How to practice yoga for the mind to transcend names and forms?

How to practice yoga for the mind to transcend names and forms, to realize unconditional peace and freedom?

Stop identifying with any quality of names and forms as 'I', or what/who the mind think is 'I', or 'This is I'. Such as specific specie, race, culture, nationality, family background, gender, sexual orientation, personality, characteristic, appearance, talent, skill, likes and dislikes, agreements and disagreements, thinking, belief, spirituality, religion, political view, lifestyle, social status, social network, friend circles, educational background, career, profession, livelihood, experience, contribution, non-contribution, achievement, non-achievement, ability, disability, and so on.

Living within this worldly egoistic society that is being conditioned by documentation/nationality/citizenship/specific rights under specific law and orders, which derived from basic instinct of living beings and human civilization of 'survival instinct', 'self-protectiveness', 'selfishness', 'possession of land and resources', 'food agriculture', 'village', 'township', 'city', 'country', 'capitalism', 'consumerism', 'procreation' and 'greed', we all are unwittingly being 'forced' to carry certain 'social personal identity' with certain names and forms to be living and moving in this world, (or else, one would be 'illegal' being anywhere on Earth and would be discriminated, persecuted and prosecuted if without any 'proper/legal' documentation and citizenship), but all these identities with different names and forms are not 'I', and it's not easy to be living and moving in the world if being 'illegal' without all these so called legal/proper/essential documentation/recognition, even though all these shouldn't be existing in the beginning.

But, it's possible to free the mind from attachment and identification towards all these external identities with different names and forms as 'I', or what we think and believe as 'who/what am I', while 'playing' along with the worldly games of 'legality and all kinds of documentation/rights/permission' for being where you are and what you are and what you do, to be able to have a livelihood and the limited freedom of moving around only within the area that is 'legally allowed'.

The moment the mind identifies as "I am this or that" and "I am not this or that", separateness and discrimination exists in oneself, regardless of whether one is aware of it, or not, agrees or disagrees with it.

As long as there's any identification of any particular name and form as 'I' or "This is I/This is not I", even as "I am good/I am not good", or "I am a good human being/I am a bad human being", or "I believe in God/I disbelieve in God", "I am female/I am male/I am neither female or male", or "I am a yogi/I am not a yogi", separateness and discrimination is there naturally as it is, even if we have no intention at all to generate separateness and discrimination between ourselves and all the others whom are not being identified within the same category of similar name and form. This is not denial of 'fact', as some people would argue about that.

Even when the mind perceives all the different names and forms, colours and shapes, features and characteristics, but the one same nature of everything under all the different names and forms is the same - Impermanence and Selflessness. If one keeps following the truth of impermanence and selflessness to inquire the truth of everything, it would lead/guide one's mind towards liberation from ignorance, egoism, impurities and suffering, even without a particular human or non-human teacher being existing to guide oneself, even if the world is a messy place full of all kinds ignorance and corruption, which all started from the selfish desire to hoard and possess resources and lands, to protect 'goodness' and 'mine-ness', to eliminate 'badness' and 'the threats towards mine-ness', with the excuse 'to keep things in order/under control'.

This practice of non-identification/non-attachment towards impermanent names and forms that leads to the realization of selflessness, is the very basic practice, as well as the upmost important practice in the path of yoga and Buddhism.

Otherwise, even by passionately fighting for 'non-discrimination', and keep shouting 'Say No To Racism/Stop Racism', 'Say No To Discrimination/Stop Discrimination', 'We All Are One', 'We All Are Citizen Of The World', 'We Want Peace', 'We Want Freedom', 'We Want Change', and etc, it won't work, as the world will still be the same, full of 'corruption', 'oppression', 'unjust', 'unrest', 'separateness' and 'discrimination' everywhere, even if the authority appears to be giving in for the moment, and seems to be giving people what they demand/wish/want to see and hear, it's just a momentary strategy for 'pleasing the people' on the surface, and meanwhile, there are some other 'selfish messy things' that are brewing underneath somewhere, while everyone is happily thinking and believing that they have successfully made a change in the world, that they have gotten what they wanted from the authority.

Separateness and discrimination is there, even when one thinks and believes that oneself is completely free from any discrimination towards anyone or anything, which is impossible, as even the idea/notion/identification of "I don't discriminate anyone or anything" is separateness and discrimination itself. Unless one attains 'self-realization' towards selflessness/egolessness/'I'lessness, where there's no 'I' existing to be identified as "I am discriminating or non-discriminating."

The 'self' in the 'self-realization', is not referring that 'there is a self-existence/individual being/soul/spirit', but it's the selfless/'I'less mind realizing the truth of 'I'/'self', or 'who/what the mind thinks and believes and identifies as a self-existence of an individual being', where there's no 'I', or 'self-existence', or 'individual being', but just merely the selfless mind perception of an impermanent and selfless names and forms of a life existence under the selfless function of a physical body and the perceptive/thinking mind forming, changing, decaying and deforming. If the mind perceives meaningfulness, it's just the mind feels meaningful. It's not "I am meaningful" or "I feel meaningful". And even that perception of meaningfulness is impermanent and selfless.

It's not that difficult to realize the truth of impermanence, but ignorance and egoism hinders the mind from realizing selflessness, even for those who gave up many worldly relationships and things trying to conquer the mind, as there's an identification of 'I', or 'self-existence', being there hindering the mind to annihilate the delusive existence of an ego. "I am practicing", "I am improving/declining", "My practice is good/not good", "My mind is good/not good", "I have a good meditation practice today", "I like to practice X brand/X style yoga", "I learn and practice XXX yoga. I am a XXX yogi", "I want to be like my teacher/guru", "I wish there's a great teacher to guide me", "I couldn't do my practice because I was sick", "I can do my practice now because I am in good health", "I am performing selfless service/action", "I am selfless/I want to be selfless", "I am kind and compassionate/I want to be kind and compassionate", and so on.

Let it go. Let go all the 'I', 'my', 'mine'. And one will know.

When the mind transcends all the different qualities of impermanent names and forms of what it perceives through the senses selflessly, it will realize unconditional peace and true freedom being undetermined, unaffected, undisturbed and uninfluenced by any quality of names and forms, may it be the quality of 'good' or 'bad', 'right' or 'wrong', 'positive' or 'negative', 'happiness' or 'unhappiness', 'meaningfulness' or 'meaninglessness', 'pleasantness' or 'unpleasantness', 'praise' or 'condemn', 'pleasurable enjoyment' or 'painful suffering', and so on.

Some people might say, "I don't want this kind of peace and freedom. It doesn't sound right, as we need to get involve, we need to be active in order to make changes, to fight for our rights, peace and freedom."

If people can think about it calmly, it's ridiculous that anyone needs to 'fight for' or 'obtain' certain rights, peace and freedom from any 'Authorization', or 'Organization', or 'particular existence', in this world.

Protests of any kind, and fighting for any rights or benefits from 'Some Body' or 'The Authority', shouldn't be existing at all. None should be 'documented', 'recognized', 'approved', '(mercifully) be given certain rights' by such and such 'Person' and 'Authority', in the first place. Who give 'them' the power to be 'possessing' so much power and 'owning' everyone's freedom of being existing on earth? It's 'The People' themselves. People don't see the root cause of 'why would anyone need to obtain or fight for 'certain rights', 'peace' and 'freedom'. None 'owns' anyone. None 'belongs' to anyone. None needs to 'be given' or 'receiving' any rights from anyone or so called 'The Authority'. Any kind of 'Rights' that discriminates those that are 'non-eligible for Rights' or 'less Rights', shouldn't exist at all. Everyone is just what they are and how they are. Who are supporting those who become 'The Authority' who then created 'The System' with all kinds of rights? It's 'The People' themselves, who gave away their basic freedom of being existing on earth to an 'Authorization'.

People think and believe that it's normal or there's nothing abnormal, where all and everyone need to be 'documented', 'recognized', 'allowed' and 'approved', to 'live somewhere', to 'survive', to 'obtain something', or to 'apply something', or to 'fight for something', from 'somebody' or 'the authority' to be who they are and where they are, so that they can be 'legally' being 'recognized' by 'somebody' or 'the authority' to be living/surviving/moving on certain restricted area on Earth. 

 

It's absurd that anyone would naturally be 'illegal' being anywhere on Earth upon birth, until one is 'recognized' and 'documented', and one would be persecuted and prosecuted if without any 'legal/proper' documentation and citizenship, even though all planets, lands, oceans, mountains, space and natural resources in the world or the universe doesn't belong to anyone or anything, but they were being 'self-claimed'/'conquered'/'dominated'/'robbed' by certain human beings from the very beginning until now. Except probably those people who become 'The Authority', who are the ones who create and carryout those 'law and orders' to 'dominate' the rest of the people, are not bound by 'The System' that they have created. And people who started to realize so many things that are 'not right' in the world, are still being there continuing to support to have 'The Authority and The System', wittingly or unwittingly, allowing 'The Authority and The System' to be in power to do all that.

If people truly want to experience real non-separateness and non-discrimination in this world, it's not about changing 'The Authority or The System', it's about abandoning 'The Authorization and The System', by letting go all kinds of nationalities, borders and documentations, but it will only works if all and everyone letting it go, as 'The System' cannot run without the majority of 'The People' being there who want to be 'protected' by 'The System', to be given 'the privilege of certain rights' for being somewhere and somebody, and to move about and make a livelihood here and there within a limited area, legally. If there are still some people supporting 'The Authorization and The System', they will still be in power and will only benefit certain group of people of their own supporter, but oppressing/discriminating/controlling/prosecuting all the others, who would like to be free from all those that shouldn't be there in the first place.

Most people would not want to abandon Authorization and The System, as they are reluctant to let go 'the privilege of receiving and having certain rights' that they received from an Authorization and The System. People who are living in a rather comfortable space and have more than enough livelihood would like to have 'The System' to 'protect' them, their home and their livelihood, as well as there's fear of "What will happen if themselves become 'the unwanted/unwelcome illegal immigrants' anywhere in the world, without 'proper/legal' documentation/recognition and losing all their privilege and rights to be somewhere, to live somewhere, to make a living somewhere, to go somewhere, or to do something?" While the world, the earth, the lands, the oceans, the mountains, the resources, the space, the air and the universe doesn't belong to anyone or anything, but 'The Authorization' took all that and claimed 'power' and 'dominate' everyone, by telling everyone, I am doing this (running The System) to protect you, your livelihood, your home and your benefits from foreign attack, invasion, or damage. "There are bad people out there waiting to hurt you and your livelihood. We are here to keep them away to protect you and your livelihood." That's what they want everyone to think and believe. This is not any different from GANGSTERISM.

Most people who are mentally healthy don't want to 'hurt', or 'invade', or 'attack', or 'rob', or 'conquer' anyone or anything that doesn't belong to anyone, intentionally, where all and everyone are free to be sharing the resources that are available anywhere on earth. Most living beings just keep moving to find resources to survive. And all kinds of resources don't belong to anyone. But somehow, somewhere, somebody/a community started to claim ownership or possession towards certain resources that they found, and want to keep it all for themselves and stop any others coming to 'share' some of it. And out of survival instinct, most people would think and believe that that is the best way running the world in order to be able to survive, at least enough for themselves.

Ridiculous, but most people don't see that as ridiculousness, but for them, it is something great.

Even a rather good country with good (kind and compassionate) leadership running 'The System', discrimination is still existing, as the resources are limited and they need to 'keep it for themselves and their own people', even if they would like to share some of their resources with some others, they cannot take everyone onto 'their boat'. They have to filter and discriminate who and how many they want to bring onto 'their boat' to share their limited resources.

For those who are interested in searching for unconditional peace and true freedom, who are interested in practicing yoga of renunciation and dispassion, can contemplate on the teaching and practice of transcending names and forms. Inquire the truth of everything.

Those who aren't interested in renunciation and dispassion to realize unconditional peace and freedom that seems to be not the kind of freedom that they want, they don't have to do anything, but continue living their everyday life as they like, as they are. Living in The System, supporting The System. If they don't like anything about The System, they complain and protest, and they might get some 'nice treats' from The Authority from time to time, so that they will think that The Authority is not so bad anyway, thinking that they would rather be 'protected' by The System than attaining independence and dealing with the world being shared among all and everyone peacefully without discrimination.

Most people talk highly about independence, but they don't really like to be independent. It's too tough for them. They only like independence from being controlled by 'the others who are not them', that they perceived and categorized as 'predator/enemy/invader/those who are not us', but they want to be controlled by their very own Authority, no matter how bad and corrupted it is, and feel 'as long as I have the privilege of certain rights' and 'I am being protected somehow'.

"One of our own go out there to invade some other's land and take over their resources, is being praised and recognized as 'our hero', while the others come to invade our land and take over our resources is being condemned and recognized as 'intruder/robber/enemy/bad people'." How contradicting that is.

The world has its own natural system and running on that system of the law of nature autonomously. But, human minds have fear towards "without leadership, authority and human made system to keep things in order and to control human's conduct and activity, to protect 'our' resources, livelihood, goodness and homeland." Many 'good' people also concern about the nature or the earth would be damaged by certain 'bad' people, and think that they need an Authority and The System to protect the nature or the earth. But, ever since there's authorization and human made system existing in the world, did it stop anyone who are mentally-ill, greedy and selfish, and have intention to be doing something that 'good' people think they shouldn't do, from behaving selfishly and destructively? Nope. Did it effectively get rid of all kinds of ignorant selfish social interaction and activity? Nope. But, it becomes a platform that gives rise to many forms of corruption, prejudice, unjust, oppression, separateness, discrimination, violence, hatred, crimes, wars, 'legal' invasions, fear, unrest, and etc.

Even in the world of Yoga and Buddhism is not free from being influenced by worldly egoistic ideas and system.

In Swami Sivananda's teachings, "The world would probably run smoother if all the leaders are being taken out of the world."

Renounce the world. None can change the world by controlling/expecting the world to be in certain way that 'I' think how it should be, unless all and everyone is free from ignorance and egoism, and the world is fine as it is, without the need of 'control'.