Yoga
Different Styles of Yoga
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Raja Yoga
Spirituality with Ashtanga Yoga
Raja yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is the path of yoga
that is concerned mainly with the mind and control
of thoughts so that they get directed towards the
realization of the divine. The spiritual
experience of Ashtanga yoga is also similar in content
with the rest of branches of yoga but this style
is considered to be the path followed by the
kings. This yoga does not take the help of
struggle with the vital Prana in order to control
the external influence of air entering into the
system. Neither does this system take help from
the various postures of Hatha yoga and Kriya yoga.
This system deals with controlling and silencing
the thought process. The yogi or Sadhak sits down
in one place and just starts with controlling his
mind.
The spirituality thus
experienced is also very direct. The end result
though remains that of complete salvation and
deliverance. Maharishi Patanjali has written about
Ashtanga yoga in the form of Sutras. This is called
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The Sutras are verses
written in a cryptic format to express any
thought. These are difficult to read and
understand as proper interpretation of them can be
done by a person who has immense knowledge of the
entire text. This ancient text explains the
spiritual journey of a Raja yogi by verses arranged
in four chapters. A brief description of these is
as follows:
Samadhi Pada: This is the
first chapter of Yoga Sutra's of Patanjali. This
has fifty-one verses or sutras that deal with
obstructions faced by people in meditation. These
are verses that explain the details of controlling
the mind while meditation process that in Sanskrit
is called Citta Vritti Nirodha. Many kinds of
Vairagyas experienced by people by the process of
meditation are described here. The importance of
uniting the Purusha with the Ishvara is also
explained in cryptic poetic format. Sadhana Pada: This chapter
deals with the actual practices required to direct
the thought process into the direction of God.
These are basically processes of Kriya yoga that
Sadhak or yogi is required to perform in order to
progress on the path to the divine entity. This
chapter contains fifty-five Sutras. It describes
the importance of Yama, Niyama, Tapas, Asana and
Pratyahara. Vibhuti Pada: This contains
fifty-six Sutras and they explain the process of
concentrating the thought process and senses onto
the divine path. They explain how with withdrawing
of the senses inwards a person can achieve
detachment of Purusha from Prakriti and move
forward on the direction of salvation. It
emphasizes the importance of Dharana, Dhyana,
Samyama, Siddhi and Chakras. Kaivalya Pada: This is the
chapter that is the shortest among all. It
contains thirty-six sutras and deals with
explanations regarding complete detachment of
Purusha from the Prakriti. It is the ultimate
stage of Sadhak or yogi and he experiences the
self merging with the divine. Raja yoga basically takes the
mind onto a progressive journey where the mind
goes through the following stages of development
of thought process.
Khipta: This is the stage of mind where the
thoughts in the mind are naturally running wild.
All the thoughts are in different directions and
the mind just thinks of a lot of things all at the
same time. Mudha: In this state since
the thoughts are still not directed into one way
the mind is like the sun with its light scattering
everywhere. Its energy is directionless so the
rays do not have the intensity to burn anything.
In order for the light to be well guided and
bright all its rays have to be focused in one
direction. Then the rays become powerful enough to
start a fire. This state of mind leads to a lot of
foolish actions which are invariably regretted
later. Also it gives rise to lot of forgetfulness
because the mind is so cluttered. Vikshipta: In this stage
the mind tries to concentrate but the thoughts
still run wild. It is as if the thoughts still
remain scattered at times and on other times they
may remain concentrated. Ekagra: This is the state
of complete concentration when the thoughts stop
running haywire. Niruddha: This is the state
of mind when the Sadhak experiences complete
concentration and in his thought process he
realizes the detachment of self from the universe. While the mind goes through
transitions the person cultivates following
virtues which help him in reaching the ultimate
goal of salvation. These virtues are: Maitri: This means
developing a friendly attitude towards everyone.
There is attachment and detachment in this kind of
friendship. There is a sort of constancy of
emotion towards one and all. This takes care of
the vice of not keeping everyone on the same
platform. This develops a sense of fair judgment
in the Sadhak which is very important for his
duties as a king.
Karuna: This is a virtue of
kindheartedness towards one and all. This asset
mainly defines the characters of complete
unselfishness in all one does.
Mudita: This is feeling
happy about others achievements and gains through
life. This feeling mainly deals with curtailing of
all feelings of jealousy towards friends or foes. Upeksha: This is another
virtue by which a person truly comes close to the
divine. This is the quality of complete
indifference towards others who harbour negative
feelings towards the individual. There is no
feeling of anger towards others.
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