Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

equally interested. If a person desires success even in a worldly pursuit like science or
art he has to give himself completely to his work, the more difficult the undertaking
the greater the devotion it demands. Now, the objective of Yoga is the highest prize of
human achievement and its pursuit must necessarily be very exacting in its demand on
the time and energy of the Sadhaka. That is why in the olden days people who wanted
to practise Yoga retired into forests so that they could devote themselves completely to
this task. Complete retirement may not be possible or necessary but a whole-hearted
devotion to this holy task is absolutely necessary. Many people think that they can
combine the pursuit of worldly ambitions with Yogic discipline and glibly cite the ex-
ample of Janaka. But Janaka had already attained the ideal of Yoga before he under-
took the worldly duties. The ordinary Sadhaka especially the beginner who tries to
combine the two ideals is sure to be swamped by his worldly desires and activities and
to pursue the path of Yoga merely in name. Circumstances and habits of past lives may
not allow the Sadhaka to adopt this one-pointed attitude all at once but he must work
steadily and deliberately towards this end, eliminating one by one all the activities and
interests which either interfere with his main work or uselessly consume his time and
energy. This capacity to throw oneself whole-heartedly and persistently into the task
which the Sadhaka has placed before himself is a necessary qualification and shows
the readiness of the soul to embark on the Divine Adventure.
The word Satkara also implies an attitude of reverence towards his task. In pur-
suing his ideal the Sadhaka is trying to find that Ultimate Reality which is the basis
and the cause of the whole Universe, manifest and unmanifest. This very fact that he is
trying to unravel the greatest mystery of life should fill him with a sense of awe and
reverence provided he is conscious of the nature of his high purpose and the tremen-
dous nature of the Reality which he is approaching.
When the three conditions mentioned in the Sutra are present, progress on the
path of Yoga is assured. It may be slow owing to inadequate momentum from past
lives but the Sadhaka is at least firmly established on the path and the attainment of
the final goal becomes only a question of time.