My next several mediation blogs will cover our studies into the advanced philosophy of Vedanta.
The Four Paths of Yoga (not exercise classes as in the Western world)
The Bhagavad Gita
Chakras
Based on Vedic Knowledge, Yoga, meaning Union, Yoga is broken down into The 4 paths of Yoga
Karma Yoga – Act, selfless service to ourselves and others
Ghana – Think, and understanding in general terms of spirituality
Bhakti – Feel, Devotion and Love, which everyone desires
Raja – Nothing, Only Meditation to our Royal path
The Bhagavad Gita – Vedanta teaches us the causes of suffering, which I will review with you. If we can solve the first one, then all the others disappear.
- First cause of Suffering is Not knowing who we are – I often speak many terms and I will go over a few now. Advaita in Sanskrit means spiritual path to ones realization. Advaita Vedanta means all is one, Brahman or divine, ultimate. Vedanta is what we study, that our true nature is the divine. In simple terms, we study God, the inner being, the ultimate one within us, self-realization, self knowledge, of our being. Our true self, our soul. God. We are one.
- Second cause of suffering is Attachment to things that are impermanent. Maya, or material is what we refer to being attached as humans to things that aren’t even real. We want to attach to things that are always changing.
- Third Attachment is aversion to things that are not real. Only our being, our awareness our consciousness is real.
- Fourth Attachment is identifying with the Ego. We get caught up in roles, titles, stories, control and judgements. This is all ego and this is what makes us fear, sad, depressed, attached, disappointed. Do not attach to judgement of ourselves and of others.
- Fifth Attachment is Fear of Death – When we gain our spiritual knowledge, connect with our true self, our silence, we no longer fear death or dying. This is a place of peace in us and it is always there for us.
If we solve the first attachment, we can resolve all the rest, because all the rest disappear. The 4 Paths of Yoga is the path of self discovery. Discovering who we are. Each path of Yoga is a union of the next and they compliment one another. Like a leg on a table, one is not good without all 4 together. We must practice them all together.
Walking in Nature. This is something I write about in almost every article I compose. When we see a mountain far off, it seems small, but as we approach it, its actually huge. This is the same with our lives. Our lives seem small but as we approach God, the divine, Brahman, our lives are enormous. When our ego blocks the view of nature, God, divinity, we feel insignificant to God. We even feel our lives are more important than our relationship with God, the divine, the ultimate. As we get closer to God we realize the enormity we are to God, the divine.
Yoga is about surrendering, letting go of everything. We must move beyond the ego and become fearless. We do not live in bounded, limited possibilities. We live limitless, unboundedness, unlimited potentiality. Most of us do not live knowing this. When we meditate, we make a commitment with no wavering, but then we forget and waver. We must always remember who we are and not waver.
We make this thing in life called a journey. Eventually, it brings us back to where we started. We are actually on a journey of coming home. We must practice daily, we must meditate, study each day. Sadhana means performance of spiritual practices. The discipline take us inward, towards the goal of enlightenment. We practice being grateful and to all those who helped us on our spiritual path. Our journey begins when we move away or step out of material needs. We become aware and practice awareness in everything we do. Our awareness moves to our heart, our heart-centered, our spiritual heart. We must be aware of the divine guiding us. We must be aware of the clues given to us. Be alert. Trust the divine.
I will cover The 4 Paths of Yoga in my next blog.
Nameste,
Michele