An insightful and informative article about Yoga's eight-fold path to enlightenment.
Posts tagged as “dhyana”
Since ancient times, the human philosophers have realized the importance of the mind in governing the human affairs. They knew that a person痴 external circumstances were the result of his internal thoughts. They were aware that if the person thinks of riches, he would have riches, while if the thoughts are of poverty, success and failure would produce the corresponding effects in the person痴 circumstances. Today, modern science has acknowledged the truth of these findings. ...
In the eightfold path of Yoga as laid out by the sage Patanjali, the foundations are "Yama and Niyama", the "do's and don't's" of spiritual life, without which the structure of Yogic success will not stand. And one of the most important of these is satya, truthfulness, honesty. Read on to see how important this really is.
Ahimsa is interpreted in many ways-which is to be expected since Sanskrit is a language that abounds in many possible meanings for a single word. But fundamentally ahimsa is not causing any harm whatsoever to any being whatsoever, including subhuman species.
"Knowledge (Jnana) does not come about from practice of yoga methods alone. Perfection in knowledge is in fact only for those who begin by practice of virtue (dharma). Yet, without yoga as a means, knowledge does not come about. The practice of yogic methods is not the means by itself, yet it is only out of that practice of yoga that the perfection in knowledge comes about. And so it is said by the teachers: 'Yoga is for the purpose of knowledge of truth'" Thus wrote Shankara.
Almost everyone has experienced the fact that when one starts concentrating his mind on any immediate object or an idea, the mind starts wandering. It is very difficult to keep the mind busy with a single thought. The ancient sages too encountered the same problems. Arjuna, in Gita had mentioned that controlling the mind is an impossible thing on earth. Hence, he was advised by Krishna that though mind control is difficult, it can be made silent and steady by regular practice...