What does it mean to be a successful yogi? It means that one has realized he or she is in contact with the divine, the supreme consciousness. Furthermore it means that one identifies with transcendence, one identifies, in quality, with God.
Now to say you are God may be presumptuous. Therefore, I say God is you. You are not God, but God is you. The yogi realizes that all is brahman, all is spirit, and that we are made up of brahman. The Sanskrit term is aham brahmasmi, or I am brahman, pure spirit. I am in quality made up of the same stuff as God, though I am not all of the stuff of spirit in quantity, only a small minute part of it.
The result or perfection of yoga practice is to identify with spirit, not with matter. We may have the body temporarily, but when we leave it behind, we continue as eternal spirit. This is the teaching of the ancient Sanskrit texts on yoga and all things transcendent.
Consciousness is not limited to the body, it outlives the body. As spirit, we outlive the body and so to identify with it would be like a person identifying with their clothing. It is foolishness.
Until we realize our self to be eternal spirit, we will continue to be under the illusion of the temporary body. We will be under its passions and will feel our end approaching by the day. This is all part of the illusion of this world.
The world naturally exists and we are caged in it for a while, but it is temporary, and to identify with it as our real self is the illusion. However, once one has the realization that we live for ever, although in a different form to this body, then one loses fear.
All fear stems from fear of death and suffering in pain. But if we are not this body, then we lose that fear. This brings ultimate peace and from peace comes the highest happiness. All this is the goal of yoga practice, and one who engages in yoga can approach this stage of realization.
So a lot about life and our experience of it depends on our perspective and how we interpret this condition in which we find ourselves. Quality of life depends on quality of mind or state of consciousness, not externals alone.
For example, a rich person may be driven to depression and even suicide by the loss of their wealth. Especially if they were born with wealth and are conditioned by it. History tells of men who lost their wealth in the stock market crash and ended up jumping from buildings to their death due to the loss of wealth and perhaps the debt they had.
However, a beggar may be in bliss because he or she is only a beggar externally. In fact most of the truly evolved yogis choose a life of poverty simply because they have a higher taste or a greater treasure in consciousness. They have no need for money to feel true bliss and wholeness. They are in touch with the reservoir of pleasure and this contact is eternal.
We certainly can't take our wealth with us when we die, but the yogi knows that we never die, we simply leave this body and continue, taking with us our realizations and state of consciousness. This knowledge is truly empowering and enriching.
As the yogi glimpses this state of consciousness by identifying as eternal spirit, by making contact with the supreme consciousness, they lose their desire or passion for the pleasures of this world, and they taste the bliss of brahman, or brahmananda.
They laugh at the foolish person who is depressed due to loss of money or externals. Such sad people are simply out of touch with reality, with the potential for real bliss. They do it to themselves, they make themselves suffer due to misaligned perception of reality and due to wrong self-identification.
Give up this illusory perception of yourself and your circumstances and wake up to your true potential. You have nothing to fear because you are free if you wish to be. It's part of your identity, so remember who you are. Every one of us is a star.
Bhagavad Gita ch 6:27-28
प्रशान्तमनसं ह्येनं योगिनं सुखमुत्तमम् । उपैति शान्तरजसं ब्रह्मभूतमकल्मषम् ॥ २७ ॥ युञ्जन्नेवं सदात्मानं योगी विगतकल्मष: । सुखेन ब्रह्मसंस्पर्शमत्यन्तं सुखमश्नुते ॥ २८ ॥
praśānta-manasaṁ hy enaṁ yoginaṁ sukham uttamam upaiti śānta-rajasaṁ brahma-bhūtam akalmaṣam yuñjann evaṁ sadātmānaṁ yogī vigata-kalmaṣaḥ sukhena brahma-saṁsparśam atyantaṁ sukham aśnute
SYNONYMS praśānta—mind fixed on the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa; manasam—of one whose mind is so fixed; hi—certainly; enam—this; yoginam—the yogī; sukham—happiness; uttamam—the highest; upaiti—attains; śānta-rajasam—pacified passion; brahma-bhūtam—liberated by identification with the Absolute; akalmaṣam—freed from all past sinful reaction. yuñjan—thus being engaged in yoga practice; evam—thus; sadā—always; ātmānam—self; yogī—one who is in touch with the Supreme Self; vigata—is freed from; kalmaṣaḥ—all material contamination; sukhena—in transcendental happiness; brahma-saṁsparśam—being in constant touch with the Supreme; atyantam—highest; sukham—happiness; aśnute—attains.
TRANSLATION The yogī whose mind is fixed on Me verily attains the highest happiness. By virtue of his identity with Brahman, he is liberated; his mind is peaceful, his passions are quieted, and he is freed from sin. Steady in the Self, being freed from all material contamination, the yogī achieves the highest perfectional stage of happiness in touch with the Supreme Consciousness.
PURPORT
Brahma-bhūta is the state of being free from material contamination and situated in the transcendental service of the Lord. Mad-bhaktim labhate parām (Bg. 18.54). One cannot remain in the quality of Brahman, the Absolute, until one's mind is fixed on the lotus feet of the Lord. Sa vai manaḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ. To be always engaged in the transcendental loving service of the Lord, or to remain in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, is to be factually liberated from the mode of passion and all material contamination. Self-realization means knowing one's constitutional position in relationship to the Supreme. The individual soul is part and parcel of the Supreme, and his position is to render transcendental service to the Lord. This transcendental contact with the Supreme is called brahma-saṁsparśa.
Reference: Bhagavad Gita As It Is, translation and commentary by Swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta, original Macmillan 1972 edition.
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