Microsoft Word - Taimni - The Science of Yoga.doc

know the true nature of consciousness by adopting the ordinary means available to the
modern psychologist but also that the only effective means of doing so is to adopt the
Yogic method. This is a subjective method, no doubt, and beyond the capacity of the
ordinary man but it is the only method available. No amount of dissection of the brain
and the nervous systems and study of human behaviour can unravel for us the mystery
of consciousness itself. A great deal of research in this field of psychology is being
carried on in very imposing laboratories in the West, a vast amount of so-called scien-
tific data is being accumulated but all this effort is bound to prove futile from the very
nature of the problem being tackled. The modern craze of submitting everything to
physical examination may succeed with physical things but no physical instruments
can ever be devised which will reveal the nature of consciousness which is of the na-
ture of Spirit. All this waste of effort can be avoided and the whole field of modern
psychology illuminated in the most effective manner if the facts of Yogic philosophy
are properly understood and used in the study of psychological problems.
The student will have noticed that in the ideas set forth in the above pages no
effort has been made to link up the facts of Yogic philosophy with doctrines which are
considered to be religious. But this does not mean that there is no relation between
them. In fact, a religious man can see, if he studies the subject of Yoga with an open
mind, that all the ideas of Yogic philosophy can be interpreted in religious terras, and
the consciousness which the Yogi seeks to uncover within the folds of his mind is
nothing but that Supreme Reality which is commonly referred to as God. God is rec-
ognized by every religion with any philosophical background to be a Mighty Being
whose consciousness transcends the manifested Universe. He is considered to be hid-
den within every human heart. He is supposed to transcend the mind. Basically, these
ideas are the same as those of Yogic philosophy. The main difference lies in the asser-
tion by Yogic philosophy that this Supreme Reality or Consciousness is not merely a
matter for speculation or even adoration but can be discovered by following a tech-
nique which is as definite and unfailing as the technique of any modern Science. Yoga
thus imparts a tremendous significance to religion and places the whole problem of
religious life and endeavour on an entirely new basis and it is difficult to understand
how any religious man can reject its claims without giving them due consideration.