Self developed

WHAT ARE THE EIGHT LIMBS? In  Patanjali’s   Yoga Sutra , the eightfold path is called  ashtanga , which literally means “eight limbs” ( ashta =eight,  anga =limb). These eight steps basically act as guidelines on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. They serve as a prescription for moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline; they direct attention toward one’s health; and they help us to acknowledge the spiritual aspects of our nature. This Yoga is known as the Eigth fold yoga, because it is divided into eight principal parts . These are ; 1) Yama : This is most important and has to govern the whole life;  Yamas  are universal practices that relate best to what we know as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It has five divisions; A) Not injuring any being by thought, word or deed. B) Non- covetousness in thought, word, or deed. C) Perfect chastity in thought, word, or deed.  D) Perfe...

THREE STAGES OF MEDITATION There are three stages of  Meditation. The first is what is called  [Dharana],  concentrating the mind upon an object. I try to concentrate my mind upon this glass, excluding every other part from my mind except this glass. But the mind is wavering....  when it has become strong and does not waver so much, it is called  [Dhyana] , Meditation. And then higher state when the differentiation between the glass and myself is lost -- [Samadhi or absorption] . The mind and the glass are identical. I do not see any difference. All the senses stop and all powers that have been working through other channels of other senses [are focused in the mind]. Then this glass is under the power of the mind entirely. This is to be realized. It is a tremendous play played by the Yogis.  FIRST STEP : DHARANA  Dharana (-dha- “to hold) means being able to hold attention on an  object for progressively longer periods of time with...

A TREMONDOUS TASK  According to the Yogis, there are three principal nerve currents; one they call the Ida, the other the Pingala, and the middle one the Sushumn, and all these are inside the spinal column.  The Ida and the Pingala, the left and the right, are clusters of nerves, while the middle one, the Sushumna, is hollow and is not a cluster of nerves. This Sushumna is closed, and for the ordinary man is of no use, for he works through the Ida and Pingala only. Currents are continually. Going down and coming up through these nerves, carrying orders all over the body through other nerves running to the different organs of the body.  The task before us is vast; and first and foremost, we must seek to control the vast mass of sunken thoughts which have become automatic with us. The evil deed is, no doubt, on the conscious plane; but the cause which produced the evil deed was far beyond in the realms of the unconscious, unseen, and therefore more potent. ...

WHAT IS MEDITATION T oday Meditation is as popular in the West as it is in the East. When earlier, Only a few qualified aspirants could practice meditation, now, a fairly large number of followers have emerged who practice meditation in a varieties of daily-life situations.  Meditation is an attempt to isolate the self and discover the Uncreated or the Absolute, which is what humanity is trying to seek through creative activity. Meditation is a movement towards unity and peace. It should be understood that trying to drive the mind inward, as a shepherd drives sheep into the pen, is not meditation. True meditation is the result of the natural inwardness or interiority of the mind caused by an inward pull. This inward "pull" comes from one's higher centre of consciousness. And the higher centre will exert this pull when it is open and active. Then the mind comes to rest in its own source, as a bird comes to roost in its own nest. This resting or fixing of the mi...