The Paths Of Yoga

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This is an over view of the paths of yoga, for any misunderstanding from a christian view.

This is a very good but long read!

By Dr. David Frawley
Link http://vedanet.com/


In the Vedic teaching it is not enough merely to learn something theoretically or conceptually. The intellect is not the instrument of real knowledge. Whatever we learn must be put into practice in our daily life, with body, speech, mind and full awareness. It is only when it becomes part of our nature, when through it we change our who we are and thereby return to our higher nature, that it can be said to be really known or accomplished.

This practical application of the Vedic teaching is called Yoga. As practice is more important than theory Yoga is more important than Veda, though neither need be separated from the other. The term Yoga itself means to "combine, coordinate, harmonize, integrate, utilize". It indicates the maximum coordination of energy towards transformation or liberation. All these meanings are present in the basic root of yoga, 'yuj'. This in turn is based on a more simple root "yu". "Yu" evolves from the vowel sound "i" meaning "will, direction, velocity, command, concentration".

"Yu" itself means both to unite or to separate, to unite with the real and separate from the unreal. To it is combined the consonant "j" additionally emphasizing energy, creativity and direction. Hence the meaning of Yoga arises as integration, discrimination and discipline. There are many synonyms for Yoga in Sanskrit and other languages. It is often called the way or the path or the work.

Yoga as work is not our ordinary work of seeking to gain things for ourselves or become something. It is not some form of attainment, achievement or acquisition. It is the spiritual work of dissolving our egoistic drives into the cosmic will. As such it is a path of inaction or action opposite the ordinary direction of outward expansion. It involves meditation, patience, perseverance, silence, solitude and peace.

The analogy of Yoga is like making an irrigation ditch from a river to irrigate a piece of land. The work does not create the water but only makes a channel for it to flow. Without contact with the inner waters of truth, Yoga therefore has no purpose. Hence in the ancient writings Yoga was also called "Yajna", meaning sacrifice, surrender, offering or consecration. The Yogic work is the sacrifice of the outer and the lower to afford a path for the inner and the higher to manifest. Yoga proceeds by a special grace or power. This is called the "Yoga Shakti" or power of Yoga. It is the Yoga Shakti that does the real work, not our personal will. This Yoga Shakti is the inner form of the Goddess, the secret energy and intelligence of Mother Nature in evolution.

It is the natural intelligence of the Yoga Shakti, which is the power of nature herself, that directs and plans the work of Yoga, not our own personal mentality. We can aid in her work. By our assent to the work we allow her force to act within us. But we cannot do the work ourselves. What is mortal, finite and limited cannot become immortal, infinite or unlimited.

But if we surrender our mortal nature to a higher aspiration we can create the space, the field and the matrix for the immortal powers to manifest themselves.

There are many different paths and styles of Yoga but all come under five different areas----

The Path of Knowledge,
The Path of Devotion,
The Path of Technique,
The Path of Service, and
The Integral Path combining all four.

While all spiritual and religious teachings have their practice, their Yoga, it is in the Eternal Teaching or Sanatana Dharma from the Himalayas that we find the greatest diversity and freedom of such approaches. It has no insistence that the individual must follow one path or another. Even within a particular path there is no insistence that the individual must follow one style or another. What is essential is that we follow a path, one which most appeals to our inner nature and true heart, and that we give our full attention and dedication to it, not as a matter of personal effort or striving, but as the expression of the fullness of our life and being and our need to transcend.

As usual in the systems of Vedic knowledge the attitude and concentration is what matters, not the form. The classical Yoga system of India is the Raja Yoga system outlined in the YOGA SUTRAS of Patanjali, which appear to date around the third century B.C. The term Yoga however is found already in the Gita and the Upanishads and is present in some very important Vedic hymns also, both in the Rig and Yajur Vedas. Most commonly the term Yajna, sacrifice, as already indicated is used in the Vedas instead of Yoga.

The most significant ancient form of yoga was Mantra Yoga, or the Yoga of the Divine Word. This Yoga is hidden in all the scriptures of the ancient world. Hence Yoga is as old as man and as old as human language. Language itself arose at first as an effort to communicate with God and his cosmic powers and presence as a means of reintegration of the human with the universal. Life itself is Yoga; that is, there is an ongoing will in life towards growth, evolution and transformation.

This will towards Yoga inherent in life is the Vedic Sun God of inspiration, Savitar, who is behind the manifestation of all the Gods. Life is also Yoga in the sense that it is an ongoing work producing a specific result. Whatever we do is a kind of Yoga, a concerted action to gain a particular end. While normally we unconsciously practice Yoga, making various efforts to develop our outer powers to gain the outer aims of life, in Yoga itself we learn to consciously direct our energies to gain the inner aim of liberation.

For this Yoga shows us how to align ourselves with the cosmic intelligence and use the cosmic energy. This provides a much greater power of action and transformation than the normal usage of our personal energies. The yogic path we follow should reflect what really attunes us to this greater Divine force.

Yoga of Knowledge : Jnana Yoga

Our most basic projection is our self-image, which is our "I am the body idea". Yet we can observe our body grow and decline. We can perceive it as an instrument or vehicle we use but as different from who we really are. If we are perceptive we can discern that our basic consciousness or state of seeing is ever pure, beyond all external changes. Though our body may age and our thoughts may change our seeing is eternal. As long as we are identified with the body, or through it with any external thing, we must suffer, because all external things are transient and we long for eternal and permanent happiness. Our very longing for this lasting happiness is proof of our nature in consciousness as blissful and pure.

This does not mean that the body is bad or sinful or to be denied. It is the best vehicle nature can provide. Yet it is only a vehicle. It is no more who we are than our car is. In no longer identifying with the body, we come to treat it properly and no longer abuse it for personal gratification.

 

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Teachings On The Yoga Of Knowledge

Many knowledge teachings exist. Most classically from India is the Vedantic path. This is embodied in the Upanishads (particularly the Kena) and the Bhagavad Gita. The Sankhya and Yoga teachings as in the Yoga Sutras are also primarily versions of the Yoga of knowledge. The Yoga of knowledge is most specifically related in the works of Advaita Vedanta like the ASHTAVAKRA SAMHITA or AVADHUT GITA. On a more scholarly level it is represented by the works of Shankara and his followers and the school of Advaita Vedanta.

Other great schools of knowledge are Kashmiri Shaivism, south India Shaiva Siddhanta, etc. The Yoga of knowledge is very prominent in the Buddhist tradition, wherein it is usually more emphasized than the other yogas. Such practices as Tibetan Mahamudra and Dzog Chen, Chinese Chan and Japanese Zen, and the southern Vipassana traditions are essentially versions of the Yoga of knowledge passed on from India through Buddhist sources. There are many modern teachers including Ramana Maharashi, Swami Vivekananda and Swami Rama Tirtha for Vedanta. J. Krishnamurti also gives a very pure and modern Yoga of knowledge approach free of all traditional and cultural forms.

The Yoga of Devotion : Bhakti Yoga

Love is the basis of all life. Without it we cannot live. God is often defined as love. Most of our lives are spent seeking love. But what is love, do we really know? Is our seeking based on truth or illusion? Will it bring us to true love or some form of disappointment or dissipation?

Love, like knowledge, can be distinguished as higher and lower. The lower form of love is sexual passion or any need to attach ourselves to external things. It is the need to be loved. The higher form of love is devotion, love of God, love of Truth, love of Life. It is the willingness to give love. In the lower form of love we seek love from the outside, from someone or some body. In the higher form of love we go to the source of love within and are willing to be a source of that love for all. We must seek love as love is our nature but it is up to us whether it is the higher or lower form we align ourselves with.

Devotion or Divine love is the second major path of Yoga. It consists of the worship of the Divine Beloved. This can be through various chosen deities (Ishta devatas) or incarnations of God (Avatars). Sometimes the teacher or guru may become the object of worship. This does not mean to worship their outer personality but to give reverence to the Divine teacher within them. A personal form of the Divine is often used as an aid in devotion. After all we naturally project our devotion on a form or personality, that being our human condition for many life-times.

But the form is a means to the formless, a symbol to aid in the concentration of the mind. As we move along the path of devotion we begin to find the Beloved, our form of the Divine, everywhere and in all things. We move from the outer form of the Divine, the person, to the inner form which is the Word, to the true nature which is Being itself. Eventually we must come to realize our Beloved as the Divine presence in our own hearts, our own inner or true Self.

Devotional practices consist of rituals (puja), singing (kirtan), chanting names of God (japa), and meditation on a form of the Divine (upasana). Women may worship the Divine in the male form like Shiva, Krishna or Rama. Men may worship the Divine in a female form as the different aspects of the Goddess (Devi). This reflects our natural impulse to find our opposite in love. Such deities become the muse or inner guide along the path. Yet we may also worship the Divine in a kindred form; the ascetic yogi worshipping Shiva or the female yogini worshipping the form of the Divine Mother she seeks to incarnate. Every variation is possible and each has its beauty and purpose in creation.

India has always taught freedom of worship. This is the real reason for the great variety of Gods and Goddesses in the teaching. It is not some primitive polytheism, though less developed souls may use it in this way, but a great creative openness which provides a form of the Divine approach for each individual.

The Sanatana Dharma or eternal religion, as already mentioned, holds that ultimately each individual must have his or her own religion. We should each create our own Gods and scriptures. Ultimately the entire universe is our creation. Each one of us is entitled to worship the Divine in whatever form our heart seeks. Let be a stone, a tree, a cloud or let be Christ or Krishna, male or female, the most noble ideal or great concept, that is not the issue. What is important is that we really give our hearts to the Divine. The form is an aid and a catalyst and in the end must be dissolved into the universal Godhead.

Bhakti Yoga is often related to Karma Yoga as it usually involves either service to the Divine or service to humanity. While devotion is the proper attitude of the soul towards the Divine, compassion is the proper attitude of the Divine and the awakened soul towards the rest of creation. True compassion is a Divine quality and can only come from an inner connection with the Divine. It is not to be confused with pity that looks down on others. It is a force of unity which respects the Divine power and intelligence in each and seeks to aid in its unfoldment. Christianity itself is primarily a teaching of the Yoga of devotion. All the practices of the Yoga of devotion can be adapted to Christ, the Madonna or to the various saints of the Christian tradition.

Islam itself is primarily devotional but it follows a strict formless devotion which prohibits all use of images, though the Koran like the Bible uses many poetic metaphors, the images of the mind. Hinduism contains a similar devotional approach but free of the fanaticism and violence we more commonly see in these exclusivistic religions.

Devotion also appeals to an artistic mentality. The muse is nothing but a lower form of the Divine beloved. The use of images, statues, rituals and chants is a subtle form of art and poetry directed towards the Divine through devotion. Art is in its true form a path of devotion. It directs the mind and the senses towards the appreciation of the eternal.

Great modern teachers of the Yoga of Devotion include Ramakrishna, Paramahansa Yogananda, Anandamayi Ma, Sri Aurobindo and the Mother. The list could be made much longer as devotion is perhaps the essence of Hinduism.

The classical text is Narada's BHAKTI SUTRAS. Philosophies have been built on devotion also like the Vedantic approaches of Ramanuja and Madhva. These express theism as the ultimate reality and give emphasis to the personality of the Divine. But they recognize the unity of the Godhead as the basis of the play of the Divine personality.

 

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Forms of The Gods and Goddesses

The five main deities in India are Shiva, Vishnu, the Devi, Ganesh and Surya. As Ganesh, the elephant faced God, is the son of Shiva his worship is often included under that of Shiva. As Surya, the Sun, is generally a form of Vishnu, his worship can be included under his. In medieval India the Buddha was the sixth form of worship. Each God has his consort or Goddess, like Vishnu and Lakshmi, but the Goddess is also worshipped in her own right. Her main form is the consort of Shiva, and in this regard she has many names and forms like Kali, Durga, Parvati, Uma, Sati, Maheshwari etc. While the main forms and practices of devotional worship are the same for each deity, each has some peculiarities as well.

The Trinity

The Hindu trinity is of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. They are respectively the creator, preserver and destroyer of the universe. They are also aligned as the transcendent Godhead, Shiva, the cosmic lord, Vishnu and the cosmic mind, Brahma. In this regard they are called Sat-Tat-Aum, the Being, the Thatness or immanence and the Word or holy spirit. This is much like the Christian trinity of God as the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The trinity represents the Divine in its threefold nature and function. Each aspect of the trinity contains and includes the others.

Each God in the trinity has his consort. To Brahma is Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge. For Vishnu is Lakshmi, the Goddess of love, beauty and delight. For Shiva is Kali, the Goddess of power, destruction and transformation. These are the three main forms of the Goddess, as Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are the three main forms of the God. The three Goddesses are often worshipped in their own right as well as along with their spouses.

Shiva

Shiva is the great God, Mahadeva. He represents the pure existence or Divine will beyond creation. He is therefore the lord of Yogis and the lord of Jnanis, those who pursue the Yoga of knowledge.

Shiva has many names like Shankara, Shambhu, Sadashiva, Rudra, Bhava, Sharva, Pashupati, Aghora, Bhairava. Shiva itself means "the beneficent or auspicious". Some of his forms like Shiva and Shankara are beneficent. Others like Rudra and Bhairava are terrible. The terrible forms are useful for removing any negativity from our spiritual lives. They become our protectors.

In Nepal, Indonesia and Indochina a cult of Shiva-Buddha arose, combining the qualities of these two related great religious forms.

Natraj

One of his main forms is Shiva Nataraja, Shiva as the Lord of the cosmic dance. He performs the mighty tandava, the dance of destruction that destroys the universe. This is also the dance of knowledge that takes us from the unreal to the real, from the ignorance to the knowledge, from the ego to the Self.

Ganesh

Ganesh, the elephant God, is the first son of Shiva and Parvati. He is a God of both wisdom and wealth. He removes all obstructions and grants us the fruit of our actions. Hence he is invoked before any major project in life. His temples are quite numerous, particularly in the south of India.

Ganesh is a very Kapha (watery) God and is full of love and joy. He holds the entire universe in his belly. He is a little like the laughing Buddha in Chinese imagery. He can also be found in Buddhist and Jain temples and is one of the most widely revered of all the Gods. Ganesh is also called Ganapati. Both names mean the lord of hosts as he rules the whole group of the Gods.

Skanda

Skanda is the second son of Shiva and Parvati. He is the war God, the Hindu equivalent of Mars and Ares. He was created by all the Gods to lead the heavenly hosts and destroy the demons. He is the most masculine and fierce of all the Gods. He is also fire, Agni and is very Pitta (fiery) in nature. While Ganesh removes all obstacles, Skanda bestows all spiritual powers, particularly the power of knowledge.

His other names are Kartikeyya, Guha, Shadannana or Shanmukha, as he has six faces. He is also called Sanat Kumara, the eternal child.

Vishnu

Vishnu is Narayana, the Cosmic Man or the Divine being who has entered into mortals. He is also Surya or Savitar, the Sun or the solar logos. He is the Divine presence which pervades all creation. Vishnu literally means "the Pervader" as he is the immanent divine consciousness that gives order to the worlds, which by its three steps measures our creation.

Some scholars have tried to divide off the Buddhist from the Hindu Goddesses saying the former represent wisdom (prajna) and the latter represent power (shakti). However, we see in the Vedic system that the Goddesses have three aspects, wisdom (Saraswati), love (Lakshmi) and power (Kali). These three always go together and do not exclude each other. True power is through wisdom which is love. Hence the power we see worshipped in the Hindu Goddesses is always the power of consciousness or wisdom (Chit-Shakti).

Saraswati : Vak

Saraswati is worshipped along with any study or learning. Chants to her often begin and end classes on Vedic studies. She is the Goddess of the Word. She is purity itself and always wears white. She hold a vina, a book and a rosary. Her sacred syllable is Aim. She represents the stream of wisdom, the free flow of the knowledge of consciousness. She is the form of the Goddess most mentioned in the Vedas as she is Vedamata, the mother of the Vedas, the mother of knowledge. She also appears in Buddhist iconography as the consort of Manjushri, the God of wisdom.

Ganga

All rivers are forms of the Goddess. They represent the river of knowledge. Ganga, the Goddess of the Ganges river, is much like Saraswati. After the Saraswati river went dry in ancient times, much of the reverence attached to it was transferred to the Ganges as the center of the culture shifted slightly to the east.

Kali

Kali is the Goddess of death and transformation. She has a ghostly appearance, a dark or black color. She arises from the chest of Shiva (a corpse). She is the main terrible form of the Goddess. Through her we break through all attachments and go beyond all the illusions and sufferings of the world. She is the love that endures beyond death and which thereby takes us beyond death. Her mantra is Klim.

Durga

Durga is the Goddess as the demon-slayer. She rides a lion. Her nature is also very fiery (Pitta). She destroys all negativity and illusion. Another name for her is Chamunda, the fierce one. She saves us and delivers us across all the difficulties of life. Hence in all dangers she is to be invoked.

Lakshmi : Shri

Lakshmi is the most commonly worshipped of the Goddesses and images of her can be found throughout India. She is still widely worshipped even among the Muslims in Indonesia as Dewi Shri. She is the Goddess of wealth, good fortune, good luck, beauty and fertility. As these are the main objects of our seeking in life, naturally this form of the Goddess has always had the main attraction for the human mind. She has a higher form, however, as Divine love and beauty, the power of devotion. Her mantra is Shrim.

Parvati : Uma

The Goddess as the wife of Shiva is known as Parvati, the Goddess of the mountain or of the mountain stream. She is also called Girija, the mountain born. She is the pure consciousness born in the mountains of meditation, the mystic Himalayas. She is the form of the power of consciousness. As the giver of knowledge she is known as Uma, the protectress. As the pure being, consecrated in the fire of knowledge she is known as Sati.

Lalita : Tripurasundari

Shiva's consort is not only a Goddess of power and death, she is also a Goddess of beauty and delight. As Tripurasundari, the beauty of the three worlds, she represents the beauty of the natural world, all the universe in the glory of God or pure consciousness. As Lalita, the delightful one, she is the bliss that comes to us through knowledge. The thousand names of Lalita are one of the main forms of worship of the Goddess.

Her mantra is Hrim.

Tara

Tara is an important Hindu Goddess, as well as the main Buddhist Goddess. In Hinduism she is related to Durga as the power which takes us across (tarati) all danger and darkness. In the Buddhist system she is Wisdom, the Mother of the Buddhas, which delivers us across ignorance. She has many forms as white, green etc. She is commonly worshipped in Tibet and under the form of Kwan Yin in China.

 

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The Avatars

The Puranas recognize ten avatars. All avatars come from Vishnu as he is the indwelling guiding cosmic lord and intelligence. He is the cosmic guru.

These avatars are the

fish (matsya),
turtle (kurma),
boar (varaha),
manlion (nrisimha),
dwarf (vamana),
Parashurama,
Rama,
Krishna,
Buddha and
Kalki.

Parashurama shows the man of power, Rama the Divine warrior and protector, Krishna the Divine lover, Buddha the Divine sage, and Kalki the completer and saviour. In this scheme we see the idea of the evolution of the soul from the animal realms to perfect spiritual knowledge.

The idea of the messiah came to the western religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam from the Zoroastrian religion of ancient Persia. Zoroastrianism has similar incarnations of Vrithragna (Indra). Hence it is related to the avatar idea of the Hindus.

Rama

Ram is one of the great Gods of the ancient world. We find him in India, in both Hindu and Buddhist annals. He was said to have brought the Aryan dharma to the south of India and out to sea. He was also worshipped in Indonesia and Indochina. He is related to Amon Re (Om Ram) of the Egyptians, as a form of the Sun God, particularly the night Sun that destroys the demons and takes us across the ocean of darkness.

Sita his consort is the Earth Goddess. She is the receptive mind, the power of pure devotion. When we lose our Sita we lose everything because we lose the humility which allows us to grow.

In the Ramayana she is stolen from Rama by the demon Ravana who took the form of a Brahmin to deceive her.

Rama's main helper is Hanuman or Maruti, the Monkey God, a form of the Wind God. Rama, Hanuman and Sita thus represent the Sun, the wind and the Earth or the three worlds of the Vedas and their respective powers. Rama also was an historical figure as well as a mythic image. He was said to have reigned in north India in Ayodhya in the latter part of the Silver Age or Treta Yuga (c.4000 B.C.).

Krishna

Krishna is the foremost of the avatars, the personification of Divine love and delight. We find the figure of the Divine player of the flute all over the world. It is a common image in Sufi poetry and can be found in Europe and in ancient America as well, one of the main archetypes of the Divine in the human mind.

Yet Krishna was an actual historical figure as well. He was born in Mathura (south of Delhi) and reigned later at Dwaraka in Gujarat. He died at the age of 125.

There are many forms of Krishna also. There is the baby Krishna, the boy Krishna, Krishna the young lover, Krishna the warrior, Krishna the king, Krishna the sage.

Krishna's two main consorts are Radha and Rukmini, the former his young beloved, the latter his queen. He had many other consorts as well, the Gopis, for each of whom he assumed a separate form. Actually all souls are consorts of Krishna who is the Divine lover.

Buddha

Buddha was introduced into the scheme of avatars at a later period as part of an attempt to integrate Hinduism and Buddhism. His own teachings were not studied or included among the literature on the avatars, though the stories of the Buddha follow a similar epic style as the Puranas. He is a major archetypal figure in the human mind and has become the human type who most represents Indian spirituality to the world, the sage in meditation.

Kalki

Kalki is the Hindu Messiah. He will come at the end of the dark age to destroy the wicked and restore the rule of truth on the Earth. Some say he has already taken birth. Certainly his energy is quite needed today. He rides a white horse. He is not as commonly mentioned as Rama or Krishna.

According to some he has already taken birth and will usher in a new spiritual age for humanity.

The Yoga of Service : Karma Yoga

All spiritual teachings speak of our need to help the world and to uplift humanity. Hence most practitioners of Yoga are expected to do some work of service, Sanskrit "seva", to humanity. This may be providing food or clothing to the poor or needy, working in schools or hospitals, or distributing books and teachings.

There are very few books on Karma Yoga, nor does it have its special Sutras or texts like the other Yoga paths. Yet it is given its importance in all approaches, particularly the Yoga of Devotion. Gandhi was a good modern representative of this approach.

Generally speaking, the Yogic teaching, as it is non-political and inward oriented, does not emphasize service and charity as much as Christianity. However, unlike many so-called Christian groups, it does not consider it to be true service to others to try to convert them to our beliefs. True service is in helping others to help themselves, aiding them in unburdening themselves, not imposing new ideas upon them.

To provide food, shelter or education to others is good but when we seek to convert them to our beliefs by giving them our propaganda in the process, it becomes a poison. It is like giving candy to children to get them under our power. The Yoga system recognizes that the highest service we can do for the world is our own self-realization. We cannot really improve the world until we have conquered our own inner darkness.

In fact, we see throughout history, that the greatest harm in the world has usually been done by religious and political fanaticism. Even Hitler had such ideas. Yoga tells us that the greatest effects are not always the most visible or obvious. A yogi in meditation in the mountains can direct his thought force towards humanity in such a way that he can create more benefit than any number of charitable institutions. Whereas the latter work outwardly at the surface of life, the yogi works inwardly on the source of life. Hence we need not interpret the solitude and inaction of the yogi as a lack of compassion. It is the same thing as with a king. The king on his throne can direct the affairs of a kingdom without leaving his palace.

So too, the yogi in meditation can channel peace to the world without leaving his meditation room. Hence many yogis prefer to live in areas free of distraction or large numbers of people. This affords them a clearer space for directing the energy of consciousness into the world.

Knowledge is itself the highest form of service, as it is only light which has the power to dispel darkness. Our real service in life cannot be measured by the names, forms, numbers and quantities of the outer world. It is not in how much money we give to charity or how many schools or hospitals we build but how much of the energy of the Divine we bring into life through our own consciousness.

Yogis merge into the Self of all beings, into the Divine being himself. As such they gain the power to influence all beings from within. Once this is acquired they need no longer keep a particular body to do benefit to the world. Such yogis become an eternal presence and learn to work through the whole of life. The great teachers are always with us, in nature, in our hearts.

 

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The Yoga of Technique : Kriya Yoga


The third of the these paths is the Yoga of technique or inner action (Kriya Yoga). Kriya means action in Sanskrit, particularly the internal actions done on the body and mind to aid the process of meditation. This term is found in the Yoga Sutras as its definition of the practice of Yoga. It is said to consist of three parts; tapas, the energization of the will, svadhyaya, self-study, and Ishwara-pranidhana, surrender to God or the Self-existent power. This definition of the practice of Yoga includes all three methods of jnana (self-study), bhakti (surrender to God) and technique (energization of the will).

All Yoga involves some sort of practice, system or discipline. In the Yogas of Knowledge and Devotion, however, the techniques are subordinated to a more primary self-observation or self-surrender. In general, technique is always secondary in Yoga, because Yoga aims at the realization of the Self or Spirit which is beyond form and action. Technique applies only to the realm of nature or matter. Pure spirit or pure consciousness is beyond all techniques. Technique can help balance our outer nature to bring us to the point of inner awakening, but technique cannot work by itself.

It can set the stage but it is not the main action. Without awareness or devotion technique soon becomes mechanical and can thereby become only another bondage to the mind. Hence the pursuit of technique as an end in itself is contrary to the path of Yoga.

Yoga uses technique (nature) to go beyond technique (nature). It harmonizes the outer aspects of our nature through various methods to allow us to move beyond them to our inner Being. Yet much of what we consider inner, which may in fact be internal to our ordinary consciousness and activity, like the astral and causal planes is also external from the standpoint of pure awareness. For this reason techniques may still open many internal domains for our minds and help us develop many subtle powers and faculties. This may be useful for our inner growth but can become an obstacle as well if we get attached to these subtle powers or experiences.

Yoga emphasizes the natural as opposed to the artificial. Hence its techniques are various ways of awakening ourselves to our nature and attuning ourselves to our actual state. Hence yoga techniques attempt to return our body, mind, breath and senses to their natural state by exercises aimed at releasing the tension and stress which disrupts them.

The Yogas of devotion and knowledge often do better with the support of various techniques. This is particularly true in the modern world wherein we seldom have the physical presence of great teachers or the atmosphere of ashrams to give a good environment for our meditation. To proceed without techniques may be to neglect what is usually a helpful aid, even though it may be overemphasized or abused by the immature.

It is hard for us to go directly to the Divine but we can always do some action on body or mind to improve or advance our condition. We may not be able to silence the mind or surrender to God but we can always do a chant, asana or pranayama. We may not be able to do pure or formless meditation but we can meditate upon a form or idea.

The Yogas of technique are the most diverse in nature, as technique always tends towards differentiation. They are the most complex, though not all are difficult. As many involve the arousing or manipulation of subtle psychic forces they can be the most dangerous. By this same reason they require more direct guidance, often a living teacher who has mastered the particular technique, the more complicated they are.

The Yoga of Technique : Hatha Yoga

The most basic of the technical Yogas is Hatha Yoga, what we could call "the Yoga of the physical body". Its main tools are postures (asanas) and breath (pranayama). It aims at physical health, vitality and longevity, not necessarily spiritual realization.

It is the most popular form of Yoga known in the West. Indeed many of us think that Yoga is nothing but a series of strange physical postures. We should note carefully that no classical text describes Yoga in terms of posture or asana. The main classical text on Yoga, the YOGA SUTRAS, only discusses postures in three out of its two hundred verses.

Nevertheless, the science of asanas is important. For many it is the first step on the path of Yoga, the easiest point of entry. Seeing the yogic wisdom in treating the physical body often helps us to pursue it into the realms of the mind. The principles of right action and conscious movement we learn in Hatha Yoga can be applied on the deeper levels of our being with similar harmonizing effects. The body is not only the beginning of the path of Yoga, it is often the end.

Only what we have brought into our physical existence is fully understood and realized. Hence it is not good to neglect the physical body in our inner searching.

In terms of many Yoga systems, complex asanas are not usually required. For the Yoga of knowledge or devotion only the ability to sustain a comfortable sitting pose is necessary. This can be done by sitting comfortably in a chair. It does not require the lotus pose, though it can be helpful, as can siddhasana.

Nor is the proper method of Hatha Yoga to force or strain ourselves into some ideal posture. Its true method is to aid us in gradually relaxing and letting go of all stress and tension in the physical body. It is not a sport that aims at achievement but a form of meditation aiming at peace. Its goal is not to make us more physically conscious but to make us less identified with the physical body by no longer straining at physical movement.

The Yoga of Technique : Prana Yoga

Prana Yoga refers to systems that use primarily the breath as a means of controlling the mind. They are the subtler side of Hatha Yoga. The deeper side of the Prana Yogas comes under Kundalini Yoga as the Kundalini is nothing more than the awakened Prana.

As the practice develops it is the Prana or life-force itself that does the work, which moves the body into the appropriate asanas and the mind into higher states of consciousness. The greatest Yogis were not those who gained their flexibility through a long period of practice or who gradually molded their bodies into various set asanas. They were those who surrendered to Prana, to the cosmic life-force. The postures of Yoga occur naturally when the Prana is awakened.

Through it we find ourselves doing asanas we may not even know and without any personal effort, with a mind perfectly still and at ease. It was only at a later time that asanas were standardized and put in books. Hence it is more important to awaken our life-energy, our connection with the cosmic life, than it is to seek to change our physical state by molding our bodies into certain postures.

 

[vedickings]

Page 6

The Yoga of Technique : Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga works with the seed energy of the subtle body, called Kundalini or the Serpent Power. It is said to reside in the root chakra and contain within itself all the power of consciousness. Kundalini has become a relatively familiar term today and some of us think that spiritual development is only possible through it. It is interesting to note, however, than in many ancient and classical teachings Kundalini was not considered so important and is not always mentioned. It is not directly mentioned in the Vedas, Upanishads or Puranas.

In the Yoga of knowledge, energy is thought to follow awareness. Therefore the emphasis is on developing the power of attention. In the Yoga of devotion, energy is thought to follow love. Kundalini may not be recognized apart from the intense power of devotion or attention. In neither of these other two systems of Yoga is any special method for awakening the Kundalini required. It is usually to supplement these two Yogas or in the absence of their full power that methods to arouse the Kundalini may be used. In this regard Kundalini practices can be an important part of these two paths as well.

It should be noted that Kundalini can be aroused artificially by a willful, forced or egoistic practice. It can also be stimulated by drugs or extreme emotional reactions. If the nature is not purified the Kundalini may only serve to aggrandize the ego. It tends to magnify our nature, so that if our nature is not yet attuned to the Divine Will, it may magnify our weaknesses. Hence Kundalini practices do have their possible side-effects and should be done with care. The proper awakening of the Kundalini is through Divine grace. This does not mean that any effort on our part is not useful but that our effort must be to attune ourselves to the grace. Merely to arouse Kundalini is not an end in itself. The goal is to move more deeply into peace. When power is not part of peace it always becomes destructive. The premature arousing of the Kundalini can burn up the nervous system. It can limit or prevent our spiritual growth for perhaps the rest of our lives.

Kundalini can be used up to the level of the third chakra or solar plexus to increase the powers of the ego. According the Vedas and Puranas even the demons practice Yoga up to this level because it gives them more power. The critical mind of the third chakra often considers itself to be enlightened. It does have the power to see through and control other personalities. It sees the limitations in others. However, it cannot see the Divine presence in others, or its own limitations and usually becomes caught in some process of manipulation. Most false gurus operate on this level.

The arousing of the Kundalini is usually brought about through a coordination of posture, breath and mantra, along with certain visualizations. The Kundalini itself is looked upon as the deity, as the Goddess, the high priestess who leads us into the Divine realms of our higher nature.

Yoga of Technique : Laya, Nada, Surat Shabda Yoga

There are many Yogas that teach meditation upon the sound current as the main means of spiritual growth. There is a natural sound that comes forth from the subtle body as it begins to come into function.

This sound comes from the Kundalini itself. It is said to originate from the heart chakra of the subtle body, the center of unstruck sound. Usually the devotee closes his eyes and ears, listens to the internal sounds and meditates on the Divine light from the third eye.

This brings about an attunement to the ascending current of knowledge and grace represented by the sound current. Still it is important to have surrender to the Divine or consciousness of the Self as these turn this meditation from a form of subtle sensation to an energization of aspiration.

Integral Yoga : Raj Yoga

All Yogas tend to be integral as all the yogic paths are related. Though one may move primarily in one of these directions, usually aspects of the others are employed as well. An intensity of devotion may bring about the awakening of knowledge, for example. An awakening of knowledge may lead to the arousing of devotion.

Some Yogas aim very consciously at combining all these different approaches to allow for a complete and full development of the nature. Others, like the Yoga of knowledge, aim at a more direct and immediate ascent and are not as concerned with a comprehensive approach. They see the comprehensiveness coming naturally from the realization of the Self.

Raja Yoga is the classical system of Yoga of Patanjali in the YOGA SUTRAS. It is a form of integral yoga as it employs knowledge, devotion and techniques. It is primarily a path of knowledge, however.

Rajas Yoga has eight parts or limbs, Ashtanga.

These are

yama (right attitudes),

niyama (right observances),

asana (posture),

pranayama (breath control),

pratyahara (control of the senses),

dharana (attention),

dhyana (meditation) and

samadhi (absorption).

Yama and niyama each consists of five parts. The yamas are non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, control of sexual energy and non-dependence. The niyamas are purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study and surrender to the Divine. Asana means posture. It is holding a comfortable posture for the purpose of meditation.

Pranayama means literally "the expansion of the life-force". It is not simply control of the breath and has nothing to do with the suppression of the breath, which can be dangerous. Our prana is always moving. If we suppress the breath the prana will move into the nervous system and causes various nervous disorders. Pranayama techniques can be anything that connects us up with the cosmic life-force. Pratyahara is the control of the senses, which is withdrawal from distraction. It does not mean the suppression of the senses. Nor is it a simple matter of closing one's eyes and ears. It means not being moved by the senses, not having the senses and their impressions rule our minds.

Hence it employs techniques like mantra and visualization to gain control over our reactions to sensory impressions. Dharana means concentration or attention. It is the ability to constantly direct our mental energy to the object we are examining. It does not mean suppressing other objects from our awareness but to increase our energy of interest and inquiry, our passion to know, so that nothing else can disrupt it.

Dhyana means meditation. It is the capacity to hold our mind on the object of our examination. It is to be like a mirror and reflect the reality of things. Or it is to be like a lake that is still and able to reflect the sky. It is the mind in its natural state of quiescence.

Samadhi means absorption. It is the complete understanding of the nature of the object of our attention in which the observer is one with the observed. It is not some exotic ecstasy, thrilling bliss or magical experience but the joy that comes from peace, wherein the object is merged into the state of seeing.

The first five of these eight limbs are called the outer aspect of Yoga. They are preliminary in nature. The first two, Yama and Niyama, refer to the right attitudes, values and life-style practices necessary to the path of Yoga, its ethical foundation. The next three are the means of control the outer aspects of our nature, as body, breath and senses. The last three are called Samyama or integration. They naturally go together.

Attention naturally leads to meditation, which results in absorption or the unification of the perceiver and the perceived. In the process of Yoga various siddhis or occult powers may be attained. They may also arise through the use of drugs and powerful herbs, mantras, or through karma. They are usually considered to be obstacles on the path of Yoga and are usually thought to be avoided. The prime siddhi or attainment of Yoga is the abidance in the state of the seer.

For the practice of Yoga two main qualities are necessary. These are discrimination (viveka) and detachment (vairagya). Discrimination is the ability to discern the difference between truth and falsehood, reality and unreality, the Self and the not-Self, happiness and sorrow, the inner and the outer. Detachment is the ability to release the mind from its mental and emotional biases that serve to color our perception. Detachment leads to renunciation. Renunciation is not giving things up but no longer believing in external realities. It means no longer investing name and form with any ultimate reality but seeing the sacred presence as the real being and value of things.

The goal of Yoga is to return to the inner Self or the Divine, the Purusha. To do this we must seperate from the outer process of the world, Prakriti. We must cease to identify ourselves with any external state or quality. Eventually we must detach our sense of identity from the thoughts of the mind, from our very self-image itself. We must return to the state of the Seer, to the state of pure seeing in which all is one and one is all. This is not to abandon the world but to no longer seeing it as possessing any seperate reality, to see it as a play of consciousness rather than an external thing.

 

[vedickings]

Page 7
Experience In Yoga

Yoga can provide us with many subtle and dramatic experiences. We may hear special sounds or see special colors. We may do astral travel or visit other worlds. We may contact beings of these other worlds, who may speak through us. We may connect up with souls of the past or the future. Yet the goal of Yoga is not to gain any particular experience. Rather it is freedom from experience that is the goal of Yoga. Yoga aims at deconditioning the mind and each experience has the power to condition the mind should we cling to it or invest it with some personal energy. Subtle experiences can bind the mind even more so than normal sensory experiences as their reality is harder to judge.

Hence when experiences arise in Yoga one should observe them objectively but hold to the awareness or state of grace. Yoga is to merge us into the Divine or the inner Self, not merely to open up us to other forms of experience. Many great Yogis may have no experiences at all but only a greater awareness or sense of love. For Yoga it is not the form or appearance that matters but the essence. We need not feel bad if we do not gain great experiences on the path of Yoga.

The Astral Plane

Most subtle experiences gained in Yoga come through the astral plane, the realm of imagination. On the astral plane whatever we imagine about ourselves we can experience as true.

Hence the astral plane is the realm of illusion. While the Divine can be reached through the higher astral plane, we can also find the Divine in the physical without ever opening up to the astral, or we can open up to the causal plane directly (which has a special link to the physical) so as to avoid the dangers of the astral.

Yoga, Shamanism and Channeling

Yoga is one means of exploring the occult realms of nature. This, however, is not the main focus of Yoga, which is to go beyond nature, but a sidelight. There are other means of exploring these subtle realms as in magic, occultism and shamanism. These things can be part of a subtler form of science wherein we discover the hidden forces behind the world. There is nothing wrong with exploring them but they are still only phenomenal. The higher forms of Shamanism are much like Yoga. They aim at a greater development of awareness and self-knowledge towards the liberation of the Spirit from all bondage to the external. The lower forms of Shamanism may, however, get us caught in the illusions of the astral plane.

This is particularly true if they employ drugs, if they aim at the accumulation of personal power rather than the surrender to the Divine, if they awaken animal forces within us, if they are centered on the solar plexus and below rather than the heart. In this regard they are like the left-handed yogic paths which can become forms of black magic. Channeling often involves having another being or entity speak through us. In Yoga the emphasis is on self-knowledge and the development of our own awareness. Yoga says that we should never give our awareness over to another person or entity, internally or externally. We should never surrender the integrity of our own individual awareness because that is the Divine presence within us. If our channeling is based on a loss of consciousness, such channeling is a detriment to our own inner growth, though it may provide information that others find useful. Hence we read little about channeling in the Yoga literature. It is not mentioned as one of the important ways of spiritual growth.

It is the Divine or our own inner Self that we should channel and such higher qualities as love and compassion, but that is an act of consciousness, not the letting of another being speak through us. We should all be channels for the Gods or the cosmic powers to lead us all back to our own divinity. Yoga tells us that we can communicate directly to the Divine. The Divine is our inner Self. We need no intermediary. Even the guru is not an intermediary that inhibits us from our own direct contact with the Divine. His role is as a facilitator or catalyst who helps us in this process of self-knowing.

While it is necessary as a culture that we once more link up to the astral plane and come to understand the occult forces in nature, this is only a beginning to a greater understanding of the spiritual nature of life. It is only connecting to the subtle plane nearest our own. It is not going to the truth. We can also go directly to the source of all creation. It dwells in our own hearts as the light behind the mind. The Yogic path does not rest content with lesser goals.

High Tech Yogas

A new approach to yoga has been arising today in the modern and technological world, what is called "high tech" yoga. High tech yogas try to use the means of technology as part of the practice of yoga. They may involve watching special videos, listening to subliminal tapes, using equipment or machines to stimulate the brain and senses or alter the brain waves, wearing of goggles etc.

Their form is generally passive. We watch or listen to something, or let someone or some machine work on our energy, and it is supposed to have an elevating affect upon us or even bring us to enlightenment. While such things may be helpful in working with the outer aspects of our nature, like healing the body, they are not appropriate in the realm of spiritual practices. Even in healing the body inorganic energies, which is all that machines can produce, have a deranging affect upon the life-force or prana.

True yoga practice is never passive. Passivity creates fragmentation, disintegration. Integration is only possible through cultivating our own direct experience and creative process in life, not in what is gained second hand. Subliminal messages are a form of hypnosis and a violation of our consciousness. They encourage a state of unconsciousness and wishful thinking.

We are already too hypnotized, too dominated by suggestions and external conditioning influences, particularly those of the mass media. We cannot become a great artist merely by listening to a tape that says "you are a great artist". We have to have the inspiration and do the work if we would get the results. Listening to suggestions from a tape is not practicing anything, much less yoga. Subliminal messages can be a subtle form of violence. They are an attempt to cover over what we are with an artificial idea from the outside, not to connect with the truth within us, which can only come through consciousness.

We must remember that the medium is always the message. The message may be God or truth, but if the medium is passively watching a video, using subliminal suggestions or channeling, what we are actually encouraging is the unconsciousness of the medium, the dependence on external stimulation. Yoga is not a form of entertainment or self-hypnosis.

True yoga practice is not a matter of a special technology, of having the best tapes, books or latest equipment. Its essence is in simplicity and in allying ourselves to the forces of nature. It is something we must do for ourselves, by disciplining our own body, mind and senses according to a higher aspiration. No one can practice yoga for us or give us yoga from the outside, any more than anyone can breathe for us. Yoga, on the contrary, is freeing ourselves from any dependence on external programming.

 

[Truth and Reconciliation]

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring the meditator into a state of mind where he THINKS he becomes "god". In fact, that's why the New Age movement embraces it.

 

[rahma]

I used to do Yoga, but I have mixed feelings about it. Part of me feels that the new agey exercise crazy that has embraced it does it a disservice, as most people who do yoga view it apart from it's history and development.

I think I'll just stick to pilates.

 

[ninja]

Couldn’t you have summarized it a little bit

 

[rahul_sharma]

Miracles with Divine Yoga (Eternal religion in action)
http://www.yogapeace.com/yoga_miracles.htm

http://www.yogapeace.com/yoga1.htm

http://www.yogasite.com/

 

[sanaa]

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring the meditator into a state of mind where he THINKS he becomes "god". In fact, that's why the New Age movement embraces it.

that is not the ultimate goal of yoga . we do not become God . we should just realize we are a teeny weeny part of God

 

[Iron Lion]

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring the meditator into a state of mind where he THINKS he becomes "god". In fact, that's why the New Age movement embraces it.

That just simply isnt true.

 

[vedickings]

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring the meditator into a state of mind where he THINKS he becomes "god". In fact, that's why the New Age movement embraces it.

The ultimate goal of yoga is not to attain a state of mind, but to go beyound the mind, which is beyound the matrix of time and space (the known) or seen.

peace

 

[Proud Hindu]

Great thread vedickings

BTW, Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahamsa Yogananda is one of the best books on a man who has attained mastery of Yoga. It's that book that inspired me to take up Hinduism and Yoga seriously again.

Read it here:
http://www.crystalclarity.com/yogananda/

The ultimate goal of Yoga is to bring the meditator into a state of mind where he THINKS he becomes "god". In fact, that's why the New Age movement embraces it.

Read 'Autobiography of a Yogi' at the link I posted above. You cannot maintain the same belief after you have read it. Yogis can do things that others would call "miracles." By achieving mastery over their own minds, they achieve mastery over the universe. Science cannot explain the feats which many Yogis have accomplished.

 

[vedickings]

Thanks Proud Hindu,

I have read some of Paramhansa Yogananda work.

Autobiography of a Yogi is a really good read!

peace

 

[Born_to_Lose_Live_to_Win]

When the five senses and the mind are still, and the reasoning intellect rests in silence, then begins the highest path. This calm steadiness of the senses is called yoga. Then one should become watchful, because yoga comes and goes.
--Katha Upanishad