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even see a bull with a long tail in the sky, but what good is that meditation? These meditations are like a train that runs arbitrarily and no one knows which station it will stop at. Only the Gnani Purush has a goal and only from the Gnani Purush can the real goal be attained. Otherwise, you will achieve nothing, even if you keep reciting,‘ I am a pure Soul. I am a Pure Soul.’ A goal can only be decided when the Gnani Purush destroys your demerit karmas( paap) and gives you Gnan. The goal can be decided after attaining the Self. Without the Gnani’ s grace, anything you do is like saying,‘ I am the President’, in your sleep. Are you likely to achieve anything by doing this? All forms of yoga, including yoga of the mind( manoyoga) are merely‘ relief roads’. Nothing can be achieved without attaining the union with the Soul( Atmayoga- union with the Self). People are dissolved in the worldly puzzle because they do not have a union with the Self.
To remain as the Self is atmayoga. Realization of the Self is atmayoga; it is your own abode. The rest are union with the body( dehayoga) the non-self. Fasting, penance, renunciation etc., are all dehayoga. The union with the mind, body, speech is physical. People believe this physical union as the ultimate thing. All these forms of yogas are meant to attain mastery on the physical plane, and they are beneficial in this respect. It is better for one to practice them over gambling and drinking alcohol. What are the benefits of yoga? It helps prevent external garbage from setting in and will make the mind stronger, however, without atmayoga there is no liberation.
Can yoga extend the life span?
Questioner: Can a person live thousands of years through yoga?
Dadashri: Not thousands of years but one can live up to one or two thousand years. What is this yoga? Actually, the soul is spread throughout the whole body, but through this yoga, it is pulled upwards towards the crown of the head