Page 157 - Mystic Pathways through the Bible
P. 157
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chapter Six 151
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith- fulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law. (RSVCE Galatians 5: 22-23)
Christ, being a Yogi Himself, recognized the importance of spiritual austerity and instructed His disciples to uphold righteous conduct at all costs. In Yogic terminology righteousness is known as dharma, and the highest dharma emanates from the Supreme Self or God. Unrighteousness or adharma stems from the egocentric mind, which continues to create impressions on the basis of sel shness, greed, attachment, fear, anxiety, sorrow, and fleeting pleasures of the world. Raja Yoga further outlines dharma in the form of the yamas and niyamas, such as nonviolence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-covetousness, contentment, study of scriptures, and surrender to God. The Old Testament of the Bible emphasizes similar virtues in the Ten Commandments.
A life devoted to dharma is the very spirit of Yogic culture, and a life devoid of dharma becomes meaningless. In Yogic movement, dharma becomes the basis of all other pursuits. This is expounded further in the study of basic human ambitions. According to Yoga, every human personality has four major life goals known as the purusharthas— the four objectives of self-effort:
