The 8 Limbs of Astanga-yoga

[Bhava dasa (ACBSP)]

The eight limbs of yoga are:
1. yama (abstinences),
2. niyama (observances),
3. asana (yoga postures),
4. pranayama (breath control),
5. pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses),
6. dharana (concentration),
7. dhyana (meditation) and
8. samadhi (absorption).
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Srila Prabhupada: “The destination of transcendence is to become the personal associate of the Personality of Godhead, who is known as adhokṣaja, He who is beyond the reach of the senses. The renouncers of the world, the sannyāsīs, give up all worldly connections, namely, family, wife, children, friends, home, wealth—everything—to attain the transcendental bliss of Brahman happiness. But adhokṣaja happiness is beyond Brahman happiness. The empiric philosophers enjoy a transcendental quality of bliss by philosophical speculation on the Supreme Truth, but beyond that pleasure is the pleasure enjoyed by Brahman in His eternal form of the Personality of Godhead.

“Brahman bliss is enjoyed by living entities after liberation from material bondage. But Para-brahman, the Personality of Godhead, enjoys eternally a bliss of His own potency, which is called the hlādinī potency. The empiric philosopher who studies Brahman by negation of the external features has not yet learned the quality of the hlādinī potency of Brahman.

“Out of many potencies of the Omnipotent, there are three features of His internal potency—namely saṁvit, sandhinī and hlādinī. And in spite of their strict adherence to the principles of yama, niyama, āsana, dhyāna, dhāraṇā and prāṇāyāma, the great yogīs and jñānīs are unable to enter into the internal potency of the Lord.

“This internal potency is, however, easily realized by the devotees of the Lord by dint of devotional service. Yuyudhāna achieved this stage of life, just as he achieved expert knowledge in military science from Arjuna. Thus his life was successful to the fullest extent from both the material and spiritual angles of vision. That is the way of devotional service to the Lord.”

[ 03. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (Bhāgavata Purāṇa) / Canto 3: The Status Quo / SB 3.1: Questions by Vidura / SB 3.1.31 / PURPORT]

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[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashtang ... s_of_yoga)]