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 .
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.
