Below I present a fragment of the book "Raja Yoga" by Swami Vivekananda; in which the story of the deva and the devil is told, along with a small explanation of the wise Yogi. Vivekananda was one of the pioneers of Yoga in the West, and one of the highest authorities in Raja Yoga.
“... The legend refers that once a deva and a demon came to a sage so that theyteach what the nature of Being was.Both studied long time with the wise, who finally told them:-You are the Being that you are looking for.The deva and the devil believed that their bodies were the true Self to which the wisereferred, and both returned to their respective spheres, very satisfied, and toldhis companions: - We learned everything we had to learn.Let's eat, drink andlet's slack offWe are the Self and nothing is beyond ourselves. The devil was by nature ignorant, dark-minded, and without further investigation. He remained satisfied with the idea that the body was his true being.But the nature of the deva was pure, and although at first he made the mistake ofidentify with your body and surrender to every lineage of enjoyment, soon guessingthat his wise instructor had not referred to the body, telling them that they themselves werethe Being they were looking for, but it must be something superior. Consequently, he turned again to the wise and said: - Mr, You taught me that this my body was the true Self;but I see that all bodies die, and the Being cannot die. The wise replied:- Know yourself. You are that. The deva returned to its sphere believed that the mind was the Being; but he soon observed that thoughts were variable, sometimes good, sometimes bad, and that the mind was too volatile and inconstant for the Being to be. The deva resorted again to the wise and said:- Mr, I don't think the mind is the Being. You told me it is. The wise replied:- I didn't tell you such. Know yourself. You are that. The deva returned to its sphere and finally recognized that it was the Being beyond the body and the mind. Thus did the deva know that the spirit, the true Self is eternal, without birth or death,that neither sword hurts him nor water wets him nor fire burns him nor air he ores him;which is infinite,omniscient, intangible, omnipotent and transcends body and mind.In this way he was satisfied, while the poor demon did not get to know the true for his blind love of the body.”
In this world there are many whose nature is similar to that of the demon of the legend, but there are also some of the nature of deva.
If someone teaches how to increase the possibility of bodily enjoyment, they will attendmany to listen to him, but if he intends to show the path that leads to the goal supreme, will have few listeners.
Few are able to understand spiritual things and less still those who they have patience to reach them; but there are some who know that even if the body lived a thousand years the end result would be the same.
The physical body changes slowly and incessantly and no one is able to prevent even by a moment this alteration of your body, that without remedy has to disintegrate when cease the forces that maintain it.
The text says:
"As the waters of a river ceaselessly move, so the body moves."However, the body must be kept healthy and robust, because it is the best instrument we have..."
Fragment of the book "Raja Yoga", by Swami Vivekananda
The origin and meaning of Yoga is lost in the night of time, and thousands of lines, teachers and interpretations have appeared over the centuries. I don't know what the origin of Yoga is, nor what exactly the word hatha means , I don't even know what the style or line of Yoga that I follow is for sure. Yes I know that my style is within the raja and hatha Yoga, but better to call it Yoga (dry), so as not to get lost in the names, nor in the interpretations that could derive from them.
What is known for certain, leaving aside all other mystical or superstitious interpretation, is that the first great teacher, and synthesizer of Yoga, was Patanjali , a sage who lived in India in the third century before Christ, approximately; and his masterpiece is the Yoga Sutras , a four-volume compendium where Yoga Science is explained in brief and synthetic phrases (sutras). It has Vedic origins, and is one of the six systems of thought ( dharsanas ) of Hinduism; and its greatest sources of influence are the Bhagavad Guita and some Upanishads .
Patanjali synthesized Yoga in eight steps, so it is known as Asthanga (eight feet) Yoga, or Raja Yoga (Royal Yoga, or kings).
Yama (observances towards others)
Niyama (self-observance)
Asana (Physical posture or physical exercise)
Pranayama (Control of breathing or energy)
Pratiahara (Control of the senses)
Dharana (Concentration)
Dhyana (Meditation)
Samadhi (Realization)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are one of the highest works of humanity in terms of knowledge and study of the human psyche; His study is highly recommended along with the Bhagavad-Guita . In this blog we will be posting posts on such matters.
One important thing is to say: Patanjali does not give any instruction on physical or breathing exercises, apart from a few simple and simple recommendations.
Yoga known today with its characteristic physical exercises does not appear until the fourteenth century, when Swatmarama publishes Hatha Yoga Pradipika (Light on Hatha Yoga), which is the first and most important work written on Hatha Yoga .
If before Swatmarama the techniques of hatha yoga were practiced, I ignore it, to written sources I refer. Some say that Yoga is twelve thousand years old (in full stone age); and who says that in Mohenjo Daro and Harappa asanas were made in 4000 BC I don't know. Yoga Sutras III century BC; Hatha Yoga Pradipika 14th century AD, this is what is documented ...
Hatha has many meanings: etymologically means to force, violate or persevere. Some say that Ha means Sun, and Tha Luna; and that the goal of hatha yoga is to balance the energy of the body, the polarity of going and pingala to achieve balance; but etymologically has no resemblance, so it seems an addition to convenience a posteriori.
Honestly, I have no idea what its meaning will be. Hatha Yoga has Tantric-Shivaitic influences, and differs in part from the Vedic vision of Patanjali . The key is to integrate them well.
Anyway , from Swatmarama and Gheranda (another later teacher) come the majority of techniques that we know today, especially in regard to asanas and pranayama , and subsequently there have been additions such as "Greeting to the Sun", and other series of specific exercises.
In the twentieth century, a great Yoga teacher appeared in the West, giving Raja and Hatha Yoga a wide diffusion, with a peculiar touch; it was Swami Vishnudevananda , disciple of Swami Sivananda . A mixture of Raja Hatha Yoga with a strong Vedic and Hindu accent, but with a fabulous concept of five principles:
Adequate food.
Adequate breathing .
Proper exercise.
Adequate rest.
Positive thinking and meditation (cultivation of the mind).
Thus, in the 21st century, with these five principles everything else can be synthesized, adapting the practice to the needs of each person; no dogmatisms, no superstitions, no rigid lines, no mortifications or austerities, using the best of all the techniques we know, using common sense and intelligence. We are in the third millennium, where Western science has to merge with Eastern wisdom, but intelligently, without fanaticism; adapting, or adapting (to do justice to the five principles) to time and place; with an open mind and heart. It does not matter where it comes from and what were the initial motivations of the foundation of Yoga. The important thing is what we do with it in this time that we have had to live, and how we apply it to our lives.
What kind of Yoga do you do? For Yoga to dry; Yoga of union, Yoga of synthesis; Eclectic Yoga (which assimilates the best of each system); Smart Yoga Learn to breathe well, keep the body in conditions through moderate exercise, learn to relax and release tension, and cultivate the mind through study, meditation and positive thinking.
For what? To lead a richer and fuller life, and little by little to know who we are, where we come from and where we are going, reaching the Realization of Being, the greatest enterprise that human beings can achieve.
But all this done with freedom, without fear, without dogmas, without closed structures, without religious institutions, without Gurus, without hypocrites who tell us what we have to do and how we have to do it, without borders, without limits ... The present is ours; we walk the way. We are the rulers and judges of our life.
Yoga serves to know how our body works, our emotions and our mind; and following this knowledge, to acquire power over them.
Yoga serves to give meaning to our lives, making once we have found this meaning, everything we do really makes sense.
Yoga serves to harmonize and balance our body, detaching itself from its practice: Health and Beauty .
Yoga serves to harmonize and balance our emotions, detaching from its practice: Peace and Goodness .
Yoga serves to harmonize and balance our mind, detaching itself from its practice: Truth .
Yoga serves, to raise self-esteem and self-esteem, and therefore, to foster relationships with our fellow man.
Yoga serves, to sow in the Present the good seeds that in the future allow us to reap Material and Spiritual Proseprity .
Yoga serves to find the way back home; that which is inside our hearts.
Yoga serves, in short, to achieve a fuller and happier life; radiating that positive vibration towards everything around us.
Yoga serves, to realize the greatest enterprise that the Human Being can perform: BE REALLY HUMAN .
In this short book you will learn to meditate from scratch, in your own
home, sitting in a chair.
We will learn the basic theory and some simple
but deep meditation techniques, based on mindfulness, yoga and Zen.
We
will consolidate the habit through an 8-week program, specially designed
to encourage in us the habit of meditating every day in a corner of our
house.
Prior knowledge is not necessary, nor can you sit cross-legged,
or be religious or a lover of oriental traditions. Meditation is a
universal technique that will help us control our mind, reduce stress
and get to know ourselves better.We will start by meditating one minute a
day and at the end of the 8 weeks we will be able to meditate 20
minutes in a row. The idea is that meditation will be a part of our
daily routine so that it can help us lead a fuller and happier life.
What
will you learn with this book?
- What is meditation?
- History of
meditation.
- Differences between meditation and mindfulness.
- The
importance of habit and routine.
- How the mind works.
- How to sit
correctly in a chair to meditate.
- The abdominal breathing technique.
-
Basic meditation techniques.
- What feelings can we have during
meditation.
- How to progress properly.
"All the misfortunes of man derive
from the fact that he is not able to sit quietly, alone, in a room."
Blaise Pascal
Cycling is the ideal complement for yoga at home, as it allows us to do aerobic work and train our cardiovascular system.
We have already said on several occasions that while yoga is an excellent physical exercise, it may have certain deficiencies in cardiovascular training. For this reason, an exercise bike is an excellent investment if we want to get in shape without leaving home.
We understand as cardiovascular work all that exercise that keeps our heart beating at 60% - 70% of its maximum frequency (HRmax), for a duration of between 20 and 60 minutes.
Aerobic cardiovascular work serves to:
Strengthen the heart
Capillarize the muscles and get more blood and oxygen throughout the body.
Increase metabolism and burn fat.
Release of endorphins (wellness hormones).
Surely there are many more benefits, but only with the aforementioned, it is more than enough reason to do a little cardio.
How do we train?
One of the biggest obstacles to exercise is laziness , so if we have the bicycle "at hand", in some room of our house, we just have to get on it and start pedaling. We can do 2 or 3 weekly sessions of a minimum duration of 20 minutes ( ideally 40 minutes ).
To be more enjoyable and productive, we can pedal while listening to a podcast or if we have the bike in front of a television, watch a documentary. In this way, in addition to exercising the body, we also cultivate a bit . Of course you can also listen to music if that encourages and motivates you more.
An advantage is that most modern exercise bikes have heart rate monitors installed in the handlebar , in the form of metal plates, which only by putting our two hands on top allows us to know our pulsations per minute This is very useful to keep the cadence and rhythm inside of an aerobic frequency.
The first thing we have to know is our FCmax ( maximum heart rate ). A simple formula to calculate it is as follows:
FCmax = 220 - age
There are more complex formulas that take weight and fitness into account, but as a reference, with the above formula we can obtain a fairly accurate estimate.
For example, a 35-year-old person will have an HRmax of 185 beats per minute.
60% for her will be 111 ppm and 70% will be 130 ppm. Knowing this, we can do bicycle routines in which our heart stays between approximately 110 and 130 ppm.
It is important that everyone calculate their FCmax and their FC60% and FC70%, so that they know what the intensity of their exercise should be.
That is the ideal range for aerobic exercise, and contrary to what you think, more intensity is not synonymous with more effective work. The duration of the exercise is also important, less than 20 minutes will hardly have an impact on the body.
If you are in a very low form, do not be surprised that your pulsations are triggered before the minimum effort, in that case you will have to pedal very softly until your heart is gradually trained.
Before or after a yoga session?
Ideally, do it before, and then yoga will help you stretch and relax, although you can do isolated cardio sessions.
From here I encourage you and I recommend that you add this plus to your life, and do not consider the purchase of an exercise cycling as an expense, but as an investment in your health.
What does spirituality mean? Do you consider yourself spiritual? Let's try to clarify this concept.
Spirituality derives from "spirit." The spirit is something immaterial that cannot be perceived through the physical senses. The spirit is "the principle of life" that dwells in the deepest part of ourselves, our purest essence. A spiritual person is one in whom these immaterial and transcendental concepts have a certain weight in their life, and to some extent, they govern the course of their steps.
The counterpoint of spirituality is materialism , in the sense that there is only and is valid what can be perceived with the physical senses . Modern Science is the champion of materialism, and today, many people are materialistic because Science has an extraordinary weight and authority in our society. It is not necessary to fall into the error of considering the materialist in the popular context of "a person with a closed mind and attached to material objects", that is a very vain definition. Materialism is very good, as this allows us to discover and dominate the material world.
For centuries, the word "spirituality" was not used as such, since almost everyone was religious, and this should be clarified: religiosity is not the same as spirituality . Religiosity implies a belief in the postulates and dogmas of the religion that one follows. Spirituality entails an inner experience about oneself.
You can be religious and spiritual, but you can also be spiritual without being religious.
Being spiritual does not imply believing in gods, dogmas or doctrines.
Being spiritual does not imply practicing yoga, meditation, reiki or any other New Age stream.
Being spiritual does not imply being vegetarian, nor pacifist, nor being in favor of animal rights.
Being spiritual does not imply being dressed in white, speaking slowly and greeting with your palms together saying " namaste ."
Being spiritual means that we spend a few minutes a day to look inward and disconnect from matter to reach communion with ourselves . Little by little, as we look inwards, we reach an intuitive conclusion that we are more than matter, that there is something else ... An underlying, silent, eternal spirit that reigns in the sancta sanctorum of the deepest of ourselves.
Then we open our eyes and return to being chained to matter and subject to its laws , but if anything, we act in a subtly different way, since we recognize that we are spiritual beings in essence, who have had to live this experience called « life human ». This experience makes us more ethical and moral (in most cases), but not because of following certain rules or because of fear of reprisals, but because such dictates arise from our hearts before the understanding that others and the world are a prolongation from ourselves.
Spirituality is everyone's business, and it doesn't have to be noticed , at least externally. If it shows a lot, if we draw attention with extravagant outfits and gestures ..., we may not be as spiritual as we believe.
Symbolically, the spirit is related to the circumference or the sphere (the most perfect geometric figures). Matter is symbolized by the number 4, the square or the cross . Man is a crucified spirit in matter, that is his symbol.
The spiritual being, the initiate, is the one who tries to free himself from his chains . However, this process is long and arduous, and we must know how to reconcile the spiritual with the material. We have to value, enjoy and enjoy everything material; we have to be happy in this physical plane and, as far as possible, improve this world, making it more beautiful, good and fair. All this, of course, without forgetting to spend a few minutes a day, just a few minutes, to look inside.
The Bhagavad Gita is undoubtedly one of the most inspired texts that humanity possesses. In Hinduism it is considered a sacred text, and it is also the first written text that deals with yoga.
The entire text (700 verses) is a dialogue between the teacher (Krishna) and his disciple (Arjuna), where he instructs him in yoga just before starting a battle between the Pándavas and the Kauravas. Bhagavad Gita means " the song ( gita ) of Krishna ( Bhagavan ) ", although because bhagavan is a venerable title meaning "Lord," it is often translated as "The song of the Lord," or "The song of God". Also, due to its importance as a yoga text, it is known as Yoga upanishad .
This book (dating from the first millennium BC) is a kind of "Bible" for Hindus, but for us, yoga students, it is a compendium of wisdom, and what interests us is " the teaching " that the teacher gives his disciple, rather than the context on which the story is situated.
For Hinduists, Krishna is an avatar of the god Visnhu (the Conservative). The text is part of the great epic called Mahabarata , and has the quality of sruti (revealed text) and smriti (remembered text). Its authorship is unknown, although the wise Viasa is the author of the Mahabarata .
As in any religious text, there are numerous versions and translations , some of them faithful to the original in Sanskrit, others manipulated or stained according to the ideology of the one who translated it. There are illegible versions (due to its literality with the Sanskrit language) and very poetic versions (adapted to the Castilian language in this case). There are versions that are limited to reproducing the original text, and others full of comments between paragraph and paragraph by the translator, a fact that cuts the narrative and can create confusing ideas.
For me, the best version I know is that of 1896 by J. Roviralta Borrell , a Spanish theosophist. Srila Prabhupada's version is very good also if we read only the rough and faithful translation to the original text; The rest of the book are his comments, very tinged with his Hare Krishna ideology. There are dozens of versions, I don't know all of them.
Well, like any sacred text, it can have two interpretations: literal or symbolic . That is, we can believe that the story really happened and that Krishna was an incarnation of God, or interpret the text symbolically, assigning each character and situation in the story as a part of ourselves, as a universal archetype :
Krishna : inner teacher (spirit).
Arjuna : mature psyche (soul).
Blind King Diritarastra and his son Dur and odhana ("how hard to gnaw"): personality.
Sanjaya ( court seer): the storyteller, who has the ability to see beyond the material (intuition).
Army of the Pándavas : The luminous forces that elevate us towards spirituality.
Army of the Kauravas : The dark forces that drag us towards matter.
Kurukshetra (plain where the battle takes place): Our body (the stage where everything happens to us).
Because it would be very long to explain the whole context of the story and unravel it completely, I have decided to make several videos where I will read the story and, from my understanding, I will add comments to clarify certain concepts. I will make a video per chapter (18 in total), and I hope this work can help those interested in this topic, as well as yoga teachers who want to delve into the origins of this discipline.
I are uploading the videos on my Youtube channel, and I will also upload them to Ivoox in Mp3 format.
Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha, has undoubtedly been one of the most influential personalities in the history of mankind. In this article we will make a brief summary of his life and his teaching.
Siddhartha was born in the city of Kapilavastu, in northern India, in the 6th century BC , in the full moon of May, in the bosom of the nobility. His mother, Queen Maya, died a few days after giving birth. There were several prophecies during his birth, one of them was that he would be a great king or a great renunciate , for this reason, his father, King Sudodana protected him from all religious teaching and kept him from suffering.
He married Yasodhara and had a son named Rajula, and at 29 years of age his life changed when he met for the first time in his life with an old man, a sick man, a corpse and an ascetic. From that moment he decided that he would overcome suffering and death, so he abandoned his family and his palace to become a renunciate .
For the next six years he wandered through India learning from different yoga teachers all kinds of techniques to achieve liberation. He underwent hard asceticism, fasting and long meditation sessions, until at age 35 he almost died drowned when bathing in a river, due to his weakness caused by mortifications and fasting. Then he understood: the secret was in balance, in the middle ... Not too many mortifications, not too much hedonism. Moderation, balance, not falling into excesses of any kind. For this reason he called his way, "the middle way.
"Shortly after he reached Nirvana, the supreme state, after a 49-day meditation in a row under a fig tree. From there, Siddhartha Gautama was known as "the Buddha," which means "the awake."
For the next 45 years he devoted himself to teaching his doctrine in northwestern India, until he died at 80 years of age. Later his disciples spread his teaching throughout Asia in what is now known as Buddhism. That was more than 2500 years ago ...
His teaching is based on the 4 noble truths :
There is suffering.
The origin of suffering is desire.
It is possible to free yourself from suffering.
The noble eightfold path is the path that leads to liberation.
The noble eightfold pathconsists of the following points:
Correct understanding.
Right thinking.
Right word.
Correct action.
Right livelihoods.
Right effort.
Correct attention.
Correct concentration.
In short : His teaching is based on moderation , ethics and compassion , and especially on meditation.
To follow the path of Buddha, from my point of view, it is not necessary to become a Buddhist or dress with any habit, it is enough to be moderate, compassionate and acquire the habit of meditating.
I have further developed the topic in the following video:
I highly recommend the following readings:
- Buddha, his life and teachings . Osho - Siddhartha . Hermann Hesse
To set this article, some music with Tibetan incantations .
The Kaizen method is a Japanese technique of continuous improvement, applicable to all areas of life: business, business, health, sport, yoga ...
This method, or philosophy , began mostly to be heard at the business level, to improve production. Famous are their " 5S " to achieve better orderly and effective work environments:
Seiri (classification)
Seiton (order)
Seiso (cleaning)
Seiketsu (standardization)
Shitsuke (discipline)
But apart from this, and leaving aside the business field, the most important thing is its associated philosophy, in which it is especially important to achieve great results by taking small steps .
It is very difficult for something to prosper if we have to make great initial efforts, because we have high chances of giving up before the habit of doing so is generated in us. For this reason, the Kaizen method proposes to start with short and simple activities, and through continuous improvement , increase them and eventually achieve great benefits.
Under this philosophy my yoga course for beginners is created, with the aim of doing very short and simple routines to create the habit , and then gradually increase the time and difficulty of the exercises. Thus, we start the day with a routine of 3 to 5 minutes, simpler impossible to perform. In the afternoon we do the star exercise, the Greeting to the Sun, 2 times the first sessions and then we increase the number progressively, to end in another simple nighttime routine.
The next course I will do, to teach meditation, will be covered under the same philosophy, that of the Kaizen method, since I have proven that it works . And I insist, this is applicable to everything you intend to do , be it a diet, a sport, learn a language, improve the production of your company or be a better person, always under the following maxims :
"Don't let a day go by without improving yourself"
"Today better than yesterday, tomorrow better than today!"
"A step in the right direction every day is better than no step"
"Commitment and discipline"
"Plan, do, verify and act"
"A series of continuous and small improvements is better than a single large change"
Om is the best known, representative and important mantra of yoga, and singing should not be lacking in any individual yoga class or practice. THEORY
A mantra is an "instrument for the mind," according to its meaning in Sanskrit, and they are usually syllables or groups of short words with a special meaning that are constantly repeated. By repeating it, the mind is focused and concentrated , and hence its usefulness. There are numerous mantras.
The Om , also known as pranava , is the most sacred mantra in yoga, Hinduism and Buddhism. The Om represents the highest divinity, Brahman, and the entire universe. It is said that "The whole universe comes from Om, rests in Om and dissolves in Om . "
The yantra (geometric representation) of Om is the following image, so well known and used:
The Om mantra is actually written as AUM , and its three letters have a very special meaning:
- The A is the most open vowel that the human being can pronounce, it is the alpha , God, Life and the waking state.
- The U is an intermediate vowel, and represents consciousness, matter and dream state with dreams.
- The M is the most closed consonant we can pronounce, it is the omega , the mother, the energy, the joy and the state of deep sleep.
Now, the mantra is always pronounced as Om , since the A and the U in Sanskrit are pronounced as O. Hence the Om is the synthesis of those three letters, and symbolizes the fourth state of consciousness , that of meditation or supraconsciousness.
PRACTICE
The practice of singing or reciting the mantra (either loudly or mentally) is known as yapa . It is usually sung 108 times using a bad (Hindu rosary), although we can sing it the number of times we want. How to sing it:
Sitting, with our eyes closed, we inspire, and as we exhale, we continuously pronounce the " Ooooooooooooommmmmmmmmmm ", feeling like the O resonates in the chest and the M resonates in the head. We repeat it several times focused on the sound until the mind is focused and we get a state of peace.
How to recite it mentally:
Same as the previous phase, but instead of saying it, we recite it mentally. This requires more concentration and the mind is more likely to be distracted, but if we master the practice, it is an excellent exercise of mental concentration and a technique that can lead us to meditation.
In the following video I explain with examples how to pronounce and sing it:
Practice singing it, alone and in a group if you have the chance, singing the Om in a coordinated way is a wonderful experience. Practice also to recite it mentally, you will see how in that case, the mantra refers to his name and becomes an excellent instrument for working the mind .
Practice, sing ... "Who sings, his bad fright . " Gopal
This method, or philosophy , began mostly to be heard at the business level, to improve production. Famous are their " 5S " to achieve better orderly and effective work environments:
