools of thought, one dualistic and one nodualistic... AI makes this distinction between Atman and Purusha

It defines Purusha as the witness consciousness that observes all form and matter in a somewhat passive or detached way without being affected by any of it. It is like the cosmic spirit, what we might be referring to when we say "The Universe will provide". 

The Atman is like the "soul". It is the "individual spark of consciousness" residing in each living being that is almost identical to the universal consciousness or "Brahman."

So then I had to ask, "If Purusha is the "Universe" is it and Brahman the same thing? 

In some Hindu school of thought they are viewed as the same thing like in Vedanta but in others they are two distinct things. 

AI describes Brahman as being the infinite, unchanging, and all pervading [omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient] spirit of the universe. It is the source of all existence.  To me, from my western Judeo-Christian conditioning,  that is "God".  It goes on to say it is "Truth, Consciousness, and Bliss"  which is Sat Chit Ananda.

Okay, those of us who study yoga have all likley heard of "Sat Chit Ananda" but is it God/Brhaman or does it simply describe Brahman? Hmmm! That brings us to Nirguna Brahman, which is Brahman that one can not describe or attribute characteristics to and Saguna Brahman, which is Brahman that one can attribute characteristics to like truth, consciousness, and bliss. So, are these attributes of Brahman or Brahman? 

Confused yet? 

I am!  And I want to make a point. Like you may be, I am studying an ancient philosophy and wisdom that comes from a culture and language I don't completely understand, from a perspective of my own cultural and linguistic conditioning.  I am trying to take that language which represents that culture and translate it into a language that represents the culture I grew up in and was conditioned by. There are bound to be gaps in understanding. Both the words and the cultural perspectives are getting in the way of true understanding. No matter how I study or say I understand...I will likely never get the true understanding of yoga, not like a Hindu who grew up in India might.  

And those who translate the ancient scriptures and texts into English are doing so from their lingusitic and cultural perspective which is going to be limiting. 

How did Yogananda do what he did in America when he first came over, barely being able to speak English. Oh, and the culture shock must have been outstanding both for him and those who joined him.  How did he reach so many people? He packed the auditoriums he spoke in. 

That is, as he put it, because something beyond words, and body, and culture spoke for him and through him. Truth can go beyond language and cultural barriers  to reach people when the teacher is truly open and expressing Brahman, as he was.  Hmm!

What is that which poured through him into others?

Shakti? Kundalini? or Prana?

I kind of like the way AI distinguishes these three forces of energy.

Shakti is described as the absolute, primordial, universal energy or power that creates everything including that which is manifested, and that which is yet to be manifested. So Shakti is the big surpreme, divine force. Could we call it God's energy?

Prana is the portion of Shakti called the vital life force because it sustains the energy needed for the physical and subtle body to survive through breath. Prana, unlike Shakti, is finite...it needs to keep replenishing itself. In Chinese medicine it is called "Chi".

Kundalini, on the other hand, is the dormant spiritual energy that lays coiled around the base of the spine until awakening. It is often called "sleeping shakti." It is very powerful, as a filtered form of shakti, once awakened. 

So, there is a way to get beyond the cultural and linguistic barrier to understand yoga..and that is through the felt experience of it's energy. We can enhance our physical and energy bodies through practices that move, lift, replenish  the energy of  prana through Hatha, Pranayama, breath awareness, QiGong or Tai chi. We can awaken Kundalini through Kundalini Yoga, Kriya yoga (that was Yogananda's teachings) and other techniques.  And we can open up to Shakti through meditation, mindfulness, pratyhara (getting beyond the senses), dharna (single focused concentration), Dhyana (meditation) and if we are lucky Samadhi. 

Well, I was just curious about the distinction between a few words and this is what popped out. Go figure. 

All is well!