Vichara ‘to inquire’, Atma ‘Self’
Patanjali says: “Yoga’s purpose is ultimately to strip away mind’s fluctuations to allow us to become One – to be unified.”
It has sometimes been said that: “Yoga looks Death in the face”; Death meaning letting go of the body when our time comes and the ‘mini-deaths’ of personal change when the ego realises it has to release yet another outmoded version of itself.
The Atma Vichara process of inquiry into Self (“Who am I?”) is based upon the Samkhya philosophical model :
Senses – Mind - Intellect – Ego - Self
The Journey of exploration is from the ‘gross’ to the ‘subtle’ – as if from ‘extravert’ (outwardlooking) to ‘introvert’ (inward-looking).
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