Though the eternal truth is always present in the heart of creation, it is not always explicitly manifest as it is hidden by the many layers of ideas and thoughts pertaining to the world around. As every individual is very much a part of this cyclic mystery in creation, trying to understand this reality is shown to be the starting point for the practice of yoga, pointed out Srimati Sunanda in a discourse. The senses are the gateway through which constant traffic is established between the individual and the external world. As in a factory where raw material is processed with the help of machinery to obtain quality products, the individual has to evaluate the impact of the sense impressions that are not to be trusted in their unrefined form since they merely draw one to the world. With the help of the intellect one has to engage in reflection and contemplation to process and translate these into the awareness of truth just as food is digested and converted into energy.
The Gita reiterates that an aspirant has to seek the truth and recognise its validity through God’s grace and that of a guru. The coconut is a useful symbol in this context. It is obtained after removing the various layers of fibres covering it, the outermost green and then the brown ones until the hard shell with a tuft remains. Together, this represents the ego sense in each being and this can be removed with the help of the guru who breaks the hard exterior and eliminates the tuft to enable the aspirant to see the truth of life. Then the rigorous mental exercise to renounce desires for worldly objects through vairagya and viveka is to be practised.
So with a perfectly controlled mind and senses and with a clear perception of the object of meditation, one is qualified to sit in yoga and engage in meditation.
