“Upanishads, which form the end part of the Vedas, mainly deal with the paramatma, the supreme Self, attaining which one becomes liberated from the bondages of life. Taking this basic concept of eternal liberation, many enlightened souls have established different schools of thought based on their perceptions and realisations of the ultimate Reality.

The purpose of this article is to understand few selected teachings and make our lives blessed, much like standing on the bank of the holy river and sprinkling a few drops on ourselves.

Tukaram said that Control of the mind coupled with the self-surrender to God, ishvara-pranidhana.

The Yoga Sutra prescribes ‘compassion to the miserable’ as a means to purify the mind, due to which an aspirant forgets one’s own self and feels for others.

From the discussion above, it can be understood that the main aim of yoga is to make us aware of our true nature, which is the supreme Self or supreme Consciousness.” 

The personalities covered in this article are respected Eknath, Tukaram, Janabai, Namdev, Vinobha Bhave, Balgangadhar Tilak, Jnaneshwar,  

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Author is Swami Bhitiharananda is a monk at Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad.

This article was first published in the January 2019 issue (titled ‘Thoughts on Yoga’) of Prabuddha Bharata, monthly journal of The Ramakrishna Order started by Swami Vivekananda in 1896. This article is courtesy and copyright Prabuddha Bharata. I have been reading the Prabuddha Bharata for years and found it enlightening. Cost is Rs 180/ for one year, Rs 475/ for three years, Rs 2100/ for twenty years. To subscribe https://shop.advaitaashrama.org/subscribe/