Yoga is to separate too!
初識瑜伽時，會一直聽到瑜伽就是「結合(to unite)」，自己也不會思考太多，因為聽起來就很順耳，一起人云亦云。
直至跟上師Prasad學習瑜伽經，才了解瑜伽也是「分離(Separation)」，意指一種能夠分辨的明智慧。特別是帕坦加利的瑜伽經，非常強調這一點的。
雖然仍沒能力在此詳細解釋其理論哲學的根據，但我依然想要嘗試簡述原因，並介紹瑜伽把人的構造分為五身層學說(Pancha Kosha)，是一種由外而內、從粗糙到精細的解剖分析：
1. 肉身層或食物身：最外層為需要食物滋養的生理結構
2. 氣身層：維持肉身運行的流動能量
3. 意身層：心智、感覺、情緒等
4. 識身層或智身：更高層精微的心智與智識，例如信念或價值觀屬於此層
5. 樂身層：最接近真我（本我）的一層。
所以，若你想像一顆洋蔥，肉身層就是最外面的皮，樂身層在最核心。但是，這不是說身心的實際解剖就是這樣一層層的，我們必須從概念上去理解。
假設你理解了這些都是非「本我」，就可以再繼續討論。接下來，若我們把外面五層都誤以為那是永恆的本我，那會發生什麼事呢？
在此我舉一個印度瑜伽大師斯瓦米韋達曾說過的例子。他說：「身體披在本我外面，就像是一件衣服。你穿了一件襯衫，不會說我是襯衫；你把披肩裹在身上，不會說我是披肩。可是，我們卻認為我的『本我』就是掛在自己外面的那個軀體。一旦你明白衣服是衣服、穿衣服的人是穿衣服的人，那就是開悟，那就是瑜珈的目標。你們要好好琢磨這個道理，大家一起共同討論。永遠要記得『瑜伽經』中這個道理。」
因此，若把披在「本我」外面的那一層層外衣誤以為是「本我」，就會產生執著、困惑、無明，苦痛於人生的無常。
寫到這裡，根據瑜伽經，瑜伽為什麼也是分離，便開始清楚。那分離，無非就是要把「本我」和那層層外衣分開，分辨清楚，徹底領悟什麼是「本我」？進而放下非「本我」的一切事物 。
在這個變動的人世間，唯有明辨分別，才能活得自在，心無罣礙。
但在達到自在、無罣礙前，這的確是要下功夫的。對我而言，瑜珈是分離，則是一個清楚不變的修「心」方向 。
*斯瓦米韋達大師的話來自石宏先生的翻譯書籍「瑜伽經白話講解：三摩地篇」。我很喜歡石宏先生的翻譯，精煉清晰優美，也推薦給想要閱讀瑜珈經中文版本的朋友
Very often people said Yoga means union but actually Yoga is to separate too, which means to distinguish sat (real/manifest) from asat(not real/unmanifest). My Guru Prasad emphasized this point over and over again when he taught Yoga Sutras of Patanjali to us.
Before I attempt to explain the reason briefly, I would like to quickly sum up Pancha Kosha. According to Yoga, human bodies have five layers from gross to subtle as Pancha Kosha which consist of:
1. Annamaya kosha (physical body).
2. Pranamaya kosha (pranic body)
3. Manomaya kosha (the body of the mind) including feelings and emotions.
4. Vijnanamaya kosha (the body of the intellect) including belief system
5. Anandamaya kosha (the layer closest to body of bliss, Atma/True Self/Sat).
You can imagine it’s like an onion with outermost layer of Annamaya kosha to the core of Anadamaya kosha.
Swami Veda Bharati once talked about why Yoga is to separate too. He said it’s like a person who wears shirt. We never confuse the shirt he/she wears as this real person. Shirt is the clothing we wear outside and we are not the shirts. Likewise we need to distinguish clearly the layer of True Self from other four outer layers which are not permanent and changing all the time. He reminded us that this understanding is very important when we study Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Therefore the outer five layers are like the clothing we wear and Yoga provides the solution so that we can remember that there is a True Self underneath the clothing.
Yoga is to separate too and it is intelligence of discerning between Sat and Asat.