Light on Life: The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace, and Ultimate Freedom

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Kandasana


Chapter 5


WISDOM


The Intellectual Body (Vijnana)


his chapter deals with the fourth layer of our being, the Intellec­

tual Body (vijnanamaya kosa), whose porous outer frontier lies


next to and mingles with the Mental Body. While the mind leads to

thoughts, the intellect leads to intelligence and ultimately wisdom.

Yoga identifies these different parts of our consciousness, along with

their accompanying fluctuations (vrttis) in such a way that we can use


them both to give our journey direction and to result in our transfor­

nlation. In this way, we discover the ability to refuse ice cream or to ac­

<:cpt it, but in quantities that will not be harmful. We increasingly

dl·vclop judicious discrimination that, harnessed to self-control, enables

us to set sail in un<:harted watl'rs.
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