yogis, different types of

The mystic who worships the Supersoul within himself is also called Atmarama. Such Atmarama yogis are of two kinds: the one is called Sagarbha, the other is called Nigarbha. In Srimad Bhagwatam it is stated, in the Second Canto, Second Chapter [8]: "Some of the yogis meditate within the heart on the localized situation of Vishnu, Who is four-handed with four symbols: the conch shell, the wheel, the club and the lotus." The yogi who thinks of the four-handed Vishnu becomes developed in devotional ecstasy, and attains the different symptoms of that position. Sometimes he cries, sometimes he feels separation. In this way he becomes merged in transcendental bliss. So, as a result of such transcendental bliss, he is practically entrapped like a fish.    (More...)

Such Sagarbha and Nigarbha yogis can be divided into three: the beginner, the person who is already on the ascendent, and he who has already achieved a perfection. In the Bhagavad Gita they have been described in the Sixth Chapter as follows: Persons who are trying to ascend on the path of the mystic Yoga system are called Aruruksha. In Aruruksha Yoga there are different kinds of sitting postures and there is concentration of the mind. For one who is already ascended on the path of Yoga, meditation and detachment are the causes. And when one has no attachment for working in the matter of sense gratification, then gradually he becomes free, and becomes situated in ecstasy and is called Yoga Rudha. Such mystic yogis, if they in some way or other come in contact with a saintly person, also are converted to become devotees of Krishna.    (More...)

Concerning the two classes of yogis, Sagarbha and Nigarbha, the Srimad Bhagwatam, in the Tenth Canto, Eighty-seventh Chapter [10.87.18], describes them as follows: "The yogis begin their practice by worshipping the abdomen, and try to concentrate their attention on their intestines. Then gradually they rise to the heart, and concentrate the mind on the heart. Then gradually they rise to the top of the head. One who can rise to that portion is understood to have become perfect, and is no longer subjected to birth and death." Even such yogis, if they come in contact with pure devotees, will also render causeless devotional service to the Lord.    (More...)

In the Second Chapter, verse 39, the Lord explained two kinds of procedures-namely saṅkhya-yoga and karma-yoga, or buddhi-yoga. In this verse, the Lord explains the same more clearly. Saṅkhya-yoga, or the analytical study of the nature of spirit and matter, is the subject matter for persons who are inclined to speculate and understand things by experimental knowledge and philosophy. The other class of men work in Krsna consciousness, as it is explained in the 61st verse of the Second Chapter. The Lord has explained, also in the 39th verse, that by working by the principles of buddhi-yoga, or Krsna consciousness, one can be relieved from the bonds of action; and, furthermore, there is no flaw in the process. The same principle is more clearly explained in the 61st verse-that this buddhi-yoga is to depend entirely on the Supreme (or more specifically, on Krsna), and in this way all the senses can be brought under control very easily. Therefore, both the yogas are interdependant, as religion and philosophy. Religion without philosophy is sentiment, or sometimes fanaticism, while philosophy without religion is mental speculation. The ultimate goal is Krsna, because the philosophers who are also sincerely searching after the Absolute Truth come in the end to Krsna consciousness. This is also stated in the Bhagavad-gita. The whole process is to understand the real position of the self in relation to the Superself. The indirect process is philosophical speculation, by which, gradually, one may come to the point of Krsna consciousness; and the other process is directly connecting with everything in Krsna consciousness. Of these two, the path of Krsna consciousness is better because it does not depend on purifying the senses by a philosophical process. Krsna consciousness is itself the purifying process, and by the direct method of devotional service it is simultaneously easy and sublime.    (More...)