Yoga as philosophy and religionDasgupta, Surendranath
Religion
Yoga as philosophy and religion
Dasgupta, Surendranath
Hindu philosophy; Patañjali; Yoga
It seems that the Yoga view of actions, or karma, does not deprive man
of his freedom of will. The habit of performing particular types of
action only strengthens the corresponding subconscious impressions or
saṃskāras of those actual states, and thus makes it more and more
difficult to overcome their propensity to generate their corresponding
actual states, and thus obstructs the adoption of an unhampered and free
course of action. The other limitation to the scope of the activity of
his free will is the vāsanā aspect of the saṃskāras by which he
naturally feels himself attached by pleasurable ties to certain
experiences and by painful ones to others. But these only represent the
difficulties and impediments which come to a man, when he has to adopt
the Yoga course of life, the contrary of which he might have been
practising for a very long period, extending over many life-states.
The free will is not curbed in any way, for it follows directly from the
teleological purpose of prakṛti, which moves for the experience and
liberation of purusha. So this motive of liberation, which is the basis
of all good conduct, can never be subordinated to the other impulse,
which goads man towards outgoing experiences. But, on the other hand,
this original impulse which attracts man towards these ordinary
experiences, as it is due to the false knowledge which identifies
prakṛti with purusha, becomes itself subordinate and loses its influence
and power, when such events occur, which nullify false knowledge by
tending to produce a vision of the true knowledge of the relation of
prakṛti with purusha. Thus, for example, if by the grace of God false
knowledge (avidyā) is removed, true knowledge at once dawns upon the
mind and all the afflictions lose their power.
Free will and responsibility for action cease in those life-states which
are intended for suffering from actions only, e.g. life-states of
insects, etc.
APPENDIX
SPHOṬAVĀDA
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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