It is the mind that really does all actions. A desire arises in your mind and then you think. Then you proceed to act. The determination of the mind is put into action. First there is Sankalpa or thought and then comes action.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Brahmacharya: Mental Discipline (Bhava)

The word Yoga comes from the root Yuj which means to join. Yoga is restraint of the activities of the mind, and is the union of the individual soul with the Supreme Soul.

Hiranyagarbha is the founder of the Yoga system. The Yoga founded by Patanjali Maharshi is a branch or supplement of the Sankhya. It has its own charm for students of a mystic temperament and of a contemplative type. It claims greater orthodoxy than the Sankhya proper by directly acknowledging the existence of a Supreme Being (Isvara).

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga: Hindu Philosophy - The Yoga

The four main spiritual paths for God-realisation are Karma Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga and Jnana Yoga. Karma Yoga is suitable for a man of active temperament, Bhakti Yoga for a man of devotional temperament, Raja Yoga for a man of mystic temperament, and Jnana Yoga for a man of rational and philosophical temperament, or a man of enquiry.

Mantra Yoga, Laya Yoga or Kundalini Yoga, Lambika Yoga and Hatha Yoga, are other Yogas. Yoga, really, means union with God. The practice of Yoga leads to communion with the Lord. Whatever may be the starting point, the end reached is the same.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Hindu Yoga: The Four Paths of Hindu Yoga

The mind is like a wheel which revolves endlessly with tremendous velocity. It generates new thoughts with every revolution. This wheel is set in motion by the vibration of psychic Prana or subtle Prana. The practice of Pranayama lessens the velocity of the mind and slows down the wheel gradually. Perfect control of Prana will bring the wheel to a standstill.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Control of Thought: The Mind and Control of Thought

BUDDHISM

Since we waste our youth suffering from boundless ignorance and unfulfilled desire and since age is mostly a time of physical hardship and blunted hopes, it seems clear that life, for all its promises, is more a burden than a joy. Since, however, to die is to be instantly reborn into life, death is apparently an even more absolute cheat. Considering also that all things have arisen in the Mind, in the midst of the Void, and since we are ourselves our own creators and gods (in a multiplicity of aspects and a simultaneous gallimaufry of forms), there is no escaping from the inevitability of either the existing or the potential cosmos. Indeed, it is this very weariness which Reality seeks to assuage by confusing itself as to its own identity.

The Buddha, sensing the horror and outrage of life on earth, wants to lead us to the perfection of the Absolute.

He teaches that birth and death (the wheel of Samsara), together with the Karmic burden, can be dropped in enlightenment and we can enter into Nirvana directly. In an even deeper understanding we are shown that Samsara and Nirvana are already one so there is not even any need for enlightenment! (But of course you have to be enlightened before you can understand that you are already enlightened!)

To the average westerner this seems fairly tame stuff and much too intellectual for his taste. He doesnt want contemplation, he wants action. But he should understand that Buddhism is a discipline of conscious mind and is meant to accompany action, not to take its place. It is serenity of the mind which enables creative work to be done and acceptance of life to take place. The other thing the westerner sometimes fails to recognize is that death and reincarnation are as much a part of his belief system as they are that of a Hindu philosopher. What, after all, is Heaven but the prospect of rebirth on a higher plane? What is Hell but the karma of past lives?

(See also: BUDDHISM , Magick, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul,)

 The word "yoga" often brings to mind a classroom of students attired in exercise clothing attempting to stretch their bodies into different postures. A more traditional yoga class will even include instruction in breathing techniques, concentration, meditation, and positive thinking. In the media today, yoga is often associated with health benefits such as stress reduction, lower blood pressure, and an overall decrease in illness and hospitalization rates. This is the Western idea of yoga. If we look to the Eastern approach, where yoga is a part of the great Hindu and Buddhist traditions, we find that yoga is all of these things but much, much more as well.

Read more here: » Yoga: Serve, Love, Meditate, Realize - The Inner Teachings of Yoga

Practice Of Yoga Asanas

1. The practice of Yoga Asanas helps to prevent disease and maintain a high standard of health, vigour and vitality. It cures many diseases.

From "Kundalini Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Yoga Asanas: Practice Of Yoga Asanas and Health

Yog means union. Union with a supreme power which is the source of creation, perfection and destruction. Union with the supreme intellect and the guiding force behind the perfect mechanism of the universe. Yoga is merging oneself with this force that guides the human being to a state of total bliss. A human being is a small universe in itself. When the consciousness of this small universe unites with the energy prevailing in the vast canopy of the universe the union is complete and the light of wisdom starts flowing in the human body. The light contains everything a human needs to evolve. A human is a part of nature and constantly striving for perfection. This is the natural course of evolution because god is the personification of ultimate perfection.

Read more here: » Yoga Philosophy: Yoga - Beyond The Body And Mind

Raja yoga, is the royal path of meditation. As a king maintains control over his kingdom, so can we maintain control over our own "kingdom"- the vast territory of the mind. In raja yoga we use our mental powers to realize the Atman through the process of psychological control.

The basic premise of raja yoga is that our perception of the divine Self is obscured by the disturbances of the mind. If the mind can be made still and pure, the Self will automatically, instantaneously, shine forth.

Read more here: » Raja Yoga: The Path of Meditation - Raja Yoga

Yoga Philosophy explained thru the Patanjali Yoga Sutras. The roots of Yoga can be traced back roughly 5,000 years to the Indus Valley civilization, where seals depicting people performing asanas (yoga postures) were used in trade along the river. The word Yoga comes from the Sanskrit word "Yuj" meaning to yoke, join or unite. It is the union of all aspects of an individual: body, mind and soul. Hence, Yoga reunites all opposites - mind and body, stillness and movement, masculine and feminine, sun and moon - in order to bring reconciliation between them. Yoga is one of the six branches in Indian philosophy and is referred to throughout the Vedas – the ancient scriptures of India. There is a legend that says that the knowledge of Yoga was first offered by Lord Shiva to his wife Parvati and then passed on to the world.

Read more here: » Patanjali: Yoga Philosophy and the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

The Sanskrit word 'yoga' is derived from the root verb yuj, which means union. The supreme union of individual mind and cosmic mind is yoga. In his Yogasutras , Patanjali advocated the eight-fold path of astanga yoga . Its eight limbs are: yama (self-restraint), niyama (life-regulating moral rules and observances), asana (postures of bodily restfulness), pranayama (breath control), pratyahar (withdrawal of senses), dharana (fixing the mind on the Supreme), dhyana (absorption of self), and samadhi (liberation of the soul).

Read more here: » Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Supreme Union of Body, Mind, Soul with the Patanjali Yoga Sutras

Thought is life. What you think, that you are. Your thoughts create your environment. Your thoughts constitute your world. If you entertain healthy thoughts, your can keep good health. If you hold on to sickly thoughts in the mind, you can never expect good health, beauty and harmony. The body is a product of the mind.

Read more here: » Power of Thought: Let Your Mind Rule Your Body

If we are what our thoughts make of us, the question arises: How is thought created? The Dhammapada states: - All that we are is the result of what we have thoughtÓ. Then what is it in our minds that controls our thoughts and thereby alters the entire course of our lives for better or worse? Recent psychological research offers an answer.

Psychologist Kenneth Craik, in The Nature of Explanation says that our minds construct small-scale models of reality. Models are representations of a new, unfamiliar object by a similar, but more familiar object. Based on those models we reason, explain things and anticipate events.

Read more here: » Power of Thoughts: Small-Scale Models Of Reality

Biofeedback as a field has been growing since the late 1960s. This form of training and treatment uses monitoring instruments attached to the body to "feed back" to people information on the functioning of their bodies. In this way, people view information of which they are not normally aware, such as hand temperature, blood pressure, number and depth of breaths being taken, level of muscle tension in any target muscle, or the electrical activity of their brains. It has been established that, once people have more detailed access to information on what their bodies are doing, they are able to either consciously or subconsciously alter or control those functions.

Read more here: » Biofeedback and Neurofeedback: Your Brain and Neurofeedback - A Beginner's Manual

The orthodox systems of philosophy believe in the authority of the Vedas. The heterodox systems of philosophy do not believe in the authority of the Vedas.

Excerpt from All About Hinduism by Sri Swami Sivananda

Read more here: » Orthodox And Heterodox Systems: Vedic Philosophy - The Orthodox And The Heterodox Systems Of Indian Philosophy

Gathas are the divine songs composed by prophet Zarathushtra, more than 3,000 years ago. Gathic verses reflect the communion which the Prophet received from Ahura Mazda, the Supreme Being. The Gathic verses are collected in 17 chapters, each called a Haiti, incorporated into a ritual text, the Yasna.

Ahura Mazda as the sole creator and protector of the universe. The Avestan Ahura means 'lord of life', and Mazda means 'all knowing, omniscient'. The Zoroastrian religion is based on the immutable and eternal law of Asha which signifies truth, order, discipline and progress.

Read more here: » Law of Asha: Zarathushtra and the Law of Asha

Hinduism and the paths of liberation

According to Hinduism, liberation does not mean dying and going to heaven. Heavenly life is as desirable or undesirable as earthly life because in the ultimate sense, heavenly life is also limited and transient, thought compared to earthly life it may be longer and more intense. True liberation means liberation of the individual soul from the cycle of births and deaths, from the sense of duality and separation, and union with Brahman, the Supreme Soul. 

Read more here: » Hinduism and Enlightenment: Hinduism and the paths of liberation

Meditation Experiences by Sarasvati Buhrman PhD - Part II

Sometime after 350 B.C. a great yogi sage wrote the "Yoga Sutra". This brief translation should wet your appetite. This describes the transformation of mind that will unfold over a course of sadhana (spiritual practice), focusing on the relationship between the mind and the object of meditation.

Read more here: » Meditation Experiences: Meditation Experiences According to the Ashtanga Yoga Tradition with Commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutra - Part II

A Sadhaka should observe perfect discipline. He must be civil, polite, courteous, gentle, noble and gracious in his behaviour. He must have perseverance, adamantine will, asinine patience and leech-like tenacity in Sadhana. He must be perfectly self-controlled, pure and devoted to the Guru.

Read more here: » Yogic Diet: Diet for a Yogi

 Instructions on Meditation.

From "Easy Steps to Yoga" by Sri Swami Sivananda.

Read more here: » Meditation: Special Instructions on Meditation