November 2023 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami–Samyoga ( संयोग )

[Srivatsa Ramaswami]

November 2023 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami–Samyoga ( संयोग )

As a follow up for the program on Pranayama and Internal organs conducted last month, Atmayogashla in Chennai had arranged for a 1 hr pranayama on line program in October. Many participants performed 80 pranayama in 20 rounds of  viloma ujjayi preceded by 108 kapalabhati. Then there was 10 times samantraka pranayama followed by Shanmukhi mudra . 

On Sunday,  November 5th there will be 2 hr samantraka Suryanamaskara online program which would include 32 suryanamaskara at the end of recitation of each anuvaka of Arunam from  Krishna Yajurveda–sponsored by Atmayogashala, Chennai

I started sending this monthly newsletter about  15 years back, some 180 or so letters so far.. Each letter contained a brief article that may be of interest to practicing yogis. I will try to keep sending these letters but they  may become a bit irregular hereafter.

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Samyoga ( संयोग )

We are very familiar with the word YOOA which is derived from the sanskrit root, jujir (yoge) or yuj yunj युज् (युञ्ज्) to unite– would mean union between two things. There are many yoga systems. My Guru would say that any yoga system based on the interpretation of yoga as union would specify the entities between which the union is to take place, a certain affinity between them to work together and also the means of achieving that union. There has to be movement towards each other and the movement can be from both or atleast one of them. Hatayoga is the union between prana and apana. According to Hatayogis, the movement between prana and apana can be two ways. Pranam apane juhvati says the Lord in the Gita. When prana moves and is united with apana it is facilitated in anthkumbhaka. On the other hand some yogis say  apanam prane juhvati or merging apana into prana which may be facilitated by lifting apana towards prana in bahya kumbhaka and the bandhas. According to Yoga Yagnyavalkya the integrated prana at the time the yogi leaves the body the prana going out through the brahma randhra merges with jagat prana or universal prana and thus never transmigrates. Yoga is union

Then according to Kundalini yoga, the sakti moves and not Siva tatva. The procedures are described by Kunalini yogis and the union achieved  by several methods including some hatayoga procedures. The union of the kundalini sakti with the peaceful Siva tatva is Kundalini yoga

According to Yoga yagnyavalkya yoga is the union of jivatma and paramatma. He would say samyoga yoga uchyate jivatma paramatmanoh. It is the union or complete integration (samyoga) of jivatma the individual sould with paramatma the Supreme.

And now we come across the term samyoga here. What is samyoga. It is yoga or union with a pefix sam; sam here meaning the same as the English word ‘sum’ meaning total or complete. So samyoga would mean a complete union of jivatma and paramatma

But then the term samyoga is usd by Patanjali in his Yoga sutra and Iswarakrishna in Samkhya Karika. In both cases the term samyoga is not used in the positive sense as in Yoga Yagnyavalkya; however,samyoga is a universal condition but undesirable from the point of view of avoiding the painful, sorrowful transmigration or samsara.

Here are two quotes from Samkhya karika and Yoga sutras with the use of the term samyoga

तस्मात्तत्सम्योगात् अचेतनं चेतनादिव लिंगम्।

tasmāttatsamyogāt acetanaṃ cetanādiva liṃgam|---Samkhya Karika

Tasmat–therefore, 

Tat samyogat–due to intimate togetherness of them (purusha and budhhi or the self and intellect)

Lingam- the buddhi 

Acetanam- even as its is devoid of consciousness

Cetanat iva–as if it is consciousness (appears) 

Samkhyas with this sloka emphasize that the common universal perception that the brain (intellect) is/has consciousness is an erroneous default understanding  of the entire human populace generation after generation leading to insurmountable and perpetual duhkha or pain. However they also point out that the same buddhi or intellect is capable of analyzing , contemplating and concluding that the mutable buddhi /citta is entirely different from the never changing pure consciousness which is the purusha and that should be identified as the self or “I”. 

द्रष्टृ दृश्ययोः संयोगो हेयहेतुः।

draṣṭṛ dṛśyayoḥ saṃyogo heyahetuḥ| Yoga Sutra

Drastru–the seer or purusha

Drishyayoh– and the physical person, citta, especially buddhi

Samyoga–complete togetherness

Heyahetuh–is to be eliminated

In a similar vein, Patanjali points out the samyoga or the close togetherness is of drashta the seer or the self and then  drishya or what is seen as the self by the general populace which is the prakritic body mind complex especially the intellect (buddhi) as the self. Heya is that which is to be eliminated. What is to be eliminated? It is future births or samsara consisting of a birth in a different species, a span of life and different experiences which are predominantly painful as the yogis see. If one wants to eliminate future birth one should understand what causes that and  which is to be eliminated and that is hetu. So the sutra explains that the cause of painful transmigratory samsara is the union of two disparate tatvas, drashta the witness or purusha and drihya or here the buddhi or intellect. The word samyoga is used here as not complete integration but coming together. They are different from each other like day and night or chalk and cheese. But to the undiscerning buddh (like mine and almost everyone else)i they appear to be together, nay, one and the same. The yogis are able to see the broad daylight between these two entities. And by yoga, especially  the mental discipline with which the yogi is able to separate them. The samyoga is between drashta and drisya which itself is a misconception of the lazy mind and is said to be permanently eradicated by the yogi in samadhi. And that is viyoga or separation. So even though the term yoga is union, in raja yoga and samkhya yoga, the effort is to see the separate distinctive nature of these two tatwas and identify with the drashta as the self. So we have yoga meaning union. Samyoga is union between two disparate elements. And viyoga is separation of these two tatvas. And according to Rajayogis the viyoga or separation of drashta from drishya (which are in samyoga) is yoga or permanent mental peace (yuja samadhou or samadhana).

Coming together of two disparate elements to achieve a common goal is termed as “pangu andha nyaya” or logic of togetherness of a lame person and a blind person to achieve a common goal. The blind person can not see but can ambulate. The lame person can not move but can see. So the story  is that when they want to get out of a forest, they join (samyoga) by the lame person sitting on the shoulders of the blind one and directing the blind one to move to reach the destination. Mission accomplished, each goes one's own way. Here the intellect and the self come together in samyoga to give experiences, life after life called samsara. Then with yoga this samsara cycle is broken and the release of purusha or kaivalya is said to take place.