Posts Tagged ‘king of yoga’

Focus on the mind with Raja Yoga

Raja Yoga is named the king of Yoga. Raja Yoga directly aid you mind. In this Yoga there is no struggling with Prana or physical body. There are no Hatha Yogic Kriyas. The Yogi seats at ease, watches his mind and silences the bubbling thoughts. Raja Yoga stills your mind, block out negative thoughts and enter a thoughtless state of mind or Asamprajnata Samadhi, hence the name Raja Yoga. Raja Yoga follow both the Prakriti and Purusha philosophy, it helps the student in Advaitic Realization of oneness eventually. Though there is the mention of Purusha, the goal is to achieve Purusha with the “highest” self or Brahman of Upanishads. Raja Yoga pushes the student to the highest rung of the spiritual ladder of Advaitic realization of Brahman.

Patanjali’s Yoga system is written in Sutras. A ‘Sutra’ is a terse verse. It is written in an easily memorable form. It is packed with deep and sometimes hidden meaning and significance. Rishis of yore have expressed philosophical ideas and their realization in the form of Sutras only. It is very difficult to understand the meaning of the Sutras without the help of a commentary, a gloss or a teacher who is well-versed in Yoga. Only Yogis with many years of studying the writings can explain the full meaning of the Sutras. Literally, Sutra means a thread. Just as you put together flowers with all kind of different colours to beautify, just as pearls are arranged on a string to make a beautiful necklace, so also Yogic ideas are well-arranged in Sutras. The Sutras are arranged into normal chapters.

Samadhi-pada is the first chapter. It talks about different kinds of Samadhi. It is written in total of 51 Sutras. Difficulties with meditation, five kinds of Vritti and their control, three kinds of Vairagya, nature of Ishvara, various methods to enter into Samadhi and the way to acquire peace of mind by developing virtues are described here.

The Second Chapter is Sadhana-pada. It contains 55 Sutras. It treats of Kriya Yoga, Tapas, study and self-surrender to God.