ashtanga yog

 

Home
Up

The 8 steps given by Maharishi Patanjali.

26.04 2004 Kanpur


original voice

26.04 2004 Kanpur 

The first 4 steps until Pranayama are called Hatha Yog. Hatha, ha = sun, tha = mon. The school which belongs to these two nerves is called Hatha Yog. 

This has been illustrated in the book “the path of fire and light“ by Swami Rama. In two volumes he described the School of Hatha Yog, actually this is a compilation.

Maharishi Patanjali was master of ayurved. When he found out ayurved has not absolute power by which one can achieve God or achieve Mokash or 5. Pursharth then he introduced the technique of Asthanga Yog. Originally he was master of ayurved.

He described the following 8 steps:

  1. 5 Yamas are moral principals. 
  2. 5 Niyamas: Body, mind and spirituality all three of them should be observed. This way all 3 parts, all 3 personalities will be clean, clear and made up to requirement, because main object of live is to get salvation. So the Niyamas have to be observed. 
  3. The Asanas are there to protect you, to prepare the body, so that the Kundalini Shakti or spiritual power can move without any obstruction. 
  4. Then breathing, Pranayama. By breathing you can control your mind or the power of “MAN”. Control over „MAN“, or you can say control over Prana or increased Prana energy. 
  5. Pratyahara: Once you have control over “MAN” then you have power to withdraw yourself from external world, from your desires and from your thoughts. Your consciousness is inward like a turtle. When you withdraw yourself from the external world then you are able to reach your power of “MAN”.
  6. One pointed Concentration, one pointed awareness and one pointed consciousness, desirelessness. 
  7. Meditation: When you achieve meditation, when meditation comes, appears, then slowly you are totally withdrawn from this illusionary world. Then your concern, your object is only your real soul in Samadhi. 
  8. Samadhi: When Samadhi becomes deeper then whatever subtlest emotions, thoughts are still there they are being burnt, merged and conquered. Then the soul is face to face with God, Parmatma, Brahman; soul turns or you may say the angle of thinking which is towards world, towards illusionary world than concentrates on divinity. When this comes the soul forgets its awareness and merges in HIM and it becomes HE. Than he is finished. 

This is a shortcut. 

Within 10 minutes I explained the total journey from gross to God. 

G to G   Gross became God.