Question : What is bondage according to yoga philosophy? Explain the method of attaining Kaivalya in Patanjal’s yogasutra
(2015)
Answer : Yoga accepts almost all epistemological and metaphysical concepts or doctrines of Samkhya. This way bondage according to yoga is same as that of samkhya. Yoga says that self or purusa is pure consciousness but under ignorance it gets itself identified with manas, ahamkara, and mahat which are the products of prakriti. Because of this false identification self gets victimized to illusions and comes to the state of bondage.
The self begins suffering pains and starts enjoying ....
Question : Explain the nature and levels of samprajnata samadhi. How does each level lead more towards asamprajnata samadhi?
(2014)
Answer : According to the Yoga school of philosophy the end of the world is realized in samadhi, or divine ecstasy. There are two kinds of samadhi. When at first we try to sit and meditate, our mind runs away in all directions. We think it is impossible to go deep. But if we sit still and persist long enough, we will begin to feel that wonderful silence of God. When our mind is withdrawn, centered in ....
Question : Explain the possibility of Jeevanmukhi. Critically compare it with the Yoga account of Kaivalya.
(2013)
Answer : Jivanmukti is knowing, while still in the body, that you are really the eternal nondual self (which is Brahman), and knowing further that the self is never embodied, since the body (and all world appearance) is not ultimately real.
Somewhat like a reflection in a mirror, the world appears and exists, but it is not finally real. One is bound to the realm of transmigratory existence by (karma-bearing) ignorance, not by the body, and liberation arises ....
Question : Give a critical account of the concept of cittavrtti in Yoga philosophy
(2013)
Answer : The philosophy of Yoga says that when you are in a state of yoga, all misconceptions (vrittis) that can exist in the mutable aspect of human beings (chitta) disappear. The citta is the instrument through which you catch the external world. Vritti literally means -whirlpool’; they are the whirls of the consciousness. All the mental activities of the mind are called vrittis. But the absolute claim of Yoga Philosophy to the curing all the malfunctions ....
Question : “Yoga is more than a psycho-physical exercise”. Analyse this statement and support your conclusion with arguments.
(2011)
Answer : Describing the nature of yoga,Sri Aurobindo says, yoga means union with the divine, a union either transcendental (above the universe) or cosmic (universal) or individual, in our yoga, all three together.
That is one of the reasons why it is called integral. We have seen that yoga helps and expedites the process of ascent, which is nothing but a process of widening, hightening and integration. Yoga helps all these aspects of evolution and therefore it is ....
Question : Compare the view points of Nyaya, Vaisesika, Mimansha and Buddhism on the issue of knowledge of abhava.
(2009)
Answer : According to Vaishesika philosophy abhava is negative by nature. Non-existence does not exist in the above six categories, yet according to the Vaisesika philosophy, non-existence also exists. According to Vaisesika, there is no creation or annihilation but rather an orderly and morally systematized composition and decomposition of material compounds. An individual unit of consciousness is involved in the universe because of adrsta (the natural universal law) and each individual unit is responsible for his own ....
Question : Compare Patanjali’s Yoga with Integral Yoga expounded by Aurobindo bringing out clearly points of similarity and dissimilarity.
(2009)
Answer : India is predominantly a spiritual country with its own distinctive culture. It has given birth to hundreds of sages, saints, and philosophers who have worked to restore and renew her rich spiritual heritage periodically. This has ensured the continuity of spiritual tradition from Vedic times a tradition that is vibrant even today despite external onslaughts and internal upheavals. Patanjali and Sri Aurobindo represent two ends of this unbroken and unceasing spiritual tradition. Considered an incarnation ....
