The science of Raya Yoga, in the first place, proposes to give men such a means of observing the internal states, and the instrument is the mind itself. The power of attention of mind, when properly guided, and directed towards the internal world, will analyse the mind, and illumine facts for us.The powers of mind are like rays of light being dissipated; when they are concentrated they illumine everything. This is the only source of knowledge that we have. Everyone is using it, both in the external and the internal world,but, for the psychologist, this minute observation which the scientific man can throw upon the external world, will have to be thrown on the internal world, and this requires a great deal of practice. From our childhood upwards we have been taught only to pay attention to things external, never to pay attention to things internal, and most of us have nearly lost the faculty of observing the internal mechanism. To turn the mind, as it were, inside, stop it from going outside, and thenm to concentrate all its powers, and throw them upon the mind itself, in order that it may know its own nature, analyse itself, is very hard work. Yet theat is the only way to anything which will be a scientific approach to the subject.
What is the use of such knowledge? In the first place, knowledge itself is the highest reward of knowledge, and, in the second place, there is also utility in it. It will take away our misery. When, by analysing his own mind, man comes face to face, as it were, with something which is never destroyed, something which is, by its own nature, eternally pure and perfect, he will no more be miserable, no more unhappy. All misery comes from fear, from unsatisfied desire.Man will find that he never dies, and then he will have no more fear of death. When he knows that he is perfect, he will have no more vain desires, and both these causes being absent, there will be no more misery—there will be perfect bliss, even while in this body.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
INTRODUCTORY.(4/10)
The science of Raja Yoga proposes to put before humanity a practical and scientifically worked-out method of reaching this truth. In the first place, every science must have its own method of investigation.If you want to become an astronomer, and sit down and cry “Astronmoy, Astronmoy!” it will never come to you.The same with chemistry. A certain method must be followed. You must go to the laboratory, take the different substance, mix them up, compound them, experiment with them, and out of that will come a knowledge of chemistry. If you want to be an astronomer you must go to the observatory, take a telescope, study the stars and planets, and then you will become an astronomer. Each science must have its own methods.I could preach you thousands of sermons, but they would not make you religious, until you first practiced the method. These are the truths of the sages of all countries, of all ages,men pure and unselfish, who had no motive but to do good to the world. They all declare that they have found some truth higher than that the senses can bring to us, and they challenge verification. They say to you, take up the method and practise honestly, and then, if you do not find this higher truth, you will have the right to say that there is no truth in the claim, but before you have done that, you are not rational in denying the truth of these assertions.So we must work faithfully, using the prescribed methods, and light will come.
In acquiring knowledge we make use of generalisation, and generalisation is based upon observation.We first observe facts, and then we generalise, and then we draw our conclusions or principles.The knowledge of the mind, of the internal nature of man, of though, can never be had until we have the power of first observing the facts that are going on within.It is very easy to observe facts in the external world, and many thousand instruments have been invented to observe every point of nature, but in the internal world we find no instrument to help us.Yet we know we must observe in order to have a real science. Without a proper analysis, any science will be hoepless, mere theorising, and that is why all the psychologists have been quarrelling among themselves since the beginning of time, except those few who found out the means of observation.
In acquiring knowledge we make use of generalisation, and generalisation is based upon observation.We first observe facts, and then we generalise, and then we draw our conclusions or principles.The knowledge of the mind, of the internal nature of man, of though, can never be had until we have the power of first observing the facts that are going on within.It is very easy to observe facts in the external world, and many thousand instruments have been invented to observe every point of nature, but in the internal world we find no instrument to help us.Yet we know we must observe in order to have a real science. Without a proper analysis, any science will be hoepless, mere theorising, and that is why all the psychologists have been quarrelling among themselves since the beginning of time, except those few who found out the means of observation.
INTRODUCTORY.(3/10)
Why is there so much disturbance, so much fighting and quarrelling in the name of God? There has been more bloodshed in the name of God than for any other cause, and the reason is that people never went to the fountain head; they were content only to give a mental assent to the customs of their forefathers, and wanted others to do the same. What right has a man to say he has a soul if he does not feel it, or that there is a God if he does not see Him? If there is a God we must see Him, if there is a soul we must perceive it; otherwise it is better not to believe. It is better to be an outspoke atheist than a hypocrite. The modern idea, on the one hand, with the “learned,” is that religion and metaphysics, and all search after a Supreme Being, is futile; on the other hand, with the semi-educated, the idea seems to be that these things really have no basis,that their only value consists in the fact that they are strong motive powers for doing good to the world. If men believe in a God, they may become good, and moral, and so make good citizens. We cannot blame them for holding such ideas, seeing that all the teaching these men get is simply to believe in an eternal rigmarole of words, without any substance behind them. They are asked to live upon words; can they do it?
If they could, I should not have the least regard for human nature.Man wants truth, wants to experience truth for himself, to grasp it, to realise it, to feel it wihtin his heart of hearts; then alone, declare the Vedas, will all doubts vanish, all darkness be scattered,and all crookedness be made straight. “Ye children of immortality, even those who live in the highest sphere, the way is found; there is a way out of all this darkness, and that is by perceiving Him Who is beyond all darkness, and there is no other way.”
If they could, I should not have the least regard for human nature.Man wants truth, wants to experience truth for himself, to grasp it, to realise it, to feel it wihtin his heart of hearts; then alone, declare the Vedas, will all doubts vanish, all darkness be scattered,and all crookedness be made straight. “Ye children of immortality, even those who live in the highest sphere, the way is found; there is a way out of all this darkness, and that is by perceiving Him Who is beyond all darkness, and there is no other way.”
INTRODUCTORY.(2/10)
In the first place I will ask you to analyse all the various religions of the world. You will find that these are divided into two classes, those with a book, and those without a book.Those with a book are the strongest, and have the largest number of followers.Those without books have mostly died out, and the few new ones have very small followings.Yet, in all of them we find one consensus of opinion,that the truths they teach are the results of the experiences of particular persons.
The Christian asks you to believe in his religion,to believe in Christ, and to believe in Him as the incarnation of God, to believe in a God, in a soul, and in a better state of that soul. If I ask him for reasons he says, “No,it is my belief.”But if you go to the fountain head of Christianity you will find that it is based upon experience. Christ said He saw God; the disciples said they felt God; and so forth.Similarly, in Buddhism, it is Buddha’s experience He experienced certain truths, saw them, came in contact with them, and preached them to the world. So with the Hindus in their book the writers, who are called Rishis,or sages, declare that they have experienced certain truths, and these they preach. Thus it is clear that all the religions of the world have been built upon that one universal and adamantine foundation of all our knowledge—direct experience. The teachers all saw God; they all saw their own souls, they saw their eternity, they saw their future, and they saw what they preached.Only there is this difference, that in most of these religions, especially in modern times, a peculiar claim is put before us, and that claim is that these experiences are impossible at the present day; they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders of the religions that subsequently bore their names.
At the present time these experiences have become obsolete,and therefore whe have now to take religion on belief.This I entirely deny.If there has been one case of experience in this world in any particular branch of knowledge it absolutely follows that this experience has been possible millions of times before, and will be repeated eternally.Uniformity is the rigorous law of nature; what once happened can happen always.
The teachers of the science of Yoga, therefore, declare that religion is not only based upon the experiences of ancient times, but that no man can be religious until he has had the same perceptions himself. Yoga is the science which teaches us to get these perceptions. It is useless to talk about religion until one has felt it.
____________________________
The Christian asks you to believe in his religion,to believe in Christ, and to believe in Him as the incarnation of God, to believe in a God, in a soul, and in a better state of that soul. If I ask him for reasons he says, “No,it is my belief.”But if you go to the fountain head of Christianity you will find that it is based upon experience. Christ said He saw God; the disciples said they felt God; and so forth.Similarly, in Buddhism, it is Buddha’s experience He experienced certain truths, saw them, came in contact with them, and preached them to the world. So with the Hindus in their book the writers, who are called Rishis,or sages, declare that they have experienced certain truths, and these they preach. Thus it is clear that all the religions of the world have been built upon that one universal and adamantine foundation of all our knowledge—direct experience. The teachers all saw God; they all saw their own souls, they saw their eternity, they saw their future, and they saw what they preached.Only there is this difference, that in most of these religions, especially in modern times, a peculiar claim is put before us, and that claim is that these experiences are impossible at the present day; they were only possible with a few men, who were the first founders of the religions that subsequently bore their names.
At the present time these experiences have become obsolete,and therefore whe have now to take religion on belief.This I entirely deny.If there has been one case of experience in this world in any particular branch of knowledge it absolutely follows that this experience has been possible millions of times before, and will be repeated eternally.Uniformity is the rigorous law of nature; what once happened can happen always.
The teachers of the science of Yoga, therefore, declare that religion is not only based upon the experiences of ancient times, but that no man can be religious until he has had the same perceptions himself. Yoga is the science which teaches us to get these perceptions. It is useless to talk about religion until one has felt it.
____________________________
INTRODUCTORY.(1/10)
From Raja Yoga -By Swami Vivekananda
INTRODUCTORY.(1/10)
ALL our knowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, in which we go from the less general to the more general, or from the general to the particular, has experience as its basis. In what are called the exact sciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particular experience of every human being.
The scientist does not tell you to believe in anything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, and reasoning on those experiences, when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals to some universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a universal basis which is common to all humanity, so that we can at once see the truth of the fallacy of the conclusions drawn therefrom. Now, the question is, has religion any such basis or not? I shall have to answer the question both in the affirmative and in the negative.
Religion, as it is generally taught all over the world, is said to be based on faith and belief, and, in most cases, consists only of different sets of theories, and that is the reason why we find all these various religions quarrelling with each other. These theories, again, are based on belief. One man says there is a great Being sitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he askes me to believe that, solely on the authority of his assertion. In the same way I may have my own ideas, which I am asking others to believe, and if they ask a reason, I cannot supply them with any.
This is why religion and metaphysical philosophy have a bad name nowadays.Every educated man seems to say: “Oh, these religions are only bundles of theories without any standard to judge them by, each man preaching his own pet ideas.” At the same time I must tell you that there is a basis of universal belief in religion, governing all these different theories, and all the varying ideas of different sects of men in different countries. Going to the basis of them we find that they also are based upon universal experiences.________________
INTRODUCTORY.(1/10)
ALL our knowledge is based upon experience. What we call inferential knowledge, in which we go from the less general to the more general, or from the general to the particular, has experience as its basis. In what are called the exact sciences, people easily find the truth, because it appeals to the particular experience of every human being.
The scientist does not tell you to believe in anything, but he has certain results which come from his own experiences, and reasoning on those experiences, when he asks us to believe in his conclusions, he appeals to some universal experience of humanity. In every exact science there is a universal basis which is common to all humanity, so that we can at once see the truth of the fallacy of the conclusions drawn therefrom. Now, the question is, has religion any such basis or not? I shall have to answer the question both in the affirmative and in the negative.
Religion, as it is generally taught all over the world, is said to be based on faith and belief, and, in most cases, consists only of different sets of theories, and that is the reason why we find all these various religions quarrelling with each other. These theories, again, are based on belief. One man says there is a great Being sitting above the clouds and governing the whole universe, and he askes me to believe that, solely on the authority of his assertion. In the same way I may have my own ideas, which I am asking others to believe, and if they ask a reason, I cannot supply them with any.
This is why religion and metaphysical philosophy have a bad name nowadays.Every educated man seems to say: “Oh, these religions are only bundles of theories without any standard to judge them by, each man preaching his own pet ideas.” At the same time I must tell you that there is a basis of universal belief in religion, governing all these different theories, and all the varying ideas of different sects of men in different countries. Going to the basis of them we find that they also are based upon universal experiences.________________
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Yoga and Meditation
Meditation is an important aspect of yoga that can strengthen the union of your mind, body and spirit. Meditation provides you with an opportunity to sit still, clear your mind of all thoughts and fully relax your body.The practice of meditation may also help you develop a sense of spiritual strength and peacefulness. Although meditation involves a spiritual element, yoga is not a religion.You should meditate every day, starting with 5 minute sessions and working up to 20 or 30 minutes.
MEDITATION TECHNIQUES
Preparing for MeditationTo help you stay focused as you meditate, you should create an environment that is quiet and free from distractions. Also, try to practice at the same time every day, which can help you make your meditation practice a habit.
The position in which you sit isalso important for helping you stay focused during your meditation practice. Sit cross-legged, always making sure your spine is upright and straight. You can either sit on the floor, on a straight-backedchair or on a meditation cushion. A meditation cushion is a pillow that is designedto help you sit straight and comfortably as you meditate.
You can meditate with your eyes closed or open, whichever you find helps you stay focused. Just make sure that youreyes remain relaxed at all times.
Follow Your BreathFocusing on your breath can help you meditate. If you find your mind wanders while meditating, try to bring your attention back to your breath.It may also be helpful to use techniques that remind you to follow your breath. For example, you can mentally say “inhale“ on each inhalation and “exhale” on each exhalation. You could alsocount your breaths by mentally saying “inhale one, exhale two…“ and so on.
Use a Mantra A mantra is a meditation technique in which you repeat a word, such as“love,“ “peace,“ or “om“ as you meditate. You can either repeat the word aloud or silently in your mind
MEDITATION TECHNIQUES
Preparing for MeditationTo help you stay focused as you meditate, you should create an environment that is quiet and free from distractions. Also, try to practice at the same time every day, which can help you make your meditation practice a habit.
The position in which you sit isalso important for helping you stay focused during your meditation practice. Sit cross-legged, always making sure your spine is upright and straight. You can either sit on the floor, on a straight-backedchair or on a meditation cushion. A meditation cushion is a pillow that is designedto help you sit straight and comfortably as you meditate.
You can meditate with your eyes closed or open, whichever you find helps you stay focused. Just make sure that youreyes remain relaxed at all times.
Follow Your BreathFocusing on your breath can help you meditate. If you find your mind wanders while meditating, try to bring your attention back to your breath.It may also be helpful to use techniques that remind you to follow your breath. For example, you can mentally say “inhale“ on each inhalation and “exhale” on each exhalation. You could alsocount your breaths by mentally saying “inhale one, exhale two…“ and so on.
Use a Mantra A mantra is a meditation technique in which you repeat a word, such as“love,“ “peace,“ or “om“ as you meditate. You can either repeat the word aloud or silently in your mind
Yoga and Relaxation
Yoga attracts many people as a means of relaxation. Common methods of relaxing, such as watching television or chatting with friends, serve more asa distraction than a means of achieving complete relaxation. Yoga teaches your body and mind to relax completely by consciously releasing both physical and mental tension. You can achieve this relaxation through the practice of yoga poses,breath awareness and relaxation techniques. In fact, relaxation is so important in yoga that a portion of every practice should be entirely devoted to relaxation.
TYPES OF RELAXATION
Physical Relaxation
Yoga poses are extremely beneficial for relaxing your body. As you stretch and move your body in a yoga practice, you can release tension from your muscles, allowing them to relax.Yoga allows you to connect with your body and become aware of any tension that may be present. Through your yoga practice, you can focus on relaxing any areas that may require attention.
Mental Relaxation
Yoga provides you with an opportunity to set aside time each day to allow your mind to relax and unwind. By taking time each day to practice yoga, you can help prevent your mind from becoming overwhelmed and fatigued. The practice of breath awareness is especially useful for relaxing your mind. For more information on breath awareness.
Spiritual Relaxation
Once you achieve physical and mental relaxation, spiritual relaxation is also possible. Spiritual relaxation brings a feeling of inner peace and contentment. This type of relaxation also promotes a sense of inner awareness, which can help put you in touch with yourself and those around you.
TYPES OF RELAXATION
Physical Relaxation
Yoga poses are extremely beneficial for relaxing your body. As you stretch and move your body in a yoga practice, you can release tension from your muscles, allowing them to relax.Yoga allows you to connect with your body and become aware of any tension that may be present. Through your yoga practice, you can focus on relaxing any areas that may require attention.
Mental Relaxation
Yoga provides you with an opportunity to set aside time each day to allow your mind to relax and unwind. By taking time each day to practice yoga, you can help prevent your mind from becoming overwhelmed and fatigued. The practice of breath awareness is especially useful for relaxing your mind. For more information on breath awareness.
Spiritual Relaxation
Once you achieve physical and mental relaxation, spiritual relaxation is also possible. Spiritual relaxation brings a feeling of inner peace and contentment. This type of relaxation also promotes a sense of inner awareness, which can help put you in touch with yourself and those around you.
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