The seven stages of yoga knowledge
When Sri Rama was a young prince at Ayodhya, he once asked his father, King Dasharatha, for permission to visit holy places. During these travels, Sri Rama’s mind was engaged in spiritual inquiry. After coming back, he showed utter disinterest in the royal pleasures, and the day-to-day affairs of the kingdom. King Dasharatha was worried at Rama’s sorrow, but Rishi Vasishtha understood that Sri Rama was lost in spiritual thoughts.
He then called Sri Rama and engaged in a long philosophical discussion. This dialogue was written down by Rishi Valmiki in the form of a book called Yoga Vasishtha. It is considered the earliest work on Vedanta. One of the things Rishi Vasishtha explained to Sri Rama is the seven stages of knowledge. He said that in yoga meditation, a seeker needs to master seven stages to achieve liberation and obtain knowledge of truth.
1. Shubh Icchha: Desire to engage in good activities and self-improvement. Instead of sitting idle, one should be motivated to read some good text or gain knowledge in the company of learned persons.
2. Vicharana: Discretion or reasoning. It means associating only with people of good character and performing only good acts while shunning bad ones.
3. Tanu Manasa: Purity of mind. The mind needs to be restrained and should not run after the mindless and fruitless pursuit of pleasure like endless scrolling on the internet. Mind should be fixed on our objectives in life, not merely on enjoyment.
4. Satta Patti: Self-reliance. One needs to become capable of fulfilling one’s goals through one’s own efforts without seeking help from anyone else, only relying upon the divine spirit when needing support.
5. Asansakti: Apathy towards the world. A person at this stage feels detached from worldly affairs. He derives pleasure from self-satisfaction and an inner delight without needing to depend on objects of this world for happiness.
6. Padartha Bhava: Power of abstraction. It means having the power to distil everyday information into meaningful knowledge.
7. Turya Gati: Generalisation of all in one. This can be achieved through the pursuit of truth. A person who has attained this knowledge beholds all the things of the world in the same light. A yogi who has achieved this stage is able to treat happiness and sorrow the same way, remaining unmoved and fulfilling their duty towards society.
Most people in the world are unaware of these seven stages. Even those who are aware of these are at different stages of knowledge. The ones who can attain the seventh stage will realise the complete knowledge of yoga and achieve the highest state of humanity.