Yog is the joining of the Soul,
wandering amidst nature,
with God
who is beyond nature.
That which is equally free from worldly attraction and repulsion is named yog.
Yog is experiencing the final beatitude.
Attainment of the ultimate essence, that is God, is yog.
Engaging in this yog without a sense of monotony or boredom (ennui) and with resolution, is a sacred obligation.
He who is patiently engaged in selfless action is the one who succeeds in achieving yog.
Usually, the meeting of two objects is yog.
But is it yog if a pen meets paper or a dish meets a table?
Of course not, because both are made of the same five elements: they are one, not two.
Nature and the Self are two entities, distinct from each other.
There is yog when the nature-based Soul meets the identical God,
and
when nature is dissolved in the Soul.
This is the true yog.
So there are many who resort to a strict practice of restraint because it is conducive to this union.
The practicers of the yog of sacrifice (yagya) and they who are given to severe austerities keep in view
their own Self and perform the yagya of knowledge.
Here, nonviolent but severe austerities
such as
restraint,
religious observance,
the appropriate posture of sitting,
serenity of breath,
withholding of the mind along with the physical organs,
retention,
meditation and perfect absorption of thought in the Supreme Spirit,
are
indicated as the eight fold features of yog.
