Metodo

International Studies in Phenomenology and Philosophy

Book | Chapter

192912

Kaivalya

the goal of yoga

K. Ramakrishna Rao

pp. 83-112

Abstract

Kaivalya is the goal of yoga. Psychic powers and other phenomena may manifest following the practice of samyama, the triple effort of dhārana, dhyāna, and samādhi. However, the ultimate goal of yoga is to achieve a state of kaivalya, liberating the self from the engagement with sensory appetites and mundane pleasures to a state of spiritual bliss. The chapter includes a discussion of yoga epistemology and ontology, how one may reach kaivalya and achieve liberation from sensory bondage. The nature of kleśas that impede spiritual progress, karma, the principle of causation, and samskāras, the hidden persuaders and instigators of human action, yoga views on perception and cognition are also subjects of discussion in this chapter. Further, the existential link between consciousness and the mind and the matter of multiplicity of puruṣas are discussed. The chapter concludes with the description of kaivalya as a state of perfection in disembodied as well as the embodied state of the self.

Publication details

Published in:

Rao K. Ramakrishna (2017) Foundations of Yoga psychology. Dordrecht, Springer.

Pages: 83-112

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-10-5409-9_4

Full citation:

Rao K. Ramakrishna (2017) Kaivalya: the goal of yoga, In: Foundations of Yoga psychology, Dordrecht, Springer, 83–112.