“I am not even sure if one can attain enlightenement following hatha yoga”
It is possible, although very rare. Because the whole emphasis of Hatha Yoga is centered around the body, it has no methods to come to a direct perception of the essential nature of mind. But because Hatha Yoga is concerned with awakening of the Kundalini, it is possible to spontaneously come to one’s awakening through the Kundalini entering into the Sahasrara, but it is a very rare phenomenon. Limited to asana’s, and pranayama, at the most it can only prepare a certain inner atmosphere which can then be useful for the work of meditation.
“The whole bhakti movement starting from 14th century to early 18th century stressed that ego can be dissolved only through love and devotion to God”
That is what the bhakhti’s claim, but it has been as rare that a man comes to his awakening through bhakhti yoga, as it has been the case with Hatha Yoga. In fact, most of the approaches of bhakhti help to solidify one’s sense of ego, through projecting “God” as an object of devotion. And that “God” is certain to be simply an aspect of one’s own mind, it is a figment of one’s imagination. The mind is such, that whatever one is identified with, that is precisely what is projected onto the scene. That is why a Christian, in his “mystical” experience, may experience a vision of Christ, the Hindu may see Krishna, the Buddhist may see Buddha. But the Buddhist is never going to see either Krishna or Christ, he has no space within him which is capable of manufacturing a Krishna or a Christ.
If authentic bhakhti is awakened in a disciple, the transformation is swift, but the problem is that it is very rare. Because surrender is not something that can be initiated as an effort of the mind, it has to arise as a force of it’s own. That requires one to dissolve one’s entanglement even in the very idea of “God”.
Once there was a yogi, Ramakrishna, who was immensely devoted to the Goddess Kali. If he would even see a mere glimpse of her in his mind, he would immediately fall into a great ecstasy. He himself was a Brahmin priest in a temple devoted to Kali. His devotion was tremendous, but the problem is that he could never go beyond the vision of Kali in his meditation. So he went to see his master, Totapuri ,and told him about the situation.
Totapuri said, “Next time you see Kali, just take a sword and drive it through her”.
Ramakrishna said, “Where am I going to find a sword ?”
Totapuri said, “From the same space that you have created Kali. As you have created Kali in your imagination, just ressurect a sword and drive it through her chest”.
Later Ramakrishna entered into meditation, saw the vision of Kali, become entangled in great ecstasy and forgot all about the sword. He then went to see Totapuri once again.
Totapuri sat with a piece of glass in his hands and said, “This seems to be a delicate situation. Ok, right now you meditate. When you see the image of Kali, give me the signal and I will do the rest”. Ramakrishna entered into meditation, saw Kali, and the master gave him a sharp cut onto the forehead. For the first time, Ramakrisha by passed the image and came to realization of his Buddhahood.
