True Yoga: The Union of the Soul with the Supreme
The yoga of the body is necessary for life — but the yoga of the soul is the supreme yoga. In the light of the Sanatan scriptures and the Behad Gyan of Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel.
Heartfelt blessings on International Yoga Day
At a glance · Key takeaways
- Yoga = yuj = union — its true meaning is the union of the soul with the Supreme, not posture alone.
- The 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga — from yama to samadhi; beginning in conduct, culminating in Self-realization.
- Still breath, still mind — pranayama purifies the subtle body and the nadis (Hatha Yoga Pradipika 2.2).
- The Mahavakyas — Tat tvam asi · Aham Brahmasmi: the soul and the Supreme are, in essence, one.
- Bapuji's essence — the yoga of the body is the first step, the yoga of the soul is the supreme goal; "experience first, then faith."
Paramshanti, Ahmedabad. Once each year, the whole world remembers yoga in a single voice. The 21st of June — the longest day of the year, when the Sun stands at the very height of its light — is observed as International Yoga Day. Yet in the Sanatan tradition, yoga is far more than posture or exercise. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit root yuj, meaning to join, to unite, to make one. The only real question is this: the union of what, with what? That is the journey of this article — from the gross to the subtle, and from the subtle to the Supreme.
Our rishis saw yoga as a complete science — a path that heals the body, calms the mind, steadies the intellect, purifies our sanskaras (the deep impressions of the mind), and finally unites the soul with its own original nature and with the Supreme. Let us walk this entire path, step by step.
The Effect of Yoga on Mind, Intellect, Body and Sanskaar
Maharshi Patanjali gave the most precise definition of yoga in his Yoga Sutras. For him, the very purpose of yoga is to still the restless modifications of the chitta (the mind-field).
"Yoga is the stilling of the modifications of the mind." That is, when the constant turbulence of the mind subsides, the seeker becomes established in his own true nature.
To reach this goal, Patanjali laid out the path of Ashtanga Yoga — the eight limbs of yoga. It is like a stairway in which each step purifies a different dimension of the human being — conduct, body, breath, mind, and ultimately the soul.
| Limb | Essence | Acts upon |
|---|---|---|
| Yama | Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha — restraint toward society and the self | Purification of sanskaras & conduct |
| Niyama | Shaucha, Santosha, Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvara-pranidhana — inner discipline | The inner being & sanskaras |
| Asana | A steady, comfortable seat; making the body fit for sadhana | The gross body |
| Pranayama | Regulation of the breath and the prana-energy | Prana & the subtle body |
| Pratyahara | Turning the senses inward, away from outer objects | The mind & senses |
| Dharana | Concentrating the mind upon a single point | Focus & intellect |
| Dhyana | An unbroken, continuous flow of attention on that point | The mind & consciousness |
| Samadhi | The knower and the known becoming one — supreme union | The soul's supreme nature |
Notice that this journey begins with conduct (yama–niyama), not with posture. The hint is profound: until the sanskaras are purified, the mind can never be still. Tapas (disciplined effort) and svadhyaya (self-study) weaken old negative impressions and strengthen sattvic ones. In this way yoga transforms not merely the body, but our very nature.
Steadiness of Intellect, Balance of Mind
The Bhagavad Gita defines yoga even more simply — yoga as equanimity, as balance.
"To remain even-minded in success and in failure alike — that is called yoga." This is the very steadiness of intellect that yoga gives birth to.
The Gita continues — "Yogaḥ karmasu kauśalam" (Gita 2.50): yoga is skill in action. One who is united in yoga is freed from stress, anger and attachment, and carries out every duty with skill. Thus the effect of yoga becomes visible on four levels — the body grows healthy and free of disease, the mind grows calm and one-pointed, the intellect grows clear and discerning, and the sanskaras grow sattvic and divine.
Pranayama and the Science of the Subtle Body
The Sanatan scriptures never confine the human being to this gross body alone. According to Vedanta, there are three bodies within us — the sthula sharir (the gross body the eyes can see), the sukshma sharir (the subtle body — the fine sheath of mind, intellect and prana), and the karan sharir (the causal or "seed" body, in which all our sanskaras and karmas are stored).
The Taittiriya Upanishad explains this still more subtly as the Pancha Kosha — five sheaths that cover the soul, one within another:
- 1Annamaya Kosha — the gross body, made of food.
- 2Pranamaya Kosha — the sheath of vital energy that keeps the body alive.
- 3Manomaya Kosha — the level of thoughts and emotions.
- 4Vijnanamaya Kosha — the level of intellect and discernment.
- 5Anandamaya Kosha — the subtlest sheath of bliss, nearest to the soul.
Here the deep secret of pranayama is revealed. Breath is not merely air moving in and out — with the breath flows prana, the subtle life-energy that courses through the thousands of nadis (subtle channels) of the subtle body. Three of these are principal — Ida, Pingala and Sushumna. Pranayama purifies these channels (nadi-shuddhi), so that prana flows unobstructed and consciousness begins to rise upward.
The most beautiful sutra of yoga is found in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, revealing the unbreakable bond between breath and mind:
"When the breath (prana) is restless, the mind too becomes restless; and when the breath grows still, the mind too becomes still." This is precisely why the mind can be mastered through pranayama.
This is the science of the subtle body — through pranayama the flow of prana is balanced, the impurities of the subtle body are washed away, the seeker's aura grows clear and radiant, and his inner vibration rises higher. In the Behad Gyan of Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel too, these very subtle processes — aura-cleansing, cell-purification, and the purification of the causal body — are described in depth, where, as the soul's power grows, the aura turns luminous and white.
The Soul's Yoga with the Supreme
Now we arrive at the very heart of this article. If yoga means union, then the ultimate goal of yoga is no posture and no breathing technique — it is the union of the soul with the Supreme. The eighth and final step of Ashtanga Yoga, samadhi, is this very state of union, in which the distinction between the seeker and the Supreme Reality dissolves.
The Mahavakyas — the "great utterances" of the Upanishads — proclaim this very truth: that the soul and the Supreme are, in essence, one.
"That (Supreme Reality) thou art." · "I am Brahman." · "This very Self is Brahman." — The oneness of the soul with its supreme source is the very summit of knowledge.
The Katha Upanishad explains this path through an immortal metaphor, in which human life is described as a chariot:
बुद्धिं तु सारथिं विद्धि मनः प्रग्रहमेव च ॥
buddhiṁ tu sārathiṁ viddhi manaḥ pragrahameva ca
"Know the soul as the lord of the chariot, the body as the chariot, the intellect as the charioteer, and the mind as the reins." The senses are the horses, and the sense-objects the roads on which they run. Yoga is the art by which the intellect-charioteer takes hold of the mind-reins and steers the chariot toward its true destination — the supreme abode of the soul.
A question arises — when the soul unites with the Supreme, what then? The scriptures answer in a single voice. The seeker attains Param Shanti (supreme peace) — a peace that no outer circumstance can shake. He attains unbroken bliss, deep fearlessness, and the greatest gift of all — liberation from the bondage of karma and of birth-and-death. The soul is re-established in its original nature — pure, conscious, luminous. The sixth chapter of the Bhagavad Gita describes this very meditator, who, established in the Supreme, attains supreme peace and equanimity.
Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel's Supreme Message: The Real Yoga
In his Behad Gyan (infinite knowledge), Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel reveals this same supreme truth in the language of our own age, with extraordinary clarity. He does not reject the yoga of the body — he teaches that a healthy body is the foundation of sadhana, and that physical yoga is necessary for life. Yet he also gives a profound warning: if we stop only at asana and pranayama, we remain standing upon the first step of yoga, deprived of its true destination.
True yoga is the union of the soul with the Supreme.
— Bapuji Dashrathbhai PatelBapuji explains that we are not this perishable body, but immortal souls (amrit-roopi atma) — conscious, eternal and luminous. Our true identity is not the body but the soul. This is why the real yoga is not the exercise of the body, but the reunion of the soul with its supreme source — the Supreme itself. This is the yoga that purifies the karmas of many lifetimes and cleanses even the causal body.
According to Bapuji, a human being's uncontrolled mind is his own greatest enemy — and the Gita says exactly the same: "Ātmaiva hyātmano bandhur ātmaiva ripur ātmanaḥ" (Gita 6.6) — a person is his own friend, and his own enemy. When the soul unites with the Supreme, that same mind grows calm and becomes our greatest friend. Bapuji teaches that in true meditation the soul purifies itself — it needs no external crutch, for it has established a direct connection with the Supreme. This grants it extraordinary power and independence.
He offers another priceless teaching — "As is your company, so becomes your colour." One who connects with the Ocean of Light, the Supreme Reality, gradually grows Supreme-like. And so he gives a practice at once simple and profound — "Think Param Shanti, speak Param Shanti, and you shall receive Param Shanti." This Param Shanti is no outer achievement — it is the soul's original state, the highest vibration in all of creation.
The most distinctive feature of Bapuji's Behad Gyan is that it asks for no blind faith. His principle is — experience first, then faith. When the seeker himself experiences, in meditation, the union of soul and Supreme, his faith stands upon the solid ground of experience. And then his foundational declaration is fulfilled — "Knowledge is Light." Such a seeker can move, in this very life, toward jeevanmukti — liberation while still living.
From the First Step to the Supreme Goal
On this International Yoga Day, let us all embrace yoga without fail — strengthening the body through asana, balancing prana through pranayama, calming the mind through meditation. All of this is necessary; all of this is a blessing. But let us not stop there. The yoga of the body is the first step — the yoga of the soul is the supreme goal. One day the body will fall away, yet this connection of the soul with the Supreme is eternal. This is the call of the Sanatan scriptures, and this is the central message of the Behad Gyan of Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel.
Common Questions about Yoga
What is true yoga?
What does the word 'yoga' mean?
What are the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga?
How does pranayama calm the mind?
According to Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel, what is the real yoga?
When and why is International Yoga Day observed?
Best Books on the Mind & Yoga
Rooted in the Behad Gyan of Bapuji Dashrathbhai Patel — these books, which carry the seeker into the depths of the mind, meditation, prana and the soul, are available completely free.
the yoga of the soul is the real yoga.
