Purpose of Yoga

By the sun of grace, then we see everything as it is.

nitya-siddha krishna-prema ‘saadhya’ kabhu naya

shravanaadi-suddha-citte karaye udaya

(CC Madhya 22.107)

 

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, He gave this beautiful verse.

That this love for God, for Krishna, this love for all living beings who are part of Krishna is the nature of our true being. It’s within us. It’s what we are looking for. What we are searching for, what we are crying for, is the fulfilment of connecting to that love.- Radhanath Swami

But because of this fog, we are going all in the wrong places trying to find it and we keep crashing into each other in the fog. Yes? Whenever we have battles, ego battles, whether it be with our husband or our wife or with our friends or with people we work with or between nations or between religions, it’s because of this fog, we are just crashing into each other. And it hurts. So when the fog is there, we all crash into each other.

Radhanath Swami speaking on the purpose of yoga

You see, in this fog, in Jharikhanda forest, the deer were thinking, “I am a deer”, and the tigers were thinking, “I am a tiger”. And the deer were running in fear from the tigers and the tigers were leaping on the deer and sucking their blood and eating their flesh. But actually, they were not deer or tigers. They were pure atma, pure souls. They are pure lovers of God. It’s only the fog that gives them those misconceptions. It’s only the fog that creates such antagonism between them. But when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu glanced upon them and induced them to chant the holy names “Hari”, then the fog was lifted. And what happened? The deer saw the tigers as their lovers. Instead of running from the tigers, the deer were running to the tigers. And instead of the tigers eating them, the tigers were embracing them and protecting them, “Just stay with me, I’ll protect you. If anybody comes to hurt, you just tell me”. They were embracing, they were kissing. Not romantic kissing, but with spiritual love.

Yoga is meant to lift that fog so that we actually learn how to love ourselves. – Radhanath Swami

Who is the true lover? We understand who I am? I am sat-chid-ananda, I am eternal, I am full of knowledge, I am full of bliss. Why? Because I am part of Krishna, who is sat-chid-ananda vigraha. And everyone is. You see, there can’t be false ego when we understand the beauty.

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