This world has people of two categories, one kind of people have life unhealthy, poor, wretched, ignored and full of sufferings, on other hands, there is another category of people who have life healthy, vibrant, successful, rich, honored and full of Joy. The people of first category who suffer are people who go astray.
Similarly, there are two paths, one goes to the world of darkness, weakness, failure, poverty, violence and vulgarity, the same path in opposite direction, leads travelers to the realm of light, luminosity, energy, strength, success, richness, harmony, peace and purity. This path is located vertically, one direction is downward and other upward, as well as this is horizontal one goes to outward into outer world and other inward into inner world. This is consciousness which travels and moves inward or outward, up or down. If the flow of consciousness is outward in outer world, that consciousness takes one to the realm of sufferings, on contrary, if the consciousness flows inward into inner world that takes one to eternal joy.
But, nature gives freedom to everyone to tread any of these two paths, this is up to people what they adopt and stick to.
The companionship excites one to walk on a path. If you live in the company of people who are already walking on the path to positive or inner world, which is full of Joy, you would go along with them to that destiny, in the same way, your friends who are going astray to outer world, which is full of miseries and failures, they would lead you to that world of Sufferings.
The path to Inner World where Truth, Brilliance, and Immortality are discovered is called ‘Yoga’, and the path to outer world where all are transient, unstable, illusions, and cause of sufferings, is called ‘Bhoga’.
Yoga and Bhoga are the two different directions of the same path. One end leads to Life Transformation in good and noble sense, and the other end also leads one to transform the life in bad and evil sense.
There is immense light, creativity, energy, strength and opulence in the inner world. They who move inside through Yoga, can transform life – from dis-ease to ease, from negative to positive, from mortality to immortality, from untruth to truth, from sufferings to happiness, from poverty to richness, from all unwanted and negativity to all wanted and positive life force.
In between the Yoga and Bhoga, there are two things, which are called ‘Upa-Yoga’ and other ‘Upa-Bhoga’. Both remain on the verge of Yoga and Bhoga. The prefix ‘Upa’ means ‘near’, so, these two things remain nearby Yoga and Bhoga. Upayoga remains nearby Yoga, and Upabhoga near to Bhoga.
A yogi knows well how to upayoga the samsaric tools for Yoga, as also how to upabhoga the sensual subjects and objects for leela (play).
When you are in the body and in Samsara, you can’t ignore the essential demands of life like foods for body, the house to live, the scenes to see, the works to earn the livelihood, etc. Here Yogis use all these things just for the welfare of human life, without indulgence, which is called Upayoga and Upabhoga, but bhogis do the same things but get indulged hence are called bhogis.
Acceptance of the things and people just for welfare is the right way of living. Treading the middle path, which is beyond two extremes – austerity and indulgence is the best path to life transformation. Rest other paths take one samsara.
A true seeker of life transformation avoids all kinds of attractions, attachments and indulgence, be that mundane or ultra-mundane. All attractions and enjoyments are deviating. Living in middle is a greatest joy, which gives one healthy body and mind. This makes one both to see and to understand the reality. The sense of reality and truth brings a great transformation from inside. The transformation which happens from within is more lasting than imposed from outside.
Yoga is symphony, harmony, equilibrium, balance and mindfulness, which if trodden can transform the life miraculously. Deeper, intensive and stronger the establishment on the path, faster and integral is the transformation of life.
Yoga transforms not only body and mind, but also the whole life and its activities, and one becomes absolutely different and transformed one, very vibrant, luminous, radiating, and blissful which inspire others too to be the same.
Namaste!
