Yoga subscribes to the idea, that there is a Supreme Being and
that we can have a personal relationship with It.
Vedic Hymn
I solute the supreme teacher,
The truth whose nature is bliss;
Who is the giver of the highest happiness;
Who is pure wisdom;
Who is beyond all qualities and infinite like the sky;
Who is beyond words;
Who is one and eternal,
Pure and still;
Who is beyond all change and phenomena and
Who is the silent witness to all our thoughts and emotions;
I salute truth, the supreme teacher.
One Life, Power and Substance is responsible for the
manifestation, maintenance and transformation of nature. This Reality is
referred to by seers as Consciousness. It is self existent, self aware and self
referring.
What are we?
Individualized units of this one consciousness, God
What is the aim of yoga?
It is to be Self realized, to restore our awareness with
wholeness, oneness.
Traditional Christian Religion says, there were in the past people
like Moses who could talk with God. Jesus is said to have been able to do so as
well. His disciples would be able to feel the presence of God.
How did Jesus teach? One of His favorite methods was to tell a
story. These stories are often called parables. Jesus used parables to reach
people at a variety of levels. People, who were willing to listen with their
hearts, were able to pull deep meanings from the stories. Jesus often used the
story to hold his audience’s attention. After the story was told, it was
frequently explained. Other times he told those who did not come with the
intention to learn, that they would be for learning things if they understood
the message. Those who received His teaching with their heart would receive the
most blessings.
The disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them
in parables?
He answered and said unto them, because it is given unto you to
know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
(Matthew 13)
Jesus Christ also taught through sermons. He would gather those
who came to hear him, or sometimes just a select few, and teach them important
truths using a variety of methods-stories, sayings, instruction, and warnings
or promises.
Jesus taught spontaneously or arranged an informal teaching
moment. For instance, when he came upon the woman being stoned, he was able to
teach a lesson in only one sentence, when he suggested that the person who was
without sin be the first to stone this woman for her own sin. The men
understood the message and went away, ashamed of themselves. He then spoke with
the woman. He didn’t judge her, but instructed her to give up her sins.
Another way Jesus taught was through miracles. His miracles
demonstrated He really was sent by God, but they often taught a lesson, as
well. He healed people no one else bothered to respect or worry about. He
healed lepers, who were kept away from others. He healed the blind, which, in
those days, were generally relegated to begging. He healed the poor and the
rich alike.
Through these healings of people He taught how to treat others. He
helped us to understand our responsibility isn’t just to those in our social
circle or economic class, but to everyone. By doing so, He gave dignity and
importance to those who are often overlooked.
According to later teachings of the clergy and their
interpretation of the Bible, people were informed that Jesus died
for their sins and that he is the Savior of all who belief in Him. All man
requires, is faith.
Yoga teaches: “One must have the experience and only in this
manner can he be Self realized.”
“Self realization is the knowing in all parts of body, mind, and
soul that we are now in possession of the kingdom of God; that we do not have
to pray that it come to you; that God’s omnipresence is our omnipresence; and
all we need to do is to improve our knowing.” Yogananda
We may ask how we can find God?
“According to Paramahansa Yogananda, it is when all our desires
for other things are finished; when we realize, that the only thing worth
having is Him; when every thought, every feeling is drenched with the love for
God.”
“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Matthew 22:37
Man’s role in the world
In this world, we need to fulfill our legitimate needs.
To do this we need to acquire skills and commit to our duties.
We need to know, that when we are in our right place, we will be
successful, when we are committed to fulfill our duties.
To succeed and to thrive in the physical realm is natural as long
as the conditions are favourable. We see this in nature. We need to do what
needs to be done when it needs to be done.
We need to live righteously and in accordance with the laws of
nature.
We need to live harmoniously.
When our dharma, our fundamental nature is in harmony with the
fundamental laws of Divine purpose, we are said to be in harmony with God’s
will.
Fundamental laws foster the evolutionary process of nature and
have the full support of God.
God’s love
We can experience God’s love, when we feel an inner yearning to be
drawn to serenity, to inner peace.
Before that stage, we feel the love of attraction for one another,
which is in essence nothing other than God’s love expressing in us.
When we are attracted to inner peace, searching for meaning in
life, we often feel lack of direction. This may result in experiencing with
different metaphysical ideas, until we hopefully find a path that is right for
us.
Yoga offers a path for every temperament.
The main yoga paths are:
Bhakti Yoga
Jnana yoga
Karma Yoga and
Rajas Yoga or the Royal Path
When in search for truth there are two scientific ways that apply
to yoga.
a) from
the general to the specific - deductive
b) From
the specific to the general - inductive
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and
all these things shall be added unto you”
Matthew
6:33
Rajas yoga with its eight limps leads us from the general to the
specific as follows:
Yama
Non violence – ahimsa
Truthfulness
Non- stealing
Non greed
Bramachry
Niyama
Purity
Contentment
Austerity
Self Study
Attunement to God
Asana
Posture
Pranayama – life force control
Pratyahara – internalization, sense withdrawal
Dharana – concentration (Aids in concentration mantras, Hong Sau,
s hum etc
Dhyana – meditation
Samadhi, cosmic consciousness, savikalpa samadhi, samadhi with
objects; nirvikalpa samadhi complete absorption in God
Jnana yoga leads one from the specific to the general.
I states, all there is, is God. There is only One. We and
everything in creation is an aspect of that one God.
The Self (soul) is a part of God,
The individualized mind is a part of the Universal mind
The soul identified with mind and body becomes the ego.
The ego and the world experience separation from the source.
To restore Wholeness, is to transcend the Chitta, the mind stuff and
abide in the Self.
The Self is at the highest stage of being where one functions
through intuition and grace.
Our goal should be to be Self and God realized in this
incarnation.
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