The Atma Jyoti Blog

Part 1 of Akshay Kumar Banerjea’s important essay from the Philosophy of Gorakhnath

• Both have the same end in view–the Absolute Truth

A Yogi and a Philosopher have the same ultimate end in view. They are inspired by the same inherent urge of the innermost consciousness of man. Both of them are seekers of the Absolute Truth. Both of them refuse to remain content with the knowledge of the finite transitory relative truths of the world of normal human experience. They feel within themselves a deep yearning for the discovery of the infinite eternal Absolute Reality behind and beyond them. They devote themselves to the quest of the ultimate root of all existence, the ultimate Cause and Ground of this world-order, the ultimate solution of all the problems of human knowledge and experience.

The human consciousness is ordinarily imprisoned in the closed domain of space, time and relativity. It is as it were condemned to live and move under spatial and temporal limitations, to think and know in terms of relativity, causality and reciprocity. It is given opportunities to develop and expand and enrich itself within the compound of this prison; but it is not permitted to go beyond the walls of this prison. It seems that human knowledge and experience must necessarily be finite and relative, and the world of space, time and relativity must be all in all to the human mind.

The Yogi as well as the Philosopher revolts against this bondage of the human mind. Both of them aspire to break through the walls of this prison. They want to transcend the limitations, under which the ordinary human consciousness is placed by nature. For the satisfaction of the innermost craving of their souls, they attempt to penetrate into the innermost meaning of this cosmic order. However bewilderingly complex the constitution of the world of our normal experience may appear to be, it cannot be a meaningless and purposeless process, going on by chance or accident. The wonderful order and harmony perceptible in all the departments of this complicated system of the Universe point to some dynamic center or Soul of this system, some obviously inscrutable Governing Principle or Power regulating its intricate operations, some Supreme Ideal which is being realized in and through this continuous phenomenal process.

A Yogi and a Philosopher are both inspired by some such faith, and both of them devote their energy to the discovery of that center or Soul of the Universe, that Governing Principle or Power, that Supreme Ideal, which may furnish a rational explanation of this world-order and give a meaning to it.

• They differ in their modes of approach

While the ultimate object of search is the same for a Yogi and a Philosopher, their modes of approach appear to be widely different. A Philosopher’s approach is intellectual, and a Yogi’s approach may be said to be spiritual. A Philosopher advances in the path of rational logic, a Yogi advances in the path of moral and psychical self-discipline. A Philosopher aims at a logically unassailable conception of the Absolute Truth, a Yogi aims at a direct spiritual experience of the Absolute Truth. A Philosopher’s interest in the pursuit of the Truth is chiefly theoretical, he being chiefly concerned with the satisfaction of the demand of his intellect; a Yogi’s interest is thoroughly practical, in as much as he is predominantly concerned with the satisfaction of the fundamental demand of his soul. A Philosopher does not cease to be a philosopher, even if his practical life is not in tune with his conception of the Truth, but a Yogi ceases to be a Yogi, if his entire life is not disciplined in strict accordance with his idea of the Truth.

The knowledge which a Philosopher attains and can possibly attain by the most careful applications of the principles and rules of Logic is indirect or mediate knowledge (Paroksha Jnana); while the knowledge which a Yogi seeks and expects to attain through the purification and refinement and illumination of his entire consciousness is direct or immediate knowledge (Aparoksha Jnana). An earnest Philosopher makes serious attempts to purify and refine and enlighten his reason and to liberate it from all kinds of logical fallacies and imperfections, so that it may form the most valid and most comprehensive conception of the Absolute Truth. An earnest Yogi undergoes a systematic course of self-discipline for the purification of his body and senses and mind, for the suppression of his desires and passions and worldly tendencies, for the liberation of his thought from the bondage of all preconceived ideas and notions, for the concentration of his attention upon the unknown but yearned-for object of his search and for the elevation of his entire consciousness to higher spiritual planes, so that the self-luminous Absolute Truth may perfectly illumine this consciousness and directly reveal Itself to it. A Philosopher is an aspirant for understanding the Absolute Truth by making it an object of his refined logical conception, while a Yogi is an aspirant for realizing the Truth by elevating his consciousness to the highest spiritual plane, in which the subject-object-relativity also vanishes and the consciousness becomes practically one with the Absolute Truth.

Next: The Philosopher’s Method

Related articles:

• What is Yoga? –A brief study of both the philosophical and practical nature of Yoga as the capstone of self-culture and enlightenment.
• Commentary on the Yoga Sutras by Raghavan Iyer.
• Gorakhnath on the Chakras – Gorakhnath, the master yogi, gives his description of the Chakras in an extract from the Philosophy of Gorakhnath, by Akshay Kumar Banerjea.