Yoga breathing

Here are some Hatha yoga videos, from beginners to advanced stages. Yoga is one of the best ways to cultivate your mind and body union. It tones muscles, increases flexibility, calms the mind and can improve overall health. You can notice results from your very first practice, and as you become familiar with the postures, both your yoga practice and your body will evolve in an enriching and truly powerful way. Read more »

asanas, demonstration classes, dhyana, energy enhancement, hatha yoga, mind and body, path to enlightenment, postures, pranayama, raja yoga, swami, word yoga, yoga asana, yoga posture, yoga practice

Tratak has many potential uses, but the word may simply be translated as (intense) concentration. Actually it means an unbroken gaze or attention fixed on an object, a steady gazing at a particular point or object without winking - looking at or into it. Read more »

exercises, eye exercise, gaze, hatha yoga, intense concentration, psychic center, relaxation, tensions, tratak, unconscious movements

The word Karma is often misinterpreted to mean what is unavoidable in ‘life’ or ‘fate’. ‘An Indian farmer doesn’t plough his land according to modern methods, since he considers that it is his Karma to be poor, etc … ‘ Read more »

dreams, fellow humans, good karma, law of action and reaction, objective concept, outer experience, tantric, yoga

The cosmogony of the rig-Veda may be looked at from two aspects, the mythological and the philosophical. The mythological aspect has in general two currents, as Professor Macdonell says, “The one regards the universe as the result of mechanical production, the work of carpenter’s and joiner’s skill; the other represents it as the result of natural generation (1).” Read more »

atman, births, brahmana, cosmogony, golden egg, hymn 5, immortality, navel, pantheistic, rig veda, supreme being

The passage of the Indian mind from the Brahmanic to the Upanishad thought is probably the most remarkable event in the history of philosophic thought. We know that in the later Vedic hymns some monotheistic conceptions of great excellence were developed, but these differ in their nature from the absolutism of the Upanishads as much as the Ptolemaic and the Copernican systems in astronomy. Read more »

atman, brahman, one god, principle, rig veda, upanishads, vedic hymns

The sum and substance of the Upanishad teaching is involved in the equation Atman=Brahman. We have already seen that the word Atman was used in the rig-Veda to denote on the one hand the ultimate essence of the universe, and on the other the vital breath in man. Later on in the Upanishads we see that the word Brahman is generally used in the former sense, while the word Atman is reserved to denote the inmost essence in man, and the Upanishads are emphatic in their declaration that the two are one and the same. Read more »

atman, brahman, consciousness, desires, essence of man, hunger and thirst, indra, rig veda, senses, upanishads, vital breath

The Nyaya sutras begin with an enumeration of the sixteen subjects, viz. means of right knowledge (pramana), object of right knowledge (prameya), doubt (samshaya), purpose (prayojana), illustrative instances (drishtanta), accepted conclusions (siddhanta), premisses (avayava), argumentation (tarka), ascertainment (nirnaya), debates (vada), disputations (jalpa), destructive criticisms (vitanda), fallacy (hetvabhasa), quibble (chala), refutations (jati), points of opponent’s defeat (nigrahasthana), and hold that by a thorough knowledge of these the highest good (nihshreyasa), is attained. In the second sutra it is said that salvation (apavarga) is attained by the successive disappearance of false knowledge (mithyajnana), defects (dosha), endeavours (pravritti, birth (janma), and ultimately of sorrow (1). Read more »

apta, atman, body senses, chala, dosha, five senses, inference, jalpa, pain sorrow, perception, pleasure pain, right knowledge, self body, sense objects, tarka, testimony

Of the six classes of entities or categories (padartha) we have already given some account of dravya (1). Let us now turn to the others. Of the qualities (guna) the first one called rupa (colour) is that which can be apprehended by the eye alone and not by any other sense. The colours are white, blue, yellow, red, green, brown and variegated (citra). Colours are found only in kshiti, ap and tejas. The colours of ap and tejas are permanent (nitya), but the colour of kshiti changes when heat is applied, and this, Shridhara holds, is due to the fact that heat changes the atomic structure of kshiti (earth) and thus the old constitution of the substance being destroyed, its old colour is also destroyed, and a new one is generated. Rupa is the general name for the specific individual colours. There is the genus rupatva (colourness), and the rupa guna (quality) is that on which rests this genus; rupa is not itself a genus and can be apprehended by the eye. Read more »

akasha, atomic structure, guna, katu, natural taste, nitya, rasa, rupa, tejas, vayu

The manner in which knowledge originates is one of the most favourite topics of discussion in Indian philosophy. We have already seen that Samkhya-Yoga explained it by supposing that the buddhi (place of consciousness) assumed the form of the object of perception, and that the buddhi so transformed was then intelligized by the reflection of the pure intelligence or purusha. The Jains regarded the origin of any knowledge as being due to a withdrawal of a veil of karma which was covering the all-intelligence of the self. Read more »

cognition, collocation, indian philosophy, inference, intellectual elements, intelligence, linga, perception, physical elements, purusha

The third pramana, which is admitted by Nyaya and not by Vaisheshika, is upamana, and consists in associating a thing unknown before with its name by virtue of its similarity with some other known thing. Thus a man of the city who has never seen a wild ox (gavaya) goes to the forest, asks a forester - “what is gavaya?” and the forester replies - “oh, you do not know it, it is just like a cow”; after hearing this from the forester he travels on, and on seeing a gavaya and finding it to be similar to a cow he forms the opinion that this is a gavaya. This knowing an hitherto unknown thing by virtue of its similarity to a known thing is called upamana. Read more »

cow, inference, observation, perception, realists, right knowledge, testimony, validity, vedas, virtue, visual sense

Pramana is the means that leads to right knowledge. If memory is intended to be excluded from the definition then pramana is to be defined as the means that leads to such right knowledge as has not already been acquired. Right knowledge (prama) in Vedanta is the knowledge of an object which has not been found contradicted (abadhitarthavishayajnanatva). Except when specially expressed otherwise, prama is generally considered as being excludent of memory and applies to previously unacquired (anadhigata) and uncontradicted knowledge (1). Read more »

memory, mental state, perception, previous moments, right knowledge, vedanta

We have many times spoken of truth or reality as self-luminous (svayamprakasha). But what does this mean? Vedanta defines it as that which is never the object of a knowing act but is yet immediate and direct with us (avedyatve sati aparoksavyavaharayogyatvam). Self-luminosity thus means the capacity of being ever present in all our acts of consciousness without in any way being an object of consciousness. Read more »

anubhuti, appearance, consciousness, manifestation, self luminosity, vedanta, world experience

The inner experiences of pleasure and pain also are generated by a false identification of antahkarana transformations as pleasure or pain with the self, by virtue of which are generated the perceptions, “I am happy,” or “I am sorry.” Read more »

antahkarana, false identification, inference, inner experiences, manifestation, perception, pleasure and pain, vedanta

A story is told about the Greek philosopher Plato and Diogenes the Cynic. One day Diogenes visited Plato. When he came into the room he saw the table covered with a rich cloth, shelves glittering with silver cups and other vessels, and other sumptuous furniture. He took hold of the cloth with force, dragged it onto the floor, and stamped upon it with his feet, saying, “I tread upon Plato’s pride”. Plato quietly answered: “And with greater pride!”Of such stories our lives are made up — stories about ourselves and others, some true to fact and others fanciful. True or fanciful, it is the richness of the stories that makes the richness of our lives and it is the richness of our mental power that makes the richness of the stories. Fact and environment give opportunity, but living has strength, color and richness only on account of what it brings to opportunity. Therefore better than to seek opportunity is to be prepared for it. Read more »

close my eyes, cynic, diogenes, enhancement, greek philosopher plato, pride

The human body has been described as a vehicle for carrying a bag of tools. I sent for a California carpenter the other day. He arrived in an ancient Ford, from which he brought out a very modern kit-box containing at least a hundred tools. In the human body we find legs with which to carry the rest of the outfit about, arms to work with and alter the world, and senses to see what those things are. This carpenter operates in an immense world, but attends to a very small part of it — he sees only a small portion, and works only on a bit of that. Read more »

contiguity, evening sky, human body, immense world, light haze, mind, moment present, moving lights, senses

Exercise 13.
I am sitting at a table, but I imagine that I am an artist out in a field painting a tree. How nice this picture looks, with two branches on this side and three on that, and what a nice curve of foliage the greenery makes. Yet, somehow, it lacks! And the trunk. It does look a bit like a leg of Uncle Abe’s working trousers! Read more »

consciousness, i am an artist, other side, painting

I need make only a few remarks in this book about reading and study. I advise all people when reading light literature to pause frequently to remind themselves to make clear mental pictures of what they read. Our hero comes to the house to call for his girl friend to take her to a dance. Read more »

combine, concentrate, concentration, mental picture, presence

Exercise 17.
The way to meditate on a virtue is simple. First of all make concrete pictures of the virtue in action. For each virtue make a number of pictures; compare them and try to find what is the essential of the virtue and what is the feeling of the virtue in action. Do not be satisfied with mere pictures, as though they were being played before you on a stage. Step up on to the stage and merge yourself in the action, thinking and feeling at the same time. Thirdly, go beyond this and find yourself to be the internal spectator of the virtue, in which condition you witness it as in the “you”, not in the “I”, of yourself. Fourthly, return to your meditation on the virtue as such, but seeing how it would apply in many different circumstances, and in each case putting yourself into the scene and action. Read more »

exercise, practice meditation, selfishness, spectator, thinking and feeling, virtue, witness

An esteemed friend has asked me: “Is it not correct to do that sort of Meditation in which one stills one’s own thinking, and remains in a state of active expectancy of an intuition?” This arose apropos of a statement of mine that Patanjali had taught Meditation as a continued mental effort to understand some subject, not as a voluntary stoppage of mentality. Read more »

contemplation, illumination, intuition, knowing, meditation, mental effort, patanjali, peaceful thinking, purity of intent

The Yogi Philosophy may be divided into several great branches, or fields. What is known as “Hatha Yoga” deals with the physical body and its control; its welfare; its health; its preservation; its laws, etc. What is known as “Raja Yoga” deals with the Mind; its control; its development; its unfoldment, etc. What is known as “Bhakti Yoga” deals with the Love of the Absolute–God. What is known as “Gnani Yoga” deals with the scientific and intellectual knowing of the great questions regarding Life and what lies back of Life–the Riddle of the Universe. Read more »

absolute god, bhakti yoga, fundamental principles, gnani yoga, hatha yoga, higher self, inner senses, knowing, latent powers, mental faculties, raja yoga, riddle of the universe, yogi

In our First Lesson of this series, we brought out the idea that the human mind was compelled to report the fact that it could not think of The Absolute except as possessing the quality of Omnipresence–Present-Everywhere. And, likewise, the human mind is compelled to think that all there IS must be The Absolute, or of the Absolute. Read more »

basic theory, emanations, essence of life, omnipresence, presence, universe, weakest link

The life of the bacteria and germs–the yeasty forms of life–are familiar to many of us. And yet there are forms of life still below these. The line between living forms and non-living forms is being set back further and further by science. Living creatures are now known that resemble the non-living so closely that the line cannot be definitely drawn. Read more »

application of moisture, Living creatures, living forms, lower forms of life, theories of the Yogis

In our last lesson we led you by successive steps from the beginnings of Life in living forms up to the creatures closely resembling the family of vertebrates–the highest family of living forms on this planet. In this present lesson we take up the story of the “Ascent of Man” from the lowly vertebrate forms. Read more »

evolving of wings, lower forms of life, placenta, skeleton, vertebrates

Many writers on the subject of Metempsychosis have devoted much time, labor and argument to prove the reasonableness of the doctrine upon purely speculative, philosophical, or metaphysical grounds. And while we believe that such efforts are praiseworthy for the reason that many persons must be first convinced in that way, still we feel that one must really feel the truth of the doctrine from something within his own consciousness, before he will really believe it to be truth. Read more »

consciousness, logical necessity, memories, metempsychosis, philosophical

Under the Law of Karma every action, yea, every thought as well, has its Karmic effect upon the future incarnations of the soul. And, not exactly in the nature of punishment or rewards, in the general acceptation of the term, but as the invariable operation of the Law of Cause and Effect. The thoughts of a person are like seeds which seek to press forward into growth, bud, blossom and fruit. Read more »

blossom, cause and effect, desires, first principle, future lives, incarnations, karmic, nature of desire, seed thoughts, spiritual wisdom, vitality, yogis

Now let us understand clearly what we mean by a subtle body. It is nothing but a minute germ of a living substance. It contains the invisible particles of matter which are held together by vital force, and it also possesses mind or thought-force in a potential state, just as the seed of a plant contains in it the life force and the power of growth. Read more »

alimentary canal, ethereal, gross body, living substance, manifestations, particles of matter, potential state, power of speech, putrefaction, subtle body, thought force, vital energy

The explanation of the theologians, that the spiritual nature has been superadded to the animal nature by some extra-cosmic spiritual agency is not scientific, nor does it appeal to our reason. Now let us see what Vedanta has to say on this point. Vedanta accepts evolution and admits the laws of variation and natural selection, but goes a step beyond modern science by explaining the cause of that “tendency to vary.” It says, “there is nothing in the end which was not also in the beginning.” It is a law which governs the process of evolution as well as the law of causation. If we admit this grand truth of nature, then it will not be difficult to explain by the theory of Evolution the gradual manifestation of the higher nature of man. The tendency of scientific monism is towards that end. Read more »

causation, evolutionists, monism, nature of man, spiritual nature, tendency, theory of evolution, vedanta

The theory of Transmigration, or Metempsychosis, as it has been called by many philosophers, originally meant the passing of a soul from one body after death into another; or, in other words, it meant that the soul after dwelling in one particular body for a certain length of time leaves it at the time of death, and in order to gain experience enters into some other body, either human, animal or angelic, which is ready to receive it. It may migrate from the human body to an angelic body and then come down on the human plane, or to the animal plane and be born again as an animal. Read more »

ancient egyptians, animal plane, body to body, eternal source, ethereal, greek philosophers, metempsychosis, plato, pythagoras, rational mind, time of death, transmigration of souls

Many of the Candidates find themselves prevented from a full realization of the “I” (even after they have begun to grasp it) by the confusing of the reality of the “I” with the sense of the physical body. This is a stumbling block that is easily overcome by meditation and concentration, the independence of the “I” often becoming manifest to the Candidate in a flash, upon the proper thought being used as the subject of meditation. Read more »

atoms, concentration, ego, meditation, physical body, realization