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Ashtaanga Yoga is another path recommended by the Vedas for attaining Liberation. Just as strict religious discipline is mandatory for the path of Karma, so too, celibacy is mandatory for the path of Yoga. Here, celibacy [control of senses] does not refer only to sexual abstinence. It applies to each and every ‘indriya’ [sensory organ]. That is, we should look only at what has to be necessarily seen, hear only what has to be necessarily heard; only the required food be eaten and only the needful words spoken. In this manner, the path of Yoga is filled with rigid rules in all respects viz. seeing, hearing, eating, speaking, etc.
Further, those who desire to practice this path of Yoga should do so only under the direct supervision of a Sadguru who has attained Liberation through this path. Failure to adhere to any of the prescribed rules will only make a ‘rogi’ [mentally/physically ill] of a person and not a ‘Yogi’ [‘Realised soul’]!
Trying to attain Liberation through the path of Yoga is akin to tasting the honey applied to the edge of a sharp knife. One can enjoy the sweetness only if he takes utmost care; the slightest slip would cut the tongue! Would it not?
[Note: It is interesting to note that the first line of this verse says, ‘the path of Yoga filled with rules and regulations’ while the second line of the verse reads, ‘failure to follow the prescribed rule’ – here, the word used is ‘rule’ and not rules. This appears to bring to our notice that failure to adhere even a single rule would prove to be hazardous]
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