In the beginning of spiritual life we would be helpless without the counsel of scriptures and worthy teachers, but we gain true wisdom only through our own experience. A yogi should not be overconfident, but he must never lack positive confidence in himself. Therefore we must not pass our whole life believing something because someone else said it. We must use our intelligence and good judgment and know for ourself.
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It is important that we pass from believing to genuine knowing. The jnana which Shankara insists is essential for liberation is the result of each yogi’s experience. It cannot be borrowed from another.
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There is simply no place in spiritual life for ignorance on any level. The idea of the naive or childlike yogi is pure bunkum. Yogis are never cunning or calculating, but they are always intelligent and aware–that is what buddhi yoga is all about.
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The yogi’s treasure is prajna, illumined consciousness, most commonly known as buddhi, the principle of intelligence. True yogic experience affects and is stored in the buddhi.
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Yoga is always a matter of intelligence. The aspiring yogi should take care to refine and increase his intelligence, and therefore his skill and responsibility in living his life.
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The ancient Greeks said the single factor that made a human being truly human was the power of logos: word. And by that they meant the ability to think. He who truly thinks is a true human being, and capable of being a yogi. This does not imply that a yogi is necessarily an intellectual, but that all true yogis are intelligent. Therefore it is imperative that the aspiring yogi cultivate his intelligence as part of his sadhana.
Next in Living the Yoga Life: The Internal Life