How To Bear God (Ishvara-Pranidhan)

Ishvara-pranidhan (to bear God) is the fifth discipline of Niyama. In an earlier article, self-study has been described. Here let us see how to bear God in ourselves and also the result of it. Patanjali writes that by bearing God, one achieves Samadhi (total concentration). A Yogi without any blind prejudice should understand these teachings for bliss and freedom.

1. Who is God (Ishvara)? - In Sanskrit language, God is called Ishvara. Ishvara is one who has richness of everything (aishvarya). Man who is a super being has all divine qualities to be qualified as God. For this for hundreds of years people worship Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammad as Gods. Man has great abilities. He has power to destroy earth, to move from planet to planet and to invent all necessary things in life. While some notorious people destroy societies, some other benevolent people love and help millions of people. In times catastrophe, men help one another. So a noble man who helps and rescues millions of people from distress may be called God.
2. How to bear God (pranidhan). Pranidhan means to bear or to hold. So a Yogi who wishes to move on the path of Yoga for peace, bliss and freedom should bear all those qualities which people think to exist in God in himself. God always exists in all living beings. For this, Upanishads describe soul (atman) as Brahman, the ultimate reality. So what a Yogi should do is to accept and develop all divine and great qualities in himself. He should give up all prejudice, fear, narrowness and violence. He should observe and practice Yama and Niyama completely.
3. Samadhi (total concentration). When a Yogi learns and practices to bear divine qualities of God, he becomes able to enter into the state of Samadhi. It is the total concentration of mind on self and final stage on Yoga. It is such a sleeping state where mind is fully active unlike a typical sleep. And it is such a waking state where body and senses are at sleep. This state can't be described in words. It is the most peaceful, blissful and truthful state of a man.

So Patanjali gives due importance on bearing all divine qualities of God in oneself. He doesn't advice to pray to any external, imaginary or formless God thinking yourself as weak, poor or enslaved. If you wish to pray or worship, you should do it for God living within.