Lesson 0: Introduction To Yoga Lessons

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Lesson 0 : Introduction to Yoga Lessons
Welcome to the Lessons in Yoga
Yoga is a wonderful gift to the world from the ancient Indian Yogis. The subject of Yoga is very
vast and there are many thought streams prevailing. Thought the thought streams sound different
all have the same destination - self-realization. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras
, also called as Raja Yoga Sutras, is one of the most authoritative text on the subject of Raja
Yoga. The eight fold path prescribed by him is accepted widely by the Yogis. Hence it is
important for any Yoga student to learn them and put them into practice.
There are dozens of books available in the market that explain Patanjali's Yoga Sutras with
translation and commentary. They have been written by scholars and there is no doubt that they
satisfy the thrust of the seeker to understand the meaning of the Sutras. Often such commentaries
are focused fully on the Sutras alone and in the process lack an integrated approach to Yoga. For
example, Patanjali defines Asana as "Sthira Sukha Asanam" i.e. any pose in which you can sit
steadily and comfortably is asana. Looking at his definition people often feel that if that is the
case then what's the use of so many Hatha Yoga Asanas. They must be useless. This is, in my
humble opinion, not the right attitude to look at the subject. During Patanjali's period Yoga was
widely practiced technique. Postures such as Padmasana and Siddhsana were commonly used to
sit for meditation. One can sit in such postures for hours only if the body is tuned with the help
of Hatha Yoga
Asanas. Though Patanjali has not mentioned any Hatha Yoga asanas in this sutras that in no
way conveys that they are unimportant. Similar observations can be drawn about Pranayama and
Kundalini. We must remember that Patanjali has presented just an outline of the sadhana and
not the detailed explanation. It will not be far stretched to assume that during his time those
techniques were very common and the actual detailed explanations were handed down to the
disciples by their masters.
These lessons are mainly based on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Through these lessons Patanjali's
Yoga Sutras will be presented in an integrated form. Along with the explanation of his sutras you
will learn how various aspects of Yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Pranayama, Kundalini Yoga
and Karma Yoga can be integrated in your practice. It is recommended that you study these
lessons in sequence so that you get a good foundation for your practice. Considering the
requirements of today's busy world the lessons are deliberately concise and use simple language.
Jargon of Sanskrit words and complex terms is kept to minimum level. The aim of these lessons
is not to make you a scholar in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras but to provide an easy path of Yoga that
can be followed in day to day life.
To get most out of these lessons:
 Read each lesson carefully and thoroughly.

 Try to see how it can be relevant to your life.
 Practice the techniques outlined regularly. The way you eat and breath everyday your
practice should become a part of your life.
 Do not engage in endless argument about the principles explained in the lessons. If you
do not agree with something mentioned in the lessons that's fine. Take the meaning most
relevant to you and move further.
 Do not compare the lessons with other books, web sites or authors. Endless doubt and
argument rarely helps on spiritual journey. If you find explanation by some other author
or web site more appealing then go ahead and adopt that. It is important to apply the
principles rather than anything else.
 Periodically read the lessons again and again to revise what you learnt so far. You can
write down your own notes or thoughts to see how you evolve over time.
You may subscribe to the newsletter (see right hand side top) through which you will be notified
about new additions.
May the Peace be with you.
Lesson 1: Yoga - its nature and scope
There are many meanings of Yoga around. Some refer to physical postures, some to
breathing techniques and some to mental techniques. In this lesson you will learn the
meaning of Yoga as described in the ancient Indian Yogic texts.
The word Yoga means union. Union with the God. The God is referred by many names. Some
call Him Atman, some Soul, some Bramhan and some others Creator. Whatever you name Him
the underlying principal remains the same. In these lessons we will call him as God because it is
the most common word than everybody understands and can relate to.
Though the meaning of word Yoga is union it also refers to all the means and processes adopted
to achieve this union. These means and processes include many things such as meditation,
pranayama, kriyas and many others. If you see the underlying principal of any of these
techniques you will realize that they all finally aim at controlling the mind and consciousness. Be
it Hatha Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Bhakti Yoga or Raja Yoga all aim at Samadhi, the state of
union. Thus Yoga means restraining fluctuations or patterns of your mind.
Imagine that you are sitting near a lake. Whenever some external cause such as wind causes
ripples in the water you are unable to see its bottom. When the ripples fade away you can see
the bottom clearly. The same holds true for God union also. Unless you are able to divert your
outward going mind into the deep realms of internal consciousness you will not be able to
achieve this union. External world will always cause ripples in your mind.
The little tides riding on the big ocean always feel that they are separate from the ocean. The
external factors such as wind and gravitational force gives them a false impression of their
existence. When they are made standstill they realize that they and the ocean are the same. There
was never a difference between them. Some delusion made them believe on untruth. The same
thing has happened to us. We are all identifying us as "I". We have forgotten that we are nothing
but the God. We were never different from Him. It is the Maya or cosmic delusion that makes us
identify with this body. If we want to return to Him we must learn to dissolve the waves arising
in the mind. We must learn to destroy the Maya. Once the Maya is destroyed we understand our
true nature. That's why God union is same as self-realization. This is what Yoga proclaims.
The mind is always under the influence of three gunas or qualities - Tamas, Rajas and Sattva.
Tamasic qualities represents ignorance, inertia and dullness. Rajasic qualities refers to actions
and Sattvic qualities refers to peace, calmness and bliss. If you want to make any progress in
Yoga you must learn to destroy Tamasic and Rajasic aspects of your personality and cultivate
and nourish Sattvaic aspects. You will find that various Yogic techniques help you to do just
that.
Often Yoga is misunderstood as something to do in the morning along with the other physical
exercises. Some feel doing Japa or chanting mantras for an hour constitutes Yoga. These all are
misconceptions. If you want to become a Yogi then Yoga should flow in your blood. It should
become part of your life. Do you ever forget breathing? Do you ever skip food? The way food,
clothing and shelter are basic needs of all human beings Yoga is an additional need of a Yogi.
Human beings have four types of personalities - physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual. Yoga
shows you how to reduce friction between these personalities and bring harmony in your life.
Thus Yoga in not a "once in a day" thing but it is total nourishment on which you feed. It is a
way of life. Once you become a Yogi you will realize that without Yoga you will not be able to
live. You will find life suffocating and naturally it will become part of your life.
Yoga benefits you in many ways. Good health, peace of mind, stress free life, harmony in
relationships are some of them. However, it is important to remember that these all are
byproducts of your practice. The final aim is undoubtedly self-realization.
Just to summarize this lesson:
 The literal meaning of the word Yoga is Union.

 Yoga refers to all the means and processes adopted to achieve self-realization.
 Yogic techniques aim at restraining fluctuations or patterns of your mind.
 Yoga is not "once in a day" thing; it is a way of life.
Lesson 2 - Classification of mind patterns
In the Lesson 1 you learnt the nature and scope of Yoga. You also learnt that Yoga deals with
restraining the mind. In this lesson you will learn the classification of mind patterns or
fluctuations. You may wonder as to why such detailed classification is needed. Once we aim at
restraining the mind why to worry about the classification? However, knowing the types of
patterns floating in the mind is very essential. It is something like this - When army men want to
destroy enemy they first need to know the enemy. They thoroughly study the enemy in terms of
geographical location, past evidences and political situations. Only then they can destroy the
enemy easily. The same holds true for mind also. Unless you clearly know the nature of mind it
can easily fool you. Mind is so clever in fooling us that we never know how and when it wanders
from the designated goal. Knowing these patterns will help you to remain alert and avoid falling
in the trap.
The patterns of mind are classified into five categories. These categories are:
 Evidence
 Misconception
 Fancy
 Sleep
 Memory
Evidence
We receive an evidence about objects in one of the three forms:
 Direct perception
 Inference
 Testimony
When we know something ourselves that is direct perception. For example you see a thief
stealing valuables from your neighbor's house. You yourself have seen this and you need no
confirmation about it. This is direct perception.
Sometimes it happens that from some signs you infer about an object. For example when you
enter your kitchen and get a smoky smell you infer that something must be burning. From your
past experiences you have related the smell of smoke with fire and when you smell smoke you
immediately conclude that there must be fire. This is inference.
Often we believe wholeheartedly on something. We never question right or wrong about it. For
example you believe that each substance is made up of atoms. You never question this fact.
Why? Because you know that many scientists have proven this fact in their laboratories. Their
experiments have demonstrated the existence of atoms. This is testimony.
Misconception
Misconception is opposite of evidence. It refers to the wrong knowledge that does not
correspond to a real entity. For example when you go for a trail in jungle and happen to glance at
a rope lying on the way you falsely interpret it as a snake. This is misconception.
Fancy
Often our mind creates objects and starts thinking about them. These objects do not exist in
reality. For example when you read a horror story you imagine the ghost from the story in front
of your eyes. That ghost doesn't exist in reality but because of the words your mind creates it.
This is Fancy.
Sleep
You may wonder why sleep is a pattern of mind. In sleep though the mind is not actively
receiving any external stimuli it does exists. Thus sleep can be considered as the state in which
mind does not indulge in the external world via sense organs. For example when you read a
boring novel your senses try to reject it by blocking the stimuli going to the mind. Mind becomes
void and you feel sleepy. Thus sleep is also a pattern of mind.
Memory
When we perceive some object we are able to recollect it at a later time. That means even though
the object is not present in front of you, you can recollect it at your will. For example your friend
tells you his new address where he has recently been shifted. You reach your office after one
hour and write it down in your address book. You were able to recollect the address told to you
one hour ago. This is memory.
If you look at your own experiences you will find that they fit into one or the other category
described above. Thus these five types of mind patters are responsible for the wandering and
fluctuating nature of the mind. If you want to attain self-realization these five fold fluctuations
must be restrained.
 Mind assumes five fold patterns or fluctuations

 These patters are Evidence, Misconception, Fancy, Sleep and Memory
 Yoga aims at stopping these five patters through various means
Lesson 3 - Importance of practice and detachment

In Lesson 2 you learnt the classification of mind patterns. In this lesson you will understand the
importance of Yogic practice or Sadhana and detachment in controlling the five fold mind
patterns and attaining Samadhi.
The mind is always under the influence of three gunas and hence fluctuating at all the times. The
mind can be made standstill by two core means:
 Consistent Yoga practice or Sadhana

 Detachment
It is very important for a Yoga student to understand that the state of Samadhi can not be
achieved with few month's practice. One must continue practice for years or even lives together.
Many people begin their Yoga practice with great enthusiasm. However, after a while become
inconsistent. They get occupied with inertia towards their practice. Their personal and
professional life starts getting higher priority than Yoga. They start skipping the practice. Such
inconsistent practice will yield you nothing. Sometimes after practicing Yoga for few years the
practitioners feel that they are not getting any fruits of their practice and then they give up. Such
attitude must be banished at once. You should be ready to practice until the final goal of Samadhi
is not attained. Do not let anything else to stop you. Be regular and determined towards your
practice.
Another important factor that helps to attain Samadhi is detachment. Detachment refers to
becoming free from material pleasures and sense objects. All of us have tendency to cling to
material world. Family, friends, money, luxuries, prestige, fame and what not. We often run
behind one or the other material pleasure thinking that it will bring us happiness. However,
pleasure without sorrow simply doesn't exists. For example if you are wearing a new diamond
necklace then along with the pleasure of looking beautiful you also get a free gift of sorrow
arising from the theft of the necklace. This exists for each and every material thing. Thus the
only way to avoid sorrow is to remain detached from the concerned objects.
You might be wondering as to why to remain detached? The reason is that if you engage yourself
in the constant play of pleasure and sorrow then you will never be able to concentrate on your
practice. Each pleasure or sorrow will give birth to enormous amount of mind patterns. How
can such mind be standstill? That's why you need to adopt detachment.
Many people wrongly interpret detachment as abandoning the normal life and going into forest.
That's not true. In order to practice true detachment one must understand Karma Yoga. As per
Karma Yoga we all have right to do karma or work but we do not have right to demand the fruits
of our work. Let the God decide about the fruits. Once you adopt such attitude in whatever you
do in your life then detachment comes naturally. Then you don't crave for material pleasures.
You will find that there are many people who read and study about Yoga but some make
progress sooner whereas some don't seem to progress at all. Why such difference when all have
studied the same principals? The answer to this question lies in the intensity with which one
practices Yoga. Your progress is directly proportional to the intensity of your practice.
The intensity can be categorized as mild, medium and strong. The stronger your desire for self-
realization the quicker your progress will be.
 Constant practice and detachment are essential for attaining the state of Samadhi
 Yoga must be practiced regularly and persistently
 Unless you detach yourself from the material objects you can not stop patterns arising in
the mind
 To detach yourself from the material world one must adopt Karma Yoga
 Your progress is directly proportional to the intensity of your practice
Lesson 4 - Obstacles in Yoga and how to overcome them
In Lesson 3 you learnt that consistent practice and detachment are very important for self-
realization. There are several obstacles that affect our practice and hinder our spiritual progress.
That is why it is very important to understand what these obstacles are and how to over come
them.
The obstacles for spiritual progress are explained below:
Overeating
This is a very important factor that people miss out. Overeating brings all sorts of other illnesses
including obesity, heart troubles and digestive disorders. Oily and spicy food taken for the sake
of pleasing the tongue puts a heavy burden on the digestive system. Our stomach is not a factory
to work 24/7 and it eventually breaks down if continuously overloaded. The energy that should
have been otherwise utilized for higher practice is wasted in digesting the food alone. Hence
moderate diet is a must for any Yoga practitioner. Yoga says that you should fill half the stomach
with food, one quarter with water and remaining quarter should be left empty for gases. Also,
one should offer everything that is being consumed to the God. Keep in mind that "amount of
food taken" and "amount of energy spend" must have a proper balance.
Hard work
In order to perform hard physical labor we need to spend lot of energy. A Yogi should focus on
spending his energy only in his sadhana. A tired body and mind can not remain concentrated
resulting in poor quality of practice. Of course one must perform daily duties.
Talking too much
We come across many people who are talkative or rather talk too much. Talking too much not
only wastes energy but also causes mind to scatter. A sadhaka must avoid discussing gossips and
useless chatting. Practicing Mauna Vrata is helpful in stabilizing your mind.
Mixing with common people
A sadhaka should avoid mixing with common people. It is often said - "Do not engage with fools
They first drag you at their level and then beat you with their experience." The same thing
happens when you mix with ordinary people. Unknowingly they infect you with their worldly
desires and expectations. Keeping that in mind one should give more emphasis on Satsanga.
Observances of severe vows
A sadhaka needs to observe strict disciplines in daily life. However, he should not follow severe
vows such as fasting and bathing with ice cold water. By torturing one's own body one can not
become Yogi. A careful judgment is necessary while applying any such rules.
Unsteadiness
A common man possesses very unsteady body and mind. In order to succeed in Yoga one must
have steady body (Kaya Sthairyam) and one pointed mind. Yogi should be able to sit in place for
hours. That's why Hatha Yoga gives so much emphasis on Asanas. One must also learn to
control the mind that is otherwise unsteady like wind.
Diseases
A body weakened by diseases can not perform higher spiritual practices. The quality of Yoga
postures, Pranayama and Meditation degrades when your body is suffering from some illness.
Diseases weaken the Prana in the body and progress can not be achieved.
Mental Dullness
Mental dullness is another big obstacle. If your mind is in dull you can not concentrate on what
you are doing. This dullness often starts creeping when you sit for Meditation and then you feel
bored.
Doubt
People often doubt about their path and progress. They always keep thinking whether they are on
right path and progressing. Such doubt will take you nowhere. You must have complete faith on
your path and practices you are following.
Mistakes
It is often said that to err is human. However, one should be very carefully on the path of self-
realization. Your mistakes in following the spiritual rules and guidelines can delay your progress.
Mistakes in technical aspects of the practice can even cause injury or harm. So mistakes should
be avoided with great care.
Laziness
Laziness is a big enemy of any Yoga aspirant. A mind full of laziness can not make any progress.
Often people start Yoga with a lot of enthusiasm but after few weeks give up because of laziness.
Getting up early in the morning, doing Asanas, Pranayama, Meditation regularly all these things
sound boring after laziness possesses your mind body equipment.
Craving
Craving for material pleasures hinders your spiritual progress. If day and night you are thinking
about wealth and luxuries then where is the time for self-realization? Craving for material objects
also weakens your mind power because it makes you slave of the sense organs.
Misconceptions
After achieving some progress many people start feeling that they need not practice anymore.
They imagine themselves very near to the destination. They feel that Maya can no longer affect
them. Some even feel attaining self-realization just by reading books! All these are
misconceptions.
Inability to maintain stages of practice
By consistent practice one reaches certain stage but then suddenly progress halts. Mind can't
achieve the same level of concentration. Then one starts thinking that there must be something
wrong. This is very critical stage. Yoga practice always goes through ups and downs. One must
continue the practice with the same zeal and enthusiasm as before.
Lack of concentration
Mind runs with the speed of light. You never know when it wanders away from its goal. It is
very difficult to control it. Focusing mind on your practice is the key part of self-realization.
Lack of concentration makes your practice mechanical.
Above obstacles generate symptoms of mental distraction such as pain, depression, shaking of
the body during practice and unsteady breath. All the above obstacles must be overcome with
constant efforts. You must try to calm your mind through Yogic techniques.
Often happiness and sorrow, good and bad disturbs our mind. To overcome such disturbances
you must cultivate the opposite qualities. You should cultivate friendly attitude towards
happiness, compassion towards sorrow, Gladness towards good and indifference towards the
bad. Once you cultivate such attitude you will find that mind becomes purer day by day and
finally comes under control. Practice of Pranayama and Meditation also helps to a great degree to
root out these obstacles. In later lessons you will learn in details various techniques that are
helpful in this regards.
To summarize this lesson:

 Overeating, hard work, talking too much, mixing with common people, Observances of severe
vows and Unsteadiness are obstacles at physical level
 Diseases, mental dullness, doubt, mistakes, laziness, craving, misconceptions, Inability to
maintain stages of practice and lack of concentration are obstacles at mental level
 The obstacles can be removed by Yogic techniques such as Pranayama and Meditation as well as
by following a correct attitude towards life
Self Review Questions for Week 1
Q.1. Explain the nature of scope of Yoga in the seeker's life.
Q.2. What is the importance of detachment in Yoga?
Q.3. Explain the main obstacles faced by a Yoga practitioner and the ways to overcome them.
And he detached himself...
Once upon a time a Sadhu lived peacefully in his Ashram in the deep forest. He was free from
worldly attachments such as wife, children, friends, money and luxuries. People used to come to
him seeking his blessings and listen to his wisdom. He always used to tell people that one should
remain detached from worldly pleasures because they hinder spiritual progress. People used to
admire and respect him for his total detachment from worldly activities. Some used to feel sad
because they couldn't live a life of a renunciant. Years passed by....
One day there was heavy rain all over. All the reservoirs in the forest were full. Soon they started
overflowing and flooded the entire forest. The Ashram in which the Sadhu used to live was
wiped off by the heavy flow of flood water. His all belongings including his Asana, Kamandalu
and Japa Mala were washed away....
He was a renunciant and didn't showed any sign of grief or sorrow. Time passed by and darkness
of the night started covering the forest. Suddenly he strongly remembered his Asram. He lost in
the fond memories of the days he spent in Asram. He was missing his Asram, his place to do
Sadhana. Because of the whole day's hard work he felt thirsty but the water tasted bitter without
his favorite Kamandalu. Removing the sad thoughts he sat for his daily Sadhana. His sadness
aggravated. He simply couldn't meditate this time. He started feeling uncomfortable without his
usual Asana. He couldn't perform Japa without his Mala.
He now understood that he was wearing a false clothing of detachment. He was detached from
material objects but he was strongly attached with something else. Without his Ashram,
Kamandalu, Asana, Mala he couldn't perform his Sadhana even for a day. Not only worldly
attachments but "spiritual" attachments can also hinder progress. He understood that detachment
is not so easy and he still needs to practice more. He strongly felt that he doesn't have right to
guide people in renunciation when he himself is not perfect. He got up at once and left the forest
for achieving the true detachment.
Moral of the story is - Detachment is not as easy as it seems. When you detach from one object
you may unknowingly attach yourself with some other object. It is true that during initial stages
one must change the "focus" of attachment from worldly objects to spiritual objects. However, a
true renunciant is the one who doesn't have any desire for any object.
At the holy feet of Lord Shiva,

Bipin Joshi
Lesson 5 - What is God? - Yogic Perspective
Any practitioner of Yoga
should know the Yogic perspective of God. The God is referred by many names such as
Bramhan, Atman, Shiva and so on. Though the names are many the underlying principal remains
the same. In Lesson 1 it was mentioned that the final aim of Yoga is self-realization and self-
realization is same as God realization. Now we will elaborate on this fact further so as to have
clear understanding of Yogic point of view on the subject.
The Yoga philosophy is largely based on Samkhya philosophy. The Samkhya philosophy says
that this material world is result of the union of Purusha (soul) and Prakrati (nature). The Prakrati
affects everything with its three fold qualities or gunas - Tamas, Rajas and Sattwa. However,
Samkhya philosophy do not accept existence of God. Yoga on the other hand accepts the concept
of God. Yoga says that the God is nothing but a special form of Purusha that is free from all the
limitations that the ordinary Purusha has. This also means that we all are "small" form of God.
We are bound by the laws of nature whereas God is not. If we learn to expand our consciousness
then we can unite with Him. That is what self-realization is all about.
As per Yogis the God is a soul that is free from the "Law of Karma". The law of Karma
is often referred as the law of cause and effect. It states that when you perform any Karma
(cause) you are bound by its results (effect). Your Karmas are in turn can be Tamasic, Rajasic or
Sattvic. If you do Tamasic Karmas then the results will be Tamasic. Similarly results of Rajasic
and Sattvic Karmas are Rajasic and Sattvic respectively. To explain in simple words the law of
Karma acts like a battery. See the figure below:
As you can see current emerges from the positive pole, crosses the complete electrical circuit and
then comes back to the negative pole. The same thing happens with Karma. Whatever Karma
emerges from you ultimately comes back to you again. If you perform good Karma the same
good Karma will come back to you in some or the other form. Similarly, if you do bad Karma
then it will haunt you back. That is why all the religions advice you to do good or Sattvic
Karmas. We all are bound by this law of Karma. The God on the other hand is free from this law.
Since the God is free from the law of Karma He is also free from pain and afflictions. Yogis also
treat God as the ultimate Guru not limited by time dimension.
We always identify an object with a word. For example, when we say word "lotus", we are
referring to a specific type of flower. Almost all the things that we know have some equivalent
word referring them. We can not visualize or understand things unless we know their name. If
you wish to visualize lotus then you mentally say lotus and its image appears in front of your
eyes. Similarly, in Yoga even God has a word that expresses Him. That word is Om or Pranava.
The Sanskrit letter Om is written as shown below:
The word Om consists of three letters - A, U and M. The sound A represents the waking state;
the sound U represents the dream state, and the sound M represents the deep sleep state. Thus
Om is encompassing and beyond these three states. In order to understand and realize God one
must chant Om mentally. Just chanting is not sufficient. One must meditate on the meaning of
the word Om. Practice this meditation regularly and your consciousness will expand.
Lesson 6 - The Five Emotional Disturbances
In the Lesson - 4 you learned several obstacles to Yoga. In addition to these obstacles certain
emotional fluctuations or disturbances also hinder your progress. This lesson is going to
elaborate these disturbances.
Emotion can be described as a are strong feeling about something. Yoga identifies five emotions
that are disturbing in nature. They are - Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dwesha and Abhinivesha. Let's
try to understand each of these emotional disturbances one by one.
Avidya means ignorance. Yoga and Upanishads time and again proclaim the same fact - "I am
Bramhan". Avidya means ignorance about this very fact. We all ignore this fact and identify
ourselves with this non-eternal material world. Suppose that you are tracking in a deep forest.
Suddenly you came across a piece of rope and immediately you feel that it is snake. You start
shaking with fear. Why this happens? Because of ignorance. You don't know the real nature of
the "snake" and hence you take false thing as true. This ignorance is the root cause of the
remaining four disturbances.
Asmita means ego or I-feeling. Ego is the consciousness that identifies Atman with this gross
body. We all perform so many Karmas and while doing them we always identify ourselves with
them as a doer. When we speak words it is the power of Bramhan that is responsible for it but we
say - "I" am speaking. Thus "I" eats, "I" sees, "I" enjoys and "I" dies. In normal English the word
ego is often used to indicate an inflated feeling of pride in your superiority to others. However,
Asmita has much broader meaning. It is applicable to every flavor of "I"-ness. Let's take another
example. Suppose that one fine day you left for the office in joyous mood. You had just finished
your meditation. Your mind is full of Sattvic thoughts such as "I am Bramhan" and "All the
universe is one". So far so good. You get into the local train and while doing so a co-passenger
steps onto your new shoes. The moment this happens you forget that you are Bramhan. You
forget that all the universe is one. Your ego awakens. You identify yourself with your body and
angrily utter some ugly words. This is Asmita.
Raga means a feeling of anger born when pleasure is prohibited. Imagine that you wish to travel
by bus to some place. You get into the bus and happen to notice a vacant window seat. Feeling
happy you immediately rush to grab the seat. But just then a fellow passenger grabs it instead.
Suddenly anger rushes in your mind and you start arguing with him. This is Raga.
Dwesha refers to aversion or hatred when you taste sorrow. Suppose that your colleagues
complain about your mistake to your boss. He yells at you and warns of a strict action if you
repeat your mistake. You feel hurt and start hating your colleagues. This is Dwesha.
Abhinivesha means clinging to life. We all have fear of death. We love this life so much that
even a thought of death scares us. It is often said that death is not bad but the fear of death is. A
90 year old person who has enjoyed his life to the fullest still feels that he should remain alive.
This is Abhinivesha. The Abhinivesha exists because of our attachment with this body and world
around us. Except for a few advanced Yogis and Sanyasins Abhinivesha can be seen in every
individual living being.
All these emotional disturbances are to be destroyed only when they are subtle. Once they
become gross they rule you. To understand this observe yourself whenever you are angry. You
will find that anger "builds" up and at some point it bursts. If you learn to destroy the anger when
it is just "building up" then you can get rid of it easily. The same thing can be said about other
disturbances also. You must control them when they are in subtle state else they will control you.
These emotional disturbances can be destroyed through various means. What are they? That is
what you will learn in the next lesson.
 Yoga identifies five emotions that are disturbing in nature

 They are - Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dwesha and Abhinivesha
 Avidya means ignorance
 Asmita means ego or I-feeling
 Raga means a feeling of anger born when pleasure is prohibited
 Dwesha refers to aversion or hatred when you taste sorrow
 Abhinivesha means clinging to life
Lesson 7 - The store house of Karma
In the Lesson 6 you learnt that the five emotional disturbances namely Avidya, Asmita, Raga,
Dwesha and Abhinivesha finally give pain. You also learnt that they must be destroyed when
they are in subtle form. These pains can be avoided by meditation and burning out of Karmas.
You might be wondering as to how meditation will help destroying these disturbances. If you
observe the nature of these disturbances you will realize that they are born in subtle form.
Gradually they grow to such a level that they provoke your mind-body equipment to engage with
them. Suppose that you are having a quarrel with your colleague. He has done something that
you didn't like. Initially anger will arise in your mind in subtle form. Slowly it will "build" up.
You will start remembering similar incidences from the past. They further fuel your anger.
Finally a moment will come when the anger becomes powerful enough to trigger a harsh dialog.
When you meditate you are essentially calming down your mind. You observe the feeling of
anger as a "third party". You take your mind away from emotional fluctuations. The anger then
can not rule you. In meditation the mind is made introvert and can not engage with emotions
such as anger.
Whenever we come across a difficult situation in our life, we often complain - "God, why this is
happening only to me? Why I am alone suffering from this pain?" See the funny part. We never
ask such questions when we are happy! We never say - "God, why I am happy? or why I am
alone getting this happiness?".
What we are today is the result of our past Karma and what we are going to be tomorrow is also
decided by our Karma today. The Law of Karma is ever at work. If you do some Karma you are
going to get its fruit. Our Karma creates cycle of birth and death. Karma can be burnt only by
experiencing their results. They can not be skipped. Some people say that we are bound by our
"fate" or "luck". However, in reality there is nothing called fate or luck. Everything is the
outcome of our past and present Karmas.
Some people do not believe in reincarnation. They say that the current life is what to be enjoyed.
Who knows about past lives and future lives? However this argument can not explain the
contrast in our lives. We often see people who do good to others but themselves suffer from great
pains. Why are two children of the same mother are so different? One brilliant and the other
dull? Why is that one is stronger than other? Why there is so much inequalities in the society?
One can not answer these questions without Law of Karma and theory of reincarnation.
The fact that our life is governed by our Karma is a great relief to all of us. This is so because we
can control our Karma which in turn will control our life. If you do good today you will get
pleasurable fruits whereas your wrong deeds give you sorrow.
Though the fruits of Karma are pleasurable or full of sorrow, a Yogi renounces from both. You
may wonder as to why a Yogi rejects pleasurable results of his Karma. He does so because he
knows for sure that when you enjoy happiness you get a free gift of sorrow. It is impossible that
one enjoys only happiness and no sorrow at all. Similarly it is not possible that one gets only
sufferings and no happiness at all. For example, if you study hard for your examination you are
bound to get good marks. The preparation might be tough. You possibly need to give up
watching your favorite television serial. You may need to study till late nights. But all this "pain"
gives you "happiness" in terms of good marks. Let's take another example. You like sweets and
can not control yourself when somebody offers them. However you are a diabetes patient. After
eating sweets your blood sugar increases and you start feeling uncomfortable. That means
"pleasure" of eating sweets gave you "sorrow" in terms of increased blood sugar. You will find
the same thing happening in every sphere of life. Where there is happiness there must be sorrow
and vice versa.
If happiness and sorrow go hand in hand then how to deal with life? Yogis advice that sorrow
that has not yet come should be avoided. For example, if you know that eating spicy food is
going to give you gases you must avoid eating such food. This requires control on your mind and
that is what Yoga teaches you. When you learn to see "future" sorrow then you automatically
avoid the root cause. When you avoid buying a costly necklace you instantly become from the
sorrow arising out of its theft. Thus the only way to avoid sorrow is to avoid happiness also. The
thought of avoiding happiness may sound strange to you. For most of the people lack of
happiness is equal to presence of sorrow. But that is not true. A mind controlled by Yogic
techniques remains in equilibrium at all times and Meditation is the key to achieve such
equilibrium.
 Karma is the cause of our present situation

 Your Karma returns pleasure or sorrow
 Pleasure and sorrow are two sides of the same coin
 Sorrow can be avoided only by avoiding pleasure
You might have guessed by now that Karma is the root cause of our sufferings. But what is the
cause of Karma itself? I leave this topic to the session to come.
Lesson 8 - Cause of Karma
In Lesson 7 you learnt that unless the store house of Karma is burnt there is no escape from the
cycle of birth and death. It was also mentioned that the sorrow that is yet to come should be
avoided. Now it is time to understand the root cause of all Karmas.
Karma is born whenever there is union of seer and the seen. Seer refers to the "observer" or
"Atman" that has trapped into this body. Seen refers to the external world. Seen doesn't mean
only visible objects but everything that can be "experienced" by sense organs. We experience the
world not just when we are awake but also when we are dreaming. When we experience this
world the seer identifies itself with the objects being experienced. Thus there is union between
the subject(seer) and the object (seen). This union is the root cause of all Karmas.
Every objects in this world consists of five great elements viz. earth, water, fire, air and space. It
also bears threefold qualities or gunas viz. Tamas, Rajas and Sattwa. Tamasic qualities are
represented by inertia, laziness and inaction. Rajasic qualities are represented by constant action
whereas Sattwic qualities are represented by knowledge. Thus our Karmas are also tamasic,
rajasic or sattwic in nature.
The seer or Atman is nothing but pure consciousness. However, it experiences this world through
mind. Note that mere body can not give you any experience. Let's take a simple example.
Suppose that you are standing near a window and looking towards a lake. How you see the lake?
First your sense organs (eyes in this case) gather the information about the lake and convey it to
sensory nervous system. The sensory nervous system and mind then sends them to brain. The
brain then creates the image of the lake. This image is then "seen" by the eyes. Thus mere body
can not experience anything. It is the mind that is responsible for experiencing anything. Now
you can understand why Yoga gives so much emphasis on controlling mind.
To summarize we can say that union of subject and object is the root cause of Karma. Subject
experiences the object through mind-body equipment. But what is the cause of this union? Maya
or ignorance. When Maya is destroyed naturally there will be no union and hence no Karma.
When atman is no longer under the influence of Maya it attains liberation or Mukti.
If we want to avoid union of Atman and Maya we must stop the Atman from experiencing this
world. In other words we must dissolve our mind. Now the entire philosophy of Yoga will be
clear to you. Here is a logical explanation:
 Atman is pure consciousness

 Atman unites with the objects in this world and experiences them
 To experience them Atman uses a vehicle called mind
 These experiences give rise to Karma
 Maya is the cause of union between Atman and the external world
 To liberate the Atman one must overcome the influence of Maya
 Since Atman experiences this world via mind, if mind is restrained from taking any
experiences then automatically Atman will remain in un-united state
 Thus controlling the mind gives you freedom from Maya
One can not directly destroy Maya. So Yogis take another route. They dissolve the mind which is
must for Maya to play her tricks. How to dissolve the mind? Through eight fold path of Yoga.
The eight fold path of Yoga is the subject of future lessons.
Q.1. Define what God means to you in brief.
Q.2. Explain the law of Karma. Reflect on few incidences of your life in the light of the law of
Karma.
Q.3. What are the five emotional factors disturbing the human mind?
Two Agoris - one died, one liberated
Once upon a time there was an Aghori Sadhu who practiced Shava Sadhana. He collected
required articles fo performing the sadhana and worshipped the divine mother in a deep forest.
After he started his Shava sadhana he started to see terrible visions. Just then a tiger attached and
killed him. Another man, happening to pass by and seeing the approach of the tiger, had climbed
a tree.
After the tiger vanished in the forest the man climbed down from the tree and went to the place
where the aghori was performing his sadhana. He found all the arrangement of the sadhana at
hand. Out of curiocity he decided to try Shava Sadhana himself. He performed some purifying
rites and seated himself on the corpse. No sooner had he done a little Japa than the Divine
Mother appeared before him and said - "My child, I am very much pleased with you. Accept a
boon from me."
He bowed at the lotus feet of the Divine Mother and said - "May I ask you one question, Mother?
I am speechless with amazement at your action. The other man worked so hard to get the
ingredients for your worship and tried to propitiate you for such a long time, but you did not
condescend to show him your favor. And I, who don't know anything of your worship, who have
done nothing, who have neither devotion nor knowledge nor love and who hasn't practiced any
austerities, am receiving so much of your grace? "
The goddess said with a smile - "My child, you don't remember your previous births. For many
births you tried to propitiate me through austerities. As a result of those austerities all these
things have come to hand, and you have been blessed with my vision. Now ask me your boon."
Lesson 9 - The Eight Fold Path
Up till now you were introduced with the concepts of Yoga such as modifications in mind, Law
of Karma, what is God and obstacles in Yoga. This lesson onwards you will be learning the
practical aspects of Yoga. You will understand how the eight fold path of Yoga takes you to self-
realization.
There are many flavors of Yoga such as Raja Yoga, Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. However,
many of them have accepted an eight fold approach (often called as Ashtanga Yoga) to Yoga.
The sage Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras has given a clear outline of this eight fold path. The
ultimate goal of Yoga is Samadhi. However, Samadhi can not be attained from day one. It takes
years (or even lives!) to prepare your mind body equipment for the final destination. This
preparation consists of progressive steps. Using the ladder of these steps you reach the final
destination. The eight fold path as outlined by many ancient Yogic texts is as follows:
 Yama
 Niyama
 Asana
 Pranayama
 Pratyahara
 Dharana
 Dhyana
 Samadhi
Yama refers to social disciplines. It includes five disciplines namely,
 Satya or truthfullness
 Ahimsa or non-violance
 Asteya or non-stealing
 Aparigraha or non-avariciousness
 Bramhacharya or celibacy
Niyama on the other hand refers to self disciplines and includes the following:
 Shaucha or cleanliness
 Santosha or contentment
 Tapas or austerities
 Svadhya or self-study
 Ishwarapranidhana or surrender to God
It is worth to note that ancient Yogis put social disciplines before self-disciplines indicating
importance of ethical social behavior.
Together Yama and Niyama make you disciplined, controlled and ready to take on any tough
conditions in life. They form the solid foundation for your spiritual progress. Without observance
of Yama and Niyama self-realization will always be a far distant goal.
After Yama and Niyama comes Asana. Asana means body posture. Asanas are so commonly
known that many people wrongly equate Yoga with Asanas. Though important they are just one
of the limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. Asanas make your body disease free and strong. They make
your body suitable to sit for meditation for longer time.
Pranayama refers to controlling and regulating prana, the vital life force. The physical aspect of
pranayama consists of a series of breathing exercises. Remember that prana is not the same as
breath. Breath is just a gross means to control prana which is subtle in nature.
Pratyahara refers to restraining the sense organs from enjoying their respective senses.
Pratyahara is the first step in the overall process of meditation. Normally our sense organs are
constantly busy collecting sense stimuli from the external world. With the help of pratyahara you
turn them inwards by stopping their extrovert nature.
Once you have some control on the sense organs you can start Dharana or concentration. Your
object of dharana can be external or internal. In dharana though you are concentrating on a
particular object your mind has tendency to wander away often. You need to bring it back again
and again.
The practice of dharana evolves into Dhyana. Dhyana means meditation. Unlike dharana, dhyana
is uninterrupted. Your mind is fixed firmly on the object of meditation. There is no distraction.
Finally, dhyana evolves into Samadhi, the ultimate goal. In samadhi you become one with the
object of meditation. You loose your separate identity. It is then that your true nature is revealed
to you.
As you can see ancient Yogis studied the science of meditation in depth. They devised a
methodic approach to reach the final destination. In the lessons to come you will learn each of
the step in detail.
Lesson 10 - The Social Disciplines
The first limb of the eight fold path of Yoga is Yama. Yama are five in number. They are:
 Ahimsa (non-violence)
 Satya (truth)
 Asteya (non-stealing)
 Brahmacharya (celibacy) and
 Aparigraha (non-avariciousness)
As you can see Yoga has included "values of life" as a part of Yogic practices. In modern world
you may find people who claim claim that in order to attain Yoga only certain Pranayama or
Asanas are to be done. Take it for sure that such people do not know what is Yoga. They just
read some books and tell dry things to their followers. Many times practitioner complain that
even after doing various Asanas and Pranayamas they can not see any improvement in them. The
key think such people lack is observance of Yama and Niyama. Following Yama in strict sense
in very difficult for most of us. However, that doesn't reduce its importance. If you want good
fruits then you must nourish the tree well. It's the same thing with Yoga.
Ahimsa or Non-violance
Ahimsa or non-violance refers to abandoning violence at all levels. Often is is believed that
violence is equated with physical injury. However, mental violence in the form of hatrade and
bitterness is also a violence in itself. Why is non-violance important? Any kind of violence
always triggers a cycle of hatrade and bitterness. If you give violence to others you also get it
back in one form or the other. A mind full of hatrade and violent thoughts can be stable. Have
you ever observed yourself when you have fight or quarrel with somebody? Even after the actual
act of fight or quarrel is over you keep cursing and blaming the opponent. Your mind is full of
bitterness. How can God dwell in such a mind? Further, a Yogi believes that God is in
everything. So, when you hurt somebody you are actually hurting the God.
Satya or truthfulness
Satya or truthfulness refers to adhering to truth in personal and social life. Truthfulness gives you
courage. An act of dishonesty always generates a feeling of guilt in your mind. Rest of the life
you live with this guilty feeling. It also affects stability of your mind. Satya is a power. Initially
"you speak truth" and once it becomes your natural way "whatever you speak becomes truth". It
is that powerful.
Asteya or non-stealing
Asteya or non-stealing refers to banishing all acts of cheating and dishonesty. Again as per Law
of Karma if you steal something it is like taking debt and you must repay it in current or future
lives. Cheating others leaves a guilty feeling in your mind.
Bramhacharya or celibacy
Bramhacharya refers to observing celibacy at all levels - physical, mental and verbal. In modern
world many people (even so called Yoga teachers) seem to ignore or neglect this factor. Why is
celibacy important? It is a big topic in itself. For the purpose of these lessons I will brief you just
a summary of the reasoning. As per Yogic perspective this body is nourished by mystical Bindu
which is a secretion from a tiny spot in the brain. This bindu drops down and gets transformed
into sexual fluids. Thus wasting sexual fluids means wasting bindu. A Yogi prevents the loss of
this bindu with the help of various Yogic techniques. A Yogi transforms his sexual energy into
spiritual energy. Moreover, indulgence in sexual activities makes you slave of sensual pleasure.
You start craving for more and more pleasure thus ruining your spiritual progress. It is
recommended that if you are unmarried better to keep away from sexual activities. If you are
married a path of moderation is suitable.
Aparigraha or non-avariciousness
Aparigraha refers to non-avariciousness or non-possessiveness. All of us have a tendency of

acquiring, possessing and storing things. It is often observed that people are always unhappy
with their current situation. If they have one bungalow they want two. One car is not sufficient
they need four. When you are craving for luxuries where is the time for God?
In summary, Yama represents ethical behavior. Any Yoga aspirant interested in making progress
must strive to follow this code of conduct. In the next lesson we will talk about some self-
discipline.
Lesson 11 - Self Disciplines
In Lesson 10 you learned about the social disciplines that a Yogi needs to follow. Social
disciplines is just one part of the story. The other part being self-disciplines. This lesson is going
to introduce you with five self-disciplines.
The self-disciplines or Niyama as they are called in Yogic terms, are five in number and are
listed below:
 Shaucha or cleanliness
 Santosha or contentment
 Tapa or austerities
 Svadhyaya or self-study
 Ishwarapranidhana or surrendering to God
Cleanliness is a very important attribute. Often cleanliness is observed only about physical body.
However, equally important is mental cleansing. For higher awakening the body and mind
equipment must be clean. Impurities degrade spiritual progress. Bodily cleansing involves
keeping external and internal body parts clean. Hatha Yoga includes a practice called Shatkarma
that helps a lot to remove impurities caused by Kapha, Vata and Pitta. I will explain Shatkarmas
in later lessons. Mental cleansing involves removing Tamasic and Rajasic thoughts and
cultivating Sattvic qualities. Practices such as Pranayama and Japa help to cleanse your
mind. These practices will be explained in later lessons.
Many of us are always unhappy with their present situation. Such unhappiness gives rise to
craving. If you are constantly craving for material pleasures then your mind can not remain
stable. Spiritual progress can not be made with mind full of material desires. Hence, one
must learn to be satisfied with his own condition. Life gives us good as well as bad experiences
but they should not disturb balance of our mind. Contentment teaches you to accept the life as it
comes and focus on spiritual progress.
Austerities burn impurities from your mind and body. They also make you strong. It is important
to remember that austerities does not mean torturing your body. For example, observing fast one
day is completely safe and beneficial. However, if you starve your body by fasting frequently
then it will prove to be harmful than good.
Yoga is a practical science. If you read thousands of books about it but practice nothing then it's
of no use. That is why self-study is important. People often interpret Svadhyaya as study of
scriptures however mere reading is useless. Svadhyaya refers to studying and implementing what
you learnt in your life. Sincere and tireless practice is the key to success.
When we do some work we expect some returns. Thus "I" works and "I" gets the fruits. This is
an attitude found everywhere. However, it feeds ego. Once "I" becomes strong then all activities
are done for pleasing "I". Ishwarapranidhana refers to offering everything - good as well as bad -
to the God. You work for God and fruits of your work are also offered to Him. This way you
become a Karma Yogi free from the bondage of Karma.
In summary self-disciplines ensure that you live a controlled life. They ensure that your core
focus is not wandered away because of material craving. They also make your mind-body
equipment strong and healthy. In the next lesson I will explain the Shatkarma kriyas of Hatha
Yoga that will help you to root out diseases and keep the body clean.
Lesson 12 - Purify your body through Yogic cleansing kriyas
In the previous lessons you learnt about various Yogic disciplines. One of the discipline was
Shaucha or cleanliness. This cleanliness refers to keeping body as well as mind in clean and pure
condition. Hatha Yoga contains a series of techniques called as Shatkarma (Six Techniques) that
helps you to cleanse your internal body parts. This lesson will guide you through these
techniques.
As per Yoga and Ayurveda diseases are born because of imbalance of Kapha (Phlegm), Vata
(Wind) and Pitta (Bile). With the help of Shatkarma you can maintain equilibrium of this trio.
The techniques involved in Shatkarma are:
 Neti
 Trataka
 Kapalbhati
 Dhauti
 Basti
 Nauli
Neti
There are many variations of Neti Kriya, the most common being Jala Neti. In Jala Neti water is
made to flow from one nostril to the other. You get a special pot called "Neti Pot" that has a
small nozzle to insert in your nostril. Take lukewarm water in the Neti Pot and add some salt to
it. Then insert the nozzle in one nostril and tilt your head so that water rushes inside and starts
coming out of the other nostril. Repeat the same process with other nostril.
Jala Neti is an excellent remedy for frequent cold and sinusitis. It makes nasal passage and
membrane clean and strong. It can be performed daily till the time you get rid of disease
symptoms.
I strongly suggest doing Jala Neti after you travel through a polluted road. Knowingly or
unknowingly carbon particles, dust and other toxic substances ruin the nasal passage and
membrane. Especially people who travel a lot on bike will find it very useful to remove such
impurities.
After doing Jala Neti one must perform Kapalabhati (explained later) so as to remove the excess
water from the nostrils.
Trataka
Trataka is exercise for eyes and also improves concentration. Take a candle and light it. Place it
around 4 feet away from you and in line of your eyes. Now, start staring at it without blinking.
After some time tears will start flowing but still do not blink. Maintain this position for 3 minutes
initially and gradually increase to 15 minutes. After performing Trataka do Palming or sprinkle
water on your eyes.
One important note for PC users. PC users should start with very small time and increase the
time very slowly. Their eyes are already stressed and doing Trataka in excess can cause further
stress.
Trataka is a very good remedy for eye diseases and also aids concentration. Students MUST do it
regularly. Concentration from Trataka helps to go in meditation quickly.
Kapalabhati
"Kapal" means skull and "bhati" means to shine. So, Kapalbhati means shining skull i.e. shining
face.
Sit in Padmasana or Sukhasana. If you can not fold your legs because of some reason, you can
even sit on a chair. Keep your hands on knees. Keep spine straight (very important). Now inhale
slowly and with sudden contraction to abdomen exhale with full force. Release abdominal
muscles and let breath flow inside again. Repeat these cycles for 10 times initially and then
gradually up to 10 minutes.
Kapalabhati is very useful in Cold, Sinusitis. It cleanses nasal passages thoroughly and makes
them strong. It also helps in curing stomach problems.
Dhauti
Just like Neti, Dhauti also comes in many flavors, most common being Jala Dhauti. Jala Dhauti
is cleansing with the help of water.
Get up early in the morning (no laziness please). Take a big jar full of lukewarm water (around 2
liters). You can add little salt in the water (people suffering from blood pressure should avoid
this step).Sit comfortably on a chair (actually in strict Yoga there is a special way to sit in this
step but I am giving the simplest technique here). Start drinking the water one glass at a time.
Drink to the extent that you can not consume any further. Wait for 30 seconds. Stand and bend
forward. Push your abdomen inwards and start vomiting the water. You may apply multiple
pushes to vomit all the water. Make sure you vomit everything. Do not stop in between.
Initially you may find it difficult to vomit but after practice you will that you can do it at your
will without much physical pressure. Initially you will find that even if you have not eaten
anything you vomit "something". That "something" is nothing but impurities in your body. After
practicing you will realize that water starts coming out as is. This indicates that cleansing is
taking place.
You can perform longer cycles of this process such as 21 days. However, I suggest that you start
with much lesser cycles such as 5 days.
Jala Dhauti is an amazing cleansing for people suffering from Indigestion, Cold and Acidity. It
thoroughly cleanses the stomach.
Take light food after 3-3 1/2 hours.

Basti
Now a days constipation and gastric trouble is a very common thing. Basti is a wonderful
remedy for these problems. In ancient days Basti was performed by standing in river water and
sucking water in with the help of rectal muscles. However, today very few can perform Basti in
this way. Now a days Basti is done with the help of enima pot.
You get a pot called Enima Kit that consists of a big pot, rubber tube and nozzle. You need to put
1/2 to 1 1/2 liters of water in the pot. Then you need to pass the noel in through your rectum and
let the water pass inside. After all the water goes in remove the noel and take a thin pillow under
your buttocks. Now give a slow massage to your stomach from bottom towards chest and from
left to right. This way the water will go deep inside and loosen the accumulated waste. Remain in
this condition for 15-25 minutes and then go to toilet to empty the bowls.
Ayurveda also recommends using sesame oil instead of water. Dashamula Basti is one of the best
medicines for gastric disorders. However, one must consult Ayurvedic Doctor before taking
Dashamula Basti.
In the "Pop a tablet and be healthy" age, Basti may sound weird. However, it is one of the most
natural and safe remedy. Instead of consuming various habit forming Churnas that promise to
relieve constipation, Basti is much better and safe. Of course one must learn the correct
technique of taking it under some guidance.
Nauli
Nauli involves churning abdominal muscles in left to right and right to left. Nauli is an advanced
practice and must be learnt under some guidance and hence I refrain from describing it here.
Though Hatha Yoga praises Nauli as "crown of cleansing kriyas", many of the benefits of Nauli
can also be obtained from Dhauti, Basti and Shankhaprakshalana (more on that later).
In this lesson you learnt about Shatkarmas. They purify your internal organs and help you to get
rid of Kapha, Vata and Pitta disorders. Many time Yoga aspirants start Pranayama or Kundalini
Kriyas with lots of impurities in their body and then they don't get much of the benefits. Some
even get a "kickback" and start cursing Yoga. So, in summary one must purify the body before
starting any advanced Yogic practices.
Q.1. What are the eight limbs of Yoga?
Q.2. How are the social and self disciplines related to spirituality
?
Q.3. Which of the cleansing techniques will be useful for - Acidity, Cold, Constipation
Thread, beetle and freedom
Today I am going to tell you a story that I read in one of the books by Swami Vivekananda. The
story is indeed a good learning for all the Yoga students. The story goes like this...
Once upon a time there was a minister of a great king. Because of his misfortune he fell into
disgrace. As a punishment the king ordered him to be locked up in the top of a very high tower.
The King's men immediately followed his order. The minister was very sad.
He had a faithful wife who came to the tower at mid night and called to her husband to know if
she can do anything to help him. He delighted to see his wife and told her to come back again
along with a long rope, some stout twine, pack thread, silken thread, a beetle and little honey.
The wife wondered at his husband's request. But she obeyed her husband and brought him the
desired things.
The minister asked her to attach the silken thread firmly to the beetle. He then asked to smear a
drop of honey to its horns and set it free on the wall of the tower with its head pointing upwards.
The wife obeyed all these instructions and the beetle started journey
towards the top in the search of honey. When the beetle reached the top of the tower the minister
grabbed it and got hold of the silken thread. He then told his wife to tie the other end of the
silken thread to the pack thread. He gently pulled the pack thread up. He repeated the same thing
with the stout twine. Finally he did the same with with the rope. Once he got hold of the rope the
rest was very easy. The minister climbed down from the tower with the help of rope and happily
made his way to home along with his wife.
This is how a Yogi acquires the liberation. Our breath is the silken thread. The nerve currents are
like pack thread. Thoughts are like stout twine and Prana is like the rope. We conquer each one
of them one by one. This journey is of course not simple. It may take several years or even life
times for a Yogi to get the freedom but unless we start today how can we expect to reach the
destination? So friends, never ever skip your practice. Let no other material desire come in
between you and your practice. Only then you can expect some fruits.
Lesson 13 - Importance of Brahmacharya
In Lesson 12 you were introduced with Shatkarma, the cleansing techniques of Yoga. In this
lesson you will understand some important concepts such as Bindu and Brahmacharya.
What is Brahmacharya?
The common meaning of Brahmacharya is observing celibacy. However, this is its gross
meaning. The literal meaning of the term is "to follow Bramha, the supreme reality". At first
glance you may think that this literal meaning and its gross meaning doesn't bear any relation.
However, they are related. In Indian scriptures you find mention of trio - Bramha, Vishnu and
Mahesh. It is believed that Bramha created this world, Vishnu nourishes it and Mahesh (Shiva)
destroys at the end of the Kalpa. If you observe the scriptures you will realize that Vishnu and
Shiva had consort in the form of Narayani (Laxmi) and Parvati. However, Bramha was single.
He created this universe with the help of creative power of his mind. Even without this scriptural
reference it can be observed that the supreme principal (often termed as God) alone created this
universe. That supreme principal never needed to marry someone in order to spawn this world.
Thus it was single or celibate. Thus the subtle meaning of Brahmacharya is to follow the
Bramhan and develop our creative potential. Nevertheless both the meanings of Brahmacharya
are important for a Yoga practitioner.
The Bindu
In order to appreciate the importance of Brahmacharya you must understand the term Bindu. As
per Kundalini Yoga there are Chakras called Bindu Visarga and Manipura situated at the top of
the head (at the same place where traditional Brahmins keep shaft) and navel respectively. These
Chakras secrets a nectar like substance called Bindu. This tiny secretion then circulates in the
whole body. It is this secretion that nourishes the body. Loss of Bindu causes decay of the body
and old age.
The Bindu is divided into two types. The Bindu arising from Bindu Visarga is called as white
Bindu (Shukla) and that arising from Manipura is called as red Bindu (Mahataja). Though both
types of Bindus exist in individuals, white Bindu is predominant in males and red in females.
The white Bindu forms semen whereas red Bindu forms menstrual fluids. The white Bindu is
considered as Shiva and the red Bindu as Shakti. Union of white and red Bindu (i.e. male and
female aspects) leads to the supreme state.
Sexual activity leads to loss of sexual fluids and thus Bindu. Since Bindu nourishes the whole
body and can lead you to higher spiritual states Yoga advices us to prevent its loss by all means.
The safest and recommended mean being celibacy. Hatha Yoga
also suggests various mudras to prevent loss of Bindu. They include Khechari Mudra, Viparatakarni
Mudra and Vajroli Mudra. However, they must be learned from an expert Guru.
Importance of Brahmacharya
Now that you have understood the concept of Bindu you will be in a better position to appreciate
Brahmacharya. It is a common observation that after sexual activities vitality is lost. Modern
science says that one emission of semen in males contains around 400 million sperms. If the rate
of this loss is more naturally body needs to continually replace this loss. This causes loss of vital
energy. Yogis suggest that this energy that is otherwise wasted must be turned towards higher
spiritual activities.
To summarize it can be said that Brahmacharya is very important if you wish to follow higher
Yogic sadhanas. Considering its importance ancient Yogis included it as one of the Yogic
disciplines. If you are a bachelor it is recommended that you strictly keep away from sexual
activities. If you are married a moderation in sexual activities can be observed.
Lesson 14 - How diseases are born?
In the last few lessons we discussed Yogic disciplines (Yama and Niyama), Shatkarma and
importance of Brahmacharya. Now it is time that we discuss the next limb of Ashtanga Yoga
namely Asana. However, before going to the core topic of Asanas or Yoga postures, as they are
commonly known, I would like to explain concept of disease as per Ayurveda and Yoga.
Understanding this concept will help you to apply Yogic principals and disciplines appropriately
in your life.
As per Ayurveda Agni (biological fire) plays a vital role in the well-being of human body.
Ayurveda classifies Agni in thirteen types out of which Jatharagni is considered as the chief. It is
the job of Agni to transform food into energy that keeps body going. When your agni is in
healthy condition you can digest food very well. Such agni properly extracts nutrition from that
food and discards the unwanted matter. Ayurveda says that Kapha (Phlegm), Vata (Wind) and
Pitta (Bile) govern the overall constitution (prakriti) of an individual. Under healthy conditions
these three doshas are in proper balance. Whenever there is any imbalance in these doshas it
affects the agni first. The agni becomes weak and cannot digest food properly.
A part of the undigested food is expelled via feces. However, the remaining part gets converted
into a sticky substance called Ama. This ama is accumulated in abdominal organs and various
other parts of the body. If there is excess Ama formation then it gets mixed in blood vessels,
lymphatics and cellular membranes. It then clogs bodily cells, joints and weakens prana (the vital
life force). The body cannot function properly with such clogged channels and diseases are born.
Also, once the prana is weakened your body's immune system is deteriorated making your body
prone to diseases. Thus it can be said that three doshas and Ama are responsible for diseases.
It is a common observation that when we are ill we develop a reluctance for food intake. This is
body's natural mechanism to avoid any further damage. Many nature therapists suggest fasting
during the period of illness (of course don't take such decision on your own. It is better to consult
some expert in the field.).
Diseases form a great barrier to our material as well as spiritual progress. If we are ill we simply
cannot focus on spiritual practices. We cannot meditate even for few minutes. Forget meditation
we cannot even sit at one place for longer time. Our joints start paining, we get cramps.
Moreover, diseases create disturbance in prana and we cannot channelize it for meditative
purposes. Thus a Yoga practitioner should try to avoid diseases by following disciplined life
style.
It must be noted that many of us generate ama even if it may not be causing any significant signs
of a disease. Many people suffer from symptoms such as pain in the joints, cold, cough and
dizzy feeling. These are often ignored but such signs can be beginning of some disease.
Generally a disease spreads in the body in the following steps:
 Because of various factors including weather conditions, food and stress the balance
between the three doshas is lost
 Doshas start aggravating and ama formation begins
 The excess ama formed tries to overflow into the other parts of the body apart from its
origin
 Doshas and ama start affecting weak parts of the body
 Disease is born
If doshas and ama are the main cause of diseases then we must:
 Maintain proper balance between the three doshas so that ama is not formed at first place.
 Avoid excess ama if it exists.
With this background you will be able to understand and appreciate the importance of
Shatkarmas and Yoga postures. We have already discussed Shatkarmas. They help you to keep
Kapha, Vata and Pitta in proper balance. Yoga postures also help you to keep your body disease
free by improving the circulation system and pranic system of the body.
In the next lesson we will discuss more about Yoga postures and their therapeutic and spiritual
uses.
Lesson 15 - Asanas
In the previous lesson you learnt about the cause of disease. In this chapter you will learn about
Asanas which dispel the disease and make your body strong for the purpose of higher spiritual
practices.
What are Asanas?
Asana means body posture. In Hatha Yoga it is said that there are 84,00,000 asanas in all.
Considering that humans will not be able to practice (or even remember) all of them Lord Shiva
gave out 84 important ones. In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras he defines asana merely as "steady and
comfortable posture". In Hatha Yoga, however, many asanas are described. These two thought
streams may sound contradicting. However, we should look at them with respect to respective
frame of time and environment. Patanjali's Yoga Sutras are older than Hatha Yogic texts. So it
seems that Hatha Yogis and Tantrics developed the system of body postures that are known
today as Yogasanas. Yoga aspirants often get confused about this contradiction. However, we
must find out appropriate balance for ourselves. If you are suffering from some disease asanas
will come to your rescue. On the other hand if you are perfectly healthy then you may not
indulge too much in asanas. Remember that this body is our vehicle to reach the God. It
must be kept healthy. At the same time body itself is not the destination.
Asanas and Diseases
In the previous chapter you learnt that ama, imbalance in three doshas and weak prana (and thus
immune system) are the causes of any disease. Asanas have the following impact on your body:
 They improve blood circulation throughout the body

 They stretch joints removing ama formation in them
 They massage internal organs improving their efficiency
 They circulate prana to each and every part of the body
 They purify blood
 They remove toxins from the body
 They affect various glands in positive way
 They improve immunity of body
Looking at the above benefits it must have been clear to you as to why Yogis give importance to asanas.
Unless your body is healthy you will not be able to pursue higher sadhanas and asanas help you achieve
just that.
Classification of Asanas
The overall asanas can be divided into these types:
 Sitting postures
 Supine postures
 Abdominal postures
 Hand postures
 Kneeling postures
 Standing postures
 Head postures
Though these lessons will not discuss actual technique of any of these asanas, a quick list of important
asanas in each category is given below.
Sitting postures
Sitting postures are performed by sitting on the floor. Main postures in this category include:
 Padmasana
 Siddhasana
 Swastikasana
 Parvatasana
 Simhasana
 Mandukasana
 Gomukhasana
 Paschimottanasana
 Matsyendrasana
Supine Postures
Supine postures are done by lying down on your back. Important asanas in this category are
given below:
 Shavasana
 Uttanapadasana
 Pavanamuktasana
 Sarvangasana
 Matsyasana
 Halasana
Abdominal Postures
Abdominal postures are performed by lying on your abdomen. Below are some of the important
asanas from this category:
 Shalabhasana
 Bhujangasana
 Dhanurasana
 Makarasana
Hand Postures
Hand postures are performed by using hands as the main support for the body. Some of the
postures falling in this category are:
 Mayurasana
 Vrishchikasana
 Tolasana
 Bakasana
Kneeling Postures
Kneeling postures are done with your legs folded and knees touching the floor. Important asanas
in this category include:
 Vajrasana
 Bhu Namana Vajrasana
 Ushtrasana
 Virshasana
Standing Postures
Standing postures are done by standing straight on the floor. Some popular standing postures are:
 Garudasana
 Tadasana
 Santulanasana
 Natarajasana
 Trikonasana
Head Postures
Head postures are the postures in which your body position is up side down i.e. head touching
the ground and legs spread upwards. Some asanas from this flavor include:
 Shirshasana
 Urdhwa Padmasana
Which postures to do?
It is common for beginners to get confused while selecting postures for practice. You should
choose postures depending on your need. For example, postures to reduce fat and relaxation are
different. Moreover, you need not do all of them at once. Remember that instead of quantity
quality and sincerity is more important.
People often believe that benefits of a posture will be obtained only after attaining final position
with perfect ness. This is actually a misconception. Though the final position of an asana will
give you maximum benefits, you "trying" to go into that position itself gives you a lot of
benefits. For example, a fat person may not be able to bent down and touch his palms on the
ground. However, when he tries to do so those efforts themselves bring great benefits to him.
In the next lesson we will discuss something about Pranayama.
May the peace be with you.
Lesson 16 - Pranayama
In the last lesson you learnt about Asanas. Asanas enable you to sit in steady and comfortable
position and meditate for long time. Once Asanas are mastered the next step is Pranayama. In
this lesson you will understand what Pranayama is and its various flavors.
The word Pranayama consists of two words Prana + Ayama. Prana means the vital life force and
Ayama means to control. Thus Pranayama refers to controlling the vital life force through
various techniques. Often Prana is equated with breath. However, this is not so. Breath is just a
gross form by which we absorb and nourish Prana. However, breath by itself is not Prana. We
get butter out of milk but that butter by itself is not milk. It is the same thing. Prana is very subtle
and hence to control it we need to use some gross way. That gross way is breath.
Our entire breathing process can be classified into three parts - inhalation, exhalation and
retention. In Yogic terms they are called as Puraka, Rechaka and Kumbhaka respectively. Puraka
and Rechaka are natural processes whereas Kumbhaka is to be induced intentionally during
initial stages. After a prolonged practice even Kumbhaka can be performed in spontaneous way.
Such spontaneous Kumbhaka is called as Kevala Kumbhaka. Under the influence of Kevala
Kumbhaka, inhalation and exhalation stops entirely and mind becomes absolutely stand still.
Ancient Yogis observed that mind and prana are closely related. If one is controlled the other
comes under control too. This can be verified easily. When you are angry your breathing
becomes fast and heavy whereas when you are at peace you breathing is steady and easy. Thus
Pranayama is a great tool to control ever wandering mind.
In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, he does mentions about Pranayama. However, his description simply
states what Pranayama is but not how to do Pranayama. In fact Yogis after Patanjali developed a
detailed system of Pranayama. Such a detailed account of Pranayama is found in abundance in
literature related to Hatha Yoga and Kundalini Yoga. Today Pranayama is becoming
increasingly popular because of its health and stress management abilities. However, its real
use is to awaken the spiritual potential by calming the mind.
In ancient Yogic texts you find mention of the following types of Pranayamas:
 Kapalabhati
 Nadishodhana
 Surya Bheda
 Ujjayi
 Bhastrika
 Sitkari
 Sheetali
 Bhramari
 Moorchha
 Plavini
You already know Kapalabhati as we discussed it as a part of Shatkarmas. Some important Pranayamas
are discussed in the following sections.
Nadishodhana Pranayama
Nadishodhan Pranayama cleanses all the 72,000 nadis. As per Yoga our body contains many
channels called Nadis that carry Prana to various parts of the body. Because of environmental
conditions, disease and life style they are clogged with impurities. Nadishodhan Pranayama
cleanses them thoroughly. The cleansed channels are capable of carrying Prana to higher energy
centers thus acting as a catalyst in spiritual progress. The technique to perform this Pranayama is
as follows:
 Sit in any meditative posture such as Padmasana or Sukhasana

 Keep your spine and head erect
 Close your right nostril with right hand thumb
 Exhale completely through left nostril
 Now inhale slowly and steadily through left nostril
 As you reach your capacity close the left nostril with ring finger of right hand
 Hold the breath as long as you can without putting any strain or stress
 Now release the thumb and exhale slowly via right nostril
 Repeat the same process by inhaling though right nostril and exhaling through left nostril
This is one round of Nadishodhana Pranayama. Perform 10 such rounds initially and increase them
gradually.
Surya Bhedana Pranayama
Surya Bhedana Pranayama activates Surya Nadi and hence the name. Surya Nadi is supposed to
flow from right nostril across the length of spinal column. This pranayama generates heat in the
body and hence must be performed under expert guidance. The technique to perform this
pranayama is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative posture with spine and head erect

 Close left nostril with the ring finger of right hand
 Inhale slowly via right nostril
 As the inhalation is complete close the right nostril with the thumb of right hand
 Retain the breath as much as comfortable
 Slowly exhale via left nostril
 Close the left nostril and again inhale through right nostril and repeat the above cycle
This pranayama sounds similar to Nadishodhana Pranayama but the difference is that you always inhale
through right nostril and exhale via left instead of alternate nostril breathing of Nadishodhana.
Ujjayi
Ujjayi Pranayama can be practiced any time and in any season. It is a soothing pranayama and
enables you to develop breathing awareness. The technique to perform this pranayama is as
follows:
 Sit in any meditative position

 Inhale slowly and steadily through both the nostrils
 As you start inhaling contract your throat so that a soft hissing sound is heard.
 Inhale as if you are inhaling from throat
 Once you inhale to your capacity retain the breath as much as comfortable
 Slowly exhale keeping the contracted throat as before
Keep repeating such cycles of inhalation and exhalation. Initially you can perform it for 5 minutes
gradually increasing the time.
Bhastrika Pranayama
Bhastrika means bellows. In this Pranayama your lungs expand and collapse like bellows of
blacksmith. This pranayama consists of quick inhalation and exhalation and this it is heat
producing. It can be performed with slow, medium or fast pace as per your capacity. The
technique to perform this pranayama is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative position with spine and head erect

 Inhale quickly so as to expand your chest i.e. lungs are filled with air
 Without retaining the breath quickly exhale the breath
 Again inhale the breath and exhale as before
Perform such quick rounds of inhalation and exhalation slowly and steadily without putting too much
pressure or force.
Sitkari Pranayama
Sitkari Pranayama is cooling pranayama and should be performed more during summer season.
This is soothing pranayama and gives immediate feeling of freshness. One gains control on
hunger and thirst after regular practice of this pranayama. The technique to perform Sitkari is as
follows:

 Place your tongue in such a way that it protrudes slightly outside the mouth
 Start inhaling through mouth so as to get a cool blast of air on the tongue and throat
 You will make sound si...si...si... during the inhalation
 Retain the breath to your capacity and exhale normally through nose
Perform such rounds one after the other. This pranayama is also useful to remove toxins from the body.
Shitali Pranayama
This pranayama is similar to Sitkari. However, the tongue is rolled like beak of a bird and then
air is inhaled through this beak. Otherwise it gives the same benefits as Sitkari.
You need not practice all the pranayamas discussed above every day. Nadishodhana, Ujjayi and
Kapalabhati can be performed every day and then choose depending on your need and the
season. In winter practice Bhastrika and Surya Bhedana more whereas in Summer practice
Sitkari and Shitali more. One important thing to remember is not to overdo Kumbhaka. In fact
initially you can skip doing Kumbhaka altogether. Once a rhythm is established you can
introduce Kumbhaka in your practice.
While performing pranayama it is important to be focused on the act of pranayama. Do not let
your mind wander away. This will help you to further enhance calmness of mind. If you practice
meditation then pranayama must be performed before the meditation.

Q.1. Explain the importance of celibacy for a spiritual seeker.
Q.2. Explain the relation of Prana and diseases.
Q.3. What is the role of Asanas in meditational practices?
Everyone can change
Once upon a time there was a poor young man. Though he had some money; he spent that in
pursuing wrong habits. Smoking, drinking, gambling and what not. The entire village considered
him "bad" and nobody ever talked with him. He was fade up of his life and decided to change.
Just then a popular saint arrived in the village spreading the message of peach, humanity and
compassion.
The saint used to live in a nearby temple and every evening people used to gather there to listen
to his wisdom. The young man went to the temple to see the saint. He told him his poor
condition, his wrong deeds and his decision to change. He told the saint that he has fade up of
his life and want to seek God. The saint told few words of wisdom to him and asked him to
contemplate only on God and nothing else.
Few weeks passed by. The young man was simply unable to concentrate on God. The moment he
used to start his prayer and meditation all his bad habits used to flood his mind with all sorts of
thoughts forcing him to give up. Worrying about his condition he went back to the saint and
explained the situation. The saint smiled and asked him what he likes the most. He was confused
as nobody, even his family members, liked him in this world. After thinking for some time he
said that there is one prostitute whom he used to visit often. She is the only person who he likes.
The saint look at him with compassion and asked told him – “Look. From this moment onwards
think only about her and nobody else. While eating, drinking, sleeping you must think about her
and no one else. She should be constantly in front of your mind.” The villagers were stunned by
his advice. “The saint has gone mad” some of them said. The young man was happy as the task
seemed natural and easy for him. He thanked the saint and went away.
Several weeks later the young man appeared in the temple again. The saint looked at him with
compassion as before and asked him about his progress. “I am seeing her everywhere. I can not
eat, drink, sleep or even breath without thinking about her. In fact I am seeing her in your place.”
The young man said. “That’s great. You have achieved a lot” the saint said smilingly. “Can you
see that you are now able to concentrate your mind easily. “No longer are your bad habits and
thoughts bothering you when you think about her. Do a simple thing now.” he continued further.
“Now onwards imagine God in place of her!”
The moral of the story is – Each one of us has a right to give up our bad habits and turn to good.
All it takes is our willingness to change and an able Guru.

Bipin Joshi
Lesson 17 - Controlling Sense Organs
In the last session you learnt about Pranayama. Pranayama servers two main purposes. Firstly it
purifies all the nadis and secondly it helps you to calm the mind. In that sense Pranayama is
gross means of influencing the mind. The next step is Pratyahara. Pratyahara refers to restraining
the sense organs from taking their respective experiences.
We experience this world with the help of five sense organs namely eyes, ears, nose, tongue and
skin. These sense organs are bound to experience external world when they come in contact with
it. We have very little control on them. For example when you eat chocolate you are bound to
feel its taste. You can not prevent your tongue from experiencing it. The same thing is true for
eyes also. When you see any object your eyes are bound to convey its impressions to the brain.
Even if you close your eyes they keep on generating "internal" images and keep conveying them
to the brain. Thus we are slaves of these sense organs.
Even if we know that we are slaves of the five sense organs we work hard to fulfil their desires.
There were days when man had food in very basic forms e.g. vegetables, meat, grains etc. Today
we have never ending list of delicious recipes pleasing our tongue. We use scent because our
nose feels good. One scent is not enough we need dozens of them. The same thing can be said
about colors and clothing texture. The point is - people nourish their sense organs. They work
hard only to feed these five masters. When these five masters are pleased they feel happy. If any
one of them is unsatisfied they feel great sorrow.
Pratyahara teaches you to overcome bondage of the five sense organs. It asks you to restrain the
sense organs from taking their respective experiences. You will be surprised if I tell you that all
of us have experienced Pratyahara at some point in our lives. Let me give some examples.
Assume that you are reading an interesting story of Sherlock Homes. You are so engrossed in the
story that you forget that somebody is knocking the door. Only after the visitor knocks 3-4 times
you come "out" of the story. When you are absorbed in the story it is as if your ears forget their
job. This is Pratyahara though at a very gross level. Let me give you another example so that you
can sink in the concept. Suppose that you are watching an interesting movie on TV. Your eyes
and ears are totally stuck to the screen. Your mother calls you from kitchen but you simply don't
hear her voice. Some time later your friend comes to you see you. You don't notice him unless he
pats on your back. This is Pratyahara too.
In the above examples your sense organs refused to do their job because you were absorbed in
some other interesting activity. You were feeding some sense organs (eyes) and for that much
time other sense organs (ears) were a sort of dead! The Pratyahara resulted in the above
examples was accidental. You never decided deliberately that your ears will stop experiencing
other sounds. Yoga teaches you to consciously practice such withdrawal of senses.
How to achieve the stage of Pratyahara consciously? There are several practices. I am going to
give three of them here.
Trataka
In earlier lessons related to Shatkarma you were introduced with Trataka. Trataka is a very good
technique to induce Pratyahara. As your practice develops you will find that for the period of
practice you tend to get absorbed in the act. You see only the flame of the candle and nothing
else. You are unaffected by external sound. Even if a mosquito bites you when you are sitting for
Trataka you will not notice it!
Ajapa Japa
The second practice for Pratyahara is Ajapa Japa. Ajapa Japa refers to focusing your awareness
on breathing. It is also called as Soham Japa. It is called Ajapa because breathing is something
that we do automatically. We never need to consciously inhale and exhale the air. The technique
to perform Ajapa Japa is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative posture with spinal column and head straight
 Close your eyes
 Affirm your mind not to allow random thoughts trouble you
 Gently move your attention to your breathing
 As you inhale feel the imaginary sound Sooooo...
 As you exhale feel the imaginary sound Haammmmm...
 Feel the current of air brushing your nasal walls
 Try to feel its fragrance (if any)
 Let your breathing be rhythmic
 As you inhale your abdominal wall will be pushed forward and as you exhale it is pushed slightly
inwards
You will not believe me but after some practice this technique gives tremendous joy and calmness. It is
as if your sense organs have taken a halt. During initial stages you can use rosary (japa mala) to count
your breath. Once your practice is matured this is unnecessary. Ajapa Japa is a complete practice in
itself. That is why in Tantric texts it has been given a great importance. Here I have explained its part
relevant only to Pratyahara.
Shambhavi Mudra
Shambhavi Mudra is actually an advanced practice. Here I am giving its basic version. People
suffering from any eye diseases should consult doctor or experienced Yoga teacher before
practicing Shambhavi Mudra. The technique to perform this mudra is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative position with spinal column and head straight
 For few minutes practice Ajapa Japa
 Slowly open your eyes
 Turn your eyes slightly upwards as if you are looking at the eye brow center. DO NOT PUT ANY
STRAIN ON YOUR EYES.
 Keeping the eyes open in this fashion move your focus on breathing as in Ajapa Japa
 Maintain this position as much as comfortable
In the above practice you may replace Ajapa Japa with Mantra Chanting (say Om). Do not worry if you
cannot fix your gaze at eye brow center. It is important to keep the eyes open and focus your attention
on Ajapa Japa or Mantra Japa. If you find it difficult to turn the eyes upwards you can maintain them in
half closed position.
Once your sense organs are under control you will find that your spiritual progress is hastened.
You can then perform higher sadhanas easily. Often people directly jump to higher practices and
then complain that they didn't got any benefit. It is important not to hurry. Each of us is different
in terms of body and Karmic constitution. There can't be any rigid timeline for individual
spiritual progress. Keep practicing sincerely and one day success will come.
Lesson 18 - Dharana
In the Lesson 17 you learnt about Pratyahara i.e. controlling sense organs from tasting their
respective senses. With the help of Pratyahara you stop the outward run of the sense organs.
What next? Start the inward journey. The next three stages of Ashtanga Yoga are Dharana,
Dhyana and Samadhi. They all represent progressive stages of the same process. To begin with
this lesson introduces you with Dharana.
The word Dharana refers to binding your mind onto some object. This object can be external or
internal. Often Dharana is translated as concentration. Though in general sense we can call it as
concentration there is a difference. Concentration is a process by which your mind becomes one
pointed. It remains focused on the object of concentration. Concentration need not be a
pleasurable experience. Let me give you an example. Suppose that you have gone for rock
climbing. You are enjoying the thrill in the new experience. Suddenly you slip down while
climbing up. A cold wave of fear rushes through your body and spontaneously you cling to a
steep edge of a rock. Your fingers are paining. To survive you must hold the steep edge with full
focus and concentration. Even a slight mistake can cost you your life. Till some help arrives you
stick to your position with utmost concentration. Now, this is no doubt an example of great
concentration. But is this concentration giving you any joy or pleasure? Certainly not. So to
summarize concentration need not be always joyous. On the other hand Yogic Dharana will give
you joy and happiness. You will never feel tensed or stressed (as in the above example) after the
act of Dharana.
Dharana is a process in which you focus your awareness on some external and internal object.
You continuously try to glue your mind to the object of Dharana. Mind moves with a speed of
light. You need to bring it to the object of concentration time and again. Thus Dharana is a stage
wherein you are sincerely "trying" to unite with the object of concentration. You might be
wondering as to how this process of focusing brings joy and happiness. You need to understand
here that happiness and sorrow are nothing but states of mind. When you are unhappy your mind
is filled with bitter feelings. How would you remove this unhappiness? By cleansing the debris
of bitter feelings. How to remove this debris? By replacing them with something else. That's
what exactly happens in Dharana.
When we come in contact with an object, our sense organs sense it and convey its impressions to
the mind. Mind then takes those signals to the brain and we perceive the object. In other words
our mind "creates" a subtle replica of the object and sends it to the brain. Thus mind is occupied
with the impressions of the newly sensed object. In Dharana the same thing happens. Your mind
keeps generating impressions of the object being focused again and again. In the process mind
flushes other impressions. Thus your mind is cleansed and bitter (and also happy) feelings are
washed temporarily. That is why when you come out of Dharana you feel very fresh. Your mind
is recharged to face the world again. During initial stages this time span of joy might be very
small and you may find that worries start accumulating again. But after a continuous and sincere
practice this time window can be expanded to a great length.
As with Pratyahara, there are many techniques for Dharana. I am going to discuss the following
three techniques:
 Dharana on a symbol
 Chidakash Dharana
 Heart Center Dharana
Dharana on a symbol
In this technique you focus your awareness on some symbol. The symbol chosen for Dharana
can be religious one such as an Idol of a deity or cross or it can be a general symbol such as a
beautiful flower. Some people criticize Idol worship. They say that an idol made up of clay,
stone or metal simply cannot contain God and hence it is useless to worship it. However, such
people don't understand the real principal behind Idol worship. Let me give you a small example.
Let's say your wife (or husband) has gone out of station and you cannot accompany her because
of your work pressure. After few days you start missing her. You feel lonely and bored. You then
take out your family album and looking at her photo start recollecting happy moments spent with
her. You may not agree with me but this is a kind of Idol worship! Your wife is certainly not in
those photos but looking at the photos you can feel her presence. Similarly though an idol doesn't
contain God in itself it can act as a means to help you bind your awareness on the supreme
reality. Idols and symbols can bring you wonderful results if used appropriately.
The technique to perform Dharana on a symbol is as follows:
 Keep the symbol of Dharana on a small stool, chair or table around 3 feet from your seat
 Make sure that the symbol is in line with your eyes
 Close your eyes and practice Ajapa Japa for a few minutes (as explained in the previous lesson)
 Now slowly open your eyes and look at the symbol for some time
 Now close the eyes and try to visualize the same symbol in front of your eyes
 Try to see it mentally and try to see its all details
 Try to feel its presence in your mind
 Let your mind be aware only about the symbol
 Try not to get distracted by external sounds and events
 After the visualization starts fading open your eyes and spend some time to look at the symbol
again
 Now close the eyes and repeat the process again
You will find that as your practice matures the visualization stays for longer times. A stage will
be reached when you will be able to recreate the symbol in front of your eyes without looking at
it at all!
Chidakasha Dharana
Chidakasha refers to the space in front of throat to head when you close the eyes. The technique
to perform Chidakash Dharana is as follows:

 Practice breath awareness as in Ajapa Japa for a few minutes
 Now slowly close your eyes
 As you close the eyes feel the space between throat to head region
 Try to see its depth, intensity as well as subtleness
 Keep your attention fixed in this space for as much time as possible
This is a bit difficult technique at first. Your mind will refuse to bind itself to space. Mind has
been taught to enjoy material objects for years and hence it will take some time to go in this
Dharana. If you wish you can visualize some symbol in the Chidakasha to allow your mind to fix
upon easily. In advanced stages you may feel that color of the Chidakasha is changing (yellow,
dark blue, black etc.) but don't bother about it if it doesn't happen. Let it happen at its own pace.
Heart Center Dharana
Heart center Dharana is a wonderful practice and quickly brings a feeling of joy or bliss. The
technique to perform this Dharana is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative posture

 Practice breath awareness as in Ajapa Japa for a few minutes
 Close the eyes
 Visualize a bright blue colored flower or lotus in the region of heart
 Remember that you are supposed to visualize it "inside" the heart region and not in the space in
front of the heart region
 As you inhale imagine that because of the breath the flower is shining bright and feel as if you
are storing joy, happiness, bliss in its center
 As you exhale feel all the unhappiness and bitterness washing away
 Feel that because of gentle blows of your respiration the petals are vibrating spreading a feeling
of joy
 Keep practicing this way as much as possible
 Slowly come out of Dharana
Note that the above "lotus" is not the same as "Anahata Chakra" of Kundalini Yoga which is
situated on the spinal column.
Dharana forms a stepping stone for Dhyana and Samadhi. Dharana teaches you to bind your
mind onto some object resulting into reduced mental fluctuations. In Dharana the mind has a
tendency to wander away and you need to bind it to the object concentrated upon time and again.
When such wandering stops Dhyana results. Dhyana is the topic of our next lesson.
Lesson 19 - Dhyana
In lesson 18 you learnt about Dharana or concentration. The next progressive stage after dharana
is dhyana. Dhyana is often translated as meditation. Though dhyana is next stage of dharana you
always need to start with dharana. You cannot directly go in dhyana. You start with dharana and
then it evolves into dhyana. In this lesson you will learn about some finer aspects of dhyana and
also few dhyana techniques.
When you sit for dharana you are essentially concentrating on some internal or external object.
During dharana your overall awareness is divided into three types:
 You are aware about the object of concentration

 You are aware about your own body, breathing etc.
 You are aware about the process of concentration
Each of this awareness may or may not be continuous. For example while performing dharana
you can easily get distracted by surrounding sounds. You then again bring your mind back onto
the object of concentration. That means dharana is not absolutely continuous. You concentrate
on the object on and off. You need to spend some efforts to glue the mind again and again on the
object.
A stage is reached when your dharana becomes so mature that the three types of awareness
merge together. That means you no longer possess bodily awareness. Naturally the sense organs
cannot get distracted by any means. This process is dhyana. Thus dhyana is like a continuous
flow of oil.
Since dhyana is a progression of dharana the same techniques of dharana can lead you to dhyana.
However, you may find internal and subtle techniques more suitable. For example instead of
Trataka you may find Ajapa Japa or Shambhavi Mudra more suitable for dhyana.
Dhyana is often classified as Saguna Dhyana and Nirguna Dhyana. The former refers to dhyana
on an object with name, form and qualities whereas the later refers to dhyana on formless,
nameless and qualityless aspect of the supreme reality. It is very difficult to attain the stage of
Nirguna Dhyana unless you practice Saguna Dhyana for a long time.
In addition to the dharana techniques described in the previous lesson I am giving two more
subtle practices here.
Omkara Dhyana
Omkara dhyana involves meditation on Om, the shabda-bramhan (Bramhan in the form of a
word or sound). The technique to perform this dhyana is as follows:
 Sit in any meditative posture with spine and head erect

 Close your eyes and relax the whole body
 Spend a minute or two in breath awareness
 Now visualize a bright orange or blue colored Om at the eye brow center
 Simultaneously start chant Om mentally
 Let the visualization and chanting be uninterrupted
 Be in this position as much as you can
This dhyana gives a feeling of divine bliss if done correctly. You may find that Om is changing
its color and size on its own. Sometimes Om may get substituted by bright light on its own. This
is perfectly normal. After some practice you will find that your practice becomes steady and
yields bliss and joy that cannot be explained in words.
Sahasrara Chakra Dhyana
Sahasrara Chakra or Crown Center is located at the top of the head. This technique is an
advanced technique and it is recommended that you seek guidance of a Guru. The technique to
perform Sahasrara Dhyana is as follows:

 Close your eyes and relax the whole body
 Spend a minute or two in breath awareness
 Now focus your awareness in your head
 Visualize a bright light or lotus resting on the top of your head
 Make your visualization as vivid as possible
 If you wish you can visualize an image of your favorite deity there instead of light or lotus
 As an alternative you can also focus on inner cavity of your head (where brain resides)
 Maintain this awareness as much as possible
Sahasrara Chakra Dhyana gives pure joy and bliss and should not be attempted for a prolonged
time during initial stages. If you feel that your awareness is loosing and you are about to lose
control on your body immediately rub your feet on some rough surface. Because of this reason it
is strongly recommended that you do this practice under a guidance of a Guru.
When your dhyana matures further it evolves into Samadhi, the ultimate state of any Yoga
practice. In the next lesson I will explain the concept and types of Samadhi.
Lesson 20 - Samadhi
In the Lesson 19 you learnt about Dhyana or meditation. You now know that Dhyana involves
merging of three fields of consciousness namely consciousness of object of meditation, bodily
consciousness and concesiousness of the process of meditation. This stage is not, however, the
final destination. Dhyana further evolves into Samadhi which is the subject matter of this lesson.
In the state of Dhyana though there is merging of the three fields of consciousness each type of
consciousness still has independent existence. For example, when you put a spoonful of sugar in
a glass of water, both of them unite but for some amount of time the sugar still has an
independent existence. Only when you stir the water with a spoon the sugar completely dissolves
in it and can no longer hold an independent existence. The same thing can be said about Dhyana
also. When your Dhyana becomes so deep that your consciousness (i.e. the last two fields of
awareness) vanishes completely and what remains is the consciousness of the object alone. This
state is called as Samadhi. Remember that in Samadhi there is no role for the "physical" object
what remains is the "Bhava" or "Artha" of the object expressed by its consciousness.
Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are, thus, progressive stages of the same process. You may
choose different techniques for Dharana and Dhyana as explained in the previous lessons or you
may choose just one object for all these three stages. If you practice Dharana, Dhyana and
Samadhi on the same object this trio is referred as Samyama. Samyama is said to give the
practitioner various Siddhis or supernatural powers. However, a real Yogi ignores such Siddhis
and continues his practice further.
Samadhi itself is a progressive step. It further undergoes a series of progressions before a Yogi
reach its final destination. These stages or type of Samadhi are explained below:
 Samprajnata Samadhi
o Savitarka Samadhi
o Nirvitarka Samadhi
o Savichara Samadhi
o Nirvichara Samadhi
 Asamprajnata Samadhi
Samprajnata Samadhi
The word Samprajnata is combination of Sam + Prajnata. Sam means "with" and Prajnata means
"knowledge with awareness". Thus Samprajnata Samadhi is a state where there exists knowledge
with awareness. This awareness is in the form of reasoning, reflection, bliss and individuality.
Asamprajnata Samadhi
Asamprajnata Samadhi is the next stage in which there is no mental activity such as reasoning
etc. However, some traces of Samskara or impressions still exist.
Savitarka Samadhi
Savitarka Samadhi means "Samadhi with reasoning" (Sa + Vitarka). In this stage word, its
meaning and knowledge of that meaning exists.
Nirvitarka Samadhi
Nirvitarka Samadhi is the next stage where mind becomes pure and expresses the object of
meditation alone. Thus there is no process of reasoning in Nirvitarka Samadhi.
Savichara Samadhi
Savichara Samadhi means "Samadhi with mental reflection" (Sa + Vichara). Vichara is more
accurate and subtle than Vitarka. In this stage the object expresses itself as a reflection.
Nirvichara Samadhi
Nirvichara Samadhi means "Samadhi without any reflection".
All the above type of Samadhi are called as "Sabija" or "with seed" because they involve a seed
in the form ones ego or individuality. The final stage is called Nirbija Samadhi which does not
involve even a seed. It is total absorption of mind.
In is important to remember that knowing this classification is fine but what is more important is
to experience the state of Samadhi. Don't bother too much about various types of Samadhi and
their meaning. Keep practicing with full efforts and you yourself will experience them.
Q.1. What is the difference between Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi?
Q.2. What is Trataka? What are its benefits?
Q.3. What is the significance of a symbol used for meditation?
Balance of Mind
Once upon a time Gautam Buddha
was travelling via a village. The villagers came to know about his arrival and rushed to greet him
and seek his blessings. They decided to visit him and offer him some gifts. Gautam Buddha was
sitting under a tree with some of his followers. The villagers crowded the place. They started
offering fruits, rich cloth, gold coins, ornaments, previous stones and what not. One by one
Gautam Buddha politely refused to accept any of these gifts. "I do not need any of these things"
was his answer. The villagers tried to convince him to accept the gifts by saying that they respect
him a lot and are offering the gifts from the deepest of their hearts. However, Gautam Buddha
was firm on his decision.
After some time slowly the villagers started getting angry. "What he thinks of himself? We are
offering him such a precious gifts and he is rudely rejecting them" they said. After some time
their anger turned into hatred. They started cursing Gautam Buddha. Hearing their foul language
one of the follower of Buddha asked - "Master, Don't you feel angry? They are using such a cruel
words against you." Buddha smilingly replied - "They offered me precious gifts that I refused to
accept. They are now offering me harsh words and I refuse to accept them also"
Moral of the story is - "Very few can maintain such an equilibrium of mind in good as well as
bad times. It is difficult to reject pleasures as well as to remain unaffected when things are not in
your favor."

Bipin Joshi
Lesson 21 - Samyama and Siddhis
In lesson 20 you learnt about Samadhi and its progressive stages. It was also mentioned that if
you practice Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi on the same object this trio is referred as Samyama.
The practice of Samyama bestows various supernatural powers called Siddhis on the practitioner.
This lesson will introduce with these Siddhis are and make you realize that they are not the final
goal of a Yogi.
What are Siddhis?
Siddhis are psychic or spiritual powers that one attains because of Yoga, Meditation, Spiritual
Practices or Medicines. There are eight AshtaMahaSiddhis or Eight Great Powers. Further there
are ten Upasiddhis or Sub Powers. There are also five Sudrasiddhis or Minor Powers.
Classification of Siddhis
Let's see Ashtamahasiddhis first:
 Anima: This power allows you to shrink your body as small as an atom. You can pass through
anything easily. You can also assume the nature of animals, insects or even microcosms (in short
anything smaller than you). In Ramayana there is a story of Hanuman who burnt Lanka. He used
this power to shrink his body and escape through the palace.
 Mahima: This power allows you to expand your body as big as you want. Shri Krishna
demonstrated this power to Arjuna during Vishwarupadarshan. Hanuman also possessed this
power.
 Garima: This power allows you to become infinitely heavy at will. In Mahabharata Hanuman
used this power to teach a lesson to Bhima.
 Laghima: Through this power you can reduce your weight almost to nil. You can then travel
easily from one place to another along with the wind.
 Prapti: Using this power you can obtain anything that you wish. In ancient texts there are
references of small amount of food being distributed to thousands of people. It is possible
because of this power.
 Prakashaya: This power allows you to fetch anything from any distance to you. You can bring
anything that is miles away from you. You can also listen distant sounds.
 Ishita: This power allows you to know past, present and future. You become like a god.
 Vashita: This is a very important power. Once you acquire this power you can subjugate
anything in this world. You can rule anybody.
Now let's see Upasiddhis:
 Anurmimatwa: Because of this power hunger, thrust, sorrow, lust, diseases and death can not
touch you.
 Doorshravan: This power allows you to listen from distant places. You also understand speech in
any language.
 Doordarshan: Because of this power you can see anything from anywhere.
 Manojawa: This power means astral traveling. You can travel to any place anytime. Narada
Muni possesed this power.
 Kamayukta: This power allows you to assume body of any creature.
 Parakaya Pravesh: Using this power you can enter any other body - dead or live. Adi
Shankaracharya and Mytsendranatha possessed this power.
 Swatchanda Mritu: Using this power one can die at will. Bhishma possessed this power and died
as per his will.
 Surakrida: This power allows you to enjoy the company of gods.
 Sankalpasiddhi: This power allows you fulfill any wishes.
 Apratihat Ajna: Because of this power even gods obey your orders.
Finally, the five Sudrasiddhis are:
 Trikalajana: This power allows you to know the past, present and future.
 Advandva: Because of this power you remain unaffected by extremities such as good-bad,
pleasure-sorrow, hot-cold and hard-soft.
 Parachittajana: Because of this power you can know what is going on other's mind. You can also
tell them about their dreams.
 Pratishtambha: Because of this power you can combat fire, poison, ice cold water etc.
 Aparajaya: One who obtains this power can never be defeated.
There are many other lower Siddhis as well.
Are Siddhis important?
The answer to this question is Yes and No. Siddhis are important because they can tell you your
advancement in the practice. They make you realize that nature is not a boundary to human life.
Things beyond nature can be made possible with the help of Yoga. This is a tremendous
confidence booster. You then realize the true potential of body, mind and soul.
Siddhis are bad if used in wrong way. Siddhis are like capacitors. If you discharge them by
wrong earthing they loose their power. Instead if the same power is circulated correctly in the
circuit it gives constructive results. There are many stories of Babas possessing Siddhis who used
them in wrong way. They of course got fruits of their wrong deeds.
Siddhis can act as an obstacles to your progress if used in wrong manner. So it depends on how
you use them. If, for example, you use Siddhi of astral traveling to attempt a robbery, it would be
certainly a wrong use of the power.
Though Siddhis can be useful, they should not be considered as the final result of Yoga. They are
just bi-products of your practice. If you get them that's fine even otherwise you should remain
unaffected. To emphasis this point let me tell you a short story.
Once upon a time there used to be a monk residing in a forest. He used to stay in his small
Ashrama surrounded by beautiful trees and river. The environment inside the Ashrama used to
be calm, peaceful and tranquilizing. Animals, birds, butterflies used to wander playfully inside
his Ashrama.
One day another monk came to the same forest. He built his Ashrama just next to the existing
one. This monk was having all sorts of supernatural powers. He used to see the other monk every
day. He started feeling jealous about him and his Ashrama. He tried inviting animals, birds and
butterflies to his Ashrama as well but in vein. They used to run away because of fear. He could
never win their hearts.
One day he ordered all his Siddhis to assemble immediately (in ancient days it was believed that
each Siddhi has an associated goddess). All the Siddhis were standing with their hands folded in
front of him. He ordered them - "Go and do something so that just like that monk those animals,
birds and butterflies will play in my premises. Make the same kind of peaceful environment in
my Ashrama too". The Siddhis politely replied - "We are extremely sorry master but we do not
have power to bring you the peace you want. We can not also win the hearts of the animals, birds
and butterflies for you. These things are beyond our reach.". The monk thus realized his mistake
and took diksha from the newly found Guru.
The moral of the story is - Siddhis are not the destination. They are just a bi-product of your
practice. Do not crave for them. There is much more to life than Siddhis. They can prove to be
dangerous for your spiritual progress. A Yogi who can overcome the temptation of showing off
his Siddhis alone can reach the final abode of liberation.
After a Yogi attains Samadhi what happens next? How he lives his life? Is he like an ordinary
person? The next article of the series will throw light on these questions.

Lesson 22 - Liberation
In lesson 21 you learnt about Siddhis and their relevance to a spiritual
aspirant. However, Siddhis cannot be the final destination for a true seeker. For him the destination is
liberation. Freedom from the cycle of birth and death. Union with Parama Shiva or Bramhan. In this last
lesson of this series you will learn about the physical and mental state of a self-realized person.
Self-realization is not a one step process. You may need to spend the entire life time (or even
more!) for the cause. Throughout this process a spiritual aspirant undergoes several stage of self
development and self unfoldment. Yogic texts mention such seven progressive stages in the life
of a spiritual aspirant. They are explained next.
Shubhechha
This is a very elementary stage. In this stage a person is still an immature aspirant or Sadhaka.
He doesn't have any idea about the Supreme Truth and he is engaged in worldly affairs. Such a
person takes the world made up of name and form as real. He may have a slightest desire to peek
into the spiritual life style.
Vicharana
In this stage a person is still an aspirant or Sadhaka but does conscious efforts towards spiritual
upliftment. Such a person may make some progress on the chosen path but he still doesn't have
any realization of Bramhan. He still thinks of the world of name and form as real.
Tanumanasa
In this stage a spiritual aspirant makes god spiritual progress as compared to the previous two
levels. However, still he doesn't get any glimpse of Bramhan. He still considers this world as a
real.
Sattapatti
In this stage a person is no more an immature aspirant. He becomes aware of Bramhan and is
called as Bramhavit. He has a strong understanding of unreal nature of this world and considers
Bramhan along as real.
Asangsakti
This is an advanced stage where the person remains in the state of Samadhi. He is called as
Bramhavidvara. He lives as if he is in a deep sleep untouched by the happenings of the world. He
delves in the supreme consciousness. Once they enter in Samadhi they can come out of it on their
own. Thus they go in and come out of Samadhi at will. Now onwards they go deeper and deeper
in Samadhi.
Padarthabhavini
In this stage a person can enter Samadhi on his own. Such a person is referred as
Bramhavidvarain. However, he cannot come out at his will. He remains so absorbed in Samadhi
that someone else need to "wake" him up. Some ancient texts mention a trick to bring such a
person back to awareness. The trick involves placing a wooden stick on this head parallel to the
ground and then striking one end of the stick with another stick. His Guru or another experienced
person can use other tricks (such as chanting a Mantra in his ear) depending on the need.
Turyaga
This is the final stage of the spiritual progress. In this stage a person remains so absorbed that he
cannot return to this mortal world. It is said that only divine incarnations can come back from
this deepest state. Such a person is called as Bramhavidvarishtha.
A Yogi in the last three stages is called as Jivanamukta i.e. one who has been liberated even
while living. Externally a Jivanamukta looks and behaves like a normal person. However, his
internal attitude is totally different. He sees Bramhan in everything and remains ever aware of
the supreme consciousness. He lives like an ordinary person only to burn out his prarabdha
karma. He lives to serve the mankind, to spread the divine wisdom. He is unaffected by the
happenings of the external world. All kind of dualities end for such a person. Pain and pleasure,
light and darkness, good and bad are all equal for him. He attains perfect equilibrium of mind.
Such a person is nothing but an incarnation of the supreme authority. Once he finishes his
prarabdha karma he leaves his body only to get liberated from the cycle of birth and death. His
Atman permanently unites with Paramatman. His Jiva becomes Shiva. Let's bow down to
Jivanamuktas who act as a guiding polestar to all the spiritual aspirants.
The qualifications of a true spiritual seeker
Each field of working has its own set of qualifications. An individual needs to struggle to
achieve those qualifications before entering in the field. Any spiritual discipline is no exception.
In ancient scriptures you find detailed discussion about the qualifications a spiritual seeker must
posses. We all have some strengths and weaknesses. We may not meet all these qualifications
immediately. However, with constant efforts and dedication we can make our self suitable to
attain self-realization.
It is said that every spiritual seeker must posses the following four qualifications:
 Ability to distinguish between what is permanent and what is not permanent

 Dispassion towards the enjoyment of fruits of action
 Desire for liberation
 The six inner accomplishments (explained later)
We use the intellect to discriminate things of our life. Using the intellect we decide what is good
and what is bad, who is friend and who is foe. However, for most of us the intellect is covered by
maya or cosmic delusion. We use it only at material level. We can not use intellect for higher
discrimination.
For a spiritual seeker it is important to distinguish between mortal and immortal things. The only
constant thing in life is change. We see change in every sphere of our life. Our body undergoes
change, we change jobs, we change our cloths, we change our habits, we change houses. All the
things around change and it is happening constantly. The aim of any true Yoga seeker is to find
the non changing thing. This thing is called as Bramhan in scriptures. We may give it different
names - Bramhan, God, supreme soul - but it is the only constant in this universe.
Talking or writing that everything is maya is easy however getting truly convinced of the fact
that Brahman is the only permanent thing is not. The true seeker first, therefore, should convince
himself about this reality.
Man thinks that the happiness and joy comes from objects, people and environment around him.
People are discouraged by the word dispassion. They think that they need to give up everything
to demonstrate the dispassion. Dispassion means not to indulge in the fruits of one's actions. It is
important to understand the false or temporary dispassion. Let's say somebody does not have his
own car. He desperately wants it but because of his financial situations can not afford it. In front
of his friends if he tells that "I am not interested in a car" that would not be true dispassion.
Similarly we loose interest in material pleasures if someone close to our family dies. This also is
not a true dispassion because it is temporary. True dispassion is achieved when we understand
that the real happiness comes from within and not from any external source. Once we understand
this our craving for material pleasures stop and we progress quickly on the spiritual path. One
who acquires dispassion becomes fearless as his joy does not depend on any external factor.
One desire gives rise to the another. This unending chain of material desires binds the man
firmly to this mortal world. When the seeker understand that these material desires are taking
him nowhere he throws them away. He wants to liberate himself from this bondage and set the
soul free. The desire for liberation varies according to the quality of the practitioner. It can be
classified as very mild, mild, reasonable or strong.
A person with very mild desire for liberation says - "If I am liberated that's great else I will
continue to enjoy material pleasures of my life". A person with mild desire for liberation says -
"Well...let me get liberated once I finish my worldly duties". A person from reasonable category
says - "I wan to get freedom as soon as possible". Finally, a true seeker says - "Oh God! I want
liberation right now."
The "six accomplishments" are the subject of my next article. Till then stay tuned!

Bipin Joshi
The six accomplishments
The ancient Indian texts talk about six-fold wealth or accomplishments. With this wealth the
spiritual seeker remains self-content. He never needs to depend on external factors to be happy.
Whatever he needs he already possesses within.
The six-fold wealth consists of:
 Shama (control of mind)

 Dama (control of sense organs)
 Uparati (observance of one's duty)
 Titiksha (endurance of good and bad)
 Shradha (faith)
 Samadhan (concentration of mind)
Mind and thoughts are inseparable. Our mind always contains some or the other thoughts. Very
few have control over their thoughts. When they work they think about what is going on at
home, What they will have at lunch and so on...and when they sit for dinner they think about
their work and what is supposed to be done the next. Such is the poor control most of us have on
our though pattern. Shama means acquiring control on the mind. Instead of being slave of our
mind making mind your slave.
While Shama is about controlling mind; Dama refers to controlling of sense organs. Our bodily
sense organs are always engaged in their respective sense enjoyment. For example, we eat and
get pleasure of taste. We enjoy a movie with our eyes. Often our sense organs go out of control
and yield sorrow. For example, if you are eating delicious food and someone interrupts you in
between you get angry. This indicates lack of control on senses. It is important to note that Dama
is not forceful restraint of senses but sublimation of pleasures derived from the sense organs. On
the spiritual path Dama is very essential as lack of it makes us equivalent to animals.
Uparati refers to strictly following one's duties or dharma. We all need to perform some or the
other duties in the life. Often we refuse to attend them with full heart. For example, people do the
office work half heartedly even though the same work is giving them bread and butter. One
should follow all the worldly and spiritual duties without fail to get good results. If you do not
follow your sadhana how can you expect any good results?
Titiksha refers to endurance of pleasures and sorrows. Life always delves between opposites.
Pleasure and sorrow, hot and cold, happiness and unhappiness, light and dark. When we are in
good condition we feel happy but when some sorrow comes we immediately become unhappy
and worried. We start complaining about bad things happening in our life. It is a fact that when
you have happiness unfailingly there will be sorrow. The only way to survive this painful
situation is to make your mind and body suitable to sustain such conditions. When you can see
happiness and unhappiness as equal you progress on spiritual path quickly. No longer worldly
pleasures or worries affect your spiritual practice.
Spiritual seeker must have faith in his Guru and sadhana. Without faith hardly any achievement
is possible. Once upon a time a patient went to a doctor and ask for medicine for his prolonged
illness. The doctor wrote few medicines on a piece of paper and said - "take this twice in a day
for a week and let me know" The patient happily went back. After a week he returned with
smiling face. He said that his disease has vanished and thanked the doctor. The doctor said that
he must be careful and medicines be continued for few more days. He asked for the same paper
on which he had prescribed the medicines before. "Paper? Which paper? You asked me to take it
twice a day. I tore it to pieces and took twice a day" said the patient. Such is the miracle of faith.
Samadhana means concentration or single pointedness. For any spiritual practice it is highly
important that your mind be focused on the ultimate goal. You may call it meditation or Dhyana
but the one pointedness of mind is absolutely necessary for spiritual practices. If your mind is
fluctuating it will always take you away from your goal. It is the deep concentration or one
pointedness of mind that takes you to the inner journey of self realization.
With these six-fold wealth the spiritual practitioner progresses very quickly on his spiritual
voyage.

Bipin Joshi
Q.1. What a sincere spiritual seeker should ignore Siddhis?
Q.2. What are the six accomplishments?
Q.3. What is the relation between Samadhi and Liberation?
Where is butter?
Once upon a time a humble farmer lived in a village along with his wife and son. He had couple
of cows. One day in the morning he milked them as usual. He handed over a milk filled pot to his
wife. Looking at his young son he said - "Tomorrow give him lot of butter to eat". The little kid
was confused. He went to his mother and said - "Mother, where is the butter? Father gave you
pot of milk and asked to give me butter. How is that?". The mother smiled at his innocence and
took him to the kitchen. She added some buttermilk to the milk pot and said - "Tomorrow I will
give you lot of butter to eat". The little boy was more confused. He couldn't understand how
his mother is going to give him butter out of milk.
Next day morning he got up from his bed, bathed and went outside his room to see what his
father is doing. Just then his mother gave him a small bowl full of butter. Yum. It was delicious.
After tasting the butter he curiously asked his mother - "Yesterday it was just milk. How come it
became butter today?". The mother smiled and said - "Look. Butter was there in each drop of
milk. But it was hidden. Remember, yesterday I added some buttermilk to it. It curdles the milk.
So milk gets converted to curd. You then need to churn it to finally get the butter."
The same holds true with the God too. The way butter exists in each drop of milk, God is filled
everywhere. Just like that small kid most of the people can not identify Him. In order to reach
Him you need to mix catalyst in the form of Yama and Niyama to your life. You further need to
churn it with the sincere Yoga practice so that you get a delicious "butter".

Bipin Joshi

Lesson 0: Introduction To Yoga Lessons

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Lesson 0 : Introduction to Yoga Lessons

Welcome to the Lessons in Yoga

To get most out of these lessons:

 Read each lesson carefully and thoroughly.

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 1: Yoga - its nature and scope

Just to summarize this lesson:

 The literal meaning of the word Yoga is Union.

Lesson 2 - Classification of mind patterns

We receive an evidence about objects in one of the three forms:

Just to summarize this lesson:

 Mind assumes five fold patterns or fluctuations

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 3 - Importance of practice and detachment

 Consistent Yoga practice or Sadhana

Just to summarize this lesson:

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 4 - Obstacles in Yoga and how to overcome them

The obstacles for spiritual progress are explained below:

Talking too much

Observances of severe vows

Inability to maintain stages of practice

To summarize this lesson:

May the Peace be with you.

Self Review Questions for Week 1

Q.1. Explain the nature of scope of Yoga in the seeker's life.

Q.2. What is the importance of detachment in Yoga?

And he detached himself...

At the holy feet of Lord Shiva,

Lesson 5 - What is God? - Yogic Perspective

Any practitioner of Yoga

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 6 - The Five Emotional Disturbances

Just to summarize this lesson:

 Yoga identifies five emotions that are disturbing in nature

Lesson 7 - The store house of Karma

Just to summarize this lesson:

 Karma is the cause of our present situation

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 8 - Cause of Karma

 Atman is pure consciousness

May the Peace be with you.

Self Review Questions for Week 2

Q.1. Define what God means to you in brief.

Two Agoris - one died, one liberated

Lesson 9 - The Eight Fold Path

Yama refers to social disciplines. It includes five disciplines namely,

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 10 - The Social Disciplines

Aparigraha refers to non-avariciousness or non-possessiveness. All of us have a tendency of

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 11 - Self Disciplines

May the Peace be with you.

Lesson 12 - Purify your body through Yogic cleansing kriyas

The techniques involved in Shatkarma are:

Take light food after 3-3 1/2 hours.

May the Peace be with you.