Karma Yoga Lesson X

The Karma Yogi that has got beyond selfishness; The modern problem; The substitute for Asceticism; Vicarious suffering; The East requires a different praxis; Schemes for the Western (Vani) social worker; His ideal to be the Sun; Sun worship; A mantra.

Read more here: » Karma Yoga: Karma Yoga - Lesson X (of XI )

History is replete with Yogis that have inspired people for many generations. Yogini Meera from the Bhakti tradition, Shankaracharya from the Jnana Yoga tradition, Patanjali, who formalized the system of Raja Yoga, are just a few examples. Among modern Yogis, Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a Bhakti Yogi, stands tall. A devotee of Mother Kali and a teacher of Advaita Vedanta, he preached that "all religions lead to the same goal." His student, Swami Vivekananda, a follower of Adva ...

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Yoga, Yoga - Yoga practice and intention, Yoga - The word yoga, Yoga - Diversity of yoga, Yoga - Yoga and religion, Yoga - Common themes, Yoga - Origins, Yoga - Hindu yoga, Yoga - Bhagavad Gita, Yoga - Patanjali, Yoga - God in Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Hatha yoga, Yoga - Natya yoga, Yoga - Buddhist yoga, Yoga - Yoga and tantra, Yoga - Notable Yogis

Read more here: » Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Yoga - Notable Yogis

Asana is Sanskrit for "seat". It is no accident that this word be chosen to describe the "posture" of Yoga. The idea of the "seat" in this context refers not only to the physical position of the body, but to the position of the spirit in relation to Divinity. This idea is often referred to as the "One Seat", by Yogis and Buddhists alike. Modern usage of the word asana in reference to the practice of Yoga generally intends the lesser definition; a physical posture or pose. Patanjali, in the Yoga Sutra describes asanaIncluding:

• Asana - Conditions & general directions for Good Asana
• Asana - Yoga Asana Poses or Postures

Read more here: » Asana: Encyclopedia - Asana

Tantric Celibacy: Going All the Way With Tantric Celibacy

Tantric yoga, as a system of rituals, exercises, and philosophical teachings, was developed over the past 2,500 years in a practical search for profound feeling and awareness. Just as a modern scientist might spend years on a single research problem, tantric yogis might dwell on a certain feeling for hours a day, plumbing its every nuance and what it told them about existence. They became experts in the arts of feeling and concentration.

Read more here: » Tantric Celibacy: Going All the Way With Tantric Celibacy

Japa

Japa has become a very popular form of worship in modern day Hinduism. Especially with the rise of bhakti movement and the popularity of many yogis and babas, japa has entered the hearts and minds of many devout and spiritually inclined Hindus. Japa means continuous recitation of God's name either silently in ones mind or aloud in a group. Continuous recitation of God's name is expected to purify the mind of the devotee and fill his consciousness with divine thoughts and vibrant spiritual energy. The regular chanting is expected to create certain vibrations in the body and mind which would facilitate the spiritual transformation of ones ordinary self.

Read more here: » Japa: Hinduism Rituals - Japa

It is most unfortunate that in the modern day world Yoga is synonymous with asanas which are further synonymous with exercises. Exercises work from the outer to the inner world, which is not what our Rishis intended. The manifested world is too weak; it's too fragile and limited. Its effects are too short lived.

A Yogi remains healthy and glowing till his death. Paramhansa Yogananda was glowing even till a week before leaving his body. This is not achieved by doing complicated asanas and exercises. It is done by practices which are internal, whilst otheir effects manifest themselves externally. The Mahabandha is one such practice.

Instructions and benefits for:

-       Mool Bandha

-       Uddiyana Bandha

-       Jalandhara Bandha

-       Mahabandha

(See also: Bandhas, Yoga, Yoga and Health, Yoga Systems, Yoga Positions)

Paramyogeshwar Sri Devpuriji developed Yoga Nidra and passed it on to Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji and it was taught to his disciples since 1880. On his journeys to the Himalayas, Sri Devpuriji met, among others, Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh and Swami Muktananda, who is well known in Europe and conveyed the technique of Yoga Nidra to several Yogis and Swamis, such as Swami Satyananda Saraswati and Swami Janakananda. Swami Satyananda developed the modern form of Yoga Nidra from the ancient tantric practice of nyasa meditation, which u ...

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Yoga Nidra, Yoga Nidra - History, Yoga Nidra - External link

Read more here: » Yoga Nidra: Encyclopedia II - Yoga Nidra - History

Bharatanatyam is the manifestation of the South Indian idea of the celebration of the eternal universe through the celebration of the beauty of the material body. In Hindu mythology the whole universe is the dance of the Supreme Dancer, Nataraja, a name for Lord Shiva, the Hindu ascetic yogi and divine purveyor of destruction of evil. Natya Shastra (I.44) reads, "... I have seen the Kaisiki style during the dance of the blue-throated lord (Shiva). It consists of elaborate gestures (Mridu Angaharas, movements of limbs), sentiments (Ras ...

See also:

Bharatanatyam, Bharatanatyam - Traditional roots, Bharatanatyam - Essential ideas, Bharatanatyam - Medieval decline, Bharatanatyam - Modern rebirth, Bharatanatyam - Technique, Bharatanatyam - Elements, Bharatanatyam - Other elements, Bharatanatyam - Dancers, Bharatanatyam - Gurus and Dancers

Read more here: » Bharatanatyam: Encyclopedia II - Bharatanatyam - Essential ideas

Legend ascribes the origin of Tantra to Dattatreya, a semi-mythical Hindu yogi and the assumed author of the Jivanmukta Gita ("Song of the liberated soul"). Others see Lord Adinath, or Shiva, as the first Guru of Tantra. Things become a little more clear with Matsyendranath ("Master of fish" - so-called either because he was a fisherman, or, less probably, because he discovered a tantra inside a fish). He is accredited with authorship of the Kaulajnana-nirnaya, a voluminous ninth-century tantra dealing with a host of mystical a ...

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Tantra, Tantra - History of Tantra, Tantra - Hindu tantra, Tantra - Tibetan tantra, Tantra - Japan's Shingon sect, Tantra - New Age tantra or Neo Tantra, Tantra - Tantric practices, Tantra - Tantra in the modern world, Tantra - Hindu tantra, Tantra - Buddhist tantra

Read more here: » Tantra: Encyclopedia II - Tantra - History of Tantra

Modern yoga practice often includes traditional elements inherited from Hinduism, such as moral and ethical principles, postures designed to keep the body fit, spiritual philosophy, instruction by a guru, chanting of mantras (sacred syllables), quietening the breath, and stilling the mind through meditation. These elements are sometimes adapted to meet the needs of non-Hindu practitioners. Proponents of yoga see daily practice as beneficial in itself, leading to improved health, emotional well-being, mental clarity, and joy in living. ...

See also:

Yoga, Yoga - Yoga practice and intention, Yoga - The word yoga, Yoga - Diversity of yoga, Yoga - Yoga and religion, Yoga - Common themes, Yoga - Origins, Yoga - Hindu yoga, Yoga - Bhagavad Gita, Yoga - Patanjali, Yoga - God in Yoga philosophy, Yoga - Hatha yoga, Yoga - Natya yoga, Yoga - Buddhist yoga, Yoga - Yoga and tantra, Yoga - Notable Yogis

Read more here: » Yoga: Encyclopedia II - Yoga - Yoga practice and intention

The 1990s saw a resurgence of the popularity of the Yo-Yo and Yo-Yo culture. One contributor to this fad was the introduction of the Yomega Brain auto-return Yo-Yo. This yo-yo contained a centripital clutch mechanism which, as the spin of the yoyo slows to a predertermined RPM, engages, freezing the spinning axle and causing the yoyo to automatically return to it's user's hand. In the old 60s Hanna-Barbara cartoon Yogi Bear, there was a (somewhat offensive stereotype) bear named "Yo-yo", whose trademark was delivering a Karate Chop to dispatch those who would get between him and a pic-i-nic basket.< ...

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Yo-yo, Yo-yo - History of the yo-yo, Yo-yo - Ancient origins, Yo-yo - The yo-yo in modern times, Yo-yo - Commercial success, Yo-yo - Contemporary yo-yo culture, Yo-yo - Yo-yo contests, Yo-yo - Yo-yo club sport

Read more here: » Yo-yo: Encyclopedia II - Yo-yo - Contemporary yo-yo culture

Ayurvedic Medicine: In this ancient medical system from India, patients are classified according to three metabolic body types: vata, pitta and kapha. Natural means of disease prevention including herbs, oils, minerals, heat, water, massage, yoga, meditation, elimination therapy and counseling are recommended according to body type. Some practitioners use Maharishi Ayur-Ved, a modern interpretation inspired by the teachings of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the creator of Transcendental Meditation.

(See also: Ayurvedic Medicine, Alternative Health, Body Mind and Soul)

Sri Aurobindo Ghosh: One of India's greatest yogis and spiritual writers, he was at first involved in the Indian freedom movement, but came to see that yoga was the true path to freedom. His ashram in South India became one of the major spiritual centers in modern India, and his voluminous spiritual writings are read and prized throughout the world.

(See also: Sri Aurobindo Ghosh, Hinduism, Hinduism Dictionary, Sanskrit Dictionary, Body Mind and Soul)

Pitris (Sanskrit). The ancestors, or creators of mankind. They are of seven classes, three of which are incorporeal, arupa, and four corporeal. In popular theology they are said to be created from Brahma’s side.

They are variously genealogized, but in esoteric philosophy they are as given in the Secret Doctrine. In Isis Unveiled it is said of them "It is generally believed that the Hindu term means the spirits of our ancestors, of disembodied people, hence the argument of some Spiritualists that fakirs (and yogis) and other Eastern wonder-workers, are mediums.

This is in more than one sense erroneous. The Pitris are not the ancestors of the present living men, but those of the human kind, or Adamic races; the spirits of human races, which on the great scale of descending evolution preceded our races of men, and they were physically, as well as spiritually, far superior to our modern pigmies. In Manava Dharma Shastra they are called the Lunar Ancestors." The Secret Doctrine has now explained that which was cautiously put forward in the earlier Theosophical volumes.

(See also: Pitris, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

Pranava (Sanskrit) [from pra-nu to utter a droning or humming sound, as during the proper pronunciation of the world Om or Aum]

The mystical, sacred syllable Om or Aum, pronounced by Brahmins, Yogis, and others during meditation. In Vedanta philosophy and the Upanishads, used in another sense: "In one sense Pranava represents the macrocosm and in another sense the microcosm. . . . The reason why this Pranava is called Vach is this, that these four principles of the great cosmos correspond to these four forms of Vach" (N on G 25, 26) -- vaikhari, madhyama, pasyanti, para. These are called the four matras of pranava.

It is also equivalent to the second sign of the zodiac, Rishabha (Taurus).

The fact that this term is given to the mystical sacred syllable, and that it signifies a droning or humming sound, shows that anciently the word was uttered aloud, although in secret whenever possible. Modern Brahmins, however, are apt to condemn the vocal utterance of their sacred syllable, and sometimes assert that it should be uttered in silence -- i.e., in the mind.

(See also: Pranava, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Rakshasas raksasas (Sanskrit) [from the verbal root raksh to protect]

The preservers; in modern popular superstition in India, commonly associated with evil spirits and demons. Esoterically they are the gibborim (giants) of the Bible, the fourth root-race or Atlanteans:

"when Brahma created the demons, Yakshas (from Yaksh, to eat) and the Rakshasas, both of which kinds of demons, as soon as born, wished to devour their creator, those among them that called out 'Not so! oh, let him be saved (preserved)' were named Rakshasas (Vishnu Purana Book I, ch. v.). The Bhagavata Purana (III, 20, 19-21) renders the allegory differently. Brahma transformed himself into night (or ignorance) invested with a body, upon which the Yakshas and Rakashasas seized, exclaiming 'Do not spare it; devour it.' Brahma then cried out, 'Do not devour me, spare me.' This has an inner meaning of course. The 'Body of Night' is the darkness of ignorance, and it is the darkness of silence and secrecy. Now the Rakshasas are shown in almost every case to be Yogis, pious Saddhus and Initiates, a rather unusual occupation for demons. The meaning then is that while we have power to dispel the darkness of ignorance, 'devour it,' we have to preserve the sacred truth from profanation. 'Brahma is for the Brahmins alone,' says that proud caste. The moral of the fable is evident" (SD 2:165n).

The rakshasas or men-demons of Lanka, the opponents conquered by Rama in the Ramayana, are some of the latest representatives of the Atlanteans in their last days. These rakshasas correspond to the Greek titans, the Egyptian colossal heroes, the Chaldean izdubars, the Jewish 'eimim (terrifiers) of the land of Moab, and with the famous giants anakim (`anaqim) mentioned in Numbers 13:33.

(See also: Rakshasas, raksasas, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary)

Crown In the Qabbalah, the first or highest Sephirah, Kether (Crown). In the Stanzas of Dzyan, "Fohat traces spiral lines to unite the sixth to the seventh -- the Crown" (SD 1:31), which means that fohat, in this case working as Eros or divine love, strives to blend atman with buddhi, and the same on the corresponding cosmic planes.

Crown also signifies the summit of attainment in initiation, spiritual sovereignty, or dignity or splendor, and is much used in those senses in both the Old and New Testaments, and was typically so employed in pagan initiatory rites.

The kings and pontiffs of modern times are the feeble imitators of former king-initiates, whose insignia comprised the crown, representative of the glory or buddhic splendor, which actually encircled the head of the initiate as a nimbus, as it does in the case of the yogi in samadhi and of the buddha. The ceremony of coronation was performed in the Mysteries as the outward symbol of the completion of this attainment; and that ceremony is still perpetuated. The later Roman emperors adopted the Eastern royal fillet, which they called by the Greek name diadema; the Papal tiara goes back through it to the Persian royal headdress of that name. The American Indian wears feathers imitating the rays of light from the head.

(See also: Crown, Mysticism, Mysticism Dictionary, Occultism, Occultism Dictionary)

Nirmanakaya (Sanskrit). Something entirely different in esoteric philosophy from the popular meaning attached to it, and from the fancies of the Orientalists.

Some call the Nirmanakaya body "Nirvana with remains" (Schlagintweit, etc.) on the supposition, probably, that it is a kind of Nirvanic condition during which consciousness and form are retained. Others say that it is one of the Trikaya (three bodies), with the "power of assuming any form of appearance in order to propagate Buddhism" (Eitel’s idea); again, that "it is the incarnate avatara of a deity" (ibid.), and so on.

Occultism, on the other hand, says:that Nirmanakaya, although meaning literally a transformed "body", is a state. The form is that of the adept or yogi who enters, or chooses, that post mortem condition in preference to the Dharmakaya or absolute Nirvanic state. He does this because the latter kaya separates him for ever from the world of form, conferring upon him a state of selfish bliss, in which no other living being can participate, the adept being thus precluded from the possibility of helping humanity, or even devas.

As a Nirmanakaya, however, the man leaves behind him only his physical body, and retains every other "principle" save the Kamic - for he has crushed this out for ever from his nature, during life, and it can never resurrect in his post mortem state. Thus, instead of going into selfish bliss, he chooses a life of self-sacrifice, an existence which ends only with the life-cycle, in order to be enabled to help mankind in an invisible yet most effective manner. (See The Voice of the Silence, third treatise, "The Seven Portals".) Thus a Nirmanakaya is not, as popularly believed, the body "in which a Buddha or a Bodhisattva appears on earth", but verily one, who whether a Chutuktu or a Khubilkhan, an adept or a yogi during life, has since become a member of that invisible Host which ever protects and watches over Humanity within Karmic limits.

 Mistaken often for a "Spirit", a Deva, God himself, &c., a Nirmanakaya is ever a protecting, compassionate, verily a guardian angel, to him who becomes worthy of his help. Whatever objection may be brought forward against this doctrine; however much it is denied, because, forsooth, it has never been hitherto made public in Europe and therefore since it is unknown to Orientalists, it must needs be "a myth of modern invention" - no one will be bold enough to say that this idea of helping suffering mankind at the price of one’s own almost interminable self-sacrifice, is not one of the grandest and noblest that was ever evolved from human brain.

(See also: Nirmanakaya, Theosophy, Spirituality, Body mind and Soul, Spiritual Dictionary, )

papa: (Sanskrit) "Wickedness; sin, crime."

1)    Bad or evil.

2)    Wrongful action.

3)    Demerit earned through wrongdoing.

Papa includes all forms of wrongdoing, from the simplest infraction to the most heinous crime, such as premeditated murder. Each act of papa carries its karmic consequence, karmaphala, "fruit of action," for which scriptures delineate specific penance for expiation.

Those who have awakened psychic sight can clearly see papa in the inner subconscious aura as a colorful, sticky, astral substance. Papa is seen as dark unrelated colors, whereas its counterpart, punya, is seen as pastels. The color arrangements are not unlike modern art murals. Papa colors can produce disease, depression, loneliness and such, but can be dissolved through penance (prayashchitta), austerity (tapas) and good deeds (sukritya).

There are specific consequences, karmaphala, "fruit of action," that result from each type of transgression of dharma. For example, a man who steals from his neighbors creates a cosmic debt which may be repaid later by having his own possessions taken away.

There are also specific penances, prayashchitta, that can be performed for atonement and the accrual of punya (merit) to balance out the papa, the negative karma of the wrongful act. Such disciplines are provided in the various Dharma Shastras and prescribed by knowing preceptors, panditas, shastris, swamis, yogis and village elders according to the varna and education of the individual. For example, the Laws of Manu give several types of penance for the crime of murder, including

1)    making a forest hut and subsisting there on alms for twelve years and using a human skull as one's emblem; or

2)    walking 100 yojanas (900 miles), while reciting the Vedas, eating little and remaining continent.

A contemporary example: if a man fells a large healthy tree, he may atone by planting ten trees and ensuring that at least one grows to replace it. The degree of papa accrued from an action depends on various factors, including the karma, dharma and spiritual advancement of the individual, the intent or motivation, as well as the time and place of the action (for example, unvirtuous deeds carry great demerit when performed in holy places). Papa is the opposite of punya (merit, virtue).

See: evil, karma, penance, punya, sin.

(See also: Papa, Hinduism, Body Mind and Soul)