Ishvarapranidhana

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Īśvara-Praṇidhāna (ईश्वर-प्रणिधान) represents surrender to, and love for, the divinity within the individual in Hinduism and Yoga.

Etymology and meaning

In its simplest form, the word is a combination of the words (sometimes hyphenated), Īśvara, meaning Lord, Controller, God, Supreme Being or Life Force, and pra-ṇi-dhā-na, meaning "attention to, love for, surrender to, faith in," or "reunion with." "Attentiveness" and "Surrender" are both close English approximations.[1] A close literal English translation of "Īśvara-praṇidhāna" would give "Attentiveness to God" or "Surrender to God." As one of the final or "supreme" stages of many forms of Yoga, the "surrender" aspect of Ishvara-Pranidhana is often used to describe the step, whereas "attentiveness" describes the practice. Both are used interchangeably. Note the similarity to the literal meaning of Islam—submission or surrender to God. A close Christian term would be the Love of God.

Ishvarapranidhana is surrender of the mind to Brahmam as well as dedication of all actions to the God. When the life of a person becomes dedicated to the Brahman, that is the last stage of Bhakti. All actions of that person are for sake of the Brahman. Many great people dedicated their entire life for betterment of human beings. For example Saint Kabir, Saint Tukaram, political Saint Ramdas Swami, Shivaji Maharaj and many more. We usually go to the temple or church or mosque or any other place of worship to ask or demand something. Here our mind is still roaming in material objects of our lives. But, when we forget everything and only the Brahman remains in the eyes of our mind that is Ishvarapranidhana. When our every action is for betterment of the humans in whom the Brahman is residing, that stage of the mind is called as Ishvarapranidhana.

Duties and practices

In many forms of Yoga, Ishvara-Pranidhana is considered the "final" step, stage, practice, observance or niyama.[2] In Raja Yoga, Pantanjali considers it the 5th or final niyama. In other forms of yoga, it is the tenth niyama.[3] Compare the meditation and mindfulness exercises of Ishvara-Pranidhana with Zen. "Connecting to the Divine Within," or attentiveness and surrender to the Divine within in Ishvara-Pranidhana, parallels the concept of connecting to the inner Buddha-Nature in Zen. In Hinduism, the Niyamas are the "do list" and the Yamas are the "don't do" list, and relate to the practice of virtue in daily life. Bhakti refers to connection with the Divine, or worship. Since many forms of Hinduism are polytheistic, the monotheistic mystic and meditative practices of the love of God focus on Divine qualities (or virtues), which is similar to the Ishvara-Pranidhana practice of surrendering to the Divine qualities within,[4] in each daily activity, and not restricted to specific meditative practice or occasions. The Christian mystic might visualize the qualities of God as All Knowing, All Loving, etc., whereas the Ishvara-Pranidhana practitioner might visualize the qualities or image of a specific god or goddess, representing attributes, powers, names, virtues or qualities of the Supreme Being, or the Divine nature within. If Yoga is the practice of unity or oneness, the question arises: "oneness with what?" Some Ishvara-Pranidhana advocates contrast the practice to the "me" focus of Western culture.[5][6][7]

History

Ishvarpranidhan was used by Patanjali in his great doctrine of Yoga Sutra (first verse of the 'Sādhana Pāda' chapter). It has been considered as the last stage of Bhakti where the mind is completely dedicated to the Brahman.

Community

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ http://www.blavatskyarchives.com/wikehinduism.htm
  2. ↑ http://blog.timesunion.com/holistichealth/category/ishvara-pranidhana/
  3. ↑ http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/776
  4. ↑ http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/sutras/ishvara_pranidhana.asp
  5. ↑ http://www.jivamuktiyoga.com/focus/focus_print.jsp?viewFocusID=99
  6. ↑ http://www.articlesbase.com/yoga-articles/yoga-in-practice-ishvara-pranidhana-494226.html
  7. ↑ http://yogiinthecity.blogspot.com/2009/02/sweat-your-prayers-ishvara-pranidhana.html
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