Skip to main content

What is Yoga?



What is Yoga


 Yoga is so much more than some physical activities to help us stay fit. Contrary to the popular conception about Yoga, it can in totality be defined as a wide range of spiritual practices to accelerate the evolutionary process of the soul.

To explain it in a nutshell, Yoga is basically a Sanskrit word meaning “to yoke,” “to join” or “to unite.” In esoteric sciences this union refers to the union of the incarnated soul with the higher soul. The incarnated soul is known by different names in different cultures. The incarnated soul is called the individual self (general term), the Holy Spirit (Christianity), the Jivatma (Hinduism) and the Personality (Theosophy terminology). The higher soul refers to the divine, the universal spirit or the cosmic consciousness (general terms), I AM (Christianity), the Atma (Hinduism) and the Ego (Theosophy terminology).

Teachings of various esoteric schools believe that a human being is a soul with various vehicles including physical, emotional and mental bodies. A human being can be compared to an inverted tree with its roots upward, rooted to the higher soul and ultimately to God, according to teachings and practices of Kabbalah, Hinduism as well as in the art crafts of Indonesia and Persia.

According to Master Choa Kok Sui, this Union can happen in Several Stages.

The First Stage is the realization by the person that he is the soul occupying various bodies; a spiritual being of divine light, love and power. This realization is however still in the intellectual level.  The first stage happens when one realizes that he is not his physical body, not his emotions, nor his thoughts; the emotions and the thoughts are only products of the soul.

The Second Stage in this case happens when one experiences himself as the soul, during meditation or any other spiritual practice, not being able to feel his physical body. The spiritual practitioner may have an out-of-body experience where the soul uses the other subtle bodies and is able to travel faster than the speed of light. He further might experience the nature of the soul as a being of light, traveling in all directions.

In the Third Stage the yogi, as the incarnated soul, may have the experience of being united with the higher soul. He may further experience oneness with other souls, including other human souls, animals, nature and etc.

Last stage is the experience of oneness with God, where the spiritual practitioner experiences oneness with God and oneness with all. Such soul can be literally called a God-realized person.

The Spiritual Cord  

The Spiritual Cord or the Antahkarana plays a very important role in the union of the incarnated soul and the higher soul. The extent of realization or union depends on the size of the spiritual connection which is in fact known as the Spiritual Cord. The thicker the Spiritual Cord, the more control the higher soul gains over the mind and the emotions. The weaknesses and unwholesome actions and behaviors can basically be attributed to less soul connection. Less soul connection happens when the higher soul loses control over the incarnated soul and its vehicles.

 Yoga, a holistic spiritual practice requires a strong and pure character in order to achieve the desired results. Character building is thus an important part of Yoga and oneness cannot be achieved with the Higher soul while still being enslaved by lower thoughts and emotions.

Different branches of Yoga include Hatha Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga, Arhatic Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Tantra Yoga. Spiritual evolution of the soul and union with the Higher soul can be achieve through the different schools of Yoga. Arhatic Yoga, developed by Master Choa Kok Sui is a combination and amalgamation of different schools of Yoga and can be practiced by people across all walks of life and various backgrounds.

 Source: The Origin of Modern Pranic Healing and Arhatic Yoga by Master Choa Kok Sui

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Understanding Namaste

Invocation brings down Divine Help and Divine Protection. Remember you are not just saluting the physical or another student. When you say “Namaste,” you are saluting the spiritual being within the spiritual teacher or student. Concentrate on your Crown, Ajna and Heart. Say, Namaste! Salutations to the Spiritual Teacher within the Physical Teacher, all the Great Ones, all the Spiritual Helpers and Beings of Light... Thank you for your Great Blessings, for your divine love and mercy, for abundance and prosperity, for divine help and protection, with Thanks and in Full Faith! Who are the great ones? They are the Great Teachers of all great religions – Lord Buddha, Lord Buddha Kuan Yin, Lord Buddha Padmasambhava, Lord Christ, Lord Jesus, Lord Shiva, Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, the Prophet Mohammad, and others. Pranic Healing is a bridge to spirituality. It opens a new Horizon. Arhatic Yoga consists of yogic techniques designed to help us develop spiritually. It is prehist...
Post a Comment
Read more

Immortality: Myth or Reality?

“The soul never takes birth and never dies at any time nor does it come into being again when the body is created. The soul is birth less, eternal, imperishable and timeless and is never destroyed when the body is destroyed.”  -The Bhagavad Gita   Is immortality simply a far-fetched concept? Mankind’s feeble attempt at defying and defeating Death? How could all religious texts, all spiritual gurus and all the great ones provide vehement assurance for the concept of immortality if it was nothing more than a pleasant lie to sugar-coat the bitter truth of death? Is there a greater immortality than being remembered for one’s deeds and living on in the memories of others? Is there really a  life after death ?  Many have been driven by this strong need to conquer death. It was in the quest to attain immortality that the Chinese king, Qin Shi Huang, took mercury capsules. As fate would have it, these mercury pills resulted in his death instead of gaining him i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Four Techniques to Survive Your day

“FOUR TECHNIQUES TO SURVIVE YOUR DAY” As we well know, modern life is getting ever more packed with work, family, social responsibilities, and more.  One hundred years ago, single-tasking was probably all there was.  We didn’t have a phone ringing just as we were changing lanes on a busy highway or work message alerts going off at home while squeezing shoes on our kids. Working too much and being busy morning till night can take a toll on multiple levels and even amount to a serious health condition down the line.  We say we should therefore re-organize our schedules and decline commitments or additional responsibilities to stay healthy.  We may even go for a career change or move to a town with a slower pace of life. But what if we could accomplish all we are currently committed to–or more–with a genuine smile on our faces and plenty of energy till 10:00 at night? Some of us can’t change our jobs or schedules–or we love what we are doing and don’t wan...
Post a Comment
Read more