Meditation styles and Yoga practice

Guru Patanjali Preaching in Sadhana Yoga

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Part 29
Translation: - YAMA (restraint); NIYAMA (cultural and religious observance); ASNA (posture); PRANA (control of psychic breath); PRATIHARA (withdrawal of the senses); DHARNA (concentration and fixed attention); DHYANA (meditation ) and SAMADHI (spiritual union of self conscious with conscious mind) are the eight limbs of yoga.

The Great Guru Patanjali prescribes "ASHTANG" yoga consisting (Eight limbed yoga) of the eight limbs for the perfection of the mechanism of human body and mind and for gaining a direct insight vision for the true self or inner formless self-conscious of soul essence. The eight limbs are YAMA (restraint); NIYAMA (cultural and religious observance); ASNA (posture); PRANA (control of psychic breath); PRATIHARA (withdrawal of the senses); DHARNA (concentration and fixed attention); DHYANA (meditation ) and Samadhi (spiritual union of self conscious with conscious mind). It is of paramount importance that thoughts of mind are restrained and nullified for the meditation practice of yogic discipline. For the practice and perfection of these eight limbs of yoga, a sustained effort is to be undertaken to achieve the desired results.

There are five kinds of thoughts namely true thoughts, false thoughts, verbal thoughts, sleep thoughts and memory thoughts. These thoughts have three forms that are form, subtle and very subtle. Form thoughts are located on the upper side of the mind. The very subtle thoughts are located on the inner side of the mind. All the forms of thoughts contain cravings. They are enmeshed in the network of cravings and temptation. These cravings are due to the pre-dominance of lack of spiritual knowledge about affection, aversion, and fear and self-ego. It is the impurity and guilt, which are embedded in the cravings that give rise to pleasure and pain. It is on the elimination of cravings from the thoughts that both pleasure and pain become meaningless.

The main cause responsible for the emergence of thoughts in unconscious mind is lack of spiritual knowledge of nature’s characteristics and qualities. In fact human being’s conscious mind and the conscious mind of all the living beings has no direct connection with the embodied self-conscious of soul. The embodied self-conscious of soul is one and is the one single essence or formless reality of universe. This essence or reality of one self-conscious of soul of all living being of universe has one type of characteristics and qualities namely of being the doer, of being fear free, of being enmity free, of being timeless and of being imperishable. The connection or conjunction which is felt and believed is due to the predominance of lack of spiritual knowledge in conscious mind of human being about nature’s essence and grip on the self conscious of the embodied conscious mind, Nature’s essence or reality automatically gets attracted and pulled towards its master which is the self-conscious of soul essence.

Nature essence creates a mind for the self conscious of the living being by putting in motion and action its own characteristics and qualities namely melodious and illumination, motion and action and sluggish and inactive along with its cosmic laws. Creation of the mind takes place in the nature’s essence or reality. It is created with the help of the characteristics and qualities of nature. Its purpose is to take in its grip the embodied self-conscious of soul and to show the embodied self-conscious of soul its innumerable forms and sights. Nature’s forms and sights keep on changing each and every moment. These forms and sights are created by nature for the embodied self-conscious of soul to vision.

Formless mind is the creation of nature. It is wrapped on and around self-conscious of soul. It is located in the inner most layer of nature essence itself. It is created in the seven layers of lack of spiritual knowledge of nature. Mind in fact, is nature’s essence or formless and innermost reality. It sees its own form in its own thoughts out of lack of spiritual knowledge. So long a human being’s conscious does not cross the barrier of the seven layers of lack of spiritual knowledge flowing in unconscious mind about nature’s essence or reality, he does not get spiritual knowledge of the thoughts of the mind of nature. The seven layers of lack of spiritual knowledge of nature’s essence in formless and endless mind of human being are in the form of a planet or orb. So long spiritual knowledge of the thoughts of mind is not attained, restraint of thoughts and their nullification is not possible. So long nature’s mind does not get emptied of thoughts, conscious and awareness does not attain knowledge of the conscious mind. So long self-conscious does not attain knowledge of the conscious mind, it does not get liberated from the strangle hold of outer nature essence. So long conscious does not get liberated from nature’s stranglehold, it does not enter into the embodied self-conscious of soul. So long conscious does not enter the embodied self-conscious of soul, self-realization is not get realized.

The Great religious teacher Patanjali says that pulling nature’s mind from thoughts flowing over it and stabilizing it vision in the deeper self-conscious of soul essence is known as yoga. When inner conscious of an embodied conscious mind attains knowledge about the lack of spiritual knowledge of cravings of thoughts of mind, these very thoughts become craving free. It is then that conscious starts comprehending these thoughts and goes beyond the sphere of the influence. The mind, which keeps in a state of motion each and every moment, becomes motionless. It is then that the mind gets into the non-merger state of nature. It is then that it crosses beyond conscious itself. When conscious of the embodied conscious mind gets beyond the mind of nature’s essence or reality, it gets focused on the self-conscious of soul essence. This is because the embodied conscious mind is static and without form and shape. Hence, it attains self-realization. It is self-realization, which shows the path of knowledge to inner formless God essence realization. It is the path of knowledge, which leads to inner and formless God’s realization.

The entire stress of the Great Guru Patanjali lies on nature’s mind, thoughts of mind, cravings of thoughts and lack of spiritual knowledge of cravings flowing in human mind. His stress lies on restraining and nullifying the layers of cravings. His stress also lies in removing the impurities and guilt complexes contained in the seven layers of lack of spiritual knowledge in endless and formless human mind. The Great Sage says that thoughts are to be restrained and nullified with unflinching faith in a conscious and deliberate manner. This is a very subtle subject. Matter form of balls or planets of universe has created its shadow in a human being’s formless mind by his breath in the shape of seven subtle balls of lack of spiritual knowledge. As such, the Great Sage has divided yoga into eight limbs. He advocates the practice of eight limbs for the attainment of perfection.

The Meditation practice is to be undertaken with patience, contentment and by repeated efforts. The practice is to be undertaken with a firm resolve to realize the impossible and to attain perfection by disciplining the mind. The Guru calls all these aspects as disciplines of yoga. All the limbs of yoga discipline are to be systematically practiced. The Great sage calls these eight limbs as YAMA (restraint); NIYAMA (cultural and religious observance); ASNA (posture); PRANA (control of psychic breath); PRATIHARA (withdrawal of the senses); DHARNA (concentration and fixed attention); DHYANA ( meditation) and SAMADHI (perfect conscious or spiritual union resulting in super conscious experience or state of transcendental super-consciousness).

The disciplining and perfection of the preparatory yogic discipline is to begin with the yoga of restraint (YAMA). It is to be ended with the yoga of SAMADHI (perfect conscious resulting in super conscious experience). Further than this is the practice of inertia yoga of tranquility and serenity. The grace of inner formless God essence automatically undertakes the non-preparatory yoga discipline. This yogic discipline automatically occurs on the completion of the perfection of self-realization. This discipline takes place when the disciple is in the state of patience and contentment. It takes place during his seeded spiritual union. The Great Sage in the succeeding parts describes the what, the why and the how of the meditation practice of yoga and its eight limbs.

The Great spiritual leader Patanjali calls the first five limbs of yoga namely YAMA (restraint); NIYAMA (culture); ASNA (posture); PRANA (control of psychic breath) and PRATIHARA (withdrawal of the senses) as preparatory yogic discipline of penance. He calls the disciplining and perfection of these five limbs as the path of action. The next two limbs namely DHARNA (concentration and fixed attention) and DHYANA (meditation ) are called preparatory yogic discipline of meditation. He calls the disciplining and perfection of these two limbs as the path of knowledge. The eight limb of yogic discipline namely SAMADHI (perfect conscious or spiritual union ) is the salutation to inner endless and formless God essence. This is the preparatory discipline of worship and adoration. The Great Sage calls the disciplining and perfection of this limb as the path of devotion. The Great Sage describes a mixture of all the paths of all the streams as yoga. He also calls practicing conscious away from the stranglehold of communalism yoga. He describes yoga as the practice and perfection of the eight limbs of yoga.

Yoga Tip :- Select any one spiritual form & remain above any blind worship or superstition attached to it. Meditate on it with devotion regularly and consciously. Here is offered an icon of devout image of mother and child that is life size sculptures creation in Heavenly Gardens . GS Virk as child in his mother lap. Meditation practice considering as child sucking milk in mother lap purify not only sexual powers but also cunning thought process of unconscious mind . This meditation makes one simple as a child and generates immense love for mother and sexless love for opposite sex. Create such sculpture or imagined in lap of mother lap and drinking mother milk while entering in meditation in conscious mind.