Yoga PDF

## YOGA ### SYNOPSIS: - Streams of Yoga - Karma Yoga - Bhakti Yoga - Jnana Yoga (Yoga of Wisdom) - Raja Yoga - Hatha Yoga - Yoga and Diet - Yoga - Disciplined way of Life ### A. STREAMS OF YOGA "Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature,...

## YOGA ### SYNOPSIS: - Streams of Yoga - Karma Yoga - Bhakti Yoga - Jnana Yoga (Yoga of Wisdom) - Raja Yoga - Hatha Yoga - Yoga and Diet - Yoga - Disciplined way of Life ### A. STREAMS OF YOGA "Each soul is potentially divine. The goal is to manifest this Divinity within by controlling nature, external and internal. Do this either by work or worship or psychic control, or philosophy by one or more or all of these and be free. This is the whole of religion. " - Swami Vivekananda There are altogether 40 types of yoga. They are: 1. **Abhava-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of nonbeing, meaning the higher yogic practice of immersion into the self without objective support such as mantras; a concept found in the puranas of Bhava-Yoga. 2. **Adhyatma-Yoga:** the unitive discipline of the inner self; sometimes said to be the Yoga characteristic of the Upanaishads. 3. **Agni-Yoga:** the unitive discipline of fire, causing the awakening of the serpent power (kundalini-shakti) through the joint action of mind (manas) and life force (prana). 4. **Ashtanga-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the eight limbs, i.e. Raja-Yoga or Patanjali-Yoga. 5. **Asparsha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of "nonconductor", which is the nondualist Yoga propounded by Gaundapada in his Mandukya-Karika; cf.Sparsha-Yoga. 6. **Bhakti-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of Love/devotion, as expounded, for instance, in the Bhagavad-Gita, the Bhagavata-purana, and numerous other scriptures of Shaivism and Vaishnavism. 7. **Buddhi-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the higher mind, first mentioned in the Bhagavad-Gita. 8. **Dhyana-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of meditation. 9. **Ghatastha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the "pot" (ghata), meaning the body; a synonym for Hatha-Yoga mentioned in the Gheranda-Samhita. 10. **Guru-Yoga:** The unitive discipline relative to one's teacher. 11. **Hatha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the force (meaning the serpent power or kundalini-sakti), or forceful unitive discipline. 12. **Hiranyagarbha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of Hiranyagarbha (Golden Germ) who is considered the original founder of the Yoga tradition. 13. **Japa-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of mantra recitation. 14. **Jnana-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of discriminating wisdom, which is the approach of the Upanishads. 15. **Karma-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of self-transcendent action, as first explicitly taught in the Bhagavad-Gita. 16. **Kaula-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the Kaula school, a Tantric Yoga. 17. **Kriya-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of ritual; also the combined practice of asceticism (tapas), study (svadhyaya), and worship of the Lord (ishvara-pranidhana) mentioned in the Yoga-Sutra of Patanjali. 18. **Kundalini-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the serpent power (kundalini-sakti), which is fundamental to the Tantric tradition, including Hatha-Yoga. 19. **Lambika-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the "hanger", meaning the uvula, which is deliberately stimulated in this yogic approach to increase the flow of "nectar" (amrita) whose external aspect is saliva. 20. **Laya-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of absorption or dissolution of the elements prior to their natural dissolution at death. 21. **Maha-Yoga:** The great unitive discipline, a concept found in the Yoga-shikha-Upanishad where it refers to the combined practice of Mantra-Yoga, Laya-Yoga, Hatha-Yoga, and Raja-Yoga. 22. **Mantra-Yoga:** The unitive disciplines of numinous sounds that help protect the mind, which has been a part of the Yoga tradition ever since Vedic times. 23. **Nada-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the inner sound, a practice closely associated with original Hatha-Yoga. 24. **Pancadashanga-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the fifteen limbs (panchadashaanga): (1) moral discipline (yama), (2) restraint (niyama), (3) renunciation (tyaga), (4) silence (mauna), (5) right place (desha), (6) right time (kala), (7) posture (asana), (8) root lock (mula-bandha), (9) bodily equilibrium (dehasamya), (20) stability of vision (dhrik-sthiti), (11) control of the life force (prana-samrodha), (12) sensory inhibition (pratyahara), (13) concentration (dharana), (14) meditation upon the self (atma-dhyana) and (15) ecstasy (samadhi) 25. **Pashupata-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the Pashupata sect, as expounded in some of the Puranas. 26. **Patanjali-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of Patanjali, better known as Raja-Yoga or Yoga-Darshana. 27. **Purna-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of wholeness or integration, which is the name of Sri Aurobindo's Yoga. 28. **Raja-Yoga:** The royal unitive discipline, also called Patanjali-Yoga, Ashtanga-Yoga, or Raja-Yoga. 29. **Samadhi-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of ecstasy. 30. **Samkhya-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of insight, which is the name of certain liberation teachings and schools referred to in the Mahabharata. 31. **Samnyasa-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of renunciation, which is contrasted against Karma-Yoga in the Bhagavat-Gita. 32. **Samputa-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of sexual congress (maithuna) in Tantra-Yoga. 33. **Samrambha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of hatred, as mentioned in the Vishnu-purana, which illustrates the profound yogic principle that one becomes what one constantly contemplates (even if charged with negative emotions). 34. **Saptanga-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the seven limbs (sapta-anga), also known as Sapta-Sadhana in the Gheranda-Samhita: (1) six purificatory practices (shat-karma), (2) posture (asana), (3) seal (mudra), (4) sensory inhibition (pratyahara), (5) breath control (pranayama), (6) meditation (dhyana), and (7) ecstasy (samadhi). 35. **Shadanga-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the six limbs (shad-anga), as expounded in the Maitrayaniya-Upanishad: (1) breath control (pranayama), (2) sensory inhibition (pratyahara), (3) Meditation (dhyana), (4) concentration (dharana), (5) examination (tarka), and (6) ecstasy (samadhi). 36. **Siddha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the adepts, a concept found in some of the Tantras. 37. **Sparsha-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of contact; a Vedantic Yoga mentioned in the Shiva-purana, which combines mantra recitation with breath control; cf. Asparsha-Yoga. 38. **Tantra-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the Tantras, a kundalini-based Yoga. 39. **Taraka-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of the "deliverer" (taraka), a medieval Yoga based on light phenomena. 40. **Yantra-Yoga:** The unitive discipline of focusing the mind upon geometric representations (yantra) of the cosmos. According to the scriptures, Yoga is mainly classified in various systems or branches. They are: - Jnana Yoga: Union by Knowledge - Bhakthi Yoga: Union by Love and Devotion - Karma Yoga: Union by Action and Service - Raja Yoga: Union by Mental Mastery - the path of Will - Hatha Yoga: Union by Bodily Mastery (Principally of breath) - Mantra Yoga: Union by Voice and Sound - Yantra Yoga: Union by Vision and Form - Laya and Kundalini Yoga: Union by Arousal of Latent Psychic ### B. Karma Yoga What is karma yoga? Karma means action or deed in Sanskrit. Any physical or mental action is karma. Thinking is mental karma. Karma is the sum total of our acts, both in the present life and in the preceding births. The word 'Karma' comes from the Sanskrit word 'kru', which means 'action'. Basically, Karma or actions are of three types, Kayika (physically); Vachika (Speech) and Manasika (Mentally). Karma means not only action, but also the result of an action. There is a hidden power in karma or action termed ‘Adrishta’ which brings in fruits of karmas for the individual. The consequence of an action is really not a separate thing. It is a part of the action and cannot be divided from it. All actions which we do either mentally or physically are known as our KARMAS. Karma is the foundation of our life and keeps our life moving. Our life is bounded by Karmas because through karma (action), we reveal ourselves i.e., our thinking and subsequent physical actions. Every action which we do has an object behind it and this object may be good or bad. So it is necessary to carry out positive and good actions only. Karma-yoga is the method which helps us in selecting our actions by setting higher objects. All our actions should be based on the love, forgiveness and feeling of caring for others. People who do not plan their actions in the right direction are never satisfied and consequently lead a stressed, lonely and disturbed life. Karma-Yoga suggests that we should do our duties and give up the fruit to the God, the Supreme authority because every act which is done with the consideration of fruit or reward is an act of selfishness and it binds us with expectations. This expectation weakens us and when we do not get desired rewards for our actions, we get disturbed. Karma yoga is a method of improving our conduct and view point towards the philosophy of life. Life is full of struggles and karma-yoga enables us to face the struggles of life calmly. When we are calm, we have the wisdom and when we have wisdom, we can judge things in a better way. Each of us is a separate entity and builds his own world and this world built by a person is his karma kshetra (Action field). We ourselves are responsible for all our happiness and sorrows, successes and failures, pain and pleasures, etc., because all of these are effects of our own karmas. According to karma-yoga, karma (action) once done cannot be reverted or destroyed until it produces its effects. Every action causes an effect and it is impossible to stop the effects or fruit of the action done. Karma and destiny generally are taken as two different things but in fact they are inter-linked. It is necessary for us to know what destiny is. Destiny means state of circumstances and surroundings in which one is born and this state is the effect of our actions done. So it is not destiny which decides different states of our life but it is our action, or we ourselves who decide it. We get misfortune from our own actions. Swami Sivananda’s philosophy of Karma Yoga Bhagavat Gita says Karma Yoga is the selfless devotion of all inner as well as the outer activities as a sacrifice to the Lord of all works, offered to the eternal as Master of all the soul’s energies and austerities’ Swami Sivananda advocates certain principles regarding Karma Yoga. They are: - **Right Attitude** It’s not what you do that counts it’s the attitude while doing that determines if a job is a karma yoga job i.e. whether it is a liberating job or a binding job. Work is worship. Swami Sivananda advises us to "give your hands to work, and keep your mind fixed at the lotus feel of the lord” - **Right Motive** Similarly, it is not what you do that counts but your real motive behind it. Your motive must be pure. Swami Sivananda says "man generally plan to get the fruits of his works before he starts any kind of work. The mind is so framed that it cannot think of any kind of work without remuneration. A selfish man cannot do any service. He will weigh the work and the money in a balance. Selfless service is unknown to him". - **Do your duty** Often "duty" is referred to as "righteousness". You will incur demerit if you shun your duty. Your duty is towards God or self or the inner teacher ‘who teaches you through all the specific circumstances of your life as they appear. - **Do your best** What you have to do, do your best. If you know of a better way to serve, you must use it. Do not hold back because of fear of effort or because of fear of criticism. Do not work in a sloppy manner just because no one is watching or because you feel the work is not for you. Give your best. Try to do such actions that can bring maximum good and minimum evil. Do karma Yoga increasingly. - **Give up results** God is the doer. You are not the doer. You are only the instrument. You do not know God’s intentions or God’s plans. The self will never acts or changes. It is only the "gunas" the three qualities which are playing. The way to realize this is to constantly work for work’s sake and let go of the results, good or bad. It is the desire for action that binds the individual. It is the detachment from the action that will dissolve the karmic seeds. Detachment from results also means detachments from the type of job itself. Don't be attached to your job. - **Serve God or the self in all** Do to others what you would like to be done to yourself. Love thy neighbour as thyself. Adapt, adjust, accommodate. Bear insult, bear injury. We are parts of the same body. Practice humility in action. Beware of being carried away by power, fame, name, praise and censure. - **Follow the Discipline of the job** Each job is a teacher of some sort. You can learn different skills by doing different jobs. Each job has different requirements in terms of time, degree of concentration, skills or experience, emotional input, physical energy and will. Try to do whatever job you are doing, well. - **How Karma Is Fashioned** Man is threefold in his nature. He consists of Iccha, Jnana and Kriya. Iccha is desire or feeling. Jnana knows. Kriya is willing. These three fashion his Karma. He knows objects like chair, tree (jnana). He feels joy and sorrow (iccha). He wills - to do this, or not to do that (kriya). Behind the action, lie desire and thought. A desire for an object arises in the mind and we think how to get it. After that, we exert to possess it. Desire, thought and action always go together. They are the three threads that are twisted into the chord of Karma. Desire produces Karma. We work and exert to acquire the objects of our desire. Karma produces its fruits as pain or pleasure. We will have to take births after births to reap the fruits of our Karma. This is the Law of Karma. ### Kinds of Karma Karma is of three kinds, viz. Sanchita or the accumulated works, prarabdha or the fructifying works, and Kriyamana or the current works. Sanchita is all the accumulated Karmas of the past. Part of it is seen in the character of man, in his tendencies and aptitudes, capacities, inclinations and desires. Prarabdha is that portion of the part of karma which is responsible for the present body. It is ripe for reaping. It cannot be avoided or changed. It is only exhausted by being experienced. We pay our past debts. Kriyamana is that Karma which is now being made for the future. It is also called Agami or Vartamana. In Vedic literature, there is a beautiful analogy. The bow-man has already sent an arrow; it has left his hands. He cannot recall it. He is about to shoot another arrow. The bundle of arrow in the quiver on his back is the Sanchita. The arrow he has shot is Prarabdha. And the arrow which he is about to shoot from his bow is Agami. Of these, he has perfect control over the Sanchita and the Agami, but he must surely work out his Prarabdha. Actions are of three kinds, viz., good, bad and mixed. Good karma makes you a God or angel in heaven. Bad karma throws you in lower wombs. Mixed actions give you a human birth. Every work is a mixture of good and evil. There can be neither absolute good work nor absolute bad work in this world. This physical universe is a relative plane. If we do some action, it will do some good in one corner, and some evil in another corner. We must try to do such actions that can bring the maximum of good and the minimum of evil. ### The Law of Karma The Doctrine of Karma forms an integral part of Vedanta. The Law of Karma is one of the fundamental doctrines not only in Hinduism, but also in Buddhism and in Jainism. As a man sows, so he shall reap. This is the Law of Karma. It expounds the riddle of life and the riddle of the Universe. It brings solace, satisfaction and comfort to one and all. It is a self-evident truth. A close study of this law gives encouragement to the hopeless man, to the desperate and ailing. Destiny is created by man’s thoughts, habits and character. There is every chance for his correction and improvement by changing his thoughts and habits. The Doctrine of Karma only can explain the mysterious problem of good and evil in this world. It can bring solace, contentment, peace and strength to the afflicted and the desperate. It solves our difficulties and problems of life. It gives encouragement to the hopeless and the forlorn. It directs a man to right thinking, right speech and right action. It brings a brilliant future for that man who lives according to this Universal law. If all people understand this law correctly and discharge their daily duties carefully, they would rise to sublime heights in the ladder of spirituality. ### Benefits of Karma Yoga✓ By doing selfless service we can purify our heart. Egoism, hatred, jealousy, ideas of superiority and all the negative qualities will vanish. We can develop humility, pure love, sympathy, tolerance and mercy. We shall also get a broad and liberal outlook on life. We shall begin to feel oneness and unity. Knowledge of the self can be obtained. We will realize one in all and all in one. We shall be moral and virtuous and have a happy, peaceful, contented life. We can bear the burden of Samsara with patience, endurance and strength of mind. There will not be any room for complaint when we see the inequalities in birth, fortune, intelligence, capacities, etc., and there will be heaven on earth. All will rejoice even in suffering. Negative qualities like greed, jealousy, hatred, anger, passion, etc., will vanish. Virtue will reign everywhere. We will have a glorious Satya Yuga now with peace and plenty everywhere. Blessed is the man who understands and lives in the Law, for he will soon attain God-consciousness and become one with the Law-giver! Then the Law will no longer operate on him. In the practice of Nishkama Karma Yoga, there is no loss of effort. There is no harm. There is no transgression also. Even a little of this practice can protect you from great fear of rebirth, of death with its concomitant evils. We will reap the fruits of Karma Yoga, viz. Jnana. There is no uncertainty here. The path of Karma Yoga eventually leads to the attainment of Bliss of the self. This is the path of selfless action and service, without thought of the fruits of action. Its most eloquent exposition is the Lord Krishna’s instructions to Arjuna in the Bhagavat Gita. ### C. Bhakti Yoga Bhakti Yoga is a real, genuine search after Lord, a search beginning, continuing, and ending in love. One single moment of the madness of extreme love to God brings us to eternal freedom. "Bhakti" is intense love to god. When a man gets it, he loves all, hates none; he becomes satisfied for ever. This love cannot be reduced to any earthly benefit, because so long as worldly desires last, that kind of love does not come. "Bhakti is greater than karma, greater than yoga, because these are intended for an object in view, while Bhakti is its own fruition, its own means and its own end". So also is it with Raja yoga, which, when pursed as a means to attain liberation, The one great advantage of bhakti is that it is the easiest and the most natural way to reach the great divine end in view; in commenting on the sutra of Patanjali, ishvarapranidhana, i.e. "or by the worship of the supreme Lord", "Pranidhana is that sort of Bhakti in which, without seeking results, such as sense-enjoyments, etc., all works are dedicated to that teacher of teachers. Pranidhana is also defined as "the form of Bhakti by which the mercy of the supreme Lord comes to the Yogi, and blesses him his desires". Bhakti is a series or succession of mental efforts at religious realization beginning with ordinary worship and ending in a supreme intensity of love for the supreme. Reverence is a growth out of love. None of us revere him whom does not love, then come Priti i.e., pleasure in god, what an immense pleasure man take in the objects of the senses. They go any where, run through any danger to get the thing which they love, the thing which their sense like. What is wanted of the bhakta is this very kind of intense love which has, however, to be directed to God. When a man feels intense misery because he has not attained God or has not known that which is the only thing worthy to be known, and in consequence dissatisfied and almost mad-then this state of the mind makes him "feel disturbed" in the presence of anything other than the beloved (Ekarativichikitsa). A still higher stage of love is reached when life itself is considered beautiful and worth living only on account of that love. Life is sweet because he thinks of the beloved. A man becomes perfect when he has become blessed, when he has attained God, when he has touched the feet of God, as it were. Then his whole nature is purified and completely changed. All his purpose in life then becomes fulfilled. This is the bliss, the only pleasure in life, which they will not give up. When a person loves the Lord, the whole universe becomes dear to him. The Bhakta loves the lord because He is lovable. There is no other motive originating or directing this divine emotion of the true devotee. To worship God even for the sake of salvation or any other rewards is equally degenerate. Love knows no reward. Love is always for love’s sake. The Bhakta loves because he cannot help loving. When you see beautiful scenery, the scenery does not demand anything from you. Yet the vision thereof brings you to a blissful state of the mind, it tones down all the friction in your soul, it makes you calm, almost raises you, for the time being, beyond your mortal nature, and places you in a condition of quite divine ecstasy. ### There are Nine Modes of Devotion that a Bhakthi Yogi follows They are: 1. Shravana: Listening the name of the Divine 2. Keerthana: Singing the songs in praise of God. 3. Smarana: Remembrance of the God always 4. Pada: Sevana - service at the feet of the Lord 5. Archana: The performance of the prescribed Religious rites, offering flowers, etc. 6. Vandana: Prostration before the image of the Divine. 7. Dasya: Servant and Master Bhava with the God. 8. Sakhya: Feeling of friendship attitude with the Divine. 9. Atma: Nivedana - Self Surrendering to the Supreme. ### Nature of real love or bhakthi The nature of real love is: 1. Ask not anything in return for your love: let your position be always that of the giver; give your love unto God, but do not ask anything even in return from Him. 2. Love knows no fear: Those that love God through fear are the lowest of human beings, quite undeveloped. They worship God from fear of punishment. He is a great Being to them, with a whip in one hand and the scepter in other; if they do not obey him, they are afraid they will be whipped. It Is a degradation to worship God through fear of punishment; such worship is; if worship at all, the crudest form of the worship of love; such worship is; if worship at all, the crudest form of the worship of love. So long as there is any fear in the heart, how can there be love also? Love conquers naturally all fear. If a man thinks he is a little nothing, fear will surely come upon him. And the less you think of yourself as an insignificant person, the less fear there will be for you. God is never to be feared by those who love him. 3. Love knows no rival, for in it is always embodied the lover’s highest ideal: True love never comes until the object of our love becomes to us our highest ideal. It may be that in many cases human love is misdirected and misplaced, but to the person who loves, the thing he loves is always his own highest ideal. The highest ideal of every man is called God. Ignorant or wise, saint or sinner, man or woman educated or uneducated, cultivated or uncultivated to every human being the highest ideal is God. ### D. JNANA YOGA: (YOGA OF WISDOM) The word Jnana means "Knowledge", "insight" or "wisdom". Jnana yoga is the path of self realization through the exercise of understanding or to be more precise the wisdom associated with discerning the Real from the Unreal or illusory. The age of science has made man a rational being. Intellectual sharpness is imminent. Analysis is the tool. The path of Philosophy (Jnana Yoga) is apt for the keen intellectual and is centered on the analysis of happiness', the vital contribution of the Upanishads. Also, many other fundamental questions regarding the mind, the world outside and inside, and reality are taken up. Basic questions are raised even by the intellect itself to reach the very basis of the intellect. The path of Jnana yoga which has been described as "a straight but steep course" is outlined with elegant conciousness by Sadananda in his Vedanta-sara, a fifteenth-century text. Sadananda lists four principal means (sadhana) for attaining liberation: 1. Viveka Viveka – the discriminating power between Atman (self) and Anatman (not-self), sat (real) and Asat (unreal) Nitya (eternal) and Anitya (non-etenal), changing and unchanging and Drik (subject) and Drishya (object) --is termed viveka. Viveka is a result of purity of heart (Chitta-suddhi) through nishkama karma, disinterested works, discernment between the permanent and the transient; that is the constant practice of seeing the world for what it is a finite and changeable realm that, even at its most enjoyable must never be confused with the transcendental bliss. 2. Vairagya Vairagya is indifference to the enjoyments of objects both in this world and the higher. What is wanted is viveka–Purvaka–vairagya (vairagya as the resultant product of viveka) which is: "Brahma satyam jagat mithya, Jivo brahma eva na apaarah." "Brahman is real; the world is phenomenal; the Jiva is identical with Brahman and not different." This kind of vairagya alone will really help a sadhaka. 3. Shat-Sampat - (six-virtues) All the following six virtues are taken collectively as one qualification: a) Sama: quiescence, calmness of mind. This refers to control of mind. b) Dama: self-restraint. This refers to control of senses. c) Uparati: satiety. d) Titiksha: power of endurance, constant balance of mind during pleasure, pain heat and cold etc. e) Sraddha: faith in the scriptures and in Guru’s words. f) Samadhana: balanced state of mind, self-settled ness and power of concentration. 4. Mumukshutva Mumukshutva is the intense longing which one develops for liberation. ### Principles of Jnana Yoga The individual soul is Brahman: Jiva is Brahman Tat Twam Asi (Thou art that) is the greatest of all statements. The student on the path of Jnana yoga has to educate his mind to remove mis-conceptions that cling to it; those that make him think he is something else. All that we need to educate ourselves in any field, material or spiritual, is discrimination-a kind of meditation to remove doubts-in order to realize the importance of that one statement ‘Thou art that’. The student of Yoga must once and for all realize that the realization of Brahman is the only thing; that will bring fullness and competition to life. The Zenith, the culmination of fulfilment is to be found only in the identification of self with God with Brahman. One realizes that (1) Brahman is the only reality; (2) the universe is Brahman; and (3) the reality of the individual soul, or jiva, is nothing but Brahman. Brahman is all that exists behind all the names and forms in the universe. It is a question of negation of the appearance, realization of the reality, of Brahman, and then affirmation of the presence of Brahman; every where. Our çonsciousness, which is in reality perfect consciousness, is now heavily burdened with many coverings. If we can eliminate these coverings that cling to this individual consciousness that we call “mine”, we will realize this consciousness as the perfect Brahman. When ignorance has been removed we find that we have all the time, always, and under all circumstances, been and ever will be one and the same with Brahman. Full and complete realization of that one is the goal and ideal of Jnana Yoga. We must not stop short of that goal. ### E. RAJA YOGA "Yoga" is derived from the Sanskrit root "yoga" which means "link" or "union", and "raja" means literally "king". So "Raja Yoga" signifies the king of unions, or the link between the soul and the Supreme through which the soul becomes the controller of its own mind, intellect and sanskaras and consequently of its physical body. Raja Yogis, because of their access to God through self-control, have the mental stability and heightened perception of life that enable them to remain the controlier of every situation that presents itself. The meaning of the word "Yoga" should not be reduced merely to a physical discipline. For the uninitiated westerner, "Yoga" conjures up images of complicated body-bending, saffron-robed yogis, or "fakirs" that make their living by calmly sitting on beds of nails or allowing themselves to be buried under the ground for hours on end. Raja yoga means stabilising the mind in the consciousness of God or having a mental link with God. The yogi keeps in his mind the divine qualities of God, so that his mind also always feels a kind of divine ecstasy which is different from the worldly joy in three aspects: (1) his source of ecstasy is unvanishing (2) it is ennobling and elevating (3) one does not get enslaved to the worldly objects which at certain stages of his life he may not be able to acquire or may fail in his senses to establish contact with those objects and be unable to extract pleasure from those sources because of old age, physical debility, disease or death. Generally, will power is our ability to put into practice the ideals we know to be for our well being and to resist activity which is harmful. Raja Yoga develops the intellect to such an extent that this degree of control is possible. A Raja yogi can be in the midst of a situation of intense disturbance, yet remain unshakeably calm that the inner strength becomes a solace and inspiration to others. The weak soul is like a leaf at the mercy of the storm, whereas the strong one is a rock in the tempestuous sea. Raja Yoga implies that those practicing it behave in a royal manner. They are calm, composed and silence-loving, free from the disease of worry and stress of fear. They become "carefree kings" unaffected by the sharp constructs of sorrow and joy, gain and loss, success and failure, praise and defamation. Their royalty and wisdom do not permit them to violate the laws of nature or the laws of God. They are utterly relaxed yet completely alert. Culturing of the mind is the key to success in almost all our endeavors. The yoga of mind culture or Psychic control (RAJAYOGA) gives a practical and easy approach to reach higher state of consciousness. It is based on the Antaranga Yoga of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga System. Meditation is not a process of emptying the mind of thought. It uses the natural endowment of the soul, thought, as a take-off point into the consciousness of the true self. We climb a well-prepared ladder of thoughts and eventually climb beyond it into the pure experience of what we really are. During the initial stages of meditation many wasteful thoughts do come. This is due to the soul’s longstanding habit of thinking aimlessly. The mind has been attracted or repelled by everything and every one. The soul has been buffeted around from one experience to another, one scene to another. Raja Yoga is the means to channelise good thought energy into one’s moods. It means to turn the thoughts away from those of anger, greed and frustration to a far higher level of peace and contentment. Raja Yoga is the royal Yoga, because practitioner becomes the ruler of the mind. Raja Yoga leads to the psychic control. Raja yoga works upon the mind, refining and perfecting it and through the mind upon the body. Raja Yoga is the Yoga of ‘will’. Raja Yoga that is commonly known throughout the world was systematized by an Indian sage, Patanjali, about 2,000 years ago. It is also known as Astanga Yoga; that is, the Yoga of Eight Limbs, referring to eight parts into which it is divided. Pathanjali’s Asthtanga Yoga (8 limbs) gives the steps to practice. This method of Yogic practice finally leads to the stage of Samadhi, the super conscious state. Here the yogi realizes himself, the knowledge of Atma and finally merges it with the supreme self, Pararnatma. ### Astanga Yoga The Eight limbs of Astanga yoga are:- 1. **Yama** - Self Discipline or Self Restraint There are five yamas: a) Ahimsa - Non - injuries b) Satya - Truthfulness c) Asteya - Non-Stealing d) Brahamacharya - Celibacy e) Aparigraha - Non-Covetousness 2. **Niyama** - Social Discipline or Code of Conduct There are five niyama: a) Saucha - Internal and external purity b) Santosha - Contentment c) Tapas - Austerity d) Svadhyaya - Strengthening the Knowledge e) Ishvara Pranidhana - Self surrender 3. **Asana** - Physical Posture 4. **Pranayama** - Control of Prana or life force 5. **Pratyahara** - Withdrawal of the senses 6. **Dharana** - Focusing or concentration 7. **Dhyana** - Meditation 8. **Samadhi** - Super consciousness Mental Postures in Raja Yoga Raja Yoga also requires the practice of mental postures. What is meant by mental postures can best be explained by comparison with the postures in Hatha Yoga. A Hatha Yogi, for example, practices the Lotus Posture physically. Compared to this, a Raja Yogi makes his mind like a lotus. That is to say that a Raja Yogi discharges his worldly responsibilities without his mind getting polluted by the evils of this world. Similarly, a hatha yogi practices the Savasana after and before every asana. A Raja Yogi, on the other hand, repeatedly takes his mind into the realm of dead silence and withdraws himself from the body, just as the soul does when it finally departs from its mortal coil. A Raja Yogi though knows his rights, minds not only his rights but he also minds whether what he is doing is right. Again, a Raja Yogi knows that being a slave to gluttony, adultery or to other kinds of sense-gratification, is like being a puppet in the hands of the great temptress that is Maya. So, he refrains from this. These and such other are the mental postures, which a Raja Yogi takes to, so that he can lead a holy and happy life. By means of these postures, he remains free from dejection, disappointment, nervous tension, mental pollution, various phobias, complexes, nervousness and the like. He feels that he is blessed and lucky and has inner satisfaction. ### F. HATHA YOGA Hatha yoga is probably the most commonly known of the different branches of