So currently the season is of Navratri There are 9 days, today is the 9th day I have written about the story previously Just a refresher of the 9 days The days are Navratri – Shailputri, Brahmacharini, chandraghanta, Kushmanda, Skandmata, Katyayani mata, Kalaratri, Mahagauri and Siddhidatri They are all steps of meditation with each day …
Tag: Yoga
Sep 28
Meditation Wikipedia
Before we go into this, one has to realize and understand what meditation is. Meditation is a very weak word and does not describe the 4 levels described in yoga sutras or the 2 major subdivisions and one subdivision has 4 levels. The first person who got all the information of yoga together was Patanjali. …
Aug 29
Are we really different
So many people , so many different personalities. But the fundamentals remain the same Take some rich person. Or could be an idol. Yet if observe their facial reactions , attitude it , behavior would not take long to get disgusted with them They are not different and maybe even worse than the average Joe …
Jun 12
Sukshma Pranayama for the beginner
This will be a blog mostly introducing the term sukshma pranayama. If you look for it, you wont find much about information about it online. Even in the shastras – there is paucity of information. The place where you will find some information is in the book by Swami Veda Bharati in his book Yoga …
Sep 01
What is ego?
Link to Original Document Ego is a force within Maya, that has permeated all the different universes created by God It is present every where . It is within Maya itself. And being present in Maya, we are under the illusion that Maya or the devil is real. There is no Maya or the Devil. …
Aug 15
Repetition
[Link to Original Document] Many things Every process in progression is a repetition Repetition is of 3 or 5 or 8 ( elements ) Example is of eating. I will not explain further. It is self explanatory Since the repetition is from lowest level it has advantage and disadvantage Advantage – analogy to the highest …
Jul 28
The mysterious kundalini part 2
Link to Original Document So far I have not started much about it A few more points – Kundalini although present in all , it is sleeping It is awakened by the grace of a Guru There are 9 levels of awakening It has 2 purposes. One ascend the pathway in Brahmanadi ask the way …
Jul 27
The mysterious Kundalini
Like Yogananda said, due to certain spiritual injunctions, details of this is not written very clearly in any book. Moreover, even it was clearly written, it would be of no use, since it is an experience. Having said that, with extensive reading, I have come to the following conclusions – Liberation is not possible without …
Jul 14
Why does Yoga fail for almost everyone?
Link to Original Document The basis of Yoga is Yama and Niyama. There are 4 pillars that are a must (besides yama and niyama) Shat Sampatti (6 wealths)Shama – ability to keep the mind calm Dama – ability to control senses Titiksha – silently enduring all hardships without being impatient Uparati – Ability to focus …
May 28
Meditation in numbers
Link to Original Document There are steps to meditation Pranayama Pratyahar Dharna Dhyana Savikalp samadhi Nirvikalpa samadhi People talk about going to Samadhi without even reaching step zero. That is not possible Aurobindo never reached a state where body consciousness is lost. A state that yogananda applauded. That is not to say Aurobindo contribution was …
May 28
Necessity of meditation
Link to Original Document We know the ideals. I can list them in brief Silence the mind Not to get upset no matter what the difficulty in life is ( in fact if it can not get upset, the problem resolves) Not to crave things in the world including food, sex, money, travel, company, want …
Mar 19
Be vigilant
Link to Original Document In darkness the soul roams The illusion of light, his chain of prison Illusion of knowledge, a fools tools Be vigilant Be vigilant For I am always there You see me not Ignore the thoughts, emotions and ego My eternal love always there Joy unbound, you will know Your problems solved …
Feb 27
SKY breathing
Link to Original Document I just heard about this recently. It stands for Sudarshan Kriya yoga. Sudarshan – vaguely means good vision Kriya yoga – loosely refers to a yoga technique of breathing Yoga – means unite with God. In USA people think of Yoga as some body exercise, breathing , meditation, chanting aum and …
Feb 17
It is far more difficult than you think
Link to Original Document Hinduism has a peculiar concept called Moksha or liberation. Hindus believe that after death, the journey continues – you may go to heaven or hell for a specified duration and then you come back until you learn the life lessons. So what are the life lessons? Recognize all is God. The …
Jan 22
Soham , sohum or Hung-sau
Link to Original Document Mohangiri Maharaj said it best This is the sound occurring 21,600 times a day in all humans. It coincides with the breath. All one has to do is observe it. Paramhansa Yogananda called in Hung – Sau. Gurudev and Mohangiri Maharaj called it soham. I will describe it – what I …
Jan 12
5 vyoma part 2
Link to Original Document So the last part of vyoma, was a teaser. It gives the initial vyoma or space. Everyone experiences the bhutakash, the space of the universe. There are other inner spaces I described – those inner spaces are not related to the universe that people know. However even at the apex of …
Jan 10
Panch vyoma
Link to Original Document Vyoma means akash. Normally akash means sky but here it means space. Different people have given either 3 or 5 vyoma. Mahayog vigyan, a traditional treatise on Yoga, written by Yogendra vigyani describes 5 Another great authority Vasistha maharaj or Bhagwan gives 3 vyoma. Since the entire internet has no concept …
Jan 10
Yoga – the easy complex road
Link to Original Document Yoga is now a catch all phrase There are words people use – meditation, I do yoga, and then in desperation and to show they are superior they add words like Raj yoga , karma yog, vyoma yoga, shakti yoga, Bhakti yoga, etc An unsuspecting victim could get attracted to the …
Dec 26
The biggest error(s)
Link to Original Document Well I lied. There are many many big errors we make Not knowing our divine self. This is the root cause of all our pains. If we knew our divine self we would not be so miserable. Why be a beggar when you are a king? Not making any effort to …
Dec 20
The mind and the senses
Link to Original Document We hear many great statements. Such as Be content / satisfied. Don’t get greedy. If you make a 100,000 dollars don’t crave a million And so on Save thing in food. We eat something lovely And then want more. Our tummy is full but we still want to eat We may …
Nov 28
The issue with progress
Link to Original Document One other big hurdle in progress is consistency. The lack of consistency is many ways Inability to sit daily In ability to sit at a consistent hour Inability to have consistent interest and enthusiasm When either of them wanes, the soul quickly relaxes and gets immersed into Maya Once immersed into …
Nov 22
The Royal path
Link to Original Document People believe they can wake up one fine morning, start meditating and say Shivohum or Sohum, or say God is I and you are a yogi. There can be nothing farther in truth than this. It is not so easy to be liberated. You are fighting with a mental inertia that …
Nov 20
Yoga sutras from Patanjali
Link to Original Document The most important versus from Patanjali on Yoga come from Chapter तस्मिन्सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥ २.४९॥ tasminsati śvāsapraśvāsayorgativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ .. 2.49.. tasmin = upon that (perfection of meditation posture) asti = being accomplished shvasa = inhalation prashvsayoh = exhalation gati = of the uncontrolled movements vichchhedah = slowing, softening or braking …
Nov 20
Yoga sutras from Patanjali
Link to Original Document The most important versus from Patanjali on Yoga come from Chapter तस्मिन्सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेदः प्राणायामः ॥ २.४९॥ tasminsati śvāsapraśvāsayorgativicchedaḥ prāṇāyāmaḥ .. 2.49.. tasmin = upon that (perfection of meditation posture) asti = being accomplished shvasa = inhalation prashvsayoh = exhalation gati = of the uncontrolled movements vichchhedah = slowing, softening or braking …
Nov 06
Yog
Link to Original Document We eat wonderful things about Yog. We get attracted to it. We want the wonderful things that come with it. We want to be like Yogananda or Vivekananda or Lahiri Mahasaya or Gorakhnarh And it is very easy to imagine we are like them. Thousands of blogs are out there with …
Nov 05
Ram Dass
Link to Original Document Richard Alpert was a psychologist working in Harvard until 1963. He often took LSD and had many hallucinations and out of body experiences. He believed them to be true. He wanted to see if that experience could be reproduced. In 1963, he was fired for experimenting with LSD with undergraduate students. …
Oct 16
Knowledge in Sanskrit and Yoga -errors in translation
Link to Original Document Many important stotras in many famous books have been wrongly translated. This includes translations from most scholars too. This is the reason, why I generally dont encourage reading books written by those who have not become accomplished in Yoga (siddha). Jaideva Singh and Laxman Joo are two big names Scholars. They …
Sep 21
An elusive endpoint
Link to Original Document EVERYONE will go through life with some things simply unfulfilled. It will be quite a long list. The unfulfilled list is the cause of the next birth. Simple. Yogananda gave an example like this. I dont have the exact example. Lets say you have a life with a good spouse, decent …
Sep 18
Hurdles in Yoga
Link to Original Document Even when you have a Guru, after a while your progress will stop. The soul is unable to carry the burden. It gets broken down. Looses faith. This is to be expected on the journey. Maya and Karma collectively will deter the progress till the breaking point is reached. However, this …
Sep 04
Viragi
Link to Original Document People nowadays call it vairagya. It is a word that came from viragi. Meaning vi means without and raag meaning attachment or not covering this world. Once this is established in cement – God or liberation is written in stone. Nothing can shake it. However, in the long journey of the …
Aug 27
People remain asleep
Link to Original Document When ever I see people, I often see them asleep. What I mean is that in all their activities, not once are they aware of the divine spark in them. That divine spark is such a wonderful thing. It is alive. It is real I know of someone – whenever asked …
Aug 24
What happens in Samadhi?
Link to Original Document Everyone has a different concept of samadhi. They will say Deep meditation Merge in God Seeing God / talking with God Some will display their information by using terms like savikalpa samadhi, savitarka samadhi, suvichar samadhi, Sananda Samadhi, sasmita samadhi, asampragnata samadhi, nirvikalpa samadhi, dharma Megha samadhi, Sahaj samadhi etc Fine …
Jul 27
Stillness
Link to Original Document Stillness – it simply another word for Samadhi This is not the stillness in a stone. A stone is quite still but it achieves nothing. It is a tamsic stillness, Or the stillness of someone who smokes significant pot, or alcohol and goes into stupor. This still, is the stillness that …
Jun 14
Reversal of consciousness
Link to Original Document So what is reversal of consciousness? One of the most ridiculous thing that we do is – we identify ourself as body end thoughts and intelligence and try to look within to see our soul! Amazingly Wrong! You are the soul and you should be identified as soul and looking outside …
Jun 11
What is your level of awakening?
Link to Original Document There is a story of Paramhansa Yogananda. Someone who came to meet Yogananda claimed to have perfection and claimed extra ordinary powers too. Paramhansa silently listened. The man went on and on. Finally, Yogananda said, lets put the powers to test. lets both see the living room of the neighbor looks …
Jun 10
Sohum kriya or Hungso Kriya
Link to Original Document Before I got covid, someone asked me about more information about Sohum kriya. What I will write is more what Yogananda taught in his letters to those who wanted to become disciples. Many webpages are out there which will descibe it in a more elaborate manner but this does not mean …
May 31
Kutastha – The ultimate secret
Link to Original Document Lahiri Mahasaya described everything in relation to Kutastha. Every paragraph of Manu smruti, upanishads, vedas all relate to the Kutastha. He constantly talked about being established in Kutastha Vishnutirthji Maharaj – who has showered innnumerable grace and blessings – described Kutastha – Kuta meaning pile of prana and stha meaning established. …
May 10
I see a white light
Link to Original Document Yogananda described the Jyoti mudra. It is a secret mudra that was previously not written in public. In this mudra, light pressure generates a light. This light is not just light from the pressure but also a little light of God. So, one may , naturally ask the question – is …
May 08
What is the witness / saakshi bhav
Link to Original Document The witness we have spoken about several times already, only here it is in the mind. There are witnesses everywhere. It is a capacity of the being to detach itself, to stand back and look at what is happening, as when one looks at something happening in the street or when …
Apr 27
Kevali – from the scriptures
Link to Original Document [When the breath stops effortlessly, without either rechaka (exhalation) or puraka (inhalation), that is called Kevala Kumbhaka.—Hatha-Yoga Pradipika,11:73. “The aspirant who can perform Kevali Kumbhaka, he only is the true knower of Yoga.”—Gheranda Samhita, V:95. One who is adept in Kevala Kumbhaka, which has no rechaka and puraka, he has nothing …
Apr 26
Vigyan Bhairav Tantra
Link to Original Document Vanhi vishasya madhye chitta sukhmayam kshipet. Kevalam vayu purna va Samarananda yujyate ॥ ६ ८ ॥ One should throw the blissful mind into the fire (manipura chakra) in the middle of that fibre-like lotus stalk (sushumna) or into that which is only full of air (anahata chakra). Then one is united …
Apr 22
Initiation into silence
Link to Original Document Silence is maun Everyone has a different opinion about it. But you can read the different types of maun in my previous blog But let’s not go to the highest maun. It is difficult to even understand the highest. It is a state which is present everywhere and In so much …
Apr 18
Mauna – continuation
Link to Original Document I finally found substantiation of what I said in previous blog – from Ramana maharshi also The most valuable thing in the ocean lies on its floor. The pearl is so small a thing, yet so valuable and so difficult to procure. Similarly, the Self is like the pearl: to find …
Apr 10
About shakti awakening
Link to Original Document The highest achievement in life is awakening of shakti It is precious and extremely rare. I really mean extremely rare. This awakening is a decisive step in ending this endless cycle of life and death. The Guru who has this power does not expose this power. The corollary is that , …
Apr 01
Shiv – Shakti
Link to Original Document 16 aspects Kula Samarthya Urmi Hridaya Saar Spanda Vibhuti Trisika Kali karsini Chandi Vani Bhoga Drik Nitya I listed this as a ready reference for the yogi on the path No discussion is needed. Or cannot be done. They are aspects of God. Today is the beginning of Chaitri navratri The …
Apr 01
Shiv – Shakti
Link to Original Document 16 aspects Kula Samarthya Urmi Hridaya Saar Spanda Vibhuti Trisika Kali karsini Chandi Vani Bhoga Drik Nitya I listed this as a ready reference for the yogi on the path No discussion is needed. Or cannot be done. They are aspects of God. Today is the beginning of Chaitri navratri The …
Mar 23
Sounds / Naada part 2
Link to Original Document So i looked up about Naada on the internet. Ancient hindu scriptures have information on it. There is reference to the Naada in many of the upanishads. But on wikipedia, they quickly turn from hindu scripture to buddhism and some of their books and references. I have to say the best …
Mar 22
Naad / nada
Link to Original Document An important step in mediation is hearing different sounds Hearing these sounds the mind gets attracted to going within. These sounds do not come from outside but from within. As such they are called anahat. Meaning without striking. All musical instruments play sounds with a strike. In the case of the …
Mar 19
Experience beyond thought
Link to Original Document I am smart I am stupid Both are thoughts You foolishly bought A bird in a cage No way to escape I am bound I am free Both are thoughts You foolishly bought A bird in a cage No way you escape Bookish knowledge oh Veda reader Can’t stop your thoughts …
Feb 09
Gradations of consciousness
Link to Original Document Let’s talk about the human body in relation to the Sushumna Yogi or not, one has to agree that the neurological system is very important for any living being. Without it, there is no good interaction with others, lack of sensory and physical or intellectual interaction would be a disaster So …
Bhavin
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