Yoga and Moksha
Q. We commit many sins and do many meritorious deeds with this body and this mind, Swami! They bring about grief or joy; now, this “I” of which you are speaking, is it the doer, consumer of the grief or joy?
A. Not for a moment. He who does is the doer; doing is a modification. Doing is producing a modification, is it not? So the person appears as if he is modifying. But the “I” is modification-less. He is the fixed, so he is not affected at all. Doer-ism is the quality of the anthah-karana. So the “I” takes on the appearance of the doer and the gainer of the fruits of the deed.
Q. If so, how can we know about the entry into this world and the exit from this world into another?
A. It is the anthah–karana, the lingadeha [ethereal body] that moves from this world to another, from one birth to another, according to the accumulated merit. It is the limited lingadeha that has the entries and exits. You, who are like the sky, omnipresent and unaffected, have no arrival into this world or departure to another. You are not of that nature.
Q. Then what is the means of gaining moksha?
A. Vijnana is the means.
Q. Some great men say that yoga is the means. Is that true?
A. That is also true. There can be two roads to a place, isn’t it?
Q. Which is the better road?
A. Both are good and important. Both take you to the same goal; only, you cannot travel on both at the same time. People can choose the road that suits their inner promptings and do the sadhanas [spiritual practices] of that path. Both release the sadhakas [seekers] from bondage.
Q. Swami! Is jnana acquired by yoga or is yoga acquired by jnana?
A. Yoga gives jnana; that jnana confers moksha easily. This is the correct position.
Q. What is the effect of Yoga? How does it benefit?
A. Yoga is like fire; that is why the word “Yogagni” is used. It burns all sins away; so, the anthah-karana is rendered pure. When that happens, jnana is born there. The splendor of that jnana dispels the darkness of ignorance and delusion; that is liberation.
Q. Has yoga got so much potentiality?
A. Why ask if it has…it has. However, learned a person is, however great his detachment, however deep his wisdom, unless he conquers his senses, he cannot qualify for moksha. Without yoga, all these cannot rid themselves of sin. Unless they clear themselves of sin, their anthah–karana does not become pure. Without a pure anthah–karana, jnana cannot be acquired; and without jnana, there can be no moksha. So yoga is the very foundation.
Q. This is rather hard to follow. Swami! Give me some illustration to make it even simpler for the unlearned.
A. When a storm is blowing, can anyone light a lamp? So, too, when the sensual desires are blowing strong, the jnana-lamp cannot burn; it will go out soon even if it is lit.
Q. What are the gains from yoga?
A. It destroys all impulses and urges toward the sensual world. It puts down the mind and its agitations.
Source: Prashnottara Vahini
