12/20/2025
Yoga, as a comprehensive spiritual discipline, is fundamentally a system of transmutation: a set of tools designed to refine and transform every aspect of the human existence.
The Physical Process: Asanas (postures) are not just physical exercise; they are a process of purifying and stabilizing the physical body, removing inertia (tamas) and restlessness (rajas)
The Result: A strong, healthy body becomes a steady vehicle for the spiritual journey, rather than a source of distraction, sloth, or disease (vyadhi and styana in the Yoga Sutras)
The Mental Process: Through practices like Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal), Dharana (concentration), and Dhyana (meditation), the turbulent, grief-ridden, desire-filled mind is stabilized.
The Result: The constant chitta vrittis (mind-fluctuations) are calmed. The tamasic grief and the rajasic anger are transmuted into sattva—clarity, balance, and wisdom (viveka). The mind shifts from being a source of suffering to a finely tuned instrument of perception
The Spiritual Process: The culmination of practice is Samadhi (super-consciousness or absorption), where the individual consciousness merges with the universal Self.
The Result: This final transmutation results in moksha (liberation), the complete cessation of duhkha (suffering, including grief). The soul is freed from the cycle of birth and death, resting in its true, eternal, and peaceful nature.
Krishna's teachings in the Bhagavad Gita describe the philosophy behind this process, while Patanjali's Yoga Sutras provide the practical roadmap (the Eight Limbs of Yoga) for achieving this ultimate transmutation of suffering into liberation and everlasting peace 🕉mmmye
re-Posted from my brother and fellow yogi Jospeh Giglio’s page.
