Buddhiyoga in Geeta - Chapter 3 - Basic Concept

3. Buddhi Yoga – The Basic Concept
3.1. Recap
Now let’s turn our attention to the main theme of this book. Once we acknowledge the ultimate goal as well as the worldly nature of the achiever, the automatic question is, “ How can each one of us get there?” You may already have guessed that my answer to this how-to question is “Buddhi Yoga”. In this chapter, I will elaborate on the principles of Buddhi Yoga and how and why it fits in with the conventionally known (or labeled) yoga paths.

Buddhi is that faculty of our selves which comprehends, contemplates, resolves and executes. Mind (called “Manas” in Samskrit) is that faculty of our selves which perceives, wanders and wants. [ You have to keep in mind this Hindu model for what is altogether considered the mental faculty. Western thought uses intellect and mind in somewhat parallel sense but the distinction is not as clear-cut as in the Hindu model.]

The Mind hankers after more of the perceptions that are deemed desirable and pleasurable, and loathes those that cause feelings of pain, deprivation, sorrow, etc. Buddhi can be, and usually is, an accomplice of the mind in that it feeds mind’s hunger for pleasures and strives to alleviate it.

Buddhi Yoga changes the role of Buddhi from that of a collaborator and follower of Manas (mind) to that of its controller and leader. In the Geetaa scheme of things, mind is supposed to rein in the physical faculties of perception and actions; Buddhi is supposed to rein in the mind; and the Buddhi, in turn, is supposed to yoke itself to the cause of Self-knowledge – thus the word Buddhiyoga.

3.2. Allegory of the Chariot
Kathopanishat from the ancient Vedic scriptures contains this oft-quoted allegory of chariot:

Know thyself to be the charioteer (master of the chariot), and know the body (physical self) to be the chariot. Know Buddhi to be chariot-driver and the Mind to be the reins in the hands of Buddhi. The physical faculties (of perception and action) are called the horses and the objects of desire give the worldly vigor that motivates them. Then, he is the true Enjoyer of Life who has full control of the faculties and mind and is set on the path of yoga.

Know that Buddhi in this sense is the chariot-driver and serves the master, the Self.

On the other hand, if Buddhi lets the mind (the reins) loose and allows the faculties (the horses) to run amok, i.e., letting horses lead wherever they want to go, then the worldly gains are the sole objectives of life; selfishness and indulgence become the modus operandi. When Buddhi were to chart the course without heed to the Yoga destination, the course can go over any number of endless detours.
Buddhi established in yoga, instead, serves its real master, the Self, and charts that course which leads to the Yoga destination (Union with the Supreme One), and guides the chariot by firmly controlling the reins and thereby the horses.

3.3. Buddhiyoga and Other Faiths
It should now become clear that Buddhiyoga is the charting of the courses and meticulously following the charted course. The conventional yoga practices or paths are the various courses charted by Buddhiyoga. Now, can there be many paths and one destination? Geetaa’s answer is YES. Shree Krishna describes the various paths and the nature of successful ones on those paths, giving a very clear picture that all successful ones have exactly the same nature or characteristics. If so, what is the need for the variety of paths? This is precisely where the Hindu philosophy departs from other major worldly religions.

Other religions appear, to me, to emphasis supreme faith in God as the one and only “path” and in addition they require faith exclusively in their respective specification of God – Yahveh, Jesus, Allah, etc. There is an exclusivity in that each faith firmly states that only the faith in God by one particular name is true faith, and all of them have nothing but utter contempt for the lack faith in that one named God. I am sure you will find contention on this point from modern or reformed believers, but the underlying fundamental belief doesn’t change.

Hindu philosophy acknowledges the infinite variety and levels of human propensities and abilities. This variety militates against the one-size-fits-all approach to Self-Realization or Attaining Heaven. The many paths accommodate the wide spectrum of human nature. Yet the fundamental principle is just the faith in the existence of the Supreme One without any insistence on a particular name or form or description of the One. The Faith is required because, according to Geetaa, one must focus on the Supreme goal beyond all the worldly goodness in order to be able to experience the Supreme. This requires that the focus of human endeavor must be the attainment of the goal that transcends all worldly goals.

This puts the modern secular humanitarianism in a different perspective. Humanitarianism asks us to be the best human cohabitants of this planet. It asks us to be good in a generally understood way that appeals to common sense. This is not bad, but indeed very limiting. Being good and living peaceful coexistence seem to be the goals. Life begins at birth and ends at death. There isn’t any more to life than that. Not bad as far as it goes.

But humanitarianism also makes the giant leap of faith that there is nothing more to life than the span of time between birth and death and all activities during the lifetime. This viewpoint converts ignorance into knowledge, in that it definitively states that what one doesn’t understand or experience here and now cannot be true; and when I say “one doesn’t understand” I refer to the collective understanding in some modern scientific communicable sense of the word. In this view, any statements to the effect that “the knowledge of the Supreme is the knowledge of Self, that it is real and attainable” are so much untenable speculation at best and unnecessary blind faith at worst, without any basis. That’s so because the acceptable basis is only what can be communicated in human language or the language of modern (Western) science: that the experience of the Supreme is beyond expression is not an acceptable argument. That the Supreme Self exists is unprovable and therefore dogma. That all the sages have stated emphatically about the Supreme Self and our identity with it is just so much blind faith in some good men. I will not belabor this point. I find the scientific brush-aside very unscientific indeed.

So, where does that leave us? We need to know if there is a systematic methodical approach to living that supports both the here and the hereafter. Truly, in yoga practice the “here” is subordinated to the "hereafter". And yet the pursuit of the eternal goal leads to a lifestyle that is nothing if not wholesome and exemplary. So here it goes.

3.4. Buddhiyoga – The Core Principle
Buddhiyoga is the How-To of the yoga practices. This begs the question, “How to do What?” The simple answer is, “to take the next step from where you are towards the ultimate destination of self-realization”. This sounds good. But this begs another question, “How do we know that whichever step we take is in the desired direction or in some other unknown direction?”

Buddhiyoga addresses these questions very clearly and satisfactorily for all practical purposes.

Let me briefly state what the How-To is. Because we are not perfected ones, we are bound to make mistakes in our practices. Buddhi’s task is to be mindful of all the rights and wrongs, and to nurture the right and to diminish and eliminate the wrongs. Buddhi’s attention is on each of our thoughts and actions. If I say something hurtful to someone, it is up to me to be sensitive to the feeling of hurt and to know what I could have said or done differently. It is then Buddhi’s focus to avoid repeating the wrong.

At the same time, Buddhi keeps a steady focus on the goal of yoga practice. If I have to choose between two evils, I need to select the lesser evil. In so doing, I must put aside self-interest, otherwise my choice is biased in that it is self-serving or slanted toward self-preservation in some sense. There is often a third choice of running away from a bad situation. Such running away, as Arjun wanted to do, doesn’t gain anything; the bad situation doesn’t go away; victims of the bad situation are still left in the lurch; one who could have done something about it - that’s me - is abandoning them for some false personal sense of non-violence or another type of self-serving virtual self-control. According to Geetaa, such abandonment is cowardice and begets only sin, i.e. karma bondage in Krishna’s words. Buddhi must avoid this frequent pitfall in life and make the difficult choices with an attitude of surrender to God.

The above becomes more clear only in the context of the answer to the first question namely, “how to do what?” Geetaa and the Hindu philosophy prescribe the various yoga paths already mentioned. These are conventionally considered somewhat related, but really mutually exclusive. That is, if you practice Sannyaasayoga then you don’t practice Bhaktiyoga – and so on for the rest of the various yoga paths. That may be true for external appearances. But in true practice of any path, elements of all other paths are necessarily included. Thus the outward practice of any yoga path requires the implicit practice of all other types of yogas; there is no other way. To make this clear, I will first summarize the Yoga paths as they are conventionally understood and then at length discussing the fundamental nature of the yoga paths, as described in Geetaa, in later chapters.

3.5. Different Yoga Paths
Let’s turn our attention to the multitude of paths. Of course, outwardly their practitioners will appear different. However, if they are all practising yoga, they are more alike than they are different. And if they all reach their respective goals they all end up in the same place, at the same understanding, with the same nature or qualities. These paths are described here succinctly in regards their outer appearances and inner character; separate short chapters will be devoted to each for further detail.

Saankhya: This is one of the two major disciplines or approaches stated in Geetaa. This approach engenders the Jnyaana Yoga (Yoga of Knowledge) and is more formal or analytical than empirical. But since it cannot be practiced in a vacuum, the practitioner must endure the worldly pleasures and pains as in any other path, and must interact selflessly with others while deriving sustenance from them.

Yoga: This is the other major discipline in Geetaa. This approach is more empirical than analytical. This approach engenders Karma Yoga (Yoga of Selfless Action). However, the practitioner must continuously look at self dispassionately and analytically in light of past wisdom and make constant corrections to improve own practice and progress toward Self-Knowledge.

Sannyaasa: Renunciation in the conventional sense is of family and social life in order to devote oneself exclusively to the spiritual studies for attaining self-knowledge. Safron robes are mere outward appearance. The renouncer must also adopt a very rigorous life of a hermit with few wants and no amassing of personal belongings in any form whatsoever.

Jnyaana: This refers to formal study of scriptures to soak up the knowledge in words as much as possible and and in addition, typically, to practice meditation to attain to it in a personal way.

Dhyaana: This consists of Meditation in eight stages. One has to ascend through these eight stages to experience the Self. Dhyaana or Saadhanaa as it is more commonly called can be practiced by any one on a daily basis. This practices does have its discipline and rigors, and is not the same as the Transcendental Meditation in vogue in some circles.

Abhyaasa: Practice conventionally applies to Dhyaana and to Jnyaana, however, in a true sense of the word it implies conscious and dedicated effort on any yoga path .

Bhakti: or Devotion is considered a yoga path in that one makes the worship rituals and prayers a major part of one's daily life. Yet devotion to the Supreme goal is necessary in following any of the yoga paths. Without Bhakti, it would not be possible to keep the focus on the Supreme goal.

Buddhi: This is not even a yoga path in the conventional sense. Yet it is an unavoidable element of any other yoga path in that they all require conscious dedication and practice presided over and exercised by Buddhi.