Jadatharaya Institute

2011-07-09T10:47:00.011+02:00

The Institute promotes universal spiritual principles and embraces students of every denomination. One does not have to follow an eastern religious practice to be involved in the Kriya Yoga classes, though an understanding of universal spiritual philosophies is beneficial. Jadatharaya Yoga instructors have been initiated into Kriya Yoga and are trained by Swami Shankarananda personally. All of our instructors teach on a voluntary basis and classes are offered for free or for an affordable donation.

Yoga Articles

2009-06-27T14:13:00.014+02:00

What is Yoga?
History of Yoga
Paths of Yoga
Benefits of Yoga
Prana Yoga

2008-05-27T13:31:00.009+02:00

Mahavatar Siddhar Babaji Nagaraj was born on 30th November 203AD and is reputed to still be alive today, living near Badrinath in the Himalayas. Babaji learned Kriya Yoga from the great siddhas (ascended masters) Sri Bhoganathar and Sri Agasthiar and taught the method to two direct disciples: Lahiri Mahasaya (1828-1895) and Yogi SAA Ramaiah (1923-2006). Lahiri Mahasaya initiated his disciple, Sri Yukteswar Giri (1955-1936) into Kriya Yoga, who in turn passed on the tradition to Paramahansa Yogananda (1893-1952). Swami Shankarananda was initiated into the Kriya Yoga technique of Babaji Nagaraj by Yogi SAA Ramaiah during January 2000 and has a close affiliation with Paramahansa Yogananda.

Prana Yoga

2007-10-18T23:42:00.000+02:00

Usually prana flows in either the Ida or the Pingala at any one time, depending on the climatic conditions, intensity of exercise, thought processes and physical stature. Very rarely does prana flow through the central nadi. People who are unaware of the significance of pranic flow sometimes say that prana flowing through the central nadi is indicative of a bad omen. The reason for this is that when prana flows through the central nadi, the mind produces higher thoughts and does not yield to physical activities for worldly purposes. As most of humanity are immersed in the darkness of the material world, they consider the flow of prana through the central nadi as inauspicious. Actually, it is considered extremely auspicious and favourable to a person who desires to pursue the spiritual path.

There is a secret siddhic method used used to stimulate pranic frequency without altering the speed of its flow, and by which ignorance can be discarded and replaced by illumination, causing a more rapid evolution. As prana is stimulated in the medulla, its flow undisturbed, one will not experience any physical change or outward signs, but one’s evolutionary cycle will be accelerated nevertheless. This will be experienced in stages through changes in general life. Depending on the intensity of ones practise, ones entire lower evolutionary stage may be completed in ones current birth or following incarnation, when realization will occur. By strenuous sadhana (practise) of this prana yoga one can attain moksha or brahma nirvana (enlightenment) in ones current lifetime.

In order to stimulate the pranic frequency without altering its speed, the medulla must be stimulated. This will cause evolution of the mind, intellect and subconscious. The three malas (egoism, action and illusion) will dissipate and the Self (athma sakshathkara) will come into realization. After only a little practise of this sadhana and practise of the supplementary Cosmo Mystic Meditation, the layers of ignorance covering the soul will dissolve, revealing the pure Self and ultimately merging with the Almighty in attainment of bliss (ananda) in the current birth.

In order to attain such a supreme state one does not need to change their dress, religion, nature or culture but can continue to live a normal family and professional life. A jeevanmuktha (realized soul) is one who attains liberation in their current birth and will live on earth like an ordinary person, but without any attachment to earthly things, until he throws off his mortal coil. Nothing can affect his mental poise and, like an ordinary person, he lives in the world, but not of it, always rejoicing in the experience of bliss.

Excerpt from Evolution-Accelerating Prana Yoga by Sri Khanniah Yogi

Benefits of Yoga

2007-09-17T22:22:00.000+02:00

Hatha yoga, the yoga of physical postures, is not a separate yoga science in its own right; rather it is the physical discipline of the integral teaching known as Raja Yoga. On a physical level union (yoga) signifies the complete harmony of all parts of the body.

Yoga (the neutralisation of the waves of feeling) returns man to his natural state. Applying this teaching to the body, we may understand that disease and other symptoms of bodily inharmony are not natural to man. If one can return to his natural state, disease will vanish as a matter of course. Western medicine, lacking this philosophical foundation, treats disease as a natural phenomenon, one to be conquered, to be driven out of the body with new, man-made nostrums, as if the conquest of disease were possibly only by battling the natural processes, by going against nature.

The yoga postures help to harmonize the body with natural law. The yogi is shown how to develop his own latent powers rather than lean weakly on some outer agent for his physical well-being. Inasmuch as ill health is the unnatural, not the natural, condition of the body, primary emphasis in hatha yoga is placed on freeing the body of any impurities that may prevent it from functioning as it should, rather than on introducing outside forces strong enough to destroy all disease.

Yogis and Western medical doctors both say that the toxins in the body soon leave the bloodstream and settle in the joints. Yogis go on to say that old age, too, settles first in the joints. Western medical doctors have actually stated that the spinal discs of many people, even in their twenties, already show signs of deterioration. Western systems of physical exercise - sports, calisthenics and the like - do not develop the limberness necessary to keep the joints free of toxins and the spinal column well irrigated with life force. In both of these matters, the science of hatha yoga stands supreme.

Hatha yoga also exercises a gentle massage on the internal organs and glands, gradually strengthening them to the point where providing outside aid for them becomes unnecessary. Much emphasis is given in yoga to the elimination of waste from the body. One form of waste not commonly regarded as such, is tension. Tension blocks the natural flow of energy in the body, paralysing one’s normal sense of physical and mental harmony. Human ills all derive from impairments in the body’s energy-flow. The main reason for eliminating waste from the body is to permit the free flow of energy. Thus the secret to success in yoga is relaxation, not strain. One should not force himself into a new condition, but seek only to free himself of tensions and inharmonies that have prevented him thus far from being fully himself.

Extract from The Art and Science of Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda

2007-09-17T21:15:00.006+02:00

MONDAY
Venue: 2 Fairview Drive, Verulam
Instructor: Swami Shankarananda / Lalitha
Time: 19h00 to 20h30
Includes: energization exercises, 18 Kriya Postures (intermediate) pranayama, meditation, discourse by Swami if available.
Cost: R120 a month
Contact: 078 328 4133 / tarryn.coetzee@liblink.co.za

Venue: Gokale Hall, Tongaat
Instructor: Jane
Time:18h30
Includes: 18 Kriya Postures
Cost: by donation
Contact: 084 584 1761

Venue: Umhlanga Hindu Society, 46 Hambridge Dr Somerset Park
Instructor: Pranananda
Time: 18h30
Includes:
Cost: by donation
Contact:084 828 3880

WEDNESDAY
Venue: 3 Manning Place, Cowies Hill (Pinetown)
Instructor: Kailashadeva
Time: 18h30 to 19h30
Includes: warm-up, 18 Kriya Postures (intermediate), pranayama and meditation
Cost: R120 a month
Contact: 083 533 9001 / karlziesing@gmail.com

Venue: Watsonia Library, Tongaat
Instructor: Jane
Time: 18h30
Includes:
Cost: by donation
Contact: 084 584 1761

THURSDAY
Venue: Phoenix, Stonebridge Community Hall
Instructor: Lalitha
Time: 18h30 to 19h30
Includes: basic warm-up, Kriya Postures (beginners), pranayama and meditation
Cost: by donation
Contact: 078 328 4133 / tarryn.coetzee@liblink.co.za

Venue: Grosvenor Library, Bluff
Instructor: Shivabalananda
Time: 18h30 to 19h30
Includes: basic warm-up, Kriya Postures (beginners), pranayama and meditation
Cost: R120 a month or R40 per class
Contact: 084 583 9354

SATURDAY
Venue: 2 Fairview Drive, Verulam
Instructor: Kailashadeva
Time: 06h00 to 07h30
Includes: intensive advanced warm-up, Kriya Yoga Postures (advanced), pranayama, meditation, discourse by Swami if available.
Cost: R120 a month (includes other Verulam classes)
Contact: 083 533 9001 / karlziesing@gmail.com

SUNDAY
Venue: 2 Fairview Drive, Verulam
Instructor: Pranananda
Time: 06h00 to 07h30
Includes: Tai Chi warm-up, Kriya Postures 4 to 6, 18 Prana Mudra Asana, pranayama, meditation, discourse by Swami if available.
Cost: R120 a month (includes other Verulam classes)
084 828 3880 / SPillay2@sars.gov.za

About Jadatharaya

2007-09-17T20:55:00.000+02:00

The Jadatharaya Institute of Right Living and Yoga is a non-profit organisation, based in South Africa, and formed in 2005 by Swami Shankarananda in order make available to dedicated aspirants, the traditional methods of yoga, meditation and spiritual living as ways to attain enlightenment.

The institute holds regular weekly classes by qualified instructors, trained by Swami Himself in Verulam, Scottburgh, Tongaat, Stanger and Cowies Hill in kwaZulu-Natal, and in Midrand, Johannesburg. The 18 Kriya Asanas of Mahavatar Babaji Nagaraj are taught primarily and dedicated teaches can receive certified training in this technique which includes Babaji's18 specific healing postures, pranayama and meditation as well as right-living principles.

Classes are held on a donation basis and students are encouraged to attend regularly. Special early-morning classes are held on Sundays for more disciplined students.

All class donations and sales of books and CDs are used to further promote awareness of Yoga by holding lectures and workships and producing printed matter for distribution.

Beginners Meditation

2007-08-13T20:47:00.000+02:00

Meditation Made Easy

by Swami Shankarananda

Introduction: What is Meditation?

In the words of Sri Yogiar S.A.A. Ramaiah, “Meditation is the scientific art of mastering the mind”. This means that meditation is a state of great Divine Awareness attained by simply stilling movement in and out of the mind, and developing single-pointed concentration. It is a Divine Journey to the inner altar of the Self.

To attain such a state through meditation, you need to unlearn many of the learned habits and attitudes that prevent you from experiencing the most natural state of Bliss and Eternal Happiness. By unlearning these habits, eliminating mental restlessness and stilling the mind becomes easy.

Meditation cannot be successful while you are thinking deeply, but is only possible when thinking stops. For a good meditation experience, you need commitment. It is not a passive practice. Pleasant daydreams are not part of the meditation process and should be discarded as soon as they surface.

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna says, “Even a little practice of this inward religion, will save one from dire fears and colossal sufferings”.

Before you settle down to meditate, posture must be checked. You should be relaxed and comfortable, seated in the lotus posture, or cross-legged, or if this is difficult for you, upright on a chair or stool with your back straight and feet flat on the ground in front of you. It is possible to meditate while lying on the back, but it is discouraged because most people tend to fall asleep instead.

The important thing is to keep the spine erect so that the energy centres along the spine (chakras) are in alignment. Be aware of the sensation flowing in the brow area, between the eyebrows. If you want, play soft meditation music in the background, or a guided meditation recording, to prevent distraction from outside sounds.

Commit yourself to regular practice, maintaining a regular schedule. To start, regularity in meditation is more important than duration. Keep this daily appointment with the Infinite sincerely, and without fail. Always choose the most suitable time for your practice. You should be in a clean and comfortable place that is quiet and where you will not be disturbed by the movement and noise of others. Make this place your sanctuary. The same time should be observed for meditation every day.

Remember: meditation is conscious intentional practice for bliss.

_____________________________

Method for Beginners

Step One

Once you are seated and comfortable in your sanctuary, silently recite a simple prayer or affirmation, for example: “O God, Creator of All, here I am waiting to be embraced and encapsulated in Your Love. I ask to reside in the Light of Your protection from both seen and unseen beings. Here I surrender to your will.”

Step Two

Become aware of your breath and ‘watch’ it as it flows into and out of your lungs. Your breathing should be slow with deep and long inhalations, through the nose, using both nostrils and exhaling through the mouth. This should be done about ten times after reciting your prayer.

Step Three

Continue to be aware of your breathing, but now close your eyes and bring your mental attention to the area between your eyebrows. You can rub it slightly to bring awareness to the area if necessary, or you might like to visualise a golden flame in the area, or to actually watch a physical candle flame instead if you find it difficult to bring awareness to this area with your eyes closed.

Step Four

If you have any unnecessary thoughts, do not follow them through or contemplate them, but allow them to pass out of your mind-space like water flowing beneath a bridge. Just observe them passing through, do not communicate with them. If your mind wanders after a thought, bring it back to focussing on your breath and brow area. It is scientifically proven that by focussing the mind on two things at a time (in this case, your breathing and the spot between your eyebrows), thoughts will cease to flow.

Step Five

While still maintaining focus on your breathing and brow, become aware of the reactions of your muscular system. Acknowledge any physical stress and relax each area of the body. You may find it easier to consciously tense an area of stress and then release it to help with physical relaxation. This process is only necessary if you have not practised any yoga postures before your meditation.

Step Six

Once you are physically relaxed, continue this process of focussing on your breath and brow, going deeper and deeper into your Self. You may experience flashes of colour or light behind your eyelids. This is just a reflection of energy within your subtle body and is nothing to be concerned about. It is definitely not a sign of enlightenment or attainment, as many presume.

Step Seven

Meditation should last for as long as you are comfortable. It is said that a person should meditate one minute for each year of their life. For example, if you are eight years old, meditation should last for only eight minutes, or if you are forty years old, you should meditate for forty minutes a day, or preferably twice a day. Remember to ‘come out of’ your meditation slowly. Don’t stand up quickly. Have a good stretch and bring your attention back to the room and surrounding sounds.

_______________________

Additional Advice

Although meditation can be practised at any suitable time, there are some other additional practises that can be included to improve one’s meditation. These include:

1. Eliminating meat from the diet.

This is difficult for most Westerners who are used to a meat diet because their bodies have become accustomed to meat through upbringing and habit. Meat makes the body sluggish and the mind tired. The human body is not designed to consume meat so it taxes the system and causes disease and premature aging. We are designed to thrive on a diet of fruit, vegetables, grains, seeds and nuts. This can only be appreciated by actually taking up a proper vegetarian diet and experiencing the changes in our functioning. The mind becomes sharper, energy levels are higher, the body requires less sleep and, sleep, although shorter, is deeper and more rewarding. Although it is not imperative to be a complete vegetarian in order to meditate, meat should not be consumed at least three hours prior to meditating or practising yoga postures. So, if you decide to meditate in the morning, do it before breakfast; or if in the evening, have a light supper of fruits or steamed vegetables or salad an hour before you meditate, and save your heavier meal or meat-meals for lunch time.

If you want to become a vegetarian, it is best to slowly reduce the amount of meat in your diet, first red meat, then chicken and lastly fish. Today it is quite easy to be a vegetarian as there are many suitable replacement foods on the market that offer ample nutrition for optimal health.

2. Increasing water intake

Although this is a foregone conclusion for any healthy living plan, few of us drink enough water. Water is imperative in cleansing and releasing both physical and subtle (energy-related) toxins from the body. The average person should consume two litres of water every day to keep the system functioning properly. In addition, our body is an neuro-electrical machine and, as water is an excellent conductor of electricity, drinking enough each day will help to optimise neural (nerve) functioning.

3. Cleansing

Before doing yoga or meditating it is suggested that a hot bath be taken in order to cleanse the body and also to keep the body slightly damp during meditation as it cools, which will facilitate the energy processes required during meditation.

4. Yoga

Although not imperative, yoga postures (asanas) should be done before meditating as they play a part in both healing and relaxing the body and mind in preparation for meditation. Thirty minutes to an hour is suitable for the average student.

5. Breathing exercises

By performing some form of controlled breathing exercise, the body is further relaxed and the mind further prepared for a meditative state. It is interesting to note that the breath controls the mind. If we continually breathe quickly, the mind will be irritated. (Think about a person who is stressed in a fight-or-flight situation - the breath is much quicker than usual - compared to a person in a deep relaxed sleep.) By controlling the breath, we control the mind. It is extremely important to have proper qualified instruction when doing breathing exercises. Much damage has been done to the energy systems of individuals who practise incorrect or prolonged breathing techniques.

If you have any questions regarding your meditation practises or experiences, please email Swami Shanarananda at sivabalayogi@mweb.co.za

We rely on your contribution

2007-07-16T12:50:00.006+02:00

The Jadatharaya Institute of Right Living and Yoga and the Africa Kriya Babaji Sangam are maintained by donations from students and devotees. If you would like to make a donation towards the ongoing work of this Kriya lineage, please use the following banking details.

Jadatharaya Institute of Right Living & Yoga
First National Bank
Verulam Branch, kwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Account Number: 62085480798
Branch Code: 22-02-29
Swift Code: ABSAZAJJ

All donations are gratefully accepted.

Paths of Yoga

2007-07-13T16:39:00.001+02:00

Different paths of yoga have been developed to help individuals of varying inclinations achieve awakening. These paths are as follows:

Bhakti Yoga (devotional yoga)

Pure devotion or selfless love is essential to some extent for every seeker. It is one of the quickest ways of smoothing the selfish eddies of desire and of drawing one’s feelings out of an egoic orbit to merge in the Divine Stream. Bhakti Yoga must be a self-offering, not noise and loud chanting only, but also silence - a listening for the Divine reply. Devotion is a way of creating such a strong current of pure energy that all impure desires are simply carried along in its wake. The important thing is not how one defines God, but how one approaches Him. The bhakti yogi thinks of God first in personal, human terms: as Father, Mother, Friend or Beloved. Such a personal view helps him to awaken and direct love towards God.

Karma Yoga (yoga through action)

This path of yoga should not lead to ever-more frenzied activity, but to a deep inner calmness and freedom. The true karma yogi tries, by God-reminding activities, to redirect all the wrong impulses of his heart into wholesome channels; he tries to become aware of the Divine energy flowing through him as he acts.

As the bhakti yogi above is taught to be more concerned with loving purely than with defining exactly what it is that he loves, so also the karma yogi is taught that the spirit in which he serves is more important than the service itself, i.e. it is desireless action, or action without desire for the fruits of action. Personal satisfaction must be offered up to the Divine; it must be perceived as a mere ripple on the ocean of cosmic bliss. Hard work done with love is purifying. The teaching of karma yoga is not, ‘do this or that, specifically’, but, ‘whatever you do, do it with a sense of freedom. Realize that you are only an instrument of the Divine. Do nothing for selfish ends. Instead, act so as to neutralize, not agitate the waves of your likes and dislikes.’ By acting without desire for the fruits of action, the yogi learns to live, not in the past or future, but in the timeless now.

Gyana Yoga (yoga of wisdom)

Wisdom first comes through the practice of discrimination. The temptation of the ego, once it takes up this practice, is to flatter itself with its own profundity by stepping further and further afield in its analyses of different aspects of reality. The important thing is not how many different deep truths one can grasp, but rather how deeply one grasps the central truth: the need to rise above personal likes and dislikes. By looking behind veil after veil that obscures the door to Truth, the gyana yogi comes at length to the Truth Itself, stripped of every superficial appearance, but he will never come to this reality as long as he seeks it only on a level of ideas. His search must take him within himself, to ever deeper levels of realization of who and what he is. It is his own heart’s false identifications that he must dispel. As in bhakti and karma yoga, it is not what he sees but how he sees that really matters.

The gyana yogi must view all things with the impartial consciousness of a sage. It is less important that he see through human follies than that he not be affected by man’s supreme folly: delusion itself. The gyana yogi tries, even at the time of outward enjoyment, to interiorize his consciousness, feeding the inner flame of self-consciousness. He knows that if, like worldly people, he borrowed its embers to give light to things, the true source of joy within himself would burn itself down at last to grey ashes. He refers his mental images back to the light of joy within himself, and sees those images as reflections, only, of that inner joy. In this way his soul’s light becomes intensified, not diffused. Gyana yoga is not only a particular path to God. It also points out the direction all our thinking should take, even in bhakti yoga and karma yoga, if we want it to lead to liberation.

The three yoga paths outlined so far (Bhakti, Karma & Gyana yoga), are designed to fit the basic temperamental differences of people: those who live by feeling, by action, or by thought. Because every person is a composite of all three of these attributes, regardless of which is uppermost in his particular nature, all three of these paths of yoga should be followed to some extent by everyone. But temperament is a superficial consideration. It is not a quality of the soul - only of the ego. The perfection of each of these paths transcends temperament, leading from outward practices to deep inner stillness.

Kriya Yoga

Kriya is the yoga of action: action towards self-realization, which is fortified by daily meditation. This will give force to one’s devotion, to his activities and to his divine understanding. The special practice of these yogas will in their turn, give force to and will help to determine the course of one's meditations. Meditation (as the supreme guide) practised with the harmonious combination of the above three yoga paths, constitutes the complete path of Kriya Yoga.

Raja yoga, the elemental level of Kriya yoga, views human nature as a kingdom composed of many psychological tendencies and physical attributes, all of which require considerate attention. A king cannot afford to favour one class of his subjects at the expense of all others, lest dissatisfaction among the rest sow seeds of rebellion. Man, similarly, progresses most smoothly when all aspects of his nature are developed harmoniously. The raja yogi therefore, is enjoined to rule his inner kingdom wisely and with moderation, developing all aspects of his nature in a balanced, integrated way. Since it is the soul which is the true ruler of man’s inner kingdom, the development of soul-consciousness, by daily meditation, forms the principal activity of raja yoga. But even meditation, if one-sided can result in imbalances. The raja yogi is therefore encouraged to develop all sides of his nature - always, however, with a view to neutralizing the waves of his likes and dislikes, and not, by egoistic self-expression.

History of Yoga

2007-07-13T16:31:00.000+02:00

The science of yoga was born in an age when mankind was more enlightened, and could easily grasp truths for which our most advanced thinkers are only groping (referring to ordinary men whose means of understanding are the clumsy tools of logic - and not the great saints). Truth is eternal. Man can perceive it; he cannot create it.

Once his perception is keen enough to behold Absolute Truth, he will partake of a reality that all share who attain the same vision. The great religions have come to man from those regions. The greatest spiritual teachers in all times have spoken from that vision. The endeavour of great teachers is to bring man back to central, eternal realities. In our age a number of such great masters have appeared. They have come with different missions, each one to stress a different aspect of Truth, each aspect sorely needed by modern man in general, or by the groups of disciples to whom they spoke in particular. As part of this present-day renaissance of ancient teachings, one particular line of great masters have devoted their lives to reestablishing the original, central teachings and practices of yoga.

The history of yoga suggests two principles that are basic to the successful practice of even the simplest asana (posture).

Firstly, the widespread enlightenment that was said to have existed at the time of yoga’s beginnings has been attributed to the proximity of our solar system to the mighty radiations of energy pouring from the centre of our galaxy. In even the darkest age, however, some souls are fully enlightened. And in even the most enlightened age some men live in a self-created darkness. The most important thing for man to remember is that he must receive enlightenment; he cannot manufacture it. A room that is painted white seems brighter because it reflects more light than will any other colour. The purpose of yoga, similarly, is to open the windows of the mind, and to awaken every cell of the body and brain to reflect and magnify the energy that comes to it from the surrounding universe. (A comparison might be drawn to modern transistor radios which, because of their efficiency, can pick up programmes where, a few years ago, nothing so small would have been able to get a sound). As you pursue your yoga practices remember that your aim must be to become spiritually completely open, to receive. Never hurry. Never strain. Feel that what you do is, in a sense, being done through you, by your willing cooperation with Divine forces.

Secondly, as the history of yoga is a long record of great yogis who brought this science back again and again to its central focus, so the practice of each individual must be directed, not toward outward appearances and display, but inward to the centre of his own being. Every outward movement must proceed from this inner centre. Every posture must be an affirmation of, and must be followed by a return to, the Divine Self within.

Excerpt from Raja Yoga by Swami Kriyananda

What is Yoga?

2007-07-13T16:24:00.004+02:00

The state of yoga is an experiment on yourself,
by yourself, to attain the Self.

Many people think that yoga is an activity that gets the body tied in knots, causing stress and frustration, or that it is only for fit and supple individuals. Some westerners regard Yoga as an evil and ungodly practice because it’s history lies beyond the confines of Christianity. Both these ideas are distorted and so result in many losing out on the infinite benefits of this ancient science.

Yoga is not only a physical practice. It works on many levels and doesn’t include only postures (asanas). There is also yoga of the breath (pranayama), yoga of sense withdrawal (prathyahara), yoga of contemplation(dharana), yoga of the mind (dhyana), and the yoga of bliss (samadhi). All of these disciplines fall under the banner of Yoga, andall work together to purify and perfect body, mind and soul.

Yoga is not a weight-loss method in the way that many might think. It does not stress the muscles like aerobic exercise and should not cause one to perspire at all. Nevertheless, it does help to develop strength of body, mind and soul and, in the process, brings the body of each individual to a perfect state of holistic equilibrium. Having attained such a state, it is easier to communicate with the Infinite Intelligence, as the physical and subtle body channels become clear and, consequently, are able to process information optimally.

Yoga literally means ‘union’ - a union that can be understood on different levels:
philosophically, as a union of the relative, limited self with the absolute Self;

religiously, as a union of the individual soul with the Infinite Spirit (God);

psychologically, as the integration of the personality wherein a person no longer lives at cross-purposes with himself;
emotionally, as the stilling of the waves of likes and dislikes.

It is the last level that serves as the classical definition of yoga by the ancient sage, Patanjali, whose profound Yoga Sutras have been looked upon for millennia as yoga’s definitive scripture. He wrote that ‘Yoga is the neutralization of the waves of feeling.’ Paramahansa Yogananda taught that the waves of the mind which produce delusion and bondage are primarily the likes and dislikes, the biased feelings of the heart (whirlpools of emotion), that interfere with life’s smoothly flowing stream, causing one to become preoccupied with the ego. By calming and controlling the flow of thoughts through the mind, other mind functions like memory, idea-association and analysis, can be harnessed and used more efficiently. By becoming unattached to one’s emotions and thoughts, enlightenment can be attained.

Yoga is then, the neutralization of ego-directed feelings, because once these become stilled, the yogi realizes that he is, and that he has always been, one with the Infinite - that his awareness of this reality was limited only by his infatuation with limitation. Every truth-seeker regardless of his religion, eventually reaches the same state of divine calmness that is yoga.