[...] This article originally appeared on Dhanurdhara Swami’s personal site, wavesofdevotion.com Dhanurdhara Swami was initiated into the Gaudiya Vaishnava lineage by Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1974. In 1982, He accepted the sannyasa ashram or renounced order of life. Dhanurdhara Swami is the author of three books—Waves of Devotion: A Comprehensive Study of The Nectar of Devotion,Greetings from Vrindavana, a selected collection of his thoughts and realizations from 2000–2004, and Japa Meditations: Contemplations on Entering the Holy Name, a collection of selected personal realizations on japa meditation by Maharaja and others. He is currently working on several writing projects including a contemporary book on bhakti and a book on kirtana. AKPC_IDS += "2137,";The prime source for my study of yoga psychology was the recently published The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by Dr. Edwin Bryant, North Point Press, which is not only a translation of the Yoga Sutras, but is a translation and commentary on all the major commentators on the Yoga Sutras as well. I began this paper before the book was officially published, so I would like to personally thank Professor Bryant for sharing with me, in advance, some excerpts of his work. The author is not only an established academic, but a long time student and practitioner of yoga as well, which makes for an especially insightful and readable translation and commentary. [↩]Bhagavad-gita, 6.5 [↩]Yoga Sutras 1.5 [↩]Inherent in most systems of Indian yogic thought, and most methods of mental health, is the concept that distress lies not in reality, but in our perception of it,, and thus mentors by carefully freeing us from ignorance also make us more mentally healthy. [↩]An example would be a young child who has bad experiences with his parents and thus develops a bad impression towards all authority and who then distrust all elders, even kinds ones. [↩]Problems of restoring mental health were also dealt with in the social structure, including family and priests. Extremely serious mental problems were also dealt with by certain types of tantrics. [↩]Bhagavad-gita, 14.1 [↩]In Indian time there are 36 48-minute divisions called muhurtas. The brahma muhurta, the 48 minutes before sunrise, was considered the most conducive for spiritual life. [↩]Cleanliness is the object of sight in the mode of goodness and will naturally make one more peaceful and clear minded. [↩]Yoga is generally considered part of the path of jnana. [↩]These four categories are my own divisions of action based on my study of the texts of the Indian yoga tradition. [↩]A samskara can also be a memory of an unpleasant experience, an attachment then to avoid a certain object that previously caused pain or discomfort. [↩]For example, one can even be mistreated by another person and feel deep hate or even compassion for that person depending on how one’s intelligence is trained to digest that particular encounter. [↩]Traditional Indian social structure was not the caste system fixed at birth, but one based on one’s qualification. See Bhagavad-gita, 4.13 [↩]By karma one may be stuck in work that is not suitable for one’s nature. Of course, one should seriously seek a change in employment, but if not possible, then one has to respond to one’s work like one responds to any unpleasant karmic situation that is difficult to change, by humbly seeing God’s hand to purify one of attachments. [↩]There is a third choice for correct action, dedicating one’s activities out of a natural devotion for God. This choice will be discussed separately in the section on bhakti. [↩]The two most popular books in Indian culture are the Mahabharat and Ramayana, which basically promote integrity. [↩]In the Yoga Sutras I.37 one recommendation for meditation is to meditate on one who is free from desire. [↩]Not all Yogic paths consider all thoughts material. Some also ascribe some thought and agency to the soul, although all schools agree that the fluctuations of the material mind (vrttis) ultimately need to be stilled. [↩]On the path of bhakti there is deep discussion about the origin of grace, to what extent it can come from God and to what extent it must come from His devotee. That discussion is beyond the scope of this paper. [↩]Except for isvara pranidhana, which is paired with samadhi, all other niyamas (moral observances) are paired with “prakrtic” or material benefits, such as understanding one’s past lives and so on. [↩]A very strong case can be made from the Yoga Sutras that Pantanjali was a theist and that isvara pranidhana (surrender to the Lord) was his recommended object of meditation, even if still optional. See “Pantanjali’s Theistic Preference”, by Edwin Bryant, Journal of Vaisnava Studies Vol 14, No. 1/Fall 2008, p. 7 [↩]“The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali” by Dr. Edwin Bryant, North Point Press, p.82 [↩]The practitioner of bhakti must still arduously practice meditation, but as his practice is a petitioning for the Lord’s grace, the result can be attained much easier by grace. [↩]There are many verses cited in the Bhakti tradition from various scriptures describing how bhakti is beyond the senses and mind. For example, often quoted from the Padma Purana and cited in the Bhaktirasamrta-sindhu 1.2.34 is “atah sri krishna namadi na bhaved grahyam indriyaih/” –that the soul and God cannot be understood through the material senses. [↩]Bhag 11.1.42 [↩] Bhagavad-gita, 6.47 [↩] …